G. A. Birmingham

“ Mr. Cole, as a clergyman, had a character to lose. He did not like the idea of parading the roads at midnight alone with Miss L'Estrange. He hesitated. It was not easy to put his feelings into words without being insulting. Nellie was, apparently, quite reckless about her character.
"You are afraid," she said. "I can see it by your face."
"I'm not the least afraid," he said, "and if you really wish——"
"There's nothing I should like more," said Nellie. "I told you I had never seen a ghost, and we all ought to see one at least before we die. I may never get such a chance again. ”

“ Mr. Cole was not as familiar with Shakespeare as he might have been. He failed to recognize the mandrake.
"You needn't do that," he said. "The fact is that the person I want to frighten is a girl."
"Oh," said Georgie doubtfully. His hesitation was not the result of any chivalrous impulse. He merely dreaded complications. "Will she faint?"
"No. I shall be there to protect her."
This opened up new and attractive possibilities to Mr. Cole. He began to think of himself as the hero of the drama, Nellie taking the part of the damsel in distress. Georgie put his thought into words for him. ”

“ Mr. Cole spoke quite sincerely. The road was extremely dark. The wind made a curious and disagreeable noise among the branches of the trees. There was certainly a churchyard ahead of them in which a tramp of unknown antecedents had quite recently been buried. The belief of the villagers was strikingly strong and definite. Mr. Cole, though he did not for a moment think he would see anything worse than Georgie in a surplice, felt thrilled. He recalled a word which seemed to describe this ghost hunt of his. It was eerie. Nellie giggled. ”