Janet D. Wheeler

“ At first the boys talked and the girls listened. But gradually the bits of fancy work were laid aside, the girls joined in the conversation, while eyes shone bright and faces glowed with anticipation of what the autumn held in store for them.
And while Laura and Violet and the two boys were talking happily and all at once, Teddy took the opportunity to whisper in Billie's ear:
"I suppose, being a young lady with a large fortune," he said teasingly, delighting in the color that rose to her face, "you won't find time to recognize your old friends any more." ”

“ Out there in that wilderness, at three o'clock in the morning, a noise that sounded something like a motor car and yet was unlike anything they had ever heard before, might have frightened more experienced people than three fourteen-year-old girls.
"H-here it comes!" whispered Violet, clutching at Laura's arm, while Laura in her turn clutched at Billie's. "It's coming closer! Oh, girls—is it in the house?"
"Sh!" cried Billie. "It's a machine—it must be a machine—out on the road." ”

“ Chet yelled back. "We're looking for your aeroplane ghost.
Can't you hear it?"
"Yes. But, oh, Chet," Billie's voice was tremulous, "the piano is playing itself again. Won't you come down? We're afraid to stay here all alone."
"Great Scott! all the spirits are roaming at once," cried Teddy, straining his eyes to see through the darkness as the humming of the motor came nearer.
"There, isn't that it?" cried Ferd, pointing eagerly through the trees toward a little patch of sky, palely illumined with stars. ”

“ But what," she asked, looking curiously at Billie, "did your brother mean by saying not to scare away the ghosts before he gets there?"
"Oh," laughed Billie, "he has a sort of idea that the house at Cherry Corners is inhabited by spirits—just because mother said that the halls and rooms were spooky. He will be terribly disappointed if he doesn't see half a dozen ghosts."
"Well, I wouldn't," said Violet with a shudder, for now that they were on the way to their adventure, her courage was beginning to fail.
"Ghosts!" repeated Mrs. Gilligan, with a fun-loving light in her eyes. ”

“ The girls groaned.
"But they give such a ghostly, flickering light," protested Violet, as if it were in some way Mrs. Gilligan's fault. "I know I'll never be able to stand it," and she glanced nervously over her shoulder.
"Well, could you stand the dark any better?" asked Mrs. Gilligan practically, as she began to light the candles one after another. "There will probably be other candelabra in the house, and if you get enough of them burning there's nothing in this world that is prettier. For myself I just love candle light."
"Yes, when you're in civilization," put in Laura. ”

“ Bradley had often said that a bright dining-room had more to do with making a happy home than any other one thing. But this morning Billie did not even notice it.
She opened the swinging door to the kitchen and peeped in cautiously to see whether Debbie, their black and much pampered cook, was in a good enough mood to cook her some breakfast.
A cheerful aroma greeted her, and she sniffed at it longingly. Bacon and eggs and—was it corn bread that Debbie was just taking out of the oven?
"Oh, Debbie, give me something to eat, quick," she cried. "I'm starving." ”

“ What's the use of going off into the wilderness to a spooky house if we're not going to meet a ghost?"
"Well, you know I didn't promise any ghosts," said Billie, looking up from a piece of fancy work she was embroidering. "If you are disappointed, you needn't blame it on me, Laura, or you either, Chet."
"Well, I don't see why we shouldn't have a good time without ghosts," put in Violet. "In fact, I don't think I'd particularly enjoy meeting somebody's great-great-ancestor in the dark." ”

“ Laura, and Violet bounced in the bed and came down with a thud.
"Stop it," she commanded. "I'm trying my hardest to get to sleep before those candles burn out. When it gets pitch dark in here I never can."
"And all this comes under the head of pleasure," murmured Laura with a little chuckle.
"All right—we'll keep still," agreed Billie. "I think myself that the best thing we can do is get to sleep. Night, girls. We'll all feel better in the morning." ”

“ Laura groaned.
"What's the use of holding things up against me that I said when I was young and foolish?" she asked. "Anyway, I didn't think we would really see anything."
"Well, we haven't," said Billie. "All we've done is to hear things—"
"But we've heard plenty," sighed Violet. "There! What's that?"
The girls listened, feeling almost ready to scream, but could hear nothing but the sighing of the wind in the tree tops.
"Only the wind, silly," said Laura, then added with an almost comfortable feeling at the thought: "Mrs. Gilligan's on guard anyway." ”

“ The girls were in a fever of excitement and anticipation, for they knew that they would have just about twice as much fun with the boys as without them.
"We can go on picnics," said Laura, putting on her hat over one eye as she had a habit of doing when unusually excited, "and long tramps in the woods, and—oh, all sorts of things."
"I wonder if that old wagon will ever come," said Violet, looking anxiously down the road. "If it doesn't hurry we'll be too late to meet the train." ”

“ Both of the other girls put their arms about her.
"You deserve it," said Laura.
"I'm awfully glad, Billie, really I am," beamed Violet.
"Why, I'll be able to go to Three Towers Hall!" cried Billie, a little later, when thinking it all over. "And I can send Chet to Boxton Military Academy. Won't that be fine?"
"And you can have enough left to pay for that old statue," added Laura, with a smile. "I knew something good would come out of this queer old house at Cherry Corners."
"Well, you needn't take all the credit to yourself," said Billie, the lilt of happiness and excitement in her voice. ”

“ Why, Laura," with a touch of excitement, "did you notice those funny old chairs and things? They're really very pretty, and they are surely very old. I shouldn't wonder—"
"Oh, Billie," cried Violet rapturously, "do you suppose you could get real money for them? If you could," she added with the air of a martyr that made the girls laugh, "it would be worth even braving the ghosts for."
"You don't really believe that silly thing, do you?" asked Billie, turning back into the hall. "It's all in a foolish old man's imagination." ”

“ Violet blushed prettily at this complimentary remark, and the girls looked at her teasingly.
"Who was it that said something or other was blind?" asked Laura wickedly, and Violet kicked her under the table.
"Peace, my children," said Billie. "We're having enough trouble with ghosts and things without starting a war among ourselves. Who'll have some more jelly?" ”

“ Long before it was time to go to meet the train, they were ready and waiting. Billie was swinging back and forth in the porch swing, grasping a cushion in each hand to keep her from jumping out, while Chet walked restlessly up and down.
"If you don't sit down," said Billie so suddenly that her brother jumped,
"I'll just scream."
"Well go ahead, if it will make you feel any better," invited Chet amiably. However, for the sake of peace he seated himself in one of the broad armed chairs.
"Isn't it train time yet?" asked Billie, as she had asked many times during the last fifteen minutes. ”

“ Violet assured him, and jubilantly the girls ran through the empty, echoing hall and stopped before a door at the farther end.
"It seems so horribly quiet," said Violet, looking around at them with her hands on the door knob. "It makes you feel like a thief."
"Must be your guilty conscience," said Laura wickedly. "Come on, Vi; we've got to hurry if we don't want to be 'locked in for the night.'"
"Are you sure you left the book here, Laura?" asked Billie, as Violet opened the door and they crowded in. ”

“ That?" he said, pointing scornfully at the dead rat. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, Chet!" cried Billie, springing to her feet in her turn. "That's another thing we forgot. This is Mr. Rat, the piano player."
"Have you all gone crazy, or have I?" cried poor Chet, looking still more bewildered. But suddenly Teddy saw light.
"You mean the musical ghost," he cried, laughter in his voice. "The one that has had us chasing down flights of stairs on dark nights?"
"With the chills running up and down our spines and our hair standing on end?" added Ferd, following his lead. ”