A STRANGE NIGHT
The girls had one sharp disappointment. They heard a few sounds below
and called. Presently they saw a man walking from the back of the house
and carrying two pails. Jannet called, and Nell, looking out over
Jannet's shoulder, called also, almost in a panic for fear that they
would not be heard.
"It's the man bringing the milk for morning," Jannet explained. "I had
forgotten him. O Mr. Hoppel! Whoo-hoo! Whoo-hoo!"
Nell added to the pathos by shrieking "Help! Help!" She increased the
fervor of her cries as the man kept right on, not even turning. Jannet
learned afterwards that Mr. Hoppel was "as deaf as a post," but they
did not know that at this time. Jannet had not yet brought herself to
the point of crying "help," and felt that she was giving the enemy
opportunity to rejoice over her by calling at all. But Nell thought
that it was no time for pride.
"Suppose there's a fire," Nell suggested.
"Suppose there isn't," Jannet returned. "If there is, Nell, we'll take
some of those sheets in the chest, knot them together, tie one end to
the little bed, and let ourselves down through the window. I guess we
could squeeze through, couldn't we?"
Plump Nell looked dubiously at the window, but decided that she could.
Then she suggested that they try it now, but Jannet thought that it
would be a needless risk, and that it would be hard to get started
safely over a projecting part of a roof.
So far as they knew, no one else came within call. It began to grow
dark. At one low growl of distant thunder Nell remarked that they were
"in for it," a thunderstorm "in the attic." Jannet said, "Oh, no Nell,
only outside," but Nell smiled only faintly at this.
Jannet, however, decided that it was time for some action before it
grew too dark. Hopping up, she drew the cover from the small bed and
rapidly removed its bundles to the tops of various trunks. "What are
you doing, Jannet?" Nell asked.
"I'm going to fix a place for you to lie down if we can't raise anybody
for a while."
The bundles off, Jannet brushed and wiped with a newspaper, about the
woodwork and the mattress which was covered tightly with muslin.
Opening the big chest, she spread a sheet widely first, then laid on
top a folded comforter. "There isn't the sign of a spring, Nell, but
you can pretend that we're camping."
Nell jumped up to help. Jannet spread on more sheets and a light
comforter, though Nell protested that it would be too hot. The attic so
far had not been too uncomfortably warm, for Jannet had found another
opening at the other end, a round, glass window, which had given a
circulation of air. But it _was_ clouding up. In a storm they might
have to close both openings. Truly this was "the limit," they both
concluded. In a storm, who would hear them? Paulina would come home
late and go to bed. The "folks" expected to be out late anyway, and if
the storm was too bad, who knew when they _would_ get home?
"Well, we'll be missed at breakfast anyway," said Nell. Jannet said
nothing. They might be supposed to be over-sleeping. However, she'd get
_somebody_ awake in the morning!
It grew darker. Jannet fixed a comforter in the rickety chair for
herself and drew it near the bed, for which she had even found a pillow
in the chest. With the chair tipped back and her feet on a box, she
would be ready to "enjoy the evening," she informed Nell. Neither said
a word about a ghost, but Nell sat close to Jannet on the little bed
and watched the shadows grow darker and darker till they swallowed up
the dim light in the attic. "Don't lose your flashlight, Nell," warned
Jannet.
"Never!"
Both were startled a little later by a scurrying sound back under the
eaves at a little distance. Jannet flashed her light in that direction,
to find a bright-eyed gray squirrel sitting up as squirrels do, most
surprised at the light. "Nell!" exclaimed Jannet, "that accounts for
some of the noises in the attic, doesn't it? They are not rats, but
squirrels."
Jannet had scarcely said this when there was a curious sound again.
Something dropped, "tap, tap tap, tap." "A nut falling down some steps!
And where are the steps?"
Jannet asked Nell if she had the nerve to go back in the attic with her
again, but Nell said that she thought a squirrel had dropped the nut
between the rafters or in the wall somewhere. "I heard a few scampering
over the roof this afternoon," she added.
There was a sighing sound in the trees outside. More squirrels seemed
to gather in the attic's far corners; but they were not tame enough to
come near the girls, who concluded that it would be well to eat their
last cooky and drink up the lemonade before they had any small
visitors. Jannet was more nervous about the squirrels than Nell, who
was used to them. A cool air blew through the attic now, but when the
drops of rain began to blow in at the window, Jannet bravely went back
to close the other one. This they could watch.
"It was pretty spooky, Nell, creeping back there to shut that window,
but I saw where the squirrels get in, not far from just over my room. I
saw one cute little chap on a rafter."
The wind grew more violent and seemed to change direction, for no more
rain came in at the window, though as yet there was little sound of
rain on the roof.
But with the veering of the wind there began that weird sound which
they had heard once before, and Jannet, half laughing, half startled,
exclaimed, "The 'Dutch Banshee'! Nell, we can locate it!"
"Not I, thank you," said Nell, putting her head down into the pillow.
But Jannet turned on her light and stood up, listening. Nell clung to
her hand, but Jannet said, "I'm not forgetting, Nell, that I came to
the attic to find out things. That sound is made somewhere here and the
wind does it!"
"All right; if you are going anywhere, I'm going too. I'm not going to
sit alone in the dark."
Following the sound, the girls carefully made their way back, flashing
their lights into this corner and that, until they felt a little air
blowing on them and saw a piece of brown sacking waving a little in a
corner. "That is an awful place to get to," said Jannet, "but I'm
going. Turn your flash, Nell, on the rafters,--please."
"Wait," said Nell, interested now. "There are some boards. Let's put
them across. You'll have to crawl there, it's so low, and you'll go
through that unfloored place if you don't look out."
Jannet accordingly waited, while the tiresome task of placing boards
safely across was undertaken. Then she crawled, in the light of her own
and Nell's flashlights, till she reached the cranny from which the loud
sounds were coming. She pulled aside the piece of sacking and made
signs to Nell of her success. Nell wondered what she was doing, for she
saw Jannet take her handkerchief from the little pocket of her now most
dilapidated and dusty sport frock. But the wild shrieking stopped
almost instantly, and Jannet, with a broad grin, turned around in her
sitting posture, to hitch herself back on the boards.
"It's the funniest contraption you ever saw, Nell. It will pay you in
the morning to crawl over there to see it. There is a bottle, and some
wires are stretched across,--I left them as they were, but I stuffed my
hanky in the bottle. It's that that whistled. So that is one thing that
we needn't be afraid of, our 'Dutch Banshee'! Isn't that good! Hurrah
for our 'ghos'es' that Daphne talked about."
Even Nell grinned at the discovery. She was less afraid now. The "Dutch
Banshee" was discovered.
Rather wearily the girls went back to what Jannet called the
"respectable" part of the attic. "I'm going to stretch out, Jannet,"
said Nell, "though I am ashamed to take the most comfortable place."
"You needn't be. It's little enough I can do for my company,--starving
her to death and entertaining her in the attic!"
Nell did stretch out upon the little bed, with its dark spindles, head
and foot, and Jannet rather carefully disposed herself in the armchair.
It creaked even with her slight weight, but did not break. It was of no
use to watch for Paulina's coming. The storm was upon them and Jannet
only hoped that none of the chimneys would be struck by lightning. It
wasn't much fun to be in the attic in a storm. But the electrical part
of the storm was not severe, though the rain poured in sheets and beat
upon the roof till they thought it must give way somewhere. Thanks to
Mr. Van Meter's care of his property, there was not a leak.
"I'm sorry for the poor folks," sleepily said Jannet after they had
been listening to the rain without speaking for a while. But Nell was
sound asleep and her hand limply fell from Jannet's clasp.
It was a relief to Jannet to have Nell asleep, for she felt much
responsibility. She dozed off herself, but was awake at every different
sound. The situation, to say the least, was peculiar. Jannet speculated
much about who had locked them in, in intervals of dozing.
Suddenly there was a sound at the door. Jannet was wide awake in a
moment, nor was she much surprised by what followed. "The third time is
the charm," she said to herself. "Enter the Ghost, if I'm not mistaken."
Slowly the key turned. Jannet fairly held her breath. The door was
softly opened and closed. So much Jannet knew in spite of the rain, to
whose drippings her ears were now accustomed.
Next, a faint shaded light showed, "so she won't trip on the attic
floor," Jannet decided, but it was not pleasant. A ghostly white
figure, showing dimly in the tiny light, moved from the door to the
center of the space where the girls were. A low moaning began. "Her,"
thought Jannet, setting her teeth. "It isn't Jan, then, not this time.
She's got a sheet over her."
But it was not a sheet, as Jannet soon saw, when filmy, scarf-like
draperies floated out and the figure whirled past, moving back and
forth, not far enough from the door for Jannet to risk darting between
the Ghost and the exit, as she thought of doing, though it might seem
to be deserting Nell to the enemy. But Jannet wanted freedom, and help
to find out who was this ghost.
"What are you, most noble ancestress?" suddenly queried Jannet, trying
to keep the mocking note from her voice.
At this the ghost retreated, for Jannet had descended from her chair,
and Nell, startled awake, gave one cry and sprang up. "Come here,
Nell," soothingly said Jannet, "it's only our family ghost, poor
thing." Then she whispered, as Nell reached her, "get outside the door
and keep it open for me; but if she is harmless, I may try to catch
her."
"For pity's sake, don't!" whispered Nell, half awake. But she obeyed
Jannet, running for the door as if a dozen ghosts were after her. The
ghost started to follow, but as Jannet's very palpable figure put
itself in the way, the ghost changed its mind and retreated still
farther into the attic. Jannet began to follow it, slowly, but
steadily, not using her flashlight but grasping it firmly in her right
hand for use either in its legitimate line or as a weapon, should the
ghost make attack.
The moaning increased and the occasional sobs, with writhings and
bendings, as the ghost floated backward now. "Nice Ghostie,--does
pretty dance for Jannet!" And suddenly Jannet flashed her light full on
the figure, rapidly taking it in from head to foot. No shadow was this,
to be seen through, and a very stout pair of low shoes were not well
concealed under the filmy draperies.
Obviously the ghost was not prepared for a flashlight. Immediately the
figure whirled about, the light disappearing as it was held in front of
her. Jannet could see the faint light ahead on the floor, but she lost
no time in following it. It was difficult, though, to make time without
being familiar with the place in the dark and to illumine both the
floor at her feet and the flying figure of the ghost, who knew where
she was going. All at once Jannet stumbled over a pile of carpet and
fell, scraping her elbow and losing hold of her flashlight, which fell
somewhere with a crash.
"Nell," Jannet called, "lock the door on this side, and leave the key
in it, and then come to me slowly, seeing that no one passes you. I've
lost my flashlight."
Nell had heard the crash and now most thoroughly awake, she took the
key which had locked them in, though Jannet had pressed her bunch of
keys into her hand before, locked the door on the inside as directed,
and came waving her flashlight from side to side. "Isn't a soul that I
can see, Jannet," she said, "What has become of the ghost?"
"That is what I want to find out," said Jannet, rising from the pile of
carpet, while the light played over it and beyond to a gaping hole.
"Look!"
A push by the ghost had been sufficient to remove the old carpet from a
trapdoor, which the ghost had not had time to close. Somewhere in the
depths she had disappeared.
Jannet brushed the dust from her hands and asked Nell to hold the light
for her while she found her own. "It flew down after the lady you see.
I hope that it is still fit to use."
"It probably isn't. Take mine."
"No, you keep it and light me down. If anything happens to me, you can
find your way back and out."
"If anything is going to happen, you'd better not start."
"Very wise remark, Nell; but don't you want to find out about it?"
"Yes, I do. I'm so provoked at that ghost I could just--I don't know
what! You _did_ speak of a trapdoor, but nearer the partition."
It was some little distance to the first step, but Jannet sat on the
edge and let herself down without trouble to that. Several more steps
in this very narrow space brought her to a tiny platform. On this her
flashlight lay, apparently unharmed, for its light went on as usual.
"All right, Nell. There's a sort of well with a ladder down one way,
and I see a bit of light through a partition here." But even as Jannet
spoke the light went out and she heard a rustle inside. Hurriedly she
moved her light up and down to find a way of getting within. Ah, a
harmless looking nail protruded. "Come on, Nell, we can get in, I
think."
"But can we get out?"
"That is so. I believe that you'd better go and waken Paulina. I'm
going on, but I may get caught somewhere, so you can tear the house
down looking for me."
Nell hesitated. "Go on, Nell,--it is the only sensible thing to do."
Jannet was not particularly sorry, it must be admitted, to have the
adventure by herself. She was not afraid now, for the ghost did not
want her identity known. Why hadn't she told Nell to have Paulina take
up the hunt with her? Perhaps Nell would think of it.
The sliding door here was easily found, though one not looking for it
might not have thought of it, and might have concluded that the ladder
was the way of a fugitive. Like part of a double door, a portion slid
aside, for the apparent nail operated a spring. The opening was not
large. Jannet stooped to enter where a musty smell met her, as well as
a familiar scent of some sort of perfume.
Here was an odd little cubby to be sure, but the ghost had gone on.
Jannet received an impression of a box of a room with a long shelf or
berth running its length and something like a table in front of it. On
this lay a thin scarf and a filmy dress with yards of material lying in
a mass. The ghost had left her costume, then. Oh, if she could only
_catch_ her! Yet Jannet's purpose did not include touching her.
Ahead was an opening, and Jannet had need to be careful of her steps,
as she swung her light around the opening before her--to find stairs
again! Oh, _here_ was where the ghost had come down, in the wall of her
room by the big chimney! It was a circular stairway, built in an
unbelievably small space.
But Jannet was light and quick. In a moment she was at the bottom. Up
and down before her again she swept the light. Good. There was a spring
in plain sight. Now she knew how it was done, but she left the panel
wide open behind her as she entered her own room, put on the
electricity, and took the precaution to look hurriedly into her
bathroom, into her closet and under her bed before she opened her door
and dashed into the hall.
Jannet felt that she was too late, but she flew across the corridor
which led into the new part and down the hall there to the room at the
end where Hepsy and Vittoria slept. No light showed under the door. All
was quiet.
Ordinarily Jannet was too considerate to waken any one in the middle of
the night. But this time she thought that she had suffered
inconvenience enough to be excused, even if she wakened the wrong
people. Firmly she rapped upon the door. At first there was no
response. Jannet rapped again, though much inclined to give it up, now
that she had time to think. Perhaps neither of the girls did this.
_Could_ it be Paulina after all?
But while Jannet was wondering whether to knock again or not, the light
went on and the door opened. There stood Hepsy in her long white gown,
her short hair done up in curlers almost like those of a fashion long
gone by. This was how Hepsy achieved that remarkable effect, then.
Hepsy looked scared. "What's the matter, Miss Jannet?"
"Oh, nothing. I'm just looking for a ghost."
Hepsy looked more bewildered than ever. Jannet continued, "Where's
Vittoria?"
"She said she was not coming home to-night,--but, but I wasn't to tell.
Her beau was taking her to the movie and she always stays with one of
the girls, I mean, she has done it _once_ or _twice_."
"Don't worry, Hepsy. I'm not concerned with whether Vittoria stays out
or not. I just wanted to know if she were here. I'll tell you why
to-morrow. Just go back to bed. I'm sorry I wakened you. By the way,
what perfume does Vittoria use?"
"Why, why that's funny, I guess she uses mine that my aunt gave me for
my birthday. It's black narcissus." Hepsy spoke with much pride. "It's
awful sweet. There it is on the dresser."
"If you don't mind, I'll take a sniff"; and Jannet ran into the room,
then out again in a jiffy. "Thanks, Hepsy. You have helped me very
much."
Quietly Jannet stole back, past Cousin Di's room, over into the old
part once more. She found Paulina and Nell coming out of her room with
anxious faces. For once Paulina did not look stolid. "Where have you
been?" inquired Nell. "I had a time to waken Paulina, and then she had
heard the ghost and wouldn't go near the attic, so we finally came to
your room, to find the lights on, and you nowhere to be seen, and this
panel open! Say, Jannet, I climbed up into that room, and Paulina after
me!"
"Did you find the ghost's costume there?"
"No! What do you mean?"
"It was there, and when we find the one who has that, we'll find the
ghost. Did you meet anyone in the halls?"
"Not a soul."
"I am terribly disappointed, then, though I feel sure that I know who
it is."
"Who?" asked Paulina, silent until now.
"Perhaps I ought not to say surely till I actually find her."
Then Jannet asked what rooms were vacant and where some one could hide,
and she found that they had made a tour of them all, looking for her.
"But did you look in Jan's den?" she asked.
Finding that they had not been on the attic floor at all, she asked
them to follow her. Locking and bolting her door, she led the way to
the attic by the new route of the secret stairs. It was true,--the
filmy ghost dress was gone. Thoroughly they searched the attic,
quietly, too, Nell standing at the attic door on guard. Then Paulina
turned on the light in the upper hall by Jan's den and unlocked Jan's
door. She understood dimly why Jannet had wanted to search the attic
again, but she could not see why it was necessary to enter here.
Another disappointment checked Jannet's search. She felt so sure that
the ghost would be found here, spending the rest of the night. The room
was empty, so far as human occupancy was concerned.
Jannet stepped in and looked around at the evidences of Jan's
mechanical turn of mind. But with a little exclamation she pointed to
the bed. Some one had been sitting there, and there lay a tangled wisp
of something on the floor, showing under the long cover which hung over
the side of Jan's cot.
"She was too much in a hurry," triumphantly said Jannet, kneeling down
on the floor and reaching under the bed. Nell, thinking that the ghost
was found, drew back with a little squeal. But Jannet drew out only the
filmy mass of the ghost's dress.
Paulina quickly took hold of it with interest. "One o' your ma's
dresses that she was some sort of a furriner with. Somebody else has
been into the trunks, then!"
"I'm terribly disappointed, Paulina, for I thought that we would surely
find her, after I knew that she had gone after her costume. Then I
thought that she would stay in the house. I want to tell you, Paulina,
that I went to the room where Hepsy and Vittoria sleep and that Hepsy
is alone."
Paulina, stiff and dour, gave Jannet a look of understanding and nodded
her head. "It may be," she said.