"So you need not trouble yourself about that," the ghost continued;
"but it seems to me that you are not getting along very well with
your affair. If I were you I should speak out without waiting any
longer. You will never have a better chance. You are not likely to
be interrupted; and, so far as I can judge, the lady seems disposed
to listen to you favorably; that is, if she ever intends to do so.
There is no knowing when John Hinckman will go away again; certainly
not this summer. If I were in your place I should never dare to make
love to Hinckman's niece if he were anywhere about the place. If he
should catch any one offering himself to Miss Madeline he would then
be a terrible man to encounter."