ice, in a
measure, reassured her.

"I wonder had I better call again?" she thought. "Yes, it will be best."

And so she sent out a ringing cry for her chums. But the room had thick
walls--the door was a solid one, and, as Betty, Amy, Grace and Mrs.
Mackson were having a surprising time of their own just then, they did
not hear the appeal.

"I'll have to depend on myself," thought Mollie. "Well, I can do it, I
think!"

She paused a moment to gather her thoughts together, and, being a girl
of method and order, she began at the beginning.

"In the first place, let me think how I got here," she mused. "Something
in white grabbed me, and thrust me here. It was a very human
touch--depart the ghost theory. I believe, after all, that Mr. Lagg was
right--it is some one trying to make out that this place is haunted in
order to get it for a lower price. The food supply proves that, I think.

"Anyhow, here I am--pushed in by some man masquerading as a ghost. That
much is certain. And what was it he said, as he caught hold of me--'So
you have come back!' That is all I remember. This would seem to indicate
that I had been here before, and that he was either expecting me, or
wanting me.

"A case of mistaken identity, at all events, for I never should have
come back, had I been here before, and that I was never here before is
positive. Come, Mollie, we are getting on in this deduction business.
Some one mistook me for some one else, and that shows that it is not
really me who is wanted. That's good.

"Then, if that's the case, the sooner the mistake is discovered, and
rectified, so much the better. I shall be released as soon as that queer
man in the winding sheet discovers his error.

"And he ought to do it soon, for he seemed very anxious to get me back,
and doubtless he will soon come to find out why I--or the person I am
supposed to be--went away."

Then Mollie had another idea. She reasoned this out as she flashed the
rays of the lamp about the bare apartment.

"But why should I wait for that man to come back?" she asked herself.
"There might be trouble when he discovers that I am not the person he
thinks me. He may be angry. And, though doubtless Betty and the others
will do all they can for me, I had better see if I can help myself.

"Oh, isn't it all queer? The folks at home will never believe it when we
tell them."

Mollie went quickly over the different happenings of the night, and
tried to figure out a reaso