FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   32   33   34   35   36   37   38   39   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56  
57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   >>   >|  
h another communicating door, was the room occupied by Ruth and Edith, but the door was always fastened. Perhaps Miss Preston considered three communicating rooms altogether too convivial, and decided that "an ounce of prevention was always worth a pound of cure." As the stealthy footfalls passed on down the hall, a light tap fell upon Toinette's door, and, springing out of bed, she flew to give a corresponding tap, and listen for what might follow. "Sh-h!" came in a whisper from the other side. "Yes," was the low reply. "Did you hear the 'Princess' walk down the hall?" The Princess was the big Maltese house cat, and a privileged character. "A pretty big _cat_," was whispered back. "That was Mother Stone, and she was just as anxious to avoid being heard by Miss Preston as she was anxious to hear what might be going on in our rooms. If Miss Preston caught her listening at anybody's door, she would be angrier than if we sat up all night." "What does she think we're up to, anyway?" whispered Toinette. "No telling, but she knows we had a frolic last night and is on the lookout for another to-night, I guess." "Maybe she won't look in vain," laughed Toinette, softly. Twelve o'clock had just been struck by the tall clock in the lower hall, when a white figure walked slowly down the corridor. Her hair fell in long, waving ringlets far below her waist, her pretty white hands were outstretched in front of her, and the great eyes, wide open, stared straight before her with a strange, unseeing stare. As she walked along she whispered softly to herself, but the words were hardly audible. On she went, through the long corridor, down the little side hall, which led to the pantry below, still muttering in that uncanny manner. It had long been a standing joke in the school that Mrs. Stone slept like a cat, with one eye open and one ear alert for every sound, for she was continually hearing burglars, or marauders of some sort or other. So it is not surprising that before that ghost had gone very far another white figure popped its head out into the hall and uttered a smothered exclamation at sight of number one. "Dear me! dear me!" she murmured, "my suspicions were not amiss. Poor, dear Marion, is so very self-confident. I was sure the last night's folly would lead to something else. Such is invariably the case," and she followed rapidly after the figure which was just vanishing around the turn in the lower hall
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   32   33   34   35   36   37   38   39   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56  
57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
figure
 

Toinette

 

Preston

 

whispered

 

Princess

 
pretty
 
anxious
 

softly

 

corridor

 

walked


communicating

 
standing
 

manner

 

burglars

 

hearing

 

continually

 

school

 

uncanny

 

strange

 

unseeing


fastened
 

Perhaps

 

considered

 
stared
 
straight
 
pantry
 
audible
 

muttering

 

confident

 

Marion


vanishing

 
rapidly
 

invariably

 

suspicions

 

surprising

 
occupied
 

popped

 

number

 

murmured

 
exclamation

smothered

 

uttered

 

marauders

 
caught
 

springing

 

listening

 

passed

 

angrier

 

whisper

 
follow