ld open, and emitted shriek after shriek of such
ear-splitting intensity, that Patty, for a moment, was too aghast to
move. Then, still hugging the pie in her arms, she turned and ran.

[Illustration: Evalina sat up and clutched the bedclothes about her
neck]

To her consternation the cries were answered ahead. The whole house
seemed to be awake and shrieking. She could hear doors banging and
frightened voices demanding the cause of the tumult. She was making a
quick dash for her own room, trusting to the confusion and darkness to
make good her escape, when Miss Lord, gaily attired in a flowered
bath-robe, appeared at the end of the corridor. Patty was headed
straight for her arms. With a gasp of terror, she turned back toward
the shrieking Evalina.

She realized by now that she was in a trap.

A narrow passage led from the East Wing to the servants' quarters. She
dived into this. If she could reach the back stairs it would mean
safety. She pushed the door open a crack, and to her horror, was
confronted by a worse uproar. The servants' quarters were in a state of
panic. She saw Maggie dashing past, wrapped in a pink striped blanket,
while above the general confusion rose Norah's rich brogue:

"Help! Murther! I seen a bur-r-gu-lar!"

She shut the door and shrank back into the passage. Behind her Evalina
was still hysterically wailing:

"I saw a ghost! I saw a ghost!"

Before her the cry of "Burglars!" was growing louder.

Utterly bewildered at this double demonstration, Patty flattened herself
against the wall in the friendly darkness of the passage, while she
soulfully thanked Heaven that the proposed electric lights had not yet
been installed. A dozen voices were calling for matches, but no one
seemed to find any. She pantingly tugged at the pillowcase fastened
about her neck; but Conny had tied it firmly with a white hair ribbon,
and the knot was behind. In any case, even if she could remove her
masquerade, she was lost if they found her; for she was still wearing
the white dress of the evening, and not even Patty's imagination could
compass an excuse for that at twelve o'clock at night.

The search was growing nearer; she caught the glimmer of a light ahead.
At any moment they might open the door of the passage. The linen closet
was the only refuge at hand--and that was very temporary. She felt for
the door handle and slipped inside. If she could find a pile of sheets,
she might dive to the bottom and hop