, what did you see?" chorused a dozen or more expectant voices.

"A lot of--mice."

"Oh!" came in disappointed and skeptical tones.

"But, the ghost, Mr. Wade?"

"Yes! The arms and the head?"

"A fake figure put up by some practical joker for the purpose of
frightening timid people and encouraging the credulous. I didn't want
to spoil your little picnic, so I kept still."

"Those sounds, Lucien!" reminded Silvia.

"Were from a cat chorus. They were prowling about the house."

"You're sure some lawyer, Mr. Wade," doubtfully complimented my
grateful landlady, as we went out of the room after breakfast.

"Lucien," asked Rob _sotto voce_, joining me on the veranda, "why
don't the cats you speak of catch that lot of mice?"

Fortunately Beth came up to us, and I didn't have to explain.

"Oh!" she said with a shudder. "I'll never go near that awful place!
I'd rather see a perfectly good ghost, or a loon, or a lunatic any day
than a mouse."

"You're surely not afraid of a mouse!" exclaimed Rob.

"Why not?" she asked coolly as she walked on.

"I told you she was feminine," I reminded him.

He shook his head.

"I can't understand," he remarked, "why a girl who is afraid of mice
should be--"

"You don't understand anything about women," I interrupted.

"You're right, Lucien. I don't, but your sister is surely the greatest
enigma of them all."

I rented the stone fence farmer's "autoo" and took Silvia and
Diogenes to a neighboring town that afternoon. We didn't get back to
the hotel until dinner time.

"What have you been up to all day, Rob?" I asked.

"Numerous things. For one, I strolled down to the haunted house."

"What did you see?" cried the women.

"I saw four--"

"Ghosts?" asked Beth.

I shot him a warning glance.

"Young tomcats playing tag with the mice."

I corralled Rob outside after dinner.

"For Heaven's sake!" I implored. "Don't disturb Silvia's peace of
mind. Did you go inside?"

"No; I was sorely tempted to, but refrained out of deference to the
evident wishes of my host, but really, Lucien, we should--"

"I have only ten more days off, Rob. Don't make any unpleasant
suggestions."

"I won't," he said promptly.

CHAPTER X

_In Which We Make Some Discoveries_

Diogenes, who, for a Polydore, had been quite placid since Ptolemy's
departure, caused a commotion by disappearing the next morning. As he
was possessed of a deep desire to go in the lake and get a little
s