, and
bureaus, and everything. Only I can never hear just what it is they
say. Do you think they move sometimes at night?"

"I'll never look to see," said Mary piously. "At night I stay in my own
little house, where everything is quiet and homelike and there are no
queer things about."

Hortense shivered delightfully. Perhaps she would see and hear the
queer things, and even see the "ha'nt" of which Grandfather had spoken.

The kitchen was a large comfortable place. A bright fire was burning in
the range. Shining pans hung on the wall, and Aunt Esmerelda, large,
fat, and friendly, with a white handkerchief tied over her head, moved
slowly among them.

Aunt Esmerelda put her hands on her hips and looked down at Hortense.

"Yo's the spittin' image of yo' ma, honey," said Aunt Esmerelda. "Does
yo' like ginger cookies?"

[Illustration: "Yo's the spittin' image of yo' ma, honey," said Aunt
Esmerelda.]

Hortense doted on ginger cookies.

"De's de jar," said Aunt Esmerelda, pointing to a big crock on the
pantry shelf. "Whenevah yo's hongry, jes' yo' he'p yo'se'f."

Hortense sat on a chair in the corner, out of the way, and watched Aunt
Esmerelda cook.

"What was the thing you and Uncle Jonah heard?" she asked at last
abruptly.

"Wha's dat?" Aunt Esmerelda said, dropping a saucepan with a clatter.
"Who tole you 'bout dat?"

"I heard Grandpa talking to Grandma about it," said Hortense.

"It wan't nothin'?" said Esmerelda uneasily. "Don' yo' go 'citin'
yo'se'f 'bout dat. Jes' foolishness."

"But if there is a 'ha'nt' in the house, I want to see it," Hortense
persisted.

Aunt Esmerelda stared at her with big eyes.

"Who all said anythin' 'bout dis yere ha'nt? I ain't never heard of no
ha'nt."

"When you hear it again, please wake me up if I'm asleep," said
Hortense.

"Heavens, I don' get outa' mah bed w'en I hears nothin'," said Aunt
Esmerelda. "Not by no means. E'n if yo' hears anythin', jes' yo' shut
yo' eahs and pull the kivers ovah yo' head. Den dey don' git yo'."

But Hortense felt quite brave by the bright kitchen fire. She sat very
quietly and watched Aunt Esmerelda at work. The kitchen was filled with
bright friendly things--shining pans and spoons, a squat, fat milk jug
with a smiling face, a rolling pin that looked very stupid, an egg
beater that surely must get as dizzy as a whirling dervish turning
round and round very fast--probably quite a scatterbrain, Hortense
thought.

"What is that, A