ing to Mr. Bradley, "will you be able to get
real money for these?"

"Probably almost as soon as we can get the trunk to North Bend," said
Mr. Bradley. "The bank----" But Billie would not let him finish.

"Oh, Daddy, let's hurry!" she cried; then as her chums stared at her in
surprise she rushed over to the trunk and slammed the lid shut. "What
are you waiting for?" she cried, stamping her foot impatiently as she
turned to face them. "If _you_ want to stand around looking foolish, all
right. But _I'm_ going home."

"Say! wait a minute," cried Teddy, stopping her as she started from the
room. "Perhaps your father----"

"I was going to suggest," said Mr. Bradley, looking at his watch, "that
we catch the eight o'clock train for North Bend. Is that at all
possible, Mrs. Gilligan?" he asked, turning apologetically to Mrs.
Gilligan.

However, before Mrs. Gilligan could reply, his daughter answered for
her.

"Of course it is," she cried. "We girls were beginning to pack anyway.
Come on, girls, what we need is action," and without giving them a
chance to protest she fell upon the girls and dragged them from the
room.

The boys looked after them with laughing eyes, and Mr. Bradley remarked
with a smile: "My young daughter seems to be unusually happy about
something."

"No wonder," said Chet, shaking his head ruefully. "I'd be happy, too,
if anybody thought enough of me to give me five thousand dollars."

The rest of that afternoon was one wild scramble for the girls and boys,
but at the end they made their train with, as the train was late, a few
minutes to spare.

The boy who had driven them and their luggage to town was the same who
had taken the girls and their chaperone to the old homestead at Cherry
Corners upon their arrival over a month before.

As he turned away and went back to his antiquated wagon, he shook his
head soberly.

"Gosh," he said, "I do be sorry to see 'em go. When they first came it
sure did turn my heart cold to see three girls an' a woman goin' into
that there haunted house. At night it was, too! But it seems they've
come out all right, after all. Guess they must 'a' scared the ghosts
away. Well, you've sure got to hand it to 'em." And he shook his head
sagely as the springs of the old wagon creaked under him. "Giddap,
Napoleon!" And a few minutes later wagon and driver were enveloped in
the gray mist of the evening.

"If we only get the train!" Such had been Billie's thought throughout