rable to me now."

"David Nesbit didn't disturb us, after all," remarked Eva Allen. "It's a
wonder those boys didn't put tick-tacks on the windows or do something
like that."

The girls had come to the turn of the street, and were about to pass the
only really lonely spot during their walk. It was an old colonial
residence, the surrounding grounds extending for a block. It had been
untenanted for some time, as the owners were in Europe, although both
house and grounds were looked after by a care-taker. On the other side
of the street was a field where the small fry of Oakdale usually held
their ball games.

"I always hate passing this old house," said Marian Barber. "It is so
terribly still back there among those pines. I don't----"

She stopped short, an expression of terror overspreading her
good-natured face, as she mutely pointed toward the old house. Three
ghostly figures swathed in white stole out from the shadow of the pines
and glided down the wide, graveled drive toward the gate. Their
appearance was terrifying. Their faces were white as their robes, and
blue flames played about their eyes. They carried out in every
particular the description of the regulation churchyard ghost.

For an instant the six girls stood still, regarding those strange
apparitions with fascinated terror. Then Eva Allen and Marian Barber
shrieked in unison and fled down the street as fast as their legs would
carry them. Grace, Nora, Anne and Miriam stood their ground and awaited
the oncoming spectres, who halted when they saw that the girls did not
intend to run.

"High School boys, on a lark," whispered Grace to her friends. "Let's
charge them in a body."

With a bound she reached the drive, closely followed by the other girls.
The ghostly three evidently considering discretion the better part of
valor, left the drive and took to their heels across the lawn. But
Grace, who was well in the lead, caught the last fleeing ghost by its
robe and held on for dear life. There was a sound of rending cloth as
the apparition bounded forward, then it caught its spectre toe on a
tuft of long grass and fell forward with a decidedly human thud.

The girls surrounded it in an instant. Before it had time to rise, Grace
snatched off a white mask smeared around the eye-holes with phosphorus,
which explained the flamelike effect, and disclosed the sheepish face of
James Gardiner, one of the sophomore class.

"Oh, let a fellow up, will you?" he s