out in the part of the building occupied by the
landlord and his family.

"It ought to be coming around again pretty soon," Bart remarked, finding
it impossible to escape a queer, uneasy feeling, anxious as he was to
see the specter, and determined as he was to effect its capture if it
again appeared.

As he said it, the sounds of those mysterious steps were again heard in
the corridor, and they heard the occupants of the office fling open the
door.

"You weren't walking in here?" Diamond demanded.

"Not on your life!" Bart answered.

"But we heard some one!"

"Of course you did, and so did we. And we heard it last night!"

Rattleton and Bruce came on through into Merriwell's room.

"Scrate Gott, this is enough to turn a man's hair white!" Rattleton
sputtered.

"Did you think we were just jollying you about this?" Bart sharply
asked.

"No, but----"

"You're likely to see the thing, as well as hear it," Hodge asserted.

The landlord, who had not retired, though making a pretense of so doing,
tumbled down in much excitement, in response to Rattleton's summons.

"Did you see it, boys?" he gasped.

His face was white, and he was trembling. All the assumed bravery had
gone out of him.

"Only heard it walking there in the hall," Frank answered.

The landlord gave a jump. He had forgotten that he was standing by the
corridor door.

"Oh, you can't see anything!" Frank reminded. "That's the trouble. We
can hear the thing walking, but we can't see anything. Close the door,
and we may be able to hear it again."

"Don't! don't!" the landlord pleaded.

"But I want you to hear it. Perhaps you can tell us what it is."

"There is never anything in the corridor," the landlord declared. "I
can't set here if you shut that door."

"There he is again!" said Hodge, in the voice of one who expects to
behold the supernatural and inexplicable and has steeled himself against
unpleasant sensations. "There he comes! Barney, as sure as guns!"

The landlord dropped limply into a chair, and stared out through the
open window in the direction indicated by Hodge's pointing finger. The
others grouped round Merriwell and Bart.

"You see it?" Frank whispered.

"Let me out of this!" the landlord gurgled, though no hand was
restraining him. "Booh-h-h! Let me out of this. Ah-h-h-h-h! It's a
ghost, sure enough! Don't you see that white cloth on its head--a bloody
white cloth?"

He seemed about to tumble over in a fit.

"He'