ad porch. A yellow light fell upon him through the
opened doorway. An old, white-headed negro appeared. Larry and Tina,
in the nearby field, stood stricken by the scene.

"The marster--the marster--" He shouted this wildly.

The British officers ran at him.

"You, Thomas, tell us where the major is. We've come for him; we know
he's here! Don't lie!"

"But the marster--" He choked over it.

"A trick, Tony! Egad, if he is trying to trick us--"

They leaped to the porch and seized the old negro.

"Speak, you devil!" They shook him. "The house is surrounded. He
cannot escape!"

"But the marster is--is dead! My girl Tollie saw it and then she
swooned." He steadied himself. "He--the major's in the garden, Marster
Tony. Lying there dead! Murdered! By a ghost, Tollie says. A great,
white, shining ghost that came to the garden and murdered him!"

* * * * *

If you were to delve very closely into certain old records of
Revolutionary New York City during the year 1777, you doubtless would
find mention of the strange murder of Major Atwood, who, coming from
New Jersey, is thought to have crossed the river well to the north of
the city, mounted his horse--which, by pre-arrangement, one of his
retainers had left for him somewhere to the south of Dykeman's
farm--and ridden to his home. He came, not as a spy, but in full
uniform. And no sooner had he reached his home when he was strangely
murdered. There was only a negro tale of an apparition which had
appeared in the garden and murdered the master.

Larry and I have found cursory mention of that. But I doubt if the
group of My Lord Howe's gay young blades who were sent north to
capture Major Atwood ever reported exactly what happened to them. The
old Dutch ferryman divulged that he had been hired to ferry the
homecoming major; this, too, is recorded. But Tony Green and his
fellow officers, sent to apprehend the colonial major, found him
inexplicably murdered; and by dawn they were back at the Bowling
Green, white-faced and shaken.

They told some of what had happened to them, but not all. They could
not expect to be believed, for instance, if they said that though they
were unafraid of a negro's tale of a ghost, they had themselves
encountered two ghosts, and had fled the premises!

Those two ghosts were only Larry and Tina!

The negro babbled of a shining cage appearing in the garden. That, of
course, was undoubtedly set down as nonsen