CHAPTER VIII
A MAGAZINE GHOST
That evening the boys had no end of fun teasing the girls. That Dorothyand Tavia should have been so easily frightened, that Tavia should have"turned turtle," as Ned put it, and that Dorothy "should have run underfire," and left the coveted tree behind, seemed to the boys beyondexplanation.
Listening to their telling of the affair, Major Dale became interested,and soon discovered that the old Mayberry Mansion, in Tanglewood Park, wasnone other than the former home of a veteran of the war, who had been inthe same regiment with the major.
"I knew him well," volunteered Dorothy's father. "He was a fine fellow,but always a little queer. Seems to me he had a sister or step-sister. Hername was--Pumfret. Yes, that was it. I always thought it such a queername, and many a time saw it written by the captain on his letters home."
"And was he killed?" asked Tavia. "Do you suppose it is his ghost thathaunts the castle?"
This provoked a very gale of laughter, even little Roger considering it agreat joke that Tavia should take the matter so seriously.
"Indeed, he was not killed," replied the major. "He had done good serviceand was made captain. Seems to me the last I heard of him he was travelingabroad."
"Then it's Miss 'Plumpet's' ghost," declared Nat. "I'm sure, Uncle Frank,you must have forgotten that name. More likely to be Plumpet thanPumfret."
"Oh, no; I remember very well. It was Pumfret, and I used to think shewould have plenty to 'fret' about when Nick Mayberry went home, for hecould keep a whole regiment busy while in service."
"Then he has turned the castle into a barracks," declared Joe. "I'll wagerthat solves the mystery. He has got a lot of old 'vets' walled up inthere, and they--"
"Go on parade every night about time for reveille. Now we have it. And Ipropose we take a trip out there some evening at about the same hour," putin Nat.
"Leave the girls at home," suggested Ned, with an arch glance at Dorothy.
"Indeed, I'm not the least bit afraid," declared his cousin. "I did hearsomething like a scream, and I don't believe in ghosts. Therefore I shouldvery much like to have a chance to investigate the matter."
"Now, see here, children," put in Mrs. White, "I want you all to retireearly. There are so many little things to do for the holidays, and I willneed a lot of help to-morrow."
This order broke up the evening party, and as the girls were quite tiredafter the run to the woods and its consequent incidents, they made noprotest.
There was, however, some whispering between the boys before they left theroom. Then Nat stayed behind and detained the girls--he had something veryimportant to consult them about. Ned and the younger boys went directlyupstairs.
A half hour might have passed, during which time Nat seemed at his wits'end in his efforts to keep the girls interested. Finally Dorothy jumped upand declared she was going upstairs. Tavia followed, but Nat managed toreach the second landing in advance of them by going up the servants'stairs.
He called good-night from the hall that led to his own room, and soon allwas quiet, and the ghost of Mayberry Hall evidently forgotten.
Between the two alcove rooms, occupied by Dorothy and Tavia, was a longwardrobe closet. Into this both girls put such belongings as might not beused daily--a sort of "dress-up" clothes' closet. It was in this closetthat street apparel was placed, so that on the night of the auto ride bothDorothy and Tavia had something to hang on the padded hooks there.
"I'm going to town in the morning," said Dorothy to her chum as she wentto the hall closet. "I simply could not do any shopping the other day. Doyou want to come, Tavia?"
"I don't think so," replied Tavia; and as she spoke a shadow crossed herface. "I simply hate to shop."
"Oh, very well," said Dorothy somewhat stiffly. "I only thought you mighthave some more things to buy."
"I'm--I'm--broke," declared Tavia frankly. "I always am at this time ofthe holiday season," and she seemed anxious to restore a more genialatmosphere.
A moment later she followed Dorothy out to the hall closet. Dorothy hadstepped back to make room for her chum. Tavia pushed some garments ratherroughly aside to make a place for the heavy cloak, thrusting her arm wellinto the depths of the closet. No sooner had she done so than she jumpedback, uttering a scream of fright.
"What's that?" she cried. "I thought I felt--Dorothy, turn up the light!"
Then, as the fear took greater hold on her, she cried:
"Oh, help! There's a man in the closet! Run, Doro! run! Help, somebody!"
Dorothy did not pause to turn up the lights. She swung around and fledwith Tavia, who continued to scream, while Dorothy, too, utteredfrightened cries. There were calls sounding throughout the house--voicesanxiously demanding to know what the matter was. The girls ran down thefront stairs, and then swung around and darted up the rear flight thatthey might reach the room of the boys without passing the closet whichcontained something that had frightened them so terribly.
"Oh!" screamed Tavia, pounding on the boys' door. "Do come out--quick!There's a man in the big hall closet! He--he almost grabbed me!" shepanted.
But somehow the boys could not seem to hurry. Dorothy and Tavia werealmost in hysterics before Ned finally opened the door, just as if nothinghad happened. He was fully dressed, and it did seem as if he might haveresponded more quickly to the frightened summons.
"What did you say?" he asked, as if just awakened from a sound sleep.
"A man--a man--in the hall closet--he nearly grabbed me!" cried Tavia, "Iput my arm in--to hang up my cloak--I shoved the clothes aside--then I--Ifelt--something--terrible. Then I'm sure I saw--oh, for pity's sake gethelp--don't go alone--he may kill all of us!"
Tavia trembled and seemed about to fall in a faint.
"Oh, come on," exclaimed Ned as he stepped out into the hall. "I guess wecan manage a little thing like this. Come on; we'll see what it is thatfrightened you. Likely it was only Tavia's excited imagination."
"Oh, please don't go alone!" pleaded Dorothy, holding her cousin back bythe arm. "I--I saw--him--it--too. The awfullest-looking--"
"Ghost!" finished Ned with a laugh. "Well, I'm not afraid of anything,from ghosts to--gillies!"
At this he lightly shook off Dorothy's detaining hand, and started downthe long hall toward the closet. Nat and the other boys were in the hallnow, and in spite of her terror Dorothy noticed that they were alldressed, though it was supposed they had all retired--especially Roger andJoe, who should have been asleep long ago.
"Now, come on out, whoever you are!" exclaimed Ned as he strode up to theopen closet. "Where is he?" he asked, poking through the garments hangingon the rear hooks. "Nothing doing here."
"Then he has hidden himself in some other part of the house," declaredTavia.
But at this Joe and Roger could hold back their laughter no longer. Theothers also joined in. But Tavia would not be convinced.
"I certainly saw--him--it," she insisted. "It did not look like anythinghuman!"
"Come and see if it's here now," invited Ned, who could not seem to find atrace of whatever it was that had frightened the girls.
"Never! never!" cried Tavia. "I had enough in that one look! Didn't you,Doro? No more ghosts for mine, thank you!"
"Well," put in Nat, "it's a good thing to know when you've hadenough--even of ghosts."
"I'll go and take a look," volunteered Dorothy. "There can be nothingharmful there if Ned did not discover it."
She advanced toward the closet, in which her cousin was partly hidden,seemingly hunting for the ghost.
"Be careful," cautioned Roger, "He'll eat you up, Doro."
At that moment Dorothy leaped back. She did see something.
"Look there!" she cried to Ned.
"Where?" he asked innocently, "I don't see anything. Look again, Doro."
She had the courage to look again.
Then she covered her face with her hands and burst out laughing.
"You horrid boys!" she exclaimed as
soon as she could do so. "To play sucha trick!" and she proceeded to bring out from the closet the "ghost." "Imight have known you were up to something!"
"Then why didn't you?" asked Joe, still dancing about; jubilant over thesuccess of their joke.
"Just look at this, Tavia," said Dorothy, dragging from the closet thestuffed figure of a man. "Isn't he perfectly lovely? Such a--"
"Fine figure," ventured Tavia, now quite calm, and perhaps a trifleembarrassed, for she had made such a fuss, saying he almost grabbed her,and all that.
The joke surely had been a success, and it took some time to allay thespirits of the boys, from Ned to Roger.
Each seemed to attribute the success of the "ghost" to his own particulartalent in that line, and when finally Mrs. White insisted that every onego to bed, echoes of laughter would peal out from behind closed doors, andthe girls promised to get even, if they had to do so out in TanglewoodPark, "where the real ghost would not stand for any nonsense."