led up from a region occupied by
"trunk-rooms," and of avoiding that part of the house altogether after
night.

Marie told Esther the story of the ghost, with many embellishments. She
did not confine herself to one telling, but continually referred to it,
with the desire of keeping the matter ever present in Esther's mind.

She noticed that her quiet little room-mate, although she avowed her
non-belief in ghosts, looked frightened whenever the subject was
mentioned.

One evening, toward the end of November, the two were seated by their
study-table, preparing the next day's lessons, when Marie suddenly
exclaimed that she had mislaid her astronomy.

"Won't you go after it for me, Esther?" she said, in a kinder tone than
usual.

"Certainly, Marie," replied Esther, glad to be called on for a service.
"Where do you think you left it?"

"I know now exactly where it is. It's up in the observatory on the table
at the farther end of the room. I left it there last night when
Professor Gaskell took us up in study-hour. It was dreadfully stupid in
me."

"I'd better take the lamp, hadn't I?" queried Esther, inwardly dismayed
at the prospect of ascending alone to those awful regions, and yet
unwilling to refuse so small a service.

"Yes, take the lamp. You know there's no light in that end of the hall.
You're not afraid, are you?"

"N-no, not really. I can't help thinking of those foolish stories the
girls tell, though I know there's nothing in them."

Esther took up the lamp and started. She did not wish to appear cowardly
before her room-mate, though she really dreaded the short journey.

As she walked past the dark trunk-rooms and up the uncarpeted stairs,
her heart beat fast at the "swish" of her own skirts on the boards.

When she opened the observatory door, she couldn't help noticing how
very dark the room was, and how feebly the rays from her lamp
illuminated it.

Instinctively she glanced toward the telescope to see that there was no
white figure behind it, and breathed a little more freely when she saw
that there was not.

She searched a long time for the book, standing with her back to the
door. At last she found it under a pile of others.

Glad to have accomplished her task, and inwardly peopling all the
shadowy corners of the room with ghostly visitants, she turned round to
begin her return journey, when--

What was that by the telescope? A white, tall figure stood by the
instrument.

In vain rea