go to the front door, and see if anyone is passing whom
we can hail, and ask for help. If we could get a man, now----"

"Or even a good-sized boy," broke in Mollie.

"Yes, even a boy would do," conceded Betty. "We could get him to go with
us into the other part of the house. There was where all the
manifestations seemed to come from."

"Well, let's go to the front door and look," proposed Cousin Jane. "That
can do no harm, and really I don't like to think of anyone being in
distress."

"Especially after we've eaten his lunch," put in Grace.

"How do you know but that it is a 'her' and not a 'him'?" asked Mollie.

"Nobody but a man would come in here--after dark."

"But we girls did."

"Oh, look how many of us there are. There is safety in numbers."

"Well, I wouldn't be here if there was any other place to go," declared
Grace. "Come on, if we're going," and she moved toward the door, keeping
close to Betty meanwhile.

"There must have been some one here, or else how did we see the light
which we followed, and which brought us here?" Mollie wanted to know.

"That, too, may have been caused by the lightning," said Cousin Jane.

"You are bound to ascribe everything to nature," objected Mollie. "It's
nice of you, but perhaps not correct."

"Well, you know that electricity does queer things," declared the
chaperone. "It might easily cause flickering lights, though I'm not
saying but that some one has been here--the food proves that."

"Perhaps all the ghost is, after all, is lightning; or some tramp, who
has made this his headquarters," said Betty. "Mr. Lagg would be glad to
know that."

"We'll tell him," suggested Mollie. "It's a pity, while we are here,
that we don't solve the mystery of the haunted house. Of course,
strictly speaking, we are not in the mansion proper, but we could go
there----"

"Don't you dare!" cried Grace.

They were going along the passage by which they had entered. The rain
was not coming down so hard now, and the lightning and thunder were less
frequent. The door was swinging to and fro on its hinges, swayed by the
wind which blew in gusts up and down the passage.

Mollie was in the rear, carrying one lantern, with Betty in the lead
with the other. They had almost reached the outer door, and were eagerly
hoping they would see some friendly passer-by when a noise behind her
caused Mollie to turn quickly. She saw a tall white object in a
proverbially ghostly winding sheet. It ha