to Master Denis
to make haste, or we don't know what will be happening."

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO.

A GHOST AND A WEDDING.

Laughing at Larry's fears, I, having just finished winding up my line
and disconnecting my rod, bade him take up the fish, while I walked
towards the clump of trees where he had seen the headless ghost.

I didn't feel altogether sure that something would not appear. I had
not gone many paces before I caught sight of a white object. Larry saw
it also, and my gallant follower, who would have tackled a dozen
Frenchmen with a cutlass in his hand, fairly turned tail and scampered
away, shouting out--

"The ghost! the ghost! It's Nick Brian himself, barring his head. Run,
Mr Terence! Run, Mr Denis! or he'll be taking hold of us, and
carrying us off into the river to help him to look for it."

In spite of Larry's shouts, I still went on, although not feeling over
comfortable, when, as I got nearer, out flew, with a loud hiss, a large
white swan, whose nest was probably thereabouts. Though I might have
defended myself with the end of my rod, I thought it prudent to beat a
retreat and leave her in quiet possession of the locality. On seeing
this she also returned to her nest. When I overtook Larry,--who,
finding that I was not following him, had halted,--I assured him that
the ghost was only a swan. He, however, still remained incredulous,
declaring that it might have appeared like a swan to me in the gloom of
the evening, but he felt sure it was Nick Brian, and no one else. In
vain I endeavoured to induce him to return with me.

"I'd rather not, Mr Terence, if it's the same to you," he answered.
"It's not wise to be hunting up them sorts of things."

Denis now joined us, and though he laughed at the idea of a ghost, he
remarked that it would be as well, while there was sufficient light to
see our way, to commence our return home, which, as it was, we should
not reach till long after dark. I saw Larry every now and then turning
his head round, evidently expecting that Nick Brian the headless would
be following us.

We got home without any other adventure, where Larry gave a full account
of our encounter with Nick Brian's ghost, and the gallant way in which
Mr Terence had faced him, though he was not ashamed to confess that he
had not backed me up as he should have done, had I been attacked by a
human foe.

Though Denis had not seen the ghost, and I assured every one that it was
only