ost. But there is
no such thing."

"We thought it was a ghost made Mun Bun's hair stick out and be pulled,"
confessed Rose, "but it was only the spinning wheel."

"Now, to go on with my story. As the queer noises kept up, Grandpa Ford
came to get me, to see if I could help him. I am in the real estate
business, you know--I buy and sell houses--and he thought I might know
something about the queer noise in his house. I have bought and sold
houses that people said were haunted--that is, which were supposed to
have ghosts in," laughed Daddy Bunker. "But I never saw nor heard of any
spirits."

"Did you find out what made this noise?" asked Russ.

"No, we haven't yet, but we take a look every time we hear it," said his
father. "That is what we are going to do now. So, after this, don't be
afraid when you hear it. It is something in the house that makes it--not
a ghost or anything like that. We'll find it sooner or later, Grandpa
Ford and I."

"May we help?" asked Russ.

"Please, Daddy?" cried Rose.

"Well, yes, I guess so, if you want to," answered his father slowly. "If
you hear the noise, and it sounds anywhere near you, look around and see
if you can find out what makes it. Don't cry 'ghost!' and scare the
others."

"We won't," promised Rose. "And maybe we'll be lucky and find it."

"I hope you will," put in Grandma Ford.

"It sounded like a cow mooing," remarked Russ.

"Yes, it did," agreed Grandpa Ford. "At first I thought it was a cow
that had got into the cellar. But I couldn't find one. Then I thought it
was boys playing a trick on us, but I heard the noise in the middle of
the night, when no boys would be out. I don't know what makes it, but
I'd like to find the ghost, as I call it, though I'm not going to after
this. That isn't a good name. We'll just call it 'Mr. Noise.'"

"And we'll help you find 'Mr. Noise'!" laughed Russ.

Laddie came from where he was playing with a new riddle, and, while they
were laughing over it, the groaning noise sounded again.

"Listen, all of you, and see if you can tell where it is," said Grandpa
Ford.

Russ and Rose listened. So did Laddie and Violet; but Mun Bun and Margy
kept on playing with their dolls.

"It's a tree rubbing against the house outside," said Russ.

"I thought so at first," said Grandpa Ford, "but there are now no trees
that rub. I cut off the branches of those that did."

Each one thought it was in a different room, but a search showed nothing