. You'll see why in a moment. Anyway, we all knew about the ghost,
sort of, and some people were supposed to have seen it. Only it was the
kind of story where you never met anyone who had actually seen the
ghost. There were only people who knew people who knew people who had
seen the ghost. If you follow me?"

Rick grinned. "We do."

Jan's dark eyes sparkled. "Then, just before we came down from
Spindrift, over a hundred people saw the ghost, and it was just as the
legend tells."

Scotty asked, "So this isn't just any old ghost, it's a legendary one?"

Jan nodded. "We even know its name. It's Seth Costin. He's the one that
the creek was named for. But I'm getting ahead of myself. You see, this
region was a battleground in the Civil War. Mosby's Raiders spent a lot
of time around here. Well, when the war turned against the South, a
squadron of Union cavalry came down under Captain Seth Costin, and they
got into a battle with some of Jeb Stuart's men right in our orchard and
field. They fought up and down the creek, with the South trying to keep
the Union from crossing. Finally, Captain Costin crossed, but the creek
was red with blood, the story goes."

"A real gory legend," Scotty murmured.

Both Jan and Barby glared at him. "Sorry," he muttered contritely.

"It's a very romantic story," Barby said tartly.

Rick and the Millers suppressed smiles.

"Anyway," Jan went on, "the creek has been known as Costin's Creek ever
since. Well, Captain Costin quartered his men in the town. You know how
it was. He stayed at the home of Squire Lansdale, who was by then a
Confederate general. The squire had a daughter, whose name was Ellen,
and she was perfectly beautiful. The squire also had two sons, who were
a little too young for joining the Army, but not too young to cause
trouble."

Rick could see where the story led. He asked, "Was Captain Costin a
handsome young man, by any chance?"

"He most certainly was," Jan said emphatically. "He was terribly
romantic. Wait until you see him."

Rick could hardly wait, but he didn't comment.

"Of course the captain and Ellen fell in love."

Rick could imagine.

"But along came Jeb Stuart's whole cavalry and they pushed Captain
Costin's squadron all the way back to Manassas, and then they occupied
the area. But Captain Costin couldn't stand not seeing his Ellen, so he
somehow got a message to her, to meet him at the mine."

It was the first Rick had heard of a mine. He aske