Mr. Bartram sat up with a jerk which threw his book on
to his boots, and his hat after it, and looked at Bill. Now Bill and
the gardener had both been grinning, as they always did at Master
Arthur's funny speeches, but when Bill found the clever gentleman
looking at him, he straightened his face very quickly. The gentleman
was not at all like his friend ("nothing near so handsome," Bill
reported at home), and he had such a large prominent forehead that he
looked as if he were bald. When he sat up, he suddenly screwed up his
eyes in a very peculiar way, pulled out a double gold eye-glass, fixed
it on his nose, and stared through it for a second; after which his
eyes unexpectedly opened to their full extent (they were not small
ones), and took a sharp survey of Bill over the top of his spectacles;
and this ended, he lay back on his elbow without speaking. Bill then
and there decided that Mr. Bartram was very proud, rather mad, and the
most disagreeable gentleman he ever saw; and he felt sure could see as
well as he (Bill) could, and only wore spectacles out of a peculiar
kind of pride and vain-glory which he could not exactly specify.
Master Arthur seemed to think, at any rate, that he was not very
civil, and began at once to talk to the boy himself.

"Why were you not at school last time, Willie? couldn't your mother
spare you?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Then why didn't you come?" said Master Arthur, in evident
astonishment.

Poor Bill! He stammered as he had stammered before the doctor, and
finally gasped--

"Please, Sir, I was scared."

"Scared? What of?"

"Ghosts," murmured Bill in a very ghostly whisper. Mr. Bartram raised
himself a little. Master Arthur seemed confounded.

"Why, you little goose! How is it you never were afraid before?"

"Please, Sir, I saw one the other night."

Mr. Bartram took another look over the top of his eye-glass and sat
bolt upright, and John Gardener stayed his machine and listened, while
poor Bill told the whole story of the Yew-lane Ghost.

When it was finished, the gardener, who was behind Master Arthur,
said--

"I've heard something of this, Sir, in the village," and then added
more which Bill could not hear.

"Eh, what?" said Master Arthur. "Willie, take the machine and drive
about the garden a-bit wherever you like. Now, John."

Willie did not at all like being sent away at this interesting point.
Another time he would have enjoyed driving over the short grass, and
seeing i