chair.

"Stay right where you are," he ordered. "Don't move and don't make any
noise. I'll be right back."

He hurried out. They waited. The snoring kept on and on. Suddenly it
ceased. Then, in that very room, or so it seemed, sounded a grunt and a
frightened squeal. And then a voice, a hollow voice which cried:

"Ahoy, all hands! I'm the ghost of Nebuchadnezzar's first wife and I
want to know what you folks mean by wakin' me up."

The three in the back bedroom looked at each other.

"It's Captain Bangs!" cried Emily.

"It's Obed!" exclaimed Thankful.

"He's found it," shouted Kendrick. "Come on."

The captain was not in the kitchen when they got there. He had gone out
of doors, so Imogene said. Unmindful of the rain they rushed out and
around the corner, behind and below the washshed. Patrick Henry was
running about his pen, apparently much disturbed, but Captain Obed was
not in sight.

"Where is he?" demanded Thankful. "Where's he gone to?"

"Hello there, John!" cried a voice from the darkness at the rear of the
pigsty under the kitchen. "Come in here. Never mind your clothes. Come
in."

John vaulted over the rail of the pen and disappeared. A few moments
later he came out again in company with the captain. Both were laughing
heartily.

"We've got the answer," puffed Captain Obed, who was out of breath.
"We've laid the ghost. You remember I told you that day when we first
explored this place that old Laban Eldredge had this pigpen built. Afore
that 'twas all potato cellar, and at one time afore the house was made
over there must have been a stove in that back bedroom. There's no
chimney, but there's cracks between the boards at the back of that
pigpen and any noise down here goes straight up between the walls and
out of that stovepipe hole like a speakin' tube. You heard me when I
spoke to you just now, didn't you?"

"Yes--yes," answered Emily. "We heard you, but--but what was it that
snored? What was the ghost?"

Captain Obed burst into a shout of laughter. "There he is," he said,
pointing.

Thankful and Emily looked.

"What?" cried the latter.

"The PIG?" exclaimed Thankful.

"That's what. Georgie gave me a hint when he and I was out here just
now. Old Pat was asleep way in back there and snorin' like a steam
engine. And Georgie said he never slept there unless 'twas a storm,
rainin' same as 'tis now. And every time you heard the--ho! ho!--the
ghost, 'twas on a stormy night. It stormed the