d me, but with the
negroes I know that he encouraged rather than discouraged their fears,
until there was not a man on our own or any of the neighboring
plantations who would have ventured to step foot within the laurel
walk, either at night or in the daytime--at least there was only one.
Cat-Eye Mose took the matter of the ha'nt without undue emotion, a point
which struck me as suggestive, for I knew that Mose was as superstitious
as the rest when the occasion warranted.

Once at least I saw Radnor and Mose in consultation, and though I did
not know the subject of the conference my suspicions were very near the
surface. I came upon them in the stables talking in low tones, Rad
apparently explaining, and Mose listening with the air of strained
attention which the slightest mental effort always called to his face.
At my appearance Radnor raised his voice and added one or two directions
as to how his guns were to be cleaned. It was evident that the subject
had been changed.

Everything that was missing about the place--and there seemed to be an
abnormal amount--was attributed to the ha'nt. I do not doubt but that
the servants made the ha'nt a convenient scapegoat to answer for their
own shortcomings, but still there were several suggestive
depredations--horse blankets from the stable, clothes from the line and
more edibles than roast chicken from Nancy's larder. The climax of
absurdity was reached when there disappeared a rather trashy French
novel, which I had left in the summer house. I asked Solomon about it,
thinking that one of the servants might have brought it in. Solomon
rolled his eyes and suggested that the ha'nt had cotched it. I
laughingly commented upon the occurrence at the supper table and the
next day Rad handed me the book; Mose had found it, he said, and had
brought it up to his room.

All of these minor occurrences were stretched over a period of, say ten
days after the party, and though it gave me the uncomfortable feeling
that there was something in the air which I did not understand, I did
not let it worry me unduly. Radnor seemed to be on the inside track of
whatever was going on, and he was old enough to take care of his own
affairs. I knew that he had more than once visited the laurel walk after
the house was supposed to be asleep; but I kept this knowledge to
myself, and allowed no hint to reach the Colonel.

I had, during these first few weeks, all the opportunity I wished of
studying Mose'