y."

Then he set her gently down and turned to acknowledge his aunt's
introduction to Dorothy. He was well used to meeting the Oak Knowe
girls, but wondered a little at finding one at this hour in the Lady
Principal's private parlor. As he opened his lips to address some
courteous remark to her, a shriek of utter terror rang through the
house and a housemaid burst unceremoniously in, white and almost
breathless, yet managing to say:

"Oh! Ma'am, I'm leavin'--I'm leavin' the now! Sure, 'tis a haunted
house and Satan hisself dwells in it!"

CHAPTER VI

AT THE FALL OF THE MAIDEN'S BATH

There had, indeed, been strange happenings at Oak Knowe. Beginning on
that first day of Dorothy's life there, with the crash outside the
dining-room door. That had been caused by the tripping and falling
with a loaded tray of one of the best waitresses employed. Afterward
it was discovered that a wire had been stretched across the doorway,
low down near to the floor, and not easily noticeable in the dim
passage. Who had done this thing?

Miss Tross-Kingdon paid scant attention to the incident, apparently,
although she caused a very thorough investigation to be secretly made.
Nothing came of it.

Matters went so wrong in the servants' quarters that they became
demoralized and several threatened to leave. Thefts from one and
another were frequent; yet as often the missing article was found in
some unusual place where, as Dawkins declared:

"Nobody but a crazy person would ha' puttin' it."

One morning the _chef's_ spotless marble molding-board was found
decorated by a death's-head and bones, done in red paint, and his
angry accusations of his fellow-workers brought the Lady Principal to
the kitchen to restore peace. But peace did not last long. The head
laundress, who personally "did up" the finest pieces in "the wash,"
found her pile of them deluged with blueing, so that her work had to
be done all over again. These were but samples of the strange
happenings; and though most of the servants had been so long at Oak
Knowe that they considered it their real home, some of the most loyal
to its interests felt they couldn't endure this state of things much
longer.

Then had come the fright of little Grace, followed by that of the
housemaid, whom no arguments could calm, and who rushed out of Miss
Muriel's parlor as she rushed into it, departing that hour for good
and all and to spread far and near ill reports of the great sch