ere's something else."

Dan'l put down the barrow, and sat upon the soft mould as he gave his
rough stubbly chin a rub.

"Lookye here, Peter," he said; "did yer ever hear tell about ghosts
being in old buildings?"

"Yes," said Peter, with an involuntary shiver, and a glance across the
wall at a corroded weathercock on the top of the ancient place.

"Well, my lad, ghosts never comes out in the day-time: only o' nights;
and do you know what they are?"

Peter shook his head.

"Well, then, my lad, I'll tell you. I've sin several in my time. Them
as you hears and don't see's rats; and them as you sees and don't hear's
howls. What d'yer think o' that?"

"It wasn't a rat, nor it wasn't a howl, as I see," said Peter solemnly;
"but something gashly horrid, as looked down at me from up in the
rafters of that there dark place, and it made me feel that bad that I
didn't seem to have no legs to stand on."

"Tchah!" cried the gardener. "What yer talking about?"

"Anything the matter?" said the doctor, who had come up unheard over the
velvety lawn.

"Hush!" whispered Peter imploringly.

"Shan't hush. Sarves you right," growled Dan'l. "Here's Peter, sir,
just seen a ghost."

"Ah! has he?" said the doctor. "Where did you see it, Peter?"

"I didn't say it were a ghost, sir, I only said as I see something
horrid up at end of the old loft when I went up there just now after a
squir'l."

"Squirrel!" said the doctor angrily. "What are you talking about, man?
Squirrels live in trees, not in old lofts. You mean a rat."

"I know a squir'l when I see one, sir," said Peter; "and I see one go
'crost the yard and into that old stable."

"Nonsense!" said the doctor.

"Did you find it, Peter!" said Helen from under the tree.

"Find what?" said the doctor.

"A squirrel that ran from here across the yard."

Peter looked from one to the other triumphantly, as he said--

"No, Miss, I didn't."

"Humph!" grunted the doctor. "Then there was a squirrel!"

"Yes, sir."

"And you saw something strange!"

"Yes, sir, something awful gashly, in the dark end, sir."

"Bah!" cried the doctor. "There, go and get your stable lanthorn and
we'll see. Helen, my dear, we've got a ghost in the old stable loft:
like to come and see it!"

"Very much, papa," said Helen, smiling in a way that put Peter on his
mettle, for the moment before he had been ready to beg off.

He went pretty quickly to get his stable lanthorn, and came b