to be at Grantham or Stamford by
night."

"Right," said Saunders; "and to-morrow--Oh, well, by to-morrow we shall
have forgotten all about this beastly thing."

If when the morrow came they had not forgotten, it was certainly true
that at the end of the week they were able to tell a very vivid ghost
story at the little supper Eustace gave on Hallow E'en.

"You don't want us to believe that it's true, Mr. Borlsover? How
perfectly awful!"

"I'll take my oath on it, and so would Saunders here; wouldn't you, old
chap?"

"Any number of oaths," said Saunders. "It was a long thin hand, you
know, and it gripped me just like that."

"Don't Mr. Saunders! Don't! How perfectly horrid! Now tell us another
one, do. Only a really creepy one, please!"

* * * * *

"Here's a pretty mess!" said Eustace on the following day as he threw a
letter across the table to Saunders. "It's your affair, though. Mrs.
Merrit, if I understand it, gives a month's notice."

"Oh, that's quite absurd on Mrs. Merrit's part," Saunders replied. "She
doesn't know what she's talking about. Let's see what she says."

"DEAR SIR," he read, "this is to let you know that I must give you a
month's notice as from Tuesday the 13th. For a long time I've felt the
place too big for me, but when Jane Parfit, and Emma Laidlaw go off
with scarcely as much as an 'if you please,' after frightening the wits
out of the other girls, so that they can't turn out a room by themselves
or walk alone down the stairs for fear of treading on half-frozen toads
or hearing it run along the passages at night, all I can say is that
it's no place for me. So I must ask you, Mr. Borlsover, sir, to find a
new housekeeper that has no objection to large and lonely houses, which
some people do say, not that I believe them for a minute, my poor mother
always having been a Wesleyan, are haunted.

"Yours faithfully,
ELIZABETH MERRIT.

"P.S.--I should be obliged if you would give my respects to Mr.
Saunders. I hope that he won't run no risks with his cold."

"Saunders," said Eustace, "you've always had a wonderful way with you in
dealing with servants. You mustn't let poor old Merrit go."

"Of course she shan't go," said Saunders. "She's probably only angling
for a rise in salary. I'll write to her this morning."

"No; there's nothing like a personal interview. We've had enough of