ount, indeed, had rather avoided than
sought advice on the subject, and the piper, after several confidential
conversations and the passage of a sum of silver into his sporran,
displayed an equally Delphic tendency.

The Baron, therefore, argued the present point no longer.

"It is jost a mere ceremony," he said. "Ach, vell, nozing vill happen.
Zis ghost--vat is his name?"

"It is known as the Wraith of the Tulliwuddles. The heir must interview
it within a week of coming to the Castle."

"Vere most I see him?"

"In the armory, at midnight. You bring one friend, one candle, and wear
a bonnet with one eagle's feather in it. You enter at eleven and
wait for an hour--and, by the way, neither of you must speak above a
whisper."

"Pooh! Jost hombog!" said the Baron valiantly. "I do not fear soch
trash."

"When the Wraith appears----"

"My goot Bonker, he vill not gom!"

"Supposing he does come--and mind you, strange things happen in these
old buildings, particularly in the Highlands, and after dinner; if he
comes, Baron, you must ask him three questions."

The Baron laughed scornfully.

"If I see a ghost I vill ask him many interesting questions--if he does
feel cold, and sochlike, eh? Ha, ha!"

With an imperturbable gravity that was not without its effect upon the
other, however gaily he might talk, Bunker continued,

"The three questions are: first, 'What art thou?' second, 'Why comest
thou here, O spirit?' third, 'What instructions desirest thou to give
me?' Strictly speaking, they ought to be asked in Gaelic, but exceptions
have been made on former occasions, and Mac-Dui--who pipes, by the way,
in the anteroom--assures me that English will satisfy the Wraith in your
case."

The Baron sniffed and laughed, and twirled up the ends of his mustaches
till they presented a particularly desperate appearance. Yet there was a
faint intonation of anxiety in his voice as he inquired--

"You vill gom as my friend, of course?"

"I? Quite out of the question, I am sorry to say. To bring a foreigner
(as I am supposed to be) would rouse the clan to rebellion. No, Baron,
you have a chance of paying a graceful compliment to your host which you
must not lose. Ask Mr. Gallosh to share your vigil."

"Gallosh--he vould not be moch good sopposing--Ach, but nozing vill
happen! I vill ask him."

The pride of Mr. Gallosh on being selected as his lordship's friend on
this historic occasion was pleasant to witness.

"It's ju