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Show DlNSMORE'S m Folly M CRITTENDEN M MARRIOTT Us. Illustrations by Irwin Myers Copyright WNU Service CHAPTER VIII Continued 13 The music started up again, and the whole throng began to dance. They danced in the oddest sort of way, too. I don't mean that they danced in an old-fashioned way. Any way but old-fashioned would have been odd even odder than the fact that they were dancing at alL Fancy an Eighteenth-century ghost dancing the turkey trot or the tango No 1 They danced the right dances, even If they did dance them to ragtime. But what I couldn't understand was the care they seemed to take to keep within a sort of triangular space. They did It almost as accurately as if they were following lines on the floor. Tm mentioning all this now, just as I mentioned it to Josephine later when she said I bed dreamed the whole thing. Fancy anyone dreaming a triangular dance. It isn't done, you know. I watched and wondered. The music was catchy and my own feet began to keep step to It VVitb terror I realized that in another minute 1 would probably find myself out in the middle of the throng. On consideration considera-tion I did not mind so very much. To dance with Eighteenth-century spooks at an Eightteenth-century ball would be something to tell about if I survived, sur-vived, of course If the ghosts didn't blight me where 1 stood the minute 1 appeared. Then I looked down at my wrapper and at my stock! ngless feet and decided to nave mercy on the ghosts and not scare them to death. I was beginning to feel quite flippant about this time. The fact was 1 didn't believe that they were really truly ghosts. Don't ask me wnat 1 did believe. 1 was too excited to believe anything. I didn't trouble to hunt for explanations. explana-tions. Ghosts were good enough for me. Then all or a sudden fomething happened. Several things happened, In fact. First, I saw Perkins, just as natural as when I had seen him a few hours before. He wasn't in Eigbt-eenth-cen :ry costume and he wasn't dancing. Ee was watching the dancers danc-ers and thrusting his long neck out and drawing it back again as If he were an automatic doll. It was perfectly per-fectly l.reposterous that he should be there, but there he was. Then suddenly 1 realized that he was watching some one among the dancers. Ris neck was 87inging rythmlea43y in tune to the music, but his head was turning so that his eyes could range slowly along the moving couples. It didn't take long to discover who he was watching. And when 1 did discover 1 nearly dropped. He was watching the ghosts that Josephine and I had seen on the lawn. There they were, dressed to the very minute (in Eighteenth-century clothes, of course). 1 knew the man Instantly and I was pretty sure of the woman. I could not be quite sure; for 1 couldn't see her face clearly. Almost she seemed to be biding it. Then something drew my eyes to where, a little In front of Perkins and to one side, half a dozen big plants In tubs stood close to the apex of the triangle. Some one was crouching between be-tween those plants. I couldn't see who it was or whether it was a man ghost or a woman ghost, but I could see that It was sume one. As I watched, die couple, that I'er-kins I'er-kins was watcbina danced up to the very point of the triangle and stood balancing, as If hesitating which way to go. The woman's back was toward 'rrkins, and he w:is craning his lung neck every which way ns if in nn ef fort to see her face. I don't think he saw it. Lie didn't have time, for at that moment some thing happei.ed. The man eroui-l.ing between the plan's was pushing out Into the room. 1 saw him distinctly and 1 didn't understand why other people didn't see turn. too. But ap parcntiy they didn't. tie took one step, then two, then with a rush he fairly hjrled himself upon the couple that Perkins was watching. le grabbed the man with one hand and tiling him aside. And then grabbed the woman with the other hand and bugged hr. And she hugged him back. For a moment they stool still, plainly revealed in the hissing lights; nnd I saw their faces. It was Mr. Braxton and .Miss l.ahert. There could be no doubt about it. I knew them instantly. Mr. Braxton vasn't dressed like the others, exactly, exact-ly, nor yet ns I had last seen him. But It was he, all right. And yet I knew as well as I knew anything that Mr. Braxton was lying in a room in tlie other part of the huiiding with a broken arm. three broken ribs, and an ankle in splints! And he seemed to enjoy that hug sol And so did shel My heart sank like lead and I suppose sup-pose my mouth dropped open. I knew I stood spellbound. I couldn't have moved or spoken to save my Life. (When I told this to Josephine she insisted that it proved that 1 was just having a nightmare.) And I don't think she meant to insinuate that for me not to be able to speak would be a nightmare in itself. It wouldn't be a bit like Josephine to insinuate anything any-thing like that Josephine is always sweet and nice. It's I who am the spiteful member of the DInsmore family. If I were spellbound the ghosts were not; or, If they were, they came from under the spell mighty quickly. With one accord they flung themselves them-selves at Mr. Braxton and the minx he was bugging. It was the most cowardly thing 1 ever saw thirty men jumping at one. Mr. Braxton didn't wait for them. Ue was too wise for that He just dived between the plants and disappeared. disap-peared. And he took Miss Labert with him. The hussy 1 And Perkins dived after them. Fancy Fan-cy Perkins diving! But he did. This broke my spell, too. I burst through the doors with a shriek. All the ghosts faced toward me. For an instant I saw all their faces transfixed trans-fixed with rage and fury transfixed 'far "Happened?" I Screamed, "Happened; a Whole Covey of Ghosts Happened." Is the word, l think. Then the lights went out, and I was left in utter darkness, without a soul near except the ghosts, of course, and they weren't what you'd call real company. , This was too much for me. 1 shrieked again and fainted, for the first time In my Ufe. When I came too I was lying on a sofa In the ballroom and somebody was bending over me. I did not open my eyes at once, but 1 could see through my eyelids that the room was dimly lighted with a soft golden glow that was very different from the harsh white refulgence that had filled it a moment before. It was very soothing; and for a moment 1 was content to lie perfectly still, just as if I were asleep. Then, very close to me, 1 felt some one stir and heard a man's voice speaking nnder his hreatn. "Poor little girl," he murmured, mur-mured, "it was an outrage to frighten fright-en you so. Oh, you little darling I" Then the first thing I knew a pair of mustached lips swept my forehead. Naturally, I began to open my eyes. It seemed to be high time. Then I decided to wait a little. Never mind what I decided to wait for. I Just waited. Then I heard Josephine's voice away off. as If at the ballroom door, and I knew there wouldn't be any encore. So 1 opened my eyes slowly and looked up. "Where am I?" I asked plaintively. As nearly as 1 could recollect this was what one ought to say when one comes out of a faint Mr. Braxton oh. yes, It was Mr Braxton who was standing beside me Mr. Braxton turned quickly back from the door toward which he was looking. "Don't be frightened." he said. "It's all right." "I'm not frightened." 1 said. "N'ot now. anyhow, though I was for a while." Then I sat up nnd looked about me. The room looked lust as It had looked the day before. There was no sign oi n ghost anywhere. Mr Braxton in his shirtsleeves was standing by me, and Josephine and v -V -t- - -f- Mrs. James were hurrying across th room toward me. Mt. Braxton turned back to Josephine. Jose-phine. "1 beard Miss Dinsmore scream," he explained, "and ran in to see what was the matter and found ber fainting on the floor." Mrs. James and Josephine had come ap by this time, both very curious. Josephine sat down beside me and hugged me. "What happened, dear?" she asked. "Happened?" 1 screamed, "Happened? "Hap-pened? A whole covey of ghosts happened. hap-pened. They were dancing in here and" I turned on Mr. Braxton "and you were with them" I finished. Then I remembered bis expression as he grabbed Miss Labert and tore her away from her partner and hugged her; and I shrank away from him. "Why, yon villain 1" 1 cried. "What were you doing with that girl?' This settled things for Josephine and Mrs. James. Looking back on it I don't wonder. It would have settled things for most people. Josephine ' hugged me tighter. "There, there, Edie," she said. "You have been . walking in your sleep and have had a bad dream! Come to bed nnC let's forget It ail." But I tore myself loose and stood up. "A dream I" I cried, hysterically "Nonsense. Don't you suppose I know when I'm awake I I saw these ghosts as plain as anything, and Mr. Braxton Brax-ton was among them. He was I Ue was!" j "He couldn't have been. dear. You j know yourself that Mr. Braxton's ankle is sprained, Ue couldn't dance to save uls tife. 1 don't know how he ever got In here." Josephine turned to Mr. Braxton. "How did you get in here, Mr. Braxton?" she asked. Mr. Braxton shook his head 'Heaven knows," he said. "1 Just had to come. And I got here somehow I dropped my crutch somewhere Oh, here it is." Ue stopped and picked up the crutch from the floor. Then he staggered. "If you'll excuse me. ladies," he faltered, "I think I'll gel back to my room. 1 I feel pretty queer " Then he fainted I He Just toppled down on the floor and lay still and white. That settled it ! 1 came out of my hysterics right away and set to work to look out for him. His faint didn't last long. And about the lime he came to, Perkins came In, yawning and rubbing his eyes and pretending to be half-crazy with curiosity the villain! However, I let him get away with it 1 had other things to worry about besides Perkins. Something prepos terous was going on In Dinsmore's Folly and 1 meant to find out what It was. But 1 knew 1 wouldn't find out by asking questions. So. I just let Perkins help Mr. Braxton Brax-ton away to his room; and then I let Josephine and Mrs. James lead me away to mine. Tomorrow would be another day already al-ready yet I CHAPTER IX Life, as everybody has known for a long time, Is just one darn thing after af-ter another. But sometimes it really seems as If it were a whole bunch of darn things, one on top of another, it certainly did this time. I slept like a log after 1 once got to sleep, but 1 waked up early to a brand new set of troubles. Josephine was still sleeping and Mrs. James seemed to bo doing the same. I didn't mind. I wanted solitude. soli-tude. So, as quietly as I could, I slipped Into my clothes and hurried downstairs and out on to the lawn and straight to the place where Josephine Jose-phine and I had seen the two ghosts the night before. I wanted to know whether they had left any material sign of their presence whether they had blighted the grass where they trod or the limbs of the tree from which the white effulgence had shone down upon them. From a distance everything looked quite as It had the last time I had noticed no-ticed the place; but as I drew nearer 1 noticed something white on the ground, and when I was quite close I saw it was a bunch of Easter lilies broken and crushed. I rememberer) then that the woman of the night before be-fore had worn just such a bouquet at her breast and that I had seen it drop when the man hugged her. The lilies were crushed as If trampled beneath 1 a good hard solid foot not a ghostly j foot, by any means I looked up Into the tree nnd though did not see any 1 signs of burning. I did see that Hie bark was ripped and the branches more or less broken. Somebody, or something, had been up there some thing real, not a ghost (TO UE CONTINUED.) nKa u : j ;: ; : |