Show DINSMORES N 0 CHAPTER VIII 12 As long as 11 live and breathe I 1 wa will 11 ll remember that night I 1 will remember it for a good many reasons but chiefly because during I 1 it t I 1 saw my first ghost or rather my first flock i of ghook 1 I 1 hod had always said that I 1 wanted to see a spook but I 1 exi expected lecter to see them in droves and I 1 expected them to be the ghosts i of people who were still alive of I 1 course real ghosts I 1 t levei never thought they were but they were ceita certainly mysterious and creepy and ghostly enough to satisfy fitly anybody mrs james came over about an hour otter fred left and both josephine and I 1 were very glad to see tier her tell it not in gath but we were i both getting a little frightened as the night came on freds freda alarm bad us more or less and I 1 at least was beginning to imagine all corts of wog things so mrs james appearance pe arance was very consoling she was the sort of woman that nothing ever happens to no one could look tit at her find and think that anything could avei ever happen to tier her she was too placid and she was sweet too since I 1 had known her ive wondered how bow fred managed to stay a bachelor as long as ile he did I 1 would have thought that some one would have snapped him up long before just so as to get hta his mother for or a mother ln in law it was pretty dark when mrs james nir arched rived arid and it was really late when we had finished or rather when I 1 had finished telling her all about our nd ad ventures luring during the day so we all wint went up to tn bed josephine and I 1 had intended to sleep together but M felace nee mrs james had come we felt cour enough to go each to her own boorn with mrs airs james in a third room on the lie same side of the corridor with the doors all open between we feel a hit bit scarey very soon I 1 wn wit asleep and I 1 supposed the others were too how flow long ion I 1 slept I 1 never knew hut but I 1 with a start my arm outride the cover and was cold with the flip chill of the night but I 1 w n t it wast wn not that which had awak enad me some one wa wak in the room I 1 felt it 11 I 1 Mit gerly I 1 reached out and clutched for josephine hut but my fingers touched imly vacancy and ami I 1 remembered chilt had slept in her own room m very ver cautiously I 1 raised my head tind erined py peck and looked about rite me some romp rape oce mis in the room I 1 saw diw a haure dutli outlined ned against the imp milt oblong of the window but it before I 1 could scream I 1 saw who it ans W 11 14 josephine I 1 I 1 gasped josephine looked around oh are you awake edff adiv she asked 11 im m so so surry sorry that Is im so glad I 1 wanted to wake you und and yet I 1 ili like tu to come here dear something dinver Is happening on the lawn she had finished I 1 was out ot of tied and running across the soft i toward toward h her r at the window I 1 crome liml and stared to where site she was the moon was shining brightly trees and bushes into fun fan til biltl tl shapes slin pes its white light spilled alize flize liver er rain on rond road and river nearer tit at hand it turned tile the lawn into tj a mixture of inky shadow and hit hurta re brij brunches n ches nh and d shimmering grass hut 09 moon was not the sole in ili 0 flip night no moon could anif tile ahe spot of glowing sll ver vcr unit seemed to stream from the bril liches of a great hemlock eliat 1 stamn of the lawn I 1 clil josephine what Is it I 1 I 1 felt raither than siw josephine li 11 kf k tir hr head bead 1 I dont know she lured 1 I heard something anil n 1 I I anine to ti the window to see whitt if WIK jut after agot I 1 got there that tha I 1 light ted olit nut could collid could it if be a iOl A oh no rowil 11 josephine did not annl li she ed with a gasp fillo nii the circle of light floated two tt ain s nouns and a womans comans I 1 NIA advisedly I 1 sult suppose loose daiil heully walk but I 1 could see no no jilg nin 1 it it it they just floated into umar ohp glow and stopped then ahr mati the woman in his binns I 1 could see them plainly ohp ali i boire a hall ball gown tind and the wan evening dress slip had H it 0 illies at tier her breast rhe emilu ler and drew tier her toward the ilip als crushed dropped he be tw tri i hem to tire tie ground lie IP hent wid bui led her slowly away and ad as fit chri allf the glow and d daf pl mt tile the white vl lP rp ell ns as before nut but it 0 e nothing alan aud ari enman had diani spared I 1 ww wis Q slinking shaking all over with if 0 mix lure jurt sit f terror find arid awe cold I 1 fail ly josephine feet fee anti rat ran i with her io t 0 the bed into it I 1 wo vf fill left aind burrowed the li josephine I 1 gospee c ve eccli R alf fl glifort two ghosts Klir sta josephine did olad not answer nut bill trial wn 4 rin thing stratigo not ma wust wis osil its ties oes lorte forte she lust just 0 r liin hal tile iiii nd held field an I 1 I 1 held beli too but not for long I 1 raj q getting sc warm agnin again and with cotrupe cou rupe ge and with cour pk callip corm sity I 1 wanted to know ellal aiji tiji alme e gli isla wet wore e doing cheth er they and iid voine come hack baek or what it if arv y w wt re giving lils lv ls a continuous per fill live I 1 to know it 1 t I 1 ili ped out of heil sq 0 or r n rs arid and dp ool tithe u window I 1 dont kuo kao by crittendon Crittend cn marriott illustrations by irwin myr mytirs rl r l I 1 copyright seral ca why 1 tiptoed I 1 knew perfectly well that if the ghosts were bona fade they could hear me whether 1 I 1 tiptoed or not arid and it if they were merely make believe they were too tar far oft off to hear we me at oil all still tiptoeing seemed the proper way to move y I 1 got to tile the window ano and looked out the moon was shining just as might have been expected the stars were twinkling wherever the me moon 0 n gave gu ve them a chance the branches were waving in the night air in short everything was functioning aull e according to lo hoyle rut but the ghosts ghost s were still gone wholly nod and absolutely gone I 1 turned to josephinr Josephl nR they h arent come back I 1 hissed lilt sed 1 I I 1 dont doat believe they wore were really gh ghosto ost at all because gone quavered josephine Joseph lne blankly to go I 1 thought no you I 1 snapped simp ped my MN nerves were still jumping you I 1 ipuy r j hi I 1 s r ft I 1 H ri if they were ghosts I 1 wanted to sei see them th e rn I 1 had fiad drue time to think Tomor tomorrow you might have thoughts thought but not to night you I 1 tk hushed suddenly I 1 heard a board creak outside our door of course course it taught have creaked of its own accord animate being beligo roay may not no bo be totally depraved but inanimate things such as boards and stairs and S forth certainly are especially when they are alone with you in an old house so that hoard might jave irive created creaked spontaneously just to scare me only I 1 knew it I 1 knew it had creaked because somebody nod had trod on it IL I 1 knew it and it scare me a bit ghosts can scare me but humans cant ill adroit I 1 was F a little bit flustered but that was vas all I 1 had supreme confidence in the bolt rind and lock loch oo oil our door grandpa dingi more build strong for nothing arid and besides I 1 had josephine with me find josephine was a tower of strength in any emergency simply because she have davd a single nerve in her whole hody body and then hen of course there was mr air braxton down stairs I 1 knew he was minus tin an arm oni an indefinite number of ribs hul but somehow I 1 felt that if the lip worst crime to the worst tie he would rave rare us so I 1 desired sea much hut but of course I 1 want to io dis tat b him the doctor had I old ild ld nut not to so with great dignity I 1 gut got up from rum tile the Ar window Inflow and walked to fit the flip bed und sot got in then I 1 snuggled he be neath the covers hy by josephides Jose phines side it w hiis is rather cold so I 1 pulled the jip covers over my head and lay perfect ly still after a 8 while I 1 spoke I 1 said no answer josephine osep lilue I 1 repeated 6 still no tips n answerl werl I 1 turned the rite ov ers down and stared at josephine FOLLY the light was not very strong it wat was only moonlight but it was strong enough for me ine to see josephine was asleep 1 what do you think of fit that she was asleep just as 03 it if there a st single hilti ghost lo in all tile avide wide world I 1 wits wan simply disgusted disgust od but of course I 1 mean elou enough 9 h to wake tier her I 1 dropped bark back or on tile tho pillow and let jet tier her steel sleep on the sleep of the just woman made perfect I 1 want to to make anke myself quite plain about what followed I 1 have been laughed glied tit at so much about it that I 1 dont propose to stand fo for any more misunderstandings in the first place I 1 did not so go to sleep agon I 1 lily lay still arid and perhaps I 1 closed my iny eyes hut but I 1 positively did not go to 1014 aheu heu I 1 arsi heard tile lie music I 1 though tIt cabi buwe from the river oi or from tin an au automobile loti obile on the rond road I 1 wile was just ns as ade vide awake as I 1 ever was in my life and I 1 heard it ahr thc D n after a while I 1 realized that it was a great dent deal nearer than either road or river in fact it t wits not for far awny at all it was near in fact it t was in the house I 1 shivered ed all over when I 1 was certain of that put cut it was a delightful shiver nim that I 1 had bad already seen two ghosts I 1 was prepared for nearly anything I 1 had never heard of a ghostly hand that played dance music and certainly not of oner onea that played too much mustard ta rd 1 I had recognized the tune but I 1 wits was quite willing to believe belleve to ta one at first I 1 1 thought I 1 would waken josephine but I 1 decided not to to do so very carefully I 1 got out of the bed and into my lily slippers and wrapper and crept to the door the lockway loc kwas well nell oiled and turned easily anda and 1 opened tile the door a crack arid and peeped out into the corridor instantly the music seemed a little plainer most certainly it was downstairs probably in the ballroom come to think of it why there be dancing ghosts in the old house of course ghosts might find it bard to stand such an architectural conglomeration of styles as dins ding mores folly but after all 1 it old tales were true lots of people hud had stood it in great grandfather dins ding mores dine and perhaps tapir ghosts mad had become inured to it or perhaps they had been doomed for some awful sin they had committed to come back and view anew the h horrors 0 brors ot of the style anyway it was either ghosts or real people who were playing and dancing downstairs it if they were ghosts 1 I wanted to see them and if they were real people I 1 wanted to see thein still more the two spooks shooks that Joseph josephine lne and I 1 had seen on the lawn were entirely conventional they acted just as you would expect a ghost to oct act out but dancing ghosts were different if they really were ghosts of course I 1 should be terrified cut then theia it would be so splendid to be able to tell about them in the future on the other hond if they were merely people dancing in ili my house at midnight I 1 wanted to know who they were the end of it was that I 1 slipped out in the corridor and down doah the stairs the lower hall was dimly 1 and I 1 had no in moving about the music cagne clearer now flow it was undoubtedly to in tire the ballroom then abruptly it stopped an and I 1 heard a hum of ghostly voices at least I 1 supposed ahat they were ghostly gi though they did not very different front from ordinary tones I 1 crept to the ballroom door and peeped in then alien I 1 almost dropped the great room was filled with tiff on awful white glure that sizzled and burned and past east 1 a dreadful greenish glow and ghosts I 1 there were enough ghosts there to supply HIP flit soi leav ty for psychical Iles earen with material for a year they were not ot cf the hie shevi sheet variety they were costumed abo ghosts ats in full century with powdered hair and bare necks oe ks und and airris and elu skirts kart anti and etien with rustled shirts aind anil tind knee bree breeches elies they rhey were tal lillig together ther too hulking very much us people talk in fact it if I 1 had hafl bot known they must he be groats hir for alsey really tie oe real I 1 would have thought gln clial the iliev were ceru guests at a hincy auncy bull ball and over ull 11 lung that achil white TO RH BE CONTINUE DI |