"As a spook?" cried Carlotta, "how interesting!"
"Perhaps; but it doesn't interest me at present You see, this trip is not the fatal one——"
"How do you know?" from Julie.
"Oh, it's too soon. That old prophecy isn't fairly ripe yet. Moreover, I'm not ready for it. I'm going to Labrador,—and I'm coming back,—and then, if all goes well, perhaps I'll never want to go away again. And if not,——" he looked at Carly, "I may be glad to take the last and final trip! But if I go on with the program and return as my own ghost, I'll lead you girls a dance! I'll haunt you in season and out of season!"
"Pooh, I'm not afraid," Carly tossed her head; "I've no faith in any of this spiritist foolery."
"Don't call it foolery, my child," said a serious voice, as Peter's father came into the room.
Benjamin Crane gave the impression of power and gentleness, a fine combination and rarely seen in its perfection. A man of sixty, he looked older, for his thick hair was white and his smoothly shaven face was lined with deep furrows.
He joined the group of young people, and it was indicative of his nature that there was no pause in the conversation or appearance of constraint of any sort.
"But it is foolery, Mr. Crane," Carlotta defended, "I've tried the Ouija Board myself, and it's a silly business."
"Not so silly as to condemn something you know little or nothing about," Mr. Crane said, in his serious, kindly way. "My dear Carlotta, even though you don't 'believe in' the supernatural, do try to realize that your lack of belief doesn't bar the rest of us from having faith in revelation."