The girls needed no urging, quickly getting out of the car and following the triumphant lead of the contractor through the light snow. Once inside, he went straight to the top of the house, walking with a precision that showed his determination. Now he would “tell the world,” his attitude seemed to declare.
Reaching the third floor they found the men still merry. They were in a room similar to that where the suspected ghostly bed was, on the floor below. As the boss, with the girls, came in, it was clear the men were trying to look businesslike.
“What’s the joke?” asked Callahan bruskly. “What’s all the laughing about?”
A young man wearing a windbreaker jacket and awkwardly holding a crowbar spoke first.
“We heard groans coming from the chimney, and Pete opened the chute in the fireplace and threw down a brick. I guess we hit the ghost, the noise stopped so quick,” chuckled the workman.
“Ghost, my eye!” exclaimed another man. “Probably it was a cat or something caught in there. Well, you finished him anyway, Pete,” and they were ready to laugh again.
Arden and the girls drew closer together. “There is that Nick,” whispered Arden to Dot, indicating a man in the group who alone showed no amusement. He was covertly glancing at his companions, and suddenly he left the room.
In an instant he was back, bringing with him another man. Both were seriously excited.
“Any of you guys seen Jim? He was working with me across the hall, but he ain’t here now,” declared the new man.
“He didn’t come here,” answered the man who had spoken before. “What’s the matter? You look worried.”