The sight which she disclosed made all three girls cry out in horror. The ghost which both Linda and Helen had seen was revealed to them now!
Helen hid her head on Dot’s shoulder, but Linda was no longer afraid. Seen from behind, for the figure was facing the window, it was by no means so gruesome. A human skeleton had been draped with a black cloak, and the hollows in the bones of its face had been filled with some preparation like wax. When she examined it closely, Linda saw that the eyes were glass, probably covered with some phosphorous compound, to make them gleam. And the hands, which had especially confounded her on that previous occasion, were actually moving now. But there was a reason: a light string attached them to each other, and a small weight slid along the string, pulling first one hand down and then the other. It was clever and ingenious—and horrible.
But Linda could not help laughing at herself for being fooled so.
“It looks like a college boy’s prank,” she said, as Helen was finally induced to examine it for herself. “I suppose your father or your uncle did it in their youth—to frighten the other boys. And they must have forgotten all about it, and left it here.”
“Maybe my uncle did it on purpose to frighten me,” remarked Helen. “I think he had some reason for wanting Mrs. Smalley and me to move—perhaps so that he could get the house for himself.”
“Possibly,” admitted Linda.
“Well, let’s pull the old thing down, anyway,” suggested Dot. “No use frightening the countryside. And hadn’t we better take down the other curtains and see whether there are any more?”
Linda turned about and pulled at another drapery. This, however, disclosed only a bare window. A third showed a blank wall behind. Then she and Dot proceeded to dismantle the ghost and to pile it into the corner. It was while they were doing this that a panel fell out of the wall.
“More mysteries!” exclaimed Dot, excitedly. “Here’s a hidden closet. Maybe we’ll find some money!”
“Or a lost will,” added Linda, jokingly, never thinking that she had guessed the very thing.