Another moment of hesitation, and then came Ned’s triumphant statement:
“’Twasn’t no ghost, anyhow.”
“Of course it wasn’t,” answered “Forty-niner,” promptly agreeing, but considerably puzzled. He had not, as yet, heard from any of the others about the “vision” which Mrs. Benton had seen beside the window.
“’Twasn’t nobody but ’Tonio himself.”
“That’s exactly what I thought,” he again agreed, and encouragingly patted the boy’s hand.
“And he come––and he come––and he gave us one––two boxes of that nice, nice candy; and all we gave him was Pedro’s old stick!”
Aunt Sally’s egg beater fell to the floor unheeded, this time she really put her spectacles in their proper place and stared through them at the narrator.
Ned warmed to his task and Luis cuddled beside him, complacently adding his affirmative “Yep,” at fitting intervals.
“And so he said it wasn’t nothin’. And so––and so––I fell offen the bookcase and made a noise; and my mother didn’t hear it ’cause she was asleep. Me and Luis was asleep, wasn’t we, Luis?”