“No, dear, no. Certainly not. I was wide awake. I fancied I heard a scream; it sounded like the cry of a woman in distress. Then there were footsteps—muffled footsteps far below. Of course The Monastery is haunted, so I thought it was the ghosts.”
“Are there more than one?” asked Alan, suppressing a skeptical smile.
“Oh yes. There are two monks, and one cavalier, and a lady who has no head at all,” said Marie solemnly. “Granny knows all the stories, and some of them are just horrid. This morning when I told her about the noises, she said that Henny and Jenny and she had heard them several times during the last week, but she believed they were only the ghosts. Granny is quite proud that we should have them, as we are such an old family.”
Alan shuddered. “Well, dear, I sincerely hope that when we live at The Monastery, these uneasy spirits will take their departure. I don’t believe in ghosts; all the same, I don’t like odd noises. Marie,” he sat up suddenly as a thought struck him.
“I know what you’re going to say, Alan,” she cried quickly.
“What?” He looked at her sharply.
“That the noises might have been made by Uncle Ran.”
“Yes I did, my dear. It is just possible that he may have come back secretly to The Monastery, knowing that Moon would not search there. And a very good idea it would be if he did; safe as houses.”
Marie shook her head solemnly. “No. If Uncle Ran had returned he would have let me know, since he could be certain that I would not betray him. And he would require food and drink, which would be another reason for him to let me know he was hiding. No, Alan. I tell you the cry I heard was that of a woman, and I believe that Miss Grison is in the house.”
Fuller stared. “What on earth put that into your head?”