"If Billie isn't afraid," she said stoutly, "I don't see why I should be.
Are you coming, Vi?"
"I s-suppose so," said poor Violet, more afraid of being left alone than of facing the ghost in company with the others. "If you're going I—I've got to."
So it was that Mrs. Gilligan was startled to find three ghostly, scared figures standing by her bed calling nervously to her to "please wake up."
"For goodness' sake, what's the matter?" she said, rubbing her eyes and staring at them sleepily. "Have you heard your ghostly motor again?"
"Oh, much worse!" cried Violet.
"We heard a ghost playing a piano!" said Laura.
"Listen," commanded Billie. "There it goes again. Oh, Mrs. Gilligan, I'm f-frightened."
Mrs. Gilligan listened, and even she, matter-of-fact, humorous Irishwoman that she was, felt that same strange tendency on the part of her hair to stand up straight in the air.
"Well, here's the time for my rolling pin," she said, jumping out of bed and wrapping a kimono hastily about her. "We'll call the boys and see what that piano thinks it's doing anyway."
So they called the boys. The three lads were on tiptoe with excitement at the thought of an actual encounter with a ghost.