"But don't forget you've got me to look after you," put in Mrs. Gilligan, with a twinkle in her eyes. "I'm goin' to see that you don't get into mischief."
"I don't know but what we shall have to look out that you don't get into mischief," said Laura with a chuckle. "Mr. Gilligan told me once that you weren't to be trusted out alone."
"Huh," retorted Mrs. Gilligan good-naturedly, "it's him that I wouldn't be trusting. But what," she asked, looking curiously at Billie, "did your brother mean by saying not to scare away the ghosts before he gets there?"
"Oh," laughed Billie, "he has a sort of idea that the house at Cherry Corners is inhabited by spirits—just because mother said that the halls and rooms were spooky. He will be terribly disappointed if he doesn't see half a dozen ghosts."
"Well, I wouldn't," said Violet with a shudder, for now that they were on the way to their adventure, her courage was beginning to fail.
"Ghosts!" repeated Mrs. Gilligan, with a fun-loving light in her eyes. "Better not any ghosts come around me or I'll give 'em a taste of the rolling pin."
The girls laughed. The picture of Mrs. Maria Gilligan assaulting a ghost with a rolling pin was indeed a funny one.
"Well," said Billie a little later, as she started to unpin her hat, "I don't know about you girls, but I'm going to be comfortable. We have a long ride before us."
"I suppose we might as well take off our hats and stay awhile," agreed Laura, following suit. "Say, girls," she added, as she stuck her hat up in the rack above her head, "I just thought of something last night."
"Was it anything important?" asked Billie, with a wicked little look.