Hollyhock: A Spirit of Mischief

by L. T. Meade

'To be sure, my lassie; and whyever not? You got a nasty stroke of a fright; but he 'll come no more. I wish with all my heart I could put a bit of flesh on his skeleton hands and skeleton face. I do pity him so much, so lonesome he is and so sad. But he won't trouble you any more, my little lass, and I 'll sleep beside you this night.'

'Who is that coming into the room?' said Leucha, as Jasmine appeared on the scene.

'I've heard a great talk about a ghost,' said Jasmine.

'Well,' cried Hollyhock, 'we had better drop the subject. The poor thing is so frightened, she doesn't know what she's doing. I feel, somehow, my whole heart drawn out to her. Leave her to me, for goodness' sake, Jasmine. I'm just quieting her off. She's too excited to talk about the ghost any more to-night.'

'I 've seen the ghost—the real ghost,' said Leucha, looking with hollow eyes at Jasmine. 'He does walk, and he's very tall, and has skeleton hands and a skeleton face; and he asked me—me—to dry his wet hair!'

'Oh, do leave us alone now!' said Hollyhock. 'Am I not trying to quieten her down, and you disturb everything?'

'I must speak to you, Hollyhock; I really must.'

'No, no; you mustn't leave me for a minute!' cried Leucha. 'You are the only one with courage in the school. I 'd go mad if you were to leave me now.'

'I'll talk to you in the morning,' said Hollyhock. 'I cannot leave her; see for yourself how excited she is.'

Jasmine certainly saw that Leucha was terribly excited, that she had got a fearful shock; and although she could put Leucha's mind at rest, on the other hand, Hollyhock, for the time, had won her round. Hollyhock, the soul of mischief, whom Leucha had so openly defied, was now her one support, her sole comfort. Jasmine made up her mind with some reluctance to let the matter lie over until the morning; then, of course, it must be told, and by Hollyhock herself. She felt sorry; for this mischievous little sister had won the coldest heart of the coldest girl in the school, and if justice was not done, she would cling to Hollyhock for ever. Was it necessary that justice should be done?