"The wind isn't blowing," said Daddy Bunker. "It must be something else. There is no wind."
There was a little, but not enough to blow the snow about. It had been blustery—so cold and blowy, in fact, that the six little Bunkers could not go out to play. But now the sun had gone down, and, as often happens, the wind died down with it. The night was going to be still and cold.
"No, I don't believe it was the wind," said Grandpa Ford. "It's the same noise we heard before. We must try to find out what it is, Charles," and he turned to Daddy Bunker.
"It's the ghost! That's what it is!" exclaimed Russ. "We tried to find it, Rose and I did—but we couldn't. It's the ghost!"
"Nonsense! What do you know about ghosts?" said Mother Bunker, and she tried to laugh, but it did not sound very jolly. "There aren't any such things as ghosts," she went on.
"Well, I got the big end of the wish-bone," said Rose, "and I was just going to wish that I'd find the ghost when, all of a sudden, I heard it!"
"Now see here, you two!" exclaimed Daddy Bunker, speaking to Russ and Rose, while Laddie and Vi, with Mun Bun and Margy, were still at their game. "You mustn't be talking about such things as ghosts. There isn't any such thing, and you may scare the younger children."
"How did you hear about a ghost at Great Hedge?" asked Grandpa Ford curiously.
Russ and Rose looked at each other. The time had come to tell of their listening under the window, and they felt a little ashamed of it. But they had been taught to tell the truth, no matter how much it hurt, and they must do it now.
"How did you know about a ghost?" asked Mother Bunker.