"I'm making up my mind whether I'd better tell you something or not. Don't want to scare the servants, trouble Madame, or vex Miss Orne; for I know she wouldn't believe a word of it, though I saw it with my own eyes," answered Sally, in such a mysterious tone that the girls with one voice cried,—
"Tell us, this minute!"
"I will; and perhaps some of you can explain the matter."
As she spoke, Sally rose and stood on the rug with her hands behind her, looking rather wild and queer; for her short hair was in a toss, her eyes shone large behind her round glasses, and her voice sank to a whisper as she made this startling announcement:—
"I've seen a ghost!"
A general shiver pervaded the listeners, and Cordy poked her head under the sofa pillows with a faint cry, while the rest involuntarily drew nearer to one another.
"Where?" demanded Julia, the bravest of the party.
"On the top of the house."
"Good gracious! When, Sally?" "What did it look like?" "Don't scare us for fun,"—cried the girls, undecided whether to take this startling story in jest or earnest.
"Listen, and I'll tell you all about it," answered Sally, holding up her finger impressively.