"No, she only saw a light," corrected his sister. "There are lots of reasons for having lights, even in empty houses. Some one might have gone in there for the night——"
"Or the rats might be giving a pink tea," joined in Nat with a sly wink at Joe.
"Or some one might be trying to make gas," Joe fired back, "and perhaps they were interrupted by the sound of wheels."
"Will you please state, young lady," said Ned, imitating a lawyer questioning a witness, "just what you saw? Confine yourself to the question."
"I saw a light—l-i-g-h-t. And I saw it all over the place at the same time."
"A flame, like a fire?" asked Nat "Perhaps the place is all up in smoke by this time."
"No, no," said Tavia. "It was about as big as a candle and as rapid as a—a——"
"Searchlight," suggested Joe.
"See here, children," exclaimed Mrs. White, leaving her place on the cushioned leather couch and going toward the library, "if you do not stop telling ghost stories you will have the most dreadful dreams."
"Oh, I'm not afraid, Aunt Winnie," said Roger, taking the caution, as intended, entirely for his benefit.