“Did I startle you?” the teacher asked in a whisper. “It is you, Judy?”
“Yes, I couldn’t sleep. I came out here to get a drink of water. For a minute I thought you were a ghost from the basement!”
“Oh, Judy!” Miss Ward reproved. “What nonsense!”
“I was joking,” Judy said hastily. “Of course, everyone knows there are no ghosts. All the same, that sound was unnerving.”
“Sound? What sound, Judy?”
“Well, it seemed to come from the cellar. First, I heard a series of loud thumps. Then, I thought I heard someone playing the flute.”
“Perhaps the sound drifted in from outside the cottage.”
“I’m sure it didn’t, Miss Ward.”
For several minutes the Scout leader listened attentively, but the noises which had disturbed Judy were not to be heard again.
“It is very late,” she said finally. “Judy, you must go back to bed.”