“You were brave boys to leave that other fellow!” said Fred tartly. “If there was some one shot, it was time for you to help him.”
“We couldn’t help him very much if we went upstairs only to be shot ourselves,” said George sharply.
“You don’t know what you could have done,” retorted Fred.
“No, I didn’t know, but I’ll tell you what I’ll do. If you want to go back there right now, I’ll take you back.”
“I don’t want to go,” said Fred quietly. “It’s time for somebody besides boys like us to step in. I think the best thing for us to do will be to find some man and take him back there. We can go in with him then and help if we have to.”
“I guess that’s a good suggestion, all right,” said George quickly. “Grant and I were so scared that we couldn’t think of anything except getting out of the horrible old house in the best possible time. My, think how Grant loped along, taking about six feet at a jump.”
“I noticed that I wasn’t alone,” said Grant, dryly. “Whoever it was with me wasn’t very far behind.”
“I guess you’re right,” acknowledged George. “Now I’ll own up, fellows, about the speaking tube and the swallows. I knew the birds were in the chimney and I knew too that you didn’t know much about such things, so I thought I would let you work it out. Then I put in that speaking tube and added to the fun, but I tell you right now that I have had my lesson. I’m not afraid of all the ghosts in Jersey, but I don’t like the sounds that came from that upper room in the old Meeker House. I don’t mind saying so to any one. I guess my father is at the house by this time, for he said he might come out to-night. If he is, we’ll tell him all about it and let him take charge. It’s time for the Go Ahead boys to go ahead all right, but I think they had better follow somebody who is older, all the same.”
All the boys agreed that George’s suggestion was the best that could be made. The speed of the automobile increased and not many minutes had elapsed when the Go Ahead boys arrived at George’s home.
They were all delighted when they found that Mr. Sanders was there. He listened to the story of the excited boys and then quietly said, “I think we’ll have dinner first and then I’ll go with you over to the old Meeker House. You have been stirring up the spooks, have you?” and Mr. Sanders laughed as he spoke. “There were spooks there when I was a boy, and I remember how we used to steer clear of the corner when we were coming home evenings. When we were a little older we began to make investigations and found there wasn’t anything unusual or that couldn’t be explained about the old place. But the stories of the spooks have kept up just the same. I don’t know why, unless it is that there are some people that believe such things just because they want to believe them.”