"Oh! I'm a Ghost."
"A Ghost!" exclaimed Billy, stepping back.
"Yes—I've met you lots of times," said the Ghost.
"Who were you when—when you were alive? Perhaps if you'd mention the name," and Billy tried to recollect some of his former friends.
"I am alive, though goodness knows if times keep up the way they're going now I can't tell how soon I'll starve to death."
"Starve to death?"
"Yes; times have changed in the last four hundred years. Why, I remember years ago we ghosts were busy on haunting jobs night after night, but now we have to scratch pretty hard for a living."
"But where have you met me?" asked Billy.
"On your way to bed when the nurse had been telling you silly tales—come, we're old friends, let's shake hands."
"Can—can you shake hands?" said Billy, putting his own behind him.