“Look hat that!” he cried. “When Hi say hit nobody laughs; when you say hit they hall catch hon him a minute. Hit’s a put hup job!” “It may look that way, Billy,” said Dick; “but I assure you that we have just seen the point of the joke. We humbly beg your pardon. But I assure you that smiles, with its mile between the first and last letters, is not the longest word. I know one that is longer.” “Hi doubt hit,” retorted Bradley. “What is hit?” “It is longer,” explained Dick. “Hi know you said so, but what is the word?” “It is longer,” repeated Dick. “That’s all right. Hit may be, but what is hit?” “I will spell it for you,” smiled Dick. “L-o-n-g-e-r. Can’t you see that proves my claim. It is longer.” Bradley paused with his mouth open. Slowly the point dawned on him. He slapped his thigh and uttered an exclamation. “By Jawve! that’s a good one! Hit’s better than the hother one! But Hi’ll wager hanything lots hof fellows will not see the point when Hi spring hit hon them. Don’t you know, Merriwell, Hi believe some people inherit their blawsted stupidity.” “My dear Bradley!” exclaimed Dick, as if shocked. “It’s not proper to speak that way of your parents!” At this the others shouted with laughter, while Bradley was utterly at a loss to comprehend the cause of their merriment. “You’re a ’ole lot of hiddiots!” he cried, his disgust breaking all bounds. “You heven laugh at a fool!” “Don’t—don’t cast reflections on yourself!” said Smart. Billy reached for him, but Ted knew better than to fall into those muscular hands, and he dodged away. “Hi’ll ’ave nothing more to do with you!” declared the Cockney lad, as he turned and stalked out of the room, and the laughter behind him added to his disgust as he closed the door. CHAPTER XXV—THE SPOOK APPEARS Ted Smart saw it first, but no one believed him when he told about it. Ted declared that he turned over in bed and beheld a white, ghostly form floating slowly and silently across the room about two feet from the floor. He also declared that he could see through the white form and discern solid objects on the farther side. But every one knew Smart was given to exaggeration, and so they laughed. “Did you really see anything at all?” asked one. “Oh, no!” exclaimed Ted derisively; “I didn’t see a thing. I am stone blind, and I can’t see anything.” “But it was dark.” “Oh, the moon didn’t shine in at the window at all!” retorted the little fellow. “It was dark as pitch! I can see better in the dark than I can in the daylight!” All of which meant exactly the opposite. “Well, what was the spook doing in your room, Smart?” “Ask me! Just floating round, I fancy. But when the old thing floated my way I just sat up and said, ‘Shoo!’ like that. The thing stopped and stretched out a hand toward me. I said, ‘Oh, Lord!’ and went right down under the bedclothes. I don’t know how long I stayed there, but when I rubbered out the spook was gone.”