"Why didn't you say so? Oh, Lucien," she continued before I could speak, "were you really shrewd enough to see which way the wind was blowing?" "Sure. After you set my sails for me last night." Just then Rob came out of the hotel. "Say, Lucien, I want to see you a minute. Come on down the road." "We've got some work ahead," he said when we were out of Silvia's hearing. "What's up?" I asked. "Miss Frayne is up--and doing. What do you suppose her paper sent her here for?" "For a rest, or to write up the mosquitoes of H. H." "H. H. is all right, only it happens they stand for Haunted House." "Not really?" "Yes, really. The rumors of the house and the ghost, greatly elaborated, of course, reached the Sunday editor of the paper Miss Frayne is on, and he sent her up here to revive the story of the murder, translate the ghost, and get snapshots of the house. She was quite keen to have me take her there at once, so she could commence her article, but I headed her off, so she wouldn't discover the summer boarders at the hotel annex. I assured her that daytime was not the time to gather material and the only way she could get a proper focus on the ghost and acquire the thrills necessary for an inspiration was to see the place first by night." "If she would view Fair Melrose aright," I quoted, "she must visit it in the pale moonlight, but you were very clever to delay her visit long enough for us to get over there and warn the enemy. If she had gone down there and caught the Polydores unawares, she would have come back here and revealed our secret, and there would be the end of Silvia's vacation." "To tell the truth, Lucien, I wasn't thinking so much of that as I was of Miss Frayne's interests. You see she has come a long ways for a story and if it collapsed from her ghostly expectations to a showdown of four healthy boys, the blow might mean a good deal to her in a business way. I think we had better let Ptolemy plant a ghost just once more for her. You know you made him take a reef in the flapping of ghostly garments. Can't we resurrect the specter and restore the wails just for tonight, and bring her over here at the witching hour?" "Sure we will," I agreed heartily. "She shall have her ghost and all the trappings. It will give the Polydores the time of their lives." "Let's go over there now and put Ptolemy next so he can get busy on his spirits." We went down to the shore and pulled off. Midway across the lake, Rob suddenly rested on his oars and asked: "Where did Beth go?" "Back to first principles," I replied. "She thinks, judging from your excited, earnest manner in addressing Miss Frayne and your rushing frantically away for a walk with her before she had removed the travel dust, that Ptolemy was quite correct, after all, in declaring you to be a 'ladies' man.'" "Didn't you explain to her who Miss Frayne was?" he asked. "No," I replied. "I am on my vacation and I am not doing any explaining, professionally or otherwise."