“Yes. In a big storm it is always seen looking out of the windows.” “Goodness!” whispered Agnes. “What windows?” “In the garret. I believe that’s where it is always seen. And, of course, it is seen from outside. When there is a big wind blowing, people coming across the parade here, or walking on this side of Willow Street, have looked up there and seen the ghost fluttering and beckoning at the windows——” “How horrid!” gasped Agnes. “Oh, Eva! are you _sure_?” “I never saw it,” confessed the other. “But I know all about it. So does my mother. She says it’s true.” “Mercy! And in the daytime?” “Sometimes at night. Of course, I suppose it can be seen at night because it is phosphorescent. All ghosts are, aren’t they?” “I—I never saw one,” quavered Agnes. “And I don’t want to.” “Well, that’s all about it,” said Eva, with confidence. “And I wouldn’t live in the house with a ghost for anything!” “But we’ve _got_ to,” wailed Agnes. “We haven’t any other place to live.” “It’s dreadful,” sympathized the other girl. “I’ll ask my mother. If you are dreadfully frightened about it, I’ll see if you can’t come and stay with us.” This was very kind of Eva, Agnes thought. The story of the Corner House Ghost troubled the twelve-year-old very much. She dared not say anything before Tess and Dot about it, but she told the whole story to Ruth that night, after they were in bed and supposed the little girls to be asleep. “Why, Aggie,” said Ruth, calmly, “I don’t think there _are_ any ghosts. It’s just foolish talk of foolish people.” “Eva says her mother _knows_ it’s true. People have seen it.” “Up in our garret?” “Ugh! In the garret of this old house—yes,” groaned Agnes. “Don’t call it _our_ house. I guess I don’t like it much, after all.” “Why, Aggie! How ungrateful.” “I don’t care. For all of me, Uncle Peter could have kept his old house, if he was going to leave a ghost in the garret.” “Hush! the children will hear you,” whispered Ruth. CHAPTER VI UNCLE RUFUS That whispered conversation between Ruth and Agnes after they were abed that first Sunday night of the Kenways’ occupancy of the Old Corner House, bore unexpected fruit. Dot’s ears were sharp, and she had not been asleep. From the room she and Tess occupied, opening out of the chamber in which the bigger girls slept, Dot heard enough of the whispered talk to get a fixed idea in her head. And when Dot _did_ get an idea, it was hard to “shake it loose,” as Agnes declared. Mrs. McCall kept one eye on Tess and Dot as they played about the overgrown garden, for she could see this easily from the kitchen windows. Mrs. McCall had already made herself indispensable to the family; even Aunt Sarah recognized her worth. Ruth and Agnes were dusting and making the beds on this Monday morning, while Tess and Dot were setting their playhouse to rights.