Mrs. Hardy was accustomed to the comings and goings of her husband, and nothing surprised her. She realized that his profession demanded that he do many things that were mysterious enough on the surface but reasonable enough when the time came to explain them. But the boy were taken aback, for they had looked forward to seeing their father in the morning and had hoped that he would lay a plan of campaign before them. They went to school in disappointment. On the way they met Callie Shaw and Iola Morton, two girls who were particular friends of the boys. Callie Shaw, a brown-eyed, brown-haired girl was an object of special enthusiasm with Frank, who was apt to cast an appreciative eye upon the other sex, while Iola, a plump, dark girl, a sister of Chet Morton’s, was “all right, as a girl,” in Joe’s reluctant opinion. Chet had told his sister about the affair at the Polucca place on the previous Saturday, and she, in turn, had told Callie. “Well, how are the ghost-hunters this morning?” asked Callie. “Fine,” replied Frank, with a smile. “What a brave bunch of boys you all are!” exclaimed the girl. “Running away from an empty house!” “That house wasn’t empty!” put in Joe warmly. “I suppose you think our motorcycle tools walked away!” “Somebody played a pretty good practical joke on you. Just wait till you get to school. Whoever played that trick will be sure to tell everybody.” “Oh, well, we can stand it. If Chet Morton hadn’t been with us at the time I would have blamed him. It’s like one of his pet ideas.” “He can prove an alibi this time,” said Iola. “He was right with you, and by the way he talked when he got home I think he was as badly frightened as any one.” But when the boys reached school they found that although news of their experience at the house on the cliff had preceded them, no one was laying claim to having originated the joke. Chet and the other boys had told of the escapade, but although they momentarily expected that some practical jester would come forward and take credit for the whole affair, nothing of the sort happened, and when noon came it was as much a mystery as ever. “I’m beginning to think it wasn’t a joke at all,” admitted Joe, on the way home. “Believe me, if it had been a trick played on us the fellow who did it wouldn’t have lost any time coming around to have the horselaugh.” “It was a little too well done to be a joke. I think some one started this ghost rumor just to keep people away from the Polucca place.” “If everybody gets the same reception we got, I don’t blame ’em for staying away. What with weird yells and shrieks, with walls falling in and tool boxes being robbed, it’s a mighty active ghost they have on the job.” “I wonder—could it have anything to do with the smugglers, Joe?” The Hardy boys looked at one another. “There’s a thought!” exclaimed Joe. “We had two mighty strange things happen to us on the same day. Perhaps they _have_ something to do with each other.”