Dorothy did not pause to turn up the lights. She swung around and fled
with Tavia, who continued to scream, while Dorothy, too, uttered
frightened cries. There were calls sounding throughout the house--voices
anxiously demanding to know what the matter was. The girls ran down the
front stairs, and then swung around and darted up the rear flight that
they might reach the room of the boys without passing the closet which
contained something that had frightened them so terribly.

"Oh!" screamed Tavia, pounding on the boys' door. "Do come out--quick!
There's a man in the big hall closet! He--he almost grabbed me!" she
panted.

But somehow the boys could not seem to hurry. Dorothy and Tavia were
almost in hysterics before Ned finally opened the door, just as if nothing
had happened. He was fully dressed, and it did seem as if he might have
responded more quickly to the frightened summons.

"What did you say?" he asked, as if just awakened from a sound sleep.

"A man--a man--in the hall closet--he nearly grabbed me!" cried Tavia, "I
put my arm in--to hang up my cloak--I shoved the clothes aside--then I--I
felt--something--terrible. Then I'm sure I saw--oh, for pity's sake get
help--don't go alone--he may kill all of us!"

Tavia trembled and seemed about to fall in a faint.

"Oh, come on," exclaimed Ned as he stepped out into the hall. "I guess we
can manage a little thing like this. Come on; we'll see what it is that
frightened you. Likely it was only Tavia's excited imagination."