"We have no ghost here, I am sorry to say," answers Sir Adrian,
laughing. "For the first time I feel distressed and ashamed that it
should be so. We can only boast a haunted chamber; but there are certain
legends about it, I am proud to say, the bare narration of which would
make even the stoutest quail."

"Good gracious--how distinctly unpleasant!" exclaims Mrs. Talbot, with
a nervous and very effective shudder.

"How distinctly delicious, you mean!" puts in Miss Delmaine. "Sir
Adrian, is this chamber anywhere near where I shall sleep?"

"Oh, no; you need not be afraid of that!" answers Dynecourt hastily.

"I am not afraid," declares the girl saucily. "I have all my life been
seeking an adventure of some sort. I am tired of my prosaic existence.
I want to know what dwellers in the shadowy realms of ghost-land are
like."

"Dear Sir Adrian, do urge her not to talk like that; it is positively
wicked," pleads Dora Talbot, glancing at him beseechingly.

"Miss Delmaine, you will drive Mrs. Talbot from my house if you persist
in your evil courses," says Sir Adrian, laughing again. "Desist, I pray
you!"

"Are you afraid, Dora?" asks Florence merrily. "Then keep close to me.
I can defy all evil spirits, I have spells and charms."