But, as a story-teller, or a writer of books, can sometimes be in two
places at once, and listen to all sorts of talk, without the people who
are talking knowing anything about it, I will tell you, as a special
favor, that Mr. and Mrs. Bunker and Grandpa Ford really were talking
about the "ghost," at Great Hedge.

"So neither Mr. Ripley nor his daughter, whose horse nearly ran away
when she came to see you, could tell what all the queer doings meant at
Great Hedge, could they?" asked Daddy Bunker.

"No. They said they never heard any queer noises when they lived at the
place before they sold it to me," answered Grandpa Ford. "But your
mother and I have heard many strange noises, and we can't account for
them.

"Of course," went on Grandpa Ford, "I don't believe in ghosts. But I
know we hear the strange noises, and we don't know what they mean. Your
mother is annoyed by them. She has an idea, too, that perhaps there is a
secret way for some one to get into our house, and that perhaps some
persons go in at night, after we are in bed, and make noises."

"But why would any one do that?" asked Mrs. Bunker.

"Well, it may be some folks who would like to scare me away so they
could buy Great Hedge for themselves," said Grandpa Ford. "The place is
valuable, and Mr. Ripley sold it to me very reasonably, because his wife
and little boy died there and he did not like to stay in the place that
reminded him of them so much. So he sold."

"So he never heard the queer noises," said Mr. Bunker musingly.