and let every traveller fall into a pit! Or it might be some boy or
girl left behind by wicked movers to starve. Or a beggarman, wanting
the house to himself, could be making that noise to frighten them
away.

The sharp groans were regularly uttered. Corinne buried her head in
her mother's skirts and waited to be taken or left, as the Booggar
pleased.

"Well," said Grandma Padgett, "I suppose we'll have to go and see
what ails that Thing down there. It may be a human bein' in distress."

Robert feared it was something else, but he would not have mentioned
it to his grandmother.

"What'll we carry to see with?" he eagerly inquired. It was easy to
be eager, because they had no lights except the brands in the
fireplace.

Grandma Padgett, who in her early days had carried live coals from
neighbors' houses miles away, saw how to dispense with lamp or
candle. She took a shovel full of embers--and placed a burning chip
on top. The chip would have gone out by itself, but was kept blazing
by the coals underneath.

"Shall I go ahead?" inquired Robert.

"No, you walk behind. And you might carry a piece of stick," replied
his grandmother, conveying a hint which made his shoulder blades feel
chilly.