"Oh!" squealed Vernie, "what an awful suggestion! In this house!"
"I move we hear the story of the house to-night.--right now," said Eve.
Milly clasped her hands over her ears, instead of, as usual, over her mouth, and cried, "No! I forbid it! Don't let 'em, will you, Wynne?"
"Seems to me," remarked Mr. Stebbins, "you folks don't know your own minds! You want a ha'nted house, then when you git it, you're too scared to hear the story of the ha'nt."
"I'm not scared," asserted Norma, "but somehow, a ha'nt sounds so much worse than a haunt. Doesn't it, now?"
"It sure does," agreed Braye. "A ha'nt is concrete, while a haunt is abstract."
"Good!" and Hardwick nodded approval. "Now, I suggest that we look around a bit, get the general lay of the house and then all go to bed early. A good night's sleep will put our nerves and muscles in condition again. I'm delighted with the place, and I foresee a first-class vacation ahead of us."
"I wish it was behind us, and we were just starting for home," murmured Milly, but Eve reprimanded her.
"Don't be a spoilsport! I like the place too, Professor, and I'm going to investigate a little. What room is this?"
Eve's graceful figure crossed the great square hall, where they were all standing about, and paused at the closed door of a room just at the right hand as one entered the house.
"Why, it's locked!" she exclaimed. "That won't do, Mr. Stebbins! This whole domain is ours, now, you know. Open this door, please."
Eve wore the light gray skirt of her travelling costume, and a thin sheer white silk blouse, whose V'd neck fell away from her long, slender throat. Her hand on the door knob, she suddenly turned her strange beryl eyes toward Stebbins, her face turning whiter and her thin lips redder as she gazed.
"This is the room--isn't it?" she breathed, and her hand slowly fell from the knob and hung loosely at her side.
"Yes, ma'am," replied Stebbins, stolidly. "How'd you know?"
"How could I help knowing!" and Eve's voice rang out like a clarion. "I see it! I see it all!"
She rushed across the hall and fell trembling on a settee. Tracy flew to her side, and took her hand.
"There, there, Miss Carnforth, brace up! We're all right here. Nothing can hurt you."