The Bobbsey Twins | Page 8

snorted like a real horse, and kicked up his heels, very much to Flossie's delight.
"Gee-dap!" shrieked the little maiden. "Gee-dap!" and moved back and forth on the sled, to make it go faster. Away went Freddie and Bert, as fast as the legs of the little fellow could travel. They went down a long hill and through a nice side street, and it was a good half hour before they reached home,--just in time for a good hot supper.

CHAPTER V
BERT'S GHOST
Bert felt relieved to learn that Mr. Ringley did not know who had broken the store window, but he was still fearful that the offense might be laid at his door. He was afraid to trust Danny Rugg, and did not know what the big boy might do.
"He may say I did it, just to clear himself," thought Bert. "And if Mr. Ringley comes after me, he'll remember me sure."
But his anxiety was forgotten that evening, when some of the neighbors dropped in for a call. There was music on the piano and some singing, and almost before Bert and Nan knew it, it was time to go to bed. Freddie and Flossie had already retired, worn out by their play.
But after Bert had said his prayers and found himself alone in the small bed chamber he occupied, he could not sleep. The talk of the folks below kept him awake at first, and even after they had gone to bed he could not forget the happening of the day, and he could still hear the crash of that glass as the chunk of ice went sailing through it.
At last he fell into a troubled doze, with the bright light of the moon shining across the rug at the foot of the bed. But the doze did not last long, and soon some kind of a noise awoke him with a start.
He opened his eyes and his gaze wandered across the moon-lit room. Was he dreaming, or was that really a figure in white standing at the foot of his bed? With a shiver he ducked down and covered his head with the blankets.
For two or three minutes he lay quiet, expecting every instant to have something unusual happen. Then, with great caution, he pushed the blankets back and took another look.
_There was nothing there!_
"But I saw something," he told himself. "I am sure I saw something. What could it have been?"
Ah, that was the question. For over an hour he continued to lie awake, watching and listening. Nan was in the next little chamber and he was half of a mind to call her, but he was afraid she would call him a "'fraid-cat!" something he despised.
Bert had heard of ghosts and now he thought of all the ghost stories he could remember. Had the thing in white been a ghost? If so, where had it come from?
After a while he tried to dismiss the thing from his mind, but it was almost morning before he fell asleep again. This time he slept so soundly, however, that he did not rouse up until his mother came and shook him.
"Why, Bert, what makes you sleep so soundly this morning?" said Mrs. Bobbsey.
"I--I didn't get to sleep until late," he stammered. And then he added: "Mamma, do you believe in ghosts?"
"Why, of course not, Bert. What put that into your head?"
"I--I thought I saw a ghost last night."
"You must have been mistaken. There are no ghosts."
"But I saw something," insisted the boy.
"Where?"
"Right at the foot of the bed. It was all white."
"When was this?"
"Right in the middle of the night."
"Did you see it come in, or go out?"
"No, mamma. When I woke up it was standing there, and when I took a second look at it, it was gone."
"You must have been suffering from a nightmare, Bert," said Mrs. Bobbsey kindly. "You should not have eaten those nuts before going to bed."
"No, it wasn't a nightmare," said the boy.
He had but little to say while eating breakfast, but on the way to school he told Nan, while Freddie and Flossie listened also.
"Oh, Bert, supposing it was a real ghost?" cried Nan, taking a deep breath. "Why, I'd be scared out of my wits,--I know I'd be!"
"Mamma says there are no ghosts. But I saw something--I am sure of that."
"I don't want to see any ghostses," came from Flossie.
"Nor I," added Freddie. "Sam told about a ghost once that was as high as a tree an' had six heads, to eat bad boys and girls up. Did this have six heads, Bert?"
"No."
"How many heads did it have?"
"I don't know--one, I guess."
"And was it as high as a tree?" went on the inquisitive little fellow.
"Oh, it couldn't stand up in the room if it was as high as a tree," burst out Flossie.
"Could