Part 34 (1/2)

”Oh! for de Lord's love, ole mis'tess! ef we mus' go, you go first, you go first; I dar'n't; I's such a sinner, I is!” cried Ca.s.sy, wringing her hands in an agony of terror.

Urr-rrr-rr-r-r-r-rattle-te-bang-ang!

”A ten-strike! Ho! ho! ho! ho! ho! ho!” again sounded the revels.

”Hooley St. Bridget, pray for us! Hail Mary, full of grace! Don't go, ole mist'ess, honey! Oh, stay where you is in safety!” pleaded the old woman, clasping her hands.

”Nonsense! Hold your tongue, Ca.s.sy. If ever there was a woman plagued with a set of cowardly simpletons, it is myself. Let go my skirts this moment, Alice! Be silent, every one of you, and follow me as softly as possible,” said my grandmother, in a low, stern voice, as she took up the candle and led the way downstairs. We followed at this order--Ca.s.sy holding on to her mistress' skirts, Alice holding to Ca.s.sy's, and I bringing up the rear, with carnal weapons in one hand and spiritual ones in the other--that is to say, with a big ruler and a prayerbook.

A chill, damp air met us at the foot of the stairs--nothing else.

The front hall was empty and bleak. We tried the doors, and found them as secure as we had left them, with the exception of the parlor door, by which Ca.s.sy had entered, and which was on the latch. Mrs. Hawkins pulled it to and locked it, saying, in a low voice, that she wished, while examining each room, to keep all the rest locked, that there might be no escape for any one concealed in the house.

First we went into the right-hand bedroom, opening from the hall. It was secure, vacant and bleak. We locked the door and drew out the key.

Next we looked into the left-hand bedroom; it was in precisely the same condition. We made it fast in the same manner.

Then we opened and entered the parlor. This was the bleakest room of any--large, square, lofty, totally bare, cold and damp.

”Nothing here,” said Mrs. Hawkins, looking around.

Urr-rr-rr-r-r-r-r-rattle-te-bang-ang-ang! the phantom ball rolled, and scattered the ninepins.

”Ha! ha! ha! ha! ha!” shouted the hollow, ghostly voices.

They seemed to be in the very room with us, reverberating in the very air we breathed, echoing from the four walls around, and from the ceiling above us!

”Jesu, Mary!” cried Ca.s.sy, dropping on her knees.

”Oh! oh! oh!” gasped Alice, clinging to me.

”This is very unaccountable,” said our grandmother, looking all around the room, where nothing but bare walls and bare boards met the view.

We looked at each other in silence for a few moments, and then Mrs.

Hawkins said:

”Come! let us look into the dining-room, and then call up Hector to a.s.sist us in searching the grounds.”

We pa.s.sed on into the next room and locked the door behind us, as we had locked every one in our tour through the house. That room was closely packed with furniture, over which we had to clamber our pa.s.sage.

While we were doing so, once again sounded the detonating roll of the ball, the rattling, scattering of the pins, and the hollow peals of laughter, all echoing around and around us, as it were, in the same rooms.

Alice again seized her grandmother.

Ca.s.sy fell over a stack of washtubs, and called on all the saints to help her.

Mrs. Hawkins ordered Alice to let her go, and Ca.s.sy to get up, and me to move on.

She was obeyed. A great general was our grandmother, and we all knew it!

We left the dining-room, locking the last door behind us. We dodged the dark, blind alley, sheltered the candle from the drizzling mist, and went around into the kitchen and called Hector from above.