Part 28 (1/2)
”Ever see any in the old Meeker House?”
”Yes,” replied George, laughing again as he spoke.
”Well, why didn't you tell us that they were there? You let us go on and I think you helped us too to believe that the room was full of flying spooks.”
”I didn't know that I was to blame,” laughed George, ”if you didn't know the difference between a spook and chimney-swallow.”
”You must have put in a lot of work in that old house, George,” broke in John.
”Work?” inquired George, staring blankly at his friend. ”What do you mean? I never worked there in my life.”
”Who put in that speaking tube that runs from the kitchen to the front room?” demanded John.
”I didn't,” George said quietly.
”You mean you didn't do the work. I guess you knew it was put in and I guess too that you know who put it in.”
George laughed, but did not directly reply to the implied question.
”We have found out about your old speaking tube,” continued John. ”That was a great trick for you to play on your old friends.”
Grant, who was listening intently to the conversation, in which up to this time he had taken no part, now said, ”Then you two fellows think you have found out all about the strange things in the old Meeker House, do you?”
”We didn't say that,” replied Fred. ”All we say is that we have found out about the wings that we heard and the chattering in the chimney and the speaking tube that ran from the kitchen into the front room. My, but I was scared when I heard my name called there,” he added.
George laughed loudly as he said, ”You don't need to tell me that, Pyg.
I wouldn't have believed that any living creature could have made its legs fly as fast as yours did that night.”
”I was trying to keep up with the rest of the fellows,” retorted Fred.
”I had to go some to do that.”
”Now that you have found out all these things you're not afraid to go back there any time, are you?” inquired George.
”Yes, sir, I am,” said Fred.
”What?”
”Because we haven't found out everything. There's something strange about that place that I don't understand yet.”
”Why, what happened?” inquired George quickly.
”We heard voices upstairs.”
”Was that the reason why you were moving so fast across the yard?”
laughed George.