She
turned rather pale, which seemed to have impressed him, and demanded
if he had seen it. 'It always walked at Christmas time--between
then and the New Year.' She had once seen a light in the garden by
the ruin in winter-time, and once last spring it came along the
passage, but that was just before the old Squire was took for
death,--folks said that was always the way before any of the family
died--'if you'll excuse it, sir.' Oh no, she thought nothing of
such things, but she had heard tell that the noises were such at all
times of the year that no one could sleep in the rooms, but the
light wasn't to be seen except at Christmas.
Griff with the philosophy of a university man, was certain that all
was explained by Clarence having imbibed the impression of the place
being haunted; and going to sleep nervous at the noises, his brain
had shaped a phantom in accordance. Let Clarence declare as he
might that the legends were new to him, Griff only smiled to think
how easily people forgot, and he talked earnestly about catching
ideas without conscious information.
However, he volunteered to sit up that night to ascertain the exact
causes of the strange noises and convince Clarence that they were
nothing but the effects of draughts. The fire in his gunroom was
surreptitiously kept up to serve for the vigil, which I ardently
desired to share.
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