“Aye, they think so,” he answered, in the same monotonous voice.  “And there be some times that I don’t blame ’em for what they thinks.”

“Do you think it’s haunted?” asked Billie, with the hint of a laugh in her voice.  Even here, in this forsaken place, with dusk coming on and the prospect of spending a night in a house people called haunted, Billie’s sense of humor did not altogether leave her.  “Do you?” she repeated, the laughter still more marked in her voice.

The driver twisted around in his seat to see her before he answered.

“It’s all very well for you to laugh now,” he answered.  “But maybe you won’t feel so much like laughin’ in the morning.”

In spite of herself, Billie shivered a little, and the other girls looked frightened.

“If I was you,” the driver went on with his unasked advice, “I’d turn right back an’ spend the night in Roland.  There’s a boardin’ house—­”

“Nonsense, we’re not going to turn back,” spoke up Mrs. Gilligan, a trifle sharply, for she could see that the driver’s evil prophecies were getting on the girls’ nerves.  “If there are any ghosts in that house—­which of course there ain’t—­they’d just better show their faces around me, that’s all.  I’ll give ’em such a taste of my rolling pin that they’ll get discouraged for good and all.”

She nodded her head vigorously, and the girls laughed.

“All right, all right,” grumbled the driver, disgruntled at having his ideas treated in this highhanded manner.  “You can laugh all you’re wanting to.  But I tell you, if it was me—­”

“Which it isn’t,” Mrs. Gilligan interrupted shortly.

“I wouldn’t stay in that there haunted place for a farm, I wouldn’t.”

“What makes you think it’s haunted?” Laura persisted, for, of the three girls, Laura was by far the most curious.  “Do people see lights and hear funny noises and such things?”

“Laura—­” began Violet in protest.

“Why no, Miss,” said the driver reluctantly.  “I don’t know as they actually seen things, but they has heard queer noises.  There was some boys once,” he went on, warming to his task of story teller, “as thought they’d have some fun.  You know the old lady what owned the place was nearly allus away and just left it to a caretaker that didn’t take over much care of it—­” He stopped to chuckle, and the girls leaned forward eagerly.

“What about them?” asked Billie impatiently.

“Well, they thought as they’d play burglar an’ break into the place an’ make a regular lark of it.”

“Weren’t they afraid they’d get caught?” asked Laura.

“Not with Sheriff Higgins on the job,” chuckled the driver, in high good humor now that he was getting off his favorite yarn.  They were nearing the house and the girls hurried him on impatiently.

“Well, they heard such funny humming noises and jingling like the rattling of chains an’ things,” said the driver, “that they got most scared to death and ran back home like the old Nick was after them.  Ever since then folks has said the place was haunted.”