They managed to find two tunnels, one about fifty feet long and the other close to a hundred.

“Caved in!” cried Chet in disgust.

He was right; dirt and rocks filled the openings, both of which were quite wet.

“I’ll bet they led to the brook,” remarked Teddy.  “When the Indians made a raid the settlers could crawl through one tunnel or the other and so hide in the brook.”

“I think Ted must be right,” said Ferd.

There was but little of value in the cellar.  Old tools, rusted with age, and some empty bottles and jugs, and that was about all.

“It’s awfully musty,” said Billie presently.  “I’m going upstairs and out into the sunshine.”  And she went, and the others soon followed.

Billie had received the address of Miss Beggs, the school-teacher.  It had been sent to her address at home and forwarded by Mrs. Bradley.

“Now, I guess I’ll have to write that letter to the teacher and explain all about the broken statue,” said Billie dismally.  “Oh, dear, I wish I didn’t have to do it.”

“It’s too bad we haven’t the money to pay for the old thing,” came from Chet.  “Can’t we sell some of this stuff?  It must be worth something.”

“But who will buy it?”

“I don’t know.”

There was a long consultation among the girls, and at last Billie managed to write the letter.

“There,” she said, when she had given it to the store boy to post, “now I feel better.  The confession part of it is off my mind, anyway.  If I can only pay for the old statue—­or buy another one like it—­I’ll be happy—­or nearly happy.”

She added the “nearly happy” as the thought came to her that even with the broken statue paid for and off her mind she had still another ordeal before her.  In a couple of weeks their vacation would be up at Cherry Corners, and soon after that she would have to see Violet and Laura and the boys, except poor Chet, go off to boarding school, while she and her brother would be left behind.

Oh, well, she would not think of that just yet.  They could at least enjoy the time they were to spend at Cherry Corners.

And they did enjoy it!  There was never a minute of the day for which something interesting was not planned.

Then one night, when they had almost forgotten that the house was supposed to be haunted, they had an experience that brought back all their old fears of the place—­“and then some,” as Teddy said.

Billie sat up in bed suddenly with the familiar chilly feeling up and down her spine and her hair showing a tendency to pull away from her prickly scalp.

The piano was sounding—­all the way from treble to bass!  And it was the middle of the night with everybody in bed!

She put out a hand and shook Laura and Violet to consciousness.

“Oh, girls, it is the ghost this time!” she said in a scared whisper that made them wide awake in an instant.  “It—­it’s playing the piano!”