When the girls and their brother left home that evening Catherine had not forgotten the latch-key.

“We may be late,” she said, “so I will put it in my pocket.”

They were late, and as they approached the old gates Catherine gave the key to Mabel, who hastened to fit it into the lock of the side gate.

To her surprise it opened at a touch.

“Kate!” exclaimed the young girl, “Tester has been very careless; he has never closed the side gate.”

“I will call him up and speak to him now,” said Catherine, who had a certain touch of her mother’s imperious nature.  “He shall do it now.  Mother is always most particular about the gates, and she ought not to be disobeyed in her absence.”

Catherine was running across the avenue to wake old Tester when Loftus laid his hand on her arm.

“You really are too absurd, Kitty,” he said.  “I simply won’t allow that poor, infirm, old man to be got out of his bed for such a ridiculous reason.  Who cares whether the gates are locked, or not locked?”

“Mother cares,” said Catherine, her eyes flashing.

“Now, Kate, you must use your common-sense.  That fad about locking the gates is a pure and simple whim on the mother’s part.  Of course we’ll humor it, but not to the extent of waking up old Tester.  Come, Kitty, you shall give the old man any amount of blowing up in the morning, only now you really must leave him alone.”

“I’m going on,” said Mabel; “I can scarcely keep my eyes open.  Will you come with me, Loftie?  If Kate likes to stay by herself with the dark trees and the ghosts, why, let her.  I’m off to bed.”

She ran laughing and singing up the old avenue.

Loftus turned to resume his argument with Catherine, Mabel’s gay voice echoed more faintly as she ran on.  Suddenly it stopped.  Patter, patter, came back the swift feet, and, trembling and shivering, she threw herself into Loftus’s arms.

“I heard something—­there’s something in the avenue!”

The moon was shining, and showed Mabel’s face as white as a sheet.

“You silly child,” said Loftus, “you heard a rabbit scuttling home.  Here, take my arm, and let us all get home as fast as we can.  Why, you are trembling from head to foot.  You are tired out, that’s it.  Take her other arm, will you, Kate?”

“They say Rosendale is haunted,” panted Mabel.

“Folly!  Don’t listen to such rubbish.  Your rabbit was hurrying to bed, and was as much afraid of you as you of it.”

“It—­it wasn’t a rabbit,” said Mabel.  “Rabbits don’t sigh.”

“Oh—­sighs only belong to ghosts?”

“I don’t know.  Don’t laugh at me, Loftie.  I heard a real sigh and a rustle, and something white flashed.”

“Then you flashed back to us.  Never talk of being a brave girl again, May.”

“Let us walk very quickly,” said Mabel.  “It was just there I saw it.  Just by that great clump of Lauristinus.  Don’t let us speak.  There, that’s better.  I own I’m frightened, Loftie.  You needn’t laugh at me.”