As Great Hedge was in the country, though not many miles outside the city of Tarrington, there were country things in the attic, such as a spinning wheel, two of them, in fact, candlesticks, candle-moulds and so on.  You all know that a candlestick is something in which to stick a candle so one may carry it around.  In the olden days, before we had electric lights, gas or even kerosene lamps, the people used to read and work by means of candles.

A candle is a stick of tallow, wax or something like that, with a string, or wick, in the middle, just as rock candy has a string in the middle.  Only you light the string in a candle, and you throw away the string in a stick of rock candy.

Candle-moulds are tin tubes, just the shape of candles, and into these tubes was poured the melted wax or tallow to make the light-givers.

Up into the attic tramped the six little Bunkers.  From the windows, high up, they could look across the snow-covered fields.  They could see the trees, now bare of leaves, and the great black hedge around Grandpa Ford’s house.  The big chimney of the house was hot and that kept the attic fairly warm.

“You wouldn’t think a ghost could get in, would you?” asked Rose of Russ in a low voice.

“Maybe it was here already,” suggested Russ.  “An attic is a good place for ghosts.  Let’s look for one here.”

“But don’t let the others know,” cautioned Rose, motioning to Mun Bun and Margy, Laddie and Vi.

“No,” agreed Russ.

He and his sister began to look about the big attic.  As Grandma Ford had said, there were many things with which to play and have fun.

“Oh, Russ!” cried Laddie.  “Here are two spinning wheels.  Couldn’t you make something of them—­a steamboat or an auto or something?”

“Yes, I guess I could,” agreed Russ.  “Let’s see if they turn around easy.”

He and Laddie were trying the spinning wheels, whirling them around, when there came a sudden cry from Margy.  They turned to see her standing in one corner of the big attic, and, the next moment, she seemed to vanish from sight, as if she had fallen down some big hole.

“Oh, Margy!  Margy!” cried Rose.  “Where are you?”

CHAPTER XIII

THE OLD SPINNING WHEEL

For a moment there was no answer to the cry Rose gave when she saw her sister disappear from sight.  The other children, frightened by Rose’s scream, gathered about.

“What’s the matter?” asked Russ, who was whirling one of the spinning wheels, while Laddie spun the other.

“Margy’s gone!” exclaimed Rose.  “She’s gone, and maybe——­”

“Where’d she go?” asked Russ.  “Come on, Laddie, we’ll find her.”

Before Rose could answer Margy spoke for herself by uttering loud cries and sobs.  They seemed to come from a dark hole in the attic, but the little girl herself could not be seen by her brothers and sisters.