“And I suppose she attempts to explain it all on purely reasonable grounds of modern thought.  The brand that credits the dead with all power, and limits the living with a very flexible and convenient practical faith.  The two work together beautifully, of course, for what we can’t understand we must put down to faith, and what we want to believe we are inspired to by our friends on the other side.  Dovetails perfectly, sort of a fidele de convenance.  Well, Maudie, you may tell the babes that we juniors, their natural guardians, will take care of his ghostship if possible this very night; if not tonight then tomorrow at M. I suppose midnight is the time of clangs and rattles?”

“Yes, the girls say it is always midnight.  And I just want to say, Jane, that the big country girl, Shirley Duncan, is the only one not terrified.  But I suppose country girls are accustomed to wild things.”  Everyone seemed loath to add further criticism to Shirley’s rather unenviable reputation.

“Oh yes; haunted wells and spooky attics, to say nothing of barnyard ‘sperits’ that roam about to scare the cows into giving buttermilk and cream cheese,” replied Jane.  “It might just be—­” she hesitated, then jumped to her feet with a little gleeful bounce—­“it might be a ghost from Shirley’s own home town.  Strange we never had one at Wellington before.”

“Velma said something like that,” admitted Maud.  “She said Shirley was so—­so antagonistic that her presence here might disturb some friendly communication, and—­”

Jane’s laugh finished the hypothesis.

“How delicious of Velma!” she exclaimed.  “But we must be careful not to bring any more trouble upon poor Shirley.  She’s only a freshman and has apparently enjoyed few home opportunities,” finished Jane.

“But why does she tell the girls such horribly weird stories?” objected the scientific Maud.  “She seems to delight in getting an audience for the wildest sort of yarns.  And just now naturally they go to the youngsters’ heads.  Honestly, Janie, no less than three freshmen have begged me to crowd into their quarters tonight.  They seem to think a soph might keep off this animated Jinks.”

“I can just imagine Shirley telling country ghost stories,” reflected Jane, “and I agree with you, dear child, she is very inopportune with them, but it would be worse than useless for me to attempt to interfere.  In fact, I think if I did so she would take up Irish Folk Lore to keep stories going.  Running out of ghosts she might fall back on fairies.  She really seems the queerest girl we have had in a long time.”

“Except Dolorez Vincez, she was still more curious,” recalled Maud, referring to the South American character in Jane Allen:  Center, who still kept within the shadow of Wellington by now running that protested beauty shop just outside the college gates.