Judith reached Jane as she stood listening.

“Where is it?” she whispered.

“I—­can’t tell,” Jane replied.  “Pass around the turn into the linen room.  We can reach the stairs that way.”

“Not—­going up alone!” breathed Judith.

“Why not?  It’s some lark of the girls, you may be sure, and I’m going to find out what it is now.”

“But it’s dark,” cautioned Judith.

“I have my flash.  Listen!”

“Oh,” groaned Judith, clutching Jane’s arm, for a rattling of something like chains was now distinctly audible.

“Hush!” breathed Jane, laying her fingers lightly on the door knob of the boxed in stairway.  The next moment there was a crash and both girls darted up the stairs.

“It was over that way!” insisted Judith, but in the darkness, with nothing but Jane’s flash to guide them, it was impossible to tread safely through the attic, which was stored with all sorts of discarded materials.

“Wait a minute,” whispered Jane, her heart pounding and nerves almost jumping.

They stood breathless, but not a move answered the silence.

“Come down; do, Jane,” begged Judith, shivering in actual fear.

“Wait a few minutes,” insisted Jane.  “Whatever it is they know we are here!”

“Jane!” breathed the other, “I am honestly ready—­to faint.”

“Nonsense, just a few minutes.”  Jane could feel her companion tremble as she clung to her arm.

But not a sound nor a move rewarded their brave defiance.

“If only this place had a light,” Jane whispered.  “I suppose there is a bulb somewhere.”  She remembered that the fireman found none, however, and tonight even the patch of moonlight was not there.  It really would have been foolhardy to attempt to go further into the low-beamed room, at the risk of running into attack, and evidently the noise had not been heavy enough to arouse anyone else in the Hall, for no sound of moving about came from the lower floors.

“Do come down,” begged Judith again, taking two steps herself on the stairs.

“No, I shan’t,” insisted Jane.  “I can wait as long as they can.”

As if that gave a cue for action a rope—­surely it was a rope—­ creaked and groaned and the rumbling heard first sounded again—­ somewhere, it seemed from the very roof.

“There!” said Jane.  “They’re gone and they went by that rope.  Come on down.  We can’t do anything in this darkness,” and, now satisfied that the “ghost” had been scared off, she followed Judith’s precipitous escape down, and into the lower hallway.

“What was it?  Did you catch him?  We heard it?  Where is it?”

To the astonishment of the two juniors the halls were dotted with heads thrust out of half closed doors, and the alarmed freshmen opened this volley of questions before Jane and Judith had recovered their breath.

“No, we did not get it,” replied Judith, “but we scared it off, and I have my opinion of a ghost afraid of two unarmed juniors.”  Judy was very brave now, and rather proud of it.