CHAPTER XVIII
THE "CODFISH" AGAIN
It seemed an age while Billie and Laura and Vi stood under the mapletree before anything happened. It really was only about five minutes.Then a sound was heard through the darkness. It was the cracking of atwig.
The girls started, and Billie, drawing some bushes aside, peered out inthe direction of the sound. What she saw made her draw in her breathsharply and Laura and Vi drew closer, looking over her shoulder.
Ten ghost-like figures were coming quickly toward them across themoonlight-flooded lawn that surrounded Three Towers Hall.
It looked as though each figure had draped itself from head to foot in aflowing sheet with places for the eyes and nose and mouth rudely cutout. The girls, watching in half-frightened silence, were reminded ofthe "Ku-Klux Klan" of post Civil War days, which they had seen once ortwice in moving pictures.
"Do you suppose it's the girls dressed up like that?" Laura whispered,beginning to wish herself back in the security of her dormitory.
"Of course. Who else could it be?" said Billie, trying to make her voicesound natural when the skin on the back of her neck was beginning tocrawl. "For goodness sake, don't let them think you're scared, whateveryou do," she whispered fiercely, as the first of the white-drapedfigures reached the woods. "That's probably just what they're trying todo."
The leader of the "ghosts," as they had already dubbed them in theirminds, came to a halt just a few feet in front of the chums, and herfollowers drew up behind her.
Then they stood there, motionless as the trees around them, looking atBillie and Laura and Vi through those ghastly white masks until thegirls thought they must scream.
They afterward found out that this was the "silence test," that unlessthe girls passed this first test they were unworthy to belong to the"Ghost Club." And passing the test consisted of doing what the girlswere doing now--although they did not know it--just standing still andwaiting for the head "ghost" to speak.
And finally, when the girls felt that they could no longer stand it butmust dash out of the dark woods and away from the ghostly, motionlessfigures, the "head ghost" spoke.
"We have come," it said, "to ask you a question."
There followed another silence, and Billie, not knowing just what wasexpected of her, but wishing to be polite, said, rather weakly: "Yes,ma'am."
For a minute it looked as if the meeting would be broken up, for whocould be dignified and ghostly when addressed as "ma'am"? There was agiggle from among the ghosts, and one or two of them began to double upas if with silent laughter. But once again the head ghost lifted itshand, or what looked more like a wing, under the sheet and her followersstraightened up.
"And that question is," said the head ghost in a voice not quite sosolemn as before: "Do you believe in ghosts?"
This was a poser. The girls never had believed in ghosts, but how couldthey say so to this white-clad group. They had either to tell a fib oroffend their visitors. Billie, acting as spokesman, chose the fib.
"We never used to," she said, and for the life of her she could not keepthe laughter out of her voice, "but I think we shall after to-night."
"Ah," said the head ghost softly, and it seemed as if there were alittle stir in the group behind her. "Then come closer for I would askyou yet one other question."
Obediently the chums came closer,--although they would much rather havestayed where they were--and the head ghost put her second question.
"Listen," she said solemnly, lowering her voice at least two degreesmore. "Listen well, for it is a matter of great import. Would you be oneof us?"
In the silence that followed the girls could almost hear their heartsbeat. This was the secret society to which every girl in Three Towerslonged to belong, and they, Billie, Laura, Vi, were being asked to join.The last question of the head ghost could mean nothing else.
They hesitated a moment, too dazed to answer, and the head ghostrepeated its request.
"Would you be one of us?" it asked. "Answer quickly--yes or no?"
Billie took a chance on her chums and took the plunge.
"Yes!" she answered breathlessly.
"Ah, 'tis well," came in solemn tones from the white mask of the leader.Then she waved her arm toward the white-clad figures behind her and thelatter moved up till they were close to her.
"You understand," said the leader then, "that one cannot change from ahuman to a ghost in a minute. There are different stages to be gonethrough. Spider!" She lifted her hand again and one of the girlsseparated herself from the group and came forward. As she faced theleader she shivered as if with a chill, raised her hands in the air,and, still shivering horribly, lowered them to her sides again.
The girls learned afterward that this was only a sort of salute whichevery member of the "Ghost Club" was supposed to give its leader.
But here at night, with the wind sighing through the trees, and weirdshadows all about, the thing looked so uncanny that once more the girlshad a wild desire to run away and hide.
"What is it, your Ghostship?" asked the one addressed as Spider, andalthough the voice was disguised the girls were sure it belonged toConnie Danvers. They began to feel more at home.
"Tell these humans," the head ghost ordered, "what they will have to gothrough to be initiated into the Ghost Club. Come forward, one at atime."
"But would it not be better to show them?" asked Spider, and this timethe girls were sure it was Connie.
"Show them, by all means," said the head ghost, and then the girls knewthey were in for it.
They had heard of initiations before and what ridiculous things thegirls and boys who were lucky or unlucky enough to be initiated had togo through with. But in every case they had heard of the clubs andfraternities had been human ones. The initiation into a ghost club wassure to be much worse.
The leader of the ghost club raised her hand again, and three girlssprang forward from the group behind her. Before the girls knew what washappening to them they found their hands pinned behind them while hugesheets were flung over their heads.
The girls that were doing all this to them tied something that felt likeropes around their waists, pulled the sheets into shape and the girlsfound to their great relief that there were eye and nose and mouth holessimilar to those in the strange robes worn by the ghosts themselves.
After that they went through strange and weird experiences that theyremembered in their dreams for a long time afterward.
They were taught the "shiver salute," bandages were tied over theireyes, or rather eye holes, and queer, slimy crawly things were pressedinto their hands.
They were forced to swallow things that felt like particularly fat andsquirmy worms. It was no wonder that the stomachs of the girlsthreatened to turn inside out. Several times they were on the point ofrevolt, but always they choked back protests and did as they were told.For to have come so near being members of the secret society of ThreeTowers and then to lose out at the last minute because they had notnerve enough to go through with the initiation, would have been realtragedy. So they gritted their teeth and went ahead.
At last it was over, the bandages were taken off their eyes, and theywere led before the head ghost to take the final oath of allegiance whena strange thing happened.
Billie, happening to glance through the trees to the bright patch oflawn beyond, uttered a startled cry. For across that bright patch oflawn a man was running, crouched and furtive.
"Girls!" she cried, forgetting the club, forgetting everything but thisnew and startling fact. "Look! Quick! Here, through the trees!"
They crowded behind her, stirred by the note of excitement in her voice,straining their eyes in the direction she had pointed out.
The man was just about to enter the shelter of the woods when thesnapping of a twig under Laura's foot caused him to stop and look abouthim, startled.
In that brief second the moon shone full upon his face, and with a startof sheer amazement Billie recognized him.
"It's the 'Codfish'!" she cried. "Girls, it's the 'Codfish'!"
"The Codfish?" they repeated in excitement, and Laura shook her armwildly.
"Billie, are you sure?" she asked, then gave a gasp of amazement anddismay.
For Billie, forgetting how ridiculous she must look in her ghostly garb,had started in pursuit.
"She's crazy!" cried the "head ghost," speaking this time in the voiceof Rose Belser. "Some one go after her quick and get her back. Supposeone of the Pickles should see her from the house!"
But before she could finish Laura was racing like mad after her chum.
Billie had stopped at the edge of the woods and was listening for somesound that might tell her in what direction the man had disappeared.
Laura grasped the sheet that enfolded Billie and tugged at it wildly.
"Billie, come back, come back!" she cried. "We may be seen from thehouse any minute."
"But it was the 'Codfish,'" cried Billie wildly. "If I only had a--agun, or something!"
"Yes, but you haven't, and he probably has." Laura was dancing withimpatience, glancing now over her shoulder at the dark woods, now towardthe house, standing out boldly in the moonlight. "Billie, for goodnesssake, don't be so crazy. We can't do anything!"
So Billie at last allowed herself to be dragged away. They found the"ghosts" talking excitedly about what had happened. And every once in awhile a girl would glance nervously over her shoulder into the darkshadows of the woods.
"Goodness, he must be a regular robber," Connie said in an excitedwhisper.
"And to think it's Billie's 'Codfish', the man who stole her trunk!"said another. "I'm scared to death!"
"D-don't you t-think we'd better go back?" asked Vi, her teethchattering.
"I guess so," agreed Connie, looking fearfully about her. "He may be inthe woods now. He may even be listening to what we say!"
This was enough for the girls. Without even a backward glance theyscurried across the lawn like so many little white phantoms and in atthe side door of Three Towers Hall.
Billie Bradley at Three Towers Hall; Or, Leading a Needed Rebellion Page 18