"But it was the 'Codfish,'" cried Billie wildly. "If I only had a--a gun, or something!"

"Yes, but you haven't, and he probably has." Laura was dancing with impatience, glancing now over her shoulder at the dark woods, now toward the house, standing out boldly in the moonlight. "Billie, for goodness sake, 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 a while a girl would glance nervously over her shoulder into the dark shadows of the woods.

"Goodness, he must be a regular robber," Connie said in an excited whisper.

"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 teeth chattering.

"I guess so," agreed Connie, looking fearfully about her. "He may be in the woods now. He may even be listening to what we say!"

This was enough for the girls. Without even a backward glance they scurried across the lawn like so many little white phantoms and in at the side door of Three Towers Hall.

CHAPTER XIX

ROBBED!

For days the girls could think of little else than the initiation into the "Ghost Club" and their startling meeting with the "Codfish."

Whenever they could get together between cla.s.ses or at noon or before they went to bed, these were the topics of conversation. And of these, the "Codfish" held first place.

"He must be a real burglar," Connie said during one of these gatherings.

"Of course he was," said Rose, looking a little bored. "Respectable men don't sneak around places at all hours of the night."

"But what in the world did he want?" Laura asked wonderingly. "You wouldn't think he'd come out from the woods at all--especially when there's such a bright moon. He might be sure some one would see him."

"Oh, I don't know," said Billie thoughtfully. "He probably knows the rules of Three Towers and that the girls are all supposed to be in bed before ten o'clock, and I suppose he felt safe enough. We _should_ have been in bed, you know," she added, dimpling mischievously.

"But I wonder what he was sneaking around Three Towers for," Laura went on, unwilling to change the subject. For to Laura, mysteries were the very breath of life.

"Maybe he's waiting for a chance to rob us," said Vi in an awed little voice, and the girls shuddered.

"Well, I hope he changes his mind," said Nellie Bane anxiously. "I never did like burglars very much."

But as the days went by and nothing further happened, the mystery of the "Codfish" was pushed a little into the background.

In the first place, the chums were having the time of their lives in the "Ghost Club," and proud as could be of having been chosen for membership.

The only one who was not particularly happy was Rose Belser. Of course she had not wanted the girls in the club at first. But the rest of the club did want them, and she was afraid that if she was the only one who voted against them it would make her unpopular with the rest.

Then, too, she reasoned with herself, if she hoped to get even with Billie, the only thing was to have her around until she saw her chance.

And all the time the "Twin Dill Pickles" were getting so obnoxious that more than once the girls were upon the point of revolt. From day to day it was only Miss Race, the mathematics teacher, who stood between them and open rebellion.

For Miss Race was a staunch friend of the girls, and in her heart disliked Miss Ada and Miss Cora as much as they did. Whenever things got a little bit too bad, Miss Race would have a secret conversation with Miss Walters, who in her turn would have a little talk with the two Miss Dills. Then for the s.p.a.ce of a day or two the girls would have comparative comfort.

However, in spite of all efforts on the part of Miss Race, conditions were steadily growing worse for the girls.

Things went on very much the same, without much change one way or another, while autumn merged into winter and the snow began to fly.

There was a good deal of snow the early part of that winter, and sledding parties became more and more frequent. There was a splendid hill for coasting near Three Towers, and here the girls gathered almost every afternoon after cla.s.ses.

Sometimes, very often in fact, there were boys, too, brothers and friends of the girls, boys who attended Boxton Military Academy. It was great sport, even more thrilling than rowing or canoeing had been, so that when Lake Molata froze over the girls were joyful at the prospect of more fun. There would be skating, and Billie Bradley and her two especial friends were splendid skaters.

Before long the lake was full of joyful, shouting boys and girls whenever the weather was fine. And as for Chet and Teddy and Ferd, they walked the mile from Boxton Academy almost every afternoon.

"Let's have a race," Billie suggested one day, skating up to a group of her chums. Her cheeks were rosy with wind and exercise, and her brown hair had escaped in little curling strands about her ears.

Teddy, looking up at her, thought that she looked like the picture of a girl on a magazine cover that he had seen not so very long before.

"All right," he said, doing a fancy step on the ice that almost landed him on his nose. "Shall we take partners? Yes we shall. Billie, will you be mine?"

The rest of the girls giggled--all but Rose, who had taken a great liking to handsome Teddy and did not at all fancy the way he always singled out Billie, "the little cat"--and Billie made a face at Teddy.

"I'll think about it," she teased, then drew the boys and girls around her while she outlined the course of the race. "Now," she said, "we'll skate straight ahead till we come to where the lake takes that sudden bend. Then we'll double, and whoever pa.s.ses the big maple tree first will win. Who's going in this race?"

It seemed that nearly everybody wanted to--everybody who could get a partner, that is--and in a minute or two a score of merry young figures were flying over the ice in a gallant effort to make the turn and get back to the old maple first.

It was a pretty scene, at least Caroline Brant thought so. But Rose Belser, sitting close beside her, sc.r.a.ping her skates along the ice until she made two ugly little ridges in it, did not agree with her.

There was Billie, taking the center of the stage again as usual, and there was Caroline looking after her with a smile. Well, Caroline could smile. She had never been the most popular girl at Three Towers, although most of the girls did like her, at that. Billie wasn't taking _her_ place. And she dug still more viciously at the ice.

"Better not do that," said Caroline, bringing her eyes back from the flying figures and looking at the ugly ridges Rose had made. "Somebody's apt to tumble over them and get hurt."

"I wish they would," said Rose savagely, then added with a mean little smile that suddenly reminded Caroline of Amanda Peabody: "I suppose Billie would like to fall so that Teddy Jordon would have a chance to pick her up."

"Rose, stop saying such things!" Caroline said. But further speech was prevented when a girl's voice hailed them excitedly. They turned to see Nellie Bane running toward them at full speed.

"Girls, the most awful thing has happened!" she panted when she came within speaking distance. "Miss Race was coming home from town a few minutes ago, and suddenly a man stepped out from the bushes near the road and held her up."

"Held her up!" they gasped, and Caroline added sharply:

"Do you mean she was robbed?"

"Yes," answered Nellie, still panting and with eyes wide with excitement "And from what she said, I'm sure it was the 'Codfish.'"

At that minute the skaters sped down upon them, Teddy and Billie winning triumphantly by about a yard. Caroline skated over to them, calling her story as she went. It was a minute or two before she could make them understand.

"You say one of the teachers was robbed?" asked Ferd.

Then Caroline told the story all over again, while Nellie shouted to them from the sh.o.r.e--for Nellie had on no skates and did not dare venture out on the ice without them. Before she had finished the boys were tearing wildly for the bank with the girls close behind them.