All the tales that had been told of the haunted house came vividly before each guest. There were feminine screams, a confused rush for the hallway, and in two seconds the wedding festivities were in an uproar. The bride sank to the floor, and with white, upturned face, lay unconscious.

The men of the party with one thought jumped to the fireplace, and Ned was dragged, by way of the chimney, into the room. Completely dazed, utterly chagrined, and looking altogether foolish, he sat in a round, high basket, his knees crushed under his chin, the clown's cap rakishly hanging over one ear, his face unrecognizable in its thick coating of cobwebs and soot.

"Oh, we're so sorry," Dorothy's eager young voice broke upon the hushed crowd, as she ran into the room, with Mabel behind her.

Ned stared open-mouthed at the gaily-dressed people. It had happened so suddenly, and was so far from what he had planned, that he could not get himself in hand.

"Good gracious!" exclaimed the bride's father, pacing up and down, "can't someone get order out of this chaos?"

The bridegroom was chafing the small white hands of his bride, and the guests stepped away to give her air. The wedding finery lay limp and draggled. Dorothy stifled a moan as she looked. Quickly jumping out of the crowd she left the room. Mabel stood still, uncertain as to what to do. At the long French windows appeared Nat, Ted and Gus, grotesque in their make-ups and trying in vain to appear as serious as the situation demanded.

"Step in here!" commanded the father, and the boys meekly stepped in. A brother of the bride held Ned firmly by the arm. "Now, young scallywags, explain yourselves!"

It was an easy thing for the irate father to demand, but it completely upset the boys. They couldn't explain themselves.

In an awed whisper, Ned ventured an explanation: "We only wanted to keep up the reputation of the house."

"And the basket stuck," eagerly helped out Ted. "We just thought we would whisper mysteriously and-and cough-or something," and Ned tried to free himself from the grip on his arm.

"It was wider than we thought and the basket kept going down--" Nat's voice was hoa.r.s.e, but he couldn't control his mirth.

"The rope slipped some-and the basket stuck--" Ted's voice was br.i.m.m.i.n.g over with apologies.

"Naturally, we would have entered by the front door," politely explained Gus, "had we foreseen this."

"You see it stuck," persisted Ted, apparently unable to remember anything but that awful fact.

"Then it really wasn't spooks," asked a tall, dark-haired girl, as she joined the group.

One by one the guests gingerly returned to the room and stood about, staring in amus.e.m.e.nt at the boys. The cool, though severe stares of the ladies were harder to bear than any rough treatment that might be accorded them by the men. Against the latter they could defend themselves, but, as Ned suddenly realized, there is no defence for mere man against the amused stare of a lady.

"It certainly could be slated at police headquarters as 'entering',"

calmly said a stout man, taking in every detail of the boys' costumes.

"Disturbing the peace and several other things."

"With intent to do malicious mischief," the man who spoke balanced himself on his heels and swung a chrysanthemum to and fro by the stem.

The minister was walking uneasily about. The bride was on a sofa where she had been lifted to come out of her faint.

In a burst of impatience Ted whispered to Mabel, whom, for some reason, he did not appear at all surprised to see there: "Where's Dorothy?"

Mabel, scared and perplexed, shook her head solemnly. But, as if in answer to the question, Dorothy rushed into the room, her cheeks aglow, her hair flying wildly about, and behind her walked Dr. Gray.

Dr. Gray's kindly smile beamed on the little bride, and he soon brought her around. Sitting up, she burst into a peal of merry laughter.

"What, pray tell me, are they?" she demanded, pointing at the boys. She was still white, but her eyes danced, and her small white teeth gleamed between red lips.

"My cousins," bravely answered Dorothy. Everyone laughed, and the boys, in evident relief, shouted.

"You've come to my wedding!" exclaimed the bride.

"Kind of 'em; wasn't it?" said the bridegroom, sneeringly.

"But we're going now," quickly replied Dorothy, with great dignity.

"Why?" asked the bride with wide open eyes. "Since you are not really spooky creatures, stay for the dancing."

"We're terribly thankful you are not ghosts," chirped a fluffy bridesmaid.

"You see if you had really been spooks," laughed the bride, "everyone would have shrieked at me that horrible phrase, 'I told you so,' because you know I insisted upon being married in this house, just to defy superst.i.tion."

"Just think what you've saved us!" said the tall, dark-haired girl.

"Of course if it will be any accommodation," awkwardly put in Ned, "we'll dance." He thought he had said the perfectly polite thing.

"He's going to dance for us!" cried the tall girl, to the others in the hall, and everyone crowded in.

An hour later, trudging home in the bright moonlight, Dorothy sighed: "Weren't they wonderful!"

"It was decent of them to let us stay and have such fun," commented Ned.

"And such eats!" mused Nat. And Nat and Ned, with a strangle hold on each other, waltzed down the road.

Happy, but completely tired, the boys and girls plowed through the snow, homeward bound.

CHAPTER VIII THE AFTERMATH

Christmas day, at dusk, the boys were stretched lazily before the huge fire in the grate, when Dorothy jumped up excitedly:

"Boys, here's Tavia! And I declare, Bob Niles is with her!"

"Good for Bob!" sang out Ned.

"'Rah! 'Rah!" whooped Ted, and all rushed for the door.

Gaily Tavia hugged them all. Bob stood discreetly aside.

"Father was called away, and it was so dreary-I just ran over to see everyone," gushed Tavia.

"Well, we're glad to see you," welcomed Aunt Winnie.

"Oh, Tavia," whispered Dorothy, "how did you manage to get Bob?"

"Get whom?" Tavia tried to look blank. Dorothy spoiled the blankness by stuffing a large chocolate cream right into Tavia's mouth before her chum could close it.