The White Shadow

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22307, 22 January 1938, Page 7 (Supplement)

The White Shadow

Sally and the Boys Solve a Strange Mystery

By Ramona Kinback Ruch

-Oh, you fellows make me sick—talking about ghosts! A bunch of sissies, that's what you are." Tommy Dane turned disgustedly away from his gang and started toward the large old-fashioned house across the road, where he lived with his mother and father, little sister Sally, and brother Bill.

His brother, however, was more curious about ghosts than Tommy. After Tommy had gone, Bill turned to the boys. "But I tell you, fellows, if it isn't a ghost, I'll eat my hat! Every time Tom and I get in bed we can hear something outside. You know Uncle Pete told me a long time ago that people once thought that our house was haunted."

"As a member of the Detective Club, I move we check up on this er—er—this ghost!" suggested Bobby Matthews, and the others agreed. Picking up his dog, Sherlock, Bill hurried home. Mother had good news for him. Dad, who had been away on business, was coming back to-morrow. It had been lonesome without him and, whistling, Bill got ready for bed. Tommy was already sound asleep when he reached the sleeping porch. The moonlight streaming in the window made a white path across the floor. Bill climbed into bed, and five minutes later he also was asleep.

Midnight! Bill was awakened by a shadow moving back and forth on the wall —back and forth, back and forth! "Tom, do you see anything?" Tom sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes. "Oh!" he gasped. "It's our ghost!" Both boys ducked quickly under the cover. Neither dared to move. For a moment they did not dare to speak. Then a loud scraping sound reached their ears. "Bill, do you hear that?" Bill grunted and fearfully peeped out from beneath the covers. "S-say, I—l just saw something dart by the window. The shadow's gone from the wall."

Again they waited, but there was no further sound. At last they cautiously got out of bed and went to the window. Perhaps the tree just outside had caused the scraping. But, no, it couldn't have —it wasn't close enough, to the house. And it couldn't have been the tree that threw the shadow on the wall, for now the shadow wEfe gone. Tom suggested that they spend the rest of the night downstairs, but Bill was scornful. "Nothing doing, I'm going to solve this thing if it's the last thing I ever do." So both boys climbed back into bed to keep watch. But nothing happened, and finally they fell asleep again. The next morning after breakfast their young sister, Sally, joined them. They knew what she

wanted. For days she had been begging them to let her join their club. "I think it's awfully mean if you don't let me," she said. Tommy thought a moment. "Say, Bill, why couldn't Sally be our secretary and write our letters, like the big detective agencies down town?"

"Ooh! I'd love that!" Sally coaxed. "Maybe Daddy would let me use his typewriter." "Well, I don't know," said Bill. "We'd have to tell her where our secret mail box is. Could you promise to keep things to yourself, Sally, and not tell them all over?" "Oh, I will. Honestly, I will," promised Sally. Sherlock, the dog, barked just as though he knew something exciting was in the air.

"We might as well begin," Tommy said. "Take a letter, Sally —I mean Miss—"

"Miss Pinkerton," said Bill.

While Sally left them to get paper and a pencil, Bill turned to Tommy. "Do you think we should tell her about the ghost?"

"I suppose we'll have to, Bill. Maybe she'll be a help." When Sally returned with her pad, Tommy walked up and down the porch, dictating just as he had seen his father do at his office. Sherlock tagged at his heels.

To the members of the detective club:

Gentlemen: We hereby call a special meeting for this morning at 11 o'clock in our secret garden. Yours truly, Thomas Dane. William Dane.

To show their good intentions, the boys allowed Sally to sign her initials in very small letters at the bottom of the page. Then they took her to their secret mail box, a little hollow in the old wooden fence at the rear of their house. Here the boys of the club left messages for one another. Not far away was their secret garden, a patch of grass hidden on all sides by trees and bushes. Here, by 11 o'clock, the boys had all assembled. Excitement ran high. "Men," said Tommy Dane, "we have work to do to-day. We will first go into our 'Lost' business. Charley, did you bring the 'Gazette'?" Every morning the boys met and read the "Lost and Found" column in the morning paper; then they set out to try to find the lost articles. One time they had found a man's wallet with £2O and some valuable papers, and the owner had given them 10s reward for their club treasury. Another time, they had found a woman's pet dog and had been rewarded with ice cream.

"Before we start," said Tommy, after Charley had read aloud the

items in the morning paper, "we have a new member to initiate. She's to be known as Pinkerton. Stand up, Sally." "Very well," said Charley Gates. "We accept Sally—l mean Pinkerton, as a member of our club." Sally was so proud she could have hugged her brothers. However, having been warned that such action would mean suspensiop from the club, she refrained. "Now to our big business," said Charley. "About the ghost—did you find out anything more about it, Bill?"

"Yes, we did," said pill. "Last night we kind of heard a noise in the middle of the night.*, "Aw, I don't believe it," said Bobby Matthews. "You're just trying to get us excited." "We did, too," said Billy, "and if you don't believe it—you and Charley, or Stevie, or any of you, come and stay with us to-night, and see for yourselves."

In the excitement that foßowrf Dad's return, Sally and the bsjs forgot all about the ghost Stew and Charley had been invited ta dinner, and later Mr Dane p&J« with them out on the lawn. , Bedtime came and, after mpo talking and laughing, the four.ofljs finally went to sleep, only tpJ* awakened by a severe storm. - Tw wind howled and moaned, the .vet beat in torrents against the sine« the house, lightning flashed am thunder rolled. In the midst of Os came the peculiar scraping n«* that Bill and Tommy had heard * night before. Steve and Co«W sat up in bed, staring at the a» window. (To be continued.)

THE EARTHQUAKE

What a rumble and a murnKte What a stumble and a jumbl?. When upon a summers day An earthquake once began to pw-

The old church tower begaa J>

quake, . _^ The whole town so soon did f** When, upon a summer's day _^ An earthquake once began to P» —YVONNE WATSC&

This month we are going to:** lington with mummy. -SHIRLEY MACKAX