The Mystery of the Galloping Ghost

The
published reports are all fifty to one hundred years old.”
    “Published
reports?” Trixie prompted.
    “Oh,
just some brief references in the local newspaper,” Wilhelmina said. “That was
where I first heard of the phenomenon. I was cataloguing the papers of one of
the institute’s founders. He had several clippings on the Galloping Ghost,
although I don’t believe he’d ever discussed it with anyone.”
    “I
couldn’t have seen the Galloping Ghost,” Trixie said. “The horseman I saw
wasn’t galloping.”
    “A
logical but erroneous conclusion,” Wilhelmina said approvingly. “That’s one of
the facets of the phenomenon that I find most interesting. Approximately half
of the references refer to the ghost as galloping full-speed. The other half
refer to the slow pace you’ve described. The name Galloping Ghost is used for
both, perhaps because it’s more fun to say than ‘slow-moving ghost.’ However, I
wonder if the two phenomena are related, and if so, how?”
    “Don’t
any of the clippings tell you?” Honey asked.
    Wilhelmina
shook her head. “Unfortunately, no. Everyone leaped to
the conclusion that the two phenomena were one.”
    “Why
don’t you ask somebody?” Trixie asked. “Bill seemed to know all about it.”
    “All
in good time,” Wilhelmina said. “Interviews are certainly part of any serious
investigation. For scientific purposes, however, it’s best that the trained
observer approach the phenomenon with an open mind.”
    “You
mean you’d like to see the ghost yourself before you talk to anybody about it,”
Trixie said.
    “Exactly,”
Wilhelmina agreed. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t know if I was seeing what was really
there, or merely what I’d been told to expect.”
    “I
guess you haven’t seen the ghost yet,” Trixie said. When Wilhelmina shook her
head, Trixie asked, “Did you see old Gus last night?” Wilhelmina shook her head
again.
    Trixie
felt the hairs on her arms begin to prickle. “How come I saw him and you
didn’t?” she asked.
    “That
question has occurred to me. So far, I do not have a suitable explanation.”
    “C-can
one person see a ghost when somebody else watching the
same spot at the same time doesn’t?” Trixie asked.
    “Yes,”
Wilhelmina said matter-of-factly. “Sometimes everyone will see the phenomenon;
or only one or two will see it; or one will see and hear it, while others only
see it or only hear it.”
    “Then
it really could have been—” Trixie couldn’t bring herself to finish the
sentence.
    “It
really could have been old Gus, whom I missed because I was pouring a cup of
coffee or merely looking in the wrong direction. However, people who go looking
for apparitions rarely see them. That is another reason why I have chosen to
hide myself for this portion of the investigation.”
    “Can
you hide from a ghost?” Trixie asked skeptically .
    “Probably
not, but one does what one can to minimize the disturbance of the aura,”
Wilhelmina said.
    “Could
we help you with your investigation?” Honey asked timidly.
    “It
would be enormously helpful if you would protect my secrecy,” the woman said.
When both girls nodded their agreement, she added, “Beyond that, anything you
can find out about this Galloping Ghost from the locals might be helpful. But
be subtle, or they’ll tell you only what they think you want to hear.”
    “How
will we find you?” Trixie asked. “Are you staying in town? Do you have a
telephone?”
    “I’m
here at my post every afternoon at 4 o’clock.” With that, Wilhelmina seemed to
shut the girls out, turning to scan the distance with the binoculars.
    Trixie
wasn’t even sure if Wilhelmina heard her say, “We’ll let you know about
anything we find out.”
    The
girls walked back to the house in silence. They were concentrating too hard on
finding their way through the dark to carry on a conversation.
    As
they reached the house, Trixie remembered something she had to ask Honey. “Was
that really a bat out there by the stable?”
    “Don’t
ask me,” Honey said with a smile. “I never could tell the difference.”



4 * A Trail
Ride
     
    Both girls slept fitfully that
night. When they sat down at the breakfast table the next morning, they were
blurry-eyed and yawning.
    “In
bed by 10 o’clock and you can’t wake up by 7!” Bill Murrow chided.
    Trixie
blushed and stared at her plate, knowing it had been nearly midnight when she
and Honey had returned from the meeting