The Mystery of the Whispering Witch

but here,” Honey remarked.
    “Ah, but then your family also has money to enjoy it with, young lady,” Dr. Ferris answered, smiling at her. “You see, old Caleb didn’t have any money to leave young Lewis—at least, not nearly as much as everyone thought.”
    “I always thought old Mr. Lisgard was rich,” Trixie said thoughtfully.
    “Everyone did.” Dr. Ferris sighed. “But in the last months of his life, Caleb made some pretty bad investments—a lot of them. Result? Money gone. So there you are. Young Mr. Gregory inherited a white elephant of a house and no money to run it with. Yes, I feel sorry for that young man. Ah, well, there’s nothing I can do about it. I must be off. Be sure and fatten up the Franklin girl while she’s staying with you, Trixie.”
    He strode out of the gift shop and was gone. Honey stared after him, obviously still thinking about what he’d told them. “Trixie, who told you that Mr. Lisgard died of shock from seeing the witch’s ghost?” she asked.
    Trixie giggled and led the way out of the shop and back to the boys. “Regan told me,” she said. “I can’t wait to tell him the true story!”

The Psychic Medium ● 11

    ALL THE WAY HOME IN THE car, Trixie was thinking about everything that had happened since Fay had come pounding on the Beldens’ door the previous evening. So much had occurred in that short time. So much still had to be explained.
    She glanced at Fay out of the corner of her eye and wondered what she was thinking. Did she still believe that she was possessed by the witch’s spirit? Did she really believe that she could summon the powers of darkness at will?
    When the Bob-Whites had looked briefly into Mrs. Franklin’s room before leaving the hospital, it was obvious that Fay had told her mother nothing of their frightening experiences the night before.
    Mrs. Franklin had looked relaxed and had been obviously glad to see them. She had once more thanked them warmly for looking after her daughter—and no mention had been made of any witch, or ghost, or rooms filled with smoke.
    Now Trixie wondered if Fay had been wise to keep this information from her mother. If the press was already hot on the trail of this kind of story, it was likely that Mrs. Franklin would soon discover what had happened in her absence.
    “Maybe you should have told her,” Trixie said to Fay, who was seated beside her on this return trip.
    Fay jumped, as if her thoughts had been a million miles away. Then, when Trixie explained, she smiled and said, “I’ve already made sure the newspaper people won’t bother Mother—or the television crew, either. I spoke to Dr. Ferris about it. Don’t worry. Mother won’t even see a paper or a television set for a while.”
    Honey had been listening from the front seat. She turned her head and remarked over her shoulder, “All the same, Fay, it might not have been a bad idea to tell your mother something about it. It’s going to come as a terrific shock once she finds out.”
    But Fay only shook her head and repeated that she didn’t want her mother worried right now. Trixie dropped the subject, sensing that Fay didn’t want to discuss it any further.
    Jim slowed the big car as it neared the grounds of Lisgard House. “Do I use the back entrance, Fay?” he asked. 1
    Fay frowned, puzzled. “Why are you stopping, Jim?” she asked.
    Brian glanced at her. “Didn’t we hear something about picking up some clothes?”
    “I heard that some bubble-headed females packed bathing suits last night,” Mart observed.
    Trixie was startled when she heard Fay laugh aloud. It was as if her spirits had suddenly lightened, and her fears, if not quite gone, were at least held in check for a while.
    “If you wouldn’t mind, all of you,” Fay said, “I really would prefer to leave it till later. I need to see Mr. Gregory, you see, and he won’t be home till sometime this afternoon. I need to tell him about Mother’s accident—and she wants me to tell him she’ll be back at work as soon as she can.”
    “Jeepers!” Mart exclaimed. “What an admirable devotion to duty.
    “Of course, you can do whatever you want, Fay,” Brian said, “but if you’re feeling nervous about going in there alone, maybe you’d better leave it till later on tonight.”
    “Why does she have to leave it?” Trixie demanded. “You’ve already promised me you’d come with us.”
    “We thought you meant now,” Mart explained. “I mean, after we’d been to