Free BSC09 The Ghost At Dawn's House by Ann M. Martin

reaction.
    It was worth it. All she was able to do was let her mouth drop open, cover it with both hands, and stare.
    "I found it," I said unnecessarily. "A secret passage."
    "Oh, wow. I don't believe it." Mary Anne's voice was little more than a whisper. "How — how did you find it?"
    I told her the story, but I left out all the stuff about the buckle and the nickel and Jared Mullray. I'm no fool. If Mary Anne knew those things, she'd probably never get within a mile of my house again.
    "Don't you want to see it?" I asked her. I took her by the arm and edged her toward the wall.
    We turned our flashlights on and stepped into the passage. I shoved Mary Anne ahead of me. "You go first," I said.
    "Are you crazy?"
    "Absolutely not. I know if I go first you won't follow. I'll find you lounging around on my bed or something. Now go. I'll be right here."
    Trembling, Mary Anne led the way toward the stairs. By the time we reached them, she
    was fine, but I was in a panic. I didn't say anything, but I hadn't seen the Indian-head nickel. And I knew very well that I'd tossed it back in the passage after the Trip-Man had given it to me. I wasn't sure how hard I'd thrown it, but it couldn't have gone too far. Certainly not down the stairs. Where was it?
    Answer: It was missing. Jared had it. He'd wanted it back. He wanted to give it to Mathias Bradford.
    I tried to convince myself I was being ridiculous. As we stepped gingerly down the stairs, I swept the beam of my flashlight carefully from side to side, just in case.
    No coin.
    Mary Anne and I had almost reached the spot where Jeff and I had heard the weird noises the other night, when Mary Anne stopped dead in her tracks.
    "Shh!" she hissed. "Did you hear that?"
    "Hear what?".
    "Shh!"
    We stopped to listen. I didn't hear a sound, but I saw something at my feet. I leaned over for a look. Peanut shells. They were kicked off to the side and were kind of grimy looking, but I knew they hadn't been in the passage before.
    "Uh-oh. Oh, no/' I moaned. I couldn't help it.
    "What's wrong?" asked Mary Anne suspiciously.
    "Those peanut shells weren't here the last time I was in the passage. I'm positive they weren't. Oh, it's Jared!"
    "Jared?" repeated Mary Anne.
    "The — the ghost."
    "What ghost?" said Mary Anne in a quavery voice.
    "The ghost of the secret passage." It was too late for secrets. Besides, Mary Anne is my best friend. I had to tell her.
    Now I know Mary Anne is timid, but I hadn't really expected her to desert me in the darkness. That's just what she did, though. Without another word, she squeezed by me, clattered along the passage, up the steps, and back to my room.
    "How do you close this thing?" I could hear her yelling.
    I reached the top of the stairs in time to see the patch of light at the end of the passage growing smaller. Mary Anne was shoving the wall in place.
    "Don't close it, you dope!" I yelled. "I'm still in here."
    "Oh, sorry," said Mary Anne. "I wasn't thinking."
    I slipped through the opening and closed off the passageway.
    "Now who's the crazy one?" I gasped, flopping onto my bed.
    Mary Anne flopped down beside me. "Not me!" she exclaimed. "You! You brought me some place where there's a ghost!" Suddenly she stopped and looked at me. "Wait a second. A real ghost? Are you sure you haven't just been reading too many of those weird stories?"
    "I'm sure," I replied, starting to get my breath back. "I better tell you everything, though. All right, here's the story."
    "The whole story?" interrupted Mary Anne.
    "Yes, the whole story. Okay. For starters, I'd been hearing a lot of weird sounds. They were coming from the direction of the passage, only I didn't know there was a passage at first. Then I discovered the passage, just like I told you. The first time I was in it — the day I found it — I came across a button, a buckle, and a key. They were all really old. Here, I'll show you." I got the things out of my bureau drawer and laid them on the bed.
    Mary Anne sat