Mr.
Blackford tried the knob, and then called:
"Stand back, whoever is in there. I'm going to burst this door open!"
Grace cried out.
"Quiet!" commanded Betty. "It is the only way."
Mr. Blackford placed his shoulder down near the lock. There was a
cracking and splintering of wood, and the door suddenly flew open with a
crash.
"Mollie! Mollie!" cried Betty, as she flashed the rays of her lamp
inside.
But the room was empty! Mystified, the girls, their chaperone and Mr.
Blackford, stared about it. No Mollie was there!
"But I'm sure she was thrust into this room by that figure in white,"
declared Betty. "We all saw it."
"Are you sure?" asked Mr. Blackford, slowly.
"Positive. She was put in this room for some unknown purpose, and she
can't have gotten out, for we have been in the hall all the while, and
the door was locked."
"There is the window," said Mr. Blackford, as he took the lantern from
Betty. Walking over to the casement he uttered an exclamation, as he saw
the bent bars.
"This explains it!" he cried. "She has escaped!"
"Or else the--the ghost--came in here and took her away," faltered Amy.
"Well, we'll have a look about outside," suggested the young man. "There
may be marks that will aid us, especially as the ground is soft now."
They all went outside. The rain was but a mere drizzle now. The fury of
the storm had passed, and the night was becoming calm.
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