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cried, “Look! There she is!”
    A figure glided ahead of them, toward the sinking sun. She wore the same gray dress and gray shawl.
    “It’s the ghost of Rose Payne!” Benny gasped.
    “There aren’t any ghosts!” Grandfather said. “Ma’am!” he called out. “Please stop! Ma’am!”
    Everyone chased after the ghost.
    But the woman rounded the corner of the last building in town, Anderson’s Hotel. By the time the Aldens reached the corner, the street was empty.
    “She’s gone,” said Henry. “Vanished.”
    “Nonsense,” stated Grandfather. “People don’t vanish.”
    “But ghosts do,” said Benny.

CHAPTER 7
The Secret Cupboard
    Everyone discussed the vanishing ghost at dinner that night.
    “We saw Rose Payne,” Benny insisted.
    Grandfather said, “Benny, we’ve been over this. There are no ghosts.”
    “But we saw some one,” Violet insisted. “We even followed her. But she vanished.”
    “Just like a ghost!” Corey leaned forward. He and Mr. Lacey were the only ones who had eaten the tough burgers that were supper that night. Jessie figured Corey cleaned his plate every meal because he didn’t want to hurt Marianne’s feelings. Both Marianne and Mrs. Harrington did the cooking at Eagles Nest.
    “Or a real person who knows a hiding place,” said Mr. Williams. He had come back from Tincup Creek without any fish and now sat discouraged over the awful hamburger and boiled cabbage supper.
    “I’d like to see the ghost,” Corey said.
    “She only appears at sundown,” said Mrs. Harrington.
    “That’s cool,” said Corey. “Will you kids take me? Maybe we could have a picnic.”
    That sounded like fun to Benny. “May we go, Grandfather?” he asked eagerly.
    “Corey is an experienced hiker,” Grandfather acknowledged. “I think it would be all right.”
    “Yippee!” Benny said, forgetting the picnic would probably be as terrible as the other meals.
    When supper was over, James Alden and Victor Lacey went for a walk to further discuss the property offer. Mr. Williams settled down with some fishing magazines in the sitting area.
    Henry meant to tell the fisherman about the net stretched across the stream, but Corey was noisily scooping up the heavy white crockery dishes.
    “Stop it,” Marianne told him, annoyed.
    “Make me,” he teased. “I’m helping so you’ll go for a walk with me.”
    Marianne’s dark brows drew together. “I don’t want to.”
    “Why? I’m cute, funny, likable.” He grinned.
    Marianne glanced meaningfully at the Alden children.
    “Uh ... we should go brush our teeth,” Jessie said.
    They left the dining hall.
    “I don’t want to brush my teeth,” protested Benny.
    Violet giggled. “We don’t have to yet. But we should leave Marianne and Corey alone.”
    Instead of sitting in the rockers on the front porch, the children wandered around the back of the dining hall.
    “Mrs. Harrington has put out the garbage already,” Henry said, noting the sturdy, bear-proof cans lined up on the back deck.
    “She probably has lots of it,” Jessie said. “Nobody but Corey and Mr. Lacey ate that nasty meal. I don’t know how they stand it.”
    “I don’t know how Marianne and Mrs. Harrington stand their own cooking,” Henry added. “If I were them, I’d hire a cook.”
    Benny was staring at the row of cans. Beside them was a white metal cupboard with a lock through the double handles. One door was open, the lock dangling loosely from its handle. Pretty fancy for a garbage container, he thought.
    Suddenly he knew what was in the cupboard. Marianne and Mrs. Harrington didn’t eat their own cooking.
    “I bet I know what’s in the cabinet,” he declared.
    “What?” asked Henry.
    “Something good,” said Benny. “Look, the door’s open. Can I look inside?”
    Jessie nodded. “I guess it’s okay.”
    Benny ran up on the porch. “I knew it! Food! Pork and beans, fruit juice, cupcakes, pickles — ”
    Jessie suddenly felt nervous. “Come away