Ghost Beyond the Gate
“I heard about that, Mose,” she commented. “It must have been quite a lively ghost to make you two hours late.”

“It suah was a lively ghost,” Mose confirmed, bobbing his woolly head. “Why, it walked around jest like a live pu’son.”

“Aren’t you being a bit superstitious, Mose?”

“Deedy not, Miss. You is supe’stitious when you sees a ghost dat ain’t dar. But when you sees one dat is dar you ain’t supe’stitious. You is jest plain scared!”

“Suppose you tell me about it,” Penny invited.

“Well, Miss Penny, it was like dis,” began the old colored man. “At half past eleven I starts off fo’ work same as always. I picks up mah lunch box de ole lady packed fo’ me, an’ scoots off toward de bus stop to get de 11:45. But I nevah get dar. When I was goin’ down dat road runnin’ past de old Harrison place, I seen de ghost.”

“The Harrison place?” interrupted Penny. “Where is that?”

“You know de road that winds up Craig Hill? It’s out towa’d de boat club.”

“You don’t mean that big estate house with the fence surrounding it?”

“Dat’s de place! Well, I seed dis heah ghost a cavortin’ around behind de big iron gate dat goes in to de old Harrison place. De ghost nevah sees me, but I gets a good close-up of him. He was dressed in white and he was carryin’ his own tombstone around in his arms jes’ like it doan weigh nothin’.”

“Oh, Mose!” protested Penny. “And then what happened? Did the ghost disappear?”

“No, Miss,” grinned the colored man, “but I did! I turns tail an’ runs as fast as a man half mah age could go, an’ I nevah stops fo’ nuthin’ till I gits back to mah own place.

“When I tells mah ole lady what was goin’ on she says, ‘Mose, you sees white ghosts ’cause you been a drinkin’ some mo’ o’ dat white-eye. It’s twelve o’clock dis minute and you’se missed de last bus. Now you start walkin’! And if you is fired, don’t nevah da’ken dat do’ no mo’.’”

Old Mose drew a deep sigh. “And dat’s jest what happened, Miss Penny. I ain’t got no job an’ no mo’ home than a rabbit. I’se suah bubblin’ oveh with trouble. It all come from seein’ dat ghost you says I didn’t see.”

“I’m sure you thought you saw one,” replied Penny. “If you’ll promise to attend strictly to your duties 
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