Read Online Christina's Ghost by Betty Ren Wright - Free Book Online Page B

looked underneath the sideboard. The comic book was there, behind one of the heavy wooden legs and curled up against the molding.
    She carried the book to the parlor. She’d read all the riddles that first day, but she could try them on Uncle Ralph. If she made him laugh, maybe Russell Charles would appear again. And maybe not. It hadn’t been the friendly gaze of a little boy that she’d felt while they searched the study.
    â€œUncle Ralph, why is a mouse like hay?”
    He looked up. “You tell me.” He sounded impatient.
    â€œBecause the cat’ll eat it.” Chris waited. “See, ‘cat’ll’ sounds the same as ‘cattle’—”
    â€œI’ve told you a hundred times,” Uncle Ralph said. “Don’t explain.”
    â€œWhat did one candle say to the other candle?”
    Uncle Ralph gave up. He closed his book on one finger and pretended to concentrate. “You light up my world?”
    Chris giggled. “That’s pretty good,” she admitted. “But it’s the wrong answer. The right answer is ‘Are you going out tonight?’ ”
    Uncle Ralph shrugged. “I like mine better. Or how about ‘I think you’re really
wick
-ed, dearie’?”
    It was Chris’s turn to groan. She read him the last riddle on the page. “What goes ‘Ho-ho-ho-thunk’?”
    â€œI’ve heard that one before,” Uncle Ralph said, but now the playfulness was gone from his voice. “It’s a man laughing his head off.”
    Chris looked up from the comic book. Uncle Ralph was staring at a corner of the parlor. There was the slightest of movements, and suddenly Russell Charles was standing there.
    â€œHe came back,” Chris breathed. “Oh, I’m glad.”
    But this time Russell wasn’t smiling. The small face seemed frozen in panic. As Chris and Uncle Ralph watched, he raised a hand and pointed at Chris. Then, as silently as he’d come, he was gone.
    â€œSomething’s wrong,” Chris cried. “He never looked like that before. Oh, Uncle Ralph—”
    She stopped as a loud scraping sound cut through the quiet house. It came from upstairs.
    â€œThe chest,” Uncle Ralph said. Beads of sweat popped out on his forehead. “That was the chest being pushed away from the attic door.”
    â€œNo,” Chris whimpered. “No, no, no!”
    But even as she said it, she heard the attic door open, and heavy steps started down the upstairs hall.

15.
“Let’s Get Out of Here!”
    Uncle Ralph crossed the parlor in one long leap. He snatched the comic book from Chris’s hands and flipped the pages.
    â€œHe’s coming!” Chris shrieked. “Listen!”
    The footsteps reached the top of the stairs. “He’s going to come down,” Chris said. “Let’s get out of here!”
    â€œAnd do you know
why
he’s coming down?” Uncle Ralph demanded hoarsely. “We’re getting too close to his secret, that’s why. Russell Charles was trying to tell us something.” He shook the comic book hard. A glassine envelope, long and narrow like a bookmark, fell to the floor.
    â€œThere it is!” he shouted.
    The footsteps started down the stairs.
    Uncle Ralph dived for the envelope, but before he could pick it up, an icy wind swept the room. The envelope skittered across the carpet.
    â€œI’ll get it,” Chris squealed. She snatched up the envelope and looked around for an escape route. Not the front door. That would mean facing the thing that was on the stairs. She ran to a window. The nearest one was painted shut. She struggled with the second until Uncle Ralph pushed her aside and jerked it open.
    â€œOut you go!” he shouted. “Quick!”
    The cold wind roared around Chris, and the footsteps on the stairs were as loud as thunder. She tumbled through the window out onto the porch. Uncle Ralph was