My vision was limited to that one object , but it was quite enough , and I went up the hill brooding darkly over the secret hidden in my breast . I longed to tell some one , but was ashamed , and , when asked why so pale and absent-minded , I answered , with a gloomy smile , -- `` It is the clams . '' All day I hid my sufferings pretty well , but as night approached , and I thought of another lonely vigil in the haunted cottage , my heart began to fail , and , when we sat telling stories in the dusk , a brilliant idea came into my head . I would relate my ghost story , and rouse the curiosity of the listeners to such a pitch that some of them would offer to share my quarters , in hopes of seeing the spirit of the restless Tucker . Cheered by this delusive fancy , when my turn came I made a thrilling tale of the night 's adventures , and , having worked my audience up to a flattering state of excitement , paused for applause . It came in a most unexpected form , however , for Mrs. Grant burst out laughing , and the two boys , Johnny and Joe , rolled off the piazza in convulsions of merriment . Much disgusted at this unseemly demonstration , I demanded the cause of it , and involuntarily joined in the general shout when Mrs. Grant demolished my ghost by informing me that Bezee Tucker lived , died in , and haunted the tumble-down house at the other end of the lane . `` Then who or what made those mysterious noises ? '' I asked , relieved but rather nettled at the downfall of my romance . `` My brother Seth , '' replied Mrs. Grant , still laughing . `` I thought you might be afraid to be there all alone , so he slipped into the bedroom , and I forgot to tell you . He 's a powerful snorer , and that 's one of the awful sounds . The other was the dripping of salt water ; for you wanted some , and the girl got it in a leaky pail . Seth wiped up the slops when he came out early in the morning . '' I said nothing about the keyhole view of the harmless razor , but , feeling that I did deserve some credit for my heroic reception of the burglar , I mildly asked if it was the custom in York for men as well as turkeys to roost in trees . An explosion from the boys extinguished my last hope of glory , for as soon as he could speak Joe answered , unable to resist the joke , though telling it betrayed his own transgressions . `` Johnny planned to be up awful early , and pick the last cherries off that tree . I wanted to get ahead of him , so I sneaked down before light to humbug him , for I was going a-fishing , and we have to be off by four . '' `` Did you get your cherries ? '' I asked , bound to have some of the laugh on my side .
`` Guess I did n't , '' grumbled XXXXX , rubbing his knees , while Johnny added , with an exulting chuckle , -- `` He got a horrid scare and a right good scraping , for he did n't know any one was down there .
Grant Joe Johnny Seth York day explosion morning night slops