THE HAUNTED HOUSE (4)

Bill lay on the ground.
“Bill ! Are you hurt ?” Peter asked.
“I don’t know,” said Bill. He stood up.
“I’m all right,” He started to the fence again. “We have to get out of here.”
“Look !” said Peter. “There’s a light in the house. It’s upstairs. It’s moving.”
The boys ran to the gate again. But they couldn’t open it. The light was moving down the stairs. Peter ran to a tree. He started to climb it.
The light came out the front door.Bill started to run around the house.
“Stop ! Who are you ?” Somebody said.
Bill stopped. The light came toward him. It was a flashlight. An old man was carrying it.
“We, we were only looking,” said Bill.
“We live in this street.”
“Where’s the other boy ?” asked the man. He didn’t sound angry.
Peter came toward them.” We though you were a ghost,” he said. We were afraid.
“I was afraid, too,” said the old man. “But I knew you weren’t ghosts.” He laughed. “Are you hurt ?”
“No. We’re all right,” said Bill. “Do you own this house ?”
“Yes, I do. I’m going to live here. I bought this house last week. “I’m fixing it up now.”
“Please excuse us,” said Peter. “we weren’t going to bother anything. We were only looking.”
“That’s all right,” the old man said.
“Do you want to come in ?”
“No, thank you,”said Bill. “We have to go home now. Our parents will wonder where we are.”
“Well, come again,” said the old man.
“Any time.”
“Thanks. We will.”
The next day Bill saw Peter. “Gosts !” he said. “Who’s afraid of ghosts ?”