No-body talked while they were eating; not even the twins because they also loved their sister and were worried about her. When they had finished eating, Mr Otis told everyone to go to bed. The little Duke told Mr Otis that he would never be able to sleep, but Mr Otis would not let him him stay up.

Mr Otis said that no-one could do anything to find Virginia that night. In the morning Mr Otis said he would call police headquarters in London to send some detectives immediately.

Just as everybody was leaving the dining-room, the clock tower began to ring for midnight. Just as the clock finished ringing, there was a loud bang and a sudden scream. A huge crash of thunder shook the house, and everyone heard a strange ghostly music.

Then the part of the wall at the top of the staircase suddenly opened with a loud noise.

Virginia stepped out onto the stairs. She looked very pale and white, and she held a little box in her hand. After a moment the whole Otis family all ran up to her. Mrs Otis held her daughter tightly in her arms, the Duke covered her with kisses, and the twins did a wild dance around the group.

'Good heavens! Child, where have you been?' said Mr Otis. He was rather angry, because he thought that Virginia had been playing some foolish trick on them. 'Cecil and I have been riding all over the country looking for you, and your mother has been frightened to death. You must never play these silly jokes again.'