After her husband had gone to work. Mrs. Richards sent her children to school
and went upstairs to her bedroom. She was too excited to do any housework that
morning, for in the evening she would be going to a fancy-dress part with her
husband. She intended to dress up as a ghost and as she had made her costume
the night before, she was impatient to try it on. Though the costume consisted
only of a sheet, it was very effective. After putting it on, Mrs. Richards
went downstairs. She wanted to find out whether it would be comfortable to
wear.#
Just as Mrs. Richards was entering the dinning room, there was a knock on the
front door. She knew that it must be the baker. She had told him to come
straight in if ever she failed to open the door and to leave the bread on the
kitchen table. Not wanting to frighten the poor man, Mrs. Richards quickly hid
in the small storeroom under the stairs. She heard the front door open and
heavy footsteps in the hall. Suddenly the door of the storeroom was opened and
a man entered. Mrs. Richards realized that it must be the man from the
Electricity Board who had come to read the metre. She tried to explain the
situation, saying 'It's only me', but it was too late. The man let out cry and
jumped back several paces. When Mrs. Richards walked towards him, he fled,
slamming the door behind him.&