The Ghost Witch by Betty Ren Wright

CHAPTER ONE
    The Witch’s Cat
    â€œIt is too our house now,” Jenny Warren insisted. “Miss Nagle left it to us. She and my great-grandma were best friends. My mom helped her out with errands and stuff for years. I guess she wanted to give us a present.”
    Jenny and her best friend Chris Ellis stared at the big house at the end of Willowby Lane. Dark windows stared back at them.
    â€œThat’s some present!” Chris rolled her eyes. “You wouldn’t really live here, would you?”
    â€œMaybe yes, maybe no,” Jenny said. “We haven’t decided yet.” She was beginning to be sorry she’d invited Chris to come with her.
    â€œWell, I sure wouldn’t want to,” Chris said. “This is the spookiest-looking house in town. And my cousin says Miss Nagle was a witch!” She looked over her shoulder when she said it.
    â€œThat’s dumb,” Jenny said. “Miss Nagle wasn’t a witch. I told you, she was my great-grandma’s best friend. Come on,” she continued briskly, trying not to notice how dreary the house looked under the gray October sky, “we have to go in and feed Miss Nagle’s cat.”
    â€œNot me!” Chris squealed. “No way!” She clutched the gatepost as if she thought Jenny might try to drag her up the long walk to the house.
    â€œBut that’s what we came for!” Jenny exclaimed. “My mom says I have to take a turn once in a while. You don’t want the poor cat to go hungry, do you?”
    â€œNo, but I want somebody else to feed him,” Chris said. “Why don’t you take him home with you?”
    â€œBecause we can’t have a pet in our apartment,” Jenny told her. “Later on we might put an ad in the paper to find him a new home. Unless we move in here ourselves.…” She tried to sound as if that was what she hoped would happen.
    After a moment Chris let go of the gatepost. “You’re brave, Jenny,” she said. “I wish I was as brave as you.”
    Jenny was pleased, even if she didn’t feel very brave at the moment. “We just have to go into the kitchen,” she coaxed. She led the way up the walk and around the side of the house. Leaves crunched noisily under their feet.
    Jenny wore the house keys around her wrist on a ring as big as a bracelet. She unlocked the glassed-in back porch with the key her mother had marked for her and scooped up the bag of cat food. Then she opened the kitchen door with a second key.
    â€œHere, Rufus.” Her voice seemed to bounce off the walls of the chilly, old-fashioned kitchen.
    â€œWhat’s he look like?” Chris whispered.
    Jenny shrugged. “I don’t know. My mom’s been feeding him till now.” She picked up one of the two bowls on the floor in front of the sink. “I’ll get the water, and you fill the other bowl with cat food, okay?”
    â€œIt’s too quiet in here,” Chris muttered. Then she screamed. Jenny dropped the water bowl into the sink with a clatter.
    â€œ What’s wrong ?”
    â€œThe cat!” Chris whimpered. “He’s here, and he’s wrapping himself around my legs. Look at him!”
    Jenny stared. Miss Nagle’s cat was the biggest she’d ever seen. His coat was red-orange, and his green eyes glowed in the dim light.
    â€œThe witch’s cat!” Chris shivered. She peered into the hallway that led to the rest of the house. “Jenny, let’s go,” she begged. “I feel as if something’s staring at me!”
    â€œThat’s crazy,” Jenny protested. She tried not to notice the prickles on the back of her neck. As she bent to pet the cat, a blast of cold air swept through the kitchen. The door to the hall slammed shut with a crash that made both girls jump.
    â€œHelp!” Chris shrieked. She dashed across the kitchen and out onto the porch. Jenny quickly put the water bowl on