Long before you were born, when your parents were merely young children like yourselves, there lived a man named Mr. Thompson Longfield. He was not too short and not too fat, not too old and not too young, not too happy and not too sad. He was a quite ordinary man, to be sure. But there were two things in which he took special pride in: his mustache and his umbrella. I will not bore you with the details of his mustache (for it involves a great deal of combing, preening, and whatnot), but I shall tell you a bit more about his umbrella. It really was a magnificent one, with a shiny white surface and a particularly thick silver handle. It was almost bigger than Mr. Longfield himself, and it would wave beautifully in the wind. Now, no one quite knows where the man got it (I myself think he made it), but everyone envied him for it. He would take it everywhere he went, whether it was rain or shine, for he was a stupendous braggart, like the rest in the Longfield line. One chilly Thursday morning, as Mr. Thompson walked along with both his

umbrella and his head high, there came a terrible gust of wind that knocked his prized possession out of his hands (the umbrella, not the mustache, of course). The wind carried it away, farther and farther from its poor owner, until it came to rest on top of the roof of a house. Of course, if you have any common sense at all, you will know that umbrellas don't stay on roofs for a long time. After a time, a great thunderstorm occurred, and the umbrella blew away, past lakes and rivers and even whole countries. And then, finally, it landed in a large field. The field was filled with hyacinths, peonies, and Lily-of-the-Incas. All around it were high, rolling hills that swooped and dove as if they were alive. But nobody lived there. As years passed, the umbrella's soft, sparkling outer coat drooped downwards like a cloak, and its thick metal handle became rusted and gray from the rain. After a time, the field was used as a racing track, part of a lovely school which was built there. Now we must forget about Mr. Longfield and focus on five children who attended it.

Lunar was a bold, jaunty girl with wild coffee-colored eyes and curly brown hair that sprung up when she bounced. She was afraid of practically nothing, and was quite scary herself, with her feral look and savage grin, and the way she ran about, her hair streaming behind her (Once, poor Jack had tried to call her Lulu, and had received such a ferocious glare that she almost shrank back). But deep inside her, Lunar had a sense of nobility and loyalty, and a good heart. Her best friend was Raven. Raven looked odd, but in a wondrous way that makes one's heart fill up with pleasure and joy. She was always by Lunar's side, though she was a bit softer and gentler. However, she too would howl and chase and hunt with Lunar as if they were wolves, and nothing could stop Raven from being the battiest, nuttiest girl in the entire school. She had flaming purple hair that stood out for a mile round, freckles that dotted her cheeks and nose, and warm hazel eyes that sparkled like water in the sun. She often came up with clever ideas at the most random times.

(For example, nobody can forget the time Raven woke up at midnight and crossed into the Northwestern Wing in her pajamas to tell Lunar of a splendid prank they might play on their art teacher.) And then there was Niko. She was a mix of both Lunar and Raven, quirky and gothic. A bit violent as well, but that comes with being an oddity, doesn't it? But the best thing about her was her speed. Niko could run faster than all the girls and (she was proud to say) boys at her school. She could even outrun the track teacher, on certain occasions! Whenever she did, her chestnut eyes shined and her dirty blonde hair swished in the wind. Her friends valued her for her faithfulness and protective layer that she kept around them. Almost Niko's exact opposite was Pixie. They were close friends - but indeed, Pixie was sensible, and down-to-earth. She didn't like to play pranks very often-at least not bad ones. She was a good sort, though, with obsidian eyes and straight, long, black hair. Pixie was faithful, humorous, and very mature. Everyone loved her.

And the fifth girl thought herself the luckiest child in the school to have such marvelous friends. Her name was Jack (well, her name was Jacqueline, but everyone enjoyed her nickname better). She was quick-brained and had a wondrous memory when it came to her arithmetic, science, and english-but anything that wasn't studious she always seemed to forget. Jack had dark brown skin and very, very black eyes. Her hair was a wavy tar-color and her smile was quite lovely. She was clumsy and forgetful, but kind-hearted, clever, and intelligent beyond her years, and that made her a splendid friend. Now and then, if you go to Britain, you'll hear people whisper to each other about "Lunar the Valiant, Raven the Mystifying, Pixie the Queenly, Niko the Swift, and Jack the Wise". Maybe, if you're very, very lucky, you'll see them for yourself, if you travel to the mountains and search for a little hidden cottage in which they live. Now, I shan't keep talking about them all day. We must start our story.

It was a cold Monday morning when the Phantom 5, as they are called, were taking a stroll around their huge, hilly track. The air was light and humid, the birds chirped, and as it normally was in the mornings at their boarding school, it was very foggy. Suddenly, Pixie gave a start. "I say," She whispered. "What was that?" The others slowed down. "What was what?" Niko asked curiously. "I saw a sort of dress-a floating dress-in between the fog." Pixie said, just as confused as anyone else. "Of course, it doesn't quite make sense, but I just reckon I saw it, very clearly." Lunar gave a very chilling howl which sent chills down the girls' spines. "What if it were a ghost of some sort?" She said mischievously. And then Raven let out a little sound, as if she were startled. "Goodness!" She exclaimed. "I swear, I saw a floating head!" Niko frowned. "A floating head and a floating dress?" She asked suspiciously. "Really, I think Raven and Pixie saw the same thing..." Jack mused. "I'm a bit frightened... why, do you think they might've seen a person?"

They were all a bit nervous now. "Who'd be out at this hour, so early in the morning?" Lunar asked. "Well, we are." Said Niko sensibly. "It was too tall to be a another student." Raven said. "And the dress was too dirty-looking and shabby to be one of our teachers, golly, could you imagine Ms. Parton wearing that?" Pixie exclaimed. The Phantom 5 stood frozen on the track. Then Jack gave a little laugh. "Oh, gosh, is THAT what you mean?" She pointed to a broken umbrella in the shadows, almost unseen, which was, in fact, Mr. Thompson's from many years ago. But they didn't know that, of course. Only you do. It was in a terrible condition, rusted and old and quite spooky indeed. The others stared in wonder, then Lunar snorted. "Fancy that being scary!" She threw her head back and began to laugh. It really did look a like a ghost of some sort, with hair covering its face and a pole like its body. Its dress looked exactly like a dirty nightgown, though it was actually the umbrella's fabric. The rest of the children were a bit shaken, but they couldn't help

giggling as well. "We shall call her.. the White Woman." Jack declared. "It's perfect!" Pixie said happily. "She will certainly be a friend of ours," Raven laughed. Then she, along with Lunar, let out such a frightening howl that they all hurried back to school. Obviously, Niko reached first and was already putting her uniform on when the others reached. "Come on," She urged them. "The breakfast bell's rung already, and we'll get into a frightful row with the nursemaid if we're late. And I shan't like to do extra papers again." Then she took off like a lightning bolt. The others weren't far behind, but the clumsy Jack showed up to the breakfast table missing a sock, with her blazer on inside-out.

* * * * * *

Now that you know quite well how they came to meet the 'White Woman', I can tell you of their adventure without the least confusion. It was a gloomy Saturday morning, when the sky was gray and nobody was allowed to go outside to play.

As I've said before, the children went to a boarding school, and they had been looking forward to going outside. Niko'd wanted to race, but it was simply not done for a student to run around in their dorm room, so she stared bleakly out the window. Lunar and Raven had been waiting for a chance to hunt in the shadows of the hills, prowling and chasing timid little first-divisions. Pixie had promised to help the gardening mistress grow begonias, and now she was very glum. And Jack had just wanted to sit on the sunniest, highest hill and daydream about stories. "Why can't we go outside?" Niko whined for the thousandth time. "There's to be a frightful thunderstorm in an hour or so, and the headmistress doesn't want us getting hurt," Pixie reminded her. "We can still have fun inside," Raven suggested, but no one felt like doing anything inside would be half as fun as doing the same thing outside. "Maybe we can talk with our classmates?" Jack suggested wearily. Yet all the Phantom 5 thought their classmates a bit boring. They were, at the

moment, chattering and gossiping and trying on dresses in the common room, happy they didn't have to go outside and sweat. Only a few other students were like the five peculiar children. Then a simply wicked clap of thunder shook the ground. "Oh!" Lunar yelled, leaping up. "The storm's coming," Pixie said anxiously. Rain began to patter on the window, and they all scrambled to see the sight. It was chilling, yet in a way, very beautiful. Lightning streaked across the sky, the trees and hills seem to bow down, and the rain was crystal-clear. Another boom of thunder ricocheted off the building, and this one was so loud that they all put their hands over their ears. They still heard squeals and shrieks from the common room. "Oh, how I wish I could lay outside and watch the lightning," Lunar sighed. She really was afraid of almost nothing. Then Raven had a bold idea. "What if...we pay a visit to the White Woman? Just a quick one. She'd look simply frightful in the thunderstorm, and she's not far off." Lunar and Niko were delighted, but Jack and