Revisiting Quarry Ghost

Some of the Mildred Wirt Benson documents that I purchased concern Quarry Ghost, which was published in 1959 by Dodd, Mead & Company. It is one of the hardest to find of all of Mildred Wirt Benson's books. It is somewhat easier to find Quarry Ghost in the UK edition titled Kristie at College.

Quarry Ghost is my favorite book by Mildred Wirt Benson. It is also one of the last couple of books that she wrote, so the book is the product of Benson's decades of writing experience. It shows; the book is outstanding.

After looking at the Quarry Ghost documents, I was inspired to re-read Quarry Ghost. The book opens like this:

KRISTIE ROLLED a sheet of copy paper from the typewriter and, with a quick intake of breath, raised startled eyes to the shadowy doorway. Across the street from the deserted college journalism office, the chimes of Old Trinity carillonned the hour of seven.

Not the clear cadence of the striking chapel bells, but another sound had caught the girl's attention. Footfalls, soft and steady, whispered along the freshly-scrubbed hallway, padded closer and now hung suspended at the entranceway to the student newspaper workroom.

Aware that she sat alone in a slowly darkening room, Kristie snapped on the overhead, swinging electric bulb.

Framed in the doorway stood a tall man with angular features. His well-cut tweeds and gold-rimmed spectacles suggested that he might be a faculty member. Kristie, however, was quite certain she had never seen him on the campus.

The glare of the unshaded light accentuated a gray-fringed, bald head as the visitor politely removed his hat in approaching the desk.

"Good evening." His voice was low-pitched, friendly. "May I see your journalism school director, please?"

"Mr. Munn? Oh, I'm sorry, sir, he left an hour ago." Kristie smiled to cover her nervousness. The caller's easy manner had quieted her initial alarm. Nevertheless, she was fully conscious that she sat alone in a deserted office. It would be nearly an hour before the Daily Collegian night staff would straggle in to get out the early morning edition.

Long before that time, Kristie expected to be at the women's gymnasium swimming pool, preparing to compete in an important meet at 7:30 p.m. She had remained at the journalism office only to finish an assigned story on the student council election.

"You are in charge here?"

"Not exactly." Kristie squirmed impatiently, wishing the caller would state his business promptly. Any delay now might make her late for the swimming competition.

Notice how suspenseful the book is from the very first page. The narrative flows from paragraph to paragraph, chapter to chapter, and the reader hardly wants to put the book down. The entire book is as suspenseful as the first page.

The documents that I purchased give some insight into the creation of this excellent story.

Revisiting Quarry Ghost Part 2