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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Hickory Ridge Boy Scouts: Under Canvas, by 
+Alan Douglas
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Hickory Ridge Boy Scouts: Under Canvas
+       or, The Hunt for the Cartaret Ghost
+
+Author: Alan Douglas
+
+Release Date: December 14, 2011 [EBook #38299]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HICKORY RIDGE BOY SCOUTS: UNDER CANVAS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan,
+Emmy and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note: Bold text is surrounded by =equal signs= and italic text
+by _underscores_.
+
+
+
+UNDER CANVAS OR THE HUNT FOR THE CARTARET GHOST
+
+
+
+
+THE HICKORY RIDGE BOY SCOUTS
+
+A SERIES OF BOOKS FOR BOYS
+
+By Capt. Alan Douglas, Scout-master
+
+
+The Campfires of the Wolf Patrol
+
+      Their first camping experience affords the scouts
+      splendid opportunities to use their recently acquired
+      knowledge in a practical way. Elmer Chenowith, a lad
+      from the northwest woods, astonishes everyone by his
+      familiarity with camp life. A clean, wholesome story
+      every boy should read.
+
+
+Woodcraft; or, How a Patrol Leader Made Good
+
+      This tale presents many stirring situations in which
+      the boys are called upon to exercise ingenuity and
+      unselfishness. A story filled with healthful
+      excitement.
+
+
+Pathfinder; or, The Missing Tenderfoot
+
+      Some mysteries are cleared up in a most unexpected
+      way, greatly to the credit of our young friends. A
+      variety of incidents follow fast, one after the other.
+
+
+Fast Nine; or, a Challenge from Fairfield
+
+      They show the same team-work here as when in camp. The
+      description of the final game with the team of a rival
+      town, and the outcome thereof, form a stirring
+      narrative. One of the best baseball stories of recent
+      years.
+
+
+Great Hike; or, The Pride of The Khaki Troop
+
+      After weeks of preparation the scouts start out on
+      their greatest undertaking. Their march takes them far
+      from home, and the good-natured rivalry of the
+      different patrols furnishes many interesting and
+      amusing situations.
+
+
+Endurance Test; or, How Clear Grit Won the Day
+
+      Few stories "get" us more than illustrations of pluck
+      in the face of apparent failure. Our heroes show the
+      stuff they are made of and surprise their most ardent
+      admirers. One of the best stories Captain Douglas has
+      written.
+
+
+Under Canvas; or, The Hunt for the Cartaret Ghost
+
+      It was hard to disbelieve the evidence of their eyes
+      but the boys by the exercise of common-sense solved a
+      mystery which had long puzzled older heads.
+
+
+Storm-bound; or, a Vacation Among the Snow Drifts
+
+      The boys start out on the wrong track, but their scout
+      training comes to the rescue and their experience
+      proves beneficial to all concerned.
+
+    Boy Scout Nature Lore to be Found in The Hickory Ridge Boy
+    Scout Series, all illustrated:--
+
+      Wild Animals of the United States--Tracking--Trees and
+      Wild Flowers of the United States--Reptiles of the
+      United States--Fishes of the United States--Insects of
+      the United States and Birds of the United States.
+
+    _Cloth Binding_      _Cover Illustrations in Four Colors_
+             _40c. Per Volume_
+
+    THE NEW YORK BOOK COMPANY
+    201 EAST 12th STREET      NEW YORK
+
+[Illustration: THE SCOUTS BUSIED THEMSELVES MAKING PREPARATIONS FOR THE
+CAMP MEAL]
+
+
+
+
+THE HICKORY RIDGE BOY SCOUTS
+
+
+UNDER CANVAS
+
+OR
+
+THE HUNT FOR THE CARTARET GHOST
+
+
+BY CAPTAIN ALAN DOUGLAS
+
+SCOUT MASTER
+
+
+[Illustration: N Y B Co.]
+
+    THE NEW YORK BOOK COMPANY
+    NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+    COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY
+    THE NEW YORK BOOK COMPANY
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+    CHAPTER                                      PAGE
+       I  OUT FOR SHELL-BARKS                      13
+      II  WHAT HAPPENED ON THE ROAD                25
+     III  NEAR THE HAUNT OF "SPOOKS"               34
+      IV  "TO THE VICTORS BELONG THE SPOILS"       45
+       V  WHAT A SCOUT LEARNS                      55
+      VI  LOOKING AROUND                           66
+     VII  HARVEST TIME                             77
+    VIII  HOW ELMER'S PLAN WORKED                  88
+      IX  THE CAMPING-OUT EXPEDITION               99
+       X  IN FOR A GLORIOUS TIME                  109
+      XI  SACKING THE FOREST STORE-HOUSE          120
+     XII  THE MIDNIGHT VIGIL                      130
+    XIII  A STRANGE FIGURE IN WHITE               141
+     XIV  TOLD AROUND THE CAMP FIRE               152
+      XV  THE BOOGIE OF THE TOWER                 163
+     XVI  HOMEWARD BOUND--CONCLUSION              174
+
+
+
+
+UNDER CANVAS
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+OUT FOR SHELL-BARKS
+
+
+"TOBY, we must be half-way there now; don't you think so?"
+
+"Guess you're right about that, Mr. Scout Master; as near as I can
+calculate."
+
+"Glad to hear you say so, Toby, because, excuse me for saying it, but
+until I hear something that sounds like business I'm all up in the air.
+I've known you to fool your trusting scout comrades before this."
+
+"There you go, George Robbins, suspicious as ever. No wonder they call
+you Doubting George. You never will believe anything till you see it
+with your own eyes, and then you often wonder whether you're awake or
+dreaming. Now, I told Elmer here, our Assistant Scout Master, about my
+plan, and he took my word for it."
+
+"That's all right, Toby, but unfortunately I was born different; I'm not
+so trusting, and things are mighty deceptive in this world, sometimes."
+
+A fourth boy of the party in the big wagon broke into the conversation
+at this point, by laughing hoarsely, and going on to remark, with a
+decided lisp:
+
+"I bet you were, George; and I can thee you looking up at the doctor and
+thaying the very first thing: 'The moon _ain't_ made of green cheeth;
+and I won't b'lieve it till you prove the thame to me, tho there!'"
+
+"Hold on, Ted Burgoyne, don't fall all over yourself about my
+shortcomings; I'm not the only pebble on the beach when it comes to
+that; there are others. But to return to the subject. Toby, here are
+three of us burning up with curiosity to know where you're piloting this
+shell-bark hickory nut-gathering expedition. You let it out to Elmer in
+the start, but the rest of us don't know a thing about it. You promised
+to open up when we'd got far enough along the road so there wouldn't be
+any turning back. And there was something said about half-way; so now's
+your chance."
+
+"I can see you all looking my way," remarked the fifth boy in khaki,
+with a peculiar little drawl, quite musical, to his voice, that stamped
+him of Southern birth; "and to hurry things up I move to make the
+request unanimous."
+
+"There, you heard what Chatz Maxfield said, Toby; take the cover off,
+and tell us where this wonderful bonanza lies. You promised that we'd
+get every sack we're carrying along filled to the brim with dandy
+chestnuts, hickories, and black walnuts. Why all this mystery? It looks
+mighty suspicious to me--excuse me for saying it."
+
+These five lads, sturdy looking chaps all of them, belonged to the
+Hickory Ridge Troop of Boy Scouts, Elmer, Ted, Toby and Chatz to the
+Wolf Patrol, and George to the Beaver. The troop was in a flourishing
+condition, since both patrols had their full quota of eight members, and
+a third one, called the Eagle, was almost complete.
+
+Elmer Chenowith had long been leader of the Wolf Patrol, and being a
+full fledged first-class scout he had quite some time back secured from
+Scout Headquarters his certificate enabling him to act as Assistant
+Scout Master in the absence of the young man, Mr. Roderic Garrabrant,
+who usually fulfilled the duties of that important office.
+
+These bright, wideawake lads, with others of their chums, had seen
+considerable in the way of excitement during the preceding summer. Some
+of their adventures and victories have already been placed before the
+readers of this Series of scout books in preceding volumes, so that an
+extended introduction to Elmer and his four comrades is hardly necessary
+here. What has been said has only been for the benefit of such readers
+as are making their acquaintance for the first time.
+
+It was on a Saturday morning in Fall that they were driving over the
+road some four miles away from the home town. A sharp frost on the
+preceding night was just the thing to make nutting a success, for it
+helped open the burrs on the chestnut trees, as well as caused the
+hickory nuts and black walnuts to drop.
+
+Just before Thanksgiving holidays boys may be expected to develop a
+feverish longing for an outing of some sort. It had struck these scouts
+in full force when Toby Jones confided to them that he knew a place
+where almost unlimited amounts of splendid nuts were to be gathered with
+very little trouble, only he declined to reveal his secret until they
+were well on the road.
+
+The consequence was that he had three boys guessing for the balance of
+the week; and plaguing the life out of him in the endeavor to coax him
+to tell. But Toby was nothing if not stubborn, and he only shut those
+jaws of his tighter, and waved the tempters away with the remark that
+some people called him a clam because he knew how to keep his lips
+closed.
+
+Toby was himself driving the big strong horse between the shafts of the
+wagon. The conveyance belonged to his father, and it sometimes took all
+of Toby's strength to hold the frisky animal in.
+
+Toby's middle name was Ellsworth, given to him because his grandfather
+had in the Civil War been connected with a regiment of Zouaves under the
+famous colonel whose death at Alexandria, Virginia, occurred just about
+the time hostilities opened between the North and the South.
+
+Toby was a strange boy in many ways. He cherished a burning desire to
+become a celebrated aëronaut, and by means of some wonderful invention
+that would turn the world upside-down make the name of Jones famous. As
+yet, however, Toby had only succeeded in patching up several
+supposed-to-be flying machines, which had managed to give him a few
+rough tumbles, though luckily not any broken bones. His chums never
+knew what he would spring on them next, for he was constantly grappling
+with puzzling questions connected with the science of aviation, and
+deploring the fact that there was always something magnificent just
+ahead of him that seemed to be eluding his eager clutch like a
+will-o'-the-wisp in the swamp.
+
+Ted Burgoyne had the misfortune to possess a hare-lip, which made him
+lisp. He was not so sturdy in build as some of his mates, but as smart
+as they make them, and with a decided leaning for the profession of a
+doctor. Indeed, such was the extent of his knowledge of surgery and
+medicine that he often went by the name of "Doctor Ted." And having had
+occasion to perform certain necessary operations along the line of
+setting broken limbs, and bandaging severed arteries, his work had been
+commended by several professional M.D.'s as marvelous.
+
+When Doubting George made that last plea of his the driver turned his
+head and looked at his companions. He saw an eager glow in the eyes of
+the trio who had been kept in the dark up to that moment with regard to
+their mysterious destination.
+
+"Well, we've got along so far that it ain't likely anybody'll want to
+turn back, and show the white feather," he observed, with a quick glance
+directly at Chatz Maxfield; "so here goes. We're headed right now for
+the old Cartaret place!"
+
+"Whew! Cartaret's Folly they call it, because the man who built the same
+sank a fortune there making it beautiful, and then the owls and rats
+took charge, which was all of twenty years ago, I reckon!" George went
+on to say, first whistling to mark the surprise he felt over the
+disclosure.
+
+"And there's a lot of talk going around to this day about ghosts being
+seen in the windows and around the grounds of that deserted place; but
+most people would say that's only old women's stories. All the same
+those people who don't believe in spooks and goblins and all such things
+couldn't be hired for any amount of money to camp out in that big house
+for just one dark night."
+
+It was Chatz who made this assertion. All of his chums knew that Chatz
+had a deep-rooted vein of superstition in his system, which it seemed
+impossible for him to get rid of. He believed in spirits coming back to
+haunt graveyards, and empty houses where perhaps some violence had once
+occurred. Elmer and other scouts had laughed at him many times, and
+Chatz even took himself to task because of his weakness, which he had
+probably imbibed through association as a small child with colored
+pickaninnies down on the plantation in South Carolina. Sometimes he
+boldly declared he was done with such childish beliefs; but when an
+occasion chanced to come along bearing on the subject it was strange how
+Chatz again found himself standing up for his old-time faith in
+hobgoblins, and the efficacy of the left hind-foot of a rabbit shot in a
+graveyard in the dark of the moon, to ward off evil influences, and
+repel the power of spooks to do bodily harm.
+
+It was well known that many people shunned the vicinity of the old
+Cartaret place, some eight miles away from Hickory Ridge, because queer
+stories passed current concerning white figures seen stalking about the
+weed-grown grounds, and looking out of the open windows of the ruined
+house. That was why Toby had been wise enough to keep his secret until
+they were so far on the road that there was little likelihood of any boy
+venturing to propose that they abandon the nutting expedition and return
+home.
+
+"Well, I knew some of you fellows would be saying that," he now
+remarked; "so I asked Elmer about it, and he advised me to bottle up
+till we'd gone half-way to the place. So now, I hope nobody wants to go
+back?"
+
+"Oh! you needn't look at me that way, Toby," Chatz hastened to exclaim;
+"p'raps I may be silly enough to believe in ghosts, but nobody ever
+called me a coward; and where the rest of you go, suh, Chatz Maxfield
+can be counted on to follow."
+
+"Me too!" chirped Ted.
+
+"P'raps now you may remember that once before we ran foul of a haunted
+place up at that old mill," remarked George, "and it turned out to be
+only a bunch of game-fish poachers at work there. I never did take much
+stock in ghosts."
+
+"You never take much stock in anything, suh, I notice, till you've
+pulled the same to pieces, and examined it all ovah," the Southern scout
+told him, quickly.
+
+"Then it theems that you know about the thupply of nuts up at the old
+Cartaret place, do you, Toby?" asked Ted.
+
+"I asked a man who was sent up there only a couple of weeks back by the
+lawyers that have the estate in charge, to look it over and see if it
+was worth while to try and repair the ruined house. And say, he told me
+he never saw trees loaded with such a crop of dandy nuts as there were
+in that woods back of the house. You never heard of any fellows going up
+there to gather hickories, did you? I guess nobody ever goes inside half
+a mile of the place if they c'n help it. And Elmer, he fell in with my
+scheme right away. Besides, you see, I'm taking something with me that I
+hope to get a chance to try out on this trip," and Toby pointed back to
+a mysterious bundle lying in the bed of the wagon, on the many
+gunny-sacks that had been brought along in order to hold the anticipated
+harvest of nuts for winter use.
+
+"Well, well, well!" George exclaimed, in his skeptical way, "now chances
+are that's some other foolish invention of yours, Toby--a new kind of
+flying machine that'll drop you ker-plunk in a frog pond, or crack your
+head on a log when you try it out."
+
+"Nothing'd ever be accomplished in this world if everybody had your
+doubting nature, George," the driver of the wagon told him; "I happen to
+be built on a different model, and p'raps you may live long enough to
+hear the name of Jones go thundering along the pathway of fame on
+everybody's lips."
+
+"Mebbe I will," George told him, "because they say it's getting mighty
+near as common as Smith. But I'd better not say that when my cousin
+Landy Smith is around. I only hope this don't turn out a hoax, that's
+all. It's going to be an all day trip, and I'd hate to be sold, and come
+back with one measly bag of poor little nuts to be divided among five."
+
+"Well, now that you know the dreadful dark secret, and nobody says turn
+back home," Toby announced, with a broad grin, "I'm goin' to invite the
+whole bunch to stop off at this wayside grocery at the crossroads here,
+and have some sarsaparilla with me. It's my treat this time."
+
+As the road had been more or less dusty, and their throats were
+accordingly somewhat parched in consequence, there was no dissenting
+voice heard to this generous proposition.
+
+"Plenty of time to gather all the nuts we want, and then make an early
+start for home," Elmer told them, as Toby pulled near a series of posts
+where the horse could be securely hitched.
+
+"And the best of it is that we've thought to fetch some stuff along so
+we can build a fire and have a cooked dinner," George went on to say,
+with a pleased smile; for while he might be given to doubting many
+things, he never had occasion to question his appetite as every one
+knew--that was always in positive evidence.
+
+All of them jumped from the wagon, which had two seats, so that three
+boys could sit behind, and one with the driver. While Toby was doing
+the needful with his hitching halter made of rope, the others stretched
+their legs, and waited, because it would be hardly proper for them to
+troop into the road grocery ahead of the scout who had invited them to
+join him in a refreshing drink.
+
+A hulking boy was leaning against the fence near by, and observing the
+five scouts in a leering sort of way.
+
+"Huh! that's Angus McDowd, one of that Fairfield bunch we beat at
+baseball last summer," muttered Toby, as he happened to glance over, and
+noticed the other observing them with a sneer on his face.
+
+"Never liked him for a thent!" Ted was heard to say in a low cautious
+tone; for the other boy was a strapping big chap, and if provoked might
+give them more or less trouble, in a desire to fight them one after the
+other, as he had the reputation of being something of a bruiser.
+
+"My stars! but he was mad that day we won the game, though, let me tell
+you, suh!" observed Chatz; "and he did his level best to get in a scrap
+with some of our fellows. Felix Wagner and Tom Ballinger had to lead him
+away, you remember. He doesn't like the boys of Hickory Ridge any too
+well, believe me, fellows."
+
+They all went inside the little dusty-looking building, where some
+enterprising man had started a wayside grocery, and general store, at
+which you could purchase nearly anything from a paper of needles to a
+coffin, or an automobile tire, and gasoline.
+
+Fortunately the man happened to have some stray bottles of soft drinks
+like sarsaparilla and root beer that must have been left over from his
+summer trade; and presently each of the scouts was washing the dust down
+his throat.
+
+Altogether they may have spent about ten minutes in the store; and then
+after Toby had settled the account, they again passed out to the wagon.
+
+The loitering Fairfield boy had disappeared, as Elmer noted when he
+looked over toward the fence where Angus McDowd had been standing on
+their arrival.
+
+"Now, what ails you for a silly thing, Nancy?" said Toby, as the mare
+laid back her ears, and pranced at their approach. "Been getting too
+much oats lately, I reckon, with too little exercise. Well, you won't be
+feeling so fresh and frisky by the time we get back home to-night. That
+load of nuts is going to make you puff, let me tell you. Pile in,
+fellows, while I unfasten the hitching rope. Whoa! there, don't you dare
+try to bite me, you horse with the nasty temper! Why, this is a new
+trick for you to show. Grab the lines, won't you, Elmer? The blame nag's
+that anxious to show off she'd leave me in the lurch! Let up, there,
+can't you?"
+
+It was only by making a hasty jump that agile Toby managed to gain his
+seat, to take the taut lines from Elmer's hands. Immediately the mare
+commenced to rear up in a most remarkable manner. Then, taking the bit
+between her teeth, she started along the road, fortunately in the right
+direction, at a whirlwind pace, amidst a cloud of dust, and with the
+three scouts who had been sitting on the second seat tumbling around in
+a heap in the bed of the wagon, all of them having been thrown backward.
+
+Even as the grocery keeper came running out of the door to see what was
+the matter, and while they were still within hearing distance of the
+place, Elmer felt sure he saw a head rise into view above the pig-pen
+situated on one side of the road, and could recognize the grinning face
+of that Fairfield loafer, Angus McDowd.
+
+There was no time to say anything. The mare was undoubtedly running
+away, and the wagon flinging from side to side in the road, as Toby
+stood half erect, pulling with might and main on the lines in the
+endeavor to hold the frantic animal in.
+
+It began to look like croaking George might have been right when he said
+he doubted whether the nutting expedition would be much of a success.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+WHAT HAPPENED ON THE ROAD
+
+
+"HOLD her in, Toby!" George was heard to shout, as he floundered around
+in the midst of the gunny sacks, with the other two scouts straddling
+him half the time.
+
+"Whoop! we ain't in thuch a hurry ath all that, Toby. Get a grip on the
+linth, Elmer, and help him pull. Oh! what a quack I got then on my head.
+I bet you I'll have a lump ath big ath a gooth egg! Quit clawing me,
+George; I can't help it if I do climb all over you. Look at the way the
+wagon thwings, would you?"
+
+Elmer did not need to be told that it was his duty to assist Toby
+control the runaway animal. No matter what the cause of the beast's
+strange fright might turn out to be, their first business was to drag so
+heavily on the lines that Nancy would have to moderate her wild pace.
+
+Accordingly both of the boys pulled and sawed and jerked until the mare
+was made to come to a full stop. This occurred fully a mile away from
+the wayside grocery, which was long ago lost to sight behind several
+bends in the road.
+
+"Jump out and hold her, some of you other fellows!" gasped Toby, short
+of breath after his violent exertions.
+
+Chatz, George and Ted all hastened to obey. They had been tumbled around
+in the bed of the big wagon at such a lively rate that they were only
+too glad of the chance to gain their feet. Held by a stout boy on either
+side the mare did not offer to run further, though still acting very
+strangely.
+
+Elmer had once spent some time up on an uncle's ranch in Northwest
+Canada; and knew a heap about horses. He had sometimes seen animals act
+this way, and had before then guessed what might be the matter.
+
+"Hold her steady, everybody, and let me look around a little," was what
+he called, as he jumped down, and began patting the sweaty back of the
+trembling animal.
+
+A minute later and they heard him give an angry exclamation.
+
+"I thought as much," Elmer was saying, as he held up his hand; "look
+what was fixed under her tail."
+
+"Say, that seems like a bunch of those nasty little sand spurs that
+sting and poison like all get-out!" exclaimed George, and it might have
+been noticed that this time he showed no signs of his customary doubting
+spirit.
+
+"Just what they are," Elmer went on to say, indignation in his whole
+manner.
+
+"But how--when--where?" began Ted, when Chatz burst out with:
+
+"He did it, Elmer, that skunk of a McDowd. Must have thought it'd be a
+fine way to pay back what he believed he owed the Hickory Ridge boys.
+The low-down coward, to hurt a hoss that way."
+
+"But why, he might have made some of us get thrown out, and hurt right
+bad in the bargain!" exclaimed George, angrily.
+
+"Much he'd have cared for that," Toby panted; "and didn't I just think I
+heard a silly laugh at the time Nancy started to rear up, and prance
+like a crazy thing? That must a been Angus. And like as not he's doubled
+up back there right now laughing over seeing how we got thrown around in
+the wagon because of his sand spur trick. For five cents I'd turn
+around, and go back to give him the licking he needs."
+
+"Don't bother thinking about that," Elmer told him. "It was a mean
+trick, and I've known men to get a halter out on the plains for playing
+that same game. But we got out of the hole without any damage, only to
+our feelings; so let's forget it."
+
+The others were usually swayed more or less by what Elmer thought or
+did. He was a natural leader, and it had become second nature for the
+other scouts to look to him for advice, whenever an emergency arose.
+
+"Guess the poor frightened thing'll stand now, fellows, without holding
+her any more," Toby suggested; "so climb back on your seat; and be more
+careful next time how you let go your hold. It's a wonder none of you
+got dumped out when you tilted over backward."
+
+Just as he said, the animal seemed to have partly recovered from her
+mad fright occasioned by the pain the little sharp-pointed burrs
+inflicted. Though still trembling, and acting in a skittish manner, she
+gave signs of being docile enough to be driven.
+
+The three scouts hastened to climb in at the back of the wagon, and
+after securing the gunny sacks, as well as the large package belonging
+to Toby, they once more found seats for themselves. George and Chatz,
+however, it might be noticed, made sure to get a firm grip somewhere on
+the side of the wagon; while Ted, being in the middle, threw an arm
+around each of his chums, as though he depended on them to sustain him,
+should another runaway occur.
+
+They were soon going along at a fair clip, though Toby had to "lean"
+pretty heavily on the lines in order to hold the big bay mare in, for he
+did not think it advisable to let her have her head again. The next time
+she made such a mad spurt as that they might not find it so easy to get
+her to stop.
+
+"What d'ye reckon possessed that coward to play such a mean trick on
+us?" Toby wanted to know.
+
+"Oh! he had it in him, that's all, and when the chance came around he
+just couldn't help himself," Elmer told him, for the Assistant Scout
+Master was somewhat of a philosophical boy, and able to figure out
+things that might puzzle some of his tent mates.
+
+"Next time I see that Angus he'll hear my opinion of a sneak who could
+play a dirty trick like that!" continued the driver, vigorously.
+
+"Thame here!" chirped Ted. "And if he giveth me any thath I'll pull hith
+red noth for him, thee if I don't."
+
+"All I can say is, keep your eye out for sledge hammer punches if ever
+you go to pulling _his_ nose," warned George; "because he's a born
+scrapper, and would as soon fight as eat."
+
+"Let's forget about that little affair," suggested Elmer; "no use crying
+over spilt milk, and what's done can't be undone. Toby, suppose you tell
+us a little more about this nut grove up at the old Cartaret place;
+because if I remember rightly you said you'd been asking everybody all
+about the estate."
+
+"Why, old Judge Cartaret, the rich man who built up the place, meaning
+to live there with his young and handsome wife, went crazy, they say,
+after he'd found her dead in her room. The mystery never was cleared up.
+To this day some people say she was murdered by a man she once promised
+to marry before the millionaire judge came along; another lot seem to
+believe she committed suicide because the judge was so cruel, and
+wouldn't let her leave the place; and one man told me he always had
+believed ever since he was a boy that the judge struck her down in a fit
+of passion. But of course those things don't cut any figure with us."
+
+"On the contrary," interrupted Chatz, who had been listening to all
+these horrors with wide-open eyes, and a look of intense interest on
+his dark face, "they strike me as being decidedly interesting, suh. If I
+had a chance I'd like to investigate this queer thing, and perhaps learn
+what did happen in that big house ever so many years ago."
+
+"But how about the nut treeth, Toby, did the judge plant the thame when
+he wath trying to make a thut-in paradith for that pretty bride of
+hith?"
+
+"That's just what he did, boys, so they told me," Toby continued,
+readily consenting to be squeezed for information; "he planted a whole
+lot of chestnuts, walnuts and shell-bark hickories that have been
+growing for several dozen years. They're busting big trees, and just
+breaking down with the finest crop ever known, and with never a single
+fellow brave enough up to this time to go there and gather the harvest.
+Why, when I heard what that man had to say about it, I was fairly wild
+to be off. And believe me, boys, we'll make the eyes of the other
+fellows stick out of their heads like fun when they see what an enormous
+supply of nuts we've gathered for next winter around the fire. Yum! yum!
+I always did say that a plate of red-cheeked apples, a dish of fresh
+popped corn, and a pocketful of nuts beats all creation on a stormy
+night, winter times."
+
+"Believe it when I see it!" muttered skeptical George, who undoubtedly
+thought this wonderful harvest was too good to turn out to be true;
+after they had arrived on the ground, very probably it would only be to
+find that the trees had been stripped of their burden of nuts by some
+hardy souls who did not place much credence in the stories of the ghost
+said to haunt the place; something was always on the eve of turning up
+to keep George from reaping success, it seemed.
+
+"No use talking," observed the disgusted Toby, "George never will be
+convinced till he begins to load up the wagon with bags running over
+with nuts. And even then he'll expect some white-sheeted ghost to step
+up, and demand that we throw every one of the same back again where we
+found them. You couldn't convince him of a single thing till he's had a
+chance to prove it over and over again."
+
+"Learned that in school when I was doin' problems," George declared with
+one of his most exasperating grins; "which was why I always passed with
+such a high percentage in arithmetic and algebra. They said I'd make a
+fine carpenter, because I'd always measure my boards again and again
+before I cut 'em, and that way there never'd be any mistakes about my
+sawing."
+
+"And a great carpenter you'd make, George," chuckled Toby; "why, you'd
+take everlasting and a day just to get your foundation started. The
+folks would all die off waiting for you to finish your job. A
+carpenter--whew! excuse me if you please from ever employing a mechanic
+who spends all his time figgering out how things could be so and so."
+
+"But we must be within a mile or two of the place by now, fellows,"
+Elmer told them about that time, "so if you hold up a little we'll soon
+know the worst or the best. I'm of the opinion myself that what Toby
+says is going to turn out true; for nobody ever goes near the Cartaret
+place these days. Lots of boys around home never even heard about it;
+and others couldn't be coaxed or hired to explore around a place they
+call haunted."
+
+"Yes, I'm not the only silly believer in ghosts," Chatz told them,
+looking pleased at what Elmer had just said, "for misery always likes
+company, and you'll remember, suh, how the sly old fox that had fallen
+into a well told the goat looking down that it was a lovely place to
+drop in; and when Billy had taken him at his word he hopped on the
+goat's back and jumped out. But if I have half a chance I expect to
+prowl around more or less while we're up heah, and see if the stories
+I've heard about this queer old rookery could ever have been true. Why,
+they even say the judge had the house built so that it was like a big
+prison, or some sort of asylum."
+
+Chatz was full of his subject, and might have wandered on still further,
+once he got fairly started, only for a sudden movement on the part of
+Elmer. Sitting alongside the driver it was the easiest thing going for
+that worthy to seize the reins and with a quick strain on the same bring
+the mare to a full stop.
+
+"Why, what under the sun!" began the astonished Toby, when Elmer clapped
+his hand over his mouth and immediately said:
+
+"Hush! be still! Look what's coming out of that side road ahead there!"
+and at the same time he pointed with his disengaged hand.
+
+All of the others hastened to do as he requested. There, in plain sight,
+though their own vehicle was partly hidden by the foliage still clinging
+to the bushes that jutted out at a bend of the road, was a two-horse
+wagon, containing four boys, in whom they readily recognized some of the
+toughest elements around the town of Hickory Ridge.
+
+As the other wagon rattled into the main road, and went speedily on
+without the occupants once looking toward them, Elmer and his chums
+exchanged troubled glances.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+NEAR THE HAUNT OF THE "SPOOKS"
+
+
+"WE might as well hold up here a little bit, so as to let that crowd
+pass on," suggested George. "I never did take any stock in Connie Mallon
+anyway. He's got a pretty bad name down around our way. My father says
+he'll land in the penitentiary before he's two years older, except he
+reforms, and I'd never believe he'd change his ways."
+
+"Oh! Elmer, I wonder now, could they know about those splendid nuts, and
+mean to skin the trees ahead of us?" exclaimed Toby, as though nearly
+overwhelmed by a staggering thought.
+
+"You've some reason for saying that, Toby?" Elmer told him.
+
+"Why, don't you know, it flashed over me just like a stroke of
+lightning," was what Toby went on to say, excitedly, a troubled look on
+his face. "You remember that when I was talking to you over the
+telephone, Elmer, and telling you about wanting to get the boys to come
+up here with me Saturday, I said several times somebody was rubbering,
+and once even told 'em to get off the wire, which they did, only to come
+on again."
+
+"Yes, I do remember something like that," admitted the other scout.
+
+"Well, our telephone is on a four-party line, and one of the other
+three houses is Jackson's down the street. Phil Jackson is one of the
+cronies of Connie Mallon, and he's sitting there in that wagon right
+now."
+
+"Then you think he must have heard all you were telling me that man said
+about the immense crop of nuts up here at the Cartaret place, and has
+put the others wise to it?" Elmer asked.
+
+"I wouldn't put it past Phil a minute!" Toby declared, with an
+expression of pain, "and now it looks like we mightn't get what we came
+after, unless we fight for it."
+
+"I knew it!" muttered George; "call me a doubter all you want, but let
+me tell you things ain't always what they seem. There's a string tied to
+nearly everything you think you're going to get so easy. Oh! I know what
+I'm talking about, and for one I'm not surprised at anything happening."
+
+"Don't throw up the sponge so easy, George," Elmer told him. "We may
+have our troubles, but scouts are supposed to be wide-awake enough to
+know how to overcome any kind of difficulties that happen along. As
+Sheridan said at the battle of Cedar Creek, we'll have those camps back,
+or the nuts in our case, or know the reason why."
+
+"Lithen to that kind of talk, would you?" burst out Ted, brimming over
+with confidence in their leader; "why, we haven't begun to get buthy
+yet. That Connie may think he'th tholen a march on our crowd, but thay,
+he'll have to cut hith eye-teeth before he can beat Elmer here laying
+planths."
+
+"It may turn out to be a false alarm, after all, boys," Elmer continued,
+while Toby still restrained the impatient Nancy; "but even if we get
+there to find that they're on the ground ahead of us, we'll hatch up a
+scheme to turn the tables on that crowd, I give you my word for it."
+
+"That's the ticket!" Chatz exclaimed, being inclined to display an
+impetuous style of talk and action, as became his hot Southern blood;
+"if they've sneaked this idea from Toby by listening over the wire
+they've got no business up here. I'd call it rank piracy, and treat the
+lot like I would buccaneers of the Spanish Main. Why, it'd serve 'em
+right if that ghost they tell about jumped out at them, and sent the lot
+scampering off like crazy things."
+
+"That's just what I had in my mind, Chatz," said Elmer, chuckling; "and
+perhaps we'll find some way to coax the spook to help us out."
+
+"Elmer's got the dandy idea, all right," said George; "you leave him
+alone, and he'll sure bring home the bacon. But how much longer do we
+have to stay here? I wonder if anybody's getting cold feet about now?"
+
+"Speak for yourself, George!" cried Toby; "I'm for going on three times
+as much as I was before we saw that bunch cutting in ahead of us. When
+Elmer gives me the word I'll start things moving."
+
+"You might do that now," said the leader, "but take it slow, Toby. I
+want to keep an eye on the track of their wheels. If they turn off at
+any fork in the road, or into the woods, we want to know it."
+
+"Thith theems to be getting mighty interethting," observed Ted; "and I
+want to thay right now that I've got tho much confidence in Elmer and
+the whole of our crowd that I'd call the chances five to one we'll go
+home with a full cargo thith afternoon."
+
+"Good boy, Ted; and I second that motion!" Chatz announced, heatedly.
+
+The mare was allowed her head, but Toby kept a tight rein, so that they
+did not begin to whirl along with half the speed the other wagon had
+displayed as it came out of the side road on to the main thoroughfare.
+
+Elmer kept his gaze firmly fixed ahead, where he could plainly see the
+marks of that other vehicle in the dust of the road. Thus they continued
+for a short time; then the leader put out his hand, and Toby again
+pulled in.
+
+"They've left the road, and entered the woods back there twenty feet or
+so," the acting scout master told them.
+
+"On the left, wasn't it, Elmer, that they turned out?" asked Chatz,
+eagerly.
+
+"Just what it was, which shows that you were using your eyes, as a scout
+should always do," came the reply. "Back up, Toby, and we'll follow
+suit."
+
+"Do you think we're at the place already?" asked Toby.
+
+"I certainly do, though I'm some surprised that they knew where to hit
+that little grass covered wagon-road that led off among the trees,"
+Elmer replied. "It was once used as a way through the forest to the rear
+of the Cartaret place, so I was told when I asked a man about it who
+used to work for the judge long ago. They must have been busy doing some
+of the same kind of missionary work, because I don't believe any of them
+has ever been up here before--to stop I mean."
+
+"Well, what if we get in where the nut trees are growing to find that
+lot skinning every tree, and ready to put up a rattling fight before
+they'll let us have even a look-in; what are we goin' to do about it?"
+Toby wanted to know.
+
+"First of all we'll just hang around, and watch them work," Elmer
+declared.
+
+"That's all very fine, Elmer," interposed George, who was always the
+first one with any objection; "but once they cover the ground with nuts,
+we'd find it a hard proposition to chase the bunch away, and lay claim
+to what they'd gathered."
+
+"But they'd be really _our_ nuts," interrupted Toby, "because didn't the
+bright idea flash right into this brain of mine; and ain't first
+discoverers entitled to the land always? It's the rule of the world.
+They hooked the idea from me by unfair means, and ain't entitled to any
+consideration at our hands. If Elmer can manage to scare them away you
+watch and see how quick I'll start to filling my bag with some of the
+nuts they've knocked down."
+
+"I only want the chance to do the thame," Ted insinuated.
+
+"Ditto here, because, as we said, they're only a pack of wolves or
+pirates, and have no rights honest people are bound to respect," Chatz
+added as his quota to the discussion; "after we've filled all our bags,
+if there happens to be some more nuts to be had why they're welcome to
+the same. Gentlemen first, every time, we believe, down our way."
+
+"Pull up, and let's listen, Toby," Elmer counseled; "I thought I heard a
+shout or two just then; and perhaps they've started to work."
+
+When the mare had been made to stand they could all readily hear the
+sounds that welled up some little distance ahead. Loud laughter and
+boyish shouts attested to the fact that a party of nut gatherers must be
+busily engaged in the grove; for with other sounds could be heard the
+plain swish of poles beating the branches of the trees in an effort to
+rattle the nuts down.
+
+"Just our luck!" muttered George, disconsolately.
+
+"Well, what would you have?" demanded Toby, like a flash; "it ain't
+every bunch that can have a lot of fellows knock down their nuts for
+'em, is it? Think of all the hard work it's going to save us. Elmer, the
+more I look at that grand little scheme of yours the better I like it.
+Go it, Connie, Phil and your mates; keep the ball arollin' right along.
+The more the merrier, say we. And now, Elmer, do we hide our rig
+somewhere around, so they won't happen on the same if they come to skip
+out of that grove in a big hurry?"
+
+"That's the idea, Toby," Elmer told him; "turn out to the left here, and
+we'll like as not run across a good hide-out for the wagon. When we've
+got the nuts all sacked we can come back for the outfit, and head for
+home."
+
+A short time later they found the place they were looking for. It
+offered concealment for the wagon and the mare; and Toby soon had the
+latter securely hitched to a limb.
+
+"Fetch the bags along with you, boys," remarked Elmer at this stage of
+the proceedings, and picking up several himself as an example.
+
+Toby saw that the others had cleaned out the entire assortment of sacks,
+which fact caused him to grin with satisfaction. He calmly secured the
+rather bulky package that lay in the bottom of the wagon, and trotted
+after the rest of the scouts.
+
+They made a sort of detour in approaching the spot where all that noise
+announced a busy lot of boys covering the ground with shell-barks and
+other varieties of choice nuts.
+
+"Whee! looky over there, Chatz; ain't that the house you c'n see through
+the trees? I never thought I'd ever have the nerve to come up here, and
+break in on the enchanted ground given over to hobgoblins and spooks and
+owls ever so many years."
+
+When George said this in a low and rather shaky tone he clutched the arm
+of the Southern boy, and pointed toward the left. Of course Chatz
+eagerly followed the line of his extended finger; for he had been
+wishing to catch the first glimpse of the haunted house for several
+minutes back.
+
+"Yes, that's it, all right, George," he replied, with a sighing breath,
+as though something he had long yearned to see was now before him.
+
+"Come on, you fellows back there," said Elmer, who did not like to have
+them lagging so; and accordingly George and Chatz hurried their steps.
+
+It was certainly anything but a cheerful place, for a fact. The trees
+were very much overgrown, and the undergrowth had year after year
+increased its hold until it would have been difficult to force one's way
+through this, only for wandering cows having made paths which could be
+followed.
+
+"Elmer, I c'n see 'em workin' like beavers over there!" whispered Toby,
+who had forged alongside the leader, still burdened with that package
+which the others believed must contain some new fangled contraption of
+his connected with the science of aviation.
+
+The five scouts gathered in a group, being careful not to expose
+themselves in a way to draw attention. They could see a boy in a
+chestnut tree, and plainly hear the rattle of nuts from the opened
+burrs, whenever he switched the branches with the long pole he was
+carrying, secured somewhere in the woods near by.
+
+"Did you ever hear it hail nuts like that in all your born days?" gasped
+George as they stood there, sheltered by the bushes and watched
+operations.
+
+"Oh! listen to him talk from the other side of his mouth, fellows?" Toby
+muttered. "George has seen a big light; he ain't a doubter any longer,
+you notice. He hears the rattle of the nuts, and sees 'em falling like
+hail. Talk to me about beavers and busy bees, that crowd would take the
+cake for business. Look at that one climbing to the very top of the
+hickory tree to get the best nuts that always grow up high. There he
+starts in slashing, and it's like a regular bombardment on the ground.
+If they get away with all that lot I'll die of a broken heart. There
+never was, and there never will be again, such a bully chance to lay in
+a big winter's supply of nuts in double-quick time. And I never did like
+to take other people's leavings."
+
+"Make up your mind to it we don't have to," Elmer assured him.
+
+"Might as well make ourselves comfy while we're about it," suggested
+George, as he dropped down, and sat tailor-fashion, with his legs
+doubled under him.
+
+"Yes, for we may have to stay here quite some time," admitted Elmer,
+copying his example without hesitation.
+
+"Ain't it nice to watch other people working for you?" observed Ted,
+after a while.
+
+"Only they don't know it," added George; "but, Elmer, suppose you give
+the rest of us a hint what you mean to do. I see you've been cutting the
+bark off that white birch tree, and got the same in your hand. It's used
+for marking canoes, and picture frames as well. Some persons even write
+on the brown back of the bark, but I don't think you mean to send them a
+notice from spookland, telling them that if they don't clear out
+instanter the bully old ghosts will grab them tight?"
+
+"Not the kind of message you're thinking about," replied Elmer, smiling.
+"In the first place I don't know what sort of hand writing ghosts would
+be apt to use; and then again, I don't believe they'd pay much attention
+to that sort of thing. Watch and see if you can guess now."
+
+With that he rolled the large strip of bark so that it looked like a
+great cornucopia. So had Elmer seen Indian guides fashion a horn when
+wishing to call the aggressive moose on a dark night, away up in
+Northern latitudes.
+
+"Oh! now I see what you're meaning to do!" exclaimed George; "that looks
+like a regular megaphone now, the kind they use when there's a boat race
+on, or at college games. You're going to throw a scare into them by
+whooping it up through a horn; is that right, Elmer?"
+
+"You've hit it to a fraction, George, because that's exactly what I'm
+meaning to do with this birch bark horn. And as some of the bunch have
+started to slip down the trees even now, thinking they've got enough
+nuts on the ground to keep them busy picking the same up, we'll watch
+until they've gathered all they want, and then you'll see some fun--that
+is, it'll be fun at this end, but a serious business for them. Lie low
+when I give you the signal."
+
+They hovered there for a full hour while the four boys were gathering
+the nuts, and stowing them away in sacks that had been brought for the
+purpose.
+
+At last Elmer decided that matters had gone far enough. There were
+evidences that one of the boys had been sent to fetch the horses and
+wagon up, in order to load the numerous bags that had been filled. So
+cautioning his chums to lie low so they might not give the game away,
+Elmer raised the bark horn to his lips.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+"TO THE VICTORS BELONG THE SPOILS"
+
+
+SO far as the other scouts knew, Elmer Chenowith had never seen such a
+mystery as a real ghost in all his life; and he certainly had not heard
+one groan, or give any kind of sound. Consequently his imagination was
+called upon to conjure up a series of queer, blood curdling noises such
+as an orthodox specter, fresh from the world of shades, might be
+expected to utter when tremendously excited.
+
+Josh and George afterwards confessed that if they had not known it was
+the scout master who amused himself in this way, they too might have
+shivered in their shoes. As for the Southern boy, he lay there amidst
+the brush, and kept his eyes glued all the time on the face of Elmer, as
+though he dared not depend on his knowledge of facts, but must back this
+up with the positive evidence of his eyes.
+
+Once Chatz even cautiously put out his hand, and gently felt of Elmer's
+khaki sleeve; it was a mute confession that while never a doubter like
+George, the boy from Dixie had to be convinced when it was a matter of
+superstition.
+
+But the main thing, of course, was what effect Elmer's groaning might
+have upon the four boys who had stolen a march upon the scouts, and
+reached the harvest of nuts in advance.
+
+No sooner had the first sounds begun to rise than they looked up with
+startled expressions on their faces. Of course, like nearly every other
+person in town, the quartette must have heard strange stories connected
+with the abandoned Cartaret place, for such things have a way of
+traveling from one end of a county to another, being eagerly repeated
+even by many who would scorn to admit their belief in such silly notions
+as ghosts.
+
+Before coming up here perhaps Connie and Phil, with the other two
+fellows, may have talked things over seriously, and expressed many a
+fervid hope that their piratical operations might not be interrupted by
+any visit from a spectral guardian, such as was said to watch over the
+place.
+
+The first thing they did was to stare at each other, while their mouths
+could be seen to open with astonishment.
+
+Elmer changed his key, and gave them another sample of the weird sounds
+capable of being coaxed from a birch bark horn. He certainly was making
+a great success of his music, his comrades thought, as they lay there
+and waited to be invited to have a share in the proceedings, according
+to agreement.
+
+Toby afterwards solemnly declared that he could see the caps of the four
+frightened boys start to rise, as their hair stood on end; though an
+element of doubt always surrounded this statement; for Toby was so
+excited himself that possibly his imagination worked over-time.
+
+With the change in tune the boys seemed to regain in some measure the
+command of their faculties; at least they were able to rush close
+together, as though seeing protection in mutual sympathy. It was a plain
+case of "united we stand, divided we fall!" And clutching at one another
+they continued to shiver and listen,--meanwhile looking all around, as
+though more than half expecting to discover some terrible figure bearing
+down on them.
+
+Elmer would have been only too happy to have provided such a specter for
+their accommodation; but unfortunately he had not come prepared to
+launch such a thing. Ghosts were hardly in his line; and in lieu of a
+specimen for exhibition purposes he was compelled to do the best he
+could with the material on hand; which is always a cardinal principle
+with scouts.
+
+"Now!"
+
+When Elmer hissed this single word his four chums knew that their time
+had come to get into the game. The snake had been "scotched, not
+killed," as Josh later on aptly described it. No matter how much
+frightened Connie Mallon and his cronies might seem to be, if they stood
+by their guns what would the advantage amount to? The affair must be
+turned into a regular rout in order that the scouts might reap the full
+benefit.
+
+Accordingly all of them got busy immediately. George pounded on a hollow
+log with a heavy stick, and managed to produce a series of throbbing
+sounds that were likely to add to the consternation of the listeners;
+Ted clapped two stones together; while Toby and Chatz rattled the brush
+violently, and added a few choice groans of their own manufacture as
+good measure.
+
+It was enough, yes more than sufficient.
+
+Human nature had reached its limit, so far as those alarmed fellows were
+concerned. Undoubtedly they must have become convinced that their raid
+on the preserves of the ghostly guardian of the haunted Cartaret place
+had aroused the ire of the said defender, and that they were now in
+deadly danger of being seized by bony hands.
+
+Of course Connie and his followers were raw novices in matters connected
+with haunts, and all such things, or they would have known that no self
+respecting ghost was ever caught giving public exhibitions of his
+oddities in broad daylight. The gloom of night, or the weird light of
+the moon, has always had a monopoly of these thrilling diversions.
+
+When Connie Mallon suddenly gave a tremendous spring forward, and
+started on a full run, there was no holding the other three back. They
+went plunging madly on in his wake, paying little attention to the
+direction they took, so long as their flight promised to carry them away
+from those dreadful manifestations.
+
+Elmer did not stop his labors; in fact he even went to some pains to
+increase the racket, under the impression that once you get a thing
+started it is good policy to keep it moving.
+
+He had distinctly warned the others, however, not to allow their
+excitement to overlap their discretion; for should one of them so far
+forget himself enough to give vent to a genuine boyish shout, perhaps
+the panic-stricken quartette might become wise to the fact that they
+were being made victims to a great hoax.
+
+"Come on, let's chase after them a bit, fellows!" Elmer told them,
+between his puffs through the birch bark megaphone; "but keep well back,
+so that they can't get a look-in at us if they turn their heads. Noise
+is what we want, and plenty of the right kind."
+
+Acting on his suggestion the others trailed after their leader. They
+swished in and out of the bushes, and accompanied their progress with
+all manner of novel sounds, each of which was calculated to add just a
+mite more to the alarm of the fugitives.
+
+More than once they heard loud cries of pain coming from ahead, as one
+of the runners collided with some tree which had not been noticed in his
+terror; or else found himself tripped up by a wild grape-vine that lay
+in wait for unwary feet. As Toby declared later on, all this was "just
+pie" for the chasers; they feasted off it, and seemed to enjoy the run
+immensely; which was more than the Mallon boy, with his three cronies,
+could ever say.
+
+At least Connie seemed to have kept his head about him in one important
+particular, which pleased Elmer very much; he knew in which direction
+lay their wagon, for which he had been in the act of sending one of his
+companions at the very moment this awful clamor broke out which had
+started them in full flight.
+
+The neigh of a horse close at hand told Elmer what was happening, and he
+immediately held his eager clan in. Far be it from them to wish to delay
+the departure of the Mallon tribe, whose room was worth far more to the
+scouts than their company.
+
+"Wait, and listen!" said Elmer, in a whisper.
+
+"You didn't get the whole of that straight, Elmer," Toby told him,
+quickly, in a low, husky voice; "you ought to have said, 'Stop! Look!
+Listen!' That's the way it always is at railroad crossings!"
+
+"Hist! Be still!" cautioned the leader.
+
+They could hear loud excited voices near by, accompanied by the stamping
+of horses' hoofs, as though the excitement had communicated to the team
+used by Connie Mallon and his three cronies in their rival nutting
+expedition.
+
+"Now, let's start up again, and add the finishing touches!" Elmer told
+the others, when a dozen more seconds had dragged past, and they felt
+they might safely assume that the fugitives must have untied the team,
+as well as scrambled into the wagon.
+
+Once again did that strange chorus break forth, with Elmer groaning
+through his birch bark horn, and the others doing all in their power to
+accompany him in regular orthodox ghostly style, in as far as their
+limited education along these lines went.
+
+Taken altogether the racket was certainly enough to scare almost any
+one. Snorts and prancing on the part of the horses announced that they
+were now sharing the general excitement. Then came cries urging haste,
+and presently the plain unmistakable smack of a whip being brought down
+with decided emphasis on the backs of the animals, several times
+repeated.
+
+With that there was the crunch of wheels, and away dashed the two-horse
+wagon, making for the road which Connie knew must not be far away. Once
+or twice the scouts had fugitive glimpses of the departing vehicle as it
+flashed past small glades where the view happened to be unobstructed;
+and it was certainly "killing," as George called it, to see those
+fellows bouncing about in the bed of the wagon, holding on for dear
+life, and with Connie plying the whip savagely, while the horses leaped
+and tugged and strained to make fast time over the uneven floor of the
+woods.
+
+The echoes of the flight grew fainter in the distance, and presently as
+they stood there the scouts could tell from the change in sounds that
+those who were fleeing from the wrath of the ghosts must have reached
+the harder road, for the hoof beats of the horses came with a pounding
+stroke.
+
+Gradually even this was dying away. Then the five boys turned and looked
+at each other, with their faces wreathed in huge grins.
+
+"Tell me, Elmer, is it safe to let off steam now?" demanded Toby,
+eagerly.
+
+"If you're careful not to be too noisy, go it!" came the reply.
+
+With that Toby threw himself flat on his back, and began to kick his
+heels up in the air, all the while laughing, and giving queer gurglings
+that were meant to serve his pent-up emotions about as the escape valve
+of a boiler does when the steam presses too heavily on the boiler, and
+relief is necessary.
+
+He was not alone in his hilarity, although the merriment of the others
+partook of a different nature. Ted, Chatz and George went around shaking
+hands, and assuring each other that never in all their lives had they
+ever run across a more ridiculous diversion than this flight of the bold
+nut-gatherers.
+
+"Talk to me about Napoleon's retreat from Moscow," said George, who
+prided himself on his knowledge of history, "why, it wasn't in the same
+category as that wonderful escape of the Connie Mallon gang from the
+raid of the Cartaret ghosts. And say, what thrilling stories they'll
+have to tell about it all! Believe me, the whole Hickory Ridge will know
+about it by night time. Oh! I'll never forget it! I haven't had so much
+fun for a whole year as to-day. It was worth coming twenty miles just to
+see them on the jump."
+
+"Why," observed Ted, after he could regain his breath in part, "that
+Phil Jackthon took the cake when it came to covering ground. Did you
+thee him clear that log like a buck? I bet you he made a record jump
+that time, and beat anything he ever marked up on the thlate at a
+match."
+
+"Well, they're gone, all right," said Chatz; "and from the way they
+whipped their poor hosses I'd like to guess they'll keep on the wild
+run till they get home. And there isn't much chance that we'll be
+bothered again by that Mallon bunch to-day; how about that, Elmer?"
+
+"You can set that down as certain," replied the one spoken to. "It would
+take more spunk than any of that crowd happens to own for them to change
+their minds, and come back here. And that's why I wanted you to be
+careful not to give the secret away. We've got the field to ourselves
+the rest of the day."
+
+"Unless something comes along to give us a scare too," added Chatz,
+meaningly; for truth to tell, the superstitious Southern boy was already
+wondering whether all this playing ghost on their part might not bring
+something down on their heads savoring of retribution.
+
+"Then what's to hinder our getting busy, and changing all that pile of
+fine nuts from their sacks to ours?" George wanted to know. "The spoils
+of battle belong to the victors every time; and besides, they were
+trying to beat us out of our share as first discoverers. For one I ain't
+a bit ashamed to grab everything. Let that silly bunch wake up earlier
+next time, if they mean to get away with the game."
+
+What Elmer may have thought just then he did not say; but his ideas were
+certainly not so pronounced as those of George, who was a pretty blunt
+fellow, one of the "give-and-take" kind.
+
+As they were all of one mind a start back was made; and Toby, not
+wishing to be left in the lurch, had to bring his kicking exhibition to
+an abrupt finish, and hasten after his four chums.
+
+The glorious store of nuts that had already been gathered was
+immediately turned from the sacks owned by Connie Mallon and his cronies
+into the burlap bags the scouts had provided for the purpose. Then, far
+from satisfied, the boys proceeded to take up the work where the late
+nut-gatherers had left off. They climbed trees, and whipped the branches
+with the long poles, delighting in the sound of splendid nuts rattling
+down like hail. There is such a fascination about this sport that it is
+difficult to know just when to stop it; and the ground was soon covered
+to such an extent, that when the harvest had been gleaned several of the
+enemy's bags were more than half filled with the surplus.
+
+"I never saw half so many chestnuts, walnuts and shell-bark hickory nuts
+gathered in heaps in all my life, as there are right here!" declared
+George; "a big bag apiece all around, and with three partly filled sacks
+belonging to that crowd left over."
+
+"Which extra plunder," said Elmer, quietly, "I'm sure none of us would
+think of wanting, as we've got twice as much as we can use already."
+
+"Then you're going to leave them for the ghost, are you?" asked Chatz,
+eagerly.
+
+"We'll take them along," said Elmer, "and turn them over to Connie
+Mallon as a consolation prize; he'll find them in his front yard
+to-morrow morning, bright and early."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+WHAT A SCOUT LEARNS
+
+
+"HUH! so far as the nuts go, I haven't any objection," remarked George;
+"but to my mind it's going to be like casting pearls before swine.
+They'll never appreciate the real motive back of the thing; and chances
+are they'll reckon we're throwing them a sop so they won't hold hard
+feelings against us."
+
+"Perhaps you're right, George," Elmer admitted; "but don't forget we're
+every one of us true scouts, and that we've promised to hold out the
+olive branch to those we call our enemies, whenever we find the chance.
+There's such a thing as heaping coals of fire on another fellow's head,
+doing a kindness to the one who hates you, and making him ashamed of
+himself. Scouts learn that lesson early in their service, you remember.
+If we didn't have all the nuts ourselves, perhaps I'd hesitate to put
+this up to you, but it's no sacrifice to any of us."
+
+"Elmer, I agree with you there," Ted spoke up. "Of courth none of us may
+ever know jutht how they take it; but when a fellow hath done his duty
+he needn't bother himthelf wondering whether it payth."
+
+"Listen to Ted preach, will you?" jeered Toby, who truth to tell was not
+much in favor of carrying those three half-filled hags of nuts all the
+way to town, just to serve as a "consolation prize" to those fellows who
+had conspired to cheat them out of their just dues.
+
+"But he's right in what he says," maintained Chatz stoutly, for he had a
+Southerner's code of honor, and was more chivalrous that any other
+fellow in the whole troop of scouts. "Duty is duty, no matter how
+disagreeable it seems. And when once you realize that it's up to you to
+hold out a hand to the treacherous enemy who's flim-flammed you many a
+time, why, you'll have no peace of mind till you've made the effort."
+
+"But," Toby went on to say, sneeringly; "if you step up to Connie
+Mallon, and say: 'Here's your bags come back, and we chucked the
+leavings in the same, which the ghost is sending you by us to sort of
+soft soap your injured feelings,' why, d'ye know what he's apt to do;
+jump on you, and begin to use those big fists of his like pile drivers.
+You'll have to excuse me from being the white-winged messenger of peace,
+Elmer. I pass."
+
+"There's no need of doing it that way, Toby," he was informed by the
+scout master. "Some time to-night, as late as we can make it, we'll
+carry these partly filled bags around to Connie's place, and drop them
+over the fence. Hold on, here's another of the same sort; now, if we
+only had that as full as the rest it would be just one all around, and
+we could leave them in each yard, you see."
+
+"Like old Santa Claus had been making his annual visit, only this time
+he picked out Thanksgiving time instead of Christmas," remarked Toby, a
+trifle bitterly; and yet strange to say he was the very first one to
+start in gathering more nuts and thrusting his find into the fourth
+Mallon bag; which told Elmer that much of his objection was mere surface
+talk, and that his heart really beat as true to the principles of scout
+membership as did any other present.
+
+"Many hands make light work," and so plentiful were the several
+varieties of nuts that it was not long before the fourth bag was half
+filled. No doubt those boys felt better because of this act. The chances
+were they would never get any credit for what they were doing, but as
+Elmer told them, the consciousness of having done a decent act should
+always be quite enough for any ordinary scout.
+
+"And every one of us has a clear title to turning our badges right-side
+up, after working so hard for our enemies," Chatz declared, as they
+"knocked off."
+
+"Well, how about that dinner, camp style?" demanded Toby, drawing out
+the waistband of his khaki trousers to show what a quantity of room he
+had for a supply of cooked food.
+
+"It's long after noon, so we might as well get busy with dinner," Elmer
+replied.
+
+After stowing all the sacks away in the bushes, where they were not
+likely to be discovered, should any outsider wander on the scene while
+they were employed elsewhere, the scouts busied themselves in making
+preparations for the camp meal which all of them had so long been
+anxiously looking forward to.
+
+First of all a fire was started in the most approved manner, some flat
+stones being built up in two parallel ridges. Long ago these lads had
+found that there was nothing so splendidly adapted for camp cooking as a
+gridiron of some sort, made after the pattern of the shelf in the
+kitchen oven at home, with grill bars. This could be easily placed on
+stones, or even mounds of earth if the first were not available, and
+there was no danger of anything upsetting; while the flames, or the heat
+of the red coals had a chance to accomplish the work. So they never went
+forth, when there was a possibility of cooking being done, without
+carrying this contrivance along with them.
+
+They had been thoughtful enough to also fetch along a coffee-pot, an
+extra large frying-pan made of sheetiron, and the necessary tin
+platters, cups, knives, forks and spoons.
+
+Soon the delicious odor of dinner began to steal forth, causing Toby to
+sniff the air with rapture, and loudly declare:
+
+"Fried onions, coffee, ham, potatoes, and plenty of fresh bread and
+butter; that's the bill of fare, is it? Gee! whiz! you couldn't beat it
+if you tried all day. And every minute's going to seem like a whole hour
+to me till I hear the welcome call to the feast."
+
+"We're a lucky lot to be sitting around here like this, and a bully
+dinner coming on, when we think of that bunch of soreheads hustling for
+home, not even half a dozen nuts in their pockets, and even their gunny
+sacks lost," Chatz remarked.
+
+"Yes, provided somebody don't get too gay, and upset all that coffee
+into the fire," grumbled George, who evidently would not feel sure of
+his dinner until he had devoured it, because, as he was fond of
+repeating, "there's many a slip 'tween the cup and the lip," and Toby
+was so apt to be so clumsy in moving around.
+
+As usually occurred, however, George's fears proved groundless, because
+no accident happened to the splendid dinner, which they were soon
+enjoying to their hearts' content. There was enough and to spare, so
+that even Toby admitted he could find no more room, when Elmer pressed
+him to have a third helping.
+
+"If we had Ty Collins and Lil Arthur Stansbury along there never would
+be even a crumb left over, no matter how much you cooked," said Toby, as
+he heaved a sigh, and released another button so as to add to his
+comfort; "I'm a pretty good hand, but when it comes to crowding the
+mourners, and stowing the grub away, they take the prize."
+
+For a while afterward the boys sat around the fire, and talked of the
+recent happenings. There was plenty of time to get home before dusk,
+which was really all that they wished to do, so none of them showed any
+desire to hurry off.
+
+Later on, however, when some one happened to mention the fact that if
+there was nothing more to be done they might as well bring the wagon
+up, load their cargo of well filled sacks, and be moving along toward
+town, Toby suddenly remembered something.
+
+"Well, I declare if I didn't nearly forget one of the most important
+things of the whole excursion!" he exclaimed.
+
+"What?" asked George, ready to object at once, if the thing did not meet
+with his approval.
+
+"Why, you know I told you I'd been fixing up another little stunt
+connected with the wonderful science of aviation, and right here's where
+I see a golden opportunity to try it out for the second time. It seemed
+to work all right with me in a ten-foot drop, and next thing is to make
+it thirty. If she does that, and I live to tell the tale, you're apt to
+see the name of Jones right often in the papers pretty soon."
+
+He had pounced on that mysterious package of his while speaking, and was
+busily engaged in unwrapping the same, while the others crowded around,
+curious to learn what it could be that the aspiring inventor had hit on
+now. So many of Toby's startling devices had turned out to be the
+rankest fizzles, that his comrades had come to be very skeptical with
+regard to his ability to make good.
+
+"Why, I declare if it ain't only an old umbrella after all!" exclaimed
+George, with his accustomed sniff of disdain, as the contents of the
+package became visible after the paper had been cast aside.
+
+"You're away off there, George," affirmed Toby; "because every bit of
+it's brand new. My own invention too; nothing just like it ever known
+before."
+
+"Huh! I believe you!" grumbled the skeptical George.
+
+"It's what they call a parachute," Toby continued, glibly. "You know the
+kind the hot air balloon men use at county fairs when they go up; well
+this is an improvement along that line, and is intended to let an
+aeronaut drop a mile and more, if anything happens to his machine when
+he's up among the clouds."
+
+"That sounds pretty well, Toby," remarked Elmer, though there was a
+shade of doubt on his face, for up to then Toby had really never managed
+to impress his chums with his greatness as an inventor; he was always
+getting excited over things, but seemed to lack the ability to
+successfully grasp the ideas that were floating around in his mind.
+
+"You'll soon see that this time I have got a grand scheme in this safety
+device," the inventor boasted; "you know there are an awful lot of
+casualties among air-men these days. Some sort of thing goes wrong when
+they're away up, and nearly every time it means they fall like a stone.
+My wonderful parachute will make it _impossible_ for the aviator who
+carries one along with him to be killed. Let his machine head for the
+earth like a meteor, and as for him he'll drift down as softly as you
+please."
+
+"Go on and tell us how all this is meant to do the business," asked
+Chatz, as Toby amused himself in opening and closing the folds of the
+big stout umbrella, which certainly seemed to work smoothly enough.
+
+"Why, you see it's fixed so that it will be attached to the back of the
+man in the aeroplane all the time he's up; a sort of insurance plan,
+because while he may not need it at all, if he does it's there handy.
+When he finds his machine has gone back on him all he has to do is to
+jump boldly out into space. The Jones patent parachute does all the
+rest. It's as reliable as United States bonds, and will save lots of the
+poor fellows who, but for my thinking up this scheme, might have lost
+their lives this next year."
+
+"Of course you've tried it out, Toby?" suggested Chatz.
+
+"Never will work in the wide world," affirmed George; "because in nine
+cases out of ten it'd get caught somehow in the planes or the machinery
+of the aeroplane, and the poor chump who had pinned his faith to the
+Jones Parachute would come down ker-plunk with his wrecked motor!"
+
+"Shows how little you know about some things, George," Toby flashed
+back; "if the directions are faithfully followed there never can be an
+accident like you say. As to trying it out, I've had one little drop,
+say of about ten feet, but that was too short, because the umbrella
+didn't have a chance to get fully open; and when I struck the ground it
+near rattled every tooth in my head out. But now I want to get up at
+least thirty feet, and then drop with the thing already open."
+
+"But see here," Elmer told him; "I should think you'd have found a way
+to test the opening of the thing by throwing it over some precipice,
+with a heavy rock tied in place of a man."
+
+"Just what I did, Elmer!" cried the other, hastily. "I spent a whole
+Saturday morning up at that big rock that overlooks Lake Jupiter, and
+five different times I tossed the parachute, folded up, over the edge,
+with a stone weighing more than a hundred and fifty pounds fastened to
+the same."
+
+"And how did it work?" asked Chatz.
+
+"Like a charm," replied the happy inventor. "The umbrella opened as
+quick as it began to drop, and after that it floated to the ground all
+right. Course it hit a little hard, because you couldn't expect it to
+sail along like a thistle-down, with all that weight attached; but the
+shock wasn't enough to hurt--much, I guess. And while we sat here eating
+I saw the very tree I'm meaning to climb. Look over there, and notice
+that half dead one, with one big dead limb hanging out, and nothing else
+on that same side. How high would you call that, Elmer?"
+
+"Nearer forty feet than thirty, I should judge; and enough to kill you
+if you fell straight," replied the scout master.
+
+"Don't worry about me, now; I'm all fixed for it, and I've got on my
+rubber-soled shoes in the bargain, so I'll be light on my feet. But I
+would like some of you to give me a lift up that tree."
+
+"It's got plenty of branches on this side, so that you won't have much
+trouble climbing, once you get a start," Chatz told him, starting
+forward to lend what assistance lay in his power.
+
+"Better not try that risky game, Toby," objected George, possibly really
+concerned about the safety of his comrade, but more than likely voicing
+his natural liking for being on the side of the opposition, for some
+boys are built that way, and never so happy as when throwing obstacles
+in the way of success.
+
+Toby, however, paid no attention to this grumbling on the part of
+George. Ted and Chatz helped him into the tree, and then handed up the
+wonderful parachute which, if it turned out to be one-half as successful
+as its proud inventor claimed, was going to be a great boon for all
+those who took their lives in their hands and went up among the clouds
+in air machines.
+
+Higher climbed Toby, managing somehow to lug his burden along with him,
+although it certainly could not have been any light weight.
+
+His objective point was a large decayed limb that stood out all alone on
+one side of the trunk. As Elmer had calculated this was all the way from
+thirty-five to forty feet from the ground, and that distance offered him
+a good chance to experiment with his parachute.
+
+"Be careful, Toby, and don't take too many risks!" Elmer called out to
+him, making use of the birch bark megaphone, so as to impress his words
+more positively on the other.
+
+"Oh! look there what's running up ahead of Toby, would you?" cried
+George. "As sure as you live it's a 'coon, with its striped tail, and
+scared half to death because a critter with two legs has clumb his
+private tree. He must have popped out of that hole you c'n see where
+Toby is. And say, if the little fool hasn't gone and run out on that
+very limb where Toby's planned to jump from."
+
+"Keep back, everybody!" warned Elmer; "give Toby and the 'coon all the
+room they need, because our chum is attaching the parachute to his body
+right now!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+LOOKING AROUND
+
+
+"HERE goes, fellows; now watch me make the jump!"
+
+Toby had adjusted the big parachute to his satisfaction, before he
+called this out; and it seemed to have been attached to his back by
+means of some device of his own. When open it resembled a large
+umbrella, only the ribs were made much more solid than the usual ones.
+
+"It's lucky the ground's pretty soft down here, Toby!" called George;
+"because you're apt to get a swift knock when you land. Be sure and keep
+that tongue of yours well inside your mouth, or you might bite it off."
+
+"Seems to me you do your share of biting, George; you've always got some
+ill-natured remark to make about everything I invent. Nothing venture,
+nothing gained, is my motto. And now I'll walk a little further out on
+this limb, so as to get a better chance to jump; and then watch me sail
+like a thistle-down!"
+
+"Careful, there, Toby!" shouted Elmer, as the scout up in the tree
+started to move out further, looking very queer with that canopy over
+his head, and his waving arms assisting him to keep his balance.
+
+Hardly had the scout master given this warning than what he possibly
+anticipated happened. There was an ominous crack, and the rotten limb
+started to drop earthward. So did Toby, though the parachute caught the
+air, and sustained his weight pretty fairly. How it would have been had
+he been thousands of feet up, instead of a paltry thirty-five, was a
+question that could not be answered.
+
+The four boys saw the limb come crashing down, to break into fragments
+when it landed. Strange to say the ring-tailed animal that had
+accompanied the rotten limb in its sudden descent did not appear to have
+suffered any material damage from the drop; because it was seen to run
+away as soon as the termination of the unexpected aerial voyage had been
+reached.
+
+As for Toby, he was certainly falling, but buoyed up by that stout
+material extended in the shape of a parachute, his descent was not
+nearly so rapid as it must otherwise have been.
+
+He struck the ground with a resounding thump, and then fell over in a
+heap; though from the scrambling that ensued the others knew he could
+not have been hurt very much.
+
+"How'd she go, Toby?" demanded Chatz, hurrying forward to assist the
+daring air navigator, if it turned out he needed any help.
+
+"Kinder hard slap it gave me when I hit terra firma," replied the other,
+whose lip was bleeding a little, showing that he must have bitten it;
+"but all that's going to be remedied easy enough. What she needs is a
+little more canvas; ain't a big enough sail yet to hold me up. But
+whee! who'd ever expect that limb to snap off as sudden as that? See
+what it means to be prepared, fellows? Scouts ain't the only ones that
+ought to do that same; for if anybody ever needed to be ready, the air
+pilot does. He never knows what's going to happen to him next."
+
+"Well," the scout master remarked, "let's hope that's plenty for you
+to-day, Toby. We've stood and watched you make a record drop, and you
+came through in pretty decent shape; but enough's as good as a feast.
+The next time things mightn't turn out as nice for you; and we don't
+want to carry a scout with a broken leg home in our wagon to-day."
+
+"But think of that little 'coon coming down with it all, and then
+running away as if he didn't have a scratch to show for it?" George
+observed.
+
+"He got off sound and unhurt, did he?" asked Toby; "I'm real glad of
+that, 'cause I wouldn't want him to be injured. I reckon that 'coon was
+a mascot to me, and gave me good luck. But do we get ready to start home
+so early in the afternoon, Elmer?"
+
+Before any opinion could be advanced by the scout master, Chatz broke in
+hastily:
+
+"I'm going to ask you a great favor, suh," he told Elmer; "and which I
+hope you can grant without interfering at all with any plans you have
+formed."
+
+"What's that, Chatz?" asked the other; although from the quick look he
+cast in the quarter where lay the haunted house, it was easy to see
+that he could give a pretty fair guess what it's nature would prove to
+be.
+
+"Why, suh, we may never get the chance again, and I've always wanted to
+see what the inside of a haunted house looked like," Chatz went on to
+say.
+
+"Whee!" burst from the lips of Ted; while both George and Toby pricked
+up their ears, and began to show considerable interest.
+
+"You mean that while we're up here, and have half an hour or so on our
+hands," Elmer suggested, "we might as well take a look-in over there,
+and see if the rats and the owls are the only things living in the
+Cartaret house."
+
+"I'd like to very much, suh, believe me, I would," Chatz continued, with
+one of his winning smiles that were very difficult to resist.
+
+"What do the rest say about that?" and as Elmer made this remark he
+turned to the other three scouts.
+
+"I vote in the affirmative!" Toby immediately answered.
+
+"Thame here," purred Ted.
+
+"Oh! of course I'll join you in anything you hatch up, fellows," George
+told them; "though I don't take any stock in all this nonsense about
+ghosts and such. If you show me one, and I can pinch his arm, and feel
+the bones in his hand, I might believe in the stuff; but you never can,
+and that's a fact. Still, I'd like to see what the inside of this old
+Cartaret house is like. I don't believe there's a single fellow in
+Hickory Ridge that can boast he's been through it. Lead the way, then,
+Elmer, or Chatz. We'll follow you."
+
+That was always the way with George. He would oblige a comrade every
+time, but his chronic way of fault-finding, or unbelief, often took away
+much of the pleasure his accommodating nature might have afforded.
+
+They had bundled the cooking utensils together, ready to be placed in
+the wagon when it was brought up; Toby also fastened his wonderful
+parachute in as small a compass as possible, and laid it down alongside
+the other things.
+
+"Wouldn't want to forget to take that along home for a king's ransom,"
+he stoutly declared, looking defiantly at George, because of course that
+individual was smiling in a fashion that smacked strongly of
+incredulity.
+
+After that the whole five of them headed toward the spot where they knew
+the deserted house was to be found. Chatz was fairly quivering with
+eagerness, and there was a glow in his dark eyes that told how much he
+appreciated this chance to pry into the secret lodging place of a
+reported ghost.
+
+Everything was overgrown, and looked very wild. Elmer remarked that if
+there really were such things as hobgoblins in this world, they
+certainly could look long and far without finding a more congenial
+neighborhood in which to reside; for the whole appearance of the place
+seemed to smack of the supernatural. The breeze actually whined as it
+passed through the bare branches of the untrimmed trees close to the
+house; and loose shutters and windows added to the creaky sounds by
+their rattling, every time a little gust happened to blow.
+
+"Wow! this sure is spooky enough around here to suit me," Toby frankly
+admitted, as they stood there, and looked about them.
+
+The house itself had once been quite an extensive, and perhaps costly
+affair, with two wings, and a spacious hall in the center. That was long
+ago, for now it was in the throes of dissolution, a mere wreck of its
+former self, and fit only for bats, owls, and rats. Doors hung on a
+single hinge, and shutters had been torn off long ago by gales, leaving
+the paneless windows gaping beyond. Moss streaked the rotten roof, and
+parts of the porch had given way under accumulated snow piles in
+previous winters.
+
+As Toby said it certainly was gloomy enough, and one did not need to
+have a very vivid imagination to picture the tragic scenes that were
+said to have been enacted here many years ago, when the place was a
+regular Eden, with flower beds and outbuildings on all sides.
+
+"Gives you the creeps, all right," admitted George.
+
+"Now, for my part," Elmer remarked just then, "I kind of like the
+feeling it makes pass over you. And as few people have visited here for
+the last ten years, I'm glad you asked us to look around with you,
+Chatz. Let's go inside."
+
+There was no trouble about finding a place of entrance, for there were
+plenty of the same, some originally intended for this purpose, and
+others the result of decay while the old mansion lay here year after
+year the sport of winds and storms, winter and summer.
+
+They wandered around from room to room, viewing the wreck of what had
+once been a very fine house.
+
+"Looks to me like there might be some truth in that story about the
+Judge making this a regular prison for his young and pretty wife," Elmer
+announced as his opinion, after they had been pretty well through the
+lower story, and were climbing the shaky stairs to the upper floor.
+
+"Why, yes, there were actually bars across the windows in that last
+room!" declared Chatz; "it's just such a place as I've always had in my
+mind whenever I got to thinking about haunted houses. You could imagine
+anything might happen here. Right now, if it was midnight, we could
+watch and see if there was any truth in all those stories about the
+ghost of the Judge's young wife storming around here, going through all
+that terrible scene again. I'd give something to be able to learn if she
+does come back to visit the scenes where she was so unhappy."
+
+"Here, you'll have uth all shaking like we had the ague, if you don't
+stop that thort of talk," said Ted, apprehensively, and when he thought
+no one was looking, rubbing the back of his hand across his eyes, as
+though something connected with the sad story of the old-time tragedy
+had brought unbidden tears there.
+
+"Well, perhaps you may have just such a chance, Chatz," said Elmer,
+suddenly, as though he had made his mind up.
+
+"Tell me how," requested the Southern boy, trying to control the
+eagerness that burned within his soul when he heard this said.
+
+"You remember that we'd about made up our minds to spend the
+Thanksgiving holidays in camp somewhere, just to have another little
+outing before winter dropped down on us?" Elmer went on.
+
+"Yes, that's right, we did," muttered Toby, who was almost as much
+interested in the matter as Chatz.
+
+"And where could we find a better place for spending those few days than
+right here in the dense woods close to the Cartaret house? There's
+everything to be had that the heart of a camper might wish; and if
+you're a ghost hunter, why, here's a splendid field for your
+activities."
+
+"Elmer, will you do that much for me?" asked Chatz, earnestly.
+
+"Much more, if the chance ever came along, and you know it, Chatz,"
+replied the scout master, warmly. "So, what do you say, shall we
+consider that settled, boys?"
+
+All of them held up a hand, which meant that they voted in the
+affirmative.
+
+"But," interposed the Great Objector, "we mustn't forget that there
+will be several other fellows of our troop along with us on that little
+outing; and p'raps they mightn't just fancy camping so close to a mouldy
+old ruin, where the owls and bats fly around nights, and lots of other
+unpleasant things are apt to crop up."
+
+"Oh! we know Lil Artha, Ty Collins, and Landy Smith well enough to be
+able to speak for them, too," Elmer ventured; "and the chances are when
+they hear what we're aiming to do they'll be as wild as Chatz here to
+investigate."
+
+"We've got a big job cut out for us, I'm thinking, boys," faltered
+George.
+
+"Rats! who's afraid? Gimme two cents' worth of peanuts, please!"
+exclaimed Toby, who seemed to be in an unusually good humor, perhaps
+because of that successful parachute drop, looked forward to with an
+admixture of hope and fear for a considerable time.
+
+They passed through every part of the house that seemed worth while,
+even visiting the attic, where the rain had beaten in so many times,
+that some of the woodwork seemed very mouldy. They frightened an army of
+bats up there, and there was a lively ducking of heads, with numerous
+attempts at knocking the flying creatures down with whatever the boys
+could lay hands on.
+
+Underneath lay the cellars, and determined to see it all the boys
+trooped down the rotten stairs, saving George, who declared he had had
+quite enough of the exploration, and that after all he didn't believe in
+ghosts, and therefore an old ruin with a tragic story back of it failed
+to impress him as worth much time.
+
+When the others came out a little later, talking about what queer
+dungeons lay underground, some of which possibly had been constructed by
+the rich judge to serve as wine cellars, they found George sitting at
+his ease, and watching the shadow on the stone face of an old and
+unreliable sun dial.
+
+"I guess long ago that pretty young wife used to sit right where you
+are, George, and watch the shadow creep around to the hour mark," said
+Elmer, who must have had a pretty good touch of the romantic in his
+make-up, to speak in this way.
+
+"Mebbe," George retorted, as though falling back on his old principles,
+and not willing to believe anything unless shown.
+
+"That finishes our visit to the Cartaret place, for this time, Chatz,"
+Elmer continued, turning to the Southern boy; "I hope you think it paid
+you for the trouble."
+
+"A dozen times over, suh, I assuah you; and I'll not soon forget your
+kindness that made this interesting visit possible. Yes, and that
+promise to come up here again next week, when we're out for our little
+vacation camping. I shall look forward to the same with the greatest
+pleasure, believe me, suh."
+
+"Then we might as well get the horse up, and load our cargo?" Elmer
+suggested.
+
+"Oh! did you see that?" shouted Toby, just then.
+
+"What was it, and where did you see anything?" demanded George, always
+suspecting that the others were playing practical jokes.
+
+"Up at one of the windows there!" Toby went on, pointing, while his face
+filled with excitement and a little touch of awe.
+
+"What was it like?" asked Chatz, his interest aroused to fever heat.
+
+"I only had a peek at it, because it disappeared, just like it might be
+smoke," Toby went on to explain; "but it was a white face, and if there
+ever was such a thing on this here earth as a ghost, I saw one then,
+sure I did, fellows!"
+
+Elmer had his eyes glued on the face of the scout when he was making
+this astonishing assertion; and he knew that Toby, though a practical
+joker at times, was not trying to deceive them now; he had seen
+_something_ up there at that window, or believed he had, which amounted
+to the same thing; and yet they had just explored every bit of that
+portion of the ruins without meeting a single soul!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+HARVEST TIME
+
+
+NO one said a single word for the better part of a minute, after Toby
+had made this astonishing statement. They continued to exchange uneasy
+looks, and then cast furtive glances up toward the particular window at
+which Toby had been pointing his trembling finger.
+
+It was however excitement, not fear, that made Toby shiver; for after
+all he was the first to break the sombre silence, and then it was to
+make a proposition.
+
+"Let's go back up there, and take a turn around," he said, eagerly;
+"mebbe we did miss some room, and after all there's somebody ahidin' in
+the blooming haunted house. What d'ye say, fellows?"
+
+"I'm on!" replied one of them before Toby had really finished speaking;
+and of course it was Chatz who agreed so readily.
+
+Elmer immediately made a move that announced his readiness to do what
+the first discoverer of the ghost proposed; Ted and Toby followed suit;
+and finally George, shrugging his shoulders as though he considered it
+all folly, came tagging along at their heels grunting to himself.
+
+In this fashion they entered the house, and immediately passed up to the
+second floor, looking curiously about them again. Nothing was in sight,
+not even a trespassing bat, for the little creatures had all been
+alarmed when the boys made their first entry, and flown through various
+openings into the outer air.
+
+"Now be sure you pick out the right window, Toby," warned Chatz.
+
+"I counted 'em from the outside," replied the other, with a
+business-like air, "and it was exactly the seventh from the end; and
+here she is. Everybody count and see for yourselves."
+
+"That's all right," remarked George, triumphantly; "but suppose you show
+us your old ghost, Toby."
+
+"Never said it was one," protested the other, as he looked about in a
+puzzled manner; "what I did remark, and I stand back of it still, was
+that if ever there was such a thing as a spook in this world that must
+have been one."
+
+George sniffed contemptuously.
+
+"Go on and poke him out, then; I want to be shown, if I ain't from
+Missouri!" he told Toby, who turned his back on him.
+
+"Well, there doesn't seem to be anything here, Toby, for a fact," said
+Elmer, as he looked carefully around, up and down, on the floor, and
+along the hall.
+
+"It's disappeared, as sure as shooting, Elmer," admitted the pilot of
+the ghost-hunting expedition; "but I give you my affidavy that I did see
+a face, a white one at that, though it flipped out of sight before I
+could grab a second look."
+
+"Beats the Dutch what an _imagination_ some fellows have got," grumbled
+George.
+
+"I tell you I did see something, George!" repeated Toby, firmly.
+
+"Sure, you might have done that," agreed the other, cheerfully; "but
+it's my honest opinion that it might have been just a little flash of
+sunlight on a window pane. I've known such a thing to startle me more'n
+once. And when you shifted your head, why, you got out of focus, and the
+thing disappeared as you say, like a wreath of smoke. Now, I'm one of
+the kind that likes to look deep into things; and I never let a mystery
+grip me. Make up your mind, Toby, that it was something like I'm telling
+you, and let it go at that."
+
+Toby did not answer. Truth to tell he did not know what to say, for
+while he still firmly believed he had seen a human face at the window
+there was nothing around by means of which he could prove it.
+
+He went to the window and looked out.
+
+"Anyhow," he remarked, disconsolately, "even if I was fooled by
+something, it sure wasn't the sun, because it never strikes this side of
+the house after noontime; and look at the heavy trees shading it, will
+you? I give the thing up, and yet I'd like to take a look over this
+floor."
+
+"Suppose we start in and do it, then?" remarked Elmer, quietly.
+
+Even George accompanied them, though he continued to look superior, and
+allowed a skeptical expression to appear on his face. Possibly, in
+spite of his avowed disbelief in ghosts, George did not really care to
+be left alone in that house; his valor might all be on the surface.
+
+Nothing was found, and Toby finally admitted that it seemed useless
+wasting any more time prowling around.
+
+"But I'll always believe I did see something," he avowed, as they
+started out of the building again; "and if we come up here to camp
+during the Thanksgiving holidays we ought to look into this business
+closer. P'raps something might show up in the night time that'd be worth
+seeing."
+
+"Do you really think so, Toby?" exclaimed Chatz, with rapture, as though
+even the mention of it gave him secret delight.
+
+"Rats!" sneered the unconvinced George.
+
+They had gone only a little way from the house when Elmer called a halt.
+
+"Just wait for me a few minutes, boys," he said; "or, if you feel like
+it, fetch the wagon around to load up our sacks of nuts."
+
+With these words he turned and went straight back into the house. The
+others exchanged looks, but did not say anything, though they must have
+thought this queer on the part of the scout master. But then Elmer was a
+privileged character, and often did things that mystified his chums,
+explaining later on, to their complete satisfaction. Perhaps he may have
+dropped something up there on that second floor, or else conceived a
+sudden idea which caused him to return for another look around.
+
+"Might as well get loaded up, as hang around here any longer?" suggested
+Toby.
+
+"I think the same," added George, "for there's no telling who'll be
+seeing all sorts of queer things next. Must be in the air. Once that
+sort of thing begins to get around, and it takes a solid mind to ward it
+off. Never bothers _me_, though."
+
+"I'll bring the horse up," suggested Toby, with a grin; for in spite of
+finding himself the target for these shafts of ridicule on the part of
+the scoffer, Toby dearly loved to hear George offering objections.
+
+"Guess you'd better, because Nancy knows you more'n she does any of the
+rest of us; and a hoss is a rantankerous creature," said Chatz.
+
+"Particularly a mare," added Toby, as he hurried away; but they noticed
+that he cast many side glances at the surrounding dense foliage as he
+went in the direction of the spot where they had left Nancy and the
+wagon when approaching the grove of nut trees, as though he did not
+wholly fancy finding himself alone amidst such weird surroundings.
+
+Once the wagon was brought up it did not take the scouts long to get all
+the sacks of nuts loaded. When they saw what a splendid showing the
+collection made it caused a fresh outbreak of congratulations all
+around.
+
+"There never was such a grand lot of nuts brought into town from the day
+the first cabin was built away back!" declared George, who could not
+see any reason to throw cold water on this positive fact, with the
+evidence plainly before him.
+
+"That's what comes of having an idea," remarked Toby, proudly; "if I
+hadn't engineered this plan we might have spent a hard day in the woods,
+and only brought home a single bag to show for it. Just look at that
+wholesale lot, will you?"
+
+"Yeth, and we're all ready to thay you did it with your little hatchet,
+Toby; it taketh you to hatch up plans, thure it doeth," admitted Ted.
+
+"Wonder what's keeping Elmer?" Chatz observed, as he turned to look
+toward the house, glimpses of which they could catch through small
+openings in the dense growth of trees; to immediately add: "there he
+comes right now."
+
+"Hope he found what he was looking for," George ventured, and nothing
+further was said in regard to the matter.
+
+Elmer quickly joined them. Chatz looked keenly at his face, and fancied
+that he could detect something like a faint smile there; but even if the
+scout master had made any sort of discovery on his last visit to the
+haunted house, he did not seem ready to take his chums into his
+confidence.
+
+"Well, that looks like something, boys," he remarked, as he surveyed the
+great load of filled bags that occupied nearly every bit of space in the
+wagon bed.
+
+"Oh! we believe in doing a wholesale business when we get started,"
+laughed Toby; "the only thing that's bothering me is where Chatz, Ted
+and George can find room to sit. Guess they'll have to fix it so as to
+stretch out on top of our load."
+
+"Ted can crowd in with the two of us on the front seat, if he wants,"
+explained Elmer; "and if somebody gives me a hand we'll soon arrange a
+place for the other seat back here on top of these four partly filled
+sacks."
+
+"Consolation prizes, you mean!" muttered George, who did not exactly
+like the idea of their going to all the trouble of carrying the extra
+sacks home just to drop them in the yards of the members of the Mallon
+crowd; George was inclined to be proud, and it seemed to smack too much
+of pulling "chestnuts out of the fire" for others.
+
+"Well, after all, suh, they worked hard enough to knock those nuts down
+to be entitled to a share," Chatz remarked, that fine Southern sense of
+justice cropping up again, despite his dislike for Connie Mallon and all
+those who trained in his camp.
+
+"Not to speak of the bruises and black eyes some of them must have
+picked up when they conducted that masterly retreat," Elmer added; "I'll
+never forget that panic; for I don't believe I ever saw fellows more
+frightened than they were."
+
+"Well, do you blame them?" asked Ted; "if I got it in my head that bunch
+of ghosth had it in for me on account of my breaking in on their haunt
+I'd run like a whitehead too, and thatth right."
+
+"I'd like to see Connie's face when he discovers that sack of nuts in
+his yard to-morrow A. M.," George continued, actually pursing up his
+lips in a smile, something he was seldom guilty of.
+
+"Reckon he'll think it rained down in the night," chuckled Chatz.
+
+"More'n likely he'll begin to believe he's only been dreaming that these
+things happened, and that he did fetch the nuts home with him, after
+all," Toby volunteered.
+
+"But when the other counties are heard from, and they all compare notes,
+won't they get on to the game then?" George asked.
+
+"How about that, Elmer?" Toby inquired, turning to the scout master.
+
+"I don't see how they can help but figure it out as it stands," came the
+reply.
+
+"That is, they'll guess we fetched back their bags for 'em, and not
+wanting to turn the same over empty, just chucked a lot of nuts in to
+make 'em stand up," and George as he said this looked as consequential
+as though he had solved some great problem.
+
+"All I'm afraid of," resumed Toby, "is they'll get the idea in their
+dense heads that we're only doing this because of fear; that is, we're
+offering a bribe, hoping they'll forgive us for frightening them, and
+won't hold us to a reckoning. I don't like knuckling down that way. I
+wish we thought to put a note in each sack telling them we only turned
+these nuts over because we had more than we could use ourselves, and
+thought they'd worked hard enough to earn some."
+
+Elmer, however, shook his head.
+
+"That wouldn't be worth while trying!" he declared. "I think it'd only
+make them more bitter against us. The best way to do is just to leave
+the bags in their yards, and say nothing. If they ever ask us why we did
+it, let's say we thought it only fair they should have some of the
+proceeds of the raid on the Cartaret grove, because they worked hard
+enough for it. If they want to make trouble after that why we'll have to
+accommodate them, that's all."
+
+That settled the matter. When Elmer clinched an argument he seldom left
+any ground for the others to stand on; and in this case all of the boys
+seemed to be satisfied to let him do as he proposed, though several
+privately disliked the idea of carrying that additional weight back
+home, just to turn over to that turbulent, trouble-making crowd.
+
+"There's nothing more to keep us here, seems like," suggested George;
+"so what do you say to going home?"
+
+"It's time," admitted Chatz, "and if Nancy is able to draw such a heavy
+load, we ought to get there before dark, which comes along about five,
+these November days."
+
+"It's mostly down-grade," Toby went on to say, as he climbed to his
+seat, and took up the lines; "besides, I told you the animal needed a
+good haul to take some of that extra spirit out of her. All aboard,
+fellows; those who can't get a board find a rail. Homeward bound, and
+with the greatest load of bouncing big nuts ever harvested along Hickory
+Ridge."
+
+They were a merry lot as they found places on the wagon.
+
+"Hope Nancy behaves herself going home," George remarked, as he tried to
+fix himself firmly in his seat; "if she took a notion to cut up all of a
+sudden where d'ye think we'd land back here, with the wagon so full?"
+
+"Plenty of room on the road, George; and believe me you wouldn't have to
+question where you'd dropped, because it'd be a convincing argument,"
+Elmer told him.
+
+So they started, and all of them turned to take a last look in the
+direction of the haunted house, as they caught a glimpse of it through
+the trees.
+
+"Good-bye old ghost!" cried Toby, waving the hand that did not hold the
+reins; "we'll come again and interview you, mebbe. Take care of
+yourself, and don't play any mad pranks while we're away."
+
+As they rode off, making their way among the trees, and heading for the
+vicinity of the road, Chatz turned to Ted, who was sitting in the middle
+again, having decided to cast his fortunes with the comrades of the rear
+seat, and remarked in what he meant to be a low tone:
+
+"I'd give something to know, suh, whether Elmer _did_ find out about
+that _thing_ when he went back into the old house again!" but Ted only
+shook his head in reply, as though the subject was too deep for him, or
+else he believed Elmer would take them all into his confidence when he
+saw fit to do so.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+HOW ELMER'S PLAN WORKED
+
+
+"HOW had we better arrange about the nuts, Elmer?" asked Toby, when they
+were drawing close to the border of the town, with the twilight
+gathering around them.
+
+"I've been thinking about that, Toby," replied the other; "and the best
+way all around would be for you to keep the whole lot in your barn. Some
+day we'll get together and divide up, because, as they stand now some
+bags have only walnuts, others hickories, while a couple have got most
+of the chestnuts in them."
+
+"Are the rest agreeable, and do they trust me as far as that?" demanded
+Toby.
+
+"Trust you with my pocketbook, Toby," George assured him.
+
+"That's because there's never a red cent in the same, then," the driver
+flashed back, as quick as anything; "but see here, Elmer, what about the
+other four half-filled sacks?"
+
+"I was coming to that," replied the scout master; "and unless somebody
+objects to the programme, why, I'll drop around after supper, say before
+nine o'clock, and between us, Toby, we'll lift all our own bags out, and
+stow the same away in that room in your barn that's got a lock to it.
+Then I'd like you to hitch up Nancy again, so we can go around and drop
+these other bags in the yards of the four fellows. It's apt to be pretty
+quiet along about that time, even if it's Saturday night; and not much
+danger of anybody spying on us."
+
+"Just as you say, Elmer; I'm with you," replied Toby, who was a very
+accommodating fellow, and easily influenced; "I guess I'll feel
+stronger, and more like tackling the job after I've had my supper."
+
+There was no objection to that plan, since it had already been decided
+to work things that way; and possibly George, as well as Ted, felt that
+they were escaping some hard labor when they allowed these two comrades
+to shoulder the burden.
+
+At various corners the others jumped off the heavily loaded wagon, and
+made for their homes. It happened that no boys were abroad just then to
+ask where they had been, for supper time came early in most of the
+Hickory Ridge homes during the fall and winter days; and so Toby was not
+forced to explain that he and his four chums had been off nutting.
+
+True to his word by half-past eight Elmer made his appearance at the
+Jones domicile, and with Toby and a lighted lantern proceeded to the big
+barn. Here they found that the wagon stood just where it had been left
+when Toby unharnessed Nancy, and stripping off their coats the two lads
+proceeded to complete their job.
+
+It was no light one at that, lifting out those sacks filled with nuts,
+and stowing the same away in the man's room near by; but both were
+husky fellows, and by degrees managed to complete their task.
+
+"There," said Toby, wiping his streaming brow, "that part's done, and
+the rest won't be so hard, because the bags are only half filled; but I
+kind of wish we had 'em planted O.K., and were on the way home again.
+Whew! what would happen, d'ye think, Elmer, if Connie Mallon dropped in
+on us when we were dumping a sack over the fence into his yard?"
+
+"That'd be hard to say," replied Elmer; "but what's the use crossing
+bridges before you come to them? Time enough to bother with that when it
+happens. And if you knew Connie as well as I do, because he doesn't live
+far away from my house, you'd never expect him to be home at nine
+o'clock on a Saturday night. He's too fond of loafing down in the pool
+room with his crowd; or being off on some lark, robbing some orchard of
+late apples. Now, suppose you lead Nancy out, after you've got her
+harness on, and we'll hitch up."
+
+This was soon done, and afterwards Toby started to back the vehicle out
+of the barn, while Elmer extinguished the lantern.
+
+"I'll leave it here alongside the door, so we can find it again when we
+come back," he told the driver; after doing which he mounted beside
+Toby, and they started off on their queer errand.
+
+Phil Jackson lived close by the Jones home, so they paid the first visit
+there. Lights could be seen through the windows, but the boys found it
+an easy thing to lift one of the half-filled sacks of nuts out of the
+wagon, and silently slip it over the fence, leaving it there to be
+discovered by Phil is the morning.
+
+After that a second visit was made, and their end was accomplished quite
+as easily as at the Jackson house. The third one proved a little harder,
+for there were some people standing at the door as the boys drove past.
+
+"Better make a turn around the block, Toby," suggested the scout master;
+"they've been having visitors, and perhaps they'll be gone when we get
+back again."
+
+This proved to be the case, and having decided just where they wished to
+leave the sack of nuts, the boys drew in the animal and quickly dropped
+their burden over the picket fence.
+
+"Things are booming," remarked Toby; "that makes three of the lot, and
+only one left, which is Connie Mallon's bag."
+
+He seemed to be a little nervous about approaching this place, for the
+bully had a bad reputation as a fighter among the boys of the town; but
+everything appeared to be quiet, and there was not a single light to be
+seen in the small house where the Mallon family lived.
+
+All the same Toby breathed freer when he felt the bag slip from his
+grasp over the fence. Hardly had they managed this than there was an
+explosion of savage barks and a bulldog came rushing toward the corner.
+
+"Wow! ain't I glad that Towser's on the other side of the fence?" Toby
+exclaimed, as he hastened to jump up on the wagon; while the dog
+continued to bark fiercely, with his blunt nose pressed against the
+palings surrounding the enclosure; "hurry, Elmer, and let's get away. I
+don't think he can climb fences, but I won't take any chances with that
+brute. He's spoiled one pair of trousers for me already."
+
+Soon afterwards the two boys parted at the gate of the Jones place.
+
+"I feel like we'd had a great time of it to-day, don't you, Elmer?" Toby
+was saying; and then, not waiting for an answer, he continued: "and I
+have to laugh every time I think of what a crazy scramble that Connie
+and his bunch put up when you gave 'em the ghost walk with that birch
+bark horn. Most people like to see the ghost walk on pay days, but this
+one wasn't the same kind. Wouldn't I give a cooky, though, to see what
+they look like to-night, and hear what they say about bein' chased by
+that Cartaret spook!"
+
+"Well, it's been a good enough day for us, Toby; and I think we ought to
+have a great time if we go up in that region for our Thanksgiving
+camping trip. Good night," and with that Elmer walked away, not a little
+tired himself, for it had been a pretty strenuous day, all told.
+
+In the morning he was up early, because he had an object in view, and
+Elmer was not the one to sleep late at any time, even though it were
+Sunday morning.
+
+From a certain place up in the loft of the barn he knew he could see the
+Mallon yard quite plainly; and taking a field glass he owned along with
+him, he now proceeded to occupy this lookout.
+
+As he had already had some breakfast he was nor bothered by gnawing
+hunger as he continued to sit there, and watch the back door of the
+Mallon cottage.
+
+He saw Connie's mother come out several times, and judged she was
+getting breakfast ready. Then the big hulking boy himself appeared,
+bearing a bucket in his hand, and yawning at a great rate.
+
+Elmer sat up and watched closely, for he anticipated that a fellow who
+possessed as sharp eyes as Connie, could not help but see the bag that
+lay in plain sight near the fence. The dog had already been chained to
+his kennel by Mrs. Mallon, the watcher fancied, though he had not seen
+her do this. Connie stopped to speak to the ugly looking beast, and from
+the way Towser wagged his crooked stump of a tail it seemed as though he
+must be somewhat fond of his master.
+
+Then the big boy shuffled on toward the well, where he was evidently
+expecting to draw a bucket of drinking water.
+
+Suddenly Elmer, who was using the glasses now, saw him come to a
+standstill, and look straight at the bag, as though he could hardly
+believe his eyes.
+
+Down went the water pail, and Connie hastily strode across the yard
+until he reached the bag lying where Elmer and Toby had dropped it, snug
+up against the fence palings.
+
+He bent down, and opening the bag by cutting the stout cord that had
+been wound around the flap above the store of nuts, stared hard at the
+latter. Elmer saw that he was greatly staggered, for he started to
+scratch his head after the manner of one who did not know what to
+believe. Just as Chatz had suggested, perhaps he began to think the
+prize must have rained down in the night, for he examined the sack, and
+evidently recognized it as one of those he had taken with him on the
+preceding day when starting out on that nutting expedition with the idea
+of getting ahead of the scouts.
+
+Then again it might be that he began to believe all that affair of the
+panic and flight must have been a bad dream, and that after all he and
+his cronies had brought back some spoils when they returned. Again Elmer
+saw him put his hand up to his face and feel of his cheek.
+
+"He's got a cut there to show where he banged against a tree," the scout
+told himself, "and that's plain proof there was a panic. There, he's
+examining the bag again, as if he thought it would speak and explain the
+mystery. This is surely worth watching. Hello! there comes Phil Jackson,
+and that Benners fellow on the run. Looks like they had found their bags
+at home, and are coming to see what Connie has to say about it. And now
+there'll be a high old time, I expect."
+
+There was, after the two newcomers had discovered that one of the bags
+half filled with nuts stood in the Mallon yard, just as they had found
+at their homes.
+
+Elmer sat there for fully fifteen minutes, watching them talk and make
+gestures. He imagined that they had quickly figured it all out, and must
+know to whom they were indebted for a winter's stock of nuts. What they
+might choose to do about it was another question, however. Elmer hoped
+for the best, yet was prepared to meet the worst, whatever might come.
+
+"Anyway, Connie's concluded not to refuse the nuts just because they
+came to him through the scouts he hates so bitterly," Elmer concluded,
+as he saw the Mallon boy shoulder the sack and carry it to the house,
+after saying good-bye to the other two, who hastened away, possibly to
+learn if the fourth and last member of the expedition had likewise been
+favored by a visit from the fairies during the night.
+
+School held for the next three days, and then came glorious Thanksgiving
+with its turkey, and pumpkin pies, and all the splendid things that go
+to make up the annual feast. All this while there had not been the least
+hint from Connie or his three allies that they knew who put those nuts
+there. It almost seemed as though they purposely avoided meeting Elmer
+and his chums. Even at school they kept away from the others, and Toby
+declared that it was mighty queer, because he had fully expected to have
+a tongue lashing from the big bully, even if nothing more serious came
+to pass.
+
+Elmer was satisfied with the way things had turned out. As a scout he
+could feel that he had done the right thing, and deep down in his heart
+he hoped it might in some fashion show Connie Mallon there was such a
+thing as returning evil with good.
+
+Nothing might come of it just then, but Elmer hoped the seed would find
+lodging, and perhaps later on germinate.
+
+When they got to talking it over, as they made preparations for leaving
+home bright and early on the morning after Thanksgiving, George of
+course professed to doubt whether it had made even a dent in the callous
+surface of Connie's mind.
+
+"Take my word for it, fellows!" he declared, pompously, "you'd have to
+swing a sledge hammer and give more'n a little tap at that, to make any
+impression there, he's so extra tough. Chances are he just don't want to
+stir us up for fear we'll tell the whole story, and all his pals would
+have the laugh on him for running away from a ghost!"
+
+Toby himself seemed more than half inclined to believe something along
+these same lines; but Chatz knew Elmer must be looking beyond this
+explanation, and still entertained hopes that the olive branch extended
+might not be wholly wasted.
+
+They had all their arrangements made that night, and expected to start
+with the rising of the sun on Friday morning. This would give them two
+nights in camp, even if they did have to come back on Sunday afternoon
+in order to be ready for school on Monday.
+
+"And it looks like we might have fine weather along with us, too," Elmer
+told the others, as they said goodnight at his door; "there's a tang
+like frost in the air even now, and you can see your breath easily. That
+means we'll enjoy a camp fire more than ever, because it never feels
+half as good on a hot summer night. Look for you bright and early, Toby,
+with the wagon and the tent and all the stuff. I'll be ready with my
+bundles, and that piece of ham."
+
+All preparations having been made they parted with mutual good wishes
+for a fair dawn, and Elmer, standing there in the doorway, found himself
+a little disappointed because there had been no response to the
+invitation extended to Connie Mallon to bridge over the chasm, at the
+time they left those nuts in his yard.
+
+Elmer was astir long before daybreak on the following morning, because
+he meant to get himself a light breakfast, so as to be ready for the
+wagon when it came along about sunrise. Having satisfied his hunger, and
+seen that all his various bundles were ready he stepped out of the back
+door to listen, in expectation of hearing the sound of wheels.
+
+Then he had a little surprise, for hanging there on a nail beside the
+door was a brace of freshly killed rabbits; and Elmer knew to a
+certainty nothing the kind dangled there on the preceding evening.
+
+He took them down, and laid them on the kitchen table, while a whimsical
+smile crept over his boyish face, and a glow of satisfaction could be
+seen in his eyes as he rubbed his hand along the sleek side of the
+larger bunny.
+
+For Elmer chanced to know that Connie Mallon had spent Thanksgiving day
+off in the woods and meadows hunting; and the very fact that he had thus
+shared the results of his tramp with the boy he had fought against so
+long gave Elmer a queer feeling of triumph deep down in his heart.
+
+Then the wagon came along, with all the other boys aboard, and the bed
+of the vehicle pretty well filled with their camping outfit; so Elmer
+got in his seat, wondering what Doubting George would have to say when
+he learned how a good action may set even the worst boy in town to
+thinking, and changing his ways.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+THE CAMPING OUT EXPEDITION
+
+
+THIS time there was a load for Nancy to pull, since besides the five
+scouts who had made the nutting trip three additional fellows were
+along.
+
+First of all there was a lanky boy who long ago in a spirit of derision
+had been dubbed "Lil Artha" by his Comrades; and although he stood fully
+a head taller than any of his intimate chums, he still answered
+cheerfully to this silly name. Arthur Stansbury was a good scout, and
+well liked, though at critical times he showed a disposition to get what
+boys call "rattled," and on more than one occasion this weakness had
+resulted in his getting those long legs of his twisted in a knot,
+resulting in trouble all around.
+
+Landy Smith was a cousin of George Robbins. Philander was rather fat,
+belonged to the Wolf Patrol, and had been known to walk in his sleep, so
+that often the others, whenever any mysterious thing happened in camp at
+nighttime, accused Landy of doing it while under the influence of this
+strange wandering spirit, that made him get up while asleep, to play
+tricks, and disturb his mates.
+
+The third boy was Tyrus Collins. His specialty as a scout, if he had
+any, was his recognized ability as a cook; and Ty's weakness might be
+said to be a fondness for wearing a sweater of a pronounced fiery hue.
+Once a garment of this type had gotten Ty into a lot of trouble with a
+furious bull, when he was caught in a pasture, and forced to take refuge
+in a lone tree. He had only escaped in the end by sacrificing his red
+sweater, which the bull stopped to rend while the fleeing boy managed to
+gain a friendly fence.
+
+But Ty could not always be expected to remember this danger, and at
+present he boasted of another garment of a sanguinary hue, which he wore
+when he believed there were no bulls around.
+
+Here, then, were eight lively fellows seated "every-which-way" in that
+commodious wagon, and enlivening the time as they journeyed toward camp
+with much jabbering, and not a little loud singing of popular songs.
+
+They appeared to be completely happy. Ty was wearing his "grand sweater"
+right then, and treated the warnings solemnly uttered by some of his
+mates with abject scorn. Nancy certainly did have a pretty heavy load to
+transport, and after the first mile or so along the frosty road there
+were no further manifestations of gaiety on her part, only dull care,
+for she labored heavily.
+
+But then these boys were merciful, and they generally jumped off, to
+walk up any steep hills, so as to relieve the beast of burden. Scouts
+early learn to think of the woes of dumb animals, and show a disposition
+to lighten their work all that is possible. If being a scout did not
+teach a boy a single thing more than that it would still have
+accomplished much; and posterity would have great cause to be grateful
+to General Baden-Powell as the originator of the organization that has
+long ere now circled the globe, and made converts in every clime.
+
+The boys were of course all dressed in the familiar khaki uniforms
+associated with scouts everywhere; and they carried with them a couple
+of tents, as well as other necessary things connected with camping out.
+There were no firearms visible, though possibly a gun or two might turn
+up later on, when the contents of that heavily laden wagon had been
+fully disclosed. Several of the boys were fond of hunting under
+favorable conditions; and besides, as there was always some danger to be
+encountered from wild beasts or snakes, Elmer thought it advisable to be
+prepared for an emergency.
+
+He sat on the front seat with Toby and George; Chatz, Ty and Landy had
+managed to pre-empt the second one by virtue of early arrival; while Ted
+and Lil Artha, the "long and the short of it," made themselves fairly
+comfortable on the soft tents, and claimed to have the best of the
+bargain.
+
+The tall scout dangled his long legs over the tail-board, and was
+frequently called upon to "quit dragging," whenever the pace of the
+animal between the shafts slowed down from any cause.
+
+"How about going all the way in with the rig this time, Elmer; could we
+make the riffle, do you think?" Toby was asking, after they had gone
+three-fourths of the distance to the Cartaret place, and there was a
+brief lull in the general chaffing.
+
+The others listened in order to catch the reply of the scout master, for
+of course they were one and all interested in what was being said.
+
+"I don't see any particular reason why we shouldn't," Elmer answered;
+"we found it possible to take the wagon all the way to the nut grove
+when we wanted to load our sacks; and by watching out smartly I reckon
+we'll find a way to push through the woods there."
+
+"I only mention it," continued Toby, as though he thought some
+explanation were necessary, "because we've got a raft of stuff along
+this time, and if we had to tote the same on our backs to and from the
+wagon, it'd mean a lot of hard work, all of which could be saved."
+
+"And I think it a good idea too," chimed in George; "though of course
+I'm always willing to shoulder my share of the hard work when it's got
+to be done."
+
+There was more or less chuckling and nudging among the other scouts when
+this broad statement was made, because George had a reputation a little
+bit along the line of a "shirk," when it came to hard labor, though
+always ready to do his duty manfully when a meal had to be disposed of.
+
+"Well, we ought to get there in about twenty minutes more, if only Nancy
+doesn't drop dead with heart disease," Toby went on to say.
+
+"Not much danger of that, Toby," ventured Ted, from the rear of the
+wagon; "I alwayth did thay that Nanthy wath the toughest thing that
+ever wore the iron on her hoofth. And I expect to thee her doing duty
+yearth after I come back with my diploma from college. And they tell me
+thereth only one hoth older than Nancy in the county, which ith owned by
+that Connie Mallon's dad, the mathon."
+
+Somehow the very mention of that name which had been associated with
+considerable of tumult in the past history of the scouts' organization
+seemed to remind Toby and George of the remarkable events connected with
+their late nutting expedition. Elmer, therefore, was not in the least
+surprised to hear George immediately voice the feeling of detestation he
+entertained toward Connie Mallon.
+
+"I hope that gang enjoyed the treat we fetched home for 'em the other
+day; and which I believe you and Toby here distributed like a pair of
+Thanksgiving Santa Claus," he remarked, with a vein of satire in his
+voice that was almost as natural to Doubting George as breathing was;
+"but I never did take any stock in the game, though I agreed to assist
+out, to please you, Elmer. And to my mind it was a flat failure in the
+bargain. We might as well have handed all that lot of good nuts to some
+poor family, or turned the same into the pig-pen for the porkers."
+
+"Oh! I don't know," Toby said, with his favorite drawl. "Elmer here
+seems to be of the opinion that it's done _some_ good. Anyhow, none of
+us has had any trouble with that Mallon crowd since then. They seem to
+slide away every time they see us coming down the street, or across the
+campus at school."
+
+"Good reason," piped up George, "because they're afraid that if they say
+a word we'll start the ball arolling, and everybody in town'll hear how
+they ran like Sam Hill, leaving their nuts behind, and thinking a ghost
+was chasing after 'em. Huh! don't you give that tough crowd credit for
+thinking anything decent, because it ain't in 'em."
+
+"Listen," said Elmer, quietly, "and perhaps you'll find it best to
+change your tune, Old Question Mark. I had a little surprise this same
+morning when I came out of the house, just as dawn was breaking.
+Something dangling there alongside the back door caught my eye, and what
+do you think it was?"
+
+"Oh! give it up, Elmer," said George, with a shrug of his shoulders;
+while the others leaned forward eagerly, intent on hearing the answer;
+"couldn't guess in a year of Sundays, so open up and tell us."
+
+"A brace of the fattest and biggest rabbits I ever saw, and fresh killed
+at that," replied the scout master, impressively.
+
+"Oh! you don't mean to say it?" ejaculated Toby; "and, Elmer, as sure as
+anything I saw Connie Mallon coming home late last evening with four of
+the same hanging over his shoulder, and looking as proud as a turkey
+cock. He just grinned as he walked past, and even nodded his head, but I
+was too surprised to answer him, or ask where he struck such great luck.
+But then everybody knows Connie is the best rabbit hunter around
+Hickory Ridge, and has got a boss hound in the bargain. So you think he
+left that brace hanging at your back door, do you?"
+
+"I'm as sure of it as if I saw him sneaking in late at night, and
+fastening the pair there," said Elmer, positively; "and he divided
+evenly with me, you see, if he had just four. Now, George, what do you
+say to that? Was it a silly thing in our taking those four bags of nuts,
+and leaving them where we did? Don't you think Connie Mallon was set
+_thinking_, and that unable to express himself in any other way he
+carried out this fine thing to show me he understood the motive back of
+what we did?"
+
+George died hard.
+
+"Well, I wouldn't just like to say that much, Elmer," he admitted;
+"because I don't believe that tough case could understand a decent
+motive; but he evidently wanted to let you know he'd keep still, if you
+fellows only wouldn't blab on him and his crowd."
+
+"I don't agree with you, George," the other told him, sharply. "I think
+you've got to rub your eyes some yourself, and get the scales off. It's
+my opinion that in his own crude way Connie meant to tell me he was
+holding out the olive branch. I've got a hunch he's in a humor to be
+approached, and met more than half-way; and when we get back after this
+camping trip I'm going to have a chin with him the first chance I get to
+see him alone."
+
+"Huh! wish you luck then, that's all," grunted George; "but I give you
+my opinion for what it's worth, and the chances are ten to one you'll
+rub up against a stone wall."
+
+"Well, there'll be no harm done, anyway," continued Elmer, nor did he
+insist on carrying the argument any further, for he knew how persistent
+George could be, and that although possessed of many sterling qualities,
+being broad-minded was not a cardinal virtue of the doubting scout.
+
+A short time later and those who had been up in this region recently
+began to call the attention of their companions to certain features of
+the landscape, and comment on the same.
+
+"I'd give a heap," said Chatz, "to own a picture of that other rig
+coming whooping out of the woods somewhere around here, and turning down
+the road in the direction of town. Well, suh, I reckon the fellow who
+held the whip was using the same on the backs of those hosses like fun,
+and the lot of them shouting to him to make the team go faster, because
+they believed the ghost would overtake them."
+
+"It sure must have been a glorious sight," called out the long-legged
+Lil Artha, from the rear of the vehicle; "and just like you, Chatz, I'd
+give a heap to see a photograph of the same. Do we turn in here, Toby?"
+
+"Yes, and you fellows hang on now, tooth and nail," replied the driver,
+"or there's a chance of you getting pitched out, because the old wagon
+joggles dreadfully most of the time over roots and stones. Steady, back
+there, everybody!"
+
+What Toby said turned out to be the truth. He tried to pick the easiest
+trail possible, but in spite of this it proved to be so rough that
+presently Elmer called a halt.
+
+"I'm going to walk the balance of the way, fellows," he declared, as he
+made a jump and landed on the ground.
+
+"Me too!" echoed Landy Smith, following suit.
+
+In another minute Toby was the only one left aboard, and he too might
+have gladly sought the ground only that it was necessary for some one to
+do the driving.
+
+Old Nancy appreciated this lightening of her load by striving harder
+than ever to draw it; while George and Ted and Chatz continued to call
+attention to various features of the landscape.
+
+"There's where we hid our wagon that other time," the last named
+declared, pointing to a thick cover of brush, into which the track of
+wheels led; "and Toby, you notice, is turning out, because this time we
+don't want to head direct for the nut grove, but the dense woods
+alongside. We saw a fine spring as we came by, and I reckon, suh, that
+our efficient scout master has it all fixed in his mind's eye to pitch
+our tents close to that."
+
+"Saves a heap of water lugging, and that counts," admitted Lil Artha.
+
+"That oughtn't to bother you much, Lil Artha," said George; "when you're
+built to cover half a mile at every step. All you'd have to do would be
+to take one look-in, fill your pail, and then turning around, come right
+back again."
+
+"Our camp, then, will be pretty close to the old house, won't it?"
+ventured Chatz; and there was an eagerness in his voice that betrayed
+how much he had been thinking of his luck at being in the vicinity of a
+building said to be haunted, for two full nights.
+
+"That's what it will," Toby called out over his shoulder, for he was
+following the pilot of the expedition, Elmer, who strode on all by
+himself away in the van; "and you'll have a chance to scrape up an
+acquaintance with that old hobgoblin, Chatz. You're welcome to all the
+fun; I haven't lost any ghost that I know about, and you don't ketch me
+hanging about in there half the night, waiting for something white and
+clammy to stalk around. Ugh! I should say not. Oh! what was that?"
+
+Nancy, up to then behaving very well, because quite tired after the long
+pull, began to prance at a lively rate; and every one of the four scouts
+craned their necks and stared in one particular direction; it was in
+that quarter George had just said the haunted house lay; and what had
+come to their ears was the strangest sort of a cry they had ever heard,
+a mingling of pain and rage it seemed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+IN FOR A GLORIOUS TIME
+
+
+"A WILDCAT!" exclaimed Ty Collins, excitedly.
+
+"Mebbe only an old owl," Lil Artha ventured; "because I remember you
+fellows told us there were some whoopers up here; and when an old house
+has got bats in its belfry it's likely to have owls too."
+
+"The house is over that way, ain't it?" questioned Landy Smith, showing
+a mild interest in the matter; but his indifference was more than made
+up for by the excitement on the part of the Southern scout, whose dark
+eyes fairly danced with eagerness.
+
+"I should say it was," he told Landy, "and if you think that's only an
+owl, or even a wildcat, suh, I reckon you've got another guess coming to
+you."
+
+"Listen to that, would you?" broke from Ty; "our chum from Dixie here
+believes in ghosts, and he even thinks that was one warning us away from
+the haunted house. It'd take a dozen of the same to scare _me_ off. I
+may light out before an enraged bull, but you don't find me sneaking
+away when there's a white thing waving up and down in the road. Had a
+lesson once, when I found it out to be just a rag hangin' from a branch,
+and since then nothing spooky ever faizes Ty Collins."
+
+Chatz looked keenly at the speaker, and nodded his head. Although he
+made no remark, his manner was that of a prophet, and Elmer, noticing
+it, could imagine him saying: "Just wait, and we'll see what sort of
+nerve you've got, Ty Collins. Things seem different at high noon from
+what they do when it's midnight. And if I have my way you'll get a
+chance to see a real ghost, for once in your life; because I just
+believe in the things, make all the fun you want to."
+
+Whatever the strange thrilling cry may have been, at least it was not
+repeated. Nancy was quieted by Toby, and the other scouts stood there,
+listening earnestly, for fully five minutes, but nothing developed worth
+noticing.
+
+Finally Elmer called out to them:
+
+"Here, get a move on, Toby, and come along. We've got lots to do before
+we can cook our first dinner; and I don't know how you fellows feel, but
+I'm as hungry as a wolf. Make a sharp turn here, Toby, because we want
+to push straight into the woods, and reach that spring."
+
+Of all the scouts, George was really the only one who, as they walked
+on, turned his head and glanced back several times toward the region
+from which that strange sound had come.
+
+Chatz noticed it, and smiled grimly, as though making up his mind that
+perhaps he might find a convert in his belief in George, especially if
+anything remarkable did come to pass, as he felt almost sure would be
+the case.
+
+Presently they came to the running water, and by following this up a
+short distance found the spring.
+
+"Hurrah! here we rest! Alabama for mine!" cried Lil Artha, as he turned
+and surveyed his surroundings, with the eye of one who had camped on
+numerous previous occasions, and might be expected to know something
+about such things.
+
+Then ensued a bustle, as the scouts began to unload the contents of the
+wagon, stake out the mare, and start to get things arranged.
+
+Every fellow had his share of the work apportioned to him, so that there
+was little real confusion, or getting in each other's way; and it was
+wonderful how things seemed to almost grow like magic.
+
+Two khaki-colored waterproofed tents soon stood there, facing toward the
+south, and with the spring only twenty feet away. Inside these the
+scouts began immediately to arrange their blankets, though the beds
+would not be made up until after the coming of night.
+
+Another pair attended to the very important duty of making the cooking
+range, on top of which they would spread the metal top that was to serve
+as a gridiron, to hold such utensils as were necessary for cooking
+purposes.
+
+When this had been constructed to their satisfaction a fire was quickly
+kindled, for the air was still rather sharp, even for a November day,
+and all of them felt they would be much better for a warm lunch.
+
+Amidst more or less good-natured chaffing the meal was prepared. There
+was no lack of assistant cooks to help Ty, who had taken upon himself
+the duties of _chef_ for the occasion, since long ago he had proved his
+capacity in that line; everybody seemed only too willing to help, such
+is the potent effect of genuine hunger.
+
+Even George was bustling around, trying to hurry things along, picking
+out all the best wood in order to make a hotter fire, and occasionally
+peeping in under the covers of the two kettles to learn if the contents
+might not be sufficiently cooked.
+
+It was about an hour after noon when dinner was ready, and all of them
+admitted the result was well worth waiting for. That frosty November air
+had given them an enormous appetite, and everything tasted better than
+it could possibly do at home; so for a certain length of time little was
+said, since they were too busy in disposing of the meal to talk.
+
+When the edge had been taken from their appetites they fell into a
+disjointed conversation, and almost every subject under the sun was
+discussed from the standpoint of scouts.
+
+Afterwards they lounged around for a while, being really too full to
+think of doing anything strenuous. As this was not supposed to be a
+regular camping trip of the whole troop, Elmer had not laid out any
+particular programme looking to their practicing the various "stunts"
+which scouts are interested in. Under ordinary conditions there would
+have been all manner of events underway, such as wigwagging classes,
+tracking advocates, new wrinkles in nature-study unfolded; photography
+of wild animals and birds in their native haunts undertaken, and many
+other educational features that make the camping out experience of Boy
+Scouts so vastly superior to those of other lads who simply go to the
+woods to loaf away the time, swim, and fish, and eat.
+
+Of course each fellow was at liberty to employ himself as best he
+thought would give him the most pleasure, only there was no authority
+brought to bear, and no one felt constrained to do anything that he did
+not particularly care for.
+
+"Where's Chatz gone?" asked Lil Artha, after they had been knocking
+around in this fashion for nearly an hour after eating, and several of
+them showed signs of wanting to be on the move.
+
+"Oh! I saw him slip away a while back," remarked Toby, "and chances are
+he's prowling in and out of that old shebang over beyond the trees, the
+haunted house that Judge Cartaret built fifty years or so ago. Chatz is
+clear daft on the subject of spirits, you know. And from what I've seen
+of him, it wouldn't surprise me a little bit if the fellow before we
+left here, tried to get us to make some sort of a ghost trap, to grab
+that wonderful spook in."
+
+"If he ever did that," Elmer remarked, "it would show that deep down in
+his heart Chatz didn't believe in any such notion; because if there was
+such a thing as a real ghost no trap we could manufacture would ever
+hold it. If Chatz proposed that to us he'd be as much as saying he
+believed the ghost to be a man, playing a game for some reason or
+other."
+
+"But," interposed Ty Collins, "what sort of a game would make anybody
+prance around here night after night, with a sheet wrapped around him,
+and p'raps luminous paint on his face, like I remember a ghost once did.
+But in that case there was a good reason, for he wanted to give a bad
+name to the property so he could buy it in for a song. That wouldn't be
+the case here with the Cartaret place, you know."
+
+"Well, it's foolish trying to guess a thing when we haven't even seen
+the ghost," George interrupted the others to say; "and I've got to be
+shown such a thing before I'll take the least stock in it; though I must
+say that as a rule Chatz is a long-headed chap, and not easy fooled."
+
+When Elmer heard George say this he fancied that it would only take one
+mysterious ghostly manifestation to make the doubter an ardent believer
+in supernatural things. Scoffer that George was, once he saw with his
+own eyes, he went to the other extreme, and became firmly convinced. It
+was just like the swing of the pendulum with him every time.
+
+"Oh! let's forget all that stuff about white-sheeted things that walk in
+the middle of the night!" exclaimed Landy Smith, "and pick up a more
+cheerful subject. Now just yesterday I chanced to be reading an account
+that told how three scouts in this very state made a study of hunting
+for the hives of wild honey bees up in the hollow limbs of trees in the
+woods. Elmer, do you think we could run across a hive filled with
+delicious honeycombs around here?"
+
+"Whee! you make my mouth water just to hear you talk about it," Lil
+Artha arose to say, "and if so be any of you make the try for a hive
+just count me in, will you?"
+
+"You bet we will," Landy hastened to assure him, "and right now consider
+yourself appointed commissioner-in-chief, whose principal duty will be
+to climb the honey tree, after we locate the same, and cause the
+warm-footed little innocents to vacate, so that we can gather in a store
+of the nectar. Wow! I'm going right away to see if I can't find the
+tree. Who'll be my backer? Don't all speak at once!"
+
+Lil Artha and Ted proved to be the most eager for the adventure. Upon
+making inquiries it was found that Landy had read all about how to
+locate a bee tree, if by good luck any such happened to be in the
+neighborhood, and was ready to show his chums how the thing ought to be
+done.
+
+His talk concerning the subject proved to be so interesting that when a
+start was made he had gained another convert, being Ty Collins.
+
+"I rather think I'd like to see how that thing's done, myself," this
+worthy admitted, "so with your permission, Landy, I'll tag along, and if
+you need any help in carrying the stock of honeycomb home count on me.
+Right now I feel like I could tackle a few big wedges myself, and enjoy
+the same."
+
+"All right, come along with us, Ty," Landy told him, cheerfully; "but
+I'd feel a whole lot easier in my mind if you'd take off that red
+sweater, and wear something else."
+
+"What for?" demanded Ty, who could be pretty stubborn when he chose.
+"This is going to be a bee hunt, not a bull fight, that I know of. Why
+should you object to me going warmly clad, I'd like to know?"
+
+"Oh! well," replied Landy with a grin that told he had only been drawing
+the other on for a purpose; "there might be an old king bee that had a
+detestation for red, just the same as a bull does, and he'd make it so
+warm for us we'd have to get out of the woods in a hurry."
+
+"Rats!" the other shot back at him, "bees don't bother about what they
+see; I've been told by an old bee man that it's _sounds_ they get mad
+at. And then there ain't such a thing as a king bee anyhow--queens,
+drones and workers make up a colony. Oh! I ain't quite such a ninny as
+some people think. So I guess this beautiful red sweater goes along."
+
+"All right, if you're willing to take such a terrible risk it's nothing
+to the rest of us, is it, fellows?" Landy told him, with a chuckle; and
+then went on to add: "Now, we'll carry a little sugar water along to use
+if we happen to run across any bees flying around, which at this late
+day ain't likely. Best we can do is to watch every tree-top and try to
+hear the buzzing of a swarm of young bees. They come out every fine day
+as long as the weather lets 'em, around noontime, and try their wings.
+An old bee hunter can get on to the little hum far off and locate the
+hive that way. Let's see if we've got ears worth anything."
+
+"The best of luck go with you!" called out Elmer, who was busy with
+something or other; "and if you need any help come back after the rest
+of the bunch. I see you're carrying our camp ax, Lil Artha; be careful
+and don't lose it, because we need that same thing right along."
+
+"Don't worry about that, Elmer," the elongated scout shouted back. "I
+wouldn't let that get away from me for all the honey in seven counties.
+But in case we do find a tree that looks good to us I'm ready to swing
+the ax for all I'm worth," and so saying he strode away after the other
+three.
+
+That left just Elmer, Toby and George in camp.
+
+"I'd be tickled half to death if they _did_ find a tree, and got a lot
+of honey," Toby remarked, grinning in anticipation, and licking his lips
+at the same time; "and I can just see that Lil Artha whooping things
+when the tree drops, and he rushes headlong in among the branches to
+scoop up some of the sweet stuff that bursts out of the crack, with a
+million bees swarming around his ears. If I was you, Elmer, I'd get some
+witch hazel ready to put on stings, for they'll need it right bad."
+
+"Time enough for that when they report a find!" declared Elmer, who
+evidently did not have a great deal of confidence in the ability of
+Landy Smith to locate a hive, especially at that time of year, when the
+little insects were apt to be lying more or less dormant.
+
+An hour passed by. Then Elmer began to wonder what could be detaining
+Chatz so long, for he several times looked in the direction where he
+knew the old deserted Cartaret house must lie, as though half expecting
+to see the Southern boy come on the full run, with some wonderful story
+of sights he had seen, or imagined he had, which was the same thing.
+
+When Chatz did appear he was walking slowly, and his face had an
+expression of subdued disappointment resting on it. Apparently, then,
+all his prowling in and out of the building could not have met with any
+particular reward. In other words the Cartaret ghost was not very
+accommodating, and respectfully declined to make its appearance at such
+an unheard of hour as three in the afternoon; when every one knew that
+all respectable spirits only manifest themselves around the midnight
+hour.
+
+"You didn't run across anything new, did you, Chatz?" Elmer asked him,
+as he came into camp, took a drink of cool water, and threw himself on
+the ground to rest.
+
+"Not a single thing, suh; but then I didn't really expect to in broad
+daylight. Wait till to-night, and I reckon there may be something
+doing," and then Chatz allowed his brow to show three wrinkles that
+told of perplexity, for he had heard Elmer chuckle; and all at once it
+struck him that on the former occasion the scout master had gone back
+into the house after he and the other comrades had left; and once more
+the Southern boy who had the vein of superstition in his make-up asked
+himself what Elmer could have seen on that occasion to make him look so
+knowing, and have that queer smile cross his face whenever the ghost was
+mentioned.
+
+But Elmer did not offer to explain, and so Chatz had to content himself
+with the thought that perhaps on the coming night the veil of secrecy
+might be lifted from the mystery.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+SACKING THE FOREST STORE-HOUSE
+
+
+TOBY had insisted upon stowing that wonderful aeroplane appendix which
+he called an "aviator's life-saver parachute," in the bottom of the
+wagon when starting out on this camping trip. He was working at it while
+helping to keep camp the first afternoon after their arrival.
+
+"All I hope is," he went on to say, when Elmer chanced to come around
+close to where he straddled a log, and did some heavy sewing with the
+toughest waxed string he could use, "that I find a chance to try out
+this thing again while we're in this region. If no other place shows up
+I might climb to the top of the tower on the old house, and jump off
+there. How high would you guess, off-hand, that might be, Elmer?"
+
+"Oh! perhaps thirty-five or forty feet," replied the other, carelessly,
+and hardly noting what Toby was saying, because just then he had caught
+a peculiar sound that came from some little distance away.
+
+"Do you hear that, Elmer?" called out George.
+
+"Yes, and I was trying to make out what it was when you spoke," replied
+the scout master. "I reckon it must be some one busy with an ax, for the
+blows are repeated as regular as clock-work."
+
+"And our chums took the camp ax away with them?" suggested Toby, looking
+up, an eager glow commencing to show in his eyes.
+
+"Yes, and they went off in that direction, too," added George.
+
+With that the four camp keepers smiled at each other.
+
+"Can it be possible they've found a bee-tree, after all?" asked George,
+who, despite his yearning for a honeycomb, could not overcome his
+skeptical disposition, and believe that such a delightful consummation
+of the bee hunt had come about.
+
+"Listen to that whanging, will you?" cried Toby; "nobody but Lil Artha
+could use an ax like that. As sure as you live they must have struck
+something. Tell me about the babes in the woods, will you; some people
+wade in good luck every time they start out!"
+
+"Another fellow has taken hold, because the sound changes," George
+observed, sagaciously; "and p'raps Ty Collins is swinging the ax now. He
+can hew close to the line; fact is, I never saw a scout who could chop
+as evenly as Ty. Wow! did you hear that crash, fellows? A tree went down
+that time, whether there's any honey in the same or not. I'll only
+believe it when I see, smell and taste the nectar."
+
+A short time afterwards they heard some one coming on the run. Then a
+figure broke out of the brush, waving excitedly.
+
+"Hi! get your buckets, and come along to help gather the harvest!" Lil
+Artha was shouting as he approached, half out of breath.
+
+"Then you sure enough did find a bee-tree, and it isn't any joke?"
+demanded the incredulous George.
+
+"Take a look at me, and then say if I show up like a joke!" demanded the
+long-legged scout, indignantly.
+
+Everybody laughed as he twisted his face up, and tried to look serious.
+It was an utter impossibility with that lump ornamenting the end of his
+nose, others gradually swelling his cheeks, while various suspicious
+signs behind his ears marked the places where the angry little bees had
+left their stings.
+
+"No hurry, Lil Artha," said Elmer; "let me rub your face with this witch
+hazel, and put a little ointment on to relieve the pain and reduce the
+swelling. You're puffing out under the eyes right now, and if something
+isn't done you'll have to be led around for a while."
+
+While Elmer was doctoring the battered comrade George kept plying him
+with questions, as though he had great difficulty in believing the
+glorious truth.
+
+"I hope it isn't only an old hornet's nest you've struck," he went on to
+say, doubtfully; "but then there wouldn't be any at this time of year, I
+guess. Sure you saw real honey, did you, Lil Artha?"
+
+"And smelled it too!" cried the afflicted scout. "Why, the old tree
+burst open when it fell, and you just ought to see what gallons of the
+stuff fills the hollow trunk away up near the top. My! but the bees are
+mad, and swarming around there by the million! I ran in among 'em,
+thinking to snatch a comb, and get away with it, but they swooped down
+on me, and I had to cut for it like fun. Elmer, however, can we get some
+of that honey without being stung to death? Oh! if only I had one of
+Daddy Green's bee head-nets that he loans to people when he's showing
+them the inside of a hive in his apiary, wouldn't it be the boss; and
+rubber gloves to go with the same."
+
+"Perhaps I might rig up a net somehow," Elmer mused; "I've got a piece
+of mosquito netting in my bag that I use for a minnow seine, and that
+ought to make several head-nets. Let's see if we can find any gloves
+that'll help keep our hands out of danger."
+
+After a hunt through all the traps the boys managed to secure enough
+coverings to answer the purpose after a clumsy fashion. Meanwhile George
+and Toby had hastily gathered what utensils they had with them capable
+of holding some of the honey. Everybody was wildly excited, for they had
+never really passed through an experience of this sort. Bee trees they
+had heard of many times, but that one should actually be discovered when
+they were camping out, and yearning for something of a sweet nature,
+seemed almost too good to be true.
+
+"All ready here, Lil Artha!" exclaimed George; "and now lead us to your
+wonderful wild honey hive. I just want to see it with my own eyes,
+that's all."
+
+Lil Artha looked severely at him, that is, as well as he could with
+those half-shut eyes of his, and then remarked sarcastically:
+
+"Well, if you ain't the limit, George; I sure hope you _do_ see the
+plain evidence, yes, and _feel_ some of 'em too, like I did. They say
+the poison of bee stings is used in medicine, and it's mighty good for
+some things. P'raps a dose of the same'd cure you of your questioning
+everything there is. But come on, everybody."
+
+Elmer did not know whether they were exactly wise in abandoning the
+camp, even for a brief time; but he felt that it would be hard to keep
+any one there; so he concluded to take the slight risk.
+
+Lil Artha was a pretty good scout. He had noted directions as he went
+forth on the expedition, so that in returning to the camp he had made
+what might be called in more senses than one a "bee-line"; and now the
+trail was so plainly marked that even a fellow with one eye, or
+half-closed ones, could follow it back to where the other three scouts
+awaited their coming, hiding behind the brush so as not to attract too
+much attention from the buzzing horde of insects.
+
+The netting was fashioned into head protectors, the ends being tucked
+well down in their coats. Then donning heavy gloves the two boys
+selected for the work, George and Ty Collins, started boldly into that
+whirling mass of excited bees.
+
+They shortly came out bearing pans full of splendid honey, and
+doubtless a considerable number of stings in spite of all the
+precautions taken against this evil.
+
+"Next time look for a little fresher stock," Elmer told them; "for while
+this is all right, and like amber in color, you'll find that it's last
+year's gathering. Split the tree further up, and get the latest stuff!"
+
+So Ty took the ax back with him; while George worked a sort of smoke
+smudge Elmer had prepared, in order to help stupefy the bees. It did the
+business in great shape, too, as every bee keeper uses this means for
+keeping the little insects from paying too much attention to him when he
+is working with their hive. They seem to fancy that their home is in
+deadly danger of being consumed, and every working bee immediately
+burdens itself down with all the honey it can carry, and for the time
+being renders itself helpless to use its sting.
+
+Every scout managed to accumulate one or more lumps, however, for the
+air was heavily charged with the bewildered insects, now homeless on a
+fall afternoon; and although the boys did a great deal of dodging they
+could not avoid contact all the time. But then the sight of that
+splendid honey made them forget their present troubles. They snatched up
+the bottle of witch hazel, or applied the ammonia solution recklessly,
+to immediately start in again working like heroes.
+
+Elmer started back to camp bearing their one bucket actually full of the
+most delicious honey he had ever tasted; and soon afterwards Lil Artha
+followed with two kettles also heavily laden with the same.
+
+When Chatz came along with several heavy honeycombs secured with an
+arrangement consisting of cords, and stout twigs from some hickory tree,
+the three looked at each other in dire dismay.
+
+"We can't live on honey alone, you know," Lil Artha up and said; "and it
+looks like we've already got every cooking vessel loaded down, with not
+half the store of sweet stuff cleaned out. What in the wide world can we
+do with it all? I guess this is a case of too much of a good thing."
+
+"I know!" declared Chatz, suddenly; "in prowling around that haunted
+house I saw several old stone jars in what was once used as a pantry.
+Let's go over and lug the same to camp, Lil Artha. They can be washed
+out clean, and will hold all that honey, I assure you, suh. And we can
+carry most of the same back home with us to show other scouts what we've
+been doing up here in the woods."
+
+So the pair hastened away, and after a while came back with the stone
+crocks or jars, each of which would hold several gallons. Elmer
+pronounced them the finest possible thing for holding their rich find,
+and proceeded to cleanse them thoroughly at the spring, after which the
+various cooking receptacles were emptied, and both Chatz and Lil Artha
+started eagerly back to the fountainhead for a fresh supply.
+
+They certainly cleaned out the best part of that tree hive during the
+next hour, and had four jars full of splendid honey, some of it as clear
+as crystal. It was the greatest "harvest home" the Hickory Ridge Boy
+Scouts had ever experienced; and they seemed never to get quite enough
+of the sweet stuff, for every one kept tasting as new supplies were
+disclosed by splitting the tree further.
+
+Finally, however, it came to an end, and the distracted bees were let
+alone with the sad wreck of their once fine hive. Perhaps, if they
+survived the chill of the coming night, some of them would start in
+fresh, and carry away enough of the discolored honey, refused by the
+discriminating scouts, to start a new hive, and keep the swarm alive
+during the winter.
+
+Nobody seemed furiously hungry as the afternoon waned and the shades of
+night began to gather around the camp. This was hardly to be wondered
+at, however, since they had tasted so much honey for hours that it took
+away their customary zest for ordinary food. Elmer told them it was a
+bad thing, and every fellow promised that from that time on he would
+take his sweet stuff in moderation.
+
+Of course they cooked some dinner; and after once getting a taste of the
+fried onions and potatoes it seemed that to some degree their fickle
+appetites did return, so that the food vanished in the end.
+
+"I'm thinking about all that darker honey we left there," Lil Artha was
+saying, as they sat around the crackling fire long after night had
+fallen, and supper had been disposed of an hour or more.
+
+"My starth!" ejaculated Ted, "I hope now you don't want to lay in any
+more of the thweet thtuff, do you, Lil Artha? Why, we'll be thticky all
+over with it. Don't be a hog. Leave thome to the poor little beeth; and
+it didn't look real nice, you know."
+
+"Oh! I wasn't regretting that we couldn't make a clean sweep," explained
+the tall scout, whose face was once more gradually resuming its normal
+appearance; "but if what I've read is true, up in some places where they
+have black bears, they always set a watch when they've cut down a bee
+tree. You see, the smell of the honey is in the air, and if there's a
+bruin inside of five miles he'll be visiting that broken tree hive
+before morning, when the watcher can send a bullet into him."
+
+"But you don't think there are bears around here, do you?" asked George,
+always to be found on the side of the opposition.
+
+"Well, hardly," replied Lil Artha, "though some of us wish it might be
+so, because we've got a gun along, and they say bear steak isn't half
+bad when you're in camp, even if it does taste like dry tough beef when
+you're at home, and sitting down with a white table cloth before you.
+I'd like to try some, that's what; but this expedition wasn't started
+for a bear hunt, you know."
+
+"No, that's so," Ty Collins remarked; "more likely a ghost hunt," and he
+gave Chatz a sly look out of the corner of his eye as he said this.
+
+"That was meant for me, suh," Chatz said, with dignity; "you think you
+can laugh at me because I'm weak enough to believe there may be such a
+thing as a ghost. But if you-all are so sure nothing of the kind ever
+could happen, what's to hinder me from having the entire camp along
+to-night when I go over there and hide, to watch what happens at exactly
+midnight?"
+
+Elmer laughed softly.
+
+"Do you mean that as a dare, Chatz?" he asked.
+
+"Take it as you please, suh; and we'll soon see who believes in ghosts
+or not; because the one who backs down first is likely after all to be
+afraid of meeting up with visitors from the spirit land."
+
+"Who's going along with Chatz and myself?" asked Elmer, turning to the
+circling scouts; who began to look serious, and cast quick glances
+toward each other.
+
+"Oh! I'll keep you company, Elmer!" said George, first of all; for
+somehow he fancied everybody was staring hard at him, and not for worlds
+would he allow them to think he was _afraid_.
+
+"Count me in!" added Ty Collins, with a laugh, that bordered on the
+reckless.
+
+"I'll go along, too," observed Ted.
+
+Landy Smith hastened to nod his head in the affirmative when Elmer
+looked at him; Lil Artha spoke up and said he was bound to be one of the
+number; and finally Toby completed the list by signifying that he was
+ready to sacrifice himself also.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+THE MIDNIGHT VIGIL
+
+
+"I'M glad to learn we don't have any 'fraidcats in this camp, and that
+I'm likely enough to have plenty of company in keeping watch to-night in
+the haunted house," Chatz remarked cheerfully, after the last scout had
+been heard from.
+
+"I've waited to see if it was going to be made unanimous," Elmer told
+them at this juncture; "and now that you've all toed the mark so
+handsomely, why of course I'll have to exercise my judgment in picking
+out, say a couple of fellows, who will stay to look after the camp here
+while the rest of us are otherwise employed."
+
+"Lassoing ghosts, for instance!" Lil Artha murmured.
+
+Elmer looked around the circle of faces again. All of them knew that he
+was selecting the pair of scouts who would be left behind, and while
+doubtless a number of the boys were secretly hoping deep down in their
+hearts that they might be one of the lucky number, they tried their best
+to appear indifferent.
+
+"Ted, you're one!" said the leader, presently; "and I think I'll appoint
+Landy to keep you company." The latter commenced to splutter a little,
+when Elmer raised his hand, and continued: "Now, don't get the notion
+in your heads that because I've selected you for playing the rôle of
+martyr it was because I thought you'd prove weak-kneed, or in any way
+show up poorly. I've no reason to think anything of the sort; only there
+had to be two chosen, and I've taken you for reasons of my own. Landy
+was complaining a short time ago of feeling squeamish, after gorging
+himself with all that honey; and in case he gets sick who could attend
+so well to him as our Doctor Ted?"
+
+That was explanation enough, and every one had to rest satisfied.
+Perhaps, if the truth were told, neither of the two scouts had any
+regrets coming; and secretly they were envied by some of the less
+fortunate ones, who would gladly have guarded the camp stores, if given
+the opportunity.
+
+"One thing good," Chatz informed them, "we're going to have a moon
+poking up in a little while. You know it's past the full stage, but from
+ten o'clock up to daylight it'll hold the fort up above."
+
+"Fine!" exclaimed George, with a half laugh; "I always do like to have
+bright moonlight whenever I go after ghosts. You can see the white
+things so much better, and watch 'em flit around as soft as silk. I'm
+glad you've ordered up a moon to help out, Chatz; it'll sure make things
+more interesting."
+
+"I think myself it will, suh," the Southern boy said, placidly in his
+turn; "and if any of us feel like we'd want to make a bee-line from the
+house to this camp here, why, the running is better when you have
+moonlight, you know."
+
+"Huh! that was meant for me, I guess, Chatz," sneered George; "but
+you'll have to take it out in waiting if you expect to see me chasing
+along, and hollering for help, because some old owl with a white front
+shows up, or the bats begin to fly in and out of that tower. I'm not
+built very much that way."
+
+"I hope not, suh!" was all Chatz said in reply; but George was seen to
+color up, and look a trifle confused, as though possibly he might not be
+feeling quite as bold inwardly as his words would imply.
+
+"When ought we start over?" asked Lil Artha, just as carelessly, to all
+appearances, as though it might be a friendly visit to some neighboring
+camp, instead of a thrilling experience in a haunted house.
+
+"In about half an hour or so after the moon rises," Elmer informed him;
+"that ought to be time enough, don't you think, Chatz?"
+
+"Plenty, suh," came the reply, "because, if there is any truth at all in
+these stories they tell about such places, the fun doesn't ever begin
+till midnight."
+
+"Fun!" muttered Toby, rubbing his chin reflectively; "well, it does beat
+all creation what some people call fun. Now, so far as I'm concerned,
+while I'm going along with you, and can't be made to back out, it's all
+a silly nuisance. I'd rather be climbing up into that same old tower,
+and getting ready for a drop with my reliable parachute."
+
+"No use of that in the night-time, Toby," remonstrated Ty; "mebbe
+to-morrow we'll get a blanket brigade to stand below while you make your
+first jump, so's to let you down easy if the old thing breaks."
+
+"No danger of that, Ty; because I've gone all over it again and again,
+and right now she could sustain a weight of half a ton, I reckon. But
+it's good of you to be interested enough in my invention to lend a
+helping hand. Think what it'll mean to all the tribe of aeronauts when
+every flier is equipped with a Jones Life-saving Parachute, that is
+guaranteed to float him softly to the ground even if he has a breakdown
+accident a mile up in the clouds."
+
+Toby after that fell into a musing spell. Perhaps in imagination he
+peopled the air fairly filled with flitting aeroplanes, and every single
+aviator supplied with the remarkable device that was going to make the
+name of Jones the most famous in all the wide land.
+
+The other scouts chatted, and exchanged all sorts of lively remarks.
+They even indulged in several songs that sounded very strange when heard
+among those whispering pines of the grove, and knowing as they did what
+manner of house stood close by, with a halo of mystery surrounding it.
+
+Just as Chatz had predicted the moon arose close on ten o'clock. It was
+no longer as round as a shield, but had an end lopped off; still the
+flood of mellow light that came from the lantern in the sky was very
+acceptable to the scouts, and served to render their intended mission
+less objectionable.
+
+Finally Elmer arose, and there was a start on the part of those who had
+been selected to accompany the leader and Chatz on their singular
+errand.
+
+"I hope you'll let me carry the gun, Elmer?" Lil Artha remarked,
+coaxingly.
+
+"Why should you?" replied the other, instantly; "if it is a real ghost a
+bullet wouldn't hurt a bit; and if it should turn out to be some one
+playing a mad prank I don't think you'd feel easy in your mind if you
+were tempted to shoot him."
+
+"But it might be some tramp or hard case, and we'd want to subdue him;
+how about that, Elmer?" questioned Toby.
+
+"Well, we can carry clubs if we like," said Elmer; "and I mean to have a
+piece of stout rope, so we can tie him up if we overpower him. Six
+scouts can put up a pretty hefty sort of fight, it strikes me, if things
+get to that point. No, leave the gun for the defenders of the camp and
+the grub."
+
+When presently the six boys stalked forth on their singular errand they
+did not seem to be in very merry spirits. True, Elmer was smiling as
+though he could give half a guess as to what they were about to run up
+against; and there was Chatz, a satisfied grin on his dark countenance;
+but the remainder of the investigating party could hardly have looked
+more solemn and melancholy if they had been about to attend the funeral
+of a dear departed friend.
+
+"Good luck!" called out Ted, after them; while Landy waved his hand
+mockingly, and grinned happily as he remarked:
+
+"We'll expect to see you fetch back at least one full-fledged ghost,
+boys; and take care he don't bite you. They're apt to do something along
+that order, I'm told, by people who've interviewed some of the species.
+But you c'n tame 'em so they'll even eat out of your hand."
+
+"Just you wait, that's all," was the sum total of what the departing
+scouts deigned to reply, as they vanished amidst the mixture of silvery
+moonbeams and darkening shadows.
+
+Soon they glimpsed the house through the dense vegetation. It stood out
+boldly in the moonlight, grim and silent. There was not the half
+expected gleam of any inside illumination, only the dilapidated windows,
+the walls covered in many places by a rank growth of Virginia Creeper
+vine, the broken chimneys rearing themselves up above the ridge, and
+that square tower overtopping it all.
+
+As they approached the walls of the house it might have been noticed
+that those of the scouts who had been lingering a little back of the
+rest somehow seemed to think they ought to close the gap, for they
+hurried their footsteps, and were soon in a cluster, with no laggards.
+
+"I've thought to fetch my little handy electric torch along, Elmer,"
+said Lil Artha about this time.
+
+"It may come in useful," was the reply Elmer made; "but with all that
+moonlight going to waste I hardly think we'll need it. Still, you never
+can tell, and it's a mighty clever affair. You were wise to think of
+fetching it, Lil Artha."
+
+"Are we going to separate, Elmer; and if we do, will you let me place
+the rest of the boys, suh?" Chatz asked before they reached the yawning
+doorway of the deserted building.
+
+"How about that, fellows?" the leader asked them; "do you think we had
+better split up into several small parties or stand together?"
+
+Toby, Lil Artha, Ty Collins and George heard this announcement with a
+new sense of consternation. In imagination they could easily picture how
+dreary and unpleasant it was going to be if each one had to take a post
+isolated from the rest, there to stand and listen, and perhaps _shiver_
+as the time crept on, until he must become so nervous that he could give
+a yell.
+
+"For my part, Elmer," Lil Artha said, hastily, "I think we had ought to
+stick in a bunch. One couldn't do much against a--er--ghost, you see;
+while the lot of us might be able to down anything going."
+
+"That's what I think too, Elmer," piped up George, "though of course, if
+you say so, I'm willing to do anything to carry on the game."
+
+"United we stand, divided we fall!" spouted Ty Collins, who, while a big
+blustering good-hearted fellow himself, did not exactly like the
+thought of being alone in that weather-beaten and half wrecked house, as
+the hour drew on toward midnight.
+
+"I think we ought to stick together, Elmer," Toby declared, which
+confession appeared to tickle Chatz, judging from the low snicker he
+gave utterance to; for, just as he had suspected, while none of these
+fellows would admit that they placed the least faith in things bordering
+on the supernatural, still they did not fancy finding themselves left
+alone in a house that had been given a bad name.
+
+Elmer had been talking matters over with Chatz, so that they were agreed
+as to where the watchers should take up their positions. All talking
+except in whispers was frowned down upon from that time forward; and
+there is always something exciting about a situation when everybody is
+speaking in low tones.
+
+They entered the house, and led by Chatz passed up the rickety stairs.
+This was evidence enough that their vigil was about to be undertaken in
+the upper story. George seemed to think that if he could manifest a
+disposition to joke a little it would be pretty good evidence that he at
+least was not afraid; and while as a rule he left this weakness to Toby
+and Lil Artha he could not resist the temptation to lean over and
+whisper to Ty, so that Chatz also might hear, something to the effect
+that it was just as well they were mounting those shaky stairs because
+people who believed in silly ghosts must be weak in the upper story.
+
+No one laughed, so George did not attempt any more witticisms. Truth to
+tell, he was not feeling as perfectly indifferent as he tried to make
+out; and when one of the others slipped a little, George it was who
+exclaimed hastily:
+
+"Oh! what in thunder was that?"
+
+When the six scouts had gained the second floor they passed along the
+wide hall to the place that had been chosen for the vigil. While in the
+gloom themselves it was easily possible for them to look along the
+moonlit hall, diversified with shadows, and see any moving thing that
+might attempt to pass that way. At the same time by turning their heads
+they could see out of the nearest window, and have a fair view of the
+open space between the wall of the house and the dense bushes close by.
+Beyond arose the thickly interlaced trees, a wild scramble along the
+line of the survival of the fittest.
+
+Elmer stationed them all as he thought would be best. They were told
+that they could sit down cross-legged, Turkish fashion, if they chose;
+but under no circumstances was any one to allow himself to be
+overpowered by sleep. If a scout had reason to believe the one next to
+him were nodding suspiciously he must whisper words of warning in his
+ear; and should that fail to effect a radical cure he was empowered to
+try other tactics, if by chance he possessed a pin.
+
+Having been fully awake at the time of their arrival, something like
+half an hour went by with all the scouts apparently on the watch. Then
+George had to be admonished by Lil Artha several times, until finally a
+low gasp, and muttering, as well as quick rubbing of his thigh on the
+part of George announced that the radical means had been employed in
+order to keep him awake.
+
+There is nothing more reliable as a sleep preventative than the jab of a
+pin; it seems to send an electric shock through the whole system, and
+eyes that were just about to close fly wide-open again.
+
+Twenty minutes later another low gurgling cry arose; this time it came
+from the elongated scout, and George was heard to whisper savagely:
+
+"Tit for tat, Lil Artha; you gave me a stab, and now we're even."
+
+"'Sh! I thought I heard something moving down there in the bushes!" the
+scout master told them, cautiously.
+
+Of course every one was immediately quivering with intense anxiety and
+eagerness. It was very close on the mystic hour of midnight, too, which
+added to the interest of the matter. Could it be that they were about to
+witness some strange manifestation such as Chatz professed to believe
+was possible? No wonder that the boys wriggled erect, stiff in their
+joints after sitting there tailor-fashion so long, and pressing toward
+the open window stared down toward the bushes to which Elmer had
+referred when he spoke.
+
+So bright was the moon, now fairly high in the sky, that even small
+objects could readily be distinguished. There was nothing in sight that
+they could notice where the rank grass grew, and the trees and bushes
+were absent; but looking further they could actually see something white
+moving along through the brush.
+
+No one said a single word, but there might have been heard several quick
+gasps; and a hand that fell on the sleeve of Elmer's khaki coat trembled
+fiercely. If ever some of those boys were willing to confess to the
+truth they would admit that their hearts began to beat furiously about
+that time, as with staring eyes they watched that mysterious white
+object pushing through the matted bushes that grew just beyond the open
+space near the walls of the haunted house.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+A STRANGE FIGURE IN WHITE
+
+
+"OH!"
+
+After all it was George, boasting George, who gasped this one word in
+Elmer's ear; and the scout master knew then whose trembling hand had
+clutched his sleeve.
+
+But if several of the others refrained from giving vent to their
+agitated feelings about that time, it was only because they had lost
+their breath completely.
+
+All of them were staring as hard as they could at the strange white
+object that kept creeping, creeping along through the brush. Not the
+slightest sound did it appear to make, and that added to the weirdness
+of it all. They must just then have had flash into their brains all they
+had ever read or heard about the wonderful manner in which ghosts and
+hobgoblins are able to advance or retreat, without betraying their
+presence by even the least rustling.
+
+Then all at once there broke out the sharp, furious barking of a dog.
+Every scout reeled back as though struck a blow. At the same moment they
+saw the white object whirl around, and rush away through the brush; and
+now they could plainly detect the rapid patter of canine feet.
+
+"It was only a stray farmer's dog after all!" exclaimed Lil Artha, with
+a sigh of absolute relief.
+
+"Yes," added Toby, "and when he barked up at us he was scared at the
+sound he made himself, so that he lit out as though he had a tin pan
+tied to his tail. But I own up I was shivering to beat the band, for I
+sure thought it must be that Cartaret _thing_ they say hangs out here.
+Whew!"
+
+George, as usual, having recovered from his own fright wanted to make it
+appear that he considered any one foolish who would actually allow
+himself to be alarmed by such a silly thing as a white object.
+
+"Anybody might have known it was only a white cur," he affirmed; "why,
+if you looked right sharp you could see the shine of his eyes out there
+in the shadows."
+
+"Did you look sharp, George; and if so why didn't you put us wise?"
+demanded Toby. "But I bet you were just as badly rattled as the rest of
+us, only you won't own up to it."
+
+"What, me? Huh, guess again, Toby, and don't measure everybody by your
+own standard, please," George told him; meanwhile congratulating himself
+over the fact that he had been standing in the shadow, so that none of
+his mates could possibly have seen how pale he must have been.
+
+"That dog couldn't belong around here, Elmer!" suggested Chatz.
+
+"No, it was most likely some farmer's dog that had been running rabbits
+through the forest, and chanced to wander over this way. But even he
+considered it a queer place, and was glad to shake the dust of it off
+his paws after he gave that one volley of barks. No danger of him coming
+back."
+
+"He scented us up here, don't you think?" continued Chatz.
+
+"As like as not; but don't say anything more now, please. It must be
+close on twelve o'clock!"
+
+They knew what Elmer meant when he said that. If the ghost walked at all
+it must be around the middle of the night. So they would have to take up
+their weary vigil again, and await developments. Even whispering must
+cease, and their attention be wholly given to watching, inside and out
+of the house.
+
+The seconds crept into minutes, though to some of the scouts these
+latter had never moved with such leaden wings, and they could almost
+believe hours were passing in review instead.
+
+Had it been summer-time when they made this pilgrimage to the woods near
+the old Cartaret house they would have expected to hear the chirping of
+crickets in the lush grass; the shrill call of the katydid answering his
+mate, and prophesying an early frost; and perhaps other sounds as
+well--the croak of the bull-frog, the loud cry of the whippoorwill, or
+the hooting of owls perched on some dead tree.
+
+At the tail end of November, with most of the dead leaves strewn on the
+ground, and the trees standing there bare of foliage, these familiar
+sounds were hushed; and only a somber silence lay upon the land, which
+was ten times more apt to produce nervousness on the part of the
+listening boys than any combination of well known night cries.
+
+Now and then some one would sigh, or move slightly; but beyond that they
+maintained the utmost silence; which showed how well drilled they were
+as scouts, and obedient to orders.
+
+Their senses were under such a tremendous strain that it actually seemed
+to Toby and perhaps Lil Artha, that they would have given a great deal
+for the privilege of shouting at the top of their voices a few times;
+but they did not attempt such a foolish remedy.
+
+Lil Artha did make a slight movement after a long time, and as the
+others fastened their anxious eyes upon him they saw that he had gently
+taken out the little nickel dollar watch he carried. Bending forward so
+that a ray of moonlight might fall on the face of the time-piece, Lil
+Artha consulted it to learn if his suspicions were correct.
+
+When he glanced around and saw that he was the center of observation, he
+just nodded his head up and down several times. In that fashion he
+informed the others that it was fully midnight; which was what they were
+so anxious to know.
+
+So far there had been no sign of a walking specter. George was getting
+over his fears. He even commenced to shrug his shoulders every time he
+saw one of the others looking his way. That was George's mute protest
+against all this foolishness; of course he had known that it would end
+this way right from the start, and had only agreed to come along to
+please Elmer, as well as show them that ghosts had no terrors for any
+sensible scout.
+
+"'Sh!"
+
+A thrill passed over every fellow as Elmer gave vent to this warning
+hiss. They looked at him instinctively in order to learn the reason for
+it, and found that the scout master did not seem to be staring out of
+the open window as before. On the contrary he was intently focussing his
+gaze down the wide hall toward the group of shadows that clustered at
+the further end.
+
+And as their eyes also roved in this direction once again did that cold
+hand seem to grip every heart. Something white was moving there, beyond
+the shadow of a doubt! They watched it advance, and then retreat
+methodically, systematically, as though it might be a part of a
+well-oiled machine.
+
+Toby rubbed his eyes very hard, as though under the impression that they
+were playing him false; while George shoved up closer to the next in
+line, which happened to be Chatz, who bent over to stare into his face,
+as though eager to learn the condition of George's bold heart.
+
+What could it be? Certainly no dog had anything to do with this new
+source of alarm, for it was tall, after the fashion of a man, and seemed
+to be dressed in white from head to foot.
+
+Though they listened with all their might none of them could catch the
+sound of footfalls. If the mysterious object were a human being he must
+be barefooted to be able to move along without making a sound; while if
+it were a spirit, as doubtless most of them were ready to admit by now,
+of course there was not anything remarkable about the silent tread,
+because all spirits are able to project themselves through space without
+even a shivering sound--so those who deem themselves competent to judge
+tell us.
+
+Elmer was perhaps also mystified more or less. Though he might know more
+about the secrets of the old house than any of his companions, still
+this particular manifestation was something he would like to have
+explained.
+
+There was no use asking any of the other boys, because they were
+naturally much more shaken up than he could be, and hardly able to give
+any information. The only way to do was to go to headquarters for his
+knowledge of facts; in other words creep along the hall, keeping in the
+shadows, until he found himself close enough to learn the true nature of
+the "ghost."
+
+That was what Elmer finally started to do. George managed to sense his
+going, and the gasp he gave voiced his apprehension, as well as his
+admiration for the bravery of his fellow scout.
+
+"Stay here!" whispered the leader, in the lowest possible tone, which
+could not have penetrated more than two feet away, but was enough to
+warn the others that he did not wish them to follow when he crept away.
+
+He went on hands and knees, picking out his shelter carefully as he
+advanced.
+
+Five other fellows crouched there and continued to watch, first that
+puzzling white figure that noiselessly kept up its ceaseless parade back
+and forth, and then the creeping scout, slowly and carefully covering
+the space that separated him from the object under observation.
+
+They did not know what to expect in the way of a shock; anything seemed
+liable to happen just then. George in particular was wondering if his
+scoffing remarks, so lately uttered, could have been overheard; and
+whether they would likely attract particular attention in his quarter.
+He also remembered what Chatz had said, while they were still near the
+tents, to the effect that it was always much easier running in the
+moonlight than when the pall of darkness lay upon things; not that
+George was contemplating a wild retreat, of course not, so long as the
+others stood their ground; but then it did no harm to be prepared like a
+true and careful scout, so that he would know just how he must leap
+through that open window if there arose a sudden necessity.
+
+Meanwhile, there was Elmer hunching his way along the hall toward the
+moving object in white that had so mystified them. He would raise
+himself, and push along a foot or so, and then resume his squatting
+position; but all the while steady progress was being made, and without
+any noise, however slight.
+
+When he had managed to make out what the nature of the white thing was,
+Elmer planned to return again to his chums, and if it proved to be
+simply a human being like themselves, he had a scheme in his mind
+looking to first cutting off all retreat, and then making a capture,
+after which perhaps they could learn what all this mummery meant.
+
+Of course Elmer was always conscious of the fact that it would be an
+unwise act for him to pass out of the line of shadow, and allow the
+moonlight to fall upon him while making this advance. Fortunately there
+was sufficient shadow to admit of his passage without taking these
+chances.
+
+He had already passed over a quarter of the distance separating him from
+the mystery at the time he started, and everything seemed to be going as
+well as any one could wish. If he could only keep the good work up a
+little while longer Elmer believed he would be in a position to judge
+things for what they were, and not what the fears of the boys had made
+them appear.
+
+By straining his eyes to the utmost he fancied that he could even now
+make out what seemed to be the tall figure of a man, who was dressed all
+in white. His bearing was erect, and he carried himself with the
+stiffness of a soldier on parade. Yes, this comparison was made even
+stronger by the fact that he seemed to have something very much like a
+gun, though it may have been merely a stick, gripped tight, and held as
+a sentry might his weapon, while pacing back and forth before the tent
+where his commanding general lay sleeping.
+
+Elmer also stopped to rub his eyes, not that he was doubting what he
+saw, but the continued strain weakened them, and even brought signs of
+tears, that made accurate seeing next to impossible.
+
+Well, half a dozen or so more hunches ought to carry him along far
+enough to enable him to make positive; and he believed he could
+accomplish it without betraying his presence to the unknown walker, be
+he human or a ghost.
+
+By this time the scout had drawn so close that he thought it good policy
+to remain perfectly quiet while the mysterious white object advanced
+toward him, making all his progress when the other had turned, and was
+moving away.
+
+The half-dozen contemplated movements had now been reduced to three, and
+he saw no reason to believe that his presence was known. This spoke well
+for his work as a scout; it also promised such a thing as success.
+
+Elmer had one thing in his favor, and this was an entire freedom from
+any belief in things supernatural. While he never boasted, like George,
+and some of the other scouts liked to do, at the same time he believed
+that everything claimed as belonging to the realm of spirits could be
+explained, if only one went about it the right way.
+
+On this account, then, he had not allowed himself to give even the least
+thought to such a thing as meeting a ghost. That white figure, to him,
+must be a man, no matter what motive influenced him to act in this
+strange way; and before he was done with the affair the scout master
+hoped to be able to probe the enigma, and find a reasonable answer that
+would fit the case.
+
+Another turn along on his hands and haunches took him just that much
+nearer the object of his solicitude. That left only two more to be
+negotiated before he would have reached the mark he had mentally chosen
+as the limit of his investigation. After that he must return to inform
+his friends of his discoveries, so that together they might lay plans
+looking to the capture of the white mystery.
+
+But boys as well as men often lay splendid plans without taking into
+account the element of chance that always abounds. Elmer might be doing
+all he figured on, and yet meet with a cruel disappointment.
+
+He had just drawn back to make the next to last forward hunch, and was
+in a position where any other movement was an utter impossibility when
+there sounded a loud and unmistakable sneeze! A draught of air had
+caught George without warning, and brought this catastrophe about before
+he could think to try and head it off by rubbing the sides of his nose
+vigorously, or through any other known agency.
+
+As the sneeze rang out Elmer, knowing what the result must be, attempted
+to gain his feet, meaning to spring boldly forward; but his awkward
+position placed a handicap on quick action, so that he wasted several
+precious seconds trying. When he did finally manage to gain an upright
+position it was to find that the white figure had vanished as utterly as
+though the floor had opened and swallowed it up; nor had the scout heard
+the slightest sound of a footfall.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+TOLD AROUND THE CAMP FIRE
+
+
+OF course Elmer was disappointed when his carefully laid plans all went
+by the board, owing to that unfortunate sneeze, just at the worst
+possible time.
+
+As a matter of duty he ran forward to where that strange figure in white
+had been marching to and fro, but just as he fully expected there was
+not a single sign of the late presence.
+
+So Elmer walked back to where his anxious chums were crouching, craning
+their necks in the endeavor to ascertain what was going on. He found
+them ready to ply him with questions; and Toby's first act was to free
+himself from suspicion.
+
+"George did it, Elmer!" he hastened to say; "with his silly little
+sneeze. It sure gave us all a shock, and when I thought to look again
+that bally ghost was gone."
+
+"But how could I help it?" complained the guilty culprit. "I never had
+the least idea it was coming, when all at once it gripped me hard. If
+you'd offered me half a million dollars right then not to sneeze, I
+couldn't have earned thirty cents. It took me just as quick as that,"
+and he snapped his fingers to illustrate how impotent he had been in the
+grasp of a necessity.
+
+"I've been there myself, George," said Elmer, kindly, because he knew
+how badly the other scout must feel on account of having upset all their
+plans; "and just as you say, sometimes a sneeze comes so fast you can't
+keep it back if your life depended on it. Of course it was unfortunate,
+because in another minute I'd have been close enough to have done all I
+wanted."
+
+"But my stars! Elmer," exclaimed Lil Artha, in dismay, "you didn't
+expect to jump that spooky thing all alone, I hope?"
+
+Elmer laughed, which act proved to the distressed George that his
+offense could not set so heavily on the mind of the scout master after
+all.
+
+"Certainly not, Lil Artha," Elmer told the long-legged scout; "I
+expected to drop back, and get the rest of you before anything was done.
+But accidents will happen even in the best regulated scout troops, and
+that was something nobody could help. Better luck next time."
+
+"Then, suh, you don't mean to give up this ghost hunt?" asked Chatz,
+with a ring of exultation in his voice.
+
+"Not if we have another chance to hook up with the mystery," replied
+Elmer.
+
+"But tell us, weren't you close enough up to see whether it was a real
+ghost or not?" demanded George, arousing to his old self again.
+
+Chatz could be heard giving a little indignant snort. He was evidently
+unable to understand how any one could doubt after seeing what they had.
+Chatz, with all his leaning toward a belief in spirits, had never
+before come so close to an object that had all the earmarks of a ghost;
+and he was correspondingly elated.
+
+"I guess I was all of that," Elmer replied, quietly.
+
+"And what do you think about it, Elmer?" continued George, persistently.
+
+"We want to know!" added Toby, determined to get his word in somehow.
+
+"There's a whole lot to tell," said Elmer, "and this isn't just the
+place to begin the story. So let's get back to the camp, where we can
+sit around the fire for another half hour, while I enlighten you on some
+things I happen to know."
+
+What he said gave the others a new thrill. For the first time some of
+the scouts became aware that their leader had all along been in
+possession of certain facts in connection with the strange appearance of
+this reputed ghost. One or two there were, notably Chatz Maxfield, who
+had suspected something of the kind, owing to the queer way Elmer had
+often smiled while the others were disputing fiercely concerning the
+possible identity of the specter.
+
+"That sounds good to me, Elmer," announced Lil Artha, without a second's
+hesitation, "and for one I'm ready to skip out of this place. It's raw
+and spooky enough here to give us all pneumonia. Let's get alongside a
+cheery old camp fire; and then you to spin the yarn. It wouldn't
+surprise me so much if I heard that you'd known the pedigree of our
+ghost all along, and was just holding back to see what fun you could
+shake out of the situation."
+
+"No, you're wrong there, Lil Artha!" declared the scout master,
+earnestly; "that isn't so. I began to have my suspicions, but up to now
+had found nothing to confirm them enough to warrant me telling what I
+knew, or thought. But the time has come, because this thing has gone far
+enough. Lend me your little flash-light torch, Lil Artha. The rest of
+you wait here for me again, please."
+
+As Elmer hurried away they noticed that he was making along the hall
+directly toward the spot where they had recently seen the weird white
+object that moved forward and back, again and again, with the regularity
+of clockwork.
+
+"He's gone to see if he can find any footprints in the dust on the
+floor?" suggested Ty Collins.
+
+At that Chatz gave another grunt, as though to his superior mind it was
+a very foolish remark; because ghosts never left any tracks behind them.
+But as he seemed to be in the minority, and knew it was hardly wise to
+invite another verbal attack, Chatz chose to seal his lips and remain
+dumb. His triumph would come later on, when they were seated around the
+glowing fire, and Elmer chose to explain his views of the matter,
+gleaned at close range.
+
+A short time passed thus. The scouts were keyed up to top-notch pitch,
+and the seconds dragged fearfully while they awaited the coming of their
+leader. They could see him moving about, by means of the little glow
+cast by the hand electric torch he had borrowed from Lil Artha; who
+felt that his fetching such a useful article along had vindicated his
+wisdom. Scouts should look ahead, and prepare themselves for all sorts
+of possible needs. That was what they were learning to do day after day,
+as they strove to earn new honors, and reach a higher plane in the great
+organization.
+
+Finally when the waiting scouts were beginning to sigh, and wish Elmer
+would get through with his searching around, they heard him give the
+well-known signal that was meant to call them to his side.
+
+"All ready to go back to camp now, fellows," was all Elmer said as they
+hastened to join him; for it was necessary to pass by that way in
+heading for the stairs.
+
+Whether or not he had been successful in finding any traces of the
+mysterious _thing_ they had been gaping at so long, Elmer did not bother
+telling them just then. That would keep until he was ready to explain
+fully.
+
+The camp, as we happen to know, was not far removed from the haunted
+house that had gained such a bad name among the farmers of that section
+for many years, on account of the sad story connected with its past; and
+in a short time they filed in before the two guardians of the stores,
+much to the satisfaction of Landy and Ted.
+
+Of course the pair who had been left behind were eager to know what had
+happened to their more fortunate comrades who had gone on the
+ghost-hunting expedition; and they started to bombard Toby and Lil Artha
+with a series of questions that made the victims throw up their hands.
+
+"Yes, we did see something, and that's right," admitted the latter
+scout.
+
+"A tall white figure, too," broke in Chatz, who wanted to make sure that
+nothing was omitted in the telling that ought to be narrated; "and it
+kept moving up and down again and again like an uneasy spirit. If you
+asked me I'd say it was the ghost of old Judge Cartaret, come back to
+visit the scene of his crime!"
+
+"Oh! gosh!" was all the staggered Landy could say, but it expressed the
+state of his feelings exactly.
+
+"Don't believe too much of what Chatz says till you hear what Elmer's
+got to tell us all," warned Toby. "You see, he went and crept up close
+to that _aw_ful figure, and then George here, just like he wanted to try
+things out, and see if it really was a ghost, had to give a whopper of a
+sneeze; and when we looked again the thing had disappeared like smoke.
+But Elmer knows something, and he promised to tell us the real stuff
+when we got sitting around our bully fire here. So pull up, fellows, and
+let him know we're all ready to listen."
+
+"Take my word for it," Lil Artha told them, "I'm wild to hear what Elmer
+knows."
+
+"What he _believes_, say, Lil Artha," corrected the scout master,
+pleasantly; "for I haven't been able to prove it to my satisfaction
+yet, though I hope to do that before we leave up here."
+
+"That's all right, Elmer," said Toby, quickly; "your word's as good as
+your bond, and when you _think_ a thing it's pretty sure to be it!"
+
+This remarkable confidence which his chums had in him always spurred
+Elmer on to doing his level best. He felt that he could not afford to
+lose a shred of such sublime faith; and no doubt on many occasions this
+had enabled him to gain his end when otherwise he might have considered
+the case hopeless, and abandoned all design of succeeding.
+
+Accordingly the whole eight of them found places around the fire, which
+had of course been built up again until it was a cheery sight. Around
+midnight at the extreme end of November the air is apt to be pretty
+chilly during the small hours of the night, so that the boys could
+hardly keep up too hot a blaze to satisfy their wants.
+
+Naturally all of them had made sure that from where they sat they could
+see the face of Elmer. As he was the center of attraction it was bound
+to add more to their pleasure if they could watch him as he explained,
+and told his story of achievement.
+
+The scout master looked around at that circle of eager boyish faces, and
+smiled. He was very fond of every one there; after his own fashion each
+scout had his good points, and Elmer knew them all, for had he not seen
+them tested many a time?
+
+"First of all, fellows," he remarked, "I'm going back to the other time
+we were up here, and Toby declared he saw a white face at one of the
+windows, which news gave us all such a queer feeling, because we
+couldn't tell whether it was so or not. You remember after we left the
+house I went back again?"
+
+"Yes, sure you did, Elmer; but you never said a word about finding
+anything!" George remarked.
+
+"But he looked it," muttered Chatz, with increasing uneasiness.
+
+"I went up to that window again, and hunted around to see if there was
+any sign of footprints there," Elmer continued. "You know that in all
+the years the house has been lying there deserted the dust has collected
+everywhere, though don't ask me where it could come from, because I
+don't know. Sometimes rain would beat in through the broken windows, and
+lay it, but the wind coming later on set it free again. Anyway, there
+was tracking dust there on that floor, and I found what I was looking
+for!"
+
+Everybody was hanging on his words. Chatz gave a groan. He saw that a
+death blow was being given to his cherished belief; for of course if
+Elmer had found _tracks_, the one who had made them could never have
+been a ghost.
+
+No one else was sorry, apparently. Indeed, there was more or less actual
+relief in the series of sighs that welled up, especially from George,
+who had secretly been getting a little shaky with regard to his
+disinclination to believe in the ability of spirits to return to the
+scene of their earthly troubles for divers purposes.
+
+"You mean there was a track there; is that it, Elmer?" asked Toby.
+
+"I found several of them, though our tramping around had almost covered
+the trail up," Elmer went on, steadily.
+
+"But how could you tell them from the marks we left?" continued Toby.
+
+At that Elmer laughed.
+
+"Well, that was as easy as tumbling off a log, Toby," he replied. "I
+guess even a tenderfoot could have told, because you see the strange
+track showed that the other party was _barefooted_!"
+
+"Oh!" gasped George and Lil Artha in a breath; while Chatz did not say a
+single word, only sat there with his eyes fixed on the beaming face of
+the scout master, and the light of a cruel disappointment in their
+depths.
+
+"I tried to follow the trail," continued Elmer, "but that dust happened
+to be limited in its scope, so that it was more than I could master, and
+I had to give it up. But of course the fact that a barefooted man had
+been at that window where Toby said he saw a white face gave me lots to
+think about, even if I did make up my mind not to say anything about my
+find until I had more to tell."
+
+When Elmer paused to get his breath Toby grinned as though greatly
+pleased.
+
+"See!" he ejaculated, thrusting his chin out aggressively, "some of you
+other fellows thought I was seeing things that didn't exist, and you
+knocked me right hard about gettin' a pair of specs, because I needed
+the same. But seems like it was you ought to go and visit the oculist. I
+_did_ see a face, and it was sure a white one in the bargain. But excuse
+me, Elmer, for keepin' the floor so long; that's out of my system now,
+and let's forget it. Please go on and tell us the rest, because I'm dead
+sure there's a lot more back of this."
+
+"Well," the other scout observed, "of course, when we got home I was
+bound to go around and ask a lot of questions about the old Cartaret
+place up here; and everything else I could hit on. What I learned didn't
+add a great deal to my stock of knowledge until just by accident I
+happened to read a little item in an old number of the Stackhouse _News_
+that came to our house, and it set me to thinking out a theory. That
+article was about a family named Oxley that live near Stackhouse I
+should think. It seems that they have the misfortune to have a son who
+is crazy, because of some accident to his head several years ago. He
+wasn't violent, and like some people they couldn't bear the thought of
+having him shut up in an asylum; so they hired a keeper, and he was
+watched at home. But it seems that he must have slipped away, for a
+report had gone out that he was missing, and the paper asked its readers
+to communicate with the family if by chance they came upon a demented
+man, dressed in the white uniform of a Spanish officer; for it seems he
+had been in Cuba during the war, and imagined himself a soldier again."
+
+Elmer paused to let what he had said sink into the minds of his chums;
+and it could be easily seen from the way they exchanged knowing looks
+that the full significance of the scout master's discovery had struck
+them heavily.
+
+"Elmer, you hit the right nail on the head when you guessed that!" cried
+Toby.
+
+"Dressed in white, too; that clinches the thing!" added Lil Artha.
+
+"I'm afraid it does," sighed Chatz, in a disappointed tone, while George
+only said:
+
+"Mebbe it does; but you can't always sometimes tell!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+THE BOOGIE OF THE TOWER
+
+
+"LET Elmer go on, and tell us some more," suggested Toby.
+
+"Yes, we can talk it all over after we know the whole thing," added Lil
+Artha.
+
+"Once I got that notion in my head," the scout master continued, "and I
+began to investigate along those lines. When I heard from two farmers in
+the market, who happened to live up this way, that for weeks they had
+been missing things off their places, mostly something to eat, I began
+to figure it out that the crazy man had to live, and would most likely
+forage for his grub, about like Sherman's bummers did in the Civil War,
+subsisting on the enemy's country.
+
+"One of the hayseeds told me he had even set a trap for the thief,
+thinking it might be just an ordinary hobo; and when the alarm came one
+night he had hurried out to the hen-house only to find a couple of
+chickens gone, and the trap sprung, but no victim in it, for the thief
+had been too smart for him. But he said it beat him all hollow when he
+found tracks of _bare feet_ around on the partly frozen ground in the
+morning, because it seemed queer that any tramp would be going around
+without shoes so near winter time!"
+
+"Whew!" gasped Toby, entranced, and almost held spellbound by this
+thrilling recital of facts and fancies.
+
+"The other farmer," Elmer went on to say, "told me that twice when he
+had had a visit from the strange thief he managed to glimpse something
+white that was making off at top speed, and which he expected was a man,
+though he couldn't be sure. He also said he had loaded up his
+double-barrel shotgun, and was going to give the rascal a hot reception
+the next time he called around. All of which kept making me feel that I
+was on the right track."
+
+"You just bet you were, Elmer!" Lil Artha exclaimed.
+
+"A figure in white, remember, fellows; and the one we saw to-night was
+dressed that way, as sure as shooting!" said Toby, convincingly.
+
+"The poor Oxley fellow was in Cuba during the Spanish war, and must have
+fetched the white uniform of a Spanish officer home with him," suggested
+Ty Collins; "when he went out of his mind he imagined himself a Spanish
+recruit, and they let him wear that soldier suit to humor him."
+
+"Yes, and right now he believes he has escaped from an American prison,
+and is trying to hide from the guard. He has to eat to live, and so he
+steals things from the farmers around. Of course it's only a matter of
+good luck that he hasn't been shot before now; and it couldn't last much
+longer."
+
+"Why, when winter gets here in dead earnest the poor fellow would freeze
+to death, like as not," George remarked, showing that he was being
+convinced against his will.
+
+"But what gets me is his staying around the old haunted house," remarked
+Toby.
+
+"Oh! I don't see what there is queer about that," Lil Artha declared.
+"Course he couldn't know anything about all this talk, so it's hardly
+likely he's been trying to play ghost on us. We fooled ourselves, that's
+what," with a quick look toward Chatz, as though to intimate that
+possibly the Southern boy had had considerable to do with their being
+hoodwinked; which was a lamentable fact, for a small fraction of yeast
+will scatter through the whole pan of dough.
+
+"And when you come to think of it," added Lil Artha, who had something
+of a long head when a knotty question was involved, "where could a crazy
+man find a better hiding place than in a house said to be haunted, I'd
+like to know?"
+
+"The poor fellow!" Ted was heard to say, that being his first utterance.
+"Tell you what, we ought to put in all the rest of our time up here
+trying to capture him. I'd never feel thatithfied to lie in my comfy bed
+at home nighth, thinking of him up here, freezing perhapth. Thay we
+will, Elmer, and you too, boyth!"
+
+Ted was tender-hearted, and could never bear to see any one suffer if he
+had it in his power to alleviate the pain. He promised to make a fine
+doctor some day, for his knowledge along the line of medicine and
+surgery was really wonderful; but while the other scouts had been so
+deeply interested in figuring things out, and settling the question of
+the strange man's identity, Ted had doubtless only considered his
+physical sufferings past and present.
+
+"I promise you that, Ted, with all my heart," Elmer assured him,
+promptly enough, "because I wouldn't be satisfied to go away and leave a
+helpless fellow like that here. I only wonder that he hasn't tried to
+steal some of our stores before now; and perhaps we could set a trap
+that would catch him, if he ever does come into camp. But we won't
+depend too much on that. Sometimes the mountain won't come to you; and
+then you've got to go to the mountain. That's one of the sayings the
+Mohammedans have about their prophet, you know. Well, to-morrow we'll
+get busy looking around, and see if we can locate this Ralph Oxley."
+
+"Oh! is that his full name, then?" asked Toby, and he repeated it to
+himself, as though he rather liked the sound: "Ralph Oxley!"
+
+"He must have some sort of hiding-place around here," Toby ventured,
+"and who knows but what we might run across the trail of a barefooted
+man somewhere, that would lead us to his den."
+
+"These crazy people are pretty slick, let me tell you," George hinted;
+"and it ain't going to be an easy job to run him down."
+
+"It mightn't be for some fellows who knew next to nothing about
+tracking," Lil Artha spoke up, proudly; "but when scouts have been
+through as much as we have it's different. Once we get a sight of his
+tracks, and believe me there'll be something doing right away."
+
+"I'm glad to hear you say that, Lil Artha," the scout master told him;
+"it shows that you've got a heap of confidence in your knowledge of the
+trail. Well, you've a right to feel that way. I can remember several
+times when you beat us all out in finding signs, and getting there in
+the end. We'll all do our level best to find his lair, and bring back
+Mr. Oxley's son in the flesh. They must be dreadfully worried about his
+absence by this time, and believe he has been drowned in either Lake
+Jupiter or the Sweetwater River. It would be a feather in our caps if we
+could restore the poor fellow to his folks."
+
+"You told us he was a soldier, didn't you, Elmer?" pursued Toby; "and
+say, p'raps now he thought he was on guard when he kept marching back
+and forth dozens of times to-night. How about that, Elmer?"
+
+"No doubt about it at all, Toby," came the reply; "for that was what he
+was doing. I remembered what they had told me about his wearing white
+clothes, even if they were soiled some by now, and thinking he is a
+Spanish soldier. I believe he had a stick held up against his shoulder,
+for all the world like a sentry's gun, and if we hadn't frightened him
+off he might have kept that thing up for hours."
+
+They continued to talk it over for some further time, and then having
+apparently about exhausted the subject made ready to turn in. First
+Elmer picked out two others who were to constitute the first watch with
+him. They had to sit it out for a certain length of time, and keep
+constantly on the lookout for a visitor; but as the limit of their vigil
+was reached, and nothing happened, Elmer aroused three other scouts, and
+bade them take the places vacated by himself, Toby and Lil Artha.
+
+Morning arrived, and there had been no alarm. It was to be assumed that
+those who had fulfilled the duties of sentries during the latter part of
+the night had not slept on their posts. Elmer made an examination of the
+stores, and found nothing amiss there; so it was settled that the crazy
+man could not have mustered up enough courage to invade the camp of
+those he considered his enemies.
+
+After breakfast Elmer, accompanied by Chatz and Lil Artha, started out
+to take a turn around in the woods, and look for signs of a trail made
+by bare feet. Some of the others amused themselves as they saw fit, sure
+that if the trail-seekers did make any interesting discovery they would
+hear all about the same, and undoubtedly be given a chance to help
+follow it.
+
+It was Saturday, and had they been at home no doubt these same boys
+might have been kicking the pigskin oval around with their fellows,
+since it was still the gridiron season, and most of them belonged to the
+Hickory Ridge football squad. They were much happier, however, in having
+chosen this last camping trip of the season, for like true scouts their
+keenest enjoyment lay in getting in close touch with Nature, and
+learning many of her most cherished secrets. Football was all very good
+in its way, but there were better things, as they had learned through
+experience; and a search after practical knowledge was one of them.
+
+"Now, I'll never get a better time to try it out," Toby up and declared
+as he began to gather that bundle of his in his arms; "and I hope a
+couple of you fellows will come with me to see my crowning triumph."
+
+"I s'pose that means you're thinking of taking that fool jump off the
+tower of the old house, and want us to be parties to the crime?" George
+suggested, bitingly.
+
+Toby surveyed him scornfully.
+
+"I'm intending to make a glorious drop, and land on the ground as light
+as any chicken feather might," he went on to say, with emphasis. "If
+that's all the faith you've got in your chum's ability, George, mebbe
+you'd better stay here in camp. It will spare you the sight of my
+getting a broken leg, you know. I didn't ask you when I extended that
+invitation; but I would like to have Ty and Ted come along; Landy too if
+he wants to join us, and shout when I prove the great value of my noble
+invention along humanitarian lines."
+
+"Whew! you have got it down pat," chuckled Landy.
+
+"Sure you want Doctor Ted along," sneered George; "you know which side
+of your bread's buttered, don't you, Toby? If a cog slips in your
+wheels, and you take a hard tumble you'll find his being on hand mighty
+acceptable. I'd carry splints and bandages in plenty, Ted. And if I
+have time I think I'll start to shaping up some kind of crutch while
+you're away. Things like that come in handy sometimes. This is going to
+be one of those times, I'm afraid."
+
+"Rats! you old croaker, nothing would ever be accomplished in this world
+if everybody was like you. They'd be afraid to take a chance. Things
+that their ancestors used 'd be good enough for them, like the Chinese.
+But thank goodness there are _some_ progressive people livin' these
+days, like Edison, Marconi, and a few others."
+
+"Jones, f'r instance!" chuckled George. "Well, if I don't show up at the
+exhibition good luck to you, Toby. I hope it won't be anything worse
+than a leg, or your collarbone, or five teeth knocked out. I wish you
+great success. Tell me all about it when you get back. And I'm in dead
+earnest about that crutch, too. I think I know how to shape one out of a
+thick wild grapevine, if I can only find the right sort."
+
+There was no use trying to talk George down, once he got started, and no
+one knew this better than Toby, who had been worsted in many a verbal
+encounter before now, so he only jerked his head contemptuously, and
+lifting his burden, called out to the others:
+
+"Come along, boys, if you've decided to be witnesses to my triumph.
+Mebbe your names will go ringing down the ages too, as being present
+when the glorious test was made that marked the end of aviators'
+perils."
+
+"One thing I think we'd better do, Toby," suggested Ty.
+
+"Well, name it," the other threw over his shoulder as he tramped
+sturdily along, carrying his wonderful parachute ready for business.
+
+"When you say you're all ready for the jump I'm going to give the wolf
+call, so Elmer, Lil Artha and Chatz can have a chance to come around,
+and share the honor with us of being living witnesses of your work."
+
+Toby seemed to ponder this for half a minute; and then remarked:
+
+"I guess that would only be fair, because Elmer might feel huffed if I
+jumped into glory, and him not there to see it. Yes, I'll get up on the
+tower and when I say the word you give the '_how--oooo_' call that'll
+fetch 'em running."
+
+"Consider that a bargain then, Toby," Ty told him; "and remember, don't
+you go to making your jump till they come up. Elmer might be provoked,
+and believe you sneaked off unbeknown to him to try the same. They're
+likely somewhere close by, I reckon, and we're apt to run across the
+trackers hard at work while we're on our way to the haunted house right
+now."
+
+But they did not, although they caught the sound of voices through the
+aisles of the dense woods, and knew that Elmer with his comrades must be
+somewhere, not far away.
+
+The old building stood there just as they had seen it before. Landy and
+Ty had not been along when the nutting party met with their first
+adventure here; but on the preceding afternoon they had surveyed the
+wreck of a house, so that their only experience had not been the one at
+midnight.
+
+Besides, now that the halo of mystery had been removed, so that they
+knew the white object they had seen was only a poor crazy fellow and not
+a ghost from the other world, the boys experienced far less timidity
+about approaching the house.
+
+"We'll stay down here, Toby," said Ty, as he took up a position that was
+directly underneath the tower.
+
+Ted had carried a burden along with him also. This he now threw upon the
+ground, and it proved to be one of the stout camping blankets. Toby only
+chuckled when he saw that.
+
+"Please yourselves, fellows," he assured his comrades, "but you won't
+need anything like that. I'm going to float like a thistledown. It'll be
+the triumph of the age, and don't you forget it. Watch what I do, now,
+everybody!"
+
+With that Toby boldly entered the house, and started to make his way up
+to the tower. Apparently he must have noticed how one could reach that
+elevated region, though as yet none of them had thought to go there.
+Inside of five minutes the boys below saw him looking down at them from
+far above.
+
+"Wait till I get my parachute ready, fellows!" he called; "and there's
+Elmer and the rest hurrying up, waving their hands like they wanted me
+to hold on till they got here. Mebbe I will; the more the merrier!
+Stretchin' out your old blanket, are you? Well, take my word for it you
+won't need to grab me any. I'm staking a heap on this thing to hold me
+up easy. Wow! what's this? Let go, there, you don't get that precious
+thing away from me! Hey! fellows, here's that crazy man tackled me! He's
+wantin' to grab everything! Quit pushin' or you'll have us both tumblin'
+over the edge! Whoop! somebody come up here and help, or he'll get me!"
+
+The two boys below heard all this shouted at the top of Toby's voice;
+although of course they had but slight glimpses of the struggling
+figures above. A desperate wrestling for the possession of the parachute
+was evidently going on, for they could hear the sound of scuffling feet;
+and besides, Elmer and the others who were fast coming on the run,
+seemed to be shouting at the top of their voices, as though under the
+impression that by the noise of their yells they might alarm the man who
+was out of his mind and had attacked the scout, believing him an enemy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+HOMEWARD BOUND--CONCLUSION
+
+
+"HELP! Let go of me! Hi! Elmer, he's up here! Come quick, I can't hold
+him any longer!"
+
+That was what Toby was shrieking excitedly, as he struggled with the
+poor demented Spanish War veteran. Then there came answering shouts from
+Elmer, now close at hand; but of course Toby could not carry out any
+directions that were fired at him.
+
+Presently those below saw the two figures topple over the edge, Toby
+still frantically clutching his beloved parachute, which was extended to
+its fullest dimensions, and the other evidently fiercely trying to hold
+on to his supposed enemy.
+
+The extended blanket was torn from the grasp of the two boys, despite
+their earnest attempt to hold it taut; but at the same time it must have
+helped break the fall of the pair. The parachute had not been built for
+two, and could not be expected to bear their combined weight, in spite
+of Toby's boasts about half a ton not being too much.
+
+One of the recumbent figures instantly sprang to his knees. It was Toby,
+and he still gripped the rod of his parachute with a determined hold.
+
+"Never hurt me a teenty bit!" he shrilled, in his excitement; and then
+he suddenly stilled his ardor, for on looking down he saw the crazy
+man, dressed in that soiled white uniform brought from Cuba, lying there
+with the blood trickling down the side of his head, and the sight
+shocked Toby into repressing his exultation.
+
+But Elmer was coming on the run, and already Doctor Ted had knelt beside
+Ralph Oxley, with his professional instincts all aroused. He sent one of
+the boys racing to the camp for his medicine case; and Elmer on his
+arrival suggested that they carry the unconscious young man to where the
+fire burned.
+
+Being scouts, and accustomed to making a good litter out of almost
+anything, they speedily arranged it so that between four of them the
+victim of the fall was borne to the camp. On the way they met Lil Artha
+and George, hurrying toward the house; but of course these parties now
+returned with them, since the medicine case was needed in camp.
+
+Ted first of all washed the wound in the young soldier's head with cold
+water, and then applied a cloth soaked in soothing balm, that would
+assist in stopping the bleeding.
+
+"Oh! I hope he isn't going to die on us," said Toby, who seemed to feel
+that in some way his desire to test his parachute life-saving appliance
+from the tower of the old house had brought this near-tragedy about, and
+hence he felt unusually sorry.
+
+"I don't think tho," Doctor Ted hastened to tell him; "he got a nathty
+cwack on the head, and it's fwactured it thome, but right now he theems
+to be coming out of the daze. There, did you thee his eyeth open and
+thut again? Next time he'll keep them open, believe me, fellowth."
+
+Imagine the amazement and consternation of the boys when a minute later
+Ralph Oxley not only opened his eyes, but stared all around at each one
+in turn, then at the tents and the burning camp fire.
+
+"Where am I?" he stammered, weakly. "What's all this mean? Are we still
+at the front? Where's my khaki uniform like the ones you're wearing, and
+why have you put this old white one on me? It's a Spanish suit. I know
+because I've got one like it home. Who are you? I don't seem to
+recognize any of you boys."
+
+What seemed next door to a miracle had been wrought! Elmer and Ted
+stared eagerly at each other as though they could hardly believe their
+senses.
+
+"He's got his mind back again!" exclaimed Chatz, wildly exultant. "It
+must have been the crack on the head did it. I've heard of such things,
+but never thought I'd ever run up against a case. Why, he's as sensible
+as any of us, fellows!"
+
+Elmer rushed forward, and stood over the recumbent man, who looked at
+him with a puzzled air.
+
+"Your name is Ralph Oxley, isn't it?" asked the scout master, quietly.
+
+"Yes, it is, but--" began the other, when Elmer raised his hand to stop
+him.
+
+"I'll explain as near as I can to you," he went on to say. "You were
+hurt on the head a few years ago, and went out of your mind. Ever since
+your folks have kept you at home because they said you were not
+dangerous, but there was an attendant employed to look after you. Some
+weeks ago you escaped, and nobody has ever found where you went. They
+feared you had been drowned somewhere. But you must have had the idea
+you were a Spanish soldier escaped from an American prison, for you have
+been in hiding up here at the old Cartaret house, and getting what food
+you could by raiding the farms all around. We are Boy Scouts belonging
+at Hickory Ridge, and the other day when we were up here we thought we
+glimpsed somebody, but a few of my chums believed it was a ghost. Now
+we've come to spend our Thanksgiving holidays in camp. You had a bad
+tumble, striking your head again, and cutting it; but somehow it has
+brought you back to your right mind, Ralph Oxley."
+
+The young man, who could hardly have been more than thirty-five years of
+age, though a veteran of the Spanish war, put up his hand, and felt of
+his head, wincing with the pain the contact gave him. A tinge of color
+was creeping back into his pale face, which Elmer was delighted to see.
+
+"It is all a mystery to me," Ralph Oxley told them, shaking his head.
+"I have no recollection of doing anything like you say. In fact, the
+last thing I remember seems to be of riding out to look over a new farm
+my father had bought, and of my horse running away when some one shot
+close by the road. After that it is all a dead blank; and yet you say
+some years have passed since then?"
+
+He seemed awed by the thought.
+
+"That must have been where you were thrown, striking on your head,
+received the injury that caused your mind to become a blank," Elmer told
+him; while Doctor Ted nodded vigorously as though seconding the motion.
+
+"But I'm in a terrible position, with only these thin clothes on, and no
+shoes or socks on my feet," remarked the man, who, now that he had
+returned to his senses, could apparently feel the sting of the cold air,
+something that doubtless he may not have been sensitive to before.
+
+"Perhaps we can fix you up with something to tide over," Chatz told him.
+"Here's Lil Artha, whose feet must be the same size as yours, and I
+happen to know he brought a pair of new extra moccasins along, which he
+hasn't worn yet."
+
+First one, and then another proposed lending Ralph certain garments,
+until in the end he was well taken care of. He even sat with them,
+propped up in a comfortable seat, and ate the dinner the scouts
+prepared, asking dozens of eager questions, many of which they were not
+able to answer, because they concerned his people, and none of the
+scouts happened to know them.
+
+"I'm going to make a proposition to you, fellows," said Elmer, when they
+had finished their meal; "and here it is. You know Stackhouse is about
+eleven miles away from here, though twice that far from Hickory Ridge.
+My map shows a fairly decent road leading there. Suppose we pull up
+stakes and start for Mr. Oxley's home? We could make it before sunset, I
+should think. It's true that our camping trip would be cut short a day,
+but I'm sure I voice the sentiments of every fellow that we'll feel
+mighty well repaid for any little sacrifice like that when we turn in to
+the Oxley place and bring back their lost son, not what he was when he
+ran away, but clothed in his right mind. Everybody in favor of that move
+say aye!"
+
+A chorus answered him in the affirmative; why, even that hardened
+objector, Doubting George, shouted with the rest; for once having
+apparently chosen to be what Toby called "civilized."
+
+Ralph Oxley had tears in his eyes as he insisted on shaking hands with
+every one of the scouts.
+
+"You're a fine lot of boys, let me tell you!" he declared, with deep
+feeling; "and I wouldn't accept your sacrifice only for my mother's
+sake. They ought to know the happy news as soon as possible. Every
+minute that I'm delayed is just so much more suffering for my dear
+parents; and a sweet girl too that I was going to marry when that
+accident came about. But I'll never forget it, fellows; and you'll hear
+from the Oxley family later on."
+
+"Not a word about any money reward, suh!" cried Chatz, sternly; "we're
+scouts, and we'd scorn to accept anything in the way of pay for doing a
+thing like this. It's given us a heap more pleasure than anything that's
+happened for many moons, believe me, suh!"
+
+"And to think," added Toby, with a beaming smile on his face, "my
+remarkable parachute came near holding up double weight. I really
+believe if only Mr. Oxley here hadn't managed to strike his head on that
+cornice when he fell, both of us would have landed without a scratch.
+And let me tell you that I think it's already shown what a life-saver
+it's bound to be."
+
+"Hurrah for Jones, the greatest after Edison this country has ever
+produced," cried Lil Artha, pretending to wave his hat furiously.
+
+They were soon all at work, and the tents came down with a rush, for
+long experience along these lines had made Elmer and his scouts clever
+hands at anything pertaining to camp life. Nancy was hitched up, and the
+wagon loaded. They made a comfortable seat with the tents and the
+blankets for the injured young man; and before an hour had elapsed,
+after finishing that last meal, they had said good-bye to the haunted
+house, and were on their way.
+
+It was a long though not uninteresting afternoon ride; because they were
+passing over a district that was practically new to them.
+
+Presently they overtook a young woman who was tripping along ahead of
+them. Just as Elmer was about to ask her something about the Oxleys she
+gave a shriek, and rushing to the tail-end of the wagon commenced to
+reach out toward the wounded passenger, calling his name in great
+excitement.
+
+It developed, of course, that this was the same girl Ralph had been
+about to marry at the time of his unfortunate accident; and her wild
+delight at finding that the missing one had not only been found, but was
+restored to his proper senses as by a miracle, can better be imagined
+than described.
+
+Shortly afterwards they turned in at the fine Oxley farm, and it was not
+long before the greatest excitement came about that had been known in
+that region for many a month. The mother had her boy in her arms, and
+was trying to laugh and cry at the same time; the father came running
+madly to the spot; and what with dogs barking, and people shouting,
+persons passing must have thought a lunatic asylum had broken loose.
+
+The boys did not linger long after they had seen the family reunited;
+though everybody wanted to shower them with thanks, and praise for their
+having brought such happiness to the bereft home of the Oxleys. And
+Ralph assured them that he and the young woman who was to be his wife
+would certainly drive over to see the Hickory Ridge folks just as soon
+as he was able to be about again.
+
+Well, as they were a long distance from home, with darkness near at
+hand, the boys determined to go as far along the road toward Hickory
+Ridge as Nancy could draw the load, and then proceed to camp somewhere
+for one night.
+
+It was all a part of the outing, and no one appeared to regret having
+followed the generous dictates of their warm young hearts.
+
+While their camp that night may not have been as comfortable as before,
+because of the lack of time to do certain things, they managed to get a
+fair amount of sleep. No doubt the consciousness of having responded to
+the demands of scout duty afforded them more or less solid satisfaction;
+for even George was heard to say, as they drew near the familiar home
+scenes on that quiet Sunday afternoon, it had been one of the best
+little outings the Hickory Ridge Boy Scouts had ever enjoyed; and it
+must needs be something beyond the ordinary that could coax this kind of
+stuff from Doubting George.
+
+But that year was fated not to die out without Elmer and his chums being
+given another splendid opportunity to show what their scout training was
+worth, as the reader will discover upon securing the volume that follows
+this, and which is to be had under the title of "The Hickory Ridge Boy
+Scouts Storm-Bound; or, A Vacation Among the Snow Drifts."
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+_The Mountain Boys Series_
+
+
+    1. PHIL BRADLEY'S MOUNTAIN BOYS
+    2. PHIL BRADLEY AT THE WHEEL
+    3. PHIL BRADLEY'S SHOOTING BOX
+    4. PHIL BRADLEY'S SNOW-SHOE TRAIL
+
+These books describe with interesting detail the experiences of a party
+of boys among the mountain pines.
+
+They teach the young reader how to protect himself against the elements,
+what to do and what to avoid, and above all to become self-reliant and
+manly.
+
+    _12mo._        _Cloth._
+    _40 cents per volume; postpaid_
+
+    THE NEW YORK BOOK COMPANY
+
+    201 EAST 12TH STREET        NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+The Campfire and Trail Series
+
+
+    1. IN CAMP ON THE BIG SUNFLOWER.
+    2. THE RIVALS OF THE TRAIL.
+    3. THE STRANGE CABIN ON CATAMOUNT ISLAND.
+    4. LOST IN THE GREAT DISMAL SWAMP.
+    5. WITH TRAPPER JIM IN THE NORTH WOODS.
+    6. CAUGHT IN A FOREST FIRE.
+    7. CHUMS OF THE CAMPFIRE.
+    8. AFLOAT ON THE FLOOD.
+
+    By LAWRENCE J. LESLIE.
+
+A series of wholesome stories for boys told in an interesting way and
+appealing to their love of the open.
+
+    _Each, 12mo._        _Cloth._        _40 cents per volume_
+
+    THE NEW YORK BOOK COMPANY
+    201 EAST 12th       STREET NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+THE "HOW-TO-DO-IT" BOOKS
+
+BY J. S. ZERBE
+
+
+CARPENTRY FOR BOYS
+
+A book which treats, in a most practical and fascinating manner all
+subjects pertaining to the "King of Trades"; showing the care and use of
+tools; drawing; designing, and the laying out of work; the principles
+involved in the building of various kinds of structures, and the
+rudiments of architecture. It contains over two hundred and fifty
+illustrations made especially for this work, and includes also a
+complete glossary of the technical terms used in the art. The most
+comprehensive volume on this subject ever published for boys.
+
+
+ELECTRICITY FOR BOYS
+
+The author has adopted the unique plan of setting forth the fundamental
+principles in each phase of the science, and practically applying the
+work in the successive stages. It shows how the knowledge has been
+developed, and the reasons for the various phenomena, without using
+technical words so as to bring it within the compass of every boy. It
+has a complete glossary of terms, and is illustrated with two hundred
+original drawings.
+
+
+PRACTICAL MECHANICS FOR BOYS
+
+This book takes the beginner through a comprehensive series of practical
+shop work, in which the uses of tools, and the structure and handling of
+shop machinery are set forth; how they are utilized to perform the work,
+and the manner in which all dimensional work is carried out. Every
+subject is illustrated, and model building explained. It contains a
+glossary which comprises a new system of cross references, a feature
+that will prove a welcome departure in explaining subjects. Fully
+illustrated.
+
+    _12mo, cloth._        _Price 60 cents per volume_
+
+    THE NEW YORK BOOK COMPANY
+    201 EAST 12th STREET        NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+THE WONDER ISLAND BOYS
+
+BY ROGER T. FINLAY
+
+
+A new series of books, each complete in itself, relating the remarkable
+experiences of two boys and a man, who are cast upon an island in the
+South Seas with absolutely nothing but the clothing they wore. By the
+exercise of their ingenuity they succeed in fashioning clothing, tools
+and weapons and not only do they train nature's forces to work for them
+but they subdue and finally civilize neighboring savage tribes. The
+books contain two thousand items of interest that every boy ought to
+know.
+
+    THE WONDER ISLAND BOYS
+    The Castaways
+
+    THE WONDER ISLAND BOYS
+    Exploring the Island
+
+    THE WONDER ISLAND BOYS
+    The Mysteries of the Caverns
+
+    THE WONDER ISLAND BOYS
+    The Tribesmen
+
+    THE WONDER ISLAND BOYS
+    The Capture and Pursuit
+
+    THE WONDER ISLAND BOYS
+    The Conquest of the Savages
+
+    THE WONDER ISLAND BOYS
+    Adventures on Strange Islands
+
+    THE WONDER ISLAND BOYS
+    Treasures of the Islands
+
+    _Large 12mo, cloth._         _Many illustrations._
+    _60 cents per vol., postpaid._
+
+    PUBLISHED BY
+
+    THE NEW YORK BOOK COMPANY
+    201 EAST 12th STREET        NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+THE BOY GLOBE TROTTERS
+
+By ELBERT FISHER
+
+    _12mo, Cloth._       _Many illustrations._      _60c. per Volume_
+
+
+This is a series of four books relating the adventures of two boys, who
+make a trip around the world, working their way as they go. They meet
+with various peoples having strange habits and customs, and their
+adventures form a medium for the introduction of much instructive matter
+relative to the character and industries of the cities and countries
+through which they pass. A description is given of the native sports of
+boys in each of the foreign countries through which they travel. The
+books are illustrated by decorative head and end pieces for each
+chapter, there being 36 original drawings in each book, all by the
+author, and four striking halftones.
+
+=1. From New York to the Golden Gate=, takes in many of the principal
+points between New York and California, and contains a highly
+entertaining narrative of the boys' experiences overland and not a
+little useful information.
+
+=2. From San Francisco to Japan=, relates the experiences of the two
+boys at the Panama Exposition, and subsequently their journeyings to
+Hawaii, Samoa and Japan. The greater portion of their time is spent at
+sea, and a large amount of interesting information appears throughout
+the text.
+
+=3. From Tokio to Bombay.= This book covers their interesting
+experiences in Japan, followed by sea voyages to the Philippines,
+Hongkong and finally to India. Their experiences with the natives cover
+a field seldom touched upon in juvenile publications, as it relates to
+the great Hyderabad region of South India.
+
+=4. From India to the War Zone=, describes their trip toward the Persian
+Gulf. They go by way of the River Euphrates and pass the supposed site
+of the Garden of Eden, and manage to connect themselves with a caravan
+through the Great Syrian Desert. After traversing the Holy Land, where
+they visit the Dead Sea, they arrive at the Mediterranean port of Joppa,
+and their experiences thereafter within the war zone are fully
+described.
+
+
+    THE NEW YORK BOOK COMPANY
+    201 EAST 12th STREET        NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+The Ethel Morton Books
+
+By MABELL S. C. SMITH
+
+
+This series strikes a new note in the publication of books for girls.
+Fascinating descriptions of the travels and amusing experiences of our
+young friends are combined with a fund of information relating their
+accomplishment of things every girl wishes to know.
+
+In reading the books a girl becomes acquainted with many of the
+entertaining features of handcraft, elements of cooking, also of
+swimming, boating and similar pastimes. This information is so imparted
+as to hold the interest throughout. Many of the subjects treated are
+illustrated by halftones and line engravings throughout the text.
+
+
+LIST OF TITLES
+
+    ETHEL MORTON AT CHAUTAUQUA
+    ETHEL MORTON AND THE CHRISTMAS SHIP
+    ETHEL MORTON'S HOLIDAYS
+    ETHEL MORTON AT ROSE HOUSE
+    ETHEL MORTON'S ENTERPRISE
+    ETHEL MORTON AT SWEET BRIER LODGE
+
+
+    _Price 60 cents per volume; postpaid_
+
+
+    PUBLISHED BY
+
+    The New York Book Company
+    201 EAST 12TH STREET      NEW YORK, N. Y.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Transcriber's Notes:
+
+Obvious punctuation errors repaired.
+
+First advertising page, "Chenoweth" changed to "Chenowith" to match
+actual book usage (Elmer Chenowith, a lad from)
+
+Page 131, "Sandy" changed to "Landy" (Landy was complaining)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Hickory Ridge Boy Scouts: Under
+Canvas, by Alan Douglas
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HICKORY RIDGE BOY SCOUTS: UNDER CANVAS ***
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+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" />
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" />
+    <title>
+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of Under Canvas, by Alan Douglas.
+    </title>
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+
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+    .pagenum  { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Hickory Ridge Boy Scouts: Under Canvas, by 
+Alan Douglas
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Hickory Ridge Boy Scouts: Under Canvas
+       or, The Hunt for the Cartaret Ghost
+
+Author: Alan Douglas
+
+Release Date: December 14, 2011 [EBook #38299]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HICKORY RIDGE BOY SCOUTS: UNDER CANVAS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan,
+Emmy and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 467px;">
+<img src="images/hickory7frontis.png" width="467" height="500"
+alt="THE SCOUTS BUSIED THEMSELVES MAKING PREPARATIONS FOR THE CAMP
+MEAL" title="" />
+<span class='caption'>THE SCOUTS BUSIED THEMSELVES MAKING PREPARATIONS FOR THE
+CAMP MEAL<span></div>
+
+
+
+<h1>UNDER CANVAS<br />
+OR<br />
+<span class="smcap">The Hunt for the Cartaret Ghost</span></h1>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class='adtitle2'><span class="smcap">The Hickory Ridge Boy Scouts</span></div>
+
+<div class='center'>A SERIES OF BOOKS FOR BOYS<br />
+
+By Capt. Alan Douglas, Scout-master<br />
+&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;</div>
+
+
+<div class='unindent'><b><span class='big'>The Campfires of the Wolf Patrol</span></b></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>Their first camping experience affords the scouts splendid opportunities to use
+their recently acquired knowledge in a practical way. Elmer <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'Chenoweth'">Chenowith</ins>, a lad
+from the northwest woods, astonishes everyone by his familiarity with camp
+life. A clean, wholesome story every boy should read.</p></div>
+
+
+<div class='unindent'><b><br /><span class='big'>Woodcraft; or, How a Patrol Leader Made Good</span></b></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>This tale presents many stirring situations in which the boys are called upon to
+exercise ingenuity and unselfishness. A story filled with healthful excitement.</p></div>
+
+
+<div class='unindent'><b><br /><span class='big'>Pathfinder; or, The Missing Tenderfoot</span></b></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>Some mysteries are cleared up in a most unexpected way, greatly to the credit
+of our young friends. A variety of incidents follow fast, one after the other.</p></div>
+
+
+<div class='unindent'><b><br /><span class='big'>Fast Nine; or, a Challenge from Fairfield</span></b></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>They show the same team-work here as when in camp. The description of the
+final game with the team of a rival town, and the outcome thereof, form a stirring
+narrative. One of the best baseball stories of recent years.</p></div>
+
+
+<div class='unindent'><b><br /><span class='big'>Great Hike; or, The Pride of The Khaki Troop</span></b></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>After weeks of preparation the scouts start out on their greatest undertaking.
+Their march takes them far from home, and the good-natured rivalry of the
+different patrols furnishes many interesting and amusing situations.</p></div>
+
+
+<div class='unindent'><b><br /><span class='big'>Endurance Test; or, How Clear Grit Won the Day</span></b></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>Few stories "get" us more than illustrations of pluck in the face of apparent
+failure. Our heroes show the stuff they are made of and surprise their most ardent
+admirers. One of the best stories Captain Douglas has written.</p></div>
+
+
+<div class='unindent'><b><br /><span class='big'>Under Canvas; or, The Hunt for the Cartaret Ghost</span></b></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>It was hard to disbelieve the evidence of their eyes but the boys by the
+exercise of common-sense solved a mystery which had long puzzled older heads.</p></div>
+
+
+<div class='unindent'><b><br /><span class='big'>Storm-bound; or, a Vacation Among the Snow Drifts</span></b></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>The boys start out on the wrong track, but their scout training comes to the
+rescue and their experience proves beneficial to all concerned.</p></div>
+
+<div class='center'>&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;</div>
+<div class='center'><b><br />
+Boy Scout Nature Lore to be Found in The Hickory Ridge Boy<br />
+Scout Series, all illustrated:&mdash;<br />
+</b></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>Wild Animals of the United States&mdash;Tracking&mdash;Trees and Wild Flowers of the
+United States&mdash;Reptiles of the United States&mdash;Fishes of the United States&mdash;Insects
+of the United States and Birds of the United States.</p></div>
+
+<div class='center'>&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;<br />
+<i>Cloth Binding</i>   &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;     <i>Cover Illustrations in Four Colors</i>    &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;    <i>40c. Per Volume</i><br />
+&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;<br />
+<br />
+<b>THE NEW YORK BOOK COMPANY</b><br />
+<b>201 EAST 12th STREET</b>    &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;     <b>NEW YORK</b><br />
+</div>
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 467px;">
+<img src="images/hickory7frontis.png" width="467" height="500" alt="THE SCOUTS BUSIED THEMSELVES MAKING PREPARATIONS FOR THE CAMP MEAL" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class='bbox'><div class='adtitle2'><span class="center">THE HICKORY RIDGE BOY SCOUTS</span></div></div>
+
+
+<h1>UNDER CANVAS<br />
+
+OR<br />
+
+<span class="smcap">The Hunt for the Cartaret Ghost</span></h1>
+
+
+<div class='center'>BY<br />
+<span class='author'><span class="smcap">Captain</span> ALAN DOUGLAS</span><br />
+
+SCOUT MASTER<br /><br /><br /></div>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 100px;">
+<img src="images/emblem.png" width="100" height="103" alt="N Y B Co." title="" />
+</div>
+
+<div class='center'><br /><br /><br />
+THE NEW YORK BOOK COMPANY<br />
+NEW YORK<br />
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<div class='copyright'>
+<span class="smcap">Copyright, 1915, by</span><br />
+THE NEW YORK BOOK COMPANY<br />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align='left' colspan='2'><span class='small'>CHAPTER</span></td><td align='right'><span class='small'>PAGE</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>I</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Out for Shell-barks</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_13">13</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>II</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">What Happened on the Road</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_25">25</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>III</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Near the Haunt of "Spooks"</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_34">34</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>IV</td><td align='left'>"<span class="smcap">To the Victors Belong the Spoils</span>"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_45">45</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>V</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">What a Scout Learns</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_55">55</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>VI</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Looking Around</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_66">66</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>VII</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Harvest Time</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_77">77</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>VIII</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">How Elmer's Plan Worked</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_88">88</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>IX</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">The Camping-out Expedition</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_99">99</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>X</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">In for a Glorious Time</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_109">109</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XI</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Sacking the Forest Store-house</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_120">120</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XII</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">The Midnight Vigil</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_130">130</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XIII</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">A Strange Figure in White</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_141">141</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XIV</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Told Around the Camp Fire</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_152">152</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XV</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">The Boogie of the Tower</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_163">163</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XVI</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Homeward Bound&mdash;Conclusion</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_174">174</a></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span></p>
+<h2>UNDER CANVAS</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER I</h2>
+
+<div class='chaptertitle'>OUT FOR SHELL-BARKS</div>
+
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Toby</span>, we must be half-way there now; don't
+you think so?"</p>
+
+<p>"Guess you're right about that, Mr. Scout Master;
+as near as I can calculate."</p>
+
+<p>"Glad to hear you say so, Toby, because, excuse
+me for saying it, but until I hear something that
+sounds like business I'm all up in the air. I've
+known you to fool your trusting scout comrades
+before this."</p>
+
+<p>"There you go, George Robbins, suspicious as
+ever. No wonder they call you Doubting George.
+You never will believe anything till you see it with
+your own eyes, and then you often wonder whether
+you're awake or dreaming. Now, I told Elmer
+here, our Assistant Scout Master, about my plan,
+and he took my word for it."</p>
+
+<p>"That's all right, Toby, but unfortunately I
+was born different; I'm not so trusting, and things
+are mighty deceptive in this world, sometimes."</p>
+
+<p>A fourth boy of the party in the big wagon broke
+into the conversation at this point, by laughing
+hoarsely, and going on to remark, with a decided
+lisp:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I bet you were, George; and I can thee you
+looking up at the doctor and thaying the very first
+thing: 'The moon <i>ain't</i> made of green cheeth;
+and I won't b'lieve it till you prove the thame to
+me, tho there!'"</p>
+
+<p>"Hold on, Ted Burgoyne, don't fall all over
+yourself about my shortcomings; I'm not the only
+pebble on the beach when it comes to that; there
+are others. But to return to the subject. Toby,
+here are three of us burning up with curiosity to
+know where you're piloting this shell-bark hickory
+nut-gathering expedition. You let it out to
+Elmer in the start, but the rest of us don't know a
+thing about it. You promised to open up when
+we'd got far enough along the road so there
+wouldn't be any turning back. And there was
+something said about half-way; so now's your
+chance."</p>
+
+<p>"I can see you all looking my way," remarked
+the fifth boy in khaki, with a peculiar little drawl,
+quite musical, to his voice, that stamped him of
+Southern birth; "and to hurry things up I move to
+make the request unanimous."</p>
+
+<p>"There, you heard what Chatz Maxfield said,
+Toby; take the cover off, and tell us where this
+wonderful bonanza lies. You promised that we'd
+get every sack we're carrying along filled to the
+brim with dandy chestnuts, hickories, and black
+walnuts. Why all this mystery? It looks mighty
+suspicious to me&mdash;excuse me for saying it."</p>
+
+<p>These five lads, sturdy looking chaps all of them,
+belonged to the Hickory Ridge Troop of Boy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span>
+Scouts, Elmer, Ted, Toby and Chatz to the Wolf
+Patrol, and George to the Beaver. The troop was
+in a flourishing condition, since both patrols had
+their full quota of eight members, and a third one,
+called the Eagle, was almost complete.</p>
+
+<p>Elmer Chenowith had long been leader of the
+Wolf Patrol, and being a full fledged first-class
+scout he had quite some time back secured from
+Scout Headquarters his certificate enabling him
+to act as Assistant Scout Master in the absence of
+the young man, Mr. Roderic Garrabrant, who usually
+fulfilled the duties of that important office.</p>
+
+<p>These bright, wideawake lads, with others of
+their chums, had seen considerable in the way of
+excitement during the preceding summer. Some
+of their adventures and victories have already
+been placed before the readers of this Series of
+scout books in preceding volumes, so that an extended
+introduction to Elmer and his four comrades
+is hardly necessary here. What has been
+said has only been for the benefit of such readers
+as are making their acquaintance for the first time.</p>
+
+<p>It was on a Saturday morning in Fall that they
+were driving over the road some four miles away
+from the home town. A sharp frost on the preceding
+night was just the thing to make nutting a success,
+for it helped open the burrs on the chestnut
+trees, as well as caused the hickory nuts and black
+walnuts to drop.</p>
+
+<p>Just before Thanksgiving holidays boys may be
+expected to develop a feverish longing for an outing
+of some sort. It had struck these scouts in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span>
+full force when Toby Jones confided to them that
+he knew a place where almost unlimited amounts
+of splendid nuts were to be gathered with very little
+trouble, only he declined to reveal his secret
+until they were well on the road.</p>
+
+<p>The consequence was that he had three boys
+guessing for the balance of the week; and plaguing
+the life out of him in the endeavor to coax him to
+tell. But Toby was nothing if not stubborn, and
+he only shut those jaws of his tighter, and waved
+the tempters away with the remark that some people
+called him a clam because he knew how to keep
+his lips closed.</p>
+
+<p>Toby was himself driving the big strong horse
+between the shafts of the wagon. The conveyance
+belonged to his father, and it sometimes took
+all of Toby's strength to hold the frisky animal in.</p>
+
+<p>Toby's middle name was Ellsworth, given to
+him because his grandfather had in the Civil War
+been connected with a regiment of Zouaves under
+the famous colonel whose death at Alexandria,
+Virginia, occurred just about the time hostilities
+opened between the North and the South.</p>
+
+<p>Toby was a strange boy in many ways. He
+cherished a burning desire to become a celebrated
+a&euml;ronaut, and by means of some wonderful invention
+that would turn the world upside-down
+make the name of Jones famous. As yet, however,
+Toby had only succeeded in patching up several
+supposed-to-be flying machines, which had
+managed to give him a few rough tumbles, though
+luckily not any broken bones. His chums never<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span>
+knew what he would spring on them next, for he
+was constantly grappling with puzzling questions
+connected with the science of aviation, and deploring
+the fact that there was always something
+magnificent just ahead of him that seemed to be
+eluding his eager clutch like a will-o'-the-wisp in
+the swamp.</p>
+
+<p>Ted Burgoyne had the misfortune to possess a
+hare-lip, which made him lisp. He was not so
+sturdy in build as some of his mates, but as smart
+as they make them, and with a decided leaning for
+the profession of a doctor. Indeed, such was the
+extent of his knowledge of surgery and medicine
+that he often went by the name of "Doctor Ted."
+And having had occasion to perform certain necessary
+operations along the line of setting broken
+limbs, and bandaging severed arteries, his work
+had been commended by several professional
+M.D.'s as marvelous.</p>
+
+<p>When Doubting George made that last plea of
+his the driver turned his head and looked at his
+companions. He saw an eager glow in the eyes
+of the trio who had been kept in the dark up to
+that moment with regard to their mysterious destination.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, we've got along so far that it ain't likely
+anybody'll want to turn back, and show the white
+feather," he observed, with a quick glance directly
+at Chatz Maxfield; "so here goes. We're headed
+right now for the old Cartaret place!"</p>
+
+<p>"Whew! Cartaret's Folly they call it, because
+the man who built the same sank a fortune there<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span>
+making it beautiful, and then the owls and rats
+took charge, which was all of twenty years ago, I
+reckon!" George went on to say, first whistling to
+mark the surprise he felt over the disclosure.</p>
+
+<p>"And there's a lot of talk going around to this
+day about ghosts being seen in the windows and
+around the grounds of that deserted place; but
+most people would say that's only old women's
+stories. All the same those people who don't believe
+in spooks and goblins and all such things
+couldn't be hired for any amount of money to camp
+out in that big house for just one dark night."</p>
+
+<p>It was Chatz who made this assertion. All of
+his chums knew that Chatz had a deep-rooted vein
+of superstition in his system, which it seemed impossible
+for him to get rid of. He believed in
+spirits coming back to haunt graveyards, and
+empty houses where perhaps some violence had
+once occurred. Elmer and other scouts had
+laughed at him many times, and Chatz even took
+himself to task because of his weakness, which he
+had probably imbibed through association as a
+small child with colored pickaninnies down on the
+plantation in South Carolina. Sometimes he
+boldly declared he was done with such childish beliefs;
+but when an occasion chanced to come along
+bearing on the subject it was strange how Chatz
+again found himself standing up for his old-time
+faith in hobgoblins, and the efficacy of the left
+hind-foot of a rabbit shot in a graveyard in the
+dark of the moon, to ward off evil influences, and
+repel the power of spooks to do bodily harm.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>It was well known that many people shunned the
+vicinity of the old Cartaret place, some eight miles
+away from Hickory Ridge, because queer stories
+passed current concerning white figures seen
+stalking about the weed-grown grounds, and looking
+out of the open windows of the ruined house.
+That was why Toby had been wise enough to keep
+his secret until they were so far on the road that
+there was little likelihood of any boy venturing to
+propose that they abandon the nutting expedition
+and return home.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I knew some of you fellows would be saying
+that," he now remarked; "so I asked Elmer
+about it, and he advised me to bottle up till we'd
+gone half-way to the place. So now, I hope nobody
+wants to go back?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! you needn't look at me that way, Toby,"
+Chatz hastened to exclaim; "p'raps I may be silly
+enough to believe in ghosts, but nobody ever called
+me a coward; and where the rest of you go, suh,
+Chatz Maxfield can be counted on to follow."</p>
+
+<p>"Me too!" chirped Ted.</p>
+
+<p>"P'raps now you may remember that once before
+we ran foul of a haunted place up at that old
+mill," remarked George, "and it turned out to be
+only a bunch of game-fish poachers at work there.
+I never did take much stock in ghosts."</p>
+
+<p>"You never take much stock in anything, suh, I
+notice, till you've pulled the same to pieces, and
+examined it all ovah," the Southern scout told
+him, quickly.</p>
+
+<p>"Then it theems that you know about the thupply<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span>
+of nuts up at the old Cartaret place, do you,
+Toby?" asked Ted.</p>
+
+<p>"I asked a man who was sent up there only a
+couple of weeks back by the lawyers that have the
+estate in charge, to look it over and see if it was
+worth while to try and repair the ruined house.
+And say, he told me he never saw trees loaded
+with such a crop of dandy nuts as there were in
+that woods back of the house. You never heard
+of any fellows going up there to gather hickories,
+did you? I guess nobody ever goes inside half a
+mile of the place if they c'n help it. And Elmer,
+he fell in with my scheme right away. Besides,
+you see, I'm taking something with me that I hope
+to get a chance to try out on this trip," and Toby
+pointed back to a mysterious bundle lying in the
+bed of the wagon, on the many gunny-sacks that
+had been brought along in order to hold the anticipated
+harvest of nuts for winter use.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, well, well!" George exclaimed, in his
+skeptical way, "now chances are that's some other
+foolish invention of yours, Toby&mdash;a new kind of
+flying machine that'll drop you ker-plunk in a frog
+pond, or crack your head on a log when you try it
+out."</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing'd ever be accomplished in this world
+if everybody had your doubting nature, George,"
+the driver of the wagon told him; "I happen to be
+built on a different model, and p'raps you may live
+long enough to hear the name of Jones go thundering
+along the pathway of fame on everybody's
+lips."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Mebbe I will," George told him, "because they
+say it's getting mighty near as common as Smith.
+But I'd better not say that when my cousin Landy
+Smith is around. I only hope this don't turn out
+a hoax, that's all. It's going to be an all day trip,
+and I'd hate to be sold, and come back with one
+measly bag of poor little nuts to be divided among
+five."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, now that you know the dreadful dark
+secret, and nobody says turn back home," Toby
+announced, with a broad grin, "I'm goin' to invite
+the whole bunch to stop off at this wayside grocery
+at the crossroads here, and have some sarsaparilla
+with me. It's my treat this time."</p>
+
+<p>As the road had been more or less dusty, and
+their throats were accordingly somewhat parched
+in consequence, there was no dissenting voice
+heard to this generous proposition.</p>
+
+<p>"Plenty of time to gather all the nuts we want,
+and then make an early start for home," Elmer
+told them, as Toby pulled near a series of posts
+where the horse could be securely hitched.</p>
+
+<p>"And the best of it is that we've thought to fetch
+some stuff along so we can build a fire and have a
+cooked dinner," George went on to say, with a
+pleased smile; for while he might be given to
+doubting many things, he never had occasion to
+question his appetite as every one knew&mdash;that was
+always in positive evidence.</p>
+
+<p>All of them jumped from the wagon, which had
+two seats, so that three boys could sit behind, and
+one with the driver. While Toby was doing the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span>
+needful with his hitching halter made of rope, the
+others stretched their legs, and waited, because it
+would be hardly proper for them to troop into the
+road grocery ahead of the scout who had invited
+them to join him in a refreshing drink.</p>
+
+<p>A hulking boy was leaning against the fence
+near by, and observing the five scouts in a leering
+sort of way.</p>
+
+<p>"Huh! that's Angus McDowd, one of that Fairfield
+bunch we beat at baseball last summer," muttered
+Toby, as he happened to glance over, and
+noticed the other observing them with a sneer on
+his face.</p>
+
+<p>"Never liked him for a thent!" Ted was heard
+to say in a low cautious tone; for the other boy
+was a strapping big chap, and if provoked might
+give them more or less trouble, in a desire to fight
+them one after the other, as he had the reputation
+of being something of a bruiser.</p>
+
+<p>"My stars! but he was mad that day we won
+the game, though, let me tell you, suh!" observed
+Chatz; "and he did his level best to get in a scrap
+with some of our fellows. Felix Wagner and
+Tom Ballinger had to lead him away, you remember.
+He doesn't like the boys of Hickory Ridge
+any too well, believe me, fellows."</p>
+
+<p>They all went inside the little dusty-looking
+building, where some enterprising man had started
+a wayside grocery, and general store, at which you
+could purchase nearly anything from a paper of
+needles to a coffin, or an automobile tire, and gasoline.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Fortunately the man happened to have some
+stray bottles of soft drinks like sarsaparilla and
+root beer that must have been left over from his
+summer trade; and presently each of the scouts
+was washing the dust down his throat.</p>
+
+<p>Altogether they may have spent about ten minutes
+in the store; and then after Toby had settled
+the account, they again passed out to the wagon.</p>
+
+<p>The loitering Fairfield boy had disappeared, as
+Elmer noted when he looked over toward the fence
+where Angus McDowd had been standing on their
+arrival.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, what ails you for a silly thing, Nancy?"
+said Toby, as the mare laid back her ears, and
+pranced at their approach. "Been getting too
+much oats lately, I reckon, with too little exercise.
+Well, you won't be feeling so fresh and frisky by
+the time we get back home to-night. That load
+of nuts is going to make you puff, let me tell you.
+Pile in, fellows, while I unfasten the hitching rope.
+Whoa! there, don't you dare try to bite me, you
+horse with the nasty temper! Why, this is a new
+trick for you to show. Grab the lines, won't you,
+Elmer? The blame nag's that anxious to show
+off she'd leave me in the lurch! Let up, there,
+can't you?"</p>
+
+<p>It was only by making a hasty jump that agile
+Toby managed to gain his seat, to take the taut
+lines from Elmer's hands. Immediately the mare
+commenced to rear up in a most remarkable manner.
+Then, taking the bit between her teeth, she
+started along the road, fortunately in the right<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span>
+direction, at a whirlwind pace, amidst a cloud of
+dust, and with the three scouts who had been sitting
+on the second seat tumbling around in a heap
+in the bed of the wagon, all of them having been
+thrown backward.</p>
+
+<p>Even as the grocery keeper came running out of
+the door to see what was the matter, and while they
+were still within hearing distance of the place,
+Elmer felt sure he saw a head rise into view above
+the pig-pen situated on one side of the road, and
+could recognize the grinning face of that Fairfield
+loafer, Angus McDowd.</p>
+
+<p>There was no time to say anything. The mare
+was undoubtedly running away, and the wagon
+flinging from side to side in the road, as Toby
+stood half erect, pulling with might and main on
+the lines in the endeavor to hold the frantic animal
+in.</p>
+
+<p>It began to look like croaking George might have
+been right when he said he doubted whether the
+nutting expedition would be much of a success.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER II</h2>
+
+<div class='chaptertitle'>WHAT HAPPENED ON THE ROAD</div>
+
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Hold</span> her in, Toby!" George was heard to
+shout, as he floundered around in the midst of the
+gunny sacks, with the other two scouts straddling
+him half the time.</p>
+
+<p>"Whoop! we ain't in thuch a hurry ath all that,
+Toby. Get a grip on the linth, Elmer, and help
+him pull. Oh! what a quack I got then on my
+head. I bet you I'll have a lump ath big ath a
+gooth egg! Quit clawing me, George; I can't help
+it if I do climb all over you. Look at the way the
+wagon thwings, would you?"</p>
+
+<p>Elmer did not need to be told that it was his
+duty to assist Toby control the runaway animal.
+No matter what the cause of the beast's strange
+fright might turn out to be, their first business was
+to drag so heavily on the lines that Nancy would
+have to moderate her wild pace.</p>
+
+<p>Accordingly both of the boys pulled and sawed
+and jerked until the mare was made to come to a
+full stop. This occurred fully a mile away from
+the wayside grocery, which was long ago lost to
+sight behind several bends in the road.</p>
+
+<p>"Jump out and hold her, some of you other fellows!"
+gasped Toby, short of breath after his violent
+exertions.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Chatz, George and Ted all hastened to obey.
+They had been tumbled around in the bed of the
+big wagon at such a lively rate that they were
+only too glad of the chance to gain their feet.
+Held by a stout boy on either side the mare did
+not offer to run further, though still acting very
+strangely.</p>
+
+<p>Elmer had once spent some time up on an uncle's
+ranch in Northwest Canada; and knew a heap
+about horses. He had sometimes seen animals act
+this way, and had before then guessed what might
+be the matter.</p>
+
+<p>"Hold her steady, everybody, and let me look
+around a little," was what he called, as he jumped
+down, and began patting the sweaty back of the
+trembling animal.</p>
+
+<p>A minute later and they heard him give an angry
+exclamation.</p>
+
+<p>"I thought as much," Elmer was saying, as he
+held up his hand; "look what was fixed under her
+tail."</p>
+
+<p>"Say, that seems like a bunch of those nasty
+little sand spurs that sting and poison like all get-out!"
+exclaimed George, and it might have been
+noticed that this time he showed no signs of his
+customary doubting spirit.</p>
+
+<p>"Just what they are," Elmer went on to say,
+indignation in his whole manner.</p>
+
+<p>"But how&mdash;when&mdash;where?" began Ted, when
+Chatz burst out with:</p>
+
+<p>"He did it, Elmer, that skunk of a McDowd.
+Must have thought it'd be a fine way to pay back<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span>
+what he believed he owed the Hickory Ridge boys.
+The low-down coward, to hurt a hoss that way."</p>
+
+<p>"But why, he might have made some of us get
+thrown out, and hurt right bad in the bargain!"
+exclaimed George, angrily.</p>
+
+<p>"Much he'd have cared for that," Toby panted;
+"and didn't I just think I heard a silly laugh at
+the time Nancy started to rear up, and prance like
+a crazy thing? That must a been Angus. And
+like as not he's doubled up back there right now
+laughing over seeing how we got thrown around
+in the wagon because of his sand spur trick. For
+five cents I'd turn around, and go back to give him
+the licking he needs."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't bother thinking about that," Elmer told
+him. "It was a mean trick, and I've known men
+to get a halter out on the plains for playing that
+same game. But we got out of the hole without
+any damage, only to our feelings; so let's forget
+it."</p>
+
+<p>The others were usually swayed more or less by
+what Elmer thought or did. He was a natural
+leader, and it had become second nature for the
+other scouts to look to him for advice, whenever
+an emergency arose.</p>
+
+<p>"Guess the poor frightened thing'll stand now,
+fellows, without holding her any more," Toby suggested;
+"so climb back on your seat; and be more
+careful next time how you let go your hold. It's
+a wonder none of you got dumped out when you
+tilted over backward."</p>
+
+<p>Just as he said, the animal seemed to have partly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span>
+recovered from her mad fright occasioned by the
+pain the little sharp-pointed burrs inflicted.
+Though still trembling, and acting in a skittish
+manner, she gave signs of being docile enough to
+be driven.</p>
+
+<p>The three scouts hastened to climb in at the
+back of the wagon, and after securing the gunny
+sacks, as well as the large package belonging to
+Toby, they once more found seats for themselves.
+George and Chatz, however, it might be noticed,
+made sure to get a firm grip somewhere on the
+side of the wagon; while Ted, being in the middle,
+threw an arm around each of his chums, as though
+he depended on them to sustain him, should another
+runaway occur.</p>
+
+<p>They were soon going along at a fair clip,
+though Toby had to "lean" pretty heavily on the
+lines in order to hold the big bay mare in, for he
+did not think it advisable to let her have her head
+again. The next time she made such a mad spurt
+as that they might not find it so easy to get her to
+stop.</p>
+
+<p>"What d'ye reckon possessed that coward to
+play such a mean trick on us?" Toby wanted to
+know.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! he had it in him, that's all, and when the
+chance came around he just couldn't help himself,"
+Elmer told him, for the Assistant Scout
+Master was somewhat of a philosophical boy, and
+able to figure out things that might puzzle some
+of his tent mates.</p>
+
+<p>"Next time I see that Angus he'll hear my<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span>
+opinion of a sneak who could play a dirty trick
+like that!" continued the driver, vigorously.</p>
+
+<p>"Thame here!" chirped Ted. "And if he
+giveth me any thath I'll pull hith red noth for him,
+thee if I don't."</p>
+
+<p>"All I can say is, keep your eye out for sledge
+hammer punches if ever you go to pulling <i>his</i>
+nose," warned George; "because he's a born
+scrapper, and would as soon fight as eat."</p>
+
+<p>"Let's forget about that little affair," suggested
+Elmer; "no use crying over spilt milk, and
+what's done can't be undone. Toby, suppose you
+tell us a little more about this nut grove up at the
+old Cartaret place; because if I remember rightly
+you said you'd been asking everybody all about
+the estate."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, old Judge Cartaret, the rich man who
+built up the place, meaning to live there with his
+young and handsome wife, went crazy, they say,
+after he'd found her dead in her room. The mystery
+never was cleared up. To this day some people
+say she was murdered by a man she once
+promised to marry before the millionaire judge
+came along; another lot seem to believe she committed
+suicide because the judge was so cruel, and
+wouldn't let her leave the place; and one man told
+me he always had believed ever since he was a boy
+that the judge struck her down in a fit of passion.
+But of course those things don't cut any figure
+with us."</p>
+
+<p>"On the contrary," interrupted Chatz, who had
+been listening to all these horrors with wide-open<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span>
+eyes, and a look of intense interest on his dark
+face, "they strike me as being decidedly interesting,
+suh. If I had a chance I'd like to investigate
+this queer thing, and perhaps learn what did happen
+in that big house ever so many years ago."</p>
+
+<p>"But how about the nut treeth, Toby, did the
+judge plant the thame when he wath trying to
+make a thut-in paradith for that pretty bride of
+hith?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's just what he did, boys, so they told
+me," Toby continued, readily consenting to be
+squeezed for information; "he planted a whole lot
+of chestnuts, walnuts and shell-bark hickories that
+have been growing for several dozen years.
+They're busting big trees, and just breaking down
+with the finest crop ever known, and with never a
+single fellow brave enough up to this time to go
+there and gather the harvest. Why, when I heard
+what that man had to say about it, I was fairly
+wild to be off. And believe me, boys, we'll make
+the eyes of the other fellows stick out of their
+heads like fun when they see what an enormous
+supply of nuts we've gathered for next winter
+around the fire. Yum! yum! I always did say
+that a plate of red-cheeked apples, a dish of fresh
+popped corn, and a pocketful of nuts beats all
+creation on a stormy night, winter times."</p>
+
+<p>"Believe it when I see it!" muttered skeptical
+George, who undoubtedly thought this wonderful
+harvest was too good to turn out to be true; after
+they had arrived on the ground, very probably it
+would only be to find that the trees had been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span>
+stripped of their burden of nuts by some hardy
+souls who did not place much credence in the
+stories of the ghost said to haunt the place; something
+was always on the eve of turning up to keep
+George from reaping success, it seemed.</p>
+
+<p>"No use talking," observed the disgusted Toby,
+"George never will be convinced till he begins to
+load up the wagon with bags running over with
+nuts. And even then he'll expect some white-sheeted
+ghost to step up, and demand that we
+throw every one of the same back again where we
+found them. You couldn't convince him of a
+single thing till he's had a chance to prove it over
+and over again."</p>
+
+<p>"Learned that in school when I was doin' problems,"
+George declared with one of his most exasperating
+grins; "which was why I always passed
+with such a high percentage in arithmetic and
+algebra. They said I'd make a fine carpenter, because
+I'd always measure my boards again and
+again before I cut 'em, and that way there never'd
+be any mistakes about my sawing."</p>
+
+<p>"And a great carpenter you'd make, George,"
+chuckled Toby; "why, you'd take everlasting and
+a day just to get your foundation started. The
+folks would all die off waiting for you to finish
+your job. A carpenter&mdash;whew! excuse me if you
+please from ever employing a mechanic who
+spends all his time figgering out how things could
+be so and so."</p>
+
+<p>"But we must be within a mile or two of the
+place by now, fellows," Elmer told them about<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span>
+that time, "so if you hold up a little we'll soon
+know the worst or the best. I'm of the opinion
+myself that what Toby says is going to turn out
+true; for nobody ever goes near the Cartaret place
+these days. Lots of boys around home never
+even heard about it; and others couldn't be coaxed
+or hired to explore around a place they call
+haunted."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I'm not the only silly believer in ghosts,"
+Chatz told them, looking pleased at what Elmer
+had just said, "for misery always likes company,
+and you'll remember, suh, how the sly old fox
+that had fallen into a well told the goat looking
+down that it was a lovely place to drop in; and
+when Billy had taken him at his word he hopped
+on the goat's back and jumped out. But if I have
+half a chance I expect to prowl around more or
+less while we're up heah, and see if the stories
+I've heard about this queer old rookery could ever
+have been true. Why, they even say the judge
+had the house built so that it was like a big prison,
+or some sort of asylum."</p>
+
+<p>Chatz was full of his subject, and might have
+wandered on still further, once he got fairly
+started, only for a sudden movement on the part
+of Elmer. Sitting alongside the driver it was the
+easiest thing going for that worthy to seize the
+reins and with a quick strain on the same bring
+the mare to a full stop.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, what under the sun!" began the astonished
+Toby, when Elmer clapped his hand over his
+mouth and immediately said:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Hush! be still! Look what's coming out of
+that side road ahead there!" and at the same time
+he pointed with his disengaged hand.</p>
+
+<p>All of the others hastened to do as he requested.
+There, in plain sight, though their own vehicle was
+partly hidden by the foliage still clinging to the
+bushes that jutted out at a bend of the road, was a
+two-horse wagon, containing four boys, in whom
+they readily recognized some of the toughest elements
+around the town of Hickory Ridge.</p>
+
+<p>As the other wagon rattled into the main road,
+and went speedily on without the occupants once
+looking toward them, Elmer and his chums exchanged
+troubled glances.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER III</h2>
+
+<div class='chaptertitle'>NEAR THE HAUNT OF THE "SPOOKS"</div>
+
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">We</span> might as well hold up here a little bit, so
+as to let that crowd pass on," suggested George.
+"I never did take any stock in Connie Mallon anyway.
+He's got a pretty bad name down around
+our way. My father says he'll land in the penitentiary
+before he's two years older, except he reforms,
+and I'd never believe he'd change his
+ways."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! Elmer, I wonder now, could they know
+about those splendid nuts, and mean to skin the
+trees ahead of us?" exclaimed Toby, as though
+nearly overwhelmed by a staggering thought.</p>
+
+<p>"You've some reason for saying that, Toby?"
+Elmer told him.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, don't you know, it flashed over me just
+like a stroke of lightning," was what Toby went
+on to say, excitedly, a troubled look on his face.
+"You remember that when I was talking to you
+over the telephone, Elmer, and telling you about
+wanting to get the boys to come up here with me
+Saturday, I said several times somebody was
+rubbering, and once even told 'em to get off the
+wire, which they did, only to come on again."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I do remember something like that," admitted
+the other scout.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, our telephone is on a four-party line, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span>
+one of the other three houses is Jackson's down
+the street. Phil Jackson is one of the cronies of
+Connie Mallon, and he's sitting there in that
+wagon right now."</p>
+
+<p>"Then you think he must have heard all you
+were telling me that man said about the immense
+crop of nuts up here at the Cartaret place, and has
+put the others wise to it?" Elmer asked.</p>
+
+<p>"I wouldn't put it past Phil a minute!" Toby
+declared, with an expression of pain, "and now it
+looks like we mightn't get what we came after, unless
+we fight for it."</p>
+
+<p>"I knew it!" muttered George; "call me a
+doubter all you want, but let me tell you things
+ain't always what they seem. There's a string
+tied to nearly everything you think you're going
+to get so easy. Oh! I know what I'm talking
+about, and for one I'm not surprised at anything
+happening."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't throw up the sponge so easy, George,"
+Elmer told him. "We may have our troubles, but
+scouts are supposed to be wide-awake enough to
+know how to overcome any kind of difficulties that
+happen along. As Sheridan said at the battle of
+Cedar Creek, we'll have those camps back, or the
+nuts in our case, or know the reason why."</p>
+
+<p>"Lithen to that kind of talk, would you?" burst
+out Ted, brimming over with confidence in their
+leader; "why, we haven't begun to get buthy yet.
+That Connie may think he'th tholen a march on
+our crowd, but thay, he'll have to cut hith eye-teeth
+before he can beat Elmer here laying planths."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"It may turn out to be a false alarm, after all,
+boys," Elmer continued, while Toby still restrained
+the impatient Nancy; "but even if we get
+there to find that they're on the ground ahead
+of us, we'll hatch up a scheme to turn the tables on
+that crowd, I give you my word for it."</p>
+
+<p>"That's the ticket!" Chatz exclaimed, being inclined
+to display an impetuous style of talk and
+action, as became his hot Southern blood; "if
+they've sneaked this idea from Toby by listening
+over the wire they've got no business up here.
+I'd call it rank piracy, and treat the lot like I would
+buccaneers of the Spanish Main. Why, it'd serve
+'em right if that ghost they tell about jumped out
+at them, and sent the lot scampering off like crazy
+things."</p>
+
+<p>"That's just what I had in my mind, Chatz,"
+said Elmer, chuckling; "and perhaps we'll find
+some way to coax the spook to help us out."</p>
+
+<p>"Elmer's got the dandy idea, all right," said
+George; "you leave him alone, and he'll sure bring
+home the bacon. But how much longer do we
+have to stay here? I wonder if anybody's getting
+cold feet about now?"</p>
+
+<p>"Speak for yourself, George!" cried Toby;
+"I'm for going on three times as much as I was
+before we saw that bunch cutting in ahead of us.
+When Elmer gives me the word I'll start things
+moving."</p>
+
+<p>"You might do that now," said the leader, "but
+take it slow, Toby. I want to keep an eye on the
+track of their wheels. If they turn off at any fork<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span>
+in the road, or into the woods, we want to know
+it."</p>
+
+<p>"Thith theems to be getting mighty interethting,"
+observed Ted; "and I want to thay right
+now that I've got tho much confidence in Elmer
+and the whole of our crowd that I'd call the
+chances five to one we'll go home with a full cargo
+thith afternoon."</p>
+
+<p>"Good boy, Ted; and I second that motion!"
+Chatz announced, heatedly.</p>
+
+<p>The mare was allowed her head, but Toby kept
+a tight rein, so that they did not begin to whirl
+along with half the speed the other wagon had displayed
+as it came out of the side road on to the
+main thoroughfare.</p>
+
+<p>Elmer kept his gaze firmly fixed ahead, where
+he could plainly see the marks of that other vehicle
+in the dust of the road. Thus they continued for
+a short time; then the leader put out his hand, and
+Toby again pulled in.</p>
+
+<p>"They've left the road, and entered the woods
+back there twenty feet or so," the acting scout
+master told them.</p>
+
+<p>"On the left, wasn't it, Elmer, that they turned
+out?" asked Chatz, eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>"Just what it was, which shows that you were
+using your eyes, as a scout should always do,"
+came the reply. "Back up, Toby, and we'll follow
+suit."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think we're at the place already?"
+asked Toby.</p>
+
+<p>"I certainly do, though I'm some surprised that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span>
+they knew where to hit that little grass covered
+wagon-road that led off among the trees," Elmer
+replied. "It was once used as a way through the
+forest to the rear of the Cartaret place, so I was
+told when I asked a man about it who used to work
+for the judge long ago. They must have been busy
+doing some of the same kind of missionary work,
+because I don't believe any of them has ever been
+up here before&mdash;to stop I mean."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, what if we get in where the nut trees are
+growing to find that lot skinning every tree, and
+ready to put up a rattling fight before they'll let
+us have even a look-in; what are we goin' to do
+about it?" Toby wanted to know.</p>
+
+<p>"First of all we'll just hang around, and watch
+them work," Elmer declared.</p>
+
+<p>"That's all very fine, Elmer," interposed
+George, who was always the first one with any objection;
+"but once they cover the ground with
+nuts, we'd find it a hard proposition to chase
+the bunch away, and lay claim to what they'd gathered."</p>
+
+<p>"But they'd be really <i>our</i> nuts," interrupted
+Toby, "because didn't the bright idea flash right
+into this brain of mine; and ain't first discoverers
+entitled to the land always? It's the rule of the
+world. They hooked the idea from me by unfair
+means, and ain't entitled to any consideration at
+our hands. If Elmer can manage to scare them
+away you watch and see how quick I'll start to filling
+my bag with some of the nuts they've knocked
+down."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I only want the chance to do the thame," Ted
+insinuated.</p>
+
+<p>"Ditto here, because, as we said, they're only a
+pack of wolves or pirates, and have no rights
+honest people are bound to respect," Chatz added
+as his quota to the discussion; "after we've filled
+all our bags, if there happens to be some more
+nuts to be had why they're welcome to the same.
+Gentlemen first, every time, we believe, down our
+way."</p>
+
+<p>"Pull up, and let's listen, Toby," Elmer counseled;
+"I thought I heard a shout or two just then;
+and perhaps they've started to work."</p>
+
+<p>When the mare had been made to stand they
+could all readily hear the sounds that welled up
+some little distance ahead. Loud laughter and
+boyish shouts attested to the fact that a party of
+nut gatherers must be busily engaged in the grove;
+for with other sounds could be heard the plain
+swish of poles beating the branches of the trees in
+an effort to rattle the nuts down.</p>
+
+<p>"Just our luck!" muttered George, disconsolately.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, what would you have?" demanded Toby,
+like a flash; "it ain't every bunch that can have a
+lot of fellows knock down their nuts for 'em, is
+it? Think of all the hard work it's going to save
+us. Elmer, the more I look at that grand little
+scheme of yours the better I like it. Go it, Connie,
+Phil and your mates; keep the ball arollin'
+right along. The more the merrier, say we. And
+now, Elmer, do we hide our rig somewhere around,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span>
+so they won't happen on the same if they come to
+skip out of that grove in a big hurry?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's the idea, Toby," Elmer told him; "turn
+out to the left here, and we'll like as not run across
+a good hide-out for the wagon. When we've got
+the nuts all sacked we can come back for the outfit,
+and head for home."</p>
+
+<p>A short time later they found the place they
+were looking for. It offered concealment for the
+wagon and the mare; and Toby soon had the latter
+securely hitched to a limb.</p>
+
+<p>"Fetch the bags along with you, boys," remarked
+Elmer at this stage of the proceedings,
+and picking up several himself as an example.</p>
+
+<p>Toby saw that the others had cleaned out the
+entire assortment of sacks, which fact caused him
+to grin with satisfaction. He calmly secured the
+rather bulky package that lay in the bottom of the
+wagon, and trotted after the rest of the scouts.</p>
+
+<p>They made a sort of detour in approaching the
+spot where all that noise announced a busy lot of
+boys covering the ground with shell-barks and
+other varieties of choice nuts.</p>
+
+<p>"Whee! looky over there, Chatz; ain't that the
+house you c'n see through the trees? I never
+thought I'd ever have the nerve to come up here,
+and break in on the enchanted ground given over
+to hobgoblins and spooks and owls ever so many
+years."</p>
+
+<p>When George said this in a low and rather shaky
+tone he clutched the arm of the Southern boy, and
+pointed toward the left. Of course Chatz eagerly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span>
+followed the line of his extended finger; for he had
+been wishing to catch the first glimpse of the
+haunted house for several minutes back.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, that's it, all right, George," he replied,
+with a sighing breath, as though something he had
+long yearned to see was now before him.</p>
+
+<p>"Come on, you fellows back there," said Elmer,
+who did not like to have them lagging so; and
+accordingly George and Chatz hurried their steps.</p>
+
+<p>It was certainly anything but a cheerful place,
+for a fact. The trees were very much overgrown,
+and the undergrowth had year after year increased
+its hold until it would have been difficult to force
+one's way through this, only for wandering cows
+having made paths which could be followed.</p>
+
+<p>"Elmer, I c'n see 'em workin' like beavers over
+there!" whispered Toby, who had forged alongside
+the leader, still burdened with that package
+which the others believed must contain some new
+fangled contraption of his connected with the
+science of aviation.</p>
+
+<p>The five scouts gathered in a group, being careful
+not to expose themselves in a way to draw attention.
+They could see a boy in a chestnut tree,
+and plainly hear the rattle of nuts from the opened
+burrs, whenever he switched the branches with
+the long pole he was carrying, secured somewhere
+in the woods near by.</p>
+
+<p>"Did you ever hear it hail nuts like that in all
+your born days?" gasped George as they stood
+there, sheltered by the bushes and watched operations.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Oh! listen to him talk from the other side of
+his mouth, fellows?" Toby muttered. "George
+has seen a big light; he ain't a doubter any longer,
+you notice. He hears the rattle of the nuts, and
+sees 'em falling like hail. Talk to me about
+beavers and busy bees, that crowd would take the
+cake for business. Look at that one climbing to
+the very top of the hickory tree to get the best nuts
+that always grow up high. There he starts in
+slashing, and it's like a regular bombardment on
+the ground. If they get away with all that lot I'll
+die of a broken heart. There never was, and there
+never will be again, such a bully chance to lay in a
+big winter's supply of nuts in double-quick time.
+And I never did like to take other people's leavings."</p>
+
+<p>"Make up your mind to it we don't have to,"
+Elmer assured him.</p>
+
+<p>"Might as well make ourselves comfy while
+we're about it," suggested George, as he dropped
+down, and sat tailor-fashion, with his legs doubled
+under him.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, for we may have to stay here quite some
+time," admitted Elmer, copying his example without
+hesitation.</p>
+
+<p>"Ain't it nice to watch other people working for
+you?" observed Ted, after a while.</p>
+
+<p>"Only they don't know it," added George; "but,
+Elmer, suppose you give the rest of us a hint
+what you mean to do. I see you've been cutting
+the bark off that white birch tree, and got the same
+in your hand. It's used for marking canoes, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span>
+picture frames as well. Some persons even write
+on the brown back of the bark, but I don't think
+you mean to send them a notice from spookland,
+telling them that if they don't clear out instanter
+the bully old ghosts will grab them tight?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not the kind of message you're thinking
+about," replied Elmer, smiling. "In the first
+place I don't know what sort of hand writing
+ghosts would be apt to use; and then again, I don't
+believe they'd pay much attention to that sort of
+thing. Watch and see if you can guess now."</p>
+
+<p>With that he rolled the large strip of bark so
+that it looked like a great cornucopia. So had
+Elmer seen Indian guides fashion a horn when
+wishing to call the aggressive moose on a dark
+night, away up in Northern latitudes.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! now I see what you're meaning to do!"
+exclaimed George; "that looks like a regular
+megaphone now, the kind they use when there's a
+boat race on, or at college games. You're going
+to throw a scare into them by whooping it up
+through a horn; is that right, Elmer?"</p>
+
+<p>"You've hit it to a fraction, George, because
+that's exactly what I'm meaning to do with this
+birch bark horn. And as some of the bunch have
+started to slip down the trees even now, thinking
+they've got enough nuts on the ground to keep
+them busy picking the same up, we'll watch until
+they've gathered all they want, and then you'll see
+some fun&mdash;that is, it'll be fun at this end, but a
+serious business for them. Lie low when I give
+you the signal."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>They hovered there for a full hour while the
+four boys were gathering the nuts, and stowing
+them away in sacks that had been brought for the
+purpose.</p>
+
+<p>At last Elmer decided that matters had gone far
+enough. There were evidences that one of the
+boys had been sent to fetch the horses and wagon
+up, in order to load the numerous bags that had
+been filled. So cautioning his chums to lie low so
+they might not give the game away, Elmer raised
+the bark horn to his lips.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER IV</h2>
+
+<div class='chaptertitle'>"TO THE VICTORS BELONG THE SPOILS"</div>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">So</span> far as the other scouts knew, Elmer Chenowith
+had never seen such a mystery as a real ghost
+in all his life; and he certainly had not heard one
+groan, or give any kind of sound. Consequently
+his imagination was called upon to conjure up a
+series of queer, blood curdling noises such as an
+orthodox specter, fresh from the world of shades,
+might be expected to utter when tremendously excited.</p>
+
+<p>Josh and George afterwards confessed that if
+they had not known it was the scout master who
+amused himself in this way, they too might have
+shivered in their shoes. As for the Southern boy,
+he lay there amidst the brush, and kept his eyes
+glued all the time on the face of Elmer, as though
+he dared not depend on his knowledge of facts,
+but must back this up with the positive evidence of
+his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>Once Chatz even cautiously put out his hand,
+and gently felt of Elmer's khaki sleeve; it was a
+mute confession that while never a doubter like
+George, the boy from Dixie had to be convinced
+when it was a matter of superstition.</p>
+
+<p>But the main thing, of course, was what effect
+Elmer's groaning might have upon the four boys
+who had stolen a march upon the scouts, and
+reached the harvest of nuts in advance.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>No sooner had the first sounds begun to rise than
+they looked up with startled expressions on their
+faces. Of course, like nearly every other person
+in town, the quartette must have heard strange
+stories connected with the abandoned Cartaret
+place, for such things have a way of traveling
+from one end of a county to another, being eagerly
+repeated even by many who would scorn to admit
+their belief in such silly notions as ghosts.</p>
+
+<p>Before coming up here perhaps Connie and
+Phil, with the other two fellows, may have talked
+things over seriously, and expressed many a fervid
+hope that their piratical operations might not be
+interrupted by any visit from a spectral guardian,
+such as was said to watch over the place.</p>
+
+<p>The first thing they did was to stare at each
+other, while their mouths could be seen to open
+with astonishment.</p>
+
+<p>Elmer changed his key, and gave them another
+sample of the weird sounds capable of being
+coaxed from a birch bark horn. He certainly was
+making a great success of his music, his comrades
+thought, as they lay there and waited to be invited
+to have a share in the proceedings, according to
+agreement.</p>
+
+<p>Toby afterwards solemnly declared that he could
+see the caps of the four frightened boys start to
+rise, as their hair stood on end; though an element
+of doubt always surrounded this statement; for
+Toby was so excited himself that possibly his
+imagination worked over-time.</p>
+
+<p>With the change in tune the boys seemed to regain<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>
+in some measure the command of their faculties;
+at least they were able to rush close together,
+as though seeing protection in mutual sympathy.
+It was a plain case of "united we stand, divided
+we fall!" And clutching at one another they continued
+to shiver and listen,&mdash;meanwhile looking all
+around, as though more than half expecting to discover
+some terrible figure bearing down on them.</p>
+
+<p>Elmer would have been only too happy to have
+provided such a specter for their accommodation;
+but unfortunately he had not come prepared to
+launch such a thing. Ghosts were hardly in his
+line; and in lieu of a specimen for exhibition purposes
+he was compelled to do the best he could
+with the material on hand; which is always a cardinal
+principle with scouts.</p>
+
+<p>"Now!"</p>
+
+<p>When Elmer hissed this single word his four
+chums knew that their time had come to get into
+the game. The snake had been "scotched, not
+killed," as Josh later on aptly described it. No
+matter how much frightened Connie Mallon and
+his cronies might seem to be, if they stood by their
+guns what would the advantage amount to? The
+affair must be turned into a regular rout in order
+that the scouts might reap the full benefit.</p>
+
+<p>Accordingly all of them got busy immediately.
+George pounded on a hollow log with a heavy
+stick, and managed to produce a series of throbbing
+sounds that were likely to add to the consternation
+of the listeners; Ted clapped two stones
+together; while Toby and Chatz rattled the brush<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span>
+violently, and added a few choice groans of their
+own manufacture as good measure.</p>
+
+<p>It was enough, yes more than sufficient.</p>
+
+<p>Human nature had reached its limit, so far as
+those alarmed fellows were concerned. Undoubtedly
+they must have become convinced that
+their raid on the preserves of the ghostly guardian
+of the haunted Cartaret place had aroused the ire
+of the said defender, and that they were now in
+deadly danger of being seized by bony hands.</p>
+
+<p>Of course Connie and his followers were raw
+novices in matters connected with haunts, and all
+such things, or they would have known that no self
+respecting ghost was ever caught giving
+public exhibitions of his oddities in broad daylight.
+The gloom of night, or the weird light of
+the moon, has always had a monopoly of these
+thrilling diversions.</p>
+
+<p>When Connie Mallon suddenly gave a tremendous
+spring forward, and started on a full
+run, there was no holding the other three back.
+They went plunging madly on in his wake, paying
+little attention to the direction they took, so long
+as their flight promised to carry them away from
+those dreadful manifestations.</p>
+
+<p>Elmer did not stop his labors; in fact he even
+went to some pains to increase the racket, under
+the impression that once you get a thing started
+it is good policy to keep it moving.</p>
+
+<p>He had distinctly warned the others, however,
+not to allow their excitement to overlap their discretion;
+for should one of them so far forget himself<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span>
+enough to give vent to a genuine boyish shout,
+perhaps the panic-stricken quartette might become
+wise to the fact that they were being made victims
+to a great hoax.</p>
+
+<p>"Come on, let's chase after them a bit, fellows!"
+Elmer told them, between his puffs
+through the birch bark megaphone; "but keep well
+back, so that they can't get a look-in at us if they
+turn their heads. Noise is what we want, and
+plenty of the right kind."</p>
+
+<p>Acting on his suggestion the others trailed after
+their leader. They swished in and out of the
+bushes, and accompanied their progress with all
+manner of novel sounds, each of which was calculated
+to add just a mite more to the alarm of the
+fugitives.</p>
+
+<p>More than once they heard loud cries of pain
+coming from ahead, as one of the runners collided
+with some tree which had not been noticed in his
+terror; or else found himself tripped up by a wild
+grape-vine that lay in wait for unwary feet. As
+Toby declared later on, all this was "just pie" for
+the chasers; they feasted off it, and seemed to enjoy
+the run immensely; which was more than the
+Mallon boy, with his three cronies, could ever say.</p>
+
+<p>At least Connie seemed to have kept his head
+about him in one important particular, which
+pleased Elmer very much; he knew in which direction
+lay their wagon, for which he had been in the
+act of sending one of his companions at the very
+moment this awful clamor broke out which had
+started them in full flight.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The neigh of a horse close at hand told Elmer
+what was happening, and he immediately held his
+eager clan in. Far be it from them to wish to delay
+the departure of the Mallon tribe, whose room
+was worth far more to the scouts than their company.</p>
+
+<p>"Wait, and listen!" said Elmer, in a whisper.</p>
+
+<p>"You didn't get the whole of that straight,
+Elmer," Toby told him, quickly, in a low, husky
+voice; "you ought to have said, 'Stop! Look!
+Listen!' That's the way it always is at railroad
+crossings!"</p>
+
+<p>"Hist! Be still!" cautioned the leader.</p>
+
+<p>They could hear loud excited voices near by, accompanied
+by the stamping of horses' hoofs, as
+though the excitement had communicated to the
+team used by Connie Mallon and his three cronies
+in their rival nutting expedition.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, let's start up again, and add the finishing
+touches!" Elmer told the others, when a dozen
+more seconds had dragged past, and they felt they
+might safely assume that the fugitives must have
+untied the team, as well as scrambled into the
+wagon.</p>
+
+<p>Once again did that strange chorus break forth,
+with Elmer groaning through his birch bark horn,
+and the others doing all in their power to accompany
+him in regular orthodox ghostly style, in as
+far as their limited education along these lines
+went.</p>
+
+<p>Taken altogether the racket was certainly
+enough to scare almost any one. Snorts and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span>
+prancing on the part of the horses announced that
+they were now sharing the general excitement.
+Then came cries urging haste, and presently the
+plain unmistakable smack of a whip being brought
+down with decided emphasis on the backs of the
+animals, several times repeated.</p>
+
+<p>With that there was the crunch of wheels, and
+away dashed the two-horse wagon, making for the
+road which Connie knew must not be far away.
+Once or twice the scouts had fugitive glimpses of
+the departing vehicle as it flashed past small glades
+where the view happened to be unobstructed; and
+it was certainly "killing," as George called it, to
+see those fellows bouncing about in the bed of the
+wagon, holding on for dear life, and with Connie
+plying the whip savagely, while the horses leaped
+and tugged and strained to make fast time over
+the uneven floor of the woods.</p>
+
+<p>The echoes of the flight grew fainter in the distance,
+and presently as they stood there the scouts
+could tell from the change in sounds that those
+who were fleeing from the wrath of the ghosts
+must have reached the harder road, for the hoof
+beats of the horses came with a pounding stroke.</p>
+
+<p>Gradually even this was dying away. Then the
+five boys turned and looked at each other, with
+their faces wreathed in huge grins.</p>
+
+<p>"Tell me, Elmer, is it safe to let off steam
+now?" demanded Toby, eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>"If you're careful not to be too noisy, go it!"
+came the reply.</p>
+
+<p>With that Toby threw himself flat on his back,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span>
+and began to kick his heels up in the air, all the
+while laughing, and giving queer gurglings that
+were meant to serve his pent-up emotions about
+as the escape valve of a boiler does when the steam
+presses too heavily on the boiler, and relief is
+necessary.</p>
+
+<p>He was not alone in his hilarity, although the
+merriment of the others partook of a different
+nature. Ted, Chatz and George went around
+shaking hands, and assuring each other that never
+in all their lives had they ever run across a more
+ridiculous diversion than this flight of the bold
+nut-gatherers.</p>
+
+<p>"Talk to me about Napoleon's retreat from
+Moscow," said George, who prided himself on his
+knowledge of history, "why, it wasn't in the same
+category as that wonderful escape of the Connie
+Mallon gang from the raid of the Cartaret ghosts.
+And say, what thrilling stories they'll have to tell
+about it all! Believe me, the whole Hickory
+Ridge will know about it by night time. Oh! I'll
+never forget it! I haven't had so much fun for a
+whole year as to-day. It was worth coming
+twenty miles just to see them on the jump."</p>
+
+<p>"Why," observed Ted, after he could regain
+his breath in part, "that Phil Jackthon took the
+cake when it came to covering ground. Did you
+thee him clear that log like a buck? I bet you he
+made a record jump that time, and beat anything
+he ever marked up on the thlate at a match."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, they're gone, all right," said Chatz;
+"and from the way they whipped their poor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span>
+hosses I'd like to guess they'll keep on the wild
+run till they get home. And there isn't much
+chance that we'll be bothered again by that Mallon
+bunch to-day; how about that, Elmer?"</p>
+
+<p>"You can set that down as certain," replied the
+one spoken to. "It would take more spunk than
+any of that crowd happens to own for them to
+change their minds, and come back here. And
+that's why I wanted you to be careful not to give
+the secret away. We've got the field to ourselves
+the rest of the day."</p>
+
+<p>"Unless something comes along to give us a
+scare too," added Chatz, meaningly; for truth to
+tell, the superstitious Southern boy was already
+wondering whether all this playing ghost on their
+part might not bring something down on their
+heads savoring of retribution.</p>
+
+<p>"Then what's to hinder our getting busy, and
+changing all that pile of fine nuts from their sacks
+to ours?" George wanted to know. "The spoils
+of battle belong to the victors every time; and besides,
+they were trying to beat us out of our share
+as first discoverers. For one I ain't a bit
+ashamed to grab everything. Let that silly bunch
+wake up earlier next time, if they mean to get
+away with the game."</p>
+
+<p>What Elmer may have thought just then he did
+not say; but his ideas were certainly not so pronounced
+as those of George, who was a pretty
+blunt fellow, one of the "give-and-take" kind.</p>
+
+<p>As they were all of one mind a start back was
+made; and Toby, not wishing to be left in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span>
+lurch, had to bring his kicking exhibition to an abrupt
+finish, and hasten after his four chums.</p>
+
+<p>The glorious store of nuts that had already been
+gathered was immediately turned from the sacks
+owned by Connie Mallon and his cronies into the
+burlap bags the scouts had provided for the purpose.
+Then, far from satisfied, the boys proceeded
+to take up the work where the late nut-gatherers
+had left off. They climbed trees, and
+whipped the branches with the long poles, delighting
+in the sound of splendid nuts rattling
+down like hail. There is such a fascination about
+this sport that it is difficult to know just when to
+stop it; and the ground was soon covered to such
+an extent, that when the harvest had been gleaned
+several of the enemy's bags were more than half
+filled with the surplus.</p>
+
+<p>"I never saw half so many chestnuts, walnuts
+and shell-bark hickory nuts gathered in heaps in
+all my life, as there are right here!" declared
+George; "a big bag apiece all around, and with
+three partly filled sacks belonging to that crowd
+left over."</p>
+
+<p>"Which extra plunder," said Elmer, quietly,
+"I'm sure none of us would think of wanting, as
+we've got twice as much as we can use already."</p>
+
+<p>"Then you're going to leave them for the ghost,
+are you?" asked Chatz, eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>"We'll take them along," said Elmer, "and
+turn them over to Connie Mallon as a consolation
+prize; he'll find them in his front yard to-morrow
+morning, bright and early."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER V</h2>
+
+<div class='chaptertitle'>WHAT A SCOUT LEARNS</div>
+
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Huh!</span> so far as the nuts go, I haven't any objection,"
+remarked George; "but to my mind it's
+going to be like casting pearls before swine.
+They'll never appreciate the real motive back of
+the thing; and chances are they'll reckon we're
+throwing them a sop so they won't hold hard feelings
+against us."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps you're right, George," Elmer admitted;
+"but don't forget we're every one of us true
+scouts, and that we've promised to hold out the
+olive branch to those we call our enemies, whenever
+we find the chance. There's such a thing as
+heaping coals of fire on another fellow's head,
+doing a kindness to the one who hates you, and
+making him ashamed of himself. Scouts learn
+that lesson early in their service, you remember.
+If we didn't have all the nuts ourselves, perhaps
+I'd hesitate to put this up to you, but it's no sacrifice
+to any of us."</p>
+
+<p>"Elmer, I agree with you there," Ted spoke up.
+"Of courth none of us may ever know jutht how
+they take it; but when a fellow hath done his duty
+he needn't bother himthelf wondering whether it
+payth."</p>
+
+<p>"Listen to Ted preach, will you?" jeered Toby,
+who truth to tell was not much in favor of carrying<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span>
+those three half-filled hags of nuts all the way
+to town, just to serve as a "consolation prize" to
+those fellows who had conspired to cheat them out
+of their just dues.</p>
+
+<p>"But he's right in what he says," maintained
+Chatz stoutly, for he had a Southerner's code of
+honor, and was more chivalrous that any other
+fellow in the whole troop of scouts. "Duty is
+duty, no matter how disagreeable it seems. And
+when once you realize that it's up to you to hold
+out a hand to the treacherous enemy who's flim-flammed
+you many a time, why, you'll have no
+peace of mind till you've made the effort."</p>
+
+<p>"But," Toby went on to say, sneeringly; "if
+you step up to Connie Mallon, and say: 'Here's
+your bags come back, and we chucked the leavings
+in the same, which the ghost is sending you by us
+to sort of soft soap your injured feelings,' why,
+d'ye know what he's apt to do; jump on you, and
+begin to use those big fists of his like pile drivers.
+You'll have to excuse me from being the white-winged
+messenger of peace, Elmer. I pass."</p>
+
+<p>"There's no need of doing it that way, Toby,"
+he was informed by the scout master. "Some
+time to-night, as late as we can make it, we'll carry
+these partly filled bags around to Connie's place,
+and drop them over the fence. Hold on, here's
+another of the same sort; now, if we only had that
+as full as the rest it would be just one all around,
+and we could leave them in each yard, you see."</p>
+
+<p>"Like old Santa Claus had been making his
+annual visit, only this time he picked out Thanksgiving<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span>
+time instead of Christmas," remarked
+Toby, a trifle bitterly; and yet strange to say he
+was the very first one to start in gathering more
+nuts and thrusting his find into the fourth Mallon
+bag; which told Elmer that much of his objection
+was mere surface talk, and that his heart really
+beat as true to the principles of scout membership
+as did any other present.</p>
+
+<p>"Many hands make light work," and so plentiful
+were the several varieties of nuts that it was
+not long before the fourth bag was half filled.
+No doubt those boys felt better because of this
+act. The chances were they would never get any
+credit for what they were doing, but as Elmer told
+them, the consciousness of having done a decent
+act should always be quite enough for any ordinary
+scout.</p>
+
+<p>"And every one of us has a clear title to turning
+our badges right-side up, after working so
+hard for our enemies," Chatz declared, as they
+"knocked off."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, how about that dinner, camp style?"
+demanded Toby, drawing out the waistband of his
+khaki trousers to show what a quantity of room
+he had for a supply of cooked food.</p>
+
+<p>"It's long after noon, so we might as well get
+busy with dinner," Elmer replied.</p>
+
+<p>After stowing all the sacks away in the bushes,
+where they were not likely to be discovered, should
+any outsider wander on the scene while they were
+employed elsewhere, the scouts busied themselves
+in making preparations for the camp meal which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>
+all of them had so long been anxiously looking forward
+to.</p>
+
+<p>First of all a fire was started in the most approved
+manner, some flat stones being built up in
+two parallel ridges. Long ago these lads had
+found that there was nothing so splendidly adapted
+for camp cooking as a gridiron of some sort, made
+after the pattern of the shelf in the kitchen oven
+at home, with grill bars. This could be easily
+placed on stones, or even mounds of earth if the
+first were not available, and there was no danger
+of anything upsetting; while the flames, or the
+heat of the red coals had a chance to accomplish
+the work. So they never went forth, when there
+was a possibility of cooking being done, without
+carrying this contrivance along with them.</p>
+
+<p>They had been thoughtful enough to also fetch
+along a coffee-pot, an extra large frying-pan made
+of sheetiron, and the necessary tin platters, cups,
+knives, forks and spoons.</p>
+
+<p>Soon the delicious odor of dinner began to steal
+forth, causing Toby to sniff the air with rapture,
+and loudly declare:</p>
+
+<p>"Fried onions, coffee, ham, potatoes, and plenty
+of fresh bread and butter; that's the bill of fare,
+is it? Gee! whiz! you couldn't beat it if you tried
+all day. And every minute's going to seem like a
+whole hour to me till I hear the welcome call to
+the feast."</p>
+
+<p>"We're a lucky lot to be sitting around here
+like this, and a bully dinner coming on, when we
+think of that bunch of soreheads hustling for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span>
+home, not even half a dozen nuts in their pockets,
+and even their gunny sacks lost," Chatz remarked.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, provided somebody don't get too gay,
+and upset all that coffee into the fire," grumbled
+George, who evidently would not feel sure of his
+dinner until he had devoured it, because, as he was
+fond of repeating, "there's many a slip 'tween the
+cup and the lip," and Toby was so apt to be so
+clumsy in moving around.</p>
+
+<p>As usually occurred, however, George's fears
+proved groundless, because no accident happened
+to the splendid dinner, which they were soon enjoying
+to their hearts' content. There was
+enough and to spare, so that even Toby admitted
+he could find no more room, when Elmer pressed
+him to have a third helping.</p>
+
+<p>"If we had Ty Collins and Lil Arthur Stansbury
+along there never would be even a crumb left
+over, no matter how much you cooked," said
+Toby, as he heaved a sigh, and released another
+button so as to add to his comfort; "I'm a pretty
+good hand, but when it comes to crowding the
+mourners, and stowing the grub away, they take
+the prize."</p>
+
+<p>For a while afterward the boys sat around the
+fire, and talked of the recent happenings. There
+was plenty of time to get home before dusk, which
+was really all that they wished to do, so none of
+them showed any desire to hurry off.</p>
+
+<p>Later on, however, when some one happened to
+mention the fact that if there was nothing more to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span>
+be done they might as well bring the wagon up,
+load their cargo of well filled sacks, and be moving
+along toward town, Toby suddenly remembered
+something.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I declare if I didn't nearly forget one of
+the most important things of the whole excursion!"
+he exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>"What?" asked George, ready to object at once,
+if the thing did not meet with his approval.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, you know I told you I'd been fixing up
+another little stunt connected with the wonderful
+science of aviation, and right here's where I see
+a golden opportunity to try it out for the second
+time. It seemed to work all right with me in a
+ten-foot drop, and next thing is to make it thirty.
+If she does that, and I live to tell the tale, you're
+apt to see the name of Jones right often in the
+papers pretty soon."</p>
+
+<p>He had pounced on that mysterious package of
+his while speaking, and was busily engaged in unwrapping
+the same, while the others crowded
+around, curious to learn what it could be that the
+aspiring inventor had hit on now. So many of
+Toby's startling devices had turned out to be the
+rankest fizzles, that his comrades had come to be
+very skeptical with regard to his ability to make
+good.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, I declare if it ain't only an old umbrella
+after all!" exclaimed George, with his accustomed
+sniff of disdain, as the contents of the package
+became visible after the paper had been cast
+aside.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"You're away off there, George," affirmed
+Toby; "because every bit of it's brand new. My
+own invention too; nothing just like it ever known
+before."</p>
+
+<p>"Huh! I believe you!" grumbled the skeptical
+George.</p>
+
+<p>"It's what they call a parachute," Toby continued,
+glibly. "You know the kind the hot air
+balloon men use at county fairs when they go up;
+well this is an improvement along that line, and is
+intended to let an aeronaut drop a mile and more,
+if anything happens to his machine when he's up
+among the clouds."</p>
+
+<p>"That sounds pretty well, Toby," remarked
+Elmer, though there was a shade of doubt on his
+face, for up to then Toby had really never managed
+to impress his chums with his greatness as
+an inventor; he was always getting excited over
+things, but seemed to lack the ability to successfully
+grasp the ideas that were floating around in
+his mind.</p>
+
+<p>"You'll soon see that this time I have got a
+grand scheme in this safety device," the inventor
+boasted; "you know there are an awful lot of
+casualties among air-men these days. Some sort
+of thing goes wrong when they're away up, and
+nearly every time it means they fall like a stone.
+My wonderful parachute will make it <i>impossible</i>
+for the aviator who carries one along with him to
+be killed. Let his machine head for the earth like
+a meteor, and as for him he'll drift down as softly
+as you please."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Go on and tell us how all this is meant to do the
+business," asked Chatz, as Toby amused himself
+in opening and closing the folds of the big stout
+umbrella, which certainly seemed to work
+smoothly enough.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, you see it's fixed so that it will be attached
+to the back of the man in the aeroplane all
+the time he's up; a sort of insurance plan, because
+while he may not need it at all, if he does it's there
+handy. When he finds his machine has gone back
+on him all he has to do is to jump boldly out into
+space. The Jones patent parachute does all the
+rest. It's as reliable as United States bonds, and
+will save lots of the poor fellows who, but for my
+thinking up this scheme, might have lost their
+lives this next year."</p>
+
+<p>"Of course you've tried it out, Toby?" suggested
+Chatz.</p>
+
+<p>"Never will work in the wide world," affirmed
+George; "because in nine cases out of ten it'd get
+caught somehow in the planes or the machinery of
+the aeroplane, and the poor chump who had
+pinned his faith to the Jones Parachute would
+come down ker-plunk with his wrecked motor!"</p>
+
+<p>"Shows how little you know about some things,
+George," Toby flashed back; "if the directions are
+faithfully followed there never can be an accident
+like you say. As to trying it out, I've had
+one little drop, say of about ten feet, but that was
+too short, because the umbrella didn't have a
+chance to get fully open; and when I struck the
+ground it near rattled every tooth in my head out.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span>
+But now I want to get up at least thirty feet, and
+then drop with the thing already open."</p>
+
+<p>"But see here," Elmer told him; "I should
+think you'd have found a way to test the opening
+of the thing by throwing it over some precipice,
+with a heavy rock tied in place of a man."</p>
+
+<p>"Just what I did, Elmer!" cried the other,
+hastily. "I spent a whole Saturday morning up
+at that big rock that overlooks Lake Jupiter, and
+five different times I tossed the parachute, folded
+up, over the edge, with a stone weighing more than
+a hundred and fifty pounds fastened to the same."</p>
+
+<p>"And how did it work?" asked Chatz.</p>
+
+<p>"Like a charm," replied the happy inventor.
+"The umbrella opened as quick as it began to
+drop, and after that it floated to the ground all
+right. Course it hit a little hard, because you
+couldn't expect it to sail along like a thistle-down,
+with all that weight attached; but the shock
+wasn't enough to hurt&mdash;much, I guess. And while
+we sat here eating I saw the very tree I'm meaning
+to climb. Look over there, and notice that
+half dead one, with one big dead limb hanging
+out, and nothing else on that same side. How
+high would you call that, Elmer?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nearer forty feet than thirty, I should judge;
+and enough to kill you if you fell straight," replied
+the scout master.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't worry about me, now; I'm all fixed for
+it, and I've got on my rubber-soled shoes in the
+bargain, so I'll be light on my feet. But I would
+like some of you to give me a lift up that tree."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"It's got plenty of branches on this side, so
+that you won't have much trouble climbing, once
+you get a start," Chatz told him, starting forward
+to lend what assistance lay in his power.</p>
+
+<p>"Better not try that risky game, Toby," objected
+George, possibly really concerned about
+the safety of his comrade, but more than likely
+voicing his natural liking for being on the side of
+the opposition, for some boys are built that way,
+and never so happy as when throwing obstacles
+in the way of success.</p>
+
+<p>Toby, however, paid no attention to this
+grumbling on the part of George. Ted and Chatz
+helped him into the tree, and then handed up the
+wonderful parachute which, if it turned out to be
+one-half as successful as its proud inventor
+claimed, was going to be a great boon for all those
+who took their lives in their hands and went up
+among the clouds in air machines.</p>
+
+<p>Higher climbed Toby, managing somehow to
+lug his burden along with him, although it certainly
+could not have been any light weight.</p>
+
+<p>His objective point was a large decayed limb
+that stood out all alone on one side of the trunk.
+As Elmer had calculated this was all the way
+from thirty-five to forty feet from the ground,
+and that distance offered him a good chance to experiment
+with his parachute.</p>
+
+<p>"Be careful, Toby, and don't take too many
+risks!" Elmer called out to him, making use of the
+birch bark megaphone, so as to impress his words
+more positively on the other.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Oh! look there what's running up ahead of
+Toby, would you?" cried George. "As sure as
+you live it's a 'coon, with its striped tail, and
+scared half to death because a critter with two
+legs has clumb his private tree. He must have
+popped out of that hole you c'n see where Toby is.
+And say, if the little fool hasn't gone and run out
+on that very limb where Toby's planned to jump
+from."</p>
+
+<p>"Keep back, everybody!" warned Elmer; "give
+Toby and the 'coon all the room they need, because
+our chum is attaching the parachute to his
+body right now!"</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER VI</h2>
+
+<div class='chaptertitle'>LOOKING AROUND</div>
+
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Here</span> goes, fellows; now watch me make the
+jump!"</p>
+
+<p>Toby had adjusted the big parachute to his satisfaction,
+before he called this out; and it seemed
+to have been attached to his back by means of some
+device of his own. When open it resembled a
+large umbrella, only the ribs were made much
+more solid than the usual ones.</p>
+
+<p>"It's lucky the ground's pretty soft down here,
+Toby!" called George; "because you're apt to
+get a swift knock when you land. Be sure and
+keep that tongue of yours well inside your mouth,
+or you might bite it off."</p>
+
+<p>"Seems to me you do your share of biting,
+George; you've always got some ill-natured remark
+to make about everything I invent. Nothing
+venture, nothing gained, is my motto. And
+now I'll walk a little further out on this limb, so
+as to get a better chance to jump; and then watch
+me sail like a thistle-down!"</p>
+
+<p>"Careful, there, Toby!" shouted Elmer, as the
+scout up in the tree started to move out further,
+looking very queer with that canopy over his
+head, and his waving arms assisting him to keep
+his balance.</p>
+
+<p>Hardly had the scout master given this warning<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span>
+than what he possibly anticipated happened.
+There was an ominous crack, and the rotten limb
+started to drop earthward. So did Toby, though
+the parachute caught the air, and sustained his
+weight pretty fairly. How it would have been had
+he been thousands of feet up, instead of a paltry
+thirty-five, was a question that could not be answered.</p>
+
+<p>The four boys saw the limb come crashing
+down, to break into fragments when it landed.
+Strange to say the ring-tailed animal that had
+accompanied the rotten limb in its sudden descent
+did not appear to have suffered any material
+damage from the drop; because it was seen to run
+away as soon as the termination of the unexpected
+aerial voyage had been reached.</p>
+
+<p>As for Toby, he was certainly falling, but
+buoyed up by that stout material extended in the
+shape of a parachute, his descent was not nearly
+so rapid as it must otherwise have been.</p>
+
+<p>He struck the ground with a resounding thump,
+and then fell over in a heap; though from the
+scrambling that ensued the others knew he could
+not have been hurt very much.</p>
+
+<p>"How'd she go, Toby?" demanded Chatz, hurrying
+forward to assist the daring air navigator,
+if it turned out he needed any help.</p>
+
+<p>"Kinder hard slap it gave me when I hit terra
+firma," replied the other, whose lip was bleeding
+a little, showing that he must have bitten it; "but
+all that's going to be remedied easy enough.
+What she needs is a little more canvas; ain't a big<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span>
+enough sail yet to hold me up. But whee! who'd
+ever expect that limb to snap off as sudden as
+that? See what it means to be prepared, fellows?
+Scouts ain't the only ones that ought to do that
+same; for if anybody ever needed to be ready, the
+air pilot does. He never knows what's going to
+happen to him next."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," the scout master remarked, "let's hope
+that's plenty for you to-day, Toby. We've
+stood and watched you make a record drop, and
+you came through in pretty decent shape; but
+enough's as good as a feast. The next time things
+mightn't turn out as nice for you; and we don't
+want to carry a scout with a broken leg home in
+our wagon to-day."</p>
+
+<p>"But think of that little 'coon coming down with
+it all, and then running away as if he didn't have
+a scratch to show for it?" George observed.</p>
+
+<p>"He got off sound and unhurt, did he?" asked
+Toby; "I'm real glad of that, 'cause I wouldn't
+want him to be injured. I reckon that 'coon was
+a mascot to me, and gave me good luck. But do
+we get ready to start home so early in the afternoon,
+Elmer?"</p>
+
+<p>Before any opinion could be advanced by the
+scout master, Chatz broke in hastily:</p>
+
+<p>"I'm going to ask you a great favor, suh," he
+told Elmer; "and which I hope you can grant
+without interfering at all with any plans you have
+formed."</p>
+
+<p>"What's that, Chatz?" asked the other; although
+from the quick look he cast in the quarter<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span>
+where lay the haunted house, it was easy to see
+that he could give a pretty fair guess what it's
+nature would prove to be.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, suh, we may never get the chance again,
+and I've always wanted to see what the inside of
+a haunted house looked like," Chatz went on to
+say.</p>
+
+<p>"Whee!" burst from the lips of Ted; while both
+George and Toby pricked up their ears, and began
+to show considerable interest.</p>
+
+<p>"You mean that while we're up here, and have
+half an hour or so on our hands," Elmer suggested,
+"we might as well take a look-in over
+there, and see if the rats and the owls are the only
+things living in the Cartaret house."</p>
+
+<p>"I'd like to very much, suh, believe me, I
+would," Chatz continued, with one of his winning
+smiles that were very difficult to resist.</p>
+
+<p>"What do the rest say about that?" and as Elmer
+made this remark he turned to the other three
+scouts.</p>
+
+<p>"I vote in the affirmative!" Toby immediately
+answered.</p>
+
+<p>"Thame here," purred Ted.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! of course I'll join you in anything you
+hatch up, fellows," George told them; "though I
+don't take any stock in all this nonsense about
+ghosts and such. If you show me one, and I can
+pinch his arm, and feel the bones in his hand, I
+might believe in the stuff; but you never can, and
+that's a fact. Still, I'd like to see what the inside
+of this old Cartaret house is like. I don't believe<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span>
+there's a single fellow in Hickory Ridge that can
+boast he's been through it. Lead the way, then,
+Elmer, or Chatz. We'll follow you."</p>
+
+<p>That was always the way with George. He
+would oblige a comrade every time, but his chronic
+way of fault-finding, or unbelief, often took away
+much of the pleasure his accommodating nature
+might have afforded.</p>
+
+<p>They had bundled the cooking utensils together,
+ready to be placed in the wagon when it was
+brought up; Toby also fastened his wonderful
+parachute in as small a compass as possible, and
+laid it down alongside the other things.</p>
+
+<p>"Wouldn't want to forget to take that along
+home for a king's ransom," he stoutly declared,
+looking defiantly at George, because of course that
+individual was smiling in a fashion that smacked
+strongly of incredulity.</p>
+
+<p>After that the whole five of them headed toward
+the spot where they knew the deserted house
+was to be found. Chatz was fairly quivering with
+eagerness, and there was a glow in his dark eyes
+that told how much he appreciated this chance to
+pry into the secret lodging place of a reported
+ghost.</p>
+
+<p>Everything was overgrown, and looked very
+wild. Elmer remarked that if there really were
+such things as hobgoblins in this world, they certainly
+could look long and far without finding a
+more congenial neighborhood in which to reside;
+for the whole appearance of the place seemed
+to smack of the supernatural. The breeze actually<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span>
+whined as it passed through the bare branches
+of the untrimmed trees close to the house;
+and loose shutters and windows added to the
+creaky sounds by their rattling, every time a little
+gust happened to blow.</p>
+
+<p>"Wow! this sure is spooky enough around here
+to suit me," Toby frankly admitted, as they stood
+there, and looked about them.</p>
+
+<p>The house itself had once been quite an extensive,
+and perhaps costly affair, with two wings,
+and a spacious hall in the center. That was long
+ago, for now it was in the throes of dissolution, a
+mere wreck of its former self, and fit only for
+bats, owls, and rats. Doors hung on a single
+hinge, and shutters had been torn off long ago by
+gales, leaving the paneless windows gaping beyond.
+Moss streaked the rotten roof, and parts
+of the porch had given way under accumulated
+snow piles in previous winters.</p>
+
+<p>As Toby said it certainly was gloomy enough,
+and one did not need to have a very vivid imagination
+to picture the tragic scenes that were said to
+have been enacted here many years ago, when
+the place was a regular Eden, with flower beds and
+outbuildings on all sides.</p>
+
+<p>"Gives you the creeps, all right," admitted
+George.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, for my part," Elmer remarked just
+then, "I kind of like the feeling it makes pass over
+you. And as few people have visited here for the
+last ten years, I'm glad you asked us to look
+around with you, Chatz. Let's go inside."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>There was no trouble about finding a place of
+entrance, for there were plenty of the same, some
+originally intended for this purpose, and others
+the result of decay while the old mansion lay here
+year after year the sport of winds and storms,
+winter and summer.</p>
+
+<p>They wandered around from room to room,
+viewing the wreck of what had once been a very
+fine house.</p>
+
+<p>"Looks to me like there might be some truth in
+that story about the Judge making this a regular
+prison for his young and pretty wife," Elmer announced
+as his opinion, after they had been pretty
+well through the lower story, and were climbing
+the shaky stairs to the upper floor.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, yes, there were actually bars across the
+windows in that last room!" declared Chatz; "it's
+just such a place as I've always had in my mind
+whenever I got to thinking about haunted houses.
+You could imagine anything might happen here.
+Right now, if it was midnight, we could watch and
+see if there was any truth in all those stories
+about the ghost of the Judge's young wife storming
+around here, going through all that terrible
+scene again. I'd give something to be able to
+learn if she does come back to visit the scenes
+where she was so unhappy."</p>
+
+<p>"Here, you'll have uth all shaking like we had
+the ague, if you don't stop that thort of talk,"
+said Ted, apprehensively, and when he thought no
+one was looking, rubbing the back of his hand
+across his eyes, as though something connected<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span>
+with the sad story of the old-time tragedy had
+brought unbidden tears there.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, perhaps you may have just such a
+chance, Chatz," said Elmer, suddenly, as though
+he had made his mind up.</p>
+
+<p>"Tell me how," requested the Southern boy,
+trying to control the eagerness that burned within
+his soul when he heard this said.</p>
+
+<p>"You remember that we'd about made up our
+minds to spend the Thanksgiving holidays in camp
+somewhere, just to have another little outing before
+winter dropped down on us?" Elmer went
+on.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, that's right, we did," muttered Toby,
+who was almost as much interested in the matter
+as Chatz.</p>
+
+<p>"And where could we find a better place for
+spending those few days than right here in the
+dense woods close to the Cartaret house?
+There's everything to be had that the heart of a
+camper might wish; and if you're a ghost hunter,
+why, here's a splendid field for your activities."</p>
+
+<p>"Elmer, will you do that much for me?" asked
+Chatz, earnestly.</p>
+
+<p>"Much more, if the chance ever came along, and
+you know it, Chatz," replied the scout master,
+warmly. "So, what do you say, shall we consider
+that settled, boys?"</p>
+
+<p>All of them held up a hand, which meant that
+they voted in the affirmative.</p>
+
+<p>"But," interposed the Great Objector, "we<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>
+mustn't forget that there will be several other
+fellows of our troop along with us on that little
+outing; and p'raps they mightn't just fancy camping
+so close to a mouldy old ruin, where the owls
+and bats fly around nights, and lots of other unpleasant
+things are apt to crop up."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! we know Lil Artha, Ty Collins, and Landy
+Smith well enough to be able to speak for them,
+too," Elmer ventured; "and the chances are when
+they hear what we're aiming to do they'll be as
+wild as Chatz here to investigate."</p>
+
+<p>"We've got a big job cut out for us, I'm thinking,
+boys," faltered George.</p>
+
+<p>"Rats! who's afraid? Gimme two cents' worth
+of peanuts, please!" exclaimed Toby, who seemed
+to be in an unusually good humor, perhaps because
+of that successful parachute drop, looked
+forward to with an admixture of hope and fear
+for a considerable time.</p>
+
+<p>They passed through every part of the house
+that seemed worth while, even visiting the attic,
+where the rain had beaten in so many times, that
+some of the woodwork seemed very mouldy.
+They frightened an army of bats up there, and
+there was a lively ducking of heads, with numerous
+attempts at knocking the flying creatures down
+with whatever the boys could lay hands on.</p>
+
+<p>Underneath lay the cellars, and determined to
+see it all the boys trooped down the rotten stairs,
+saving George, who declared he had had quite
+enough of the exploration, and that after all he
+didn't believe in ghosts, and therefore an old ruin<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span>
+with a tragic story back of it failed to impress him
+as worth much time.</p>
+
+<p>When the others came out a little later, talking
+about what queer dungeons lay underground, some
+of which possibly had been constructed by the
+rich judge to serve as wine cellars, they found
+George sitting at his ease, and watching the
+shadow on the stone face of an old and unreliable
+sun dial.</p>
+
+<p>"I guess long ago that pretty young wife used
+to sit right where you are, George, and watch the
+shadow creep around to the hour mark," said
+Elmer, who must have had a pretty good touch of
+the romantic in his make-up, to speak in this way.</p>
+
+<p>"Mebbe," George retorted, as though falling
+back on his old principles, and not willing to believe
+anything unless shown.</p>
+
+<p>"That finishes our visit to the Cartaret place,
+for this time, Chatz," Elmer continued, turning
+to the Southern boy; "I hope you think it paid
+you for the trouble."</p>
+
+<p>"A dozen times over, suh, I assuah you; and
+I'll not soon forget your kindness that made this
+interesting visit possible. Yes, and that promise
+to come up here again next week, when we're out
+for our little vacation camping. I shall look forward
+to the same with the greatest pleasure, believe
+me, suh."</p>
+
+<p>"Then we might as well get the horse up, and
+load our cargo?" Elmer suggested.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! did you see that?" shouted Toby, just
+then.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"What was it, and where did you see anything?"
+demanded George, always suspecting that
+the others were playing practical jokes.</p>
+
+<p>"Up at one of the windows there!" Toby went
+on, pointing, while his face filled with excitement
+and a little touch of awe.</p>
+
+<p>"What was it like?" asked Chatz, his interest
+aroused to fever heat.</p>
+
+<p>"I only had a peek at it, because it disappeared,
+just like it might be smoke," Toby went on to explain;
+"but it was a white face, and if there ever
+was such a thing on this here earth as a ghost, I
+saw one then, sure I did, fellows!"</p>
+
+<p>Elmer had his eyes glued on the face of the
+scout when he was making this astonishing assertion;
+and he knew that Toby, though a practical
+joker at times, was not trying to deceive them
+now; he had seen <i>something</i> up there at that window,
+or believed he had, which amounted to the
+same thing; and yet they had just explored every
+bit of that portion of the ruins without meeting a
+single soul!</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER VII</h2>
+
+<div class='chaptertitle'>HARVEST TIME</div>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">No</span> one said a single word for the better part of
+a minute, after Toby had made this astonishing
+statement. They continued to exchange uneasy
+looks, and then cast furtive glances up toward the
+particular window at which Toby had been pointing
+his trembling finger.</p>
+
+<p>It was however excitement, not fear, that made
+Toby shiver; for after all he was the first to break
+the sombre silence, and then it was to make a
+proposition.</p>
+
+<p>"Let's go back up there, and take a turn
+around," he said, eagerly; "mebbe we did miss
+some room, and after all there's somebody ahidin'
+in the blooming haunted house. What d'ye say,
+fellows?"</p>
+
+<p>"I'm on!" replied one of them before Toby had
+really finished speaking; and of course it was
+Chatz who agreed so readily.</p>
+
+<p>Elmer immediately made a move that announced
+his readiness to do what the first discoverer of the
+ghost proposed; Ted and Toby followed suit; and
+finally George, shrugging his shoulders as though
+he considered it all folly, came tagging along at
+their heels grunting to himself.</p>
+
+<p>In this fashion they entered the house, and immediately
+passed up to the second floor, looking<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span>
+curiously about them again. Nothing was in
+sight, not even a trespassing bat, for the little
+creatures had all been alarmed when the boys
+made their first entry, and flown through various
+openings into the outer air.</p>
+
+<p>"Now be sure you pick out the right window,
+Toby," warned Chatz.</p>
+
+<p>"I counted 'em from the outside," replied the
+other, with a business-like air, "and it was exactly
+the seventh from the end; and here she is.
+Everybody count and see for yourselves."</p>
+
+<p>"That's all right," remarked George, triumphantly;
+"but suppose you show us your old ghost,
+Toby."</p>
+
+<p>"Never said it was one," protested the other,
+as he looked about in a puzzled manner; "what I
+did remark, and I stand back of it still, was that
+if ever there was such a thing as a spook in this
+world that must have been one."</p>
+
+<p>George sniffed contemptuously.</p>
+
+<p>"Go on and poke him out, then; I want to be
+shown, if I ain't from Missouri!" he told Toby,
+who turned his back on him.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, there doesn't seem to be anything here,
+Toby, for a fact," said Elmer, as he looked carefully
+around, up and down, on the floor, and along
+the hall.</p>
+
+<p>"It's disappeared, as sure as shooting, Elmer,"
+admitted the pilot of the ghost-hunting expedition;
+"but I give you my affidavy that I did see a
+face, a white one at that, though it flipped out of
+sight before I could grab a second look."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Beats the Dutch what an <i>imagination</i> some
+fellows have got," grumbled George.</p>
+
+<p>"I tell you I did see something, George!" repeated
+Toby, firmly.</p>
+
+<p>"Sure, you might have done that," agreed the
+other, cheerfully; "but it's my honest opinion that
+it might have been just a little flash of sunlight on
+a window pane. I've known such a thing to
+startle me more'n once. And when you shifted
+your head, why, you got out of focus, and the
+thing disappeared as you say, like a wreath of
+smoke. Now, I'm one of the kind that likes to look
+deep into things; and I never let a mystery grip
+me. Make up your mind, Toby, that it was
+something like I'm telling you, and let it go at
+that."</p>
+
+<p>Toby did not answer. Truth to tell he did not
+know what to say, for while he still firmly believed
+he had seen a human face at the window there was
+nothing around by means of which he could prove
+it.</p>
+
+<p>He went to the window and looked out.</p>
+
+<p>"Anyhow," he remarked, disconsolately, "even
+if I was fooled by something, it sure wasn't the
+sun, because it never strikes this side of the house
+after noontime; and look at the heavy trees shading
+it, will you? I give the thing up, and yet I'd
+like to take a look over this floor."</p>
+
+<p>"Suppose we start in and do it, then?" remarked
+Elmer, quietly.</p>
+
+<p>Even George accompanied them, though he continued
+to look superior, and allowed a skeptical<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span>
+expression to appear on his face. Possibly, in
+spite of his avowed disbelief in ghosts, George did
+not really care to be left alone in that house; his
+valor might all be on the surface.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing was found, and Toby finally admitted
+that it seemed useless wasting any more time
+prowling around.</p>
+
+<p>"But I'll always believe I did see something,"
+he avowed, as they started out of the building
+again; "and if we come up here to camp during
+the Thanksgiving holidays we ought to look into
+this business closer. P'raps something might
+show up in the night time that'd be worth seeing."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you really think so, Toby?" exclaimed
+Chatz, with rapture, as though even the mention
+of it gave him secret delight.</p>
+
+<p>"Rats!" sneered the unconvinced George.</p>
+
+<p>They had gone only a little way from the house
+when Elmer called a halt.</p>
+
+<p>"Just wait for me a few minutes, boys," he
+said; "or, if you feel like it, fetch the wagon
+around to load up our sacks of nuts."</p>
+
+<p>With these words he turned and went straight
+back into the house. The others exchanged looks,
+but did not say anything, though they must have
+thought this queer on the part of the scout master.
+But then Elmer was a privileged character, and
+often did things that mystified his chums, explaining
+later on, to their complete satisfaction. Perhaps
+he may have dropped something up there on
+that second floor, or else conceived a sudden idea<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span>
+which caused him to return for another look
+around.</p>
+
+<p>"Might as well get loaded up, as hang around
+here any longer?" suggested Toby.</p>
+
+<p>"I think the same," added George, "for there's
+no telling who'll be seeing all sorts of queer
+things next. Must be in the air. Once that sort
+of thing begins to get around, and it takes a solid
+mind to ward it off. Never bothers <i>me</i>, though."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll bring the horse up," suggested Toby, with
+a grin; for in spite of finding himself the target
+for these shafts of ridicule on the part of the
+scoffer, Toby dearly loved to hear George offering
+objections.</p>
+
+<p>"Guess you'd better, because Nancy knows
+you more'n she does any of the rest of us; and a
+hoss is a rantankerous creature," said Chatz.</p>
+
+<p>"Particularly a mare," added Toby, as he hurried
+away; but they noticed that he cast many side
+glances at the surrounding dense foliage as he
+went in the direction of the spot where they had
+left Nancy and the wagon when approaching the
+grove of nut trees, as though he did not wholly
+fancy finding himself alone amidst such weird
+surroundings.</p>
+
+<p>Once the wagon was brought up it did not take
+the scouts long to get all the sacks of nuts loaded.
+When they saw what a splendid showing the collection
+made it caused a fresh outbreak of congratulations
+all around.</p>
+
+<p>"There never was such a grand lot of nuts
+brought into town from the day the first cabin<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span>
+was built away back!" declared George, who could
+not see any reason to throw cold water on this
+positive fact, with the evidence plainly before him.</p>
+
+<p>"That's what comes of having an idea," remarked
+Toby, proudly; "if I hadn't engineered
+this plan we might have spent a hard day in the
+woods, and only brought home a single bag to
+show for it. Just look at that wholesale lot, will
+you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yeth, and we're all ready to thay you did it
+with your little hatchet, Toby; it taketh you to
+hatch up plans, thure it doeth," admitted Ted.</p>
+
+<p>"Wonder what's keeping Elmer?" Chatz observed,
+as he turned to look toward the house,
+glimpses of which they could catch through small
+openings in the dense growth of trees; to immediately
+add: "there he comes right now."</p>
+
+<p>"Hope he found what he was looking for,"
+George ventured, and nothing further was said
+in regard to the matter.</p>
+
+<p>Elmer quickly joined them. Chatz looked
+keenly at his face, and fancied that he could detect
+something like a faint smile there; but even if the
+scout master had made any sort of discovery on
+his last visit to the haunted house, he did not
+seem ready to take his chums into his confidence.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, that looks like something, boys," he remarked,
+as he surveyed the great load of filled
+bags that occupied nearly every bit of space in the
+wagon bed.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! we believe in doing a wholesale business<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span>
+when we get started," laughed Toby; "the only
+thing that's bothering me is where Chatz, Ted
+and George can find room to sit. Guess they'll
+have to fix it so as to stretch out on top of our
+load."</p>
+
+<p>"Ted can crowd in with the two of us on the
+front seat, if he wants," explained Elmer; "and
+if somebody gives me a hand we'll soon arrange a
+place for the other seat back here on top of these
+four partly filled sacks."</p>
+
+<p>"Consolation prizes, you mean!" muttered
+George, who did not exactly like the idea of their
+going to all the trouble of carrying the extra sacks
+home just to drop them in the yards of the members
+of the Mallon crowd; George was inclined to
+be proud, and it seemed to smack too much of pulling
+"chestnuts out of the fire" for others.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, after all, suh, they worked hard enough
+to knock those nuts down to be entitled to a
+share," Chatz remarked, that fine Southern sense
+of justice cropping up again, despite his dislike
+for Connie Mallon and all those who trained in
+his camp.</p>
+
+<p>"Not to speak of the bruises and black eyes
+some of them must have picked up when they conducted
+that masterly retreat," Elmer added; "I'll
+never forget that panic; for I don't believe I ever
+saw fellows more frightened than they were."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, do you blame them?" asked Ted; "if I
+got it in my head that bunch of ghosth had it in for
+me on account of my breaking in on their haunt
+I'd run like a whitehead too, and thatth right."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I'd like to see Connie's face when he discovers
+that sack of nuts in his yard to-morrow <span class="smcap">a. m.</span>,"
+George continued, actually pursing up his lips in
+a smile, something he was seldom guilty of.</p>
+
+<p>"Reckon he'll think it rained down in the
+night," chuckled Chatz.</p>
+
+<p>"More'n likely he'll begin to believe he's only
+been dreaming that these things happened, and
+that he did fetch the nuts home with him, after
+all," Toby volunteered.</p>
+
+<p>"But when the other counties are heard from,
+and they all compare notes, won't they get on to
+the game then?" George asked.</p>
+
+<p>"How about that, Elmer?" Toby inquired,
+turning to the scout master.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't see how they can help but figure it out
+as it stands," came the reply.</p>
+
+<p>"That is, they'll guess we fetched back their
+bags for 'em, and not wanting to turn the same
+over empty, just chucked a lot of nuts in to make
+'em stand up," and George as he said this looked
+as consequential as though he had solved some
+great problem.</p>
+
+<p>"All I'm afraid of," resumed Toby, "is they'll
+get the idea in their dense heads that we're only
+doing this because of fear; that is, we're
+offering a bribe, hoping they'll forgive us
+for frightening them, and won't hold us to a
+reckoning. I don't like knuckling down that way.
+I wish we thought to put a note in each sack telling
+them we only turned these nuts over because
+we had more than we could use ourselves, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span>
+thought they'd worked hard enough to earn
+some."</p>
+
+<p>Elmer, however, shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"That wouldn't be worth while trying!" he declared.
+"I think it'd only make them more bitter
+against us. The best way to do is just to
+leave the bags in their yards, and say nothing.
+If they ever ask us why we did it, let's say we
+thought it only fair they should have some of the
+proceeds of the raid on the Cartaret grove, because
+they worked hard enough for it. If they
+want to make trouble after that why we'll have to
+accommodate them, that's all."</p>
+
+<p>That settled the matter. When Elmer clinched
+an argument he seldom left any ground for the
+others to stand on; and in this case all of the boys
+seemed to be satisfied to let him do as he proposed,
+though several privately disliked the idea of
+carrying that additional weight back home, just
+to turn over to that turbulent, trouble-making
+crowd.</p>
+
+<p>"There's nothing more to keep us here, seems
+like," suggested George; "so what do you say to
+going home?"</p>
+
+<p>"It's time," admitted Chatz, "and if Nancy is
+able to draw such a heavy load, we ought to get
+there before dark, which comes along about five,
+these November days."</p>
+
+<p>"It's mostly down-grade," Toby went on to
+say, as he climbed to his seat, and took up the
+lines; "besides, I told you the animal needed a
+good haul to take some of that extra spirit out of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span>
+her. All aboard, fellows; those who can't get a
+board find a rail. Homeward bound, and with the
+greatest load of bouncing big nuts ever harvested
+along Hickory Ridge."</p>
+
+<p>They were a merry lot as they found places on
+the wagon.</p>
+
+<p>"Hope Nancy behaves herself going home,"
+George remarked, as he tried to fix himself firmly
+in his seat; "if she took a notion to cut up all of
+a sudden where d'ye think we'd land back here,
+with the wagon so full?"</p>
+
+<p>"Plenty of room on the road, George; and believe
+me you wouldn't have to question where
+you'd dropped, because it'd be a convincing argument,"
+Elmer told him.</p>
+
+<p>So they started, and all of them turned to take
+a last look in the direction of the haunted house,
+as they caught a glimpse of it through the trees.</p>
+
+<p>"Good-bye old ghost!" cried Toby, waving the
+hand that did not hold the reins; "we'll come
+again and interview you, mebbe. Take care of
+yourself, and don't play any mad pranks while
+we're away."</p>
+
+<p>As they rode off, making their way among the
+trees, and heading for the vicinity of the road,
+Chatz turned to Ted, who was sitting in the middle
+again, having decided to cast his fortunes with
+the comrades of the rear seat, and remarked in
+what he meant to be a low tone:</p>
+
+<p>"I'd give something to know, suh, whether Elmer
+<i>did</i> find out about that <i>thing</i> when he went
+back into the old house again!" but Ted only<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span>
+shook his head in reply, as though the subject was
+too deep for him, or else he believed Elmer would
+take them all into his confidence when he saw fit
+to do so.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER VIII</h2>
+
+<div class='chaptertitle'>HOW ELMER'S PLAN WORKED</div>
+
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">How</span> had we better arrange about the nuts,
+Elmer?" asked Toby, when they were drawing
+close to the border of the town, with the twilight
+gathering around them.</p>
+
+<p>"I've been thinking about that, Toby," replied
+the other; "and the best way all around would be
+for you to keep the whole lot in your barn. Some
+day we'll get together and divide up, because, as
+they stand now some bags have only walnuts,
+others hickories, while a couple have got most of
+the chestnuts in them."</p>
+
+<p>"Are the rest agreeable, and do they trust me
+as far as that?" demanded Toby.</p>
+
+<p>"Trust you with my pocketbook, Toby," George
+assured him.</p>
+
+<p>"That's because there's never a red cent in the
+same, then," the driver flashed back, as quick as
+anything; "but see here, Elmer, what about the
+other four half-filled sacks?"</p>
+
+<p>"I was coming to that," replied the scout
+master; "and unless somebody objects to the programme,
+why, I'll drop around after supper, say
+before nine o'clock, and between us, Toby, we'll
+lift all our own bags out, and stow the same away
+in that room in your barn that's got a lock to it.
+Then I'd like you to hitch up Nancy again, so<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span>
+we can go around and drop these other bags in
+the yards of the four fellows. It's apt to be
+pretty quiet along about that time, even if it's
+Saturday night; and not much danger of anybody
+spying on us."</p>
+
+<p>"Just as you say, Elmer; I'm with you," replied
+Toby, who was a very accommodating fellow,
+and easily influenced; "I guess I'll feel
+stronger, and more like tackling the job after I've
+had my supper."</p>
+
+<p>There was no objection to that plan, since it had
+already been decided to work things that way;
+and possibly George, as well as Ted, felt that they
+were escaping some hard labor when they allowed
+these two comrades to shoulder the burden.</p>
+
+<p>At various corners the others jumped off the
+heavily loaded wagon, and made for their homes.
+It happened that no boys were abroad just then
+to ask where they had been, for supper time came
+early in most of the Hickory Ridge homes during
+the fall and winter days; and so Toby was not
+forced to explain that he and his four chums had
+been off nutting.</p>
+
+<p>True to his word by half-past eight Elmer made
+his appearance at the Jones domicile, and with
+Toby and a lighted lantern proceeded to the big
+barn. Here they found that the wagon stood just
+where it had been left when Toby unharnessed
+Nancy, and stripping off their coats the two lads
+proceeded to complete their job.</p>
+
+<p>It was no light one at that, lifting out those
+sacks filled with nuts, and stowing the same away<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span>
+in the man's room near by; but both were husky
+fellows, and by degrees managed to complete their
+task.</p>
+
+<p>"There," said Toby, wiping his streaming
+brow, "that part's done, and the rest won't be so
+hard, because the bags are only half filled; but I
+kind of wish we had 'em planted O.K., and were
+on the way home again. Whew! what would happen,
+d'ye think, Elmer, if Connie Mallon dropped
+in on us when we were dumping a sack over the
+fence into his yard?"</p>
+
+<p>"That'd be hard to say," replied Elmer; "but
+what's the use crossing bridges before you come
+to them? Time enough to bother with that when
+it happens. And if you knew Connie as well as I
+do, because he doesn't live far away from my
+house, you'd never expect him to be home at nine
+o'clock on a Saturday night. He's too fond of
+loafing down in the pool room with his crowd; or
+being off on some lark, robbing some orchard of
+late apples. Now, suppose you lead Nancy out,
+after you've got her harness on, and we'll hitch
+up."</p>
+
+<p>This was soon done, and afterwards Toby
+started to back the vehicle out of the barn, while
+Elmer extinguished the lantern.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll leave it here alongside the door, so we can
+find it again when we come back," he told the
+driver; after doing which he mounted beside
+Toby, and they started off on their queer errand.</p>
+
+<p>Phil Jackson lived close by the Jones home, so
+they paid the first visit there. Lights could be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span>
+seen through the windows, but the boys found it
+an easy thing to lift one of the half-filled sacks of
+nuts out of the wagon, and silently slip it over the
+fence, leaving it there to be discovered by Phil is
+the morning.</p>
+
+<p>After that a second visit was made, and their
+end was accomplished quite as easily as at the
+Jackson house. The third one proved a little
+harder, for there were some people standing at
+the door as the boys drove past.</p>
+
+<p>"Better make a turn around the block, Toby,"
+suggested the scout master; "they've been having
+visitors, and perhaps they'll be gone when we get
+back again."</p>
+
+<p>This proved to be the case, and having decided
+just where they wished to leave the sack of nuts,
+the boys drew in the animal and quickly dropped
+their burden over the picket fence.</p>
+
+<p>"Things are booming," remarked Toby; "that
+makes three of the lot, and only one left, which is
+Connie Mallon's bag."</p>
+
+<p>He seemed to be a little nervous about approaching
+this place, for the bully had a bad reputation
+as a fighter among the boys of the town;
+but everything appeared to be quiet, and there
+was not a single light to be seen in the small house
+where the Mallon family lived.</p>
+
+<p>All the same Toby breathed freer when he felt
+the bag slip from his grasp over the fence.
+Hardly had they managed this than there was an
+explosion of savage barks and a bulldog came
+rushing toward the corner.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Wow! ain't I glad that Towser's on the other
+side of the fence?" Toby exclaimed, as he hastened
+to jump up on the wagon; while the dog continued
+to bark fiercely, with his blunt nose pressed
+against the palings surrounding the enclosure;
+"hurry, Elmer, and let's get away. I don't think
+he can climb fences, but I won't take any chances
+with that brute. He's spoiled one pair of
+trousers for me already."</p>
+
+<p>Soon afterwards the two boys parted at the
+gate of the Jones place.</p>
+
+<p>"I feel like we'd had a great time of it to-day,
+don't you, Elmer?" Toby was saying; and then,
+not waiting for an answer, he continued: "and I
+have to laugh every time I think of what a crazy
+scramble that Connie and his bunch put up when
+you gave 'em the ghost walk with that birch bark
+horn. Most people like to see the ghost walk on
+pay days, but this one wasn't the same kind.
+Wouldn't I give a cooky, though, to see what they
+look like to-night, and hear what they say about
+bein' chased by that Cartaret spook!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, it's been a good enough day for us,
+Toby; and I think we ought to have a great time
+if we go up in that region for our Thanksgiving
+camping trip. Good night," and with that Elmer
+walked away, not a little tired himself, for it had
+been a pretty strenuous day, all told.</p>
+
+<p>In the morning he was up early, because he had
+an object in view, and Elmer was not the one to
+sleep late at any time, even though it were Sunday
+morning.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>From a certain place up in the loft of the barn
+he knew he could see the Mallon yard quite
+plainly; and taking a field glass he owned along
+with him, he now proceeded to occupy this lookout.</p>
+
+<p>As he had already had some breakfast he was
+nor bothered by gnawing hunger as he continued
+to sit there, and watch the back door of the Mallon
+cottage.</p>
+
+<p>He saw Connie's mother come out several times,
+and judged she was getting breakfast ready.
+Then the big hulking boy himself appeared, bearing
+a bucket in his hand, and yawning at a great
+rate.</p>
+
+<p>Elmer sat up and watched closely, for he anticipated
+that a fellow who possessed as sharp eyes
+as Connie, could not help but see the bag that lay
+in plain sight near the fence. The dog had already
+been chained to his kennel by Mrs. Mallon,
+the watcher fancied, though he had not seen her
+do this. Connie stopped to speak to the ugly
+looking beast, and from the way Towser wagged
+his crooked stump of a tail it seemed as though he
+must be somewhat fond of his master.</p>
+
+<p>Then the big boy shuffled on toward the well,
+where he was evidently expecting to draw a
+bucket of drinking water.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly Elmer, who was using the glasses
+now, saw him come to a standstill, and look
+straight at the bag, as though he could hardly
+believe his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>Down went the water pail, and Connie hastily<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span>
+strode across the yard until he reached the bag
+lying where Elmer and Toby had dropped it, snug
+up against the fence palings.</p>
+
+<p>He bent down, and opening the bag by cutting
+the stout cord that had been wound around the
+flap above the store of nuts, stared hard at the
+latter. Elmer saw that he was greatly staggered,
+for he started to scratch his head after the manner
+of one who did not know what to believe.
+Just as Chatz had suggested, perhaps he began
+to think the prize must have rained down in the
+night, for he examined the sack, and evidently
+recognized it as one of those he had taken with
+him on the preceding day when starting out on
+that nutting expedition with the idea of getting
+ahead of the scouts.</p>
+
+<p>Then again it might be that he began to believe
+all that affair of the panic and flight must have
+been a bad dream, and that after all he and his
+cronies had brought back some spoils when they
+returned. Again Elmer saw him put his hand up
+to his face and feel of his cheek.</p>
+
+<p>"He's got a cut there to show where he banged
+against a tree," the scout told himself, "and
+that's plain proof there was a panic. There, he's
+examining the bag again, as if he thought it would
+speak and explain the mystery. This is surely
+worth watching. Hello! there comes Phil Jackson,
+and that Benners fellow on the run. Looks
+like they had found their bags at home, and are
+coming to see what Connie has to say about it.
+And now there'll be a high old time, I expect."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>There was, after the two newcomers had discovered
+that one of the bags half filled with nuts
+stood in the Mallon yard, just as they had found
+at their homes.</p>
+
+<p>Elmer sat there for fully fifteen minutes, watching
+them talk and make gestures. He imagined
+that they had quickly figured it all out, and must
+know to whom they were indebted for a winter's
+stock of nuts. What they might choose to do
+about it was another question, however. Elmer
+hoped for the best, yet was prepared to meet the
+worst, whatever might come.</p>
+
+<p>"Anyway, Connie's concluded not to refuse the
+nuts just because they came to him through the
+scouts he hates so bitterly," Elmer concluded, as
+he saw the Mallon boy shoulder the sack and
+carry it to the house, after saying good-bye to the
+other two, who hastened away, possibly to learn
+if the fourth and last member of the expedition
+had likewise been favored by a visit from the fairies
+during the night.</p>
+
+<p>School held for the next three days, and then
+came glorious Thanksgiving with its turkey, and
+pumpkin pies, and all the splendid things that go
+to make up the annual feast. All this while there
+had not been the least hint from Connie or his
+three allies that they knew who put those nuts
+there. It almost seemed as though they purposely
+avoided meeting Elmer and his chums. Even at
+school they kept away from the others, and Toby
+declared that it was mighty queer, because he had
+fully expected to have a tongue lashing from the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>
+big bully, even if nothing more serious came to
+pass.</p>
+
+<p>Elmer was satisfied with the way things had
+turned out. As a scout he could feel that he had
+done the right thing, and deep down in his heart
+he hoped it might in some fashion show Connie
+Mallon there was such a thing as returning evil
+with good.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing might come of it just then, but Elmer
+hoped the seed would find lodging, and perhaps
+later on germinate.</p>
+
+<p>When they got to talking it over, as they made
+preparations for leaving home bright and early on
+the morning after Thanksgiving, George of course
+professed to doubt whether it had made even a
+dent in the callous surface of Connie's mind.</p>
+
+<p>"Take my word for it, fellows!" he declared,
+pompously, "you'd have to swing a sledge hammer
+and give more'n a little tap at that, to make
+any impression there, he's so extra tough.
+Chances are he just don't want to stir us up for
+fear we'll tell the whole story, and all his pals
+would have the laugh on him for running away
+from a ghost!"</p>
+
+<p>Toby himself seemed more than half inclined to
+believe something along these same lines; but
+Chatz knew Elmer must be looking beyond this
+explanation, and still entertained hopes that
+the olive branch extended might not be wholly
+wasted.</p>
+
+<p>They had all their arrangements made that
+night, and expected to start with the rising of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span>
+sun on Friday morning. This would give them
+two nights in camp, even if they did have to come
+back on Sunday afternoon in order to be ready for
+school on Monday.</p>
+
+<p>"And it looks like we might have fine weather
+along with us, too," Elmer told the others, as they
+said goodnight at his door; "there's a tang like
+frost in the air even now, and you can see your
+breath easily. That means we'll enjoy a camp
+fire more than ever, because it never feels half as
+good on a hot summer night. Look for you bright
+and early, Toby, with the wagon and the tent and
+all the stuff. I'll be ready with my bundles, and
+that piece of ham."</p>
+
+<p>All preparations having been made they parted
+with mutual good wishes for a fair dawn, and
+Elmer, standing there in the doorway, found himself
+a little disappointed because there had been no
+response to the invitation extended to Connie
+Mallon to bridge over the chasm, at the time they
+left those nuts in his yard.</p>
+
+<p>Elmer was astir long before daybreak on the
+following morning, because he meant to get himself
+a light breakfast, so as to be ready for the
+wagon when it came along about sunrise. Having
+satisfied his hunger, and seen that all his various
+bundles were ready he stepped out of the
+back door to listen, in expectation of hearing the
+sound of wheels.</p>
+
+<p>Then he had a little surprise, for hanging there
+on a nail beside the door was a brace of freshly
+killed rabbits; and Elmer knew to a certainty nothing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span>
+the kind dangled there on the preceding evening.</p>
+
+<p>He took them down, and laid them on the kitchen
+table, while a whimsical smile crept over his boyish
+face, and a glow of satisfaction could be seen
+in his eyes as he rubbed his hand along the sleek
+side of the larger bunny.</p>
+
+<p>For Elmer chanced to know that Connie Mallon
+had spent Thanksgiving day off in the woods and
+meadows hunting; and the very fact that he had
+thus shared the results of his tramp with the boy
+he had fought against so long gave Elmer a queer
+feeling of triumph deep down in his heart.</p>
+
+<p>Then the wagon came along, with all the other
+boys aboard, and the bed of the vehicle pretty well
+filled with their camping outfit; so Elmer got in
+his seat, wondering what Doubting George would
+have to say when he learned how a good action
+may set even the worst boy in town to thinking,
+and changing his ways.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER IX</h2>
+
+<div class='chaptertitle'>THE CAMPING OUT EXPEDITION</div>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">This</span> time there was a load for Nancy to pull,
+since besides the five scouts who had made the
+nutting trip three additional fellows were along.</p>
+
+<p>First of all there was a lanky boy who long ago
+in a spirit of derision had been dubbed "Lil
+Artha" by his Comrades; and although he stood
+fully a head taller than any of his intimate chums,
+he still answered cheerfully to this silly name.
+Arthur Stansbury was a good scout, and well
+liked, though at critical times he showed a disposition
+to get what boys call "rattled," and on more
+than one occasion this weakness had resulted in
+his getting those long legs of his twisted in a knot,
+resulting in trouble all around.</p>
+
+<p>Landy Smith was a cousin of George Robbins.
+Philander was rather fat, belonged to the Wolf
+Patrol, and had been known to walk in his sleep,
+so that often the others, whenever any mysterious
+thing happened in camp at nighttime, accused
+Landy of doing it while under the influence of this
+strange wandering spirit, that made him get up
+while asleep, to play tricks, and disturb his mates.</p>
+
+<p>The third boy was Tyrus Collins. His specialty
+as a scout, if he had any, was his recognized ability
+as a cook; and Ty's weakness might be said to be
+a fondness for wearing a sweater of a pronounced<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span>
+fiery hue. Once a garment of this type had gotten
+Ty into a lot of trouble with a furious bull, when
+he was caught in a pasture, and forced to take
+refuge in a lone tree. He had only escaped in
+the end by sacrificing his red sweater, which the
+bull stopped to rend while the fleeing boy managed
+to gain a friendly fence.</p>
+
+<p>But Ty could not always be expected to remember
+this danger, and at present he boasted of another
+garment of a sanguinary hue, which he wore
+when he believed there were no bulls around.</p>
+
+<p>Here, then, were eight lively fellows seated
+"every-which-way" in that commodious wagon,
+and enlivening the time as they journeyed toward
+camp with much jabbering, and not a little loud
+singing of popular songs.</p>
+
+<p>They appeared to be completely happy. Ty
+was wearing his "grand sweater" right then, and
+treated the warnings solemnly uttered by some of
+his mates with abject scorn. Nancy certainly did
+have a pretty heavy load to transport, and after
+the first mile or so along the frosty road there
+were no further manifestations of gaiety on her
+part, only dull care, for she labored heavily.</p>
+
+<p>But then these boys were merciful, and they
+generally jumped off, to walk up any steep hills,
+so as to relieve the beast of burden. Scouts early
+learn to think of the woes of dumb animals, and
+show a disposition to lighten their work all that
+is possible. If being a scout did not teach a boy
+a single thing more than that it would still have
+accomplished much; and posterity would have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span>
+great cause to be grateful to General Baden-Powell
+as the originator of the organization that
+has long ere now circled the globe, and made converts
+in every clime.</p>
+
+<p>The boys were of course all dressed in the
+familiar khaki uniforms associated with scouts
+everywhere; and they carried with them a couple
+of tents, as well as other necessary things connected
+with camping out. There were no firearms
+visible, though possibly a gun or two might turn
+up later on, when the contents of that heavily
+laden wagon had been fully disclosed. Several
+of the boys were fond of hunting under favorable
+conditions; and besides, as there was always some
+danger to be encountered from wild beasts or
+snakes, Elmer thought it advisable to be prepared
+for an emergency.</p>
+
+<p>He sat on the front seat with Toby and George;
+Chatz, Ty and Landy had managed to pre-empt the
+second one by virtue of early arrival; while Ted
+and Lil Artha, the "long and the short of it,"
+made themselves fairly comfortable on the soft
+tents, and claimed to have the best of the bargain.</p>
+
+<p>The tall scout dangled his long legs over the
+tail-board, and was frequently called upon to
+"quit dragging," whenever the pace of the animal
+between the shafts slowed down from any
+cause.</p>
+
+<p>"How about going all the way in with the rig
+this time, Elmer; could we make the riffle, do you
+think?" Toby was asking, after they had gone
+three-fourths of the distance to the Cartaret place,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span>
+and there was a brief lull in the general chaffing.</p>
+
+<p>The others listened in order to catch the reply of
+the scout master, for of course they were one and
+all interested in what was being said.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't see any particular reason why we
+shouldn't," Elmer answered; "we found it possible
+to take the wagon all the way to the nut grove
+when we wanted to load our sacks; and by watching
+out smartly I reckon we'll find a way to push
+through the woods there."</p>
+
+<p>"I only mention it," continued Toby, as though
+he thought some explanation were necessary, "because
+we've got a raft of stuff along this time, and
+if we had to tote the same on our backs to and
+from the wagon, it'd mean a lot of hard work, all
+of which could be saved."</p>
+
+<p>"And I think it a good idea too," chimed in
+George; "though of course I'm always willing to
+shoulder my share of the hard work when it's got
+to be done."</p>
+
+<p>There was more or less chuckling and nudging
+among the other scouts when this broad statement
+was made, because George had a reputation a little
+bit along the line of a "shirk," when it came
+to hard labor, though always ready to do his duty
+manfully when a meal had to be disposed of.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, we ought to get there in about twenty
+minutes more, if only Nancy doesn't drop dead
+with heart disease," Toby went on to say.</p>
+
+<p>"Not much danger of that, Toby," ventured
+Ted, from the rear of the wagon; "I alwayth did
+thay that Nanthy wath the toughest thing that ever<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span>
+wore the iron on her hoofth. And I expect to thee
+her doing duty yearth after I come back with my
+diploma from college. And they tell me thereth
+only one hoth older than Nancy in the county,
+which ith owned by that Connie Mallon's dad, the
+mathon."</p>
+
+<p>Somehow the very mention of that name which
+had been associated with considerable of tumult in
+the past history of the scouts' organization seemed
+to remind Toby and George of the remarkable
+events connected with their late nutting expedition.
+Elmer, therefore, was not in the least surprised
+to hear George immediately voice the feeling
+of detestation he entertained toward Connie
+Mallon.</p>
+
+<p>"I hope that gang enjoyed the treat we fetched
+home for 'em the other day; and which I believe
+you and Toby here distributed like a pair of
+Thanksgiving Santa Claus," he remarked, with a
+vein of satire in his voice that was almost as natural
+to Doubting George as breathing was; "but I
+never did take any stock in the game, though I
+agreed to assist out, to please you, Elmer. And
+to my mind it was a flat failure in the bargain.
+We might as well have handed all that lot of good
+nuts to some poor family, or turned the same into
+the pig-pen for the porkers."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I don't know," Toby said, with his favorite
+drawl. "Elmer here seems to be of the
+opinion that it's done <i>some</i> good. Anyhow, none
+of us has had any trouble with that Mallon crowd
+since then. They seem to slide away every time<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span>
+they see us coming down the street, or across the
+campus at school."</p>
+
+<p>"Good reason," piped up George, "because
+they're afraid that if they say a word we'll start
+the ball arolling, and everybody in town'll hear
+how they ran like Sam Hill, leaving their nuts behind,
+and thinking a ghost was chasing after 'em.
+Huh! don't you give that tough crowd credit for
+thinking anything decent, because it ain't in 'em."</p>
+
+<p>"Listen," said Elmer, quietly, "and perhaps
+you'll find it best to change your tune, Old Question
+Mark. I had a little surprise this same morning
+when I came out of the house, just as dawn
+was breaking. Something dangling there alongside
+the back door caught my eye, and what do you
+think it was?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! give it up, Elmer," said George, with a
+shrug of his shoulders; while the others leaned
+forward eagerly, intent on hearing the answer;
+"couldn't guess in a year of Sundays, so open up
+and tell us."</p>
+
+<p>"A brace of the fattest and biggest rabbits I
+ever saw, and fresh killed at that," replied the
+scout master, impressively.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! you don't mean to say it?" ejaculated
+Toby; "and, Elmer, as sure as anything I saw
+Connie Mallon coming home late last evening with
+four of the same hanging over his shoulder, and
+looking as proud as a turkey cock. He just
+grinned as he walked past, and even nodded his
+head, but I was too surprised to answer him, or
+ask where he struck such great luck. But then<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span>
+everybody knows Connie is the best rabbit hunter
+around Hickory Ridge, and has got a boss hound
+in the bargain. So you think he left that brace
+hanging at your back door, do you?"</p>
+
+<p>"I'm as sure of it as if I saw him sneaking in
+late at night, and fastening the pair there," said
+Elmer, positively; "and he divided evenly with
+me, you see, if he had just four. Now, George,
+what do you say to that? Was it a silly thing in
+our taking those four bags of nuts, and leaving
+them where we did? Don't you think Connie Mallon
+was set <i>thinking</i>, and that unable to express
+himself in any other way he carried out this fine
+thing to show me he understood the motive back
+of what we did?"</p>
+
+<p>George died hard.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I wouldn't just like to say that much,
+Elmer," he admitted; "because I don't believe
+that tough case could understand a decent motive;
+but he evidently wanted to let you know he'd keep
+still, if you fellows only wouldn't blab on him and
+his crowd."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't agree with you, George," the other told
+him, sharply. "I think you've got to rub your
+eyes some yourself, and get the scales off. It's
+my opinion that in his own crude way Connie
+meant to tell me he was holding out the olive
+branch. I've got a hunch he's in a humor to be
+approached, and met more than half-way; and
+when we get back after this camping trip I'm going
+to have a chin with him the first chance I get
+to see him alone."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Huh! wish you luck then, that's all," grunted
+George; "but I give you my opinion for what it's
+worth, and the chances are ten to one you'll rub
+up against a stone wall."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, there'll be no harm done, anyway," continued
+Elmer, nor did he insist on carrying the
+argument any further, for he knew how persistent
+George could be, and that although possessed of
+many sterling qualities, being broad-minded was
+not a cardinal virtue of the doubting scout.</p>
+
+<p>A short time later and those who had been up in
+this region recently began to call the attention of
+their companions to certain features of the landscape,
+and comment on the same.</p>
+
+<p>"I'd give a heap," said Chatz, "to own a picture
+of that other rig coming whooping out of the
+woods somewhere around here, and turning down
+the road in the direction of town. Well, suh, I
+reckon the fellow who held the whip was using the
+same on the backs of those hosses like fun, and the
+lot of them shouting to him to make the team go
+faster, because they believed the ghost would overtake
+them."</p>
+
+<p>"It sure must have been a glorious sight,"
+called out the long-legged Lil Artha, from the rear
+of the vehicle; "and just like you, Chatz, I'd give
+a heap to see a photograph of the same. Do we
+turn in here, Toby?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, and you fellows hang on now, tooth and
+nail," replied the driver, "or there's a chance of
+you getting pitched out, because the old wagon
+joggles dreadfully most of the time over roots<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span>
+and stones. Steady, back there, everybody!"</p>
+
+<p>What Toby said turned out to be the truth. He
+tried to pick the easiest trail possible, but in spite
+of this it proved to be so rough that presently Elmer
+called a halt.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm going to walk the balance of the way, fellows,"
+he declared, as he made a jump and landed
+on the ground.</p>
+
+<p>"Me too!" echoed Landy Smith, following suit.</p>
+
+<p>In another minute Toby was the only one left
+aboard, and he too might have gladly sought the
+ground only that it was necessary for some one to
+do the driving.</p>
+
+<p>Old Nancy appreciated this lightening of her
+load by striving harder than ever to draw it; while
+George and Ted and Chatz continued to call attention
+to various features of the landscape.</p>
+
+<p>"There's where we hid our wagon that other
+time," the last named declared, pointing to a
+thick cover of brush, into which the track of
+wheels led; "and Toby, you notice, is turning out,
+because this time we don't want to head direct for
+the nut grove, but the dense woods alongside. We
+saw a fine spring as we came by, and I reckon,
+suh, that our efficient scout master has it all fixed
+in his mind's eye to pitch our tents close to
+that."</p>
+
+<p>"Saves a heap of water lugging, and that
+counts," admitted Lil Artha.</p>
+
+<p>"That oughtn't to bother you much, Lil Artha,"
+said George; "when you're built to cover half a
+mile at every step. All you'd have to do would be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span>
+to take one look-in, fill your pail, and then turning
+around, come right back again."</p>
+
+<p>"Our camp, then, will be pretty close to the
+old house, won't it?" ventured Chatz; and there
+was an eagerness in his voice that betrayed how
+much he had been thinking of his luck at being in
+the vicinity of a building said to be haunted, for
+two full nights.</p>
+
+<p>"That's what it will," Toby called out over his
+shoulder, for he was following the pilot of the expedition,
+Elmer, who strode on all by himself away
+in the van; "and you'll have a chance to scrape
+up an acquaintance with that old hobgoblin, Chatz.
+You're welcome to all the fun; I haven't lost any
+ghost that I know about, and you don't ketch me
+hanging about in there half the night, waiting for
+something white and clammy to stalk around.
+Ugh! I should say not. Oh! what was that?"</p>
+
+<p>Nancy, up to then behaving very well, because
+quite tired after the long pull, began to prance at a
+lively rate; and every one of the four scouts craned
+their necks and stared in one particular direction;
+it was in that quarter George had just said the
+haunted house lay; and what had come to their
+ears was the strangest sort of a cry they had ever
+heard, a mingling of pain and rage it seemed.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER X</h2>
+
+<div class='chaptertitle'>IN FOR A GLORIOUS TIME</div>
+
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">A wildcat!</span>" exclaimed Ty Collins, excitedly.</p>
+
+<p>"Mebbe only an old owl," Lil Artha ventured;
+"because I remember you fellows told us there
+were some whoopers up here; and when an old
+house has got bats in its belfry it's likely to have
+owls too."</p>
+
+<p>"The house is over that way, ain't it?" questioned
+Landy Smith, showing a mild interest in
+the matter; but his indifference was more than
+made up for by the excitement on the part of the
+Southern scout, whose dark eyes fairly danced
+with eagerness.</p>
+
+<p>"I should say it was," he told Landy, "and if
+you think that's only an owl, or even a wildcat,
+suh, I reckon you've got another guess coming to
+you."</p>
+
+<p>"Listen to that, would you?" broke from Ty;
+"our chum from Dixie here believes in ghosts, and
+he even thinks that was one warning us away
+from the haunted house. It'd take a dozen of the
+same to scare <i>me</i> off. I may light out before an
+enraged bull, but you don't find me sneaking away
+when there's a white thing waving up and down
+in the road. Had a lesson once, when I found it
+out to be just a rag hangin' from a branch, and
+since then nothing spooky ever faizes Ty Collins."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Chatz looked keenly at the speaker, and nodded
+his head. Although he made no remark, his manner
+was that of a prophet, and Elmer, noticing it,
+could imagine him saying: "Just wait, and we'll
+see what sort of nerve you've got, Ty Collins.
+Things seem different at high noon from what they
+do when it's midnight. And if I have my way
+you'll get a chance to see a real ghost, for once in
+your life; because I just believe in the things, make
+all the fun you want to."</p>
+
+<p>Whatever the strange thrilling cry may have
+been, at least it was not repeated. Nancy was
+quieted by Toby, and the other scouts stood there,
+listening earnestly, for fully five minutes, but
+nothing developed worth noticing.</p>
+
+<p>Finally Elmer called out to them:</p>
+
+<p>"Here, get a move on, Toby, and come along.
+We've got lots to do before we can cook our first
+dinner; and I don't know how you fellows feel,
+but I'm as hungry as a wolf. Make a sharp turn
+here, Toby, because we want to push straight into
+the woods, and reach that spring."</p>
+
+<p>Of all the scouts, George was really the only one
+who, as they walked on, turned his head and
+glanced back several times toward the region from
+which that strange sound had come.</p>
+
+<p>Chatz noticed it, and smiled grimly, as though
+making up his mind that perhaps he might find a
+convert in his belief in George, especially if anything
+remarkable did come to pass, as he felt almost
+sure would be the case.</p>
+
+<p>Presently they came to the running water, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span>
+by following this up a short distance found the
+spring.</p>
+
+<p>"Hurrah! here we rest! Alabama for mine!"
+cried Lil Artha, as he turned and surveyed his
+surroundings, with the eye of one who had
+camped on numerous previous occasions, and
+might be expected to know something about such
+things.</p>
+
+<p>Then ensued a bustle, as the scouts began to
+unload the contents of the wagon, stake out the
+mare, and start to get things arranged.</p>
+
+<p>Every fellow had his share of the work apportioned
+to him, so that there was little real confusion,
+or getting in each other's way; and it was
+wonderful how things seemed to almost grow like
+magic.</p>
+
+<p>Two khaki-colored waterproofed tents soon
+stood there, facing toward the south, and with the
+spring only twenty feet away. Inside these the
+scouts began immediately to arrange their
+blankets, though the beds would not be made up
+until after the coming of night.</p>
+
+<p>Another pair attended to the very important
+duty of making the cooking range, on top of which
+they would spread the metal top that was to serve
+as a gridiron, to hold such utensils as were necessary
+for cooking purposes.</p>
+
+<p>When this had been constructed to their satisfaction
+a fire was quickly kindled, for the air was
+still rather sharp, even for a November day, and
+all of them felt they would be much better for a
+warm lunch.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Amidst more or less good-natured chaffing the
+meal was prepared. There was no lack of assistant
+cooks to help Ty, who had taken upon himself
+the duties of <i>chef</i> for the occasion, since long
+ago he had proved his capacity in that line; everybody
+seemed only too willing to help, such is the
+potent effect of genuine hunger.</p>
+
+<p>Even George was bustling around, trying to
+hurry things along, picking out all the best wood
+in order to make a hotter fire, and occasionally
+peeping in under the covers of the two kettles to
+learn if the contents might not be sufficiently
+cooked.</p>
+
+<p>It was about an hour after noon when dinner
+was ready, and all of them admitted the result was
+well worth waiting for. That frosty November
+air had given them an enormous appetite, and
+everything tasted better than it could possibly do
+at home; so for a certain length of time little was
+said, since they were too busy in disposing of the
+meal to talk.</p>
+
+<p>When the edge had been taken from their appetites
+they fell into a disjointed conversation, and
+almost every subject under the sun was discussed
+from the standpoint of scouts.</p>
+
+<p>Afterwards they lounged around for a while,
+being really too full to think of doing anything
+strenuous. As this was not supposed to be a
+regular camping trip of the whole troop, Elmer
+had not laid out any particular programme looking
+to their practicing the various "stunts" which
+scouts are interested in. Under ordinary conditions<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>
+there would have been all manner of events
+underway, such as wigwagging classes, tracking
+advocates, new wrinkles in nature-study unfolded;
+photography of wild animals and birds in their
+native haunts undertaken, and many other educational
+features that make the camping out experience
+of Boy Scouts so vastly superior to those of
+other lads who simply go to the woods to loaf
+away the time, swim, and fish, and eat.</p>
+
+<p>Of course each fellow was at liberty to employ
+himself as best he thought would give him the
+most pleasure, only there was no authority
+brought to bear, and no one felt constrained to do
+anything that he did not particularly care for.</p>
+
+<p>"Where's Chatz gone?" asked Lil Artha, after
+they had been knocking around in this fashion for
+nearly an hour after eating, and several of them
+showed signs of wanting to be on the move.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I saw him slip away a while back," remarked
+Toby, "and chances are he's prowling in
+and out of that old shebang over beyond the trees,
+the haunted house that Judge Cartaret built fifty
+years or so ago. Chatz is clear daft on the subject
+of spirits, you know. And from what I've
+seen of him, it wouldn't surprise me a little bit if
+the fellow before we left here, tried to get us to
+make some sort of a ghost trap, to grab that wonderful
+spook in."</p>
+
+<p>"If he ever did that," Elmer remarked, "it
+would show that deep down in his heart Chatz
+didn't believe in any such notion; because if there
+was such a thing as a real ghost no trap we could<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span>
+manufacture would ever hold it. If Chatz proposed
+that to us he'd be as much as saying he believed
+the ghost to be a man, playing a game for
+some reason or other."</p>
+
+<p>"But," interposed Ty Collins, "what sort of a
+game would make anybody prance around here
+night after night, with a sheet wrapped around
+him, and p'raps luminous paint on his face, like I
+remember a ghost once did. But in that case
+there was a good reason, for he wanted to give a
+bad name to the property so he could buy it in
+for a song. That wouldn't be the case here with
+the Cartaret place, you know."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, it's foolish trying to guess a thing when
+we haven't even seen the ghost," George interrupted
+the others to say; "and I've got to be
+shown such a thing before I'll take the least stock
+in it; though I must say that as a rule Chatz is
+a long-headed chap, and not easy fooled."</p>
+
+<p>When Elmer heard George say this he fancied
+that it would only take one mysterious ghostly
+manifestation to make the doubter an ardent believer
+in supernatural things. Scoffer that George
+was, once he saw with his own eyes, he went to the
+other extreme, and became firmly convinced. It
+was just like the swing of the pendulum with him
+every time.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! let's forget all that stuff about white-sheeted
+things that walk in the middle of the
+night!" exclaimed Landy Smith, "and pick up a
+more cheerful subject. Now just yesterday I
+chanced to be reading an account that told how<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span>
+three scouts in this very state made a study of
+hunting for the hives of wild honey bees up in the
+hollow limbs of trees in the woods. Elmer, do you
+think we could run across a hive filled with delicious
+honeycombs around here?"</p>
+
+<p>"Whee! you make my mouth water just to hear
+you talk about it," Lil Artha arose to say, "and
+if so be any of you make the try for a hive just
+count me in, will you?"</p>
+
+<p>"You bet we will," Landy hastened to assure
+him, "and right now consider yourself appointed
+commissioner-in-chief, whose principal duty will
+be to climb the honey tree, after we locate the
+same, and cause the warm-footed little innocents
+to vacate, so that we can gather in a store of the
+nectar. Wow! I'm going right away to see if I
+can't find the tree. Who'll be my backer? Don't
+all speak at once!"</p>
+
+<p>Lil Artha and Ted proved to be the most eager
+for the adventure. Upon making inquiries it was
+found that Landy had read all about how to locate
+a bee tree, if by good luck any such happened to
+be in the neighborhood, and was ready to show
+his chums how the thing ought to be done.</p>
+
+<p>His talk concerning the subject proved to be so
+interesting that when a start was made he had
+gained another convert, being Ty Collins.</p>
+
+<p>"I rather think I'd like to see how that thing's
+done, myself," this worthy admitted, "so with
+your permission, Landy, I'll tag along, and if you
+need any help in carrying the stock of honeycomb
+home count on me. Right now I feel like I could<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span>
+tackle a few big wedges myself, and enjoy the
+same."</p>
+
+<p>"All right, come along with us, Ty," Landy
+told him, cheerfully; "but I'd feel a whole lot
+easier in my mind if you'd take off that red
+sweater, and wear something else."</p>
+
+<p>"What for?" demanded Ty, who could be pretty
+stubborn when he chose. "This is going to be a
+bee hunt, not a bull fight, that I know of. Why
+should you object to me going warmly clad, I'd
+like to know?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! well," replied Landy with a grin that told
+he had only been drawing the other on for a purpose;
+"there might be an old king bee that had a
+detestation for red, just the same as a bull does,
+and he'd make it so warm for us we'd have to get
+out of the woods in a hurry."</p>
+
+<p>"Rats!" the other shot back at him, "bees don't
+bother about what they see; I've been told by an
+old bee man that it's <i>sounds</i> they get mad at.
+And then there ain't such a thing as a king bee anyhow&mdash;queens,
+drones and workers make up a colony.
+Oh! I ain't quite such a ninny as some people
+think. So I guess this beautiful red sweater
+goes along."</p>
+
+<p>"All right, if you're willing to take such a
+terrible risk it's nothing to the rest of us, is it,
+fellows?" Landy told him, with a chuckle; and
+then went on to add: "Now, we'll carry a little
+sugar water along to use if we happen to run
+across any bees flying around, which at this late
+day ain't likely. Best we can do is to watch every<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span>
+tree-top and try to hear the buzzing of a swarm of
+young bees. They come out every fine day as
+long as the weather lets 'em, around noontime,
+and try their wings. An old bee hunter can get
+on to the little hum far off and locate the hive that
+way. Let's see if we've got ears worth anything."</p>
+
+<p>"The best of luck go with you!" called out Elmer,
+who was busy with something or other; "and
+if you need any help come back after the rest of
+the bunch. I see you're carrying our camp ax,
+Lil Artha; be careful and don't lose it, because
+we need that same thing right along."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't worry about that, Elmer," the elongated
+scout shouted back. "I wouldn't let that get
+away from me for all the honey in seven counties.
+But in case we do find a tree that looks good to us
+I'm ready to swing the ax for all I'm worth," and
+so saying he strode away after the other three.</p>
+
+<p>That left just Elmer, Toby and George in camp.</p>
+
+<p>"I'd be tickled half to death if they <i>did</i> find a
+tree, and got a lot of honey," Toby remarked,
+grinning in anticipation, and licking his lips at the
+same time; "and I can just see that Lil
+Artha whooping things when the tree drops, and
+he rushes headlong in among the branches to scoop
+up some of the sweet stuff that bursts out of the
+crack, with a million bees swarming around his
+ears. If I was you, Elmer, I'd get some witch
+hazel ready to put on stings, for they'll need it
+right bad."</p>
+
+<p>"Time enough for that when they report a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span>
+find!" declared Elmer, who evidently did not have
+a great deal of confidence in the ability of Landy
+Smith to locate a hive, especially at that time of
+year, when the little insects were apt to be lying
+more or less dormant.</p>
+
+<p>An hour passed by. Then Elmer began to wonder
+what could be detaining Chatz so long, for he
+several times looked in the direction where he
+knew the old deserted Cartaret house must lie,
+as though half expecting to see the Southern boy
+come on the full run, with some wonderful story
+of sights he had seen, or imagined he had, which
+was the same thing.</p>
+
+<p>When Chatz did appear he was walking slowly,
+and his face had an expression of subdued disappointment
+resting on it. Apparently, then, all
+his prowling in and out of the building could not
+have met with any particular reward. In other
+words the Cartaret ghost was not very accommodating,
+and respectfully declined to make its appearance
+at such an unheard of hour as three in
+the afternoon; when every one knew that all respectable
+spirits only manifest themselves around
+the midnight hour.</p>
+
+<p>"You didn't run across anything new, did you,
+Chatz?" Elmer asked him, as he came into camp,
+took a drink of cool water, and threw himself on
+the ground to rest.</p>
+
+<p>"Not a single thing, suh; but then I didn't really
+expect to in broad daylight. Wait till to-night, and
+I reckon there may be something doing," and then
+Chatz allowed his brow to show three wrinkles<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span>
+that told of perplexity, for he had heard Elmer
+chuckle; and all at once it struck him that on the
+former occasion the scout master had gone back
+into the house after he and the other comrades had
+left; and once more the Southern boy who had the
+vein of superstition in his make-up asked himself
+what Elmer could have seen on that occasion to
+make him look so knowing, and have that queer
+smile cross his face whenever the ghost was mentioned.</p>
+
+<p>But Elmer did not offer to explain, and so Chatz
+had to content himself with the thought that perhaps
+on the coming night the veil of secrecy might
+be lifted from the mystery.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XI</h2>
+
+<div class='chaptertitle'>SACKING THE FOREST STORE-HOUSE</div>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Toby</span> had insisted upon stowing that wonderful
+aeroplane appendix which he called an "aviator's
+life-saver parachute," in the bottom of the wagon
+when starting out on this camping trip. He was
+working at it while helping to keep camp the first
+afternoon after their arrival.</p>
+
+<p>"All I hope is," he went on to say, when Elmer
+chanced to come around close to where he straddled
+a log, and did some heavy sewing with the
+toughest waxed string he could use, "that I find a
+chance to try out this thing again while we're in
+this region. If no other place shows up I might
+climb to the top of the tower on the old house, and
+jump off there. How high would you guess, off-hand,
+that might be, Elmer?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! perhaps thirty-five or forty feet," replied
+the other, carelessly, and hardly noting what Toby
+was saying, because just then he had caught a
+peculiar sound that came from some little distance
+away.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you hear that, Elmer?" called out George.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, and I was trying to make out what it was
+when you spoke," replied the scout master. "I
+reckon it must be some one busy with an ax, for
+the blows are repeated as regular as clock-work."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"And our chums took the camp ax away with
+them?" suggested Toby, looking up, an eager glow
+commencing to show in his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, and they went off in that direction, too,"
+added George.</p>
+
+<p>With that the four camp keepers smiled at each
+other.</p>
+
+<p>"Can it be possible they've found a bee-tree,
+after all?" asked George, who, despite his yearning
+for a honeycomb, could not overcome his
+skeptical disposition, and believe that such a delightful
+consummation of the bee hunt had come
+about.</p>
+
+<p>"Listen to that whanging, will you?" cried
+Toby; "nobody but Lil Artha could use an ax like
+that. As sure as you live they must have struck
+something. Tell me about the babes in the woods,
+will you; some people wade in good luck every
+time they start out!"</p>
+
+<p>"Another fellow has taken hold, because the
+sound changes," George observed, sagaciously;
+"and p'raps Ty Collins is swinging the ax now.
+He can hew close to the line; fact is, I never saw a
+scout who could chop as evenly as Ty. Wow! did
+you hear that crash, fellows? A tree went down
+that time, whether there's any honey in the same
+or not. I'll only believe it when I see, smell and
+taste the nectar."</p>
+
+<p>A short time afterwards they heard some one
+coming on the run. Then a figure broke out of
+the brush, waving excitedly.</p>
+
+<p>"Hi! get your buckets, and come along to help<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span>
+gather the harvest!" Lil Artha was shouting as he
+approached, half out of breath.</p>
+
+<p>"Then you sure enough did find a bee-tree, and
+it isn't any joke?" demanded the incredulous
+George.</p>
+
+<p>"Take a look at me, and then say if I show up
+like a joke!" demanded the long-legged scout, indignantly.</p>
+
+<p>Everybody laughed as he twisted his face up,
+and tried to look serious. It was an utter impossibility
+with that lump ornamenting the end of
+his nose, others gradually swelling his cheeks,
+while various suspicious signs behind his ears
+marked the places where the angry little bees had
+left their stings.</p>
+
+<p>"No hurry, Lil Artha," said Elmer; "let me
+rub your face with this witch hazel, and put a little
+ointment on to relieve the pain and reduce the
+swelling. You're puffing out under the eyes right
+now, and if something isn't done you'll have to be
+led around for a while."</p>
+
+<p>While Elmer was doctoring the battered comrade
+George kept plying him with questions, as
+though he had great difficulty in believing the glorious
+truth.</p>
+
+<p>"I hope it isn't only an old hornet's nest you've
+struck," he went on to say, doubtfully; "but then
+there wouldn't be any at this time of year, I
+guess. Sure you saw real honey, did you, Lil
+Artha?"</p>
+
+<p>"And smelled it too!" cried the afflicted scout.
+"Why, the old tree burst open when it fell, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span>
+you just ought to see what gallons of the stuff fills
+the hollow trunk away up near the top. My! but
+the bees are mad, and swarming around there by
+the million! I ran in among 'em, thinking to
+snatch a comb, and get away with it, but they
+swooped down on me, and I had to cut for it like
+fun. Elmer, however, can we get some of that
+honey without being stung to death? Oh! if only
+I had one of Daddy Green's bee head-nets that he
+loans to people when he's showing them the inside
+of a hive in his apiary, wouldn't it be the boss;
+and rubber gloves to go with the same."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps I might rig up a net somehow," Elmer
+mused; "I've got a piece of mosquito netting in
+my bag that I use for a minnow seine, and that
+ought to make several head-nets. Let's see if we
+can find any gloves that'll help keep our hands out
+of danger."</p>
+
+<p>After a hunt through all the traps the boys managed
+to secure enough coverings to answer the
+purpose after a clumsy fashion. Meanwhile
+George and Toby had hastily gathered what utensils
+they had with them capable of holding some
+of the honey. Everybody was wildly excited, for
+they had never really passed through an experience
+of this sort. Bee trees they had heard of
+many times, but that one should actually be discovered
+when they were camping out, and yearning
+for something of a sweet nature, seemed almost
+too good to be true.</p>
+
+<p>"All ready here, Lil Artha!" exclaimed George;
+"and now lead us to your wonderful wild honey<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span>
+hive. I just want to see it with my own eyes,
+that's all."</p>
+
+<p>Lil Artha looked severely at him, that is, as well
+as he could with those half-shut eyes of his, and
+then remarked sarcastically:</p>
+
+<p>"Well, if you ain't the limit, George; I sure hope
+you <i>do</i> see the plain evidence, yes, and <i>feel</i> some
+of 'em too, like I did. They say the poison of bee
+stings is used in medicine, and it's mighty good
+for some things. P'raps a dose of the same'd
+cure you of your questioning everything there is.
+But come on, everybody."</p>
+
+<p>Elmer did not know whether they were exactly
+wise in abandoning the camp, even for a brief
+time; but he felt that it would be hard to keep any
+one there; so he concluded to take the slight risk.</p>
+
+<p>Lil Artha was a pretty good scout. He had
+noted directions as he went forth on the expedition,
+so that in returning to the camp he had made
+what might be called in more senses than one a
+"bee-line"; and now the trail was so plainly
+marked that even a fellow with one eye, or half-closed
+ones, could follow it back to where the
+other three scouts awaited their coming, hiding
+behind the brush so as not to attract too much attention
+from the buzzing horde of insects.</p>
+
+<p>The netting was fashioned into head protectors,
+the ends being tucked well down in their coats.
+Then donning heavy gloves the two boys selected
+for the work, George and Ty Collins, started boldly
+into that whirling mass of excited bees.</p>
+
+<p>They shortly came out bearing pans full of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span>
+splendid honey, and doubtless a considerable number
+of stings in spite of all the precautions taken
+against this evil.</p>
+
+<p>"Next time look for a little fresher stock," Elmer
+told them; "for while this is all right, and
+like amber in color, you'll find that it's last year's
+gathering. Split the tree further up, and get the
+latest stuff!"</p>
+
+<p>So Ty took the ax back with him; while George
+worked a sort of smoke smudge Elmer had prepared,
+in order to help stupefy the bees. It did
+the business in great shape, too, as every bee
+keeper uses this means for keeping the little insects
+from paying too much attention to him when
+he is working with their hive. They seem to
+fancy that their home is in deadly danger of being
+consumed, and every working bee immediately
+burdens itself down with all the honey it can carry,
+and for the time being renders itself helpless to
+use its sting.</p>
+
+<p>Every scout managed to accumulate one or more
+lumps, however, for the air was heavily charged
+with the bewildered insects, now homeless on a
+fall afternoon; and although the boys did a great
+deal of dodging they could not avoid contact all
+the time. But then the sight of that splendid
+honey made them forget their present troubles.
+They snatched up the bottle of witch hazel, or applied
+the ammonia solution recklessly, to immediately
+start in again working like heroes.</p>
+
+<p>Elmer started back to camp bearing their one
+bucket actually full of the most delicious honey he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span>
+had ever tasted; and soon afterwards Lil Artha
+followed with two kettles also heavily laden with
+the same.</p>
+
+<p>When Chatz came along with several heavy
+honeycombs secured with an arrangement consisting
+of cords, and stout twigs from some hickory
+tree, the three looked at each other in dire dismay.</p>
+
+<p>"We can't live on honey alone, you know," Lil
+Artha up and said; "and it looks like we've already
+got every cooking vessel loaded down, with
+not half the store of sweet stuff cleaned out.
+What in the wide world can we do with it all? I
+guess this is a case of too much of a good thing."</p>
+
+<p>"I know!" declared Chatz, suddenly; "in
+prowling around that haunted house I saw several
+old stone jars in what was once used as a pantry.
+Let's go over and lug the same to camp, Lil Artha.
+They can be washed out clean, and will hold all
+that honey, I assure you, suh. And we can carry
+most of the same back home with us to show other
+scouts what we've been doing up here in the
+woods."</p>
+
+<p>So the pair hastened away, and after a while
+came back with the stone crocks or jars, each of
+which would hold several gallons. Elmer pronounced
+them the finest possible thing for holding
+their rich find, and proceeded to cleanse them
+thoroughly at the spring, after which the various
+cooking receptacles were emptied, and both Chatz
+and Lil Artha started eagerly back to the fountainhead
+for a fresh supply.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>They certainly cleaned out the best part of that
+tree hive during the next hour, and had four jars
+full of splendid honey, some of it as clear as crystal.
+It was the greatest "harvest home" the
+Hickory Ridge Boy Scouts had ever experienced;
+and they seemed never to get quite enough of the
+sweet stuff, for every one kept tasting as new supplies
+were disclosed by splitting the tree further.</p>
+
+<p>Finally, however, it came to an end, and the distracted
+bees were let alone with the sad wreck of
+their once fine hive. Perhaps, if they survived
+the chill of the coming night, some of them would
+start in fresh, and carry away enough of the discolored
+honey, refused by the discriminating
+scouts, to start a new hive, and keep the swarm
+alive during the winter.</p>
+
+<p>Nobody seemed furiously hungry as the afternoon
+waned and the shades of night began to
+gather around the camp. This was hardly to be
+wondered at, however, since they had tasted so
+much honey for hours that it took away their customary
+zest for ordinary food. Elmer told them
+it was a bad thing, and every fellow promised that
+from that time on he would take his sweet stuff in
+moderation.</p>
+
+<p>Of course they cooked some dinner; and after
+once getting a taste of the fried onions and potatoes
+it seemed that to some degree their fickle
+appetites did return, so that the food vanished in
+the end.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm thinking about all that darker honey we
+left there," Lil Artha was saying, as they sat<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span>
+around the crackling fire long after night had
+fallen, and supper had been disposed of an hour
+or more.</p>
+
+<p>"My starth!" ejaculated Ted, "I hope now you
+don't want to lay in any more of the thweet thtuff,
+do you, Lil Artha? Why, we'll be thticky all over
+with it. Don't be a hog. Leave thome to the poor
+little beeth; and it didn't look real nice, you
+know."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I wasn't regretting that we couldn't make
+a clean sweep," explained the tall scout, whose
+face was once more gradually resuming its normal
+appearance; "but if what I've read is true, up in
+some places where they have black bears, they always
+set a watch when they've cut down a bee
+tree. You see, the smell of the honey is in the
+air, and if there's a bruin inside of five miles he'll
+be visiting that broken tree hive before morning,
+when the watcher can send a bullet into him."</p>
+
+<p>"But you don't think there are bears around
+here, do you?" asked George, always to be found
+on the side of the opposition.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, hardly," replied Lil Artha, "though
+some of us wish it might be so, because we've got
+a gun along, and they say bear steak isn't half bad
+when you're in camp, even if it does taste like dry
+tough beef when you're at home, and sitting down
+with a white table cloth before you. I'd like to
+try some, that's what; but this expedition wasn't
+started for a bear hunt, you know."</p>
+
+<p>"No, that's so," Ty Collins remarked; "more
+likely a ghost hunt," and he gave Chatz a sly look<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span>
+out of the corner of his eye as he said this.</p>
+
+<p>"That was meant for me, suh," Chatz said,
+with dignity; "you think you can laugh at me because
+I'm weak enough to believe there may be
+such a thing as a ghost. But if you-all are so sure
+nothing of the kind ever could happen, what's to
+hinder me from having the entire camp along to-night
+when I go over there and hide, to watch what
+happens at exactly midnight?"</p>
+
+<p>Elmer laughed softly.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you mean that as a dare, Chatz?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Take it as you please, suh; and we'll soon see
+who believes in ghosts or not; because the one who
+backs down first is likely after all to be afraid of
+meeting up with visitors from the spirit land."</p>
+
+<p>"Who's going along with Chatz and myself?"
+asked Elmer, turning to the circling scouts; who
+began to look serious, and cast quick glances toward
+each other.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I'll keep you company, Elmer!" said
+George, first of all; for somehow he fancied everybody
+was staring hard at him, and not for worlds
+would he allow them to think he was <i>afraid</i>.</p>
+
+<p>"Count me in!" added Ty Collins, with a laugh,
+that bordered on the reckless.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll go along, too," observed Ted.</p>
+
+<p>Landy Smith hastened to nod his head in the
+affirmative when Elmer looked at him; Lil Artha
+spoke up and said he was bound to be one of the
+number; and finally Toby completed the list by
+signifying that he was ready to sacrifice himself
+also.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XII</h2>
+
+<div class='chaptertitle'>THE MIDNIGHT VIGIL</div>
+
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">I'm</span> glad to learn we don't have any 'fraidcats
+in this camp, and that I'm likely enough to
+have plenty of company in keeping watch to-night
+in the haunted house," Chatz remarked cheerfully,
+after the last scout had been heard from.</p>
+
+<p>"I've waited to see if it was going to be made
+unanimous," Elmer told them at this juncture;
+"and now that you've all toed the mark so handsomely,
+why of course I'll have to exercise my
+judgment in picking out, say a couple of fellows,
+who will stay to look after the camp here while the
+rest of us are otherwise employed."</p>
+
+<p>"Lassoing ghosts, for instance!" Lil Artha
+murmured.</p>
+
+<p>Elmer looked around the circle of faces again.
+All of them knew that he was selecting the pair of
+scouts who would be left behind, and while doubtless
+a number of the boys were secretly hoping
+deep down in their hearts that they might be one
+of the lucky number, they tried their best to appear
+indifferent.</p>
+
+<p>"Ted, you're one!" said the leader, presently;
+"and I think I'll appoint Landy to keep you company."
+The latter commenced to splutter a little,
+when Elmer raised his hand, and continued:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span>
+"Now, don't get the notion in your heads that because
+I've selected you for playing the r&ocirc;le of
+martyr it was because I thought you'd prove weak-kneed,
+or in any way show up poorly. I've no
+reason to think anything of the sort; only there
+had to be two chosen, and I've taken you for
+reasons of my own. <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'Sandy'">Landy</ins> was complaining a
+short time ago of feeling squeamish, after gorging
+himself with all that honey; and in case he gets
+sick who could attend so well to him as our Doctor
+Ted?"</p>
+
+<p>That was explanation enough, and every one
+had to rest satisfied. Perhaps, if the truth were
+told, neither of the two scouts had any regrets
+coming; and secretly they were envied by some
+of the less fortunate ones, who would gladly have
+guarded the camp stores, if given the opportunity.</p>
+
+<p>"One thing good," Chatz informed them,
+"we're going to have a moon poking up in a little
+while. You know it's past the full stage, but from
+ten o'clock up to daylight it'll hold the fort up
+above."</p>
+
+<p>"Fine!" exclaimed George, with a half laugh;
+"I always do like to have bright moonlight whenever
+I go after ghosts. You can see the white
+things so much better, and watch 'em flit around
+as soft as silk. I'm glad you've ordered up a
+moon to help out, Chatz; it'll sure make things
+more interesting."</p>
+
+<p>"I think myself it will, suh," the Southern boy
+said, placidly in his turn; "and if any of us feel
+like we'd want to make a bee-line from the house<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span>
+to this camp here, why, the running is better when
+you have moonlight, you know."</p>
+
+<p>"Huh! that was meant for me, I guess, Chatz,"
+sneered George; "but you'll have to take it out in
+waiting if you expect to see me chasing along, and
+hollering for help, because some old owl with a
+white front shows up, or the bats begin to fly in
+and out of that tower. I'm not built very much
+that way."</p>
+
+<p>"I hope not, suh!" was all Chatz said in reply;
+but George was seen to color up, and look a trifle
+confused, as though possibly he might not be feeling
+quite as bold inwardly as his words would
+imply.</p>
+
+<p>"When ought we start over?" asked Lil Artha,
+just as carelessly, to all appearances, as though it
+might be a friendly visit to some neighboring
+camp, instead of a thrilling experience in a
+haunted house.</p>
+
+<p>"In about half an hour or so after the moon
+rises," Elmer informed him; "that ought to be
+time enough, don't you think, Chatz?"</p>
+
+<p>"Plenty, suh," came the reply, "because, if
+there is any truth at all in these stories they tell
+about such places, the fun doesn't ever begin till
+midnight."</p>
+
+<p>"Fun!" muttered Toby, rubbing his chin reflectively;
+"well, it does beat all creation what
+some people call fun. Now, so far as I'm concerned,
+while I'm going along with you, and can't
+be made to back out, it's all a silly nuisance. I'd
+rather be climbing up into that same old tower,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span>
+and getting ready for a drop with my reliable
+parachute."</p>
+
+<p>"No use of that in the night-time, Toby," remonstrated
+Ty; "mebbe to-morrow we'll get a
+blanket brigade to stand below while you make
+your first jump, so's to let you down easy if the
+old thing breaks."</p>
+
+<p>"No danger of that, Ty; because I've gone all
+over it again and again, and right now she could
+sustain a weight of half a ton, I reckon. But it's
+good of you to be interested enough in my invention
+to lend a helping hand. Think what it'll
+mean to all the tribe of aeronauts when every flier
+is equipped with a Jones Life-saving Parachute,
+that is guaranteed to float him softly to the ground
+even if he has a breakdown accident a mile up in
+the clouds."</p>
+
+<p>Toby after that fell into a musing spell. Perhaps
+in imagination he peopled the air fairly
+filled with flitting aeroplanes, and every single
+aviator supplied with the remarkable device that
+was going to make the name of Jones the most
+famous in all the wide land.</p>
+
+<p>The other scouts chatted, and exchanged all
+sorts of lively remarks. They even indulged in
+several songs that sounded very strange when
+heard among those whispering pines of the grove,
+and knowing as they did what manner of house
+stood close by, with a halo of mystery surrounding
+it.</p>
+
+<p>Just as Chatz had predicted the moon arose
+close on ten o'clock. It was no longer as round<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span>
+as a shield, but had an end lopped off; still the
+flood of mellow light that came from the lantern
+in the sky was very acceptable to the scouts, and
+served to render their intended mission less objectionable.</p>
+
+<p>Finally Elmer arose, and there was a start on
+the part of those who had been selected to accompany
+the leader and Chatz on their singular
+errand.</p>
+
+<p>"I hope you'll let me carry the gun, Elmer?"
+Lil Artha remarked, coaxingly.</p>
+
+<p>"Why should you?" replied the other, instantly;
+"if it is a real ghost a bullet wouldn't hurt a bit;
+and if it should turn out to be some one playing a
+mad prank I don't think you'd feel easy in your
+mind if you were tempted to shoot him."</p>
+
+<p>"But it might be some tramp or hard case, and
+we'd want to subdue him; how about that, Elmer?"
+questioned Toby.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, we can carry clubs if we like," said
+Elmer; "and I mean to have a piece of stout rope,
+so we can tie him up if we overpower him. Six
+scouts can put up a pretty hefty sort of fight, it
+strikes me, if things get to that point. No, leave
+the gun for the defenders of the camp and the
+grub."</p>
+
+<p>When presently the six boys stalked forth on
+their singular errand they did not seem to be in
+very merry spirits. True, Elmer was smiling as
+though he could give half a guess as to what they
+were about to run up against; and there was
+Chatz, a satisfied grin on his dark countenance;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span>
+but the remainder of the investigating party
+could hardly have looked more solemn and melancholy
+if they had been about to attend the funeral
+of a dear departed friend.</p>
+
+<p>"Good luck!" called out Ted, after them; while
+Landy waved his hand mockingly, and grinned
+happily as he remarked:</p>
+
+<p>"We'll expect to see you fetch back at least
+one full-fledged ghost, boys; and take care he
+don't bite you. They're apt to do something along
+that order, I'm told, by people who've interviewed
+some of the species. But you c'n tame
+'em so they'll even eat out of your hand."</p>
+
+<p>"Just you wait, that's all," was the sum total
+of what the departing scouts deigned to reply, as
+they vanished amidst the mixture of silvery moonbeams
+and darkening shadows.</p>
+
+<p>Soon they glimpsed the house through the dense
+vegetation. It stood out boldly in the moonlight,
+grim and silent. There was not the half expected
+gleam of any inside illumination, only the dilapidated
+windows, the walls covered in many places
+by a rank growth of Virginia Creeper vine, the
+broken chimneys rearing themselves up above the
+ridge, and that square tower overtopping it all.</p>
+
+<p>As they approached the walls of the house it
+might have been noticed that those of the scouts
+who had been lingering a little back of the rest
+somehow seemed to think they ought to close the
+gap, for they hurried their footsteps, and were
+soon in a cluster, with no laggards.</p>
+
+<p>"I've thought to fetch my little handy electric<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span>
+torch along, Elmer," said Lil Artha about this
+time.</p>
+
+<p>"It may come in useful," was the reply Elmer
+made; "but with all that moonlight going to waste
+I hardly think we'll need it. Still, you never can
+tell, and it's a mighty clever affair. You were
+wise to think of fetching it, Lil Artha."</p>
+
+<p>"Are we going to separate, Elmer; and if we
+do, will you let me place the rest of the boys, suh?"
+Chatz asked before they reached the yawning
+doorway of the deserted building.</p>
+
+<p>"How about that, fellows?" the leader asked
+them; "do you think we had better split up into
+several small parties or stand together?"</p>
+
+<p>Toby, Lil Artha, Ty Collins and George heard
+this announcement with a new sense of consternation.
+In imagination they could easily picture
+how dreary and unpleasant it was going to be if
+each one had to take a post isolated from the rest,
+there to stand and listen, and perhaps <i>shiver</i> as
+the time crept on, until he must become so nervous
+that he could give a yell.</p>
+
+<p>"For my part, Elmer," Lil Artha said, hastily,
+"I think we had ought to stick in a bunch. One
+couldn't do much against a&mdash;er&mdash;ghost, you see;
+while the lot of us might be able to down anything
+going."</p>
+
+<p>"That's what I think too, Elmer," piped up
+George, "though of course, if you say so, I'm willing
+to do anything to carry on the game."</p>
+
+<p>"United we stand, divided we fall!" spouted Ty
+Collins, who, while a big blustering good-hearted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span>
+fellow himself, did not exactly like the thought of
+being alone in that weather-beaten and half
+wrecked house, as the hour drew on toward midnight.</p>
+
+<p>"I think we ought to stick together, Elmer,"
+Toby declared, which confession appeared to tickle
+Chatz, judging from the low snicker he gave utterance
+to; for, just as he had suspected, while none
+of these fellows would admit that they placed
+the least faith in things bordering on the supernatural,
+still they did not fancy finding themselves
+left alone in a house that had been given a bad
+name.</p>
+
+<p>Elmer had been talking matters over with
+Chatz, so that they were agreed as to where the
+watchers should take up their positions. All talking
+except in whispers was frowned down upon
+from that time forward; and there is always
+something exciting about a situation when everybody
+is speaking in low tones.</p>
+
+<p>They entered the house, and led by Chatz passed
+up the rickety stairs. This was evidence enough
+that their vigil was about to be undertaken in the
+upper story. George seemed to think that if he
+could manifest a disposition to joke a little it
+would be pretty good evidence that he at least was
+not afraid; and while as a rule he left this weakness
+to Toby and Lil Artha he could not resist
+the temptation to lean over and whisper to Ty, so
+that Chatz also might hear, something to the effect
+that it was just as well they were mounting
+those shaky stairs because people who believed in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span>
+silly ghosts must be weak in the upper story.</p>
+
+<p>No one laughed, so George did not attempt any
+more witticisms. Truth to tell, he was not feeling
+as perfectly indifferent as he tried to make
+out; and when one of the others slipped a little,
+George it was who exclaimed hastily:</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! what in thunder was that?"</p>
+
+<p>When the six scouts had gained the second
+floor they passed along the wide hall to the place
+that had been chosen for the vigil. While in the
+gloom themselves it was easily possible for them
+to look along the moonlit hall, diversified with
+shadows, and see any moving thing that might attempt
+to pass that way. At the same time by
+turning their heads they could see out of the nearest
+window, and have a fair view of the open space
+between the wall of the house and the dense bushes
+close by. Beyond arose the thickly interlaced
+trees, a wild scramble along the line of the survival
+of the fittest.</p>
+
+<p>Elmer stationed them all as he thought would
+be best. They were told that they could sit down
+cross-legged, Turkish fashion, if they chose; but
+under no circumstances was any one to allow himself
+to be overpowered by sleep. If a scout had
+reason to believe the one next to him were nodding
+suspiciously he must whisper words of warning
+in his ear; and should that fail to effect a radical
+cure he was empowered to try other tactics, if
+by chance he possessed a pin.</p>
+
+<p>Having been fully awake at the time of their
+arrival, something like half an hour went by with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span>
+all the scouts apparently on the watch. Then
+George had to be admonished by Lil Artha several
+times, until finally a low gasp, and muttering,
+as well as quick rubbing of his thigh on the part
+of George announced that the radical means had
+been employed in order to keep him awake.</p>
+
+<p>There is nothing more reliable as a sleep preventative
+than the jab of a pin; it seems to send
+an electric shock through the whole system, and
+eyes that were just about to close fly wide-open
+again.</p>
+
+<p>Twenty minutes later another low gurgling cry
+arose; this time it came from the elongated scout,
+and George was heard to whisper savagely:</p>
+
+<p>"Tit for tat, Lil Artha; you gave me a stab,
+and now we're even."</p>
+
+<p>"'Sh! I thought I heard something moving
+down there in the bushes!" the scout master told
+them, cautiously.</p>
+
+<p>Of course every one was immediately quivering
+with intense anxiety and eagerness. It was very
+close on the mystic hour of midnight, too, which
+added to the interest of the matter. Could it be
+that they were about to witness some strange
+manifestation such as Chatz professed to believe
+was possible? No wonder that the boys wriggled
+erect, stiff in their joints after sitting there tailor-fashion
+so long, and pressing toward the open
+window stared down toward the bushes to which
+Elmer had referred when he spoke.</p>
+
+<p>So bright was the moon, now fairly high in the
+sky, that even small objects could readily be distinguished.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span>
+There was nothing in sight that they
+could notice where the rank grass grew, and the
+trees and bushes were absent; but looking further
+they could actually see something white moving
+along through the brush.</p>
+
+<p>No one said a single word, but there might have
+been heard several quick gasps; and a hand that
+fell on the sleeve of Elmer's khaki coat trembled
+fiercely. If ever some of those boys were willing
+to confess to the truth they would admit that their
+hearts began to beat furiously about that time,
+as with staring eyes they watched that mysterious
+white object pushing through the matted bushes
+that grew just beyond the open space near the
+walls of the haunted house.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XIII</h2>
+
+<div class='chaptertitle'>A STRANGE FIGURE IN WHITE</div>
+
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Oh!</span>"</p>
+
+<p>After all it was George, boasting George, who
+gasped this one word in Elmer's ear; and the
+scout master knew then whose trembling hand had
+clutched his sleeve.</p>
+
+<p>But if several of the others refrained from giving
+vent to their agitated feelings about that time,
+it was only because they had lost their breath completely.</p>
+
+<p>All of them were staring as hard as they could
+at the strange white object that kept creeping,
+creeping along through the brush. Not the slightest
+sound did it appear to make, and that added
+to the weirdness of it all. They must just then
+have had flash into their brains all they had ever
+read or heard about the wonderful manner in
+which ghosts and hobgoblins are able to advance
+or retreat, without betraying their presence by
+even the least rustling.</p>
+
+<p>Then all at once there broke out the sharp, furious
+barking of a dog. Every scout reeled back
+as though struck a blow. At the same moment
+they saw the white object whirl around, and rush
+away through the brush; and now they could
+plainly detect the rapid patter of canine feet.</p>
+
+<p>"It was only a stray farmer's dog after all!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span>
+exclaimed Lil Artha, with a sigh of absolute relief.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," added Toby, "and when he barked up
+at us he was scared at the sound he made himself,
+so that he lit out as though he had a tin pan
+tied to his tail. But I own up I was shivering to
+beat the band, for I sure thought it must be that
+Cartaret <i>thing</i> they say hangs out here. Whew!"</p>
+
+<p>George, as usual, having recovered from his
+own fright wanted to make it appear that he considered
+any one foolish who would actually allow
+himself to be alarmed by such a silly thing as a
+white object.</p>
+
+<p>"Anybody might have known it was only a white
+cur," he affirmed; "why, if you looked right sharp
+you could see the shine of his eyes out there in the
+shadows."</p>
+
+<p>"Did you look sharp, George; and if so why
+didn't you put us wise?" demanded Toby. "But
+I bet you were just as badly rattled as the rest of
+us, only you won't own up to it."</p>
+
+<p>"What, me? Huh, guess again, Toby, and
+don't measure everybody by your own standard,
+please," George told him; meanwhile congratulating
+himself over the fact that he had been standing
+in the shadow, so that none of his mates could
+possibly have seen how pale he must have been.</p>
+
+<p>"That dog couldn't belong around here, Elmer!"
+suggested Chatz.</p>
+
+<p>"No, it was most likely some farmer's dog that
+had been running rabbits through the forest, and
+chanced to wander over this way. But even he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span>
+considered it a queer place, and was glad to shake
+the dust of it off his paws after he gave that one
+volley of barks. No danger of him coming back."</p>
+
+<p>"He scented us up here, don't you think?" continued
+Chatz.</p>
+
+<p>"As like as not; but don't say anything more
+now, please. It must be close on twelve o'clock!"</p>
+
+<p>They knew what Elmer meant when he said
+that. If the ghost walked at all it must be around
+the middle of the night. So they would have to
+take up their weary vigil again, and await developments.
+Even whispering must cease, and
+their attention be wholly given to watching, inside
+and out of the house.</p>
+
+<p>The seconds crept into minutes, though to some
+of the scouts these latter had never moved with
+such leaden wings, and they could almost believe
+hours were passing in review instead.</p>
+
+<p>Had it been summer-time when they made this
+pilgrimage to the woods near the old Cartaret
+house they would have expected to hear the chirping
+of crickets in the lush grass; the shrill call of
+the katydid answering his mate, and prophesying
+an early frost; and perhaps other sounds as well&mdash;the
+croak of the bull-frog, the loud cry of the
+whippoorwill, or the hooting of owls perched on
+some dead tree.</p>
+
+<p>At the tail end of November, with most of the
+dead leaves strewn on the ground, and the trees
+standing there bare of foliage, these familiar
+sounds were hushed; and only a somber silence
+lay upon the land, which was ten times more apt<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span>
+to produce nervousness on the part of the listening
+boys than any combination of well known night
+cries.</p>
+
+<p>Now and then some one would sigh, or move
+slightly; but beyond that they maintained the utmost
+silence; which showed how well drilled they
+were as scouts, and obedient to orders.</p>
+
+<p>Their senses were under such a tremendous
+strain that it actually seemed to Toby and perhaps
+Lil Artha, that they would have given a great
+deal for the privilege of shouting at the top of
+their voices a few times; but they did not attempt
+such a foolish remedy.</p>
+
+<p>Lil Artha did make a slight movement after a
+long time, and as the others fastened their anxious
+eyes upon him they saw that he had gently taken
+out the little nickel dollar watch he carried.
+Bending forward so that a ray of moonlight might
+fall on the face of the time-piece, Lil Artha consulted
+it to learn if his suspicions were correct.</p>
+
+<p>When he glanced around and saw that he was
+the center of observation, he just nodded his head
+up and down several times. In that fashion he
+informed the others that it was fully midnight;
+which was what they were so anxious to know.</p>
+
+<p>So far there had been no sign of a walking
+specter. George was getting over his fears. He
+even commenced to shrug his shoulders every time
+he saw one of the others looking his way. That
+was George's mute protest against all this foolishness;
+of course he had known that it would end
+this way right from the start, and had only agreed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span>
+to come along to please Elmer, as well as show
+them that ghosts had no terrors for any sensible
+scout.</p>
+
+<p>"'Sh!"</p>
+
+<p>A thrill passed over every fellow as Elmer gave
+vent to this warning hiss. They looked at him instinctively
+in order to learn the reason for it, and
+found that the scout master did not seem to be
+staring out of the open window as before. On
+the contrary he was intently focussing his gaze
+down the wide hall toward the group of shadows
+that clustered at the further end.</p>
+
+<p>And as their eyes also roved in this direction
+once again did that cold hand seem to grip every
+heart. Something white was moving there, beyond
+the shadow of a doubt! They watched it
+advance, and then retreat methodically, systematically,
+as though it might be a part of a well-oiled
+machine.</p>
+
+<p>Toby rubbed his eyes very hard, as though
+under the impression that they were playing him
+false; while George shoved up closer to the next
+in line, which happened to be Chatz, who bent
+over to stare into his face, as though eager to
+learn the condition of George's bold heart.</p>
+
+<p>What could it be? Certainly no dog had anything
+to do with this new source of alarm, for it
+was tall, after the fashion of a man, and seemed to
+be dressed in white from head to foot.</p>
+
+<p>Though they listened with all their might none
+of them could catch the sound of footfalls. If the
+mysterious object were a human being he must be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span>
+barefooted to be able to move along without making
+a sound; while if it were a spirit, as doubtless
+most of them were ready to admit by now, of
+course there was not anything remarkable about
+the silent tread, because all spirits are able to project
+themselves through space without even a shivering
+sound&mdash;so those who deem themselves competent
+to judge tell us.</p>
+
+<p>Elmer was perhaps also mystified more or less.
+Though he might know more about the secrets of
+the old house than any of his companions, still
+this particular manifestation was something he
+would like to have explained.</p>
+
+<p>There was no use asking any of the other boys,
+because they were naturally much more shaken up
+than he could be, and hardly able to give any information.
+The only way to do was to go to
+headquarters for his knowledge of facts; in other
+words creep along the hall, keeping in the
+shadows, until he found himself close enough to
+learn the true nature of the "ghost."</p>
+
+<p>That was what Elmer finally started to do.
+George managed to sense his going, and the gasp
+he gave voiced his apprehension, as well as his
+admiration for the bravery of his fellow scout.</p>
+
+<p>"Stay here!" whispered the leader, in the lowest
+possible tone, which could not have penetrated
+more than two feet away, but was enough to warn
+the others that he did not wish them to follow
+when he crept away.</p>
+
+<p>He went on hands and knees, picking out his
+shelter carefully as he advanced.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Five other fellows crouched there and continued
+to watch, first that puzzling white figure that
+noiselessly kept up its ceaseless parade back and
+forth, and then the creeping scout, slowly and
+carefully covering the space that separated him
+from the object under observation.</p>
+
+<p>They did not know what to expect in the way of
+a shock; anything seemed liable to happen just
+then. George in particular was wondering if his
+scoffing remarks, so lately uttered, could have been
+overheard; and whether they would likely attract
+particular attention in his quarter. He also remembered
+what Chatz had said, while they were
+still near the tents, to the effect that it was always
+much easier running in the moonlight than when
+the pall of darkness lay upon things; not that
+George was contemplating a wild retreat, of
+course not, so long as the others stood their
+ground; but then it did no harm to be prepared
+like a true and careful scout, so that he would
+know just how he must leap through that open
+window if there arose a sudden necessity.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, there was Elmer hunching his way
+along the hall toward the moving object in white
+that had so mystified them. He would raise himself,
+and push along a foot or so, and then resume
+his squatting position; but all the while steady
+progress was being made, and without any noise,
+however slight.</p>
+
+<p>When he had managed to make out what the
+nature of the white thing was, Elmer planned to
+return again to his chums, and if it proved to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span>
+be simply a human being like themselves, he had
+a scheme in his mind looking to first cutting off
+all retreat, and then making a capture, after which
+perhaps they could learn what all this mummery
+meant.</p>
+
+<p>Of course Elmer was always conscious of the
+fact that it would be an unwise act for him to pass
+out of the line of shadow, and allow the moonlight
+to fall upon him while making this advance.
+Fortunately there was sufficient shadow to admit
+of his passage without taking these chances.</p>
+
+<p>He had already passed over a quarter of the distance
+separating him from the mystery at the time
+he started, and everything seemed to be going as
+well as any one could wish. If he could only keep
+the good work up a little while longer Elmer believed
+he would be in a position to judge things
+for what they were, and not what the fears of the
+boys had made them appear.</p>
+
+<p>By straining his eyes to the utmost he fancied
+that he could even now make out what seemed to
+be the tall figure of a man, who was dressed all in
+white. His bearing was erect, and he carried
+himself with the stiffness of a soldier on parade.
+Yes, this comparison was made even stronger by
+the fact that he seemed to have something very
+much like a gun, though it may have been merely
+a stick, gripped tight, and held as a sentry might
+his weapon, while pacing back and forth before
+the tent where his commanding general lay sleeping.</p>
+
+<p>Elmer also stopped to rub his eyes, not that he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span>
+was doubting what he saw, but the continued
+strain weakened them, and even brought signs of
+tears, that made accurate seeing next to impossible.</p>
+
+<p>Well, half a dozen or so more hunches ought to
+carry him along far enough to enable him to make
+positive; and he believed he could accomplish it
+without betraying his presence to the unknown
+walker, be he human or a ghost.</p>
+
+<p>By this time the scout had drawn so close that
+he thought it good policy to remain perfectly quiet
+while the mysterious white object advanced toward
+him, making all his progress when the other
+had turned, and was moving away.</p>
+
+<p>The half-dozen contemplated movements had
+now been reduced to three, and he saw no reason
+to believe that his presence was known. This
+spoke well for his work as a scout; it also promised
+such a thing as success.</p>
+
+<p>Elmer had one thing in his favor, and this was
+an entire freedom from any belief in things supernatural.
+While he never boasted, like George,
+and some of the other scouts liked to do, at the
+same time he believed that everything claimed as
+belonging to the realm of spirits could be explained,
+if only one went about it the right way.</p>
+
+<p>On this account, then, he had not allowed himself
+to give even the least thought to such a thing as
+meeting a ghost. That white figure, to him, must
+be a man, no matter what motive influenced him to
+act in this strange way; and before he was done
+with the affair the scout master hoped to be able<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span>
+to probe the enigma, and find a reasonable answer
+that would fit the case.</p>
+
+<p>Another turn along on his hands and haunches
+took him just that much nearer the object of his
+solicitude. That left only two more to be negotiated
+before he would have reached the mark he
+had mentally chosen as the limit of his investigation.
+After that he must return to inform his
+friends of his discoveries, so that together they
+might lay plans looking to the capture of the white
+mystery.</p>
+
+<p>But boys as well as men often lay splendid
+plans without taking into account the element of
+chance that always abounds. Elmer might be doing
+all he figured on, and yet meet with a cruel
+disappointment.</p>
+
+<p>He had just drawn back to make the next to last
+forward hunch, and was in a position where any
+other movement was an utter impossibility when
+there sounded a loud and unmistakable sneeze!
+A draught of air had caught George without warning,
+and brought this catastrophe about before he
+could think to try and head it off by rubbing the
+sides of his nose vigorously, or through any other
+known agency.</p>
+
+<p>As the sneeze rang out Elmer, knowing what the
+result must be, attempted to gain his feet, meaning
+to spring boldly forward; but his awkward
+position placed a handicap on quick action, so that
+he wasted several precious seconds trying.
+When he did finally manage to gain an upright<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span>
+position it was to find that the white figure had
+vanished as utterly as though the floor had opened
+and swallowed it up; nor had the scout heard the
+slightest sound of a footfall.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XIV</h2>
+
+<div class='chaptertitle'>TOLD AROUND THE CAMP FIRE</div>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Of</span> course Elmer was disappointed when his
+carefully laid plans all went by the board, owing
+to that unfortunate sneeze, just at the worst possible
+time.</p>
+
+<p>As a matter of duty he ran forward to where
+that strange figure in white had been marching
+to and fro, but just as he fully expected there was
+not a single sign of the late presence.</p>
+
+<p>So Elmer walked back to where his anxious
+chums were crouching, craning their necks in the
+endeavor to ascertain what was going on. He
+found them ready to ply him with questions; and
+Toby's first act was to free himself from suspicion.</p>
+
+<p>"George did it, Elmer!" he hastened to say;
+"with his silly little sneeze. It sure gave us all a
+shock, and when I thought to look again that bally
+ghost was gone."</p>
+
+<p>"But how could I help it?" complained the
+guilty culprit. "I never had the least idea it was
+coming, when all at once it gripped me hard. If
+you'd offered me half a million dollars right then
+not to sneeze, I couldn't have earned thirty cents.
+It took me just as quick as that," and he snapped
+his fingers to illustrate how impotent he had been
+in the grasp of a necessity.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I've been there myself, George," said Elmer,
+kindly, because he knew how badly the other scout
+must feel on account of having upset all their
+plans; "and just as you say, sometimes a sneeze
+comes so fast you can't keep it back if your life
+depended on it. Of course it was unfortunate,
+because in another minute I'd have been close
+enough to have done all I wanted."</p>
+
+<p>"But my stars! Elmer," exclaimed Lil Artha,
+in dismay, "you didn't expect to jump that spooky
+thing all alone, I hope?"</p>
+
+<p>Elmer laughed, which act proved to the distressed
+George that his offense could not set so
+heavily on the mind of the scout master after all.</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly not, Lil Artha," Elmer told the
+long-legged scout; "I expected to drop back, and
+get the rest of you before anything was done.
+But accidents will happen even in the best regulated
+scout troops, and that was something nobody
+could help. Better luck next time."</p>
+
+<p>"Then, suh, you don't mean to give up this
+ghost hunt?" asked Chatz, with a ring of exultation
+in his voice.</p>
+
+<p>"Not if we have another chance to hook up with
+the mystery," replied Elmer.</p>
+
+<p>"But tell us, weren't you close enough up to
+see whether it was a real ghost or not?" demanded
+George, arousing to his old self again.</p>
+
+<p>Chatz could be heard giving a little indignant
+snort. He was evidently unable to understand
+how any one could doubt after seeing what they
+had. Chatz, with all his leaning toward a belief<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span>
+in spirits, had never before come so close to an
+object that had all the earmarks of a ghost; and
+he was correspondingly elated.</p>
+
+<p>"I guess I was all of that," Elmer replied,
+quietly.</p>
+
+<p>"And what do you think about it, Elmer?" continued
+George, persistently.</p>
+
+<p>"We want to know!" added Toby, determined
+to get his word in somehow.</p>
+
+<p>"There's a whole lot to tell," said Elmer, "and
+this isn't just the place to begin the story. So
+let's get back to the camp, where we can sit around
+the fire for another half hour, while I enlighten
+you on some things I happen to know."</p>
+
+<p>What he said gave the others a new thrill. For
+the first time some of the scouts became aware that
+their leader had all along been in possession of
+certain facts in connection with the strange appearance
+of this reputed ghost. One or two there
+were, notably Chatz Maxfield, who had suspected
+something of the kind, owing to the queer way
+Elmer had often smiled while the others were disputing
+fiercely concerning the possible identity of
+the specter.</p>
+
+<p>"That sounds good to me, Elmer," announced
+Lil Artha, without a second's hesitation, "and for
+one I'm ready to skip out of this place. It's raw
+and spooky enough here to give us all pneumonia.
+Let's get alongside a cheery old camp fire; and
+then you to spin the yarn. It wouldn't surprise
+me so much if I heard that you'd known the pedigree
+of our ghost all along, and was just holding<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span>
+back to see what fun you could shake out of the
+situation."</p>
+
+<p>"No, you're wrong there, Lil Artha!" declared
+the scout master, earnestly; "that isn't so. I began
+to have my suspicions, but up to now had
+found nothing to confirm them enough to warrant
+me telling what I knew, or thought. But the time
+has come, because this thing has gone far enough.
+Lend me your little flash-light torch, Lil Artha.
+The rest of you wait here for me again, please."</p>
+
+<p>As Elmer hurried away they noticed that he
+was making along the hall directly toward the
+spot where they had recently seen the weird white
+object that moved forward and back, again and
+again, with the regularity of clockwork.</p>
+
+<p>"He's gone to see if he can find any footprints
+in the dust on the floor?" suggested Ty Collins.</p>
+
+<p>At that Chatz gave another grunt, as though to
+his superior mind it was a very foolish remark;
+because ghosts never left any tracks behind them.
+But as he seemed to be in the minority, and knew
+it was hardly wise to invite another verbal attack,
+Chatz chose to seal his lips and remain dumb.
+His triumph would come later on, when they were
+seated around the glowing fire, and Elmer chose
+to explain his views of the matter, gleaned at close
+range.</p>
+
+<p>A short time passed thus. The scouts were
+keyed up to top-notch pitch, and the seconds
+dragged fearfully while they awaited the coming
+of their leader. They could see him moving
+about, by means of the little glow cast by the hand<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span>
+electric torch he had borrowed from Lil Artha;
+who felt that his fetching such a useful article
+along had vindicated his wisdom. Scouts should
+look ahead, and prepare themselves for all sorts of
+possible needs. That was what they were learning
+to do day after day, as they strove to earn new
+honors, and reach a higher plane in the great
+organization.</p>
+
+<p>Finally when the waiting scouts were beginning
+to sigh, and wish Elmer would get through with
+his searching around, they heard him give the
+well-known signal that was meant to call them to
+his side.</p>
+
+<p>"All ready to go back to camp now, fellows,"
+was all Elmer said as they hastened to join him;
+for it was necessary to pass by that way in heading
+for the stairs.</p>
+
+<p>Whether or not he had been successful in finding
+any traces of the mysterious <i>thing</i> they had
+been gaping at so long, Elmer did not bother
+telling them just then. That would keep until
+he was ready to explain fully.</p>
+
+<p>The camp, as we happen to know, was not far
+removed from the haunted house that had gained
+such a bad name among the farmers of that
+section for many years, on account of the sad
+story connected with its past; and in a short time
+they filed in before the two guardians of the
+stores, much to the satisfaction of Landy and
+Ted.</p>
+
+<p>Of course the pair who had been left behind
+were eager to know what had happened to their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span>
+more fortunate comrades who had gone on the
+ghost-hunting expedition; and they started to
+bombard Toby and Lil Artha with a series of questions
+that made the victims throw up their hands.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, we did see something, and that's right,"
+admitted the latter scout.</p>
+
+<p>"A tall white figure, too," broke in Chatz, who
+wanted to make sure that nothing was omitted in
+the telling that ought to be narrated; "and it kept
+moving up and down again and again like an uneasy
+spirit. If you asked me I'd say it was the
+ghost of old Judge Cartaret, come back to visit
+the scene of his crime!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! gosh!" was all the staggered Landy could
+say, but it expressed the state of his feelings exactly.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't believe too much of what Chatz says till
+you hear what Elmer's got to tell us all," warned
+Toby. "You see, he went and crept up close to
+that <i>aw</i>ful figure, and then George here, just like
+he wanted to try things out, and see if it really
+was a ghost, had to give a whopper of a sneeze;
+and when we looked again the thing had disappeared
+like smoke. But Elmer knows something,
+and he promised to tell us the real stuff when we
+got sitting around our bully fire here. So pull
+up, fellows, and let him know we're all ready to
+listen."</p>
+
+<p>"Take my word for it," Lil Artha told them,
+"I'm wild to hear what Elmer knows."</p>
+
+<p>"What he <i>believes</i>, say, Lil Artha," corrected
+the scout master, pleasantly; "for I haven't been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span>
+able to prove it to my satisfaction yet, though I
+hope to do that before we leave up here."</p>
+
+<p>"That's all right, Elmer," said Toby, quickly;
+"your word's as good as your bond, and when you
+<i>think</i> a thing it's pretty sure to be it!"</p>
+
+<p>This remarkable confidence which his chums
+had in him always spurred Elmer on to doing his
+level best. He felt that he could not afford to
+lose a shred of such sublime faith; and no doubt
+on many occasions this had enabled him to gain
+his end when otherwise he might have considered
+the case hopeless, and abandoned all design of succeeding.</p>
+
+<p>Accordingly the whole eight of them found
+places around the fire, which had of course been
+built up again until it was a cheery sight. Around
+midnight at the extreme end of November the air
+is apt to be pretty chilly during the small hours
+of the night, so that the boys could hardly keep
+up too hot a blaze to satisfy their wants.</p>
+
+<p>Naturally all of them had made sure that from
+where they sat they could see the face of Elmer.
+As he was the center of attraction it was bound
+to add more to their pleasure if they could watch
+him as he explained, and told his story of achievement.</p>
+
+<p>The scout master looked around at that circle
+of eager boyish faces, and smiled. He was very
+fond of every one there; after his own fashion
+each scout had his good points, and Elmer knew
+them all, for had he not seen them tested many a
+time?<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"First of all, fellows," he remarked, "I'm going
+back to the other time we were up here, and
+Toby declared he saw a white face at one of the
+windows, which news gave us all such a queer feeling,
+because we couldn't tell whether it was so or
+not. You remember after we left the house I
+went back again?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sure you did, Elmer; but you never said a
+word about finding anything!" George remarked.</p>
+
+<p>"But he looked it," muttered Chatz, with increasing
+uneasiness.</p>
+
+<p>"I went up to that window again, and hunted
+around to see if there was any sign of footprints
+there," Elmer continued. "You know that in all
+the years the house has been lying there deserted
+the dust has collected everywhere, though don't
+ask me where it could come from, because I don't
+know. Sometimes rain would beat in through the
+broken windows, and lay it, but the wind coming
+later on set it free again. Anyway, there was
+tracking dust there on that floor, and I found what
+I was looking for!"</p>
+
+<p>Everybody was hanging on his words. Chatz
+gave a groan. He saw that a death blow was
+being given to his cherished belief; for of course
+if Elmer had found <i>tracks</i>, the one who had made
+them could never have been a ghost.</p>
+
+<p>No one else was sorry, apparently. Indeed,
+there was more or less actual relief in the series
+of sighs that welled up, especially from George,
+who had secretly been getting a little shaky with
+regard to his disinclination to believe in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span>
+ability of spirits to return to the scene of their
+earthly troubles for divers purposes.</p>
+
+<p>"You mean there was a track there; is that it,
+Elmer?" asked Toby.</p>
+
+<p>"I found several of them, though our tramping
+around had almost covered the trail up," Elmer
+went on, steadily.</p>
+
+<p>"But how could you tell them from the marks
+we left?" continued Toby.</p>
+
+<p>At that Elmer laughed.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, that was as easy as tumbling off a log,
+Toby," he replied. "I guess even a tenderfoot
+could have told, because you see the strange track
+showed that the other party was <i>barefooted</i>!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh!" gasped George and Lil Artha in a
+breath; while Chatz did not say a single word,
+only sat there with his eyes fixed on the beaming
+face of the scout master, and the light of a cruel
+disappointment in their depths.</p>
+
+<p>"I tried to follow the trail," continued Elmer,
+"but that dust happened to be limited in its scope,
+so that it was more than I could master, and I
+had to give it up. But of course the fact that a
+barefooted man had been at that window where
+Toby said he saw a white face gave me lots to
+think about, even if I did make up my mind not to
+say anything about my find until I had more to
+tell."</p>
+
+<p>When Elmer paused to get his breath Toby
+grinned as though greatly pleased.</p>
+
+<p>"See!" he ejaculated, thrusting his chin out aggressively,
+"some of you other fellows thought I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span>
+was seeing things that didn't exist, and you
+knocked me right hard about gettin' a pair of
+specs, because I needed the same. But seems like
+it was you ought to go and visit the oculist. I <i>did</i>
+see a face, and it was sure a white one in the bargain.
+But excuse me, Elmer, for keepin' the floor
+so long; that's out of my system now, and let's
+forget it. Please go on and tell us the rest, because
+I'm dead sure there's a lot more back of
+this."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," the other scout observed, "of course,
+when we got home I was bound to go around and
+ask a lot of questions about the old Cartaret place
+up here; and everything else I could hit on.
+What I learned didn't add a great deal to my
+stock of knowledge until just by accident I happened
+to read a little item in an old number of the
+Stackhouse <i>News</i> that came to our house, and it
+set me to thinking out a theory. That article was
+about a family named Oxley that live near Stackhouse
+I should think. It seems that they have the
+misfortune to have a son who is crazy, because of
+some accident to his head several years ago. He
+wasn't violent, and like some people they couldn't
+bear the thought of having him shut up in an
+asylum; so they hired a keeper, and he was
+watched at home. But it seems that he must have
+slipped away, for a report had gone out that he
+was missing, and the paper asked its readers to
+communicate with the family if by chance they
+came upon a demented man, dressed in the white
+uniform of a Spanish officer; for it seems he had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span>
+been in Cuba during the war, and imagined himself
+a soldier again."</p>
+
+<p>Elmer paused to let what he had said sink into
+the minds of his chums; and it could be easily seen
+from the way they exchanged knowing looks that
+the full significance of the scout master's discovery
+had struck them heavily.</p>
+
+<p>"Elmer, you hit the right nail on the head when
+you guessed that!" cried Toby.</p>
+
+<p>"Dressed in white, too; that clinches the
+thing!" added Lil Artha.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm afraid it does," sighed Chatz, in a disappointed
+tone, while George only said:</p>
+
+<p>"Mebbe it does; but you can't always sometimes
+tell!"</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XV</h2>
+
+<div class='chaptertitle'>THE BOOGIE OF THE TOWER</div>
+
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Let</span> Elmer go on, and tell us some more," suggested
+Toby.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, we can talk it all over after we know the
+whole thing," added Lil Artha.</p>
+
+<p>"Once I got that notion in my head," the scout
+master continued, "and I began to investigate
+along those lines. When I heard from two
+farmers in the market, who happened to live up
+this way, that for weeks they had been missing
+things off their places, mostly something to eat, I
+began to figure it out that the crazy man had to
+live, and would most likely forage for his grub,
+about like Sherman's bummers did in the Civil
+War, subsisting on the enemy's country.</p>
+
+<p>"One of the hayseeds told me he had even set a
+trap for the thief, thinking it might be just an
+ordinary hobo; and when the alarm came one night
+he had hurried out to the hen-house only to find a
+couple of chickens gone, and the trap sprung, but
+no victim in it, for the thief had been too smart
+for him. But he said it beat him all hollow when
+he found tracks of <i>bare feet</i> around on the partly
+frozen ground in the morning, because it seemed
+queer that any tramp would be going around without
+shoes so near winter time!"</p>
+
+<p>"Whew!" gasped Toby, entranced, and almost<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span>
+held spellbound by this thrilling recital of facts
+and fancies.</p>
+
+<p>"The other farmer," Elmer went on to say,
+"told me that twice when he had had a visit from
+the strange thief he managed to glimpse something
+white that was making off at top speed, and
+which he expected was a man, though he couldn't
+be sure. He also said he had loaded up his
+double-barrel shotgun, and was going to give the
+rascal a hot reception the next time he called
+around. All of which kept making me feel that I
+was on the right track."</p>
+
+<p>"You just bet you were, Elmer!" Lil Artha exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>"A figure in white, remember, fellows; and the
+one we saw to-night was dressed that way, as sure
+as shooting!" said Toby, convincingly.</p>
+
+<p>"The poor Oxley fellow was in Cuba during the
+Spanish war, and must have fetched the white uniform
+of a Spanish officer home with him," suggested
+Ty Collins; "when he went out of his mind
+he imagined himself a Spanish recruit, and they
+let him wear that soldier suit to humor him."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, and right now he believes he has escaped
+from an American prison, and is trying to hide
+from the guard. He has to eat to live, and so he
+steals things from the farmers around. Of course
+it's only a matter of good luck that he hasn't been
+shot before now; and it couldn't last much
+longer."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, when winter gets here in dead earnest
+the poor fellow would freeze to death, like as not,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span>
+George remarked, showing that he was being convinced
+against his will.</p>
+
+<p>"But what gets me is his staying around the
+old haunted house," remarked Toby.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I don't see what there is queer about
+that," Lil Artha declared. "Course he couldn't
+know anything about all this talk, so it's hardly
+likely he's been trying to play ghost on us. We
+fooled ourselves, that's what," with a quick look
+toward Chatz, as though to intimate that possibly
+the Southern boy had had considerable to do with
+their being hoodwinked; which was a lamentable
+fact, for a small fraction of yeast will scatter
+through the whole pan of dough.</p>
+
+<p>"And when you come to think of it," added Lil
+Artha, who had something of a long head when
+a knotty question was involved, "where could a
+crazy man find a better hiding place than in a
+house said to be haunted, I'd like to know?"</p>
+
+<p>"The poor fellow!" Ted was heard to say, that
+being his first utterance. "Tell you what, we
+ought to put in all the rest of our time up here trying
+to capture him. I'd never feel thatithfied to
+lie in my comfy bed at home nighth, thinking of
+him up here, freezing perhapth. Thay we will,
+Elmer, and you too, boyth!"</p>
+
+<p>Ted was tender-hearted, and could never bear
+to see any one suffer if he had it in his power to
+alleviate the pain. He promised to make a fine
+doctor some day, for his knowledge along the
+line of medicine and surgery was really wonderful;
+but while the other scouts had been so deeply<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span>
+interested in figuring things out, and settling the
+question of the strange man's identity, Ted had
+doubtless only considered his physical sufferings
+past and present.</p>
+
+<p>"I promise you that, Ted, with all my heart,"
+Elmer assured him, promptly enough, "because I
+wouldn't be satisfied to go away and leave a helpless
+fellow like that here. I only wonder that he
+hasn't tried to steal some of our stores before now;
+and perhaps we could set a trap that would catch
+him, if he ever does come into camp. But we
+won't depend too much on that. Sometimes the
+mountain won't come to you; and then you've got
+to go to the mountain. That's one of the sayings
+the Mohammedans have about their prophet, you
+know. Well, to-morrow we'll get busy looking
+around, and see if we can locate this Ralph
+Oxley."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! is that his full name, then?" asked Toby,
+and he repeated it to himself, as though he rather
+liked the sound: "Ralph Oxley!"</p>
+
+<p>"He must have some sort of hiding-place around
+here," Toby ventured, "and who knows but what
+we might run across the trail of a barefooted man
+somewhere, that would lead us to his den."</p>
+
+<p>"These crazy people are pretty slick, let me tell
+you," George hinted; "and it ain't going to be an
+easy job to run him down."</p>
+
+<p>"It mightn't be for some fellows who knew next
+to nothing about tracking," Lil Artha spoke up,
+proudly; "but when scouts have been through as
+much as we have it's different. Once we get a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span>
+sight of his tracks, and believe me there'll be
+something doing right away."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm glad to hear you say that, Lil Artha," the
+scout master told him; "it shows that you've got
+a heap of confidence in your knowledge of the
+trail. Well, you've a right to feel that way. I
+can remember several times when you beat us all
+out in finding signs, and getting there in the end.
+We'll all do our level best to find his lair, and
+bring back Mr. Oxley's son in the flesh. They
+must be dreadfully worried about his absence by
+this time, and believe he has been drowned in
+either Lake Jupiter or the Sweetwater River. It
+would be a feather in our caps if we could restore
+the poor fellow to his folks."</p>
+
+<p>"You told us he was a soldier, didn't you, Elmer?"
+pursued Toby; "and say, p'raps now he
+thought he was on guard when he kept marching
+back and forth dozens of times to-night. How
+about that, Elmer?"</p>
+
+<p>"No doubt about it at all, Toby," came the reply;
+"for that was what he was doing. I remembered
+what they had told me about his wearing
+white clothes, even if they were soiled some by
+now, and thinking he is a Spanish soldier. I believe
+he had a stick held up against his shoulder,
+for all the world like a sentry's gun, and if we
+hadn't frightened him off he might have kept that
+thing up for hours."</p>
+
+<p>They continued to talk it over for some further
+time, and then having apparently about exhausted
+the subject made ready to turn in. First Elmer<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span>
+picked out two others who were to constitute the
+first watch with him. They had to sit it out for
+a certain length of time, and keep constantly on
+the lookout for a visitor; but as the limit of their
+vigil was reached, and nothing happened, Elmer
+aroused three other scouts, and bade them take
+the places vacated by himself, Toby and Lil Artha.</p>
+
+<p>Morning arrived, and there had been no alarm.
+It was to be assumed that those who had fulfilled
+the duties of sentries during the latter part of the
+night had not slept on their posts. Elmer made
+an examination of the stores, and found nothing
+amiss there; so it was settled that the crazy man
+could not have mustered up enough courage to invade
+the camp of those he considered his enemies.</p>
+
+<p>After breakfast Elmer, accompanied by Chatz
+and Lil Artha, started out to take a turn around
+in the woods, and look for signs of a trail made by
+bare feet. Some of the others amused themselves
+as they saw fit, sure that if the trail-seekers
+did make any interesting discovery they would
+hear all about the same, and undoubtedly be given
+a chance to help follow it.</p>
+
+<p>It was Saturday, and had they been at home no
+doubt these same boys might have been kicking
+the pigskin oval around with their fellows, since it
+was still the gridiron season, and most of them belonged
+to the Hickory Ridge football squad.
+They were much happier, however, in having
+chosen this last camping trip of the season, for
+like true scouts their keenest enjoyment lay in getting
+in close touch with Nature, and learning many<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span>
+of her most cherished secrets. Football was all
+very good in its way, but there were better things,
+as they had learned through experience; and a
+search after practical knowledge was one of them.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, I'll never get a better time to try it out,"
+Toby up and declared as he began to gather that
+bundle of his in his arms; "and I hope a couple of
+you fellows will come with me to see my crowning
+triumph."</p>
+
+<p>"I s'pose that means you're thinking of taking
+that fool jump off the tower of the old house, and
+want us to be parties to the crime?" George suggested,
+bitingly.</p>
+
+<p>Toby surveyed him scornfully.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm intending to make a glorious drop, and
+land on the ground as light as any chicken feather
+might," he went on to say, with emphasis. "If
+that's all the faith you've got in your chum's
+ability, George, mebbe you'd better stay here in
+camp. It will spare you the sight of my getting
+a broken leg, you know. I didn't ask you when I
+extended that invitation; but I would like to have
+Ty and Ted come along; Landy too if he wants to
+join us, and shout when I prove the great value
+of my noble invention along humanitarian lines."</p>
+
+<p>"Whew! you have got it down pat," chuckled
+Landy.</p>
+
+<p>"Sure you want Doctor Ted along," sneered
+George; "you know which side of your bread's
+buttered, don't you, Toby? If a cog slips in
+your wheels, and you take a hard tumble you'll
+find his being on hand mighty acceptable. I'd<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span>
+carry splints and bandages in plenty, Ted. And
+if I have time I think I'll start to shaping up some
+kind of crutch while you're away. Things like
+that come in handy sometimes. This is going to
+be one of those times, I'm afraid."</p>
+
+<p>"Rats! you old croaker, nothing would ever be
+accomplished in this world if everybody was like
+you. They'd be afraid to take a chance. Things
+that their ancestors used 'd be good enough for
+them, like the Chinese. But thank goodness
+there are <i>some</i> progressive people livin' these
+days, like Edison, Marconi, and a few others."</p>
+
+<p>"Jones, f'r instance!" chuckled George.
+"Well, if I don't show up at the exhibition good
+luck to you, Toby. I hope it won't be anything
+worse than a leg, or your collarbone, or five teeth
+knocked out. I wish you great success. Tell me
+all about it when you get back. And I'm in dead
+earnest about that crutch, too. I think I know
+how to shape one out of a thick wild grapevine, if
+I can only find the right sort."</p>
+
+<p>There was no use trying to talk George down,
+once he got started, and no one knew this better
+than Toby, who had been worsted in many a
+verbal encounter before now, so he only jerked
+his head contemptuously, and lifting his burden,
+called out to the others:</p>
+
+<p>"Come along, boys, if you've decided to be witnesses
+to my triumph. Mebbe your names will go
+ringing down the ages too, as being present when
+the glorious test was made that marked the end of
+aviators' perils."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"One thing I think we'd better do, Toby," suggested
+Ty.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, name it," the other threw over his shoulder
+as he tramped sturdily along, carrying his
+wonderful parachute ready for business.</p>
+
+<p>"When you say you're all ready for the jump
+I'm going to give the wolf call, so Elmer, Lil Artha
+and Chatz can have a chance to come around, and
+share the honor with us of being living witnesses
+of your work."</p>
+
+<p>Toby seemed to ponder this for half a minute;
+and then remarked:</p>
+
+<p>"I guess that would only be fair, because Elmer
+might feel huffed if I jumped into glory, and him
+not there to see it. Yes, I'll get up on the tower
+and when I say the word you give the '<i>how&mdash;oooo</i>'
+call that'll fetch 'em running."</p>
+
+<p>"Consider that a bargain then, Toby," Ty told
+him; "and remember, don't you go to making your
+jump till they come up. Elmer might be provoked,
+and believe you sneaked off unbeknown to
+him to try the same. They're likely somewhere
+close by, I reckon, and we're apt to run across the
+trackers hard at work while we're on our way to
+the haunted house right now."</p>
+
+<p>But they did not, although they caught the sound
+of voices through the aisles of the dense woods,
+and knew that Elmer with his comrades must be
+somewhere, not far away.</p>
+
+<p>The old building stood there just as they had
+seen it before. Landy and Ty had not been along
+when the nutting party met with their first adventure<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span>
+here; but on the preceding afternoon they
+had surveyed the wreck of a house, so that their
+only experience had not been the one at midnight.</p>
+
+<p>Besides, now that the halo of mystery had been
+removed, so that they knew the white object they
+had seen was only a poor crazy fellow and not a
+ghost from the other world, the boys experienced
+far less timidity about approaching the house.</p>
+
+<p>"We'll stay down here, Toby," said Ty, as he
+took up a position that was directly underneath
+the tower.</p>
+
+<p>Ted had carried a burden along with him also.
+This he now threw upon the ground, and it proved
+to be one of the stout camping blankets. Toby
+only chuckled when he saw that.</p>
+
+<p>"Please yourselves, fellows," he assured his
+comrades, "but you won't need anything like that.
+I'm going to float like a thistledown. It'll be the
+triumph of the age, and don't you forget it.
+Watch what I do, now, everybody!"</p>
+
+<p>With that Toby boldly entered the house, and
+started to make his way up to the tower. Apparently
+he must have noticed how one could reach
+that elevated region, though as yet none of them
+had thought to go there. Inside of five minutes
+the boys below saw him looking down at them from
+far above.</p>
+
+<p>"Wait till I get my parachute ready, fellows!"
+he called; "and there's Elmer and the rest hurrying
+up, waving their hands like they wanted me to
+hold on till they got here. Mebbe I will; the more
+the merrier! Stretchin' out your old blanket,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span>
+are you? Well, take my word for it you won't
+need to grab me any. I'm staking a heap on this
+thing to hold me up easy. Wow! what's this?
+Let go, there, you don't get that precious thing
+away from me! Hey! fellows, here's that crazy
+man tackled me! He's wantin' to grab everything!
+Quit pushin' or you'll have us both
+tumblin' over the edge! Whoop! somebody come
+up here and help, or he'll get me!"</p>
+
+<p>The two boys below heard all this shouted at the
+top of Toby's voice; although of course they had
+but slight glimpses of the struggling figures above.
+A desperate wrestling for the possession of the
+parachute was evidently going on, for they could
+hear the sound of scuffling feet; and besides, Elmer
+and the others who were fast coming on the
+run, seemed to be shouting at the top of their
+voices, as though under the impression that by the
+noise of their yells they might alarm the man who
+was out of his mind and had attacked the scout,
+believing him an enemy.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XVI</h2>
+
+<div class='chaptertitle'>HOMEWARD BOUND&mdash;CONCLUSION</div>
+
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Help!</span> Let go of me! Hi! Elmer, he's up
+here! Come quick, I can't hold him any longer!"</p>
+
+<p>That was what Toby was shrieking excitedly,
+as he struggled with the poor demented Spanish
+War veteran. Then there came answering shouts
+from Elmer, now close at hand; but of course Toby
+could not carry out any directions that were fired
+at him.</p>
+
+<p>Presently those below saw the two figures topple
+over the edge, Toby still frantically clutching his
+beloved parachute, which was extended to its
+fullest dimensions, and the other evidently fiercely
+trying to hold on to his supposed enemy.</p>
+
+<p>The extended blanket was torn from the grasp
+of the two boys, despite their earnest attempt to
+hold it taut; but at the same time it must have
+helped break the fall of the pair. The parachute
+had not been built for two, and could not be expected
+to bear their combined weight, in spite of
+Toby's boasts about half a ton not being too
+much.</p>
+
+<p>One of the recumbent figures instantly sprang
+to his knees. It was Toby, and he still gripped
+the rod of his parachute with a determined hold.</p>
+
+<p>"Never hurt me a teenty bit!" he shrilled, in
+his excitement; and then he suddenly stilled his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span>
+ardor, for on looking down he saw the crazy man,
+dressed in that soiled white uniform brought from
+Cuba, lying there with the blood trickling down
+the side of his head, and the sight shocked Toby
+into repressing his exultation.</p>
+
+<p>But Elmer was coming on the run, and already
+Doctor Ted had knelt beside Ralph Oxley, with
+his professional instincts all aroused. He sent
+one of the boys racing to the camp for his medicine
+case; and Elmer on his arrival suggested that
+they carry the unconscious young man to where
+the fire burned.</p>
+
+<p>Being scouts, and accustomed to making a good
+litter out of almost anything, they speedily arranged
+it so that between four of them the victim
+of the fall was borne to the camp. On the way
+they met Lil Artha and George, hurrying toward
+the house; but of course these parties now returned
+with them, since the medicine case was
+needed in camp.</p>
+
+<p>Ted first of all washed the wound in the young
+soldier's head with cold water, and then applied
+a cloth soaked in soothing balm, that would assist
+in stopping the bleeding.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I hope he isn't going to die on us,"
+said Toby, who seemed to feel that in some way
+his desire to test his parachute life-saving appliance
+from the tower of the old house had
+brought this near-tragedy about, and hence he felt
+unusually sorry.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think tho," Doctor Ted hastened to
+tell him; "he got a nathty cwack on the head,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span>
+and it's fwactured it thome, but right now he
+theems to be coming out of the daze. There, did
+you thee his eyeth open and thut again? Next
+time he'll keep them open, believe me, fellowth."</p>
+
+<p>Imagine the amazement and consternation of
+the boys when a minute later Ralph Oxley not
+only opened his eyes, but stared all around at
+each one in turn, then at the tents and the burning
+camp fire.</p>
+
+<p>"Where am I?" he stammered, weakly.
+"What's all this mean? Are we still at the
+front? Where's my khaki uniform like the ones
+you're wearing, and why have you put this old
+white one on me? It's a Spanish suit. I know
+because I've got one like it home. Who are
+you? I don't seem to recognize any of you
+boys."</p>
+
+<p>What seemed next door to a miracle had been
+wrought! Elmer and Ted stared eagerly at each
+other as though they could hardly believe their
+senses.</p>
+
+<p>"He's got his mind back again!" exclaimed
+Chatz, wildly exultant. "It must have been the
+crack on the head did it. I've heard of such
+things, but never thought I'd ever run up against
+a case. Why, he's as sensible as any of us, fellows!"</p>
+
+<p>Elmer rushed forward, and stood over the recumbent
+man, who looked at him with a puzzled
+air.</p>
+
+<p>"Your name is Ralph Oxley, isn't it?" asked
+the scout master, quietly.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Yes, it is, but&mdash;" began the other, when Elmer
+raised his hand to stop him.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll explain as near as I can to you," he went
+on to say. "You were hurt on the head a few
+years ago, and went out of your mind. Ever
+since your folks have kept you at home because
+they said you were not dangerous, but there was
+an attendant employed to look after you. Some
+weeks ago you escaped, and nobody has ever
+found where you went. They feared you had
+been drowned somewhere. But you must have
+had the idea you were a Spanish soldier escaped
+from an American prison, for you have been in
+hiding up here at the old Cartaret house, and
+getting what food you could by raiding the farms
+all around. We are Boy Scouts belonging at
+Hickory Ridge, and the other day when we were
+up here we thought we glimpsed somebody, but
+a few of my chums believed it was a ghost. Now
+we've come to spend our Thanksgiving holidays
+in camp. You had a bad tumble, striking your
+head again, and cutting it; but somehow it has
+brought you back to your right mind, Ralph Oxley."</p>
+
+<p>The young man, who could hardly have been
+more than thirty-five years of age, though a veteran
+of the Spanish war, put up his hand, and
+felt of his head, wincing with the pain the contact
+gave him. A tinge of color was creeping
+back into his pale face, which Elmer was delighted
+to see.</p>
+
+<p>"It is all a mystery to me," Ralph Oxley told<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span>
+them, shaking his head. "I have no recollection
+of doing anything like you say. In fact, the last
+thing I remember seems to be of riding out to
+look over a new farm my father had bought, and
+of my horse running away when some one shot
+close by the road. After that it is all a dead
+blank; and yet you say some years have passed
+since then?"</p>
+
+<p>He seemed awed by the thought.</p>
+
+<p>"That must have been where you were
+thrown, striking on your head, received the injury
+that caused your mind to become a blank,"
+Elmer told him; while Doctor Ted nodded vigorously
+as though seconding the motion.</p>
+
+<p>"But I'm in a terrible position, with only these
+thin clothes on, and no shoes or socks on my
+feet," remarked the man, who, now that he had
+returned to his senses, could apparently feel the
+sting of the cold air, something that doubtless he
+may not have been sensitive to before.</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps we can fix you up with something to
+tide over," Chatz told him. "Here's Lil Artha,
+whose feet must be the same size as yours, and I
+happen to know he brought a pair of new extra
+moccasins along, which he hasn't worn yet."</p>
+
+<p>First one, and then another proposed lending
+Ralph certain garments, until in the end he was
+well taken care of. He even sat with them,
+propped up in a comfortable seat, and ate the
+dinner the scouts prepared, asking dozens of
+eager questions, many of which they were not
+able to answer, because they concerned his people,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span>
+and none of the scouts happened to know
+them.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm going to make a proposition to you, fellows,"
+said Elmer, when they had finished their
+meal; "and here it is. You know Stackhouse is
+about eleven miles away from here, though twice
+that far from Hickory Ridge. My map shows a
+fairly decent road leading there. Suppose we
+pull up stakes and start for Mr. Oxley's home?
+We could make it before sunset, I should think.
+It's true that our camping trip would be cut short
+a day, but I'm sure I voice the sentiments of
+every fellow that we'll feel mighty well repaid
+for any little sacrifice like that when we turn in
+to the Oxley place and bring back their lost son,
+not what he was when he ran away, but clothed
+in his right mind. Everybody in favor of that
+move say aye!"</p>
+
+<p>A chorus answered him in the affirmative; why,
+even that hardened objector, Doubting George,
+shouted with the rest; for once having apparently
+chosen to be what Toby called "civilized."</p>
+
+<p>Ralph Oxley had tears in his eyes as he insisted
+on shaking hands with every one of the
+scouts.</p>
+
+<p>"You're a fine lot of boys, let me tell you!"
+he declared, with deep feeling; "and I wouldn't
+accept your sacrifice only for my mother's sake.
+They ought to know the happy news as soon as
+possible. Every minute that I'm delayed is just
+so much more suffering for my dear parents; and
+a sweet girl too that I was going to marry when<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span>
+that accident came about. But I'll never forget
+it, fellows; and you'll hear from the Oxley family
+later on."</p>
+
+<p>"Not a word about any money reward, suh!"
+cried Chatz, sternly; "we're scouts, and we'd
+scorn to accept anything in the way of pay for
+doing a thing like this. It's given us a heap more
+pleasure than anything that's happened for many
+moons, believe me, suh!"</p>
+
+<p>"And to think," added Toby, with a beaming
+smile on his face, "my remarkable parachute
+came near holding up double weight. I really
+believe if only Mr. Oxley here hadn't managed
+to strike his head on that cornice when he fell,
+both of us would have landed without a scratch.
+And let me tell you that I think it's already
+shown what a life-saver it's bound to be."</p>
+
+<p>"Hurrah for Jones, the greatest after Edison
+this country has ever produced," cried Lil Artha,
+pretending to wave his hat furiously.</p>
+
+<p>They were soon all at work, and the tents came
+down with a rush, for long experience along these
+lines had made Elmer and his scouts clever hands
+at anything pertaining to camp life. Nancy was
+hitched up, and the wagon loaded. They made a
+comfortable seat with the tents and the blankets
+for the injured young man; and before an hour
+had elapsed, after finishing that last meal, they
+had said good-bye to the haunted house, and were
+on their way.</p>
+
+<p>It was a long though not uninteresting afternoon
+ride; because they were passing over a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span>
+district that was practically new to them.</p>
+
+<p>Presently they overtook a young woman who
+was tripping along ahead of them. Just as Elmer
+was about to ask her something about the
+Oxleys she gave a shriek, and rushing to the tail-end
+of the wagon commenced to reach out toward
+the wounded passenger, calling his name in
+great excitement.</p>
+
+<p>It developed, of course, that this was the same
+girl Ralph had been about to marry at the time of
+his unfortunate accident; and her wild delight
+at finding that the missing one had not only been
+found, but was restored to his proper senses as by
+a miracle, can better be imagined than described.</p>
+
+<p>Shortly afterwards they turned in at the fine
+Oxley farm, and it was not long before the greatest
+excitement came about that had been known
+in that region for many a month. The mother
+had her boy in her arms, and was trying to laugh
+and cry at the same time; the father came running
+madly to the spot; and what with dogs barking,
+and people shouting, persons passing must
+have thought a lunatic asylum had broken loose.</p>
+
+<p>The boys did not linger long after they had
+seen the family reunited; though everybody
+wanted to shower them with thanks, and praise
+for their having brought such happiness to the
+bereft home of the Oxleys. And Ralph assured
+them that he and the young woman who was to
+be his wife would certainly drive over to see the
+Hickory Ridge folks just as soon as he was able
+to be about again.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Well, as they were a long distance from home,
+with darkness near at hand, the boys determined
+to go as far along the road toward Hickory Ridge
+as Nancy could draw the load, and then proceed
+to camp somewhere for one night.</p>
+
+<p>It was all a part of the outing, and no one appeared
+to regret having followed the generous
+dictates of their warm young hearts.</p>
+
+<p>While their camp that night may not have been
+as comfortable as before, because of the lack of
+time to do certain things, they managed to get
+a fair amount of sleep. No doubt the consciousness
+of having responded to the demands of scout
+duty afforded them more or less solid satisfaction;
+for even George was heard to say, as they
+drew near the familiar home scenes on that quiet
+Sunday afternoon, it had been one of the best
+little outings the Hickory Ridge Boy Scouts had
+ever enjoyed; and it must needs be something
+beyond the ordinary that could coax this kind of
+stuff from Doubting George.</p>
+
+<p>But that year was fated not to die out without
+Elmer and his chums being given another splendid
+opportunity to show what their scout training
+was worth, as the reader will discover upon
+securing the volume that follows this, and which
+is to be had under the title of "The Hickory
+Ridge Boy Scouts Storm-Bound; or, A Vacation
+Among the Snow Drifts."</p>
+
+
+<div class='center'>THE END</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span></p>
+<div class='bbox2'><div class='adtitle'><i><span class='u'>The</span> <span class='u'>Mountain</span> <span class='u'>Boys</span> <span class='u'>Series</span></i></div>
+
+
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Book list">
+<tr><td align='left'>1. <span class="smcap">Phil Bradley's Mountain Boys</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>2. <span class="smcap">Phil Bradley at the Wheel</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>3. <span class="smcap">Phil Bradley's Shooting Box</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>4. <span class="smcap">Phil Bradley's Snow-Shoe Trail</span></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<p>These books describe with interesting
+detail the experiences of a party of boys
+among the mountain pines.</p>
+
+<p>They teach the young reader how to
+protect himself against the elements, what
+to do and what to avoid, and above all to
+become self-reliant and manly.</p>
+
+<div class='center'>
+<i>12mo.</i>   :: &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  ::&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  :: &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;     <i>Cloth.</i><br />
+<i>40 cents per volume; postpaid</i><br />
+<br />
+<b>THE NEW YORK BOOK COMPANY</b><br />
+<br />
+<span class="smcap">201 East 12th Street</span>    &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;     <span class="smcap">New York</span><br />
+</div></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span></p>
+<div class='bbox2'><div class='center'><span class='adtitle2'>The Campfire and Trail Series</span></div></div>
+
+<div class='bbox2'>
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Booklist">
+<tr><td align='left'>1. <span class="smcap">In Camp on the Big Sunflower.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>2. <span class="smcap">The Rivals of the Trail.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>3. <span class="smcap">The Strange Cabin on Catamount Island.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>4. <span class="smcap">Lost in the Great Dismal Swamp.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>5. <span class="smcap">With Trapper Jim in the North Woods.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>6. <span class="smcap">Caught in a Forest Fire.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>7. <span class="smcap">Chums of the Campfire.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>8. <span class="smcap">Afloat on the Flood.</span></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+<div class='center'><br />
+By LAWRENCE J. LESLIE.<br />
+</div>
+
+<p>A series of wholesome stories for boys told
+in an interesting way and appealing to their
+love of the open.</p>
+
+<div class='center'>
+<i>Each, 12mo.</i>    &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;    <i>Cloth.</i>    &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;    <i>40 cents per volume</i><br />
+</div><br /></div><div class='bbox2'>
+<div class='center'>THE NEW YORK BOOK COMPANY<br />
+201 EAST 12th &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; :: &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;   ::  &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  STREET NEW YORK<br />
+</div></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span></p>
+<div class='adtitle2'>THE "HOW-TO-DO-IT" BOOKS</div>
+
+<div class='center'><span class="smcap">By J. S. ZERBE</span></div>
+
+
+<div class='adtitle'><br /><span class="smcap">Carpentry for Boys</span></div>
+
+<p>A book which treats, in a most practical and fascinating manner
+all subjects pertaining to the "King of Trades"; showing the care
+and use of tools; drawing; designing, and the laying out of work;
+the principles involved in the building of various kinds of structures,
+and the rudiments of architecture. It contains over two
+hundred and fifty illustrations made especially for this work, and
+includes also a complete glossary of the technical terms used in the
+art. The most comprehensive volume on this subject ever published
+for boys.</p>
+<div class='center'>&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;</div>
+
+<div class='adtitle'><br /><span class="smcap">Electricity for Boys</span></div>
+
+<p>The author has adopted the unique plan of setting forth the fundamental
+principles in each phase of the science, and practically
+applying the work in the successive stages. It shows how the
+knowledge has been developed, and the reasons for the various
+phenomena, without using technical words so as to bring it within
+the compass of every boy. It has a complete glossary of terms, and
+is illustrated with two hundred original drawings.</p>
+<div class='center'>&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;</div>
+
+
+<div class='adtitle'><br /><span class="smcap">Practical Mechanics for Boys</span></div>
+
+<p>This book takes the beginner through a comprehensive series of
+practical shop work, in which the uses of tools, and the structure
+and handling of shop machinery are set forth; how they are utilized
+to perform the work, and the manner in which all dimensional work
+is carried out. Every subject is illustrated, and model building
+explained. It contains a glossary which comprises a new system of
+cross references, a feature that will prove a welcome departure in
+explaining subjects. Fully illustrated.</p>
+
+<div class='center'>&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;<br />
+
+<i>12mo, cloth.</i>  &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;     <i>Price 60 cents per volume</i><br />
+&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;<br />
+<br />
+<b>THE NEW YORK BOOK COMPANY</b><br />
+<b>201 <span class="smcap">East</span> 12th <span class="smcap">Street</span></b>        <span class="smcap"><b>New York</b></span><br />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span></p>
+<div class='adtitle'><span class="smcap">The Wonder Island Boys</span></div>
+
+<div class='center'><span class="smcap">By ROGER T. FINLAY</span></div>
+
+
+<p>A new series of books, each complete in itself, relating
+the remarkable experiences of two boys and a man,
+who are cast upon an island in the South Seas with
+absolutely nothing but the clothing they wore. By the
+exercise of their ingenuity they succeed in fashioning
+clothing, tools and weapons and not only do they train
+nature's forces to work for them but they subdue and
+finally civilize neighboring savage tribes. The books
+contain two thousand items of interest that every boy
+ought to know.</p>
+
+<div class='center'>
+THE WONDER ISLAND BOYS<br />
+The Castaways<br />
+<br />
+THE WONDER ISLAND BOYS<br />
+Exploring the Island<br />
+<br />
+THE WONDER ISLAND BOYS<br />
+The Mysteries of the Caverns<br />
+<br />
+THE WONDER ISLAND BOYS<br />
+The Tribesmen<br />
+<br />
+THE WONDER ISLAND BOYS<br />
+The Capture and Pursuit<br />
+<br />
+THE WONDER ISLAND BOYS<br />
+The Conquest of the Savages<br />
+<br />
+THE WONDER ISLAND BOYS<br />
+Adventures on Strange Islands<br />
+<br />
+THE WONDER ISLAND BOYS<br />
+Treasures of the Islands<br />
+<br />&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;<br />
+
+
+<i>Large 12mo, cloth.</i>  &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;        <i>Many illustrations.</i><br />
+<i>60 cents per vol., postpaid.</i><br />
+
+<span class='small'>PUBLISHED BY</span><br />
+
+<b>THE NEW YORK BOOK COMPANY</b><br />
+201 <span class="smcap">East</span> 12th <span class="smcap">Street</span>   &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;      <span class="smcap">New York</span><br />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span></p>
+<div class='adtitle'>THE BOY GLOBE TROTTERS</div>
+
+<div class='center'>By ELBERT FISHER<br />
+
+
+<i>12mo, Cloth.</i>       &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;  <i>Many illustrations.</i>     &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;   <i>60c. per Volume</i><br />
+&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;
+</div>
+
+<p>This is a series of four books relating the adventures of two boys, who
+make a trip around the world, working their way as they go. They
+meet with various peoples having strange habits and customs, and their
+adventures form a medium for the introduction of much instructive
+matter relative to the character and industries of the cities and countries
+through which they pass. A description is given of the native sports
+of boys in each of the foreign countries through which they travel. The
+books are illustrated by decorative head and end pieces for each chapter,
+there being 36 original drawings in each book, all by the author, and four
+striking halftones.</p>
+
+<p><b>1. From New York to the Golden Gate</b>, takes in many of the principal
+points between New York and California, and contains a highly
+entertaining narrative of the boys' experiences overland and not a little
+useful information.</p>
+
+<p><b>2. From San Francisco to Japan</b>, relates the experiences of the two
+boys at the Panama Exposition, and subsequently their journeyings to
+Hawaii, Samoa and Japan. The greater portion of their time is spent
+at sea, and a large amount of interesting information appears throughout
+the text.</p>
+
+<p><b>3. From Tokio to Bombay.</b> This book covers their interesting
+experiences in Japan, followed by sea voyages to the Philippines, Hongkong
+and finally to India. Their experiences with the natives cover a
+field seldom touched upon in juvenile publications, as it relates to the
+great Hyderabad region of South India.</p>
+
+<p><b>4. From India to the War Zone</b>, describes their trip toward the
+Persian Gulf. They go by way of the River Euphrates and pass the
+supposed site of the Garden of Eden, and manage to connect themselves
+with a caravan through the Great Syrian Desert. After traversing
+the Holy Land, where they visit the Dead Sea, they arrive at the Mediterranean
+port of Joppa, and their experiences thereafter within the war
+zone are fully described.</p>
+
+<div class='center'>
+&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;<br />
+<b><span class='big'>THE NEW YORK BOOK COMPANY</span></b><br />
+<b>201 EAST 12th STREET</b>    &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;   <b> NEW YORK</b><br />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span></p>
+<div class='adtitle'>The Ethel Morton Books</div>
+
+<div class='center'>By MABELL S. C. SMITH</div>
+
+
+<p>This series strikes a new note in the publication of books
+for girls. Fascinating descriptions of the travels and amusing
+experiences of our young friends are combined with a
+fund of information relating their accomplishment of things
+every girl wishes to know.</p>
+
+<p>In reading the books a girl becomes acquainted with
+many of the entertaining features of handcraft, elements
+of cooking, also of swimming, boating and similar pastimes.
+This information is so imparted as to hold the interest
+throughout. Many of the subjects treated are illustrated
+by halftones and line engravings throughout the
+text.</p>
+
+
+<div class='center'>LIST OF TITLES</div>
+
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Book list">
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Ethel Morton at Chautauqua</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Ethel Morton and the Christmas Ship</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Ethel Morton's Holidays</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Ethel Morton at Rose House</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Ethel Morton's Enterprise</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Ethel Morton at Sweet Brier Lodge</span></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+<div class='center'><br /><br />
+<span class='u'><i>Price 60 cents per volume; postpaid</i></span><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<span class='small'>PUBLISHED BY</span><br />
+
+<span class='big'><b>The New York Book Company</b></span><br />
+<span class="smcap"><span class='small'>201 East 12th Street   &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;    New York, N. Y.</span></span><br />
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<div class='tnote'><h3>Transcriber's Notes:</h3>
+<p>Obvious punctuation errors repaired.</p>
+
+<p>The remaining corrections made are indicated by dotted lines under the corrections. Scroll the mouse over the word and the original text will <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'apprear'">appear</ins>.</p></div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Hickory Ridge Boy Scouts: Under
+Canvas, by Alan Douglas
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HICKORY RIDGE BOY SCOUTS: UNDER CANVAS ***
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+</pre>
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+</body>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Hickory Ridge Boy Scouts: Under Canvas, by
+Alan Douglas
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Hickory Ridge Boy Scouts: Under Canvas
+       or, The Hunt for the Cartaret Ghost
+
+Author: Alan Douglas
+
+Release Date: December 14, 2011 [EBook #38299]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HICKORY RIDGE BOY SCOUTS: UNDER CANVAS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan,
+Emmy and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note: Bold text is surrounded by =equal signs= and italic text
+by _underscores_.
+
+
+
+UNDER CANVAS OR THE HUNT FOR THE CARTARET GHOST
+
+
+
+
+THE HICKORY RIDGE BOY SCOUTS
+
+A SERIES OF BOOKS FOR BOYS
+
+By Capt. Alan Douglas, Scout-master
+
+
+The Campfires of the Wolf Patrol
+
+      Their first camping experience affords the scouts
+      splendid opportunities to use their recently acquired
+      knowledge in a practical way. Elmer Chenowith, a lad
+      from the northwest woods, astonishes everyone by his
+      familiarity with camp life. A clean, wholesome story
+      every boy should read.
+
+
+Woodcraft; or, How a Patrol Leader Made Good
+
+      This tale presents many stirring situations in which
+      the boys are called upon to exercise ingenuity and
+      unselfishness. A story filled with healthful
+      excitement.
+
+
+Pathfinder; or, The Missing Tenderfoot
+
+      Some mysteries are cleared up in a most unexpected
+      way, greatly to the credit of our young friends. A
+      variety of incidents follow fast, one after the other.
+
+
+Fast Nine; or, a Challenge from Fairfield
+
+      They show the same team-work here as when in camp. The
+      description of the final game with the team of a rival
+      town, and the outcome thereof, form a stirring
+      narrative. One of the best baseball stories of recent
+      years.
+
+
+Great Hike; or, The Pride of The Khaki Troop
+
+      After weeks of preparation the scouts start out on
+      their greatest undertaking. Their march takes them far
+      from home, and the good-natured rivalry of the
+      different patrols furnishes many interesting and
+      amusing situations.
+
+
+Endurance Test; or, How Clear Grit Won the Day
+
+      Few stories "get" us more than illustrations of pluck
+      in the face of apparent failure. Our heroes show the
+      stuff they are made of and surprise their most ardent
+      admirers. One of the best stories Captain Douglas has
+      written.
+
+
+Under Canvas; or, The Hunt for the Cartaret Ghost
+
+      It was hard to disbelieve the evidence of their eyes
+      but the boys by the exercise of common-sense solved a
+      mystery which had long puzzled older heads.
+
+
+Storm-bound; or, a Vacation Among the Snow Drifts
+
+      The boys start out on the wrong track, but their scout
+      training comes to the rescue and their experience
+      proves beneficial to all concerned.
+
+    Boy Scout Nature Lore to be Found in The Hickory Ridge Boy
+    Scout Series, all illustrated:--
+
+      Wild Animals of the United States--Tracking--Trees and
+      Wild Flowers of the United States--Reptiles of the
+      United States--Fishes of the United States--Insects of
+      the United States and Birds of the United States.
+
+    _Cloth Binding_      _Cover Illustrations in Four Colors_
+             _40c. Per Volume_
+
+    THE NEW YORK BOOK COMPANY
+    201 EAST 12th STREET      NEW YORK
+
+[Illustration: THE SCOUTS BUSIED THEMSELVES MAKING PREPARATIONS FOR THE
+CAMP MEAL]
+
+
+
+
+THE HICKORY RIDGE BOY SCOUTS
+
+
+UNDER CANVAS
+
+OR
+
+THE HUNT FOR THE CARTARET GHOST
+
+
+BY CAPTAIN ALAN DOUGLAS
+
+SCOUT MASTER
+
+
+[Illustration: N Y B Co.]
+
+    THE NEW YORK BOOK COMPANY
+    NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+    COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY
+    THE NEW YORK BOOK COMPANY
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+    CHAPTER                                      PAGE
+       I  OUT FOR SHELL-BARKS                      13
+      II  WHAT HAPPENED ON THE ROAD                25
+     III  NEAR THE HAUNT OF "SPOOKS"               34
+      IV  "TO THE VICTORS BELONG THE SPOILS"       45
+       V  WHAT A SCOUT LEARNS                      55
+      VI  LOOKING AROUND                           66
+     VII  HARVEST TIME                             77
+    VIII  HOW ELMER'S PLAN WORKED                  88
+      IX  THE CAMPING-OUT EXPEDITION               99
+       X  IN FOR A GLORIOUS TIME                  109
+      XI  SACKING THE FOREST STORE-HOUSE          120
+     XII  THE MIDNIGHT VIGIL                      130
+    XIII  A STRANGE FIGURE IN WHITE               141
+     XIV  TOLD AROUND THE CAMP FIRE               152
+      XV  THE BOOGIE OF THE TOWER                 163
+     XVI  HOMEWARD BOUND--CONCLUSION              174
+
+
+
+
+UNDER CANVAS
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+OUT FOR SHELL-BARKS
+
+
+"TOBY, we must be half-way there now; don't you think so?"
+
+"Guess you're right about that, Mr. Scout Master; as near as I can
+calculate."
+
+"Glad to hear you say so, Toby, because, excuse me for saying it, but
+until I hear something that sounds like business I'm all up in the air.
+I've known you to fool your trusting scout comrades before this."
+
+"There you go, George Robbins, suspicious as ever. No wonder they call
+you Doubting George. You never will believe anything till you see it
+with your own eyes, and then you often wonder whether you're awake or
+dreaming. Now, I told Elmer here, our Assistant Scout Master, about my
+plan, and he took my word for it."
+
+"That's all right, Toby, but unfortunately I was born different; I'm not
+so trusting, and things are mighty deceptive in this world, sometimes."
+
+A fourth boy of the party in the big wagon broke into the conversation
+at this point, by laughing hoarsely, and going on to remark, with a
+decided lisp:
+
+"I bet you were, George; and I can thee you looking up at the doctor and
+thaying the very first thing: 'The moon _ain't_ made of green cheeth;
+and I won't b'lieve it till you prove the thame to me, tho there!'"
+
+"Hold on, Ted Burgoyne, don't fall all over yourself about my
+shortcomings; I'm not the only pebble on the beach when it comes to
+that; there are others. But to return to the subject. Toby, here are
+three of us burning up with curiosity to know where you're piloting this
+shell-bark hickory nut-gathering expedition. You let it out to Elmer in
+the start, but the rest of us don't know a thing about it. You promised
+to open up when we'd got far enough along the road so there wouldn't be
+any turning back. And there was something said about half-way; so now's
+your chance."
+
+"I can see you all looking my way," remarked the fifth boy in khaki,
+with a peculiar little drawl, quite musical, to his voice, that stamped
+him of Southern birth; "and to hurry things up I move to make the
+request unanimous."
+
+"There, you heard what Chatz Maxfield said, Toby; take the cover off,
+and tell us where this wonderful bonanza lies. You promised that we'd
+get every sack we're carrying along filled to the brim with dandy
+chestnuts, hickories, and black walnuts. Why all this mystery? It looks
+mighty suspicious to me--excuse me for saying it."
+
+These five lads, sturdy looking chaps all of them, belonged to the
+Hickory Ridge Troop of Boy Scouts, Elmer, Ted, Toby and Chatz to the
+Wolf Patrol, and George to the Beaver. The troop was in a flourishing
+condition, since both patrols had their full quota of eight members, and
+a third one, called the Eagle, was almost complete.
+
+Elmer Chenowith had long been leader of the Wolf Patrol, and being a
+full fledged first-class scout he had quite some time back secured from
+Scout Headquarters his certificate enabling him to act as Assistant
+Scout Master in the absence of the young man, Mr. Roderic Garrabrant,
+who usually fulfilled the duties of that important office.
+
+These bright, wideawake lads, with others of their chums, had seen
+considerable in the way of excitement during the preceding summer. Some
+of their adventures and victories have already been placed before the
+readers of this Series of scout books in preceding volumes, so that an
+extended introduction to Elmer and his four comrades is hardly necessary
+here. What has been said has only been for the benefit of such readers
+as are making their acquaintance for the first time.
+
+It was on a Saturday morning in Fall that they were driving over the
+road some four miles away from the home town. A sharp frost on the
+preceding night was just the thing to make nutting a success, for it
+helped open the burrs on the chestnut trees, as well as caused the
+hickory nuts and black walnuts to drop.
+
+Just before Thanksgiving holidays boys may be expected to develop a
+feverish longing for an outing of some sort. It had struck these scouts
+in full force when Toby Jones confided to them that he knew a place
+where almost unlimited amounts of splendid nuts were to be gathered with
+very little trouble, only he declined to reveal his secret until they
+were well on the road.
+
+The consequence was that he had three boys guessing for the balance of
+the week; and plaguing the life out of him in the endeavor to coax him
+to tell. But Toby was nothing if not stubborn, and he only shut those
+jaws of his tighter, and waved the tempters away with the remark that
+some people called him a clam because he knew how to keep his lips
+closed.
+
+Toby was himself driving the big strong horse between the shafts of the
+wagon. The conveyance belonged to his father, and it sometimes took all
+of Toby's strength to hold the frisky animal in.
+
+Toby's middle name was Ellsworth, given to him because his grandfather
+had in the Civil War been connected with a regiment of Zouaves under the
+famous colonel whose death at Alexandria, Virginia, occurred just about
+the time hostilities opened between the North and the South.
+
+Toby was a strange boy in many ways. He cherished a burning desire to
+become a celebrated aeronaut, and by means of some wonderful invention
+that would turn the world upside-down make the name of Jones famous. As
+yet, however, Toby had only succeeded in patching up several
+supposed-to-be flying machines, which had managed to give him a few
+rough tumbles, though luckily not any broken bones. His chums never
+knew what he would spring on them next, for he was constantly grappling
+with puzzling questions connected with the science of aviation, and
+deploring the fact that there was always something magnificent just
+ahead of him that seemed to be eluding his eager clutch like a
+will-o'-the-wisp in the swamp.
+
+Ted Burgoyne had the misfortune to possess a hare-lip, which made him
+lisp. He was not so sturdy in build as some of his mates, but as smart
+as they make them, and with a decided leaning for the profession of a
+doctor. Indeed, such was the extent of his knowledge of surgery and
+medicine that he often went by the name of "Doctor Ted." And having had
+occasion to perform certain necessary operations along the line of
+setting broken limbs, and bandaging severed arteries, his work had been
+commended by several professional M.D.'s as marvelous.
+
+When Doubting George made that last plea of his the driver turned his
+head and looked at his companions. He saw an eager glow in the eyes of
+the trio who had been kept in the dark up to that moment with regard to
+their mysterious destination.
+
+"Well, we've got along so far that it ain't likely anybody'll want to
+turn back, and show the white feather," he observed, with a quick glance
+directly at Chatz Maxfield; "so here goes. We're headed right now for
+the old Cartaret place!"
+
+"Whew! Cartaret's Folly they call it, because the man who built the same
+sank a fortune there making it beautiful, and then the owls and rats
+took charge, which was all of twenty years ago, I reckon!" George went
+on to say, first whistling to mark the surprise he felt over the
+disclosure.
+
+"And there's a lot of talk going around to this day about ghosts being
+seen in the windows and around the grounds of that deserted place; but
+most people would say that's only old women's stories. All the same
+those people who don't believe in spooks and goblins and all such things
+couldn't be hired for any amount of money to camp out in that big house
+for just one dark night."
+
+It was Chatz who made this assertion. All of his chums knew that Chatz
+had a deep-rooted vein of superstition in his system, which it seemed
+impossible for him to get rid of. He believed in spirits coming back to
+haunt graveyards, and empty houses where perhaps some violence had once
+occurred. Elmer and other scouts had laughed at him many times, and
+Chatz even took himself to task because of his weakness, which he had
+probably imbibed through association as a small child with colored
+pickaninnies down on the plantation in South Carolina. Sometimes he
+boldly declared he was done with such childish beliefs; but when an
+occasion chanced to come along bearing on the subject it was strange how
+Chatz again found himself standing up for his old-time faith in
+hobgoblins, and the efficacy of the left hind-foot of a rabbit shot in a
+graveyard in the dark of the moon, to ward off evil influences, and
+repel the power of spooks to do bodily harm.
+
+It was well known that many people shunned the vicinity of the old
+Cartaret place, some eight miles away from Hickory Ridge, because queer
+stories passed current concerning white figures seen stalking about the
+weed-grown grounds, and looking out of the open windows of the ruined
+house. That was why Toby had been wise enough to keep his secret until
+they were so far on the road that there was little likelihood of any boy
+venturing to propose that they abandon the nutting expedition and return
+home.
+
+"Well, I knew some of you fellows would be saying that," he now
+remarked; "so I asked Elmer about it, and he advised me to bottle up
+till we'd gone half-way to the place. So now, I hope nobody wants to go
+back?"
+
+"Oh! you needn't look at me that way, Toby," Chatz hastened to exclaim;
+"p'raps I may be silly enough to believe in ghosts, but nobody ever
+called me a coward; and where the rest of you go, suh, Chatz Maxfield
+can be counted on to follow."
+
+"Me too!" chirped Ted.
+
+"P'raps now you may remember that once before we ran foul of a haunted
+place up at that old mill," remarked George, "and it turned out to be
+only a bunch of game-fish poachers at work there. I never did take much
+stock in ghosts."
+
+"You never take much stock in anything, suh, I notice, till you've
+pulled the same to pieces, and examined it all ovah," the Southern scout
+told him, quickly.
+
+"Then it theems that you know about the thupply of nuts up at the old
+Cartaret place, do you, Toby?" asked Ted.
+
+"I asked a man who was sent up there only a couple of weeks back by the
+lawyers that have the estate in charge, to look it over and see if it
+was worth while to try and repair the ruined house. And say, he told me
+he never saw trees loaded with such a crop of dandy nuts as there were
+in that woods back of the house. You never heard of any fellows going up
+there to gather hickories, did you? I guess nobody ever goes inside half
+a mile of the place if they c'n help it. And Elmer, he fell in with my
+scheme right away. Besides, you see, I'm taking something with me that I
+hope to get a chance to try out on this trip," and Toby pointed back to
+a mysterious bundle lying in the bed of the wagon, on the many
+gunny-sacks that had been brought along in order to hold the anticipated
+harvest of nuts for winter use.
+
+"Well, well, well!" George exclaimed, in his skeptical way, "now chances
+are that's some other foolish invention of yours, Toby--a new kind of
+flying machine that'll drop you ker-plunk in a frog pond, or crack your
+head on a log when you try it out."
+
+"Nothing'd ever be accomplished in this world if everybody had your
+doubting nature, George," the driver of the wagon told him; "I happen to
+be built on a different model, and p'raps you may live long enough to
+hear the name of Jones go thundering along the pathway of fame on
+everybody's lips."
+
+"Mebbe I will," George told him, "because they say it's getting mighty
+near as common as Smith. But I'd better not say that when my cousin
+Landy Smith is around. I only hope this don't turn out a hoax, that's
+all. It's going to be an all day trip, and I'd hate to be sold, and come
+back with one measly bag of poor little nuts to be divided among five."
+
+"Well, now that you know the dreadful dark secret, and nobody says turn
+back home," Toby announced, with a broad grin, "I'm goin' to invite the
+whole bunch to stop off at this wayside grocery at the crossroads here,
+and have some sarsaparilla with me. It's my treat this time."
+
+As the road had been more or less dusty, and their throats were
+accordingly somewhat parched in consequence, there was no dissenting
+voice heard to this generous proposition.
+
+"Plenty of time to gather all the nuts we want, and then make an early
+start for home," Elmer told them, as Toby pulled near a series of posts
+where the horse could be securely hitched.
+
+"And the best of it is that we've thought to fetch some stuff along so
+we can build a fire and have a cooked dinner," George went on to say,
+with a pleased smile; for while he might be given to doubting many
+things, he never had occasion to question his appetite as every one
+knew--that was always in positive evidence.
+
+All of them jumped from the wagon, which had two seats, so that three
+boys could sit behind, and one with the driver. While Toby was doing
+the needful with his hitching halter made of rope, the others stretched
+their legs, and waited, because it would be hardly proper for them to
+troop into the road grocery ahead of the scout who had invited them to
+join him in a refreshing drink.
+
+A hulking boy was leaning against the fence near by, and observing the
+five scouts in a leering sort of way.
+
+"Huh! that's Angus McDowd, one of that Fairfield bunch we beat at
+baseball last summer," muttered Toby, as he happened to glance over, and
+noticed the other observing them with a sneer on his face.
+
+"Never liked him for a thent!" Ted was heard to say in a low cautious
+tone; for the other boy was a strapping big chap, and if provoked might
+give them more or less trouble, in a desire to fight them one after the
+other, as he had the reputation of being something of a bruiser.
+
+"My stars! but he was mad that day we won the game, though, let me tell
+you, suh!" observed Chatz; "and he did his level best to get in a scrap
+with some of our fellows. Felix Wagner and Tom Ballinger had to lead him
+away, you remember. He doesn't like the boys of Hickory Ridge any too
+well, believe me, fellows."
+
+They all went inside the little dusty-looking building, where some
+enterprising man had started a wayside grocery, and general store, at
+which you could purchase nearly anything from a paper of needles to a
+coffin, or an automobile tire, and gasoline.
+
+Fortunately the man happened to have some stray bottles of soft drinks
+like sarsaparilla and root beer that must have been left over from his
+summer trade; and presently each of the scouts was washing the dust down
+his throat.
+
+Altogether they may have spent about ten minutes in the store; and then
+after Toby had settled the account, they again passed out to the wagon.
+
+The loitering Fairfield boy had disappeared, as Elmer noted when he
+looked over toward the fence where Angus McDowd had been standing on
+their arrival.
+
+"Now, what ails you for a silly thing, Nancy?" said Toby, as the mare
+laid back her ears, and pranced at their approach. "Been getting too
+much oats lately, I reckon, with too little exercise. Well, you won't be
+feeling so fresh and frisky by the time we get back home to-night. That
+load of nuts is going to make you puff, let me tell you. Pile in,
+fellows, while I unfasten the hitching rope. Whoa! there, don't you dare
+try to bite me, you horse with the nasty temper! Why, this is a new
+trick for you to show. Grab the lines, won't you, Elmer? The blame nag's
+that anxious to show off she'd leave me in the lurch! Let up, there,
+can't you?"
+
+It was only by making a hasty jump that agile Toby managed to gain his
+seat, to take the taut lines from Elmer's hands. Immediately the mare
+commenced to rear up in a most remarkable manner. Then, taking the bit
+between her teeth, she started along the road, fortunately in the right
+direction, at a whirlwind pace, amidst a cloud of dust, and with the
+three scouts who had been sitting on the second seat tumbling around in
+a heap in the bed of the wagon, all of them having been thrown backward.
+
+Even as the grocery keeper came running out of the door to see what was
+the matter, and while they were still within hearing distance of the
+place, Elmer felt sure he saw a head rise into view above the pig-pen
+situated on one side of the road, and could recognize the grinning face
+of that Fairfield loafer, Angus McDowd.
+
+There was no time to say anything. The mare was undoubtedly running
+away, and the wagon flinging from side to side in the road, as Toby
+stood half erect, pulling with might and main on the lines in the
+endeavor to hold the frantic animal in.
+
+It began to look like croaking George might have been right when he said
+he doubted whether the nutting expedition would be much of a success.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+WHAT HAPPENED ON THE ROAD
+
+
+"HOLD her in, Toby!" George was heard to shout, as he floundered around
+in the midst of the gunny sacks, with the other two scouts straddling
+him half the time.
+
+"Whoop! we ain't in thuch a hurry ath all that, Toby. Get a grip on the
+linth, Elmer, and help him pull. Oh! what a quack I got then on my head.
+I bet you I'll have a lump ath big ath a gooth egg! Quit clawing me,
+George; I can't help it if I do climb all over you. Look at the way the
+wagon thwings, would you?"
+
+Elmer did not need to be told that it was his duty to assist Toby
+control the runaway animal. No matter what the cause of the beast's
+strange fright might turn out to be, their first business was to drag so
+heavily on the lines that Nancy would have to moderate her wild pace.
+
+Accordingly both of the boys pulled and sawed and jerked until the mare
+was made to come to a full stop. This occurred fully a mile away from
+the wayside grocery, which was long ago lost to sight behind several
+bends in the road.
+
+"Jump out and hold her, some of you other fellows!" gasped Toby, short
+of breath after his violent exertions.
+
+Chatz, George and Ted all hastened to obey. They had been tumbled around
+in the bed of the big wagon at such a lively rate that they were only
+too glad of the chance to gain their feet. Held by a stout boy on either
+side the mare did not offer to run further, though still acting very
+strangely.
+
+Elmer had once spent some time up on an uncle's ranch in Northwest
+Canada; and knew a heap about horses. He had sometimes seen animals act
+this way, and had before then guessed what might be the matter.
+
+"Hold her steady, everybody, and let me look around a little," was what
+he called, as he jumped down, and began patting the sweaty back of the
+trembling animal.
+
+A minute later and they heard him give an angry exclamation.
+
+"I thought as much," Elmer was saying, as he held up his hand; "look
+what was fixed under her tail."
+
+"Say, that seems like a bunch of those nasty little sand spurs that
+sting and poison like all get-out!" exclaimed George, and it might have
+been noticed that this time he showed no signs of his customary doubting
+spirit.
+
+"Just what they are," Elmer went on to say, indignation in his whole
+manner.
+
+"But how--when--where?" began Ted, when Chatz burst out with:
+
+"He did it, Elmer, that skunk of a McDowd. Must have thought it'd be a
+fine way to pay back what he believed he owed the Hickory Ridge boys.
+The low-down coward, to hurt a hoss that way."
+
+"But why, he might have made some of us get thrown out, and hurt right
+bad in the bargain!" exclaimed George, angrily.
+
+"Much he'd have cared for that," Toby panted; "and didn't I just think I
+heard a silly laugh at the time Nancy started to rear up, and prance
+like a crazy thing? That must a been Angus. And like as not he's doubled
+up back there right now laughing over seeing how we got thrown around in
+the wagon because of his sand spur trick. For five cents I'd turn
+around, and go back to give him the licking he needs."
+
+"Don't bother thinking about that," Elmer told him. "It was a mean
+trick, and I've known men to get a halter out on the plains for playing
+that same game. But we got out of the hole without any damage, only to
+our feelings; so let's forget it."
+
+The others were usually swayed more or less by what Elmer thought or
+did. He was a natural leader, and it had become second nature for the
+other scouts to look to him for advice, whenever an emergency arose.
+
+"Guess the poor frightened thing'll stand now, fellows, without holding
+her any more," Toby suggested; "so climb back on your seat; and be more
+careful next time how you let go your hold. It's a wonder none of you
+got dumped out when you tilted over backward."
+
+Just as he said, the animal seemed to have partly recovered from her
+mad fright occasioned by the pain the little sharp-pointed burrs
+inflicted. Though still trembling, and acting in a skittish manner, she
+gave signs of being docile enough to be driven.
+
+The three scouts hastened to climb in at the back of the wagon, and
+after securing the gunny sacks, as well as the large package belonging
+to Toby, they once more found seats for themselves. George and Chatz,
+however, it might be noticed, made sure to get a firm grip somewhere on
+the side of the wagon; while Ted, being in the middle, threw an arm
+around each of his chums, as though he depended on them to sustain him,
+should another runaway occur.
+
+They were soon going along at a fair clip, though Toby had to "lean"
+pretty heavily on the lines in order to hold the big bay mare in, for he
+did not think it advisable to let her have her head again. The next time
+she made such a mad spurt as that they might not find it so easy to get
+her to stop.
+
+"What d'ye reckon possessed that coward to play such a mean trick on
+us?" Toby wanted to know.
+
+"Oh! he had it in him, that's all, and when the chance came around he
+just couldn't help himself," Elmer told him, for the Assistant Scout
+Master was somewhat of a philosophical boy, and able to figure out
+things that might puzzle some of his tent mates.
+
+"Next time I see that Angus he'll hear my opinion of a sneak who could
+play a dirty trick like that!" continued the driver, vigorously.
+
+"Thame here!" chirped Ted. "And if he giveth me any thath I'll pull hith
+red noth for him, thee if I don't."
+
+"All I can say is, keep your eye out for sledge hammer punches if ever
+you go to pulling _his_ nose," warned George; "because he's a born
+scrapper, and would as soon fight as eat."
+
+"Let's forget about that little affair," suggested Elmer; "no use crying
+over spilt milk, and what's done can't be undone. Toby, suppose you tell
+us a little more about this nut grove up at the old Cartaret place;
+because if I remember rightly you said you'd been asking everybody all
+about the estate."
+
+"Why, old Judge Cartaret, the rich man who built up the place, meaning
+to live there with his young and handsome wife, went crazy, they say,
+after he'd found her dead in her room. The mystery never was cleared up.
+To this day some people say she was murdered by a man she once promised
+to marry before the millionaire judge came along; another lot seem to
+believe she committed suicide because the judge was so cruel, and
+wouldn't let her leave the place; and one man told me he always had
+believed ever since he was a boy that the judge struck her down in a fit
+of passion. But of course those things don't cut any figure with us."
+
+"On the contrary," interrupted Chatz, who had been listening to all
+these horrors with wide-open eyes, and a look of intense interest on
+his dark face, "they strike me as being decidedly interesting, suh. If I
+had a chance I'd like to investigate this queer thing, and perhaps learn
+what did happen in that big house ever so many years ago."
+
+"But how about the nut treeth, Toby, did the judge plant the thame when
+he wath trying to make a thut-in paradith for that pretty bride of
+hith?"
+
+"That's just what he did, boys, so they told me," Toby continued,
+readily consenting to be squeezed for information; "he planted a whole
+lot of chestnuts, walnuts and shell-bark hickories that have been
+growing for several dozen years. They're busting big trees, and just
+breaking down with the finest crop ever known, and with never a single
+fellow brave enough up to this time to go there and gather the harvest.
+Why, when I heard what that man had to say about it, I was fairly wild
+to be off. And believe me, boys, we'll make the eyes of the other
+fellows stick out of their heads like fun when they see what an enormous
+supply of nuts we've gathered for next winter around the fire. Yum! yum!
+I always did say that a plate of red-cheeked apples, a dish of fresh
+popped corn, and a pocketful of nuts beats all creation on a stormy
+night, winter times."
+
+"Believe it when I see it!" muttered skeptical George, who undoubtedly
+thought this wonderful harvest was too good to turn out to be true;
+after they had arrived on the ground, very probably it would only be to
+find that the trees had been stripped of their burden of nuts by some
+hardy souls who did not place much credence in the stories of the ghost
+said to haunt the place; something was always on the eve of turning up
+to keep George from reaping success, it seemed.
+
+"No use talking," observed the disgusted Toby, "George never will be
+convinced till he begins to load up the wagon with bags running over
+with nuts. And even then he'll expect some white-sheeted ghost to step
+up, and demand that we throw every one of the same back again where we
+found them. You couldn't convince him of a single thing till he's had a
+chance to prove it over and over again."
+
+"Learned that in school when I was doin' problems," George declared with
+one of his most exasperating grins; "which was why I always passed with
+such a high percentage in arithmetic and algebra. They said I'd make a
+fine carpenter, because I'd always measure my boards again and again
+before I cut 'em, and that way there never'd be any mistakes about my
+sawing."
+
+"And a great carpenter you'd make, George," chuckled Toby; "why, you'd
+take everlasting and a day just to get your foundation started. The
+folks would all die off waiting for you to finish your job. A
+carpenter--whew! excuse me if you please from ever employing a mechanic
+who spends all his time figgering out how things could be so and so."
+
+"But we must be within a mile or two of the place by now, fellows,"
+Elmer told them about that time, "so if you hold up a little we'll soon
+know the worst or the best. I'm of the opinion myself that what Toby
+says is going to turn out true; for nobody ever goes near the Cartaret
+place these days. Lots of boys around home never even heard about it;
+and others couldn't be coaxed or hired to explore around a place they
+call haunted."
+
+"Yes, I'm not the only silly believer in ghosts," Chatz told them,
+looking pleased at what Elmer had just said, "for misery always likes
+company, and you'll remember, suh, how the sly old fox that had fallen
+into a well told the goat looking down that it was a lovely place to
+drop in; and when Billy had taken him at his word he hopped on the
+goat's back and jumped out. But if I have half a chance I expect to
+prowl around more or less while we're up heah, and see if the stories
+I've heard about this queer old rookery could ever have been true. Why,
+they even say the judge had the house built so that it was like a big
+prison, or some sort of asylum."
+
+Chatz was full of his subject, and might have wandered on still further,
+once he got fairly started, only for a sudden movement on the part of
+Elmer. Sitting alongside the driver it was the easiest thing going for
+that worthy to seize the reins and with a quick strain on the same bring
+the mare to a full stop.
+
+"Why, what under the sun!" began the astonished Toby, when Elmer clapped
+his hand over his mouth and immediately said:
+
+"Hush! be still! Look what's coming out of that side road ahead there!"
+and at the same time he pointed with his disengaged hand.
+
+All of the others hastened to do as he requested. There, in plain sight,
+though their own vehicle was partly hidden by the foliage still clinging
+to the bushes that jutted out at a bend of the road, was a two-horse
+wagon, containing four boys, in whom they readily recognized some of the
+toughest elements around the town of Hickory Ridge.
+
+As the other wagon rattled into the main road, and went speedily on
+without the occupants once looking toward them, Elmer and his chums
+exchanged troubled glances.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+NEAR THE HAUNT OF THE "SPOOKS"
+
+
+"WE might as well hold up here a little bit, so as to let that crowd
+pass on," suggested George. "I never did take any stock in Connie Mallon
+anyway. He's got a pretty bad name down around our way. My father says
+he'll land in the penitentiary before he's two years older, except he
+reforms, and I'd never believe he'd change his ways."
+
+"Oh! Elmer, I wonder now, could they know about those splendid nuts, and
+mean to skin the trees ahead of us?" exclaimed Toby, as though nearly
+overwhelmed by a staggering thought.
+
+"You've some reason for saying that, Toby?" Elmer told him.
+
+"Why, don't you know, it flashed over me just like a stroke of
+lightning," was what Toby went on to say, excitedly, a troubled look on
+his face. "You remember that when I was talking to you over the
+telephone, Elmer, and telling you about wanting to get the boys to come
+up here with me Saturday, I said several times somebody was rubbering,
+and once even told 'em to get off the wire, which they did, only to come
+on again."
+
+"Yes, I do remember something like that," admitted the other scout.
+
+"Well, our telephone is on a four-party line, and one of the other
+three houses is Jackson's down the street. Phil Jackson is one of the
+cronies of Connie Mallon, and he's sitting there in that wagon right
+now."
+
+"Then you think he must have heard all you were telling me that man said
+about the immense crop of nuts up here at the Cartaret place, and has
+put the others wise to it?" Elmer asked.
+
+"I wouldn't put it past Phil a minute!" Toby declared, with an
+expression of pain, "and now it looks like we mightn't get what we came
+after, unless we fight for it."
+
+"I knew it!" muttered George; "call me a doubter all you want, but let
+me tell you things ain't always what they seem. There's a string tied to
+nearly everything you think you're going to get so easy. Oh! I know what
+I'm talking about, and for one I'm not surprised at anything happening."
+
+"Don't throw up the sponge so easy, George," Elmer told him. "We may
+have our troubles, but scouts are supposed to be wide-awake enough to
+know how to overcome any kind of difficulties that happen along. As
+Sheridan said at the battle of Cedar Creek, we'll have those camps back,
+or the nuts in our case, or know the reason why."
+
+"Lithen to that kind of talk, would you?" burst out Ted, brimming over
+with confidence in their leader; "why, we haven't begun to get buthy
+yet. That Connie may think he'th tholen a march on our crowd, but thay,
+he'll have to cut hith eye-teeth before he can beat Elmer here laying
+planths."
+
+"It may turn out to be a false alarm, after all, boys," Elmer continued,
+while Toby still restrained the impatient Nancy; "but even if we get
+there to find that they're on the ground ahead of us, we'll hatch up a
+scheme to turn the tables on that crowd, I give you my word for it."
+
+"That's the ticket!" Chatz exclaimed, being inclined to display an
+impetuous style of talk and action, as became his hot Southern blood;
+"if they've sneaked this idea from Toby by listening over the wire
+they've got no business up here. I'd call it rank piracy, and treat the
+lot like I would buccaneers of the Spanish Main. Why, it'd serve 'em
+right if that ghost they tell about jumped out at them, and sent the lot
+scampering off like crazy things."
+
+"That's just what I had in my mind, Chatz," said Elmer, chuckling; "and
+perhaps we'll find some way to coax the spook to help us out."
+
+"Elmer's got the dandy idea, all right," said George; "you leave him
+alone, and he'll sure bring home the bacon. But how much longer do we
+have to stay here? I wonder if anybody's getting cold feet about now?"
+
+"Speak for yourself, George!" cried Toby; "I'm for going on three times
+as much as I was before we saw that bunch cutting in ahead of us. When
+Elmer gives me the word I'll start things moving."
+
+"You might do that now," said the leader, "but take it slow, Toby. I
+want to keep an eye on the track of their wheels. If they turn off at
+any fork in the road, or into the woods, we want to know it."
+
+"Thith theems to be getting mighty interethting," observed Ted; "and I
+want to thay right now that I've got tho much confidence in Elmer and
+the whole of our crowd that I'd call the chances five to one we'll go
+home with a full cargo thith afternoon."
+
+"Good boy, Ted; and I second that motion!" Chatz announced, heatedly.
+
+The mare was allowed her head, but Toby kept a tight rein, so that they
+did not begin to whirl along with half the speed the other wagon had
+displayed as it came out of the side road on to the main thoroughfare.
+
+Elmer kept his gaze firmly fixed ahead, where he could plainly see the
+marks of that other vehicle in the dust of the road. Thus they continued
+for a short time; then the leader put out his hand, and Toby again
+pulled in.
+
+"They've left the road, and entered the woods back there twenty feet or
+so," the acting scout master told them.
+
+"On the left, wasn't it, Elmer, that they turned out?" asked Chatz,
+eagerly.
+
+"Just what it was, which shows that you were using your eyes, as a scout
+should always do," came the reply. "Back up, Toby, and we'll follow
+suit."
+
+"Do you think we're at the place already?" asked Toby.
+
+"I certainly do, though I'm some surprised that they knew where to hit
+that little grass covered wagon-road that led off among the trees,"
+Elmer replied. "It was once used as a way through the forest to the rear
+of the Cartaret place, so I was told when I asked a man about it who
+used to work for the judge long ago. They must have been busy doing some
+of the same kind of missionary work, because I don't believe any of them
+has ever been up here before--to stop I mean."
+
+"Well, what if we get in where the nut trees are growing to find that
+lot skinning every tree, and ready to put up a rattling fight before
+they'll let us have even a look-in; what are we goin' to do about it?"
+Toby wanted to know.
+
+"First of all we'll just hang around, and watch them work," Elmer
+declared.
+
+"That's all very fine, Elmer," interposed George, who was always the
+first one with any objection; "but once they cover the ground with nuts,
+we'd find it a hard proposition to chase the bunch away, and lay claim
+to what they'd gathered."
+
+"But they'd be really _our_ nuts," interrupted Toby, "because didn't the
+bright idea flash right into this brain of mine; and ain't first
+discoverers entitled to the land always? It's the rule of the world.
+They hooked the idea from me by unfair means, and ain't entitled to any
+consideration at our hands. If Elmer can manage to scare them away you
+watch and see how quick I'll start to filling my bag with some of the
+nuts they've knocked down."
+
+"I only want the chance to do the thame," Ted insinuated.
+
+"Ditto here, because, as we said, they're only a pack of wolves or
+pirates, and have no rights honest people are bound to respect," Chatz
+added as his quota to the discussion; "after we've filled all our bags,
+if there happens to be some more nuts to be had why they're welcome to
+the same. Gentlemen first, every time, we believe, down our way."
+
+"Pull up, and let's listen, Toby," Elmer counseled; "I thought I heard a
+shout or two just then; and perhaps they've started to work."
+
+When the mare had been made to stand they could all readily hear the
+sounds that welled up some little distance ahead. Loud laughter and
+boyish shouts attested to the fact that a party of nut gatherers must be
+busily engaged in the grove; for with other sounds could be heard the
+plain swish of poles beating the branches of the trees in an effort to
+rattle the nuts down.
+
+"Just our luck!" muttered George, disconsolately.
+
+"Well, what would you have?" demanded Toby, like a flash; "it ain't
+every bunch that can have a lot of fellows knock down their nuts for
+'em, is it? Think of all the hard work it's going to save us. Elmer, the
+more I look at that grand little scheme of yours the better I like it.
+Go it, Connie, Phil and your mates; keep the ball arollin' right along.
+The more the merrier, say we. And now, Elmer, do we hide our rig
+somewhere around, so they won't happen on the same if they come to skip
+out of that grove in a big hurry?"
+
+"That's the idea, Toby," Elmer told him; "turn out to the left here, and
+we'll like as not run across a good hide-out for the wagon. When we've
+got the nuts all sacked we can come back for the outfit, and head for
+home."
+
+A short time later they found the place they were looking for. It
+offered concealment for the wagon and the mare; and Toby soon had the
+latter securely hitched to a limb.
+
+"Fetch the bags along with you, boys," remarked Elmer at this stage of
+the proceedings, and picking up several himself as an example.
+
+Toby saw that the others had cleaned out the entire assortment of sacks,
+which fact caused him to grin with satisfaction. He calmly secured the
+rather bulky package that lay in the bottom of the wagon, and trotted
+after the rest of the scouts.
+
+They made a sort of detour in approaching the spot where all that noise
+announced a busy lot of boys covering the ground with shell-barks and
+other varieties of choice nuts.
+
+"Whee! looky over there, Chatz; ain't that the house you c'n see through
+the trees? I never thought I'd ever have the nerve to come up here, and
+break in on the enchanted ground given over to hobgoblins and spooks and
+owls ever so many years."
+
+When George said this in a low and rather shaky tone he clutched the arm
+of the Southern boy, and pointed toward the left. Of course Chatz
+eagerly followed the line of his extended finger; for he had been
+wishing to catch the first glimpse of the haunted house for several
+minutes back.
+
+"Yes, that's it, all right, George," he replied, with a sighing breath,
+as though something he had long yearned to see was now before him.
+
+"Come on, you fellows back there," said Elmer, who did not like to have
+them lagging so; and accordingly George and Chatz hurried their steps.
+
+It was certainly anything but a cheerful place, for a fact. The trees
+were very much overgrown, and the undergrowth had year after year
+increased its hold until it would have been difficult to force one's way
+through this, only for wandering cows having made paths which could be
+followed.
+
+"Elmer, I c'n see 'em workin' like beavers over there!" whispered Toby,
+who had forged alongside the leader, still burdened with that package
+which the others believed must contain some new fangled contraption of
+his connected with the science of aviation.
+
+The five scouts gathered in a group, being careful not to expose
+themselves in a way to draw attention. They could see a boy in a
+chestnut tree, and plainly hear the rattle of nuts from the opened
+burrs, whenever he switched the branches with the long pole he was
+carrying, secured somewhere in the woods near by.
+
+"Did you ever hear it hail nuts like that in all your born days?" gasped
+George as they stood there, sheltered by the bushes and watched
+operations.
+
+"Oh! listen to him talk from the other side of his mouth, fellows?" Toby
+muttered. "George has seen a big light; he ain't a doubter any longer,
+you notice. He hears the rattle of the nuts, and sees 'em falling like
+hail. Talk to me about beavers and busy bees, that crowd would take the
+cake for business. Look at that one climbing to the very top of the
+hickory tree to get the best nuts that always grow up high. There he
+starts in slashing, and it's like a regular bombardment on the ground.
+If they get away with all that lot I'll die of a broken heart. There
+never was, and there never will be again, such a bully chance to lay in
+a big winter's supply of nuts in double-quick time. And I never did like
+to take other people's leavings."
+
+"Make up your mind to it we don't have to," Elmer assured him.
+
+"Might as well make ourselves comfy while we're about it," suggested
+George, as he dropped down, and sat tailor-fashion, with his legs
+doubled under him.
+
+"Yes, for we may have to stay here quite some time," admitted Elmer,
+copying his example without hesitation.
+
+"Ain't it nice to watch other people working for you?" observed Ted,
+after a while.
+
+"Only they don't know it," added George; "but, Elmer, suppose you give
+the rest of us a hint what you mean to do. I see you've been cutting the
+bark off that white birch tree, and got the same in your hand. It's used
+for marking canoes, and picture frames as well. Some persons even write
+on the brown back of the bark, but I don't think you mean to send them a
+notice from spookland, telling them that if they don't clear out
+instanter the bully old ghosts will grab them tight?"
+
+"Not the kind of message you're thinking about," replied Elmer, smiling.
+"In the first place I don't know what sort of hand writing ghosts would
+be apt to use; and then again, I don't believe they'd pay much attention
+to that sort of thing. Watch and see if you can guess now."
+
+With that he rolled the large strip of bark so that it looked like a
+great cornucopia. So had Elmer seen Indian guides fashion a horn when
+wishing to call the aggressive moose on a dark night, away up in
+Northern latitudes.
+
+"Oh! now I see what you're meaning to do!" exclaimed George; "that looks
+like a regular megaphone now, the kind they use when there's a boat race
+on, or at college games. You're going to throw a scare into them by
+whooping it up through a horn; is that right, Elmer?"
+
+"You've hit it to a fraction, George, because that's exactly what I'm
+meaning to do with this birch bark horn. And as some of the bunch have
+started to slip down the trees even now, thinking they've got enough
+nuts on the ground to keep them busy picking the same up, we'll watch
+until they've gathered all they want, and then you'll see some fun--that
+is, it'll be fun at this end, but a serious business for them. Lie low
+when I give you the signal."
+
+They hovered there for a full hour while the four boys were gathering
+the nuts, and stowing them away in sacks that had been brought for the
+purpose.
+
+At last Elmer decided that matters had gone far enough. There were
+evidences that one of the boys had been sent to fetch the horses and
+wagon up, in order to load the numerous bags that had been filled. So
+cautioning his chums to lie low so they might not give the game away,
+Elmer raised the bark horn to his lips.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+"TO THE VICTORS BELONG THE SPOILS"
+
+
+SO far as the other scouts knew, Elmer Chenowith had never seen such a
+mystery as a real ghost in all his life; and he certainly had not heard
+one groan, or give any kind of sound. Consequently his imagination was
+called upon to conjure up a series of queer, blood curdling noises such
+as an orthodox specter, fresh from the world of shades, might be
+expected to utter when tremendously excited.
+
+Josh and George afterwards confessed that if they had not known it was
+the scout master who amused himself in this way, they too might have
+shivered in their shoes. As for the Southern boy, he lay there amidst
+the brush, and kept his eyes glued all the time on the face of Elmer, as
+though he dared not depend on his knowledge of facts, but must back this
+up with the positive evidence of his eyes.
+
+Once Chatz even cautiously put out his hand, and gently felt of Elmer's
+khaki sleeve; it was a mute confession that while never a doubter like
+George, the boy from Dixie had to be convinced when it was a matter of
+superstition.
+
+But the main thing, of course, was what effect Elmer's groaning might
+have upon the four boys who had stolen a march upon the scouts, and
+reached the harvest of nuts in advance.
+
+No sooner had the first sounds begun to rise than they looked up with
+startled expressions on their faces. Of course, like nearly every other
+person in town, the quartette must have heard strange stories connected
+with the abandoned Cartaret place, for such things have a way of
+traveling from one end of a county to another, being eagerly repeated
+even by many who would scorn to admit their belief in such silly notions
+as ghosts.
+
+Before coming up here perhaps Connie and Phil, with the other two
+fellows, may have talked things over seriously, and expressed many a
+fervid hope that their piratical operations might not be interrupted by
+any visit from a spectral guardian, such as was said to watch over the
+place.
+
+The first thing they did was to stare at each other, while their mouths
+could be seen to open with astonishment.
+
+Elmer changed his key, and gave them another sample of the weird sounds
+capable of being coaxed from a birch bark horn. He certainly was making
+a great success of his music, his comrades thought, as they lay there
+and waited to be invited to have a share in the proceedings, according
+to agreement.
+
+Toby afterwards solemnly declared that he could see the caps of the four
+frightened boys start to rise, as their hair stood on end; though an
+element of doubt always surrounded this statement; for Toby was so
+excited himself that possibly his imagination worked over-time.
+
+With the change in tune the boys seemed to regain in some measure the
+command of their faculties; at least they were able to rush close
+together, as though seeing protection in mutual sympathy. It was a plain
+case of "united we stand, divided we fall!" And clutching at one another
+they continued to shiver and listen,--meanwhile looking all around, as
+though more than half expecting to discover some terrible figure bearing
+down on them.
+
+Elmer would have been only too happy to have provided such a specter for
+their accommodation; but unfortunately he had not come prepared to
+launch such a thing. Ghosts were hardly in his line; and in lieu of a
+specimen for exhibition purposes he was compelled to do the best he
+could with the material on hand; which is always a cardinal principle
+with scouts.
+
+"Now!"
+
+When Elmer hissed this single word his four chums knew that their time
+had come to get into the game. The snake had been "scotched, not
+killed," as Josh later on aptly described it. No matter how much
+frightened Connie Mallon and his cronies might seem to be, if they stood
+by their guns what would the advantage amount to? The affair must be
+turned into a regular rout in order that the scouts might reap the full
+benefit.
+
+Accordingly all of them got busy immediately. George pounded on a hollow
+log with a heavy stick, and managed to produce a series of throbbing
+sounds that were likely to add to the consternation of the listeners;
+Ted clapped two stones together; while Toby and Chatz rattled the brush
+violently, and added a few choice groans of their own manufacture as
+good measure.
+
+It was enough, yes more than sufficient.
+
+Human nature had reached its limit, so far as those alarmed fellows were
+concerned. Undoubtedly they must have become convinced that their raid
+on the preserves of the ghostly guardian of the haunted Cartaret place
+had aroused the ire of the said defender, and that they were now in
+deadly danger of being seized by bony hands.
+
+Of course Connie and his followers were raw novices in matters connected
+with haunts, and all such things, or they would have known that no self
+respecting ghost was ever caught giving public exhibitions of his
+oddities in broad daylight. The gloom of night, or the weird light of
+the moon, has always had a monopoly of these thrilling diversions.
+
+When Connie Mallon suddenly gave a tremendous spring forward, and
+started on a full run, there was no holding the other three back. They
+went plunging madly on in his wake, paying little attention to the
+direction they took, so long as their flight promised to carry them away
+from those dreadful manifestations.
+
+Elmer did not stop his labors; in fact he even went to some pains to
+increase the racket, under the impression that once you get a thing
+started it is good policy to keep it moving.
+
+He had distinctly warned the others, however, not to allow their
+excitement to overlap their discretion; for should one of them so far
+forget himself enough to give vent to a genuine boyish shout, perhaps
+the panic-stricken quartette might become wise to the fact that they
+were being made victims to a great hoax.
+
+"Come on, let's chase after them a bit, fellows!" Elmer told them,
+between his puffs through the birch bark megaphone; "but keep well back,
+so that they can't get a look-in at us if they turn their heads. Noise
+is what we want, and plenty of the right kind."
+
+Acting on his suggestion the others trailed after their leader. They
+swished in and out of the bushes, and accompanied their progress with
+all manner of novel sounds, each of which was calculated to add just a
+mite more to the alarm of the fugitives.
+
+More than once they heard loud cries of pain coming from ahead, as one
+of the runners collided with some tree which had not been noticed in his
+terror; or else found himself tripped up by a wild grape-vine that lay
+in wait for unwary feet. As Toby declared later on, all this was "just
+pie" for the chasers; they feasted off it, and seemed to enjoy the run
+immensely; which was more than the Mallon boy, with his three cronies,
+could ever say.
+
+At least Connie seemed to have kept his head about him in one important
+particular, which pleased Elmer very much; he knew in which direction
+lay their wagon, for which he had been in the act of sending one of his
+companions at the very moment this awful clamor broke out which had
+started them in full flight.
+
+The neigh of a horse close at hand told Elmer what was happening, and he
+immediately held his eager clan in. Far be it from them to wish to delay
+the departure of the Mallon tribe, whose room was worth far more to the
+scouts than their company.
+
+"Wait, and listen!" said Elmer, in a whisper.
+
+"You didn't get the whole of that straight, Elmer," Toby told him,
+quickly, in a low, husky voice; "you ought to have said, 'Stop! Look!
+Listen!' That's the way it always is at railroad crossings!"
+
+"Hist! Be still!" cautioned the leader.
+
+They could hear loud excited voices near by, accompanied by the stamping
+of horses' hoofs, as though the excitement had communicated to the team
+used by Connie Mallon and his three cronies in their rival nutting
+expedition.
+
+"Now, let's start up again, and add the finishing touches!" Elmer told
+the others, when a dozen more seconds had dragged past, and they felt
+they might safely assume that the fugitives must have untied the team,
+as well as scrambled into the wagon.
+
+Once again did that strange chorus break forth, with Elmer groaning
+through his birch bark horn, and the others doing all in their power to
+accompany him in regular orthodox ghostly style, in as far as their
+limited education along these lines went.
+
+Taken altogether the racket was certainly enough to scare almost any
+one. Snorts and prancing on the part of the horses announced that they
+were now sharing the general excitement. Then came cries urging haste,
+and presently the plain unmistakable smack of a whip being brought down
+with decided emphasis on the backs of the animals, several times
+repeated.
+
+With that there was the crunch of wheels, and away dashed the two-horse
+wagon, making for the road which Connie knew must not be far away. Once
+or twice the scouts had fugitive glimpses of the departing vehicle as it
+flashed past small glades where the view happened to be unobstructed;
+and it was certainly "killing," as George called it, to see those
+fellows bouncing about in the bed of the wagon, holding on for dear
+life, and with Connie plying the whip savagely, while the horses leaped
+and tugged and strained to make fast time over the uneven floor of the
+woods.
+
+The echoes of the flight grew fainter in the distance, and presently as
+they stood there the scouts could tell from the change in sounds that
+those who were fleeing from the wrath of the ghosts must have reached
+the harder road, for the hoof beats of the horses came with a pounding
+stroke.
+
+Gradually even this was dying away. Then the five boys turned and looked
+at each other, with their faces wreathed in huge grins.
+
+"Tell me, Elmer, is it safe to let off steam now?" demanded Toby,
+eagerly.
+
+"If you're careful not to be too noisy, go it!" came the reply.
+
+With that Toby threw himself flat on his back, and began to kick his
+heels up in the air, all the while laughing, and giving queer gurglings
+that were meant to serve his pent-up emotions about as the escape valve
+of a boiler does when the steam presses too heavily on the boiler, and
+relief is necessary.
+
+He was not alone in his hilarity, although the merriment of the others
+partook of a different nature. Ted, Chatz and George went around shaking
+hands, and assuring each other that never in all their lives had they
+ever run across a more ridiculous diversion than this flight of the bold
+nut-gatherers.
+
+"Talk to me about Napoleon's retreat from Moscow," said George, who
+prided himself on his knowledge of history, "why, it wasn't in the same
+category as that wonderful escape of the Connie Mallon gang from the
+raid of the Cartaret ghosts. And say, what thrilling stories they'll
+have to tell about it all! Believe me, the whole Hickory Ridge will know
+about it by night time. Oh! I'll never forget it! I haven't had so much
+fun for a whole year as to-day. It was worth coming twenty miles just to
+see them on the jump."
+
+"Why," observed Ted, after he could regain his breath in part, "that
+Phil Jackthon took the cake when it came to covering ground. Did you
+thee him clear that log like a buck? I bet you he made a record jump
+that time, and beat anything he ever marked up on the thlate at a
+match."
+
+"Well, they're gone, all right," said Chatz; "and from the way they
+whipped their poor hosses I'd like to guess they'll keep on the wild
+run till they get home. And there isn't much chance that we'll be
+bothered again by that Mallon bunch to-day; how about that, Elmer?"
+
+"You can set that down as certain," replied the one spoken to. "It would
+take more spunk than any of that crowd happens to own for them to change
+their minds, and come back here. And that's why I wanted you to be
+careful not to give the secret away. We've got the field to ourselves
+the rest of the day."
+
+"Unless something comes along to give us a scare too," added Chatz,
+meaningly; for truth to tell, the superstitious Southern boy was already
+wondering whether all this playing ghost on their part might not bring
+something down on their heads savoring of retribution.
+
+"Then what's to hinder our getting busy, and changing all that pile of
+fine nuts from their sacks to ours?" George wanted to know. "The spoils
+of battle belong to the victors every time; and besides, they were
+trying to beat us out of our share as first discoverers. For one I ain't
+a bit ashamed to grab everything. Let that silly bunch wake up earlier
+next time, if they mean to get away with the game."
+
+What Elmer may have thought just then he did not say; but his ideas were
+certainly not so pronounced as those of George, who was a pretty blunt
+fellow, one of the "give-and-take" kind.
+
+As they were all of one mind a start back was made; and Toby, not
+wishing to be left in the lurch, had to bring his kicking exhibition to
+an abrupt finish, and hasten after his four chums.
+
+The glorious store of nuts that had already been gathered was
+immediately turned from the sacks owned by Connie Mallon and his cronies
+into the burlap bags the scouts had provided for the purpose. Then, far
+from satisfied, the boys proceeded to take up the work where the late
+nut-gatherers had left off. They climbed trees, and whipped the branches
+with the long poles, delighting in the sound of splendid nuts rattling
+down like hail. There is such a fascination about this sport that it is
+difficult to know just when to stop it; and the ground was soon covered
+to such an extent, that when the harvest had been gleaned several of the
+enemy's bags were more than half filled with the surplus.
+
+"I never saw half so many chestnuts, walnuts and shell-bark hickory nuts
+gathered in heaps in all my life, as there are right here!" declared
+George; "a big bag apiece all around, and with three partly filled sacks
+belonging to that crowd left over."
+
+"Which extra plunder," said Elmer, quietly, "I'm sure none of us would
+think of wanting, as we've got twice as much as we can use already."
+
+"Then you're going to leave them for the ghost, are you?" asked Chatz,
+eagerly.
+
+"We'll take them along," said Elmer, "and turn them over to Connie
+Mallon as a consolation prize; he'll find them in his front yard
+to-morrow morning, bright and early."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+WHAT A SCOUT LEARNS
+
+
+"HUH! so far as the nuts go, I haven't any objection," remarked George;
+"but to my mind it's going to be like casting pearls before swine.
+They'll never appreciate the real motive back of the thing; and chances
+are they'll reckon we're throwing them a sop so they won't hold hard
+feelings against us."
+
+"Perhaps you're right, George," Elmer admitted; "but don't forget we're
+every one of us true scouts, and that we've promised to hold out the
+olive branch to those we call our enemies, whenever we find the chance.
+There's such a thing as heaping coals of fire on another fellow's head,
+doing a kindness to the one who hates you, and making him ashamed of
+himself. Scouts learn that lesson early in their service, you remember.
+If we didn't have all the nuts ourselves, perhaps I'd hesitate to put
+this up to you, but it's no sacrifice to any of us."
+
+"Elmer, I agree with you there," Ted spoke up. "Of courth none of us may
+ever know jutht how they take it; but when a fellow hath done his duty
+he needn't bother himthelf wondering whether it payth."
+
+"Listen to Ted preach, will you?" jeered Toby, who truth to tell was not
+much in favor of carrying those three half-filled hags of nuts all the
+way to town, just to serve as a "consolation prize" to those fellows who
+had conspired to cheat them out of their just dues.
+
+"But he's right in what he says," maintained Chatz stoutly, for he had a
+Southerner's code of honor, and was more chivalrous that any other
+fellow in the whole troop of scouts. "Duty is duty, no matter how
+disagreeable it seems. And when once you realize that it's up to you to
+hold out a hand to the treacherous enemy who's flim-flammed you many a
+time, why, you'll have no peace of mind till you've made the effort."
+
+"But," Toby went on to say, sneeringly; "if you step up to Connie
+Mallon, and say: 'Here's your bags come back, and we chucked the
+leavings in the same, which the ghost is sending you by us to sort of
+soft soap your injured feelings,' why, d'ye know what he's apt to do;
+jump on you, and begin to use those big fists of his like pile drivers.
+You'll have to excuse me from being the white-winged messenger of peace,
+Elmer. I pass."
+
+"There's no need of doing it that way, Toby," he was informed by the
+scout master. "Some time to-night, as late as we can make it, we'll
+carry these partly filled bags around to Connie's place, and drop them
+over the fence. Hold on, here's another of the same sort; now, if we
+only had that as full as the rest it would be just one all around, and
+we could leave them in each yard, you see."
+
+"Like old Santa Claus had been making his annual visit, only this time
+he picked out Thanksgiving time instead of Christmas," remarked Toby, a
+trifle bitterly; and yet strange to say he was the very first one to
+start in gathering more nuts and thrusting his find into the fourth
+Mallon bag; which told Elmer that much of his objection was mere surface
+talk, and that his heart really beat as true to the principles of scout
+membership as did any other present.
+
+"Many hands make light work," and so plentiful were the several
+varieties of nuts that it was not long before the fourth bag was half
+filled. No doubt those boys felt better because of this act. The chances
+were they would never get any credit for what they were doing, but as
+Elmer told them, the consciousness of having done a decent act should
+always be quite enough for any ordinary scout.
+
+"And every one of us has a clear title to turning our badges right-side
+up, after working so hard for our enemies," Chatz declared, as they
+"knocked off."
+
+"Well, how about that dinner, camp style?" demanded Toby, drawing out
+the waistband of his khaki trousers to show what a quantity of room he
+had for a supply of cooked food.
+
+"It's long after noon, so we might as well get busy with dinner," Elmer
+replied.
+
+After stowing all the sacks away in the bushes, where they were not
+likely to be discovered, should any outsider wander on the scene while
+they were employed elsewhere, the scouts busied themselves in making
+preparations for the camp meal which all of them had so long been
+anxiously looking forward to.
+
+First of all a fire was started in the most approved manner, some flat
+stones being built up in two parallel ridges. Long ago these lads had
+found that there was nothing so splendidly adapted for camp cooking as a
+gridiron of some sort, made after the pattern of the shelf in the
+kitchen oven at home, with grill bars. This could be easily placed on
+stones, or even mounds of earth if the first were not available, and
+there was no danger of anything upsetting; while the flames, or the heat
+of the red coals had a chance to accomplish the work. So they never went
+forth, when there was a possibility of cooking being done, without
+carrying this contrivance along with them.
+
+They had been thoughtful enough to also fetch along a coffee-pot, an
+extra large frying-pan made of sheetiron, and the necessary tin
+platters, cups, knives, forks and spoons.
+
+Soon the delicious odor of dinner began to steal forth, causing Toby to
+sniff the air with rapture, and loudly declare:
+
+"Fried onions, coffee, ham, potatoes, and plenty of fresh bread and
+butter; that's the bill of fare, is it? Gee! whiz! you couldn't beat it
+if you tried all day. And every minute's going to seem like a whole hour
+to me till I hear the welcome call to the feast."
+
+"We're a lucky lot to be sitting around here like this, and a bully
+dinner coming on, when we think of that bunch of soreheads hustling for
+home, not even half a dozen nuts in their pockets, and even their gunny
+sacks lost," Chatz remarked.
+
+"Yes, provided somebody don't get too gay, and upset all that coffee
+into the fire," grumbled George, who evidently would not feel sure of
+his dinner until he had devoured it, because, as he was fond of
+repeating, "there's many a slip 'tween the cup and the lip," and Toby
+was so apt to be so clumsy in moving around.
+
+As usually occurred, however, George's fears proved groundless, because
+no accident happened to the splendid dinner, which they were soon
+enjoying to their hearts' content. There was enough and to spare, so
+that even Toby admitted he could find no more room, when Elmer pressed
+him to have a third helping.
+
+"If we had Ty Collins and Lil Arthur Stansbury along there never would
+be even a crumb left over, no matter how much you cooked," said Toby, as
+he heaved a sigh, and released another button so as to add to his
+comfort; "I'm a pretty good hand, but when it comes to crowding the
+mourners, and stowing the grub away, they take the prize."
+
+For a while afterward the boys sat around the fire, and talked of the
+recent happenings. There was plenty of time to get home before dusk,
+which was really all that they wished to do, so none of them showed any
+desire to hurry off.
+
+Later on, however, when some one happened to mention the fact that if
+there was nothing more to be done they might as well bring the wagon
+up, load their cargo of well filled sacks, and be moving along toward
+town, Toby suddenly remembered something.
+
+"Well, I declare if I didn't nearly forget one of the most important
+things of the whole excursion!" he exclaimed.
+
+"What?" asked George, ready to object at once, if the thing did not meet
+with his approval.
+
+"Why, you know I told you I'd been fixing up another little stunt
+connected with the wonderful science of aviation, and right here's where
+I see a golden opportunity to try it out for the second time. It seemed
+to work all right with me in a ten-foot drop, and next thing is to make
+it thirty. If she does that, and I live to tell the tale, you're apt to
+see the name of Jones right often in the papers pretty soon."
+
+He had pounced on that mysterious package of his while speaking, and was
+busily engaged in unwrapping the same, while the others crowded around,
+curious to learn what it could be that the aspiring inventor had hit on
+now. So many of Toby's startling devices had turned out to be the
+rankest fizzles, that his comrades had come to be very skeptical with
+regard to his ability to make good.
+
+"Why, I declare if it ain't only an old umbrella after all!" exclaimed
+George, with his accustomed sniff of disdain, as the contents of the
+package became visible after the paper had been cast aside.
+
+"You're away off there, George," affirmed Toby; "because every bit of
+it's brand new. My own invention too; nothing just like it ever known
+before."
+
+"Huh! I believe you!" grumbled the skeptical George.
+
+"It's what they call a parachute," Toby continued, glibly. "You know the
+kind the hot air balloon men use at county fairs when they go up; well
+this is an improvement along that line, and is intended to let an
+aeronaut drop a mile and more, if anything happens to his machine when
+he's up among the clouds."
+
+"That sounds pretty well, Toby," remarked Elmer, though there was a
+shade of doubt on his face, for up to then Toby had really never managed
+to impress his chums with his greatness as an inventor; he was always
+getting excited over things, but seemed to lack the ability to
+successfully grasp the ideas that were floating around in his mind.
+
+"You'll soon see that this time I have got a grand scheme in this safety
+device," the inventor boasted; "you know there are an awful lot of
+casualties among air-men these days. Some sort of thing goes wrong when
+they're away up, and nearly every time it means they fall like a stone.
+My wonderful parachute will make it _impossible_ for the aviator who
+carries one along with him to be killed. Let his machine head for the
+earth like a meteor, and as for him he'll drift down as softly as you
+please."
+
+"Go on and tell us how all this is meant to do the business," asked
+Chatz, as Toby amused himself in opening and closing the folds of the
+big stout umbrella, which certainly seemed to work smoothly enough.
+
+"Why, you see it's fixed so that it will be attached to the back of the
+man in the aeroplane all the time he's up; a sort of insurance plan,
+because while he may not need it at all, if he does it's there handy.
+When he finds his machine has gone back on him all he has to do is to
+jump boldly out into space. The Jones patent parachute does all the
+rest. It's as reliable as United States bonds, and will save lots of the
+poor fellows who, but for my thinking up this scheme, might have lost
+their lives this next year."
+
+"Of course you've tried it out, Toby?" suggested Chatz.
+
+"Never will work in the wide world," affirmed George; "because in nine
+cases out of ten it'd get caught somehow in the planes or the machinery
+of the aeroplane, and the poor chump who had pinned his faith to the
+Jones Parachute would come down ker-plunk with his wrecked motor!"
+
+"Shows how little you know about some things, George," Toby flashed
+back; "if the directions are faithfully followed there never can be an
+accident like you say. As to trying it out, I've had one little drop,
+say of about ten feet, but that was too short, because the umbrella
+didn't have a chance to get fully open; and when I struck the ground it
+near rattled every tooth in my head out. But now I want to get up at
+least thirty feet, and then drop with the thing already open."
+
+"But see here," Elmer told him; "I should think you'd have found a way
+to test the opening of the thing by throwing it over some precipice,
+with a heavy rock tied in place of a man."
+
+"Just what I did, Elmer!" cried the other, hastily. "I spent a whole
+Saturday morning up at that big rock that overlooks Lake Jupiter, and
+five different times I tossed the parachute, folded up, over the edge,
+with a stone weighing more than a hundred and fifty pounds fastened to
+the same."
+
+"And how did it work?" asked Chatz.
+
+"Like a charm," replied the happy inventor. "The umbrella opened as
+quick as it began to drop, and after that it floated to the ground all
+right. Course it hit a little hard, because you couldn't expect it to
+sail along like a thistle-down, with all that weight attached; but the
+shock wasn't enough to hurt--much, I guess. And while we sat here eating
+I saw the very tree I'm meaning to climb. Look over there, and notice
+that half dead one, with one big dead limb hanging out, and nothing else
+on that same side. How high would you call that, Elmer?"
+
+"Nearer forty feet than thirty, I should judge; and enough to kill you
+if you fell straight," replied the scout master.
+
+"Don't worry about me, now; I'm all fixed for it, and I've got on my
+rubber-soled shoes in the bargain, so I'll be light on my feet. But I
+would like some of you to give me a lift up that tree."
+
+"It's got plenty of branches on this side, so that you won't have much
+trouble climbing, once you get a start," Chatz told him, starting
+forward to lend what assistance lay in his power.
+
+"Better not try that risky game, Toby," objected George, possibly really
+concerned about the safety of his comrade, but more than likely voicing
+his natural liking for being on the side of the opposition, for some
+boys are built that way, and never so happy as when throwing obstacles
+in the way of success.
+
+Toby, however, paid no attention to this grumbling on the part of
+George. Ted and Chatz helped him into the tree, and then handed up the
+wonderful parachute which, if it turned out to be one-half as successful
+as its proud inventor claimed, was going to be a great boon for all
+those who took their lives in their hands and went up among the clouds
+in air machines.
+
+Higher climbed Toby, managing somehow to lug his burden along with him,
+although it certainly could not have been any light weight.
+
+His objective point was a large decayed limb that stood out all alone on
+one side of the trunk. As Elmer had calculated this was all the way from
+thirty-five to forty feet from the ground, and that distance offered him
+a good chance to experiment with his parachute.
+
+"Be careful, Toby, and don't take too many risks!" Elmer called out to
+him, making use of the birch bark megaphone, so as to impress his words
+more positively on the other.
+
+"Oh! look there what's running up ahead of Toby, would you?" cried
+George. "As sure as you live it's a 'coon, with its striped tail, and
+scared half to death because a critter with two legs has clumb his
+private tree. He must have popped out of that hole you c'n see where
+Toby is. And say, if the little fool hasn't gone and run out on that
+very limb where Toby's planned to jump from."
+
+"Keep back, everybody!" warned Elmer; "give Toby and the 'coon all the
+room they need, because our chum is attaching the parachute to his body
+right now!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+LOOKING AROUND
+
+
+"HERE goes, fellows; now watch me make the jump!"
+
+Toby had adjusted the big parachute to his satisfaction, before he
+called this out; and it seemed to have been attached to his back by
+means of some device of his own. When open it resembled a large
+umbrella, only the ribs were made much more solid than the usual ones.
+
+"It's lucky the ground's pretty soft down here, Toby!" called George;
+"because you're apt to get a swift knock when you land. Be sure and keep
+that tongue of yours well inside your mouth, or you might bite it off."
+
+"Seems to me you do your share of biting, George; you've always got some
+ill-natured remark to make about everything I invent. Nothing venture,
+nothing gained, is my motto. And now I'll walk a little further out on
+this limb, so as to get a better chance to jump; and then watch me sail
+like a thistle-down!"
+
+"Careful, there, Toby!" shouted Elmer, as the scout up in the tree
+started to move out further, looking very queer with that canopy over
+his head, and his waving arms assisting him to keep his balance.
+
+Hardly had the scout master given this warning than what he possibly
+anticipated happened. There was an ominous crack, and the rotten limb
+started to drop earthward. So did Toby, though the parachute caught the
+air, and sustained his weight pretty fairly. How it would have been had
+he been thousands of feet up, instead of a paltry thirty-five, was a
+question that could not be answered.
+
+The four boys saw the limb come crashing down, to break into fragments
+when it landed. Strange to say the ring-tailed animal that had
+accompanied the rotten limb in its sudden descent did not appear to have
+suffered any material damage from the drop; because it was seen to run
+away as soon as the termination of the unexpected aerial voyage had been
+reached.
+
+As for Toby, he was certainly falling, but buoyed up by that stout
+material extended in the shape of a parachute, his descent was not
+nearly so rapid as it must otherwise have been.
+
+He struck the ground with a resounding thump, and then fell over in a
+heap; though from the scrambling that ensued the others knew he could
+not have been hurt very much.
+
+"How'd she go, Toby?" demanded Chatz, hurrying forward to assist the
+daring air navigator, if it turned out he needed any help.
+
+"Kinder hard slap it gave me when I hit terra firma," replied the other,
+whose lip was bleeding a little, showing that he must have bitten it;
+"but all that's going to be remedied easy enough. What she needs is a
+little more canvas; ain't a big enough sail yet to hold me up. But
+whee! who'd ever expect that limb to snap off as sudden as that? See
+what it means to be prepared, fellows? Scouts ain't the only ones that
+ought to do that same; for if anybody ever needed to be ready, the air
+pilot does. He never knows what's going to happen to him next."
+
+"Well," the scout master remarked, "let's hope that's plenty for you
+to-day, Toby. We've stood and watched you make a record drop, and you
+came through in pretty decent shape; but enough's as good as a feast.
+The next time things mightn't turn out as nice for you; and we don't
+want to carry a scout with a broken leg home in our wagon to-day."
+
+"But think of that little 'coon coming down with it all, and then
+running away as if he didn't have a scratch to show for it?" George
+observed.
+
+"He got off sound and unhurt, did he?" asked Toby; "I'm real glad of
+that, 'cause I wouldn't want him to be injured. I reckon that 'coon was
+a mascot to me, and gave me good luck. But do we get ready to start home
+so early in the afternoon, Elmer?"
+
+Before any opinion could be advanced by the scout master, Chatz broke in
+hastily:
+
+"I'm going to ask you a great favor, suh," he told Elmer; "and which I
+hope you can grant without interfering at all with any plans you have
+formed."
+
+"What's that, Chatz?" asked the other; although from the quick look he
+cast in the quarter where lay the haunted house, it was easy to see
+that he could give a pretty fair guess what it's nature would prove to
+be.
+
+"Why, suh, we may never get the chance again, and I've always wanted to
+see what the inside of a haunted house looked like," Chatz went on to
+say.
+
+"Whee!" burst from the lips of Ted; while both George and Toby pricked
+up their ears, and began to show considerable interest.
+
+"You mean that while we're up here, and have half an hour or so on our
+hands," Elmer suggested, "we might as well take a look-in over there,
+and see if the rats and the owls are the only things living in the
+Cartaret house."
+
+"I'd like to very much, suh, believe me, I would," Chatz continued, with
+one of his winning smiles that were very difficult to resist.
+
+"What do the rest say about that?" and as Elmer made this remark he
+turned to the other three scouts.
+
+"I vote in the affirmative!" Toby immediately answered.
+
+"Thame here," purred Ted.
+
+"Oh! of course I'll join you in anything you hatch up, fellows," George
+told them; "though I don't take any stock in all this nonsense about
+ghosts and such. If you show me one, and I can pinch his arm, and feel
+the bones in his hand, I might believe in the stuff; but you never can,
+and that's a fact. Still, I'd like to see what the inside of this old
+Cartaret house is like. I don't believe there's a single fellow in
+Hickory Ridge that can boast he's been through it. Lead the way, then,
+Elmer, or Chatz. We'll follow you."
+
+That was always the way with George. He would oblige a comrade every
+time, but his chronic way of fault-finding, or unbelief, often took away
+much of the pleasure his accommodating nature might have afforded.
+
+They had bundled the cooking utensils together, ready to be placed in
+the wagon when it was brought up; Toby also fastened his wonderful
+parachute in as small a compass as possible, and laid it down alongside
+the other things.
+
+"Wouldn't want to forget to take that along home for a king's ransom,"
+he stoutly declared, looking defiantly at George, because of course that
+individual was smiling in a fashion that smacked strongly of
+incredulity.
+
+After that the whole five of them headed toward the spot where they knew
+the deserted house was to be found. Chatz was fairly quivering with
+eagerness, and there was a glow in his dark eyes that told how much he
+appreciated this chance to pry into the secret lodging place of a
+reported ghost.
+
+Everything was overgrown, and looked very wild. Elmer remarked that if
+there really were such things as hobgoblins in this world, they
+certainly could look long and far without finding a more congenial
+neighborhood in which to reside; for the whole appearance of the place
+seemed to smack of the supernatural. The breeze actually whined as it
+passed through the bare branches of the untrimmed trees close to the
+house; and loose shutters and windows added to the creaky sounds by
+their rattling, every time a little gust happened to blow.
+
+"Wow! this sure is spooky enough around here to suit me," Toby frankly
+admitted, as they stood there, and looked about them.
+
+The house itself had once been quite an extensive, and perhaps costly
+affair, with two wings, and a spacious hall in the center. That was long
+ago, for now it was in the throes of dissolution, a mere wreck of its
+former self, and fit only for bats, owls, and rats. Doors hung on a
+single hinge, and shutters had been torn off long ago by gales, leaving
+the paneless windows gaping beyond. Moss streaked the rotten roof, and
+parts of the porch had given way under accumulated snow piles in
+previous winters.
+
+As Toby said it certainly was gloomy enough, and one did not need to
+have a very vivid imagination to picture the tragic scenes that were
+said to have been enacted here many years ago, when the place was a
+regular Eden, with flower beds and outbuildings on all sides.
+
+"Gives you the creeps, all right," admitted George.
+
+"Now, for my part," Elmer remarked just then, "I kind of like the
+feeling it makes pass over you. And as few people have visited here for
+the last ten years, I'm glad you asked us to look around with you,
+Chatz. Let's go inside."
+
+There was no trouble about finding a place of entrance, for there were
+plenty of the same, some originally intended for this purpose, and
+others the result of decay while the old mansion lay here year after
+year the sport of winds and storms, winter and summer.
+
+They wandered around from room to room, viewing the wreck of what had
+once been a very fine house.
+
+"Looks to me like there might be some truth in that story about the
+Judge making this a regular prison for his young and pretty wife," Elmer
+announced as his opinion, after they had been pretty well through the
+lower story, and were climbing the shaky stairs to the upper floor.
+
+"Why, yes, there were actually bars across the windows in that last
+room!" declared Chatz; "it's just such a place as I've always had in my
+mind whenever I got to thinking about haunted houses. You could imagine
+anything might happen here. Right now, if it was midnight, we could
+watch and see if there was any truth in all those stories about the
+ghost of the Judge's young wife storming around here, going through all
+that terrible scene again. I'd give something to be able to learn if she
+does come back to visit the scenes where she was so unhappy."
+
+"Here, you'll have uth all shaking like we had the ague, if you don't
+stop that thort of talk," said Ted, apprehensively, and when he thought
+no one was looking, rubbing the back of his hand across his eyes, as
+though something connected with the sad story of the old-time tragedy
+had brought unbidden tears there.
+
+"Well, perhaps you may have just such a chance, Chatz," said Elmer,
+suddenly, as though he had made his mind up.
+
+"Tell me how," requested the Southern boy, trying to control the
+eagerness that burned within his soul when he heard this said.
+
+"You remember that we'd about made up our minds to spend the
+Thanksgiving holidays in camp somewhere, just to have another little
+outing before winter dropped down on us?" Elmer went on.
+
+"Yes, that's right, we did," muttered Toby, who was almost as much
+interested in the matter as Chatz.
+
+"And where could we find a better place for spending those few days than
+right here in the dense woods close to the Cartaret house? There's
+everything to be had that the heart of a camper might wish; and if
+you're a ghost hunter, why, here's a splendid field for your
+activities."
+
+"Elmer, will you do that much for me?" asked Chatz, earnestly.
+
+"Much more, if the chance ever came along, and you know it, Chatz,"
+replied the scout master, warmly. "So, what do you say, shall we
+consider that settled, boys?"
+
+All of them held up a hand, which meant that they voted in the
+affirmative.
+
+"But," interposed the Great Objector, "we mustn't forget that there
+will be several other fellows of our troop along with us on that little
+outing; and p'raps they mightn't just fancy camping so close to a mouldy
+old ruin, where the owls and bats fly around nights, and lots of other
+unpleasant things are apt to crop up."
+
+"Oh! we know Lil Artha, Ty Collins, and Landy Smith well enough to be
+able to speak for them, too," Elmer ventured; "and the chances are when
+they hear what we're aiming to do they'll be as wild as Chatz here to
+investigate."
+
+"We've got a big job cut out for us, I'm thinking, boys," faltered
+George.
+
+"Rats! who's afraid? Gimme two cents' worth of peanuts, please!"
+exclaimed Toby, who seemed to be in an unusually good humor, perhaps
+because of that successful parachute drop, looked forward to with an
+admixture of hope and fear for a considerable time.
+
+They passed through every part of the house that seemed worth while,
+even visiting the attic, where the rain had beaten in so many times,
+that some of the woodwork seemed very mouldy. They frightened an army of
+bats up there, and there was a lively ducking of heads, with numerous
+attempts at knocking the flying creatures down with whatever the boys
+could lay hands on.
+
+Underneath lay the cellars, and determined to see it all the boys
+trooped down the rotten stairs, saving George, who declared he had had
+quite enough of the exploration, and that after all he didn't believe in
+ghosts, and therefore an old ruin with a tragic story back of it failed
+to impress him as worth much time.
+
+When the others came out a little later, talking about what queer
+dungeons lay underground, some of which possibly had been constructed by
+the rich judge to serve as wine cellars, they found George sitting at
+his ease, and watching the shadow on the stone face of an old and
+unreliable sun dial.
+
+"I guess long ago that pretty young wife used to sit right where you
+are, George, and watch the shadow creep around to the hour mark," said
+Elmer, who must have had a pretty good touch of the romantic in his
+make-up, to speak in this way.
+
+"Mebbe," George retorted, as though falling back on his old principles,
+and not willing to believe anything unless shown.
+
+"That finishes our visit to the Cartaret place, for this time, Chatz,"
+Elmer continued, turning to the Southern boy; "I hope you think it paid
+you for the trouble."
+
+"A dozen times over, suh, I assuah you; and I'll not soon forget your
+kindness that made this interesting visit possible. Yes, and that
+promise to come up here again next week, when we're out for our little
+vacation camping. I shall look forward to the same with the greatest
+pleasure, believe me, suh."
+
+"Then we might as well get the horse up, and load our cargo?" Elmer
+suggested.
+
+"Oh! did you see that?" shouted Toby, just then.
+
+"What was it, and where did you see anything?" demanded George, always
+suspecting that the others were playing practical jokes.
+
+"Up at one of the windows there!" Toby went on, pointing, while his face
+filled with excitement and a little touch of awe.
+
+"What was it like?" asked Chatz, his interest aroused to fever heat.
+
+"I only had a peek at it, because it disappeared, just like it might be
+smoke," Toby went on to explain; "but it was a white face, and if there
+ever was such a thing on this here earth as a ghost, I saw one then,
+sure I did, fellows!"
+
+Elmer had his eyes glued on the face of the scout when he was making
+this astonishing assertion; and he knew that Toby, though a practical
+joker at times, was not trying to deceive them now; he had seen
+_something_ up there at that window, or believed he had, which amounted
+to the same thing; and yet they had just explored every bit of that
+portion of the ruins without meeting a single soul!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+HARVEST TIME
+
+
+NO one said a single word for the better part of a minute, after Toby
+had made this astonishing statement. They continued to exchange uneasy
+looks, and then cast furtive glances up toward the particular window at
+which Toby had been pointing his trembling finger.
+
+It was however excitement, not fear, that made Toby shiver; for after
+all he was the first to break the sombre silence, and then it was to
+make a proposition.
+
+"Let's go back up there, and take a turn around," he said, eagerly;
+"mebbe we did miss some room, and after all there's somebody ahidin' in
+the blooming haunted house. What d'ye say, fellows?"
+
+"I'm on!" replied one of them before Toby had really finished speaking;
+and of course it was Chatz who agreed so readily.
+
+Elmer immediately made a move that announced his readiness to do what
+the first discoverer of the ghost proposed; Ted and Toby followed suit;
+and finally George, shrugging his shoulders as though he considered it
+all folly, came tagging along at their heels grunting to himself.
+
+In this fashion they entered the house, and immediately passed up to the
+second floor, looking curiously about them again. Nothing was in sight,
+not even a trespassing bat, for the little creatures had all been
+alarmed when the boys made their first entry, and flown through various
+openings into the outer air.
+
+"Now be sure you pick out the right window, Toby," warned Chatz.
+
+"I counted 'em from the outside," replied the other, with a
+business-like air, "and it was exactly the seventh from the end; and
+here she is. Everybody count and see for yourselves."
+
+"That's all right," remarked George, triumphantly; "but suppose you show
+us your old ghost, Toby."
+
+"Never said it was one," protested the other, as he looked about in a
+puzzled manner; "what I did remark, and I stand back of it still, was
+that if ever there was such a thing as a spook in this world that must
+have been one."
+
+George sniffed contemptuously.
+
+"Go on and poke him out, then; I want to be shown, if I ain't from
+Missouri!" he told Toby, who turned his back on him.
+
+"Well, there doesn't seem to be anything here, Toby, for a fact," said
+Elmer, as he looked carefully around, up and down, on the floor, and
+along the hall.
+
+"It's disappeared, as sure as shooting, Elmer," admitted the pilot of
+the ghost-hunting expedition; "but I give you my affidavy that I did see
+a face, a white one at that, though it flipped out of sight before I
+could grab a second look."
+
+"Beats the Dutch what an _imagination_ some fellows have got," grumbled
+George.
+
+"I tell you I did see something, George!" repeated Toby, firmly.
+
+"Sure, you might have done that," agreed the other, cheerfully; "but
+it's my honest opinion that it might have been just a little flash of
+sunlight on a window pane. I've known such a thing to startle me more'n
+once. And when you shifted your head, why, you got out of focus, and the
+thing disappeared as you say, like a wreath of smoke. Now, I'm one of
+the kind that likes to look deep into things; and I never let a mystery
+grip me. Make up your mind, Toby, that it was something like I'm telling
+you, and let it go at that."
+
+Toby did not answer. Truth to tell he did not know what to say, for
+while he still firmly believed he had seen a human face at the window
+there was nothing around by means of which he could prove it.
+
+He went to the window and looked out.
+
+"Anyhow," he remarked, disconsolately, "even if I was fooled by
+something, it sure wasn't the sun, because it never strikes this side of
+the house after noontime; and look at the heavy trees shading it, will
+you? I give the thing up, and yet I'd like to take a look over this
+floor."
+
+"Suppose we start in and do it, then?" remarked Elmer, quietly.
+
+Even George accompanied them, though he continued to look superior, and
+allowed a skeptical expression to appear on his face. Possibly, in
+spite of his avowed disbelief in ghosts, George did not really care to
+be left alone in that house; his valor might all be on the surface.
+
+Nothing was found, and Toby finally admitted that it seemed useless
+wasting any more time prowling around.
+
+"But I'll always believe I did see something," he avowed, as they
+started out of the building again; "and if we come up here to camp
+during the Thanksgiving holidays we ought to look into this business
+closer. P'raps something might show up in the night time that'd be worth
+seeing."
+
+"Do you really think so, Toby?" exclaimed Chatz, with rapture, as though
+even the mention of it gave him secret delight.
+
+"Rats!" sneered the unconvinced George.
+
+They had gone only a little way from the house when Elmer called a halt.
+
+"Just wait for me a few minutes, boys," he said; "or, if you feel like
+it, fetch the wagon around to load up our sacks of nuts."
+
+With these words he turned and went straight back into the house. The
+others exchanged looks, but did not say anything, though they must have
+thought this queer on the part of the scout master. But then Elmer was a
+privileged character, and often did things that mystified his chums,
+explaining later on, to their complete satisfaction. Perhaps he may have
+dropped something up there on that second floor, or else conceived a
+sudden idea which caused him to return for another look around.
+
+"Might as well get loaded up, as hang around here any longer?" suggested
+Toby.
+
+"I think the same," added George, "for there's no telling who'll be
+seeing all sorts of queer things next. Must be in the air. Once that
+sort of thing begins to get around, and it takes a solid mind to ward it
+off. Never bothers _me_, though."
+
+"I'll bring the horse up," suggested Toby, with a grin; for in spite of
+finding himself the target for these shafts of ridicule on the part of
+the scoffer, Toby dearly loved to hear George offering objections.
+
+"Guess you'd better, because Nancy knows you more'n she does any of the
+rest of us; and a hoss is a rantankerous creature," said Chatz.
+
+"Particularly a mare," added Toby, as he hurried away; but they noticed
+that he cast many side glances at the surrounding dense foliage as he
+went in the direction of the spot where they had left Nancy and the
+wagon when approaching the grove of nut trees, as though he did not
+wholly fancy finding himself alone amidst such weird surroundings.
+
+Once the wagon was brought up it did not take the scouts long to get all
+the sacks of nuts loaded. When they saw what a splendid showing the
+collection made it caused a fresh outbreak of congratulations all
+around.
+
+"There never was such a grand lot of nuts brought into town from the day
+the first cabin was built away back!" declared George, who could not
+see any reason to throw cold water on this positive fact, with the
+evidence plainly before him.
+
+"That's what comes of having an idea," remarked Toby, proudly; "if I
+hadn't engineered this plan we might have spent a hard day in the woods,
+and only brought home a single bag to show for it. Just look at that
+wholesale lot, will you?"
+
+"Yeth, and we're all ready to thay you did it with your little hatchet,
+Toby; it taketh you to hatch up plans, thure it doeth," admitted Ted.
+
+"Wonder what's keeping Elmer?" Chatz observed, as he turned to look
+toward the house, glimpses of which they could catch through small
+openings in the dense growth of trees; to immediately add: "there he
+comes right now."
+
+"Hope he found what he was looking for," George ventured, and nothing
+further was said in regard to the matter.
+
+Elmer quickly joined them. Chatz looked keenly at his face, and fancied
+that he could detect something like a faint smile there; but even if the
+scout master had made any sort of discovery on his last visit to the
+haunted house, he did not seem ready to take his chums into his
+confidence.
+
+"Well, that looks like something, boys," he remarked, as he surveyed the
+great load of filled bags that occupied nearly every bit of space in the
+wagon bed.
+
+"Oh! we believe in doing a wholesale business when we get started,"
+laughed Toby; "the only thing that's bothering me is where Chatz, Ted
+and George can find room to sit. Guess they'll have to fix it so as to
+stretch out on top of our load."
+
+"Ted can crowd in with the two of us on the front seat, if he wants,"
+explained Elmer; "and if somebody gives me a hand we'll soon arrange a
+place for the other seat back here on top of these four partly filled
+sacks."
+
+"Consolation prizes, you mean!" muttered George, who did not exactly
+like the idea of their going to all the trouble of carrying the extra
+sacks home just to drop them in the yards of the members of the Mallon
+crowd; George was inclined to be proud, and it seemed to smack too much
+of pulling "chestnuts out of the fire" for others.
+
+"Well, after all, suh, they worked hard enough to knock those nuts down
+to be entitled to a share," Chatz remarked, that fine Southern sense of
+justice cropping up again, despite his dislike for Connie Mallon and all
+those who trained in his camp.
+
+"Not to speak of the bruises and black eyes some of them must have
+picked up when they conducted that masterly retreat," Elmer added; "I'll
+never forget that panic; for I don't believe I ever saw fellows more
+frightened than they were."
+
+"Well, do you blame them?" asked Ted; "if I got it in my head that bunch
+of ghosth had it in for me on account of my breaking in on their haunt
+I'd run like a whitehead too, and thatth right."
+
+"I'd like to see Connie's face when he discovers that sack of nuts in
+his yard to-morrow A. M.," George continued, actually pursing up his
+lips in a smile, something he was seldom guilty of.
+
+"Reckon he'll think it rained down in the night," chuckled Chatz.
+
+"More'n likely he'll begin to believe he's only been dreaming that these
+things happened, and that he did fetch the nuts home with him, after
+all," Toby volunteered.
+
+"But when the other counties are heard from, and they all compare notes,
+won't they get on to the game then?" George asked.
+
+"How about that, Elmer?" Toby inquired, turning to the scout master.
+
+"I don't see how they can help but figure it out as it stands," came the
+reply.
+
+"That is, they'll guess we fetched back their bags for 'em, and not
+wanting to turn the same over empty, just chucked a lot of nuts in to
+make 'em stand up," and George as he said this looked as consequential
+as though he had solved some great problem.
+
+"All I'm afraid of," resumed Toby, "is they'll get the idea in their
+dense heads that we're only doing this because of fear; that is, we're
+offering a bribe, hoping they'll forgive us for frightening them, and
+won't hold us to a reckoning. I don't like knuckling down that way. I
+wish we thought to put a note in each sack telling them we only turned
+these nuts over because we had more than we could use ourselves, and
+thought they'd worked hard enough to earn some."
+
+Elmer, however, shook his head.
+
+"That wouldn't be worth while trying!" he declared. "I think it'd only
+make them more bitter against us. The best way to do is just to leave
+the bags in their yards, and say nothing. If they ever ask us why we did
+it, let's say we thought it only fair they should have some of the
+proceeds of the raid on the Cartaret grove, because they worked hard
+enough for it. If they want to make trouble after that why we'll have to
+accommodate them, that's all."
+
+That settled the matter. When Elmer clinched an argument he seldom left
+any ground for the others to stand on; and in this case all of the boys
+seemed to be satisfied to let him do as he proposed, though several
+privately disliked the idea of carrying that additional weight back
+home, just to turn over to that turbulent, trouble-making crowd.
+
+"There's nothing more to keep us here, seems like," suggested George;
+"so what do you say to going home?"
+
+"It's time," admitted Chatz, "and if Nancy is able to draw such a heavy
+load, we ought to get there before dark, which comes along about five,
+these November days."
+
+"It's mostly down-grade," Toby went on to say, as he climbed to his
+seat, and took up the lines; "besides, I told you the animal needed a
+good haul to take some of that extra spirit out of her. All aboard,
+fellows; those who can't get a board find a rail. Homeward bound, and
+with the greatest load of bouncing big nuts ever harvested along Hickory
+Ridge."
+
+They were a merry lot as they found places on the wagon.
+
+"Hope Nancy behaves herself going home," George remarked, as he tried to
+fix himself firmly in his seat; "if she took a notion to cut up all of a
+sudden where d'ye think we'd land back here, with the wagon so full?"
+
+"Plenty of room on the road, George; and believe me you wouldn't have to
+question where you'd dropped, because it'd be a convincing argument,"
+Elmer told him.
+
+So they started, and all of them turned to take a last look in the
+direction of the haunted house, as they caught a glimpse of it through
+the trees.
+
+"Good-bye old ghost!" cried Toby, waving the hand that did not hold the
+reins; "we'll come again and interview you, mebbe. Take care of
+yourself, and don't play any mad pranks while we're away."
+
+As they rode off, making their way among the trees, and heading for the
+vicinity of the road, Chatz turned to Ted, who was sitting in the middle
+again, having decided to cast his fortunes with the comrades of the rear
+seat, and remarked in what he meant to be a low tone:
+
+"I'd give something to know, suh, whether Elmer _did_ find out about
+that _thing_ when he went back into the old house again!" but Ted only
+shook his head in reply, as though the subject was too deep for him, or
+else he believed Elmer would take them all into his confidence when he
+saw fit to do so.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+HOW ELMER'S PLAN WORKED
+
+
+"HOW had we better arrange about the nuts, Elmer?" asked Toby, when they
+were drawing close to the border of the town, with the twilight
+gathering around them.
+
+"I've been thinking about that, Toby," replied the other; "and the best
+way all around would be for you to keep the whole lot in your barn. Some
+day we'll get together and divide up, because, as they stand now some
+bags have only walnuts, others hickories, while a couple have got most
+of the chestnuts in them."
+
+"Are the rest agreeable, and do they trust me as far as that?" demanded
+Toby.
+
+"Trust you with my pocketbook, Toby," George assured him.
+
+"That's because there's never a red cent in the same, then," the driver
+flashed back, as quick as anything; "but see here, Elmer, what about the
+other four half-filled sacks?"
+
+"I was coming to that," replied the scout master; "and unless somebody
+objects to the programme, why, I'll drop around after supper, say before
+nine o'clock, and between us, Toby, we'll lift all our own bags out, and
+stow the same away in that room in your barn that's got a lock to it.
+Then I'd like you to hitch up Nancy again, so we can go around and drop
+these other bags in the yards of the four fellows. It's apt to be pretty
+quiet along about that time, even if it's Saturday night; and not much
+danger of anybody spying on us."
+
+"Just as you say, Elmer; I'm with you," replied Toby, who was a very
+accommodating fellow, and easily influenced; "I guess I'll feel
+stronger, and more like tackling the job after I've had my supper."
+
+There was no objection to that plan, since it had already been decided
+to work things that way; and possibly George, as well as Ted, felt that
+they were escaping some hard labor when they allowed these two comrades
+to shoulder the burden.
+
+At various corners the others jumped off the heavily loaded wagon, and
+made for their homes. It happened that no boys were abroad just then to
+ask where they had been, for supper time came early in most of the
+Hickory Ridge homes during the fall and winter days; and so Toby was not
+forced to explain that he and his four chums had been off nutting.
+
+True to his word by half-past eight Elmer made his appearance at the
+Jones domicile, and with Toby and a lighted lantern proceeded to the big
+barn. Here they found that the wagon stood just where it had been left
+when Toby unharnessed Nancy, and stripping off their coats the two lads
+proceeded to complete their job.
+
+It was no light one at that, lifting out those sacks filled with nuts,
+and stowing the same away in the man's room near by; but both were
+husky fellows, and by degrees managed to complete their task.
+
+"There," said Toby, wiping his streaming brow, "that part's done, and
+the rest won't be so hard, because the bags are only half filled; but I
+kind of wish we had 'em planted O.K., and were on the way home again.
+Whew! what would happen, d'ye think, Elmer, if Connie Mallon dropped in
+on us when we were dumping a sack over the fence into his yard?"
+
+"That'd be hard to say," replied Elmer; "but what's the use crossing
+bridges before you come to them? Time enough to bother with that when it
+happens. And if you knew Connie as well as I do, because he doesn't live
+far away from my house, you'd never expect him to be home at nine
+o'clock on a Saturday night. He's too fond of loafing down in the pool
+room with his crowd; or being off on some lark, robbing some orchard of
+late apples. Now, suppose you lead Nancy out, after you've got her
+harness on, and we'll hitch up."
+
+This was soon done, and afterwards Toby started to back the vehicle out
+of the barn, while Elmer extinguished the lantern.
+
+"I'll leave it here alongside the door, so we can find it again when we
+come back," he told the driver; after doing which he mounted beside
+Toby, and they started off on their queer errand.
+
+Phil Jackson lived close by the Jones home, so they paid the first visit
+there. Lights could be seen through the windows, but the boys found it
+an easy thing to lift one of the half-filled sacks of nuts out of the
+wagon, and silently slip it over the fence, leaving it there to be
+discovered by Phil is the morning.
+
+After that a second visit was made, and their end was accomplished quite
+as easily as at the Jackson house. The third one proved a little harder,
+for there were some people standing at the door as the boys drove past.
+
+"Better make a turn around the block, Toby," suggested the scout master;
+"they've been having visitors, and perhaps they'll be gone when we get
+back again."
+
+This proved to be the case, and having decided just where they wished to
+leave the sack of nuts, the boys drew in the animal and quickly dropped
+their burden over the picket fence.
+
+"Things are booming," remarked Toby; "that makes three of the lot, and
+only one left, which is Connie Mallon's bag."
+
+He seemed to be a little nervous about approaching this place, for the
+bully had a bad reputation as a fighter among the boys of the town; but
+everything appeared to be quiet, and there was not a single light to be
+seen in the small house where the Mallon family lived.
+
+All the same Toby breathed freer when he felt the bag slip from his
+grasp over the fence. Hardly had they managed this than there was an
+explosion of savage barks and a bulldog came rushing toward the corner.
+
+"Wow! ain't I glad that Towser's on the other side of the fence?" Toby
+exclaimed, as he hastened to jump up on the wagon; while the dog
+continued to bark fiercely, with his blunt nose pressed against the
+palings surrounding the enclosure; "hurry, Elmer, and let's get away. I
+don't think he can climb fences, but I won't take any chances with that
+brute. He's spoiled one pair of trousers for me already."
+
+Soon afterwards the two boys parted at the gate of the Jones place.
+
+"I feel like we'd had a great time of it to-day, don't you, Elmer?" Toby
+was saying; and then, not waiting for an answer, he continued: "and I
+have to laugh every time I think of what a crazy scramble that Connie
+and his bunch put up when you gave 'em the ghost walk with that birch
+bark horn. Most people like to see the ghost walk on pay days, but this
+one wasn't the same kind. Wouldn't I give a cooky, though, to see what
+they look like to-night, and hear what they say about bein' chased by
+that Cartaret spook!"
+
+"Well, it's been a good enough day for us, Toby; and I think we ought to
+have a great time if we go up in that region for our Thanksgiving
+camping trip. Good night," and with that Elmer walked away, not a little
+tired himself, for it had been a pretty strenuous day, all told.
+
+In the morning he was up early, because he had an object in view, and
+Elmer was not the one to sleep late at any time, even though it were
+Sunday morning.
+
+From a certain place up in the loft of the barn he knew he could see the
+Mallon yard quite plainly; and taking a field glass he owned along with
+him, he now proceeded to occupy this lookout.
+
+As he had already had some breakfast he was nor bothered by gnawing
+hunger as he continued to sit there, and watch the back door of the
+Mallon cottage.
+
+He saw Connie's mother come out several times, and judged she was
+getting breakfast ready. Then the big hulking boy himself appeared,
+bearing a bucket in his hand, and yawning at a great rate.
+
+Elmer sat up and watched closely, for he anticipated that a fellow who
+possessed as sharp eyes as Connie, could not help but see the bag that
+lay in plain sight near the fence. The dog had already been chained to
+his kennel by Mrs. Mallon, the watcher fancied, though he had not seen
+her do this. Connie stopped to speak to the ugly looking beast, and from
+the way Towser wagged his crooked stump of a tail it seemed as though he
+must be somewhat fond of his master.
+
+Then the big boy shuffled on toward the well, where he was evidently
+expecting to draw a bucket of drinking water.
+
+Suddenly Elmer, who was using the glasses now, saw him come to a
+standstill, and look straight at the bag, as though he could hardly
+believe his eyes.
+
+Down went the water pail, and Connie hastily strode across the yard
+until he reached the bag lying where Elmer and Toby had dropped it, snug
+up against the fence palings.
+
+He bent down, and opening the bag by cutting the stout cord that had
+been wound around the flap above the store of nuts, stared hard at the
+latter. Elmer saw that he was greatly staggered, for he started to
+scratch his head after the manner of one who did not know what to
+believe. Just as Chatz had suggested, perhaps he began to think the
+prize must have rained down in the night, for he examined the sack, and
+evidently recognized it as one of those he had taken with him on the
+preceding day when starting out on that nutting expedition with the idea
+of getting ahead of the scouts.
+
+Then again it might be that he began to believe all that affair of the
+panic and flight must have been a bad dream, and that after all he and
+his cronies had brought back some spoils when they returned. Again Elmer
+saw him put his hand up to his face and feel of his cheek.
+
+"He's got a cut there to show where he banged against a tree," the scout
+told himself, "and that's plain proof there was a panic. There, he's
+examining the bag again, as if he thought it would speak and explain the
+mystery. This is surely worth watching. Hello! there comes Phil Jackson,
+and that Benners fellow on the run. Looks like they had found their bags
+at home, and are coming to see what Connie has to say about it. And now
+there'll be a high old time, I expect."
+
+There was, after the two newcomers had discovered that one of the bags
+half filled with nuts stood in the Mallon yard, just as they had found
+at their homes.
+
+Elmer sat there for fully fifteen minutes, watching them talk and make
+gestures. He imagined that they had quickly figured it all out, and must
+know to whom they were indebted for a winter's stock of nuts. What they
+might choose to do about it was another question, however. Elmer hoped
+for the best, yet was prepared to meet the worst, whatever might come.
+
+"Anyway, Connie's concluded not to refuse the nuts just because they
+came to him through the scouts he hates so bitterly," Elmer concluded,
+as he saw the Mallon boy shoulder the sack and carry it to the house,
+after saying good-bye to the other two, who hastened away, possibly to
+learn if the fourth and last member of the expedition had likewise been
+favored by a visit from the fairies during the night.
+
+School held for the next three days, and then came glorious Thanksgiving
+with its turkey, and pumpkin pies, and all the splendid things that go
+to make up the annual feast. All this while there had not been the least
+hint from Connie or his three allies that they knew who put those nuts
+there. It almost seemed as though they purposely avoided meeting Elmer
+and his chums. Even at school they kept away from the others, and Toby
+declared that it was mighty queer, because he had fully expected to have
+a tongue lashing from the big bully, even if nothing more serious came
+to pass.
+
+Elmer was satisfied with the way things had turned out. As a scout he
+could feel that he had done the right thing, and deep down in his heart
+he hoped it might in some fashion show Connie Mallon there was such a
+thing as returning evil with good.
+
+Nothing might come of it just then, but Elmer hoped the seed would find
+lodging, and perhaps later on germinate.
+
+When they got to talking it over, as they made preparations for leaving
+home bright and early on the morning after Thanksgiving, George of
+course professed to doubt whether it had made even a dent in the callous
+surface of Connie's mind.
+
+"Take my word for it, fellows!" he declared, pompously, "you'd have to
+swing a sledge hammer and give more'n a little tap at that, to make any
+impression there, he's so extra tough. Chances are he just don't want to
+stir us up for fear we'll tell the whole story, and all his pals would
+have the laugh on him for running away from a ghost!"
+
+Toby himself seemed more than half inclined to believe something along
+these same lines; but Chatz knew Elmer must be looking beyond this
+explanation, and still entertained hopes that the olive branch extended
+might not be wholly wasted.
+
+They had all their arrangements made that night, and expected to start
+with the rising of the sun on Friday morning. This would give them two
+nights in camp, even if they did have to come back on Sunday afternoon
+in order to be ready for school on Monday.
+
+"And it looks like we might have fine weather along with us, too," Elmer
+told the others, as they said goodnight at his door; "there's a tang
+like frost in the air even now, and you can see your breath easily. That
+means we'll enjoy a camp fire more than ever, because it never feels
+half as good on a hot summer night. Look for you bright and early, Toby,
+with the wagon and the tent and all the stuff. I'll be ready with my
+bundles, and that piece of ham."
+
+All preparations having been made they parted with mutual good wishes
+for a fair dawn, and Elmer, standing there in the doorway, found himself
+a little disappointed because there had been no response to the
+invitation extended to Connie Mallon to bridge over the chasm, at the
+time they left those nuts in his yard.
+
+Elmer was astir long before daybreak on the following morning, because
+he meant to get himself a light breakfast, so as to be ready for the
+wagon when it came along about sunrise. Having satisfied his hunger, and
+seen that all his various bundles were ready he stepped out of the back
+door to listen, in expectation of hearing the sound of wheels.
+
+Then he had a little surprise, for hanging there on a nail beside the
+door was a brace of freshly killed rabbits; and Elmer knew to a
+certainty nothing the kind dangled there on the preceding evening.
+
+He took them down, and laid them on the kitchen table, while a whimsical
+smile crept over his boyish face, and a glow of satisfaction could be
+seen in his eyes as he rubbed his hand along the sleek side of the
+larger bunny.
+
+For Elmer chanced to know that Connie Mallon had spent Thanksgiving day
+off in the woods and meadows hunting; and the very fact that he had thus
+shared the results of his tramp with the boy he had fought against so
+long gave Elmer a queer feeling of triumph deep down in his heart.
+
+Then the wagon came along, with all the other boys aboard, and the bed
+of the vehicle pretty well filled with their camping outfit; so Elmer
+got in his seat, wondering what Doubting George would have to say when
+he learned how a good action may set even the worst boy in town to
+thinking, and changing his ways.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+THE CAMPING OUT EXPEDITION
+
+
+THIS time there was a load for Nancy to pull, since besides the five
+scouts who had made the nutting trip three additional fellows were
+along.
+
+First of all there was a lanky boy who long ago in a spirit of derision
+had been dubbed "Lil Artha" by his Comrades; and although he stood fully
+a head taller than any of his intimate chums, he still answered
+cheerfully to this silly name. Arthur Stansbury was a good scout, and
+well liked, though at critical times he showed a disposition to get what
+boys call "rattled," and on more than one occasion this weakness had
+resulted in his getting those long legs of his twisted in a knot,
+resulting in trouble all around.
+
+Landy Smith was a cousin of George Robbins. Philander was rather fat,
+belonged to the Wolf Patrol, and had been known to walk in his sleep, so
+that often the others, whenever any mysterious thing happened in camp at
+nighttime, accused Landy of doing it while under the influence of this
+strange wandering spirit, that made him get up while asleep, to play
+tricks, and disturb his mates.
+
+The third boy was Tyrus Collins. His specialty as a scout, if he had
+any, was his recognized ability as a cook; and Ty's weakness might be
+said to be a fondness for wearing a sweater of a pronounced fiery hue.
+Once a garment of this type had gotten Ty into a lot of trouble with a
+furious bull, when he was caught in a pasture, and forced to take refuge
+in a lone tree. He had only escaped in the end by sacrificing his red
+sweater, which the bull stopped to rend while the fleeing boy managed to
+gain a friendly fence.
+
+But Ty could not always be expected to remember this danger, and at
+present he boasted of another garment of a sanguinary hue, which he wore
+when he believed there were no bulls around.
+
+Here, then, were eight lively fellows seated "every-which-way" in that
+commodious wagon, and enlivening the time as they journeyed toward camp
+with much jabbering, and not a little loud singing of popular songs.
+
+They appeared to be completely happy. Ty was wearing his "grand sweater"
+right then, and treated the warnings solemnly uttered by some of his
+mates with abject scorn. Nancy certainly did have a pretty heavy load to
+transport, and after the first mile or so along the frosty road there
+were no further manifestations of gaiety on her part, only dull care,
+for she labored heavily.
+
+But then these boys were merciful, and they generally jumped off, to
+walk up any steep hills, so as to relieve the beast of burden. Scouts
+early learn to think of the woes of dumb animals, and show a disposition
+to lighten their work all that is possible. If being a scout did not
+teach a boy a single thing more than that it would still have
+accomplished much; and posterity would have great cause to be grateful
+to General Baden-Powell as the originator of the organization that has
+long ere now circled the globe, and made converts in every clime.
+
+The boys were of course all dressed in the familiar khaki uniforms
+associated with scouts everywhere; and they carried with them a couple
+of tents, as well as other necessary things connected with camping out.
+There were no firearms visible, though possibly a gun or two might turn
+up later on, when the contents of that heavily laden wagon had been
+fully disclosed. Several of the boys were fond of hunting under
+favorable conditions; and besides, as there was always some danger to be
+encountered from wild beasts or snakes, Elmer thought it advisable to be
+prepared for an emergency.
+
+He sat on the front seat with Toby and George; Chatz, Ty and Landy had
+managed to pre-empt the second one by virtue of early arrival; while Ted
+and Lil Artha, the "long and the short of it," made themselves fairly
+comfortable on the soft tents, and claimed to have the best of the
+bargain.
+
+The tall scout dangled his long legs over the tail-board, and was
+frequently called upon to "quit dragging," whenever the pace of the
+animal between the shafts slowed down from any cause.
+
+"How about going all the way in with the rig this time, Elmer; could we
+make the riffle, do you think?" Toby was asking, after they had gone
+three-fourths of the distance to the Cartaret place, and there was a
+brief lull in the general chaffing.
+
+The others listened in order to catch the reply of the scout master, for
+of course they were one and all interested in what was being said.
+
+"I don't see any particular reason why we shouldn't," Elmer answered;
+"we found it possible to take the wagon all the way to the nut grove
+when we wanted to load our sacks; and by watching out smartly I reckon
+we'll find a way to push through the woods there."
+
+"I only mention it," continued Toby, as though he thought some
+explanation were necessary, "because we've got a raft of stuff along
+this time, and if we had to tote the same on our backs to and from the
+wagon, it'd mean a lot of hard work, all of which could be saved."
+
+"And I think it a good idea too," chimed in George; "though of course
+I'm always willing to shoulder my share of the hard work when it's got
+to be done."
+
+There was more or less chuckling and nudging among the other scouts when
+this broad statement was made, because George had a reputation a little
+bit along the line of a "shirk," when it came to hard labor, though
+always ready to do his duty manfully when a meal had to be disposed of.
+
+"Well, we ought to get there in about twenty minutes more, if only Nancy
+doesn't drop dead with heart disease," Toby went on to say.
+
+"Not much danger of that, Toby," ventured Ted, from the rear of the
+wagon; "I alwayth did thay that Nanthy wath the toughest thing that
+ever wore the iron on her hoofth. And I expect to thee her doing duty
+yearth after I come back with my diploma from college. And they tell me
+thereth only one hoth older than Nancy in the county, which ith owned by
+that Connie Mallon's dad, the mathon."
+
+Somehow the very mention of that name which had been associated with
+considerable of tumult in the past history of the scouts' organization
+seemed to remind Toby and George of the remarkable events connected with
+their late nutting expedition. Elmer, therefore, was not in the least
+surprised to hear George immediately voice the feeling of detestation he
+entertained toward Connie Mallon.
+
+"I hope that gang enjoyed the treat we fetched home for 'em the other
+day; and which I believe you and Toby here distributed like a pair of
+Thanksgiving Santa Claus," he remarked, with a vein of satire in his
+voice that was almost as natural to Doubting George as breathing was;
+"but I never did take any stock in the game, though I agreed to assist
+out, to please you, Elmer. And to my mind it was a flat failure in the
+bargain. We might as well have handed all that lot of good nuts to some
+poor family, or turned the same into the pig-pen for the porkers."
+
+"Oh! I don't know," Toby said, with his favorite drawl. "Elmer here
+seems to be of the opinion that it's done _some_ good. Anyhow, none of
+us has had any trouble with that Mallon crowd since then. They seem to
+slide away every time they see us coming down the street, or across the
+campus at school."
+
+"Good reason," piped up George, "because they're afraid that if they say
+a word we'll start the ball arolling, and everybody in town'll hear how
+they ran like Sam Hill, leaving their nuts behind, and thinking a ghost
+was chasing after 'em. Huh! don't you give that tough crowd credit for
+thinking anything decent, because it ain't in 'em."
+
+"Listen," said Elmer, quietly, "and perhaps you'll find it best to
+change your tune, Old Question Mark. I had a little surprise this same
+morning when I came out of the house, just as dawn was breaking.
+Something dangling there alongside the back door caught my eye, and what
+do you think it was?"
+
+"Oh! give it up, Elmer," said George, with a shrug of his shoulders;
+while the others leaned forward eagerly, intent on hearing the answer;
+"couldn't guess in a year of Sundays, so open up and tell us."
+
+"A brace of the fattest and biggest rabbits I ever saw, and fresh killed
+at that," replied the scout master, impressively.
+
+"Oh! you don't mean to say it?" ejaculated Toby; "and, Elmer, as sure as
+anything I saw Connie Mallon coming home late last evening with four of
+the same hanging over his shoulder, and looking as proud as a turkey
+cock. He just grinned as he walked past, and even nodded his head, but I
+was too surprised to answer him, or ask where he struck such great luck.
+But then everybody knows Connie is the best rabbit hunter around
+Hickory Ridge, and has got a boss hound in the bargain. So you think he
+left that brace hanging at your back door, do you?"
+
+"I'm as sure of it as if I saw him sneaking in late at night, and
+fastening the pair there," said Elmer, positively; "and he divided
+evenly with me, you see, if he had just four. Now, George, what do you
+say to that? Was it a silly thing in our taking those four bags of nuts,
+and leaving them where we did? Don't you think Connie Mallon was set
+_thinking_, and that unable to express himself in any other way he
+carried out this fine thing to show me he understood the motive back of
+what we did?"
+
+George died hard.
+
+"Well, I wouldn't just like to say that much, Elmer," he admitted;
+"because I don't believe that tough case could understand a decent
+motive; but he evidently wanted to let you know he'd keep still, if you
+fellows only wouldn't blab on him and his crowd."
+
+"I don't agree with you, George," the other told him, sharply. "I think
+you've got to rub your eyes some yourself, and get the scales off. It's
+my opinion that in his own crude way Connie meant to tell me he was
+holding out the olive branch. I've got a hunch he's in a humor to be
+approached, and met more than half-way; and when we get back after this
+camping trip I'm going to have a chin with him the first chance I get to
+see him alone."
+
+"Huh! wish you luck then, that's all," grunted George; "but I give you
+my opinion for what it's worth, and the chances are ten to one you'll
+rub up against a stone wall."
+
+"Well, there'll be no harm done, anyway," continued Elmer, nor did he
+insist on carrying the argument any further, for he knew how persistent
+George could be, and that although possessed of many sterling qualities,
+being broad-minded was not a cardinal virtue of the doubting scout.
+
+A short time later and those who had been up in this region recently
+began to call the attention of their companions to certain features of
+the landscape, and comment on the same.
+
+"I'd give a heap," said Chatz, "to own a picture of that other rig
+coming whooping out of the woods somewhere around here, and turning down
+the road in the direction of town. Well, suh, I reckon the fellow who
+held the whip was using the same on the backs of those hosses like fun,
+and the lot of them shouting to him to make the team go faster, because
+they believed the ghost would overtake them."
+
+"It sure must have been a glorious sight," called out the long-legged
+Lil Artha, from the rear of the vehicle; "and just like you, Chatz, I'd
+give a heap to see a photograph of the same. Do we turn in here, Toby?"
+
+"Yes, and you fellows hang on now, tooth and nail," replied the driver,
+"or there's a chance of you getting pitched out, because the old wagon
+joggles dreadfully most of the time over roots and stones. Steady, back
+there, everybody!"
+
+What Toby said turned out to be the truth. He tried to pick the easiest
+trail possible, but in spite of this it proved to be so rough that
+presently Elmer called a halt.
+
+"I'm going to walk the balance of the way, fellows," he declared, as he
+made a jump and landed on the ground.
+
+"Me too!" echoed Landy Smith, following suit.
+
+In another minute Toby was the only one left aboard, and he too might
+have gladly sought the ground only that it was necessary for some one to
+do the driving.
+
+Old Nancy appreciated this lightening of her load by striving harder
+than ever to draw it; while George and Ted and Chatz continued to call
+attention to various features of the landscape.
+
+"There's where we hid our wagon that other time," the last named
+declared, pointing to a thick cover of brush, into which the track of
+wheels led; "and Toby, you notice, is turning out, because this time we
+don't want to head direct for the nut grove, but the dense woods
+alongside. We saw a fine spring as we came by, and I reckon, suh, that
+our efficient scout master has it all fixed in his mind's eye to pitch
+our tents close to that."
+
+"Saves a heap of water lugging, and that counts," admitted Lil Artha.
+
+"That oughtn't to bother you much, Lil Artha," said George; "when you're
+built to cover half a mile at every step. All you'd have to do would be
+to take one look-in, fill your pail, and then turning around, come right
+back again."
+
+"Our camp, then, will be pretty close to the old house, won't it?"
+ventured Chatz; and there was an eagerness in his voice that betrayed
+how much he had been thinking of his luck at being in the vicinity of a
+building said to be haunted, for two full nights.
+
+"That's what it will," Toby called out over his shoulder, for he was
+following the pilot of the expedition, Elmer, who strode on all by
+himself away in the van; "and you'll have a chance to scrape up an
+acquaintance with that old hobgoblin, Chatz. You're welcome to all the
+fun; I haven't lost any ghost that I know about, and you don't ketch me
+hanging about in there half the night, waiting for something white and
+clammy to stalk around. Ugh! I should say not. Oh! what was that?"
+
+Nancy, up to then behaving very well, because quite tired after the long
+pull, began to prance at a lively rate; and every one of the four scouts
+craned their necks and stared in one particular direction; it was in
+that quarter George had just said the haunted house lay; and what had
+come to their ears was the strangest sort of a cry they had ever heard,
+a mingling of pain and rage it seemed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+IN FOR A GLORIOUS TIME
+
+
+"A WILDCAT!" exclaimed Ty Collins, excitedly.
+
+"Mebbe only an old owl," Lil Artha ventured; "because I remember you
+fellows told us there were some whoopers up here; and when an old house
+has got bats in its belfry it's likely to have owls too."
+
+"The house is over that way, ain't it?" questioned Landy Smith, showing
+a mild interest in the matter; but his indifference was more than made
+up for by the excitement on the part of the Southern scout, whose dark
+eyes fairly danced with eagerness.
+
+"I should say it was," he told Landy, "and if you think that's only an
+owl, or even a wildcat, suh, I reckon you've got another guess coming to
+you."
+
+"Listen to that, would you?" broke from Ty; "our chum from Dixie here
+believes in ghosts, and he even thinks that was one warning us away from
+the haunted house. It'd take a dozen of the same to scare _me_ off. I
+may light out before an enraged bull, but you don't find me sneaking
+away when there's a white thing waving up and down in the road. Had a
+lesson once, when I found it out to be just a rag hangin' from a branch,
+and since then nothing spooky ever faizes Ty Collins."
+
+Chatz looked keenly at the speaker, and nodded his head. Although he
+made no remark, his manner was that of a prophet, and Elmer, noticing
+it, could imagine him saying: "Just wait, and we'll see what sort of
+nerve you've got, Ty Collins. Things seem different at high noon from
+what they do when it's midnight. And if I have my way you'll get a
+chance to see a real ghost, for once in your life; because I just
+believe in the things, make all the fun you want to."
+
+Whatever the strange thrilling cry may have been, at least it was not
+repeated. Nancy was quieted by Toby, and the other scouts stood there,
+listening earnestly, for fully five minutes, but nothing developed worth
+noticing.
+
+Finally Elmer called out to them:
+
+"Here, get a move on, Toby, and come along. We've got lots to do before
+we can cook our first dinner; and I don't know how you fellows feel, but
+I'm as hungry as a wolf. Make a sharp turn here, Toby, because we want
+to push straight into the woods, and reach that spring."
+
+Of all the scouts, George was really the only one who, as they walked
+on, turned his head and glanced back several times toward the region
+from which that strange sound had come.
+
+Chatz noticed it, and smiled grimly, as though making up his mind that
+perhaps he might find a convert in his belief in George, especially if
+anything remarkable did come to pass, as he felt almost sure would be
+the case.
+
+Presently they came to the running water, and by following this up a
+short distance found the spring.
+
+"Hurrah! here we rest! Alabama for mine!" cried Lil Artha, as he turned
+and surveyed his surroundings, with the eye of one who had camped on
+numerous previous occasions, and might be expected to know something
+about such things.
+
+Then ensued a bustle, as the scouts began to unload the contents of the
+wagon, stake out the mare, and start to get things arranged.
+
+Every fellow had his share of the work apportioned to him, so that there
+was little real confusion, or getting in each other's way; and it was
+wonderful how things seemed to almost grow like magic.
+
+Two khaki-colored waterproofed tents soon stood there, facing toward the
+south, and with the spring only twenty feet away. Inside these the
+scouts began immediately to arrange their blankets, though the beds
+would not be made up until after the coming of night.
+
+Another pair attended to the very important duty of making the cooking
+range, on top of which they would spread the metal top that was to serve
+as a gridiron, to hold such utensils as were necessary for cooking
+purposes.
+
+When this had been constructed to their satisfaction a fire was quickly
+kindled, for the air was still rather sharp, even for a November day,
+and all of them felt they would be much better for a warm lunch.
+
+Amidst more or less good-natured chaffing the meal was prepared. There
+was no lack of assistant cooks to help Ty, who had taken upon himself
+the duties of _chef_ for the occasion, since long ago he had proved his
+capacity in that line; everybody seemed only too willing to help, such
+is the potent effect of genuine hunger.
+
+Even George was bustling around, trying to hurry things along, picking
+out all the best wood in order to make a hotter fire, and occasionally
+peeping in under the covers of the two kettles to learn if the contents
+might not be sufficiently cooked.
+
+It was about an hour after noon when dinner was ready, and all of them
+admitted the result was well worth waiting for. That frosty November air
+had given them an enormous appetite, and everything tasted better than
+it could possibly do at home; so for a certain length of time little was
+said, since they were too busy in disposing of the meal to talk.
+
+When the edge had been taken from their appetites they fell into a
+disjointed conversation, and almost every subject under the sun was
+discussed from the standpoint of scouts.
+
+Afterwards they lounged around for a while, being really too full to
+think of doing anything strenuous. As this was not supposed to be a
+regular camping trip of the whole troop, Elmer had not laid out any
+particular programme looking to their practicing the various "stunts"
+which scouts are interested in. Under ordinary conditions there would
+have been all manner of events underway, such as wigwagging classes,
+tracking advocates, new wrinkles in nature-study unfolded; photography
+of wild animals and birds in their native haunts undertaken, and many
+other educational features that make the camping out experience of Boy
+Scouts so vastly superior to those of other lads who simply go to the
+woods to loaf away the time, swim, and fish, and eat.
+
+Of course each fellow was at liberty to employ himself as best he
+thought would give him the most pleasure, only there was no authority
+brought to bear, and no one felt constrained to do anything that he did
+not particularly care for.
+
+"Where's Chatz gone?" asked Lil Artha, after they had been knocking
+around in this fashion for nearly an hour after eating, and several of
+them showed signs of wanting to be on the move.
+
+"Oh! I saw him slip away a while back," remarked Toby, "and chances are
+he's prowling in and out of that old shebang over beyond the trees, the
+haunted house that Judge Cartaret built fifty years or so ago. Chatz is
+clear daft on the subject of spirits, you know. And from what I've seen
+of him, it wouldn't surprise me a little bit if the fellow before we
+left here, tried to get us to make some sort of a ghost trap, to grab
+that wonderful spook in."
+
+"If he ever did that," Elmer remarked, "it would show that deep down in
+his heart Chatz didn't believe in any such notion; because if there was
+such a thing as a real ghost no trap we could manufacture would ever
+hold it. If Chatz proposed that to us he'd be as much as saying he
+believed the ghost to be a man, playing a game for some reason or
+other."
+
+"But," interposed Ty Collins, "what sort of a game would make anybody
+prance around here night after night, with a sheet wrapped around him,
+and p'raps luminous paint on his face, like I remember a ghost once did.
+But in that case there was a good reason, for he wanted to give a bad
+name to the property so he could buy it in for a song. That wouldn't be
+the case here with the Cartaret place, you know."
+
+"Well, it's foolish trying to guess a thing when we haven't even seen
+the ghost," George interrupted the others to say; "and I've got to be
+shown such a thing before I'll take the least stock in it; though I must
+say that as a rule Chatz is a long-headed chap, and not easy fooled."
+
+When Elmer heard George say this he fancied that it would only take one
+mysterious ghostly manifestation to make the doubter an ardent believer
+in supernatural things. Scoffer that George was, once he saw with his
+own eyes, he went to the other extreme, and became firmly convinced. It
+was just like the swing of the pendulum with him every time.
+
+"Oh! let's forget all that stuff about white-sheeted things that walk in
+the middle of the night!" exclaimed Landy Smith, "and pick up a more
+cheerful subject. Now just yesterday I chanced to be reading an account
+that told how three scouts in this very state made a study of hunting
+for the hives of wild honey bees up in the hollow limbs of trees in the
+woods. Elmer, do you think we could run across a hive filled with
+delicious honeycombs around here?"
+
+"Whee! you make my mouth water just to hear you talk about it," Lil
+Artha arose to say, "and if so be any of you make the try for a hive
+just count me in, will you?"
+
+"You bet we will," Landy hastened to assure him, "and right now consider
+yourself appointed commissioner-in-chief, whose principal duty will be
+to climb the honey tree, after we locate the same, and cause the
+warm-footed little innocents to vacate, so that we can gather in a store
+of the nectar. Wow! I'm going right away to see if I can't find the
+tree. Who'll be my backer? Don't all speak at once!"
+
+Lil Artha and Ted proved to be the most eager for the adventure. Upon
+making inquiries it was found that Landy had read all about how to
+locate a bee tree, if by good luck any such happened to be in the
+neighborhood, and was ready to show his chums how the thing ought to be
+done.
+
+His talk concerning the subject proved to be so interesting that when a
+start was made he had gained another convert, being Ty Collins.
+
+"I rather think I'd like to see how that thing's done, myself," this
+worthy admitted, "so with your permission, Landy, I'll tag along, and if
+you need any help in carrying the stock of honeycomb home count on me.
+Right now I feel like I could tackle a few big wedges myself, and enjoy
+the same."
+
+"All right, come along with us, Ty," Landy told him, cheerfully; "but
+I'd feel a whole lot easier in my mind if you'd take off that red
+sweater, and wear something else."
+
+"What for?" demanded Ty, who could be pretty stubborn when he chose.
+"This is going to be a bee hunt, not a bull fight, that I know of. Why
+should you object to me going warmly clad, I'd like to know?"
+
+"Oh! well," replied Landy with a grin that told he had only been drawing
+the other on for a purpose; "there might be an old king bee that had a
+detestation for red, just the same as a bull does, and he'd make it so
+warm for us we'd have to get out of the woods in a hurry."
+
+"Rats!" the other shot back at him, "bees don't bother about what they
+see; I've been told by an old bee man that it's _sounds_ they get mad
+at. And then there ain't such a thing as a king bee anyhow--queens,
+drones and workers make up a colony. Oh! I ain't quite such a ninny as
+some people think. So I guess this beautiful red sweater goes along."
+
+"All right, if you're willing to take such a terrible risk it's nothing
+to the rest of us, is it, fellows?" Landy told him, with a chuckle; and
+then went on to add: "Now, we'll carry a little sugar water along to use
+if we happen to run across any bees flying around, which at this late
+day ain't likely. Best we can do is to watch every tree-top and try to
+hear the buzzing of a swarm of young bees. They come out every fine day
+as long as the weather lets 'em, around noontime, and try their wings.
+An old bee hunter can get on to the little hum far off and locate the
+hive that way. Let's see if we've got ears worth anything."
+
+"The best of luck go with you!" called out Elmer, who was busy with
+something or other; "and if you need any help come back after the rest
+of the bunch. I see you're carrying our camp ax, Lil Artha; be careful
+and don't lose it, because we need that same thing right along."
+
+"Don't worry about that, Elmer," the elongated scout shouted back. "I
+wouldn't let that get away from me for all the honey in seven counties.
+But in case we do find a tree that looks good to us I'm ready to swing
+the ax for all I'm worth," and so saying he strode away after the other
+three.
+
+That left just Elmer, Toby and George in camp.
+
+"I'd be tickled half to death if they _did_ find a tree, and got a lot
+of honey," Toby remarked, grinning in anticipation, and licking his lips
+at the same time; "and I can just see that Lil Artha whooping things
+when the tree drops, and he rushes headlong in among the branches to
+scoop up some of the sweet stuff that bursts out of the crack, with a
+million bees swarming around his ears. If I was you, Elmer, I'd get some
+witch hazel ready to put on stings, for they'll need it right bad."
+
+"Time enough for that when they report a find!" declared Elmer, who
+evidently did not have a great deal of confidence in the ability of
+Landy Smith to locate a hive, especially at that time of year, when the
+little insects were apt to be lying more or less dormant.
+
+An hour passed by. Then Elmer began to wonder what could be detaining
+Chatz so long, for he several times looked in the direction where he
+knew the old deserted Cartaret house must lie, as though half expecting
+to see the Southern boy come on the full run, with some wonderful story
+of sights he had seen, or imagined he had, which was the same thing.
+
+When Chatz did appear he was walking slowly, and his face had an
+expression of subdued disappointment resting on it. Apparently, then,
+all his prowling in and out of the building could not have met with any
+particular reward. In other words the Cartaret ghost was not very
+accommodating, and respectfully declined to make its appearance at such
+an unheard of hour as three in the afternoon; when every one knew that
+all respectable spirits only manifest themselves around the midnight
+hour.
+
+"You didn't run across anything new, did you, Chatz?" Elmer asked him,
+as he came into camp, took a drink of cool water, and threw himself on
+the ground to rest.
+
+"Not a single thing, suh; but then I didn't really expect to in broad
+daylight. Wait till to-night, and I reckon there may be something
+doing," and then Chatz allowed his brow to show three wrinkles that
+told of perplexity, for he had heard Elmer chuckle; and all at once it
+struck him that on the former occasion the scout master had gone back
+into the house after he and the other comrades had left; and once more
+the Southern boy who had the vein of superstition in his make-up asked
+himself what Elmer could have seen on that occasion to make him look so
+knowing, and have that queer smile cross his face whenever the ghost was
+mentioned.
+
+But Elmer did not offer to explain, and so Chatz had to content himself
+with the thought that perhaps on the coming night the veil of secrecy
+might be lifted from the mystery.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+SACKING THE FOREST STORE-HOUSE
+
+
+TOBY had insisted upon stowing that wonderful aeroplane appendix which
+he called an "aviator's life-saver parachute," in the bottom of the
+wagon when starting out on this camping trip. He was working at it while
+helping to keep camp the first afternoon after their arrival.
+
+"All I hope is," he went on to say, when Elmer chanced to come around
+close to where he straddled a log, and did some heavy sewing with the
+toughest waxed string he could use, "that I find a chance to try out
+this thing again while we're in this region. If no other place shows up
+I might climb to the top of the tower on the old house, and jump off
+there. How high would you guess, off-hand, that might be, Elmer?"
+
+"Oh! perhaps thirty-five or forty feet," replied the other, carelessly,
+and hardly noting what Toby was saying, because just then he had caught
+a peculiar sound that came from some little distance away.
+
+"Do you hear that, Elmer?" called out George.
+
+"Yes, and I was trying to make out what it was when you spoke," replied
+the scout master. "I reckon it must be some one busy with an ax, for the
+blows are repeated as regular as clock-work."
+
+"And our chums took the camp ax away with them?" suggested Toby, looking
+up, an eager glow commencing to show in his eyes.
+
+"Yes, and they went off in that direction, too," added George.
+
+With that the four camp keepers smiled at each other.
+
+"Can it be possible they've found a bee-tree, after all?" asked George,
+who, despite his yearning for a honeycomb, could not overcome his
+skeptical disposition, and believe that such a delightful consummation
+of the bee hunt had come about.
+
+"Listen to that whanging, will you?" cried Toby; "nobody but Lil Artha
+could use an ax like that. As sure as you live they must have struck
+something. Tell me about the babes in the woods, will you; some people
+wade in good luck every time they start out!"
+
+"Another fellow has taken hold, because the sound changes," George
+observed, sagaciously; "and p'raps Ty Collins is swinging the ax now. He
+can hew close to the line; fact is, I never saw a scout who could chop
+as evenly as Ty. Wow! did you hear that crash, fellows? A tree went down
+that time, whether there's any honey in the same or not. I'll only
+believe it when I see, smell and taste the nectar."
+
+A short time afterwards they heard some one coming on the run. Then a
+figure broke out of the brush, waving excitedly.
+
+"Hi! get your buckets, and come along to help gather the harvest!" Lil
+Artha was shouting as he approached, half out of breath.
+
+"Then you sure enough did find a bee-tree, and it isn't any joke?"
+demanded the incredulous George.
+
+"Take a look at me, and then say if I show up like a joke!" demanded the
+long-legged scout, indignantly.
+
+Everybody laughed as he twisted his face up, and tried to look serious.
+It was an utter impossibility with that lump ornamenting the end of his
+nose, others gradually swelling his cheeks, while various suspicious
+signs behind his ears marked the places where the angry little bees had
+left their stings.
+
+"No hurry, Lil Artha," said Elmer; "let me rub your face with this witch
+hazel, and put a little ointment on to relieve the pain and reduce the
+swelling. You're puffing out under the eyes right now, and if something
+isn't done you'll have to be led around for a while."
+
+While Elmer was doctoring the battered comrade George kept plying him
+with questions, as though he had great difficulty in believing the
+glorious truth.
+
+"I hope it isn't only an old hornet's nest you've struck," he went on to
+say, doubtfully; "but then there wouldn't be any at this time of year, I
+guess. Sure you saw real honey, did you, Lil Artha?"
+
+"And smelled it too!" cried the afflicted scout. "Why, the old tree
+burst open when it fell, and you just ought to see what gallons of the
+stuff fills the hollow trunk away up near the top. My! but the bees are
+mad, and swarming around there by the million! I ran in among 'em,
+thinking to snatch a comb, and get away with it, but they swooped down
+on me, and I had to cut for it like fun. Elmer, however, can we get some
+of that honey without being stung to death? Oh! if only I had one of
+Daddy Green's bee head-nets that he loans to people when he's showing
+them the inside of a hive in his apiary, wouldn't it be the boss; and
+rubber gloves to go with the same."
+
+"Perhaps I might rig up a net somehow," Elmer mused; "I've got a piece
+of mosquito netting in my bag that I use for a minnow seine, and that
+ought to make several head-nets. Let's see if we can find any gloves
+that'll help keep our hands out of danger."
+
+After a hunt through all the traps the boys managed to secure enough
+coverings to answer the purpose after a clumsy fashion. Meanwhile George
+and Toby had hastily gathered what utensils they had with them capable
+of holding some of the honey. Everybody was wildly excited, for they had
+never really passed through an experience of this sort. Bee trees they
+had heard of many times, but that one should actually be discovered when
+they were camping out, and yearning for something of a sweet nature,
+seemed almost too good to be true.
+
+"All ready here, Lil Artha!" exclaimed George; "and now lead us to your
+wonderful wild honey hive. I just want to see it with my own eyes,
+that's all."
+
+Lil Artha looked severely at him, that is, as well as he could with
+those half-shut eyes of his, and then remarked sarcastically:
+
+"Well, if you ain't the limit, George; I sure hope you _do_ see the
+plain evidence, yes, and _feel_ some of 'em too, like I did. They say
+the poison of bee stings is used in medicine, and it's mighty good for
+some things. P'raps a dose of the same'd cure you of your questioning
+everything there is. But come on, everybody."
+
+Elmer did not know whether they were exactly wise in abandoning the
+camp, even for a brief time; but he felt that it would be hard to keep
+any one there; so he concluded to take the slight risk.
+
+Lil Artha was a pretty good scout. He had noted directions as he went
+forth on the expedition, so that in returning to the camp he had made
+what might be called in more senses than one a "bee-line"; and now the
+trail was so plainly marked that even a fellow with one eye, or
+half-closed ones, could follow it back to where the other three scouts
+awaited their coming, hiding behind the brush so as not to attract too
+much attention from the buzzing horde of insects.
+
+The netting was fashioned into head protectors, the ends being tucked
+well down in their coats. Then donning heavy gloves the two boys
+selected for the work, George and Ty Collins, started boldly into that
+whirling mass of excited bees.
+
+They shortly came out bearing pans full of splendid honey, and
+doubtless a considerable number of stings in spite of all the
+precautions taken against this evil.
+
+"Next time look for a little fresher stock," Elmer told them; "for while
+this is all right, and like amber in color, you'll find that it's last
+year's gathering. Split the tree further up, and get the latest stuff!"
+
+So Ty took the ax back with him; while George worked a sort of smoke
+smudge Elmer had prepared, in order to help stupefy the bees. It did the
+business in great shape, too, as every bee keeper uses this means for
+keeping the little insects from paying too much attention to him when he
+is working with their hive. They seem to fancy that their home is in
+deadly danger of being consumed, and every working bee immediately
+burdens itself down with all the honey it can carry, and for the time
+being renders itself helpless to use its sting.
+
+Every scout managed to accumulate one or more lumps, however, for the
+air was heavily charged with the bewildered insects, now homeless on a
+fall afternoon; and although the boys did a great deal of dodging they
+could not avoid contact all the time. But then the sight of that
+splendid honey made them forget their present troubles. They snatched up
+the bottle of witch hazel, or applied the ammonia solution recklessly,
+to immediately start in again working like heroes.
+
+Elmer started back to camp bearing their one bucket actually full of the
+most delicious honey he had ever tasted; and soon afterwards Lil Artha
+followed with two kettles also heavily laden with the same.
+
+When Chatz came along with several heavy honeycombs secured with an
+arrangement consisting of cords, and stout twigs from some hickory tree,
+the three looked at each other in dire dismay.
+
+"We can't live on honey alone, you know," Lil Artha up and said; "and it
+looks like we've already got every cooking vessel loaded down, with not
+half the store of sweet stuff cleaned out. What in the wide world can we
+do with it all? I guess this is a case of too much of a good thing."
+
+"I know!" declared Chatz, suddenly; "in prowling around that haunted
+house I saw several old stone jars in what was once used as a pantry.
+Let's go over and lug the same to camp, Lil Artha. They can be washed
+out clean, and will hold all that honey, I assure you, suh. And we can
+carry most of the same back home with us to show other scouts what we've
+been doing up here in the woods."
+
+So the pair hastened away, and after a while came back with the stone
+crocks or jars, each of which would hold several gallons. Elmer
+pronounced them the finest possible thing for holding their rich find,
+and proceeded to cleanse them thoroughly at the spring, after which the
+various cooking receptacles were emptied, and both Chatz and Lil Artha
+started eagerly back to the fountainhead for a fresh supply.
+
+They certainly cleaned out the best part of that tree hive during the
+next hour, and had four jars full of splendid honey, some of it as clear
+as crystal. It was the greatest "harvest home" the Hickory Ridge Boy
+Scouts had ever experienced; and they seemed never to get quite enough
+of the sweet stuff, for every one kept tasting as new supplies were
+disclosed by splitting the tree further.
+
+Finally, however, it came to an end, and the distracted bees were let
+alone with the sad wreck of their once fine hive. Perhaps, if they
+survived the chill of the coming night, some of them would start in
+fresh, and carry away enough of the discolored honey, refused by the
+discriminating scouts, to start a new hive, and keep the swarm alive
+during the winter.
+
+Nobody seemed furiously hungry as the afternoon waned and the shades of
+night began to gather around the camp. This was hardly to be wondered
+at, however, since they had tasted so much honey for hours that it took
+away their customary zest for ordinary food. Elmer told them it was a
+bad thing, and every fellow promised that from that time on he would
+take his sweet stuff in moderation.
+
+Of course they cooked some dinner; and after once getting a taste of the
+fried onions and potatoes it seemed that to some degree their fickle
+appetites did return, so that the food vanished in the end.
+
+"I'm thinking about all that darker honey we left there," Lil Artha was
+saying, as they sat around the crackling fire long after night had
+fallen, and supper had been disposed of an hour or more.
+
+"My starth!" ejaculated Ted, "I hope now you don't want to lay in any
+more of the thweet thtuff, do you, Lil Artha? Why, we'll be thticky all
+over with it. Don't be a hog. Leave thome to the poor little beeth; and
+it didn't look real nice, you know."
+
+"Oh! I wasn't regretting that we couldn't make a clean sweep," explained
+the tall scout, whose face was once more gradually resuming its normal
+appearance; "but if what I've read is true, up in some places where they
+have black bears, they always set a watch when they've cut down a bee
+tree. You see, the smell of the honey is in the air, and if there's a
+bruin inside of five miles he'll be visiting that broken tree hive
+before morning, when the watcher can send a bullet into him."
+
+"But you don't think there are bears around here, do you?" asked George,
+always to be found on the side of the opposition.
+
+"Well, hardly," replied Lil Artha, "though some of us wish it might be
+so, because we've got a gun along, and they say bear steak isn't half
+bad when you're in camp, even if it does taste like dry tough beef when
+you're at home, and sitting down with a white table cloth before you.
+I'd like to try some, that's what; but this expedition wasn't started
+for a bear hunt, you know."
+
+"No, that's so," Ty Collins remarked; "more likely a ghost hunt," and he
+gave Chatz a sly look out of the corner of his eye as he said this.
+
+"That was meant for me, suh," Chatz said, with dignity; "you think you
+can laugh at me because I'm weak enough to believe there may be such a
+thing as a ghost. But if you-all are so sure nothing of the kind ever
+could happen, what's to hinder me from having the entire camp along
+to-night when I go over there and hide, to watch what happens at exactly
+midnight?"
+
+Elmer laughed softly.
+
+"Do you mean that as a dare, Chatz?" he asked.
+
+"Take it as you please, suh; and we'll soon see who believes in ghosts
+or not; because the one who backs down first is likely after all to be
+afraid of meeting up with visitors from the spirit land."
+
+"Who's going along with Chatz and myself?" asked Elmer, turning to the
+circling scouts; who began to look serious, and cast quick glances
+toward each other.
+
+"Oh! I'll keep you company, Elmer!" said George, first of all; for
+somehow he fancied everybody was staring hard at him, and not for worlds
+would he allow them to think he was _afraid_.
+
+"Count me in!" added Ty Collins, with a laugh, that bordered on the
+reckless.
+
+"I'll go along, too," observed Ted.
+
+Landy Smith hastened to nod his head in the affirmative when Elmer
+looked at him; Lil Artha spoke up and said he was bound to be one of the
+number; and finally Toby completed the list by signifying that he was
+ready to sacrifice himself also.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+THE MIDNIGHT VIGIL
+
+
+"I'M glad to learn we don't have any 'fraidcats in this camp, and that
+I'm likely enough to have plenty of company in keeping watch to-night in
+the haunted house," Chatz remarked cheerfully, after the last scout had
+been heard from.
+
+"I've waited to see if it was going to be made unanimous," Elmer told
+them at this juncture; "and now that you've all toed the mark so
+handsomely, why of course I'll have to exercise my judgment in picking
+out, say a couple of fellows, who will stay to look after the camp here
+while the rest of us are otherwise employed."
+
+"Lassoing ghosts, for instance!" Lil Artha murmured.
+
+Elmer looked around the circle of faces again. All of them knew that he
+was selecting the pair of scouts who would be left behind, and while
+doubtless a number of the boys were secretly hoping deep down in their
+hearts that they might be one of the lucky number, they tried their best
+to appear indifferent.
+
+"Ted, you're one!" said the leader, presently; "and I think I'll appoint
+Landy to keep you company." The latter commenced to splutter a little,
+when Elmer raised his hand, and continued: "Now, don't get the notion
+in your heads that because I've selected you for playing the role of
+martyr it was because I thought you'd prove weak-kneed, or in any way
+show up poorly. I've no reason to think anything of the sort; only there
+had to be two chosen, and I've taken you for reasons of my own. Landy
+was complaining a short time ago of feeling squeamish, after gorging
+himself with all that honey; and in case he gets sick who could attend
+so well to him as our Doctor Ted?"
+
+That was explanation enough, and every one had to rest satisfied.
+Perhaps, if the truth were told, neither of the two scouts had any
+regrets coming; and secretly they were envied by some of the less
+fortunate ones, who would gladly have guarded the camp stores, if given
+the opportunity.
+
+"One thing good," Chatz informed them, "we're going to have a moon
+poking up in a little while. You know it's past the full stage, but from
+ten o'clock up to daylight it'll hold the fort up above."
+
+"Fine!" exclaimed George, with a half laugh; "I always do like to have
+bright moonlight whenever I go after ghosts. You can see the white
+things so much better, and watch 'em flit around as soft as silk. I'm
+glad you've ordered up a moon to help out, Chatz; it'll sure make things
+more interesting."
+
+"I think myself it will, suh," the Southern boy said, placidly in his
+turn; "and if any of us feel like we'd want to make a bee-line from the
+house to this camp here, why, the running is better when you have
+moonlight, you know."
+
+"Huh! that was meant for me, I guess, Chatz," sneered George; "but
+you'll have to take it out in waiting if you expect to see me chasing
+along, and hollering for help, because some old owl with a white front
+shows up, or the bats begin to fly in and out of that tower. I'm not
+built very much that way."
+
+"I hope not, suh!" was all Chatz said in reply; but George was seen to
+color up, and look a trifle confused, as though possibly he might not be
+feeling quite as bold inwardly as his words would imply.
+
+"When ought we start over?" asked Lil Artha, just as carelessly, to all
+appearances, as though it might be a friendly visit to some neighboring
+camp, instead of a thrilling experience in a haunted house.
+
+"In about half an hour or so after the moon rises," Elmer informed him;
+"that ought to be time enough, don't you think, Chatz?"
+
+"Plenty, suh," came the reply, "because, if there is any truth at all in
+these stories they tell about such places, the fun doesn't ever begin
+till midnight."
+
+"Fun!" muttered Toby, rubbing his chin reflectively; "well, it does beat
+all creation what some people call fun. Now, so far as I'm concerned,
+while I'm going along with you, and can't be made to back out, it's all
+a silly nuisance. I'd rather be climbing up into that same old tower,
+and getting ready for a drop with my reliable parachute."
+
+"No use of that in the night-time, Toby," remonstrated Ty; "mebbe
+to-morrow we'll get a blanket brigade to stand below while you make your
+first jump, so's to let you down easy if the old thing breaks."
+
+"No danger of that, Ty; because I've gone all over it again and again,
+and right now she could sustain a weight of half a ton, I reckon. But
+it's good of you to be interested enough in my invention to lend a
+helping hand. Think what it'll mean to all the tribe of aeronauts when
+every flier is equipped with a Jones Life-saving Parachute, that is
+guaranteed to float him softly to the ground even if he has a breakdown
+accident a mile up in the clouds."
+
+Toby after that fell into a musing spell. Perhaps in imagination he
+peopled the air fairly filled with flitting aeroplanes, and every single
+aviator supplied with the remarkable device that was going to make the
+name of Jones the most famous in all the wide land.
+
+The other scouts chatted, and exchanged all sorts of lively remarks.
+They even indulged in several songs that sounded very strange when heard
+among those whispering pines of the grove, and knowing as they did what
+manner of house stood close by, with a halo of mystery surrounding it.
+
+Just as Chatz had predicted the moon arose close on ten o'clock. It was
+no longer as round as a shield, but had an end lopped off; still the
+flood of mellow light that came from the lantern in the sky was very
+acceptable to the scouts, and served to render their intended mission
+less objectionable.
+
+Finally Elmer arose, and there was a start on the part of those who had
+been selected to accompany the leader and Chatz on their singular
+errand.
+
+"I hope you'll let me carry the gun, Elmer?" Lil Artha remarked,
+coaxingly.
+
+"Why should you?" replied the other, instantly; "if it is a real ghost a
+bullet wouldn't hurt a bit; and if it should turn out to be some one
+playing a mad prank I don't think you'd feel easy in your mind if you
+were tempted to shoot him."
+
+"But it might be some tramp or hard case, and we'd want to subdue him;
+how about that, Elmer?" questioned Toby.
+
+"Well, we can carry clubs if we like," said Elmer; "and I mean to have a
+piece of stout rope, so we can tie him up if we overpower him. Six
+scouts can put up a pretty hefty sort of fight, it strikes me, if things
+get to that point. No, leave the gun for the defenders of the camp and
+the grub."
+
+When presently the six boys stalked forth on their singular errand they
+did not seem to be in very merry spirits. True, Elmer was smiling as
+though he could give half a guess as to what they were about to run up
+against; and there was Chatz, a satisfied grin on his dark countenance;
+but the remainder of the investigating party could hardly have looked
+more solemn and melancholy if they had been about to attend the funeral
+of a dear departed friend.
+
+"Good luck!" called out Ted, after them; while Landy waved his hand
+mockingly, and grinned happily as he remarked:
+
+"We'll expect to see you fetch back at least one full-fledged ghost,
+boys; and take care he don't bite you. They're apt to do something along
+that order, I'm told, by people who've interviewed some of the species.
+But you c'n tame 'em so they'll even eat out of your hand."
+
+"Just you wait, that's all," was the sum total of what the departing
+scouts deigned to reply, as they vanished amidst the mixture of silvery
+moonbeams and darkening shadows.
+
+Soon they glimpsed the house through the dense vegetation. It stood out
+boldly in the moonlight, grim and silent. There was not the half
+expected gleam of any inside illumination, only the dilapidated windows,
+the walls covered in many places by a rank growth of Virginia Creeper
+vine, the broken chimneys rearing themselves up above the ridge, and
+that square tower overtopping it all.
+
+As they approached the walls of the house it might have been noticed
+that those of the scouts who had been lingering a little back of the
+rest somehow seemed to think they ought to close the gap, for they
+hurried their footsteps, and were soon in a cluster, with no laggards.
+
+"I've thought to fetch my little handy electric torch along, Elmer,"
+said Lil Artha about this time.
+
+"It may come in useful," was the reply Elmer made; "but with all that
+moonlight going to waste I hardly think we'll need it. Still, you never
+can tell, and it's a mighty clever affair. You were wise to think of
+fetching it, Lil Artha."
+
+"Are we going to separate, Elmer; and if we do, will you let me place
+the rest of the boys, suh?" Chatz asked before they reached the yawning
+doorway of the deserted building.
+
+"How about that, fellows?" the leader asked them; "do you think we had
+better split up into several small parties or stand together?"
+
+Toby, Lil Artha, Ty Collins and George heard this announcement with a
+new sense of consternation. In imagination they could easily picture how
+dreary and unpleasant it was going to be if each one had to take a post
+isolated from the rest, there to stand and listen, and perhaps _shiver_
+as the time crept on, until he must become so nervous that he could give
+a yell.
+
+"For my part, Elmer," Lil Artha said, hastily, "I think we had ought to
+stick in a bunch. One couldn't do much against a--er--ghost, you see;
+while the lot of us might be able to down anything going."
+
+"That's what I think too, Elmer," piped up George, "though of course, if
+you say so, I'm willing to do anything to carry on the game."
+
+"United we stand, divided we fall!" spouted Ty Collins, who, while a big
+blustering good-hearted fellow himself, did not exactly like the
+thought of being alone in that weather-beaten and half wrecked house, as
+the hour drew on toward midnight.
+
+"I think we ought to stick together, Elmer," Toby declared, which
+confession appeared to tickle Chatz, judging from the low snicker he
+gave utterance to; for, just as he had suspected, while none of these
+fellows would admit that they placed the least faith in things bordering
+on the supernatural, still they did not fancy finding themselves left
+alone in a house that had been given a bad name.
+
+Elmer had been talking matters over with Chatz, so that they were agreed
+as to where the watchers should take up their positions. All talking
+except in whispers was frowned down upon from that time forward; and
+there is always something exciting about a situation when everybody is
+speaking in low tones.
+
+They entered the house, and led by Chatz passed up the rickety stairs.
+This was evidence enough that their vigil was about to be undertaken in
+the upper story. George seemed to think that if he could manifest a
+disposition to joke a little it would be pretty good evidence that he at
+least was not afraid; and while as a rule he left this weakness to Toby
+and Lil Artha he could not resist the temptation to lean over and
+whisper to Ty, so that Chatz also might hear, something to the effect
+that it was just as well they were mounting those shaky stairs because
+people who believed in silly ghosts must be weak in the upper story.
+
+No one laughed, so George did not attempt any more witticisms. Truth to
+tell, he was not feeling as perfectly indifferent as he tried to make
+out; and when one of the others slipped a little, George it was who
+exclaimed hastily:
+
+"Oh! what in thunder was that?"
+
+When the six scouts had gained the second floor they passed along the
+wide hall to the place that had been chosen for the vigil. While in the
+gloom themselves it was easily possible for them to look along the
+moonlit hall, diversified with shadows, and see any moving thing that
+might attempt to pass that way. At the same time by turning their heads
+they could see out of the nearest window, and have a fair view of the
+open space between the wall of the house and the dense bushes close by.
+Beyond arose the thickly interlaced trees, a wild scramble along the
+line of the survival of the fittest.
+
+Elmer stationed them all as he thought would be best. They were told
+that they could sit down cross-legged, Turkish fashion, if they chose;
+but under no circumstances was any one to allow himself to be
+overpowered by sleep. If a scout had reason to believe the one next to
+him were nodding suspiciously he must whisper words of warning in his
+ear; and should that fail to effect a radical cure he was empowered to
+try other tactics, if by chance he possessed a pin.
+
+Having been fully awake at the time of their arrival, something like
+half an hour went by with all the scouts apparently on the watch. Then
+George had to be admonished by Lil Artha several times, until finally a
+low gasp, and muttering, as well as quick rubbing of his thigh on the
+part of George announced that the radical means had been employed in
+order to keep him awake.
+
+There is nothing more reliable as a sleep preventative than the jab of a
+pin; it seems to send an electric shock through the whole system, and
+eyes that were just about to close fly wide-open again.
+
+Twenty minutes later another low gurgling cry arose; this time it came
+from the elongated scout, and George was heard to whisper savagely:
+
+"Tit for tat, Lil Artha; you gave me a stab, and now we're even."
+
+"'Sh! I thought I heard something moving down there in the bushes!" the
+scout master told them, cautiously.
+
+Of course every one was immediately quivering with intense anxiety and
+eagerness. It was very close on the mystic hour of midnight, too, which
+added to the interest of the matter. Could it be that they were about to
+witness some strange manifestation such as Chatz professed to believe
+was possible? No wonder that the boys wriggled erect, stiff in their
+joints after sitting there tailor-fashion so long, and pressing toward
+the open window stared down toward the bushes to which Elmer had
+referred when he spoke.
+
+So bright was the moon, now fairly high in the sky, that even small
+objects could readily be distinguished. There was nothing in sight that
+they could notice where the rank grass grew, and the trees and bushes
+were absent; but looking further they could actually see something white
+moving along through the brush.
+
+No one said a single word, but there might have been heard several quick
+gasps; and a hand that fell on the sleeve of Elmer's khaki coat trembled
+fiercely. If ever some of those boys were willing to confess to the
+truth they would admit that their hearts began to beat furiously about
+that time, as with staring eyes they watched that mysterious white
+object pushing through the matted bushes that grew just beyond the open
+space near the walls of the haunted house.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+A STRANGE FIGURE IN WHITE
+
+
+"OH!"
+
+After all it was George, boasting George, who gasped this one word in
+Elmer's ear; and the scout master knew then whose trembling hand had
+clutched his sleeve.
+
+But if several of the others refrained from giving vent to their
+agitated feelings about that time, it was only because they had lost
+their breath completely.
+
+All of them were staring as hard as they could at the strange white
+object that kept creeping, creeping along through the brush. Not the
+slightest sound did it appear to make, and that added to the weirdness
+of it all. They must just then have had flash into their brains all they
+had ever read or heard about the wonderful manner in which ghosts and
+hobgoblins are able to advance or retreat, without betraying their
+presence by even the least rustling.
+
+Then all at once there broke out the sharp, furious barking of a dog.
+Every scout reeled back as though struck a blow. At the same moment they
+saw the white object whirl around, and rush away through the brush; and
+now they could plainly detect the rapid patter of canine feet.
+
+"It was only a stray farmer's dog after all!" exclaimed Lil Artha, with
+a sigh of absolute relief.
+
+"Yes," added Toby, "and when he barked up at us he was scared at the
+sound he made himself, so that he lit out as though he had a tin pan
+tied to his tail. But I own up I was shivering to beat the band, for I
+sure thought it must be that Cartaret _thing_ they say hangs out here.
+Whew!"
+
+George, as usual, having recovered from his own fright wanted to make it
+appear that he considered any one foolish who would actually allow
+himself to be alarmed by such a silly thing as a white object.
+
+"Anybody might have known it was only a white cur," he affirmed; "why,
+if you looked right sharp you could see the shine of his eyes out there
+in the shadows."
+
+"Did you look sharp, George; and if so why didn't you put us wise?"
+demanded Toby. "But I bet you were just as badly rattled as the rest of
+us, only you won't own up to it."
+
+"What, me? Huh, guess again, Toby, and don't measure everybody by your
+own standard, please," George told him; meanwhile congratulating himself
+over the fact that he had been standing in the shadow, so that none of
+his mates could possibly have seen how pale he must have been.
+
+"That dog couldn't belong around here, Elmer!" suggested Chatz.
+
+"No, it was most likely some farmer's dog that had been running rabbits
+through the forest, and chanced to wander over this way. But even he
+considered it a queer place, and was glad to shake the dust of it off
+his paws after he gave that one volley of barks. No danger of him coming
+back."
+
+"He scented us up here, don't you think?" continued Chatz.
+
+"As like as not; but don't say anything more now, please. It must be
+close on twelve o'clock!"
+
+They knew what Elmer meant when he said that. If the ghost walked at all
+it must be around the middle of the night. So they would have to take up
+their weary vigil again, and await developments. Even whispering must
+cease, and their attention be wholly given to watching, inside and out
+of the house.
+
+The seconds crept into minutes, though to some of the scouts these
+latter had never moved with such leaden wings, and they could almost
+believe hours were passing in review instead.
+
+Had it been summer-time when they made this pilgrimage to the woods near
+the old Cartaret house they would have expected to hear the chirping of
+crickets in the lush grass; the shrill call of the katydid answering his
+mate, and prophesying an early frost; and perhaps other sounds as
+well--the croak of the bull-frog, the loud cry of the whippoorwill, or
+the hooting of owls perched on some dead tree.
+
+At the tail end of November, with most of the dead leaves strewn on the
+ground, and the trees standing there bare of foliage, these familiar
+sounds were hushed; and only a somber silence lay upon the land, which
+was ten times more apt to produce nervousness on the part of the
+listening boys than any combination of well known night cries.
+
+Now and then some one would sigh, or move slightly; but beyond that they
+maintained the utmost silence; which showed how well drilled they were
+as scouts, and obedient to orders.
+
+Their senses were under such a tremendous strain that it actually seemed
+to Toby and perhaps Lil Artha, that they would have given a great deal
+for the privilege of shouting at the top of their voices a few times;
+but they did not attempt such a foolish remedy.
+
+Lil Artha did make a slight movement after a long time, and as the
+others fastened their anxious eyes upon him they saw that he had gently
+taken out the little nickel dollar watch he carried. Bending forward so
+that a ray of moonlight might fall on the face of the time-piece, Lil
+Artha consulted it to learn if his suspicions were correct.
+
+When he glanced around and saw that he was the center of observation, he
+just nodded his head up and down several times. In that fashion he
+informed the others that it was fully midnight; which was what they were
+so anxious to know.
+
+So far there had been no sign of a walking specter. George was getting
+over his fears. He even commenced to shrug his shoulders every time he
+saw one of the others looking his way. That was George's mute protest
+against all this foolishness; of course he had known that it would end
+this way right from the start, and had only agreed to come along to
+please Elmer, as well as show them that ghosts had no terrors for any
+sensible scout.
+
+"'Sh!"
+
+A thrill passed over every fellow as Elmer gave vent to this warning
+hiss. They looked at him instinctively in order to learn the reason for
+it, and found that the scout master did not seem to be staring out of
+the open window as before. On the contrary he was intently focussing his
+gaze down the wide hall toward the group of shadows that clustered at
+the further end.
+
+And as their eyes also roved in this direction once again did that cold
+hand seem to grip every heart. Something white was moving there, beyond
+the shadow of a doubt! They watched it advance, and then retreat
+methodically, systematically, as though it might be a part of a
+well-oiled machine.
+
+Toby rubbed his eyes very hard, as though under the impression that they
+were playing him false; while George shoved up closer to the next in
+line, which happened to be Chatz, who bent over to stare into his face,
+as though eager to learn the condition of George's bold heart.
+
+What could it be? Certainly no dog had anything to do with this new
+source of alarm, for it was tall, after the fashion of a man, and seemed
+to be dressed in white from head to foot.
+
+Though they listened with all their might none of them could catch the
+sound of footfalls. If the mysterious object were a human being he must
+be barefooted to be able to move along without making a sound; while if
+it were a spirit, as doubtless most of them were ready to admit by now,
+of course there was not anything remarkable about the silent tread,
+because all spirits are able to project themselves through space without
+even a shivering sound--so those who deem themselves competent to judge
+tell us.
+
+Elmer was perhaps also mystified more or less. Though he might know more
+about the secrets of the old house than any of his companions, still
+this particular manifestation was something he would like to have
+explained.
+
+There was no use asking any of the other boys, because they were
+naturally much more shaken up than he could be, and hardly able to give
+any information. The only way to do was to go to headquarters for his
+knowledge of facts; in other words creep along the hall, keeping in the
+shadows, until he found himself close enough to learn the true nature of
+the "ghost."
+
+That was what Elmer finally started to do. George managed to sense his
+going, and the gasp he gave voiced his apprehension, as well as his
+admiration for the bravery of his fellow scout.
+
+"Stay here!" whispered the leader, in the lowest possible tone, which
+could not have penetrated more than two feet away, but was enough to
+warn the others that he did not wish them to follow when he crept away.
+
+He went on hands and knees, picking out his shelter carefully as he
+advanced.
+
+Five other fellows crouched there and continued to watch, first that
+puzzling white figure that noiselessly kept up its ceaseless parade back
+and forth, and then the creeping scout, slowly and carefully covering
+the space that separated him from the object under observation.
+
+They did not know what to expect in the way of a shock; anything seemed
+liable to happen just then. George in particular was wondering if his
+scoffing remarks, so lately uttered, could have been overheard; and
+whether they would likely attract particular attention in his quarter.
+He also remembered what Chatz had said, while they were still near the
+tents, to the effect that it was always much easier running in the
+moonlight than when the pall of darkness lay upon things; not that
+George was contemplating a wild retreat, of course not, so long as the
+others stood their ground; but then it did no harm to be prepared like a
+true and careful scout, so that he would know just how he must leap
+through that open window if there arose a sudden necessity.
+
+Meanwhile, there was Elmer hunching his way along the hall toward the
+moving object in white that had so mystified them. He would raise
+himself, and push along a foot or so, and then resume his squatting
+position; but all the while steady progress was being made, and without
+any noise, however slight.
+
+When he had managed to make out what the nature of the white thing was,
+Elmer planned to return again to his chums, and if it proved to be
+simply a human being like themselves, he had a scheme in his mind
+looking to first cutting off all retreat, and then making a capture,
+after which perhaps they could learn what all this mummery meant.
+
+Of course Elmer was always conscious of the fact that it would be an
+unwise act for him to pass out of the line of shadow, and allow the
+moonlight to fall upon him while making this advance. Fortunately there
+was sufficient shadow to admit of his passage without taking these
+chances.
+
+He had already passed over a quarter of the distance separating him from
+the mystery at the time he started, and everything seemed to be going as
+well as any one could wish. If he could only keep the good work up a
+little while longer Elmer believed he would be in a position to judge
+things for what they were, and not what the fears of the boys had made
+them appear.
+
+By straining his eyes to the utmost he fancied that he could even now
+make out what seemed to be the tall figure of a man, who was dressed all
+in white. His bearing was erect, and he carried himself with the
+stiffness of a soldier on parade. Yes, this comparison was made even
+stronger by the fact that he seemed to have something very much like a
+gun, though it may have been merely a stick, gripped tight, and held as
+a sentry might his weapon, while pacing back and forth before the tent
+where his commanding general lay sleeping.
+
+Elmer also stopped to rub his eyes, not that he was doubting what he
+saw, but the continued strain weakened them, and even brought signs of
+tears, that made accurate seeing next to impossible.
+
+Well, half a dozen or so more hunches ought to carry him along far
+enough to enable him to make positive; and he believed he could
+accomplish it without betraying his presence to the unknown walker, be
+he human or a ghost.
+
+By this time the scout had drawn so close that he thought it good policy
+to remain perfectly quiet while the mysterious white object advanced
+toward him, making all his progress when the other had turned, and was
+moving away.
+
+The half-dozen contemplated movements had now been reduced to three, and
+he saw no reason to believe that his presence was known. This spoke well
+for his work as a scout; it also promised such a thing as success.
+
+Elmer had one thing in his favor, and this was an entire freedom from
+any belief in things supernatural. While he never boasted, like George,
+and some of the other scouts liked to do, at the same time he believed
+that everything claimed as belonging to the realm of spirits could be
+explained, if only one went about it the right way.
+
+On this account, then, he had not allowed himself to give even the least
+thought to such a thing as meeting a ghost. That white figure, to him,
+must be a man, no matter what motive influenced him to act in this
+strange way; and before he was done with the affair the scout master
+hoped to be able to probe the enigma, and find a reasonable answer that
+would fit the case.
+
+Another turn along on his hands and haunches took him just that much
+nearer the object of his solicitude. That left only two more to be
+negotiated before he would have reached the mark he had mentally chosen
+as the limit of his investigation. After that he must return to inform
+his friends of his discoveries, so that together they might lay plans
+looking to the capture of the white mystery.
+
+But boys as well as men often lay splendid plans without taking into
+account the element of chance that always abounds. Elmer might be doing
+all he figured on, and yet meet with a cruel disappointment.
+
+He had just drawn back to make the next to last forward hunch, and was
+in a position where any other movement was an utter impossibility when
+there sounded a loud and unmistakable sneeze! A draught of air had
+caught George without warning, and brought this catastrophe about before
+he could think to try and head it off by rubbing the sides of his nose
+vigorously, or through any other known agency.
+
+As the sneeze rang out Elmer, knowing what the result must be, attempted
+to gain his feet, meaning to spring boldly forward; but his awkward
+position placed a handicap on quick action, so that he wasted several
+precious seconds trying. When he did finally manage to gain an upright
+position it was to find that the white figure had vanished as utterly as
+though the floor had opened and swallowed it up; nor had the scout heard
+the slightest sound of a footfall.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+TOLD AROUND THE CAMP FIRE
+
+
+OF course Elmer was disappointed when his carefully laid plans all went
+by the board, owing to that unfortunate sneeze, just at the worst
+possible time.
+
+As a matter of duty he ran forward to where that strange figure in white
+had been marching to and fro, but just as he fully expected there was
+not a single sign of the late presence.
+
+So Elmer walked back to where his anxious chums were crouching, craning
+their necks in the endeavor to ascertain what was going on. He found
+them ready to ply him with questions; and Toby's first act was to free
+himself from suspicion.
+
+"George did it, Elmer!" he hastened to say; "with his silly little
+sneeze. It sure gave us all a shock, and when I thought to look again
+that bally ghost was gone."
+
+"But how could I help it?" complained the guilty culprit. "I never had
+the least idea it was coming, when all at once it gripped me hard. If
+you'd offered me half a million dollars right then not to sneeze, I
+couldn't have earned thirty cents. It took me just as quick as that,"
+and he snapped his fingers to illustrate how impotent he had been in the
+grasp of a necessity.
+
+"I've been there myself, George," said Elmer, kindly, because he knew
+how badly the other scout must feel on account of having upset all their
+plans; "and just as you say, sometimes a sneeze comes so fast you can't
+keep it back if your life depended on it. Of course it was unfortunate,
+because in another minute I'd have been close enough to have done all I
+wanted."
+
+"But my stars! Elmer," exclaimed Lil Artha, in dismay, "you didn't
+expect to jump that spooky thing all alone, I hope?"
+
+Elmer laughed, which act proved to the distressed George that his
+offense could not set so heavily on the mind of the scout master after
+all.
+
+"Certainly not, Lil Artha," Elmer told the long-legged scout; "I
+expected to drop back, and get the rest of you before anything was done.
+But accidents will happen even in the best regulated scout troops, and
+that was something nobody could help. Better luck next time."
+
+"Then, suh, you don't mean to give up this ghost hunt?" asked Chatz,
+with a ring of exultation in his voice.
+
+"Not if we have another chance to hook up with the mystery," replied
+Elmer.
+
+"But tell us, weren't you close enough up to see whether it was a real
+ghost or not?" demanded George, arousing to his old self again.
+
+Chatz could be heard giving a little indignant snort. He was evidently
+unable to understand how any one could doubt after seeing what they had.
+Chatz, with all his leaning toward a belief in spirits, had never
+before come so close to an object that had all the earmarks of a ghost;
+and he was correspondingly elated.
+
+"I guess I was all of that," Elmer replied, quietly.
+
+"And what do you think about it, Elmer?" continued George, persistently.
+
+"We want to know!" added Toby, determined to get his word in somehow.
+
+"There's a whole lot to tell," said Elmer, "and this isn't just the
+place to begin the story. So let's get back to the camp, where we can
+sit around the fire for another half hour, while I enlighten you on some
+things I happen to know."
+
+What he said gave the others a new thrill. For the first time some of
+the scouts became aware that their leader had all along been in
+possession of certain facts in connection with the strange appearance of
+this reputed ghost. One or two there were, notably Chatz Maxfield, who
+had suspected something of the kind, owing to the queer way Elmer had
+often smiled while the others were disputing fiercely concerning the
+possible identity of the specter.
+
+"That sounds good to me, Elmer," announced Lil Artha, without a second's
+hesitation, "and for one I'm ready to skip out of this place. It's raw
+and spooky enough here to give us all pneumonia. Let's get alongside a
+cheery old camp fire; and then you to spin the yarn. It wouldn't
+surprise me so much if I heard that you'd known the pedigree of our
+ghost all along, and was just holding back to see what fun you could
+shake out of the situation."
+
+"No, you're wrong there, Lil Artha!" declared the scout master,
+earnestly; "that isn't so. I began to have my suspicions, but up to now
+had found nothing to confirm them enough to warrant me telling what I
+knew, or thought. But the time has come, because this thing has gone far
+enough. Lend me your little flash-light torch, Lil Artha. The rest of
+you wait here for me again, please."
+
+As Elmer hurried away they noticed that he was making along the hall
+directly toward the spot where they had recently seen the weird white
+object that moved forward and back, again and again, with the regularity
+of clockwork.
+
+"He's gone to see if he can find any footprints in the dust on the
+floor?" suggested Ty Collins.
+
+At that Chatz gave another grunt, as though to his superior mind it was
+a very foolish remark; because ghosts never left any tracks behind them.
+But as he seemed to be in the minority, and knew it was hardly wise to
+invite another verbal attack, Chatz chose to seal his lips and remain
+dumb. His triumph would come later on, when they were seated around the
+glowing fire, and Elmer chose to explain his views of the matter,
+gleaned at close range.
+
+A short time passed thus. The scouts were keyed up to top-notch pitch,
+and the seconds dragged fearfully while they awaited the coming of their
+leader. They could see him moving about, by means of the little glow
+cast by the hand electric torch he had borrowed from Lil Artha; who
+felt that his fetching such a useful article along had vindicated his
+wisdom. Scouts should look ahead, and prepare themselves for all sorts
+of possible needs. That was what they were learning to do day after day,
+as they strove to earn new honors, and reach a higher plane in the great
+organization.
+
+Finally when the waiting scouts were beginning to sigh, and wish Elmer
+would get through with his searching around, they heard him give the
+well-known signal that was meant to call them to his side.
+
+"All ready to go back to camp now, fellows," was all Elmer said as they
+hastened to join him; for it was necessary to pass by that way in
+heading for the stairs.
+
+Whether or not he had been successful in finding any traces of the
+mysterious _thing_ they had been gaping at so long, Elmer did not bother
+telling them just then. That would keep until he was ready to explain
+fully.
+
+The camp, as we happen to know, was not far removed from the haunted
+house that had gained such a bad name among the farmers of that section
+for many years, on account of the sad story connected with its past; and
+in a short time they filed in before the two guardians of the stores,
+much to the satisfaction of Landy and Ted.
+
+Of course the pair who had been left behind were eager to know what had
+happened to their more fortunate comrades who had gone on the
+ghost-hunting expedition; and they started to bombard Toby and Lil Artha
+with a series of questions that made the victims throw up their hands.
+
+"Yes, we did see something, and that's right," admitted the latter
+scout.
+
+"A tall white figure, too," broke in Chatz, who wanted to make sure that
+nothing was omitted in the telling that ought to be narrated; "and it
+kept moving up and down again and again like an uneasy spirit. If you
+asked me I'd say it was the ghost of old Judge Cartaret, come back to
+visit the scene of his crime!"
+
+"Oh! gosh!" was all the staggered Landy could say, but it expressed the
+state of his feelings exactly.
+
+"Don't believe too much of what Chatz says till you hear what Elmer's
+got to tell us all," warned Toby. "You see, he went and crept up close
+to that _aw_ful figure, and then George here, just like he wanted to try
+things out, and see if it really was a ghost, had to give a whopper of a
+sneeze; and when we looked again the thing had disappeared like smoke.
+But Elmer knows something, and he promised to tell us the real stuff
+when we got sitting around our bully fire here. So pull up, fellows, and
+let him know we're all ready to listen."
+
+"Take my word for it," Lil Artha told them, "I'm wild to hear what Elmer
+knows."
+
+"What he _believes_, say, Lil Artha," corrected the scout master,
+pleasantly; "for I haven't been able to prove it to my satisfaction
+yet, though I hope to do that before we leave up here."
+
+"That's all right, Elmer," said Toby, quickly; "your word's as good as
+your bond, and when you _think_ a thing it's pretty sure to be it!"
+
+This remarkable confidence which his chums had in him always spurred
+Elmer on to doing his level best. He felt that he could not afford to
+lose a shred of such sublime faith; and no doubt on many occasions this
+had enabled him to gain his end when otherwise he might have considered
+the case hopeless, and abandoned all design of succeeding.
+
+Accordingly the whole eight of them found places around the fire, which
+had of course been built up again until it was a cheery sight. Around
+midnight at the extreme end of November the air is apt to be pretty
+chilly during the small hours of the night, so that the boys could
+hardly keep up too hot a blaze to satisfy their wants.
+
+Naturally all of them had made sure that from where they sat they could
+see the face of Elmer. As he was the center of attraction it was bound
+to add more to their pleasure if they could watch him as he explained,
+and told his story of achievement.
+
+The scout master looked around at that circle of eager boyish faces, and
+smiled. He was very fond of every one there; after his own fashion each
+scout had his good points, and Elmer knew them all, for had he not seen
+them tested many a time?
+
+"First of all, fellows," he remarked, "I'm going back to the other time
+we were up here, and Toby declared he saw a white face at one of the
+windows, which news gave us all such a queer feeling, because we
+couldn't tell whether it was so or not. You remember after we left the
+house I went back again?"
+
+"Yes, sure you did, Elmer; but you never said a word about finding
+anything!" George remarked.
+
+"But he looked it," muttered Chatz, with increasing uneasiness.
+
+"I went up to that window again, and hunted around to see if there was
+any sign of footprints there," Elmer continued. "You know that in all
+the years the house has been lying there deserted the dust has collected
+everywhere, though don't ask me where it could come from, because I
+don't know. Sometimes rain would beat in through the broken windows, and
+lay it, but the wind coming later on set it free again. Anyway, there
+was tracking dust there on that floor, and I found what I was looking
+for!"
+
+Everybody was hanging on his words. Chatz gave a groan. He saw that a
+death blow was being given to his cherished belief; for of course if
+Elmer had found _tracks_, the one who had made them could never have
+been a ghost.
+
+No one else was sorry, apparently. Indeed, there was more or less actual
+relief in the series of sighs that welled up, especially from George,
+who had secretly been getting a little shaky with regard to his
+disinclination to believe in the ability of spirits to return to the
+scene of their earthly troubles for divers purposes.
+
+"You mean there was a track there; is that it, Elmer?" asked Toby.
+
+"I found several of them, though our tramping around had almost covered
+the trail up," Elmer went on, steadily.
+
+"But how could you tell them from the marks we left?" continued Toby.
+
+At that Elmer laughed.
+
+"Well, that was as easy as tumbling off a log, Toby," he replied. "I
+guess even a tenderfoot could have told, because you see the strange
+track showed that the other party was _barefooted_!"
+
+"Oh!" gasped George and Lil Artha in a breath; while Chatz did not say a
+single word, only sat there with his eyes fixed on the beaming face of
+the scout master, and the light of a cruel disappointment in their
+depths.
+
+"I tried to follow the trail," continued Elmer, "but that dust happened
+to be limited in its scope, so that it was more than I could master, and
+I had to give it up. But of course the fact that a barefooted man had
+been at that window where Toby said he saw a white face gave me lots to
+think about, even if I did make up my mind not to say anything about my
+find until I had more to tell."
+
+When Elmer paused to get his breath Toby grinned as though greatly
+pleased.
+
+"See!" he ejaculated, thrusting his chin out aggressively, "some of you
+other fellows thought I was seeing things that didn't exist, and you
+knocked me right hard about gettin' a pair of specs, because I needed
+the same. But seems like it was you ought to go and visit the oculist. I
+_did_ see a face, and it was sure a white one in the bargain. But excuse
+me, Elmer, for keepin' the floor so long; that's out of my system now,
+and let's forget it. Please go on and tell us the rest, because I'm dead
+sure there's a lot more back of this."
+
+"Well," the other scout observed, "of course, when we got home I was
+bound to go around and ask a lot of questions about the old Cartaret
+place up here; and everything else I could hit on. What I learned didn't
+add a great deal to my stock of knowledge until just by accident I
+happened to read a little item in an old number of the Stackhouse _News_
+that came to our house, and it set me to thinking out a theory. That
+article was about a family named Oxley that live near Stackhouse I
+should think. It seems that they have the misfortune to have a son who
+is crazy, because of some accident to his head several years ago. He
+wasn't violent, and like some people they couldn't bear the thought of
+having him shut up in an asylum; so they hired a keeper, and he was
+watched at home. But it seems that he must have slipped away, for a
+report had gone out that he was missing, and the paper asked its readers
+to communicate with the family if by chance they came upon a demented
+man, dressed in the white uniform of a Spanish officer; for it seems he
+had been in Cuba during the war, and imagined himself a soldier again."
+
+Elmer paused to let what he had said sink into the minds of his chums;
+and it could be easily seen from the way they exchanged knowing looks
+that the full significance of the scout master's discovery had struck
+them heavily.
+
+"Elmer, you hit the right nail on the head when you guessed that!" cried
+Toby.
+
+"Dressed in white, too; that clinches the thing!" added Lil Artha.
+
+"I'm afraid it does," sighed Chatz, in a disappointed tone, while George
+only said:
+
+"Mebbe it does; but you can't always sometimes tell!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+THE BOOGIE OF THE TOWER
+
+
+"LET Elmer go on, and tell us some more," suggested Toby.
+
+"Yes, we can talk it all over after we know the whole thing," added Lil
+Artha.
+
+"Once I got that notion in my head," the scout master continued, "and I
+began to investigate along those lines. When I heard from two farmers in
+the market, who happened to live up this way, that for weeks they had
+been missing things off their places, mostly something to eat, I began
+to figure it out that the crazy man had to live, and would most likely
+forage for his grub, about like Sherman's bummers did in the Civil War,
+subsisting on the enemy's country.
+
+"One of the hayseeds told me he had even set a trap for the thief,
+thinking it might be just an ordinary hobo; and when the alarm came one
+night he had hurried out to the hen-house only to find a couple of
+chickens gone, and the trap sprung, but no victim in it, for the thief
+had been too smart for him. But he said it beat him all hollow when he
+found tracks of _bare feet_ around on the partly frozen ground in the
+morning, because it seemed queer that any tramp would be going around
+without shoes so near winter time!"
+
+"Whew!" gasped Toby, entranced, and almost held spellbound by this
+thrilling recital of facts and fancies.
+
+"The other farmer," Elmer went on to say, "told me that twice when he
+had had a visit from the strange thief he managed to glimpse something
+white that was making off at top speed, and which he expected was a man,
+though he couldn't be sure. He also said he had loaded up his
+double-barrel shotgun, and was going to give the rascal a hot reception
+the next time he called around. All of which kept making me feel that I
+was on the right track."
+
+"You just bet you were, Elmer!" Lil Artha exclaimed.
+
+"A figure in white, remember, fellows; and the one we saw to-night was
+dressed that way, as sure as shooting!" said Toby, convincingly.
+
+"The poor Oxley fellow was in Cuba during the Spanish war, and must have
+fetched the white uniform of a Spanish officer home with him," suggested
+Ty Collins; "when he went out of his mind he imagined himself a Spanish
+recruit, and they let him wear that soldier suit to humor him."
+
+"Yes, and right now he believes he has escaped from an American prison,
+and is trying to hide from the guard. He has to eat to live, and so he
+steals things from the farmers around. Of course it's only a matter of
+good luck that he hasn't been shot before now; and it couldn't last much
+longer."
+
+"Why, when winter gets here in dead earnest the poor fellow would freeze
+to death, like as not," George remarked, showing that he was being
+convinced against his will.
+
+"But what gets me is his staying around the old haunted house," remarked
+Toby.
+
+"Oh! I don't see what there is queer about that," Lil Artha declared.
+"Course he couldn't know anything about all this talk, so it's hardly
+likely he's been trying to play ghost on us. We fooled ourselves, that's
+what," with a quick look toward Chatz, as though to intimate that
+possibly the Southern boy had had considerable to do with their being
+hoodwinked; which was a lamentable fact, for a small fraction of yeast
+will scatter through the whole pan of dough.
+
+"And when you come to think of it," added Lil Artha, who had something
+of a long head when a knotty question was involved, "where could a crazy
+man find a better hiding place than in a house said to be haunted, I'd
+like to know?"
+
+"The poor fellow!" Ted was heard to say, that being his first utterance.
+"Tell you what, we ought to put in all the rest of our time up here
+trying to capture him. I'd never feel thatithfied to lie in my comfy bed
+at home nighth, thinking of him up here, freezing perhapth. Thay we
+will, Elmer, and you too, boyth!"
+
+Ted was tender-hearted, and could never bear to see any one suffer if he
+had it in his power to alleviate the pain. He promised to make a fine
+doctor some day, for his knowledge along the line of medicine and
+surgery was really wonderful; but while the other scouts had been so
+deeply interested in figuring things out, and settling the question of
+the strange man's identity, Ted had doubtless only considered his
+physical sufferings past and present.
+
+"I promise you that, Ted, with all my heart," Elmer assured him,
+promptly enough, "because I wouldn't be satisfied to go away and leave a
+helpless fellow like that here. I only wonder that he hasn't tried to
+steal some of our stores before now; and perhaps we could set a trap
+that would catch him, if he ever does come into camp. But we won't
+depend too much on that. Sometimes the mountain won't come to you; and
+then you've got to go to the mountain. That's one of the sayings the
+Mohammedans have about their prophet, you know. Well, to-morrow we'll
+get busy looking around, and see if we can locate this Ralph Oxley."
+
+"Oh! is that his full name, then?" asked Toby, and he repeated it to
+himself, as though he rather liked the sound: "Ralph Oxley!"
+
+"He must have some sort of hiding-place around here," Toby ventured,
+"and who knows but what we might run across the trail of a barefooted
+man somewhere, that would lead us to his den."
+
+"These crazy people are pretty slick, let me tell you," George hinted;
+"and it ain't going to be an easy job to run him down."
+
+"It mightn't be for some fellows who knew next to nothing about
+tracking," Lil Artha spoke up, proudly; "but when scouts have been
+through as much as we have it's different. Once we get a sight of his
+tracks, and believe me there'll be something doing right away."
+
+"I'm glad to hear you say that, Lil Artha," the scout master told him;
+"it shows that you've got a heap of confidence in your knowledge of the
+trail. Well, you've a right to feel that way. I can remember several
+times when you beat us all out in finding signs, and getting there in
+the end. We'll all do our level best to find his lair, and bring back
+Mr. Oxley's son in the flesh. They must be dreadfully worried about his
+absence by this time, and believe he has been drowned in either Lake
+Jupiter or the Sweetwater River. It would be a feather in our caps if we
+could restore the poor fellow to his folks."
+
+"You told us he was a soldier, didn't you, Elmer?" pursued Toby; "and
+say, p'raps now he thought he was on guard when he kept marching back
+and forth dozens of times to-night. How about that, Elmer?"
+
+"No doubt about it at all, Toby," came the reply; "for that was what he
+was doing. I remembered what they had told me about his wearing white
+clothes, even if they were soiled some by now, and thinking he is a
+Spanish soldier. I believe he had a stick held up against his shoulder,
+for all the world like a sentry's gun, and if we hadn't frightened him
+off he might have kept that thing up for hours."
+
+They continued to talk it over for some further time, and then having
+apparently about exhausted the subject made ready to turn in. First
+Elmer picked out two others who were to constitute the first watch with
+him. They had to sit it out for a certain length of time, and keep
+constantly on the lookout for a visitor; but as the limit of their vigil
+was reached, and nothing happened, Elmer aroused three other scouts, and
+bade them take the places vacated by himself, Toby and Lil Artha.
+
+Morning arrived, and there had been no alarm. It was to be assumed that
+those who had fulfilled the duties of sentries during the latter part of
+the night had not slept on their posts. Elmer made an examination of the
+stores, and found nothing amiss there; so it was settled that the crazy
+man could not have mustered up enough courage to invade the camp of
+those he considered his enemies.
+
+After breakfast Elmer, accompanied by Chatz and Lil Artha, started out
+to take a turn around in the woods, and look for signs of a trail made
+by bare feet. Some of the others amused themselves as they saw fit, sure
+that if the trail-seekers did make any interesting discovery they would
+hear all about the same, and undoubtedly be given a chance to help
+follow it.
+
+It was Saturday, and had they been at home no doubt these same boys
+might have been kicking the pigskin oval around with their fellows,
+since it was still the gridiron season, and most of them belonged to the
+Hickory Ridge football squad. They were much happier, however, in having
+chosen this last camping trip of the season, for like true scouts their
+keenest enjoyment lay in getting in close touch with Nature, and
+learning many of her most cherished secrets. Football was all very good
+in its way, but there were better things, as they had learned through
+experience; and a search after practical knowledge was one of them.
+
+"Now, I'll never get a better time to try it out," Toby up and declared
+as he began to gather that bundle of his in his arms; "and I hope a
+couple of you fellows will come with me to see my crowning triumph."
+
+"I s'pose that means you're thinking of taking that fool jump off the
+tower of the old house, and want us to be parties to the crime?" George
+suggested, bitingly.
+
+Toby surveyed him scornfully.
+
+"I'm intending to make a glorious drop, and land on the ground as light
+as any chicken feather might," he went on to say, with emphasis. "If
+that's all the faith you've got in your chum's ability, George, mebbe
+you'd better stay here in camp. It will spare you the sight of my
+getting a broken leg, you know. I didn't ask you when I extended that
+invitation; but I would like to have Ty and Ted come along; Landy too if
+he wants to join us, and shout when I prove the great value of my noble
+invention along humanitarian lines."
+
+"Whew! you have got it down pat," chuckled Landy.
+
+"Sure you want Doctor Ted along," sneered George; "you know which side
+of your bread's buttered, don't you, Toby? If a cog slips in your
+wheels, and you take a hard tumble you'll find his being on hand mighty
+acceptable. I'd carry splints and bandages in plenty, Ted. And if I
+have time I think I'll start to shaping up some kind of crutch while
+you're away. Things like that come in handy sometimes. This is going to
+be one of those times, I'm afraid."
+
+"Rats! you old croaker, nothing would ever be accomplished in this world
+if everybody was like you. They'd be afraid to take a chance. Things
+that their ancestors used 'd be good enough for them, like the Chinese.
+But thank goodness there are _some_ progressive people livin' these
+days, like Edison, Marconi, and a few others."
+
+"Jones, f'r instance!" chuckled George. "Well, if I don't show up at the
+exhibition good luck to you, Toby. I hope it won't be anything worse
+than a leg, or your collarbone, or five teeth knocked out. I wish you
+great success. Tell me all about it when you get back. And I'm in dead
+earnest about that crutch, too. I think I know how to shape one out of a
+thick wild grapevine, if I can only find the right sort."
+
+There was no use trying to talk George down, once he got started, and no
+one knew this better than Toby, who had been worsted in many a verbal
+encounter before now, so he only jerked his head contemptuously, and
+lifting his burden, called out to the others:
+
+"Come along, boys, if you've decided to be witnesses to my triumph.
+Mebbe your names will go ringing down the ages too, as being present
+when the glorious test was made that marked the end of aviators'
+perils."
+
+"One thing I think we'd better do, Toby," suggested Ty.
+
+"Well, name it," the other threw over his shoulder as he tramped
+sturdily along, carrying his wonderful parachute ready for business.
+
+"When you say you're all ready for the jump I'm going to give the wolf
+call, so Elmer, Lil Artha and Chatz can have a chance to come around,
+and share the honor with us of being living witnesses of your work."
+
+Toby seemed to ponder this for half a minute; and then remarked:
+
+"I guess that would only be fair, because Elmer might feel huffed if I
+jumped into glory, and him not there to see it. Yes, I'll get up on the
+tower and when I say the word you give the '_how--oooo_' call that'll
+fetch 'em running."
+
+"Consider that a bargain then, Toby," Ty told him; "and remember, don't
+you go to making your jump till they come up. Elmer might be provoked,
+and believe you sneaked off unbeknown to him to try the same. They're
+likely somewhere close by, I reckon, and we're apt to run across the
+trackers hard at work while we're on our way to the haunted house right
+now."
+
+But they did not, although they caught the sound of voices through the
+aisles of the dense woods, and knew that Elmer with his comrades must be
+somewhere, not far away.
+
+The old building stood there just as they had seen it before. Landy and
+Ty had not been along when the nutting party met with their first
+adventure here; but on the preceding afternoon they had surveyed the
+wreck of a house, so that their only experience had not been the one at
+midnight.
+
+Besides, now that the halo of mystery had been removed, so that they
+knew the white object they had seen was only a poor crazy fellow and not
+a ghost from the other world, the boys experienced far less timidity
+about approaching the house.
+
+"We'll stay down here, Toby," said Ty, as he took up a position that was
+directly underneath the tower.
+
+Ted had carried a burden along with him also. This he now threw upon the
+ground, and it proved to be one of the stout camping blankets. Toby only
+chuckled when he saw that.
+
+"Please yourselves, fellows," he assured his comrades, "but you won't
+need anything like that. I'm going to float like a thistledown. It'll be
+the triumph of the age, and don't you forget it. Watch what I do, now,
+everybody!"
+
+With that Toby boldly entered the house, and started to make his way up
+to the tower. Apparently he must have noticed how one could reach that
+elevated region, though as yet none of them had thought to go there.
+Inside of five minutes the boys below saw him looking down at them from
+far above.
+
+"Wait till I get my parachute ready, fellows!" he called; "and there's
+Elmer and the rest hurrying up, waving their hands like they wanted me
+to hold on till they got here. Mebbe I will; the more the merrier!
+Stretchin' out your old blanket, are you? Well, take my word for it you
+won't need to grab me any. I'm staking a heap on this thing to hold me
+up easy. Wow! what's this? Let go, there, you don't get that precious
+thing away from me! Hey! fellows, here's that crazy man tackled me! He's
+wantin' to grab everything! Quit pushin' or you'll have us both tumblin'
+over the edge! Whoop! somebody come up here and help, or he'll get me!"
+
+The two boys below heard all this shouted at the top of Toby's voice;
+although of course they had but slight glimpses of the struggling
+figures above. A desperate wrestling for the possession of the parachute
+was evidently going on, for they could hear the sound of scuffling feet;
+and besides, Elmer and the others who were fast coming on the run,
+seemed to be shouting at the top of their voices, as though under the
+impression that by the noise of their yells they might alarm the man who
+was out of his mind and had attacked the scout, believing him an enemy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+HOMEWARD BOUND--CONCLUSION
+
+
+"HELP! Let go of me! Hi! Elmer, he's up here! Come quick, I can't hold
+him any longer!"
+
+That was what Toby was shrieking excitedly, as he struggled with the
+poor demented Spanish War veteran. Then there came answering shouts from
+Elmer, now close at hand; but of course Toby could not carry out any
+directions that were fired at him.
+
+Presently those below saw the two figures topple over the edge, Toby
+still frantically clutching his beloved parachute, which was extended to
+its fullest dimensions, and the other evidently fiercely trying to hold
+on to his supposed enemy.
+
+The extended blanket was torn from the grasp of the two boys, despite
+their earnest attempt to hold it taut; but at the same time it must have
+helped break the fall of the pair. The parachute had not been built for
+two, and could not be expected to bear their combined weight, in spite
+of Toby's boasts about half a ton not being too much.
+
+One of the recumbent figures instantly sprang to his knees. It was Toby,
+and he still gripped the rod of his parachute with a determined hold.
+
+"Never hurt me a teenty bit!" he shrilled, in his excitement; and then
+he suddenly stilled his ardor, for on looking down he saw the crazy
+man, dressed in that soiled white uniform brought from Cuba, lying there
+with the blood trickling down the side of his head, and the sight
+shocked Toby into repressing his exultation.
+
+But Elmer was coming on the run, and already Doctor Ted had knelt beside
+Ralph Oxley, with his professional instincts all aroused. He sent one of
+the boys racing to the camp for his medicine case; and Elmer on his
+arrival suggested that they carry the unconscious young man to where the
+fire burned.
+
+Being scouts, and accustomed to making a good litter out of almost
+anything, they speedily arranged it so that between four of them the
+victim of the fall was borne to the camp. On the way they met Lil Artha
+and George, hurrying toward the house; but of course these parties now
+returned with them, since the medicine case was needed in camp.
+
+Ted first of all washed the wound in the young soldier's head with cold
+water, and then applied a cloth soaked in soothing balm, that would
+assist in stopping the bleeding.
+
+"Oh! I hope he isn't going to die on us," said Toby, who seemed to feel
+that in some way his desire to test his parachute life-saving appliance
+from the tower of the old house had brought this near-tragedy about, and
+hence he felt unusually sorry.
+
+"I don't think tho," Doctor Ted hastened to tell him; "he got a nathty
+cwack on the head, and it's fwactured it thome, but right now he theems
+to be coming out of the daze. There, did you thee his eyeth open and
+thut again? Next time he'll keep them open, believe me, fellowth."
+
+Imagine the amazement and consternation of the boys when a minute later
+Ralph Oxley not only opened his eyes, but stared all around at each one
+in turn, then at the tents and the burning camp fire.
+
+"Where am I?" he stammered, weakly. "What's all this mean? Are we still
+at the front? Where's my khaki uniform like the ones you're wearing, and
+why have you put this old white one on me? It's a Spanish suit. I know
+because I've got one like it home. Who are you? I don't seem to
+recognize any of you boys."
+
+What seemed next door to a miracle had been wrought! Elmer and Ted
+stared eagerly at each other as though they could hardly believe their
+senses.
+
+"He's got his mind back again!" exclaimed Chatz, wildly exultant. "It
+must have been the crack on the head did it. I've heard of such things,
+but never thought I'd ever run up against a case. Why, he's as sensible
+as any of us, fellows!"
+
+Elmer rushed forward, and stood over the recumbent man, who looked at
+him with a puzzled air.
+
+"Your name is Ralph Oxley, isn't it?" asked the scout master, quietly.
+
+"Yes, it is, but--" began the other, when Elmer raised his hand to stop
+him.
+
+"I'll explain as near as I can to you," he went on to say. "You were
+hurt on the head a few years ago, and went out of your mind. Ever since
+your folks have kept you at home because they said you were not
+dangerous, but there was an attendant employed to look after you. Some
+weeks ago you escaped, and nobody has ever found where you went. They
+feared you had been drowned somewhere. But you must have had the idea
+you were a Spanish soldier escaped from an American prison, for you have
+been in hiding up here at the old Cartaret house, and getting what food
+you could by raiding the farms all around. We are Boy Scouts belonging
+at Hickory Ridge, and the other day when we were up here we thought we
+glimpsed somebody, but a few of my chums believed it was a ghost. Now
+we've come to spend our Thanksgiving holidays in camp. You had a bad
+tumble, striking your head again, and cutting it; but somehow it has
+brought you back to your right mind, Ralph Oxley."
+
+The young man, who could hardly have been more than thirty-five years of
+age, though a veteran of the Spanish war, put up his hand, and felt of
+his head, wincing with the pain the contact gave him. A tinge of color
+was creeping back into his pale face, which Elmer was delighted to see.
+
+"It is all a mystery to me," Ralph Oxley told them, shaking his head.
+"I have no recollection of doing anything like you say. In fact, the
+last thing I remember seems to be of riding out to look over a new farm
+my father had bought, and of my horse running away when some one shot
+close by the road. After that it is all a dead blank; and yet you say
+some years have passed since then?"
+
+He seemed awed by the thought.
+
+"That must have been where you were thrown, striking on your head,
+received the injury that caused your mind to become a blank," Elmer told
+him; while Doctor Ted nodded vigorously as though seconding the motion.
+
+"But I'm in a terrible position, with only these thin clothes on, and no
+shoes or socks on my feet," remarked the man, who, now that he had
+returned to his senses, could apparently feel the sting of the cold air,
+something that doubtless he may not have been sensitive to before.
+
+"Perhaps we can fix you up with something to tide over," Chatz told him.
+"Here's Lil Artha, whose feet must be the same size as yours, and I
+happen to know he brought a pair of new extra moccasins along, which he
+hasn't worn yet."
+
+First one, and then another proposed lending Ralph certain garments,
+until in the end he was well taken care of. He even sat with them,
+propped up in a comfortable seat, and ate the dinner the scouts
+prepared, asking dozens of eager questions, many of which they were not
+able to answer, because they concerned his people, and none of the
+scouts happened to know them.
+
+"I'm going to make a proposition to you, fellows," said Elmer, when they
+had finished their meal; "and here it is. You know Stackhouse is about
+eleven miles away from here, though twice that far from Hickory Ridge.
+My map shows a fairly decent road leading there. Suppose we pull up
+stakes and start for Mr. Oxley's home? We could make it before sunset, I
+should think. It's true that our camping trip would be cut short a day,
+but I'm sure I voice the sentiments of every fellow that we'll feel
+mighty well repaid for any little sacrifice like that when we turn in to
+the Oxley place and bring back their lost son, not what he was when he
+ran away, but clothed in his right mind. Everybody in favor of that move
+say aye!"
+
+A chorus answered him in the affirmative; why, even that hardened
+objector, Doubting George, shouted with the rest; for once having
+apparently chosen to be what Toby called "civilized."
+
+Ralph Oxley had tears in his eyes as he insisted on shaking hands with
+every one of the scouts.
+
+"You're a fine lot of boys, let me tell you!" he declared, with deep
+feeling; "and I wouldn't accept your sacrifice only for my mother's
+sake. They ought to know the happy news as soon as possible. Every
+minute that I'm delayed is just so much more suffering for my dear
+parents; and a sweet girl too that I was going to marry when that
+accident came about. But I'll never forget it, fellows; and you'll hear
+from the Oxley family later on."
+
+"Not a word about any money reward, suh!" cried Chatz, sternly; "we're
+scouts, and we'd scorn to accept anything in the way of pay for doing a
+thing like this. It's given us a heap more pleasure than anything that's
+happened for many moons, believe me, suh!"
+
+"And to think," added Toby, with a beaming smile on his face, "my
+remarkable parachute came near holding up double weight. I really
+believe if only Mr. Oxley here hadn't managed to strike his head on that
+cornice when he fell, both of us would have landed without a scratch.
+And let me tell you that I think it's already shown what a life-saver
+it's bound to be."
+
+"Hurrah for Jones, the greatest after Edison this country has ever
+produced," cried Lil Artha, pretending to wave his hat furiously.
+
+They were soon all at work, and the tents came down with a rush, for
+long experience along these lines had made Elmer and his scouts clever
+hands at anything pertaining to camp life. Nancy was hitched up, and the
+wagon loaded. They made a comfortable seat with the tents and the
+blankets for the injured young man; and before an hour had elapsed,
+after finishing that last meal, they had said good-bye to the haunted
+house, and were on their way.
+
+It was a long though not uninteresting afternoon ride; because they were
+passing over a district that was practically new to them.
+
+Presently they overtook a young woman who was tripping along ahead of
+them. Just as Elmer was about to ask her something about the Oxleys she
+gave a shriek, and rushing to the tail-end of the wagon commenced to
+reach out toward the wounded passenger, calling his name in great
+excitement.
+
+It developed, of course, that this was the same girl Ralph had been
+about to marry at the time of his unfortunate accident; and her wild
+delight at finding that the missing one had not only been found, but was
+restored to his proper senses as by a miracle, can better be imagined
+than described.
+
+Shortly afterwards they turned in at the fine Oxley farm, and it was not
+long before the greatest excitement came about that had been known in
+that region for many a month. The mother had her boy in her arms, and
+was trying to laugh and cry at the same time; the father came running
+madly to the spot; and what with dogs barking, and people shouting,
+persons passing must have thought a lunatic asylum had broken loose.
+
+The boys did not linger long after they had seen the family reunited;
+though everybody wanted to shower them with thanks, and praise for their
+having brought such happiness to the bereft home of the Oxleys. And
+Ralph assured them that he and the young woman who was to be his wife
+would certainly drive over to see the Hickory Ridge folks just as soon
+as he was able to be about again.
+
+Well, as they were a long distance from home, with darkness near at
+hand, the boys determined to go as far along the road toward Hickory
+Ridge as Nancy could draw the load, and then proceed to camp somewhere
+for one night.
+
+It was all a part of the outing, and no one appeared to regret having
+followed the generous dictates of their warm young hearts.
+
+While their camp that night may not have been as comfortable as before,
+because of the lack of time to do certain things, they managed to get a
+fair amount of sleep. No doubt the consciousness of having responded to
+the demands of scout duty afforded them more or less solid satisfaction;
+for even George was heard to say, as they drew near the familiar home
+scenes on that quiet Sunday afternoon, it had been one of the best
+little outings the Hickory Ridge Boy Scouts had ever enjoyed; and it
+must needs be something beyond the ordinary that could coax this kind of
+stuff from Doubting George.
+
+But that year was fated not to die out without Elmer and his chums being
+given another splendid opportunity to show what their scout training was
+worth, as the reader will discover upon securing the volume that follows
+this, and which is to be had under the title of "The Hickory Ridge Boy
+Scouts Storm-Bound; or, A Vacation Among the Snow Drifts."
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+_The Mountain Boys Series_
+
+
+    1. PHIL BRADLEY'S MOUNTAIN BOYS
+    2. PHIL BRADLEY AT THE WHEEL
+    3. PHIL BRADLEY'S SHOOTING BOX
+    4. PHIL BRADLEY'S SNOW-SHOE TRAIL
+
+These books describe with interesting detail the experiences of a party
+of boys among the mountain pines.
+
+They teach the young reader how to protect himself against the elements,
+what to do and what to avoid, and above all to become self-reliant and
+manly.
+
+    _12mo._        _Cloth._
+    _40 cents per volume; postpaid_
+
+    THE NEW YORK BOOK COMPANY
+
+    201 EAST 12TH STREET        NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+The Campfire and Trail Series
+
+
+    1. IN CAMP ON THE BIG SUNFLOWER.
+    2. THE RIVALS OF THE TRAIL.
+    3. THE STRANGE CABIN ON CATAMOUNT ISLAND.
+    4. LOST IN THE GREAT DISMAL SWAMP.
+    5. WITH TRAPPER JIM IN THE NORTH WOODS.
+    6. CAUGHT IN A FOREST FIRE.
+    7. CHUMS OF THE CAMPFIRE.
+    8. AFLOAT ON THE FLOOD.
+
+    By LAWRENCE J. LESLIE.
+
+A series of wholesome stories for boys told in an interesting way and
+appealing to their love of the open.
+
+    _Each, 12mo._        _Cloth._        _40 cents per volume_
+
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+    201 EAST 12th       STREET NEW YORK
+
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+
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+
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+
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+
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+
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+
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+
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+South Seas with absolutely nothing but the clothing they wore. By the
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+know.
+
+    THE WONDER ISLAND BOYS
+    The Castaways
+
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+
+    THE WONDER ISLAND BOYS
+    The Tribesmen
+
+    THE WONDER ISLAND BOYS
+    The Capture and Pursuit
+
+    THE WONDER ISLAND BOYS
+    The Conquest of the Savages
+
+    THE WONDER ISLAND BOYS
+    Adventures on Strange Islands
+
+    THE WONDER ISLAND BOYS
+    Treasures of the Islands
+
+    _Large 12mo, cloth._         _Many illustrations._
+    _60 cents per vol., postpaid._
+
+    PUBLISHED BY
+
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+    201 EAST 12th STREET        NEW YORK
+
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+THE BOY GLOBE TROTTERS
+
+By ELBERT FISHER
+
+    _12mo, Cloth._       _Many illustrations._      _60c. per Volume_
+
+
+This is a series of four books relating the adventures of two boys, who
+make a trip around the world, working their way as they go. They meet
+with various peoples having strange habits and customs, and their
+adventures form a medium for the introduction of much instructive matter
+relative to the character and industries of the cities and countries
+through which they pass. A description is given of the native sports of
+boys in each of the foreign countries through which they travel. The
+books are illustrated by decorative head and end pieces for each
+chapter, there being 36 original drawings in each book, all by the
+author, and four striking halftones.
+
+=1. From New York to the Golden Gate=, takes in many of the principal
+points between New York and California, and contains a highly
+entertaining narrative of the boys' experiences overland and not a
+little useful information.
+
+=2. From San Francisco to Japan=, relates the experiences of the two
+boys at the Panama Exposition, and subsequently their journeyings to
+Hawaii, Samoa and Japan. The greater portion of their time is spent at
+sea, and a large amount of interesting information appears throughout
+the text.
+
+=3. From Tokio to Bombay.= This book covers their interesting
+experiences in Japan, followed by sea voyages to the Philippines,
+Hongkong and finally to India. Their experiences with the natives cover
+a field seldom touched upon in juvenile publications, as it relates to
+the great Hyderabad region of South India.
+
+=4. From India to the War Zone=, describes their trip toward the Persian
+Gulf. They go by way of the River Euphrates and pass the supposed site
+of the Garden of Eden, and manage to connect themselves with a caravan
+through the Great Syrian Desert. After traversing the Holy Land, where
+they visit the Dead Sea, they arrive at the Mediterranean port of Joppa,
+and their experiences thereafter within the war zone are fully
+described.
+
+
+    THE NEW YORK BOOK COMPANY
+    201 EAST 12th STREET        NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+The Ethel Morton Books
+
+By MABELL S. C. SMITH
+
+
+This series strikes a new note in the publication of books for girls.
+Fascinating descriptions of the travels and amusing experiences of our
+young friends are combined with a fund of information relating their
+accomplishment of things every girl wishes to know.
+
+In reading the books a girl becomes acquainted with many of the
+entertaining features of handcraft, elements of cooking, also of
+swimming, boating and similar pastimes. This information is so imparted
+as to hold the interest throughout. Many of the subjects treated are
+illustrated by halftones and line engravings throughout the text.
+
+
+LIST OF TITLES
+
+    ETHEL MORTON AT CHAUTAUQUA
+    ETHEL MORTON AND THE CHRISTMAS SHIP
+    ETHEL MORTON'S HOLIDAYS
+    ETHEL MORTON AT ROSE HOUSE
+    ETHEL MORTON'S ENTERPRISE
+    ETHEL MORTON AT SWEET BRIER LODGE
+
+
+    _Price 60 cents per volume; postpaid_
+
+
+    PUBLISHED BY
+
+    The New York Book Company
+    201 EAST 12TH STREET      NEW YORK, N. Y.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Transcriber's Notes:
+
+Obvious punctuation errors repaired.
+
+First advertising page, "Chenoweth" changed to "Chenowith" to match
+actual book usage (Elmer Chenowith, a lad from)
+
+Page 131, "Sandy" changed to "Landy" (Landy was complaining)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Hickory Ridge Boy Scouts: Under
+Canvas, by Alan Douglas
+
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