Dan Carter And The Haunted Castle Part 9

Dan, who was sprawled comfortably on the ground, suddenly sat up. He gazed steadily toward the bushes behind the castle.

"What's wrong?" demanded his companion.

"Nothing, I guess," Dan admitted with a laugh. "For just a minute, I thought-"

"You thought what, Dan?"

"Well, I caught a flash of green over there amid the bushes. I thought I saw someone peeping out."

"One of the Cubs probably."

"It could have been, only it didn't look like any of the fellows."

"The parents are roaming around the grounds too," Brad reminded him.

"I know," Dan admitted, "it couldn't have been anything. All the same, it gave me a start for a second. I had the feeling someone who shouldn't be here was watching the filming of our play."

"The ghost of the castle, for instance?" Brad asked, giving him a sidelong glance.

"Quit kidding me."

"You did think you saw someone."

"Sure," Dan said soberly. "It might have been one of the Cubs, only I didn't think so. You know, Brad, I've had a queer feeling ever since we came here."

"As if someone were watching us?"

"That's right, Brad. I know it sounds silly."

"It isn't silly," the older boy replied soberly. "I've had the same sort of feeling myself."

"I suppose my imagination was stirred by finding a fire inside the castle," Dan said. "And then that arrow in the target. It never did match any of the ones we were using."

"Someone is hiding out here all right," Brad admitted with sudden conviction. "Suppose we amble around and see if we can find anyone. No use worrying the other Cubs."

Without attracting attention to themselves, the two boys walked over to the bushes where Dan had seen movement.

No one was there. Brad found a few footprints. There was no way they could tell whether or not they had been made by one of the Cubs. For, as Dan pointed out, the boys of Den 1 and 2 had been everywhere on the grounds.

"We'll be smart not to say anything about this to the other fellows,"

Brad advised. "No use getting them excited. Especially as it may not amount to anything."

"I'll keep mum," Dan promised. "All the same, I'd like to track down our castle ghost. So far, he's proven as elusive as Robin Hood himself!"

CHAPTER 6 Ghost of the Castle

The Cubs of Den 2 worked hard the next week making "props" for their Robin Hood play. Dan a.s.sisted Mr. Holloway in blocking out scenes for the movie, and was told he had done an excellent job.

"We should have a chance to win first prize in the contest," the Den Dad declared late one afternoon as the boys met in their clubroom.

The meeting room of Den 2 was the envy of all the other Cub Scouts in Webster City. Situated high in a natural cave above the beach, it afforded a fine view not only of the sh.o.r.eline, but also the distant Boy Scout camp on Skeleton Island.

"Yes, the play is rapidly whipping into shape," declared Sam Hatfield.

"Right now, our crying need is for costumes."

"I thought the mothers were going to help us out," Dan remarked.

"They have agreed to," the Cub leader answered. "That is, they'll sew the costumes. However, there's a little item of buying materials."

"Can't each Cub provide his own?"

"I was going to suggest that," nodded Mr. Hatfield. "I feel though, that the money should be earned by each boy. It wouldn't be fair to ask the parents to pay for our costumes-especially as some of them will be rather elaborate."

The Cub leader explained to the other boys his plan and no one raised any objection. Chips and Red however, were uncertain how they would earn the necessary money.

"Well, you might try cutting lawns, gathering papers, or running errands," Mr. Hatfield suggested. "Give it a little thought. I'm sure you can come up with some idea."

"How soon must we have the money?" Midge asked.

Mr. Hatfield said he thought it should be turned in not later than a week.

"The mothers will need the materials to start sewing the costumes," he declared. "Deadline for the contest is the twenty-fifth of the month."

After the meeting broke up, Brad and Dan sauntered down the street together, discussing how they would earn their money.

"My Dad has been after me to clean the bas.e.m.e.nt," Brad remarked. "Maybe I can get fifty cents for that job. It will be a start."

"All the odd jobs around our place are cleaned up," Dan said thoughtfully. "It looks as if I'll have to get out and hustle."

That very afternoon, he called on several neighbors, offering to wash windows or the family car. In each instance, he was politely but firmly turned down.

Rather discouraged, Dan then appealed to his mother.

"Maybe I can think up some job if you give me a little time," she said to encourage him. "Off hand I can't think of a thing. Usually, you're two or three jobs ahead of me."

When Dan went to the drugstore at six o'clock to get a newspaper for his father, he met Fred.

"How you coming on earning money?" the boy asked him.

"No luck yet," Dan admitted. "Jobs seem to be mighty scarce."

"I ran an errand and picked up a quarter," Fred told him. "But that's all I've been able to earn so far. Red and Chips are having a tough time too."

"Webster City must suddenly have been hit by a depression, Fred. I wonder how the Den 1 boys are getting their costumes?"