Young Hunters of the Lake Part 32

"What brought you fellows here?" asked Shep, curiously, for he could see that all those on sh.o.r.e were greatly excited.

"Did you see it?" demanded one of the boys.

"We are going home," declared Ike Akley, and his manner showed that he was frightened almost out of his wits.

"Let us have the boat and the canoe and we won't bother you any more,"

said Carl Dudder. "You can have the whole lake to yourselves."

"Did we see what?" asked Giant, of the youth who had first spoken.

"The ghost," was the unexpected reply. "It came into our camp last night and we don't want to see it again. We are all going back to Lake Cameron."

CHAPTER XXV

JED SANBORN BRINGS NEWS

That the Spink crowd was thoroughly frightened there could not be the slightest doubt. Even when they told their story many looked behind them, as if they expected the ghost to pop out of the woods and clutch them by the shoulder.

It seemed that the ghost had appeared shortly after they returned to their camp. It came up over the lake silently, a figure in yellow, with waving horns of red. It had stopped directly in front of the camp and had waved a menacing arm at the boys. Then it had disappeared into the gloom of the night.

"It uttered some terrible things," said Carl Dudder. "It said something about being dead and about being buried."

"Yes, and then it uttered a hideous laugh," said Ike Akley. "I shall never forget that---it was awful, and it seemed to go right through a fellow."

"Why didn't you shoot at it?" asked Snap. "That is what I should have done."

"Humph! I guess if you saw that ghost you'd be paralyzed," said Carl Dudder. "Why it was enough to make your hair raise on ends!"

"I thought it was coming ash.o.r.e and murder the lot of us," said Jack Voss.

"Then you are not going to stay here?" asked Giant.

"Not much! I am going down to Lake Cameron as quick as I can get there!"

"So am I!" said another.

"You had better go down, too," said a third.

"No, we are going to stay here," answered Shep. "We haven't seen the ghost, but we have heard those ghostlike voices and we want to find out what it means."

"Oh, there's a real ghost---I heard about it before I left home,"

said Carl Dudder. "But I didn't think it would visit us."

"I'd stay, only the rest won't," said Ham Spink, thinking he must put on a bold front before Snap and his chums.

"What are you talking about!" cried Ike Akley, indignantly. "Why, you were the first to propose going home."

"That's true," said another boy.

"Well---er---I thought perhaps you didn't care to stay," stammered Ham. "Anyway, I think it is much nicer down to Lake Cameron,"

he added, hastily, to change the subject. "The snakes are numerous up here, and game is scarce."

"Well, if you are going you can have your boat and the canoe," said Snap, after a consultation with his chums. "But you must give us your solemn promise not to molest us again."

The others were perfectly willing to do that, and the rowboat and the canoe were turned over to Ham, Spink and his cronies. Then our friends rowed out into the lake and "hung around" until the others loaded their craft and started away.

"Now remember," called Snap after them. "If you come back and molest us you'll do it at your peril."

"We won't come back," muttered Ham.

"You can have that ghost all to yourselves," added Carl. "Hope it visits your camp to-night---I guess you'll be leaving in the morning just as we are doing." And that was all that was said by the Spink crowd.

"That ghost must have been something awful to look at," was Shep's remark, as he and his chums rowed back to camp. "If ever a crowd was scared they were."

"Well, if the ghost visits us maybe we'll be scared too," answered Giant. "I don't believe in bragging until I've experienced a thing."

"Giant doesn't want to be like the man who bragged of what he would do in case of a fire at his house," said Whopper. "He was going to be calm and careful and do things just so. When the fire came he was the most excited fellow on the block, and he carried the feather bed downstairs and then went up again and threw himself out of the third story window."

The boys were content to take it easy for the rest of the day, and for the balance of that week they did little but fish and "laze around," as Giant put it. Shep shot several birds and tried his skill at cleaning and stuffing them, for he took an interest in taxidermy. Snap hung up the deer skin to be cured.

On Sunday it rained, and the storm continued Monday and the greater part of Tuesday. But the cabin was practically waterproof, so they were comfortable. To pa.s.s the time they played games, and cooked and baked many things which would have caused a chef to throw up his hands in wonder. They even made some rhubarb pie from some wild rhubarb found near the camp and this proved to be really excellent. Once Giant concocted a new dish made of fish stuffed with beans and flour paste, but this was not voted a success. Having sufficient sugar they made some candy one evening and this disappeared as if by magic.

On Wednesday morning Whopper, who had been outside to bring in some firewood, came rus.h.i.+ng to the cabin in great excitement.

"Somebody has been at our game! Some person or a wild animal!"

"How do you know?"

"The meat is gone! Only a few bones remain!"

"Then it must have been a wildcat or a bear!" exclaimed Snap.

All ran to the spot where the meat had been hung up. The tree was scratched up and there were curious marks in the damp soil under it.

"A bear or a wildcat sure," said Snap, after an inspection.

"Let us go after it---whatever it is," answered the doctor's son.

"Maybe the ghost stole it," suggested Giant, but n.o.body accepted this idea.

A hasty breakfast was had, and the boys were on the point of going on a hunt when there came a call from the lake. A man in a canoe was paddling toward them.

"It's Jed Sanborn!" cried Snap, and he was right. Soon the old hunter had beached his craft and was shaking hands with them.