Young Hunters of the Lake Part 38

"No, indeed!" cried Giant. "It cost us too much trouble to get a shot at him."

"Wonder what became of the other bear?" mused Whopper.

"Oh, he ran away," said Shep. "More than likely we'll never see him again."

"If we could find a place that was half dry, I'd be in favor of staying on the mountain all night," went on the leader of the club.

"We could build a fire and broil those quail Giant shot. We'd have a bird apiece, and that would make a good supper, with what is left of the lunch."

"The thing of it is, to find the place," put in Giant.

"Let us hunt around a little."

They moved around with caution, for they wanted to keep as dry as possible. At last they reached a low, overhanging cliff, well sheltered from the rain. Here were some dry brushwood and a number of cedar trees, and they speedily built a roaring fire and began to broil the birds Giant had brought down.

It was not a particularly inviting spot, but it was better than being out in the open, and they made the best of the situation.

They dried their wet coats and took their time eating supper, and none of them thought of retiring until nearly nine o'clock. By that time the storm had cleared away completely and the stars were showing themselves in the blue vault of heaven.

Fearful that some wild beasts might be around, the young hunters resolved to take turns at standing guard. The campfire was kept burning, for n.o.body wished to remain in such a locality in utter darkness.

Whopper remained on guard first, and about midnight he was relieved by Snap. The leader of the club had just put some fresh wood on the fire when he heard a strange sound some distance from the shelter. Then came a mocking laugh.

"Ha! ha! He is dead! I am dead! Who will bury me?" came to his ears.

"The ghostly voice!" he muttered to himself. He gave a sudden s.h.i.+ver and then steadied himself. "I am going to find out what it means, or know the reason why!" And he gripped his gun tightly.

"Did you speak, Snap?" questioned Whopper, who was just turning in on the pile of dry leaves the leader of the club had vacated.

"Yes---no---I don't know. I just heard something," was the unsatisfactory reply.

"What did you hear?" And now Whopper sat up.

"I heard that ghostlike voice. It was---There it goes again!"

Both boys listened and heard a hideous laugh. Then came the words, repeated many times:

"I am dead! He is dead! Who will bury me? See the lights! I am dead. Beware of the mountain! He is dead! The mountain will kill you! See the lights! Who will bury me? Ha ha!" And then the strange voice died away in the distance.

"What on earth can it be?" gasped Whopper. His face was deadly pale.

"Don't ask me," answered Snap.

"What's up?" questioned Giant, who was a light sleeper, and the sound of his voice awoke the doctor's son. Soon he and the small youth were acquainted with what had occurred.

"Where did the voice go to?" asked Shep.

"It seemed to fade away in the air."

"Why didn't you take a shot at it?"

"How can you shoot something you don't see?" demanded Snap, half indignantly. "Just let me spot that ghost and I'll show you what I'll do!"

"Let us keep quiet," suggested Whopper. "Perhaps it will come back."

All sat down around the fire, for further sleep was out of the question. Thus an hour went by, but nothing came to disturb them.

"Looks as if the ghost business was finished for to-night," remarked Shep, glancing around down the mountainside. Then he leaped to his feet. "Oh!"

"What did you see?" demanded the others, leaping up also.

"The ghost!"

"Where?"

"There---down among those tall trees."

"I don't see anything," said Snap, after a careful look.

"It is gone now. Oh, what a looking thing!" The doctor's son was breathing heavily.

"Didn't you imagine it?" asked Giant.

"No, I saw it as plain as day."

"Yellow or white?"

"Yellow, and it had red horns, just as Ham Spink said."

"Which way was it moving?"

"It seemed to be moving towards us, but it disappeared behind some rocks."

After this the four boys were silent, straining their eyes and ears to see or hear the ghost.

"There it is!" fairly shouted Whopper, a minute later.

There was no need to utter the words, for the strange apparition was now in full view of all. It resembled the body of a man, and glowed with a strange yellow light, while the horns of red waved menacingly toward them.

"Away! away! away!" came a deep voice. "Go away from the mountain and the lake!" And then, raising a warning finger and pointing directly at the four young hunters, the ghostly, figure suddenly moved to one side and vanished!

CHAPTER x.x.x

THE SECRET OF THE MYSTERIOUS VOICE

"What do you think of that?"