by Morgan Scott
CHAPTER XV.
THE MYSTERIOUS LIGHT.
When they ventured again to look toward the island the white figures haddisappeared; but presently they heard, for the fourth time, theblood-chilling howling of the dog, which ended in a sinking, quaveringwail that, to their overwrought imagination, resembled a dying moan ofagony.
Not until they were approaching the camp and the cheerful fire whichgleamed welcomingly across the water did they exchange further words.The firelight shone on the snowy tent, and they could see their friendsmoving about. Then it was that Piper dogmatically asserted:
“There are no such things as ghosts.”
“Perhaps that’s so,” admitted Sile, with a touch of resentment; “but I’dcertainly like to know what it was we heard and saw.”
“Think we’d better say anything about it?”
“If yeou’ve got the idee that I ain’t goin’ to tell the other fellers,there’s another guess comin’ to yeou.”
“They’ll chaff us.”
“I don’t give a hoot for that. I’m goin’ to tell ’em the plain, straighttruth, and they can chaff as much as they please.”
One of the boys came out to the extremity of the point, cupped his handsto his mouth and sent a halloo across the water. His figure made a blacksilhouette against the firelight.
“That’s Grant,” said Crane. “They’re gettin’ nervous abaout us. Oh! ho!Here we are! We’re comin’!”
“Well, it’s time you were,” flung back the Texan. “Hike along some.”
Grant and Springer met them as the prow of the canoe grounded on thesandy beach.
“Wha-what luck?” asked Phil.
“I got one,” answered Sile.
“Only one? Well, what the dickens kept you so long?”
“Only one,” returned the successful angler defiantly; “but yeou waittill yeou see him. He’s a baby. Come on to the fire and look him over.We’ve got a heap to tell ye, too.”
Silently Piper followed them to the fire, where Crane proudly displayedhis catch, swelling with importance as he listened to the admiringcomments of the three lads who had remained behind.
“What did you get, Sleuth?” asked Stone, after stooping to turn a bigbrown loaf of frying pan bread, which had been placed on edge andpropped up before a glowing bed of coals.
“Nothing,” answered Piper, who had flung himself wearily upon theground. “We only had one strike all the time we were out, and it wasjust Crane’s luck to get that and land his fish.”
“I’m sus-surprised,” said Springer. “Why, I thought you——”
“Now cut that out!” snapped Piper sharply. “Can it! If there are no fishto be caught, how is anyone going to catch them?”
“There must be plenty of fish in the lake,” said Grant.
“Oh, yes, likely there is,” returned the disgruntled angler; “but theyweren’t swarming around us. It was after sunset when Crane hooked thatone, and it was pretty near pitch dark before we dipped him. No time tofish after that.”
“Alas! it’s true,” sighed Springer—“it’s true that the finny denizens ofthe water take to dry land when they learn that Pipe is after them.”
“Think up something original and new,” advised Sleuth. “You’ve worn thatgag out.”
“Anyway,” said Ben pacifyingly, “if we don’t get any more, this bigfellow should provide a bite for us all. You didn’t return skunked,fellows; you had some excitement.”
“Excitement!” said Crane, eager to tell of their remarkable experience.“I should say we did! Didn’t yeou fellers hear a dog howlin’ in thedirection of Spirit Island a while ago?”
“In the direction of Spirit Island?” said Grant quickly. “Yes, we heardit, but we reckoned the creature was over on the opposite shore.”
“Well, it wasn’t,” asserted Sile; “it was right aout there on thatisland. Guess we know, for we was nigh enough to jump ashore.”
“On the island!” cried the boys who had remained at the camp, looking atone another questioningly.
“Are you sus-sure, Sile?” asked Springer.
“Yeou bet I be. Sleuth knows. Ask him.”
Piper nodded. “There’s no doubt about it,” he declared solemnly.
“That wasn’t all, either,” added Crane. “We saw something.”
While they listened in wonderment, he told of the two white figuresresembling a dog and a man.
“Oh, say, what do you tut-take us for?” snapped Phil. “You and Sleuthhave been fuf-faking up a fine story, haven’t you?”
“I told you, Crane,” said Piper, with a shake of his head—“I told youthey wouldn’t believe it.”
“Don’t care whether they do or not. It’s the straight goods, by jinks!We was goin’ to land on that island for a minute when we fust heard thatcritter howl, but afterwards Sleuthy didn’t have no stomach for landin’.Scat! Say, his teeth rattled jest like dice in a box.”
“Now,” flung back Piper in hot resentment, “I knew you’d say that, andyou were the one that was scared in the first place.”
“If your story is true,” said Grant, “I opine you were both somedisturbed; and this adds interest to the yarn of the fanciful Mr.Granger. What do you think about that now, Sleuth?”
“Piffle,” pronounced Piper. “Anyone knows there are no such things asspooks.”
“Then what did you see on the island?”
“We saw two white things that resembled a dog and a man. What they wereI’m not ready to assert at this time.”
“Whatever they were,” said Rodney, “I’m for visiting Spirit Islandtomorrow.”
The boys had plenty to talk about all through supper, at which Piper andCrane demonstrated that their unusual experience had not dulled the edgeof their appetites.
After supper Crane cleaned the salmon, and for a time they sat aroundchatting in the soft, warm darkness. Of them all, Piper was the only onewho seemed moody and thoughtful, ignoring the efforts of the others torally him.
Finally, growing drowsy, Grant rose, yawned and stretched his arms abovehis head, announcing that he intended to turn in. Suddenly his arms camedown with a snap and he leaned forward a little, staring out upon thelake.
“Look here, fellows,” he said, a touch of suppressed excitement in hisvoice, “what’s this? Tell me what you see away yonder in the directionof Spirit Island?” He had lifted his arm and was pointing.
They sprang to his side and stood in a group, staring over the placid,night-shrouded waters of Phantom Lake, every one of them feeling hisnerves tingle and thrill.
“It’s a lul-light!” cried Springer. “See it? There it is!”
“A light,” echoed Piper, “and it’s on Spirit Island! There, it’s gone!”
They had all seen the light, which seemed to stare at them like a hugefiery eye that suddenly winked and vanished. Breathless and in deadsilence, they waited, and in a moment or two the glaring eye shone forthagain for a twinkling and vanished. A dozen times this was repeatedbefore the light disappeared and was seen no more, although theycontinued to watch for it for a full half hour.
“Well,” said Piper at last, “perhaps you’ll believe what we told you,now.”
“A howling dog, ghostly figures and a mysterious vanishing light,”muttered the Texan. “This sure is all very fine and interesting. Yes,fellows, we’ll visit that island tomorrow.”
Presently, when they went to bed and tried to sleep, Piper was not themost restless one among them. On the previous night, after disposing ofthe sleeping bag, he had rolled and groaned while his companions snoozedcomfortably and serenely, but now he heard first one and then anotherstirring on the bough beds, and it was a long time before the breathingof any boy indicated that he had succeeded in cajoling slumber. Evenafter he was asleep Crane tossed and muttered incoherently. Piper wasjust drifting off when Sile uttered a sudden yell, which was followed bya tremendous commotion.
“I’ve got ye!” cried Cran
e wildly. “I’ve got ye!”
“Lemme go! Take your hooks off my windpipe!” wheezed the voice ofSpringer. “Help, fellows! Sile has gone loony! He’s ch-choking me!”
In the darkness there was a scramble to separate the strugglingbed-fellows, and, with remarkable forethought, Piper, keeping away fromthe mix-up, struck a match and lighted the lantern. The light revealedGrant clutching Crane and struggling to hold him, while Stone had a gripon Springer. The latter was protesting.
“Let up!” he entreated. “I’m not dud-doing anything; it was Sile. Hegave a yell right in my ear that near sus-split the drum, and then hestraddled me and began shutting my wind off.”
Crane seemed a bit dazed. “I’m all right naow,” he protested in evidentshame. “I guess I was dreaming. Confaound them things on Spirit Island,anyhaow!”
Piper leered at his late angling companion. “You’re a brave one!” hescoffed. “You wanted to land on the island, didn’t you? You wasn’t a bitafraid, were you?”
“Shut up,” growled Crane. “Put that lantern aout, and we’ll go tosleep.”
“Oh, yes, we’ll have a nice time going to sleep, with you cutting up. Iwas just snoozing beautifully when you yelled like a wild Indian.”
After a time the boys quieted down again, and, with the lanternextinguished, they fell asleep, one by one, until only Sleuth, stillresentful because he had been awakened, was denied the relaxation ofslumber. A long time he lay seeking it, with the others breathingheavily and regularly, and some of them snoring. Once more his ears wereacute to all the mysterious night sounds of the woods, and, though hesucceeded in dozing a little, he awoke again and again, until it seemedthat the night had stretched itself to the length of a year and morninghad somehow become side-tracked.
At last in a period of wakefulness he was possessed by a great desire totake another look toward Spirit Island, and, making as little noise aspossible, he crept out of his blankets and stole to the front of thetent, which had been left open to admit air.
The moon, rising in the east, shed a pale light upon the bosom of thelake. By this light he could see the distant mountains outlined againstthe sky, and it was not impossible, even, to perceive a dark spot in themidst of the lake, where lay the haunted island. There it was, black andsilent and soundless, with no mystic light flashing from its shores andno howling dog to disturb the serenity of the tranquil night.Nevertheless, there seemed to be something eerie and awesome pervadingthe very atmosphere and made doubly acute by the absence of any unusualsight or sound.
“If it isn’t really haunted,” whispered Sleuth to himself, “it ought tobe. A commonplace solution of the mystery would be a greatdisappointment to me.”
Then he returned to his bed and once more besought sleep.
