CHAPTER IX
FRANK TRIES TO SOLVE THE RIDDLE
Frank and Jerry gazed at each other in utter consternation.
"Tell me about that, will you? The ghost walked, and while we were awayvisiting, too! Was there ever such beastly luck?" groaned the latter, indejection.
"But what's this about Bluff? You say he fell over. Was he struck withanything? And where's Jed?" asked Frank, eager to reach a conclusion.
"I'm here, all right," said a voice, and the bound boy came crawling outof a dense thicket close by. He was shivering, and his face looked whiteand drawn, as with fear.
"Bluff fell right over there by the bear, Frank. See! There he is now,getting up again. Thank goodness! He isn't dead, anyway!" cried Will.
Frank sprang to the side of Bluff.
"What ails you, old fellow? Are you badly hurt?" he asked.
"I don't just know. Seemed as if the sky fell on me; but I reckon I musthave banged my head against this tree here in my excitement. I nevernoticed the pesky tree, I declare. All I could see was that terriblething standing there and waving its awful bony hand. Gee! I was scared!I admit it, boys. Never got such a shock in my whole life," said Bluff,rubbing his forehead, where quite a large lump told of contact with somehard substance.
"Do you really mean to say that the ghost appeared to both of you whilewe were away?" asked Frank, hardly able to believe his ears, and lookingto see if the others could be putting up some joke on Jerry and himself;but that lump was genuine, all right, and the look of pain on Bluff'sface meant sincerity.
"Sure he was here. He kept waving us away all the time," declared Will.
"Evidently, then, from what you say, he does not like campers on hispreserves, and would warn us to go home. H'm! That is something to beconsidered when trying to understand this riddle. Did the ghost speak atall?"
Bluff looked inquiringly at Will.
"If it did, I didn't hear it. I just gave a yell as I saw Bluff keelover, and rolled back behind this log, where I cowered till I heardFrank call. Oh! what a chance I lost to snapshot a real, genuineghost!" And Will shook his head with disgust over his timidity.
"I wish you had done it; then we'd have something tangible to work on.As it is, we hardly know where we stand. The evidence of a frightenedperson is hardly enough to prove anything," mused Frank.
"Look here! Can either of you describe the ghost?" demanded Jerry.
Again Will and Bluff exchanged mournful glances.
"Not so you could understand it, I guess, boys. All I know is that heseemed ten feet high to me, and was all in white, that seemed toflicker, just like you see phosphorus in the dark," said the former.
Frank laughed.
"Exactly. I knew you would say that before you spoke. It is always theaccompaniment of modern ghosts. In fact, you'd think these visitors fromanother world had to come out of a volcano in order to get here, and thesulphur and phosphorus-match smell hung to their garments. How did thiswonderful thing vanish?"
Bluff shook his head.
"I wasn't in the running after that tree kicked me. Perhaps either ofthese others could say," he admitted candidly, still rubbing his bump,which Frank was getting arnica to relieve.
"Why, so far as I know, it just _went_, that's all. Now you see it, andnow you don't. But it was a sure-enough ghost, Frank. I could prove itif I hadn't fallen over that log before I thought of my camera," avowedWill.
"What strange things we see when we haven't got our gun," jeered Jerry,who did not seem to fully believe the story of the others.
"You appear to doubt their words," said Frank, turning on his chumquestioningly.
"Oh, I don't think they're faking. That pigeon egg on Bluff's noble browproves that he was scared nigh to death, and banged into a tree forkeeps; but I don't believe in ghosts. They saw something--yes, but I'vegot a little suspicion that somebody's putting up a fine old joke on thecrowd."
"Somebody, eh? Perhaps you'll go further, and state which way thosearoused suspicions of yours slant?" demanded the injured Bluff, as hebent his head so that Frank could fasten a handkerchief, saturated witharnica, about his brow.
"Well, didn't we receive plain warning, not an hour ago, that there werefellows hovering around these regions bent on playing some sort ofpractical joke on us? How about that Pet Peters crowd, eh?" said Jerryfirmly.
"Frank, do you believe that possible?" asked Will.
The one addressed looked serious.
"To tell the truth, I can't take much stock in it," he admitted finally.
"And why?" demanded Jerry aggressively.
Bluff was romping off with all the honors, and Jerry begrudged him thechance. He had won the contest the first night; the bear had fallen tohis gun just recently, in conjunction with Frank, of course; and now hehad been favored with the first sight of the wonderful ghost of OakRidge, the presence of which had stirred the entire community aroundCenterville.
Why, really, Jerry even envied his rival the possession of that lump onhis forehead, since it was a mark to signify that he had been in thebrunt of battle.
"Well, according to what the boys tell, this thing that has appeared tothem was too astonishing to be the work of those crude plotters. Pet andhis cronies can hatch up mean games, like throwing rocks into a camp,digging a pit to catch a fellow as though he were wild game, and suchpranks, but they could never think up or carry out a big thing likethis. If it is a game, depend on it, the one responsible for thedeception is a smarter man than any of our old enemies."
"A game! Do you think that ghost wasn't real?" asked Bluff.
"Of course I do. Why, if I believed in such supernatural appearances, doyou imagine for a minute I'd come up here hunting experiences? No, sir!I'd stay safe at home. Surely there must be some sort of reason for thisparty to play at ghost. I'm trying to put things together. Why shouldany one want to make people keep away from Oak Ridge?"
The others began to comprehend what Frank had in mind.
"I believe you're getting close on to its track, Frank," said Jerryconfidently.
"Perhaps, after all, we couldn't have seen very well," admitted Will,grinning as boys do when they feel that they have done a foolish thing.
"The only thing I can swear to is that it hurt," vowed Bluff.
"Well, we don't intend to go away to please Mr. Ghost. Perhaps then hemay pay us another visit," laughed Frank, tying the bandage securely.
"Hey! Leave me the sight of one eye, anyway, or I'll be doing it somemore, and have lumps all over my poor cranium. That's better, Frank. Ionly wish I had got my gun--that's what," pursued the injured member ofthe group.
"Well, I advised you before not to use it on the ghost. If it proves tobe a man, how badly you'd feel if you had shot a harmless lunatic,"observed Frank.
"I guess that's so," muttered the other, shrugging his shoulders.
"Things seem to be happening to us mighty fast this time," observedWill.
"I should remark to that effect. Here we have only been away from homeparts of two days and nights, and see how many strange things have comeabout. The raid of the camp by the Peters crowd, the finding of Jed, thecoming of the farmer, and our bold defiance, the rush of old Bruin outof his cave into our fire, and now the appearance of the ghost on thescene," declared Jerry.
"You forgot one little event--the passing of Andy Lasher," put in Frank.
"Well, I didn't think that amounted to anything worth mentioning."
"You can never tell. When the story has all been told some of the thingsthat at the time appeared very insignificant may loom up as big asmountains. But it does look as if we were bound to keep things hustlingso long as we stay up here in the Sunset Mountains," remarked Frank.
Jerry was working at a long piece of rope.
"Just let that fine, healthy spirit from the other side of the Styx showup while I'm around, that's all," he said resolutely.
"What are you making?" asked Bluff.
"Why, that cowboy who was in town last year t
aught me something aboutthrowing a rope, and I'm going to keep ready for Mr. Ghost," he avowed.
"Oh! If I could only get you in the act of lassoing him, what wouldn't Igive for the chance of a picture!" sighed Will enthusiastically.
"I see very plainly that if you keep along with us much longer there'llbe the greatest lot of freak pictures ever seen on the market. It makesme shudder to think what rowdy things my parents will see me doing,"came from Jerry.
"It'll be a long time before I get the equal of that one where you arechasing around the tree with those wild dogs in pursuit. A fellow nevercould have kinder chums than I have--so willing to pose to please me.But it's really worth while," said Will.
All of them were tired by this time, and soon preparations began,looking to a night of rest. The rubber mattresses were blown up again,and this time Jerry proved an easy winner. Bluff, of course, declaredthat his swollen forehead was the cause of his defeat, and immediatelychallenged the winner to another match on the very next night.
And while the rest slept, Frank took the first watch, wondering whetherthat remarkable ghost would condescend to pay him a visit.