Perhaps an hour had gone thus when he heard a slight sound.
"Something is moving over yonder, sure enough," he said in an undertone.
He sat perfectly still, his eyes fastened on the point where the rustling in the bushes had caught his attention.
Presently he could see the dim outline of a huge bulk.
"It"s no animal, but a man or boy creeping up," he concluded, after watching this for another minute.
Then a head was cautiously raised. Frank felt glad that he had taken the pains to sit in the shadows, where he could not be easily seen. Higher arose the head.
"H"m! So it"s the farmer, all right, bent on taking poor Jed home. He seems to be a very persistent old codger. Just wait, and I"ll give him the scare of his life. Bulls won"t be in it," muttered the watcher.
He moved his gun up inch by inch, so that he could discharge it at the proper time. Not that he had the slightest intention of doing Dobson the least bodily injury, beyond the fright that an unexpected shot would bring.
Back of the moving figure of the farmer he could see a second form.
"His man Friday. Well, I"ll include him in the performance, too,"
thought Frank, who was always generous by nature.
Sometimes the best-laid plans go wrong. The farmer doubtless believed he could enter the camp in this brazen way, hunt around until he found Jed, and then force the poor lad to accompany him home.
Frank, on his part, expected presently to take part in the performance, and was even figuring on how high the farmer would jump when the flash of the gun came, accompanied with the crash of the discharge.
Both were counting without their host, for it seemed that there was still another element that meant to be taken into consideration.
Just as Frank had his finger pressing on the trigger, and felt sure that it was time for him to let go, there was an unearthly shriek from the direction of the rise to the right of the camp. Looking hastily that way, Frank saw a sight that instantly riveted his attention, and caused his nerveless finger to fall away from the trigger of his gun.
"The ghost walks! And just in time to get a large and select audience!"
he exclaimed, as he saw a shining figure rear up in full view, glistening just as Will had said, with a phosph.o.r.escent glow, and one hand waving in a commanding manner, as though urging upon the trespa.s.sers the necessity of a quick departure.
Loud cries attested to the fact that Farmer Dobson and his hired man had received the shock of their lives.
CHAPTER XIII
A CHANGE OF BASE
"Talk to me about your ghastly specters, will you!" shouted a voice, as heads began to be thrust out of the several tents.
"I told you he"d come again to warn us!" chattered Bluff between rattling teeth.
"Oh! Please wait! My apparatus won"t work! There, now!" And a sudden flash announced that Will had finally succeeded in his heart"s dearest wish, and snapped off a picture of the terrible ghost of Oak Ridge.
The fierce illumination only added new terror to the flying feet of the two men. They could be heard crashing through the forest, howling with fear, and anger, as in the darkness they collided with sundry trees that were unseen in their blind haste.
"It"s gone!" announced Jerry.
"All right. I"ve caught my view, just the same. Frank! Where are you?"
whooped the exultant artist, capering around in his pajamas, as he hugged his camera to his breast.
"Here," answered the sentry, appearing at that juncture.
"A pretty guard, you are, old boy, to let all those chaps creep up on the camp while we slept in unconscious innocence," said Bluff, in pretended indignation.
"Unconscious innocence is good! Tell me about that, will you? Take a good look at Bluff, fellows. He"s expecting to sprout wings soon."
"I was awake, and watching all the time, boys, believe me. I saw the farmer as he crept up, followed by his man. He lifted his head and looked into the camp, no doubt trying to figure which of the two tents sheltered Jed. It was my intention to shoot into the air suddenly, and then hold him up while the rest of you piled out to surround them; but something I hadn"t counted on took the chance out of my hands."
"Do you think they"ll live through the experience?" asked Will.
"Meaning the two countrymen? Oh, I suppose so, if they don"t dash out their brains against the trees as they run," laughed Frank.
"What do you think of the ghost now, Frank?" asked Will eagerly.
"I"m still considering," returned the other, nodding his head sagely.
"But do you still hang to your opinion that it"s some person playing a part?"
"More than ever."
"And trying to scare us out of this region for some purpose or other?"
"Most undoubtedly," was Frank"s immediate reply.
"And you don"t think it could be that Peters crowd?" went on Bluff.
"They wouldn"t be equal to a thing like this. As I said before, it is the work of a clever schemer. The object is all that puzzles me," said Frank.
"You watched the thing carry on pretty closely, I suppose?" ventured Will.
"Had my eyes glued on it every second that it stood there, waving its long arms in such a theatrical fashion. Now, I can remember reading once how a man played ghost in a haunted house, and when he was caught it turned out that he wanted to buy the place, and that was his way of depressing the price."
"Talk to me about your bulls and bears, that way of knocking down prices takes the cake!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Jerry, greatly amused.
"Wall Street wasn"t in it with that man; but I think they sent him to jail for trespa.s.s or something," continued Frank.
"But there"s no house up here, so that couldn"t be his game," remarked Bluff.
"Now I remember hearing my father tell about a man who carried on this way once to scare people away from a certain locality. Come to find out afterward, he was boring for oil, and believed he had made a ten-strike," remarked Jerry.
"No oil around this section, that I ever heard of, so that explanation fails to hold good," laughed Frank. "Next!"
"It"s my turn now. I never heard of anything that might cover the ground, but an idea came to me when I was thinking the old thing over, and perhaps you fellows might care to hear it," said Bluff.
"Listen to the long-winded lawyer talk! Of course we want to hear.