The Outdoor Chums In The Forest Part 23

"A flare? Do you mean by that a waving lantern or a torch?" asked his chum.

"A torch, most likely. I tried to make out whether it was only being carried by some one who pa.s.sed behind bunches of trees from time to time, or if it could be a signal of some sort, but was unable to make up my mind up to the time it disappeared and returned no more."

"A signal? Who would be making one, do you suppose?" asked Bluff uneasily.

"H'm! It might be the ghost, you know. Then, again, perhaps some of that miserable Peters tribe are still hanging around, bent on making life a burden to us. But I finally concluded that the chances were it must have come from some member of the sheriff's posse, trying to let others know about some discovery he may have made up there," returned Frank.

In the case of Jerry he might have said more, but, as yet, Bluff had not been taken into full confidence, and knew next to nothing about the relations supposed to exist between the ghost and Andy Lasher.

"Well, I'll promise to keep an eye on that dark region up yonder. If anything happens that looks serious I'm going to wake you up, Frank,"

went on the other.

"I wish you would, old fellow," and with a yawn Frank crawled into his cozy nook, where his blanket awaited him.

He knew no more until morning came, and the sound of voices outside aroused him. Looking out through the front of the tent, he could see the slight mists of the new-born day rising off the lake, as happens very frequently, no matter how high the alt.i.tude of the water.

"That's a mighty pretty picture for a fellow to see when he tumbles out of bed, and it's me for a dip and a rub-down before anything else."

So saying, he jumped out, made a dash for the water, and was in with a headlong leap.

"Hey! Who's that taking his bath at such an unseemly hour?" called the voice of Bluff, and soon afterward, with various grunts, he poked his head out.

"You don't seem as chipper as usual," remarked Jerry, who was sitting by the fire, coaxing the blaze to resume operations for the morning meal.

"Well, what would you expect after such a strenuous day? I didn't sleep as well as I might, either. That experience haunts a fellow," muttered Bluff.

"How about you, Will?" continued Jerry, as another head appeared.

"I guess I'm all right, only a little sore around the waist. When a fellow is nearly pulled in two he must expect to feel it a day or so afterward," was the frank reply.

"Then I'd advise you not to take your regular dip this morning," went on Jerry.

"Not me! I've had enough of water for several days, I reckon. Every time my feet touched bottom I'd be s.h.i.+vering, thinking of the soft feel of that plagued quicksand. But Frank seems to be enjoying his bath all right."

"Oh, Frank can do nearly anything. And now I'm going to join him, for here comes Adolphus to look after things."

Neither Frank nor Jerry cared to stay in more than a few minutes. The water was very cold, and a dip was really all they needed to start the blood to bounding through their veins and set them up for the day.

"Nothing happened while you were on deck, I suppose, Jerry?" asked Frank, as they splashed about and tried to keep from having their teeth chatter with the chill of the water.

"Not a blessed thing. Seems to be my luck, lately, to choose the wrong time to meet up with things," grumbled the other.

"Well, you've had your turn in the past. I remember when it seemed as though everything was coming your way, and the rest of us had to take a back seat. In the long run matters even up, you know," admonished Frank.

"Yes, I guess you're right there. That was a great day and night I had when we were camped up in the woods above Lumber Run. Things happened then, all right, what with my getting that deer, being treed by the wild dogs, afterward sniffed at by a bear in whose hollow tree-trunk I had taken refuge from the storm; and last, but not least, rescuing poor Andy from under the fallen tree. I hang up my hat. It will be a long time before any one of you beat that record," smiled Jerry.

"I'm going to get out. A little of this bath goes a long way with me, especially so early in the morning."

"Ugh! That's what I say, too!" exclaimed Jerry, making for the sh.o.r.e.

Already the tantalizing odor of bacon was beginning to permeate the air.

Adolphus seemed to be right there on the job, and he could be trusted to get up a meal calculated to tempt the appet.i.te of even a jaded business man in the woods, not to speak of five hungry boys, always ready to eat.

Frank was just finis.h.i.+ng dressing in his tent when he heard the others uttering exclamations of surprise outside.

"What's the matter?" he demanded aloud.

"Come out and see for yourself," answered Jerry.

This, of course, piqued his curiosity, and he immediately issued forth.

He found the others cl.u.s.tered around Jerry, who was holding up what looked like a piece of rather dirty paper, on which something had been written, or rather printed in capital letters.

Frank joined the group, and as he glanced at the doc.u.ment he found it to be what might be called a warning, reading like this:

_NOTICE!_

_Better leave here at once, or it will be bad for all of you!_

CHAPTER XX

A MORNING WITH THE BLACK Ba.s.s

"Where did you get this, Jerry?" asked Frank after he had read it.

"It was fastened to the trunk of a tree over there--that big oak."

"Now that you mention it, I can remember seeing something white there early last night. I thought it was only one of your jokes, and declined to investigate," was the comment of Frank.

"That's a point worth knowing. It proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that it was pinned there before we retired, or shortly after, at any rate," remarked Bluff.

"Talk to me about your Sherlock Holmes and his deductions! Did he ever do any better than that pard of mine? It's the lawyer blood showing early in life, just as Will here, when he can forget his old photography for a minute, is itching to bind up somebody's wounds, simply because his father used to be a doctor, and he has inherited a bit of his skill."

"Who do you think put it there?" Frank continued.

"Why, that blooming old ghost, to be sure," was Jerry's prompt reply.

"Looks like a schoolboy's writing," suggested Will sagaciously.

"Perhaps it is," said Frank, looking at Jerry and nodding.

"But you said before you thought that Peters crowd had gone back to town!"

"And I still think so; but you forget that there was another boy up in this region lately, Will."

"You mean Andy Lasher?" exclaimed the one addressed, quickly.