med right at it and it wasn't touched, I'd know
it was a ghost for sure."

"That's true, but I reckon when you came to fire on that ghost your
hand would be so shaky that you couldn't hit the side of a barn,"
answered the old hermit. "After I saw that spirit I felt like I
had a chill. I am not going to stay up here another night---it's
bad enough to be here in the daytime."

The old hermit remained with the boys two hours, and then embarked
in his canoe and was soon out of sight down the stream leading to
Firefly Lake. The young hunters watched him out of sight with some
regret. He had told them he did not think anybody was now on the
lake but themselves.

"Well, if we really are here alone we ought not to be troubled by
anybody," was Shep's comment. "Still, it does seem tremendously
lonely."

"Just listen to the stillness," remarked Whopper. "You can cut it
out in chunks!"

"No use of listening---I can feel it," answered Giant. "But what's
the use of acting like that?"

"You'll give us all the blues. Let's be cheerful," and he began
to whistle a merry tune, and one after another the others joined
in. Then they started to fix up the tent for the night and cut
a quantity of wood for the fire, and this put them in better spirits.
For supper they had some fine fish, baking them to a turn on
some hot stones, in a fashion Jed Sanborn had taught them. They
also had hot biscuits---the first since leaving home.

"I think somebody ought to remain on guard after this," said Shep,
when it came time to retire.

"We don't know what to expect in such a place as this. There are
the ghosts, and the snakes, and unknown wild beasts, and other things
we know nothing of."

"I am willing," answered Snap. "We can divide the night into watches
of two hours and a half each, and draw sticks for turns," and so it
was arranged.

It must be confessed that the boys were a trifle timid that night,
and those that tried to sleep had hard work to close their eyes.
But no alarm came, and when the sun came up all felt relieved.

"We may stay up here for weeks and never see or hear of that ghost,"
said Snap. "I don't believe it shows itself very often."

"Oh, I don't suppose it appears and disappears by the clock, like
a cuckoo," said Whopper. "It will most likely lay low and scare
us to death when we least expect it."

It was the middle of the forenoon before they were ready to embark
on a tour of the lake. They decided