"'Case he done hab a tail, suh!" cried the other, triumphantly.
Mr. Garrabrant smiled, and gave Elmer, who was close at his elbow all the while, a knowing wink.
"Well," he remarked, "that tail business would seem to settle one thing, Ginger. Unless this turns out to be the long-sought Missing Link, our visitor could hardly have been a human being. He was evidently an animal of some sort. Get that idea of the Old Nick out of your head. Listen to me, Ginger, and try to remember; did he say anything to you?"
"Yas, sah, he did, lots!" answered the black man, eagerly.
"Suppose you tell us what it was, then?" suggested the scout master, quickly.
"Dar's wha' yuh got me, Mistah Grabant," replied the other, reluctantly. "Yuh see, suh, I nebber did git much schoolin' down in Virginny, whah I was bawn an' brought up. Nebber did go to college an' larn de dead langwidges."
"Oh! then this creature talked to you in Greek, or possibly Hebrew, did he? In other words, he chattered in an unknown tongue! Well, how about you, Oscar; did you happen to catch a glimpse of Ginger's uninvited guest?" and Mr. Garrabrant turned suddenly on Red, as though wishing to make positive that this were not a clever trick he might have been playing on the terrified black man.
"No, sir," came the ready response. "I was busy inside when I heard Ginger give that war whoop! I thought he might have burned himself at the fire, and I hurt my game pin like fun when I tried to run out. All I saw was the coon down on his marrowbones asinging that same tune about the 'debble.' That's all I know, sir, give you my word for it."
"All right, I believe you, Oscar," continued the scout master, plainly disturbed by this new mystery that had descended upon the camp, yet pretending to make light of it because he did not wish to alarm the boys under his charge. "And now, Ginger, can you point out to me just the spot where your strange friend vanished?"
"'Deed an' 'deed he ain't no friend ob mine, suh, gibes yuh my word foh dat," replied the other, solemnly. "Right ober yandah, suh, whah dem bushes hangs low. An' I declars tuh Moses, suh, I don't know right now whedder de ugly ole sinner he jes' step intuh de bushes, or go up in a cloud ob fire like de prophet ob old."