Had it been summer-time when they made this pilgrimage to the woods near the old Cartaret house they would have expected to hear the chirping of crickets in the lush grass; the shrill call of the katydid answering his mate, and prophesying an early frost; and perhaps other sounds as well—the croak of the bull-frog, the loud cry of the whippoorwill, or the hooting of owls perched on some dead tree.
At the tail end of November, with most of the dead leaves strewn on the ground, and the trees standing there bare of foliage, these familiar sounds were hushed; and only a somber silence lay upon the land, which was ten times more apt to produce nervousness on the part of the listening boys than any combination of well known night cries.
Now and then some one would sigh, or move slightly; but beyond that they maintained the utmost silence; which showed how well drilled they were as scouts, and obedient to orders.
Their senses were under such a tremendous strain that it actually seemed to Toby and perhaps Lil Artha, that they would have given a great deal for the privilege of shouting at the top of their voices a few times; but they did not attempt such a foolish remedy.
Lil Artha did make a slight movement after a long time, and as the others fastened their anxious eyes upon him they saw that he had gently taken out the little nickel dollar watch he carried. Bending forward so that a ray of moonlight might fall on the face of the time-piece, Lil Artha consulted it to learn if his suspicions were correct.
When he glanced around and saw that he was the center of observation, he just nodded his head up and down several times. In that fashion he informed the others that it was fully midnight; which was what they were so anxious to know.
So far there had been no sign of a walking specter. George was getting over his fears. He even commenced to shrug his shoulders every time he saw one of the others looking his way. That was George's mute protest against all this foolishness; of course he had known that it would end this way right from the start, and had only agreed to come along to please Elmer, as well as show them that ghosts had no terrors for any sensible scout.
"'Sh!"
A thrill passed over every fellow as Elmer gave vent to this warning hiss. They looked at him instinctively in order to learn the reason for it, and found that the scout master did not seem to be staring out of the open window as before. On the contrary he was intently focussing his gaze down the wide hall toward the group of shadows that clustered at the further end.
And as their eyes also roved in this direction once again did that cold hand seem to grip every heart. Something white was moving there, beyond the shadow of a doubt! They watched it advance, and then retreat methodically, systematically, as though it might be a part of a well-oiled machine.