In silence they both kept their positions—at least Ted hoped that the man was keeping his, and as for the boy he never moved a muscle, but listened with straining ears. No sound of a footstep or anything else reached him, the woods were silent and as far as sound went Ted might just as well have been in another world. But he knew that the man was there near him and the feeling was not a happy one.
It was always possible for him to call out and explain his presence there, trusting to luck that the man before him was no madman and that his explanation would be accepted on its face value. But the actions of the man were so stealthy, so mysterious, that they could not possibly be honest ones. For any man to bend forward and blow out a lantern in one, swift decisive breath was worthy of comment by the most unsuspicious, and it would be reasonable to suppose that explanations would not be accepted by a man engaged in the type of business that this was employed in.
So he waited for what seemed an age and when the situation had become almost unbearable he heard a stone roll and a twig snap some distance away from the spring, conclusive proofs that the man with the lantern was stealing away. Other sounds, accidental but informing, came to him in the distance which the man was trying to put between himself and the boy and Ted felt a sense of relief.
“But he knows that I am here,” he realized. “He must be up to something so shady that he doesn’t want to see anyone, no matter who they may be. Maybe he is one of the fellows who gives this camp the reputation of being haunted, and I don’t wonder that anyone would think of such a thing if they saw him dodge around with his lamp. I hope he doesn’t show up and give the boys a scare, because some of them are pretty young.”
Guided solely by a sense of direction, Ted found the path and located his car in the same spot where he had left it. A rapid inspection convinced him that the little machine had not been harmed and he got in, starting his engine and leaving the spot as rapidly as possible.
“I must get home,” he thought. “My folks will be worrying and I don’t want them to do that. Tomorrow I must hunt up Buck and tell him what I saw out there. I think that he will agree with me that we ought to keep it quiet.”
Ted’s folks were beginning to get worried but his appearance reassured them and he gave the excuse that certain things about the camping spot had interested him so much that he had remained at the place longer than he had intended to. Conscious that he had told the truth and not wishing to alarm them with any further details, he retired for the night and enjoyed a good sleep.
On the following day he and Buck attended the local Young Men’s Bible Class in their church and on the way back they discussed the things which Ted had related to his chum on the way to the church. Buck was unable to figure anything out and he agreed that they should make it their own secret.
“We’ll take a look at that old house when we get camping there,” he said. “Maybe when we see what it looks like in the daylight we will be able to tell something. Whatever we do, we mustn’t allow the boys to know what you saw and we’ll have to laugh down any silly stories that are brought up.”
“When the gentleman with the lantern sees that there is a camp around he’ll probably stay away,” replied Ted.