"Oh, are you going right away?" asked Alice, dolefully.
"This very afternoon!" replied Miss Phillips. "I'm sorry, Alice, but the arrangements are all made. Anyhow, we'll soon have another!"
The leaves were falling, and the air was quite sharp; the Scouts wore heavy sweaters and woolen caps to protect them from the cold.
"We'll look for nuts," said Miss Phillips. "Remember our lesson on edible plants?"
"Yes, indeed!" they all cried. "But you didn't tell us anything about nuts."
"We'll make it a game," answered the Captain. "Each girl who finds a new variety will get a point. Whoever has the greatest number of points by the time we reach the haunted house, wins!"
"How are we to know the haunted house, Captain?" asked Doris. "I've never seen it. Is there a story about it?"
"There is really no way of telling that the house is haunted, Doris; it looks like any other house, except that it is larger, and was once upon a time much finer than any of the other houses for miles around. I have seen it on a number of occasions, and I have heard the legend that is still told about it; but I've never been inside, so I'm rather curious to see what it's like. That's why I suggested that we have our suppers there."
"But does anyone live there?" asked Lily.