When Ned Blake and Dick Somers arrived at the Coleson house the next afternoon, they listened to a tale beside which Sam’s story was colorless by comparison. Dave Wilbur, who had brought the relief guard in his convenient flivver, was inclined to be skeptical.
“Use your bean!” he urged, as Beals and Rogers set forth the details of their terrifying experience. “You two are getting as loony as Sam! You probably heard something that scared you and then imagined you saw a whole lot in one flash of lightning!”
“I’ll bet you five dollars that you don’t dare stay here alone tonight!” rasped Charlie Rogers, wrathfully.
“Can’t do it,” drawled Dave. “I’ve got half a day’s work to do yet before sundown. Hop in here now, you bewitched watchmen! Let’s get going!”
Left to themselves, Ned and Dick carefully examined the ground where had occurred the alleged ghostly happenings so vividly described by Beals and Rogers.
“It’s mighty funny that if there actually was somebody out here between the house and the woods, he or she or it didn’t leave a single track of any kind,” mused Ned as he surveyed the open space with puzzled eyes. “Here’s over thirty yards of sand from the house to the hard ground near the woods and not a mark on it, except our own tracks!”
“Well, if the same thing happens again tonight, we’ll try to have a better look at it than Red and Fatty could get in one flash of lightning,” declared Dick. “I’m hoping it stays clear after the moon comes up.”
Dick’s wish was granted only in part, however, for after climbing above the line of trees, the moon was covered much of the time by drifting clouds, through which it peeped at infrequent intervals. The boys had decided to pass the night outside the house, as this would allow them to observe a much more extensive part of the premises than could be seen from inside. The spot selected for their sentry post was a thicket of oak, from which they had an unobstructed view of the stretch of sand between the end of the house and the woods. At intervals one or the other crept from this leafy covert and scouted entirely around the building, moving with caution and scanning every possible approach to the house. Returning from one of these rounds, Dick reported the lights of a vessel out upon the lake.
“Let’s take a look at her,” suggested Ned, and together they walked down to the beach.
The vessel seemed to be moving in a southwesterly direction, and they could see the ruddy gleam of her port light.