The boys came to a stop in front of the old house. It was bare and gaunt, and looked lonesome. On most of the windows the sagging shutters flapped dismally. Somehow there seemed an air of mystery about the place. Sammy Brown's spirits rose.
"Fellows!" he cried, "maybe the mystery is in here!"
CHAPTER IX SAMMY'S QUEER FIND
"Ha! Ha!" laughed Mr. Jessup. "My sister was right about you, Sammy! You're always on the lookout for something odd."
Sammy was a little put out by the attention he had drawn to himself. But for all of that, he was not going to back down.
"Well," he said, "I only thought that if queer things had been going on around your camp, Mr. Jessup, maybe the person who had been taking your things would be hiding in here."
"So you're sure it's a person, and not a ghost; eh?" asked the hunter, with a smile.
"I don't believe in ghosts," declared Sammy.