The party group was silent now. Only a very few knew what the outcome would be; most knew only that the Blue Ghost was about to appear.
The mist thickened, expanded.
The Blue Ghost materialized. He held out his hands to an invisible loved one. He looked appealing.
He recoiled, then put hands to his chest. They came away bloody. He stretched them out ...
And then a new sequence materialized in the mist, a sequence of words in stark red against the icy white of the background.
BE PREPARED!
BUY
BLUE GHOST
HEALTH INSURANCE
For a long breath there was shocked silence, then the crowd below dissolved into laughter.
"Let's go," Rick shouted.
He would have given much to see Barby's expression, but time was running out and he and Scotty had ground to cover. They dropped from the tree, scrambled up the hill past where the white mist was fading, and dashed across the cornfield.
"Hurry!" Scotty exclaimed.