"I'm hurrying," Rick assured him, but made his legs go faster.
They went across the hilltop with great strides, broke into the open beyond the cornfield, dodged thorns, and panted to a stop just above the opening of the second tunnel.
The fast sprint had gotten them there in time.
The Frostola man spurted from the tunnel as though a real ghost was after him.
Four state troopers grabbed him so fast that his legs continued to make running motions even after his feet were lifted off the ground.
Rick caught a glimpse of blue light from the corner of his eye and whirled to see the Blue Ghost approaching! For a moment he thought a real ghost had somehow appeared to be in on the capture of the phony one, then at close range he saw that the ghostly head was nothing more than a transparent plastic head of the kind used to display men's hats.
The apparition walked up to the speechless Frostola man and said calmly, "Boo!"
Taylor, the FBI agent, removed the apparatus from his head; Rick recognized him in the blue glow. "We found your other head underneath the ice cream in your scooter," he said conversationally. "In the false bottom. We also found your Geiger counter. Any comments?"
The Frostola man had recovered somewhat from the shock of his capture.
"What can I say?" he demanded. "When I saw that wordage on the mist, I knew someone was onto the act. I only delayed long enough to read it—backward—from where I was. Then I got out and ran into troopers. All right. You found the secret of the ghost, and that I have a Geiger counter. So what? Practical jokes aren't illegal, and anyone can own a survey meter."