He wondered, too, where Captain Joe had taken himself off to. Usually the dog remained close to the boat at night, so his sudden disappearance was a puzzle to the boy. He whistled softly, but the dog did not come.
Then Case remembered the remarks Alex had made concerning the moonlight and the ghost nights. The lad certainly would be ripe for a visit to the bottom of the precipice. Case did not know what he might find there, but he had his suspicions as to what had gone down!
Alex kicked out vigorously and rubbed his eyes sleepily when Case shook him up in his bunk. He had no thought of getting up! Then Case whispered in his ear—whispered because he did not want the others to awake and learn that they were going away on a ghost hunt!
“The ghost walks!” Case rumbled in the boy’s ear!
“Leave mine in my pocket!” Alex yawned. “Where is he?”
“Not the money ghost,” Case snickered, “but the ghost that falls off mountains without being injured, and rides about the country with his head under his arm, or somewhere else out of sight. Get up!”
“Me for the ghost!” Alex exclaimed. “Bring him to me!”
“We’ve got to go and get him!” Case replied. “And you’d better keep still, or the whole bunch will want to go. Get up and dress.”
“I’m dressed,” replied the boy. “I was going out anyhow as soon as the others got to sleep. Where’s Captain Joe?”
“The ghost carried him off!” laughed Case. “Indeed he did,” he went on, as Alex expressed disapproval. “He hasn’t been seen since the headless ghost rode the headless horse down the bottomless precipice!”