"Of course!" exclaimed Betty. "There is no great hurry, and besides, I think we will all be the better for a rest. Is your business prospering, Mr. Blackford?"
"Yes, indeed, thanks to the way you girls helped me out by finding my five hundred dollar bill. But this is not business. I don't mind telling you that I am seeking for a long-lost relative—a sister—and I have engaged a firm of private detectives to look for her. They just sent me word that they are on the track of a person who may be the one I have been looking for so long. So, under the circumstances——"
"Oh, of course, go by all means!" exclaimed Mollie. "We can meet you later, anywhere you say."
"Then suppose we meet here, say a week from to-day, and try for the ghost secret. By that time I may have found my sister, or have suffered another disappointment—and there have been many of late," and he sighed.
The week that followed was a busy one for the Outdoor Girls. Mollie had her car put in perfect order, and they toured over many miles of splendid country. They had minor happenings and adventures, but nothing of moment, if we except a few punctures and a blowout. Oh, yes, they did run over a dog, breaking the creature's leg. But it was the dog's fault, and Mollie steered out of the way so quickly that she nearly sent the auto into a tree.
At the appointed time Mr. Blackford was at the hotel.
"Well, are you ready to go ghost-hunting?" he asked.
"We are!" cried Mollie, and once more they set off for the "haunted mansion," determined to discover its secret if at all possible.
"I wonder what we'll find?" said Betty, as the car raced on.