As she spoke a low moan seemed to come from the ground, and the girls huddled close to the Captain.
“What was it, Verny?” whispered Julie, fearfully.
Mrs. Vernon gravely turned her flashlight over the walls and ceiling of the rocky tunnel, then moved it slowly over the ground about them.
Just when the scouts began to feel courageous again, thinking the sound was some other form of hallucination in the cave, the light fell upon a form doubled up against the side of the rocky wall.
The scouts saw it about the same time the Captain did, and four high-pitched, excited young voices screamed fearfully, causing the tunnel behind them to echo with ear-splitting yells of terror. Even Mrs. Vernon shivered at the uncanny sight and sounds.
Betty and Ruth had hidden their faces in the Captain’s skirt, as if this would defend them from danger. But Julie and Joan stood their ground beside the Captain, trying to peer in advance of their position to see what the form could be.
“Is he drunk?” whispered Joan.
“Maybe he is murdered,” ventured Julie, causing the others to shiver again.
“No—he moaned, so he is not dead. I must find out what is the matter,” replied the Captain, bracing herself for the unpleasant task.
“Oh, Verny! Please don’t!” wailed Betty.