The two boys approached the spring warily. All was tranquil. A gentle breeze stirred the dense growth of bushes which hemmed in the spring and pool. Otherwise there was no movement.
“No one here,” Dan observed. “Sure you didn’t imagine it, Chips?”
“I certainly did not.”
“Well, no one is here now, at any rate. I’ll fill the water bucket while you look around to see if you can find any clay. We need it to wrap baked potatoes in.”
Dan moved on to the spring. He stooped to drink deeply of the cool water and then reached down to pick up the tin bucket which Chips had abandoned.
In the still water of the circular pool he could see his own reflection. And then he saw something more!
Merging with the dark of the bushes was a face, the evil countenance that Chips had described so vividly. As he watched, fascinated, a hand slowly was raised.
“Look out, Dan!” called Chips.
Dan ducked. As he flattened himself, a stone was hurled by the man who crouched in the bushes. Sailing over his head, it struck the pool with a hard splash.