“You never can tell,” he retorted.
They were some distance from the island, making for the camp, in the vicinity of which the fire, tended by Stone, could be seen gleaming cheerfully, when suddenly, behind them, rose the long drawn howling of a dog, hearing which, Springer jerked nervously at the oars and put greater energy into his stroke.
“There it is!” he cried. “Great Scott! it mum-makes my blood run cuc-cold!”
“Your blood,” scoffed Sleuth—“your blood is about as thick as water.”
“Look!” said Phil.
They looked back. In the border of the pines a light like a gleaming eye winked at them several times and vanished. Piper was the only one who knew that it must be a strong electric torch with a reflector, operated by Mr. Charles Granger.
Sleuth kept his word to Granger; not even a hint of the real solution of the mystery did he breathe to his campmates. They wondered at his surprising courage, for, accepting their challenge to do so, he permitted them to place him on the island and leave him there alone late one afternoon, and there he remained until they came to take him off an hour before midnight.
“Spooks,” said Piper, “are really sociable and friendly when you come to know them well. You never heard of one of them actually hurting a live person. As far as Old Lonely was concerned, I think he must have been a pretty decent sort when he was alive, even though he was tempted to rob a bank, and I haven’t the slightest notion that he’d harm anyone now he’s dead.”
Every afternoon during the remainder of the outing Piper visited Mr. Granger at the latter’s cabin. He explained to his friends that the young author was teaching him to write stories, and their newly acquired respect for Sleuth’s courage prevented them from joshing him much about this. Indeed, he was permitted to do practically as he pleased around the camp, taking advantage of which, he allowed his companions to perform all the labor, while he lounged around and dreamed of the day when he would write a detective yarn that should make the fascinating tales of “Old Sleuth” seem tame and feeble by comparison.