“Bless—bless my very existence!” cried the odd man. “What is it, Tom?”
“The phantom,” was the quiet answer. “Watch it, and see what it does.”
By this time Mr. Jenks and Mr. Parker had joined Tom and Mr. Damon. The four diamond seekers stood gazing at the apparition. And, as they looked, the thing in white, seemingly too tall for any human being, slid slowly forward, with a gliding motion. Then it raised its long, white arms, and waved them threateningly at the adventurers.
“It's motioning us to go back,” said Mr. Parker in an awed whisper. “It doesn't want us to go any farther.”
“Very likely,” agreed Tom, coolly. “But we're not going to be frightened by anything like that; are we?”
“Not much!” exclaimed Mr. Jenks. “I expected this. A ghost can't drive me back from getting my rights from those scoundrels!”
“Suppose it uses a revolver to back up its demand?” asked the scientist.
“Wait until it does,” answered Mr. Jenks. But the figure in white evidently had no such intentions. It came on a little distance farther, still waving the long arms threateningly, and then it suddenly disappeared, seeming to dissolve in the misty shadows of the night.
“Bless my suspenders!” cried Mr. Damon. “That's a very strange proceeding! Very strange! What do you make of it, Tom?”
“It is evidently some man dressed up in a sheet,” declared Mr. Jenks. “I expected as much.”