“Sus-seen anything of the ghost?” asked Phil, with a laugh. “Oh, piffle!” retorted Sleuth. “Ghosts don’t frighten me. Why, I’d be willing to stay alone all night on this island.” “Yes, you would!” scoffed Springer, although he wondered that Sleuth betrayed no symptoms of perturbation other than those caused by resentment at the trick they had perpetrated upon him. “We’ve been waiting for you to holler. We took the boat and went round the little point yonder, where we’d be out of sight, and waited there.” “Say,” called Crane from the canoe, “we heard a dog howlin’, and it seemed to be on the island, too. Did yeou hear it, Sleuth?” “Sure,” was the careless answer; “I heard it. It was on the island, all right.” “Pipe,” said Grant, “you’re really a wonder. I confess that I’ve never had you sized up just right. For pure, unadulterated nerve, you seem to have the rest of us roped and thrown.” Sleuth’s chest expanded tremendously. “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.”