Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net THE BLUE GHOST MYSTERY A RICK BRANT SCIENCE-ADVENTURE STORY BY JOHN BLAINE BY GROSSET & DUNLAP, INC., 1960 NEW YORK, N. Y. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED _Printed in the United States of America_ [Transcriber's Note: Extensive research did not discover a US copyright renewal] Contents I A SPOOKY INVITATION II DEATH AT COSTIN'S CREEK III THE BLUE GHOST IV THE OLD MINE V NIGHT ALARM VI THE DARK PIT VII THE FROSTOLA MAN VIII PLAN OF ATTACK IX THE SPLITTING ATOMS X AN ASSIST FROM JANIG XI THE GHOST REAPPEARS XII THE DEAD WATER XIII THE NIGHT WATCHERS XIV THE COLD, COLD CLUE XV THE MISSING FACTS XVI TRAPPED! XVII IN DARKNESS XVIII THE FIRST FACT XIX THE FINAL FACT XX DEATH OF A GHOST List of Illustrations _There was no place the Blue Ghost could have gone_ _"See a way up, Rick?" Scotty called_ _"This calls for an expert," Rick said discouragingly_ _The timber had given way. They were trapped!_ THE BLUE GHOST MYSTERY CHAPTER I A Spooky Invitation Rick Brant moved with infinite care. With one hand he adjusted the focus of his microscope, while with the other he brought the sharp glass tip of the pipette into view. He released his thumb for a fraction of a second and let a drop of blue fluid flow into the field of view. The microscopic monster shot out its defensive weapons, shuddered, and was still. For a moment Rick inspected his work, then sat back with a sigh. Staining microscopic animals was delicate work, but this specimen had turned out perfectly. At the instant the stain hit the animal, it had shot out its trichocysts, or stinging hairs. Rick hoped they would photograph. He needed a good picture for the science project on which he was working. To rest his eyes he turned in his chair and looked out over the broad horizon of the Atlantic Ocean. It was a calm day, and the calmness was reflected in the leisurely pace of life on Spindrift Island. The famous island off the New Jersey coast, home of the Spindrift Scientific Foundation, had not always been so peaceful, Rick thought. Many scientific experiments of world importance had taken place, or had begun, in the long, low, gray laboratory buildings on the southeast corner of the island. Most recently, Rick Brant and his pal Donald Scott, nicknamed Scotty, had taken part in an expedition to the Sulu Sea. The quiet, scientific survey of human and animal life in the area had begun on Spindrift Island, but had ended in a bloody fight on another island, in a far corner of the globe, as told in _The Pirates of Shan_. Now, though, all was serene. The scientists were at work on reports, or teaching summer sessions at universities. No major experiments were in progress, and no expeditions were being planned.