There
were no window sashes or panes in the house, and the door had long since
rotted from the hinges.
"He'll never come out. Let's go home," added Ed Higgins conclusively.
"Are you coming?" sang out Bonner from the interior of the house. His
voice sounded prophetically sepulchral.
"Consarn it, cain't you wait a minute?" replied Anderson Crow, still
bravely but consistently looking for the much-needed dark lantern.
"It's all right in here. There hasn't been a human being in the house
for years. Come on in; it's fine!"
Anderson Crow finally ventured up to the doorway and peeped in. Bonner
was standing near the tumbledown fireplace, placidly lighting a
cigarette.
"This is a fine job you've put up on me," he growled. "I thought there
would be something doing. There isn't a soul here, and there hasn't
been, either."
"Thunderation, man, you cain't see ghosts when they don't want you to!"
said Anderson Crow. "It was a ghost, that's settled. I knowed it all
the time. Nothin' human ever looked like it, and nothin' alive ever
moaned like it did."
By this time the rest of the party had reached the cabin door. The less
timorous ventured inside, while others contented themselves by looking
through the small windows.
"Well, if you're sure you really saw something, we'd better make a
thorough search of the house and the grounds," said Bonner, and
forthwith began nosing about the two rooms.
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