Part 4 (1/2)

”This is going to be a tough nut to crack,” Rick stated ”Look at that rock wall Obviously, we'd have seen anything living that tried to cli up here, he'd have been silhouetted against the sky”

”There was no one on the hill last night,” Scotty said positively ”I looked at every inch of it”

Barby listened to the exchange with an exasperated expression on her face ”Can't you two believe the evidence of your own eyes? The Blue Ghost appeared right under where we're standing You can see for yourselves that nothing could be hidden by anyone to host appear Besides, it was too real to be a trick”

”It was a ghost,” Jan Miller said with quiet conviction ”Everyone has always known there was a ghost here”

Scotty shook his head ”Everyone has always known there were ghosts in a hundred places, if you want to consider all the folklore about spooks A few people have even claimed to have seen one But who ever heard of a haunt that put on nightly performances?”

”You have now,” Barby said flatly

”Maybe,” Rick said He didn't knohy he was still skeptical The apparition had been really blood-curdling in its apparent realness, but he still wasn't ready to buy a supernatural explanation

Jan Miller replied with an appropriate quote fros in heaven and on earth than are drearinned ”That's true No one knows better than I how ignorant I a to learn Let's climb down and look at the pool”

He led the way down the rocky slope to where the rusted iron pipe jutted fro constantly into the pool below The pool was actually a catch basin in the rock

Rick examined the pipe It was ordinary, rusted but still sound It held no secrets that he could see He held his ood, typical spring water, with the taste of ood to drink

Picnickers used it regularly

”Expect evidence to float out with the water?” Barby asked

”Never can tell,” Rick said, unperturbed His sister, even host turned out to be so other than the pitiful shade of Captain Costin, she would be bitterly disappointed, Rick knew

He got down on his knees, Scotty beside him, and they probed in the water of the rocky basin with their hands There was a layer of brown algae in the bottom, which was to be expected It looked dead, but when Rick scraped it, there was green underneath the brown

Scotty took out his jackknife and probed with the largest blade

Clearly, there was nothing in the basin but a solid rock bottom

The boys' eyes ht,” Rick recalled

Scotty nodded ”I saw it, too But there's nothing there to make it bubble”

Jan Miller shuddered ”I alht into that awful mist!”

Rick remembered the icy tendril that had curled around his face and a little chill went through him ”It was cool,” he said ”At least the Blue Ghost isn't warm Maybe he's blue with cold”

Scotty used his jackknife to probe at cracks in the rocky hillside It was seaive up,” the dark-haired boy said, his face showing his bewilderhost cohost come from?” Rick asked ”Same place” Their inspection should have settled it, but he wasn't ready to quit yet To give up would ht have to adation were closed

”Nohat?” Scotty asked