“Why, boys, how are ye!” said the old hunter, turning around and halting.  “Ready to go on your summer trip?” And he smiled broadly.

“Not yet,” answered Shep.  “But we are going out after the Fourth of July.”

“So I heard.  Well, I hope ye have as good a time as ye had last summer an’ last winter.”

“We want to know something about Lake Narsac,” came from Whopper.  “I’ve heard there were about a million snakes up there and all big fellows, too.  Is that true?”

“O’ course it is,” answered Jed Sanborn, with a grin.  “Snakes is twenty to fifty feet long, and so thick ye have to wade through ’em up to your knees.  Ha ha!” and he commenced to laugh.  “I got ahead of ye thet time, didn’t I, Whopper?”

“But tell us the truth,” insisted Giant.  “We’re thinking of camping up there, and, of course, we won’t want to go if there is any real danger.”

“Well, to tell the plain, everyday truth, boys, I don’t allow as how there is any more reptiles up to Lake Narsac nor there be around Lake Firefly an’ in the mountains whar I hang out.  Narsac may have a few more rattlers, an’ them’s the wust kind—–­you know thet as well as I do.  The wust thing I know about Lake Narsac is the ghost up thar.”

“Is there really and truly a ghost?” queried the doctor’s son.  “Of course, I don’t believe in them,” he added, hastily.

“If ye don’t believe in ’em why do ye ask about ’em?” demanded the old hunter, rather indignantly.

“Oh, well—–­” and Shep could not finish.

“Did you ever see the ghost?” asked Snap.

“I sure did, my boy.”

“When?” cried Whopper.

“What did it look like?” demanded Giant.

“I see the ghost less nor a month ago—–­when I was up to Lake Narsac after fish.  It was a foggy morning, an’ I was fishing from a little island near the upper end o’ the lake.  All to once I heard a strange sound, like somebody was moanin’.  I sat up an’ listened, an’ I looked around-----”

“And what did you see?” asked Giant, excitedly.

“Didn’t see nuthing just then.  Soon the moanin’ died out, an’ I thought I must have made a mistake, an’ I went on fishin’ ag’in.  Then come that strange moanin’ once more, an’ it made me shiver, for I was in a mighty lonely spot.  All to once, something cried out, ‘He’s dead!  He’s dead!’ I looked around, but I couldn’t see a soul.  ‘Who is thar?’ I called.  Then I heard a strange whistle, an a rustlin’ in the bushes.  A minute later I saw a figure in bright yellow standin’ out before me on the lake.  It seemed to move right over the water in the fog, an’ in less than a minute it was gone.”

“What was it?” asked Snap, and his voice trembled a little.

“I dunno, Snap.  It looked like a real old man, with claw-like hands.  I called out to him, but he didn’t answer, and when he seemed to be lost like in a smoke, I was scared an’ I don’t deny it.  Just then I felt a big tug on my line an’ I pulled in an’ found I had hooked a water snake.  Thet settled me, an’ I came down to Firefly Lake an’ to hum quick as I could git thar!”