“It’s in the lake—­ whatever it was,” said Mollie.  “But wasn’t it oddly shaped, Betty?”

“It was indeed.  And it made plenty of noise.  Real ghosts never do that.”

“Oh, some do!” asserted Amy.  “I read the ‘Ghost of the Stone Castle,’ a most fascinating story, and that ghost always rattled chains, and made a terrible noise.”

“What did it turn out to be?” asked Aunt Kate.

“The story didn’t say.  No one ever found out.”

“Well, this one is exactly like Mr. Lagg described,” spoke Grace, “chains and all.  What could it have been?”

“I imagine,” said Betty, slowly, “that it may be some wild animal——­ "

Grace screamed.

“What is it now?” asked Betty, regarding her.

“Don’t say wild animals—­ they’re worse than ghosts!”

“Nonsense!  Don’t be silly!  I mean it may he some wild animal, like a fox or deer that has been caught in a trap.  Traps have chains on them, you know.  This animal may have been caught some time ago, have pulled the chain loose, and the poor thing may be going around with the trap still fastened to him.  That would account for the rattling.”

“Yes,” said Mollie, “that may be so, and there may be white foxes, but I never heard of any outside of Arctic regions.  But, Betty Nelson, there never was a fox as large as that.  Why it was as—­ as big as our tent!”

“Yes, and how it sniffed and breathed!” added Betty.  “I guess it couldn’t be a wild animal.  It may have been a cow.  I wonder if any campers here keep a white cow?”

“A cow would moo,” declared Grace.

“But whatever it was, it was frightened at the light,” said Aunt Kate, practically, “so I don’t think we need to be afraid of it—­ whatever it was.  We’ll leave a light outside the tent the rest of the night, and it won’t come back.”

“I’m going to sleep in the boat!” declared Grace.

“Nonsense!” cried Betty.  “Don’t be a deserter!  Have some more chocolate, and we’ll all go to sleep,” and they finally persuaded Grace to remain.  It took some little time to get their nerves quiet, but finally they all fell into a more or less uneasy slumber that lasted until morning.  The “ghost” did not return.

Wan, and with rather dark circles under their eyes, the girls got breakfast the next morning.  The meal put them in better spirits, and when they bustled around about the camp duties they, forgot their scare of the night before.

They made a partial tour of the island, though some parts were too densely wooded and swampy to penetrate.  But such parts as they visited showed the presence of no other campers.  They were alone on Elm Island, save for an occasional picnic party, several evidently having been there the day before.

“Then that—­ thing—­ couldn’t have been a cow,” said Grace, positively.

“Make up a new theory,” suggested Betty, with a laugh.  “One thing, though, we’re not going to let it drive us away, are we—­ not away from our camp?”