Page:Outdoor Girls at Rainbow Lake.djvu/195

Rh ," 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 be 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 our