Page:Young Hunters of the Lake.djvu/39

Rh 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 onct, 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 minit 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 minit 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!"