Part 9

Into the patch of light from one of the small windows a burly figure stepped and another joined it. A third figure proclaimed the father. There was a word of planning between them and then one of the sons raised his foot and kicked the window deliberately out. With that action he jumped right through the opening and landed in the room. A moment of silence followed and then the front door was opened. Promptly the father and the other son walked in and the door was shut.

“Just in time,” proclaimed the colonel, grimly. “Let us hustle, boys.”

They ran down the rest of the slope, the doughty colonel in front, and came to the cabin in a short time. The colonel threw himself against the door, which had not been very well secured, and it opened under his impact. Followed by Don, Terry, Jim and Jordan, the colonel shot into the room.

In one corner crouched the supposed invalid, his face pale and his hands grasping a stout stick. Facing him, with brutal expressions on their surly faces, stood the Hydes. The oldest son held a heavy horsewhip in his hands, and it was evident that he was just going to use it when the cadet party burst in.

At sight of the cadets the expressions on their faces changed. Surprise gave way to eager gladness on the face of the old man and spiteful anger on the faces of the Hydes. As yet no blow had fallen and the relief party was in the nick of time.

“What do you want here?” the father said, a snarl in his voice.

“We want that man, for playing the part of a ghost and stampeding our horses,” said the colonel evenly. “And we want to see to it that you don’t touch that man with your whip.”

“You do, heh?” grunted the son with the whip. “You all can have this old man if you want him, but you can’t stop us from whipping the daylights out of him. This is the dog that burned our barn down.”

“I know all about that,” nodded the colonel. “But you won’t horsewhip him. You can turn him over to the proper authorities; in fact, I have already sent for the sheriff and he will be here any minute now. But you can’t take the law into your own hands, not while we are here, certainly.”

“Look here, you soldier captain, or whatever you are!” bellowed the senior Hyde. “You mind your own business. Putting this fellow in jail won’t do us any good, and we’re going to beat the hide off him. You keep out. Josh, go ahead and wallop him.”

The Hyde boy raised his whip but the colonel reached up, jerked it from his hand and threw it into a far corner. The Hydes grew red and clenched their fists.

“Let’s give them a good beating, Pa,” said the younger son, and he advanced. But the colonel drew his revolver and covered the three of them. The other cadets dropped their hands to the butts of their guns.

“Come a step nearer me and I’ll shoot you right through the leg,” promised the colonel, simply.

The threat stopped them in their tracks. Sullenly they fell back, hatred showing in their faces. The old man whooped faintly.

“That’s handling them,” he said, stirring eagerly. The colonel looked at him.

“You stay where you are, too, Mr. Vancouver,” he said. “We’ll have to turn you over to the law for punishment.”

“I ain’t the only one in this game,” blustered the old man.

“We know all about Mr. Maul,” said the colonel. The Hydes snapped to attention.

“Maul!” cried the father, harshly. “Old Maul is dead!”

“Old Maul is very much alive,” retorted the colonel. “He is the one who is directing this whole campaign. Did you think this old man was doing it for fun? He has been paid by Maul to keep this thing going, and he planned to burn you out of your house pretty shortly.”

“Then you ought to let us whip this sneaking skunk!” shouted the elder Hyde.

“Brutality won’t do any good,” returned the headmaster.

“Here comes the sheriff,” announced Jordan, as a heavy step was heard outside the door.

The door opened to admit the sheriff, followed by Vench and Douglas. The two cadets looked grave and a trifle angry and the sheriff was his usual blustering self.

“What’s going on here?” he roared, looking around. His angry eyes fastened themselves on the colonel. “I hear that you requested me to come up here. Requested me! Who are you, sir? I never saw you in my life!”

“I never saw you either,” retorted the unmoved colonel.

“What is the trouble here, anyway?” sneered the sheriff.

The trouble was explained by the colonel, but the sheriff shrugged his shoulders. “I think you would have done well to have minded your own business, sir,” said the officious man. “This man needs a sound horsewhipping. If it had been your house he burned you would be the first one to whip him. What am I supposed to do?”

“You will arrest the old man and put him where he will be safe,” said the colonel. “As for the Hydes, you can’t do anything but send them home.”

“Look here, colonel, are you giving me orders!” bellowed the loud sheriff, his face a dull red. “If you are, I won’t even listen to them. Where you get the nerve to order me around is more than I can see. I’ve got half a mind to run you in for pointing a revolver at the Hydes.”

“Sheriff,” said the colonel, hotly. “I’ll tell you what I’m going to do with you. I’m going to let the world know how a ghost terrorized the Ridge here for years, right under your nose, and you never found out who it was. I’m going to relate how my boys discovered the whole thing, and if you ever get another job with responsibility to it, I don’t know what the people of this county are thinking of!”

There was a total silence in the room while the colonel and the sheriff glared at each other. The whole frame of the sheriff shook with suppressed rage and his breath came fast. Calmly the colonel looked him straight in the eye. But the sheriff was beaten and he knew it.

Instead he vented his fury upon the Hydes. “Get out of here and get home,” he snarled. “Don’t ever let me catch you in any trouble again as long as I’m sheriff on this Ridge! You, Peter Vancouver, come here while I put the handcuffs on you.”

18 The Last of the Ghost

The Hydes had slunk off and were lost in the darkness. The sheriff had handcuffed Peter Vancouver and now they were on their way to the local jail in Rideway. After putting the light out the colonel and the members of the Ghost Patrol left the cabin and started over the trail to camp.

“I’m very glad we got there in time to prevent any serious injury to that old man,” remarked the colonel, as they walked on. “Did you boys have any trouble with that sheriff?”

“A little bit, sir,” Douglas replied. “He made a lot of noise when we explained things to him. But he did come finally, though he talked so much and made so much noise on the way up that Vench and I felt like rolling him in the mud!”

“I guess it was about time that somebody talked to him,” the colonel said. “The people around here are curious. They haven’t made any effort to run down this ghost and they take abuse from this great blustering sheriff. But I guess this ghost angle of things is about over.”

“All that remains now is to catch Maul,” Jordan reminded him.

“Yes, and we’ll see to it that steps are taken to do that,” the headmaster promised.

The sky was pitch black, and not a star in sight. A leaden sky threatened rain and the absence of the moon and the friendly stars made the world below very dark indeed. Fortunately for them the cadets knew the road fairly well, and they approached the camp through the bushes without having altered their course enough to puzzle them.

“We will be hailed in about a moment,” said the colonel. They were close to the outpost where the sentry was on duty, and they advanced boldly, waiting for the call.

But none came. They reached the line of patrol that the sentry was supposed to make, but they did not run across the man who should have been patrolling. In bewilderment they stopped.

“This is very queer,” murmured the colonel. “What can have happened?”

Terry moved forward and struck his foot against something soft. Without loss of time he dropped to his knees, feeling before him with his hands. The sharp intake of his breath drew their attention.

“What is it?” the colonel asked, quickly.

“Here is the sentry, tied up tighter than a bundle,” was the startling reply. “Something’s fishy around here.”

The others clustered around and a match was struck. They found Cadet Innes, the sentry, lying on his back, bound around with coarse but strong cord. He seemed to be all right otherwise, but perfectly speechless with a thick gag in his mouth. By the way his eyes snapped they judged that he had plenty to say. When the grunts of surprise were over they went to work and soon relieved him of the ropes and the gag.

“Be quiet, on your lives, men!” was his first word, after he had licked his dry lips. “The man who tied me up is in the camp, up to something.”

“Any idea who it was, Mr. Innes?” the colonel whispered.

“No, sir. A man all in black jumped me and did it in a hurry. Muzzled me with one hand and took away my gun with the other. It happened before the Officer of the Guard got around, in fact he is due here now.”

“You say the man went toward the camp?” was the colonel’s next question.

“Yes, sir, and he carried a can of kerosene with him,” was the startling reply. The others wasted not another minute, but jumped to their feet.

“Be very quiet as you approach the camp,” ordered the colonel, leading the way through the bushes toward the camp.

They approached silently and looked at the camp. It seemed deserted. Three fires showed up red before the tents, but the cadets were in their beds. On the other side of the camp the Officers of the Guard could be heard as he spoke shortly to a sentry. Otherwise there seemed to be no movement or life in the place.

Don reached over and pulled the colonel’s arm. Close to the supply wagons a darker shadow showed, and the faint sound of liquid bubbling out of a can could be heard. All of the hidden watchers caught the significance of it at once and crouched down to wait until the man should have come nearer them.

Then, something happened that changed their plans abruptly.

A match was struck. The flare of the tiny blaze showed a set, stern face. The man at the supply wagon bent forward with the match.

Cadet Vench was little. He was also fast and happened to be the nearest one to the stooping man. In three strides Vench left the shelter of the trees, sprang into the air, and landed like a monkey on the back of the man, who had started to straighten up at the sound of Vench’s steps. They both went down, the match dropped on some oil-soaked cloth, and a fierce blaze jumped up in a twinkling.

As Jim afterward said, he staked all on the size of his feet. He landed with both shoes on the cloth, snuffed the blaze out with a single stroke, and saved the supply wagons and the entire camp.

Now all was action. A sentry near by had fired the alarm. Vench and the unknown man were staging a furious wrestling match on the ground beside the wagons as the others dashed up and came to his help. Someone threw more fuel on the nearest fire, Major Rhodes ran up with his revolver in hand, and the whole camp, more or less dressed, came running after him. In the new light which the fire showed they saw Vench and the colonel drag the man to his feet.

“Just got you in time,” said the colonel, holding the man in a tight grip. “Am I right when I say your name is probably Maul?”

“Yes, my name is Jackson Maul,” was the reply, given in a deep voice. He gazed in haughty silence around at the gaping cadets.

“I’ll ask you to spend the rest of the night with us in our guard tent, Mr. Maul,” said the colonel, his revolver in his hand. “I may as well tell you that your ghost game is up, and the ghost of the Ridge safe in the county jail. I think you’ll find yourself in pretty heavy trouble for attempting to fire our camp.”

No reply was offered by the man who called himself Maul and they took him away, where a tent could serve as his place of imprisonment. Major Rhodes himself took the responsibility of watching him for the rest of the night. It was some time before the excited cadets went back to their beds. An examination showed them that the camp had been soaked in oil at a number of points, and had fire been applied to any of these places they would have been totally wiped out. It would have been a lucky thing if they had all escaped with their lives had the camp been fired.

On the following morning the man Maul was marched to Rideway and locked in jail with the man he had paid to play ghost. The full story now spread around the town and the Ridge people found out how they had been terrorized for years by the last of the Maul family in his effort to drive the Hydes away. With this capture of the two men the mystery of the ghost of Rustling Ridge came to an end, and from that time forward the inhabitants had nothing more to fear after dark. In time the two men and the clerk Rose were all given prison terms for mischief with malicious intent. The Hydes kept out of trouble from that time forward and the loud sheriff of the Ridge became softer in his speech, at least as long as the cadets were in the neighborhood. A number of the county newspapers gave high praise to the cadets and to Benson, the night telephone operator, for public-spirited duty.

Soon after these events the colonel called Rowen into his tent. He had been very much displeased with the conduct of the cadet, but as he reflected that things had now settled down, it would be wise to forget the whole thing, he felt sure. So he spoke mildly enough to the cadet, but he was surprised when the sulky one flared back at him.

“Never mind, Colonel Morrell, I don’t want to talk about anything!” was the astonishing statement. “I’m going home right away. Everything has been pushed against me during this whole encampment and I’m sick of it! I don’t want anything more to do with the cadet corps!”

“Very well, Mr. Rowen,” returned the colonel, still mildly. “You say everything has been pushed against you. But you would not believe Mercer’s word about the ghost starting the stampede. Now we have the word of the ghost himself that he started it and that Jim called out to him. Then, against orders, you took your revolver with you and shot it off at an improper time. Under those circumstances, do you still feel that you had everything against you on this camping trip?”

“I feel that I have had enough of this school and this trip,” said Rowen. “I guess I could have more fun with my own friends in a summer camp where a fellow didn’t have to do so much unnecessary work. I’m going home.”

Mr. Rowen did go home. No one was really sorry to see him go, for his surly temper had never made him popular in any way.

From that time onward the summer slipped along without unusual incident. It was a delightful and happy vacation, full of swinging action and invigorating fun, and when the time came to break camp all of the boys were a little bit sorry.

“Back to school again,” said Don, as they struck tents.

“Yes, and our time is getting limited,” said Terry, seriously. “We haven’t a whole lot more time left to us in our school life.”

“Right you are,” Jim agreed. “Next year Don will be senior captain of the school.”

Before the morning was over the cadet battalion was marching toward the school, leaving Rustling Ridge and its many exciting memories behind them.

_A Descriptive Catalog of_ FALCON BOOKS FOR BOYS

THE MERCER BOYS’ CRUISE IN THE LASSIE

_by Capwell Wyckoff_

When Don and Jim Mercer and their buddy Terry Mackson set out in their sloop, _Lassie_, for a visit to Mystery Island, they were in search of adventure and fun. But they quickly found they were getting more than they bargained for—real danger, a skirmish with marine bandits, and a fight for their lives. This is a thrilling adventure story of three modern boys—with action and excitement on every page.

THE MERCER BOYS AT WOODCREST

_by Capwell Wyckoff_

The mystery of Clanhammer Hall, at Woodcrest Military Academy, interested Don and Jim Mercer and their friend Terry Mackson from the moment of their arrival at Woodcrest. But their curiosity about the old, empty building faded into the back of their minds as they became involved in the mysterious disappearance of their headmaster, Colonel Morrell, whom they had never seen. With initiative and ingenuity the Mercer boys, aided by Cadet Vench, did a little detective work and uncovered a fantastic story of crime.

THE MERCER BOYS’ MYSTERY CASE

_by Capwell Wyckoff_

When Cadets Don and Jim Mercer and their friend Terry Mackson were ordered by Colonel Morrell of Woodcrest Military Academy to gather together all the school trophies, they were able to find all except one—the cup awarded to the class of 1933. What had happened to the cup was a mystery the boys were determined to solve. And little by little Don and Jim uncovered a strange story and unraveled a mystery that had puzzled school authorities for years. The Mercer boys uphold the honor of Woodcrest against a conspiracy of silence and dishonor.

THE MERCER BOYS ON A TREASURE HUNT

_by Capwell Wyckoff_

Don and Jim Mercer were prepared to spend a dull vacation at home when Professor Scott invited them to Lower California and a search for Spanish treasure. But their adventure was not all fun, for Don, Jim, and their friend Terry Mackson soon found themselves involved with a band of ruthless men determined to salvage the treasure for themselves and to stop at nothing to do it. Don and Jim fought for their lives in a series of startling adventures which make this story of buried treasure an absorbing and exciting tale.

THE MERCER BOYS WITH THE COAST GUARD

_by Capwell Wyckoff_

When floods forced Woodcrest Military Academy to close, Don and Jim Mercer found themselves facing a dull two months at home. That was why they eagerly accepted the chance to visit a coast guard station.

Don and Jim were anxious to participate in the thrilling rescues off Daggerpoint Rock and in the difficult beach patrols. But they didn’t bargain for a mystery which led them from one thrilling adventure to another until they finally solved it.

_The Mercer Boys with the Coast Guard_ is a fast-paced, exciting story every boy will enjoy.

CALL TO ADVENTURE

_edited by Robert Spiers Benjamin_

Here is adventure of every kind! Fishing for the broad-bill swordfish in Catalina waters, an airplane crash in the Andalusian desert, a trip around Cape Horn, a shipwreck in the Indian Ocean, a walrus hunt, an encounter with cannibals, an attack by a bear from the ice floes of Greenland to the matted jungles of the South Sea Islands, these men of adventure sail and hunt and fight with a courage and abandon that will transport every reader to another, more exciting world.

THE SPIRIT OF THE BORDER—_by Zane Grey_

Zane Grey’s famous novel of the old West when Indian raids were an everyday affair and the guns of the scouts smoked in a perpetual trail of vengeance against the savages. Joe Downs went West, eager to join the scouts in their exciting life. His brother Jim followed him, to convert the Indians. They found themselves up against the aroused Indians, led by the renegades Simon and Jim Girty, in a war to the death.

A popular condensation of a thrilling story based on historic fact, by the best of all Western writers.

THE LAST TRAIL—_by Zane Grey_

The Last Trail is the thrilling story of Helen Sheppard, beautiful newcomer to the Wilderness, and Jonathan Zane, one of the last of the bordermen. Bordermen did not fall in love: theirs was the job of tracking down renegade white men and enemy Indians so that the settlers might lead safe and peaceful lives. But when Helen was kidnapped by the renegades, Jonathan discovered how much he loved her; and he and his friend Wetzel set out on a trail of vengeance and destruction.

For the adventure and thrill of frontier life, _The Last Trail_ is hard to equal in the literature of the West. Zane Grey has told his story with mastery and realism, and readers will love this exciting story from the pen of a master storyteller.

ON THE FORTY-YARD LINE—_by Jack Wright_

Jim Davis, the most popular man on the Grayson campus, was determined to make the football team. His roommates Bob Clark and Chub Garver were already football man and cheerleader respectively. It was easy for Jim to become Coach Kelso’s star passer, but it wasn’t so easy to stay on the team. First, there was the secret between Professor Burke and Jim; second, there was Weldy Gray, who was out to ruin Jim at any cost.

_On the Forty-Yard Line_ is a story filled with the excitement of football, and the courage and loyalty of three pals who fight with equal abandon for their school and for each other.

THE STRIKE-OUT KING—_by Julian de Vries_

From the moment Larry Murdock is chosen as regular pitcher for the Carson College nine, to the thrilling seconds of the big game with Northern State when Larry battles against almost overwhelming odds, _The Strike-Out King_ is an action-packed story of the diamond that will appeal to the sports-loving instinct of every American boy. An absorbing book no reader will be able to put aside until the last word of the last page has been read.

THE WINNING BASKET—_by Duane Yarnell_

Honest, eager-eyed Ben Mason was in seventh heaven when he was admitted to Clearview Academy. He had been there only a day when they discovered he was not from a rich, influential family—and Ben was out. How Ben got back into Clearview, and how he fought the antagonism of the student body and the conspiracies of his enemy Jack Lassiter make an absorbing story filled with drama. Every boy will root for Ben as he fights on the basketball court for the school that didn’t want him.

THROUGH FOREST AND STREAM: ADVENTURE IN THE MOUNTAINS—_by Duane Yarnell_

When Ted and Pudge went to the All-American camp, it was for a summer of good fun. Then they discovered that they were really entered in a contest—a contest involving $50,000 for the college of the boy who won it. Ted just had to win that prize, both to keep baseball at College Tech and to insure his father’s job as baseball coach. How he engaged in a deadly fight with wolves and was entombed in an old mine shaft with a ferocious bear are only two of the many adventures he had.

Ted Moran wins out in a breathless story of heroism and resourcefulness that will thrill its readers.

OVER THE HURDLES—_by Emmett Maum_

Any boy who has thrilled to the shot of the starting gun and the crunch of spiked shoes on cinders will enjoy the story of Larry Craven, for whom the cinder track was the path of fame from Maywood College to the Olympic games. But all was not smooth going for Larry, for he had many obstacles to surmount and he had enemies who plotted against him. How he won out over his difficulties makes an exciting and vivid sports story.

BOYS’ BOOK OF SEA BATTLES

_by Chelsea Curtis Fraser_

Truth can be more exciting than fiction, as these fourteen stirring sea battles from the pages of history prove. From the days of Sir Francis Drake, when life on the sea was a constant battle between the Spanish and the English, to the Battle of Leyte, sea fights have determined the destiny of men and nations. In these pages you will find Commodore John Paul Jones, Lord Nelson, Oliver Perry, Admiral David Farragut, and Dewey, together with the dramatic stories of the _Constitution_ and the _Guerrière_, the _Monitor_ and the _Merrimac_, and the sea battles of World Wars I and II.

BOYS’ BOOK OF FAMOUS SOLDIERS

_by J. Walker McSpadden_