Produced by Jim Ludwig
THE BOY SCOUTS WITH THE MOTION PICTURE PLAYERSByRobert Shaler
CONTENTS
CHAPTERS I. The Haunted Make-Believe "Castle" II. Creating a Panic III. Taking Possession IV. Scouting at Midnight V. A Startling Surprise VI. Guests at the Camp Fire VII. Faced by a Mystery VIII. As in the Days of Chivalry IX. With the Motion-Picture People X. The Assault on the "Castle" XI. Imitation and Reality XII. When Swords Clashed XIII. Well Done, Scouts! XIV. Oakvale Gets a Thrill
CHAPTER I
THE HAUNTED MAKE-BELIEVE "CASTLE."
It was about the middle of a fall afternoon, and Friday at that, whenfive well-grown lads, clad in faded khaki suits that proclaimed themto be Boy Scouts, dropped down upon a moss covered log near a coldspring at which they had just quenched their thirst.
The one who acted as leader, and to whom the others often deferred,answered to the name of Hugh. He was, indeed, Hugh Hardin, assistantscout master; and the others were also full-fledged members of theOakvale Boy Scout Troop of which so much has been written and told.
Those fortunate readers who are familiar with previous volumes inthis series need no introduction to these lively lads.
For the benefit of others who have not up to this time made theiracquaintance, it may be said that the boy next to Hugh was Alec Sands;the stout, rosy-cheeked fellow with the beaming face, Billy Worth;the slender one, Arthur Cameron; and the uneasy chap "Monkey" Stallings,so nicknamed on account of his pet hobby for hanging by his toes fromthe cross-pieces of telegraph poles, or the lofty limbs of forest trees.
It might also be noted further that Hugh was known as a fine all-roundscout; Arthur's leading specialty lay in the line of amateur surgery,at which he was wonderfully proficient; Alec gave the leader a prettygood race in nearly every line of scout activity, while Billy,---well,to be frank, Billy's strong points might be set down as an everlastingfund of cheery good-nature, and a remarkable capacity for stowing away"grub."
Apparently the boys were out on some sort of fall hike. Each hadburdened himself not only with a pack but a blanket as well, the lattersecured, after the usual military habit, across one shoulder.
Each fellow also depended on a stout staff that, in a way, answeredfor an Alpine stock, should they have to climb any hills. Besides, itwas handy as a weapon of defense in case they were attacked by avicious dog.
"Well, the time limit you set has come, Alec," Hugh was saying afterthey had stretched themselves along the convenient log.
"Yes," burst out Billy, eagerly, "you promised to tell us all whatyou confided to Hugh before he agreed to get up this little weekendhike. I'm burning with curiosity to know what's in the wind."
"We've taken a leap in the dark, you see," added Arthur, "becausewhen Hugh said it would be well worth our while we just trusted him.Now, open up, Alec, and relieve our suspense. You said the next timewe stopped you'd begin to explain all this dark mystery."
"Me, too," exclaimed the Stallings boy, who was always turning hisrestless eyes upward, as though seeking some enticing branch where hecould exercise his favorite antics.
Alec Sands laughed softly.
"I'm ready to tell my little story, boys," he remarked. "It isn't sucha wonderful one, after all, but Hugh agreed with me that it might givesome of us an excuse for coming up this way. And my aunt had suppliedall the necessary funds covering our railroad fare from Oakvale to thelittle station where we jumped off the local train---Scarsdale."
"Which aunt, Alec?" demanded Billy, whom it was always difficult tosuppress.
"Oh! none of you ever met _this_ relative of mine, I guess," consideredAlec. "Aunt Susan is a very rich woman, and what you might calleccentric if you wanted to be particularly nice, and not use a harsherword. In fact, her nerves have gone back on her, and every littlenoise about sets her _wild_. She has taken a notion that the onlysalvation for her is to find some sort of a quiet country home inwhich her servants can glide around in felt slippers, with never arooster's crow to disturb the dead silence."
"Whew! you must mean she's a regular crank, Alec---excuse me forsaying it!" exclaimed Billy, wiping his heated brow, for when otherswere shivering the fat boy perspired.
"Well, forget that part of it," resumed Alec, making a wry face. "AuntSusan is peculiar, and immensely wealthy, so that money needn't standin the way of her doing anything she fancies. In some way or other itseems she heard about a queer place away up here in the woods. It isknown as Randall's Folly!"
"Why, seems to me I've heard something about that place!" burst outArthur Cameron, in a surprised tone. "Isn't it a modern castle builtby a man years ago and meant to look like some British place in thedays of Queen Elizabeth?"
"Just what it is, Arthur," chuckled Alec, as though highly amused.
"Let's see," pursued the other, uneasily, "there was some sort ofstory told in connection with the castle---strikes me folks said itwas haunted, or something like that."
"Whew! and are we heading for that beautiful spot as fast as we canhike along?" demanded Billy, his eyes round with wonder, perhapsuneasiness.
"My aunt wrote to my mother that she wanted some one to come up hereand investigate, so she could have a full description before goingany further into the deal for the property. Not that Aunt Susan bothereda bit about the ghost part of it, but she wanted to know whether thebuilding was a ramshackle affair, or part-way decent. In fact, sheasked for photographs of the place inside and out, and even requestedthat, if I could be induced to take the trip, along with some of thosewonderfully bright chums of mine of whom she had been hearing suchgreat stories, I was to buy the best camera that fifty dollars couldcommand, and use the balance of the hundred for other expenses. Sohere we are close to Randall's Folly, with Saturday ahead of us forbusiness, and meaning to go back home Sunday afternoon."
"Which lovely programme must include two nights spent under the roofof a haunted house!" gasped Billy, still wiping his streaming forehead,though he really should have been cooled off by this time.
"For my part," spoke up Arthur Cameron, "nothing would please me betterthan the chance to say I'd run across a real ghost. I've been readinglots of creepy stories connected with spooks, but they never could getme to believe in such silly things."
"Same here," added the Stallings boy, though his voice sounded a trifleunsteady as Hugh could not help noticing.
"As for me," the scout master remarked, "I considered it a fine chancefor a little excitement. I, too, had heard some stories about thisgloomy make-believe castle that had been built in the lonely woodsby old Judge Randall when he married a young wife, and wanted to carryher away from the rest of the world. They say it's getting to be aninteresting ruin by now, though perhaps Alec's aunt might choose topatch the crumbling walls up, if other things suited her."
"Huh! takes all sorts of freaks to make this world," grunted Billy."The idea of anybody actually wanting to bury themselves away uphere, and never see a thing in the way of circus, baseball, winterhockey, Boy Scout rivalries and other good happenings. The old Judgemust have been crazy."
"Well, lots of people suspected it when he started to build thiscastle," said Alec, drily. "They felt dead sure after it happened;for hold your breath now, fellows, because to be honest with you therewas a terrible tragedy, and after the poor young wife was buried thejudge lived as much as ten years in an asylum. He had become a maniac,you see, from jealousy of his beautiful wife."
"I suppose it's all right, since there are four other fellows along,"Billy finally went on to say, "but honest Injun, if I had known allthis at the start, I don't believe I would have been so anxious tocom
e. I expect that old toothache of mine would have cropped up andkept me home."
"The walking is good down to the station, Billy," murmured Alec, "andwe were told that a freight-train would come along around dark thisevening, bound south, which was due to stop at the water-tank"
"That'll be enough for you, Alec," continued the fat boy, with a certainamount of dignity. "You never knew me to show the white feather, andback down, once I put my shoulder to the wheel. If the rest can standit I ought to be able to do so."
"Good for you, Billy," cried Hugh. "Alec here ought to make you anapology. But since we've rested up, and there's still half a mileto tramp, with the afternoon wearing on, suppose we make a fresh start."
Soon they were trailing along the dimly seen road, which evidentlywas not used to any great extent by the few scattered farmers in thatvicinity. Most of the talk was in connection with the weird mansiontoward which they were heading. Alec was coaxed to relate a numberof other facts he had managed to pick up regarding its romantic history.
"Look out for signs of a high wall on the left, boys," he finallytold them. "It may be almost hidden by vines and scrub trees by now,I was warned. It surrounds the whole place, though here and thereit may be broken down. Few people after dark want to pass this placeexcept in a hurry, and although it's only a mile and a half from therailroad, I don't believe tramps ever think of coming here. You see,most of them know the stories told about Randall's Folly, and theysteer clear of the place."
A short time afterwards Hugh's keen eyes made a discovery.
"I think the wall you mentioned lies over yonder where all that wildtangle can be seen," he remarked, whereupon there was a hurried movementin that direction, followed by various exclamations to the effect thatthe scout master's announcement was indeed true.
"Seems as if the castle must be perched on a high piece of ground,commanding a pretty good view of the country around," observed Arthur,as they sought for a broken place in the crumbling wall so as to gainan entrance to the grounds beyond.
"The story goes that Judge Randall built it that way so he could keepwatch, and know if any of his wife's former suitors were heading thisway," Alec explained.
"Why, he must have been a regular old Bluebeard!" gurgled Billy.
"He was demented on that one subject," confessed Alec, "and the diseasekept getting a stronger grip on him until finally---but hello! here'sthe hole in the wall we wanted to find, so let's crawl over thebroken-down stones and enter."
"Hold on," snapped Hugh just then, "I thought you said, Alec, no onewas bold enough to trespass here! If you look down to where I pointyou'll see part of a footprint in mud, showing that a man must havecome across this broken wall not half an hour or so ago!"
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