"And we don't want to go back without that bear," put in Shep.

"No, indeed!" cried Giant. "It cost us too much trouble to get
a shot at him."

"Wonder what became of the other bear?" mused Whopper.

"Oh, he ran away," said Shep. "More than likely we'll never see
him again."

"If we could find a place that was half dry, I'd be in favor of
staying on the mountain all night," went on the leader of the club.
"We could build a fire and broil those quail Giant shot. We'd have
a bird apiece, and that would make a good supper, with what is left
of the lunch."

"The thing of it is, to find the place," put in Giant.

"Let us hunt around a little."

They moved around with caution, for they wanted to keep as dry
as possible. At last they reached a low, overhanging cliff, well
sheltered from the rain. Here were some dry brushwood and a number
of cedar trees, and they speedily built a roaring fire and began to
broil the birds Giant had brought down.

It was not a particularly inviting spot, but it was better than
being out in the open, and they made the best of the situation.
They dried their wet coats and took their time eating supper, and
none of them thought of retiring until nearly nine o'clock. By that
time the storm had cleared away completely and the stars were
showing themselves in the blue vault of heaven.

Fearful that some wild beasts might be around, the young hunters
resolved to take turns at standing guard. The campfire was kept
burning, for nobody wished to remain in such a locality in utter
darkness.

Whopper remained on guard first, and about midnight he was relieved
by Snap. The leader of the club had just put some fresh wood on
the fire when he heard a strange sound some distance from the
shelter. Then came a mocking laugh.

"Ha! ha! He is dead! I am dead! Who will bury me?" came to
his ears.

"The ghostly voice!" he muttered to himself. He gave a sudden
shiver and then steadied himself. "I am going to find out what
it means, or know the reason why!" And he gripped his gun tightly.

"Did you speak, Snap?" questioned Whopper, who was just turning in
on the pile of dry leaves the leader of the club had vacated.

"Yes---no---I don't know. I just heard something," was the unsatisfactory
reply.

"What did you hear?" And now Whopper sat up.

"I heard that ghostlike voice. It was---There it goes again!"

Both boys listened and heard a hideous laugh. Then came the words,
repeate