After this the party sought the tents, where, on blankets spread on
the ground, covered by sheets, and with rough pillows under their
heads, each member of the party sought repose.

In one end of the tent occupied by Gerald and Jim slept old Ephraim,
the watch-dog of the camp, who prided himself that no suspicious
sound, however slight, could escape his keen ears in the night time.

The slumber of the party was undisturbed during the early hours of
the night, as, with the tent flaps thrown back, to allow the clear
passage of the cool breeze off the valley, the occupants of both
tents slept soundly.

Sometime after midnight, however, the slumber of all was broken by a
most startling incident. It was a cry of distress coming out of the
night from farther down the mountainside--a cry so appealing in its
pathos that Ephraim was on his feet, listening with open mouth,
before the echoes had died away. Then, as he roused Gerald and Jim,
the cry came again, reverberating over the mountain in trembling,
piteous tones:

"Oh, help me! Help me! Won't someone please help me? Oh, oh-h-h-h!"

The last exclamation, drawn out in a mournful wail sent a thrill of
pity through the hearts of the old negro and the boys.

Dorothy heard the second cry, and she, too, felt the appeal of the
voice, as she awakened the other inmates of the tent.

The cry came again at short intervals.

"What can it be?" someone asked.

"Sounds to me like someone's lost their way," said Jim, as he and
Gerald stood listening outside their tent.

"Oh, Lordy! Maybe it's er ghost!" wailed Ephraim, whose superstitious
fears the passing years had failed to dislodge. "Dat suah sound tuh
me like de cry ob er lost soul."

"Nonsense!" cried Gerald. "There's no such thing as a lost soul. And
stop that sort of talk, Ephy. No matter what you think, there's no
use scaring the women."

"What are you boys going to do?" asked Dorothy, peeking out from
behind the flap of her tent.

"There's only one thing to do, when a voice appeals to you like
that--investigate," said Jim.

"Yes; we must find out who it is," Gerald readily agreed.

"But you boys mustn't venture down the mountainside alone," said
Aurora. "No telling what will happen to you. No, no; you stay here
and answer the voice. Then maybe the person will be able to find his
way to the camp."

"I'm not so sure we want him in camp," said Aunt Betty, grimly.

"Well, the least we can do is meet him half way