nd eagerness for the adventure,
for Kurt had clearly shown them that there could be no ghost. To go up
there and sing loudly to a non-existent ghost was capital fun.
Furthermore, they looked forward to boasting of their daring deed
afterwards. Faster and faster they climbed, so that only half of the
usual time was taken in reaching their destination. It was dark at
first, but the moon suddenly came out from behind the clouds, cheerfully
lighting up the fields.

Having reached the rear of the castle hill, they hurried up the incline
and into the pinewoods, where the trees stood extremely close together.
This made it very dark, despite the fact that the wood was small. Soon
clouds covered the moon, and the little band became stiller and stiller.
Here and there one of the children sneaked off and did not reappear.
Three of the girls, after mysteriously whispering together, were gone,
too, and with them several more stole away, for there was a strange
rustling in the bushes. Kurt with Lux and his enterprising sister Clevi
were at the extreme front.

When it became very still, Kurt turned around.

"Come along! Where are you all?" he called back.

"We are coming," several voices answered from some children immediately
behind him. It was Max, Hans and Simi, and then Stoffi and Rudi behind
them, but they were all. Kurt halted.

"Where is the whole troup?" asked Kurt. "Let us wait till they catch up.
We must all stay together up there."

But none followed. All the answer Kurt got to his question was the
screaching of an owl.

"Oh, they've gone, they were afraid," said Max. "They were there,
though, when we came into the woods."

"The cowards!" Clevi cried indignantly,

"To be afraid of trees! That certainly is funny."

"Well, we aren't afraid anyway; otherwise we shouldn't be here any more.
Call to those who are gone," Max called back.

"Come on now, come!" Kurt commanded. "There are eight of us left to
sing, so we must all sing very loud."

On they went speedily till they could see the end of the woods. One of
the gray towers was peering between the trees. They had at last reached
their goal.

"Here we stop!" said Kurt, "but we must not go outside the woods. The
Wildenstein ghost might otherwise step up to us, if he walks around the
terrace. Here we go!"

Kurt began and all the others vigorously joined him:

Come out, you ghost of Wildenstein!
For we are not afraid,
We've come here in the bright