And yet, in that second, the man was gone, leaving no more trace than
if the earth had opened and swallowed him up. For almost an hour the
boys searched the woods about the lodge, refusing to allow the girls
to accompany them, saying truly that they would hamper them more than
they could help.
"You see, I was right after all," Amy stated for at least the tenth
time. "From the moment the idea came to me, I felt almost sure that
poor crazy Professor Dempsey was this thing that was frightening us."
"But did you ever see such an awful face in all your life?" said
Mollie, shuddering at the recollection.
"And the look in his eyes as he stared at Roy," Grace added in a
hushed voice. "I shouldn't wonder if-- if we hadn't been there, he
might have murdered him."
"Oh, Gracie, don't!" Amy clapped her hands to her ears. "We are
frightened enough without having you say things like that."
"Suppose," said Mollie, in a sepulchral voice, "he should come back
before the boys do?"
"That's just what I was thinking," said a quiet voice behind them, and
they jumped and cried out in alarm.
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