Such dim light as sifted into the old hut came through the small window and the ragged hole in the roof, above which black clouds were now outspread. Suddenly athwart these clouds streamed a writhing streak of lightning, which illumined the entire interior of the cabin, causing Piper to crouch and cringe, his mouth and throat dry, his heart beating like a hammer.
“By Jinks!” said Rodney. “That was a good one. I reckon it struck somewhere.”
It seemed that it must have struck among the mountainous hills to the westward, for suddenly they echoed and re-echoed with a tremendous crashing, rumbling, earth-jarring roar that gradually and reluctantly died away. Following this a light rush of wind passed through the tops of the tallest pines, dying out quickly and seeming to make the silence still more profound.
And in that silence the three boys distinctly heard a faint tapping, as of ghostly fingers beating feebly against the cabin wall. This was accompanied by a sound still more disturbing, resembling a low, half-whining wail.
“Gug-good by!” choked Springer, as he dashed from the hut.
Piper’s trembling hands clutched Grant and clung to him.
“I’m going too,” said Sleuth huskily. “It’s ten to one this old hut comes down in the storm. I wouldn’t stay here, anyhow.”
“I don’t reckon I would myself,” acknowledged Rod.
“Then,” said Piper, tugging at him, “we’d better hustle. If I know Springer, he won’t stop this side of Camp Oakdale, and we don’t want to be left on this island with no way of getting off.”
“That wouldn’t be pleasant,” confessed Rod, “though I don’t opine Phil would desert us. He’ll wait for us.”
“Don’t you believe it,” spluttered Sleuth as they reached the open air. “If we want to stop him before he gets away with the canoe, we’ve got to make tracks.”
Stumbling across the glade, they found the path, along which they dashed, Piper in advance. Reaching branches whipped them across their faces, and it seemed that the black thickets on every hand contained a thousand menacing terrors. True, Grant was not as frightened as Piper, but the moment he began running he was overcome to some degree by that fear-compelling sensation known to every boy who has fled in the dark from a menacing creation of his fancy. Occasional flashes of lightning served only to blind them and make the ensuing gloom seem deeper and blacker. The thunder-shocks beat upon their ears, but as yet no rain fell.