“Oh, dear!” she cried. “An eel slid right over me. Ugh! I’m not going down again!” and she shivered. Even the fearless Mollie had had enough of the under-water work.
By means of a cord and a float the position of the sunken canoe was marked, so that the boys could locate it, and when they returned from a rather unsuccessful fishing trip, they readily agreed to raise the boat. It did not take them long to remove the stones, for Will, Frank and Allen were all expert swimmers, and could remain under water much longer than can most persons.
Then a rope was made fast to the canoe, which would not rise completely because of being filled with water. It was pulled ashore and word sent to the young owners. That they were delighted goes without saying. They proffered the reward they had offered, but of course our friends would not take it. Later it was learned that the canoe had been taken by an unscrupulous fisherman, who was not above the suspicion of making a practice of such tricks. It was thought he intended to let it remain where it was until fall, when he would raise it, paint it a different color, and sell it. But Mollie’s fortunate dive frustrated his plans.
“Seen anything more of the ghost?” asked Will of the girls, when the canoe had been moored to the shore.
“No, and we don’t want to,” returned Betty.
“Indeed not!” she exclaimed, with a blush.
“I’ll tell you what let’s do,” suggested Frank. “Let’s take a look around and see if that ghost left any footprints.”
“Well, let’s have a look anyhow. We should have done it before. Now, as nearly as I can recollect, the creature came about to here, and then rushed into the lake,” and Frank went to a spot some distance from the tents. The others agreed that it was about there that the white object had been seen. Will was looking along the ground, going toward the lake. Suddenly he uttered an exclamation.
“Girls! Fellows!” he cried. “Come here!” They all hastened to his side. He pointed to some marks in the sandy soil.
“That’s right!” agreed Will. “They are the marks of a horse! Girls, that’s what your ghost is—a white horse, and—and——”
He ceased abruptly, looked at Grace strangely, and then brother and sister gasped together:
“I’ll wager almost anything that this ghost is my white horse, Prince, that has been missing so long!” went on Will. “But how in the world he could have gotten on this island, so far from the mainland, is a mystery!”