The buckboard was drawn out of the path and left beside the cave; then Hepsy was unhitched and tethered to a tree with enough rope to allow her to graze. But she kept turning her head to look quizzically at the scouts, as much as to say:
"Huh! you thought you had played a trick on me, but I managed to turn the tables, after all!"
"Verny, Hepsy's got a wicked gleam in her eyes, just as if she dumped us out on purpose," laughed Julie, slapping the horse on the shoulder.
Mrs. Vernon was too busy unpacking a pasteboard box to reply, so the scouts stood about her asking questions about the package.
"I brought a number of thick candles and a box of matches. Each one of you girls must carry a candle, while I go first and carry the electric flashlight," explained Mrs. Vernon.
"How exciting!" cried Joan, trying to light her candle.
"Just like explorers in an unknown jungle," added Julie.
"Caves, I should say, Jule," corrected Ruth, laughingly.
"Well, are we all ready?" now asked the Captain, seeing that each scout had the candle lighted.
"All ready for the great adventure," laughed Julie.
In the first lap of the exploration nothing unusual occurred as the footpath ran over smooth stone and sand, while the vaulted ceiling and sidewalls were far enough away to make the cave seem really larger than it was.
"It doesn't make one feel very spooky," said Ruth.
"Let's wait until we get in where the water drips and the queer formations hang from the roof. That is where the hunter said the weirdness of the place impressed you," explained Julie.
They continued deeper into the mountainside, and the air felt cooler, while the domed tunnel grew perceptibly smaller. The girls were silent now, being very careful to follow closely behind the Captain.
"I think it is quite spooky enough for me," whispered Betty, taking hold of Mrs. Vernon's skirt.
"If you feel this way, now, what will you do when we get away in!" laughed Julie.
The laugh echoed madly and hurled its sounds back again at the scouts, and the entire party stopped suddenly with fright.
"Oh! It was only an echo of Julie's laugh," sighed the Captain, in relief.
"But what a horrible maniac's cry it was!" gasped Joan.
Betty was shivering with nervousness, when Julie again laughed, to hear the echoes come back.