A large group had gathered around the farmer and his sons and the cadets. One of the neighbors asked how the fire had started. Hyde shrugged his shoulders.
“I dunno,” he said. “All of a sudden I waked up to see the fire and we run out in a jiffy. I didn’t see how it got afire.”
The colonel turned to Don, who was close by. “How did you happen to see this fire, Lieutenant Mercer?” he asked.
Don narrated the story of the moving flame. The neighbors shot inquiring looks at the Hydes. A dozen tongues formed the word “Maul.”
“Maul is dead,” said one of the sons. “How could he do it?”
“Don’t forget the ghost of the Ridge,” said a man, seriously. “That’s Maul’s ghost.”
The oldest son had been prowling about the ruins and now set up a cry. “Look-a-here, Pop,” he called. There was an instant rush to the rear of the barn.
In the dim light of a few lanterns they made out the charred outline of wheels and under a smoking board some whisps of straw. A murmur of comprehension went up.
“Loaded a wagon of hay and lighted her up,” shouted a farmer. “Then they rolled it down the hill at the barn.”
There was no doubt that such had been the case. And no one seemed to ask why, a fact that puzzled the colonel and the boys.
“Why should anyone do a thing like that? And who is this Maul?” the colonel asked.
None of the Hydes replied but a neighbor was willing to talk. “A few years back there was a hill feud between the Hydes and the Mauls,” he said. “One or the other of them was trying to drive the other family out. But all of the Mauls disappeared or died several years ago. This here ghost must be one of the Mauls!”
“Evidently a very real Maul, if he can load a wagon with hay and roll it down the hill,” replied the colonel dryly. “Captain Jordan!”
“Take a detail of men and search the hill. If you find anyone that looks suspicious bring him here to me.”
“Very well, sir,” replied Jordan, and picked a detail of five men. They departed up the slope at once.
“You won’t find any ghost hanging around now,” grinned a toothless old man.
The colonel paid no attention to the old man and they hung around for an hour longer. It was now three o’clock, but no one thought of quitting the scene. From snatches of conversation the cadets learned more about the bitter feud that had existed for generations between the Hydes and the Mauls. The last Maul had been drowned in a near-by river.