The Chums of Scranton High on the Cinder Path

way. In fact, they had all heard certain absurd stories told in connection with the old quarry that had no

covered with green scum lying around, and all sorts of holes looking like the cave Robinson Crusoe foun

ully, though Julius took it all so seriously. Thad Stev

Julius, you certain

iculous yarns these uneducated tillers of the soil and their hired help pass around, about there being some sort of a genu

ehow, I came to think there might be some fire where there was so much smoke. Of course, it can't be a ghost, but, nevertheless, there are queer goings-on about that deserted quarry these nights-three differ

e it the name of will-o'-the-wisp, others say jack-o'-lantern?" demanded Hora

believed to be induced by a condition of the atmosphere, causing something like phosphorescence. You know what a firefly or lightning bug is like, don't you, Horatio? Yes, and a gl

Julius, "but what about the terrifying cry

ing round now with increasing wonder and thrilling interest,

e banged into, for it was night-time, with only a quarter-moon up in the western sky. The other had laughed at all such silly stories, and to prove his bravery concluded to venture out there one night when the moon was as round as a cartwheel. He got c

"I'm not a believer in ghosts, and I don't consider myself a coward, either; but all the same it'd have to be somethin

a look at that same quarry, by daylight, mind you. Is there any objection, fellows, to our testing out that road right now? It used to be a pretty fair p

y of gas in the tank, and if we do get a puncture on the sharp stones we've got an extra tube alon

uld be more apt to receive a favorable response, because it goes against the average boy's pride to be a

may possibly have been partly assumed; but then Thad Stevens was always

. stopped the car at a signal from the other, and faint signs of w

ins boy, "and already three have given their a

knows there isn't any such thing as a ghost. All such stories, when they're sifted down, turn out to be humbugs. Sometimes the moving spectre is a white donkey browsing alongside the road. Then again I've heard of

o dissipate any notion concerning his alleged timid

ng" against the sides every foot of the way. It was necessary that they proceed slowly and cautiously, because none of them

w those stiff branches scraped against the sides during their forward progress. K. K. knew how to manage, all right, and, although the trail was quite rou

h times several of the boys would jump out, and after investigating the conditions perhaps throw a mass of stone

and, for the time being, the boys even forgo

ascending a grade, where the road

ld is true. It will lie over here on the right; and only for the dense growth of trees with their

d Nature, as usual, had done her best to hide the cruel gashes made in her breast by man; the trees had grown and spread, while bushes and weeds extended their sway so as to almost choke everything around. The distant cawing of the crows sounded more gruesome than ever amidst su

calculate that we'll soon come in plain sight of the whole business, for this road leads

r conditions had an effect on all the boys; for, with the temporary vanishing of the king of d

to visit, say around midnight," K. K. was forced to

id Horatio, as he looked ahead, and shivered, either with the chi

d you to?" demanded Julius suddenly, ta

ent reason for my doing the same, I'd agree to come alone, and spend a whole night in the deserted quarry. However, I'm not particularly hankering

d looked a bit pale

refer to being asleep in my own comfy bed at home when midnight comes around,

, came to their ears, filling each and every boy in the car with a sense of unmitigated horror. It was so exceedingly dreadful that