"Oh! there might be several explanations," replied the other with a
reassuring smile. "First of all, these fellows may be a couple of
curious countrymen wanting to take a look around while the sun is
still up, being afraid to come here after night sets in."

"Yes, go on, Hugh; what next?"

"Then it might be they are men who have heard about the deserted castle,
and wonder if they could pick up anything worth carrying off if they
forced an entrance. But there's still another answer to your question,
Alec."

"I can guess what you mean, Hugh. My aunt, it may be, isn't the only
person with money to burn who's taken a notion to buy Randall's Folly.
Is that what you've got on the tip of your tongue, Hugh?"

"Just what I meant to say," he was told. "But no matter, if we find
there's a rival in the field, perhaps we might scare him off in some
way. That wouldn't be such a hard thing to do, when you've got a
haunted house to work with."

"Oh! with my trick of throwing my voice, Hugh," spoke up Monkey
Stallings, "I bet you I could play the ghost racket to beat the band.
Just give me a try-out and see what I can do, Hugh."

"Well, first of all," remarked the scout master, "we had better climb
over the break in the wall here, and find the trail of these two unknown
men. After all it may turn out they are simple country jakes wanting
to take a peep at the mansion they've heard so many queer stories