The Boy Scouts with the Motion Picture Players | Page 6

being
pursued.
So they went out of sight along the crooked trail they had made in
approaching the deserted mansion; though for several minutes
afterwards the sound of frequent collisions with trees, and stumbles
over hidden vines proclaimed that their panic showed no signs of
abating.

CHAPTER III
TAKING POSSESSION
"Don't all laugh at once," cautioned the scout master, knowing that an
outburst was imminent.
Understanding what was meant, the boys threw themselves down upon
the ground and gave way to merriment that was none the less
overpowering because it had to be indulged in "with the soft pedal on,"
as Arthur artfully expressed it.
While they, were still enjoying themselves in this fashion, Monkey
Stallings joined them. He had a huge grin on his rather odd-looking,
face, showing that he felt fully satisfied with his recent fine work.
"Say, did I do the thing up in good style, boys?" he demanded.
"I should say you did, Monkey!" burst out Billy. "Makes me think of
one of Aesop's fables I used to read ever so long ago, about the lion and
the donkey out hunting together."
"Suppose you tell us about it then," suggested Arthur, a little wickedly,
for he had, in truth, a pretty fair idea concerning its nature.
"Why," proceeded Billy, hastily, "it seems they discovered a flock of
goats in a cave, and the donkey suggested that he disguise himself with
an old lion skin they found, and go in to scare the goats out, when the
lion standing by the exit could kill the game. When he had hee-hawed
and kicked up such a rumpus that the poor goats dashed out, to meet
their fate at the exit, the donkey finally came along and proudly asked
the lion what he thought of his antics. 'Splendid,' said the lion, or
something like that, and I guess you'd have frightened me, too, if I
hadn't known you were only a donkey!"
Monkey Stallings hardly knew whether that, was intended for a
compliment or not, but he laughed because the others did.

"All the same I had the longest pole that knocked down the
persimmons," he asserted. "I gave that bunch the biggest scare of their
lives. The way is clear for us now, and, thank goodness, we won't have
to sleep under the same roof with that greasy pair of rascals, and, after
all; that was the end in view."
"Monkey," said Arthur, "you've put us all under heavy obligations by
what you did, and for one I'm not going to forget it, or twit you about
the funny noises you manage to coax out of that bone goose-call you
made. The end justifies the means, is what I say every time. Now,
what's next on the programme, Hugh?"
"Well, since we've met the enemy and won the fight," laughed the other,
"I should say our best move would be to occupy the abandoned works.
Monkey can lead us to where he managed to get into the castle."
"As easy as falling off a log," asserted the other, proudly, as became the
principal actor in the late little "unpleasantness."
"Besides," added Alec, impatiently, "we want to take a few pictures
inside and out of the old shebang while the sun still hangs high."
"What's the hurry?" asked Billy, who liked to put off things to a more
convenient season whenever he could find half of an excuse; "plenty of
time to do all that to-morrow, I should think."
"'Strike while the iron is hot,' has always been my motto," asserted Alec,
when, in truth, it was mostly his impatience that hastened his actions.
"How do we know what sort of a day to-morrow may turn out to be?
Suppose a storm came along, how could I get a good picture of the
castle to send my aunt so as to pay for the elegant camera she gave
me?"
"Guess you're right there, Alec," admitted Billy, always ready to own
up when he felt that the argument was going against him. "Besides, it
needs plenty of light to get views inside the house, when the windows
are as small and measly as they seem to be here."

"Oh! as for that," declared the other, airily, "leave it to me. I've been
smart enough to fetch along an entire outfit for taking flashlight
pictures; so you see we can get all we want after night comes."
"You've certainly got a level head on your shoulders, Alec," ventured
Arthur, giving the other a slap on the back that was intended for
commendation, though it made the recipient jump, for he had not been
expecting anything of the sort, and possibly there was that about the air
of that haunted mansion which caused all of them to be a bit more
nervous than usual.
Monkey