"Let's give an answer, then," came from Russ.
"_Magnolia_ ahoy!" cried Paul, and the young moving picture operator
joined in with his powerful voice.
There was no answer for a moment, and all about in the black woods was
silence. Off on shore glowed the faint sparks of the smudge-fire.
"They didn't hear you," said Alice, softly.
And then, vibrating on the night, and echoing through the trees, came
that dreadful cry again; weird, long-drawn-out, a howl--a fiendish laugh,
ending in a choking giggle and then a shrill whine.
"Oh--oh!" gasped Ruth, and she and Alice clung together, leaning on Mrs.
Maguire.
"It's like the wail of a lost soul," whispered Alice.
"Sure, and it must be an Irish banshee!" murmured Mrs. Maguire. "I've
heard my mother tell of 'em!"
"It's a wild beast, that's all," said Paul, though his voice was not
steady as usual. For the cry, coming out of the darkness, perhaps from a
spot where some animal crouched, ready to spring down on them, was not
reassuring.
"That's it--some animal," added Russ. "Hand me that gun, Paul, I'll
try--"
"Oh, you're not going after it--in the dark, are you?" interrupted Ruth.
"Not much, little girl!" he exclaimed with a laugh, which showed that his
nerves were steadying. "I'm only going to try a shot to frighten it.
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