The Secret of Mirror Bay by Carolyn G. Keene Page B

explained to him why she and the others were there.
    Her boy friend looked worried. “Thanks, folks,” he said. “Mary, hop in here and let’s get away from this place. I don’t like spooks.”
    After they had gone, Ned said, “How about hiking up the mountain to find this weird creature?”
    Aunt Eloise decided to go back to the cabin and clear away the dinner dishes. Matt said he would help her. The six young people were trudging up the hill on the opposite side of the road when Nancy remarked that they should have brought flashlights.
    “I’ll go back and get a few,” Burt offered.
    The others waited for him. When he returned he had lights for each couple. As they neared the place where the girls had seen the green man previously, George said she wondered if he were the same person who had frightened Mary Storr.
    “If so, he has a variety of costumes,” Dave commented.
    “I believe,” said Nancy, “that he’s the same person using various disguises.” She added that her conclusion was based on the conversation she overheard between Sam and Mike.
    “So the ghost is a sorcerer too,” Ned said. “We’d better watch our step. By the way, I’ve heard that when a sorcerer bewitches a person, he in turn can pass the witchery on to someone else without the other one knowing it.”
    George laughed. “You mean that Mary Storr might have passed the sorcery along to one of us here?”
    “Could be,” Ned teased. “When we get back we might even find Aunt Eloise and Matt turned into stone statues!”
    Nancy was grinning broadly. “Ned,” she said, “is this part of what you learned in your folklore lessons?”
    “You’ve guessed it,” he said, chuckling.
    As they trekked up the mountain, it was not necessary for the young people to turn on the flashlights. With their vision accustomed to the darkness and the twinkling of the fireflies, they were able to see ahead.
    The three couples had been trudging in silence for some time, keeping a sharp lookout for any kind of strange figure.
    “Guess the ghost is gone,” Nancy thought.
    Suddenly Bess grabbed Dave’s arm. With her other hand she pointed to a strange glob of greenish light which grew brighter and brighter.
    The six young people were astounded. A short distance ahead of them was one of the queerest-looking figures they had ever seen. Was he a man or a beast? He had a manlike body, but a shaggy coat of fur completely covered the creature. The head and body were iridescent.
    “Shall we attack it?” Ned whispered to Nancy.
    Her answer was, “Let’s separate and surround the spook.”
    Before they could move, the strange creature intoned in a deep voice, “Leave these woods at once!”
    “Why should we?” George called out defiantly.
    The reply made Bess quiver. “If you do not go, trouble awaits you!”
    “What do you say, Nancy?” Ned asked in a low voice.
    The young sleuth still felt they should try to capture the ghost. Word was sent from one to another. They spread out in a circle, then began to close in.
    Suddenly the green light went out and the iridescent figure disappeared. The searchers moved forward to the spot where he had stood. He was not there.
    “He must be supernatural!” Bess said shakily.
    Burt declared the earth must have swallowed him.
    “I think,” Dave declared, “that the guy was wearing a special suit. He quickly took it off, turned it inside out, and ran off before we completed our circle.”
    Nancy agreed this was the most reasonable explanation. She turned on her flashlight and began hunting for footprints. Large, animal-like prints were visible.
    “Let’s follow them!” she suggested.
    They led through tangled undergrowth and became undetectable. Nancy followed the direction in which they had pointed. Her friends were close behind.
    In a few minutes she saw a log lying across a little stream. She went over this natural bridge and found footprints on the other side. Ned was directly back of her but the others