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CHAPTER XXV

OVER THE TRAIL

"——the bleaching bones."

"Human skeletons?"

"Yes—they've been there for years—unburied."

"Show me the trail!"

"You won't thank me if I do, Sally."

"I'm game, Ben."

"I tell you it's spooky."

"Not in the bright sunlight."

"It's pretty shivery even then. This island is beautiful enough, but there is something strange about it. It's the most real unreal place I've ever seen, and I've been in some queer places. It stands out clear before us now, shore and green trees like a stairway, and that blue mountain over there—yet somehow you expect it every minute to melt away in a mist."

"Spanish Dick says it's covered with a mist like a veil with gold stars in it—and it's a floating island—nothing under it—no foundation of any kind—just clear water——"

"It does have that feel," the boy went on. "At night, once or twice, I've lain here on the fern and I've felt the motion like a ship's deck on a calm sea—but always moving quietly

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