If he felt any hesitation he did not show it as he made his way to the foot of the broad stairway and commenced mounting, step after step.  Always the sounds seemed to grow a little clearer, and this fact told Hugh his scout instinct must be truly leading him directly toward the place from which they issued.

He had reached the second floor, and was pushing steadily onward.  Several times he stopped short to listen, nor would he make a move at such intervals unless he had received his clue again.  Not once did he manifest any weakness in the line of shrugging his shoulders, and saying that it was none of his business if the night air played pranks by forcing its way through some hole in the wall, with a whine and a gurgle.

When Hugh once set himself a task it was his nature to carry the thing through to the end.  He would despise himself if he allowed any weak fear to triumph over his common-sense.

A brief time later he found himself standing near where he knew one of the several turrets stood.  He remembered now that while they had investigated more or less of the big building, they were forced to skip several portions, leaving them for the next morning’s survey; and doubtless this turret chamber must have been in the list of those unexplored places.

“Whatever it may be,” Hugh was telling himself, “the thing making all that noise is in there!  I’ll listen once more, and then take a peek.”

When he again heard the gurgling, the fluttering, and the strange whimpering Hugh had his hand on the door knob.  He quickly threw the barrier open and flashed his light into the chamber.

Instantly there was a scurry of wings.  Queer glowing balls of yellow connected with obscure, shadowy figures stared at him.  The wings winnowed the air, and again he caught that peculiar whinny.

Hugh laughed aloud.

“Why, it’s only a family of owls after all,” he said, in great relief, “that’s taken up quarters here in this turret, where they can go in and out as they please.  Yes, and those things that flapped away must have been some ugly bats in the bargain, that haven’t gone into winter quarters yet.  Well, this is a pretty good sell, I must say.  I’m glad I made up my mind to find out what that noise was.  Now I guess I can go to sleep again.  Ghosts!  Well, like as not every ghost that ever was heard of would turn out to be as simple a thing as this, if only some one had the nerve to investigate.”

He closed the door to the turret chamber.  Let the owls and bats have their quarters if they wanted to.  There was plenty of room in that great castle for himself and chums to sleep without ousting, the happy family from their roost.

So Hugh started down the stairs feeling much lighter of heart than when he had so recently climbed upward.  The tension and strain had been removed from his boyish heart, and he was ready to confess that things had seemed pretty ticklish at one time, and had required all his resolution to push ahead.