"We want something more original than that," said Jack.

"Something aboriginal," put in Gerald.

"I guess that's it," laughed Jack. "How about Mohicans?"

"I have it!" cried Pepper. "What's the matter with Uncas?"

"Who were they?" asked Dick.

"It wasn't they," replied Pepper, "it was him. Don't you remember he was the last of the Mohicans."

"That's a very good name," commended the colonel.

"Then Uncas it is," agreed the boys.

"Now that you have agreed upon a name," continued the colonel, "what do you say to having a real Scout dinner in the woods?"

"That s-strikes me favorably," exclaimed Pepper.

"Then if you will make a fire I will go on a hunting expedition and see what game I can secure," said the colonel. "Better get to work, boys, for I won't be long. You will find some meal and salt in the shack, Rand, to make some bread."

"All right," responded the boys, "we will have everything ready when you get back."

The boys fell to work at once, Jack and Don gathering the wood for the fire, while Rand and Pepper mixed the dough for the bread, Dick and Gerald agreeing to do the cleaning up afterwards. By the time the colonel came back the fire was blazing and the bread baking on some stones, which were set up in front of the fire.

"How did you make out?" asked Pepper of the colonel when he returned.

"Pretty well," replied the colonel; "I got a saddle of venison and a couple of prairie chickens."

"Really?" asked Pepper, his eyes snapping.

"Well, we'll call them that," replied the colonel.

Under the colonel's direction the chickens and the saddle of mutton were suspended over the fire and kept slowly turning until they were thoroughly roasted.

"Done to a turn," as Gerald expressed it.

"Better put out a sentinel, hadn't you?" suggested the colonel when they had all gathered about the fire to watch the cooking of the dinner.

"A sentinel!" exclaimed Rand. "What for?"

"Well, we don't want our dinner carried off before our eyes," replied the colonel. "Are you sure that your agile enemy isn't watching us from somewhere and just waiting for it to be done to his taste before making a raid on us?"

"Monkey Rae!" cried Pepper, starting up. "You haven't seen anything of him, have you?"

"No," replied the colonel; "but, still it's well to be on the lookout for him. He's rather a tricky sort of a chap, I believe."

"He certainly is," admitted Rand, "but it's mostly fun with him; but Sam Tompkins, he's quite a different sort."

"What is the matter with him?" asked the colonel.

"I don't know," drawled Rand, "except he was just born that way. I think he is bad just from love of it."

"Isn't that rather a sweeping condemnation, Randolph?" asked the colonel.

"Oh, he's the worst of the bunch," put in Pepper decidedly.

"That's all true," added Jack. "There hasn't been any mischief perpetrated in town for the last four or five years that he hasn't been at the bottom of it."

"He puts the other boys up to do all kinds of things and keeps in the dark himself," continued Pepper.

"He would have been put away long ago," went on Jack, "if it wasn't for his father's political pull."

"Where did you learn all these things, Jack?" asked the colonel.

"Oh, we find out a good many things in the newspaper business, you know."

"So it seems," admitted the colonel. "What has Master Tompkins been doing lately?"

"That's hard to tell," replied Jack laughingly, "he does so many things. I hear he is going to get up an opposition patrol."

"Who would he get to join it?" asked Gerald, scornfully.

"Oh, he can find plenty to do that," replied Jack. "You know he always has plenty of money to spend."

"There's Monkey Rae and Looney Burns," said Pepper, "they would be in it."

"And Kid Murphy," added Dick.

"I wonder—" began Jack, and stopped, seemingly lost in thought.

"What is it now, Jack?" asked Rand, "trying to put two and two together?"

"I was," replied Jack, "but it don't seem to come out four."

"What is it this time, addition or multiplication?" asked Donald.

"Must be division, I think," laughed Jack. "I was wondering if Sam had anything to do with the robbery of Judge Taylor's office."

"Of course not," asserted Pepper. "What would he want to do that for?"

"I don't know," answered Jack, "or what any one else would, for that matter. But it would be just like him."

"I don't think he was guilty of that," remarked the colonel, "that was the work of men."

"But there was a boy in it," asserted Jack.

"It wouldn't be Sam," declared Pepper. "He might put others up to it, but you wouldn't find him climbing in any windows!"

"See anything of Monkey lately?" interjected Rand.

"Not since the day he stole the fish," returned Pepper.

"Haven't seen him in three or four days," said Dick. "It's queer, too, for he used to come in the shop almost every day. Nor Sam either; they must be camping out somewhere."

"Hope it isn't around here!" cried Pepper. "Say, fellows, we had better take a scout through the woods and make sure."

"Come along, then," said Rand, "and we will rout him out if he is anywhere about."

Starting out under the leadership of Rand the boys explored the woods in every direction for some distance from the camp without seeing any signs of any one being in the neighborhood.

"Going back to the flag," said the colonel, when the boys had returned, "while we are waiting for the dinner to be done, can any of you tell the history of the flag? Of its origin and how it came into being?"

"The first American flag was made in Philadelphia by Betsy Ross, in 1775, was it not?"

"According to tradition," replied the colonel, "but history doesn't bear it out. The earliest flag to be used by the colonies was the Liberty Flag, which was presented to the Council of Safety of Charleston, by Colonel Moultrie, in September, 1775."

"What was it like?" asked Rand.

"It was adapted from the Boston Liberty Tree, and was a blue flag with crescent in the dexter corner and the word 'Liberty' running lengthwise."

"There were other flags, too, weren't there?" asked Jack.

"Yes, there was the Rattlesnake Flag."

"The Rattlesnake Flag!" cried Pepper. "What was that like?"

"The Rattlesnake Flag was of the same date, 1775. It was a yellow flag with the representation of a rattlesnake coiled, ready to strike, in green, and the motto below it: 'Don't tread on me.'"

"Gee!" said Pepper, "it must have been a beauty."

"Were there any more?" asked Gerald.

"There was the Pine Tree Flag, with the motto 'An Appeal to Heaven.' This motto was adopted April, 1776, by the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts as the one to be borne as the Flag of the Cruisers of that colony. The first armed vessel commissioned under Washington sailed under this flag. It is thought that this flag was used at the battle of Bunker Hill."

"I didn't know," said Rand, "that the American flag had such a history. Can you tell us when the first Union flag was made?"

"The first Union flag was raised by Washington at Cambridge, January 2, 1776. This flag represented the union of the colonies—not then an established nation—and while this flag, by its stripes, represented the thirteen colonies, the canton was the king's colors."

"Then, when did the stars and stripes become the national flag?" asked Jack.

"On the 14th of June, 1777, Congress adopted the resolution that the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes alternating red and white, and that the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation. But I think the dinner must be ready by this time, and I have no doubt you are. You know the Scout motto is, 'Be prepared.'"

"We will do our best," responded Pepper.

"Well," said the colonel when, a little later, the dinner had been eaten to the last scrap, "how do you like Scout fare?"

"It's ail right," conceded Pepper, "as far as it goes," looking longingly about him.

"You think there wasn't enough of it," laughed the colonel. "You have a real Scout appetite."

"To change the subject, what about uniforms?" inquired Jack.

"We will have to have them, I suppose," replied Gerald.

"Sure," returned Pepper; "that's all right, they won't cost much."

"I have an idea," broke in Rand.

"Clutch it, Randolph, ere it flies!" cried Pepper; "what is it?"

"I think," went on Rand, "that it would be a good idea if we, each one of us, earned the money ourselves to buy our uniforms."

"'Tis no a bad idea," assented Donald.

"I think it is a very good one," commended the colonel. "You have caught the spirit of the organization."

"How shall we do it?" asked Jack.

"Any way you like," replied Rand. "We will have to work it out, each one for himself."

"All right," responded Pepper, "I am going to get busy right away."

"Right now, Pepper?" asked Dick.

"Now, that don't remind you of anything," warned Pepper. "Not just this minute, but as soon as I get back to town."

"What's your scheme, Pepper?" asked Donald.

"Can't give it away," replied Pepper, "or you would all want to do it."

"I think," broke in the colonel, "it is time we were starting back. If you like, we will have a game on the way."

"A game?" asked Jack.

"Yes; a chase."

"Hare and hounds?" asked Pepper.

"In a way," replied the colonel. "Gerald, you and Pepper will be the hares and the rest of us the hounds."

"Do you mean to scatter papers?" asked Rand.

"Hardly," replied the colonel. "Nothing as plain as that. Remember, we are scouts, and we are going to try and follow the trail they leave. Now, then, hares, off with you. Go any way you choose, and in ten minutes we will take up the trail and see if we can follow it."

With a whoop Gerald and Pepper were off, racing down the road.

"Now, boys," went on the colonel, when the hares had gone, "study their foot-prints so that you will know them again."

"They all look alike to me," replied Rand.

"Study them a little," suggested the colonel; "isn't there any difference between them?"

"I think," began Jack hesitatingly, "that one is broader than the other."

"That's one thing; anything else?"

"This one shows the whole of the sole," said Donald.

"And this one only part," added Rand.

"This one is pressed in deeper on one side than the other," put in Jack.

"You are getting the idea," said the colonel. "Think you would know them again?"

"I think I would," responded Jack.

"Then follow them."

Starting off, the boys followed the trail, each one alert to notice any little peculiarity in the foot-prints that would enable them to recognize it again. The trail was readily followed along the road until it turned off into the woods, when they lost it.

"Keep on," directed the colonel, "perhaps you can pick it up again."

Scattering through the woods the boys diligently sought for the foot-prints, but were unable to discover them.

"We have lost them," announced Rand, after they had searched for some time. "Can you help us to find it?"

"It is a little difficult," the colonel answered, "but there is a trace here and there," pointing out slight indentations on the ground. "It is quite hard here and they didn't leave much impression."

"Here it is again!" cried Rand a little later, when they came to a spot of soft earth. "Here is Pepper's track. I think I would know it anywhere now."

"Good!" commended the colonel; "you are learning fast. You will be able soon to follow any trail."

Going under the colonel's guidance the boys followed the trail through the woods until it came out again on the road, where Gerald and Pepper were waiting for them.

"Not at all bad for a first attempt," said the colonel. "We will try it again some day soon."

Which happened sooner and in a more unexpected way than any of them anticipated.



CHAPTER XIII

A CHALLENGE

"Well done, Pepper!" cried Rand, as the former, drawing back a stout bow nearly as tall as himself, let fly an arrow that struck in the third circle of the target set up at the opposite end of the green.

"'Tis a promising laddie ye are," commented Gerald Moore after a preliminary flourish of his bugle. "Ave ye live to be a hundhred and don't lave aff practice 'tis a foine shot ye'll be, I dunno."

"Let's see what you can do," retorted Pepper, with a laugh. "I don't believe you can better it."

"Begorrah, Oi don't belave it mesilf," replied Gerald, shooting an arrow that struck just on the outer edge of the target. "Faith, 'twas a narrow escape Oi made, and it's toime Oi was making another," starting off on a run as the others made for him.

"That reminds me," broke in Dick Wilson.

"It's your turn, Dick," interrupted Rand, as Dick, stepping in front of the target, after much careful aiming, shot his arrow close beside Pepper's.

"Shure Oi wouldn't have belaved av Oi hadn't seen it," remarked Gerald, who had cautiously ventured back.

This was some days later than the events recorded in the previous chapters, since which time, Rand had been selected as leader and Don as corporal, while Gerald, from his fun-loving proclivities, had been named the "Patrol's jester."

The mystery surrounding the robbery had not been cleared up, and was a frequent subject for conversation. Monkey Rae had not been seen about.

They had met upon this occasion for archery practice on the lawn in front of Mr. Scott's residence, where Rand was living. Immediately upon the formation of the Patrol Mr. Scott, who was one of the patrons of the Scout organization, had presented each member with a fine English bow and quiver of arrows, in the proper method of using which they were being instructed by Colonel Snow.

They were all dressed in the Scout uniform, which they wore when on Scout duty or out on an expedition, and were not a little proud of the fact that each one had bought his uniform with money earned by himself, the first money that some of them had ever earned. This the boys had done in various ways, each according to his own fancy, such as going errands, selling papers, working in stores and shops, etc. They were also provided with small bugle horns, upon which they had learned to sound various signals and calls.

"Now, Rand," said Donald, "show us how to do it."

"If I can," answered Rand, taking position in front of the target. "As good Hubert said: 'A man can but do his best.'"

Drawing back his bow to the full length of the arrow, with a quick glance at the target, he let fly the arrow, which whistled through the air and struck fair on the outer edge of the bull's-eye.

"A rare good shot, Master Locksley," said a laughing voice, and Rand turned to meet a frank-faced lad of his own age in the Scout uniform, who wore a first class scout's badge, and who gave the Scout salute as he stepped forward.

"Cans't thou mend it, brave yeoman," replied Rand in the language of Robin Hood's day, in which the other had spoken, returning the salute.

"I doubt it much," returned the newcomer, taking the bow which Rand had offered and stretching it the length of his arm. "A good bow and worthy of your skill. With your permission I will essay a shot."

"Rather we crave the favor," answered Rand, extending his quiver to the stranger, who carefully selecting an arrow, fitted it to the bow. Then drawing the bow back the full length of the arrow he measured the distance with his eye, and, loosing the string, the arrow sped straight to the center of the bull's-eye.

With one accord the boys put their bugles to their lips and sounded the Scout salute.

"By my faith," cried Rand, in generous admiration of the other's skill, "'twas a noble shot and well placed. You might be the bold Robin himself returned."

"It was but a chance shot that I might not be able to repeat," returned the other modestly. "But I was a member of an archery club in our place and that brings me to my errand here. You are Randolph Peyton, leader of the Uncas Patrol, if I am not mistaken. I was told in the town that I would find you here."

"That is my name," replied Rand.

"My name is Wat Watson," announced the other with a smile. "It is an alterative sort of a name, but all I have. I have here," presenting a paper to Rand, "a challenge from the Highpoint Patrol."

"A challenge!" exclaimed Rand. "Not for an archery contest, I hope, or we are beaten before we begin. Master Watson, permit me to present Don Graeme, Jack Blake and his brother, Pepper, Dick Wilson, and last, but not least in his own estimation, Gerald Moore."

"I am heartily glad to meet you all," said Wat, shaking hands all around, "and hope I may often have the pleasure."

"The same to you," responded the boys.

"And may you live to be a hundred," added Gerald, "and may Oi be wid ye."

The paper which Nat had brought and which Rand had opened, ran:

"To the Uncas Patrol, Greeting:

"The Highpoint Patrol, of the Boy Scouts, hereby challenges the Uncas Patrol to a contest for the Scout championship of the Hudson, to be rowed by crews selected from said patrols, at such time and place as may be hereafter agreed upon.

"HIGHPOINT PATROL. JACK DUDLEY, Leader. TOM BROWN, Corporal."

"Well, boys, what do you say?" asked Rand, when he had finished reading the challenge. "After the prowess exhibited by their messenger, do you think we dare accept?" Whereupon there arose a babble of voices in which all sorts of opinions were expressed.

"Shure they can't bate us more than three miles," concluded Gerald.

"Then I suppose we may accept," said Rand.

"Shall I so report?" asked Wat.

"You can report that the challenge has been received and that we will send our answer by messenger."

"Thank you," replied Wat, "and now I must be off. Be sure and come and see us; we will try and treat you right."

"There can't be any doubt of that," replied Rand. "But, just a moment," as Mrs. Peyton appeared on the green with a tray of cakes. She was followed by a maid with a pail of lemonade.

"Isn't it time for a feast and a war dance or something?" she asked.

"We have just been having a pow-wow," replied Rand, "and our throats are dry with much talking. We have just concluded a treaty with the tribe of Highpoint and are ready for the feast of amity."

Wat would have declined to join in the festivities, but the boys were importunate, and the next half-hour was spent in an interchange of talk, in which the words: Scouts, patrol, tests, boats, were of frequent occurrence, and during which the cake and lemonade vanished as quickly as snowflakes in July, after which the Uncas escorted the messenger for a distance on his way, finally bidding him good-by with three cheers and a flourish on their bugles.



CHAPTER XIV

A DEFIANCE

"Well," began Rand on the evening of the day on which the challenge had been received from the Highpoint Patrol, "what shall we do with this challenge?"

"Accept it, av coorse," cried Gerald. "Shure, they can't bate us more thin foor miles."

"But we only row three," put in Jack.

"Thin it's a safe bet," went on Gerald, "Aven Don might bet on that."

"What's that?" asked Donald.

"That they won't bate us more than foor miles," replied Gerald.

"In my opinion," began Donald, "'tis no good accepting, for we have no boat, and if we did we have no time for practice, and—-"

"Can't you think of a few more while you are at it," laughed Rand. "As for a boat we can get the use of the old shell of the Creston Club."

"And we no have any crew to speak of," continued Donald.

"That's easily got over," went on Rand. "There is Jack, Dick and you and I for the crew, with Gerald for coxswain."

"And where do I come in?" questioned Pepper.

"You don't come in," answered Gerald. "You stand on the bank and root for us."

"Root!" cried Pepper; "what do you think I am—a pig?"

"That reminds me—" broke in Dick.

"No it don't," objected Donald; "we have no time to listen to your anecdotes."

"Do you think we have any chance against them?" asked Jack.

"I would no say we had no chance," replied Donald; "but, in my opinion, 'tis no much to brag about."

"That reminds me—" began Dick once more.

"What, against?" said Donald.

"Oh, let him get it off his mind," advised Jack. "What does it remind you of?"

"It reminds me of the hunter that came over here from New York last fall and met old Uncle Zac Williams back in the country and asked him if there was any hunting around here.

"'Plenty of it," said Uncle Zac.

"'Where is the best place to go?' asked the hunter.

"'Oh, mos' anywhere,' said Uncle Zac; 'yo' can't miss hit.'

"So the hunter went on, and that night as he was going home he met Uncle Zac again.

"'Hello!' he said, 'ain't you the man that told me there was plenty of hunting around here?'

"'I reckon I be,' replied Uncle Zac.

"'Well, I've hunted all around here and I haven't seen the first thing to shoot.'

"'Waal, ther wasn't nothin' ther matter with ther huntin' was ther?' said Uncle Zac."

"All right," said Donald, when Dick had finished, "we'll forgive you this time, but don't let it happen again."

The boys were in their club room in the attic of Mr. Scott's house, which had been given over to Rand's use. By one of the windows was the instruments of a wireless station with which Rand and his chums had experimented, and scattered about the room were golf clubs, baseball bats and other implements and apparatus of boyish sports.

"It isn't a question of winning or losing," went on Rand. "There would not be any sport in it if we only went in when we thought we would win. We will do our best and if we lose we will cheer our loudest for the winners."

"That's the talk!" cried Jack. "We may not win success, but we'll deserve it."

"Then," continued Rand, "we agree to accept the challenge of the Highpoints. How's this for a reply?"

"TO THE HIGHPOINT PATROL, GREETING:

"The Uncas Patrol accepts with pieasure your courteous challenge to a contest on the Hudson. Time and place to be agreed upon."

"In my opinion," said Donald, "you should say 'rowing match' as being more specific."

"All right," replied Rand. "Are there any further additions or amendments? If not, I will declare it approved as read."

"Now, who will volunteer to carry it to Highpoint?"

"I will!" cried Dick.

"I will make the attempt," announced Donald.

"Lave it to me," said Gerald.

"I'll take it," responded Jack.

"I ought to be the one," pleaded Pepper. "You know I am not in the race."

"You can't all go," decided Rand; "how shall we settle it?"

"Take a vote on it," suggested Jack.

"We will each one write a name on a slip of paper and put it in the box," proposed Pepper.

For a moment each boy was busy with paper and pencil and then the ballots were thrown upon the table to be counted by Rand.

"Each one of you has received one vote; you each voted for yourself," announced Rand, when he had gone over them. "You will have to draw lots."

"Let's toss up for it," said Donald. "Toss up your lucky penny, Rand."

"How can you manage that?" asked Jack, "there are five of us and only one penny."

"That's easily fixed," replied Donald, "Jack and I will toss first and the winner takes the next one."

"Very well," agreed Rand, "what do you say, Jack?" giving the coin a toss in the air.

"Head!" said Jack.

"Tail it is," returned Rand, as he picked it up. "Now, Gerald, it is your choice."

"Head," replied Gerald.

"Tail again," said Rand.

"Faith, thot's the toime tail came out a head," commented Gerald.

"Now, Dick."

"Head," replied Dick.

"Tail again," announced Rand. "Luck is with you, Donald. There is only Pepper left now."

"Only Pepper!" exclaimed that individual indignantly. "What is the matter with me?"

"Notin' at ail, me darlint," broke in Gerald; "shure, your the biggest banana in the bunch, av people only knew it."

"Well, Pepper?" said Rand.

"Heads."

"Head it is," announced Rand. "You're it, Pepper."

"Begorrah, 'tis a long tail that has no head," commented Gerald.

"Master Pepper Blake," began Rand, "has been chosen to carry our message of defiance to the tribe of the Highpoints."

"When do I go?"

"At the rise of the sun to-morrow," replied Rand, "you must be prepared to take the trail."

"Before breakfast?"

"We will not require that sacrifice of you," said Rand. "Here is the message. Fail not on your honor to deliver it. You are going through a hostile country beset with enemies—"

"Monkey Rae's," murmured Gerald.

"And the message must be delivered under all circumstances. It contains information of the utmost importance, which must not be allowed to fall into the enemies's hands. I will meet you to-morrow at the great oak to give you your final instructions."

"Very well, sir," replied Pepper, "I will not fail to carry out your commands to the letter."

"Bravo, boys, well done!" commended Mr. Scott, who had been standing in the doorway, unseen by the boys, enjoying the fun. "If I was only a little younger, there is nothing I would like better than to be an Indian brave with you."

For a moment the boys were silent in the presence of the bank president, whom they all regarded with more or less awe, until Gerald broke the silence.

"Shure, 'tis niver too late to have fun, Mister Scott," he said. "We'd be plased to have ye for one of us. We'll make ye prisident an' ye'll find it a hape more fun than bein' the prisident av the bank."

"I don't doubt it," replied Mr. Scott laughingly, "but I'm afraid I am almost too old to keep up the pace you set. But I'll tell you what I am going to do. I am going on an outing some of these days and I am going to invite you all to go along with me."

"Hurrah!" cried the boys with a will.

"Ready Uncas!" called Don, raising his bugle, "the Scout salute!"

As the room rang with the noise Mr. Scott clapped his hands to his ears.

"Thanks," he said; "Mrs. Scott sent me up here to see if there was anything the matter, you were so quiet, but after that I think she will conclude that you are all right."

"What is that you have there, Rand?" he added as he caught sight of the coin that Rand had been using to toss up. "Where did you get it?"

"Those are the ones that we found in the road," replied Rand. "Do you know what they are?"

"Yes," answered Mr. Scott; "they are a political token issued in the time of Van Buren during the controversy over the currency. By the way, I shouldn't be surprised if these were some of the coins that were stolen out of Judge Taylor's office when it was broken into."

"Then the robbers must have gone away over that road," mused Rand, "and that is how they got there."

"That was doubtless the way of it," concluded Jack.

"Ay, but you thought there was some connection with them and Monkey Rae," reminded Donald.

"Are you sure there isn't?" answered Jack.



CHAPTER XV

PEPPER TAKES THE MESSAGE

When Rand arrived at the great oak, which stood at the fork of the road on the outskirts of Creston, on the following morning, he found Pepper impatiently awaiting his arrival.

"I thought you were never coming," grumbled Pepper, when Rand made his appearance. "I expected to be half way there by this time."

"Plenty of time," said Rand. "How long do you think it will take you to get there and back?"

"How far is it?"

"Five miles, as the crow flies," returned Rand, "and near six by the road."

"That's an hour and a half on the road each way and an hour to stop. I ought to do it in four hours and a half."

"Then you should be back by dinner time," concluded Rand. "We will meet you here at 1 o'clock. Which road are you going to take?"

"The upper road," decided Pepper, "it runs through the woods, but it's by far the shortest way."

With a whistle the boy started off along the thoroughfare at a good pace. "Look for me at 1 sharp," he called back as he went off.

He had gone perhaps a quarter of a mile on his way when, as he was passing a small clump of bushes by the side of the road, there was a rustle behind the bushes, and a voice cried:

"Halt!"

Pepper, however, broke into a run which carried him past the clump, when again came the command:

"Halt, or I'll shoot!"

The boy hesitated for a moment as to whether he should stop or run, and as he did so Gerald and Jack came out upon the scene.

"Did we scare you?" asked Gerald.

"No," replied Pepper stoutly, "I thought it was a joke."

"We just wanted to test your courage," said Jack.

"That reminds me—" began Dick, who had now joined the others.

"That it is time for me to be getting along," broke in Pepper. "Good-by, fellows," starting off again.

"Good luck," called the boys after him.

The road which he was following ran through the woods along the top of the mountain and was comparatively little traveled, most persons preferring the lower road which, although longer, was not near so rough or hilly.

Pepper met but few people on the way, and had gone rather more than half the distance when, as he was descending the slope of a small hill, he observed coming down the opposite slope a horse and wagon, about which there was something familiar.

"That looks like the rig that Monkey Rae was driving the other day," he thought, as he looked at it again. "If he is in it, I think I had better do the disappearance act until he goes by."

Stepping from the road he waited behind a small thicket until the wagon came nearer, when he saw that it was being driven by the man who had been with Monkey when they had taken the boat, and that, following the wagon was a big, ugly-looking, mongrel dog, that was dashing from one side of the road to the other, interspersed with little excursions into the woods.

"Gee!" thought Pepper, "I wouldn't want to fall into their hands. I think it's to the woods for mine," at the same time making his way as quickly as possible deeper into the underbrush.

"I didn't get out of the way any too soon," he continued to himself, for on coming to the place where Pepper had left the road the dog stopped, sniffed at the ground and gave vent to a gruff bark.

"What is it, Tige, old boy?" called the man, stopping his horse. "Sic 'em!"

With a deep growl the dog started on the boy's trail. Pepper could hear him crashing his way through the underbrush and ran as fast as he could, looking about him, as he ran, for a stick or a stone with which to defend himself, but could see none, and all the time the dog was coming closer and closer, his growl becoming more and more menacing. It was nearly upon him, and he imagined that he could feel its hot breath and expected every moment to feel the snap of its jaws, when he saw, a little way ahead of him, what looked like a stout black stick lying upon the ground. "Gee! that's lucky," thought Pepper, running to where the stick lay and, stooping to pick it up when, to his astonishment and terror, the supposed stick glided from under his hand and he saw that he had been about to grasp a large-sized snake. Springing to his feet he made a wild jump upward and, as luck would have it, caught at the branch of a tree above his head, and, getting a firm grasp, drew himself up just as the dog, with its teeth snapping, sprang at him.

"Crickets!" said the boy to himself, "but that was a close shave," meantime climbing up into the tree to a more comfortable perch. "I don't know which of them I like the least. It looks as though there was going to be something doing now."

So intent had been the dog in its pursuit of Pepper that he did not see the snake until he had run onto it as it lay coiled upon the ground when, with a cry of alarm, the dog bounded into the air, clearing the snake by half a dozen feet. Apparently forgetting the quarry which it had been so eagerly pursuing, the dog now turned its attention to the snake, which was the largest that Pepper had ever seen.

For a few moments Pepper was too fascinated to move, as he watched the strangest combat that he had ever seen going on beneath him. A combat in which neither of the combatants seemed desirous of assuming the aggressive. Lying in a close coil, with its head rising from the center, its forked tongue darting in and out, and emitting every now and then an angry hiss, the snake, swaying its head from side to side, closely followed in its movements those of the dog, which circled about it barking furiously, and apparently watching for an opportunity to seize it back of the head, but which the snake was too wary to permit.



"This beats the circus," thought Pepper, after he had watched the fight for a little time, "but this isn't getting the message to Highpoint. I don't believe I have time to wait for the finale. I wonder how I am going to get out of this. If I drop down there they will be making a show of me. Looks as though I might get over into that next tree. I'll try it, anyhow."

The trees here had grown so close together that many of the branches were in-lacing, and it seemed possible to Pepper that he could get from the one tree into the other.

"It looks kind of thin," thought Pepper, when he had picked out a limb which extended into the adjoining tree, "but, perhaps, it will do."

Crawling out upon the branch until it bent and swayed dangerously under his weight, he caught a branch of the other tree and swung himself over, narrowly missing a fall.

"So far, so good," soliloquized Pepper, working his way toward the trunk. "I rather like this way of going. Now for the next one."

The next tree was a little farther away, but by climbing out on a bough that extended into the other tree he crept on until he could just touch one of the opposite branches, but could not get a hold.

"Looks as if I would have to go back," he decided, after he had tried and failed to get a hold on the other tree. But this, he found, was more easily said than done, for when he attempted to turn around he slipped and only his quick clutch of the swaying branch saved him from a tumble.

"This is a nice scrape I have got into," he thought, when he tried to climb back onto the limb from which he had slipped, but found it impossible. "I can't get back, and I don't see how I am to go on. I hope it will let me down easy."



CHAPTER XVI

WHERE WAS PEPPER?

"Two o'clock," said Rand, closing his watch with a snap. "An hour behind time."

The boys had been waiting at the great oak since just after noon, but Pepper had not yet come.

"Perhaps he got off the road and got lost in the woods," suggested Jack.

"Maybe he got back sooner than he expected by some other road and went home," said Gerald. "Shall I run over and see?"

"Go ahead," replied Rand. "We will wait for you here."

Darting off, Gerald was gone but a few minutes, returning on the run to report that Pepper had not been back since morning.

"Perhaps he has got hurt somehow," put in Dick.

"It is no way impossible," assented Donald. "It might no be a bad idea to walk along the road until we meet him."

"Which way did he go?" asked Jack.

"The upper road," replied Rand.

The boys acted upon the suggested and proceeded along the road, slowly at first, then more rapidly as their comrade did not appear. They had covered more than half the distance to Highpoint.

"Listen!" said Jack suddenly, as they stopped for a moment. "What is that?"

Faint and far in the distance sounded what seemed like a bugle call.

"It is a bugle call," cried Dick. "It must be Pepper."

"It may be possible," admitted Donald.

Putting his bugle to his lips Rand blew a long, clear call, but it brought no response.

"Which way did the sound come from?" asked Gerald.

"From over that way," replied Dick, indicating with his hand.

"What would he be doing away off there?" demanded Donald.

"There is it again," said Gerald, as the sound was repeated.

"It is over this way," declared Jack, designating another direction.

"No, it's over this way," asserted Dick, but still at variance with the others.

"Wait," said Rand, "maybe we can hear it again."

The boys stood silent for a few moments, when the call came faintly once again.

"It is over this way," declared Rand, leading the way to the right, but, although they stopped from time to time to listen, they did not hear the sound again, nor did they find any trace of their missing comrade. For a half hour or more they continued their search, but in vain, and they were returning to the road when they heard the call again, but so faintly that it was lost almost as soon as heard.

"He is going away," decided Rand. "There is certainly something queer about it."

"In my opinion," began Donald, "'tis no use looking any more."

"Why not?" asked Rand.

"Because it was no mortal sound," replied Donald.

"Nonsense!" exclaimed Rand.

"Nonsense or no," retorted Donald stoutly, "I don't like it."

"What is it, then, Donald, if it isn't mortal?" asked Rand.

"I can no rightly say," responded Donald, "but I don't believe you will ever find him."

"Pooh!" returned Rand; "he may be along any minute."

"Let us go on to Highpoint," proposed Jack, "and see if he has been there."

As nothing better was suggested the boys set out for Highpoint, which they soon reached, and a short hunt enabled them to find Jack Dudley, the leader of the Highpoint Patrol, from whom they learned that Pepper had not been there.

"What time did he start?" asked Dudley.

"Eight o'clock," replied Rand.

"It's very strange," said Dudley. "He may have met with some accident. I will hunt up our patrol and will help you search for him. If you will go back and start from the point where you searched before we will take up the scout from here and keep on until we find him, or we join forces again, unless you have something better to propose."

"I don't think there is any better way," said Rand, with which the others agreed, and thanking him for his offer, the Uncas boys, now thoroughly alarmed, set out again upon the search.

It was 5 o'clock when they got back to Creston, searching on the way, and Pepper had not returned, or trace of him found.

"What shall we do next?" asked Jack, as they stood undecided in the road.

"What is it now?" asked Colonel Snow, who had come up unperceived.

"We can't find Pepper," answered the boys.

"What is it," went on the colonel, "a game of hide and seek?"

"No, sir," responded Rand; "he went over to Highpoint this morning with a message; I mean he started for Highpoint, but he hasn't been there and he hasn't come back. We are afraid he is lost."

"Lost!" exclaimed the colonel. "How could that be."

"We don't know," answered Jack; "but we have hunted all over for him, and he isn't anywhere about."

"All over?" said the colonel. "He couldn't very well be all over at once, could he? But, come along, and we will see if we can't find him. Which way did he go?"

"On the upper road," answered Rand; "but we have been all along that."

"Well, we'll see if we can't pick up his trail," went on the colonel at once, leading off at a rapid pace. "Did any of you pick it up?"

"There are lots of tracks," replied Rand, "but I did not pick his out."

"Some who are expert, you know, can read tracks as readily as you read the paper. These look much alike, but we will follow them up and see if any diverge or break away from the road."

Walking rapidly along the road the colonel indicated one he thought might be Pepper's track, which the boys followed, with some success, after it had been pointed out until, all at once, the marks indicated that the person had come to a sudden stop and had turned aside.

"He left the road here for some reason," decided the colonel, "or the one who made the trail did. He went through here, you can see how these bushes have been thrust aside."

"I do now," replied Rand, "but I wouldn't have noticed it myself."

"Did he have a dog with him?" continued the colonel, following the trail through the woods.

"No," answered Rand.

"Probably the dog came from the other direction. Looks as if Pepper was trying to get away from the dog. They were both in a hurry. It stops here; he must have taken to a tree."

"Pepper!" he shouted, "where are you?"

But neither his calls nor those of the boys brought any response.

"He isn't here," went on the colonel; "but there has been a disturbance of some kind. There are dog's tracks all around as if the animal had struggled with something, but no footprints. There is the track of a snake, too."

"A snake!" cried Jack, in alarm. "Do you think it could have bitten him?"

"No," said the colonel, "if he had been bitten we would still have his trail. He seems to have vanished into the air."

"I don't see how he could do that," declared Don.

"Neither do I," replied the colonel. "Spread out around the tree and see if you can find where he came down."

But a thorough search failed to reveal, to the investigators, any trace.

"I never saw anything like this," declared the colonel. "He seems to have disappeared completely."

"But where could he have gone?" asked Jack, anxious for the safety of his brother.

"I wish I knew," returned the colonel. "If there were any birds around here big enough we might suspect that one of them had carried him off, but we will evidently have to await Pepper's own explanation of the enigma." Then he added after a moment:

"Well, boys, we have got to the end of the trail. I don't know what to do next."

"That reminds me," started Dick, when there was a hiss, a snarl and a flash through the air from the tree, under whose branches they were standing, and an immense wild cat, spitting and clawing, landed on Dick's back.

"Help! Murder!" shouted Dick. "Take it off!"

For an instant the boys were so dumfounded by the suddenness of the attack that they all jumped in different directions, but the colonel, with a well-directed blow from the heavy stick he carried, knocked the animal off of Dick, but not before his coat had been torn and Dick himself scratched by its claws.

Snarling and spitting the cat now crouched, facing the colonel, and seemed about to spring.

"Knock him over the head!" shouted Donald. "Hit it in the head with a stone," looking about for a weapon.

"Look out!" called Rand, "give me a chance at it!" drawing back his bow and letting fly an arrow which pierced the animal's body and knocked it sprawling, when Gerald added a blow from a well-directed stone. With a wild scream the cat bounded into the air and fell motionless to the ground.

"Look out, Rand!" cautioned Dick, creeping back from the bushes into which he had fled as soon as he had gained his feet, as Rand went up to where the cat was lying. "Take care it don't spring on you!"

"No danger," replied Rand: "it's dead."

"Faith, thin, Oi w'udn't trust it, dead or alive," said Gerald.

"That was a good shot, Rand," commended the colonel, "and just in time. A full-grown wild cat is an enemy not to be despised."

"I should say not," agreed Dick. "Ugh! I feel as if I had been scraped with a curry-comb. I wonder," with a look at his clothes, "if I couldn't get a job somewhere as a scarecrow?"

"But what has become of Pepper?" asked Don.

"That is the puzzle that we have got to solve," replied the colonel. "For the present the only thing we can do is to go back to Creston and see if we can't pick up some new clues."

The boys, with Colonel Snow, slowly made their way back to the town, carrying with them the body of the cat, the skin of which Rand proposed to have tanned for a trophy for the club room.

As they entered the town they were met by Officer Dugan, who put his hand on Rand's shoulder.

"I have a warrant for your arrest," he said.

The party were amazed, and the colonel was the first to speak.

"For what?" he asked.

"For robbing Judge Taylor's office," replied the officer.



CHAPTER XVII

THE MESSAGE

For a moment or two Pepper hung at the extremity of the branch to which he was clinging, when all at once there came an ominous cracking and the end broke away, but fortunately it had swung so low toward the ground that he dropped at the foot of the tree, not much the worse for his experience.

It had ail happened so quickly that, before he had time to utter a cry Pepper found himself lying on the ground flat on his back.

"My goodness gracious!" exclaimed Pepper, feeling himself all over to make sure that he was ail there. "The farther I go the worse it gets. This is certainly the worst yet. I think the ground is good enough for me after that."

A little dazed by his fall, Pepper, without stopping to consider his direction, started off as fast as he could go, turning this way and that as he went, to avoid the thicker growths of under-brush, until he had gone a mile or more, getting ail the time deeper into the forest.

"I think," he mused, when he stopped for a breathing spell, looking about for some clue to guide him, "I had better be getting back to the road. Now, I wonder which way it is. Let me see, which is the North. That must be it, because this side of the trees have moss on them; then the road must be off this way."

Starting off in the direction he had decided upon Pepper pursued his way, swerving now to the right and again to the left to avoid some all but impassable thicket or some swampy bit of ground, until he judged that he had gone at least a mile.

"Crickets!" he exclaimed at length. "I wonder where that road has gone. I was not that far from it, I know. I must have traveled about four miles since I left it, in the wrong direction at that. Gee! It must be pretty near noon, by the way I feel." Looking at his watch he saw it was 12 o'clock, and sat down to eat his lunch.

"Lucky I brought it along," he thought; "for, from the looks of things, I don't know when I am going to get any more. I wonder if the boys are waiting for me to return? Looks as though they would have quite a wait.

"Now, which way shall I go?" he questioned when he had finished. "There doesn't seem to be any choice in the matter, one way looks as promising as another."

Striking off at right angles from the way he had been going he decided to try that course for a while, but after traveling for an hour through the underbrush, which seemed to be getting thicker and more difficult to get through the farther he went, he again came to a halt.

"Looks as if I was lost," he mused, "and the farther I go the more lost I am. I suppose if Don were here he would toss up for the way to go, and I guess that's as good a way as any."

Taking a coin from his pocket he closed his hand upon the metal without looking at it. "if it is head," he decided, "I will go to the right, and if it is tail I will go to the left. It's head," opening his hand. "Now, I'll bet that isn't the right way, but I'll try it anyhow."

Taking the course the coin had indicated Pepper plunged into the brush and doggedly pushed on, although he was getting tired and somewhat discouraged.

"I am going to keep on this way," he determined, "until I get to the road or come out on the other side, if it brings me out in California."

Stopping to rest, after he had forced his way through a particularly heavy growth of brush, he was startled at hearing the angry bark of a dog not far away.

"Crickets!" he cried, "I hope I haven't run across that beast again I think I had better look for a stick while I have time. I don't want to be picking up any more snakes"

Looking about him he found a good-sized stick lying upon the ground, which he scrutinized closely before venturing to take possession.

In addition to the barking of the dog he could now hear voices, and thus encouraged, he advanced in the direction from which came the sounds.

"Perhaps I can find some one who can direct me how to get out of this," he thought. A few minutes' walk brought him near to a small opening in the woods in which stood a rudely-built cabin, and a little way off a smaller shack which, apparently, was used as a stable, as there was a wagon standing beside it, which Pepper recognized as the one he had seen on the road, and as the very one Monkey had been driving when he nearly run them down. There were a couple of kegs in the wagon and several tin cans. Perched on the roof of the cabin was a boy, whom he recognized as Sam Tompkins, who had, apparently, climbed there to escape the dog, which was jumping up, trying to get at him.

While Pepper watched, the man whom he had seen driving the wagon, came from the inside of the house and drove the dog away, at the same time calling to Sam to come down.

"That's what you get for teasing him," he growled. "He'll take a piece out of you yet."

Making a surly response Sam slipped down from the roof and disappeared into the house.

"Gee!" exclaimed Pepper. "I am glad I didn't walk in on them. Now, I wonder what is going on here?"

From a large chimney, which was built at the back of the cabin, which was nearest Pepper, the smoke from a wood fire was rising, and there was an unpleasant odor in the air.

"That must be the smoke we saw from the river the other day," concluded Pepper. "I wonder what they are cooking there? I can't say I like the smell of it, whatever it is, and I don't think this is any good place for me, either."

Slipping back as quietly as he had come, Pepper started on his away again. When he had gotten far enough from the place so that, he thought, it would not attract the attention of those there, Pepper sounded a call on his bugle.

"Perhaps the boys are out looking for me when I didn't get back on time," he said, sounding the call from time to time as he went on, but which brought no response.

"Thank goodness! I've got to the end of the woods," he exclaimed a little later, when he saw an open space not far ahead of him.

Hurrying forward he found himself, not, as he had expected, on the road, but on the top of a high bluff which descended almost perpendicularly for a hundred feet to a roadway, which was a welcome sight. Just below him, looking over the edge, he saw that there was a broad ledge about ten feet down and that, below this again, the cliff sloped at an acute angle to another narrow ledge, but below this again there was seemingly nothing but the bare side of the cliff.

"No use trying to get down that way," he soliloquized. "I'll just follow along the edge and see where I come out."

Turning, he was about to step back when the earth, where he was standing, gave way, sliding down to the ledge below and carrying him with it.

"Goodness!" he cried, picking himself up and shaking off the dirt with which he was covered. "I wonder what next? Now, how am I going to get out of this? I doubt if I can get back up there, and it don't look inviting below."

It was impossible to climb up the side of the cliff, as it was almost perpendicular, but upon the small ledge below he noticed that a stunted tree was growing from the rocks.

"I wonder if I can catch that tree," considered Pepper, preparing to slide down to the ledge. "I guess it ain't a question of can, I've just got to do it, and I won't be any worse off there than I am here, and I may be a good deal better."

Carefully calculating his distance he let go, sliding down until he reached the ledge where he clutched a tree and held on until he could gain a footing. The ledge, which was about a foot in width, ran but a short distance in either direction, but to the right, a few feet below, was another level space, which Pepper judged he might gain. Moving cautiously along until he was over the point he let himself down to the lower ledge. Following this along he was able to gain another, and so on, slipping at times and tumbling, until he finally came out upon a small plateau at the foot of the hill.

"Thank goodness!" he cried as he got up and shook himself. "I've got to the bottom, anyhow. I hope there isn't anything more coming my way or I won't get that message there to-day, and I've got to move pretty quick, as it is."

He had gone but a short distance when he heard a loud "hello," and looked up to see a strange boy in the Scout uniform standing on the rocks not far above him.

"Hello!" called the boy again; "who are you?"

"Hello!" he replied. "Pepper Blake. Who are you?"

"Tom Brown," replied the other, then, with his trumpet, sending out a call that went echoing among the rocks until it brought back an answering call. "Say, hold on until I get down there," he said, addressing Pepper, then clambering down until he stood beside the lost boy. "Do you know we have been hunting all over for you?"

"No," replied Pepper; "but I am mighty glad to see you just the same."

"How did you get down here?" went on Tom.

"Tumbled down, mainly," was the reply. "I took a drop from the top of the hill yonder."

By this time several more of the boys, who were members of the Highpoint Patrol, had joined them and began to ply the object of their search with questions.

"Hold on a minute," said one of them. "Say, Pepper, ain't you hungry?"

"Well, I had a bite," he confessed; "but that was a good while ago, and I want to get on with this message."

"I guess you have got there," said the boy, with a laugh. "I am Jack Dudley, the Leader; you can give it to me."

"All right," replied Pepper, with a sigh of relief; "I got it to you, anyhow."

"You certainly did," said Jack. "Lucky we brought along a day's rations. We didn't know how long we might be out. Now," as the boys got out their supplies from their knapsacks and spread them out on the rocks, "tell us how you got here." Whereupon Pepper related the story of his adventures.

"My goodness!" exclaimed Tom, when the story was finished, "I don't believe it is safe for you to be out alone. What do you say, boys, don't you think we ought to see him safe home?"

"Sure," agreed the others.

"It's getting dark now," continued Tom, "and there is no telling what he will find on the road."

So, in spite of Pepper's protests that he was all right and that once put upon the right road he could take care of himself, the boys insisted upon escorting him to the outskirts of Creston, which they reached without further misadventure.

"Do you think you will be safe now?" asked Tom as they were about to leave him.

"Of course I will," replied Pepper, with a laugh; "why, I am almost home."

"Well, then, good night," they called, and with three cheers for Pepper, the messenger of the Uncas, the Highpoint boys turned about and went on their way home.

Tired, but happy that he had succeeded in delivering the message, Pepper hurried on home. He was almost there when he was accosted by a schoolmate and was told that his brother Jack and others had been seen going into Judge Taylor's office. It was but a step farther, so thither he directed his course.



CHAPTER XVIII

IN THE JUDGE'S OFFICE

Colonel Snow and the greatly excited boys accompanied the officer and his charge to the judge's office.

"Good evening, Colonel; good evening, boys," said the judge, greeting them pleasantly when they came in under the escort of the officer. "I am glad to see you. Is this an official visit?"

"Good evening, Judge," replied Rand. "I suppose it must be. The officer said I was under arrest."

"Gracious, no! Not at all," said the judge. "That was a blunder, indeed. I merely told him I wanted to see you. I wanted to see if you could throw any light on the robbing of my office."

"Have you any reason to think that they know anything about it?" demanded the colonel indignantly.

"No sufficient reason," replied the judge. "Now, don't get excited," as the colonel was about to speak, "but there has been a lot of loose talk circulating, and I thought I would like to settle it."

"Loose talk!" exclaimed the colonel; "about whom?"

"About Randolph, Dick Wilson and young Blake," explained the judge; "and, by the way, where is Pepper? I don't see him here."

"We don't know where he is," replied Jack. "We have been hunting for him all the afternoon, but we couldn't find him."

"How is that?" questioned the judge.

Whereupon the story of the unavailing search was told.

"That is certainly remarkable," admitted the judge. "Perhaps we had better put this matter off until we see if we can't find him. Have you any plans, Colonel?"

"No," replied the colonel, forgetting his anger over the blundering arrest. "I am at a complete loss how to proceed. If the ground had opened and swallowed him he could not have disappeared more suddenly and more completely."

"We shall certainly have to start another search. The question is where to begin," mused the judge, and just then, catching sight of Officer Dugan, his mind reverting to the latter's inexcusable blunder, he gave the chagrined minion of the law a severe reprimand. How far the angry judge might have proceeded is not known, for just at this moment Pepper appeared in the doorway.

"Pepper!" cried Jack. "Where in the world have you been?"

"Where in the world haven't I been?" he responded.

"You evidently found yourself," asserted the colonel.

"Is it really you, Pepper?" asked Gerald; "and where did you hide yourself?" and other questions came thick and fast.

"Just returned from delivery of the message to the Highpoint Scouts," finally answered the boy when he was afforded an opportunity to speak.

"Highpoint! Why, we went to Highpoint!" cried Rand, "and you had not been there. Which way did you go?"

"Don't know," replied the messenger. "Round by Robin Hood's barn, I guess; but I came out on the side of the cliff, and the Highpoints fortunately found me."

"But how did you get out of the tree?" asked the colonel. "We couldn't find any trail."

"Did you know I was up a tree? Well, I climbed into the next tree," was the reply.

"Ah!" said the colonel, "that accounts for it. I never thought of that."

"Tell us about it," requested the judge.

"There isn't very much to tell," said Pepper, repeating the details of his trip, from the time of meeting the horse and wagon with Monkey Rae and the man.

"Of course," muttered Jack, "you could bet Monkey would be in it somewhere."

"S-s-say," went on Pepper, "how did that fight come out? I didn't have time to stop and see."

"I should think not," observed the judge; "it was your busy day."

"I think it must have been a draw," answered the colonel, "for each went his own way. But to return to our business. You said, Judge, there was some talk about these boys; what is it?"

"Well, you know," began the judge, "my office was broken into some time ago and some things taken."

"You don't think that these boys had anything to do with it, do you?" interrupted the colonel.

"Of course not," the judge assured him; "but there were some boys' tracks—now let me go on—and it has been said that these boys were out very early on that morning, and that they have been spending money pretty freely of late, buying uniforms and other things."

"But we earned that money ourselves," interrupted Pepper indignantly.

"Don't get hot, Pepper," counseled Donald.

"I don't doubt it," replied the judge; "and then it is reported that Randolph and Pepper claimed to have found money on the road."

"I don't know as you could call it money," demurred Rand, showing the coin that he had found. "I found this and Pepper found another."

"Ah!" remarked the judge, taking the coin, "that looks like one of those stolen from me. Where did you find it?"

"On the Mountain Road," answered Rand. "We did not know that they were yours, or we should have returned them."

"I don't know that they are mine," said the judge, "although they are similar. You had better keep them for the present. So that is the way they went," he mused; "they probably escaped in a boat. I'm afraid there isn't much chance of capturing them. That is all, boys. I just wanted to have a talk with you to straighten things out."

"Where did all these stories come from?" asked the colonel.

"Oh, I think it is mostly boys' talk," said the judge. "I think Tompkins said he heard it from his boy."

"Sam Tompkins!" cried Jack, "of course. He's trying to throw suspicion on us, but I guess he knows a lot more about it than we do."

"I think you have hit it, Jack," agreed the judge. "I believe that is a clue worth following up."

"But what about the tools?" asked the officer.

"Oh, yes," continued the judge, "I had forgotten about them. Do you know anything about these tools, Dick?"

"Yes, sir; they came from our shop," he answered.

"Ah! that's what I thought," said the officer to himself. "It isn't going to end here."

"They were taken from there," went on Dick. "We missed them several days before the robbery, but I don't know who took them."

"Then they must have been taken by some one around here," concluded the judge. "It seems to me that the farther we go the more mysterious it gets. Jack, I think that you had better set your wits to work and see if you can't clear it up."

"Very well, Judge," answered Jack, who had been going over the matter in his mind. "I think I have a clue that I am going to follow up and see what comes of it."

"Good," commented the judge. "While I do not believe for an instant that any of you young gentlemen had anything to do with the robbery, I would like to see it brought home to those who did it."

"And I, too," added the colonel.

"Good night, boys," continued the judge. "You have had rather an exciting day, and I think you had better be getting home. I think you want to look out for Pepper so that nothing more happens to him to-night."

"Good night, Judge," responded the boys, Jack adding as they went out, "I won't leave him out of sight until I have him safe in the house."



CHAPTER XIX

A NARROW ESCAPE

"Row, brothers, row," said Gerald "Kape it up, you're doin' fine."

"How are we going?" asked Rand.

"Almost as fasht as Oi c'ud walk," replied Gerald in his richest brogue. "Av ye hit it up a bit mebbe ye c'ud be in toime to see the ind av it to-morrow, Oi dunno."

"But truly, Geraid," asked Donald, "how are we doing?"

"As weil as c'ud be ixpected av a lot of farmers," replied the irrepressible Gerald. "Ye moight do worse, Oi dunno. Mebbe av ye tho't ye were hoeing potatoes ye c'ud do betther. Can't ye hit up a bit?"

"I guess we can; a little," replied Rand, who was rowing stroke, slightly increasing his effort. "How is that?"

"Betther," responded the other, and the boat shot ahead a little faster.

The Uncas crew were out for a final spin over the course before the race, which had been set for the following day. Beside the Uncas and the Highpoint, the Alton, from farther up the river, had also entered. It was not thought, even by their friends, that the Uncas had much chance against the others, whose crews, particularly the Alton's, were much heavier and stronger.

"Is that better?" asked Rand, after they had rowed a short time.

"'Tis a thrifle betther," replied Gerald. "Av ye do as well to-morrow, mebbe we won't be disgraced intirely, Oi dunno."

"Come now, Gerald," pleaded Jack, "tell us how we are doing?"

"Shure, Oi don't want to discourage ye intirely," replied Gerald, "but ye didn't do any betther than three minutes in the lasht moile."

"Three minutes!" shouted Don; "did we do it in that?"

"Hurrah!" cried Jack; "we'll be in it yet."

"In what?" asked Dick.

"In the water," chuckled Jack.

"You will be," retorted Donald, "if you spring anything like that on us again."

"That reminds me—" began Dick.

"What does?" asked Donald.

"What is the matter, Gerald?" broke in Rand, as the coxswain, with a sudden exclamation, threw the rudder hard down and called:

"Up oars, all!"

The boys raised their oars just in time as the shell grazed the stern of a heavy skiff, which a boy, who was rowing, had stopped just in the course of the shell.

"Hey, there!" shouted Rand as the boats swept apart: "what are you trying to do, run us down?"

"What are you trying to do, yourself?" retorted a man, who was sitting in the stern of the skiff. "Don't you think anybody has any right on the river but you? Think you own the whole place, don't you?"

"But you had plenty of room without getting in the way," persisted Rand. "I think you did it on purpose."

"Aw, go wan!" returned the man. "Don't get too funny or I'll come over there and take you over my knee."

"Come over and try it, if you think you can do it," replied Rand hotly.

"Monkey Rae again," murmured Jack. "I thought we had got rid of him."

"Keep cool, Rand," advised Don; "it isn't worth while making a fuss over."

"He ought to have his head punched," put in Dick.

"Who?" asked Jack. "Don?"

"No; that fellow in the boat," answered Dick.

"That isn't the way to teach him good manners," objected Jack.

"It's the only way you can teach some people," argued Dick. "Who is he?"

"Oh, that's the man that took our boat up the river," replied Jack.

"What do you think he was trying to do?" went on Dick.

"Trying to steal it, of course," replied Jack.

"I mean now."

"Oh, smash us up so we couldn't row to-morrow," guessed Jack.

"But what for?" persisted Dick.

"Oh, just pure ugliness, I guess," replied Jack.

"Then, you know, Monkey has it in for Rand for the thrashing he once gave him for beating his dog."

"Does he carry malice like that?" asked Donald.

"He will carry it all his life," replied Jack, "and then some more. Then Monkey doesn't like any of us because he was always behind us in school. He says we got ahead by favor, for we aren't any smarter than he is."

"Let fall!" ordered Gerald. "Let's try it again."

The boys bent to their work, but they had lost their vim, and they did not strike their pace again.

"I don't understand about Monkey," began Jack, as they drew into the landing. "There is something back of all this, and I mean to find out what it is."

"What have you been doing," cried Pepper, who was waiting for them on the landing, "fishing?"

"No; monkeying," answered Rand. "Jim Rae got in the way, and we had to stop for fear of smashing into him."

"Why didn't you do it and get rid of him?" asked Pepper.

"It would more likely have got rid of us," replied Rand; "and I guess that is what he was trying to do."



CHAPTER XX

A NIGHT ALARM

"Who's there?" called Rand sharply. He was sitting with Donald and Pepper on the steps of the piazza, in front of Mr. Scott's house.

"There is nobody there," declared Donald; "it's just your imagination."

"But I certainly saw something move behind that bush over there," insisted Rand.

"And I, too," confirmed Pepper.

"You are always seeing things, even when there ain't any," continued Donald.

"And you can't see them until they hit you with a club," retorted Pepper.

"Any one there?" called Rand again, going to the spot which Pepper pointed out, and followed by the others.

"Sh!" was the whispered reply from behind the bushes. "It is only I."

"Who are you?" demanded Rand.

"Win Moore," replied a small boy, coming out.

"Why, hello, Win," said Rand; "what were you trying to do, play spook?"

"No," replied Win, "but I thought maybe Gerald was here."

"He isn't here," answered Rand. "Do you want to see him?"

"Yes," hesitated Win; "I have something to tell him."

"I am sorry he isn't here," continued Rand. "Anything I can do for you?"

"There isn't any one around, is there?" went on Win doubtfully.

"Nobody but Pepper, Don and I," replied Rand. "You know them. What is it?"

"They are going to smash the shell to-night," whispered Win, looking fearfully about him.

"They are going to do what?" exclaimed Donald.

"Say it again," said Rand, doubting that he had heard aright.

"They are going to smash the shell to-night, so you can't row to-morrow," repeated Win.

"Who are?" demanded Donald, still incredulous.

"Monkey Rae and Sam Tompkins," answered Win.

"How do you know?" asked Pepper.

"I heard them planning," explained Win. "I was up in the woods to-day and I heard some one talking, and I listened to hear who it was."

"What did they say?"

"Monkey said he guessed there'd be a surprise party here in the morning, when you found you didn't have any boat to row with. Sam asked how they could do it, and Monkey said they would go down to the boathouse to-night, after it got dark, and fix it. Sam didn't want to go very much, but Monkey said it was all right, and nobody would know who did it."

"Do you think he meant our shell?"

"Sure," replied Win. "He said he was going to get square with Rand Peyton and Pepper Blake. So I hid in the bushes until they went away, and I came down here to tell Gerald."

"Thank you, Win," said Rand; "we are ever so much obliged to you."

"Don't let them know I told you," pleaded Win, "or they will half kill me for telling."

"Sure not," promised Rand. "You can slip off again and no one will know you have been here."

"Well, what do you think of that!" exclaimed Pepper, when Win had gone.

"Shure, an' phat mischief are ye's plotting now?" demanded Gerald, who came across the lawn as his brother slipped away.

"More monkey tricks," responded Rand. "Monkey is going to surprise us to-night."

"Is he now?" asked Gerald; "and phat is he up to now?"

"He is going to smash the shell so we can't row to-morrow," replied Donald.

"Faith, I think he'll find it a hard nut to crack," asserted Gerald, dropping his brogue in his indignation. "Though there isn't anything surprising about that. I don't think Monkey could surprise us, except by trying to be good."

"And I don't believe he'll try that," laughed Pepper.

"What shall we do about it?" asked Gerald. "Tell the colonel?"

"I am no sure there is anything to it," said Donald. "And it may be possible we can take care of Monkey and Sam ourselves. In my opinion, it would no be a bad plan to go down to the boathouse and capture them if they come."

"That isn't a bad idea," agreed Rand. "We can slip away, one at a time, so if they see us they won't suspect anything. I will go first and the rest of you can join me later. There isn't any moon to-night, and we can easily find places to hide around the house."

"Faith," whispered Gerald, "we'll beat them at their own game."

Acting upon Rand's suggestion the boys separated, each taking a different course, meeting later at the boathouse. The place was in darkness when Rand, who was the first to arrive, got there. Making a hasty examination by the light of a match he saw that the shell was all right. Keeping in the dark, he waited until the others, slipping up like so many shadows, had come.

"Seen or heard anything?" asked Donald, as they consulted behind the house.

"Not a thing," responded Rand. "Perhaps they have given it up."

"You can no depend upon what they may do," commented Donald.

"That's right, old Solomon," agreed Pepper; "so it's just as well to be prepared for anything."

"What shall we do if they come?" asked Donald.

"Jump out and scare them to death," suggested Gerald.

"No," advised Rand. "Let's give them a chance to get in. If they go to the door or window, Don or I will give the call and we will all rush on them and grab them."

"Don't wait too long or they may spoil the shell," said Pepper.

"We will just give them a chance to get inside," went on Rand, detailing his plans. "I think it will be better if we each hide in a different place. Pepper can go over there behind those bushes and watch the road. Don can watch the door, and I will go on the other side and look out for the window."

"And phat will Oi be doing?" asked Gerald, who could not resist his fun-making instincts.

"You can hide down by the shore and watch the river."

"We ought to have some kind of a signal if we hear them coming," suggested Pepper.

"Like Paul Revere, 'one if by land, and two if by sea,'" quoted Rand. "If you hear them coming down the road, Pepper, you can give the whip-poor-will call, and Gerald, if he hears anything, can give the owl call."

"Owl right," responded Gerald, as they each went to their appointed stations.

The night was warm and pleasant. No sound, except the soft lapping of the waves on the shore, the chirp of a cricket or the occasional croak of a tree frog, disturbed the quiet of the night. As the time wore on, without any disturbance, the watches began to doze until Gerald was suddenly roused with a start by a splash in the water and saw a boat gliding silently toward the landing.

"Faith, it looks as if there might be some fun after all," whispered Gerald to himself, softly hooting a couple of times and concealing himself behind an upturned boat.

"What was that?" asked one of the rowers at the sound of Gerald's call.

"Aw, it's nothing but an owl," replied the other. "Whatcher 'fraid of?"

The boat was now at the landing, and the taller of the two stepping out fastened the boat and went toward the house, calling upon his companion to follow.

"There will be some fun here in the morning," chuckied the foremost, whom Gerald now recognized as Monkey Rae.

"Sure there ain't anybody 'round?" asked the other, hesitating.

"Of course there ain't," responded Monkey confidently. "Aw, come on! What yer 'fraid of? Nobody knows anything about it but you and I, and we ain't a-shoutin' it."

"I thought I heard a noise," demurred the other.

"Oh, bother!" returned Monkey impatiently. "You're always hearing something."

"How are we going to get in?"

"Don't worry about that," answered Monkey, "I fixed the window all right to-day."

While talking Monkey had opened the window and started to crawl into the house. "If you're afraid to come in," he said scornfully to the other, "stay outside and keep watch. It won't take me more than a minute to crack this shell."

At this instant Rand, with a shrill, clear whistle, sprang out from his hiding place and in a moment all was confusion.

"Shure, the fat's in the fire now," chuckled Gerald to himself.

As the whistle sounded Monkey sprang back through the window, landing in a heap almost at Rand's feet, but was up and off before Rand could get a hold on him, and sped after his companion, who had started off at the first alarm, in a race down the landing to their boat.

"Hi! stop them, Gerald!" shouted Rand, dashing after them.

Donald, at the alarm, rushed toward the window, and, tripping over a coil of rope, stumbled against a stack of oars, sending them down with a crash that could be heard a mile. Picking himself up, he ran after Rand down the landing.

There was a splash in the water, and the sound of rapidly receding oars, but there was no one at the landing.

"What has become of Gerald?" asked Rand, looking around.

"He can't be far off," replied Donald, "Give him a call."

"Hello-o-o, Gerald!" shouted Rand, but Gerald did not answer.

"Hello, there! What's ail the noise about?" demanded Colonel Snow, who had followed Pepper onto the landing. "Why, boys, what are you doing here?"

"We can't find Gerald," explained Donald, who was looking in ail kinds of impossible places.

"I shouldn't think you would in such a place as that," said the colonel, as Donald turned over some small boxes. "What is it now, hide and seek, or has Gerald been losing himself?"

"I don't know," replied Rand. "We heard that Monkey Rae was going to smash the shell tonight, so we came down to catch him, but he got away from us."

"Monkey Rae again!" exclaimed the colonel. "I should think there was at least half a dozen of him the way he gets around. But what has that got to do with Gerald?"

"Why, Gerald was out here on the landing, and now we can't find him. I don't know what has become of him, or if he is just hiding for fun," explained Rand; "though I don't see where he could hide here," he added.

"Sure of that?" questioned the colonel. "Let's take another look around." Lighting a lantern from the boathouse they made a thorough search of the place without finding anything of their missing comrade.

"Perhaps he got tired of waiting and went home," suggested the colonel.

"That wouldn't be Gerald," averred Rand and Donald. "He wouldn't go off and leave us without saying anything and, besides, he was here when they came, for he gave us the signal."

"Well, he isn't here now," decided the colonel after another look around. "Hello, Gerald!" he called, and the boys sounded the call on their bugles.

"He ought to answer that if he is anywhere around," said Rand.

"Do you think they could have carried him off?" asked Pepper.

"I don't know what to think," replied the colonel. "It's queer. You boys certainly have an amazing faculty for getting into trouble."

"But how did you get here?" asked Rand.

"I was just taking a stroll," replied the colonel, "when I heard the noise and came down to see what it was."



CHAPTER XXI

A SURPRISE

"W-W-WHAT was that?" stammered Pepper. "I t-thought I heard a cry. T-t-there it is again," as a faint call came from the river.

The three boys were standing on the landing with Colonel Snow, still discussing the mysterious disappearance of Gerald.

"T-that you, Gerald?" shouted Pepper.

"Where are you?" cried Donald; but, without waiting for a reply, he threw off his coat and shoes and plunged into the river, swimming in the direction from which the cry had come,

"He's all right!" came the reassuring cry from Donald a little later. "I have got him," and shortly afterwards reappeared paddling a boat in which was the bewildered Gerald, who was helped onto the landing by the colonel and the others.

"H-h-how did you g-get into the boat, Gerald?" asked Pepper when Gerald had somewhat recovered from the effects of his experience. "Did you think it was a good time to take a row?"

"It looks that way," replied Gerald. "But when Rand called to me to stop them I ran out to try and head them off, but something gave me a rap on the head and the next thing I knew I found myself lying in that boat. Say, I feel as if I had a head like a pumpkin."

"I s-should think it would feel more like a s-squash," commented Pepper.

"That is going altogether too far," asserted the colonel indignantly. "It might have had a very serious ending. I think that there is a bad quarter-of-an-hour in store for that Rae boy if I can get hold of him in the morning."

As there was no likelihood that Monkey Rae would return to renew his attempt to injure the boat the house was locked and the boys went back to the town discussing, as they went, the events of the evening. The colonel was very indignant.

When they came near to the top of the hill they were met by Jack, who was running at full speed down the road.

"Hello!" called Rand when he came near. "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

"Hello," returned Jack, slowing up and joining the others. "Where have you been? I have been looking all over for you."

"Down to the boathouse," replied Rand.

"Down to the boathouse!" exclaimed Jack. "What took you down there tonight?"

"Why, we heard that Monkey was g-going to s-smash the boat," answered Pepper.

"Monkey!" cried Jack. "I wish I had been there——"

"Wouldn't have done you any good," said Donald. "He was too quick for us."

"Was any one with him?" asked Jack.

"Only Sam Tompkins."

"Ah!" returned Jack. "What did I tell you?"

"Don't know," replied Pepper; "you tell us so many things that we can't remember them all. What did you tell us this time?"

"About Monkey Rae and Sam Tompkins, and the queer coins you picked up in the road that day."

"I believe you did say something about Monkey and the coins," admitted Donald, "but I no paid much attention to it."

"But what has that got to do with the present excitement?" asked Rand.

"Listen to this," exclaimed Jack, stopping under an electric light to read a circular that he drew from his pocket.

"Three hundred dollars reward. Escaped from jail. Three hundred dollars will be paid for the arrest and detention of one James Rae, alias 'Limpy,' who escaped from the jail at Melton on June fifth. Said Rae is about forty years old, stoutly built, and five feet eight inches in height. Has smooth face, red hair, and walks with a limp. James Robinson, Sheriff."

"W-w-why, t-t-that must be M-M-Monkey Rae's father," stammered Pepper when Jack had finished reading. "I knew he was away somewhere, but I didn't know he was in prison."

"Shure, there's lots of things ye don't know, me darlint," interjected Gerald.

"And he is the man who was with Monkey on the river," added Rand.

"And the man that was in the boat the other day," put in Dick.

"I hope they catch him!" said Pepper vindictively.

"Go for him, Pepper," encouraged Gerald.

"And that is what Monkey stole the fish for," continued Pepper.

"Of course it was," replied Jack. "Didn't I tell you there was something back of this monkey business?"

"But I no see it yet," remarked Donald.

"Of course you don't," said Jack. "You want it explained with a diagram. It was Rae who robbed Judge Taylor's office, and Monkey and Sam Tompkins helped him. He was hiding in the woods when we saw him."

"But what has that got to do with the coins?" demanded Donald.

"Why, they stole them out of the judge's office and lost them where Rand and Pepper found them. I've been studying this thing out ever since the night we were in the judge's office. You see, there was suspicion of some of us and I wanted to clear it off. It's all as clear as day now."

"Whin the fog's so thick ye c'ud cut it with a knife," put in Gerald. "Give us a diagram av it."

"Why, the robbery was done by Rae and some of his pals," explained Jack. "They sent Monkey up between the buildings and he opened the window and got in and then opened the doors for the others. When they got through all they had to do was to walk out, and Monkey closed and fastened the doors after them and went down the same way as he got in."

"But how do you know that Rae did it?" asked Rand.

"By putting two and two together," replied Jack. "I knew that the coins you found were like some that had been stolen. Monkey Rae and Sam went over the road just before you found them. They had not been lying there long, or they would have been covered up in the dirt, or some one else would have found them."

"'Tis no way impossible," admitted Donald.

"Then some of the tools they used had been taken from Wilson's blacksmith shop, and you know Dick said that Monkey and Sam used to come in there almost every day, so that it was quite probable that they took them; that's number two."

"Go on," urged Rand. "It is growing interesting."

"Well, there isn't much more; but I saw, from this circular, that Rae had escaped from prison, so I concluded that the man we saw in the boat was Rae, and I put the two and two together and worked it out that it was he who robbed the judge's office."

"What was he after?" asked Pepper.

"I don't know exactly," replied Jack; "but it was papers of some kind."

"Well, it does look as if you were right," conceded Donald; "but you haven't got any proof."

"No," admitted Jack; "but I have given the officer the tip, and told him about the shack in the woods where Pepper saw Rae. They are going to make a raid on it tomorrow, and perhaps they will find some of the stolen property in their possession; then we have the impression of a hand on this paper, and we can get one of Monkey's hands and see if they aren't the same."

"Faith, hunting is wan thing and finding's anither," commented Gerald.

Which proved to be quite true in this case, for when the officers reached the cabin in the woods they found it deserted and dismantled. The occupants had evidently taken alarm and disappeared, leaving no trace, although the boys were destined to meet them again under decidedly unpleasant circumstances.



CHAPTER XXII

THE RACE

The race had been set for 9 o'clock in the morning, but, with the sun, there had come up a strong breeze from the west that had stirred up the water into such a lumpy condition that any kind of time would be impossible, and the advantage would be all on the side of the Altons. So the race was put off from time to time in the hope that the wind would die down so as to equalize the chances, and it was not until late in the afternoon that the committee decided to have it rowed, although the wind was still blowing and the water rough.

The course, as agreed upon, was a straight-away three miles over a clear stretch of the river from off the Creston landing.

"What have you got there?" asked Dick, as Rand pulled a coin from his pocket and began rubbing it up on his sleeve.

"That's his mascot," laughed Jack. "It's the coin he found in the road, and he keeps it for luck."

"Well, I guess it has its work cut out for it, all right," went on Dick. "He will have his hands full—if it is a he—to keep us in the procession. Alton has a crew of blacksmiths."

"So much the more weight to carry," replied Rand, who made the best of everything.

"Not much chance for us," put in Jack.

"Oh, I don't know," returned Rand.

"'Stranger things than that have happened,' as the old woman said when she kissed her cow."

"You mean as the man said when he married his cook," corrected Donald.

"Well, there wasn't anything strange about that," returned Rand, "if she was a good cook."

"Or if her cooking was good," added Jack.

"Are you ready, all?" now called the starter, and each one of the different crews grasped his oar with quickened tension as the coxswains responded: "Ready!" and there followed the sharp report of the pistol.

As the report rang out the oars of the three crews, all like a piece of accurate machinery, struck the water at the same instant and the boats leaped forward as if shot from a spring.

At the start the weight of the Alton crew told, and their boat darted to the front, only to be hugged a moment later by Highpoint, while the Uncas trailed just behind them.

"Easy, boys, easy," cautioned Gerald. "There are three miles of it, you know."

The three boats were all together. Alton a bit in the lead, but without any daylight showing between them. The Uncas last, but still in the race.

"Shure, 'tis foine, ye'r doing," cried Gerald. "Ye have thim all scared. See how they are running away from ye!"

For the first mile there was no change, Alton still leading, but the pace was telling, and Highpoint was creeping up—Uncas still in the rear.

In the next mile there was still no change in the order, and it looked like Alton's race, but as the second mile was passed Highpoint poked its nose in front, Uncas still hugging them. "Now, then!" cried Gerald, as they entered on the last half mile, "hit it up, boys; we are still in it!"

"The mascot's working overtime," panted Dick, "but he's making good."

The boys quickened their stroke in response to Gerald's call, and inch by inch, the Uncas pulled up on their rivals and, just as the finish was reached, slid across the line a scant six inches in front. It was only six inches, but enough, and though the boys could scarce sit up, their fatigue was forgotten in the joy of the unexpected victory.

"Tra-la-la," trilled Gerald on his bugle, but its notes were drowned by the call of the leader of the Highpoints for three cheers for the Uncas, which were given with a will by both the losing crews.

After cheering each other, until they were hoarse, the three crews went their ways with an agreement to row another race later in the season.

"That's one for the mascot," drawled Rand, when the boat had been rowed to the landing, where the colonel, with Pepper and others, were waiting for them.

"Well, boys," said the colonel, after he had congratulated them on their victory, "you look as if you had been doing a day's work on a farm."

"Well, I don't know," responded Rand. "It was hard work, but I think, after all, I had rather be the man with the row than the man with the hoe."

"That reminds me—" began Dick.

"It does, eh?" questioned Donald. "Well, I don't know why, I am sure."

"That, speaking of roses—" went on Dick.

"Roses!" ejaculated Jack. "Who said anything about roses?"

"Well, talking about roses, anyhow—" continued Dick.

"I don't see anything about here to remind you of roses," contended Donald.

"Can you tell me," persisted Dick, "what kind of rows never come singly?"

"The kind you have to hoe," responded Donald, whose father had a garden.

"I guess that's right, Don," agreed the colonel

"Shad roes," proclaimed Dick.

"Pooh!" sniffed Don; "that has an ancient and fishlike flavor."

"Which reminds me," remarked the colonel, "that I provided some refreshments, as a consolation for your defeat, but as you won I suppose you won't care for them now."

"Speaking for myself," said Dick modestly; "it sounds good to me."



CHAPTER XXIII

CONCLUSION

"I hope I am not too late to congratulate you on your victory," said a pleasant voice, and the boys looked up to see a young gentleman standing in the doorway of the room, where, having finished the repast the colonel had provided, they were sitting around talking over the details of the race.

"I have been looking for you for a couple of weeks," he went on, coming into the room and offering his hand to Rand. "It was a splendid race and pluckily rowed, and you deserved to win."

"Thank you," replied Rand. "Did you say you were looking for me?"

"For all of you," replied the gentleman. "I see you don't remember me. I am Frank Whilden, whose sister you saved from drowning the other day. Come in, Nellie," he called to a young girl who was standing outside. "These are the young men who came to our rescue."

"I just want to thank you all—" began Nellie.

"Oh, it was no anything," returned Donald.

"It was very much to me," began Nellie.

"I mean," explained Donald confusedly "it's no great thing to make a claver about."

"But it was a great thing to have saved you," interposed Rand, with an emphasis on the you.

"That's very nice," replied Nellie. "Won't you shake hands with me, all around?"

"Faith, you won't be asking me twice to do myself the favor," replied Gerald. "Sure I wasn't there to have the pleasure of saving you, but I would have been there if you had sent me word."

"Don't forget the most important part, Nellie," her brother reminded her when she had finished shaking hands.

"Mother sends her regards to you all," went on Nellie, "and hopes you will accept the little present she has sent you."

"But we don't want any reward for what we did," protested Rand. "It was reward enough to have helped you."

"This isn't a reward," continued Nellie; "just a little token of her esteem. We had it sent down to-day. Frank and I thought if you didn't win the race it might console you a little. We do hope you will like it."

Frank had gone from the room, but returned now with a handsome Dart motorcycle.

"Crickets!" cried Pepper. "I-i-it's a beauty, ain't it?" while the boys gathered around it to examine it. "S-s-say——"

"Whistle it, Pepper," said Jack. "I don't know what it is you want to say, but I guess we all agree with you."

"We can take turns using it."

"We can draw lots for the first ride on it."

"Or toss up for it," proposed Donald.

"I am glad you like it," began Nellie.

"We most certainly do," chorused the boys; "and we are ever so much obliged. We couldn't have had anything that would have suited us nearly so well."

"There are five more just like it outside," went on Nellie; "one for each of you, and we hope you will get a lot of pleasure from them."

"But we can't accept all these," protested Rand, while the others stood silent in stupefied amazement.

"Crickets!" exclaimed Pepper. "I will be awful sorry to-morrow."

THE END