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+Project Gutenberg's Dave Porter At Bear Camp, by Edward Stratemeyer
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Dave Porter At Bear Camp
+       The Wild Man of Mirror Lake
+
+Author: Edward Stratemeyer
+
+Illustrator: Walter S. Rogers
+
+Release Date: August 30, 2009 [EBook #29859]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DAVE PORTER AT BEAR CAMP ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Edwards, Barbara Kosker and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Dave Porter at Bear Camp
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Edward Stratemeyer
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: OUT CAME A KETTLE, A FRYING-PAN,
+SOME KNIVES AND FORKS. _Page 293._]
+
+
+
+
+  Dave Porter Series
+
+
+
+
+  DAVE PORTER AT BEAR CAMP
+
+  OR
+
+  THE WILD MAN OF MIRROR LAKE
+
+
+
+
+  BY
+
+  EDWARD STRATEMEYER
+
+  Author of "Dave Porter at Oak Hall," "The Old Glory Series,"
+  "Colonial Series," "Pan-American Series,"
+  "Soldiers of Fortune Series," etc.
+
+
+
+
+  _ILLUSTRATED BY WALTER S. ROGERS_
+
+
+
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+  BOSTON
+  LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO.
+
+
+
+
+  Published, August, 1915
+
+
+
+
+  COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO.
+
+  _All rights reserved_
+
+  DAVE PORTER AT BEAR CAMP
+
+
+
+
+  Norwood Press
+  BERWICK & SMITH CO.
+  NORWOOD, MASS.
+  U. S. A.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+"DAVE PORTER AT BEAR CAMP" is a complete story in itself, but
+forms the eleventh volume in a line issued under the general title of
+"Dave Porter Series."
+
+As I have mentioned several times, this series was started a number of
+years ago by the publication of "Dave Porter at Oak Hall," in which my
+young readers were introduced to a typical, wide-awake American lad at
+an up-to-date American boarding school.
+
+The publication of this first volume was followed by that of "Dave
+Porter in the South Seas," whither the lad journeyed to clear up a
+question concerning his parentage. Then came "Dave Porter's Return to
+School," telling of more doings at Oak Hall; "Dave Porter in the Far
+North," in which he went on a second journey looking for his father;
+"Dave Porter and His Classmates," relating more happenings at school;
+"Dave Porter at Star Ranch," in which our hero participated in many
+adventures in the wild West; "Dave Porter and His Rivals," showing how
+he outwitted some of his old-time enemies; "Dave Porter on Cave
+Island," giving the particulars of a remarkable voyage on the ocean and
+strange doings ashore; "Dave Porter and the Runaways," in which the
+youth taught some of his chums a much-needed lesson; and finally "Dave
+Porter in the Gold Fields," in which the lad and a number of his chums
+went in quest of a gold mine, all traces of which had been lost through
+a landslide.
+
+The present volume tells the particulars of a thrilling rescue from fire
+at sea, and how the boys and girls, along with some of the older folks,
+went for a vacation in a camp on the shore of a beautiful lake. Here,
+most unexpectedly, Dave fell in with one of his old enemies. The youth
+and his chums had some strenuous times, the particulars of which are
+given in the pages which follow.
+
+Once again I avail myself of the opportunity to thank my young readers
+for all the pleasant things they have said regarding my stories. I trust
+that the reading of this volume will benefit them all.
+
+  EDWARD STRATEMEYER.
+  _March 1, 1915._
+
+
+
+
+  CONTENTS
+
+
+  CHAPTER                                  PAGE
+
+       I  THE BOYS ON SHIPBOARD               1
+
+      II  SOMETHING ABOUT THE PAST           11
+
+     III  THE RESCUE AT SEA                  21
+
+      IV  BACK TO CRUMVILLE                  32
+
+       V  DAVE AT HOME                       42
+
+      VI  NEWS OF IMPORTANCE                 52
+
+     VII  LINK MERWELL AGAIN                 62
+
+    VIII  OFF FOR BEAR CAMP                  72
+
+      IX  ON THE ROAD                        83
+
+       X  CAUGHT IN A STORM                  93
+
+      XI  FROM ONE HARDSHIP TO ANOTHER      105
+
+     XII  A STROKE OF LIGHTNING             116
+
+    XIII  AT BEAR CAMP                      126
+
+     XIV  SOMETHING OF A QUARREL            137
+
+      XV  VISITORS                          148
+
+     XVI  A STRANGE COMMUNICATION           158
+
+    XVII  THE SWIMMING RACE                 169
+
+   XVIII  A CRY FROM THE CLIFF              180
+
+     XIX  THE CAPTURE OF LINK MERWELL       191
+
+      XX  BACK IN CAMP                      201
+
+     XXI  THE ESCAPE                        210
+
+    XXII  MORE OF A MYSTERY                 220
+
+   XXIII  SHOOTING A WILDCAT                230
+
+    XXIV  THE MAN AT THE CABIN              239
+
+     XXV  TWO DEER                          249
+
+    XXVI  STARTLING NEWS                    257
+
+   XXVII  WHAT HAPPENED IN THE NIGHT        266
+
+  XXVIII  DELLA FORD'S STATEMENT            275
+
+    XXIX  THE BIG BEAR                      284
+
+     XXX  GOOD NEWS--CONCLUSION             295
+
+
+
+
+  ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+  Out came a kettle, a frying-pan, some knives
+  and forks (Page 293)                            _Frontispiece_
+
+                                                          FACING
+                                                            PAGE
+
+  Dave caught her under the arms, and, treading water,
+  brought both her and himself to the surface                 24
+
+  Then, as Dave went after him, he broke into a run           64
+
+  And then all the young folks fell to eating with great
+  gusto                                                      102
+
+  "Hello! hello! Where are you going?"                       154
+
+  "It's a snake, and a big one!"                             180
+
+  "You just said that I was not Dave Porter. What
+  do you mean by that?"                                      202
+
+  Crack! Bang! The two pieces rang out in quick
+  succession                                                 254
+
+
+
+
+DAVE PORTER AT BEAR CAMP
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE BOYS ON SHIPBOARD
+
+
+"Phil, your father seems to be a good deal worried this morning. I hope
+it isn't on account of the way we cut up on this ship last evening."
+
+"Not at all, Dave," returned Phil Lawrence. "I don't believe he noticed
+our monkey-shines. He is worried over the letter he received in the mail
+we got at our last stopping-place."
+
+"No bad news I hope?" said Roger Morr, another one of the group of boys
+seated on the forward deck of a small coastwise steamer.
+
+"Well, I think it is rather bad news," answered the son of the vessel's
+owner. "Poor dad stands to lose between twenty and thirty thousand
+dollars."
+
+"Twenty or thirty thousand dollars!" exclaimed Dave Porter. "Why, how
+can that be, Phil?"
+
+"Did he make a bad investment?" asked Ben Basswood, another youth of the
+group.
+
+"You can hardly call it a bad investment, Ben," returned Phil. "Buying
+the land was all right enough in the first place. It's trying to get rid
+of it that's the sticker."
+
+"You are talking in riddles, Phil," said Roger Morr. "Won't you
+explain?"
+
+"Maybe Phil doesn't care to explain," broke in Dave Porter, quickly. "It
+may be his father's private business, you know."
+
+"Oh, I don't think he'll object to my telling you the details,"
+responded the shipowner's son. "It isn't very much of a secret where we
+live, or in East Haven."
+
+"East Haven? Is that the place across the river from where you live?"
+queried Dave Porter.
+
+"Yes. It's quite a bustling little town, too, although when my father
+and his older brother, Lester Lawrence, bought the tract of land there
+it didn't amount to much, and they got the ground for a song."
+
+"I'd like to buy some land for a song," put in another youth of the
+group. "Then I might sell it and make a handsome profit. Say," he
+continued, his face brightening up, "that puts me in mind of a story.
+Once there was a man who wanted to----"
+
+"Hold on, Shadow. It isn't your turn to tell stories now," interrupted
+Dave. "We want to hear what Phil has to say."
+
+"This story wouldn't take but a minute," grumbled Maurice Hamilton,
+otherwise known as "Shadow." "It's a dandy one, too."
+
+"All right, we'll listen to it later," returned Roger Morr. "Let us
+first hear what Phil has to tell."
+
+"It isn't so much of a story," said the shipowner's son. "You see, years
+ago my dad and his older brother purchased a tract of land at East
+Haven, along the waterfront. For some time it was idle, and then it was
+leased to a lumber company, who used it for a number of years as a
+lumber yard. At that time East Haven had no railroad, but the L. A. & H.
+line came through that way and wanted to cross the river at East Haven,
+and wanted to locate their railroad repair shops along the waterfront
+there. They have made my father an offer for the land, and if that tract
+could be sold my folks would stand to make a profit of twenty to thirty
+thousand dollars."
+
+"Well, why not sell the land then--unless you think it is worth more
+than the railroad company is willing to pay?" asked Dave.
+
+"My father is willing enough to sell, and has been for some time; but he
+can't give the railroad a clear title, and consequently the deal is at a
+standstill."
+
+"Oh, I see, Phil," said Roger Morr. "That is the worst of buying land
+that has a flaw in the title."
+
+"There wasn't any flaw in the title when my father and my Uncle Lester
+purchased the ground," returned the shipowner's son. And now his face
+clouded. "The trouble has all come up within the last five years--that
+is, it wouldn't have come up at all if it hadn't been for what happened
+about five years ago."
+
+"Oh, I think I know to what you refer, Phil," cried Dave, quickly. "I
+remember now that you told me about your old Uncle Lester. Didn't you
+ever hear from him?"
+
+"Not a word, Dave. And that is why my father can't sell the land."
+
+"I don't understand this," said Ben Basswood.
+
+"And neither do I," added Shadow Hamilton.
+
+"Well, it's this way: About five years ago my folks were connected with
+a trust company in the town where we live. My Uncle Lester was one of
+several men who had charge of certain funds, and these funds were kept
+in a safe-deposit vault belonging to the company. One day it was found
+that some of these funds had disappeared. Suspicion pointed to my uncle,
+and although he protested his entire innocence, some of the other trust
+company officials were in favor of having him arrested. A warrant was
+sworn out, but before it could be served my uncle left home and went to
+another State. Then the local paper came out with an article which
+stated that the bank officials had evidence that Lester Lawrence was
+undoubtedly guilty. My uncle got a copy of this paper--it was found
+later in the room he had occupied at a hotel--and this evidently
+frightened him so much that he disappeared."
+
+"Do you mean to say that he disappeared for good?" queried Ben.
+
+"Yes, he took a train out of town, and that was the last seen or heard
+of him. My father did all he could to locate Uncle Lester. He had men
+searching for him, and he advertised in the newspapers. But up to the
+present time he hasn't heard a word from him or of him. He is half
+inclined to believe that my uncle is dead."
+
+"Perhaps he went to some foreign country," suggested Dave.
+
+"But how does that affect the title to the land?" questioned Shadow
+Hamilton.
+
+"Easily enough," was the reply of the shipowner's son. "My uncle held a
+one-quarter interest in the tract. In order to give a clear title to the
+railroad company it would be necessary for Uncle Lester to sign the
+deed. The railroad company--nor any one else for that matter--won't buy
+the land without a clear title."
+
+"I don't wonder that your father is worried," said Dave,
+sympathetically. "I suppose he feels just as bad over the continued
+absence of your uncle as he does over the fact that he can't sell the
+land and make a profit on it."
+
+"That's just it, Dave," answered Phil. "We'd give a good deal to know
+what has become of Uncle Lester."
+
+"I suppose he doesn't dare come back for fear of being arrested," was
+Shadow's comment. "Even if he is innocent they may be able to convict
+him."
+
+"Oh, I forgot to tell you about that," burst out Phil. "Less than four
+months after my uncle disappeared, some men were arrested in
+Springfield, for a theft committed at one of the banks there. During the
+trial it came out that one of these criminals had been in our town
+during the time when the funds disappeared from our trust company. This
+rascal's movements were traced by the authorities, and then he was given
+what they call 'the third degree.' At that examination he broke down,
+and admitted that he had taken the funds which my Uncle Lester was
+supposed to have stolen. The affair created a great stir, and those who
+had proceeded against my uncle made all sorts of apologies to my father.
+They also did their best to locate Uncle Lester."
+
+"And didn't they hear anything at all?" asked Ben.
+
+"Not a word. We got what we thought were clues, but every one of them
+proved false."
+
+"Maybe he is dead."
+
+"That may be. But if we can't prove it, it leaves the matter of the land
+just as unsettled as before."
+
+"If your uncle is alive he must remember about the land, and must know
+that the matter will give your father a lot of trouble," suggested
+Roger.
+
+"That is true, Roger. But when a man is accused of a grave crime like
+that, he isn't apt to think about other things."
+
+"You say he is older than your father?" queried Dave.
+
+"Oh, yes, a good deal older--ten or twelve years, at least. If he is
+still alive he must be well advanced in years."
+
+"What does your father propose to do about the land?" questioned Ben,
+after a pause in the conversation.
+
+"He doesn't know what to do. He's at a complete standstill."
+
+"Won't the railroad company lease the land?" questioned Dave.
+
+"No. They told dad that they wanted to buy and build. They prefer his
+land to any other in East Haven, but at the same time, if they can't get
+his property, they are going to look elsewhere."
+
+"Twenty or thirty thousand dollars is a heap of money to let slip
+through one's fingers," was Shadow's comment. "It's a shame you can't
+find out where your uncle is, or what has become of him."
+
+"Why not advertise again?" suggested Dave. "If your uncle is still alive
+he must read some newspapers, and he might possibly see the notice."
+
+"Father thinks something of doing that, Dave, but it looks like rather a
+hopeless case," returned Phil Lawrence. He arose from the camp-chair on
+which he had been sitting, and stretched himself. "But come on,
+fellows," he continued. "There is no use of your worrying over our
+troubles. We came on this little trip to enjoy ourselves, and I want all
+of you to have the best time possible."
+
+"And we certainly have had a good time!" cried Dave. "Just as good a
+time as we had out in Yellowstone Park."
+
+"That is, Dave, considering the girls are not along," remarked Ben, with
+a wink at the others.
+
+"Well, of course that makes some difference, Ben," returned Dave, his
+face flushing a trifle.
+
+"Sure it does! A whole lot of difference!" declared Roger. "Just the
+same, we are having a dandy time, Phil," he added hastily. "The first
+outing of the Oak Hall Club is a big success."
+
+"It sure is!" broke in Shadow Hamilton. "Only I did hope we'd see a
+whale or some sharks or something like that," he added, regretfully.
+
+"I suppose if you saw a shark, Shadow, you'd jump right overboard to
+interview him, wouldn't you?" queried Ben, and gave a snicker.
+
+"Say, speaking of sharks puts me in mind of a story!" cried Shadow.
+"Once there was a sailor who had traveled all around the world. He met a
+lady in Boston who wanted him to tell her a shark story. Says the
+sailor: 'Madam, I've seen sharks in the Atlantic an' the Pacific an' the
+Indian Oceans, but all of them sharks wasn't a patch to the shark I once
+met on land.' 'On land!' cried the lady from Boston. 'Do you mean to say
+that you met a shark on land?' 'I did, Madam,' answered the sailor. 'I
+met a shark right in New York, and he did me out of every copper I had
+in my pockets. He was a hotel-keeper who played cards.'" And at this
+little yarn there was a general smile.
+
+"Pretty good for a fish story," was Roger's comment. "Just the same, I
+don't want to fall in with any sharks whether on land or at sea."
+
+"Before we land to-night, I want to settle about this outing we expect
+to take at Mirror Lake," said Dave. "If you fellows are going along,
+we'll have to make the necessary arrangements."
+
+"Well, you can count on me, Dave," returned Roger, promptly. "I told you
+at the start that I'd be glad to go with you."
+
+"And so will I be glad to go," added Phil.
+
+"I've got to find out what my folks want me to do first," said Shadow.
+He looked curiously at Dave, who was gazing far out to sea. "What are
+you looking at, Dave?" he asked.
+
+"I'm watching that smoke out there," was the answer.
+
+"That's only the smoke from some incoming steamer," returned Ben. "I
+noticed that a few minutes ago."
+
+"Maybe it is from a steamer," returned Dave, "but I don't think it is
+coming from any funnel."
+
+"What do you think it is--a fire?" cried Phil. And at these words all
+the boys on the deck rushed to the rail.
+
+"It looks that way to me. Let us get the glasses and find out."
+
+"I'll get them!" cried Roger; and lost no time in disappearing into the
+cabin.
+
+A minute later he reappeared with a pair of powerful marine glasses
+which he handed to Phil. The glasses were quickly adjusted, and the
+shipowner's son took a hasty look seaward.
+
+"It's a small steamer, all right," he announced. "Just as sure as you're
+born, there's a fire on board."
+
+"Fire!" repeated Roger.
+
+"If she's on fire we ought to go to the rescue!" exclaimed Dave.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+SOMETHING ABOUT THE PAST
+
+
+"What's this I hear about fire?"
+
+The question came from a burly, pleasant-faced man, who had just
+appeared on deck, close to the boys. It was Mr. Lawrence, the owner of
+the steamer.
+
+"Why, Dad, there's a steamer out there, and we think she's on fire,"
+answered Phil, quickly. "Here, take a look at her." And he handed over
+the marine glasses.
+
+"On fire!" exclaimed Mr. Lawrence, and raised the glasses to his eyes.
+"By Jove, boys, I think you're right! Phil, call Captain Bradley, and be
+quick about it. You'll find him in the after cabin. I just left him
+there."
+
+The son darted off, and while he was gone Mr. Lawrence and the boys took
+turns in looking through the glasses at the distant vessel. The smoke
+was now increasing, and as it did not come from the funnel of the
+steamer, there was no doubt but that the vessel was on fire.
+
+"You sent for me, Mr. Lawrence?" inquired the captain of the steamer,
+as he hurried up with Phil at his heels.
+
+"Yes, Captain. There's another steamer out there, and we are pretty sure
+she's on fire," answered Mr. Lawrence. "Change your course and put on
+speed." And as he spoke the shipowner turned the glasses over to the
+captain.
+
+Captain Bradley gave one searching look. "It's true! She's on fire, and
+we had better get to her as soon as possible!" he cried, and then
+hurried away to give the necessary directions. Soon the bow of the
+_Eaglet_, which was the name of the steamer, was headed in the direction
+of the craft that seemed to be in trouble.
+
+"If she's really in danger, I hope we get there soon enough to help
+those on board," said Dave.
+
+"Captain Bradley will do his best; you can rely on that," answered Mr.
+Lawrence, gravely. "But that steamer is farther off than some of you may
+imagine. Distances over the water are rather deceptive."
+
+Many of my young readers are doubtless already well acquainted with Dave
+Porter. For the benefit of those who are now meeting the youth for the
+first time, something of an introduction may not be out of place.
+
+When but a child of tender age, our hero had been found one day walking
+along the railroad tracks near the town of Crumville. He could tell
+nothing about himself or where he belonged, and was taken to the local
+poorhouse, where he remained for a number of years, finally being bound
+out to a retired college professor, named Caspar Potts, who was then
+running a small farm for his health. The professor did what he could for
+the lad, giving him a fairly good education. But Professor Potts was no
+farmer and soon got into financial difficulties with a mean
+money-lender, named Aaron Poole, and would have lost his farm had it not
+been for something out of the ordinary happening.
+
+One of the main industries of Crumville was a large jewelry factory,
+owned by Mr. Oliver Wadsworth. Mr. Wadsworth had a beautiful young
+daughter, named Jessie, and one day through an explosion of an
+automobile gasoline tank, the young miss was in danger of being burned
+to death when Dave came to her rescue. This so pleased the Wadsworths
+that they came not only to the aid of the boy, but also assisted Caspar
+Potts, who was discovered to be one of Mr. Wadsworth's former
+instructors at college.
+
+"The lad shall go to boarding-school and get a good education," said
+Oliver Wadsworth. And he accordingly sent Dave away from home, as
+related in the first book of this series, entitled "Dave Porter at Oak
+Hall." At that school our hero made many warm friends, including Phil
+Lawrence, the son of a wealthy shipowner; Roger Morr, the offspring of
+a United States senator; Shadow Hamilton, who was known far and wide for
+his yarn-spinning qualities; and many others.
+
+In those days the great cloud resting over Dave had been the question of
+his identity, and when some of his enemies spoke of him as "that
+poorhouse nobody," he resolved to find out who he really was. Getting a
+strange clue, he set out on a remarkable ocean voyage, as related in
+"Dave Porter in the South Seas," and was gratified to fall in with his
+uncle, Dunston Porter, a great hunter and traveler. Then the lad came
+back to Oak Hall, as related in "Dave Porter's Return to School." He
+next went in quest of his father, as told in "Dave Porter in the Far
+North."
+
+"Now they can't say that I'm a 'poorhouse nobody,'" he told his chums,
+after having met his father. And then, with a light heart, he came back
+to boarding-school once again, as related in "Dave Porter and His
+Classmates." Here he made more friends than ever, but likewise some
+bitter enemies, including one Link Merwell, the son of a ranch-owner of
+the West. Merwell did all he could to cause Dave trouble, but in the end
+was exposed and had to leave Oak Hall.
+
+"I hope I never fall in with Link Merwell again," Dave said to his
+school chums, but this was not to be. Dave had not only found his father
+and an uncle, but he had also found a sister, Laura Porter, who was
+very dear to him. Laura had a young lady friend, named Belle Endicott,
+who lived in the Far West, and through this friend Dave and his chums,
+and also Laura, as well as Jessie Wadsworth, received an invitation to
+spend some time at the Endicott place. They had a great deal of fun and
+not a few adventures, all of which have been set down in "Dave Porter at
+Star Ranch." Not far from the Endicott place was the home of Link
+Merwell, and that young man, as before, tried to make trouble, but his
+efforts were frustrated and he left home under a cloud.
+
+From the ranch Dave and his chums returned again to Oak Hall, as
+recorded in "Dave Porter and His Rivals." Then came the Christmas
+Holidays, and Dave went back to Crumville, where he and his folks were
+now living with the Wadsworth family in their elegant mansion on the
+outskirts of the town. Directly after Christmas there was a thrilling
+jewelry robbery at Mr. Wadsworth's factory. It was Dave, aided by some
+of his chums, who got on the track of the robbers and trailed them to
+the South and then to sea, as related in "Dave Porter on Cave Island."
+
+When our hero and his chums went back to Oak Hall they imagined that
+their adventures were at an end. But soon came in news of a strange man
+who was terrorizing the neighborhood. Some very unusual things
+happened, including an attempt to blow up a neighboring hotel. Some of
+the students were thought guilty, and fearing arrest, they fled in
+terror, as told of in "Dave Porter and the Runaways." Dave was not one
+of those who ran away, but he did go after the others, and made them
+come back to face the music, and also helped to clear up what had been a
+great mystery. Then all the boys graduated from Oak Hall, Dave receiving
+high honors.
+
+It is needless to say that our hero at that time was one of the happiest
+boys in the world. His folks and Jessie Wadsworth came to the
+graduation, which was celebrated with big bonfires, music by a band, and
+refreshments in the gymnasium.
+
+Dave had promised Roger Morr that he would pay the Senator's son a
+visit. He did so, along with Phil and some others, and on that occasion
+heard about a gold mine which had been willed to Mrs. Morr, and which
+had been completely swallowed up by a landslide. Numerous searches had
+been made for this lost mine, but up to that time without result.
+
+"Let us go in search of the lost mine," Dave had said. And how he and
+Roger and some of the others made the trip to the West and went on a
+hunt for the mine has been told in detail in the volume entitled "Dave
+Porter in the Gold Fields."
+
+While the lads were on this quest, they again fell in with Link Merwell,
+who with Job Haskers, a former teacher at Oak Hall, was also trying to
+locate the lost mine. The two parties had many adventures, and when at
+last the missing mine was relocated, there came another landslide which
+nearly cost Dave and his friends their lives. When they finally reached
+a place of safety they were joined by a man from the other party who had
+suffered severely, and who told them that Link Merwell and Job Haskers,
+as well as a third person of the party, had been swept away to their
+death. Later on Dave and his friends had looked for the missing persons,
+but had been unable to locate them.
+
+The finding of the Landslide Mine, as it was called, had been of great
+financial benefit to the Morr family, and they had been so pleased that
+they had given Dave and some of the others a share in the holding. In
+the meanwhile our hero and his chums, along with their friends, had
+finished their outing in the West by a grand tour through Yellowstone
+Park, on which they were accompanied by Dave's sister, Jessie and Belle,
+and some others.
+
+"Now you fellows have got to come on a little trip with me," Phil had
+said, after coming East, and had explained that a small steamer
+belonging to his father was then tied up at Philadelphia, getting ready
+for a trip to Portland, Maine, and back.
+
+"That will be fine," Dave had answered; and a little later a party had
+been made up, including Phil, Dave, Roger, and Shadow, and also Ben
+Basswood, who, as my old readers know, was one of Dave's old friends
+from Crumville. With the boys went Mr. Lawrence. When embarking on this
+trip, none of those on board had dreamed of the strenuous time now so
+close at hand.
+
+"I wonder how long it will take us to reach that vessel?" observed
+Roger, after Mr. Lawrence had followed the captain.
+
+"A quarter of an hour at least," replied Dave. "It will depend somewhat
+on how much steam the firemen can get up. I don't believe we are running
+at full speed now."
+
+"This steamer used to be a pretty good boat," said Phil, "but she is
+getting old now, and I heard dad say something about laying her up for
+repairs next Fall."
+
+"Wonder if we'll get a chance to do any rescue work," observed Ben.
+
+"I guess we'll do all we can," returned Shadow.
+
+"Look! Look!" cried Dave, pointing with his hand. "The smoke is getting
+thicker than ever!"
+
+"Maybe the poor people on that steamer will have to jump overboard
+before we can reach them," said Phil. "A fire like that must be pretty
+hot."
+
+Soon the youths knew by the pounding of the engine that the _Eaglet_ was
+running at increased speed. The course had been changed, and now the
+craft was headed directly for the burning boat.
+
+"She's a rather small affair, that's certain," remarked Roger.
+
+"Looks to me as if she might be a pleasure boat," remarked Phil, who,
+taking after his father, knew considerable about sea-going matters.
+"She's a private steam yacht, to my way of thinking." And later on this
+proved to be the case.
+
+As the _Eaglet_ drew closer to the burning vessel, the boys saw that
+there was great excitement on board the steam yacht. Sailors and others
+were rushing to and fro over the deck, and two streams of water from
+hoses were being directed to one part of the vessel, down a hatchway.
+The smoke was as thick as ever, and sometimes, as the wind shifted, the
+steam yacht was hidden entirely from view.
+
+Fortunately the sea was comparatively calm, there being only a slight
+breeze from the northeast. As the _Eaglet_ drew closer, the boys heard
+Captain Bradley giving directions to some of the sailors to get ready to
+launch two of the small boats.
+
+"Dad, why can't we take another small boat and go out?" asked Phil of
+his father. "We know how to row. We did lots of it on the river up at
+Oak Hall."
+
+"Very well," answered Mr. Lawrence. "But I want all of you to keep out
+of danger."
+
+Soon they were within hailing distance of the steam yacht. They could
+now see the persons on deck plainly, and made out fully a score of men,
+and three or four women, and also one or two children. The smoke was as
+thick as ever, but so far no flames were visible.
+
+"Save us, oh, save us!" screamed some one aboard the burning vessel. "We
+are burning up!"
+
+The words had scarcely been uttered when there came from the interior of
+the steam yacht a dull explosion. Then, of a sudden, something that
+looked like a bunch of rockets flew up into the air. With a loud hissing
+and with sparks flying in all directions, the bunch of rockets described
+a graceful curve and then headed directly for the deck of the _Eaglet_!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE RESCUE AT SEA
+
+
+"Look out there!"
+
+"Don't let those rockets hit you!"
+
+"Say, this is like a Fourth of July!"
+
+Such were some of the cries that came from the boys on the forward deck
+of the steamer when they saw the bunch of rockets flying swiftly toward
+them. They had barely time to leap to one side when, with a loud
+hissing, two of the rockets fell on the deck not far away. The others
+just grazed the rail and swept overboard.
+
+"We've got to put them out!" yelled Phil, and started to rush forward,
+intending to stamp on the rockets, when Dave hauled him back.
+
+"Look out, Phil! They may be on the point of explo----"
+
+Bang! Bang! Dave did not have time to finish what he was saying when the
+rockets went off in rapid succession, hurling the bits of fire in all
+directions. Phil was burnt a little on one cheek, and Dave and Roger
+each had a hand scorched, but that was all. Then, realizing that the
+worst was over, all the boys rushed forward and stamped out what was
+left of the flames.
+
+"Anybody hurt up there?" It was a cry from Captain Bradley, who came
+forward on a run, followed by Mr. Lawrence.
+
+"No. We're all right," gasped Phil. "But we might not be if it hadn't
+been for Dave;" and he gave our hero a grateful look.
+
+The explosion on the steam yacht had caused a wilder panic than ever,
+and in a twinkling a number of those on board leaped into the water.
+
+"Man the boats!" was the order from Captain Bradley.
+
+The _Eaglet_ had already heaved to, and two rowboats manned by the
+sailors and commanded by the first mate and a boatswain were soon
+lowered to the water. While this was being done, the boys, led by Phil
+and Dave, rushed to a third rowboat.
+
+"Now be careful, boys," warned Mr. Lawrence. "Perhaps I had better go
+with you."
+
+"Just as you say, Dad," answered Phil. "We can take care of ourselves
+though."
+
+"All right then, I won't go, for you may want the room for those you
+pick up," answered the shipowner; and a moment later the rowboat was in
+the water and following the other small craft to the side of the burning
+vessel.
+
+Seeing those from the _Eaglet_ coming to the rescue, several others
+leaped overboard, so that those in the rowboats had all they could do to
+move without hitting any one.
+
+"Save me! Save me! Don't let me drown!" yelled an elderly man, and
+caught hold of one of the oars.
+
+"All right, we'll save you. Take it easy," returned the first mate of
+the _Eaglet_; and soon those in the mate's rowboat had the man on board.
+In the meantime, the boat in command of the boatswain pulled in a woman
+and a little boy.
+
+Dave and his chums had their craft headed to where they had made out the
+forms of a woman and a girl struggling in the water. They soon reached
+the first of the pair, and after considerable difficulty managed to drag
+her on board.
+
+"Oh, thank you, thank you!" gasped the woman, as she sank down on the
+stern seat. "Now save Della! save Della!" she cried, and then suddenly
+collapsed.
+
+Dave had his eyes on the girl, and was on the point of reaching for her
+when she suddenly threw up her arms and disappeared.
+
+"She's gone under!" gasped Roger.
+
+"Will she come up again?" asked Shadow, anxiously.
+
+"There she is! Over there!" yelled Phil, and pointed to a spot several
+yards away.
+
+A hand and an arm had shown themselves, but that was all. In less than
+two seconds they disappeared again.
+
+Dave had done some rapid thinking. Before leaving the steamer the boys
+had thrown off their coats. Now standing up, Dave cast his cap to the
+bottom of the boat, and made a quick dive overboard.
+
+"He's gone after her!"
+
+"Good for Dave! It's the only thing to do if that girl is to be saved."
+
+"Row on and keep your eyes wide open," directed Phil. "I don't think
+they'll get very far away."
+
+Dave had calculated the distance as closely as possible, and once under
+water he pushed ahead with all speed in the direction where he had seen
+the hand and arm. While at Oak Hall he had learned the trick of swimming
+under water with his eyes open, and this now stood him in good stead.
+
+"There she is," he thought, as he caught sight of something white
+passing just to the left of him. He made a quick turn, and a few seconds
+later had the girl by the hand. Then Dave caught her under the arms, and
+treading water, brought both her and himself to the surface.
+
+"There they are!" he heard Phil cry, and the next moment the rowboat
+came up close.
+
+"Oh, oh! sa--sa--save m--me!" spluttered the girl; and breaking
+loose, she swung around and caught Dave tightly by the neck.
+
+[Illustration: DAVE CAUGHT HER UNDER THE ARMS, AND, TREADING WATER,
+BROUGHT BOTH HER AND HIMSELF TO THE SURFACE.--_Page 24._]
+
+It was the strangle-hold of a drowning person, and our hero might have
+fared badly had not assistance been at hand. But as it was, Roger and
+Phil reached out, and while Shadow and Ben balanced the rowboat, this
+pair hauled the girl on board. Then they aided Dave in getting in.
+
+"Oh, oh! Is sh--she d--dead?" gasped the girl, as she looked at the
+woman who had collapsed on the stern seat.
+
+"No, she has only fainted," answered Roger. "She'll soon be over it."
+
+"How brave you are to come to our rescue!" went on the girl, turning to
+Dave. "I--I thought I was going to drown!" and she shuddered.
+
+"It was a pretty close call," answered Phil. "My friend here jumped
+overboard just in the nick of time."
+
+There was just then little time to say more, for others were in the
+water crying for assistance. In the meantime, there was another cry from
+the deck of the steam yacht.
+
+"Don't jump overboard! It isn't necessary. The fire is out!"
+
+"Hello! Did you hear that?" queried Dave. "Somebody said the fire is
+out."
+
+By this time the two other rowboats had picked up eight of those who
+had leaped overboard. The boys succeeded in getting on board two others,
+a short, fat man who was puffing like a porpoise, and a young man.
+
+"That settles it," snorted the fat man, as he sank down on one of the
+seats. "No more ocean pictures for me! All the dramas I act in after
+this will be on dry land."
+
+"And I sha'n't go to sea again for Mr. Appleby," answered the girl who
+had been rescued. She was rapidly recovering, and so was the woman on
+the stern seat.
+
+"Got everybody?" yelled a man from the deck of the steam yacht. And by
+his cap and uniform the boys knew he must be the captain of the vessel.
+
+"I think so," answered the first mate of the _Eaglet_.
+
+"It was foolish of them to jump overboard," grumbled the captain of the
+steam yacht. "I told all of them there was no danger."
+
+"No danger!" snorted the mate of the _Eaglet_. "How do you make that
+out, with all that fire?"
+
+"It wasn't fire--that is, not much of it," was the answer. "It was
+mostly smoke. We have a moving picture company on board, and they had a
+lot of fireworks, some of 'em tied up in old sail cloth. The fireworks
+started to go off--why I don't know--and they set fire to the cloth, and
+when we wet that down it made an awful smoke. But all the stuff was in
+a zinc-lined compartment, so there wasn't much real danger. The worst
+was when those rockets went off and shot up right out of the hatchway."
+
+"And are you sure the fire is entirely out?" asked the mate of Mr.
+Lawrence's vessel.
+
+"Just about. We'll have the men make a search, so that there won't be
+any further danger."
+
+After a little more conversation the three rowboats were brought close
+to the steam yacht, from the side of which a ladder had been lowered.
+
+"O dear! Are we to go back to that boat?" queried the girl Dave had
+saved from drowning.
+
+She was a miss of perhaps eighteen years, tall and slender, with brown
+hair and big brown eyes. She appealed to our hero as she spoke.
+
+"I don't see what else there is to do," he answered, "unless you want to
+be taken to our steamer."
+
+"What place is your steamer bound for?"
+
+"We hope to make Portland some time this afternoon."
+
+"Oh indeed! Then I think I would rather go aboard that steamer than back
+on the yacht," answered the young lady. "What do you think, Aunt Bess?"
+she went on, appealing to the woman in the rowboat, who by this time had
+recovered from her plunge into the sea.
+
+"I think I would like to get ashore as soon as possible, Della,"
+returned the aunt. "I just hate the water, anyway, and I don't think
+I'll take another sea trip in a hurry."
+
+"Oh, say, Miss Ford, you might as well go back on the steam yacht. I
+guess the danger is all over," put in the fourth person who had been
+picked up--a young man about Dave's age. "Didn't you hear the captain
+say that the fire was out?"
+
+"Yes, I know," answered Della Ford. "But I'm so afraid, Mr. Porton," and
+the girl looked rather helplessly at those around her.
+
+"Where is that steam yacht bound for?" questioned Phil.
+
+"We were going somewhere outside of Cape Cod," answered the stout man
+who had been rescued. "But I guess Mr. Appleby will have to give the
+trip up for the present. He's the manager of our company, you know," he
+added, by way of explanation.
+
+"What sort of a company is that--a theatrical company?" asked Shadow.
+
+"Oh, no. This is a moving-picture company--one belonging to the Appleby
+Film Corporation."
+
+"Oh, then you are all moving-picture actors!" cried Ben, with interest.
+
+"Yes," answered the young man. "But we didn't come out to get into any
+such scene as this," he added, with a short laugh.
+
+By this time a number of those in the rowboats had been assisted to the
+deck of the steam yacht, and those above were calling down to those in
+the rowboat manned by Dave and his chums.
+
+"Say, young men, I'm very much obliged to you for what you did for me,"
+cried the stout man, heartily, as he prepared to ascend the ladder. "I
+guess I was foolish to jump overboard when there was no great danger."
+
+"It's too bad Case didn't get a picture of that scene," said the young
+man named Porton. "It would have been a dandy to work into one of the
+sea dramas."
+
+"I guess that's right," returned Dave, with a grim smile.
+
+"Much obliged to all of you," went on Ward Porton. "If there are any
+charges, send the bill to Mr. Thomas Appleby, the manager. He ought to
+reward you handsomely for saving a part of his company." And with these
+words he followed the stout man to the deck of the steam yacht.
+
+"Aren't you folks coming up?" came a call from the manager of the
+moving-picture company, as he leaned over the rail.
+
+"Oh, Mr. Appleby, I don't want to stay out here!" cried Della Ford, "and
+neither does my Aunt Bess! The young men here say their boat is going
+to Portland. Maybe we had better go there and take the train to Boston."
+
+"Oh, there is no use in doing that, Miss Ford," answered the manager.
+"The fire is out, and it is perfectly safe on board now. You had better
+come up here. I will help you," and he reached down with his hand.
+
+"I don't suppose it will be just the right thing to do, to desert the
+company," said Mrs. Ford, the girl's aunt. "We still have to act in
+several scenes on the ship, you must remember."
+
+"Very well, Aunty, just as you say," returned the girl. "But oh! I must
+thank this young man for what he did for me!" she went on. And at the
+danger of causing the rowboat to tip, she bent over and caught Dave's
+hand in both of her own. "Won't you please tell me your name?"
+
+"It's Dave Porter," was the answer. "Come, let me help you up the
+ladder."
+
+"My name is Della Ford, and I belong in Boston. You are a very brave
+young man, and I shall never forget you. Some time when you are in
+Boston you must come to see me."
+
+"Thank you, Miss Ford, perhaps I will," answered Dave. And after a word
+or two more, he assisted the young lady up the ladder. Then the boys
+helped Mrs. Ford, who was still so weak that she could hardly stand.
+
+The first mate of the _Eaglet_ was on the deck of the steam yacht,
+talking to the captain. In the meantime several sailors were at work
+putting out the last sparks of the fire. Quite a quantity of fireworks
+had gone off, and the burnt portions were thrown overboard. The
+moving-picture manager explained that the fireworks had been brought
+along to be used in one of the film dramas.
+
+"Might as well get back to the steamer," suggested Roger, after several
+minutes had passed, during which time the boys had been calling to those
+on the deck of the steam yacht. "We can't do anything more here."
+
+"All right," returned Phil, and gave orders to pull away.
+
+"Good-bye, Mr. Porter!" called out Della Ford, waving her hand. "Thank
+you ever so much for what you did. And don't forget to call and see me
+when you come to Boston."
+
+"Good-bye," returned Dave; and a moment later the rowboat shot out of
+hearing and was headed toward the _Eaglet_.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+BACK TO CRUMVILLE
+
+
+"I think those on board that steam yacht can congratulate themselves
+because the fire was no worse," remarked Roger, when the boys had
+returned to the _Eaglet_.
+
+"Yes indeed," answered Dave. "Some fires at sea are terrible things, and
+cause a great loss of life."
+
+"Seems to me Dave was the hero of the occasion!" burst out Ben. "He did
+the really-and-truly rescue act."
+
+"Come now, don't start anything like that!" interrupted Dave, hastily.
+"I only did what any of you might have done."
+
+"I know one thing," remarked Phil, closing one eye suggestively. "Dave
+made some hit with the young lady he pulled out of the water."
+
+"That's right!" agreed Shadow. "Why, do you know I thought Miss Ford was
+going to throw her arms right around his neck."
+
+"Oh, cut it! cut it!" said Dave, growing red in the face. "Shadow, your
+imagination will be the death of you."
+
+"Oh, I don't know," replied the former story-teller of Oak Hall, coolly.
+"She certainly was smitten, Dave."
+
+"Not at all. She was grateful, that's all."
+
+"Just the same, Dave, if we get to Boston you'll have to call on her,"
+remarked Roger, with a grin.
+
+"We can all call if you feel that way about it," answered our hero. "I
+rather think some of you were smitten pretty badly." And at this sally
+there was a general laugh.
+
+It was some time before the last of the rowboats returned to the
+steamer. The first mate brought a report to Captain Bradley and Mr.
+Lawrence, to which the boys listened with interest. The mate said that
+it was thought on board the steam yacht that the fire had started from a
+cigarette thrown away by one of the moving-picture actors, a young man
+named Ward Porton, but that this could not be proved. The mate stated
+that the captain of the steam yacht was quite upset over the occurrence,
+as he considered that the fire was due to carelessness, and nothing
+else. He had told the mate privately that it would be a long time before
+he would take out another moving-picture company on his vessel.
+
+"He says they are doing all sorts of stunts on the ship, and taking
+pictures of 'em," went on the mate. "He says some of the actors and
+actresses are pretty good people, but the rest of the bunch act like
+wild Indians."
+
+"Ward Porton!" exclaimed Dave, turning to his chums. "Why, that is the
+young fellow we hauled out of the water!"
+
+"That's right," returned Phil. "Maybe he got scared when he found out
+that his cigarette had started the fire and that was one reason why he
+jumped overboard."
+
+"I didn't like the manner of that fellow at all," was Shadow's comment.
+"He looked like a pretty loose sort of a character."
+
+"Well, I don't know. I thought he looked like----" began Ben, and then
+stopped suddenly, in some confusion.
+
+"Looked like what, Ben?" asked Dave, curiously.
+
+"Oh, it doesn't matter, Dave," answered his Crumville chum. "Just the
+same, I can't help but think that--Oh well, never mind, let it go."
+
+"But what did you think he looked like, Ben?" put in Phil. "Come, what
+are you so mysterious about?"
+
+"Oh, it doesn't matter, I tell you," answered Ben, and now looked more
+confused than ever.
+
+"Hello! Ben is trying to hide some deep and dark mystery," put in
+Shadow. "Come now, little boy, unlimber your mind and let us know what
+it is."
+
+"Well; if you've got to know, I'll tell you. I was thinking that in some
+way that Ward Porton looked something like Dave."
+
+"Say, that's right!" burst out Phil, and then added quickly to our hero:
+"No offense, old man, but he did resemble you--only of course he was not
+so good-looking."
+
+"Yes, there was some resemblance," said Roger, "but I don't think it was
+enough to count; so Dave needn't worry."
+
+"I guess Mr. Ward Porton has a perfect right to his looks," remarked
+Dave calmly. "And if he and I resemble each other, that is nobody's
+fault. I don't suppose I'll ever see that fellow again." But in this
+surmise our hero was very much mistaken; in the weeks to come he was to
+see a great deal of Ward Porton.
+
+It was not long after this when the _Eaglet_ resumed her run for
+Portland. As the other vessel was headed in the opposite direction, they
+soon passed out of sight of the craft. Then Portland Light came into
+view, and before long the _Eaglet_ was passing the numerous islands of
+Casco Bay.
+
+"This would be a dandy place to pass the rest of the summer," was
+Roger's comment, as he and Dave stood by the rail, watching the
+beautiful scene as it was unfolded before them. The bay was very calm,
+and the numerous islands dotting it in all directions made the spot one
+of unsurpassed beauty.
+
+"From all accounts, Roger, I think we'll find the vicinity of Mirror
+Lake just as beautiful as this," answered Dave. "I have never been
+there, but they tell me the scenery is simply grand."
+
+"We certainly ought to have a good time, scenery or no scenery,"
+answered the senator's son, "with such a fine bunch of people as are
+going."
+
+"Right you are!" broke in Phil. "We ought to have the best times ever at
+the lake."
+
+It had been arranged by Mr. Lawrence that they should stop for three
+days at Portland, the owner of the steamer having a number of business
+matters to transact. During that time the boys continued to sleep on
+board, but spent the days in visiting Old Orchard Beach, Cape Elizabeth,
+Peak's Island, Orr's Island, and various other nearby resorts.
+
+"It certainly is a great place," remarked Dave, on the evening of the
+second day. "I think a fellow could spend his whole summer here, and
+have a dandy time."
+
+It had been a question whether they would stop at Boston on the return
+trip, but at the last minute Mr. Lawrence decided to go direct to New
+York City, as he had been informed that a cargo was waiting there for
+the steamer.
+
+"That cuts Dave out of his visit to Miss Ford," remarked Roger, after
+this announcement was made.
+
+"I think it cuts you out just as much as it does me, Roger," returned
+our hero, with a smile. "I think, behind it all, you would like
+first-rate to call on her."
+
+"I'll tell you what I would like," answered the senator's son. "I'd like
+to see how they take moving pictures--I mean the kind indoors."
+
+"We may get a chance at that some day," said Phil. "I know one or two
+men who are in that business."
+
+The run to New York City occurred without special incident, and soon the
+boys found themselves saying good-bye to Mr. Lawrence and Captain
+Bradley. It had been decided that Phil should accompany Dave and Ben to
+Crumville, he to remain with our hero at the Wadsworth mansion.
+
+"Take care of my boy," said the shipowner, as he shook hands with Dave.
+
+"Oh, we'll take care of him, Mr. Lawrence, don't fear," answered our
+hero. And then, leaving Mr. Lawrence to look after matters concerning
+his various vessels, the boys hurried to the Grand Central Terminal,
+and were soon on a train which was to take them to their various
+destinations.
+
+As my old readers know, Crumville was rather a small town; the only
+industry of importance being Mr. Wadsworth's jewelry works. The
+Wadsworth mansion stood on the outskirts, a large and well-constructed
+building, set among a number of trees and bushes. When Dave, Phil, and
+Ben alighted at the railroad depot, they found the Wadsworth touring-car
+awaiting them. Dunston Porter, Dave's uncle, was driving the car, and he
+had with him Dave's sister Laura, and Jessie Wadsworth.
+
+"Oh, here they are!" cried Laura, and leaped out to embrace her brother
+and to shake hands with the others. Then Jessie shook hands, giving Dave
+an extra bright smile as she did so.
+
+"Back from the salt, salt sea!" cried Laura, merrily. "I'll wager you
+were all dreadfully seasick."
+
+"Nothing doing on that score, Laura," answered her brother. "We didn't
+have time to get seasick; we had too much fun."
+
+"And too many adventures," added Phil. "Oh, I can tell you, girls, we
+are heroes!" and he stuck his thumbs in the armholes of his vest, and
+began to strut around.
+
+"Adventures, eh?" queried Dunston Porter. "What sort of adventures--a
+shipwreck?"
+
+"Oh, Mr. Porter, please don't talk about a shipwreck!" pleaded Jessie,
+agitatedly. "Why, you don't want anybody to be drowned, do you?"
+
+"They don't look very much as if they had been in a shipwreck,"
+responded Dave's uncle, dryly. "I was only fooling."
+
+"We weren't in any shipwreck. But we saw a fire at sea, and we helped to
+pull some folks out of the water," said Ben.
+
+"You did!" burst from both of the girls.
+
+"Do tell us all about it," added Laura.
+
+"Was anybody lost?" asked Jessie. And now even Dunston Porter looked
+much interested.
+
+"Nobody was lost, and not even hurt, so far as I could find out,"
+answered Dave; and then he and the others gave a few details concerning
+the conflagration aboard the steam yacht.
+
+"And to think those poor people had to jump overboard!" came from
+Jessie, sympathetically. "Oh, Dave, wasn't that dreadful!"
+
+"Jessie, you ought to have seen Dave playing the really-and-truly hero
+act!" burst out Ben.
+
+"Now, Ben, quit it!" interrupted Dave.
+
+"Not much, Dave! You deserve some credit, and I want the girls to know
+what a real, genuine, dyed-in-the-wool hero you are."
+
+"What did he do, Ben?" asked Laura.
+
+"He jumped into the briny deep, and rescued the beautiful heroine of the
+moving-picture company," was the answer. "Oh, you just ought to have
+seen it, Jessie. The poor girl was going down for the last time when
+Dave, with a do-or-die look on his handsome face, leaped into the flying
+spume, and struck out boldly----"
+
+"Ben, will you please stop?" pleaded Dave. "I never heard such foolish
+talk before in my life!"
+
+"But he did jump overboard, and he did save the girl," broke in Phil.
+"If he hadn't gone after her she might have drowned."
+
+"Who was she?" asked Laura; while Jessie, wide-eyed, showed her
+interest.
+
+"The leading lady of the film company--a Miss Della Ford," answered the
+shipowner's son. "A mighty nice young lady, too--real stylish--golden-brown
+hair, dreamy brown eyes, and all that sort of thing, you know."
+
+"Oh, Dave, that was splendid of you to save her from drowning!" said
+Jessie.
+
+"Indeed it was!" added Ben. "And she was mighty grateful, too," he went
+on. "She grabbed Dave's hands for all she was worth, and, at one time, I
+thought she was going to throw her arms right around his neck."
+
+"Oh, Ben!"
+
+"Well, it seemed that way to me, anyway--and she was a stunning looking
+girl, too, I can tell you!"
+
+"She was not going to do anything of the kind, Jessie! Don't pay any
+attention to him," broke in Dave, and now his face was decidedly red.
+"Come on! Let's get into the auto and get to the house; I'm hungry," and
+he started to help the two girls into the tonneau of the automobile.
+
+"We'll have to hear more of this later on," said Dunston Porter, as he
+started the car.
+
+"Yes, I'd like to hear more about Miss Ford," added Jessie, in a
+somewhat uncertain tone.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+DAVE AT HOME
+
+
+Mirror Lake was a beautiful sheet of water nestling among the mountains
+of the Upper Adirondacks of New York State. At the lower end of the
+lake, where there was a well-defined trail running to several
+fashionable summer resorts some miles away, were located two beautiful
+bungalows, one of six rooms and the other of eight rooms. They were
+built on a plot of ground bordering on a small cove of the lake, and
+extending about a thousand feet back into the woods of the
+mountain-side.
+
+As my old readers will remember, Ben Basswood's father was interested in
+real estate, and, a year or two before, he and Mr. Wadsworth had gone
+into a land deal of considerable proportions. Several important
+transactions had resulted, and in making one of the deals Mr. Wadsworth
+and Mr. Basswood had become possessed of the two bungalows on Mirror
+Lake, the two gentlemen owning both jointly.
+
+At first, on acquiring the property, the jewelry manufacturer had been
+in favor of selling it at public auction; but to this Mr. Basswood had
+demurred.
+
+"I think, Mr. Wadsworth," he had said, "if we hold that property for a
+few years it will be far more valuable than it is now. The State road
+has been built to within a few miles, and there is strong talk of its
+being carried directly past Mirror Lake. Not only that; there is also
+talk of the railroad putting in a spur through that district, and of
+course that will help a great deal."
+
+"Very well, Mr. Basswood. If you think we ought to hold the land, we'll
+do it," had been Mr. Wadsworth's reply. "But what are we going to do
+with the bungalows in the meantime?"
+
+"We can either use them or rent them," had been the answer.
+
+For the past season, and also during the early part of the present
+summer, the two bungalows had been leased to some people from Rochester.
+But now both bungalows were unoccupied.
+
+It had been Dunston Porter's suggestion that they go up to Mirror Lake
+on the return from the trip to Yellowstone Park, and this idea had been
+quickly seconded by the young folks, especially by Laura and Jessie, who
+had never as yet spent any time in the Adirondacks.
+
+"They tell me the mountains are lovely, especially during the autumn,"
+said the daughter of the jewelry manufacturer. "Oh, let us go, by all
+means!"
+
+"I am sure I would like it," Laura had answered. "But who will go with
+us?"
+
+The matter had been talked over while the young folks were returning
+from Yellowstone Park, and also while Dave and Ben were at home, as well
+as during the voyage on the _Eaglet_. As a result it had been arranged
+that Mr. and Mrs. Basswood were to go up for part of the time, and also
+Mr. and Mrs. Wadsworth. Laura and Jessie, as well as Belle Endicott, who
+was coming East, were to go, along with Dave and Ben and a number of
+their chums. Mr. Dunston Porter and Dave's father said they would make
+several trips back and forth during the time the others were up there.
+It may be said here that the bungalows were fully furnished, so our
+friends had no anxiety on that score.
+
+"We'll have the best time ever, Jessie," said Dave, in talking the
+matter over the day after his arrival home. "I am sure you will like
+it."
+
+"Have you your things packed, Dave?" questioned his sister, who was
+present. "You don't want to leave that until the last minute."
+
+"Oh, packing is getting easy to me, Laura. I feel like a regular
+traveler since I took those trips to Cave Island, and after the
+runaways, and to the Landslide Mine and Yellowstone Park."
+
+"Oh, it was splendid, the way you relocated that gold mine, Dave!" cried
+Jessie. "How glad Roger and his folks must have been."
+
+"They surely were glad," answered the youth. "I never saw Roger look so
+happy in my life. It took a big weight off his shoulders."
+
+"And, just to think that they are going to give you and Phil an interest
+in that mine!" remarked Laura. "Why, Dave, if you keep on, you'll be a
+rich man some day."
+
+"Well, I sha'n't complain if I am," answered the brother, coolly.
+
+It had been arranged that the start for Mirror Lake should be made on
+the following Monday morning. Some of the folks were to go as far as
+they could by train, but the young people had demurred, stating that
+they wanted if possible to make the trip by automobile.
+
+"We can take our machine and the Basswood car," said Dave. "It won't
+take us more than two or three days, and it will be lots of fun."
+
+"But what are we going to do with the automobiles after we reach Carpen
+Falls?" asked Dunston Porter. "You can't go any farther in an auto than
+that."
+
+"Isn't there some sort of garage at Carpen Falls?" questioned Ben, who
+was present.
+
+"Probably there is. Anyway, I know there is a livery stable there."
+
+"Then we could leave the machines there until we were ready to bring
+them back," replied Dave.
+
+"We'll see about this later," said Dave's father, with a shake of his
+head. Automobiling did not appeal to him quite as strongly as it did to
+his son and his brother.
+
+It was a beautiful afternoon, and Dave and Ben had arranged for a little
+run in the automobile, taking Laura and Jessie along. Dave ran the car,
+with Jessie on the seat beside him. Their course was out of Crumville,
+and then over the distant hills to a winding road which ran beside the
+river.
+
+"It seems so strange, Dave, to think you are not going back to Oak Hall
+this fall," remarked Jessie, when the automobile was bowling along over
+the smooth highway.
+
+"It does seem strange," was Dave's somewhat grave reply. "Do you know,
+sometimes I wish I were going back again."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Well, if I had to do that I wouldn't have to bother about anything else
+just now, Jessie. As it is, I've got to make up my mind what I am going
+to do. One minute I think I want to go to college, and the next I have a
+notion of going into some sort of business."
+
+"What does your father say, Dave?"
+
+"He is leaving it entirely to me. He says if I want to go to college I
+can do so."
+
+"What would you like to do best of all?"
+
+"Oh, as for that, I'd like to travel, just as Uncle Dunston does. I'd
+like to see the world."
+
+"I suppose that would be nice, Dave. But still a person can't be
+traveling all the time," and Jessie's face clouded a trifle.
+
+"I shouldn't want to be traveling all the time, Jessie. Some day I'll
+want to settle down." He gave her an earnest look. "I thought that was
+all settled."
+
+"Settled? What?" And the girl gave him a quick look in return.
+
+"Why, that I was going to settle down some day, and that you were going
+to settle down with me."
+
+"Oh, indeed! That's the first I ever heard of it."
+
+"Oh, but you know, Jessie----"
+
+"Dave, do you know that Laura and Ben are sitting right behind us?"
+
+"Yes, but they are busy with their own talk."
+
+"Maybe you only think so."
+
+"All right. But it's settled; isn't it, Jessie?"
+
+"I don't know that anything is settled." Jessie was gazing straight
+ahead at the road. "How about that beautiful young lady you rescued from
+drowning?"
+
+"Oh, say! Please don't bring that up," pleaded Dave, hastily. "That was
+all some of Ben's nonsense."
+
+"But you did pull her out of the water; didn't you, Dave?"
+
+"What if I did? You wouldn't have me let her drown; would you?"
+
+"Oh, of course not. But still Ben said----"
+
+"Oh, there you go again! Didn't I tell you that was only some of Ben's
+nonsense? You mustn't believe a word he says."
+
+"Indeed! I always thought Ben was a very truthful boy."
+
+"Oh, well, if you're going to make a mountain out of a molehill----"
+
+"I haven't made a mountain out of anything, Dave."
+
+"Say, who's talking about mountains on the front seat?" interrupted Ben.
+"I thought we were going down on the river road."
+
+"So we are," declared Dave, somewhat sharply.
+
+"I hope we can go up to the Adirondacks in the autos," said Laura,
+eagerly. "It will surely make a splendid trip."
+
+"If we go in the autos who is going to drive?" questioned Jessie.
+
+"I'll run our car, and I suppose Dave will run this one," answered Ben.
+"But we can change off with the other fellows if we want to."
+
+The top of a small hill had been reached, and now the automobile glided
+down the other side in the direction of the river road. Here the way
+narrowed a trifle, and Dave had to give all his attention to the running
+of the car. As the automobile turned in toward the stream, they passed
+several other touring-cars, and then came in sight of a horse attached
+to a buggy, the two wheels of which were deep in a ditch.
+
+"Hello! That's Mr. Aaron Poole's buggy!" exclaimed Dave.
+
+"Yes. But it is Nat who is driving," returned Ben.
+
+Mr. Aaron Poole was a rich money-lender, who lived not far from
+Crumville, and who had a son Nat, who had gone to Oak Hall with Dave and
+Ben. Mr. Poole was a very grasping man, and in the past he and the
+Porters had had a number of differences. Nat had been almost as
+overbearing as his father, but during the early part of the summer he
+had told Dave that he was going to turn over a new leaf. And since that
+time our hero had heard that the money-lender's son was quite a
+different sort of a boy, and growing better every day.
+
+"Hello, Nat! What's the trouble?" questioned Dave, as he brought the
+automobile to a standstill beside the buggy.
+
+"Trouble enough!" grumbled the money-lender's son. "Did you notice
+those automobiles that just went by?"
+
+"I certainly did. They were going at some speed."
+
+"They were racing, that's what they were doing!" explained Nat Poole.
+"They were racing, and they made such a racket that it scared my horse
+and he landed me here in this ditch."
+
+"It's a good thing they didn't upset you, Nat," said Ben.
+
+"If they upset me, I would make them pay for the damages," retorted the
+youth in the buggy.
+
+"Did you know them, Nat?" asked Laura, kindly.
+
+"I know one of them. He's a high-flyer from Pittstown. The next time I
+see him I'll give him a piece of my mind. They've got no right to use
+this road for a race-track."
+
+"Did they hurt you at all?" queried Jessie.
+
+"I don't know as they did. But this mud in the ditch is mighty sticky,
+and I don't see how I am going to get out of it," grumbled the
+money-lender's son.
+
+"Maybe we can give you a lift, Nat," said Dave, and got out of the
+automobile, followed by Ben. "Here, I'll hold the horse while you get
+out."
+
+"Be careful. He's mighty skittish," warned the other. "If he gets to
+kicking he'll smash the buggy into kindling-wood."
+
+"I'm not afraid of him," answered Dave, and took a firm hold on the
+horse's bridle. Then Nat leaped from the buggy, and he and Ben took hold
+of the wheels and pushed, while Dave led the horse forward. By this
+means, in a minute more, the turnout was safe in the middle of the
+roadway.
+
+"Much obliged to you fellows for this," remarked the money-lender's son,
+when all danger seemed past.
+
+"Don't mention it, Nat. I am glad to help you," returned Dave, quickly.
+
+"And so am I," added Ben.
+
+"Funny thing," went on the money-lender's son. "I was coming around to
+your house to see you," and he glanced quickly at our hero.
+
+"Well, you'll have to come, Nat, some time when I am home," answered
+Dave. "We are going off on another trip next Monday."
+
+"Is that so? Then I'm glad I met you as I did, because I wanted to see
+you before you went away. I've got some strange news to tell you."
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"Link Merwell is alive. He wasn't killed in that landslide at all," was
+Nat Poole's astonishing reply.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+NEWS OF IMPORTANCE
+
+
+"Link Merwell!"
+
+"Nat, you must be fooling!" put in Ben.
+
+"Why, we couldn't find a single trace of him after that awful
+landslide!" went on Dave. "We made a thorough search, too."
+
+"I don't know anything about that," returned the money-lender's son.
+"But I know Link Merwell is alive. I got a letter from him yesterday."
+
+"Are you sure that it was not an old letter delayed in delivery?"
+queried Ben.
+
+"No, it was not an old letter. It was dated only a few days ago. It was
+sent to me from Boston."
+
+"Boston!" cried Laura. "Then he must not only be alive, but he must have
+followed us East."
+
+"Did he say anything about Job Haskers?" queried our hero.
+
+"He said he didn't know what had become of Haskers. He said they had
+separated a short while before the big landslide struck them. He was
+pretty well bruised up, and had to rest in a little mining camp up in
+the mountains for two weeks."
+
+"This is certainly the strangest news yet," was Dave's comment. "I
+thought sure that he and Haskers had been swallowed up in that
+landslide, along with that miner who was with them. Nat, what caused him
+to write to you? I thought you told me that you had destroyed his last
+letter without answering it."
+
+"So I did destroy it, Dave, without answering it," returned the
+money-lender's son. "I was as surprised to hear from him as you would
+have been. I thought he would know enough to let me alone."
+
+"What did he have to say, Nat?" questioned Ben. "Of course you haven't
+got to tell us if you don't want to," he added, hastily.
+
+"That's all right. Didn't I tell you I was coming to see Dave? I was
+going to show him the letter. I've got it in my pocket. Here it is," and
+Nat brought forth the communication.
+
+The letter was a long and rambling one which need not be reproduced
+here. In it Link Merwell told something of how he had been caught in the
+landslide, and how he had escaped and had been carried by some miners to
+their camp. A search had been made for Job Haskers and the man named
+Blugg, but without results. Then Merwell had obtained some money
+(probably from his father), and had come East, where he expected to
+obtain a position. He added that he was still as bitter as ever against
+Dave and his chums, and would do his best some day to "square accounts."
+As in his previous communication to Nat, he wanted to know if the
+money-lender's son would not aid him in making trouble for our hero.
+
+"The same old Link Merwell!" remarked Dave, after he had read the
+letter, with Ben looking over his shoulder.
+
+"Wouldn't you think a fellow who had been so close to death would want
+to reform?" said his chum. "But I suppose Link doesn't know what the
+word, 'reform,' means."
+
+"Oh, Dave, aren't you afraid he will make you a lot of trouble?" cried
+Jessie, and her face showed her deep concern.
+
+"I never was afraid of Link Merwell, and I don't believe I ever shall
+be," returned Dave, quickly. "At heart I think that fellow is a big
+coward."
+
+"Yes, but you must be careful," warned his sister. "Even cowards know
+how to strike in the dark, and that would be Link Merwell's way of
+attacking you."
+
+"I don't know how he is going to hurt Dave when he is away off in
+Boston," was Ben's comment. "The chances are he has got to go to work
+and earn his living. Probably his father is sick of putting up money for
+him."
+
+"Merwell mustn't forget one thing," said Dave. "He is still responsible
+for his part in that jewelry robbery. If the authorities get hold of
+him, they will certainly send him to prison. So far as that affair is
+concerned, he was no better than Jasniff."
+
+"What makes me mad is his trying to connect-up with me," burst out Nat.
+"I've told him twice now that I was done with him, and I want him to
+leave me alone."
+
+"Were you going to answer this letter, Nat?" questioned Ben.
+
+"No. I was going to tear it up, the same as the other. It's only got
+'Boston' for an address, anyway."
+
+"It seems to me, Nat, it might be a good thing for you to write to Link
+and tell him exactly what you think of him," said Dave. "Tell him you
+are done with him forever, and that you don't want to get any more
+letters. Perhaps that will settle him. Send the letter to the General
+Delivery."
+
+"That's what I was going to ask you about, Dave. I don't want to have
+that fellow bothering me. I told you I was going to turn over a new
+leaf." And now for once in his life, Nat Poole looked Dave and then Ben
+squarely in the face.
+
+"Then, by all means, write to him and tell him exactly where you stand,"
+went on our hero. "Make the letter good and strong, Nat, so that there
+won't be any mistake about it."
+
+"I'll do it," answered the money-lender's son. And then after a few
+words more, he replaced the letter in his pocket and drove on, and Dave
+and his party resumed their automobile trip.
+
+"That certainly is news," was Ben's comment, as they rolled along the
+river road. "I thought from what you said, Dave, he must have been
+buried alive."
+
+"So we all thought. His escape must have been nothing short of a
+miracle."
+
+"I don't begrudge him his life, but I don't want him to bother Dave any
+more," said Laura. "He is such a wicked fellow."
+
+"Dave, didn't you say, after you came from Cave Island, that Link said
+something about reforming?" asked Jessie.
+
+"Yes, he did talk that way. He was very humble, and sorry that he had
+gone into the robbery with Jasniff. But I guess now that what made him
+humble was the fact that he was in danger of going to prison. As soon as
+he got away, his ideas changed."
+
+"I hope he doesn't come here to bother you, Dave," sighed Laura.
+
+"Oh, please don't think of such a dreadful thing!" cried Jessie. "If he
+is in Boston, I hope he stays there." But this wish was not to be
+fulfilled, as we shall see later.
+
+The ride along the river road and over the hills beyond was much enjoyed
+by the young folks, and it was after dark when they returned to
+Crumville. All told, Jessie made it very pleasant for Dave, but she
+could not forget the fact that the youth had rescued Della Ford from the
+sea, and she asked several times about the young lady and the
+moving-picture company to which she belonged.
+
+"I don't know much about the picture company," Dave had answered. "I
+think there were about a dozen people in it, including Miss Ford's aunt
+and the young fellow and the fat man we picked up."
+
+"But you said you would call on her in Boston; didn't you?" queried
+Jessie.
+
+"I said I might call if I was in the city," Dave replied.
+
+"And I suppose you'll go up there the first chance you get," pouted
+Jessie.
+
+"Maybe," he answered, not altogether liking her tone. And then before
+anything more could be said the automobile swept up in front of Ben
+Basswood's home, and the conversation became general.
+
+Ben had been on the back seat with Laura, and now as he left the party,
+Jessie came into the tonneau to keep Dave's sister company, so that on
+the journey to the Wadsworth mansion the talk between Jessie and Dave
+could not be renewed.
+
+The next two days were busy ones for our hero. He had several matters of
+business to attend to for his father and his uncle. Added to this, old
+Caspar Potts asked the youth if he would not accompany him to the old
+farm where the pair had spent so long a time together.
+
+"Why, certainly, I'll go to the farm with you, Professor," replied Dave.
+"But what are you going to do there, if I may ask?"
+
+"I want to get a box of books that was left in the garret there when we
+came away," answered the old, white-haired gentleman. "I would have
+brought them here before, but it slipped my mind entirely. Perhaps you
+remember the box?"
+
+"Do you mean that old blue box that stood in the back of the garret?"
+questioned Dave.
+
+"That's the one, David. I don't think the books in it are of very great
+value, but they might as well be added to the library here," went on the
+old professor. The Wadsworth library comprised many hundreds of volumes,
+and was a source of great pride to Professor Potts, who had spent many
+days in classifying the books and getting out a private catalogue. To
+please the old gentleman, Mr. Wadsworth had, from time to time, added
+various books and pamphlets which he might not otherwise have purchased.
+
+Since Dave and Caspar Potts had left the old farm, the place had been
+leased to another party, but now it was unoccupied, and the cottage and
+stable were locked up.
+
+"Looks natural," remarked Dave, as he stood on the tiny piazza of the
+cottage and looked around on the familiar scene. Then his thoughts went
+back to the past. What tremendous changes had taken place since he had
+left that home! He had found a father, a sister, and an uncle, and had
+made a host of friends. Not only that; he was rich, and had received a
+good education, and was on the fair road to success.
+
+"David!" It was Caspar Potts who spoke, and his voice trembled. "How
+different it is from what it used to be! Certainly your folks and Mr.
+Wadsworth have been great friends of mine," and the old gentleman
+blinked away the tears that stood in his mild eyes.
+
+Unlocking the door of the little cottage, Dave went inside and lost no
+time in throwing open a number of windows, so that the fresh summer air
+from outside might dispel the dampness within. Then Caspar Potts
+entered, and both ascended the narrow stairway to the upper floor. Here
+was a tiny garret, which in the past had been given over mostly to the
+storage of old furniture and other articles not in use.
+
+"I trust none of the tenants have disturbed that box," remarked Caspar
+Potts, when Dave had lit a candle which he had thoughtfully brought
+along.
+
+"I see the box, Professor," answered the youth. "Here, if you will hold
+the candle I will get it out." And then Dave worked his way over to a
+corner under the eaves, and from behind a broken rocking-chair and a
+dilapidated couch, dragged forth a small wooden box, painted blue. He
+threw back the cover, exposing to view thirty or forty books, covered
+with dust and yellow with age.
+
+"Good! good!" murmured the old professor, as he brushed one of the
+volumes off with his coat sleeve. "Some of these books are not very
+valuable, David, but a few of them will add quite a little to our
+library. I had those volumes when I was a student at college," he added
+proudly.
+
+"I'll carry the box downstairs," said Dave.
+
+Caspar Potts, candle in hand, led the way to the floor below. As he came
+out into the kitchen of the cottage, he was somewhat surprised to find
+two persons on the porch, talking earnestly.
+
+"Hello, you've got visitors!" said Dave, as he set the box of books down
+on a bare table. "Some one out for a look around, I suppose," he added.
+
+"Maybe it is some one who would like to lease the farm," returned Caspar
+Potts. "Let us go out and see," and he extinguished the candle.
+
+Brushing the dust and cobwebs from his coat, Dave followed the old
+professor to the porch of the cottage. The two visitors were so busy
+talking that, for the instant, they did not notice the others.
+
+"Hello there!" exclaimed Dave, in some surprise, as his eyes rested on
+the face of one of the visitors. "How in the world did you get here?"
+
+"I--er--I--er--It's Mr. Porter!" stammered the fellow addressed, and he
+leaped quickly to his feet.
+
+It was Ward Porton, the young man Dave and his chums had rescued from
+the sea when the steam yacht was on fire.
+
+"Dave Porter! Here!" came from the other fellow who had been seated on
+the stoop, and now he too leaped up. "--I guess we had better leave," he
+stammered.
+
+"Link Merwell!" ejaculated our hero. It must be confessed that now he
+was all but dumfounded. He had thought that Link Merwell must be in
+Boston, and to find him here on the outskirts of Crumville, and in
+company with Ward Porton, the fellow he had rescued, was almost beyond
+belief.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+LINK MERWELL AGAIN
+
+
+Link Merwell showed signs of both suffering and dissipation. His face
+was thin and careworn, and his eyes had an uncertain, restless look in
+them. He had on a business suit much the worse for wear, and his tan
+shoes were worn down at the heels. Evidently he had not fared well since
+Dave had met him in the West.
+
+"I once thought you were dead, Link," went on Dave, after a pause,
+during which Link Merwell had taken several steps away from the cottage.
+"I thought you had been buried by that landslide."
+
+"I know it," was the bitter reply. "It would have pleased you immensely
+if I had been buried alive."
+
+"That isn't true. I wouldn't like to see anybody lose his life in that
+fashion," declared Dave. And then he went on quickly: "Did Job Haskers
+escape?"
+
+"I don't know anything about him--and I don't want to know," returned
+Link Merwell, and his tone was as bitter as before. "Haskers didn't
+treat me right, and we separated before we got caught in the sliding
+rocks and dirt."
+
+"I didn't know that you knew Merwell," said Dave, turning to Ward
+Porton.
+
+"Oh, yes. I have known him for some time," was the reply of the young
+moving-picture actor.
+
+"I think we had better be going," broke out Link Merwell, who had
+retreated a step or two further. He showed very plainly that he was
+afraid Dave might lay hands on him.
+
+"Oh, don't be in a hurry," answered Ward Porton. "Now we've got the
+chance, I'd like to talk to Porter."
+
+"I don't think I'll stay," and Link Merwell moved still farther away.
+"I'll meet you later, you know where."
+
+"See here, Link! Don't be in such a hurry," cried Dave, advancing toward
+the youth. "I want to talk to you."
+
+"I know your game, Dave Porter! You want to catch me and hand me over to
+the authorities!" exclaimed Link, and showed more fear than ever.
+
+"What makes you think that?"
+
+"Never mind, you're not going to catch me this way! Don't forget,
+Porton. I'll see you later," and thus speaking, Link Merwell turned and
+started away on a swift walk. Then, as Dave went after him, he broke
+into a run, and reaching the roadway, dived into the woods beyond.
+
+"My, my!" came from old Professor Potts. "David, why did he run away?"
+
+"He's afraid of being arrested; that's why, Professor," explained our
+hero. "Don't you remember, he is one of the villainous fellows who
+robbed Mr. Wadsworth's jewelry works a year or so ago?"
+
+"Oh, yes, to be sure!" murmured the old gentleman. "I remember now. What
+an awful thing for a young man like that to be such a criminal!"
+
+"You say he is a criminal?" asked Ward Porton, curiously.
+
+"He certainly is," answered Dave.
+
+"Hum! I didn't know that," returned the young moving-picture actor, and
+for the moment looked quite thoughtful.
+
+"May I ask what brought you to Crumville?" queried our hero. "I thought
+you and your company were bound for Boston."
+
+"We did go to Boston, and the company is there now, unless it has gone
+up into the woods. I had a little business in this vicinity, and so I
+came here before going on the next trip with them."
+
+"Did you come to Crumville with Merwell?"
+
+"I did, but I didn't know he was a criminal."
+
+"Then you must have met Merwell in Boston?"
+
+"No, I met him on the steam yacht."
+
+[Illustration: THEN, AS DAVE WENT AFTER HIM, HE BROKE INTO A
+RUN.--_Page 63._]
+
+"The steam yacht! Do you mean the one that caught fire?"
+
+"Of course."
+
+"Then Link Merwell was on board that vessel?" cried Dave, in added
+wonder.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Was he a member of your company?"
+
+"He was. Mr. Appleby, our manager, took him on the day before we went on
+the trip. I don't know where Mr. Appleby met him."
+
+"That certainly beats the Dutch! Of course, Merwell must have seen me
+and my friends in the rowboat."
+
+"He said he did."
+
+"He took good pains to keep out of sight!"
+
+"I don't know anything about that, Porter. But he was on the boat, you
+can take my word for that."
+
+"And is he a regular member of your company?"
+
+"He is to be, provided he can make good at the business. I think he came
+to Mr. Appleby with some sort of a hard-luck story, and the manager said
+he would give him a chance. Privately, though, I don't think he's very
+much of an actor. But then you know, a fellow has got to do something
+for a living."
+
+"He can probably act as well as the majority," answered Dave. "But I am
+surprised to learn that he was on the steam yacht and didn't show
+himself to us. Still, he was probably afraid to do so, and glad enough
+to keep out of sight. I suppose he brought you to this farm?"
+
+"Oh, we just took a walk up this way," returned Ward Porton, with some
+hesitation. He gave Dave a keen look. "You see, I was on my way to the
+Crumville poorhouse. By the way, Merwell told me that you had once been
+connected with that institution," and he gave Dave another keen look.
+
+Our hero's face flushed, and for the instant he did not know what to
+say. Caspar Potts, too, showed confusion.
+
+"David was not--er--connected with that institution, sir," said the old
+gentleman, hurriedly. "He was placed there when he was a child by those
+who found him wandering along the railroad tracks here. They did not
+know who he was, and----"
+
+"I don't think Mr. Porton will be interested in that story, Professor,"
+interrupted our hero.
+
+"Well, to tell the truth I am interested," answered Ward Porton. "I once
+lived in a poorhouse myself."
+
+"Indeed! Is that so?" murmured Caspar Potts. "How interesting!"
+
+"It wasn't anywhere around here, though," went on the young
+moving-picture actor. "It was 'way down East. And believe me, it was a
+hard life! I don't really see how I pulled through," and he smiled,
+grimly.
+
+"I can't say that I had such a very hard time of it," said Dave. "They
+treated me fairly well, and as soon as I got old enough to work, Mr.
+Potts here took me and not only gave me a good home, but also the
+beginning of a good education. Then, after that, I found my folks--I had
+been stolen away from them you see when a baby--and since that time I
+have had an easy time of it."
+
+"You're the lucky one then," answered Ward Porton. He seemed on the
+point of saying something more, but evidently changed his mind. "Well,
+if it's all the same to you, I'll be going," he concluded.
+
+"Better take my advice, and drop Link Merwell," said Dave, as the young
+man moved away. "If you don't, sooner or later he'll get you into hot
+water. The authorities want him, even though they got back the things he
+stole."
+
+"I'll remember what you say," was the answer, and then the young
+moving-picture actor walked away, and soon disappeared around a bend of
+the road.
+
+"It is very strange that they should have come here," remarked Caspar
+Potts, when he and Dave re-entered the cottage to get the box of books.
+
+"I should say it was!" answered our hero. "I don't understand it at all.
+I believe Link Merwell is up to another one of his tricks. I'm going to
+keep my eyes open for him."
+
+When Dave returned home he told the others there of having met Link
+Merwell and Ward Porton. Mr. Wadsworth was, of course, particularly
+interested in Merwell, and he at once telephoned to the authorities to
+be on the lookout for that individual. But Link Merwell had probably
+taken warning, and did not show himself again. Nor, for the time being,
+did Dave see anything further of Ward Porton.
+
+On Friday Belle Endicott, Laura's friend from the West, arrived, and was
+followed on Saturday morning by Roger and Phil. Ben brought word that he
+had written to Luke Watson and Shadow Hamilton, and that those two
+former pupils of Oak Hall had also signified their willingness to
+accompany the party to Mirror Lake.
+
+"And say, Dave, what do you think!" cried Ben. "This place that we are
+to go to at Mirror Lake is known as Bear Camp. They tell me the bears
+just love that vicinity."
+
+"Bear Camp!" shrieked Jessie, who was present. "Oh, Ben, you are
+fooling!"
+
+"Not a bit of it, Jessie. My father got a letter from Tad Rason, an old
+hunter and guide who lives in the vicinity of Mirror Lake. He says that
+that place has been known as Bear Camp for years. He told about
+shooting a big black bear there only a year or so ago."
+
+"O dear, if there are bears up there I don't know that I want to go!"
+said Laura. "Just think of having a big bear chase you!"
+
+"Oh, you mustn't mind that, Laura!" cried Dave, gaily. "Just think of
+the nice hug he could give you," and then he dodged, as Laura threw a
+fancy pillow at him.
+
+"I think those bears will spoil everything," came from Jessie, her face
+clouding. "I didn't know any wild animals were left in the Adirondacks."
+
+"Bear Camp," mused Laura. "What a queer name that is!"
+
+"I think it's a fine name," answered Ben. "It suits me, anyway."
+
+The boys were glad to see Belle Endicott, who was a large, well-built
+girl, with a bright, breezy, western air about her. Belle had much to
+tell concerning matters at Star Ranch; and Dave asked her about many of
+the friends he had made among the cowboys at the place.
+
+"Oh, I'll just love to see bears," said Belle, when told about the camp.
+"They are such funny, clumsy creatures. Why, I once saw a little
+cinnamon bear climbing up a tree, and he was the funniest fellow I ever
+looked at."
+
+"Oh, Belle! Weren't you frightened?" asked Jessie.
+
+"Frightened? What, with Sid Todd with me? No, indeed! We just watched
+him until we got tired of it, and then Todd up with his rifle, and that
+was the end of Mr. Cinnamon Bear."
+
+"Good for Sid!" cried Dave. "He was always on hand when wanted. I'd like
+to see him again."
+
+"Well, he sent his regards to you, Dave," was Belle's rejoinder.
+
+Shadow Hamilton and Luke Watson, the latter carrying a case containing
+his guitar and his banjo, arrived on Saturday afternoon. They came to
+Ben's house, and, having been notified by telephone, Dave hurried over
+to see them.
+
+"Dave, you're a sight for sore eyes!" said Luke Watson, as he gave our
+hero's hand a grasp that made him wince. "My gracious, it seems to me
+that I haven't seen you in a year of Sundays!"
+
+"One thing's sure, Luke," answered Dave, with a twinkle in his eyes.
+"You haven't seen me since I've seen you," and at this remark both
+laughed.
+
+"Luke has brought his instruments along," said Ben, "so we'll be sure to
+have plenty of music up at the camp."
+
+"It suits me, and will surely suit the girls," returned Dave. "We can
+sit out in the moonlight nights, and have fine times singing," he
+added.
+
+"Say! talking about singing in the moonlight, puts me in mind of a
+story," burst out Shadow. "Once on a time a young fellow went to
+serenade his girl, and----"
+
+"Never mind the yarn now, Shadow," said Ben. "I've got something to tell
+you that is more interesting than a story. It's about Nat Poole's
+uncle."
+
+"Nat Poole's uncle?" queried Dave. "You don't mean Wilbur Poole, the
+wild man we caught in the woods back of Oakdale?"
+
+"That is the man."
+
+"What of him? I thought they had taken him to a sanitarium, and that he
+was getting better."
+
+"So he was getting better--in fact he was almost well, so Nat said. But
+now what do you think has happened?"
+
+"What?" came from all of the other boys.
+
+"He has disappeared."
+
+"Disappeared?"
+
+"That's it. He has run away, and nobody knows where he went to."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+OFF FOR BEAR CAMP
+
+
+"Who told you this, Ben?" asked Dave.
+
+"I just got the story from Nat. He and his family are very much worried.
+They had an idea that Wilbur Poole was practically well again, and that
+is the reason why they did not watch him very closely."
+
+"Of course they are searching for him?"
+
+"Sure! Nat said the authorities and also several other people were after
+him. Nat himself was going to look for him to-morrow."
+
+"Maybe we'll run across him," said Luke Watson.
+
+"I hope we don't, Luke!" exclaimed Dave. "That man gave us trouble
+enough up at Oak Hall."
+
+"Right you are there!" burst out Shadow. And then he added: "I wonder if
+he'll call himself the King of Sumatra, as he did before?"
+
+"A man who is out of his mind is apt to call himself anything," said
+Dave. "I feel sorry for Nat. This must worry him and his family a good
+deal."
+
+It was not long after this when all the boys went over to the Wadsworth
+mansion, there to complete their preparations for the trip to Mirror
+Lake. Ben had had the Basswood automobile thoroughly overhauled, and
+Dave had likewise had the Wadsworth touring-car put into the best
+possible running shape.
+
+"My, but there is going to be quite a bunch of us!" was Dave's comment,
+as he looked at the boys and girls who were present.
+
+"Mamma says we must finish all our packing to-night or else do it Monday
+morning," said Jessie. "She doesn't want any of it done on Sunday."
+
+"My things are all ready, and so are Belle's," returned Laura. "But I
+don't know how it is with the boys."
+
+"We'll be all right; don't you worry," answered Dave.
+
+"We never got left yet," added Ben, with a grin.
+
+Luke had brought along his banjo, and the others insisted that he play a
+tune or two. Then they sang a couple of songs; and after that the
+Wadsworth phonograph was started, and the young folks enjoyed an hour or
+so of dancing.
+
+Sunday morning most of the young folks went to church, and in the
+afternoon some of them spent their time in writing letters. Dave and
+several of the boys took a walk around the town. At the railroad
+station they ran across Nat Poole.
+
+"I am off to look for my Uncle Wilbur," said Nat. "We've an idea that he
+went to Plattsburg, New York. He used to have some friends there, and we
+think he started off to visit them."
+
+"I certainly hope you find him, Nat, and that he's all right," answered
+Dave, kindly.
+
+"By the way, I heard Link Merwell was in town," went on the
+money-lender's son.
+
+"Yes. I met him at our old farm."
+
+"I should think he'd be afraid to show himself, fearing arrest."
+
+"He's a strange fellow, Nat, and there is no telling what he will do. He
+has been knocked around so much the last few months that I suppose he
+doesn't care very much what happens next."
+
+"I don't want to see him. I've got troubles enough without running into
+Link Merwell," grumbled Nat; and then his train came in and he was off.
+
+During their spare time the boys had studied an automobile road-map of
+New York State, and especially of the Adirondack Mountains. They had
+figured out that they would have good traveling nearly the whole of the
+distance, although there were a few bad stretches here and there to be
+covered, and also a number of mountains to be climbed.
+
+"But the mountains won't bother us," said Dave, in reply to a question
+from Luke. "Our car can go up almost any hill, and the Basswood auto is
+just about as good. Of course we'll have to do some of the traveling on
+low or second gear."
+
+"The reason I asked was this," returned Luke. "A couple of years ago
+some friends of mine started to tour the Adirondacks in a runabout. They
+went up the side of one mountain, and then down on the other. They then
+found themselves in a valley, and couldn't climb the grade on either
+side. They tried for two days to get out, and then had to get a team of
+horses to pull them a distance of several miles."
+
+"We'll watch out that nothing like that happens to us," answered Dave.
+"We won't go down into any hollow until we know something about how we
+are going to get out of it."
+
+As both touring-cars were large, it had been decided that Mr. and Mrs.
+Basswood, as well as Dunston Porter, should accompany the young folks on
+the automobile trip. As all the baggage had been packed and either
+shipped forward by express or strapped on the touring-cars, it did not
+take long on Monday morning to get ready to start. It was a clear and
+fairly cool day, and a slight shower Sunday night had laid the dust.
+
+"All aboard that's going!" cried Dave, gaily, when the Wadsworth car had
+been run around to the front of the mansion.
+
+He had hardly uttered the words when there came the sound of an
+automobile horn from the road, and a few seconds later the Basswood car
+came into sight with Ben's crowd on board.
+
+"You'll say good-bye to us here, but we'll be at Mirror Lake before you
+get there," said Mrs. Wadsworth, as she kissed her daughter and the
+other girls.
+
+"Now look out for accidents!" cautioned Dave's father.
+
+"We'll be careful," answered Dunston Porter, with a smile. And then he
+added to Caspar Potts: "Professor, don't forget to take good care of the
+place while we are away."
+
+"It shall be well taken care of, rest assured of that, sir," was the old
+gentleman's reply. "I trust all of you enjoy the outing," he went on,
+his kindly face beaming.
+
+Dave was at the wheel, with his uncle beside him, and the others packed
+rather tightly in the tonneau behind. With many a shout and merry word,
+the Wadsworth touring-car left the grounds, followed by the Basswood
+machine, and passed out along the highway leading north from Crumville.
+
+"Now Dave, do look where you are running," cautioned Laura. "We don't
+want any punctures or blow-outs."
+
+Soon Crumville was left behind, and the automobiles were passing along
+the river road where some time before Dave and his chums had assisted
+Nat Poole. Then they began to climb the distant hills, and presently
+were on the highway leading to Poughkeepsie, where they were to cross
+the Hudson River.
+
+"If only this lovely weather holds out I'm sure we'll have a splendid
+trip," said Jessie.
+
+"I suppose, Belle, you'd rather be on horseback than in an auto,"
+remarked Phil.
+
+"Well, I won't go back on horseback-riding," returned the western girl,
+"I love it too dearly. But this is very nice," she added, quickly. "Very
+nice indeed!"
+
+By noon they reached the city on the Hudson River, and there stopped for
+lunch. Then they passed over the high bridge spanning the stream and
+struck out northward once more. Mr. Dunston Porter was now running the
+car, and this gave Dave more of a chance to talk to those behind him.
+
+That evening found them in Albany, where it had been decided to spend
+the night. Dunston Porter had already telegraphed ahead for hotel
+accommodations, so there was no difficulty on that score. The older
+folks were glad enough to rest during the evening, but the young people
+went out for a walk up the hill leading to the Capitol building.
+
+In the morning the tourists were rather alarmed to see that the sky had
+clouded over, and there were some indications of rain.
+
+"Well, if it rains we can put on our raincoats and put up the tops,"
+said Dave. So far they had been traveling with the tops folded down.
+
+Noon found them well up in the heart of New York State. They stopped
+only for a short while at lunch time, wishing to cover as much ground as
+possible before the storm might break.
+
+"If possible we want to make Rayville to-day," announced Mr. Basswood,
+when the two cars had come to a standstill at a crossroads. "I've got
+some friends living there, and I want to make a call on them. Besides,
+there's a good hotel there, where we can stop for the night," for they
+had made no arrangements beyond Albany.
+
+There had been a signboard at the crossroads, but this had fallen down,
+so the tourists did not know which of the forks of the road to take.
+Finally a man, coming along in a runabout, told them to take the highway
+on the left.
+
+"That other road is the regular one," he explained, "but it is pretty
+well torn up, and you'll make time by taking this one. But be careful of
+the hill, it's just a little bit dangerous."
+
+"We'll be careful," answered Dave, who was now running the car once
+more.
+
+"Want me to take the wheel?" questioned his uncle.
+
+"Oh, no, I guess I can get along all right."
+
+The Basswood car, with Ben in charge, had already taken to the highway
+on the left, and the other turnout followed it at a distance of several
+hundred feet. Ben had put on considerable speed, and Dave had to watch
+closely to keep the other car in sight.
+
+"Take it easy, Davy," said his Uncle Dunston. "We don't want any
+accidents away out here from any garage."
+
+"I want to keep Ben in sight. He's going it pretty lively," answered
+Dave.
+
+"Yes, it's a wonder his father doesn't hold him back a little. But Mr.
+Basswood said he was anxious to reach Rayville, and that's at least
+twenty miles farther."
+
+Ahead were several turns in the road, and at these Dave lost sight of
+the car ahead. Being cloudy, it was quite dark on the roadway,
+especially where the trees lined the highway, and soon Dave found it
+necessary to turn on the headlights. Then he sounded his horn,
+expecting to get a reply from Ben, but to his surprise none came.
+
+"Do you know what I think he's trying to do?" said our hero, hastily. "I
+believe he's trying to run away from us."
+
+"It's a foolish thing to attempt, Dave, on a strange road like this,"
+answered Dunston Porter, gravely. "I should think Mr. Basswood would
+stop it."
+
+Presently they were climbing a long hill. The road wound in and out
+among the trees, and at one place the grade was so steep that Dave had
+to throw the clutch into low gear. He and his uncle listened intently,
+and from a distance heard the chug-chug of the other car a long way
+ahead.
+
+"Say, this is some climb, believe me!" cried Roger, as they made another
+turn, and Dave found it advisable to come down to low gear.
+
+"What will you do if you can't make it, Dave?" queried Phil.
+
+"Oh, we'll make it--don't worry," was the answer. "I threw into low gear
+just for safety's sake. This road twists so a fellow can't see fifty
+feet ahead of him."
+
+"I don't hear the other car any more," declared Roger, a moment later.
+
+To this Dave did not reply. There was another turn ahead, and a
+particularly hard climb over some rather rough rocks. Then, with a jolt,
+the big touring-car came out on the top of the hill. Here was another
+turn, and then began a sharp descent.
+
+"Stop here a minute, Dave!" ordered the youth's uncle, and then, as our
+hero brought the machine to a standstill, he added: "That's rather a bad
+road ahead, and you had better give the other car a chance to get down
+before we try to make it."
+
+"A good idea, Uncle Dunston. We'll wait," answered Dave.
+
+As they stood there all strained their ears to catch some sound from the
+other car.
+
+"I don't hear it at all," said Roger.
+
+"All I hear is the breeze in the trees," put in Laura.
+
+"They must be running without power," answered Dunston Porter.
+
+"If they are going down a really steep hill, it's a wonder we don't hear
+some squeak from the brakes," was Phil's comment.
+
+"Listen!" cried Dave, suddenly, and held up his hand.
+
+All strained their ears once more, and now far below them they heard
+several cries mingled with a shriek. Then came a sudden crash, followed
+by more shrieks.
+
+"They've had an accident!"
+
+"Wonder what it was?"
+
+"We'll have to go and see!" cried Dave, and put on the power once more.
+
+"That's right!" cried Dunston Porter: "Get down there as fast as you
+can, Dave. But be careful--we don't want to run into them, or have any
+accident of our own. There must be something wrong down there!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+ON THE ROAD
+
+
+"Perhaps they have gone off into some ditch!"
+
+"Maybe they bounced off a rock and hit a tree!"
+
+"A fellow could easily break a wheel on this rough road!"
+
+"Oh, I hope none of them have been hurt!"
+
+Such were some of the remarks that came from those in the tonneau of the
+touring-car, as Dave put on the power and started down the winding road
+which led to the bottom of the long hill.
+
+"Better keep her in low gear, Dave," said Dunston Porter, as the car
+struck a rather steep incline. "The engine will help hold her back."
+
+"I think I can hold her with the brakes, Uncle Dunston," answered the
+youth, who had already thrown off the power. He had the foot-brake well
+down, and now he threw in the emergency as well.
+
+On and on slipped and slid the big touring-car, bumping over a road
+which seemed to grow worse as they progressed. All of the lights were
+on full, and they were needed, for the road turned and twisted in such a
+fashion that but little could be seen ahead. In some places the highway
+seemed extra narrow, this being caused by the heavy trees and bushes
+lining both sides. At one point the water had caused quite a washout,
+and into this and out again they bumped with such violence that all the
+girls shrieked in alarm.
+
+"Some bump that!" was Roger's grim comment.
+
+"O dear, I thought sure I'd be jounced out!" cried Jessie. "Dave, can't
+you go a little slower?"
+
+"I'll try," returned the youth, and jammed down the foot-brake as hard
+as he could. For an instant the touring-car came almost to a standstill,
+but presently they slid onward again, coming a moment later to another
+bend.
+
+"Look out! Don't run into us!" It was a yell from in front, and now Dave
+saw Luke Watson standing in the roadway, waving his handkerchief.
+
+Down in the darkness beyond Dave made out the red, rear-light of the
+Basswood automobile. As the second touring-car came on Luke leaped to
+one side, but his warning had had its effect, and now Dave jammed on
+both brakes with all the force at his command, at the same time swerving
+slightly to the left. He just grazed a trunk strapped to the back of
+the first machine, and then came to a halt on a water-break a short
+distance beyond.
+
+"Somebody get out and put a few stones under the wheels!" cried Dave,
+who could not leave his seat because of one foot on the brake.
+
+"All right, we'll fix it!" cried his uncle, and leaped out, followed
+quickly by the boys in the tonneau of the car.
+
+Loose stones were to be had in plenty, and soon the car wheels were well
+blocked. Then Dave was able to join those on the ground.
+
+"Shall we get out?" asked Laura, anxiously.
+
+"Suit yourselves," returned Dunston Porter, who was already moving in
+the direction of the other car.
+
+The Wadsworth machine contained a hand flashlight, and getting
+possession of this, Dave and his chums hurried toward the other
+automobile. They had already seen at a glance that the Basswood
+touring-car had swung around to the side of the road, and that one front
+wheel was held fast between a large rock and a fair-sized tree.
+Apparently the car was not hurt, and no one seemed to be injured.
+
+"How did it happen, Ben?" sang out Dave, when he saw that the accident
+was not a serious one.
+
+"Funniest thing you ever heard of," returned his chum. "You couldn't
+possibly guess it."
+
+"Didn't you slip on the rocks?" queried Phil.
+
+"It was a cow put us here," said Mr. Basswood, gravely. "Just a plain,
+every day, red cow." And in spite of the accident his eyes had a twinkle
+in them.
+
+"A cow!" came from several of the others, in wonder.
+
+"Yes, a cow!" answered Ben, and his tone showed his deep disgust. "I was
+going down the hill just as nicely as you please when along came a cow.
+A man was driving her, and when he saw us coming he did his best to get
+the cow out of our way. But that mooly didn't budge from the middle of
+the road, so I had to turn to one side--and this is the consequence."
+
+"But I am so thankful that no one was hurt," broke in Mrs. Basswood.
+"Think of what might have happened if the car had turned over!" and she
+shuddered.
+
+"But where is the cow?" questioned Roger.
+
+"Oh, as soon as she had put us in this hole she turned tail and ran down
+the hill as fast as she could, and the man went after her," explained
+Mr. Basswood.
+
+"I guess the man ran away because he was afraid we might hold him
+responsible for damages," remarked Shadow. "Say! this puts me in mind
+of a story," he added. "One time a cow got on the front piazza of a
+house, and----"
+
+"For gracious sake, Shadow! I guess you'd want to tell stories at a
+funeral," burst out Ben. "Never mind your yarn now. Let us see if we can
+get this machine out from between this rock and that tree."
+
+"You didn't break the steering-gear, did you?" asked Dave, anxiously, as
+he allowed the flashlight to play over and around the touring-car.
+
+"I don't believe I hurt anything, Dave. But of course I can't be sure
+until I try to run the car," answered Ben. "What's worrying me is: How
+am I going to get out of this fix? I don't believe I can back out--in
+fact it wouldn't be safe."
+
+"Looks to me as if we'd have to chop the tree down to get out of here,"
+commented Luke, who had come back from where he had signaled the other
+car.
+
+"I think I see a way of aiding you," said Dunston Porter, who was
+examining the rock that held the wheel to the tree. "I think if we dig
+under the edge of this rock, we can loosen it and roll it down the hill.
+Then we'll be able to lift the front of the automobile around--that is
+if we can keep the machine from sliding down on us."
+
+"We can easily fix that part of it," answered Dave. "All we've got to
+do is to take that towing-rope we brought along and fasten it to a tree
+and the back axle of the car."
+
+"That's the talk, Dave!" cried his uncle. "Get the rope and make it fast
+at once."
+
+While our hero and several of the other boys were adjusting the
+towing-line which had been brought along for emergencies, Dunston Porter
+and Mr. Basswood set to work to loosen the rock which held the wheel.
+This was no easy task, but finally, with the aid of a hammer and a small
+crowbar, it was accomplished, and the rock slid down the roadway. Then
+the automobile began to start forward.
+
+"Look out there!" cried one of the boys. "This line may not hold!"
+
+"That will hold two cars like that," answered Dave. The rope strained
+and creaked, but did not break, and soon those in front of the car had
+the machine jacked around once more in a straight position, headed down
+the road.
+
+"Now Ben, I guess you're all right again," said Dave.
+
+"Provided I don't meet that cow again," was the retort. "How about that
+rope?"
+
+"I'll unfasten it for you just as soon as you are ready to start."
+
+"I think I'd rather walk to the foot of the hill," remarked Mrs.
+Basswood, timorously.
+
+"Let us all walk down. I'll be glad of the exercise," cried Belle, who
+was tired of being cramped up in the tonneau of the automobile.
+
+"Oh, but maybe that cow will get after us," exclaimed Jessie.
+
+"Pooh! who's afraid of a cow!" cried the western girl, who had been
+brought up to face hundreds of animals on her father's ranch.
+
+"Well, I think we had better let the automobiles go first, anyway,"
+suggested Laura. "We don't want them to come along and run over us," she
+added, playfully.
+
+Soon Ben and his chums were in the first of the touring-cars. Dave
+released the rope, and the automobile resumed the descent of the hill.
+Then the towing-line was wound up and thrown into the tonneau of the
+second car, and that also resumed its journey.
+
+Down at the foot of the long hill they met the cow and her owner, a
+tall, cadaverous-looking individual, who eyed our friends frowningly.
+
+"I see you got your cow all right enough," remarked Ben.
+
+"So I did, but I'd a mighty long run to stop her," growled the man.
+
+"You put us in quite a hole; do you know that?" went on Ben.
+
+"'Tain't none of my fault," replied the owner of the cow, quickly. "I
+have as much right on this road with my cow as you have with that there
+autymobile."
+
+"Just the same, you had no right to let your cow keep to the middle of
+the road," cried Ben. "If we had had a worse accident we might have held
+you responsible."
+
+"Huh! Hold me responsible, eh? Well ye wouldn't have got a cent out of
+me," said the owner of the cow, and then he passed on up the hill once
+more, driving the animal before him. The cow was contentedly chewing her
+cud, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened to disturb her.
+
+A quarter of a mile further on our friends came to a small stream
+spanned by rather a shaky-looking bridge, over which each machine was
+run with great care. On the other side of the stream they came to
+another fork of the road.
+
+"Here's a signboard anyway!" cried Dave, whose car was now in advance.
+"_'Rayville Four Miles._' We'll be there soon if this road holds out."
+
+"I think you'll find the roads around Rayville all right," called Mr.
+Basswood to him. "My friend told me that they were in good condition,
+especially those on the other side of the town."
+
+A quarter of an hour later found the two touring-cars in the village
+where Mr. Basswood's friend resided. Here, as the gentleman had said,
+was located a fairly good hotel, where accommodations for the night
+could be had.
+
+"Now, I'm going to go around and see my friends," said Mr. Basswood.
+"Ben, you and your chums can stay here at the hotel. We'll be back
+before it's time to retire," and then he set off in the touring-car,
+taking his wife with him.
+
+As the hotel at Rayville made a specialty of catering to automobile
+parties, our friends found the accommodations there both ample and
+satisfactory. After the hard run of the day, the girls and the boys were
+glad to rest awhile. Then they fixed up for dinner, which was served to
+them in a private dining-room, apart from the other patrons of the
+house. As might be expected, they had a good deal of fun, and Shadow was
+allowed to tell several of his stories, much to his own satisfaction if
+not to that of his listeners.
+
+"By this time to-morrow night we ought to be at Bear Camp," said Dave,
+after they had finished dinner and gone out on the hotel veranda to
+watch what little was going on in the town.
+
+"I guess it will be a good deal more lonely than it is here, Dave,"
+observed Jessie.
+
+"There will be too many of us to be lonely," he answered. "I'm looking
+forward to some splendid times."
+
+"Oh, so am I, Dave, and I am sure the others hope to have good times,
+too."
+
+It was about ten o'clock when Mr. and Mrs. Basswood came back to the
+hotel, having spent a very pleasant evening with their friends, who had
+wanted them to remain over night.
+
+"I've got some news that I want to telegraph to Crumville," announced
+Ben's father, as he came in. "News that may interest Mr. Poole."
+
+"What is that, Dad?" questioned his son, curiously.
+
+"Why, Mr. Dobson spoke about a strange sort of man who called on him
+yesterday. He thought the man was out of his mind. He said the fellow
+asked for work first, but then said he didn't care whether he got a job
+or not, because he had to take the night express for Sumatra."
+
+"A strange man who wanted to take the night express for Sumatra!"
+exclaimed Dave. "It must have been 'The King of Sumatra'--Wilbur Poole!"
+
+"Just exactly what I think, Dave," answered Mr. Basswood.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+CAUGHT IN A STORM
+
+
+"Did you ever know this Wilbur Poole, Dad?" questioned Ben.
+
+"Yes, I met him years ago at Aaron Poole's home. But of course he was in
+his right mind then. Poor chap! I pity him very much."
+
+"I think we all pity him," answered Dave. "Nobody can be responsible
+after his mind breaks down."
+
+"I feel sorry for Nat Poole and his folks," said Laura. "This will give
+them a great deal of trouble, not to mention the expense."
+
+"If Wilbur Poole was anywhere around Rayville it might pay to start a
+hunt for him," suggested Roger.
+
+"I don't think you'll find him anywhere around here," answered Mr.
+Basswood. "But it won't hurt to take a look around, if you boys care to
+take a walk."
+
+Ben's father went off to send his telegram to Aaron Poole, and all the
+boys set off on a hunt for the wild man. They covered the streets of the
+village and some of the roads on the outskirts, but without success.
+They met three people who had talked to the strange individual, and from
+what had passed Dave and his chums were sure that the man must have been
+Wilbur Poole.
+
+"I guess we'll have to give it up," said Phil, when it was getting late.
+"I'm tired out. And remember, fellows, we have a hard ride before us
+to-morrow if we expect to reach Carpen Falls in time to hit the trail
+for Bear Camp before it gets dark."
+
+When the boys reached the hotel the girls were anxious to hear what they
+might have to tell.
+
+"It's too bad," said Jessie, soberly. "I am glad it is not one of my
+relatives who is roaming around like that."
+
+Both Dunston Porter and Mr. Basswood had suggested an early start on the
+following morning, so the entire party were downstairs and to breakfast
+by seven o'clock. In the meantime the two automobiles had been
+overhauled, and provided with oil and gasoline, as well as with water.
+
+"I've got rather a bad cut on one of the rear wheels," said Ben.
+"Perhaps I had better change the shoe before we start."
+
+"Oh, take a chance on it!" cried Luke. "I think you'll get through all
+right enough."
+
+"Perhaps Luke; but if I don't, that blow-out will cost me a fine inner
+tube. However, I'll take the chance. Get in everybody, and we'll be
+off!"
+
+As Mr. Basswood's friend had said, the road leading from Rayville
+northwestward was in fine shape, and they were able to cover the next
+thirty miles at a fair rate of speed. But then they got in among the
+hills, and here the road became as winding and dangerous as ever.
+
+Not knowing much about the stopping-places ahead, the grown folks had
+had the hotel people put up a substantial lunch for the tourists, packed
+in two hampers.
+
+"It will be jolly fun camping out this noon," said Laura. "It ought to
+just suit you, Belle."
+
+"It certainly will!" was the answer from the western girl. "I'd rather
+eat in the open than in the stuffy dining-room of a hotel any time."
+
+"There may be one drawback to having lunch outdoors," said Phil. "It
+looks like rain."
+
+"Phil, if you say rain again I'll throw you out of the car!" cried
+Roger.
+
+"I must admit it does look a little like rain," said Laura, casting her
+eyes skyward. "That's an awfully black cloud over yonder. O dear, rain
+would spoil it all! I do hope it holds off!"
+
+Dave had been running the car, but now his uncle insisted upon taking
+the wheel. Then Roger climbed over onto the front seat, giving the one
+he had been occupying beside Jessie to our hero. They were in the lead,
+with the Basswood turnout not far behind.
+
+"This is more like," said Dave, in a low tone to Jessie.
+
+"Oh, well, I suppose you had to do your share in running the car, Dave,"
+she replied, giving him a bright look.
+
+"I don't believe Uncle Dunston cares as much for driving as he
+pretends," went on the youth. "Behind it all, he is a good deal like
+Belle--he prefers to be on horseback. He was brought up to it."
+
+"He has certainly been a great traveler, Dave."
+
+"Yes, indeed! And I would like to be just like him. I'd love to travel."
+
+"And where would you go if you had the chance?"
+
+"I don't know. Maybe around the world," and Dave's eyes lit up as he
+spoke.
+
+"Around the world! And would you go all alone?"
+
+"All alone? Not if I could get anybody to go along with me! Wouldn't you
+like to take a trip like that, Jessie?" and he gazed at her fondly.
+
+"Oh, Dave!"
+
+"Well, it would be a great trip for both of us; wouldn't it?"
+
+"Dave, don't be silly," and Jessie blushed deeply. "We are not going
+around the world yet, we are going to Bear Camp, and that's plenty far
+enough."
+
+"Yes, I know, Jessie. But you see"--and Dave lowered his voice--"I want
+to make sure that when I go you'll go with me. It will then be the
+finest trip that ever anybody----"
+
+Bang! It was a report like that from a small cannon, and came from close
+beside them. Jessie gave a scream, and so did Laura and Mrs. Basswood,
+while cries of wonder and alarm came from the boys. The Basswood car had
+come up alongside of the other automobile, and just at that instant the
+tire which Ben had said was cut blew out, sending a shower of dirt and
+stones in all directions. Mr. Basswood, who was at the wheel, brought
+the car to a quick stop, and Mr. Porter also halted.
+
+"Well, it went, just as I thought it might," remarked Ben, grimly.
+
+"Too bad!" returned Luke. "I reckon it was my fault. I should have let
+you put on that other shoe before we started."
+
+"It's nobody's fault!" cried Mr. Basswood, quickly. "Now then, boys,
+we'll see how soon we can get another shoe on."
+
+Many hands made the labor of jacking up the car and changing the tire a
+light one. Fortunately the automobile was equipped with a pump attached
+to the engine, so that blowing up the tire by hand was unnecessary.
+
+"This is only a little exercise to get up an appetite for that lunch,"
+remarked Dave, gaily. "We want to do full justice to the stuff in the
+hamper."
+
+"As if there was ever anything the matter with your appetite!" cried
+Phil, dryly.
+
+"Why Philip, my son, you know I never eat more than a bird!" retorted
+Dave, with a twinkle in his eye.
+
+"Humph! A bird, eh? I guess you must mean an ostrich," retorted the
+shipowner's son, and at this sally there was a general laugh in which
+even Dave joined.
+
+"Just eleven o'clock," remarked Luke, consulting his watch. "When do we
+stop for that lunch?"
+
+"At twelve o'clock precisely," answered Mrs. Basswood. "That is, of
+course, if we happen to be in the right kind of a place. We don't want
+to stop just anywhere."
+
+"Might eat the lunch while we were running," suggested Roger. "It would
+make it last so much longer."
+
+"Wow! What a joke!" cried Phil.
+
+"Say, that puts me in mind of a story!" burst out Shadow. "A fellow
+named William took his best girl for a trip by train to another town,
+and on the way they went into the dining-car for lunch. He said
+afterwards that it was the longest lunch he had ever eaten, and as the
+girl had ordered nearly everything on the bill of fare it was also the
+longest bill he had ever paid."
+
+"A long bill but a short story, Shadow!" cried Luke.
+
+"I'd like to know one thing, Shadow," observed Dave. "Was it William who
+paid the bill or was it Bill who had to put up several Williams to pay
+for it?"
+
+"Good gracious, Dave! What are you talking about?" queried his sister,
+with a puzzled look on her face.
+
+"Oh, that's easy, Laura," answered Roger. "William--Bill, Bill--William.
+Don't you see the joke?"
+
+"Yes, of course! How thick I am!" returned the girl, quickly.
+
+Soon they were once more on the way. They had a long hill to ascend, the
+road winding in and out among the trees and around the rocks. It was a
+hard pull, and several times they had to change to second gear and even
+to low.
+
+"O my, what a beautiful view!" cried Belle, when the top of the hill was
+gained. And in her excitement she stood straight up in the automobile to
+look around her.
+
+"It certainly is beautiful," returned Jessie. "One can see for miles and
+miles in every direction!"
+
+"Oh, Mrs. Basswood, don't you think this would be a lovely place to have
+lunch?" cried Laura.
+
+At the mention of lunch, Luke, Shadow, and Phil brought out their
+watches simultaneously.
+
+"Seventeen minutes of twelve," announced the shipowner's son.
+
+"I've got quarter of," cried Luke.
+
+"You must both be off," put in Shadow. "I'm only fourteen minutes and a
+half of twelve," he announced, gravely. "Have we got to wait till twelve
+o'clock?" he continued, anxiously.
+
+"I guess it'll be twelve o'clock before we get anything to eat,"
+answered Mrs. Basswood, with a smile. "I think this would be just an
+ideal spot to rest."
+
+"Oh, we've just got to stay here for a while, whether we eat or not!"
+cried Belle. "I'm going to get out and run up on to the rocks over
+there," and suiting the action to the words, she leaped out of the
+automobile and started to make her way to the spot she had indicated.
+
+"Look out that you don't fall over into the hollow," cautioned Dave, as
+he assisted Jessie and his sister to alight.
+
+To one side of the roadway was something of a cleared space, and into
+this the two automobiles were run. The boys got out the hampers and
+other things, and took them over to the spot which Belle's quick eyes
+had picked out. Here there was a patch of green grass shaded by several
+large trees, and in front of it a flat rock, beyond which was spread out
+a vast panorama of hills and valleys stretching for many miles.
+
+"It's a perfect picture!" cried Jessie. "I must get a photograph of it."
+
+"Yes. And we must take a photograph of the crowd at lunch," returned
+Dave.
+
+"Let's eat before we start to take any photographs," put in Luke, who
+seemed to be extra hungry. "I never did look well in a picture taken
+before eating," and at this there was a general laugh.
+
+While the boys brought the various things from the cars, the girls and
+Mrs. Basswood spread a lunch-cloth partly on the grass and partly on the
+flat rock, and on this placed the various good things which had been
+brought along.
+
+"First call for lunch!" sang out Dave, loudly, when all was in
+readiness.
+
+"I guess your first call will be the last, too, Dave!" exclaimed Jessie.
+"Here! what will you have--a ham sandwich or one with chicken?"
+
+"I think I'll try the chicken," he answered.
+
+"Oh, don't be backward about coming forward, Dave!" cried Luke. "Why
+don't you try them both?"
+
+"I will before I get through."
+
+"We all will," declared Roger. "There is nothing the matter with this
+air for giving one an appetite," he added. "I believe after we have been
+up at Bear Camp for a while we'll all be eating like wolves."
+
+"Why not like bears, if we are going to Bear Camp?" suggested Phil.
+
+"Say, I can't bear a joke like that!" broke in Roger.
+
+"It was a little barefaced; wasn't it?" commented Dave.
+
+"Oh, quit your joking, I'm hungry," pleaded Luke. And then all the young
+folks fell to eating with great gusto, and it must be admitted that the
+older heads followed suit.
+
+The lunch lasted the best part of half an hour, and was thoroughly
+enjoyed by every one. Then the young people got out their cameras, and
+various snap-shots and time-pictures were taken, to be developed and
+printed later on.
+
+"Now then, let us pack up as quickly as we can, and finish this trip,"
+said Mr. Basswood, presently.
+
+As he spoke he looked up at the sky, and the others did the same. Off to
+the westward they saw a number of black clouds rolling up rapidly.
+
+"Say, Dave, that looks like a real storm to me," remarked Roger,
+anxiously. "What do you think of it?"
+
+"It's a storm, all right," was the answer. "And if we don't catch it
+before we reach the end of our journey we'll be lucky."
+
+[Illustration: AND THEN ALL THE YOUNG FOLKS FELL TO EATING WITH
+GREAT GUSTO.--_Page 102._]
+
+As quickly as possible, the various things were packed up and placed in
+the two touring-cars. Then they started off once more, with Mr. Porter
+and Mr. Basswood at the steering wheels. They had covered less than five
+miles when they heard a rushing of wind through the woods. It seemed to
+come by fits and starts, but steadily increased in volume. The sky grew
+darker, and soon some large drops of rain fell.
+
+"We'll have to put up the tops!" cried Dave.
+
+The Basswood car had already come to a stop and those in it were
+hurrying to put up the top. As Dave unfastened the straps on the
+Wadsworth automobile, the drops of rain came down faster than ever.
+
+"We didn't get that up any too soon," remarked the boy's uncle, when the
+job was finished.
+
+"Hadn't I better put up the side curtains, too?" queried Dave.
+
+"You'll have to put up everything you've got, Dave!" cried Roger. "Just
+look at what's coming!"
+
+There was no need to look, for already the rain was driving in on them.
+Working with all possible speed, the boys soon adjusted the curtains.
+
+"Uncle Dunston, we can't run without chains if the road gets wet," cried
+Dave.
+
+"I am going to run under yonder trees. We can put the chains on there,"
+answered Dunston Porter, and they started forward once again, with the
+rain pelting down upon them furiously.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+FROM ONE HARDSHIP TO ANOTHER
+
+
+"I guess I was right about the rain," remarked Phil, grimly, as the
+drops pattered unceasingly on the cover of the automobile.
+
+"You sure were, Phil!" cried Belle. "It's coming down just as hard as
+ever it can."
+
+"If only the wind would stop blowing!" said Jessie. "Do you think there
+is any danger of our being blown over?"
+
+"Oh, it isn't as bad as all that," answered Dave.
+
+A few minutes later Mr. Porter espied a suitable place under several
+large trees, and here he brought the touring-car to a standstill. Then
+the Basswood car come close alongside.
+
+"Going to put on the chains?" called out Mr. Basswood, to make himself
+heard above the noise of the elements.
+
+"I think we had better," returned Dave's uncle. "I imagine we've quite a
+hill to descend a little farther on."
+
+There were raincoats in each touring-car, and these were now donned by
+Dave and his uncle, and by Ben and his father. Then the chains for the
+back wheels for both automobiles were brought forth.
+
+Even under the thick foliage of the trees the rain was coming down,
+although of course not nearly as hard as on the roadway beyond. The
+chains were straightened out on the grass, and each automobile was
+backed up a little so that the articles might be fastened on. The task
+took but a few minutes, and then those who had accomplished it got back
+into the machines.
+
+"I'll lead the way," called out Mr. Porter. "You had better not follow
+me too closely."
+
+"Very well, I'll watch out," answered Mr. Basswood.
+
+"Uncle Dunston, don't you want to let me drive?" queried Dave. "I've had
+a little more experience at it than you have had."
+
+"I can do it, Dave," was the reply. "But, at the same time, if you think
+it would be safer, take the wheel. I must own up that I'd rather be on a
+horse or behind one than steering a car like this in such a storm."
+
+Dave squeezed himself into the driver's seat, and a moment later they
+were off again over the plateau of the hill, and then down the other
+side.
+
+The wind was blowing as furiously as ever, and now from a distance came
+the low rumble of thunder.
+
+"O dear! What is that?" cried Laura.
+
+"I guess it was thunder, but I don't think it will amount to anything,"
+returned Roger.
+
+The bottom of the hill gained, they traversed a narrow valley for a
+distance of seven or eight miles. Then came another climb over a winding
+highway, which at certain points was filled with loose stones and dirt.
+
+"Be careful, Dave. We don't want to do any skidding," cautioned the
+youth's uncle.
+
+"I'm watching out all I can," was the grim reply. Dave was bending over
+the steering-wheel, trying his best to see through the windshield. "I
+guess I'll have to open it a little," he went on, nodding in the
+direction of the glass.
+
+"I'll do it for you," answered Dunston Porter, and threw out the upper
+side of the shield.
+
+By this means Dave was able to get a clear vision of the roadway
+directly in front of the machine. But the opening of the windshield let
+in considerable of the driving rain.
+
+"Oh, Dave, you'll get wet from the knees down!" cried Jessie,
+solicitously.
+
+"Can't help it," he replied. "I can't see with the windshield closed."
+
+The rumblings of thunder had increased, and now from over a distant hill
+came various streaks of lightning. The sky was much darker, and in order
+to see better, Dave turned on the electric lights. Looking back, those
+in the tonneau of the forward car saw that the Basswood machine was
+also lighted. By the time the top of the next hill was gained, a
+distance of fully a mile, the thunderstorm was on them in all its fury.
+The wind tore through the woods, sending leaves and small branches
+flying in all directions. From the north and the west came vivid flashes
+of lightning, followed by sharp claps of thunder, which rolled and
+rumbled across the hills and mountains.
+
+"O dear, if we only had some place to stop!" cried Jessie, timorously.
+
+"There isn't any sort of a building in sight," replied Dunston Porter,
+who had been looking on all sides for some time. "If there was I'd have
+Dave head for it pretty quick."
+
+"According to the map we ought to be within a few miles of Simpson's
+Corners," said Roger. "How about it, Dave?"
+
+"Just what I was thinking," answered our hero. "I was wondering if it
+wasn't on the other side of the next rise."
+
+They were running along another small valley, at the end of which was a
+sharp turn to the left and a rise of several hundred feet. Here the
+downfall of rain had flooded the road for a considerable distance.
+Coming to this place Dave had to slow down, but he still kept on some
+power, not wishing to get stuck.
+
+"Can you make it, Dave?" asked his uncle, anxiously, as the chains of
+the automobile ground deeply into the mud and loose stones.
+
+"We've got to make it, Uncle Dunston!" cried the boy, grimly.
+
+The car proceeded more and more slowly even with the power turned on.
+Dave had been running in second gear, but now he came down to low. Mud
+and stones flew in all directions, while the water was splashed out on
+both sides as if coming from geysers. Then, with one last effort, the
+automobile left the level roadway and started up the hill beyond.
+
+The Wadsworth car was almost at the top of the rise when a turn in the
+road enabled its occupants to see the second car.
+
+"Look!" burst out Roger. "I do believe they're stuck!"
+
+"Stuck! Do you mean in that wet place?" asked Dave, quickly.
+
+"That's it," put in Phil. "They are stuck just as sure as you're born!"
+he added, a second later.
+
+The forward car had now reached a spot on the side of the hill which was
+comparatively level, so that Dave had no trouble in coming to a halt. It
+was still raining as furiously as ever, and the thunder and lightning
+were just as incessant. Looking down on the wet portion of the road
+below them, they saw that the Basswood car was standing still, with
+water and mud half way up to the hubs.
+
+"He has shut off the power! That's no way to do!" cried Dave. "He ought
+to keep his engine going, and either try to go forward or backward. If
+he stands still he will sink deeper than ever."
+
+"He's trying to back now, Dave," returned Phil, and he was right.
+
+Soon they saw the wheels of the Basswood car revolving rapidly, and the
+turnout itself moved slowly to the rear. Then Ben must have reversed the
+power, for the car came forward, but this time headed for the left side
+of the road.
+
+"I don't think he'll gain much by that move," observed Dave. "I tried
+it, and found it rather soft over there."
+
+"Look, he is backing again!" cried Laura. "O dear! Whatever will he do
+if he gets stuck fast?"
+
+"Let us hope that nothing like that happens," answered her uncle,
+gravely.
+
+But that was just what did happen, and although both Ben and his father
+did their best to free the car from the mud, it was without avail. They
+managed to get to within fifteen feet of the end of the wet place, and
+there they stayed, unable to budge either forward or backward.
+
+"Listen! he is sounding his horn!" cried Roger, during a brief lull in
+the storm.
+
+"I guess he wants us to come back and help pull him out," answered Dave,
+and sounded a reply to show that he had heard the call of distress.
+
+"What are you going to do, Dave--try to turn around here or back down?"
+asked Roger.
+
+"Oh, it's too narrow to turn here!" cried Laura, in alarm.
+
+"You'll have us all over in the ditch if you don't look out!" came from
+one of the others in the car.
+
+"I see a little wider spot further ahead," answered Dave, and turned on
+the power once more.
+
+Soon he had reached the place in question, and there, by skillful
+maneuvering, he managed to turn the touring-car the other way. Then he
+came down the hill slowly until within a few feet of the bad spot in the
+highway.
+
+"Hello there!" called out Mr. Basswood. "I guess you'll have to get out
+that towing-rope again and give us a lift."
+
+"Just what I thought," answered Dave. "We'll have it out in a jiffy."
+
+He and his uncle alighted once more, taking with them the towing-rope
+that had been used before. Mr. Basswood was already out of the car,
+standing in water and mud over his shoe-tops.
+
+"Here, catch the rope!" called out our hero, and sent one end whirling
+toward the other car in true cowboy fashion--a trick he had learned
+while staying at Star Ranch.
+
+Mr. Basswood caught the rope, and soon had it adjusted to the front axle
+of the car. In the meanwhile Dave and his uncle fastened the other end
+to the rear axle of their own turnout.
+
+"Now then, turn on your power when I sound my horn," directed Dave.
+
+"Right you are!" yelled back Ben, who was at the wheel.
+
+Mr. Porter remained on the ground to watch proceedings, while Dave
+re-entered the Wadsworth machine and turned on the power. Then our hero
+sounded the horn and began to advance. The towing-rope strained and
+cracked, and threatened for a moment to snap. Slowly the Wadsworth car
+went ahead inch by inch. The rear wheels of the Basswood machine churned
+the water and mud furiously.
+
+"Say! we don't seem to be getting out of this very fast," remarked
+Shadow, who was in the rear car beside Mrs. Basswood.
+
+"Put on all your power, Ben. It's the only thing you can do," ordered
+the lad's father.
+
+The rear wheels of the second machine ground deeper into the mud and
+loose stones, throwing them and the water up into the air and even onto
+the cover of the machine. The towing-rope continued to creak ominously.
+
+"Be on guard, everybody, if that rope breaks!" cried Mr. Basswood,
+warningly. He knew that if the towing-line parted near one end or the
+other there was grave danger of the flying rope coming back to damage
+one of the machines.
+
+Inch by inch the second car moved forward. Dave had not dared to turn on
+all power, fearing to snap the towing-line, but now, as the second
+machine gained a little headway, he added power steadily.
+
+"Hurrah! Here we come!" shouted Luke, in a tone of relief. And a few
+seconds later the Basswood car rolled out of the water and mud to the
+comparatively dry roadway ahead.
+
+"Say, that was some stunt--to get out of there!" was Shadow's comment.
+
+"I'm mighty glad the other car was here to help us," answered Ben. "If
+it hadn't been here I guess we would have stayed there for a while," he
+added, grimly.
+
+"I think both our cars will need washing after this trip," observed
+Dave, with a grin, as he coiled up the towing-line once more and stowed
+it away.
+
+"This sure is some ending to this trip!" observed Ben, making a wry
+face.
+
+"We haven't seen the end of it yet, Ben," answered Dunston Porter.
+"There may be worse roads than this ahead. I don't believe they are very
+good around Carpen Falls."
+
+With the rain pelting down unceasingly, the two cars proceeded on the
+journey. The thunder and lightning had let up a little, but now, as the
+top of the next hill was gained, it seemed to become more violent than
+before.
+
+"Oh, this is dreadful!" cried Jessie, as a particularly bright flash lit
+up the interior of the automobile. "What if we should be struck!"
+
+"Let us hope that nothing like that happens!" answered Laura. Her face,
+too, showed her alarm.
+
+"I think I saw some sort of a village ahead," cried Dave, who had been
+peering intently through the windshield. "I think I saw the white
+steeple of a church."
+
+"Maybe it's Simpson's Corners," suggested Belle.
+
+"I hope there is a hotel there and a garage," said Dunston Porter.
+"We'll want to have a chance to dry ourselves and get supper."
+
+"Then you don't think we'll reach Carpen Falls to-night?" questioned
+Phil.
+
+"I don't know what to think, Phil. Perhaps we may----"
+
+Mr. Porter did not finish what he was saying. Just at that instant came
+a vivid flash of lightning that nearly blinded them. It was followed by
+an ear-splitting crash of thunder. Then came another crash closer by,
+and an instant later Dave and his uncle saw a large tree fall directly
+toward the roadway in front of them!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+A STROKE OF LIGHTNING
+
+
+"Look out!"
+
+"We are going into that tree!"
+
+"Jam on both brakes, Dave, just as hard as you can!" cried Dunston
+Porter.
+
+Even before his uncle had spoken Dave had pressed down both feet hard,
+thus putting on the foot-brake and releasing the gear-clutch. Now his
+hand shot over to the emergency brake, and this came up with all the
+power at his command. But the grade was downward, and the road slippery
+from the rain, and instead of stopping, the touring-car went on, sliding
+through the mud and over the rocks until it was practically on top of
+the tree. Then came a jar that threw everybody forward. The
+steering-wheel saved Dave, but his uncle's elbow struck the windshield,
+cracking it in several places.
+
+"Look, we've run into a tree!"
+
+"Did the lightning hit the machine?"
+
+"Say, Roger, take yourself off my feet; will you?"
+
+This last cry came from Phil, who was huddled up in a corner of the
+tonneau.
+
+"It isn't me, it's the handbag, Phil," gasped out Roger, who hung partly
+over the front seat of the touring-car.
+
+"Anybody hurt?" questioned Dunston Porter quickly, as soon as the shock
+had come to an end.
+
+"I--I--think I am all right, Uncle Dunston," panted Laura. "But dear me!
+wasn't it awful?"
+
+"I thought I was going to fly right over Dave's head," wailed Jessie,
+who had come up behind the youth with a great thump. "Oh, Dave, did I
+hurt you?"
+
+"Knocked a little of the wind out of me, Jessie; that's all," he
+answered. "But I won't mind that if only you are not hurt."
+
+"Say, that was some stop, believe me!" was Phil's grim comment, as he
+managed to straighten up and look ahead. "Stuffed mackerel! what did we
+try to do, Dave--climb a tree?"
+
+"No. We tried to take a running jump and go over it," replied Roger,
+with a faint attempt at humor.
+
+"Sound the horn, Dave, as loudly as you can!" cried his uncle, quickly.
+"We must warn the others." And thus admonished, Dave put his finger on
+the button of the electric horn and held it down for some time. Looking
+backward, those in the Wadsworth car soon saw the Basswood machine come
+into sight and then slow down. The heavy clap of thunder was now
+followed by another fierce downfall of rain, while the sky grew blacker
+than ever. In the midst of this outburst the second touring-car came
+slowly forward.
+
+"Did the lightning strike you?" yelled Ben.
+
+"No. But we had a close call of it," answered Mr. Porter. "It hit this
+tree when we were less than one hundred and fifty feet away. Then the
+tree came down as you see, and we ploughed right into it."
+
+"Phew! That's some escape!" was Mr. Basswood's comment. "Anything
+broken?"
+
+"We don't know yet," answered Dave.
+
+He alighted from the car, and his uncle did likewise. An examination
+showed that one of the mudguards in front had been badly bent, and that
+a headlight had snapped off, but beyond this, and the windshield, the
+big touring-car seemed to be undamaged.
+
+"I'm thankful it's no worse," remarked Dunston Porter.
+
+"It's too bad the light had to go," returned Dave. "It will make running
+at night rather dangerous until we can get it fixed."
+
+"Oh, let us be thankful that no one was hurt!" cried Laura.
+
+While Dave and his uncle had been examining the car, Mr. Basswood and
+the others had been looking for some way around the tree, which covered
+the roadway completely.
+
+"I think I see a path through yonder trees," said Ben, pointing to his
+left. "The ground seems to be pretty good there, and I think the opening
+is plenty large enough for our cars."
+
+Mr. Basswood moved forward in the direction his son indicated, and soon
+called to Ben to start the car. He led the way on foot, and the machine
+followed slowly. They passed in and out among several trees, and then
+emerged once more on the highway, some distance beyond the obstruction.
+
+"Hurrah! That's the way to do it!" cried Luke. "Now the others can back
+up and follow us."
+
+"So they can," answered Shadow. "But what about leaving that tree in the
+roadway? It's mighty dangerous, and will be more so after dark."
+
+"We can notify the authorities at Simpson's Corners," said Mr. Basswood.
+"They can send somebody up here with a lantern."
+
+He went back to tell the others of what had been accomplished, and soon
+the Wadsworth car was backed out from between the branches of the tree
+that shut off the highway.
+
+"Well, I think the rain is letting up a little, anyway," announced
+Roger, after the two touring-cars were once more under way. And he was
+right. That last downfall seemed to clear the sky, and soon they saw the
+clouds scattering.
+
+Wet from end to end, and covered with mud, the two automobiles rolled
+into the little settlement that went by the name of Simpson's Corners.
+Here an old man named Simpson kept a general store to which, in the
+rear, was attached a small livery stable and garage.
+
+"You certainly must have had some trip over the hills in this storm,"
+remarked Mr. Simpson, after the party had trooped into his place. "It's
+about as heavy a rainfall as we have had in some time. Where are you
+bound?"
+
+"We wanted to get to Carpen Falls if we could," answered Dunston Porter.
+"But perhaps we'll stay in Simpson's Corners, if there are any
+accommodations."
+
+"Ain't no hotel here," answered the storekeeper. "Used to be one some
+years ago, but it didn't pay, so the feller that run it gave it up. But
+Mrs. Whittle serves lunch to travelers if you are hungry."
+
+"Me for Mrs. Whittle's!" whispered Phil.
+
+"Good gracious, Phil! You seem to be hungry all the time on this trip,"
+was Belle's good-natured comment.
+
+"Maybe if we stay here an hour or two it will clear off," said Dave, who
+was examining the sky closely. "I think the storm is shifting very
+rapidly."
+
+"I believe you're right, Dave," answered his uncle. "Yes, we'll stay
+here and get dried out a little, if nothing else."
+
+It was learned that Mrs. Whittle's place was just across the street, and
+the lady said she would be very glad to furnish them with a hot supper,
+and added that they could come in and dry themselves in her
+sitting-room, where she started an open fire. The machines were placed
+in Mr. Simpson's garage, and they purchased from the storekeeper some
+gasoline and oil.
+
+"Only a little after five o'clock," announced Roger. "I think by six
+o'clock the storm will be over," he added.
+
+While they were eating the supper provided by Mrs. Whittle, it stopped
+raining, and a little later they saw the setting sun over the hills to
+the westward.
+
+"How many miles is it to Carpen Falls from here?" asked Luke.
+
+"Fourteen by the automobile blue book," answered Dave.
+
+"And what of the road?" questioned Ben.
+
+"Mr. Simpson said it wasn't so bad but that it might be worse," answered
+Dunston Porter, who had been interviewing the storekeeper and who had
+told the man about the fallen tree, having learned that Mr. Simpson was
+the head of the township committee.
+
+"We don't want to get stuck, especially after it gets dark," said Ben.
+
+"I wish we could stay here," sighed Mrs. Basswood. "But there don't seem
+to be any accommodations."
+
+"Oh, we'll get through; come ahead!" cried Dave. "If we don't reach
+Carpen Falls to-night Mr. and Mrs. Wadsworth will worry about us."
+
+Feeling in somewhat better spirits after having eaten, and after having
+had an opportunity to dry themselves, the tourists brought out their
+automobiles again, and soon Simpson's Corners was left behind. They had
+a long hill to climb, and then the road wound in and out among some
+particularly rough rocks. Then they came out along the edge of a cliff
+with a vast panorama of woods and waters below them.
+
+"Oh, isn't it perfectly lovely!" cried Belle.
+
+"If I'm not mistaken, Mirror Lake lies off in that direction," said
+Dunston Porter, pointing with his hand. "That sheet of water away off
+yonder may be it."
+
+Leaving the cliff, the road wound in and out of the forest for a
+distance of several miles. Then they came to another little valley, in
+which the highway was wet and, in some spots, suspiciously spongy.
+
+"Now then, Dave, be careful," warned his uncle. "We don't want to get
+stuck if we can possibly help it."
+
+"I'll do my best, Uncle Dunston," was the answer.
+
+With the wheels sucking and sousing in the mud, the Wadsworth machine
+moved forward as rapidly as the conditions would permit. Close behind
+was the Basswood car, and this time Ben took care not to let the engine
+slow down too much. Once Dave was afraid that he was going to be stuck,
+but in a few seconds the danger was past, and in two minutes more they
+were out on the solid roadway once more.
+
+"We are coming to some sort of a settlement!" cried Mr. Porter, after
+several miles more had been covered. "See, there it is--right down at
+the foot of this hill!"
+
+"It must be Carpen Falls," announced Dave. "See, there are the Falls off
+to the right!" and he pointed to where a fair-sized stream of water came
+down between the trees and fell over the rocks. The Falls were fifteen
+to twenty feet high, and made a beautiful sight.
+
+Carpen Falls was a settlement of some importance, for the campers on the
+lakes for miles around came there to do their trading. There were two
+general stores, one containing the post-office, and also a blacksmith's
+shop, livery stable and garage combined, and a small summer hotel.
+
+"Oh, look! My father and mother!" cried Jessie, as the two machines
+rolled up to the hotel.
+
+To the surprise of all, Mr. and Mrs. Wadsworth stood on the piazza
+watching their approach.
+
+"Oh, we thought you would never get here!" cried Mrs. Wadsworth, in
+relief. "We thought sure you had had some sort of accident on the road."
+
+"And how is it you are here?" asked Dave, quickly.
+
+"We came in this morning to do some trading at the store," answered Mr.
+Wadsworth. "We were going back, when it began to storm so hard that we
+decided to stay here until the rain let up, and until you arrived. It
+certainly was a hard downpour!"
+
+"We came pretty near having several accidents," answered Ben. And then
+after the party had alighted, they told of the various happenings on the
+journey.
+
+"We can remain here all night if you want to," announced the jewelry
+manufacturer. "But if you would rather go on to the bungalows I think we
+can make it. There are two old stages here, and the drivers are
+perfectly willing to make the trip."
+
+"Now we have gotten so far, let us finish the trip," urged Laura. "I
+think I would rather be at the bungalows than at this hotel," she added,
+with a look around that hostelry--a place that was not particularly
+inviting.
+
+"But you'll want supper first; won't you?" questioned Mrs. Wadsworth.
+
+"We had something to eat at Simpson's Corners," answered her daughter.
+
+The stages that Mr. Wadsworth had mentioned were certainly old-fashioned
+and dilapidated, but each was drawn by a pair of sturdy horses, and the
+drivers said that they were perfectly safe and could make the journey to
+Mirror Lake without trouble. So, having transferred the baggage from the
+automobiles to these ancient vehicles, and having placed the
+touring-cars in the garage, with orders to have the damaged car
+repaired, our friends piled into the turnouts, and then, with various
+calls to the animals and loud crackings of the whips, the two stages
+started for Bear Camp.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+AT BEAR CAMP
+
+
+"Talk about the old-time coaching days!" remarked Dave. "I don't believe
+they were any worse than this."
+
+"Oh, Dave, you mustn't find fault!" cried Jessie. "We'll soon be there,
+I hope."
+
+"Providing we don't go down in some hole and break off a wheel," put in
+Roger. "Say, this road is some rough!"
+
+"I'll have it rolled down for you the next time, Roger!" cried Phil,
+gaily. "Just imagine yourself in the wild West, in one of the old-time
+overland coaches, with the Indians in full pursuit. How about that,
+Belle?"
+
+"It sounds good enough for a dime novel," answered the girl from the
+West. "Personally I never saw any Indians in pursuit of a stage-coach or
+anything else. The Indians around Star Ranch were as peaceable as one
+could wish."
+
+Over the rough and rather narrow trail bumped the two stage-coaches. Our
+friends frequently found themselves bounced off the seats, and more
+than once they were in danger of cracking their heads against the roofs
+of the turnouts. It was growing dark, and the only lights the drivers
+had were their smoking lanterns. Inside of the stage-coaches the boys
+had their hand flashlights, which they used occasionally to illuminate
+the scene.
+
+"Never mind! Don't you care!" cried Phil, and then added: "What's the
+matter with a song?"
+
+"Let's give them our old Oak Hall song!" exclaimed Dave, and a moment
+later he started their old favorite, sung to the tune of "Auld Lang
+Syne."
+
+    "Oak Hall we never shall forget,
+      No matter where we roam,
+    It is the very best of schools,
+      To us it's just like home.
+    Then give three cheers, and let them ring
+      Throughout this world so wide,
+    To let the people know that we
+      Elect to here abide!"
+
+"Oh, how splendid!" was Belle's comment. "Please sing it again," and
+they did.
+
+Then they followed with a number of familiar songs. The sound was caught
+up by those in the second coach, and soon they too were singing lustily.
+
+"Gosh-all-hemlock!" was the comment of the stage-driver of the forward
+coach. "That there singin' is better'n a nigger minstrels!"
+
+"Better join in," suggested Dave, and then started up with "The Suwanee
+River," and to the surprise of all the old stage-driver broke in with a
+heavy bass voice which really balanced the others quite well.
+
+The storm was a thing of the past, and as night came on the thin
+crescent of the new moon and numberless stars showed themselves.
+
+"O my, look!"
+
+"Isn't that perfectly grand!"
+
+"I don't wonder they call it Mirror Lake!"
+
+Such were some of the cries from the girls as the first of the
+stage-coaches rolled out on the edge of the sheet of water by which the
+bungalows were located. Here, at a certain point, they could gaze down
+the full length of the lake. In spite of the rain that had fallen the
+surface of the water seemed unusually smooth, and it glistened in the
+light of the moon and the stars like silver.
+
+"Oh, it's just too splendid for anything!" exclaimed Jessie, as she
+clapped her hands in delight. "What a beautiful place to come to!"
+
+"I don't see how it could be any prettier than it is," added Laura.
+
+"Why, it's just like a scene from fairyland!" declared Belle. "Oh, I
+know I'm going to have just the nicest time ever while I'm here!"
+
+"I see the bungalows!" cried Roger, and he pointed to a number of lights
+twinkling between the trees.
+
+"I told Mary, the hired girl, to light up so we could see where we were
+going," said Mrs. Wadsworth.
+
+"This is about as far as we can go with the stages," announced the
+driver of the first turnout, as he came to a halt. "You'll have to walk
+the rest of the distance. Bill and me will help you with the traps."
+
+Soon the other stage came up, and all on board alighted. The two
+stage-drivers took the heaviest of the suitcases, while the boys and Mr.
+Porter and Mr. Basswood carried the others. Mr. and Mrs. Wadsworth led
+the way along a trail that was still somewhat wet and slippery.
+
+"It's right in the woods, that's sure!" declared Roger.
+
+"What do you think of it?" asked Dave, as they approached the two
+bungalows, which stood only a short distance apart.
+
+"Oh, I like it very much. I think we ought to have a dandy time here,
+Dave."
+
+"Just what I was thinking."
+
+Their approach had been noticed by the servant girls, and this couple
+came out to meet them. Then the two drivers were paid, and they returned
+to their stages and started back for Carpen Falls.
+
+"I'm glad that journey is ended!" remarked Jessie, as she sank into a
+rustic rocking-chair. "My! but it was quite an adventure; now wasn't
+it?"
+
+"It certainly was, Jessie," answered Dave. "I don't suppose you'll want
+to go back by automobile?"
+
+"Not unless you guarantee the weather, Dave," she answered, with a
+smile.
+
+The Basswood family, along with Shadow and Luke, had gone off to the
+second bungalow, leaving the others at the one over which Mrs. Wadsworth
+was to preside. The lady of the bungalow showed the girls and the boys
+the various rooms which they were to occupy. As all of the other baggage
+had arrived from the railroad station two days before, the tourists lost
+no time in getting rid of their damp garments and donning others more
+comfortable. After that all made an inspection of the bungalow, and then
+trooped over to the other building.
+
+"Say, this suits me down to the ground!" said Luke. "It couldn't be
+better."
+
+"I noticed a number of canoes and rowboats at the dock," said Shadow.
+"We are bound to have some fine times out on that lake."
+
+"And did you notice the bath-houses?" added Ben. "That means good times
+swimming."
+
+"Providing the water isn't too cold," said Phil. "In some of these lakes
+among the mountains it gets pretty cold, don't you know, especially if
+the lake happens to be fed by springs."
+
+"Oh, pshaw! who's afraid of a little cold water?" cried his chum,
+disdainfully.
+
+"Any danger of a bear coming to eat us up?" queried Luke.
+
+"Oh, don't say bears again!" cried Jessie. "I don't want to hear of
+them, much less see them."
+
+"Say, that puts me in mind of a story!" cried Shadow, eagerly. "Once a
+bear got away from his keeper and wandered around a little New England
+village until he came to a cottage where an old lady lived. All of the
+villagers were scared to death, and some of them started to get their
+shotguns and rifles with which to kill Mr. Bruin. But the old lady had
+her own idea of what to do. She grabbed up a broomstick and began to
+hammer that bear right on his nose, and would you believe me? Mr. Bruin
+got so scared that he ran away and then went straight back to his keeper
+and allowed himself to be chained up again!"
+
+"Shadow, is that a true story or a made-up yarn?" asked Laura.
+
+"It was told to me down East, and they said it was absolutely true," was
+the answer. "They even gave me the name of the old lady."
+
+"Say, Shadow, it was a wonder they didn't give you the name of the
+broomstick," said Dave, and with that there was a short laugh.
+
+Dave, Roger, and Phil had been given two rooms between them. One was
+considerably smaller than the other, and this Dave occupied. On the
+other side of a little hallway were the girls, while Mr. and Mrs.
+Wadsworth and Dunston Porter occupied large chambers next to the
+living-room. In the rear were two tiny rooms for the hired help. At the
+other bungalow Ben and his friends occupied three little rooms, while
+Mr. and Mrs. Basswood had a large apartment off to one side. At this
+bungalow there was an extra large living-room in which was placed, among
+other things, a small upright piano, somewhat out of tune but still
+usable.
+
+"Now don't you boys dare to play any tricks to-night!" said Laura, when
+she and her girl friends were about to retire. "You just keep your
+tricks for some other time."
+
+"All right, Laura, I'll make Roger and Phil be good," answered her
+brother. "I guess we are all tired enough to sleep soundly." And he
+certainly spoke the truth as far as he personally was concerned, for
+hardly had his head touched the pillow than he was off to the land of
+dreams.
+
+The boys were up bright and early on the following morning. It was a
+beautiful day, with the sun shining brightly and a gentle breeze blowing
+from the West. To be sure, the forest back of the bungalow was still
+wet, but it had dried off down at the shore of the lake, and at the dock
+where were located two rowboats and several canoes.
+
+"Let us all go out for a row after breakfast," suggested Dave. "It will
+limber us up."
+
+The aroma of freshly-made coffee and of sizzling bacon filled the air
+between the bungalows, and soon the young folks who had gone down to the
+dock to look at the lake and the craft on it, came trooping back for
+their breakfast.
+
+"Don't you think it would be more pleasant if we could all eat together,
+Mrs. Wadsworth?" said Laura, while they were partaking of the repast.
+
+"Perhaps so, Laura, and maybe we'll be able to arrange it," answered the
+lady. "Mrs. Basswood spoke about it. They have a large living-room there
+that might be utilized as a dining-room for all, and in pleasant weather
+we might all eat out on our wide porch."
+
+"That's the talk!" cried Dave. "I'd rather eat outdoors any time, if
+the weather would permit."
+
+"Oh, yes, let us eat on the porch!" cried Jessie. And so, later on, it
+was arranged, the entire party eating indoors only when it was wet.
+
+The canoes had been turned over and were perfectly dry, but the two
+rowboats had to be bailed out. Various parties were made up to go out,
+and presently Dave found himself in one of the canoes with Jessie as his
+sole companion.
+
+"Any particular place you'd like to go?" questioned our hero, as he
+dipped his paddle into the lake, and with a firm sweep sent the long and
+graceful canoe gliding away from the little dock.
+
+"Supposing we go along the shore, Dave?" answered the girl. "I would
+like to see how it looks beyond this cove."
+
+"All right, I'll keep as close to shore as possible," he replied. And
+then they set off, leaving the others to go where they pleased.
+
+"You don't suppose there's any danger of our upsetting?" queried Jessie.
+
+"We won't upset if you keep perfectly still," answered Dave. "I think I
+can manage this craft all right."
+
+On and on they went over the smooth surface of the lake, passing at
+times close to the shore and under the overhanging branches of trees,
+which at some points were very thick. In spots the water was shallow,
+and so clear that they could see the bottom with ease and occasionally
+catch sight of fishes darting in one direction or another.
+
+"I think we're going to have some fine times fishing up here," declared
+the youth, as a beautiful trout flashed by only a few feet away.
+
+They were coming around a long curve of the shore. Just ahead was a high
+point of rocks, on which somebody had erected a rude summer-house of
+untrimmed tree-branches.
+
+"What a cute little place!" declared Jessie, in delight.
+
+"It must belong to some of the cottages around the bend," answered Dave.
+"I believe there is quite a colony somewhere up here."
+
+They passed around the point of rocks, and a few minutes later came in
+sight of several rustic cottages set in a grove of trees. In front of
+the cottages was a long, narrow dock, at which rested several craft,
+including a fair-sized motor-boat.
+
+"Hello, I didn't know there was a motor-boat on this lake!" exclaimed
+Dave. "Whoever owns it must have had some job getting it here."
+
+No one was at the dock or on the motor-boat, and passing that point,
+Dave sent his canoe along another picturesque bit of the lake shore.
+Then, as they made another turn, they came in sight of a log cabin which
+had evidently been erected many years before.
+
+"Well, I never! Dave, what in the world are those folks doing?"
+
+The cry came from Jessie, and not without reason, for they had suddenly
+come in sight of three or four men and several ladies, all stationed in
+front of the old log cabin. One of the men was dressed in the garb of a
+woodsman; and he held a large ax in his hands, raised over his head as
+if to strike down one of the younger ladies. Then another of the ladies
+rushed up, and fell on her knees with upraised hands in front of the
+man.
+
+"Hello, I know these people!" cried Dave, in astonishment. "They are the
+moving-picture actors who were on board that burning steam yacht!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+SOMETHING OF A QUARREL
+
+
+"The moving-picture actors, Dave?" queried Jessie, in wonder.
+
+"Yes. Don't you see the man over there with the camera? He is grinding
+out a picture of that scene."
+
+"O my! is that the way they do it?" returned the girl, with interest.
+"I've read about it, but I never had a chance before to see how it was
+done."
+
+Dave brought the canoe to a standstill, and both watched the little
+drama being enacted before the old log cabin. Our hero saw that the
+young lady in the scene was Della Ford, and the elderly lady the one she
+had called Aunt Bess.
+
+"All over!" exclaimed a man, who stood beside the individual at the
+moving-picture camera. The latter had stopped turning the handle of the
+machine, and now he proceeded to cover the whole outfit with a black
+cloth.
+
+"Well, I'm glad that's over!" those in the canoe heard Della Ford
+exclaim. "Come, Aunt Bess, let us go back to the water." The young lady
+turned from the group, and as she did so she caught sight of the canoe
+and its occupants. She stared for an instant, and then her face lit up.
+
+"Mr. Porter! is it possible!" she exclaimed. "I certainly didn't expect
+to meet you up here. Aunt Bess, here is the young gentleman who saved us
+from drowning."
+
+"You don't tell me!" came from the aunt, and then both hurried their
+steps toward a tiny dock beside which the canoe was resting.
+
+"I certainly didn't expect to meet you again, and away up here in the
+Adirondacks," answered Dave, with a smile. And then, as the young
+moving-picture actress came closer, he introduced the girls to each
+other.
+
+"This is my aunt, Mrs. Bess Ford," announced Della, to Jessie. "I
+suppose you saw us acting just now?"
+
+"We did," answered Jessie. "It was quite interesting."
+
+"I suppose it is, to an outsider," responded the young actress. "It gets
+to be an old story with us; doesn't it, Aunt Bess?"
+
+"Oh, I don't mind it," returned the aunt. "I'd rather be up here in the
+woods acting for the movies than down in some stuffy theater in this
+warm weather."
+
+"Did Mr. Porter tell you what a grand hero he is, Miss Wadsworth?" asked
+Della Ford, turning to Jessie. "Oh, he's just the grandest hero I ever
+met!" and she beamed on Dave.
+
+"Come now, Miss Ford, please don't mention it again," expostulated Dave.
+"I didn't do so very much, and you know it."
+
+"Isn't saving my life a good deal?" demanded the young actress, archly.
+
+"Oh, I don't mean that. What I mean is that anybody could have done what
+I did."
+
+"But you did it, young man, and you ought to have credit for it," put in
+Mrs. Ford, bluntly. "It was certainly a brave thing to do."
+
+"It was; and I shall never cease to thank Mr. Porter for it," went on
+Della Ford, and she gave Dave another warm look, at which he blushed
+more than ever.
+
+This look was not lost on Jessie; and she bit her lip in a way that
+showed she was not altogether pleased. Then Mr. Appleby, the manager of
+the moving-picture company, came forward, followed by several others.
+
+"This certainly is a surprise!" said the manager. "First we meet on the
+Atlantic Ocean, and next in the heart of the Adirondacks."
+
+"It's like some of your changes in the movies," answered Dave, smiling.
+"You show us a shipwreck, and then, presto! you transfer us to an office
+in Wall Street. You must have to jump around pretty lively to get all
+the scenes of a drama."
+
+"We don't take just one drama," explained Mr. Appleby. "We sometimes do
+half a dozen or more. For instance, while we are up here we are going to
+take the outdoor scenes to fifteen or twenty dramas. Then we'll go back
+to the city and finish up with a number of interiors."
+
+"Wouldn't you like to be a moving-picture actor, Mr. Porter?" asked
+Della Ford, eagerly. "You could go into a nautical rescue scene very
+nicely."
+
+"There you go again, Miss Ford!" returned Dave. "Just the same, it must
+be some fun being in a moving picture."
+
+"Oh, Dave, don't you go into any moving picture," interrupted Jessie,
+quickly.
+
+"Why, what would be the harm?" he questioned.
+
+"Oh, no particular harm, I suppose. Only I shouldn't like it," she
+answered, in a low tone.
+
+"You might get into our next scene," went on Della Ford, ignoring
+Jessie's remark. "We are going to have one that will show several canoes
+besides the motor-boat tied up at the dock around the bend."
+
+"Well, I'll think about it," answered Dave, hesitatingly; and then he
+went on to Mr. Appleby: "By the way, is Ward Porton still with you?"
+
+"He is with my company, yes; but he is not here just now," was the
+reply. "I expect him in a week or so."
+
+"I met him in Crumville, where I live."
+
+"Is that so? I thought he had gone to his old home down East. However,
+it doesn't matter; he has a right to go where he pleases."
+
+"By the way, Mr. Appleby, I would like to speak to you in private for a
+moment," went on Dave, and leaping ashore he drew the manager to one
+side.
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"You have a new member of your company, a young fellow named Link
+Merwell."
+
+"Yes, what of it?"
+
+"Link Merwell is a criminal--a fugitive from justice," answered Dave.
+And then he gave the man some of the particulars already known to my
+readers.
+
+"If what you say is true, Porter, I don't want that fellow in my
+company," said Mr. Appleby, warmly. "What do you want me to do when he
+comes, hold him a prisoner?"
+
+"I wish you would do that, and let us know. Mr. Wadsworth will take care
+of Merwell."
+
+"All right, I'll do it--if he shows up. But he may not do that--if he
+has found out that you are in this vicinity," added the manager.
+
+"I'm thinking he will make himself scarce," returned Dave, with a grim
+smile.
+
+In the meantime Della Ford had come down to the side of the canoe.
+
+"Where are you staying, Miss Wadsworth?" questioned the young actress.
+
+"At a bungalow near the end of the lake," returned Jessie, and explained
+about the location and who were in the party.
+
+"Oh, how delightful! You will surely have a splendid time here. We are
+located in the cottage around the bend where you perhaps saw the
+motor-boat tied up. I am sure we'll be very glad to have you call on
+us."
+
+"Thank you; perhaps we'll get this way again some time," returned
+Jessie, somewhat coolly.
+
+"You must come and see us, Mr. Porter, by all means," went on the young
+moving picture actress when our hero returned to the side of the canoe.
+"And bring the others along, too. I liked the appearance of your chums.
+You all seemed to be so jolly."
+
+"Dave, don't you think we ought to be going?" questioned Jessie.
+
+"Just as you say," he answered, and dipped his paddle into the lake.
+
+"Then you don't want to stay and take part in that other picture?"
+called out Della Ford, as the canoe began to leave the dock.
+
+"Not to-day, Miss Ford," called back Dave. "But I may get into one of
+your pictures just for the fun of it."
+
+"Do! And don't forget to call at the cottage," returned the young lady;
+and then the canoe passed out of hearing of those on the shore, and a
+dozen strong strokes of the paddle sent the frail craft out of sight
+around another headland.
+
+"That certainly was a surprise," was Dave's comment, as they passed
+along under some overhanging trees. "I never dreamed of coming across
+that moving-picture company in such a fashion as that."
+
+"What did you get out for?" asked Jessie, curiously.
+
+"I wanted to ask Mr. Appleby about Link Merwell. He didn't know Link was
+a criminal. He says if Link shows himself up here he will make him a
+prisoner and notify us."
+
+"Isn't it queer that Link should join that company!"
+
+"Rather, although I suppose he has got to do something for a
+living,--and I guess he isn't the fellow to pick out hard work. Acting
+in the movies must be easy--and lots of fun in the bargain."
+
+"You are not going to act with them, are you, Dave?" questioned Jessie,
+with her big round eyes full upon him.
+
+"Oh, I don't know. I think perhaps it might be sport."
+
+"I don't think so."
+
+"Miss Ford tried to make a regular hero out of me. I wish she wouldn't
+do that."
+
+"Well, it was a grand thing for you to do--to pull her out of the water,
+Dave, and she ought to be exceedingly grateful. Just the same, I don't
+think I like her very much," and Jessie pouted a little.
+
+"Is that so? Why, I thought she was real nice."
+
+"She's awfully forward."
+
+"I didn't notice that. But maybe it's her calling makes her so. An
+actress can't be just like other people."
+
+"I think she might be when she wasn't acting. Anyway, I think she was
+too--well, too gushing."
+
+"I noticed that you didn't give her any invitation to call when she
+invited you," went on Dave, after a pause, during which they left the
+vicinity of the shore and swept out into Mirror Lake.
+
+"Why should I? Mamma might not approve of it. I don't think she has a
+very high opinion of moving-picture actors and actresses."
+
+"And I guess you haven't either, Jessie," returned Dave, somewhat
+bluntly.
+
+"Oh, I don't know about that," and the girl tossed her head. "They have
+a right to act in the movies if they want to. They've got to earn their
+living some way, I suppose. Don't you think we had better be getting
+back, Dave?"
+
+"Why, it's early yet, Jessie!"
+
+"Never mind, I think I would rather go back. Now that the sun is
+overhead it is quite warm."
+
+Dave started to answer, and then suddenly shut his mouth tightly. The
+paddle went deeper into the water, and the canoe shot around quickly in
+a long semicircle.
+
+"Oh, Dave! don't tip us over!"
+
+"Don't fear. The canoe won't go over if you sit perfectly still," he
+replied, in a tone that was somewhat unsympathetic.
+
+"Are you going back to the bungalows?"
+
+"Why, certainly. That was what you wanted--to go back; wasn't it?"
+
+"We haven't got to race back, have we?"
+
+"I'm not racing; but I thought you wanted to get out of this hot sun."
+
+"Dave, I think you're angry with me," returned Jessie, reproachfully,
+but she did not raise her eyes as before. Instead she kept them fastened
+on the bottom of the canoe.
+
+"Angry? What foolishness! What is there for me to be angry about?"
+
+"Oh, you know well enough."
+
+"I don't see why you should feel so cut up over Miss Ford. I can't help
+it if she is grateful--as you put it--for my saving her from drowning;
+can I?"
+
+"Oh, it isn't that, Dave. Of course she ought to be grateful. But
+you--you----" Jessie's voice broke a little and she could not go on.
+
+"Me? I haven't done a thing! Didn't you hear me tell her to quit it?"
+
+"Oh, it wasn't what you said. It was----But never mind, let us get back
+to the bungalow." And Jessie kept her eyes on the bottom of the canoe,
+refusing to look at her companion.
+
+"And I'm sure I didn't do a thing either. Now please don't be silly
+and----"
+
+"Dave! Silly!"
+
+"I didn't mean that exactly, Jessie. But you know----"
+
+"It's not a bit nice for you to call me silly!" retorted the girl, her
+face flaming.
+
+"I didn't mean just that, Jessie. I meant----"
+
+"You did mean it! You think I am silly, do you? All right, you can think
+so! Please paddle straight for our dock."
+
+"Now, Jessie----" began Dave, entreatingly.
+
+"I don't want to hear another word! Take me straight to the dock,"
+retorted the girl.
+
+"Very well, if you won't listen to me you don't have to," answered Dave;
+and now he, too, showed that he was completely out of sorts.
+
+He struck the paddle deeper than ever into the water, and with long,
+telling strokes the canoe shot forward over the lake in the direction of
+Bear Camp.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+VISITORS
+
+
+Several days went by and during that time the coldness that had sprung
+up between Dave and Jessie increased, although both did their best to
+hide it from the others.
+
+One afternoon while the girl was off with Laura and Belle for a tramp
+along a brook that flowed into the lake not far from the bungalows, Mr.
+Appleby came into the cove in his motor-boat, bringing with him an old
+hunter and guide of that vicinity, named Tad Rason, and also Della Ford
+and her Aunt Bess. They found Dave, Roger, and Phil at the dock,
+fishing.
+
+"Any luck?" called out the manager of the moving-picture company,
+cheerily.
+
+"Some, but not a great deal," answered Dave, and he and the others
+pulled in their lines, so that they might not become entangled in the
+propeller of the boat.
+
+"You'll have to go to the other shore for good fishing," said Tad Rason,
+who had already shown himself at the bungalows and made himself known.
+
+"The fish are mighty scarce around here."
+
+"I'd like to go fishing sometime!" exclaimed Della, with a smile and a
+nod to Dave and his chums. "I never caught a fish in my life. Mr.
+Porter, couldn't you show me how to do it?" she asked, sweetly.
+
+"I might, if the fish was willing to be caught," answered Dave, with a
+grin.
+
+"Oh, I am sure I could catch one if you would only show me how,"
+returned the young actress.
+
+"Well, if you are going to fish with worms you've got to first learn how
+to put one on a hook," said Phil.
+
+"O my! I'm sure that I don't want to put a squirming worm on any hook!"
+cried Della, with a slight shudder. "I want to fish with one of those
+beautiful flies, it's so much more interesting."
+
+"I came down on a peculiar errand," broke in Mr. Appleby, after he had
+tied up at the dock. "I would like to borrow a little furniture from you
+for one day only."
+
+"Furniture?" queried Roger.
+
+"Yes. You see, we have an interior scene up at our cottage, but we
+haven't got just the furniture that the drama calls for. I noticed when
+I stopped at your bungalows yesterday that you had several pieces that
+are just the ones required. If you will lend them to me to-day, I will
+see that you get them back safely by to-morrow."
+
+"You'll have to see Mrs. Wadsworth and Mrs. Basswood about that,"
+returned Dave. "Not but that I think it will be all right," he added,
+hastily.
+
+"Come up here to do some shooting, I suppose, just as soon as the season
+opens?" remarked Tad Rason, to the boys.
+
+"Well, we won't object to bringing down a deer or two if we get the
+chance," answered our hero. "But I rather imagine deer are scarce around
+here. I haven't seen any of them yet."
+
+"Oh, you'll find plenty of deer up at the head of the lake," returned
+the old hunter. "They don't come down here much. They always left this
+spot for the bears."
+
+"The bears! Oh, Mr. Rason! you surely don't mean that?" cried Della
+Ford.
+
+"But I certainly do, ma'am. This was always a great place for bears.
+That's why they call this end of the lake Bear Camp. I shot one of 'em
+here last winter, and I got an old she-bear and her two cubs here two
+years afore that."
+
+"We haven't seen any traces of bears," said Phil.
+
+"You'll see 'em sooner or later," returned the old hunter, with
+conviction. "They are bound to come here."
+
+"What makes you say they are bound to come?" questioned Dave, curiously.
+"Is there any particular reason for it?"
+
+"I think there is, young man. So far as I can understand it, I think the
+bears come here in the fall to get certain roots and herbs that they
+like to eat. I think they find more of 'em around here than they do
+anywhere else, and that's what fetches 'em."
+
+"And do you think the bears keep the deer away from here?" questioned
+Roger.
+
+"I don't know as to that. But I do know that bears and deer don't mix
+very well," answered Tad Rason.
+
+While Mr. Appleby was negotiating with Mrs. Wadsworth and Mrs. Basswood
+for the loan of several pieces of rustic furniture which the bungalows
+contained, Della Ford and her aunt visited with the boys. The young
+actress wanted to know all about what the young folks at the bungalows
+had been doing, and expressed her delight at the cosiness of the place,
+and its beautiful surroundings.
+
+Mr. Appleby, aided by Tad Rason, carried the borrowed furniture down to
+the motor-boat. There was more of it than the manager had at first
+anticipated taking, and, as a consequence, the craft was well loaded.
+
+"I don't see how we are going to sit in there with all that furniture
+packed around us!" exclaimed Della, in dismay, as she viewed the
+situation.
+
+"You might sit in that rocking-chair on the bow," suggested Phil, with a
+broad smile; and at this suggestion there was a general laugh.
+
+"No, thank you. I have no desire to be spilled overboard. I went
+overboard once, and that was quite enough," answered the young actress.
+
+"I'll tell you what we might do," answered Dave. "We could take you and
+your aunt in one of the rowboats, and have the motor-boat tow it."
+
+"Oh, that would be lovely!" cried Della. "What do you say, Aunt Bess;
+shall we do it?"
+
+"I'm willing, if it is safe," answered the aunt, "I don't want to go to
+the bottom of this lake any more than I wanted to go to the bottom of
+the Atlantic Ocean."
+
+"It's perfectly safe," answered Dave. "The boat's a good broad one, so
+there is no danger of its tipping over--not unless Mr. Appleby makes a
+quick turn, and I don't suppose he will do that."
+
+"If I pull your rowboat I'll be as steady as an old freight engine," was
+the manager's reply. "It's very kind of you boys to do this."
+
+The best and broadest of the rowboats was brought around, and Della Ford
+and her aunt were assisted into the craft. Then, after the boys had
+procured a pair of oars, they, too, embarked, and the motor-boat headed
+back for the moving picture company's camp.
+
+"Hello! hello! Where are you going?"
+
+The cry came from the shore at a point where the brook ran into the
+lake, and looking in that direction, those in the rowboat saw Jessie,
+Laura, and Belle just emerging from behind some brushwood and rocks. The
+girl from the West was swinging her broad hat vigorously.
+
+"We are going to take these ladies home!" yelled Dave. "We'll be back
+soon."
+
+"Oh, see; the motor-boat is loaded with furniture!" exclaimed Dave's
+sister. "What a funny sight!"
+
+"I didn't know those folks were going to visit us to-day," was Jessie's
+comment, and her face showed she was not at all pleased.
+
+"See! they have Miss Ford and her aunt with them," said Belle. "Miss
+Ford is a stunning girl; isn't she?"
+
+"She certainly is quite good-looking," returned Laura. "What do you say,
+Jessie?"
+
+"Oh, I don't think she is any better-looking than lots of other girls I
+know," returned Jessie, rather coldly. "Come on, let's get back to the
+bungalows; this long tramp has tired me dreadfully."
+
+"You do look rather pale," said Belle, kindly. "Don't you feel well?"
+
+"I've got a little headache, that's all. I think I'll go back to the
+bungalow and rest," returned Jessie; and went on ahead, soon
+disappearing within one of the buildings.
+
+"Do you know, Laura, I don't believe Jessie likes that Miss Ford a bit,"
+was the comment of the western girl, when she was alone with Dave's
+sister.
+
+"Why shouldn't she like Miss Ford, Belle? She seems to be a nice enough
+girl, and I don't think the fact she acts in the movies ought to be held
+against her."
+
+"I don't think it is that, Laura. It is something else."
+
+"Something else? What do you mean?"
+
+"Oh, I don't know that I ought to mention it. Come on, let us get up to
+the bungalows."
+
+"But, Belle, do tell me what you think," pleaded Laura. "You know you
+haven't any right to keep back anything from me," and she caught her
+chum around the shoulder and held her tightly.
+
+"Well, if you must know, it's this: Jessie can't forget that Dave saved
+Miss Ford from drowning."
+
+"Oh, I see what you mean, Belle! You think that because Dave did that
+Jessie thinks he might get more interested in her than would otherwise
+be the case."
+
+"Not exactly that, Laura. Jessie may imagine that Miss Ford is quite
+interested in Dave."
+
+[Illustration: "HELLO! HELLO! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?"--_Page
+153._]
+
+"Oh, I see!" Dave's sister was silent for a moment. "But you forget one
+thing, Belle; Dave saved Jessie's life, too. Don't you remember that I
+told you of it? A gasoline tank exploded, and she was in danger of being
+burned to death when Dave jumped in and----"
+
+"Oh, yes, I remember that very well, and you may be sure that Jessie
+remembers it, too. But then this rescue was so much more recent."
+
+At these words Laura grew more thoughtful than ever, and suddenly she
+caught her western chum by the arm and pulled Belle into a path leading
+to the dock.
+
+"What now, Laura?"
+
+"Oh, Belle! do you really think there is anything in that? Do you think
+that is what has made Jessie act so queerly for the last couple of days?
+I noticed she was not herself at all; and Dave seemed to be different,
+too."
+
+"If you want the truth of it, I do think there is some sort of a quarrel
+between them. Of course, I am not sure it is on Miss Ford's account. But
+they don't act as they used to."
+
+"It's too bad!" and Laura's face showed great seriousness. "I wouldn't
+have anything come between Dave and Jessie for the world!"
+
+"It would be a great shame, there is no doubt of that," answered the
+girl from the ranch.
+
+When the pair entered the bungalow they found that Jessie had gone to
+her room. She was lying on a couch, and though the light was dim, Laura
+could see quite plainly that her friend had been crying.
+
+"You poor dear!" said Dave's sister, going up and placing her hand on
+Jessie's forehead. "Is your headache worse?"
+
+"Not much, Laura," was the answer. Jessie turned over with her face
+toward the wall. "I just want to be left alone awhile, and then I'll be
+all right."
+
+"Don't you want me to get you anything at all?"
+
+"No. Just leave me alone, that's all."
+
+Laura stood by the side of the couch for a moment. She was on the point
+of speaking again. She wanted very much to relieve her mind, but
+concluded that it might not be a wise thing to do. She tiptoed to the
+doorway, where she encountered Belle, and both walked to another part of
+the bungalow.
+
+"And do you really think it was a headache, Laura?" whispered Belle,
+when the two were safe out of earshot of any of the others.
+
+"She may have a headache, but I think it is more than that," was the
+reply from Dave's sister. "Oh, Belle, if matters are as you think they
+are, what in the world are we going to do?"
+
+"I don't know of anything to do, Laura. I don't believe it would be a
+wise thing to say anything to Jessie."
+
+"Then suppose I talk to Dave?"
+
+"You can suit yourself about that. But if I were you I'd be very
+careful. Boys are as touchy as girls when it comes to a subject like
+that."
+
+"Do you really think so?"
+
+"I certainly do."
+
+"Then I will be very cautious. But I've just got to say something,"
+declared Laura.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+A STRANGE COMMUNICATION
+
+
+The three boys had quite some sport going up the lake with Della Ford
+and her aunt as passengers. Being towed by the motor-boat, they had
+nothing to do but take it easy, and they spent the time in chatting of
+things in general, and of moving pictures and fun on Mirror Lake in
+particular.
+
+"We would be pleased to have you come up some evening and take dinner
+with us," said Della Ford, after consulting with the manager of the
+moving-picture company. "Come up and bring that boy with his banjo, and
+we'll have a lot of fun."
+
+"All right, we'll be up some time," answered Phil.
+
+"And don't forget, Mr. Porter, that some day you're to show me how to
+catch a fish," called out the young actress.
+
+"All right, I won't forget," answered Dave; and then the three boys
+pushed the rowboat away from the dock, and started upon the return to
+Bear Camp.
+
+"She's a mighty pleasant girl, that's sure," remarked Phil, as he took
+it easy on the stern seat, while Dave and Roger plied the oars.
+
+"I think Dave has made a hit with her," responded Roger, with a sly wink
+at the shipowner's son.
+
+"If you don't look out I'll make a hit with somebody in this boat,"
+declared Dave, his face flushing. "You attend to your rowing or we won't
+get back in time for dinner."
+
+"I thought you said that fellow, Ward Porton, was going to join the
+company up here," remarked Phil, by way of changing the subject.
+
+"All I know about it is what Mr. Appleby told me," returned Dave. "I'd
+like first-rate to see him again and ask him some more about Link
+Merwell."
+
+"Do you think Link will come up here?" asked Roger.
+
+"I don't know what to think. He is likely to do almost anything. But I
+doubt whether he will want to place himself in any position where we can
+get hold of him."
+
+"What a fool Link has been," was Phil's comment.
+
+When the rowboat returned to the dock at the camp, the boys found only
+Laura and Belle on the veranda of one of the bungalows.
+
+"Where's Jessie?" asked Dave.
+
+"She has a headache and is lying down," answered Laura, and looked at
+her brother closely.
+
+"That's too bad," he answered. "Can't you do anything for it?"
+
+"She wanted to be left alone, Dave."
+
+"I wonder if I can't do something?"
+
+"I don't think so."
+
+Roger and Phil sat down on the veranda, and were soon joined by Luke and
+Shadow.
+
+"Where is Ben?" questioned Roger.
+
+"He went to Carpen Falls with his father and Mr. Porter for the mail,"
+answered Mrs. Basswood, who had joined the group.
+
+"I hope I get a letter from daddy," cried Belle. "Why, just think! I
+haven't had a letter for three days," she pouted.
+
+"I'd like a letter, too," put in Phil. "I haven't had a word from home
+since I left," and his face clouded, as he remembered his father's
+troubles over the land question.
+
+Dave had been seated on the end of the piazza, but now he arose and
+walked over to the other bungalow. Here he met Mrs. Wadsworth just
+coming from Jessie's room.
+
+"It's only a slight headache, Dave," said the lady, in answer to his
+question. "I think Jessie will be all right in the morning. She thought
+she had better stay where she is this evening."
+
+"I wish I could help her, Mrs. Wadsworth," returned the youth, quickly.
+"Isn't there something I can do?"
+
+"Nothing that I know of," was the reply, and then Mrs. Wadsworth walked
+out of the bungalow to join her husband, who was smoking a cigar in a
+little pavilion that overlooked the lake.
+
+Dave took a turn or two across the living-room. He was very much
+disturbed in mind, and felt that he ought to do something.
+
+"I'll take a chance, and knock on the door anyhow," he told himself, and
+moving to the door of Jessie's room, he tapped lightly. Then, as there
+was no response, he tapped again.
+
+"Who is it?" came from the girl.
+
+"It is I, Jessie. Can't I do something for you?"
+
+"No, I don't think you can," she returned, quickly.
+
+"The others told me you had a headache. I'm very sorry to hear that. I
+wish I could do something to make you feel better."
+
+"You can't do a thing."
+
+"I might get a hot-water bottle, or some chopped ice,
+or--or--something," he faltered, not knowing how to go on.
+
+"Oh, Dave, don't be silly!"
+
+"Silly! So now I'm the one who's silly; am I?" he returned. But there
+was more of slyness than bitterness in his tone.
+
+"Dave Porter! Was there ever such a boy! Now you must go away and leave
+me alone!"
+
+"All right, Jessie, if you want me to go away I'll go. Just the same, I
+want you to know that I'm awfully, _awfully_ sorry that you have a
+headache. I'd rather have it myself."
+
+"Would you indeed?" There was a creaking of the couch, as if Jessie had
+turned and was sitting up. "Well, I don't want you to have a headache.
+They are not a bit nice! They are horrid!"
+
+"Are you lying down?"
+
+"I was lying down."
+
+"Well, if you're not so very, very sick, Jessie, won't you just come to
+the door a minute? I want to tell you something," went on Dave, after a
+moment's hesitation.
+
+The girl came slowly to the door, and opened it several inches, showing
+a mass of disheveled hair, and cheeks that had traces of tears on them.
+
+"What do you want to tell me?"
+
+"A good many things, Jessie," returned Dave, in a low tone. "First of
+all, I don't want you to be angry with me. I simply can't bear it. And
+besides, I don't think you have anything to be angry about."
+
+"Oh, indeed!"
+
+"No, I don't. I think you misunderstand me. Why, Jessie, I wouldn't
+have anything come between us for the world, and you know it!"
+
+"Do I?" The door opened a little wider.
+
+"Yes, you do. You know there isn't any one that I care for one-tenth
+part as much as I care for you. I didn't go up the lake this afternoon
+because I particularly wanted to; and those people came here of their
+own accord."
+
+"Yes, Dave----"
+
+"And I don't want you to act so cold, Jessie. Why, it cuts a fellow to
+the heart! If I thought----"
+
+A wild yell, followed by several screams of terror from outside,
+interrupted the conversation. Dave stopped short to listen, and Jessie
+threw wide-open the door to do likewise. Another yell rang out, fierce
+and penetrating, and then came several more screams, and a rush of
+footsteps.
+
+"Oh, Dave! what can it mean?" cried Jessie, in sudden alarm.
+
+"I don't know. I guess I had better find out," he returned, and ran
+toward the front doorway.
+
+"Be careful, Dave! be careful!" cautioned the girl, pleadingly. "Maybe
+it's a bear!"
+
+"In that case I'd better get one of the guns," he returned.
+
+The party had brought a number of firearms with them, and several of the
+pieces were hung up on the walls, loaded and ready for use. Catching up
+a double-barreled shotgun, Dave ran outside with Jessie at his heels.
+The commotion had continued, and now the youth found himself confronted
+by his sister and Belle.
+
+"What is it, Laura?"
+
+"I don't know, exactly. But it certainly was something awful!"
+
+"I think it must have been a wild man," broke in Belle. "Anyhow, if it
+wasn't, I don't know what else it could have been."
+
+The other boys had left the vicinity of the bungalows, and were running
+toward the woods, with Mr. Wadsworth following them.
+
+"They saw something, but they don't know what it was," said Mrs.
+Wadsworth, who was plainly much agitated. "It let out the most awful
+yells you ever heard."
+
+"Maybe it was that wild man, Wilbur Poole!" exclaimed Dave. "He might
+have followed us to this place, you know."
+
+He ran on, and soon joined the other boys and Mr. Wadsworth, who had
+come to a halt at the edge of the clearing on which the bungalows were
+located.
+
+"I think he disappeared over here!" cried Shadow.
+
+"And I think he went this way!" returned Luke.
+
+"When I saw him last he was by yonder bushes!" were Roger's words.
+
+"I think he went over there, just as Shadow said!" came from Phil.
+
+"Who was it?" asked Dave. "Wilbur Poole?"
+
+"Whoever he was, he had the most outlandish rig on a fellow ever saw!"
+exclaimed Luke. "I think he must have borrowed it from some scarecrow."
+
+"If that was Wilbur Poole we had better keep our eyes open for him,"
+said Dave, seriously. He had not forgotten the trouble which the wild
+man who called himself the King of Sumatra had given him and his chums
+in the past.
+
+"We were all sitting there enjoying ourselves when we heard the fellow
+give an awful yell or two," explained Phil. "Then he came dancing out
+from behind some bushes, waving a sort of sceptre in the air. He nearly
+scared the girls into fits, and that is what made them scream. Then he
+caught up a stick of wood from the pile yonder, and disappeared between
+the trees. I guess he must have imagined he was a wild Indian on the
+warpath."
+
+"I am afraid if that poor fellow isn't captured he will cause us a good
+deal of worry," was Mr. Wadsworth's comment. "As long as he is at large
+there is no telling what he will do."
+
+"If it really is Wilbur Poole, we ought to let the Pooles know about
+it," said Dave.
+
+The matter was talked over for some time, and then, after another search
+through the edge of the woods and among the rocks and brushwood of that
+vicinity, the boys and Mr. Wadsworth returned to the bungalows. They
+found all of the girls and Mrs. Wadsworth on one of the verandas,
+discussing the situation. Even Jessie had joined the group, declaring
+that the alarm had scared most of her headache away.
+
+"Oh, I was so frightened when I first saw the man--if it really was a
+man!" cried Laura.
+
+"He looked more like an orang-outang," declared the girl from the West.
+"If I had met him out on the range, and if I had had a gun with me, I
+surely would have shot at him!"
+
+"I brought a gun along," returned Dave, exhibiting the weapon; "I
+thought it was a bear scare."
+
+The scare was the topic of conversation all through the dinner hour, and
+it was decided that a letter should be posted to Mr. Aaron Poole the
+following morning, acquainting him with what had occurred.
+
+"It's queer that my husband and Ben and Mr. Porter don't come," remarked
+Mrs. Basswood, when the meal was nearly over and it was growing dark.
+
+"It's quite a walk to Carpen Falls," said Dave. "And you must remember
+the trail isn't any too good in some spots."
+
+"I think I see them coming now," announced Roger, a minute later; and he
+was right. Soon Ben and his father and Dunston Porter came into full
+view near the end of the lake.
+
+"Talk about an adventure!" cried Ben, as they came up. "Who do you think
+we met?"
+
+"The wild man!" burst out several of those present.
+
+"Oh, then he was here, was he? Was it Wilbur Poole?"
+
+"We are not so sure about that. We didn't get a very good look at him.
+He had on such a queer outfit that he was completely disguised."
+
+"That's just it!" broke in Dunston Porter. "We couldn't tell who he was,
+either. He appeared right in front of us on the trail, flourishing a big
+stick. He let out a whoop like an Indian, gave a leap or two into the
+air, and then dashed out of sight behind some bushes."
+
+"He didn't attack you, did he?" questioned Mrs. Basswood, anxiously.
+
+"No," returned her husband, "but, all the same, I didn't like his
+actions. He might have done some serious damage with the stick he
+carried."
+
+"That man, whoever he is, ought to be put under guard," declared Phil,
+and then he added quickly: "Did you get any letters, Ben?"
+
+"Oh, yes, several of them. Here they are," and placing his hand in the
+pocket of his jacket, the youth brought forth over a dozen epistles.
+
+There was a wild scramble, and the letters were quickly distributed.
+
+"Oh, good! Here's a letter from dear dad!" exclaimed Belle. "Excuse me
+while I read it," and she quickly tore open the communication.
+
+All of the girls had letters, and there was also one for Dave and
+another for Phil. As our hero looked at the communication addressed to
+him, he could not help but start. He thought he recognized the
+handwriting as that of Link Merwell.
+
+"I wonder what he has got to say now," he mused, and then as the others
+began reading their letters, he opened the envelope and took out the
+single sheet it contained.
+
+In a large, heavy hand were scrawled these words:
+
+      "I think before long you will be getting what is coming to
+      you, you poorhouse nobody."
+
+There was no signature.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+THE SWIMMING RACE
+
+
+Dave read the brief communication over several times. As he did so his
+face showed both perplexity and anger. Roger, who had received no letter
+and who therefore had nothing to read, looked at him curiously.
+
+"No bad news, I hope?" he said, as he came up to Dave.
+
+"I think it's another communication from that good-for-nothing Link
+Merwell," returned Dave. "Here, you can read it for yourself," and he
+passed the letter over.
+
+The senator's son read the scrawl, and his face showed his disgust.
+
+"I guess you're right, Dave, it must be from Link Merwell."
+
+"Link Merwell!" broke in Shadow, who sat on a bench near by. "What about
+that rascal; have you heard something further of him?"
+
+"Oh, it doesn't amount to anything," returned Dave, hastily, and taking
+the communication he thrust it into his pocket. "Don't say anything
+about it," he added to Roger, in a low tone.
+
+"All right, I won't if you want it that way," answered his chum. "Just
+the same, Dave, this looks to me as if Link was plotting once more to do
+you an injury."
+
+"If so, Roger, would he be fool enough to notify me beforehand?" queried
+our hero, as the pair walked a little distance away from the others.
+
+"There is no telling what a fellow of Link's stamp might do. He is just
+fool enough to brag about what he hoped to do rather than go and do it.
+It's an outrage that he should call you a 'poorhouse nobody.'"
+
+"I'd thrash him for it if I could get my hands on him," returned Dave,
+quickly, and his face showed deep resentment. He had not forgotten how,
+in years gone by, his enemies had taunted him with being a "poorhouse
+nobody," and how he had had to fight his way through until his identity
+had been established.
+
+"Anyway, Dave, this gives you a chance to be on your guard," went on
+Roger. "If I were you I'd keep my eyes wide open for Link Merwell."
+
+"I certainly shall, Roger. And if I can lay my hands on him I won't be
+as considerate as I was on Cave Island," was the answer. "I'll hold him
+until I can turn him over to the authorities. He ought to be keeping
+company with Jasniff in jail."
+
+The girls were chattering among themselves over the letters they had
+received, and Shadow and Luke soon joined in. As was to be expected,
+the former story-teller of Oak Hall had his usual anecdote to relate, to
+which the others listened with interest. Phil had drawn apart from the
+crowd, and was now reading the letter he had received a second time. His
+face indicated unusual concern.
+
+"Well, I hope you got good news, Phil," remarked Dave, as the
+shipowner's son came towards him and Roger.
+
+"No, it's just the opposite," was the somewhat doleful reply.
+
+"What? Do you mean it's bad news?" broke in Roger, quickly.
+
+"It certainly is! Instead of losing twenty to thirty thousand dollars,
+my dad stands to lose about fifty thousand dollars on that land deal I
+mentioned to you some time ago."
+
+"Why, how is that?" queried our hero, curiously. "Has the land gone up
+in value since then?"
+
+"I don't know about the value of the land itself, but it's this way:
+Since that railroad made a bid for the acreage, another railroad has
+come into the field. They are going to run a rival line through that
+territory, and so they bid against the L. A. & H. Then the L. A. & H.
+railroad increased their bid, and the other folks did the same, so that
+now, if my father could give a clear deed to the land, he could sell it
+for about fifty thousand dollars."
+
+"And hasn't he been able to get any trace of your Uncle Lester?"
+
+"He has something of a clue, but so far he has been unable to locate my
+uncle. It certainly is a strange state of affairs."
+
+"Won't the railroad company take the land without your uncle being
+represented in the deed?" questioned Roger.
+
+"I don't think so. If they were willing to do that my father would put
+the deal through without delay. It certainly is too bad!" added Phil,
+with a sigh.
+
+"It seems to me if I were you I'd get on the trail of your Uncle Lester
+somehow," was Roger's comment. "I wouldn't let that fifty thousand
+dollars get away from me. I'd hire detectives to scour the whole United
+States for the missing man."
+
+"My father's doing all he can, Roger." Phil turned to our hero. "You got
+a letter, didn't you?"
+
+"Not much of a one, Phil." Dave hesitated for a moment: "Here, you might
+as well see it. I showed it to Roger. But don't say anything to the
+others about it, especially the girls. There is no use in worrying them.
+As it is, they have had scare enough from that wild man."
+
+The shipowner's son read the letter Dave had received with interest.
+
+"Sure, that's from Link Merwell! I know his handwriting almost as well
+as I know my own," he declared. "He always makes those funny little
+crooks on his capital letters. I guess that shows what kind of a crook
+he is," and Phil grinned at his little joke. "What are you going to do
+about this, Dave?"
+
+"I don't see that there's anything to do about it. As I told Roger, if
+Link shows himself around here I'll do all I can to place him in the
+hands of the authorities and see to it that he goes to jail."
+
+"It's a beastly shame that any one should write such a note as that,"
+went on the shipowner's son. "You are not a 'poorhouse nobody,' and
+everybody knows it."
+
+"I've been wondering what Link Merwell can have up his sleeve," came
+from Roger. "He certainly must be up to something, or he wouldn't send
+such a letter as that."
+
+The matter was talked over for a little while longer by the three boys,
+and then they rejoined the others.
+
+Jessie declared that her headache was now gone completely, and the young
+folks spent the rest of the evening in the Basswood bungalow, where
+Belle played the piano and Luke favored them with several selections on
+his banjo and his guitar. They also sang a number of songs, and
+altogether the evening ended quite pleasantly. The cloud that had come
+up between Dave and Jessie seemed to have vanished, much to their own
+satisfaction, and to that of their friends.
+
+On the following morning Mr. Basswood announced that he had to return to
+Crumville for a few days on business. He said that as soon as he arrived
+home he would get into telephone communication with Mr. Aaron Poole and
+acquaint him with the fact that some sort of a wild man had visited the
+vicinity of Bear Camp.
+
+"Of course we may be mistaken as to the identity of that individual,"
+said Ben's father. "He may not be Wilbur Poole at all."
+
+"You want to be sure, Dad, and let Nat's father know that," said Ben,
+"because if Mr. Poole spent money up here looking for his brother, and
+then found out that the wild man was somebody else, he would never
+forgive either himself or you for the outlay." And at this frank
+statement those who knew how miserly the money-lender of Crumville was
+laughed outright.
+
+Mr. Basswood departed for Carpen Falls in the middle of the forenoon. As
+it promised to be a warm, clear day, one of the young folks suggested
+that they go in bathing at a little sandy beach a short distance below
+the bungalows. This suggestion was eagerly seconded, and as a
+consequence, a little later on, the young folks donned their bathing
+outfits and soon were having great sport in the water, with the older
+folks sitting on a fallen tree not far away watching them.
+
+"Oh, but it's cold!" declared Jessie, after her first plunge.
+
+"You'll get used to it after a bit," returned Dave. "Just strike out
+lively, and that will help to keep your blood in circulation."
+
+"Come on for a race!" shouted Luke, who was splashing around in great
+shape.
+
+"A race it is!" called back Phil.
+
+"Where shall we race to?" questioned Roger.
+
+"If you are going to race, I'll be the referee and timekeeper,"
+announced Dunston Porter.
+
+It was decided that the boys should swim from the beach to a rock
+standing out of the water on the far edge of the cove.
+
+"First fellow to stand up on the rock wins the prize," announced Phil,
+and then he added quickly: "Girls, what's the prize?"
+
+"A fresh flapjack to the boy who bakes it," announced Belle, gaily.
+
+"Say, speaking of flapjacks puts me in mind of a story," came from
+Shadow, who was wading around in water up to his ankles. "Once there
+were two old miners who were in a camp in the mountains. They got to
+disputing as to who could make the best flapjacks. Says one of
+them----"
+
+Shadow did not finish the story he had started to tell. Unbeknown to
+him, Roger had come up behind, and was now on his hands and knees in the
+water. Luke gave the would-be story-teller a quick shove; and over went
+Shadow backwards, to land in the shallow water with a resounding splash.
+
+"Flapjack number one!" cried Luke, gaily. "Say, Shadow, what are you
+making so much noise about?"
+
+"I'll noise you!" roared the former story-teller of Oak Hall, as he
+scrambled to his feet.
+
+Then he started to rush after Luke, but Roger caught him by his ankle,
+and down he went into the water with another splash, this time sending
+the spray flying clear to those sitting on the fallen tree.
+
+"Here! Here! You boys stop that!" cried Mrs. Wadsworth. "We haven't any
+umbrellas."
+
+"Oh, excuse me, I didn't mean to shower you," pleaded Shadow. "Anyway,
+it was Roger's fault."
+
+"If you are going to race, start in!" ordered Dunston Porter.
+
+"Well, what's the prize?" queried Roger, doing his best to keep out of
+Shadow's reach.
+
+"The fellow who wins gets the hole in the doughnut," returned Dave,
+gaily.
+
+"All ready! Line up!" ordered Dunston Porter, and after a general
+scramble and amid much merriment, the boys lined up. Then came the order
+"Go!" and all of them struck out lustily for the rock that marked the
+goal.
+
+At first Ben, who had taken but little interest in the horseplay just
+enacted, kept well to the front. Ben had always been a good swimmer, and
+many a time he and Dave had raced each other in Crumville Creek.
+
+"You fellows won't be in it!" he shouted merrily.
+
+"Don't you be too sure of that," returned Luke. "This race isn't over
+yet."
+
+"You fellows had better save your wind," spluttered Phil, who at that
+instant came up alongside of Shadow. There followed a great splashing of
+water, and suddenly Ben disappeared from view.
+
+"Hey, you! Who fouled me that way?" roared the leader. "Whoever caught
+me by the foot ought to be put out of this race."
+
+"Must have been a whale, Ben," answered Roger, mischievously.
+
+"I'll whale you if you do it again," was the answer. And then all of the
+boys stopped talking and with renewed vigor bent to the task of trying
+to win the race.
+
+Soon half the distance to the rock was covered. Ben was still in the
+lead, with Roger and Phil close behind him. Luke and Shadow had dropped
+so far to the rear that they gave up all hope of winning.
+
+"Here is where I leave you fellows," announced Phil, and made a sudden
+spurt that soon placed him slightly in advance of Ben.
+
+"Hi! hi! don't leave me this way!" yelled Roger, and he, too, put on a
+burst of speed, followed a second later by Dave.
+
+On and on, through the cool, clear waters of Mirror Lake plunged the
+four boys. The goal was now less than fifty feet away.
+
+"O my, see how hard they are swimming!" came from Laura.
+
+"Ben was ahead, but I think Roger is up to him," announced Mrs.
+Basswood.
+
+"Those four lads are pretty well bunched up," remarked Dunston Porter.
+
+"Shadow and Luke have dropped out of it," announced Belle. "Gracious,
+how those others are swimming! Wouldn't you think it was for a prize of
+a thousand dollars?"
+
+The four who had remained in the race were now less than five yards from
+the goal, a large flat rock that was joined to the mainland by a series
+of other rocks.
+
+"Here is where I win!" declared Ben, and threw himself forward with all
+the strength left to him.
+
+"Not much!" came from Phil.
+
+"Count me in!" panted Roger.
+
+"Also yours truly!" added Dave.
+
+And then the four, lining up side by side, struck out fiercely, each
+doing his level best to touch the rock first. It was a neck-and-neck
+race, and in a moment more four hands went up on the rock at practically
+the same time.
+
+"I win!"
+
+"Not much, my hand was here first!"
+
+"Oh, look!"
+
+"Don't climb up on that rock!"
+
+"What's the trouble?"
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"It's a snake, and a big one!" yelled Dave. "Back away from the rock,
+boys, just as fast as you can!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+A CRY FROM THE CLIFF
+
+
+"It's a snake sure enough!"
+
+"My, what a big one!"
+
+"No climbing on that rock for me!"
+
+Such were some of the cries which rent the air as the four youths
+dropped back into the lake and lost no time in getting away from the
+spot which had been the goal of the swimming race.
+
+"Say, Dave, what sort of a snake do you suppose that was?" queried
+Roger.
+
+"Did he drop into the water?" questioned Ben, anxiously. "If it's a
+water snake maybe it's after us."
+
+"I don't know what kind of snakes are to be found around here," returned
+Dave. "But it was dark in color and I think all of four or five feet
+long."
+
+"Say, who won this race, anyhow?" came from Phil, as the boys swam
+around not far from the rock.
+
+"I should say the snake did," laughed Dave.
+
+In the meantime Dunston Porter, noticing that something unusual was
+going on in the vicinity of the goal, had leaped up and was running
+along the edge of the cove.
+
+[Illustration: "IT'S A SNAKE, AND A BIG ONE!"--_Page 179._]
+
+"What's the matter over there?" he yelled.
+
+"A snake, Uncle Dunston," called back Dave. "Better get a shotgun and go
+after it."
+
+"O dear! did you say a snake?" came from Laura, in dismay.
+
+Acting on Dave's suggestion, Dunston Porter hurried back to one of the
+bungalows. He reappeared with a shotgun, and lost no time in making for
+the vicinity of the rock where the reptile had been seen. In the
+meanwhile the four boys rejoined Luke and Shadow, and all swam back to
+the dock.
+
+"Oh, Dave, are you sure the snake didn't drop into the water after you?"
+questioned Jessie, and her face showed her anxiety.
+
+"No, it retreated to the rocks further back," was the answer.
+
+"Was it a poisonous snake?" asked Mrs. Basswood.
+
+"I am sure I don't know."
+
+"If there are snakes in these woods I don't think I'll care to go out
+very much," commented Laura, with a shiver.
+
+"Snakes will just spoil everything," added Jessie, dismally.
+
+While the boys and girls were dressing the report of a shotgun rang
+out.
+
+"If that was Uncle Dunston shooting, he must have found Mr. Snake," were
+Dave's words.
+
+"I hope he did find the snake," answered Roger. "If that reptile was
+left prowling around in this vicinity, none of the ladies would want to
+go out."
+
+"And I wouldn't care much about going out myself," added Luke.
+
+Having finished dressing, the boys lost no time in following Dunston
+Porter toward the rock which had been the goal of the swimming race.
+They found the old hunter and traveler searching through the brushwood
+back of the rocks.
+
+"Did you get it, Uncle Dunston?" questioned Dave.
+
+"I did," was the reply. "What's left of that snake is over yonder," and
+Mr. Porter pointed with his hand. "I'm looking around here to see if
+there are any more of them, but I rather fancy that is all there is."
+
+The charge from the shotgun had fairly torn the reptile to pieces, for
+when Dunston Porter had fired the snake had been coiled up, evidently
+ready for an attack.
+
+Arming themselves with clubs and stones, the boys joined Dunston Porter
+in the hunt for more reptiles, but their search was unsuccessful; and a
+little while later all returned to the bungalows.
+
+"Did you find any other snakes?" asked Jessie, after she had been told
+about the one that had been killed.
+
+"No, and I don't think there are any others," answered Mr. Porter.
+
+"Well, I hope there are not," put in Laura, "but if there are I wish you
+had found them."
+
+"We can't find what isn't there," said Luke, with a grin.
+
+"Say, that puts me in mind of a story," burst out Shadow.
+
+"Wow!" ejaculated Roger. "Here comes another!"
+
+"Oh, say! this is a good one," pleaded the would-be story-teller. "It's
+about an old college graduate who was a regular fiend for football. He
+would undergo almost any hardship for the sake of getting to a game.
+Well, one time there was a great contest on between two of the big
+colleges, and although old Bixby nearly broke his back to get there, he
+didn't arrive until late. 'Say, how is it going?' he puffed to a
+gate-keeper. 'Nothing to nothing, middle of the second half,' answered
+the gate-keeper. 'Is that so?' returned old Bixby. 'That's good! I
+haven't missed anything,' and he passed in." And at this anecdote there
+was a general laugh.
+
+In the afternoon while the young folks were enjoying themselves in
+various ways around the bungalows, they heard the put-put of a motor,
+and looking out on Mirror Lake, saw the craft belonging to the
+moving-picture company manager approaching, loaded with the furniture
+that had been borrowed.
+
+"Here they come with our things!" cried Ben. "Looks like a house moving;
+doesn't it?"
+
+They saw that the boat was in sole charge of Mr. Appleby, and as the
+craft drew closer the moving-picture manager gave them a cheery hail.
+
+"Going into the moving business instead of moving pictures, eh?" cried
+Dave.
+
+"I thought I might as well bring this stuff back while I had a chance,"
+answered the manager, and soon brought his motor-boat to a standstill
+beside the dock. Then the boys made short work of taking the furniture
+back to the bungalows.
+
+"I've got news for you, Mr. Porter," announced the moving-picture man,
+after the job was finished. "I've seen that young rascal, Link Merwell."
+
+"You have!" exclaimed Dave, eagerly. "Up at your camp?"
+
+"That's it."
+
+"Did you make him a prisoner?" asked Phil.
+
+"I didn't get the chance. He was evidently on his guard, and as soon as
+I told him what I knew, and that I was going to hand him over to the
+authorities, he ran straight into the woods, and that was the last any
+of us saw of him. He even left his suitcase and a light overcoat
+behind."
+
+"Well, it's too bad he got away," returned our hero. "I thought sure if
+he had the audacity to show himself here we'd get a chance to capture
+him."
+
+"I was foolish not to make him a prisoner as soon as he appeared,"
+answered Thomas Appleby. "But I didn't think he would run away in that
+fashion, leaving his outfit behind. Besides, what he'll do in the woods
+behind our camp is a mystery to me. I asked old Tad Rason if there were
+any roads back there, and he said not within a couple of miles; so
+Merwell stands a good chance of losing himself completely."
+
+"Great Scott! Supposing he should get into the woods and be unable to
+get out again!" burst out Roger.
+
+"Well, such things have happened," answered Luke. "I heard only last
+winter of a man who was lost in the Maine woods."
+
+"Yes, and Tad Rason told of two brothers who were lost up here in the
+Adirondacks for over three weeks," returned Mr. Appleby. "When they were
+found they were almost starved to death and next door to crazy."
+
+"If anything like that should happen to Link, he will have nobody to
+blame but himself," announced Roger.
+
+"Did he know we were up here?" queried Dave.
+
+"He knew you were somewhere in this vicinity, but he did not know that
+the camps were so close to each other. I think if he had imagined such
+to be the case he would have steered clear of this vicinity."
+
+"Was that young actor, Ward Porton, with him?"
+
+"I really don't know whether they came together or not. Porton showed up
+about two hours before Merwell arrived. Of course, they may have
+separated just before the camp was reached--Porton not wanting to appear
+in the company of a fellow you had told him was a crook."
+
+"Is Porton at your camp now?"
+
+"Yes. But he doesn't intend to stay very long. He says he has something
+else in view, although what it is I don't know. To tell you the truth,"
+and Mr. Appleby lowered his voice a trifle, "I think he is sweet on Miss
+Ford, and as she doesn't care for him at all and has told him so, it has
+put his nose out of joint."
+
+"When you spoke to him about Merwell did Porton stand up for the
+fellow?" continued our hero. He was anxious to learn if possible just
+how close the companionship of the pair had been.
+
+"He didn't have much to say after I told him all I knew," responded
+Thomas Appleby. "Previous to that, he remarked that you might be
+mistaken regarding Merwell--that Merwell had said that Jasniff and
+somebody else were guilty of the jewelry robbery."
+
+"Humph! he can't put it off on anybody else like that!" cried Phil. "We
+know beyond a doubt that he and Jasniff committed that crime."
+
+"Perhaps I ought not to blame Ward Porton for sticking up for Merwell,"
+answered Dave. "Link is a mighty slick talker, and he probably told his
+story to suit himself and got Porton to swallow it. Just the same,
+Porton is very foolish to chum with him."
+
+"I'll be rather sorry to lose Porton, for he is a clever fellow in the
+movies," went on the manager. "He wanted to leave in a few days, but I
+persuaded him to stay for a week at least, so we could finish several
+dramas in which he is an actor. After he is gone I'll have to get some
+one to take his place. Any of you young fellows want to have a try at
+it?" and Mr. Appleby looked full at Dave.
+
+"Oh, I don't know," returned our hero, slowly. And then he saw that
+Jessie's eyes were turned upon him and that they showed she was
+troubled. "I don't think I care to take the matter up. You see, I came
+here for a rest and a good time."
+
+"I wouldn't mind taking a hand at it!" cried Luke.
+
+"You can count me in, too!" added Shadow. "I'd like first-rate to see
+myself on the screen in a moving-picture show," and his eyes lit up in
+anticipation.
+
+"Well, you fellows come down some time and we'll talk it over,"
+concluded the manager. "I've got to get back now. We are getting ready
+to put on quite an important drama to-morrow, and we have got to
+rehearse a number of scenes. If you folks want to come up and look on,
+you'll be welcome," he added, to the crowd in general.
+
+When the moving-picture manager had departed, the boys set out to fish
+along the brook that flowed into Mirror Lake. While getting ready for
+the sport the conversation drifted around once more to Link Merwell.
+
+"If he is in this vicinity, Dave, you can make sure he'll try to get in
+on us somehow before he leaves," remarked Phil.
+
+"I don't see what he can do," returned Luke.
+
+"Oh, a fellow like Link can do lots of things!" burst out Ben. "Why, he
+might even try to burn down the bungalows!"
+
+"Do you think he's as bad as that?" questioned Shadow.
+
+"Yes, I do!" was the flat answer.
+
+Fishing in the vicinity of the lake was not very good, so the boys
+pushed further and further up the brook, until they reached a point
+where there was a little waterfall and a pool of considerable size. Here
+fishing was better, and soon they had quite a number of specimens of the
+finny tribe to their credit.
+
+"Come on, Dave, let's go up a little farther," pleaded Phil. "I'd like
+to see what this brook looks like beyond the falls."
+
+"All right, I'll go," answered our hero. "What about you fellows?" he
+asked, of the others.
+
+"I'll stay here and rest," announced Roger. "I'm tired of scrambling
+over the rocks."
+
+"So am I," agreed Ben. Shadow and Luke also said they would remain in
+the vicinity of the pool.
+
+Dave and Phil found it no easy task to follow the brook, which wound in
+and out among the rocks and brushwood. At one point they had to do some
+hard climbing, and once the shipowner's son slipped and came close to
+spraining an ankle.
+
+"Say, I don't believe I'll go much farther, after all," declared Phil.
+"This is rough and no mistake!"
+
+"It is better walking a little farther on, Phil," announced Dave. "Come
+on, don't give up this way! Maybe we'll find some extra large fish up
+there."
+
+Once more they set out, and soon found themselves in a small clearing,
+backed up by a cliff fifteen or twenty feet in height, and overgrown
+with brushwood and trailing vines.
+
+"Hark! What was that?" exclaimed Phil, as both came to a halt
+preparatory to casting their lines into the stream.
+
+"I think it was a shout," answered Dave. "Maybe the others are calling
+to us."
+
+"No, I think the call came from up on the cliff, Dave. Listen, there it
+is again!"
+
+Both strained their ears and soon heard another cry. This time it was
+much closer.
+
+"Stop! stop! let me alone!" Such were the words that floated to their
+ears. "Please don't hit me! Let me alone!"
+
+Dave and Phil looked at each other curiously.
+
+"Who can it be?" questioned the shipowner's son.
+
+"I don't know, but I guess we had better try to find out," answered our
+hero.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+THE CAPTURE OF LINK MERWELL
+
+
+"Where did that cry come from, Dave?"
+
+"I think it came from the top of the cliff, Phil. Listen! there it goes
+again."
+
+Both boys strained their ears once more, and now heard another voice,
+heavy and threatening.
+
+"Leave this place! Leave at once, I command you! No one has any right to
+disturb me!"
+
+"Don't hit me, I'll go!" returned the one who had first spoken, and a
+few seconds later he came into view at the edge of the cliff.
+
+"Hello, it's Link Merwell!" burst out Dave, in amazement.
+
+"Yes, and see, that wild man is after him!" added the shipowner's son.
+
+He was right. Following closely upon the appearance of Link Merwell the
+boys at the foot of the cliff had seen some brushwood thrust aside, and
+now appeared the strange fellow who had so frightened the girls some
+time previously. He was dressed up more fantastically than ever, and had
+his face smeared with red and yellow. Over his shoulder, suspended by a
+strap, he carried an old-fashioned fowling piece, and in his hands was a
+heavy club.
+
+"Go away from here! Go away, I say, and never come back!" cried the
+strange individual, dancing around wildly and flourishing his club close
+to Link Merwell's head.
+
+"All right, I'm going! Please don't hit me!" pleaded the youth, who was
+plainly in terror of his life. And then, in his haste to escape, he took
+several steps forward.
+
+"Look out there, or you'll have a bad fall!" yelled Dave, in quick
+alarm.
+
+The warning, however, came too late. Deceived by the brushwood and vines
+growing at the edge of the cliff, Link Merwell lost his footing, and the
+next instant came tumbling headlong.
+
+"Ha, ha! I told you to keep away! Now don't come back!" yelled the
+fantastically-dressed man in the bushes behind the cliff; and then with
+another yell he suddenly disappeared from view.
+
+Dave and Phil rushed forward fully expecting to find Merwell seriously
+hurt. But in falling the youth had been fortunate enough to catch hold
+of some of the trailing vines, and these had stayed his progress
+somewhat, so that all he received was a violent shaking-up.
+
+"Don--don't let--let him sho--shoot me!" spluttered Link Merwell, as he
+turned over and scrambled to his feet. Then, for the first time
+recognizing those who stood before him, his face showed more concern
+than ever.
+
+"Who's that fellow who attacked you, Link?" asked Dave, quickly.
+
+"I don't know--some crazy old lunatic, I suppose," muttered the former
+student of Oak Hall. "Is he--he--coming after me?"
+
+"No, he just dashed out of sight," answered Phil. "He's the same chap
+who nearly scared the girls to death," he added to Dave.
+
+"How do you know? He didn't look like that fellow," returned our hero.
+
+"I recognized him by his voice, even though he is dressed quite
+differently, Dave. He must be as crazy as they make them."
+
+"Oh, so you know him, do you?" put in Link Merwell, questioningly. He
+had gotten to his feet and was now straightening out his apparel.
+
+"I must say, Link, I didn't think I was going to have the pleasure of
+meeting you so soon," said Dave, with a little bit of pardonable
+sarcasm.
+
+"Humph!" Link Merwell was on the point of saying more, but bit his lip
+and kept silent.
+
+"So you were on board the steam yacht when she took fire," put in Phil.
+
+"I was."
+
+"Why didn't you show yourself; were you afraid?"
+
+"That was my business. I didn't have to show myself if I didn't want
+to."
+
+"We know well enough why you didn't show yourself, Link," broke in our
+hero. "And we also know why you left Mr. Appleby's camp so suddenly. You
+were afraid of arrest."
+
+"Who told you that?"
+
+"Nobody told us. We know it," went on Dave. "You have escaped several
+times, but I guess we've got you now."
+
+"Hi! don't you dare to touch me!" exclaimed Link Merwell, in fresh
+alarm. "You haven't got any right to put your hands on me."
+
+"Right or wrong, Link, we are going to make you a prisoner," declared
+Phil, and advancing he caught the youth who had helped to rob Mr.
+Wadsworth's jewelry works by the arm.
+
+"You let me go, Phil Lawrence! If you don't it will be the worse for
+you!" bawled Link, and tried to wrench himself loose.
+
+"Here, none of that!" broke in Dave, quickly, and stepping forward, he
+caught the evildoer by the other arm. "You just march along with us!"
+
+"I won't go!" bawled the boy who had gotten himself into trouble. "Let
+go of me, I tell you!"
+
+He started to struggle, and for a minute or two Dave and Phil had all
+they could do to hold him. Then, in sudden viciousness, Link kicked
+out, taking Dave in the shin.
+
+"Oh, so that's your game, is it?" cried Dave, his anger rising. And
+then, as Link kicked out once more, he caught the foot and gave the
+youth a shove that sent him sprawling on his back. Before Link could
+arise, Dave rushed in and sat down heavily on him.
+
+"Oh!" grunted the fallen one. "D-don't cru-crush my ribs!" he panted.
+"L-let u-up!"
+
+"I won't let up until you promise to behave yourself," answered Dave,
+sternly. "For two pins, Link, I'd give you the thrashing of your life.
+You deserve it. What right had you to send me that note and call me a
+'poorhouse nobody'?"
+
+"That's right, Dave. Pitch into him! Give him what he deserves!" agreed
+Phil. "Maybe a good licking would knock some common-sense into him."
+
+"D-don't you dare to--to t-touch me," panted the boy under Dave. "If
+you--you do, I'll ha-have the l-law on you!"
+
+"Don't talk about the law!" cried Dave. "The law will take care of you.
+When I caught you down on Cave Island, and you said that you were sorry
+that you had joined Jasniff in that robbery and that you were going to
+reform, I felt sorry for you. But you are a faker, Merwell, and I don't
+believe you ever will reform, and that's the reason I'm going to do my
+best now to place you in the hands of the law."
+
+"You--you--you let me u-up!"
+
+"I won't let you up until you promise to behave yourself and come along
+with us."
+
+"A-all right, I pro-promise."
+
+"Very well, then, you can get up," answered Dave, arising. "But
+remember, you have given us your word, and if you break it, I'll
+guarantee that Phil and I will come down on you like a ton of bricks.
+Now, if you know when you are well off, you'll do exactly as we tell you
+to."
+
+"I've got a scheme, Dave," broke in Phil, bringing out an extra piece of
+fishline from his pocket. "Let's tie his hands behind him with this.
+Then I don't think he'll care to run away--not very far, anyhow."
+
+"Humph! can't you let me walk along without having my hands tied?"
+grumbled the prisoner.
+
+"We are not going to take any chances, Link," answered the shipowner's
+son. "Now that we have caught you we are going to see that you get where
+you belong--in prison."
+
+"You send me to prison and my father will make it hot for you!"
+
+"You stop threatening us, Link!" ordered Dave, sternly.
+
+"All right. But you'll see!"
+
+Much against his will, Link Merwell was forced to place his hands behind
+him, and in a few minutes Phil and Dave had secured the fishline around
+his wrists. Then they picked up his cap, which had fallen off, and
+placed it on his head.
+
+"Now then, march!" ordered Dave. "And no funny work!" And he led the way
+back along the brook, with Merwell following and Phil bringing up the
+rear with the fishing outfits.
+
+"Say, how do you expect a fellow to get over these rocks with his hands
+tied behind him?" grumbled Link Merwell, after he had slipped several
+times.
+
+"You'll have to do the best you can," returned Phil, coldly. "A jailbird
+like you can't expect much consideration."
+
+"Bah, you make me tired, Phil Lawrence!" growled the prisoner. "I don't
+think you'll be able to send me to prison; not for long, anyhow! My
+father's got plenty of money; he'll get me out some way."
+
+"If he spends any money on you he'll be foolish," returned the
+shipowner's son. "Now go ahead, we are not going to waste all our time
+on you."
+
+It was not long after this when they came in sight of the other boys.
+Ben and Roger were still fishing, while Luke and Shadow were resting on
+the rocks, the latter telling one of his favorite stories.
+
+"Hello! What luck?" called Ben, looking up. And then he added: "Great
+Caesar's ghost! if it isn't Link Merwell!"
+
+"Where did you run across him?" cried Luke, leaping to his feet,
+followed by Shadow.
+
+"We found him running away from some kind of a wild man," answered Dave.
+
+"The wild man who scared us into fits the other day?" queried Roger.
+
+"We don't know if it was that fellow or somebody else," answered Phil.
+
+Link Merwell was much crestfallen to confront so many of his former
+schoolmates of Oak Hall. He realized that he was "in the camp of the
+enemy" in more ways than one. At one time or another he had played each
+of them some sort of a scurvy trick, and he realized that not one of
+them would have a good word to say for him.
+
+"Well, I see they have made you a prisoner," remarked Luke, as he
+noticed that Link's hands were tied behind him.
+
+"Humph! they had no right to do it," growled the prisoner. "Where are
+you going to take me, anyhow?"
+
+"We are going to take you to our bungalows," announced Dave. "There you
+will have the pleasure of talking the matter over with Mr. Wadsworth."
+
+At the mention of the name of the man he had robbed, Link Merwell winced
+and his face paled. Evidently he did not relish what was in store for
+him.
+
+"Say, having his hands tied behind him puts me in mind of a story,"
+began Shadow. "Once there was a fellow----" and then, as the would-be
+story teller saw a look of disgust coming over the faces of his chums,
+he added hastily: "Oh, well, never mind. I'll tell you that story some
+other time."
+
+"Is Mr. Wadsworth staying up here with you?" asked Link, while Ben and
+the others prepared to return to the bungalows.
+
+"He is," answered Dave.
+
+"Is his family with him?"
+
+"Yes, we are all up here for a short vacation." Dave looked at his enemy
+squarely in the eyes. "Link, do you think you are treating me just
+right? I never put a straw in your way, and yet you have done everything
+you could to make things unpleasant for me. I tried to help you down on
+Cave Island, and in return for that you have been sending letters to Nat
+Poole asking him to help you in hurting me. And then the other day you
+sent that note calling me a 'poorhouse nobody.'"
+
+"Oh, don't preach to me, Dave Porter!" growled the youth who had been
+made a prisoner. "I hate that kind of talk. You always tried to set
+yourself up as being better than any one else. Maybe you could get on
+the soft side of Gus Plum, but you can't play any such game as that on
+me. I know what I am doing."
+
+"Link, I'm sorry to hear you talk that way," went on Dave, earnestly.
+"Do you want to spend all your life in prison?"
+
+"Bah, don't talk to me! Didn't I tell you I don't want any preaching? If
+I've got to go to jail I'll go, but it won't be for long, mark my words!
+My father has got lots of money, and I guess the lawyers will know what
+to do. But let me tell you something, Dave Porter"--and now Link
+Merwell's face showed both cunning and hatred--"you found fault with
+that note I sent to you calling you a poorhouse nobody. Well, that is
+all you are; a poorhouse nobody!"
+
+"See here, Link----" began our hero, his temper rising.
+
+"Oh, now, just wait, Dave Porter! Just wait a little, and you'll find
+out what I mean. You are a poorhouse nobody and nothing else. Dave
+Porter? Why, you are not Dave Porter at all! You are a poorhouse nobody;
+that's all you are!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+BACK IN CAMP
+
+
+"What's this you are saying, Link?" demanded Phil, who had overheard the
+conversation just recorded. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself to talk
+that way. Just because Dave spent part of his life in the poorhouse
+after he was stolen away from his parents is no reason why you should
+speak as you do."
+
+"And that isn't the reason why I am talking this way," retorted the
+prisoner. "I've got another reason, and Dave Porter will find out what
+it is before very long."
+
+"You just said that I was not Dave Porter," remarked our hero. "What do
+you mean by that?"
+
+"Never mind what I mean; you'll find out sooner or later," answered
+Link, with an expression of cunning on his countenance.
+
+"Oh, don't listen to him!" broke in Roger; "he is only trying to worry
+you, Dave. Let us get back to the bungalows and tell Mr. Wadsworth about
+this capture."
+
+"I'm not going back with you," retorted Link Merwell. And now, with his
+hands tied behind him, he made a leap over the rocks in the direction of
+the woods.
+
+The sudden movement on the part of the prisoner, surrounded as he was by
+all of the boys, came somewhat as a surprise. But Dave, Roger and Phil
+were quick to recover, and away they bounded in pursuit of the fleeing
+one.
+
+Terror lent speed to Link Merwell's feet, and soon he gained the edge of
+the growth, which at this point was quite heavy.
+
+"Hurry up or he'll hide himself!" called Dave, who was in advance of his
+chums.
+
+The runaway might have made good his escape had it not been for the fact
+that his hands were so tightly bound behind him. As he dashed between
+the first of the trees, his foot caught on an outcropping root. Unable
+to throw out his hands to save himself, he came down heavily, striking
+his forehead on another tree root.
+
+"I've got him, come on!" cried Dave, and in a few seconds more was
+beside the fallen one. To his surprise Link Merwell lay motionless.
+
+"Collar him! don't let him get away again!" yelled Roger, as he came up
+with Phil beside him.
+
+"I think he hurt himself when he fell," answered our hero. "How about
+it, Link?" and he bent over his enemy as he asked the question.
+
+There was no reply, and getting down on their knees, the three boys
+raised Link Merwell up and turned him over. He was unconscious, and the
+blood was flowing from a cut on his left temple.
+
+[Illustration: "YOU JUST SAID THAT I WAS NOT DAVE PORTER," REMARKED
+OUR HERO. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?"--_Page 201._]
+
+"He came down pretty hard, I imagine," said Dave. "Let us carry him down
+to the brook."
+
+Not without some difficulty, the three lads raised the unconscious form
+and carried it toward the brook, meeting the other boys on the way.
+
+"Hello! what did you do; sock him one?" queried Luke.
+
+"No, he fell, and as he couldn't use his hands he hit his head on a tree
+root," answered Dave. "Get a little water, somebody, and we'll see if we
+can revive him."
+
+The water was soon brought, and with this they washed off the wound,
+after which they bound up Link Merwell's head with several
+handkerchiefs. The sufferer groaned and gasped several times, and
+finally opened and closed his eyes.
+
+"Say, he may be hurt worse than we think," remarked Roger, gravely.
+
+"I guess he ought to have a doctor," added Dave. "But where to get one
+around here I don't know. I don't believe there is one at Carpen Falls."
+
+"I know there isn't, because I heard my mother asking about it," added
+Ben. "But I think we ought to get him down to the bungalows."
+
+All of the boys were agreed that this was the best thing to do, and so,
+after putting up their fishing outfit, they began the return to the lake
+shore, taking turns at carrying the unconscious youth.
+
+"O dear! who is hurt?" cried Laura, as she saw the party approaching.
+
+"It's Link Merwell," answered her brother. "Call Mr. Wadsworth; will
+you?"
+
+"Oh, Dave! so you've caught him; have you?" cried Jessie, while Laura
+ran off on her errand. "Did you have a fight?"
+
+"Not much of a one, Jessie. He got hurt through a fall."
+
+"What a very foolish boy he has been!" was Belle's comment. "But I think
+his father is partly to blame. He always allowed Link to do as he
+pleased on the ranch, and when Link went to the city he always gave him
+more spending money than was good for him, at least, so my father said."
+
+"It was up to Link to do the square thing on his own account," broke in
+Roger. "He had all the chance in the world to make a man of himself. But
+he preferred the company of fellows like Jasniff. And this is the
+result."
+
+Mr. Wadsworth was in his bungalow writing a letter. He was surprised and
+gratified at the news brought by Laura, and quickly followed her
+outside. A little later Mrs. Wadsworth and Mrs. Basswood joined the
+group. The boys had unbound Link, and now they placed him on a large
+hammock with a comfortable pillow under his head. As the jewelry
+manufacturer approached, the sufferer opened his eyes and then struggled
+to sit up.
+
+"Hello! I guess he isn't hurt as much as we thought," remarked Shadow,
+in a low tone.
+
+"Maybe he's only playing 'possum," was Luke's comment.
+
+"No, he was hurt, that's sure; the cut on his forehead shows it,"
+answered Dave.
+
+"Well, Merwell, so they have caught you; have they?" began Mr.
+Wadsworth, as he stepped up in front of the youth. "I thought we would
+get you sooner or later."
+
+"I--I can't talk to you no-now," faltered the prisoner.
+
+"I don't think it will be necessary to do much talking, Merwell," went
+on the jewelry manufacturer. "We can do our talking later--possibly in
+the police court."
+
+"All right, have your own way about it," growled the prisoner. "You've
+got me and I'm down and out, so you can do your worst." And with this he
+rolled over on the hammock once more and again closed his eyes.
+
+"Talk about nerve!" whispered Ben. "Doesn't that take the cake!"
+
+"I'd like to know whether he is really hurt so much, or only shamming,"
+added Phil. "He always was a sly one."
+
+"Tell me how you came to capture him," said Mr. Wadsworth.
+
+Thereupon Dave and Phil related how they had gone up the brook to the
+vicinity of the cliff, and there heard the words between Link and the
+so-called wild man.
+
+"O dear! is that awful creature around here again?" cried Jessie.
+
+"Yes," answered Dave. "And I wish he would keep away."
+
+Then Dave and Phil related how Link Merwell had plunged over the cliff
+and had been made a prisoner, and then how, later on, he had tried to
+escape, struck his head on the tree root, and how all of the boys had
+brought him to the bungalows.
+
+"I am glad he didn't get away from you," said Oliver Wadsworth. "I think
+he ought to be in prison to keep Jasniff company."
+
+"How will you get him to jail?" questioned Phil.
+
+"I don't know what we can do except to march him down to Carpen Falls.
+But we can't do that to-day, for he seems too weak. Perhaps we can take
+him down there to-morrow, or else some of us can go down and get an
+officer to come up here and take charge of him."
+
+The matter was talked over at some length, and it was finally decided
+that nothing more should be done that day. Link Merwell did not join in
+the discussion, nor even open his eyes to look at them. But by close
+observation, Dave became satisfied that the prisoner was listening
+intently to every word that was said.
+
+"What will you do with him to-night?" asked Roger.
+
+"We might lock him up in one of the rooms in the bungalow," suggested
+Dave.
+
+"I don't think we'll give up one of our rooms to that fellow!" put in
+Mr. Wadsworth. "I think a bunk in the woodshed will be plenty good
+enough for him."
+
+"Oh, Pa, wouldn't that be rather hard on him?" questioned Jessie, who
+did not want to see even a rascal like Merwell suffer physical
+discomfort.
+
+"I dare say he has been putting up with worse than that in the woods
+here and while he was on Cave Island and in the far West," returned her
+father. "We'll place an old couch and some blankets in a corner of the
+shed, and that will be plenty good enough for him."
+
+"But somebody will have to watch him," answered Dave. "I'll do it if you
+want me to."
+
+"That wouldn't be quite fair, Dave," broke in Phil. "If he has got to be
+watched, let us take turns at doing it."
+
+"We might bind him fast to the cot," suggested Mr. Wadsworth.
+
+"He's so slick I'd be afraid to risk that," answered Dave. "I'll not
+mind staying up watching him."
+
+"Let us all take a hand at it," broke in Ben. "Every fellow can go on
+guard-duty for two hours, and call the next fellow." And so, after a
+little discussion, the matter was arranged.
+
+"I suppose I'm not to have anything to eat?" grumbled Link Merwell, a
+little later, when they were arranging to place him in the woodshed,
+which was a small lean-to of the Wadsworth bungalow. This place was used
+for the storage of firewood, but just now was almost empty.
+
+"Oh, yes, we'll see to it that you get something to eat," answered Mrs.
+Wadsworth, quickly.
+
+"I haven't had a square meal for twenty-four hours," went on the
+prisoner.
+
+"Give him all he wants, but nothing fancy," said Mr. Wadsworth. "He
+deserves nothing but the plainest kind of victuals."
+
+"Where have you kept yourself since you ran away from Mr. Appleby's
+camp?" questioned Phil, curiously.
+
+"Oh, I just roamed around in the woods," was the somewhat sullen answer.
+
+"Did you meet that wild man more than once?" questioned Roger.
+
+"No. If it hadn't been for that fellow, whoever he is, you wouldn't have
+caught me," added Link, bitterly.
+
+"I wonder what the Pooles will do when Mr. Basswood tells them what we
+think, that it is Mr. Wilbur Poole," came from Dave. "Perhaps they will
+send some of the sanitarium authorities up to try to catch him."
+
+"I hope they do catch him!" came from Jessie. "I'll never feel safe as
+long as that man is at large."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+THE ESCAPE
+
+
+Mr. Dunston Porter had been down to Carpen Falls for a walk and to get
+the mail. He returned late that evening, bringing several letters with
+him. He was of course much surprised to learn of the capture of Link
+Merwell, and listened with interest to the details concerning the
+affair.
+
+Among the letters which his uncle had brought along was one for Dave,
+which he read with deep interest. It was from Nat Poole, who evidently
+had not yet heard anything regarding his missing uncle.
+
+      "I want to tell you of what has happened here lately,"
+      (wrote Nat). "I have received two visits from a young fellow
+      named Ward Porton, who is, I believe, a moving-picture
+      actor, and the same fellow that you helped to rescue from a
+      burning steam yacht. This fellow was in town once with Link
+      Merwell, and then came here alone. He has been visiting a
+      number of people who are well acquainted with you, and also
+      visited the poorhouse here and talked to several of those in
+      authority, and those who used to have the running of the
+      poorhouse years ago, when you were an inmate there. This
+      Ward Porton acted as if he had something of great importance
+      on his mind, but what it was he would not tell, but he did
+      let slip that it was something concerning you--that there
+      was a big surprise in store for you. He also let slip that
+      he, too, had been in a poorhouse when he was a little boy,
+      and that he had never been able to learn where he had really
+      come from.
+
+      "I am writing this to put you on your guard in case he
+      should show himself either at your camp or at the Wadsworth
+      mansion after your return. I must confess that I don't like
+      the fellow's manner, and I rather surmise he is laying pipes
+      to play you some trick."
+
+Dave read this letter over several times, and was much perplexed. He had
+not forgotten what Link Merwell had said to him shortly after being
+captured, nor had he forgotten the fact that he had seen Link and Ward
+Porton in Crumville at the old Potts farm.
+
+"Those fellows are certainly up to something," our hero told himself.
+"Link said that I was not Dave Porter. Now, what did he mean by that?
+Those fellows must be hatching up some plot against me."
+
+"Dave, you look rather worried," remarked Phil, as he caught the youth
+reading the communication for the third time. "No bad news I hope?"
+
+"I can't tell whether it is or not, Phil," was the reply. And Dave
+handed the letter to his chum.
+
+"Phew! This looks like a mystery," was the comment of the shipowner's
+son. "Dave, do you think this had anything to do with what Link Merwell
+said when we caught him--that you were not Dave Porter?"
+
+"That's the way it looks to me, Phil."
+
+"But that's rank nonsense. We all know you are Dave Porter."
+
+"Well, I've always thought I was Dave Porter, ever since I met my Uncle
+Dunston out in those South Sea Islands."
+
+"Why of course you are! Don't you look just like your Uncle Dunston?
+This is some game, Dave."
+
+"I think so myself."
+
+"What are you fellows confabbing about?" asked Roger, walking up.
+
+"We're talking about a letter I just received," answered Dave. And then
+the senator's son also read the communication.
+
+"Say, this is a mystery and no mistake!" was Roger's comment. "And so
+Nat thinks that Ward Porton is mixed up in it, eh? That is strange."
+
+"What do you suppose he has to do with it, Roger?" questioned Phil.
+
+"I am sure I don't know. But come to think of it, he did look like----"
+And then Roger broke off in confusion.
+
+"Look like what, Roger?" asked Dave, quickly.
+
+"Oh, never mind, Dave, let's drop the subject and talk about what we are
+going to do with Link Merwell."
+
+"I think I know what you were going to say," went on our hero, and he
+tried to speak calmly although his heart gave a sudden jump. "You were
+going to say that Ward Porton looked like my Uncle Dunston and like me."
+
+"Well, if you must know it, Dave, that is what did come into my mind. I
+don't think he resembles you quite as much as he resembles your uncle,
+to be really honest."
+
+"Oh, say, Roger, drop that!" interposed Phil, hastily. "I think Dave
+looks a good deal more like his uncle than Porton looks like Mr.
+Porter."
+
+"It's a queer mystery, that's certain," returned Dave, slowly. "I don't
+like it, I must say," and his face showed more concern than it had for a
+long while.
+
+"Don't you take this too seriously, Dave!" cried Roger. "I believe at
+the most it's only some game gotten up by Link Merwell. Now that we
+have him a prisoner and can send him to jail for that robbery, more than
+likely you won't hear anything further about it."
+
+"I sincerely hope you speak the truth," was our hero's sober reply.
+
+After a plain but substantial meal, Link Merwell was taken to the
+woodshed and told he would have to remain there until morning. Then the
+boys cast lots to find out who should go on guard first.
+
+"I'm number one," announced Phil, after drawing one of a number of slips
+of paper placed in a cap.
+
+"And I follow you," announced Luke.
+
+"I'm guard number three," came from Ben, and the other boys announced
+what slips they had drawn.
+
+Usually the woodshed was dark, but now a lantern had been hung on a nail
+to illuminate the place. There were two doors, one connecting with the
+bungalow proper, and the other leading into the backyard of the place.
+There was also a small window, over which in times past several stout
+wooden bars had been nailed to keep out prowling wild animals.
+
+"Think I'll run away, eh?" remarked Link Merwell, as he sat down on the
+couch which had been placed in the woodshed.
+
+"You'll not get the chance," returned Phil, who had armed himself with
+one of the double-barreled shotguns. "If you try to get away, Link,
+you'll get a dose of shot in you, just as sure as fate."
+
+"Humph! I don't think I'll want to run away," grumbled the prisoner.
+"There is no place to run to in this forsaken section of the country.
+What you folks can find here to make it pleasant is a mystery to me."
+
+The door leading to the outside had been closed and bolted. The other
+door leading to the bungalow proper was left open for ventilation, and
+Phil sat on a low stool beside it, with the shotgun across his knees.
+
+"Are you quite sure you can manage him, Phil?" questioned Mr. Wadsworth,
+as he came to the doorway after the others in both bungalows had
+retired.
+
+"Yes, I can manage him easily enough," returned the shipowner's son.
+"I've got this, you see," and he tapped the shotgun suggestively.
+
+"Well, don't have any shooting unless it becomes absolutely necessary,"
+answered the jewelry manufacturer; and then he, too, retired.
+
+For a short while Link Merwell lay down on the couch and turned over as
+if to go to sleep. But he was restless, and presently, when all was
+quiet, he turned over again and sat up.
+
+"What are you going to do with me when you get me to Carpen Falls?" he
+questioned.
+
+"We are going to hand you over to the authorities."
+
+"Is Dave Porter going along to the Falls?"
+
+"I don't know about that. That's for Mr. Wadsworth to say," answered
+Phil. "By the way," he continued, "what did you mean by telling Dave
+that he was not Dave Porter?"
+
+"Never you mind, you'll find out soon enough," grumbled the prisoner.
+
+"Very well, Link, if you don't want to tell me you don't have to. Just
+the same, if you are trying to hatch out some plot against Dave, I warn
+you to be careful. He has stood about as much as he intends to stand."
+
+"This is no plot; this is something real," grumbled Link Merwell. "Just
+you wait, that's all," and then he lay down on the couch once more and
+pretended to go to sleep.
+
+At the proper time Luke came to relieve Phil, and was followed by Ben,
+and then by Shadow.
+
+"Say, it's cold to-night," remarked the former story-teller of Oak Hall,
+as he took the shotgun and sat down on the stool. "If this weather keeps
+on, before long we'll have frost up here, and we'll all be thinking of
+going home."
+
+"Better put on an extra coat; here is one," answered Ben, and passed the
+garment over. Then he returned to the other bungalow, for he was tired.
+
+Shadow had expected to have quite a talk with the prisoner, but in this
+he was disappointed, for Link appeared to be asleep, and he did not have
+the heart to awaken the prisoner. He sat on the stool, thinking over
+several of the stories he had told from time to time, and trying to
+invent one or two new ones.
+
+In the midst of his revery a sound from outside startled him. It was the
+hooting of an owl, and so close that the mournful sound made Shadow
+shiver.
+
+"I'd like to shoot that owl," he told himself, as the hooting continued.
+"If I brought him down I could have him stuffed," he thought, with some
+satisfaction.
+
+Shadow looked at the motionless form on the couch, and then arising from
+the stool, tiptoed his way into the big living-room of the bungalow. One
+of the windows was wide open, and he looked out of this to see if he
+could locate the owl. The hooting was now closer than before and seemed
+to come from a tree not twenty-five feet away.
+
+"Say, there's a chance for a shot," murmured the youth to himself. "If I
+could only spot that owl I'm sure I could----"
+
+Thump! Shadow received a staggering blow in the back of the neck, and
+then felt himself hurled to one side, while the shotgun was wrenched
+from his grasp. Then, before he could recover from his astonishment, a
+figure leaped through the open window and dashed across the moonlit
+dooryard.
+
+"Hi! Stop!" yelled Shadow, as soon as he could recover his breath.
+"Stop! Help!"
+
+"What's the racket?" The cry came from Roger, and then he and Dave burst
+into the room, followed by Phil.
+
+"Merwell! He's escaped! He got the gun away from me, and jumped through
+the window!" panted poor Shadow. "Oh, what a fool I was to think he was
+asleep!"
+
+"Where did he go?" questioned Dave, and at the same time bounded back
+into the bedroom, to don his shoes and part of his clothing.
+
+"He jumped out of the window with the gun. That's all I know about it,"
+answered Shadow.
+
+"Didn't you have a fight?" questioned Phil.
+
+"No, I came to the window to look at an owl that was hooting around
+here. Link came behind me and gave me a fierce crack in the neck. Then
+he grabbed the gun and went through the window like a flash. And I
+thought he was asleep!"
+
+By this time Dave had returned, partly dressed, and catching up another
+one of the fowling pieces in the bungalow he, too, leaped through the
+window, followed by Shadow. A few seconds later the other boys joined
+them.
+
+"Have you any idea which way he went?" questioned our hero.
+
+"I don't know exactly, Dave, but I think he went that way," and the
+former story-teller of Oak Hall pointed with his hand.
+
+"Let's scatter a little," ordered Dave, and while he passed in the
+direction pointed out, the other boys separated to both sides of him.
+All advanced to the edge of the woods and there came to a halt. While
+the moon made it fairly bright in the open space surrounding the
+bungalows, beneath the trees it was dark, and consequently little could
+be seen.
+
+"Might as well look for a pin in a haystack," grumbled Roger. "If he got
+into these woods it's good-bye to him. We might search all night and not
+get a trace of the rascal."
+
+"I guess you're right, Roger," answered Dave, "but let's search around a
+little anyway."
+
+Long before this the alarm had become general, and now Dunston Porter
+and Mr. Wadsworth appeared, followed shortly by Mrs. Wadsworth and Mrs.
+Basswood and the girls.
+
+"Let us take the flashlights and lanterns and see if we can't get on the
+track of him," ordered the jewelry manufacturer. "We must capture him if
+it is possible to do so."
+
+And then the search began in earnest.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+MORE OF A MYSTERY
+
+
+"Did you see anything of him?"
+
+"Not a thing. Did you?"
+
+"I saw something move under the trees, but I guess it was a wild
+animal."
+
+"He's gotten away, and that is all there is to it," said Dave, as he
+looked at his chums and at the men, who had also joined in the search
+for Link Merwell.
+
+"This is certainly too bad!" remarked Mr. Wadsworth, with a shake of his
+head.
+
+"And it was all my fault!" broke out Shadow, bitterly. "Oh, I could kick
+myself full of holes every time I think of it!"
+
+Over an hour had been spent in the woods surrounding the clearing on
+Mirror Lake. During that time the men and the boys had stirred up
+several small wild animals, but that had been all.
+
+"He must have legged it for all he was worth after he jumped through the
+window," was Roger's comment. "For all we know he may be miles away from
+here by now."
+
+"If he ran straight into those woods it was a hazardous proceeding,"
+said Dunston Porter. "He'll become hopelessly lost in the darkness, and
+when daylight comes he won't know how to turn to get out."
+
+"Oh, perhaps he'll climb a tree and locate his surroundings that way,"
+suggested Dave. "You must remember that Link isn't like a city fellow.
+He was brought up in the wild West, and knows how to do for himself in
+the open."
+
+"We may as well give up the hunt," said Mr. Wadsworth, and turned toward
+Bear Camp, followed by the others.
+
+"Oh, Dave, did you catch him?" The cry came from Jessie, who stood on
+the porch with the others, awaiting their return.
+
+"No, he got away."
+
+"That's too bad!"
+
+"You should have kept him bound, Dave," said Laura.
+
+"That's it, Dave," added Belle. "In the West they would tie a rascal
+like Link fast to a tree with a lariat. If you secured him properly he
+would stay there until you freed him."
+
+"Well, there is no use in crying over spilt milk," remarked Mrs.
+Basswood. "I suppose we may as well go to bed again." And on this the
+others agreed.
+
+Several days, including Sunday, passed, and nothing more was seen or
+heard of Link Merwell or Ward Porton. During that time the young folks
+went out on the lake several times, and also went fishing. Swimming was
+mentioned, but as the weather was getting colder rapidly, only Dave and
+Phil went in for a plunge. One day they planned to visit the
+moving-picture people, but it rained and they did not go.
+
+"It will soon be time for hunting," announced Roger. "I hope we do get a
+chance to bring down something before we have to go back."
+
+"Well, I'd like to have a crack at a deer, myself," answered Dave, who
+had not forgotten the sport he had had on Squirrel Island and at other
+places in the vicinity of Oak Hall.
+
+"What's the matter with a crack at a bear?" interposed Phil. "A great
+big shaggy fellow that would weigh eight hundred or a thousand pounds."
+
+"Say, Phil, you don't want much in life!" cried Ben. "Why don't you make
+it a two-thousand-pound bear while you are at it?"
+
+"Say, speaking about heavy bears puts me in mind of a story I heard!"
+cried Shadow, his face lighting up for the first time since the escape
+of Link Merwell. "This yarn was told by an old western hunter and
+trapper, and he said it was strictly true. He said he was out on the
+ranges one day when he found himself suddenly pursued by three Modoc
+Indians. He shot at them several times without hitting anybody, and
+then, to his consternation, he found that his ammunition had given out.
+He legged it up a mountain-side, and the three Modocs came after him,
+yelling to beat the band. Just as they were following him up the steep
+trail, he saw a monstrous bear come plunging out from a thicket near by.
+He was so upset that he hardly knew what to do, but he grabbed up a big
+rock and sent it at the bear. It struck the monstrous animal on the head
+and keeled him over, and the bear rolled down the steep mountain-side,
+and knocked over the three Modoc Indians, smashing every one of them."
+
+"Wow! That's some bear story!" exclaimed Luke.
+
+"Shadow, how could you bear to tell such a story?" asked Dave,
+reproachfully.
+
+"That knocks out all the dime novels ever written," said Ben.
+
+"Why, Ben! do you mean to say you have read them all?" cried our hero,
+in pretended surprise.
+
+"All? I don't read any of them!" snorted Ben. "Just the same, that's the
+biggest whopper I ever heard."
+
+"Well, I'm not vouching for the story," interposed Shadow, dryly, "I'm
+just telling it as it was told to me."
+
+"Speaking about being frightened by a bear puts me in mind that it's
+queer we haven't seen or heard anything more of that wild man," remarked
+Roger.
+
+"We don't want to see or hear anything more of him!" burst out Laura.
+"One scare was enough."
+
+"It's queer that the Pooles don't send some one up here to look for
+him," remarked Jessie. "If he were my uncle I certainly wouldn't want
+him to be roaming around in the woods that way."
+
+"If he is just roaming around I wonder how he manages to live," said
+Dave. "And where does he get all that outlandish outfit?"
+
+"He must have some sort of a habitation here," returned Phil. "Maybe he
+has taken possession of some bungalow or cabin that was locked up. If he
+has, won't the owners of the place be mad when they find it out,
+especially if he is using their things!"
+
+"I wonder if we couldn't go up to that cliff and track him in some way
+from there?" said Phil. "He may have left some sort of trail behind him.
+Unless he follows some kind of paths through the woods he would be apt
+to get lost, just like anybody else."
+
+"If he really is Wilbur Poole, I'd like to capture him and send him back
+to the sanitarium; where he belongs," remarked Roger. "I think Nat would
+like us to do it."
+
+"What do you say about starting on a regular hunt to-morrow?" asked
+Dave. "We might go out directly after breakfast and carry our lunch
+with us. Who knows but what in looking for the wild man we might run
+across some trace of Link Merwell."
+
+"Oh, Dave, you mustn't get into any trouble!" cried Jessie, hastily.
+
+"If we go out we'll go armed and be on our guard," he replied.
+
+The matter was talked over for some time, and at last it was decided
+that the boys should start out in a body directly after breakfast the
+following morning, provided it remained clear. They were to carry a
+shotgun and a rifle, and also a substantial lunch, and were not to
+return to Bear Camp until evening.
+
+"I'd like to go on such a tramp myself," announced Belle. "It would be
+lots of fun climbing over the rocks and up the mountains."
+
+"I think you girls had better remain around the bungalows," said Mrs.
+Wadsworth. "You can go out some other time, when the boys are not
+looking for that wild man and Link Merwell."
+
+During the past few days those at Bear Camp had seen but little of the
+moving-picture company. That afternoon the old hunter, Tad Rason,
+stopped at the dock in his rowboat, and made the announcement that the
+company had gone to the other end of the lake, to take pictures for
+several more dramas.
+
+"Mr. Appleby wanted me to tell you that that young feller, Ward Porton,
+ain't goin' to be with 'em no more," announced Tad Rason to Dave. "He
+says the young feller writ a letter sayin' that he was on the track of
+his parentage, and he guessed as how he'd have plenty of money of his
+own when he could prove who he was."
+
+This announcement was of great interest to Dave, and he immediately
+questioned Tad Rason, to learn if the old hunter knew anything further.
+But that was all Rason could tell. He even did not know how long Ward
+Porton had remained with the moving-picture company after his arrival in
+the Adirondacks.
+
+"The huntin' season will be openin' to-morrow," announced Tad Rason, in
+reply to a question from Phil. "I'm bound down the lake now to meet a
+party of hunters comin' from Albany. I take 'em out every season, actin'
+as guide."
+
+"Perhaps we'll get you to go out with us some day," said Roger.
+
+"All right, boys. I'll be glad to go, if I ain't got any job with them
+other fellows," announced the old hunter.
+
+Although he was not willing to admit it to the others, Dave was greatly
+worried over the news brought by Tad Rason. Coupling it with what he had
+heard from Link Merwell and Nat Poole, he could reach but one
+conclusion, which was that in some way Ward Porton was going to try to
+prove that the boy from the Crumville poorhouse was not the real Dave
+Porter.
+
+"Maybe he'll come along with a story that he is the real Dave," thought
+our hero, bitterly. "He said he was raised in a poorhouse, just like
+myself, but he also said it was away down East and not anywhere near the
+vicinity of Crumville. How he is going to get around that is beyond me.
+I don't think he'll be able to make anybody believe his story. Just the
+same, I wish this thing hadn't come up. I'd like to forget those
+poorhouse days entirely." And at the remembrance of those bitter times,
+Dave sighed deeply.
+
+"Dave, you look awfully worried," said Jessie, that evening when the
+boys were getting ready for their next day's tramp. "What is the
+trouble?"
+
+"Oh, it isn't much," he answered, evasively. "I was just thinking over
+what Link Merwell said."
+
+"Dave, don't let him worry you so!" cried the girl, sympathetically. "He
+is a bad boy, and everybody knows it."
+
+"But he said some things that I don't like at all, Jessie. I don't like
+him to call me a poorhouse nobody."
+
+"Dave, don't you mind him! I don't care if you did come from the
+poorhouse. I think just as much of you anyway," and Jessie's eyes showed
+her earnestness.
+
+"It's splendid of you to say that," he returned, in a low tone, and
+catching both her hands, he squeezed them tightly. "It's a grand good
+thing to have somebody who believes in you."
+
+Early in the evening there was a slight shower, and some of the boys
+thought they were in for a steady rain. But soon the clouds passed, and
+the moon and stars came out as brightly as ever.
+
+"A perfect day!" announced Roger, on arising the next morning. "Just
+cool enough to make mountain climbing a pleasure."
+
+The servants had an early breakfast ready for the boys, and by the time
+the girls and the others appeared they had partaken of the repast and
+were ready to depart. Dave carried the rifle and Roger the shotgun,
+while the others were loaded down with several knapsacks of provisions
+and some extra wraps and a blanket or two.
+
+"You want to take plenty of things with you," Dunston Porter had
+cautioned them. "You may get farther away from home than you anticipate,
+and may have to stay out all night."
+
+"That's true, Uncle Dunston," Dave had answered. "And that being so, if
+we don't turn up at a reasonable hour, don't worry about us."
+
+"But what will you do if you capture that wild man?" asked Mrs.
+Basswood.
+
+"If it's Wilbur Poole, we'll make him a prisoner and bring him with us,"
+announced Dave.
+
+"Well, good luck to you!" cried Dunston Porter, as the boys prepared to
+leave. "Remember the hunting season opens to-day, so if you get a chance
+at any game don't let it slip you."
+
+"Trust us for that, Uncle Dunston!" cried Dave.
+
+With shouts of good-bye, the boys turned away from the bungalows, and a
+few minutes later disappeared along the path running beside the brook.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+SHOOTING A WILDCAT
+
+
+Less than half an hour later, the boys found themselves at the top of
+the cliff where Dave and Phil had seen the encounter between Link
+Merwell and the so-called wild man. A brief look around convinced them
+that the locality was deserted.
+
+"Now to find the wild man's trail, if he left one," announced Dave, and
+the boys scattered in several directions, looking at the ground and the
+brushwood with great care.
+
+"If we only had one of those Reservation Indians with us, he might help
+us pick up the trail," declared Roger. "As it is, I must confess I'm not
+much of a trail-finder."
+
+"Oh, don't give up so soon," returned Dave. "Remember we have the whole
+day before us."
+
+Presently Ben and Luke, who had turned southward on the cliff, let out a
+shout.
+
+"Here is something of a trail," announced Ben, when the others came
+hurrying in that direction, and he pointed to footprints which led
+through some soft soil between a number of low bushes. A little further
+on they could see where somebody's shoes or boots had carried some of
+the mud up on to the rocks beyond.
+
+"That certainly does look like a trail," declared Dave. "Let us follow
+it up a bit, and see where it leads to."
+
+This was considered good advice, and soon, led by our hero, the whole
+party was moving through the brushwood and over the rocks. Then they
+came once again to the woods, and here discovered a well-defined trail
+running southwestward.
+
+"This may be an animal trail for all we know," remarked Shadow. "For my
+part, I can't tell one kind of trail from another."
+
+"It's quite likely that a fellow like that wild man would use any trail
+he came across, and so would anybody else trying to move around in a
+wilderness like this," answered Dave. "I don't think it will do any harm
+to follow it for some distance."
+
+"Better keep your eyes open, Dave," cautioned Phil. "It may lead us into
+danger."
+
+"I've got my eyes wide open, and I've got the rifle handy, too,"
+answered our hero, as he once more led the march forward.
+
+The trail was very narrow in places, so that they had to walk in single
+file. It made a long curve through the forest, and then came out in a
+little clearing, backed up by a series of jagged rocks. Here there was
+a small stream, and behind it a spring of pure, cold water.
+
+"It looks to me as if the animals used this trail when they wanted a
+drink," was Luke's comment. "That water looks pretty good to me," and
+bending down, he took a deep draught. "It's fine," he went on; "try it!"
+
+The others did as requested, and agreed with Luke that the water was as
+good as any they had ever tasted. Then began more searching, and before
+long they found another trail, this time veering to the westward.
+
+The boys pushed forward once again, Dave still in the lead; and thus a
+half mile more was covered. Then they found themselves between a number
+of rocks where, presently, the trail seemed to lose itself.
+
+"Say, Dave, we don't seem to be getting anywhere," announced Phil, as
+having climbed over several very rough rocks, he stopped to regain his
+breath.
+
+"That's right!" broke in Luke. "And say, we had better go slow unless
+somebody wants to sprain an ankle. This is the roughest ground I ever
+tried to get over."
+
+"It is easier walking just ahead," announced Dave, who now stood on the
+top of one of the rocks, gazing forward. "Come on! I think I see the
+trail too," and he made a leap from one rock to another and was soon
+some distance in advance.
+
+The rough rocks left behind, the boys came out on a trail which seemed
+to come from the north and lead directly up a steep hillside well
+covered with tall trees. Here the shade was very thick, and the slight
+breeze that was stirring made the atmosphere decidedly cool.
+
+"Wonder what time it is?" remarked Luke, and drew out his watch as he
+spoke. "Well, I never! Only ten o'clock! I thought it must be about
+noon!"
+
+"Getting hungry already?" laughed Dave. "If you are, we might stop for a
+bite."
+
+"That's it! let's have a bite to eat, and rest at the same time," cried
+Phil. "We brought plenty of lunch along--enough for several meals."
+
+The boys sat in a sort of circle on some rocks and a fallen tree, and
+while thus resting partook of a light lunch from one of the knapsacks.
+Then they moved forward, up the hillside, and presently found themselves
+on the top of the rise.
+
+"Here is quite a view!" announced Shadow, and they spent a little time
+in taking in the panorama spread before them. On one side they could see
+Mirror Lake, and on the other the nearby mountains and also a faraway
+wagon-road, which they rightly guessed was that running to Carpen Falls
+and the villages beyond.
+
+"See anything worth looking at outside of the scenery?" questioned Roger
+of our hero.
+
+"I see some smoke down in yonder hollow," announced Dave. "That must
+come either from some campfire or else from some cabin, and whether it
+is from a campfire or a cabin it means that some human being must be
+there."
+
+"Right you are, Dave! And that human being may be that wild man, or Link
+Merwell," answered Ben, quickly.
+
+"How far do you think it is to that smoke?" asked Phil.
+
+Various guesses were made, and the consensus of opinion was that the
+smoke was not over half a mile distant.
+
+"Let us take the trail leading off in that direction," said Dave, and a
+few minutes later the boys struck out once more.
+
+Much to their surprise, getting down into the hollow between the hills
+and the nearby mountain was by no means as easy as they had anticipated.
+The way proved exceedingly rough, and more than once one or another of
+them was in danger of a serious tumble. As it was, Shadow slipped on the
+rocks and scraped his hands in several places. Then Luke gave a grunt,
+announcing that he had barked his left shin.
+
+Dave was still in advance, and now he made a leap from a rock into some
+low brushwood. As he did this there came a sudden cry and a snarl,
+followed by the movement of some body through the brushwood a short
+distance ahead.
+
+"Hello! what was that?" cried Phil, who was nearest to our hero.
+
+"I didn't get a very good view of it, Phil," answered Dave, who now had
+his rifle ready for use, "but unless I was much mistaken, it was a
+wildcat."
+
+"A wildcat! Great Caesar! We don't want to run into any such beast as
+that, Dave."
+
+"Did you see a wildcat? Where is it?" demanded Roger, quickly, as he,
+too, reached Dave's side.
+
+"It went off in that direction," answered Dave, pointing with the barrel
+of his rifle. "See! There it is!"
+
+As Dave uttered the last words, Roger and Phil saw a small,
+tawny-colored body creep out of some distant bushes and make a leap onto
+a flat rock. The beast was indeed a wildcat, and as it came from cover
+it swung around for a brief instant to gaze savagely at the boys. Then
+it crouched low, preparatory to making a leap to another rock higher up.
+
+Crack! It was Dave's rifle that rang out. And following the report the
+wildcat was seen to leap into the air and then fall back on the rock,
+where it whirled over and over several times.
+
+"You hit it, Dave!" yelled Phil and Roger, simultaneously.
+
+"What did you shoot at?" called out Ben, as he came plunging forward,
+followed by Luke and Shadow.
+
+"A wildcat! See, there it is on the rocks!" cried Roger.
+
+"A wildcat! I didn't know there were any left around here," returned
+Ben, and then he added, quickly: "There it goes! You didn't kill it
+after all, Dave."
+
+As Ben spoke, the wildcat gave another whirl on the rock, and then
+slipped off through the bushes out of sight of the boys.
+
+"I'll give him a shot from my gun if he needs it," announced Roger, as
+he hurried forward.
+
+"Be careful that he doesn't get at you first!" cried Dave, warningly.
+"If he's only slightly wounded he'll be a dangerous customer to tackle."
+
+The other boys followed Roger, and, having reloaded his weapon, Dave
+followed suit. Soon all were standing close to the flat rock where the
+wildcat had been hit.
+
+"Where is it?"
+
+"I don't see him anywhere."
+
+"Be careful, he may land on you before you know it!"
+
+"There! There! Look yonder!" The last cry came from Luke, and at his
+words all turned quickly, to see the wildcat crouch between two trees
+growing close to the rocks. With a snarl, the beast leaped out toward
+them, the blood flowing from a wound along one forequarter.
+
+Roger had the shotgun ready, and without taking time to bring the weapon
+to his shoulder, he pulled the trigger.
+
+Bang! went the piece, and then, with a final leap, the wildcat sprang
+toward the boys, only to drop dead at their feet.
+
+"Good! That's the way to do it!" cried Phil, enthusiastically. "That
+wildcat won't bother us any more."
+
+"Dave hit him in the forequarter," announced Roger, after an examination
+of the dead animal. "More than likely the beast would have died from
+that wound."
+
+"I don't know about that," returned our hero; modestly. "You are the one
+who settled him. That was a fine shot, Roger. It couldn't have been
+better." And on this the others agreed.
+
+As no one cared to take the trouble to skin the wildcat, the beast was
+left where it had fallen, and the boys once more took their way along
+the trail leading to the spot where they had seen the smoke. Soon the
+trail made another turn, and then came out on a path which was wider and
+showed considerable usage.
+
+"Here are footprints," said Ben, pointing to them. "I believe we are
+getting close to some sort of a house or cabin."
+
+A few minutes later the broad path they had discovered made another
+turn, and then in the distance they saw a neat log cabin, located on the
+bank of a small mountain torrent. From the chimney of the cabin a thin
+wreath of smoke was curling.
+
+"That's the smoke we must have seen," announced Dave. "Now the question
+is: Who lives there?"
+
+"And how will they take our arrival," added Phil.
+
+"Wait a minute!" ordered Dave, and put out his hand to stop his chums
+from advancing. He had seen a man come limping from the mountain torrent
+with a bucket of water in his hand. Now the man stopped in front of the
+door to the cabin as if to look around before entering.
+
+"Well, that isn't the wild man; that's sure! And it isn't Link Merwell,
+either," announced Roger.
+
+"Say, I've seen that man before!" cried Phil, in sudden excitement.
+
+"You have, Phil?" questioned Dave. "Who is he?"
+
+"Who is he? Unless I am greatly mistaken, that is my missing uncle,
+Lester Lawrence!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+THE MAN AT THE CABIN
+
+
+"That man is your uncle?"
+
+"Do you mean the man who disappeared so mysteriously after that
+robbery?"
+
+"That's the man." Phil's manner showed increased excitement. "Isn't this
+the strangest thing that ever happened? To think of my running across my
+uncle in this out-of-the-way place!"
+
+"You want to make sure that he is your uncle first," warned Dave.
+"Perhaps he is only somebody who looks like your relative, the same as
+that Ward Porton resembles me," added our hero, with a grim smile.
+
+"Oh, I am sure that man is my uncle," declared the shipowner's son.
+
+"Do you think he is the same fellow we saw before--the wild man?"
+queried Roger.
+
+"I don't know as to that. Maybe he is," and Phil's face now showed
+worriment. "I do hope my uncle hasn't lost his mind!"
+
+"Well, he might do that because of his troubles," was Shadow's comment.
+"It was trouble that affected Wilbur Poole, if you'll remember."
+
+During the course of this conversation, the boys had withdrawn to the
+shelter of some trees and brushwood. In the meantime the man with the
+bucket of water had disappeared within the cabin.
+
+"I noticed he limped considerably," remarked Dave.
+
+"Yes, and he had his left foot bound up," announced Luke. "More than
+likely he hurt it in some way."
+
+"It would be an easy matter for somebody to hurt his foot if he cut up
+like that fellow who nearly scared the girls and Link Merwell to death,"
+remarked Ben.
+
+"I am going to the cabin and see what he has to say for himself,"
+declared Phil, resolutely starting forward.
+
+"If you go we had better go with you," announced Dave. "But be careful,
+Phil. If that man is out of his head he may be dangerous."
+
+"I don't think my Uncle Lester would hurt me even if he was out of his
+mind," answered the shipowner's son, as he moved toward the cabin,
+followed closely by the others.
+
+The boys were still a hundred feet or more away from the habitation when
+the man reappeared at the doorway. On catching sight of the newcomers he
+uttered a sudden cry of dismay, and then disappeared like a flash,
+banging the cabin door shut behind him.
+
+"Evidently he's not very sociable," remarked Luke, dryly. "I guess he
+doesn't want any visitors."
+
+Advancing to the door, Phil knocked loudly.
+
+"Go away from here! I don't want to see any of you!" cried a heavy voice
+from within. "Go away, I tell you!"
+
+"Open the door, please. I want to speak with you," answered Phil, as
+calmly as he could.
+
+"I won't talk to you! I don't want any one around this place!" came
+angrily from within the cabin. "Go away, or I'll shoot!"
+
+"Say, I don't like this!" cried Shadow, in a low voice. "I guess we had
+better get out," and he started to retreat, followed by Luke and Ben.
+Phil, however, stood his ground, and not to desert their chum, Dave and
+Roger did the same.
+
+"We are not going to molest you," called out Phil, after several seconds
+of silence. "All I want to do is to talk to you."
+
+"I won't talk to anybody, I tell you! Go away! If you don't I'll use a
+shotgun on you!" returned the man in the cabin.
+
+"Aren't you Mr. Lester Lawrence?" demanded Phil.
+
+"What's that?" And now the voice of the man showed sudden interest.
+
+"I say: Aren't you Mr. Lester Lawrence?" repeated Phil.
+
+"Who said I was Lester Lawrence?" demanded the man, suspiciously.
+
+"If you are, I must talk to you. I am Phil Lawrence, your nephew."
+
+"Phil Lawrence!" the boys outside heard the man mutter to himself. "Phil
+Lawrence? Oh, it can't be!" Then he raised his voice: "You are trying to
+play some trick on me," he shouted.
+
+"It isn't any trick," put in Dave. "This young man here is Philip
+Lawrence, and he is looking for his uncle, Lester Lawrence. He has good
+news for him."
+
+"Good news? I can't believe it! It is some trick. I want you all to go
+away."
+
+"Uncle Lester, it isn't any trick. I am Phil, your nephew. I want to
+talk to you. I've got the best kind of news for you; something that
+you'll be glad to hear. Won't you please open the door and let me talk
+to you?"
+
+"It's a trick, I know it's a trick," came from the man, in almost a
+whine. Nevertheless, he advanced toward the door, and with trembling
+hands threw off the bolt that had been shot into place. Then, with great
+caution, he opened the door several inches and peered out.
+
+"Who says he is Philip Lawrence?" he questioned, sharply.
+
+"I am, Uncle Lester," announced the shipowner's son. "Don't you remember
+me? You used to think the world and all of me some years ago, when you
+lived across the street from us."
+
+The man opened the door a little wider, and gazed sharply into Phil's
+face. Then his manner seemed to change, and, allowing the door to swing
+wide open, he tottered back and sank down on a bench.
+
+"It's Phil--little Phil, sure enough," he murmured. "How in the world
+did you come to follow me to this faraway place?"
+
+"I didn't follow you, Uncle Lester," returned the youth. "I and my
+friends were looking for a wild man who is roaming around in this
+vicinity, scaring people, and we reached this place by accident. We saw
+you coming to the cabin with a bucket of water, and I easily recognized
+you at once."
+
+"I thought I was safe here--safe from the whole world," muttered Lester
+Lawrence. "But you said you had good news for me," he added quickly.
+"What is it?"
+
+"It's the best kind of news, Uncle Lester. Don't you know that shortly
+after you disappeared the bank authorities and the police found the
+guilty parties?"
+
+"They did?" And now the man's face showed his amazement.
+
+"Why, sure they did! And then, of course, they knew that you were
+innocent."
+
+"Oh, Phil! can this be true?"
+
+"It certainly is true, Uncle Lester, every word of it! You are an
+innocent man, and everybody at home knows it. Father has been trying his
+best to get into communication with you. He inserted personals in the
+newspapers, and even put detectives on your track; but, as you know,
+without avail."
+
+"Then the world knows that I am innocent! Thank God for that!" exclaimed
+the man, with fervor. "Oh, how I have suffered! And for such a long
+time, too!" And tears stood in his eyes.
+
+"But why didn't you communicate with father?" asked the nephew. "You
+ought to have known that he would be tremendously worried about you."
+
+"I was bitter, bitter against the whole world. I didn't think I had a
+friend left!" cried Lester Lawrence. "I didn't want to see anybody, and
+I didn't want anybody to see me. I was afraid that they might catch me
+and put me in jail, and then if I could not prove my innocence--and
+there was to my mind no way of doing that--they would send me to prison
+for a long term of years. That's why I made up my mind to disappear."
+
+"And you've been up here ever since?" asked Phil.
+
+"No, I've been here only since last Summer. Before that I was in another
+section of the Adirondacks."
+
+Lester Lawrence looked at Dave and Roger, who had followed Phil into the
+cabin, and at the other boys, who were crowded around the doorway.
+
+"Who are these; some of your school chums?" he questioned.
+
+"Yes, Uncle Lester," answered the shipowner's son, and introduced his
+friends one after another. "They are all good fellows, and I hope you
+will consider them as friends."
+
+"I will do that, Phil, if you want me to," was the reply. "Your
+revelation has lifted a great weight from my shoulders. Tell me all the
+particulars."
+
+Sitting down beside his relative, the shipowner's son related all that
+he knew of the occurrences of the past. Mr. Lawrence listened to the
+recital with close attention and asked many questions, his face
+meanwhile showing his intense satisfaction.
+
+"What you have told me makes me feel ten years younger," he declared.
+"If all this is true--and I have no reason to doubt your word--I can
+once more face the world and those who are dear to me."
+
+"Phil has got another surprise for you, Mr. Lawrence," put in Dave, when
+the recital was at an end. "You will not only be a free man when you
+return to your former home, but you will also have a good deal of money
+coming to you."
+
+"Indeed! And how is that?"
+
+"It's this way, Uncle Lester," answered Phil, and thereupon gave a few
+of the details concerning the land which the rival railroads wished to
+purchase from the uncle and Phil's father.
+
+"That certainly is splendid news!" declared Lester Lawrence, his eyes
+lighting up. "What a wonderful change the last hour has brought! Before
+you came I thought I was doomed to live here, unknown and alone, for
+perhaps the rest of my life."
+
+"But how have you managed to live?" asked Dave, curiously.
+
+"Oh, that has been easy. You see, when I left home I had quite a little
+money that belonged to me. I buy necessary provisions down in one of the
+towns, and also do some hunting and fishing. This cabin belongs to the
+daughter of an old hunter who lived here for years, and as she did not
+wish to occupy it she let me have it at a very reasonable rental."
+
+"Do you know anything of that wild man who is in this vicinity?" queried
+Roger.
+
+At this direct question Lester Lawrence dropped his eyes and showed much
+confusion.
+
+"I am afraid I do," he answered, shamefacedly. "The fact of the matter
+is, it was I who played the wild man, dressing myself up in some old
+outfits that were left in this cabin by those who used to live here."
+
+"But what was your purpose?" questioned Luke.
+
+"I wanted to scare the folks in this vicinity, so they would not come
+near this cabin. I was afraid if too many people came to this
+neighborhood, sooner or later somebody might recognize me and inform the
+authorities."
+
+"You nearly scared the ladies and girls in our bungalows to death," said
+Ben, bluntly.
+
+"I am very sorry for it, now," was the reply. "But you see, what Phil
+has told me has put an entirely different face on the matter. I looked
+at all strangers as enemies. I was very bitter against everybody."
+
+"Well, I guess you had a right to feel bitter, Uncle Lester," returned
+Phil, who could realize how his relative had suffered. "But it's all
+past now, and you must give up your life here and come home with me."
+
+"I am willing to go home, now that I know my name is cleared," answered
+Lester Lawrence. "But I can't travel just yet," he added, ruefully,
+looking down at his bandaged foot.
+
+"What is the trouble?" questioned Dave, kindly.
+
+"I sprained my ankle the day I followed one of you boys--that is, I
+suppose it was one of your crowd. I mean the chap who fell over the
+cliff."
+
+"Link Merwell!" ejaculated Phil. "He is no friend of ours, he is an
+enemy. By the way, Uncle Lester, have you seen him since then?"
+
+"He is an enemy, you say!" cried Mr. Lawrence. "Is that so? Yes, I saw
+him. He was here early this morning, and I chased him away."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+TWO DEER
+
+
+"He was here, and you chased him away!" exclaimed Dave. "Have you any
+idea where he went to?"
+
+"I think he took the trail back of the house; the one leading to Carpen
+Falls," answered Lester Lawrence. "I slipped on my most outlandish
+costume, and I must have scared him out of his wits, for he ran like a
+deer," he added, with a smile.
+
+"In that case there is no use in our looking for him around here,"
+announced Roger.
+
+"I think I'll give the hunt up," said Phil. "Finding my uncle has
+changed matters completely. What I want to do is to send word to my
+father that my uncle is found. Then, as soon as he is able to travel,
+I'll leave you fellows and take him home."
+
+"I think I'll be able to walk on the foot in a day or two," answered
+Lester Lawrence. "You see I can already hobble around. But that sprain
+was a pretty bad one, I can assure you!"
+
+After this the situation was discussed for some time--in fact, until
+well after the noon hour. Then one of the boys suggested that they have
+dinner, and while Phil and his uncle continued to talk over their
+personal affairs, Dave and his chums set about getting ready the meal.
+
+While all in the cabin partook of the midday meal, the boys told the
+hermit about their life in camp, and also of their adventures at Oak
+Hall and in other places. Lester Lawrence listened interestedly to the
+recital, and asked innumerable questions concerning their doings, and
+also questioned Phil regarding conditions at home.
+
+"I'll leave the matter of that land deal entirely to your father," he
+said to his nephew. "He always had a better head for business than I've
+got. He'll know the right thing to do."
+
+After the meal it was decided that Phil should remain at the cabin with
+his uncle, while the other boys returned to Bear Camp. Phil wrote out a
+message which he asked Dave and the others to send to Carpen Falls, from
+which point it might be transmitted by telephone and telegraph to his
+parents, announcing the finding of the long-lost uncle.
+
+"Now that I have found Uncle Lester, I don't want to leave him," said
+Phil to Dave and Roger, as he drew his two particular chums to one side,
+out of hearing of the others. "Uncle Lester may be all right in his
+mind--in fact I hope he is--but at the same time, he has acted so
+queerly that I don't want to give him any chance to get away from me.
+Besides, I think he ought to rest so that his lame ankle can get well.
+I'll do all the work around here and stay until some of you get back,
+which I suppose will be in a day or two."
+
+"All right, Phil. You stay with him, by all means," answered our hero.
+"We'll attend to this message, and we'll wait to see if any message
+comes back from your father."
+
+The boys to return to Bear Camp had thought they must go by the way they
+had come, but Lester Lawrence told them to follow the mountain torrent
+for a distance of a quarter of a mile, and then they would reach a broad
+and well-defined trail leading to the brook which flowed into Mirror
+Lake.
+
+"It's a much shorter route," he said, "and you will find the traveling
+much easier."
+
+It was about half an hour later when Dave and the others bid Phil and
+Mr. Lawrence good-bye, and set out on the return to Bear Camp. Our hero
+still had possession of the rifle, and Roger carried the shotgun. Under
+the heavy trees it was both dark and cold, and the boys hurried along as
+rapidly as possible, not only to make time, but also to keep warm. Dave
+and Roger were in advance, discussing the finding of Phil's uncle.
+
+"I'm mighty glad on Phil's account that his uncle has been found,"
+remarked Dave. "The selling of that land at a handsome profit will be a
+big lift for the Lawrence family."
+
+"Yes. And how it will please Phil's parents to have Mr. Lawrence's
+brother back!" responded Roger. "As it was, they did not know whether he
+was dead or alive. It's a terrible thing to----"
+
+Roger broke off short, for at that instant Dave clapped his hand over
+his chum's mouth and drew him quickly behind a nearby tree. They were
+well in advance of their friends, and now our hero motioned the others
+to keep back.
+
+"What is it? What is the trouble?" called out Ben.
+
+"It's a deer, keep quiet!" answered Dave, in a low tone.
+
+"A deer! Where?" questioned Roger.
+
+"Over yonder, by the white birch."
+
+The senator's son looked in the direction indicated, but for the moment
+saw nothing out of the ordinary. Then, however, a head appeared from
+between some bushes back of the white birch, and presently a beautiful
+deer stalked into view.
+
+"I see him," whispered Roger, excitedly. "There is your chance, Dave,
+plug him!"
+
+Our hero already had the rifle raised. He was about to pull the trigger
+when he paused, for he had seen the bushes back of the deer move.
+
+"What's up? Why don't you shoot?" whispered Roger, his voice betraying
+excitement.
+
+"I think there's another deer there, Roger," whispered our hero, in
+return. "Yes, there he is! Now then, you will have a shot yourself. Take
+the one on the left and I'll take the one on the right."
+
+"All right," returned the senator's son, and raised the double-barreled
+shotgun. "Are you ready?"
+
+"Yes. When I say 'three,' fire," answered Dave, quickly. "One, two,
+three!"
+
+Crack! Bang! The two pieces rang out in quick succession, and as the
+reports echoed through the forest both deer gave a wild leap into the
+air. Then the animal at which Dave had shot plunged forward on its knees
+and fell into some brushwood, kicking wildly. The other deer whirled
+around and started to run for cover.
+
+"Give it the other barrel, Roger!" yelled Dave, as he ran forward.
+
+There was no need of this advice, for while Dave was yet speaking the
+second barrel of the shotgun was discharged at the flying deer. Roger's
+aim this time proved to be better than before, and plunging forward, the
+deer ran full tilt into a tree and then pitched over on its side, where
+it soon breathed its last.
+
+Long before Dave reached his quarry he was ready for a second shot
+should the game require it. But when he reached the deer's side he found
+that the end of the animal was close at hand. Then he rejoined his chum,
+who was watching the other deer.
+
+"Is he dead, Roger?" he asked, quickly.
+
+"I think he is, Dave," was the answer, and Roger's tone showed his
+exaltation. "My! but this is luck; isn't it?"
+
+"I should say yes! Two deer at a clip!"
+
+"How about the one you hit; is it dead?"
+
+"Just about," was Dave's reply, and then he hurried over to the game, to
+note that it was breathing its last.
+
+"How did you make out?" The cry came from Ben, as he came running
+forward, followed by Luke and Shadow.
+
+"Did you hit anything?" queried the former story-teller of Oak Hall.
+
+"Did they hit anything!" yelled Luke. "Say, this is great, they got two
+of them!"
+
+"This is what I call wholesale hunting!" announced Ben.
+
+"You fellows certainly opened the hunting season in great shape," was
+Shadow's comment. "A wildcat and two deer all in one day!"
+
+The boys dragged the two deer together, and it must be confessed that
+Dave and Roger looked at their quarry with great pride.
+
+[Illustration: CRACK! BANG! THE TWO PIECES RANG OUT IN QUICK
+SUCCESSION. _Page 253._]
+
+"How are we going to get those down to the bungalows?" asked the
+senator's son.
+
+"I think the best thing to do will be to tie their feet together and
+slip each of them on a long pole," returned Dave.
+
+A small hatchet had been brought along for possible use in cutting
+firewood, and with this the boys cut down two long and slender saplings.
+Then they tied up the deer as our hero had mentioned, and a sapling was
+thrust between the front and hind legs of each of the game, allowing the
+body to hang below.
+
+"Here, Ben, you can carry the rifle," announced Dave. "I'll take one end
+of one load."
+
+"And I'll help carry with you," announced Luke.
+
+"I'll carry my share of the load," offered Roger, and he picked up one
+end of the second sapling, while Shadow took the other. Thus carrying
+the loads between them, and with Ben going ahead with the rifle, they
+continued on the return to Bear Camp.
+
+Progress with such heavy loads was necessarily slow, and several times
+the boys stopped to rest. It was well toward nightfall when they reached
+the stream flowing into Mirror Lake.
+
+Having gained the watercourse, it was an easy matter for them to
+continue onward until they reached the vicinity of the two bungalows. As
+soon as they came in sight of the camp, several set up a shout, which
+quickly brought Laura and Belle into view.
+
+"Home again, and with lots of good news!" cried Dave, swinging his cap.
+
+"Oh, look, they have two deer!" exclaimed the girl from the West. "Isn't
+that grand?"
+
+"It certainly is," returned Laura; but her voice had little of
+enthusiasm in it.
+
+"Where is Uncle Dunston?" cried Dave. "I want him to look at what Roger
+and I shot."
+
+"Your uncle has gone home," answered Belle. At the same time Laura
+turned away.
+
+"Gone home!" repeated Dave, in bewilderment. "Why, what made him do
+that? I didn't know he was going until next week."
+
+"He went with Mr. Wadsworth," continued Belle. "They had some very
+important business to attend to."
+
+"What was it? Laura, do you know?"
+
+"Yes, I know, Dave," answered the girl, and now her voice had a curious,
+uncertain ring in it. "Oh, Dave, it's the most awful thing I ever heard
+of! I don't see how I am ever going to tell you!" she burst out; and
+then, of a sudden, began to cry and ran into the bungalow.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+STARTLING NEWS
+
+
+Dave was so surprised that for the moment he knew not what to say or do.
+His eyes followed Laura as she disappeared within the bungalow, and then
+he turned in bewilderment to Belle.
+
+"Laura takes it awfully hard, but I don't think she ought to--at least
+not yet," said the girl from Star Ranch. "There may not be a word of
+truth in the story. Anyway, I'm not going to believe it until they prove
+it."
+
+"But what are you talking about, Belle?" questioned Dave, his face still
+showing his perplexity. "What is it all about? Has anything happened at
+home? It isn't my father; is it?"
+
+"No, there is nothing wrong at your home, Dave--at least not in the way
+you think." Belle paused for a moment as if not knowing how to go on.
+"You remember what Link Merwell said; don't you?"
+
+"About me?"
+
+"Yes. Of course I don't believe it at all. But this young fellow, Ward
+Porton, sent word to your father, and that has upset him a great deal,
+so that he sent word to your Uncle Dunston and Laura, as well as to Mr.
+Wadsworth. The word came in this morning, a couple of hours after you
+had left; and after talking the matter over, your uncle and Mr.
+Wadsworth made up their minds to return to Crumville without delay."
+
+"And what did this Ward Porton have to say?" questioned our hero, and it
+was with an effort that he steadied his voice.
+
+"I can't give you all the particulars, because Laura did not show me the
+letter. Poor dear! it just broke her up completely, and I've had an
+awful time with her--and I've had an awful time with Jessie, too."
+
+"But you must know something," went on Dave, while the others gathered
+around, their faces showing their intense curiosity.
+
+"Well, as near as I can make out, this Ward Porton has been
+investigating matters connected with himself and with you, and he claims
+that he is the real Dave Porter and that you are somebody else."
+
+"Oh, say, that's nonsense!" burst out Phil, quickly. "Why, we proved
+Dave's identity beyond question, when we came back from our trip to the
+South Seas."
+
+"Sure we did!" added Roger. "Dave's uncle went into all of the details
+with the Crumville poorhouse authorities, and also got the particulars
+of how that fellow named Sandy Margot, the good-for-nothing husband of
+that crazy nurse, Polly Margot, abducted Dave and took him on a railroad
+train, and then got scared and put him off at Crumville."
+
+"I am sure I hope what you say is true, Roger," responded the girl from
+the West. "What this Porton bases his claim on I don't know. As I said
+before, I didn't read the letter Dave's uncle turned over to Laura."
+
+"I must go in and find out about this," said Dave, in a curiously
+unnatural voice. His mind was in a whirl, and for the time being his
+good luck at hunting, and the finding of Phil's uncle and the clearing
+up of the mystery of the wild man, were completely forgotten.
+
+He found Laura in one of the bedrooms of the bungalow, sitting in a
+chair by the window, with her hands clasped tightly together and her
+face firm-set and drawn. As she looked up at him, two fresh tears stood
+out on her cheeks.
+
+"They tell me that Uncle Dunston got a letter about me," said the youth,
+doing his best to steady his voice. "Will you let me see it?"
+
+"It's on the table," returned the girl, motioning with her hand. And
+then she added impetuously: "Oh, Dave, I can't believe it's true, I
+simply can't! Why, it's the most dreadful thing that ever came up! I am
+sure there must be some mistake!"
+
+"I--I can't understand it," Dave stammered in return, and then picked up
+the communication which had been sent by special messenger from Carpen
+Falls. The letter ran as follows:
+
+      "DEAR DUNSTON:
+
+      "A most astonishing thing has come up, and I wish you would
+      return to Crumville at once; and it might be well to bring
+      Mr. Wadsworth with you.
+
+      "I cannot go into all the details because I am completely
+      upset. Briefly stated the matter is this: A young man named
+      Ward Porton--the same fellow who was in Crumville some time
+      ago with Link Merwell--has written to me, stating that he
+      has every reason to believe that he is the real Dave Porter,
+      and that our Dave is somebody else. His story is that he was
+      left in a poorhouse at Lumberville, Maine, by an old woman
+      who obtained him from Sandy Margot, who told her the child
+      had been under the care of Polly, his wife. The claim is
+      also made that Sandy Margot had in reality stolen two
+      children, little boys, at about the same time, and the
+      theory is advanced that the other boy was the one dropped
+      from the train at Crumville. The young man states that he
+      has gone into the matter very carefully, and has a number of
+      proofs which he will submit whenever called on to do so. He
+      adds that he feels sorry for Dave, but hopes that I will
+      find in him as good a son, and also hopes that Laura will
+      like him as well as a brother.
+
+      "I am so upset that I hardly know what to think or what to
+      do. If this young man's story is true, then all of us have
+      made a sad mistake, and what Dave is to do in the matter I
+      don't know. Come on as soon as possible and help me to get
+      to the bottom of this terrible mix-up.
+
+      "Your affectionate brother,
+       DAVID BRESLOW PORTER."
+
+Dave read this letter with care, and then allowed the communication to
+slip from his fingers. If his mind had been in a whirl before, it was
+more so now, and for the moment he could hardly think straight. If he
+was not Dave Porter, who was he? A thousand ideas ran riot through his
+brain.
+
+"Oh, Dave! it can't be true; can it?" came half-pleadingly from Laura.
+
+"I don't know," he answered dumbly. "I don't know."
+
+"But, Dave, I thought that you and Uncle Dunston proved your identity
+completely, even before you found father and met me."
+
+"I always supposed we did prove it, Laura," he answered. "We went into
+the matter very carefully at that time. Nothing was ever said about
+Sandy Margot stealing two little boys. I always supposed he had taken
+only one child."
+
+"And to think this other young man is a perfect stranger," went on
+Laura, dolefully. "There is no telling what sort of a person he is."
+
+"He's no stranger to me. I helped to pull him out of the water when the
+steam yacht was on fire," answered Dave. "I guess he's all right as far
+as that goes, although I don't think much of his keeping company with
+Link Merwell."
+
+"Do you suppose it can be a plot hatched up by Link Merwell?"
+
+"I don't know what to think. This news stuns me. I've got to consider
+it. Maybe I had better go back to Crumville, too."
+
+"No, Uncle Dunston said you had better stay here--at least for the
+present. He said if they wanted you they could send you word."
+
+"Oh, all right," and now Dave's voice showed a faint trace of
+bitterness. "Maybe they don't want me around, if they have really
+settled it that I am not the real Dave Porter."
+
+"Oh, Dave! Don't want you around!" Laura sprang to her feet, and coming
+over to him, caught both his hands in her own. "Don't talk that way.
+Even if they should prove that you are not my brother, I shall always
+think just as much of you."
+
+"Thank you for saying that, Laura," he returned, with much emotion.
+"It's nice to know that there is somebody who won't go back on me."
+
+"I don't believe anybody will go back on you, Dave--you have always been
+so good. Oh, I think this is dreadful--just dreadful!" and Laura showed
+signs of bursting into tears once more.
+
+"Where are Jessie and Mrs. Wadsworth, and Mrs. Basswood?"
+
+"I think Jessie went over to the other bungalow with her mother. She was
+as much upset as I was."
+
+"Does she think the story is true?"
+
+"She hopes it isn't. But of course she can't do anything--and I can't do
+anything either."
+
+"Well, I don't see what I can do." Dave took a turn up and down the
+room, and then sank on a chair. "This just knocks me endwise. I can't
+even seem to think straight," he added, helplessly.
+
+"You poor boy!" Laura came over and brushed back the hair from his
+forehead. "You don't know how this hurts, Dave. Oh, it can't be true!"
+
+"I wonder how long I've got to wait before I hear from Crumville?"
+
+"I am sure I don't know. I think, though, we'll get word just as soon as
+they know anything definite."
+
+At that moment came a timid knock on the door, and Laura opened it to
+admit Jessie. The appearance of the girl showed that she was much
+upset. Her face was tear-stained and her hair awry.
+
+"Oh, Dave!" was all she said. And then coming straight toward him, she
+threw her head on his shoulder and burst into a fit of weeping.
+
+"There, there, Jessie! Don't you cry so," he said, soothingly. "I am
+sure it will be all right."
+
+"But Da-Dave, hasn't Laura to-told you?"
+
+"Yes, she has told me."
+
+"And did you read that letter?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"But it can't be true, Dave! Oh, tell me it can't be true!" went on the
+girl, pleadingly.
+
+"I can't tell you whether it is true or not, Jessie, for I don't know,"
+answered the boy, as bravely as he could. "I suppose they'll investigate
+the matter at Crumville and at that place in Maine, and let me know." He
+looked at her curiously. "What if they prove I am not the real Dave
+Porter, Jessie--will you care very much?"
+
+"Care? Of course I'll care, Dave! But don't misunderstand me," she
+added, quickly. "Even if they prove you are not the real Dave Porter, it
+won't make any difference to me. I shall think just as much of you, no
+matter who you are."
+
+"Do you really mean that?" and he clutched her tightly.
+
+"I certainly do! What difference will it really make? You will be
+yourself, no matter what your name is."
+
+"I know, Jessie, I'll be myself; but who will I be? Perhaps I'll be a
+'poorhouse nobody' after all," and he smiled bitterly.
+
+"Never!" returned the girl, emphatically. "You'll never be a nobody,
+Dave. You are too true, both to yourself and to those around you. You'll
+make a name for yourself in this world even if they take your present
+name away from you;" and as she spoke the girl's words rang with
+earnestness.
+
+A great and peculiar joy seemed to creep over Dave, and despite the
+blackness of the situation, his heart for the moment felt light. He
+gazed with emotion at both Laura and Jessie.
+
+"If that's the way you feel about it--and Laura says she feels the
+same--I'm not going to worry just yet," he answered.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+WHAT HAPPENED IN THE NIGHT
+
+
+That evening the sole topic of conversation at Bear Camp was the news
+concerning Dave. The other lads could not bear to question Laura or
+Jessie on the subject, knowing how badly both of them must feel; but
+they asked Belle to tell all she knew, and also quizzed Mrs. Wadsworth
+and Mrs. Basswood.
+
+"It's the worst state of affairs I have ever known," was the way the
+jewelry manufacturer's wife expressed herself, in private to Roger and
+Phil. "We, as you know, think the world and all of Dave, and we don't
+want him to drop back and become a nobody, even in name. He is a
+splendid boy, and no matter what happens we shall always think as much
+of him as we ever did."
+
+"I think all his friends will stick to him," answered Roger. "At the
+same time, this will cut him to the heart; and what he'll do if they
+really prove he isn't Dave Porter, I don't know."
+
+"Maybe the Porters will continue to keep him in the family as an adopted
+son," suggested Phil. "That is, if this report really proves to be true,
+which I don't believe will happen."
+
+"I have always thought a great deal of Dave, ever since he saved Jessie
+from that gasoline explosion," returned Mrs. Wadsworth. "Should they
+find out that he is not a Porter, I think I would be strongly in favor
+of my husband adopting him."
+
+"Say, that wouldn't be half bad!" burst out Phil, "and the suggestion
+does you credit, Mrs. Wadsworth. Personally, I think Dave is the finest
+fellow in the world."
+
+"I am sure we all think that," added Roger. "Since he went to Oak Hall
+he has made a host of real friends, and I don't think one of them will
+desert him."
+
+While this conversation was going on, the other boys were talking to our
+hero, doing their best to cheer him up and to convince him that, no
+matter what happened, they would stick to him.
+
+"You take it from me," declared Luke, "this is some scheme gotten up by
+Link Merwell and this other fellow!"
+
+"Certainly it's a scheme!" added Shadow. "It puts me in mind of a story
+I once heard about a fellow down South who stole three watermelons,
+and----But, oh, pshaw! what's the use of trying to tell a story now? I'm
+going to cut them out until we get this thing settled," he added, in
+disgust.
+
+"Don't you worry, Dave. I am sure it will come out all right in the
+end," was what Ben said, speaking with an apparent conviction that he
+did not by any means feel.
+
+"You're all kind, fellows, and I appreciate it very much," answered
+Dave. "But this is a blow to me. If you'll excuse me, I'd like to take a
+little walk by myself and think it over." And thus speaking, the youth
+withdrew from the crowd, and walked slowly to the lake and along a
+footpath bordering the shore.
+
+"It's the rankest shame I ever knew!" declared Ben, when the others were
+left to themselves. "If I had that Ward Porton here I'd wring his neck."
+
+"I guess we'd all like to do that," responded Shadow. "Nevertheless, if
+he is the real Dave Porter you can't blame him for trying to prove it."
+
+"There is only one thing about it that troubles me," said Luke. "Don't
+you remember that all of those who saw this Ward Porton agreed that he
+looked very much like Mr. Dunston Porter?"
+
+"Yes, but Dave looks like Dunston Porter, too," came quickly from Ben.
+
+"It's queer that he resembles his uncle more than he does his father,"
+was Shadow's comment. "Maybe this Ward Porton resembles Mr. David
+Porter."
+
+"Well, it's fierce; that's all I've got to say," declared Ben. "And what
+Dave is going to do if they prove he isn't the real Dave Porter is
+something I don't like to think about. In those days when we first went
+to Oak Hall, you'll remember how bitter he felt when some of his enemies
+referred to him as that 'poorhouse nobody,' and how eager he was to
+clear up the mystery of his identity, even though it cost him a trip to
+the South Sea Islands."
+
+Dave walked on and on along the lake shore, paying little attention to
+where he was going. His mind was in a state bordering on bewilderment.
+In a faint, uncertain way he had anticipated some such calamity, but now
+that the blow had fallen, the matter looked almost hopeless to him. Had
+he followed his own inclinations, he would have made preparations to
+return to Crumville at once.
+
+"But evidently they don't want me there," he told himself, bitterly.
+"They want to solve this mystery without my interference. And if they do
+make up their minds that I am not the real Dave Porter, I wonder how
+they will treat me? Of course, they may be very kind to me--the same as
+Laura and Jessie and the others up here. But kindness of that sort isn't
+everything. I don't want any one to support me if I haven't some claim
+on him." And then Dave shut his teeth hard, clenched his hands, and
+walked on faster than ever.
+
+Finally tired out because he had been on his feet since early morning,
+Dave sat down on a flat rock to rest. As he did this, he heard the
+put-put of a motor, and presently around a bend of the shore showed the
+headlight of Mr. Appleby's motor-boat.
+
+"I wonder if they are simply going down to the end of the lake, or
+whether they are going to stop at our place," said Dave, to himself.
+"I'd rather they wouldn't stop at Bear Camp to-night, when everything is
+so upset."
+
+As the motor-boat swung around, the headlight flashed full upon our hero
+and there followed an exclamation from the manager of the moving-picture
+company, who was at the wheel of the craft, with two men beside him.
+
+"Hello there, Porter! What are you doing--fishing?"
+
+"No, I just came down here to sit on the rock and do a little thinking,"
+answered Dave.
+
+"We are making a little trip around the lake," went on Mr. Appleby. "I
+was going to stop at your dock and deliver a letter that came in our
+mail by mistake. It's a letter for you, so I might as well give it to
+you now."
+
+"A letter for me, eh?" answered Dave.
+
+"Yes, here you are!" went on Mr. Appleby, as the motor-boat came to a
+standstill close by. "I'll put it in the newspaper and you can have that
+too, as we have read it;" and suiting the action to the word, the man
+placed the letter in the folds of the paper and tossed the latter
+ashore.
+
+"Will you stop?" questioned Dave.
+
+"Not to-night. We are going to make a call on the other side of the
+lake. I just thought I'd give you the letter, that's all," and then,
+with a pleasant good-bye, the manager steered his motor-boat out into
+Mirror Lake again.
+
+It was too dark to read the letter without a light, and as Dave did not
+happen to have even a match, he walked back to the bungalows. The
+lanterns were hung out on the porches as was the custom, and under the
+light of one of these he looked at the communication he had received.
+
+"It's from Crumville!" he exclaimed to himself, eagerly, as he looked at
+the postmark. But then, as he recognized the handwriting, his face fell.
+"It's only from Nat Poole."
+
+The communication from the money-lender's son was a long one, containing
+much news which it will be unnecessary to give here. There was, however,
+one paragraph in the letter which Dave read with great interest.
+
+      "I am sorry if you put yourselves out trying to catch that
+      wild man thinking he was my Uncle Wilbur. As I told you, my
+      uncle got away from the sanitarium and they had quite a job
+      to locate him. They found him up in the vicinity of Oak
+      Hall, at one of the houses where he had once stayed. They
+      got him to return to the sanitarium without any trouble, and
+      the doctors think that he is now doing finely."
+
+"Hello, Dave! what are you reading?" remarked Roger, coming up.
+
+"Here's a letter from Nat Poole," and our hero told how he had received
+it. "You can read it for yourself. They have found Wilbur Poole, and
+have put him back in the sanitarium."
+
+"Is that so? Well, I am glad they caught him." And then Roger read the
+letter, and went off to spread the news among the other boys.
+
+The next day was a long one for Dave. While Ben and Luke went to Carpen
+Falls with a letter directed to Phil's father, he spent part of the time
+dressing the two deer. But his heart was not in the work, and his
+friends noted his absent-mindedness. Several times he looked down in the
+direction of the trail leading to Carpen Falls, and they knew he was
+hoping for some messenger to appear, summoning him to come to Crumville.
+
+"It makes me sick to see Dave so downcast," whispered Ben to Roger, that
+evening. "I wish we could cheer him up."
+
+"I don't see how we are going to do it. We can't lift that burden from
+his mind. We have simply got to wait until some word comes from the
+Porters at Crumville. I don't believe they'll keep Dave waiting any
+longer than necessary."
+
+"But think of the terrible suspense!"
+
+"I know it. It's too bad!"
+
+The afternoon had been cloudy, and late in the evening it began to rain.
+Then the wind came up, moaning through the forest in melancholy fashion
+and sending thousands of whitecaps across the surface of the lake.
+
+"It isn't Mirror Lake to-night," said Belle, with a little shiver. "It's
+more like Foamy Lake."
+
+"I don't think I'd want to go out in a canoe to-night," returned Phil,
+who was beside her.
+
+"I think we are going to have quite a storm," said Laura. "Just listen
+to that wind!"
+
+With fitful gusts tearing around the bungalows, no one felt much like
+going to bed. About ten o'clock came a hard downpour, lasting for half
+an hour. Then the wind died away, and gradually the rain ceased.
+
+"I guess the worst of it is over," announced Mrs. Wadsworth, presently.
+"I think we may as well retire." And shortly after that all of the
+inmates of both bungalows were in bed.
+
+For a long while Dave could not sleep. As had been the case the night
+previous, he tumbled and tossed on his couch, thinking of the trouble
+that had come to him. But at last tired nature claimed its own, and he
+sank into a profound slumber, from which he did not awaken until some
+time after sunrise.
+
+"Hello! I must have overslept," he declared, as he leaped up, to see
+that his chums were almost dressed.
+
+Dave was just finishing his toilet, and the other boys and some of the
+girls had started to walk down to the dock to look at the lake, when a
+cry came from the kitchen of the bungalow.
+
+"Mrs. Wadsworth! Mr. Porter!" came a call from the hired girl. "Please
+come here!"
+
+"What is it, Mary?" asked Mrs. Wadsworth, as she appeared from her own
+room.
+
+"Sure, ma'am, a whole lot of things are missing!" declared the girl.
+
+"Missing! What is missing?"
+
+"Sure, ma'am, almost everything in the kitchen is missing, ma'am!" and
+the girl pointed around in a helpless sort of fashion. "All the knives
+and forks and spoons are gone! And so are some of the pots and pans and
+kettles!"
+
+"Is that possible?"
+
+"Yes, ma'am. And that ain't all, ma'am. Sure, and most of the things in
+the pantry and in the ice-box are gone, too!" announced Mary, running
+from one place to another. "Sure, ma'am, we've been burglarized,
+ma'am!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+DELLA FORD'S STATEMENT
+
+
+"Burglars!"
+
+"Did they take any of our valuables?"
+
+"Oh, I wonder if they were in our rooms!"
+
+"Mary, were all the things here when you went to bed?" questioned Mrs.
+Wadsworth, of the servant girl, who was now in the wildest possible
+state of excitement, wringing her hands and running from one room to
+another.
+
+"Yes, ma'am, when I went to bed everything was in its place. I'm sure of
+it, ma'am."
+
+The boys as well as the girls crowded into the kitchen, and then looked
+into the pantry, in a corner of which was located the ice-box.
+
+"How about this pantry window, Mary? Did you leave it open last night?"
+asked Dave, pointing to the window in question.
+
+"Sure, sir, I did not! I always lock up well before I go to bed,"
+answered the girl.
+
+"You didn't open the window this morning?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"Then that is where the thief must have come in," remarked Roger.
+
+"I think we had better take a look around and see just how much is
+missing," advised Phil. "The thief may have cleaned us out more than we
+imagine."
+
+Upon this, a systematic search was made through all the rooms of the
+bungalow. In the midst of the work Ben came running over from the other
+place.
+
+"Say, what do you know about this!" he called out. "Somebody visited our
+bungalow last night and took nearly all our victuals and our tableware
+and our kitchen utensils!"
+
+"The same thing happened here, Ben," answered Dave. "We are just sizing
+up the situation, to find out how much is gone."
+
+"The others are at that now over at our bungalow. I thought I'd run over
+to tell you. I'll go back and tell them you are in the same fix. This is
+fierce; isn't it?" And then Ben hurried away.
+
+An examination of the premises showed that all the tableware of value
+had disappeared, along with two rings which Laura had left on the
+mantelpiece in the living-room. From the kitchen nearly everything used
+in cooking was gone, and likewise almost everything from the pantry and
+the ice-box.
+
+"Oh, my two rings!" burst out Laura. "The diamond that dad gave me and
+the beautiful ruby from Uncle Dunston!"
+
+"It's too bad, Laura!" declared Jessie.
+
+"That's what it is!" said Dave. "We'll have to get after that burglar,
+whoever he is."
+
+"This looks to me like the work of some of these people who are camping
+out in the Adirondacks," announced Roger. "What would an ordinary
+burglar do with a lot of kitchen utensils, not to mention canned goods
+and stuff from an ice-box?"
+
+"Maybe they took the stuff from the ice-box to eat," suggested Dave. "It
+might be that they would rather camp out than run the risk of going to
+Carpen Falls, or to some of the hotels, for their meals."
+
+Having completed the search in the bungalows, the boys, followed by the
+others, went outside. Here they discovered a great number of footprints
+leading back and forth from the pantry window to the edge of the forest.
+Among some jagged rocks, the trail was lost.
+
+"Looks to me as if there must have been half a dozen fellows in this
+raid," announced Roger. "What do you think of it, Dave?"
+
+"Either that, or else the fellow who did the job made a dozen trips or
+more. To me, the footprints look very much alike."
+
+Presently the crowd went over to the Basswood bungalow, and there
+learned that, among other things, some solid silver tableware which
+Mrs. Basswood had brought along had vanished.
+
+"I was foolish to bring such expensive silver," declared the lady of the
+house. "But I thought we could use it if we happened to have visitors. I
+never dreamed of being robbed up here."
+
+At the Basswood bungalow an entrance to the kitchen and pantry had been
+effected through the woodshed, the door of which had been broken open.
+From this shed a trail led up to the jagged rocks previously mentioned.
+
+"The same rascal or the same crowd that did one job did both," declared
+Dave.
+
+"I don't know what we are going to do for breakfast," declared Mrs.
+Wadsworth, rather helplessly. "We have next to nothing to cook, and
+nothing to cook it in."
+
+"We are in the same fix," answered Mrs. Basswood. "It certainly is a
+terrible state of affairs. I wish my husband was here to tell us what to
+do."
+
+"Oh, don't worry about something to eat!" cried Dave. "We can go down to
+Carpen Falls and get whatever we want, and also get some extra kitchen
+utensils, and don't forget the deer-meat. What worries me is the loss of
+Laura's rings and Mrs. Basswood's silverware."
+
+"We might go up into the woods and look around," suggested Ben,
+"although it's mighty wet up there from the rain."
+
+The matter was talked over for a while longer, and in the meantime the
+ladies and the girls, aided by the hired help, made an inventory of what
+was left in the way of eatables.
+
+"We can give all of you some coffee and some fancy crackers," said Mrs.
+Wadsworth.
+
+"And we have found two cans of baked beans," added Mrs. Basswood.
+"They'll go some distance toward filling up the boys," and she smiled
+faintly.
+
+"I'll tell you what we might do!" cried Roger. "Supposing four of us
+fellows jump into the four-oared boat and row up to the Appleby camp? I
+am sure they have plenty of provisions, and they'll lend us some until
+we can get in a new lot from Carpen Falls. And maybe they'll lend us a
+few cooking utensils, too."
+
+"That's the thing to do!" returned Ben. "Come on, let's go up there at
+once;" and so it was settled.
+
+Dave and Luke accompanied Ben and Roger on the trip; and as the four
+youths had often rowed together on the Leming River at Oak Hall, they
+soon covered the distance to the camp of the moving-picture people. They
+saw the crowd getting ready to depart for the enacting of the final
+drama in that locality.
+
+"Hello, you're out bright and early in your boat!" cried Mr. Appleby, as
+he waved his hand to them. "Taking a little exercise, eh?"
+
+"No, we came for assistance," called back Ben.
+
+"Assistance!" repeated the manager. "What's the trouble?"
+
+"We have been burglarized, and we have hardly anything left to eat!"
+broke in Luke, and at this announcement all of those in the Appleby camp
+came down to the dock to learn the particulars of what had occurred.
+
+"In one way you have come at just the right time to get those things,"
+said the manager of the moving-picture company to the boys. "We are
+going to leave here to-morrow to go back to Boston, so we shall want but
+little of the food that is on hand. And you'll be welcome to use our
+tableware and kitchen utensils. They belong here in the cottage, so all
+you'll have to do when you get through with them will be to bring them
+back."
+
+While rowing to the Appleby camp, Dave had been giving serious thought
+to his own affairs. He remembered what he had heard concerning Ward
+Porton and Della Ford, and resolved to question the young lady and the
+other members of the moving-picture company about the young man who
+claimed to be the real Dave Porter. Our hero's chance came when the
+other boys were busy placing some provisions and cooking utensils in the
+rowboat. He motioned Della Ford and her aunt to one side, and the three
+walked out of hearing of the others present.
+
+"If you don't mind, I would like to ask you something about Mr. Ward
+Porton," said our hero, to the girl.
+
+"O dear, I thought I was done with that young man!" cried Della, with a
+toss of her head.
+
+"He bothered my niece so much while he was a member of the company she
+got quite sick of him," declared Mrs. Ford. "He was a very forward young
+man."
+
+"I'd like very much to find out about his past history: where he came
+from, and all that," went on Dave. "It's something very important."
+
+"I know more about Mr. Porton than he thinks I do," announced Della.
+"That's one reason why I dropped him."
+
+"But Della, you don't want to get into any trouble," interposed the
+girl's aunt, quickly.
+
+"If you'll tell me what you know about Ward Porton, I'll promise that it
+won't get you into any trouble," answered Dave, quickly. "I want, if
+possible, to find out where he came from, and who brought him up."
+
+"Who brought him up?" queried Mrs. Ford. "Didn't he live with his
+parents?"
+
+"He says not. He claims to have come from a poorhouse in a town down in
+Maine."
+
+"Why, you don't tell me, Mr. Porter!" exclaimed the lady, in
+astonishment. "He told me once that he had lived with his folks up to
+the time he was about ten years old, and that then his parents had died
+and he had gone to live with an uncle."
+
+"Yes, and he did live with an uncle--or at least some man he called his
+uncle," added Della.
+
+"Are you certain of this?" asked our hero, eagerly.
+
+"I am, Mr. Porter."
+
+"And may I ask what the thing was that you knew about him that caused
+you to drop him?" continued Dave.
+
+"Wait a minute, Della, before you answer that question," interposed Mrs.
+Ford, hastily. "I think we ought to know why Mr. Porter is after this
+information."
+
+"Since we have gone so far, I may as well tell you," returned Dave. And
+in as few words as possible he related how it had come about that Ward
+Porton was now claiming to be the real Dave Porter.
+
+"Why, what a queer story!" declared Mrs. Ford. "It sounds like some
+novel."
+
+"I don't believe it's true, Mr. Porter!" cried Della Ford. "I believe he
+is a faker! At first I thought he was quite nice, but I soon discovered
+otherwise. He is addicted to gambling, and when he gets the fever he
+gambles away the very clothing on his back."
+
+"Then that is why you broke with him?"
+
+"That was one reason. But as I said before, I know more about Mr. Porton
+than he imagined. One day we had been out walking, and after he left me
+I picked up a letter which must have dropped from his pocket when he
+pulled out his cigarette case. As the letter had no envelope, I did not
+know whose it was, and read it. It was evidently written by a very angry
+man. The writer, who signed himself Obadiah Jones, said that he was sick
+and tired of putting up for Ward; that Ward could no longer expect any
+assistance from him; that he cast the young man off, and never wanted to
+hear from him again."
+
+"And you say that letter was signed by a man named Obadiah Jones?" asked
+Dave, eagerly.
+
+"Yes. Rather an old-fashioned name; isn't it?"
+
+"Did the man give his address?"
+
+"No, there was no address of any kind on the letter," answered Della
+Ford.
+
+"Was this Obadiah Jones the man he said was his uncle?" continued our
+hero.
+
+"I don't know about that," answered the girl.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+THE BIG BEAR
+
+
+Dave was very thoughtful as the four boys rowed back to the bungalows
+with the things procured from Mr. Appleby. His talk with Della Ford and
+her aunt had lasted until the others were ready to depart, but he had
+gained little information beyond that already known to the reader.
+
+"If only I had the address of that Obadiah Jones, I might go and see him
+and listen to what he has to say about Ward Porton," he told himself.
+"Of course he may not be Porton's uncle at all--I know lots of children
+taken from poorhouses and orphan asylums who call the folks aunt and
+uncle. But even if he isn't, he may be able to give me some information
+that will put me on the right track regarding this affair."
+
+The morning was spent by those at the bungalows in getting settled once
+more. The provisions brought from the Appleby camp were divided between
+the two places, and likewise the kitchen utensils.
+
+"I'd like to set some sort of a trap and catch those burglars," declared
+Ben.
+
+"I don't see how you're going to do it," returned our hero. "I doubt
+very much whether they will show themselves in this vicinity again. More
+than likely they are miles away."
+
+"Dave, do you think Link Merwell had anything to do with this?"
+
+"It's possible, Ben, although I don't see how he would have the nerve to
+come back here after what happened. I should think he would feel like
+quitting this territory entirely."
+
+Another day went by, bringing no word from Crumville. Our hero and Roger
+had tramped all the way to Carpen Falls, hoping for letters, but the
+only one to come in was a re-directed epistle for Ben, inviting him to
+become a subscriber to some local charity.
+
+"O shucks! I suppose the charity is all right," said Ben, when he got
+this letter, "but I'd like to get some real news from dad or somebody
+else at home."
+
+Dave said little, but he felt more downcast than ever. He had thought
+that a letter would surely come by now. Roger noticed how he felt, and
+placed a kindly hand on our hero's shoulder.
+
+"Don't you worry, Dave, old man," he said feelingly, "this will come out
+all right in the end."
+
+"I hope so, Roger," was the answer. "But this suspense wears on a
+fellow."
+
+"Perhaps if you went to Maine to that town where the poorhouse is
+located that Ward Porton says he came from, you might be able to find
+out something about that Obadiah Jones," went on the senator's son, who
+had been told of what the Fords had revealed.
+
+"I was thinking something of that, Roger, and if I can't get on the
+track any other way, I'll go there," was the reply. "But I hate to think
+of leaving here until I get some kind of word from Crumville."
+
+"Well, some things move slowly, Dave, don't forget that. More than
+likely your unc--I mean the folks down in Crumville--are doing all they
+can to get to the bottom of the matter. Most likely they are
+investigating the proofs that Ward Porton said he was willing to
+present."
+
+On the following morning there was something of a surprise. About eleven
+o'clock, while some of the lads were fishing, and Dave had Jessie out in
+a canoe, there came a shout from up the brook, and looking in that
+direction our hero saw Phil approaching, with his uncle beside him,
+leaning on the youth's shoulder.
+
+"Hello, Mr. Lawrence's ankle must have got better quickly!" cried Dave.
+
+"And is that the so-called wild man?" returned Jessie. "He doesn't seem
+to be very wild now."
+
+"You've heard us tell why he acted in that outlandish way," was the
+answer, as Dave paddled toward the dock.
+
+Soon the boys were surrounding the new arrivals, and Mr. Lawrence was
+led to a couch, upon which he was glad to sit down and thus rest his
+injured ankle. The ladies and the girls were introduced, and the man
+shook hands with them rather shamefacedly.
+
+"I'll have to apologize to you for acting so rudely," said Lester
+Lawrence, after the introductions were over. "I suppose the boys have
+told you why I did it?"
+
+"Yes, Mr. Lawrence," answered Mrs. Wadsworth, kindly. "And under the
+circumstances we are quite willing to let bygones be bygones."
+
+"Can we do anything for your ankle?" questioned Laura, who was a
+natural-born nurse.
+
+"I guess about all it needs is rest," answered Lester Lawrence. "It was
+quite a journey from my shack to this place. But I saw that Phil was
+getting anxious to rejoin you, so I told him we might as well make the
+venture to-day rather than wait. He has been hoping that you would have
+some word for him from my brother."
+
+"No word yet, Phil," answered Dave, "but there may be in the mail
+to-day."
+
+"Say, we had some scare this morning just before we left the cabin!"
+declared the shipowner's son. "I was nearly frightened into a fit!"
+
+"What was that?" came from several of the others.
+
+"I was cleaning the dishes after breakfast, and I went outdoors to throw
+some scraps in a heap behind some bushes. Just as I got there with my
+panful of stuff, up jumped--what do you think?--a great big bear!"
+
+"A bear!" shrieked the girls.
+
+"Did you shoot him?" broke in Shadow.
+
+"Shoot him? What with--a frying-pan?"
+
+"Then the bear got away?" asked Roger.
+
+"I don't know whether the bear got away or I got away. I dropped that
+frying-pan, and I legged it for the cabin for all I was worth. In the
+meantime the bear disappeared among the trees just back of the cabin. I
+got my uncle's rifle and went out to look for him, but it was no use."
+
+"O dear, a bear!" murmured Jessie. "Suppose he comes down here?" and she
+gave a slight shiver.
+
+"Why, that would be fun!" declared Belle. "I'd like to see that bear,
+and get a shot at him, too," went on the girl from Star Ranch.
+
+"If that bear is anywhere in this vicinity we might organize a hunt for
+him," suggested Luke, who, on the day previous, had gone out with Ben
+and Shadow and brought down a partridge.
+
+"That's the talk!" cried Roger. "Come on, let us go on a hunt! It will
+give us something to do."
+
+The matter was discussed for a quarter of an hour, and during that time
+Roger and Ben managed to take Phil to one side and tell him about the
+news from Crumville. The shipowner's son was, of course, much
+astonished.
+
+"I believe it's a fake!" he declared, flatly. "Dave is Dave Porter, and
+no mistake! We cleared that matter up directly after our return from the
+South Seas."
+
+"Just what I said, Phil," responded Roger. "At the same time, I suppose
+the Porters have got to listen to Ward Porton's claim."
+
+"Bah! it's a conspiracy I tell you--a conspiracy gotten up by this
+fellow, Porton, and by Link Merwell! You can't tell me any different!"
+and Phil's face showed his earnestness.
+
+It was decided that all of the boys should go out directly after lunch,
+in a hunt for the bear. The number of shotguns and rifles on hand was
+enough to go around, so that each of them would be armed. They also
+provided themselves with some provisions, not knowing how late it would
+be before they got back.
+
+"Oh, Dave, do be careful!" pleaded Jessie, when the boys were ready to
+depart. "Don't let that bear eat you up!"
+
+"Don't worry," he answered. "I'll take care of myself." And then he
+added with something of a sigh: "I hope you have good news for me when I
+get back."
+
+"I hope so too, Dave. But just remember what I said," she went on,
+looking him straight in the eyes. "I'll think just as much of you even
+if they prove that you are not Dave Porter."
+
+Phil was with the crowd, and all headed up the brook, and then along the
+trail leading to the cabin which had been occupied by Lester Lawrence.
+Arriving there, a hunt was made through the forest back of the cabin.
+
+"It's a good deal like hunting for the proverbial needle in a haystack,"
+remarked Roger.
+
+"Where did you see the bear last, Phil?" questioned Luke.
+
+"Just about here," was the reply, and the shipowner's son pointed with
+his hand. "I think he went in that direction," he added.
+
+The boys spread out in a long, straight line, and in this fashion
+proceeded through the forest for the best part of a mile. During that
+time they thought they saw a deer in the distance, and Roger might have
+taken a shot, but Dave imperatively stopped him.
+
+"We can't shoot at anything if we want to get close to that bear,"
+announced our hero. "Bears are very scary creatures, and if you make too
+much noise that beast will run for miles and miles before he stops."
+
+Late afternoon found the boys still on the search. They had seen nothing
+to shoot at, and some of them were growing disheartened. Luke was
+limping slightly, having caught his foot between a crevice in the rocks.
+
+"I move we rest and have something to eat," announced Ben, and this
+suggestion was quickly seconded by the others. Then, when the sun was
+well down in the west, they decided to turn back toward the bungalows.
+
+It was a tramp of over a mile and a half, and as the footing in many
+places was uncertain, they had to proceed with great care.
+
+"Such a hunt!" grumbled Ben. "It's been all hunting and no shooting."
+
+"Which puts me in mind of a story!" cried Shadow. "Oh, this is a short
+one, so you needn't frown at it," he went on quickly, glancing around.
+"It's about a fellow who came along and saw an old man fishing in a
+lake. 'How's fishing?' he asked of the old man. 'Couldn't be better,'
+was the answer. 'Catch anything?' 'No.' 'Then what do you mean by saying
+the fishing is good?' 'So it is. I didn't say anything about the
+catching.'" And at this a grin went around.
+
+"We ought to be getting in sight of the bungalows soon," remarked Roger,
+after they had climbed over some rough rocks and were walking through a
+dense patch of the forest.
+
+"Say, this is a fine place to get lost in," remarked Phil.
+
+"It will be all right as long as the sunlight lasts," answered Dave. "I
+am using that for a compass."
+
+Soon they came to the edge of a clearing, on the other side of which
+were a series of rocks with vines and brushwood. The boys were about to
+advance across the clearing when suddenly Shadow's arms went up into the
+air.
+
+"St--st--stop!" he spluttered, in a low tone. "Dr--dr--drop down, all of
+you!"
+
+The others saw that he was much in earnest, and immediately sank down
+behind the trees and rocks. Then all gazed inquiringly at the former
+story-teller of Oak Hall.
+
+"It's the be--be--bear!" spluttered Shadow. "Sa--say, don't you think we
+had be--be--better run for it?"
+
+"The bear! Where is it?" demanded Dave.
+
+"I saw him just lift his head up among the rocks yonder," returned
+Shadow. "Say, he looked like an awful big fellow!"
+
+"Well, if he is there, you bet we are not going to run away from him!"
+declared Phil. "Come on, let's see if we can't shoot him."
+
+"Wait a minute, Phil," advised Dave. "If the bear is among yonder rocks,
+as Shadow says, we had better spread out a little, and thus get a better
+chance at him."
+
+Seeing that his companions were not frightened, Shadow regained some of
+his composure and followed them, although keeping a little to the rear.
+With great caution, and holding their firearms ready for use, the whole
+crowd of boys crossed the clearing and gained the first of the rocks
+beyond. Fortunately, the breeze was coming from ahead of them, thus
+carrying their scent away from where the bear was supposed to be.
+
+It had been agreed that when necessary Dave should give the signal to
+fire. He was slightly in advance, and now with great caution he looked
+over some rocks just ahead of him. The sight that met his gaze was an
+interesting one. There was a slight depression there, partly filled with
+brushwood, and in the midst of this stood a big bear. He had his head
+down in a hole, and was digging out various things with his forepaws,
+flinging them to one side and behind him. Out came a kettle, a
+frying-pan, some knives and forks, cups, saucers, a pie-plate, a
+dishpan, and numerous other articles, which clattered over the rocks.
+
+"Great hambones, Dave! what kind of a noise is that?" asked Phil, who
+was beside our hero.
+
+"It's our stolen stuff, that's what it is, Phil!" cried Dave. "Those
+burglars must have thrown the stuff in that hole!"
+
+"But what would the bear be doing among that stuff?" questioned Luke.
+
+"He's after grub," answered our hero. "They must have thrown some of the
+food in there with the other stuff. Come on, boys, get ready to fire!"
+
+Fortunately for the lads, the bear was so interested in what he was
+trying to accomplish that he did not notice their approach. The noise of
+the flying kettles and pans drowned out the voices.
+
+"What's the matter with all taking a shot at him at the same time?"
+questioned Phil.
+
+"All right, I'm willing," responded Dave, quickly. "We might as well all
+have the glory of killing him--if we have that luck."
+
+Every rifle and every shotgun was quickly raised and aimed at the bear.
+Just as Dave was on the point of giving the order to fire, the beast
+came out of the hole and looked around. Then in alarm he raised up on
+his hind legs, a truly terrifying animal to behold.
+
+Bang! Crack! Bang! went the rifles and shotguns in an irregular volley.
+And then, as the report died away, the huge beast gave a leap into the
+air, and coming down, sprang directly toward the boys.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+GOOD NEWS--CONCLUSION
+
+
+"Here he comes!"
+
+"Give him another shot, boys!"
+
+Crack! Bang! Crack! Again the shotguns and rifles rang out.
+
+Whether the shots were absolutely necessary or not it would be hard to
+say, for just as the boys discharged their various weapons the huge bear
+was seen to stumble and fall. He gave several convulsive shudders, and
+then lay still.
+
+"Is he--is he de--dead?" gasped Shadow, who was still a few feet in the
+rear of the others.
+
+"I think he is," responded Dave. "Load up again as quickly as you can
+and we'll watch him," and then he proceeded to take care of his own
+firearm.
+
+But watching was unnecessary, for the huge beast had breathed his last.
+It was a proud crowd of boys that surrounded the game.
+
+"Say, that's some shooting!" declared Phil, his eyes glistening. "Won't
+the others be surprised when they hear of it?"
+
+"He certainly is a big one!" said Ben. "I don't believe they grow them
+much bigger than that anywhere around here." And this assertion proved
+true, as the boys learned when, later on, Tad Rason saw the game at the
+bungalows.
+
+"Well, we've got our kitchen utensils and most of the tableware back,
+anyway," declared Roger, after an inspection of the hollow where they
+had first discovered the bear at work. "Hello, here's the stuff Mr.
+Bruin was after!" he added, holding up a chunk of meat which still lay
+in a pan in the hollow. This meat had been taken from the Wadsworth
+ice-box; but why it had been placed in the hollow was a mystery.
+
+"But it's a good thing the burglars put it there," declared Luke. "That
+is what attracted the bear and made him dig."
+
+A careful search of the hollow revealed nearly everything that had been
+taken from the two bungalows except Laura's rings and Mrs. Basswood's
+silverware.
+
+"I guess they thought those things too valuable to leave here," was
+Dave's comment. "I am convinced of one thing," he added.
+
+"What is that?" questioned Ben.
+
+"I believe Link Merwell is at the bottom of this. No ordinary burglar
+would bother his head about that kitchen stuff. Merwell did it, just to
+cause us trouble. Maybe he thought we'd have to give up camping here for
+the time being."
+
+"By Jove, Dave, I think you have solved it!" declared Roger.
+
+"All of which doesn't give my mother her silverware nor Laura her
+rings," returned Ben.
+
+A sapling with some stout branches attached was cut down, and on to this
+the boys rolled the bear and tied him fast. Thus they managed, after a
+good deal of hard labor, to haul the carcass down to the bungalows.
+
+"Oh, here they come, and they've got a bear!" shrieked Belle, who saw
+them first, and all the inmates of the bungalows hurried to the scene,
+even Mr. Lawrence hobbling up with the aid of a cane.
+
+"Yes, we got a bear, and we got more than that!" cried Ben, excitedly.
+"We've found all the kitchen stuff!" and he and the other youths gave
+the particulars.
+
+A little later some of the boys returned to the hollow and transferred
+the stolen stuff back to the bungalows. A good deal of the canned
+provisions was still in perfect condition. The other things, including
+the meat the bear had scented, were thrown away.
+
+"Oh, Dave!" cried Jessie, as soon as she could motion our hero to one
+side, "I've got something I want to tell you! I think maybe it will be
+of assistance in proving your identity," and the girl's eyes glowed with
+anticipation.
+
+"What is it, Jessie?" he asked, quickly. "Have you heard something from
+home?"
+
+"No, but I've heard something from Mr. Lawrence, Phil's uncle. Isn't it
+the strangest thing ever! I was talking to him after you left, and told
+him what trouble you were having, and mentioned Ward Porton and that man
+the Fords told you about, Obadiah Jones. And, would you believe it!
+years ago Mr. Lawrence had some business dealings with a man named
+Obadiah Jones, and he is quite sure that man had a nephew who was named
+Ward!"
+
+"Jessie! can this be true?" exclaimed Dave, with pardonable excitement.
+
+"That's what Mr. Lawrence told me. I think you had better speak to him,
+and without delay."
+
+"I certainly will!" declared our hero, and going up to the crowd that
+was still around the bear, he touched Phil's uncle on the arm.
+
+"What is it, Porter? Oh! I suppose you want to see me about that man,
+Obadiah Jones. Well, I'll tell you all I know. Come on back to where I
+can sit down. This lame ankle of mine is still rather weak." And thus
+speaking Mr. Lawrence led the way around to the front porch of the
+bungalow.
+
+"What I want to know is if this Ward Porton was really a nephew of
+Obadiah Jones," said Dave.
+
+"Yes, that's what Miss Jessie wanted to know, too. Of course I don't
+know for sure, but I do know the boy's name was Ward and that he called
+Jones, Uncle Obadiah. You might write to Obadiah Jones and find out. He
+lives in Burlington, Vermont, and that's not so very far from here--just
+on the other side of Lake Champlain. His full name is Obadiah L. L.
+Jones. We used to always call him Old L. L. About everybody in
+Burlington knows him."
+
+"Perhaps I'd better go and call on Mr. Jones," suggested Dave. "I'd hate
+to wait for an answer to a letter."
+
+It was not long before the others in the camp knew what Dave had learned
+concerning Ward Porton and his supposed uncle, Obadiah L. L. Jones. The
+boys agreed with Dave that it might pay to make a trip to Burlington to
+see him, and Phil and Roger volunteered to go along.
+
+"You might want a witness or two," declared the senator's son.
+
+The upshot of the matter was that the following day found the three boys
+bound for Burlington. The other lads helped to row them to the upper end
+of the lake, and there, at a camp belonging to a rich New Yorker, they
+managed to obtain a horse and buckboard on which they rode to the
+nearest railroad station. They were in time to catch the midday train
+for Plattsburg, where they had to remain over night. Then they caught
+the first boat across Lake Champlain to the city for which they were
+bound.
+
+Dave had been told by Mr. Lawrence where they might find Obadiah Jones,
+who was interested in a coal, lumber, and real estate business. Our
+hero, accompanied by his two chums, found the man in his office, a
+small, dingy coop of a place surrounded by huge piles of lumber. He was
+a short, stout, bald-headed individual, wearing large spectacles, and he
+looked up rather uninvitingly as they entered.
+
+"Is this Mr. Obadiah Jones?" questioned Dave, politely.
+
+"That's my name, young man. What can I do for you?" demanded the lumber
+dealer, brusquely.
+
+"I came to get a little information from you, Mr. Jones, if you'll give
+it to me," went on our hero. "My name is Dave Porter. I came to see if
+you have a nephew named Ward Porton."
+
+"Well, I did have a nephew by that name, but he's a nephew of mine no
+longer!" cried Obadiah Jones, his face showing sudden anger. "If you
+came here in his behalf, the sooner you get out the better! I wrote to
+him and told him I never wanted to see him nor hear from him again!"
+
+"I didn't come in his behalf, Mr. Jones. I came on my own account,"
+answered Dave. "All I want to know is: Is he a real nephew of yours or
+not?"
+
+"Yes, he's my real nephew--the son of my youngest sister, who married a
+good-for-nothing army man. But that doesn't make any difference to me,
+young man. I won't do a thing more for him, nephew though he is. He's a
+young scamp, and as I said before, I never want to see him nor hear from
+him again."
+
+"The reason I ask is, because there has come up a question regarding
+Ward Porton's identity," continued Dave, who could scarcely conceal his
+satisfaction over the turn the conversation had taken. "Porton declared
+to me that he had been brought up in a Maine poorhouse."
+
+"That's all tommy-rot, young man! It isn't so at all!" stormed Obadiah
+Jones. "After his father ran away, to join some revolutionists in
+Mexico, his mother was hard put to it to support herself, and when she
+took sick and died, he was placed in the Lumberville poorhouse by some
+neighbors. As soon as I heard of it I sent for him to come to
+Montpelier, where I was then doing business. After that I brought him
+here. I gave him a good education and did everything I could to set him
+on his feet, but he began to smoke and drink and gamble, and get into
+bad company generally, and finally he left here and went on the stage as
+an actor. I heard he didn't do very well at that business, and so he got
+into the moving-picture business." Obadiah Jones looked sharply at
+Dave. "But what do you want to know all this for?" he questioned,
+quickly.
+
+"I'll tell you why, Mr. Jones," answered Dave. And without waiting to be
+invited he sat down on a chair beside the lumber dealer and told the man
+the particulars of the trouble Ward Porton had caused him.
+
+"Humph!" snorted Obadiah Jones at the conclusion of the recital. "That
+sounds just like one of Ward's fairy tales. Don't you take any stock in
+that story, because there is absolutely nothing in it. I have disowned
+him, it is true, but, nevertheless, he is my nephew, the son of my
+youngest sister, Clarice Jones Porton. Her good-for-nothing husband was
+Lieutenant Jarvey Porton of the army, who was discharged because of
+irregularities in his accounts. I never wanted her to marry the
+lieutenant, but she wouldn't listen to me for a minute."
+
+After this a conversation lasting the best part of half an hour ensued.
+The lumber dealer became quite interested in Dave's case, and readily
+consented to sign a document stating the facts concerning Ward Porton as
+he knew them. Roger, Phil and an office clerk witnessed the lumber
+dealer's signature, and then the boys bade Obadiah Jones good-bye and
+left.
+
+"Dave, let me congratulate you!" cried Roger, grasping our hero's hand
+warmly.
+
+"Oh, I knew it would all come out right in the end!" cried Phil, as he
+placed a loving arm over Dave's shoulder. "Say, you'll have one on Ward
+Porton when you show him that document!" he continued, with a chuckle.
+
+"You don't know what a weight this has lifted from my shoulders,"
+murmured Dave. And despite his efforts to control himself, two tears
+stood in his eyes. "The thought that I might not be the real Dave Porter
+after all was something terrible!" he murmured.
+
+"What will you do; send word to Crumville and then go back to camp?"
+asked Roger.
+
+"I suppose that would be best," answered Dave. "I'll first send word
+home and wait in Burlington for a reply."
+
+It was not long after this when they entered a local telegraph office,
+and there Dave wrote out a telegram addressed to his father at
+Crumville. He asked that a reply to the communication be addressed to a
+leading hotel of Burlington, where the three lads afterwards went for
+dinner.
+
+"A telegram for Mr. David Porter!" called out one of the hotel boys,
+just after the lads had finished eating; and he passed the communication
+over to our hero.
+
+"It's from Crumville, and from my father," said Dave, as he glanced at
+the communication, which ran as follows:
+
+"Your telegram received. Glad to know the truth. We had suspected Porton
+of trickery. Merwell is in the game."
+
+"It's just as I thought," said Dave, when he allowed his friends to read
+the communication. "Link Merwell told Porton about how I had come from
+the poorhouse, and then the pair hatched up this game between them. I
+only hope my folks catch them and give them what they deserve."
+
+That afternoon found the lads again on the way to Plattsburg, and early
+on the following morning they set out on the return to Bear Camp.
+
+"Oh, Dave! did you learn anything?" cried Laura, when the boys appeared.
+
+"Yes, Laura, it's all cleared up!" he exclaimed, in a voice filled with
+joy. "Ward Porton is nothing but a faker. He is the real nephew of
+Obadiah Jones, and the son of Jones's youngest sister. I've got a
+document in my pocket to prove it."
+
+"Oh, Dave, I'm so glad! so glad!" was the cry of the sister, and she
+threw herself into his arms and kissed him several times. Then Jessie
+came up and kissed him too, and so did Belle, followed by Mrs. Basswood,
+and finally Mrs. Wadsworth, who held him closely to her.
+
+"I'm very, very glad for your sake, Dave," said the wife of the jewelry
+manufacturer. "But if you hadn't proved to be Dave Porter, I should
+have been only too glad to have adopted you as my son."
+
+It was certainly a happy return, and that evening both bungalows were
+lit up brightly in honor of the occasion. Shadow was allowed to tell
+some of his best stories, Luke played on his banjo and his guitar, and
+the young folks sang one familiar song after another.
+
+Three days, including Sunday, passed, and then came another surprise.
+Late in the evening Dave heard a well-known whistle on the trail leading
+to Carpen Falls, and a little later one of the old stage coaches came
+into view. All in the bungalows ran out to meet the newcomers, who
+proved to be Dave's father, his uncle, Mr. Wadsworth, and Mr. Basswood.
+
+"Dad!" yelled Dave, and rushing to his parent he caught him tightly in
+his arms.
+
+"My boy! my boy!" murmured Mr. Porter. "How very glad I am that this
+black cloud has passed away. But, Dave, don't think that I believed that
+story. I thought it was a fake from the start."
+
+"And so did I," said Dunston Porter. "There couldn't be any Dave Porter
+but you!" and he gave Dave a good-natured thump between the shoulders
+that nearly knocked the wind out of the youth.
+
+"We've got more news," declared Mr. Wadsworth, as he, too, came up for
+a handshake, followed by Ben's father. "They have collared Link Merwell
+at last."
+
+"Is that so!" cried our hero.
+
+"Yes, they caught him in a pawnbroker's shop," said Mr. Basswood. "And
+the best part of it is that they caught him trying to pawn my wife's
+silver spoons and Laura's two rings. The pawnbroker got suspicious, and
+as he happened to be an honest man, he called in a detective. This
+detective remembered the picture he had seen printed of Link at the time
+he and Jasniff stole the jewelry, and he at once placed Link under
+arrest."
+
+"And then I went to see Link in prison," broke in Dave's father. "I had
+a long talk with him, about the burglary up here, and he admitted that
+he had thrown all that other stuff in the hollow just to inconvenience
+you. Then I made him confess that he and Ward Porton had concocted this
+scheme concerning Porton's identity between them. Merwell tried to bribe
+me by saying he wouldn't tell the truth about Porton unless I aided him
+to get clear of the charge made against him by Mr. Wadsworth. Of course
+I wouldn't agree to do that."
+
+"It won't be necessary to have Link Merwell testify against Porton,"
+declared Dave. "I've got a document here that shows up Porton for just
+what he is;" and later on he allowed his father and the others to read
+the paper which he had had Obadiah L. L. Jones sign.
+
+"Oh, to think I'm to have my rings back, and Mrs. Basswood is to have
+her silverware!" cried Laura, with satisfaction. "Isn't it perfectly
+lovely?"
+
+The days to follow at Bear Camp were happy ones indeed. The boys went
+hunting and fishing to their hearts' content, and often took the girls
+out in the boats or in the canoes. In the meanwhile some of the men
+folks returned to Crumville, and Phil took his uncle home.
+
+It may be stated here that Phil's father and mother were filled with joy
+to have Lester Lawrence once more with them, and later on the land that
+the rival railroads wanted was sold to one of the roads for an even
+sixty thousand dollars, three-quarters of which amount went to Phil's
+father and the other quarter to the boy's uncle.
+
+"I don't believe Ward Porton will ever bother you again, Dave," said
+Roger, one day, but the surmise of the senator's son proved incorrect.
+When Ward Porton learned that our hero had visited Obadiah Jones he lost
+no time in disappearing for awhile. But then he got back to his old
+tricks, and what he did will be related in another volume, to be
+entitled, "Dave Porter and His Double; Or, The Disappearance of the
+Basswood Fortune."
+
+When Link Merwell was brought to trial, his father came forward and did
+everything he could for the wayward son. But it was proved beyond a
+doubt that Merwell had been as guilty as Jasniff, and he received an
+equal sentence of imprisonment.
+
+"Poor Link! I feel sorry for him," was Dave's comment. "He might have
+made quite a man of himself."
+
+The weather was now growing colder every day, and soon there was a trace
+of snow in the air.
+
+"We'll have to leave Bear Camp very soon unless we want to be snowed
+in," declared Mrs. Wadsworth. And then after a conference, it was
+decided by all hands to pack up and go home.
+
+"Well, in spite of our troubles, it's been a grand outing!" declared
+Roger.
+
+"One of the best ever!" added Phil.
+
+"I've had a perfectly lovely time!" came from Jessie. "But I do hope
+Dave never again runs into such trouble as he had up here."
+
+"Well, a fellow has got to take things as they come," answered our hero.
+
+And here, with the future looking cloudless and bright, we will leave
+Dave Porter and say good-bye.
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+DAVE PORTER SERIES
+
+By EDWARD STRATEMEYER
+
+
+"Mr. Stratemeyer has seldom introduced a more popular hero than Dave
+Porter. He is a typical boy, manly, brave, always ready for a good time
+if it can be obtained in an honorable way."--_Wisconsin, Milwaukee,
+Wis._
+
+"Edward Stratemeyer's 'Dave Porter' has become exceedingly
+popular."--_Boston Globe._
+
+"Dave and his friends are nice, manly chaps."--_Times-Democrat, New
+Orleans._
+
+=DAVE PORTER AT OAK HALL=
+      Or The School Days of an American Boy
+
+=DAVE PORTER IN THE SOUTH SEAS=
+      Or The Strange Cruise of the Stormy Petrel
+
+=DAVE PORTER'S RETURN TO SCHOOL=
+      Or Winning the Medal of Honor
+
+=DAVE PORTER IN THE FAR NORTH=
+      Or The Pluck of an American Schoolboy
+
+=DAVE PORTER AND HIS CLASSMATES=
+      Or For the Honor of Oak Hall
+
+=DAVE PORTER AT STAR RANCH=
+      Or The Cowboy's Secret
+
+=DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS=
+      Or The Chums and Foes of Oak Hall
+
+=DAVE PORTER ON CAVE ISLAND=
+      Or A Schoolboy's Mysterious Mission
+
+=DAVE PORTER AND THE RUNAWAYS=
+      Or Last Days at Oak Hall
+
+=DAVE PORTER IN THE GOLD FIELDS=
+      Or The Search for the Landslide Mine
+
+=DAVE PORTER AT BEAR CAMP=
+      Or The Wild Man of Mirror Lake
+
+=DAVE PORTER AND HIS DOUBLE=
+      Or The Disappearance of the Basswood Fortune
+
+=DAVE PORTER'S GREAT SEARCH=
+      Or The Perils of a Young Civil Engineer
+
+=DAVE PORTER UNDER FIRE=
+      Or A Young Army Engineer in France
+
+=DAVE PORTER'S WAR HONORS=
+      Or At the Front with the Fighting Engineers
+
+For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the
+publishers
+
+Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co. Boston
+
+
+
+    +---------------------------------------------------+
+    |               Transcriber's Note:                 |
+    |                                                   |
+    | Typographical errors corrected in the text:       |
+    |                                                   |
+    | Page 132  rooom changed to room                   |
+    | Page 187  committted changed to committed         |
+    | Page 195  fakir changed to faker                  |
+    | Page 203  soak changed to sock                    |
+    | Page 266  manfacturer's changed to manufacturer's |
+    | Page 282  fakir changed to faker                  |
+    | Page 304  fakir changed to faker                  |
+    +---------------------------------------------------+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Dave Porter At Bear Camp, by Edward Stratemeyer
+
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