diff options
| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 05:29:31 -0700 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 05:29:31 -0700 |
| commit | d39d1f6f4efc5102c067d1f3108dcf54a773e85b (patch) | |
| tree | 5aaa5013b57712db1ce17d1262ba4ede9656b67c | |
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 3 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 7356-0.txt | 7128 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 7356-0.zip | bin | 0 -> 105622 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/7356.txt | 7128 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/7356.zip | bin | 0 -> 105551 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/bscam10.txt | 7104 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/bscam10.zip | bin | 0 -> 107525 bytes |
9 files changed, 21376 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/7356-0.txt b/7356-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..160e499 --- /dev/null +++ b/7356-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7128 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Boy Scout Camera Club, by G. Harvey Ralphson + +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: The Boy Scout Camera Club + or, The Confession of a Photograph + +Author: G. Harvey Ralphson + +Release Date: October 14, 2012 [EBook #7356] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOY SCOUT CAMERA CLUB *** + + + + +Produced by the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: "Say" Cried Frank, "That's a child's face up there!"] + + +The Boy Scout Camera Club + +or + +The Confession of a Photograph + + +By + + +Scout Master G. Harvey Ralphson + + + +CHAPTER + + I LOST: A FOREIGN PRINCE! + + II THE HOLE IN THE ATTIC FLOOR + + III WHAT THE BOX CONTAINED + + IV A CAMP IN THE MOUNTAIN + + V JIMMIE AND TEDDY MISS A MEAL + + VI SIGNALS IN THE CANYON + + VII A MINT IN THE MOUNTAINS + + VIII UNCLE IKE PRESENTS HIMSELF + + IX A LANK MULE AS A DECOY + + X "PACKED AWAY LIKE SARDINES" + + XI JACK'S ELEGANT CHICKEN PIE + + XII THE BLACK HAND GAME + + XIII THREE DAYS TO MOVE IN + + XIV POINTING OUT THE TRAIL + + XV A NIGHT ON THE SUMMIT + + XVI THE CALL OF THE PACK + + XVII JUST A LITTLE DARK WASH + +XVIII BRADLEY BECOMES INDIGNANT + + XIX NED PLAYS THE MIND-READER + + XX SHOOTING ON THE MOUNTAINSIDE + + XXI TOLD BY THE PICTURES + + XXII A RECRUIT FROM THE ENEMY + +XXIII RACING MOTORS ON THE WAY + + XXIV THE MAN-TRAP IS SET + + XXV THE CONFESSION OF A PHOTOGRAPH + + + + +The Boy Scout Camera Club + +or + +The Confession of a Photograph + + + + +CHAPTER I + +LOST: A FOREIGN PRINCE! + + +"Two Black Bears!" + +"Two Wolves!" + +"Three Eagles!" + +"Five Moose!" + +"Quite a mixture of wild creatures to be found in a splendid clubroom +in the city of New York!" exclaimed Ned Nestor, a handsome, muscular +boy of seventeen. "How many of these denizens of the forests are +ready to join the Boy Scout Camera Club?" + +"You may put my name down twice--in red ink!" shouted Jimmie McGraw, +of the Wolf Patrol. "I wouldn't miss it to be president of the United +States!" + +"One Wolf," Ned said, writing the name down. + +"Two Wolves!" cried Jimmie, red-headed, freckled of face and as +active as a red squirrel, "two wolves! You're a Wolf yourself, Ned +Nestor!" + +"Two Wolves, then!" laughed Ned. "Of course Jimmie and I can form a +club all by ourselves, and he can be the officers and I can be the +members, but we'd rather have a menagerie of large size, as we are +going into the mountains of Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, +Kentucky and Tennessee." + +The boys who had not yet spoken were on their feet in an instant, all +clamoring for membership in the Boy Scout Camera Club. Ned lifted a +hand for silence. + +"Why this present rush?" he asked. "I've been thinking that Jimmie +and I would have to go to the mountains alone! Why this impetuosity?" + +"The mountains!" shouted Frank Shaw, of the Black Bear Patrol. "It is +the mountains that get us! We've been thinking that the club you were +organizing wouldn't get outside of little old New York, but would +loaf around taking snap-shots of the slums and the trees in the +parks. But when you mention mountains, why--" + +"I'm going right down stairs and pack my camera!" Jack Bosworth, of +the Black Bear Patrol, declared. "When it comes to mountains!" + +The clubroom of the Black Bear Patrol was on the top floor of the +handsome residence of Jack's father, who was a famous corporation +lawyer, and the boys persuaded Jack to wait until they had completed +the organization of the Camera Club before he started in packing for +the journey to the mountains! + +"You'll want an Eagle, if you're going to the mountains!" shouted +Teddy Green, of the Eagle Patrol. "I'll fly home and get my wardrobe +right now!" + +Teddy Green was the son of a Harvard professor, and was inclined to +follow in the footsteps of his father in the matter of learning--after +he had first climbed to all the high spots of the world and +descended into all the low ones! He insisted on exploring the earth +before he learned by rote what others had written about it! + +"All right!" Ned grinned. "We'll need an Eagle!" + +"And a Bull Moose!" yelled Oliver Yentsch, of the Moose Patrol. +"You've got to have a Moose along with you!" + +Oliver was the son of a ship builder, and had a launch and a yacht of +his own. He was liked by all his associates in spite of his tendency +to grumble at trifles. However, if he complained at small things, he +met large troubles with a smile on his bright face. He now seized +Teddy about the waist and waltzed around the room with him. + +"And that's all!" Ned decided, closing the book. "We can't take more +than six." + +A wail went up from the others, but they were promised a chance at +the next "hike" into the hills, and soon departed, leaving the six +members of the Camera Club to perfect arrangements for their +departure. It was a warm May night, still Ned closed the door leading +out into the wide corridor which ran through the house on that floor. + +"We can't afford to take others into our plans," he said, "for this +is to be another Secret Service expedition." + +"For the Government?" demanded Frank Shaw. "Then," he added, without +waiting for a reply, "I'll call up dad's editorial rooms and have a +reporter sent up here. Top of column, first page, illustrated! That's +our Camera Club in the morning newspaper!" + +Frank's father was owner and editor of one of the big New York +dailies, and the boy always took along, on his trips, plenty of blank +paper for "copy," but never sent in a line! His letters to his +father's newspaper were usually addressed to the financial +department, upon which he had permission to draw at will! + +"Huh!" Jimmie commented, wrinkling his freckled nose, "if you should +ever furnish an item for your daddy's newspaper he'd never live it +down! You've been on all our trips with Ned, and never wired in a +word!" + +The Boy Scouts of the Black Bear and Wolf Patrols had been through +many exciting experiences with Ned Nestor, who, young as he was, was +often in the employ of the Secret Service department of the United +States government. Frank, as Jimmie said, had been with Ned from the +start, and had never sent in a line of "copy" for the paper. + +"I'm going to furnish a column a day this trip!" Frank declared, +making a motion to seize Jimmie. "We're going to take pictures, +aren't we? We'll take 'em by the acre, and dad's newspaper is going +to catch every one of them." + +"Huh!" Jimmie declared, with a freckled nose in the air. "I'm a +newspaper man, too. You needn't think you're the only cherry in the +pie! I used to sell newspapers before I got into the Secret Service +with Ned!" + +From his earliest years Jimmie had indeed been a newsboy on the +Bowery. He had never had a home except that provided by himself, and +this, in the early days of his life, had as often been a box or +barrel in an alley as anything else. + +"Why the mountains?" asked Frank Shaw, presently. "Do you have to go +to the hills on this trip? I'm glad if you do, of course, but I'd +like to know something about it before we start. Dad will have to be +shown this time, I reckon! He thinks we rather _overdid_ the stunt +when we went to Lady Franklin bay!" + +"Never had so much fun in my life!" laughed Jimmie. "When you get +where it is forty below, there's some delight in living!" + +"What are we going to take pictures of?" demanded Teddy Green. + +"Moonshiners!" laughed Frank. "Isn't that right, Ned?" + +"Not exactly," was the answer. "This is not a whisky case at all." + +"Counterfeiters, then?" queried Oliver. "They live in the hills!" + +"No, not counterfeiters, either," Ned replied. "The government has +plenty of men to look after counterfeiters and moonshiners. All we've +got to do is to go into the mountains and take pictures, and keep our +eyes open." + +"Open for what?" insisted Jimmie. "My peepers will be open for a +venison steak about the first thing! You remember how fine the +venison steaks were up in British Columbia? That Columbia river trip +was some exciting! What?" + +"Well," Ned began, "you all know that I'm in the Secret Service, for +you've been with me, some of you, at Panama, in China, and under the +ocean, so we'll let the details go without explanation. I'm going to +the mountains to look after a precious package stolen from +Washington--from almost under the eyes of the president--three days +ago!" + +"Papers?" asked Jimmie. "You know we went to Lady Franklin bay after +papers." + +"And they think the mountaineers stole this package?" asked Oliver. + +"Tell us what it was that was taken first!" insisted Frank. "I'm +beginning to see a front-page story in this, right now!" + +"The package stolen," Ned went on, with a smile, "was more precious +than any bundle of papers could be! It wasn't of gold, silver, +diamonds, or anything possessing that kind of value. It was of flesh +and blood!" + +"A child stolen!" cried Frank. "This goes to dad's sheet right now!" + +"Boy or girl?" asked Oliver. "Age, please!" + +"Boy," answered Ned. "A boy belonging to one of the ambassadors! Age +seven!" + +"But why should the mountaineers steal such a child?" asked Jimmie. + +"I said the boy belonged to one of the ambassadors," Ned corrected +himself. "I should have said he belonged at one of the foreign +embassies." + +"The son of one of the attaches?" asked Teddy. "That's strange! Why?" + +"Teddy," reproved Jimmie, "you can ask more questions in a minute +than a motion picture machine can take in a hundred years." + +"The stolen boy is in no ways related to any one in this country," +Ned answered, "yet his safety is of the utmost importance. It is up +to us to find him." + +"But why should the mountain men make a grab at a kid?" insisted +Jimmie. "I've asked that question numerous times now," he added, with +a wrinkled nose. + +"It is not believed that the mountain men know anything about the +matter," Ned replied. "No one suspects them of taking the child. +Mountain men are not up to that sort of thing, as a rule. They will +make moonshine--some of them will--and may hide a counterfeiter, but +they don't steal children!" + +"Then who did steal him?" asked Frank. "Don't be so mysterious." + +"I want the matter to sink deep into your alleged minds!" was Ned's +smiling rejoinder, "and that is the reason I'm drawing the +explanation out. It is thought the boy was stolen by some one who +came over the sea to do the job--some one never before in this +country." + +"I twig!" Jimmie declared, skipping about the room. "The stolen boy +is next of succession to some measly old throne! What? And he was +sent out here to get him out of the zone of danger, and now he's been +nipped?" + +The boys looked at Ned with redoubled interest. It had been +interesting, the very idea of going into the mountains in quest of an +abducted child, but the thought of going after a boy who would one +day be a king! That was exciting indeed! + +"I can't tell you who the boy is." Ned went on, "but I can tell you +that he must be found! The Secret Service men at Washington have a +pretty good idea as to who got him, and they believe the criminals +are not above committing the crime of murder. In a certain sense, +this boy is in the way in the old country!" + +"Oh, they wouldn't kill a kid like that!" Jimmie asserted. + +"Wouldn't they?" demanded Teddy Green. "If you read up on history, +you'll soon find out whether ambitious men will murder children who +stand in their way! I half believe the boy was murdered at the very +moment he was taken!" + +"He has been seen alive since that time," Ned responded. "This is +Thursday. He was taken on Monday, and was seen yesterday. Or a boy +believed to be the prince was seen yesterday, on a launch on the +Potomac river." + +"Prince, eh?" cried Frank. "It is a prince, is it? Say, but won't dad +be glad to hear about this? I'd like to write the headlines!" + +"We may as well call him the prince," Ned laughed. + +Before more could be said, a servant knocked at the door and Jack +opened it so as to look out. In a moment he turned back inside with a +flushed face. + +"Say, boys," he said, "there's something strange going on here +to-night!" + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE HOLE IN THE ATTIC FLOOR + + +Ned sprang to his feet in an instant and beckoned Jack to one side. +The others gathered around, but Ned motioned them back. + +"Let us find out exactly what Jack means before any remarks are +made," he said. + +"Well," Jack began, almost in a whisper, "the servant who came to the +door said--" + +"Wait a moment!" Ned requested. "Let us get this at first hand. Is +the servant you refer to still out in the corridor? Look and see." + +Jack opened the door an inch and looked out. + +"Yes," he reported, facing Ned, with the door still ajar, "he is +still there." + +"Then ask him to come in here," Ned suggested, "and you, boys," he +added, turning to the wondering faces at the other side of the +apartment, "you get as close as you wish while this man is talking, +but don't interrupt. It may be that we shall have to do something +right soon. I reckon our hunt for the prince starts right here, in +the Black Bear Patrol clubroom, in the heart of little old New York." + +The servant Jack had beckoned to now entered the room and stood with +his back to the door, looking from one boyish face to another. He was +a heavily built, muscular fellow, evidently an Irishman, judging from +his face and manner. + +"Will you kindly come over here and sit down?" Ned asked. + +The servant complied and the others gathered around him. + +"Now," Jack began, "tell Ned what you just told me--about the man in +the attic, and about the hole in the ceiling." + +Every eye in the room was instantly turned toward the lofty ceiling, +but nothing out of the ordinary was to be seen there. + +"The hole he refers to," Jack, smiling, explained, "is not in sight. +It is under the ornamental brass piece that circles the rod from +which the chandelier hangs. It was made to listen at, and not to see +through, I take it!" + +"That makes a good starter," Ned smiled, "so go on." + +"Half an hour ago," the servant began, "I was called to this floor by +one of the maids, Mary Murphy it was, and she was that scared she +looked like a bag of flour! She pointed to the staircase leading to +the attic and asked me to go up there. + +"So I says to her: 'Why do you want me to go up there? If there's a +haunt there, or a burglar, or a man after one of the girls, why +should I risk the precious neck of me, when it's the only one I've +got, with no prospect of ever getting another in case this one was +damaged beyond repair?' So she says to me, she says--" + +"Never mind what she said," Ned interrupted, fearful of a long, +involved dialogue between the two servants. "Tell me what you did." + +"I went up the staircase, three steps at a jump, an' bumped the head +of me on the edge of the door at the top of it. You can see the dent +in my coco now!" + +"And what did you find there?" asked Ned. + +"There was a rug on the floor and a hole in the floor, and a twinkle +of light shining into the attic from this room. Some one had been +listening there!" + +"You saw no one?" + +"Never a soul! I'm that sorry I can't express it!" + +"When were you in that attic before--the last time before to-night?" + +"Late yesterday afternoon it was." + +"Was there a rug in the middle of the floor at that time?" Ned went +on. + +"No more than there is a bold lion in the middle of this floor, sir." + +"Well, what did you do after you got up there to-night?" + +"I hunted around for the man who had been lying there listening to +the talk in this room, but I didn't find him, sir." + +"Did you ascertain where all the servants were at the time the +listening must have been going on?" asked Jack, after a short pause. + +"All but one," was the reply. + +"And that one? Where is he now? That is, tell, if you know where he +is?" + +"I don't know, sir. He has left the house, I reckon--bag and +baggage." + +"Who was it?" demanded Jack, moving toward the door. + +"Chang Chu, the Chink, may the Evil One get into his bed!" + +"And then you came here and notified Jack?" asked Ned. "As soon as +you learned that Chang Chu was not in the house?" + +"Indeed I did--within a minute and a half." + +"Where is this girl, Mary Murphy?" asked Ned, turning to Jack. "We +must get hold of her right away. I want to hear her story of what she +saw in the attic." + +Jack went out of the room, but was back in a minute with the girl, a +pretty, modest maid of about eighteen. She looked frightened at +finding herself the center of interest, but was soon in the midst of +her story. + +"I went up to the attic to get a piece of cloth for a bandage, Sally +having cut her hand with the bread knife. When I got to the door of +that room I heard some one inside of it. I listened at the crack +there is between the panel and the stile and heard footsteps, slow +and soft like. I thought it was one of the maids, and opened the door +quick, so as to give her a scare." + +The girl paused and wiped her face with a white apron bordered with +pink. + +"Go on," Ned requested. "Tell us what you saw in the attic." + +"It wasn't much, sir," was the agitated answer. "I saw just a flash +of dark blue, coming at me like the lightning express, and then I was +keeled over--just as if I had been a bag of meal, sir!" + +"He bunted into you, did he?" asked Jack. "Who was it?" + +"Indeed I don't know, sir," was the reply. "It was dim in the room, +there being only the light from the hall as I opened the door. Then +he came at me with such a bunt that it took the breath out of me +body!" + +"And what followed?" asked Ned. + +"She wint down f'r the count!" chuckled the servant who had been +first questioned. + +"I did not!" was the indignant retort. "When I got up the man was +still on the stairs leading to this floor, and I picked up the great +shears which had tumbled out of me hand and heaved thim at him. I had +brought the shears up to cut a bandage, sir." + +"Did you hit him?" asked Jack with a smile. "Where are the shears?" + +"I never went back after them!" answered the girl. "I'll go this +minute." + +"Wait," Ned said, "and I'll get them. Now, you say you saw a blue +streak coming at you, head-on! Who wears blue clothes around the +house?" + +"Chang Chu, the Chink, sir." + +"You saw him dressed in blue to-day?" asked Ned. + +"All in blue he was!" the male servant interrupted, "with his shirt +on the outside of his trousers, like the bloody heathen he is." + +"And so you looked for him and failed to find him on the premises?" +asked Jack. + +"He's gone, bag and baggage," answered Terance, the coachman. "Bad +luck to him!" + +"Still, you don't really know that it was the Chinaman?" asked Ned. + +"He was dressed like the Chink," was the reply. "He smelled like a +saloon!" + +"Does the Chinaman drink?" asked Ned, facing Terance. "Does he get +drunk?" + +"He does not," was the reply. "He doesn't know the taste of good +liquor!" + +"That's all," Ned concluded. "Now you two keep on looking for the +Chinaman. He may be hiding in the house, or he may be at some of the +dens such people frequent. You, Mary, look for him in the house, and +you, Terance, see if you can learn where he usually went when he left +the house." + +"Pell street!" cried Jimmie. "Look in Pell street!" + +"Or Doyers!" Jack exclaimed. "Look in the dumps in Doyers street." + +The two went away, forgetting all about the shears which Mary had +hurled at the mysterious man she had caught in the attic. Asking the +boys to remain where they were, Ned went out to the staircase and +secured the article. Taking it carefully by the handle, he returned +to the room and held up one blade. + +Jack looked at the blade casually at first, then cried out that there +was blood on it, and that Mary had speared the sneak. + +"Yes," Ned explained, "there is blood on it. Mary hit the fellow on +the head with this blade. What else do you see on the steel?" he +asked with a smile. + +Jimmie looked and backed away in disgust. His freckled face was +thrust out of the door for an instant, and they heard him calling to +Mary, who, being in the kitchen, beyond sound of his voice, did not +respond. + +"What do you want of Mary?" demanded Jack. "Shall I call her?" + +"She said it was the Chink, didn't she?" the boy asked. "Or, she said +it was a man dressed like the Chink? Well, it wasn't the Chink." + +Ned laughed and looked at the boy admiringly. + +"How do you know that?" he asked. "Why are you so sure it was not the +Chink?" + +Jimmie looked up into Ned's face with a provoking grin. + +"You know just as well as I do that it wasn't the Chink," he said. +"Just you look on that blade again! Ever see a Chink with light brown +hair?" + +"Now, what do you think of that?" roared Jack. "Sometimes this boy, +Jimmie, seems to me to be possessed of almost human intelligence!" + The lads gathered closer around the shears, one blade of which Ned +was still holding out for inspection. There was the blood, and there +was the long, blonde hair! + +"Hit him on the belfry!" Jimmie grinned. "Knocked off a shingle and +brought away a piece of it! Now, why did the Chink run away? That's +what I'd like to know!" + +"Where did the man get the Chink's dress?" asked Oliver. "That's what +you'd better be asking? Why did the Chink let him in and then loan +him the dress?" + +"I rather think that's why the Chinaman ran away!" laughed Ned. "You +boys seem to have reasoned it all out. He might have let the sneak in +and then let him have some of his own clothes to wear! And that will +make trouble for us!" + +"Do you think the fellow heard about the Camera Club trip, and the +object of it?" asked Oliver. "If he was scared away half an hour ago +he didn't learn much, for we hadn't begun to talk much about it at +that time!" + +"He may not have heard anything important," Ned replied, "but the +fact that he was sent here to listen is significant! Some one in +Washington knows that we have been chosen to search the mountains for +the prince! Some one knows that we are going out as an innocent-looking +Boy Scout Camera Club, but really to find the boy. Now, what +will that person do to the Camera Club, after we get out into the +mountains?" + +"The question in my mind," Jimmie broke in, "is what we shall do to +him!" + +"I'm sorry the information about our going leaked out," Ned said, +gravely. "As boy snapshot friends we might have been able to do +things which the Secret Service men could not do. No one would pay +much attention to a group of boys roaming over the mountains. But now +I'm afraid our investigations will be all in the limelight!" + +"Tell you what," Jimmie cut in, "suppose we find the Chink and make +him point out the man who was in the house--listening?" + + + + +CHAPTER III + +WHAT THE BOX CONTAINED + + +"All right," Oliver encouraged. "Let's go out and make a throw at +finding him, anyway! He may be in the garage, or the carriage house +right this minute." + +Jimmie and Oliver rushed away to find Terance, the coachman, and +undertake the search suggested, while Ned, Jack, Frank and Teddy sat +at the open windows looking out on the street. + +"Chang Chu was at liberty to go into the attic at any time?" asked +Ned, tentatively. + +"Oh, yes," Jack answered, "the other servants sent him about on +errands. He is a handy man about the premises--or was, rather." + +"Is he a man to do such a thing as we are accusing him of?" Ned then +asked. + +"I never thought so," was the puzzled reply. "I hope you don't think +that he was beaten up by the man who secured his blue clothes! That +would be tough on the fellow." + +"I have been thinking of that," Ned responded, "and while the boys +are looking for the Chinaman in the outbuildings suppose we look for +him in the upper part of the house." + +"But if the sneak could get into the upper part of the house without +the use of the disguise," reasoned Jack, "he wouldn't need it at all, +would he?" + +"He might have been surprised while at work by the Chinaman," Ned +suggested. "In that case he might have taken the clothes as an +afterthought. Suppose we look and see?" + +Leaving Frank and Teddy sitting by the window, looking out on a +perfect May night, Ned and Jack climbed the staircase to the attic +and entered the room directly over the Black Bear Patrol clubroom. It +was a large room, more of a storeroom than an attic, with a hardwood +floor and papered walls and ceiling. + +A great sack upon which clothing and odds and ends of all +descriptions were hanging stood at the south end of the apartment, +while a long row of boxes and packing trunks occupied the floor at +the north end. The rug, which had been thrown down on the floor near +the hole bored through a plank, was still there where the servants +had seen it. The listener had, at least, a good notion of personal +comfort! + +"Where was this rug taken from?" asked Ned. + +"It was on the rack the last time I saw it," Jack answered. + +"Was it clean at that time?" Ned continued, examining the rug with a +glass. + +"What do you mean by clean? It was dusty, of course, like everything +else here." + +"Were there any stains on it--stains like blood?" Ned went on, +dragging the rug under the electric lights which had been switched +on. + +"Why, of course not. It was originally in the little den off the +library, but father became tired of it and told Terance to bring it +here." + +"How long ago was that?" + +"Oh, a month or two. I can't be exact as to the date, you know." + +Ned handed his chum the glass and indicated a certain portion of the +rug. + +"What do you call that?" he asked. "What does it look like?" + +"It looks like a spot of blood," Jack declared. "And it is wet, too! +What do you make of this, Ned? Was Chang Chu attacked and killed by +that sneak thief?" + +"That is for us to find out," Ned answered. "At the present moment, +it looks as if Chang Chu wouldn't be found on Pell or Doyers street. +What is there is those boxes--the large ones sitting against the +wall?" + +"About everything, I take it. I never looked into them. Why?" + +"We may as well see what they contain," Ned replied, advancing to the +largest box and throwing up the cover. "What do you think now?" he +asked, as a huddled figure stirred in the box and opened a pair of +suffering eyes. "This is the Chink, I suppose?" + +Before Jack could reply, Ned had the man out of the box, with the +cords cut from his hands and feet, the cruel gag removed from his +mouth. His blue blouse was gone! Chang Chu tumbled over on the floor +when Ned tried to stand him on his feet. There was a small cut on his +head. + +"Chang velly much bum!" he said, with his hands on his stomach. + +"Chang never forgets a word of slang," Jack laughed. "He will +remember the slang word for anything when he forgets the real word! +What did they do to you, Chang?" he continued, addressing the +Chinaman. + +Chang pressed his hands to his nose significantly and dropped his +head back. + +"Chloroform!" Ned declared, sniffing at the contents of the box. + +The Chinaman could not describe the man who had attacked him. He had +been alone in the attic, putting away old clothes, when he had been +struck and seized from behind by a man he described as a giant for +strength, stripped of his blouse, and lifted bodily into the box. +There he had been bound, gagged and rendered unconscious by the use +of the drug. + +"The man who did it," mused Ned, "is an adept at crime, resourceful, +daring. The chloroform would have attracted the attention of the +servants at once if it had been administered in the open air. Then +his taking the Chink's blouse as a disguise shows that he is quick to +take advantage of his opportunities. A clever man." + +"And he left no clue!" Jack complained. "Just our luck, Ned!" + +"All we know is that he is tall, has light brown hair, and is very +strong," Ned replied. "But there are ten thousand people in New York +this minute who answer to that description." + +"How do you know he is tall?" demanded Jack. + +"When he lay on the rug," Ned explained, "he stretched out on his +stomach to look through the hole, if he could. He couldn't; he could +only listen, for the cut was made so as to be hidden by the +ornamental brass piece that circles the rod from which the chandelier +swings. The marks of his elbows and toes were on the soft fiber of +the rug, showing him to be a man at least six feet tall." + +Ned walked over to the large box again and bent over it. + +"Crumbs!" he exclaimed, in a second. "Crumbs!" + +"Then he must have brought a lunch up with him," Jack exclaimed +excitedly. "There is no knowing how long he was here!" + +"Some one in Washington has leaked!" Ned declared, angrily. + +"Why Washington?" demanded Jack. "Why not New York?" + +"Because no one in this city knows about our being engaged to hunt +down the abductor. My instructions have all come in cypher, and some +of them have, as you know, been addressed to this house. And there +you are!" + +Chang Chu arose limply, rubbing a small wound in his head from which +blood had come, and tottered off toward the staircase. As he did so, +Ned noticed that his pigtail was very black, very long, and very +greasy. + +"Did he take you by the cue?" asked the boy. "Did he pull your hair?" + +"Velly much lough-neck pull--dam!" answered the Chinaman. + +Ned went back to the box where the Chink had been hidden and began +taking out the articles it held, slowly and one by one. + +"The cloth he poured the chloroform on must be here," he said. "He +would naturally throw it into the box before shutting down the cover, +as there might still be enough of the drug in it to put the Chink to +sleep." + +"Here it is," Jack said, reaching into the box and lifting out a rag +and smelling of it. "Here is the dope cloth, all right and pretty +strong yet." + +"That's it, all right," Ned answered. "A worn white handkerchief, +eh?" + +"Name or mark on it?" asked Jack, passing the cloth to Ned. + +"Nothing of the sort," was the answer, "but there's something better. +When the fellow pulled at the Chink's greasy pigtail he got his hand +smeared with oil. Then he grasped this white cloth fiercely, and +there you are! See! The mark of the thumb couldn't be plainer if it +had been printed on. Observe the long cicatrice on the ball of the +thumb? I'll take this down and photograph it." + +"Tall, strong, blonde, scar on the thumb!" laughed Jack. "We are +getting on." + +"It would be interesting to know how he got into the house," Ned +mused. + +"If we could only catch him and shut his mouth," Jack muttered, "we +wouldn't have such a rotten bad time in the mountains." + +"It is not what he knows," Ned suggested. "It is what his master as +Washington knows. We might put this chap under ten feet of earth, but +the opposition from Washington would go right on." + +"When was the child abducted?" asked Jack. "When and how?" + +"He was taken from in front of the embassy early in the morning. The +ambassador brought him out for a spin in his automobile and left him +out in front a moment. When he went back to continue his morning ride +the automobile and the boy were nowhere to be seen! This was before +nine o'clock Monday morning. Yesterday, along about noon, the boy--or +a lad very much resembling him--was seen by a lieutenant of infantry +in a motor boat, speeding up the Potomac." + +"Why didn't he catch him, then?" asked Jack. + +"Because he did not know at that time that the prince had been +kidnapped. The authorities kept everything quiet! I presume they +thought the thief didn't know that he had committed a crime, and were +afraid the newspapers would tell him about it!" + +"Tell that to Frank!" laughed Jack. "He'll go up in the air!" + +The boys found Jimmie and Oliver in the club-room when they went +down. The garage and carriage house had been searched--in vain, of +course, for the boys had encountered the Chinaman on his way down to +the basement as they ascended the stairs, the elevator being closed +for the night. + +"I believe that Chink had something to do with it, all the same," +declared Jimmie. "He ought to be watched every minute of the time!" + +"Now, here's another point I don't understand," Jack said, going back +to the conversation he had had with Ned in the attic. "Why do the +authorities think the boy has been taken to the mountains?" + +"Because that would be a natural place for the thieves to hide," Ned +answered. "The mountains are easily within reach of Washington, and +they are virtually inaccessible to known officers of the law--at +least so it is reported. The mountains run from central Pennsylvania +to central Alabama, a distance of about a thousand miles, and afford +many desirable hiding places." + +"Yes, and we're likely to get our crusts split down there!" Teddy +grinned. "We will if they find out that we belong to the Secret +Service!" + +"The Potomac river rises in West Virginia," continued Ned, "and the +prince may have been taken to the foothills in the launch he was seen +in." + +"Are we going in a motor boat?" asked Jimmie. + +"We are going by rail as far as we can go," Ned answered, "and then +take shank's horses for the wild country, with mules to tote the +baggage. In the eastern part of West Virginia, we are likely to +travel forty miles without seeing a cabin." + +"Where do we get our eatings?" demanded Jimmie. "It makes me hungry +to climb mountains. We'll have to have a relief expedition sent after +us if we don't get plenty of eatings," he added, with a wink at +Teddy. + +"Plenty of game up there," Ned grinned. "Plenty of deer, turkeys, +coon, rabbits, birds and bears! We can dodge the game laws! Also a +few wildcats are reported to have been seen there. And there is said +to be plenty of moonshine in the caves, too. Oh, we'll have a sweet +old vacation, boys. And we start tomorrow!" + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +A CAMP IN THE MOUNTAINS + + +It was early June, and the members of the Boy Scout Camera Club were +camped on a mountain top in West Virginia. They had spent about two +weeks in making the trip to the point where they had established +camp. + +Three mules, divested of their burdens now, were "staked out" in a +little corral fragrant with grass down near the timber line. The tent +they had carried was a short distance below the summit, on the +eastern slope, with packages and bags and boxes of provisions piled +around it. + +To the south lay Virginia, to the north, east and west stretched the +mountainous district of West Virginia. Far below them ran the North +Fork of the Potomac river. + +What they saw was a wild and lonely country, with more deer, wild +turkeys, and raccoons than human beings. On their hard and frequently +delayed journey in they had passed cabins, surrounded here and there +by rail fences, but there were none in sight from where they now +stood. + +The sun, a round ball of fire in the west, would be out of sight in +half an hour, and then the desolate darkness of the mountains would +surround them. A wild turkey called to its mate in the distance, and +small creatures of the air fluttered about, as if determined to know +what human beings were doing there, in their ordinarily safe retreat. + +The boys had visited Washington the day following the incidents at +the clubroom of the Black Bear Patrol, but had learned nothing of +importance there. The launch in which the young prince had been seen +had been traced up the river to the vicinity of Cumberland, but there +the trail had ended. + +"It is a case of needle-in-the-haystack," the Secret Service chief +had said to Ned, on the morning of his departure for the mountains. +"We have men looking over every inch of the large cities. We want you +to rake those mountains with a fine-tooth comb! Personally, I believe +that the prince is there." + +"But," Ned had replied, "how are we to communicate with you in case +we require more definite instructions?" + +"You know what Sherman did when he left Atlanta?" laughed the chief. + +"Why, he cut the wires," returned Ned, "so as not to have his +movements hampered by orders from men who, not being on the +ground, could not possibly know as much as he did of what ought +to be done." + +"That is what I want you to do!" the chief continued. "Cut the +wires." + +"But that is assuming a great responsibility," urged the boy. + +"Very true, but I have an idea that you want to work in your own way, +so go to it. A mess of lively boys running up and down the mountain +sides looking for game and snap-shots ought not to arouse the +suspicion of the thieves if they are there. Make friends with the +mountain people if you can. They are naturally suspicious, but good +as gold at heart." + +That was his last talk with the chief. After that supplies had been +bought and transported by rail to the nearest point, and there the +mules had been bought and the difficult journey begun. They had just +made their first permanent camp. + +"I wouldn't mind living here a few years!" Teddy said. "It beats the +hot old city! If I had plenty of reading matter and a full larder, I +don't think I would ever go back. I wish Dad could step out of that +Harvard thing and eat supper with us!" + +The shrill scream of a mule now came up from the feeding ground +below, and a commotion at the tent showed that one of the animals was +kicking up a row there. + +"That's that long-eared Uncle Ike," Jimmie McGraw exclaimed. "I feel +in my bones that I'm going to love that mule! He's so worthless! If +he had two legs less he'd beat Jesse James to the tall timber in +piracy! He won't work if you don't watch him, and he'll steal +everything he gets his eyes on! Yes, sir, I feel that there's a +common sympathy between that mule and me, yet I know that we'll have +a falling out some day! He's so open and above-board in his +mischief." + +"Can you see what he's doing now?" asked Teddy. + +"Why, I saw him knocking at the door of the tent, and I presume that +by this time he is sitting in my chair picking his teeth, after +devouring the bread! That sure is some highwayman, that mule, yet I +feel that I'm going to love and admonish him!" + +The boys dashed down the slope to the tent and found Uncle Ike, as +Jimmie insisted on calling a tall, ungainly, raw-boned mule, chewing +at a slice of ham which he had pilfered from a box by the side of the +fire. + +"There's one thing about Uncle Ike," Jimmie grinned, as Ned drove the +animal away with a club. "He always looks like he had been sent for +to lead an experience meeting! He'll put on a face as long as a cable +to a freight train, and then he'll turn to me and wink one eye, as if +explaining that it was all for a joke." + +"That's your ham he's chewing, Jimmie!" Ned declared. + +"I suppose so," the boy replied. "That's what you get by being +brother to a long-eared mule that for cussedness has Becker's gunmen +backed up a creek with the oars lost!" + +While the mule was being restored to his companions, Jimmie and Teddy +began getting supper. They had plenty of tinned goods, plenty of +flour, potatoes, meal and ham and bacon. Still, they thought they +ought to have something in the way of game. + +"I saw a wild turkey back there," Teddy volunteered. + +"And I saw a coon," Jimmie added. + +"Is there any law on turkeys and coons?" asked Jack, who was trying +to make the fire burn bright with lengths of green wood. + +"There ain't no law of any kind up here," Frank insisted. + +"Then we'll go and get a coon," Jimmie declared. "You boys get a +red-hot fire and I'll have the bird here before Ned gets that mule tied +up!" + +"Guess I'll go along," Teddy suggested. "I never did like to have +anyone else go to the trouble of getting my wild meat for me! I'll go +along, and Frank and Ned and Oliver can get supper." + +Without waiting for any affirmative replies from their companions, +the two lads darted away, and were soon lost in a canyon which ran at +right angles with the ridge much farther down. Frank and Oliver began +piling dry wood on the fire. + +"Those boys will be back here in time for breakfast--just about!" +Frank commented, as the coffee water boiled and the bacon began +sizzling in the pan. "If they get any supper here they'll have to +cook it!" + +Presently Ned came back from the little valley where the mules were +feeding and took a field glass from the tent. + +"What's up now?" Teddy asked, as Ned walked back to the ridge and +looked down into the valley of the North Fork. "Ned must be seeing, +things!" + +Ned remained oh the summit a long time, until the sun sank behind the +range to the west and the valleys became ribbons of black between the +lighter crests of the mountains. + +Presently Frank scrambled up the yards of rugged, rock-strewn slope +which led to the summit where Ned was standing, still with his field +glass in his hand. + +"Anything in sight over that way?" the boy asked, as he came to Ned's +side. + +"There is a column of smoke in the valley," Ned answered. "I thought +at first that there were two, but I may have been mistaken. Do you +remember what two columns of smoke would have indicated?" + +"Of course!" laughed Frank. "If I should become lost in woods or +mountains, or anywhere, I'd build two fires and get wet wood to make +smudge, good and plenty. That would mean that I was lost and needed +assistance. That's the Boy Scout Indian signal for help. I remember +when we saw it north of the Arctic Circle, don't you?" + +"I won't be apt to forget it right away," was the reply. + +The boys remained standing on the summit for some moments, although +it was now too dark for them to distinguish objects in the valley +below. All around the June night called to them with its silences and +its sharp and sudden rasp of sounds. There were the mountains, +brooding, heavy, mysterious, and there were the fleets of flying +clouds reaching down to wrap their summits! + +"It is simply great up here!" Ned exclaimed presently. "That is the +only word that seems to express it--great!" + +"Yes, it is fine for a change," Frank admitted, "though I don't +believe in the wilds as a permanent thing! Everything in the +mountains and forests seems to me to be crude and half done. This, I +presume, is because the world isn't finished yet. Those who come to +places like this catch the Creator with his sleeves rolled up, if +that isn't a coarse way of saying it." + +"I like it, just the same!" Ned declared. "It is glorious! It is +life!" + +"It is healthful so far as animal life goes," laughed Frank, "but +what about mental life? There would never have been anything +wonderful in the way of inventions--like the wireless, and the +telephone, and the uses of electricity--if mankind had been content +to live and die in the wilds! It is crude, as I said before, +unfinished, out of line with all the decrees of art. I'll take the +city for mine, with its marble buildings, its wonderful art +galleries, its beautiful parks!" + +"Say, you mooners!" came a voice from the camp below, "if you've got +done surveying the beautiful black landscape, suppose you come down +to supper?" + +The boys went down to the tent to find Jimmie and Teddy still absent. + +"There are two things we'll have to set aside time for," Ned +declared, as he took a seat on the ground before the blaze, with a +great plate of food in his lap. "We'll have to arrange for keeping +Uncle Ike, the mule, out of mischief, and for keeping track of Jimmie +and Teddy. Those boys will get lost in the mountains yet, and go +hungry for a few days. That would be punishment enough for Jimmie--hunger!" + +The boys sat by the campfire a long time, heaping dry wood on the +blaze until they were obliged to widen the circle about it. There was +only the light of the stars, looking down from a cloud-flecked sky, +but there would be a moon shortly after ten o'clock. + +"If the boys don't return before long," Frank broke out, after a +moment of silence, "I'm going to take a searchlight and go out +looking for them." + +The boy expressed the thought which was brooding in the minds of them +all. They were more than anxious for the safety of the two truants. +Oliver arose and walked away from the fire up the slope, until his +figure was out of sight, but shortly came back and sat down again, +his face expressing impatience as well as anxiety. + +"There's no reason why they shouldn't see this fire," he said. "I +walked over the summit a bit to see if the light was reflected over +there. It is. If anywhere within two miles, they ought to see this +blaze or the glow from it. They're just doing this to make us worry. +I'd like to get them by the neck, this minute," he added. + +Uncle Ike, the mule, gave vent to a vicious scream at that moment, +and Ned arose and started in the direction of the feeding ground. +When he reached the spot he saw that the mules were agitated, weaving +about on the tying lines in either fear or anger. + +"Uncle Ike," Ned said, patting the ugly beast on the neck, "what is +it about your sleeping chamber that you don't like? Or it is your +supper you object to?" + +Uncle Ike thrust his long ears forward and elevated his heels, as if +kicking at some imaginary object back of him. Then Ned saw a figure +moving in the darkness. + +"Come out of that!" he called. "Why are you sneaking around here?" + +The figure advanced toward the boy then--the figure of an old woman! + + + + +CHAPTER V + +JIMMIE AND TEDDY MISS A MEAL + + +"I was scared to come up until I heard your voice," the old lady +said, as she came close to Ned. "I didn't know you were only a boy." + +The woman appeared to be very old. Her hair was white and her lean +face was wrinkled and leathery with time and storm and exposure to +the winds of the hills. Still, old as she seemed to be, she walked +alertly, with the swinging grace of the true mountain woman. She was +very plainly dressed in a one-piece gown of dark calico. Her head was +not covered at all, and the white hair took on a tinge of gold from +the distant campfire. Her black eyes were sharp, yet kindly in +expression. + +"Good evening, mother," Ned said, removing his cap as he greeted the +old lady, "we didn't expect to meet ladies here. Do you live in this +locality?" + +"Quite a step," the old lady said, in a gentle, hesitating tone, +"quite a bit down the slope is where I live. I wanted to know what +the fire meant, and so I came up. You don't mind my being here, do +you?" + +"Glad to have you come!" Ned responded, truthfully. "If you care to +come up to our camp we'll be glad to give you a cup of tea and +whatever else you want." + +"I'll be glad to get a cup of tea," the woman declared. "We don't get +tea up here in the mountains--not very often. We don't have the money +to pay for it, and, then it is such a long way to go after it. Yes, +I'll go with you." + +Ned noted that the woman did not speak the dialect of the mountains. +He wondered how long she had lived there, and if she lived alone. She +did not long leave him in doubt on these points, for she seemed +anxious to talk. + +"I'm Mary Brady," she said, as they ascended the slope toward the +fire. "I came here years ago with my husband, Michael Brady, to live +in peace. Mike was a good man when he was himself, but the saloon men +of New York were always after him when he had any money. We came here +to be rid of them." + +"That was the correct thing to do, it strikes me," Ned said, for want +of something better, as she seemed to expect some friendly comment. + +"I don't know," she went on. "We meant it for the best--but there was +the moonshine! I didn't know about the moonshine when we came here. +All I thought of was to get away from Houston street! He fell one day +and they brought him home dead." + +Ned was strangely interested in this simple life history. The poor +old woman living there, probably alone and in want, after such an +ending to a hopeful plan! + +"And you kept on here?" he asked. "Why didn't you go back to the +city?" + +"There was the boy," she answered. "He was ten when we came here. I +didn't want him to get the thirst! After Mike died I lived here to +keep him in the good path. He is a good boy, but when he was twenty +they got him, too--the moonshiners!" + +"And he left you?" asked Ned. + +"He said he couldn't make anything of himself here, so he went to +Washington. He's never come back, though I've always kept a home for +him, and never ceased to look for him. He writes me now and then that +he's coming home, but he doesn't come! When I saw your fire I thought +he might be with you." + +By this time they were at the camp, and Mary Brady was presented to +the boys and made comfortable by the fire, with tea and canned fruit +before her. She enjoyed the lunch immensely and looked the gratitude +she did not speak. + +"When did you hear from your boy last?" asked Frank, by way of +keeping the conversation going. "Did he write from Washington? Was it +to Washington you said he went?" + +"It was Washington," was the reply. "He wrote me a month or more ago +that he would be here with friends in June. I thought he might be +with you. He has been married since he left home, and has a child, +though his wife is dead." + +"And he said he was thinking of bringing the child here?" asked Ned, +glancing significantly at Frank. "Did he say that in his last +letter?" + +"Yes, that he was thinking of bringing the boy here. It is only a +mite of a boy--not more than seven years old, he said. I'm anxious +for him to come." + +Jack and Oliver gathered closer about the old lady in order to hear +every word that was spoken. One brought her more tea and the other +filled the sauce dish with peaches. Ned motioned to them to remain +silent. + +"And so you expect him to drop down on you any time?" Ned asked. + +"Yes, my son and the boy. He's a cute little chap, Mike says. Mike +was named for his father, and the lad's name is Mike, too. I'm +anxious for him to get here. And I'm wondering whether he's light and +blonde, with brown hair and blue eyes like his father, or dark, like +my side of the family. + +"What do you make of it?" Jack whispered to Oliver. + +"What do I make of what?" demanded the other. + +"Of the old lady and her three Mikes?" replied Jack, scornfully. +"Have you been asleep all this time?" + +"I was waiting for you to express an opinion," Oliver declared. "Do +you think it possible that they would change the name of a prince of +the royal blood to Mike?" + +"So you've caught on, at last!" whispered Jack. "Do you really think +we've tumbled on a streak of luck at the send-off?" + +"I don't know," was the hesitating reply. "We'll have to cultivate +this old lady." + +"Sure thing!" + +"Did she say where her cottage is?" asked Oliver, directly. "We ought +to verify her story, it seems to me. I'd like to hear Ned's opinion!" + +"Do you remember what she said about Mike II. having blonde hair and +blue eyes?" asked Jack, presently. + +"Sure!" was the answer. "That made me sit up and take notice. It +brought back to my memory the light brown hair on the bloody blade of +the shears." + +"Same here," announced Jack. "If this Mike II. comes here we'll have +to find out if he has a cicatrice on the right thumb and a scar on +the head, a scar which might have been brought about by a pair of +shears thrown by a frightened maid in the city of New York!" + +"Think of a crown prince being called Mike!" chuckled Oliver. + +"Ned didn't say it was a crown prince!" + +"He might just as well have said it! He didn't dispute me when I +asked if it was a crown prince who had been abducted." + +"If Jimmie and Teddy don't return soon," Jack said, changing the +subject, "we'll have to start the Boy Scout Camera Club out looking +for them." + +"They'll be back when they get hungry!" laughed the other. + +But Jimmie and Teddy were still away when the moon rose over the +ridge to the east. Mrs. Brady was still by the campfire. She appeared +to delight in the companionship of the boys. Having lived alone for +years, she would have been delighted at any companionship whatever, +but the boys were full of life and vitality, they were sympathetic, +and, besides, they were from her old home--New York! + +As the moon showed her round face over the summit of the range to the +east she arose and stretched out a withered hand to Ned. + +"I'm going," she said. "I've had a pleasant evening. You don't know +how much it has been to me to sit here and talk with you! If you'll +come down to my cabin some day I'll try to make it pleasant for you!" + +"Some day," laughed Ned. "What do you say to my going right now? Of +course I've got to see you home! Couldn't think of letting you go +away alone." + +"I've walked these mountains night and day for more than twenty +years," faltered the old lady, "and I'm not afraid now!" + +"You don't object to my going?" asked Ned. + +"I'm awful glad to have you go," was the reply. "But you'll find it a +long walk, there and back," she added. + +"If it is too far for me to walk back," Ned laughed, "you may give me +a bunk on the floor! Anyway, I'm going to see you home!" + +As the boy spoke he beckoned to Frank to step to one side with him. + +"Of course this looks all straight, on the face of it," he said, when +the two were alone together, "but one can never tell. We've got to be +pretty careful, for we are in a strange country, and are here for a +purpose which may be resented by the mountaineers. We can't afford to +take any chances." + +"Do you suspect the old lady?" asked Frank, in amazement. + +"I don't know what to think," was the hesitating reply. "The first +night we spend in a permanent camp, up she comes with a story about a +son being about to bring in a boy of seven for her to mother! Then, +as if that wasn't enough of a bait for us to snap at, she goes on to +say that the son is blonde, with light brown hair and blue eyes. +Looks like we were being led on!" + +"You bet it does," Frank replied. "Jimmie and Teddy have disappeared, +and this may be a frame-up, and so I wouldn't go off alone with her. +And, look here," Frank went on, "do you believe Uncle Ike would have +kicked, and screamed, and made a row generally, if only this old lady +had approached him? Do you, now?" + +"She might have frightened him," Ned replied, "for he may not be used +to women. Still, she may have had some one with her! I was thinking +that Uncle Ike sounded a warning on slight cause," he added. + +"Well, if I were you, I wouldn't go away alone with her," advised +Frank. "Let me go with you if you insist on going." + +"Of course I've got to go now," Ned went on. "I've promised her, and +she is expecting me to go. But I'll tell you what you may do. You can +wait until I have gone some distance and then follow on behind, not +so as to be seen by any other person trailing us, but still close +enough to be available in case of trouble." + +"All right," Frank agreed. "I'll keep back far enough to see any one +who might be following the two of you! I wish Jimmie was here! He'd +be just the one to go with me. And there's always something doing +when Jimmie is around!" + +"I'm worried about those boys!" Ned answered. "I'm going to keep a +sharp lookout for them, all the way to the cabin." + +"There's something wrong," Frank hastened to say. "They never would +have remained away from camp like this. And without supper, too! +Jimmie is particular to be on hand when it comes to eating time. +There! There's Uncle Ike talking in his sleep! I wonder what's eating +him now? Shall I go and see?" + +"No," Ned said, hastily, seizing Frank by the arm. "Don't even look +in that direction. Watch Mrs. Mary Brady!" + +The old woman's face was turned toward the spot where the mules were +staked out, her figure was straight, tense, alert. She appeared to be +listening and watching for some agreed-upon signal from the corral. +Ned moved over toward her cautiously. + +Once the old woman moved, involuntarily, toward the mules, but she +drew back in a moment and stood, waiting, with her eyes on the boys, +now in a little group not far from the spot where she stood. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +SIGNALS IN THE CANYON + + +Jimmie and Teddy passed over the summit to the west of the camp and +took their way down a difficult incline toward the headwaters of the +Greenbrier river. They traveled some distance, walking, sliding, +creeping, before they came in sight of a copse which appeared to be +worth looking over for wild game. + +"I don't know about this wild turkey business," Teddy said, as the +boys stood on an elevation lifting above the patch of timber. "If +I've got it right, wild turkeys are precious birds in West Virginia." + +"I never once thought of that!" Jimmie exclaimed. "Why, we won't have +any fun hunting at all! I wonder if there is a closed season for +coons?" + +Teddy took out a memorandum book and turned to an insert pasted on +the inside of the cover. Dropping to the ground, so as not to attract +the attention of any natives who might be near by, he read the slip +by the aid of his electric searchlight. + +"Open season for wild turkeys in West Virginia from October fifteen +to December one," he read. "Now, what do you know about that? Rotten, +eh?" + +"I guess we can get one to eat, all right," grumbled Jimmie. "Who's +going to know anything about it if we do, I'd like to know? Away off +here in the mountains!" + +"I presume there are constables and justices up here who would be +glad to soak us for fifty or a hundred apiece!" Teddy grinned. "I +reckon we'd better eat hens, and coon, and fresh fish--if we can get +them! And deer! We get no venison steaks!" + +"Not this season!" Jimmie grunted. "They'd take great joy, as you +say, in getting us into jail and extracting all our vacation money! +I'm going to take photographs of the West Virginia game laws. A man +is about the only creature one can shoot down here during the summer +and get away with it! I'll have Frank put that idea in his dad's +newspaper!" + +"We've got enough to eat, anyway," laughed Teddy. "The question +before the house right now is how are we going to get down into that +patch of trees?" + +"The laws of gravity will take us down!" answered Jimmie. "Just step +off this ledge and see if I'm not right. What do we want to go down +there for, anyway, if we can't shoot a wild turkey after we get +there? I'm going back to camp." + +The night was falling fast, and stars were showing between masses of +clouds. The boys had traveled farther from the camp than they had +intended, and the return journey was all up hill. They surveyed the +prospect gloomily. + +"I could eat the top off one of the mountains!" Jimmie declared, as +they turned to make the climb. "I never was so hungry in my life. +Wish we were back in camp!" + +Teddy, who had turned to look down into the valley, now caught Jimmie +by the arm and pointed downward, where a low-lying ridge jutted out +of the general slope and made a small canyon between itself and the +body of the mountains, a canyon in which a trinkle of water showed. + +"Do you see that column of smoke?" he asked, as Jimmie turned. + +"There must be a camp there," Jimmie exclaimed. "I thought we would +be all alone up here for a time--until we got a line on the men who +stole the prince." + +"Wait a minute!" Teddy answered. "There! Now do you see two columns +of smoke?" + +The two columns lifted skyward for only a second, then died down. + +"That's the Boy Scout signal for help!" Jimmie commented. "I wonder +what shut it off so quickly? It would be strange if we found Boy +Scouts here in the mountains--eh?" + +"According to all reports," Teddy answered, "you boys found Scouts in +all parts of the world, even in China and the Philippines! If it is a +Scout making that Indian sign for help, he'll get the smoke going +again before long. There they are!" + +The two columns of smoke were in the air again, ascending from the +canyon between the mountainside and the outcropping ridge. Directly a +gleam of fire was seen. + +"That's the call for help, all right!" Jimmie cried. "What shall we +do about it?" + +"We ought to go right there. The boy may have been injured in a fall, +and may be starving! We ought to get there as soon as possible." + +"Without going back to camp to tell the boys?" asked Jimmie. "We have +been gone a long time now, remember. They will be worrying about us +pretty soon." + +"But we ought to go right now!" insisted Teddy. "The boy may be in +trouble." + +"Something else coming!" cried Jimmie, then. "See that blazing stick +working overtime? He's going to talk in the Myer code! Now count +right and left." + +"There's one to the right!" Teddy said. "I've lost track of the code +already." + +"No. 1 motion is to the right," Jimmie quoted from the wig-wag lesson +he had learned on first becoming a Boy Scout. "It should embrace an +arc of ninety degrees, starting at the vertical and returning to it +without pause, and should be made in a plane exactly at right angles +to the line connecting the two stations. + +"And No. 2 motion is the same, only on the left side. And three is +the same, only the signal goes to the ground and comes back to the +vertical! Now I've got it! Then he wig-wags again I'll tell you what +he says. You read, too, and see if we agree." + +"One to the right!" cried Jimmie, "and two to the left!" + +"That means H," Teddy translated. "What comes next?" + +"No. 1 and then No. 2," replied Jimmie. "That's plain enough!" + +"It stands for E," Teddy went on, "and I know what the next letter +will be, too." + +"No. 2, No. 2, No, 1! I knew it! That is L. The other will be P!" + +"No. 1, No. 2, No. 1, No. 2!" read Teddy, following the flight of the +blazing stick as it moved through the darkness. "That's L, and the +word is HELP!" + +"And here we go to see about it!" Jimmie decided, moving down the +slope. "The boy can't be very far off. I'd like to know how a Boy +Scout got lost out here." + +"We may become lost ourselves," laughed Teddy, "if we don't look out +where we are going. I wouldn't know where to head for if I wanted to +go back to camp right now." + +"All we would have to do would be to climb the mountain," Jimmie +declared. + +"There's more than one summit," persisted Teddy. "We'd better get a +line on something to guide ourselves by when we go back." + +"We came straight west," the other said, "and if we get lost the moon +will tell us which way to go--if it doesn't rise in the west down +here!" + +The wig-wag code below was still in evidence, always repeating the +same word, "Help." The boys hesitated no longer, but went rattling +down the slope at a speed which spoke well for their balancing +powers! As they entered the little canyon from the north, Jimmie +halted and settled back on a rock, his hand on Teddy's shoulder. + +"Do you suppose he heard us coming down the slope?" he asked. + +"He must have been deaf if he didn't," was the reply. "We brought +about half the mountain down with us, it seemed to me. Of course he +heard us." + +"Well, we ought to have been more cautious," Jimmie declared. + +"I guess we aren't likely to frighten him away," suggested Teddy. + +"But this may be a frame-up," warned the other. "Look here! The people +who sent that spy to Jack's house knew the Boy Scouts were going out +to look for the prince, didn't they? We have never seen or heard +anything of them since that night, but there is good reasons for +believing that they have had us under surveillance." + +"And you think this may be a trap for us?" asked Teddy. + +"It may be," was the reply. "If they wanted to trap us, they would go +about it in just about this way, if they were wise, wouldn't they? +Sure they would." + +"Then we'd better sneak up to that campfire and find out what is +going on before we show ourselves," suggested Teddy. "We ought to +have come down here as softly as two flakes of snow? What? We'll know +better then to make so much noise next time!" + +"There may be no next time," Jimmie advised, as they moved down the +canyon, in the middle of which ran a small stream of water, a rivulet +connecting with the Greenbrier river farther to the south and west. +It was now quite dark, and they were obliged to feel every step of +their way, for there were numerous crevices in the floor of the +canyon. + +Pressing on, slowly, cautiously, their weapons within easy reach, the +boys finally turned a little angle of rock and came within sight of a +camp-fire not far away. + +"There!" Jimmie whispered. "I had a notion that we should find more +than one here. Why did the Scout wig-wag for help when there were +three husky men with him?" + +Teddy opened his eyes wider, but attempted no solution of the puzzle. + +"There's a little chap sitting alone by the fire," Jimmie went on, +peering through his field-glass, "and there are three men gathered in +a huddle on the other side of the fire. They all look like they were +listening for something." + +"I don't wonder--the way we came down the slope!" The other grinned. + +While the boys watched one of the men strode over to where the boy +was sitting and, evidently, began questioning him. The watchers were +too far away to hear any conversation between the two. Presently the +boy sprang up and started to run. + +In a moment the heavy hand of the man was on his shoulder and he was +dragged back to the fire and dumped down like a sack of grain. He lay +quite still for a moment. + +"I'd like to know what that means!" Teddy whispered. "That's brutal!" + +"That gives me faith in the boy!" exclaimed Jimmie. + +"What's the answer to that?" demanded Teddy. + +"They probably saw him doing the wig-wag!" was Jimmie's reply. +"They're threatening him." + +"And they may have been beating him up for doing it? That may be." + +"And, again," the other continued, "that may be a little rehearsal +all for our benefit! There are men in the world sharp enough to put +up just that kind of a bluff." + +"That's very true," was the reply. "We've got to lie here until we +know what it all means. We can't go away and leave the little fellow +without knowing more about the signals. Those men may be moonshiners. +We might get a reward!" + +"We'll be lucky if we don't get into jail!" Jimmie grunted. "If we +don't, we'll get into an infirmary for the hungry! If I have to lie +on this rock much longer with nothing to eat I'll have to be carried +back on a stretcher!" + +"You always were the brave little man with the knife and fork!" +grinned Teddy. + +The four figures by the fire remained in the old order for a long +time, the men grouped together, the boy alone on the side of the +blaze next to the watchers. + +"I wish I could get up to him?" Teddy said, as if requesting advice +on the question of a nearer approach to the boy. "I'd like to see if +it is the prince!" + +"The prince isn't a Boy Scout!" declared Jimmie. "Besides, this boy +is too old to be the prince! The prince is only seven years old--just +a little baby." + +"Anyway, I'm going to make a sneak up there," insisted Teddy. + +Before Jimmie could stop him he was away, crawling on hands and knees +through the heavy shadows of the cliffs which lay about the camp-fire. +Jimmie watched him anxiously for a moment and then started to +follow him. The two were not far away from the lad, and were +thinking of doing something to attract his attention when a stone +rolled into a crevice with a great bumping sound. The boys dropped +down on their faces and waited, their hearts beating like trip-hammers +as the men around the fire sprang to their feet. + +"What was that?" demanded a hoarse voice. "Who is out there?" he +added, turning to the darkness beyond. "I'm going to shoot out that +way in a minute!" + +"I like this!" whispered Jimmie. "This is some adventure! What?" + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +A MINT IN THE MOUNTAINS + + +"Why," the old woman said, stepping closer to the group of boys, +"that's Buck!" + +A heavily-built man with a scraggly beard stepped away from the +corral and approached the group by the fire, his stubby fingers +twining in and out of his unkempt whiskers as he walked along, his +eyes fixed on the fire and those about it. + +"That's Buck Skypole," the old woman went on, as the advancing figure +stopped. "I didn't know you was to come after me Buck," she added, +speaking to the new-comer. + +"I 'lowed you'd be right skeered of the dark," the man answered, "so +I 'lowed I'd come on up an' tote you home." + +He rubbed his left thigh carefully for a moment and then spoke to +Ned. + +"That's a right pert mule," he said. + +"Did Uncle Ike kick you?" asked Jack, nudging Oliver in the ribs with +an elbow. "We'll have to wallop him a bit, if he did." + +"I reckon I ain't got no mad at the creeter," Buck replied. "A man +must keep out'n reach of a mule. Seein' the mule's got only a few +feet of play in his laigs, he ought to be able to do that! No; I +ain't goin' to recommend no beatin's f'r the mule!" + +"Buck," said the old lady, "these are boys from New York, my old +home! They're taking pictures of the mountains." + +"They c'n take the mountains, too!" Buck laughed. "F'r all me!" + +"I thought Mike might have come in with them," the old lady went on. +"He isn't here, but I've had a real pleasant time with the boys. I'm +much obliged to you, lads," she added, facing Ned. "I'm grateful for +the tea and the fruit. They're rare here." + +"I reckoned you wouldn't find Mike here," Buck chuckled, "f'r while +you was gone a message come from Mike. He can't get here now, but +he's sent the kid!" + +"He has?" cried the woman, joyfully. "Do you mean to tell me, Buck, +that the boy is right down there this minute, in my cabin?" + +"Sure I do," was the reply, "an' a bright little feller he is." + +"Give us a guess on that," whispered Jack to Oliver. "Is the kid in +the cabin Mike III., or is he the prince? Give you three guesses!" + +"I give it up!" the boy whispered back. + +"Why didn't you bring the kid along with you?" asked Frank. "We all +want to see him. His grandmother has been telling us about him." + +"Its a right smart walk for a little one!" Buck answered. + +"You're welcome to come down and see him," Mrs. Brady said. "I'd be +proud to give you all a snack in the morning." + +"Suppose we do go and see the kid?" asked Oliver. "I'm curious to +know all about the little shaver!" + +"I'm for it!" Frank exclaimed. + +"And I'll be the first one there!" Jack put in. "I always liked +kids--from Washington! No one will molest the camp while we are gone." + +"I wouldn't leave it alone, if I were you," advised the old lady. +"There's a heap of bad people come into the mountains sometimes. +Don't all leave at once." + +"That's good advice, mother," Ned said. "Two will go and two will +remain here. In a short time the two out in the hills will return, +and then there will be a good-sized guard for what little stuff we +have." + +"All right," Jack declared, "if any one is going to stay here, it +will be me! Come to think of it, I'm too blamed tired to walk another +step to-night. Eh, Oliver?" + +"I'll remain here if you do," the boy replied. "I'm worn out up to my +knees now, climbing mountains. And, besides, Uncle Ike would be +lonesome without me away!" + +"Very well," Ned agreed. "That leaves Frank and me for the visit. When +Jimmie and Teddy come, put them to bed without supper!" + +"You'll know when they come, then," laughed Jack, "for Jimmie going +to bed without supper will be a noisy proposition. You can hear him +for ten miles." + +"I'm anxious about the boys," Ned went on. "I'm afraid something is +wrong with them. They should have been back here hours ago." + +"You remember the Indian signal for help you saw in the valley?" +asked Frank, in a moment. "Well, they may have seen that, too, and +taken a notion to find out about it. They went in that direction when +they left the camp." + +"That may be the reason for their delay," Ned answered. "We should +have attended to that signal ourselves," he added. "There may have +been some one in serious trouble down there. I hope the boys did +go--that is, if nothing happens to them because of their going. Boy +Scouts should assist each other at every opportunity." + +After a little more talk regarding the boy who had been sent to Mary +Brady by her son in Washington, and after Buck had been given a +couple of cups of steaming hot coffee, the four started down the +slope to the west. + +"Did any one say how far it was to the old lady's cabin?" asked Jack +of his chum, as they nestled down by the fire, the mountain air being +cold, even in June. + +"Buck said it was three whoops and a holler!" almost shrieked +Oliver. "Do you know what he meant by that?" + +"I don't know," answered Jack, "but I should think, from what she +said, that the boys won't feel like walking back up the mountain +to-night. Therefore, if Jimmie and Teddy don't come, well be alone." + +"I wonder if they would know the prince if they met him in the road?" +laughed Oliver. "That kid down there is just as much the prince as I +am. What did they steal the kid for, anyway?" + +"Politics!" yawned Jack. + +"What did they send him over here for, anyway?" + +"Politics!" with another yawn. + +"Aw, go on to bed!" grinned Oliver. "I'll build up another fire, to +serve as a sort of lighthouse for the boys and sit up for them." + +So Jack went into the tent, pulled down a great heap of blankets, +drew off his coat and shoes and stockings, and was soon asleep in a +neat little nest! + +Oliver sat by the fire for a short time and then went up to the +summit to look over the valley. The moon was rising now, and he could +see the four who had recently left the camp working their way over a +ridge to the south and west. + +Straight down, in a canyon made by an outcropping ledge of rock, he +saw a faint light, as from a campfire which had been allowed to die +down. + +"The mountains are full of people to-night!" he mused. "If I thought +I could make Uncle Ike behave himself, I'd ride down there and see +who those campers are." + +The boy stood undecided for some moments, then his eyes opened wider +and he moved downward toward the fire. He was thinking of the Boy +Scout signals for help which Ned and Frank had mentioned seeing! + +"I wonder if Jack would go down there with me!" + +When he reached the camp Jack was in the land of dreams, and he +decided not to awake him. He could go alone just as well! + +He went on down to the feeding ground and presented Uncle Ike with a +lump of sugar. The mule thanked him with wiggling ears and dived a +soft muzzle into his coat pocket for another lump. + +"Not until you come back, Uncle Ike!" Oliver explained. "If you do a +good job traveling up and down the mountainside, you're going to have +another piece of sugar when we get back!" + +The boy saddled and bridled the animal, mounted, and urged him away +from the feeding ground. Uncle Ike, thinking his day's work finished, +objected to being put into harness again, and reared and kicked until +Oliver was obliged to dismount and bribe him with more sugar. + +"Will you go now, you fool mule?" he asked. + +Uncle Ike finally decided to go, and his sure feet were soon pressing +the slope toward the campfire. Oliver struck the canyon just about +where Jimmie and Teddy had entered it. + +He left Uncle Ike there and advanced toward the campfire on foot. +There were only a few embers left, and no signs of the fires which +had sent up the two columns of smoke! There was no one in sight from +the place where Oliver first came in direct view of the blaze. + +He stepped along cautiously, listening as he walked, and soon came to +a second fire. This, too, was burned down low. Beyond this he saw the +dark opening of a cave in the outcropping ridge. + +As Oliver stepped toward it, thinking the boys might have taken +refuge there for the night, he stumbled over something which rolled +under his foot and nearly fell to the ground. When he stooped over to +see what it was that had tripped him, he saw an electric flashlight +lying before him. + +"The boys have been here, all right," he mused. "Now, I wonder if this +was taken from them, or whether they lost it, or whether it was +placed here to mark the trail? Either supposition may be the correct +one!" + +The question was settled in a moment, for a voice which he knew came +out of the darkness. + +"Found it, eh? Give it to me!" + +"Jimmie!" whispered Oliver. + +"Get in here out of the light of the fire!" Jimmie whispered, "and +bring the electric in with you. Come on in, and see what we've +found." + +The opening in the ridge was a shallow one, Oliver discovered as he +entered it. To his surprise he found three lads there instead of the +two he had been looking for. + +"You saw the fires?" asked Jimmie, in a low tone. + +"Of course I did. Why didn't you come to camp?" + +"This is the boy that built the Boy Scout signals!" Jimmie said, +bringing the other forward. "His name is Dode Surratt, and he's a +bold, bad boy, being at present lookout for a gang of counterfeiters!" + +"That's a nice clean job," Oliver replied. "Where are the +counterfeiters?" + +"At work in a hole in the ground. Hear the click of their machines? +They are turning out silver dollars faster than we can spend them. We +hid around until they went to work, then came up to talk with Dode." + +Jimmie pointed to a crevice in the rock and invited Oliver to look. A +lance of light came up into the cave, and the boy's eyes followed it. +He could see a square room below, with a bright fire burning at one +end and figures moving about it. + +"Making counterfeit money, are they?" asked Oliver. + +"That's what they're doing! We were just thinking of getting out when +you came. Dode wants to go with us, but we tell him to remain with +the gang until they can be rounded up by the officers." + +Dode started to make some remark, but Jimmie stopped him. + +"They haven't got any consideration coming from you, have they?" he +asked. "They stole you, didn't they? They brought you here from +Washington to make a thief of you, didn't they?" + +"And they beat you up for making the signals, too," Teddy put in. +"And they're coming out now!" he added. "So we'll all git--but Dode!" + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +UNCLE IKE PRESENTS HIMSELF + + +Mrs. Brady and Buck walking together, Ned and Frank discussed the +situation thoroughly as they descended the mountainside. + +"This may be a frame-up," Ned observed, "but it is up to us to see it +through. The boy who has just been brought in may be the prince, or +he may be the grandson, and we are here to get the answer." + +"Or there may be no boy at the cabin at all!" Frank suggested. "The +conspirators know that we are in the mountains for the purpose of +looking up the prince. What better plan than the one now working +could they have settled on? If they are sharp at all, they would +understand that a story of a child brought on from Washington would +set us in motion--would be likely to get us into a trap!" + +They scrambled on down the slope for some distance, too busy keeping +upright to do any talking, then Frank went on. + +"You know very well that I'm no prophet of evil, Ned, but it looks to +me that we have betrayed our mission here by taking such an interest +in the child. Would a lot of boys looking for snap-shots trail off in +the night to see a boy when they might have taken a look at him the +next day?" + +"If I know anything about human nature," Ned answered, "those two +people ahead of us are honest. If it is a frame-up, they are not in +it." + +"Anyway," Frank went on, "I'm glad the plans were changed by the +arrival of Buck. It is much better for us to meet whatever is coming +to us side by side than to have me sneaking back in the distance!" + +Ned agreed to this, and the two quickened their pace in order to come +up with Buck and Mrs. Brady, who were now turning from the west to +the south, keeping along the slope of the mountain. Directly they +came to a narrow trail which led into a green valley. + +Following this, they soon came to a couple of acres of cleared land, +in the middle of which stood a rough cabin of peeled logs. A dim +light came from a square window by the door, and there came from the +interior the sound of a man's voice humming a song. + +The woman drew up and looked suspiciously at Buck. + +"Who is that?" she asked. "You didn't tell me my son came, too." + +"No," replied Buck, "I didn't, because, you see, Mike didn't come! He +sent this young fellow in with the kid, bringing word that he would +be along later." + +"And who is it?" demanded the woman. + +"A likely young chap," was the reply. "He asked me to get you home +to-night, because he wants to leave early in the morning." + +"He won't leave early in the morning if he sees us here," Ned +whispered to Frank. "If that is the prince in there, the man with him +may be the fellow who made his way into Jack's house and listened +from the attic." + +"What are we going to do about it, then?" asked Frank, anxiously. + +"We've got to meet him," Ned replied. "Whoever he is, he knows from +Buck that Mrs. Brady went up the mountain to visit a camp of +strangers. We've got to go in and face him! I wish we had kept away +from here to-night." + +Mrs. Brady and Buck now opened the door and entered the cabin, the +boys close behind them. A log fire was burning on a stone hearth, and +a tall, rather handsome young man with light hair and blue eyes was +sitting in a homemade chair before it. + +He stirred the fire to a brighter blaze as they entered, and the +leaping flames disclosed a dark-haired child of perhaps seven years +asleep on a bed in a corner of the small room. Without speaking, +without so much as a glance at the visitor, the old lady walked +swiftly to the bed and took the child in her arms. + +The boy opened his eyes and started to cry, but she quieted him with +low words and sat down on the edge of the bed, swinging him back and +forth with a motion of her arms and shoulders. The man at the fire +glanced sharply at the woman and then turned his eyes to the boys, +now standing not far from the bed. + +"The little dear!" the woman cried, mothering the child. "He's all +tired out with his long journey!" + +"This is the man that brung the boy in," Buck said, pointing to the +figure by the fire. "A mess of a time he must have had of it, too." + +"You are the grandmother?" asked the stranger. "Yes, I understand. +And are these boys your sons, too?" he added, nodding at Ned and +Frank, suspiciously. + +"Only New York boys spending a vacation in the mountains," Ned said, +answering the question. "Mrs. Brady came to our camp tonight looking +for her son and we came home with her. We are looking for good +pictures," he added. + +The stranger pointed to the old lady, sitting with the sleeping child +on her breast. + +"There is one," he said. + +"Yes, and I'm sorry I haven't my camera with me." + +"Are you thinking of remaining in this section long?" the visitor +asked. + +"We can't say," laughed Ned. "We may move on to-morrow, and may stay +here a week." + +The man's suspicions seemed to have vanished. He talked frankly with +the boys, and occasionally addressed a word to the old lady. He gave +her, briefly, a good report of her son's progress in Washington, and +handed her a roll of bank-notes. + +"He is coming here himself soon," he said, "and he will bring more. +He is doing very nicely there." + +Ned was wishing the boy would waken when the old lady arose from the +bed and laid him gently down. He stirred uneasily in his sleep and +she stood by his side, smoothing his dark hair away from his +forehead. + +"He favors my side of the family, being dark," she said. "The Stileses +are all dark. If one of you boys will sit with him a moment," she +added, with mountain hospitality, "I'll get you all a snack. It was a +long road over the mountains." + +Ned accepted the invitation eagerly and sat down by the child. The +face was dark and slender, the eyebrows turned up a trifle at the +outer comers. + +"Is it Mike III., or is it the prince?" he was asking himself when +the boy awoke and sat up in bed with a jerk. + +"What's comin' off here?" he demanded, rubbing his sleepy eyes. "What +kind of a bum game is this? I want my daddy." + +The visitor by the fire laughed. + +"He's up in city slum talk," he said. "And he's learned something of +French, too, knocking around with the boys in school." + +"I can talk Franch like a native," asserted the boy. + +"And what else?" asked the man by the fire. + +"Any old thing!" boasted the child. "They keep me at books all the +time. I'm glad I'm with grandmother in the hills. Are you my +grandmother?" he asked, pointing to the old woman, now bending over +the fire. + +"Yes, deary," was the reply. "I'm going to take care of you now." + +"I'm glad!" + +The boy tumbled back on the bed again and closed his eyes. Frank +looked at Ned significantly. + +"There's no doubt about it!" his eyes said. "This child is Mike III." + +The old lady made hot corn bread and brewed a pot of mountain tea. +The boys were not at all hungry, but managed to eat and drink +moderately. Then Ned arose. + +"We've got to be on our way," he said. "It will be morning before we +get back to camp if we don't start pretty soon!" + +When the boys, after a cordial good night from Mrs. Brady and Buck, +left the cabin the visitor followed them out. Ned stopped breathing, +almost, as he took him by the arm. + +"There's one thing I want you to explain to the old lady after a +time," the man said. "I suppose I might do it myself, but I prefer to +let her know from personal observation something of the case first. +That boy is not exactly right." + +"Not mentally sound, you mean?" asked Ned. "He appeared to be all +right just now." + +"Oh, he's bright enough," answered the other, "but he's been ill and +has been in a hospital at Washington, and has been cuddled and +humored so long that he likes to boss! Not good people to boss, the +attendants in a hospital, you will say, but I guess they let this kid +have his way. When he was delirious they told him all sorts of fairy +tales about kings and princes, and he actually thinks some of them +are true. If he breaks out in any of his tantrums before you leave, +kindly tell the old lady what I am telling you, will you?" + +Ned almost gasped! So the boy was likely to talk of kings and +princes! He was likely to become masterful in his manners! + +"I may have to change my mind," he thought. "This may be the prince, +and not Mike III. But the boy's English, and there's his street +slang! What about that? I reckon that we have a job on our hands!" + +The two stood talking together in the moonlight for some moments, the +stranger evidently resolved to make a good impression on the boys, +while Frank walked on along the trail, looking back now and then to +see if his chum was coming. + +"This boy's father," the man went on, "has permitted him to have his +own way about everything. That was a mistake, of course, but he is +trying to rectify it now by placing him under the care of his +grandmother, who, if I mistake not, will see that he is properly +disciplined." + +"It has been a long time since the father left here," Ned suggested. + +"Yes, along time." + +"He is doing well in Washington?" + +"Yes, he is connected with the State department." + +Ned made a mental note of that! + +"And is receiving a fair salary?" he asked. + +"Oh, yes; he's doing nicely, far better than his mother has any +notion of." + +Here was more food for thought. Why had the father delegated the +pleasant duty of taking the boy back to the old mountain home to +another if he had been situated so that he might have taken the +journey himself? + +"Is it the prince, or is it Mike III.?" he kept asking himself. + +While they stood there together a great clattering came down the +trail, and they saw Frank turn aside and stand at attention, as if +waiting for some object, seen in the distance, to come up. Directly +the sounds settled down to the rattling of stones and the steady +pounding of hoofs. + +"Look what's here!" Frank shouted, pointing. + +Ned moved forward, closer to the trail, and in a moment caught sight +of a tall, lank, ungainly mule coming galloping toward him! + +"What do you think of him?" called Frank. "He's come to tell us that +it is time we were home and in bed." + +"Uncle Ike!" called Ned. "Come here, you foolish mule!" + +Uncle Ike, now in plain sight, kicked up his heels in derision but +finally came to an abrupt halt in front of Ned, and stood with ears +pitched forward and forelegs braced back, evidently very much +frightened. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +A LANK MULE AS A DECOY + + +Judd Bradley, the young man who had brought the boy into the +mountains, stood for a moment watching the mule curiously. Then he +stepped nearer to Ned, who was trying to quiet the fractious animal. + +"Be careful," Ned warned, as Bradley approached. "Uncle Ike doesn't +take to strangers. He may kick if you come within reach." + +"Hell kick you whether you come within reach or not!" grumbled Buck, +who had been brought from the cabin by the clatter of the mule's +hoofs. "He reached over forty acres of rock to hand me one on the +laig!" he added, rubbing his left thigh. + +Mrs. Brady came to the doorway of the cabin and stood there, outlined +against the red firelight within, with the boy in her arms. The child +reached forth his arms impatiently, then began beating the old woman +with his small fists. + +"Go an' get me the horse!" he commanded. "Mike wants a ride!" + +"That's the prince, all right!" whispered Frank to Ned. "That's the +prince of some slum alley in Washington. What he needs is a club, +applied just before and after meals, and just before retiring, with a +dose at intervals during the night!" + +"I'm not thinking of the prince now," Ned returned, still in a low +tone, for the others were not far off, "I'm wondering how Uncle Ike +came to be here." + +"Broke away and eloped with himself, probably," laughed Frank. + +"Yes," grinned Ned, "and put on saddle and bridle before he started!" + +Frank's eyes now began to stick out. + +"S-a-a-y!" he whispered. "We'd better be getting back to camp! +There's something out of whack there! If the mule could only talk!" + +Bradley, who had backed away at Ned's warning, now came up to the +mule's head. + +"He doesn't kick with his ears, does he?" he asked, with a smile. + +"He's an outlaw," Ned answered, wishing Bradley would return to the +cabin. "He's thrown one of the boys, and we must be on our way. If +you have time before you leave, come up to the camp. We've got the +latest things in cameras and photographic material." + +"I may get up there in the morning," was the reply. + +Bradley and Mrs. Brady entered the house and closed the door, and Ned +turned to his chum with an odd look on his face. + +"I've seen that man somewhere before tonight!" he said. + +"Then you'd better try hard to place him," Frank answered, "for we are +going to see more of him in the future, if I'm not mistaken. Perhaps +you saw him on one of your visits to Washington." + +"That may be," Ned replied. "Anyway, I may be able to think it out +before morning." + +Uncle Ike laid his nose against Ned's shoulder and gave him a push. + +"He's in a hurry!" the boy laughed. "We ought to be, too! Is it +possible that one of the boys saddled him for a ride on the mountain +in the night?" + +"Just like Jack or Oliver. Or Jimmie may have returned and planned +one of his midnight expeditions!" + +"Get up and ride," Ned advised. "I'll walk and try to place that +man's face." + +"You might have seen it in the rogue's gallery," suggested Frank, +leaping into the saddle and starting away, the mule pulling and +rearing every moment. + +Finally Ned called out to him to stop, and walked up to his side. + +"What is the matter with Uncle Ike?" he asked. + +"He insists on keeping down toward the canyon," was Frank's reply. +"We came cat-cornering down the slope, didn't we?" + +"We certainly did," Ned answered, considering the matter gravely. +"Tell you what you do," he went on, "let the mule have his head! Let +him go just where he wants to. It is the instinct of animals to +follow precedent, same as men. A man will follow a cow path until it +becomes a city street, and a cow, a horse, or a mule will follow a +trail previously used--if only passed over once! Let the mule have +his head, and he may take us to the place where somebody was dumped!" + +"Solomon had nothing on you, Ned!" laughed Frank. "Go to it! Uncle +Ike, it is you for the scene of the abduction! And you may go just as +fast as you please!" + +The mule started off at a fast pace, keeping to the bottom of the +valley and finally entering the canyon at the south end. Ned walked +by Frank's side, his hand on the stirrup, listening for a sound he +dreaded to hear. He was afraid one of the boys had been thrown from +the animal's back, and might be lying, suffering, in one of the +crevices or breaks which marked the bottom of the canyon. + +After traveling some little distance in the canyon, Frank drew up and +pointed ahead. + +"Right over there," he said, "is the spot where we saw the smoke +signs!" + +"That's a fact!" Ned answered. "One of the boys must have come here +to investigate and left Uncle Ike without tying! The mule has been +here before, or he wouldn't plod along so steadily. Suppose we leave +him here and walk on cautiously?" + +"Just what I was about to propose," Frank agreed. + +Uncle Ike seemed to resent being left alone in the canyon, which was +now almost as light as day, save where the shadows of the mountain to +the east lay along the wall on that side. The mule was finally +quieted and left in a dark angle. + +Moving in the shadows, the boys soon came to an angle in the cut and +looked out on the remains of a campfire. They pushed on until they +came opposite to it, but saw no one. In order to reach it they would +be obliged to cross the canyon, not very wide there, but flooded with +moonlight in the center. + +While they stood in the shadow of the mountain a man came stumbling +down the slope ten yards away from them. At first they thought it was +one of their chums, but when the man's figure came into the moonlight +they saw that he was tall, heavily built, and also heavily bearded. +He walked straight across to the fire and passed it, turning into a +shallow cave there was in the rock of the outcropping ridge. + +The boys saw him enter the cave and look sharply around, then he +disappeared as suddenly and completely as if he had walked into the +solid rock. + +"We're getting all the stage effects!" Frank whispered. "That man +ducked into a moonshiner's establishment!" + +"He ducked in somewhere, all right," Ned answered. "I wish we could +get across there without exhibiting ourselves to the whole country." + +"I believe the boy that rode the mule is over there!" Frank +suggested. + +"Yes; and he's probably been picked up by the moonshiners," Ned +agreed. "We've got to get over there, so here goes!" + +The boys went across the streak of moonlight like a couple of +flashes, and drew up at the mouth of the cavern. So far as they could +determine no one had observed them. + +They crept to the very back of the cave and huddled close together, +listening. + +"Not a soul in sight!" Frank whispered. "That might have been a +ghost!" + +"Do ghosts rattle metal?" asked Ned. + +There followed another silence, and then the clink of metal came +clearer to the ears of the listening boys. + +"Where does it come from?" asked Frank. "There's not a crack in sight +in this rock." + +A puff of soft coal gas wafted into the cave, causing the boys to +hold their breaths. Then, in spite of all he could do to prevent it, +Frank sneezed. + +Almost instantly a dark figure appeared between the place where the +boys were hidden and the space of moonlight in front. The man stepped +out, looked up and down the canyon, and came slowly back to meet +another figure. + +"Nothing doing!" a gruff voice said. + +"But that wasn't any bird!" insisted another gruff voice. + +"Well, you may look for yourself!" + +"I tell you," the second speaker went on, "that those boys are still +out in the hills! When I was at the camp there was only one in the +tent, and he sat there with a gun in his lap, watching for the others +to come back." + +"Did you speak with him?" + +"What for would I speak with him?" + +"To get his story. What are they here for? That is worth knowing." + +"Well, I didn't show myself because we're not supposed to be here +ourselves!" came the other voice. "If you hadn't built the fire +outside to-night we'd have been in no danger. Now we've got a lot of +boys sneaking around. What did you do with the others?" + +"They're in the work-room." + +"In the work-room, seeing everything! You're a bright lot! You know +now, I suppose that we've got to leave those lads here when we go +away?" + +"I have known that all along. There are plenty of kids in the world. +These won't be missed. It is a bad job, but it must be done!" + +"They shouldn't have come sneaking around!" + +The two men disappeared again, but this time Ned saw the opening to +the work-room, as they had termed the underground apartment, when +they swung an imitation rock made of plank aside and stepped down. +For a moment their figures were illumined by the red light of the +fire within, and then they were no longer in sight. + +"They're a cheerful pair!" Frank whispered. + +"Counterfeiters!" Ned whispered, in reply. "And murderers!" + +"How are we going to get the boys out?" asked Frank. "They'll be +killed if we don't." + +"One must raise a ruction on the outside, and the other must sneak in +while the outlaws are gone. That is the only way I can think of now. +If you go out there and get Uncle Ike, and coax a couple of sobs out +of him, and rattle stones, and shoot your automatic like rain, the +outlaws may all rush out of the cave." + +"I can do all that, but how will you get in?" + +"When they run out, they will pass me. Then I'll get in through the +door," Ned replied. "If there's no one in there it won't take me long +to find the boys and turn them loose." + +"But if there is some one in there?" + +"Then you'll hear shooting," Ned answered, grimly. "In that case, +mount the mule and get back to camp and bring Jack and Oliver and a +lot of guns." + +"But one of those boys must be in there," Frank insisted. "Some one +rode Ike here!" + +"We don't know who it is that is here," Ned reflected. "Anyway, +you've got to get away with the mule after making all that noise. +Don't go in the direction of the Brady cabin. We don't want that man +Bradley mixing us up with police officers!" + +"Every minute counts!" Frank declared, "I'm off. You'll hear a racket +like the blowing up of a world in about three minutes! Good luck!" + +The lads shook hands and parted. It seemed to each one that the other +was going to his death, but only encouraging words were spoken. + +In five minutes a horrible clamor rang down the canyon. Uncle Ike +screamed, and the beating of hoofs sounded like a charge of cavalry. +Then came sharp, quick pistol shots. + +Three men dashed out of the cavern and Ned crept in at the open door! + +"I don't know what I shall find in here!" he mused, as he came into +the light of a great fire, "but I'll know all about it right soon!" + + + + +CHAPTER X + +"PACKED AWAY LIKE SARDINES" + + +Even in that underground room Ned could hear the shooting outside and +the screams of the aggravated mule. Several weapons seemed to be +pouring out lead, and the boy wondered if the outlaws were getting +the range of his chum. + +The firing seemed to grow fainter as he advanced into the room. +Either the outlaws were pursuing Frank or the shooters were taking +refuge behind rocks which deadened the sound. + +At first the boy kept his eye out for an attack on himself, but there +seemed to be none of the outlaws left in the subterranean place. The +fire was built at one side, and the light from it filled the whole +apartment. Counterfeit dollars lay about, scattered over the floor as +if dropped in great haste. + +Halting in the center of the room, after closing and baring the outer +door, Ned put his fingers to his lips and gave out a low whine, one +of the signals used by the boys of the Wolf Patrol. While he listened +for a response, the firing outside came nearer, or appeared from the +sound to do so. + +"I'd be in a nice fix if they should seek to retreat to the cave!" +Ned thought. + +While he listened an answer came to his call--the low, sharp signal +of the Wolves! + +"That's Jimmie!" Ned muttered. "He's in some of the holes just +outside this room." + +"Where are you?" he asked, and the answer came with a giggle. + +"We're packed away like sardines! Come get us out! We're only tied +with ropes, but the ropes know their business! Here! To the right of +the fire!" + +Ned soon found that the wall at the point indicated was of plank, +like the door, painted and sanded to imitate rock. He had no +difficulty in finding the opening, and in a short time the boys were +relieved of their bonds. Ned opened his eyes wide at sight of Dode, +the fourth boy, and of Oliver, who had been left at the camp. + +"What's the shooting outside?" asked Jimmie, stretching his arms, +cramped from long confinement. "Who's out there with Uncle Ike? Say, +but I was glad to hear the gentle voice of that wicked old mule!" + +"And now," Teddy observed, "how about getting out of this? I'm +hungry." + +"If Frank keeps that racket going," Ned answered, motioning the group +toward the door by which he had entered, "we may be able to get out +without being seen. You can tell me how you got caged later on. Now +we'll try the door." + +"Wait!" whispered Jimmie. + +"Wait!" said Dode. + +Ned turned and faced both boys with enquiring eyes. + +"Why wait?" he asked. + +"I want my gun!" Jimmie replied. "They searched us and put the +plunder in that alcove in the rock on the other side of the fire. +We'll need the guns, I take it." + +The three boys, Jimmie, Teddy, and Oliver, made a quick rush for the +alcove and soon came back with their guns and electrics. The firing +outside was again farther away, and the chances for getting out +without being attacked appeared to be good. + +"What is it?" Ned asked Dode, as he pulled at his sleeve. + +"There's another door," the lad explained. "It opens on the slope on +the west side of the ridge we are under. We can go that way without +being seen." + +"That's just the thing!" Jimmie exclaimed. "We can get out and join +Frank in the mess outside! Then I reckon we'll put the skids under +the outlaws!" + +Dode led the way to the opening indicated, passed, with the others at +his heels, through a long passage, and finally came to a plank door +which was securely fastened on the inside. From this position the +racket outside became only a hum. + +The boy unfastened the door and swung it inside. Beyond lay the +slope, and, beyond that, the valley and the distant mountains. The +air of the night was sweet and clear after the close atmosphere of +the underground room. + +From the other side of the ridge, which was not very high, came shots +and the vicious shrieks of a pestered mule! Ned turned to the south, +from which direction the clamor came, and passed as swiftly as +possible along the slant of the elevation. + +"Are you going to attack the outlaws from the rear?" asked Teddy. "We +are taking the wrong course if you want to go back to camp." + +"Huh!" Jimmie grunted, trudging along puffing at every breath, "we've +got to find Frank and Uncle Ike, I guess." + +When the party came to the end of the ridge under which the +counterfeiters had been working, they faced the valley, some distance +away, in which the cabin of Mary Brady stood. Through the moonlight +they could just distinguish the crude stone chimney of the structure. + +"Now, Ned," Jimmie explained, "if we turn up the slope here and do a +little shooting when we reach a good elevation, the counterfeiters +will think they are being attacked by a fresh party and duck back to +the cave. Then Frank can come along with that blessed old mule. Did +you ever hear a lop-eared old rascal of the mule tribe make such a +racket? I wonder what Frank was doing to him?" + +"I know!" Teddy broke in. "He was tickling him with his heels. That +makes Uncle Ike half crazy! There goes another yell! Fine old bird, +is Uncle Ike!" + +It was plain to the boys that the battle was quite a distance to the +south and leading down into the valley, so they began the ascent of +the rocky slope and continued up until they were all out of breath. +Then they stopped and looked back. + +The outlaws came into sight, in a minute, making for their cave. They +fired an occasional shot as they retreated, and this fact convinced +the boys that Frank had not been wounded by any of the shots which +had been fired at him. + +"We'll quicken their steps a trifle!" Ned said. "You boys go on up to +the next shelf and I'll fire from here. They may charge us, and if +they do I can cover your retreat. Besides, you will have a longer +start." + +"I'm going to stay right here and shoot, too!" Jimmie declared. +"Those men have several bumps coming from me!" + +"Ain't he the great little gunman?" snickered Teddy. + +"But I need you up there with the others to protect my retreat," +urged Ned, so Jimmie unwillingly toiled up the acclivity. They came +to a shelf perhaps three hundred feet beyond Ned's stand and crouched +down. + +Ned's fire, when it came, had the effect of sending the outlaws on a +run toward their cave, so the boy joined the others without facing a +return fire. + +"They'll be out again when they see what's been going on at the +cave!" Jimmie predicted, but the prophecy was not a good one, for no +figures were seen in the canyon after that, and no more shots were +fired from that direction. + +"I know what the bogus money-makers will do now," Jimmie snickered. +"They'll pack up their tools and vanish! They'll be thinking the +whole Secret Service bunch is after them!" + +"That's just the trouble," Ned said. "I'm afraid the mountaineers +will also think we are Secret Service operatives and spies and make +trouble for us." + +"We'll have to get busy with our cameras, then," Jimmie went on, "and +take pictures of everything in sight. We may be believed if we tell +the truth, that we blundered on their cave and they attacked us. I +wonder why Frank doesn't show up? He may have been killed or +wounded!" + +"If he has been hurt," Teddy observed, as the sound of hoofs came +From the south, "Uncle Ike hasn't, for here he comes, ugly as ever." + +Believing that Frank was indeed approaching, the boys fired a number +of shots to direct his course and waited. The hoofbeats, the labored +breathing of the mule, became more distinct directly, and then Frank +came into sight. + +The greeting he received was a warm one, and Uncle Ike was petted and +permitted to search every pocket for sugar! + +"I don't see how you escaped being hit," Ned observed. "The outlaws +fired enough shots to cripple an army." + +"They never saw me," declared Frank. "I kept behind ridges and +outcropping rocks, and in the shadows. They were afraid to come too +close, for they must have thought a dozen men were attacking them. +Whenever I fired I changed my position, and when Uncle Ike yelled I +hustled him along! I reckon a good many of the shots you heard came +from my gun! When you began shooting that settled it! They will be +fifty miles from here by tomorrow noon!" + +"That's likely, for they won't dare remain here after they have been +caught at their work," Ned admitted. "Moonshiners might remain and +fight, but counterfeiters will get away right soon. I take it they +don't belong to this section anyway." + +On the way to the camp, during the brief rests, Jimmie explained how +they had been surprised while in the outer cave and had been taken +inside and tied up. The boy Dode was overjoyed at his escape from the +gang, and explained that they had captured him not far from +Washington and forced him to accompany them, the idea being to use +him in the future in getting rid of the spurious coins. + +"They are making a lot of it," he declared, "and the country will be +flooded with their work if the government doesn't catch them." + +It may be well to state here that the reasoning of the boys with +regard to the future actions of the outlaws was correct, as they +disappeared from that section that night. When the lads visited the +cave later on some of the counterfeit coin which had been made was +still scattered about the subterranean room. + +When they first reached the camp Jack was not in sight, but he soon +appeared, coming from a hiding place near the summit. + +"I thought I'd better not expose myself by remaining in the tent," he +explained, "so ducked away and hid where I could watch the mules and +the provisions without being seen. I had about made up my mind that +the state militia had been called out, you made such a racket!" + +"We're going to give Uncle Ike a medal, also a barrel of sugar, for +heroic conduct in the face of the enemy!" Jimmie declared, and the +mule, for once in his life, found a full pocket when he nosed about +for sweet lumps! + +While the lads were eating a delayed supper, Jack turned to Oliver +with a mock frown on his face. + +"The next time you go away in the night and leave me alone in camp," +he said, "I'm going to break your dial in! I might have been shot +while asleep. According to the conversation between the outlaws, just +related by Jimmie, one of the toughs came up here! Don't you ever do +that again, if you want to keep a whole hide." + +"I guess Uncle Ike has a larger kick coming than you have!" Jimmie +remarked. + +When the boys compared notes and thoughts concerning the child, the +old lady, and the blonde stranger, they could not agree at all. Some +of them insisted that the boy was Mike III., while the others +declared that he was the prince! + +"If he isn't the grandson," one asked, "why this American slang?" + +"And if he is," questioned another, "why this talk about French and +other foreign languages? Mike III. wouldn't know a foreign tongue, +would he?" + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +JACK'S ELEGANT CHICKEN PIE + + +The sun was high over the mountains when Ned awoke on the morning +following the adventure with the counterfeiters. Leaving Jimmie, +Frank, Teddy and Oliver in their bunks and Dode, the new acquisition +to the party, curled up in a nest of blankets, he issued forth from +the tent and looked about for Jack, who had been left on guard. + +The boy was nowhere in sight at first, then he saw him at a spring +which bubbled out of the mountain not far from the corral. It was the +water from this spring which brought forth the tender grass upon +which the mules were feeding. + +Jack looked up with a shout when he saw Ned, and came running up to +the camp, carrying in one hand a pail in which three large-sized +chickens lay, nicely boiled, carved and washed. + +"What do you think of that?" he demanded, pushing the pail up under +Ned's nose. "I guess we're some hustlers for sustenance!" + +"Where did you get the hens?" asked Ned. "They sure look good to me." + +"You couldn't guess in a thousand years!" Jack replied. "So I'm going +to tell you, right off the handle! Judd Bradley, the blonde fellow +who brought the boy in, came up with them, with the compliments of +Mrs. Brady, about an hour ago. He brought the boy up with him, too. +What do you know about that?" + +"Is it the prince, or is it Mike III.?" asked Ned, with a smile. + +"If you leave it to me," Jack answered quite positively, "it is the +prince!" + +"How does he look and act this morning?" + +"Like a kid raised under restraint, now free and full of the de--Old +Nick!" + +"And Bradley?" asked Ned. + +"That's another point! He watches the kid every second of the time, +and when the boy speaks a word of French he looks daggers at him! I +reckon the son of Mike II. wouldn't be talking French! Nor he +wouldn't be here with a chaperon from Washington. We have found the +prince, all right, and I'm sorry for it! It makes our work too easy!" + +"Don't crow until you're out of the woods!" laughed Ned. "There may +be a few adventures in store for us yet! So this seven-year-old boy +talks French, does he?" + +"You bet he does! Like a native!" + +"Where are they now--Bradley and the boy, I mean?" + +"Down by the mules! The boy, who is constantly called +Mike--ostentatiously called by that name--wants to ride Uncle Ike! Fat +time he'll have if he gets aboard of that argumentative brute!" + +"Are they going to help eat the chicken?" asked Ned. + +"Sure! I told them to stick around until I got the most beautiful +chicken pie built they ever touched tongue to. They're going to stay. +You go and talk with them while I make the pie. It is going to be a +corker--melt in your mouth, make you dream of the old red barn down +on the farm!" + +"Ever make a chicken pie?" asked Ned. + +"Of course not! There's got to be a first time to everything! But I +know how. I've got a recipe here which is used by the chef at +Sherry's." + +"Go to it!" laughed Ned. "I'll take my chances on having canned meat +for dinner." + +"You just wait!" roared Jack, as Ned dashed down to the spring. + +Jack stood a moment, pail in hand, watching Ned washing at the +spring, and then went on to the fire, leaving Ned to proceed to the +corral and entertain the guests. + +Jimmie was just tumbling out of the tent when Jack came up with the +chicken. That young man immediately set up a shout which awakened the +others and brought them out rubbing their eyes. + +"Chicken for breakfast!" he shouted. + +"Chicken pie for dinner!" Jack corrected. + +"All right!" sighed the boy. "Then I'll cook a couple of pounds of +ham and a couple of dozen eggs for breakfast! That ought to keep us +alive until you get the pie ready!" + +"How do you make chicken pie?" demanded Frank. "I've always wanted to +know how to make a pie out of a hen." + +"You just watch me," Jack answered, not without a touch of pride, +"and I'll show how it is done. Here, young man, don't set down on my +dough! That's for the crust." + +Jimmie bounded off a camp stool where the cook had deposited his +crust-dough on a clean white paper and watched Jack line a six-quart +tin pail with the mixture of flour, water and baking powder. + +"That ain't thick enough!" he commented. "The crust ought to be an +inch thick." + +"You go out and feed the mules!" ordered Jack. "When I want any help +in making a chicken pie I won't call on you!" + +"Anyway," Jimmie insisted, "it ought to be an inch thick." + +Jack laid the pieces of chicken in the bed of dough--the chickens +having been cooked tender long before Ned was out of his blankets--and +put in salt, pepper, a small piece of butter--out of a glass +can!--and then poured in some of the liquid the chickens had been +stewed in. + +"If there should happen to be a drumstick you can't get in," Jimmie +volunteered, "I can eat it for breakfast!" + +"So that's why you wanted the crust so thick!" cried Jack. "You +wanted to crowd the chicken out so you could stuff yourself with a +hen for breakfast! Run along and play you'r a baker's wagon +delivering goods on the Bowery!" + +"You're the wise little man--not!" Jimmie grunted and set about +cooking ham and eggs for breakfast. + +"How long will it take that chicken pie to cook?" asked Teddy. + +"Couple of hours," replied Jack. "Sometimes it takes longer." + +Jack prepared a great bed of coals, drew up dry wood to make more, +and set the pail of chicken pie in the heavy double oven to cook. + +"I'm making this 'specially light and sweet," he said, poking the +coals up to the oven, "because we're going to have a prince of the +royal blood to breakfast." + +"Where is he?" asked Jimmie, with a grin, "Down by the mules! He +brought these chickens to us--or his chaperon did! Rather thoughtful +of him! Say, Frank," Jack added, "will you go down to the corral and +take a lot of snapshots of the kid? I want to send some home to +Chicago, just to convince the boys I've been dining with royalty." + +"Dining with Mike III.," Frank laughed. "It is dollars to dills that +the boy trying to get on Uncle Ike's back is fresh from the +Washington slums!" + +"Look you here, little man," Jack began, but just at that moment Ned, +Bradley, and the boy appeared on the slope, headed for the camp. The +boy was seated on the back of Uncle Ike, who, for a wonder, was +marching along sedately, as if accustomed to being made the plaything +of children. + +"I wouldn't have believed it of him!" Jimmie muttered. "I wouldn't +have trusted a kid on that wild animal's back any sooner than I would +have trusted eggs to a hay-baler. Uncle Ike's sure going into a +decline!" + +The boy came riding up ahead of the others and shouted to Jimmie: + +"Gardez! A cheval!" he shouted, urging the mule into a trot. + +"That's your kid from the Washington slums!" Jack laughed, +scornfully. "Talking French!" + +"What does he say?" demanded Jimmie. + +"He says for you to be on your guard--to look out for yourself--as he +is coming on horseback. I don't know much French, but that is easy!" + +Bradley hastened to the boy's side and said something to him in a +tone which the others could not hear, the lad coloring slightly as he +listened. + +"He's jawing him for speaking French!" Jimmie commented. + +"It looks like it," Jack observed. "Oh, I reckon we've got the prince +all right. I wonder when we are going to start back to Washington +with him, and if Ned will pinch that blonde beauty who brought him +in?" + + +Uncle Ike stopped at the campfire and stuck his nose into Jimmie's +pocket, looking for sugar. Mike III., as some of the boys insisted on +thinking of the little fellow, dropped off and seized the animal by +the tail and began to pull. Frank ran to get the child out of his +dangerous position, but Uncle Ike merely looked around to see what it +was that was pulling his tail winked one eye at Frank, and went on +searching pockets. + +"That mule sure gets my goat!" grinned Jimmie. "What do you think of +his standing still while his tail is being pulled?" + +By this time Jimmie had prepared breakfast, and the boys gathered +about the fire with tin plates on their knees, and devoured ham and +eggs, baked beans, and bread and butter and coffee with a mountain +relish. Mike III. ate what was given to him at the first helping and +then clamored for more. Bradley whispered something in his ear, but +the boy pushed him off with a scowl: + +"Alles-vous en!" he cried, angrily. + +Jack snickered and Frank looked as if he had made a mistake in his +estimate of the boy and knew it! Bradley drew the boy away, but +Jimmie hastened to replenish his plate. + +"Let the kid have all he wants!" he said. "We can cook more. We're +going to have a chicken pie for dinner, and he'll like that." + +"Seems to me it is about time Jack was looking after that pie," Frank +suggested. + +"Pretty near forgot it!" Jack admitted, going to the oven and opening +the door so as to look inside at the dainty. + +Something took place when he did that! The square piece of metal flew +back on its hinges with a thump, and cut of the oven flew the cover +of the tin pail in which the chicken pie had been tucked. It shot +across the fire and struck Jimmie under the ear and then rolled back +into the blaze! + +"Jerusalem!" cried the boy. "What you shootin' at me for?" + +No attention was paid to what the boy said, for at that moment a wave +of dough, spotted here and there with pieces of chicken, puffed out +of the pail and tumbled over Jack's stooping shoulders and on into +the fire, where it continued to grow until the fire half consumed it. + +"Catch the chicken!" yelled Frank. "He's running away." + +Jack tried to keep the dough in the oven, but it rolled out and +covered his hands and arms with a sticky mess. The little fellow +screamed with delight. + +"Oh, oh, _de mal en pis!_" he shouted. + +"Grab the chicken!" shouted Teddy. "We can finish breakfast on that!" + +While the mess was being cleared up, Frank asked Jack: + +"How much baking powder did you put into that dough?" + +"Only one can!" was the reply, and Frank went away and rolled on the +ground! + +"Say," Jimmie whispered to Jack, who was scraping the chicken pie off +his clothes, "what did the kid say when he pushed Bradley away, and +when the pie busted?" + +"First he said 'be off with you' or 'let me alone' next he said 'from +bad to worse' Or something like that. Look at Bradley. He's calling +him down for it, right now. I'm going, to talk French to that kid +when Bradley goes away. I'm going to know about this three Mike and +this prince business!" + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE BLACK HAND GAME + + +Shortly after breakfast, and after what remained of the chickens had +been eaten, Bradley and his charge left the camp, after inviting the +boys to visit them in the cabin in the valley. Bradley appeared +anxious to be friendly, and seemed absolutely frank in his talks. The +only suspicious thing they noticed in him was his jealous care of the +boy--his reproaches when the lad had indulged in a word or two of +French! + +"You bet I'll visit you at the cabin!" Jack said, as the two +disappeared over the summit. "I'll be there with the lingo, too! I +can soon find out from the boy what he knows of the French language! +Of course I'll be down to the cottage!" + +"Bradley will see that you don't talk with the boy alone!" Jimmie +declared. + +"I'll catch him doing it!" was Jack's reply. + +"What do you think about it, Ned?" asked Frank. "Is that the prince, +or is it Mike III.? You may have all the guesses you need. + +"First," Ned said, turning to Jack and Frank, "tell me what the boy +said when he spoke in French." + +Jack repeated the interpretations as previously given, and Ned +remained in a thoughtful mood for a long time. Then he went into the +tent, without answering any questions, and began overhauling the +stock of reading matter brought along. + +When he found what he wanted to he threw himself on the bunk where he +had slept and read steadily for an hour or more. At least he held to +the book for that length of time, turning the leaves rapidly at +times, and then not at all for several minutes. + +"What's he up to?" asked Teddy. "Something on his alleged mind!" + +"I'll go and find out what he's reading," Jimmie volunteered. + +The boy entered the tent, but was back in a moment with a broad grin +on his face. + +"It is a French dictionary!" he gasped. "Ned is learning French, so +he can talk with the prince in his native tongue!" + +"The prince isn't French!" Jack declared. "He belongs away in the +East somewhere. French is the polite language of Europe, so of +course, he's been taught it!" + +After a time Ned came to the door of the tent and beckoned to Jimmie. + +"Suppose we go and get some pictures of the mountains," he said, when +the boy entered. "We haven't taken a snap-shot since we came here. + +"I'm strong for it!" Jimmie declared. "We might go and take a few +snaps at the counterfeiter's den. That will be fine!" + +"What's that?" demanded Frank Shaw, poking his nose into the tent. +"Going to take pictures of the counterfeiters den! I'm in on that. +We'll take a bunch of pictures--enough for a first-page layout--and +send 'em in to dad's newspaper. Hot stuff! What? And I'll write the +biography of Uncle Ike, and send it in with the rest. His picture +ought to go in the center of the layout. He'll be a hero, all right." + +"All right!" Ned agreed. "We'll go and take the pictures, and we'll +send them in when you get the story written! Will that answer?" + +"Sure it will!" + +So Ned, Jimmie, and Frank started away laughing, for all knew Frank +would never write the story, toward the counterfeiters' cave. When +they came in sight of the ridge which jutted out of the slope to make +the canyon, and under which the workroom was situated, they saw a man +moving northward, keeping close to the jagged summit of the lesser +elevation, and looking sharply about as he advanced. + +"That may be one of them," Jimmie suggested. + +"I don't believe it!" Frank contradicted. "What do you think, Ned?" +he added. + +"Never saw the outlaws," Ned answered, "so I can't decide the +question. Still, I doubt if one of the counterfeiters is within +fifty miles of this spot now." + +"That's the idea!" Frank said. "Of course the shooting of last night +would draw out the natives. There'll be dozens around the caves +to-day." + +The boys walked on to the canyon, taking snap-shots of everything +they saw. The slope, the canyon, the valley to the west, the green +valley to the south, the shallow cave from which the entrance to the +workroom gave, all were transferred to films to await development. +When at last they entered the shallow cave they paused. + +"There may be some of them in here yet," Frank suggested. + +"Not to-day!" Ned replied. "There are too many strangers about!" + +They entered cautiously. There was now no fire on the stone hearth, +and the atmosphere of the place was damp and chill, as well as dark. +Here and there a break in the rocky roof above--the ceiling of the +apartment was very near to the surface of the outcropping ridge--let +in a shaft of light, but for the most part the apartment was in heavy +shadows. + +Ned took out his electric light and turned it enquiringly about the +room. Counterfeit money still lay scattered over the floor. The +melting pot and the dies were on the cold iron shelf where they had +been left, and even a coat hung against the wall. + +"They got out in a hurry," Jimmie declared. + +"And they are not likely to come back in a hurry!" Ned added. + +Frank paced the apartment off, set his camera tripod, and got out his +powder. + +"You boys stand over on the other side," he requested, as he moved +back to his tripod, "and when I give the word you, Jimmie, touch off +this flash." + +"What do you want a view of that corner for?" asked Jimmie. "You are +too close, anyway, to get a good picture." + +"I'm going to have a picture of every corner, and the middle, and the +roof, and the chimney, and everything about the blooming place!" +Frank declared. + +"Wait a minute!" Jimmie shouted. "I'll hide in the passage we went +out of last night, and when you are ready to spring the print I'll +look out, with a fierce expression on my pretty face. That will make +the picture look like the real brigandish thing. What?" + +"All right," laughed Frank, "get in there! It is only an excuse for +getting your mug into dad's newspaper, but we'll let it go." + +Frank and Ned busied themselves for half an hour or more, taking +pictures and looking over the implements used in the manufacture of +spurious coin. At length, when they returned to the outer cave, they +remembered that Jimmie had not returned from the west passage to the +workroom, and Ned went there to look for him. He was not there, nor +was he in any of the niches or shallow openings in the rocky walls. +Ned called to him, but he did not reply. Then Frank came running into +the passage and joined in the hunt. In vain! Jimmie was nowhere to be +found. + +"Wherever he is," Frank said, after a long search, "he has his camera +with him." + +"I didn't see him have one," Ned replied. "You must be mistaken." + +"It was the baby camera he had," Frank explained. "He carried it +under his coat. The little monkey has doubtless gone off on a +picture-making tour of his own." + +"That is just like him," Ned agreed, "so we'll go on about our +business and let him present himself when he gets ready." + +"He seemed to take quite an interest in that child," Frank suggested, +"and he may have gone on to the cabin." + +"We may as well go that way and thank the old lady for the hens Jack +didn't make into a pie," Ned observed. "I'd like another look at that +child myself." + +"Is it the prince, or is it Mike III.?" laughed Frank. + +Ned smiled, but made no reply, They walked on down the slope and +connected with the valley at the south end of the ridge. When they +came to the cabin they found Mrs. Mary Brady sitting in the doorway, +the child playing on the ground--beaten hard by years of wear--in +front of her. She arose as they appeared, and the boy darted off into +the fenced garden farther to the south, looking back with a grin from +behind the stake-and-rider fence. + +"Good day to you, young gentlemen," the old lady said. "I hope you +passed a pleasant night! The mountain air is good for those who seek +sleep." + +Then it occurred to Ned that neither Bradley nor the child had +referred in any way to the shooting of the night before, though, if +at the cabin, they must have heard it. He regarded the old lady +keenly as he said: + +"Has any one seen anything of the outlaws to-day?" + +"The outlaws?" repeated the other. + +"You heard nothing in the night?" Ned asked. + +"I thought I heard a gunshot now and then," was the indifferent +reply, "but they are too common here to attract attention. Did the +shooting disturb you?" + +Ned did not believe the old lady had slept through the furious +fusilades of shots of the night before. What her motive was in +ignoring the matter he could not understand, but he decided to set +himself right with her and also with her mountain friends by telling +of the events of the night. + +If they were to remain long in that section, it was quite necessary, +he thought, that the natives should understand that the boys of the +Camera Club were not there to spy on counterfeiters or the +moonshiners, if any there were in that region. + +So he told her that the boys had blundered on the workroom of the +counterfeiters, had been suspected of being spies sent by the +government and seized, and finally had been released by strategy. He +added that they were not there to molest the people of the district, +whatever their occupation might be, but to take pictures and have a +long vacation in the health-giving mountain air. + +"And I hope you'll pass the word along," he closed, "so that your +friends will not regard us as enemies. We are anxious to meet as many +of them as possible, and to be on good terms with them." + +This was strictly true, as the boys were not there to convict any of +the natives, whatever their offenses might be, but to deal with the +strangers who had abducted the prince from his home in Washington. +Ned was certain that no one belonging in that region had had a hand +in the crime, although he suspected that some of them might +innocently harbor the outlaws he was in quest of. + +The old lady listened to Ned's story and his explanation with a +startled face. + +"I'm sure," she said, "that no one belonging here was interested in +the counterfeiting gang you boys came upon. I am sure, too, that no +one will blame you for what you did. We are law-abiding people, but +our mountains constitute a secure refuge for some who are not worthy +of protection." + +Ned was more than pleased at the outcome of the matter, for he was +sure the old lady would take pains to set the matter before her +friends in the correct light. The conversation soon changed to other +subjects. The child did not return, and directly Frank saw him +walking along a distant hillside, hand-in-hand with Bradley. + +"Mr. Bradley seems to stick close to Mike," he said, tentatively. + +"Never lets him out of his sight," was the reply, and Mrs. Brady +seemed to resent the face as stated. She evidently had little of the +lad's companionship. + +When the boys reached the camp Jimmie had not returned, but their +chums were gathered around a sheet of letter paper which had, no one +knew how, been thrust into the tent. Jack's face was deadly white as +he handed it to Ned. + +"We are up against a black hand game," he said. "Jimmie has been +stolen!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THREE DAYS TO MOVE IN + + +Ned took the paper into his hand and read: + +"You boys are not wanted in the hills. We give you three days to get +out. On the morning of the fourth day, if you are still here, we +shall send you your friend's right hand. On the fifth day you will +receive his left hand. On the sixth day his right foot. On the +seventh day his left foot. On the eighth day his head. If you obey +this command he will be restored to you, in good health, at +Cumberland." + +"Is it a joke?" asked Frank, white to the lips. + +"It must be!" cried Jack. "No one would mutilate Jimmie." + +"It is a coarse joke!" Teddy cut in. + +"I'm afraid it is no joke, boys," Ned said. "I'm afraid we'll have to +go." + +"But we'll come back again!" shouted Oliver. "We'll come back with a +whole company of Boy Scouts! There are enough Boy Scouts in New York +to tear these mountains up by the roots!" + +"But I don't understand how they got him," Teddy wailed. "He went +away with you." + +"He went into a hidden passage to make a picturesque effect," Frank +said, "and did not return. We thought it one of his jokes, and paid +little attention to his absence. We might have rescued him if we had +known." + +"Of course he was seized in that passage," Dode said. "Did you get +the picture he was to be in?" + +"Sure we did!" cried Frank. "I'll see if he was there when the camera +opened." + +As he spoke the boy made a rush for his suitcase, took out his +development tank, printing frame and other tools, and set to work on +his film roll. He used two powders instead of one, and in ten minutes +was ready for the printing. + +In a few minutes more he was at work in the tent, with the boys +gathered around him. The developer had worked perfectly, +notwithstanding the haste, and the printing was well advanced in the +soft light of the tent. Directly he had the picture taken in the cave +under view--the snapshot of the wall showing the entrance to the +secret passage. + +"Quick work!" Ned declared. "What does it show?" + +They all gathered around the print, each trying to get the first +glance at it. + +"There's Jimmie!" Teddy shouted. "He was looking out of the door when +the picture was taken! I can almost see his freckles!" + +"There he is, sure enough!" Frank cried. "The little monkey!" + +Ned took the print and examined it carefully, while the others waited +for him to express any discoveries he might make. + +"Did you see anything back of Jimmie?" he asked of Frank. + +"Just the dark wall," was the reply. + +Ned passed the print to him and left the tent. + +"Yes," Frank said, with a threat in his voice, there's a face looking +over Jimmie's shoulder. "Oh, I wish we had known!" + +"Can you see the face plainly?" asked Teddy. + +"Quite plainly," was the reply. "The door was open, as you see, and +Jimmie stood with his hand on the edge of it, looking at the camera, +his head in the room." + +"Yes; that makes the picture good," Teddy observed. + +"And there was a slant of light from the passage, and the head of the +outlaw shows in that. He's an ugly looking brute!" + +"Observe the alfalfa on his map!" exclaimed Teddy. + +"That picture may send him to prison!" Frank cried. "I hope so!" + +He put the tank, the printing frame, the print, and the other +articles away in his suitcase and went out to where Ned was standing. + +"Did you see the face behind the boy?" asked Frank--"get a good look +at it?" + +"Yes," was the reply. "It shows that this is not a joke! Did you +notice the face closely?" + +"I think so." + +"What about the beard?" + +"Quite a growth, I should say." + +"Anything else odd about it?" persisted Ned. + +"Not that I saw," was the wondering reply. "What about it?" + +"It was a false beard! The man was disguised!" + + Frank's face looked, for an instant, as if he had received a blow. + +"And I was counting on that beard," he said, "as a means of +identification!" + +"Keep the print safe," Ned advised. "It may be useful in that way +yet." + +"Well," Frank declared, "we've got to go away! We can take no chances +on Jimmie being murdered. Isn't that your idea?" + +"We certainly will take no such chances," Ned responded. "Up to this +time we have been successful in getting out of trouble, though, and +we may be able to rescue the boy without giving up the search for the +abducted lad." + +"Here's another question," Frank said, "was that note sent by the +counterfeiters, or are the men interested in the abduction of the +prince resorting to such tactics?" + +"I have an idea that the abductors are the ones who are doing it," +Ned answered. + +"It may be moonshiners," suggested Frank. + +"I don't think there are any illicit stills in this district," Ned +replied. + +"Well, we're up against a desperate gang now, anyway," Frank said, +"and it looks as if they held the high cards! If we had only +suspected what was going on in that passage, we might have rescued +the boy before they got him away! + +"I believe we'll do well to watch Bradley," he suggested. + +"But Bradley was at the cabin when we got there." + +"Oh, he had plenty of time to get Jimmie away and get back to the +cabin!" Frank insisted. "We remained at the cave half an hour after +Jimmie left us, and we took our time in getting to the cottage." + +"Also we took a great many snap-shots at the scenery," Ned went on. +"Now, I wish you would take all the films out of the cameras and +develop and print a picture of each." + +"I'll go right at it," Frank replied, turning back to the tent. + +"And if any of the boys were taking pictures about the tent, or the +corral, have them developed. It may be that one of the snap-shots +will show the person who slipped the note into the tent." + +"I don't see how it was ever done without the man being seen," Frank +exclaimed. + +"But it was done," Ned replied, "and we've got to find out when and +how if we can." + +When Frank left for the tent Ned started on toward the summit. He had +traveled only a short distance when Frank came puffing after him. + +"Here's another print Jack and Teddy took," he said. "It shows +something in the cave we never noticed. See if you can tell what it +is." + +Ned glanced at the print and returned it. + +"There is another opening in the wall at the east side," he said. +"The picture shows it. I noticed something there, but neglected to +investigate." + +While the two talked Jack came up the slope, his camera over his +shoulder. + +"I think it is about time for me to be having an outing," he said. +"I've been in the camp most of the time since we've been here." + +"Come along, then," Ned replied. "I'm going back to the cave, and it +may be just as well to have some one with me." + +Frank went down the slope to the tent and Ned and Jack hastened down +the slope on the other side. They were busy with their thoughts and +for a long time neither spoke. + +"Of course it is the abductors?" Jack asked, presently. + +"I have no doubt of it," was the reply. + +"Do you connect the man Bradley with it?" was the next question. + +"There is no proof against him," Ned replied. + +"But you must have some idea about it," persisted Jack. + +"For all we know," Ned remarked, "he may be entirely innocent in the +abduction matter. He may have brought the real grandchild here." + +"The grandchild!" repeated Jack. "Here's the old question once more: +'Is it the prince, or is it Mike III.?'" + +"I have the answer to that question written down in my memorandum +book," Ned said. "I don't want to show it to you now, because I may +be mistaken. When the case is closed I will show you the entry. Then +you may laugh at me if you feel like it." + +"I'd like to see it now," Jack coaxed. + +"I want all you boys to think for yourselves," Ned went on. "Don't +get a theory and pound away at it. If you do, you'll overlook +everything which doesn't agree with that theory. If I should show you +what I have written, you might look only for clues calculated to +prove it to be correct, or you might look only for opposing clues." + +A second examination of the counterfeiters' cave revealed nothing of +importance except that the broken wall on the east side showed a +small room into which Jimmie and his captor might have fled after the +abduction. Still, there was no proof that they had done so, Ned +explained. + +"Why didn't the little fellow yell?" asked Jack. + +"I think he would have yelled if that had been possible!" Ned said. + +The boys left the cave in a short time and passed south, toward the +valley and the cabin. Instead of going directly to the cabin, +however, Ned kept away to the west and came out south of it, in the +section where Bradley had walked with the child. + +After a time Jack wandered away to the east, so as to come up on that +side of the cabin. Although the boys had circled the building, no +sign of life had been seen. + +While Ned was yet some distance away he saw Jack standing on the +slope of the valley watching the front door. He walked back and +looked in at a small window in the rear wall. The child lay asleep on +a bed in one corner of the room, and Mrs. Brady sat by his side. +Bradley occupied a chair not far away. + +"Quite a domestic scene!" Ned muttered. + +While the boy watched through the window, the old woman arose and +left the cabin by the front door. Then Bradley arose, went to a +suitcase in a corner by the hearth, took therefrom a small green +paper parcel, and went to the cupboard, hanging on the north wall. + +After feeling about for a time he took out a cup, filled it with warm +water from a kettle on the fire and stirred the contents of the green +package into it with a brush which he took from a pocket. Ned could +not see the contents of the cup, but when the man held the brush up +to the light he saw that it was soaked in what seemed to be a black +dye. It appeared too thick to suit the taste of the man, and he +poured in more water out of the kettle. + +Then, with the brush wet in one hand and the cup in the other, +Bradley drew closer to the bed where the child slept. Ned watched for +a few seconds more, then the footsteps of the old lady were heard +approaching the door, ringing on the hard earth at the front of it. +Ned made another entry in his memorandum book and turned away. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +POINTING OUT THE TRAIL + + +After leaving the window at the rear of the cabin, Ned moved to the +north side, where there was no window at all, and stood there, +huddled against the wall, until he heard the old lady enter the house +and close the door. Peering around the corner to see that no one was +in sight, he crossed the open space swiftly and approached the grove +where he had seen Jack. + +Jack was not in sight, but a round hole cut in the bark of a tree +told the direction in which he had gone. In the Indian sign language +used by the Boy Scouts this meant: + +"This is the trail. Keep on in this direction." + +Wondering what had taken Jack away so suddenly, Ned followed on until +he came to an open space where no trees were growing. He, however, +kept straight ahead, taking snapshots as he came to desirable scenes. + +A hundred yards from the edge of the grove he came to a small round +stone sitting on top of a large one. Then he walked faster and with +more confidence. This, too, said: + +"This is the trail! Keep on!" + +It was now after noonday, and the sun poured fiercely down into the +valley between the great ridges. There were patches of forest here +and there, and now and then the boy came to a field which had been +planted to corn. Still, he came upon no human being. The two cabins +he saw seemed empty and deserted. + +Weary and hungry as he was, Ned kept on, now reading the trail sign +from a tree, now from a stone, now from a bunch of grass tied at the +top, with the ends of the blades sticking straight up. He walked a +couple of miles without turning to the right or left, and then found +a new signal. The hole in the bole of the tree where the sign stood +was accompanied by a long cut in the bark of the left side. + +This, as plainly as a voice from the thicket could have done, said: + +"Turn to the left and keep on in that direction until you are further +instructed." + +The turn to the left led Ned up the slope. So the field of action was +likely to be in the mountains again! The signs were closer together +now, and Ned followed them with faith that he was on the right track. + +But who had made the trail? Was it Jimmie or Jack? Probably the +latter, Ned concluded, for Jimmie would not be likely to have had an +opportunity of so blazing his trail, while Jack was free to do so at +will. + +But why had Jack gone away on the trail alone? Why had he not called +to him, Ned, in order that they might proceed together? + +It was possible that the boy might be following some person whom he +suspected of the abduction, still that did not seem to be likely, as +any one tracking another in the broad light of day, in such a country +as that, over open places and rocky elevations, would be almost +certain to be discovered. Ned feared the boy was being led into a +trap. + +Finally, almost at the edge of the timber, Ned came to a third sign. +There were three holes cut in the bark of a tree, facing the trail he +had followed, and on the right side was the familiar slit in the +bark. + +"Turn to the right and be careful, for there may be danger ahead!" + +That is what the talk on the tree said! + +To the right lay a rim of trees, facing the bare face of the +mountain. Between the trees and the summit lay a long stretch of +rocky slope, in some places actually inaccessible to one not an +expert in mountain climbing. + +Obeying the signal, Ned turned to the right and kept under the +shelter of the trees. It was very still there, save for the sharp +raspings of insects hiding in the foliage and the sleepy call of +birds in the sky and in the tops of the trees. + +The boy made his way through the underbrush for some distance without +finding any sign. At a loss what course to pursue, he decided to do +nothing! So he sat down in a thicket and waited. And while he waited +he took snapshots! + +His thought, sitting there in suspense, was that Jack might have +waited for him at some point on the trail! At best the boy could have +been only a half hour ahead of him. He waited an hour, until the sun +began to touch the tops of the distant western mountains, and then +climbed cautiously up a tree and looked about. + +Then there came a rustling in the bushes farther to the south, and +the low, angry growl of a black bear came up to him! Ned began +sliding down the tree at once. + +That was the call of the Black Bear Patrol! He knew now that Jack was +not far off. At the bottom of the tree he found the boy waiting for +him! + +"Say, but I've had a long wait!" Jack complained. + + "Why didn't you signal before, then?" demanded Ned. + +"Why, I thought you'd come right on, come on and meet me!" + +"And you never knew I was here until I climbed the tree?" + +"Of course not. How should I?" + +"Well," Ned observed, "we'll know better next time. I presume I +should have made a sign myself--the call of the pack, for instance." + +"Of course," Jack replied. "Now," he went on, "do you know what's +doing here?" + +"I'm in quest of information," Ned grinned. "What have you found?" + +"I've discovered that the Brady cabin is being watched!" + +Ned couldn't understand that, and said so. Jack went on: "When I +stood in front of the house, two men came out of the canyon and +walked down to the tree belt and stopped. They stood there a long +time, talking, and then started off in this direction and I followed +them." + +"Are they mountaineers?" asked Ned. "People of this section?" + +"Certainly not! They are to all appearances city people, at least in +dress." + +"You couldn't hear what they were saying?" asked Ned. + +"No, but I could get some idea of their thoughts from their gestures. +One was kicking about something, and the other was trying to pacify +him." + +"Well, where did they go? Where did you see them last?" asked Ned. + +"They went up the slope, and disappeared behind that chimney of rock. +I've got pictures of that rock!" + +"This looks like a three-cornered game!" Ned mused. + +"What do you mean by that?" asked Jack. "Where are the three +interests?" + +"We'll probably have to come back here tonight," Ned went on, without +answering the question. "We can never get up that slope in daylight +without attracting their attention." + +"We must be at least four up-hill miles from camp," Jack calculated. + +"All of that," answered Ned. "It is a long walk there and back." + +"Then why not remain here?" asked Jack. "I'm hungry, but I'm more in +need of rest than food just now. We can lie here in the thicket until +night, and then creep up the slope and see what's doing." + +"I was about to suggest that," Ned observed, "but I thought you'd be +ravenous for the sight of a camp dinner!" + +"I have a hunch," Jack declared, after a time, "that Jimmie is +somewhere in this section! I don't know why, but when I saw those +men, strangers, evidently, walking so stealthily over the country I +got the hunch! Then I followed them, because I thought I might get a +clue to the boy's whereabouts by so doing." + +"If the boy is here," Ned replied, grimly, "we'll find him!" + +"Of course we'll find him! That's what we are here for!" + +The boys thus encouraging each other crawled deeper into the thicket +and lay down. They were more than tired, worse than hungry, but they +never thought of sleep, or of leaving their post of observation. The +afternoon passed slowly, the boys taking snapshots now and then. + +"The boys will be thinking we've been geezled!" Jack said. "I wish +they knew where to find us. There's no knowing what they will do, +they're so anxious about Jimmie. And if they scatter over the country +others may be captured." + +"They usually show good sense in emergencies," Ned commented. + +When the first tint of twilight came, the boys crept to the edge of +the thicket and sat looking out on the mountain. There was the broken +way to the summit, and there was the chimney rock behind which the +men had disappeared, but no human being was, for a long time im +sight. + +Then a small figure came swinging down the slope, off to the north, +and presently came opposite to where the boys lay. Jack seized Ned by +the arm and pointed. + +"Is it the prince, or is it Mike III?" he asked. + +Ned got out his field glass and studied the face and figure until, +whistling some childish discord, the boy turned back and disappeared +in the direction of the cabin. + +"What is that boy doing off here alone?" asked Jack, then. + +"Keep watch of the chimney rock," Ned advised. + +"But what do you think of it?" demanded Jack. "How did that boy get +up here?" + +"If you see any one moving up there," Ned went on, provokingly, "let +me know." + +"Oh, look here!" Jack insisted, half angrily, "what's the use of +shutting up like a clam? What is your idea about that boy? We've +never seen him before except in Bradley's company. Do you think he +ran away? Why can't we go and get him and hold him until Jimmie is +released?" + +"So you think the men who have taken Jimmie are the men who are +conducting the abduction game?" asked Ned. + +"Yes, don't you?" + +"I have written the answer to that down in my little book," smiled +Ned, "and when the right time comes I'll show it to you." + +"Well, if we are going to catch the boy we'll have to be moving." + +"We are not going to catch the boy." + +Jack threw himself down on the ground in disgust. + +"You're the Secret Service man," he said, "and I presume you know +what you are about, but it looks to me as if you had been reading a +dream book, or something like that." + +"Why should we catch the child?" asked Ned. + +"To hold him! To be able to say to the outlaws that we hold the top +hand!" + +"And trade the child for Jimmie, as you suggested?" + + "Why, of course!" + +"That would make a failure of our mission, me son!" + +"But it would save Jimmie's life." + +It was now growing quite dark in the valley, especially where the +tree growth was heavy, but upon the slope objects might still be +clearly distinguished some distance away. While the boys watched the +child came out of the thicket to the north and began ascending the +mountain, walking with a light, springing step, as if out for +exercise after a long and tiresome confinement. + +"Now keep your eye on the mountain," Ned requested. + +In a moment a column of smoke arose from behind the chimney rock. The +boys watched it intently and the child with it, for he was now +approaching the rock. + +"Cooking supper!" remarked Jack. "I wish they would pass it around!" + +"Does it take two fires to cook supper up there?" asked Ned, with a +smile. + +Jack half arose in his excitement, but Ned drew him down again. + +"Jimmie's up there!" he whispered. "There's the Boy Scout call for +help!" + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +A NIGHT ON THE SUMMIT + + +"Now," Ned said, as the signal columns died down, "we'll hike back to +camp with our pictures and get supper! How does that strike you?" + +Jack turned toward Ned impatiently. There was not light enough for +his face to show clearly, but Ned knew how the boy was scowling! + +"And go off and leave Jimmie here?" Jack said. "I'd like to know what +you're thinking of! Why have you changed your mind? I'm going to stay +here until it gets good and dark and then go up there." + +"You may spoil all my plans if you attempt to reach him to-night," +Ned replied, in a matter-of-fact tone. "On the way back I want to +stop at the cabin a moment." + +"All right," Jack grumbled. "I suppose I'll have to go with you! When +are you thinking of rescuing Jimmie? After they send us one of his +hands?" + +"Don't be sarcastic," laughed Ned. "You'll understand it all before +long." + +Jack was not at all pleased with the idea of returning to camp, and +said so repeatedly as they walked along both keeping in the thicket +as far as possible, but Ned seemed to take no offense at his remarks. + +"What I can't get through my head," Jack finally said, changing the +topic of conversation, "is why they let us travel through here +without nipping us." + +"I have an idea," Ned answered, "that they are pretty busy just now." + +"Well, what was the use of our going at all if we sneak away as soon +as we get where we might accomplish something?" demanded the boy, +reverting to the old subject. + +"You did a good job in finding and following them," Ned replied, +ignoring the question, "and another good job in showing me the way. +We have accomplished more than you think! I'm anxious for the end to +come, so you'll know just how much you have accomplished! There is +the cabin light," he added. + +The boys walked boldly up to the door and Ned knocked. Mrs. Brady +looked out with a welcoming smile on her faded face. She invited them +in and tried to appear pleased at their visit, but Ned saw that she +was under a great mental strain. + +Judd Bradley sat by the hearth, with the child by his side. He smiled +when Ned nodded to him and pointed to a chair. + +"Pardon my not arising," he said. "The fact is that I'm a bit leg-weary +to-night. This little chap ran away to-day, and I had a long chase +after him!" + +"We were worried about him," Mrs. Brady added. + +"Aw, what's the matter wid youse folks, anyway?" demanded the boy, in +a strident tone. "I didn't promise to sit in a chair an' play wid a +cat all day!" + +"I've had quite a busy day myself," Ned observed, "for one of the +boys has been abducted by the counterfeiters, as I suppose, and we've +been looking for him." + +"Have you found him?" asked the old lady, anxiously. + +"No," was the reply. "He must be securely hidden." + +"The poor little fellow!" + +Ned glanced casually at Bradley and saw that he was all interest. + +"It seems," he went on, "that the counterfeiters blame us for what +took place last night, and want us to leave the district. If we do +they will send the boy out to us unharmed, at least that is what they +promise." + +"I don't see how they can blame you for the trouble of last night," +Bradley said, and Ned caught a tone of irony in his voice. + +"That's what I can't see," Ned went on, "but it seems that they do." + +"And so they have ordered you out of the hills?" asked Bradley. +"That's too bad, just as we were getting well acquainted. But, then, +you don't have to go!" + +"I think we'll go," Ned replied. "There are other localities where we +can take pictures, and we can't afford to take any chances on the boy +being injured." + +"Sorry to have you go," Bradley remarked, "but that may be the wisest +course." + +"We think so," Ned replied. "Anyway, we're going day after to-morrow, +in time to meet Jimmie at Cumberland. I think we can get packed up +and out by that time." + +"Shall we see you again before you go?" asked the old lady, +anxiously. + +"Oh, I presume so. I am going now to leave a note in the cave, saying +that we are going out, and then on to camp." + +When the boys stepped outside the cabin the old lady followed as far +as the threshold standing with her gray head outside. + +"I'm sorry," she said. "If there is anything I can do--" + +Jack stood a couple of yards away, whistling shrilly. At a word from +Ned the old lady stepped out into the open air, half closing the door +after her. From the inside came the heavy tread of Bradley +approaching the door. + +But before the visitor gained the threshold Ned and Mrs. Bradley had +exchanged half a dozen short sentences, and when Bradley looked out +she was saying. + +"I shall look for you if you ever come this way again." + +"I'll surely be back, some bright day!" laughed Ned, and the two boys +walked on. + +"Well," Jack said, as they left the cabin behind, "of all the fire-proof, +enthusiastic, gilt-edged, slicky-slick members of the Ananias +club I ever heard mentioned, you certainly take the bakery! What did +you go and tell Bradley we were going out for?" + +"Because," Ned answered, "we are going out." + +"Not by day after to-morrow?" + +"I hope so! We ought to get ready by that time!" + +"I don't ask any more questions!" grumbled Jack. "I don't know hot +from cold! I'm deaf and dumb and blind from this minute on. Uncle Ike +has a classical education in comparison with what I know. Go to it, +Neddie, boy!" + +They stopped at the cave and Ned wrote a note to the effect that they +were going out inside the limit set, placed it in a conspicuous place +on the shelf with the dies, and then the two boys set out for camp. +It was a long, hard climb, but they made it before the boys were in +their bunks. + +"You're a nice party!" Frank exclaimed, as Ned came up. "We thought +you had been pinched! There's plenty of hot supper in the oven for +you, but you don't deserve a thing! Square yourself!" + +"Don't ask him a single question!" grumbled Jack. "He won't tell you +a thing! We've been within sight of a signal from Jimmie this +afternoon, and we've had a chance to tell the outlaws where they can +go, but he's muffed every play! I'm going to eat and go to bed!" + +Jack really was out of temper, so no objections were made to his +going to his bunk as soon as he had finished supper! Ned laughed +good-naturedly at the boy's remarks and thought no more about them. + +Frank came and sat down by Ned while the latter was eating a hearty +supper. + +"The worry doesn't seem to affect your appetite!" the boy laughed. +"Have you solved the riddle, that you are so calm through it all? If +you have, just tell me this: + +"Is it the prince, or is it Mike III.?" + +"I've written the answer to that in my little red book," laughed Ned. + +Frank eyed the other with a grin, but made no reply for a time, then +he merely said: + +"You are up to your old tricks! Well, what is on for to-night?" + +"Why," Ned answered, "if you would like a stroll by moonlight, I +think we might get a good view of the south country from the top of +the mountain." + +"I don't know what you're up to," Frank answered, springing to his +feet, "but I'm game for anything. I've been eating my heart out all +day." + +"What about the prints?" asked Ned. + +"They are remarkably good," Frank replied, "but there are no special +features. In one picture, taken down in the canyon, there is a face +that we did not see, though." + +"What sort of a face?" + +"A strange one to me. But I'll show them all to you in the morning. +When are you going out for that stroll in the moonlight?" + +"In two hours. That will be about midnight. Between now and that time +I'm going to get a little sleep. Wake me at twelve, will you--and, by +the way, say nothing to the others about it. They'll all want to go! +We can notify whoever is on watch when we get ready to start." + +Ned hastened to his bunk and lay down. Five minutes later, when Frank +looked in, he was studying a French dictionary by the light of his +electric candle. Ten minutes later he was sound asleep. At twelve the +boys were ready to start, and Teddy, who was on watch, was warned to +keep wide awake and listen for noises from the south. + +"If you hear shooting," Ned said, "two of you jump on Uncle Ike and +charge along the summit to the south. Make all the noise you can! +Don't go down the slope, but keep to the summit." + +"Now where?" asked Frank, as they walked over the rocks and wound +around jutting crags. "If you'll give me time I'll take some +moonlight pictures for Dad's newspapers. He must be expecting some by +this time!" + +"Poor old Dad!" laughed Ned. "By this time he must have given up +sitting around the New York postoffice, waiting for your pictures to +come!" + +"I'm going to send him some on this trip, sure!" declared the boy. +"He deserves them, you know, and his newspaper needs them! Besides, +we are planning another Boy Scout trip, and I shall want a whole lot +of money!" + +"I see!" cried Ned. "You are casting an anchor to windward!" + +"In other words," grinned Frank, "I'm laying the foundation for +another appropriation! I'm going to send on some of the pictures of +the counterfeiters' den!" + +The summit of the ridge was by no means a level pathway. There were +peaks, canyons, gulleys and twistings to east and west which caused +the boys to travel two miles or more for every mile they advanced +toward the point where the two men Jack had followed had taken +refuge. + +It was about two o'clock in the morning when they came in sight of +the chimney rock which Ned had noted on the trip of the afternoon. It +rose from the west slope of the mountain like a tower, tall, bulky, +forbidding. + +Looking down upon it from the east, Ned saw that there was a small +canyon in between it and the slope, much the same as the formation +near the cave of the counterfeiters. It was evident that the rock had +been cast down from the summit, and had caught there--on a projecting +ridge of stone. + +"Looks like a fortress!" Frank whispered as the rock sparkled in the +light of the moon. "Notice the campfire in the canyon?" "There were +two there this afternoon," Ned said, "and we thought one of them was +there simply to make the second column--the Boy Scout call for +assistance." + +"If Jimmie isn't tied up hand and foot," Frank suggested, "if he is +allowed to move about, under guard, and help in the cooking, he could +easily build two fires, and the outlaws wouldn't know what he was up +to. That is how Dode came to signal to us, you remember. The +counterfeiters never suspected that he was making Indian talk!" + +"I think it was Jimmie," Ned declared. "He would find some way to +make the signal, if he wasn't tied hard and fast! Anyway," the boy +added, "I'm going down the slope right now to see if he is there!" + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +THE CALL OF THE PACK + + +Ned and Frank stood in the shadow behind a protecting rock and peered +down into the moonlit canyon for a long time. At first there was no +one in sight below, but presently a man came out by the fire, which +was burning low now. + +It appeared to the boys that he must have crawled out from under the +chimney rock itself! He appeared so suddenly that they knew that, at +least, there must be an underground hiding place in which he had been +concealed when they had first come in view of the canyon and the +rock. + +The man mended the fire, gathering up the ends of the logs and limbs +which had burned through in the middle and placing them back on the +coals. Then he opened a box which he had brought from some out-of-sight +place and took out canned food and cooking utensils. He was +evidently going to get an early breakfast. + +Presently a second man joined the first arrival, and they sat down by +the fire to wait for water in a great pot to boil. At least, the boys +supposed that they were waiting for it to boil. + +"I'd like to know what they are talking about," Frank said. "I'm +going to see if I can get close enough to them to find out." + +"I was just thinking of that myself," Ned responded, "so we may as +well be on our way. Keep your gun handy, but don't shoot unless one +of them seizes you." + +"I'll take good care they don't get hold of me," Frank answered. +"Say," he went on, "if Jimmie is there, he must be in some hole under +that rock--the one they came out of! If they turn away, I may be able +to get in there and see." + +"Wait until there is little danger of detection," Ned advised. "We +don't know how many men there are in the party, remember." + +The boys walked softly back to the north, keeping ridges and +outcropping rocks between the canyon and themselves, and then crept +softly down the slope so as to come out at the north end of the +little cut. The men they were watching were frying bacon and boiling +coffee now, and appeared to be thoroughly occupied with their tasks. + +In a few moments both boys were within hearing, distance. The men +were not talking much, however. In fact, they both seemed to be +harboring a grouch, from the infrequent low, grumbling complaints +which the boys overheard. + +"I'm through with the bunch after this!" one of the men said. "I'm +not going to do all the work and let some one else draw all the +money." + +"It is time we got out of here anyway," the other said. "Those fresh +boys were around here this afternoon." + +"Why didn't you plug them if you knew they were here?" demanded the +other. + +Frank nudged Ned in the side with his fist. + +"Cheerful sort of people!" he said. "I'm looking to see something +start soon." + +"I didn't know at the time that they were here!" the man replied, +with a snarl. "I'm no Indian sleuth. After they left I started +through the grove and found their tracks. Good thing for them that I +saw their tracks instead of their heads!" + +"Well," the other grunted, "if we are agreed that it is time for us +to get out, why don't we get out? I'm not going to take all the +chances! Why don't the others come? They won't come, and that's all +there is to it. They're waiting for us to do the job! Then they'll +claim the pay." + +By this time the bacon was crisp and the coffee was simmering +fragrantly in the pot and the two men fell to with an appetite. Frank +watched them eat with an appetite of his own, rubbing his stomach and +trying to show how near the point of starvation he was, although it +had been only a short time since he had eaten a hearty meal! + +"They don't trust us!" one of the men muttered, at length. + +"We haven't got a thing on them, if they see fit to welch on us," the +other admitted. + +"But if we obey orders, they will have so much on us that we won't +dare say a word, even if they make us walk back and buy our own meals +on the way!" + +"Is it agreed, then, that we're going to cut it?" asked one. "If it +is, we may as well go now as at any future time." + +"All right." + +"Now?" asked the other. + +"Why not? It will soon be daylight." + +"Good idea, for we can't be seen trailing that kid along with us in +the broad light of day," was suggested. "Let's move right now!" + +"Now," whispered Frank, "do they mean Jimmie, when they speak of the +kid, or some one else? And if they are speaking of some one else, +here's a question: Is it the prince, or is it Mike III.?" + +"It seems to me," Ned whispered back, "that I've heard something like +that before." + +"Well, get the kid out and feed him!" one of the men commanded. +"We've got to keep him with us until we get pay for what we have +already done." + +"Now we'll know!" Frank suggested, as one of the men turned toward +the rock. "If it is Jimmie we'll soon know it. What?" + +They were not long kept in doubt. Jimmie shot out of a hole under the +rock like an arrow in full flight and squatted down by the fire. +Frank snickered when he saw the boy, and turned hastily away toward a +ledge which showed back to the north. + +While Ned was wondering what the boy was up to, the long, vicious +whine of a wolf reached his ears. The call died away slowly, and was +followed by silence, then by the snarling call of the pack! + +The men by the fire started to their feet and seized their revolvers. +Jimmie jumped away from the blaze and held up his hands, bound +tightly together. + +"Cut me loose!" he cried. "Are you going to let the wolf come and eat +me?" + +"There are no wolves in these mountains," declared one of the men. +"That was a signal of some kind!" + +"I've seen wolves since we came in here," Jimmie declared, telling +the exact truth, at that, only the wolves he referred to belonged to +the Wolf Patrol, Boy Scouts of America! "They're fierce wolves, too!" +he added. + +Frank crawled back to Ned's side and lay laughing at the commotion +the signal had caused in the little camp. The men hastened their +packing, and one of them who had been about to give Jimmie his +breakfast snatched the bread and bacon away and put them in a pack he +was making up. + +"Here!" the boy shouted. "You give me the eats! Think I'm going to +travel over these mountains with me tummy abusing me for not doing +the right thing by it?" + +"You're lucky to have any tummy!" snarled one of the men. + +"Aw, give the kid his breakfast!" commanded the other. + +The men quarreled and growled at each other while the packing was +going on, and Jimmie sat looking around for some sign of the Boy +Scout who had given the signal. In half an hour they were ready, and +then Jimmie was ordered to move on. + +"If you try to run away," he was informed, "you'll be chased by a +bullet. We have no time to fool with you! Just keep a pace or two in +advance, and march straight ahead and you'll have no trouble. Get +along, now!" + +"But where's the prince?" asked Frank. "I thought we were going to +find the royal prince here!" + +"The prince of what?" asked Ned. "The prince of the slums or the +prince of a little patch of ground over the sea?" + +"Blessed if I know," Frank commented. "See me throw a scare into +those bums!" + +The men stopped still in their tracks when the ugly snarl of a bear +came to them out of the darkness. Frank did himself proud in the +manner in which he put out the bear talk. The men were surely +frightened. + +"Now there's a bear!" wailed Jimmie, although Ned thought he caught a +note of fun in his voice. "Don't you know these hills are full of +bears? We saw some at our camp last night," he added, "eating bread +and honey!" + +"Bear nothing!" shouted one of the men. "There ain't a bear within a +hundred miles of this place! This is some trick!" + +Again the fierce, angry snarl of the bear! Ned caught Frank by the +arm to keep him quiet, but the boy finished the bear talk he had +begun. + +Then Jimmie hastened matters by breaking away and running toward the +rock from which the sound had proceeded. Both men took after him, but +a shot from Frank's gun caused them to halt. They stood still for an +instant, their figures tense and tall, and then turned and ran, +almost tumbling over each other in their fright! + +They did not stop at slight declivities. They leaped gulleys and +almost fell into canyons which split the summits. In vain Ned called +to them to halt, that they would not be injured. They ran like race +horses, and were soon out of sight. Frank and Jimmie were rolling on +the ground in their delight. + +Ned looked grave and annoyed. Without speaking he looked over the +camp where the men had cooked the breakfast and then returned to the +boys. + +"I am sorry for that," he said, mildly. "I wanted to put those men +through the third degree! We should have held them up and put on the +handcuffs." + +"You didn't say so!" observed Frank sheepishly. + +"No use to talk about it now," Ned declared. "Perhaps Jimmie knows +what we expected to learn from them." + +"All I know is that the bums got me at the cave and tied me up," +Jimmie said. + +"How many men have you seen in the party?" asked Ned. + "Just those two. They were always talking about some one else coming +in, but I never saw any one else." + +"What did they talk about?" asked Ned. + +"They were trying, most of the time, to make me admit that the Camera +Club was a secret service organization," laughed the lad. "Of course +I denied it!" + +"What did they say about a child?" + +"Not one word! I kept my ears open for that kind of talk!" + +"Did they have a boy with them at any one time?" asked Ned. + +"This afternoon, or yesterday afternoon, rather, I saw a kid moving +about on the slope. I was cooking, and built two fires so as to make +a signal. Did you see it?" + +"Yes, we saw it," answered Ned, "but did not reply to it for the +reason that we feared discovery. We wanted to come here in the night +and release you and capture the two outlaws! But what sort of a child +was it that you saw?" + +"Why, it was the kid from the cabin. Say, Ned," he added, with a wink +at Frank, "is that the prince, or is it Mike III.?" + +"Cut it out!" roared Frank. "We've heard enough of that." + +Ned laid a hand on the shoulder of each boy. + +"That shot attracted attention," he whispered, "or the runaways are +coming back. I hear some one tramping over rock, and a moment ago I +caught the gleam of a gun barrel." + +"Then it's me for a hole to crawl into!" whispered Jimmie. "I've had +troubles of my own for the past few hours! Say, but I'm hungry, +boys." + +The boys left their place of retreat just as a couple of bullets +spattered on rock. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +JUST A LITTLE DARK WASH + + +More shots were fired, but the boys were soon out of range. A flush +of pink was showing in the sky now, and the sun would be up in half +an hour. Jimmie looked longingly toward the camp, and Ned turned his +footsteps that way. + +"Speaking of quitters," Jimmie said, as they moved along, "the two +men who geezled me take the bun! They quarreled all the time because +some one else didn't come and do something they wanted done! No +wonder they ducked when one shot was fired!" + +"About the boy you saw yesterday afternoon," Ned asked. "Are you sure +it was the lad who was brought to our camp?" + +"Of course it was!" + +"Dressed just the same?" + +"Just exactly." + +"Why didn't you take a picture of him?" asked Frank. + +"Huh, don't you ever think I didn't," was the reply. "I've got it in +my camera now. When we get to camp I'll develop it and print some. +I've got pictures of the men, too, and about everything around the +hole in the ground where they hid me." + +"That is as it should be!" Ned declared. "But how did you do it!" + +"They are easy!" was all the reply Jimmie made. + +A quarter of a mile away from the chimney rock Ned paused and looked +back. + +"I can't understand where those men went to," he said. + +"My friends do you mean?" asked Jimmie with a grin. "They're going on +a hop yet." + +"No; the men who did the shooting," said Ned. + +"Well," Jimmie went on, in a minute, "there is a place somewhere near +the rock where some friends of the men who ran are camping. I heard +them talking together." + +"You little rascal!" Ned exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me that +before?" + +"Oh, you won't find them there now!" Jimmie advised. "I'll bet they +ducked when we got away. They won't remain around here now." + +"Are they counterfeiters?" asked Frank. + +"They're bums from the city, brought here in connection with the +abduction of the prince!" laughed Jimmie. + +"How did you manage to cook and take pictures when you were tied up +like a fish for shipment?" asked Frank. + +"They didn't tie me up for a time, for I gave them a lot of talk +about liking their society," was the answer. "They just watched me. +When it came night and they wanted to sleep, they put the harness +on!" + +"That was careless of them," declared Frank, "not to tie you up +tight." + +"They're just cheap bums," Jimmie insisted. "They couldn't kidnap a +bird in a cage." + +The sun was up when the boys reached the + camp, and Teddy was getting breakfast. + +The arrival of Jimmie was hailed with manifestations of joy, as may +well be supposed. The boys clustered around him excitedly, and even +Uncle Ike, from the corral, sent forth a he-haw greeting. The +breakfast Teddy prepared for him was a wonder! + +The meal was scarcely finished when Bradley came sauntering into the +camp. He stopped suddenly when he saw Jimmie. Watching him closely, +Ned saw that he was dismayed as well as astonished. However, he soon +came forward with a set smile on his face and took the boy by the +hand. + +"You're lucky," he said, "to get out of the clutches of the +counterfeiters so soon. I was afraid something serious might have +happened to you. How did you do it?" + +"Ned came after me," was the only reply the boy made. + +"We've decided to go away," Ned explained, "and so they gave him up, +after a short argument." + +"With a gun!" whispered Jimmie to the others. + +Bradley loitered about the camp for a long time, asking questions and +talking of a great many things which did not interest the lads at +all. + +"And so you are going out to-morrow?" he asked, arising to go. + +"We expect to," Ned replied soberly. + +"Perhaps I'll meet you outside somewhere," Bradley laughed. + +"I hope so!" Ned replied, whispering an aside to Frank. + +Frank walked away toward the tent, and directly, while Bradley's face +was in clear outline, Ned heard the click of a shutter and knew that +the snapshot had been made. + +When Bradley at last started away Ned called the boys together and +asked them if it wouldn't be a good idea for them to take a +prisoner--just to equalize things! + +"Bradley?" asked Frank and Jimmie in chorus. + +"That's the man," laughed Ned. "Do you think you could head him off +and hide him in some out-of-the way hole in the ground?" + +"What for?" demanded Jack. "I don't see what you want to do that +for." + +"Just for the fun of it!" Jimmie exclaimed. "I'll guard him after he +is taken!" he added, with an appealing look at Ned. + +"Well," Ned went on, nodding at Jimmie, "I have an idea that if two +of you work down the slope and come out ahead of him you can coax him +to throw up his hands easily enough." + +"Then, after that, if you leave it to me," Jack continued, "you'll go +down to the cabin and get the prince and start away with him!" + +"You're sure it is the prince?" asked Ned. + +"Of course! I should think any one with sense could see that. Just +see how suspiciously the kid is watched! Of course, if you want to +take the abductor along too, why that will be all right, but I'd get +the prince first!" + +"That's good advice," Ned declared, seeking to conciliate the boy, +"and I'll go down to the cabin now and look after that end of the +game!" + +"If things work this way," laughed Oliver, "I guess we _will_ get +away to-morrow!" + +"Why don't you let me go with the boys and help capture that stiff?" +asked Jack, speaking to Ned. "He may be armed and perfectly willing +to shoot." + +"We have messed things up a bit here," Ned answered, "so whatever we +do must be done at once. I have another little errand to do while +they capture Bradley!" + +"Oh, we'll get him, all right!" Frank insisted. + +"You bet we will!" Jimmie added. "I'll tie him up tight, too! He +won't take no pictures while he is my prisoner." + +"Perhaps he won't have a baby camera hidden under his coat! laughed +Frank. + +"What are you going to say to him, boys, when you take him?" asked +Teddy. + +"We ain't going to say anything," Jimmie answered, "We're just going +to get him!" + +"Be careful, boys," was all Ned said as Frank and Jimmie left on +their dangerous mission. "Be careful!" + +After they had disappeared up the slope Ned turned to Jack. + +"You saw one act of the play yesterday," he said to him. "Suppose you +come with me now and see another act." + +Jack came forward with outstretched hand and downcast face. + +"Say, Ned," he said, "I'm sore at myself!" + +"What's that for?" Ned asked, shaking the hand heartily and lifting +the boy's face by taking him by the chin. "Why are you sore at +yourself?" + +"Because I acted like a dunce when we left chimney rock without +signaling to Jimmie," was the reply, "and because I grumbled like a +bear with a sore head when you suggested that Bradley be captured." + +"You had a perfect right to express your opinion, my boy," Ned said. + +"Yes, but I might have known that you knew what you were about. To be +honest, I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw you bringing Jimmie +back." + +"The least demonstration on our part at that time," Ned said, then, +"might have caused the men who were guarding Jimmie to shift their +quarters. Besides, I wanted Bradley in the toils before I made the +final break." + +"But he wasn't when you released Jimmie," Jack suggested. + +"He will be before the final card is laid down," Ned replied. "But +come," he went on, "we must be moving if we get to the cottage before +the trouble begins." + +"I'm all in the dark," Jack said, "but I'm willing to take your +judgment now." + +Ned and Jack hastened away, traveling down the slope to the west and +south so as to get to the cottage in the quickest possible time. When +they came in sight of the structure they saw Mary Brady sitting in +the doorway, her head bent forward, her face buried in the palms of +her hands. + +She arose at the sound of their footsteps and advanced with +outstretched hands to meet them. There were tears on her face and her +manner was excited. + +"You came too late!" she cried, wringing Ned's hand. "They have taken +him away." + +"When?" asked Ned, leading the old lady into the cabin. + +"Oh, I don't know when! Sometime in the night. I awoke and saw that +the bed was empty and called to Bradley. He arose and has been +looking for him ever since." + +"He was just up at our camp--looking!" Ned said, with a wink at Jack. + +The old lady now went to a cupboard and brought forth a glass in +which a dark fluid rested. A small black brush stood against the side +of the vessel. + +"I found this for you, as you asked," she said. + +Ned examined the contents of the glass and made a mark on a white +paper with the brush. The color transmitted to the paper was a light +brown, not black. + +"You washed the boy, as I asked you to?" Ned then enquired. + +"I tried to," was the reply, "but Bradley said he would take him out +and give him a swim in the run down in the valley. He wouldn't let me +touch him." + +"Well, what did the pillow case show this morning?" + +The old lady pointed to the white paper. + +"It was stained like that," she said. + +During this talk Jack had been standing looking from Ned to the old +lady with all shades of expression on his face. Now he spoke. + +"Say, Ned," he almost gasped, "what is the meaning of all this?" + +"Wait a minute!" Ned said, facing the old lady again. "And you +listened to their talk when they sat together last night?" + +"Indeed I did, sir, and its the first time I ever played the spy!" + +"What was Bradley saying to him?" asked Ned, then. + +"He was saying French words over and over for him to repeat!" + +Jack dropped into a chair and looked helplessly at his chum. + +"Foolish little French phrases, like one finds at the back of any +dictionary?" asked Ned. "He was repeating them so that the boy could +say them after him?" + +"Yes, sir, that is just it." + +"Now, Jack, what about your prince of the royal blood?" asked Ned. + +"I gather from what I hear that he was painted," said Jack, with a +shamed look in his eyes. "Painted!" + +"Sure he was!" cried the woman. "Painted and taught foolish little +French words to say! But he is Mike's boy! I know that!" + +"This is like the Arabian Nights!" Jack cried. + +"Worse!" Ned declared, "for all my plans have gone wrong with the +disappearance of the boy." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +BRADLEY BECOMES INDIGNANT + + +Frank and Jimmie hastened down the slope to the west, after toiling +up and crossing the broken summit, and soon caught sight of the man +they had been instructed to take prisoner. Bradley was walking +swiftly, his haste not at all matching the leisurely air he had +affected at the camp. + +"How do you feel now?" asked Jimmie, wrinkling his nose at Frank. +"How does it seem to be a bold, bad gunman?" + +"I think it is a little shivery," Frank answered. "When I get back to +New York," he went on, "I'm going to write a story for Dad's +newspaper entitled: 'Desperate Desmonds I have Shot Up in the Hills.' +That title ought to make a hit on the East Side, south of First +street!" + +"I feel like a second-story man, and a gopher-worker, and a +train-robber, and a confidence operative all rolled into one!" Jimmie +admitted. "This holding people up is new exercise for us! Say, will +you agree to let me push the gun into his face?" + +"We'll both have guns, you little highway-man!" Frank replied. "You +needn't think I'm going to look on and miss all the fun!" + +"Then you let me tie him up!" coaxed Jimmie. "I won't tie him very +tight, just so he can't breathe, and so his blood won't circulate!" +"You're the fierce little bandit!" declared Frank. + +"Well, the gang he belongs to tied me up!" complained the boy. "I'm +going to get even on this geek! We can walk right down on him at any +time now. He'll never suspect that we're pirates." + +"First," Frank observed, "I'd like to know where he is going so +fast." + +"He may go so fast that he'll get to friends before we harness him!" +warned Jimmie. "Then we couldn't get him at all, but might, instead, +get geezled ourselves." + +"There seems to be a little sense left in that head of yours," Frank +laughed, "even if your friends do think it is solid bone! So we'd +better skip along and take him under our protection before we have an +army to fight. Say, but won't he take a tumble to himself when he +finds himself stuck up by two boys?" + +Not withstanding their half-humorous talk concerning what they were +about to do, the boys both realized that they were facing a serious +situation. They had every confidence in Ned's judgment, still they +had no knowledge of Bradley which seemed to them to warrant the bold +step they were about to take. + +Jimmie was under the impression that Bradley belonged to the coterie +which had taken him prisoner, but he had no proof of it. Bradley had +been, apparently, accepted by Mrs. Mary Brady, and that seemed a good +recommend for him. Still, there were the instructions, and they were +resolved to carry them out. Neither expressed to the other his secret +thought on the subject. + +"Where are we going to hide him, after we take him?" asked Jimmie, +after a time, during which the lads had managed by hard work to +decrease the distance between themselves and Bradley. "How about the +old counterfeiters' den?" + +"That's the first place his friends will look for him! No, sir, we've +got to find a little retreat of our own, and one of us must guard +him. Do you know how long Ned wants to keep him?" asked Frank. + +"Don't know a thing about it," was the reply. "I don't even know why +he wants him captured, or what proof he has against him." + +The boys were now not far away from Bradley, and, hearing the rattle +of broken rock behind him, he turned and looked back at the boys, who +were swinging along with their hands in their pockets. He waited for +them to come up. + +"Taking a little walk, eh?" he questioned, as the boys came to the +level space on the mountainside where he had paused. + +Bradley seemed to be entirely unconscious of danger, for he turned +his back to the boys presently, after a few short sentences had +passed between them, and moved forward, as if to continue his way +down the slope. + +"Just a minute!" Frank said, sharply, and he faced them. + +Two automatic revolvers were within a foot of his head, and the eyes +of the boys back of them declared that the situation was not the +result of a joke. + +"Hold out your hands!" Jimmie ordered. "We want to see if you're +toting any smoke-wagons! Push 'em out, Mister!" + +Bradley did not hesitate a second. His hands went out like a flash. +There was a smile on his lips as Jimmie removed his revolver, but his +jaw was threatening. + +"And so you are just common thieves?" he said. + +"Aw, quit it!" Jimmie answered. "We're taking care of you so you +won't fall over a precipice and hurt yourself." + +"You'll find very little money on me," Bradley went on. "I've sent in +to the city for a couple of hundred. You ought to have waited a few +days." + +"We don't want your money," Frank cut in, "all we want is the benefit +of your society for a time." + +Bradley flushed angrily when Jimmie adroitly snapped a pair of +handcuffs on his outstretched wrists, but he made no protest. + +"Now you can put down your hands," Jimmie announced. "They'll get +stiff if you hold 'em out too long. Now, sit down and pick out your +hotel. You may have a room in most any section of this district. +Immaterial to us where we put you!" + +"What does it mean?" demanded Bradley. "I presume you boys know what +you are doing. There's law in this state, as wild as this country +looks to be. You'll get years behind prison bars for this." + +"Before I forget it," Jimmie asked, with a wink at Frank, "I want you +to tell me something. Will you?" + +"That depends. What is it you want to know?" + +"This: Is the boy down at the cabin the prince, or is he Mike III?" + +The eyes of both boys were fixed keenly on Bradley's face as the +question was put. So far as they could see, it did not change a +particle in color or expression. + +"That's a queer question for you to ask," he said. "You'd better +asked Mrs. Brady whether it is her grandson or not! And I don't know +what you mean, talking about a prince. I haven't seen any prince +about here--except the prince of the son of thieves!" + +"So you won't tell, eh?" asked Frank. + +"The boy I brought in is Michael Brady, son of the son of Mrs. +Brady." + +Sitting on the level space half way down to the outcropping ledge +which held the workroom of the counterfeiters, Bradley looked +anxiously in the direction of the canyon. + +Jimmie noted the look and took out his field glass. People were +moving about in the canyon, and down in the valley to the south, +where the cabin stood, something out of the ordinary seemed to be +going on. + +"You are expecting friends?" asked Frank. + +"They are liable to come any minute," was the cool reply. + +"Then we'd better be going," Jimmie cut in. "There are men in the +canyon, and in the valley, and they may be coming up here to find out +why you don't meet them, as per agreement! Are they good waiters? If +they are, you may find them still in the valley after you've served a +couple of terms in a Federal prison!" + +"Be careful what you say," warned Bradley. "I'm in your power now, +but there'll come a time when I won't be. Remember that!" + +Jimmie's glass showed him that the men below were starting up the +slope. + +"We'll go back toward camp," he said to Frank. "I guess the fellows +down there are watching us through glasses. If you don't mind," he +added, turning to Bradley with a provoking laugh, "we'll stow you +away in a hole in the rocks somewhere until they get tired of looking +for you!" + +"Go as far as you like!" was the reply. + +Frank and Jimmie stepped aside and conversed together in low tones, +trying to make up their minds what to do with the prisoner. It had +taken little trouble to capture him, but it seemed to them that it +would be no easy matter to hold him. + +"There's a cute little dip in the summit not far from the camp," +Frank said, at length. "A boulder tumbled out of the slope, and +there's a cave big enough to hide three in, only there is a part of +it which has no roof." + +"Don't mind that!" Bradley said, in a sarcastic tone. "We won't have +a long residence in any place you select now." + +"The summit is spotted with queer little openings where soft rock has +been washed out," Frank said, "and we can locate not far from the +camp if we want to." + +"I suppose you boys are doing this under the orders of this Nestor +boy?" asked Bradley. "When you get to him, kindly ask him to call on +me. I want to know what all this means." + +"Let's see, what was it you said about the child you brought in with +you?" asked Jimmie, wrinkling his freckled nose until it did not seem +possible to ever get it out straight again, "what was it you said his +name was? Was it Prince Abductable or Mike the Third?" + +Bradley scowled but said nothing. The boys now set off up the slope +with their prisoner. Now and then they turned to look into the canyon +and the valley below. + +The men they had observed in the canyon were slowly ascending. There +were four of them, and it seemed to the boys that they were examining +every foot of the ground they covered. Bradley looked downward, too, +and a smile came to his face as he did so. It was plain that he +expected help from that quarter. + +The boys walked as swiftly as possible, and soon came to the summit, +where a view of the camp was had. The corral where the mules were +feeding was also in sight, farther down, and Teddy was seen making +friends with Uncle Ike. + +The camp looked so quiet and deserted that Jimmie took out his field +glass again and looked closely. The flap of the tent was up, and the +boy could see for some distance into the interior. + +Trunks and boxes were open, their contents scattered about the floor. +A figure lay still on the floor, as if asleep. Jimmie could not see +the face, but from the size and expression of the shoulders he +imagined it to be Dode. + +Oliver was not to be seen. Then, while the boy watched, with a +premonition of approaching evil in his mind, he saw two men move out +into the center of the tent. They were looking through handfuls of +papers, or pictures, or something similar. Jimmie could not determine +at that distance just what they were carrying. + +"Look here, Frank," the boy said, "just take a look at the tent." + +Not a word to arouse the interest of the prisoner was said. Frank +looked and handed the glass back to his chum. Jimmie knew what his +chum feared as well as if he had put that fear into words. Bradley +was smiling calmly. + +"They have raided the tent!" Jimmie whispered, and Frank nodded. + +"And they are destroying our plates and prints," Jimmie went on, "and +so we'd better be getting down there to see about it." + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +NED PLAYS THE MIND-READER + + +Jack stood in the little cabin in the valley and looked Ned +expectantly in the face. + +"Tell me," he finally said, "tell me why they painted this boy?" + +"To get us off the trail of the prince," replied Ned. + +"But it seems that they failed," suggested Jack. "You know?" + +"I suspected from the very first," Ned answered. "Yesterday afternoon +I knew." + +"Well, it may be all right," Jack muttered, "or the man who brought +him here may need a new wire on his trolley, but I can't see why they +should bring this counterfeit prince here at all." + +"They knew that we were coming here," Ned explained, resolved to give +his chum a full understanding of the situation. "They knew we were +coming here in quest of the prince. How they knew I can't make out, +but they knew." + +"They might have heard more than we supposed from the attic over the +clubroom," Jack suggested. + +"If the story of the maid and the coachman is straight," Ned +continued, "they heard little that night. But they knew! They might +have bribed some of the servants. I don't know. They might have been +in that room before that evening. + +"At any rate, when the Boy Scout Camera Club started for West +Virginia by way of Washington the friends of the abductors knew what +was going on. Now, it is my opinion that the prince had been headed +for the mountains before the conspirators became aware of our +connection with the case." + +"I begin to see daylight!" Jack cried. + +"Well, the prince being on his way to the hills and we having a good +idea as to the locality of his place of hiding, the conspirators +conceived the idea of giving us a false little prince to play with!" + +"They're no fools!" Jack exclaimed. "No fools at all!" + +"Now," Ned went on, "some of the conspirators knew Mrs. Brady's son +in Washington. They knew of his many promises to his mother to return +to the mountains. They knew of his recent promise to her to come home +and bring the boy with him. They were doubtless very intimate with +Mike Brady, Senior, for they knew all the little details of the life +his mother was living. + +"So they got him to permit them to bring the boy to his grandmother. +They knew he would be looking for a prince in the hills, and so they +gave us a false one to engage our attention! Rather clever, that, +Jack." + +The old lady was now regarding Ned with eyes which expressed awe as +well as wonder. + +"How did you find it all out?" she asked. "How do you know what took +place in the minds of those wicked men?" + +"After they took possession of the boy they began bribing him to play +the part he has played here so imperfectly. They taught him cheap +little French phrases from the dictionary, and touched up his already +dusky complexion so as to make him look darker than ever. Yesterday I +saw Bradley at work on his face with a brush!" + +"And the lad played his part!" the grandmother declared. "I don't +know how Bradley led him along, but the boy was willing to do as he +was told. I never saw such a wild little chap so thoroughly subdued +before. He wouldn't even tell me the truth when I took him in my old +arms last night and talked to him." + +"But he evidently told Bradley what you said to him," Ned continued, +"for he got the child away in the night. Then he came to camp this +morning to see if he could find out how much I knew. He's probably +tied up by this time!" + +"You have had him arrested," asked the old lady. "Then he'll never +tell where the boy has been hidden, and he'll die of starvation--die +almost within sound of my voice." + +"We'll find him," Ned answered, grimly. "We can make Bradley talk, I +imagine." + +"And while this has been going on," Jack said, "the true prince, the +boy we came here to find, has doubtless been carried to some other +part of the country?" + +"I don't believe it!" Ned replied. "The conspirators would naturally +expect us to shift our search for him back to Washington, or Chicago, +or New York, wouldn't they? As soon as we discovered that this boy +was not the person we sought, they would expect us to leave the hills +at once, wouldn't they? Well, if they anticipated such a move on our +part, what is more natural than that they should take advantage of +this alleged idea on our part and leave the prince right here?" + +"That is just what they would do!" cried Jack. "That is just what +they have done. I wondered why you told Bradley we were going out! I +had no idea that you knew so much about the case." + +"Bradley knew that I knew the boy to be an imposter," Ned went on. +"He intended we should make the discovery in time--after he had +watched the grandson for a few days, sized up the situation +generally, and dropped out of sight. He intended me to know in a +couple of weeks, after he was out of harm's way. But I discovered the +trick too quickly for him." + +"When did you first suspect?" asked Jack. + +"That first morning. The boy's French was from the back of the book, +and there was too strong an atmosphere of Washington about him--an +atmosphere which does not savor of the quiet life of the prince of +the blood. Then when I watched him closer I saw that he had been +painted. Oh, it was all plain enough." + +"So you think the prince is here--in these hills?" asked the old +lady. + +"I can't say, now," Ned replied. "I am sure that he was here +yesterday. I think I saw him! But the escape of the two men who +captured Jimmie mussed things up a lot. I wanted to put them through +a little examination. + +"After their escape I could not pose longer as a lad after snapshots! +I can't say as I deceived the conspirators when I laid the capture of +Jimmie to the counterfeiters. I think I did fool them when I said we +were going out of the hills in order to protect the captive. + +"Well, when we released Jimmie and let the two guards escape, that +part of the game was off. If I could have held the men it would have +been different." + +"Perhaps Bradley can be made to tell where the prince is," suggested +Jack. + +"I hardly thinks he knows," Ned replied. "He has not, I think, been +taken fully into the confidence of the men higher up, any more than +have the men who guarded Jimmie." + +"He certainly knows where my grandson is," exclaimed the old lady, +"and I'll tear his heart out but I'll make him tell me. He took him +away!" + +"I am not so certain of that, either," Ned mused. "I don't know just +how far the criminal head of the conspiracy has trusted him." + +"You'll do all you can to find my boy, won't you?" pleaded the old +lady. + +"Don't worry about the boy," Ned urged. "Well find him. If Frank and +Jimmie have had good luck Bradley is under arrest now, and something +will be brought out to lead to his discovery. Besides, with the +disguise penetrated, there is no longer any motive for holding him, +unless he knows too much, which is not likely." + +"If his father was here he might help," suggested the old lady. + +Jack, who had been looking steadily out of the window for some little +time, now turned to Ned with a smile on his face. + +"I know now what you wrote in your little red book!" he said. + +"Are you certain of that?" + +"Why, of course. You wrote the answer to the question: 'Is it the +prince, or is it Mike III?' Didn't you, now?" + +"Yes, I did!" was the reply. "I was almost positive before, but I +knew that day." + +"And now we are just where we began," Jack said. "We've solved one +phrase of the case, but we haven't found the prince." + +"That will come later," Ned declared, confidently. "Well," he went on, +"we have finished our work here for the present. We have learned of +the disappearance of the grandson and we have confirmed my previous +belief, that the boy was sent in here to draw our attention from the +abducted child. So we may as well go back to camp and see what the +boys have been doing." + +The old lady still clung to Ned piteously, begging him to restore her +boy, and Ned promised to do all in his power to place the lad in her +arms. + +"If my son would only come!" the woman kept saying. + +"If you'll give me his address," Ned promised, "I'll see him when I +get back to Washington, if he is not already here or on his way +here." + +The address was given and the boys started + on the return trip to camp. + +"Now, Jack," Ned said, when they were on their way up the slope, "do +you know where the nearest telegraph station is?" + +"There's one over on the south fork of the Potomac," Jack replied. + +"You are good friends with Uncle Ike?" Ned then asked, with a laugh. + +"Sure I am. Uncle Ike is a friend of every person who carries sugar +in his pocket." + +"Well, when we get back to camp I'll give you a night message. You +must take the mule and get it to the station. You may not be able to +get there to-night. If you can't, send it when you do get there. Wait +for an answer. When you get it tell Uncle Ike it is important and get +here with it as soon as possible. You've got a hard trip ahead of +you, boy!" he added. "I'm game!" laughed Jack. "If there's any of +this prince trouble leaked out," he added, "what shall I say?" + +"Tell the old story. Say that we are in the hills for art's sake, and +that we have been annoyed by counterfeiters! Nothing serious, +understand? Not a word about our real mission here. You notice that +even the men we are battling with want it understood that it is the +counterfeiters who are trying to drive us out." + +"There must be something mighty strange about this abduction game," +Jack grinned. "No one will even admit that there is a prince in the +case." + +When the boys came to the vicinity of the summit, south of a point in +line with the camp and the canyon where the counterfeiters had been +discovered, they stopped and took a good survey of the landscape. + +"We can probably learn more about what has been going on," Jack +suggested, "by hiking straight for the camp. I'm anxious to be off on +that trip. Uncle Ike will like it--not! But I'll make him like it! +I'll give you a good imitation of a boy sailing over the mountains on +the freight deck of a mule!" + +"I was wondering," Ned said, composedly, though his eyes were +troubled, "whether we had any camp left! If you'll look off to the +north, you'll see four men crouching in a dent in the slope. +Rough-looking chaps, eh?" + +"I see!" Jack whispered. "Have they seen us? That's the question +now." + +"If they saw us," Ned continued, "they would either be making for us +or trying to get out of sight. No; they are watching the camp. See! +They are where they can look over the summit." + +"If they haven't been to the camp I'll think ourselves lucky," Ned +said. + +"They probably haven't!" Jack cried. "But look there, they are going +on a rush right now! Must be Bradley's friends. What?" + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +SHOOTING ON THE MOUNTAINSIDE + + +Bradley smiled cynically as he looked down toward the tent. He could +not, of course, distinguish the figures as plainly as Jimmie could +with the glass, but he knew from the excited manner of the boys that +something unusual was taking place. + +"You have visitors at the camp?" he asked cooly, as the lads motioned +to him to move on. "I shall be glad to meet them, you may be sure." + +He held out his manacled hands suggestively as he spoke. + +"You're not invited!" Jimmie grunted. "We've got private date with +those people. You might muss things up, if we permitted you to go +with us!" + +"Very well," Bradley replied. "They'll know where I am. But, for fear +they'll not recognize me, at this distance, I'll just give them +notice that I'm here." + +Jimmie and Frank both sprang forward to prevent the promised outcry, +but Bradley proved too quick for them. The cry that rose from his +lips was long, shrill and significant in its insistance. It was +finally stopped by Bradley being thrown to the ground, where he lay +with the old sarcastic smile on his face. + +"You've done it now!" Frank gritted. "You ought to be shot." + +"You are none too good to commit a murder--to kill an unarmed and +defenseless man." + +"If you don't keep that twirler of yours reefed I'll tie it up!" +Jimmie declared, with a threatening motion. + +He might have gagged Bradley there and then only that Frank called +his attention to the camp. The two men who had been seen inside were +now hiding on the west side of the tent, and Teddy was coming up the +slope from the corral. Oliver was nowhere to be seen, and the +supposition was that he had been captured by the outlaws. + +"We've got to tie this robber hand and foot and gag him!" Frank +cried. "We've got to get down to the camp right away!" + +"Perhaps," Bradley observed, with a provoking laugh, "you'll also tie +and gag the men who are coming up the hill from the canyon." + +The four men were now nearly half way up the slope from the cut, and +having heard the cry, were making good time in the ascent. The +situation looked anything but peaceful! + +The boys were anxious and excited, and Bradley counted on this when +he made the next move. The men on the west slope had of course heard +his call, he reasoned, and were hastening up to his rescue. + +Believing this, he took a desperate chance when he sprang away from +the boys, dropped to the ground and went bumping over the broken +slope, handcuffed as he was. Jimmie had his automatic out in a +moment, but by that time Bradley was concealed by one of the boulders +which lay on the declivity. + +It was useless to try to recapture the fellow, for the men coming up +the slope had seen something of what had taken place, and were now on +the run wherever the nature of the ground permitted. Besides, they +were already within shooting distance, and the boys would be directly +under fire if they sought to bring Bradley back. + +"It is a hopeless case!" Frank cried. "We can't get him!" + +"The best thing we can do, then, is to get to the camp," Jimmie +observed. + +"Then duck low and cut away to the north!" Frank cried. "Perhaps we +can make most of the distance under cover. Say," he added, as they +moved along, northward on the slope toward the east, "did you ever +see anything like that? That Bradley is some wise guy when it comes +to a pinch!" + +"He's daring!" Frank commented. "He will make us trouble yet!" + +"I believe," Jimmie went on, "that he's the fellow that got into the +attic over the clubroom of the Black Bear Patrol. When he was down on +the ground, sitting looking over the country, I saw a scar on his +head, a sharp cicatrice, three-cornered. You know how he got that?" + +"The maid threw a large pair of shears at some one that night," Frank +said. "You remember we found blood and a blonde hair on one of the +blades." + +"Just the sort of hair that gink carries on his dome!" Jimmie added. + +The men coming up the west slope had not yet reached the summit, and +the men below were still hiding behind the tent. Teddy was +approaching the fire. + +"They'll get the kid in a minute!" Jimmie said. + +"I don't know about that," Frank replied. "He seems to me to be +getting suspicious. Notice how he stops and looks around--probably +looking for Oliver or Dode." + +It was clear that the men waiting behind the tent were becoming +impatient, for they moved along and made ready to spring upon the +boy. Teddy, however, was not advancing. + +Something about the tent had warned him that it was in the hands of +the enemy. With a shout of warning to Oliver and Dode, if they +chanced to be free and within hearing, he turned and dashed toward +the corral. + +While the two men were getting under way in pursuit, Frank and Jimmie +came out on an easier slope and moved rapidly downward. Teddy was +soon out of sight, and then the men turned back. + +At that moment a shot came from the summit, and the boys turned to +see the four men whom they had observed on the slope heading down for +the camp. + +"They've found Bradley, of course!" Frank said. + +"Yes," answered Jimmie, "there's no use of playing double now, for +they know that we are next to their game." + +"Shall we rush for the camp?" asked Frank. + +"Nothing doing," Jimmie answered. "We can't do a thing there, and we +are under cover here! Bradley has, of course, told them that we are +here, but they won't be able to find us for a long time. If they get +too gay with the things at the camp we'll send a few bullets down. +Looks like things were coming their way now, eh?" he added. + +"We can't hold the top hand all the time," Frank grunted. "Ned will +come along directly and even things up a little. I wish he was here +now!" + +The four men were now scrambling along the slope, looking for the two +boys as they walked, slid and jumped down. The two men who were at +the camp had turned back from the pursuit of Teddy at the sound of +the shot, and were now awaiting the approach of their friends. + +"I suppose they'll burn the tent and drive the mules off!" wailed +Jimmie. "I'd like to have a machine gun up here a little while!" + +"I reckon they won't!" + +This from Frank as a shot came from the slope to the south. The men +who were rushing from the camp paused and looked at each other. + +While they waited, uncertain as to what they ought to do, another +shot came, this time from the corral. Teddy was evidently getting +into action! + +"Just for luck!" Jimmie shouted. + +He fired two shots as he spoke, and two more came from the south and +one from the corral. The four men beckoned to their companions at the +tent--if such they were--and made a break for the summit which they +had just left. + +"Whoo--pee!" shouted Jimmie. "Look at the racers!" + +At sound of the voice one of the men turned and fired a shot at the +rock against which the boy lay. It broke off a splinter but did no +harm to the boys. + +Frank left cover and ran up the slope. + +"Come one!" he cried. "We'll get Bradley yet!" + +Jimmie was not long in catching up with him. When they gained the +summit the four men were losing no time in their journey to the +canyon. They were on their feet only a part of the time. + +The boys saw Bradley rise from a sheltering rock and start after +them, but he fell in a moment. Handcuffed as he was, he could not +keep pace with them. The fugitives paid no attention to his calls for +assistance. It was every man for himself at that moment. Bradley sat +hopelessly down to await the arrival of the boys. + +Just as they gained the spot where he sat Ned and Jack came out of +the jungle of broken rocks to the south and looked smilingly down at +the prisoner. + +"Good day!" laughed Jack. + +Bradley forced a smile and turned away. + +"You took that trick!" he said. + +Jimmie stepped forward and put his fingers into the blonde hair of +the captive. + +"Where did you get this scar?" he asked, and Ned at once bent +forward. + +"I fell down and stepped on it!" Bradley answered, still smiling. + +"I'll tell you how you got it," Jimmie went on. "You sneaked into a +room in New York where you had no business to be and a girl threw a +pair of shears at you!" + +"That's a fine story!" snarled Bradley. "I never was in New York. + +"Bring him along, boys," Ned said. "We'll go on down to camp and see +what's been done to our tent and things by this man's friends." + +When they once more came to the summit, Teddy was standing outside +the tent with Oliver and Dode and the two outlaws were nowhere to be +seen. After that Bradley complained at the rate of speed the boys +insisted on. + +"Your friends must have thought they had butted into an ambuscade!" +Jimmie said to the captive. "Have they had much training in running? +They bobbed along like professionals, it seemed to me." + +"You'll see how fast they can run!" Bradley growled. "They'll go fast +enough to send you all over the road." + +"Now about this grandson," asked Ned, falling back. "Mrs. Brady wants +to know where he is. No use for you to hide him, now that we all know +he was disguised to look like the prince stolen from Washington. Why +did you paint him if not to imitate this other boy we speak of?" + +"I don't know anything about the boy," was the reply. "He was taken +without my knowledge, and that is on the level. I was ordered to do +the paint act." + +They trudged on for some minutes in silence, and then Bradley asked: + +"What is it about this prince you are always talking about? What is +there about the prince? Where is he? Why is he supposed to be in this +section?" + +"You don't know a thing about him, do you?" asked Ned, laughing, "and +yet you painted a boy to represent him?" + +Bradley only scowled. + +"When I find him," Ned continued, "I'll present him to you!" + +When the boys reached the tent they found Oliver and Teddy mourning +over the destruction of a large number of films and plates. Many +pictures, developed and printed with great care, had also been torn +or burned. + +"Well," Jimmie declared, "they didn't get their hands on the films in +my baby camera. I've got a few good ones left." + +"Now, Jack," Ned said, "suppose you connect with Uncle Ike and make +for the nearest telegraph office? Don't break your neck, and the neck +of the mule, but get there as soon as you can. And get back as soon +as you receive an answer." + +"Why can't I go with him?" asked Jimmie. "I guess I want a mule +ride." + +"Go it, if you want to!" Ned laughed. "That will leave us one mule to +run away on if things get too hot for us here!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +TOLD BY THE PICTURES + + +"You'll think we took great care of the camp!" Teddy said, flushing, +to Ned, as Jack and Jimmie, followed by the cheers and good wishes of +their chums, started away. + +"Aw, it wasn't Teddy's fault at all," Oliver declared. "He went down +to tell Uncle Ike what a gentleman and a scholar he was, and I was +supposed to watch the tent." + +"And I was to help him," wailed Dode. "See how well I did it!" + +He swung a hand around at the mess on the ground. + +"So, while Teddy was down at the corral, Dode and I sat down to +develop some snapshots. We never looked out at all! After we had a +lot of pictures ready to show on your return, we heard a noise +outside and thought Teddy had come back." + +"And there is when we got it!" Dode cut in. + +"Yes, there, is where we got it in the neck," Oliver went on, while +Teddy grinned. "The gun I looked into seemed about as large as the +tunnel under the Hudson, and I became the good little boy without +further argument." + +"I thought the gun I saw was a room in a cavern!" grinned Dode. + +"So they performed with their ropes and gags, and we lay there like +two little kittens while they tore up our work and smashed things +generally. And the way they wrecked the trunks and boxes was a +caution." + +"What did they talk to each other about while they were searching?" +asked Ned. + +"Nothing much. They seemed to be too busy looking for papers. From +what I could make out; I reckon they thought you had some official +document with you." + +"I have," laughed Ned, "but they did not find it." + +"After they had made all the trouble they could," Oliver went on, +"they spoke of burning the tent, and I guess they would haved one it, +too, if other things hadn't attracted their attention just at that +time!" he added, with a wink at Ned. + +"Well," Ned observed, "I'm sorry we lost the pictures, but there may +be some of the valuable ones left. We'll look them over right now." + +"Jimmie left the films from his baby camera," Teddy remarked. "We can +see what he got while he was in the hands of those cheap skates!" + +Nearly all the snapshots taken by Ned and Jack on the afternoon they +had come to the hiding place of Jimmie's captors had been printed by +the boys, and most of them had been destroyed, plates and all. +Stationing Oliver and Dode out on the slope to watch for any approach +which might be made, Ned gave his attention to the pictures. + +"The worst of it is," Frank declared, "that the good ones were the +ones the boys printed, and the ones which were burned up." + +"I don't know about that," Ned said. "The camera sees things the +human eye does not see! What we want now is a knowledge of the +country near the spot where Jimmie was held. We took plenty of +pictures around there, and Jimmie took some, too, so we may be able +to find what we want." + +"I'll work over the baby camera pictures while you handle the +others," suggested Frank, and the two boys were soon busy at their +tasks. Finally Ned handed a torn print to Frank, pointing out a +single feature as he did so. + +"You see the tree in the foreground?" he asked. + +"Yes, of course." + +"Now follow along back to the bush at the left and in the rear." + +"I see the bush," Frank said. + +"What else do you see there?" + +Frank bent closer over the print. + +"Is that a face there?" he asked. + +"It certainly is a face." + +"But it looks too small for a human face. It may be caused be some +odd arrangement of the leaves. Besides, it is very indistinct." + +"Sure, because it is in the shade. It is almost a miracle that we see +it at all. I 'll get a better print of it soon and enlarge it. Then +we shall know more about it. Now, look lower down. What do you see +there?" + +"Say," cried Frank, "that's a child's face up there! Here is the leg +below. Now, what do you think of that?" + +"That is doubtless the boy Jack and I saw," said Ned. + +"The grandson?" asked Frank. + +"The prince, unless I am much mistaken," Ned said, cooly. + +"So you saw him?" asked Frank. + +"We saw a child," was the reply. "He came toward us for a few steps +and then ran back! Now we'll look over the remaining pictures and see +what we can find." + +"That wasn't the grandson, was it?" asked Frank. + +"Mike III. was at the cabin that afternoon," was the reply. + +Presently Ned came to another torn print showing the mountain slope +directly in front of Chimney rock. He passed it over to Frank with an +odd look in his eyes. + +"Look right in the foreground, between those two stones," he said. + +"What is it between the stones?" asked the boy. + +"Looks to me like a coat." + +"Do you really think it is?" + +"Sure thing!" laughed Ned. "I'm going over there directly and see if +it is still there." + +Frank looked puzzled. + +"But how did it come there?" he asked. "Why should it be left there?" + +"I have known children to throw off coats or jackets on a hot day," +smiled Ned. "I imagine that princes are not different from other +children." + +Ned went on with his examination of the pictures. At last he came to +one which was badly torn, almost half of it being missing. + +"There," he said. "This is a picture taken right there at Chimney +rock. Do you see the face above it?" + +The face referred to was not that of either of the two men Jimmie had +been captured by, or of Bradley, who sat scowling just beyond reach +of their voices. + +"That is the man we want," Ned said, with a sigh. "If we had the +other part of the picture we should see the boy looking over the +rock, close at the man's side." + +"Very close!" Frank observed. "They seem to have hold of hands. +Doesn't that look like a closed hand down lower?" + +"That is just what it is!" + +Ned laid the picture aside and Frank brought out those which had been +made from the films taken from the baby camera. There were half a +dozen of them and all were remarkably good. + +"Look here," Frank said, "the kid took a picture of the slope back of +the rock. Our pictures do not show that. Look up a short distance!" + +Not very far up the slope hung a huge boulder which seemed on the +verge of falling. + +"If you'll notice the point of contact with the ground," Frank went +on, "you'll see that the boulder is propped up by wedge-like stones +put under it." + +"Exactly!" Ned said. "And that means that the boulder has fallen or +been pried out of its nest, and that the cavity behind it is regarded +as a good hiding place." + +"Do you think the prince could have been there?" + +"Not when Jack and I were in that section. We saw him out on the +slope." + +"But he went back that way?" + +"Yes." + +"Tell you what!" Frank exclaimed. "I'm going to take these pictures +home to Dad, and let him print them in his newspaper." + +"You'll have to write a story to go with them." + +"Oh, I suppose so, but stories aren't read when there are pictures. +The cuts tell the story. Dad will like the photographs." + +After a time Ned came to the picture of a man with the head torn off! +In destroying the print the outlaws had contented themselves by +merely ripping it into two pieces. The head part was not to be found. + +"What's the dangling things in front of the man's breast?" asked +Frank. + +"Legs!" replied Ned. + +"I never knew a man to wear his legs up there!" laughed Frank. + +"But you have known men to lift kids to their backs and let their +little legs hang down in front for handles? What?" + +"Never thought of that?" Frank exclaimed. + +"If we only had the face!" Ned worried. + +Then he paused a moment and went back to the print carrying the +strange face. + +"Here it is!" he said. "See! This is the same man. There are the +boots and the buttons. The camera caught the man twice." + +"I don't know why you didn't see some of these things when the +pictures were made," laughed Frank. "Next time I go out taking +snapshots I'm going to study the landscape, so I can choose subjects +for my pictures!" + +"All this means," Ned began, "that we were watched when we were +taking the pictures that afternoon. These people were looking at us! +We might as well have been walking through an open street." + +"But why didn't they do something to you, then?" demanded Frank. +"They captured the ones who entered the workroom." + +"Those were counterfeiters, not abductors." + +"Well, then, they caught Jimmie and lugged him away?" + +"In an effort to drive us out of the country, yes." + +"Then why didn't they capture you?" + +"Because they thought they had us scared so we'd go, and so didn't +want to show their hand. Remember that it was the counterfeiters who +were supposed by us to have taken Jimmie." + +"I understand. When you found that the boy at the cabin was not the +one you were looking for you were supposed to go away so as to save +Jimmie's life, and leave the true prince here in hiding." + +"That is just it." + +Bradley now called out to the boys that he had something to say to +them, and they hurried to his side. + +"I want you to get the widow's grandson and take him to her," he +said. "I was used decent, and I don't like to have her suffer." + +"Where is the boy?" asked Ned. + +Bradley open his eyes wider in wonder. + "Do you really think I took him away?" he asked. + +"Not a doubt of it!" Frank declared. + +"Well, I didn't," Bradley insisted. "I don't know where he is, but I +think I can point out the likeliest place to hunt for him." + +"Down at Chimney rock?" asked Frank. + +"In that section, yes. And, look here. You will need to be in a +hurry, for the men who have him are anxious to get rid of him--and +they are unscrupulous!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +A RECRUIT FROM THE ENEMY + + +"So you know the men who have taken the boy we call Mike III.?" asked +Ned. + +"I know him too well," was the bitter answer. "He's one of the men +who use their friends up to the limit and then drop them!" + +"You say 'him,'" Ned suggested. "Is there only one in this outrage?" + +"There are several, but all bow to the will of the leader. I can't +tell you anything more about it! I don't like the way I have been +treated, or I wouldn't have said as much as I have." + +"I thought your motive was to secure the return of the boy to his +grandmother?" + +"I want that done, of course, but I wouldn't have suggested it to you +only for the high and mighty airs of the man placed over me." + +"Why don't you tell me who this man is?" asked Ned. "Why don't you +tell me the object of this abduction of the prince? Why not tell me +where to find this little chap you seem honestly interested in?" + +"I don't know anything about any prince!" insisted Bradley. + +"Look here," Ned said, "I believe I can tell you just how this man +you hate looks. If I describe him, will you tell me if I am right?" + +"I will tell you nothing, except that you ought to look in the +vicinity of Chimney rock for the grandson--not at the rock, but close +to it! That is more than I ought to tell you." + +"This man you speak of," Ned went on, recalling the features of the +face caught above the rock by the camera, "has a very slim face, a +prominent nose, a wide, thin-lipped mouth, high cheek boned, small +eye-orbits, and eyebrows which tip up at the outer corners. He is +fond of children, and will play with any child he comes across. He is +also fond of mountain climbing, and delights in long tramps over the +hills." + +Bradley looked at Ned with the old cynical smile on his face. + +"Where did you run across him?" he asked eagerly, + +"That is enough!" laughed Ned. "You needn't say another word. We have +two snapshots of him--one without a head. In one he has hold of the +hand of a child, and in the other he has the child on his back, with +the little fellow's legs hanging down over his shoulders. A man would +not be apt to ride children about on his shoulders unless he was fond +of little ones generally, would he?" + +"I presume not," Bradley admitted. + +"And he wears in both pictures a mountain-climbing costume," Ned went +on. "He evidently likes the errand he was sent here on!" + +"The man I referred to a few moments ago as unscrupulous does," +Bradley said. + +"But if he likes children he won't be apt to injure this Mike III., +will he?" + +"He is a man who will do anything for expediency's sake. Now go away +and leave me to my very entertaining thoughts! If I ever get out of +these hills alive, and free, I'll never leave Manhattan island +again." + +"I remember you saying that you had never set foot in New York!" +laughed Ned. "You'll have to make your stories consistent if you want +them believed!" + +"Never mind all that now," Bradley replied. "You get busy restoring +that child to Mrs. Brady! Say, boy, but he is a bright-one!" + +"Learned French quickly, didn't he, and consented to being blacked up +like a negro minstrel, in order to pose as a prince?" asked Ned. "I +reckon, however, that the credit does not all belong to the lad. He +seems to have had a good instructor." + +"If you'll release me," Bradley offered, after a pause, "I'll go and +get the boy." + +"That's an easy promise to make," laughed Ned. + +"But I'll go and get him and bring him to you, and you can return him +to his grandmother. Then you may put these bracelets on me again if +you like. But, boy, let me tell you this: You've got nothing on me! I +haven't done a thing in this state at least, to render myself liable +to punishment. I supplied, for good pay, certain information in New +York, and I brought the boy you call Mike III. on here from +Washington, where I know his father well." + +"You must have known what you were doing it for?" + +"I did know--for money!" + +"But you must have known that the boy was to personate some one +else?" + +"I didn't care about that. I had my orders! See here, boy, if you +ever work with these highbrow rulers of petty kingdoms, you'll soon +find out that you're to obey and not ask questions! Do you get me?" + +"That's enough!" laughed Ned. "You haven't betrayed your employer, +but you have told me all I wanted to know." + +The boys unlocked the handcuffs and laid them aside. + +"I believe you'll do the right thing," he said. "Go and get the boy. +If you need any help let me know." + +Bradley arose and stretched out his arms luxuriously. + +"That's the first time I ever stood in the accused row," he said, +"and it will be the last! But, see here, boy, I can't get the kid in +a minute! I'll go to the mother and tell her what I'm doing, if I +live to get there!" + +"You think your ex-friends may seek to terminate your lease of life?" + +"They surely will--now. And, here's a pointer for you, look out for +yourself." + +"I think I can fix you out so they will receive you with open arms," +Ned grinned. "Here. I'll put these cuffs on again, with one arm +locked carelessly. You can draw the bar out when you pull right hard. +Now, eat what you need and take a run up the slope. We'll follow you +with a serenade of bullets. When you join the outlaws down in the +canyon you'll be a hero." + +"That's a fine notion!" said Bradley, actually smiling. + +"And don't come back here with the boy. Send him home to the old +lady. Then, if you want to help me in the work I'm on--" + +"I don't, and I won't!" + +"Don't blame you a mite! I never did like a traitor! If you won't +help me, then cut sticks for New York. Some day when you are in +better mood, come to the Black Bear Patrol clubroom. You know where +it is! Well give you a look into the place without sending you up to +the attic!" + +Bradley's face twisted into a laugh, but Ned did not seem to notice +the fact. + +"I'm not saying anything more about the prince, understand, or the +attic, or the French, or the black stain, but perhaps you'll tell me +the whole story some day!" + +And so, handcuffed again, Bradley was taken back to the tent, where +he was given a hearty meal. Then he carefully made his way out and +ran for the summit. Ned and his chums sat back and laughed at the +tumbles he took in his eagerness to deceive any one who might be +watching the camp. Now and then he fell down behind a rock and lay +there for a moment, peering out in the direction of the tent. + +Just before he gained the summit, Ned and the others ran out of the +tent with shouts of alarm and dashed up the slope, firing as they +went. At that time Bradley's speed might have shown a world record if +it had been set down! He cleared the summit, shouting for assistance +from anyone who might be below, and half rolled down toward the +canyon. Ned fired a few shots and went back to the tent. + +"What's the game?" asked Frank, as Ned sat down and roared. "This man +Bradley seems to be It--Tag!" + +Ned explained the situation and Frank immediately began taking notes +for a story for his father's newspaper. + +"If I had had a motion picture machine here," Frank declared, "I +could have made a fortune out of the films! It was glorious, the way +the old boy tore up the rocks on his way down. Think he'll return?" + +"I think he will," was the reply. + +"But if he doesn't?" + +"Then we shall have to find the boy ourselves, just as we are going +to find the prince! That is the next job, you understand." + +"And geezle the man who stole him--that's in the job, isn't it?" + +"Nothing said about that, but I hope to get him and have the goods on +him, too. When I present him to the chief he can do whatever he likes +with him." + +"But how are you going to get the goods on him?" asked Oliver. + +"I'll manage that easily," laughed Ned. "The first thing is to catch +him. Now, Frank, you saw where Bradley went?" + +"Why, he headed for the old counterfeiter den." + +"Think you can keep track of him for a short time?" + +"Can I? You know it!" + +"Then take Dode with you, so as to be in communication with the camp, +and follow him! Don't show yourself if you can help it, but if you +are discovered keep busy with your camera. We are here only to take +pictures, you know!" + +"So you don't trust that chap, after all?" asked Frank. + +"Yes, I trust him, but he won't betray the men he has been working +with. In order to get the boy he'll have to go to the man I want." + +"All right!" Frank laughed. "Come on, Dode! I might have known that +Ned was next to his job. I'll come back just before sunset to report, +if not before. If you love me have a supper fit for six of us ready +for me!" + +The two boys started away, and Ned, Teddy and Oliver went back to the +pictures. After an hour or more Ned went down to the corral, as if +looking after the mule. He saw no one on the way there, but when he +reached the level spot, rich with June grass, he saw that it had had +visitors during the day. + +The grass was beaten down flat behind a boulder on the edge of the +fertile spot, and there were cigarette stubs and half-burned matches +scattered about. The lush grass still carried the odor of tobacco, +and the boy knew that the watcher had not been long absent from his +post. + +He went back to the camp, and, much to the surprise of Teddy and +Oliver, began packing. + +"What's doing now?" the boy asked. + +"Why," laughed Ned, "haven't I agreed to get out of here to-morrow or +next day?" + +"Yes, but--" + +"We're going to pack, anyway," Ned said, "whether we leave or not! +There are people watching every move we make, and I want to convey to +them the idea that we are going at once." + +"If they are watching us," Oliver suggested, "they doubtless saw Jack +and Jimmie leave the camp." + +"They undoubtedly did," Ned admitted. + +"And will follow them, I'm afraid." + +"I've been wondering whether the boys got out of the hills in +safety," Ned went on. "They were well mounted, and should have been +able to dodge the outlaws. Besides, Jimmie and Jack are, as the boys +say on the Bowery, inclined to be 'foolish in the head--like a fox.' +So they are probably safely out by this time." + +"But, still, I'm worrying about them!" Oliver replied. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +RACING MOTORS ON THE WAT + + +"Some day," Jimmie said, as he urged Uncle Ike down an eastern slope +of the Alleghany mountains, "I'm going to have this mule put in a +book." + +"If he keeps up his stealing," Jack declared, "he is more likely to +be put in jail. That mule is certainly a bad actor." + +"Huh!" grunted Jimmie. "He's got a sugar tooth, or he wouldn't +steal!" + +The boys drew up when nearly to the valley through which runs the +North Fork and looked over the landscape. There was another range of +mountains straight ahead, and beyond that the valley of the South +Branch, for which they were headed. + +"Looks like another climb and good-night!" Jack complained. "And Ned +wanted this sent to-night. That's a right smart climb ahead of us," +he added. + +Jimmie coaxed Uncle Ike back to four feet again and patted him on the +head before making any reply. Then he pointed to the south. + +"Over there," he said, "is the Virginia line. The ridge ahead of us +does no cross that. I know because I looked up this section once when +Ned and I were thinking of running away for a rest." + +"You always need a rest!" grinned Jack. "Why don't you make Uncle Ike +stand still, like Dill Pickles, this old mountain ship of mine does?" +he added. + +"Why do you call him Dill Pickles?" asked Jimmie. "He looks more like +a razor-back with sails set in front." + +"He's Dill Pickles because he's got a good disposition gone sour," +Jack explained. "He's just about shaken the life out of me now. +Doesn't look it, does he?" + +"Better call him Bones!" Jimmie advised. "As I was saying," he went +on, "the ridge ahead of us drops down this side of the Virginia line, +and we can dodge a climb by going around it." + +"And get lost!" Jack grumbled. + +"Lost--not. We follow down this valley--or up this valley, +rather--until the ridge drops down. Then we go straight east until we +come to the South Branch. And there you are." + +"Here we go, then!" Jack shouted. "Set your sails and come along." + +Uncle Ike wanted a test of speed and endurance right there, but +Jimmie held him back. It might be that they would be obliged to +return to the camp that night. + +They soon left the high places and wound among foothills. Below lay a +fertile valley, with handsome and well-tilled fields. + +"We're making a hit with these mules!" laughed Jimmie, as they passed +along, the people staring at them from gates, doors, windows and +fence-tops. "If these ladies and gentlemen ever see us again they'll +be sure to know us." + +It is not a great distance from the place where they came to the +river to the city they sought, and the ground was covered in a couple +of hours. The sun was still shining when they passed through a busy +street, certainly the center of observation. + +When they entered the telegraph office Jack took out the message and +handed it to the clerk at the desk without looking at it. The clerk +studied it a moment and asked: "Day rates? This seems to be a night +letter." + +The boys eyed each other keenly for a moment, and then Jimmie said: +"I'd have it sent right off if I were you. Ned wouldn't have said +anything about its being a night letter if he had had any idea we'd +get here so soon." + +"All right," Jack said. "Send it now. We'll wait for a little while +to see if there's an answer." + +"It is in cipher," the clerk said, "and will take some time to send." + +"I never looked at it," Jack cried. "I' don't even know where it is +going." + +"To the Secret Service chief, Washington," said the clerk. "Are you +boys out here on secret service business?" + +"We're out here to take pictures," Jimmie cut in. "We have nothing to +do with that dispatch. It was given to us by an acquaintance to send +out." + +"He wanted to make sure it got into the right hands," Jack said. +"Will you call Washington and see if he's there--the chief?" + +"You'll have to pay for the message." + +Jack laid a banknote of large denomination down on the desk. + +"Ask for the chief," he said, "and tell him to wire any instructions +he may have for the sender in cipher if he wants to, but to give any +instructions he may have for us about the delivery of the message in +plain United States!" + +"Come back in half an hour," said the clerk, "and I'll probably have +something for you. I suppose this cipher message is an important +one?" he added, suspiciously. + +"Don't know what it is," Jack answered, truthfully. + +The clerk evidently did not believe the boy for he stood at the desk +gazing after him with a look of distrust on his face. The lads were +no sooner out of the office than a thin, angular gentleman, dusky of +face and very black and bright of eye, entered and walked up to the +clerk. + +"I sent a message here by a couple of boys," he said, "and I wish to +withdraw it." + +"You'll have to find the boys, then, and have them withdraw it," +replied the clerk. + +"But can't I recall the dispatch--my own dispatch?" demanded the +other, exposing a $100 banknote in his palm. "It is worth something +to me to get it back." + +The clerk was angry at the plain attempt at bribery, so he turned +back to a table and took up the message the boys had left. + +"We have a message here," he said, "which may be recalled under +proper conditions. Kindly tell me what your dispatch says." + +"Which one did they file?" asked the other. "The one to Washington or +the one to New York?" + +The clerk laid the paper back on the desk. + +"Give me the address you sent your message to at Washington," he +said. + +"It was the secretary of state," was the reply. + +"And the message? Give me a few opening words." + +"Read them!" snarled the other. "Can't you read English?" + +"The message is in cipher!" said the clerk, "You also have the +address wrong. You are evidently a fraud. Get out!" + +When the boys returned to the office in half an hour the clerk called +them over to the desk at once and told them of what had taken place. + +"How did he ever follow us out without our seeing him?" asked Jimmie. + +"He must have shot through the air," the other declared. + +"Are you sure you kept a good lookout?" smiled the clerk. + +"Well, we looked about a good deal," Jimmie admitted, "and I can't +say as I thought of being chased up. What did Washington say?" + +"You boys are to wait here until you receive instructions. The cipher +message is now going on the wire." + +The boys sat down in a restaurant not far from the telegraph office +and ordered porterhouse steaks, French potatoes, and all the side +dishes that were on the menu. + +"We may have to ride to-night," Jack said, "and may as well prepare +for it." + +"I don't like the idea of our being followed here," Jimmie observed. +"We'll be apt to come across that chap on the way back. The funny +part of it all is that we never suspected there was a sleuth out +after us!" + +"We ought to have known," Jack grumbled. "Somehow everything has gone +wrong with us. If we ride back in the night we'll probably have a +skirmish." + +After eating they went back to the telegraph office. The clerk was +waiting for them, that being the usual hour for his supper. + +"Here's your orders," he said, with a smile, "right from the chief +himself. He seems to know who you are all right!" + +Jack took the dispatch and read: + +"Remain where you are until motor cars now on the way from Cumberland +reach you. Our men say the cars can make good time clear to the +foothills. The cipher message will arrive shortly. Be on your guard." + +It was signed by the chief of the Secret Service department. + +"What do you know about that?" asked Jack, passing the message over +to Jimmie. + +"How far is it to Cumberland?" he asked of the clerk. + +"Something like eighty miles," was the reply. + +"Are the roads good? Can a motor car make good time to-night." + +"The river roads are fairly good. A fast car ought to get here in +three hours." + +"I see that Chinese-looking guy that wanted the message catching us +if we go back in an automobile!" Jimmie laughed. + +"But a motor car," Jack interrupted, "is an easy thing to wreck on a +mountain." + +"What do you think was in that dispatch?" Jimmie asked of Jack, as +they sat in the telegraph office waiting. + +"Something which brings out motor cars and secret service men," Jack +answered. "I guess it made a hit at Washington." + +"Perhaps he wired that he was going to bring the prince in!" laughed +Jimmie. "Well, if he did, he'll do it, and that's all I've got to say +about it." + +Twice that evening a dark face appeared at the window of the +telegraph office and peered in at the boys. Each time the owner of +the dark face hastened away after a short inspection of the lads and +conferred with two men in a dark little hotel office. + +Shortly after ten o'clock two great touring cars, long, lean racers, +ran up to the curb in front of the telegraph office and stopped. The +street was now well-nigh deserted, but what few people were still +astir gathered around the machines. + +There were three husky men in each machine, and in each car was room +for one more person. Only one man alighted and entered the office. +When he saw the boys waiting he beckoned to them. + +"Got your cipher?" he asked, and Jack nodded. + +"Then come along. We'll get to the high climb before the moon comes +up." + +"Do you know the way?" asked the clerk. + +"Only from verbal description," was the reply, "but we can find it." + +"I'm off duty," the clerk said, "and I know every inch of the way. I +was reared in the mountains west of the short ridge. I'd like a +little adventure, too!" he laughed. + +"What about the mules?" asked Jimmie, determined that Uncle Ike +should be cared for. + +"Get them into a barn, quick," said the chief, sharply. "We must be +off." + +When Jimmie came back the clerk and Jack were crowded into one seat +in the rear machine, while a vacant seat in the front car was waiting +for him. The party was off with a snort of motors and faint cheers +from the little crowd which had gathered. + +The river road was fairly good, and in an hour they were at the +foothills, around the south end of the short ridge. The driver drew +up there, and in the clear air, from the north came the sound of +galloping horses. + +"Get out and under cover, boys!" the chief commanded. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +THE MAN-TRAP IS SET + + +Ned, Oliver and Teddy remained in camp all the afternoon--waiting. +They were not, of course, anticipating the immediate return of Jack +and Jimmie, but they were looking every moment, after a couple of +hours had passed, for some signs of the boys who had been sent out in +the wake of Bradley. + +"I'll bet a cookie," Teddy exclaimed, as the sun set over the ridge +to the west, "that Frank and Dode have bumped into something hard!" + +"I may have made a mistake in not going on that trip myself," Ned +mused, "but I had an idea there would be business for me at the camp. +I don't know what to make of this lack of attention on the part of +our enemies!" + +"It may be," Oliver suggested, "that they have taken alarm and ducked +with the prince." + +"That is just what I fear," Ned answered. "It will spoil all my plans +if they move now; still, I admit that they've had enough unpleasant +experiences here to make them long for a quieter retreat!" + +The boys prepared supper, taking pains to provide enough food for +Frank and Dode, but they did not come. The meal over, Ned made ready +for a trip down the mountain. + +"I'm going to Chimney rock," he said to the boys. "I should like to +have one of you with me, but two ought to remain here. I'm going to +take some rockets with me. If I do not return before midnight, one of +you advance along the summit to the south, provided with rockets. If +one of my rockets is seen, the watcher must send one up to notify the +boy in camp. Then both must make a run for Chimney rock, traveling so +as to come upon it from the up-hill side. Is that clear?" + +"Perfectly," Oliver declared. "You are going to bring this prince +back with you?" + +"Perhaps!" laughed Ned. "I may have to bring Frank and Dode back with +me!" + +There was only the light of the stars when Ned reached the vicinity +of Chimney rock, coming in from the slope to the north and moving +with extreme caution. There was a dull glow in the dip back of the +rock, the glow of coals nearly burned out. + +The men who had captured Jimmie at the cave of the counterfeiters had +fled before the shooting, and Ned had no idea that they had returned, +or would return. Any fire built by them would have long since turned +to ashes. + +"The party having direct charge of the prince has been here," the boy +mused, "though why they should come here is a puzzle to me, as they +have, or had a camp of their own not far away. Still, the theory of +hiding in a place which has been searched is an old one, and these +fellows may have adopted it. + +"They certainly adopted a theory something like it," the lad thought, +as he watched the dying embers from a distance--from the secure +shadow, if the stars may be said to have cast a shadow that night, of +a great rock--"when they decided to remain here after the disguise of +the widow's grandson had been discovered. They took it for granted +that no one would look for the real prince where the disguised one +had been found! They might better have taken him away!" + +Ned knew very well that the men having charge of the abducted boy had +hidden farther up the slope. His idea was that at the time the +pictures were taken the men in charge were watching the two who had +ran away. + +From what Bradley had said, it was not likely that he, Bradley, had +been permitted to associate with the actual custodians of the stolen +lad. This had been the main source of his complaints. + +Ned believed that a portion, at least, of the men sent into the hills +as custodians of the prince had followed Jack and Jimmie out While +trembling for the safety of the two boys, Ned had figured on cutting +the force of the enemy in two before making an attempt to seize the +little prisoner. + +Even now, he figured, the force left on the ground had been again +divided, for he was positive that the camp was being watched. For +this reason he had caused the packing to be done, thus giving the +impression that his party was going out at once. + +The boy lay in the dark spot under the boulder for a long time, +watching, listening, for some indication of human life in that +vicinity. He had a half notion that Bradley would head that way, and +that the boys would follow him. + +"If Bradley does come here," Ned thought, "my trap will be set right! +That is, if the dusky little chap from over the sea has not been +taken away. If he has, the trap will not serve; still, I shall be +able to console myself with the thought that it was at least well +set!" + +Every clue the boy had gained pointed to the spot where he lay. That +had undoubtedly been the point of communication between the leader +and his subordinates--with Bradley and the men who had taken Jimmie +prisoner. + +"That was rather clever," Ned mused, "taking the boy while at the +cave of the counterfeiters in order to give the impression that the +coiners had seized him!" + +Ned realized, too; that the capture of the grandson just at that time +had been a master stroke on the part of the conspirators. The lad +would have talked too much when he became satisfied that he was safe +from all coercion. + +Ned lay in his hiding place for what appeared to him to be a long +time before he heard anything to indicate that his man-trap had been +set in the right spot. Then the voice he heard caused him to spring +quickly up to his feet. It was the low, soft, plaintive voice of Mary +Brady. + +"I haven't seen anything here I could talk about," the old lady was +saying. "I wouldn't think of betraying anyone who put my boy in my +arms. I've seen him with you--I've been waiting about here for a long +time. Bring him out to me and I'll go home and never trouble you any +more." + +"Now," thought Ned, "how did the old lady manage to find the boy +here?" + +"You shouldn't have come here," a low, well-modulated masculine voice +said. "You have put your own life and the life of the boy in danger +by so doing. How long had you been watching and listening before I +saw you?" + +"A long, long time." + +"And you heard much of what was said?" + +"I heard a good many words, but I don't remember now what they +meant." + +The voices came clearly from farther up the slope, and a little to +the south. The figures of the speakers could not be seen by the +watcher. + +"Come up to the camp," the masculine voice said, presently. "I'll +turn the boy over to you, but you can't go back to your cabin +to-night." + +"Are you going to keep me here against my will?" asked the trembling +old voice. + +"You have seen and heard too much," was the almost brutal rejoinder. + +There was a rattle of pebbles as footsteps moved along the rocky +surface of the slope. From above came the shrill cry of a child. + +"I don't know of any better time to move up and take a peep at the +camp of the man who crossed the sea to steal a child," Ned mused. "I +wish Frank and Dode would come, but if they don't I'll have to take +chances on going alone." + +Keeping those in front of him as guides, Ned crept along the slope. +More than once a loose pebble rolled with a great noise from under +his feet, but those ahead seemed to pay no attention to these +evidences of pursuit. + +When, perhaps, two hundred paces up the slope the sounds above the +boy ceased. The night was still, save for the rustling and creeping +of the creatures of the air and the forest. For a long time not a +sound indicative of the presence of human life was heard, then a +woman's cry of fright came from above. + +Ned was about to hasten forward when a voice came to his ears from +the darkness. + +"We can't permit either of them to leave!" the low, well-modulated +voice he had heard before that night said. "Even if we get away with +the prince, their stories would ruin us. There is no knowing how soon +the gabblings of the old woman might reach the ears of the adherents +of the prince." + +"Then you propose--" + +"Nothing that will not come to them in due course of time! They can +go to sleep in the snug inner room and never wake again. They will +not know when the change comes. They will sleep forever in their +mountain tomb." + +"I am opposed to murder," said another voice, harsher, more decisive. + +"And so the trap was well set!" mused Ned. "The princeling is still +here! Well, the battle may not bring victory to me, but I will at +least know that I planned it right, acting on the best information at +hand." + +It was plain, from what the first speaker had said, that the camp of +the conspirators was in a cave, for he had spoken of a snug inner +room. The entrance to this cave was undoubtedly closely guarded. + +The boy crept along cautiously. The slope was steep, with here and +there a ledge which had to be surmounted or circled, always at great +risk. In a few hours the moon would be up, and then the work he had +before him would be more difficult. + +"I must get into the cave before the moon rises!" he thought. "But +how?" + +When he came to the precipice in the side of the mountain from which +the cave opened, he saw the black spot which marked the entrance. It +was not large, and, close in front, sitting with his back against the +rock, was a guard! + +Ned lay down to wait. When the moon rose it would cast the shadow of +the mountain on that spot. For a few hours more he might wait for his +chance. + +Directly he heard a call which brought him to an alert attitude in an +instant. It was the call of the wolf pack, sharp, vicious, warning! + +There was a movement at the mouth of the cave, and a quick light +showed for only a second. Then came a sound of footsteps negotiating +the gravelly slope. + +Ned dropped back to the west. The call had come from that direction. +It might have been uttered either by Frank or by one of the boys left +at the camp. + +Presently the snarl was heard in a dark crevice toward which the boy +was descending. Ned dropped down faster then, and soon heard Frank's +voice. + +"Are you alone?" he asked. + +"Yes; and you?" + +"Bradley and Dode are here." + +Bradley moved forward and took Ned by the arm. + +"Be careful!" he warned. "Those men would toss dynamite down here and +take their own risk of death if they knew." + +"We've had a run for our money!" Frank panted. "We've been +everywhere. The cabin is deserted, and the lower camp and the +counterfeiter cave are bare of life. Bradley caught us following him, +and so we joined with him in his search for Mike III." + +"Mike III.," Ned answered, "is up there in the cave with the +abductors, and Mrs. Brady is with him. We've got to act quickly." + +"They'll be murdered!" Bradley whispered. "What can we do?" + +"They'll be spared for a short time," Ned answered, "but we must be +on the move." + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +THE CONFESSION OF A PHOTOGRAPH + + +"There's a ravine off to the right where the machines may be hidden," +the clerk said, when the racing automobiles stopped at the foot of +the hills. + +"Show the way, then, quick," hastily commanded the leader. "We want +to see what sort of people they are who ride at break-neck speed in +the darkness." + +The machines were driven into the ravine referred to, and the secret +service men and the boys secreted themselves in a clump of +undergrowth close to the roadside. The horsemen came on swiftly, and +would have passed only that the detectives closed in about them, +three in front and three in the rear. + +"What is the meaning of this?" demanded the dark little man who had +shown himself at the telegraph office. + +The two men with him whispered together but said nothing in the way +of protest. + +"Dismount!" ordered the leader. + +The men hesitated, and a bullet cut the air within a fraction of an +inch of the right ear of the leader. There was now no delay in +reaching the ground. + +"You shall pay for this!" shouted the little dark man. + +"Of course," laughed the leader. + +Jimmie pulled at the sleeve of the chief. + +"That is one of the men I saw in the mountains," he declared. "He is +the second one in command, as far as I could determine." + +"What does the boy say?" demanded the other. + +"What are you doing here?" asked the chief, impatiently. + +"We are hunting in the hills." + +"Hunting at this season?" + +"Hunting and resting. Please now do we go on?" + +The chief made a significant motion, and before the three men knew +what was going on they were securely handcuffed. They roared at their +captors and at each other in a foreign language for a moment and then +sat down stolidly at the side of the road. + +"You, Jerry, and you, Sam, take them back to the town and lock them +up," ordered the chief. "Perhaps you, Charley, would better go with +them. Ride and make them walk!" + +"Locked up!" shouted the dark little man. "What for?" + +"Treason to your country," was the short reply. + +For a moment there was no word spoken, then the three men arose to +their feet and approached the chief, standing with a hand on his +revolver. + +"There is money," one of the men said. "Plenty of money." + +"Cut that out!" ordered the chief, curtly. + +"Not in the thousands!" the other went on, "In the millions!" + +"If they renew this proposition on the way in," ordered the chief, +"gag them!" + +In a moment the three men were away with their prisoners, the sound +of the horses' feet dying away in soft echoes from the hills. + +Then the chief turned to the clerk. + +"Does our auto ride end here?" he asked. + +The clerk shook his head. + +"A few rods further on," he said, "you can turn into the bed of a +half dry stream which runs out of the hills almost at the rocky wall +of the mountain itself." + +"And the bottom of the stream?" asked the chief. + +"Sand and fine gravel. The grade is not steep." + +"And how far from the summit shall we be when we get to the end of +the water route?" asked the chief. + +"Not more than three miles, but it is a stiff climb." + +"Get under way then," was the order, and the motors sang their tune +in the hills once more. + +"What time does the moon rise?" the chief asked, after a few moments +of splashing in the bed of the stream, which at that season of the +year was not more than three inches deep, except in places, which +were avoided. + +"About twelve," was the reply. + +"We must be well up the hill before that," the chief declared. + +When they came to the end of the water course the machines were +hidden in a canyon not far away and the men and the boys proceeded on +up the slope. + +In the meantime Ned and those with him were listening for the sound +of footsteps in their immediate vicinity. The call of the pack had +aroused the suspicions of the guard, and it was evident that he had +left his place at the entrance of the cave to learn the meaning of +it. + +After a brief wait Ned heard the sound he was listening for and +clutched Frank eagerly by the arm. + +"Move away to the right and repeat the wolf call, only lower," he +directed. "When you have done so dodge back here-quick! The guard may +shoot!" + +"What are you going to do?" whispered Bradley. "Be careful! Those +Orientals are dangerous people to handle! Be careful!" + +"I guess we won't start anything we can't finish," Frank grinned. + +The boy did as requested, and Ned moved up the slope. Bradley sat +watching the dim figures disappear and wondered what sort of company +he had fallen into. + +When the call of the pack came from the spot indicated by Ned, there +was a rush of footsteps. The guard evidently, was advancing toward +the suspicious sound. + +The next event was so sudden, so unexpected, so startling, that +Bradley almost held his breath for an instant. There was a choking +gurgle, a blow, and a noise of falling bodies. Then Ned and the guard +rolled into the little dip where the others were hiding. + +Frank, back by this time, threw himself on the struggling mass and +the guard was soon handcuffed and gagged. Then Frank sat back and +laughed until Dode tried to gag him with a handkerchief. + +"Come!" Ned whispered, giving the boy a poke in the ribs. "We're +going into the cave now! Are you going, Bradley?" he added, turning +to the blonde fellow. + +"If you forget what took place at the club-room in New York, I'll--" + +"You're on!" whispered Ned. "Now--quick and cautious!" + +The old lady, sitting dejectedly with her grandson in her arms, in a +rough cave-room, saw the boys creeping forward. Ned held up a warning +hand and waited. The old lady, evidently knowing what was wanted, +pointed to a small opening to the south. + +"They are in there, two of them, asleep!" she whispered a moment +later, when Ned had reached her side. "The others are away!" + +"And the other boy?" asked Ned, anxiously. + +"He is with them," was the gratifying reply. + +It was Frank who accompanied Ned into the sleeping chamber where the +heads of the conspiracy lay asleep. It was Frank who snapped the +manacles on the wrist of the one who was lying across the entrance as +a guard. + +The supreme head of the wicked conspiracy struggled, half awake, as +Ned slipped the handcuffs on and searched him for weapons. But it was +all over in a moment, much to the amazement of Bradley, who, +attracted by a gleam of light, looked through the low opening to see +the searchlights of the Boy Scouts lighting up two angry faces. The +prince--the real prince this time!--was asleep on a costly rug not +far away. Later, when awakened, his attention was at once attracted +to Mike III., who made a pretty good playfellow for him for the time +being. + +For there was little sleep in the Boy Scout Camera Club camp that +night. When the boys, the old lady, the prince and the others came +out of the cave, just as the moon was showing above the rim of the +world, a rocket was mounting the sky to the north. + +"One of the boys!" Ned exclaimed. "I reckon something is wrong +there!" + +But nothing was wrong there--nothing at all, so far as the boys were +concerned. Oliver and Teddy had succeeded in capturing the man who +was watching the camp. Pretending to fall asleep by the fire, they +had lain in wait for the spy and captured him just as he was in the +act of setting fire to the tent. + +Dode accompanied Mrs. Brady and her grandson to the cabin, where, at +her request, he remained a welcome guest for many days. + +When the stories of the night had been told Jack, Jimmie, and the +three secret service men made their appearance, puffing from their +long climb. Then new stories had to be told, and the prince was by no +means slow in telling of his adventures in the hills. + +"The boy lies!" the leader of the conspirators declared. "I had +nothing to do with the boy! I was not here when he was brought in. I +came on separate business with one of the men already here, and did +not know of the lad's presence here until to-night, and even then I +did not know who he was." + +"All the others will swear to that," Bradley said, "in an attempt to +save the man's life by sacrificing their own." + +"Never mind," Ned said, "you can testify to his interest in the +abduction." + +"I don't know a thing about it," was the reply. "I was hired to watch +you in New York, and to bring Mike III. in here. I never saw this man +while here--never saw the prince. I don't even know how they got Mike +III. from his father! They kept me in ignorance of all their moves." + +"Well," laughed Ned, "then we'll fall back on the confession that has +been made." + +"Confession!" repeated the others. "Who has confessed?" + +"The photograph!" smiled Ned, taking out the two pictures in which +the man and the prince were shown. "The pictures show this man in the +company of the prince, and the prince will tell the rest. This closes +the case." + +"When are you going out?" asked the chief of the secret service men. + +"Why," replied Ned, "I promised the outlaws that I would get away +to-morrow morning. I'm going to keep my word!" + +"You'd better go out with us and travel in the machines, then," said +the other. + +"And leave Uncle Ike?" demanded Jimmie. "Not for me! I'm going to +ride that blessed mule to Cumberland, and ship him to New York." + +And he actually did! While the others were riding at their ease in +the racers, Jimmie was urging his mule along the country road, +alighting now and then to let him thrust a soft muzzle into a pocket +in quest of sugar. + +At Cumberland Ned met Mike II., who was going in to spend a long time +with his mother and the boy. He had sent the son in by a Washington +friend, he said! That was all! Dode, he said, would be asked to +remain there permanently. No one even knew how much the father knew +of the trick to be played with his son. + +And so, save for a few raveled ends, the story of the Boy Scout +Camera Club is told. + +Bradley was given a position by Oliver's father, and became very +friendly with the boys. He insists to this day that he did not know +about the abduction of the prince. + +The conspirators were turned over to their own government, and there +the record ends, though none of them was ever seen out of prison +again! + +Those who wish to follow the Boy Scouts farther can do so by reading +the next book of this series, entitled: "The Boy Scout Electrician; +or, the Hidden Dynamo." + + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Boy Scout Camera Club, by G. Harvey Ralphson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOY SCOUT CAMERA CLUB *** + +***** This file should be named 7356-0.txt or 7356-0.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/7/3/5/7356/ + +Produced by the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at + www.gutenberg.org/license. + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +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 + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at 809 +North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email +contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the +Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
\ No newline at end of file diff --git a/7356-0.zip b/7356-0.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..01bee37 --- /dev/null +++ b/7356-0.zip diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5fdadb6 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #7356 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/7356) diff --git a/old/7356.txt b/old/7356.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..33e8527 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/7356.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7128 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Boy Scout Camera Club, by G. Harvey Ralphson + +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: The Boy Scout Camera Club + or, The Confession of a Photograph + +Author: G. Harvey Ralphson + +Release Date: October 14, 2012 [EBook #7356] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOY SCOUT CAMERA CLUB *** + + + + +Produced by the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: "Say" Cried Frank, "That's a child's face up there!"] + + +The Boy Scout Camera Club + +or + +The Confession of a Photograph + + +By + + +Scout Master G. Harvey Ralphson + + + +CHAPTER + + I LOST: A FOREIGN PRINCE! + + II THE HOLE IN THE ATTIC FLOOR + + III WHAT THE BOX CONTAINED + + IV A CAMP IN THE MOUNTAIN + + V JIMMIE AND TEDDY MISS A MEAL + + VI SIGNALS IN THE CANYON + + VII A MINT IN THE MOUNTAINS + + VIII UNCLE IKE PRESENTS HIMSELF + + IX A LANK MULE AS A DECOY + + X "PACKED AWAY LIKE SARDINES" + + XI JACK'S ELEGANT CHICKEN PIE + + XII THE BLACK HAND GAME + + XIII THREE DAYS TO MOVE IN + + XIV POINTING OUT THE TRAIL + + XV A NIGHT ON THE SUMMIT + + XVI THE CALL OF THE PACK + + XVII JUST A LITTLE DARK WASH + +XVIII BRADLEY BECOMES INDIGNANT + + XIX NED PLAYS THE MIND-READER + + XX SHOOTING ON THE MOUNTAINSIDE + + XXI TOLD BY THE PICTURES + + XXII A RECRUIT FROM THE ENEMY + +XXIII RACING MOTORS ON THE WAY + + XXIV THE MAN-TRAP IS SET + + XXV THE CONFESSION OF A PHOTOGRAPH + + + + +The Boy Scout Camera Club + +or + +The Confession of a Photograph + + + + +CHAPTER I + +LOST: A FOREIGN PRINCE! + + +"Two Black Bears!" + +"Two Wolves!" + +"Three Eagles!" + +"Five Moose!" + +"Quite a mixture of wild creatures to be found in a splendid clubroom +in the city of New York!" exclaimed Ned Nestor, a handsome, muscular +boy of seventeen. "How many of these denizens of the forests are +ready to join the Boy Scout Camera Club?" + +"You may put my name down twice--in red ink!" shouted Jimmie McGraw, +of the Wolf Patrol. "I wouldn't miss it to be president of the United +States!" + +"One Wolf," Ned said, writing the name down. + +"Two Wolves!" cried Jimmie, red-headed, freckled of face and as +active as a red squirrel, "two wolves! You're a Wolf yourself, Ned +Nestor!" + +"Two Wolves, then!" laughed Ned. "Of course Jimmie and I can form a +club all by ourselves, and he can be the officers and I can be the +members, but we'd rather have a menagerie of large size, as we are +going into the mountains of Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, +Kentucky and Tennessee." + +The boys who had not yet spoken were on their feet in an instant, all +clamoring for membership in the Boy Scout Camera Club. Ned lifted a +hand for silence. + +"Why this present rush?" he asked. "I've been thinking that Jimmie +and I would have to go to the mountains alone! Why this impetuosity?" + +"The mountains!" shouted Frank Shaw, of the Black Bear Patrol. "It is +the mountains that get us! We've been thinking that the club you were +organizing wouldn't get outside of little old New York, but would +loaf around taking snap-shots of the slums and the trees in the +parks. But when you mention mountains, why--" + +"I'm going right down stairs and pack my camera!" Jack Bosworth, of +the Black Bear Patrol, declared. "When it comes to mountains!" + +The clubroom of the Black Bear Patrol was on the top floor of the +handsome residence of Jack's father, who was a famous corporation +lawyer, and the boys persuaded Jack to wait until they had completed +the organization of the Camera Club before he started in packing for +the journey to the mountains! + +"You'll want an Eagle, if you're going to the mountains!" shouted +Teddy Green, of the Eagle Patrol. "I'll fly home and get my wardrobe +right now!" + +Teddy Green was the son of a Harvard professor, and was inclined to +follow in the footsteps of his father in the matter of learning--after +he had first climbed to all the high spots of the world and +descended into all the low ones! He insisted on exploring the earth +before he learned by rote what others had written about it! + +"All right!" Ned grinned. "We'll need an Eagle!" + +"And a Bull Moose!" yelled Oliver Yentsch, of the Moose Patrol. +"You've got to have a Moose along with you!" + +Oliver was the son of a ship builder, and had a launch and a yacht of +his own. He was liked by all his associates in spite of his tendency +to grumble at trifles. However, if he complained at small things, he +met large troubles with a smile on his bright face. He now seized +Teddy about the waist and waltzed around the room with him. + +"And that's all!" Ned decided, closing the book. "We can't take more +than six." + +A wail went up from the others, but they were promised a chance at +the next "hike" into the hills, and soon departed, leaving the six +members of the Camera Club to perfect arrangements for their +departure. It was a warm May night, still Ned closed the door leading +out into the wide corridor which ran through the house on that floor. + +"We can't afford to take others into our plans," he said, "for this +is to be another Secret Service expedition." + +"For the Government?" demanded Frank Shaw. "Then," he added, without +waiting for a reply, "I'll call up dad's editorial rooms and have a +reporter sent up here. Top of column, first page, illustrated! That's +our Camera Club in the morning newspaper!" + +Frank's father was owner and editor of one of the big New York +dailies, and the boy always took along, on his trips, plenty of blank +paper for "copy," but never sent in a line! His letters to his +father's newspaper were usually addressed to the financial +department, upon which he had permission to draw at will! + +"Huh!" Jimmie commented, wrinkling his freckled nose, "if you should +ever furnish an item for your daddy's newspaper he'd never live it +down! You've been on all our trips with Ned, and never wired in a +word!" + +The Boy Scouts of the Black Bear and Wolf Patrols had been through +many exciting experiences with Ned Nestor, who, young as he was, was +often in the employ of the Secret Service department of the United +States government. Frank, as Jimmie said, had been with Ned from the +start, and had never sent in a line of "copy" for the paper. + +"I'm going to furnish a column a day this trip!" Frank declared, +making a motion to seize Jimmie. "We're going to take pictures, +aren't we? We'll take 'em by the acre, and dad's newspaper is going +to catch every one of them." + +"Huh!" Jimmie declared, with a freckled nose in the air. "I'm a +newspaper man, too. You needn't think you're the only cherry in the +pie! I used to sell newspapers before I got into the Secret Service +with Ned!" + +From his earliest years Jimmie had indeed been a newsboy on the +Bowery. He had never had a home except that provided by himself, and +this, in the early days of his life, had as often been a box or +barrel in an alley as anything else. + +"Why the mountains?" asked Frank Shaw, presently. "Do you have to go +to the hills on this trip? I'm glad if you do, of course, but I'd +like to know something about it before we start. Dad will have to be +shown this time, I reckon! He thinks we rather _overdid_ the stunt +when we went to Lady Franklin bay!" + +"Never had so much fun in my life!" laughed Jimmie. "When you get +where it is forty below, there's some delight in living!" + +"What are we going to take pictures of?" demanded Teddy Green. + +"Moonshiners!" laughed Frank. "Isn't that right, Ned?" + +"Not exactly," was the answer. "This is not a whisky case at all." + +"Counterfeiters, then?" queried Oliver. "They live in the hills!" + +"No, not counterfeiters, either," Ned replied. "The government has +plenty of men to look after counterfeiters and moonshiners. All we've +got to do is to go into the mountains and take pictures, and keep our +eyes open." + +"Open for what?" insisted Jimmie. "My peepers will be open for a +venison steak about the first thing! You remember how fine the +venison steaks were up in British Columbia? That Columbia river trip +was some exciting! What?" + +"Well," Ned began, "you all know that I'm in the Secret Service, for +you've been with me, some of you, at Panama, in China, and under the +ocean, so we'll let the details go without explanation. I'm going to +the mountains to look after a precious package stolen from +Washington--from almost under the eyes of the president--three days +ago!" + +"Papers?" asked Jimmie. "You know we went to Lady Franklin bay after +papers." + +"And they think the mountaineers stole this package?" asked Oliver. + +"Tell us what it was that was taken first!" insisted Frank. "I'm +beginning to see a front-page story in this, right now!" + +"The package stolen," Ned went on, with a smile, "was more precious +than any bundle of papers could be! It wasn't of gold, silver, +diamonds, or anything possessing that kind of value. It was of flesh +and blood!" + +"A child stolen!" cried Frank. "This goes to dad's sheet right now!" + +"Boy or girl?" asked Oliver. "Age, please!" + +"Boy," answered Ned. "A boy belonging to one of the ambassadors! Age +seven!" + +"But why should the mountaineers steal such a child?" asked Jimmie. + +"I said the boy belonged to one of the ambassadors," Ned corrected +himself. "I should have said he belonged at one of the foreign +embassies." + +"The son of one of the attaches?" asked Teddy. "That's strange! Why?" + +"Teddy," reproved Jimmie, "you can ask more questions in a minute +than a motion picture machine can take in a hundred years." + +"The stolen boy is in no ways related to any one in this country," +Ned answered, "yet his safety is of the utmost importance. It is up +to us to find him." + +"But why should the mountain men make a grab at a kid?" insisted +Jimmie. "I've asked that question numerous times now," he added, with +a wrinkled nose. + +"It is not believed that the mountain men know anything about the +matter," Ned replied. "No one suspects them of taking the child. +Mountain men are not up to that sort of thing, as a rule. They will +make moonshine--some of them will--and may hide a counterfeiter, but +they don't steal children!" + +"Then who did steal him?" asked Frank. "Don't be so mysterious." + +"I want the matter to sink deep into your alleged minds!" was Ned's +smiling rejoinder, "and that is the reason I'm drawing the +explanation out. It is thought the boy was stolen by some one who +came over the sea to do the job--some one never before in this +country." + +"I twig!" Jimmie declared, skipping about the room. "The stolen boy +is next of succession to some measly old throne! What? And he was +sent out here to get him out of the zone of danger, and now he's been +nipped?" + +The boys looked at Ned with redoubled interest. It had been +interesting, the very idea of going into the mountains in quest of an +abducted child, but the thought of going after a boy who would one +day be a king! That was exciting indeed! + +"I can't tell you who the boy is." Ned went on, "but I can tell you +that he must be found! The Secret Service men at Washington have a +pretty good idea as to who got him, and they believe the criminals +are not above committing the crime of murder. In a certain sense, +this boy is in the way in the old country!" + +"Oh, they wouldn't kill a kid like that!" Jimmie asserted. + +"Wouldn't they?" demanded Teddy Green. "If you read up on history, +you'll soon find out whether ambitious men will murder children who +stand in their way! I half believe the boy was murdered at the very +moment he was taken!" + +"He has been seen alive since that time," Ned responded. "This is +Thursday. He was taken on Monday, and was seen yesterday. Or a boy +believed to be the prince was seen yesterday, on a launch on the +Potomac river." + +"Prince, eh?" cried Frank. "It is a prince, is it? Say, but won't dad +be glad to hear about this? I'd like to write the headlines!" + +"We may as well call him the prince," Ned laughed. + +Before more could be said, a servant knocked at the door and Jack +opened it so as to look out. In a moment he turned back inside with a +flushed face. + +"Say, boys," he said, "there's something strange going on here +to-night!" + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE HOLE IN THE ATTIC FLOOR + + +Ned sprang to his feet in an instant and beckoned Jack to one side. +The others gathered around, but Ned motioned them back. + +"Let us find out exactly what Jack means before any remarks are +made," he said. + +"Well," Jack began, almost in a whisper, "the servant who came to the +door said--" + +"Wait a moment!" Ned requested. "Let us get this at first hand. Is +the servant you refer to still out in the corridor? Look and see." + +Jack opened the door an inch and looked out. + +"Yes," he reported, facing Ned, with the door still ajar, "he is +still there." + +"Then ask him to come in here," Ned suggested, "and you, boys," he +added, turning to the wondering faces at the other side of the +apartment, "you get as close as you wish while this man is talking, +but don't interrupt. It may be that we shall have to do something +right soon. I reckon our hunt for the prince starts right here, in +the Black Bear Patrol clubroom, in the heart of little old New York." + +The servant Jack had beckoned to now entered the room and stood with +his back to the door, looking from one boyish face to another. He was +a heavily built, muscular fellow, evidently an Irishman, judging from +his face and manner. + +"Will you kindly come over here and sit down?" Ned asked. + +The servant complied and the others gathered around him. + +"Now," Jack began, "tell Ned what you just told me--about the man in +the attic, and about the hole in the ceiling." + +Every eye in the room was instantly turned toward the lofty ceiling, +but nothing out of the ordinary was to be seen there. + +"The hole he refers to," Jack, smiling, explained, "is not in sight. +It is under the ornamental brass piece that circles the rod from +which the chandelier hangs. It was made to listen at, and not to see +through, I take it!" + +"That makes a good starter," Ned smiled, "so go on." + +"Half an hour ago," the servant began, "I was called to this floor by +one of the maids, Mary Murphy it was, and she was that scared she +looked like a bag of flour! She pointed to the staircase leading to +the attic and asked me to go up there. + +"So I says to her: 'Why do you want me to go up there? If there's a +haunt there, or a burglar, or a man after one of the girls, why +should I risk the precious neck of me, when it's the only one I've +got, with no prospect of ever getting another in case this one was +damaged beyond repair?' So she says to me, she says--" + +"Never mind what she said," Ned interrupted, fearful of a long, +involved dialogue between the two servants. "Tell me what you did." + +"I went up the staircase, three steps at a jump, an' bumped the head +of me on the edge of the door at the top of it. You can see the dent +in my coco now!" + +"And what did you find there?" asked Ned. + +"There was a rug on the floor and a hole in the floor, and a twinkle +of light shining into the attic from this room. Some one had been +listening there!" + +"You saw no one?" + +"Never a soul! I'm that sorry I can't express it!" + +"When were you in that attic before--the last time before to-night?" + +"Late yesterday afternoon it was." + +"Was there a rug in the middle of the floor at that time?" Ned went +on. + +"No more than there is a bold lion in the middle of this floor, sir." + +"Well, what did you do after you got up there to-night?" + +"I hunted around for the man who had been lying there listening to +the talk in this room, but I didn't find him, sir." + +"Did you ascertain where all the servants were at the time the +listening must have been going on?" asked Jack, after a short pause. + +"All but one," was the reply. + +"And that one? Where is he now? That is, tell, if you know where he +is?" + +"I don't know, sir. He has left the house, I reckon--bag and +baggage." + +"Who was it?" demanded Jack, moving toward the door. + +"Chang Chu, the Chink, may the Evil One get into his bed!" + +"And then you came here and notified Jack?" asked Ned. "As soon as +you learned that Chang Chu was not in the house?" + +"Indeed I did--within a minute and a half." + +"Where is this girl, Mary Murphy?" asked Ned, turning to Jack. "We +must get hold of her right away. I want to hear her story of what she +saw in the attic." + +Jack went out of the room, but was back in a minute with the girl, a +pretty, modest maid of about eighteen. She looked frightened at +finding herself the center of interest, but was soon in the midst of +her story. + +"I went up to the attic to get a piece of cloth for a bandage, Sally +having cut her hand with the bread knife. When I got to the door of +that room I heard some one inside of it. I listened at the crack +there is between the panel and the stile and heard footsteps, slow +and soft like. I thought it was one of the maids, and opened the door +quick, so as to give her a scare." + +The girl paused and wiped her face with a white apron bordered with +pink. + +"Go on," Ned requested. "Tell us what you saw in the attic." + +"It wasn't much, sir," was the agitated answer. "I saw just a flash +of dark blue, coming at me like the lightning express, and then I was +keeled over--just as if I had been a bag of meal, sir!" + +"He bunted into you, did he?" asked Jack. "Who was it?" + +"Indeed I don't know, sir," was the reply. "It was dim in the room, +there being only the light from the hall as I opened the door. Then +he came at me with such a bunt that it took the breath out of me +body!" + +"And what followed?" asked Ned. + +"She wint down f'r the count!" chuckled the servant who had been +first questioned. + +"I did not!" was the indignant retort. "When I got up the man was +still on the stairs leading to this floor, and I picked up the great +shears which had tumbled out of me hand and heaved thim at him. I had +brought the shears up to cut a bandage, sir." + +"Did you hit him?" asked Jack with a smile. "Where are the shears?" + +"I never went back after them!" answered the girl. "I'll go this +minute." + +"Wait," Ned said, "and I'll get them. Now, you say you saw a blue +streak coming at you, head-on! Who wears blue clothes around the +house?" + +"Chang Chu, the Chink, sir." + +"You saw him dressed in blue to-day?" asked Ned. + +"All in blue he was!" the male servant interrupted, "with his shirt +on the outside of his trousers, like the bloody heathen he is." + +"And so you looked for him and failed to find him on the premises?" +asked Jack. + +"He's gone, bag and baggage," answered Terance, the coachman. "Bad +luck to him!" + +"Still, you don't really know that it was the Chinaman?" asked Ned. + +"He was dressed like the Chink," was the reply. "He smelled like a +saloon!" + +"Does the Chinaman drink?" asked Ned, facing Terance. "Does he get +drunk?" + +"He does not," was the reply. "He doesn't know the taste of good +liquor!" + +"That's all," Ned concluded. "Now you two keep on looking for the +Chinaman. He may be hiding in the house, or he may be at some of the +dens such people frequent. You, Mary, look for him in the house, and +you, Terance, see if you can learn where he usually went when he left +the house." + +"Pell street!" cried Jimmie. "Look in Pell street!" + +"Or Doyers!" Jack exclaimed. "Look in the dumps in Doyers street." + +The two went away, forgetting all about the shears which Mary had +hurled at the mysterious man she had caught in the attic. Asking the +boys to remain where they were, Ned went out to the staircase and +secured the article. Taking it carefully by the handle, he returned +to the room and held up one blade. + +Jack looked at the blade casually at first, then cried out that there +was blood on it, and that Mary had speared the sneak. + +"Yes," Ned explained, "there is blood on it. Mary hit the fellow on +the head with this blade. What else do you see on the steel?" he +asked with a smile. + +Jimmie looked and backed away in disgust. His freckled face was +thrust out of the door for an instant, and they heard him calling to +Mary, who, being in the kitchen, beyond sound of his voice, did not +respond. + +"What do you want of Mary?" demanded Jack. "Shall I call her?" + +"She said it was the Chink, didn't she?" the boy asked. "Or, she said +it was a man dressed like the Chink? Well, it wasn't the Chink." + +Ned laughed and looked at the boy admiringly. + +"How do you know that?" he asked. "Why are you so sure it was not the +Chink?" + +Jimmie looked up into Ned's face with a provoking grin. + +"You know just as well as I do that it wasn't the Chink," he said. +"Just you look on that blade again! Ever see a Chink with light brown +hair?" + +"Now, what do you think of that?" roared Jack. "Sometimes this boy, +Jimmie, seems to me to be possessed of almost human intelligence!" + The lads gathered closer around the shears, one blade of which Ned +was still holding out for inspection. There was the blood, and there +was the long, blonde hair! + +"Hit him on the belfry!" Jimmie grinned. "Knocked off a shingle and +brought away a piece of it! Now, why did the Chink run away? That's +what I'd like to know!" + +"Where did the man get the Chink's dress?" asked Oliver. "That's what +you'd better be asking? Why did the Chink let him in and then loan +him the dress?" + +"I rather think that's why the Chinaman ran away!" laughed Ned. "You +boys seem to have reasoned it all out. He might have let the sneak in +and then let him have some of his own clothes to wear! And that will +make trouble for us!" + +"Do you think the fellow heard about the Camera Club trip, and the +object of it?" asked Oliver. "If he was scared away half an hour ago +he didn't learn much, for we hadn't begun to talk much about it at +that time!" + +"He may not have heard anything important," Ned replied, "but the +fact that he was sent here to listen is significant! Some one in +Washington knows that we have been chosen to search the mountains for +the prince! Some one knows that we are going out as an innocent-looking +Boy Scout Camera Club, but really to find the boy. Now, what +will that person do to the Camera Club, after we get out into the +mountains?" + +"The question in my mind," Jimmie broke in, "is what we shall do to +him!" + +"I'm sorry the information about our going leaked out," Ned said, +gravely. "As boy snapshot friends we might have been able to do +things which the Secret Service men could not do. No one would pay +much attention to a group of boys roaming over the mountains. But now +I'm afraid our investigations will be all in the limelight!" + +"Tell you what," Jimmie cut in, "suppose we find the Chink and make +him point out the man who was in the house--listening?" + + + + +CHAPTER III + +WHAT THE BOX CONTAINED + + +"All right," Oliver encouraged. "Let's go out and make a throw at +finding him, anyway! He may be in the garage, or the carriage house +right this minute." + +Jimmie and Oliver rushed away to find Terance, the coachman, and +undertake the search suggested, while Ned, Jack, Frank and Teddy sat +at the open windows looking out on the street. + +"Chang Chu was at liberty to go into the attic at any time?" asked +Ned, tentatively. + +"Oh, yes," Jack answered, "the other servants sent him about on +errands. He is a handy man about the premises--or was, rather." + +"Is he a man to do such a thing as we are accusing him of?" Ned then +asked. + +"I never thought so," was the puzzled reply. "I hope you don't think +that he was beaten up by the man who secured his blue clothes! That +would be tough on the fellow." + +"I have been thinking of that," Ned responded, "and while the boys +are looking for the Chinaman in the outbuildings suppose we look for +him in the upper part of the house." + +"But if the sneak could get into the upper part of the house without +the use of the disguise," reasoned Jack, "he wouldn't need it at all, +would he?" + +"He might have been surprised while at work by the Chinaman," Ned +suggested. "In that case he might have taken the clothes as an +afterthought. Suppose we look and see?" + +Leaving Frank and Teddy sitting by the window, looking out on a +perfect May night, Ned and Jack climbed the staircase to the attic +and entered the room directly over the Black Bear Patrol clubroom. It +was a large room, more of a storeroom than an attic, with a hardwood +floor and papered walls and ceiling. + +A great sack upon which clothing and odds and ends of all +descriptions were hanging stood at the south end of the apartment, +while a long row of boxes and packing trunks occupied the floor at +the north end. The rug, which had been thrown down on the floor near +the hole bored through a plank, was still there where the servants +had seen it. The listener had, at least, a good notion of personal +comfort! + +"Where was this rug taken from?" asked Ned. + +"It was on the rack the last time I saw it," Jack answered. + +"Was it clean at that time?" Ned continued, examining the rug with a +glass. + +"What do you mean by clean? It was dusty, of course, like everything +else here." + +"Were there any stains on it--stains like blood?" Ned went on, +dragging the rug under the electric lights which had been switched +on. + +"Why, of course not. It was originally in the little den off the +library, but father became tired of it and told Terance to bring it +here." + +"How long ago was that?" + +"Oh, a month or two. I can't be exact as to the date, you know." + +Ned handed his chum the glass and indicated a certain portion of the +rug. + +"What do you call that?" he asked. "What does it look like?" + +"It looks like a spot of blood," Jack declared. "And it is wet, too! +What do you make of this, Ned? Was Chang Chu attacked and killed by +that sneak thief?" + +"That is for us to find out," Ned answered. "At the present moment, +it looks as if Chang Chu wouldn't be found on Pell or Doyers street. +What is there is those boxes--the large ones sitting against the +wall?" + +"About everything, I take it. I never looked into them. Why?" + +"We may as well see what they contain," Ned replied, advancing to the +largest box and throwing up the cover. "What do you think now?" he +asked, as a huddled figure stirred in the box and opened a pair of +suffering eyes. "This is the Chink, I suppose?" + +Before Jack could reply, Ned had the man out of the box, with the +cords cut from his hands and feet, the cruel gag removed from his +mouth. His blue blouse was gone! Chang Chu tumbled over on the floor +when Ned tried to stand him on his feet. There was a small cut on his +head. + +"Chang velly much bum!" he said, with his hands on his stomach. + +"Chang never forgets a word of slang," Jack laughed. "He will +remember the slang word for anything when he forgets the real word! +What did they do to you, Chang?" he continued, addressing the +Chinaman. + +Chang pressed his hands to his nose significantly and dropped his +head back. + +"Chloroform!" Ned declared, sniffing at the contents of the box. + +The Chinaman could not describe the man who had attacked him. He had +been alone in the attic, putting away old clothes, when he had been +struck and seized from behind by a man he described as a giant for +strength, stripped of his blouse, and lifted bodily into the box. +There he had been bound, gagged and rendered unconscious by the use +of the drug. + +"The man who did it," mused Ned, "is an adept at crime, resourceful, +daring. The chloroform would have attracted the attention of the +servants at once if it had been administered in the open air. Then +his taking the Chink's blouse as a disguise shows that he is quick to +take advantage of his opportunities. A clever man." + +"And he left no clue!" Jack complained. "Just our luck, Ned!" + +"All we know is that he is tall, has light brown hair, and is very +strong," Ned replied. "But there are ten thousand people in New York +this minute who answer to that description." + +"How do you know he is tall?" demanded Jack. + +"When he lay on the rug," Ned explained, "he stretched out on his +stomach to look through the hole, if he could. He couldn't; he could +only listen, for the cut was made so as to be hidden by the +ornamental brass piece that circles the rod from which the chandelier +swings. The marks of his elbows and toes were on the soft fiber of +the rug, showing him to be a man at least six feet tall." + +Ned walked over to the large box again and bent over it. + +"Crumbs!" he exclaimed, in a second. "Crumbs!" + +"Then he must have brought a lunch up with him," Jack exclaimed +excitedly. "There is no knowing how long he was here!" + +"Some one in Washington has leaked!" Ned declared, angrily. + +"Why Washington?" demanded Jack. "Why not New York?" + +"Because no one in this city knows about our being engaged to hunt +down the abductor. My instructions have all come in cypher, and some +of them have, as you know, been addressed to this house. And there +you are!" + +Chang Chu arose limply, rubbing a small wound in his head from which +blood had come, and tottered off toward the staircase. As he did so, +Ned noticed that his pigtail was very black, very long, and very +greasy. + +"Did he take you by the cue?" asked the boy. "Did he pull your hair?" + +"Velly much lough-neck pull--dam!" answered the Chinaman. + +Ned went back to the box where the Chink had been hidden and began +taking out the articles it held, slowly and one by one. + +"The cloth he poured the chloroform on must be here," he said. "He +would naturally throw it into the box before shutting down the cover, +as there might still be enough of the drug in it to put the Chink to +sleep." + +"Here it is," Jack said, reaching into the box and lifting out a rag +and smelling of it. "Here is the dope cloth, all right and pretty +strong yet." + +"That's it, all right," Ned answered. "A worn white handkerchief, +eh?" + +"Name or mark on it?" asked Jack, passing the cloth to Ned. + +"Nothing of the sort," was the answer, "but there's something better. +When the fellow pulled at the Chink's greasy pigtail he got his hand +smeared with oil. Then he grasped this white cloth fiercely, and +there you are! See! The mark of the thumb couldn't be plainer if it +had been printed on. Observe the long cicatrice on the ball of the +thumb? I'll take this down and photograph it." + +"Tall, strong, blonde, scar on the thumb!" laughed Jack. "We are +getting on." + +"It would be interesting to know how he got into the house," Ned +mused. + +"If we could only catch him and shut his mouth," Jack muttered, "we +wouldn't have such a rotten bad time in the mountains." + +"It is not what he knows," Ned suggested. "It is what his master as +Washington knows. We might put this chap under ten feet of earth, but +the opposition from Washington would go right on." + +"When was the child abducted?" asked Jack. "When and how?" + +"He was taken from in front of the embassy early in the morning. The +ambassador brought him out for a spin in his automobile and left him +out in front a moment. When he went back to continue his morning ride +the automobile and the boy were nowhere to be seen! This was before +nine o'clock Monday morning. Yesterday, along about noon, the boy--or +a lad very much resembling him--was seen by a lieutenant of infantry +in a motor boat, speeding up the Potomac." + +"Why didn't he catch him, then?" asked Jack. + +"Because he did not know at that time that the prince had been +kidnapped. The authorities kept everything quiet! I presume they +thought the thief didn't know that he had committed a crime, and were +afraid the newspapers would tell him about it!" + +"Tell that to Frank!" laughed Jack. "He'll go up in the air!" + +The boys found Jimmie and Oliver in the club-room when they went +down. The garage and carriage house had been searched--in vain, of +course, for the boys had encountered the Chinaman on his way down to +the basement as they ascended the stairs, the elevator being closed +for the night. + +"I believe that Chink had something to do with it, all the same," +declared Jimmie. "He ought to be watched every minute of the time!" + +"Now, here's another point I don't understand," Jack said, going back +to the conversation he had had with Ned in the attic. "Why do the +authorities think the boy has been taken to the mountains?" + +"Because that would be a natural place for the thieves to hide," Ned +answered. "The mountains are easily within reach of Washington, and +they are virtually inaccessible to known officers of the law--at +least so it is reported. The mountains run from central Pennsylvania +to central Alabama, a distance of about a thousand miles, and afford +many desirable hiding places." + +"Yes, and we're likely to get our crusts split down there!" Teddy +grinned. "We will if they find out that we belong to the Secret +Service!" + +"The Potomac river rises in West Virginia," continued Ned, "and the +prince may have been taken to the foothills in the launch he was seen +in." + +"Are we going in a motor boat?" asked Jimmie. + +"We are going by rail as far as we can go," Ned answered, "and then +take shank's horses for the wild country, with mules to tote the +baggage. In the eastern part of West Virginia, we are likely to +travel forty miles without seeing a cabin." + +"Where do we get our eatings?" demanded Jimmie. "It makes me hungry +to climb mountains. We'll have to have a relief expedition sent after +us if we don't get plenty of eatings," he added, with a wink at +Teddy. + +"Plenty of game up there," Ned grinned. "Plenty of deer, turkeys, +coon, rabbits, birds and bears! We can dodge the game laws! Also a +few wildcats are reported to have been seen there. And there is said +to be plenty of moonshine in the caves, too. Oh, we'll have a sweet +old vacation, boys. And we start tomorrow!" + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +A CAMP IN THE MOUNTAINS + + +It was early June, and the members of the Boy Scout Camera Club were +camped on a mountain top in West Virginia. They had spent about two +weeks in making the trip to the point where they had established +camp. + +Three mules, divested of their burdens now, were "staked out" in a +little corral fragrant with grass down near the timber line. The tent +they had carried was a short distance below the summit, on the +eastern slope, with packages and bags and boxes of provisions piled +around it. + +To the south lay Virginia, to the north, east and west stretched the +mountainous district of West Virginia. Far below them ran the North +Fork of the Potomac river. + +What they saw was a wild and lonely country, with more deer, wild +turkeys, and raccoons than human beings. On their hard and frequently +delayed journey in they had passed cabins, surrounded here and there +by rail fences, but there were none in sight from where they now +stood. + +The sun, a round ball of fire in the west, would be out of sight in +half an hour, and then the desolate darkness of the mountains would +surround them. A wild turkey called to its mate in the distance, and +small creatures of the air fluttered about, as if determined to know +what human beings were doing there, in their ordinarily safe retreat. + +The boys had visited Washington the day following the incidents at +the clubroom of the Black Bear Patrol, but had learned nothing of +importance there. The launch in which the young prince had been seen +had been traced up the river to the vicinity of Cumberland, but there +the trail had ended. + +"It is a case of needle-in-the-haystack," the Secret Service chief +had said to Ned, on the morning of his departure for the mountains. +"We have men looking over every inch of the large cities. We want you +to rake those mountains with a fine-tooth comb! Personally, I believe +that the prince is there." + +"But," Ned had replied, "how are we to communicate with you in case +we require more definite instructions?" + +"You know what Sherman did when he left Atlanta?" laughed the chief. + +"Why, he cut the wires," returned Ned, "so as not to have his +movements hampered by orders from men who, not being on the +ground, could not possibly know as much as he did of what ought +to be done." + +"That is what I want you to do!" the chief continued. "Cut the +wires." + +"But that is assuming a great responsibility," urged the boy. + +"Very true, but I have an idea that you want to work in your own way, +so go to it. A mess of lively boys running up and down the mountain +sides looking for game and snap-shots ought not to arouse the +suspicion of the thieves if they are there. Make friends with the +mountain people if you can. They are naturally suspicious, but good +as gold at heart." + +That was his last talk with the chief. After that supplies had been +bought and transported by rail to the nearest point, and there the +mules had been bought and the difficult journey begun. They had just +made their first permanent camp. + +"I wouldn't mind living here a few years!" Teddy said. "It beats the +hot old city! If I had plenty of reading matter and a full larder, I +don't think I would ever go back. I wish Dad could step out of that +Harvard thing and eat supper with us!" + +The shrill scream of a mule now came up from the feeding ground +below, and a commotion at the tent showed that one of the animals was +kicking up a row there. + +"That's that long-eared Uncle Ike," Jimmie McGraw exclaimed. "I feel +in my bones that I'm going to love that mule! He's so worthless! If +he had two legs less he'd beat Jesse James to the tall timber in +piracy! He won't work if you don't watch him, and he'll steal +everything he gets his eyes on! Yes, sir, I feel that there's a +common sympathy between that mule and me, yet I know that we'll have +a falling out some day! He's so open and above-board in his +mischief." + +"Can you see what he's doing now?" asked Teddy. + +"Why, I saw him knocking at the door of the tent, and I presume that +by this time he is sitting in my chair picking his teeth, after +devouring the bread! That sure is some highwayman, that mule, yet I +feel that I'm going to love and admonish him!" + +The boys dashed down the slope to the tent and found Uncle Ike, as +Jimmie insisted on calling a tall, ungainly, raw-boned mule, chewing +at a slice of ham which he had pilfered from a box by the side of the +fire. + +"There's one thing about Uncle Ike," Jimmie grinned, as Ned drove the +animal away with a club. "He always looks like he had been sent for +to lead an experience meeting! He'll put on a face as long as a cable +to a freight train, and then he'll turn to me and wink one eye, as if +explaining that it was all for a joke." + +"That's your ham he's chewing, Jimmie!" Ned declared. + +"I suppose so," the boy replied. "That's what you get by being +brother to a long-eared mule that for cussedness has Becker's gunmen +backed up a creek with the oars lost!" + +While the mule was being restored to his companions, Jimmie and Teddy +began getting supper. They had plenty of tinned goods, plenty of +flour, potatoes, meal and ham and bacon. Still, they thought they +ought to have something in the way of game. + +"I saw a wild turkey back there," Teddy volunteered. + +"And I saw a coon," Jimmie added. + +"Is there any law on turkeys and coons?" asked Jack, who was trying +to make the fire burn bright with lengths of green wood. + +"There ain't no law of any kind up here," Frank insisted. + +"Then we'll go and get a coon," Jimmie declared. "You boys get a +red-hot fire and I'll have the bird here before Ned gets that mule tied +up!" + +"Guess I'll go along," Teddy suggested. "I never did like to have +anyone else go to the trouble of getting my wild meat for me! I'll go +along, and Frank and Ned and Oliver can get supper." + +Without waiting for any affirmative replies from their companions, +the two lads darted away, and were soon lost in a canyon which ran at +right angles with the ridge much farther down. Frank and Oliver began +piling dry wood on the fire. + +"Those boys will be back here in time for breakfast--just about!" +Frank commented, as the coffee water boiled and the bacon began +sizzling in the pan. "If they get any supper here they'll have to +cook it!" + +Presently Ned came back from the little valley where the mules were +feeding and took a field glass from the tent. + +"What's up now?" Teddy asked, as Ned walked back to the ridge and +looked down into the valley of the North Fork. "Ned must be seeing, +things!" + +Ned remained oh the summit a long time, until the sun sank behind the +range to the west and the valleys became ribbons of black between the +lighter crests of the mountains. + +Presently Frank scrambled up the yards of rugged, rock-strewn slope +which led to the summit where Ned was standing, still with his field +glass in his hand. + +"Anything in sight over that way?" the boy asked, as he came to Ned's +side. + +"There is a column of smoke in the valley," Ned answered. "I thought +at first that there were two, but I may have been mistaken. Do you +remember what two columns of smoke would have indicated?" + +"Of course!" laughed Frank. "If I should become lost in woods or +mountains, or anywhere, I'd build two fires and get wet wood to make +smudge, good and plenty. That would mean that I was lost and needed +assistance. That's the Boy Scout Indian signal for help. I remember +when we saw it north of the Arctic Circle, don't you?" + +"I won't be apt to forget it right away," was the reply. + +The boys remained standing on the summit for some moments, although +it was now too dark for them to distinguish objects in the valley +below. All around the June night called to them with its silences and +its sharp and sudden rasp of sounds. There were the mountains, +brooding, heavy, mysterious, and there were the fleets of flying +clouds reaching down to wrap their summits! + +"It is simply great up here!" Ned exclaimed presently. "That is the +only word that seems to express it--great!" + +"Yes, it is fine for a change," Frank admitted, "though I don't +believe in the wilds as a permanent thing! Everything in the +mountains and forests seems to me to be crude and half done. This, I +presume, is because the world isn't finished yet. Those who come to +places like this catch the Creator with his sleeves rolled up, if +that isn't a coarse way of saying it." + +"I like it, just the same!" Ned declared. "It is glorious! It is +life!" + +"It is healthful so far as animal life goes," laughed Frank, "but +what about mental life? There would never have been anything +wonderful in the way of inventions--like the wireless, and the +telephone, and the uses of electricity--if mankind had been content +to live and die in the wilds! It is crude, as I said before, +unfinished, out of line with all the decrees of art. I'll take the +city for mine, with its marble buildings, its wonderful art +galleries, its beautiful parks!" + +"Say, you mooners!" came a voice from the camp below, "if you've got +done surveying the beautiful black landscape, suppose you come down +to supper?" + +The boys went down to the tent to find Jimmie and Teddy still absent. + +"There are two things we'll have to set aside time for," Ned +declared, as he took a seat on the ground before the blaze, with a +great plate of food in his lap. "We'll have to arrange for keeping +Uncle Ike, the mule, out of mischief, and for keeping track of Jimmie +and Teddy. Those boys will get lost in the mountains yet, and go +hungry for a few days. That would be punishment enough for Jimmie--hunger!" + +The boys sat by the campfire a long time, heaping dry wood on the +blaze until they were obliged to widen the circle about it. There was +only the light of the stars, looking down from a cloud-flecked sky, +but there would be a moon shortly after ten o'clock. + +"If the boys don't return before long," Frank broke out, after a +moment of silence, "I'm going to take a searchlight and go out +looking for them." + +The boy expressed the thought which was brooding in the minds of them +all. They were more than anxious for the safety of the two truants. +Oliver arose and walked away from the fire up the slope, until his +figure was out of sight, but shortly came back and sat down again, +his face expressing impatience as well as anxiety. + +"There's no reason why they shouldn't see this fire," he said. "I +walked over the summit a bit to see if the light was reflected over +there. It is. If anywhere within two miles, they ought to see this +blaze or the glow from it. They're just doing this to make us worry. +I'd like to get them by the neck, this minute," he added. + +Uncle Ike, the mule, gave vent to a vicious scream at that moment, +and Ned arose and started in the direction of the feeding ground. +When he reached the spot he saw that the mules were agitated, weaving +about on the tying lines in either fear or anger. + +"Uncle Ike," Ned said, patting the ugly beast on the neck, "what is +it about your sleeping chamber that you don't like? Or it is your +supper you object to?" + +Uncle Ike thrust his long ears forward and elevated his heels, as if +kicking at some imaginary object back of him. Then Ned saw a figure +moving in the darkness. + +"Come out of that!" he called. "Why are you sneaking around here?" + +The figure advanced toward the boy then--the figure of an old woman! + + + + +CHAPTER V + +JIMMIE AND TEDDY MISS A MEAL + + +"I was scared to come up until I heard your voice," the old lady +said, as she came close to Ned. "I didn't know you were only a boy." + +The woman appeared to be very old. Her hair was white and her lean +face was wrinkled and leathery with time and storm and exposure to +the winds of the hills. Still, old as she seemed to be, she walked +alertly, with the swinging grace of the true mountain woman. She was +very plainly dressed in a one-piece gown of dark calico. Her head was +not covered at all, and the white hair took on a tinge of gold from +the distant campfire. Her black eyes were sharp, yet kindly in +expression. + +"Good evening, mother," Ned said, removing his cap as he greeted the +old lady, "we didn't expect to meet ladies here. Do you live in this +locality?" + +"Quite a step," the old lady said, in a gentle, hesitating tone, +"quite a bit down the slope is where I live. I wanted to know what +the fire meant, and so I came up. You don't mind my being here, do +you?" + +"Glad to have you come!" Ned responded, truthfully. "If you care to +come up to our camp we'll be glad to give you a cup of tea and +whatever else you want." + +"I'll be glad to get a cup of tea," the woman declared. "We don't get +tea up here in the mountains--not very often. We don't have the money +to pay for it, and, then it is such a long way to go after it. Yes, +I'll go with you." + +Ned noted that the woman did not speak the dialect of the mountains. +He wondered how long she had lived there, and if she lived alone. She +did not long leave him in doubt on these points, for she seemed +anxious to talk. + +"I'm Mary Brady," she said, as they ascended the slope toward the +fire. "I came here years ago with my husband, Michael Brady, to live +in peace. Mike was a good man when he was himself, but the saloon men +of New York were always after him when he had any money. We came here +to be rid of them." + +"That was the correct thing to do, it strikes me," Ned said, for want +of something better, as she seemed to expect some friendly comment. + +"I don't know," she went on. "We meant it for the best--but there was +the moonshine! I didn't know about the moonshine when we came here. +All I thought of was to get away from Houston street! He fell one day +and they brought him home dead." + +Ned was strangely interested in this simple life history. The poor +old woman living there, probably alone and in want, after such an +ending to a hopeful plan! + +"And you kept on here?" he asked. "Why didn't you go back to the +city?" + +"There was the boy," she answered. "He was ten when we came here. I +didn't want him to get the thirst! After Mike died I lived here to +keep him in the good path. He is a good boy, but when he was twenty +they got him, too--the moonshiners!" + +"And he left you?" asked Ned. + +"He said he couldn't make anything of himself here, so he went to +Washington. He's never come back, though I've always kept a home for +him, and never ceased to look for him. He writes me now and then that +he's coming home, but he doesn't come! When I saw your fire I thought +he might be with you." + +By this time they were at the camp, and Mary Brady was presented to +the boys and made comfortable by the fire, with tea and canned fruit +before her. She enjoyed the lunch immensely and looked the gratitude +she did not speak. + +"When did you hear from your boy last?" asked Frank, by way of +keeping the conversation going. "Did he write from Washington? Was it +to Washington you said he went?" + +"It was Washington," was the reply. "He wrote me a month or more ago +that he would be here with friends in June. I thought he might be +with you. He has been married since he left home, and has a child, +though his wife is dead." + +"And he said he was thinking of bringing the child here?" asked Ned, +glancing significantly at Frank. "Did he say that in his last +letter?" + +"Yes, that he was thinking of bringing the boy here. It is only a +mite of a boy--not more than seven years old, he said. I'm anxious +for him to come." + +Jack and Oliver gathered closer about the old lady in order to hear +every word that was spoken. One brought her more tea and the other +filled the sauce dish with peaches. Ned motioned to them to remain +silent. + +"And so you expect him to drop down on you any time?" Ned asked. + +"Yes, my son and the boy. He's a cute little chap, Mike says. Mike +was named for his father, and the lad's name is Mike, too. I'm +anxious for him to get here. And I'm wondering whether he's light and +blonde, with brown hair and blue eyes like his father, or dark, like +my side of the family. + +"What do you make of it?" Jack whispered to Oliver. + +"What do I make of what?" demanded the other. + +"Of the old lady and her three Mikes?" replied Jack, scornfully. +"Have you been asleep all this time?" + +"I was waiting for you to express an opinion," Oliver declared. "Do +you think it possible that they would change the name of a prince of +the royal blood to Mike?" + +"So you've caught on, at last!" whispered Jack. "Do you really think +we've tumbled on a streak of luck at the send-off?" + +"I don't know," was the hesitating reply. "We'll have to cultivate +this old lady." + +"Sure thing!" + +"Did she say where her cottage is?" asked Oliver, directly. "We ought +to verify her story, it seems to me. I'd like to hear Ned's opinion!" + +"Do you remember what she said about Mike II. having blonde hair and +blue eyes?" asked Jack, presently. + +"Sure!" was the answer. "That made me sit up and take notice. It +brought back to my memory the light brown hair on the bloody blade of +the shears." + +"Same here," announced Jack. "If this Mike II. comes here we'll have +to find out if he has a cicatrice on the right thumb and a scar on +the head, a scar which might have been brought about by a pair of +shears thrown by a frightened maid in the city of New York!" + +"Think of a crown prince being called Mike!" chuckled Oliver. + +"Ned didn't say it was a crown prince!" + +"He might just as well have said it! He didn't dispute me when I +asked if it was a crown prince who had been abducted." + +"If Jimmie and Teddy don't return soon," Jack said, changing the +subject, "we'll have to start the Boy Scout Camera Club out looking +for them." + +"They'll be back when they get hungry!" laughed the other. + +But Jimmie and Teddy were still away when the moon rose over the +ridge to the east. Mrs. Brady was still by the campfire. She appeared +to delight in the companionship of the boys. Having lived alone for +years, she would have been delighted at any companionship whatever, +but the boys were full of life and vitality, they were sympathetic, +and, besides, they were from her old home--New York! + +As the moon showed her round face over the summit of the range to the +east she arose and stretched out a withered hand to Ned. + +"I'm going," she said. "I've had a pleasant evening. You don't know +how much it has been to me to sit here and talk with you! If you'll +come down to my cabin some day I'll try to make it pleasant for you!" + +"Some day," laughed Ned. "What do you say to my going right now? Of +course I've got to see you home! Couldn't think of letting you go +away alone." + +"I've walked these mountains night and day for more than twenty +years," faltered the old lady, "and I'm not afraid now!" + +"You don't object to my going?" asked Ned. + +"I'm awful glad to have you go," was the reply. "But you'll find it a +long walk, there and back," she added. + +"If it is too far for me to walk back," Ned laughed, "you may give me +a bunk on the floor! Anyway, I'm going to see you home!" + +As the boy spoke he beckoned to Frank to step to one side with him. + +"Of course this looks all straight, on the face of it," he said, when +the two were alone together, "but one can never tell. We've got to be +pretty careful, for we are in a strange country, and are here for a +purpose which may be resented by the mountaineers. We can't afford to +take any chances." + +"Do you suspect the old lady?" asked Frank, in amazement. + +"I don't know what to think," was the hesitating reply. "The first +night we spend in a permanent camp, up she comes with a story about a +son being about to bring in a boy of seven for her to mother! Then, +as if that wasn't enough of a bait for us to snap at, she goes on to +say that the son is blonde, with light brown hair and blue eyes. +Looks like we were being led on!" + +"You bet it does," Frank replied. "Jimmie and Teddy have disappeared, +and this may be a frame-up, and so I wouldn't go off alone with her. +And, look here," Frank went on, "do you believe Uncle Ike would have +kicked, and screamed, and made a row generally, if only this old lady +had approached him? Do you, now?" + +"She might have frightened him," Ned replied, "for he may not be used +to women. Still, she may have had some one with her! I was thinking +that Uncle Ike sounded a warning on slight cause," he added. + +"Well, if I were you, I wouldn't go away alone with her," advised +Frank. "Let me go with you if you insist on going." + +"Of course I've got to go now," Ned went on. "I've promised her, and +she is expecting me to go. But I'll tell you what you may do. You can +wait until I have gone some distance and then follow on behind, not +so as to be seen by any other person trailing us, but still close +enough to be available in case of trouble." + +"All right," Frank agreed. "I'll keep back far enough to see any one +who might be following the two of you! I wish Jimmie was here! He'd +be just the one to go with me. And there's always something doing +when Jimmie is around!" + +"I'm worried about those boys!" Ned answered. "I'm going to keep a +sharp lookout for them, all the way to the cabin." + +"There's something wrong," Frank hastened to say. "They never would +have remained away from camp like this. And without supper, too! +Jimmie is particular to be on hand when it comes to eating time. +There! There's Uncle Ike talking in his sleep! I wonder what's eating +him now? Shall I go and see?" + +"No," Ned said, hastily, seizing Frank by the arm. "Don't even look +in that direction. Watch Mrs. Mary Brady!" + +The old woman's face was turned toward the spot where the mules were +staked out, her figure was straight, tense, alert. She appeared to be +listening and watching for some agreed-upon signal from the corral. +Ned moved over toward her cautiously. + +Once the old woman moved, involuntarily, toward the mules, but she +drew back in a moment and stood, waiting, with her eyes on the boys, +now in a little group not far from the spot where she stood. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +SIGNALS IN THE CANYON + + +Jimmie and Teddy passed over the summit to the west of the camp and +took their way down a difficult incline toward the headwaters of the +Greenbrier river. They traveled some distance, walking, sliding, +creeping, before they came in sight of a copse which appeared to be +worth looking over for wild game. + +"I don't know about this wild turkey business," Teddy said, as the +boys stood on an elevation lifting above the patch of timber. "If +I've got it right, wild turkeys are precious birds in West Virginia." + +"I never once thought of that!" Jimmie exclaimed. "Why, we won't have +any fun hunting at all! I wonder if there is a closed season for +coons?" + +Teddy took out a memorandum book and turned to an insert pasted on +the inside of the cover. Dropping to the ground, so as not to attract +the attention of any natives who might be near by, he read the slip +by the aid of his electric searchlight. + +"Open season for wild turkeys in West Virginia from October fifteen +to December one," he read. "Now, what do you know about that? Rotten, +eh?" + +"I guess we can get one to eat, all right," grumbled Jimmie. "Who's +going to know anything about it if we do, I'd like to know? Away off +here in the mountains!" + +"I presume there are constables and justices up here who would be +glad to soak us for fifty or a hundred apiece!" Teddy grinned. "I +reckon we'd better eat hens, and coon, and fresh fish--if we can get +them! And deer! We get no venison steaks!" + +"Not this season!" Jimmie grunted. "They'd take great joy, as you +say, in getting us into jail and extracting all our vacation money! +I'm going to take photographs of the West Virginia game laws. A man +is about the only creature one can shoot down here during the summer +and get away with it! I'll have Frank put that idea in his dad's +newspaper!" + +"We've got enough to eat, anyway," laughed Teddy. "The question +before the house right now is how are we going to get down into that +patch of trees?" + +"The laws of gravity will take us down!" answered Jimmie. "Just step +off this ledge and see if I'm not right. What do we want to go down +there for, anyway, if we can't shoot a wild turkey after we get +there? I'm going back to camp." + +The night was falling fast, and stars were showing between masses of +clouds. The boys had traveled farther from the camp than they had +intended, and the return journey was all up hill. They surveyed the +prospect gloomily. + +"I could eat the top off one of the mountains!" Jimmie declared, as +they turned to make the climb. "I never was so hungry in my life. +Wish we were back in camp!" + +Teddy, who had turned to look down into the valley, now caught Jimmie +by the arm and pointed downward, where a low-lying ridge jutted out +of the general slope and made a small canyon between itself and the +body of the mountains, a canyon in which a trinkle of water showed. + +"Do you see that column of smoke?" he asked, as Jimmie turned. + +"There must be a camp there," Jimmie exclaimed. "I thought we would +be all alone up here for a time--until we got a line on the men who +stole the prince." + +"Wait a minute!" Teddy answered. "There! Now do you see two columns +of smoke?" + +The two columns lifted skyward for only a second, then died down. + +"That's the Boy Scout signal for help!" Jimmie commented. "I wonder +what shut it off so quickly? It would be strange if we found Boy +Scouts here in the mountains--eh?" + +"According to all reports," Teddy answered, "you boys found Scouts in +all parts of the world, even in China and the Philippines! If it is a +Scout making that Indian sign for help, he'll get the smoke going +again before long. There they are!" + +The two columns of smoke were in the air again, ascending from the +canyon between the mountainside and the outcropping ridge. Directly a +gleam of fire was seen. + +"That's the call for help, all right!" Jimmie cried. "What shall we +do about it?" + +"We ought to go right there. The boy may have been injured in a fall, +and may be starving! We ought to get there as soon as possible." + +"Without going back to camp to tell the boys?" asked Jimmie. "We have +been gone a long time now, remember. They will be worrying about us +pretty soon." + +"But we ought to go right now!" insisted Teddy. "The boy may be in +trouble." + +"Something else coming!" cried Jimmie, then. "See that blazing stick +working overtime? He's going to talk in the Myer code! Now count +right and left." + +"There's one to the right!" Teddy said. "I've lost track of the code +already." + +"No. 1 motion is to the right," Jimmie quoted from the wig-wag lesson +he had learned on first becoming a Boy Scout. "It should embrace an +arc of ninety degrees, starting at the vertical and returning to it +without pause, and should be made in a plane exactly at right angles +to the line connecting the two stations. + +"And No. 2 motion is the same, only on the left side. And three is +the same, only the signal goes to the ground and comes back to the +vertical! Now I've got it! Then he wig-wags again I'll tell you what +he says. You read, too, and see if we agree." + +"One to the right!" cried Jimmie, "and two to the left!" + +"That means H," Teddy translated. "What comes next?" + +"No. 1 and then No. 2," replied Jimmie. "That's plain enough!" + +"It stands for E," Teddy went on, "and I know what the next letter +will be, too." + +"No. 2, No. 2, No, 1! I knew it! That is L. The other will be P!" + +"No. 1, No. 2, No. 1, No. 2!" read Teddy, following the flight of the +blazing stick as it moved through the darkness. "That's L, and the +word is HELP!" + +"And here we go to see about it!" Jimmie decided, moving down the +slope. "The boy can't be very far off. I'd like to know how a Boy +Scout got lost out here." + +"We may become lost ourselves," laughed Teddy, "if we don't look out +where we are going. I wouldn't know where to head for if I wanted to +go back to camp right now." + +"All we would have to do would be to climb the mountain," Jimmie +declared. + +"There's more than one summit," persisted Teddy. "We'd better get a +line on something to guide ourselves by when we go back." + +"We came straight west," the other said, "and if we get lost the moon +will tell us which way to go--if it doesn't rise in the west down +here!" + +The wig-wag code below was still in evidence, always repeating the +same word, "Help." The boys hesitated no longer, but went rattling +down the slope at a speed which spoke well for their balancing +powers! As they entered the little canyon from the north, Jimmie +halted and settled back on a rock, his hand on Teddy's shoulder. + +"Do you suppose he heard us coming down the slope?" he asked. + +"He must have been deaf if he didn't," was the reply. "We brought +about half the mountain down with us, it seemed to me. Of course he +heard us." + +"Well, we ought to have been more cautious," Jimmie declared. + +"I guess we aren't likely to frighten him away," suggested Teddy. + +"But this may be a frame-up," warned the other. "Look here! The people +who sent that spy to Jack's house knew the Boy Scouts were going out +to look for the prince, didn't they? We have never seen or heard +anything of them since that night, but there is good reasons for +believing that they have had us under surveillance." + +"And you think this may be a trap for us?" asked Teddy. + +"It may be," was the reply. "If they wanted to trap us, they would go +about it in just about this way, if they were wise, wouldn't they? +Sure they would." + +"Then we'd better sneak up to that campfire and find out what is +going on before we show ourselves," suggested Teddy. "We ought to +have come down here as softly as two flakes of snow? What? We'll know +better then to make so much noise next time!" + +"There may be no next time," Jimmie advised, as they moved down the +canyon, in the middle of which ran a small stream of water, a rivulet +connecting with the Greenbrier river farther to the south and west. +It was now quite dark, and they were obliged to feel every step of +their way, for there were numerous crevices in the floor of the +canyon. + +Pressing on, slowly, cautiously, their weapons within easy reach, the +boys finally turned a little angle of rock and came within sight of a +camp-fire not far away. + +"There!" Jimmie whispered. "I had a notion that we should find more +than one here. Why did the Scout wig-wag for help when there were +three husky men with him?" + +Teddy opened his eyes wider, but attempted no solution of the puzzle. + +"There's a little chap sitting alone by the fire," Jimmie went on, +peering through his field-glass, "and there are three men gathered in +a huddle on the other side of the fire. They all look like they were +listening for something." + +"I don't wonder--the way we came down the slope!" The other grinned. + +While the boys watched one of the men strode over to where the boy +was sitting and, evidently, began questioning him. The watchers were +too far away to hear any conversation between the two. Presently the +boy sprang up and started to run. + +In a moment the heavy hand of the man was on his shoulder and he was +dragged back to the fire and dumped down like a sack of grain. He lay +quite still for a moment. + +"I'd like to know what that means!" Teddy whispered. "That's brutal!" + +"That gives me faith in the boy!" exclaimed Jimmie. + +"What's the answer to that?" demanded Teddy. + +"They probably saw him doing the wig-wag!" was Jimmie's reply. +"They're threatening him." + +"And they may have been beating him up for doing it? That may be." + +"And, again," the other continued, "that may be a little rehearsal +all for our benefit! There are men in the world sharp enough to put +up just that kind of a bluff." + +"That's very true," was the reply. "We've got to lie here until we +know what it all means. We can't go away and leave the little fellow +without knowing more about the signals. Those men may be moonshiners. +We might get a reward!" + +"We'll be lucky if we don't get into jail!" Jimmie grunted. "If we +don't, we'll get into an infirmary for the hungry! If I have to lie +on this rock much longer with nothing to eat I'll have to be carried +back on a stretcher!" + +"You always were the brave little man with the knife and fork!" +grinned Teddy. + +The four figures by the fire remained in the old order for a long +time, the men grouped together, the boy alone on the side of the +blaze next to the watchers. + +"I wish I could get up to him?" Teddy said, as if requesting advice +on the question of a nearer approach to the boy. "I'd like to see if +it is the prince!" + +"The prince isn't a Boy Scout!" declared Jimmie. "Besides, this boy +is too old to be the prince! The prince is only seven years old--just +a little baby." + +"Anyway, I'm going to make a sneak up there," insisted Teddy. + +Before Jimmie could stop him he was away, crawling on hands and knees +through the heavy shadows of the cliffs which lay about the camp-fire. +Jimmie watched him anxiously for a moment and then started to +follow him. The two were not far away from the lad, and were +thinking of doing something to attract his attention when a stone +rolled into a crevice with a great bumping sound. The boys dropped +down on their faces and waited, their hearts beating like trip-hammers +as the men around the fire sprang to their feet. + +"What was that?" demanded a hoarse voice. "Who is out there?" he +added, turning to the darkness beyond. "I'm going to shoot out that +way in a minute!" + +"I like this!" whispered Jimmie. "This is some adventure! What?" + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +A MINT IN THE MOUNTAINS + + +"Why," the old woman said, stepping closer to the group of boys, +"that's Buck!" + +A heavily-built man with a scraggly beard stepped away from the +corral and approached the group by the fire, his stubby fingers +twining in and out of his unkempt whiskers as he walked along, his +eyes fixed on the fire and those about it. + +"That's Buck Skypole," the old woman went on, as the advancing figure +stopped. "I didn't know you was to come after me Buck," she added, +speaking to the new-comer. + +"I 'lowed you'd be right skeered of the dark," the man answered, "so +I 'lowed I'd come on up an' tote you home." + +He rubbed his left thigh carefully for a moment and then spoke to +Ned. + +"That's a right pert mule," he said. + +"Did Uncle Ike kick you?" asked Jack, nudging Oliver in the ribs with +an elbow. "We'll have to wallop him a bit, if he did." + +"I reckon I ain't got no mad at the creeter," Buck replied. "A man +must keep out'n reach of a mule. Seein' the mule's got only a few +feet of play in his laigs, he ought to be able to do that! No; I +ain't goin' to recommend no beatin's f'r the mule!" + +"Buck," said the old lady, "these are boys from New York, my old +home! They're taking pictures of the mountains." + +"They c'n take the mountains, too!" Buck laughed. "F'r all me!" + +"I thought Mike might have come in with them," the old lady went on. +"He isn't here, but I've had a real pleasant time with the boys. I'm +much obliged to you, lads," she added, facing Ned. "I'm grateful for +the tea and the fruit. They're rare here." + +"I reckoned you wouldn't find Mike here," Buck chuckled, "f'r while +you was gone a message come from Mike. He can't get here now, but +he's sent the kid!" + +"He has?" cried the woman, joyfully. "Do you mean to tell me, Buck, +that the boy is right down there this minute, in my cabin?" + +"Sure I do," was the reply, "an' a bright little feller he is." + +"Give us a guess on that," whispered Jack to Oliver. "Is the kid in +the cabin Mike III., or is he the prince? Give you three guesses!" + +"I give it up!" the boy whispered back. + +"Why didn't you bring the kid along with you?" asked Frank. "We all +want to see him. His grandmother has been telling us about him." + +"Its a right smart walk for a little one!" Buck answered. + +"You're welcome to come down and see him," Mrs. Brady said. "I'd be +proud to give you all a snack in the morning." + +"Suppose we do go and see the kid?" asked Oliver. "I'm curious to +know all about the little shaver!" + +"I'm for it!" Frank exclaimed. + +"And I'll be the first one there!" Jack put in. "I always liked +kids--from Washington! No one will molest the camp while we are gone." + +"I wouldn't leave it alone, if I were you," advised the old lady. +"There's a heap of bad people come into the mountains sometimes. +Don't all leave at once." + +"That's good advice, mother," Ned said. "Two will go and two will +remain here. In a short time the two out in the hills will return, +and then there will be a good-sized guard for what little stuff we +have." + +"All right," Jack declared, "if any one is going to stay here, it +will be me! Come to think of it, I'm too blamed tired to walk another +step to-night. Eh, Oliver?" + +"I'll remain here if you do," the boy replied. "I'm worn out up to my +knees now, climbing mountains. And, besides, Uncle Ike would be +lonesome without me away!" + +"Very well," Ned agreed. "That leaves Frank and me for the visit. When +Jimmie and Teddy come, put them to bed without supper!" + +"You'll know when they come, then," laughed Jack, "for Jimmie going +to bed without supper will be a noisy proposition. You can hear him +for ten miles." + +"I'm anxious about the boys," Ned went on. "I'm afraid something is +wrong with them. They should have been back here hours ago." + +"You remember the Indian signal for help you saw in the valley?" +asked Frank, in a moment. "Well, they may have seen that, too, and +taken a notion to find out about it. They went in that direction when +they left the camp." + +"That may be the reason for their delay," Ned answered. "We should +have attended to that signal ourselves," he added. "There may have +been some one in serious trouble down there. I hope the boys did +go--that is, if nothing happens to them because of their going. Boy +Scouts should assist each other at every opportunity." + +After a little more talk regarding the boy who had been sent to Mary +Brady by her son in Washington, and after Buck had been given a +couple of cups of steaming hot coffee, the four started down the +slope to the west. + +"Did any one say how far it was to the old lady's cabin?" asked Jack +of his chum, as they nestled down by the fire, the mountain air being +cold, even in June. + +"Buck said it was three whoops and a holler!" almost shrieked +Oliver. "Do you know what he meant by that?" + +"I don't know," answered Jack, "but I should think, from what she +said, that the boys won't feel like walking back up the mountain +to-night. Therefore, if Jimmie and Teddy don't come, well be alone." + +"I wonder if they would know the prince if they met him in the road?" +laughed Oliver. "That kid down there is just as much the prince as I +am. What did they steal the kid for, anyway?" + +"Politics!" yawned Jack. + +"What did they send him over here for, anyway?" + +"Politics!" with another yawn. + +"Aw, go on to bed!" grinned Oliver. "I'll build up another fire, to +serve as a sort of lighthouse for the boys and sit up for them." + +So Jack went into the tent, pulled down a great heap of blankets, +drew off his coat and shoes and stockings, and was soon asleep in a +neat little nest! + +Oliver sat by the fire for a short time and then went up to the +summit to look over the valley. The moon was rising now, and he could +see the four who had recently left the camp working their way over a +ridge to the south and west. + +Straight down, in a canyon made by an outcropping ledge of rock, he +saw a faint light, as from a campfire which had been allowed to die +down. + +"The mountains are full of people to-night!" he mused. "If I thought +I could make Uncle Ike behave himself, I'd ride down there and see +who those campers are." + +The boy stood undecided for some moments, then his eyes opened wider +and he moved downward toward the fire. He was thinking of the Boy +Scout signals for help which Ned and Frank had mentioned seeing! + +"I wonder if Jack would go down there with me!" + +When he reached the camp Jack was in the land of dreams, and he +decided not to awake him. He could go alone just as well! + +He went on down to the feeding ground and presented Uncle Ike with a +lump of sugar. The mule thanked him with wiggling ears and dived a +soft muzzle into his coat pocket for another lump. + +"Not until you come back, Uncle Ike!" Oliver explained. "If you do a +good job traveling up and down the mountainside, you're going to have +another piece of sugar when we get back!" + +The boy saddled and bridled the animal, mounted, and urged him away +from the feeding ground. Uncle Ike, thinking his day's work finished, +objected to being put into harness again, and reared and kicked until +Oliver was obliged to dismount and bribe him with more sugar. + +"Will you go now, you fool mule?" he asked. + +Uncle Ike finally decided to go, and his sure feet were soon pressing +the slope toward the campfire. Oliver struck the canyon just about +where Jimmie and Teddy had entered it. + +He left Uncle Ike there and advanced toward the campfire on foot. +There were only a few embers left, and no signs of the fires which +had sent up the two columns of smoke! There was no one in sight from +the place where Oliver first came in direct view of the blaze. + +He stepped along cautiously, listening as he walked, and soon came to +a second fire. This, too, was burned down low. Beyond this he saw the +dark opening of a cave in the outcropping ridge. + +As Oliver stepped toward it, thinking the boys might have taken +refuge there for the night, he stumbled over something which rolled +under his foot and nearly fell to the ground. When he stooped over to +see what it was that had tripped him, he saw an electric flashlight +lying before him. + +"The boys have been here, all right," he mused. "Now, I wonder if this +was taken from them, or whether they lost it, or whether it was +placed here to mark the trail? Either supposition may be the correct +one!" + +The question was settled in a moment, for a voice which he knew came +out of the darkness. + +"Found it, eh? Give it to me!" + +"Jimmie!" whispered Oliver. + +"Get in here out of the light of the fire!" Jimmie whispered, "and +bring the electric in with you. Come on in, and see what we've +found." + +The opening in the ridge was a shallow one, Oliver discovered as he +entered it. To his surprise he found three lads there instead of the +two he had been looking for. + +"You saw the fires?" asked Jimmie, in a low tone. + +"Of course I did. Why didn't you come to camp?" + +"This is the boy that built the Boy Scout signals!" Jimmie said, +bringing the other forward. "His name is Dode Surratt, and he's a +bold, bad boy, being at present lookout for a gang of counterfeiters!" + +"That's a nice clean job," Oliver replied. "Where are the +counterfeiters?" + +"At work in a hole in the ground. Hear the click of their machines? +They are turning out silver dollars faster than we can spend them. We +hid around until they went to work, then came up to talk with Dode." + +Jimmie pointed to a crevice in the rock and invited Oliver to look. A +lance of light came up into the cave, and the boy's eyes followed it. +He could see a square room below, with a bright fire burning at one +end and figures moving about it. + +"Making counterfeit money, are they?" asked Oliver. + +"That's what they're doing! We were just thinking of getting out when +you came. Dode wants to go with us, but we tell him to remain with +the gang until they can be rounded up by the officers." + +Dode started to make some remark, but Jimmie stopped him. + +"They haven't got any consideration coming from you, have they?" he +asked. "They stole you, didn't they? They brought you here from +Washington to make a thief of you, didn't they?" + +"And they beat you up for making the signals, too," Teddy put in. +"And they're coming out now!" he added. "So we'll all git--but Dode!" + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +UNCLE IKE PRESENTS HIMSELF + + +Mrs. Brady and Buck walking together, Ned and Frank discussed the +situation thoroughly as they descended the mountainside. + +"This may be a frame-up," Ned observed, "but it is up to us to see it +through. The boy who has just been brought in may be the prince, or +he may be the grandson, and we are here to get the answer." + +"Or there may be no boy at the cabin at all!" Frank suggested. "The +conspirators know that we are in the mountains for the purpose of +looking up the prince. What better plan than the one now working +could they have settled on? If they are sharp at all, they would +understand that a story of a child brought on from Washington would +set us in motion--would be likely to get us into a trap!" + +They scrambled on down the slope for some distance, too busy keeping +upright to do any talking, then Frank went on. + +"You know very well that I'm no prophet of evil, Ned, but it looks to +me that we have betrayed our mission here by taking such an interest +in the child. Would a lot of boys looking for snap-shots trail off in +the night to see a boy when they might have taken a look at him the +next day?" + +"If I know anything about human nature," Ned answered, "those two +people ahead of us are honest. If it is a frame-up, they are not in +it." + +"Anyway," Frank went on, "I'm glad the plans were changed by the +arrival of Buck. It is much better for us to meet whatever is coming +to us side by side than to have me sneaking back in the distance!" + +Ned agreed to this, and the two quickened their pace in order to come +up with Buck and Mrs. Brady, who were now turning from the west to +the south, keeping along the slope of the mountain. Directly they +came to a narrow trail which led into a green valley. + +Following this, they soon came to a couple of acres of cleared land, +in the middle of which stood a rough cabin of peeled logs. A dim +light came from a square window by the door, and there came from the +interior the sound of a man's voice humming a song. + +The woman drew up and looked suspiciously at Buck. + +"Who is that?" she asked. "You didn't tell me my son came, too." + +"No," replied Buck, "I didn't, because, you see, Mike didn't come! He +sent this young fellow in with the kid, bringing word that he would +be along later." + +"And who is it?" demanded the woman. + +"A likely young chap," was the reply. "He asked me to get you home +to-night, because he wants to leave early in the morning." + +"He won't leave early in the morning if he sees us here," Ned +whispered to Frank. "If that is the prince in there, the man with him +may be the fellow who made his way into Jack's house and listened +from the attic." + +"What are we going to do about it, then?" asked Frank, anxiously. + +"We've got to meet him," Ned replied. "Whoever he is, he knows from +Buck that Mrs. Brady went up the mountain to visit a camp of +strangers. We've got to go in and face him! I wish we had kept away +from here to-night." + +Mrs. Brady and Buck now opened the door and entered the cabin, the +boys close behind them. A log fire was burning on a stone hearth, and +a tall, rather handsome young man with light hair and blue eyes was +sitting in a homemade chair before it. + +He stirred the fire to a brighter blaze as they entered, and the +leaping flames disclosed a dark-haired child of perhaps seven years +asleep on a bed in a corner of the small room. Without speaking, +without so much as a glance at the visitor, the old lady walked +swiftly to the bed and took the child in her arms. + +The boy opened his eyes and started to cry, but she quieted him with +low words and sat down on the edge of the bed, swinging him back and +forth with a motion of her arms and shoulders. The man at the fire +glanced sharply at the woman and then turned his eyes to the boys, +now standing not far from the bed. + +"The little dear!" the woman cried, mothering the child. "He's all +tired out with his long journey!" + +"This is the man that brung the boy in," Buck said, pointing to the +figure by the fire. "A mess of a time he must have had of it, too." + +"You are the grandmother?" asked the stranger. "Yes, I understand. +And are these boys your sons, too?" he added, nodding at Ned and +Frank, suspiciously. + +"Only New York boys spending a vacation in the mountains," Ned said, +answering the question. "Mrs. Brady came to our camp tonight looking +for her son and we came home with her. We are looking for good +pictures," he added. + +The stranger pointed to the old lady, sitting with the sleeping child +on her breast. + +"There is one," he said. + +"Yes, and I'm sorry I haven't my camera with me." + +"Are you thinking of remaining in this section long?" the visitor +asked. + +"We can't say," laughed Ned. "We may move on to-morrow, and may stay +here a week." + +The man's suspicions seemed to have vanished. He talked frankly with +the boys, and occasionally addressed a word to the old lady. He gave +her, briefly, a good report of her son's progress in Washington, and +handed her a roll of bank-notes. + +"He is coming here himself soon," he said, "and he will bring more. +He is doing very nicely there." + +Ned was wishing the boy would waken when the old lady arose from the +bed and laid him gently down. He stirred uneasily in his sleep and +she stood by his side, smoothing his dark hair away from his +forehead. + +"He favors my side of the family, being dark," she said. "The Stileses +are all dark. If one of you boys will sit with him a moment," she +added, with mountain hospitality, "I'll get you all a snack. It was a +long road over the mountains." + +Ned accepted the invitation eagerly and sat down by the child. The +face was dark and slender, the eyebrows turned up a trifle at the +outer comers. + +"Is it Mike III., or is it the prince?" he was asking himself when +the boy awoke and sat up in bed with a jerk. + +"What's comin' off here?" he demanded, rubbing his sleepy eyes. "What +kind of a bum game is this? I want my daddy." + +The visitor by the fire laughed. + +"He's up in city slum talk," he said. "And he's learned something of +French, too, knocking around with the boys in school." + +"I can talk Franch like a native," asserted the boy. + +"And what else?" asked the man by the fire. + +"Any old thing!" boasted the child. "They keep me at books all the +time. I'm glad I'm with grandmother in the hills. Are you my +grandmother?" he asked, pointing to the old woman, now bending over +the fire. + +"Yes, deary," was the reply. "I'm going to take care of you now." + +"I'm glad!" + +The boy tumbled back on the bed again and closed his eyes. Frank +looked at Ned significantly. + +"There's no doubt about it!" his eyes said. "This child is Mike III." + +The old lady made hot corn bread and brewed a pot of mountain tea. +The boys were not at all hungry, but managed to eat and drink +moderately. Then Ned arose. + +"We've got to be on our way," he said. "It will be morning before we +get back to camp if we don't start pretty soon!" + +When the boys, after a cordial good night from Mrs. Brady and Buck, +left the cabin the visitor followed them out. Ned stopped breathing, +almost, as he took him by the arm. + +"There's one thing I want you to explain to the old lady after a +time," the man said. "I suppose I might do it myself, but I prefer to +let her know from personal observation something of the case first. +That boy is not exactly right." + +"Not mentally sound, you mean?" asked Ned. "He appeared to be all +right just now." + +"Oh, he's bright enough," answered the other, "but he's been ill and +has been in a hospital at Washington, and has been cuddled and +humored so long that he likes to boss! Not good people to boss, the +attendants in a hospital, you will say, but I guess they let this kid +have his way. When he was delirious they told him all sorts of fairy +tales about kings and princes, and he actually thinks some of them +are true. If he breaks out in any of his tantrums before you leave, +kindly tell the old lady what I am telling you, will you?" + +Ned almost gasped! So the boy was likely to talk of kings and +princes! He was likely to become masterful in his manners! + +"I may have to change my mind," he thought. "This may be the prince, +and not Mike III. But the boy's English, and there's his street +slang! What about that? I reckon that we have a job on our hands!" + +The two stood talking together in the moonlight for some moments, the +stranger evidently resolved to make a good impression on the boys, +while Frank walked on along the trail, looking back now and then to +see if his chum was coming. + +"This boy's father," the man went on, "has permitted him to have his +own way about everything. That was a mistake, of course, but he is +trying to rectify it now by placing him under the care of his +grandmother, who, if I mistake not, will see that he is properly +disciplined." + +"It has been a long time since the father left here," Ned suggested. + +"Yes, along time." + +"He is doing well in Washington?" + +"Yes, he is connected with the State department." + +Ned made a mental note of that! + +"And is receiving a fair salary?" he asked. + +"Oh, yes; he's doing nicely, far better than his mother has any +notion of." + +Here was more food for thought. Why had the father delegated the +pleasant duty of taking the boy back to the old mountain home to +another if he had been situated so that he might have taken the +journey himself? + +"Is it the prince, or is it Mike III.?" he kept asking himself. + +While they stood there together a great clattering came down the +trail, and they saw Frank turn aside and stand at attention, as if +waiting for some object, seen in the distance, to come up. Directly +the sounds settled down to the rattling of stones and the steady +pounding of hoofs. + +"Look what's here!" Frank shouted, pointing. + +Ned moved forward, closer to the trail, and in a moment caught sight +of a tall, lank, ungainly mule coming galloping toward him! + +"What do you think of him?" called Frank. "He's come to tell us that +it is time we were home and in bed." + +"Uncle Ike!" called Ned. "Come here, you foolish mule!" + +Uncle Ike, now in plain sight, kicked up his heels in derision but +finally came to an abrupt halt in front of Ned, and stood with ears +pitched forward and forelegs braced back, evidently very much +frightened. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +A LANK MULE AS A DECOY + + +Judd Bradley, the young man who had brought the boy into the +mountains, stood for a moment watching the mule curiously. Then he +stepped nearer to Ned, who was trying to quiet the fractious animal. + +"Be careful," Ned warned, as Bradley approached. "Uncle Ike doesn't +take to strangers. He may kick if you come within reach." + +"Hell kick you whether you come within reach or not!" grumbled Buck, +who had been brought from the cabin by the clatter of the mule's +hoofs. "He reached over forty acres of rock to hand me one on the +laig!" he added, rubbing his left thigh. + +Mrs. Brady came to the doorway of the cabin and stood there, outlined +against the red firelight within, with the boy in her arms. The child +reached forth his arms impatiently, then began beating the old woman +with his small fists. + +"Go an' get me the horse!" he commanded. "Mike wants a ride!" + +"That's the prince, all right!" whispered Frank to Ned. "That's the +prince of some slum alley in Washington. What he needs is a club, +applied just before and after meals, and just before retiring, with a +dose at intervals during the night!" + +"I'm not thinking of the prince now," Ned returned, still in a low +tone, for the others were not far off, "I'm wondering how Uncle Ike +came to be here." + +"Broke away and eloped with himself, probably," laughed Frank. + +"Yes," grinned Ned, "and put on saddle and bridle before he started!" + +Frank's eyes now began to stick out. + +"S-a-a-y!" he whispered. "We'd better be getting back to camp! +There's something out of whack there! If the mule could only talk!" + +Bradley, who had backed away at Ned's warning, now came up to the +mule's head. + +"He doesn't kick with his ears, does he?" he asked, with a smile. + +"He's an outlaw," Ned answered, wishing Bradley would return to the +cabin. "He's thrown one of the boys, and we must be on our way. If +you have time before you leave, come up to the camp. We've got the +latest things in cameras and photographic material." + +"I may get up there in the morning," was the reply. + +Bradley and Mrs. Brady entered the house and closed the door, and Ned +turned to his chum with an odd look on his face. + +"I've seen that man somewhere before tonight!" he said. + +"Then you'd better try hard to place him," Frank answered, "for we are +going to see more of him in the future, if I'm not mistaken. Perhaps +you saw him on one of your visits to Washington." + +"That may be," Ned replied. "Anyway, I may be able to think it out +before morning." + +Uncle Ike laid his nose against Ned's shoulder and gave him a push. + +"He's in a hurry!" the boy laughed. "We ought to be, too! Is it +possible that one of the boys saddled him for a ride on the mountain +in the night?" + +"Just like Jack or Oliver. Or Jimmie may have returned and planned +one of his midnight expeditions!" + +"Get up and ride," Ned advised. "I'll walk and try to place that +man's face." + +"You might have seen it in the rogue's gallery," suggested Frank, +leaping into the saddle and starting away, the mule pulling and +rearing every moment. + +Finally Ned called out to him to stop, and walked up to his side. + +"What is the matter with Uncle Ike?" he asked. + +"He insists on keeping down toward the canyon," was Frank's reply. +"We came cat-cornering down the slope, didn't we?" + +"We certainly did," Ned answered, considering the matter gravely. +"Tell you what you do," he went on, "let the mule have his head! Let +him go just where he wants to. It is the instinct of animals to +follow precedent, same as men. A man will follow a cow path until it +becomes a city street, and a cow, a horse, or a mule will follow a +trail previously used--if only passed over once! Let the mule have +his head, and he may take us to the place where somebody was dumped!" + +"Solomon had nothing on you, Ned!" laughed Frank. "Go to it! Uncle +Ike, it is you for the scene of the abduction! And you may go just as +fast as you please!" + +The mule started off at a fast pace, keeping to the bottom of the +valley and finally entering the canyon at the south end. Ned walked +by Frank's side, his hand on the stirrup, listening for a sound he +dreaded to hear. He was afraid one of the boys had been thrown from +the animal's back, and might be lying, suffering, in one of the +crevices or breaks which marked the bottom of the canyon. + +After traveling some little distance in the canyon, Frank drew up and +pointed ahead. + +"Right over there," he said, "is the spot where we saw the smoke +signs!" + +"That's a fact!" Ned answered. "One of the boys must have come here +to investigate and left Uncle Ike without tying! The mule has been +here before, or he wouldn't plod along so steadily. Suppose we leave +him here and walk on cautiously?" + +"Just what I was about to propose," Frank agreed. + +Uncle Ike seemed to resent being left alone in the canyon, which was +now almost as light as day, save where the shadows of the mountain to +the east lay along the wall on that side. The mule was finally +quieted and left in a dark angle. + +Moving in the shadows, the boys soon came to an angle in the cut and +looked out on the remains of a campfire. They pushed on until they +came opposite to it, but saw no one. In order to reach it they would +be obliged to cross the canyon, not very wide there, but flooded with +moonlight in the center. + +While they stood in the shadow of the mountain a man came stumbling +down the slope ten yards away from them. At first they thought it was +one of their chums, but when the man's figure came into the moonlight +they saw that he was tall, heavily built, and also heavily bearded. +He walked straight across to the fire and passed it, turning into a +shallow cave there was in the rock of the outcropping ridge. + +The boys saw him enter the cave and look sharply around, then he +disappeared as suddenly and completely as if he had walked into the +solid rock. + +"We're getting all the stage effects!" Frank whispered. "That man +ducked into a moonshiner's establishment!" + +"He ducked in somewhere, all right," Ned answered. "I wish we could +get across there without exhibiting ourselves to the whole country." + +"I believe the boy that rode the mule is over there!" Frank +suggested. + +"Yes; and he's probably been picked up by the moonshiners," Ned +agreed. "We've got to get over there, so here goes!" + +The boys went across the streak of moonlight like a couple of +flashes, and drew up at the mouth of the cavern. So far as they could +determine no one had observed them. + +They crept to the very back of the cave and huddled close together, +listening. + +"Not a soul in sight!" Frank whispered. "That might have been a +ghost!" + +"Do ghosts rattle metal?" asked Ned. + +There followed another silence, and then the clink of metal came +clearer to the ears of the listening boys. + +"Where does it come from?" asked Frank. "There's not a crack in sight +in this rock." + +A puff of soft coal gas wafted into the cave, causing the boys to +hold their breaths. Then, in spite of all he could do to prevent it, +Frank sneezed. + +Almost instantly a dark figure appeared between the place where the +boys were hidden and the space of moonlight in front. The man stepped +out, looked up and down the canyon, and came slowly back to meet +another figure. + +"Nothing doing!" a gruff voice said. + +"But that wasn't any bird!" insisted another gruff voice. + +"Well, you may look for yourself!" + +"I tell you," the second speaker went on, "that those boys are still +out in the hills! When I was at the camp there was only one in the +tent, and he sat there with a gun in his lap, watching for the others +to come back." + +"Did you speak with him?" + +"What for would I speak with him?" + +"To get his story. What are they here for? That is worth knowing." + +"Well, I didn't show myself because we're not supposed to be here +ourselves!" came the other voice. "If you hadn't built the fire +outside to-night we'd have been in no danger. Now we've got a lot of +boys sneaking around. What did you do with the others?" + +"They're in the work-room." + +"In the work-room, seeing everything! You're a bright lot! You know +now, I suppose that we've got to leave those lads here when we go +away?" + +"I have known that all along. There are plenty of kids in the world. +These won't be missed. It is a bad job, but it must be done!" + +"They shouldn't have come sneaking around!" + +The two men disappeared again, but this time Ned saw the opening to +the work-room, as they had termed the underground apartment, when +they swung an imitation rock made of plank aside and stepped down. +For a moment their figures were illumined by the red light of the +fire within, and then they were no longer in sight. + +"They're a cheerful pair!" Frank whispered. + +"Counterfeiters!" Ned whispered, in reply. "And murderers!" + +"How are we going to get the boys out?" asked Frank. "They'll be +killed if we don't." + +"One must raise a ruction on the outside, and the other must sneak in +while the outlaws are gone. That is the only way I can think of now. +If you go out there and get Uncle Ike, and coax a couple of sobs out +of him, and rattle stones, and shoot your automatic like rain, the +outlaws may all rush out of the cave." + +"I can do all that, but how will you get in?" + +"When they run out, they will pass me. Then I'll get in through the +door," Ned replied. "If there's no one in there it won't take me long +to find the boys and turn them loose." + +"But if there is some one in there?" + +"Then you'll hear shooting," Ned answered, grimly. "In that case, +mount the mule and get back to camp and bring Jack and Oliver and a +lot of guns." + +"But one of those boys must be in there," Frank insisted. "Some one +rode Ike here!" + +"We don't know who it is that is here," Ned reflected. "Anyway, +you've got to get away with the mule after making all that noise. +Don't go in the direction of the Brady cabin. We don't want that man +Bradley mixing us up with police officers!" + +"Every minute counts!" Frank declared, "I'm off. You'll hear a racket +like the blowing up of a world in about three minutes! Good luck!" + +The lads shook hands and parted. It seemed to each one that the other +was going to his death, but only encouraging words were spoken. + +In five minutes a horrible clamor rang down the canyon. Uncle Ike +screamed, and the beating of hoofs sounded like a charge of cavalry. +Then came sharp, quick pistol shots. + +Three men dashed out of the cavern and Ned crept in at the open door! + +"I don't know what I shall find in here!" he mused, as he came into +the light of a great fire, "but I'll know all about it right soon!" + + + + +CHAPTER X + +"PACKED AWAY LIKE SARDINES" + + +Even in that underground room Ned could hear the shooting outside and +the screams of the aggravated mule. Several weapons seemed to be +pouring out lead, and the boy wondered if the outlaws were getting +the range of his chum. + +The firing seemed to grow fainter as he advanced into the room. +Either the outlaws were pursuing Frank or the shooters were taking +refuge behind rocks which deadened the sound. + +At first the boy kept his eye out for an attack on himself, but there +seemed to be none of the outlaws left in the subterranean place. The +fire was built at one side, and the light from it filled the whole +apartment. Counterfeit dollars lay about, scattered over the floor as +if dropped in great haste. + +Halting in the center of the room, after closing and baring the outer +door, Ned put his fingers to his lips and gave out a low whine, one +of the signals used by the boys of the Wolf Patrol. While he listened +for a response, the firing outside came nearer, or appeared from the +sound to do so. + +"I'd be in a nice fix if they should seek to retreat to the cave!" +Ned thought. + +While he listened an answer came to his call--the low, sharp signal +of the Wolves! + +"That's Jimmie!" Ned muttered. "He's in some of the holes just +outside this room." + +"Where are you?" he asked, and the answer came with a giggle. + +"We're packed away like sardines! Come get us out! We're only tied +with ropes, but the ropes know their business! Here! To the right of +the fire!" + +Ned soon found that the wall at the point indicated was of plank, +like the door, painted and sanded to imitate rock. He had no +difficulty in finding the opening, and in a short time the boys were +relieved of their bonds. Ned opened his eyes wide at sight of Dode, +the fourth boy, and of Oliver, who had been left at the camp. + +"What's the shooting outside?" asked Jimmie, stretching his arms, +cramped from long confinement. "Who's out there with Uncle Ike? Say, +but I was glad to hear the gentle voice of that wicked old mule!" + +"And now," Teddy observed, "how about getting out of this? I'm +hungry." + +"If Frank keeps that racket going," Ned answered, motioning the group +toward the door by which he had entered, "we may be able to get out +without being seen. You can tell me how you got caged later on. Now +we'll try the door." + +"Wait!" whispered Jimmie. + +"Wait!" said Dode. + +Ned turned and faced both boys with enquiring eyes. + +"Why wait?" he asked. + +"I want my gun!" Jimmie replied. "They searched us and put the +plunder in that alcove in the rock on the other side of the fire. +We'll need the guns, I take it." + +The three boys, Jimmie, Teddy, and Oliver, made a quick rush for the +alcove and soon came back with their guns and electrics. The firing +outside was again farther away, and the chances for getting out +without being attacked appeared to be good. + +"What is it?" Ned asked Dode, as he pulled at his sleeve. + +"There's another door," the lad explained. "It opens on the slope on +the west side of the ridge we are under. We can go that way without +being seen." + +"That's just the thing!" Jimmie exclaimed. "We can get out and join +Frank in the mess outside! Then I reckon we'll put the skids under +the outlaws!" + +Dode led the way to the opening indicated, passed, with the others at +his heels, through a long passage, and finally came to a plank door +which was securely fastened on the inside. From this position the +racket outside became only a hum. + +The boy unfastened the door and swung it inside. Beyond lay the +slope, and, beyond that, the valley and the distant mountains. The +air of the night was sweet and clear after the close atmosphere of +the underground room. + +From the other side of the ridge, which was not very high, came shots +and the vicious shrieks of a pestered mule! Ned turned to the south, +from which direction the clamor came, and passed as swiftly as +possible along the slant of the elevation. + +"Are you going to attack the outlaws from the rear?" asked Teddy. "We +are taking the wrong course if you want to go back to camp." + +"Huh!" Jimmie grunted, trudging along puffing at every breath, "we've +got to find Frank and Uncle Ike, I guess." + +When the party came to the end of the ridge under which the +counterfeiters had been working, they faced the valley, some distance +away, in which the cabin of Mary Brady stood. Through the moonlight +they could just distinguish the crude stone chimney of the structure. + +"Now, Ned," Jimmie explained, "if we turn up the slope here and do a +little shooting when we reach a good elevation, the counterfeiters +will think they are being attacked by a fresh party and duck back to +the cave. Then Frank can come along with that blessed old mule. Did +you ever hear a lop-eared old rascal of the mule tribe make such a +racket? I wonder what Frank was doing to him?" + +"I know!" Teddy broke in. "He was tickling him with his heels. That +makes Uncle Ike half crazy! There goes another yell! Fine old bird, +is Uncle Ike!" + +It was plain to the boys that the battle was quite a distance to the +south and leading down into the valley, so they began the ascent of +the rocky slope and continued up until they were all out of breath. +Then they stopped and looked back. + +The outlaws came into sight, in a minute, making for their cave. They +fired an occasional shot as they retreated, and this fact convinced +the boys that Frank had not been wounded by any of the shots which +had been fired at him. + +"We'll quicken their steps a trifle!" Ned said. "You boys go on up to +the next shelf and I'll fire from here. They may charge us, and if +they do I can cover your retreat. Besides, you will have a longer +start." + +"I'm going to stay right here and shoot, too!" Jimmie declared. +"Those men have several bumps coming from me!" + +"Ain't he the great little gunman?" snickered Teddy. + +"But I need you up there with the others to protect my retreat," +urged Ned, so Jimmie unwillingly toiled up the acclivity. They came +to a shelf perhaps three hundred feet beyond Ned's stand and crouched +down. + +Ned's fire, when it came, had the effect of sending the outlaws on a +run toward their cave, so the boy joined the others without facing a +return fire. + +"They'll be out again when they see what's been going on at the +cave!" Jimmie predicted, but the prophecy was not a good one, for no +figures were seen in the canyon after that, and no more shots were +fired from that direction. + +"I know what the bogus money-makers will do now," Jimmie snickered. +"They'll pack up their tools and vanish! They'll be thinking the +whole Secret Service bunch is after them!" + +"That's just the trouble," Ned said. "I'm afraid the mountaineers +will also think we are Secret Service operatives and spies and make +trouble for us." + +"We'll have to get busy with our cameras, then," Jimmie went on, "and +take pictures of everything in sight. We may be believed if we tell +the truth, that we blundered on their cave and they attacked us. I +wonder why Frank doesn't show up? He may have been killed or +wounded!" + +"If he has been hurt," Teddy observed, as the sound of hoofs came +From the south, "Uncle Ike hasn't, for here he comes, ugly as ever." + +Believing that Frank was indeed approaching, the boys fired a number +of shots to direct his course and waited. The hoofbeats, the labored +breathing of the mule, became more distinct directly, and then Frank +came into sight. + +The greeting he received was a warm one, and Uncle Ike was petted and +permitted to search every pocket for sugar! + +"I don't see how you escaped being hit," Ned observed. "The outlaws +fired enough shots to cripple an army." + +"They never saw me," declared Frank. "I kept behind ridges and +outcropping rocks, and in the shadows. They were afraid to come too +close, for they must have thought a dozen men were attacking them. +Whenever I fired I changed my position, and when Uncle Ike yelled I +hustled him along! I reckon a good many of the shots you heard came +from my gun! When you began shooting that settled it! They will be +fifty miles from here by tomorrow noon!" + +"That's likely, for they won't dare remain here after they have been +caught at their work," Ned admitted. "Moonshiners might remain and +fight, but counterfeiters will get away right soon. I take it they +don't belong to this section anyway." + +On the way to the camp, during the brief rests, Jimmie explained how +they had been surprised while in the outer cave and had been taken +inside and tied up. The boy Dode was overjoyed at his escape from the +gang, and explained that they had captured him not far from +Washington and forced him to accompany them, the idea being to use +him in the future in getting rid of the spurious coins. + +"They are making a lot of it," he declared, "and the country will be +flooded with their work if the government doesn't catch them." + +It may be well to state here that the reasoning of the boys with +regard to the future actions of the outlaws was correct, as they +disappeared from that section that night. When the lads visited the +cave later on some of the counterfeit coin which had been made was +still scattered about the subterranean room. + +When they first reached the camp Jack was not in sight, but he soon +appeared, coming from a hiding place near the summit. + +"I thought I'd better not expose myself by remaining in the tent," he +explained, "so ducked away and hid where I could watch the mules and +the provisions without being seen. I had about made up my mind that +the state militia had been called out, you made such a racket!" + +"We're going to give Uncle Ike a medal, also a barrel of sugar, for +heroic conduct in the face of the enemy!" Jimmie declared, and the +mule, for once in his life, found a full pocket when he nosed about +for sweet lumps! + +While the lads were eating a delayed supper, Jack turned to Oliver +with a mock frown on his face. + +"The next time you go away in the night and leave me alone in camp," +he said, "I'm going to break your dial in! I might have been shot +while asleep. According to the conversation between the outlaws, just +related by Jimmie, one of the toughs came up here! Don't you ever do +that again, if you want to keep a whole hide." + +"I guess Uncle Ike has a larger kick coming than you have!" Jimmie +remarked. + +When the boys compared notes and thoughts concerning the child, the +old lady, and the blonde stranger, they could not agree at all. Some +of them insisted that the boy was Mike III., while the others +declared that he was the prince! + +"If he isn't the grandson," one asked, "why this American slang?" + +"And if he is," questioned another, "why this talk about French and +other foreign languages? Mike III. wouldn't know a foreign tongue, +would he?" + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +JACK'S ELEGANT CHICKEN PIE + + +The sun was high over the mountains when Ned awoke on the morning +following the adventure with the counterfeiters. Leaving Jimmie, +Frank, Teddy and Oliver in their bunks and Dode, the new acquisition +to the party, curled up in a nest of blankets, he issued forth from +the tent and looked about for Jack, who had been left on guard. + +The boy was nowhere in sight at first, then he saw him at a spring +which bubbled out of the mountain not far from the corral. It was the +water from this spring which brought forth the tender grass upon +which the mules were feeding. + +Jack looked up with a shout when he saw Ned, and came running up to +the camp, carrying in one hand a pail in which three large-sized +chickens lay, nicely boiled, carved and washed. + +"What do you think of that?" he demanded, pushing the pail up under +Ned's nose. "I guess we're some hustlers for sustenance!" + +"Where did you get the hens?" asked Ned. "They sure look good to me." + +"You couldn't guess in a thousand years!" Jack replied. "So I'm going +to tell you, right off the handle! Judd Bradley, the blonde fellow +who brought the boy in, came up with them, with the compliments of +Mrs. Brady, about an hour ago. He brought the boy up with him, too. +What do you know about that?" + +"Is it the prince, or is it Mike III.?" asked Ned, with a smile. + +"If you leave it to me," Jack answered quite positively, "it is the +prince!" + +"How does he look and act this morning?" + +"Like a kid raised under restraint, now free and full of the de--Old +Nick!" + +"And Bradley?" asked Ned. + +"That's another point! He watches the kid every second of the time, +and when the boy speaks a word of French he looks daggers at him! I +reckon the son of Mike II. wouldn't be talking French! Nor he +wouldn't be here with a chaperon from Washington. We have found the +prince, all right, and I'm sorry for it! It makes our work too easy!" + +"Don't crow until you're out of the woods!" laughed Ned. "There may +be a few adventures in store for us yet! So this seven-year-old boy +talks French, does he?" + +"You bet he does! Like a native!" + +"Where are they now--Bradley and the boy, I mean?" + +"Down by the mules! The boy, who is constantly called +Mike--ostentatiously called by that name--wants to ride Uncle Ike! Fat +time he'll have if he gets aboard of that argumentative brute!" + +"Are they going to help eat the chicken?" asked Ned. + +"Sure! I told them to stick around until I got the most beautiful +chicken pie built they ever touched tongue to. They're going to stay. +You go and talk with them while I make the pie. It is going to be a +corker--melt in your mouth, make you dream of the old red barn down +on the farm!" + +"Ever make a chicken pie?" asked Ned. + +"Of course not! There's got to be a first time to everything! But I +know how. I've got a recipe here which is used by the chef at +Sherry's." + +"Go to it!" laughed Ned. "I'll take my chances on having canned meat +for dinner." + +"You just wait!" roared Jack, as Ned dashed down to the spring. + +Jack stood a moment, pail in hand, watching Ned washing at the +spring, and then went on to the fire, leaving Ned to proceed to the +corral and entertain the guests. + +Jimmie was just tumbling out of the tent when Jack came up with the +chicken. That young man immediately set up a shout which awakened the +others and brought them out rubbing their eyes. + +"Chicken for breakfast!" he shouted. + +"Chicken pie for dinner!" Jack corrected. + +"All right!" sighed the boy. "Then I'll cook a couple of pounds of +ham and a couple of dozen eggs for breakfast! That ought to keep us +alive until you get the pie ready!" + +"How do you make chicken pie?" demanded Frank. "I've always wanted to +know how to make a pie out of a hen." + +"You just watch me," Jack answered, not without a touch of pride, +"and I'll show how it is done. Here, young man, don't set down on my +dough! That's for the crust." + +Jimmie bounded off a camp stool where the cook had deposited his +crust-dough on a clean white paper and watched Jack line a six-quart +tin pail with the mixture of flour, water and baking powder. + +"That ain't thick enough!" he commented. "The crust ought to be an +inch thick." + +"You go out and feed the mules!" ordered Jack. "When I want any help +in making a chicken pie I won't call on you!" + +"Anyway," Jimmie insisted, "it ought to be an inch thick." + +Jack laid the pieces of chicken in the bed of dough--the chickens +having been cooked tender long before Ned was out of his blankets--and +put in salt, pepper, a small piece of butter--out of a glass +can!--and then poured in some of the liquid the chickens had been +stewed in. + +"If there should happen to be a drumstick you can't get in," Jimmie +volunteered, "I can eat it for breakfast!" + +"So that's why you wanted the crust so thick!" cried Jack. "You +wanted to crowd the chicken out so you could stuff yourself with a +hen for breakfast! Run along and play you'r a baker's wagon +delivering goods on the Bowery!" + +"You're the wise little man--not!" Jimmie grunted and set about +cooking ham and eggs for breakfast. + +"How long will it take that chicken pie to cook?" asked Teddy. + +"Couple of hours," replied Jack. "Sometimes it takes longer." + +Jack prepared a great bed of coals, drew up dry wood to make more, +and set the pail of chicken pie in the heavy double oven to cook. + +"I'm making this 'specially light and sweet," he said, poking the +coals up to the oven, "because we're going to have a prince of the +royal blood to breakfast." + +"Where is he?" asked Jimmie, with a grin, "Down by the mules! He +brought these chickens to us--or his chaperon did! Rather thoughtful +of him! Say, Frank," Jack added, "will you go down to the corral and +take a lot of snapshots of the kid? I want to send some home to +Chicago, just to convince the boys I've been dining with royalty." + +"Dining with Mike III.," Frank laughed. "It is dollars to dills that +the boy trying to get on Uncle Ike's back is fresh from the +Washington slums!" + +"Look you here, little man," Jack began, but just at that moment Ned, +Bradley, and the boy appeared on the slope, headed for the camp. The +boy was seated on the back of Uncle Ike, who, for a wonder, was +marching along sedately, as if accustomed to being made the plaything +of children. + +"I wouldn't have believed it of him!" Jimmie muttered. "I wouldn't +have trusted a kid on that wild animal's back any sooner than I would +have trusted eggs to a hay-baler. Uncle Ike's sure going into a +decline!" + +The boy came riding up ahead of the others and shouted to Jimmie: + +"Gardez! A cheval!" he shouted, urging the mule into a trot. + +"That's your kid from the Washington slums!" Jack laughed, +scornfully. "Talking French!" + +"What does he say?" demanded Jimmie. + +"He says for you to be on your guard--to look out for yourself--as he +is coming on horseback. I don't know much French, but that is easy!" + +Bradley hastened to the boy's side and said something to him in a +tone which the others could not hear, the lad coloring slightly as he +listened. + +"He's jawing him for speaking French!" Jimmie commented. + +"It looks like it," Jack observed. "Oh, I reckon we've got the prince +all right. I wonder when we are going to start back to Washington +with him, and if Ned will pinch that blonde beauty who brought him +in?" + + +Uncle Ike stopped at the campfire and stuck his nose into Jimmie's +pocket, looking for sugar. Mike III., as some of the boys insisted on +thinking of the little fellow, dropped off and seized the animal by +the tail and began to pull. Frank ran to get the child out of his +dangerous position, but Uncle Ike merely looked around to see what it +was that was pulling his tail winked one eye at Frank, and went on +searching pockets. + +"That mule sure gets my goat!" grinned Jimmie. "What do you think of +his standing still while his tail is being pulled?" + +By this time Jimmie had prepared breakfast, and the boys gathered +about the fire with tin plates on their knees, and devoured ham and +eggs, baked beans, and bread and butter and coffee with a mountain +relish. Mike III. ate what was given to him at the first helping and +then clamored for more. Bradley whispered something in his ear, but +the boy pushed him off with a scowl: + +"Alles-vous en!" he cried, angrily. + +Jack snickered and Frank looked as if he had made a mistake in his +estimate of the boy and knew it! Bradley drew the boy away, but +Jimmie hastened to replenish his plate. + +"Let the kid have all he wants!" he said. "We can cook more. We're +going to have a chicken pie for dinner, and he'll like that." + +"Seems to me it is about time Jack was looking after that pie," Frank +suggested. + +"Pretty near forgot it!" Jack admitted, going to the oven and opening +the door so as to look inside at the dainty. + +Something took place when he did that! The square piece of metal flew +back on its hinges with a thump, and cut of the oven flew the cover +of the tin pail in which the chicken pie had been tucked. It shot +across the fire and struck Jimmie under the ear and then rolled back +into the blaze! + +"Jerusalem!" cried the boy. "What you shootin' at me for?" + +No attention was paid to what the boy said, for at that moment a wave +of dough, spotted here and there with pieces of chicken, puffed out +of the pail and tumbled over Jack's stooping shoulders and on into +the fire, where it continued to grow until the fire half consumed it. + +"Catch the chicken!" yelled Frank. "He's running away." + +Jack tried to keep the dough in the oven, but it rolled out and +covered his hands and arms with a sticky mess. The little fellow +screamed with delight. + +"Oh, oh, _de mal en pis!_" he shouted. + +"Grab the chicken!" shouted Teddy. "We can finish breakfast on that!" + +While the mess was being cleared up, Frank asked Jack: + +"How much baking powder did you put into that dough?" + +"Only one can!" was the reply, and Frank went away and rolled on the +ground! + +"Say," Jimmie whispered to Jack, who was scraping the chicken pie off +his clothes, "what did the kid say when he pushed Bradley away, and +when the pie busted?" + +"First he said 'be off with you' or 'let me alone' next he said 'from +bad to worse' Or something like that. Look at Bradley. He's calling +him down for it, right now. I'm going, to talk French to that kid +when Bradley goes away. I'm going to know about this three Mike and +this prince business!" + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE BLACK HAND GAME + + +Shortly after breakfast, and after what remained of the chickens had +been eaten, Bradley and his charge left the camp, after inviting the +boys to visit them in the cabin in the valley. Bradley appeared +anxious to be friendly, and seemed absolutely frank in his talks. The +only suspicious thing they noticed in him was his jealous care of the +boy--his reproaches when the lad had indulged in a word or two of +French! + +"You bet I'll visit you at the cabin!" Jack said, as the two +disappeared over the summit. "I'll be there with the lingo, too! I +can soon find out from the boy what he knows of the French language! +Of course I'll be down to the cottage!" + +"Bradley will see that you don't talk with the boy alone!" Jimmie +declared. + +"I'll catch him doing it!" was Jack's reply. + +"What do you think about it, Ned?" asked Frank. "Is that the prince, +or is it Mike III.? You may have all the guesses you need. + +"First," Ned said, turning to Jack and Frank, "tell me what the boy +said when he spoke in French." + +Jack repeated the interpretations as previously given, and Ned +remained in a thoughtful mood for a long time. Then he went into the +tent, without answering any questions, and began overhauling the +stock of reading matter brought along. + +When he found what he wanted to he threw himself on the bunk where he +had slept and read steadily for an hour or more. At least he held to +the book for that length of time, turning the leaves rapidly at +times, and then not at all for several minutes. + +"What's he up to?" asked Teddy. "Something on his alleged mind!" + +"I'll go and find out what he's reading," Jimmie volunteered. + +The boy entered the tent, but was back in a moment with a broad grin +on his face. + +"It is a French dictionary!" he gasped. "Ned is learning French, so +he can talk with the prince in his native tongue!" + +"The prince isn't French!" Jack declared. "He belongs away in the +East somewhere. French is the polite language of Europe, so of +course, he's been taught it!" + +After a time Ned came to the door of the tent and beckoned to Jimmie. + +"Suppose we go and get some pictures of the mountains," he said, when +the boy entered. "We haven't taken a snap-shot since we came here. + +"I'm strong for it!" Jimmie declared. "We might go and take a few +snaps at the counterfeiter's den. That will be fine!" + +"What's that?" demanded Frank Shaw, poking his nose into the tent. +"Going to take pictures of the counterfeiters den! I'm in on that. +We'll take a bunch of pictures--enough for a first-page layout--and +send 'em in to dad's newspaper. Hot stuff! What? And I'll write the +biography of Uncle Ike, and send it in with the rest. His picture +ought to go in the center of the layout. He'll be a hero, all right." + +"All right!" Ned agreed. "We'll go and take the pictures, and we'll +send them in when you get the story written! Will that answer?" + +"Sure it will!" + +So Ned, Jimmie, and Frank started away laughing, for all knew Frank +would never write the story, toward the counterfeiters' cave. When +they came in sight of the ridge which jutted out of the slope to make +the canyon, and under which the workroom was situated, they saw a man +moving northward, keeping close to the jagged summit of the lesser +elevation, and looking sharply about as he advanced. + +"That may be one of them," Jimmie suggested. + +"I don't believe it!" Frank contradicted. "What do you think, Ned?" +he added. + +"Never saw the outlaws," Ned answered, "so I can't decide the +question. Still, I doubt if one of the counterfeiters is within +fifty miles of this spot now." + +"That's the idea!" Frank said. "Of course the shooting of last night +would draw out the natives. There'll be dozens around the caves +to-day." + +The boys walked on to the canyon, taking snap-shots of everything +they saw. The slope, the canyon, the valley to the west, the green +valley to the south, the shallow cave from which the entrance to the +workroom gave, all were transferred to films to await development. +When at last they entered the shallow cave they paused. + +"There may be some of them in here yet," Frank suggested. + +"Not to-day!" Ned replied. "There are too many strangers about!" + +They entered cautiously. There was now no fire on the stone hearth, +and the atmosphere of the place was damp and chill, as well as dark. +Here and there a break in the rocky roof above--the ceiling of the +apartment was very near to the surface of the outcropping ridge--let +in a shaft of light, but for the most part the apartment was in heavy +shadows. + +Ned took out his electric light and turned it enquiringly about the +room. Counterfeit money still lay scattered over the floor. The +melting pot and the dies were on the cold iron shelf where they had +been left, and even a coat hung against the wall. + +"They got out in a hurry," Jimmie declared. + +"And they are not likely to come back in a hurry!" Ned added. + +Frank paced the apartment off, set his camera tripod, and got out his +powder. + +"You boys stand over on the other side," he requested, as he moved +back to his tripod, "and when I give the word you, Jimmie, touch off +this flash." + +"What do you want a view of that corner for?" asked Jimmie. "You are +too close, anyway, to get a good picture." + +"I'm going to have a picture of every corner, and the middle, and the +roof, and the chimney, and everything about the blooming place!" +Frank declared. + +"Wait a minute!" Jimmie shouted. "I'll hide in the passage we went +out of last night, and when you are ready to spring the print I'll +look out, with a fierce expression on my pretty face. That will make +the picture look like the real brigandish thing. What?" + +"All right," laughed Frank, "get in there! It is only an excuse for +getting your mug into dad's newspaper, but we'll let it go." + +Frank and Ned busied themselves for half an hour or more, taking +pictures and looking over the implements used in the manufacture of +spurious coin. At length, when they returned to the outer cave, they +remembered that Jimmie had not returned from the west passage to the +workroom, and Ned went there to look for him. He was not there, nor +was he in any of the niches or shallow openings in the rocky walls. +Ned called to him, but he did not reply. Then Frank came running into +the passage and joined in the hunt. In vain! Jimmie was nowhere to be +found. + +"Wherever he is," Frank said, after a long search, "he has his camera +with him." + +"I didn't see him have one," Ned replied. "You must be mistaken." + +"It was the baby camera he had," Frank explained. "He carried it +under his coat. The little monkey has doubtless gone off on a +picture-making tour of his own." + +"That is just like him," Ned agreed, "so we'll go on about our +business and let him present himself when he gets ready." + +"He seemed to take quite an interest in that child," Frank suggested, +"and he may have gone on to the cabin." + +"We may as well go that way and thank the old lady for the hens Jack +didn't make into a pie," Ned observed. "I'd like another look at that +child myself." + +"Is it the prince, or is it Mike III.?" laughed Frank. + +Ned smiled, but made no reply, They walked on down the slope and +connected with the valley at the south end of the ridge. When they +came to the cabin they found Mrs. Mary Brady sitting in the doorway, +the child playing on the ground--beaten hard by years of wear--in +front of her. She arose as they appeared, and the boy darted off into +the fenced garden farther to the south, looking back with a grin from +behind the stake-and-rider fence. + +"Good day to you, young gentlemen," the old lady said. "I hope you +passed a pleasant night! The mountain air is good for those who seek +sleep." + +Then it occurred to Ned that neither Bradley nor the child had +referred in any way to the shooting of the night before, though, if +at the cabin, they must have heard it. He regarded the old lady +keenly as he said: + +"Has any one seen anything of the outlaws to-day?" + +"The outlaws?" repeated the other. + +"You heard nothing in the night?" Ned asked. + +"I thought I heard a gunshot now and then," was the indifferent +reply, "but they are too common here to attract attention. Did the +shooting disturb you?" + +Ned did not believe the old lady had slept through the furious +fusilades of shots of the night before. What her motive was in +ignoring the matter he could not understand, but he decided to set +himself right with her and also with her mountain friends by telling +of the events of the night. + +If they were to remain long in that section, it was quite necessary, +he thought, that the natives should understand that the boys of the +Camera Club were not there to spy on counterfeiters or the +moonshiners, if any there were in that region. + +So he told her that the boys had blundered on the workroom of the +counterfeiters, had been suspected of being spies sent by the +government and seized, and finally had been released by strategy. He +added that they were not there to molest the people of the district, +whatever their occupation might be, but to take pictures and have a +long vacation in the health-giving mountain air. + +"And I hope you'll pass the word along," he closed, "so that your +friends will not regard us as enemies. We are anxious to meet as many +of them as possible, and to be on good terms with them." + +This was strictly true, as the boys were not there to convict any of +the natives, whatever their offenses might be, but to deal with the +strangers who had abducted the prince from his home in Washington. +Ned was certain that no one belonging in that region had had a hand +in the crime, although he suspected that some of them might +innocently harbor the outlaws he was in quest of. + +The old lady listened to Ned's story and his explanation with a +startled face. + +"I'm sure," she said, "that no one belonging here was interested in +the counterfeiting gang you boys came upon. I am sure, too, that no +one will blame you for what you did. We are law-abiding people, but +our mountains constitute a secure refuge for some who are not worthy +of protection." + +Ned was more than pleased at the outcome of the matter, for he was +sure the old lady would take pains to set the matter before her +friends in the correct light. The conversation soon changed to other +subjects. The child did not return, and directly Frank saw him +walking along a distant hillside, hand-in-hand with Bradley. + +"Mr. Bradley seems to stick close to Mike," he said, tentatively. + +"Never lets him out of his sight," was the reply, and Mrs. Brady +seemed to resent the face as stated. She evidently had little of the +lad's companionship. + +When the boys reached the camp Jimmie had not returned, but their +chums were gathered around a sheet of letter paper which had, no one +knew how, been thrust into the tent. Jack's face was deadly white as +he handed it to Ned. + +"We are up against a black hand game," he said. "Jimmie has been +stolen!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THREE DAYS TO MOVE IN + + +Ned took the paper into his hand and read: + +"You boys are not wanted in the hills. We give you three days to get +out. On the morning of the fourth day, if you are still here, we +shall send you your friend's right hand. On the fifth day you will +receive his left hand. On the sixth day his right foot. On the +seventh day his left foot. On the eighth day his head. If you obey +this command he will be restored to you, in good health, at +Cumberland." + +"Is it a joke?" asked Frank, white to the lips. + +"It must be!" cried Jack. "No one would mutilate Jimmie." + +"It is a coarse joke!" Teddy cut in. + +"I'm afraid it is no joke, boys," Ned said. "I'm afraid we'll have to +go." + +"But we'll come back again!" shouted Oliver. "We'll come back with a +whole company of Boy Scouts! There are enough Boy Scouts in New York +to tear these mountains up by the roots!" + +"But I don't understand how they got him," Teddy wailed. "He went +away with you." + +"He went into a hidden passage to make a picturesque effect," Frank +said, "and did not return. We thought it one of his jokes, and paid +little attention to his absence. We might have rescued him if we had +known." + +"Of course he was seized in that passage," Dode said. "Did you get +the picture he was to be in?" + +"Sure we did!" cried Frank. "I'll see if he was there when the camera +opened." + +As he spoke the boy made a rush for his suitcase, took out his +development tank, printing frame and other tools, and set to work on +his film roll. He used two powders instead of one, and in ten minutes +was ready for the printing. + +In a few minutes more he was at work in the tent, with the boys +gathered around him. The developer had worked perfectly, +notwithstanding the haste, and the printing was well advanced in the +soft light of the tent. Directly he had the picture taken in the cave +under view--the snapshot of the wall showing the entrance to the +secret passage. + +"Quick work!" Ned declared. "What does it show?" + +They all gathered around the print, each trying to get the first +glance at it. + +"There's Jimmie!" Teddy shouted. "He was looking out of the door when +the picture was taken! I can almost see his freckles!" + +"There he is, sure enough!" Frank cried. "The little monkey!" + +Ned took the print and examined it carefully, while the others waited +for him to express any discoveries he might make. + +"Did you see anything back of Jimmie?" he asked of Frank. + +"Just the dark wall," was the reply. + +Ned passed the print to him and left the tent. + +"Yes," Frank said, with a threat in his voice, there's a face looking +over Jimmie's shoulder. "Oh, I wish we had known!" + +"Can you see the face plainly?" asked Teddy. + +"Quite plainly," was the reply. "The door was open, as you see, and +Jimmie stood with his hand on the edge of it, looking at the camera, +his head in the room." + +"Yes; that makes the picture good," Teddy observed. + +"And there was a slant of light from the passage, and the head of the +outlaw shows in that. He's an ugly looking brute!" + +"Observe the alfalfa on his map!" exclaimed Teddy. + +"That picture may send him to prison!" Frank cried. "I hope so!" + +He put the tank, the printing frame, the print, and the other +articles away in his suitcase and went out to where Ned was standing. + +"Did you see the face behind the boy?" asked Frank--"get a good look +at it?" + +"Yes," was the reply. "It shows that this is not a joke! Did you +notice the face closely?" + +"I think so." + +"What about the beard?" + +"Quite a growth, I should say." + +"Anything else odd about it?" persisted Ned. + +"Not that I saw," was the wondering reply. "What about it?" + +"It was a false beard! The man was disguised!" + + Frank's face looked, for an instant, as if he had received a blow. + +"And I was counting on that beard," he said, "as a means of +identification!" + +"Keep the print safe," Ned advised. "It may be useful in that way +yet." + +"Well," Frank declared, "we've got to go away! We can take no chances +on Jimmie being murdered. Isn't that your idea?" + +"We certainly will take no such chances," Ned responded. "Up to this +time we have been successful in getting out of trouble, though, and +we may be able to rescue the boy without giving up the search for the +abducted lad." + +"Here's another question," Frank said, "was that note sent by the +counterfeiters, or are the men interested in the abduction of the +prince resorting to such tactics?" + +"I have an idea that the abductors are the ones who are doing it," +Ned answered. + +"It may be moonshiners," suggested Frank. + +"I don't think there are any illicit stills in this district," Ned +replied. + +"Well, we're up against a desperate gang now, anyway," Frank said, +"and it looks as if they held the high cards! If we had only +suspected what was going on in that passage, we might have rescued +the boy before they got him away! + +"I believe we'll do well to watch Bradley," he suggested. + +"But Bradley was at the cabin when we got there." + +"Oh, he had plenty of time to get Jimmie away and get back to the +cabin!" Frank insisted. "We remained at the cave half an hour after +Jimmie left us, and we took our time in getting to the cottage." + +"Also we took a great many snap-shots at the scenery," Ned went on. +"Now, I wish you would take all the films out of the cameras and +develop and print a picture of each." + +"I'll go right at it," Frank replied, turning back to the tent. + +"And if any of the boys were taking pictures about the tent, or the +corral, have them developed. It may be that one of the snap-shots +will show the person who slipped the note into the tent." + +"I don't see how it was ever done without the man being seen," Frank +exclaimed. + +"But it was done," Ned replied, "and we've got to find out when and +how if we can." + +When Frank left for the tent Ned started on toward the summit. He had +traveled only a short distance when Frank came puffing after him. + +"Here's another print Jack and Teddy took," he said. "It shows +something in the cave we never noticed. See if you can tell what it +is." + +Ned glanced at the print and returned it. + +"There is another opening in the wall at the east side," he said. +"The picture shows it. I noticed something there, but neglected to +investigate." + +While the two talked Jack came up the slope, his camera over his +shoulder. + +"I think it is about time for me to be having an outing," he said. +"I've been in the camp most of the time since we've been here." + +"Come along, then," Ned replied. "I'm going back to the cave, and it +may be just as well to have some one with me." + +Frank went down the slope to the tent and Ned and Jack hastened down +the slope on the other side. They were busy with their thoughts and +for a long time neither spoke. + +"Of course it is the abductors?" Jack asked, presently. + +"I have no doubt of it," was the reply. + +"Do you connect the man Bradley with it?" was the next question. + +"There is no proof against him," Ned replied. + +"But you must have some idea about it," persisted Jack. + +"For all we know," Ned remarked, "he may be entirely innocent in the +abduction matter. He may have brought the real grandchild here." + +"The grandchild!" repeated Jack. "Here's the old question once more: +'Is it the prince, or is it Mike III.?'" + +"I have the answer to that question written down in my memorandum +book," Ned said. "I don't want to show it to you now, because I may +be mistaken. When the case is closed I will show you the entry. Then +you may laugh at me if you feel like it." + +"I'd like to see it now," Jack coaxed. + +"I want all you boys to think for yourselves," Ned went on. "Don't +get a theory and pound away at it. If you do, you'll overlook +everything which doesn't agree with that theory. If I should show you +what I have written, you might look only for clues calculated to +prove it to be correct, or you might look only for opposing clues." + +A second examination of the counterfeiters' cave revealed nothing of +importance except that the broken wall on the east side showed a +small room into which Jimmie and his captor might have fled after the +abduction. Still, there was no proof that they had done so, Ned +explained. + +"Why didn't the little fellow yell?" asked Jack. + +"I think he would have yelled if that had been possible!" Ned said. + +The boys left the cave in a short time and passed south, toward the +valley and the cabin. Instead of going directly to the cabin, +however, Ned kept away to the west and came out south of it, in the +section where Bradley had walked with the child. + +After a time Jack wandered away to the east, so as to come up on that +side of the cabin. Although the boys had circled the building, no +sign of life had been seen. + +While Ned was yet some distance away he saw Jack standing on the +slope of the valley watching the front door. He walked back and +looked in at a small window in the rear wall. The child lay asleep on +a bed in one corner of the room, and Mrs. Brady sat by his side. +Bradley occupied a chair not far away. + +"Quite a domestic scene!" Ned muttered. + +While the boy watched through the window, the old woman arose and +left the cabin by the front door. Then Bradley arose, went to a +suitcase in a corner by the hearth, took therefrom a small green +paper parcel, and went to the cupboard, hanging on the north wall. + +After feeling about for a time he took out a cup, filled it with warm +water from a kettle on the fire and stirred the contents of the green +package into it with a brush which he took from a pocket. Ned could +not see the contents of the cup, but when the man held the brush up +to the light he saw that it was soaked in what seemed to be a black +dye. It appeared too thick to suit the taste of the man, and he +poured in more water out of the kettle. + +Then, with the brush wet in one hand and the cup in the other, +Bradley drew closer to the bed where the child slept. Ned watched for +a few seconds more, then the footsteps of the old lady were heard +approaching the door, ringing on the hard earth at the front of it. +Ned made another entry in his memorandum book and turned away. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +POINTING OUT THE TRAIL + + +After leaving the window at the rear of the cabin, Ned moved to the +north side, where there was no window at all, and stood there, +huddled against the wall, until he heard the old lady enter the house +and close the door. Peering around the corner to see that no one was +in sight, he crossed the open space swiftly and approached the grove +where he had seen Jack. + +Jack was not in sight, but a round hole cut in the bark of a tree +told the direction in which he had gone. In the Indian sign language +used by the Boy Scouts this meant: + +"This is the trail. Keep on in this direction." + +Wondering what had taken Jack away so suddenly, Ned followed on until +he came to an open space where no trees were growing. He, however, +kept straight ahead, taking snapshots as he came to desirable scenes. + +A hundred yards from the edge of the grove he came to a small round +stone sitting on top of a large one. Then he walked faster and with +more confidence. This, too, said: + +"This is the trail! Keep on!" + +It was now after noonday, and the sun poured fiercely down into the +valley between the great ridges. There were patches of forest here +and there, and now and then the boy came to a field which had been +planted to corn. Still, he came upon no human being. The two cabins +he saw seemed empty and deserted. + +Weary and hungry as he was, Ned kept on, now reading the trail sign +from a tree, now from a stone, now from a bunch of grass tied at the +top, with the ends of the blades sticking straight up. He walked a +couple of miles without turning to the right or left, and then found +a new signal. The hole in the bole of the tree where the sign stood +was accompanied by a long cut in the bark of the left side. + +This, as plainly as a voice from the thicket could have done, said: + +"Turn to the left and keep on in that direction until you are further +instructed." + +The turn to the left led Ned up the slope. So the field of action was +likely to be in the mountains again! The signs were closer together +now, and Ned followed them with faith that he was on the right track. + +But who had made the trail? Was it Jimmie or Jack? Probably the +latter, Ned concluded, for Jimmie would not be likely to have had an +opportunity of so blazing his trail, while Jack was free to do so at +will. + +But why had Jack gone away on the trail alone? Why had he not called +to him, Ned, in order that they might proceed together? + +It was possible that the boy might be following some person whom he +suspected of the abduction, still that did not seem to be likely, as +any one tracking another in the broad light of day, in such a country +as that, over open places and rocky elevations, would be almost +certain to be discovered. Ned feared the boy was being led into a +trap. + +Finally, almost at the edge of the timber, Ned came to a third sign. +There were three holes cut in the bark of a tree, facing the trail he +had followed, and on the right side was the familiar slit in the +bark. + +"Turn to the right and be careful, for there may be danger ahead!" + +That is what the talk on the tree said! + +To the right lay a rim of trees, facing the bare face of the +mountain. Between the trees and the summit lay a long stretch of +rocky slope, in some places actually inaccessible to one not an +expert in mountain climbing. + +Obeying the signal, Ned turned to the right and kept under the +shelter of the trees. It was very still there, save for the sharp +raspings of insects hiding in the foliage and the sleepy call of +birds in the sky and in the tops of the trees. + +The boy made his way through the underbrush for some distance without +finding any sign. At a loss what course to pursue, he decided to do +nothing! So he sat down in a thicket and waited. And while he waited +he took snapshots! + +His thought, sitting there in suspense, was that Jack might have +waited for him at some point on the trail! At best the boy could have +been only a half hour ahead of him. He waited an hour, until the sun +began to touch the tops of the distant western mountains, and then +climbed cautiously up a tree and looked about. + +Then there came a rustling in the bushes farther to the south, and +the low, angry growl of a black bear came up to him! Ned began +sliding down the tree at once. + +That was the call of the Black Bear Patrol! He knew now that Jack was +not far off. At the bottom of the tree he found the boy waiting for +him! + +"Say, but I've had a long wait!" Jack complained. + + "Why didn't you signal before, then?" demanded Ned. + +"Why, I thought you'd come right on, come on and meet me!" + +"And you never knew I was here until I climbed the tree?" + +"Of course not. How should I?" + +"Well," Ned observed, "we'll know better next time. I presume I +should have made a sign myself--the call of the pack, for instance." + +"Of course," Jack replied. "Now," he went on, "do you know what's +doing here?" + +"I'm in quest of information," Ned grinned. "What have you found?" + +"I've discovered that the Brady cabin is being watched!" + +Ned couldn't understand that, and said so. Jack went on: "When I +stood in front of the house, two men came out of the canyon and +walked down to the tree belt and stopped. They stood there a long +time, talking, and then started off in this direction and I followed +them." + +"Are they mountaineers?" asked Ned. "People of this section?" + +"Certainly not! They are to all appearances city people, at least in +dress." + +"You couldn't hear what they were saying?" asked Ned. + +"No, but I could get some idea of their thoughts from their gestures. +One was kicking about something, and the other was trying to pacify +him." + +"Well, where did they go? Where did you see them last?" asked Ned. + +"They went up the slope, and disappeared behind that chimney of rock. +I've got pictures of that rock!" + +"This looks like a three-cornered game!" Ned mused. + +"What do you mean by that?" asked Jack. "Where are the three +interests?" + +"We'll probably have to come back here tonight," Ned went on, without +answering the question. "We can never get up that slope in daylight +without attracting their attention." + +"We must be at least four up-hill miles from camp," Jack calculated. + +"All of that," answered Ned. "It is a long walk there and back." + +"Then why not remain here?" asked Jack. "I'm hungry, but I'm more in +need of rest than food just now. We can lie here in the thicket until +night, and then creep up the slope and see what's doing." + +"I was about to suggest that," Ned observed, "but I thought you'd be +ravenous for the sight of a camp dinner!" + +"I have a hunch," Jack declared, after a time, "that Jimmie is +somewhere in this section! I don't know why, but when I saw those +men, strangers, evidently, walking so stealthily over the country I +got the hunch! Then I followed them, because I thought I might get a +clue to the boy's whereabouts by so doing." + +"If the boy is here," Ned replied, grimly, "we'll find him!" + +"Of course we'll find him! That's what we are here for!" + +The boys thus encouraging each other crawled deeper into the thicket +and lay down. They were more than tired, worse than hungry, but they +never thought of sleep, or of leaving their post of observation. The +afternoon passed slowly, the boys taking snapshots now and then. + +"The boys will be thinking we've been geezled!" Jack said. "I wish +they knew where to find us. There's no knowing what they will do, +they're so anxious about Jimmie. And if they scatter over the country +others may be captured." + +"They usually show good sense in emergencies," Ned commented. + +When the first tint of twilight came, the boys crept to the edge of +the thicket and sat looking out on the mountain. There was the broken +way to the summit, and there was the chimney rock behind which the +men had disappeared, but no human being was, for a long time im +sight. + +Then a small figure came swinging down the slope, off to the north, +and presently came opposite to where the boys lay. Jack seized Ned by +the arm and pointed. + +"Is it the prince, or is it Mike III?" he asked. + +Ned got out his field glass and studied the face and figure until, +whistling some childish discord, the boy turned back and disappeared +in the direction of the cabin. + +"What is that boy doing off here alone?" asked Jack, then. + +"Keep watch of the chimney rock," Ned advised. + +"But what do you think of it?" demanded Jack. "How did that boy get +up here?" + +"If you see any one moving up there," Ned went on, provokingly, "let +me know." + +"Oh, look here!" Jack insisted, half angrily, "what's the use of +shutting up like a clam? What is your idea about that boy? We've +never seen him before except in Bradley's company. Do you think he +ran away? Why can't we go and get him and hold him until Jimmie is +released?" + +"So you think the men who have taken Jimmie are the men who are +conducting the abduction game?" asked Ned. + +"Yes, don't you?" + +"I have written the answer to that down in my little book," smiled +Ned, "and when the right time comes I'll show it to you." + +"Well, if we are going to catch the boy we'll have to be moving." + +"We are not going to catch the boy." + +Jack threw himself down on the ground in disgust. + +"You're the Secret Service man," he said, "and I presume you know +what you are about, but it looks to me as if you had been reading a +dream book, or something like that." + +"Why should we catch the child?" asked Ned. + +"To hold him! To be able to say to the outlaws that we hold the top +hand!" + +"And trade the child for Jimmie, as you suggested?" + + "Why, of course!" + +"That would make a failure of our mission, me son!" + +"But it would save Jimmie's life." + +It was now growing quite dark in the valley, especially where the +tree growth was heavy, but upon the slope objects might still be +clearly distinguished some distance away. While the boys watched the +child came out of the thicket to the north and began ascending the +mountain, walking with a light, springing step, as if out for +exercise after a long and tiresome confinement. + +"Now keep your eye on the mountain," Ned requested. + +In a moment a column of smoke arose from behind the chimney rock. The +boys watched it intently and the child with it, for he was now +approaching the rock. + +"Cooking supper!" remarked Jack. "I wish they would pass it around!" + +"Does it take two fires to cook supper up there?" asked Ned, with a +smile. + +Jack half arose in his excitement, but Ned drew him down again. + +"Jimmie's up there!" he whispered. "There's the Boy Scout call for +help!" + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +A NIGHT ON THE SUMMIT + + +"Now," Ned said, as the signal columns died down, "we'll hike back to +camp with our pictures and get supper! How does that strike you?" + +Jack turned toward Ned impatiently. There was not light enough for +his face to show clearly, but Ned knew how the boy was scowling! + +"And go off and leave Jimmie here?" Jack said. "I'd like to know what +you're thinking of! Why have you changed your mind? I'm going to stay +here until it gets good and dark and then go up there." + +"You may spoil all my plans if you attempt to reach him to-night," +Ned replied, in a matter-of-fact tone. "On the way back I want to +stop at the cabin a moment." + +"All right," Jack grumbled. "I suppose I'll have to go with you! When +are you thinking of rescuing Jimmie? After they send us one of his +hands?" + +"Don't be sarcastic," laughed Ned. "You'll understand it all before +long." + +Jack was not at all pleased with the idea of returning to camp, and +said so repeatedly as they walked along both keeping in the thicket +as far as possible, but Ned seemed to take no offense at his remarks. + +"What I can't get through my head," Jack finally said, changing the +topic of conversation, "is why they let us travel through here +without nipping us." + +"I have an idea," Ned answered, "that they are pretty busy just now." + +"Well, what was the use of our going at all if we sneak away as soon +as we get where we might accomplish something?" demanded the boy, +reverting to the old subject. + +"You did a good job in finding and following them," Ned replied, +ignoring the question, "and another good job in showing me the way. +We have accomplished more than you think! I'm anxious for the end to +come, so you'll know just how much you have accomplished! There is +the cabin light," he added. + +The boys walked boldly up to the door and Ned knocked. Mrs. Brady +looked out with a welcoming smile on her faded face. She invited them +in and tried to appear pleased at their visit, but Ned saw that she +was under a great mental strain. + +Judd Bradley sat by the hearth, with the child by his side. He smiled +when Ned nodded to him and pointed to a chair. + +"Pardon my not arising," he said. "The fact is that I'm a bit leg-weary +to-night. This little chap ran away to-day, and I had a long chase +after him!" + +"We were worried about him," Mrs. Brady added. + +"Aw, what's the matter wid youse folks, anyway?" demanded the boy, in +a strident tone. "I didn't promise to sit in a chair an' play wid a +cat all day!" + +"I've had quite a busy day myself," Ned observed, "for one of the +boys has been abducted by the counterfeiters, as I suppose, and we've +been looking for him." + +"Have you found him?" asked the old lady, anxiously. + +"No," was the reply. "He must be securely hidden." + +"The poor little fellow!" + +Ned glanced casually at Bradley and saw that he was all interest. + +"It seems," he went on, "that the counterfeiters blame us for what +took place last night, and want us to leave the district. If we do +they will send the boy out to us unharmed, at least that is what they +promise." + +"I don't see how they can blame you for the trouble of last night," +Bradley said, and Ned caught a tone of irony in his voice. + +"That's what I can't see," Ned went on, "but it seems that they do." + +"And so they have ordered you out of the hills?" asked Bradley. +"That's too bad, just as we were getting well acquainted. But, then, +you don't have to go!" + +"I think we'll go," Ned replied. "There are other localities where we +can take pictures, and we can't afford to take any chances on the boy +being injured." + +"Sorry to have you go," Bradley remarked, "but that may be the wisest +course." + +"We think so," Ned replied. "Anyway, we're going day after to-morrow, +in time to meet Jimmie at Cumberland. I think we can get packed up +and out by that time." + +"Shall we see you again before you go?" asked the old lady, +anxiously. + +"Oh, I presume so. I am going now to leave a note in the cave, saying +that we are going out, and then on to camp." + +When the boys stepped outside the cabin the old lady followed as far +as the threshold standing with her gray head outside. + +"I'm sorry," she said. "If there is anything I can do--" + +Jack stood a couple of yards away, whistling shrilly. At a word from +Ned the old lady stepped out into the open air, half closing the door +after her. From the inside came the heavy tread of Bradley +approaching the door. + +But before the visitor gained the threshold Ned and Mrs. Bradley had +exchanged half a dozen short sentences, and when Bradley looked out +she was saying. + +"I shall look for you if you ever come this way again." + +"I'll surely be back, some bright day!" laughed Ned, and the two boys +walked on. + +"Well," Jack said, as they left the cabin behind, "of all the fire-proof, +enthusiastic, gilt-edged, slicky-slick members of the Ananias +club I ever heard mentioned, you certainly take the bakery! What did +you go and tell Bradley we were going out for?" + +"Because," Ned answered, "we are going out." + +"Not by day after to-morrow?" + +"I hope so! We ought to get ready by that time!" + +"I don't ask any more questions!" grumbled Jack. "I don't know hot +from cold! I'm deaf and dumb and blind from this minute on. Uncle Ike +has a classical education in comparison with what I know. Go to it, +Neddie, boy!" + +They stopped at the cave and Ned wrote a note to the effect that they +were going out inside the limit set, placed it in a conspicuous place +on the shelf with the dies, and then the two boys set out for camp. +It was a long, hard climb, but they made it before the boys were in +their bunks. + +"You're a nice party!" Frank exclaimed, as Ned came up. "We thought +you had been pinched! There's plenty of hot supper in the oven for +you, but you don't deserve a thing! Square yourself!" + +"Don't ask him a single question!" grumbled Jack. "He won't tell you +a thing! We've been within sight of a signal from Jimmie this +afternoon, and we've had a chance to tell the outlaws where they can +go, but he's muffed every play! I'm going to eat and go to bed!" + +Jack really was out of temper, so no objections were made to his +going to his bunk as soon as he had finished supper! Ned laughed +good-naturedly at the boy's remarks and thought no more about them. + +Frank came and sat down by Ned while the latter was eating a hearty +supper. + +"The worry doesn't seem to affect your appetite!" the boy laughed. +"Have you solved the riddle, that you are so calm through it all? If +you have, just tell me this: + +"Is it the prince, or is it Mike III.?" + +"I've written the answer to that in my little red book," laughed Ned. + +Frank eyed the other with a grin, but made no reply for a time, then +he merely said: + +"You are up to your old tricks! Well, what is on for to-night?" + +"Why," Ned answered, "if you would like a stroll by moonlight, I +think we might get a good view of the south country from the top of +the mountain." + +"I don't know what you're up to," Frank answered, springing to his +feet, "but I'm game for anything. I've been eating my heart out all +day." + +"What about the prints?" asked Ned. + +"They are remarkably good," Frank replied, "but there are no special +features. In one picture, taken down in the canyon, there is a face +that we did not see, though." + +"What sort of a face?" + +"A strange one to me. But I'll show them all to you in the morning. +When are you going out for that stroll in the moonlight?" + +"In two hours. That will be about midnight. Between now and that time +I'm going to get a little sleep. Wake me at twelve, will you--and, by +the way, say nothing to the others about it. They'll all want to go! +We can notify whoever is on watch when we get ready to start." + +Ned hastened to his bunk and lay down. Five minutes later, when Frank +looked in, he was studying a French dictionary by the light of his +electric candle. Ten minutes later he was sound asleep. At twelve the +boys were ready to start, and Teddy, who was on watch, was warned to +keep wide awake and listen for noises from the south. + +"If you hear shooting," Ned said, "two of you jump on Uncle Ike and +charge along the summit to the south. Make all the noise you can! +Don't go down the slope, but keep to the summit." + +"Now where?" asked Frank, as they walked over the rocks and wound +around jutting crags. "If you'll give me time I'll take some +moonlight pictures for Dad's newspapers. He must be expecting some by +this time!" + +"Poor old Dad!" laughed Ned. "By this time he must have given up +sitting around the New York postoffice, waiting for your pictures to +come!" + +"I'm going to send him some on this trip, sure!" declared the boy. +"He deserves them, you know, and his newspaper needs them! Besides, +we are planning another Boy Scout trip, and I shall want a whole lot +of money!" + +"I see!" cried Ned. "You are casting an anchor to windward!" + +"In other words," grinned Frank, "I'm laying the foundation for +another appropriation! I'm going to send on some of the pictures of +the counterfeiters' den!" + +The summit of the ridge was by no means a level pathway. There were +peaks, canyons, gulleys and twistings to east and west which caused +the boys to travel two miles or more for every mile they advanced +toward the point where the two men Jack had followed had taken +refuge. + +It was about two o'clock in the morning when they came in sight of +the chimney rock which Ned had noted on the trip of the afternoon. It +rose from the west slope of the mountain like a tower, tall, bulky, +forbidding. + +Looking down upon it from the east, Ned saw that there was a small +canyon in between it and the slope, much the same as the formation +near the cave of the counterfeiters. It was evident that the rock had +been cast down from the summit, and had caught there--on a projecting +ridge of stone. + +"Looks like a fortress!" Frank whispered as the rock sparkled in the +light of the moon. "Notice the campfire in the canyon?" "There were +two there this afternoon," Ned said, "and we thought one of them was +there simply to make the second column--the Boy Scout call for +assistance." + +"If Jimmie isn't tied up hand and foot," Frank suggested, "if he is +allowed to move about, under guard, and help in the cooking, he could +easily build two fires, and the outlaws wouldn't know what he was up +to. That is how Dode came to signal to us, you remember. The +counterfeiters never suspected that he was making Indian talk!" + +"I think it was Jimmie," Ned declared. "He would find some way to +make the signal, if he wasn't tied hard and fast! Anyway," the boy +added, "I'm going down the slope right now to see if he is there!" + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +THE CALL OF THE PACK + + +Ned and Frank stood in the shadow behind a protecting rock and peered +down into the moonlit canyon for a long time. At first there was no +one in sight below, but presently a man came out by the fire, which +was burning low now. + +It appeared to the boys that he must have crawled out from under the +chimney rock itself! He appeared so suddenly that they knew that, at +least, there must be an underground hiding place in which he had been +concealed when they had first come in view of the canyon and the +rock. + +The man mended the fire, gathering up the ends of the logs and limbs +which had burned through in the middle and placing them back on the +coals. Then he opened a box which he had brought from some out-of-sight +place and took out canned food and cooking utensils. He was +evidently going to get an early breakfast. + +Presently a second man joined the first arrival, and they sat down by +the fire to wait for water in a great pot to boil. At least, the boys +supposed that they were waiting for it to boil. + +"I'd like to know what they are talking about," Frank said. "I'm +going to see if I can get close enough to them to find out." + +"I was just thinking of that myself," Ned responded, "so we may as +well be on our way. Keep your gun handy, but don't shoot unless one +of them seizes you." + +"I'll take good care they don't get hold of me," Frank answered. +"Say," he went on, "if Jimmie is there, he must be in some hole under +that rock--the one they came out of! If they turn away, I may be able +to get in there and see." + +"Wait until there is little danger of detection," Ned advised. "We +don't know how many men there are in the party, remember." + +The boys walked softly back to the north, keeping ridges and +outcropping rocks between the canyon and themselves, and then crept +softly down the slope so as to come out at the north end of the +little cut. The men they were watching were frying bacon and boiling +coffee now, and appeared to be thoroughly occupied with their tasks. + +In a few moments both boys were within hearing, distance. The men +were not talking much, however. In fact, they both seemed to be +harboring a grouch, from the infrequent low, grumbling complaints +which the boys overheard. + +"I'm through with the bunch after this!" one of the men said. "I'm +not going to do all the work and let some one else draw all the +money." + +"It is time we got out of here anyway," the other said. "Those fresh +boys were around here this afternoon." + +"Why didn't you plug them if you knew they were here?" demanded the +other. + +Frank nudged Ned in the side with his fist. + +"Cheerful sort of people!" he said. "I'm looking to see something +start soon." + +"I didn't know at the time that they were here!" the man replied, +with a snarl. "I'm no Indian sleuth. After they left I started +through the grove and found their tracks. Good thing for them that I +saw their tracks instead of their heads!" + +"Well," the other grunted, "if we are agreed that it is time for us +to get out, why don't we get out? I'm not going to take all the +chances! Why don't the others come? They won't come, and that's all +there is to it. They're waiting for us to do the job! Then they'll +claim the pay." + +By this time the bacon was crisp and the coffee was simmering +fragrantly in the pot and the two men fell to with an appetite. Frank +watched them eat with an appetite of his own, rubbing his stomach and +trying to show how near the point of starvation he was, although it +had been only a short time since he had eaten a hearty meal! + +"They don't trust us!" one of the men muttered, at length. + +"We haven't got a thing on them, if they see fit to welch on us," the +other admitted. + +"But if we obey orders, they will have so much on us that we won't +dare say a word, even if they make us walk back and buy our own meals +on the way!" + +"Is it agreed, then, that we're going to cut it?" asked one. "If it +is, we may as well go now as at any future time." + +"All right." + +"Now?" asked the other. + +"Why not? It will soon be daylight." + +"Good idea, for we can't be seen trailing that kid along with us in +the broad light of day," was suggested. "Let's move right now!" + +"Now," whispered Frank, "do they mean Jimmie, when they speak of the +kid, or some one else? And if they are speaking of some one else, +here's a question: Is it the prince, or is it Mike III.?" + +"It seems to me," Ned whispered back, "that I've heard something like +that before." + +"Well, get the kid out and feed him!" one of the men commanded. +"We've got to keep him with us until we get pay for what we have +already done." + +"Now we'll know!" Frank suggested, as one of the men turned toward +the rock. "If it is Jimmie we'll soon know it. What?" + +They were not long kept in doubt. Jimmie shot out of a hole under the +rock like an arrow in full flight and squatted down by the fire. +Frank snickered when he saw the boy, and turned hastily away toward a +ledge which showed back to the north. + +While Ned was wondering what the boy was up to, the long, vicious +whine of a wolf reached his ears. The call died away slowly, and was +followed by silence, then by the snarling call of the pack! + +The men by the fire started to their feet and seized their revolvers. +Jimmie jumped away from the blaze and held up his hands, bound +tightly together. + +"Cut me loose!" he cried. "Are you going to let the wolf come and eat +me?" + +"There are no wolves in these mountains," declared one of the men. +"That was a signal of some kind!" + +"I've seen wolves since we came in here," Jimmie declared, telling +the exact truth, at that, only the wolves he referred to belonged to +the Wolf Patrol, Boy Scouts of America! "They're fierce wolves, too!" +he added. + +Frank crawled back to Ned's side and lay laughing at the commotion +the signal had caused in the little camp. The men hastened their +packing, and one of them who had been about to give Jimmie his +breakfast snatched the bread and bacon away and put them in a pack he +was making up. + +"Here!" the boy shouted. "You give me the eats! Think I'm going to +travel over these mountains with me tummy abusing me for not doing +the right thing by it?" + +"You're lucky to have any tummy!" snarled one of the men. + +"Aw, give the kid his breakfast!" commanded the other. + +The men quarreled and growled at each other while the packing was +going on, and Jimmie sat looking around for some sign of the Boy +Scout who had given the signal. In half an hour they were ready, and +then Jimmie was ordered to move on. + +"If you try to run away," he was informed, "you'll be chased by a +bullet. We have no time to fool with you! Just keep a pace or two in +advance, and march straight ahead and you'll have no trouble. Get +along, now!" + +"But where's the prince?" asked Frank. "I thought we were going to +find the royal prince here!" + +"The prince of what?" asked Ned. "The prince of the slums or the +prince of a little patch of ground over the sea?" + +"Blessed if I know," Frank commented. "See me throw a scare into +those bums!" + +The men stopped still in their tracks when the ugly snarl of a bear +came to them out of the darkness. Frank did himself proud in the +manner in which he put out the bear talk. The men were surely +frightened. + +"Now there's a bear!" wailed Jimmie, although Ned thought he caught a +note of fun in his voice. "Don't you know these hills are full of +bears? We saw some at our camp last night," he added, "eating bread +and honey!" + +"Bear nothing!" shouted one of the men. "There ain't a bear within a +hundred miles of this place! This is some trick!" + +Again the fierce, angry snarl of the bear! Ned caught Frank by the +arm to keep him quiet, but the boy finished the bear talk he had +begun. + +Then Jimmie hastened matters by breaking away and running toward the +rock from which the sound had proceeded. Both men took after him, but +a shot from Frank's gun caused them to halt. They stood still for an +instant, their figures tense and tall, and then turned and ran, +almost tumbling over each other in their fright! + +They did not stop at slight declivities. They leaped gulleys and +almost fell into canyons which split the summits. In vain Ned called +to them to halt, that they would not be injured. They ran like race +horses, and were soon out of sight. Frank and Jimmie were rolling on +the ground in their delight. + +Ned looked grave and annoyed. Without speaking he looked over the +camp where the men had cooked the breakfast and then returned to the +boys. + +"I am sorry for that," he said, mildly. "I wanted to put those men +through the third degree! We should have held them up and put on the +handcuffs." + +"You didn't say so!" observed Frank sheepishly. + +"No use to talk about it now," Ned declared. "Perhaps Jimmie knows +what we expected to learn from them." + +"All I know is that the bums got me at the cave and tied me up," +Jimmie said. + +"How many men have you seen in the party?" asked Ned. + "Just those two. They were always talking about some one else coming +in, but I never saw any one else." + +"What did they talk about?" asked Ned. + +"They were trying, most of the time, to make me admit that the Camera +Club was a secret service organization," laughed the lad. "Of course +I denied it!" + +"What did they say about a child?" + +"Not one word! I kept my ears open for that kind of talk!" + +"Did they have a boy with them at any one time?" asked Ned. + +"This afternoon, or yesterday afternoon, rather, I saw a kid moving +about on the slope. I was cooking, and built two fires so as to make +a signal. Did you see it?" + +"Yes, we saw it," answered Ned, "but did not reply to it for the +reason that we feared discovery. We wanted to come here in the night +and release you and capture the two outlaws! But what sort of a child +was it that you saw?" + +"Why, it was the kid from the cabin. Say, Ned," he added, with a wink +at Frank, "is that the prince, or is it Mike III.?" + +"Cut it out!" roared Frank. "We've heard enough of that." + +Ned laid a hand on the shoulder of each boy. + +"That shot attracted attention," he whispered, "or the runaways are +coming back. I hear some one tramping over rock, and a moment ago I +caught the gleam of a gun barrel." + +"Then it's me for a hole to crawl into!" whispered Jimmie. "I've had +troubles of my own for the past few hours! Say, but I'm hungry, +boys." + +The boys left their place of retreat just as a couple of bullets +spattered on rock. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +JUST A LITTLE DARK WASH + + +More shots were fired, but the boys were soon out of range. A flush +of pink was showing in the sky now, and the sun would be up in half +an hour. Jimmie looked longingly toward the camp, and Ned turned his +footsteps that way. + +"Speaking of quitters," Jimmie said, as they moved along, "the two +men who geezled me take the bun! They quarreled all the time because +some one else didn't come and do something they wanted done! No +wonder they ducked when one shot was fired!" + +"About the boy you saw yesterday afternoon," Ned asked. "Are you sure +it was the lad who was brought to our camp?" + +"Of course it was!" + +"Dressed just the same?" + +"Just exactly." + +"Why didn't you take a picture of him?" asked Frank. + +"Huh, don't you ever think I didn't," was the reply. "I've got it in +my camera now. When we get to camp I'll develop it and print some. +I've got pictures of the men, too, and about everything around the +hole in the ground where they hid me." + +"That is as it should be!" Ned declared. "But how did you do it!" + +"They are easy!" was all the reply Jimmie made. + +A quarter of a mile away from the chimney rock Ned paused and looked +back. + +"I can't understand where those men went to," he said. + +"My friends do you mean?" asked Jimmie with a grin. "They're going on +a hop yet." + +"No; the men who did the shooting," said Ned. + +"Well," Jimmie went on, in a minute, "there is a place somewhere near +the rock where some friends of the men who ran are camping. I heard +them talking together." + +"You little rascal!" Ned exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me that +before?" + +"Oh, you won't find them there now!" Jimmie advised. "I'll bet they +ducked when we got away. They won't remain around here now." + +"Are they counterfeiters?" asked Frank. + +"They're bums from the city, brought here in connection with the +abduction of the prince!" laughed Jimmie. + +"How did you manage to cook and take pictures when you were tied up +like a fish for shipment?" asked Frank. + +"They didn't tie me up for a time, for I gave them a lot of talk +about liking their society," was the answer. "They just watched me. +When it came night and they wanted to sleep, they put the harness +on!" + +"That was careless of them," declared Frank, "not to tie you up +tight." + +"They're just cheap bums," Jimmie insisted. "They couldn't kidnap a +bird in a cage." + +The sun was up when the boys reached the + camp, and Teddy was getting breakfast. + +The arrival of Jimmie was hailed with manifestations of joy, as may +well be supposed. The boys clustered around him excitedly, and even +Uncle Ike, from the corral, sent forth a he-haw greeting. The +breakfast Teddy prepared for him was a wonder! + +The meal was scarcely finished when Bradley came sauntering into the +camp. He stopped suddenly when he saw Jimmie. Watching him closely, +Ned saw that he was dismayed as well as astonished. However, he soon +came forward with a set smile on his face and took the boy by the +hand. + +"You're lucky," he said, "to get out of the clutches of the +counterfeiters so soon. I was afraid something serious might have +happened to you. How did you do it?" + +"Ned came after me," was the only reply the boy made. + +"We've decided to go away," Ned explained, "and so they gave him up, +after a short argument." + +"With a gun!" whispered Jimmie to the others. + +Bradley loitered about the camp for a long time, asking questions and +talking of a great many things which did not interest the lads at +all. + +"And so you are going out to-morrow?" he asked, arising to go. + +"We expect to," Ned replied soberly. + +"Perhaps I'll meet you outside somewhere," Bradley laughed. + +"I hope so!" Ned replied, whispering an aside to Frank. + +Frank walked away toward the tent, and directly, while Bradley's face +was in clear outline, Ned heard the click of a shutter and knew that +the snapshot had been made. + +When Bradley at last started away Ned called the boys together and +asked them if it wouldn't be a good idea for them to take a +prisoner--just to equalize things! + +"Bradley?" asked Frank and Jimmie in chorus. + +"That's the man," laughed Ned. "Do you think you could head him off +and hide him in some out-of-the way hole in the ground?" + +"What for?" demanded Jack. "I don't see what you want to do that +for." + +"Just for the fun of it!" Jimmie exclaimed. "I'll guard him after he +is taken!" he added, with an appealing look at Ned. + +"Well," Ned went on, nodding at Jimmie, "I have an idea that if two +of you work down the slope and come out ahead of him you can coax him +to throw up his hands easily enough." + +"Then, after that, if you leave it to me," Jack continued, "you'll go +down to the cabin and get the prince and start away with him!" + +"You're sure it is the prince?" asked Ned. + +"Of course! I should think any one with sense could see that. Just +see how suspiciously the kid is watched! Of course, if you want to +take the abductor along too, why that will be all right, but I'd get +the prince first!" + +"That's good advice," Ned declared, seeking to conciliate the boy, +"and I'll go down to the cabin now and look after that end of the +game!" + +"If things work this way," laughed Oliver, "I guess we _will_ get +away to-morrow!" + +"Why don't you let me go with the boys and help capture that stiff?" +asked Jack, speaking to Ned. "He may be armed and perfectly willing +to shoot." + +"We have messed things up a bit here," Ned answered, "so whatever we +do must be done at once. I have another little errand to do while +they capture Bradley!" + +"Oh, we'll get him, all right!" Frank insisted. + +"You bet we will!" Jimmie added. "I'll tie him up tight, too! He +won't take no pictures while he is my prisoner." + +"Perhaps he won't have a baby camera hidden under his coat! laughed +Frank. + +"What are you going to say to him, boys, when you take him?" asked +Teddy. + +"We ain't going to say anything," Jimmie answered, "We're just going +to get him!" + +"Be careful, boys," was all Ned said as Frank and Jimmie left on +their dangerous mission. "Be careful!" + +After they had disappeared up the slope Ned turned to Jack. + +"You saw one act of the play yesterday," he said to him. "Suppose you +come with me now and see another act." + +Jack came forward with outstretched hand and downcast face. + +"Say, Ned," he said, "I'm sore at myself!" + +"What's that for?" Ned asked, shaking the hand heartily and lifting +the boy's face by taking him by the chin. "Why are you sore at +yourself?" + +"Because I acted like a dunce when we left chimney rock without +signaling to Jimmie," was the reply, "and because I grumbled like a +bear with a sore head when you suggested that Bradley be captured." + +"You had a perfect right to express your opinion, my boy," Ned said. + +"Yes, but I might have known that you knew what you were about. To be +honest, I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw you bringing Jimmie +back." + +"The least demonstration on our part at that time," Ned said, then, +"might have caused the men who were guarding Jimmie to shift their +quarters. Besides, I wanted Bradley in the toils before I made the +final break." + +"But he wasn't when you released Jimmie," Jack suggested. + +"He will be before the final card is laid down," Ned replied. "But +come," he went on, "we must be moving if we get to the cottage before +the trouble begins." + +"I'm all in the dark," Jack said, "but I'm willing to take your +judgment now." + +Ned and Jack hastened away, traveling down the slope to the west and +south so as to get to the cottage in the quickest possible time. When +they came in sight of the structure they saw Mary Brady sitting in +the doorway, her head bent forward, her face buried in the palms of +her hands. + +She arose at the sound of their footsteps and advanced with +outstretched hands to meet them. There were tears on her face and her +manner was excited. + +"You came too late!" she cried, wringing Ned's hand. "They have taken +him away." + +"When?" asked Ned, leading the old lady into the cabin. + +"Oh, I don't know when! Sometime in the night. I awoke and saw that +the bed was empty and called to Bradley. He arose and has been +looking for him ever since." + +"He was just up at our camp--looking!" Ned said, with a wink at Jack. + +The old lady now went to a cupboard and brought forth a glass in +which a dark fluid rested. A small black brush stood against the side +of the vessel. + +"I found this for you, as you asked," she said. + +Ned examined the contents of the glass and made a mark on a white +paper with the brush. The color transmitted to the paper was a light +brown, not black. + +"You washed the boy, as I asked you to?" Ned then enquired. + +"I tried to," was the reply, "but Bradley said he would take him out +and give him a swim in the run down in the valley. He wouldn't let me +touch him." + +"Well, what did the pillow case show this morning?" + +The old lady pointed to the white paper. + +"It was stained like that," she said. + +During this talk Jack had been standing looking from Ned to the old +lady with all shades of expression on his face. Now he spoke. + +"Say, Ned," he almost gasped, "what is the meaning of all this?" + +"Wait a minute!" Ned said, facing the old lady again. "And you +listened to their talk when they sat together last night?" + +"Indeed I did, sir, and its the first time I ever played the spy!" + +"What was Bradley saying to him?" asked Ned, then. + +"He was saying French words over and over for him to repeat!" + +Jack dropped into a chair and looked helplessly at his chum. + +"Foolish little French phrases, like one finds at the back of any +dictionary?" asked Ned. "He was repeating them so that the boy could +say them after him?" + +"Yes, sir, that is just it." + +"Now, Jack, what about your prince of the royal blood?" asked Ned. + +"I gather from what I hear that he was painted," said Jack, with a +shamed look in his eyes. "Painted!" + +"Sure he was!" cried the woman. "Painted and taught foolish little +French words to say! But he is Mike's boy! I know that!" + +"This is like the Arabian Nights!" Jack cried. + +"Worse!" Ned declared, "for all my plans have gone wrong with the +disappearance of the boy." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +BRADLEY BECOMES INDIGNANT + + +Frank and Jimmie hastened down the slope to the west, after toiling +up and crossing the broken summit, and soon caught sight of the man +they had been instructed to take prisoner. Bradley was walking +swiftly, his haste not at all matching the leisurely air he had +affected at the camp. + +"How do you feel now?" asked Jimmie, wrinkling his nose at Frank. +"How does it seem to be a bold, bad gunman?" + +"I think it is a little shivery," Frank answered. "When I get back to +New York," he went on, "I'm going to write a story for Dad's +newspaper entitled: 'Desperate Desmonds I have Shot Up in the Hills.' +That title ought to make a hit on the East Side, south of First +street!" + +"I feel like a second-story man, and a gopher-worker, and a +train-robber, and a confidence operative all rolled into one!" Jimmie +admitted. "This holding people up is new exercise for us! Say, will +you agree to let me push the gun into his face?" + +"We'll both have guns, you little highway-man!" Frank replied. "You +needn't think I'm going to look on and miss all the fun!" + +"Then you let me tie him up!" coaxed Jimmie. "I won't tie him very +tight, just so he can't breathe, and so his blood won't circulate!" +"You're the fierce little bandit!" declared Frank. + +"Well, the gang he belongs to tied me up!" complained the boy. "I'm +going to get even on this geek! We can walk right down on him at any +time now. He'll never suspect that we're pirates." + +"First," Frank observed, "I'd like to know where he is going so +fast." + +"He may go so fast that he'll get to friends before we harness him!" +warned Jimmie. "Then we couldn't get him at all, but might, instead, +get geezled ourselves." + +"There seems to be a little sense left in that head of yours," Frank +laughed, "even if your friends do think it is solid bone! So we'd +better skip along and take him under our protection before we have an +army to fight. Say, but won't he take a tumble to himself when he +finds himself stuck up by two boys?" + +Not withstanding their half-humorous talk concerning what they were +about to do, the boys both realized that they were facing a serious +situation. They had every confidence in Ned's judgment, still they +had no knowledge of Bradley which seemed to them to warrant the bold +step they were about to take. + +Jimmie was under the impression that Bradley belonged to the coterie +which had taken him prisoner, but he had no proof of it. Bradley had +been, apparently, accepted by Mrs. Mary Brady, and that seemed a good +recommend for him. Still, there were the instructions, and they were +resolved to carry them out. Neither expressed to the other his secret +thought on the subject. + +"Where are we going to hide him, after we take him?" asked Jimmie, +after a time, during which the lads had managed by hard work to +decrease the distance between themselves and Bradley. "How about the +old counterfeiters' den?" + +"That's the first place his friends will look for him! No, sir, we've +got to find a little retreat of our own, and one of us must guard +him. Do you know how long Ned wants to keep him?" asked Frank. + +"Don't know a thing about it," was the reply. "I don't even know why +he wants him captured, or what proof he has against him." + +The boys were now not far away from Bradley, and, hearing the rattle +of broken rock behind him, he turned and looked back at the boys, who +were swinging along with their hands in their pockets. He waited for +them to come up. + +"Taking a little walk, eh?" he questioned, as the boys came to the +level space on the mountainside where he had paused. + +Bradley seemed to be entirely unconscious of danger, for he turned +his back to the boys presently, after a few short sentences had +passed between them, and moved forward, as if to continue his way +down the slope. + +"Just a minute!" Frank said, sharply, and he faced them. + +Two automatic revolvers were within a foot of his head, and the eyes +of the boys back of them declared that the situation was not the +result of a joke. + +"Hold out your hands!" Jimmie ordered. "We want to see if you're +toting any smoke-wagons! Push 'em out, Mister!" + +Bradley did not hesitate a second. His hands went out like a flash. +There was a smile on his lips as Jimmie removed his revolver, but his +jaw was threatening. + +"And so you are just common thieves?" he said. + +"Aw, quit it!" Jimmie answered. "We're taking care of you so you +won't fall over a precipice and hurt yourself." + +"You'll find very little money on me," Bradley went on. "I've sent in +to the city for a couple of hundred. You ought to have waited a few +days." + +"We don't want your money," Frank cut in, "all we want is the benefit +of your society for a time." + +Bradley flushed angrily when Jimmie adroitly snapped a pair of +handcuffs on his outstretched wrists, but he made no protest. + +"Now you can put down your hands," Jimmie announced. "They'll get +stiff if you hold 'em out too long. Now, sit down and pick out your +hotel. You may have a room in most any section of this district. +Immaterial to us where we put you!" + +"What does it mean?" demanded Bradley. "I presume you boys know what +you are doing. There's law in this state, as wild as this country +looks to be. You'll get years behind prison bars for this." + +"Before I forget it," Jimmie asked, with a wink at Frank, "I want you +to tell me something. Will you?" + +"That depends. What is it you want to know?" + +"This: Is the boy down at the cabin the prince, or is he Mike III?" + +The eyes of both boys were fixed keenly on Bradley's face as the +question was put. So far as they could see, it did not change a +particle in color or expression. + +"That's a queer question for you to ask," he said. "You'd better +asked Mrs. Brady whether it is her grandson or not! And I don't know +what you mean, talking about a prince. I haven't seen any prince +about here--except the prince of the son of thieves!" + +"So you won't tell, eh?" asked Frank. + +"The boy I brought in is Michael Brady, son of the son of Mrs. +Brady." + +Sitting on the level space half way down to the outcropping ledge +which held the workroom of the counterfeiters, Bradley looked +anxiously in the direction of the canyon. + +Jimmie noted the look and took out his field glass. People were +moving about in the canyon, and down in the valley to the south, +where the cabin stood, something out of the ordinary seemed to be +going on. + +"You are expecting friends?" asked Frank. + +"They are liable to come any minute," was the cool reply. + +"Then we'd better be going," Jimmie cut in. "There are men in the +canyon, and in the valley, and they may be coming up here to find out +why you don't meet them, as per agreement! Are they good waiters? If +they are, you may find them still in the valley after you've served a +couple of terms in a Federal prison!" + +"Be careful what you say," warned Bradley. "I'm in your power now, +but there'll come a time when I won't be. Remember that!" + +Jimmie's glass showed him that the men below were starting up the +slope. + +"We'll go back toward camp," he said to Frank. "I guess the fellows +down there are watching us through glasses. If you don't mind," he +added, turning to Bradley with a provoking laugh, "we'll stow you +away in a hole in the rocks somewhere until they get tired of looking +for you!" + +"Go as far as you like!" was the reply. + +Frank and Jimmie stepped aside and conversed together in low tones, +trying to make up their minds what to do with the prisoner. It had +taken little trouble to capture him, but it seemed to them that it +would be no easy matter to hold him. + +"There's a cute little dip in the summit not far from the camp," +Frank said, at length. "A boulder tumbled out of the slope, and +there's a cave big enough to hide three in, only there is a part of +it which has no roof." + +"Don't mind that!" Bradley said, in a sarcastic tone. "We won't have +a long residence in any place you select now." + +"The summit is spotted with queer little openings where soft rock has +been washed out," Frank said, "and we can locate not far from the +camp if we want to." + +"I suppose you boys are doing this under the orders of this Nestor +boy?" asked Bradley. "When you get to him, kindly ask him to call on +me. I want to know what all this means." + +"Let's see, what was it you said about the child you brought in with +you?" asked Jimmie, wrinkling his freckled nose until it did not seem +possible to ever get it out straight again, "what was it you said his +name was? Was it Prince Abductable or Mike the Third?" + +Bradley scowled but said nothing. The boys now set off up the slope +with their prisoner. Now and then they turned to look into the canyon +and the valley below. + +The men they had observed in the canyon were slowly ascending. There +were four of them, and it seemed to the boys that they were examining +every foot of the ground they covered. Bradley looked downward, too, +and a smile came to his face as he did so. It was plain that he +expected help from that quarter. + +The boys walked as swiftly as possible, and soon came to the summit, +where a view of the camp was had. The corral where the mules were +feeding was also in sight, farther down, and Teddy was seen making +friends with Uncle Ike. + +The camp looked so quiet and deserted that Jimmie took out his field +glass again and looked closely. The flap of the tent was up, and the +boy could see for some distance into the interior. + +Trunks and boxes were open, their contents scattered about the floor. +A figure lay still on the floor, as if asleep. Jimmie could not see +the face, but from the size and expression of the shoulders he +imagined it to be Dode. + +Oliver was not to be seen. Then, while the boy watched, with a +premonition of approaching evil in his mind, he saw two men move out +into the center of the tent. They were looking through handfuls of +papers, or pictures, or something similar. Jimmie could not determine +at that distance just what they were carrying. + +"Look here, Frank," the boy said, "just take a look at the tent." + +Not a word to arouse the interest of the prisoner was said. Frank +looked and handed the glass back to his chum. Jimmie knew what his +chum feared as well as if he had put that fear into words. Bradley +was smiling calmly. + +"They have raided the tent!" Jimmie whispered, and Frank nodded. + +"And they are destroying our plates and prints," Jimmie went on, "and +so we'd better be getting down there to see about it." + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +NED PLAYS THE MIND-READER + + +Jack stood in the little cabin in the valley and looked Ned +expectantly in the face. + +"Tell me," he finally said, "tell me why they painted this boy?" + +"To get us off the trail of the prince," replied Ned. + +"But it seems that they failed," suggested Jack. "You know?" + +"I suspected from the very first," Ned answered. "Yesterday afternoon +I knew." + +"Well, it may be all right," Jack muttered, "or the man who brought +him here may need a new wire on his trolley, but I can't see why they +should bring this counterfeit prince here at all." + +"They knew that we were coming here," Ned explained, resolved to give +his chum a full understanding of the situation. "They knew we were +coming here in quest of the prince. How they knew I can't make out, +but they knew." + +"They might have heard more than we supposed from the attic over the +clubroom," Jack suggested. + +"If the story of the maid and the coachman is straight," Ned +continued, "they heard little that night. But they knew! They might +have bribed some of the servants. I don't know. They might have been +in that room before that evening. + +"At any rate, when the Boy Scout Camera Club started for West +Virginia by way of Washington the friends of the abductors knew what +was going on. Now, it is my opinion that the prince had been headed +for the mountains before the conspirators became aware of our +connection with the case." + +"I begin to see daylight!" Jack cried. + +"Well, the prince being on his way to the hills and we having a good +idea as to the locality of his place of hiding, the conspirators +conceived the idea of giving us a false little prince to play with!" + +"They're no fools!" Jack exclaimed. "No fools at all!" + +"Now," Ned went on, "some of the conspirators knew Mrs. Brady's son +in Washington. They knew of his many promises to his mother to return +to the mountains. They knew of his recent promise to her to come home +and bring the boy with him. They were doubtless very intimate with +Mike Brady, Senior, for they knew all the little details of the life +his mother was living. + +"So they got him to permit them to bring the boy to his grandmother. +They knew he would be looking for a prince in the hills, and so they +gave us a false one to engage our attention! Rather clever, that, +Jack." + +The old lady was now regarding Ned with eyes which expressed awe as +well as wonder. + +"How did you find it all out?" she asked. "How do you know what took +place in the minds of those wicked men?" + +"After they took possession of the boy they began bribing him to play +the part he has played here so imperfectly. They taught him cheap +little French phrases from the dictionary, and touched up his already +dusky complexion so as to make him look darker than ever. Yesterday I +saw Bradley at work on his face with a brush!" + +"And the lad played his part!" the grandmother declared. "I don't +know how Bradley led him along, but the boy was willing to do as he +was told. I never saw such a wild little chap so thoroughly subdued +before. He wouldn't even tell me the truth when I took him in my old +arms last night and talked to him." + +"But he evidently told Bradley what you said to him," Ned continued, +"for he got the child away in the night. Then he came to camp this +morning to see if he could find out how much I knew. He's probably +tied up by this time!" + +"You have had him arrested," asked the old lady. "Then he'll never +tell where the boy has been hidden, and he'll die of starvation--die +almost within sound of my voice." + +"We'll find him," Ned answered, grimly. "We can make Bradley talk, I +imagine." + +"And while this has been going on," Jack said, "the true prince, the +boy we came here to find, has doubtless been carried to some other +part of the country?" + +"I don't believe it!" Ned replied. "The conspirators would naturally +expect us to shift our search for him back to Washington, or Chicago, +or New York, wouldn't they? As soon as we discovered that this boy +was not the person we sought, they would expect us to leave the hills +at once, wouldn't they? Well, if they anticipated such a move on our +part, what is more natural than that they should take advantage of +this alleged idea on our part and leave the prince right here?" + +"That is just what they would do!" cried Jack. "That is just what +they have done. I wondered why you told Bradley we were going out! I +had no idea that you knew so much about the case." + +"Bradley knew that I knew the boy to be an imposter," Ned went on. +"He intended we should make the discovery in time--after he had +watched the grandson for a few days, sized up the situation +generally, and dropped out of sight. He intended me to know in a +couple of weeks, after he was out of harm's way. But I discovered the +trick too quickly for him." + +"When did you first suspect?" asked Jack. + +"That first morning. The boy's French was from the back of the book, +and there was too strong an atmosphere of Washington about him--an +atmosphere which does not savor of the quiet life of the prince of +the blood. Then when I watched him closer I saw that he had been +painted. Oh, it was all plain enough." + +"So you think the prince is here--in these hills?" asked the old +lady. + +"I can't say, now," Ned replied. "I am sure that he was here +yesterday. I think I saw him! But the escape of the two men who +captured Jimmie mussed things up a lot. I wanted to put them through +a little examination. + +"After their escape I could not pose longer as a lad after snapshots! +I can't say as I deceived the conspirators when I laid the capture of +Jimmie to the counterfeiters. I think I did fool them when I said we +were going out of the hills in order to protect the captive. + +"Well, when we released Jimmie and let the two guards escape, that +part of the game was off. If I could have held the men it would have +been different." + +"Perhaps Bradley can be made to tell where the prince is," suggested +Jack. + +"I hardly thinks he knows," Ned replied. "He has not, I think, been +taken fully into the confidence of the men higher up, any more than +have the men who guarded Jimmie." + +"He certainly knows where my grandson is," exclaimed the old lady, +"and I'll tear his heart out but I'll make him tell me. He took him +away!" + +"I am not so certain of that, either," Ned mused. "I don't know just +how far the criminal head of the conspiracy has trusted him." + +"You'll do all you can to find my boy, won't you?" pleaded the old +lady. + +"Don't worry about the boy," Ned urged. "Well find him. If Frank and +Jimmie have had good luck Bradley is under arrest now, and something +will be brought out to lead to his discovery. Besides, with the +disguise penetrated, there is no longer any motive for holding him, +unless he knows too much, which is not likely." + +"If his father was here he might help," suggested the old lady. + +Jack, who had been looking steadily out of the window for some little +time, now turned to Ned with a smile on his face. + +"I know now what you wrote in your little red book!" he said. + +"Are you certain of that?" + +"Why, of course. You wrote the answer to the question: 'Is it the +prince, or is it Mike III?' Didn't you, now?" + +"Yes, I did!" was the reply. "I was almost positive before, but I +knew that day." + +"And now we are just where we began," Jack said. "We've solved one +phrase of the case, but we haven't found the prince." + +"That will come later," Ned declared, confidently. "Well," he went on, +"we have finished our work here for the present. We have learned of +the disappearance of the grandson and we have confirmed my previous +belief, that the boy was sent in here to draw our attention from the +abducted child. So we may as well go back to camp and see what the +boys have been doing." + +The old lady still clung to Ned piteously, begging him to restore her +boy, and Ned promised to do all in his power to place the lad in her +arms. + +"If my son would only come!" the woman kept saying. + +"If you'll give me his address," Ned promised, "I'll see him when I +get back to Washington, if he is not already here or on his way +here." + +The address was given and the boys started + on the return trip to camp. + +"Now, Jack," Ned said, when they were on their way up the slope, "do +you know where the nearest telegraph station is?" + +"There's one over on the south fork of the Potomac," Jack replied. + +"You are good friends with Uncle Ike?" Ned then asked, with a laugh. + +"Sure I am. Uncle Ike is a friend of every person who carries sugar +in his pocket." + +"Well, when we get back to camp I'll give you a night message. You +must take the mule and get it to the station. You may not be able to +get there to-night. If you can't, send it when you do get there. Wait +for an answer. When you get it tell Uncle Ike it is important and get +here with it as soon as possible. You've got a hard trip ahead of +you, boy!" he added. "I'm game!" laughed Jack. "If there's any of +this prince trouble leaked out," he added, "what shall I say?" + +"Tell the old story. Say that we are in the hills for art's sake, and +that we have been annoyed by counterfeiters! Nothing serious, +understand? Not a word about our real mission here. You notice that +even the men we are battling with want it understood that it is the +counterfeiters who are trying to drive us out." + +"There must be something mighty strange about this abduction game," +Jack grinned. "No one will even admit that there is a prince in the +case." + +When the boys came to the vicinity of the summit, south of a point in +line with the camp and the canyon where the counterfeiters had been +discovered, they stopped and took a good survey of the landscape. + +"We can probably learn more about what has been going on," Jack +suggested, "by hiking straight for the camp. I'm anxious to be off on +that trip. Uncle Ike will like it--not! But I'll make him like it! +I'll give you a good imitation of a boy sailing over the mountains on +the freight deck of a mule!" + +"I was wondering," Ned said, composedly, though his eyes were +troubled, "whether we had any camp left! If you'll look off to the +north, you'll see four men crouching in a dent in the slope. +Rough-looking chaps, eh?" + +"I see!" Jack whispered. "Have they seen us? That's the question +now." + +"If they saw us," Ned continued, "they would either be making for us +or trying to get out of sight. No; they are watching the camp. See! +They are where they can look over the summit." + +"If they haven't been to the camp I'll think ourselves lucky," Ned +said. + +"They probably haven't!" Jack cried. "But look there, they are going +on a rush right now! Must be Bradley's friends. What?" + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +SHOOTING ON THE MOUNTAINSIDE + + +Bradley smiled cynically as he looked down toward the tent. He could +not, of course, distinguish the figures as plainly as Jimmie could +with the glass, but he knew from the excited manner of the boys that +something unusual was taking place. + +"You have visitors at the camp?" he asked cooly, as the lads motioned +to him to move on. "I shall be glad to meet them, you may be sure." + +He held out his manacled hands suggestively as he spoke. + +"You're not invited!" Jimmie grunted. "We've got private date with +those people. You might muss things up, if we permitted you to go +with us!" + +"Very well," Bradley replied. "They'll know where I am. But, for fear +they'll not recognize me, at this distance, I'll just give them +notice that I'm here." + +Jimmie and Frank both sprang forward to prevent the promised outcry, +but Bradley proved too quick for them. The cry that rose from his +lips was long, shrill and significant in its insistance. It was +finally stopped by Bradley being thrown to the ground, where he lay +with the old sarcastic smile on his face. + +"You've done it now!" Frank gritted. "You ought to be shot." + +"You are none too good to commit a murder--to kill an unarmed and +defenseless man." + +"If you don't keep that twirler of yours reefed I'll tie it up!" +Jimmie declared, with a threatening motion. + +He might have gagged Bradley there and then only that Frank called +his attention to the camp. The two men who had been seen inside were +now hiding on the west side of the tent, and Teddy was coming up the +slope from the corral. Oliver was nowhere to be seen, and the +supposition was that he had been captured by the outlaws. + +"We've got to tie this robber hand and foot and gag him!" Frank +cried. "We've got to get down to the camp right away!" + +"Perhaps," Bradley observed, with a provoking laugh, "you'll also tie +and gag the men who are coming up the hill from the canyon." + +The four men were now nearly half way up the slope from the cut, and +having heard the cry, were making good time in the ascent. The +situation looked anything but peaceful! + +The boys were anxious and excited, and Bradley counted on this when +he made the next move. The men on the west slope had of course heard +his call, he reasoned, and were hastening up to his rescue. + +Believing this, he took a desperate chance when he sprang away from +the boys, dropped to the ground and went bumping over the broken +slope, handcuffed as he was. Jimmie had his automatic out in a +moment, but by that time Bradley was concealed by one of the boulders +which lay on the declivity. + +It was useless to try to recapture the fellow, for the men coming up +the slope had seen something of what had taken place, and were now on +the run wherever the nature of the ground permitted. Besides, they +were already within shooting distance, and the boys would be directly +under fire if they sought to bring Bradley back. + +"It is a hopeless case!" Frank cried. "We can't get him!" + +"The best thing we can do, then, is to get to the camp," Jimmie +observed. + +"Then duck low and cut away to the north!" Frank cried. "Perhaps we +can make most of the distance under cover. Say," he added, as they +moved along, northward on the slope toward the east, "did you ever +see anything like that? That Bradley is some wise guy when it comes +to a pinch!" + +"He's daring!" Frank commented. "He will make us trouble yet!" + +"I believe," Jimmie went on, "that he's the fellow that got into the +attic over the clubroom of the Black Bear Patrol. When he was down on +the ground, sitting looking over the country, I saw a scar on his +head, a sharp cicatrice, three-cornered. You know how he got that?" + +"The maid threw a large pair of shears at some one that night," Frank +said. "You remember we found blood and a blonde hair on one of the +blades." + +"Just the sort of hair that gink carries on his dome!" Jimmie added. + +The men coming up the west slope had not yet reached the summit, and +the men below were still hiding behind the tent. Teddy was +approaching the fire. + +"They'll get the kid in a minute!" Jimmie said. + +"I don't know about that," Frank replied. "He seems to me to be +getting suspicious. Notice how he stops and looks around--probably +looking for Oliver or Dode." + +It was clear that the men waiting behind the tent were becoming +impatient, for they moved along and made ready to spring upon the +boy. Teddy, however, was not advancing. + +Something about the tent had warned him that it was in the hands of +the enemy. With a shout of warning to Oliver and Dode, if they +chanced to be free and within hearing, he turned and dashed toward +the corral. + +While the two men were getting under way in pursuit, Frank and Jimmie +came out on an easier slope and moved rapidly downward. Teddy was +soon out of sight, and then the men turned back. + +At that moment a shot came from the summit, and the boys turned to +see the four men whom they had observed on the slope heading down for +the camp. + +"They've found Bradley, of course!" Frank said. + +"Yes," answered Jimmie, "there's no use of playing double now, for +they know that we are next to their game." + +"Shall we rush for the camp?" asked Frank. + +"Nothing doing," Jimmie answered. "We can't do a thing there, and we +are under cover here! Bradley has, of course, told them that we are +here, but they won't be able to find us for a long time. If they get +too gay with the things at the camp we'll send a few bullets down. +Looks like things were coming their way now, eh?" he added. + +"We can't hold the top hand all the time," Frank grunted. "Ned will +come along directly and even things up a little. I wish he was here +now!" + +The four men were now scrambling along the slope, looking for the two +boys as they walked, slid and jumped down. The two men who were at +the camp had turned back from the pursuit of Teddy at the sound of +the shot, and were now awaiting the approach of their friends. + +"I suppose they'll burn the tent and drive the mules off!" wailed +Jimmie. "I'd like to have a machine gun up here a little while!" + +"I reckon they won't!" + +This from Frank as a shot came from the slope to the south. The men +who were rushing from the camp paused and looked at each other. + +While they waited, uncertain as to what they ought to do, another +shot came, this time from the corral. Teddy was evidently getting +into action! + +"Just for luck!" Jimmie shouted. + +He fired two shots as he spoke, and two more came from the south and +one from the corral. The four men beckoned to their companions at the +tent--if such they were--and made a break for the summit which they +had just left. + +"Whoo--pee!" shouted Jimmie. "Look at the racers!" + +At sound of the voice one of the men turned and fired a shot at the +rock against which the boy lay. It broke off a splinter but did no +harm to the boys. + +Frank left cover and ran up the slope. + +"Come one!" he cried. "We'll get Bradley yet!" + +Jimmie was not long in catching up with him. When they gained the +summit the four men were losing no time in their journey to the +canyon. They were on their feet only a part of the time. + +The boys saw Bradley rise from a sheltering rock and start after +them, but he fell in a moment. Handcuffed as he was, he could not +keep pace with them. The fugitives paid no attention to his calls for +assistance. It was every man for himself at that moment. Bradley sat +hopelessly down to await the arrival of the boys. + +Just as they gained the spot where he sat Ned and Jack came out of +the jungle of broken rocks to the south and looked smilingly down at +the prisoner. + +"Good day!" laughed Jack. + +Bradley forced a smile and turned away. + +"You took that trick!" he said. + +Jimmie stepped forward and put his fingers into the blonde hair of +the captive. + +"Where did you get this scar?" he asked, and Ned at once bent +forward. + +"I fell down and stepped on it!" Bradley answered, still smiling. + +"I'll tell you how you got it," Jimmie went on. "You sneaked into a +room in New York where you had no business to be and a girl threw a +pair of shears at you!" + +"That's a fine story!" snarled Bradley. "I never was in New York. + +"Bring him along, boys," Ned said. "We'll go on down to camp and see +what's been done to our tent and things by this man's friends." + +When they once more came to the summit, Teddy was standing outside +the tent with Oliver and Dode and the two outlaws were nowhere to be +seen. After that Bradley complained at the rate of speed the boys +insisted on. + +"Your friends must have thought they had butted into an ambuscade!" +Jimmie said to the captive. "Have they had much training in running? +They bobbed along like professionals, it seemed to me." + +"You'll see how fast they can run!" Bradley growled. "They'll go fast +enough to send you all over the road." + +"Now about this grandson," asked Ned, falling back. "Mrs. Brady wants +to know where he is. No use for you to hide him, now that we all know +he was disguised to look like the prince stolen from Washington. Why +did you paint him if not to imitate this other boy we speak of?" + +"I don't know anything about the boy," was the reply. "He was taken +without my knowledge, and that is on the level. I was ordered to do +the paint act." + +They trudged on for some minutes in silence, and then Bradley asked: + +"What is it about this prince you are always talking about? What is +there about the prince? Where is he? Why is he supposed to be in this +section?" + +"You don't know a thing about him, do you?" asked Ned, laughing, "and +yet you painted a boy to represent him?" + +Bradley only scowled. + +"When I find him," Ned continued, "I'll present him to you!" + +When the boys reached the tent they found Oliver and Teddy mourning +over the destruction of a large number of films and plates. Many +pictures, developed and printed with great care, had also been torn +or burned. + +"Well," Jimmie declared, "they didn't get their hands on the films in +my baby camera. I've got a few good ones left." + +"Now, Jack," Ned said, "suppose you connect with Uncle Ike and make +for the nearest telegraph office? Don't break your neck, and the neck +of the mule, but get there as soon as you can. And get back as soon +as you receive an answer." + +"Why can't I go with him?" asked Jimmie. "I guess I want a mule +ride." + +"Go it, if you want to!" Ned laughed. "That will leave us one mule to +run away on if things get too hot for us here!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +TOLD BY THE PICTURES + + +"You'll think we took great care of the camp!" Teddy said, flushing, +to Ned, as Jack and Jimmie, followed by the cheers and good wishes of +their chums, started away. + +"Aw, it wasn't Teddy's fault at all," Oliver declared. "He went down +to tell Uncle Ike what a gentleman and a scholar he was, and I was +supposed to watch the tent." + +"And I was to help him," wailed Dode. "See how well I did it!" + +He swung a hand around at the mess on the ground. + +"So, while Teddy was down at the corral, Dode and I sat down to +develop some snapshots. We never looked out at all! After we had a +lot of pictures ready to show on your return, we heard a noise +outside and thought Teddy had come back." + +"And there is when we got it!" Dode cut in. + +"Yes, there, is where we got it in the neck," Oliver went on, while +Teddy grinned. "The gun I looked into seemed about as large as the +tunnel under the Hudson, and I became the good little boy without +further argument." + +"I thought the gun I saw was a room in a cavern!" grinned Dode. + +"So they performed with their ropes and gags, and we lay there like +two little kittens while they tore up our work and smashed things +generally. And the way they wrecked the trunks and boxes was a +caution." + +"What did they talk to each other about while they were searching?" +asked Ned. + +"Nothing much. They seemed to be too busy looking for papers. From +what I could make out; I reckon they thought you had some official +document with you." + +"I have," laughed Ned, "but they did not find it." + +"After they had made all the trouble they could," Oliver went on, +"they spoke of burning the tent, and I guess they would haved one it, +too, if other things hadn't attracted their attention just at that +time!" he added, with a wink at Ned. + +"Well," Ned observed, "I'm sorry we lost the pictures, but there may +be some of the valuable ones left. We'll look them over right now." + +"Jimmie left the films from his baby camera," Teddy remarked. "We can +see what he got while he was in the hands of those cheap skates!" + +Nearly all the snapshots taken by Ned and Jack on the afternoon they +had come to the hiding place of Jimmie's captors had been printed by +the boys, and most of them had been destroyed, plates and all. +Stationing Oliver and Dode out on the slope to watch for any approach +which might be made, Ned gave his attention to the pictures. + +"The worst of it is," Frank declared, "that the good ones were the +ones the boys printed, and the ones which were burned up." + +"I don't know about that," Ned said. "The camera sees things the +human eye does not see! What we want now is a knowledge of the +country near the spot where Jimmie was held. We took plenty of +pictures around there, and Jimmie took some, too, so we may be able +to find what we want." + +"I'll work over the baby camera pictures while you handle the +others," suggested Frank, and the two boys were soon busy at their +tasks. Finally Ned handed a torn print to Frank, pointing out a +single feature as he did so. + +"You see the tree in the foreground?" he asked. + +"Yes, of course." + +"Now follow along back to the bush at the left and in the rear." + +"I see the bush," Frank said. + +"What else do you see there?" + +Frank bent closer over the print. + +"Is that a face there?" he asked. + +"It certainly is a face." + +"But it looks too small for a human face. It may be caused be some +odd arrangement of the leaves. Besides, it is very indistinct." + +"Sure, because it is in the shade. It is almost a miracle that we see +it at all. I 'll get a better print of it soon and enlarge it. Then +we shall know more about it. Now, look lower down. What do you see +there?" + +"Say," cried Frank, "that's a child's face up there! Here is the leg +below. Now, what do you think of that?" + +"That is doubtless the boy Jack and I saw," said Ned. + +"The grandson?" asked Frank. + +"The prince, unless I am much mistaken," Ned said, cooly. + +"So you saw him?" asked Frank. + +"We saw a child," was the reply. "He came toward us for a few steps +and then ran back! Now we'll look over the remaining pictures and see +what we can find." + +"That wasn't the grandson, was it?" asked Frank. + +"Mike III. was at the cabin that afternoon," was the reply. + +Presently Ned came to another torn print showing the mountain slope +directly in front of Chimney rock. He passed it over to Frank with an +odd look in his eyes. + +"Look right in the foreground, between those two stones," he said. + +"What is it between the stones?" asked the boy. + +"Looks to me like a coat." + +"Do you really think it is?" + +"Sure thing!" laughed Ned. "I'm going over there directly and see if +it is still there." + +Frank looked puzzled. + +"But how did it come there?" he asked. "Why should it be left there?" + +"I have known children to throw off coats or jackets on a hot day," +smiled Ned. "I imagine that princes are not different from other +children." + +Ned went on with his examination of the pictures. At last he came to +one which was badly torn, almost half of it being missing. + +"There," he said. "This is a picture taken right there at Chimney +rock. Do you see the face above it?" + +The face referred to was not that of either of the two men Jimmie had +been captured by, or of Bradley, who sat scowling just beyond reach +of their voices. + +"That is the man we want," Ned said, with a sigh. "If we had the +other part of the picture we should see the boy looking over the +rock, close at the man's side." + +"Very close!" Frank observed. "They seem to have hold of hands. +Doesn't that look like a closed hand down lower?" + +"That is just what it is!" + +Ned laid the picture aside and Frank brought out those which had been +made from the films taken from the baby camera. There were half a +dozen of them and all were remarkably good. + +"Look here," Frank said, "the kid took a picture of the slope back of +the rock. Our pictures do not show that. Look up a short distance!" + +Not very far up the slope hung a huge boulder which seemed on the +verge of falling. + +"If you'll notice the point of contact with the ground," Frank went +on, "you'll see that the boulder is propped up by wedge-like stones +put under it." + +"Exactly!" Ned said. "And that means that the boulder has fallen or +been pried out of its nest, and that the cavity behind it is regarded +as a good hiding place." + +"Do you think the prince could have been there?" + +"Not when Jack and I were in that section. We saw him out on the +slope." + +"But he went back that way?" + +"Yes." + +"Tell you what!" Frank exclaimed. "I'm going to take these pictures +home to Dad, and let him print them in his newspaper." + +"You'll have to write a story to go with them." + +"Oh, I suppose so, but stories aren't read when there are pictures. +The cuts tell the story. Dad will like the photographs." + +After a time Ned came to the picture of a man with the head torn off! +In destroying the print the outlaws had contented themselves by +merely ripping it into two pieces. The head part was not to be found. + +"What's the dangling things in front of the man's breast?" asked +Frank. + +"Legs!" replied Ned. + +"I never knew a man to wear his legs up there!" laughed Frank. + +"But you have known men to lift kids to their backs and let their +little legs hang down in front for handles? What?" + +"Never thought of that?" Frank exclaimed. + +"If we only had the face!" Ned worried. + +Then he paused a moment and went back to the print carrying the +strange face. + +"Here it is!" he said. "See! This is the same man. There are the +boots and the buttons. The camera caught the man twice." + +"I don't know why you didn't see some of these things when the +pictures were made," laughed Frank. "Next time I go out taking +snapshots I'm going to study the landscape, so I can choose subjects +for my pictures!" + +"All this means," Ned began, "that we were watched when we were +taking the pictures that afternoon. These people were looking at us! +We might as well have been walking through an open street." + +"But why didn't they do something to you, then?" demanded Frank. +"They captured the ones who entered the workroom." + +"Those were counterfeiters, not abductors." + +"Well, then, they caught Jimmie and lugged him away?" + +"In an effort to drive us out of the country, yes." + +"Then why didn't they capture you?" + +"Because they thought they had us scared so we'd go, and so didn't +want to show their hand. Remember that it was the counterfeiters who +were supposed by us to have taken Jimmie." + +"I understand. When you found that the boy at the cabin was not the +one you were looking for you were supposed to go away so as to save +Jimmie's life, and leave the true prince here in hiding." + +"That is just it." + +Bradley now called out to the boys that he had something to say to +them, and they hurried to his side. + +"I want you to get the widow's grandson and take him to her," he +said. "I was used decent, and I don't like to have her suffer." + +"Where is the boy?" asked Ned. + +Bradley open his eyes wider in wonder. + "Do you really think I took him away?" he asked. + +"Not a doubt of it!" Frank declared. + +"Well, I didn't," Bradley insisted. "I don't know where he is, but I +think I can point out the likeliest place to hunt for him." + +"Down at Chimney rock?" asked Frank. + +"In that section, yes. And, look here. You will need to be in a +hurry, for the men who have him are anxious to get rid of him--and +they are unscrupulous!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +A RECRUIT FROM THE ENEMY + + +"So you know the men who have taken the boy we call Mike III.?" asked +Ned. + +"I know him too well," was the bitter answer. "He's one of the men +who use their friends up to the limit and then drop them!" + +"You say 'him,'" Ned suggested. "Is there only one in this outrage?" + +"There are several, but all bow to the will of the leader. I can't +tell you anything more about it! I don't like the way I have been +treated, or I wouldn't have said as much as I have." + +"I thought your motive was to secure the return of the boy to his +grandmother?" + +"I want that done, of course, but I wouldn't have suggested it to you +only for the high and mighty airs of the man placed over me." + +"Why don't you tell me who this man is?" asked Ned. "Why don't you +tell me the object of this abduction of the prince? Why not tell me +where to find this little chap you seem honestly interested in?" + +"I don't know anything about any prince!" insisted Bradley. + +"Look here," Ned said, "I believe I can tell you just how this man +you hate looks. If I describe him, will you tell me if I am right?" + +"I will tell you nothing, except that you ought to look in the +vicinity of Chimney rock for the grandson--not at the rock, but close +to it! That is more than I ought to tell you." + +"This man you speak of," Ned went on, recalling the features of the +face caught above the rock by the camera, "has a very slim face, a +prominent nose, a wide, thin-lipped mouth, high cheek boned, small +eye-orbits, and eyebrows which tip up at the outer corners. He is +fond of children, and will play with any child he comes across. He is +also fond of mountain climbing, and delights in long tramps over the +hills." + +Bradley looked at Ned with the old cynical smile on his face. + +"Where did you run across him?" he asked eagerly, + +"That is enough!" laughed Ned. "You needn't say another word. We have +two snapshots of him--one without a head. In one he has hold of the +hand of a child, and in the other he has the child on his back, with +the little fellow's legs hanging down over his shoulders. A man would +not be apt to ride children about on his shoulders unless he was fond +of little ones generally, would he?" + +"I presume not," Bradley admitted. + +"And he wears in both pictures a mountain-climbing costume," Ned went +on. "He evidently likes the errand he was sent here on!" + +"The man I referred to a few moments ago as unscrupulous does," +Bradley said. + +"But if he likes children he won't be apt to injure this Mike III., +will he?" + +"He is a man who will do anything for expediency's sake. Now go away +and leave me to my very entertaining thoughts! If I ever get out of +these hills alive, and free, I'll never leave Manhattan island +again." + +"I remember you saying that you had never set foot in New York!" +laughed Ned. "You'll have to make your stories consistent if you want +them believed!" + +"Never mind all that now," Bradley replied. "You get busy restoring +that child to Mrs. Brady! Say, boy, but he is a bright-one!" + +"Learned French quickly, didn't he, and consented to being blacked up +like a negro minstrel, in order to pose as a prince?" asked Ned. "I +reckon, however, that the credit does not all belong to the lad. He +seems to have had a good instructor." + +"If you'll release me," Bradley offered, after a pause, "I'll go and +get the boy." + +"That's an easy promise to make," laughed Ned. + +"But I'll go and get him and bring him to you, and you can return him +to his grandmother. Then you may put these bracelets on me again if +you like. But, boy, let me tell you this: You've got nothing on me! I +haven't done a thing in this state at least, to render myself liable +to punishment. I supplied, for good pay, certain information in New +York, and I brought the boy you call Mike III. on here from +Washington, where I know his father well." + +"You must have known what you were doing it for?" + +"I did know--for money!" + +"But you must have known that the boy was to personate some one +else?" + +"I didn't care about that. I had my orders! See here, boy, if you +ever work with these highbrow rulers of petty kingdoms, you'll soon +find out that you're to obey and not ask questions! Do you get me?" + +"That's enough!" laughed Ned. "You haven't betrayed your employer, +but you have told me all I wanted to know." + +The boys unlocked the handcuffs and laid them aside. + +"I believe you'll do the right thing," he said. "Go and get the boy. +If you need any help let me know." + +Bradley arose and stretched out his arms luxuriously. + +"That's the first time I ever stood in the accused row," he said, +"and it will be the last! But, see here, boy, I can't get the kid in +a minute! I'll go to the mother and tell her what I'm doing, if I +live to get there!" + +"You think your ex-friends may seek to terminate your lease of life?" + +"They surely will--now. And, here's a pointer for you, look out for +yourself." + +"I think I can fix you out so they will receive you with open arms," +Ned grinned. "Here. I'll put these cuffs on again, with one arm +locked carelessly. You can draw the bar out when you pull right hard. +Now, eat what you need and take a run up the slope. We'll follow you +with a serenade of bullets. When you join the outlaws down in the +canyon you'll be a hero." + +"That's a fine notion!" said Bradley, actually smiling. + +"And don't come back here with the boy. Send him home to the old +lady. Then, if you want to help me in the work I'm on--" + +"I don't, and I won't!" + +"Don't blame you a mite! I never did like a traitor! If you won't +help me, then cut sticks for New York. Some day when you are in +better mood, come to the Black Bear Patrol clubroom. You know where +it is! Well give you a look into the place without sending you up to +the attic!" + +Bradley's face twisted into a laugh, but Ned did not seem to notice +the fact. + +"I'm not saying anything more about the prince, understand, or the +attic, or the French, or the black stain, but perhaps you'll tell me +the whole story some day!" + +And so, handcuffed again, Bradley was taken back to the tent, where +he was given a hearty meal. Then he carefully made his way out and +ran for the summit. Ned and his chums sat back and laughed at the +tumbles he took in his eagerness to deceive any one who might be +watching the camp. Now and then he fell down behind a rock and lay +there for a moment, peering out in the direction of the tent. + +Just before he gained the summit, Ned and the others ran out of the +tent with shouts of alarm and dashed up the slope, firing as they +went. At that time Bradley's speed might have shown a world record if +it had been set down! He cleared the summit, shouting for assistance +from anyone who might be below, and half rolled down toward the +canyon. Ned fired a few shots and went back to the tent. + +"What's the game?" asked Frank, as Ned sat down and roared. "This man +Bradley seems to be It--Tag!" + +Ned explained the situation and Frank immediately began taking notes +for a story for his father's newspaper. + +"If I had had a motion picture machine here," Frank declared, "I +could have made a fortune out of the films! It was glorious, the way +the old boy tore up the rocks on his way down. Think he'll return?" + +"I think he will," was the reply. + +"But if he doesn't?" + +"Then we shall have to find the boy ourselves, just as we are going +to find the prince! That is the next job, you understand." + +"And geezle the man who stole him--that's in the job, isn't it?" + +"Nothing said about that, but I hope to get him and have the goods on +him, too. When I present him to the chief he can do whatever he likes +with him." + +"But how are you going to get the goods on him?" asked Oliver. + +"I'll manage that easily," laughed Ned. "The first thing is to catch +him. Now, Frank, you saw where Bradley went?" + +"Why, he headed for the old counterfeiter den." + +"Think you can keep track of him for a short time?" + +"Can I? You know it!" + +"Then take Dode with you, so as to be in communication with the camp, +and follow him! Don't show yourself if you can help it, but if you +are discovered keep busy with your camera. We are here only to take +pictures, you know!" + +"So you don't trust that chap, after all?" asked Frank. + +"Yes, I trust him, but he won't betray the men he has been working +with. In order to get the boy he'll have to go to the man I want." + +"All right!" Frank laughed. "Come on, Dode! I might have known that +Ned was next to his job. I'll come back just before sunset to report, +if not before. If you love me have a supper fit for six of us ready +for me!" + +The two boys started away, and Ned, Teddy and Oliver went back to the +pictures. After an hour or more Ned went down to the corral, as if +looking after the mule. He saw no one on the way there, but when he +reached the level spot, rich with June grass, he saw that it had had +visitors during the day. + +The grass was beaten down flat behind a boulder on the edge of the +fertile spot, and there were cigarette stubs and half-burned matches +scattered about. The lush grass still carried the odor of tobacco, +and the boy knew that the watcher had not been long absent from his +post. + +He went back to the camp, and, much to the surprise of Teddy and +Oliver, began packing. + +"What's doing now?" the boy asked. + +"Why," laughed Ned, "haven't I agreed to get out of here to-morrow or +next day?" + +"Yes, but--" + +"We're going to pack, anyway," Ned said, "whether we leave or not! +There are people watching every move we make, and I want to convey to +them the idea that we are going at once." + +"If they are watching us," Oliver suggested, "they doubtless saw Jack +and Jimmie leave the camp." + +"They undoubtedly did," Ned admitted. + +"And will follow them, I'm afraid." + +"I've been wondering whether the boys got out of the hills in +safety," Ned went on. "They were well mounted, and should have been +able to dodge the outlaws. Besides, Jimmie and Jack are, as the boys +say on the Bowery, inclined to be 'foolish in the head--like a fox.' +So they are probably safely out by this time." + +"But, still, I'm worrying about them!" Oliver replied. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +RACING MOTORS ON THE WAT + + +"Some day," Jimmie said, as he urged Uncle Ike down an eastern slope +of the Alleghany mountains, "I'm going to have this mule put in a +book." + +"If he keeps up his stealing," Jack declared, "he is more likely to +be put in jail. That mule is certainly a bad actor." + +"Huh!" grunted Jimmie. "He's got a sugar tooth, or he wouldn't +steal!" + +The boys drew up when nearly to the valley through which runs the +North Fork and looked over the landscape. There was another range of +mountains straight ahead, and beyond that the valley of the South +Branch, for which they were headed. + +"Looks like another climb and good-night!" Jack complained. "And Ned +wanted this sent to-night. That's a right smart climb ahead of us," +he added. + +Jimmie coaxed Uncle Ike back to four feet again and patted him on the +head before making any reply. Then he pointed to the south. + +"Over there," he said, "is the Virginia line. The ridge ahead of us +does no cross that. I know because I looked up this section once when +Ned and I were thinking of running away for a rest." + +"You always need a rest!" grinned Jack. "Why don't you make Uncle Ike +stand still, like Dill Pickles, this old mountain ship of mine does?" +he added. + +"Why do you call him Dill Pickles?" asked Jimmie. "He looks more like +a razor-back with sails set in front." + +"He's Dill Pickles because he's got a good disposition gone sour," +Jack explained. "He's just about shaken the life out of me now. +Doesn't look it, does he?" + +"Better call him Bones!" Jimmie advised. "As I was saying," he went +on, "the ridge ahead of us drops down this side of the Virginia line, +and we can dodge a climb by going around it." + +"And get lost!" Jack grumbled. + +"Lost--not. We follow down this valley--or up this valley, +rather--until the ridge drops down. Then we go straight east until we +come to the South Branch. And there you are." + +"Here we go, then!" Jack shouted. "Set your sails and come along." + +Uncle Ike wanted a test of speed and endurance right there, but +Jimmie held him back. It might be that they would be obliged to +return to the camp that night. + +They soon left the high places and wound among foothills. Below lay a +fertile valley, with handsome and well-tilled fields. + +"We're making a hit with these mules!" laughed Jimmie, as they passed +along, the people staring at them from gates, doors, windows and +fence-tops. "If these ladies and gentlemen ever see us again they'll +be sure to know us." + +It is not a great distance from the place where they came to the +river to the city they sought, and the ground was covered in a couple +of hours. The sun was still shining when they passed through a busy +street, certainly the center of observation. + +When they entered the telegraph office Jack took out the message and +handed it to the clerk at the desk without looking at it. The clerk +studied it a moment and asked: "Day rates? This seems to be a night +letter." + +The boys eyed each other keenly for a moment, and then Jimmie said: +"I'd have it sent right off if I were you. Ned wouldn't have said +anything about its being a night letter if he had had any idea we'd +get here so soon." + +"All right," Jack said. "Send it now. We'll wait for a little while +to see if there's an answer." + +"It is in cipher," the clerk said, "and will take some time to send." + +"I never looked at it," Jack cried. "I' don't even know where it is +going." + +"To the Secret Service chief, Washington," said the clerk. "Are you +boys out here on secret service business?" + +"We're out here to take pictures," Jimmie cut in. "We have nothing to +do with that dispatch. It was given to us by an acquaintance to send +out." + +"He wanted to make sure it got into the right hands," Jack said. +"Will you call Washington and see if he's there--the chief?" + +"You'll have to pay for the message." + +Jack laid a banknote of large denomination down on the desk. + +"Ask for the chief," he said, "and tell him to wire any instructions +he may have for the sender in cipher if he wants to, but to give any +instructions he may have for us about the delivery of the message in +plain United States!" + +"Come back in half an hour," said the clerk, "and I'll probably have +something for you. I suppose this cipher message is an important +one?" he added, suspiciously. + +"Don't know what it is," Jack answered, truthfully. + +The clerk evidently did not believe the boy for he stood at the desk +gazing after him with a look of distrust on his face. The lads were +no sooner out of the office than a thin, angular gentleman, dusky of +face and very black and bright of eye, entered and walked up to the +clerk. + +"I sent a message here by a couple of boys," he said, "and I wish to +withdraw it." + +"You'll have to find the boys, then, and have them withdraw it," +replied the clerk. + +"But can't I recall the dispatch--my own dispatch?" demanded the +other, exposing a $100 banknote in his palm. "It is worth something +to me to get it back." + +The clerk was angry at the plain attempt at bribery, so he turned +back to a table and took up the message the boys had left. + +"We have a message here," he said, "which may be recalled under +proper conditions. Kindly tell me what your dispatch says." + +"Which one did they file?" asked the other. "The one to Washington or +the one to New York?" + +The clerk laid the paper back on the desk. + +"Give me the address you sent your message to at Washington," he +said. + +"It was the secretary of state," was the reply. + +"And the message? Give me a few opening words." + +"Read them!" snarled the other. "Can't you read English?" + +"The message is in cipher!" said the clerk, "You also have the +address wrong. You are evidently a fraud. Get out!" + +When the boys returned to the office in half an hour the clerk called +them over to the desk at once and told them of what had taken place. + +"How did he ever follow us out without our seeing him?" asked Jimmie. + +"He must have shot through the air," the other declared. + +"Are you sure you kept a good lookout?" smiled the clerk. + +"Well, we looked about a good deal," Jimmie admitted, "and I can't +say as I thought of being chased up. What did Washington say?" + +"You boys are to wait here until you receive instructions. The cipher +message is now going on the wire." + +The boys sat down in a restaurant not far from the telegraph office +and ordered porterhouse steaks, French potatoes, and all the side +dishes that were on the menu. + +"We may have to ride to-night," Jack said, "and may as well prepare +for it." + +"I don't like the idea of our being followed here," Jimmie observed. +"We'll be apt to come across that chap on the way back. The funny +part of it all is that we never suspected there was a sleuth out +after us!" + +"We ought to have known," Jack grumbled. "Somehow everything has gone +wrong with us. If we ride back in the night we'll probably have a +skirmish." + +After eating they went back to the telegraph office. The clerk was +waiting for them, that being the usual hour for his supper. + +"Here's your orders," he said, with a smile, "right from the chief +himself. He seems to know who you are all right!" + +Jack took the dispatch and read: + +"Remain where you are until motor cars now on the way from Cumberland +reach you. Our men say the cars can make good time clear to the +foothills. The cipher message will arrive shortly. Be on your guard." + +It was signed by the chief of the Secret Service department. + +"What do you know about that?" asked Jack, passing the message over +to Jimmie. + +"How far is it to Cumberland?" he asked of the clerk. + +"Something like eighty miles," was the reply. + +"Are the roads good? Can a motor car make good time to-night." + +"The river roads are fairly good. A fast car ought to get here in +three hours." + +"I see that Chinese-looking guy that wanted the message catching us +if we go back in an automobile!" Jimmie laughed. + +"But a motor car," Jack interrupted, "is an easy thing to wreck on a +mountain." + +"What do you think was in that dispatch?" Jimmie asked of Jack, as +they sat in the telegraph office waiting. + +"Something which brings out motor cars and secret service men," Jack +answered. "I guess it made a hit at Washington." + +"Perhaps he wired that he was going to bring the prince in!" laughed +Jimmie. "Well, if he did, he'll do it, and that's all I've got to say +about it." + +Twice that evening a dark face appeared at the window of the +telegraph office and peered in at the boys. Each time the owner of +the dark face hastened away after a short inspection of the lads and +conferred with two men in a dark little hotel office. + +Shortly after ten o'clock two great touring cars, long, lean racers, +ran up to the curb in front of the telegraph office and stopped. The +street was now well-nigh deserted, but what few people were still +astir gathered around the machines. + +There were three husky men in each machine, and in each car was room +for one more person. Only one man alighted and entered the office. +When he saw the boys waiting he beckoned to them. + +"Got your cipher?" he asked, and Jack nodded. + +"Then come along. We'll get to the high climb before the moon comes +up." + +"Do you know the way?" asked the clerk. + +"Only from verbal description," was the reply, "but we can find it." + +"I'm off duty," the clerk said, "and I know every inch of the way. I +was reared in the mountains west of the short ridge. I'd like a +little adventure, too!" he laughed. + +"What about the mules?" asked Jimmie, determined that Uncle Ike +should be cared for. + +"Get them into a barn, quick," said the chief, sharply. "We must be +off." + +When Jimmie came back the clerk and Jack were crowded into one seat +in the rear machine, while a vacant seat in the front car was waiting +for him. The party was off with a snort of motors and faint cheers +from the little crowd which had gathered. + +The river road was fairly good, and in an hour they were at the +foothills, around the south end of the short ridge. The driver drew +up there, and in the clear air, from the north came the sound of +galloping horses. + +"Get out and under cover, boys!" the chief commanded. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +THE MAN-TRAP IS SET + + +Ned, Oliver and Teddy remained in camp all the afternoon--waiting. +They were not, of course, anticipating the immediate return of Jack +and Jimmie, but they were looking every moment, after a couple of +hours had passed, for some signs of the boys who had been sent out in +the wake of Bradley. + +"I'll bet a cookie," Teddy exclaimed, as the sun set over the ridge +to the west, "that Frank and Dode have bumped into something hard!" + +"I may have made a mistake in not going on that trip myself," Ned +mused, "but I had an idea there would be business for me at the camp. +I don't know what to make of this lack of attention on the part of +our enemies!" + +"It may be," Oliver suggested, "that they have taken alarm and ducked +with the prince." + +"That is just what I fear," Ned answered. "It will spoil all my plans +if they move now; still, I admit that they've had enough unpleasant +experiences here to make them long for a quieter retreat!" + +The boys prepared supper, taking pains to provide enough food for +Frank and Dode, but they did not come. The meal over, Ned made ready +for a trip down the mountain. + +"I'm going to Chimney rock," he said to the boys. "I should like to +have one of you with me, but two ought to remain here. I'm going to +take some rockets with me. If I do not return before midnight, one of +you advance along the summit to the south, provided with rockets. If +one of my rockets is seen, the watcher must send one up to notify the +boy in camp. Then both must make a run for Chimney rock, traveling so +as to come upon it from the up-hill side. Is that clear?" + +"Perfectly," Oliver declared. "You are going to bring this prince +back with you?" + +"Perhaps!" laughed Ned. "I may have to bring Frank and Dode back with +me!" + +There was only the light of the stars when Ned reached the vicinity +of Chimney rock, coming in from the slope to the north and moving +with extreme caution. There was a dull glow in the dip back of the +rock, the glow of coals nearly burned out. + +The men who had captured Jimmie at the cave of the counterfeiters had +fled before the shooting, and Ned had no idea that they had returned, +or would return. Any fire built by them would have long since turned +to ashes. + +"The party having direct charge of the prince has been here," the boy +mused, "though why they should come here is a puzzle to me, as they +have, or had a camp of their own not far away. Still, the theory of +hiding in a place which has been searched is an old one, and these +fellows may have adopted it. + +"They certainly adopted a theory something like it," the lad thought, +as he watched the dying embers from a distance--from the secure +shadow, if the stars may be said to have cast a shadow that night, of +a great rock--"when they decided to remain here after the disguise of +the widow's grandson had been discovered. They took it for granted +that no one would look for the real prince where the disguised one +had been found! They might better have taken him away!" + +Ned knew very well that the men having charge of the abducted boy had +hidden farther up the slope. His idea was that at the time the +pictures were taken the men in charge were watching the two who had +ran away. + +From what Bradley had said, it was not likely that he, Bradley, had +been permitted to associate with the actual custodians of the stolen +lad. This had been the main source of his complaints. + +Ned believed that a portion, at least, of the men sent into the hills +as custodians of the prince had followed Jack and Jimmie out While +trembling for the safety of the two boys, Ned had figured on cutting +the force of the enemy in two before making an attempt to seize the +little prisoner. + +Even now, he figured, the force left on the ground had been again +divided, for he was positive that the camp was being watched. For +this reason he had caused the packing to be done, thus giving the +impression that his party was going out at once. + +The boy lay in the dark spot under the boulder for a long time, +watching, listening, for some indication of human life in that +vicinity. He had a half notion that Bradley would head that way, and +that the boys would follow him. + +"If Bradley does come here," Ned thought, "my trap will be set right! +That is, if the dusky little chap from over the sea has not been +taken away. If he has, the trap will not serve; still, I shall be +able to console myself with the thought that it was at least well +set!" + +Every clue the boy had gained pointed to the spot where he lay. That +had undoubtedly been the point of communication between the leader +and his subordinates--with Bradley and the men who had taken Jimmie +prisoner. + +"That was rather clever," Ned mused, "taking the boy while at the +cave of the counterfeiters in order to give the impression that the +coiners had seized him!" + +Ned realized, too; that the capture of the grandson just at that time +had been a master stroke on the part of the conspirators. The lad +would have talked too much when he became satisfied that he was safe +from all coercion. + +Ned lay in his hiding place for what appeared to him to be a long +time before he heard anything to indicate that his man-trap had been +set in the right spot. Then the voice he heard caused him to spring +quickly up to his feet. It was the low, soft, plaintive voice of Mary +Brady. + +"I haven't seen anything here I could talk about," the old lady was +saying. "I wouldn't think of betraying anyone who put my boy in my +arms. I've seen him with you--I've been waiting about here for a long +time. Bring him out to me and I'll go home and never trouble you any +more." + +"Now," thought Ned, "how did the old lady manage to find the boy +here?" + +"You shouldn't have come here," a low, well-modulated masculine voice +said. "You have put your own life and the life of the boy in danger +by so doing. How long had you been watching and listening before I +saw you?" + +"A long, long time." + +"And you heard much of what was said?" + +"I heard a good many words, but I don't remember now what they +meant." + +The voices came clearly from farther up the slope, and a little to +the south. The figures of the speakers could not be seen by the +watcher. + +"Come up to the camp," the masculine voice said, presently. "I'll +turn the boy over to you, but you can't go back to your cabin +to-night." + +"Are you going to keep me here against my will?" asked the trembling +old voice. + +"You have seen and heard too much," was the almost brutal rejoinder. + +There was a rattle of pebbles as footsteps moved along the rocky +surface of the slope. From above came the shrill cry of a child. + +"I don't know of any better time to move up and take a peep at the +camp of the man who crossed the sea to steal a child," Ned mused. "I +wish Frank and Dode would come, but if they don't I'll have to take +chances on going alone." + +Keeping those in front of him as guides, Ned crept along the slope. +More than once a loose pebble rolled with a great noise from under +his feet, but those ahead seemed to pay no attention to these +evidences of pursuit. + +When, perhaps, two hundred paces up the slope the sounds above the +boy ceased. The night was still, save for the rustling and creeping +of the creatures of the air and the forest. For a long time not a +sound indicative of the presence of human life was heard, then a +woman's cry of fright came from above. + +Ned was about to hasten forward when a voice came to his ears from +the darkness. + +"We can't permit either of them to leave!" the low, well-modulated +voice he had heard before that night said. "Even if we get away with +the prince, their stories would ruin us. There is no knowing how soon +the gabblings of the old woman might reach the ears of the adherents +of the prince." + +"Then you propose--" + +"Nothing that will not come to them in due course of time! They can +go to sleep in the snug inner room and never wake again. They will +not know when the change comes. They will sleep forever in their +mountain tomb." + +"I am opposed to murder," said another voice, harsher, more decisive. + +"And so the trap was well set!" mused Ned. "The princeling is still +here! Well, the battle may not bring victory to me, but I will at +least know that I planned it right, acting on the best information at +hand." + +It was plain, from what the first speaker had said, that the camp of +the conspirators was in a cave, for he had spoken of a snug inner +room. The entrance to this cave was undoubtedly closely guarded. + +The boy crept along cautiously. The slope was steep, with here and +there a ledge which had to be surmounted or circled, always at great +risk. In a few hours the moon would be up, and then the work he had +before him would be more difficult. + +"I must get into the cave before the moon rises!" he thought. "But +how?" + +When he came to the precipice in the side of the mountain from which +the cave opened, he saw the black spot which marked the entrance. It +was not large, and, close in front, sitting with his back against the +rock, was a guard! + +Ned lay down to wait. When the moon rose it would cast the shadow of +the mountain on that spot. For a few hours more he might wait for his +chance. + +Directly he heard a call which brought him to an alert attitude in an +instant. It was the call of the wolf pack, sharp, vicious, warning! + +There was a movement at the mouth of the cave, and a quick light +showed for only a second. Then came a sound of footsteps negotiating +the gravelly slope. + +Ned dropped back to the west. The call had come from that direction. +It might have been uttered either by Frank or by one of the boys left +at the camp. + +Presently the snarl was heard in a dark crevice toward which the boy +was descending. Ned dropped down faster then, and soon heard Frank's +voice. + +"Are you alone?" he asked. + +"Yes; and you?" + +"Bradley and Dode are here." + +Bradley moved forward and took Ned by the arm. + +"Be careful!" he warned. "Those men would toss dynamite down here and +take their own risk of death if they knew." + +"We've had a run for our money!" Frank panted. "We've been +everywhere. The cabin is deserted, and the lower camp and the +counterfeiter cave are bare of life. Bradley caught us following him, +and so we joined with him in his search for Mike III." + +"Mike III.," Ned answered, "is up there in the cave with the +abductors, and Mrs. Brady is with him. We've got to act quickly." + +"They'll be murdered!" Bradley whispered. "What can we do?" + +"They'll be spared for a short time," Ned answered, "but we must be +on the move." + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +THE CONFESSION OF A PHOTOGRAPH + + +"There's a ravine off to the right where the machines may be hidden," +the clerk said, when the racing automobiles stopped at the foot of +the hills. + +"Show the way, then, quick," hastily commanded the leader. "We want +to see what sort of people they are who ride at break-neck speed in +the darkness." + +The machines were driven into the ravine referred to, and the secret +service men and the boys secreted themselves in a clump of +undergrowth close to the roadside. The horsemen came on swiftly, and +would have passed only that the detectives closed in about them, +three in front and three in the rear. + +"What is the meaning of this?" demanded the dark little man who had +shown himself at the telegraph office. + +The two men with him whispered together but said nothing in the way +of protest. + +"Dismount!" ordered the leader. + +The men hesitated, and a bullet cut the air within a fraction of an +inch of the right ear of the leader. There was now no delay in +reaching the ground. + +"You shall pay for this!" shouted the little dark man. + +"Of course," laughed the leader. + +Jimmie pulled at the sleeve of the chief. + +"That is one of the men I saw in the mountains," he declared. "He is +the second one in command, as far as I could determine." + +"What does the boy say?" demanded the other. + +"What are you doing here?" asked the chief, impatiently. + +"We are hunting in the hills." + +"Hunting at this season?" + +"Hunting and resting. Please now do we go on?" + +The chief made a significant motion, and before the three men knew +what was going on they were securely handcuffed. They roared at their +captors and at each other in a foreign language for a moment and then +sat down stolidly at the side of the road. + +"You, Jerry, and you, Sam, take them back to the town and lock them +up," ordered the chief. "Perhaps you, Charley, would better go with +them. Ride and make them walk!" + +"Locked up!" shouted the dark little man. "What for?" + +"Treason to your country," was the short reply. + +For a moment there was no word spoken, then the three men arose to +their feet and approached the chief, standing with a hand on his +revolver. + +"There is money," one of the men said. "Plenty of money." + +"Cut that out!" ordered the chief, curtly. + +"Not in the thousands!" the other went on, "In the millions!" + +"If they renew this proposition on the way in," ordered the chief, +"gag them!" + +In a moment the three men were away with their prisoners, the sound +of the horses' feet dying away in soft echoes from the hills. + +Then the chief turned to the clerk. + +"Does our auto ride end here?" he asked. + +The clerk shook his head. + +"A few rods further on," he said, "you can turn into the bed of a +half dry stream which runs out of the hills almost at the rocky wall +of the mountain itself." + +"And the bottom of the stream?" asked the chief. + +"Sand and fine gravel. The grade is not steep." + +"And how far from the summit shall we be when we get to the end of +the water route?" asked the chief. + +"Not more than three miles, but it is a stiff climb." + +"Get under way then," was the order, and the motors sang their tune +in the hills once more. + +"What time does the moon rise?" the chief asked, after a few moments +of splashing in the bed of the stream, which at that season of the +year was not more than three inches deep, except in places, which +were avoided. + +"About twelve," was the reply. + +"We must be well up the hill before that," the chief declared. + +When they came to the end of the water course the machines were +hidden in a canyon not far away and the men and the boys proceeded on +up the slope. + +In the meantime Ned and those with him were listening for the sound +of footsteps in their immediate vicinity. The call of the pack had +aroused the suspicions of the guard, and it was evident that he had +left his place at the entrance of the cave to learn the meaning of +it. + +After a brief wait Ned heard the sound he was listening for and +clutched Frank eagerly by the arm. + +"Move away to the right and repeat the wolf call, only lower," he +directed. "When you have done so dodge back here-quick! The guard may +shoot!" + +"What are you going to do?" whispered Bradley. "Be careful! Those +Orientals are dangerous people to handle! Be careful!" + +"I guess we won't start anything we can't finish," Frank grinned. + +The boy did as requested, and Ned moved up the slope. Bradley sat +watching the dim figures disappear and wondered what sort of company +he had fallen into. + +When the call of the pack came from the spot indicated by Ned, there +was a rush of footsteps. The guard evidently, was advancing toward +the suspicious sound. + +The next event was so sudden, so unexpected, so startling, that +Bradley almost held his breath for an instant. There was a choking +gurgle, a blow, and a noise of falling bodies. Then Ned and the guard +rolled into the little dip where the others were hiding. + +Frank, back by this time, threw himself on the struggling mass and +the guard was soon handcuffed and gagged. Then Frank sat back and +laughed until Dode tried to gag him with a handkerchief. + +"Come!" Ned whispered, giving the boy a poke in the ribs. "We're +going into the cave now! Are you going, Bradley?" he added, turning +to the blonde fellow. + +"If you forget what took place at the club-room in New York, I'll--" + +"You're on!" whispered Ned. "Now--quick and cautious!" + +The old lady, sitting dejectedly with her grandson in her arms, in a +rough cave-room, saw the boys creeping forward. Ned held up a warning +hand and waited. The old lady, evidently knowing what was wanted, +pointed to a small opening to the south. + +"They are in there, two of them, asleep!" she whispered a moment +later, when Ned had reached her side. "The others are away!" + +"And the other boy?" asked Ned, anxiously. + +"He is with them," was the gratifying reply. + +It was Frank who accompanied Ned into the sleeping chamber where the +heads of the conspiracy lay asleep. It was Frank who snapped the +manacles on the wrist of the one who was lying across the entrance as +a guard. + +The supreme head of the wicked conspiracy struggled, half awake, as +Ned slipped the handcuffs on and searched him for weapons. But it was +all over in a moment, much to the amazement of Bradley, who, +attracted by a gleam of light, looked through the low opening to see +the searchlights of the Boy Scouts lighting up two angry faces. The +prince--the real prince this time!--was asleep on a costly rug not +far away. Later, when awakened, his attention was at once attracted +to Mike III., who made a pretty good playfellow for him for the time +being. + +For there was little sleep in the Boy Scout Camera Club camp that +night. When the boys, the old lady, the prince and the others came +out of the cave, just as the moon was showing above the rim of the +world, a rocket was mounting the sky to the north. + +"One of the boys!" Ned exclaimed. "I reckon something is wrong +there!" + +But nothing was wrong there--nothing at all, so far as the boys were +concerned. Oliver and Teddy had succeeded in capturing the man who +was watching the camp. Pretending to fall asleep by the fire, they +had lain in wait for the spy and captured him just as he was in the +act of setting fire to the tent. + +Dode accompanied Mrs. Brady and her grandson to the cabin, where, at +her request, he remained a welcome guest for many days. + +When the stories of the night had been told Jack, Jimmie, and the +three secret service men made their appearance, puffing from their +long climb. Then new stories had to be told, and the prince was by no +means slow in telling of his adventures in the hills. + +"The boy lies!" the leader of the conspirators declared. "I had +nothing to do with the boy! I was not here when he was brought in. I +came on separate business with one of the men already here, and did +not know of the lad's presence here until to-night, and even then I +did not know who he was." + +"All the others will swear to that," Bradley said, "in an attempt to +save the man's life by sacrificing their own." + +"Never mind," Ned said, "you can testify to his interest in the +abduction." + +"I don't know a thing about it," was the reply. "I was hired to watch +you in New York, and to bring Mike III. in here. I never saw this man +while here--never saw the prince. I don't even know how they got Mike +III. from his father! They kept me in ignorance of all their moves." + +"Well," laughed Ned, "then we'll fall back on the confession that has +been made." + +"Confession!" repeated the others. "Who has confessed?" + +"The photograph!" smiled Ned, taking out the two pictures in which +the man and the prince were shown. "The pictures show this man in the +company of the prince, and the prince will tell the rest. This closes +the case." + +"When are you going out?" asked the chief of the secret service men. + +"Why," replied Ned, "I promised the outlaws that I would get away +to-morrow morning. I'm going to keep my word!" + +"You'd better go out with us and travel in the machines, then," said +the other. + +"And leave Uncle Ike?" demanded Jimmie. "Not for me! I'm going to +ride that blessed mule to Cumberland, and ship him to New York." + +And he actually did! While the others were riding at their ease in +the racers, Jimmie was urging his mule along the country road, +alighting now and then to let him thrust a soft muzzle into a pocket +in quest of sugar. + +At Cumberland Ned met Mike II., who was going in to spend a long time +with his mother and the boy. He had sent the son in by a Washington +friend, he said! That was all! Dode, he said, would be asked to +remain there permanently. No one even knew how much the father knew +of the trick to be played with his son. + +And so, save for a few raveled ends, the story of the Boy Scout +Camera Club is told. + +Bradley was given a position by Oliver's father, and became very +friendly with the boys. He insists to this day that he did not know +about the abduction of the prince. + +The conspirators were turned over to their own government, and there +the record ends, though none of them was ever seen out of prison +again! + +Those who wish to follow the Boy Scouts farther can do so by reading +the next book of this series, entitled: "The Boy Scout Electrician; +or, the Hidden Dynamo." + + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Boy Scout Camera Club, by G. Harvey Ralphson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOY SCOUT CAMERA CLUB *** + +***** This file should be named 7356.txt or 7356.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/7/3/5/7356/ + +Produced by the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at + www.gutenberg.org/license. + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +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 + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at 809 +North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email +contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the +Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/old/7356.zip b/old/7356.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..2c9b563 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/7356.zip diff --git a/old/bscam10.txt b/old/bscam10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..644736d --- /dev/null +++ b/old/bscam10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7104 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Boy Scout Camera Club, by Ralphson + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: The Boy Scout Camera Club + The Confession of a Photograph + +Author: G. Harvey Ralphson + +Release Date: January, 2005 [EBook #7356] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on April 20, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOY SCOUT CAMERA CLUB *** + + + + +Produced by the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + +[Illustration: "Say" Cried Frank, "That's a child's face up there!"] + + +The Boy Scout Camera Club + +or + +The Confession of a Photograph + + +By + + +Scout Master G. Harvey Ralphson + + + +CHAPTER + + I LOST: A FOREIGN PRINCE! + + II THE HOLE IN THE ATTIC FLOOR + + III WHAT THE BOX CONTAINED + + IV A CAMP IN THE MOUNTAIN + + V JIMMIE AND TEDDY MISS A MEAL + + VI SIGNALS IN THE CANYON + + VII A MINT IN THE MOUNTAINS + + VIII UNCLE IKE PRESENTS HIMSELF + + IX A LANK MULE AS A DECOY + + X "PACKED AWAY LIKE SARDINES" + + XI JACK'S ELEGANT CHICKEN PIE + + XII THE BLACK HAND GAME + + XIII THREE DAYS TO MOVE IN + + XIV POINTING OUT THE TRAIL + + XV A NIGHT ON THE SUMMIT + + XVI THE CALL OF THE PACK + + XVII JUST A LITTLE DARK WASH + +XVIII BRADLEY BECOMES INDIGNANT + + XIX NED PLAYS THE MIND-READER + + XX SHOOTING ON THE MOUNTAINSIDE + + XXI TOLD BY THE PICTURES + + XXII A RECRUIT FROM THE ENEMY + +XXIII RACING MOTORS ON THE WAY + + XXIV THE MAN-TRAP IS SET + + XXV THE CONFESSION OF A PHOTOGRAPH + + + + +The Boy Scout Camera Club + +or + +The Confession of a Photograph + + + + +CHAPTER I + +LOST: A FOREIGN PRINCE! + + +"Two Black Bears!" + +"Two Wolves!" + +"Three Eagles!" + +"Five Moose!" + +"Quite a mixture of wild creatures to be found in a splendid clubroom +in the city of New York!" exclaimed Ned Nestor, a handsome, muscular +boy of seventeen. "How many of these denizens of the forests are +ready to join the Boy Scout Camera Club?" + +"You may put my name down twice--in red ink!" shouted Jimmie McGraw, +of the Wolf Patrol. "I wouldn't miss it to be president of the United +States!" + +"One Wolf," Ned said, writing the name down. + +"Two Wolves!" cried Jimmie, red-headed, freckled of face and as +active as a red squirrel, "two wolves! You're a Wolf yourself, Ned +Nestor!" + +"Two Wolves, then!" laughed Ned. "Of course Jimmie and I can form a +club all by ourselves, and he can be the officers and I can be the +members, but we'd rather have a menagerie of large size, as we are +going into the mountains of Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, +Kentucky and Tennessee." + +The boys who had not yet spoken were on their feet in an instant, all +clamoring for membership in the Boy Scout Camera Club. Ned lifted a +hand for silence. + +"Why this present rush?" he asked. "I've been thinking that Jimmie +and I would have to go to the mountains alone! Why this impetuosity?" + +"The mountains!" shouted Frank Shaw, of the Black Bear Patrol. "It is +the mountains that get us! We've been thinking that the club you were +organizing wouldn't get outside of little old New York, but would +loaf around taking snap-shots of the slums and the trees in the +parks. But when you mention mountains, why--" + +"I'm going right down stairs and pack my camera!" Jack Bosworth, of +the Black Bear Patrol, declared. "When it comes to mountains!" + +The clubroom of the Black Bear Patrol was on the top floor of the +handsome residence of Jack's father, who was a famous corporation +lawyer, and the boys persuaded Jack to wait until they had completed +the organization of the Camera Club before he started in packing for +the journey to the mountains! + +"You'll want an Eagle, if you're going to the mountains!" shouted +Teddy Green, of the Eagle Patrol. "I'll fly home and get my wardrobe +right now!" + +Teddy Green was the son of a Harvard professor, and was inclined to +follow in the footsteps of his father in the matter of learning-- +after he had first climbed to all the high spots of the world and +descended into all the low ones! He insisted on exploring the earth +before he learned by rote what others had written about it! + +"All right!" Ned grinned. "We'll need an Eagle!" + +"And a Bull Moose!" yelled Oliver Yentsch, of the Moose Patrol. +"You've got to have a Moose along with you!" + +Oliver was the son of a ship builder, and had a launch and a yacht of +his own. He was liked by all his associates in spite of his tendency +to grumble at trifles. However, if he complained at small things, he +met large troubles with a smile on his bright face. He now seized +Teddy about the waist and waltzed around the room with him. + +"And that's all!" Ned decided, closing the book. "We can't take more +than six." + +A wail went up from the others, but they were promised a chance at +the next "hike" into the hills, and soon departed, leaving the six +members of the Camera Club to perfect arrangements for their +departure. It was a warm May night, still Ned closed the door leading +out into the wide corridor which ran through the house on that floor. + +"We can't afford to take others into our plans," he said, "for this +is to be another Secret Service expedition." + +"For the Government?" demanded Frank Shaw. "Then," he added, without +waiting for a reply, "I'll call up dad's editorial rooms and have a +reporter sent up here. Top of column, first page, illustrated! That's +our Camera Club in the morning newspaper!" + +Frank's father was owner and editor of one of the big New York +dailies, and the boy always took along, on his trips, plenty of blank +paper for "copy," but never sent in a line! His letters to his +father's newspaper were usually addressed to the financial +department, upon which he had permission to draw at will! + +"Huh!" Jimmie commented, wrinkling his freckled nose, "if you should +ever furnish an item for your daddy's newspaper he'd never live it +down! You've been on all our trips with Ned, and never wired in a +word!" + +The Boy Scouts of the Black Bear and Wolf Patrols had been through +many exciting experiences with Ned Nestor, who, young as he was, was +often in the employ of the Secret Service department of the United +States government. Frank, as Jimmie said, had been with Ned from the +start, and had never sent in a line of "copy" for the paper. + +"I'm going to furnish a column a day this trip!" Frank declared, +making a motion to seize Jimmie. "We're going to take pictures, +aren't we? We'll take 'em by the acre, and dad's newspaper is going +to catch every one of them." + +"Huh!" Jimmie declared, with a freckled nose in the air. "I'm a +newspaper man, too. You needn't think you're the only cherry in the +pie! I used to sell newspapers before I got into the Secret Service +with Ned!" + +From his earliest years Jimmie had indeed been a newsboy on the +Bowery. He had never had a home except that provided by himself, and +this, in the early days of his life, had as often been a box or +barrel in an alley as anything else. + +"Why the mountains?" asked Frank Shaw, presently. "Do you have to go +to the hills on this trip? I'm glad if you do, of course, but I'd +like to know something about it before we start. Dad will have to be +shown this time, I reckon! He thinks we rather _overdid_ the stunt +when we went to Lady Franklin bay!" + +"Never had so much fun in my life!" laughed Jimmie. "When you get +where it is forty below, there's some delight in living!" + +"What are we going to take pictures of?" demanded Teddy Green. + +"Moonshiners!" laughed Frank. "Isn't that right, Ned?" + +"Not exactly," was the answer. "This is not a whisky case at all." + +"Counterfeiters, then?" queried Oliver. "They live in the hills!" + +"No, not counterfeiters, either," Ned replied. "The government has +plenty of men to look after counterfeiters and moonshiners. All we've +got to do is to go into the mountains and take pictures, and keep our +eyes open." + +"Open for what?" insisted Jimmie. "My peepers will be open for a +venison steak about the first thing! You remember how fine the +venison steaks were up in British Columbia? That Columbia river trip +was some exciting! What?" + +"Well," Ned began, "you all know that I'm in the Secret Service, for +you've been with me, some of you, at Panama, in China, and under the +ocean, so we'll let the details go without explanation. I'm going to +the mountains to look after a precious package stolen from +Washington--from almost under the eyes of the president--three days +ago!" + +"Papers?" asked Jimmie. "You know we went to Lady Franklin bay after +papers." + +"And they think the mountaineers stole this package?" asked Oliver. + +"Tell us what it was that was taken first!" insisted Frank. "I'm +beginning to see a front-page story in this, right now!" + +"The package stolen," Ned went on, with a smile, "was more precious +than any bundle of papers could be! It wasn't of gold, silver, +diamonds, or anything possessing that kind of value. It was of flesh +and blood!" + +"A child stolen!" cried Frank. "This goes to dad's sheet right now!" + +"Boy or girl?" asked Oliver. "Age, please!" + +"Boy," answered Ned. "A boy belonging to one of the ambassadors! Age +seven!" + +"But why should the mountaineers steal such a child?" asked Jimmie. + +"I said the boy belonged to one of the ambassadors," Ned corrected +himself. "I should have said he belonged at one of the foreign +embassies." + +"The son of one of the attaches?" asked Teddy. "That's strange! Why?" + +"Teddy," reproved Jimmie, "you can ask more questions in a minute +than a motion picture machine can take in a hundred years." + +"The stolen boy is in no ways related to any one in this country," +Ned answered, "yet his safety is of the utmost importance. It is up +to us to find him." + +"But why should the mountain men make a grab at a kid?" insisted +Jimmie. "I've asked that question numerous times now," he added, with +a wrinkled nose. + +"It is not believed that the mountain men know anything about the +matter," Ned replied. "No one suspects them of taking the child. +Mountain men are not up to that sort of thing, as a rule. They will +make moonshine--some of them will--and may hide a counterfeiter, but +they don't steal children!" + +"Then who did steal him?" asked Frank. "Don't be so mysterious." + +"I want the matter to sink deep into your alleged minds!" was Ned's +smiling rejoinder, "and that is the reason I'm drawing the +explanation out. It is thought the boy was stolen by some one who +came over the sea to do the job--some one never before in this +country." + +"I twig!" Jimmie declared, skipping about the room. "The stolen boy +is next of succession to some measly old throne! What? And he was +sent out here to get him out of the zone of danger, and now he's been +nipped?" + +The boys looked at Ned with redoubled interest. It had been +interesting, the very idea of going into the mountains in quest of an +abducted child, but the thought of going after a boy who would one +day be a king! That was exciting indeed! + +"I can't tell you who the boy is." Ned went on, "but I can tell you +that he must be found! The Secret Service men at Washington have a +pretty good idea as to who got him, and they believe the criminals +are not above committing the crime of murder. In a certain sense, +this boy is in the way in the old country!" + +"Oh, they wouldn't kill a kid like that!" Jimmie asserted. + +"Wouldn't they?" demanded Teddy Green. "If you read up on history, +you'll soon find out whether ambitious men will murder children who +stand in their way! I half believe the boy was murdered at the very +moment he was taken!" + +"He has been seen alive since that time," Ned responded. "This is +Thursday. He was taken on Monday, and was seen yesterday. Or a boy +believed to be the prince was seen yesterday, on a launch on the +Potomac river." + +"Prince, eh?" cried Frank. "It is a prince, is it? Say, but won't dad +be glad to hear about this? I'd like to write the headlines!" + +"We may as well call him the prince," Ned laughed. + +Before more could be said, a servant knocked at the door and Jack +opened it so as to look out. In a moment he turned back inside with a +flushed face. + +"Say, boys," he said, "there's something strange going on here +to-night!" + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE HOLE IN THE ATTIC FLOOR + + +Ned sprang to his feet in an instant and beckoned Jack to one side. +The others gathered around, but Ned motioned them back. + +"Let us find out exactly what Jack means before any remarks are +made," he said. + +"Well," Jack began, almost in a whisper, "the servant who came to the +door said--" + +"Wait a moment!" Ned requested. "Let us get this at first hand. Is +the servant you refer to still out in the corridor? Look and see." + +Jack opened the door an inch and looked out. + +"Yes," he reported, facing Ned, with the door still ajar, "he is +still there." + +"Then ask him to come in here," Ned suggested, "and you, boys," he +added, turning to the wondering faces at the other side of the +apartment, "you get as close as you wish while this man is talking, +but don't interrupt. It may be that we shall have to do something +right soon. I reckon our hunt for the prince starts right here, in +the Black Bear Patrol clubroom, in the heart of little old New York." + +The servant Jack had beckoned to now entered the room and stood with +his back to the door, looking from one boyish face to another. He was +a heavily built, muscular fellow, evidently an Irishman, judging from +his face and manner. + +"Will you kindly come over here and sit down?" Ned asked. + +The servant complied and the others gathered around him. + +"Now," Jack began, "tell Ned what you just told me--about the man in +the attic, and about the hole in the ceiling." + +Every eye in the room was instantly turned toward the lofty ceiling, +but nothing out of the ordinary was to be seen there. + +"The hole he refers to," Jack, smiling, explained, "is not in sight. +It is under the ornamental brass piece that circles the rod from +which the chandelier hangs. It was made to listen at, and not to see +through, I take it!" + +"That makes a good starter," Ned smiled, "so go on." + +"Half an hour ago," the servant began, "I was called to this floor by +one of the maids, Mary Murphy it was, and she was that scared she +looked like a bag of flour! She pointed to the staircase leading to +the attic and asked me to go up there. + +"So I says to her: 'Why do you want me to go up there? If there's a +haunt there, or a burglar, or a man after one of the girls, why +should I risk the precious neck of me, when it's the only one I've +got, with no prospect of ever getting another in case this one was +damaged beyond repair?' So she says to me, she says--" + +"Never mind what she said," Ned interrupted, fearful of a long, +involved dialogue between the two servants. "Tell me what you did." + +"I went up the staircase, three steps at a jump, an' bumped the head +of me on the edge of the door at the top of it. You can see the dent +in my coco now!" + +"And what did you find there?" asked Ned. + +"There was a rug on the floor and a hole in the floor, and a twinkle +of light shining into the attic from this room. Some one had been +listening there!" + +"You saw no one?" + +"Never a soul! I'm that sorry I can't express it!" + +"When were you in that attic before--the last time before to-night?" + +"Late yesterday afternoon it was." + +"Was there a rug in the middle of the floor at that time?" Ned went +on. + +"No more than there is a bold lion in the middle of this floor, sir." + +"Well, what did you do after you got up there to-night?" + +"I hunted around for the man who had been lying there listening to +the talk in this room, but I didn't find him, sir." + +"Did you ascertain where all the servants were at the time the +listening must have been going on?" asked Jack, after a short pause. + +"All but one," was the reply. + +"And that one? Where is he now? That is, tell, if you know where he +is?" + +"I don't know, sir. He has left the house, I reckon--bag and +baggage." + +"Who was it?" demanded Jack, moving toward the door. + +"Chang Chu, the Chink, may the Evil One get into his bed!" + +"And then you came here and notified Jack?" asked Ned. "As soon as +you learned that Chang Chu was not in the house?" + +"Indeed I did--within a minute and a half." + +"Where is this girl, Mary Murphy?" asked Ned, turning to Jack. "We +must get hold of her right away. I want to hear her story of what she +saw in the attic." + +Jack went out of the room, but was back in a minute with the girl, a +pretty, modest maid of about eighteen. She looked frightened at +finding herself the center of interest, but was soon in the midst of +her story. + +"I went up to the attic to get a piece of cloth for a bandage, Sally +having cut her hand with the bread knife. When I got to the door of +that room I heard some one inside of it. I listened at the crack +there is between the panel and the stile and heard footsteps, slow +and soft like. I thought it was one of the maids, and opened the door +quick, so as to give her a scare." + +The girl paused and wiped her face with a white apron bordered with +pink. + +"Go on," Ned requested. "Tell us what you saw in the attic." + +"It wasn't much, sir," was the agitated answer. "I saw just a flash +of dark blue, coming at me like the lightning express, and then I was +keeled over--just as if I had been a bag of meal, sir!" + +"He bunted into you, did he?" asked Jack. "Who was it?" + +"Indeed I don't know, sir," was the reply. "It was dim in the room, +there being only the light from the hall as I opened the door. Then +he came at me with such a bunt that it took the breath out of me +body!" + +"And what followed?" asked Ned. + +"She wint down f'r the count!" chuckled the servant who had been +first questioned. + +"I did not!" was the indignant retort. "When I got up the man was +still on the stairs leading to this floor, and I picked up the great +shears which had tumbled out of me hand and heaved thim at him. I had +brought the shears up to cut a bandage, sir." + +"Did you hit him?" asked Jack with a smile. "Where are the shears?" + +"I never went back after them!" answered the girl. "I'll go this +minute." + +"Wait," Ned said, "and I'll get them. Now, you say you saw a blue +streak coming at you, head-on! Who wears blue clothes around the +house?" + +"Chang Chu, the Chink, sir." + +"You saw him dressed in blue to-day?" asked Ned. + +"All in blue he was!" the male servant interrupted, "with his shirt +on the outside of his trousers, like the bloody heathen he is." + +"And so you looked for him and failed to find him on the premises?" +asked Jack. + +"He's gone, bag and baggage," answered Terance, the coachman. "Bad +luck to him!" + +"Still, you don't really know that it was the Chinaman?" asked Ned. + +"He was dressed like the Chink," was the reply. "He smelled like a +saloon!" + +"Does the Chinaman drink?" asked Ned, facing Terance. "Does he get +drunk?" + +"He does not," was the reply. "He doesn't know the taste of good +liquor!" + +"That's all," Ned concluded. "Now you two keep on looking for the +Chinaman. He may be hiding in the house, or he may be at some of the +dens such people frequent. You, Mary, look for him in the house, and +you, Terance, see if you can learn where he usually went when he left +the house." + +"Pell street!" cried Jimmie. "Look in Pell street!" + +"Or Doyers!" Jack exclaimed. "Look in the dumps in Doyers street." + +The two went away, forgetting all about the shears which Mary had +hurled at the mysterious man she had caught in the attic. Asking the +boys to remain where they were, Ned went out to the staircase and +secured the article. Taking it carefully by the handle, he returned +to the room and held up one blade. + +Jack looked at the blade casually at first, then cried out that there +was blood on it, and that Mary had speared the sneak. + +"Yes," Ned explained, "there is blood on it. Mary hit the fellow on +the head with this blade. What else do you see on the steel?" he +asked with a smile. + +Jimmie looked and backed away in disgust. His freckled face was +thrust out of the door for an instant, and they heard him calling to +Mary, who, being in the kitchen, beyond sound of his voice, did not +respond. + +"What do you want of Mary?" demanded Jack. "Shall I call her?" + +"She said it was the Chink, didn't she?" the boy asked. "Or, she said +it was a man dressed like the Chink? Well, it wasn't the Chink." + +Ned laughed and looked at the boy admiringly. + +"How do you know that?" he asked. "Why are you so sure it was not the +Chink?" + +Jimmie looked up into Ned's face with a provoking grin. + +"You know just as well as I do that it wasn't the Chink," he said. +"Just you look on that blade again! Ever see a Chink with light brown +hair?" + +"Now, what do you think of that?" roared Jack. "Sometimes this boy, +Jimmie, seems to me to be possessed of almost human intelligence!" + The lads gathered closer around the shears, one blade of which Ned +was still holding out for inspection. There was the blood, and there +was the long, blonde hair! + +"Hit him on the belfry!" Jimmie grinned. "Knocked off a shingle and +brought away a piece of it! Now, why did the Chink run away? That's +what I'd like to know!" + +"Where did the man get the Chink's dress?" asked Oliver. "That's what +you'd better be asking? Why did the Chink let him in and then loan +him the dress?" + +"I rather think that's why the Chinaman ran away!" laughed Ned. "You +boys seem to have reasoned it all out. He might have let the sneak in +and then let him have some of his own clothes to wear! And that will +make trouble for us!" + +"Do you think the fellow heard about the Camera Club trip, and the +object of it?" asked Oliver. "If he was scared away half an hour ago +he didn't learn much, for we hadn't begun to talk much about it at +that time!" + +"He may not have heard anything important," Ned replied, "but the +fact that he was sent here to listen is significant! Some one in +Washington knows that we have been chosen to search the mountains for +the prince! Some one knows that we are going out as an innocent- +looking Boy Scout Camera Club, but really to find the boy. Now, what +will that person do to the Camera Club, after we get out into the +mountains?" + +"The question in my mind," Jimmie broke in, "is what we shall do to +him!" + +"I'm sorry the information about our going leaked out," Ned said, +gravely. "As boy snapshot friends we might have been able to do +things which the Secret Service men could not do. No one would pay +much attention to a group of boys roaming over the mountains. But now +I'm afraid our investigations will be all in the limelight!" + +"Tell you what," Jimmie cut in, "suppose we find the Chink and make +him point out the man who was in the house--listening?" + + + + +CHAPTER III + +WHAT THE BOX CONTAINED + + +"All right," Oliver encouraged. "Let's go out and make a throw at +finding him, anyway! He may be in the garage, or the carriage house +right this minute." + +Jimmie and Oliver rushed away to find Terance, the coachman, and +undertake the search suggested, while Ned, Jack, Frank and Teddy sat +at the open windows looking out on the street. + +"Chang Chu was at liberty to go into the attic at any time?" asked +Ned, tentatively. + +"Oh, yes," Jack answered, "the other servants sent him about on +errands. He is a handy man about the premises--or was, rather." + +"Is he a man to do such a thing as we are accusing him of?" Ned then +asked. + +"I never thought so," was the puzzled reply. "I hope you don't think +that he was beaten up by the man who secured his blue clothes! That +would be tough on the fellow." + +"I have been thinking of that," Ned responded, "and while the boys +are looking for the Chinaman in the outbuildings suppose we look for +him in the upper part of the house." + +"But if the sneak could get into the upper part of the house without +the use of the disguise," reasoned Jack, "he wouldn't need it at all, +would he?" + +"He might have been surprised while at work by the Chinaman," Ned +suggested. "In that case he might have taken the clothes as an +afterthought. Suppose we look and see?" + +Leaving Frank and Teddy sitting by the window, looking out on a +perfect May night, Ned and Jack climbed the staircase to the attic +and entered the room directly over the Black Bear Patrol clubroom. It +was a large room, more of a storeroom than an attic, with a hardwood +floor and papered walls and ceiling. + +A great sack upon which clothing and odds and ends of all +descriptions were hanging stood at the south end of the apartment, +while a long row of boxes and packing trunks occupied the floor at +the north end. The rug, which had been thrown down on the floor near +the hole bored through a plank, was still there where the servants +had seen it. The listener had, at least, a good notion of personal +comfort! + +"Where was this rug taken from?" asked Ned. + +"It was on the rack the last time I saw it," Jack answered. + +"Was it clean at that time?" Ned continued, examining the rug with a +glass. + +"What do you mean by clean? It was dusty, of course, like everything +else here." + +"Were there any stains on it--stains like blood?" Ned went on, +dragging the rug under the electric lights which had been switched +on. + +"Why, of course not. It was originally in the little den off the +library, but father became tired of it and told Terance to bring it +here." + +"How long ago was that?" + +"Oh, a month or two. I can't be exact as to the date, you know." + +Ned handed his chum the glass and indicated a certain portion of the +rug. + +"What do you call that?" he asked. "What does it look like?" + +"It looks like a spot of blood," Jack declared. "And it is wet, too! +What do you make of this, Ned? Was Chang Chu attacked and killed by +that sneak thief?" + +"That is for us to find out," Ned answered. "At the present moment, +it looks as if Chang Chu wouldn't be found on Pell or Doyers street. +What is there is those boxes--the large ones sitting against the +wall?" + +"About everything, I take it. I never looked into them. Why?" + +"We may as well see what they contain," Ned replied, advancing to the +largest box and throwing up the cover. "What do you think now?" he +asked, as a huddled figure stirred in the box and opened a pair of +suffering eyes. "This is the Chink, I suppose?" + +Before Jack could reply, Ned had the man out of the box, with the +cords cut from his hands and feet, the cruel gag removed from his +mouth. His blue blouse was gone! Chang Chu tumbled over on the floor +when Ned tried to stand him on his feet. There was a small cut on his +head. + +"Chang velly much bum!" he said, with his hands on his stomach. + +"Chang never forgets a word of slang," Jack laughed. "He will +remember the slang word for anything when he forgets the real word! +What did they do to you, Chang?" he continued, addressing the +Chinaman. + +Chang pressed his hands to his nose significantly and dropped his +head back. + +"Chloroform!" Ned declared, sniffing at the contents of the box. + +The Chinaman could not describe the man who had attacked him. He had +been alone in the attic, putting away old clothes, when he had been +struck and seized from behind by a man he described as a giant for +strength, stripped of his blouse, and lifted bodily into the box. +There he had been bound, gagged and rendered unconscious by the use +of the drug. + +"The man who did it," mused Ned, "is an adept at crime, resourceful, +daring. The chloroform would have attracted the attention of the +servants at once if it had been administered in the open air. Then +his taking the Chink's blouse as a disguise shows that he is quick to +take advantage of his opportunities. A clever man." + +"And he left no clue!" Jack complained. "Just our luck, Ned!" + +"All we know is that he is tall, has light brown hair, and is very +strong," Ned replied. "But there are ten thousand people in New York +this minute who answer to that description." + +"How do you know he is tall?" demanded Jack. + +"When he lay on the rug," Ned explained, "he stretched out on his +stomach to look through the hole, if he could. He couldn't; he could +only listen, for the cut was made so as to be hidden by the +ornamental brass piece that circles the rod from which the chandelier +swings. The marks of his elbows and toes were on the soft fiber of +the rug, showing him to be a man at least six feet tall." + +Ned walked over to the large box again and bent over it. + +"Crumbs!" he exclaimed, in a second. "Crumbs!" + +"Then he must have brought a lunch up with him," Jack exclaimed +excitedly. "There is no knowing how long he was here!" + +"Some one in Washington has leaked!" Ned declared, angrily. + +"Why Washington?" demanded Jack. "Why not New York?" + +"Because no one in this city knows about our being engaged to hunt +down the abductor. My instructions have all come in cypher, and some +of them have, as you know, been addressed to this house. And there +you are!" + +Chang Chu arose limply, rubbing a small wound in his head from which +blood had come, and tottered off toward the staircase. As he did so, +Ned noticed that his pigtail was very black, very long, and very +greasy. + +"Did he take you by the cue?" asked the boy. "Did he pull your hair?" + +"Velly much lough-neck pull--dam!" answered the Chinaman. + +Ned went back to the box where the Chink had been hidden and began +taking out the articles it held, slowly and one by one. + +"The cloth he poured the chloroform on must be here," he said. "He +would naturally throw it into the box before shutting down the cover, +as there might still be enough of the drug in it to put the Chink to +sleep." + +"Here it is," Jack said, reaching into the box and lifting out a rag +and smelling of it. "Here is the dope cloth, all right and pretty +strong yet." + +"That's it, all right," Ned answered. "A worn white handkerchief, +eh?" + +"Name or mark on it?" asked Jack, passing the cloth to Ned. + +"Nothing of the sort," was the answer, "but there's something better. +When the fellow pulled at the Chink's greasy pigtail he got his hand +smeared with oil. Then he grasped this white cloth fiercely, and +there you are! See! The mark of the thumb couldn't be plainer if it +had been printed on. Observe the long cicatrice on the ball of the +thumb? I'll take this down and photograph it." + +"Tall, strong, blonde, scar on the thumb!" laughed Jack. "We are +getting on." + +"It would be interesting to know how he got into the house," Ned +mused. + +"If we could only catch him and shut his mouth," Jack muttered, "we +wouldn't have such a rotten bad time in the mountains." + +"It is not what he knows," Ned suggested. "It is what his master as +Washington knows. We might put this chap under ten feet of earth, but +the opposition from Washington would go right on." + +"When was the child abducted?" asked Jack. "When and how?" + +"He was taken from in front of the embassy early in the morning. The +ambassador brought him out for a spin in his automobile and left him +out in front a moment. When he went back to continue his morning ride +the automobile and the boy were nowhere to be seen! This was before +nine o'clock Monday morning. Yesterday, along about noon, the boy--or +a lad very much resembling him--was seen by a lieutenant of infantry +in a motor boat, speeding up the Potomac." + +"Why didn't he catch him, then?" asked Jack. + +"Because he did not know at that time that the prince had been +kidnapped. The authorities kept everything quiet! I presume they +thought the thief didn't know that he had committed a crime, and were +afraid the newspapers would tell him about it!" + +"Tell that to Frank!" laughed Jack. "He'll go up in the air!" + +The boys found Jimmie and Oliver in the club-room when they went +down. The garage and carriage house had been searched--in vain, of +course, for the boys had encountered the Chinaman on his way down to +the basement as they ascended the stairs, the elevator being closed +for the night. + +"I believe that Chink had something to do with it, all the same," +declared Jimmie. "He ought to be watched every minute of the time!" + +"Now, here's another point I don't understand," Jack said, going back +to the conversation he had had with Ned in the attic. "Why do the +authorities think the boy has been taken to the mountains?" + +"Because that would be a natural place for the thieves to hide," Ned +answered. "The mountains are easily within reach of Washington, and +they are virtually inaccessible to known officers of the law--at +least so it is reported. The mountains run from central Pennsylvania +to central Alabama, a distance of about a thousand miles, and afford +many desirable hiding places." + +"Yes, and we're likely to get our crusts split down there!" Teddy +grinned. "We will if they find out that we belong to the Secret +Service!" + +"The Potomac river rises in West Virginia," continued Ned, "and the +prince may have been taken to the foothills in the launch he was seen +in." + +"Are we going in a motor boat?" asked Jimmie. + +"We are going by rail as far as we can go," Ned answered, "and then +take shank's horses for the wild country, with mules to tote the +baggage. In the eastern part of West Virginia, we are likely to +travel forty miles without seeing a cabin." + +"Where do we get our eatings?" demanded Jimmie. "It makes me hungry +to climb mountains. We'll have to have a relief expedition sent after +us if we don't get plenty of eatings," he added, with a wink at +Teddy. + +"Plenty of game up there," Ned grinned. "Plenty of deer, turkeys, +coon, rabbits, birds and bears! We can dodge the game laws! Also a +few wildcats are reported to have been seen there. And there is said +to be plenty of moonshine in the caves, too. Oh, we'll have a sweet +old vacation, boys. And we start tomorrow!" + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +A CAMP IN THE MOUNTAINS + + +It was early June, and the members of the Boy Scout Camera Club were +camped on a mountain top in West Virginia. They had spent about two +weeks in making the trip to the point where they had established +camp. + +Three mules, divested of their burdens now, were "staked out" in a +little corral fragrant with grass down near the timber line. The tent +they had carried was a short distance below the summit, on the +eastern slope, with packages and bags and boxes of provisions piled +around it. + +To the south lay Virginia, to the north, east and west stretched the +mountainous district of West Virginia. Far below them ran the North +Fork of the Potomac river. + +What they saw was a wild and lonely country, with more deer, wild +turkeys, and raccoons than human beings. On their hard and frequently +delayed journey in they had passed cabins, surrounded here and there +by rail fences, but there were none in sight from where they now +stood. + +The sun, a round ball of fire in the west, would be out of sight in +half an hour, and then the desolate darkness of the mountains would +surround them. A wild turkey called to its mate in the distance, and +small creatures of the air fluttered about, as if determined to know +what human beings were doing there, in their ordinarily safe retreat. + +The boys had visited Washington the day following the incidents at +the clubroom of the Black Bear Patrol, but had learned nothing of +importance there. The launch in which the young prince had been seen +had been traced up the river to the vicinity of Cumberland, but there +the trail had ended. + +"It is a case of needle-in-the-haystack," the Secret Service chief +had said to Ned, on the morning of his departure for the mountains. +"We have men looking over every inch of the large cities. We want you +to rake those mountains with a fine-tooth comb! Personally, I believe +that the prince is there." + +"But," Ned had replied, "how are we to communicate with you in case +we require more definite instructions?" + +"You know what Sherman did when he left Atlanta?" laughed the chief. + +"Why, he cut the wires," returned Ned, "so as not to have his +movements hampered by orders from men who, not being on the +ground, could not possibly know as much as he did of what ought +to be done." + +"That is what I want you to do!" the chief continued. "Cut the +wires." + +"But that is assuming a great responsibility," urged the boy. + +"Very true, but I have an idea that you want to work in your own way, +so go to it. A mess of lively boys running up and down the mountain +sides looking for game and snap-shots ought not to arouse the +suspicion of the thieves if they are there. Make friends with the +mountain people if you can. They are naturally suspicious, but good +as gold at heart." + +That was his last talk with the chief. After that supplies had been +bought and transported by rail to the nearest point, and there the +mules had been bought and the difficult journey begun. They had just +made their first permanent camp. + +"I wouldn't mind living here a few years!" Teddy said. "It beats the +hot old city! If I had plenty of reading matter and a full larder, I +don't think I would ever go back. I wish Dad could step out of that +Harvard thing and eat supper with us!" + +The shrill scream of a mule now came up from the feeding ground +below, and a commotion at the tent showed that one of the animals was +kicking up a row there. + +"That's that long-eared Uncle Ike," Jimmie McGraw exclaimed. "I feel +in my bones that I'm going to love that mule! He's so worthless! If +he had two legs less he'd beat Jesse James to the tall timber in +piracy! He won't work if you don't watch him, and he'll steal +everything he gets his eyes on! Yes, sir, I feel that there's a +common sympathy between that mule and me, yet I know that we'll have +a falling out some day! He's so open and above-board in his +mischief." + +"Can you see what he's doing now?" asked Teddy. + +"Why, I saw him knocking at the door of the tent, and I presume that +by this time he is sitting in my chair picking his teeth, after +devouring the bread! That sure is some highwayman, that mule, yet I +feel that I'm going to love and admonish him!" + +The boys dashed down the slope to the tent and found Uncle Ike, as +Jimmie insisted on calling a tall, ungainly, raw-boned mule, chewing +at a slice of ham which he had pilfered from a box by the side of the +fire. + +"There's one thing about Uncle Ike," Jimmie grinned, as Ned drove the +animal away with a club. "He always looks like he had been sent for +to lead an experience meeting! He'll put on a face as long as a cable +to a freight train, and then he'll turn to me and wink one eye, as if +explaining that it was all for a joke." + +"That's your ham he's chewing, Jimmie!" Ned declared. + +"I suppose so," the boy replied. "That's what you get by being +brother to a long-eared mule that for cussedness has Becker's gunmen +backed up a creek with the oars lost!" + +While the mule was being restored to his companions, Jimmie and Teddy +began getting supper. They had plenty of tinned goods, plenty of +flour, potatoes, meal and ham and bacon. Still, they thought they +ought to have something in the way of game. + +"I saw a wild turkey back there," Teddy volunteered. + +"And I saw a coon," Jimmie added. + +"Is there any law on turkeys and coons?" asked Jack, who was trying +to make the fire burn bright with lengths of green wood. + +"There ain't no law of any kind up here," Frank insisted. + +"Then we'll go and get a coon," Jimmie declared. "You boys get a +red-hot fire and I'll have the bird here before Ned gets that mule tied +up!" + +"Guess I'll go along," Teddy suggested. "I never did like to have +anyone else go to the trouble of getting my wild meat for me! I'll go +along, and Frank and Ned and Oliver can get supper." + +Without waiting for any affirmative replies from their companions, +the two lads darted away, and were soon lost in a canyon which ran at +right angles with the ridge much farther down. Frank and Oliver began +piling dry wood on the fire. + +"Those boys will be back here in time for breakfast--just about!" +Frank commented, as the coffee water boiled and the bacon began +sizzling in the pan. "If they get any supper here they'll have to +cook it!" + +Presently Ned came back from the little valley where the mules were +feeding and took a field glass from the tent. + +"What's up now?" Teddy asked, as Ned walked back to the ridge and +looked down into the valley of the North Fork. "Ned must be seeing, +things!" + +Ned remained oh the summit a long time, until the sun sank behind the +range to the west and the valleys became ribbons of black between the +lighter crests of the mountains. + +Presently Frank scrambled up the yards of rugged, rock-strewn slope +which led to the summit where Ned was standing, still with his field +glass in his hand. + +"Anything in sight over that way?" the boy asked, as he came to Ned's +side. + +"There is a column of smoke in the valley," Ned answered. "I thought +at first that there were two, but I may have been mistaken. Do you +remember what two columns of smoke would have indicated?" + +"Of course!" laughed Frank. "If I should become lost in woods or +mountains, or anywhere, I'd build two fires and get wet wood to make +smudge, good and plenty. That would mean that I was lost and needed +assistance. That's the Boy Scout Indian signal for help. I remember +when we saw it north of the Arctic Circle, don't you?" + +"I won't be apt to forget it right away," was the reply. + +The boys remained standing on the summit for some moments, although +it was now too dark for them to distinguish objects in the valley +below. All around the June night called to them with its silences and +its sharp and sudden rasp of sounds. There were the mountains, +brooding, heavy, mysterious, and there were the fleets of flying +clouds reaching down to wrap their summits! + +"It is simply great up here!" Ned exclaimed presently. "That is the +only word that seems to express it--great!" + +"Yes, it is fine for a change," Frank admitted, "though I don't +believe in the wilds as a permanent thing! Everything in the +mountains and forests seems to me to be crude and half done. This, I +presume, is because the world isn't finished yet. Those who come to +places like this catch the Creator with his sleeves rolled up, if +that isn't a coarse way of saying it." + +"I like it, just the same!" Ned declared. "It is glorious! It is +life!" + +"It is healthful so far as animal life goes," laughed Frank, "but +what about mental life? There would never have been anything +wonderful in the way of inventions--like the wireless, and the +telephone, and the uses of electricity--if mankind had been content +to live and die in the wilds! It is crude, as I said before, +unfinished, out of line with all the decrees of art. I'll take the +city for mine, with its marble buildings, its wonderful art +galleries, its beautiful parks!" + +"Say, you mooners!" came a voice from the camp below, "if you've got +done surveying the beautiful black landscape, suppose you come down +to supper?" + +The boys went down to the tent to find Jimmie and Teddy still absent. + +"There are two things we'll have to set aside time for," Ned +declared, as he took a seat on the ground before the blaze, with a +great plate of food in his lap. "We'll have to arrange for keeping +Uncle Ike, the mule, out of mischief, and for keeping track of Jimmie +and Teddy. Those boys will get lost in the mountains yet, and go +hungry for a few days. That would be punishment enough for Jimmie-- +hunger!" + +The boys sat by the campfire a long time, heaping dry wood on the +blaze until they were obliged to widen the circle about it. There was +only the light of the stars, looking down from a cloud-flecked sky, +but there would be a moon shortly after ten o'clock. + +"If the boys don't return before long," Frank broke out, after a +moment of silence, "I'm going to take a searchlight and go out +looking for them." + +The boy expressed the thought which was brooding in the minds of them +all. They were more than anxious for the safety of the two truants. +Oliver arose and walked away from the fire up the slope, until his +figure was out of sight, but shortly came back and sat down again, +his face expressing impatience as well as anxiety. + +"There's no reason why they shouldn't see this fire," he said. "I +walked over the summit a bit to see if the light was reflected over +there. It is. If anywhere within two miles, they ought to see this +blaze or the glow from it. They're just doing this to make us worry. +I'd like to get them by the neck, this minute," he added. + +Uncle Ike, the mule, gave vent to a vicious scream at that moment, +and Ned arose and started in the direction of the feeding ground. +When he reached the spot he saw that the mules were agitated, weaving +about on the tying lines in either fear or anger. + +"Uncle Ike," Ned said, patting the ugly beast on the neck, "what is +it about your sleeping chamber that you don't like? Or it is your +supper you object to?" + +Uncle Ike thrust his long ears forward and elevated his heels, as if +kicking at some imaginary object back of him. Then Ned saw a figure +moving in the darkness. + +"Come out of that!" he called. "Why are you sneaking around here?" + +The figure advanced toward the boy then--the figure of an old woman! + + + + +CHAPTER V + +JIMMIE AND TEDDY MISS A MEAL + + +"I was scared to come up until I heard your voice," the old lady +said, as she came close to Ned. "I didn't know you were only a boy." + +The woman appeared to be very old. Her hair was white and her lean +face was wrinkled and leathery with time and storm and exposure to +the winds of the hills. Still, old as she seemed to be, she walked +alertly, with the swinging grace of the true mountain woman. She was +very plainly dressed in a one-piece gown of dark calico. Her head was +not covered at all, and the white hair took on a tinge of gold from +the distant campfire. Her black eyes were sharp, yet kindly in +expression. + +"Good evening, mother," Ned said, removing his cap as he greeted the +old lady, "we didn't expect to meet ladies here. Do you live in this +locality?" + +"Quite a step," the old lady said, in a gentle, hesitating tone, +"quite a bit down the slope is where I live. I wanted to know what +the fire meant, and so I came up. You don't mind my being here, do +you?" + +"Glad to have you come!" Ned responded, truthfully. "If you care to +come up to our camp we'll be glad to give you a cup of tea and +whatever else you want." + +"I'll be glad to get a cup of tea" the woman declared. "We don't get +tea up here in the mountains--not very often. We don't have the money +to pay for it, and, then it is such a long way to go after it. Yes, +I'll go with you." + +Ned noted that the woman did not speak the dialect of the mountains. +He wondered how long she had lived there, and if she lived alone. She +did not long leave him in doubt on these points, for she seemed +anxious to talk. + +"I'm Mary Brady," she said, as they ascended the slope toward the +fire. "I came here years ago with my husband, Michael Brady, to live +in peace. Mike was a good man when he was himself, but the saloon men +of New York were always after him when he had any money. We came here +to be rid of them." + +"That was the correct thing to do, it strikes me," Ned said, for want +of something better, as she seemed to expect some friendly comment. + +"I don't know," she went on. "We meant it for the best--but there was +the moonshine! I didn't know about the moonshine when we came here. +All I thought of was to get away from Houston street! He fell one day +and they brought him home dead." + +Ned was strangely interested in this simple life history. The poor +old woman living there, probably alone and in want, after such an +ending to a hopeful plan! + +"And you kept on here?" he asked. "Why didn't you go back to the +city?" + +"There was the boy," she answered. "He was ten when we came here. I +didn't want him to get the thirst! After Mike died I lived here to +keep him in the good path. He is a good boy, but when he was twenty +they got him, too--the moonshiners!" + +"And he left you?" asked Ned. + +"He said he couldn't make anything of himself here, so he went to +Washington. He's never come back, though I've always kept a home for +him, and never ceased to look for him. He writes me now and then that +he's coming home, but he doesn't come! When I saw your fire I thought +he might be with you." + +By this time they were at the camp, and Mary Brady was presented to +the boys and made comfortable by the fire, with tea and canned fruit +before her. She enjoyed the lunch immensely and looked the gratitude +she did not speak. + +"When did you hear from your boy last?" asked Frank, by way of +keeping the conversation going. "Did he write from Washington? Was it +to Washington you said he went?" + +"It was Washington," was the reply. "He wrote me a month or more ago +that he would be here with friends in June. I thought he might be +with you. He has been married since he left home, and has a child, +though his wife is dead." + +"And he said he was thinking of bringing the child here?" asked Ned, +glancing significantly at Frank. "Did he say that in his last +letter?" + +"Yes, that he was thinking of bringing the boy here. It is only a +mite of a boy--not more than seven years old, he said. I'm anxious +for him to come." + +Jack and Oliver gathered closer about the old lady in order to hear +every word that was spoken. One brought her more tea and the other +filled the sauce dish with peaches. Ned motioned to them to remain +silent. + +"And so you expect him to drop down on you any time?" Ned asked. + +"Yes, my son and the boy. He's a cute little chap, Mike says. Mike +was named for his father, and the lad's name is Mike, too. I'm +anxious for him to get here. And I'm wondering whether he's light and +blonde, with brown hair and blue eyes like his father, or dark, like +my side of the family. + +"What do you make of it?" Jack whispered to Oliver. + +"What do I make of what?" demanded the other. + +"Of the old lady and her three Mikes?" replied Jack, scornfully. +"Have you been asleep all this time?" + +"I was waiting for you to express an opinion," Oliver declared. "Do +you think it possible that they would change the name of a prince of +the royal blood to Mike?" + +"So you've caught on, at last!" whispered Jack. "Do you really think +we've tumbled on a streak of luck at the send-off?" + +"I don't know," was the hesitating reply. "We'll have to cultivate +this old lady." + +"Sure thing!" + +"Did she say where her cottage is?" asked Oliver, directly. "We ought +to verify her story, it seems to me. I'd like to hear Ned's opinion!" + +"Do you remember what she said about Mike II. having blonde hair and +blue eyes?" asked Jack, presently. + +"Sure!" was the answer. "That made me sit up and take notice. It +brought back to my memory the light brown hair on the bloody blade of +the shears." + +"Same here," announced Jack. "If this Mike II. comes here we'll have +to find out if he has a cicatrice on the right thumb and a scar on +the head, a scar which might have been brought about by a pair of +shears thrown by a frightened maid in the city of New York!" + +"Think of a crown prince being called Mike!" chuckled Oliver. + +"Ned didn't say it was a crown prince!" + +"He might just as well have said it! He didn't dispute me when I +asked if it was a crown prince who had been abducted." + +"If Jimmie and Teddy don't return soon," Jack said, changing the +subject, "we'll have to start the Boy Scout Camera Club out looking +for them." + +"They'll be back when they get hungry!" laughed the other. + +But Jimmie and Teddy were still away when the moon rose over the +ridge to the east. Mrs. Brady was still by the campfire. She appeared +to delight in the companionship of the boys. Having lived alone for +years, she would have been delighted at any companionship whatever, +but the boys were full of life and vitality, they were sympathetic, +and, besides, they were from her old home--New York! + +As the moon showed her round face over the summit of the range to the +east she arose and stretched out a withered hand to Ned. + +"I'm going," she said. "I've had a pleasant evening. You don't know +how much it has been to me to sit here and talk with you! If you'll +come down to my cabin some day I'll try to make it pleasant for you!" + +"Some day," laughed Ned. "What do you say to my going right now? Of +course I've got to see you home! Couldn't think of letting you go +away alone." + +"I've walked these mountains night and day for more than twenty +years," faltered the old lady, "and I'm not afraid now!" + +"You don't object to my going?" asked Ned. + +"I'm awful glad to have you go," was the reply. "But you'll find it a +long walk, there and back," she added. + +"If it is too far for me to walk back," Ned laughed, "you may give me +a bunk on the floor! Anyway, I'm going to see you home!" + +As the boy spoke he beckoned to Frank to step to one side with him. + +"Of course this looks all straight, on the face of it," he said, when +the two were alone together, "but one can never tell. We've got to be +pretty careful, for we are in a strange country, and are here for a +purpose which may be resented by the mountaineers. We can't afford to +take any chances." + +"Do you suspect the old lady?" asked Frank, in amazement. + +"I don't know what to think," was the hesitating reply. "The first +night we spend in a permanent camp, up she comes with a story about a +son being about to bring in a boy of seven for her to mother! Then, +as if that wasn't enough of a bait for us to snap at, she goes on to +say that the son is blonde, with light brown hair and blue eyes. +Looks like we were being led on!" + +"You bet it does," Frank replied. "Jimmie and Teddy have disappeared, +and this may be a frame-up, and so I wouldn't go off alone with her. +And, look here," Frank went on, "do you believe Uncle Ike would have +kicked, and screamed, and made a row generally, if only this old lady +had approached him? Do you, now?" + +"She might have frightened him," Ned replied, "for he may not be used +to women. Still, she may have had some one with her! I was thinking +that Uncle Ike sounded a warning on slight cause," he added. + +"Well, if I were you, I wouldn't go away alone with her," advised +Frank. "Let me go with you if you insist on going." + +"Of course I've got to go now," Ned went on. "I've promised her, and +she is expecting me to go. But I'll tell you what you may do. You can +wait until I have gone some distance and then follow on behind, not +so as to be seen by any other person trailing us, but still close +enough to be available in case of trouble." + +"All right," Frank agreed. "I'll keep back far enough to see any one +who might be following the two of you! I wish Jimmie was here! He'd +be just the one to go with me. And there's always something doing +when Jimmie is around!" + +"I'm worried about those boys!" Ned answered. "I'm going to keep a +sharp lookout for them, all the way to the cabin." + +"There's something wrong," Frank hastened to say. "They never would +have remained away from camp like this. And without supper, too! +Jimmie is particular to be on hand when it comes to eating time. +There! There's Uncle Ike talking in his sleep! I wonder what's eating +him now? Shall I go and see?" + +"No," Ned said, hastily, seizing Frank by the arm. "Don't even look +in that direction. Watch Mrs. Mary Brady!" + +The old woman's face was turned toward the spot where the mules were +staked out, her figure was straight, tense, alert. She appeared to be +listening and watching for some agreed-upon signal from the corral. +Ned moved over toward her cautiously. + +Once the old woman moved, involuntarily, toward the mules, but she +drew back in a moment and stood, waiting, with her eyes on the boys, +now in a little group not far from the spot where she stood. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +SIGNALS IN THE CANYON + + +Jimmie and Teddy passed over the summit to the west of the camp and +took their way down a difficult incline toward the headwaters of the +Greenbrier river. They traveled some distance, walking, sliding, +creeping, before they came in sight of a copse which appeared to be +worth looking over for wild game. + +"I don't know about this wild turkey business," Teddy said, as the +boys stood on an elevation lifting above the patch of timber. "If +I've got it right, wild turkeys are precious birds in West Virginia." + +"I never once thought of that!" Jimmie exclaimed. "Why, we won't have +any fun hunting at all! I wonder if there is a closed season for +coons?" + +Teddy took out a memorandum book and turned to an insert pasted on +the inside of the cover. Dropping to the ground, so as not to attract +the attention of any natives who might be near by, he read the slip +by the aid of his electric searchlight. + +"Open season for wild turkeys in West Virginia from October fifteen +to December one," he read. "Now, what do you know about that? Rotten, +eh?" + +"I guess we can get one to eat, all right," grumbled Jimmie. "Who's +going to know anything about it if we do, I'd like to know? Away off +here in the mountains!" + +"I presume there are constables and justices up here who would be +glad to soak us for fifty or a hundred apiece!" Teddy grinned. "I +reckon we'd better eat hens, and coon, and fresh fish--if we can get +them! And deer! We get no venison steaks!" + +"Not this season!" Jimmie grunted. "They'd take great joy, as you +say, in getting us into jail and extracting all our vacation money! +I'm going to take photographs of the West Virginia game laws. A man +is about the only creature one can shoot down here during the summer +and get away with it! I'll have Frank put that idea in his dad's +newspaper!" + +"We've got enough to eat, anyway," laughed Teddy. "The question +before the house right now is how are we going to get down into that +patch of trees?" + +"The laws of gravity will take us down!" answered Jimmie. "Just step +off this ledge and see if I'm not right. What do we want to go down +there for, anyway, if we can't shoot a wild turkey after we get +there? I'm going back to camp." + +The night was falling fast, and stars were showing between masses of +clouds. The boys had traveled farther from the camp than they had +intended, and the return journey was all up hill. They surveyed the +prospect gloomily. + +"I could eat the top off one of the mountains!" Jimmie declared, as +they turned to make the climb. "I never was so hungry in my life. +Wish we were back in camp!" + +Teddy, who had turned to look down into the valley, now caught Jimmie +by the arm and pointed downward, where a low-lying ridge jutted out +of the general slope and made a small canyon between itself and the +body of the mountains, a canyon in which a trinkle of water showed. + +"Do you see that column of smoke?" he asked, as Jimmie turned. + +"There must be a camp there," Jimmie exclaimed. "I thought we would +be all alone up here for a time--until we got a line on the men who +stole the prince." + +"Wait a minute!" Teddy answered. "There! Now do you see two columns +of smoke?" + +The two columns lifted skyward for only a second, then died down. + +"That's the Boy Scout signal for help!" Jimmie commented. "I wonder +what shut it off so quickly? It would be strange if we found Boy +Scouts here in the mountains--eh?" + +"According to all reports," Teddy answered, "you boys found Scouts in +all parts of the world, even in China and the Philippines! If it is a +Scout making that Indian sign for help, he'll get the smoke going +again before long. There they are!" + +The two columns of smoke were in the air again, ascending from the +canyon between the mountainside and the outcropping ridge. Directly a +gleam of fire was seen. + +"That's the call for help, all right!" Jimmie cried. "What shall we +do about it?" + +"We ought to go right there. The boy may have been injured in a fall, +and may be starving! We ought to get there as soon as possible." + +"Without going back to camp to tell the boys?" asked Jimmie. "We have +been gone a long time now, remember. They will be worrying about us +pretty soon." + +"But we ought to go right now!" insisted Teddy. "The boy may be in +trouble." + +"Something else coming!" cried Jimmie, then. "See that blazing stick +working overtime? He's going to talk in the Myer code! Now count +right and left." + +"There's one to the right!" Teddy said. "I've lost track of the code +already." + +"No. 1 motion is to the right," Jimmie quoted from the wig-wag lesson +he had learned on first becoming a Boy Scout. "It should embrace an +arc of ninety degrees, starting at the vertical and returning to it +without pause, and should be made in a plane exactly at right angles +to the line connecting the two stations. + +"And No. 2 motion is the same, only on the left side. And three is +the same, only the signal goes to the ground and comes back to the +vertical! Now I've got it! Then he wig-wags again I'll tell you what +he says. You read, too, and see if we agree." + +"One to the right!" cried Jimmie, "and two to the left!" + +"That means H," Teddy translated. "What comes next?" + +"No. 1 and then No. 2," replied Jimmie. "That's plain enough!" + +"It stands for E," Teddy went on, "and I know what the next letter +will be, too." + +"No. 2, No. 2, No, 1! I knew it! That is L. The other will be P!" + +"No. 1, No. 2, No. 1, No. 2!" read Teddy, following the flight of the +blazing stick as it moved through the darkness. "That's L, and the +word is HELP!" + +"And here we go to see about it!" Jimmie decided, moving down the +slope. "The boy can't be very far off. I'd like to know how a Boy +Scout got lost out here." + +"We may become lost ourselves," laughed Teddy, "if we don't look out +where we are going. I wouldn't know where to head for if I wanted to +go back to camp right now." + +"All we would have to do would be to climb the mountain," Jimmie +declared. + +"There's more than one summit," persisted Teddy. "We'd better get a +line on something to guide ourselves by when we go back." + +"We came straight west," the other said, "and if we get lost the moon +will tell us which way to go--if it doesn't rise in the west down +here!" + +The wig-wag code below was still in evidence, always repeating the +same word, "Help." The boys hesitated no longer, but went rattling +down the slope at a speed which spoke well for their balancing +powers! As they entered the little canyon from the north, Jimmie +halted and settled back on a rock, his hand on Teddy's shoulder. + +"Do you suppose he heard us coming down the slope?" he asked. + +"He must have been deaf if he didn't," was the reply. "We brought +about half the mountain down with us, it seemed to me. Of course he +heard us." + +"Well, we ought to have been more cautious," Jimmie declared. + +"I guess we aren't likely to frighten him away," suggested Teddy. + +"But this may be a frame-up" warned the other. "Look here! The people +who sent that spy to Jack's house knew the Boy Scouts were going out +to look for the prince, didn't they? We have never seen or heard +anything of them since that night, but there is good reasons for +believing that they have had us under surveillance." + +"And you think this may be a trap for us?" asked Teddy. + +"It may be," was the reply. "If they wanted to trap us, they would go +about it in just about this way, if they were wise, wouldn't they? +Sure they would." + +"Then we'd better sneak up to that campfire and find out what is +going on before we show ourselves," suggested Teddy. "We ought to +have come down here as softly as two flakes of snow? What? We'll know +better then to make so much noise next time!" + +"There may be no next time," Jimmie advised, as they moved down the +canyon, in the middle of which ran a small stream of water, a rivulet +connecting with the Greenbrier river farther to the south and west. +It was now quite dark, and they were obliged to feel every step of +their way, for there were numerous crevices in the floor of the +canyon. + +Pressing on, slowly, cautiously, their weapons within easy reach, the +boys finally turned a little angle of rock and came within sight of a +camp-fire not far away. + +"There!" Jimmie whispered. "I had a notion that we should find more +than one here. Why did the Scout wig-wag for help when there were +three husky men with him?" + +Teddy opened his eyes wider, but attempted no solution of the puzzle. + +"There's a little chap sitting alone by the fire," Jimmie went on, +peering through his field-glass, "and there are three men gathered in +a huddle on the other side of the fire. They all look like they were +listening for something." + +"I don't wonder--the way we came down the slope!" The other grinned. + +While the boys watched one of the men strode over to where the boy +was sitting and, evidently, began questioning him. The watchers were +too far away to hear any conversation between the two. Presently the +boy sprang up and started to run. + +In a moment the heavy hand of the man was on his shoulder and he was +dragged back to the fire and dumped down like a sack of grain. He lay +quite still for a moment. + +"I'd like to know what that means!" Teddy whispered. "That's brutal!" + +"That gives me faith in the boy!" exclaimed Jimmie. + +"What's the answer to that?" demanded Teddy. + +"They probably saw him doing the wig-wag!" was Jimmie's reply. +"They're threatening him." + +"And they may have been beating him up for doing it? That may be." + +"And, again," the other continued, "that may be a little rehearsal +all for our benefit! There are men in the world sharp enough to put +up just that kind of a bluff." + +"That's very true," was the reply. "We've got to lie here until we +know what it all means. We can't go away and leave the little fellow +without knowing more about the signals. Those men may be moonshiners. +We might get a reward!" + +"We'll be lucky if we don't get into jail!" Jimmie grunted. "If we +don't, we'll get into an infirmary for the hungry! If I have to lie +on this rock much longer with nothing to eat I'll have to be carried +back on a stretcher!" + +"You always were the brave little man with the knife and fork!" +grinned Teddy. + +The four figures by the fire remained in the old order for a long +time, the men grouped together, the boy alone on the side of the +blaze next to the watchers. + +"I wish I could get up to him?" Teddy said, as if requesting advice +on the question of a nearer approach to the boy. "I'd like to see if +it is the prince!" + +"The prince isn't a Boy Scout!" declared Jimmie. "Besides, this boy +is too old to be the prince! The prince is only seven years old--just +a little baby." + +"Anyway, I'm going to make a sneak up there," insisted Teddy. + +Before Jimmie could stop him he was away, crawling on hands and knees +through the heavy shadows of the cliffs which lay about the camp- +fire. Jimmie watched him anxiously for a moment and then started to +follow him. The two were not far away from the lad, and were +thinking of doing something to attract his attention when a stone +rolled into a crevice with a great bumping sound. The boys dropped +down on their faces and waited, their hearts beating like trip- +hammers as the men around the fire sprang to their feet. + +"What was that?" demanded a hoarse voice. "Who is out there?" he +added, turning to the darkness beyond. "I'm going to shoot out that +way in a minute!" + +"I like this!" whispered Jimmie. "This is some adventure! What?" + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +A MINT IN THE MOUNTAINS + + +"Why," the old woman said, stepping closer to the group of boys, +"that's Buck!" + +A heavily-built man with a scraggly beard stepped away from the +corral and approached the group by the fire, his stubby fingers +twining in and out of his unkempt whiskers as he walked along, his +eyes fixed on the fire and those about it. + +"That's Buck Skypole," the old woman went on, as the advancing figure +stopped. "I didn't know you was to come after me Buck," she added, +speaking to the new-comer. + +"I 'lowed you'd be right skeered of the dark," the man answered, "so +I 'lowed I'd come on up an' tote you home." + +He rubbed his left thigh carefully for a moment and then spoke to +Ned. + +"That's a right pert mule," he said. + +"Did Uncle Ike kick you?" asked Jack, nudging Oliver in the ribs with +an elbow. "We'll have to wallop him a bit, if he did." + +"I reckon I ain't got no mad at the creeter," Buck replied. "A man +must keep out'n reach of a mule. Seein' the mule's got only a few +feet of play in his laigs, he ought to be able to do that! No; I +ain't goin' to recommend no beatin's f'r the mule!" + +"Buck," said the old lady, "these are boys from New York, my old +home! They're taking pictures of the mountains." + +"They c'n take the mountains, too!" Buck laughed. "F'r all me!" + +"I thought Mike might have come in with them," the old lady went on. +"He isn't here, but I've had a real pleasant time with the boys. I'm +much obliged to you, lads," she added, facing Ned. "I'm grateful for +the tea and the fruit. They're rare here." + +"I reckoned you wouldn't find Mike here," Buck chuckled, "f'r while +you was gone a message come from Mike. He can't get here now, but +he's sent the kid!" + +"He has?" cried the woman, joyfully. "Do you mean to tell me, Buck, +that the boy is right down there this minute, in my cabin?" + +"Sure I do," was the reply, "an' a bright little feller he is." + +"Give us a guess on that," whispered Jack to Oliver. "Is the kid in +the cabin Mike III., or is he the prince? Give you three guesses!" + +"I give it up!" the boy whispered back. + +"Why didn't you bring the kid along with you?" asked Frank. "We all +want to see him. His grandmother has been telling us about him." + +"Its a right smart walk for a little one!" Buck answered. + +"You're welcome to come down and see him" Mrs. Brady said. "I'd be +proud to give you all a snack in the morning." + +"Suppose we do go and see the kid?" asked Oliver. "I'm curious to +know all about the little shaver!" + +"I'm for it!" Frank exclaimed. + +"And I'll be the first one there!" Jack put in. "I always liked kids-- +from Washington! No one will molest the camp while we are gone." + +"I wouldn't leave it alone, if I were you," advised the old lady. +"There's a heap of bad people come into the mountains sometimes. +Don't all leave at once." + +"That's good advice, mother," Ned said. "Two will go and two will +remain here. In a short time the two out in the hills will return, +and then there will be a good-sized guard for what little stuff we +have." + +"All right," Jack declared, "if any one is going to stay here, it +will be me! Come to think of it, I'm too blamed tired to walk another +step to-night. Eh, Oliver?" + +"I'll remain here if you do," the boy replied. "I'm worn out up to my +knees now, climbing mountains. And, besides, Uncle Ike would be +lonesome without me away!" + +"Very well" Ned agreed. "That leaves Frank and me for the visit. When +Jimmie and Teddy come, put them to bed without supper!" + +"You'll know when they come, then," laughed Jack, "for Jimmie going +to bed without supper will be a noisy proposition. You can hear him +for ten miles." + +"I'm anxious about the boys," Ned went on. "I'm afraid something is +wrong with them. They should have been back here hours ago." + +"You remember the Indian signal for help you saw in the valley?" +asked Frank, in a moment. "Well, they may have seen that, too, and +taken a notion to find out about it. They went in that direction when +they left the camp." + +"That may be the reason for their delay," Ned answered. "We should +have attended to that signal ourselves," he added. "There may have +been some one in serious trouble down there. I hope the boys did go-- +that is, if nothing happens to them because of their going. Boy +Scouts should assist each other at every opportunity." + +After a little more talk regarding the boy who had been sent to Mary +Brady by her son in Washington, and after Buck had been given a +couple of cups of steaming hot coffee, the four started down the +slope to the west. + +"Did any one say how far it was to the old lady's cabin?" asked Jack +of his chum, as they nestled down by the fire, the mountain air being +cold, even in June. + +"Buck said it was three whoops and a holler!" almost shrieked +Oliver. "Do you know what he meant by that?" + +"I don't know," answered Jack, "but I should think, from what she +said, that the boys won't feel like walking back up the mountain +to-night. Therefore, if Jimmie and Teddy don't come, well be alone." + +"I wonder if they would know the prince if they met him in the road?" +laughed Oliver. "That kid down there is just as much the prince as I +am. What did they steal the kid for, anyway?" + +"Politics!" yawned Jack. + +"What did they send him over here for, anyway?" + +"Politics!" with another yawn. + +"Aw, go on to bed!" grinned Oliver. "I'll build up another fire, to +serve as a sort of lighthouse for the boys and sit up for them." + +So Jack went into the tent, pulled down a great heap of blankets, +drew off his coat and shoes and stockings, and was soon asleep in a +neat little nest! + +Oliver sat by the fire for a short time and then went up to the +summit to look over the valley. The moon was rising now, and he could +see the four who had recently left the camp working their way over a +ridge to the south and west. + +Straight down, in a canyon made by an outcropping ledge of rock, he +saw a faint light, as from a campfire which had been allowed to die +down. + +"The mountains are full of people to-night!" he mused. "If I thought +I could make Uncle Ike behave himself, I'd ride down there and see +who those campers are." + +The boy stood undecided for some moments, then his eyes opened wider +and he moved downward toward the fire. He was thinking of the Boy +Scout signals for help which Ned and Frank had mentioned seeing! + +"I wonder if Jack would go down there with me!" + +When he reached the camp Jack was in the land of dreams, and he +decided not to awake him. He could go alone just as well! + +He went on down to the feeding ground and presented Uncle Ike with a +lump of sugar. The mule thanked him with wiggling ears and dived a +soft muzzle into his coat pocket for another lump. + +"Not until you come back, Uncle Ike!" Oliver explained. "If you do a +good job traveling up and down the mountainside, you're going to have +another piece of sugar when we get back!" + +The boy saddled and bridled the animal, mounted, and urged him away +from the feeding ground. Uncle Ike, thinking his day's work finished, +objected to being put into harness again, and reared and kicked until +Oliver was obliged to dismount and bribe him with more sugar. + +"Will you go now, you fool mule?" he asked. + +Uncle Ike finally decided to go, and his sure feet were soon pressing +the slope toward the campfire. Oliver struck the canyon just about +where Jimmie and Teddy had entered it. + +He left Uncle Ike there and advanced toward the campfire on foot. +There were only a few embers left, and no signs of the fires which +had sent up the two columns of smoke! There was no one in sight from +the place where Oliver first came in direct view of the blaze. + +He stepped along cautiously, listening as he walked, and soon came to +a second fire. This, too, was burned down low. Beyond this he saw the +dark opening of a cave in the outcropping ridge. + +As Oliver stepped toward it, thinking the boys might have taken +refuge there for the night, he stumbled over something which rolled +under his foot and nearly fell to the ground. When he stooped over to +see what it was that had tripped him, he saw an electric flashlight +lying before him. + +"The boys have been here, all right" he mused. "Now, I wonder if this +was taken from them, or whether they lost it, or whether it was +placed here to mark the trail? Either supposition may be the correct +one!" + +The question was settled in a moment, for a voice which he knew came +out of the darkness. + +"Found it, eh? Give it to me!" + +"Jimmie!" whispered Oliver. + +"Get in here out of the light of the fire!" Jimmie whispered, "and +bring the electric in with you. Come on in, and see what we've +found." + +The opening in the ridge was a shallow one, Oliver discovered as he +entered it. To his surprise he found three lads there instead of the +two he had been looking for. + +"You saw the fires?" asked Jimmie, in a low tone. + +"Of course I did. Why didn't you come to camp?" + +"This is the boy that built the Boy Scout signals!" Jimmie said, +bringing the other forward. "His name is Dode Surratt, and he's a +bold, bad boy, being at present lookout for a gang of counterfeiters!" + +"That's a nice clean job," Oliver replied. "Where are the +counterfeiters?" + +"At work in a hole in the ground. Hear the click of their machines? +They are turning out silver dollars faster than we can spend them. We +hid around until they went to work, then came up to talk with Dode." + +Jimmie pointed to a crevice in the rock and invited Oliver to look. A +lance of light came up into the cave, and the boy's eyes followed it. +He could see a square room below, with a bright fire burning at one +end and figures moving about it. + +"Making counterfeit money, are they?" asked Oliver. + +"That's what they're doing! We were just thinking of getting out when +you came. Dode wants to go with us, but we tell him to remain with +the gang until they can be rounded up by the officers." + +Dode started to make some remark, but Jimmie stopped him. + +"They haven't got any consideration coming from you, have they?" he +asked. "They stole you, didn't they? They brought you here from +Washington to make a thief of you, didn't they?" + +"And they beat you up for making the signals, too," Teddy put in. +"And they're coming out now!" he added. "So we'll all git--but Dode!" + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +UNCLE IKE PRESENTS HIMSELF + + +Mrs. Brady and Buck walking together, Ned and Frank discussed the +situation thoroughly as they descended the mountainside. + +"This may be a frame-up," Ned observed, "but it is up to us to see it +through. The boy who has just been brought in may be the prince, or +he may be the grandson, and we are here to get the answer." + +"Or there may be no boy at the cabin at all!" Frank suggested. "The +conspirators know that we are in the mountains for the purpose of +looking up the prince. What better plan than the one now working +could they have settled on? If they are sharp at all, they would +understand that a story of a child brought on from Washington would +set us in motion--would be likely to get us into a trap!" + +They scrambled on down the slope for some distance, too busy keeping +upright to do any talking, then Frank went on. + +"You know very well that I'm no prophet of evil, Ned, but it looks to +me that we have betrayed our mission here by taking such an interest +in the child. Would a lot of boys looking for snap-shots trail off in +the night to see a boy when they might have taken a look at him the +next day?" + +"If I know anything about human nature" Ned answered, "those two +people ahead of us are honest. If it is a frame-up, they are not in +it." + +"Anyway," Frank went on, "I'm glad the plans were changed by the +arrival of Buck. It is much better for us to meet whatever is coming +to us side by side than to have me sneaking back in the distance!" + +Ned agreed to this, and the two quickened their pace in order to come +up with Buck and Mrs. Brady, who were now turning from the west to +the south, keeping along the slope of the mountain. Directly they +came to a narrow trail which led into a green valley. + +Following this, they soon came to a couple of acres of cleared land, +in the middle of which stood a rough cabin of peeled logs. A dim +light came from a square window by the door, and there came from the +interior the sound of a man's voice humming a song. + +The woman drew up and looked suspiciously at Buck. + +"Who is that?" she asked. "You didn't tell me my son came, too." + +"No," replied Buck, "I didn't, because, you see, Mike didn't come! He +sent this young fellow in with the kid, bringing word that he would +be along later." + +"And who is it?" demanded the woman. + +"A likely young chap," was the reply. "He asked me to get you home +to-night, because he wants to leave early in the morning." + +"He won't leave early in the morning if he sees us here," Ned +whispered to Frank. "If that is the prince in there, the man with him +may be the fellow who made his way into Jack's house and listened +from the attic." + +"What are we going to do about it, then?" asked Frank, anxiously. + +"We've got to meet him," Ned replied. "Whoever he is, he knows from +Buck that Mrs. Brady went up the mountain to visit a camp of +strangers. We've got to go in and face him! I wish we had kept away +from here to-night." + +Mrs. Brady and Buck now opened the door and entered the cabin, the +boys close behind them. A log fire was burning on a stone hearth, and +a tall, rather handsome young man with light hair and blue eyes was +sitting in a homemade chair before it. + +He stirred the fire to a brighter blaze as they entered, and the +leaping flames disclosed a dark-haired child of perhaps seven years +asleep on a bed in a corner of the small room. Without speaking, +without so much as a glance at the visitor, the old lady walked +swiftly to the bed and took the child in her arms. + +The boy opened his eyes and started to cry, but she quieted him with +low words and sat down on the edge of the bed, swinging him back and +forth with a motion of her arms and shoulders. The man at the fire +glanced sharply at the woman and then turned his eyes to the boys, +now standing not far from the bed. + +"The little dear!" the woman cried, mothering the child. "He's all +tired out with his long journey!" + +"This is the man that brung the boy in," Buck said, pointing to the +figure by the fire. "A mess of a time he must have had of it, too." + +"You are the grandmother?" asked the stranger. "Yes, I understand. +And are these boys your sons, too?" he added, nodding at Ned and +Frank, suspiciously. + +"Only New York boys spending a vacation in the mountains," Ned said, +answering the question. "Mrs. Brady came to our camp tonight looking +for her son and we came home with her. We are looking for good +pictures," he added. + +The stranger pointed to the old lady, sitting with the sleeping child +on her breast. + +"There is one," he said. + +"Yes, and I'm sorry I haven't my camera with me." + +"Are you thinking of remaining in this section long?" the visitor +asked. + +"We can't say," laughed Ned. "We may move on to-morrow, and may stay +here a week." + +The man's suspicions seemed to have vanished. He talked frankly with +the boys, and occasionally addressed a word to the old lady. He gave +her, briefly, a good report of her son's progress in Washington, and +handed her a roll of bank-notes. + +"He is coming here himself soon," he said, "and he will bring more. +He is doing very nicely there." + +Ned was wishing the boy would waken when the old lady arose from the +bed and laid him gently down. He stirred uneasily in his sleep and +she stood by his side, smoothing his dark hair away from his +forehead. + +"He favors my side of the family, being dark," she said. "The Stileses +are all dark. If one of you boys will sit with him a moment," she +added, with mountain hospitality, "I'll get you all a snack. It was a +long road over the mountains." + +Ned accepted the invitation eagerly and sat down by the child. The +face was dark and slender, the eyebrows turned up a trifle at the +outer comers. + +"Is it Mike III., or is it the prince?" he was asking himself when +the boy awoke and sat up in bed with a jerk. + +"What's comin' off here?" he demanded, rubbing his sleepy eyes. "What +kind of a bum game is this? I want my daddy." + +The visitor by the fire laughed. + +"He's up in city slum talk," he said. "And he's learned something of +French, too, knocking around with the boys in school." + +"I can talk Franch like a native," asserted the boy. + +"And what else?" asked the man by the fire. + +"Any old thing!" boasted the child. "They keep me at books all the +time. I'm glad I'm with grandmother in the hills. Are you my +grandmother?" he asked, pointing to the old woman, now bending over +the fire. + +"Yes, deary," was the reply. "I'm going to take care of you now." + +"I'm glad!" + +The boy tumbled back on the bed again and closed his eyes. Frank +looked at Ned significantly. + +"There's no doubt about it!" his eyes said. "This child is Mike III." + +The old lady made hot corn bread and brewed a pot of mountain tea. +The boys were not at all hungry, but managed to eat and drink +moderately. Then Ned arose. + +"We've got to be on our way," he said. "It will be morning before we +get back to camp if we don't start pretty soon!" + +When the boys, after a cordial good night from Mrs. Brady and Buck, +left the cabin the visitor followed them out. Ned stopped breathing, +almost, as he took him by the arm. + +"There's one thing I want you to explain to the old lady after a +time," the man said. "I suppose I might do it myself, but I prefer to +let her know from personal observation something of the case first. +That boy is not exactly right." + +"Not mentally sound, you mean?" asked Ned. "He appeared to be all +right just now." + +"Oh, he's bright enough," answered the other, "but he's been ill and +has been in a hospital at Washington, and has been cuddled and +humored so long that he likes to boss! Not good people to boss, the +attendants in a hospital, you will say, but I guess they let this kid +have his way. When he was delirious they told him all sorts of fairy +tales about kings and princes, and he actually thinks some of them +are true. If he breaks out in any of his tantrums before you leave, +kindly tell the old lady what I am telling you, will you?" + +Ned almost gasped! So the boy was likely to talk of kings and +princes! He was likely to become masterful in his manners! + +"I may have to change my mind," he thought. "This may be the prince, +and not Mike III. But the boy's English, and there's his street +slang! What about that? I reckon that we have a job on our hands!" + +The two stood talking together in the moonlight for some moments, the +stranger evidently resolved to make a good impression on the boys, +while Frank walked on along the trail, looking back now and then to +see if his chum was coming. + +"This boy's father," the man went on, "has permitted him to have his +own way about everything. That was a mistake, of course, but he is +trying to rectify it now by placing him under the care of his +grandmother, who, if I mistake not, will see that he is properly +disciplined." + +"It has been a long time since the father left here," Ned suggested. + +"Yes, along time." + +"He is doing well in Washington?" + +"Yes, he is connected with the State department." + +Ned made a mental note of that! + +"And is receiving a fair salary?" he asked. + +"Oh, yes; he's doing nicely, far better than his mother has any +notion of." + +Here was more food for thought. Why had the father delegated the +pleasant duty of taking the boy back to the old mountain home to +another if he had been situated so that he might have taken the +journey himself? + +"Is it the prince, or is it Mike III.?" he kept asking himself. + +While they stood there together a great clattering came down the +trail, and they saw Frank turn aside and stand at attention, as if +waiting for some object, seen in the distance, to come up. Directly +the sounds settled down to the rattling of stones and the steady +pounding of hoofs. + +"Look what's here!" Frank shouted, pointing. + +Ned moved forward, closer to the trail, and in a moment caught sight +of a tall, lank, ungainly mule coming galloping toward him! + +"What do you think of him?" called Frank. "He's come to tell us that +it is time we were home and in bed." + +"Uncle Ike!" called Ned. "Come here, you foolish mule!" + +Uncle Ike, now in plain sight, kicked up his heels in derision but +finally came to an abrupt halt in front of Ned, and stood with ears +pitched forward and forelegs braced back, evidently very much +frightened. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +A LANK MULE AS A DECOY + + +Judd Bradley, the young man who had brought the boy into the +mountains, stood for a moment watching the mule curiously. Then he +stepped nearer to Ned, who was trying to quiet the fractious animal. + +"Be careful," Ned warned, as Bradley approached. "Uncle Ike doesn't +take to strangers. He may kick if you come within reach." + +"Hell kick you whether you come within reach or not!" grumbled Buck, +who had been brought from the cabin by the clatter of the mule's +hoofs. "He reached over forty acres of rock to hand me one on the +laig!" he added, rubbing his left thigh. + +Mrs. Brady came to the doorway of the cabin and stood there, outlined +against the red firelight within, with the boy in her arms. The child +reached forth his arms impatiently, then began beating the old woman +with his small fists. + +"Go an' get me the horse!" he commanded. "Mike wants a ride!" + +"That's the prince, all right!" whispered Frank to Ned. "That's the +prince of some slum alley in Washington. What he needs is a club, +applied just before and after meals, and just before retiring, with a +dose at intervals during the night!" + +"I'm not thinking of the prince now," Ned returned, still in a low +tone, for the others were not far off, "I'm wondering how Uncle Ike +came to be here." + +"Broke away and eloped with himself, probably," laughed Frank. + +"Yes," grinned Ned, "and put on saddle and bridle before he started!" + +Frank's eyes now began to stick out. + +"S-a-a-y!" he whispered. "We'd better be getting back to camp! +There's something out of whack there! If the mule could only talk!" + +Bradley, who had backed away at Ned's warning, now came up to the +mule's head. + +"He doesn't kick with his ears, does he?" he asked, with a smile. + +"He's an outlaw," Ned answered, wishing Bradley would return to the +cabin. "He's thrown one of the boys, and we must be on our way. If +you have time before you leave, come up to the camp. We've got the +latest things in cameras and photographic material." + +"I may get up there in the morning," was the reply. + +Bradley and Mrs. Brady entered the house and closed the door, and Ned +turned to his chum with an odd look on his face. + +"I've seen that man somewhere before tonight!" he said. + +"Then you'd better try hard to place him" Frank answered, "for we are +going to see more of him in the future, if I'm not mistaken. Perhaps +you saw him on one of your visits to Washington." + +"That may be," Ned replied. "Anyway, I may be able to think it out +before morning." + +Uncle Ike laid his nose against Ned's shoulder and gave him a push. + +"He's in a hurry!" the boy laughed. "We ought to be, too! Is it +possible that one of the boys saddled him for a ride on the mountain +in the night?" + +"Just like Jack or Oliver. Or Jimmie may have returned and planned +one of his midnight expeditions!" + +"Get up and ride," Ned advised. "I'll walk and try to place that +man's face." + +"You might have seen it in the rogue's gallery," suggested Frank, +leaping into the saddle and starting away, the mule pulling and +rearing every moment. + +Finally Ned called out to him to stop, and walked up to his side. + +"What is the matter with Uncle Ike?" he asked. + +"He insists on keeping down toward the canyon," was Frank's reply. +"We came cat-cornering down the slope, didn't we?" + +"We certainly did," Ned answered, considering the matter gravely. +"Tell you what you do," he went on, "let the mule have his head! Let +him go just where he wants to. It is the instinct of animals to +follow precedent, same as men. A man will follow a cow path until it +becomes a city street, and a cow, a horse, or a mule will follow a +trail previously used--if only passed over once! Let the mule have +his head, and he may take us to the place where somebody was dumped!" + +"Solomon had nothing on you, Ned!" laughed Frank. "Go to it! Uncle +Ike, it is you for the scene of the abduction! And you may go just as +fast as you please!" + +The mule started off at a fast pace, keeping to the bottom of the +valley and finally entering the canyon at the south end. Ned walked +by Frank's side, his hand on the stirrup, listening for a sound he +dreaded to hear. He was afraid one of the boys had been thrown from +the animal's back, and might be lying, suffering, in one of the +crevices or breaks which marked the bottom of the canyon. + +After traveling some little distance in the canyon, Frank drew up and +pointed ahead. + +"Right over there," he said, "is the spot where we saw the smoke +signs!" + +"That's a fact!" Ned answered. "One of the boys must have come here +to investigate and left Uncle Ike without tying! The mule has been +here before, or he wouldn't plod along so steadily. Suppose we leave +him here and walk on cautiously?" + +"Just what I was about to propose," Frank agreed. + +Uncle Ike seemed to resent being left alone in the canyon, which was +now almost as light as day, save where the shadows of the mountain to +the east lay along the wall on that side. The mule was finally +quieted and left in a dark angle. + +Moving in the shadows, the boys soon came to an angle in the cut and +looked out on the remains of a campfire. They pushed on until they +came opposite to it, but saw no one. In order to reach it they would +be obliged to cross the canyon, not very wide there, but flooded with +moonlight in the center. + +While they stood in the shadow of the mountain a man came stumbling +down the slope ten yards away from them. At first they thought it was +one of their chums, but when the man's figure came into the moonlight +they saw that he was tall, heavily built, and also heavily bearded. +He walked straight across to the fire and passed it, turning into a +shallow cave there was in the rock of the outcropping ridge. + +The boys saw him enter the cave and look sharply around, then he +disappeared as suddenly and completely as if he had walked into the +solid rock. + +"We're getting all the stage effects!" Frank whispered. "That man +ducked into a moonshiner's establishment!" + +"He ducked in somewhere, all right," Ned answered. "I wish we could +get across there without exhibiting ourselves to the whole country." + +"I believe the boy that rode the mule is over there!" Frank +suggested. + +"Yes; and he's probably been picked up by the moonshiners," Ned +agreed. "We've got to get over there, so here goes!" + +The boys went across the streak of moonlight like a couple of +flashes, and drew up at the mouth of the cavern. So far as they could +determine no one had observed them. + +They crept to the very back of the cave and huddled close together, +listening. + +"Not a soul in sight!" Frank whispered. "That might have been a +ghost!" + +"Do ghosts rattle metal?" asked Ned. + +There followed another silence, and then the clink of metal came +clearer to the ears of the listening boys. + +"Where does it come from?" asked Frank. "There's not a crack in sight +in this rock." + +A puff of soft coal gas wafted into the cave, causing the boys to +hold their breaths. Then, in spite of all he could do to prevent it, +Frank sneezed. + +Almost instantly a dark figure appeared between the place where the +boys were hidden and the space of moonlight in front. The man stepped +out, looked up and down the canyon, and came slowly back to meet +another figure. + +"Nothing doing!" a gruff voice said. + +"But that wasn't any bird!" insisted another gruff voice. + +"Well, you may look for yourself!" + +"I tell you," the second speaker went on, "that those boys are still +out in the hills! When I was at the camp there was only one in the +tent, and he sat there with a gun in his lap, watching for the others +to come back." + +"Did you speak with him?" + +"What for would I speak with him?" + +"To get his story. What are they here for? That is worth knowing." + +"Well, I didn't show myself because we're not supposed to be here +ourselves!" came the other voice. "If you hadn't built the fire +outside to-night we'd have been in no danger. Now we've got a lot of +boys sneaking around. What did you do with the others?" + +"They're in the work-room." + +"In the work-room, seeing everything! You're a bright lot! You know +now, I suppose that we've got to leave those lads here when we go +away?" + +"I have known that all along. There are plenty of kids in the world. +These won't be missed. It is a bad job, but it must be done!" + +"They shouldn't have come sneaking around!" + +The two men disappeared again, but this time Ned saw the opening to +the work-room, as they had termed the underground apartment, when +they swung an imitation rock made of plank aside and stepped down. +For a moment their figures were illumined by the red light of the +fire within, and then they were no longer in sight. + +"They're a cheerful pair!" Frank whispered. + +"Counterfeiters!" Ned whispered, in reply. "And murderers!" + +"How are we going to get the boys out?" asked Frank. "They'll be +killed if we don't." + +"One must raise a ruction on the outside, and the other must sneak in +while the outlaws are gone. That is the only way I can think of now. +If you go out there and get Uncle Ike, and coax a couple of sobs out +of him, and rattle stones, and shoot your automatic like rain, the +outlaws may all rush out of the cave." + +"I can do all that, but how will you get in?" + +"When they run out, they will pass me. Then I'll get in through the +door," Ned replied. "If there's no one in there it won't take me long +to find the boys and turn them loose." + +"But if there is some one in there?" + +"Then you'll hear shooting," Ned answered, grimly. "In that case, +mount the mule and get back to camp and bring Jack and Oliver and a +lot of guns." + +"But one of those boys must be in there," Frank insisted. "Some one +rode Ike here!" + +"We don't know who it is that is here," Ned reflected. "Anyway, +you've got to get away with the mule after making all that noise. +Don't go in the direction of the Brady cabin. We don't want that man +Bradley mixing us up with police officers!" + +"Every minute counts!" Frank declared, "I'm off. You'll hear a racket +like the blowing up of a world in about three minutes! Good luck!" + +The lads shook hands and parted. It seemed to each one that the other +was going to his death, but only encouraging words were spoken. + +In five minutes a horrible clamor rang down the canyon. Uncle Ike +screamed, and the beating of hoofs sounded like a charge of cavalry. +Then came sharp, quick pistol shots. + +Three men dashed out of the cavern and Ned crept in at the open door! + +"I don't know what I shall find in here!" he mused, as he came into +the light of a great fire, "but I'll know all about it right soon!" + + + + +CHAPTER X + +"PACKED AWAY LIKE SARDINES" + + +Even in that underground room Ned could hear the shooting outside and +the screams of the aggravated mule. Several weapons seemed to be +pouring out lead, and the boy wondered if the outlaws were getting +the range of his chum. + +The firing seemed to grow fainter as he advanced into the room. +Either the outlaws were pursuing Frank or the shooters were taking +refuge behind rocks which deadened the sound. + +At first the boy kept his eye out for an attack on himself, but there +seemed to be none of the outlaws left in the subterranean place. The +fire was built at one side, and the light from it filled the whole +apartment. Counterfeit dollars lay about, scattered over the floor as +if dropped in great haste. + +Halting in the center of the room, after closing and baring the outer +door, Ned put his fingers to his lips and gave out a low whine, one +of the signals used by the boys of the Wolf Patrol. While he listened +for a response, the firing outside came nearer, or appeared from the +sound to do so. + +"I'd be in a nice fix if they should seek to retreat to the cave!" +Ned thought. + +While he listened an answer came to his call--the low, sharp signal +of the Wolves! + +"That's Jimmie!" Ned muttered. "He's in some of the holes just +outside this room." + +"Where are you?" he asked, and the answer came with a giggle. + +"We're packed away like sardines! Come get us out! We're only tied +with ropes, but the ropes know their business! Here! To the right of +the fire!" + +Ned soon found that the wall at the point indicated was of plank, +like the door, painted and sanded to imitate rock. He had no +difficulty in finding the opening, and in a short time the boys were +relieved of their bonds. Ned opened his eyes wide at sight of Dode, +the fourth boy, and of Oliver, who had been left at the camp. + +"What's the shooting outside?" asked Jimmie, stretching his arms, +cramped from long confinement. "Who's out there with Uncle Ike? Say, +but I was glad to hear the gentle voice of that wicked old mule!" + +"And now," Teddy observed, "how about getting out of this? I'm +hungry." + +"If Frank keeps that racket going," Ned answered, motioning the group +toward the door by which he had entered, "we may be able to get out +without being seen. You can tell me how you got caged later on. Now +we'll try the door." + +"Wait!" whispered Jimmie. + +"Wait!" said Dode. + +Ned turned and faced both boys with enquiring eyes. + +"Why wait?" he asked. + +"I want my gun!" Jimmie replied. "They searched us and put the +plunder in that alcove in the rock on the other side of the fire. +We'll need the guns, I take it." + +The three boys, Jimmie, Teddy, and Oliver, made a quick rush for the +alcove and soon came back with their guns and electrics. The firing +outside was again farther away, and the chances for getting out +without being attacked appeared to be good. + +"What is it?" Ned asked Dode, as he pulled at his sleeve. + +"There's another door," the lad explained. "It opens on the slope on +the west side of the ridge we are under. We can go that way without +being seen." + +"That's just the thing!" Jimmie exclaimed. "We can get out and join +Frank in the mess outside! Then I reckon we'll put the skids under +the outlaws!" + +Dode led the way to the opening indicated, passed, with the others at +his heels, through a long passage, and finally came to a plank door +which was securely fastened on the inside. From this position the +racket outside became only a hum. + +The boy unfastened the door and swung it inside. Beyond lay the +slope, and, beyond that, the valley and the distant mountains. The +air of the night was sweet and clear after the close atmosphere of +the underground room. + +From the other side of the ridge, which was not very high, came shots +and the vicious shrieks of a pestered mule! Ned turned to the south, +from which direction the clamor came, and passed as swiftly as +possible along the slant of the elevation. + +"Are you going to attack the outlaws from the rear?" asked Teddy. "We +are taking the wrong course if you want to go back to camp." + +"Huh!" Jimmie grunted, trudging along puffing at every breath, "we've +got to find Frank and Uncle Ike, I guess." + +When the party came to the end of the ridge under which the +counterfeiters had been working, they faced the valley, some distance +away, in which the cabin of Mary Brady stood. Through the moonlight +they could just distinguish the crude stone chimney of the structure. + +"Now, Ned," Jimmie explained, "if we turn up the slope here and do a +little shooting when we reach a good elevation, the counterfeiters +will think they are being attacked by a fresh party and duck back to +the cave. Then Frank can come along with that blessed old mule. Did +you ever hear a lop-eared old rascal of the mule tribe make such a +racket? I wonder what Frank was doing to him?" + +"I know!" Teddy broke in. "He was tickling him with his heels. That +makes Uncle Ike half crazy! There goes another yell! Fine old bird, +is Uncle Ike!" + +It was plain to the boys that the battle was quite a distance to the +south and leading down into the valley, so they began the ascent of +the rocky slope and continued up until they were all out of breath. +Then they stopped and looked back. + +The outlaws came into sight, in a minute, making for their cave. They +fired an occasional shot as they retreated, and this fact convinced +the boys that Frank had not been wounded by any of the shots which +had been fired at him. + +"We'll quicken their steps a trifle!" Ned said. "You boys go on up to +the next shelf and I'll fire from here. They may charge us, and if +they do I can cover your retreat. Besides, you will have a longer +start." + +"I'm going to stay right here and shoot, too!" Jimmie declared. +"Those men have several bumps coming from me!" + +"Ain't he the great little gunman?" snickered Teddy. + +"But I need you up there with the others to protect my retreat," +urged Ned, so Jimmie unwillingly toiled up the acclivity. They came +to a shelf perhaps three hundred feet beyond Ned's stand and crouched +down. + +Ned's fire, when it came, had the effect of sending the outlaws on a +run toward their cave, so the boy joined the others without facing a +return fire. + +"They'll be out again when they see what's been going on at the +cave!" Jimmie predicted, but the prophecy was not a good one, for no +figures were seen in the canyon after that, and no more shots were +fired from that direction. + +"I know what the bogus money-makers will do now," Jimmie snickered. +"They'll pack up their tools and vanish! They'll be thinking the +whole Secret Service bunch is after them!" + +"That's just the trouble," Ned said. "I'm afraid the mountaineers +will also think we are Secret Service operatives and spies and make +trouble for us." + +"We'll have to get busy with our cameras, then," Jimmie went on, "and +take pictures of everything in sight. We may be believed if we tell +the truth, that we blundered on their cave and they attacked us. I +wonder why Frank doesn't show up? He may have been killed or +wounded!" + +"If he has been hurt," Teddy observed, as the sound of hoofs came +From the south, "Uncle Ike hasn't, for here he comes, ugly as ever." + +Believing that Frank was indeed approaching, the boys fired a number +of shots to direct his course and waited. The hoofbeats, the labored +breathing of the mule, became more distinct directly, and then Frank +came into sight. + +The greeting he received was a warm one, and Uncle Ike was petted and +permitted to search every pocket for sugar! + +"I don't see how you escaped being hit," Ned observed. "The outlaws +fired enough shots to cripple an army." + +"They never saw me," declared Frank. "I kept behind ridges and +outcropping rocks, and in the shadows. They were afraid to come too +close, for they must have thought a dozen men were attacking them. +Whenever I fired I changed my position, and when Uncle Ike yelled I +hustled him along! I reckon a good many of the shots you heard came +from my gun! When you began shooting that settled it! They will be +fifty miles from here by tomorrow noon!" + +"That's likely, for they won't dare remain here after they have been +caught at their work," Ned admitted. "Moonshiners might remain and +fight, but counterfeiters will get away right soon. I take it they +don't belong to this section anyway." + +On the way to the camp, during the brief rests, Jimmie explained how +they had been surprised while in the outer cave and had been taken +inside and tied up. The boy Dode was overjoyed at his escape from the +gang, and explained that they had captured him not far from +Washington and forced him to accompany them, the idea being to use +him in the future in getting rid of the spurious coins. + +"They are making a lot of it," he declared, "and the country will be +flooded with their work if the government doesn't catch them." + +It may be well to state here that the reasoning of the boys with +regard to the future actions of the outlaws was correct, as they +disappeared from that section that night. When the lads visited the +cave later on some of the counterfeit coin which had been made was +still scattered about the subterranean room. + +When they first reached the camp Jack was not in sight, but he soon +appeared, coming from a hiding place near the summit. + +"I thought I'd better not expose myself by remaining in the tent," he +explained, "so ducked away and hid where I could watch the mules and +the provisions without being seen. I had about made up my mind that +the state militia had been called out, you made such a racket!" + +"We're going to give Uncle Ike a medal, also a barrel of sugar, for +heroic conduct in the face of the enemy!" Jimmie declared, and the +mule, for once in his life, found a full pocket when he nosed about +for sweet lumps! + +While the lads were eating a delayed supper, Jack turned to Oliver +with a mock frown on his face. + +"The next time you go away in the night and leave me alone in camp," +he said, "I'm going to break your dial in! I might have been shot +while asleep. According to the conversation between the outlaws, just +related by Jimmie, one of the toughs came up here! Don't you ever do +that again, if you want to keep a whole hide." + +"I guess Uncle Ike has a larger kick coming than you have!" Jimmie +remarked. + +When the boys compared notes and thoughts concerning the child, the +old lady, and the blonde stranger, they could not agree at all. Some +of them insisted that the boy was Mike III., while the others +declared that he was the prince!" + +"If he isn't the grandson," one asked, "why this American slang?" + +"And if he is," questioned another, "why this talk about French and +other foreign languages? Mike III. wouldn't know a foreign tongue, +would he?" + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +JACK'S ELEGANT CHICKEN PIE + + +The sun was high over the mountains when Ned awoke on the morning +following the adventure with the counterfeiters. Leaving Jimmie, +Frank, Teddy and Oliver in their bunks and Dode, the new acquisition +to the party, curled up in a nest of blankets, he issued forth from +the tent and looked about for Jack, who had been left on guard. + +The boy was nowhere in sight at first, then he saw him at a spring +which bubbled out of the mountain not far from the corral. It was the +water from this spring which brought forth the tender grass upon +which the mules were feeding. + +Jack looked up with a shout when he saw Ned, and came running up to +the camp, carrying in one hand a pail in which three large-sized +chickens lay, nicely boiled, carved and washed. + +"What do you think of that?" he demanded, pushing the pail up under +Ned's nose. "I guess we're some hustlers for sustenance!" + +"Where did you get the hens?" asked Ned. "They sure look good to me." + +"You couldn't guess in a thousand years!" Jack replied. "So I'm going +to tell you, right off the handle! Judd Bradley, the blonde fellow +who brought the boy in, came up with them, with the compliments of +Mrs. Brady, about an hour ago. He brought the boy up with him, too. +What do you know about that?" + +"Is it the prince, or is it Mike III.?" asked Ned, with a smile. + +"If you leave it to me," Jack answered quite positively, "it is the +prince!" + +"How does he look and act this morning?" + +"Like a kid raised under restraint, now free and full of the de--Old +Nick!" + +"And Bradley?" asked Ned. + +"That's another point! He watches the kid every second of the time, +and when the boy speaks a word of French he looks daggers at him! I +reckon the son of Mike II. wouldn't be talking French! Nor he +wouldn't be here with a chaperon from Washington. We have found the +prince, all right, and I'm sorry for it! It makes our work too easy!" + +"Don't crow until you're out of the woods!" laughed Ned. "There may +be a few adventures in store for us yet! So this seven-year-old boy +talks French, does he?" + +"You bet he does! Like a native!" + +"Where are they now--Bradley and the boy, I mean?" + +"Down by the mules! The boy, who is constantly called Mike-- +ostentatiously called by that name--wants to ride Uncle Ike! Fat time +hell have if he gets aboard of that argumentative brute!" + +"Are they going to help eat the chicken?" asked Ned. + +"Sure! I told them to stick around until I got the most beautiful +chicken pie built they ever touched tongue to. They're going to stay. +You go and talk with them while I make the pie. It is going to be a +corker--melt in your mouth, make you dream of the old red barn down +on the farm!" + +"Ever make a chicken pie?" asked Ned. + +"Of course not! There's got to be a first time to everything! But I +know how. I've got a recipe here which is used by the chef at +Sherry's." + +"Go to it!" laughed Ned. "I'll take my chances on having canned meat +for dinner." + +"You just wait!" roared Jack, as Ned dashed down to the spring. + +Jack stood a moment, pail in hand, watching Ned washing at the +spring, and then went on to the fire, leaving Ned to proceed to the +corral and entertain the guests. + +Jimmie was just tumbling out of the tent when Jack came up with the +chicken. That young man immediately set up a shout which awakened the +others and brought them out rubbing their eyes. + +"Chicken for breakfast!" he shouted. + +"Chicken pie for dinner!" Jack corrected. + +"All right!" sighed the boy. "Then I'll cook a couple of pounds of +ham and a couple of dozen eggs for breakfast! That ought to keep us +alive until you get the pie ready!" + +"How do you make chicken pie?" demanded Frank. "I've always wanted to +know how to make a pie out of a hen." + +"You just watch me," Jack answered, not without a touch of pride, +"and I'll show how it is done. Here, young man, don't set down on my +dough! That's for the crust." + +Jimmie bounded off a camp stool where the cook had deposited his +crust-dough on a clean white paper and watched Jack line a six-quart +tin pail with the mixture of flour, water and baking powder. + +"That ain't thick enough!" he commented. "The crust ought to be an +inch thick." + +"You go out and feed the mules!" ordered Jack. "When I want any help +in making a chicken pie I won't call on you!" + +"Anyway," Jimmie insisted, "it ought to be an inch thick." + +Jack laid the pieces of chicken in the bed of dough--the chickens +having been cooked tender long before Ned was out of his blankets-- +and put in salt, pepper, a small piece of butter--out of a glass +can!--and then poured in some of the liquid the chickens had been +stewed in." + +"If there should happen to be a drumstick you can't get in," Jimmie +volunteered, "I can eat it for breakfast!" + +"So that's why you wanted the crust so thick!" cried Jack. "You +wanted to crowd the chicken out so you could stuff yourself with a +hen for breakfast! Run along and play you'r a baker's wagon +delivering goods on the Bowery!" + +"You're the wise little man--not!" Jimmie grunted and set about +cooking ham and eggs for breakfast. + +"How long will it take that chicken pie to cook?" asked Teddy. + +"Couple of hours," replied Jack. "Sometimes it takes longer." + +Jack prepared a great bed of coals, drew up dry wood to make more, +and set the pail of chicken pie in the heavy double oven to cook. + +"I'm making this 'specially light and sweet," he said, poking the +coals up to the oven, "because we're going to have a prince of the +royal blood to breakfast." + +"Where is he?" asked Jimmie, with a grin, "Down by the mules! He +brought these chickens to us--or his chaperon did! Rather thoughtful +of him! Say, Frank" Jack added, "will you go down to the corral and +take a lot of snapshots of the kid? I want to send some home to +Chicago, just to convince the boys I've been dining with royalty." + +"Dining with Mike III.," Frank laughed. "It is dollars to dills that +the boy trying to get on Uncle Ike's back is fresh from the +Washington slums!" + +"Look you here, little man," Jack began, but just at that moment Ned, +Bradley, and the boy appeared on the slope, headed for the camp. The +boy was seated on the back of Uncle Ike, who, for a wonder, was +marching along sedately, as if accustomed to being made the plaything +of children. + +"I wouldn't have believed it of him!" Jimmie muttered. "I wouldn't +have trusted a kid on that wild animal's back any sooner than I would +have trusted eggs to a hay-baler. Uncle Ike's sure going into a +decline!" + +The boy came riding up ahead of the others and shouted to Jimmie: + +"Gardez! A cheval!" he shouted, urging the mule into a trot. + +"That's your kid from the Washington slums!" Jack laughed, +scornfully. "Talking French!" + +"What does he say?" demanded Jimmie. + +"He says for you to be on your guard--to look out for yourself--as he +is coming on horseback. I don't know much French, but that is easy!" + +Bradley hastened to the boy's side and said something to him in a +tone which the others could not hear, the lad coloring slightly as he +listened. + +"He's jawing him for speaking French!" Jimmie commented. + +"It looks like it," Jack observed. "Oh, I reckon we've got the prince +all right. I wonder when we are going to start back to Washington +with him, and if Ned will pinch that blonde beauty who brought him +in?" + + +Uncle Ike stopped at the campfire and stuck his nose into Jimmie's +pocket, looking for sugar. Mike III., as some of the boys insisted on +thinking of the little fellow, dropped off and seized the animal by +the tail and began to pull. Frank ran to get the child out of his +dangerous position, but Uncle Ike merely looked around to see what it +was that was pulling his tail winked one eye at Frank, and went on +searching pockets. + +"That mule sure gets my goat!" grinned Jimmie. "What do you think of +his standing still while his tail is being pulled?" + +By this time Jimmie had prepared breakfast, and the boys gathered +about the fire with tin plates on their knees, and devoured ham and +eggs, baked beans, and bread and butter and coffee with a mountain +relish. Mike III. ate what was given to him at the first helping and +then clamored for more. Bradley whispered something in his ear, but +the boy pushed him off with a scowl: + +"Alles-vous en!" he cried, angrily. + +Jack snickered and Frank looked as if he had made a mistake in his +estimate of the boy and knew it! Bradley drew the boy away, but +Jimmie hastened to replenish his plate. + +"Let the kid have all he wants!" he said. "We can cook more. We're +going to have a chicken pie for dinner, and he'll like that." + +"Seems to me it is about time Jack was looking after that pie," Frank +suggested. + +"Pretty near forgot it!" Jack admitted, going to the oven and opening +the door so as to look inside at the dainty. + +Something took place when he did that! The square piece of metal flew +back on its hinges with a thump, and cut of the oven flew the cover +of the tin pail in which the chicken pie had been tucked. It shot +across the fire and struck Jimmie under the ear and then rolled back +into the blaze! + +"Jerusalem!" cried the boy. "What you shootin' at me for?" + +No attention was paid to what the boy said, for at that moment a wave +of dough, spotted here and there with pieces of chicken, puffed out +of the pail and tumbled over Jack's stooping shoulders and on into +the fire, where it continued to grow until the fire half consumed it. + +"Catch the chicken!" yelled Frank. "He's running away." + +Jack tried to keep the dough in the oven, but it rolled out and +covered his hands and arms with a sticky mess. The little fellow +screamed with delight. + +"Oh, oh, _de mal en pis!_" he shouted. + +"Grab the chicken!" shouted Teddy. "We can finish breakfast on that!" + +While the mess was being cleared up, Frank asked Jack: + +"How much baking powder did you put into that dough?" + +"Only one can!" was the reply, and Frank went away and rolled on the +ground! + +"Say," Jimmie whispered to Jack, who was scraping the chicken pie off +his clothes, "what did the kid say when he pushed Bradley away, and +when the pie busted?" + +"First he said 'be off with you' or 'let me alone' next he said 'from +bad to worse' Or something like that. Look at Bradley. He's calling +him down for it, right now. I'm going, to talk French to that kid +when Bradley goes away. I'm going to know about this three Mike and +this prince business!" + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE BLACK HAND GAME + + +Shortly after breakfast, and after what remained of the chickens had +been eaten, Bradley and his charge left the camp, after inviting the +boys to visit them in the cabin in the valley. Bradley appeared +anxious to be friendly, and seemed absolutely frank in his talks. The +only suspicious thing they noticed in him was his jealous care of the +boy--his reproaches when the lad had indulged in a word or two of +French! + +"You bet I'll visit you at the cabin!" Jack said, as the two +disappeared over the summit. "I'll be there with the lingo, too! I +can soon find out from the boy what he knows of the French language! +Of course I'll be down to the cottage!" + +"Bradley will see that you don't talk with the boy alone!" Jimmie +declared. + +"I'll catch him doing it!" was Jack's reply. + +"What do you think about it, Ned?" asked Frank. "Is that the prince, +or is it Mike III.? You may have all the guesses you need. + +"First," Ned said, turning to Jack and Frank, "tell me what the boy +said when he spoke in French." + +Jack repeated the interpretations as previously given, and Ned +remained in a thoughtful mood for a long time. Then he went into the +tent, without answering any questions, and began overhauling the +stock of reading matter brought along. + +When he found what he wanted to he threw himself on the bunk where he +had slept and read steadily for an hour or more. At least he held to +the book for that length of time, turning the leaves rapidly at +times, and then not at all for several minutes. + +"What's he up to?" asked Teddy. "Something on his alleged mind!" + +"I'll go and find out what he's reading," Jimmie volunteered. + +The boy entered the tent, but was back in a moment with a broad grin +on his face. + +"It is a French dictionary!" he gasped. "Ned is learning French, so +he can talk with the prince in his native tongue!" + +"The prince isn't French!" Jack declared. "He belongs away in the +East somewhere. French is the polite language of Europe, so of +course, he's been taught it!" + +After a time Ned came to the door of the tent and beckoned to Jimmie. + +"Suppose we go and get some pictures of the mountains," he said, when +the boy entered. "We haven't taken a snap-shot since we came here. + +"I'm strong for it!" Jimmie declared. "We might go and take a few +snaps at the counterfeiter's den. That will be fine!" + +"What's that?" demanded Frank Shaw, poking his nose into the tent. +"Going to take pictures of the counterfeiters den! I'm in on that. +We'll take a bunch of pictures--enough for a first-page layout--and +send 'em in to dad's newspaper. Hot stuff! What? And I'll write the +biography of Uncle Ike, and send it in with the rest. His picture +ought to go in the center of the layout. He'll be a hero, all right." + +"All right!" Ned agreed. "We'll go and take the pictures, and we'll +send them in when you get the story written! Will that answer?" + +"Sure it will!" + +So Ned, Jimmie, and Frank started away laughing, for all knew Frank +would never write the story, toward the counterfeiters' cave. When +they came in sight of the ridge which jutted out of the slope to make +the canyon, and under which the workroom was situated, they saw a man +moving northward, keeping close to the jagged summit of the lesser +elevation, and looking sharply about as he advanced. + +"That may be one of them," Jimmie suggested. + +"I don't believe it!" Frank contradicted. "What do you think, Ned?" +he added. + +"Never saw the outlaws," Ned answered, "so I can't decide the +question. Still, I doubt if one of the counterfeiters is within +fifty miles of this spot now." + +"That's the idea!" Frank said. "Of course the shooting of last night +would draw out the natives. There'll be dozens around the caves +to-day." + +The boys walked on to the canyon, taking snap-shots of everything +they saw. The slope, the canyon, the valley to the west, the green +valley to the south, the shallow cave from which the entrance to the +workroom gave, all were transferred to films to await development. +When at last they entered the shallow cave they paused. + +"There may be some of them in here yet," Frank suggested. + +"Not to-day!" Ned replied. "There are too many strangers about!" + +They entered cautiously. There was now no fire on the stone hearth, +and the atmosphere of the place was damp and chill, as well as dark. +Here and there a break in the rocky roof above--the ceiling of the +apartment was very near to the surface of the outcropping ridge--let +in a shaft of light, but for the most part the apartment was in heavy +shadows. + +Ned took out his electric light and turned it enquiringly about the +room. Counterfeit money still lay scattered over the floor. The +melting pot and the dies were on the cold iron shelf where they had +been left, and even a coat hung against the wall. + +"They got out in a hurry," Jimmie declared. + +"And they are not likely to come back in a hurry!" Ned added. + +Frank paced the apartment off, set his camera tripod, and got out his +powder. + +"You boys stand over on the other side," he requested, as he moved +back to his tripod, "and when I give the word you, Jimmie, touch off +this flash." + +"What do you want a view of that corner for?" asked Jimmie. "You are +too close, anyway, to get a good picture." + +"I'm going to have a picture of every corner, and the middle, and the +roof, and the chimney, and everything about the blooming place!" +Frank declared. + +"Wait a minute!" Jimmie shouted. "I'll hide in the passage we went +out of last night, and when you are ready to spring the print I'll +look out, with a fierce expression on my pretty face. That will make +the picture look like the real brigandish thing. What?" + +"All right," laughed Frank, "get in there! It is only an excuse for +getting your mug into dad's newspaper, but we'll let it go." + +Frank and Ned busied themselves for half an hour or more, taking +pictures and looking over the implements used in the manufacture of +spurious coin. At length, when they returned to the outer cave, they +remembered that Jimmie had not returned from the west passage to the +workroom, and Ned went there to look for him. He was not there, nor +was he in any of the niches or shallow openings in the rocky walls. +Ned called to him, but he did not reply. Then Frank came running into +the passage and joined in the hunt. In vain! Jimmie was nowhere to be +found. + +"Wherever he is," Frank said, after a long search, "he has his camera +with him." + +"I didn't see him have one," Ned replied. "You must be mistaken." + +"It was the baby camera he had," Frank explained. "He carried it +under his coat. The little monkey has doubtless gone off on a +picture-making tour of his own." + +"That is just like him," Ned agreed, "so we'll go on about our +business and let him present himself when he gets ready." + +"He seemed to take quite an interest in that child," Frank suggested, +"and he may have gone on to the cabin." + +"We may as well go that way and thank the old lady for the hens Jack +didn't make into a pie," Ned observed. "I'd like another look at that +child myself." + +"Is it the prince, or is it Mike III.?" laughed Frank. + +Ned smiled, but made no reply, They walked on down the slope and +connected with the valley at the south end of the ridge. When they +came to the cabin they found Mrs. Mary Brady sitting in the doorway, +the child playing on the ground--beaten hard by years of wear--in +front of her. She arose as they appeared, and the boy darted off into +the fenced garden farther to the south, looking back with a grin from +behind the stake-and-rider fence. + +"Good day to you, young gentlemen," the old lady said. "I hope you +passed a pleasant night! The mountain air is good for those who seek +sleep." + +Then it occurred to Ned that neither Bradley nor the child had +referred in any way to the shooting of the night before, though, if +at the cabin, they must have heard it. He regarded the old lady +keenly as he said: + +"Has any one seen anything of the outlaws to-day?" + +"The outlaws?" repeated the other. + +"You heard nothing in the night?" Ned asked. + +"I thought I heard a gunshot now and then," was the indifferent +reply, "but they are too common here to attract attention. Did the +shooting disturb you?" + +Ned did not believe the old lady had slept through the furious +fusilades of shots of the night before. What her motive was in +ignoring the matter he could not understand, but he decided to set +himself right with her and also with her mountain friends by telling +of the events of the night. + +If they were to remain long in that section, it was quite necessary, +he thought, that the natives should understand that the boys of the +Camera Club were not there to spy on counterfeiters or the +moonshiners, if any there were in that region. + +So he told her that the boys had blundered on the workroom of the +counterfeiters, had been suspected of being spies sent by the +government and seized, and finally had been released by strategy. He +added that they were not there to molest the people of the district, +whatever their occupation might be, but to take pictures and have a +long vacation in the health-giving mountain air." + +"And I hope you'll pass the word along," he closed, "so that your +friends will not regard us as enemies. We are anxious to meet as many +of them as possible, and to be on good terms with them." + +This was strictly true, as the boys were not there to convict any of +the natives, whatever their offenses might be, but to deal with the +strangers who had abducted the prince from his home in Washington. +Ned was certain that no one belonging in that region had had a hand +in the crime, although he suspected that some of them might +innocently harbor the outlaws he was in quest of. + +The old lady listened to Ned's story and his explanation with a +startled face. + +"I'm sure," she said, "that no one belonging here was interested in +the counterfeiting gang you boys came upon. I am sure, too, that no +one will blame you for what you did. We are law-abiding people, but +our mountains constitute a secure refuge for some who are not worthy +of protection." + +Ned was more than pleased at the outcome of the matter, for he was +sure the old lady would take pains to set the matter before her +friends in the correct light. The conversation soon changed to other +subjects. The child did not return, and directly Frank saw him +walking along a distant hillside, hand-in-hand with Bradley. + +"Mr. Bradley seems to stick close to Mike," he said, tentatively. + +"Never lets him out of his sight," was the reply, and Mrs. Brady +seemed to resent the face as stated. She evidently had little of the +lad's companionship. + +When the boys reached the camp Jimmie had not returned, but their +chums were gathered around a sheet of letter paper which had, no one +knew how, been thrust into the tent. Jack's face was deadly white as +he handed it to Ned. + +"We are up against a black hand game," he said. "Jimmie has been +stolen!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THREE DAYS TO MOVE IN + + +Ned took the paper into his hand and read: + +"You boys are not wanted in the hills. We give you three days to get +out. On the morning of the fourth day, if you are still here, we +shall send you your friend's right hand. On the fifth day you will +receive his left hand. On the sixth day his right foot. On the +seventh day his left foot. On the eighth day his head. If you obey +this command he will be restored to you, in good health, at +Cumberland." + +"Is it a joke?" asked Frank, white to the lips. + +"It must be!" cried Jack. "No one would mutilate Jimmie." + +"It is a corase joke!" Teddy cut in. + +"I'm afraid it is no joke, boys," Ned said. "I'm afraid we'll have to +go." + +"But we'll come back again!" shouted Oliver. "We'll come back with a +whole company of Boy Scouts! There are enough Boy Scouts in New York +to tear these mountains up by the roots!" + +"But I don't understand how they got him," Teddy wailed. "He went +away with you." + +"He went into a hidden passage to make a picturesque effect," Frank +said, "and did not return. We thought it one of his jokes, and paid +little attention to his absence. We might have rescued him if we had +known." + +"Of course he was seized in that passage," Dode said. "Did you get +the picture he was to be in?" + +"Sure we did!" cried Frank. "I'll see if he was there when the camera +opened." + +As he spoke the boy made a rush for his suitcase, took out his +development tank, printing frame and other tools, and set to work on +his film roll. He used two powders instead of one, and in ten minutes +was ready for the printing. + +In a few minutes more he was at work in the tent, with the boys +gathered around him. The developer had worked perfectly, +notwithstanding the haste, and the printing was well advanced in the +soft light of the tent. Directly he had the picture taken in the cave +under view--the snapshot of the wall showing the entrance to the +secret passage. + +"Quick work!" Ned declared. "What does it show?" + +They all gathered around the print, each trying to get the first +glance at it. + +"There's Jimmie!" Teddy shouted. "He was looking out of the door when +the picture was taken! I can almost see his freckles!" + +"There he is, sure enough!" Frank cried. "The little monkey!" + +Ned took the print and examined it carefully, while the others waited +for him to express any discoveries he might make. + +"Did you see anything back of Jimmie?" he asked of Frank. + +"Just the dark wall," was the reply. + +Ned passed the print to him and left the tent. + +"Yes," Frank said, with a threat in his voice, there's a face looking +over Jimmie's shoulder. "Oh, I wish we had known!" + +"Can you see the face plainly?" asked Teddy. + +"Quite plainly," was the reply. "The door was open, as you see, and +Jimmie stood with his hand on the edge of it, looking at the camera, +his head in the room." + +"Yes; that makes the picture good," Teddy observed. + +"And there was a slant of light from the passage, and the head of the +outlaw shows in that. He's an ugly looking brute!" + +"Observe the alfalfa on his map!" exclaimed Teddy. + +"That picture may send him to prison!" Frank cried. "I hope so!" + +He put the tank, the printing frame, the print, and the other +articles away in his suitcase and went out to where Ned was standing. + +"Did you see the face behind the boy?" asked Frank--"get a good look +at it?" + +"Yes," was the reply. "It shows that this is not a joke!" Did you +notice the face closely?" + +"I think so." + +"What about the beard?" + +"Quite a growth, I should say." + +"Anything else odd about it?" persisted Ned. + +"Not that I saw," was the wondering reply. "What about it?" + +"It was a false beard! The man was disguised!" + + Frank's face looked, for an instant, as if he had received a blow. + +"And I was counting on that beard," he said, "as a means of +identification!" + +"Keep the print safe," Ned advised. "It may be useful in that way +yet." + +"Well," Frank declared, "we've got to go away! We can take no chances +on Jimmie being murdered. Isn't that your idea?" + +"We certainly will take no such chances," Ned responded. "Up to this +time we have been successful in getting out of trouble, though, and +we may be able to rescue the boy without giving up the search for the +abducted lad." + +"Here's another question," Frank said, "was that note sent by the +counterfeiters, or are the men interested in the abduction of the +prince resorting to such tactics?" + +"I have an idea that the abductors are the ones who are doing it," +Ned answered. + +"It may be moonshiners," suggested Frank. + +"I don't think there are any illicit stills in this district," Ned +replied. + +"Well, we're up against a desperate gang now, anyway," Frank said, +"and it looks as if they held the high cards! If we had only +suspected what was going on in that passage, we might have rescued +the boy before they got him away! + +"I believe we'll do well to watch Bradley," he suggested. + +"But Bradley was at the cabin when we got there." + +"Oh, he had plenty of time to get Jimmie away and get back to the +cabin!" Frank insisted. "We remained at the cave half an hour after +Jimmie left us, and we took our time in getting to the cottage." + +"Also we took a great many snap-shots at the scenery," Ned went on. +"Now, I wish you would take all the films out of the cameras and +develop and print a picture of each." + +"I'll go right at it," Frank replied, turning back to the tent. + +"And if any of the boys were taking pictures about the tent, or the +corral, have them developed. It may be that one of the snap-shots +will show the person who slipped the note into the tent." + +"I don't see how it was ever done without the man being seen," Frank +exclaimed. + +"But it was done," Ned replied, "and we've got to find out when and +how if we can." + +When Frank left for the tent Ned started on toward the summit. He had +traveled only a short distance when Frank came puffing after him. + +"Here's another print Jack and Teddy took," he said. "It shows +something in the cave we never noticed. See if you can tell what it +is." + +Ned glanced at the print and returned it. + +"There is another opening in the wall at the east side," he said. +"The picture shows it. I noticed something there, but neglected to +investigate." + +While the two talked Jack came up the slope, his camera over his +shoulder. + +"I think it is about time for me to be having an outing," he said. +"I've been in the camp most of the time since we've been here." + +"Come along, then," Ned replied. "I'm going back to the cave, and it +may be just as well to have some one with me." + +Frank went down the slope to the tent and Ned and Jack hastened down +the slope on the other side. They were busy with their thoughts and +for a long time neither spoke. + +"Of course it is the abductors?" Jack asked, presently. + +"I have no doubt of it," was the reply. + +"Do you connect the man Bradley with it?" was the next question. + +"There is no proof against him," Ned replied. + +"But you must have some idea about it," persisted Jack. + +"For all we know," Ned remarked, "he may be entirely innocent in the +abduction matter. He may have brought the real grandchild here." + +"The grandchild!" repeated Jack. "Here's the old question once more: +'Is it the prince, or is it Mike III.?'" + +"I have the answer to that question written down in my memorandum +book," Ned said. "I don't want to show it to you now, because I may +be mistaken. When the case is closed I will show you the entry. Then +you may laugh at me if you feel like it." + +"I'd like to see it now," Jack coaxed. + +"I want all you boys to think for yourselves," Ned went on. "Don't +get a theory and pound away at it. If you do, you'll overlook +everything which doesn't agree with that theory. If I should show you +what I have written, you might look only for clues calculated to +prove it to be correct, or you might look only for opposing clues." + +A second examination of the counterfeiters' cave revealed nothing of +importance except that the broken wall on the east side showed a +small room into which Jimmie and his captor might have fled after the +abduction. Still, there was no proof that they had done so, Ned +explained. + +"Why didn't the little fellow yell?" asked Jack. + +"I think he would have yelled if that had been possible!" Ned said. + +The boys left the cave in a short time and passed south, toward the +valley and the cabin. Instead of going directly to the cabin, +however, Ned kept away to the west and came out south of it, in the +section where Bradley had walked with the child. + +After a time Jack wandered away to the east, so as to come up on that +side of the cabin. Although the boys had circled the building, no +sign of life had been seen. + +While Ned was yet some distance away he saw Jack standing on the +slope of the valley watching the front door. He walked back and +looked in at a small window in the rear wall. The child lay asleep on +a bed in one corner of the room, and Mrs, Brady sat by his side. +Bradley occupied a chair not far away. + +"Quite a domestic scene!" Ned muttered. + +While the boy watched through the window, the old woman arose and +left the cabin by the front door. Then Bradley arose, went to a +suitcase in a corner by the hearth, took therefrom a small green +paper parcel, and went to the cupboard, hanging on the north wall. + +After feeling about for a time he took out a cup, filled it with warm +water from a kettle on the fire and stirred the contents of the green +package into it with a brush which he took from a pocket. Ned could +not see the contents of the cup, but when the man held the brush up +to the light he saw that it was soaked in what seemed to be a black +dye. It appeared too thick to suit the taste of the man, and he +poured in more water out of the kettle. + +Then, with the brush wet in one hand and the cup in the other, +Bradley drew closer to the bed where the child slept. Ned watched for +a few seconds more, then the footsteps of the old lady were heard +approaching the door, ringing on the hard earth at the front of it. +Ned made another entry in his memorandum book and turned away. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +POINTING OUT THE TRAIL + + +After leaving the window at the rear of the cabin, Ned moved to the +north side, where there was no window at all, and stood there, +huddled against the wall, until he heard the old lady enter the house +and close the door. Peering around the corner to see that no one was +in sight, he crossed the open space swiftly and approached the grove +where he had seen Jack. + +Jack was not in sight, but a round hole cut in the bark of a tree +told the direction in which he had gone. In the Indian sign language +used by the Boy Scouts this meant: + +"This is the trail. Keep on in this direction." + +Wondering what had taken Jack away so suddenly, Ned followed on until +he came to an open space where no trees were growing. He, however, +kept straight ahead, taking snapshots as he came to desirable scenes. + +A hundred yards from the edge of the grove he came to a small round +stone sitting on top of a large one. Then he walked faster and with +more confidence. This, too, said: + +"This is the trail! Keep on!" + +It was now after noonday, and the sun poured fiercely down into the +valley between the great ridges. There were patches of forest here +and there, and now and then the boy came to a field which had been +planted to corn. Still, he came upon no human being. The two cabins +he saw seemed empty and deserted. + +Weary and hungry as he was, Ned kept on, now reading the trail sign +from a tree, now from a stone, now from a bunch of grass tied at the +top, with the ends of the blades sticking straight up. He walked a +couple of miles without turning to the right or left, and then found +a new signal. The hole in the bole of the tree where the sign stood +was accompanied by a long cut in the bark of the left side. + +This, as plainly as a voice from the thicket could have done, said: + +"Turn to the left and keep on in that direction until you are further +instructed." + +The turn to the left led Ned up the slope. So the field of action was +likely to be in the mountains again! The signs were closer together +now, and Ned followed them with faith that he was on the right track. + +But who had made the trail? Was it Jimmie or Jack? Probably the +latter, Ned concluded, for Jimmie would not be likely to have had an +opportunity of so blazing his trail, while Jack was free to do so at +will. + +But why had Jack gone away on the trail alone? Why had he not called +to him, Ned, in order that they might proceed together? + +It was possible that the boy might be following some person whom he +suspected of the abduction, still that did not seem to be likely, as +any one tracking another in the broad light of day, in such a country +as that, over open places and rocky elevations, would be almost +certain to be discovered. Ned feared the boy was being led into a +trap. + +Finally, almost at the edge of the timber, Ned came to a third sign. +There were three holes cut in the bark of a tree, facing the trail he +had followed, and on the right side was the familiar slit in the +bark. + +"Turn to the right and be careful, for there may be danger ahead!" + +That is what the talk on the tree said! + +To the right lay a rim of trees, facing the bare face of the +mountain. Between the trees and the summit lay a long stretch of +rocky slope, in some places actually inaccessible to one not an +expert in mountain climbing. + +Obeying the signal, Ned turned to the right and kept under the +shelter of the trees. It was very still there, save for the sharp +raspings of insects hiding in the foliage and the sleepy call of +birds in the sky and in the tops of the trees. + +The boy made his way through the underbrush for some distance without +finding any sign. At a loss what course to pursue, he decided to do +nothing! So he sat down in a thicket and waited. And while he waited +he took snapshots! + +His thought, sitting there in suspense, was that Jack might have +waited for him at some point on the trail! At best the boy could have +been only a half hour ahead of him. He waited an hour, until the sun +began to touch the tops of the distant western mountains, and then +climbed cautiously up a tree and looked about. + +Then there came a rustling in the bushes farther to the south, and +the low, angry growl of a black bear came up to him! Ned began +sliding down the tree at once. + +That was the call of the Black Bear Patrol! He knew now that Jack was +not far off. At the bottom of the tree he found the boy waiting for +him! + +"Say, but I've had a long wait!" Jack complained. + + "Why didn't you signal before, then?" demanded Ned. + +"Why, I thought you'd come right on, come on and meet me!" + +"And you never knew I was here until I climbed the tree?" + +"Of course not. How should I?" + +"Well," Ned observed, "we'll know better next time. I presume I +should have made a sign myself--the call of the pack, for instance." + +"Of course," Jack replied. "Now," he went on, "do you know what's +doing here?" + +"I'm in quest of information," Ned grinned. "What have you found?" + +"I've discovered that the Brady cabin is being watched!" + +Ned couldn't understand that, and said so. Jack went on: "When I +stood in front of the house, two men came out of the canyon and +walked down to the tree belt and stopped. They stood there a long +time, talking, and then started off in this direction and I followed +them." + +"Are they mountaineers?" asked Ned. "People of this section?" + +"Certainly not! They are to all appearances city people, at least in +dress." + +"You couldn't hear what they were saying?" asked Ned. + +"No, but I could get some idea of their thoughts from their gestures. +One was kicking about something, and the other was trying to pacify +him." + +"Well, where did they go? Where did you see them last?" asked Ned. + +"They went up the slope, and disappeared behind that chimney of rock. +I've got pictures of that rock!" + +"This looks like a three-cornered game!" Ned mused. + +"What do you mean by that?" asked Jack. "Where are the three +interests?" + +"We'll probably have to come back here tonight," Ned went on, without +answering the question. "We can never get up that slope in daylight +without attracting their attention." + +"We must be at least four up-hill miles from camp," Jack calculated. + +"All of that," answered Ned. "It is a long walk there and back." + +"Then why not remain here?" asked Jack. "I'm hungry, but I'm more in +need of rest than food just now. We can lie here in the thicket until +night, and then creep up the slope and see what's doing." + +"I was about to suggest that," Ned observed, "but I thought you'd be +ravenous for the sight of a camp dinner!" + +"I have a hunch," Jack declared, after a time, "that Jimmie is +somewhere in this section! I don't know why, but when I saw those +men, strangers, evidently, walking so stealthily over the country I +got the hunch! Then I followed them, because I thought I might get a +clue to the boy's whereabouts by so doing." + +"If the boy is here," Ned replied, grimly, "we'll find him!" + +"Of course we'll find him! That's what we are here for!" + +The boys thus encouraging each other crawled deeper into the thicket +and lay down. They were more than tired, worse than hungry, but they +never thought of sleep, or of leaving their post of observation. The +afternoon passed slowly, the boys taking snapshots now and then. + +"The boys will be thinking we've been geezled!" Jack said. "I wish +they knew where to find us. There's no knowing what they will do, +they're so anxious about Jimmie. And if they scatter over the country +others may be captured." + +"They usually show good sense in emergencies," Ned commented. + +When the first tint of twilight came, the boys crept to the edge of +the thicket and sat looking out on the mountain. There was the broken +way to the summit, and there was the chimney rock behind which the +men had disappeared, but no human being was, for a long time im +sight. + +Then a small figure came swinging down the slope, off to the north, +and presently came opposite to where the boys lay. Jack seized Ned by +the arm and pointed. + +"Is it the prince, or is it Mike III?" he asked. + +Ned got out his field glass and studied the face and figure until, +whistling some childish discord, the boy turned back and disappeared +in the direction of the cabin. + +"What is that boy doing off here alone?" asked Jack, then. + +"Keep watch of the chimney rock," Ned advised. + +"But what do you think of it?" demanded Jack. "How did that boy get +up here?" + +"If you see any one moving up there," Ned went on, provokingly, "let +me know." + +"Oh, look here!" Jack insisted, half angrily, "what's the use of +shutting up like a clam? What is your idea about that boy? We've +never seen him before except in Bradley's company. Do you think he +ran away? Why can't we go and get him and hold him until Jimmie is +released?" + +"So you think the men who have taken Jimmie are the men who are +conducting the abduction game?" asked Ned. + +"Yes, don't you?" + +"I have written the answer to that down in my little book," smiled +Ned, "and when the right time comes I'll show it to you." + +"Well, if we are going to catch the boy we'll have to be moving." + +"We are not going to catch the boy." + +Jack threw himself down on the ground in disgust. + +"You're the Secret Service man," he said, "and I presume you know +what you are about, but it looks to me as if you had been reading a +dream book, or something like that." + +"Why should we catch the child?" asked Ned. + +"To hold him! To be able to say to the outlaws that we hold the top +hand!" + +"And trade the child for Jimmie, as you suggested?" + + "Why, of course!" + +"That would make a failure of our mission, me son!" + +"But it would save Jimmie's life." + +It was now growing quite dark in the valley, especially where the +tree growth was heavy, but upon the slope objects might still be +clearly distinguished some distance away. While the boys watched the +child came out of the thicket to the north and began ascending the +mountain, walking with a light, springing step, as if out for +exercise after a long and tiresome confinement. + +"Now keep your eye on the mountain," Ned requested. + +In a moment a column of smoke arose from behind the chimney rock. The +boys watched it intently and the child with it, for he was now +approaching the rock. + +"Cooking supper!" remarked Jack. "I wish they would pass it around!" + +"Does it take two fires to cook supper up there?" asked Ned, with a +smile. + +Jack half arose in his excitement, but Ned drew him down again. + +"Jimmie's up there!" he whispered. "There's the Boy Scout call for +help!" + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +A NIGHT ON THE SUMMIT + + +"Now," Ned said, as the signal columns died down, "we'll hike back to +camp with our pictures and get supper! How does that strike you?" + +Jack turned toward Ned impatiently. There was not light enough for +his face to show clearly, but Ned knew how the boy was scowling! + +"And go off and leave Jimmie here?" Jack said. "I'd like to know what +you're thinking of! Why have you changed your mind? I'm going to stay +here until it gets good and dark and then go up there." + +"You may spoil all my plans if you attempt to reach him to-night," +Ned replied, in a matter-of-fact tone. "On the way back I want to +stop at the cabin a moment." + +"All right," Jack grumbled. "I suppose I'll have to go with you! When +are you thinking of rescuing Jimmie? After they send us one of his +hands?" + +"Donft be sarcastic," laughed Ned. "You'll understand it all before +long." + +Jack was not at all pleased with the idea of returning to camp, and +said so repeatedly as they walked along both keeping in the thicket +as far as possible, but Ned seemed to take no offense at his remarks. + +"What I can't get through my head," Jack finally said, changing the +topic of conversation, "is why they let us travel through here +without nipping us." + +"I have an idea," Ned answered, "that they are pretty busy just now." + +"Well, what was the use of our going at all if we sneak away as soon +as we get where we might accomplish something?" demanded the boy, +reverting to the old subject. + +"You did a good job in finding and following them," Ned replied, +ignoring the question, "and another good job in showing me the way. +We have accomplished more than you think! I'm anxious for the end to +come, so you'll know just how much you have accomplished! There is +the cabin light," he added. + +The boys walked boldly up to the door and Ned knocked. Mrs. Brady +looked out with a welcoming smile on her faded face. She invited them +in and tried to appear pleased at their visit, but Ned saw that she +was under a great mental strain. + +Judd Bradley sat by the hearth, with the child by his side. He smiled +when Ned nodded to him and pointed to a chair. + +"Pardon my not arising," he said. "The fact is that I'm a bit leg-weary +to-night. This little chap ran away to-day, and I had a long chase +after him!" + +"We were worried about him," Mrs. Brady added. + +"Aw, what's the matter wid youse folks, anyway?" demanded the boy, in +a strident tone. "I didn't promise to sit in a chair an' play wid a +cat all day!" + +"I've had quite a busy day myself," Ned observed, "for one of the +boys has been abducted by the counterfeiters, as I suppose, and we've +been looking for him." + +"Have you found him?" asked the old lady, anxiously. + +"No," was the reply. "He must be securely hidden." + +"The poor little fellow!" + +Ned glanced casually at Bradley and saw that he was all interest. + +"It seems," he went on, "that the counterfeiters blame us for what +took place last night, and want us to leave the district. If we do +they will send the boy out to us unharmed, at least that is what they +promise." + +"I don't see how they can blame you for the trouble of last night," +Bradley said, and Ned caught a tone of irony in his voice. + +"That's what I can't see," Ned went on, "but it seems that they do." + +"And so they have ordered you out of the hills?" asked Bradley. +"That's too bad, just as we were getting well acquainted. But, then, +you don't have to go!" + +"I think we'll go," Ned replied. "There are other localities where we +can take pictures, and we can't afford to take any chances on the boy +being injured." + +"Sorry to have you go," Bradley remarked, "but that may be the wisest +course." + +"We think so," Ned replied. "Anyway, we're going day after to-morrow, +in time to meet Jimmie at Cumberland. I think we can get packed up +and out by that time." + +"Shall we see you again before you go?" asked the old lady, +anxiously. + +"Oh, I presume so. I am going now to leave a note in the cave, saying +that we are going out, and then on to camp." + +When the boys stepped outside the cabin the old lady followed as far +as the threshold standing with her gray head outside. + +"I'm sorry," she said. "If there is anything I can do--" + +Jack stood a couple of yards away, whistling shrilly. At a word from +Ned the old lady stepped out into the open air, half closing the door +after her. From the inside came the heavy tread of Bradley +approaching the door. + +But before the visitor gained the threshold Ned and Mrs. Bradley had +exchanged half a dozen short sentences, and when Bradley looked out +she was saying. + +"I shall look for you if you ever come this way again." + +"I'll surely be back, some bright day!" laughed Ned, and the two boys +walked on. + +"Well," Jack said, as they left the cabin behind, "of all the fire- +proof, enthusiastic, gilt-edged, slicky-slick members of the Ananias +club I ever heard mentioned, you certainly take the bakery! What did +you go and tell Bradley we were going out for?" + +"Because," Ned answered, "we are going out." + +"Not by day after to-morrow?" + +"I hope so! We ought to get ready by that time!" + +"I don't ask any more questions!" grumbled Jack. "I don't know hot +from cold! I'm deaf and dumb and blind from this minute on. Uncle Ike +has a classical education in comparison with what I know. Go to it, +Neddie, boy!" + +They stopped at the cave and Ned wrote a note to the effect that they +were going out inside the limit set, placed it in a conspicuous place +on the shelf with the dies, and then the two boys set out for camp. +It was a long, hard climb, but they made it before the boys were in +their bunks. + +"You're a nice party!" Frank exclaimed, as Ned came up. "We thought +you had been pinched! There's plenty of hot supper in the oven for +you, but you don't deserve a thing! Square yourself!" + +"Don't ask him a single question!" grumbled Jack. "He won't tell you +a thing! We've been within sight of a signal from Jimmie this +afternoon, and we've had a chance to tell the outlaws where they can +go, but he's muffed every play! I'm going to eat and go to bed!" + +Jack really was out of temper, so no objections were made to his +going to his bunk as soon as he had finished supper! Ned laughed +goodnaturedly at the boy's remarks and thought no more about them. + +Frank came and sat down by Ned while the latter was eating a hearty +supper. + +"The worry doesn't seem to affect your appetite!" the boy laughed. +"Have you solved the riddle, that you are so calm through it all? If +you have, just tell me this: + +"Is it the prince, or is it Mike III.?" + +"I've written the answer to that in my little red book," laughed Ned. + +Frank eyed the other with a grin, but made no reply for a time, then +he merely said: + +"You are up to your old tricks! Well, what is on for to-night?" + +"Why," Ned answered, "if you would like a stroll by moonlight, I +think we might get a good view of the south country from the top of +the mountain." + +"I don't know what you're up to," Frank answered, springing to his +feet, "but I'm game for anything. I've been eating my heart out all +day." + +"What about the prints?" asked Ned. + +"They are remarkably good," Frank replied, "but there are no special +features. In one picture, taken down in the canyon, there is a face +that we did not see, though." + +"What sort of a face?" + +"A strange one to me. But I'll show them all to you in the morning. +When are you going out for that stroll in the moonlight?" + +"In two hours. That will be about midnight. Between now and that time +I'm going to get a little sleep. Wake me at twelve, will you--and, by +the way, say nothing to the others about it. They'll all want to go! +We can notify whoever is on watch when we get ready to start." + +Ned hastened to his bunk and lay down. Five minutes later, when Frank +looked in, he was studying a French dictionary by the light of his +electric candle. Ten minutes later he was sound asleep. At twelve the +boys were ready to start, and Teddy, who was on watch, was warned to +keep wide awake and listen for noises from the south. + +"If you hear shooting," Ned said, "two of you jump on Uncle Ike and +charge along the summit to the south. Make all the noise you can! +Don't go down the slope, but keep to the summit." + +"Now where?" asked Frank, as they walked over the rocks and wound +around jutting crags. "If you'll give me time I'll take some +moonlight pictures for Dad's newspapers. He must be expecting some by +this time!" + +"Poor old Dad!" laughed Ned. "By this time he must have given up +sitting around the New York postoffice, waiting for your pictures to +come!" + +"I'm going to send him some on this trip, sure!" declared the boy. +"He deserves them, you know, and his newspaper needs them! Besides, +we are planning another Boy Scout trip, and I shall want a whole lot +of money!" + +"I see!" cried Ned. "You are casting an anchor to windward!" + +"In other words," grinned Frank, "I'm laying the foundation for +another appropriation! I'm going to send on some of the pictures of +the counterfeiters' den!" + +The summit of the ridge was by no means a level pathway. There were +peaks, canyons, gulleys and twistings to east and west which caused +the boys to travel two miles or more for every mile they advanced +toward the point where the two men Jack had followed had taken +refuge. + +It was about two o'clock in the morning when they came in sight of +the chimney rock which Ned had noted on the trip of the afternoon. It +rose from the west slope of the mountain like a tower, tall, bulky, +forbidding. + +Looking down upon it from the east, Ned saw that there was a small +canyon in between it and the slope, much the same as the formation +near the cave of the counterfeiters. It was evident that the rock had +been cast down from the summit, and had caught there--on a projecting +ridge of stone. + +"Looks like a fortress!" Frank whispered as the rock sparkled in the +light of the moon. "Notice the campfire in the canyon?" "There were +two there this afternoon," Ned said, "and we thought one of them was +there simply to make the second column--the Boy Scout call for +assistance." + +"If Jimmie isn't tied up hand and foot," Frank suggested, "if he is +allowed to move about, under guard, and help in the cooking, he could +easily build two fires, and the outlaws wouldn't know what he was up +to. That is how Dode came to signal to us, you remember. The +counterfeiters never suspected that he was making Indian talk!" + +"I think it was Jimmie," Ned declared. "He would find some way to +make the signal, if he wasn't tied hard and fast! Anyway," the boy +added, "I'm going down the slope right now to see if he is there!" + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +THE CALL OF THE PACK + + +Ned and Frank stood in the shadow behind a protecting rock and peered +down into the moonlit canyon for a long time. At first there was no +one in sight below, but presently a man came out by the fire, which +was burning low now. + +It appeared to the boys that he must have crawled out from under the +chimney rock itself! He appeared so suddenly that they knew that, at +least, there must be an underground hiding place in which he had been +concealed when they had first come in view of the canyon and the +rock. + +The man mended the fire, gathering up the ends of the logs and limbs +which had burned through in the middle and placing them back on the +coals. Then he opened a box which he had brought from some out-of- +sight place and took out canned food and cooking utensils. He was +evidently going to get an early breakfast. + +Presently a second man joined the first arrival, and they sat down by +the fire to wait for water in a great pot to boil. At least, the boys +supposed that they were waiting for it to boil. + +"I'd like to know what they are talking about," Frank said. "I'm +going to see if I can get close enough to them to find out." + +"I was just thinking of that myself," Ned responded, "so we may as +well be on our way. Keep your gun handy, but don't shoot unless one +of them seizes you." + +"I'll take good care they don't get hold of me," Frank answered. +"Say," he went on, "if Jimmie is there, he must be in some hole under +that rock--the one they came out of! If they turn away, I may be able +to get in there and see." + +"Wait until there is little danger of detection," Ned advised. "We +don't know how many men there are in the party, remember." + +The boys walked softly back to the north, keeping ridges and +outcropping rocks between the canyon and themselves, and then crept +softly down the slope so as to come out at the north end of the +little cut. The men they were watching were frying bacon and boiling +coffee now, and appeared to be thoroughly occupied with their tasks. + +In a few moments both boys were within hearing, distance. The men +were not talking much, however. In fact, they both seemed to be +harboring a grouch, from the infrequent low, grumbling complaints +which the boys overheard. + +"I'm through with the bunch after this!" one of the men said. "I'm +not going to do all the work and let some one else draw all the +money." + +"It is time we got out of here anyway," the other said. "Those fresh +boys were around here this afternoon." + +"Why didn't you plug them if you knew they were here?" demanded the +other. + +Frank nudged Ned in the side with his fist. + +"Cheerful sort of people!" he said. "I'm looking to see something +start soon." + +"I didn't know at the time that they were here!" the man replied, +with a snarl. "I'm no Indian sleuth. After they left I started +through the grove and found their tracks. Good thing for them that I +saw their tracks instead of their heads!" + +"Well," the other grunted, "if we are agreed that it is time for us +to get out, why don't we get out? I'm not going to take all the +chances! Why don't the others come? They won't come, and that's all +there is to it. They're waiting for us to do the job! Then they'll +claim the pay." + +By this time the bacon was crisp and the coffee was simmering +fragrantly in the pot and the two men fell to with an appetite. Frank +watched them eat with an appetite of his own, rubbing his stomach and +trying to show how near the point of starvation he was, although it +had been only a short time since he had eaten a hearty meal! + +"They don't trust us!" one of the men muttered, at length. + +"We haven't got a thing on them, if they see fit to welch on us," the +other admitted. + +"But if we obey orders, they will have so much on us that we won't +dare say a word, even if they make us walk back and buy our own meals +on the way!" + +"Is it agreed, then, that we're going to cut it?" asked one. "If it +is, we may as well go now as at any future time." + +"All right." + +"Now?" asked the other. + +"Why not? It will soon be daylight." + +"Good idea, for we can't be seen trailing that kid along with us in +the broad light of day," was suggested. "Let's move right now!" + +"Now," whispered Frank, "do they mean Jimmie, when they speak of the +kid, or some one else? And if they are speaking of some one else, +here's a question: Is it the prince, or is it Mike III.?" + +"It seems to me," Ned whispered back, "that I've heard something like +that before." + +"Well, get the kid out and feed him!" one of the men commanded. +"We've got to keep him with us until we get pay for what we have +already done." + +"Now we'll know!" Frank suggested, as one of the men turned toward +the rock. "If it is Jimmie we'll soon know it. What?" + +They were not long kept in doubt. Jimmie shot out of a hole under the +rock like an arrow in full flight and squatted down by the fire. +Frank snickered when he saw the boy, and turned hastily away toward a +ledge which showed back to the north. + +While Ned was wondering what the boy was up to, the long, vicious +whine of a wolf reached his ears. The call died away slowly, and was +followed by silence, then by the snarling call of the pack! + +The men by the fire started to their feet and seized their revolvers. +Jimmie jumped away from the blaze and held up his hands, bound +tightly together. + +"Cut me loose!" he cried. "Are you going to let the wolf come and eat +me?" + +"There are no wolves in these mountains," declared one of the men. +"That was a signal of some kind!" + +"I've seen wolves since we came in here," Jimmie declared, telling +the exact truth, at that, only the wolves he referred to belonged to +the Wolf Patrol, Boy Scouts of America! "They're fierce wolves, too!" +he added. + +Frank crawled back to Ned's side and lay laughing at the commotion +the signal had caused in the little camp. The men hastened their +packing, and one of them who had been about to give Jimmie his +breakfast snatched the bread and bacon away and put them in a pack he +was making up. + +"Here!" the boy shouted. "You give me the eats! Think I'm going to +travel over these mountains with me tummy abusing me for not doing +the right thing by it?" + +"You're lucky to have any tummy!" snarled one of the men. + +"Aw, give the kid his breakfast!" commanded the other. + +The men quarreled and growled at each other while the packing was +going on, and Jimmie sat looking around for some sign of the Boy +Scout who had given the signal. In half an hour they were ready, and +then Jimmie was ordered to move on. + +"If you try to run away," he was informed, "you'll be chased by a +bullet. We have no time to fool with you! Just keep a pace or two in +advance, and march straight ahead and you'll have no trouble. Get +along, now!" + +"But where's the prince?" asked Frank. "I thought we were going to +find the royal prince here!" + +"The prince of what?" asked Ned. "The prince of the slums or the +prince of a little patch of ground over the sea?" + +"Blessed if I know," Frank commented. "See me throw a scare into +those bums!" + +The men stopped still in their tracks when the ugly snarl of a bear +came to them out of the darkness. Frank did himself proud in the +manner in which he put out the bear talk. The men were surely +frightened. + +"Now there's a bear!" wailed Jimmie, although Ned thought he caught a +note of fun in his voice. "Don't you know these hills are full of +bears? We saw some at our camp last night," he added, "eating bread +and honey!" + +"Bear nothing!" shouted one of the men. "There ain't a bear within a +hundred miles of this place! This is some trick!" + +Again the fierce, angry snarl of the bear! Ned caught Frank by the +arm to keep him quiet, but the boy finished the bear talk he had +begun. + +Then Jimmie hastened matters by breaking away and running toward the +rock from which the sound had proceeded. Both men took after him, but +a shot from Frank's gun caused them to halt. They stood still for an +instant, their figures tense and tall, and then turned and ran, +almost tumbling over each other in their fright! + +They did not stop at slight declivities. They leaped gulleys and +almost fell into canyons which split the summits. In vain Ned called +to them to halt, that they would not be injured. They ran like race +horses, and were soon out of sight. Frank and Jimmie were rolling on +the ground in their delight. + +Ned looked grave and annoyed. Without speaking he looked over the +camp where the men had cooked the breakfast and then returned to the +boys. + +"I am sorry for that," he said, mildly. "I wanted to put those men +through the third degree! We should have held them up and put on the +handcuffs." + +"You didn't say so!" observed Frank sheepishly. + +"No use to talk about it now," Ned declared. "Perhaps Jimmie knows +what we expected to learn from them." + +"All I know is that the bums got me at the cave and tied me up," +Jimmie said. + +"How many men have you seen in the party?" asked Ned. + "Just those two. They were always talking about some one else coming +in, but I never saw any one else." + +"What did they talk about?" asked Ned. + +"They were trying, most of the time, to make me admit that the Camera +Club was a secret service organization," laughed the lad. "Of course +I denied it!" + +"What did they say about a child?" + +"Not one word! I kept my ears open for that kind of talk!" + +"Did they have a boy with them at any one time?" asked Ned. + +"This afternoon, or yesterday afternoon, rather, I saw a kid moving +about on the slope. I was cooking, and built two fires so as to make +a signal. Did you see it?" + +"Yes, we saw it," answered Ned, "but did not reply to it for the +reason that we feared discovery. We wanted to come here in the night +and release you and capture the two outlaws! But what sort of a child +was it that you saw?" + +"Why, it was the kid from the cabin. Say, Ned," he added, with a wink +at Frank, "is that the prince, or is it Mike III.?" + +"Cut it out!" roared Frank. "We've heard enough of that." + +Ned laid a hand on the shoulder of each boy. + +"That shot attracted attention," he whispered, "or the runaways are +coming back. I hear some one tramping over rock, and a moment ago I +caught the gleam of a gun barrel." + +"Then it's me for a hole to crawl into!" whispered Jimmie. "I've had +troubles of my own for the past few hours! Say, but I'm hungry, +boys." + +The boys left their place of retreat just as a couple of bullets +spattered on rock. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +JUST A LITTLE DARK WASH + + +More shots were fired, but the boys were soon out of range. A flush +of pink was showing in the sky now, and the sun would be up in half +an hour. Jimmie looked longingly toward the camp, and Ned turned his +footsteps that way. + +"Speaking of quitters," Jimmie said, as they moved along, "the two +men who geezled me take the bun! They quarreled all the time because +some one else didn't come and do something they wanted done! No +wonder they ducked when one shot was fired!" + +"About the boy you saw yesterday afternoon," Ned asked. "Are you sure +it was the lad who was brought to our camp?" + +"Of course it was!" + +"Dressed just the same?" + +"Just exactly." + +"Why didn't you take a picture of him?" asked Frank. + +"Huh, don't you ever think I didn't," was the reply. "I've got it in +my camera now. When we get to camp I'll develop it and print some. +I've got pictures of the men, too, and about everything around the +hole in the ground where they hid me." + +"That is as it should be!" Ned declared. "But how did you do it!" + +"They are easy!" was all the reply Jimmie made. + +A quarter of a mile away from the chimney rock Ned paused and looked +back. + +"I can't understand where those men went to," he said. + +"My friends do you mean?" asked Jimmie with a grin. "They're going on +a hop yet." + +"No; the men who did the shooting," said Ned. + +"Well," Jimmie went on, in a minute, "there is a place somewhere near +the rock where some friends of the men who ran are camping. I heard +them talking together." + +"You little rascal!" Ned exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me that +before?" + +"Oh, you won't find them there now!" Jimmie advised. "I'll bet they +ducked when we got away. They won't remain around here now." + +"Are they counterfeiters?" asked Frank. + +"They're bums from the city, brought here in connection with the +abduction of the prince!" laughed Jimmie. + +"How did you manage to cook and take pictures when you were tied up +like a fish for shipment?" asked Frank. + +"They didn't tie me up for a time, for I gave them a lot of talk +about liking their society," was the answer. "They just watched me. +When it came night and they wanted to sleep, they put the harness +on!" + +"That was careless of them," declared Frank, "not to tie you up +tight." + +"They're just cheap bums," Jimmie insisted. "They couldn't kidnap a +bird in a cage." + +The sun was up when the boys reached the + camp, and Teddy was getting breakfast. + +The arrival of Jimmie was hailed with manifestations of joy, as may +well be supposed. The boys clustered around him excitedly, and even +Uncle Ike, from the corral, sent forth a he-haw greeting. The +breakfast Teddy prepared for him was a wonder! + +The meal was scarcely finished when Bradley came sauntering into the +camp. He stopped suddenly when he saw Jimmie. Watching him closely, +Ned saw that he was dismayed as well as astonished. However, he soon +came forward with a set smile on his face and took the boy by the +hand. + +"You're lucky," he said, "to get out of the clutches of the +counterfeiters so soon. I was afraid something serious might have +happened to you. How did you do it?" + +"Ned came after me," was the only reply the boy made. + +"We've decided to go away," Ned explained, "and so they gave him up, +after a short argument." + +"With a gun!" whispered Jimmie to the others. + +Bradley loitered about the camp for a long time, asking questions and +talking of a great many things which did not interest the lads at +all. + +"And so you are going out to-morrow?" he asked, arising to go. + +"We expect to," Ned replied soberly. + +"Perhaps I'll meet you outside somewhere," Bradley laughed. + +"I hope so!" Ned replied, whispering an aside to Frank. + +Frank walked away toward the tent, and directly, while Bradley's face +was in clear outline, Ned heard the click of a shutter and knew that +the snapshot had been made. + +When Bradley at last started away Ned called the boys together and +asked them if it wouldn't be a good idea for them to take a prisoner-- +just to equalize things!" + +"Bradley?" asked Frank and Jimmie in chorus. + +"That's the man" laughed Ned. "Do you think you could head him off +and hide him in some out-of-the way hole in the ground?" + +"What for?" demanded Jack. "I don't see what you want to do that +for." + +"Just for the fun of it!" Jimmie exclaimed. "I'll guard him after he +is taken!" he added, with an appealing look at Ned. + +"Well," Ned went on, nodding at Jimmie, "I have an idea that if two +of you work down the slope and come out ahead of him you can coax him +to throw up his hands easily enough." + +"Then, after that, if you leave it to me," Jack continued, "you'll go +down to the cabin and get the prince and start away with him!" + +"You're sure it is the prince?" asked Ned. + +"Of course! I should think any one with sense could see that. Just +see how suspiciously the kid is watched! Of course, if you want to +take the abductor along too, why that will be all right, but I'd get +the prince first!" + +"That's good advice," Ned declared, seeking to conciliate the boy, +"and I'll go down to the cabin now and look after that end of the +game!" + +"If things work this way," laughed Oliver, "I guess we _will_ get +away to-morrow!" + +"Why don't you let me go with the boys and help capture that stiff?" +asked Jack, speaking to Ned. "He may be armed and perfectly willing +to shoot." + +"We have messed things up a bit here," Ned answered, "so whatever we +do must be done at once. I have another little errand to do while +they capture Bradley!" + +"Oh, we'll get him, all right!" Frank insisted. + +"You bet we will!" Jimmie added. "I'll tie him up tight, too! He +won't take no pictures while he is my prisoner." + +"Perhaps he won't have a baby camera hidden under his coat! laughed +Frank. + +"What are you going to say to him, boys, when you take him?" asked +Teddy. + +"We ain't going to say anything," Jimmie answered, "We're just going +to get him!" + +"Be careful, boys," was all Ned said as Frank and Jimmie left on +their dangerous mission. "Be careful!" + +After they had disappeared up the slope Ned turned to Jack. + +"You saw one act of the play yesterday," he said to him. "Suppose you +come with me now and see another act." + +Jack came forward with outstretched hand and downcast face. + +"Say, Ned," he said, "I'm sore at myself!" + +"What's that for?" Ned asked, shaking the hand heartily and lifting +the boy's face by taking him by the chin. "Why are you sore at +yourself?" + +"Because I acted like a dunce when we left chimney rock without +signaling to Jimmie," was the reply, "and because I grumbled like a +bear with a sore head when you suggested that Bradley be captured." + +"You had a perfect right to express your opinion, my boy," Ned said. + +"Yes, but I might have known that you knew what you were about. To be +honest, I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw you bringing Jimmie +back." + +"The least demonstration on our part at that time," Ned said, then, +"might have caused the men who were guarding Jimmie to shift their +quarters. Besides, I wanted Bradley in the toils before I made the +final break." + +"But he wasn't when you released Jimmie," Jack suggested. + +"He will be before the final card is laid down," Ned replied. "But +come," he went on, "we must be moving if we get to the cottage before +the trouble begins." + +"I'm all in the dark," Jack said, "but I'm willing to take your +judgment now." + +Ned and Jack hastened away, traveling down the slope to the west and +south so as to get to the cottage in the quickest possible time. When +they came in sight of the structure they saw Mary Brady sitting in +the doorway, her head bent forward, her face buried in the palms of +her hands. + +She arose at the sound of their footsteps and advanced with +outstretched hands to meet them. There were tears on her face and her +manner was excited. + +"You came too late!" she cried, wringing Ned's hand. "They have taken +him away." + +"When?" asked Ned, leading the old lady into the cabin. + +"Oh, I don't know when! Sometime in the night. I awoke and saw that +the bed was empty and called to Bradley. He arose and has been +looking for him ever since." + +"He was just up at our camp--looking!" Ned said, with a wink at Jack. + +The old lady now went to a cupboard and brought forth a glass in +which a dark fluid rested. A small black brush stood against the side +of the vessel. + +"I found this for you, as you asked," she said. + +Ned examined the contents of the glass and made a mark on a white +paper with the brush. The color transmitted to the paper was a light +brown, not black. + +"You washed the boy, as I asked you to?" Ned then enquired. + +"I tried to," was the reply, "but Bradley said he would take him out +and give him a swim in the run down in the valley. He wouldn't let me +touch him." + +"Well, what did the pillow case show this morning?" + +The old lady pointed to the white paper. + +"It was stained like that," she said. + +During this talk Jack had been standing looking from Ned to the old +lady with all shades of expression on his face. Now he spoke. + +"Say, Ned," he almost gasped, "what is the meaning of all this?" + +"Wait a minute!" Ned said, facing the old lady again. "And you +listened to their talk when they sat together last night?" + +"Indeed I did, sir, and its the first time I ever played the spy!" + +"What was Bradley saying to him?" asked Ned, then. + +"He was saying French words over and over for him to repeat!" + +Jack dropped into a chair and looked helplessly at his chum. + +"Foolish little French phrases, like one finds at the back of any +dictionary?" asked Ned. "He was repeating them so that the boy could +say them after him?" + +"Yes, sir, that is just it." + +"Now, Jack, what about your prince of the royal blood?" asked Ned. + +"I gather from what I hear that he was painted," said Jack, with a +shamed look in his eyes. "Painted!" + +"Sure he was!" cried the woman. "Painted and taught foolish little +French words to say! But he is Mike's boy! I know that!" + +"This is like the Arabian Nights!" Jack cried. + +"Worse!" Ned declared, "for all my plans have gone wrong with the +disappearance of the boy." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +BRADLEY BECOMES INDIGNANT + + +Frank and Jimmie hastened down the slope to the west, after toiling +up and crossing the broken summit, and soon caught sight of the man +they had been instructed to take prisoner. Bradley was walking +swiftly, his haste not at all matching the leisurely air he had +affected at the camp. + +"How do you feel now?" asked Jimmie, wrinkling his nose at Frank. +"How does it seem to be a bold, bad gunman?" + +"I think it is a little shivery," Frank answered. "When I get back to +New York," he went on, "I'm going to write a story for Dad's +newspaper entitled: 'Desperate Desmonds I have Shot Up in the Hills.' +That title ought to make a hit on the East Side, south of First +street!" + +"I feel like a second-story man, and a gopher-worker, and a train- +robber, and a confidence operative all rolled into one!" Jimmie +admitted. "This holding people up is new exercise for us! Say, will +you agree to let me push the gun into his face?" + +"We'll both have guns, you little highway-man!" Frank replied. "You +needn't think I'm going to look on and miss all the fun!" + +"Then you let me tie him up!" coaxed Jimmie. "I won't tie him very +tight, just so he can't breathe, and so his blood won't circulate!" +"You're the fierce little bandit!" declared Frank. + +"Well, the gang he belongs to tied me up!" complained the boy. "I'm +going to get even on this geek! We can walk right down on him at any +time now. He'll never suspect that we're pirates." + +"First," Frank observed, "I'd like to know where he is going so +fast." + +"He may go so fast that he'll get to friends before we harness him!" +warned Jimmie. "Then we couldn't get him at all, but might, instead, +get geezled ourselves." + +"There seems to be a little sense left in that head of yours," Frank +laughed, "even if your friends do think it is solid bone! So we'd +better skip along and take him under our protection before we have an +army to fight. Say, but won't he take a tumble to himself when he +finds himself stuck up by two boys?" + +Not withstanding their half-humorous talk concerning what they were +about to do, the boys both realized that they were facing a serious +situation. They had every confidence in Ned's judgment, still they +had no knowledge of Bradley which seemed to them to warrant the bold +step they were about to take. + +Jimmie was under the impression that Bradley belonged to the coterie +which had taken him prisoner, but he had no proof of it. Bradley had +been, apparently, accepted by Mrs. Mary Brady, and that seemed a good +recommend for him. Still, there were the instructions, and they were +resolved to carry them out. Neither expressed to the other his secret +thought on the subject. + +"Where are we going to hide him, after we take him?" asked Jimmie, +after a time, during which the lads had managed by hard work to +decrease the distance between themselves and Bradley. "How about the +old counterfeiters' den?" + +"That's the first place his friends will look for him! No, sir, we've +got to find a little retreat of our own, and one of us must guard +him. Do you know how long Ned wants to keep him?" asked Frank. + +"Don't know a thing about it," was the reply. "I don't even know why +he wants him captured, or what proof he has against him." + +The boys were now not far away from Bradley, and, hearing the rattle +of broken rock behind him, he turned and looked back at the boys, who +were swinging along with their hands in their pockets. He waited for +them to come up. + +"Taking a little walk, eh?" he questioned, as the boys came to the +level space on the mountainside where he had paused. + +Bradley seemed to be entirely unconscious of danger, for he turned +his back to the boys presently, after a few short sentences had +passed between them, and moved forward, as if to continue his way +down the slope. + +"Just a minute!" Frank said, sharply, and he faced them. + +Two automatic revolvers were within a foot of his head, and the eyes +of the boys back of them declared that the situation was not the +result of a joke. + +"Hold out your hands!" Jimmie ordered. "We want to see if you're +toting any smoke-wagons! Push 'em out, Mister!" + +Bradley did not hesitate a second. His hands went out like a flash. +There was a smile on his lips as Jimmie removed his revolver, but his +jaw was threatening. + +"And so you are just common thieves?" he said. + +"Aw, quit it!" Jimmie answered. "We're taking care of you so you +won't fall over a precipice and hurt yourself." + +"You'll find very little money on me," Bradley went on. "I've sent in +to the city for a couple of hundred. You ought to have waited a few +days." + +"We don't want your money," Frank cut in, "all we want is the benefit +of your society for a time." + +Bradley flushed angrily when Jimmie adroitly snapped a pair of +handcuffs on his outstretched wrists, but he made no protest. + +"Now you can put down your hands," Jimmie announced. "They'll get +stiff if you hold 'em out too long. Now, sit down and pick out your +hotel. You may have a room in most any section of this district. +Immaterial to us where we put you!" + +"What does it mean?" demanded Bradley. "I presume you boys know what +you are doing. There's law in this state, as wild as this country +looks to be. You'll get years behind prison bars for this." + +"Before I forget it," Jimmie asked, with a wink at Frank, "I want you +to tell me something. Will you?" + +"That depends. What is it you want to know?" + +"This: Is the boy down at the cabin the prince, or is he Mike III?" + +The eyes of both boys were fixed keenly on Bradley's face as the +question was put. So far as they could see, it did not change a +particle in color or expression. + +"That's a queer question for you to ask," he said. "You'd better +asked Mrs. Brady whether it is her grandson or not! And I don't know +what you mean, talking about a prince. I haven't seen any prince +about here--except the prince of the son of thieves!" + +"So you won't tell, eh?" asked Frank. + +"The boy I brought in is Michael Brady, son of the son of Mrs. +Brady." + +Sitting on the level space half way down to the outcropping ledge +which held the workroom of the counterfeiters, Bradley looked +anxiously in the direction of the canyon. + +Jimmie noted the look and took out his field glass. People were +moving about in the canyon, and down in the valley to the south, +where the cabin stood, something out of the ordinary seemed to be +going on. + +"You are expecting friends?" asked Frank. + +"They are liable to come any minute," was the cool reply. + +"Then we'd better be going," Jimmie cut in. "There are men in the +canyon, and in the valley, and they may be coming up here to find out +why you don't meet them, as per agreement! Are they good waiters? If +they are, you may find them still in the valley after you've served a +couple of terms in a Federal prison!" + +"Be careful what you say," warned Bradley. "I'm in your power now, +but there'll come a time when I won't be. Remember that!" + +Jimmie's glass showed him that the men below were starting up the +slope. + +"We'll go back toward camp," he said to Frank. "I guess the fellows +down there are watching us through glasses. If you don't mind," he +added, turning to Bradley with a provoking laugh, "we'll stow you +away in a hole in the rocks somewhere until they get tired of looking +for you!" + +"Go as far as you like!" was the reply. + +Frank and Jimmie stepped aside and conversed together in low tones, +trying to make up their minds what to do with the prisoner. It had +taken little trouble to capture him, but it seemed to them that it +would be no easy matter to hold him. + +"There's a cute little dip in the summit not far from the camp," +Frank said, at length. "A boulder tumbled out of the slope, and +there's a cave big enough to hide three in, only there is a part of +it which has no roof." + +"Don't mind that!" Bradley said, in a sarcastic tone. "We won't have +a long residence in any place you select now." + +"The summit is spotted with queer little openings where soft rock has +been washed out," Frank said, "and we can locate not far from the +camp if we want to." + +"I suppose you boys are doing this under the orders of this Nestor +boy?" asked Bradley. "When you get to him, kindly ask him to call on +me. I want to know what all this means." + +"Let's see, what was it you said about the child you brought in with +you?" asked Jimmie, wrinkling his freckled nose until it did not seem +possible to ever get it out straight again, "what was it you said his +name was? Was it Prince Abductable or Mike the Third?" + +Bradley scowled but said nothing. The boys now set off up the slope +with their prisoner. Now and then they turned to look into the canyon +and the valley below. + +The men they had observed in the canyon were slowly ascending. There +were four of them, and it seemed to the boys that they were examining +every foot of the ground they covered. Bradley looked downward, too, +and a smile came to his face as he did so. It was plain that he +expected help from that quarter. + +The boys walked as swiftly as possible, and soon came to the summit, +where a view of the camp was had. The corral where the mules were +feeding was also in sight, farther down, and Teddy was seen making +friends with Uncle Ike. + +The camp looked so quiet and deserted that Jimmie took out his field +glass again and looked closely. The flap of the tent was up, and the +boy could see for some distance into the interior. + +Trunks and boxes were open, their contents scattered about the floor. +A figure lay still on the floor, as if asleep. Jimmie could not see +the face, but from the size and expression of the shoulders he +imagined it to be Dode. + +Oliver was not to be seen. Then, while the boy watched, with a +premonition of approaching evil in his mind, he saw two men move out +into the center of the tent. They were looking through handfuls of +papers, or pictures, or something similar. Jimmie could not determine +at that distance just what they were carrying. + +"Look here, Frank," the boy said, "just take a look at the tent." + +Not a word to arouse the interest of the prisoner was said. Frank +looked and handed the glass back to his chum. Jimmie knew what his +chum feared as well as if he had put that fear into words. Bradley +was smiling calmly. + +"They have raided the tent!" Jimmie whispered, and Frank nodded. + +"And they are destroying our plates and prints," Jimmie went on, "and +so we'd better be getting down there to see about it." + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +NED PLAYS THE MIND-READER + + +Jack stood in the little cabin in the valley and looked Ned +expectantly in the face. + +"Tell me," he finally said, "tell me why they painted this boy?" + +"To get us off the trail of the prince," replied Ned. + +"But it seems that they failed," suggested Jack. "You know?" + +"I suspected from the very first," Ned answered. "Yesterday afternoon +I knew." + +"Well, it may be all right," Jack muttered, "or the man who brought +him here may need a new wire on his trolley, but I can't see why they +should bring this counterfeit prince here at all." + +"They knew that we were coming here," Ned explained, resolved to give +his chum a full understanding of the situation. "They knew we were +coming here in quest of the prince. How they knew I can't make out, +but they knew." + +"They might have heard more than we supposed from the attic over the +clubroom," Jack suggested. + +"If the story of the maid and the coachman is straight," Ned +continued, "they heard little that night. But they knew! They might +have bribed some of the servants. I don't know. They might have been +in that room before that evening. + +"At any rate, when the Boy Scout Camera Club started for West +Virginia by way of Washington the friends of the abductors knew what +was going on. Now, it is my opinion that the prince had been headed +for the mountains before the conspirators became aware of our +connection with the case." + +"I begin to see daylight!" Jack cried. + +"Well, the prince being on his way to the hills and we having a good +idea as to the locality of his place of hiding, the conspirators +conceived the idea of giving us a false little prince to play with!" + +"They're no fools!" Jack exclaimed. "No fools at all!" + +"Now," Ned went on, "some of the conspirators knew Mrs. Brady's son +in Washington. They knew of his many promises to his mother to return +to the mountains. They knew of his recent promise to her to come home +and bring the boy with him. They were doubtless very intimate with +Mike Brady, Senior, for they knew all the little details of the life +his mother was living. + +"So they got him to permit them to bring the boy to his grandmother. +They knew he would be looking for a prince in the hills, and so they +gave us a false one to engage our attention! Rather clever, that, +Jack." + +The old lady was now regarding Ned with eyes which expressed awe as +well as wonder. + +"How did you find it all out?" she asked. "How do you know what took +place in the minds of those wicked men?" + +"After they took possession of the boy they began bribing him to play +the part he has played here so imperfectly. They taught him cheap +little French phrases from the dictionary, and touched up his already +dusky complexion so as to make him look darker than ever. Yesterday I +saw Bradley at work on his face with a brush!" + +"And the lad played his part!" the grandmother declared. "I don't +know how Bradley led him along, but the boy was willing to do as he +was told. I never saw such a wild little chap so thoroughly subdued +before. He wouldn't even tell me the truth when I took him in my old +arms last night and talked to him." + +"But he evidently told Bradley what you said to him," Ned continued, +"for he got the child away in the night. Then he came to camp this +morning to see if he could find out how much I knew. He's probably +tied up by this time!" + +"You have had him arrested," asked the old lady. "Then he'll never +tell where the boy has been hidden, and he'll die of starvation--die +almost within sound of my voice." + +"We'll find him," Ned answered, grimly. "We can make Bradley talk, I +imagine." + +"And while this has been going on," Jack said, "the true prince, the +boy we came here to find, has doubtless been carried to some other +part of the country?" + +"I don't believe it!" Ned replied. "The conspirators would naturally +expect us to shift our search for him back to Washington, or Chicago, +or New York, wouldn't they? As soon as we discovered that this boy +was not the person we sought, they would expect us to leave the hills +at once, wouldn't they? Well, if they anticipated such a move on our +part, what is more natural than that they should take advantage of +this alleged idea on our part and leave the prince right here?" + +"That is just what they would do!" cried Jack. "That is just what +they have done. I wondered why you told Bradley we were going out! I +had no idea that you knew so much about the case." + +"Bradley knew that I knew the boy to be an imposter," Ned went on. +"He intended we should make the discovery in time--after he had +watched the grandson for a few days, sized up the situation +generally, and dropped out of sight. He intended me to know in a +couple of weeks, after he was out of harm's way. But I discovered the +trick too quickly for him." + +"When did you first suspect?" asked Jack. + +"That first morning. The boy's French was from the back of the book, +and there was too strong an atmosphere of Washington about him--an +atmosphere which does not savor of the quiet life of the prince of +the blood. Then when I watched him closer I saw that he had been +painted. Oh, it was all plain enough." + +"So you think the prince is here--in these hills?" asked the old +lady. + +"I can't say, now," Ned replied. "I am sure that he was here +yesterday. I think I saw him! But the escape of the two men who +captured Jimmie mussed things up a lot. I wanted to put them through +a little examination. + +"After their escape I could not pose longer as a lad after snapshots! +I can't say as I deceived the conspirators when I laid the capture of +Jimmie to the counterfeiters. I think I did fool them when I said we +were going out of the hills in order to protect the captive. + +"Well, when we released Jimmie and let the two guards escape, that +part of the game was off. If I could have held the men it would have +been different." + +"Perhaps Bradley can be made to tell where the prince is," suggested +Jack. + +"I hardly thinks he knows," Ned replied. "He has not, I think, been +taken fully into the confidence of the men higher up, any more than +have the men who guarded Jimmie." + +"He certainly knows where my grandson is," exclaimed the old lady, +"and I'll tear his heart out but I'll make him tell me. He took him +away!" + +"I am not so certain of that, either," Ned mused. "I don't know just +how far the criminal head of the conspiracy has trusted him." + +"You'll do all you can to find my boy, won't you?" pleaded the old +lady. + +"Don't worry about the boy," Ned urged. "Well find him. If Frank and +Jimmie have had good luck Bradley is under arrest now, and something +will be brought out to lead to his discovery. Besides, with the +disguise penetrated, there is no longer any motive for holding him, +unless he knows too much, which is not likely." + +"If his father was here he might help," suggested the old lady. + +Jack, who had been looking steadily out of the window for some little +time, now turned to Ned with a smile on his face. + +"I know now what you wrote in your little red book!" he said. + +"Are you certain of that?" + +"Why, of course. You wrote the answer to the question: 'Is it the +prince, or is it Mike III?' Didn't you, now?" + +"Yes, I did!" was the reply. "I was almost positive before, but I +knew that day." + +"And now we are just where we began," Jack said. "We've solved one +phrase of the case, but we haven't found the prince." + +"That will come later," Ned declared, confidently. "Well," he went on, +"we have finished our work here for the present. We have learned of +the disappearance of the grandson and we have confirmed my previous +belief, that the boy was sent in here to draw our attention from the +abducted child. So we may as well go back to camp and see what the +boys have been doing." + +The old lady still clung to Ned piteously, begging him to restore her +boy, and Ned promised to do all in his power to place the lad in her +arms. + +"If my son would only come!" the woman kept saying. + +"If you'll give me his address," Ned promised, "I'll see him when I +get back to Washington, if he is not already here or on his way +here." + +The address was given and the boys started + on the return trip to camp. + +"Now, Jack," Ned said, when they were on their way up the slope, "do +you know where the nearest telegraph station is?" + +"There's one over on the south fork of the Potomac," Jack replied. + +"You are good friends with Uncle Ike?" Ned then asked, with a laugh. + +"Sure I am. Uncle Ike is a friend of every person who carries sugar +in his pocket." + +"Well, when we get back to camp I'll give you a night message. You +must take the mule and get it to the station. You may not be able to +get there to-night. If you can't, send it when you do get there. Wait +for an answer. When you get it tell Uncle Ike it is important and get +here with it as soon as possible. You've got a hard trip ahead of +you, boy!" he added. "I'm game!" laughed Jack. "If there's any of +this prince trouble leaked out," he added, "what shall I say?" + +"Tell the old story. Say that we are in the hills for art's sake, and +that we have been annoyed by counterfeiters! Nothing serious, +understand? Not a word about our real mission here. You notice that +even the men we are battling with want it understood that it is the +counterfeiters who are trying to drive us out." + +"There must be something mighty strange about this abduction game," +Jack grinned. "No one will even admit that there is a prince in the +case." + +When the boys came to the vicinity of the summit, south of a point in +line with the camp and the canyon where the counterfeiters had been +discovered, they stopped and took a good survey of the landscape. + +"We can probably learn more about what has been going on," Jack +suggested, "by hiking straight for the camp. I'm anxious to be off on +that trip. Uncle Ike will like it--not! But I'll make him like it! +I'll give you a good imitation of a boy sailing over the mountains on +the freight deck of a mule!" + +"I was wondering," Ned said, composedly, though his eyes were +troubled, "whether we had any camp left! If you'll look off to the +north, you'll see four men crouching in a dent in the slope. Rough- +looking chaps, eh?" + +"I see!" Jack whispered. "Have they seen us? That's the question +now." + +"If they saw us," Ned continued, "they would either be making for us +or trying to get out of sight. No; they are watching the camp. See! +They are where they can look over the summit." + +"If they haven't been to the camp I'll think ourselves lucky," Ned +said. + +"They probably haven't!" Jack cried. "But look there, they are going +on a rush right now! Must be Bradley's friends. What?" + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +SHOOTING ON THE MOUNTAINSIDE + + +Bradley smiled cynically as he looked down toward the tent. He could +not, of course, distinguish the figures as plainly as Jimmie could +with the glass, but he knew from the excited manner of the boys that +something unusual was taking place. + +"You have visitors at the camp?" he asked cooly, as the lads motioned +to him to move on. "I shall be glad to meet them, you may be sure." + +He held out his manacled hands suggestively as he spoke. + +"You're not invited!" Jimmie grunted. "We've got private date with +those people. You might muss things up, if we permitted you to go +with us!" + +"Very well," Bradley replied. "They'll know where I am. But, for fear +they'll not recognize me, at this distance, I'll just give them +notice that I'm here." + +Jimmie and Frank both sprang forward to prevent the promised outcry, +but Bradley proved too quick for them. The cry that rose from his +lips was long, shrill and significant in its insistance. It was +finally stopped by Bradley being thrown to the ground, where he lay +with the old sarcastic smile on his face. + +"You've done it now!" Frank gritted. "You ought to be shot." + +"You are none too good to commit a murder--to kill an unarmed and +defenseless man." + +"If you don't keep that twirler of yours reefed I'll tie it up!" +Jimmie declared, with a threatening motion. + +He might have gagged Bradley there and then only that Frank called +his attention to the camp. The two men who had been seen inside were +now hiding on the west side of the tent, and Teddy was coming up the +slope from the corral. Oliver was nowhere to be seen, and the +supposition was that he had been captured by the outlaws. + +"We've got to tie this robber hand and foot and gag him!" Frank +cried. "We've got to get down to the camp right away!" + +"Perhaps," Bradley observed, with a provoking laugh, "you'll also tie +and gag the men who are coming up the hill from the canyon." + +The four men were now nearly half way up the slope from the cut, and +having heard the cry, were making good time in the ascent. The +situation looked anything but peaceful! + +The boys were anxious and excited, and Bradley counted on this when +he made the next move. The men on the west slope had of course heard +his call, he reasoned, and were hastening up to his rescue. + +Believing this, he took a desperate chance when he sprang away from +the boys, dropped to the ground and went bumping over the broken +slope, handcuffed as he was. Jimmie had his automatic out in a +moment, but by that time Bradley was concealed by one of the boulders +which lay on the declivity. + +It was useless to try to recapture the fellow, for the men coming up +the slope had seen something of what had taken place, and were now on +the run wherever the nature of the ground permitted. Besides, they +were already within shooting distance, and the boys would be directly +under fire if they sought to bring Bradley back. + +"It is a hopeless case!" Frank cried. "We can't get him!" + +"The best thing we can do, then, is to get to the camp," Jimmie +observed. + +"Then duck low and cut away to the north!" Frank cried. "Perhaps we +can make most of the distance under cover. Say," he added, as they +moved along, northward on the slope toward the east, "did you ever +see anything like that? That Bradley is some wise guy when it comes +to a pinch!" + +"He's daring!" Frank commented. "He will make us trouble yet!" + +"I believe," Jimmie went on, "that he's the fellow that got into the +attic over the clubroom of the Black Bear Patrol. When he was down on +the ground, sitting looking over the country, I saw a scar on his +head, a sharp cicatrice, three-cornered. You know how he got that?" + +"The maid threw a large pair of shears at some one that night," Frank +said. "You remember we found blood and a blonde hair on one of the +blades." + +"Just the sort of hair that gink carries on his dome!" Jimmie added. + +The men coming up the west slope had not yet reached the summit, and +the men below were still hiding behind the tent. Teddy was +approaching the fire. + +"They'll get the kid in a minute!" Jimmie said. + +"I don't know about that," Frank replied. "He seems to me to be +getting suspicious. Notice how he stops and looks around--probably +looking for Oliver or Dode." + +It was clear that the men waiting behind the tent were becoming +impatient, for they moved along and made ready to spring upon the +boy. Teddy, however, was not advancing. + +Something about the tent had warned him that it was in the hands of +the enemy. With a shout of warning to Oliver and Dode, if they +chanced to be free and within hearing, he turned and dashed toward +the corral. + +While the two men were getting under way in pursuit, Frank and Jimmie +came out on an easier slope and moved rapidly downward. Teddy was +soon out of sight, and then the men turned back. + +At that moment a shot came from the summit, and the boys turned to +see the four men whom they had observed on the slope heading down for +the camp. + +"They've found Bradley, of course!" Frank said. + +"Yes," answered Jimmie, "there's no use of playing double now, for +they know that we are next to their game." + +"Shall we rush for the camp?" asked Frank. + +"Nothing doing," Jimmie answered. "We can't do a thing there, and we +are under cover here! Bradley has, of course, told them that we are +here, but they won't be able to find us for a long time. If they get +too gay with the things at the camp we'll send a few bullets down. +Looks like things were coming their way now, eh?" he added. + +"We can't hold the top hand all the time," Frank grunted. "Ned will +come along directly and even things up a little. I wish he was here +now!" + +The four men were now scrambling along the slope, looking for the two +boys as they walked, slid and jumped down. The two men who were at +the camp had turned back from the pursuit of Teddy at the sound of +the shot, and were now awaiting the approach of their friends. + +"I suppose they'll burn the tent and drive the mules off!" wailed +Jimmie. "I'd like to have a machine gun up here a little while!" + +"I reckon they won't!" + +This from Frank as a shot came from the slope to the south. The men +who were rushing from the camp paused and looked at each other. + +While they waited, uncertain as to what they ought to do, another +shot came, this time from the corral. Teddy was evidently getting +into action! + +"Just for luck!" Jimmie shouted. + +He fired two shots as he spoke, and two more came from the south and +one from the corral. The four men beckoned to their companions at the +tent--if such they were--and made a break for the summit which they +had just left. + +"Whoo--pee!" shouted Jimmie. "Look at the racers!" + +At sound of the voice one of the men turned and fired a shot at the +rock against which the boy lay. It broke off a splinter but did no +harm to the boys. + +Frank left cover and ran up the slope. + +"Come one!" he cried. "We'll get Bradley yet!" + +Jimmie was not long in catching up with him. When they gained the +summit the four men were losing no time in their journey to the +canyon. They were on their feet only a part of the time. + +The boys saw Bradley rise from a sheltering rock and start after +them, but he fell in a moment. Handcuffed as he was, he could not +keep pace with them. The fugitives paid no attention to his calls for +assistance. It was every man for himself at that moment. Bradley sat +hopelessly down to await the arrival of the boys. + +Just as they gained the spot where he sat Ned and Jack came out of +the jungle of broken rocks to the south and looked smilingly down at +the prisoner. + +"Good day!" laughed Jack. + +Bradley forced a smile and turned away. + +"You took that trick!" he said. + +Jimmie stepped forward and put his fingers into the blonde hair of +the captive. + +"Where did you get this scar?" he asked, and Ned at once bent +forward. + +"I fell down and stepped on it!" Bradley answered, still smiling. + +"I'll tell you how you got it," Jimmie went on. "You sneaked into a +room in New York where you had no business to be and a girl threw a +pair of shears at you!" + +"That's a fine story!" snarled Bradley. "I never was in New York. + +"Bring him along, boys," Ned said. "We'll go on down to camp and see +what's been done to our tent and things by this man's friends." + +When they once more came to the summit, Teddy was standing outside +the tent with Oliver and Dode and the two outlaws were nowhere to be +seen. After that Bradley complained at the rate of speed the boys +insisted on. + +"Your friends must have thought they had butted into an ambuscade!" +Jimmie said to the captive. "Have they had much training in running? +They bobbed along like professionals, it seemed to me." + +"You'll see how fast they can run!" Bradley growled. "They'll go fast +enough to send you all over the road." + +"Now about this grandson," asked Ned, falling back. "Mrs. Brady wants +to know where he is. No use for you to hide him, now that we all know +he was disguised to look like the prince stolen from Washington. Why +did you paint him if not to imitate this other boy we speak of?" + +"I don't know anything about the boy," was the reply. "He was taken +without my knowledge, and that is on the level. I was ordered to do +the paint act." + +They trudged on for some minutes in silence, and then Bradley asked: + +"What is it about this prince you are always talking about? What is +there about the prince? Where is he? Why is he supposed to be in this +section?" + +"You don't know a thing about him, do you?" asked Ned, laughing, "and +yet you painted a boy to represent him?" + +Bradley only scowled. + +"When I find him," Ned continued, "I'll present him to you!" + +When the boys reached the tent they found Oliver and Teddy mourning +over the destruction of a large number of films and plates. Many +pictures, developed and printed with great care, had also been torn +or burned. + +"Well," Jimmie declared, "they didn't get their hands on the films in +my baby camera. I've got a few good ones left." + +"Now, Jack," Ned said, "suppose you connect with Uncle Ike and make +for the nearest telegraph office? Don't break your neck, and the neck +of the mule, but get there as soon as you can. And get back as soon +as you receive an answer." + +"Why can't I go with him?" asked Jimmie. "I guess I want a mule +ride." + +"Go it, if you want to!" Ned laughed. "That will leave us one mule to +run away on if things get too hot for us here!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +TOLD BY THE PICTURES + + +"You'll think we took great care of the camp!" Teddy said, flushing, +to Ned, as Jack and Jimmie, followed by the cheers and good wishes of +their chums, started away. + +"Aw, it wasn't Teddy's fault at all," Oliver declared. "He went down +to tell Uncle Ike what a gentleman and a scholar he was, and I was +supposed to watch the tent." + +"And I was to help him," wailed Dode. "See how well I did it!" + +He swung a hand around at the mess on the ground. + +"So, while Teddy was down at the corral, Dode and I sat down to +develop some snapshots. We never looked out at all! After we had a +lot of pictures ready to show on your return, we heard a noise +outside and thought Teddy had come back." + +"And there is when we got it!" Dode cut in. + +"Yes, there, is where we got it in the neck," Oliver went on, while +Teddy grinned. "The gun I looked into seemed about as large as the +tunnel under the Hudson, and I became the good little boy without +further argument." + +"I thought the gun I saw was a room in a cavern!" grinned Dode. + +"So they performed with their ropes and gags, and we lay there like +two little kittens while they tore up our work and smashed things +generally. And the way they wrecked the trunks and boxes was a +caution." + +"What did they talk to each other about while they were searching?" +asked Ned. + +"Nothing much. They seemed to be too busy looking for papers. From +what I could make out; I reckon they thought you had some official +document with you." + +"I have," laughed Ned, "but they did not find it." + +"After they had made all the trouble they could," Oliver went on, +"they spoke of burning the tent, and I guess they would haved one it, +too, if other things hadn't attracted their attention just at that +time!" he added, with a wink at Ned. + +"Well," Ned observed, "I'm sorry we lost the pictures, but there may +be some of the valuable ones left. We'll look them over right now." + +"Jimmie left the films from his baby camera," Teddy remarked. "We can +see what he got while he was in the hands of those cheap skates!" + +Nearly all the snapshots taken by Ned and Jack on the afternoon they +had come to the hiding place of Jimmie's captors had been printed by +the boys, and most of them had been destroyed, plates and all. +Stationing Oliver and Dode out on the slope to watch for any approach +which might be made, Ned gave his attention to the pictures. + +"The worst of it is," Frank declared, "that the good ones were the +ones the boys printed, and the ones which were burned up." + +"I don't know about that," Ned said. "The camera sees things the +human eye does not see! What we want now is a knowledge of the +country near the spot where Jimmie was held. We took plenty of +pictures around there, and Jimmie took some, too, so we may be able +to find what we want." + +"I'll work over the baby camera pictures while you handle the +others," suggested Frank, and the two boys were soon busy at their +tasks. Finally Ned handed a torn print to Frank, pointing out a +single feature as he did so. + +"You see the tree in the foreground?" he asked. + +"Yes, of course." + +"Now follow along back to the bush at the left and in the rear." + +"I see the bush," Frank said. + +"What else do you see there?" + +Frank bent closer over the print. + +"Is that a face there?" he asked. + +"It certainly is a face." + +"But it looks too small for a human face. It may be caused be some +odd arrangement of the leaves. Besides, it is very indistinct." + +"Sure, because it is in the shade. It is almost a miracle that we see +it at all. I 'll get a better print of it soon and enlarge it. Then +we shall know more about it. Now, look lower down. What do you see +there?" + +"Say," cried Frank, "that's a child's face up there! Here is the leg +below. Now, what do you think of that?" + +"That is doubtless the boy Jack and I saw," said Ned. + +"The grandson?" asked Frank. + +"The prince, unless I am much mistaken," Ned said, cooly. + +"So you saw him?" asked Frank. + +"We saw a child," was the reply. "He came toward us for a few steps +and then ran back! Now we'll look over the remaining pictures and see +what we can find." + +"That wasn't the grandson, was it?" asked Frank. + +"Mike III. was at the cabin that afternoon," was the reply. + +Presently Ned came to another torn print showing the mountain slope +directly in front of Chimney rock. He passed it over to Frank with an +odd look in his eyes. + +"Look right in the foreground, between those two stones," he said. + +"What is it between the stones?" asked the boy. + +"Looks to me like a coat." + +"Do you really think it is?" + +"Sure thing!" laughed Ned. "I'm going over there directly and see if +it is still there." + +Frank looked puzzled. + +"But how did it come there?" he asked. "Why should it be left there?" + +"I have known children to throw off coats or jackets on a hot day," +smiled Ned. "I imagine that princes are not different from other +children." + +Ned went on with his examination of the pictures. At last he came to +one which was badly torn, almost half of it being missing. + +"There," he said. "This is a picture taken right there at Chimney +rock. Do you see the face above it?" + +The face referred to was not that of either of the two men Jimmie had +been captured by, or of Bradley, who sat scowling just beyond reach +of their voices. + +"That is the man we want," Ned said, with a sigh. "If we had the +other part of the picture we should see the boy looking over the +rock, close at the man's side." + +"Very close!" Frank observed. "They seem to have hold of hands. +Doesn't that look like a closed hand down lower?" + +"That is just what it is!" + +Ned laid the picture aside and Frank brought out those which had been +made from the films taken from the baby camera. There were half a +dozen of them and all were remarkably good. + +"Look here," Frank said, "the kid took a picture of the slope back of +the rock. Our pictures do not show that. Look up a short distance!" + +Not very far up the slope hung a huge boulder which seemed on the +verge of falling. + +"If you'll notice the point of contact with the ground," Frank went +on, "you'll see that the boulder is propped up by wedge-like stones +put under it." + +"Exactly!" Ned said. "And that means that the boulder has fallen or +been pried out of its nest, and that the cavity behind it is regarded +as a good hiding place." + +"Do you think the prince could have been there?" + +"Not when Jack and I were in that section. We saw him out on the +slope." + +"But he went back that way?" + +"Yes." + +"Tell you what!" Frank exclaimed. "I'm going to take these pictures +home to Dad, and let him print them in his newspaper." + +"You'll have to write a story to go with them." + +"Oh, I suppose so, but stories aren't read when there are pictures. +The cuts tell the story. Dad will like the photographs." + +After a time Ned came to the picture of a man with the head torn off! +In destroying the print the outlaws had contented themselves by +merely ripping it into two pieces. The head part was not to be found. + +"What's the dangling things in front of the man's breast?" asked +Frank. + +"Legs!" replied Ned. + +"I never knew a man to wear his legs up there!" laughed Frank. + +"But you have known men to lift kids to their backs and let their +little legs hang down in front for handles? What?" + +"Never thought of that?" Frank exclaimed. + +"If we only had the face!" Ned worried. + +Then he paused a moment and went back to the print carrying the +strange face. + +"Here it is!" he said. "See! This is the same man. There are the +boots and the buttons. The camera caught the man twice." + +"I don't know why you didn't see some of these things when the +pictures were made," laughed Frank. "Next time I go out taking +snapshots I'm going to study the landscape, so I can choose subjects +for my pictures!" + +"All this means," Ned began, "that we were watched when we were +taking the pictures that afternoon. These people were looking at us! +We might as well have been walking through an open street." + +"But why didn't they do something to you, then?" demanded Frank. +"They captured the ones who entered the workroom." + +"Those were counterfeiters, not abductors." + +"Well, then, they caught Jimmie and lugged him away?" + +"In an effort to drive us out of the country, yes." + +"Then why didn't they capture you?" + +"Because they thought they had us scared so we'd go, and so didn't +want to show their hand. Remember that it was the counterfeiters who +were supposed by us to have taken Jimmie." + +"I understand. When you found that the boy at the cabin was not the +one you were looking for you were supposed to go away so as to save +Jimmie's life, and leave the true prince here in hiding." + +"That is just it." + +Bradley now called out to the boys that he had something to say to +them, and they hurried to his side. + +"I want you to get the widow's grandson and take him to her," he +said. "I was used decent, and I don't like to have her suffer." + +"Where is the boy?" asked Ned. + +Bradley open his eyes wider in wonder. + "Do you really think I took him away?" he asked. + +"Not a doubt of it!" Frank declared. + +"Well, I didn't," Bradley insisted. "I don't know where he is, but I +think I can point out the likeliest place to hunt for him." + +"Down at Chimney rock?" asked Frank. + +"In that section, yes. And, look here. You will need to be in a +hurry, for the men who have him are anxious to get rid of him--and +they are unscrupulous!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +A RECRUIT FROM THE ENEMY + + +"So you know the men who have taken the boy we call Mike III.?" asked +Ned. + +"I know him too well," was the bitter answer. "He's one of the men +who use their friends up to the limit and then drop them!" + +"You say 'him,'" Ned suggested. "Is there only one in this outrage?" + +"There are several, but all bow to the will of the leader. I can't +tell you anything more about it! I don't like the way I have been +treated, or I wouldn't have said as much as I have." + +"I thought your motive was to secure the return of the boy to his +grandmother?" + +"I want that done, of course, but I wouldn't have suggested it to you +only for the high and mighty airs of the man placed over me." + +"Why don't you tell me who this man is?" asked Ned. "Why don't you +tell me the object of this abduction of the prince? Why not tell me +where to find this little chap you seem honestly interested in?" + +"I don't know anything about any prince!" insisted Bradley. + +"Look here," Ned said, "I believe I can tell you just how this man +you hate looks. If I describe him, will you tell me if I am right?" + +"I will tell you nothing, except that you ought to look in the +vicinity of Chimney rock for the grandson--not at the rock, but close +to it! That is more than I ought to tell you." + +"This man you speak of," Ned went on, recalling the features of the +face caught above the rock by the camera, "has a very slim face, a +prominent nose, a wide, thin-lipped mouth, high cheek boned, small +eye-orbits, and eyebrows which tip up at the outer corners. He is +fond of children, and will play with any child he comes across. He is +also fond of mountain climbing, and delights in long tramps over the +hills." + +Bradley looked at Ned with the old cynical smile on his face. + +"Where did you run across him?" he asked eagerly, + +"That is enough!" laughed Ned. "You needn't say another word. We have +two snapshots of him--one without a head. In one he has hold of the +hand of a child, and in the other he has the child on his back, with +the little fellow's legs hanging down over his shoulders. A man would +not be apt to ride children about on his shoulders unless he was fond +of little ones generally, would he?" + +"I presume not," Bradley admitted. + +"And he wears in both pictures a mountain-climbing costume," Ned went +on. "He evidently likes the errand he was sent here on!" + +"The man I referred to a few moments ago as unscrupulous does," +Bradley said. + +"But if he likes children he won't be apt to injure this Mike III., +will he?" + +"He is a man who will do anything for expediency's sake. Now go away +and leave me to my very entertaining thoughts! If I ever get out of +these hills alive, and free, I'll never leave Manhattan island +again." + +"I remember you saying that you had never set foot in New York!" +laughed Ned. "You'll have to make your stories consistent if you want +them believed!" + +"Never mind all that now," Bradley replied. "You get busy restoring +that child to Mrs. Brady! Say, boy, but he is a bright-one!" + +"Learned French quickly, didn't he, and consented to being blacked up +like a negro minstrel, in order to pose as a prince?" asked Ned. "I +reckon, however, that the credit does not all belong to the lad. He +seems to have had a good instructor." + +"If you'll release me," Bradley offered, after a pause, "I'll go and +get the boy." + +"That's an easy promise to make," laughed Ned. + +"But I'll go and get him and bring him to you, and you can return him +to his grandmother. Then you may put these bracelets on me again if +you like. But, boy, let me tell you this: You've got nothing on me! I +haven't done a thing in this state at least, to render myself liable +to punishment. I supplied, for good pay, certain information in New +York, and I brought the boy you call Mike III. on here from +Washington, where I know his father well." + +"You must have known what you were doing it for?" + +"I did know--for money!" + +"But you must have known that the boy was to personate some one +else?" + +"I didn't care about that. I had my orders! See here, boy, if you +ever work with these highbrow rulers of petty kingdoms, you'll soon +find out that you're to obey and not ask questions! Do you get me?" + +"That's enough!" laughed Ned. "You haven't betrayed your employer, +but you have told me all I wanted to know." + +The boys unlocked the handcuffs and laid them aside. + +"I believe you'll do the right thing," he said. "Go and get the boy. +If you need any help let me know." + +Bradley arose and stretched out his arms luxuriously. + +"That's the first time I ever stood in the accused row," he said, +"and it will be the last! But, see here, boy, I can't get the kid in +a minute! I'll go to the mother and tell her what I'm doing, if I +live to get there!" + +"You think your ex-friends may seek to terminate your lease of life?" + +"They surely will--now. And, here's a pointer for you, look out for +yourself." + +"I think I can fix you out so they will receive you with open arms," +Ned grinned. "Here. I'll put these cuffs on again, with one arm +locked carelessly. You can draw the bar out when you pull right hard. +Now, eat what you need and take a run up the slope. We'll follow you +with a serenade of bullets. When you join the outlaws down in the +canyon you'll be a hero." + +"That's a fine notion!" said Bradley, actually smiling. + +"And don't come back here with the boy. Send him home to the old +lady. Then, if you want to help me in the work I'm on--" + +"I don't, and I won't!" + +"Don't blame you a mite! I never did like a traitor! If you won't +help me, then cut sticks for New York. Some day when you are in +better mood, come to the Black Bear Patrol clubroom. You know where +it is! Well give you a look into the place without sending you up to +the attic!" + +Bradley's face twisted into a laugh, but Ned did not seem to notice +the fact. + +"I'm not saying anything more about the prince, understand, or the +attic, or the French, or the black stain, but perhaps you'll tell me +the whole story some day!" + +And so, handcuffed again, Bradley was taken back to the tent, where +he was given a hearty meal. Then he carefully made his way out and +ran for the summit. Ned and his chums sat back and laughed at the +tumbles he took in his eagerness to deceive any one who might be +watching the camp. Now and then he fell down behind a rock and lay +there for a moment, peering out in the direction of the tent. + +Just before he gained the summit, Ned and the others ran out of the +tent with shouts of alarm and dashed up the slope, firing as they +went. At that time Bradley's speed might have shown a world record if +it had been set down! He cleared the summit, shouting for assistance +from anyone who might be below, and half rolled down toward the +canyon. Ned fired a few shots and went back to the tent. + +"What's the game?" asked Frank, as Ned sat down and roared. "This man +Bradley seems to be It--Tag!" + +Ned explained the situation and Frank immediately began taking notes +for a story for his father's newspaper. + +"If I had had a motion picture machine here," Frank declared, "I +could have made a fortune out of the films! It was glorious, the way +the old boy tore up the rocks on his way down. Think he'll return?" + +"I think he will," was the reply. + +"But if he doesn't?" + +"Then we shall have to find the boy ourselves, just as we are going +to find the prince! That is the next job, you understand." + +"And geezle the man who stole him--that's in the job, isn't it?" + +"Nothing said about that, but I hope to get him and have the goods on +him, too. When I present him to the chief he can do whatever he likes +with him." + +"But how are you going to get the goods on him?" asked Oliver. + +"I'll manage that easily," laughed Ned. "The first thing is to catch +him. Now, Frank, you saw where Bradley went?" + +"Why, he headed for the old counterfeiter den." + +"Think you can keep track of him for a short time?" + +"Can I?" You know it!" + +"Then take Dode with you, so as to be in communication with the camp, +and follow him! Don't show yourself if you can help it, but if you +are discovered keep busy with your camera. We are here only to take +pictures, you know!" + +"So you don't trust that chap, after all?" asked Frank. + +"Yes, I trust him, but he won't betray the men he has been working +with. In order to get the boy he'll have to go to the man I want." + +"All right!" Frank laughed. "Come on, Dode! I might have known that +Ned was next to his job. I'll come back just before sunset to report, +if not before. If you love me have a supper fit for six of us ready +for me!" + +The two boys started away, and Ned, Teddy and Oliver went back to the +pictures. After an hour or more Ned went down to the corral, as if +looking after the mule. He saw no one on the way there, but when he +reached the level spot, rich with June grass, he saw that it had had +visitors during the day. + +The grass was beaten down flat behind a boulder on the edge of the +fertile spot, and there were cigarette stubs and half-burned matches +scattered about. The lush grass still carried the odor of tobacco, +and the boy knew that the watcher had not been long absent from his +post. + +He went back to the camp, and, much to the surprise of Teddy and +Oliver, began packing. + +"What's doing now?" the boy asked. + +"Why," laughed Ned, "haven't I agreed to get out of here to-morrow or +next day?" + +"Yes, but--" + +"We're going to pack, anyway," Ned said, "whether we leave or not! +There are people watching every move we make, and I want to convey to +them the idea that we are going at once." + +"If they are watching us," Oliver suggested, "they doubtless saw Jack +and Jimmie leave the camp." + +"They undoubtedly did," Ned admitted. + +"And will follow them, I'm afraid." + +"I've been wondering whether the boys got out of the hills in +safety," Ned went on. "They were well mounted, and should have been +able to dodge the outlaws. Besides, Jimmie and Jack are, as the boys +say on the Bowery, inclined to be 'foolish in the head--like a fox.' +So they are probably safely out by this time." + +"But, still, I'm worrying about them!" Oliver replied. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +RACING MOTORS ON THE WAT + + +"Some day," Jimmie said, as he urged Uncle Ike down an eastern slope +of the Alleghany mountains, "I'm going to have this mule put in a +book." + +"If he keeps up his stealing," Jack declared, "he is more likely to +be put in jail. That mule is certainly a bad actor." + +"Huh!" grunted Jimmie. "He's got a sugar tooth, or he wouldn't +steal!" + +The boys drew up when nearly to the valley through which runs the +North Fork and looked over the landscape. There was another range of +mountains straight ahead, and beyond that the valley of the South +Branch, for which they were headed. + +"Looks like another climb and good-night!" Jack complained. "And Ned +wanted this sent to-night. That's a right smart climb ahead of us," +he added. + +Jimmie coaxed Uncle Ike back to four feet again and patted him on the +head before making any reply. Then he pointed to the south. + +"Over there," he said, "is the Virginia line. The ridge ahead of us +does no cross that. I know because I looked up this section once when +Ned and I were thinking of running away for a rest." + +"You always need a rest!" grinned Jack. "Why don't you make Uncle Ike +stand still, like Dill Pickles, this old mountain ship of mine does?" +he added. + +"Why do you call him Dill Pickles?" asked Jimmie. "He looks more like +a razor-back with sails set in front." + +"He's Dill Pickles because he's got a good disposition gone sour," +Jack explained. "He's just about shaken the life out of me now. +Doesn't look it, does he?" + +"Better call him Bones!" Jimmie advised. "As I was saying," he went +on, "the ridge ahead of us drops down this side of the Virginia line, +and we can dodge a climb by going around it." + +"And get lost!" Jack grumbled. + +"Lost--not. We follow down this valley--or up this valley, rather-- +until the ridge drops down. Then we go straight east until we come to +the South Branch. And there you are." + +"Here we go, then!" Jack shouted. "Set your sails and come along." + +Uncle Ike wanted a test of speed and endurance right there, but +Jimmie held him back. It might be that they would be obliged to +return to the camp that night. + +They soon left the high places and wound among foothills. Below lay a +fertile valley, with handsome and well-tilled fields. + +"We're making a hit with these mules!" laughed Jimmie, as they passed +along, the people staring at them from gates, doors, windows and +fence-tops. "If these ladies and gentlemen ever see us again they'll +be sure to know us." + +It is not a great distance from the place where they came to the +river to the city they sought, and the ground was covered in a couple +of hours. The sun was still shining when they passed through a busy +street, certainly the center of observation. + +When they entered the telegraph office Jack took out the message and +handed it to the clerk at the desk without looking at it. The clerk +studied it a moment and asked: "Day rates? This seems to be a night +letter." + +The boys eyed each other keenly for a moment, and then Jimmie said: +"I'd have it sent right off if I were you. Ned wouldn't have said +anything about its being a night letter if he had had any idea we'd +get here so soon." + +"All right," Jack said. "Send it now. We'll wait for a little while +to see if there's an answer." + +"It is in cipher," the clerk said, "and will take some time to send." + +"I never looked at it," Jack cried. "I' don't even know where it is +going." + +"To the Secret Service chief, Washington," said the clerk. "Are you +boys out here on secret service business?" + +"We're out here to take pictures," Jimmie cut in. "We have nothing to +do with that dispatch. It was given to us by an acquaintance to send +out." + +"He wanted to make sure it got into the right hands," Jack said. +"Will you call Washington and see if he's there--the chief?" + +"You'll have to pay for the message." + +Jack laid a banknote of large denomination down on the desk. + +"Ask for the chief," he said, "and tell him to wire any instructions +he may have for the sender in cipher if he wants to, but to give any +instructions he may have for us about the delivery of the message in +plain United States!" + +"Come back in half an hour," said the clerk, "and I'll probably have +something for you. I suppose this cipher message is an important +one?" he added, suspiciously. + +"Don't know what it is," Jack answered, truthfully. + +The clerk evidently did not believe the boy for he stood at the desk +gazing after him with a look of distrust on his face. The lads were +no sooner out of the office than a thin, angular gentleman, dusky of +face and very black and bright of eye, entered and walked up to the +clerk. + +"I sent a message here by a couple of boys," he said, "and I wish to +withdraw it." + +"You'll have to find the boys, then, and have them withdraw it," +replied the clerk. + +"But can't I recall the dispatch--my own dispatch?" demanded the +other, exposing a $100 banknote in his palm. "It is worth something +to me to get it back." + +The clerk was angry at the plain attempt at bribery, so he turned +back to a table and took up the message the boys had left. + +"We have a message here," he said, "which may be recalled under +proper conditions. Kindly tell me what your dispatch says." + +"Which one did they file?" asked the other. "The one to Washington or +the one to New York?" + +The clerk laid the paper back on the desk. + +"Give me the address you sent your message to at Washington," he +said. + +"It was the secretary of state," was the reply. + +"And the message? Give me a few opening words." + +"Read them!" snarled the other. "Can't you read English?" + +"The message is in cipher!" said the clerk, "You also have the +address wrong. You are evidently a fraud. Get out!" + +When the boys returned to the office in half an hour the clerk called +them over to the desk at once and told them of what had taken place. + +"How did he ever follow us out without our seeing him?" asked Jimmie. + +"He must have shot through the air," the other declared. + +"Are you sure you kept a good lookout?" smiled the clerk. + +"Well, we looked about a good deal," Jimmie admitted, "and I can't +say as I thought of being chased up. What did Washington say?" + +"You boys are to wait here until you receive instructions. The cipher +message is now going on the wire." + +The boys sat down in a restaurant not far from the telegraph office +and ordered porterhouse steaks, French potatoes, and all the side +dishes that were on the menu. + +"We may have to ride to-night," Jack said, "and may as well prepare +for it." + +"I don't like the idea of our being followed here," Jimmie observed. +"We'll be apt to come across that chap on the way back. The funny +part of it all is that we never suspected there was a sleuth out +after us!" + +"We ought to have known," Jack grumbled. "Somehow everything has gone +wrong with us. If we ride back in the night we'll probably have a +skirmish." + +After eating they went back to the telegraph office. The clerk was +waiting for them, that being the usual hour for his supper. + +"Here's your orders," he said, with a smile, "right from the chief +himself. He seems to know who you are all right!" + +Jack took the dispatch and read: + +"Remain where you are until motor cars now on the way from Cumberland +reach you. Our men say the cars can make good time clear to the +foothills. The cipher message will arrive shortly. Be on your guard." + +It was signed by the chief of the Secret Service department. + +"What do you know about that?" asked Jack, passing the message over +to Jimmie. + +"How far is it to Cumberland?" he asked of the clerk. + +"Something like eighty miles," was the reply. + +"Are the roads good? Can a motor car make good time to-night." + +The river roads are fairly good. A fast car ought to get here in +three hours." + +"I see that Chinese-looking guy that wanted the message catching us +if we go back in an automobile!" Jimmie laughed. + +"But a motor car," Jack interrupted, "is an easy thing to wreck on a +mountain." + +"What do you think was in that dispatch?" Jimmie asked of Jack, as +they sat in the telegraph office waiting. + +"Something which brings out motor cars and secret service men," Jack +answered. "I guess it made a hit at Washington." + +"Perhaps he wired that he was going to bring the prince in!" laughed +Jimmie. "Well, if he did, he'll do it, and that's all I've got to say +about it." + +Twice that evening a dark face appeared at the window of the +telegraph office and peered in at the boys. Each time the owner of +the dark face hastened away after a short inspection of the lads and +conferred with two men in a dark little hotel office. + +Shortly after ten o'clock two great touring cars, long, lean racers, +ran up to the curb in front of the telegraph office and stopped. The +street was now well-nigh deserted, but what few people were still +astir gathered around the machines. + +There were three husky men in each machine, and in each car was room +for one more person. Only one man alighted and entered the office. +When he saw the boys waiting he beckoned to them. + +"Got your cipher?" he asked, and Jack nodded. + +"Then come along. We'll get to the high climb before the moon comes +up." + +"Do you know the way?" asked the clerk. + +"Only from verbal description," was the reply, "but we can find it." + +"I'm off duty," the clerk said, "and I know every inch of the way. I +was reared in the mountains west of the short ridge. I'd like a +little adventure, too!" he laughed. + +"What about the mules?" asked Jimmie, determined that Uncle Ike +should be cared for. + +"Get them into a barn, quick," said the chief, sharply. "We must be +off." + +When Jimmie came back the clerk and Jack were crowded into one seat +in the rear machine, while a vacant seat in the front car was waiting +for him. The party was off with a snort of motors and faint cheers +from the little crowd which had gathered. + +The river road was fairly good, and in an hour they were at the +foothills, around the south end of the short ridge. The driver drew +up there, and in the clear air, from the north came the sound of +galloping horses. + +"Get out and under cover, boys!" the chief commanded. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +THE MAN-TRAP IS SET + + +Ned, Oliver and Teddy remained in camp all the afternoon--waiting. +They were not, of course, anticipating the immediate return of Jack +and Jimmie, but they were looking every moment, after a couple of +hours had passed, for some signs of the boys who had been sent out in +the wake of Bradley. + +"I'll bet a cookie," Teddy exclaimed, as the sun set over the ridge +to the west, "that Frank and Dode have bumped into something hard!" + +"I may have made a mistake in not going on that trip myself," Ned +mused, "but I had an idea there would be business for me at the camp. +I don't know what to make of this lack of attention on the part of +our enemies!" + +"It may be," Oliver suggested, "that they have taken alarm and ducked +with the prince." + +"That is just what I fear," Ned answered. "It will spoil all my plans +if they move now; still, I admit that they've had enough unpleasant +experiences here to make them long for a quieter retreat!" + +The boys prepared supper, taking pains to provide enough food for +Frank and Dode, but they did not come. The meal over, Ned made ready +for a trip down the mountain. + +"I'm going to Chimney rock," he said to the boys. "I should like to +have one of you with me, but two ought to remain here. I'm going to +take some rockets with me. If I do not return before midnight, one of +you advance along the summit to the south, provided with rockets. If +one of my rockets is seen, the watcher must send one up to notify the +boy in camp. Then both must make a run for Chimney rock, traveling so +as to come upon it from the up-hill side. Is that clear?" + +"Perfectly," Oliver declared. "You are going to bring this prince +back with you?" + +"Perhaps!" laughed Ned. "I may have to bring Frank and Dode back with +me!" + +There was only the light of the stars when Ned reached the vicinity +of Chimney rock, coming in from the slope to the north and moving +with extreme caution. There was a dull glow in the dip back of the +rock, the glow of coals nearly burned out. + +The men who had captured Jimmie at the cave of the counterfeiters had +fled before the shooting, and Ned had no idea that they had returned, +or would return. Any fire built by them would have long since turned +to ashes. + +"The party having direct charge of the prince has been here," the boy +mused, "though why they should come here is a puzzle to me, as they +have, or had a camp of their own not far away. Still, the theory of +hiding in a place which has been searched is an old one, and these +fellows may have adopted it. + +"They certainly adopted a theory something like it," the lad thought, +as he watched the dying embers from a distance--from the secure +shadow, if the stars may be said to have cast a shadow that night, of +a great rock--"when they decided to remain here after the disguise of +the widow's grandson had been discovered. They took it for granted +that no one would look for the real prince where the disguised one +had been found! They might better have taken him away!" + +Ned knew very well that the men having charge of the abducted boy had +hidden farther up the slope. His idea was that at the time the +pictures were taken the men in charge were watching the two who had +ran away. + +From what Bradley had said, it was not likely that he, Bradley, had +been permitted to associate with the actual custodians of the stolen +lad. This had been the main source of his complaints. + +Ned believed that a portion, at least, of the men sent into the hills +as custodians of the prince had followed Jack and Jimmie out While +trembling for the safety of the two boys, Ned had figured on cutting +the force of the enemy in two before making an attempt to seize the +little prisoner. + +Even now, he figured, the force left on the ground had been again +divided, for he was positive that the camp was being watched. For +this reason he had caused the packing to be done, thus giving the +impression that his party was going out at once. + +The boy lay in the dark spot under the boulder for a long time, +watching, listening, for some indication of human life in that +vicinity. He had a half notion that Bradley would head that way, and +that the boys would follow him. + +"If Bradley does come here," Ned thought, "my trap will be set right! +That is, if the dusky little chap from over the sea has not been +taken away. If he has, the trap will not serve; still, I shall be +able to console myself with the thought that it was at least well +set!" + +Every clue the boy had gained pointed to the spot where he lay. That +had undoubtedly been the point of communication between the leader +and his subordinates--with Bradley and the men who had taken Jimmie +prisoner. + +"That was rather clever," Ned mused, "taking the boy while at the +cave of the counterfeiters in order to give the impression that the +coiners had seized him!" + +Ned realized, too; that the capture of the grandson just at that time +had been a master stroke on the part of the conspirators. The lad +would have talked too much when he became satisfied that he was safe +from all coercion. + +Ned lay in his hiding place for what appeared to him to be a long +time before he heard anything to indicate that his man-trap had been +set in the right spot. Then the voice he heard caused him to spring +quickly up to his feet. It was the low, soft, plaintive voice of Mary +Brady. + +"I haven't seen anything here I could talk about," the old lady was +saying. "I wouldn't think of betraying anyone who put my boy in my +arms. I've seen him with you--I've been waiting about here for a long +time. Bring him out to me and I'll go home and never trouble you any +more." + +"Now," thought Ned, "how did the old lady manage to find the boy +here?" + +"You shouldn't have come here," a low, well-modulated masculine voice +said. "You have put your own life and the life of the boy in danger +by so doing. How long had you been watching and listening before I +saw you?" + +"A long, long time." + +"And you heard much of what was said?" + +"I heard a good many words, but I don't remember now what they +meant." + +The voices came clearly from farther up the slope, and a little to +the south. The figures of the speakers could not be seen by the +watcher. + +"Come up to the camp," the masculine voice said, presently. "I'll +turn the boy over to you, but you can't go back to your cabin +to-night." + +"Are you going to keep me here against my will?" asked the trembling +old voice. + +"You have seen and heard too much," was the almost brutal rejoinder. + +There was a rattle of pebbles as footsteps moved along the rocky +surface of the slope. From above came the shrill cry of a child. + +"I don't know of any better time to move up and take a peep at the +camp of the man who crossed the sea to steal a child," Ned mused. "I +wish Frank and Dode would come, but if they don't I'll have to take +chances on going alone." + +Keeping those in front of him as guides, Ned crept along the slope. +More than once a loose pebble rolled with a great noise from under +his feet, but those ahead seemed to pay no attention to these +evidences of pursuit. + +When, perhaps, two hundred paces up the slope the sounds above the +boy ceased. The night was still, save for the rustling and creeping +of the creatures of the air and the forest. For a long time not a +sound indicative of the presence of human life was heard, then a +woman's cry of fright came from above. + +Ned was about to hasten forward when a voice came to his ears from +the darkness. + +"We can't permit either of them to leave!" the low, well-modulated +voice he had heard before that night said. "Even if we get away with +the prince, their stories would ruin us. There is no knowing how soon +the gabblings of the old woman might reach the ears of the adherents +of the prince." + +"Then you propose--" + +"Nothing that will not come to them in due course of time! They can +go to sleep in the snug inner room and never wake again. They will +not know when the change comes. They will sleep forever in their +mountain tomb." + +"I am opposed to murder," said another voice, harsher, more decisive. + +"And so the trap was well set!" mused Ned. "The princeling is still +here! Well, the battle may not bring victory to me, but I will at +least know that I planned it right, acting on the best information at +hand." + +It was plain, from what the first speaker had said, that the camp of +the conspirators was in a cave, for he had spoken of a snug inner +room. The entrance to this cave was undoubtedly closely guarded. + +The boy crept along cautiously. The slope was steep, with here and +there a ledge which had to be surmounted or circled, always at great +risk. In a few hours the moon would be up, and then the work he had +before him would be more difficult. + +"I must get into the cave before the moon rises!" he thought. "But +how?" + +When he came to the precipice in the side of the mountain from which +the cave opened, he saw the black spot which marked the entrance. It +was not large, and, close in front, sitting with his back against the +rock, was a guard! + +Ned lay down to wait. When the moon rose it would cast the shadow of +the mountain on that spot. For a few hours more he might wait for his +chance. + +Directly he heard a call which brought him to an alert attitude in an +instant. It was the call of the wolf pack, sharp, vicious, warning! + +There was a movement at the mouth of the cave, and a quick light +showed for only a second. Then came a sound of footsteps negotiating +the gravelly slope. + +Ned dropped back to the west. The call had come from that direction. +It might have been uttered either by Frank or by one of the boys left +at the camp. + +Presently the snarl was heard in a dark crevice toward which the boy +was descending. Ned dropped down faster then, and soon heard Frank's +voice. + +"Are you alone?" he asked. + +"Yes; and you?" + +"Bradley and Dode are here." + +Bradley moved forward and took Ned by the arm. + +"Be careful!" he warned. "Those men would toss dynamite down here and +take their own risk of death if they knew." + +"We've had a run for our money!" Frank panted. "We've been +everywhere. The cabin is deserted, and the lower camp and the +counterfeiter cave are bare of life. Bradley caught us following him, +and so we joined with him in his search for Mike III." + +"Mike III.," Ned answered, "is up there in the cave with the +abductors, and Mrs. Brady is with him. We've got to act quickly." + +"They'll be murdered!" Bradley whispered. "What can we do?" + +"They'll be spared for a short time," Ned answered, "but we must be +on the move." + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +THE CONFESSION OF A PHOTOGRAPH + + +"There's a ravine off to the right where the machines may be hidden," +the clerk said, when the racing automobiles stopped at the foot of +the hills. + +"Show the way, then, quick," hastily commanded the leader. "We want +to see what sort of people they are who ride at break-neck speed in +the darkness." + +The machines were driven into the ravine referred to, and the secret +service men and the boys secreted themselves in a clump of +undergrowth close to the roadside. The horsemen came on swiftly, and +would have passed only that the detectives closed in about them, +three in front and three in the rear. + +"What is the meaning of this?" demanded the dark little man who had +shown himself at the telegraph office. + +The two men with him whispered together but said nothing in the way +of protest. + +"Dismount!" ordered the leader. + +The men hesitated, and a bullet cut the air within a fraction of an +inch of the right ear of the leader. There was now no delay in +reaching the ground. + +"You shall pay for this!" shouted the little dark man. + +"Of course," laughed the leader. + +Jimmie pulled at the sleeve of the chief. + +"That is one of the men I saw in the mountains," he declared. "He is +the second one in command, as far as I could determine." + +"What does the boy say?" demanded the other. + +"What are you doing here?" asked the chief, impatiently. + +"We are hunting in the hills." + +"Hunting at this season?" + +"Hunting and resting. Please now do we go on?" + +The chief made a significant motion, and before the three men knew +what was going on they were securely handcuffed. They roared at their +captors and at each other in a foreign language for a moment and then +sat down stolidly at the side of the road. + +"You, Jerry, and you, Sam, take them back to the town and lock them +up," ordered the chief. "Perhaps you, Charley, would better go with +them. Ride and make them walk!" + +"Locked up!" shouted the dark little man. "What for?" + +"Treason to your country," was the short reply. + +For a moment there was no word spoken, then the three men arose to +their feet and approached the chief, standing with a hand on his +revolver. + +"There is money," one of the men said. "Plenty of money." + +"Cut that out!" ordered the chief, curtly. + +"Not in the thousands!" the other went on, "In the millions!" + +"If they renew this proposition on the way in," ordered the chief, +"gag them!" + +In a moment the three men were away with their prisoners, the sound +of the horses' feet dying away in soft echoes from the hills. + +Then the chief turned to the clerk. + +"Does our auto ride end here?" he asked. + +The clerk shook his head. + +"A few rods further on," he said, "you can turn into the bed of a +half dry stream which runs out of the hills almost at the rocky wall +of the mountain itself." + +"And the bottom of the stream?" asked the chief. + +"Sand and fine gravel. The grade is not steep." + +"And how far from the summit shall we be when we get to the end of +the water route?" asked the chief. + +"Not more than three miles, but it is a stiff climb." + +"Get under way then," was the order, and the motors sang their tune +in the hills once more. + +"What time does the moon rise?" the chief asked, after a few moments +of splashing in the bed of the stream, which at that season of the +year was not more than three inches deep, except in places, which +were avoided. + +"About twelve," was the reply. + +"We must be well up the hill before that," the chief declared. + +When they came to the end of the water course the machines were +hidden in a canyon not far away and the men and the boys proceeded on +up the slope. + +In the meantime Ned and those with him were listening for the sound +of footsteps in their immediate vicinity. The call of the pack had +aroused the suspicions of the guard, and it was evident that he had +left his place at the entrance of the cave to learn the meaning of +it. + +After a brief wait Ned heard the sound he was listening for and +clutched Frank eagerly by the arm. + +"Move away to the right and repeat the wolf call, only lower," he +directed. "When you have done so dodge back here-quick! The guard may +shoot!" + +"What are you going to do?" whispered Bradley. "Be careful! Those +Orientals are dangerous people to handle! Be careful!" + +"I guess we won't start anything we can't finish," Frank grinned. + +The boy did as requested, and Ned moved up the slope. Bradley sat +watching the dim figures disappear and wondered what sort of company +he had fallen into. + +When the call of the pack came from the spot indicated by Ned, there +was a rush of footsteps. The guard evidently, was advancing toward +the suspicious sound. + +The next event was so sudden, so unexpected, so startling, that +Bradley almost held his breath for an instant. There was a choking +gurgle, a blow, and a noise of falling bodies. Then Ned and the guard +rolled into the little dip where the others were hiding. + +Frank, back by this time, threw himself on the struggling mass and +the guard was soon handcuffed and gagged. Then Frank sat back and +laughed until Dode tried to gag him with a handkerchief. + +"Come!" Ned whispered, giving the boy a poke in the ribs. "We're +going into the cave now! Are you going, Bradley?" he added, turning +to the blonde fellow. + +"If you forget what took place at the club-room in New York, I'll--" + +"You're on!" whispered Ned. "Now--quick and cautious!" + +The old lady, sitting dejectedly with her grandson in her arms, in a +rough cave-room, saw the boys creeping forward. Ned held up a warning +hand and waited. The old lady, evidently knowing what was wanted, +pointed to a small opening to the south. + +"They are in there, two of them, asleep!" she whispered a moment +later, when Ned had reached her side. "The others are away!" + +"And the other boy?" asked Ned, anxiously. + +"He is with them," was the gratifying reply. + +It was Frank who accompanied Ned into the sleeping chamber where the +heads of the conspiracy lay asleep. It was Frank who snapped the +manacles on the wrist of the one who was lying across the entrance as +a guard. + +The supreme head of the wicked conspiracy struggled, half awake, as +Ned slipped the handcuffs on and searched him for weapons. But it was +all over in a moment, much to the amazement of Bradley, who, +attracted by a gleam of light, looked through the low opening to see +the searchlights of the Boy Scouts lighting up two angry faces. The +prince--the real prince this time!--was asleep on a costly rug not +far away. Later, when awakened, his attention was at once attracted +to Mike III., who made a pretty good playfellow for him for the time +being. + +For there was little sleep in the Boy Scout Camera Club camp that +night. When the boys, the old lady, the prince and the others came +out of the cave, just as the moon was showing above the rim of the +world, a rocket was mounting the sky to the north. + +"One of the boys!" Ned exclaimed. "I reckon something is wrong +there!" + +But nothing was wrong there--nothing at all, so far as the boys were +concerned. Oliver and Teddy had succeeded in capturing the man who +was watching the camp. Pretending to fall asleep by the fire, they +had lain in wait for the spy and captured him just as he was in the +act of setting fire to the tent. + +Dode accompanied Mrs. Brady and her grandson to the cabin, where, at +her request, he remained a welcome guest for many days. + +When the stories of the night had been told Jack, Jimmie, and the +three secret service men made their appearance, puffing from their +long climb. Then new stories had to be told, and the prince was by no +means slow in telling of his adventures in the hills. + +"The boy lies!" the leader of the conspirators declared. "I had +nothing to do with the boy! I was not here when he was brought in. I +came on separate business with one of the men already here, and did +not know of the lad's presence here until to-night, and even then I +did not know who he was." + +"All the others will swear to that," Bradley said, "in an attempt to +save the man's life by sacrificing their own." + +"Never mind," Ned said, "you can testify to his interest in the +abduction." + +"I don't know a thing about it," was the reply. "I was hired to watch +you in New York, and to bring Mike III. in here. I never saw this man +while here--never saw the prince. I don't even know how they got Mike +III. from his father! They kept me in ignorance of all their moves." + +"Well," laughed Ned, "then we'll fall back on the confession that has +been made." + +"Confession!" repeated the others. "Who has confessed?" + +"The photograph!" smiled Ned, taking out the two pictures in which +the man and the prince were shown. "The pictures show this man in the +company of the prince, and the prince will tell the rest. This closes +the case." + +"When are you going out?" asked the chief of the secret service men. + +"Why," replied Ned, "I promised the outlaws that I would get away +to-morrow morning. I'm going to keep my word!" + +"You'd better go out with us and travel in the machines, then," said +the other. + +"And leave Uncle Ike?" demanded Jimmie. "Not for me! I'm going to +ride that blessed mule to Cumberland, and ship him to New York." + +And he actually did! While the others were riding at their ease in +the racers, Jimmie was urging his mule along the country road, +alighting now and then to let him thrust a soft muzzle into a pocket +in quest of sugar. + +At Cumberland Ned met Mike II., who was going in to spend a long time +with his mother and the boy. He had sent the son in by a Washington +friend, he said! That was all! Dode, he said, would be asked to +remain there permanently. No one even knew how much the father knew +of the trick to be played with his son. + +And so, save for a few raveled ends, the story of the Boy Scout +Camera Club is told. + +Bradley was given a position by Oliver's father, and became very +friendly with the boys. He insists to this day that he did not know +about the abduction of the prince. + +The conspirators were turned over to their own government, and there +the record ends, though none of them was ever seen out of prison +again! + +Those who wish to follow the Boy Scouts farther can do so by reading +the next book of this series, entitled: "The Boy Scout Electrician; +or, the Hidden Dynamo." + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Boy Scout Camera Club, +by G. Harvey Ralphson + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOY SCOUT CAMERA CLUB *** + +This file should be named bscam10.txt or bscam10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, bscam11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, bscam10a.txt + +Produced by the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we usually do not +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +We are now trying to release all our eBooks one year in advance +of the official release dates, leaving time for better editing. +Please be encouraged to tell us about any error or corrections, +even years after the official publication date. + +Please note neither this listing nor its contents are final til +midnight of the last day of the month of any such announcement. +The official release date of all Project Gutenberg eBooks is at +Midnight, Central Time, of the last day of the stated month. A +preliminary version may often be posted for suggestion, comment +and editing by those who wish to do so. + +Most people start at our Web sites at: +http://gutenberg.net or +http://promo.net/pg + +These Web sites include award-winning information about Project +Gutenberg, including how to donate, how to help produce our new +eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter (free!). + + +Those of you who want to download any eBook before announcement +can get to them as follows, and just download by date. This is +also a good way to get them instantly upon announcement, as the +indexes our cataloguers produce obviously take a while after an +announcement goes out in the Project Gutenberg Newsletter. + +http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/etext03 or +ftp://ftp.ibiblio.org/pub/docs/books/gutenberg/etext03 + +Or /etext02, 01, 00, 99, 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 92, 91 or 90 + +Just search by the first five letters of the filename you want, +as it appears in our Newsletters. + + +Information about Project Gutenberg (one page) + +We produce about two million dollars for each hour we work. The +time it takes us, a rather conservative estimate, is fifty hours +to get any eBook selected, entered, proofread, edited, copyright +searched and analyzed, the copyright letters written, etc. Our +projected audience is one hundred million readers. If the value +per text is nominally estimated at one dollar then we produce $2 +million dollars per hour in 2002 as we release over 100 new text +files per month: 1240 more eBooks in 2001 for a total of 4000+ +We are already on our way to trying for 2000 more eBooks in 2002 +If they reach just 1-2% of the world's population then the total +will reach over half a trillion eBooks given away by year's end. + +The Goal of Project Gutenberg is to Give Away 1 Trillion eBooks! +This is ten thousand titles each to one hundred million readers, +which is only about 4% of the present number of computer users. + +Here is the briefest record of our progress (* means estimated): + +eBooks Year Month + + 1 1971 July + 10 1991 January + 100 1994 January + 1000 1997 August + 1500 1998 October + 2000 1999 December + 2500 2000 December + 3000 2001 November + 4000 2001 October/November + 6000 2002 December* + 9000 2003 November* +10000 2004 January* + + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation has been created +to secure a future for Project Gutenberg into the next millennium. + +We need your donations more than ever! + +As of February, 2002, contributions are being solicited from people +and organizations in: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, +Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, +Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, +Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New +Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, +Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South +Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West +Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. + +We have filed in all 50 states now, but these are the only ones +that have responded. + +As the requirements for other states are met, additions to this list +will be made and fund raising will begin in the additional states. +Please feel free to ask to check the status of your state. + +In answer to various questions we have received on this: + +We are constantly working on finishing the paperwork to legally +request donations in all 50 states. If your state is not listed and +you would like to know if we have added it since the list you have, +just ask. + +While we cannot solicit donations from people in states where we are +not yet registered, we know of no prohibition against accepting +donations from donors in these states who approach us with an offer to +donate. + +International donations are accepted, but we don't know ANYTHING about +how to make them tax-deductible, or even if they CAN be made +deductible, and don't have the staff to handle it even if there are +ways. + +Donations by check or money order may be sent to: + +Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +PMB 113 +1739 University Ave. +Oxford, MS 38655-4109 + +Contact us if you want to arrange for a wire transfer or payment +method other than by check or money order. + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation has been approved by +the US Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) organization with EIN +[Employee Identification Number] 64-622154. Donations are +tax-deductible to the maximum extent permitted by law. As fund-raising +requirements for other states are met, additions to this list will be +made and fund-raising will begin in the additional states. + +We need your donations more than ever! + +You can get up to date donation information online at: + +http://www.gutenberg.net/donation.html + + +*** + +If you can't reach Project Gutenberg, +you can always email directly to: + +Michael S. Hart <hart@pobox.com> + +Prof. Hart will answer or forward your message. + +We would prefer to send you information by email. + + +**The Legal Small Print** + + +(Three Pages) + +***START**THE SMALL PRINT!**FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN EBOOKS**START*** +Why is this "Small Print!" statement here? You know: lawyers. +They tell us you might sue us if there is something wrong with +your copy of this eBook, even if you got it for free from +someone other than us, and even if what's wrong is not our +fault. So, among other things, this "Small Print!" statement +disclaims most of our liability to you. It also tells you how +you may distribute copies of this eBook if you want to. + +*BEFORE!* YOU USE OR READ THIS EBOOK +By using or reading any part of this PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm +eBook, you indicate that you understand, agree to and accept +this "Small Print!" statement. If you do not, you can receive +a refund of the money (if any) you paid for this eBook by +sending a request within 30 days of receiving it to the person +you got it from. If you received this eBook on a physical +medium (such as a disk), you must return it with your request. + +ABOUT PROJECT GUTENBERG-TM EBOOKS +This PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm eBook, like most PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm eBooks, +is a "public domain" work distributed by Professor Michael S. Hart +through the Project Gutenberg Association (the "Project"). +Among other things, this means that no one owns a United States copyright +on or for this work, so the Project (and you!) can copy and +distribute it in the United States without permission and +without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth +below, apply if you wish to copy and distribute this eBook +under the "PROJECT GUTENBERG" trademark. + +Please do not use the "PROJECT GUTENBERG" trademark to market +any commercial products without permission. + +To create these eBooks, the Project expends considerable +efforts to identify, transcribe and proofread public domain +works. Despite these efforts, the Project's eBooks and any +medium they may be on may contain "Defects". Among other +things, Defects may take the form of incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other +intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged +disk or other eBook medium, a computer virus, or computer +codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment. + +LIMITED WARRANTY; DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES +But for the "Right of Replacement or Refund" described below, +[1] Michael Hart and the Foundation (and any other party you may +receive this eBook from as a PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm eBook) disclaims +all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including +legal fees, and [2] YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE OR +UNDER STRICT LIABILITY, OR FOR BREACH OF WARRANTY OR CONTRACT, +INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE +OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE +POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. + +If you discover a Defect in this eBook within 90 days of +receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) +you paid for it by sending an explanatory note within that +time to the person you received it from. If you received it +on a physical medium, you must return it with your note, and +such person may choose to alternatively give you a replacement +copy. If you received it electronically, such person may +choose to alternatively give you a second opportunity to +receive it electronically. + +THIS EBOOK IS OTHERWISE PROVIDED TO YOU "AS-IS". NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARE MADE TO YOU AS +TO THE EBOOK OR ANY MEDIUM IT MAY BE ON, INCLUDING BUT NOT +LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A +PARTICULAR PURPOSE. + +Some states do not allow disclaimers of implied warranties or +the exclusion or limitation of consequential damages, so the +above disclaimers and exclusions may not apply to you, and you +may have other legal rights. + +INDEMNITY +You will indemnify and hold Michael Hart, the Foundation, +and its trustees and agents, and any volunteers associated +with the production and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm +texts harmless, from all liability, cost and expense, including +legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the +following that you do or cause: [1] distribution of this eBook, +[2] alteration, modification, or addition to the eBook, +or [3] any Defect. + +DISTRIBUTION UNDER "PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm" +You may distribute copies of this eBook electronically, or by +disk, book or any other medium if you either delete this +"Small Print!" and all other references to Project Gutenberg, +or: + +[1] Only give exact copies of it. Among other things, this + requires that you do not remove, alter or modify the + eBook or this "small print!" statement. You may however, + if you wish, distribute this eBook in machine readable + binary, compressed, mark-up, or proprietary form, + including any form resulting from conversion by word + processing or hypertext software, but only so long as + *EITHER*: + + [*] The eBook, when displayed, is clearly readable, and + does *not* contain characters other than those + intended by the author of the work, although tilde + (~), asterisk (*) and underline (_) characters may + be used to convey punctuation intended by the + author, and additional characters may be used to + indicate hypertext links; OR + + [*] The eBook may be readily converted by the reader at + no expense into plain ASCII, EBCDIC or equivalent + form by the program that displays the eBook (as is + the case, for instance, with most word processors); + OR + + [*] You provide, or agree to also provide on request at + no additional cost, fee or expense, a copy of the + eBook in its original plain ASCII form (or in EBCDIC + or other equivalent proprietary form). + +[2] Honor the eBook refund and replacement provisions of this + "Small Print!" statement. + +[3] Pay a trademark license fee to the Foundation of 20% of the + gross profits you derive calculated using the method you + already use to calculate your applicable taxes. If you + don't derive profits, no royalty is due. Royalties are + payable to "Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation" + the 60 days following each date you prepare (or were + legally required to prepare) your annual (or equivalent + periodic) tax return. Please contact us beforehand to + let us know your plans and to work out the details. + +WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO? +Project Gutenberg is dedicated to increasing the number of +public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed +in machine readable form. + +The Project gratefully accepts contributions of money, time, +public domain materials, or royalty free copyright licenses. +Money should be paid to the: +"Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +If you are interested in contributing scanning equipment or +software or other items, please contact Michael Hart at: +hart@pobox.com + +[Portions of this eBook's header and trailer may be reprinted only +when distributed free of all fees. Copyright (C) 2001, 2002 by +Michael S. Hart. Project Gutenberg is a TradeMark and may not be +used in any sales of Project Gutenberg eBooks or other materials be +they hardware or software or any other related product without +express permission.] + +*END THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN EBOOKS*Ver.02/11/02*END* + diff --git a/old/bscam10.zip b/old/bscam10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..c948364 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/bscam10.zip |