The three boys had quite some sport going up the lake with Della Ford and her aunt as passengers. Being towed by the motor-boat, they had nothing to do but take it easy, and they spent the time in chatting of things in general, and of moving pictures and fun on Mirror Lake in particular.
"We would be pleased to have you come up some evening and take dinner with us," said Della Ford, after consulting with the manager of the moving-picture company. "Come up and bring that boy with his banjo, and we'll have a lot of fun."
"All right, we'll be up some time," answered Phil.
"And don't forget, Mr. Porter, that some day you're to show me how to catch a fish," called out the young actress.
"All right, I won't forget," answered Dave; and then the three boys pushed the rowboat away from the dock, and started upon the return to Bear Camp.
"She's a mighty pleasant girl, that's sure," remarked Phil, as he took it easy on the stern seat, while Dave and Roger plied the oars.
"I think Dave has made a hit with her," responded Roger, with a sly wink at the shipowner's son.
"If you don't look out I'll make a hit with somebody in this boat," declared Dave, his face flushing. "You attend to your rowing or we won't get back in time for dinner."
"I thought you said that fellow, Ward Porton, was going to join the company up here," remarked Phil, by way of changing the subject.
"All I know about it is what Mr. Appleby told me," returned Dave. "I'd like first-rate to see him again and ask him some more about Link Merwell."
"Do you think Link will come up here?" asked Roger.
"I don't know what to think. He is likely to do almost anything. But I doubt whether he will want to place himself in any position where we can get hold of him."
"What a fool Link has been," was Phil's comment.
When the rowboat returned to the dock at the camp, the boys found only Laura and Belle on the veranda of one of the bungalows.
"Where's Jessie?" asked Dave.
"She has a headache and is lying down," answered Laura, and looked at her brother closely.
"That's too bad," he answered. "Can't you do anything for it?"
"She wanted to be left alone, Dave."
"I wonder if I can't do something?"
"I don't think so."
Roger and Phil sat down on the veranda, and were soon joined by Luke and Shadow.
"Where is Ben?" questioned Roger.
"He went to Carpen Falls with his father and Mr. Porter for the mail," answered Mrs. Basswood, who had joined the group.
"I hope I get a letter from daddy," cried Belle. "Why, just think! I haven't had a letter for three days," she pouted.
"I'd like a letter, too," put in Phil. "I haven't had a word from home since I left," and his face clouded, as he remembered his father's troubles over the land question.
Dave had been seated on the end of the piazza, but now he arose and walked over to the other bungalow. Here he met Mrs. Wadsworth just coming from Jessie's room.
"It's only a slight headache, Dave," said the lady, in answer to his question. "I think Jessie will be all right in the morning. She thought she had better stay where she is this evening."
"I wish I could help her, Mrs. Wadsworth,"returned the youth, quickly. "Isn't there something I can do?"
"Nothing that I know of," was the reply, and then Mrs. Wadsworth walked out of the bungalow to join her husband, who was smoking a cigar in a little pavilion that overlooked the lake.
Dave took a turn or two across the living-room. He was very much disturbed in mind, and felt that he ought to do something.
"I'll take a chance, and knock on the door anyhow," he told himself, and moving to the door of Jessie's room, he tapped lightly. Then, as there was no response, he tapped again.
"Who is it?" came from the girl.
"It is I, Jessie. Can't I do something for you?"
"No, I don't think you can," she returned, quickly.
"The others told me you had a headache. I'm very sorry to hear that. I wish I could do something to make you feel better."
"You can't do a thing."
"I might get a hot-water bottle, or some chopped ice, or—or—something," he faltered, not knowing how to go on.
"Oh, Dave, don't be silly!"
"Silly! So now I'm the one who's silly; am I?" he returned. But there was more of slyness than bitterness in his tone.
"Dave Porter! Was there ever such a boy! Now you must go away and leave me alone!"
"All right, Jessie, if you want me to go away I'll go. Just the same, I want you to know that I'm awfully,awfullysorry that you have a headache. I'd rather have it myself."
"Would you indeed?" There was a creaking of the couch, as if Jessie had turned and was sitting up. "Well, I don't want you to have a headache. They are not a bit nice! They are horrid!"
"Are you lying down?"
"I was lying down."
"Well, if you're not so very, very sick, Jessie, won't you just come to the door a minute? I want to tell you something," went on Dave, after a moment's hesitation.
The girl came slowly to the door, and opened it several inches, showing a mass of disheveled hair, and cheeks that had traces of tears on them.
"What do you want to tell me?"
"A good many things, Jessie," returned Dave, in a low tone. "First of all, I don't want you to be angry with me. I simply can't bear it. And besides, I don't think you have anything to be angry about."
"Oh, indeed!"
"No, I don't. I think you misunderstand me.Why, Jessie, I wouldn't have anything come between us for the world, and you know it!"
"Do I?" The door opened a little wider.
"Yes, you do. You know there isn't any one that I care for one-tenth part as much as I care for you. I didn't go up the lake this afternoon because I particularly wanted to; and those people came here of their own accord."
"Yes, Dave——"
"And I don't want you to act so cold, Jessie. Why, it cuts a fellow to the heart! If I thought——"
A wild yell, followed by several screams of terror from outside, interrupted the conversation. Dave stopped short to listen, and Jessie threw wide-open the door to do likewise. Another yell rang out, fierce and penetrating, and then came several more screams, and a rush of footsteps.
"Oh, Dave! what can it mean?" cried Jessie, in sudden alarm.
"I don't know. I guess I had better find out," he returned, and ran toward the front doorway.
"Be careful, Dave! be careful!" cautioned the girl, pleadingly. "Maybe it's a bear!"
"In that case I'd better get one of the guns," he returned.
The party had brought a number of firearms with them, and several of the pieces were hungup on the walls, loaded and ready for use. Catching up a double-barreled shotgun, Dave ran outside with Jessie at his heels. The commotion had continued, and now the youth found himself confronted by his sister and Belle.
"What is it, Laura?"
"I don't know, exactly. But it certainly was something awful!"
"I think it must have been a wild man," broke in Belle. "Anyhow, if it wasn't, I don't know what else it could have been."
The other boys had left the vicinity of the bungalows, and were running toward the woods, with Mr. Wadsworth following them.
"They saw something, but they don't know what it was," said Mrs. Wadsworth, who was plainly much agitated. "It let out the most awful yells you ever heard."
"Maybe it was that wild man, Wilbur Poole!" exclaimed Dave. "He might have followed us to this place, you know."
He ran on, and soon joined the other boys and Mr. Wadsworth, who had come to a halt at the edge of the clearing on which the bungalows were located.
"I think he disappeared over here!" cried Shadow.
"And I think he went this way!" returned Luke.
"When I saw him last he was by yonder bushes!" were Roger's words.
"I think he went over there, just as Shadow said!" came from Phil.
"Who was it?" asked Dave. "Wilbur Poole?"
"Whoever he was, he had the most outlandish rig on a fellow ever saw!" exclaimed Luke. "I think he must have borrowed it from some scarecrow."
"If that was Wilbur Poole we had better keep our eyes open for him," said Dave, seriously. He had not forgotten the trouble which the wild man who called himself the King of Sumatra had given him and his chums in the past.
"We were all sitting there enjoying ourselves when we heard the fellow give an awful yell or two," explained Phil. "Then he came dancing out from behind some bushes, waving a sort of sceptre in the air. He nearly scared the girls into fits, and that is what made them scream. Then he caught up a stick of wood from the pile yonder, and disappeared between the trees. I guess he must have imagined he was a wild Indian on the warpath."
"I am afraid if that poor fellow isn't captured he will cause us a good deal of worry," was Mr. Wadsworth's comment. "As long as he is at large there is no telling what he will do."
"If it really is Wilbur Poole, we ought to let the Pooles know about it," said Dave.
The matter was talked over for some time, and then, after another search through the edge of the woods and among the rocks and brushwood of that vicinity, the boys and Mr. Wadsworth returned to the bungalows. They found all of the girls and Mrs. Wadsworth on one of the verandas, discussing the situation. Even Jessie had joined the group, declaring that the alarm had scared most of her headache away.
"Oh, I was so frightened when I first saw the man—if it really was a man!" cried Laura.
"He looked more like an orang-outang," declared the girl from the West. "If I had met him out on the range, and if I had had a gun with me, I surely would have shot at him!"
"I brought a gun along," returned Dave, exhibiting the weapon; "I thought it was a bear scare."
The scare was the topic of conversation all through the dinner hour, and it was decided that a letter should be posted to Mr. Aaron Poole the following morning, acquainting him with what had occurred.
"It's queer that my husband and Ben and Mr. Porter don't come," remarked Mrs. Basswood, when the meal was nearly over and it was growing dark.
"It's quite a walk to Carpen Falls," said Dave. "And you must remember the trail isn't any too good in some spots."
"I think I see them coming now," announced Roger, a minute later; and he was right. Soon Ben and his father and Dunston Porter came into full view near the end of the lake.
"Talk about an adventure!" cried Ben, as they came up. "Who do you think we met?"
"The wild man!" burst out several of those present.
"Oh, then he was here, was he? Was it Wilbur Poole?"
"We are not so sure about that. We didn't get a very good look at him. He had on such a queer outfit that he was completely disguised."
"That's just it!" broke in Dunston Porter. "We couldn't tell who he was, either. He appeared right in front of us on the trail, flourishing a big stick. He let out a whoop like an Indian, gave a leap or two into the air, and then dashed out of sight behind some bushes."
"He didn't attack you, did he?" questioned Mrs. Basswood, anxiously.
"No," returned her husband, "but, all the same, I didn't like his actions. He might have done some serious damage with the stick he carried."
"That man, whoever he is, ought to be putunder guard," declared Phil, and then he added quickly: "Did you get any letters, Ben?"
"Oh, yes, several of them. Here they are," and placing his hand in the pocket of his jacket, the youth brought forth over a dozen epistles.
There was a wild scramble, and the letters were quickly distributed.
"Oh, good! Here's a letter from dear dad!" exclaimed Belle. "Excuse me while I read it," and she quickly tore open the communication.
All of the girls had letters, and there was also one for Dave and another for Phil. As our hero looked at the communication addressed to him, he could not help but start. He thought he recognized the handwriting as that of Link Merwell.
"I wonder what he has got to say now," he mused, and then as the others began reading their letters, he opened the envelope and took out the single sheet it contained.
In a large, heavy hand were scrawled these words:
"I think before long you will be getting what is coming to you, you poorhouse nobody."
"I think before long you will be getting what is coming to you, you poorhouse nobody."
There was no signature.
Dave read the brief communication over several times. As he did so his face showed both perplexity and anger. Roger, who had received no letter and who therefore had nothing to read, looked at him curiously.
"No bad news, I hope?" he said, as he came up to Dave.
"I think it's another communication from that good-for-nothing Link Merwell," returned Dave. "Here, you can read it for yourself," and he passed the letter over.
The senator's son read the scrawl, and his face showed his disgust.
"I guess you're right, Dave, it must be from Link Merwell."
"Link Merwell!" broke in Shadow, who sat on a bench near by. "What about that rascal; have you heard something further of him?"
"Oh, it doesn't amount to anything," returned Dave, hastily, and taking the communication he thrust it into his pocket. "Don't say anything about it," he added to Roger, in a low tone.
"All right, I won't if you want it that way," answered his chum. "Just the same, Dave, this looks to me as if Link was plotting once more to do you an injury."
"If so, Roger, would he be fool enough to notify me beforehand?" queried our hero, as the pair walked a little distance away from the others.
"There is no telling what a fellow of Link's stamp might do. He is just fool enough to brag about what he hoped to do rather than go and do it. It's an outrage that he should call you a 'poorhouse nobody.'"
"I'd thrash him for it if I could get my hands on him," returned Dave, quickly, and his face showed deep resentment. He had not forgotten how, in years gone by, his enemies had taunted him with being a "poorhouse nobody," and how he had had to fight his way through until his identity had been established.
"Anyway, Dave, this gives you a chance to be on your guard," went on Roger. "If I were you I'd keep my eyes wide open for Link Merwell."
"I certainly shall, Roger. And if I can lay my hands on him I won't be as considerate as I was on Cave Island," was the answer. "I'll hold him until I can turn him over to the authorities. He ought to be keeping company with Jasniff in jail."
The girls were chattering among themselves over the letters they had received, and Shadowand Luke soon joined in. As was to be expected, the former story-teller of Oak Hall had his usual anecdote to relate, to which the others listened with interest. Phil had drawn apart from the crowd, and was now reading the letter he had received a second time. His face indicated unusual concern.
"Well, I hope you got good news, Phil," remarked Dave, as the shipowner's son came towards him and Roger.
"No, it's just the opposite," was the somewhat doleful reply.
"What? Do you mean it's bad news?" broke in Roger, quickly.
"It certainly is! Instead of losing twenty to thirty thousand dollars, my dad stands to lose about fifty thousand dollars on that land deal I mentioned to you some time ago."
"Why, how is that?" queried our hero, curiously. "Has the land gone up in value since then?"
"I don't know about the value of the land itself, but it's this way: Since that railroad made a bid for the acreage, another railroad has come into the field. They are going to run a rival line through that territory, and so they bid against the L. A. & H. Then the L. A. & H. railroad increased their bid, and the other folks did the same, so that now, if my father could give a cleardeed to the land, he could sell it for about fifty thousand dollars."
"And hasn't he been able to get any trace of your Uncle Lester?"
"He has something of a clue, but so far he has been unable to locate my uncle. It certainly is a strange state of affairs."
"Won't the railroad company take the land without your uncle being represented in the deed?" questioned Roger.
"I don't think so. If they were willing to do that my father would put the deal through without delay. It certainly is too bad!" added Phil, with a sigh.
"It seems to me if I were you I'd get on the trail of your Uncle Lester somehow," was Roger's comment. "I wouldn't let that fifty thousand dollars get away from me. I'd hire detectives to scour the whole United States for the missing man."
"My father's doing all he can, Roger." Phil turned to our hero. "You got a letter, didn't you?"
"Not much of a one, Phil." Dave hesitated for a moment: "Here, you might as well see it. I showed it to Roger. But don't say anything to the others about it, especially the girls. There is no use in worrying them. As it is, they have had scare enough from that wild man."
The shipowner's son read the letter Dave had received with interest.
"Sure, that's from Link Merwell! I know his handwriting almost as well as I know my own," he declared. "He always makes those funny little crooks on his capital letters. I guess that shows what kind of a crook he is," and Phil grinned at his little joke. "What are you going to do about this, Dave?"
"I don't see that there's anything to do about it. As I told Roger, if Link shows himself around here I'll do all I can to place him in the hands of the authorities and see to it that he goes to jail."
"It's a beastly shame that any one should write such a note as that," went on the shipowner's son. "You are not a 'poorhouse nobody,' and everybody knows it."
"I've been wondering what Link Merwell can have up his sleeve," came from Roger. "He certainly must be up to something, or he wouldn't send such a letter as that."
The matter was talked over for a little while longer by the three boys, and then they rejoined the others.
Jessie declared that her headache was now gone completely, and the young folks spent the rest of the evening in the Basswood bungalow, where Belle played the piano and Luke favored themwith several selections on his banjo and his guitar. They also sang a number of songs, and altogether the evening ended quite pleasantly. The cloud that had come up between Dave and Jessie seemed to have vanished, much to their own satisfaction, and to that of their friends.
On the following morning Mr. Basswood announced that he had to return to Crumville for a few days on business. He said that as soon as he arrived home he would get into telephone communication with Mr. Aaron Poole and acquaint him with the fact that some sort of a wild man had visited the vicinity of Bear Camp.
"Of course we may be mistaken as to the identity of that individual," said Ben's father. "He may not be Wilbur Poole at all."
"You want to be sure, Dad, and let Nat's father know that," said Ben, "because if Mr. Poole spent money up here looking for his brother, and then found out that the wild man was somebody else, he would never forgive either himself or you for the outlay." And at this frank statement those who knew how miserly the money-lender of Crumville was laughed outright.
Mr. Basswood departed for Carpen Falls in the middle of the forenoon. As it promised to be a warm, clear day, one of the young folks suggested that they go in bathing at a little sandy beach a short distance below the bungalows. Thissuggestion was eagerly seconded, and as a consequence, a little later on, the young folks donned their bathing outfits and soon were having great sport in the water, with the older folks sitting on a fallen tree not far away watching them.
"Oh, but it's cold!" declared Jessie, after her first plunge.
"You'll get used to it after a bit," returned Dave. "Just strike out lively, and that will help to keep your blood in circulation."
"Come on for a race!" shouted Luke, who was splashing around in great shape.
"A race it is!" called back Phil.
"Where shall we race to?" questioned Roger.
"If you are going to race, I'll be the referee and timekeeper," announced Dunston Porter.
It was decided that the boys should swim from the beach to a rock standing out of the water on the far edge of the cove.
"First fellow to stand up on the rock wins the prize," announced Phil, and then he added quickly: "Girls, what's the prize?"
"A fresh flapjack to the boy who bakes it," announced Belle, gaily.
"Say, speaking of flapjacks puts me in mind of a story," came from Shadow, who was wading around in water up to his ankles. "Once there were two old miners who were in a camp in the mountains. They got to disputing as to who couldmake the best flapjacks. Says one of them——"
Shadow did not finish the story he had started to tell. Unbeknown to him, Roger had come up behind, and was now on his hands and knees in the water. Luke gave the would-be story-teller a quick shove; and over went Shadow backwards, to land in the shallow water with a resounding splash.
"Flapjack number one!" cried Luke, gaily. "Say, Shadow, what are you making so much noise about?"
"I'll noise you!" roared the former story-teller of Oak Hall, as he scrambled to his feet.
Then he started to rush after Luke, but Roger caught him by his ankle, and down he went into the water with another splash, this time sending the spray flying clear to those sitting on the fallen tree.
"Here! Here! You boys stop that!" cried Mrs. Wadsworth. "We haven't any umbrellas."
"Oh, excuse me, I didn't mean to shower you," pleaded Shadow. "Anyway, it was Roger's fault."
"If you are going to race, start in!" ordered Dunston Porter.
"Well, what's the prize?" queried Roger, doing his best to keep out of Shadow's reach.
"The fellow who wins gets the hole in the doughnut," returned Dave, gaily.
"All ready! Line up!" ordered Dunston Porter, and after a general scramble and amid much merriment, the boys lined up. Then came the order "Go!" and all of them struck out lustily for the rock that marked the goal.
At first Ben, who had taken but little interest in the horseplay just enacted, kept well to the front. Ben had always been a good swimmer, and many a time he and Dave had raced each other in Crumville Creek.
"You fellows won't be in it!" he shouted merrily.
"Don't you be too sure of that," returned Luke. "This race isn't over yet."
"You fellows had better save your wind," spluttered Phil, who at that instant came up alongside of Shadow. There followed a great splashing of water, and suddenly Ben disappeared from view.
"Hey, you! Who fouled me that way?" roared the leader. "Whoever caught me by the foot ought to be put out of this race."
"Must have been a whale, Ben," answered Roger, mischievously.
"I'll whale you if you do it again," was the answer. And then all of the boys stopped talking and with renewed vigor bent to the task of trying to win the race.
Soon half the distance to the rock was covered. Ben was still in the lead, with Roger and Philclose behind him. Luke and Shadow had dropped so far to the rear that they gave up all hope of winning.
"Here is where I leave you fellows," announced Phil, and made a sudden spurt that soon placed him slightly in advance of Ben.
"Hi! hi! don't leave me this way!" yelled Roger, and he, too, put on a burst of speed, followed a second later by Dave.
On and on, through the cool, clear waters of Mirror Lake plunged the four boys. The goal was now less than fifty feet away.
"O my, see how hard they are swimming!" came from Laura.
"Ben was ahead, but I think Roger is up to him," announced Mrs. Basswood.
"Those four lads are pretty well bunched up," remarked Dunston Porter.
"Shadow and Luke have dropped out of it," announced Belle. "Gracious, how those others are swimming! Wouldn't you think it was for a prize of a thousand dollars?"
The four who had remained in the race were now less than five yards from the goal, a large flat rock that was joined to the mainland by a series of other rocks.
"Here is where I win!" declared Ben, and threw himself forward with all the strength left to him.
"Not much!" came from Phil.
"Count me in!" panted Roger.
"Also yours truly!" added Dave.
And then the four, lining up side by side, struck out fiercely, each doing his level best to touch the rock first. It was a neck-and-neck race, and in a moment more four hands went up on the rock at practically the same time.
"I win!"
"Not much, my hand was here first!"
"Oh, look!"
"Don't climb up on that rock!"
"What's the trouble?"
"What is it?"
"It's a snake, and a big one!" yelled Dave. "Back away from the rock, boys, just as fast as you can!"
"It's a snake sure enough!"
"My, what a big one!"
"No climbing on that rock for me!"
Such were some of the cries which rent the air as the four youths dropped back into the lake and lost no time in getting away from the spot which had been the goal of the swimming race.
"Say, Dave, what sort of a snake do you suppose that was?" queried Roger.
"Did he drop into the water?" questioned Ben, anxiously. "If it's a water snake maybe it's after us."
"I don't know what kind of snakes are to be found around here," returned Dave. "But it was dark in color and I think all of four or five feet long."
"Say, who won this race, anyhow?" came from Phil, as the boys swam around not far from the rock.
"I should say the snake did," laughed Dave.
In the meantime Dunston Porter, noticing that something unusual was going on in the vicinity of the goal, had leaped up and was running along the edge of the cove.
It's a snake, and a big one!"It's a snake, and a big one!"—Page 179.ToList
"It's a snake, and a big one!"—Page 179.ToList
"What's the matter over there?" he yelled.
"A snake, Uncle Dunston," called back Dave. "Better get a shotgun and go after it."
"O dear! did you say a snake?" came from Laura, in dismay.
Acting on Dave's suggestion, Dunston Porter hurried back to one of the bungalows. He reappeared with a shotgun, and lost no time in making for the vicinity of the rock where the reptile had been seen. In the meanwhile the four boys rejoined Luke and Shadow, and all swam back to the dock.
"Oh, Dave, are you sure the snake didn't drop into the water after you?" questioned Jessie, and her face showed her anxiety.
"No, it retreated to the rocks further back," was the answer.
"Was it a poisonous snake?" asked Mrs. Basswood.
"I am sure I don't know."
"If there are snakes in these woods I don't think I'll care to go out very much," commented Laura, with a shiver.
"Snakes will just spoil everything," added Jessie, dismally.
While the boys and girls were dressing the report of a shotgun rang out.
"If that was Uncle Dunston shooting, he must have found Mr. Snake," were Dave's words.
"I hope he did find the snake," answered Roger. "If that reptile was left prowling around in this vicinity, none of the ladies would want to go out."
"And I wouldn't care much about going out myself," added Luke.
Having finished dressing, the boys lost no time in following Dunston Porter toward the rock which had been the goal of the swimming race. They found the old hunter and traveler searching through the brushwood back of the rocks.
"Did you get it, Uncle Dunston?" questioned Dave.
"I did," was the reply. "What's left of that snake is over yonder," and Mr. Porter pointed with his hand. "I'm looking around here to see if there are any more of them, but I rather fancy that is all there is."
The charge from the shotgun had fairly torn the reptile to pieces, for when Dunston Porter had fired the snake had been coiled up, evidently ready for an attack.
Arming themselves with clubs and stones, the boys joined Dunston Porter in the hunt for more reptiles, but their search was unsuccessful; and a little while later all returned to the bungalows.
"Did you find any other snakes?" asked Jessie,after she had been told about the one that had been killed.
"No, and I don't think there are any others," answered Mr. Porter.
"Well, I hope there are not," put in Laura, "but if there are I wish you had found them."
"We can't find what isn't there," said Luke, with a grin.
"Say, that puts me in mind of a story," burst out Shadow.
"Wow!" ejaculated Roger. "Here comes another!"
"Oh, say! this is a good one," pleaded the would-be story-teller. "It's about an old college graduate who was a regular fiend for football. He would undergo almost any hardship for the sake of getting to a game. Well, one time there was a great contest on between two of the big colleges, and although old Bixby nearly broke his back to get there, he didn't arrive until late. 'Say, how is it going?' he puffed to a gate-keeper. 'Nothing to nothing, middle of the second half,' answered the gate-keeper. 'Is that so?' returned old Bixby. 'That's good! I haven't missed anything,' and he passed in." And at this anecdote there was a general laugh.
In the afternoon while the young folks were enjoying themselves in various ways around the bungalows, they heard the put-put of a motor, andlooking out on Mirror Lake, saw the craft belonging to the moving-picture company manager approaching, loaded with the furniture that had been borrowed.
"Here they come with our things!" cried Ben. "Looks like a house moving; doesn't it?"
They saw that the boat was in sole charge of Mr. Appleby, and as the craft drew closer the moving-picture manager gave them a cheery hail.
"Going into the moving business instead of moving pictures, eh?" cried Dave.
"I thought I might as well bring this stuff back while I had a chance," answered the manager, and soon brought his motor-boat to a standstill beside the dock. Then the boys made short work of taking the furniture back to the bungalows.
"I've got news for you, Mr. Porter," announced the moving-picture man, after the job was finished. "I've seen that young rascal, Link Merwell."
"You have!" exclaimed Dave, eagerly. "Up at your camp?"
"That's it."
"Did you make him a prisoner?" asked Phil.
"I didn't get the chance. He was evidently on his guard, and as soon as I told him what I knew, and that I was going to hand him over to the authorities, he ran straight into the woods, andthat was the last any of us saw of him. He even left his suitcase and a light overcoat behind."
"Well, it's too bad he got away," returned our hero. "I thought sure if he had the audacity to show himself here we'd get a chance to capture him."
"I was foolish not to make him a prisoner as soon as he appeared," answered Thomas Appleby. "But I didn't think he would run away in that fashion, leaving his outfit behind. Besides, what he'll do in the woods behind our camp is a mystery to me. I asked old Tad Rason if there were any roads back there, and he said not within a couple of miles; so Merwell stands a good chance of losing himself completely."
"Great Scott! Supposing he should get into the woods and be unable to get out again!" burst out Roger.
"Well, such things have happened," answered Luke. "I heard only last winter of a man who was lost in the Maine woods."
"Yes, and Tad Rason told of two brothers who were lost up here in the Adirondacks for over three weeks," returned Mr. Appleby. "When they were found they were almost starved to death and next door to crazy."
"If anything like that should happen to Link, he will have nobody to blame but himself," announced Roger.
"Did he know we were up here?" queried Dave.
"He knew you were somewhere in this vicinity, but he did not know that the camps were so close to each other. I think if he had imagined such to be the case he would have steered clear of this vicinity."
"Was that young actor, Ward Porton, with him?"
"I really don't know whether they came together or not. Porton showed up about two hours before Merwell arrived. Of course, they may have separated just before the camp was reached—Porton not wanting to appear in the company of a fellow you had told him was a crook."
"Is Porton at your camp now?"
"Yes. But he doesn't intend to stay very long. He says he has something else in view, although what it is I don't know. To tell you the truth," and Mr. Appleby lowered his voice a trifle, "I think he is sweet on Miss Ford, and as she doesn't care for him at all and has told him so, it has put his nose out of joint."
"When you spoke to him about Merwell did Porton stand up for the fellow?" continued our hero. He was anxious to learn if possible just how close the companionship of the pair had been.
"He didn't have much to say after I told him all I knew," responded Thomas Appleby. "Previous to that, he remarked that you might be mistaken regarding Merwell—that Merwell had said that Jasniff and somebody else were guilty of the jewelry robbery."
"Humph! he can't put it off on anybody else like that!" cried Phil. "We know beyond a doubt that he and Jasniff committed that crime."
"Perhaps I ought not to blame Ward Porton for sticking up for Merwell," answered Dave. "Link is a mighty slick talker, and he probably told his story to suit himself and got Porton to swallow it. Just the same, Porton is very foolish to chum with him."
"I'll be rather sorry to lose Porton, for he is a clever fellow in the movies," went on the manager. "He wanted to leave in a few days, but I persuaded him to stay for a week at least, so we could finish several dramas in which he is an actor. After he is gone I'll have to get some one to take his place. Any of you young fellows want to have a try at it?" and Mr. Appleby looked full at Dave.
"Oh, I don't know," returned our hero, slowly. And then he saw that Jessie's eyes were turned upon him and that they showed she was troubled. "I don't think I care to take the matter up. You see, I came here for a rest and a good time."
"I wouldn't mind taking a hand at it!" cried Luke.
"You can count me in, too!" added Shadow. "I'd like first-rate to see myself on the screen in a moving-picture show," and his eyes lit up in anticipation.
"Well, you fellows come down some time and we'll talk it over," concluded the manager. "I've got to get back now. We are getting ready to put on quite an important drama to-morrow, and we have got to rehearse a number of scenes. If you folks want to come up and look on, you'll be welcome," he added, to the crowd in general.
When the moving-picture manager had departed, the boys set out to fish along the brook that flowed into Mirror Lake. While getting ready for the sport the conversation drifted around once more to Link Merwell.
"If he is in this vicinity, Dave, you can make sure he'll try to get in on us somehow before he leaves," remarked Phil.
"I don't see what he can do," returned Luke.
"Oh, a fellow like Link can do lots of things!" burst out Ben. "Why, he might even try to burn down the bungalows!"
"Do you think he's as bad as that?" questioned Shadow.
"Yes, I do!" was the flat answer.
Fishing in the vicinity of the lake was not verygood, so the boys pushed further and further up the brook, until they reached a point where there was a little waterfall and a pool of considerable size. Here fishing was better, and soon they had quite a number of specimens of the finny tribe to their credit.
"Come on, Dave, let's go up a little farther," pleaded Phil. "I'd like to see what this brook looks like beyond the falls."
"All right, I'll go," answered our hero. "What about you fellows?" he asked, of the others.
"I'll stay here and rest," announced Roger. "I'm tired of scrambling over the rocks."
"So am I," agreed Ben. Shadow and Luke also said they would remain in the vicinity of the pool.
Dave and Phil found it no easy task to follow the brook, which wound in and out among the rocks and brushwood. At one point they had to do some hard climbing, and once the shipowner's son slipped and came close to spraining an ankle.
"Say, I don't believe I'll go much farther, after all," declared Phil. "This is rough and no mistake!"
"It is better walking a little farther on, Phil," announced Dave. "Come on, don't give up this way! Maybe we'll find some extra large fish up there."
Once more they set out, and soon found themselves in a small clearing, backed up by a cliff fifteen or twenty feet in height, and overgrown with brushwood and trailing vines.
"Hark! What was that?" exclaimed Phil, as both came to a halt preparatory to casting their lines into the stream.
"I think it was a shout," answered Dave. "Maybe the others are calling to us."
"No, I think the call came from up on the cliff, Dave. Listen, there it is again!"
Both strained their ears and soon heard another cry. This time it was much closer.
"Stop! stop! let me alone!" Such were the words that floated to their ears. "Please don't hit me! Let me alone!"
Dave and Phil looked at each other curiously.
"Who can it be?" questioned the shipowner's son.
"I don't know, but I guess we had better try to find out," answered our hero.