He stared stupidly at the young hunters and then his eyes opened widely and he sat bolt upright.
"Wha-what"s dis?" he stammered. "Whar did yo" c.u.m from?"
"Stay where you are," ordered Snap, sternly, and flourished the horse-pistol.
"Do-doan yo" shoot me!" cried the negro.
"Then stay right where you are. If you try to get up this pistol may go off."
"Has yo" been a-follerin" me?"
"Never mind. We have found you and you are our prisoner," put in Shep.
"Huh! Does yo" t"ink I"se afraid ob foah boys!"
"Well, do you want to be shot?" asked Snap, holding the pistol on a level with the colored man"s head.
"Stop!" screamed the rascal. "Don"t do dat! It might go off!"
"Then you keep quiet."
"What have you done with Simon Lundy"s gold watch?" asked Giant.
"Don"t know nuffin" about any gold watch."
"Yes, you do. You took it---there is no use of your denying it,"
came from Shep.
"Is dat man around?" asked the colored rascal, suspiciously.
"Are you alone here?" asked Snap, ignoring the question.
"Suah I is. Say, boys, yo" let me go an" I"ll make it all right wid yo"," went on the evildoer, struck by a sudden idea.
"What is your name?" asked Whopper.
"Jeff Thompson."
"Where do you belong?"
"Over to Hamilton."
"What did you do with that gold watch?"
"I ain"t said dat I had de watch."
"But we are positive you took it," said Snap "Come, tell us where it is."
"I dun hocked it," was the low answer.
"Hocked it?" queried Giant.
"Yes, p.a.w.ned it fo" six dollahs."
"Where?"
"At Levy"s store in Williamsport."
"Where is the ticket?" asked Shep.
"Heah in my pocket. I"se a poah man, dat"s wot I am," went on Jeff Thompson. "I didn"t hab no wuk an" I was des"prit. So I tuk dat watch. I meant to git it back some day."
"No doubt," said Snap, sarcastically. "Give me the ticket," he added, and stowed the p.a.w.nbroker"s receipt carefully away in his own clothes.
After that Jeff Thompson confessed that he had visited both the camp of the young hunters and that of Ham Spink"s crowd and taken such things as struck his fancy. He was a shiftless mortal and half intoxicated and did not care much what became of himself.
The boys were too cold and hungry to listen, just then, to his story in detail, and threatening to shoot him if he dared to move, they piled some more wood on the fire, rummaged around through the stores Thompson had collected and prepared themselves a hot and welcome meal. The negro watched them for awhile and then turned over and pretended to go to sleep again.
"Maybe he is playing "possum," whispered Shep.
"We"ll keep our eyes on him," answered Snap. The boys were glad enough to crouch close to the fire and get dry and warm. They piled on as much wood as possible, and drank a large quant.i.ty of hot coffee, to keep from taking cold. And thus the night wore slowly away. Each got a few "cat naps," but that was all.
About three o"clock the storm went down and by sunrise the rain and the wind were a thing of the past. The boys were around early, and they gave Jeff Thompson such a breakfast as they thought he needed. The negro begged for his liberty, and when he could not get it began to grow abusive.
"Here, none of that!" said Snap, decidedly. "You keep quiet, or I"ll place a gag in your mouth."
"I ain"t gwine ter let no foah boys do me up!" cried the negro.
"Let us gag him!" cried Whopper, and began to make a gag of a tree root. But then Jeff Thompson cooled down and said no more.
The young hunters hardly knew what to do, and after a consultation it was decided to look for their own rowboat and then take a message to Ham Spink"s crowd. The boat was easily located in the daylight, and Whopper rowed across the lake and told his story to the rival campers.
"Humph! that negro ought to be locked up!" said Ham Spink. "He took the very best of our stores!"
"Well, you will have to help take him to town," said Whopper.
"We"ll do that, too," was the answer.
CHAPTER XXII
RABBITS, NUTS AND A SNAKE
It was arranged that Snap and Whopper, with two of the Spink crowd, should take Jeff Thompson and turn him over to the authorities, at the same time notifying Simon Lundy of what they were doing and giving him the p.a.w.n-ticket for the watch.
The boat belonging to the Spink crowd was righted and the oars were located, and this craft was used for the trip. The negro was tightly bound, so that it was impossible for him to make any trouble.