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 pa.s.sage, 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 pa.s.sed 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.