"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 c.u.mberland. 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 cla.s.sical 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 m.u.f.fed 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 appet.i.te!" 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?"