"Most peculiar, most peculiar," muttered the Professor.
"Maybe some of those spirits that the Indian was talking about came up and got him," suggested Stacy, with serious face.
"Maybe," agreed Ned. "But I"d sooner think they would take you if they were the real bad spirits."
"It is my opinion," declared Professor Zepplin gravely, "that the spirits that trouble Eagle-eye most are not the supernatural kind. We certainly drew a prize when we picked him."
"We did," agreed Tad, laughing.
"Next time we"ll choose a white man, if we can get one--"
"h.e.l.lo, he isn"t here, either," called Ned, who was the first to reach the end of the trail at the top.
Tad, close behind him, cast a searching glance about.
"That"s not all that is missing, either," he said sharply.
"What!" exclaimed the Professor.
"Two more ponies, that"s all," replied Tad Butler. "We are a smart lot to let him steal our stock right under our very eyes."
CHAPTER X
THE PROFESSOR DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF
The boys uttered a cry of dismay.
"You don"t mean--you can"t mean they have been here again?"
"It looks that way," replied Tad. "Both Walter"s and Ned"s ponies are gone. See, the ropes have been untied, not cut. The ponies surely did not do that."
The Professor was much too excited to speak for the moment.
"I am glad they did not take your mount, Professor. That is one thing to be thankful for, anyway," said Tad. "I don"t understand this business at all."
"Why, they must have been hanging about our camp all the time. They followed us here," exploded Ned. "We are a lot of tenderfeet."
"Some of us," suggested Chunky.
"This is no joke," snapped Ned, turning on him almost savagely. "We are in a fix."
"Yes, but we"ve got two mules left, haven"t we," queried the boy whimsically.
"It"s an outrage!" shouted the Professor. "I"ll have the law on them whoever they are. They shall suffer for this!"
"Yes, but first we shall have to catch them, Professor," returned Tad.
"It seems we were not misinformed when they warned us to be on the lookout for horse thieves."
"In Springfield, yes. I had no idea it was as bad as this. They certainly can"t get away without being caught."
"I don"t know about that. But I do know that we have been easy game for the thieves."
"Do you think they took anything else?" demanded the Professor.
"I don"t see that anything else is missing, do you, Ned?"
"No."
"See, they took off the saddles. Didn"t want them for some reason.
I"m glad of that. By the way, did they get my saddle when they stole my pony last night?" asked Tad.
"No, I had your saddle in my tent," Walter informed him.
"The question is--" began Tad.
"The first question is, what has become of Eagle-eye," interrupted the Professor.
"That"s so. I had forgotten about him," said Tad.
The lads looked at each other questioningly. The same thought was in the mind of each.
"You--you don"t suppose--" muttered Walter.
"Of course! That"s it! It"s Eagle-eye!" exclaimed Ned.
"Don"t be too quick to accuse anyone, young gentlemen. It is very irritating, I know. But let us be slow about placing the charge at any man"s door, be he copper colored or white."
"But, Professor," expostulated Ned Rector, "he goes away, and while absent from camp two ponies are stolen. To-day we leave him halfway down the rocks and upon our return, two more ponies are missing, as well as the Indian himself. What can we think, but that he has had something to do with our loss?"
"If I remember correctly, it was Eagle-eye who called our attention to the fact that the animals had been stolen last night. You thought they had broken away," recalled Professor Zepplin.
"That"s so," agreed Ned.
"It certainly does look bad. If Eagle-eye had no hand in the theft, why should he run away as he seems to have done?" asked Tad.
"This is what is known as circ.u.mstantial evidence," the Professor informed them. "I do not say that the Indian is guiltless. I am simply counseling caution. Wait. We shall soon be at the mines, and from there, we can set the officers of the law on the track, which we shall do as soon as we are able to communicate with Mr. Munson."
"Yes, but how are we going to get there?" asked Ned.
"Guess we"ll have to ride the mules," grinned Stacy.
"You may be a mule driver if you wish--I"ll walk," retorted Ned.
"That"s what we all shall have to do," laughed Tad. "Glad the thieves didn"t take our guns."