"Will we be breaking the law if we don't report this poor fellow to the constable here, if we see him?" asked Tom Cameron, boldly.
"You bet you will. And I'll see that you're punished if ye harbor or help the rascal. Don't think because Tingley's a rich man, and your fathers have probably more money than is good for them, that you will escape," said Blent.
"I don't believe he's so powerful as he makes out to be," grumbled Tom, later, to Ruth. "I was the one who caught Jerry and whispered for him to get out. I didn't have to say much to him. He was wise about Blent."
"Where did he go?" asked the eager Ruth, quickly.
"I don't know. I didn't want to know—and you don't, either."
"But suppose something happens to him?" objected the girl, fearfully.
"Why, he knows all about this island. You said so yourself. I just told him we'd get some grub to him to-morrow."
"How?"
"Told him we'd leave it at the foot of that tall pine at the far end of the island. Then he slipped out of the kitchen and disappeared."
But Blent was a crafty old party and did not easily give up the pursuit of the young fellow he had come to the island to nab. The coat of fresh snow over everything made tracking the fugitive an easy task.