Steve faced the others and winked furiously, while he reasoned rapidly to this effect: “Evidently, here is a nest of knaves. The fellow on the inside thinks his mate is in danger, and knocks to know whether it is safe for him to enter.”
Then the voice within asked uneasily, “Jim?”
“Will,” said Marmaduke, leaning over the litter, “we are certainly on the track of the man who stole your deer!”
“Oh, I had forgotten all about the deer,” Will groaned.
Steve started, but collected himself in a moment, and whispered to Jim, “Come along Jim; this fellow wants to see you. Now be as bold as a lion; blow your nose like a trumpet; and observe: ‘By the great dog-star, it’s Jim; lemme in.’”
Jim managed to do this; but he basely muttered that he wasn’t brought up for a circus clown.
“Then come in; the door isn’t locked;” the voice within said harshly, but unhesitatingly.
Stephen flung open the door and strode proudly into the hut, closely followed by the others. One scantily furnished room, in a corner of which a man lay on a bed, was disclosed. This man’s look of alarm at this sudden entrance filled Steve with exultation.
“What does all this mean? What do you want?” the occupant of the bed demanded.