“What’s the matter?” Harry asked.
“The hut looks deserted. The first time I saw it smoke was coming out of the chimney. Now the chimney is giving forth no smoke, and the door stands open. It doesn’t look as if any one had been around the place for a year.”
“That’s right,” admitted Harry, anxiously. “But the boat is there.”
“It may be in bad condition, else why didn’t Belmont and the dwarf take it?”
“There was no breeze a short time ago, and they could not have sailed it across the lake. Besides, they were in pursuit of the girl in the canoe, and they hoped to overtake her with the aid of a boat they could row or paddle.”
“Your reasoning is all right, my boy. We will hope the sailboat is all right, too. Come on.”
[CHAPTER XIV.—THE HERMIT’S POWER.]
Around the shore of the cove the two boys went toward the hut. As they approached it Frank placed his hands to his mouth in the form of a horn, and shouted:
“Oh, Gabe! Oh, Mr. Blake!”
His voice came back in a distinct echo from a distant rocky steep, but that was all the answer he received. The rising breeze stirred the open door, seeming to wave it at the boys in derision, but the air of loneliness about the place was oppressive.