"But you believe they've got our chum, and are holding him a prisoner, don't you, Elmer?" asked Matty.
"I do believe it," Elmer went on. "In fact I know it, because if you look back of that empty box yonder, which they use for a table, you'll find a hat—Nat's hat, if I'm not mistaken."
A rush was made for the box in question, and there followed a confusion of tongues, as half a dozen fellows tried to talk at once.
"You found a hat, didn't you?" demanded Elmer.
"We sure did, and here she is," cried Red, holding up the article in question.
"It looks like a scout's regulation hat?" Elmer remarked.
"Which nobody could deny," sang Lil Artha.
"And as every scout present has his own hat on his head right now, it stands to reason this couldn't belong to any of us, eh, fellows?"
"To clinch the matter, Elmer," observed Matty, "if you look inside the hat you'll find two little silver letters fastened there. The N. S. stands for Nathaniel Scott."
"Well, that point seems proved. Nat was here. Perhaps in wandering about he struck this place. But the indications are he was captured first, and brought to this shack."