“Hush! Don’t speak about it,” was the reply. “He had a murdered man’s body in there, and he threw it into the lake.”
“Are you sure?” asked the professor, thinking the woman might, perhaps, be trying to scare them away.
“Positive,” she replied. “I saw him kill the poor fellow, but the hermit did not know I was watching.”
“Where does he live?” asked the professor.
“He has a den in the darkest part of the woods,” was the answer. “He takes travelers there and kills them. He does not know that I know where it is, but I do. Would you like to see it?”
“Not if he is the kind of a person you say he is,” spoke Jerry. “I think we had better steer clear of him.”
“I can take you there when he is not at home,” said the woman. “Listen, once each week he takes a long trip over the mountain, to bury the gold he has taken from travelers. I can hide and watch him go. Then I could come and bring you to his den. Shall I?”
“It might be a good plan,” mused the professor. “If this man is a murderer he should be taken in charge by the authorities. Yes, come and let us know when he goes away. Perhaps we could capture him ourselves.”
“I’ll come,” said the woman. “Now I must go, for I hear some one coming,” and, rising suddenly, she ran off at top speed through the woods. The boys listened intently but could hear no one approaching, and began to think the woman must have been mistaken.