“I—er—I have found him,” answered the strange boy, in some confusion. “That is—I—er—I know where he lives now.”
“Yes, I thought I saw you around his mansion.”
At this announcement Bert Field looked around nervously. Evidently he was a boy who was not strong physically, and one who had been “kept down” by others. He did not seem to have much of a will of his own.
“I—I—How did you happen to see me?” he stammered. He was evidently ill at ease.
“I can’t tell you now—I haven’t time. I’ve got to be on the march, with the rest of the cadets. We are going into camp up the lake this afternoon. And by the way, it is not far from an old deserted mill.”
“What!” Bert Field was now all attention.
“Yes, the Robertson mill. You are looking for that place, too, aren’t you?”
“Yes. But who told you?”
“Some young lady friends of mine. But I’ve got to hurry. If you come up the lake, won’t you call at our camp and see me?”
“Maybe I will,” answered Bert Field. He looked keenly at Pepper then of a sudden caught his arm. “Say, you are a boy like myself and you look honest,” he went on in a low voice. “Would you—would you help me to—to—do something?”