“Go ahead—if you can find anything,” answered the young major, and the cadet who loved to eat lost no time in locating what he wanted on one of the wagons.
The boys walked into the woods a distance, but saw nothing of the horses. Then they came back to the wagons.
“Two of us had better stand guard with our guns while two go back and tell Captain Putnam,” said Jack. “I’ll detail you, Pepper and Stuffer, to stay here.”
“All right,” answered Pepper. “But don’t stay away too long, for it is getting late.”
“We’ll be back as soon as possible. And you, Stuffer, don’t eat too much or you’ll get sick,” added the young major.
“I never get sick from eating,” answered Stuffer, calmly munching on a biscuit, his sixth.
Jack and Andy hurried through the woods, taking a short cut in the direction of Hayville. They had covered less than a quarter of a mile when to their surprise they came to a tumbled-down cottage with a big barn attached.
“What an out-of-the-way place for a building!” cried Andy.
“I guess it was built before the trees grew up,” answered his chum. “Maybe—Wait, get down out of sight!”
Jack dropped behind some bushes and the acrobatic youth followed his example. The young major had seen two boys coming from the old cottage. They were headed for the dilapidated barn.