"The friends who were with him said they were going to bring him here," said Luke Peterson. "And I promised to send you after 'em as soon as I spotted ye."
"I don't understand—" began Tom, and then turned swiftly to Sam. "Can this be some of Arnold Baxter's work?"
"It may be. Mr. Peterson, how did the man who was with my brother look?"
As well as he could Luke Peterson described Arnold Baxter, and also
Dan. Tom gave a low whistle.
"I'll wager poor Dick has fallen into the hands of the enemy," he cried.
"What enemy?" questioned the lumberman.
In as few words as possible Tom and Sam explained the situation, concluding by saying they had discovered Arnold Baxter on the steamer. The story made Luke Peterson look very grave.
"Reckon we let your brother git into the wrong hands," he observed.
"The question is, where did they take Dick?"
"That's so, where?"