"Wait a minute."
Hardly were the words out of Frank's mouth before he heard a rustling in the bushes almost immediately behind him. He looked around, startled, and saw a shadowy figure flit among the bushes, then another and another. He was so astonished that he almost cried out. Where had these newcomers appeared from? Who were they?
The Hardy boys pressed close to the ground as the three figures passed so close by them that they could almost have reached out and touched them. Not a word was said. The three men made their way silently past, in the direction of the brook.
"All right," said one of the men at the boat. "I guess we can start out now."
At that instant, the three newcomers sprang out from the depth of the brush.
There was a wild yell from the man bent over the boat.
"Come on, boys!" shouted one of the attackers. "We got 'em!"
Trembling with excitement, the Hardy boys looked on. They saw the three men close in. One of the fellows at the boat made a dash for liberty but he was tripped up and flung heavily into the brook. The other fought back, but he was quickly overpowered. The struggle was sharp but brief, and in a few minutes the two men were prisoners and were taken out into the moonlight.
"You came once too often, Jed," said one of their captors. "We've been watchin' for you."
"You ain't got anythin' on us," said Jed.