When the first tint of twilight came, the boys crept to the edge of the thicket and sat looking out on the mountain. There was the broken way to the summit, and there was the chimney rock behind which the men had disappeared, but no human being was, for a long time im sight.
Then a small figure came swinging down the slope, off to the north, and presently came opposite to where the boys lay. Jack seized Ned by the arm and pointed.
"Is it the prince, or is it Mike III?" he asked.
Ned got out his field glass and studied the face and figure until, whistling some childish discord, the boy turned back and disappeared in the direction of the cabin.
"What is that boy doing off here alone?" asked Jack, then.
"Keep watch of the chimney rock," Ned advised.
"But what do you think of it?" demanded Jack. "How did that boy get up here?"
"If you see any one moving up there," Ned went on, provokingly, "let me know."
"Oh, look here!" Jack insisted, half angrily, "what's the use of shutting up like a clam? What is your idea about that boy? We've never seen him before except in Bradley's company. Do you think he ran away? Why can't we go and get him and hold him until Jimmie is released?"
"So you think the men who have taken Jimmie are the men who are conducting the abduction game?" asked Ned.