“Yes, he did!” Alex cut in. “I saw him out there in the woods. He was standing under a tree, and there was a—”
“He must have had to hustle to get to the river before we did,” was all Case said. The mystery was too deep to talk about.
“You remember the waterproof paper and envelopes we brought with us,” Clay went on, glad that Alex had stopped short in his explanation, “well it seems that he had some of both with him. How long he’s been carrying them in anticipation of an emergency like this one, I don’t know, but it seems that he had waterproof envelopes and paper with him when he left the Rambler.
“Well, what’s the answer?” asked Alex fidgeting about.
“Slang!” cried Case. “I know who’ll wash dishes to-night!”
“Not very long ago,” Clay went on, taking a sheet of paper from his pocket, “I saw a boat drifting down upon the Rambler. There were two figures in it. One was rowing, evidently just to keep steerway, and the other was laying on the bottom in the prow.
“When the boat came in the circle of the prow lamp, I saw that it was the one that got away from us where we found Teddy, and also that the figure in the prow was resting in a position which indicated an attempt at hiding away from whoever might see the boat from the Rambler.
“Robin Hood, and Treasure Island, and Robinson Crusoe are dull history compared to this voyage!” exclaimed Alex drawing closer. “A man hiding in the prow of a stolen boat! Go on with the dream! You’ll wake up directly and find the fish cold!”
“In a second,” Clay resumed, with a tolerant smile, “I saw that the person in the prow was Gran, and that he was trying to signal to me. The boat came along pretty fast, and I didn’t catch on to what he wanted until it was close at hand. Then he lifted one hand up over the edge of the boat and threw something up stream. The boat moved on down before what had been tossed into the water came to the prow of the Rambler. I reached down with our dipping net and got it. Here it is:
“‘Alex treed by a bear. Case approaching. You’ll hear from me later. Keep your eyes open. Don’t lose the f——’