"Listen!" commanded Hippy, then began to read:
"'Do not follow the trail you are on, on your way to Thompson's. Strike due north for half a mile and you will come up with a wagon trail, broader and safer, because you can see a long way on either side through the thin forest. Keep the broad trail for fifteen miles, take third left and second right, which will take you to Thompson's. You're all right, but be vigilant. The above warning means what it says.'"
"Is there a name signed to the postscript?" asked Miss Briggs.
Hippy shook his head.
"I know who wrote that postscript," spoke up Miss Dean. "It was our Mystery Man, Jeremiah Long."
Grace asked for the letter, which she scrutinized critically.
"No, this is not his writing," she decided.
"How do you know? He hasn't been corresponding with you," objected Hippy.
Grace explained that Mr. Long had left a note thanking the Overlanders for their hospitality. To make certain that she was right she went to her kit and fetched the note referred to, and also brought the note that had been tossed into their camp on the occasion of Hippy's disappearance. The three missives were examined by each of the Overland Riders. It was found that the message tossed into camp and the postscript of the letter found by Washington were in the same handwriting. Mr. Long's handwriting was different.
"That disposes of the theory that either of these messages was written by Mr. Long," agreed Elfreda. "The question is, who is our mysterious friend?"