“What next?” Brent queried.
“I decided that as long as I had seen that much, I might as well wait for the finish. Not that alone, but I was afraid if I started for camp I might meet the queer looking couple on the way. And I didn’t relish the thought of that unarmed.
“I stretched myself, took a little stroll around the tree; then resumed my former position and waited for their return. It was difficult to keep my eyes open, but I managed to watch pretty steadily. It was some long night, I can tell you, and I was mighty cold besides. The first sight of dawn was pretty welcome.”
“And your friends?” I asked, eagerly.
“You have me there,” Tom answered. “They didn’t come back.”
CHAPTER XXIV—AND “PETERS” DROPS IN
“How do you account for that?” I asked.
“I don’t account for it at all,” Tom answered.
“In other words they just vanished into thin air!” Brent remarked, lightly.
“That must be it,” said Tom, and shook his head wonderingly. “I know positively they didn’t come back.”