“I reckon we’ve got all the plunder they had, and now it might be a good thing if we burned this old rat trap of a nest to the ground. It’s got a bad name, and if tramp thieves have taken to lodging here, the sooner it goes, the better.”
Under the orders of the sheriff, some of the posse started things moving. In a short time the old cabin was a mass of flames. They made sure that the fire could not extend to the surrounding forest, which was just beginning to be covered with an early crop of new leaves. Then the whole company started through the thickets, headed for the shore.
“Hang the luck! We forget one thing, after all!” said Bluff suddenly.
He had been so busy getting several pictures of the burning cabin that for the time being all other things had escaped him.
“What was that?” asked Frank, winking at Jerry knowingly.
“The wild man! We forgot to get him out of that hollow tree!” exclaimed Bluff.
“Well, it’s too late now. For one, I object to walking back there. Besides, we must hustle in order to make camp again against the coming of the girls,” observed Frank seriously.
“But ain’t we ever going to know what the mystery of that queer creature must be? Perhaps we’d better write to that keeper we met before, Mr. Smithson, and let him know. Then if he’s shy a member of his happy family of lunatics, he’ll know where to hunt for him,” Bluff went on innocently.
“A bully good idea, and you can do the writing when we get home, if you feel that way,” said Frank, with a face that was as sober as that of a judge, while Jerry had to turn his head away to keep from laughing outright.
“But about the girls, fellows! Do you know they may not come, after all. Perhaps the folks have heard about the lively times down here on Wildcat Island, and put a veto on the outing. Then, again, you can hear the wind in the tops of these tall trees, so there must be whitecaps on the lake. It would be risky for a lot of girls to embark on so long a trip,” observed Jerry.