The Project Gutenberg eBook, Fairview Boys at Camp Mystery, by Frederick Gordon, Illustrated by R. Menel

"What's the matter?" cried the hunter.

FAIRVIEW BOYS AT CAMP
MYSTERY

OR

THE OLD HERMIT AND HIS SECRET

BY

FREDERICK GORDON

AUTHOR OF "FAIRVIEW BOYS AFLOAT AND ASHORE," "FAIRVIEW BOYS ON
EAGLE MOUNTAIN," "FAIRVIEW BOYS AND THEIR RIVALS," ETC.

ILLUSTRATED

CHARLES E. GRAHAM & CO.
NEWARK, N. J. —— NEW YORK

BOOKS FOR BOYS

By FREDERICK GORDON

FAIRVIEW BOYS SERIES

Illustrated. Price, per volume,
75 cents, postpaid.

FAIRVIEW BOYS AFLOAT AND ASHORE
Or, The Young Crusoes of Pine Island
FAIRVIEW BOYS ON EAGLE MOUNTAIN
Or, Sammy Brown's Treasure Hunt
FAIRVIEW BOYS AND THEIR RIVALS
Or, Bob Bouncer's Schooldays
FAIRVIEW BOYS AT CAMP MYSTERY
Or, The Old Hermit and His Secret
FAIRVIEW BOYS AT LIGHTHOUSE COVE
Or, Carried Out to Sea

Copyright, 1914, by

GRAHAM & MATLACK

Fairview Boys At Camp Mystery

CONTENTS

Fairview Boys at Camp Mystery

CHAPTER I THE EARTHQUAKE

"There's Jed Burr!"

"Coming back to school; eh? Then he can't be suspended any more."

"No, he isn't. But I wish he was. There's sure to be a lot of trouble now, and I was thinking how much more fun we could have with him away."

Three boys stood talking together in the school yard, where many children were waiting for the final bell to ring to call them to their studies. The three boys were looking at a larger lad, who was walking slowly along the gravel path.

"He looks to be the same bully as ever," said Bob Bouncer, one of the three boys.

"I guess he is, too," added Frank Haven. "Being suspended can't have changed him much."

"Well, if he tries any of his mean tricks on me," spoke Sammy Brown, "I know what I'll do!"

"What?" asked Frank, as he turned about to face the larger lad, so as to be ready, in case of any sudden attack, of the kind for which Jed Burr had a reputation. "What'll you do, Sammy?"

"I'll have him arrested! I'm not going to stand for any more of his games!"

"I'm with you!" agreed Bob. "But maybe we could play a trick on him first. He's played so many mean ones on us."

"Now don't start anything," advised Frank, who was more quiet than either of his two chums. "If we begin, the blame will be on us. We'll let Jed alone if he lets us."

"He doesn't seem to be going to do anything," added Sammy. "Maybe he's going to behave better this term."

"I hope so," returned Frank. "Well, let's go in. Doesn't our room look dandy, since they fixed it up after the fire?"

"I should say so!" cried Sammy. "And Miss Williams brought a fine lot of pictures for the walls. It's more like the parlor at home than a classroom."

"Yes, and Miss Williams isn't like some teachers, either," went on Frank. "She's as kind as can be."

The three boys strolled toward the schoolhouse, which had opened for the Fall term after some delay, caused by a fire. Now the building, in some parts, was altogether new, and all the rooms had been redecorated and painted. The structure had also been made larger.

"Well, I'm glad, in some ways, that school's begun again," said Sammy. "Though vacation was lots of fun."

"Yes, we can have some good times in school," agreed Frank.

"And there's that clubroom your father fixed up in the barn for us," put in Sammy. "That sure was good of him, Frank. We can have fun there, if we can't at school. And I'm going to do a lot of training in our club gymnasium, too, this winter."

"Huh! You train!" laughed Frank. "First we know you'll be off to the mountains, looking for more buried treasure."

"Aw, you're always casting that up!" grumbled Sammy. "Still, you must give Bob credit for finding your father's jewelry that the tramp hid down in the schoolhouse well."

"That's right," agreed Frank. "And you found miser Dolby's pocketbook. Oh, say, look! There goes Jed into the principal's office! I guess something must be going to happen."

"I know all about it!" exclaimed a voice back of the three boys. They turned quickly, to see Nellie Somers.

"Tell us about it!" begged Sammy. He and his chums so much wanted to know the story of the suspended boy coming back, that they did not mind asking a girl about it.

"Jed has promised to be a better boy," said Nellie, glad that she had a chance to give some information. "The school board considered his case, after he took the spelling list out of Miss Williams' desk, and said he couldn't come back until he promised to be good. At first Jed wouldn't, but he finally did, and he has to apologize to the whole school this morning. Then he can be in his class again."

"Oh ho!" cried Sammy. "So that's what makes Jed so quiet!"

"No wonder he didn't try any tricks," added Frank.

"He sure will feel mean to have to get up before the whole school," added Bob Bouncer. "Come on in. It's almost time for the last bell."

"Good-bye!" cried Nellie, as she ran on to join her girl friends.

It was the first day of the new term, and there was more or less confusion. And since it was the first day, no one wanted to be late. Also the talk of Jed's apology had spread, and everyone wanted to see what would happen.

Into the school trooped the boys and girls, laughing and talking. Many looked about to see the changes made since the fire. As Sammy, Frank and Bob started up a short flight of steps to their room, they were startled to hear a banging noise above them. They looked up, and saw Johnnie Jones, one of the fattest little chaps in the school, start to roll down. He had stumbled at the top step, and had fallen head over heels.

"Look out!" cried Bob.

"Hold fast!" advised Sammy.

"Catch him!" called Frank, and this was the best advice of all. "Get together," went on Frank to his chums, "and we'll hold him when he gets here."

They were now about half-way up the flight of steps, and, forming themselves into a solid body, as though about to stop a rush in a football game, they braced themselves to catch fat Johnnie.

With a bump and a bounce he landed against them, and in another moment Frank had set the little fellow on his feet again.

"There you are, Johnnie!" said Frank, while Sammy and Bob brushed the dust from his clothes. "You aren't hurt; are you?"

Johnnie gasped once or twice, opened his mouth as though to howl, and then, thinking better of it, closed his lips again.

"No, I'm not hurt!" he said bravely.

"He's too fat to get hurt!" laughed Bob. "You're like a rubber ball; aren't you, Johnnie?"

"I—I guess so," answered the little fellow, "but I don't want to bounce down stairs again!"

The three chums laughed at him as he started up the stairs once more, and they kept close behind him, but he did not fall again.

Into their classroom went Bob, Sammy and Frank. Other boys and girls were already there, and more came in. Miss Williams was there to meet them with a smile. She was a very pretty school-teacher, and her pupils loved her.

Soon the final bell rang, and then the children from the different rooms marched into the one, big main hall, or auditorium, where the morning exercises were held. There were many new pupils present this first day of the term.

There was singing, the reading of the Bible, and prayers, and then Mr. Tetlow, the principal of the school, greeted those present. He spoke of the fire, and what had happened at it, and mentioned the delay in opening the school. He welcomed all who had now come, and said he hoped they would all study hard to make up for lost time.

"And now," went on the principal, "I have something not so pleasant to say. But it has to be done, and it may be for the good of all of us. One of our pupils was suspended last term for doing something wrong. We all do wrong sometimes, but if we are sorry for it, and try not to do it again, we should be forgiven.

"And so I hope when you hear Jed Burr say that he is sorry, you will all forgive him, and be friends with him again. Now Jed, let's get it over with," and he smiled at the former bully, who sat in a front seat. The principal wanted to make it as easy as he could for the lad.

Jed was very red in the face as he shuffled up to the platform. He hung down his head, and no one could doubt but that his punishment was hard. He stood for a moment before all the school, getting very red in the face.

"Well," said Mr. Tetlow, kindly, "go on, Jed. Just a few words, to tell us you are sorry."

"I—I—er—I done wrong," stammered poor Jed, "and I'm sorry for it!"

The principal stepped up beside him.

"That is enough," he said. "You did very well, Jed. Now we will let bygones be bygones. You may all go to your classes."

Sammy, Bob and Frank, with the others, marched out. The little scene in which Jed, their former enemy, had taken part, had made them do some hard thinking. They were glad they had not been called on to stand up and apologize to the whole school.

Soon lessons were under way once more. Miss Williams gave a little talk to the pupils in her room, explaining the new work that was to be taken up that Fall and Winter.

"It will be harder than that which you had before the fire," she said, "but you know we have to go ahead in this world. It will not do to stand still. I will help you all I can.

"You will notice that I have hung some pictures on the walls. They are to help you in your lessons, for it is sometimes easy to understand a thing when we see a picture of it. I have other pictures to bring when we need them."

Sammy Brown suddenly thought of something. He raised his hand to show that he wished to speak.

"What is it?" asked Miss Williams.

"We've got some pictures in our clubroom," said Sammy. "I could bring them. There's a football game picture, and a lot of baseball players, and a man hunting, and——"

Sammy saw a smile on Miss Williams' face, and paused.

"That's very nice of you, Sammy," she said, kindly, "and if we need that sort of pictures you may bring them. But I'm afraid our lessons won't be about baseball or football. You'll get enough of those games out of school.

"Now we will begin on the geography lesson. I want you to look at this picture over here. It shows——"

But Miss Williams did not say what the picture showed, for at that moment there was a low, deep rumbling that seemed to go all through the school. The building shook and trembled. Then the rumble grew to a roaring sound, and the building vibrated still more. The windows rattled as if the glass would break.

Several girls screamed. The boys leaped from their desks.

"It's another fire!" yelled Sammy.

"It's an explosion!" shouted Bob.

"No! It's an earthquake!" exclaimed Frank. "Come on, everybody! Get out before the school falls on us!" and he made a rush for the door.

"Stop!" commanded Miss Williams sharply. "Boys, you are forgetting yourselves. Let the girls go first!"

And, while the rumbling continued, and the building still shook, the boys held back, while the girls rushed from the room.

CHAPTER II THE FIRST SNOW

The whole school was in excitement. From all the rooms the boys and girls were rushing out, not stopping for their hats or coats. Frightened teachers, and the excited principal, were trying to quiet them. For everyone felt sure the school building was going to fall, and all wanted to get out as quickly as possible.

"Now, boys, you may go!" said Miss Williams, when the girls were out of her room.

Some of the boys started, but Frank Haven, taking his place at the door, cried:

"No, Miss Williams, you go first!"

She gave him a glance that showed how much she appreciated his thoughtfulness for her, but she said quietly, though her lips trembled:

"No, Frank. I am like the captain of a ship. I will stay until the last. But, oh, do hurry out!"

Hearing this two other boys made a rush.

"That won't do!" cried Bob sharply. "You'll all get in a jam on the stairs."

"That's right!" exclaimed Sammy. "Form in line, as we always do at fire drill!"

"Good!" cried Miss Williams. "Ready! In line! March!"

Her sharp command had a good effect, and the boys marched out in order. Sammy and his two chums came last, and Miss Williams followed them. The rumbling and shaking of the building still continued, and now dense white clouds could be seen coming from the basement.

"She's on fire again!" cried Sammy, as he and his chums reached the yard safely.

"And she'll burn up!" added Bob.

The school yard was filled with excited children, the teachers urging them to get as far away from the building as they could.

"Is everyone out?" asked the principal. "Teachers, look at your different classes and see!"

This was done quickly.

"Oh dear!" exclaimed Miss Watson, teacher of the kindergarten. "Oh dear!"

"What is it?" someone asked.

"Johnnie Jones—he isn't here!"

At that instant, through a cloud of smoke in front of the window of the kindergarten room a face could be seen. It was that of Johnnie Jones.

"He's in there!" gasped his teacher.

"I'll get him!" shouted the principal. "Get the children farther off!"

"Now, let me get him—please?" cried another voice, and Jed Burr, the bully, who had apologized that morning, sprang forward and went back again into the building which it was feared would fall at any moment.

"I can't let him do that!" murmured the principal. "I must go after both of them."

But before he could do this Jed came out again, carrying fat little Johnnie Jones in his arms.

"I got him all right!" shouted the former bully.

"You're a brave boy!" cried Mr. Tetlow.

Just then the janitor of the school came up out of the basement.

"It's all right!" he cried, through a white cloud of steam. "I have fixed it! I'll tell you all how it happened."

"Is the earthquake over?" asked Sammy.

"It wasn't an earthquake," said Mr. Hobb, the janitor. "Come here, and I'll tell you about it."

And while the frightened teachers and pupils are gathering back in their rooms, the danger being over, I will take a few moments to tell my new readers something about the boys and others who are to have parts in this story, and also something about the previous books in this series.

To begin with, I think you already know my three heroes—Sammy Brown, Bob Bouncer and Frank Haven. Though I have named him last in this case, Frank was generally the leader in anything he and his two chums did. Bob and Sammy thought there was no one in the world like Frank.

Sammy was rather more quiet, and his mother said more thoughtful, but if this was so, it was only because Sammy was always thinking up something to do. He was quite a reader, and liked stories of mystery, and buried treasure. He was always sure that some day he would find a hidden store of gold, or make some big discovery.

Bob Bouncer was a different sort of lad. He was full of fun, not to say mischief, and when he was around one had better look out that he did not find a funny note pinned to his coat-tail or else watch out that he did not discover a stone dropped into his pocket. But, though Bob played many jokes, they were not mean or cruel ones.

The three boys lived in the town of Fairview, on the shore of Rainbow Lake, a large body of water, in the centre of which was an extensive island.

The first book of this series was called "The Fairview Boys Afloat and Ashore; Or, The Young Crusoes of Pine Island." In that I had the pleasure of telling how the three chums went out on the lake in the Puff, a sailboat owned by George Haven, Frank's brother. They did not know much about boats, and the result was that the Puff was wrecked near Pine Island. The boys managed to get on this body of land, and there they lived, until rescued, in real Robinson Crusoe style.

In the second book, called "The Fairview Boys on Eagle Mountain; Or, Sammy Brown's Treasure Hunt," I related how the lads set off on a tour of discovery. Sammy Brown had come across some curious papers in his home attic, and was sure they told of hidden treasure. So the party set off for Eagle Mountain, and what they did there, and how the treasure hunt ended, you may read of in the book.

"The Fairview Boys and Their Rivals; Or, Bob Bouncer's Schooldays," is the name of the third volume. In that you can find out all about the many things Bob and his chums did; how they got the better of a mad bull, how they had fun in the woods, and how it was that Jed Burr came to be expelled. Then came the robbery of Mr. Haven's jewelry store, the fire in the school, and the finding of the jewelry down in the well, where the thief had thrown it.

And the fire, as I have related, was the cause of the school not being opened on the regular day in the term. Which brings us down to the present time.

"Was there a fire?" asked Mr. Tetlow, the principal.

"No, not exactly a fire," answered the janitor, "though the trouble was caused by a fire."

"And there wasn't any earthquake?" asked Sammy. He was rather disappointed, to tell the truth, that there had been nothing as big and sensational as an earthquake.

"Nary an earthquake," went on Mr. Hobb, who was rather pale. "Indeed everyone had been greatly alarmed."

"But the building shook!" declared Nellie Somers.

"It certainly did," agreed Miss Williams. "I thought surely it was going to fall down."

"And I thought Jed was going to fall down with me," spoke up Johnnie Jones. "He shook me up and down."

"I couldn't help it," said Jed, with blushing face. "You're so—so fat."

"I guess I am," sighed little Johnnie.

"Well, Jed, it was one of the bravest acts I have ever seen," declared the principal, and Jed blushed with pleasure. It seemed that he wanted to make up for his mean tricks in the past by showing that he could be a hero when he desired.

"Now I'll tell you how it was," went on the janitor.

"Yes, do," urged Mr. Tetlow. "We don't want it to happen again."

By this time the excitement had quieted down. There was no more smoke, and there was no smell of fire.

"I had started up the new heating boiler to try it," explained the janitor. "We didn't exactly need steam on to-day, though it is a bit cold, and it looks like snow. But I thought I'd try the new steam plant, so I built a fire in the boiler.

"I left it going and went off to do some work in another part of the school, and I guess I forgot about the steam. Anyhow, all at once I heard the roar and the rumble, and I felt the building shake. I knew right away what had happened, and I ran down cellar. I didn't even stop to explain to anyone."

"Well, what did happen?" asked the principal.

"Why, the safety valve got stuck, and when the pressure got too heavy it wouldn't let the steam escape. So the pipes, all through the school, were filled and the pressure was so strong that they commenced to shake and tremble. That made the building vibrate, and the boiler began to rumble and roar, too.

"I was afraid it might blow up, so down I rushed and opened the safety valve that was stuck shut. That let out the steam, and the pressure in the pipes went down. And that's all."

"It was enough," said Miss Williams. "So that white cloud was steam, and not smoke from a fire?"

"Yes, ma'am," answered the janitor, "it was only steam."

"Is the safety valve all right now?" asked Mr. Tetlow.

"Oh, yes, indeed!" exclaimed the janitor. "I fixed it. I should have looked at it first, but it slipped my mind. I'm sorry."

"Well, it's all right, as long as no one is hurt," said the principal. "And now, as we have had so much excitement, I hardly believe that you children could do well with your lessons this morning. It is eleven o'clock now, so I will dismiss you all until this afternoon. Come back when you have had your dinners."

There were cries of delight at this, and the boys and girls hurried back into their classrooms, after their hats and coats, for the weather seemed to be getting colder.

Sammy and his two chums passed close to Jed Burr as they went in. Then Sammy did a kind act.

"Will you shake hands, Jed?" he asked of the former bully. "That was a fine thing you did."

Jed blushed.

"Aw, that was nothin'," he said. "There wasn't any danger."

"But you didn't know that," returned Frank. "I'd like to shake hands with you, too."

"So would I," added Bob Bouncer. "I guess we'll all be friends now, after this."

"I've turned over a new leaf," said Jed, when they had shaken hands with him. "I'm not going to bother you fellows any more."

"That's good," spoke Sammy, for Jed had been a sore trial to them, and to many other small lads of Fairview.

"And we'd be glad to have you around to our clubhouse whenever you want to come," added Frank, kindly.

"Thanks," said Jed, gratefully.

After Bob Bouncer had discovered Mr. Haven's jewelry hidden in the well, following the schoolhouse fire, the merchant had offered Bob a reward of a hundred dollars. But Bob's father would not let him take it, so Mr. Haven used the money in fitting up, in his barn, a fine clubroom and gymnasium for Bob and his chums.

Talking over the accident to the steam boiler, and making merry that they had had such a short morning session, the boys and girls hurried along on their way home. Sammy and his chums walked together, and, every now and then, Sammy would look up at the sky.

"What are you planning now?" asked Bob, giving Sammy a sly punch in the ribs. "Studying how to make an airship?" and he winked at Frank.

"Aw, let me alone," begged Sammy. "Can't I look at the weather if I want to?"

"Sure," agreed Bob. "But what makes you so serious about it?"

"I'm thinking it's going to snow," answered Sammy, "and I'm going to get out my sled, when I go home, to be ready for it. I've got to get the rust off the runners."

"Snow!" cried Frank. "It won't snow to-day."

But it did. Before school was out that afternoon the white flakes began coming lazily down, and the children, looking from the windows, felt merry at the prospect of a storm. Snow is so different from rain. Almost everyone is happy and jolly when it snows, but miserable when it rains.

"Say, it's going to be a good storm all right!" cried Sammy, as he and his chums came out of school when lessons were over for the day. "It's three inches deep now, and falling fast."

"Yes, we'll have to get out our snow-shoes if it keeps on," laughed Bob, as he slyly dropped some snow down Frank's neck.

"Ouch!" cried Frank, squirming about as he felt the coldness down his spine. "I'll wash your face for that, Bob Bouncer!"

He raced down the street after his fun-loving chum, but before he reached him he saw something that made him stop. This was the sight of an elderly lady walking carefully along, just ahead of him, through the snow. As Frank came up behind her he saw her fall heavily, and lay quite still in a heap on the sidewalk.

"Here you go, fellows!" cried Frank, to Bob and Sammy. "We've got to help her—come here!"

CHAPTER III SAMMY HAS AN IDEA

"Maybe she's dead!" gasped Sammy Brown, as he reached the side of Frank, and looked down on the motionless old lady.

"There you go!" cried Frank, half angrily, "always thinking something like that. Why should she be dead?"

"She fell heavily enough," said Bob. "The snow's awful slippery. Maybe her leg's broken."

"That's more like it," said Frank. "Now we've got to take her into one of these houses. Can we carry her?"

"I guess we'll have to," said Bob. "There doesn't seem to be anyone else around just now. Can we lift her?"

At that moment the elderly lady who had fallen tried to get up. Her eyes, that had been closed, were opened, and she looked very pale.

"Are you hurt?" asked Frank, anxiously. "We'll help you get up, and carry you into one of these houses."

"Are you hurt?" asked Frank.

He gazed up and down the street as he spoke. There were no other persons in sight, and the accident had happened at a place where there were only a few houses. Had there been stores nearby someone might have come out at once to help the old lady.

"I don't believe I am badly hurt," she said, with a smile. "I thought at first my leg was broken, but I'm sure, now, it is not, though it may be sprained. I slipped and struck my head when I went down. I must have been unconscious for a few seconds."

"You were," said Bob, who had once seen his mother faint. "Now, if you'll let us, we can carry you to the nearest house, and get a doctor."

"I'm sure I'm very much obliged to you nice boys," spoke the elderly lady, "but I do not believe you can carry me. I am pretty heavy."

"We're strong," declared Sammy. "We play football!" he added, proudly.

"Well, I think I can walk," the lady went on, "though I may have to lean on your shoulders. I should not have come out without my rubbers to-day, but I did not think it was going to snow. I guess Winter has set in now, and I rather dread it."

The boys thought this strange. To them Winter was one of their jolly seasons, when they had much fun. They did not stop to think that the poor and the old do not like the hard cold of Winter.

"If you will let me take hold of your hands," went on the elderly lady, "I think I can get to my feet. Then you may be able to help me to one of those houses."

She held up her hands as she spoke. Sammy took one and Frank the other, while Bob lifted her at the shoulders.

"Now!" she exclaimed, in a stronger voice than she had used before, "all together, and I'll be up!"

The boys pulled and pushed, and slowly the old lady was gotten to her feet. She swayed unsteadily for a moment, and leaned heavily on Frank.

Just then, a window in the nearest house was opened, and a woman, leaning out, called:

"Bring her right over here, boys. I'll look after her. I'll come and help you. Are you much hurt, Mrs. Blake? I just happened to see you."

"No, thank you, I'm not much hurt. I think I'm all right, except perhaps for a strain, or some bruises," was the answer. "I have good helpers, you see. Don't come out in the storm. They can get me to your house."

"Are you Mrs. Blake?" asked Sammy, quickly.

"That is my name," was her answer, with a smile.

"I guess my mother knows you," went on Sammy. "Her name is Brown."

"Oh, are you Mrs. Brown's boy?" exclaimed Mrs. Blake. "I thought I knew your face. Well, I'm real glad to see you. And are these your brothers?"

"No'm, they're my chums," answered Sammy. "Do you feel all right now?"

"Yes, only a trifle dizzy. I'll be better when I rest a bit in Mrs. Handee's house. Now let me see if I can walk."

She found that she could, by going slowly. The shock of her fall was passing off, and by leaning on the shoulders of Bob and Frank, while Sammy carried her bag and umbrella for her, she made her way to the house where the woman waited with the door open. Mrs. Handee came down the front steps to help Mrs. Blake up, and soon the elderly lady was sitting comfortably in an easy chair before the fire.

"My!" exclaimed Mrs. Blake, leaning back comfortably. "This has been quite an experience for me," and she looked at the three boys, who did not know exactly what to do, now that they had come in. "I never fell before—not since I was a girl, and I guess I've forgotten how to do it."

"You were lucky not to have broken some bones," spoke Mrs. Handee. "Are you sure you don't want the doctor?"

"We'll go for one!" offered Sammy, eagerly.

"Oh, no, indeed, I don't want one," declared Mrs. Blake, with a laugh. "I'll be all right soon, and able to go home. My daughter will be worried about me. My, how it snows!" and she looked out of the window where could be seen a perfect cloud of white flakes coming down.

"Yes, I think we're going have a regular old-fashioned Winter," said Mrs. Handee. "I dread it, too. Now I'm going to make you a nice hot cup of tea. Will you boys have something to eat?" she asked.

Sammy and his chums looked at one another and their faces got rather red.

"If—if you please," said Sammy, "I'm not allowed to have strong tea."

"Me either!" added Frank and Bob.

"Bless your hearts! I didn't mean tea!" laughed Mrs. Handee. "It is not good for growing boys, unless it's very, very weak, and then it isn't tea. I meant to give you some bread and jam. Do you think you could eat it?"

"Could we?" murmured Sammy.

"Just try us, Mrs. Handee!" exclaimed Frank, and, with another laugh, the lady of the house went out to the kitchen.

"Well, I'm sure I can't thank you boys enough for what you did for me," said Mrs. Blake, after a pause.

"It wasn't anything," replied Bob.

"Oh, yes, it was, too!" she insisted. "I thank you very much, and I want to tell your mothers what nice boys you are. Lots of young folks now-a-days don't think, or care, anything about the old folks. Seems to me, now, that I've often seen you three boys around Fairview together; haven't I?" and she looked at them closely.

"Yes'm, we're generally together," replied Sammy.

"Do you go camping together?" asked Mrs. Blake.

"Oh, yes, often," spoke Frank.

"And once we were all wrecked together on Pine Island," added Bob.

"You don't tell me!" exclaimed Mrs. Blake. "On Pine Island? Why I have a brother there. Peter Jessup is his name. He's quite a hunter, too. He lives at the far end, near Woodport. Have you ever been there?"

"No, we were down at the other end," said Frank.

"Then perhaps you did not meet my brother?"

"No, not that we know of," answered Sammy.

"I'm sure he'd be glad to see you," proceeded Mrs. Blake. "He is fond of boys. When he was young he was just like you, always going off on hunting or fishing trips. If ever you go to Pine Island again I wish you'd call on him. I'll write him a letter, explaining how kind you have been to me, and I'm sure he'd be glad to see you at his hunting cabin."

"Has he a hunting cabin?" asked Bob, his eyes shining in delight.

"Indeed he has, with lots of skins, and deer horns and the like of that in it," said Mrs. Blake. "Of course he did not get them all around here, for game is rather scarce. But he lives the life of a hunter still, sleeps in a 'bunk' as he calls it, and all that. He even cooks over a campfire in the summer."

"Oh, I wish we could go there!" sighed Bob.

"I'm sure you'll be welcome," spoke Mrs. Blake. And then Mrs. Handee came in with the tea for her elderly guest, and the bread and jam for the boys, and that they enjoyed it I am sure I need not say.

"Well, I think I will be able to go along now," said Mrs. Blake, after a pause. "That tea made me feel much better."

"Are you sure you can go?" asked Mrs. Handee. "It's quite a step to your daughter's house."

"Oh, I can do it," was the answer. "My leg is much better, and I only have a slight headache. I thank you very much. As for you boys, don't forget to come and see me, and I'll tell you more about my brother Peter. I'll be sure to write to him and tell him you're going to visit him."

"We'll go if we can," said Frank.

Sammy Brown seemed to be thinking deeply on some subject.

The boys said good-bye and went out into the storm. The snow was still coming down, and they wanted to play in it—to make balls to toss at one another, to roll in it, to jump over and into the drifts, to roll big balls as the foundation for a snow house.

There was nothing more they could do for Mrs. Blake, she said, and she would soon start for home herself. So Sammy, Bob and Frank hurried away, promising to call on the lady to whose aid they had come.

"Are you really going?" asked Frank of his chums, as they walked on through the snow. "I mean to her house?"

"Of course we are!" cried Sammy. "I want to meet her brother the hunter; don't you?"

"I guess it would be nice," agreed Frank.

"Nice!" cried Sammy. "Say, I guess you don't know what might happen if we went to see him; do you?"

"You mean we might shoot a bear or a deer?" laughed Frank.

"No, I don't mean anything like that, for now there aren't any such things on Pine Island. But you know we never have been up at the far end of the island, and we might find——"

"Oh, I know what he's going to say!" cried Frank, as he threw a snowball at a boy going down the street. "You're thinking we can find some treasure there; eh, Sammy?"

"Well, we might!" insisted Sammy, not minding the laughs of his chums. "That part of the island is lonely enough for treasure. But I had another idea."

"Say, you're full of 'em to-day!" remarked Bob.

"Let's hear it," suggested Frank.

"Well, you know there's supposed to be a queer old hermit up at the far end of the island," went on Sammy.

"A hermit?" cried Frank.

"Yes, a strange old hermit, with a long white beard, and I've heard it said that he has some secret he's trying to hide. If we go there we might find out the secret. Now what do you think of that for an idea?" demanded Sammy, eagerly.

CHAPTER IV A QUEER SIGHT

Sammy's two chums looked strangely at him. He returned their gaze steadily.

"Well," he said, defiantly, "it's true! What makes you look at me that way?"

"Ha! Ha!" laughed Frank. "He's the same old Sammy, isn't he, Bob?"

"That's what he is! Always thinking he's going to find a treasure, and if he can't do that he trots out an old hermit. Go on, Sammy, can't you scare up a ghost while you're at it? The ghost of Pine Island! Go ahead, make up something about that."

Sammy Brown turned squarely about, and walked away from his chums without saying a word.

For a moment Frank and Bob looked after him, and then they looked at one another.