what may be called a minor mystery was settled within a few minutes after alvin, chester and mike came out of the wood and sat down for a brief while on the porch. most of the other boy scouts had gone inside for the night, though the murmur of voices showed the majority were awake. the laugh of scout master hall was heard in response to some jest, he being, as has been said, as much of a youngster as the most youthful of the troop.

a tall form loomed to view in the starlight, and coming up the steps sat down beside mike with a greeting to all three. he was recognized as hoke butler, a member of the stag patrol.

“if you had run a little faster,” he remarked with a loud laugh, “you surely would have overtaken me, mike.”

“why didn’t ye slack up and give me the chance? me legs ain’t as long as yours.”

“i did put on the brakes, but you turned back.”

“i’d come to the belaif that if ye didn’t want me company, i shouldn’t force mine upon ye, so i quit. what were ye doing in the wood behind us?”

“i was strolling behind the bungalow when i heard voices and was stealing up to learn who you were when you heard me, and for the fun of it i darted off as if i was scared half to death.”

“what did ye think of the views of mesilf and alvin and chester as regards the nixt prisident?”

it was a shrewd question and brought the desired answer.

“you talked so low i couldn’t catch a word. don’t you know that when americans talk politics they yell and generally end in a fight?”

“we hadn’t got that fur; ye oughter kept still a little while longer and ye might hev took part in the shindy.”

so the eavesdropping amounted to nothing, and so far no one besides the three knew of the plan which they had formed. a half hour later every boy scout in the bungalow, including jack crandall, was asleep.

the morning dawned clear, bright and sunny. jack would not permit any one to stay with him, so his chair was wheeled out on the front porch, where he became absorbed in a work on ornithology, while his friends broke into small groups and wandered into the woods as fancy prompted them. scout master hall strolled off with several members of his patrol, the understanding being that it was to be another day in which each should do as he pleased.

let twenty men, boys or girls be thrown together in close companionship for weeks, and likes and dislikes are sure to develop. there may be nothing in the nature of hatred, nor even an impatient word uttered. naturally affiliations spring up, while others avoid one another, without suspecting there is a cause for the mild repulsion.

alvin landon, chester haynes and mike murphy were chums from the first and were nearly always together. mike was popular with all because of his many fine qualities, aside from the marvelous treats he occasionally gave in singing. one boy formed so marked a fancy for him that mike did not like it because he could not respond. this was hoke butler,—he who had tried to play the eavesdropper the night before. something about him which could not be defined repelled mike, and caused him to avoid or at least to try to avoid his company. perhaps it was butler’s habit of boisterous laughter when no one else saw any cause for mirth, his disposition to slap the knee or shoulder of the boy nearest him, and his greediness at meals. be that as it may, mike did not like him, though too considerate to hurt his feelings by showing his sentiments.

alvin and chester were pleased, when they supposed all the boys had left the bungalow, to see butler come up the steps, take his place beside mike and give his knee a resounding slap.

“hello, old chap! what are you going to do to-day?” he asked in his boisterous manner.

“i’m thinking of doing as the ither byes do,—stroll through the woods on the 115lookout fur ostriches, kangaroos, monkeys or anything that turns up.”

“good! that’s me; i’ll go with you!”

“who said ye would?” asked the disgusted mike, as alvin winked at chester.

“i did; didn’t you hear me?”

“but ye don’t know where i’m going.”

“that makes no difference; i’m with you straight through.”

the chance was too good for alvin and chester to let slip. the face of the former brightened with hypocritical comradeship.

“now isn’t that fine? mike, you’re in luck.”

“as larry bergen remarked whin he found he had one finger lift after the pistol busted in his hand.”

“how nice it will be to have butler with you the whole day!” chester was mean enough to add.

“aren’t you three going together?” asked the surprised interloper.

“we are particular as to our company,” said alvin; “chester and i travel together while mike goes alone,—that is to say he would do so if you had not come along in time.”

“that’s me! i’m always glad to oblige.”

“thim chaps,” said mike, who was too game to wince though none the less resolved to baffle his chums, “are two babes in the wood; it will be mighty kind of ye, butler, to go along and kaap an eye on ’em.”

“now, don’t you see there are two of them, and it will be the same with you and me, which is the right way to divide up? just the idea, old chap!” and butler whacked the knee of mike, who made a grimace at the grinning alvin and chester. “tell you what, mike, i took a shine to you from the first; we must be pals.”

“you’ve hit it, butler; we shall be glad to loan you mike whenever you want him.”

“that will be all the time,” roared the interloper, “won’t it, mike?”

“it begins to look that way,” was the lugubrious response of the victim.

alvin and chester rose to their feet, the former remarking:

“we’ll see you at supper. take good care of mike, who is so innocent that he is sure to run into trouble unless you hold him back. mike, be sure to obey him just as you do us.”

and the two stepped from the porch and set off in the direction of the cabin of uncle elk, looking back in time to see their friend shake his fist at them.

“it looks as if i was catched,” mused mike, “as the man said whin he stepped into a bear trap, but i’ll aven up matters wid thim before they’re much older.”

“isn’t it time we started?” asked butler, after the others had disappeared.

“yis,” replied mike standing up, “but i can’t depart widout me buckthorn cane. bide here till i go into the house and git the same.”

“i know where you left it leaning against the wall; i’ll fetch it.”

and before he could be anticipated, butler darted through the open door and brought out the heavy stick.

“always ready to do what i can for you, mike; anything else?”

“yis; i’ll be obleeged if ye’ll chase after thim spalpeens and ask alvin landon to send me that five dollars he borrered yesterday.”

“of course; they haven’t got far and i’ll be back in a jiffy.”

“don’t let him sneak out of it, but hang on till he coughs up.”

“you bet i will!”

the obliging youth scooted off the porch and after the couple who had disappeared only a few moments before. mike waited only until he was beyond sight, when he hurried in the opposite direction and dived among the trees, as if he were a criminal fleeing from an officer of the law.

meanwhile the obliging butler made haste to do as requested. he was fleet of foot, and had no trouble in overtaking alvin and chester, who were walking at a moderate pace, made still more moderate by their merriment over the clever way in which they had gotten the best of mike.

“it isn’t often we can do it,” said alvin, “but we caught him fair that time. hoke will stick like a leech to him—hello! what’s up now?” exclaimed the lad, as the sound of footsteps caused both to look around.

“gracious!” gasped chester, “it can’t be mike has persuaded him to go with us!”

“hold on a minute!” called butler.

the two halted and alvin asked reproachfully:

“why have you deserted mike, when he wants you so badly?”

“i haven’t deserted him; he and i are going to have a day’s ramble together.”

“then what are you doing here?”

“he asked me to run after you and get the five dollars he loaned you yesterday.”

“chest, have you got any money with you?” asked the astonished alvin; “i have only a canadian quarter.”

“i haven’t even that. i did the same as you, and left all my funds in the house.”

“you see what mike is up to; it’s a trick of his to get rid of this fellow.”

addressing the latter, alvin added:

“that’s what i call a low down piece of business; why didn’t he ask us when we were at the house?”

“i reckon he didn’t think of it; hurry up, please; i don’t want to keep him waiting.”

“well, you can’t help it, for we haven’t a dollar between us. hurry back to him and say for us that we shall settle with him to-night when you and he come back.”

“honest now, is that the best you can do?”

“it certainly is; if you don’t hurry mike will grow tired of waiting for you.”

alarmed at the probability, butler dashed away like a deer, while alvin and chester hurried in the other direction with a view of being out of reach should the young man return.

but hoke did not come back. he had set his heart on rejoining his chosen friend and bent his energies to that end.

after walking briskly for a half mile, alvin and chester slowed down and took matters more easily. they were so deep in the woods that they could see nothing of the lake, but they had become familiar with the route and were in no fear of going astray. when quite near the cabin of uncle elk, they saw three other boy scouts wandering among the trees, one of them with note book in hand. he was making entries and all were so engaged in the pleasant task that it was easy for alvin and chester to avoid being seen as they changed their course. soon after they came in sight of the log structure where their old friend made his home. halting while still among the trees, their position gave them a view 121of the front of the building and the upper part of the path which wound its way down to the lake. the latch-string was hanging outside the door with everything as still and motionless as the tomb.

“well, now that we have arrived,” remarked alvin in an undertone, “what are we going to do?”

“i don’t see that anything is to be gained by calling upon uncle elk, but, if he catches sight of us, we shall have to drop in on him. he is sure to treat us well.”

“hello! we are not the only ones,” said chester, as he and his chum stepped back behind the trunk of a large white oak.

the heads and shoulders of two men came into sight as they walked slowly up the path from the landing which they had evidently reached in a boat. a few paces brought them into plain sight, one directly behind the other and approaching the door of the cabin.

the first thought of the boys was that they were the tramps who had been making nuisances of themselves in the neighborhood for the last few days, but a second look made it clear they were not, for nothing in their appearance suggested the wandering vagrant. the striking fact about them was they were so similar in looks that it was evident they were twin brothers. the similarity extended to their clothing. they wore straw hats set well back on their heads, coarse shirts without tie or waistcoat, and dark trousers whose bottoms were tucked into a pair of boots that did not quite reach their knees. the two were of sandy complexion and each had a tuft of yellow whiskers on his chin, which was of the retreating order.

“they must be the men mike heard chuckling together last night, though he did not see them,” was the conclusion of chester, and his companion agreed with him.

“and they seem as much pleased as ever.”

both wore a broad grin, and the one in front, half turning his head, said something which caused the other to laugh out loud.

before the visitors reached the door, it was drawn inward by uncle elk, who appeared, staff in hand, as if about to start on a tramp through the woods. at sight of the young men, he paused and called:

“i am glad to see you, asa and bige; i was about to hunt you up, but this saves me the trouble; come in.”

he shook the hand of each in turn and the three passed from sight, the host closing the door behind them.

“and now what shall we do?” asked the perplexed alvin; “we have seen two strangers go into the cabin and they are talking together, but we can’t hear a word that is said nor learn a thing.”

“that remains to be seen; let’s follow them, as we have the right to do so long as the latchstring hangs outside.”

this proposal would have been carried out had not the necessity been removed by the persons in whom they were interested. the door unexpectedly opened and the trio came out, uncle elk leading, staff in hand, and the others following in indian file. they passed down the path toward the lake and were soon shut from sight by the intervening trees and undergrowth.

alvin and chester were sure their presence had not been noted, and they held back until safe against being seen. then they moved stealthily down the trail to a 124point where they had a clear view of the smooth sheet of water. a hundred yards away, a small canoe was gliding at moderate speed toward the other side, its course such that it would reach shore—unless the direction was changed—some distance west of dr. spellman’s home. in the boat were seated uncle elk and the couple whom he had addressed as asa and bige, one of them swinging the paddle with the grace of a professional.

keeping out of sight, the two youths watched the course of the boat, which gradually veered to the left.

“uncle elk has left his own canoe on the shore and we can use it if we wish to follow them,” said alvin.

“i don’t think anything would be more foolish. in fact, al, it strikes me that so far our part of the business is a failure. those folks are going into the territory of mike and i hope he will have better success than we. he can’t have less.”

all the lads could do for the present was to watch and wait. the canoe grew smaller as it receded, and finally disappeared under the overhanging limbs and vegetation at a 125spot which the boys agreed was either where mike murphy had heard asa and bige laughing the night before, or very near the spot. and, admitting that such was the fact, what did it all amount to?