章节正文
"Not a word."
"Did he write?"
"He didn't know where to write to."
"Humph! It is certainly a mystery, Joe."
"You are right, Ned; and as I said before, I am going to solve it
some time, even if it takes years of work to do it," replied the
hermit's boy.
CHAPTER II.
A MYSTERIOUS CONVERSATION.
The old hunting lodge where the two boys had sought shelter was a
rambling affair, consisting of a square building built of logs,
and half a dozen wings, running to the rear and to one side.
There were also two piazzas, and a shed, where wood had been kept
for winter use.
"In another year or two this old lodge will fall down," remarked
Ned, as he gazed around him.
"It must have been a nice place in its day," returned Joe. "What
a pity to let it run down in this fashion."
"The rain is coming around on this side now, Joe; let us shift to
the other."
The hermit's boy was willing, and watching their chance, between
the downpours, they ran around to another portion of the old
lodge.
"It certainly is a little better here," observed Joe, as he
dashed the water from his cap.
A minute later the rumbling of the thunder ceased for the time
being, and they heard a murmur of voices coming from one of the
rooms of the lodge.
"Why, somebody must be here!" ejaculated Ned. "Who can it be?"
"Two men, by their voices," answered the hermit's boy. "Wait
till I take a look at them?"
"Why not go in?" questioned the rich youth, carelessly.
"They may not be persons that we would care to meet, Ned. You
know there are some undesirable characters about the lake."
"That's true."
Not far off was a narrow window, the panes of glass of which had
long since been broken out. Moving toward this, Joe peered into
the apartment beyond.
Close to an old fireplace, in which a few sticks of half-green
timber were burning, sat two men. Both were well dressed, and
Joe rightfully surmised that they were from the city. Each wore
a huntingoutfit and had a gun, but neither had any game.
"We came on a wild-goose chase," grumbled one, as he stirred the
fire. "Got nothing but a soaking for our pains."
"Never mind, Malone," returned the other, who was evidently the
better educated of the two. "As we had to make ourselves scarce
in the city this was as good a place to come to as any."
"Don't you think they'll look for us here?"
"Why should they? We were sharp enough not to leave any trail
behind--at least, I was."
"Reckon I was just as sharp, Caven."
"You had to be--otherwise you would have been nabbed." Gaff
Caven chuckled to himself. "We outwitted them nicely, I must
say. We deserve credit."
"I've spent more than half of what I got out of the deal," went
on Pat Malone, for such was the full name of one of the speakers.
"I've spent more than that. But never mind, my boy, fortune will
favor us again in the near future."
A crash of thunder drowned out the conversation following, and
Joe hurried back to where he had left Ned.
"Well, have you found out who they are?" demanded the rich youth,
impatiently.
"No, Ned, but I am sure of one thing."
"What is that?"
"They are two bad men."
"What makes you think that?"
"They said something about having to get out of the city, and one
spoke about being nabbed. Evidently they went away to avoid
arrest."
At this announcement Ned Talmadge whistled softly to himself.
"Phew! What shall we do about it?" he asked, with a look of
concern on his usually passive face.
Joe shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know what to do."
"Let us listen to what they have to say. Maybe we'll strike some
clew to what they have been doing."
"Would that be fair--to play the eaves-dropper?"
"Certainly--if they are evildoers. Anybody who has done wrong
ought to be locked up for it," went on Ned boldly.
With caution the two boys made their way to the narrow window,
and Ned looked in as Joe had done. The backs of the two men were
still towards the opening, so the lads were not discovered.
"What is this new game?" they heard the man called Malone ask,
after a peal of thunder had rolled away among the mountains.
"It's the old game of a sick miner with some valuable stocks to
sell," answered Gaff Caven.
"Have you got the stocks?"
"To be sure--one thousand shares of the Blue Bell Mine, of
Montana, said to be worth exactly fifty thousand dollars."
"Phew! You're flying high, Gaff!" laughed Pat Malone.
"And why not, so long as I sell the stocks?"
"What did they cost you?"
"Well, they didn't cost me fifty thousand dollars," and Gaff
Caven closed one eye suggestively.
"You bet they didn't! More than likely they didn't cost you fifty
dollars."
"What, such elegantly engraved stocks as those?"
"Pooh! I can buy a bushel-basket full of worthless stocks for a
dollar," came from Pat Malone. "But that isn't here nor there.
I go into the deal if you give me my fair share of the earnings."
"I'll give you one-third, Pat, and that's a fair share, I think."
"Why not make it half?"
"Because I'll do the most of the work. It's no easy matter to
find a victim." And Gaff Caven laughed broadly. He had a good-
appearing face, but his eyes were small and not to be trusted.
"All right, I'll go in for a third then. But how soon is the
excitement to begin?"
"Oh, in a week or so. I've got the advertisements in the papers
already."
"Not in New York?"
"No, it's Philadelphia this time. Perhaps I'll land one of our
Quaker friends."
"Don't be so sure. The Quakers may be slow but they generally
know what they are doing."
More thunder interrupted the conversation at this point, and when
it was resumed the two men talked in such low tones that only an
occasional word could be caught by the two boys.
"They surely must be rascals," remarked Ned, in a whisper. "I'm
half of a mind to have them locked up."
"That's easier said than done," answered Joe. "Besides, we
haven't any positive proofs against them."
The wind was now rising, and it soon blew so furiously that the
two boys were forced to seek the shelter of the woodshed, since
they did not deem it wise to enter the lodge so long as the two
men were inside. They waited in the shed for fully half an hour,
when, as suddenly as it had begun, the storm let up and the sun
began to peep forth from between the scattering clouds.
"Now we can go home if we wish," said Joe. "But for my part, I'd
like to stay and see what those men do, and where they go to."
"Yes, let us stay by all means," answered the rich youth.
They waited a few minutes longer and then Ned suggested that they
look into the window of the lodge once more. The hermit's boy
was willing, and they approached the larger building with
caution.
Much to their astonishment the two strangers had disappeared.
"Hullo! what do you make of that?" cried Ned, in amazement.
"Perhaps they are in one of the other rooms," suggested Joe.
At the risk of being caught, they entered the lodge and looked
into one room after another. Every apartment was vacant, and
they now saw that the fire in the fireplace had been stamped out.
"They must have left while we were in the woodshed," said Ned.
"Maybe they are out on the lake," answered the hermit's boy, and
he ran down to the water's edge, followed by his companion. But
though they looked in every direction, not a craft of any kind
was to be seen.
"Joe, they didn't take to the water, consequently they must have
left by one of the mountain paths."
"That is true, and if they did they'll have no nice time in
getting through. All the bushes are sopping wet, and the mud is
very slippery in places."
They walked to the rear of the lodge and soon found the
footprints of the two strangers. They led through the bushes and
were lost at a small brook that ran into the lake.
"There is no use of our trying to follow this any further," said
Joe. "You'll get your clothing covered with water and mud."
"I don't intend to follow," answered Ned. "Just the same, I
should like to know more about those fellows."
"I wish I had seen their faces."
"Yes, it's a pity we didn't get a better look at them. But I'd
know their voices."
By the time they gave up the hunt the sun was shining brightly.
Both walked to where the boat had been left, and Joe turned the
craft over so that the water might run out. Then he mopped off
the seats as best he could.
Ned wanted to go directly home, and he and Joe rowed the craft in
the direction of Riverside. As they passed along the lake shore
the hermit's boy noted that several trees had been struck by
lightning.
"I'm glad the lightning didn't strike the lodge while we were
there," said he.
"It was certainly a severe storm while it lasted, Joe. By the
way, shall I say anything about those two men?"
"Perhaps it won't do any harm to tell your father, Ned."
"Very well, I'll do it."
Soon Riverside was reached, and having paid for the fish and the
outing, Ned Talmadge walked in the direction of his residence.
Joe shoved off from the tiny dock and struck out for his home.
He did not dream of the calamity that awaited him there.
CHAPTER III.
A HOME IN RUINS.
As Joe rowed toward his home on the mountain side, a good mile
from Riverside, he could not help but think of the two mysterious
men and of what they had said.
"They were certainly rascals," he mused. "And from their talk
they must have come from New York and are now going to try some
game in Philadelphia."
The hermit's boy was tired out by the day's outing, yet he pulled
a fairly quick stroke and it was not long before he reached the
dock at which he and Hiram Bodley were in the habit of leaving
their boat. He cleaned the craft out, hid the oars in the usual
place, and then, with his fishing lines in one hand and a good
sized fish in the other, started up the trail leading to the
place that he called home.
"What a place to come to, alongside of the one Ned lives in," he
said to himself. "I suppose the Talmadges think this is a
regular hovel. I wish we could afford something better,--or at
least live in town. It's lonesome here with nobody but old Uncle
Hiram around."
As Joe neared the cabin something seemed to come over him and,
for some reason he could not understand, he felt very much
depressed in spirits. He quickened his pace, until a turn of the
"Did he write?"
"He didn't know where to write to."
"Humph! It is certainly a mystery, Joe."
"You are right, Ned; and as I said before, I am going to solve it
some time, even if it takes years of work to do it," replied the
hermit's boy.
CHAPTER II.
A MYSTERIOUS CONVERSATION.
The old hunting lodge where the two boys had sought shelter was a
rambling affair, consisting of a square building built of logs,
and half a dozen wings, running to the rear and to one side.
There were also two piazzas, and a shed, where wood had been kept
for winter use.
"In another year or two this old lodge will fall down," remarked
Ned, as he gazed around him.
"It must have been a nice place in its day," returned Joe. "What
a pity to let it run down in this fashion."
"The rain is coming around on this side now, Joe; let us shift to
the other."
The hermit's boy was willing, and watching their chance, between
the downpours, they ran around to another portion of the old
lodge.
"It certainly is a little better here," observed Joe, as he
dashed the water from his cap.
A minute later the rumbling of the thunder ceased for the time
being, and they heard a murmur of voices coming from one of the
rooms of the lodge.
"Why, somebody must be here!" ejaculated Ned. "Who can it be?"
"Two men, by their voices," answered the hermit's boy. "Wait
till I take a look at them?"
"Why not go in?" questioned the rich youth, carelessly.
"They may not be persons that we would care to meet, Ned. You
know there are some undesirable characters about the lake."
"That's true."
Not far off was a narrow window, the panes of glass of which had
long since been broken out. Moving toward this, Joe peered into
the apartment beyond.
Close to an old fireplace, in which a few sticks of half-green
timber were burning, sat two men. Both were well dressed, and
Joe rightfully surmised that they were from the city. Each wore
a huntingoutfit and had a gun, but neither had any game.
"We came on a wild-goose chase," grumbled one, as he stirred the
fire. "Got nothing but a soaking for our pains."
"Never mind, Malone," returned the other, who was evidently the
better educated of the two. "As we had to make ourselves scarce
in the city this was as good a place to come to as any."
"Don't you think they'll look for us here?"
"Why should they? We were sharp enough not to leave any trail
behind--at least, I was."
"Reckon I was just as sharp, Caven."
"You had to be--otherwise you would have been nabbed." Gaff
Caven chuckled to himself. "We outwitted them nicely, I must
say. We deserve credit."
"I've spent more than half of what I got out of the deal," went
on Pat Malone, for such was the full name of one of the speakers.
"I've spent more than that. But never mind, my boy, fortune will
favor us again in the near future."
A crash of thunder drowned out the conversation following, and
Joe hurried back to where he had left Ned.
"Well, have you found out who they are?" demanded the rich youth,
impatiently.
"No, Ned, but I am sure of one thing."
"What is that?"
"They are two bad men."
"What makes you think that?"
"They said something about having to get out of the city, and one
spoke about being nabbed. Evidently they went away to avoid
arrest."
At this announcement Ned Talmadge whistled softly to himself.
"Phew! What shall we do about it?" he asked, with a look of
concern on his usually passive face.
Joe shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know what to do."
"Let us listen to what they have to say. Maybe we'll strike some
clew to what they have been doing."
"Would that be fair--to play the eaves-dropper?"
"Certainly--if they are evildoers. Anybody who has done wrong
ought to be locked up for it," went on Ned boldly.
With caution the two boys made their way to the narrow window,
and Ned looked in as Joe had done. The backs of the two men were
still towards the opening, so the lads were not discovered.
"What is this new game?" they heard the man called Malone ask,
after a peal of thunder had rolled away among the mountains.
"It's the old game of a sick miner with some valuable stocks to
sell," answered Gaff Caven.
"Have you got the stocks?"
"To be sure--one thousand shares of the Blue Bell Mine, of
Montana, said to be worth exactly fifty thousand dollars."
"Phew! You're flying high, Gaff!" laughed Pat Malone.
"And why not, so long as I sell the stocks?"
"What did they cost you?"
"Well, they didn't cost me fifty thousand dollars," and Gaff
Caven closed one eye suggestively.
"You bet they didn't! More than likely they didn't cost you fifty
dollars."
"What, such elegantly engraved stocks as those?"
"Pooh! I can buy a bushel-basket full of worthless stocks for a
dollar," came from Pat Malone. "But that isn't here nor there.
I go into the deal if you give me my fair share of the earnings."
"I'll give you one-third, Pat, and that's a fair share, I think."
"Why not make it half?"
"Because I'll do the most of the work. It's no easy matter to
find a victim." And Gaff Caven laughed broadly. He had a good-
appearing face, but his eyes were small and not to be trusted.
"All right, I'll go in for a third then. But how soon is the
excitement to begin?"
"Oh, in a week or so. I've got the advertisements in the papers
already."
"Not in New York?"
"No, it's Philadelphia this time. Perhaps I'll land one of our
Quaker friends."
"Don't be so sure. The Quakers may be slow but they generally
know what they are doing."
More thunder interrupted the conversation at this point, and when
it was resumed the two men talked in such low tones that only an
occasional word could be caught by the two boys.
"They surely must be rascals," remarked Ned, in a whisper. "I'm
half of a mind to have them locked up."
"That's easier said than done," answered Joe. "Besides, we
haven't any positive proofs against them."
The wind was now rising, and it soon blew so furiously that the
two boys were forced to seek the shelter of the woodshed, since
they did not deem it wise to enter the lodge so long as the two
men were inside. They waited in the shed for fully half an hour,
when, as suddenly as it had begun, the storm let up and the sun
began to peep forth from between the scattering clouds.
"Now we can go home if we wish," said Joe. "But for my part, I'd
like to stay and see what those men do, and where they go to."
"Yes, let us stay by all means," answered the rich youth.
They waited a few minutes longer and then Ned suggested that they
look into the window of the lodge once more. The hermit's boy
was willing, and they approached the larger building with
caution.
Much to their astonishment the two strangers had disappeared.
"Hullo! what do you make of that?" cried Ned, in amazement.
"Perhaps they are in one of the other rooms," suggested Joe.
At the risk of being caught, they entered the lodge and looked
into one room after another. Every apartment was vacant, and
they now saw that the fire in the fireplace had been stamped out.
"They must have left while we were in the woodshed," said Ned.
"Maybe they are out on the lake," answered the hermit's boy, and
he ran down to the water's edge, followed by his companion. But
though they looked in every direction, not a craft of any kind
was to be seen.
"Joe, they didn't take to the water, consequently they must have
left by one of the mountain paths."
"That is true, and if they did they'll have no nice time in
getting through. All the bushes are sopping wet, and the mud is
very slippery in places."
They walked to the rear of the lodge and soon found the
footprints of the two strangers. They led through the bushes and
were lost at a small brook that ran into the lake.
"There is no use of our trying to follow this any further," said
Joe. "You'll get your clothing covered with water and mud."
"I don't intend to follow," answered Ned. "Just the same, I
should like to know more about those fellows."
"I wish I had seen their faces."
"Yes, it's a pity we didn't get a better look at them. But I'd
know their voices."
By the time they gave up the hunt the sun was shining brightly.
Both walked to where the boat had been left, and Joe turned the
craft over so that the water might run out. Then he mopped off
the seats as best he could.
Ned wanted to go directly home, and he and Joe rowed the craft in
the direction of Riverside. As they passed along the lake shore
the hermit's boy noted that several trees had been struck by
lightning.
"I'm glad the lightning didn't strike the lodge while we were
there," said he.
"It was certainly a severe storm while it lasted, Joe. By the
way, shall I say anything about those two men?"
"Perhaps it won't do any harm to tell your father, Ned."
"Very well, I'll do it."
Soon Riverside was reached, and having paid for the fish and the
outing, Ned Talmadge walked in the direction of his residence.
Joe shoved off from the tiny dock and struck out for his home.
He did not dream of the calamity that awaited him there.
CHAPTER III.
A HOME IN RUINS.
As Joe rowed toward his home on the mountain side, a good mile
from Riverside, he could not help but think of the two mysterious
men and of what they had said.
"They were certainly rascals," he mused. "And from their talk
they must have come from New York and are now going to try some
game in Philadelphia."
The hermit's boy was tired out by the day's outing, yet he pulled
a fairly quick stroke and it was not long before he reached the
dock at which he and Hiram Bodley were in the habit of leaving
their boat. He cleaned the craft out, hid the oars in the usual
place, and then, with his fishing lines in one hand and a good
sized fish in the other, started up the trail leading to the
place that he called home.
"What a place to come to, alongside of the one Ned lives in," he
said to himself. "I suppose the Talmadges think this is a
regular hovel. I wish we could afford something better,--or at
least live in town. It's lonesome here with nobody but old Uncle
Hiram around."
As Joe neared the cabin something seemed to come over him and,
for some reason he could not understand, he felt very much
depressed in spirits. He quickened his pace, until a turn of the
- mystery [´mistəri]
n.神秘；秘密；故弄玄虚 (初中英语单词) - mysterious [mi´stiəriəs] a.神秘的；难以理解的 (初中英语单词)
- running [´rʌniŋ] a.奔跑的；流动的 (初中英语单词)
- willing [´wiliŋ] a.情愿的，乐意的 (初中英语单词)
- portion [´pɔ:ʃən] n.嫁妆；命运 vt.分配 (初中英语单词)
- thunder [´θʌndə] n.雷 vi.打雷 vt.吼出 (初中英语单词)
- apartment [ə´pɑ:tmənt] n.一套房间 (初中英语单词)
- evidently [´evidəntli] ad.明显地 (初中英语单词)
- nicely [naisli] ad.恰好地；谨慎地 (初中英语单词)
- deserve [di´zə:v] v.应受；值得 (初中英语单词)
- softly [´sɔftli] ad.软化地；柔和地 (初中英语单词)
- passive [´pæsiv] a.被动的 n.被动性 (初中英语单词)
- opening [´əupəniŋ] n.开放；开端 a.开始的 (初中英语单词)
- valuable [´væljuəbəl, -jubəl] a.有价值的，贵重的 (初中英语单词)
- whisper [´wispə] v.耳语 n.低语；沙沙声 (初中英语单词)
- astonishment [ə´stɔniʃmənt] n.吃惊；惊异 (初中英语单词)
- vacant [´veikənt] a.空虚的，无表情的 (初中英语单词)
- companion [kəm´pæniən] n.同伴；同事；伴侣 (初中英语单词)
- lightning [´laitniŋ] n.闪电 a.突然的 (初中英语单词)
- severe [si´viə] a.严厉的；苛刻的 (初中英语单词)
- fireplace [´faiəpleis] n.壁炉，炉灶 (高中英语单词)
- outfit [´aut,fit] n.装备 vt.供给；装备 (高中英语单词)
- hurried [´hʌrid] a.仓促的，慌忙的 (高中英语单词)
- announcement [ə´naunsmənt] n.通告；宣布；言谈 (高中英语单词)
- caution [´kɔ:ʃən] n.&vt.小心；告诫；警告 (高中英语单词)
- worthless [´wə:θləs] a.无价值的 (高中英语单词)
- positive [´pɔzətiv] a.确定的 (高中英语单词)
- furiously [´fjuəriəsli] ad.狂怒地；有力地 (高中英语单词)
- consequently [´kɔnsikwəntli] ad.因此，所以 (高中英语单词)
- slippery [´slipəri] a.滑的；不稳固的 (高中英语单词)
- alongside [əlɔŋ´said] ad.在旁 prep.横靠 (高中英语单词)
- lonesome [´ləunsəm] a.孤独的；冷清清的 (高中英语单词)
- trying [´traiiŋ] a.难堪的；费劲的 (英语四级单词)
- calamity [kə´læmiti] n.灾害，大灾难 (英语四级单词)
- fishing [´fiʃiŋ] n.钓鱼；捕鱼；渔业 (英语四级单词)
- hunting [´hʌntiŋ] n.打猎 (英语六级单词)
- undesirable [,ʌndi´zaiərəbəl] a.&n.不受欢迎的(人) (英语六级单词)
- broadly [´brɔ:dli] ad.广，宽；明白；粗鲁 (英语六级单词)
- riverside [´rivəsaid] n.河岸 a.河岸上的 (英语六级单词)
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章节正文
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