JERRY MAKES A GUESS
"Frank, what about the other wagon?" asked Will.
"Well, what about it?"
"Suppose it got caught the same way I did, and the horses were dragged
down?"
"But it won't, all right, depend on that. In the first place, you didn't
try to cross at the regular ford, but wandered downstream a bit, you
see. Then, again, I mean to leave a notice fastened to a stick right
here in the road, warning Adolphus against turning aside. I've tested
the ford, and it's safe," was Frank's reply.
The wagon was taken over without any accident. Then they started afresh
for the upper regions, where that jewel of a lake nestled in the heart
of the mountains, awaiting their coming.
"It's a much longer journey than I thought," admitted Frank, an hour
later, as, having climbed the ascent, they were winding in and out
among the heavy forest.
"And a harder pull than I dreamed of. Peter is the boss horse, for all
his wheezing and grunting," declared Bluff.
"I'll never forget what he did for me!" exclaimed Will, who had been
feeding the old animal on lumps of sugar at intervals for the last hour,
until Frank forbade him to keep it up longer, lest he founder the beast
with kindness.
"Well, that ought to pay us for all we've endured!" cried Jerry,
pointing.
"It's sure-enough Surprise Lake!" cried the others in chorus, for they
had burst out of the woods at a point that allowed the first glimpse of
the beautiful sheet of water for which they were headed.
Presently they reached the bank, and Frank, with the instinct of a true
sportsman, picked out the ideal spot for the tents to go up.
First they had a bite to eat, for the hour was long past their customary
lunch time, and all of them owned to being hungry. Will, in particular,
declared he could eat even cold bear meat, if there was any handy.
Though somewhat sore around his waist and arms, he said he felt all
right.
Then the tents went up, and the place assumed the appearance of a
genuine camp.
"When the canoes are floating on that lovely lake it will look like
fairyland!" declared Frank enthusiastically.
"I don't see any sign of a living being," remarked Bluff.
"Nor do I believe any one is camping up here right now. We've got the
whole lake to ourselves, fellows," observed Will.
The afternoon passed slowly. They were anxiously waiting to hear the
cheery voice of old Adolphus in the distance, talking to his horses to
encourage them.
"What are you so serious about, Frank?" asked Jerry, dropping down
beside the other on the soft turf.
Frank looked cautiously around to see that the others were engaged
elsewhere.
"I was going to take you into it, Jerry, when a chance came, but thought
that just now it might be well not to tell all the others. Listen, then.
You remember that some time ago we were talking over that dog matter,
when you spoke of the bloodhounds Colonel Halpin brought up from the
South, and which were borrowed by the warden to chase the two escaped
prisoners?"
"Why, yes, I remember that," answered the other, looking surprised and
curious, as well he might.
"One man was recaptured through the aid of the dogs," went on Frank.
"That's so. You and I heard different stories about how it happened the
other poor chap got away. One account said he took to the water, while
another spoke of him using red pepper to fuddle the scent of the
hounds."
"All right, Jerry. The main point is that he got away, isn't it?"
"It sure is; and I give him credit for some smartness. Any man who can
outwit that head warden of the penitentiary, and backed up by a couple
of trained hounds, at that, is no slouch, in my opinion."
"Well, it happened that in a paper we had wrapped around some of our
things I found an account of that escape. It was interesting to me,"
said Frank.
"Why?" asked Jerry eagerly.
"For one thing, because it was a thrilling story. Another thing lay in
the fact that all sorts of strange possibilities flashed before my mind,
for, Jerry, the name of the escaped convict was familiar to me, and will
be to you."
Frank gave another hasty look around. Then taking out a piece of paper,
evidently torn from an old news sheet, he held it out so that the other
could see where he had drawn a heavy black ring with his lead pencil.
"Thaddeus Lasher!"
As Jerry muttered that name his eyes sought those of his chum.
"Whew!" he whistled in an expressive way.
"It looks serious for Andy, don't you think?" asked Frank.
"It does now, for a fact. Do you think this can be his dad?" asked the
other.
"Don't know; either that, or an uncle, for the account mentions that he
is a man about fifty years of age. He seems to have been imprisoned a
good long time back for the crime of robbery. There was a little doubt
about it at the time, and he was sentenced on purely circumstantial
evidence. Some people even thought he might be innocent," went on Frank.
"And all these years he has lain in the penitentiary, forgotten by every
one but his family; that's pretty tough," muttered sympathetic Jerry.
"How long have you known Andy?"
"He and his mother came to Centerville about five years back. Nobody
ever knew anything about the family. I always supposed his father was
dead," replied Jerry thoughtfully.
"Well, it looks as though this escaped convict, who still had years to
serve, might be his father. Some cruel people would say that that is why
Andy has always been a wild, tough boy; but I think that came from other
reasons. But, Jerry, do you remember that we couldn't for our lives
guess what was taking Andy up in this region?"
"Yes. He never peeped a word about it, for a fact!"
"And he carried a bag. We supposed he had clothes in that, but now I'm
of the opinion that it might have been food," said Frank.
"For his hiding father? Frank, it takes you to see through these
mysteries. Ten to one, you solve the ghost racket before we go back."
"Don't be too sure. I may slip up on that; but I may as well hint, even
now, that I've got, a sort of vague idea in connection with an
explanation there. Later on I'm going to try and prove it out. But say
nothing to the others until I give you permission."
"Of course not. It's your say in the matter. But what can Andy be
thinking of? Perhaps he means to help smuggle his dad out of the States,
into Canada, when the coast is clear. Anyhow, I can't help feeling sorry
for the fellow. It shows that he has something good in him, just as I
always said."
"That's so, Jerry. Any fellow who stands up for his father can't be all
bad."
"All right, Frank. Glad to hear you say so. What do you want to ask me?"
"Have you any idea about the matter? Can you give a guess what the
escaped convict would be doing up here all this time?"
"What date is that paper, Frank?"
"Some three months back. The man has been loose all that time."
"But perhaps not up here. He may have gone far away, and only come back
to this neighborhood recently, for some reason," ventured Jerry.
"That's what I wanted to hear from you. I know that you have inherited a
little of the clear reasoning power that has made your father the
successful banker he is. Apply it to this case, now. Supposing Thaddeus
Lasher did go away, and has recently come back here, what brings him?
What does he mean to do here?"
"H'm! Evidently he found means to communicate with his family," mused
Jerry.
"Yes; if, as we believe, Andy had provisions in that stout grip which he
was taking up to his father, to tide him over. But the clamor has long
since died out, Jerry. Then why doesn't this escaped convict get away
for good?"
Jerry looked at him keenly.
"I can see that you've got something on your mind, Frank," he said.
"I admit it."
"Something connected with this affair and the coming of Andy with the
grub his mother has sent. Wait a minute till I put two and two together,
and perhaps I can catch a glimpse of the same thing that has struck
you."
Frank watched him curiously.
Presently Jerry looked up and grinned.
"You've hit something, I see," remarked his chum.
"I reckon I have, pard. It may sound foolish, but all the same, as my
dad would say, it seems like a logical sequence to me," he ventured.
"You think, then, there is some connection between this hiding of
Thaddeus Lasher in the hills and something that has puzzled us? Suppose
you say plainly just what you believe. What do you lay at his door,
Jerry?"
Jerry raised his heavy eyebrows and uttered a couple of words that
brought a smile to the face of his companion and a quick nod of the
head.
"The ghost!"