s that you're telling me?" exclaimed the astonished Hugh. "I
thought I saw K.K. with some of the other fellows when I was starting
home just before dusk came on, though, of course, I may have been
mistaken about it."

"You were, Hugh, you certainly were," Horatio assured him in a softened
tone. "His own mother ought to know, hadn't she? Well, she's over
here at our house right now, crying her eyes out, and imagining all
sorts of terrible things. You remember the Kinkaids live close by
us; and she knew her boy was going to take the run this afternoon
along with me, so she thought I could tell her if anything had happened
to detain him. Why, she says K.K. never missed his supper before
in all his life. It'd have to be something _fierce_ to keep him away
from his best meal of the whole day."

Hugh was thinking swiftly. He realized that this was no little matter
to be dismissed as unimportant. Something certainly must have
happened to detain K.K. for all this time. Several hours had elapsed
since the other fellows reached the terminus of the long run at the
athletic grounds. Why then had not K.K. shown up?

"Keep the rest till I get there, Horatio!" he told the other.

"Then you're sure coming, are you, Hugh?"

"Right away," Hugh added.

"Well, I'm glad, because you'll know what to do about it. And there's
something else!"

"Yes?"

"I've got something to tell you that, say, I didn't have the heart to
explain to K.K.'s mother, because she's had enough frightened as it
is; but it's looking particularly ugly to me, now that he hasn't
come back. Oh! perhaps there is more'n a grain of truth in all
those terrible stories those hayseeds tell about that place!"

Hugh put up the receiver with a hang, made a dash for his cap, slipped
on his sweater, for he knew the night air was cold, and then shot out
of doors. Somehow those last few words of Horatio, breathing of
mystery as they did, had excited his curiosity until it now reached
fever-pitch.

As he knew of several short-cuts across lots it took him but a few
minutes to arrive at the Juggins home. Horatio was waiting at the
door, and must have heard him running up the steps, for he instantly
opened it to admit him.

"Gee, but I'm glad you've come, Hugh!" was his greeting. "She's in
there with mother, and taking on awful about it. It's a dreadful
thing to see a woman cry, Hugh. And I'm afraid there may be a good
reason for expecting the worst."

"Te