They all felt that if anything serious were in all
this, it was incumbent on all of them to be where things would go
smoothly.

"Well then," remarked Phil in low tones, "when Billy and I are gone, it
falls on you, (meaning Dave and Paul) to help Feeney when anything
happens."

Just then the wounded man suddenly sat up in bed, clapped a hand upon
his forehead and began to mumble to himself.

"No--good--" he began. "Metal--dies--all there. Then--Dippy--tries to
kill--me--"

"Who are you anyway?" suddenly demanded Phil, spurred by a sudden hope
that in his delirium the wounded man might let out something as his now
disordered brain appeared to connect the present with what he remembered
of the past.

"Me?" The man stared vacantly past Phil at the wall. "I--I'm
Jimmy--Horr. I'm--I'm--" His voice trailed off into a mumble.

Phil bent forward close as he demanded:

"If you are Jimmy Horr, who is Dippy? You've been calling him often
enough. We want to find him."

"D-Dippy--he--he's my partner. He's--he's Dippy Quinn--he--" Again he
stared, straight now at Phil. "Wh--who be you?"

Still staring, he fell back, trembling as if in pain, muttering:

"My head--my--he--head!" Then his eyes closed and he was off in another
apparent swoon.

"Come on, Billy," said Phil. "Let us be off! Are the things out of the
car?"

"Most of them," replied Dave. "I put 'em in the porch. Don't be gone
longer than you can help."

In they jumped, Phil at the wheel, and the car purred softly down the
old woods road towards the Ghost Tavern. Whether either of them knew
their departure was observed by the Feeneys was not important, and gave
them no concern. Both now felt that no time should be lost in finding
out if the partner of Horr was yet in that vicinity. Despite the
improbability, Phil could not help feeling that if those two had been
doing wrong in the old inn, it might be that the survivor, as he
probably deemed himself, might wish to pay a final visit there before
taking his stealthy departure.

In fact, so mysterious was the whole series of adventures which the boys
had gone through that almost anything might happen. In due time the Big
Six drew up near the old tavern, and the boys cunningly hid the car
behind a screen of shrubbery, where it would hardly be seen if any one
should pass by. Still Phil, in view of what had happened to the car,
made a suggestion.

"You stay here, Billy; at least until I call you or you see someth