Bristles showed them just where he stood when, in the moonlight, he saw
the last of his tall chum, turning to wave a hand at him.

With that they started off. Little talking was indulged in, for all of
them understood that they had a serious matter on their hands. With
Colon gone, their hopes of landing a majority of the prizes offered for
the various events of the athletic meet would begin to grow dim indeed.
It would take the heart out of other contestants on the part of
Riverport, and in all probability accomplish just the end those who had
abducted Colon had in view.

After they had passed along for some little distance, eagerly scanning
every object in sight, their hopes fell a trifle. Boylike, they had
imagined that as soon as they started out upon this promising theory
they would find plenty of evidence calculated to prove its truth.

"Ain't seen a sign of him yet!" grumbled Corney; "and we're nigh
half-way to the old graveyard, too."

"Wait!" said Fred, as he suddenly drew up, and the others followed suit;
though none of them could imagine what had caused their leader to stop
his quick walk.

"Seen something; have you, Fred?" asked Bristles, eagerly.

"Why, I was wondering," Fred remarked, quietly, and with a twinkle in
his eye, "if they grew things like that around here on bushes, instead
of blueberries!"

He pointed down as he spoke. Alongside the road at this point lay a
ditch that was a couple of feet lower than the surface of the pike.
Straggly bushes partly over-ran the watercourse; and caught on the twigs
of these was some sort of object that had attracted the attention of the
observant boy.

"Say, it's a cap!" ejaculated Corney.

"And a good cap, too; not an old cast-off thing!" Sid declared.

"Hold on, let me take it up out of there with this stick," said Fred.
"No use getting our feet wet; and besides, it's easier this way."

So saying, while the others clustered around, he reached down, and
deftly thrusting the end of the stick under the cap, drew it to him.

Immediately Bristles uttered a loud cry of astonishment, not unmixed
with joy.

"You recognize the cap, then; do you?" asked Fred.

"Sure thing," answered Bristles, promptly. "It's Colon's cap."

CHAPTER IX

THE COVERED WAGON

"What makes you so sure it belonged to him?" Fred asked.

"Oh! I know it as well as I do my own cap," replied Bristles. "It's a
queer mixture, you can see; and here's the place where Colon sho