"

"We don't know anything about the attack," replied Will. "We found him
lying on the floor of the cabin unconscious, and he has been unconscious
ever since."

"Well," Frank went on, "Bert understands the code, for I taught it to
him while we were translating the telegrams which came to me. Now, if
this outlaw took the code before he struck the blow, the chances are
that he ordered Bert to translate it for him. In that case, something
which those opposed to you ought not to know is in the hands of your
foes."

CHAPTER IV

THE LOST PLANS

"Well, there's a chance that the boy didn't translate the code message,"
George argued. "Anyway, we ought not to worry about that part of the
case. Time enough to fret when real trouble comes."

By this time the boys had reached the cabin, after an exhausting journey
over the moraine. They found Tommy and Sandy standing just inside the
screened doorway, waiting impatiently for their arrival.

"Where did you find this one?" asked Tommy with a grin.

"Did he drop down out of the sky?" Sandy questioned.

Frank stood back for a moment, eyeing the two critically.

"I know you two kids," he said. "You're Tommy and Sandy. I've read about
you in the Chicago newspapers, but I never expected to meet you out in
Alaska. You seem to be getting plenty to eat, judging from your
condition. And that brings back to my mind the condition of my own
stomach."

"Boys," Will exclaimed, "this is Frank Disbrow. He started for our cabin
in company with Bert Calking, the boy we found on the floor last night.
The two were bringing a code despatch to me, and they became separated
early yesterday morning."

"A code message, was it?" Tommy asked.

"Yes, a code message," Will answered, "but the bearer of the despatch
may, for all we know, have been forced to translate the message for the
benefit of the man who robbed him of it."

In a moment Frank was by the side of his chum, gazing down into a white
and haggard face. He turned away in a moment with a little shiver of
anxiety. His face, too, was pale.

"I'm afraid that's a serious wound!" he said.

"If we only had a surgeon," Sandy suggested.

"I'll go get one," offered Tommy. "I can cut across to Katalla in no
time and bring back the best doctor there is in the country."

"I'll go with you," offered Sandy.

"Now, wait a minute, boys!" Will said in a moment. "Let's think this
matter over. If you go to Cordova instead of Katalla, you c