ll answered. "They've
probably gone outside in order to give us a chance to sleep!"

"I don't see any indications of their presence," Ed said. "Everything
looks exactly as it did when we went to bed last night."

Will, after arranging his head net, and drawing on a pair of gloves,
opened the door and cast an anxious glance over the landscape.

"They haven't been out here!" he said. "What do you think it means?"

"It means that they're giving that fat miner along chase!" answered Ed.

"I'm afraid they're in some trouble," replied Will apprehensively.

"Suppose I look for them while you get breakfast," suggested Ed.

"Good idea," replied Will "I'll get pancakes and coffee and eggs for
breakfast and then, after we eat, we'll both go out and look for the
boys. I'm afraid they've been led into a trap!"

"How about leaving the cabin alone?" asked Ed.

"The cabin can go hang!" answered Will.

Ed returned in half an hour and reported that no trace of the lost lads
had been discovered. The boys then ate breakfast and started away.

"Which way did they go?" asked Ed.

"Sandy said they were headed to the west."

"Then to the west we go," Ed exclaimed, darting forward in advance.

The boys searched patiently until five o'clock without discovering any
trace of the missing lads. Then, they returned to the cabin and prepared
supper. As they came within sight of the cabin they saw a stout figure
dodging away into the grove of trees to the east.

"That's that sneak of a Cameron," Will said. "If he keeps shoving his
ugly nose into our business, I'll ornament it with lead!"

After supper the boys loaded their pockets with sandwiches and a bottle
of cold coffee and set forth again.

"I don't think we went far enough to the west," Will said, as they made
their way over the moraine. "You remember the line of hills across the
little creek? Well, I have an idea that if the boys have been captured
they have been taken there."

"And if Bert has been hidden away anywhere in this vicinity," Ed
answered, "he is there, too! In fact," the boy added, "it is my belief
that if the miner is responsible for the disappearance of George and
Sandy the three boys will be found together somewhere!"

"You are probably right!" Will agreed. "The miner and his gang wouldn't
care about watching two separate points."

"I don't think they'd be apt to murder the boys, do you?" asked Ed.

"No, I don't think they would," Will replied. "Outlaws of