any of
the rest.

"Listen, fellows," he told them; "I've known for some little time that
Hen was acting queerly. He failed to attend the last two meetings, and
when I asked him about it he avoided my eye. I've been wondering what
it all meant, and intended to have a good heart-to-heart talk-fest with
Hen as soon as I got a chance."

"Hold on," said Toby. "I wonder now if that man I saw him with could
have had anything to do with this ugly business."

Elmer turned on him like a flash.

"It may have more to do with it than you think, Toby," he remarked;
"when was it you saw them, and where?"

"Just yesterday morning," replied the other, "and down at the bridge
over the creek. Hen nodded to me when I rode past on my wheel, but it
struck me even at the time he acted like he hoped to goodness I
wouldn't bother stopping to say anything."

"And a man you didn't know was with him, you say?" questioned Elmer.

"Well, I didn't just glimpse his face, for you see he turned his head
away as I passed, but I made up my mind he was a stranger in these
regions, so far as I could see."

"That looks mighty suspicious, I should say, suh!" declared Chatz,
positively. "That stranger is the nigger in the woodpile, according to
my mind, suh."

"Mebbe poor weak Hen has been cowed and bulldozed into doing the whole
thing," suggested Lil Artha, sagely.

"Now, I wonder if that could weally be tho?" remarked Ted.

"We ought to get busy and do something right away, Elmer," observed
Toby Jones.

"I'm glad to know that's the way you feel about it," continued the
patrol leader. "This is a bad piece of business. It's up to the boys
of the Wolf Patrol to find out the truth. I had laid out another
scheme for our last outing of this vacation, but everything must give
way to tracking our comrade down, and learning the whole truth!"

"Bully for you, Elmer!" ejaculated Lil Artha, looking delighted.

The others were almost as exuberant in their expressions of approval.
Just a brief time before some of their number had been wondering what
could be done to give them a short siege in the woods to wind up the
vacation period; and here along comes this necessity calling to the
other members of the "Wolf Patrol to awaken and defend the honor of
their organization.

"Here, jump aboard all of you but Landy, and he can come along on his
wheel," ordered Elmer, making room after he had seated himself back of
the steering wheel.

"Are you me