y, though no one else thought he'd ever amount to anything,
because he used to like to wander around in the woods all the while, or
go fishing, instead of studying. But I guess those people hadn't ever
been boys themselves; and all of us can appreciate this liking for the
open that Roland showed."

"And so," pursued Bandy-legs after the fashion of a story-teller who
had-reached a crisis in his tale, "she asked Max here if he wouldn't be
willing to undertake a trip to the mountains with several of his good
chums, meaning us, fellows, to try and locate the missing Roland, and
bring back some encouraging news; for the good old soul is in great fear
that the second year will soon be finished, and unless Roland is able to
show four thousand dollars in cash, most of the estate will go to his
older cousin, Frederick. Mrs. Hopewell dislikes this chap very much,
because she says he is a bad man, who drinks, and gambles, and does all
sorts of things old ladies detest. Well, we took her up in a jiffy as
soon as we heard the glorious news about school being closed for two
weeks; and as she foots all the bills, we're bound to have a jolly time
of it, even if we don't run across Roland; and I think that is like
looking for a needle in a haystack."

That was a pretty long speech for even Bandy-legs to make, and yet it
covered considerable of the ground, and explained just how it came that
Max and his three comrades chanced to be so far away from the home town.

The boys were just about to turn their attention once more to the work
that had been undertaken when all of them suddenly stopped and listened.

"That was Steve yelling then, I reckon," snapped the owner of the bowed
legs, "but honest Injun, I didn't make out what he said. Mebbe now he
struck a whopper of a trout, and was giving one of his whoops. You all
know how excited Steve does get if anything out of the way happens."

"L-l-listen!" cried Toby Jncklin, jumping to his feet. "D-d-didn't it
sound like he was yelpin' help?"

"Just what it seemed like to me!" exclaimed Max. "Something may have
happened to Steve, because he's always getting himself in trouble. Come
along, fellows, and we'll soon find out. There, he's whooping it up
again."

And this time every one of the trio of running boys could plainly detect
something approaching agony in the thrilling cry of "Help, oh! hurry up,
fellows! Help!"

CHAPTER II

GRIPPED BY A GIANT'S UNSEEN HANDS

That Max, Band