athlete, from the way in which he
fought. It is not easy to resist the assault of three enemies at once,
since they may attack from as many directions, and confuse his defense;
still the way this man struck out, dodged, tore himself free from their
clinging hands, and conducted himself in general surprised Max very much
indeed.

This kept up for almost two full minutes, with varying fortunes.
Sometimes it appeared as though they were getting the upper hand of the
unknown, and then by a furious effort he would break free again, only to
be once more clutched.

In the midst of the fracas, loud shouts close at hand told that Steve
and Bandy-legs, having heard the row, were rushing hurriedly to the
spot, astonished beyond measure at the racket.

The man must have heard their cries, and the fact that his enemies were
about to receive reinforcements seemed to give him the strength of
desperation, for he suddenly tore himself free from Max, leaving his
coat in the hands of the boy.

"Oh! he's gone!" gasped Obed, almost entirely out of breath because of
his recent tremendous exertions.

For a fact, the man had vanished almost as though the ground had opened
and swallowed him up. Even astute Max hardly knew which way to look for
him. Then came the other pair rushing up, and demanding to know what all
the row was about.

As soon as he could recover his breath, Max tried to explain. He had to
repeat it twice, however, before Bandy-legs could grasp the astounding
fact that some one had actually been carrying on a telegraphic
conversation with their prisoner, tapping on the wall of the cabin to
spell out the words.

"Say, you're stringing us, I expect, boys!" exploded the doubter; "it
sounds just like a fairy story to me. But then there _was_ some one
here, because we glimpsed him disappearing like a falling star. I wanted
to give him a shot, but I remembered what Max here said about shooting
when in doubt; and we didn't just know but what it might be one of you."

"But, Max, he got away after all!" continued the disappointed Obed, as
though to his mind that event overshadowed all others; "and I did want
to find out if it was any one I knew. I believe it was, on my soul, for
at college he always had the reputation of being an all-round athlete."

"Huh!" grunted Toby, rubbing his head ruefully as he came up, and
limping in the bargain, "t-t-that was him, all r-r-right then, Obed. I
don't know the f-f-fellow's n-n-name, but