e sooner he knows of this, the
better for everybody."

"All right."

Doctor Clay was somewhat surprised to see the three boys, dusty and
tired-looking, enter his private office. He listened with close
attention to their tale of visiting the cabin and encountering the
wild man, and looked completely astonished on learning that the man
was Nat's uncle.

"I am sorry for you, Poole," said he, kindly. "But such things will
happen and you must make the best of it. It is not your fault."

Then Dave and Roger told of the finding of the old magazine with the
drawing and writing, and Doctor Clay shook his head sorrowfully.

"Too bad! Too bad!" he murmured.

"But this clears Lawrence, Basswood, and Beggs," cried Dave. "And it
clears Roger and myself."

"Yes! yes! so it does, Porter!"

"Don't you believe it, Doctor Clay!" cried Nat, leaping to his feet.
"It does nothing of the sort! That paper is no kind of evidence at
all!" And thus speaking, the money-lender's son glared defiantly at
Dave and Roger.

CHAPTER XXII

AFTER THE RUNAWAYS

"Why, Nat, what do you mean?" demanded Dave.

"I mean just what I say!" declared the money-lender's son. "This is a
frame-up, nothing more! I understand it all now, although I didn't at
first."

"What do you mean by 'a frame-up,' Poole?" demanded Doctor Clay.

"I mean that they took this magazine and the drawing to the cabin,
that is what I mean, Doctor Clay. They found out somehow that
my--er--that the wild man was there, and they got up this scheme to
make it look as if he had blown up the hotel,--and they did it just to
clear their cronies and themselves."

"Nat, you know that is not true!" exclaimed Roger. "I found the
magazine with the drawing on a shelf in the cabin."

"Yes, that is what you said, but I don't believe it, Roger Morr. I
think you put the magazine there yourself--you or Dave Porter."

"We did nothing of the kind," cried our hero.

"I think you did--and I think Jason Sparr will think so, too, when he
hears the story. It's a frame-up, just to clear yourselves and your
cronies," added Nat, with a sneer.

"Nat, you ought to be----" began Roger, in high anger, when Dave
stopped him. Our hero looked at Doctor Clay.

"What Roger says is the absolute truth, Doctor Clay," said our hero.
"He found that magazine on a shelf in the cabin where the wild man was
staying, and that drawing and the wording were on it, just as you see.
More than that, we can prove