"Heavens! but you look like your sister!"

"Like Claire! they all say so; you know her?"

"It is at her request I am here; you need not fear to tell me your
story."

"Oh, I do not. I can see your uniform. But damn it, I don't know any too
much about what is up myself. This is Red Fagin's outfit."

"I thought so. Where did he get you? How long have you been a prisoner?"

The boy laughed recklessly, his eyes upon the others.

"Well, my story is a short one, Lawrence. I had a fellow in the British
service who occasionally gave me information. Word came to me to meet him
at a certain spot--"

"You mean Captain Grant?"

"Hell! How did you know that?"

"Never mind; I do know--so you can go on."

He hesitated, as though suspicious of me, yet finally resumed.

"I had no intention of speaking names."

"Oh, let that pass. You may think Grant all right, but the rest of us
know he is at the bottom of the whole matter."

"You mean he betrayed me?"

"There is no doubt of it. He is in with Fagin."

The lad drew a long breath.

"I half suspected it," he said slowly, "only it didn't seem possible. Now
listen, and perhaps together we can make something out of all this. I
went to the place where we were to meet, and had a talk with Grant--yes,
it was Grant all right. He told me some things, but needed a day or two
to get other information. While waiting I came over here to Elmhurst, and
found Claire. She's the kind of a girl you can tell things to, and I
wrote out what I had learned, and left some of my papers. Then I went
back to Lone Tree. It was dark when I got there, and I rode right into
Fagin and three of his men. They had me before I could lift a hand."

"Just wait a minute, Mortimer," I broke in, becoming suddenly aware there
was a grayness in the eastern sky. "I want to creep in toward the house
while it remains dark. You can tell the rest as we go along. Tom, take
these ropes and tie your man up. Make him safe, and then come along after
us."

"All right, sir. I'll fix the lad so he'll be safe enough for a while."

CHAPTER XXXII

WE ATTAIN THE HOUSE

"Come on, Mortimer, and we'll soon find out what is going on." I turned
to the prisoner. "Where are the rest of your gang?"

"You'll find out fer yerself, Mister," he answered sullenly, "an' maybe
damn quick too."

"They are in the grape arbor to the south of the house," broke in Eric.
"That was where Fagin told them to lie quiet and wait orders.