d the station. Boy, oh boy, don't I
wish I'd been there." And Bob doubled up his fists and pranced around,
making deadly swings at imaginary foes.

"Calm down, Bob," said Frank, dropping into a chair and running a hand
through his hair as he was in the habit of doing when perplexed. "We
don't know that it happened the way we figure. We don't know what
happened. Maybe Jack was badly hurt, maybe he was killed. Or he may be
a prisoner of the bandits.

"Oh," he cried, leaping to his feet and beginning to walk up and down
the room distractedly, "isn't there something we can do? This is
maddening."

"Calm down yourself, Frank," said Bob, always the cooler of the two in
a crisis. "If we can't do any better, at least we can wire to Jack's
father and find out in a few hours what happened."

At this moment the door was pushed open. A tall man of distinguished
appearance, still in the prime of life, and bearing a close
resemblance to Bob, entered the room. He glanced inquiringly at the
boys.

"Something gone wrong?" he asked. "What's the trouble?"

"Hello, Dad."

"Hello, Uncle George."

It was Mr. Temple, Bob's father and Frank's guardian, and there was
relief in the boys' voices as they greeted him. He always was so
capable in an emergency.

"Motored home at noon today," he said. "Guess I've got spring fever.
Anyhow, I couldn't stand it in the city. Della told me you were over
here and that you thought, perhaps, you would hear from the Hamptons
today." Della was Bob's younger sister, and the Temples' only other
child.

"We heard all right, Dad," said Bob gravely. Thereupon he proceeded to
relate what had occurred.

Mr. Temple listened in silence. His face showed he was disturbed. At
the conclusion of Bob's recital, he walked over to a headpiece and put
it on.

"No use, Uncle George," said Frank, but Mr. Temple turned to him with
a twinkle in his eye.

"That so?" he said.

With a cry, Frank leaped from his chair, seized a headpiece and put it
on.

"Hurray, it's Jack," he shouted. Then he bent over to the telephone
and called:

"Jack. Jack. Are you hurt? What happened?"

"Oh, I'm bunged up a little," came back Jack's voice, in a cheerful
tone. "But there are no bones broken."

"Was it the bandits?" demanded Bob, who had clamped on a third
headpiece, as he elbowed Frank aside to speak into the transmitter.

"Yes. Three of them," responded Jack. "A scouting party. They sneaked
in behind me. Thought I was