Fremont
might be in deadly peril, and Nestor and Shaw were still unaccountably
absent. His idea now was that the secret service man had advanced the
correct theory regarding the abduction of Fremont. He had no doubt
that the boy had been mistaken for Nestor.

Besides, the boy's mind was naturally excited over the strange
revelations of the night. The arrival of the secret service men, the
announcement that Nestor was working with the War department, the story
that he had been in communication with the government at Washington
ever since leaving New York, the hint that he held very important
papers in his possession, all these supplied food for thought.

Under ordinary conditions the boy would have enjoyed himself to the
limit in the mountains. He loved the forests and the wild places, the
great spaces; he loved the light of the campfire and the rustle of
foliage in the night. However, he was now by far too anxious to
appreciate the outing he was having.

While he lay there trying to sleep he heard the guards whispering
together. They were speaking of the important part Nestor was playing
in the happenings there, and the boy was proud of his association with
the resourceful patrol leader.

In a short time the boy heard the guards moving about as if acting
under strong excitement. There was also the rattle of arms, as if they
were preparing to meet an enemy.

Jimmie crept out of his blankets and crawled to the opening of the
little tent. The guards were crouching low in the shadow of a rock,
with their guns in hand, and the boy joined them.

"I thought you were asleep, kid," one of the men whispered. "Better go
back to your tent. There may be shooting here."

"I didn't come down here to skulk," replied the boy, indignantly. "Are
the stragglers coming here again?"

"There is some one moving about," was the reply.

"Perhaps it is Fremont, coming back," suggested Jimmie, hoping with all
his heart that he had solved the riddle.

"If Fremont ever gets back here," the other guard observed, "we will
have to bring him back. The men who took him away doubtless thought
they were getting Nestor, and they will be so angry when they discover
their mistake that the boy will receive very little consideration," was
the discouraging explanation.

"Then we may as well be out after him," declared Jimmie. "I'm not
goin' to lie in any old tent while they are killing him. I'm going out
to find him."

"In that case,