The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Auto Boys' Mystery, by James A. Braden

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Title: The Auto Boys' Mystery

Author: James A. Braden

Illustrator: Alfred Russell

Release Date: June 9, 2010 [EBook #32742]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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[Illustration: "Great heavens! It's Lew Grandall!" cried the stranger on
the raft. (_Page 399_)]

THE AUTO BOYS' MYSTERY

By JAMES A. BRADEN

AUTHOR OF

"THE AUTO BOYS," "THE AUTO BOYS' ADVENTURE,"
"THE AUTO BOYS' CAMP," "THE AUTO BOYS' BIG SIX,"
"FAR PAST THE FRONTIER," ETC.

FRONTISPIECE BY ALFRED RUSSELL

THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY

CHICAGO--AKRON, OHIO--NEW YORK

THE AUTO BOYS' MYSTERY

CHAPTER I

PROLOGUE

The Auto Boys had been camped on the unfrequented shore of Opal Lake
for several days. At first hunting and fishing were the only enlivening
features of this, their unusual summer outing.

Opal Lake, far up in the big northern woods, had at this time no other
campers. True, there was an abandoned clubhouse on a nearby point not far
from where Phil Way, Billy Worth, Dave MacLester and Paul Jones selected
the spot for their Outing Camp. But, until within a day or two, even the
clubhouse had seemed to be as it looked, deserted.

But a smoke being seen one day, the boys had become curious. Without
actually entering the house itself, they had made individual or collective
trips that way. Also strange sounds had been heard, and even human
presence had been detected. Finally Paul, the youngest of the boys, made
a cautious trip thither and even entered the house where he had heard
voices, and otherwise had detected that real folks were undoubtedly
there; though why they were there Paul could only guess. Perhaps they
were in search of a bag of money, said to be twenty thousand dollars,
stolen three years before and supposed still to be hidden somewhere
in that region.

Strange men had been seen near the end of a gravel road which the
Longknives Club (owners of the now abandoned clubhouse)