uccess and get no word at all,
we will get the sheriff and a lot of men from Staretta! We will find Dave
and it won't be very pleasant for Murky or whoever is to blame for this,"
declared Way. "There's more back of the whole matter than we can make
out--more than we can even guess right now, you'll see!"

The boys returned to camp. The thought had come to them many times
that Chip Slider might know a great deal more than he had told. They
remembered Link Fraley's words about the boy. But they could not accuse
him without any ground for doing so. They could find no evidence that
Mac's disappearance had not occurred just as Chip had told them. And
he had twice repeated the whole story the same as in the beginning.

It was a heart-sick group that ate a hasty lunch of bread and coffee
in the woodland camp. Now for the first time, however, Paul told of the
lonely time he had had during the long night--told of the noises he had
heard in the distance, along the beach. He was quite sure that bears
and deer, as well, to say nothing of numerous smaller creatures, had
come to the lake to drink and bathe. He believed they would have come
quite close to the shack but, for the bright fire he kept blazing.

Ordinarily the boys would have found great interest in such a subject; but
today their spirits were at too low an ebb, their minds too disturbed over
the unaccountable loss of their friend to permit their attention being
otherwise occupied.

All except Billy set out after lunch to learn whether the suspected Murky
had deserted his usual hiding place. Slider was the guide. He led the
others quite directly to the logs where the tramp had made his bed and
headquarters.

The fellow had apparently departed. He had left the pan and other utensils
taken from the boys' camp but the blankets he had carried with him. They
were nowhere to be seen, at any rate.

More certain than ever, then, that it was this unscrupulous villain who
had decoyed Dave across the lake and in some manner forced their friend to
accompany him, the lads hurried back to camp.

Again they rowed to the north shore and with utmost determination plunged
into the hot, close woods.

CHAPTER VII

THE LONG-HIDDEN TREASURE IS UNCOVERED

And now, while the weary young searchers were hastening resolutely into
the woods to the north of the lake, they were leaving in the forest to the
south one who would well bear watching. I do not mean Chip Slider sitting
alo