stated, this last part of the conversation was not overheard
by the boys. They knew that it must be about matters of special
importance. But they had no chance of talking it over among themselves.
Their feigned slumber turned to real shortly after the men came to bed.

Raikes was up before dawn. He cooked himself a breakfast, ate it hastily
and departed.

It was after nine o'clock when the boys got awake. They missed Raikes at
once. Bogle was setting the table, and Sparwick was frying slices of
venison. The boys were kindly treated during the day, but their arms
were kept tightly bound, except at meal times.

They were now pretty much resigned to the situation. They knew that it
was hopeless to think of escape or of preventing, by any means, the
extortion of money from Mr. Larkins.

Brick, who by rights, should have been most concerned, was least so.

"Don't you fellows worry," he said. "My father will pay the money, and I
don't suppose he'll mind it much. I'm only sorry that you should get
into such a scrape on my account. But just as soon as the money comes
we'll all be free."

This was but cold consolation. The day dragged along in so dreary and
tedious a manner that the boys regarded a week or ten days of such
captivity with the utmost horror.

The weather had moderated during the previous night, and in the middle
of the morning a drizzling rain began to fall. So at dinnertime Bogle
and Sparwick held a brief and secret conversation. As a result of this,
they decided to postpone their removal to the Rock House until the
following day.

Late in the afternoon the sky cleared, and the weather blew up cold
again. At bedtime a stiff wind was howling around the cabin.

In the middle of the night Jerry got awake with a start. He felt
restless and uneasy. The ropes on his arms pained him. He raised himself
to a sitting posture and looked around.

Outside the moon was shining, and a few silvery rays crept through the
crevices of the door and window-shutters. These, and a faint, rosy glow
from the embers of the fire, shed a misty light on the interior of the
cabin.

Next to Jerry, on the left, lay Hamp, and beyond him was Sparwick. On
the right lay Brick and Bogle. Jerry was sandwiched in between the
four. He looked at them intently. Their deep breathing indicated that
all were asleep.

Jerry was about to lie down again when he heard strange sounds from
outside the cabin. Slow, cautious footsteps crunched over