t his companion
had in his mind. And consequently he watched every movement Jack made
as though eager to solve the puzzle.

He saw Jack go aboard the boat, and when he came back again he seemed
to be carrying some extra clothes.

"Fill up those trousers with dead leaves, trash, anything, so long as
you make them bag out and look like they do when on you. Then button
up the coat, and do the same with that. Do you catch on yet, Jimmie?"

"'Tis dummies ye are afther makin', be me sowl!" gasped the other, as
he hastened to follow out the directions given him; and the grin on his
face told better than words could have done how splendid the idea
seemed to him.

"I've done it when I went to boarding school," said Jack, softly, while
he worked, "and left it for the sophs to grab when they came to haze
me; but I never dreamed then I'd live to see the time I'd try the same
old trick on a couple of bank robbers!"

It did not take them long to finish that part of the job.

"Now," said Jack, "let's try and fix the dinky things under the
blankets so they'll look like a couple of greenies sleeping sweetly,
and dreaming of home."

Again his genius for arranging little details came into play. Jimmie
was only too glad to turn over his dummy to the care of Jack; and it
was not long before it looked as though both boys were lying there,
lost to the world, with the fire burning cheerily close by.

"Nixt!" chirped Jimmie, filled with the excitement of the thing.

"We're going to hide, and wait for them to come. You hunt up a nice
fat shillalah that you can use on the head of one of our visitors when
they get here. Yes, that looks like the billy for you. And remember,
not a peep until I say the word: 'Go!'"

"Yis, and thin?" demanded the eager one.

"Tap the nearest fellow on the head, just hard enough to daze him,
mind. I'll be looking out for the other meanwhile, with the gun. And
I really hope he surrenders peaceably, because I'd hate to fill his
legs full of birdshot, you know."

"Oh! what luck we do be havin', Jack, bye. Sure, iverything is comin'
our way, an' the others ain't in the swim at all; excipt that Buster
made wan plunge, and hild on till the rope. Where do we hide? Show me
the place, me laddybuck. Five thousand dollars the captain, he said,
Jack."

"Hush! I'm not doing this for the coin, remember. These fellows have
nothing to fear from me unless they come hunting trouble. Then they'll
find it.