ew or what he suspected. He was a
queer, mysterious sort of fellow....

[Illustration: ROY BLAKELEY HELD OUT HIS ARMS SO THAT TOM COULD NOT PASS.
Tom Slade at Black Lake--Page 199]

CHAPTER XXXII

TOM LOSES

"_Me for lunch! Me for lunch!_" Roy heard Peewee scream at the top of
his voice. And for just a moment he stood there in a kind of daze,
watching his companions and new friends tumbling pell mell over each
other down the hill. He was glad to be alone.

Yet even still he paused and gazed at the task, which Tom Slade, traitor
and liar, had completed. There it was, a herculanean task, the work of
months, as it seemed to Roy. He could hardly control his feelings as he
gazed upon it.

But he did not pause to torture himself with remorse. Down through the
woods he went, and into the trail which Archer had indicated. Scout
though he was, he was never less hungry in his life. Over fields he
went, and through the brook, and up Hawk's Nest mountain, and into the
denser woods beyond. Suppose Archer should be mistaken. Suppose this dim
trail should take him nowhere. Panting, he ran on, trying to conquer
this haunting fear. Beyond Leeds Crossing the trail was hardly
distinguishable and he must pause and lose time to pick it up here and
there. Through woods, and around hills, and into dense, almost
impenetrable thickets he labored on, his side aching, and his heart
thumping like a triphammer.

At last he came out upon the Kingston road and was down on his knees,
examining minutely every mark in the dusty road, trying to determine
whether Tom had passed. Then he sat down by the roadside and waited,
panting like a dog. And so the minutes passed, and became an hour
and----

Then he heard someone coming around the bend.

Roy gulped in suspense as he waited. One second, two seconds, three,
four--Would the pedestrian never appear?

And then they met, and Roy Blakeley stood out in the middle of the road
and held his arms out so the wayfarer could not pass. And yet he could
not speak.

"Tom," he finally managed to say, "I--I came alone because--because I
wanted to come alone. I wanted to meet you all alone. I--I know all
about it, Tom--I do. None of the fellows will bunk in these cabins till
you--till you--come back--they won't. Not even Barnard's troop. I'm
sorry, Tom; I see how I was all wrong. You--you can't get away with it,
you can't Tom--because I won't let you--see? You have to come
back--we--we can't stay