own to
have a bite. Everything was quiet inside the old bear's den. Bob White
said he hoped the rascals had not been smothered; and Thad declared they
could get plenty of air through the crevices between the rocks. On his
part he was secretly hoping that the fellows might not be able to cut
their way out before help came.

The time dragged slowly. Again and again did some impatient fellow ask
Thad to look at his watch, and tell him how much longer they must wait
before the officers might be expected.

As the westering sun sank lower and lower, Thad himself began to grow
anxious; and could be noticed listening intently every time the faint
breeze picked up; for it was now coming exactly from the quarter whence
the assistance they expected would come.

"There, that was sure an auto horn, tooting!" he exclaimed about
half-past four in the afternoon.

Every one of them listened, and presently sure enough they agreed that
it could be nothing else, though the loon out on the lake started his
weird cry about that time, as though he considered it a challenge from
some rival bird.

"Get aboard, and pull for the shore, Step-hen," ordered the
scout-master; and as he had been expecting this, the long-legged scout
pushed off.

They watched him paddling, and when he had almost reached the spot where
Smithy and Bumpus, together with Davy Jones stood, a car came in sight,
loaded with some four or five men in blue uniforms; Giraffe, and
another, wearing ordinary clothes.

Step-hen brought two of the officers, and the extra man over, and then
went back for another pair, while Thad talked with the Chief of the
Faversham police, and the man whom he recognized as the guest they had
given a cup of coffee to at the time the owner of the bear claimed his
property.

The story was soon told, and it thrilled the scouts as they had seldom
been stirred before. It seemed that the two men were notorious
counterfeiters, known to the authorities as Bill Dalgren and Seth Evans.
They had been surrounded by officers a month before, at a place where
they were engaged in the manufacture of bogus half dollars; but had
cleverly managed to escape with some of their dies and other material.
One of them had been injured in the fracas accompanying this failure to
catch them at work.

Since then their whereabouts had become a matter of considerable moment
to the authorities at Washington, and one of the cleverest revenue
officers was put on the case.