He had disguised himself, and hiring the
owner of the dancing bear, had gone around the country trying to get
trace of the men, one of whom he knew wore a shoe with an oddly patched
sole.

This gentleman, Mr. Alfred Shuster, assured the scouts that they were
entitled to the heavy reward offered by the Government to any one giving
information leading to the capture of the two bold rascals; and he
declared that he would see to it that this amount was paid into the
treasury of the Cranford Troop of Boy Scouts, as they had certainly
earned it.

When the big rock was finally rolled away, with the aid of heavy wooden
bars, the trapped men came meekly forth when ordered. All the fight
seemed to have been taken out of them. Indeed, the one with the lame leg
declared he was glad that he might now have the assistance of a doctor,
for he had of late begun to fear that blood poisoning was setting in. In
the place plenty of evidence to convict the two men was found.

So by degrees everybody was ferried over to the camp, Bob White taking
turns with Allan in wielding the paddle. Afterward the big auto whirled
away, taking the wretched prisoners, as well as their exultant captors
along. Then the camp of the Silver Fox Patrol settled down once more to
its usual peace.

Until late that night, however, the boys, unable to sleep after all this
excitement, sat around the blazing camp-fire, talking. From every angle
the story was told until each fellow knew it by heart. And all united in
praising Smithy for the part he had had taken in the capture of the men
for whom the officers of the law were searching.

For two more days the scouts remained in camp, and during that time many
were the things Allan and Thad showed them. No one ever missed the real
scout-master for a single minute. And when the hour arrived for the
tents to come down, since a wagon had arrived to bear them back home,
the eight members of the patrol united in declaring that they had had
the time of their lives; and did not care how soon the experience might
be repeated.

On the way back Thad ordered a halt at the identical spot where that
little spring bubbled up, and ran away with such a cheery sound. While
the fellows were drinking and sitting around, Thad called the attention
of them all to some peculiar sort of fruit the small tree close by
seemed to be bearing, in one of the lower crotches, where three limbs
started out, forming a sort of cup.

"Why, I declare,