"A good deal, I reckon," replied the other. "I jist heard that you an'

Mowry are lookin' fur Silas Raikes. I seen him this mornin' in Hiram Bobb's tavern at Wytopitlock. His mustache was shaved off, but I knowed him all ther same. He was with a swell-lookin' cuss with a beard an'

shiny black togs----"

"That was Mr. Glendale," interrupted Tom, rising eagerly to his feet.

At first the news caused great excitement, and it was some time before it could be allayed. Then wise counsels prevailed, and the agent's carefully concocted scheme was adopted.

"There are enough of us here to arrest Raikes without any trouble," he said. "We won't say anything about it outside, but we'll just go quietly to the station, and take the first train to Wytopitlock. It goes in twenty minutes."

This programme was carried out. The party of seven managed to reach the station and board the train without attracting much attention.

Wytopitlock was even a less important place than Kingman. It boasted half-a-dozen houses, a store and a tavern. The latter was nearly a quarter of a mile from the station, and stood on the edge of the wilderness. Here bad news awaited the party.

"The men you're inquirin' fur hev been here mor'n two days," said Hiram Bobb, "at least one of them has. Arter dinner they started into the woods. They said they was goin' huntin'. Thar's somethin' queer about it, though. I heard them whisperin' this mornin', an' one, he says to t'other, 'we must git thar by sundown. The place is a big rock about three miles up the valley.'"

Jerry and Tom exchanged meaning glances with the men.

"I know whar that rock is," exclaimed Mowry, "an' I understand the hull thing. Thar's ter be a meetin' at sunset, an' the lad an' the money will change hands."

"And the sun will set in a little less than half an hour," cried the agent. "We've got just about time enough to reach the place."

"What's all this rumpus about, anyway?" gasped Hiram Bobb, with bulging eyes.

The situation was quickly explained to him. He volunteered to accompany the party, and the offer was accepted.

"I hope thar won't be no shootin' needed," said Mowry, "but it's a little unsartin, seein' as thar'll likely be three of the rascals at the meetin'-place instid of one."

A little later the party were advancing softly, and in single file, through the woods. They went swiftly up the trough of the deep and gloomy valley, Mowry leading the way with unerring knowledge.

At last Mowry paused, and waited until his companions had gathered around him. He pointed with one hand to a ledge of rock and bushes that was visible some thirty feet ahead, and stretched two-thirds of the way across the trough of the valley.

"We must git behind that without makin' any noise," he said. "Yonder is the big rock, an' a sort of a clearing roundabout. We'll be able ter see right into it."

Mowry led the party on with extra caution. The increased roar of the torrent drowned their soft tread. Even before they reached the line of rocks they detected voices ahead. Tom and Jerry gained the point of vantage at the same time with Mowry. They cautiously parted the bushes and peered through. The sight that instantly met their eyes well repaid Jerry for all his trouble and suffering in the past.

The fast-fading light showed a group of figures standing at the base of the towering bowlder. They were five in number, Mr. Glendale, Raikes, Sparwick, and Brick and Hamp.

The lawyer had just taken a bulky packet from his pocket, and was unrolling the brown paper in which it was wrapped.

"Git ready, men," whispered Mowry. "Here goes."

Then quickly the ambushed party broke from cover. The scene that followed baffles adequate description. With half-a-dozen weapons trained upon them, Raikes and Sparwick had no alternative but to submit to capture. This they did very ungracefully, and with a choice selection of oaths.

Mr. Glendale dropped the packet of banknotes to the ground--where it was promptly grabbed by Mowry--and shook hands with Tom in a very eager manner. As for Jerry, it may be imagined how his appearance affected Brick and Hamp, who at first thought him a ghost. Then they embraced him, and cried for very joy. In fact, there was vast excitement all around, and everybody was happy but the two baffled villains. Mr.

Glendale and the four lads found themselves a little apart from the others. The lawyer took Jerry and Hamp by the hand.

"My brave boys," he said. "I am heartily glad to meet you, and to thank you in the name of his parents for the service you have done Brick. You have saved the money as well, and that, I can a.s.sure you, is a great load off my mind. I felt that Brick's life depended on the payment of the ransom.

"Brick," he added, "I hope that this will be a lesson to you. You have seen and experienced the bitter fruits of running away."

"It will, Mr. Glendale," Brick declared, earnestly. "I a.s.sure you it will."

Here the discussion ended, for Mowry and his companions were ready to start back. It was a dreary journey for Sparwick and Raikes. When the tavern was reached, they were pinioned, and placed in a room under strong guard.

Hiram Bobb's resources were taxed to their utmost to provide for all his guests that night. But he managed to acquit himself with credit. The rapid eating of the supper that he provided was ample proof of its goodness.

Then everybody a.s.sembled in the big front room, with its sand-papered floor, and tall, old clock in the corner. Mr. Glendale told his story, and Jerry told his, and then came Brick, and Hamp, and Tom, and Mowry--in short, everybody had a say, except the fettered rascals in the room overhead.

And here the story may very fittingly end--that is, after a few words have been said about the princ.i.p.al actors therein.

The first thing Mr. Glendale did the next morning was to hand around banknotes to the men who had aided in the capture of Raikes and Sparwick. He also reimbursed Mowry in full for the money he had advanced to Jerry.

A search party went back to the Rock House that day, but they failed to find any trace of Joe Bogle. He must have come to his senses, and released himself in some way. He has not been heard of since, and is supposed to be in Canada.

Raikes and Sparwick were duly tried, and convicted, and put behind stone walls for a term of years. Of course, the affair gained wide publicity, and when Jerry and Hamp returned to Bangor they were objects of some attention.

Mr. Glendale stopped there for a day or two on his way back to New York, with Tom and Brick. He went to see Jerry's parents and Hamp's mother, and also made inquiries concerning the lads from reliable outside sources. Several weeks later each received a check for one thousand dollars, "as a testimonial of Mr. Larkin's grat.i.tude." This timely gift restored both families from poverty to affluence.

Jerry and Hamp frequently hear from Tom and Brick, and the latter are talking of coming up to Maine for a summer camping trip. But before that, the Bangor lads expect to pay a visit to New York, of which city Jerry is accustomed to speak in proud and familiar terms.

THE FRANK MERRIWELL SERIES

No modern series of tales for boys and youth has met with anything like the cordial reception and popularity accorded to the Frank Merriwell Stories, published exclusively in Street & Smith's Tip Top Weekly, a publication which has today a circulation larger than that of all similar publications combined.

There must be a reason for this, and there is. Frank Merriwell, as portraited by the author, is a jolly, whole-souled, honest, courageous American lad, who appeals to the hearts of the boys.

He has no bad habits, and his manliness includes the idea that it is not necessary a boy to indulge in petty vices to be a hero. Frank Merriwell's example is a shining light for every ambitious lad to follow.

There is sometunes, with parents, a prejudice against all forms of boys'

literature in novel style.

We earnest ask all parents to examine the Tip Top, confident that they will comment it to their boys as suitable and profitable to read.