Part 2 (2/2)
The boys tramped through the woods toward the fis.h.i.+ng holes, which they had often visited. They were talking of the events of the previous day at school, and Ned was explaining over again how he subst.i.tuted the wrong picture slide.
”Here, where are you boys going?” a voice suddenly hailed them from the bushes that lined the path they were traveling.
They looked up, to see an old man, with a white straggling beard, which fell almost to his waist, peering at them. He was half hidden by the underbrush.
”Where you going?” he repeated.
”Fis.h.i.+ng,” replied Ned.
”Whereabouts?”
”Up at the Riffles,” said Fenn.
”Better not,” cautioned the aged person. ”It's a dangerous place.”
The man stepped forth into full view. The boys saw he was poorly dressed. His trousers were quite ragged and his coat was torn in several places. He wore no hat.
”What makes you think so?” asked Frank.
”Don't let it be known,” the old man went on, ”but the King of Paprica holds dominion over the Riffles. He has forbidden any one, under pain of being fed to the sacred crocodile, from taking the green bull frog from the pool.”
”He's crazy,” whispered Bart.
”But we're after fish, not bull frogs,” interposed Frank, who seemed inclined to humor the strange man.
”Oh, in that case, don't forget to bait your hooks with soft soap,” said the old man, as he held up a warning finger. ”Now remember, not a word to the King of Paprica if you meet him. He knows I'm here on guard, so don't tell him,” and with that the old man, winking at Frank as though there was a good joke between them, vanished amid the bushes.
”Well, of all queer things,” said Ned softly.
”He's daffy,” spoke Bart. ”Escaped from some asylum, I suppose. However he looks harmless. Come on, we don't want to get mixed up with him.
We're out for fish.”
”I'd like to find out more about him,” came from Frank. ”He winked at me as though it was some sort of a trick.”
”Yes, the kind Ned played yesterday,” exclaimed Frank.
”No more from yours truly,” uttered the perpetrator of the wrong slide.
”No more jokes for a while. I'm going fis.h.i.+ng. Come on.”
CHAPTER IV
A HUT IN THE WOODS
The boys tried to learn in which direction the old man had gone, but he was not in sight. They listened to hear if he was tramping through the bushes, but there was not a sound.
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