Part 25 (1/2)

”It's not my business to place him anywhere,” cried Nat, hastily. ”For all we know, he may be harmless.”

”Not when he stops young ladies on the road and catches folks in steel-traps,” answered our hero, with a faint smile.

”Well, that's right, too,” grumbled the money-lender's son. ”Maybe he ought to be in an asylum.”

”I think he is on this island now,” went on Dave. ”His rowboat is here, anyway.”

”Say, I'll tell you what we can do!” cried Gus. ”Take his boat with us! Then he can't get away, and we can send the authorities over here to get him.”

”That's an idea, Gus!” cried Dave. ”We'll do it.”

”Would that be fair to the man?” asked Nat. ”He--er--he might starve to death--or try to swim to sh.o.r.e and get drowned.”

”He can't starve to death in one night, and I don't think he'll drown himself. The authorities can come over here early in the morning and round him up, if he is here.”

”I--er--I don't think much of your plan,” murmured Nat, and seemed much disturbed.

In about a quarter of an hour the boys reached the island sh.o.r.e, at the spot where Nat's motor-boat was tied up. They helped him get in and start up the engine. He had been told how they had come to the island.

”If you want to, you can tie your boat fast to the stern and ride back with me,” he said.

”All right, Nat, we'll do it,” answered Dave. ”It is getting rather late and it's a pretty stiff row to the school.”

The motor-craft was started up and sent along in the direction where the boys had left the Oak Hall rowboat. Their course took them past the spot where the wild man's boat had been tied up.

”Why, look, it's gone!” cried Gus, standing up and pointing to the place.

”True enough,” answered our hero. ”He must have gone off in it while we were up to the cabin.”

”He can't be very far away, Dave.”

The boys looked up and down the river, but could catch no trace of the missing rowboat or the wild man. In the meantime, the motor-craft was moving forward, where the other boat had been beached among the bushes.

”That is gone, too!” e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Dave. ”He has taken our boat!”

”Oh, do you really think so?” asked Gus. He felt that he was responsible for the craft, as he had taken it from the school boathouse.

”I certainly do think so,” said Dave. ”It was a neat trick to play.”

”It's a wonder he didn't take the motor-boat, too.”

”Maybe he didn't know how to run the boat and it was too heavy to start without the engine.”

”I guess you are right!” came suddenly from Nat. ”Look here!”

He had stooped down to pick something up from the grating on the motor-boat's bottom. If was a torn and dirty bandanna handkerchief.

”The wild man's!” cried Dave. ”I remember it.”

”I am glad he didn't get away with my boat,” returned the money-lender's son, drawing a deep breath. ”I'll keep this handkerchief to remember him by.”

”Is it marked in any way?” questioned our hero. ”Perhaps it has his name or initials on it.”