Bob jumped to Rex’s side and looked out the little window just in time to see the three men running toward the cabin with a log nearly ten feet long, and as big around as his leg.

“Get out your guns and be ready to cover them if she gives way,” he cried, in a low but distinct voice.

He had hardly finished speaking when the end of the log propelled by the great strength of the three men smashed against the door with a bang, which seemed to fairly shake the cabin. An ordinary door would have been shivered to pieces by the blow, but up in the Maine woods they make things to hold, and the only effect, so far as they could see, was a slight loosening of one of the hinges.

“About three more of them will knock out the hinges,” Bob declared, as he saw the men stepping back for a second rush.

“’Bout time to stop ’em, isn’t it?” Jack asked.
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“Yes, I guess so, if we can,” Bob replied somewhat doubtfully.

As he spoke he pushed open the little window and looked out. The men had stopped about twenty feet from the door and had placed the log on the ground to recover their wind before making the second trial.

“Better not try it again,” he shouted, holding his automatic in his hand in such a way that the men could not fail to see it.

All three men gave a sudden start of surprise, and for a moment no one spoke. Then the leader, Jacques Harbaugh, stepped slowly toward the window.

“That’s near enough,” Bob told him, when he had advanced about half way to the window.

“So it’s you, oui?”

“Looks like it.”

“What you want up here?”

“Do you need to ask?”

“Me ask jess the same.”

“All right. I don’t mind telling you. We came for Mr. Stebbins.”

“Oui? You find heem, eh?’

“Sure we did.”

“What you tink you do with heem?”

“We’ll take him back with us.”
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“Non!” And Bob could see a look of fierce determination on the face of the man as he spat out the word. “You never tak’ heem back till heem tell us where dat monies.”

“You may be right, but we’re going to make a big try for it just the same, and in the meantime don’t forget that we are well armed, and the first man who comes within ten feet of this cabin will get a hunk of lead in him.”

“We see ’bout dat.”

“All right, but remem—”

A violent pull which jerked Bob back into the room interrupted the sentence, and it was not a second too soon, for as he fell back onto the floor a shot rang out and a bullet buried itself in a log at the back of the room.

“That was pretty close,” Bob gasped, as he picked himself up.

“I’ll say it was,” Jack agreed. “If I hadn’t been peeping out through that crack and see that other fellow pull his gun, we’d have had two invalids on our hands.”

“To say nothing of a dead one,” Bob returned soberly. “It was very careless of me to take my eyes off those other two fellows. I might have known.”

“Well, let’s hope that those fellows haven’t much ammunition with them,” Jack said, as he again peeped out through the crack.

“What are they doing?” Bob asked.
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“Just standing there talking.”

“It’s a lucky thing for us that this cabin is made of good big logs and not of thin boards. We’re safe for the time being if we keep out of line with the windows.”

“But those fellows aren’t going to give up easy, and don’t you kid yourself that they are,” Jack declared, with his eyes still at the crack. “They’re playing for big stakes.”

“I know,” Bob replied. “But don’t forget that we are playing for the same stakes.”

“You bet.”

“And what’s more, we’re going to win out.”

“You bet.” It was Rex who responded this time.

“They’re going down toward the lake,” Jack announced a moment later. “They’re getting into their canoe and pushing off. They’re paddling up the lake.”

“What do you suppose they’re up to now?” Rex asked.

“Hard to say,” Bob replied, “but one thing is sure, they’ll be back before long and they won’t go far; not far enough but they’ll know if we leave the cabin.”

“They’ve gone out of sight around the point,” Jack said, as he straightened up.
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“And that’s about as far as they’ll go,” Bob declared. “Now we ought to have a peep hole on each side of the room. That crack is all right for the front, but there doesn’t seem to be any at the back and sides.”

“Then I guess it’s up to us to make ’em,” Jack declared.

“Spoken like a general,” Bob laughed. “Go to it.”

In the closet Jack soon found a long, slim knife, and with it set to work digging out the clay and moss between two logs near the center of the back. It was slow work, as the clay was almost as hard as cement, but he stuck at it and in the course of an hour had a hole through large enough to give a clear view of the ground at the back.

“Now for the sides,” he said, as he selected a point near the middle.

Meantime Stebbins had been fed small amounts of the gruel at frequent intervals and was gaining his strength rapidly, although he had been forbidden to get out of the bunk.

“I don’t suppose it’s any use to tell you how sorry I am,” he said to Rex, who was sitting by his side.

“That’s all right, old fellow, I think I understand what you were up against and your resolve to make good, even though it cost you your life has wiped out all the fault,” Rex assured him.
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A look of great joy lighted up the thin face of the man.

“Then you can forgive me?”

“Sure thing, and forget it, too.”

“But your father.”

“Will feel exactly as I do about it,” Rex assured him, as he took his hand.

“Thank God,” Stebbins murmured, as he sank back and closed his eyes.

“There, we’ve got peep holes on all four sides,” Jack announced awhile later, “and I, for one, am mighty hungry.”

“Which is a chronic condition if I know anything about you,” Bob laughed.

“But dinner’ll be ready in about fifteen minutes. Think you can hold out that long?”

“I’ll try,” Jack sighed.

During the afternoon they kept close watch at the peep holes, but nothing was seen of the three men.

“All the same, I’ll bet a cent they’re not far off,” Bob declared.

“I wouldn’t take you,” Jack said.

“They watch heap sharp, see if we start go way,” Kernertok suggested.

“My idea exactly,” Bob agreed. “They think that if they can only get us out of the cabin we will be at their mercy.”
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“Well, we’ll just fool them,” Jack declared.

“That’s all right so far as it goes, but the trouble is it doesn’t go very far,” Bob said. “I don’t know how you fellows feel about it, but it seems to me that we’re up against it good and hard. Those fellows aren’t going to let all that money slip through their hands if they can help it, and I think it’s about time that we were taking account of stock and finding out where we’re at.”

“No doubt about it,” Rex said, adding, “I’m mighty sorry—”

“Now nix on that stuff,” Jack interrupted. “We know all about it, and again I say nix.”

“Then we’d better go into executive session and discuss ways and means,” Bob suggested. “Kernertok, you’re the oldest and wisest. What’s your idea?”

For a time the old Indian sat with bowed head, then he got to his feet and said:

“Injun think only one thing do. It get heap dark pretty soon. Heap cloudy, no moon. Injun creep out, get canoe, go down river to St. Francis. Get help, back soon as can.”

“How far is it to St. Francis?” Bob asked.

“’Bout twenty mile from canoe.”

“Then you ought to get back some time to-morrow.”

The Indian nodded his head.
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“What say, fellows?” Bob turned to Rex and Jack.

“I’d say it’s our best bet,” Jack agreed readily.

“Same here,” Rex joined in.

“Then Injun go soon as dark come.”

“Do you suppose there’s any possibility of getting any one with our radio?” Jack asked a little later.

“I doubt it,” Bob replied, shaking his head. “Wave length’s too short, but it won’t do any harm to try. If we’d only had brains enough to have left one of them at home we’d have had some help on the way before this.”

For a long time Jack tried to reach a station by means of the pocket set, but finally was forced to admit it was of no use.

“If we get out of this scrape, the first thing I’m going to do is to lengthen out that wave,” he declared, as he placed the case on the table.

As Kernertok had predicted, the night came on early and dark, for which they were very thankful. Had it been moonlight it would have been extremely difficult for him to get away, provided their enemies were on the watch, as the cabin stood in a clearing and on no side did the forest come nearer than twenty feet.

It was shortly after half past eight o’clock when he started, and all wished him good luck.
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“Injun be back by noon to-morrow. No get caught,” he said, as he slipped out the back door.

“Pray God he may get through safely,” Bob murmured, as he put the bar back in its place.

Sicum had whined to go with his master, but on being ordered to stay he seemed to understand, and made no further protest.

The Indian had been gone not more than ten minutes when a shot rang out in the forest back of the cabin. The four looked at each other and a look of terror was on every face. For a moment no one spoke, then Jack gasped.

“They’ve got him.”

“Let’s hope not,” Bob said in a low tone.

For a long time they listened hardly daring to breathe, but no more shots were heard and no sound from outside, save the creaking of the boughs as they rubbed in the light breeze, came to their ears.

“Suppose I sneak out and do a little scouting,” Jack proposed.

“I suppose you won’t,” Bob shook his head. “If they got him you could do him no good, and the chances are that they’d get you. No, our best bet is to stick close to the cabin and play it safe.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Jack acknowledged. “But it’s simply awful to sit here and do nothing with Kernertok out there perhaps dying.”
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“I know,” Bob soothed, “but it’s only perhaps. That shot may have meant nothing and he probably got through all right. Everything was in his favor, and you know Kernertok.”

“Yes, I know; but he’s human at that.”

Slowly the time passed. There was nothing they could do except listen for the faintest sound. So dark was it that the peep holes were of no use. But about half past ten Jack, who was near the broken window, announced that the clouds were breaking.

“It’ll be moonlight in a few minutes. She’s trying to peep through the clouds now.”

“That’ll help Kernertok,” Bob declared.

“Provided he got through,” Jack added mournfully.

“Well, I’m going to believe that he did till I find out that he didn’t,” Bob insisted.

In a short time............