Afloat on the Flood | Page 5

thought Hen could be such a fool as to convict himself like that."
"When was he seen last?" demanded Elmer, still after information.
"He went to bed last night, they said, just as usual; but shucks! it would be the easiest thing agoing for Hen to climb down from his window if he took a notion. I've known him to do the same dozens of times just for fun, rather than take the trouble to go around to the stairs."
"Then Hen has disappeared, and no one has seen him this morning?"
"Never a soul. His aunt went to his room when he didn't show up, but not finding him expected Hen had gone off to my house. And his uncle is whopping mad over it. He nearly took a fit when the expert Chief said he reckoned someone had chloroformed him. He called Hen a viper that he had fostered, and said if he could only ketch him he'd see that he got his deserts."
"Listen, Landy, did you see that note?" asked Elmer.
"That's what I did, let me tell you," came the prompt reply, "and it was in Hen's well-known fist, too; I could tell that a mile off if I saw it. Haven't I heard the writing teacher at school tell him he was well named, because his paper looked like a hen had dabbled in the ink, and then strolled around every-which-way."
"Then you can tell us about what it said, can't you?" continued the patrol leader.
Landy laid that ready forefinger of his alongside his nose, as though that action would aid his memory. Then he closed one eye, another singular habit he had; after which he slowly went on to say:
"Course the exact words have slipped me, Elmer, but it ran something like this. He said circumstances which he couldn't control had forced him to do this thing; that he was sorry, but it couldn't be helped. He hoped his uncle would forgive him, and forget there was such a fellow in the wide world as Hen Condit. There was also some more that I can't just recollect; but it was to the effect that he believed he had money coming to him, so Mr. Condit could take it out of that and call it square. But just think what all this is going to do to the scouts, Elmer! Never since the troop was organized has it met up with such a terrible blow."
All of them looked serious. They knew that a certain element in Hickory Ridge would only too eagerly seize upon this incident to prove what they had always claimed, which was that scouts, after all, were no better than other boys, and that when put to the test they could turn out bad as well as the rest.
"Yes, the honor of the Wolf Patrol is hanging in the balance, Elmer," said Lil Artha. "Are we going to just stand by and not lift a hand because it was one of our chums who did this mean job? If it was anyone else and they called on us to track him, wouldn't we respond to a man? Here's a supreme test before us that's going to prove how much our honor means."
"I say the same, Elmer," urged Chatz, indignantly; "let's all get busy and see if we can run Hen Condit down like a fox we've got on the trail of. Let's fetch him back to face his uncle, and prove to all Hickory Ridge that the boys of the Wolf Patrol can never stand for wrong doing in their ranks. Yes suh, it's surely up to us to show our colors."
Elmer rubbed his forehead. He looked thoughtful, as though possibly he might see a little further into this mysterious happening than any of the rest.
"Listen, fellows," he told them; "I've known for some little time that Hen was acting queerly. He failed to attend the last two meetings, and when I asked him about it he avoided my eye. I've been wondering what it all meant, and intended to have a good heart-to-heart talk-fest with Hen as soon as I got a chance."
"Hold on," said Toby. "I wonder now if that man I saw him with could have had anything to do with this ugly business."
Elmer turned on him like a flash.
"It may have more to do with it than you think, Toby," he remarked; "when was it you saw them, and where?"
"Just yesterday morning," replied the other, "and down at the bridge over the creek. Hen nodded to me when I rode past on my wheel, but it struck me even at the time he acted like he hoped to goodness I wouldn't bother stopping to say anything."
"And a man you didn't know was with him, you say?" questioned Elmer.
"Well, I didn't just glimpse his face,