The Boy Scouts in Northern Wilds | Page 4

regarding his
journey," replied Will. "Two months ago the house of Mr. Frederick
Tupper, on Drexel Boulevard, Chicago, was burglarized. Besides
taking considerable money and silver plate, the thief also carried away
the Little Brass God."
"I don't think any thief in his right mind would do that!" declared Sandy.
"What could he do with a Little Brass God? He couldn't pawn it, or sell
it, or trade it, without its being traced back to him!"
"Well, he took it just the same!" Will replied.
"How much is he worth?" asked George.
"Not more than five dollars."
"Then he isn't one of those East India Little Brass Gods with his legs

crossed, and his arms folded, and a grin on his face?"
"His legs are crossed, his arms are folded, and there is a grin on his
face!" replied Will with a smile. "But he's certainly not one of the
population of a Hindu temple."
"He's just a common Little Brass God, probably made in Newark, New
Jersey," suggested George. "What do they want him for?"
"They want to search him!" replied Will.
"Aw, come on, tell us all about it!" urged Tommy.
"Well," Will explained with a smile, "the tummy of the Little Brass
God IS supposed to contain the last will and testament of Simon
Tupper, father of Frederick Tupper."
"Gee!" exclaimed Tommy. "Can't he get the property until he gets the
will? Then we'll have to find it, I guess!"
"No, he can't get the property unless the will is found."
"Who stole the Little Brass God, and also the will?" asked George.
"Did he know he was stealing the will when he stole the Little Brass
God?" asked Sandy without giving Will an opportunity to reply to the
previous question. "How'd he know the will was there?"
"We don't know whether he knew about the will or not," answered the
boy. "In fact, we don't know whether the document is still in the tummy
of the Little Brass God. That's what we've got to find out."
"You didn't tell me who stole the Little Brass God and the will,"
insisted George.
"I said it was a burglar!"
"But was it a burglar--a real, genuine burglar?"

"Yes, loosen up!" shouted Tommy. "Did he go there just to burgle, or
did he go there to get that will?"
"That's another thing we've got to find out!" Will answered. "It's just
this way," the boy continued. "We've been sent up here to find this
Little Brass God. When we find it, we'll know whether the man who
stole it was a common thief, or whether he was sent by interested
parties to do the job. No living person can open the Little Brass God
without first learning the way to do it. In fact, the only way the toy can
be opened by one unfamiliar with the secret is to break it open with an
axe! And that would hardly be done, as the little fellow is rather a cute
plaything."
"And so, if the will is there, a burglar stole it. And if the will is not
there, some one interested in the disposition of the property walked
away with it! Is that it?"
"That's the way we figure it out!" Will answered. "And in the
meantime," he continued, "an older will is being offered for probate. If
the Little Brass God fails to disclose the last will, the property will go
to a young man who was intensely hated and despised by the man who
built up the fortune. Simon Tupper will turn over in his grave if
Howard Sigsbee, his nephew, has the handling of that money."
"I can't see how that's going to get Simon anything!" grinned Tommy.
"Now," George asked, "why do they think the Little Brass God was
brought into the Hudson Bay country?"
"We have traced it to an antique shop on lower State street," Will
answered. "From there to the shabby parlor of a fourth rate boarding
house on Dearborn avenue, from there into the possession of a French
Canadian who hunts and fishes in the Moose river district."
"That's pretty straight!" George agreed.
"How do they know this French Canadian got this Little Brass God out
of town?" asked Sandy. "You take a French Canadian of the trapper

sort, and get him well tanked, and he'll sell the ears off his head for
another drink of brandy. Perhaps he hocked the Little Brass God."
"If he did," Will answered, "the search must begin all over again!"
"Who put this will in the tummy of this Little Brass God?" asked
Tommy.
"The man who made it--Simon Tupper," answered Will.
"Did he tell anyone where it was?"
"On his deathbed, he told Frederick Tupper, his nephew, where to find
it. It's a pity the young