camped on a mountain top in West Virginia. They had spent about two w

th grass down near the timber line. The tent they had carried was a short distance below the

stretched the mountainous district of West Virginia.

human beings. On their hard and frequently delayed journey in they had passed cabins, surro

f the mountains would surround them. A wild turkey called to its mate in the distance, and small creatures of the

Patrol, but had learned nothing of importance there. The launch in which the young prince had be

f his departure for the mountains. "We have men looking over every inch of the large cities. We want

to communicate with you in case we

did when he left Atla

ments hampered by orders from men who, not being on the ground, co

u to do!" the chief con

g a great responsibi

nd down the mountain sides looking for game and snap-shots ought not to arouse the suspicion of the thieves if they a

transported by rail to the nearest point, and there the mules had been bought

! If I had plenty of reading matter and a full larder, I don't think I would ever

ding ground below, and a commotion at the tent showe

ss he'd beat Jesse James to the tall timber in piracy! He won't work if you don't watch him, and he'll steal everything he gets his eyes on! Yes, sir, I fe

at he's doing n

he is sitting in my chair picking his teeth, after devouring the bread! That sure

mie insisted on calling a tall, ungainly, raw-boned mule, chewing at a

looks like he had been sent for to lead an experience meeting! He'll put on a face as long as a cable to

he's chewing, Jim

being brother to a long-eared mule that for cussedness

ng supper. They had plenty of tinned goods, plenty of flour, potatoes, meal and h

key back there,"

a coon," Ji

asked Jack, who was trying to make the fi

of any kind up her

. "You boys get a red-hot fire and I'll have th

ave anyone else go to the trouble of getting my wild meat for

s darted away, and were soon lost in a canyon which ran at right angles with t

nk commented, as the coffee water boiled and the bacon began sizzlin

le valley where the mules were feedin

k to the ridge and looked down into the valley

k behind the range to the west and the valleys became rib

ock-strewn slope which led to the summit where Ned

hat way?" the boy asked,

ught at first that there were two, but I may have been mistaken.

and get wet wood to make smudge, good and plenty. That would mean that I was lost and needed assistance. Th

forget it right a

e valley below. All around the June night called to them with its silences and its sharp and sudden rasp of sounds. There wer

claimed presently. "That is the only

he mountains and forests seems to me to be crude and half done. This, I presume, is because the world isn't finished yet.

me!" Ned declared. "It

ons-like the wireless, and the telephone, and the uses of electricity-if mankind had been content to live and die in the wilds! It is crude, as I said before,

low, "if you've got done surveying the beautiful

he tent to find Jimmie

plate of food in his lap. "We'll have to arrange for keeping Uncle Ike, the mule, out of mischief, and for keeping track of Jimmie and

re obliged to widen the circle about it. There was only the light of the stars, looki

oke out, after a moment of silence, "I'm going t

the safety of the two truants. Oliver arose and walked away from the fire up the slope, until his figure wa

light was reflected over there. It is. If anywhere within two miles, they ought to see this blaze or the glow

started in the direction of the feeding ground. When he reached the spot he saw tha

neck, "what is it about your sleeping chamber that

is heels, as if kicking at some imaginary object back

called. "Why are you

ward the boy then-the