didn't walk behind George and step on all his tracks?"

"Or how do we know that some big chump didn't carry him away in his
arms?" Tommy admitted. "I never thought about the means that might
have been used to conceal the kid's exit. You're the only real
live Sherlock Holmes in this crowd," the boy added with a laugh.

"Then it's a cinch that some one carried him away," Will decided.

"Of course it is!" Sandy answered.

"Look here!" Tommy said after a moment's reflection. "Don't you
boys remember how mussy that cavern looked. We were all so anxious
to chase out and find George that we didn't pay much attention to
the room, but I begin to remember now that it looked as if some one
had shot wild game there and cooked meat over the fire."

"I remember something about that now!" Thede said.

"And there was more blood on the floor than ever came from the
little wound George received, according to the way you describe
it," Tommy went on.

"And I'll bet if we'd hunted around the cavern, we'd have found
bear steak and refuse hidden in some of those odd little nooks."

"I guess that's right," Thede declared.

"Now, about those moccasin tracks?" asked Will.