“I have been developing,” said Billy.  “I can take out the plates I have already exposed and leave the others in the camera.  It’s a magazine, you understand.”

“Yes, I know all about them.  Well, what are you going to show me?”

“There are developments which we did not expect,” laughed Billy.

“Never mind your puns, Billy, but get to business.  I know you have developments, but what are they?”

“Here is one,” said the other, holding up a developed plate between his friend and the light of the ruby lamp.  “What do you see on it?”

Jack examined the plate a few moments, and said: 

“It is the station in the woods.  Some one has just jumped aside.  You can see a bit of a blur on the edge like a man’s arm and hand.”

“Yes, and what do you see behind where the man was?”

“Two persons talking.  Why, one of them is Herring.”

“That’s all right.  Now look at this one,” and Billy held up another plate which was still wet.

Jack took it in his fingers and held it to the light.

“This is in the woods,” he said.

“Yes.  It was the first one I took when we came up and found that the men were making trouble for Percival.  What do you see on it, Jack?”

“I see some men making a disturbance, gesticulating and talking excitedly to Dick and his boys.”

“Yes, that’s all right.  What else?”

“Ah, here are two persons, almost out of focus and talking very interestedly together at one side.  They are down in front at one side and their figures are larger than—–­why, Billy, they are Jenkins and Herring.”

“Exactly!” said Billy with a deal of satisfaction.  “I thought you’d see them if I said nothing and I’m glad you found them yourself.  I am going to have a print of that plate as soon as it gets dry enough.  I can dry it by a little stove I have and then take a bromide print of it in soft grays.  That will fetch it up all right.”

“But, Billy, what are Herring and Jim Jenkins doing together and what are they so interested about?”

“Didn’t Jenkins say that a boy wearing the uniform of the Hilltops had told him and the rest that running the branch would hurt them?”

“This picture shows that Herring had something to do with Jenkins and yet everybody supposed he was in Saratoga.”

“That’s Herring all right and that’s Jenkins,” said Billy.  “I’ll dry the plate and take a print of it.  It won’t hurt anything to have a light now as I have no undeveloped plates about.”

Billy then raised the red glass of the lantern to the top and shoved a plain one under it, and then, lighting a little oil stove, proceeded to carefully dry his plates, presently standing them up not too near the stove and getting out his printing frames and a package of photographic paper done up in a thick sheet of heavy black paper which excluded the light.