“He’s an old fox and not easily to be caught,” decided the colonel, when this maneuver had been repeated two or three times.  “He is making for the other shore, and if he gets in among the shallows over there I am afraid we will lose him yet.”

The Scout was now so close to the smaller boat that the occupants could easily be distinguished.

“There is Monkey Rae,” declared Pepper.

“And Sam and Red,” added Jack, “but I don’t know who the man is.”

“Boat, ahoy!” shouted the colonel.

“What do you want?” snarled the man.

“You!” shouted the colonel.  “Lay to until we come alongside!”

“Come on,” responded the man, “and you will get more than you are looking for!” at the same time displaying a pistol, which he pointed toward the larger boat.

“Drop that!” commanded the colonel, going forward and covering the man with the gun, while Rand took the helm.  “If you make any attempt to use that pistol I will disable you at once.”

With a muttered imprecation the man let the pistol fall and, seizing the oars, began rowing for the shore.

“Shall we follow him?” asked Rand.

“There is a sand-bar there, I think,” replied the colonel.  “If you pull up the centerboard, perhaps we can slide over it.  It’s no use,” he added a moment later as the boat fell off, “we shall have to go round.”

By this time the small boat had been pulled in close to the shore, where the man, picking up a package from the bottom of the boat, sprang over the side and, followed by the boys, ran up the shore and disappeared in the woods, leaving the boat to drift.

“Shall we follow them?” asked Rand.

“I don’t want them,” said Donald.

“Better let them go, I think,” added the colonel.

“Well, I hope I have seen the last of Monkey Rae for a good while,” went on Pepper.

“Then as Dogberry says:  ’Let us call the watch together and thank God we are rid of a knave,’” quoted Rand.

Picking up the drifting boat the Scout was headed down the river and in a few minutes they were off the colonel’s landing.  Here, the boys would have taken their boat and rowed home, but the colonel insisted on carrying them down to Creston, which was quickly done in the bracing breeze.

“Remember, as soon as you are ready,” he said as he left them, “I will swear you in as Scouts.”

CHAPTER X

LOOKING FOR A CLUE

“Hello, Jack,” called Rand, meeting the former on the street the following morning, hurrying along in his usual fashion, “what’s the latest?”

“About what?” asked Jack in turn.

“About everything.  Anything new about the robbing of Judge Taylor’s office the other night?”

“Haven’t heard much yet,” replied Jack.  “I was just going around there to see if they had found out anything more.”