Frank Roscoe's Secret Part 19

By this time the head of the line had turned and the sad little procession was moving away from Frank, as he stood behind the tree. The men in the rear were now pa.s.sing close to him, and the boy, seeing that the end of the line was near, prepared to go forward when they all should have pa.s.sed. As he was about to step from his place he caught sight of the face of one of the patients, and, as he did so, he uttered an involuntary cry. Before he was aware what he was doing, Frank had stepped from behind the tree.

Several of the patients saw him, and gazed curiously at the boy. One--the one at the sight of whom Frank had uttered the exclamation--did not look up. With his eyes bent on the ground he hurried on, following the man ahead of him. There was a little confusion, caused by some of the patients stopping to stare at Frank, and two attendants came up on the run. One of them saw the boy standing beside the big tree.

"Go away from here at once!" he commanded. "This is private property, and you are liable to arrest for trespa.s.sing. Don't let me catch you here again. Go, I say!"

The man's tone was so menacing, and he spoke with such authority that, for a moment, Frank was frightened. Then he began to realize that he had no right where he was.

With another glance at the patient, whose face had so startled him, Frank turned and went back into the woods. The march of the unfortunate one was resumed, and the keepers, seeing there was no further trouble, resumed their places. The one who had warned Frank remained for a few minutes, gazing at the spot in the woods where the boy had disappeared.

"Guess I can't stay there to-night," Frank murmured as he made off through the fast-darkening forest. "I wonder what I had better do?"

He paused and, through the trees caught sight of something that gave him hope. It was a big haystack in a little clearing, some distance from the sanitarium.

"There's my hotel for the night," Frank remarked, as he made his way toward it. In a little while he had burrowed down under the dried gra.s.s, and, trying to forget that he was hungry, he prepared to pa.s.s the night.

CHAPTER XVII

AN UNEXPECTED MEETING

The three chums, starting on their search for Frank, soon found the telephone line.

"Now we're here, the next question is: Which way are we to go?" asked Bart. "It's all guess work."

"Not exactly," spoke Ned, and he used the same reasoning that Frank had, in deciding to follow the line as it led in the opposite direction from that of Darewell. "That's probably the way Frank would go," concluded Ned, pointing to the right, "and that's the way we want to go."

His companions agreed with him, and off they started. As they advanced they found the woods growing more dense, and, as had Frank, they had to make long circuits at times, to avoid bog-holes. They kept on for some time, but saw no signs of their chum.

"I wonder where he stayed all night?" asked Fenn.

"Trust Frank to look out for himself," remarked Bart. "He found a good warm place, I guess. But I don't see why he is staying away. If he was caught out after dark, and couldn't find his way back, he could see the trail by this time. I wonder why we don't meet him?"

"Maybe he's hurt," suggested Fenn.

"Nonsense!" exclaimed Ned. "There's nothing in these woods to hurt a fly.

I don't believe there's even a fox."

"I didn't mean animals," Fenn went on.

"What then?"

"Why he might have fallen, or, he might have met some bad men."

"Of course he might have taken a tumble and sprained his ankle, or something like that," Bart said. "But as for men, if there are any in these woods, which I very much doubt, what reason would they have for harming Frank?"

"It might be in connection with that mysterious secret he seems bothered about."

"Oh, you're worse than a half-dime novel," cried Ned with a laugh. "Come on, and stop that dismal croaking."

Still following the telephone line, the boys went on. Now and then they stopped to listen for any sounds which might indicate that Frank, or any other person, was coming through the woods. But the forest was silent, save for the noise made by the wind and the birds.

Meanwhile Frank had awakened after a night of fitful slumber under the hay. His first act was to go to a place where he could observe the sanitarium. There was no sign of life about it, and the boy, after watching a few minutes, began to feel faint for lack of food.

"I'd better go back to camp," he said to himself. "I need some breakfast, and a good rest. Then I can start out again. But I can't tell the boys what I have seen. It is not yet time."

Waiting awhile, to see if he could detect any movement around the inst.i.tution, but finding all was silence, Frank started back toward camp, following the telephone line.

He walked on for some time, pondering over what he had seen, and vainly speculating whether or not he was on the right track.

"I believe I'm on the trail," he said. "I thought he might know me, but, of course if it's true as it says in the letters, he could not. It might not have been the right time. I must try again."

Frank's meditations were interrupted by a noise in the woods just ahead of him. It sounded like someone coming through the bushes. Then he could distinguish voices.

"I wonder if I'd better hide?" he thought.

Before he could put that plan into execution there came around a turn in the trail he had made, in following the line, three boys. The next instant, with glad cries of welcome, the three chums hurried forward to greet their companion.

"Where in the world have you been?"

"What made you give us the slip that way?"

"Tell us all about it?"

Fenn, Bart and Ned, in turn, asked those questions. Frank looked from one to the other.

"I'm sorry, boys, but I can't tell you," he said. "I wish I could, and I hope you'll not think it mean of me not to. I may be able to very soon, and clear up all this mysteriousness, that is worrying me so.

Until then--"

"Until then I think you'd better have something to eat," suggested Bart, noting how pale and tired Frank looked. "We brought along something, but we didn't expect to have the fun of sharing it with you. Sit down here and fill up. Fenn made the sandwiches so I guess they ought to be good."

"Yes, and if you'll wait a minute I'll give you a hot drink,"

Fenn cried.

From his pocket he produced a tin flask of cold coffee. He gathered up some dried sticks, and built a little fire. Then he placed the tin flask on it, and, in a little while there was a warm beverage ready. Frank sipped it from the collapsable cup Ned carried, and, after eating some sandwiches, felt better.

"Now for camp!" cried Bart, "unless," looking at Frank, "you have some other plan."

"No, I'm anxious to get back."

"Didn't sleep very good in the haystack I guess," commented Ned.

"Haystack! How did you know?" asked Frank, in excited tones.

"One look at your clothes, with hay sticking all over them, tells me that, as a detective would say. Also, your garments are as wrinkled as though you'd been put through a wringer. Am I right?"

"Yes, it was a haystack for mine last night," Frank admitted with a smile. "It was fairly comfortable, though it tickled my ears a bit."