He said it in such a comical manner that Sammy, hurt as his feelings had been, could not stand out against his chums any longer. A smile came over his face, and then Bob and Frank laughed too.

"All right, Sammy," declared Frank. "We believe you. Tell us about the hermit. Maybe we can go up there and see him."

"And about the ghost, too," added Bob.

"There isn't any ghost that I know of," cried Sammy, quickly, "and I didn't mention any."

"Bob means the hermit," said Frank quickly, winking at his chum to show that he must not speak of that subject again. "Tell us about the hermit, Sammy."

"Well, I'll tell you all I heard," went on the lad who so loved to dig after mysteries. "It was Benny Lane, the cripple boy, who told me. I was walking along with him one day, about a week ago, and we saw old Silas Dolby, the miser, just ahead of us. I just happened to say that Mr. Dolby lived like a hermit, and Benny said that it was so, for his uncle had once seen a hermit."

"And of course that set you going right off," spoke Bob.

[Pg 33]

[Pg 33]

"Yes, it did," answered Sammy. "I asked Benny where his uncle had seen the hermit, and Ben said it was on Pine Island. That was the first I ever heard of one of those men being there, so I asked all I could about it.

"Benny didn't know much, but he said his uncle had been out fishing one day, and stopped off at Pine Island to eat his lunch. He was almost through, when an old man, all stooped over, and with a long white beard, came out of the bushes, shook a stick at Benny's uncle and told him to get off that part of the island, as he owned it."

"Did he go?" asked Frank.

"Yes," went on Sammy, "for the hermit acted dangerous. Ben's uncle thought maybe he might be an escaped lunatic. So he got into his boat, the hermit watching him all the while, and rowed away."

"And what became of the hermit?" asked Frank, always eager for details.

"He disappeared into the bushes again," said Sammy. "I didn't tell you fellows anything about this, for I knew you'd laugh. Then, when Mrs. Blake just now told us about her brother living on Pine Island, and when she said we might go to see him, I thought I'd tell 

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