island. Of course I didn't go, owning considerable land here. So I stood my ground, and explained matters. "Then Mr. Addison grew more reasonable. He told me he had come to live here to be away from the world, and he showed me a little hut he had made for himself, on a small piece of land he said was his. A poor enough place it is, but he seems to like it. Since then, though we haven't met often, we have been better friends. I let him alone, and he lets me alone. He lives about a mile from here, in a lonesome place. [Pg 66] [Pg 66] "What he is doing here I can't make out. Maybe he's here for his health. There are some folks, you know, who believe in getting off alone like that, and living as much out of doors as they can." "I thought maybe he was the mystery," explained Sammy, "and that he had been taking your things." "No," answered the hunter, "Mr. Addison wouldn't do a thing like that. He has often asked me for food, and I have given it to him. Then again he has given me money to buy things for him when I go to the mainland. He isn't the thief, I'm sure." "Maybe it's a bear—or some wild animal," suggested Bob. "I wish it was!" exclaimed the hunter. "If it was maybe we could get it—Maybe and I. But there are no animal tracks, and anyhow the biggest beasts here on Pine Island now are foxes. No you'll have to guess again, boys." "Well, it will give us something to look up," said Sammy. "We can solve that mystery, and the one about the hermit, too." He was quite delighted over the prospect, as his chums could easily tell by the light in his eyes. Give Sammy a mystery, or put him on the trail of buried treasure, be it ever so small, and he was happy. "Well, come on to Camp Mystery," suggested Mr. Jessup. "You must be hungry—I know I am." With Maybe, the dog, running on ahead, and the hunter and the boys bringing up in the rear, the little procession started off along the snowy trail. They went on for perhaps a mile, when, through the trees, the boys caught sight of a large house—a mansion in size. "Is that your cabin?" asked Sammy. "It's big!"
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