th
great interest.

Blumpo could scarcely believe his ears. His face began to expand, and a
smile broke out on it, the like of which had never before been seen. He
was a homeless waif no longer. He had found a father.

Jerry and Harry talked to the old hermit for an hour and more. They found
him peculiar in his ideas, but with a warm heart.

Before they retired for the night Daniel Brown came to the conclusion to
give up his dwelling on the top of the mountain.

He said he would build a cabin down by the lakeside and there he and
Blumpo could live like ordinary people.

"I have several thousand dollars saved up," he said, "so we will not want
for anything. I will buy a boat, and Blumpo can make a living by letting
her out to pleasure parties."

"Dat will suit me exactly," cried Blumpo.

"But you must also go to school in the winter," went on Daniel Brown. "And
you must drop that dialect, and not say dat for that."

"Golly! but won't I be eddicate!" murmured Blumpo. "Say, Pop maybe I kin
hab--I mean have--a new suit, eh?"

"Two of them, Abraham," said the hermit; and then all hands laughed.

It was well for the boys that they were housed in the hermit's dwelling,
for that night a terrible thunder storm came up. The wind howled and
shrieked around the mountain top, and continued until dawn.

"If we had been on the plateau we would have been blown off into the
lake," said Harry, at breakfast.

By nine o'clock it cleared off and at twelve the mountain was as dry as
ever. They packed up, and, accompanied by the hermit, set off, for the old
camp.

Daniel Brown knew every inch of the mountain and under his guidance they
reached the bottom much quicker than they would otherwise have done.

As they were trailing through the woods toward the camp, Harry suddenly
put up his hand.

"Listen! Don't you hear some persons talking?" he asked.

"Where can it be?" asked Jerry.

"Down by the camp," said Blumpo.

"Si Peters' crowd, I'll bet a new hat!" cried Jerry. "Come on, all of
you!"

The young oarsman broke into a run, and Harry and Blumpo came after, with
the hermit lagging on behind. A turn in the brush brought them in sight of
the camp.

There were Si Peters, Wash Crosby, and four others in the act of shoving
Harry's craft into the water.

"They intended to run off with our boat!" yelled Jerry. "Stop, there, you
thieves!"

"Stop, or we'll fire on you!" added Harry.

The Peters crowd were surprised and