ry the petroleum; he
had struck the first match; he had even administered the final kick.

At the boarding-house they found Wallace Carpenter and Hamilton seated
on the veranda. It was now afternoon. The wind had abated somewhat, and
the sun was struggling with the still flying scuds.

"Hello, boys," said Wallace, "been for a little walk in the woods?"

"Yes, sir," replied Jack Hyland, "we--"

"I'd rather not hear," interrupted Wallace. "There's quite a fire over
east. I suppose you haven't noticed it."

Hyland looked gravely eastward.

"Sure 'nough!" said he.

"Better get some grub," suggested Wallace.

After the men had gone in, he turned to the journalist.

"Hamilton," he began, "write all you know about the drive, and the
break, and the rescue, but as to the burning of the mill--"

The other held out his hand.

"Good," said Wallace offering his own.

And that was as far as the famous Shingleville raid ever got. Daly
did his best to collect even circumstantial evidence against the
participants, but in vain. He could not even get anyone to say that a
single member of the village of Carpenter had absented himself from town
that morning. This might have been from loyalty, or it might have been
from fear of the vengeance the Fighting Forty would surely visit on
a traitor. Probably it was a combination of both. The fact remains,
however, that Daly never knew surely of but one man implicated in the
destruction of his plant. That man was Injin Charley, but Injin Charley
promptly disappeared.

After an interval, Tim Shearer, Radway and Kerlie came out again.

"Where's the boss?" asked Shearer.

"I don't know, Tim," replied Wallace seriously.

"I've looked everywhere. He's gone. He must have been all cut up. I
think he went out in the woods to get over it. I am not worrying. Harry
has lots of sense. He'll come in about dark."

"Sure!" said Tim.

"How about the boy's stakes?" queried Radway. "I hear this is a bad
smash for the firm."

"We'll see that the men get their wages all right," replied Carpenter, a
little disappointed that such a question should be asked at such a time.

"All right," rejoined the contractor. "We're all going to need our money
this summer."

Chapter LVII

Thorpe walked through the silent group of men without seeing them. He
had no thought for what he had done, but for the triumphant discovery he
had made in spite of himself. This he saw at once as something to glory
in