t you would give us full instructions."

"That's strange!" Canfield observed thoughtfully.

"Perhaps he thought we wouldn't want to undertake the job if we knew
exactly what it was!" suggested Sandy.

"It is a queer kind of a job," Canfield admitted, "but I don't think you
boys would be apt to back out because of a little danger."

"I have wanted to back out several times," laughed Tommy, "but, somehow,
these others boys wouldn't permit me to."

"Go on and tell us about it," urged Sandy. "Tell us just what you want
us to do, and then we'll tell you whether we think we can do it or not."

"You've got to find two boys!" replied Canfield.

"Mother of Moses!" exclaimed Tommy. "I hope we haven't got to go and dig
up blond-haired little Algernon, or discover pretty little Clarence, and
turn a bunch of money over to him!"

"I think these two boys may have money coming to them," the caretaker
replied. "There must be money back of it or the friends of the lads
wouldn't be giving me cash to spend in their interest."

"Where are these boys?" asked Will.

"I've heard the opinion expressed that the boys are somewhere in the
mine!" answered Canfield. "I can hardly believe that they are, but it
has been suggested that we may as well begin the search under ground."

"Where do these boys belong?" asked George.

"Anywhere and everywhere," was the reply. "Jimmie Maynard and Dick
Thompson came here as breaker boys six months ago. They were ragged and
dirty, and appeared to be as tough as two young bears. They worked
steadily until the day before the mine closed down and then they
disappeared."

"That's easy!" declared Tommy. "They got tired of work!"

"That may be," answered the caretaker, "but they certainly didn't get
tired of drawing their pay. They went away leaving about eight dollars,
the two of them, in the care of the company."

"Then something must have happened to them!" Will suggested.

"Who's looking for these boys?" asked George.

"A New York lawyer," was the reply. "I know nothing whatever about the
man. In fact, I don't know why he wants to find out where the boys are.
He sends me money and tells me to continue my quest until the boys are
found, and then to send them to New York."

"So you have entire charge of the search," said Sandy, tentatively.

"Yes," was the reply, "except for Joe Ventner. He's a detective sent on
from New York by this Burlingame person, the lawyer to whom I referred a
short time