fter taking the bonds from his
ankles, he undid those binding Frank. The latter immediately went to
the side of Bob, whose groans had given way to long, shuddering sighs
that indicated a gradual restoration of consciousness but that also
increased the alarm of his comrades regarding his condition.

Tom Barnum next was freed and at once set to work to perform a similar
task for Captain Folsom, who meantime had regained his senses and
apparently was injured no more severely than Jack, having like him
received a clout on the side of the head. Tom explained the situation
while untying him. Fortunately, the bonds in all cases had been only
hastily tied.

"Bob, this is Frank. Do you hear me? Frank." The latter repeated
anxiously, several times, in the ear of his comrade.

"Frank?" said Bob, thickly, at last. "Oh, my head."

"Thank heaven, you're alive," said Frank fervently, and there was a
bit of tremolo in his tone. He and the big fellow were very close to
each other. "Now just lie quiet, and I'll explain where you are and
what happened. But first tell me are you hurt any place other than
your head?"

"No, I think not," said Bob. "But the old bean's humming like a top.
What happened, anyhow? Where are we? Where are the others?"

"Right here, old thing," said Jack, on the other side of the prone
figure.

Thereupon Bob, too, was put in possession of the facts as to what had
occurred. At the end of the recital, he sat up, albeit with an effort,
for his head felt, as he described it, "like Fourth of July night--and
no safe and sane Fourth, at that."

"I don't know if you fellows can ever forgive me," he said, with a
groan. "I got you into this. I saw red, when I discovered it was
Higginbotham and that other rascal who had set the plane afire. There
they were, in the woods, and I set out to crawl after them. Frank
followed me."

"Tried to stop him," interposed Frank. "But he wouldn't be stopped. I
didn't dare call to the rest of you for fear of giving the alarm, so I
went along. Anyhow, Bob," he added, loyally, "I felt just the same way
you did about it, and you were no worse than I."

"No," said Bob. "You weren't to blame at all. It was all my fault."

"Forget it," said Jack. "Let's consider what to do now? Here we are,
five of us, and now that we are on guard we ought to be able to give a
pretty good account of ourselves. I, for one, don't propose to sit
around and wait for our captors to dispose of us. How about