to dismiss by a ghastly grin, altogether assumed, since he
certainly was in no mood for laughing.

They could see that his left leg was bandaged in some manner, as
though he might have broken the bones, and someone had tried to bind
up the limb. Even with that superficial glance Hugh marked the fact
that this had been done in a fashion indicating considerable previous
experience along such lines.

And then they turned their attention upon the other party, the
mysterious one who doubtless had found poor K. K. helpless on the
ground and borne him to this cavern in the quarry. He was indeed a
wild-looking party, with long, unkempt hair and a sunburnt face in
which his glowing eyes were deep-seated. There was that about him to
convince Hugh instantly he must be deranged, although just then the
man bent over poor K. K. solicitously, and seemed to be tenderly
doing something calculated to ease his pain.

Hugh coughed, meaning to draw attention to the fact of their arrival.
The man immediately stood up and bent a searching look upon the five
lads. Perhaps he had been hearing K. K. tell how some of his chums
would certainly be coming to search for him, and, therefore, even
though he might wish to remain in his hidden retreat undisturbed, he
manifested no hostility toward them, simply folded his arms and,
stepping back, watched their approach.

Hugh made gestures to indicate that they were peacefully disposed.
In doing so he purposely used the signal code and spelled out the one
word, "friend." He saw the wildman's thin face take on a sudden
gleam of awakened interest, and he nodded his head in the
affirmative, as if to reassure Hugh that they were not unwelcome.
From this the boy knew the stranger must at some time have been in
the army, and that even while his brain was resting under a cloud he
could still send and receive messages such as had been at one time
his daily avocation.

They reached the side of their unfortunate companion. He held out a
hand to welcome Hugh.

"Oh! I'm mighty glad you've come, fellows, I can tell you," he told
them, with a tremor in his voice. "I've had a rotten time of it all
around, and suffered terribly. You see, I made a fool of myself, and
tripped over a vine, so that I was thrown into a gully, with my left
leg under me. Snapped both bones, he says, just above the ankle, and
a fine time I've got ahead of me this winter, with no skating,
hockey, or anything worth living for. B