you'd kept quiet."

"I don't want my picter took!" growled the big man, falling back
among the others. "Ye want ter use it ag'in me, that's what. I know
you fellers. An' ye ain't goin' to run no railroad, nuther!"

Jack looked around and quickly discovered that young Smith was
missing, and at once came to the conclusion that he had gone off
to get the doctor so as to settle the dispute about the surveying.

"If you will wait till we can send for Dr. Wise," he said to the
men, "he will assure you that we have every right to make the
survey, as well as to build the road. Will you send some one, Dick?"

"I will go," said Kenneth Blaisdell, who was one of Percival's party.

"All right, Ken, go ahead," and the boy set off through the woods,
Jack noticing at the same time that two of the men slipped away
with the evident intention of waylaying him and preventing him from
delivering the message to the doctor.

"I suspected as much," he thought. "Well, they don't know that young
J.W. has already started. He will get through all right, for although
he's little, he can be depended upon."

Then Jack gave Percival a wink and stepped back a little.

CHAPTER XX

GETTING AT THE BOTTOM OF THINGS

"What is it, Jack?" asked Percival as he joined Jack a short distance
from the group of men now standing idly about.

"They have sent some one to intercept Blaisdell. I have already sent
young Smith, or at least he has taken the hint and gone off himself.
He will get there, but I think we had better send some one to help Ken."

"You are sure, Jack?"

"Yes, I saw the man slip away. Here are Art and Harry. They will go."

Harry Dickson and Arthur Warren now came up, and Jack quickly told
them what he expected and asked them to follow Blaisdell and assist
him if necessary, both the boys slipping away without being noticed
by the party of men collected at the little station house and now
talking among themselves and paying no attention to the boys.

Percival got all the boys together, including those who were not of
the surveying party but had merely come along to see the work started,
and said to them:

"It is my opinion that these men have been influenced by some one
who has been telling them a lot of lies, and maybe for the purpose
of getting money out of us. They don't any of them look over
intelligent, and I don't believe there is a regular farmer among
them. They are squatters, I believe, and don't own h