of this district. I have seen Long before I came up here, and he
confided in me, because I possessed some information, gleaned from
hiking over this property of yours, which he wished to have, and that he
could not very well ask for without giving me some information in
return. Long is Dick Whitfield, the head of a corps of mountain sleuths,
probably the shrewdest man in his line of work who ever came into the
Kentucky hills. It was he who wounded the mountaineer in the bushes that
night by your camp. It was he who protected you in many tight places,
including some that you did not know about."

"And shot Lum Bangs through the wrist at the dance," suggested Nora.

"No, that was Jim Townsend, his principal assistant."

"That's the fellow I want to know about--the fellow who ought to be the
proudest man in the world because he looks like me," cried Hippy
Wingate.

As the party strolled out towards the mouth of the tunnel, Tom Gray told
his companions that Hippy's resemblance to Townsend had been quickly
seized upon by the Mystery Man, Jeremiah Long, and used as a cloak to
cover the operations of the real Townsend, trusting to their skill and
watchfulness to keep the moonshiners from collecting the reward that had
been offered for Townsend. Either Townsend or the Spectacle Man had kept
the Overland Riders under observation a good part of the time. It was
Townsend who rescued Hippy from the Spurgeon gang, who conducted Hippy
back to his camp, and who left the mysterious notes for the Overlanders.

"Yes. But why did they mark me for the slaughter?" demanded Hippy.

"Don't you understand? They thought you were Jim Townsend. In fact, the
mountain men had been informed that Townsend was on his way here as a
member of the Overland Riders, to get evidence against the moonshiners.
As a matter of fact, Townsend was already here and had been, in
disguise, for some time. That belief involved our entire party, you see,
and it is a wonder that the mountaineers did not get one of you, at
least. When they caught me, knowing that I was in Government service, I
thought it was all up with me, but I believe they thought best first to
settle their feud with Thompson.

"One thing that possibly saved all of you people, and surely saved
Hippy," resumed Tom Gray, "is that you are women. They were eager
enough to put Hippy out of the way, but you girls made them hesitate.
They didn't like the idea of committing a cold-blooded crime like th