ppen to come in on her
unexpectedly."

"Nothing can be done, I suppose, Carl?"

"Not a thing," the other boy replied. "That is what makes me furious.
If you can only see what's hitting you, and strike back, it does a
whole lot of good. Unless something crops up to make things look
brighter between now and fall there's one thing certain."

"What's that?" asked Tom, though he believed he could give a pretty
good guess, knowing the independent spirit of his chum so well.

"I shall have to quit school, and go to work at something or other. My
mother will never be able to meet expenses, even in the quiet way we
live, now that part of her little income is cut off. A few hundred
dollars a year means a lot to us, you see."

"Oh, I hope it won't come to that," said Tom. "A whole lot may happen
between now and the beginning of the fall term. For all we know that
missing paper may be recovered, which would put your folks on Easy
street."

"That's about the last hope, then," admitted Carl. "It's all I'm
counting on; and even then the chances seem to be against us."

"But you won't think of backing down about going on this grand hike
over Big Bear Mountain, I hope?" remarked the patrol leader.

"I believe I'd lack the heart to do it, Tom, leaving mother feeling so
bad; only for one thing."

"Meaning the fact that Dock Phillips is somewhere up there on the
mountain; that's what you've got in your mind, isn't it, Carl?"

"Yes, and what you said last night keeps haunting me all the time, Tom.
What if I did run across the chance to make Dock own up, and got him to
give me that precious paper? It would make everything look bright
again--for with the boom on in the oil region that stock must be worth
thousands of dollars to-day, if only we can get hold of the certificate
again."

"Well, you're going to; things often work in a queer way, and that's
what is happening now. And I feel as sure as anything that Mr.
Culpepper's stinginess in holding out against Dock's demands is going
to be his undoing."

Such confident talk as this could not help having its effect on Carl.
He had in fact come over to Tom's house knowing that he was sure to get
comfort there.

"You make me feel better already, Tom," he asserted, as he took the
hand the other boy thrust over the top of the garden fence; "and I'm
going to try and look at it as a true scout should, believing that the
sun is still shining back of the clouds."

"I'm about through w