Here Mr. Hibbert paused, looking highly embarrassed as he caught
sight of Mrs. Bentley and the girls coming out of the tent.

"You already have other company," murmured Hibbert apologetically.
"No; most decidedly we must not intrude on you."

"How do you do, Mr. Colquitt?" was Dr. Bentley's greeting. Then
other introductions followed, and, ere he knew it, Hibbert and
his friends were members of the party and destined to partake
of the barbecue feast.

The oldish-looking man with the new arrivals proved to be Mr.
Calvin Page.

"He's the millionaire father of the missing boy that Colquitt
and I are trying to find," Hibbert explained to Dick.

"Have you any clue, as yet?" Prescott inquired.

"Nothing worth while," sighed Lon Hibbert.

"It's too bad," murmured Dick. "Mr. Page is a fine-looking man,
but he must be lonely."

"He is," agreed Lon Hibbert.

"His wife is dead, isn't she?"

"Yes; and Page would give the world to find that boy of his."

"Perhaps if he doesn't find his son it may be as well," Dick hinted.

"Why, as well?"

"The missing son, brought up by others, might have turned out
badly," Prescott suggested.

"Pooh!" quickly rejoined Lon Hibbert. "That missing son, no
matter how wild or bad he may be, is still young enough to reform.
Prescott, no matter how bad that son may be, it will be a blessing
for my friend Page to find his boy! I pray that it may be my
good fortune to run across that son, one of these days, and that
I may be the first to recognize the boy."

"Prescott," broke in Mr. Ross, coming forward, "you don't begin
to have enough knives, forks and plates to take care of this crowd,
do you?"

"I'm sorry to say that we haven't," Dick smiled. "But we'll manage
that all right. My friends and I will play waiters, and sit at
second table after the dishes have been washed."

"You won't have to," replied the cattle owner. "I have a folding
table and dishes in my wagon, and I'll send Bill Hopple after
'em."

So the tables were set under the shade of the trees, not far from
the campfire. The Sharps man came up, and was seated with Jim
and Bill. Everything being now cooked, the feast began.

"I've never had anything as wonderful as this happen to me before,"
cried Belle Meade, as she seated herself and looked over the two
tables with sparkling eyes. "Girls, we didn't look forward to
such a treat as this when we left Gridley this morning."

"You intended to look in on us, di