down with
evident relish; and he called out when he served the first drink:

"The orders are that each one of you, as soon as you have had your two
drinks, shall go to your quarters and turn in. You are wanted to rest
up, so that we can begin this search again, and find that fellow we are
after. Come on, now. When you have taken your medicine, go to your bunks
and turn in--all of you!"

And they came. Then they took their medicine, and so nicely had Nick
calculated the quantity that would be required that there was scarcely a
pint of the concoction left when they were through.

Many of them stopped long enough to beg for a third drink of it, and
only once did Nick grant that request--to a big fellow for whom two
might not be sufficient.

And within thirty minutes after that last one had passed the porch, that
camp was as quiet as a church.

CHAPTER XVII.

A WHOLESALE ROUND-UP.

"Patsy," said the detective, when they reentered the cabin, after
watching their punch consumed almost to the dregs, "this is about the
biggest capture I was ever in."

"But we are not through yet, chief," replied the assistant, stroking the
white beard he wore so naturally that Nick laughed aloud. "There are
sixteen more men at liberty yet, and we have got the whole bunch to tie
up. Don't forget that there are four men stationed at each of the
outside entrances to----"

"Oh, I haven't forgotten it. We will serve them in the same way. All we
have to do is to manufacture one more pail of punch. So here goes. And
as for tying them up, that will hardly be necessary."

"Why?"

"They are good for twelve hours of solid sleep at the very least. Many
of them will not waken in twenty-four hours."

"And maybe some of them will never wake up. How is that?"

"It is a chance that we had to take; but by restricting them to two
drinks each, I figured that there would be no danger. No; I think we are
all right. Now, help me make this extra pail of punch. After that we
will carry it through the cavern to the different parties of four each."

"Suppose they get suspicious, and won't drink it?"

"No danger of that, my lad."

When the punch was made, they divided it into two lots, each carrying
half, and, thus equipped, they again entered the cavern, this time just
as daylight was beginning to appear.

The first party they selected to serve was the one farthest away, and
the detective discovered that they were grumbling because they had