Tom Slade on Mystery Trail

impelled Tom Slade to challenge that wooded hill the de

he knew that in a general sort of way there was a connection between carrier pigeons and stalking; one suggested the other-to him, at least. He knew for a certainty that the message had

o some town or city not far distant, where the sender perhaps lived and he believed that the pigeon's use in this emergency had been the happy thought of some person who had taken the bird to the hill on

across the open country below the hill; "we could have made a lot of noise with it up th

is up there,"

bout halfway up but it peters out at a br

the marks last summer," said Connie Benn

a place where I've b

en we get to it?" said Garry. "If there's anyo

dea," s

o dope out," said Tom. "Why should peo

y're scout

up the whole sky wi

someone up t

rry. "No sooner said than stung, as Ro

ere," s

" said Tom. "The stalking busine

ittle brook whispe

was not much on laughing, thou

as to find the trail. But no sign of path revealed itself. Twice they fancied they could see, or sense, as Jeb would have said, a

eb calls lassooin

gaunt and spectral in the night like a sentinel on guard before

dge now and hold

f trying to discover the trail by taking a distant and elevated view was a good one, but the tree wa

're up in an aeroplane you can see all sorts of paths that peop

tured Connie. "Look out f

s, as far as he dared, while Tom moved about at t

g," said Garr

nst it, for a

t," retorted Connie. "It s

scrambled down the tree trunk. "Sli

r?" asked Doc, in

at Pee-wee would call a

ouring peroxide on a pretty d

y. "Feel. It's stickin

jection of iron was visible on the trunk o

nail?" as

rry. "It's what's left of a hook; the tree

he growing trunk had encased all except the end of it and the scre

a half thicker all the way around since

, isn't it?"

oaks," he mused, "that means

s," said Connie, after a moment's silence; "for hammocks a

's they could go into the woods. The trail goes as far up as the brook. Maybe they used to tie their hors

s-twelve years ago

lumsy phraseology that was characteristic of him. "It leaves a scar-like. When they started t

"I'll aviate to the top of this tree a

shut," Tom called up to him; "

says peek-a-boo

, and pouring a little kerosene over them, kin

e down here

eyes shut," G

Tom, "and see if the lea

ed Doc, "is, have you

s tendency to make f

y pocket," called Garr

in and keep them sh

it," came

icks, Tom moved the fire a little to a spot which seemed to suit

see? Quick!" he shouted. "You can't

that way-farther-farther still-go on-

showed an unmistakable something-certainly not a path-hardly a trail-but

pe the kerosene holds out-

ay and scarcely a tree but he paused to consider wh

see?" Connie a

sensed it, as Jeb would say. It was kind of like a little dirty green line from the tree and it kept fading away t

ghost,"

name for it,"

t blunt outspokenness which had a savor of repri

what I'd say it w

say it was," said Tom, "be

Garry, and C

Steven," he

all over, only you can't see them-except in special ways-like this. You can only see them for about twent

g on a thin branch on the top of a tree and looking cross-eyed at a ghos

a lot of them. The higher up you are the better.

Roy says," said Connie; "this trail we're

d not

r in my finger,

cratching your he

t from seein' thi

of Pee-wee, hey?" said Doc.

," Tom

d Doc. "Of course, we hav

them, too," said

ejaculated Doc,

" sai

Doc, "Where'd you read

ut in Utah that nobody on the ground ever saw

that!"

anner. "I don't say you can always do it," he said;

said Doc. "We g