“Boys,” he said, taking a piece of cheese in one hand and a wedge of apple-pie in the other, “go on with your lunch; I’ll be eating mine while I run up and see how Olly is getting along.” “Take some of Ma’s spruce beer, first,” said the twins. Perce thanked them, but said he would have his share when he came back. “Don’t wait for me,” he added, “if I should get to talking, and be a little late.” He had been gone but a few minutes, and the twins were still busy with their bread and butter and doughnuts, when they heard footsteps coming behind them, and looked around, expecting to see him on his return. But they saw instead a strange man, with a resolute face under a shady hat-brim. A little behind him lingered two of the boarding-house ladies they had seen before. “Where’s the other member of your party?” asked the man, after looking beyond the twins and all about. “The one you call Perce.” “Perce Bucklin? He just went up to the boarding-house,” they replied; “he left us about five minutes ago.” “I’ve just come from the boarding-house,” said the man. “He wasn’t there when we left; and we met no such boy on the way.” “That’s strange!” said Moke. And he and his brother began to call. The woods echoed their voices, but no other voice replied. “I don’t know where he is!” said Poke, astonished. “He seemed to have something on his mind,” said Moke; “and may be——” “May be he went to the village!” exclaimed Poke. They couldn’t conceive why he should have gone to the village, but they remembered that he had spoken vaguely of having some errand there, which he must do before he returned home. “Thank you,” the gentleman replied, and went back to speak with the ladies. “That fellow has gone off to dispose of the watch,” he said to them; “and I don’t think these two know anything about it.” He had at all events thought it better not to mention the subject to the twins; in order that, if they should see Perce before he did, they might not put him on his guard. Perce had, in fact, immediately changed his mind, after leaving his companions; if, indeed, he had any serious notion of going to inquire for Olly. Instead of going to the boarding-house, he crossed a corner of the woods, in order to strike a road leading to the village, which was about three-quarters of a mile away. As soon as he was well out of sight, he began to run, pausing only a minute or two in the woods, where he took out his prize, pressed the spring that opened the hunter’s case, and looked at the still beautiful bright, white face of the watch. “I don’t believe it is hurt much!” he exclaimed joyfully. “I wonder how long it has been in the water!” The pointers indicated ten minutes past two. Thinking the watch must have stopped soon after it dropped into the sea, he muttered: “That might have been two o’clock last night, or yesterday, or some day of last week; who knows? Hullo!”