They left him, promising to see him again, and soon they had departed from the old mill. Before they left Tom found out how the secret door worked, leading from the second floor to the hidden staircase. Part of the wall was counter-poised with weights, and worked easily, once the right spring was touched. The motorboat was found just where Tom had hidden it, and soon he and his chums were speeding back to their camp. They looked for Mr. Skeel, and Sam and Nick, but saw nothing of them. Nor, in fact, did they meet them for some time after that. “And now for a good meal!” cried Dick, when the crowd was back at the tents. “I guess it’s your turn to cook, Tom.” “I guess so,” laughed our hero. “I’ll soon have some grub for you.” “We’re nearly starved,” added Dick. “Nothing much to eat in the old mill.” “Yes, it was almost as bad as when we went on a strike in Elmwood Hall,” said Bert. “Get busy, Tom.” And, at the meal, and beside the cheerful glow of the campfire, they lived over again the adventures through which they had passed in the strenuous weeks they had spent in camp. “And there really was a treasure, after all,” said Bert. “I hardly believed it.” “I don’t know whether I did or not,” said Tom, “but I made up my mind I’d prove it, one way or the other.” “And you did,” commented Jack, with a laugh. “You generally do what you set out to, Tom.” “Even to getting a meal up for a hungry crowd,” put in Dick. “And as good a one as I could myself,” spoke Bert, passing his plate for more fried chicken. “And now we’ll enjoy camp life, without worrying about hidden treasure,” said Tom. “Ho! for good times from now on!” And they had them. They learned later, that the old hermit sold the plate and jewels, and wisely converted his treasure into cash, which he put in the bank. It was sufficient for his simple needs for many years. A distant relative induced him to leave the mill and live with him, and the old man passed the rest of his years in peace. “Well, I wonder what we’ll do this fall?” asked Jack one day about a week later, as they were out on Lake Woonset in the motorboat. “Go back to school, of course,” said Tom with a laugh, “and have some more fun.” What our hero and his chums did will be told of in the next volume of this series, to be entitled, “Tom Fairfield’s Pluck and Luck; Or, Working to Clear His Name.” “Well, this is certainly great!” declared Jack that night, as they stood on the shores of the lake, and watched the moon rise over the trees. “It’s been the best vacation I ever knew.” “Same here!” chorused Bert and Dick. “Yes, it was lively enough,” agreed Tom. And as they turned into their cots we will take leave of them. THE END THE BOYS’ OUTING LIBRARY _12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in full color._ _Price, per volume, 65 cents, postpaid._ [Illustration] =THE SADDLE BOYS SERIES= BY CAPT. JAMES CARSON