Page:The Secret of the Caves.djvu/159

have good blankets like these," he declared. "They seem brand new, too."

"If they are, there must be a catch in it somewhere."

"There is. Look!"

Frank held out the blanket. Stamped into the fabric was the name, "Hotel Bayport." The reason for Schaum's sudden burst of generosity was now clear.

"No wonder he didn't want to take them with him. He knew that if the police laid eyes on those blankets he'd have another charge laid against him. He must have stolen them from the hotel after he escaped from jail."

"I think he would take anything that wasn't nailed down," said Joe. "Well, we can take the blankets back with us and return them to the hotel, at any rate."

"Sure. We'll leave 'em here with the grub until we're ready to go back to our own cave."

The boys found nothing else worthy of attention in Carl Schaum's crude abode except a revolver hidden beneath a rock near the blankets. They appropriated this, to turn over to the police when they should return to Bayport.

They departed, well satisfied with their visit.

"Chet will give three cheers when he sees the grub again. I don't think he was very cheerful about the thought of going on short rations until we got new supplies," said Frank.