CHAPTER XXXIII.
PLAYING THE SHADOW.
Snell was followed.
Frank had taken Bart's advice to keep an eye on the fellow, and something in Wat's actions had given him the impression that Snell was up to something that he did not care to have generally known.
With a great deal of skill, Frank kept watch of Snell till the latter slipped from the grounds under cover of darkness.
It was a cloudy night, with the wind moaning far out at sea, and the waves roaring sullenly along the base of Black Bluff, down the shore.
As may be imagined, it was no easy task to follow Wat without losing the fellow in the darkness or getting so close that the "shadowed" lad would discover that somebody was watching him.
Although he was not aware of it, Frank possessed a remarkable faculty for performing such a task.

He moved with the silence of a creeping cat, and yet covered ground with sufficient swiftness to keep near Wat.
Something must have made Snell suspicious, for three times he stopped and peered back through the darkness, and three times Frank sunk like a ghost to the ground, escaping discovery by his swiftness in making the move.
Indeed, had it been possible for a third party to watch them, it must have seemed that Merriwell felt an intuition which told him exactly when Snell was going to look back.
Once or twice before they came to the road that led up from the cove, Frank lost sight of the boy he was following, but his keen ears served him quite as well as his eyes.
When the road up the hill was reached Frank was able to follow Wat with greater ease.
Suddenly Snell paused and whistled three times.

In a moment a single sharp whistle sounded near at hand, and then Frank, crouching close to the ground, saw a black figure come toward Wat Snell.
The wind that was moaning over the sea swept up the road and caused something to flap around the shoulders of this figure like a great pair of wings.
For all of the darkness, Frank recognized this figure, and he was seized with an indefinable feeling of fear such as he had never felt before.
With an effort, Frank steadied his quivering nerves, remaining quiet to watch and listen.
The person who had appeared in answer to Snell's signal was the man in black, and he quickly pounced upon the boy, like a huge hawk upon its prey.
"The ring!" he cried, hoarsely.

"Where is it ?" Wat gave a low cry of fear.
"Don't!" he gasped.

"You're hurting me! Your fingers are hard as iron, and they crush right into a fellow!" "The ring!" repeated the man, fiercely.