CHAPTER XI
The Fairview boys pulled sturdily at the oars and the clumsy boat made fair progress. Their task was made easier by the fact that the boat was going in the same direction as the current. There were places where it was almost too shallow to use the oars and at one place the boat itself nearly grounded. But they kept on, and as the river made several windings they were soon out of sight of their first camping place.
Confident now that they were reasonably safe from pursuit, they relaxed their efforts, and Bob and Frank took their turn at the oars while the others took charge of the horses.
"I suppose they've hung that poor fellow by this time," said Bob with a shiver.
"I shouldn't wonder," replied George.
"Perhaps he deserved it," remarked Sammy. "He may have murdered somebody besides stealing the girl. His face looked as though he were bad enough for anything. I had another good look at it while he was standing under the tree with the rope around his neck, and I'm surer now than I was before that he was one of the men we saw on the train with that infernal machine."
"How do you know that it was an infernal machine?"
"I don't justknow," admitted Sammy. "But a man who's bad enough to kidnap a girl and run off with her is bad enough to blow folks up!"
"I don't care how bad he was," replied George. "It doesn't seem right to hang him without letting him have a lawyer or a trial and giving him his chance."
"Maybe they weren't really going to hang him," put in Bob. "Perhaps they were trying to get him to confess or to tell on his pals or something like that."
This seemed a rather unlikely explanation, and they were having a lively interchange of guesses, when Sammy gave an exclamation.
"What is that over there?" he asked, indicating a place on the left bank of the stream.
"It looks to me like a hole in the side of a little hill," answered George. "Turn the boat's head that way, fellows, and we'll take a look at it."
A few strokes of the oars brought them to the bank and they all jumped out. It was the work of a moment to bring the horses up on the shore and then the boys hurried to the opening in the hillside.
"Why, it's a cave!" exclaimed Sammy in delight.
"A regular one, too!" added George.
"Perhaps it's a place where outlaws have hidden their loot," said Sammy. "Didn't I tell you fellows we might discover a robber's cave?"
"Hold your horses, Sammy," put in Bob. "Here's just a hole in the ground, and right away you have to make out that it's a robber's cave."
"Maybe it's the home of some wild beast," suggested Frank.
This suggestion, which was much more likely than Sammy's, made them recoil a few steps, while they looked anxiously in the direction of the boat as a possible way of retreat.
"I don't think so," said George, after a pause. "If there was any big wild animal like a bear or a panther as near the ranch as this, Mr. Claxton or some of the cowboys would be pretty sure to know of it."
"There don't seem to be any bones around, as there'd be likely to be if an animal had his den here," said Bob.
"But there may be snakes," cautioned Frank. "You know Mr. Claxton said there were too many near the ranch to suit him."
"They'd probably be outside sunning themselves," objected Sammy.
They talked over the matter for several minutes more. It seemed a rather risky thing to venture inside the cave, and yet every boy felt he could not leave such a fascinating mystery without an attempt to solve it.
"I'll tell you what we'll do," concluded George at last. "We'll get some branches together and make a fire. Then when it gets to burning well, we'll take some of the burning boughs and throw them in the cave as far as we can. That will light things up in there and we can see whether it's empty or not."
This seemed prudent and at the same time promised to satisfy their curiosity, and they hastened to carry out the plan. In a few minutes the fire was burning brightly. Then the boys picked up some of the burning brands and hurled them as far as they could inside the cave.
They retreated a little as they did so, in order to be in readiness to run if animal or snake should be disturbed and come out. But nothing of the kind happened. The brands lighted up the inside of the cave and it seemed to be perfectly empty.
"Let's go in," urged Sammy, who was burning with impatience.
"I'm willing," said Frank.
"So am I," declared Bob.
"Well," said George a little reluctantly, for being the eldest he felt more responsibility than the others, "I guess we can take a chance if we go very carefully. We'll get some big torches and each fellow will carry one."
It did not take very long to get the torches ready, and then with their hearts beating fast they went cautiously into the cave, George leading the way.
The cave broadened out as they proceeded until it was at least fifteen feet wide. The ground was dry and bore no marks of feet. They gathered confidence as they advanced.
"I don't see any loot," remarked Frank, with a grin.
"Of course you wouldn't, so near the opening of the cave as this," retorted Sammy, who felt that this was a fling at him. "The robbers would keep it as far back as they could. Maybe they've dug a hole in the floor of the cave and buried it."
They had gone for perhaps forty feet when they came up against a blank wall. They lifted their torches high and looked about for some path that might lead them in deeper. But there was no mistake about it. The cave ended abruptly right there.
Sammy was disappointed. There was no sign that any human being had ever made his home in the cave. Sammy had hoped to find an old bed or stool or blanket to hold up his theory. But there was absolutely nothing of the kind.
"Robber's cave, is it?" joked Bob.
"Gold and diamonds," grinned Frank.
"You fellows make me tired," said Sammy, put on the defensive. "Do you think I can have these things made to order? What do you boobs expect, anyway?" he snorted wrathfully. "Here you have a kidnapping, a chase by cowboys, a lynching and a big cave all in one day, and you're not satisfied yet."
"Any one would think that Sammy had brought about all these things by himself to hear him talk," laughed Bob.
"Never mind, Sammy," said George, consolingly. "We've certainly had one great big day just the same. And I can see a lot of fun that we can get out of this cave, too. What's the matter with our making it a kind of headquarters while we're on the ranch? It's as dry as a bone and maybe Mrs. Claxton will let us bring blankets and grub out here and stay over night once in a while. Think of sleeping in a cave. What do you think the boys in Fairview would say to that?"
"It'll make them crazy when they hear of it," said Frank, complacently.
"You bet it will," agreed Bob.
"And we can have a big fire outside the cave, and one of us will keep watch while the others sleep," put in Sammy.
"And we can catch our own fish and have them for breakfast fresh from the river," exulted Bob. "Yum-yum."
The surroundings were so romantic and the outlook for the future so rosy that they sat around for several hours, reluctant to leave their cozy shelter.
"Jiminy!" exclaimed George, looking at his watch. "It's getting on toward supper time. Mrs. Claxton will be worried if we are late. We'd better get a hustle on."
There was nothing further to be apprehended now from the group of lynchers and the boys hid the boat in a sheltered place under some overhanging trees. Then they mounted their horses and rode down to get the mess of fish they had promised their hostess for supper.
But to their great astonishment, not a fish was to be seen. Every one of the thirty or more had disappeared!