"Here's tough luck, and more of it!" remarked Davy Jones; but while Smithy was looking excited, and rather white, the Jones boy was grinning, just as if the new condition of affairs, thrilling in the extreme, pleased him intensely.
Thad hastened to examine the ground, as a true scout always thinks of doing when he seeks information concerning the movements of others; for neither men nor boys can well move around without leaving some traces of their late presence; and when one knows how to use his eyes to advantage, it is possible to learn many valuable things after this fashion.
"Did they take it, Thad?" continued Davy, as the scout leader arose from his knees again, his face filled with all sorts of wild conjectures as to the meaning of this new mystery.
"They must have," replied Thad; "because they've been around since we were. Fact is, as you can see for yourselves, boys; here's where the imprint of that marked shoe has half covered Smithy's track. And of course that could mean only one thing."
"You're right, it could," admitted Davy, easily convinced.
Smithy looked around at the undergrowth, out of which they had just pushed. No doubt his imagination was working at full speed, and he could see a face leering out from behind every scrub bush. Smithy was at least a great reader, even if he had until lately never been allowed to associate with other boys; and likely enough he had spent many hours over Stevenson's "Treasure Island" and kindred stories of adventure. And being of a nervous temperament, the consciousness of hovering peril acted on him to a much greater extent than it did in the cases of his fellow scouts.
"But where do you think they could have taken the boat, Thad?" Smithy now asked, as he stared out on the waves that were sweeping past so merrily, and could see no sign of any craft.
"Perhaps gone around the island, hiding it in some place they know about; or it might be they've just sunk the canoe out in deep water there," replied Thad.
"Sunk their own boat!" remarked Smithy, in bewilderment; "now, please explain to me just why they would want to do so remarkable a thing as that, Thad?"
"So that we couldn't have the use of it to get back ashore again; and our comrades over there mightn't be able to come over," was the reply of the young scout-master.
"Do you mean they've made up their minds totry and keep us prisoners on this terrible island?" asked the other.
"It looks a little that way to me right now, Smithy; fact is they've got me guessing good and hard what they do mean by that sort of thing. Perhaps they want a certain amount of time to make their escape, and expect to get it by keeping us cooped up here. The question now is, shall we let them carry that scheme out?"
"Not if we know it, we won't," Davy spoke up, and declared in his positive way. "Why, I think I could manage to get over to the mainland somehow, with that log there to help me. The wind and waves would carry me along, you see, Thad; and I could do my clothes up in a bundle and keep 'em dry. Seems to me that's the kind of work for a scout to try, ain't it?"
"A pretty good idea, Davy," admitted the scout-master, readily enough; "there's only one drawback to it, that I can see."
"And what might that be?" asked the one who had conceived the brilliant thought, and who seemed to be disappointed because his chief had not immediately declared it to be a marvel of ingenuity.
"Well, you're not much of a swimmer, and couldn't make any headway against the wind and the waves. Consequently you'd just have to let them carry you along with them. That would take a lot of time; and even if you did get ashore safely it'd be at the far end of the lake. You know the country is pretty rough between there and the camp. Bysticking to the beach, where there is any, you might make it in a couple of hours; but altogether it'd be well into afternoon before you got in touch with Allan and the rest."
"All right, I'm willing to make the try, if only you give the word, Thad," the Jones boy went on, with a vein of urgency in his voice. "Just the idea seems to tickle me more'n I c'n tell you. And if I kept on the other side of the log, why you see, these fellers wouldn't know a thing about it. They'd think it was just an old log that had drifted around, and was going wherever the wind wanted."
"Well, such talk would convince anybody, I guess," laughed Thad.
"Then you're goin' to let me try it, I hope?" ventured Davy, joyfully.
"Perhaps I may a little later," the other admitted. "After we've talked it over some more. And first of all, I think Smithy and myself had better arm ourselves in the same way you have, with a good stout club. If the worst comes, it's a jolly good thing to have in your hand."
"Well, I should say, yes," Davy went on; "more'n once I've stood off a savage dog with a stick like this, and dared him to tackle me. But here, if I'm going to take that little swim with the log, I won't need my club. S'pose I hand it over to Smithy?"
There was a method in his madness; and Thad, who could read between the lines, understood it easily enough. If allowed to give Smithy hisweapon of offense and defense, such permission would really be setting the seal of approval on his proposition to swim ashore. And Davy was shrewd enough to figure on that.
"All right, give it to Smithy," said Thad; making up his mind that since one of them ought to make the effort to get in touch with the balance of the patrol, it were better to allow Davy to go than that he leave the two boys on the island; for that might look strange in a leader.
And so the delighted Davy hastened to comply; indeed the manner in which he thrust the stick into the willing hands of the other seemed to indicate a fear on his part lest the scout-master alter his mind. And once the club had changed hands he appeared to believe the thing was settled beyond recall.
"Do you think they might attack us, Thad?" asked Smithy, who was somewhat pale, but showing a resolute front in this crisis.
"I don't know any more than you do, Smithy," replied the other; "they had some scheme in view when they scooped the boat, and hid it from us. As I said before, I can't make up my mind whether they only want to make time by cutting off all chances of pursuit; or else mean to come down on us."
"What do you suppose they'd be apt to do to us for giving them so much trouble, and taking their boat?" continued Smithy.
"What Paddy gave the drum, perhaps," remarked Davy; "a beating. But if you two fellerscan only manage to keep out of their hands a little while, I ain't afraid about my being able to reach shore, and the camp. Then what, Thad?"
"Just what I said—have one of the boys, Giraffe perhaps, because he's a good runner, start over to Rockford. I think from the rough map a charcoal burner made of this section of country for me, that town can be only about seven miles or so across country, though the going might be pretty rough. Here, take my little compass, in case he is afraid he may get lost in the woods," and Thad detached the article in question from his silver watch chain.
"I'm glad you said Giraffe," remarked Davy; "because if it had been Step-hen, who is also a clever long-distance runner, he'd have been sure to lose himself, because he says he's going to take the first chance, just because somebody took his old compass. Then, when he gets to Rockford you want Giraffe to getFavershamthe 'phone; is that it, Thad?"
"Yes, and tell his story to the Chief—all about the queer things that have happened to us up here since we made camp,—the coming of the bear; then our finding the boat; the tracks on the island; how we had a visit from the bear man, and what his companion told you to do in case you ever saw the imprint of a shoe that had a crooked patch across the sole. I reckon Mr. Malcolm Hotchkiss'll know what to do when he gets all these facts in his head. And then Giraffe can rest up before he tries to come back to-morrow."
"I got it all just as you stated it, Thad," declaredDavy, beginning to unfasten his shoes, as if anxious to be busy; "now, if you fellers would just roll that same log into the water while I'm doing up my duds in a little package that I c'n tie on top, so as to keep 'em dry, I'll be ready in short order. Then you watch me paddle my own canoe for the shore. It'll be just more fun than a circus for David, believe me."
So Thad and Smithy took hold, and with the aid of the sticks in their hands it was found that the log could be readily turned over. Each time this was done it drew closer to the water's edge, and presently splashed into the lake.
"See her float just like a duck, will you?" remarked the delighted Davy, who was by this time making a bundle of his shoes, hat and clothes, which he expected to secure somehow to the log, or thrust into a crevice, where the package might not be seen by watchful eyes ashore.
"Well, anyhow, if that boat did have to be captured by the enemy," remarked Smithy, just then, as if remembering something; "I'm glad I found that stuff before it went, that's a fact, boys."
Thad turned on him in some surprise.
"Now you've got us both wondering what you mean, Smithy," he remarked; "suppose you explain before Davy leaves us."
"Oh! I forgot to say anything about it," declared the other, in more or less confusion; "the fact of the matter is, Thad, when I found I was going to be your canoemate on this little adventure, I went downat once and turned the boat over to see that it was perfectly clean. You know it's a hobby of mine to want everything just so; and I noticed that a little washing would improve the looks of our boat. So I took out the false bottom that keeps heavy shoes from cutting into the thin planking; and what do you suppose I found in the cracks below?"
He had thrust his fingers into one of his pockets, and now held up something at which both the others stared in surprise, that gradually deepened into dismay, on the part of Thad at least.
"Let me look at them, please, Smithy," said the scout-master, quietly; and in response to his request the other placed in his outstretched hand two bright new silver half dollars!
A rather queer find, to say the least, to run across under the false bottom in a little canoe that had been secreted among the bushes bordering this lonely sheet of water known as Lake Omega!
Smithy and the Jones boy watched their patrol leader with something more than ordinary curiosity, as Thad examined the two shining coins. And when the other even tried his teeth on each half dollar in turn, Davy gave an exclamation of delight; while the other scout was in a measure filled with sudden consternation.
For both of them could understand what this meant, and that Thad felt more or less suspicious regarding the genuineness of the two coins.
"He thinks they might be counterfeits, Smithy," said Davy, in low but thrilling tones. "Now wouldn't that be a great joke if we found ourselves bunking on this old island along with a lot of desperate bogus money-makers! Oh! say, things are just turning out tremendous, and that's a fact. But I don't exactly know, whether there'd be more fun staying here, or taking that little voyage with the log."
"That part of it has already been settled," remarked Thad, with a vein of authority in his voice;for he wanted Davy to understand that as a true scout, he must always pay respect to the orders of his superior, and never try to evade a duty that had been imposed upon him.
"Oh! all right, Thad;" Davy replied; "I'm willin' enough to try the swim; but say, what if they jump on you fellers while I'm away?"
You would have thought from the patronizing manner of the Jones boy that upon his presence alone depended the safety of the group of scouts. Thad, however, knew Davy pretty well by this time, and did not take all he said seriously.
"We'll have to manage to get on, somehow," he said; "and perhaps, after all, the danger may not be so very great. If there are places for these two men to hide, why, seems to me we ought to be able to keep out of their sight some way or another."
Smithy was not saying much, but it might be understood that he was doing a whole lot of thinking. This was certainly a novel experience for him. A short time before, and he had not really known what it was to associate with any boys save a delicate little cousin away off in a city, and who was very girlish in all his ways. And here he was now, not only in the company of seven healthy fellows, fond of fun, and all outdoor sports; but a genuine scout in the Silver Fox Patrol, and facing danger with a bravery no one had ever dreamed he could display.
That was why Smithy felt pleased, even whilehe at the same time experienced a touch of uneasiness because of the new developments that were constantly making their situation look more desperate.
As Thad had discovered, under all that gentle exterior there beat a heart within Smithy that yearned to have its fair share of excitement. Reading Robinson Crusoe and Treasure Island might be all very well; but acting a part in a little bit of daring seemed much better.
Thad bent down to assist Davy secure his clothes to the log. The Jones boy had waded in, and upon examining one side of the old tree trunk as it floated buoyantly on the water, he found that there was just the nicest hiding-place one could wish for in the shape of a cavity well above the reach of the water.
"You see, Thad," he explained, "it ain't goin' to be on the side that the waves beat against, and so my duds won't be apt to getverywet. The cutest pocket you ever saw; and looks like it might just have been made specially for a feller that wanted to take a tour of the lake with his private yacht Now, do I go, Thad? I'm ready, and only waitin' for orders."
"Then you might as well start, Davy; and if I was you I'd keep out of sight all I could. If they happened to spy you, and believed you were going for help, so that they might be captured before night came, it would go hard with you perhaps."
"I got your meaning, Thad," Davy replied, without showing the least concern, for he was a fearless chap; "which is, that they've got the boat, and could chase after me if they thought I was going to get 'em in a peck of trouble by flitting. Never you fear, I'll keep low down, and out of sight."
He thereupon proved how easy it would be to lie in a position where he could guide the floating log, and yet be out of sight from the side that was toward the island.
"Oh! this is the greatest thing that's come my way for a long time," he said, as he walked further away from the shore, the water getting deeper all the time until his body was very nearly all submerged; "and I'm ever so much obliged to you for giving me the chance, Thad. Don't bother a thing about me. If some big mud-turtle don't grab me by the toe, and pull me down, I'll come out swimmingly, see?"
Thad knew that he could depend on the Jones boy. When a fellow can even think to joke like that when facing danger of any sort, he certainly could not be feeling in a state of panic.
"Now the breeze strikes me, fellows, and I'm off. I'd like to give a whoop, I feel so great; but something tells me that would be wrong. So just consider that's what I'm doing inside, anyhow. Good-bye, boys, and I hope you pull through O. K."
Thad did not answer, for the simple reason thatthe log with its boyish freight was already so far away that he would have to raise his voice to make Davy hear; and such a thing would be foolish, when they wanted to keep as quiet as possible, so as not to attract attention.
Standing there, they watched the strange argosy floating away on the dancing waves. Davy was urging it from the shore of the island as well as he could by swimming, and without showing any part of his person.
"He's going to make that point, all right," said Thad, knowing that the Jones boy's one fear had been lest he ground on the bar that put out there, and be compelled to show himself in order to push off again.
"But you said it would be hours before he could even get to camp, didn't you, Thad?" asked Smithy.
"The way he's drifting now, he'll surely be at the end of the lake in half an hour; and given four times as much to make his way round all the coves, would bring him to camp about noon, I reckon. Then, if Giraffe starts out at once, and has fair luck traveling he ought to get to Rockford in two hours, running part of the way, once he strikes the road."
"That would mean two in the afternoon, then, Thad?"
"About that, if all goes well," the other continued, as though mapping out the programme, step by step. "Then give him a quarter of an hour to tell Mr.Hotchkiss the story over the wire; and after that the Faversham officers would have to come on here. But perhaps they might get a car to bring them along the road. It's not a first class auto road, but could be navigated I guess. Say by four o'clock they could be at our camp, Smithy."
The other sighed.
"That means something more than six hours for us to play hide and seek here on the island, doesn't it?" he remarked; but Thad saw with relief that Smithy was certainly showing less signs of alarm than he had expected, under the best conditions.
"Well, if you were only as good a swimmer as you hope to be one of these days, Smithy," he remarked, pleasantly, "we might try for the shore. But as it is, we've got to make the best of a bad bargain, and wait. You've got good sight, so suppose we try and see if we can tell what the boys are doing in camp. Two pair of eyes ought to be better than one any day."
"But honest now, I don't seem to see a blessed fellow there," declared Smithy, which was just what Thad had himself found out. "I can see the fire burning lazily, and the flag whipping in that splendid breeze; but as far as I can make out the whole pack have deserted, and gone somewhere. Perhaps they're fishing."
"You could see them on the bank, if that were so, Smithy," remarked Thad. "Try again withanother guess; and this time think well before you answer."
"Well," remarked the new tenderfoot scout presently, after he had stood there, conjuring up his thoughts; "I remember that you told them something before we set sail on our trip."
"Just what I did, and tell me if you can remember the nature of the task they were to handle during our absence?" the scout-master continued.
"Allan was going to show them some more interesting things about following a trail," Smithy immediately replied; "how to tell what sort of little animal like a fox, a woodchuck, a mink, a muskrat or an otter had made the marks; what it was trying to do; and how it was captured by the men who make a business of collecting skins, or as they call them, pelts."
"Just so," Thad observed, "only it was to be this afternoon Allan meant to show them all that. If you think again, now, Smithy, I'm sure you'll recollect there was another piece of scout business, and a very important one too, that they were to practice this morning."
"Yes, I remember it all now—wigwagging it was," the tenderfoot went on to say with eagerness, and not a little satisfaction, because he had recalled everything that Thad wanted him to. "Allan was to go up to the top of that little bare hill back of the camp, and two of the other fellows were to hikeover to another about a mile or so away. Then they would exchange sentences by means of the signal flag, waved up and down and every which way, according to the alphabet used in the U. S. Signal Corps. And to-night the result was to be given to you to correct."
"I see your memory is in good working order, Smithy, for that is exactly what sort of a task I set the boys we left behind. And now, I've just thought up a dandy scheme that if it can only be carried out, may gain us just about two hours over Davy's best time, in letting our chums know what a hole we're in."
Smithy looked interested. Indeed, whatever Thad did always excited his enthusiasm; for he believed the young scout-master to be the smartest boy he had ever heard of in all his life.
"It's something to do with this same wigwagging, Thad, I'm sure of that?" he remarked, drawing a big breath in his new excitement.
"Well, there's no use wasting any more time in beating around the bush, so I'll tell you right now what the idea is," Thad continued, smiling at the eagerness of his comrade. "Suppose I could climb to the top of some tree, and attract the attention of Allan, as he stood on that bald hill, which is in plain sight from here; don't you understand that by making use of my handkerchief, and the code, I might be able to tell him what's happened, and get him to sendGiraffe to Rockford so as to call the Faversham Chief over the 'phone?"
Smith's face was wreathed in a smile of mingled admiration and delight as he caught the full meaning of the bright thought that had come to the mind of his companion, the scout-master.
"Oh! that's the finest thing that ever could happen, Thad;" was the way the delighted Smithy put his feelings into words. "And just to think that right here you can make use of scout knowledge to tell Allan what's happened. Why, without the wigwag telegraph we'd never be able to let him know one single thing."
"Just what I was thinking myself, Smithy," returned the scout-master. "And as you get deeper into the splendid things a Boy Scout is supposed to learn, while he climbs the ladder, you'll find that never a day passes but what he can help himself, or some other fellow, by what he knows."
"I'm quite certain about that, Thad," Smithy went on, brimming over with satisfaction, and wonder at the cleverness of his chum. "Why, I was just thinking it all over this morning, and what great chances a scout has to do things that an ordinary boy would never be able to even try, because he had not learned. Right now I'm positive I knowhow to best stop a runaway horse without endangering my life more than is absolutely necessary."
"That's the kind of talk I like to hear, Smithy; it shows that you understand what the scout movement stands for; and mean to make the most of the opportunities."
"Then suppose a chum of mine got in the water, and was taken with a cramp," Smithy went on hurriedly, his blue eyes sparking with delight; "why, after what you showed me this morning, I believe that as soon as I know a little more about swimming, I could get him ashore."
"And when you had done that?" questioned Thad, who was meanwhile keeping his eyes around him for the purpose of discovering the best tree which he could use as a signal tower, in the carrying out of his bold plan for communicating with the balance of the Silver Fox Patrol.
"Why, I wrote down every little thing you did when showing us how to revive a partly drowned person; and Thad, I practiced on a dummy when nobody was around to laugh. I'm positive I have it down pat, and could do the business."
"Laugh!" repeated the pleased scout-master; "I'd just like to see any scout under my control make fun of a fellow who was so much in earnest that he devoted some of his spare minutes to practicing the art of saving a human life. I hope you may never have to put that knowledge to practicaluse, Smithy; but if the occasion ever does come along, I firmly believe you'll be equal to it. I'm more than pleased at the earnest way you've taken hold of these things."
"Thank you, Thad," replied Smithy, actually with tears in his eyes; "but if I have, you can lay it partly to the fact that up to now I've been half starved in respect to all the things that most boys know and do, and just wild to learn; and also that I've had the finest chum that ever drew breath to coach me. Oh! yes, there are dozens of other things I've learned that are bound to widen the horizon of any boy. It was a fortunate day formewhen you coaxed my mother to let me join the Boy Scouts. Nobody else could have done it but you, Thad."
Smithy was growing more and more excited; and Thad thought best to end that sort of talk. Besides, the time and place were hardly suited for an exchange of opinions with respect to the advantages of the scout movement.
"We'll talk it over another time, Smithy," he said, kindly. "Just now we ought to bend our minds wholly on finding the right sort of tree for my wigwag station. Come along, and let's take a look at that tree just up the bank yonder. Seems to me it ought to answer my purpose."
So he led the way to the tree in question, which happened to be close by. It was little effort for Thad to climb up into the branches, leaving Smithybelow; with directions to return to the beach when he heard a whistle from his chief; it being Thad's idea that the presence of some one below might draw attention to his flag work above, and interrupt the message.
The higher he climbed the better he was satisfied; forhefound that the tree was dead from a point half-way up, and consequently there was a stronger chance that he could manage to attract the attention of Allan, on the hill a mile and a half away.
Finding the perch that seemed to answer his purpose best, Thad broke off a few small dead branches that threatened to interfere with the free use of his arm. After that he gave the whistle to letSmithyknow the signalman was fixed, and that he had better go back to the beach to wait.
As yet he had seen nothing of Allan. The bald top of the hill was in plain sight from where the scout-master sat, perched aloft, but he scanned it in vain. Thad would not allow himself to doubt that presently the second in command of the patrol would show up there. He knew Allan was a stickler for obeying orders to the very letter, and if his superior had said that he should reach the crown of that hill at exactly seven minutes after ten, the chances were fifty to one Allan would make his appearance on the second; or there would be trouble in the camp.
So, to amuse himself while waiting Thad turnedpartly around, and looked after Davy. At first he was astonished not to see the floating log on the troubled surface of the lake to leeward, where it had been moving at a pretty fast clip when the scout-messenger left the island.
He experienced a sudden sensation of alarm, but immediately took a fresh grip on himself. Surely the waves were not so very boisterous now, for the wind seemed to be diminishing, if anything. And Davy was a pretty fair swimmer, all things considered.
Thad presently gave expression to a little sigh of relief; for far away, just under the fringe of trees bordering the extreme end of Lake Omega, he had discovered a moving object. It was the flash of a breaking wave over the same that had attracted his attention first; and he now made out the floating log.
Then Davy must have made much better time than he, Thad, had expected would be the case. No doubt he had assisted the progress of his novel craft by swimming, being desirous of reaching land as soon as possible.
So Thad divided his time between the bald top of the signal station hill, and the log that as he knew concealed the swimming scout.
"There he goes, creeping through the shallow water and heading for the bank," he presently muttered to himself in a pleased way. "And I can give a pretty good guess that right now Davy is thehappiest fellow in the county; because he just loves adventure of any kind, and he's sure getting his fill. There, he pulls himself up on the shore, and ducks behind that bunch of brush! Good boy, Davy; that ought to count for a merit mark, all right. Nobody could have done it better, and few as well."
After that Davy vanished from his sight. He knew that the other was making for camp at his best speed; but as he had a difficult task, with the way so rough, it must be a couple of hours at least before he could expect to bring up at the tents, where the flag floated gaily from the mast.
Turning wholly, so as to devote his full attention to the signal station hill, Thad counted the minutes that seemed to drag so heavily.
Once or twice he thought he heard some sort of rustling sound down on the island somewhere. He hoped that nothing was happening to Smithy; but of course it was utterly out of the question for him to call aloud, to inquire whether the tenderfoot scout was safe.
"He ought to be showing up soon now," Thad was muttering as he kept watch of the smooth hilltop; "Every minute lost counts now. I hope nothing has happened in camp to disarrange the programme I laid out."
He had hardly spoken when he started, and a pleased look came over his anxious face; for at last there was a movement on the bald top of the elevation, as if something might be doing.
Yes, a human figure was climbing steadily upward, now and then stopping to make some sort of gesture to an unseen comrade at the base of the hill, either with his arm, or one of the signal flags he carried.
Eagerly Thad watched the ascent of his chum. He knew that Allan was carrying the precious field glasses, for he saw the sun glint from their lens when the other stopped to take a survey.
Oh! if he would only look toward the island now; for Thad was already waving his handkerchief up and down, and ready to make a certain signal which had often been used as a sign of importance between himself and this chum from Maine. Once Allan detected it, he would know instantly that the person waving was the scout-master, and that he had news of great importance to communicate.
But it seemed as if Allan were devoting all his attention to the other quarter, where he doubtless anticipated seeing the second signalman begin to tell him that the station was ready to receive messages.
Still, knowing that three of the patrol had gone that very morning to the mysterious island, to investigate further into the strange things it seemed to hide, it would seem that presently Allanmustturn his head, and sweep the shore of the same with his glasses.
Ordinary curiosity should cause him to do that;Thad thought as he waited; waving his handkerchief and fixing his eyes on the far-away figure of the khaki-clad scout with the flags.
He even found himself hoping that the one sent to a more distant station might meet with some unexpected delay on the way; so that, becoming weary of looking for a sign, Allan would presently amuse himself by taking a view of other quarters.
Five minutes later, and Thad's heart gave a throb. He could see that his wish was coming true, for the sun flashed more brightly than ever as it glanced from the moving lens of the field glass. Allan was now surveying the landscape around him, and gradually his attention must be drawing nearer the island.
So Thad began to make the circular movement, followed by a downward plunge of his handkerchief, that would surprise Allan when he noticed it, for he was bound to understand what it signified.
A few seconds of suspense, and then Thad breathed with relief.
He had seen the other focus his glasses straight toward the tree, in the dead upper branches of which, he, Thad, was clinging, and wildly waving his improvised signal flag.
"He sees me! Good for that!" Thad said to himself; while his heart was pounding wildly within its prison, because of the excitement that had seized him in its grip.
Thad now devoted himself to the task of communicating all he had to say to his second in command, and as briefly as possible. Time was a factor in the affair; and it would not pay to waste more minutes than were absolutely necessary. The full particulars must be kept, to thrill the patrol as they sat around the next blazing camp-fire, each one telling his individual part of the story.
Fortunately Thad and Allan had long been practicing this exchange of flag signals together; and in this way had become fairly expert in the use of the little telegraphic code that takes the place of the dot-and-dash of the wire process. With but his handkerchief to use in place of the flag, Thad knew he would be hampered more or less; but he had faith in the ability of his chum to grasp the truth, once he caught an inkling of the peril that threatened.
And now Allan was signaling that he understood the chief wished to send an important message, which he was ready to receive.
So Thad commenced by asking:
"Who have you close by to send with a message to Rockford?"
Allan asked him to repeat; and no wonder, for he could not exactly grasp such an astonishing query; but on its being waved again he replied promptly:
"Giraffe, Bumpus; other two gone signal station beyond."
"O. K. Send Giraffe at once. Tell him to make it as fast as he can. At Rockford get Chief Police at Faversham on 'phone; name Malcolm Hotchkiss. Tell him all that happened to us, about bear men, and that one of them asked Davy to let chief know if he saw footprint of marked shoe around. Believe that man on island, and that he is thief wanted by authorities. How?"
This last was the query they understood between them. It meant that the sender wished to know if the burden of his message was being fully sensed by the one at the receiving end.
"O. K. Tremendous! Go on!" came the immediate reply.
Such long messages took more or less time, and would have been impossible only that in their enthusiasm the two scouts had abbreviated the code, so that they were able to really exchange sentences in a short-hand way.
Thad went on to give the other more knowledge,believing that Giraffe ought to be posted up to a certain point, so that he could urge the Chief of the Faversham police to hasten his movements; for if night fell, without the hidden men being captured, they could get away under cover of darkness.
"Davy gone ashore behind floating log. Just landed at end of lake. Thought of this scheme after he left. Man with owner of bear we believe to be officer of law, looking for these rascals. Let Giraffe have your compass. Give him map I left in tent. Our boat taken, and we can't get ashore, for Smithy not able to swim. Let all practice for day drop, and keep in camp, ready to take another message."
Then Thad made the winding-up movement that told Allan he did not wish to consume more time by further talk. Enough had been sent in this tedious way to let the other know the main facts of the matter; and they were surely startling enough in themselves, without the particulars that would follow later on, when peace had settled over the camp.
He saw that Allan understood the need of haste; for as soon as he had made that peremptory signal, the second in command commenced going down the slope of the hill with the bald top, taking great leaps as he went.
Eagerly did Thad watch his progress. Once, in his haste, Allan tripped and fell headlong; and Thad's heart seemed to be in his mouth with thesuspense; but immediately the other scrambled to his feet again. His first thought must have been of the chum whose eyes he knew were glued upon him; for he made a reassuring wave of his arm, and resumed his downward progress, a trifle more carefully now.
Presently he vanished among the trees that grew about two-thirds of the way up, and Thad saw only occasional glimpses of him from that moment onward; as the flying figure flashed across some little gap in the verdure-clad hillside; never failing to wave his arms reassuringly to the watcher.
"He must be nearly down at the base now," Thad said to himself, after some time had elapsed since he saw any sign of the hurrying scout.
Knowing what was apt to follow, he kept his ears on the alert for welcome sounds which would tell that Allan had given the recall to the two scouts sent to the distant station, with their relay of flags, in order to receive and send messages.
A minute, two, three of them glided away. Thad was beginning to feel a trifle uneasy, not knowing but that some further accident might have happened to Allan, in his eagerness to reach the foot of the hill.
But his fears proved groundless. Presently there floated distinctly to his ears, for water carries sounds wonderfully well, the sweet notes of the bugle which Bumpus Hawtree knew so well how to manipulate.It was the "assembly" that was sounded, and those distant scouts, upon hearing the well-known signal, would surely understand its tenor; and that for some reason the plans of the day had undergone a decided change, so that they were to return forthwith to the camp.
Sweeter sounds Thad believed he had never heard than those that came stealing over the troubled surface of Lake Omega that morning, when affairs were beginning to have such a serious look for the Silver Fox Patrol.
He gave a sigh of relief. Some of the strain seemed to have departed, now that his signaling task had apparently been successfully carried out.
"In a short time, Giraffe will be starting across for the road leading to Rockford," Thad was saying to himself, as he sat there in his lofty eyrie, and surveying the whole island that lay bathed in the sunlight beneath him. "With a fair amount of good luck he ought to get there by half-past one, perhaps much earlier; for Giraffe is a fast runner, and has staying powers."
The prospect was of a character to give Thad infinite pleasure. And somehow he seemed also greatly delighted because he had been able to hurry matters along in a wonderful manner, thanks to the knowledge he and Allan possessed of this Signal Corps work.
"Why, it's already paid us ten times over for allthe trouble we took to learn the code," he was saying to himself, between chuckles. "And besides, it was only fun, learning. Smithy was right when he said this Boy Scout business was the best thing ever started in this or any other country to benefit fellows. And I'm glad I had that idea of starting a troop in sleepy old Cranford, so far behind the times."
Just then he happened to remember that he was not alone on the island. Smithy would be getting quite anxious about him by now; and Thad concluded that he ought to hunt the other scout up, so as to relieve his mind.
He had read enough of the character of the new tenderfoot scout to feel certain that Smithy would obey orders to the letter. Told to wait on the little pebbly beach until his superior officer joined him, he would stay there indefinitely; just as another lad, known to history and fame, Casibianca, "stood on the burning deck, whence all but him had fled," simply because his father had told him to remain there.
So Thad commenced to descend from his lofty perch, meaning to hunt Smithy up, and not only relieve his natural suspense, but reward him for his long vigil by relating the result of the exchange of signals.
That the new recruit would be deeply interested, he felt sure; for everything connected with thescouting business had a fascination for Smithy; now living an existence he may have dreamed about in former days, but really never hoped to personally experience.
Just then the loon, floating and diving out on the bosom of the water somewhere, had to give vent to his idiotic laugh. Possibly he had been observing the watcher in the dead tree-top, and was announcing his opinion of such silly antics when he noticed Thad begin to descend.
The sound struck a cold chill to the heart of the boy, though he laughed at himself immediately afterward for allowing such a feeling to come over him.
"It's only the loon," he said, as he again slipped from limb to limb, constantly nearing the base of the tree. "I suppose the thing's been watching me all the time, and wondering what under the sun a fellow could be doing, waving his old handkerchief around as though he were daffy. He looks on me as a lunatic, and I know him to be a loon."
Chuckling at his little joke, Thad presently reached a point where he could hang from the lower limb by his hands, and then drop lightly to the ground.
He waited only a minute to recover his breath, for after all the coming down had been more of a task than the mounting upward. Then he started for the shore of the lake, and the little beach thathad witnessed both landings of the invading parties of scouts.
Twice now had that same beach afforded a surprise as unwelcome as it was unexpected, when the boat had vanished so strangely. Thad hoped history would not feel bound to repeat itself. True, they no longer had a boat to lose, since it had already disappeared; but then, there was Smithy!
As he drew near the beach, he tried to discover the form of his comrade somewhere in the open, but without success. Still, Thad knew that the tenderfoot would doubtless consider it the part of wisdom to hide, while waiting for his comrade to finish his work aloft, and join him.
Thinking thus, and yet with an uneasiness that he could hardly understand, Thad kept on, until presently he had broken through the last line of bushes, and stepped out on the little sandy stretch of beach.
Certainly Smithy was not in sight. He turned in both directions, and swept the half circle of brush with an anxious gaze.
Then he called in a low tone, but which might easily have been heard by any one chancing to be hiding behind that fringe of bushes:
"Smithy, hello!"
There was no answer to his summons. The loon laughed again out on the lake, as though mockinghis anxiety; a squirrel ran down a tree, and frisked about its base; but the tenderfoot scout seemed to have vanished as utterly as though the earth had opened and swallowed him up.
Of course the scout-master was given a shock when he realized that Smithy could not be where he had told him to wait until relieved. All sorts of dire things commenced to flash through his head.
"Here, this won't do at all," he presently muttered, starting to get a firm grip on himself; "I've myself alone to depend on, to find out the truth about Smithy, and to do that I must keep my head level. Now, I wonder have I made a mistake about the calibre of Smithy, and could he have wandered off in a careless way?"
Somehow he did not find himself taking any great amount of stock in this theory. Why, had it been easy-going Bumpus now, or even rather careless Step-hen, Thad fancied that there might have been more or less truth back of the suspicion; but unless his study of the tenderfoot had been wrong, Smithy would not be guilty of disobedience.
"Well, what am I thinking about?" was theway Thad took himself to task presently; "trying to find the answer to a riddle by bothering my brains, when it ought to be written here on the sand as plain as print."
Immediately he commenced to move about, looking for signs. Of course there must be all manner of footprints there, some recent, and others made on the occasion of the preceding visit of the scouts. But Thad had studied trail finding more or less under the watchful eye of the Maine boy, who knew considerable about it; and hence he was able to decide what were new, and what old footprints.
And he had not been at this task more than half a minute when he received considerable of a shock.
"Why, here's that footprint with the marked sole!" he whispered, a new thrill in the region of his heart.
He could guess what that meant, for it was very fresh and new. The man whom he now believed to be some sort of criminal, had been right there on the beach since he, Thad, had quitted the spot to climb the tree selected for his signaling operations!
And since Smithy was supposed to be waiting there, only one inference could be drawn—the tenderfoot scout had fallen into the enemy's hands!
Evidently matters were approaching a crisis now. The two men who hid on this island as though they feared their fellows to see them, were beginning togrow bolder. At first they had only felt annoyed by the coming of the scouts, and the making of the camp opposite their secret retreat. Then, by degrees, as the boys began to infringe on their territory, they had commenced to strike back; first by causing the boat to disappear; and now by capturing poor Smithy, who must be nearly dead with fright because of his peril.
Thad suspected the men may have begun to fear that their hiding-place was known, and that the boys would be trying to either effect their capture, or communicate their discovery to the authorities in some neighboring town.
Perhaps they hoped to keep matters boiling at fever heat until night fell, when they could make use of the recovered boat to slip away; or else swim from the island retreat.
He looked further, and soon found marks that plainly told the story of a struggle. It had been brief, however, for evidently Smithy was evidently taken by surprise, and with his breath immediately cut off by a cruel grip, must have soonyielded.
Thad looked around him. Would the two desperate characters be coming back to find the other scout? Did they know that Davy had gone with that log? Perhaps even at that minute hostile eyes might be upon him!
The very thought caused Thad to take a firmer grip on the stout cudgel he carried, and resolve thatshould he be attacked, these rascals would not have the easy victory they had found with his comrade, Smithy.
But all was quiet and peaceful around him; and by degrees his excited nerves quieted down. What should he do, now that he knew the worst? Of course, being such a good swimmer, Thad might easily have stripped, and made his way over to the mainland, providing the men did not take a notion to chase after him in the boat. He put the thought aside with impatience. That would be deserting Smithy, who looked up to him as a faithful friend and ally; and this Thad would never be guilty of doing.
Should he simply conceal himself somewhere on the island, and wait for the coming of afternoon, and the expected officers? Suppose, for instance, Giraffe lost his way while trying to make Rockford, what then would become of Smithy?
Thad felt that he could never look a scout in the face again if he were guilty of such small business.
"I'm going to do my best to find Smithy, no matter what happens," he said to himself, as he shut his teeth hard together, and took a fresh grip on thatcomfortingcudgel he carried again. "Perhaps they may stick close to their hiding-place, wherever that is, thinking they've scared the rest of us nearly to death; and that we'll swim ashore. Here goes, then, to follow the trail."
He had already discovered where the party had left the sandy stretch, plunging into the shrubbery, at a point beyond that where he and Smithy had made use of.
The island, as has been stated before, was so very rocky that Thad, not being an expert at following a trail under such difficulties, might have had a hard time of it in places, but for unexpected, but none the less welcome, assistance.
Here and there, when he came to a small patch of earth, he was surprised to find plain marks of feet, and several deep furrows, as though some one had sagged in his walk, and was being half dragged along by those who had hold of either arm.
This must have been Smithy; and at first Thad was dreadfully worried, under the belief that his comrade might have been struck on the head, and injured. But when the same thing kept on repeating itself, and invariably when there was earth to show the marks, he suddenly grasped the splendid truth.
"Oh! isn't that boy a dandy, though?" he whispered to himself, in delight; "as sure as anything now, he's just doing that on purpose, meaning to leave as broad a trail as he can, so I could follow. Didn't I say Smithy had it in him to make one of the best scouts in the whole troop; and don't this prove it? Good for Smithy; he's all right!"
It made Thad feel quite pleased to know that the tenderfoot could be so smart, with such little training. He continued to follow the tracks with new ambition. So energetic a chum deserved to be looked after; and Thad was better satisfied than ever because he had resolved to hunt for Smithy, rather than lie around, trying to hide from the enemy in case they were out looking for him.
By degrees he found that he was getting into a section of the island which did not seem familiar to him in the least. Evidently, then, in their various trips over the place, the boys had unconsciously avoided this part; possibly because of its very roughness, and the difficulty of pushing through the dense vegetation, and over the piled-up rocks.
"No wonder they chose this place to hide," thought Thad, as he climbed across a barrier that taxed his powers; and wondered at the same time however poor Smithy was ever able to make it, tied as he must be, or gripped in the hands of his two captors.
He realized that he must now be getting nearer the den where the two unknown men used as a hideout. The very solitude of the place affected him. It was as if a heavy weight had been laid on his back, that threatened to crush him.
Still, Thad was a very determined lad. Having made up his mind to accomplish the rescue of his comrade, if it were at all possible, he would not allow himself to be daunted by trifles such as these. Only shutting his teeth more firmly together, hekept pushing resolutely on, eyes and ears constantly on the alert.
Perhaps Giraffe was having just such a difficult job in making his way across the country between the lake and Rockford; and if so, Thad hoped he too was pushing resolutely forward, undismayed by no obstacles that loomed up ahead.
Now and then Thad was at a loss which way to turn, for the rocks left little or no trace for him to follow. At such times he had to exercise his knowledge of slight clues to the utmost. Then besides, he could look around him and judge pretty well how those he was following, foot by foot, must have gone.
And finally Thad saw something just beyond that told him he had reached the end of the faint trail. It was a gloomy looking hole among the rocks that stared him in the face, with the trail leading straight toward it.
If ever there was a bear that had its den on that island, surely this must have been the spot; for it far excelled anything else that the scout had seen since he had started to prowl around.
As he crept closer he was astonished to see what a peculiar condition existed with regard to that open mouth of the bear den. Just above hung an immense stone that ordinarily several men could never have turned over, or even moved; yet by some convulsion of nature far back, this rock had beenso delicately poised above the mouth of the cave that Thad believed even a boy could send it crashing down, if he but hurled his strength against it.
"And if itdidfall," he said to himself, with a sudden shiver of delight, "I honestly believe it would fill in that hole, so that not even a rattlesnake could crawl out. Oh! if those men are in there, as I hope, and I could start that cap-stone rolling, wouldn't they be shut up as snug as if they were in a bottle, with the cork shoved in?"
But fascinating as that possibility appeared to Thad, he must remember that the men had Smithy with them as a hostage. They could dictate terms of surrender so long as they held the tenderfoot scout a prisoner. And unless he could manage in some clever way to effect the release of Smithy, he had better go slow about trying to bottle them up in that bear's den.
He crept still closer, and lying there on his breast, listened anxiously, his ear close to the black opening. A regular sound came stealing out that, for a short time, puzzled him; and then Thad decided that it must be the snoring of a man who was asleep, and lying on his back.
Dare he try and crawl into the cave, to ascertain how the land lay? Thad was anything but a coward; but he could be excused for hesitating, and taking stock of the chances before deciding this important matter. But after a little he must have made up his mind; for he crept past the guardian rocks, and slipped into the entrance of the bear's den!
When Thad Brewster was thus making his way into the hole in the rocks, perhaps he may have remembered reading what old Israel Putnam, the Revolutionary hero, did when a mere stripling, entering the den of a savage wolf, and dragging the beast out after him.
Well, in a way Thad was doing just as brave an act. True, those whom he had reason to fear, were human beings like himself; but they must be cruel men, since he knew them to be desperate characters; and if they discovered him invading their retreat, no doubt they would attack him with the ferocity of wolves.
He found himself in a passage-way among the rocks. It had evidently been well traveled by the feet or knees of the men who may have long concealed themselves in the snug retreat; while officers were searching the surrounding country in a vain quest for clues to their hiding-place.
Thad started when he suddenly heard a gruff voice; it sounded so very close by, that his firstthought was he had been discovered. But as he caught the words that were spoken he realized his mistake.
"Mebbe ye'll be sorry now, ye bothered a couple of poor fellers atryin' hard to make a few honest dollars a takin' game out of season, an' sellin' the same to the rich folks what jest has to have it any ole time. Jest sit up, an' tell me what yer friends are thinkin' of doin' 'bout it."
Then Thad was thrilled to hear the voice of his chum respond. Evidently, if the men had kept some sort of muffler over Smithy's mouth during the time they were bringing him to their underground retreat, it had now been removed, as if they no longer feared that he would bring the others down upon them.
"Why, you see, we just wanted to explore this queer island, and that's all there is to it. Yes, we did rather guess that somebody must have been taking fish or game when the law was shut down on it; but then, you see, that was none of our business. We're just Boy Scouts off on a camping trip; and nobody's employed us to bother with game poachers, or send word to the wardens."
"Game wardens, hey? Ye seem to let that slip off yer tongue, younker, like ye might be used to sayin' the same. What we want to know is, why are ye so pesky anxious like to look this here island over? Lost anything here?"
"Well, a boat we had seems to have disappeared in a funny way," Smithy said; and Thad could not notice anything like a tremble in the tenderfoot's voice, which fact pleased him greatly.
"Huh! thet boat belonged to us in the fust place, younker, an' ye hooked it from us. Spect ye thought boats jest growed in the bushes like wild plums, when ye run acrost that un. Wall, they don't, an' ye had no bizness to take it. An' what's more, me and my pal think ye mean to let the wardens know 'bout what we've been adoin' up this ways."
Smithy made no reply, and Thad knew why. The tenderfoot was well aware of what his chum had been doing while wigwagging Allan. He also knew that in all probability Giraffe must even then be on his way over to Rockford, to get the Faversham Chief on the 'phone, and give him a message that would bring the whole police force hustling over to Omega Lake, bent on making a big haul.
"Don't try to deny it, do ye, younker?" the man continued to growl; and from the fitful light that rose and fell Thad found reason to believe that there must be some sort of fire around the bend in the passage. "Well, let me tell ye what we mean to do about it. We'll jest keep ye fast here till night sets in, while yer friends hunt around, and git more an' more skeered, believin' ye must a fell inter the lake. Then we'll cut stick out of this place, and leave ye behind. P'raps so ye cud yell loud enoughto draw 'em in here. Better be asavin' of yer breath, boy; 'cause ye'll have to do some tall shoutin' if ye wants to get out alive, arter Bill'n me vacate. Now roll over, and go to sleep. I'm hungry, and mean to cook a bite or two."
After waiting for a few minutes, and hearing nothing more, Thad ventured to peep around the rocky bend. He saw that he had sized up the situation perfectly. One man bent over a small fire, and seemed to be busily engaged in cooking himself some food, which already began to scent the cave. From the quarter where the rumbling sounds came, the boy could see an indistinct form huddled on a blanket.
The man at the fire seemed to have a bandage around his left leg, and hobbled as he walked; from which Thad supposed he must have met with an accident of some kind. This might in a measure account for their having taken refuge on the island, rather than make their safety sure by flight.
He looked further, and was soon able to make out another figure lying on the rocky floor of the place. This he had no doubt must be his chum, Smithy. Yes, once, as the limping man threw a handful of fresh fuel on the fire, causing the flames to leap up, and for the moment illuminate the place, Thad's eager eyes discovered the well-known khaki color of the Boy Scout uniform worn so jauntily by the particular new recruit.
Oh! if only he could creep across the space thatlay between, and set the bound boy free, how gladly would he attempt it. And the more he contemplated the thing, the better satisfied did Thad become that he could accomplish it.
Why, there did not seem to be any great obstacle to prevent him. Surely the man who snored so deeply would not be able to interfere; and the second fellow at the fire was so deeply concerned with getting himself some lunch that apparently he had thought for nothing else.
So Thad decided to make the attempt. Even if it turned out to be a failure he believed he could elude any pursuer in the gloom of the cave entrance, and manage to reach the open in safety.
And the possible result was so pleasant to contemplate that he just could not resist trying for it.
Accordingly, Thad started to creep around the bend. He kept as flat on his stomach as possible, and always made it a point to watch the man at the fire. If the hungry one seemed to be looking that way, Thad flattened himself out as near like a pancake as he could, and did not so much as move a finger until such time as he felt convinced that the enemy had his full attention again taken up with his work.
In this cautious way, then, did the scout draw closer and closer to the figure of the captive. He hoped Smithy would be sensible, and not betray him by an incautious exclamation, when he learned of his presence.
Now he was within a foot of the other, and could hear him breathing softly as he lay there. Thad had figured it out that if he kept quiet, and merely tried to feel for the other's bound hands, Smithy might let out a whoop as he felt something touch his wrists, under the belief that it might be a crawling snake. So, to avoid this chance of betrayal, Thad had determined to get his lips as close to the ear of the prisoner as he could, and then gently whisper his name.
Watching for his chance, Thad found it when the man at the fire was humming a snatch of a song to himself, as though care set lightly on his shoulders.
"Smithy—'sh!"
Thad saw a movement of the bound form. Smithy even lifted his head, and turned his eyes toward the spot from whence that thrilling, if soft, whisper had come. But fortunately he did not attempt to make the least sign, or try to whisper back.
Now that his chum had been warned of his presence Thad believed he could proceed to the next step in his carefully-arranged programme. This was to reach over, find just how Smithy was tied, and with the use of his pocket-knife, which he held open in his hand, effect his release.
The most risky part of the entire affair must lie in their retreat. Here Smithy, being a veritable greenhorn, was very apt to make some blunder that would draw the attention of the hungry man, and result in discovery.
But there was no need of wasting time when the choice lay only in one selection.
Thad fumbled around until he could locate the bonds that had been tied around the wrists of Smithy. These he quickly severed, at the same time trusting to luck that he did not cut the boy with the sharp blade of his knife.
Next in order he crawled a little further, and managed to saw apart another piece of old rope that had been wound around the ankles of Smithy.
The latter knew what was expected of him. Perhaps it was mere instinct that told the tenderfoot, since he had never gone through any such experience as this before. But at any rate, no matter what influenced him, Smithy had already commenced to move backward. Thad was greatly "tickled" as he himself expressed it later, when he saw how Smithy maneuvered, keeping his head toward the enemy while moving off, as if he just knew he ought to watch the man, and lie low in case he looked.
Thad had waited only long enough to fix the blanket upon which Smithy had been lying, so that it would look like a human form reclining there. This he did by causing the middle to remain poked up a foot or so in the air, by deftly crunching the folds in his hand.
At a casual glance in that uncertain light, any one over there, with his eyes dazzled by looking into the flickering firelight, might be deceived into believing that the prisoner still lay where he had been left.
Foot by foot the two scouts backed away. Why, Smithy was doing as well as any experienced fellow could have shown himself capable of performing. Smithy had certainly all the qualities in him to make a first-class scout; and Thad meant to encourage the ambition of the other to the utmost, given the opportunity.
Now they were turning the bend, and everything seemed to still be going smoothly. It began to look as though Thad had accomplished a task that at one time he feared would be beyond his capacity; and that freedom lay ahead for the late prisoner of the old bear's den.
Just as they reached the outlet there sounded a loud shout coming from the interior. It could have but one meaning, and this, discovery. The hungry man had possibly walked over to say something else to Smithy, and found that the prisoner had taken "French leave."
"This way, and give me a hand, quick!" exclaimed Thad, as he leaped out of the mouth of the den, and toward the pivotical rock that hung so temptingly above.
Smithy seemed to have noticed the same stone, for he threw himself against it at the very instant Thad did. Their combined weight, added to the force with which they struck the trembling rock, provedto be sufficient to start it moving. It appeared to hesitate just a second, and then went crashing over, making the very ground tremble with the tremendous shock.
And so the mouth of the old bear's den was sealed, imprisoning within, the two fugitives from the law.