“If only the rest were here and safe,” said Merritt to Mr. Raynor late that night, “I should be perfectly happy. As it is I don’t feel as if I could rest till we are reunited.”
* * * * * * * *
It was the next day that the entire community, already wild with excitement over the discovery of the plot against the dam and the capture of the chief conspirators, was treated to a fresh thrill. Down the river, which had somewhat subsided, came two canoes. In the first one were Rob and Mr. Mainwaring. In the second sat Tubby and Fred. How they had met is soon explained.
As Tubby had guessed, the river they had seen from the ruins was the Chepalta. Its swift current had carried them into the Chagres itself and in course of time they came to the spot where Mr. Mainwaring and Fred, sadly distressed and worried over the loss of the launch, had decided to spend the night. They had built a roaring fire to keep off serpents or wild beasts, and Tubby and Fred, as soon as they saw the blaze, had made for it. In a few seconds a joyful reunion had taken place. As more sleep that night was out of the question, they had waited till the first flush of dawn and then emptied one of the provision canoes. In this Mr. Mainwaring and Rob seated themselves and they all paddled back to civilization.
Their amazement when they heard of what had been taking place at Gatun during their absence may be, to use a phrase hackneyed but apt, “better imagined than described.” There is no space here to relate all that followed or to give the details of the trial and sentencing of the rascally plotters. It was found, for they confessed in hope of immunity, that the plot was far more widely organized than had been thought. Dozens of laborers were implicated before the end, and it was the number engaged that had made it possible for them to elude the vigilance of the Gatun Guards, secrete so much dynamite and then connect it with wires to the lonely hut in the hollow. As for the strange young man, it was found that he had been a chemist specializing on explosives, who had thought to avenge his country’s fancied wrongs by enlisting with the plotters.
Had it not been for Merritt, who received the personal congratulations of Col. Goethals and the Commission, there is little doubt but that the great dam might have been damaged almost beyond hope of reconstruction. The boy bore his honors modestly, as became a true Scout, and of course the story did not get to the newspapers, so that he was spared the embarrassment of being interviewed and lionized. His comrades felt for him nothing but pride and admiration.
Those pebbles that Tubby picked up proved to be raw emeralds of great value and you may be sure that each of his friends was presented with one. The chums of Lucy Mainwaring, too, have noticed that she now wears a brooch set with a magnificent emerald, by which she seems to set great store. Who gave it to her we will leave our readers to guess.
Jared Applegate managed in some way to evade the drag-net set for him, and has not been seen or heard of since the night he slipped out of the hut overcome at the last minute by the thought of the terrible crime he had committed.
I should like to linger with you in this fascinating old land with its new interests and tell you how the ruined city in which Tubby and Fred passed such an uncomfortable time was explored and rare treasures of antiquity found. I should also like to relate more of the adventures that befell the chums among the “Gold-men” of the Isthmus, but I must content myself with what has been written and my readers with the prophecy that the future will be able to recall no more noble achievement than this that has been the subject of our tale.
You are assured, however, that the Boy Scouts returned to their studies and to the States better citizens, better patriots and better Scouts for the exciting times they spent on Uncle Sam’s big ditch—the eighth wonder, and the greatest of the world. Let every American boy, who gets a chance, see it. It will strengthen and cement his love for the Stars and Stripes and for the U. S. A., the country that put the gigantic enterprise through in spite of almost overwhelming difficulties.
And now the time has come to say good-bye to the Boy Scouts. So wishing them well in everything they undertake and hoping that they may ever be “good scouts and true,” the author bids a reluctant adieu to them and to the readers who have followed the “Eagles” through their many adventures.
THE END
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