Jerry was holding something up when he said this, which he had just picked out of the cavity under the loose plank.
"Why, it looks as though it had once been a baby's shoe, I should say," suggested Frank.
"Just what it is, but as old as the hills," remarked Jerry. "I wonder now, did it slip down here, or was it carried by the old mother rat when this nest was made?"
He fumbled among the scraps of paper and such stuff that had gone to form the nest of the rodent. One piece seemed to be a part of an envelope. The writing was fairly visible, though age had yellowed the paper.
"What do you think of this, fellows?" Jerry demanded, as though interested. "I can make out part of a name here, and whose do you reckon it is?"
"Oh, tell, and don't keep a fellow guessing!" urged Bluff impatiently.
"The word Aaron is as plain as anything," pursued Jerry, "and then there's part of the next one Denni—so you see it really looks as if away back, twenty years ago or perhaps even much longer, the rich old hermit used to actually live here in this log cabin. In those days he was land poor, mebbe; and say, the shoe—why, he must have had a wife, and a baby, too!"
All of them looked at the poor little memento of the dim past which had been discovered under such singular conditions. Then Jerry commenced smoothing the earth level under the plank so that it would set more evenly. In the midst of this he uttered another exclamation.
"All sorts of queer things are coming my way, I tell you!" he called out. "See what I've dug up now!"
"Looks like a half dollar," remarked Bluff decidedly interested. "And see here, if you've struck a miser's hoard, remember we're all chums, Jerry; it's share alike, I hope."
A vigorous hunt failed to disclose any mate of the coin, and in the end they were compelled to believe it must be only a lone specimen.
"Perhaps old Aaron was a money grabber in those days," Bluff ventured, "and laid the foundation for his fortune while living here in this cabin. And this hole under the loose plank—wouldn't itbe just the jolliest hiding-place for a miser to stow his valuables in?"
"Either that," added Frank thoughtfully, "or else the half dollar managed to slip down through a crack. Have you examined it to see the date, Jerry? Because if it happens to be one that was coined within the last half-dozen years we'd know it couldn't have been left here long ago."
"I can make it out easily enough, Frank; and it's away back in eighteen-eighty. So that allows plenty of leeway, you see."
The little incident gave them considerable food for exchanging opinions. They even tried to picture what the cabin on the Point may have looked like many years ago, when a woman's hands took care of the home, and the prattle of a child sounded among those great trees overhead.
Still, none of the boys dreamed that the cavity under the floor would play a part in the future happenings that were destined to come their way, though such proved to be the case.
The second night things began to shape themselves much more comfortably. All of the boys declared they had enjoyed a sound sleep when dawn once more found them stirring, and ready to take up the new duties of the day.
One thing after another was finished, and it gave them considerable satisfaction to find howmuch of an improvement this sort of work made in the cabin and surroundings.
Frank himself cut away much of the thick growth of bushes and branches that interfered with their view of the big water. When he had completed his task it was possible to look from the open door and see for miles out over the lake. They believed they would never tire of watching the play of the waves that at times could be heard so plainly breaking on the shore near by.
There was seldom a time during daylight when some fish-hawk could not be seen sailing serenely over the water, looking for a fish for his young fledglings. On several occasions the boys also discovered a bald-headed eagle wheeling far up in the blue space overhead.
"We must keep on the watch to learn how the bold robber taxes the hard-working and honest fish-hawks for his meal," Frank remarked. "It's too much bother for the eagle to plunge down and hook a fish for himself, so he waits until an osprey gets one, then follows him up into the air and makes him drop his prize."
Will, of course, was deeply interested. Everything that pertained to animal nature appealed irresistibly to him these days, since he had taken to securing pictures of wild birds and animals in their native haunts.
"I've read about such things, but never had the good luck to see it done," he hastened to remark. "I hope I can make use of my camera if it happens to come along at the right time. Already I think I know where a pair of those big ospreys have their nest, and that ought to make a dandy picture, with one of the parent birds feeding the youngsters."
"I'd go a little slow about it if I were you," Frank cautioned him. "They make their homes up in pretty tall trees, you know. And besides, some of them are savage fighters when they think their nests are going to be disturbed or robbed."
The others forgot about the fish-hawks after that, but not Will. When he had anything on his mind he was very persistent. This was particularly true of such matters as were connected with his hobby along the line of photography.
Several days passed, and the other boys were enjoying themselves greatly. For that matter, so was Will, though his activities ran along a single groove. Let those who cared to fish sit out there on the lake all they wished; or troll along, using minnows for bait, which had been taken in a little net made of mosquito bar stuff; Will preferred to roam the adjacent woods seeking signs of minks, raccoons, opossums and foxes, and planning just how he would arrange his traps sothat at night time the animals would set off his flashlight, and have their pictures taken unawares in so doing.
All the little chores had been completed around the cabin, which looked quite like another place now. It was kept as neat as wax, for Frank had even manufactured an odd but effective broom out of twigs, such as he had seen used by immigrants from abroad.
Frank was contemplating the taking of a little tramp up the stream on the following day. He had not forgotten what one of his informants had told him concerning the hermit's place, and was more than curious to meet Aaron Dennison.
Will had not ceased to remember his loss. He brooded over it at times, and even broke out into occasional lamentations. His greatest fear seemed to be that Gilbert might destroy the films in his sudden disgust on discovering what a wretched blunder he had committed in his haste.
Will had wandered forth after lunch on this day. From the fact that he carried his camera along with him, the rest of the boys judged he meant to secure some view that had appealed to him as especially fine.
It was some hours later that Frank noticed that he had not returned. Will was a fair woodsman by now, and there did not seem to be muchchance of his allowing himself to become lost. Still Frank found himself wondering just where the boy had gone, and why Will had not taken any of them into his confidence.
When it was but an hour from sunset he mentioned the matter to the rest.
"Does anybody happen to know where Will set out for?" was his question.
No one did, for both Bluff and Jerry shook their heads in the negative, while the last named remarked:
"He was busy working at something or other this morning. I didn't get on to it, and meant to ask him, but forgot all about it. I saw him fasten a piece of rope around him and enclose a tree out there. It made me laugh at the time, and only that Bluff called me just then I would have joshed him about trying to play Indian, and tying himself face on to a tree."
Frank chuckled at hearing that.
"You've given me a clue already, Jerry," he observed. "I remember that Will seemed set on getting a picture of that osprey nest he had discovered. You know the old trick some South Sea islanders practice when climbing cocoanut trees is to have a loop around the trunk and their own body, then barefooted hoist themselves bit by bit, always raising the loop as they go."
"Whew! and so Will thought he could do the same thing, did he, and get up to the first limb high above his head. But say, Frank, what if something has happened to him?"
Jerry looked uneasy when he said this, and Bluff, too, picked up his hat as though ready to set out in search of Will.
"We must look into this, that's a fact, boys!" declared Frank; whereupon they hurried out of doors.
"Listen!" cried Frank almost immediately. "Seems to me I heard a call some distance away and along the shore. Yes, there it is again, and I reckon that's our chum giving tongue. He must be in difficulty and he needs help, so come on," at which the three of them started to run at full speed eastward.
"Coming, Will!" shouted Bluff as he ran back of Frank.
"This way, along the shore!" they plainly heard a voice call from some distance away.
Of course anxious thoughts chased through the minds of the three boys as they hurried along. Will was evidently in trouble. Bluff, remembering the ospreys, pictured him lying at the foot of a tall tree with perhaps one of his legs broken. That would be an awkward condition of affairs to be sure, with their camp so far removed from real civilization.
Jerry, too, was imagining something of the sort, and wondering if they would have to make a litter in order to carry poor Will back to the cabin. He even went further and considered the question as to how they could take him to a doctor; or else force the old hermit of the Dennison estate to let them carry their injured comrade there.
Not so Frank. He had already made the discovery that the voice came from up in the air, and hence had quite settled in his mind what had happened.
"He got up all right, you see, fellows," was the way Frank explained it to the others, "but it wasn't so easy to creep down again. Perhaps he dropped the rope he had used, and couldn't clasp the trunk of the tree because it was so large."
"We'll soon know," ventured Jerry, "because I can see one of the fish-hawks flying over that tall tree, and I guess the nest must be in that."
"Here he is over here, you see," observed Frank. "He figured out that with the sun heading into the west he ought to get on that side of the nest in order to make a fine picture. So he climbed up and settled himself, waiting until the mother bird came with a fish for the fledglings, which may have taken hours."
"I see him!" cried Bluff. "There, he's waving to us now! And I'm glad to know our chum hasn't gone and broken a leg; for besides the pain to him it would upset all our fine plans for a good time up here."
Will was sitting astride the lowermost limb of an enormous tree standing about forty or fifty feet to the west of the one in which the nest of the ospreys could be plainly seen, close to the top.
Will grinned sheepishly as his chums came underneath. He was some thirty feet from the ground as his legs dangled over the lowermost limb. And Frank, remembering his theory, on looking at the base of the tree discovered that the rope loop did lie there. Will had inadvertently allowed it to slip from his grasp after reaching the lower branch and clambering up on to it.
He had removed his shoes and socks in order to make good use of his toes in climbing, just as do the blacks of the cocoanut islands. But later on, after getting his long delayed pictures of the old osprey feeding its fledglings, when the ardent photographer attempted to descend the big tree he found it an impossible task.
The trunk was far too thick for him to clasp with arms and legs. Will was not an athlete, though able to climb an ordinary tree if pushed. He always claimed that he could go up any kind if a bull were after him; but evidently here was a tree he could not descend, at least.
Just how long he had sat there on that lower limb trying to conjure up some possible plan that would take him in safety to the ground, they never knew. Will felt a little ashamed to be found in such a plight, and kept putting off his call for assistance as long as he dared.
When, however, he found that night was onlyan hour or so off, and realized that unless he pocketed his pride, he stood a chance of spending many gloomy hours aloft with only the osprey family for neighbors, he started to shout.
"If only I had that loop up here I could get down easily enough, I think, Frank," he called out as the three boys lined up below him.
"Perhaps you could, and again there's some doubt whether you'd be able to get inside the loop," Frank told him. "The easiest way to do is for one of us to run back to the cabin and fetch our rope. With a few trials I can toss the end into your hands or over the limb, then you can lower yourself."
Both Jerry and Bluff agreed that this was a good plan. The former even offered to act as messenger and get the article needed for the rescue work. He was gone only a short time, during which Frank asked a few questions, and learned that Will believed he had secured a number of "cracking good" pictures of the osprey group that would make a fine addition to his collection.
Frank made several casts upward before he was able to send the end of the rope over the limb, and within reach of the straddling boy. It proved to be just long enough, doubled, to reach within five feet of the ground.
"First I want to make sure of my camera," Will told them, and as they knew he would positively refuse to budge an inch unless his treasured black box were taken care of, Jerry told him to lower away.
After that had been done Will prepared to trust himself on the doubled rope.
"Have a care," said Frank, "and make sure of each grip as you go. There, you're all right now, I guess, so come along down."
"Take it slow if you don't want to burn your hands, Will!" Bluff cautioned him.
Without accident, Will managed to reach the ground. His first act was to snatch up his camera and look it over, sighing with satisfaction when he found it had received no injury.
"Get on your shoes and come along back home," Frank advised him, and the exciting little incident was closed.
Later on Will told them how patiently he had sat there, perched in the top of the tall tree next to the one containing the fish-hawks' nest, and waiting for a good chance to take the picture he wanted.
"The wind blew at first, and the treetop rocked so that it almost made me sea-sick," he went on to say, with a sigh; "but after an hour or so this let up. Then came one of the ospreys with a bigfish in its claws, and I began to get busy. I snapped off every bit of the film as I saw fine group pictures come up; and I do hope they all turn out well."
As he had a daylight developing tank with him he wasted little time in ascertaining this fact. His exuberant shouts announced later on that his success was all the heart of any ambitious amateur photographer could wish for. And indeed, when the exposed films were passed around after they had sufficiently dried it was seen that Will had done himself justice, for they were perfectly clear.
Frank himself could easily understand just how this fad was able to grip any one who took it up. He believed that it was much more interesting and profitable than hunting with a gun. In the one case all the result consisted of game that was soon eaten and forgotten; but those instructive pictures of timid animals and wild birds would give pleasure for an unlimited time.
"There's one thing I think we ought to get busy about, fellows," Frank remarked that evening as they sat around the rough table enjoying the supper Jerry had prepared; "and that is see what can be done about laying in a fresh stock of butter and eggs."
"Our supply of both is about down to the limit,for a fact," admitted Bluff, who was unusually fond of eggs, "fried, boiled, scrambled, and, in fact, any old way," as he himself always declared.
"Have you any plan by which we can get a new lot, and perhaps some fresh milk in the bargain?" Will sought to learn.
"So far as we know, there's only one house within several miles of this place," explained Frank, "and that belongs to the man they call a hermit because he keeps to himself, and never goes to town—Aaron Dennison."
"A likely chance we'd have of getting any supplies from him, I should say!" grumbled Jerry; but Bluff was quick to make a proposal.
"If you are thinking of going up that creek, and paying a visit to Aaron, I hope you will choose me to go along. Remember, I spoke first!" he called out.
Will looked disappointed. He had hoped that if ever they decided to call on the crabbed owner of the Dennison estate he might be along with his camera. And seeing this disappointed expression cross his face, Frank easily understood what it signified.
"Another time you can come, Will," he explained. "Just now we don't even know whether there really is a house inside of five miles. It'sonly hearsay with us, you remember. If we should manage to get friendly with Aaron, why, we'll be apt to wander up there many times, and you may come across your chance before a great while."
With that, Will had to rest content. In fact, he had another little plan of his own in mind, which he meant to work out on the following day. Frank suspected as much, though he really hoped it would not be of the same risky nature as getting the snapshots of the ospreys.
In the morning the two who had planned to follow up the stream and learn if it passed through the estate of Aaron Dennison waved their hands to Jerry and Will, after which they started along the shore.
After they reached the creek at the point where it emptied into the bay, they turned their backs on the big water, and plunged into the thick growth.
"How about this thing, Frank; do you really and truly mean this expedition to be a foraging one, with fresh eggs and butter in view; or is it that you just hope to get in touch with old Aaron Dennison, and see what a genuine hermit looks like?"
Bluff put this direct question after they had been making their way along the tortuous bankof the winding creek for nearly half an hour. Such difficulties as crossed their path had been easily overcome, for both boys were pretty good woodsmen, and accustomed to getting around in the wilderness.
"Take my word for it," he was assured by his chum, "I'm out for the grub above all things; though of course I admit to having a little curiosity about this mysterious Mr. Dennison. I've heard a lot of queer things about his doings. He has a pretty fine place away up here, but keeps it surrounded by a high fence, and they even say it has a strand or two of terrible barbed wire on top of the fence, to discourage any one from climbing over."
"Gee whiz! I hope he doesn't own a pack of wolf dogs that would make a jump for stray boys that chanced to get in the grounds."
"I asked particularly about that," said Frank, who somehow seemed to think of nearly everything, "and no one could remember ever seeing any around. So just as like as not the old man doesn't fancy dogs."
"Yes, there are people who shiver every time they meet a collie or a mastiff," admitted Bluff, "though for my part I've always liked all breeds. I believe a dog is man's best friend, as faithful as life itself."
"Well, here we are," remarked Frank, with a ring of satisfaction in his voice.
"It's a high fence, sure enough," said Bluff, "with barbed wire strung across where the creek comes out under it, so even a fox would find it hard to get through. How shall we manage it, Frank?"
"First of all, we'll move along the fence. There may happen to be a board loose where we can slip through. That would be better than trying the gate, to be turned down flat-footed."
They had not gone fifty feet before Bluff discovered the loose board they sought. It required only a small amount of agility to pass through the opening, after which they walked along through the woods on the other side of the high fence.
Presently they came in sight of a long, low house, which was half hidden amidst dense foliage, and looked, as Bluff called it, "spooky."
Straight up to the door of this building the two boys strode, and Frank without hesitation rapped loudly with his knuckles.
It seemed to the two boys that Frank's knock sounded weirdly through the house, though it did not bring any immediate result. Accordingly, he again brought his knuckles against the door panel, this time with even greater force than before.
"That fetched them, Frank," muttered Bluff. "I can hear somebody shuffling along the hall and heading this way."
Presently they heard a bolt withdrawn, a rather ponderous affair it seemed; and somehow this struck Frank as rather queer. Why should any one living so far away from town, and off the beaten track of travel, take such pains to secure his door?
"Gee whiz! I shouldn't think they'd ever be bothered with hoboes or sneak thieves away up in this part of the country," whispered Bluff, who always had a mind of his own and was hard to repress.
The door was slowly and cautiously opened. Frank saw that it was still held by a stout chain, so that no one outside could enter against the will of the inmates. It made him think of one of the old feudal castles he had lately been reading about in Sir Walter Scott's romances, where they had draw-bridges, moats, and a port-cullis to protect them against assault.
A face was seen in the narrow opening. It was an old face, wrinkled, so that at first Frank imagined it might belong to Aaron himself. Then he discovered his mistake, for the white hair belonged to a woman, evidently the housekeeper of the hermit.
She looked more or less frightened at first, and no wonder, because such a resounding knock as Frank had given might have seemed backed by authority. When she discovered just two friendly looking boys standing there astonishment crept over the features of the woman.
"Who are you, and what do you want?" she asked a little sharply, as though annoyed because they had given her such a sudden start.
"My name is Frank Langdon, and this is my chum, Bluff Masters. We are camping for our holidays down in the old cabin on the Point. We ran out of butter and eggs, and came up here hoping we might be able to buy some."
Frank made it as simple as he could. He did not even mention the fact that they had ever heard there was such a singular person as Aaron Dennison in all the wide world. It was his intention to appear as though he looked upon this place as an ordinary farmhouse, where hospitality might be supposed to abide, and a friendly call on the part of decent boys would not be taken amiss.
The woman looked a little more keenly at Frank, but at the same time she shook her head in the negative. Bluff grunted to himself. He took that as a bad sign, and immediately concluded that they would have to go back to camp with as empty hands as they had come.
"Nothing doing," was what Bluff was saying to himself just then, while the old housekeeper hesitated; "she's got her orders. Old Aaron doesn't fancy boys, I guess. We'll be mighty lucky if he doesn't see fit to order us out of that cabin we've gone to all the trouble to fix bang-up."
Then the housekeeper spoke.
"I'm sorry, but you mustn't expect to get anything here. This place belongs to Mr. Aaron Dennison. No doubt you have heard of him. He has lived here almost alone for many years now, and will brook no intrusion. That is whythe fence has been built around the estate, with the wire on top, and locked gates. How did you get inside?"
"We came to a loose board and passed through, not meaning any harm," replied Frank, who imagined the old housekeeper was inclined to be human, but having her strict orders from her employer dared not act in a friendly manner toward them.
"I shall have to report your being here to Mr. Dennison, and I am afraid that he will be very much annoyed. He would never brook intruders, and has a violent temper when aroused. I hope you will go away at once, and come no more."
"Then you can't let us have any supplies, I suppose?" asked Bluff, bent on squeezing the orange dry, and not throwing the skin away as long as there remained a single chance for extracting a drop of juice.
"I would not dare to do it, though if I had my own way—but no matter, you must not stay here a minute longer. Even now he may have heard the knock, and come to investigate. It is most unusual; we have not had a visitor for years. I wish I could oblige you, but it is impossible. Good-bye!"
With that she closed the door in the faces ofthe astonished, as well as amused, campers, and Bluff burst into a series of low chuckles.
"Wow! but doesn't that beat the Dutch?" he exclaimed, as though overpowered by the humorous aspect of the adventure. "Listen to her pushing that monster bolt into its socket. Gee whiz! I never knew before I looked so dangerous. I'll have to cultivate a new sort of grin, because the one I practice now didn't have any effect on the old lady."
"Let's move along, Bluff. There's no use in our staying here any longer after having the door slammed in our faces," said the amazed Frank.
Together they started slowly away from the house, glancing back curiously over their shoulders several times, for they wished to remember what the mysterious building looked like.
"Will must manage to get up here some time," Bluff was saying, "because I'd just like to have him get a picture of the place as we see it now. Then if ever we happen to hear anybody speak of old Dennison and his hide-out we can flash that view before them."
They had almost reached the place where the loose board had afforded them ingress to the enclosed grounds belonging to the estate when a strange sound came stealing to their ears. Bothboys instantly stopped and listened to learn if it was repeated, but such did not come to pass.
"What in the dickens do you suppose that was, Frank?" demanded Bluff, turning his face, marked by a commingling of wonder and awe, on his comrade.
"Tell me what you think first," the other replied.
"I'll be switched if I know, Frank! It just went through me like a knife, it was so queer. If this were the middle of the night now I might mention ghosts, because if there were such things I'd imagine them making just about that sort of a sound."
Frank laughed at that.
"Well, since this is broad daylight," he observed, "and ghosts are said never to walk except around twelve at night, we'll have to look somewhere else for our explanation. Now I've known a chained dog to make a noise like that, a sort of half bay, half growl that would give you a start until you found out the cause."
"But we've understood they keep no dog up here," urged Bluff. "And if they did have one wouldn't he have scented us, and started barking long ago?"
"What you say sounds reasonable enough, Bluff," Frank admitted. "It couldn't have beena donkey braying either, because we know how they drag it out. Besides unless I'm mistaken the sound came straight from the direction of the house itself."
"Sure it did," said Bluff, as they started to pass through the gap that could be made by swinging the loose board aside. "I wonder if old Aaron learned of our being there, and gave that yawp to show his anger. I'm almost sorry now we didn't meet the gentleman face to face."
"Perhaps it's just as well, from what the housekeeper said," replied Frank, although secretly he was even more disappointed than his chum.
"Then of course you wouldn't dream of going back to look around in hopes of finding out what that queer noise, almost like a shriek, meant?" pursued Bluff, in a wheedling tone.
"I guess not this time," decided the other; "it's really none of our business, you know, and our errand at the Dennison place has ended in smoke. We'll have to settle on trying at that village we can see miles away along the lake shore. Perhaps to-morrow you and Jerry can take the boat and row over there."
"Oh! Barkis is willing, all right, because we just can't keep house without our fresh eggs and butter, you know."
So it was settled. Bluff, always desiring action, was satisfied with this half plan made for the future. In his active mind he began immediately to picture all sorts of exciting things happening on the contemplated cruise along the lake shore to the distant village in search of the needed supplies.
Frank happened to come upon what looked like an old path leading toward the lake, and decided to follow it instead of keeping down the stream with its zigzag course. Sure enough it took them directly to Cabin Point, although in many places the bushes had sadly overgrown the trail, and walking was not easy.
"Still, you must notice," Frank remarked, "that some one has come along this way every once in a while, because there are footprints, and the twigs have been bent down."
"Mebbe one of the men employed on the Dennison place comes down for a swim, or to look after some night line he's set here for trout," suggested Bluff.
On their arrival at the camp, the two boys had to give an account of their little adventure in detail, for the benefit of those who had stayed behind. Will in particular asked many eager questions.
"If you ever go up there again, Frank," hetold the other seriously, "I do hope I shall be along."
"And I think I can promise you that, Will," replied the other smilingly, as if even then entertaining some thought of a second trip to the place, though evidently he did not care to go deeper into the subject.
Bluff soon started to talk of the trip he and Jerry were to make to the distant village on the next day. Whenever he had a thing on his mind Bluff was apt to chatter about it unendingly.
"We've just got to have those supplies, you understand, Jerry," he told the other, "and since there was nothing doing up at the Dennison ranch, why, our next job is to see if we can make that settlement we glimpse off yonder."
"How far away do you reckon it is?" asked the interested Jerry.
"If you look in my pack, boys," Frank spoke up just then, "you'll find a pair of small but powerful glasses. They may help you figure it out, and may give some idea how the shore lies between Cabin Point and the village."
Bluff went hurriedly for the glasses, and when he returned he and Jerry amused themselves for a long time.
They decided that the village lay all of eight miles off in a straight line, and concluded itwould be a pretty long row in case they chanced to meet contrary wind. In that case the waves would bother them not a little.
Bluff presently proposed that they try to equip the old boat with some sort of sail. Then should they be favored with a wind setting in the right quarter this would save them much hard labor.
Jerry seized the idea eagerly, and before long they were hard at work trying to rig up a makeshift mast and sail out of such material as they could find. It was hardly likely to pass muster so far as looks went, but both boys believed they could make it useful, given half a chance.
That night around the table the talk was largely of the events of the day, and what the morrow was apt to bring forth. Jerry and Bluff entertained high hopes that they were bound to be successful in their foraging expedition; and already counted on an abundance of supplies.
"Frank, I'm going to ask you to give me a little help in setting my flashlight trap before we go to bed to-night," remarked Will, when they were sitting in front of the fire.
The evening air was nearly always cool, even after a warm day, and it seemed so "jolly," as Jerry called it, to have a small fire crackling on the hearth while they sat around engaged in various tasks and in chatting.
"Then you must have settled on a place from tracks you have found?" inquired Frank.
"Why, yes, and pretty close to the cabin in the bargain," answered the other, whose one hobby had become this method of securing strange pictures of small wild animals caught while in the act of taking the bait in their native haunts.
"What species are you after this time?" asked Frank.
"Somehow I never get an absolutely perfectsnapshot of a 'coon. It seems as if every one has some kind of a blemish; and I told myself that while we were up here at Cabin Point that fault must be remedied if I tried a dozen times. And judging from the tracks of this fellow I think he must be a dandy. I only hope his barred tail shows plainly in his picture."
"That's so," spoke up Bluff, "because his shrewd face and his striped tail make up the main part of any raccoon."
"Why, if the job has to be done, Will, I'd just as soon go with you now. I'll carry my little hand torch, which ought to give us all the light needed, since you say it's close at hand."
Accordingly Will jumped up eagerly to get the necessary things, including the stout cord which was to be used to start the trigger of the trap into action, and set the flashlight going.
"I'm ready Frank, if you are," he soon announced; and together they went forth on their errand, Will just as excited as any hunter could be when creeping up on some coveted game.
Frank immediately noticed one thing, which was that his companion led him along in the direction he and Bluff had taken when coming from the Dennison place. Indeed when the other finally decided that they had arrived at the spot where he had discovered the marks made by the bigraccoon in passing to and from the water's edge, Frank saw evidences of the identical path he and Bluff had followed all the way down. He did not give the fact another thought just then; there was no reason for doing so, since in his mind it was merely a little coincidence.
Having had considerable experience in arranging these clever little traps by which roving night prowlers were made to be their own photographers, Will knew just how to go about it. He fixed his camera in an immovable position, and focussed it in such a fashion that it would catch any object chancing to be within a certain radius at the second the cartridge was fired by means of the cord, pulled by the animal at the bait.
"That seems to be as fine as silk," announced Will, after bending down several times in order to change the camera a trifle, "and if only Mr. 'Coon comes tripping along here to-night he will get his sitting. If you happen to find yourself waked up by a dazzling flash, Frank, please poke me out, because I'd like to come and get my camera. It might rain later in the night, you see, and ruin it for me."
Frank, knowing how much store his comrade set by that little black box, readily gave the desired promise. He entered into all these delightful schemes engineered by Will with hiswhole heart. Will had always been different from Bluff and Jerry. Even on their big hunt out in the Rocky Mountains he had never cared as much for getting prize game as the others, his disposition being more gentle.
Later on the boys concluded it was time to go to bed, since the day had been a busy one for all. Besides, the two who were to row the boat sixteen miles, more or less, on the following day expected to have their hands full.
Some time later all of them were suddenly awakened. It was Bluff who gave the loud exclamation that aroused the others. He afterwards explained that he chanced to be lying awake at the time when a sudden blinding glare dazzled him, which at first he thought to be lightning, though puzzled because no thunder accompanied the flash.
"What is it?" shrilled Jerry, bumping his head as he tried to sit up in such great haste; for the three had opened their eyes in time to catch a part of the fierce glare.
Will was already tumbling out of his bunk, and could be heard chuckling to himself as he started to put on some clothes in the darkness.
"Frank, he did it, all right, you see!" was what Will exclaimed in tones that fairly trembled with eagerness.
"Oh! Great Jehoshaphat! all this row about a measly old 'coon sitting for his picture!" grumbled Jerry, falling back again, and apparently meaning to seek once more relief in slumber, if the bump on his forehead did not hurt too much.
"Better take my hand torch along with you, Will," advised Frank, not thinking it worth while to accompany the other.
"Thank you, I guess I will, Frank, because it's pretty dark out there. I'll be back in a jiffy."
"Whoop it up if the cats tackle you, Will," called out Bluff, but even if the other heard this vague intimation of peril he was too filled with enthusiasm to pay any heed to it, for he kept straight on.
A short time afterwards Frank heard him returning. Then the light came into the cabin, and Will set down his camera.
"The trap was sprung then, was it?" asked Frank sleepily, upon noting this action on the other's part.
"Just what it was! and I certainly hope I got a cracking good picture that time. Old Br'er 'Coon didn't run away with the bait, though, I noticed. It was still there, as good as ever."
"Must have been too badly scared to think of eating," remarked Frank, and as the torch wasextinguished just then, and Will tumbled into his bunk, no more was said.
The rest of the night passed in perfect peace. By now the boys had grown used to hearing the squirrels or other small animals running over the top of the cabin, and paid little attention to the sounds at any time, night or day. So long as they did not drop down the chimney and destroy some of the food, Frank and his chums did not mean to do anything to disturb the merry little creatures as they played hide-and-seek over the roof.
Another day found them all up betimes. Those who cared to do so took a plunge in the cold waters of the lake and rubbed down afterwards, feeling all the better for the experience. Will, however, wanted to discover what luck he had had with his first flashlight exposure of the season; and so he started preparations looking to the development of that particular film, which he could easily do after breakfast was over.
It devolved on Frank to get breakfast that morning. Bluff and Jerry, having hit upon a better way in which to use the sail they had fashioned with so much care on the previous afternoon, were already busily engaged in making changes, just as though for once they werenot thinking of the eternal food question, except so far as new supplies went.
But then Frank could fry the sliced ham as well as any one, and he soon had the coffee, the toast, the fried potatoes, and the meat on the table, after which he called the others.
"Take notice that this is the last of our butter, fellows," remarked the cook as he helped each one in turn to a generous portion of what had just been taken, piping hot, off the red coals on the hearth.
"Oh! that's all right, Frank," said Bluff carelessly, "we expect to have plenty more here before sunset, don't we, Jerry?"
"Simply got to," replied his ally, "if we find it necessary to raid some farmer's hen-coop, gather up the eggs, wring the necks of two pullets, clean out his dairy, and leave the ready cash on the windowsill to settle the bill."
"We're glad to hear you talk that way," laughed Will. "For one I'm going to make up my mouth for fried eggs to-night, unless it's chicken on the half shell."
"No danger of that up here in the country; all the eggs are guaranteed fresh by the farmer tribe, you know," asserted Bluff.
"That guarantee doesn't always go with me," Jerry observed. "It's generally the smart farmerwho finds a hen trying to sit under the barn floor, and gathers up the seventeen eggs to ship with what he has in stock. They're as bad as the next one when it comes to deceiving the poor public."
"You'll just have to excuse me now, because I've had all I want; and to tell you the truth I'm just wild to see what my Br'er 'Coon looks like. If he doesn't show up, tail and all, I'll have to try for him again, that's all."
With that remark Will hurried off, just as Frank expected he would, for he had noticed how the other hastened with his breakfast. Bluff and Jerry took longer, because both of them realized they might be hours on the journey. The village was possibly further away than they thought; and it was just as well that they "laid in a good foundation to start with," as Jerry sensibly observed.
"Make the start whenever you get ready, fellows," remarked Frank. "I'll look after the dishes, and the bunks too, when the blankets are aired. It seems as if you might have a smooth sea to begin with."
"Yes, but you see we've been banking on some wind from the right quarter," observed Bluff, "in order to make good use of our sail. I'm fond of lying back at my ease in a boat, and lettingthe breeze do all the work. There's nothing like it, eh, Jerry?"
"Oh, well, if you notice the way the clouds are moving slowly, and then watch the tiny ripple on the bay, you'll reckon that when the wind does come up it's going to favor us. We may even get too much of a good thing before we're done."
"Remember, fellows," Frank cautioned them, "that old boat isn't to be wholly depended on. I calked the seams the best way I could, but the wood's a bit rotten, and there's always danger that the oakum may work loose. Then the water would come in through the open seams in bucketfuls. So my advice to you is, keep fairly close to the shore all the time, even when cutting off coves."
"That is, you mean keep within swimming distance," added Jerry, "which we'll be sure to do, Frank, make your mind easy. A fellow that's fated to be hanged doesn't want to go and cheat things by being just simply drowned, you know."
"Hello! there's Will broken loose!" exclaimed Bluff.
"Just hear him whoop it up, will you?" added Jerry. "And here he comes on the run right now. He's holding a film he's developed, and fromthe look on his face I'd say he must have gotten a corker that shot."
Indeed Frank could see that the approaching boy was very much excited; and it was also evident that what he was carrying so carefully before him had everything to do with his condition.
"Frank, here's something that will make you sit up and take notice!" he was calling out. "I started to take the picture of a boss 'coon, and see what I got, will you?"
Will held the still wet film up so they could have it between them and the light. All of the boys were accustomed to looking at negatives, and figuring out the high lights and the shadows in their proper proportion.
What they saw there plainly and clearly delineated on the film gave them such a sense of surprise that for several seconds none of them uttered a single word.
"A 'coon on two legs, as sure as you're born, Will!" ejaculated Bluff presently.
"It's a man!" cried Jerry. "A man with a white beard in the bargain!"
"Frank, it's going to turn out a pretty fair picture, don't you think?" demanded the proud artist, thinking first of all of the success that had crowned his efforts.
"Seems like it, Will," replied the other; "but you've certainly given us a big surprise when you sprung this on the crowd. He must have run across the cord you had connected with the trigger of your flashlight apparatus, and it went off while he was in the act of falling forward."
"His face doesn't show as well as I'd like," continued Will, reflectively; "but even as it stands the chances are we'll find a look of astonishment there when I come to get a print."
"Well," remarked Bluff, "who wouldn't look staggered if, when he was walking along throughthe woods, all of a sudden he caught his toe in a cord that was stretched across the path, and then had what seemed to be a flash of lightning strike him in the face?"
"I never happened to go through the experience," confessed Frank; "but I'm pretty sure it would give me a fierce jolt."
"But who can the sneaker be, Frank; some darky chicken thief prowling around in hopes of picking up some of our camp duffle?" asked Jerry.
Will turned on him with the scorn an expert photographer always displays when he meets crass ignorance.
"Why, can't you see from the dark shade of his face in the negative, Jerry, that he's a white man?" he demanded. "If it were a negro you'd see his face almost white here. That point is settled without any question."
"All right, Will, I acknowledge the corn," Jerry hastened to say; "but that doesn't bring us any nearer a solution of the mystery. Why should a white man, and one with a white beard at that, be wandering around our camp in the night?"
They looked at Frank. It was an old habit with the three chums. Whenever an unusually knotty point arose that needed attention, andtheir powers seemed baffled, Frank was always depended on to supply the needed answer.
"So far as I'm concerned, fellows," he told them, "I can think of only one old man around this vicinity, and that happens to be Aaron Dennison."
"Ginger! why didn't I guess him right away?" grumbled Bluff. "Seems as if my wits go wool gathering nearly every time there's some sudden necessity for thinking up an answer. Course it's Aaron, and nobody else!"
"Yes," Jerry went on to say, as though not wholly convinced; "but what under the sun would Aaron be doing here, tell me, and acting suspiciously like a thief in the night?"
"Of course we can't say what tempted him to come out," Frank observed; "we've never met the gentleman face to face, but we have heard that he's a queer one. Besides, if you stop to think, you'll remember a little circumstance that seemed to connect old Aaron with this cabin on the Point many years ago."
"It takes you to piece out these things, Frank," admitted Bluff candidly. "Sure! We figured that out by finding a part of an old envelope in the deserted rat's nest under the floor board."
"Just as like as not," added Jerry, "the old chap owns all the ground along the lake shore,including this cabin; and if that's so he'd have a perfect right to walk out this way whenever he chose, at midnight or noon, as the notion struck him."
"Oh, well," remarked Will with a sigh, "he spoiled my little game with Br'er 'Coon, though I mean to make another try along that line. When this film dries, which may be around noon, I'll strike off a proof, and then we can see what the old hermit looks like."
"One thing goes without saying," chuckled Bluff.
"What might that be?" Jerry asked him.
"Our night visitor didn't wait to find out what had blinded him on the trail, but must have turned and made lickety-split for home."
"Can you blame him?" demanded Will, demurely. "Stop and think how you'd feel if all of a sudden you got such a shock. Bluff, you said you were awake at the time, and heard some sort of a sound, didn't you?"
"Why yes, I'm dead certain I did; and now that we know it was a man who got the scare I reckon he gave a little screech. I thought it was a yelp from some wild animal at the time, but it could have been an exclamation just as well."
They continued to talk about the incident for some little time, but although several suggestionswere advanced, in the end they were really no closer to an explanation of the mystery than when they started.
All they knew was that some man, probably Aaron Dennison himself, had been walking along the old trail leading to the cabin from above when his foot caused the concealed trap to be sprung.
He must have turned hastily and retreated after the flash. What he thought the sudden dazzling illumination was caused by, the boys had no means of knowing.
Jerry and Bluff were now getting ready to start on their mission in search of supplies. They both expressed the hope that these could all be procured, once they reached the distant village on the lake shore, many miles off.
It promised to be an interesting trip, for they would pass along a shore neither of them had ever examined at close range before. To those who love outdoor life there is always a novelty about exploration. With new and interesting scenes opening up constantly before the eyes the senses are kept on the alert.
Bluff even had the temerity to suggest that Will loan them his camera for the occasion.
"We might run across some dandy pictures that would be worth while snapping off, youknow, Will," he went on to say in a wheedling tone of voice, which Bluff knew so well how to use.
Will, however, shook his head. Usually he was of a most accommodating nature; and on numerous occasions had willingly entrusted his highly valued camera into the keeping of the other boys, who knew how to use it almost as well as did the owner himself.
"I'd rather not, if it's all the same to you, Bluff," he remarked slowly.
"Oh! well, just as you say," declared the other, shrugging his broad shoulders as though it did not matter much after all, and as if taking care of the camera might possibly prove a task rather than a pleasure; "I reckon you're thinking about the chances of my dropping it overboard; or our running into a storm where the little old black box might get soaked and ruined."
"Not so much that, Bluff, as that I want to do some work on the camera," explained Will. "There's a little matter that really needs adjusting, and I told myself I'd fix it this morning sure. Then again I've laid out a scheme for to-day that if it works will call for the use of the camera."
"That's all right, Will," remarked the other, briskly; "it doesn't matter a pin to me, only Ithought you mightn't ever be going all the way to that village; and something fine could be run across between here and there."
He dropped the subject and began to talk with Frank about other things. Will looked a little uncomfortable. He disliked being thought selfish, and seemed almost on the point of changing his mind. Then on second thoughts he determined to carry out his original plan.
Frank looked over the old boat that had been patched up as well as the conditions allowed.
"It seems to hold pretty well," he told the two who expected to make use of it during the day. "Of course if the lake gets very rough so that you pitch about considerably, keep on the watch for a sudden inflow of water. The planks will hold, but I'm not so sure about the oakum I pounded into the open seams."
"But you did a good job, Frank," objected Jerry, "and so far none of it seems to have started to loosen."
"That's because we haven't had a chance to subject it to any big strain," Frank explained. "When a boat tosses up and down on the waves it gets a terrible wrench with each jerk. I've known seams to open at a time like that when they were believed to be closed as tight as a clam."
"Oh, well, we mean to follow your advice, Frank, and keep fairly close to the shore," Bluff promised.
"And if there is any trouble both of us are good swimmers, you remember," added Jerry confidently. "All I hope is that we get those precious eggs packed in a way that they won't be scrambled on the journey home. It'd be rough now if after all our hard work we had that happen. I prefer my eggs boiled or fried every time."
None of the four chums as they joked in this fashion dreamed of what Fate had in store for them before the sun went down behind the western horizon. How could they suspect when just then the heavens looked so fair and inviting?
"What's that you've got there with you, Jerry?" asked Bluff, who had been fixing a phantom minnow on a troll, in the expectation of picking up a fish or two while they rowed.
"Oh! a little cold snack in the shape of grub," explained the other, who on all occasions possessed a voracious appetite.
"But don't you remember we planned to be in the village long before noon, and expected to get dinner there?" protested Bluff.
"All right, that strikes me as a good scheme,"came the ready reply; "but with my customary caution I'm only insuring against starvation. How do we know but what we'll be shipwrecked half-way there, and find ourselves up against it? For one I don't propose to go hungry when there's a chance to save myself."
Bluff laughed on hearing this explanation.
"Trust you to look out for that, Jerry!" he declared. "And I suppose that in case we do get dinner at the village tavern or a farmhouse, you'll be ready to make way with your snack on the voyage back?"
"I might be influenced by strong pressure," chuckled the other.
"How about the weather, Frank; see any sign of a storm in the offing?" asked Bluff, turning to the leader of the camp.
"Nothing in sight right now," he was told; "the chances are you'll have clear weather going, though there may be some wind behind you. What's going to happen in the afternoon is another matter. I'm not a weather sharp, and so I throw up my hands when you ask me to lift the veil."
All being ready, the boys launched their boat. Bluff was to use the oars for the first shift. When he began to tire he was to call on his chum to change places, unless in the meantimethe breeze had freshened enough for them to make use of their sail.
"Good-bye, fellows!" called out Will; "see you later, and take mighty good care of those eggs, remember!"
"Listen to him, would you?" jeered Jerry. "So long as the hen fruit gets here unbroken Will doesn't seem to care what happens to his chums. But that's all right, and we hope to turn up safe and sound before sunset." And under the steady influence of the oars the boat glided on until the voices of the boys died away in the distance.
The two guardians of the camp at Cabin Point, being left to their own devices, set about carrying out certain tasks they had in mind.
Frank always found plenty to occupy his attention. He could discover numerous ways of bettering the conditions of affairs, and took keen delight in making changes calculated to lessen the friction of camp life.
On his part Will pottered with his camera for fully an hour. When in the end he laid it aside in working order he was satisfied with what he had done.
"I've got it in splendid condition now, Frank," he announced, "and from this time on there'll be no danger of a slip when the trap is sprung. That's been bothering me a whole lot for some time now, and I'm tickled to know the ghost is laid."
Every little while he examined the negative he had drying, as though anxious to get a proof from it when it was in proper condition.
About eleven o'clock he came to Frank holding a browned bit of paper on which the sun had printed a very clear picture as taken when the flashlight cartridge burned.
"The face shows fairly well," he announced. "I'd easily enough recognize the man if ever I ran across him, and that's something."
Frank looked long and earnestly at the proof.
"So that's our hermit, is it?" he remarked; "the old man they say acts so queerly, and has kept to himself up there on his estate for years, living the life of a recluse among his books and papers. There must be some good reason for his acting that way. He's met with some sort of terrible disappointment in life it may be; but then that's no business of ours."
"But Frank, I was meaning to suggest something to you to-day," began Will, looking uncertain, as though he did not know just how the other might take the proposition he had on the tip of his tongue.
"Oh! so that's the way the wind blows, does it?" remarked Frank, raising his eyebrows as he looked at his chum. "Somehow when you declined to let Bluff take the camera along with him I had an idea you were figuring on some scheme. You look like a regular conspirator, Will. Out with it before you choke."
"Listen then, Frank; I was hoping I might coax you to go up there again to-day when I could be along."
Frank whistled upon hearing this suggestion.
"I reckon you mean go to the hermit's place, Will?" he remarked inquiringly.
"Yes, that's just it, Frank, and please, now, don't shut down on me too quickly. Say you'll think it over, and let me know at noon."
Frank scratched his head as though considering. The fact of the matter was he himself had a peculiar yearning to make that trip again. There is a sort of subtle fascination about prowling around forbidden territory. Then the mystery connected with the hermit had aroused his curiosity. That strange cry, too, lingered in his memory even more than Frank cared to confess to Bluff.
"But what excuse can we give for trespassing if we run across old Aaron, his housekeeper, or any man connected with the place?" he asked Will.
At that the other smiled calmly.
"Well, you know an amateur photographer never wants for a reason when he gets caught intruding on private grounds," he explained; "his enthusiasm is supposed to tempt him to take any risks. And Frank, if we run across anytrouble don't hesitate to pile all the blame on me. I'm willing to stand for it."
"Is it the house you're aiming to take a picture of, Will?"
"Partly that," the other confessed. "You and Bluff described it as a strange looking building, and worth seeing, so I'm fairly wild to snap it off. And then, if we just happened to come on Aaron himself, why I might manage to get him in focus and click my camera without his knowing it. I hope you'll go this time, Frank. Somehow I've got my heart set on it."
"Well, perhaps I may, Will. Let the thing drop till we're eating our lunch, and then I'll tell you what I'll do."
"Good for you, Frank!" exclaimed Will, beaming on his chum, for somehow he must have guessed that the chances of their going were pretty fair.
When noon arrived and they sat down to enjoy what had been prepared Will's face looked so much like one big interrogation point that Frank did not have the heart to keep him longer in suspense.
"I see no good reason why we shouldn't wander up that way if we feel like it," he went on to say, at which the other looked greatly pleased. "Of course," Frank continued, "it isn't exactlythe right thing for us to crawl through that opening in the fence again, especially after we've been warned off by the housekeeper; but since you say youmustget a snapshot of the house, why, we'll risk it."
"That's kind of you to agree, Frank."
"Oh! I rather guess it's six for you and half a dozen for myself," chuckled the other lad; "because I own up there's something about Aaron's place up there that draws me more than I ought to allow. But after all we mean no harm, and besides we may not meet any one on our trip."
"Remember," added Will, with a grin, "it's only returning the old gentleman's visit of last night, you know. We want to be neighborly, of course."
There was no hurry, since they had the whole afternoon ahead of them. Will, however, urged a start because he had hopes that they might return by a long, roundabout course, and possibly pick up some interesting views on the way.
"There are some clouds passing overhead," remarked Frank, "and we may get a little thunder shower while away; so we'd better fix things here shipshape."
This was easily done, though of course they did not think to fasten the door in any way. Theother two boys might get back before they did, and it would be foolish to bar them out of the cabin. Besides, what reason had they to fear any invasion from tramps up in this lonely section of country?
Once started, Will seemed very happy. Frank on his part had no great difficulty in following the dimly seen trail. From time to time he would show his companion the marks of footprints both going and coming, and which were other than those left by himself and Bluff on the preceding day.
"That proves we guessed right when we said it was old Aaron who ran against the string of your flashlight trap," Frank explained; "and I'd give a cooky to know why he was making for the cabin at the time."
"You told the housekeeper, didn't you, Frank, that we had bunked in the cabin on the point jutting out into the bay?"
"Yes, and she may have informed him," Frank mused. "Even if he's kept himself up here away from everybody for so long, buried in his books, old Aaron might have enough curiosity to walk down over this trail that he knows so well, just to take a look at us."
"If he's half as gruff as they say," suggested Will, "he may have meant to order us to vacatethe ranch. Then that awful flash came and frightened it all out of him."
Other things cropping up caused them to change the subject. And in due course of time they sighted the high board fence with which the strange hermit had surrounded his estate, thus warning strollers to keep out.
Will was interested in everything connected with the isolated home of the rich and mysterious recluse.
"Of course," he remarked, reflectively, "we could climb over that fence if we went to a lot of trouble, even if it has got a barbed wire strand along the top; but it would take more or less time. And you said there was an opening we could use, didn't you, Frank?"
"It's just ahead a little way, if some one hasn't found the loose board and fastened it up securely," replied the pilot of the expedition.
They were pleased to discover that this had not happened. The loose board still hung in position, and could be easily moved to one side, allowing them a ready entry to the enclosed grounds.
Neither of them spoke above a whisper as they advanced. Frank followed the tracks he and Bluff had made when leaving, since these marked the shortest route to the building. Andit was not long before they caught their first glimpse of the house.
The sun happened to be just about right for a good picture of the front; Will hoped those drifting clouds would not come along in an exasperating way, as so often happens in the experience of every amateur photographer, and obscure the light.
"It's going to make a cracker-jack of a picture, Frank!" said Will, eagerly, and in the lowest of tones, as though he feared that something might still happen to keep him from accomplishing his cherished purpose.