Treasure Trove
Treasure Trove
"Hurry up, all of us!" said he in athrilling whisper. "The men are coming down the path. I don't know whether or not they have seen anything to arouse their suspicions, but they are moving very cautiously, and talking in low tones. There you are," he added, when all the things that Tom had taken out of the valise had been crowded promiscuously into it again. "Grab it up and run with it before Bugle gives tongue to let them know that we are here. Bob and I will cover your retreat."
Tom lost not a moment in acting upon this suggestion. In less time than it takes to tell it, they had all disappeared in the bushes.
Tom made good time toward the first bend in the brook, hoping to get out of sight before the men had opportunity to discover that their camp had been disturbed during their absence, and he accomplished his object.
As soon as he passed the first bend, and left the camp out of sight, Tom turned into the bushes and scrambled up the bluff, his watchful guard following close behind him.
Knowing full well that the robbers were thoroughly armed, and that it would be aneasy matter for them to bushwack them during their retreat, the boys did not relax their vigilance in the slightest degree when they reached the top of the cliff, and neither did they neglect to cover their flight by making use of every tree, rock and bush that came in their way.
The experience they had gained in stalking the wild game of the hills stood them in good stead now, and so stealthy were they in their movements that the dry leaves that covered the ground scarcely rustled beneath their tread.
Tom held a straight course for Joe's cabin, which was the nearest haven of refuge, but no sooner did he get a glimpse of it than he came to a sudden halt, and motioned to Joe to hasten to his side.
"What's the matter?" asked Joe. "There are no enemies in front of us, I hope."
"Did you forget to close and lock your door when you left home this morning?" inquired Tom.
"Of course I didn't. I took particular pains to— Now can anybody tell me whatthat means? The door is standing wide open, as sure as I live."
"Has Mr. Warren got two keys to that lock?" queried Bob.
"Not that I know of," answered Joe.
"Then that open door means this," continued Bob: "While we were prowling about the robbers' camp, they, or some of their kind, seized the opportunity to come here and see what you—"
Joe waited to hear no more. Without giving his friends a hint of his intentions, he ran toward the cabin at the top of his speed, hoping to corner somebody there, and cover him with his rifle so that he could not escape. But in this he was disappointed.
It was plain that some one had been there while he was gone, for the window was open, as well as the door, and the cabin was in the greatest confusion. It had been ransacked as thoroughly as Joe and his companions had ransacked the robbers' camp. Knowing that he could not do the matter justice in English, the young game-warden leaned on the muzzle of his rifle and said nothing.
"Who did it? Anything missing? This is a pretty state of affairs, I must say!" were a few of the exclamations to which Tom and Bob gave utterance, as they crowded into the cabin and took a hurried survey of things.
Had it not been for Dan's encounter with the ghost on the previous day, Joe would have thought at once that his brother was the guilty party; but he did not suspect him now, because he knew that Dan would not dare to come up there alone to take revenge upon him for his refusal to admit him to a full partnership in his business. Silas was afraid to come up there, too; and even if he were not, it wasn't likely that he would do anything of this kind, because he wanted Joe to stay there and earn the hundred and twenty dollars, so that he could take it away from him.
"If the blame doesn't rest with Hobson or some of that clique, it rests with the men to whom that grip-sack belongs," said Joe, confidently. "I don't know whether they have stolen any of my things or not. I must look them over first."
Tom offering to assist him in his work,Bob volunteered to stand guard over them, adding:
"It begins to look to me as though this thing of playing game-warden has its drawbacks, as well as going to school. Tom and I thought we were going to have the finest kind of times up here this winter, growing fat on grouse and squirrels, and enjoying the freedom of camp-life; but I have my doubts. We came here only yesterday morning, and just look at the fuss we have had already. What is it, Joe?"
"Do you see my shotgun anywhere, either of you?" asked Joe in reply. "I am afraid it is gone. Yes, sir, it has been stolen," he added, after he had looked in every place where so large an article could find concealment. "I wish they might have left me that; but they didn't, and with it they took my game-bag, powder-flask and shot-pouch. I know that the whole outfit isn't worth any great sum; but I worked hard for it, and somehow I don't like to lose it."
"I should say not," exclaimed Tom, who would hardly have exhibited greater anger ifhis fine double-barrel had been carried off by the thieves. "Look here, fellows," he added, suddenly, "that grip-sack was found on Mr. Warren's grounds, and I suppose we ought to hand it over to him, hadn't we? Well, then, shall we tell him about the ghost, or shall we skip that?"
Bob and Joe didn't know how to answer this question. They hadn't thought of it before.
"And look here, fellows," said Tom, again, "If we forget to tell about the ghost, how shall we account for the extraordinary interest we have taken in the parties who live in the gorge? Answer me that, if you can."
"The manly way is the best way," observed Joe.
Tom and Bob knew that as well as Joe did. They were quite willing to tell Mr. Warren, when they gave the valise into his keeping, that the events of the day (all except the robbery of Joe's cabin, of course) had been brought about by their fondness for practical joking, but they could not make up their minds to do it, because they did not know how Joe would feel about it.
If Silas and Dan were their father andbrother, they wouldn't care to have every one in the country for miles around know what fools they had made of themselves over the letter which the former found in his wood-pile.
"It isn't my fault that father and Dan believed the story that letter told them," continued the young game-warden, "and I don't see that I am under any obligation to keep their secret from my employer. I shall not ask him to keep it still, although I shall expect him to do so; but if the robbers are captured, as I hope they will be, the whole thing will come to light just as soon as the lawyers get hold of it."
"Have you any idea where the things in this grip-sack came from?" said Bob, looking in at the door. "Have you heard of a heavy robbery being committed in these parts lately? Seen any account of it in the papers, Tom?"
"No," replied the latter. "You have kept me so busy since you came up here that I haven't had a chance to look at a newspaper."
"Neither have I," said Joe, with a smile; "not because I have been too busy, but for the reason that we can't afford to take one.I have no show whatever to keep posted in matters that happen outside the Summerdale hills."
"Well, if you don't keep posted this winter, it will be your own fault," said Tom, banging the table with a package of illustrated papers which he had picked up from the floor. "Bob and I look to Uncle Hallet to keep us supplied with reading matter, and you are welcome to anything he gives us."
"Thank you," said Joe. "I have the promise of all the books I want from Mr. Warren's library, and I should judge by the looks of that package that he intends to provide me with papers, also. Have you seen anything in the shape of grub, Tom?"
"Nary thing," was the answer. "Have much of a supply?"
"Enough to last a week, I should think."
"It isn't here now," said Tom, looking around. "It has gone off to keep company with the shot-gun, most likely."
"I am afraid it has, and that I shall be obliged to pack up a fresh supply on my back."
"Coming up here again to-night?" asked Tom.
"Of course I am," exclaimed Joe, who seemed surprised at the question. "I belong here, don't I? Are you not coming back?"
"Certainly. But there are two of us, and only one of you; and, besides, you have no watch-dog to warn you of—oh, you needn't laugh! I know that Bugle acted the part of a coward to-day, but he is a good watch-dog for all that. He will be sure to awaken us if any one comes prowling around our cabin, and that is all we ask of him. There sir, your cot is all right again."
"It's a wonder to me that they didn't steal my blankets," said Joe. "But, after all, they've got a pretty good supply, and probably they don't want any more to carry about the country with them, when they find themselves obliged to break up housekeeping in the gulf, and strike for new quarters. Now, I think we might as well go on to Mr. Warren's. I haven't missed anything yet except my provisions and shooting rig."
Bob caught up the valise, Joe fastened thedoor by replacing the staple that had been pulled out of it, and the three boys struck through the evergreens toward the cow-path before spoken of, which ran from Silas Morgan's wood-pile to Mr. Warren's barn.
They were still much excited, and showed it plainly in their actions and speech.
Although they had no reason to believe that the robbers were anywhere near them, they did not forget to stop and listen now and then, and look along the path behind; and if a squirrel jumped from one tree to another, or the wind caused a sudden rustling among the neighboring bushes, they were prompt to drop their guns into the hollow of their arms and face in the direction from which the sound came.
"I declare I am as nervous as any old woman," said Bob, at length. "I act and feel as if I had been frightened half out of my wits, and yet I haven't seen a single thing."
"But you heard the robbers coming down the path, didn't you? And you know that they would be only too glad to have revengeon the parties who took their ill-gotten gains away from them," said Joe. "Now that I think of it, what right had we to touch this grip-sack?"
"We took it 'on general principles,' as the policemen say when they arrest a person against whom they have no evidence, but who they think is getting ready to do something he ought not," was Bob's answer. "If those men came honestly by the things that are in that valise, we are liable to get ourselves into a pretty pickle for laying hands on it; but I'll bet you anything you please that they'll not come down to Mr. Warren's house after their property. 'Cause why, they haven't a shadow of a right to it."
When the boys came within sight of the barn, they left the cow-path, crawled through a pair of bars, and turned into the wide carriage-way that ran around the house and past the front door.
Their vigorous pull at the bell brought out Mr. Warren himself.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, trying to look surprised and to bring a frownto his jolly, good-natured face. "Is this what you young gentlemen are paid for—to run about the country, while the market-shooters slip up to those wood-lots and shoot all the birds?"
"If market-shooters were the only things we had to look out for, we'd have a fine time this winter," replied Bob, as the gentleman shook hands with him. "Do you see this grip-sack? Well, there's a tale hanging to it."
Mr. Warren said he couldn't see any, and asked the boys to come in.
"That's because the tale is in our heads," replied Bob, seating himself in the chair that was pointed out to him. "Will you be kind enough to dump the things out of this valise and tell us what you think of them.
"What's in it?" inquired Mr. Warren, who looked puzzled.
Bob, by way of response, waved his hand toward Tom, who said, in answer to the gentleman's inquiring glance:
"I didn't have time to make a very thorough examination of its contents, for the robbers didn't stay away long enough; but—"
"The robbers!" exclaimed Mr. Warren.
"Yes; the men who are camping in the gorge. But I can't make you understand it, unless I go at it right," said Tom, who then went on to tell his story, to which Mr. Warren listened with the closest attention.
When Tom ceased speaking, he said:
"And so you knew that there was something in the gorge before you took possession of your cabin, did you? Well, your Uncle Hallet suspected it."
"I don't know what right he had to suspect anything," said Tom. "We never told him of our experience in the gorge."
"I know you didn't, and the reason was because you were afraid he would laugh at you. But he knew very well that you were keeping something from him. When the idea of playing game-wardens first took hold of you, you were very enthusiastic over it; but when you returned from your trip down the gorge, and learned that Mr. Emerson had given Bob permission to stay in the woods with you during the winter, you didn't dance about and go into ecstasies, as you ought tohave done. That's why your Uncle suspects something; but, I declare, he didn't look for anything like this," exclaimed Mr. Warren, gazing in surprise at the contents of the valise, which he had turned out upon the carpet. "You have done a good piece of detective work, for these things were stolen, beyond a doubt, and if they came from the place I think they did, you are entitled to a reward of ten thousand dollars."
"Great Scott!" exclaimed Tom and Bob, while Joe Morgan fairly gasped for breath, and his mind suddenly became so confused that he could not calculate how much his share of that reward would amount to. But he had a dim idea that it would be something over three thousand dollars; and wouldn't that place his mother above want for a good many years to come?
The young game-warden never once thought of himself, until his father's scowling visage and Dan's arose before his mental vision, and then he wondered what tactics they would resort to, and what new system of persecution they would adopt, in order to squeezethe last cent of those three thousand dollars out of him.
While he was thinking about it, he sat down on the floor beside Tom and Bob, who were kneeling in front of Mr. Warren. When the latter laid one of the watches aside, with the remark that it was a valuable timepiece, and no doubt the rightful owner would be glad to get it back, Bob picked it up and opened it. An inscription on the inside of the back part of the case caught his eye, and he read it aloud as follows:
"Geo. Y. Seely, Esq. With the regards of his grateful friend, Joel Burnett."
"Geo. Y. Seely, Esq. With the regards of his grateful friend, Joel Burnett."
"What's that?" cried Mr. Warren. "Read that again, please."
Bob complied, and then handed over the watch, so that Joe's employer could read it for himself.
"I know both those men," said the latter, at length. "I went to school with them in the old academy at Bellville, and so did your father and uncle," nodding at Tom and Bob. "Seely helped Burnett out of a tight place,when his business was about to go to ruin, and Burnett gave him this watch to show his gratitude."
"Then those things must have some from Hammondsport," exclaimed Tom. "Say, Bob, don't you remember reading an account of the disappearance of a lot of securities from the county treasurer's office in Hammondsport, on the same night that several burglaries were committed there?"
"I believe I do," replied Bob, after thinking a moment. "If my memory serves me, the treasurer himself was suspected of having a hand in it—that is, in the loss of the bonds; but they couldn't prove anything against him."
"Of course, they couldn't," said Mr. Warren, indignantly. "The missing papers are right here. I never did believe in his guilt, for I have known him for years, and I never saw the least thing wrong with him. He is under a cloud now, but it will break away as soon as your exploit becomes known through the country. You have rendered him a most important service, if you did but know it."
"I am glad that we have been of some use in the world," said Bob.
"Well, that was what you were put here for, wasn't it? How much do you think these things are worth?" said Mr. Warren, as he put the various packages back into the valise.
The boys couldn't tell; but they remembered now that the thieves had taken a good deal of property out of Hammondsport on the night of their raid, and Tom and Bob thought that perhaps they had secured as much as forty or fifty thousand dollars' worth.
"You boys don't know much," replied Mr. Warren. "That valise, just as it stands, couldn't be bought for a cent less than a hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The bonds and securities are worth a pile of money, I tell you; and there must be two or three thousands in greenbacks in there, to say nothing of the watches. Boys, you have done something to be proud of; and it's a lucky thing for Tom and Bob that they did not try to find out where the howls that frightened them came from. The robbers were at homethen, and if they had not succeeded in driving you away, they would have shot you down without ceremony."
"Then we had a perfect right to take that grip-sack, didn't we, Mr. Warren?" said Joe, whose mind was not quite easy on that score.
"I should say you had," replied Mr. Warren, with a laugh. "You have made yourselves wealthy, too, for you are fairly entitled to the reward."
"Well, what are we going to do about arresting those thieves?" said Tom.
When all the packages had been put back into the valise, he and his two companions had got upon their feet and shouldered their guns, supposing, of course, that Mr. Warren would bestir himself as if he meant to do something; but, instead of that, he settled back into his chair and put his hands into his pockets.
"What are you going to do about it?" repeated Tom, who was impatient to begin operations at once. "The robbers have by this time discovered that their ill-gotten gains have slipped through their fingers, and of course they are not going to stay there in the gulf till the sheriff comes and gobbles them up. While we are idling here, they may be taking themselves safe off."
"They may, and then again they may not," said Mr. Warren. "If they are at all acquainted with these hills—and if they are not, I don't see why they came here in the first place—they must know that there's not another spot in the whole country, of the same size, that affords so many excellent hiding-places. But we'll talk about them by-and-by.Joe is the fellow I am thinking about just now."
The young game-warden looked his surprise, but did not speak.
"Yes," continued Mr. Warren, "somehow I don't like to think about the visit they made to his cabin while you boys were in the gorge. Did they take any of your things, Tom?"
That was the first time it had ever occurred to Tom and his friend that the robbers might have given their own house an overhauling, and that possibly Joe Morgan was not the only one who had suffered at their hands. They looked blankly at each other, and at last Bob managed to say that they had not been near their cabin since they left it in Joe's company, early in the morning.
"Then perhaps it would be worth while for you to go up there and look into things," said Mr. Warren, "while I go down and talk to Hallet. It is possible that we shall decide to take this valise to Hammondsport before I come back. I am sure I don't want to keep it in the house over night, for if those robbersshould by any means get on the track of it, they wouldn't be at all backward about coming here after it."
"I don't see how they could get on the track of it," Joe remarked.
"Did it ever occur to you that they might have followed you at a distance when you came down from the mountain?" inquired Mr. Warren.
Yes, the boys had thought of that, and it had kept them on nettles. But they were never off their guard, held their guns ready for instant use, and faced about whenever they head the slightest sound. If the men were on their trail, why did they not rush up and grab the valise?
"Because they did not care to face the bullets and bird-shot that were in those guns—that's the reason," answered Mr. Warren. "They will not do anything openly; I am not at all afraid of that. But Iamafraid that they will be full of life and action when night comes. Perhaps, after all, you boys had better bring your things down and stay at home, until the sheriff has had opportunity totake those fellows into custody. Joe, I give you an order to that effect."
"I don't much like the idea of deserting my post on account of imaginary dangers," replied Joe.
"That's the idea; neither do I!" exclaimed Tom.
"It's my opinion that your Uncle Hallet will be quite positive on that point," said Mr. Warren, who laughed heartily when he saw the expression of disappointment and disgust that overspread the faces of the young game-wardens.
"If he is, I'll kick, I bet you!" declared Tom.
"And much good will that do you. Now, Tom, be a good boy, and do a little errand for me. Go out to the barn and tell Fred to hitch the blacks to the canopy top. Then we'll all ride down to Uncle Hallet's and see what he thinks of this morning's work."
Depositing his double barrel in one corner of the hall, Tom hastened out to comply with this request, and Mr. Warren addressed himself to Bob and Joe.
"This beats anything I ever heard of," said he. "Who would have imagined that your love of mischief was destined to bring rogues to justice, clear an honest man's reputation, and make you rich into the bargain? Joseph, I am sorry you lost your gun; but you shall not go hungry because they carried off your provisions."
"The gun wasn't worth much," was Joe's reply, "and perhaps I haven't lost it yet. I shall live in hopes of having it returned to me when those men are arrested. Do you really think I had better stop at home?"
"Of nights? Yes, I do."
"I am not at all afraid," began Joe.
"I haven't so much as hinted that you were," interrupted his employer, "but I can't see the use of your putting yourself in the way of danger for nothing. If there was any real need that you should stay up there, the case would be different. My object, and Hallet's, in building those cabins, was to provide comfortable quarters for our wardens, so that they would not have to wade through the deep snow in going to and from their work.If you will spend the day in walking around the woods and looking out for market-shooters, it is all I shall ask of you, until those robbers have been shut up. Even after that you may have trouble, for you have got Brierly down on you."
"I don't see why Brierly should be down on him," said Bob. "By turning him back, Joe helped him get twenty-five dollars for nothing."
"I am well enough acquainted with him to know that he will never forgive Joe for threatening to report him," said Mr. Warren. "The first good chance he gets, he will be even with him for that."
While they were talking in this way, Tom Hallet came bounding up the steps, and a few minutes later the canopy top was driven up to the door.
The boys got in, in obedience to a sign from Mr. Warren; but one of them, at least would have objected, if he had thought that he could gain anything by it.
That one was Joe Morgan, who scarcely knew whether he stood on his head or hisfeet. Mr. Warren's confident assertions regarding the value of the property which he and his two friends had found in the robbers' hiding place had turned him completely upside down—at least, that was what he told himself. His share of the ten thousand dollars, if he ever got it (and his employer did not seem to have any misgivings on that point), would make a great change in his circumstances. It would put it in his power to obtain the schooling he wanted, and give his mother the good long rest of which everybody, except Silas and Dan, could see that she stood so much in need.
"But won't they be hopping mad when they hear of it?" Joe asked himself, over and over again. "And what would they have done with the things that are in that valise, if they had found them? The money they could have spent, of course; but they would not dare wear the watches and jewelry, and the papers they would have destroyed, and with them their only chance of putting in a claim for the reward. As things have turned out, mother will receive the most benefit fromthis morning's work, unless it be the county treasurer, who was unjustly accused of crookedness. He can thank Bob and Tom for that, and if I ever see him, I shall take pains to tell him so. If they had not played that joke on father and Dan, he might have remained under a cloud all his life."
The young game-warden was so fully occupied with these thoughts that he did not know what was going on around him, until Bob Emerson seized him by the arm and shook him out of his reverie.
"Isn't that so?" he demanded.
"Certainly; it's all true," replied Joe.
"It was a nice place, wasn't it?" continued Bob.
"Splendid," said Joe, who had no idea what particular place Bob was referring to.
But the latter did not notice his abstraction. He and Tom were telling Mr. Warren what a nice camp the robbers had made for themselves under the bluff, and dilating upon the amount of work they must have done in making so good a path through those dense thickets.
"In front of the cabin—that's the way we always speak of it, for it wasn't really a cave, you know—there was a cleared half-circle that was fully as large as your parlor," said Bob. "In this circle we saw a few battered cooking utensils, the smoking ashes of a camp-fire, and the ghost that frightened Dan Morgan so badly that he dared not carry the secret to bed with him. I said from the first that it was a man and not an animal that yelled at us when Tom and I came down that gorge day before yesterday, and I finally succeeded in making Tom think so, too; but he insisted that it wasn't an outlaw, but some one who took it into his head to play a trick on us, just for the fun of seeing us run. Not until Joe told us his story, and gave us his ideas regarding matters and things, did we know just what we would have to face if we went into that gorge."
"You say the ghost seemed to grow in height while Dan looked at it," observed Mr. Warren. "Did Dan's fears make him say that, or was it a part of the trick?"
"Of course I am not positive on thatpoint," was Bob's reply, "but I think it was a part of the trick. I gave but one hasty glance at the dummy, but I took note of the fact that it was rigged on a very long pole, and it would have been easy for the man who was managing it to raise it higher and higher above the bushes, if he wanted to do it. I also noticed that the face was made of a stuffed pillow-case, which had been blackened with a piece of coal to show where the eyes, nose and mouth ought to be."
"What do you think suggested to them the idea of making use of a dummy to frighten folks away from their hiding-place?"
"I don't know, unless it was the success that attended their efforts to keep Tom and me from going there," answered Bob.
But the sequel proved that, although he had guessed pretty closely on some things, he had shot wide of the mark when he guessed at this one.
"As good luck would have it, you went into the gorge while the robbers were absent on a plundering expedition," said Mr. Warren. "But suppose you had found themat home, and ready to receive you—what then?"
"But we didn't, you see!" exclaimed Tom, triumphantly. "We had the camp all to ourselves."
"I must say that you are a reckless lot," declared Mr. Warren, "and it would be serving you just right if Uncle Hallet should order you to be ready to start for school when the next term begins."
Bob looked blank, but Tom hastened to quiet his fears by saying:
"He will never think of such a thing. He is a firm friend of Mr. Shippen," (that was the name of the county official who was suspected of making way with the bonds and other valuable documents that had been placed in his hands for safe keeping), "and when Uncle Hallet knows that we can clear him, he will be so delighted that he won't think of scolding us. There he is now. He has been out to get some flowers for his library table."
Mr. Hallet was surprised to see his neighbor drive into his yard with the three game-wardens,who ought to have been far away on the mountain attending to business, and almost overwhelmed with amazement when he heard the story they told him while seated on the porch.
When Mr. Warren showed him the recovered securities, at the same time remarking that their mutual friend Shippen would be cleared of all suspicion the moment those papers were produced in Hammondsport, Uncle Hallet went into the hall after his hat and duster, declaring that it was a matter of the gravest importance, and must be attended to at once.
Then he added something that gave his nephew the opportunity to "kick."
"I am going over to the county-seat with Mr. Warren, and you two boys had better stay here until I return," was what he said.
"Now, just look here—" began Tom.
"I know all about it," interrupted his uncle, turning his head on one side and waving his hands up and down in the air, "and I am in too great a hurry to listen to any argument. Joe Morgan has seen onewhite face looking at him through his window, and if you stay up there to-night you will see two; but they will be white with anger, and not with fear. You have got yourselves in a box by your prying and meddling," added Uncle Hallet, who was delighted with the exploit the boys had performed and proud of their pluck, "and I want you to keep away from those hills after dark, I tell you."
"Well," said Tom, with a long-drawn sigh, "I suppose I shall have to submit."
"I think I would, if I were in your place," said Mr. Warren.
And as he spoke he brought so comical a look to his face that every one on the porch broke out in a hearty laugh.
When they had had their laugh out, Mr. Warren said to Uncle Hallet:
"Don't you think it would be a good plan for the boys to bring their outfit to a place of safety until the sheriff has had time to go up there and take care of those robbers? If they take it into their heads to burn the cabins, we don't want them to burn everything there is in them."
"Of course not," assented Mr. Hallet. "Tom, tell Hawley to hitch up and move you down at once—you and Joe. Mind, now, I want him to go with you."
"We don't need him," protested Tom. "We can take care of ourselves."
Uncle Hallet did not think it necessary to discuss this point. He had given hisorders, and he knew that they would be strictly obeyed.
He stepped into Mr. Warren's wagon, and the latter drove out of the yard, leaving the boys to themselves.
"He didn't say that we couldn't go back again as soon as the robbers have been caught, did he?" observed Bob, whose fears on that score were now set at rest. "It's going to be a bother to walk up there and back every day, when we might just as well remain in our cabins, but it seems that we've got to do it."
Tom replied that it certainly looked that way; adding, that it would be of no use for them to "kick," because he knew by the expression that was on Uncle Hallet's face when he laid down the law to them, that he meant every word he said.
They went out to the barn, and found Hawley, the hostler, gardener, and man-of-all-work, who could hardly believe the story they told him while he was hitching up; and it needed the sight of Mr. Warren's blacks, stepping out for Hammondsport at their bestpace, and an examination of the broken fastenings of Joe's cabin, to convince him that the boys had not dreamed it all, and that there had really been something going on up there on the mountain.
"I wouldn't sleep in one of these shanties as long as those robbers are at liberty for twice fifteen dollars a month, and I think Uncle Hallet did just right in telling you to keep away from here after dark," said Hawley.
And he was in such haste to get the things into his wagon and start for home, that the boys were surprised, and wondered if he would be of any use to them if they got into any trouble.
"There," said Tom, at length; "Joe's cabin is as empty as it was two days ago. Now, let us go over to our own domicile, and see how things look there. We can move faster than you can, Hawley, so we will go on ahead."
"Well, I guess you'd better not," was the man's reply. "I judged from what you said that it was your uncle's wish that I shouldkeep an eye on you. And how am I going to do it if you don't stay with me?"
"We are in a great hurry to find out whether or not our house was robbed at the same time that Joe's was," replied Bob, "and we can look out for ourselves. Come on boys!"
"He acts as if he were afraid to be left alone," whispered Joe Morgan.
"And I believe he is," answered Bob. "Events may prove that we are in more danger up here than we think for."
Bob didn't know how close he shot to the mark when he uttered these careless words, but he found it out afterwards.
Paying no heed to Hawley's remonstrances, the boys hastened on in advance of him, and in due time came within sight of Tom's cabin. Nothing there had been disturbed.
If the robbers knew of its existence, they probably did not think it safe to go there, because it was so far from their hiding-place.
"We don't want those things to go," said Tom, when Hawley drove up and jumped out of his wagon. "We've kept out grub enough for our dinner."
"Ain't you going back with me?" inquired the man.
"What's the use? We would have to come up here again, and we don't care to prance up and down this mountain any more times than we are obliged to. It is understood that we are to stay here during the day. If we didn't, these wood-lots would be black with shooters in less than twenty-four hours."
"Well, I wouldn't stay, day or night," said Hawley. "Them birds ain't worth the danger that you fellows put yourselves in every minute you spend here."
Hawley's anxiety to get through with his work and start for home, was so apparent, that it is a wonder the young game-wardens did not grow frightened and decide to go back with him; but they didn't think of it. They helped him load his wagon, and saw him depart without any misgivings.
"Now, what arrangements shall we make about dinner?" said Bob, as soon as Hawley was out of sight. "I say, let's eat it at once, and be done with it; then we will save ourselves the trouble of packing itaround through the woods for an hour and a half."
The boys were all hungry, and knowing by experience that a loaded haversack or game-bag is an awkward thing to carry through bushes, they agreed to Bob's proposition, and set to work immediately.
By their united efforts a substantial meal was quickly made ready and as quickly disposed of, and then they bade one another good-by and separated.
"Joe's got good pluck, I must say," exclaimed Tom Hallet, turning about to take a last look at Mr. Warren's warden, who was just disappearing in the gloom of the woods. "I don't think I should be afraid to be left here alone, but I am very well satisfied to have you with me."
And Joe Morgan would have been better satisfied if he, too, had had a companion to talk to, instead of being obliged to roam about by himself. But he was working for money, of which his mother stood in need, and he did his duty, although (candor compels us to say it) he gave the gorge a wide berth.
The startling events of the morning and the many warnings he had received were of too recent occurrence to be forgotten, and he didn't care if he never saw that gorge again; still, he would have gone even there if he had seen or heard the least thing to indicate that poachers were at work in that vicinity.
He kept a sharp eye on his watch, and when the clumsy-looking hands told him that he had just time enough left to get home before dark, he bent his steps toward the wood-pile, which he always took as his point of departure, carrying a light heart in his breast, and the happy consciousness that he had left nothing undone.
"On the contrary, it's the best day's work I ever did," said Joe, to himself. "Three thousand three hundred dollars, and a little more for my share of the reward! Wh-e-w! I do wish I could think of some way to keep it from father's knowledge and Dan's; but they are bound to hear of it, and make me all the trouble they can concerning it, and I don't know but I might as well face the music to-night as any other time."
The future looked as bright to the young game-warden as it did to Silas Morgan the first time we saw him moving down that road. But there was this difference between the two: Joe had something tangible upon which to build his hopes, while his father had nothing but the letter he held in his hand.
His mother was the first to greet him when he reached home; indeed, she was the only one of the family there was in sight. She was surprised and startled to see him, but she saw at a glance that there was no cause for alarm.
"Where's father and Dan?" inquired Joe, taking the precaution to open the door, which had been closed behind him.
He did not want either of the two worthies whose names he had just mentioned to slip up and hear what he had to say to his mother.
"I don't know where they are now," was Mrs. Morgan's answer. "Daniel has been sitting there on the bank almost ever since you went away; but your father, would you believe it, Joe?—he has been down to the Beach to give up the setters that he has had in his keeping so long."
"Good enough!" exclaimed Joe, who was delighted to hear it. "I have been afraid that those dogs would get him into trouble sooner or later, and they would, too, if he had held fast to them much longer. Did he find the owner?"
"No; but he gave them to the landlord, to be kept until they were called for. I don't know what sort of a story he told regarding them, but he seemed to feel better when he came back."
"Have you any idea what induced him to take that step?"
"I think it was the fright he had."
"Good enough!" said Joe, again. "Those hants—for there are two of them—are the best friends we ever had. Now, don't say a word, for I want to tell you something before anybody comes to interrupt me. I repeat, they are good friends of ours. They have led father into making restitution of property that he never ought to have had in his hands, and they have been the means of—"
Before he told what the hants had been the means of doing, Joe stepped to the door and looked out.
It was pitch dark now, but the light that streamed from the door of the cabin was bright enough to show him that there was no eavesdropper in sight.
Why didn't he think to go around the corner and look behind the chimney?
"They have made us rich, mother," continued Joe, stepping to Mrs. Morgan's side, and speaking in low but distinct tones. "I made three thousand three hundred dollars this morning by doing less than two hours' work. Hold on till I get through. I know you are astonished, and so am I; but it's all true. Sit down, for I've a long story to tell."
The young game-warden, who stood in constant fear of interruption, talked rapidly, but he went into all the details, and, by the time he got through, his mother knew as much about it as he did himself; but she said she was afraid it was too good to be true.
"No, it isn't," exclaimed Joe. "When Tom told our story to Mr. Hallet's hired man, he declared that we had been asleep and dreamed it all. But it isn't reasonable to suppose that we could all dream the samething, is it? When other folks begin talking about it, you will find that it is true, every word of it. I wish there was some one here to hold me on the ground," cried Joe, jumping from his chair and swinging his arms around his head. "Mother, your hard days are all over, and I can go to school, can't I? I am going to study hard this winter, and whenever I get stumped, I'll ask Tom and Bob to help me out."
Having worked off a little of his surplus enthusiasm, Joe sat down again and talked coolly and sensibly with his mother regarding his prospects for the future.
So deeply interested did he become in what he was saying, that he did not hear the very slight rustling behind the cabin that was occasioned by his brother Dan, who withdrew his ear from the crack between the boards against which it had been closely pressed, and stole off into the darkness.
But Dan was there and heard it all; and he pounded his head with both his fists as he walked away.
Although the young game-warden did not see them, Silas Morgan and his hopeful son Dan were both sitting on the river bank, in plain view of the cabin, when he came home. They were both surprised to see him, and Dan gave it as his private opinion that one night alone in the woods had effectually taken away all Joe's desire to act as Mr. Warren's game protector during the winter.
"And I'm just glad of it," said Dan, spitefully. "I hope in my soul that that hant came and looked in at his winder, and howled and screeched at him like he did at us."
"Well, I hope he didn't," answered Silas. "If Joe is drove away from there, I don't know what we will do for grub and such whenwinter comes. I ain't a going up to old man Warren's wood-lot to work, I bet you!"
"Neither be I," said Dan.
"Then where's the money to come from? We can't live without money, you know."
"Well, Joe ain't going to give you none of his'n, 'cause he told me so. He's going to give every cent of it to mam, and you and me can go hungry for all he cares."
"No, I don't reckon we'll go hungry. I know when pay-day comes as well as he does; and when I know that he's got the month's wages in his pocket, can't I easy steal it outen your mam's possession after he hands it over to her? Didn't think of that, did you?"
"Well, you won't never steal any money outen mam's pocket, nuther," replied Dan. "Whenever she wants anything from the store, Joe he'll give her an order on old man Warren, and mam won't tech none of his earnings. He told me so. You're mighty sharp, pap, but that Joe of our'n is one ahead of you this time."
Dan looked to see his father go into afearful rage when he said this, but Silas did not do anything of the sort. He sat with his elbows resting on his knees and his hands supporting his head, gazing off into the darkness toward the opposite side of the river.
"What do you reckon that stingy Joe of our'n has come back here to tell mam?" continued Dan.
Silas was obliged to confess that he didn't know, and followed it up with the suggestion that it might be a good plan for him to creep up and find out.
"Creep up yourself, if you want to know wusser'n I do," was Dan's reply. "Can't you see that the door is wide open?"
"What of it?" said Silas. "Can't you creep up behind the chimbly! There's a crack there atween the boards that you've often listened at, 'cause I've seen you. Who knows but Joe may be telling her something about the money that's in the cave?"
Dan said it was not likely that Joe knew anything about the cave, beyond what he himself had told him; but still his father's words aroused his curiosity, and awakenedwithin him a desire to learn what Joe had to say to his mother.
He waited a moment or two to bring his courage up to the sticking point, and then threw himself upon his hands and knees and crept away from his father's sight. He was gone about twenty minutes, and when he returned, he acted so much like a crazy boy that Silas was really afraid of him.
"What's the matter of you?" he demanded, in an angry whisper. "Did Joe say anything so't you could hear it?"
"You're right he did," Dan managed to say, at last. "Oh, pap, we'll never in this world have another chance like that. We had the best kind of a show to get rich, and we let it slip through our fingers, fools that we was."
Silas fairly gasped for breath. He stared fixedly at Dan, who sat on the bank, rocking himself from side to side; but he was too amazed to speak.
"The money was there all the time," Dan went on, "and that Joe of our'n he went and got it, dog-gone the luck!"
"And all along of your telling him about it, you idiot," snarled Silas. "If you had kept your mouth shet, that Joe of our'n wouldn't never have known that the money was there. I have the best notion in the world to—"
"Now, can't you wait until I tell you?" exclaimed Dan, whose senses came back to him very speedily when he saw that his father was pushing up his sleeves. "It wasn't all along of my telling him, nuther, that Joe found out about the cave. Tom and Bob told him, for they were the ones that writ the letter you took outen your wood-pile."
The ferryman's astonishment quickly got the better of his rage, and he listened in a dreamy sort of way to the story that Dan had to tell him; but when the latter reached the end of it, and Silas found out that he had really been within a few yards of a valise whose contents could not be purchased for less than one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and that the white thing that frightened him was not a ghost, after all, but a dummy, managed by a man who might have beendisabled by a single charge from his double-barrel—when Silas heard this, he was ready to boil over again.
The fact that a third of the handsome reward that had been offered for the recovery of the stolen bonds would come into his family did not serve as a balm for his wounded feelings. He wanted the money himself; and the reflection that after coming so near to securing it, he had allowed himself to be frightened away by—
"Oh, my soul!" groaned Silas, jumping to his feet, and striding up and down the bank, with both hands tightly clenched in his hair. "Here's me and you, as poor as Job's turkey, while that Joe of our'n has got more'n twice as much as he oughter have. He's rich, and after this he won't do nothing but loaf around and spend his money, while me and you— Now, wait till I tell you! Did you ever hear of such amazing mean luck before? Toot away!" he cried, shaking both his fists at the opposite bank. "I wouldn't go over after you if I knew I'd get five dollars for it. What's five dollars alongside theten thousand we might have had if we hadn't been such fools? Oh, Dannie, why didn't we shoot a little lower?"
While Silas was talking, the blast of a horn sounded from the other side of the river. It was a notice to the ferryman that there was some one over there who wanted to cross the stream, but Silas was in no humor to respond to it. Again and again the signal was given, and finally a hail came through the darkness.
"Hallo, there!" shouted a familiar voice. "Is Joe Morgan at home?"
"No, he ain't!" growled Dan in reply.
"Yes, he is!" shouted the owner of that name, who had come out to assist in taking the flat across the river. "Is that you, Tom Hallet?"
"Yes. Have you seen anything of Bob?"
"Not since dinner," was Joe's answer. "What's the matter with him?"
"We hope there isn't anything the matter with him," shouted Tom; "but we begin to think— Say, Joe, come over, and bring a lantern. I have something to show you."
"I don't know how he's going to get over,unless he is able to manage the flat all by himself," said Dan, in an undertone. "I won't help him, I bet you."
Silas was about to say the same, but his curiosity, of which he had considerably more than two men's share, got the better of him.
"What do you reckon he wants to show you?" said he, addressing himself to Joe; "and what's become of Bob?"
"I am sure I can't tell," answered Joe. "But if you will help me to take the flat over, we will find out all about it. I am sure you will hear something worth listening to if you will lend a hand."
"All right; I'm there," said Silas, jumping up with alacrity.
"But I ain't," said Dan, doggedly.
"Who said anything to you?" demanded his father, almost fiercely. "Set where you are if you feel like it. Me and Joe can get along without none of your help; and furder'n that," he added, in a lower tone, as Joe ran to the house to bring a candle and some matches—there being no such thing as a lantern in the ferryman's humble abode—"meand Joe will go snucks on his share of the reward, and you shan't see a cent of it. So there, now!"
These words were sufficient to infuse a good deal of life and energy into Dan. He believed that his father would yet contrive some way to swindle Joe out of every dollar that came into his possession, and if he (Dan) hoped to get any of it for his own, he must be very careful how he went contrary to his father's wishes.
When Joe came back with the candle, Silas and Dan were standing in the flat, all ready to shove off.
The young game-warden could not remember when he had carried so heavy a heart across the river as he did on this particular evening.
He did not say anything, for he knew that his father and Dan could not understand his feelings, but his brain was exceedingly busy.
Bob Emerson had disappeared in some unaccountable way. He knew that much, and somehow Joe could not help connecting this circumstance with some words the missingboy had let fall the last time he was in his company.
"We may be in more danger while we are up here than we think for," and, "This thing is going to end in something besides fun."
These words, which Bob had uttered without giving much heed to what he was saying, now seemed to Joe to be prophetic of disaster.
Of course, this reflection made him uneasy, and he exerted himself to get the heavy flat over to the other side with as little delay as possible. So did Dan, for a wonder, and the result was, that they made a much quicker passage than they usually did.
When the flat came within sight of the bank, Silas, who was at the steering-oar, leaned forward and informed Joe, in a whisper, that Tom was not alone—that his uncle Hallet, old man Warren, and both their hired men were with him, as well as two strangers whom he didn't remember to have seen before. But a moment later, he added, in tones of excitement:
"Yes, I have seen 'em, too. They're thesheriff and one of his deputies. Well, they can't do nothing to me. Ain't it a lucky thing for me, Joey, that I give up them setter dogs to-day?"
"I am glad you did," replied Joe, "but I shall always be sorry that you ever had anything to do with them in the first place."
With a few long sweeps of his steering-oar, Silas brought the flat broadside to the bank, and Joe Morgan sprang out. Tom Hallet was the first one to speak to him.
"Did I understand you to say that you have not seen Bob since we ate dinner together?" said he in a trembling voice.
"That is just what I said," answered Joe, whose worst fears were now fully confirmed. "You and he went off together, and I haven't seen him since. Where is he?"
"I wish I knew," replied Tom. "We felt sorry for you, when we saw you going away alone; but you got back safe and sound, while we didn't. You see— Where's your lantern?"
Joe replied that he had brought a candle, and proceeded to light it. Then Bob handedhim a slip of paper on which were written the following fateful words:
"If you will bring back the property you stole from us, and put it where you found it, we will give up our prisoner. If you don't, or if you attempt to play tricks upon us, you will never see him again."
"If you will bring back the property you stole from us, and put it where you found it, we will give up our prisoner. If you don't, or if you attempt to play tricks upon us, you will never see him again."
This portion of the note was written in a strange hand, but under it was a postscript which Tom declared had been penned by nobody but Bob Emerson. It ran thus:
"They've got me, Tom, and that's all there is about it. For goodness sake, bring back that valise! And be quick about it, for they threaten to do all sorts of dreadful things to me, if their demands are not complied with in less than twenty-four hours."
"They've got me, Tom, and that's all there is about it. For goodness sake, bring back that valise! And be quick about it, for they threaten to do all sorts of dreadful things to me, if their demands are not complied with in less than twenty-four hours."
Joe handed back the piece of paper, and looked at Tom without speaking.
"Bob was right when he declared that this thing was destined to end in something besides fun, wasn't he?" observed Tom, giving utterance to the very thoughts that were passing through Joe Morgan's mind. "But I don't believe he ever dreamed that anything like this was going to happen."
"Do you think the robbers have got hold of him?" faltered Joe, who knew that Tom expected him to say something.
"I know it?" was the answer.
"Where were you when they captured him?"
"I don't know. The way it happened was this: After you left us we decided to make the entire round of uncle's wood-lot, and as we couldn't do it if we stayed together, we separated, and that was the last I saw of BobEmerson. Before parting we agreed to meet at the cabin at six o'clock, sharp. I was there at the minute, but Bob wasn't, and while I was waiting for him, I happened to see this notice, which was fastened to the door of the shanty with a wooden pin. That's all there is of it."
"Why don't you go down to the gorge?"
"We went there the first thing, and we've been everywhere else that we could think of," replied Tom. "They left their camp in a great hurry; but where they went is a mystery. But we will have them before many hours have passed away," added Tom, confidently. "These officers have come up from Hammondsport on purpose to arrest them, and they are not going back without them. We are taking them down to the Beach now, to raise a "hue and cry" among the guides there, and by daylight to-morrow morning the mountains will be full of men. There is an additional reward offered for the arrest of the thieves, you know, and it is big enough to stimulate everybody to extra exertion."
While Tom and Joe were talking in thisway, the rest of the party had gathered about Silas, whom they were trying to induce to join in the general hunt that was to be made on the following day.
Dan, being left to himself, listened with one ear to what Tom was saying to his brother, and with the other tried to keep track of the conversation that was going on in his father's neighborhood.
When he heard Tom say that a reward had been offered for the apprehension of the robbers, as well as for the recovery of the property they had stolen, he stepped closer to him, and whispered:
"Do you know how much it is?"
"Five thousand dollars for both of them, or half of it for one," answered Tom. "Now, Dan, there's a chance for you to make yourself rich."
"But that there hant—" began Dan.
"Is no hant at all," replied Tom. "Why, man alive, there are no such things, and I thought everybody knew it. I took a good look at this one while we were up there to-night, and found that it was nothing but along pole with a stuffed pillow-case on one end of it for a head, and a short cross-piece for the shoulders. The man who managed it and made it act as if it were about to spring at you was behind the bushes out of sight. He and his companion did the yelling, and you never hurt either one of them, although your four charges of shot tore the pillow-case all to pieces."
"Yes," replied Dan, "Pap 'lowed that we'd oughter fired into the bresh."
"Exactly. If you had showed a little more pluck, you and your father might have had ten thousand dollars to divide between you. As it turned out, Joe is entitled to only a third of it, but he'll get that, sure."
"Dog-gone such luck!" exclaimed Dan, in a tone of deep disgust.
"Well, it was a windfall to your family, anyway," observed Tom, "and you can add more to it to-morrow, if you're smart."
"And what will poor Bob be doing while we are hunting for him?" inquired Joe. "He seems to be frightened, for he wants you to give up the valise, and be quick about it."
"Oh, nonsense!" exclaimed Tom; "you don't know Bob Emerson as well as I do. He wrote that postscript, of course, and so would you if you had been in his place. But Bob would be the maddest boy you ever saw if we should pay the least attention to it."
At this moment Uncle Hallet and Mr. Warren turned toward the place where the boys were standing, the former saying, with some impatience in his tones:
"Well, Silas, if you are afraid to come you can stay at home; but I would have a little more pluck if I were in your place. You'll come, won't you, Joe, and help us hunt down those villains who have kidnapped Bob Emerson?"
"Indeed I will," answered Joe, promptly.
"I knew that would be your reply," continued Mr. Hallet. "Now, if you will bring the flat to the bank and drop the apron, we'll get our team aboard and go on to the Beach."
The ferryman and his boys went to work with a will, and when the flat reached the other side of the river, the passengers got into their wagon and drove toward the Beach,after telling Silas that they would go home by way of the bridge, and he need not stay up to ferry them back; while Joe hurried off to tell his mother what he had learned during his short interview with Tom Hallet.
"It's the greatest outrage I ever heard of," said he, indignantly; "but they needn't think they are going to make anything by it. Don't I wish I might be lucky enough to gobble at least one of those robbers!"
"Oh, Joseph, I don't know whether I want you to go up there or not," said his mother, growing frightened again.
"I must!" replied Joe, decidedly. "I have promised to be at Tom's cabin to-morrow morning at daylight, and that settles it. I wonder if father and Dan will go?"
That was the very question that Silas and his worthy son were propounding to each other as they sat side by side on the river's bank.
The terrible fright they had sustained on the day they went after the money was still fresh in their minds; but then, there was the reward, which was a sure thing this time,provided they could be fortunate enough to capture the robbers.
They were both willing, and even eager, to join in the "hue-and-cry" that was to be raised against the thieves, provided they could do it in their own way; and the plans they were revolving in their minds, but of which they did not speak, were the same in every particular.
For example, Dan wanted his father to stay at home, and after he got into the mountains, he wanted nobody but Joe for company.
The latter had showed himself to be bold as well as lucky, and if they two should happen to catch one of the robbers, Dan would not feel that he was under the slightest obligation to share the reward with his brother, because Joe had more than three thousand dollars of his own already. But if his father went with him, he would lay claim to half the money, and he would be likely to get it, too, for he had the right to take every cent Dan made.
This was the way Dan looked at the matter; and it was the very way his father lookedat it. The result was, that although they spent an hour or more in looking it over, they went to bed without deciding whether they would go or not.
Nevertheless, they had well-defined plans in their heads, and each one resolved that he would carry them out regardless of the wishes of the other.
Silas, in order to throw Dan off his guard, began operations by saying to his wife, the moment he entered the cabin:
"I ain't a-going to jine in the rumpus the sheriff kicks up after them fellers to-morrow. It's mighty comical to me how easy some people can talk to you about putting yourself in the way of getting a charge of bird-shot sent into you, while they keep outen range themselves. I ain't got no call to resk my life a finding of Bob Emerson, and I shan't do it to please nobody."
Dan was secretly delighted to see his father work himself into a rage over the supposition that somebody would be pleased to see him go in the way of danger.
"If he will only stick to that, I'm allright," said he, to himself. "Pap sleeps sounder'n a dozen men oughter, and if Joe don't call him in the morning, you can bet your bottom dollarIwon't."
Knowing his failing in this particular, Silas made the mental resolution that he would not go to sleep at all. The young game-warden, who was one of those lucky fellows who can wake at any hour they please, could be relied on to make an early start, and Silas told himself that he would lie perfectly still and wide awake until breakfast was ready, when he would jump up, eat his full share of the bacon and potatoes, and set out for the mountain when Joe did.