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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/20040-h.zip b/20040-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..4bc752e --- /dev/null +++ b/20040-h.zip diff --git a/20040-h/20040-h.htm b/20040-h/20040-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c7d0cc5 --- /dev/null +++ b/20040-h/20040-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,13799 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" /> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Call of the Beaver Patrol, by V. T. Sherman</title> + <style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + p { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; + } + hr { width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; + } + + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} + + body{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + + .pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + visibility: hidden; + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right; + } /* page numbers */ + + .linenum {position: absolute; top: auto; left: 4%;} /* poetry number */ + .blockquot{margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%;} + + + .bb {border-bottom: solid 2px;} + .bl {border-left: solid 2px;} + .bt {border-top: solid 2px;} + .br {border-right: solid 2px;} + .bbox {border: solid 2px;} + + .center {text-align: center;} + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + .u {text-decoration: underline;} + + .caption {font-weight: bold;} + + .figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center;} + + hr.full { width: 100%; } + pre {font-size: 75%;} + + // --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> +</head> +<body> +<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Call of the Beaver Patrol, by V. T. +Sherman</h1> +<pre> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at <a href = "http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: The Call of the Beaver Patrol</p> +<p> or, A Break in the Glacier</p> +<p>Author: V. T. Sherman</p> +<p>Release Date: December 6, 2006 [eBook #20040]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CALL OF THE BEAVER PATROL***</p> +<p> </p> +<h3>E-text prepared by Barbara Tozier, David T. Jones, Bill Tozier,<br /> + and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> + (http://www.pgdp.net/)</h3> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +<p> </p> + + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 591px;"> +<a name="Frontispiece1" id="Frontispiece1"></a> +<img src="images/fig001-150dpi.jpg" width="591" height="744" alt="Scout spying on sinister figure" title="" /> +</div> + + +<h1>THE CALL OF THE BEAVER PATROL<br /> +<br /></h1> +<h2><i>OR</i><br /> +<br /></h2> +<h3>A Break in the Glacier<br /> +<br /></h3> +<h2><i>By</i><br /> +<br /></h2> +<h2>CAPT. V. T. SHERMAN<br /> +<br /></h2> +<h3>Author of<br /> +<br /></h3> +<h2>THE WAR ZONE OF THE KAISER;<br /></h2> +<h2>BOY SCOUTS WITH JOFFRE;<br /></h2> +<h2>THE PERILS OF AN AIRSHIP;<br /></h2> +<h2>THE BOY SCOUT SIGNAL,</h2> +<h2>Etc.<br /> +<br /></h2> + + + +<h3>Copyright 1913<br /></h3> +<h3>Chicago<br /></h3> +<h3>M. A. DONOHUE & CO.<br /></h3> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 359px;"> +<a name="fig002-300dpi.jpg" id="fig002-300dpi.jpg"></a> +<img src="images/fig002-300dpi.jpg" width="359" height="352" alt="Scouts in camp" title="" /> +</div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CONTENTS0" id="CONTENTS0"></a>CONTENTS</h2> + + + + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents"> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Boy_Scouts_in_the_Coal_Caverns"><b>BOY SCOUTS IN THE COAL CAVERNS</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Boy_Scouts_in_Alaska"><b>BOY SCOUTS IN ALASKA</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#BLACK_ART_IN_CINCINNATI"><b>BLACK ART IN CINCINNATI</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#BOYS_COPYRIGHTED_BOOKS"><b>BOYS' COPYRIGHTED BOOKS</b></a></td></tr> +</table></div> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><br /><br /></p> +<h1><a name="Boy_Scouts_in_the_Coal_Caverns" id="Boy_Scouts_in_the_Coal_Caverns"></a>Boy Scouts in the Coal Caverns</h1> + +<h2>Or, The Light in Tunnel Six</h2> +<p><br /><br /></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CONTENTS1" id="CONTENTS1"></a>CONTENTS</h2> + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents"> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_I"><b>Chapter I—Camping in the Breaker</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_II"><b>Chapter II—The Call of the Pack</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_III"><b>Chapter III—Who Cut the String?</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_IV"><b>Chapter IV—A Sensational Discovery</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_V"><b>Chapter V—The Flooded Mine</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_VI"><b>Chapter VI—The Beaver Call</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_VII"><b>Chapter VII—A Treacherous Foe</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_VIII"><b>Chapter VIII—"They Went Up in the Air"</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_IX"><b>Chapter IX—Who Discovered the Leak?</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_X"><b>Chapter X—The Boy in the "Empty"</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_XI"><b>Chapter XI—A Knock at the Door</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_XII"><b>Chapter XII—A Midnight Robber</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_XIII"><b>Chapter XIII—One More Hungry Boy</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_XIV"><b>Chapter XIV—Mine Rats Ready for War</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_XV"><b>Chapter XV—A Stick of Dynamite</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_XVI"><b>Chapter XVI—Caused by a Fall</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_XVII"><b>Chapter XVII—The Signs in Stones</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_XVIII"><b>Chapter XVIII—Two Hold-Up Men</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_XIX"><b>Chapter XIX—The Money in Sight</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_XX"><b>Chapter XX—Sandy Is Discharged</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_XXI"><b>Chapter XXI—"I Told You So"</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_XXII"><b>Chapter XXII—Conclusion</b></a></td></tr> +</table></div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_I" id="Chapter_I"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter I</span></h2> + +<h3>CAMPING IN THE BREAKER</h3> + + +<p>"And so I says to myself, says I, give me a good +husky band of Boy Scouts! They'll do the job if it +can be done!"</p> + +<p>Case Canfield, caretaker, sat back in a patched +chair in the dusky, unoccupied office of the Labyrinth +mine and addressed himself to four lads of +seventeen who were clad in the khaki uniform of +the Boy Scouts of America.</p> + +<p>Those of our readers who have read the previous +books of this series will have good cause to remember +George Benton, Charley ("Sandy") Green, +Tommy Gregory and Will Smith. The adventures +of these lads among the Pictured Rocks of Old +Superior, among the wreckers and reptiles of the +Florida Everglades, in the caverns of the Great Continental +Divide, and among the snows of the Hudson +Bay wilderness have been recorded under appropriate +titles in previous works.</p> + +<p>The four boys were members of the Beaver Patrol, +Chicago. Will Smith was Scoutmaster, while George +Benton was Patrol Leader. They wore upon the +sleeves of their coats medals showing that they had +passed the examination as Ambulance Aids, Stalkers, +Pioneers and Seamen.</p> + +<p>Instructed by Mr. Horton, a well-known criminal +lawyer of Chicago, the boys had reached the almost +deserted mine at dusk of a November day. There +they had found Canfield, the caretaker, waiting for +them in a dimly-lighted office. The mine had not +been operated for a number of months, not because +the veins had given out, but because of some misunderstanding +between the owners of mines in +that section.</p> + +<p>The large, bare room in which the caretaker and +the Boy Scouts met was in the breaker. There was +no fire in the great heater, and the tables and chairs +were black with dust. A single electric light shone +down from the ceiling, creating long, ghostlike +shadows as it swayed about in a gentle wind blowing +through a broken window.</p> + +<p>"Well," Tommy Gregory said, as the caretaker +paused, "you've got the Boy Scouts, and it remains +for you to set us to work."</p> + +<p>"And a sturdy looking lot, too!" grinned the caretaker.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Mr. Horton wouldn't be apt to send a lot of +cripples!" laughed Sandy Green. "He's next to his +job, that man is!"</p> + +<p>"I presume he told you all about the case?" suggested +Canfield.</p> + +<p>"Indeed he did not," replied Will Smith.</p> + +<p>"Not a thing about it?" asked the caretaker.</p> + +<p>"He only said that you would give us full instructions."</p> + +<p>"That's strange!" Canfield observed thoughtfully.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps he thought we wouldn't want to undertake +the job if we knew exactly what it was!" suggested +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"It is a queer kind of a job," Canfield admitted, +"but I don't think you boys would be apt to back +out because of a little danger."</p> + +<p>"I have wanted to back out several times," laughed +Tommy, "but, somehow, these others boys wouldn't +permit me to."</p> + +<p>"Go on and tell us about it," urged Sandy. "Tell +us just what you want us to do, and then we'll tell +you whether we think we can do it or not."</p> + +<p>"You've got to find two boys!" replied Canfield.</p> + +<p>"Mother of Moses!" exclaimed Tommy. "I hope +we haven't got to go and dig up blond-haired little +Algernon, or discover pretty little Clarence, and turn +a bunch of money over to him!"</p> + +<p>"I think these two boys may have money coming +to them," the caretaker replied. "There must be +money back of it or the friends of the lads wouldn't +be giving me cash to spend in their interest."</p> + +<p>"Where are these boys?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"I've heard the opinion expressed that the boys +are somewhere in the mine!" answered Canfield. +"I can hardly believe that they are, but it has been +suggested that we may as well begin the search under +ground."</p> + +<p>"Where do these boys belong?" asked George.</p> + +<p>"Anywhere and everywhere," was the reply. +"Jimmie Maynard and Dick Thompson came here +as breaker boys six months ago. They were ragged +and dirty, and appeared to be as tough as two +young bears. They worked steadily until the day +before the mine closed down and then they disappeared."</p> + +<p>"That's easy!" declared Tommy. "They got +tired of work!"</p> + +<p>"That may be," answered the caretaker, "but +they certainly didn't get tired of drawing their pay. +They went away leaving about eight dollars, the two +of them, in the care of the company."</p> + +<p>"Then something must have happened to them!" +Will suggested.</p> + +<p>"Who's looking for these boys?" asked George.</p> + +<p>"A New York lawyer," was the reply. "I know +nothing whatever about the man. In fact, I don't +know why he wants to find out where the boys are. +He sends me money and tells me to continue my quest +until the boys are found, and then to send them to +New York."</p> + +<p>"So you have entire charge of the search," said +Sandy, tentatively.</p> + +<p>"Yes," was the reply, "except for Joe Ventner. +He's a detective sent on from New York by this +Burlingame person, the lawyer to whom I referred a +short time ago."</p> + +<p>"What part of the world is he searching?" asked +Will.</p> + +<p>"He seems to think that the boys ran away because +of some childish prank put on by them the +night before. They broke some windows in a couple +of shanties down by the tracks, or, at least, the other +boys say they did, and Joe thinks they ran away because +of that. He accounts in that way for their +not calling after their pay envelopes."</p> + +<p>"So he thinks they've gone out of the country, +does he."</p> + +<p>"Yes," was the reply. "He comes back here +every few days to ask if I have heard anything regarding +the youngsters, and then goes away again. +If you leave it to me, I don't think the fellow is +working very hard in the case. There's a half a +dozen saloons in a little dump of a place about ten +miles away, and my idea is that he puts in a good +deal of his time there."</p> + +<p>"You don't seem to take to this detective?" +asked George.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I don't know as he's so much worse than the +average private detective," replied the caretaker. +"He's out for his day's wages, and the easier he can +get them, the better it suits him.</p> + +<p>"So you don't know who wants these boys, or what +they're wanted for?" asked Will. "Lawyer Burlingame +never took you into his confidence so far as +to post you on the details of the case".</p> + +<p>"He never did!" answered the caretaker.</p> + +<p>"Is he liberal with his money?" asked George.</p> + +<p>"He pays all the bills I send in," was the answer. +"And seems to keep this bum detective pretty well +supplied with ten-dollar bills".</p> + +<p>"We may have to investigate this investigator!" +laughed Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Did Mr. Horton say anything to you about your +lodgings while here?" asked the caretaker. "It's +getting too cold here for me, and we may as well be +shifting to warmer quarters."</p> + +<p>"You said a short time ago," Will began, "that +you rather thought we ought to begin this search in +the mine itself."</p> + +<p>"That's my idea!" answered the caretaker.</p> + +<p>"Do you think the boys are hiding in the mine?"</p> + +<p>"Well, there are some things connected with the +case which point in that direction," replied Canfield. +"For instance, there's a lot of queer things going on +under ground".</p> + +<p>"Ghosts?" demanded Tommy.</p> + +<p>"You're not steering us up against a haunted +mine, are you?" asked George with a wink at his +chum. "That would be too good to be true!"</p> + +<p>"I haven't said anything about ghosts or haunted +mines," chuckled the caretaker. "I'm only saying +that there are queer things taking place in the mine. +Now there's Tunnel Six," he went on, "I have seen +lights there with my own eyes, when I know there +wasn't a person within two miles of the spot except +myself. And I've heard noises, too! These unaccountable +noises which make a man think of graveyards +and ghosts."</p> + +<p>"But why should two healthy, active boys want +to seek such a hiding place?" asked Will. "It +certainly can't be very pleasant in the dark and damp +tunnels! Besides, where would they get their provisions?"</p> + +<p>"I'm not arguing the case, lads," the caretaker +replied, "I'm placing the case in your hands without +instructions. I only suggest that you look in +the mine first, but you don't have to do that unless +you want to!"</p> + +<p>"I don't see how we can find fault with that arrangement!" +laughed Will. "And now," he went +on, "let's arrange about our lodgings. In the first +place, who knows that we are here on this job?"</p> + +<p>"Not a soul, unless some one saw you coming into +the breaker!"</p> + +<p>"That's just as it should be," Will went on. +"Now I propose that we camp out in the breaker. +There must be a cosy corner somewhere, under the +chutes, or in back of a staircase, or away up under +the roof, where we can camp out while we are going +through the mine."</p> + +<p>"You won't find the old breaker a very comfortable +place to live in," suggested Canfield.</p> + +<p>"Oh, we can line the walls of some little cubby-hole +with canvas if necessary, and you can string a +wire in so as to give us electricity for heating and +lighting, and we can live as comfortable as four bugs +in a rug. If we keep out of sight during the day +time, no one will ever suspect that we are here."</p> + +<p>"Have it your own way!" replied Canfield. "I'll +see that you get plenty to eat and plenty of bed +clothing."</p> + +<p>"That'll help some!" laughed Tommy. "During +the night we can travel through the mine with our +lights, and during the daytime we can crawl into our +little beds and sleep our heads off!"</p> + +<p>"When do you want your first load of provisions?" +asked Canfield.</p> + +<p>"Right now, tonight!" replied Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Well, come along then," Canfield said, rising +from his chair, "and I'll let you pick out a spot for +your camp, as you call it."</p> + +<p>After quite an extended search through the breaker +the boys selected a small room on the ground floor, +from which one window looked out on the half-deserted +yard where the weigh-house stood. The +room was perhaps twenty feet in size each way, and +the walls were of heavy planking. The whole apartment +was sadly in need of a scrubbing, but the lads +concluded to postpone that until some future date.</p> + +<p>"I can bring in cot beds and bedding," the caretaker +announced, "and string the electric wire for +heating, lighting, and cooking before I go to bed. +That will leave you all shipshape in the morning, +and you can then begin your cleaning up as soon as +you please."</p> + +<p>The caretaker was as good as his word, and before +ten o'clock the cots and bedding were in place, +also an electric heater and an electric plate for cooking +had been moved into the apartment.</p> + +<p>Not considering it advisable to go out for supper, +Canfield had also brought in provisions in the shape +of bacon, potatoes, eggs, bread, butter, coffee, and +various grades of canned goods, so the boys had made +a hearty meal and had plenty left for breakfast. +While cooking they had covered the one window with +a heavy piece of canvas.</p> + +<p>"Now you're all tight and snug for the night," the +caretaker smiled, as he turned back from the door +and glanced over the rather cozy-looking room. "If +I'm about here during the night, I'll look in upon you +again."</p> + +<p>Canfield stepped out and closed the door behind +him. Then he came back and looked in again with +a half-smile on his face.</p> + +<p>"Do you boys know anything about mines?" he +asked.</p> + +<p>"Not a thing!" replied Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Then don't you go climbing down the ladders +and wandering around in the gangways tonight!" +the caretaker warned.</p> + +<p>"Say, there's an idea!" Tommy said to Sandy, +with a wink, as Canfield went out. "How do you +think one of these mammoth coal mines looks, anyway?"</p> + +<p>"Cut that out, boys!" exclaimed Will. "If I +catch one of you attempting the ladders tonight, I'll +tie you up!"</p> + +<p>"Who said anything about going down the ladders +tonight?" demanded Tommy.</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_II" id="Chapter_II"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> II</h2> + +<h3>THE CALL OF THE PACK</h3> + + +<p>It was somewhere near midnight when the boys +sought their beds. Will and George were soon +asleep, but Tommy and Sandy had no notion of +passing their first night in the mine in slumber. Ten +minutes after the regular breathing of the two +sleepers became audible, Tommy sat up in his bed +and deftly threw a pillow so as to strike Sandy in +the face.</p> + +<p>"Cut it out!" whispered Sandy. "You don't +have to do anything to wake me up! I've been +wondering for a long time whether you hadn't gone +to sleep! You looked sleepy when the light went +out."</p> + +<p>"Never was so wide awake in my life!" declared +Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Well, get up and dress," advised Sandy. "If +we get into the mine tonight, we'll have to hurry!"</p> + +<p>"Have you figured out how we're going to get into +the mine?" asked Tommy. "It will be the ladders +for us, I guess."</p> + +<p>"Of course it'll be the ladders!" replied Sandy. +"Do you suppose Canfield is coming here in the +middle of the night to turn on the power?"</p> + +<p>"I wonder how deep the shaft is?" asked Tommy.</p> + +<p>"I guess this one must be about five hundred +feet."</p> + +<p>"Is that a guess, or a piece of positive information?"</p> + +<p>"It's a guess," laughed Sandy, drawing on his +shoes and walking softly across the bare floor in the +direction of the shaft.</p> + +<p>The boys passed out of the sleeping chamber into +a passage which led directly to the shaft of the mine. +This shaft was perhaps twenty feet in width. It +included the air shaft, the division where the pumps +were operated, and two divisions for the cages which +lifted the coal from the bottom of the mine. The +pumps were not working, of course, and no air was +being forced down.</p> + +<p>One of the cages lay at the top so the other must +have been at the bottom of the shaft. As the boys +looked down into the shaft, Tommy seized his chum +by the arm and whispered:</p> + +<p>"Did you see that light down there?"</p> + +<p>"Light nothing!" declared Sandy.</p> + +<p>"But I did see a light!" insisted the other.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps you did," replied Sandy, "but if there's +any light there it's merely a reflection from our +electrics. There may be a metallic surface down +there which throws back the light rays."</p> + +<p>"Have it your own way!" grunted Tommy. "You +know yourself that the caretaker said there were +lights in the mine which no one could account for, +and he especially mentioned the light in Tunnel +Six."</p> + +<p>"All right!" Sandy grinned. "We'll sneak down +so quietly that any person who happens to be at the +bottom of the shaft with the light will never suspect +that we are within a hundred miles of the place. We +may be able to geezle the fellow that's making the +ghost walk around here nights."</p> + +<p>The boys took to the ladders and moved down as +silently as possible. Now and then a rung creaked +softly under their feet, but they got to the bottom +without any special mishap.</p> + +<p>Tommy drew a long breath when at last they +landed at the bottom of the shaft. He threw his +light upward, then, and declared that in his opinion +they were at least ten thousand feet nearer the center +of the earth than they were when they started down.</p> + +<p>"I remember now," Sandy said with a grin, "that +the Labyrinth mine is only about five hundred feet +deep. If I remember correctly, there are three +levels; one at three hundred feet; one at four, and +one at five."</p> + +<p>"And which level is this?" asked Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Why, we're on the bottom, ain't we?"</p> + +<p>"Of course," laughed Tommy. "I ought to have +known that!"</p> + +<p>"Well come along if you want to see the mine!" +urged Sandy. "All we have to do is to push our +searchlights ahead and walk down the gangway. +We'll come to something worth seeing after a while."</p> + +<p>As the boys advanced they found the gangway +considerably cluttered with "gob," or refuse, and +the air was none of the best.</p> + +<p>"I wish we could set the air shaft working," suggested +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Well, we can't!" Tommy answered with a scornful +shrug of his shoulders. "We can't set the +whole works going in order to give us a midnight +view of the Labyrinth mine. What gets me is, how +are we going to find our way back? There seem to +be a good many passages here."</p> + +<p>"I've got that fixed all right!" Sandy exclaimed.</p> + +<p>As the lad spoke he took a ball of strong string +from his pocket and tied one end to the cage which +lay at the bottom of the shaft.</p> + +<p>"Now we can go anywhere we please," he chuckled +"and when we want to return, all we've got to do is +to follow the string."</p> + +<p>"Quite an idea!" laughed Tommy.</p> + +<p>The boys proceeded along the gangway, walking +between the rails of the tramway by means of which +the coal was delivered at the bottom of the shaft. +The experience was a novel one to them. The dark +walls of the passage, the echoes which came from the +counter gangways, the monotonous dripping of water +as it seeped through seams and crevices in the rock, +all gave a weird and uncanny expression to the place.</p> + +<p>After walking for some distance the boys came to a +level which showed several inches of water.</p> + +<p>"We can't wade through that!" Tommy declared.</p> + +<p>"Well," Sandy suggested, "if we go back a little +ways, we can follow a cross heading and get into the +mine by another way."</p> + +<p>The boys followed this plan, and, after winding +about several half-loaded cars which had been left +on the tramway, found themselves in a large chamber +from which numerous benches were cut.</p> + +<p>"Where does all this gas come from?" asked +Tommy stopping short and putting a hand to his +nose.</p> + +<p>"There must be a blower somewhere," Sandy +explained.</p> + +<p>"What's a blower?" demanded Tommy. "What +does it look like, and does it always smell like this?"</p> + +<p>"It doesn't look like anything!" replied Sandy. +"It's composed of natural gas, and they call it a +blower because it blows up out of crevices in the +coal and in the rocks."</p> + +<p>"If I should light a match, would it set it on fire?" +asked Tommy.</p> + +<p>"I wouldn't like to have you try it!"</p> + +<p>The boys continued on their way for some moments, +and then Tommy stopped and extinguished +his light, whispering to Sandy to do the same.</p> + +<p>"What's that for?" demanded the latter.</p> + +<p>"Didn't you hear that noise behind the cribbing?" +asked Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Rats, probably!"</p> + +<p>"Rats nothing!" replied Tommy. "Rats don't +make sounds like people whispering, do they? +Keep still a minute, and we'll find out what it is!"</p> + +<p>"You'll be seeing a light next!" Sandy suggested.</p> + +<p>"I see it now!" answered Tommy.</p> + +<p>Sandy saw it, too, in a moment. It seemed at +first to be floating in the air at the very top of the +gangway. It moved from side to side, and finally +dropped down nearer to the floor. There seemed to +be no one near it or under it. Its small circle of +illumination showed only the empty air.</p> + +<p>"What do you make of it?" asked Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Is this Tunnel Six?" asked his chum.</p> + +<p>"I don't know! If it is, we've seen the light the +caretaker referred to. We'll have a great story to tell +in the morning!"</p> + +<p>The boys stood in the darkness of the gangway +watching the light for what seemed to them to be a +long time. Now the light advanced toward them, +now it receded. Now it lifted to the roof of the +gangway, now it dropped almost to the floor.</p> + +<p>At intervals, the noises behind the cribbing to +which Tommy had referred were repeated, and the +boys at last moved over so as to stand with their +ears almost against the wooden walls.</p> + +<p>"There is some one behind the cribbing, all right!" +Tommy declared. "I hear some one breathing."</p> + +<p>"Aw, keep still!" whispered Sandy. "If there is +anyone there, you'll frighten them away! I thought +I heard some one myself!"</p> + +<p>"I'll tell you what I think," Tommy suggested +in a moment, "and that is that either Will and +George, or both of them, beat us to this gangway. +They are hiding behind there on purpose to give us a +scare."</p> + +<p>"That's a dream!" replied Sandy. "We left them +both asleep."</p> + +<p>"Dream, is it?" repeated Tommy scornfully. +"You just listen to the sound that comes from behind +this cribbing, and tell me what you make of +it!"</p> + +<p>Both boys listened intently for a moment, and +then Sandy switched on his light and moved swiftly +along the cribbing as if in search of an opening. +Tommy gazed at him in astonishment.</p> + +<p>"You've gone and done it now!" he said.</p> + +<p>"There's some one in here all right!" Sandy explained. +"Did you hear the call of the pack a +minute ago? There are Boy Scouts in there, and +what we hear are the signals of the Wolf Patrol."</p> + +<p>"That's right!" cried Tommy excitedly. "That's +right!"</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_III" id="Chapter_III"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> III</h2> + +<h3>WHO CUT THE STRING</h3> + + +<p>"Do you suppose he would understand the call of +the Beaver Patrol?" asked Sandy. "I'm going to +try him, anyway!"</p> + +<p>The boy brought his hands together in imitation +of the slap of a beaver's tail on the water, and +listened for some reply.</p> + +<p>"He'll understand that if he's up on Boy Scout +literature," suggested Sandy. "He ought to be +wise to the signs of the different patrols if he's a +good Boy Scout."</p> + +<p>There was a short silence, broken only by the constant +drip of the water in an adjoining chamber, +and then the call of the pack came again, clearly, +sharply and apparently only a short distance away.</p> + +<p>"What did Mr. Canfield call those two boys we +are looking after?" asked Sandy, after waiting a +short time for the repetition of the sound.</p> + +<p>"Jimmie Maynard and Dick Thompson," replied +Tommy.</p> + +<p>Sandy threw out his chest and cried out at the +top of his lungs:</p> + +<p>"Hello, Jimmie! Hello, Dick!"</p> + +<p>The lad's voice echoed dismally throughout the +labyrinth of passages, but there was no other reply. +Tommy and Sandy gave the call of the Beaver +Patrol repeatedly, but the call of the Wolf pack was +heard no more.</p> + +<p>"I'll bet it's some trick!" exclaimed Sandy after +waiting in the chamber for a long time in the hope +of hearing another call from the boys who were +hidden somewhere behind the cribbing.</p> + +<p>"What do you mean by trick?" demanded +Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Why, I mean that some of the breaker boys, out +of work because of the stoppage of operations, may +have sneaked into the mine on purpose to produce +the impression that there are ghosts here."</p> + +<p>"But ghosts wouldn't be giving signals of the +Wolf Pack, would they?" asked Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Not unless they were Scouts," replied the other.</p> + +<p>"Oh well, of course the kids would want to test +us, wouldn't they, seeing that we were only boys?"</p> + +<p>"Well, we've discovered one thing by coming +down," said Tommy, "and that is that there really +are people in the mine who have no business here."</p> + +<p>"Then we may as well go back to bed," advised +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Do you know how many corners we've turned +since we came in here?" asked Tommy.</p> + +<p>"About a thousand, I guess," replied Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Yes, and we'd have a fine old time getting out if +you hadn't brought that ball of twine!"</p> + +<p>"Tell you what we'll do," Sandy said, as the boys +turned their faces down the gangway, "we'll pass +around the next shoulder of rock and then shut off +our lights. Perhaps the kids who gave the cry of +the pack in there will then show their light again."</p> + +<p>"That's a good idea, too!"</p> + +<p>The boys came at length to a brattice, which is a +screen, of either wood or heavy cloth, set up in a +passage to divert the current of air to a bench where +workmen are engaged, and dodged down behind it, +first shutting off their lights, of course.</p> + +<p>"Now, come on with your old light," whispered +Tommy.</p> + +<p>As if in answer to the boy's challenge, the light +showed again, apparently but a few yards away from +their hiding place.</p> + +<p>A moment later the call of the pack, sounding +louder than before, rang through the passage. The +boys sprang to their feet and switched on their +lights.</p> + +<p>"Why don't you come out and show yourselves?" +shouted Tommy.</p> + +<p>"I don't believe you're Scouts at all!" declared +Sandy.</p> + +<p>There was no answer. The boys could hear the +drip of water and the purring of the current as it +crept into a lower gangway, but that was all.</p> + +<p>"That settles it for tonight!" exclaimed Tommy. +"I'm not going to hang around here waiting for Boy +Scouts who don't respond to signals!"</p> + +<p>"That's me!" agreed Sandy. "We'll go to bed +and think the matter over. There may be some way +of trapping those fellows."</p> + +<p>"Suppose it should be Jimmie Maynard and Dick +Thompson?" asked Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Then we'd have the case closed up in a jiffy!" +was the reply.</p> + +<p>Before leaving that particular chamber, Tommy +selected a large round piece of "gob," placed it in +the center of the open space, and laid another small +piece of shale on top of it.</p> + +<p>"What are you doing that for?" demanded Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Don't you know your Indian signs?" demanded +the boy. "That means 'This is the trail.' Now +I'll put a stone to the right, and that will tell these +imitation Boy Scouts to turn to the right if they want +to get out."</p> + +<p>"I guess they can get out if they want to," suggested +Sandy.</p> + +<p>Thirty or forty feet further on, where, following +the string, the boys turned again, this time to the +left, Tommy laid another signal which showed the +direction to be taken.</p> + +<p>"There," he said with a grin, "we've started them +on the right path. If they don't want to follow it, +that isn't our fault!"</p> + +<p>"We must be getting pretty near the shaft," +Sandy said, after the boys had walked for nearly half +an hour on the backward track.</p> + +<p>"Pull on your string," suggested Tommy, "and see +if it stiffens up like only a short length of it remained +out."</p> + +<p>Sandy did as requested, and then dropped to the +floor with his searchlight laid along the extension of +the cord.</p> + +<p>"The other end is loose!" he said in a tone of alarm.</p> + +<p>"Loose?" echoed Tommy. "How did it ever get +loose?"</p> + +<p>Sandy sat down on the floor of the passage and +began drawing the cord in, hand over hand.</p> + +<p>"I'm going to see if it's been cut!" he said.</p> + +<p>Tommy stepped on the swiftly moving cord and +held it fast to the floor.</p> + +<p>"You mustn't draw it in!" he exclaimed. "As +long as it lies on the floor as we strung it out, we can +follow it without taking any chances. If you pull +it in, then it's all off."</p> + +<p>"I understand!" Sandy agreed. "I didn't pull +much of it in."</p> + +<p>The boys started up the gangway, one of them +keeping a searchlight on the white thread of cord.</p> + +<p>They seemed to make a great many turns and +once or twice Sandy declared that they were walking +round and round in a circle.</p> + +<p>"I don't believe the passages run so we could +walk around in a circle!" argued Tommy. "That +ain't the way they run passages in mines!"</p> + +<p>"I don't care!" Sandy insisted. "We've been +turning to the left about all the time, and if you +leave it to me, we'll presently come out in the +chamber where we heard the call of the pack!"</p> + +<p>"That may be right," admitted Tommy. "It +does seem as if we'd been turning to the left most of +the time. Besides," he went on, "we've been walking +long enough to have reached the shaft three or +four times."</p> + +<p>"And yet," argued Sandy, "we've been following +the line of the cord every step. It lies right in the +middle of the gangway here, and we're going the +way it points all the time."</p> + +<p>This bit of reasoning seemed to give the boys fresh +courage, and they walked on, expecting every +moment to come in sight of the frame work which +surrounded the shaft. At length, after a long half +hour, Tommy stumbled over an obstruction lying in +a chamber which somehow seemed strangely familiar. +He lifted his foot and gave the obstruction a hearty +kick.</p> + +<p>"That's my Indian sign of the trail!" grunted +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"For the love of Mike!" exclaimed Tommy. +"Have we been traveling all this time to come out +in this same old hole at last?"</p> + +<p>"That's what we have!" replied Sandy. "If we +had paid no attention to the string whatever and +followed the rails when we came to the main gang +way, we would have been home and in bed by this +time!"</p> + +<p>"But we didn't," grinned Tommy. "We thought +we had a cinch on getting out by way of this cord +and so we followed that. I don't see, though," he +continued, "how we came back to this same old +chamber by following the cord. That looks queer to +me!"</p> + +<p>"I'll tell you how!" replied Sandy. "There's +some gink been walking on ahead of us stringing the +cord out for us to follow!"</p> + +<p>Tommy sat down on the bottom of the chamber +and wrinkled his freckled nose provokingly.</p> + +<p>"We're a couple of easy marks!" he laughed.</p> + +<p>"Easy marks is no name for it!"</p> + +<p>"Well, what'll we do now to get out?" Tommy +asked. "First thing we know, it'll be daylight, and +then Will and George'll be calling out the police to +find us. We ought to get home before they wake +up."</p> + +<p>"I'm willing!" declared Sandy. "I'd like to be in +my little bed this minute! I've had about enough +of this foul air!"</p> + +<p>The boys passed along until they came to the +second trail sign and then stopped. Tommy pointed +down to it with a hand which was not quite steady +and looked up into his chum's face with frightened +eyes.</p> + +<p>"That's been moved!" he said.</p> + +<p>"How do you know it's been moved?"</p> + +<p>"Because you had the side stone on the other +edge."</p> + +<p>"I don't think I did!" argued Sandy.</p> + +<p>The boys puzzled over the situation for a few +moments, and then proceeded down the chamber +looking for the tramway rails.</p> + +<p>They passed from chamber to chamber and finally +came to a place where the slope was upward.</p> + +<p>"I guess we've struck it at last!" Sandy exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"But there are no rails here!" Tommy argued.</p> + +<p>"Then we're on the wrong track again," admitted +Sandy.</p> + +<p>He bent down to the rock with his searchlight and +pointed out evidences that the passage had once +been laid with rails.</p> + +<p>"When they strip a chamber or a counter gangway," +he said, "they take away the rails. It seems +that we are now in a part of the Labyrinth mine +which has been worked out."</p> + +<p>"I know what to do!" exclaimed Tommy. "I'll +give the call of the Beaver Patrol and tell those ginks +who have been giving the call of the pack that we're +lost! That ought to bring them out of their holes."</p> + +<p>The Beaver call was given time after time, but no +reply came.</p> + +<p>"Say," Tommy said after his patience had become +exhausted, "I believe it's daylight. Look at your +watch. I left mine in the bed!"</p> + +<p>"I left mine in bed, too," answered Sandy. "I +know it is day, because I'm hungry."</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_IV" id="Chapter_IV"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> IV</h2> + +<h3>A SENSATIONAL DISCOVERY</h3> + + +<p>When Will awoke he began preparations for breakfast +before paying any attention whatever to his +chums, whom he believed to be sleeping quietly on +their cots. It was November, and quite chilly in the +apartment, so his next efforts were directed to +coaxing the electric coils into a cheery glow.</p> + +<p>Presently George came tumbling out in his +pyjamas and sat down on a rickety chair to talk of +the adventures in prospect.</p> + +<p>"I wonder if the Labyrinth mine is so much of a +labyrinth after all?" he asked. "It seems to me +that we might find our way through it without danger +of losing ourselves," he continued with a yawn.</p> + +<p>"It's some labyrinth, I take it," Will replied.</p> + +<p>"Well, we can make chalk marks on the walls as +we move along," suggested George. "Besides," he +added, "we can string an electric wire through the +center gangway and turn on the lights."</p> + +<p>"There are probably electric lights there now," +answered Will.</p> + +<p>"Then there's no danger of our becoming lost," +George argued.</p> + +<p>"I wish you'd go to the back of the room and tip +over those two cots," grinned Will. "It's the hardest +kind of work to get Tommy and Sandy to bed, but +when you do get them in bed once, it's harder still to +get them out of it. Just tip the cots over and roll +'em out on the floor."</p> + +<p>George approached the two cots in a stealthy +manner and made ready to give Tommy and Sandy +the bump of their lives.</p> + +<p>"Don't break their necks!" advised Will.</p> + +<p>As soon as George reached Tommy's bunk he +stretched forth a hand for the purpose of tangling +the boy up in the bedclothing so that his fall to the +hard floor might be in a measure broken.</p> + +<p>As he swung his hand over the cot, however, his +eyes widened and he called out to Will that the boys +were not in their cots.</p> + +<p>There was a look of alarm as well as of annoyance +on each face as the lads thought over the situation.</p> + +<p>"The little idiots!" exclaimed Will.</p> + +<p>"That isn't strong enough!" George corrected.</p> + +<p>"There's no knowing how long they've been gone," +Will suggested. "The chances are that they went +away as soon as we went to sleep."</p> + +<p>"In that case, they're in trouble!" George declared.</p> + +<p>"In what kind of trouble?"</p> + +<p>"The good Lord only knows!" replied George. +"Tommy and Sandy can get into more different +kinds of trouble in less time than any other boys on +the face of the earth. They're the original lookers +for trouble!"</p> + +<p>"Do you suppose they've got lost in the mine?" +asked Will.</p> + +<p>"It may be worse than that!" cried George. +"They may have butted into some of the people the +caretaker indirectly referred to last night."</p> + +<p>"He did speak of strange noises and mysterious +lights, didn't he?"</p> + +<p>"He certainly did, and I've got a hunch that +Sandy and Tommy have butted into some hostile +interests.</p> + +<p>"It does seem as if they would be back by this +time unless they were in trouble!"</p> + +<p>The boys prepared an elaborate breakfast in the +hope that Tommy and Sandy, who would be sure +to be hungry, would return in time to partake of it. +A dozen times during the meal they walked back to +the shaft opening and looked anxiously down into the +dark bowels of the mine.</p> + +<p>"Those fellows are always getting into trouble," +Will said, rather crossly, as he stood looking down. +"They have a way of running into most of their +dangers at night, too. It was the same up on Lake +Superior; the same in the snake-haunted Everglades +of Florida; the same on the Rocky Mountains, and +the same in the Hudson Bay country."</p> + +<p>"They sure do keep things moving," grinned +George.</p> + +<p>"I think," Will suggested after a time, "that we'd +better find Canfield and get his advice before we do +anything in the way of setting up a search. I hate +to admit that two members of our party got into a +scrape on the same night we struck the mine, but I +guess there's no way out of it."</p> + +<p>While the boys talked together, the door opened +softly and the caretaker entered, accompanied by a +short, paunchy man with a very red face and eyes +which were black, small and suspicious. He was a +man well past middle age, but he seemed to be making +a bluff at thirty-five. His hair, which had +turned white at the temples, and his moustache were +both dyed black.</p> + +<p>Canfield introduced the new-comers as the detective, +Joe Ventner, of New York, and the boys +greeted him courteously.</p> + +<p>He accepted their proffered hands with an air of +condescension which was most exasperating. He +puffed out his chest, and at once began talking of +some of his alleged exploits in the secret service of +the government.</p> + +<p>"How did you pass the night, boys?" asked the +caretaker.</p> + +<p>"Slept like pigs!" replied Will with a laugh.</p> + +<p>"Where are the others?" asked Canfield.</p> + +<p>"They're out getting a breath of fresh air, I +reckon," answered George.</p> + +<p>The boys did not take to the detective at all. +There was an air of insincerity about the man which +at once put them on their guard.</p> + +<p>Had Canfield visited them alone, they would have +explained to him the exact situation. In the presence +of this detective, however, they decided to do +nothing of the kind.</p> + +<p>"Now then," the detective said after a moment's +silence, "if you boys will outline the course you +intend to pursue in this matter, I think we can +manage to work together without our plans clashing."</p> + +<p>"We have talked the matter over during the +night," Will replied, "and have decided to remain +here only long enough to obtain some clue as to the +direction taken by the boys in their departure."</p> + +<p>"Then you think they are not here?" asked the +detective.</p> + +<p>"There is no reason why they should be here, is +there?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"I don't know that there is," relied Ventner.</p> + +<p>"Can you imagine any reason for their wanting to +linger about the mine?" asked George.</p> + +<p>"No," was the reply. "It has always been my +opinion that the boys left the mine because they +feared arrest for some boyish offense committed in +some other part of the country, and that they are +now far away from this place."</p> + +<p>Both lads observed that the detective seemed +particularly pleased with the statement that they +proposed to abandon the search of the mine immediately. +Somehow, they caught the impression +that they would interfere with his plans if they remained.</p> + +<p>"It might be well," Ventner said, directly, "to +keep me posted as to any discoveries you may make. +We must work together, you know."</p> + +<p>"Certainly," replied Will, speaking with a mental +reservation which did not include the giving up of +any information worth while.</p> + +<p>"Well, then, I'll be going," the detective said, +strutting across the room, with his little round belly +protruding like that of an insect. "You can always +find me at the hotel down here, if I'm in this part of +the country. Just ask for me and I'll show up."</p> + +<p>Canfield was turning to depart with the detective +when Will motioned to him to remain. The +caretaker turned back with a surprised look.</p> + +<p>Will waited until the door had closed on the detective +before speaking. Even then, he went to the +door and glanced down the passage.</p> + +<p>"Something exciting?" smiled the caretaker, noting +the boy's caution.</p> + +<p>"Yes," Will answered, "there's something exciting. +Tommy and Sandy disappeared during the +night."</p> + +<p>"Disappeared?" echoed the caretaker.</p> + +<p>"Yes," George cut in, "there was some talk of +their visiting the mine just before we went to bed, +and we are of the opinion that they went down the +shaft shortly after we fell asleep, and failed to find +their way to the surface again. We are considerably +alarmed."</p> + +<p>"I should think you would be!" replied the caretaker. +"In the first place, the Labyrinth mine +bears the right name. There are old workings below +which a stranger might follow for days without finding +the way out."</p> + +<p>"Then we'll have to organize a search for the +boys," George suggested.</p> + +<p>"Besides," continued Canfield, "there are things +going on in the mine which no one understands. I +have long believed that there are people living there +who have no right to take up such a residence."</p> + +<p>"I'm sorry you said anything to this detective +about our being here," Will said, after this phase of +the case had been discussed.</p> + +<p>"As a matter of fact," the caretaker replied, "I +didn't intend to say anything to Ventner about your +being here, but in some way he received an intimation +that you were about to take up the case and so +pumped the whole story out of me."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps he received his information from the +New York attorney," suggested Will.</p> + +<p>"I'm sure that he did not," answered the caretaker. +"If the attorney had written to him in +regard to the matter at all, he would have posted +him so fully that when he cross-examined me such a +proceeding would have been unnecessary."</p> + +<p>"Has this man Ventner visited the mine often?" +asked George.</p> + +<p>"Yes, quite frequently."</p> + +<p>"Does he always go alone?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, he always goes alone," was the answer. +"Once I accompanied him to the bottom of the shaft, +but there he suggested that we go in different directions, +and did not seem to want me anywhere +near him."</p> + +<p>"I don't like the looks of the fellow, and that's a +fact!" exclaimed Will. "He doesn't look good to +me."</p> + +<p>After some discussion it was decided that the caretaker +would accompany the two boys to the bottom +of the shaft and direct them down gangways, which +they could follow without fear of losing their way, +and the illumination of which would be likely to be +observed by anyone wandering about the blind +chambers and passages of the mine.</p> + +<p>When they reached the bottom of the shaft, +climbing down the ladders, as Tommy and Sandy +had done some hours before, they gathered in a little +group at the bottom while the caretaker gave them a +few general instructions regarding the general outlines +of the Labyrinth of tunnels, chambers and cross +passages which lay before them.</p> + +<p>"Did any one come down after us?" asked Will +directly.</p> + +<p>"No one," was the reply. "Why do you ask?"</p> + +<p>"Because," Will answered, "there's some one +skulking off down that passage, and it looks to me +like that bum detective!"</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_V" id="Chapter_V"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> V</h2> + +<h3>THE FLOODED MINE</h3> + + +<p>"What makes you think it's Ventner?" asked the +caretaker. "Did you see his face? I don't think +he is here."</p> + +<p>"I didn't see his face," answered Will, "but I saw +the shape of his shoulders and the hang-dog look of +him."</p> + +<p>"You're prejudiced against Ventner," laughed +Canfield.</p> + +<p>"I admit it!" replied Will. "He looks to me like a +snake in the grass. I don't think anything he could +do would look good to me."</p> + +<p>"Now," Canfield said, "perhaps we'd better be +mapping out a plan of campaign. Here are three +gangways leading in three different directions. +We'll leave one of the lights burning at the shaft, +then we'll each take a light and proceed into the +interior, making as much noise as we conveniently +can, and flashing the light into all the chambers and +cross headings we come to."</p> + +<p>"How long are these gangways?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"Somewhere near a half a mile straight ahead!" +was the answer.</p> + +<p>The caretaker went away swinging his electric +searchlight, and Will and George pushed forward +in their respective passages.</p> + +<p>After proceeding a short distance, George heard +Will calling to him.</p> + +<p>"There's some one just ahead of me in the gang-way!" +Will declared. "I think we ought to go together!"</p> + +<p>"Do you think it's that bum detective?" asked +George.</p> + +<p>"I certainly do!"</p> + +<p>"Well, we can go together if you like," George +said. "We can't cover quite as much ground in +that way, but I guess we can accomplish more in the +long run!"</p> + +<p>The boys had proceeded only a short distance when +they heard Canfield calling to them. A moment +later they heard the caretaker's steps ringing on the +hard floor of the gangway down which they were advancing. +He came up to them panting, in a moment.</p> + +<p>"There's something mighty queer about this +mine," the caretaker declared. "It was punk dry +only two days ago, and now there are four or five +feet of water where the gangway I started to follow +dips down.</p> + +<p>"And look there!" Will exclaimed holding his light +aloft and pointing, "you can see plenty of water +ahead! I guess all the gangways are taking a washing, +and the water seems to be rising, too!"</p> + +<p>"Is there any way by which the mine could be +intentionally flooded?" asked George. "There may +be some one planning trouble for the owners."</p> + +<p>"There is only one way that I know of in which the +mine could be flooded intentionally," replied the +caretaker. "There is a large drain, of course, in +what is known as the sump. Considerable water +runs off in that way, and the rest of the drippings +are taken out by the pumps. If this sump drainage +should become clogged, the mine, of course, would +become flooded though not to such an extent, unless +the pumps were kept constantly at work."</p> + +<p>"Then I guess you'd better set the pumps going," +Will suggested. "We can't get into the mine in its +present condition unless we swim."</p> + +<p>"Haven't you got a boat?" asked George.</p> + +<p>"Why, yes," replied the caretaker. "There's a +couple of boats somewhere in the mine. The operators +placed them here thinking they might come in +handy at some future time, but I haven't any idea +where they are now. Still, I think they're not far +away."</p> + +<p>"If you'll go and set the pumps in motion," Will +advised, "George and I'll look around for the boats. +We may need them before the pumps get under +motion the way the water is pouring in now."</p> + +<p>"I guess Tommy and Sandy don't come back because +they're penned in by water," George suggested, +as the boys began searching the vicinity of +the shaft for the boats.</p> + +<p>"If they're anywhere within hearing distance, +they ought to answer us when we called out, hadn't +they?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"We haven't tried that yet," George answered. +"Suppose we let out a couple of yells!"</p> + +<p>To think in this case was to act, and the boys did +let out a couple of yells which brought the caretaker +running back from the shaft.</p> + +<p>The boys were listening for some answer to their +shouts when he arrived, and so they paid little attention +to his numerous questions.</p> + +<p>"There is no time to lose," Canfield went on. +"I'll go to the top at once and call an engineer and a +couple of firemen. When you find the boat, take a +trip down the main gangway here and stick your +lights into all the cross-headings and chambers you +see. But, above all," he continued, "don't fail to +leave a light here at a shaft, and be careful that you +never pass out of sight of it."</p> + +<p>Canfield hastened away, climbing the ladders +two rungs at a time, and soon disappeared into the +little dot of light at the top.</p> + +<p>The two boys searched patiently for the boat for +a long time, but did not succeed in discovering it. +At last, Will suggested that it might be in the mule +stable and thither they went.</p> + +<p>The boat was there, in excellent condition, and +the boys soon had it swinging to and fro on the +surface of the water which now lay several feet deep +in the main gangway.</p> + +<p>"Je-rusalem!" exclaimed George, taking the depth +of the water with an oar, "if the water is four feet +deep here, how deep must it be at the middle of +the dip?"</p> + +<p>"About forty rods, I should think!" exaggerated +Will.</p> + +<p>The boys left a large searchlight at the shaft, +so situated that it looked straight down the passage +they proposed following, and started away in the +boat. The flashlights illuminated only a small +portion of the underground place, but the boys +could see some distance straight ahead.</p> + +<p>Once they ceased rowing to listen, believing that +they had heard calls from the darkness beyond. +The sound was not repeated, and they were about to +proceed when a sound which brought all their +nervous energy into full swing reached their ears.</p> + +<p>It was the bumping of an oar or paddle against +the side of a boat. The blow echoed through the +cavern as sharply as a pistol shot might have done. +There could be no mistake in the cause.</p> + +<p>"Now who's in that other boat?"</p> + +<p>"Somehow," George grumbled in a whisper, "we +always have propositions like that put up to us! +There's always a mystery in every trip we take! +We found one on Lake Superior, and one in the +Florida Everglades, and one at the top of the Rocky +mountains and one in the Hudson Bay wilderness."</p> + +<p>"Yes, and we solved them, too!" grinned Will. +"And we're going to solve this one! You remember +about my seeing some one sneaking in here just ahead +of us, don't you?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," was the answer. "You thought it was +that bum detective."</p> + +<p>"I think so yet," replied Will.</p> + +<p>"If it's the detective," asked George, "why didn't +he give the alarm when he found that the mine was +being flooded. He might at least have done that +and saved the company a great deal of expense +and trouble."</p> + +<p>"Give it up," replied Will. "I might ask you," +he went on, "why he was rowing away into a flooded +mine which is supposed to be deserted."</p> + +<p>"And I'd have to give you the answer you gave +me," George declared.</p> + +<p>The boys could now hear the strokes of the oarsman +who was in the lead quite regularly and distinctly. +Now and then he turned into crossheadings +and chambers, as if to escape from their surveillance, +but they kept steadily on after him, not taking into +account the fact that they were leaving the light +they had set at the shaft far out of view.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps we ought to turn back now," George +proposed, in a short time, seeing that they came no +nearer to the boat in advance. "We left the main +gangway some time ago, and we ought not to get +too far away from it."</p> + +<p>Will turned and looked back, facing only an inky +blackness.</p> + +<p>"We should have stuck to the main gangway," +he said. "I don't even remember when we left it! +Is it very far back?"</p> + +<p>"Some distance," answered George. "You see +we followed this other boat without thinking what +we were doing."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps, if we continue to follow the other boat, +it will lead us somewhere. The fellow rowing must +know something about the interior of the mine or he +probably wouldn't be here!"</p> + +<p>"I've been listening for a minute or more, trying +to catch sound of the fellow's oars," George went +on, "but there's nothing doing. I guess he's led +us into a blind chamber and slipped away!"</p> + +<p>"We don't seem to be lacking for excitement," +Will suggested with a grin. "We've lost Tommy +and Sandy, and the machinery of the mine has been +interfered with, and the lower levels are filling with +water! Any old time we start out to do things, +there's a general mixup!"</p> + +<p>"Aw, quit growling and listen a minute," suggested +George.</p> + +<p>The boys listened only for a moment when the +sound George had heard was repeated. It was the +call of the Wolf pack!</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_VI" id="Chapter_VI"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter VI</span></h2> + +<h3>THE BEAVER CALL</h3> + + +<p>"That's Tommy!" exclaimed Will.</p> + +<p>"I never knew that he belonged to the Wolf +Patrol!" George observed.</p> + +<p>"He might give the call without belonging to the +Patrol!" urged Will.</p> + +<p>The boys listened, but the sound was not repeated, +although they called out the names of their +chums and gave the Beaver call repeatedly.</p> + +<p>"I guess it was a dream," George suggested.</p> + +<p>"Then it was the most vivid dream I ever had!" +Will declared.</p> + +<p>They rowed about the chamber for some moments +searching for the source of the call, but to no purpose.</p> + +<p>"Let's go back to the shaft," urged George.</p> + +<p>"I'm agreeable," answered Will. "The only +question now is whether we can find the shaft. The +water is so deep that all branches of the mine look +alike to me!"</p> + +<p>In passing out of the chamber into another passage +the boys were obliged to stoop low in order to avoid +what is called a dip.</p> + +<p>After passing under the dip so close to the ceiling, +so close that the boys were obliged to lie down in the +boat in order to protect their heads, they came to a +large chamber which seemed to be fairly dry save in +the center, where there was a depression of considerable +size.</p> + +<p>"Nothing doing here!" Will exclaimed as he +flashed his searchlight around the place. "This +chamber looks as if there hadn't been an ounce of +coal mined here for a hundred years."</p> + +<p>"Then let's get out," George proposed, "and make +our way back to the shaft if possible. If we can't, +we'll make noise enough to attract Canfield's attention +and let him come and lead us out."</p> + +<p>"Here we go, then," cried Will, giving the boat a +great push toward the dip. "We can't get out any +too fast."</p> + +<p>The boat came up against a solid projection of +rock!</p> + +<p>"I don't seem to see any way out!" George exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"Well, it's there somewhere!" declared Will.</p> + +<p>"I see it now!" cried George. "It's under water!"</p> + +<p>"Under water?" repeated Will.</p> + +<p>"Yes, under water!" answered George. "If we don't +get out of this hole before the pumps get to working +we'll have to swim!"</p> + +<p>Will turned his searchlight on the dip and saw +that it was now full clear to the down dropping roof.</p> + +<p>"I guess we'll have to swim," he agreed.</p> + +<p>"That black water doesn't look good to me," +George exclaimed with a little shudder. "It seems +to me that I can see snakes and alligators wiggling +in it from here. Looks worse to me than the swamps +of the Everglades! And there was a quart of snakes +to every pint of water down there!"</p> + +<p>"But we got to swim just the same!" urged Will. +"In half an hour from now the air in this chamber +will be unbreathable. There is no vent at all, now +that the water fills the dip, and the coal gas is +naturally seeping in all the time."</p> + +<p>"That's all right, too!" admitted George. "But +I'm not going to jump into that black water until +I have to. If a rope or something should twine +around my legs while I was in there, I'd drop dead +with fright! Besides," he went on, "the chances are +that Canfield will get the pumps going before long +now."</p> + +<p>The boys waited for a long half hour, during which +time the water rose steadily. It seemed certain +that the mine was about to be flooded throughout +all the lower levels.</p> + +<p>"Tommy and Sandy may have bumped into just +such a situation as this," Will said, as he pushed the +boat from side to side in the hope of coming upon +some exit from the place.</p> + +<p>"Serves 'em good and right!" exclaimed George.</p> + +<p>Will chuckled to himself and held a wet hand +high up toward the roof of the chamber or passage.</p> + +<p>"There's a current of air here!" he said.</p> + +<p>"Then we won't smother to death!" George +grunted.</p> + +<p>"And, look here," Will continued, as the boat +bumped into a pyramid of shale which had been +thrown up to within a few inches of the roof, "some +one has been building this hill of refuse and using +it for a refuge!"</p> + +<p>"It does look that way," George agreed. "That +shows that at some time the water must have ascended +to the very top of the wall. We may have +to climb up there ourselves in order to keep from +getting our clothing soaked in that ink down there!"</p> + +<p>The water rose higher and higher in the passage, +and it seemed to the boys that by this time most of +the lower gangways were entirely impassible.</p> + +<p>"It doesn't seem to me that the water in this +blooming old mine could rise any faster if the whole +Mississippi river were turned into it!" cried George +in a tone of disgust. "If Canfield doesn't get his +pumps going before long, he'll have a job here +that'll take him all winter!"</p> + +<p>"I presume he's doing the best he can," Will +argued. "For all we know, the boilers as well as +the electric motors may have been tampered with. +That would be just our luck!"</p> + +<p>"I wonder what's become of that bum detective?" +asked George after a short silence. "We heard him +rowing along in front of us one minute, and the next +minute there wasn't a single sound to indicate that +there was another boat in the mine."</p> + +<p>"As soon as I get out of this," Will stated, "I'm +going to make it my business to find out whether +that detective is regularly employed on this case. +He looks to me like a crook!"</p> + +<p>It was dreary waiting there in the sealed-up +chamber, and the boys found themselves dropping +into long intervals of silence while they listened for +the gurgle of the water which would indicate that +the great pumps had been set in motion.</p> + +<p>During one of those intervals of silence, they +heard sounds which brought them to their feet in +great excitement. Almost unable to believe his +ears, Will turned to George with a question on his +lips:</p> + +<p>"Did you hear that?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Of course I did!"</p> + +<p>"I did, too, but I thought I must be dreaming."</p> + +<p>"No dream about that!" replied George. "That's +the call of the Beaver Patrol!"</p> + +<p>"And that means that Tommy and Sandy are +not far away!"</p> + +<p>"We heard the call of the Wolf Patrol not long +ago," suggested George. "I wonder if this blooming +old mine is chock full of Boy Scouts of assorted +sizes. There can't be too many here to please me!"</p> + +<p>The boys returned the Beaver call but no answer +came. At times they thought they heard whispers +coming from the dark reaches of the cavern, but +they were not quite certain.</p> + +<p>"There may be real Beavers in here for all we +know!" suggested Will.</p> + +<p>"That's all you know about it!" chuckled George. +"Beavers only operate in running water."</p> + +<p>"Well, isn't that water out there running?" asked +Will.</p> + +<p>"No jokes now!" replied George. "I've got all +I can endure now without standing for any of your +alleged witticisms!"</p> + +<p>While the boys sat in the boat, occasionally moving +it from side to side, a shaft of light appeared directly +above the point where the shale had been heaped +up. It moved swiftly about for an instant and then +dropped out of view. It was a moment before +either boy spoke.</p> + +<p>"That's some of Tommy's foolishness!" Will +declared.</p> + +<p>George repeated the Beaver call several times, +but no answer came.</p> + +<p>"That's a searchlight, anyway!" insisted Will. +"And I don't believe these ginks in the mines have +electric searchlights to lug around with them!"</p> + +<p>Will unshipped an oar and struck the water with +the flat of the blade several times, exerting his whole +strength.</p> + +<p>"Keep it up!" advised George. "That sounds +exactly like a beaver's tail connecting with the +surface of a stream!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, keep it up!" cried a voice out of the darkness. +"Keep it up, and perhaps some beaver'll +come along and build a dam to get you out of that +mess you're in! You're always getting into trouble, +you two!"</p> + +<p>"You've got your nerve with you!" exclaimed +Will, half-angrily. "Here you go out in the night +and get lost, and we come out after you, and the +mine gets flooded, and we get tied up between the +the solid wall and a bend in the passage, and then +you blame us for getting into trouble!"</p> + +<p>"Can you climb?" chuckled Tommy, throwing +the rays of his searchlight on the boat. "If you can, +just mount up on that pile of shale and work your +way through the opening between the two levels. +This might have been used as a sort of an air hole +a few hundred years ago," he went on, "but I'll bet +that not one out of a hundred of the miners of today +know that there is an opening here!"</p> + +<p>Leaving the boat, the boys mounted the pile of +shale and were soon making their way up the rugged +face of the shaft in the direction of the level, which +ran along above the one now being flooded.</p> + +<p>"Can you find your way out of this dump, now?" +asked Will as the boys stood with their chums at the +end of a long passage.</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_VII" id="Chapter_VII"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> VII</h2> + +<h3>A TREACHEROUS FOE</h3> + + +<p>"There seems to be fewer twists and turns in this +level than on the one below it," Tommy explained, +"and I guess we can find our way out readily enough. +If we don't," he went on, "I shall be obliged to eat +a ton or two of coal to keep from starving to death."</p> + +<p>"Serves you right!" declared Will. "You had +no business getting up in the middle of the night +and wandering off into the mine!"</p> + +<p>"What did you do?" demanded Tommy.</p> + +<p>"We waited until morning, and then enlisted the +services of the caretaker," replied Will. "So far +as I can remember, this is about the nine hundredth +relief expedition we've been out on in search of you +boys!"</p> + +<p>"Seems to me," Tommy chuckled, "that you're +the lads that were in need of the relief expedition! +We found you boxed up in a chamber in a boat."</p> + +<p>"But we wouldn't have been in any such mess if +we hadn't started out to look you up!" George declared.</p> + +<p>"We should have been back before you got out of +bed this morning, if some one hadn't cut our string," +replied Sandy. "We had a cinch on getting out, +but some geezer led us a fool chase by cutting our +cord and steering us around in a circle."</p> + +<p>"Did you see any one?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"Not a soul!" was the reply. "But there's some +one in here, just the same. We heard the call of +the Wolf Patrol a long time ago and we've heard it +several times since."</p> + +<p>"What do you mean by some one cutting your +string?" asked George.</p> + +<p>"Why," replied Sandy, "we tied the loose end of +a ball of twine to one of the shaft timbers and unwound +the ball as we moved along, expecting to +follow it back when we wanted to get out."</p> + +<p>"How do you know some one cut it?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps you broke it," George suggested.</p> + +<p>Sandy took a piece of the cord from his pocket +and passed it over to George with a sly chuckle.</p> + +<p>"See if you can break that!" he said.</p> + +<p>George tried his best to break the string, but it +remained firm under all his strength.</p> + +<p>The boys now fell into a discussion of the ways and +means of getting out of the mine.</p> + +<p>"I believe," Sandy exclaimed, "that if we follow +the current of air which the rising water is forcing +out of this old shaft, we will come to the entrance. +As you all know, a current of air takes the shortest +way to any given point, and this one ought to blow +straight toward the shaft."</p> + +<p>"Great head, that, little boy!" laughed Tommy.</p> + +<p>After proceeding some distance the steady thud, +thud of the pumping machinery was heard, and the +boys understood that the efforts of the caretaker +were at last bringing results. The sounds also aided +them in direction, and in a short time they stood at +the shaft on the second level.</p> + +<p>When they came out to the timber work, Will, who +was in the lead, motioned to the others to remain +in the background.</p> + +<p>"What's doing now?" whispered Sandy.</p> + +<p>"There's a man working on the ladders," explained +Will in a low whisper. "I can't see him yet, +but I can hear the sound of a saw."</p> + +<p>"He may be cutting the rungs," suggested +Tommy.</p> + +<p>"That's the notion I had," replied Will. "Suppose +we all get around behind the air shaft and wait +until we can find out what he is up to. It may be +that bum detective, for all we know."</p> + +<p>"What would he be doing there?" questioned +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Sawing the rungs!" whispered Will. "He +wouldn't cut them down, of course, but he might +saw them so that they would break under our weight +and give us a drop of a couple of hundred feet."</p> + +<p>"It doesn't seem as if any human being would do +a thing like that!" cried George. "It would be a +wicked thing to do!"</p> + +<p>While the boys whispered together, the sound of +sawing continued. The man engaged at the task was +evidently unfamiliar with such work, for they heard +him puffing and blowing as the saw cut through the +wood.</p> + +<p>"He's cutting the rungs, all right!" Will said in +a moment. "And that cuts off our escape until +the cables can be put in motion and the cages started. +I wish I had him by the neck!"</p> + +<p>"We'll get him by the neck, all right, before many +days," Sandy cut in, "if we can only get a sight of +him so as to be sure of his identity."</p> + +<p>Presently the man ceased working, and they heard +him ascending the ladders, step by step. In a moment +the saw which he had been using dropped from +his hands and clattered to the bottom of the shaft.</p> + +<p>Then they heard him springing swiftly forward, and +directly they knew that he had reached the top. +The boys all looked disgusted.</p> + +<p>"And we never caught sight of him!" exclaimed +Tommy.</p> + +<p>Will now walked around to the front of the shaft +and looked down. The saw which had been used +lay shining on the lower level.</p> + +<p>"I'm going down after that!" he said in a moment.</p> + +<p>"Yes, you are!" whispered Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Got to have it!" insisted Will.</p> + +<p>"Well, go on and get it, then," laughed Sandy. +"You've got to show me!"</p> + +<p>"I don't think he cut the rungs between this level +and the next one," George interposed. "It may +be safe to use the lower ladders."</p> + +<p>"I can soon find out!" Will declared.</p> + +<p>The cutting had been done between the second +level and the top. The ladders below seemed perfectly +safe. After testing them thoroughly, Will +trusted himself on one of the rungs and let himself +down slowly, bearing as much weight as was possible +on the standards.</p> + +<p>He was at the bottom in a moment, and in another +moment stood by the side of his chums with the saw +in his hand.</p> + +<p>"I don't think that's so very much!" Tommy exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"Right here, then," Will explained, "is where you +get your little Sherlock Holmes lesson! This is a new +saw, as you all see. It probably never was used before. +Now the man who did the cutting bought this at +some nearby store. Don't you see what it +means?"</p> + +<p>"That's a fact!" cried Tommy. "We can find +out who bought the saw, and so discover the gink +who tried to commit murder by sawing the ladders."</p> + +<p>"And look here," Will went on, "do you see these +threads hanging to the teeth of the saw? Do you +see the color?"</p> + +<p>"Blue!" replied the boys in a breath.</p> + +<p>"That's right, blue. Now, what sort of a suit did +the detective wear this morning? It was blue, +wasn't it?"</p> + +<p>"Sure it was!" replied George. "A blue serge! +I noticed it particularly because it wasn't much of a +fit."</p> + +<p>"Well, these are blue serge threads!" commented +Will.</p> + +<p>"That's right, too," admitted Sandy.</p> + +<p>While the boys still stood at the second level they +heard some one moving down from the top. Will +rushed around to the ladder and looked up.</p> + +<p>He could not see the face of the man who was +climbing down, but he could see that he did not wear +a blue serge suit.</p> + +<p>In a moment he called out to him, asking some +trivial question regarding the action of the pumps. +When the man looked down he saw that it was +Canfield. The caretaker seemed surprised at finding +the boys at the second level. He kept on descending.</p> + +<p>"Wait!" Will called. "Stop where you are!"</p> + +<p>"But I've got to find out what's the matter with +the machinery at the bottom," the caretaker called +out. "There's something wrong there!"</p> + +<p>"Then you'd better take long steps," replied +Will, "for if you put any weight on those rungs, +you're likely to land at the bottom of the shaft. +The rungs have been cut!"</p> + +<p>"I can't believe that!" replied Canfield.</p> + +<p>"Suppose you look and see!"</p> + +<p>The caretaker advanced cautiously downward until +he came to where a fine line of sawdust lay on one +of the rungs.</p> + +<p>"Do you know who did this?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"We think we do," replied Will, "but this isn't +any time for long stories. The first thing for us to +do is to get back into the breaker and cook Tommy +and Sandy three or four breakfasts apiece!"</p> + +<p>"So you found them, did you?" asked Canfield.</p> + +<p>"No; we found them," shouted Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Well, how're you going to get out?" asked the +caretaker.</p> + +<p>"Get a rope," directed Will, "and throw it over the +sound rung lowest down, and we'll climb up until +we can trust our weight on the ladder."</p> + +<p>This plan was followed, and in a short time the +boys all stood, hungry and tired, in their room in +the breaker. Tommy made an instantaneous dive +for the provisions which had been brought in the +night before.</p> + +<p>"Nice old time we've had!" he exclaimed, with +his mouth full of pork and beans. "I guess we're +some Boy Scouts after all!"</p> + +<p>"I'm going to tie you up tonight!" Will declared.</p> + +<p>While the boys talked and ate the caretaker +darted to the door leading to the passage which +ended at the shaft.</p> + +<p>He returned in a moment looking both angry and +frightened.</p> + +<p>"The pumps have stopped!" he said. "The +mine will probably be flooded before tomorrow +morning! The very devil seems to have taken full +charge here today. I never saw anything like it!"</p> + +<p>"There are boys in the mine who will be drowned!" +exclaimed Tommy.</p> + +<p>"I'm not so sure of that!" answered Canfield. +"It was only a suggestion on my part that the boys +we are in search of have taken refuge under ground. +I think I must have been mistaken!"</p> + +<p>"Do you know whether these breaker boys belonged +to the Boy Scouts or not?" asked Will. +"Did you ever see any medals or badges on their +clothing which told of Boy Scout experiences?"</p> + +<p>"Sure they belong to the Boy Scouts!" declared +the caretaker, "and that is the very reason why I +sent for Boy Scouts to help find them."</p> + +<p>"What Patrol did they belong to?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"If you had heard them howling like wolves +around the breaker night after night," was the reply, +"you wouldn't ask what patrol they belonged to!"</p> + +<p>"Then they are in the mine!" shouted Tommy. +"We all heard the call of the pack, but the funny +thing is that they wouldn't show themselves."</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_VIII" id="Chapter_VIII"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> VIII</h2> + +<h3>"THEY WENT UP IN THE AIR!"</h3> + + +<p>"There's something funny-about those boys!" +exclaimed Canfield. "They seemed to be merry-hearted +fellows, just a little bit full of mischief, but +for some reason they never mixed with the others +much."</p> + +<p>"Where did they come from when they came +here?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"The information in the letters I received from +the attorney in charge of the case is that they came +here from New York, not directly but by some roundabout +way."</p> + +<p>"Did this attorney ever inform you why he wanted +the boys found?" asked Tommy. "Are we all +working in the dark?"</p> + +<p>"He never told me why he wanted the boys found. +For all I know, they may be wanted for some crime, +or they may be heirs to an immense property. My +instructions are to find them. That's all!"</p> + +<p>"Where did these boys lodge?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"They didn't have any regular room," was the +reply. "They slept in the breaker whenever the +watchman would permit them to do so, and when +he wouldn't, they threw stones at him and slept in +the railroad yard somewhere. But the strangest +part of the whole business is the way they disappeared +from sight."</p> + +<p>"You didn't tell us about that!" exclaimed Sandy.</p> + +<p>"I meant to," the caretaker answered. "The +last seen of them here they were at work on the +breaker. It was somewhere near the middle of the +afternoon, and the cracker boss had been particularly +ugly. The two boys were often caught whispering +together, and more than once the cracker +boss had launched such trifles as half pound blocks +of shale at them. I happened to be on the outside +just about that time."</p> + +<p>"The boys didn't go up in the air, did they?" +asked Sandy with a chuckle. "They haven't got +wings, have they?"</p> + +<p>"To all intents and purposes, they went up into +the air!" answered the caretaker. "One moment +they were on the breaker sorting slate and stuff of +that kind out of the stream of coal which was pouring +down upon them, and the next moment they were +nowhere in sight!"</p> + +<p>"Had any strangers been seen talking with them?"</p> + +<p>"Now you come to a point that I should have +mentioned before!" replied the caretaker. "Two +days before they left a strange boy came to the +mine and went to work on the breaker. He was +an unusually well-mannered, well-dressed young +fellow, and so the breaker boys called him a dude. +He resented this, of course, and there was a fight +at the first quitting time. These two boys, Jimmie +and Dick, stood by the new lad, and gave three or +four of the tough little chaps who work on the +breaker a good beating up."</p> + +<p>"Now we've got hold of something!" exclaimed +Will. "Were these three boys together much after +that?"</p> + +<p>"No," was the reply. "The new boy thanked +Jimmie and Dick for helping him through his scrape, +and that was about all. They might have talked +together for five minutes that night, but they were +never seen, in each other's company again so far as +I know."</p> + +<p>"How long did this new boy stay here?" asked +George.</p> + +<p>"He quit the next day."</p> + +<p>"He didn't go up in a pillar of fire, did he?" +grinned Sandy.</p> + +<p>"No, he walked up to the office and asked if he +could get his pay for the time he had worked. The +boss told him he'd have to wait until Saturday +night, and he turned up his nose and walked out."</p> + +<p>"And where did he go?" asked George.</p> + +<p>"He said he was going down the river in a boat," +answered the caretaker. "He bought an old boat, +stocked it with quite a supply of provisions, and +started on his way. The next day the boat was +found bottom side up on a bar, and the lad's hat +lay on the bank not far away".</p> + +<p>"Do you think he was drowned?" asked Sandy.</p> + +<p>"It would seem so."</p> + +<p>"Drowned nothing!" exclaimed Tommy. "He +sneaked those provisions into the mine under cover +of the darkness, and the three little rascals are feeding +on them yet. You can see the end of that without +a telescope!"</p> + +<p>"Now, smarty!" exclaimed George. "You've +told us where the boys went, and where the provisions +landed, and all that, now tell us why these +kids hid themselves in the mine. And while you are +about it, you may as well tell why they gave the +Wolf call and refused to reply."</p> + +<p>"This story," replied Tommy with a grin, "is +not a novelette, complete in one number. It's a +serial story, and will be continued in our next issue. +What did you say about the pumps stopping, Mr. +Canfield?"</p> + +<p>"They've stopped, all right!" the caretaker replied.</p> + +<p>"Are you going to let the ginks flood the mine?" +asked Sandy.</p> + +<p>"While I was out a few moments ago," Canfield +explained, "I notified one of the clerks in the company's +office to send up a gang of men to repair the +machinery. They ought to be here by this time."</p> + +<p>"How long will it take to repair the pump?" +asked Tommy.</p> + +<p>"It may take an hour and it may take twenty-four."</p> + +<p>"In the meantime," Tommy continued, "do you +think you could send one of the county officers out +to round up this bum detective?"</p> + +<p>"You mean that you want him watched?" asked +Canfield.</p> + +<p>"Sure!" answered Tommy. "He sawed the +rungs in the shaft, didn't he? He could get ten +years for that!"</p> + +<p>"All right," replied Canfield. "I'll send word +out and have him arrested if you are positive that he +is the man that did the cutting."</p> + +<p>"We are positive that he's the man," replied Will, +"but it'll spoil everything if you have him arrested. +We want to give him a free hand for a time, and see +what he will do. He's a crook, and he's bound to +show it! And another thing," the boy went on, +"we don't want anyone to know that he is under +suspicion. We just want him watched."</p> + +<p>"You're handling the case," smiled Canfield, +"and I'll take any steps you advise. I can't tell +you how sorry I am that I brought the detective in +here this morning!"</p> + +<p>"Well," Will said, "we put up a bluff about getting +out of town and perhaps we can make that stick. +We can take a train out and come back in on a +lonely freight, and get into the mine without his +knowing anything about it. The mine is the best +place to work from, anyway!"</p> + +<p>"That's why I wanted to know how soon the mine +could be pumped out!" stated Tommy. "I don't +care about wading around in a mess of water that's +blacker than a stack of black cats."</p> + +<p>"I think I can have the mine fairly dry by the +time you boys get out of town and back again!" +laughed Canfield.</p> + +<p>"Well," Tommy said, "then you'd better get a +couple of dry-goods boxes and fill them full of good +things to eat, and drop 'em down to the first level. +Perhaps you know of a cosy little chamber there +where we can set up housekeeping."</p> + +<p>"I know just the place," said the caretaker. +"To the left of the old tool house there's a room +where odd articles of every description have been +stored for any number of years. The blacksmith +and the fire-boss used to go there to smoke and tell +stores, if I remember right."</p> + +<p>"Does anyone ever go there now?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"Not that I know of," was the reply.</p> + +<p>"Then we'll drop down there some time towards +morning," Will decided. "And in the meantime," +he added, with a wink at his chums, "we'll be looking +for a boy tramp out in the railroad yards."</p> + +<p>"What do you mean by that?" asked the caretaker.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I've just got an idea," replied Will, "that +there's a kid hanging around this part of the country +whom we ought to interview."</p> + +<p>"But I don't understand."</p> + +<p>"You wait until we get hold of him, and you'll +understand all right!" laughed Will. "We just +need that boy!"</p> + +<p>"But how do you know there is such a boy?" +urged the caretaker.</p> + +<p>"He gets it out of a dream book!" Tommy +chuckled.</p> + +<p>"Do you mean to say that there is some go-between +between the boys who may or may not be in +the mine and some persons outside who are interested +in them?" asked the caretaker.</p> + +<p>"I didn't say anything of the kind!" replied Will.</p> + +<p>"There are times," Tommy explained to Canfield, +"when the gift of frank speech is taken away from +Will, so you mustn't blame him for not answering. +He'll tell you all about it when the time comes."</p> + +<p>The caretaker went away with a puzzled look on +his honest face.</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_IX" id="Chapter_IX"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> IX</h2> + +<h3>WHO DISCOVERED THE LEAK?</h3> + + +<p>"You've got to explain to me," George laughed, +as the caretaker left the room, and the boys began +picking up their clothing, preparatory to the alleged +journey. "I can't understand what you mean by +saying that you'll watch out for a boy tramp in the +railroad yards."</p> + +<p>"It's a sure thing, isn't it?" Will asked, "that +the boys we are in search of are in the mine? We +don't know what they're in there for. They may be +hiding there because of some fool notion they have +in their heads, or they may have been sent here for +some definite purpose."</p> + +<p>"You bet they've been sent here for some definite +purpose," George replied. "They never came here +to work on the breaker without having some well-defined +motive. Boys answering to their description +don't accept such jobs as they accepted here!"</p> + +<p>"Well, the boys are in the mine," Will continued. +"As stated, we don't know what they're there for, +but we know they're there. Now, this third boy +comes to the mine and works just long enough to +get in touch with the other two. Then he disappears."</p> + +<p>"Buys a lot of provisions and goes down the river +to leave his hat on the bank!" laughed Tommy. "I +guess that was a pretty poor imitation of a suicide or +a drowning accident, either!"</p> + +<p>"But this boy didn't get to be intimate with the +two breaker boys," contended George. "He talked +with them about two minutes after the fight, according +to Canfield, but paid no further attention to +them after that. If he had any secret understanding +with them, he must have done a whole lot of +talking in a mighty short space of time."</p> + +<p>"The right kind of a boy can say a good deal in a +minute and half!" laughed Tommy. "But suppose +we let Will go on and explanation us about that boy +tramp in the railroad yards. I think I know what +he's getting at, but I'm not quite certain. Go on, +Will, it's up to you."</p> + +<p>"In order to make the connection," laughed Will. +"I'll state for the third time that we know that the +boys are in the mine. It may also be well to state, +once more, that we are reasonably certain that this +third boy came to the mine for the specific purpose +of communicating with the other two. Now, this +boy didn't drop into the river. He dropped the +provisions he bought for the boat into the coal +mine, and left them there for the consumption of the +two boys inside. That's reasonable, isn' it?"</p> + +<p>"Fine deduction, as Sherlock Holmes would say +to Watson!" laughed George.</p> + +<p>"But this third boy," Will went on, "doesn't go +into the mine. He stays outside to serve as a +means of communication between the boys who are +hiding in the mine and some interested person or +persons on the outside. That's perfectly clear, +isn't it?"</p> + +<p>"That'll do very well for a theory," replied +George.</p> + +<p>"I'll go you a plate of cookies," argued Sandy, +"that Will is right, and that this third boy is hanging +around taking messages from the two boys in the +mine and also to the two boys in the mine."</p> + +<p>"Didn't I say it was all right for a theory?" +chuckled George.</p> + +<p>"Now, the point is this," Will continued. "What +are those boys in the mine for? What do they want +there? Why didn't they answer our Boy Scout +challenge when we replied to their call of the pack?"</p> + +<p>"If you don't ask so many questions, you won't +get so many negative answers," Sandy advised. +"We're here to find the boys, and I don't see that +it makes any difference to us what they're in there +for."</p> + +<p>"But we've found the boys now," contended +Tommy. "We haven't got our hands on them yet, +of course, but we know they're in there, and we +know it's only a question of time when we get hold of +them."</p> + +<p>"Well," Will insisted, "I'm going to find a motive +before I quit the case. I'm going to know who +sent those boys here, and all about it, before I make +any report to Mr. Horton."</p> + +<p>"Go as far as you like," laughed Tommy. "My +bump of curiosity is growing half an inch a day, and +will continue to spread out until I find out exactly +what those boys are doing burrowing in a deserted +mine."</p> + +<p>"Now, we'll get back to the point we started +from," Will explained. "This boy who is undoubtedly +doing duty outside the mine in the +interests of the persons who sent the two boys in, +furnishes the clue to the whole situation! When +we find him, and find out what he's up to, and +trace any communications he may make back to +their original source, we'll have the whole case tied +up tight!"</p> + +<p>"That's right!" declared Tommy. "We'll have +the case tied up tight if we succeed in getting hold +of this third boy."</p> + +<p>"Oh, go on!" laughed Sandy. "We'll be picking +third boys and fourth boys and fifth boys out of the +air, first thing you know. We never went away on +a Boy Scout expedition yet that we didn't find all +manner of kids hanging around on purpose to be +discovered. We found them on Old Superior; and +in the Everglades; and on the Great Continental +Divide; and up in the Hudson Bay country, we began +to think we had stumbled on the center of +population so far as Boy Scouts were concerned!"</p> + +<p>"There's just one thing that's likely to make us +trouble," Will resumed. "And that is the fact that +Canfield very foolishly slopped over to Ventner +when explaining the purpose of our visit here. That +bum detective knows now that we're here to search +the mine. Of course he might have received, as +Canfield says, the most of his information from outside +sources, but the caretaker should have thrown +him off the track instead of telling him exactly what +our mission here was."</p> + +<p>"But Ventner came here to search for the boys +himself!" George broke in. "At least, he says that +he did."</p> + +<p>"There's a mystery about the whole matter," +Sandy declared, "and I'd like to help clear it up +from beginning to end!"</p> + +<p>"We're likely to have a chance!" laughed Tommy.</p> + +<p>"What are we going to do all the afternoon?" +George asked.</p> + +<p>"Wander around town," smiled Will, "and find +out about the evening train, and ask fool questions +about the pumps and the mine, and laugh at the +idea of anybody living in there. That'll give Ventner +the idea that we're going for good, I reckon. He's +a pretty bum skate to pose as a detective!"</p> + +<p>"I'll tell you what I'm going to do most of the +afternoon!" Tommy declared. "I'm going to the +hay! I never felt so bunged up for want of sleep +in my innocent life."</p> + +<p>"Haven't you forgotten something?" asked Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Sure!" shouted Tommy. "I'm forgetting to +eat!"</p> + +<p>"And you're forgetting something else!" insisted +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Nix on the forget!" declared Tommy. "When +I forget my eatings and sleepings, the world will +come to an end!"</p> + +<p>"You forgot to read a chapter in your dream +book!" said Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Never you mind that dream book," Tommy replied. +"Whenever you want to find the answer to +any puzzle, you look in that dream book!"</p> + +<p>After eating another hearty meal the boys, having +already packed their wardrobes, locked the door of +their room and addressed themselves to slumber.</p> + +<p>They were awakened about five o'clock by a loud +knocking on the door, and presently they heard the +voice of Canfield calling to them.</p> + +<p>"Wake up, boys!" he cried. "I have good news +for you!"</p> + +<p>"All right, let her go!" shouted Tommy.</p> + +<p>"The pumps are working, and the water is lowering +in the mine!"</p> + +<p>"That's nice!" laughed Sandy.</p> + +<p>"And we've found out what caused the sudden +flooding," the caretaker went on. "It seems that +a partition, or wall, between the Labyrinth and the +Mixer mines unaccountably gave way. The Mixer +mine has been flooded for a long time and, as it lies +above the level of the Labyrinth, the water naturally +flowed into our mine as soon as the wall was down."</p> + +<p>"But what caused the partition to fall?" asked +Will, opening the door for the admission of the +caretaker.</p> + +<p>"No one knows!" was the answer.</p> + +<p>"If you look about a little," Tommy suggested, +"I think you'll find traces of dynamite. Who discovered +the break in the dividing wall?"</p> + +<p>"A gang under the leadership of Ventner, the +detective!" was the reply.</p> + +<p>The caretaker was very much surprised and not +a little annoyed at the effect his answer had upon the +four boys.</p> + +<p>"I don't see anything humorous about that!" +he said as the lads threw themselves down on the +bunks and roared with laughter.</p> + +<p>"It looks funny to me!" Tommy replied. "If +we had never showed up here, the mine wouldn't +have been flooded. As soon as we start away or +promise to leave the district, which amounts to the +same thing, this cheap skate of a detective finds +the break, and all is well again!"</p> + +<p>"Why, you don't think that he had anything to +do with the trouble at the mine, do you?" questioned +the caretaker.</p> + +<p>"Oh, of course not!" replied Sandy. "Ventner +had nothing to do with cutting the ladder! That +fellow will land in state's prison if he keeps on trying +to murder boys by sawing ladder rungs!"</p> + +<p>"I had forgotten that," said Canfield.</p> + +<p>"Well, don't forget that this man Ventner is playing +the chief villain's role in this drama!" Tommy advised. +"And another thing you mustn't forget," +the boy continued, "is that you're not to say a word +to him that will inform him that he is suspected."</p> + +<p>"I think I can remember that!" replied the caretaker.</p> + +<p>The boys prepared a hasty supper and then, suit +cases in hand, started for the little railway station. +There they inquired about the arrival and departure +of trains, bought tickets, and made themselves as +conspicuous as possible about the depot.</p> + +<p>"Keep your eye out for the third boy," George +chuckled, as the lads walked up and down the platform.</p> + +<p>"Don't get excited about the third boy," Will +replied. "We'll find him when the right time +comes!"</p> + +<p>"There's Ventner!" exclaimed Tommy as the +detective came rushing down the platform. "Of +course the good, kind gentleman would want to +bid us farewell!"</p> + +<p>"I'd like to crack him over the coco!" exclaimed +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"I'll bet he's got some kind of a fake story to +tell," suggested Will. "He looks like a man who +had been working his imagination overtime!"</p> + +<p>"News of the two boys!" shouted the detective +as he came up smiling.</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_X" id="Chapter_X"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> X</h2> + +<h3>THE BOY IN THE "EMPTY"</h3> + + +<p>"Didn't I tell you," whispered Will, "that he is +there with a product of his imagination? If you +leave it to him, the two boys we're in search of are +somewhere on the Pacific slope!"</p> + +<p>"He must think we're a lot of suckers to take in +any story he'll tell!" whispered Tommy. "A person +that couldn't get next to his game ought to be locked +Up in the foolish house!"</p> + +<p>"I've just heard from a railway brakeman," +Ventner said, rushing up to the boys with an air +of importance, "that the two lads you are in search +of were seen leaving a box car at a little station in +Ohio. I don't just recall the name of the station +now, but I can find it by looking on the map! It +seems the lads left here on the night following their +departure from the breaker, and stole their passage +to this little town I'm telling you about."</p> + +<p>"Good thing you came to the depot," declared +Will. "We should have been out of town in ten +minutes more!"</p> + +<p>"Where is this town?" asked George, thinking +it best to show great interest in the statement made +by the detective.</p> + +<p>"It's a little place on the Lake Erie & Western +road!" was the answer.</p> + +<p>The detective took a railroad folder from his +pocket and consulted a map. It seemed to take him +a long time to decide upon a place, but he finally +spread the map out against the wall of the station and +laid his finger on a point on the Lake Erie & Western +railroad.</p> + +<p>"Nankin is the name of the place. Strange I +should have forgotten the name of the place. They +were put out of the car at Nankin, and are believed +to have started down the railroad right of way on +foot."</p> + +<p>"But you said they were seen leaving the car +at Nankin!" Tommy cut in. "Now you say they +were put out of the car!"</p> + +<p>"Well, they were chased out of the car, and that +covers both statements," replied the detective somewhat +nervously.</p> + +<p>"Thank you very much for the information!" +Will exclaimed as the train the boys were to take +came rolling into the station. "The pointer is +undoubtedly a good one, and we'll take a look at +the country about Nankin."</p> + +<p>There was a crossing not more than six miles +from the station where the boys had taken the train, +and they were all ready to jump when the engineer +slowed down and whistled his note of warning. It +was quite dark, although stars were showing in a +sky plentifully scattered over with clouds and, as +the boys dropped down out of the illumination of +the windows as soon as they struck the ground, +they were not seen to leave the train by any of the +passengers.</p> + +<p>In a moment the train rushed on, leaving the four +standing on the roadbed looking disconsolately in +the direction of the town.</p> + +<p>"Now for a good long hike!" exclaimed Tommy.</p> + +<p>"It's for your own good!" laughed Sandy.</p> + +<p>"I can always tell when anything's for my own +good," Tommy contended.</p> + +<p>"You don't look it!" chuckled Sandy.</p> + +<p>"When anything's for my own good," the boy +continued, "it's always disagreeable! It makes me +think of a story I read once where the man complained +that everything he ever wanted in this world +was either expensive, indigestible or immoral."</p> + +<p>"Well, get on the hike!" laughed George. "You +can stand here and moralize till the cows come home, +and it won't move you half an inch in the direction +of the mine!"</p> + +<p>"And look here," Will exclaimed as the boys +started up the grade, "when we get within sight of +the lights of the station, we must scatter and keep +our traps closed! We can all make for the mine by +different routes. Ventner thinks we are out of town +now, and the chances are that he'll be plugging +around trying to accomplish some purpose known +only to himself. For my part I don't believe he is +employed on the same case we are! He's working +here for some outside parties!"</p> + +<p>"That's the way it strikes me!" George agreed. +"If the detective had been honestly trying to assist +us, the mine wouldn't have been flooded, the pumps +wouldn't have broken down, and the electric motors +would have been found in excellent working order."</p> + +<p>"Did you notice the suit he had on when he stood +talking with us at the station?" asked Will. "That +was a blue serge suit, wasn't it?"</p> + +<p>"It surely was!" Tommy declared, quick to catch +the point. "And there was a tear down the front +of it which looked as if it had been made by the +scraping of a saw! I guess if you'll match the +shreds we found on the saw with the breaks in that +coat front you'll find where the saw got in its work, +all right!"</p> + +<p>"And there was a cut on his hand, too!" Sandy +observed. "Looked like he had bounced the saw +off one of the rungs on top of a finger."</p> + +<p>"Oh, he's a clever little boy all right!" Tommy cut +in. "But he forgot to leave his brass band at home +when he went out to cut into that ladder! If he +does all his work the way he did that job, he'll be +sitting in some nice, quiet state's prison before he's +six months older."</p> + +<p>When the boys came within a quarter of a mile +of the station lights, they parted, Will and George +turning off from the right of way and Sandy and +Tommy keeping on for half a dozen rods. When +the four boys were finally clear of the tracks they +were walking perhaps twenty rods apart, and at +right angles with the right of way.</p> + +<p>"Now, as we approach the mine," Will cautioned +his companion, "keep your eye out for Ventner +and this third boy. They are both likely to be +chasing around in the darkness."</p> + +<p>The route to the mine taken by Tommy and his +chum crossed a network of tracks, led up to the +weigh-house and so on into the breaker. As they +came to a line of empty cars standing on a spur they +heard a movement in one of the empties and crouched +down to listen.</p> + +<p>"There's some one in there!" declared Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Some old bum, probably!"</p> + +<p>This from Sandy who had recently bumped his +shins on a pile of ties and was not in a very pleasant +humor.</p> + +<p>"It may be the boy we're looking for!" urged +Tommy.</p> + +<p>Sandy sat down on the end of a tie and rubbed his +bruised shin vigorously, muttering and protesting +against railroad yards in general and this one in +particular as he did so.</p> + +<p>Tommy made his way under the empty and sat +listening, his ear almost against the bottom of the +car. Presently he heard a movement above and +then it seemed to him that something of considerable +weight was being dragged across the floor. This +was followed in a moment by a slight groan, and thea +a shadowy figure leaped from the open side door and +started away in the darkness.</p> + +<p>Now Sandy had been warned to hang onto the +third boy like grim death if he caught sight of him. +He saw this figure bounce out of the car and start +away. Therefore, he promptly reached out a foot +and tripped the unknown to the ground.</p> + +<p>He fell with a grunt of anger and pain and lay +rolling on the cinders which lined the roadbed for +a moment without speaking. In the meantime, +Tommy had crawled out from under the car and +stood ready to sieze any second person who might +make his appearance.</p> + +<p>Almost immediately a second body came bouncing +out of the empty.</p> + +<p>Instead of starting away on a run, however, the +second person stopped where Sandy stood beside +the wiggling figure and looked down upon it.</p> + +<p>"Hand him one!" he said in a boy's voice.</p> + +<p>"Who is it?" asked Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Don't know!" was the reply.</p> + +<p>"What was he doing to you?"</p> + +<p>"He was trying to rob me!"</p> + +<p>"I don't think a man would get rich robbing +people who ride in empties!" laughed Sandy. "I +shouldn't think their bank rolls would make much +of a hit with a bold, bad highwayman!"</p> + +<p>"There's men riding the rods," was the reply, +"who would kill a boy for a dime! If I wasn't +opposed to cruelty to animals, I'd give this fellow +a beating up right now. He tried to drag me from +the car by the leg and nearly broke my ankle!"</p> + +<p>"I heard him dragging you across the floor!" +Tommy said, coming up to where the two boys +stood. "Can you see who it is?" he added.</p> + +<p>"He's just a tramp!" the other replied. "I saw +him sneaking around the empties just before dark."</p> + +<p>"Why were you sleeping in an empty?" asked +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Because I like plenty of fresh air!" replied the +boy with a chuckle.</p> + +<p>While the boys talked the tramp arose and sneaked +away, limping over the ties as if tickled to death to +get out of the way of the three youngsters.</p> + +<p>As he disappeared in the darkness Tommy turned +to the boy who had dropped out of the car to ask +him a question.</p> + +<p>The boy was nowhere to be seen.</p> + +<p>"Now we've gone and done it!" cried Sandy.</p> + +<p>"I guess we have!" agreed Tommy. "We've let +the third boy get away from us! And we couldn't +have done a worse thing!" he went on, "because +the boys in the mine will know that we are still in +this vicinity!"</p> + +<p>While the boys stood blaming themselves the +sharp call of the Wolf pack came to them.</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_XI" id="Chapter_XI"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> XI</h2> + +<h3>A KNOCK AT THE DOOR</h3> + + +<p>When Will and George came to the back of the +weigh-house they heard some one moving about at +the front.</p> + +<p>"That's probably the caretaker, taking his last +look for the night," suggested Will. "He pokes +around all the outbuildings every night before he +goes to bed. At least, he is supposed to."</p> + +<p>"But this fellow hasn't got any lantern," urged +George.</p> + +<p>"The plot deepens!" chuckled Will.</p> + +<p>"Can you crawl around there and see who it is," +asked George, "or shall I go? It may be a thief, or +it may be Ventner, or it may be this boy we're +looking for. Anyway, we want to know who it is!"</p> + +<p>"I'll go!" Will suggested, "and don't you make +any racket if you hear something doing there. The +one thing to do at this time is to keep our presence +here a profound secret."</p> + +<p>Will moved cautiously around the angle of the +weigh-house just in time to see a figure leaving the +side of the building and moving toward the breaker. +There was a little side door in the breaker not far +from the weigh-house, and it was toward this that +the prowler was making his way.</p> + +<p>Half way to the little house the fellow stumbled +over some obstruction in his path and fell sprawling +to the ground. He arose with an impatient oath +and moved on again, but not before the watcher had +recognized both the figure and the voice. Will +turned back to where George stood.</p> + +<p>"That's Ventner," he said.</p> + +<p>"Are you sure?"</p> + +<p>"Dead sure!"</p> + +<p>There was a short silence.</p> + +<p>"What can we do now?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know of anything we can do, unless it +is to watch the rascal and see where he goes," +answered the other. "The chances are that he's +trying to get into the mine!"</p> + +<p>"That shows that the fellow's a crook," Will +contended. "He has full permission to enter the +mine at any time he sees fit."</p> + +<p>"Of course, he's a crook!" agreed George. "What +would he be sneaking around here in the night for, +if he wasn't engaged in some underhand game? You +just wait until we get into the mine," the boy continued, +"and we'll give him a ghost scare that'll +hold him for a while."</p> + +<p>As Ventner approached the little side door leading +into the breaker, a light flashed in the window of +the room which the boys had occupied, and directly +Canfield's voice was heard asking:</p> + +<p>"Who's there?"</p> + +<p>"Now if he's on the square, he'll answer!" +whispered Will.</p> + +<p>There was no reply whatever, and in a moment the +caretaker called again, this time rather peremptorily:</p> + +<p>"What are you prowling about the yard for?"</p> + +<p>The detective dropped to his knees and began +crawling away.</p> + +<p>"If I see you around here again," the caretaker +shouted in a braver tone now that the intruder was +taking his departure, "I'll do some shooting!"</p> + +<p>Evidently giving over the attempt to enter the +mine at that time, the detective arose to his feet as +soon as he gained the shelter of the weigh-house, +and walked away, passing as he did so, within a few +feet of where the boys were standing.</p> + +<p>"That settles that bum detective, so far as we +are concerned!" Will said to his chum, in a whisper. +"We knew before that he was playing a rotten game +on us, but we didn't know that his plans included +such surreptitious visits to the mine."</p> + +<p>After making sure that the detective was not +within sight or sound, Will and George tapped +softly at the little door and were admitted by the +caretaker. Five minutes later they were joined by +Tommy and Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Were you boys out there a few moments ago?" +asked Canfield.</p> + +<p>"Nix!" replied George. "That was Venter. We +saw him from the weigh-house. He was trying to +sneak his way into the mine!"</p> + +<p>"But he has full permission to enter at any time +he sees fit!" urged the caretaker. "It doesn't seem +as if he would attempt to steal his way in during +the night. You must be mistaken!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, and perhaps we were mistaken about the +sawing of the ladder, too!" Tommy broke in.</p> + +<p>"Yes, we may all be mistaken about that."</p> + +<p>"Not so you could notice it!" declared Sandy. +"If you look at the thief's coat, you'll see that he +didn't do all the sawing on the rungs of the ladder. +We've got him too dead to skin!"</p> + +<p>Without any lights being shown on the surface, +the boys were conducted down the ladder to the +first level. There they found a room very cosily +furnished, indeed. A lounge from the office, a +couple of good sized cupboards, and a large table +had been brought down, together with a serviceable +rug and numerous chairs, and tho apartment presented +an unexpectedly homelike appearance.</p> + +<p>The current was on, and two electric lamps made +the room as light as day. The cooking was to be +done over electric coils so that the presence of the +boys would not be disclosed by smoke. One of the +ventilating pipes which supplied the offices in the +vicinity of the shaft with fresh air passed through +the room, so there was no lack of ozone.</p> + +<p>"Have we got plenty of eatings?" asked Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Plenty!" was the reply. "I have arranged for +fresh meat, milk and vegetables to be brought in +every evening."</p> + +<p>"Talk about your bull-headed, obstinate men!" +exclaimed Tommy, as the caretaker finally took his +departure. "That fellow takes the cake! He +knows very well that we caught Ventner in the act +of sawing on the ladder, and he knows, too, that we +heard Wolf calls while we were in the mine. Still, +he shakes his head and says that he don't know about +the boys being there, and don't know about that +bum detective being crooked. If you could get a +saw and operate on his head, you'd find it solid +bone!"</p> + +<p>"You'll feel better after you get supper!" Sandy +declared.</p> + +<p>"This isn't any grouch!" insisted Tommy. "This +is the true story of that man's life! If I had a dollar +for every time he doesn't know anything, I'd be the +richest boy in the world!"</p> + +<p>"Are you thinking of going down the mine tonight?" +asked George, with a wink at Will. "We +might try another midnight excursion."</p> + +<p>"If you kids go into the mine tonight", declared Will, +"I'll send you both back to Chicago on the first train!"</p> + +<p>"Aw, how are you going to find these boys if you +don't go into the mine?" demanded Tommy. "I +suppose you'll want us to wait till daylight when +the owners will be looking around to see if any +damage was done by the inundation. The best time +is at night!"</p> + +<p>"Look here," Will argued, "we've got to do more +than lay hands on the boys! We've got to find out +why they are hiding in the mine."</p> + +<p>"That's the correct word," agreed George. "Hiding +is the word that expresses the situation exactly!"</p> + +<p>"There is no doubt," Will continued, "that the +boys were sent here by some one for some specific +purpose. They are hiding in the mine with a well-defined +motive. I have an idea that we might be +able to find them in twenty-four hours, but what is +more important, is to find out what they are up to."</p> + +<p>"Well, in order to get the whole story, we'll have +to pretend that we are looking for them and can't +find them!" George said.</p> + +<p>"That's right!" laughed Tommy. "Give them +plenty of rope and they'll hang themselves. We may +as well have the whole story while we're at it."</p> + +<p>Before preparing their beds for the night, the boys +paid a visit to the shaft and made their way down to +the rungs which had been cut. They found that +they had been replaced by new ones.</p> + +<p>There was still water in the lower levels of the +mine, but it was slowly disappearing through the +sump, and the indications were that it would be dry +by morning. The boys listened intently for some +evidence of occupancy as they moved up and down +the shaft, but all was still.</p> + +<p>"This would be a good place to tell a ghost story," +Tommy chuckled as they moved back to their +room on the first level.</p> + +<p>"There's about a million stories now, entitled +The Ghost of the Mine!" declared Sandy. "Perhaps +however," he went on, "one more wouldn't hurt."</p> + +<p>"If I see a ghost tonight," declared Tommy, "it'll +be in my dreams!"</p> + +<p>Sandy and Tommy were sound asleep on their +cots as soon as supper was over, and Will and +George were getting ready to retire when the soft +patter of a light footstep sounded in the vicinity +of the shaft.</p> + +<p>"Rats must be thick in the mine!" suggested +George.</p> + +<p>"Rats nothing!" declared Will. "Those two +youngsters are prowling about in order to see what +we are up to!"</p> + +<p>As he spoke the boy arose, turned off the electric +light and stepped out into the passage.</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_XII" id="Chapter_XII"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> XII</h2> + +<h3>A MIDNIGHT ROBBER</h3> + + +<p>There was a quick scamper of feet as Will stepped +out, then silence!</p> + +<p>"Where did he go?" asked George, joining his +chum on the outside.</p> + +<p>"Down the ladder!" replied Will.</p> + +<p>"Why don't we go and see where he went?"</p> + +<p>"That might be a good idea," Will replied. "Do +you think it's safe for us to try to navigate that shaft +in the dark?"</p> + +<p>"We can stick to the ladders, can't we?" asked +George.</p> + +<p>"We ought to find out where the kids hang out," +Will argued. "I'd like to get my hands on one of +them!"</p> + +<p>"I don't think we're likely to do that tonight," +George answered. "It seems to me that about the +only way we can catch those fellows is to set a bear +trap. They seem to be rather slippery."</p> + +<p>Will, clad only in pajamas and slippers, moved +toward the shaft, and looked down. It was dark and +still below, and he turned back with a little shudder. +The situation was not at all to his liking.</p> + +<p>"Well, are you going down?" asked George.</p> + +<p>"Sure, I'm going down!" Will answered. "I'm +only waiting to get up my nerve! It looks pretty +dreary down there. If we could use a light I wouldn't +mind, but it's pretty creepy going down that +hole in the darkness."</p> + +<p>"Then suppose we wait until morning," suggested +George.</p> + +<p>Will leaned against the shaft timbers and laughed.</p> + +<p>"It'll be just as dark in here in the morning, as it +is now!" he said. "I think we'd better go on down +tonight and see if we can locate the fellows."</p> + +<p>The two boys passed swiftly down the ladder, +paused a moment at the second level, and then +passed on to the third. The gangways leading out +from the shaft were reasonably dry now. Lower +down the dip they were still under a few inches of +water.</p> + +<p>"I don't see how we're going to discover anybody +down in this blooming old well!" George grumbled. +"There might be a regiment of state troops here +and we wouldn't be able to see a single soldier!"</p> + +<p>"We can't show a light, for all that!" declared +Will. "We've just got to wait and see if <i>they</i> won't +be kind enough to show a light."</p> + +<p>"You guessed it," chuckled George, whispering +softly in his chum's ear, "there's a glimmer of light, +now!"</p> + +<p>"I see it!" Will replied.</p> + +<p>The boys left the ladder and moved out into the +center gangway. They could see a light flickering +some distance in advance, and had no difficulty in +following it.</p> + +<p>"That's an electric torch!" Will commented.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps, if we follow along, we'll be able to track +them to their nest," George suggested, "and, still, I +don't care about getting very far away from the +shaft. We might get lost in these crooked passages."</p> + +<p>"Yes," replied Will. "Some one might head us +off, too. I don't care about being held up here in +pajamas."</p> + +<p>The mine was damp and cold, and a wind was +sweeping up the passage toward the shaft. The boys +shivered as they walked, yet kept resolutely on until +the light they were following left the main gangway +and disappeared in a cross heading.</p> + +<p>"That means 'Good-night' for me," whispered +Will, "for I'm not going to get out beyond the reach +of the rails. I guess well have to go back and invent +some other means of trapping those foxy boys."</p> + +<p>As Will spoke the light reappeared and moved on +down the gangway again. Then, for the first time, +the boys saw a figure outlined against the illumination. +Will caught his chum by the arm excitedly.</p> + +<p>"That isn't one of the boys at all!" he exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"Well, how large a population do you think this +mine has!" demanded George. "If it isn't one of the +boys, who is it?"</p> + +<p>"That bum detective!" answered Will.</p> + +<p>"So he got in here at last, did he?" chuckled +George. "Well, it's up to us to find out what he's +doing in here!"</p> + +<p>"Do you think that is the gink who was prowling +around our room?" asked Will. "If he is, then our +little trip in the country doesn't count for much!"</p> + +<p>"The fellow who visited us," George argued, "was +light and quick on his feet. This bum detective +waddles along like an old cow."</p> + +<p>"Then we've passed the boy who called to see us, +and failed to leave a card," grinned Will. "We may +meet him as we return!"</p> + +<p>"Here's hoping we bump straight into him if we +do meet him," George exclaimed. "I'm just aching +to get my hands on that fellow!"</p> + +<p>"I'm not particularly anxious to catch him just +yet," Will suggested. "I want to find out what the +kids are up to before we pounce down upon them."</p> + +<p>While the boys stood in the passage, whispering +together, the light moved on until it came to a +chamber which seemed to be rather shallow, for the +reflection of the searchlight was still in the gangway.</p> + +<p>"Now we've got him!" exclaimed Will. "I think +I remember that chamber, and, unless I'm very +much mistaken, it opens only on this passage! +While he's poking around in there, we'll sneak up and +see what he's doing!"</p> + +<p>Before the boys reached the entrance to the +chamber they heard the sounds of a pick. When +they came nearer and looked in they saw the detective +poking away at a heap of "gob" which lay in +one corner of the excavation. He worked industriously, +and apparently without fear of discovery. +Now and then he stooped down to peer into a crevice +in the wall, but soon went on again.</p> + +<p>"I wonder if he thinks he can find two boys in that +heap of refuse?" laughed George. "I wonder why +he don't use a microscope."</p> + +<p>The detective busied himself at the heap of refuse +for a considerable length of time, and then began a +further investigation of little breaks in the wall. +Using his pick to enlarge the openings he made a +systematic search of one break after another.</p> + +<p>"Looks like he might be hunting after some pirate +treasure," George chuckled. "I never heard of +Captain Kidd sailing over into the sloughs of Pennsylvania. +Did you?"</p> + +<p>"That tells the story!" Will whispered. "The +fellow is here on some mission of his own. That +story of his about being in quest of the boys is all a +bluff! I reckon he had heard somewhere that two +boys were missing and came here with the fairy +tale!"</p> + +<p>"Well, he's got a good, large mine to look in if he's +in search of treasure," George suggested. "He can +spend the rest of his days here, provided the operators +don't get sore on him."</p> + +<p>While the boys looked, Ventner turned toward the +entrance to the chamber, and they scampered away. +Turning back, they saw him pass out of the place +where he had been working and into a similar excavation +farther on. There he worked as industriously +as before.</p> + +<p>"You see how it is," Will suggested. "The fellow +is hunting for something, and doesn't know where +to look for it! So it's all right to let him go ahead +with his quest for hidden wealth, or whatever it is +he's after. When he finds it, we'll not be far away!"</p> + +<p>"I like this walking about in my naked feet," +George grunted in a moment. "I had my slippers +on when I came down the ladder, but I either had to +take them off and carry them in my hands or lose +them in the mud."</p> + +<p>"Same here!" Will said. "I'm going back to my +little cot bed right now and go to sleep. I think we +have the detective sized up and we can catch the kids +some other night."</p> + +<p>"Me for the hay, too," George exclaimed. "I +don't think I was ever quite so sleepy in my life!"</p> + +<p>"Now, on the way back," Will cautioned, "we +ought to keep still and keep a sharp lookout for the +person who was sneaking around our quarters."</p> + +<p>"Whoever it was may be between us and the +shaft," George suggested.</p> + +<p>"If I thought so," Will argued, "I'd just stand +around and wait until they pass us on the way in. +I don't want to find those boys just now. There's a +mystery connected with this mine which the caretaker +knows nothing about, and which Mr. Horton +never referred to when he sent us down here.</p> + +<p>"We wouldn't be able to breathe if we didn't discover +an air of mystery every fifteen minutes," +George declared.</p> + +<p>Half way back to the shaft, the boys, who were +walking very softly in their stockinged feet, heard a +rattle as of a moving stone or piece of coal in the +passage, and at once drew up against the side wall.</p> + +<p>While they stood there, scarcely daring to breathe, +they sensed that some one was passing them in the +darkness. The tread was light and brisk, and they +thought they heard a soft chuckle as the unseen +figure breezed by them.</p> + +<p>"I'll bet the lad who was listening near our door +never came down the shaft until after we did!" +George whispered after the figure had passed by.</p> + +<p>"That's very likely!" agreed Will.</p> + +<p>"Then he may have been poking around our +quarters while we have been gone."</p> + +<p>"That's very likely, too."</p> + +<p>Believing the way to be clear now, the boys +hastened on toward the shaft. Just as they reached +the foot of the ladder they heard a sound which sent +the blood throbbing to their cheeks.</p> + +<p>"He's making fun of us!" exclaimed George.</p> + +<p>"It looks like it," admitted Will.</p> + +<p>The sound they heard was the low, complaining +snarl of the Wolf.</p> + +<p>"The nerve of him!" exclaimed George.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps he'll answer now!" Will suggested.</p> + +<p>Then followed the "slap, slap, slap!" of the Beaver +Patrol.</p> + +<p>No answer came from the darkness beyond the +shaft.</p> + +<p>"He's got his nerve with him!" declared Will. +"When I get hold of him, I'll teach him to answer +Boy Scout challenges!"</p> + +<p>When the boys got back to their quarters they +found Tommy and Sandy sitting in the darkness with +their automatics and their searchlights in their +hands. One of them turned on a finger of light as +the boys entered but immediately shut it off again.</p> + +<p>"What's coming off here?" demanded Will.</p> + +<p>"Do you know what those fellows did?" asked +Tommy. "They came here while we were asleep +and stole about half our provisions!"</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_XIII" id="Chapter_XIII"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> XIII</h2> + +<h3>ONE MORE HUNGRY BOY</h3> + + +<p>"We may as well turn on the lights!" Will said. +"If any one comes in here to steal Tommy's necktie," +he added with a wink at his chum, "we want to +see what he looks like."</p> + +<p>"Why didn't you stay here and watch, then?" +demanded Tommy. "Why did you go off and leave +the camp all alone? I heard people moving around, +and I thought it was you."</p> + +<p>Will and George sat down on the edge of their cots +and laughed.</p> + +<p>"Yes, you thought it was me!" Will said directly. +"You never heard a thing! You'd better look and +see if the midnight visitors didn't steal your pajamas. +Or they might have taken your pillow."</p> + +<p>Tommy threw a shoe at his tormentor and turned +on the electric light.</p> + +<p>"Now that I'm awake," he said with a sly grin, "I +think that I'll get myself something to eat. Seems +to me I'm always hungry."</p> + +<p>While the boy rattled among canned goods and +candled eggs to see if they were fit for a four-minute +boil, Sandy turned to George.</p> + +<p>"What did you find in the mine?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"We found that bum detective nosing around. +We've got his number now, all right," the boy went +on, "and there's something in the mine that he wants +to find and he doesn't know where to look for it. +He isn't looking for Jimmie and Dick any more +than we're looking for a pot of gold at the end of a +rainbow. I don't believe he was ever sent here to +make a search for the missing boys!"</p> + +<p>"What was he doing when you saw him?" asked +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Poking around in worked-out chambers with a +pick!"</p> + +<p>"Did he see you?"</p> + +<p>"You bet he didn't! Do you think we're going to +walk six miles in from the country in order to dodge +the detective, and then let him run across us in the +mine?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, but what's he looking for?" insisted Sandy.</p> + +<p>"That, me son," George replied with a wink, "is +locked in the bosom of the future! We may be able +to find out what he's doing here when we find out who +struck Billy Patterson."</p> + +<p>"Don't get gay now!" grinned Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Well, if you insist upon it," George continued +with a smile, "Ventner was digging in refuse heaps +for something which he didn't find!"</p> + +<p>"Did you meet the boys who stole our provisions?" +was the next question. "I wish you'd got hold of +them!"</p> + +<p>"We are certain that one of them passed us while +we were returning," George answered.</p> + +<p>"The nerve of him!" shouted Sandy.</p> + +<p>"The idea of his coming here and swiping our provisions!" +Tommy cut in. "If I ever get hold of that +gink, I'll beat his head off!"</p> + +<p>"You going back after than bum detective tonight?" +asked George.</p> + +<p>"Not me!" answered Sandy. "Me for ham and +eggs!"</p> + +<p>"What's the matter with passing the ham and eggs +around?"</p> + +<p>Every one of the four boys sprang forward as the +words came from somewhere just outside the door.</p> + +<p>"That's one of those thieving kids!" declared +Tommy.</p> + +<p>"You've had your share!" shouted Sandy.</p> + +<p>"It has now been nine days since I've tasted food!" +came the answer from the other side of the door, and +the boys thought they caught a chuckle between the +words.</p> + +<p>"All right!" replied Tommy. "You go and sit in +the deserted mine nine days more, and then we'll +consider whether you have any right to be hungry. +Go on away tonight, anyhow!"</p> + +<p>"Not so you could notice it," came the insistent +tones from beyond the door. "I'm going to stay +right here until I get something to eat!"</p> + +<p>"Eat the stuff you stole!" advised Sandy.</p> + +<p>"You're in wrong!" came from the other side of the +door. "I haven't had a thing to eat in forty or +fifty days. Come on, now," he added, "be good +fellows and open up. I'm so hungry I could eat a +brass cylinder."</p> + +<p>"Aw, let him in!" advised Tommy. "He'll stand +there chinning all night if we don't! We've got +enough to eat for the present anyway."</p> + +<p>Will unfastened the door and a tall, slender young +fellow of perhaps seventeen stepped inside the room +and stood blinking a moment under the strong +electric light. His face was streaked with coal dust +and his clothing was ragged and dirty. Still, the +boy looked like anything but a tramp. Tommy +eyed him suspiciously for a moment.</p> + +<p>"Where'd you come from?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Off the rods!" was the reply.</p> + +<p>"And I suppose," Sandy broke in, "that you were +just taking a stroll by starlight and just happened +to walk into this mine."</p> + +<p>"Sure!" answered the other with a provoking grin.</p> + +<p>"Well, if anybody should ask you," Tommy continued, +"you're the boy that had a mixup with the +tramp tonight, and ran away while we were trying +to invite you to supper. What do you know about +that?"</p> + +<p>"Invite me to supper now and see if I'll run +away!"</p> + +<p>"If you boys will cut out this foolish conversation +for a minute," Will suggested, "I'll try to find out +what this boy wants. Do you mean to say," he +added turning to Tommy, "that you bumped into +this kid while returning to the mine from the tracks?"</p> + +<p>"Didn't I tell you about that?" asked Tommy. +"I thought I did. We found him in a mixup with a +tramp, and that's all there is to it!"</p> + +<p>"And I told you at the time," the stranger interrupted, +"that the tramp tried to rob me! That was +all right, too. He did try to rob me, but I didn't +have a blessed cent in my possession, so he didn't get +anything! The tramp who got a hold of me night +before last stripped me clean! And that, you see, is +why I haven't got any money to buy provisions +with. And also that's the reason why I'm hungry."</p> + +<p>The four boys gathered around the stranger and +began a systematic course of questions which at first +brought forth only unsatisfactory answers.</p> + +<p>"And also," the boy went on, taking up the speech +be had begun some minutes before, "that's why two +other boys are hungry just about this time. I got +rolled for my wad plenty."</p> + +<p>"That's South Clark street!" laughed Tommy.</p> + +<p>"That's Bowery!" corrected the other.</p> + +<p>"What'd you say about other boys being hungry?" +asked Sandy.</p> + +<p>"I said that's why two other boys are hungry."</p> + +<p>"They ain't hungry any more," Tommy declared +with a wink.</p> + +<p>"That listens good!" the stranger said.</p> + +<p>"Because," continued Tommy, "they came in +here about an hour ago and stole everything they +could get their hands on."</p> + +<p>"Brave boys!" laughed the other.</p> + +<p>"You wasn't hiding behind the door when they +gave out nerve, either!" declared Tommy. "Here +these boys come here and steal our grub and you seem +to think they did a noble thing! What's your name, +anyhow?"</p> + +<p>"Buck," was the reply. "Elmer Cyrus Buck, +409 Lexington Avenue, N. Y. C. Member of the +Wolf Patrol, Boy Scouts of America, and just about +ready to scrap for something to eat!"</p> + +<p>"Why didn't you say so before?" Tommy exclaimed, +setting a great slice of ham and several +freshly boiled eggs, together with bread and butter +and canned tomatoes, before the young man. +"Why didn't you say something about being a Boy +Scout before you tried to hold us up for a hand-out? +You seem to go at everything wrong end first!"</p> + +<p>"How long since you've seen Jimmie Maynard and +Dick Thompson?" asked Will. "You must have +failed to connect with them tonight!"</p> + +<p>"How do you know that?"</p> + +<p>"Because, if you had bumped into them, they +would have fed you out of the provisions they stole +from us!"</p> + +<p>"I haven't been looking for them tonight!" Elmer +replied. "I tried to follow you to the mine," he +added turning to Tommy and Sandy, "when you left +me at the car. But, somehow, I lost track of you in +the darkness, and when you finally got into the mine, +I had to wait for things to quiet down before I could +force an entrance. I don't think I could have got in +at all if some one hadn't been ahead of me with a +jimmy, or an axe, or something of that kind."</p> + +<p>"That must have been Ventner," suggested Will.</p> + +<p>"Mother of Moses!" cried Elmer. "Has that +fellow got into the mine again? Does he know +you're here?"</p> + +<p>"He knew that we were here," was the answer, +"but he thinks we've gone away! He's down in the +mine now, hunting for a pot of diamonds in the refuse +cast aside by the miners."</p> + +<p>"Well you got into the mine at last," Will suggested, +"what is the next move you are thinking of +making?"</p> + +<p>"After I finish my modest supper," Elmer answered, +with a nod at the great stack of food which +Tommy had piled up on his plate, "I'm going to give +you boys the surprise of your lives!"</p> + +<p>"You've pretty near done that now!" laughed +Will.</p> + +<p>"And I'm going to begin," Elmer resumed, "by +fishing two members of the Wolf Patrol out of the +mine and bringing them up here to apolozige for +stealing your grub!"</p> + +<p>"If you'll do that," replied Will, "we'll forgive you!"</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_XIV" id="Chapter_XIV"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> XIV</h2> + +<h3>MINE RATS READY FOR WAR</h3> + + +<p>"Wait till I destroy this hen fruit," Elmer said, +"and I'll go down and bring those two foolish +youngsters up with me. It's time we had an understanding +with you boys. You're here looking for +something, and we're here looking for something. +Perhaps we would meet with better success if we +talked over our plans."</p> + +<p>"What are you looking for?" demanded Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Keep it dark," grinned Elmer. "I'm not going +to tell you a thing until I bring Jimmie and Dick +up here so they can get next to the whole story! I +guess you boys can work together without scrapping, +can't you?"</p> + +<p>"When we find the boys," laughed Will, "our job +will come to an end!"</p> + +<p>"So that's what you came down here after, is it?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, we came here to dig two boys out of a mine."</p> + +<p>"I don't believe it!" replied Elmer.</p> + +<p>"We came here from Chicago for that very purpose," +went on Will.</p> + +<p>"Who sent you here?" asked Elmer.</p> + +<p>"Lawyer Horton."</p> + +<p>"Then Lawyer Horton didn't tell you the whole +story," laughed Elmer. "He held out on you boys, +just to see if you wouldn't get the story at the mine. +Of course he didn't know where we were at the time +he sent you down here, but he never sent you for +the express purpose of finding us!"</p> + +<p>"Then why did he send us?" asked Tommy.</p> + +<p>"You just wait till I go and bring up Jimmie and +Dick, and I'll tell you all about it! I won't be gone +more than a minute."</p> + +<p>"But hold on!" cried Sandy. "You mustn't go +chasing down into the mine now. That bum detective +is there, and we don't want him to know that +we're anywhere within a hundred miles of this +place."</p> + +<p>"He doesn't know that we're here, either," commented +Elmer. "His notion is that he drove us all +into the next state when he caused the mine to be +flooded. He thinks he has the whole mine to himself +now."</p> + +<p>"So he caused the mine to be flooded, did he?"</p> + +<p>"Sure he did," was the curt reply. "The boys +saw him digging away at the wall which protects +this dry mine from the wet one next door."</p> + +<p>"So you saw him doing it, did you?"</p> + +<p>"I didn't, because I haven't been in the mine +before for any length of time, but Jimmie and Dick +saw him."</p> + +<p>"We've been told that he made the trouble," Will +agreed, "but we weren't so very sure of it, after all. +At least, we didn't have the proof. He ought to get +twenty years for that!"</p> + +<p>"Well, if you keep asking me questions all night," +Elmer declared, "I'll never get the boys up here, and +you'll never know why you were sent here! You +can come along with me if you want to."</p> + +<p>"But how about this detective?" insisted Sandy.</p> + +<p>"We ought to be able to get the boys up here +without letting him know that we are in the mine," +answered Elmer. "We needn't travel with a fife and +drum corps ahead of us, nor even carry any lights +down with us. He's probably working in some inside +chamber."</p> + +<p>"All right," Will answered, "we've had our trip +through the mine tonight, so we'll let Tommy and +Sandy go with you. Are you sure the boys will come +if you ask them to?"</p> + +<p>"Sure they'll come!" was the reply.</p> + +<p>The two boys drew on their rubber boots with +which they had provided themselves before taking up +their quarters in the mine, and which they had been +too excited to use on a previous occasion, and Will +loaned a pair to Elmer, then they started down the +ladders.</p> + +<p>"It would be something of a joke if we should butt +into that detective now, wouldn't it?" Sandy +laughed, as they passed down from the second level.</p> + +<p>"I shouldn't consider it much of a joke," replied +Tommy. "We took a lot of pains to make him +think we'd gone out of town!"</p> + +<p>As the boys walked softly down the center gangway +they heard a fall of rock which seemed to come +from the passage next north. This passageway was +connected by the main one with a cross-heading +situated perhaps three hundred feet from the shaft.</p> + +<p>"I don't know much about mines," whispered +Elmer as the boys stopped and listened to the clatter +of the rocks as they settled down on the floor of the +cavern, "but that sounds to me a whole lot like a fall +from the roof. I hope the boys are not injured."</p> + +<p>The boys walked faster until they came to the +cross-passage and then turned to the right. Just +as they left the main gangway, they heard the sound +of running feet and directly the distant creaking of +the ladder rungs.</p> + +<p>"Some one's making a hot-foot for the surface!" +exclaimed Tommy.</p> + +<p>"That's Ventner!" declared Sandy.</p> + +<p>"How do you know that?"</p> + +<p>"Because he wears heavy boots. We have rubbers +on, and Jimmie and Dick, who are down in the +mine, are also wearing rubber boots!"</p> + +<p>"The farther he gets away from the mine, the +better it will suit me," Elmer broke in. "I wish +he'd go away and stay for a hundred years!"</p> + +<p>"The chances are that he dug away one of the +pillars and caused that drop from the roof," suggested +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"I guess that's all right, too," Elmer argued. +"If he's been digging around here the way the boys +say he has, he's certainly taking chances on cutting +down more than one column. He ought to be fired +out of the mine!"</p> + +<p>The boys now came to a chamber across the +entrance to which a great mass of shale had been +thrown when the fall from the roof took place.</p> + +<p>At first they listened, fearful that they would hear +the voices of the lads they were in search of beyond +the wall, possibly crushed under the weight of the +mass of stone. Then they passed along for a short +distance and peered into the chamber over the heap +of refuse.</p> + +<p>What they saw brought excited exclamations to +their lips.</p> + +<p>Jimmie and Dick stood in the interior of the +chamber, hedged in by fallen debris. They were +swinging their searchlights frantically from side to +side, and while the boys looked, they began, the +utterance of such yells as had never before been +heard in that gloomy place.</p> + +<p>"What's the trouble?" asked Elmer, showing his +light at the narrow opening between the roof of the +chamber and the pile of refuse.</p> + +<p>"Oh, you're there, are you?" asked one of the boys. +"We thought perhaps you'd gone back to New York +and left us to starve to death."</p> + +<p>"Well, you didn't starve, did you?" asked Elmer.</p> + +<p>"Wow, wow, wow!" yelled Jimmie.</p> + +<p>"Now, what is it?" asked Elmer.</p> + +<p>"Rats!" yelled the boy. "Millions of rats! +They're creeping out by the regiment from behind +the cribbing where we were hidden!"</p> + +<p>"That idiot of a detective," the other boy went on, +"undermined a pillar and let about half an acre of +roof down into this chamber. When the roof fell, +it broke the cribbing and the rats began pouring +out."</p> + +<p>"They won't hurt you!" declared Tommy. "Only +you mustn't go to picking a quarrel with them. +They're fighters when they get their tempers up. +Just let them alone and they'll let you alone!"</p> + +<p>"Who's that talking?" demanded Jimmie.</p> + +<p>"That's the relief expedition!" laughed Elmer.</p> + +<p>"You ought to be fired out of the Wolf Patrol for +not answering Boy Scout signals!" Tommy broke +in. "We called to you more than a dozen times, and +you never answered once!"</p> + +<p>"Well, we had to wait until Elmer reported what +kind of fellows you were, didn't we?" asked Dick. +"We couldn't go and make friends with you without +knowing what you were here for, so we kept out of +your way until Elmer could find a way to learn more +about you."</p> + +<p>"And instead of finding a way," Jimmie took up +the argument, "he goes off and gets lost in a thicket +about six feet square and never shows up with any +grub for twenty-four hours! So we had to go and +steal grub of the boys!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, and we're going to have you pinched when +you get out!" laughed Tommy. "You'll get ninety +days for that."</p> + +<p>"Where'd that bum detective go?" asked Jimmie. +"When the roof fell, we heard him go clattering +down the gangway running as though he had only +about thirty seconds in which to get to New York."</p> + +<p>"He's a long distance from the mine by this +time," Elmer suggested.</p> + +<p>"Well," Jimmie said, "I don't like the company +of these rats, so if you'll kindly dig into the refuse on +your side, we'll work from this side and we'll soon +be out. These rats look hostile."</p> + +<p>"You let 'em alone!" advised Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I'll let 'em alone—not!" shouted Jimmie. +"You wait until I get an armful of rocks and I'll +beat some of their heads off!"</p> + +<p>"For the love of Mike, don't do anything of the +kind!" yelled Tommy. "They'll climb onto you +nine feet thick if you injure one of them!"</p> + +<p>But it was too late! Jimmie acquired an armful +of large sized pieces of slate and began tossing them +into the huddle of rats in the corner.</p> + +<p>For an instant the rats squealed viciously as they +Were struck by the sharp edges of the slate, then +they seemed to confer together for a moment or +two, then they spread out like a fan and began moving +toward the two boys.</p> + +<p>"Now you've done it!" cried Tommy. "If you +don't get out of there in about a second, the rats'll +eat your legs off!"</p> + +<p>Without waiting for the boys to assume the offensive, +the rats began screaming and springing at +their feet.</p> + +<p>The three boys on the outside of the barrier, +understanding the peril their friends were in, crawled +up to the top of the wall of refuse which shut the +boys into the chamber and turned their lights inside.</p> + +<p>It seemed to them then that the rats were two or +three deep on the floor. There appeared to be +hundreds—thousands of them. They circled around +the boys, becoming bolder every moment. They +nipped at the rubber boots and left the marks of their +teeth on the tough uppers.</p> + +<p>"Now, boys," Tommy yelled, as they drew their +automatics and leveled them over the wall, "shoot to +kill! This is no Sunday School picnic! And while +we're shooting, boys, you back up to this wall, and +see if you can't work your way to the top. If you +can get up here, we can manage to displace enough +slate to let you through."</p> + +<p>The boys fired volley after volley, but the rats +came on viciously.</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_XV" id="Chapter_XV"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> XV</h2> + +<h3>A STICK OF DYNAMITE</h3> + + +<p>By this time Jimmie and Dick had their automatics +out and were firing into the horde of rats. +They killed the rodents by the score, yet for every +one slaughtered a dozen seemed to appear.</p> + +<p>Presently the chamber became so full of powder +smoke, the air so stifling, that the lads were obliged +to cease firing.</p> + +<p>"Work your way up this wall," Tommy cried out +to the lads as he heard them panting below. "Work +your way up so we can catch hold of you, and you'll +soon be out of that mess!"</p> + +<p>"There's a dozen rats hanging to my boots!" +cried Dick.</p> + +<p>"And mine, too!" declared Jimmie.</p> + +<p>The three boys on the outside continued to hurl +refuse from the top of the wall into the chamber. +This in a measure kept the rats back, and before +many minutes Jimmie and Dick were drawn to the +top of the barrier.</p> + +<p>Their rubber boots were cut in scores of places by +the sharp teeth of the rats, and even their clothing +as high up as their shoulders showed ragged tears. +A dozen or more rats hung to the boys' boots until +the top was reached, then they dropped back screaming +with baffled rage.</p> + +<p>"Talk about your wild Indians!" exclaimed +Tommy. "I never saw anything as vicious as that +was! I told you boys not to open up an argument +with those fellows! Mine rats are noted for their +courage when attacked."</p> + +<p>"How many bites did you get?" asked Elmer +anxiously.</p> + +<p>"I got half a dozen nips!" answered Jimmie.</p> + +<p>"And so did I," Dick cut in.</p> + +<p>"Well, you boys ought to get back to the room +right away," Tommy suggested, "and have peroxide +applied to the wounds. I've known of people dying +of blood poison occasioned by rat bites."</p> + +<p>"Have you got it in camp with you?" asked Elmer.</p> + +<p>"We're the original field hospital!" laughed +Tommy. "We never leave Chicago without taking +with us everything needed in the first aid to the +wounded line. We'd be nice Boy Scouts to go poking +about the country with nothing with which to +heal our wounds!"</p> + +<p>"Boys," Elmer now said, with a mischievous grin +on his face, "I want to introduce you to Jimmie +Maynard and Dick Thompson. I've heard that +your names are Sandy and Tommy, but that's all I +know about it!"</p> + +<p>"Green and Gregory!" laughed Tommy. "My +name's Gregory. Sandy's name isn't Sandy at all, +but Charley. We call him Sandy because he looks +like he'd been rolled in sand."</p> + +<p>"Well, we may as well be getting back to headquarters!" +declared Sandy after these original introductions +had been made. "But hold on," he continued +turning back to Jimmie and Dick, with a look +on his face intended to be severe, "aren't you going +to bring our provisions back?"</p> + +<p>"The provisions," laughed Jimmie, "were hidden +in the chamber where the rats were, and you're welcome +to all you can get your hands on now!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, well," Sandy groaned, "I suppose we'll have +to buy more."</p> + +<p>"One difficulty about passing in and out of the +mine so frequently," Tommy stated, "is that this +man Ventner is likely to catch us at it. There's no +knowing what he'll do next if he finds that we're +searching the place. According to Elmer, you +know," he continued, "we didn't finish our job when +we landed on you boys. He says the real game is +now about to begin".</p> + +<p>"He's right there!" declared Jimmie.</p> + +<p>"Strange thing Mr. Horton didn't tell us all about +it!" complained Tommy. "Where was the use of his +sending us down here and making monkeys of us? +He ought to be ashamed of himself!"</p> + +<p>"He wanted to see whether you could find out what +you were here for!" laughed Elmer. "Perhaps he +understood that after you caught us, we'd tell you +all about it. He's a pretty foxy guy, that man +Horton, from all I hear about him! I'm going to +Chicago some day to meet him!"</p> + +<p>"Well, what is it we've got to look for now?" +demanded Sandy.</p> + +<p>"You just wait till we get to headquarters!" replied +Jimmie.</p> + +<p>"We ought to do that just as quickly as possible," +Tommy ventured, "because there's no knowing when +that bum detective may return. I'd give a whole +lot of money right now to know what he is looking +for!"</p> + +<p>The three strangers regarded each other laughingly, +evidently well pleased at the puzzled look +showing on the faces of their friends.</p> + +<p>"Wait till we get to headquarters and get a square +meal under our belts," Jimmie promised, "and we'll +tell you what this bum detective is looking for. It +won't take long to do it, either."</p> + +<p>"You know, then, do you?" asked Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Of course, we know!"</p> + +<p>"Then why don't you tell?"</p> + +<p>"Couldn't think of telling on an empty stomach!" +laughed Jimmie provokingly.</p> + +<p>As the boys walked along the passage, only a short +distance from the old tool house, they heard a +rattling and bumping on the shaft ladders and instantly +extinguished their lights.</p> + +<p>Presently they heard footsteps on the hard floor +of the gangway, and then a light such as those being +used by the boys flashed out.</p> + +<p>"Now we're in for it!" exclaimed Tommy.</p> + +<p>"For the love of Mike, don't let him see us!" +whispered Jimmie.</p> + +<p>"It'll spoil everything if he does," Dick submitted.</p> + +<p>The boys crowded close against the wall of the +gangway and waited impatiently for Ventner to pass +along.</p> + +<p>He was muttering to himself as he moved down the +gangway, and his round, protruding belly and his +little shapeless shoulders reminded the watching +lads of the gnomes they had read about, living in +underground cells and preying at night upon the +fairies.</p> + +<p>Only for a trifling accident the boys would certainly +have been discovered. Just as the detective +came to a position ten or fifteen feet from where they +were standing, when he was in a position to see their +faces by the rays cast on ahead by the flashlight, +he partly turned his ankle in a stumble on the rails, +and for a moment the rays of the light were directed +downward. He hobbled along, raving and cursing, +for a few steps and then walked briskly on again.</p> + +<p>But the ever-watchful eye of the searchlight no +longer struck upon the wall where the boys stood, and +they realized that for the present they were safe from +discovery. Ventner moved on down the gangway +and soon disappeared in a cross cutting which ran +to the right.</p> + +<p>"That's lucky!" exclaimed Jimmie.</p> + +<p>"Why didn't we geezle him?" demanded Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Because we want his help!" replied Dick.</p> + +<p>"His help?" laughed Sandy. "Yes, you'll get his +help, all right! That fellow would get up in the +middle of the night to do you a dirty trick, and don't +you ever forget it!"</p> + +<p>"That's the way he's going to help us!" laughed +Elmer. "He'll get up in the middle of some dark +night to do us a dirty trick, and before he knows +what he's about, he'll be doing us a great kindness!"</p> + +<p>"Suppose I slip back there and see what he's +doing?" asked Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Can you find your way back to headquarters +alone?" asked Sandy.</p> + +<p>"If I can't," asserted Tommy, "I won't be sending +any wireless messages to you! If you think I'm +likely to get lost, Dick can go back with me. He +ought to know every corner in the old mine."</p> + +<p>"Sure he does!" laughed Jimmie. "We've been +travelling this mine for a good many nights now, and +we know it like a book."</p> + +<p>So Tommy and Dick started back down the +passage, the intention being to hasten to the spot +where Ventner had disappeared from the gangway, +and then return to their companions immediately.</p> + +<p>"We can't stay very long, you know," Tommy +explained, "because you've got to have that peroxide +dope put on your bites. It doesn't pay to fool with +wounds of that description!"</p> + +<p>"We'll be back to the old tool room as soon as +they are!" answered Dick. "It will take only a +minute to run down there and back!"</p> + +<p>When the boys reached the cross-cutting into +which Ventner had disappeared, they saw his light +some distance away. It seemed to be in one of the +chambers connected with the cross-cutting.</p> + +<p>As they looked, the detective stepped forward +into the circle of illumination and began working +with a pick.</p> + +<p>"Is he always doing that when you see him?" +asked Tommy.</p> + +<p>"You bet he is!" answered Dick.</p> + +<p>"What's he doing it for?"</p> + +<p>"You'll have to ask Elmer that."</p> + +<p>"But you know, don't you?"</p> + +<p>"Of course I know, but I'm not going to tell, because +we all agreed that the story should never be +told by any member of our party until Elmer got +ready to tell it. So you see you've got to wait!"</p> + +<p>"If I had my way about it," gritted Tommy, +"I'd go back there and geezle that bum detective +and wall him up in a chamber until he got hungry +enough to tell the story himself. Then we wouldn't +have to go sneaking around the mine in order to keep +out of his way!"</p> + +<p>"That would be a foolish move," insisted Dick, +"because every stroke of the pick Ventner takes +helps us along in the game we're playing."</p> + +<p>"You're the original little mystery boy, ain't +you?" said Tommy rather crossly. "All right, +I'll get even."</p> + +<p>The detective now moved farther along the cross-cutting +and attacked a column of mingled rock and +coal which helped to support the roof.</p> + +<p>"The blithering idiot is going to try that trick +again!" exclaimed Dick. "He'll have the whole +mine down on our heads if he doesn't stop that business. +He's always cutting down pillars."</p> + +<p>"Just say the word," declared Tommy, "and +I'll go stop him!"</p> + +<p>"Let him go his own gait," replied Dick. "We'll +manage to keep out of the way of the falls, and he +can run his own chances."</p> + +<p>Presently they saw the detective take something +which resembled a stick of dynamite from a pocket +and begin the work of setting it into the pillar. +The boys moved hastily back.</p> + +<p>"Now what do you think of that for a fool?" +exclaimed Dick. "He'll have the whole mine down +on our heads some day, just as sure as he's a foot +high! I hope he'll be broken in two when the fall +comes."</p> + +<p>The boys stood some distance away watching the +detective as he awkwardly manipulated the stick +of dynamite.</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_XVI" id="Chapter_XVI"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter XVI</span></h2> + +<h3>CAUSED BY A FALL</h3> + + +<p>In the meantime Sandy, Elmer and Jimmie, +reaching the old tool house, found Will and George +very wide awake and doing the most extraordinary +stunts of cooking.</p> + +<p>"You said that your friends would be hungry," +laughed Will, "and so we're preparing to feed them +up fine. After that, you know, you've got to go on +and tell us why we were sent down here without any +real information as to the work we were to do."</p> + +<p>"Where did you leave Tommy and Dick?" +asked George.</p> + +<p>"They went back to see what the detective was +up to."</p> + +<p>"So he's in the mine again, is he?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," replied Sandy, "and if I had my way about +it, he'd go out so quick that he'd think he'd struck +a barrel of dynamite."</p> + +<p>"If he keeps fooling with dynamite, he's likely to +do that anyhow," Elmer cut in. "The boys say +that he uses dynamite in the search of the mine he +is making. He doesn't know how to use it, either!"</p> + +<p>"Then he's got to be fired out of the mine!" +declared Will. "We can't have him around here +carrying dynamite in his clothes, and dropping it +on the ground. You might as well give a baby a +box of matches and a hammer to play with. Some +day there'll be an explosion."</p> + +<p>"Aw, leave him alone for a few days!" Jimmie +advised. "He's doing us a lot of good just now, +and we don't want to lose his help."</p> + +<p>"His help?" repeated Will.</p> + +<p>"He's bully help!" shouted George, with fine +sarcasm.</p> + +<p>"I guess I'll have to tell you about the mystery +of the mine," Elmer laughed. "Tommy ought to +be here to get the story with the rest, but you can +tell him about it later on."</p> + +<p>"He ought to be here any minute now," Jimmie +asserted.</p> + +<p>"Oh, he'll be here all right!" George argued. "Go +on with the story. It's been hours since you came +in here with the suggestion that there was a story, +and you haven't told it yet!"</p> + +<p>"Yes," Will interrupted, "get busy and tell us +what Mr. Horton neglected to say when he sent us +down here; and while you are about it," the boy +went on, "you may as well tell us whether you really +became lost in the mine, or whether you were sent +here to do the very things you did do."</p> + +<p>"Also," George broke in, "you may as well tell +us what the detective is doing here, and how he is +helping you in trying to blow up the mine."</p> + +<p>"The boys were never lost in the mine a minute!" +replied Elmer, with a grin, "and Mr. Horton knew +it. Mr. Horton received his instructions from +Attorney Burlingame of New York, and I am positive +that Burlingame gave his brother lawyer the whole +story."</p> + +<p>"Foxy game, eh?" laughed Will.</p> + +<p>"I guess they wanted you to find out if we boys +were of any account, and whether we were playing +fair!" laughed Jimmie.</p> + +<p>"Well, anyway, they expected you to find us and +learn the story I'm now going to tell," Elmer continued.</p> + +<p>"Je—rusalem!" exclaimed Will. "Why don't +you get at it. That story has been jumping from +tongue to tongue clothed in mystery for hours and +we haven't been favored with it yet!"</p> + +<p>"The story opens," Elmer began, "on a cold and +stormy night in October in the year 1913. As the +wind blew great gusts of rain down upon such pedestrians +as happened to be out of doors——"</p> + +<p>"Aw, cut it out!" exclaimed Will. "Why don't +you go on and tell the story? We don't want any +more of that Henry James business! You know he +always has a solitary horseman proceeding slowly +on foot."</p> + +<p>"Well, it was a dark night, and a stormy one!" +declared Elmer. "If it had been clear and bright, +Stephen Carson, the Wall street banker, wouldn't +have received a dent in his cupola. In stepping +down from his automobile his foot slipped on the +wet pavement, arid he fell, striking on the back of +his head."</p> + +<p>"What's that got to do with this mine mystery?" +demanded George.</p> + +<p>"It has a great deal to do with this mine mystery," +Elmer answered. "Stephen Carson arose from the +ground, rubbed the back of his head with his gloved +hand, and continued on his way to a meeting of a +board of directors. He appeared to be perfectly +sane and responsible for his acts at the meeting of +the board, and when he left in his machine there +were no indications that he had suffered more than +a slight bruise from his fall. He was not seen at +home again for two weeks."</p> + +<p>"Now you begin to get interesting!" declared +Will.</p> + +<p>"Where did he go?" asked Sandy.</p> + +<p>"That is what his friends don't know," replied +Elmer.</p> + +<p>"But he must have been seen somewhere!" insisted +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"He was!" answered Elmer. "He was seen in the +vicinity of this mine!"</p> + +<p>"Wow, wow, wow!" exclaimed Sandy.</p> + +<p>"What was he doing here?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"Wandering about the premises."</p> + +<p>"Now I can tell you the rest," Will said with a +chuckle.</p> + +<p>"Go on, then," advised Elmer.</p> + +<p>"From the meeting of the board of directors that +night," Will went on, whimsically, "this man +Stephen Carson went directly to a safety deposit +vault where three or four hundred thousand dollars' +in the way of cash and jewelry, were hidden. He +took the whole bundle and disappeared. Is that +anywhere near right, Elmer?"</p> + +<p>"Go on!" Elmer replied.</p> + +<p>"Then in two weeks time he comes back and says +that he don't know where he put the jewelry, but +that he thinks he hid it in this mine. And, as they +can't find any place where he hocked the jewelry, +or put it up to carry out some gigantic Wall street +plan, they are forced to believe that he really did +mislay the jewelry while temporarily out of his head. +Is that anywhere near right?"</p> + +<p>"If you'll amend your report so as to show that +he went to the Night and Day bank and drew out +something over two hundred thousand dollars which +he had on deposit there, and disappeared with the +entire sum, you'll come nearer to the truth."</p> + +<p>Will gave a long whistle of amazement.</p> + +<p>"Two hundred thousand dollars in real money!" +exclaimed George.</p> + +<p>"Yes, he took two hundred thousand dollars in +real money away with him that night," Elmer went +on, "and when he returned to his home again, he was +penniless and in rags."</p> + +<p>"Was he in his right mind?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"He seemed to be."</p> + +<p>"Has he now recovered from the injury he received +that night?"</p> + +<p>"So the doctors say."</p> + +<p>"Then why doesn't he tell what he did with the +money?"</p> + +<p>"That part of his life is blank. He was seen in +the vicinity of this mine, yet denies it. He was seen +loitering in the woods not far away, but insists that +he never visited this mine except to attend meetings +of the board of directors."</p> + +<p>"Now I've got you!" laughed Will. "His friends +think he hid the money in this mine and we've been +sent here to find it!"</p> + +<p>"That's the idea," agreed Elmer.</p> + +<p>"And this bum detective is here for the same +purpose!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, though where he received his information +is more than I know. Upon his return to his home, +Mr. Carson immediately made good the two hundred +thousand dollars taken from the Night and +Day bank and employed detectives to look up the +missing coin.</p> + +<p>"Is Ventner one of them?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"I don't think so," replied Elmer. "We were +sent here to look through the mine, with the understanding +that you were to come on from Chicago +in a few days. Mr. Horton recommended you to +Mr. Burlingame and so you were employed."</p> + +<p>"Then this detective has no right here at all?"</p> + +<p>"None whatever, so far as I can make out."</p> + +<p>"Then why not fire him?"</p> + +<p>"Because he may accidently run across the money +some day."</p> + +<p>"If he does, he'll get away with it!" declared +George.</p> + +<p>"No, he won't," answered Elmer, "He'll be +watched every minute from now on. You may be +sure of that!"</p> + +<p>"But you didn't seem to know what he was doing +tonight," laughed Will.</p> + +<p>"But I knew enough to come to the right place +for the information I desired," replied Elmer.</p> + +<p>"Strange thing Tommy and Dick don't come!" +Sandy exclaimed, stepping to the door of the old +tool house and listening intently. "They should +have been here a long time ago!"</p> + +<p>"Perhaps they've butted into Ventner," suggested +Jimmie.</p> + +<p>"They wouldn't do that," Elmer replied. "Every +blow he strikes with his pick saves us the trouble +of making one."</p> + +<p>"You don't think he had any directions from anyone, +do you?" asked Will. "You don't, think he +knows where to look for the money any more than +you do?"</p> + +<p>"No, I think he just heard of the loss of the money +and came down here on his own account."</p> + +<p>"Well, if he's using dynamite in the mine," Will +continued, "he ought to be turned out of it. If +Mr. Carson really hid two hundred thousand dollars +in currency in here, it's in some little pocket easy +to find if we get into the right chamber. The use +of dynamite might bury it twenty feet deep under +a load of shale that would never be removed!"</p> + +<p>"That's a fact!" cried Elmer.</p> + +<p>The boys now stepped to the door and listened +again, attracted by the sound of running feet.</p> + +<p>"There's something doing!" exclaimed Sandy. +"When Tommy comes home on a run, there's always +something going on."</p> + +<p>Directly the boys came panting up, stopping in +the doorway to look behind them. They were both +well winded.</p> + +<p>"That bum detective back there," Tommy exclaimed, +as soon as he could catch his breath, "is +putting in dynamite enough to blow up the whole +mine. He's attaching a long fuse, so he can get +out before the explosion comes. We cried to get +down far enough to choke off the fuse, but couldn't +do it. In just about another minute, you'll hear +something like a Fourth of July celebration!"</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_XVII" id="Chapter_XVII"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter XVII</span></h2> + +<h3>THE SIGNS IN STONES</h3> + + +<p>"We thought he'd send the shot off before we +got up the ladders!" exclaimed Dick. "We're expecting +to hear the roar of it every minute now!"</p> + +<p>"Perhaps something went wrong," suggested +Will.</p> + +<p>"What part of the mine is he in?" asked Jimmie.</p> + +<p>Tommy explained the location of the cross-cutting +and Jimmmie gave a whistle of dismay. In +a moment he asked:</p> + +<p>"Was he cutting into one of the pillars?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," was the answer; "he was getting ready +to blow it down with dynamite. It's a wonder we +don't hear the explosion!"</p> + +<p>"If the spot where he's working is the place I +think it is," Jimmie continued, "the gink stands +a pretty good chance of finding something. We've +been searching in that chamber, and just before you +boys showed up tonight we thought we were on the +right track. Whether the money is there or not, +it is a sure thing that the walls of the chamber have +been tampered with. We think, though, that the +money is there!"</p> + +<p>"Then we mustn't let Ventner get it!" exclaimed +Will.</p> + +<p>"It won't do him any good to get it after that +stick of dynamite explodes!" exclaimed Tommy. +"It'll blow him to Kingdom Come."</p> + +<p>"Well, why don't we go down and see about it?" +asked Will.</p> + +<p>"Not for me!" exclaimed Tommy.</p> + +<p>"He may blow his own head off if he wants to," +Dick cut in, "but he can't blow off mine, not with +my consent. I've got only one head!"</p> + +<p>"I don't believe there's going to be any explosion +at all!" exclaimed Elmer. "He wouldn't be apt +to lay a fuse that would burn fifteen or twenty +minutes, and you've certainly been that length of +time coming up here, to say nothing of the time we've +been talking!"</p> + +<p>"All right!" Tommy exclaimed. "Perhaps he +was loading up that pillar with dynamite just for +the fun of it!"</p> + +<p>"It would be a nice thing to have him blow that +money out of the pillar and get away with it, +wouldn't it?" scoffed Will.</p> + +<p>"Come on, then," shouted Tommy, "I can take +you to the firing line in about a minute. If you want +to see an earthquake in a coal mine, just come along +with me! You'll see it, all right!"</p> + +<p>The boys left the old tool house without spending +any more time in conversation, and hastened down +the ladders to the lower level. On the way down the +last gangway they heard some one moving about +in the darkness, and then came a cry of warning.</p> + +<p>"Stand clear! Stand clear!"</p> + +<p>"That's Ventner's voice!" exclaimed Will.</p> + +<p>"There's a blast going off in a minute!" the voice +came again.</p> + +<p>"Now we've gone and done it!" exclaimed Will. +"After all the trouble we've taken to make that +fellow think we've left the country, we've let him +bump right into us. I wonder if he really has fired +the fuse."</p> + +<p>"Stand clear! Stand clear!" shouted the voice.</p> + +<p>Almost before the words had died out, the explosion +came, tearing more than one pillar out of +position and dropping a great mass of slate down on +the floor of the cross-cutting.</p> + +<p>For a moment the gases which filled the chambers +were overpowering. The only wonder was that they +were not ignited. The electric lights carried by the +boys shone dimly through the smoke of the confined +place.</p> + +<p>"There goes Ventner," whispered Will, pointing +to a figure moving swiftly through the half-light of +the place.</p> + +<p>"He's going to see what the shot brought down!" +suggested Tommy.</p> + +<p>The boys rushed forward in a little group. When +they gathered at the scene of the explosion, the +detective was not there.</p> + +<p>"If he got hold of the cash, he knew what to do +with it all right!" exclaimed Tommy. "He got +away with it before we got a chance to see what he +had. Now we've got to catch him!"</p> + +<p>"May as well look for a needle in a load of hay!" +grumbled Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Look here," Jimmie exclaimed. "There's a way +to keep him shut up in the mine if we do the right +thing. This cross-cutting runs out to a gangway +on the north, and that, in turn, leads, of course, to +the shaft. Now, one of you boys duck out to the +shaft and see that he doesn't get up. You'll have +to go some on the way there, because a man with +two hundred thousand dollars in his pocket will +put up some running match!"</p> + +<p>"I'm off!" shouted Tommy. "I know I can get +to the shaft before he can! He's too fat-bellied to +run, anyway!"</p> + +<p>Tommy started away at a swift pace, and the +other boys closed in on the gangway, Will alone +stopping at the scene of the explosion.</p> + +<p>"This gangway," Dick explaimed, "runs back +into the mine for some distance, but there are no +cross passages. I guess the coal wasn't very good +here. At least, they never spread out the drive."</p> + +<p>"Then we've got him bottled up unless he got +out of the shaft!" declared Sandy. "We'll soon +know whether he got out or not!"</p> + +<p>"I don't believe he would try to get out," suggested +Elmer. "The chances are that he'd make for +the back of the mine, thinking to hide away with +the plunder, provided he had any plunder to hide +away with."</p> + +<p>"I'm afraid he found the hidden money," Will +said, taking a scorched ten-dollar bill from a pocket. +"I found this back there, where the pillar fell. I +guess he found the cash all right!"</p> + +<p>"And that's a nice thing, too!" exclaimed Sandy. +"You boys kept saying that Ventner was helping +you find the coin. You were right about that, for +he did find the coin. And now the trick is to get +it away from him!"</p> + +<p>"I'd like to know whether Ventner got up the +shaft or not," suggested George, "and I believe I'll +take a run up there and see.</p> + +<p>"That's a good idea!" advised Will. "If he +didn't get up the shaft he's surely imprisoned in the +gangway. He may be between this cross-cutting +and the shaft, or he may have gone further in!"</p> + +<p>"It'll take a long time to find out about that," +suggested Jimmie.</p> + +<p>Directly Tommy and George were heard returning +from the shaft. They came through the gangway +flashing their lights in every direction.</p> + +<p>"He never went up the shaft!" Tommy exclaimed +as they came near. "We've got him canned in the +mine all right. If he's got the money, we'll take +it away from him! He wouldn't know what to do +with it, anyway!"</p> + +<p>"First," suggested Will, "we'd better make sure +that the fellow got the money. The bank note +I found may have never been in the possession of +Mr. Carson. And even if it was, it may be the only +one to be blown out of its hiding place by the explosion. +It strikes me that we'd better give the +place a thorough search before we waste much time +looking for Ventner. If, as Tommy says, he never +left the mine by way of the shaft, we've got him +blocked in, all right!"</p> + +<p>The boys now began a careful examination of the +cross-cutting where the explosion had taken place. +As has been stated, more than one pillar had been +blown out. There was a great heap of debris on +the floor, and this the boys attacked with a vim.</p> + +<p>Tommy and George were now standing guard at +the mouth of the cross-cutting so that no one could +pass down the gangway toward the shaft.</p> + +<p>"Suppose that fellow did get the money?" asked +Sandy, as the boys cleared away the heaps of slate, +"what then?"</p> + +<p>"Then we'll have to take it away from him!"</p> + +<p>"We'll catch him first."</p> + +<p>"We've got him blocked in, haven't we?" asked +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Oh, we know that he can't get out," Dick cut +in, "but we know, too, that there are a lot of shallow +benches along that gangway. We can't walk in +and pick him out in a minute. Besides," the boy +continued, "when we find him, we may find his +pockets empty."</p> + +<p>"That's just what we will do!" Elmer agreed. +"He'll hide the money in another place, and swear +that he never found it!"</p> + +<p>"I wish we'd kicked him out of the mine!" exclaimed +Sandy.</p> + +<p>The boys continued their search until daylight, +and then, leaving Tommy and George still on guard, +they went up to the old tool house for breakfast. +The lads were by no means elated over what had +taken place. They believed that Ventner had +succeeded in finding the money, and were certain +that, even if located in the mine, he would deny any +knowledge of it.</p> + +<p>"I guess we got you boys into a mess by insisting +on having the detective roaming around," admitted +Elmer, as the boys were eating a hastily prepared +breakfast. "I guess we should have listened to +you in regard to that. There is no knowing how +much trouble we have made!"</p> + +<p>"He may help us find the money after all!" +laughed Will.</p> + +<p>"Yes," cut in Sandy, "it may be easier to get it +away from him than to find the place where it was +hidden."</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, if we could lay our hands on him and +order him to give up two hundred thousand dollars, +and he would say: 'Yes, I've been waiting to find +the owner,' that would be all right, too! But the +thing isn't likely to turn out in that way! He'll +hide the money, and swear he never found it! +Then, when everything quiets down, he'll sneak +back and get it!"</p> + +<p>This from Jimmie, who seemed to take a rather +gloomy view of the situation. The boys remained +at the old tool house only a short time. Their +minds were fixed so intently on the work in hand +that they hardly knew whether they had had any +breakfast at all.</p> + +<p>As they passed down the ladders to the lower +level, they heard something which resembled a +pistol shot, and almost tumbled over each other +getting down into the gangway. Will and Elmer +were first to reach the cross-heading where the +explosion of dynamite had taken place.</p> + +<p>They called to Tommy and George, but received +no answer. They walked for some distance down +the gangway without hearing any sound indicating +the presence of their companions, or of any one else.</p> + +<p>"Now that's a funny thing!" exclaimed Will. +"I don't see why those boys should go rambling +about the mine at a time like this just for the fun +of the thing!"</p> + +<p>"They never did!" replied Elmer. "You remember +the shot we heard!"</p> + +<p>"It might not have been a shot!" suggested Will.</p> + +<p>As the boy spoke he bent over and pointed to +three stones lying on the floor of the gangway.</p> + +<p>"There!" he said. "The boys have left a record. +They not only point out the trail, but warn, us that +there is danger in following it!"</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_XVIII" id="Chapter_XVIII"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter XVIII</span></h2> + +<h3>TWO HOLD-UP MEN</h3> + + +<p>"That's Boy Scout talk all right!" exclaimed +Elmer.</p> + +<p>"Yes, the three stones, piled one on top of the +other, mean that there is danger in following the +trail. I don't understand exactly what kind of +danger can be threatening us, and so the only thing +we can do is to go on and find out," Will said with a +glance backward.</p> + +<p>The other boys now came up and a short consultation +was held. It was decided to leave Sandy and +Dick at the point where the explosion had taken +place, while Will, Elmer and Jimmie followed on +down the gangway.</p> + +<p>"Now whatever you do," warned Will as the two +boys were left behind, "don't leave this gangway +for a minute. If Ventner isn't out of the mine now, +we don't want him to get out. He may have the +money or he may not. That is one of the things no +fellow can find out at this time, but whether he has +or not, we want him to give an account of himself +before he leaves the Labyrinth. He's got several +important questions to answer."</p> + +<p>The boys promised to watch the passage faithfully, +and the others passed on down the gangway, flashing +their lights in every direction and making no pretense +of moving quietly.</p> + +<p>"Look here," Jimmie said after they had proceeded +some distance into the mine and discovered +nothing of importance, "I have in my possession a +great idea! Want to hear about it?"</p> + +<p>"Sure!" laughed Will.</p> + +<p>"We're making too much noise."</p> + +<p>"Making too much noise in order to attract the +attention of a couple of lost youngsters?" asked +Elmer.</p> + +<p>"They're not lost!" insisted Jimmie. "They've +been lured away or dragged away! We don't know +how many men were in the mine with Ventner!"</p> + +<p>"Well, produce your idea!" Elmer exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"Well, my notion is that I ought to go on ahead +of you boys, walking as quietly as possible and without +a light. If there are people waiting to snare us, +they'll naturally think we've bunched our forces +and are all coming along together. Then, you see", +he continued, "I'll be right in among them before +they suspect that we have a skirmish line out."</p> + +<p>"That's an all right notion, kid!" answered Will.</p> + +<p>"Then I'll be on my way," Jimmie replied. "And +if I need help at any time, I'll give the call of the +pack!"</p> + +<p>"But you mustn't do that unless you have to," +Will cautioned, "because, the minute the cry is +heard, everybody within eighty rods would know +what's going on. Have you matches with you?"</p> + +<p>The boy felt in the pockets of his coat and nodded.</p> + +<p>"Well, then," he said, "if you want to signal, wet +your hands and rub the phosphorus off the matches. +Turn your hands, palms in our direction, so no one +can see from the other side and wig-wag."</p> + +<p>"That will be fine!" exclaimed Jimmie. "I've +got this wig-wag system down pat. I guess this +Boy Scout training is pretty poor, ain't it, eh? The +darker it is, the better we can talk!"</p> + +<p>Jimmie darted away, while Will and Elmer remained +stationary for a short time in order to give +him an opportunity to get out of the range of their +lights. Directly they heard him whispering back +and listened.</p> + +<p>"There's another stone cairn here!" he said. +"I guess I knocked it over, for I can't tell exactly +what it is. You can learn that when you come up +with your searchlights! I think there are three +stones."</p> + +<p>"All right!" Will whispered back.</p> + +<p>When the boys came to the spot from which tha +voice had been heard they found three stones lying +side by side on the floor of the gangway. It was +plain that they had been placed one on top of the +other, and so they accepted them as another warning +of danger.</p> + +<p>"I wish we had some intimation of the kind of +trouble we are likely to get into," Elmer suggested, +as they passed along. "I don't like this idea of +boring a hole in the darkness with a little bit of a +light and anticipating an attack at any minute."</p> + +<p>"I don't like it a little bit myself," replied Will.</p> + +<p>"A person so inclined might shoot us down without +ever showing himself," declared Elmer. "In +fact, the only protection we have lies in the fact +that Jimmie is on ahead, and would not be likely +to pass any one lying in wait for us. Bright little +boy, that!"</p> + +<p>"There he is now!" exclaimed Will. "He's using +the phosphorus, all right, and I can begin to understand +what he's trying to say? There's a 'W', and +an 'A', and an 'I', and a 'T'. That means that he +wants us to stay where we are. The system works +fine, doesn't it?"</p> + +<p>The question now was as to whether the lads should +extinguish their lights. That, of itself, they understood +would be suspicious in case they should be +in sight of their enemies. It would simply proclaim +their knowledge of the danger they were in, whatever +it was.</p> + +<p>"I think we'd better keep the lights going until we +hear something more," Elmer said. "Jimmie will +talk again in a minute."</p> + +<p>The boys waited patiently for some moments, and +then the wig-wag figures came again. Will read +slowly:</p> + +<p>"There's a 'V', and an 'E', and an 'N', and a 'T', +and an 'N', and an 'E', and an 'R'," he said. +"Now the boy's starting it again. He says, +'Ventner is here.' Now wait a minute, there's more +coming!"</p> + +<p>"The next words are: 'With two others'."</p> + +<p>"It's only a question of time when that detective +will get next to the wig-wag game," Elmer declared. +"This gangway smells like a match factory already. +I wonder how far Jimmie is away from them."</p> + +<p>Directly Jimmie began talking the wig-wag +tongue again. This time he said that Tommy and +George were not in sight, and had evidently been surprised +and taken prisoners. He advised Will and +Elmer to come on softly with their lights out.</p> + +<p>The boys did as requested, but they had advanced +only a few paces in the darkness when Canfield, +accompanied by Sandy and Dick came running +up, showing both lack of breath and profound excitement.</p> + +<p>"Boys," Canfield called. "Boys!"</p> + +<p>"Will!" yelled Sandy.</p> + +<p>"I guess they're going to bust up the whole combination!" +declared Will rather sourly. "I wish +I had them by the neck!"</p> + +<p>"They may have important news," suggested +Elmer. "Anyway, we'll have to turn on our lights +and meet them. If we don't, they'll keep on yelling +all down the gangway!"</p> + +<p>Canfield and the two boys came up as soon as +Elmer showed a light, and stood for a moment +looking cautiously about.</p> + +<p>"I don't think you boys ought to go any further +into the mine!" Canfield exclaimed, breathing +heavily from the long chase down the passage. "I +have just received word that two of the most desperate +hold-up men in the country have taken +refuge here. There's no knowing how they got +over to the mine, but it is a sure thing that they did +get here, for a couple of breaker boys saw them climbing +into the breaker."</p> + +<p>"What time was this?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I don't know," replied Canfield. "The +matter was reported to me early this morning. I +couldn't find you before, or you should have had +the news sooner. It isn't safe for you to go into +the mine!"</p> + +<p>"Your information," grinned Will, "comes a +little bit late, but it's all right, just the same! +Ventner is in there, and there are two men with, him. +It's a mystery how they made their way in without +being discovered, but it seems that they did so."</p> + +<p>"What are you going to do?" asked Canfield.</p> + +<p>"We're going on into the mine."</p> + +<p>"In the face of my warning?"</p> + +<p>"It's just this way," answered Will. "We left +two of the boys on guard in this passage, not so +very long ago, and they have disappeared. We +suspect that Ventner and the two men to whom you +refer have good reason to know something of their +whereabouts."</p> + +<p>"They won't injure the boys!" pleaded Canfield.</p> + +<p>"We don't mean to give them a chance!" insisted +Elmer. "We're going to jerk those boys out so +quick it'll make their heads swim!"</p> + +<p>"But it's positively dangerous!" urged the caretaker.</p> + +<p>"If there wasn't an element of danger in the +situation, we wouldn't be here!" replied Will. "I +don't see as we need to run away from two hold-up +men, anyway," the boy went on. "Here are five +boys and one full grown man in the gangway. We +ought to give a pretty good account of ourselves, +in case some one starts anything!"</p> + +<p>"Where's the fifth boy?" asked Canfield. "It +seems to me that you're getting quite an accumulation +of boys in here!"</p> + +<p>"Two of the boys are Jimmie Maynard and Dick +Thompson!" answered Will. "You know you informed +me quite positively not long ago that the +two lads were hundreds of miles from this place by +this time."</p> + +<p>"You might barricade the hold-up men and starve +them out," suggested Canfield, "that is, if you're +sure they're in there!"</p> + +<p>"We have just had a wireless from the interior," +Elmer answered. "There are three men in there, +all right!"</p> + +<p>"Well, it won't take any longer to starve three +out than it would one!" declared Canfield.</p> + +<p>"Yes," Elmer cut in, "and about the first time +the hold-up men got good and hungry, they'd be +sending out Tommy's ears or one of George's fingers +just as a warning to us not to meddle with their +appetites."</p> + +<p>Before long Jimmie began wig-wagging again, +but before any words could be formed the waiting +boys heard a distant scuffle, a short, quick cry of +alarm, and then the phosphorus-covered palms disappeared +from sight.</p> + +<p>"They've got Jimmie!" Elmer said in a tone of +dismay.</p> + +<p>"Well, what are we going to do?" demanded +Sandy. "We've got to do something right away, +and that's no story out of the dream book!"</p> + +<p>"I don't suppose it would be of any use to rush +them," suggested Elmer.</p> + +<p>"They'd mow us down like rats!" declared +Dick.</p> + +<p>"It strikes me," Sandy said, "that we'd ought +to get back further and keep out of sight until we +can decide upon some definite plan of action."</p> + +<p>"I've got an idea wandering around in the back +of my brain," Will said. "If the situation is exactly +as I think it is, we may be able to get the best of +those hold-up men after all."</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_XIX" id="Chapter_XIX"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter XIX</span></h2> + +<h3>THE MONEY IN SIGHT</h3> + + +<p>"Not while they have possession of the boys," +Canfield declared, dolefully. "They'll murder those +boys if we shut off their supplies!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, I don't know about that!" suggested Dick. +"We've been mixed up in a great many awkward +situations, but we've always managed to save our +necks. We'll get the boys out in some way!"</p> + +<p>"Look here, Mr. Canfield," Will said, "how well +do you know this mine?"</p> + +<p>"Every inch of it!" was the reply.</p> + +<p>"Every inch of every level?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir!" replied the caretaker, rather proudly. +"I can go into any part of it without a light!"</p> + +<p>"Then look here, Dick," Will directed. "You +chase back to the old tool house and bring back a +long rope. And when you return, stop at the second +level. Some of us will meet you there."</p> + +<p>"I hope you don't expect to pull these boys up +through fifty or a hundred feet of shale?" asked +the caretaker.</p> + +<p>"I don't know whether my scheme will work or +not," Will answered, "but it's worth trying! We +shall have to leave at least two here, well armed, +and take the others with us. You'll have to act as +guide, Mr. Canfield, and we'll meet Dick when he +comes down to the second level with the rope. As +soon as we get the boys out of their trouble, we can +leave the three outlaws in full possession of the mine. +If we watch the shaft at the old tool house, they can +never get out without our knowing it!"</p> + +<p>"I don't understand what you have in mind," +faltered Canfield.</p> + +<p>Leaving Sandy and Elmer in the gangway from +which the wig-wag signals had been shown, the +others hastened up the ladder to the second level. +Then Dick ran away to bring the rope, while +Will questioned the caretaker regarding the fall +between the two levels.</p> + +<p>"You remember the old shaft, cut through years +ago, and doubtless deserted when the vein ran out, +which at one time connected the two levels, don't +you?" asked the boy of the caretaker.</p> + +<p>"There is such a place," replied the caretaker.</p> + +<p>"Can you find it?"</p> + +<p>"Of course I can."</p> + +<p>"Does the fall open into the system of chambers +in the center or to the north? You understand what +I mean! Is it possible to enter any of the benches +or chambers connecting with the north gangway +on the lower level by means of this deserted shaft?"</p> + +<p>"I am not quite certain about that," replied +Canfield, "but my idea is that the north benches +and chambers can be reached by means of that opening. +I am glad you thought of that," he went on.</p> + +<p>Dick now returned with the rope, and the three +proceeded down the second level until they came +to a confusion of passages and benches which would +certainly have bewildered any one not familiar with +the mine.</p> + +<p>"Unless I am very much mistaken," Canfield +went on, "this passage, the one straight ahead, +runs almost directly over Tunnel Six. If I am right +in this, the deserted shaft is here."</p> + +<p>"And Tunnel Six is the haunted corridor, isn't +it?" asked Dick.</p> + +<p>"That's where the lights have been seen!" replied +the caretaker.</p> + +<p>"You never believed in the ghost stories told +about Tunnel Six?" asked Will. "I should think +you'd begin to see now that the alleged ghosts were +pretty material things."</p> + +<p>"Well, I don't know about the ghosts," replied +the caretaker, "but I really was getting a little bit +nervous when you boys arrived. You know," he +continued, "that we all feel a little shivery when we +butt into anything which we can't understand."</p> + +<p>"Well, suppose you follow this passage to the end +and see if you discover anything like the deserted +shaft," suggested Dick.</p> + +<p>"You're not going to venture into the lower +level again, are you?" asked Canfield. "I don't +blame you boys for wanting to rescue your companions, +but, at the same time, I don't want to see +you throw your lives away. Those are desperate +men in Tunnel Six!"</p> + +<p>"If my idea is worth anything at all," replied +Will, "we'll get the boys out without ever letting +the hold-up men know that we are within a mile of +them. You know we had very little difficulty in +getting out of the chamber where we left the boat."</p> + +<p>"Trust you boys for inventing ways of doing +things!" exclaimed Canfield.</p> + +<p>"Of course," Will said hesitatingly after a time, +"it may be that this deserted shaft doesn't connect +with Tunnel Six, but even if it doesn't, we'll find +some way of getting to our friends from the new +position. We can only try, anyway!"</p> + +<p>"I'm pretty certain that it connects with Tunnel +Six," replied the caretaker. "But you mustn't +show your light when you approach the old shaft," +he went on, "because if it does connect with the +chamber we seek, and the chamber in turn connects +with the north passage, the robbers will see what +we're doing."</p> + +<p>"That's a valuable suggestion!" replied Will.</p> + +<p>"I'll go on ahead," Canfield continued, "and +find the old shaft. Then you can follow on with +the rope, and one of you boys can drop down and +see what can be discovered."</p> + +<p>"It's dollars to apples," chuckled Dick, as the +boys trailed along after the caretaker, "that we +find the three kids trussed up like a lot of hens ready +for the market in the chamber where you came so +near getting wet. I hope we do, at any rate!"</p> + +<p>"There's one thing we overlooked," Will said as +Canfield whispered to them that he had found the +deserted shaft, "and that is this: We should have +directed the boys in the gangway to have attracted +the attention of the outlaws by a little pistol practice +while we are communicating with our friends. They +may be all packed away in the chamber together."</p> + +<p>"Yes, we should have attended to that," replied +Dick. "Perhaps I'd better go back now and tell +them to get busy with their automatics."</p> + +<p>"We may as well investigate the situation here +first," the other answered.</p> + +<p>The boys heard the caretaker creeping about in +the darkness, and presently a piece of shale or coal +was heard rattling down the old shaft.</p> + +<p>"We'll have to get that blundering caretaker +away from there," whispered Will. "If we don't, +he'll notify the hold-up men that we're getting ready +to do something! I've heard that about three-fourths +of the people in the world object to doing +anything unless they can take a brass band along, +and I guess it's true."</p> + +<p>"Say," Canfield whispered, calling back to the +lads, "when that stone dropped down, I heard +something that sounded like a paddle slapping down +on the water. That room can't be wet yet, can it?"</p> + +<p>"The Beaver call!" whispered Will.</p> + +<p>"Right you are!" replied Dick. "The boys +are there, all right!"</p> + +<p>"Now the next thing to do is to find out if those +highwaymen are watching them," declared Will.</p> + +<p>"I'll tell you that in a minute," Dick whispered.</p> + +<p>As the boy spoke, he passed one end of the rope +to Canfield.</p> + +<p>"Hang on to it, whatever takes place!" he whispered, +"and I'll drop down and see what's going on."</p> + +<p>"You must be very careful," warned Canfield.</p> + +<p>"That's all right," answered Dick, "but we +can't stand here all day figuring out precautions. +We've got to know right off whether there's anyone +in that chamber watching the boys!"</p> + +<p>"What a joke it would be to put on a ghost in +Tunnel Six!" laughed Will, in a decidedly cheerful +frame of mind, now that rescue seemed so near.</p> + +<p>"Don't try any foolishness!" advised Canfield. +"Let's rescue the boys if possible and make our way +out of this horrible place."</p> + +<p>Will crawled to the edge of the shaft with Dick +and whispered as he lowered him into the dark +opening below:</p> + +<p>"Remember," he said, "that Ventner may have +discovered the money. If so, we must secure it +before we leave the place! It will be just like him +to stow the bank notes away in some chamber like +the one you are about to enter. When you strike +bottom, if there is no one in sight except the boys, +turn on your searchlight and take a good look over +the interior of the chamber.</p> + +<p>"We were in there not so very long ago, but at +that time we weren't thinking of making a search +there for hidden money. You'll have to use your +own judgment about turning on the light, of course. +The outlaws may be out in the gangway, some distance +from the entrance to the chamber, or they may +be within six feet of where the boys are held as +prisoners."</p> + +<p>"Tommy ought to be able to tell me the minute I +strike the heap of shale whether the outlaws are +close by or not!" Dick suggested.</p> + +<p>"Of course!" answered Will, "if he knows. If +the men are not in sight, and he doesn't know where +they are, you'll simply have to take chances. If +you get caught in there, you'll have to shoot, and +shoot quick!"</p> + +<p>Dick, dropped down into the old shaft and +directly the anxious watchers above heard the rattle +of shale as it dropped from the pyramid under the +opening. Will, still clinging to the rope, lay on his +stomach and peered downward, watching with all +anxiety for some show of light, or some sound which +might indicate the situation below.</p> + +<p>Directly Will felt a soft, steady pull at the rope, +and knew that one of the boys was ready to be +assisted to the top.</p> + +<p>Dick came up first, chuckling as he landed on the +edge of the break in the rock, and was immediately +followed by Jimmie.</p> + +<p>"Where's Tommy and George?" asked Will in +a whisper.</p> + +<p>"They're down there looking for the money!"</p> + +<p>"Looking for the money in the darkness?"</p> + +<p>"Sure!" was the reply. "You see," he went on, +"those ginks tied us up good and tight, and then +threw the money around promiscuous like!"</p> + +<p>"So the money is there?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>The news seemed too good to be true!</p> + +<p>"It was there when we were first thrown into the +chamber," replied Jimmie, "but I have an idea that +Ventner sneaked in and removed it so as to prevent +his mates getting any share."</p> + +<p>A light flashed out from below, followed immediately +by a pistol shot!</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_XX" id="Chapter_XX"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter XX</span></h2> + +<h3>SANDY IS DISCHARGED</h3> + + +<p>Elmer and Sandy, guarding the gangway variously +called the North section and Tunnel Six, presently +heard voices coming from the direction of the shaft, +and the latter moved back a few paces in order to +inspect the new-comers. In a moment he saw three +rather pompous looking men approaching him, their +footsteps being directed by a man clothed as a miner.</p> + +<p>"Here, boy!" shouted one of the pompous men. +"Can you tell me where Canfield, the caretaker of +this mine, may be found?"</p> + +<p>"He's up on the next level," replied Sandy.</p> + +<p>"I was told he was down here," growled the +speaker, who was very short and fat, and very much +out of breath.</p> + +<p>"He was here a little while ago," answered Sandy.</p> + +<p>"What's the meaning of this show of firearms?" +demanded the fat man, after glancing disdainfully +at the automatic in the boy's hand.</p> + +<p>"We've got three robbers cooped up in the mine," +replied Sandy.</p> + +<p>"That's the old, old story!" exclaimed the fat +man. "I don't know that I ever knew of a mine +that wasn't haunted, either by ghosts or robbers! +Mysteries seem to breed in coal mines!"</p> + +<p>Sandy walked back to the place where he had left +Elmer, and the three men and their guide followed +him. When Elmer caught a view of the fat man's +face and figure, he gave a sharp pull at Sandy's +sleeve.</p> + +<p>"That's Stephen Carson!" he said. "I guess +I'd better keep out of sight, because I don't care +about getting into an argument with him. He's +the most contrary person I ever saw in my life, and +never fails to get up an argument about something +or other with yours truly."</p> + +<p>"You seem to know him pretty well," whispered +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"I ought to," returned Elmer, "he's my Uncle! +The two tall men in the party are my father and +the cashier of the Night and Day bank. I'll take +a sneak, and that will shorten the session."</p> + +<p>Accordingly, Elmer strolled along the gangway +and came to a halt some distance from where the +three men had drawn up.</p> + +<p>"My boy," Carson went on, looking condescendingly +at the youth, "will you kindly run up to the +second level and tell Mr. Canfield that his presence +is required by the president of the mining company?"</p> + +<p>"I'm not allowed to leave this place, sir," replied +Sandy, taking offense at the man's air of proprietorship.</p> + +<p>"All persons in and about this mine," Carson +almost shouted, "are subject to my orders. Run +along now, you foolish boy, find don't make any +further trouble for yourself!"</p> + +<p>The man's manner was so unnecessarily dictatorial +and offensive that Sandy found it impossible +to retain his temper. He was not naturally a +"fresh" youngster, but now he had passed the limit +of endurance.</p> + +<p>"Aw, go chase yourself!" he said.</p> + +<p>"You're discharged!" shouted Carson.</p> + +<p>"You didn't hire me!" retorted Sandy. "You +haven't got any right to discharge me! I'm going +to stay here until I get ready to leave!"</p> + +<p>"If you don't get out of the mine immediately, +I'll have you thrown out!" shouted Carson. "I +never saw such impudence!"</p> + +<p>"If I do get out," replied Sandy with a grin, +"you'll wish I hadn't!"</p> + +<p>Carson turned to Elmer's father and the bank +cashier, and the three consulted together for a short +time. Then Elmer's father came closer to where +Sandy was standing.</p> + +<p>"Why do you say that?" he asked. "Why do you +think we will wish you had remained in case you are +sent out of the mine?"</p> + +<p>"Because I was left here to prevent robbers getting +out of the gangway. They're further in, and +have captured three of my chums."</p> + +<p>"All nonsense!" shouted Mr. Carson breaking +into the conversation impatiently. "These breaker +boys never tell the truth!"</p> + +<p>"Are you Mr. Buck?" asked Sandy, speaking in +an undertone to Elmer's father. "Because if you +are, you'll find Elmer just a short distance ahead. +He's on guard, too. He didn't want his uncle to +recognize him, because he says he's always getting +up an argument with him."</p> + +<p>"I'm glad to know that Elmer is attending to +his duty," Mr. Buck answered. "Somehow," he +continued with a smile, "Stephen Carson always +rubs Elmer the wrong way of the grain."</p> + +<p>"What's he butting in here for?" asked Sandy, +while the cashier of the Night and Day bank and +the miner stood by waiting for the peace negotiations +to conclude.</p> + +<p>"Why, he came in to get his two hundred thousand +dollars!" replied Mr. Buck. "He thinks he knows +How right where he left it."</p> + +<p>"Does he often get foolish in the head like that?" +asked Sandy with a grin. "If he does, he ought to +hire a couple of detectives to keep track of him when +he goes wandering out in the night!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, Stephen is usually a pretty level-headed +sort of a fellow!" replied Mr. Buck. "He is out of +humor just now because he has always denied that +he visited the mine during his two weeks of absence. +He is one of the men who dislike very much to be +caught in an error of any kind."</p> + +<p>"So he knows where the money is?" asked Sandy.</p> + +<p>"He says he can find it if he can secure the services +of Canfield, the caretaker. He remembers now of +getting in the mine, and of hearing footsteps in the +darkness. His impression at that time was that +robbers had followed him in, so he unloaded the +banknotes in a small chamber which he is now able +to describe accurately but which he cannot, of +course, find."</p> + +<p>"Was the money hidden on this level?" asked +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Yes, on this level."</p> + +<p>"In this gangway?"</p> + +<p>"He thinks it was hidden here."</p> + +<p>"Right about here, or further on?"</p> + +<p>"Why," was the answer, "he seems to remember +something about Tunnel Six. He thinks he hid the +money there! As soon as he finds Canfield, the +caretaker will probably be able to tell him exactly +how Tunnel Six looks."</p> + +<p>"It looks all in a mess right now! I can tell you +that," grinned Sandy.</p> + +<p>"What do you mean by that?"</p> + +<p>"I mean that there's been doings here!" replied +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Are there really robbers in there?"</p> + +<p>"Sure, there are robbers in there!"</p> + +<p>"Then perhaps we'd better bring in a squad of +deputies."</p> + +<p>"If you'll just let us boys alone," Sandy said, +"we'll bring the money out if it's anywhere in the +mine, but if this man Carson goes to butting in at +this time, he'll have to dig out his own money. He +won't believe there's any robbers in there, and he +wants to fire me out of the mine, so I guess we'd +better let him go his own gait a little while."</p> + +<p>"He'll do that anyhow no matter what you say!" +replied Mr. Buck.</p> + +<p>"Look here!" shouted Carson, starting forward, +with his stomach out and his fat shoulders thrown +back, "what's all this conversation about? Why +don't some one go up and get Canfield, and why isn't +that young rowdy thrown out of the mine? I +won't have him in here!"</p> + +<p>"Say," Sandy broke in, "Mr. Buck says that +you're looking for Tunnel Six. If you are, I can show +you right where it is!"</p> + +<p>"Do so, then!" shouted Carson.</p> + +<p>"Go straight ahead," Sandy directed, "and when +the robbers begin to shoot, you command them to +throw down their weapons in the name of the law. +They'll probably do it, all right, if you tell them to, +but you'll be lucky if they don't throw them down +your throat!"</p> + +<p>"Do you mean to tell me," screamed Carson, +"that there are actually robbers here, and that they +have taken possession of Tunnel Six?"</p> + +<p>"That's the idea," replied Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Why, that's where I put my——"</p> + +<p>"That's where you put your money, is it?" Sandy +went on.</p> + +<p>"I never saw such impudence!" reared Carson.</p> + +<p>"Well, go on and get your money!" advised +Sandy. "Just go straight down the gangway until +you come to a face of rock and then switch off to the +left, and you'll find yourself in a chamber used at +present by robbers and hold-up men as a winter +resort."</p> + +<p>"Oh you can't frighten me!" declared Carson. +"I believe that you're here in quest of the money +yourself!"</p> + +<p>"That's right!" admitted Sandy. "Go on in, +now, and tell the robbers to give up your hoarded +gold! Just butt in, and tell 'em what you want them +to do! They'll probably do just as you tell them to!"</p> + +<p>"I never saw such impudence in my life!" roared +Carson, wiping his perspiring forehead with a large +red silk handkerchief.</p> + +<p>"I don't see where the impudence comes in!" +replied Sandy. "You said you wanted to find +Tunnel Six in order that you might locate your +money. I'm telling you where it is, and what to do +to get it!"</p> + +<p>"Old Stephen never took a bluff in his life!" +chuckled Mr. Buck, "Now see if he doesn't go +stalking down that passage and declaring himself +in the name of the law!"</p> + +<p>The banker did exactly what Mr. Buck had predicted. +He went storming down the passage, giving +notice to all intruders to walk out of his mine in a +peaceable manner. Mr. Buck followed along until +he came to where Elmer was standing with his back +against the wall, and then the two paused and +entered into conversation. The cashier of the +Night and Day bank and the miner started back +toward the shaft.</p> + +<p>"What's the matter?" shouted Sandy. "Why +don't you stay and see the fun? There'll be shooting +here directly!"</p> + +<p>The miner and the cashier now took to their heels +and were soon out of sight. Every moment the boy +expected to see a flash of fire in the gangway. Carson +was now very near to Tunnel Six, and it seemed +certain that the outlaws must soon open fire on him.</p> + +<p>"Come back, Stephen!" shouted Mr. Buck. +"Don't make a fool of yourself!"</p> + +<p>"This is all pure bluff!" shouted Carson. "There +are no robbers here at all. This is a scheme to keep +me out of Tunnel Six, where I believe my money to +be hidden!"</p> + +<p>They saw Carson halt in his rather clumsy passage +down the gangway, and draw an automatic revolver +from his pocket.</p> + +<p>There was a quick shot and the banker rushed +ahead!</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_XXI" id="Chapter_XXI"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter XXI</span></h2> + +<h3>"I TOLD YOU SO!"</h3> + + +<p>Directly Elmer, Sandy and Mr. Buck heard the +banker shouting at the top of his lungs and dashed +on toward the mysterious tunnel.</p> + +<p>"He'll get his head shot off in there!" exclaimed +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"I don't care if he does!" declared Elmer.</p> + +<p>"Your uncle isn't such a bad old fellow, after all," +Mr. Buck exclaimed. "He has plenty of courage, at +any rate!"</p> + +<p>"But I don't understand why they don't open fire +on him!" exclaimed Sandy. "The robbers certainly +were in there not very long ago. We heard the +scuffle when they geezled Jimmie."</p> + +<p>"Who fired that shot?" asked Mr. Buck.</p> + +<p>"Uncle Stephen did," replied Elmer. "I saw the +flash spring out from the spot where he stood!"</p> + +<p>"Well, what do you know about that?" exclaimed +Sandy. "The old chap is actually making his bluff +good! He's getting into Tunnel Six single handed +and alone! I guess we'll have to advertise for those +three outlaws if we find 'em in here! He's a nervy +old fellow, isn't he?"</p> + +<p>The three now followed fast on the heels of the +banker, and soon came to where he stood swinging +his searchlight at the end of a short drift which +ended, after sliding under a dip, in a chamber which +at first glance seemed to be piled high with a mass of +shale.</p> + +<p>While the three looked on, Carson dropped on his +knees beside a crevice in the wall and began an eager +exploration of the opening.</p> + +<p>Directly he sprang to his feet with rage and disappointment +showing on every feature of his face. +He raved about the cluttered chamber for a moment, +almost dancing up and down in his anger and chagrin, +and then sat limply down on the pile of shale.</p> + +<p>"It's gone!" he said. "The money's gone!"</p> + +<p>"So it wasn't hidden back there in that cross-cutting +at all?" asked Sandy. "We thought sure +we had a cinch on the coin several hours ago!"</p> + +<p>"It was hidden here in this chamber!" declared +Carson wearily. "The minute I entered the place +I remembered where I had hidden it. And now it's +gone! I've had all my trouble for nothing."</p> + +<p>As he ceased speaking, he glanced suspiciously at +Sandy. And Sandy, in turn, made a most provoking +face.</p> + +<p>"I believe you know something about my money!" +Carson said.</p> + +<p>"Sure I do!" replied Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Then where is it?"</p> + +<p>"The robbers got it!"</p> + +<p>"That's a nice story to tell," howled Carson. "If +you think I'm going to be defrauded out of my +money in this way, you're very much mistaken!"</p> + +<p>Without paying any further attention to tha +threats of the banker, Sandy stepped over to Elmer's +side and pointed up the deserted shaft.</p> + +<p>"There's where the robbers went," he said, "and +they doubtless took Carson's money with them. I +don't understand why Will didn't stop them."</p> + +<p>"Will and George probably released their friends +and went away," complained Elmer. "I don't think +they showed very good judgment in doing that, +either. The result is that the money has now disappeared +entirely. A short time ago, Uncle might +have reclaimed it."</p> + +<p>"We don't know whether the money has gone beyond +recall or not," replied Sandy. "I don't believe +Will and George ever left the old shaft unguarded. +They are still somewhere in this vicinity!"</p> + +<p>Carson now blustered up to Sandy and pointed +an accusing finger into the lad's face. Sandy regarded +him with indifference.</p> + +<p>"Now that your story of the robbers has been disproved," +Carson shouted, "you may as well tell me +who took my money. If I had not the courage to +make this investigation in person, that cheap story +of the robbers would have held good for all time!"</p> + +<p>"That's a horse on me, all right!" admitted Sandy. +"I don't know where the robbers are, unless they +went up through that old shaft, and it doesn't seem +as if the boys would permit that!"</p> + +<p>"Too thin! Entirely too thin!" declared Carson. +"A moment ago you tried to tell me that the money +wasn't hidden near Tunnel Six at all, but was hidden +back there near the cross-cutting."</p> + +<p>"We had good reason to believe it was hidden +there!" replied Sandy. "We found a burned ten-dollar +banknote there just after a dynamite explosion +had taken place."</p> + +<p>"That would naturally lead to the supposition that +the money had been hidden there!" Mr. Buck exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"Come to think of it," Sandy went on, "I believe +that was one of Ventner's tricks. I believe he blew +down those pillars and burned the banknote for the +express purpose of making us search two or three +weeks in the wrong place. I guess we have under-estimated +that fellow's ability. He's a keener man +than I supposed!"</p> + +<p>"I don't quite see the point to that," Elmer suggested. +"When you say that Ventner probably +caused you to dig in the wrong place, you admit +that he must have known something about the right +place. Now, how could he have known anything +about where to look for that money?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know," replied Sandy. "But when you +say that he might have known exactly where to look, +you set him down as a fool, because he has been +searching a long time and never came upon it until +today."</p> + +<p>"I think I can understand that," Mr. Buck said. +"This man you speak of probably knew where to find +the money provided he could discover the right +drift, bench, chamber or tunnel. Like Mr. Carson, +here, he could doubtless go straight to the cache if +directed into the right apartment."</p> + +<p>While the four stood together at the bottom of +the chamber, their searchlights making the place as +light as day, an exclamation came from the shaft +above, followed by two pistol shots.</p> + +<p>Carson dropped to his knees and began twisting +at his automatic, which had in some way become +entangled in the lining of his pocket.</p> + +<p>"There are your robbers!" he shouted. "Put +out your lights!"</p> + +<p>"Don't you do anything of the kind!" argued +Sandy. "Get out of range of the old shaft and keep +your lights burning so you can shoot any one who +drops down! I guess we have them hemmed in!"</p> + +<p>"It's a scheme to get away with my money!" +shouted Carson.</p> + +<p>"I wish you had your old money chucked down +your throat!" exclaimed Sandy. "I'm getting sick +of the sound of the word!"</p> + +<p>All members of the party now drew back toward +the dip, where they were entirely concealed from any +one in the old shaft.</p> + +<p>Directly there was a rattling of shale and slate, +and then the lights showed the figure of Tommy +sitting astride the peak of the pyramid.</p> + +<p>"What you fellows trying to do down there?" he +asked.</p> + +<p>"We're looking for Carson's money?" replied +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Did you get it?" the boy demanded.</p> + +<p>"Not yet!"</p> + +<p>"That's the boy that's got my money!" shouted +the banker.</p> + +<p>"Money's a good thing to have!" grinned Tommy.</p> + +<p>"What have you done with the highwaymen?" +asked Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Why continue this senseless talk about highwaymen?" +demanded Carson, "when you know just as +well as I do that there are no robbers here other than +yourselves! Mr. Buck," he added, turning to +Elmer's father, "I call upon you to assist me in restraining +these robbers until the proper officers can +be summoned."</p> + +<p>"Where did that fat man come from?" asked +Tommy.</p> + +<p>"You impertinent rascal!" shouted Carson.</p> + +<p>"Sure!" answered Tommy. "But where did you +say you came from?"</p> + +<p>"I'm president of this mining company!" screamed +Carson, "and I'll have you all in jail if you don't +produce my money!"</p> + +<p>"Is this the gentleman who went batty and lost +two hundred thousand dollars?" asked Tommy, sliding +down from the slate pyramid and standing beside +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"That is believed to be the man!" laughed Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Believed to be!" roared Carson.</p> + +<p>"Does he know where he left the money?" asked +Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Sure I know where I left my money, you young +jackanapes!" declared Carson. "I pointed out the +exact hiding place only a few moments ago!"</p> + +<p>"You found it empty?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I found it empty," roared Carson.</p> + +<p>"Then," Tommy suggested, "we've all got to get +busy."</p> + +<p>"What do you mean by that?" demanded Carson.</p> + +<p>Before Tommy could reply, Will came sliding down +the rope and landed within a few feet of where the +little group stood.</p> + +<p>"Look here, Will," Tommy said, "are you sure +we made a good search of those three ginks? They've +got the money all right!"</p> + +<p>"How do you know they did?" demanded Will.</p> + +<p>"That fat man over there who looks as if he was +about to bust," Tommy grinned, "is Mr. Carson, the +man who hid the money and couldn't find it again. +He's just been looking in the place where he concealed +it, and it isn't there! We've got to get +busy!"</p> + +<p>"I don't understand this at all," Mr. Buck interrupted.</p> + +<p>"It's just this way," Will said, facing the speaker +"we caught the three men who were wandering about +in the mine. We rescued our chums first, and then +when the outlaws heard your party advancing they +scrambled up the old shaft, and took to their heels +supposing, of course, that we had lost no time in +getting out of the mine."</p> + +<p>"And you geezled them all?" asked Sandy.</p> + +<p>"The whole three!" replied Will. "All we had to +do was to stretch a rope across a passage, trip them +up, and do a little winding around their geezled +forms before they could get their breath. They're +all tied up good and tight now."</p> + +<p>"And you searched them for the money and didn't +find it?" shouted Carson.</p> + +<p>"And we searched them for the money and didn't +find it!" repeated Will.</p> + +<p>"I don't believe it!" shouted Carson. "You'll be +telling me in a moment, when I ask you to produce +your robbers, that they have broken their bonds and +escaped!"</p> + +<p>At that moment, George's voice was heard calling +down the shaft:</p> + +<p>"Break for the main shaft!" they heard him saying. +"Head those fellows off! They cut their ropes +and got away!"</p> + +<p>"I told you so!" thundered Carson.</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_XXII" id="Chapter_XXII"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter XXII</span></h2> + +<h3>CONCLUSION</h3> + + +<p>"Bright boys up there!" exclaimed Will, as the +unwelcome news of the escape of the robbers came +down the old shaft.</p> + +<p>"Me for the elevator!" shouted Tommy.</p> + +<p>All four boys, Will, Elmer, Tommy and Sandy, +started in a mad race down the gangway. As they +carried their searchlights with them, and as Mr. +Carson and Mr. Buck moved at a slower pace, the +latter gentlemen were soon feeling their way through +a dark tunnel.</p> + +<p>"We've just got to head 'em off!" grunted Tommy, +as the boys passed along at a pace calculated to +break the long distance running records.</p> + +<p>"I don't believe they'll make for the main shaft +anyway," Sandy panted.</p> + +<p>"I don't believe they will, either," Will declared, +"but if we get to the lift first, we'll be dead sure +they don't get out!"</p> + +<p>Will was in advance as they swung into the lighted +space about the shaft. The first thing he observed +was that one of the cages was just starting upward. +He sprang to the push button and almost instantly +the cage dropped back to the third level again. The +power was on in honor of the visit of the president of +the company.</p> + +<p>"Pile in, boys!" he shouted. "We'll stop at the +second level!"</p> + +<p>The man at the top responded nobly to the quick +signals given to start and stop, and in a very short +space of time the elevator stood at the second level. +The bar was down, but Will threw it aside and +stepped out into the passage. There he saw the +bank cashier and the miner standing cowering against +the wall only a few feet from the shaft.</p> + +<p>"What are you doing here?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"We started to the top," the miner replied, "but +stopped here because we thought there might be need +of our assistance on this level."</p> + +<p>"Why on this level?" asked Will, observing that +the miner was pretty thoroughly frightened. "I +haven't heard of any disturbance here!"</p> + +<p>"But there has been a disturbance here!" insisted +the cashier. "We heard scuffling out there in the +darkness, but as we had no lights, we could not +investigate. My friend, the miner, had a light on +the lower level, but he lost it as we made our way out +to the shaft."</p> + +<p>"Has any one passed up the shaft?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>The miner shook his head.</p> + +<p>"Then we're in time all right!" cried Will exultantly. +"We have the outlaws headed off!"</p> + +<p>The heavy voices of the two men who had been +left on the lower level now came rumbling up the +shaft.</p> + +<p>"What do you mean by leaving us in this plight?" +demanded Carson. "Lower the cage instantly, and +take us to the top!"</p> + +<p>"Stay down there and look after your money!" +cried Sandy, mockingly.</p> + +<p>"I think I know where my money is!" shouted +Carson.</p> + +<p>"I wish I knew!" returned Sandy.</p> + +<p>In the moment of silence which followed the boys +heard the call of the Beaver Patrol ringing down the +second level.</p> + +<p>"George seems to be alive anyway!" laughed +Tommy.</p> + +<p>A moment later a snarling sound which seemed to +emanate from a whole pack of Wolves reached the +ears of the boys.</p> + +<p>"Why didn't you tell me there were wild animals +in the mine?" shouted the cashier. "Let me into +that cage immediately!"</p> + +<p>"Don't be in a hurry," advised Tommy. "All +the Wolves and Beavers you'll find in here won't do +you any harm!"</p> + +<p>While Carson and Elmer's father continued to call +from below, and while the Boy Scout challenges rang +in the second level, two pistol shots were heard not +far away from the shaft.</p> + +<p>The cashier and the miner both broke for the cage, +but were turned back at the point of Sandy's automatic +revolver.</p> + +<p>"You stopped here because you thought you might +be of some assistance, you know," the boy said. +"Now you just remain here long enough to help +out."</p> + +<p>"But there are people being murdered in there!" +cried the cashier.</p> + +<p>Two more shots eame from the gangway and then +the stout figure of the detective came staggering into +the circle of light around the shaft. He had evidently +been wounded seriously, for he fell as he drew +near to where the boys were standing and raised his +eyes in a piteous appeal for help. Will stooped over +and felt his pulse.</p> + +<p>"You're about done for!" the boy said in a husky +tone. "Who did it?"</p> + +<p>"Those two hold-up men," was the faint reply.</p> + +<p>"Where are they now?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"I fired back," replied the detective with a grim +smile, "and I guess they're lying on the floor of the +passage!"</p> + +<p>Will bent closer over the wounded detective while +Tommy and Sandy started down the gangway on a +run, closely followed by Elmer.</p> + +<p>"Why did they shoot you?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"I found the money," Ventner replied, "and hid +it in a crevice in the wall, and they found it. When +we managed to escape by cutting the ropes I saw +them take the money and disappear in the darkness. +I followed on and accused them of the act and they +shot me! Then I shot back, and I guess it's a pretty +bad mess, when you take it altogether!"</p> + +<p>"Where is the money?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"They have it in their possession," was the reply, +"if they haven't hidden it again."</p> + +<p>Before the wounded detective could continue, +George, Jimmie, Dick, Canfield, Sandy and Tommy +came running out of the gangway.</p> + +<p>"Where's Elmer?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"We left him back there talking with one of the +hold-up men," replied George. "They're both +badly hurt, and won't last long!"</p> + +<p>"I'm not sorry!" moaned Ventner.</p> + +<p>A moment later, Elmer came out of the passage +with a bill-book of good size in his hand. He lifted +the book gaily as he entered the illumination.</p> + +<p>"I'll bet he's got the money!" exclaimed Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Sure he has!" replied Will, and Elmer nodded.</p> + +<p>The voices of Carson and Buck again came roaring +up from below.</p> + +<p>"Why don't you lower the cage?" Carson shouted. +"I'm going to have every one of you arrested as soon +as I can find an officer! You can't work any of your +gold brick schemes on me!"</p> + +<p>"We may as well drop down and take them +aboard," Will laughed.</p> + +<p>Carson was swelling with rage when he stepped +onto the platform of the list. He shook his fist +fiercely under Will's nose, and announced that he +would have him wearing handcuffs before night.</p> + +<p>"How much reward was offered for the return of +that two hundred thousand dollars?" asked the boy, +without paying any attention to the angry demonstrations +of the banker.</p> + +<p>"Twenty thousand dollars!" replied Carson. "But +you'll never get a cent of it. I hired a party of Boy +Scouts to come here from Chicago and look into the +case, but they never came near me."</p> + +<p>"When you write to Chicago again," Will replied, +with a smile as the elevator stopped at the second +level, "just tell Mr. Horton that the Beaver's didn't +succeed in getting the money, but that the Wolves +did. Elmer has the money in his possession right +this minute!"</p> + +<p>"Impossible!" shouted Carson.</p> + +<p>"Hand him the money, Elmer," requested Will.</p> + +<p>Carson snatched the bill book as it was held out to +him and began looking through the ten-thousand-dollar +banknotes which it contained.</p> + +<p>"The next time you get drunk and fall out of your +machine, don't accuse every one you meet of robbing +you!" Sandy cut in.</p> + +<p>"Are you the boys who came on from Chicago?" +demanded Carson.</p> + +<p>"Sure!" replied Will.</p> + +<p>"I guess I'm an old fool!" admitted Carson. +"Here I've been roaming around about half a day +accusing you boys of stealing my money, when all +the time you were planning on returning it to me!"</p> + +<p>"Do we get the reward now?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"Twenty thousand and expenses!" replied Carson. +"I'll settle with Elmer and his chums later on!"</p> + +<p>"It's a shame to take the money!" declared +Sandy, but Will gave him a sharp punch in the back +and he cut off any further remarks which he might +have had in his mind.</p> + +<p>The story ends here because the adventure ended +with the finding of the money. The old tool house +was deserted that night. The two hold-up men and +the detective recovered after a long illness in a Pittsburgh +hospital. The detective was permitted to go +his way after promising to keep out of crooked detective +deals in the future. He never told how or +where he received his information about the lost +money. The hold-up men were given long sentences +in prison.</p> + +<p>A few weeks later, when the mining company resumed +operations at the Labyrinth, Tunnel Six was +walled up. Mr. Carson, the president, declared +that it made what few hairs he had left stand on end +to think of the experiences he had endured there!</p> + +<p>However, there are still stories about the breaker, +that on dark nights, when the wind blows, and the +rain falls in great sheets, there are mysterious lights +floating about Tunnel Six.</p> + +<p>Jimmie and Dick often tell exactly how these lights +were made, and how they enjoyed themselves living +down in the bowels of the earth, but the superstitious +miners still claim that the boys were not responsible +for all the lights which burned there!</p> + +<p>Dick and Jimmie also have their joke with the +Beaver Patrol boys whenever they meet, declaring +that if they had not finally relented and dropped the +string the boys had carried into the mine for their +own protection, they would still be wandering around +in the Labyrinth Mine.</p> + +<p>"And now," Will said as they settled down in +their old room on Washington boulevard, "we're +going to be good boys from this time on and remain +in Chicago and stay at home nights!"</p> + +<p>However, in three days, the boys were preparing +for another bit of adventure, the details of which +will be found in the next volume of this series entitled:</p> + +<p>"Boy Scouts in Alaska; or, The Camp on the +Glacier."</p> + + +<h3>THE END.</h3> + + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 567px;"> +<a name="fig004" id="fig004"></a> +<img src="images/fig004-150dpi.jpg" width="567" height="735" alt="An Encounter with Walruses" title="" /> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><br /><br /></p> +<h1><a name="Boy_Scouts_in_Alaska" id="Boy_Scouts_in_Alaska"></a>Boy Scouts in Alaska</h1> + +<h2>Or, The Camp on the Glacier</h2> + + +<p><br /><br /></p> +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CONTENTS2" id="CONTENTS2"></a>CONTENTS</h2> + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents"> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_Ia"><b>Chapter I—Under Sealed Orders</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_IIa"><b>Chapter II—The Print of a Thumb</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_IIIa"><b>Chapter III—A Message in Code</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_IVa"><b>Chapter IV—The Lost Plans</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_Va"><b>Chapter V—Fishing in Alaska</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_VIa"><b>Chapter VI—A Missing Boy</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_VIIa"><b>Chapter VII—A Lost "Bulldog"</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_VIIIa"><b>Chapter VIII—On the Gulf of Alaska</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_IXa"><b>Chapter IX—The Clues Will Found</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_Xa"><b>Chapter X—In Luck at Last</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_XIa"><b>Chapter XI—Making New Plans</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_XIIa"><b>Chapter XII—Another Lost "Bulldog"</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_XIIIa"><b>Chapter XIII—The Beginning of the Trail</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_XIVa"><b>Chapter XIV—The Lad With the "Drag"</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_XVa"><b>Chapter XV—A Break in the Glacier</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_XVIa"><b>Chapter XVI—George and Sandy Caught</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_XVIIa"><b>Chapter XVII—The Morse Code</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_XVIIIa"><b>Chapter XVIII—The Rocks Tumble Down</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_XIXa"><b>Chapter XIX—Victims of the Quake</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_XXa"><b>Chapter XX—Down in the Chasm</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_XXIa"><b>Chapter XXI—Explaining Cordova Incidents</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#Chapter_XXIIa"><b>Chapter XXII—The Plans at Last</b></a></td></tr> +</table></div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h2><a name="Chapter_Ia" id="Chapter_Ia"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter I</span></h2> + +<h3>UNDER SEALED ORDERS</h3> + + +<p>An August night in Alaska.</p> + +<p>To the North, the tangle of the Chugach Mountains; +to the East, Bering Glacier; to the South, the +purple waters of the Gulf of Alaska; to the West, +Prince William Sound. All around, the grandeur +of a world in the making—high mountains, rugged +summits, deep cut valleys, creeping glaciers.</p> + +<p>In a log cabin standing in the center of a small +forested moraine four boys of about seventeen were +grouped together. The one door and the two +windows of the structure were covered with mosquito +wire. The hum of insect life came into the +room with the monotony of the murmur of the sea. +Although it was after ten o'clock in the evening, the +sun still rode high above the horizon.</p> + +<p>A few hundred feet from the outer edge of the ice-cliff, +the forested moraine became a "dead" glacier. +When a glacier advances no longer, but draws back +year by year, it is said to be "dead." The live +glacier is simply a river of ice pouring down precipices +and into gorges and fiords.</p> + +<p>As a matter of fact, the log cabin was built upon a +glacier, for under the luxuriant summer undergrowth, +under the flowers, and under the bright green of the +hemlocks, lay a great bed of ice which, however, was +slowly receding. In times gone by the current of ice +had flowed into the Gulf of Alaska, but now, because +of drainage in another direction, the glacial ice swept +off to the west, in the direction of Copper river.</p> + +<p>The four boys in the cabin had just finished supper, +the cooking having been done over a gasoline +"plate," and they were now discussing the advisability +of spending the remaining hour of daylight in +the investigation of the strange, wild land in which +they now found themselves.</p> + +<p>Two days before they had landed at Katalla, and +had spent the intervening time in transferring their +supplies to the log house on the glacier. They had +traveled northward by the inland route, and landed +in the vicinity of Controller bay, bringing with them +provisions sufficient for a long stay in the wonderful +North.</p> + +<p>Those who have read the previous volumes of this +series will well remember the adventures of Will +Smith, Charley (Sandy) Green, George Benton and +Tommy Gregory. After startling experiences among +the Pictured Rocks of Old Superior, in the mysterious +swamps of the Everglades, in the rocky caverns of +the Continental Divide, amidst the snows of the +Hudson Bay wilderness, and in the coal caverns of +the Pennsylvania anthracite region, they had decided +to spend a portion of the summer in Alaska. +They had reached Controller bay without serious +accident, and now found themselves in one of the +most picturesque sections of the great territory, +with plenty of provisions and ammunition.</p> + +<p>The lads were all dressed in the khaki uniform of +the Boy Scouts of America, the badges showing +membership in the Beaver Patrol of Chicago. Their +coat sleeves showed medals proclaiming the fact +that they had passed examinations and were well +qualified to serve as Stalkers, Seamen, Pioneers, or +in the Ambulance squad. The pennant of the +Beaver Patrol flew above the door of the cabin.</p> + +<p>Tommy Gregory separated himself from, the group +about the supper table and walked to the heavily-screened +doorway. His face was covered by an +Alaska head-net, and he wore a pair of strong leather +gloves.</p> + +<p>"Why didn't some of you boys tell me that the +mosquitos here are as large as robins?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Because they are only half as large," replied +Sandy Green with a grin.</p> + +<p>"If some one will hand me my gun off the table," +Tommy went on, with a wrinkling of his freckled nose, +"I'll shoot one, and we can have him for supper! +One of the outlaws ought to make a good meal for +us four!"</p> + +<p>"Better do the killing with a handspike," advised +Sandy, "for we haven't any ammunition to throw +away. Besides," the boy went on, "I don't believe +a thirty-eight would kill one of these wild animals, +anyway!"</p> + +<p>"Up on the Yukon," George Benton interrupted, +"when they sentence a man to death, they don't +hang him. They send him down the river in an +open canoe, and give the mosquitos a crack at +him!"</p> + +<p>"You stated that in the way of an exaggeration," +Will Smith suggested, "but it is the absolute truth, +for all that! Men lost among the nigger-heads have +been found later on with their bones picked dry."</p> + +<p>"What's a nigger-head?" asked Tommy.</p> + +<p>"A nigger-head is a bog," was the reply. "When +I say a bog, I don't mean a swampy hole, either. I +mean a grassy knoll sticking up out of a swamp full +of mud. If you keep on the bogs, or nigger-heads, +you are reasonably safe, but if you drop down into +the mud, you are likely to go in over your head."</p> + +<p>"How far down does this mud go?" demanded +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Down to the ice," replied Will. "This entire +country," he went on, "is lined with ice! Ten or +twelve feet below the foundation of this cabin, the +ice is almost as hard as steel. Sometimes the earth-crust +over the ice is a foot thick, and sometimes it is +ten feet."</p> + +<p>"Are those brilliant flowers growing over a +glacier?" asked Tommy, pointing to a group of violets +growing not far away.</p> + +<p>"Sure!" replied Will. "If it wasn't for the ice, +there wouldn't be any violets here. The glacier +supplies water as well as soil."</p> + +<p>"What'd you say about going up to the end of the +moraine?" asked Sandy, joining Tommy at the +screened door of the cabin.</p> + +<p>"Isn't it quite a climb?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"It isn't so very steep," replied Tommy, "but the +way seems to be rather rocky. I'd like to know where +all these round stones come from!"</p> + +<p>"They are brought down by the glacier ice and +rounded into shape by the same force which discharges +the ice stream into the gulf. There is always +a line of moraine at each side of a glacier, and usually +several ridges in the middle of it. Those at the edge +are called lateral moraines, those in the middle, +medial moraines, and those at the end, terminal +moraines. And that's about all I know of Alaska," +Will added, with a smile.</p> + +<p>The lads passed up the moraine for some distance, +until, in fact, they came to a point where vegetation +became thinner, and hemlocks of smaller growth. +Then they turned toward the west and stood for a +long time watching the yellow glory of the sunset.</p> + +<p>But the heat of day passes swiftly in Alaska when +the direct rays of the sun fail, and so the boys were +soon glad to return to their cabin, which they had +found standing unoccupied.</p> + +<p>"I'd like to know the history of this old shack," +Sandy said, as they paused in the gathering darkness +at the doorway.</p> + +<p>"There's no knowing how long it has stood here, +waiting for us to come and gladden its dirty old walls +with our presence and our scrubbing brushes!" +laughed Tommy. "I've seen a good many cleaner +cabins in my life!"</p> + +<p>"And there is no knowing how many tragedies +have been enacted here, either!" exclaimed George. +"It must have witnessed many a queer sight!"</p> + +<p>"It must have been built within a year or two," +Will observed, "for the logs do not yet show decay."</p> + +<p>"What I can't get through my noodle," George +said, with a puzzled look, "is why any one should +construct such a habitable little cabin in this out of +the way spot, and then go away and leave it. We +must be at least twelve or fifteen miles from the +nearest neighbor."</p> + +<p>"We're farther than that," observed Sandy, "judging +from the time it took us to row our supplies over +from the floating dock where we landed. I hope +we'll be ready to go out by the time our provisions +run short."</p> + +<p>"Look here, Will," Tommy questioned, "did Mr. +Horton direct you to this exact spot, or did he only +tell you to locate somewhere in this vicinity? You +never told us what he said."</p> + +<p>"He told me," was the guarded reply, "that I +might be able to find a deserted cabin on this +moraine."</p> + +<p>"And he told you right where to find the moraine?" +asked Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Of course he did!"</p> + +<p>"And you said nothing to us about that, either," +complained Tommy. "You're always holding something +back from us!"</p> + +<p>"Well, now that we're here," George suggested, +"perhaps Will can be coaxed into telling us exactly +what we're here for."</p> + +<p>"I should say so!" exclaimed Tommy. "We don't, +know at the present moment whether we're here to +trap brown bears, or to box and ship Northern Lights +to the eastern markets."</p> + +<p>"Don't get sarcastic, boys!" replied Will. "I +was instructed by Mr. Horton to communicate to +you all the information in my possession on our first +night in camp, and I'm ready right now to obey +orders. Shall we go inside? The bugs are pretty +thick out here!"</p> + +<p>"I should say so!" shouted Tommy. "I'm pretty +well hedged in from the blooming insects," he went +on, "but it makes me nervous to hear them blowing +their dinner horns every minute."</p> + +<p>"Gee!" exclaimed Sandy. "Whenever I get into +this anti-mosquito rig, I feel like an armored train!"</p> + +<p>Twilight lay heavy over the landscape now, and +so the boys were confronted by a dark interior as +they stepped into the cabin.</p> + +<p>"Who's got a searchlight handy?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>Tommy replied that he would have a light on in a +second, but before the finger of light from the electric +shot into the room, Will half fell over a yielding figure +which lay on the floor not for away from the table.</p> + +<p>Then the circle of light, thrown hastily down, +rested upon the white, drawn face of a boy not far +from sixteen years of age. There was a little showing +of blood on the floor, and his eyes were tightly +closed, indicating that he had been rendered unconscious +by a wound.</p> + +<p>The lad was dressed in the khaki uniform of the +Boy Scouts of America, and the badge on his hat +showed that he was Leader of the Fox Patrol.</p> + +<p>A long envelope torn open at one end and bearing +the name of Will Smith, lay empty by the lad's side.</p> + +<p>"Where did he come from?" cried Tommy, "and +who is he?"</p> + +<p>"Must have dropped out of the sky!" declared +Sandy.</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_IIa" id="Chapter_IIa"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter II</span></h2> + +<h3>THE PRINT OF A THUMB</h3> + + +<p>"The Fox Patrol!" exclaimed George. "I wonder +if that means the Fox Patrol of Chicago? It doesn't +seem to me that this kid could have followed on our +heels across the continent!"</p> + +<p>Will lifted the torn envelope from the floor and +examined it critically.</p> + +<p>"That's your name isn't it?" asked Sandy looking +over his shoulder.</p> + +<p>"It certainly is!" replied Will.</p> + +<p>"Well, you've got the address left, anyhow!" +said George.</p> + +<p>"Say," Tommy suggested, opening his eyes very +wide, "some gink followed the boy here, bumped +him on the coco, and stole the communication! I +reckon we're getting into the center of population +again. Here we are, several hundred miles from nowhere, +and we've unearthed an innocent messenger +and a bold highwayman already!"</p> + +<p>"Have you any idea what the stolen paper contained?" +asked George.</p> + +<p>"Not the slightest!" replied Will.</p> + +<p>"Wasn't it arranged that Mr. Horton should +communicate with you after we reached this point?" +asked Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Certainly not!" was the reply. "He gave me full +instructions before we left Chicago. If I found a +deserted cabin at this point, I was to make camp +here. If I did not, I was to keep along the coast +toward Bering Glacier until I discovered one answering +this description."</p> + +<p>"But where did this kid come from?" insisted +Tommy. "How did he ever get here all by his +lonely? We had two guides to help us in, and it +seems that he came alone, that is, as far as we can +see."</p> + +<p>"I don't think he came alone!" replied Sandy +pointing to the wound on the boy's head. "He never +got a bump like that in a fall!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, we'll have to wait until the kid wakes up!" +Tommy cut in. "We'd better be doing something +to help him out of his trance, instead of standing +here guessing. He may be badly hurt!"</p> + +<p>The limp figure was lifted from the floor and +placed on one of the bunks fastened to the wall of +the cabin. The lad groaned slightly as the change +was made, but did not open his eyes.</p> + +<p>"I guess he got a bad bump," Will suggested. +"And I'm sorry to say that his wound requires a piece +of surgery far beyond my ability to perform. I'm +afraid we'll have to send out for a doctor!"</p> + +<p>The boys used every means within their knowledge +to bring the lad back to consciousness, but all +their efforts proved unavailing. The lad lay in a +comatose condition long after all their resources had +failed.</p> + +<p>So busily engaged were the boys in their efforts at +resuscitation that they did not for a moment remember +that they, themselves, might be in danger +from the same hand which had struck down the boy.</p> + +<p>As they worked over the lad, bathing the wound +with hot water and endeavoring to force stimulating +drinks between the set teeth, they did not observe +a bearded face was pressed for a moment against a +window pane. It was an evil face, and was gone +on the instant.</p> + +<p>After three hours of steady exertion, the boys relaxed +their efforts and sat down to consider the +situation. They had searched the boy's clothing, +but had found nothing giving a clue to his name or +residence.</p> + +<p>"Right out of the air!" exclaimed Sandy. "If we +should blunder into a camp devoid of a mystery, we'd +have to move out or die of suffocation!"</p> + +<p>"I'd like to know who the boy is, and where he +came from," Will said, after a short pause, "but the +principal question now is this: What was in the paper +that was stolen from the envelope?"</p> + +<p>"Probably some information directed to you," +suggested Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Undoubtedly," Will answered.</p> + +<p>"And now, instead of coming into your hands," +George remarked, "the warning, or the command, or +whatever you may call it, passes over to the man who +attempted murder in order to secure it!"</p> + +<p>"That's just the size of it!" Tommy agreed.</p> + +<p>"It strikes me," George suggested, "that we'd +better set a guard through the rest of the night. The +fellow who struck this blow may be waiting to strike +another!"</p> + +<p>"How long were we gone from the cabin?" asked +Will.</p> + +<p>"Less than an hour," replied Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Then, if we had at once set up a search for the +assassin," Will went on, "we might have discovered +him."</p> + +<p>"Not in a thousand years, in this wild country!" +exclaimed Tommy.</p> + +<p>Will went to the door and looked out toward the +east.</p> + +<p>"It will be daylight directly," he said, "and then +we will see what can be accomplished in the way of +finding clues."</p> + +<p>"Nix on the clue!" argued Tommy. "The gink +who bumped our friend on the cupola came after +the paper. He got the paper and ducked, and that's +all there is to it! If there were any secret communications +concerning our mission in the paper, the +robber got them!"</p> + +<p>"And where does that leave us?" asked Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Up in the air!" grumbled Tommy.</p> + +<p>"So far as I can see," Will stated, "you boys have +the situation sized up correctly! The boy was sent +here to convey certain information to me. He made +his way to the cabin before being attacked. Then he +was struck down and the important paper abstracted +from the envelope."</p> + +<p>"I've got an idea!" cried Tommy springing to +his feet and walking up and down the cabin floor. +"I've got a bully idea!"</p> + +<p>"Pass it around," advised Sandy.</p> + +<p>"This lad wasn't followed in at all!" Tommy went +on. "The man who attacked him and stole the +paper was waiting for him at this cabin! The lad +was mistaken for the boy whose name appears on +the envelope, and so he got what was meant for some +one else!"</p> + +<p>"But look here," George argued, "if the assassin +was waiting here for the boy to come, why didn't he +jump us as soon as we made our appearance?"</p> + +<p>"That's another question I can't answer," Tommy +admitted. "I might say that the man reached the +cabin and found this boy sitting here alone, but that +would be only guess work."</p> + +<p>Will arose and walked over to the bunk where the +wounded boy lay.</p> + +<p>"Half a dozen words from his lips would settle +the whole question," he said, "but it appears to me +that it will be a long time before he will be able to +speak a word. All our Boy Scout learning in the +matter of wounds is ineffective here!"</p> + +<p>"There's one thing clear to me," George argued, +"and that is that some one in this wild region now +knows more about our mission here than we do ourselves. +Of course, Will may know quite a lot regarding +it," he added, with a wink, "but, if he does, +he hasn't yet confided the story to us."</p> + +<p>"That's a hint that you get busy and tell us what +we're here for," suggested Tommy with another +wink.</p> + +<p>"I'll tell you what I know about the matter," +Will answered, "but in the face of the fact that a +more recent reading of the case is known to exist, +the chances are that any explanations I may make +may prove to be worthless."</p> + +<p>"Can you answer a straight question?" asked +Tommy.</p> + +<p>"I think so," answered Will.</p> + +<p>"Will you answer a straight question?" persisted +the boy.</p> + +<p>"Certainly!"</p> + +<p>"Then answer it. What are we here for?"</p> + +<p>"We are here," replied Will, "to secure the print +of a thumb!"</p> + +<p>"Has the shock of this incident turned your +head?" asked Tommy.</p> + +<p>"I answered the question correctly!" replied Will. +"We came all the way from Chicago to find the +print of a man's right thumb!"</p> + +<p>"Where do you expect to find it?" demanded +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Somewhere among the mountains and glaciers," +smiled Will.</p> + +<p>"I can get all the thumb prints I want on South +Clark street!" declared Tommy. "Of course, it's +fun to come out here, under any pretext whatever, +but I think Mr. Horton might have given us a more +sensible errand than that. This is worse than the +trip to the coal mine!"</p> + +<p>"Now tell us the excuse Mr. Horton gave for +wanting this print of a man's right thumb," smiled +Sandy.</p> + +<p>Will arose and went to the door. The sun was +lifting through a narrow pass in the mountains, and +the creatures of the thickets and the air were astir. +A flock of water fowl was winging swiftly to the +north, and what seemed to be the keen eyes of a wolf +looked out from the shelter of the undergrowth. +The air was clear and invigorating.</p> + +<p>"Why don't you answer my question?" asked +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Did you hear footsteps outside?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>Sandy shook his head, but the two boys, after +drawing on their head-nets, stepped out into the +glorious morning.</p> + +<p>"There is no reason," Will decided, "why the +person who attacked the boy and stole the paper +should find it necessary to leave this section without +trying to find out something more. I have an idea +that whoever injured the lad is still in this vicinity—that +he will remain in this vicinity as long as there is +a prospect of his securing additional information."</p> + +<p>"The mosquitos will eat him up if he remains +around here without proper shelter!" Sandy suggested.</p> + +<p>"That is one way of fighting off mosquitos," Will +said, catching the boy by the arm and pointing off +to the east, where a faint line of smoke was making +its way through the still air.</p> + +<p>"There's some kind of a camp there, all right!" +exclaimed Sandy.</p> + +<p>Tommy and George now came out of the cabin +and the four boys stood for some moments watching +the column of smoke which seemed to grow more +dense every moment. While they looked, a second +column appeared beside the first.</p> + +<p>"If we were in a Boy Scout country," Tommy +exclaimed, "I should say that was an Indian signal +for help."</p> + +<p>"In a Boy Scout country!" repeated Sandy. "If +this isn't a Boy Scout country, what is it? Every +inhabitant, so far as we know, belongs to the order!"</p> + +<p>"Well, there's a Boy Scout call for assistance," +urged Tommy, excitedly, "and I think we'd better +get a move on and see what it means!"</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_IIIa" id="Chapter_IIIa"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter III</span></h2> + +<h3>A MESSAGE IN CODE</h3> + + +<p>"We mustn't all go," Will said, as his companions +started on a run in the direction of the smoke signals.</p> + +<p>"I should say not!" exclaimed Sandy. "If we +should all go away at one time we might find another +wounded boy in the cabin on our return!"</p> + +<p>"Suppose you keep watch, then," Tommy suggested.</p> + +<p>"All right," Sandy agreed. "I'll stay if you'll +stay with me."</p> + +<p>Tommy grumbled a little at the idea of missing a +little possible excitement, but the two lads entered +the cabin and closed the door while Will and George +started away toward the signals.</p> + +<p>The moraine over which they passed was something +like a floor of loose rocks of different sizes, +with mats of mosses, lichens, sedges, and dwarf +shrubs scattered here and there, so the traveling +was by no means easy. Now and then the boys came +to a place where the rocks were entirely bare, and +here their progress was more rapid.</p> + +<p>The columns of smoke grew more distinct as they +advanced, and, after traveling a mile or more, they +came to a position from which a figure could be seen +moving back and forth between the two fires.</p> + +<p>"That's a kid all right!" Will decided, watching +the figure closely through a field glass. "And he's +wearing a Boy Scout uniform, too!"</p> + +<p>"I have an idea," George declared, with a sly wink +at his chum, "that if we should ascend to the +Mountains of the Moon and drop into a gorge a +thousand feet deep, we'd find a Boy Scout in a khaki +uniform at the bottom."</p> + +<p>"I'm not kicking at the discovery of a Boy +Scout," laughed Will. "The more Boy Scouts we +come across in this desolate land the happier we shall +be."</p> + +<p>"I'm not kicking, either," replied George. "I +was only commenting on the queer fact that we find +Boy Scouts in every region we chance to visit."</p> + +<p>"You'll find the little fellows scattered all over +the world!" declared Will. "And they're always +doing something wherever they are."</p> + +<p>Will now handed the field glass to George and he, +in turn, made a short study of the figure passing back +and forth between the two fires, piling wood now on +one and now on another.</p> + +<p>"It's dollars to doughnuts," Will observed, "that +the boy by the fires came in with the one who lies +in the cabin with a busted head."</p> + +<p>"I've been considering that proposition," George +said.</p> + +<p>"Then, perhaps, we may be able to solve a portion +of the mystery as soon as we get into conversation +with the lad," Will continued.</p> + +<p>"I wonder why he didn't come to the cabin during +the night?" asked George. "He surely must have +seen the lights shining from the windows."</p> + +<p>Will turned and looked back over the route they +had followed.</p> + +<p>"We can't see the cabin from here," he said.</p> + +<p>"That's a fact," George agreed, "and if the smoke +hadn't been going up good and plenty we would never +have seen that!"</p> + +<p>The next moment the lad at the fires saw Will and +George approaching and ran forward to meet them, +uttering as he ran the sharp, quick bark of the fox. +The boys responded with the challenge of the Beaver +Patrol.</p> + +<p>The lad met the two with anything but a serious +or anxious expression on his face. He grasped them +heartily by the hand and pointed toward the columns +of smoke, still rising into the sky.</p> + +<p>"No matter where you start a signal fire," he said +with a smile, "you're sure to find some Boy Scout +who will understand and answer."</p> + +<p>"Even in Alaska!" George grinned. "A thousand +miles from nowhere you can dig up a nest of Boy +Scouts by sending up an Indian sign for help."</p> + +<p>"Are you Will Smith?" the boy asked after a few +more words of greeting had been exchanged. "If +you are, I've come along way to find you!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I am Will Smith," the boy answered.</p> + +<p>"How'd you guess it?" asked George. "Why +didn't you ask me if I was the boss of the bunch? +Don't I look dignified enough?"</p> + +<p>"I have a description of Will Smith lying nicely +tucked in at the back of my brain!" replied the boy. +"Mr. Horton told me where I'd be apt to find him. +It seems that I've found him all right, but in doing +so, I've lost my chum! Haven't seen anything of a +stray Boy Scout, have you?"</p> + +<p>Will did not reply to the question immediately, +yet he did not care to convey to the boy the +news of what had occurred until after a clear understanding +of the situation had been reached.</p> + +<p>"What's your name?" asked George.</p> + +<p>"Frank Disbrow, Fox Patrol, Chicago," was the +reply.</p> + +<p>"And your chum?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"Bert Calkins, Fox Patrol, Chicago."</p> + +<p>"Do you mean to tell me that you have followed +us boys from Chicago?" asked George. "You've +had a long chase if you have done so!"</p> + +<p>"No," answered Frank, "we were very much +surprised, one day, to receive a wireless telegram +from my father, who is connected in various business +operations with Lawyer Horton. The wireless +stated that father had work for us to do in Alaska, +and the result of it all was that we received a long +message in code from Mr. Horton."</p> + +<p>"In code?" asked Will, excitedly.</p> + +<p>"Exactly! In code."</p> + +<p>"In whose code?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"Father's," was the reply.</p> + +<p>"I see," said Will. "And you, of course, understand +your father's code?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly!" was the answer.</p> + +<p>"What did the message in code say?" asked +George.</p> + +<p>"It was addressed to Will Smith," was the answer, +"and I, following instructions, did not translate +it."</p> + +<p>"The message to you simply requested the delivery +of the code message?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"Yes, that's all it told us to do."</p> + +<p>"Do you know what the code message contained?" +asked Will.</p> + +<p>"I do not!" was the reply. "You see," the boy +went on, "Bert Calkins and I were at Cordova on a +vacation. If the wireless message had been two +hours later it would have found us on the way to +Cook Inlet."</p> + +<p>"Just traveling about for the fun of the thing, +eh?" asked George.</p> + +<p>"That's the idea," replied Frank.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps we'd better return to the cabin before +we get the history of this boy's life," suggested +George, with a grin. "I don't like the way these +mosquitos howl about my ears. I'm afraid they'll +devour the net and begin on me."</p> + +<p>"The cabin?" repeated Frank. "Did you find +the cabin?"</p> + +<p>"Sure we did," answered George. "And we left +the cabin for an hour or so last night, and when we +came back we found a member of the Fox Patrol +asleep on the floor."</p> + +<p>"So that's where Bert went, is it?" asked Frank. +"You see," the boy went on, "I got separated from +Bert just this side of Katalla. He loitered behind to +view the scenery, or something of that sort, and I +came on ahead."</p> + +<p>"And he never caught up with you?" asked +George.</p> + +<p>"He never did," was the reply, "although I saw +him at different times during yesterday. I thought +he headed off in this direction, and so came here. +I've had rather a bad night looking for him."</p> + +<p>"He had the code message addressed to Will?" +asked George.</p> + +<p>"Yes," was the reply.</p> + +<p>"The untranslated code message?" Will asked.</p> + +<p>"Yes, the untranslated code message."</p> + +<p>"Glory be!" shouted George.</p> + +<p>Frank looked at the boy in wonder for a moment, +and then turned to Will with a question in his eyes.</p> + +<p>"It's a long story," Will said in answer to the +look, "and we'd better wait until we get to the +cabin before entering upon it."</p> + +<p>"Is Bert all right?" asked Frank.</p> + +<p>"He got a little bump on the head somewhere," +answered George, "but he'll come out of that all +right, in time. I wasn't rejoicing because your +chum got a poke on the belfry," George went on, +whimsically, "I was shouting because the man who +stole the code message didn't accomplish anything."</p> + +<p>Frank, who was now standing by the fire collecting +such bits of wardrobe as had been removed from his +handbag, and also collecting the remains of the +solitary lunch of which he had partaken that morning, +again turned to Will with an interrogation +point in each eye.</p> + +<p>"Was the code message stolen?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"It certainly was!" Will answered. "At least a +large envelope with my name written across the front +was found, with the end torn open, by your friend's +side as he lay on the floor."</p> + +<p>"That's the work of the man who followed us +in!" declared Frank.</p> + +<p>"We'll get this story all out of you pretty soon," +laughed George.</p> + +<p>"Suppose we go to the cabin before we uncork +the entire yarn," suggested Frank. "To tell you +the truth, boys, I didn't have half enough breakfast, +and I'm about starved to death!"</p> + +<p>"All right," Will replied. "There's nothing to +keep us here that I know of. Did you see any one +around your camp in the night?" he continued. +"What kind of a night did you pass?"</p> + +<p>"A rotten, bad night!" was the answer. "I +traveled a long way before I came to any wood +suitable for building a campfire, and after I got one +built it seemed to send out a bugle call to every wild +animal within forty miles of the place. I guess I +heard bears, and wolves, and wild dogs, and bull +moose, and every other form, of wild life known to +Alaska, at some time during the night!"</p> + +<p>"And all the time," grinned George, "you were not +more than a mile or so from our cabin. It's a +wonder you didn't see our light."</p> + +<p>"Well, I didn't," Frank replied. "But that's +past and gone," he went on, in a moment, "and what +I'm thinking about at the present time is this: Did +the man who stole the code message from Bert force +the boy to translate it for him? Tell me something +more about the attack on the boy."</p> + +<p>"We don't know anything about the attack," +replied Will. "We found him lying on the floor of +the cabin unconscious, and he has been unconscious +ever since."</p> + +<p>"Well," Frank went on, "Bert understands the +code, for I taught it to him while we were translating +the telegrams which came to me. Now, if this outlaw +took the code before he struck the blow, the +chances are that he ordered Bert to translate it for +him. In that case, something which those opposed +to you ought not to know is in the hands of your +foes."</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_IVa" id="Chapter_IVa"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter IV</span></h2> + +<h3>THE LOST PLANS</h3> + + +<p>"Well, there's a chance that the boy didn't translate +the code message," George argued. "Anyway, +we ought not to worry about that part of the case. +Time enough to fret when real trouble comes."</p> + +<p>By this time the boys had reached the cabin, +after an exhausting journey over the moraine. They +found Tommy and Sandy standing just inside the +screened doorway, waiting impatiently for their +arrival.</p> + +<p>"Where did you find this one?" asked Tommy with +a grin.</p> + +<p>"Did he drop down out of the sky?" Sandy +questioned.</p> + +<p>Frank stood back for a moment, eyeing the two +critically.</p> + +<p>"I know you two kids," he said. "You're Tommy +and Sandy. I've read about you in the Chicago +newspapers, but I never expected to meet you out in +Alaska. You seem to be getting plenty to eat, +judging from your condition. And that brings back +to my mind the condition of my own stomach."</p> + +<p>"Boys," Will exclaimed, "this is Frank Disbrow. +He started for our cabin in company with Bert +Calking, the boy we found on the floor last night. +The two were bringing a code despatch to me, and +they became separated early yesterday morning."</p> + +<p>"A code message, was it?" Tommy asked.</p> + +<p>"Yes, a code message," Will answered, "but the +bearer of the despatch may, for all we know, have +been forced to translate the message for the benefit +of the man who robbed him of it."</p> + +<p>In a moment Frank was by the side of his chum, +gazing down into a white and haggard face. He +turned away in a moment with a little shiver of +anxiety. His face, too, was pale.</p> + +<p>"I'm afraid that's a serious wound!" he said.</p> + +<p>"If we only had a surgeon," Sandy suggested.</p> + +<p>"I'll go get one," offered Tommy. "I can cut +across to Katalla in no time and bring back the best +doctor there is in the country."</p> + +<p>"I'll go with you," offered Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Now, wait a minute, boys!" Will said in a +moment. "Let's think this matter over. If you +go to Cordova instead of Katalla, you can communicate +with Frank's father at Chicago, and so get +in touch with Mr. Horton. In this way, we can +learn the contents of the code despatch. There +surely was some strong reason for sending it, and it +seems as if we ought to know its contents."</p> + +<p>"That's a good idea, too," exclaimed Tommy. +"We'll go to Katalla, and perhaps we can find a boat +about ready to sail for Cordova. In that case we +ought to get up to the wireless station and back in a +couple of days. The distance isn't great, but it's +rough traveling."</p> + +<p>"I wish we could take Bert with us," suggested +Frank.</p> + +<p>"Are you thinking of going?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"Yes," was the reply, "if I could take Bert out."</p> + +<p>"Bert is in no condition to be taken, out," Will +answered, "and even if he were it would take so +long to make the journey that we could get a surgeon +out here before we could land him in a hospital."</p> + +<p>"I think," Frank said, "that I ought to go with +the boy who is sent out after a surgeon. It is not +certain that father will communicate by wireless +save to his son. Anyway, I can find out a great +deal more by talking with him than could any one +else."</p> + +<p>"I guess that's right!" Will replied.</p> + +<p>"Then I'll go with him!" Tommy shouted. "I +want to see what's going on in the world of fashion, +anyway!"</p> + +<p>"All right," Will said. "Pack up your provisions +and get ready to move. Of course you'll need provisions."</p> + +<p>"I usually do!" grinned Tommy.</p> + +<p>The lads packed up the good supply of sandwiches +and started off towards Katalla. It was somewhere +near noon when they left the cabin, and they expected +to reach the town on the coast before twilight +fell, the distance being not more than fourteen miles.</p> + +<p>"If you don't get to town when night falls," Will +warned, "don't try to camp out in the open, but keep +going until you find some human habitation. You +remember what happened to Bert!"</p> + +<p>"Any one who comes within a half a mile of me in +a lonely place," Tommy put in, "will scrape the +acquaintance of a bullet."</p> + +<p>"And here's another thing," Will advised, "don't +travel without a wet cloth or a bunch of green leaves +inside your hat. It'll be ninety in the shade before +the afternoon is over!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, and a hundred in the sun!" declared Sandy.</p> + +<p>"That's a nice weather for the Arctic regions, isn't +it?" asked Frank.</p> + +<p>"We have to take it just as we find it!" replied +Will.</p> + +<p>The boys started away on a brisk walk, and were +accompanied by their chums some distance down +the faint trail which led to the coast. At one time +in the history of the country one large glacier had +completely covered that section. But now, thousands +of subordinate canyons and hollows on the +mountains were filled with independent masses of +ice.</p> + +<p>All that section of Alaska, from smoking Wrangell +to the Pacific coast, shows volcanic peaks. There +are many dead craters, and some which are not so +dead! There are still peaks of fire as well as rivers +of ice.</p> + +<p>After the departure of the two boys, Will and the +others devoted considerable attention to the wounded +lad. They did their best with the simple means at +hand, but never, for an instant, did the boy regain +consciousness.</p> + +<p>"I don't think we can do anything for him until +the surgeon comes," Will said as he threw himself +disconsolately into a chair.</p> + +<p>"If we only knew whether he was forced to translate +the code message for the benefit of the man who +robbed him," Sandy suggested, "there wouldn't be +so much doubt as to what course we ought to take."</p> + +<p>"The code message," Will argued, "may change +the whole scheme."</p> + +<p>"Yes," Sandy complained, "and we won't know +what to do until Frank comes back with the duplicate."</p> + +<p>"We won't know what to do then unless Will +loosens up!" laughed George.</p> + +<p>"Referring, of course," Sandy laughed, "to the +prospective story of the mark of the human thumb. +Will was about to tell us all about it when we saw +the signals sent up by Frank."</p> + +<p>"That's a fact," Will replied. "I didn't get any +further than the mention of the human thumb, did +I?"</p> + +<p>"We're waiting to hear the rest of it now!" declared +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Well," Will began, "there was a safe robbed in +Chicago one night, and two men were accused of the +crime. The accused men were in the employ of the +manufacturing concern whose safe was entered. +They admit that they were in the private office of +the firm during the night, but they deny that they +opened the safe."</p> + +<p>"Of course!" laughed George.</p> + +<p>"Now don't form any hasty conclusions," Will +went on. "There was a third person in the office +that night, according to the stories told by the two +men who are accused, but this third person says he +wasn't there!"</p> + +<p>"Then this third person may be the one who +opened the safe."</p> + +<p>"That is the theory of the defense," Will explained.</p> + +<p>"But what's all this got to do with the mark of a +man's right thumb?" asked George.</p> + +<p>"I'm coming to that," Will went on. "The three +men who were in the office that night—we are supposing +for the sake of the argument that there were +three men there, and that the man who says he wasn't +there is lying about it—were looking over a set of +plans for a new machine which the company was +arranging to manufacture."</p> + +<p>"I've got you now!" laughed Sandy. "The +thumb print of the third man was left on the drawings!"</p> + +<p>"That's the idea," admitted Will. "The two men +say that they were not a little annoyed during the +course of the evening because this man, Babcock, +persisted in pawing over the plans with dirty hands. +They declare that the marks of both thumbs are to +be seen on drawings, not in plain dust and grime, +but in ink."</p> + +<p>"He must have spilled the ink," suggested George.</p> + +<p>"That's what they say," Will replied.</p> + +<p>"Well, go on!" urged George.</p> + +<p>"The statement is made by the two accused men +that they worked over the plans until after midnight, +and that they left this man Babcock at the office +when they went to their homes. Babcock denied +that he was in the office at all that night."</p> + +<p>"Where are the plans?" asked George.</p> + +<p>"In Alaska," answered Will.</p> + +<p>"But where abouts in Alaska?"</p> + +<p>Will looked at the boy quizzically for a moment +before he answered.</p> + +<p>"That's just what we're here to find out!" he +finally said.</p> + +<p>"But why, when, where, how?" began the boy.</p> + +<p>"One at a time!" laughed Will. "On the morning +following the robbery, the plans having been rejected +by the two men who were accused of robbing +the safe, were sent to a mining company having an +office at Cordova. So far as the defense is concerned, +they have never been seen since that time."</p> + +<p>"Were they actually sent?" demanded George.</p> + +<p>"Yes, they were sent. The manager of the mining +company admits having received them. He says +they were turned over to a clerk for examination. +From the time they passed into the hands of this +clerk, no one had seen them. The clerk says he +never had them."</p> + +<p>"Do the manager and the clerk know what the +defense in the robbery case expects to prove by the +papers if they can be secured?" asked George.</p> + +<p>"They are not supposed to know," Will answered.</p> + +<p>"But you think that they may know, for all that?"</p> + +<p>"At the time of leaving Chicago, I had no idea +that there would be any trouble at all in securing the +plans. In fact, until Bert was found lying on our +floor last night, I believed that we should discover +the papers as soon as we came upon one Len Garman, +a miner who has, against the advice of his friends, +been prospecting in this district, and who is known +to have at one time occupied this cabin."</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_Va" id="Chapter_Va"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter V</span></h2> + +<h3>FISHING IN ALASKA</h3> + + +<p>"Are you sure this is the same cabin?" asked +George.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I am sure this is the same cabin. At any +rate, the description is perfect, both as regards the +structure and the surroundings."</p> + +<p>"I may be somewhat dense," George went on, +"but I can't understand why a miner who is fool +enough to prospect for gold on a dead glacier should +take pains to conceal plans concerning the manufacture +of a machine. What did he want of the +plans?"</p> + +<p>"I didn't say that he was concealing the plans," +laughed Will.</p> + +<p>"Well, you inferred as much!"</p> + +<p>"As a matter of fact, I think he is hiding the +plans."</p> + +<p>"Does he expect to go into the manufacturing +business?" grinned Sandy.</p> + +<p>"I don't know about that," Will replied, "but +there is talk that the clerk and the miner conspired +to lose the plans."</p> + +<p>"Because of the thumb prints?" asked Sandy.</p> + +<p>"No; because the machine outlined in the plans +is a mining machine, and because this clerk, Vin +Chase, his name is, and this miner, Garman, have a +notion in their head that they can steal the idea +and bring forth a machine of their own. At least +that is the supposition in Chicago."</p> + +<p>"The plot deepens!" laughed George, "We'll be +doing business with the Patent Office the first thing +we know!"</p> + +<p>"Are the plans which are claimed to hold the +thumb prints of any value?" asked Sandy. "What +I mean is, is the alleged invention of any account? +You know there are plenty of inventions which are +not worth the paper they are drawn on."</p> + +<p>"Spaulding and Hurley, the two men accused of +stealing the money," Will answered, "declare that +the plans are absolutely without value."</p> + +<p>"Why didn't you tell us all this before we left +Chicago?" asked George. "I don't see any necessity +for your keeping the story of the plans such a +profound secret!"</p> + +<p>"Well," answered Will, "the principal reason why +I didn't tell you the whole story in Chicago is that +I didn't care to clutter your minds up with a puzzling +proposition which might be solved in a moment at +the end of the journey. I expected to find Garman +and the plans in this cottage. In that case, I should +have shipped the plans back to Chicago and we +should have gone with our playful little vacation +under the North Star."</p> + +<p>"Then you wouldn't have told us anything about +the plans or the robbers?" questioned Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Certainly not," was the reply. "You see, +boys," Will went on, observing the injured look on +the faces of his chums, "we've always been mixed up +in some mystery, ever since the day we started out +to visit the Pictured Rocks of Old Superior. So I +thought you might like one trip free of puzzles and +excitements."</p> + +<p>"Don't you never permit us to lose sight of a +mystery!" exclaimed George. "I eat mysteries +three times a day, and then dream of mysteries at +night! And Sandy," he went on, "just gets fat on +mysteries!"</p> + +<p>"All right," Will agreed. "If you want to tie +your intellect all up into knots studying out such +Sherlock Holmes puzzles as come to me, I have no +objections."</p> + +<p>"Well, we've found the cottage," George observed +presently, "but we haven't found the man."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps Bert Calkins found him," contended +Will.</p> + +<p>"Do you really think the miner is still hanging +around this cabin?" asked Sandy. "Do you think +he is the man who gave Bert the clout on the head? +If you do think so, we'd better keep a sharp lookout."</p> + +<p>"Garman wouldn't know anything about our coming +here after the plans!" suggested George.</p> + +<p>"Any man who steals another man's invention, +or tries to steal it, will go to almost any length to +protect the thing he has stolen. Even if Garman +had no previous knowledge of our visit to this place +our arrival here would at once excite his suspicions."</p> + +<p>"I see that now," agreed George, "and the first +thing the fellow would do would be to try to discover +what we were doing here."</p> + +<p>"Yes," continued Will, "and that would be sufficient +motive for him to attack the bearer of the +code despatch."</p> + +<p>"I guess we've got it all doped out now," laughed +George. "All we've got to do is to find this man +Garman, take the original plans away from him, +mail them back to Chicago, and go on about our +business."</p> + +<p>"And the lawyers in Chicago will do the rest!" +grinned Sandy.</p> + +<p>"It looks easy, doesn't it?" suggested Will.</p> + +<p>"Why, if this miner doesn't know anything about +what we're here for, we can tell him any story we're +a mind to. We can tell him we're here on a vacation +and have money to invest in a mine, if he can find +the right kind of a mine for us," laughed George. +"In twenty-four hours after we get hold of him, we +can have him eating corn out of our hands, like a +billy goat."</p> + +<p>"You say it well!" laughed Sandy.</p> + +<p>"That's all very well," Will agreed, "provided +Garman isn't the man who took the code despatch +from Bert Calkins."</p> + +<p>"And provided, too," George declared, "that +Garman didn't force the boy to translate the despatch +for his benefit."</p> + +<p>"And provided, also," Sandy cut in, "that the +code despatch doesn't give away the whole snap to +the miner. If he sees the machine plans referred +to in any way, he'll think we want to get them away +from him, because they are the stolen plans, and then +it will be all off for us!"</p> + +<p>"And so, when you come to round up on the proposition," +Will argued, "we are not much further +along than we were when we left Chicago, except +that we have found the cabin."</p> + +<p>"Who said anything about getting dinner?" asked +Sandy, after a short pause. "I remember having a +little snack about twelve o'clock, but that wasn't +to be considered as a full meal, I hope."</p> + +<p>"What have we got to eat?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"Nothing but a lot of canned stuff!" declared +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Well, then, go out and get a deer, or half a dozen +rabbits, or go back here to the little creek that runs +into Copper river and see if you can get a mess of +fish. There ought to be plenty of fish in Alaska!"</p> + +<p>"What kind of fish can you get?" asked Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Salmon!" answered Will.</p> + +<p>"How far is it to the creek?" was the next question.</p> + +<p>"Something over a mile, I should say," replied +Will.</p> + +<p>"It can't be any further than that," George cut +in. "The glacier this cabin is built on supplies +most of the water for it."</p> + +<p>"All right, then," Sandy replied. "I'll get myself +up a little lunch consisting of a couple of slices +of bacon and three or four eggs, and go out and +catch a ten-pound salmon for dinner. Want to go +with me, George?" he added. "No need of all +three staying here."</p> + +<p>"Let Will go," replied George. "I'm tired, and +there's a particularly interesting book I'd like to +finish this afternoon."</p> + +<p>Will went pawing among the fishing tackle, and +finally called out to George who was just crawling +into a bunk with his book:</p> + +<p>"What do they catch fish with in Alaska?"</p> + +<p>"Hooks!" replied George.</p> + +<p>"Hooks and eyes?" asked Will, with a chuckle.</p> + +<p>"Sure! Hooks and eyes! You see 'em with the +eyes, and grab 'em with the hooks!"</p> + +<p>"Aw, never mind that gink!" laughed Sandy. +"He doesn't know any more about fishing in Alaska +than a hog knows about Sunday! Bring along all +the flies we've got and some red flannel, and some +pieces of dirty bacon, and we'll manage to get fish. +If one bait won't answer, another will."</p> + +<p>"Do we have to cut a hole through the ice?" asked +Will.</p> + +<p>"Cut a hole through the ice!" repeated George. +"Eighty or ninety in the shade! If you don't get +this boy out of here, Sandy," George added, "I'll +give him a poke in the eye!"</p> + +<p>After selecting such flies, hooks, and lines as they +thought might prove alluring to the fish, Will and +Sandy started away in the direction of the little +stream which ran out of the glacier a mile or so to the +north and took a general direction toward Copper +river.</p> + +<p>After walking half a mile or more, they came to a +line of rocks which seemed to extend from the open +ice of the glacier to the coast, a distance of perhaps +five or six miles. West of this line of moraine rocks +the land sloped gradually to the northwest and here +the headwaters of the little creek they sought were +found.</p> + +<p>Straight away to the north, west of the glacier, +rose a range of wooded hills just now bright with +blossoms and swarming with insect life. The little +creek crept along to the south of this range, and, +further down, separated the ground to the south from +the hills.</p> + +<p>Sandy leaped across the little rivulet as it came +bubbling out of the ice hidden under the moraine +and started down the bank next to the line of hills. +Will kept to the other side.</p> + +<p>"Why don't you come across?" shouted Sandy.</p> + +<p>"What's the good of crossing over at all?" Will +asked. "Before long the stream will be so wide +that you can't cross back, and then you'll have to +retrace your steps clear to the headwaters!"</p> + +<p>"I can swim, can't I?" laughed Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Not in that cold water!" replied Will.</p> + +<p>Sandy only laughed in reply to the warning, and +the two boys proceeded downstream, one on each side +of the rivulet.</p> + +<p>Within half an hour they caught half a dozen +salmon of fair size, weighing from four to six pounds, +using only red flannel for bait.</p> + +<p>"What do you think of a fish in his right mind +that'll try to eat red flannel?" asked Sandy, speaking +from the opposite side of the creek.</p> + +<p>"Boys do more foolish things than that!" answered +Will.</p> + +<p>"Explanation!" grinned Sandy.</p> + +<p>"They smoke cigarettes, for one thing!" replied +Will. "Even a fish that tries to make a meal off red +flannel won't smoke a cigarette."</p> + +<p>"We don't seem to get anything very big!" +shouted Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Well," Will answered back with a faint smile, +"take a look up the hillside and see if that bear coming +is large enough for you!"</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_VIa" id="Chapter_VIa"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> VI</h2> + +<h3>A MISSING BOY</h3> + + +<p>"Bear nothing!" laughed Sandy. "There isn't a +bear within a hundred miles of us! You can't fool +your Uncle Isaac!"</p> + +<p>"Look back and see!" advised Will.</p> + +<p>Sandy paid no attention to the remark, but kept +on fishing, following on down stream until he was +some yards in advance of his chum.</p> + +<p>So interested was he in the sport in which he was +engaged that he thought no more of what had been +said to him regarding the bear until a pistol shot +reached his ears.</p> + +<p>Then he glanced quickly in the rear, taking in the +whole line of the hillside at one glance.</p> + +<p>Just at that moment the whole landscape seemed +to consist principally of bear! Will had wounded a +great brown bear, and he was charging down toward +the place where Sandy stood. The boy drew his +automatic and faced about, hardly knowing what +else to do, as the creek was too wide to leap across. +The bear came on with a rush.</p> + +<p>"Run!" shouted Will.</p> + +<p>"I guess you'll have to show me a place to run to!" +Sandy shouted back. "This bear seems to have +taken possession of about all the territory there is on +this side of the creek."</p> + +<p>"Shoot, you dunce, shoot before he gets up to +you!" shouted Will. "If he gets one swipe at you +with that paw, you'll land out in the Gulf of Alaska! +Fill him full of lead!"</p> + +<p>Sandy began firing, but the bear came steadily on.</p> + +<p>"You'll have to swim for it!" shouted Will in a +moment. "You mustn't let that big brute get near +enough to hand you one with that educated left of +his. Jump in and swim and I'll help pull you out!"</p> + +<p>Sandy looked at the creek and shivered. The +water looked blue, as if shivering from the cold. +He faced about and decided to take a few more shots +at the bear before risking his life in the cold water.</p> + +<p>"You'll have to jump!" Will shouted from the +other side.</p> + +<p>"I wouldn't have to jump," Sandy cried back, +"If you'd do more shooting and less talking! Go on +and use up your lead!"</p> + +<p>In the excitement of the time, Will had, indeed, +forgotten to keep his automatic busy. He now began +shooting as fast as the weapon would carry the lead +away, and bruin seemed to take offense at the +activity with which the bullets flew about him. He +was bleeding in several places, and was in a perfect +frenzy of rage.</p> + +<p>"I guess that's an armored bear!" Will shouted +across the creek. "I don't believe our bullets have +any effect on him!"</p> + +<p>By this time the bear was within a few paces of +Sandy. The boy's automatic was empty now, yet +he obstinately refused to spring into the water. +Bruin reached out one paw and Sandy ducked, coming +up behind the clumsy animal and landed a blow +with the butt of the automatic on his head.</p> + +<p>The next few moments were something of a blank +in the mind of the boy. He heard Will calling to +him, he knew that he had been struck by the bear, +knew that his chum's bullets were still flying across +the river, and knew that things were turning black +around him.</p> + +<p>Then he felt a dash of cold water in his face, and +looked up to see Will standing over him, pouring +water out of his hat.</p> + +<p>"What did I do to the bear?" he asked faintly.</p> + +<p>"Wait till you get to a mirror and see what the +bear did to you!" replied Will. "What you got was +a plenty!"</p> + +<p>"Why didn't I jump in and swim across?" asked +Sandy feebly.</p> + +<p>"Because you're the most obstinate little customer +that ever drew the breath of life," answered Will. +"You took a chance on being eaten alive by a bear +rather than get your feet wet!"</p> + +<p>"Did I get my feet wet?" asked Sandy.</p> + +<p>"No, but I did!" answered Will. "I had to swim +across. The bear handed you one between the eyes +and then dropped dead. I was afraid you'd lie here +all night if I didn't do something, so I swam over."</p> + +<p>"So you're the one that got wet?" grinned Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I'm the one that got wet, but you're the +one that got beat up!" replied Will. "Do you think +you can walk home now?"</p> + +<p>"Sandy straightened out one arm at a time, then +one leg at a time, then arose to a sitting position.</p> + +<p>"I don't know why not!" he replied.</p> + +<p>"Get up and see if you can walk!" advised Will.</p> + +<p>"'Course I can walk!" replied Sandy. "I just +went down for the count!"</p> + +<p>He scrambled slowly to his feet and turned about +to gaze at his late antagonist. The bear was lying +stone dead close to the stream.</p> + +<p>"He's a big one, isn't he?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"He certainly is," was the reply. "If he'd got a +good swipe at you before he became weak from loss of +blood, you'd be in the 'Good-night' land all right +now!" the boy added, with a grin.</p> + +<p>"Well, I'm glad he didn't, then!" answered Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Do you think we can carry the rug home?" asked +Will.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps you can," replied Sandy. "I don't +feel as if I could carry an extra ounce. I guess Bruin +did pass me a stiff jolt!"</p> + +<p>"You bet he did!" replied Will. "Anyway," he +added, "we'll have to leave the rug until some other +time, because we've got quite a lot of fish to carry. +If any one steals the hide, we'll have to stand it."</p> + +<p>"We might skin the bear and put the hide up in a +tree," suggested Sandy. "We'll have to tan the +pelt in the sunshine, anyway!"</p> + +<p>"That's a good idea, too!" exclaimed Will, +getting busy at once with his knife. "And that reminds +me that we can have bear steak for supper if +we want it. We all like bear steak, you know!"</p> + +<p>"I should say so!" replied Sandy.</p> + +<p>It took the boys only a short time to remove the +pelt from the bear and provide themselves with a +few pounds of steak. Then leaving part of their fish, +they started away up the creek toward the cabin.</p> + +<p>Now and then Will stopped in the hurried walk to +look toward Sandy and grin in the most provoking +manner.</p> + +<p>"If you see anything about me you don't like," +Sandy said, half-angrily, on the third or fourth inspection, +"you can just step over here and knock it +out of me! What are you making fun of me for?"</p> + +<p>"You look like you'd been through a battle with a +cage of monkeys," replied Will. "You've got a +swipe on the side of the face, and your cheek is +scratched and bloody, and you got a swipe on your +shoulder, and there's a tear on your shoulder, in the +flesh as well as in your coat, and one eye will be black +as soon as the blood settles under the contusion. +Take it up one side and down the other, you're a +pretty disreputable looking object!"</p> + +<p>"You wait until you get into a fight with a bear, +and see how you come out! I'll bet you won't +look as if you'd just dropped in from a pink tea! +You'll look about like thirty cents!"</p> + +<p>"When I see a bear coming," replied Will, "I +hope I'll have the sense to run! I won't stay and +get into a knock-down argument with him!"</p> + +<p>It was nearly sundown when the boys came in +sight of the cabin. They looked eagerly through +the twilight for a light, expecting that George would +have the great acetylene lamp in working order.</p> + +<p>But no light showed from the cabin, and all was +still as they approached the door. When Will +looked in he saw the interior was in confusion.</p> + +<p>"I should think George might straighten things +out a little bit," he grumbled. "I'll bet he's been +asleep all the afternoon!"</p> + +<p>"I presume he has," agreed Sandy.</p> + +<p>Will reached to the top of a shelf for an electric +flashlight and swung the circle of flame about the +room.</p> + +<p>"Why, look here!" he said excitedly, "what do +you know about that?"</p> + +<p>"About what?" demanded Sandy, who was looking +the other way.</p> + +<p>"About Bert's bed being empty!"</p> + +<p>"That's another joke!"</p> + +<p>"Not on your life!" exclaimed Will.</p> + +<p>Sandy turned around, gave one glance at the +vacant bunk, and dropped weakly back into a chair.</p> + +<p>"Do you think he got up and walked away?" he +asked.</p> + +<p>"No," replied Will, "I don't!"</p> + +<p>"Then, who carried him away?" demanded Sandy.</p> + +<p>Will turned the rays of the searchlight on the bunk +where he had seen George cuddle down and then +walked over toward it.</p> + +<p>"George didn't!" he answered, "because George +is here sound asleep!"</p> + +<p>"Sound asleep?" repeated Sandy. "Do you suppose +he'd lie here and sleep and let some one come +and carry away Bert?"</p> + +<p>Will took hold of the boy's leg and half drew him +out of the bunk.</p> + +<p>"Wake up, here!" he shouted.</p> + +<p>George yawned and rubbed his eyes.</p> + +<p>"First good sleep I've had in a week!" he said.</p> + +<p>"Did you sleep all the afternoon?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"I guess I did!"</p> + +<p>"Hear any one around the cabin?"</p> + +<p>"How could I, when I was sound asleep?"</p> + +<p>"Well," Will went on, "while you were having +that fine sleep, some one came to the cabin and +carried off Bert Calkins!"</p> + +<p>"What are you talking about?" demanded George.</p> + +<p>"Look in his bunk and see!" advised Sandy.</p> + +<p>"How was it ever done?" demanded George.</p> + +<p>"I'm not asking how it was done," Will returned. +"What I want to know is: Why was it done? What +object could any one have in carrying away that +kid? I wouldn't believe he was gone if I didn't see +the empty bunk."</p> + +<p>"It's something connected with that code message!" +Sandy suggested.</p> + +<p>"I've got it!" replied Will. "The man took the +message away before he knew whether he could read +it or not. When he found he couldn't read it, he +came back to get Bert to read it for him."</p> + +<p>"But Bert is in no condition to be kept prisoner," +George insisted. "He won't give the information +the man seeks, and the man will probably mistreat +him because he can't! What we've got to do is to +get a move on and find the boy before he is starved or +beaten to death."</p> + +<p>"That's just what we've got to do!" agreed Will. +"We've got to drop everything until we find that +boy!"</p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_VIIa" id="Chapter_VIIa"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter VII</span></h2> + +<h3>A LOST "BULLDOG"</h3> + + +<p>"How much do you know about this case?" asked +Tommy of Frank, as the two stumbled over the uneven +moraine.</p> + +<p>"How much do I know about what?" asked Frank.</p> + +<p>"Why, this case that your father talked with you +about when he used the wireless; the case referred +to in the code message."</p> + +<p>"Why, I know that you boys are out here in +search of the print of a man's right thumb!" laughed +Frank.</p> + +<p>"Is that all?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I know a little more than that. I know that +two men are soon to be tried for burglary, and that +the discovery of the thumb marks is quite essential +to a successful defense."</p> + +<p>"Did your father tell you all that?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, we talked quite a lot by wireless."</p> + +<p>Tommy considered the situation for a moment +and then said:</p> + +<p>"I wish you'd tell me all you know about it."</p> + +<p>In as few words as possible, Frank related the +story practically as told to George and Sandy by +Will.</p> + +<p>"Does Bert know all about this?" asked Tommy +when the recital was finished. "Did you talk the +matter over with him?"</p> + +<p>"I certainly did."</p> + +<p>"I hope," Tommy mused, "that he wasn't forced +to tell anything about the thumb marks when the +man robbed him."</p> + +<p>"I don't think he would do that," suggested +Frank. "He would be apt to plead ignorance."</p> + +<p>The boys came, about nine in the evening, to the +little station of Katalla, which is just a mite of a +town sitting perched high above the Gulf of Alaska. +The first thing they did was to make inquiries at the +water front regarding transportation to Cordova.</p> + +<p>As they passed swiftly from point to point, consulting +a half-breed here, an Esquimaux there, and +an American trader at another point, they noticed +that they were being followed. Finally Tommy drew +back and waited until the man who seemed to be +pursuing them came up.</p> + +<p>"Are you looking for me?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"I would like to speak with you," was the reply.</p> + +<p>"Well, then, why didn't you come up like a man +and say so?" demanded Tommy. "You needn't +have skulked along in the dark!"</p> + +<p>"Fact is," the man answered, "that I heard you +making inquiries regarding the possibility of getting +to Cordova tonight."</p> + +<p>"Yes, that's where we want to go."</p> + +<p>"Have you secured transportation yet?"</p> + +<p>"We have not!" Tommy answered.</p> + +<p>"Well, I was going to let you inquire at one more +place," said the other, "and then tender you the +use of my boat."</p> + +<p>"Why were you going to wait?"</p> + +<p>"Because I wanted you to exhaust your last chance +so that I could get my own price for the service."</p> + +<p>"You must be a Yankee!" laughed Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Right!" was the reply. "I'm a Yankee direct +from Boston. I don't have many opportunities of +acquiring wealth out here, and I smelt real money +as soon as I saw you boys come to town a couple of +days ago."</p> + +<p>"What kind of a boat have you?" asked Tommy.</p> + +<p>"A swift little motor boat."</p> + +<p>"Can you get us to Cordova and back by seven +or eight in the morning?"</p> + +<p>"I don't think I can do the job as soon as that, +but I'll do the best I can! Why are you in such a +hurry?"</p> + +<p>"There's a boy sick at the camp!" was the short +reply.</p> + +<p>"How much are you going to charge for the use +of your boat?" asked Frank. "We're willing to pay +for fast service."</p> + +<p>"I think a couple of hundred dollars will be about +right," was the reply. "It's a little bit risky going +out in the night."</p> + +<p>Tommy was about to protest against the exorbitant +charge, but Frank motioned him to remain +silent.</p> + +<p>"The price is satisfactory," he said. "When can +you start?"</p> + +<p>"In an hour," was the answer.</p> + +<p>After promising to meet the boys at the floating +dock in an hour's time, the owner of the motor boat +took his departure, and the two lads dropped into a +smoky and smelly restaurant for supper.</p> + +<p>The place was foul with evil language as well as +evil smells, and the boys did not remain long. Instead +of sitting down at the table and ordering their +meal, they bought such provisions as they could get +and took their way to the water front. When they +sat down to eat their rather unpalatable repast, +they saw that a boy of about their own size and age +was loitering not far away.</p> + +<p>"I'll gamble you a five cent piece," Tommy +whispered to Frank, "that that is a Boy Scout! +What do you say?"</p> + +<p>"You're on!" exclaimed Frank.</p> + +<p>Tommy struck three times on the planking of the +dock with his open hand. Instantly there came +back to his ears the low snarling voice of a bulldog. +Then footsteps advanced down the dock, and the +boy soon stood close to the others.</p> + +<p>"You're a Beaver?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"And you're a Bulldog!" said Tommy.</p> + +<p>The boys presented their hands, palm out, in the +full salute of the Boy Scouts and then stood examining +each other's faces.</p> + +<p>"Where's the Bulldog Patrol located?" asked +Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Portland, Oregon," was the reply.</p> + +<p>"Do you live here now?" asked Frank, who had +already been introduced as a member of the Fox +Patrol.</p> + +<p>"I'm obliged to live here," was the answer, "because +I can't get out of town. I wish I could get +away!"</p> + +<p>"You may go with us," offered Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Where?" was the question.</p> + +<p>"To Cordova tonight, and to a camp out on a +glacier tomorrow."</p> + +<p>"Tickled to death!" exclaimed the boy.</p> + +<p>"You're welcome!" declared Tommy;</p> + +<p>"Who're you going with?" was the next question.</p> + +<p>"He didn't give us his name, but he said he owned +a fast motor boat, and he said he'd get us there and +back before noon tomorrow!"</p> + +<p>"Jamison is the only man here who has a motor +boat, but you want to look out for him. He's as +crooked as a corkscrew!"</p> + +<p>"That's the impression I received when he fixed +his price."</p> + +<p>"Well," the stranger said in a moment, "I've got +a little baggage up the street and I'll go and get it."</p> + +<p>He was gone perhaps half an hour, and when he +returned the boys saw an anxious expression on his +face.</p> + +<p>"Are you sure that man Jamison is going out with +you tonight?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"He said he would," was the reply.</p> + +<p>"He's up there loading in whiskey," the boy, who +had given his name as Samuel White, continued, +"and has surrounded himself with about as tough a +bunch of crooks as there is in all Alaska."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps he wants them to help run the boat," +suggested Tommy.</p> + +<p>"No, there's something crooked on foot!" declared +Sam. "The fellows are whispering together in a +bar-room up the street, and pounding the tables, and +letting cut great shouts of laughter as if they had a +good joke on some one."</p> + +<p>"Do you know any of the men with Jamison?" +asked Frank.</p> + +<p>"One of them," the boy replied, "is a crooked mine +agent, and one is a fellow who hangs around town +without revealing any business whatever, but seems +to have plenty of money."</p> + +<p>While the boys talked, Jamison, accompanied by +two men who seemed to be somewhat under the influence +of liquor, came down to the dock.</p> + +<p>After nodding familiarly to the lads, he gave a +signal with a lantern which he carried in his hand, +and in a short time a very capable looking motor +boat came puffing out of the darkness.</p> + +<p>"There you are, boys!" he said. "Jump in, and +I'll have you up to Cordova in no time. I've got a +good crew on board, and I may be able to get you +back long before noon."</p> + +<p>The boys did not exactly like the looks of the +"good" crew, but they said nothing as they took +their seats in the little trunk cabin and waited for +the boat to get under motion.</p> + +<p>When at last the motors began whirling and the +rocking motion told the lads that they were out +among the high waves, Jamison came in and seated +himself by Tommy's side.</p> + +<p>"Little bit bumpy tonight," he said, "but you'll +soon get used to that. If you have the money +ready, I'll collect fares now."</p> + +<p>Frank took two hundred dollars in bank notes from +a pocket and passed it over to the owner of the boat.</p> + +<p>"A hundred apiece," Jamison said. "I was to +have a hundred for each passenger. You owe me a +hundred more."</p> + +<p>"Don't pay any hundred for me," Sam White +exclaimed, springing to his feet. "I'll jump over-board +and swim back."</p> + +<p>Frank laid a hand on the boy's arm and pushed +him back into a seat.</p> + +<p>"It's all right," he said. "I did agree to pay a +hundred dollars a passenger. You're quite welcome +to the ride at my expense."</p> + +<p>As Frank spoke he took a roll of bank notes from +another pocket and stripped off one of the denomination +of one hundred dollars.</p> + +<p>Jamison saw large denominations, some as high +as five hundred dollars, in the roll, and his evil eyes +glittered greedily.</p> + +<p>When Frank put up the roll, the fellow's eyes +followed it until it passed out of sight in the pocket. +Other members of the crew had seen the money also, +and Tommy was decidedly uncomfortable as he +thought of the situation they were in.</p> + +<p>Having received his pay, Jamison grew very +friendly and confidential, and began pointing out the +show places along the dim coast.</p> + +<p>Presently Sam whispered cautiously in Tommy's +ear:</p> + +<p>"He is headed for the Barren islands, and not +Cordova," he said.</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_VIIIa" id="Chapter_VIIIa"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter VIII</span></h2> + +<h3>ON THE GULF OF ALASKA</h3> + + +<p>"Where are the Barren islands, and why should +he want to take us there?" asked Tommy, apprehensively.</p> + +<p>"The Barren islands," replied Sam, "lie in the +Gulf of Alaska, just south of the mouth of Copper +river, west of Controller bay. They extend along +the coast, only a short distance out, for twenty +miles or more, and are just what the local name +signifies, Barren islands."</p> + +<p>"But why should he want to take us there?" insisted +Tommy, slipping a hand toward his hip pocket +to make sure that his automatic was ready for any +emergency.</p> + +<p>Sam did not answer the question, for Tommy's +quick start of surprise, his low exclamation of dismay, +checked the words which were on his lips. Instead, +he pushed closer to the lad and asked:</p> + +<p>"What is it? What's wrong?"</p> + +<p>"My revolver has been taken!" replied Tommy.</p> + +<p>Frank, sitting close to his chum on the other side, +now pushed his hand into his hip pocket and brought +it forth empty.</p> + +<p>"So is mine!" he said.</p> + +<p>The boys looked at each other for a moment in the +gathering darkness without speaking. The situation +was a serious one.</p> + +<p>"Who did it?" asked Tommy presently.</p> + +<p>"No one has been near me except that man +Jamison," replied Frank.</p> + +<p>"He's the only one who's been within reaching +distance of me," Tommy observed. "He must be a +clever pickpocket!"</p> + +<p>"I saw him eyeing that roll of money rather +greedily," Sam cut in, speaking in a very low tone, +for Jamison had new turned back from the prow and +was looking in their direction.</p> + +<p>"I noticed that, too," Frank answered. "I'm +afraid we're going to get into trouble with that gink. +Anyway," he continued, "he's started in right. He +did well to get our guns before he started anything!"</p> + +<p>"He didn't get my revolver," Sam said with a low +chuckle. "It's a little bit of a baby thing, but it's +a great deal better than none!"</p> + +<p>"It will shoot, won't it?" asked Tommy.</p> + +<p>"It will shoot, all right, but it's only a twenty-two," +replied the boy. "I've been trying for the +last two days to get a square meal on it, but couldn't +get even a ham sandwich. They don't look with +favor on baby guns up in Alaska. They want the +real thing!"</p> + +<p>"Well, keep your gun where you can reach it at +any moment!" advised Frank. "Even a twenty-two +caliber may prove effective at short range."</p> + +<p>"I presume," Sam went on, "that my coming on +board in shabby clothes, and as an object of charity, +convinced Jamison that I wasn't worth searching. I +saw him looking me over, though!"</p> + +<p>"Object of charity—not!" returned Frank. +"We're mighty glad you're with us right now! You +say he's taking us to the Barren islands. Well, we +wouldn't know the Barren islands from any other +place without you. You've put us on our guard, at +least, and that's worth more than the price of the +ticket! We're glad of your company, too!"</p> + +<p>"Now, see here, boys," Tommy whispered, "we +mustn't let this man Jamison know that we have +discovered that we have been robbed. The minute +he knows that we are suspicious of him, the matter +will come to a focus immediately. We've got to +have time to think this matter over before anything +is done."</p> + +<p>This plan of action was agreed to, and the boys +sat for some minutes in silence. After a time Jamison +came to where they were seated, just at the doorway +of the trunk cabin, and began asking questions +about the need for a doctor. Tommy explained that +a member of their party had been injured by a fall, +and that they were going to Cordova in quest of a +surgeon. He again asked Jamison to put on full +speed.</p> + +<p>"There's a man over here on the coast, this side +of Katalla, who is said to be a fine surgeon," Jamison +explained, after Tommy had finished his statement. +"He's a sort of a recluse, people say, and lives alone +in a shabby hut, high up above the tide. You +might stop and consult him. That would be better, +it seems to me, than going away up to Cordova. +Still," he went on with a grim smile, "I've been paid +to take you to Cordova and back, and, if you insist, +I mean to live up to my bargain!"</p> + +<p>Sam gave Frank a quick poke in the ribs and +whispered in his ear:</p> + +<p>"Yes, he does!"</p> + +<p>"Let him play out his string," whispered Frank +in return.</p> + +<p>"This surgeon," Jamison went on, "is a queer +old fellow. Sometimes he'll take a case, and sometimes +he won't. If he feels in an ugly mood, he's +likely to kick us out of his cabin."</p> + +<p>Tommy listened with apparent interest to what +the treacherous Jamison was saying, but it is needless +to remark that he did not accept it as truth. +It was his belief that the fellow was manufacturing a +pretext for getting himself and his friends quietly +on shore as soon as one of the Barren islands was +reached.</p> + +<p>There were three men on board the motor boat +besides Jamison. They were evil-looking fellows, +and spent most of their time on the forward deck, +where the steering wheel and the motors were located.</p> + +<p>The men frequently drank out of a black bottle, +and were fast becoming intoxicated. Instead of +attempting to restrain the fellows, Jamison seemed +to encourage them in their debauch.</p> + +<p>"He's getting them in trim to start something," +Sam whispered, as the three men broke into a rough +drinking song.</p> + +<p>"Yes," agreed Tommy, "I imagine that he wants +whatever takes place on board the boat tonight to be +regarded as the acts of men made irresponsible by +whisky. You'd better keep your gun handy, Sam!"</p> + +<p>"I've got my hand on it every minute!" replied +the boy. "And if anything is started here, Jamison +will be the first one to know that I've got it! He's +the man that needs the lesson!"</p> + +<p>It was very dark now, and the sea was rough. +The motor boat plunged about like a leaf, tossing +from wave to wave, and dropping into one trough +after another. It was plain that the members of the +crew were becoming too drunk to handle the boat.</p> + +<p>Jamison finally approached the cabin doorway and +sat down on one of the stationary seats. Notwithstanding +the fact that the boat was taking water at +almost every jump, the fellow's face bore a satisfied +look.</p> + +<p>"What are those fellows trying to do with the +boat?" asked Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Oh, they're all right!" answered Jamison.</p> + +<p>"Looks to me like they were trying to drop us to +the bottom," Frank said. "There won't be any boat +left directly!"</p> + +<p>"I guess they have got a little too much John +Barleycorn on board!" laughed Jamison, as the boat +gave a lurch which sent him head foremost from his +seat. "I'd go and take the wheel myself, only I +don't know much about running a motor boat under +present conditions."</p> + +<p>Frank gave Tommy a quick nudge in the side.</p> + +<p>"I can run the boat," he whispered, "shall I?"</p> + +<p>"If he'd let you, yes!" replied Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Where shall I take her?"</p> + +<p>"To Cordova, of course, but perhaps you'd better +wait until the men get a little bit drunker. Jamison +will become frightened for the safety of his boat before +long, and then he won't object to your taking +charge of her. He's beginning to look sick already."</p> + +<p>"If I ever get hold of that wheel," Frank whispered +to Tommy, "I'll send her flying toward Cordova! +I hope the members of the crew will be too drunk to +know which, way I'm taking them."</p> + +<p>Directly the boat gave another tremendous lurch, +soaking the boys with cold salt water. Jamison rose +to his feet with an oath and, steadying himself by +clinging to the top of the cabin, shook a fist angrily +at the man at the wheel. The man frowned back.</p> + +<p>"What are you doing, you drunken hobo?" +shouted Jamison.</p> + +<p>The man grinned foolishly but said not a word.</p> + +<p>"I wish I knew how to operate a motor boat as +well as he does when he's sober," gritted Jamison.</p> + +<p>"The owner of a boat ought to know how to run +her!" suggested Frank.</p> + +<p>"I bought the boat only a few days ago," replied +Jamison.</p> + +<p>"Look here," Frank said, as the boat gave another +sickening whirl, "I can run a boat all right. Shall +I take hold?"</p> + +<p>"No," replied Jamison sourly, "we've got to +land!"</p> + +<p>"But there is no place to land," urged Sam.</p> + +<p>"There is a place on the point where the doctor +lives," answered Jamison, "where we can land in a +rowboat. I'm glad now that I brought the dinghy +along with us. We can anchor the motor boat under +the point and take refuge in the doctor's cabin until +this storm blows over."</p> + +<p>The boys were greatly disappointed at this decision +on the part of Jamison, but they dare not +argue the point with him for fear that he would +suspect that they were watching his every movement.</p> + +<p>In a few moments a dark bulk showed directly in +front of the racing motor boat, and only the quick +action of the man at the wheel prevented a collision +with a bold headland which showed dimly under the +light of the few stars which looked down from the +cloudy sky.</p> + +<p>In a moment the boys saw a light, and then Sam +whispered to Frank:</p> + +<p>"That's not a coast point," he said. "It's one +of the Barren islands. I don't believe there's any +doctor there, as he said! What shall we do if he +asks us to go ashore?"</p> + +<p>"We'll have to go, I suppose," returned Tommy, +"but, all the same," he went on, "if we get a chance +to get possession of the boat, we'll let these outlaws +take a swim to the shore!"</p> + +<p>Presently the boat came under the shelter of the +headland, and then a member of the crew, in obedience +to whispered orders from Jamison, dropped +into the dinghy which had been trailing behind, and +shouted to his mate to follow. Then Jamison himself +stepped into the dinghy, which was swinging +about wildly in the surf.</p> + +<p>"Now boys," he said, "if you'll get aboard, we'll +take you ashore for an interview with the doctor. +He'll demand big pay, but he's skillful and you ought +to secure his services if you can."</p> + +<p>"Only one man on board now," cried Tommy, +"Now's our chance!"</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_IXa" id="Chapter_IXa"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter IX</span></h2> + +<h3>THE CLUES WILL FOUND</h3> + + +<p>"I wish one of you boys would give me a good +swift kick," George exclaimed as the three lads stood +in the cabin discussing the strange disappearance of +Bert Calkins.</p> + +<p>"I'd do that all right if it would accomplish anything!" +laughed Will.</p> + +<p>"I'll do it anyhow, if you insist upon it!" grinned +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"It was a rotten thing for me to do!" exclaimed +George. "I never expected to go to sleep when I +lay down in my bunk, but I did go to sleep, and some +one walked into the cabin and carried Bert away! +I'll never get over it if anything serious happens to +him!"</p> + +<p>"Aw, cut it out!" exclaimed Sandy. "We'll find +him all right. The question before the house right +now is whether we're going to get supper before we +start out on a hunt for the kid."</p> + +<p>"We may as well get supper," Will advised. +"There's no use whatever of our running around in +circles in the dark. We've got to sit down here and +reason it out. Before we do anything at all, we +ought to reach some conclusion as to why the poor +kid was taken away."</p> + +<p>"Why, I thought that was all understood," Sandy +interrupted. "I thought we decided not long ago +that the man who stole the code wireless came back +to get Bert to translate it for him."</p> + +<p>"There was some talk of that kind," Will agreed, +"and I guess it's as near to the truth as we can get +with our present knowledge of the incident. Anyway, +I can conceive of no other reason for the +abduction."</p> + +<p>"Then we may as well get supper while we're +studying out the proposition," George said, "and, +by way of penance, I'll do the cooking!"</p> + +<p>The lad turned to Sandy to ask a question regarding +the sudden appearance of the bear steak, and +then for the first time noted his dilapidated and +generally disreputable condition.</p> + +<p>"Where did you get it?" he asked, pointing to the +bruised face and torn garments. "You've gone and +spoiled a perfectly good Boy Scout suit."</p> + +<p>"And the bear we're going to have for supper," +Will chuckled, "came very near spoiling a perfectly +good Boy Scout."</p> + +<p>"Did the bear hand him that?" asked George.</p> + +<p>"He certainly did!" replied Sandy. "And he put +me out for the count, too!"</p> + +<p>"Then I'll take great joy in eating him!" declared +George.</p> + +<p>While George fried the bear steak over the gasoline +"plate," Sandy told the story of the fishing trip, +while Will listened with a grin on his face, now and +then interrupting with what Sandy declared to be an +entirely irrelevant remark.</p> + +<p>The big acetylene lamp which, had come in with +the boys' baggage had not been set up, so the cabin +was now lighted only by flashlights. This made +cooking difficult, and George protested against it, so +Will went to work setting up the tank and getting +the big lamp into use.</p> + +<p>"That's better!" exclaimed George, as the great +light flashed out. "Now, while I'm cooking the +supper, you might look about and see what you can +discover in the way of clues. There is an old theory, +you know, that no person can enter a room and leave +it without their leaving behind some trace of having +been there!"</p> + +<p>"That's a part of the Sherlock Holmes business +that I entirely overlooked!" laughed Will. "Come +to think of it, the fellow must have left some clue +here. We'll see if we can find it!"</p> + +<p>While Sandy and George worked industriously +over the gasoline "plate," frying bear meat and fish, +and making toast and coffee, Will began a thorough +search of the cabin floor. He moved about for some +moments on his hands and knees, studying the rough +boards through a microscope.</p> + +<p>When he came to the bunk he examined that in +the same careful and painstaking way. Sandy and +George pretended to be very much amused at his +alleged posing as an investigator, but the boy paid +no attention to their smiles and sarcastic remarks.</p> + +<p>All through the meal Will kept his own counsel +as to what he had discovered, if anything. His +chums quizzed him unmercifully, but he gave out no +information regarding discoveries until after the +meal was completed and they sat, wrapped in their +heavy coats, before the stripped table, now bearing +only empty dishes.</p> + +<p>"Now tell us about it!" demanded Sandy. "How +tall was this man who carried Bert, away?"</p> + +<p>"Five feet six," replied Will.</p> + +<p>"Black or white?"</p> + +<p>"Black hair and eyes and whiskers."</p> + +<p>"Fat or lean?"</p> + +<p>"Neither, just heavily built."</p> + +<p>"Come, Smarty," Sandy laughed, "perhaps you'll +be kind enough to go on now and tell us the color of +his necktie."</p> + +<p>"He didn't wear any necktie!" answered Will. +"He wore a leather hunting shirt and leather leggins. +His hands were protected from the mosquitos by +leather gloves. He wore moccasins."</p> + +<p>"Will you be kind enough to tell us what he had +for supper last night?" asked Sandy. "Also, can +you tell us which side he sleeps on nights?"</p> + +<p>"This is no joke!" Will answered. "I really think +I have a good description of the man who abducted +Bert. And I think, too, that the description will +serve to locate him."</p> + +<p>"That's all right!" laughed George, "when +Tommy comes back, we'll have him get out his +dream book and read you to sleep!"</p> + +<p>"Yes," Will said gravely, "when Tommy comes +back with the surgeon."</p> + +<p>"It would be a rotten proposition, wouldn't it, if +Tommy should get back with the surgeon before we +found Bert?"</p> + +<p>"It certainly would," answered Will.</p> + +<p>"Tommy can't possibly get back before some time +tomorrow night," Sandy argued, "and we ought to +be able to find the boy before that time!"</p> + +<p>"Especially as Will has a perfect description of the +outlaw," said George with a wink at Sandy.</p> + +<p>Then the boy added with a laugh:</p> + +<p>"Go on, Will, and tell us how you know the man's +size and weight."</p> + +<p>"Yes," Sandy broke in. "Tell us how you know +he's exactly five feet six. You weren't here to +measure him!"</p> + +<p>"The wall measured him!" replied Will.</p> + +<p>"Oh!" exclaimed Sandy with a grin.</p> + +<p>"Back there by the door," Will went on, "the +man leaned against the wall for some purpose. Of +course, I don't know why, but I suspect that he +leaned there for a moment to get the boy well +balanced in his arms before stepping outside. At +any rate, he stood there for an instant with a broad +back braced against the dusty logs. You can see +where the top of his head came, without getting up."</p> + +<p>"That's reasonable!" replied Sandy. "Now tell +us how you know he has black hair and eyes."</p> + +<p>"He left half a dozen hairs on the pillow at Bert's +bunk," replied Will. "Also he left coarser black +hairs which evidently came from his face. They lie +there on the table."</p> + +<p>The boys examined the hairs curiously, and then +Will asked:</p> + +<p>"What do you think of it?"</p> + +<p>"I think," replied Sandy, "that Bert regained +consciousness while he was being lifted from the bunk +and got in a couple of digs at the fellow's hair and +whiskers."</p> + +<p>"The motion which removed the hair and +whiskers," suggested George, "might have been +entirely involuntary."</p> + +<p>"That's very true!" answered Will. "It doesn't +seem to me that the boy regained consciousness. If +he had, he would have made such objections to being +taken away that George would have been awakened. +At any rate the hairs are here, and that is sufficient!"</p> + +<p>"Now tell us how you know about the bulk of the +fellow."</p> + +<p>"The marks on the wall show that," replied Will.</p> + +<p>"What do you know about his leather leggins, +hunting shirt and gloves?" asked Sandy. "I know +about the moccasins, because I saw the tracks on +the floor myself. He must be an Indian if he wore +moccasins."</p> + +<p>"I never saw an Indian with long whiskers!" replied +Will.</p> + +<p>"Well, go on and tell us about the leather he +wore," urged George.</p> + +<p>"The hunting shirt," Will replied with a smile, as +he pointed to a small piece of leather lying on the +table, "was patched and in the struggle at the bunk +the patch was torn away. A cloth garment, you +know," he continued, "wouldn't be apt to be patched +with leather."</p> + +<p>The boys looked at the leather patch, not much +larger than a silver dollar, and nodded their heads.</p> + +<p>"The marks on the wall where the outlaw seems +to have balanced his burden, show that he wore +leather gloves," Will continued. "You can see the +blunt mark where he threw up a hand to steady himself. +The fingers of a cloth glove would have shown +narrower."</p> + +<p>"I guess you've got the Sherlock Holmes part of +it all right!" said George, "so all we've got to do now +is to find the boy!"</p> + +<p>"But this will help!" Sandy argued. "At least +we know what kind of a man to look for. By the +way, how did you know that he wore leather leggins?"</p> + +<p>"He lost a buckle!" replied Will. "I found it on +the floor under Bert's bunk. And so, you see," the +boy went on, "when we find a man wearing leather +leggins from which a buckle has been lost, we'll be +perfectly justified in keeping close watch of him."</p> + +<p>"It seems as if there must have been a struggle +here!" George argued in a moment. "The man lost +hair, whiskers, a buckle, and a patch off his hunting +shirt! I don't see how I could have slept through +it all!"</p> + +<p>"Well, you did!" returned Sandy, "and that's all +there is to it!"</p> + +<p>"Are we going out tonight?" asked George.</p> + +<p>"Of course, we are!" answered Sandy. "We're +not going to crawl into bed in comfort and leave Bert +in the hands of some brigand!"</p> + +<p>Will held up his hand for silence, and the boys sat +looking at each other with questioning eyes as a +soft knock came on one of the windows.</p> + +<p>In an instant their eyes were turned in the direction +of the sound, and what they saw caused them +to spring excitedly to their feet.</p> + +<p>During the silence which followed, the sound of a +heavy footstep was heard at the door of the cabin. +When they looked again nothing was to be seen at +the window.</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_Xa" id="Chapter_Xa"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter X</span></h2> + +<h3>IN LUCK AT LAST</h3> + + +<p>Instead of moving toward the dinghy, the boys +sprang to the top of the trunk cabin and dashed +forward toward the wheel.</p> + +<p>With an oath Jamison tried to clamber back to the +deck of the motor boat, but the dinghy was just then +performing a bit of nautical gymnastics at the bottom +of a trough and he did not succeed in reaching the +desired footing. He fell back into the bottom of the +boat, cursing the two rowers because they had not +assisted him.</p> + +<p>As Frank and Tommy sprang forward over the +cabin the man at the wheel released his hold and +reached for a pistol. The boat swung around and +would have been capsized only that Frank seized +the wheel and brought her head to the waves again.</p> + +<p>The wheelsman struck a savage blow at the boy +as he threw the wheel around, and was in turn the +object of attack from Tommy. The two went to the +deck together and came near being thrown into the +sea.</p> + +<p>When the short battle ended the wheelsman lay +on the deck unconscious, his head rolling from side +to side as the boat tossed about on the waves. In +the fall his head had struck the rail.</p> + +<p>Seeing that Jamison and the rowers were still +trying to board the motor boat, Sam rushed to the +after deck and threatened them with his revolver. +In a moment Jamison presented a thirty-eight at the +boy's head.</p> + +<p>"This is piracy!" he shouted. "Surrender, or I'll +blow your head off! This is piracy, I tell you!"</p> + +<p>The only reply to the man's threat was the increased +clatter of the motors. Tommy had turned +on full power, and Frank was heading the craft for +the mouth of Copper river. As she drew away from +the dinghy, several harmless shots were fired.</p> + +<p>"That was a close shave!" Tommy declared as +the three boys gathered on the forward deck. "If +Jamison hadn't been a fool, we couldn't have done it! +Can you find your way to Cordova, Frank?" he +added.</p> + +<p>"Sure I can!" was the reply, "but I take it that we +don't want to go there just now."</p> + +<p>"And why not?" asked Tommy is surprise.</p> + +<p>"Because this is piracy, all right!" exclaimed the +boy. "Old Jamison was right, and he'll have all the +officers along the coast after us as soon as he gets to +land. We're in bad with the cops now."</p> + +<p>"But Jamison won't be able to get to land tonight!" +suggested Sam.</p> + +<p>"Indeed he won't!" agreed Frank. "He'll have +to pull in toward the island and lie there on his oars +until daylight."</p> + +<p>"Can't he land?" asked Tommy.</p> + +<p>"I don't think he can land in the dark!" was the +reply.</p> + +<p>"Why can't we get to Cordova and get back here +with the surgeon before he can communicate with +the officers?" asked Tommy. "We can't afford to +go into hiding just now. We've got to get the doctor +up to the cabin, and we've got to find out what that +code message contained."</p> + +<p>"How far is it from here to Cordova?" asked +Frank.</p> + +<p>"It must be about thirty-five or forty miles," +replied Sam. "If the waves wouldn't keep us +traveling up and down all the time, we ought to make +it in about three hours."</p> + +<p>"Jamison was trying to make us believe he was +doing a fine thing if he took us to Cordova and back +in ten or twelve hours!" said Tommy.</p> + +<p>"I don't think he intended to take us to Cordova +at all!" insisted Sam.</p> + +<p>"Well," Tommy argued, "there's no way he can +stop us until we get to Cordova, and he can't stop us +then unless he reaches the coast or gains the wireless +station before we leave the town. Once out on the +gulf again, with the surgeon on board, we'll reach +Katalla in spite of Jamison, and start the doctor +toward the cabin."</p> + +<p>"Then here goes for the town!" cried Frank, turning +on an extra bit of power and sending the boat +through the waves like a meteor.</p> + +<p>It was rough riding, but the boys were fairly good +seamen and stood the shaking up well.</p> + +<p>About midnight the wheelsman began showing +signs of consciousness. He sat up on the swaying +deck and motioned for water.</p> + +<p>"Tip him overboard!" advised Sam.</p> + +<p>"Aw, give him a drink," argued Tommy. "If +you'd had had as much red liquor during the last +few hours as he's had, you'd want to connect with +the water cooler, I guess! Give the man a show!"</p> + +<p>"Where are you taking the motor boat?" asked +the wheelsman.</p> + +<p>"Cordova."</p> + +<p>"Is that right about your wanting a surgeon?"</p> + +<p>"That is right!" replied Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Where is he wanted?" asked the wheelsman, who +had given the name of Boswell. "Why didn't you +bring the sick boy out with you?"</p> + +<p>"Because we thought it better to take the surgeon +to him!" replied Tommy. "The boy really wasn't +able to be moved!"</p> + +<p>"Fever?" asked Boswell.</p> + +<p>Tommy hesitated a moment before replying. He +was in doubt as to just how much he ought to tell +Boswell. The fellow seemed to be friendly enough, +and might be useful in case the lads were arrested +for piracy, as, if he saw fit, he could testify that +Jamison was not carrying out his agreement with +them, but, instead, was planning to maroon them +on a barren island in the gulf. Owing to these considerations +it seemed best to keep on good terms with +the fellow, and yet Tommy did not care to describe +in full what had taken place at the cabin.</p> + +<p>"No, the boy isn't sick of fever," Tommy finally +answered. "He received a wound on the head and +lies unconscious."</p> + +<p>Both boys thought they saw Boswell give a quick +start, but in a moment his face was as impassive as +ever.</p> + +<p>"Do you know what Jamison was up to?" asked +Sam after a short pause.</p> + +<p>Boswell looked keenly at the boy before answering.</p> + +<p>"I only know what he told me!" be replied.</p> + +<p>"What did he tell you?"</p> + +<p>"He said he had a joke on you boys; that he was +charging you three hundred dollars for a trip to +Cordova, and that he meant to leave you on the first +little island in the gulf that he came to."</p> + +<p>"Did he tell you why he was going to do that?" +asked Tommy.</p> + +<p>Again Boswell looked keenly at his questioner.</p> + +<p>"I guess I'd better not answer that question," he +said finally.</p> + +<p>"I wish you would answer it," Tommy urged. "I +ought to know just what motive the fellow has for +throwing obstacles in my way.</p> + +<p>"He thinks it's funny!" answered Boswell.</p> + +<p>"That isn't the correct answer," Tommy insisted. +"He has some motive for what he is trying to do. +I'd like to know what that motive is."</p> + +<p>"You can't find out from me!" declared Boswell.</p> + +<p>"You must be a chum of his!" sneered Sam.</p> + +<p>"I hate the ground he walks on!" replied Boswell. +"I wouldn't have hired out to him at all if I hadn't +been drunk. But I'm not going to repeat to any +one what he told me in confidence!"</p> + +<p>"We shall have to put you off some distance this +side of Cordova," Tommy suggested, "because if +we don't you're likely to make us trouble by reporting +the case of alleged piracy as soon as we land."</p> + +<p>"You needn't trouble yourself about my reporting +anything," Boswell answered. "I'm not mixing +with Jamison's affairs! If you boys are arrested for +piracy, I'll tell all I know about it, and that won't +do you any harm."</p> + +<p>Dawn came slowly that morning, for heavy clouds +were gathering in the sky. The short Arctic night +came to an end at last, however, and in the murky +distance the boys saw the long coast line. Shortly +after three o'clock they passed the wireless station +and landed, not without some difficulty at Cordova.</p> + +<p>They found the town asleep, of course, but after +a time an early riser directed them to the residence +of a surgeon. They arranged with him to meet them +later in the day and at once set out for the wireless +station. It was two hours before they saw the +operator coming to his post of duty.</p> + +<p>He remembered Frank, and willingly promised to +at once open communication with Seattle and take +up the work of securing a duplicate of the code +message. He explained that a copy had been kept, +but that it had been destroyed by a careless janitor, +who had said that he could make nothing at all +of the jumble of words and letters!</p> + +<p>As soon as Seattle answered the Cordova call, a +duplicate of the code telegram was asked for, and +Seattle undertook to place the request on the wire +and cause it to be rushed through to Chicago.</p> + +<p>"We ought to receive the answer some time this +afternoon," the operator said as the boys started +away.</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_XIa" id="Chapter_XIa"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter XI</span></h2> + +<h3>MAKING NEW PLANS</h3> + + +<p>When the boys returned to the floating dock at +which the motor boat had been tied during their +absence at the station they found Boswell sitting in +the cabin in a crouching attitude.</p> + +<p>"Did you get what you wanted?" he asked.</p> + +<p>Tommy shook his head.</p> + +<p>"Then," continued the sailor, "you'd better give +over trying to get it for the present and duck away +from here! You'll have trouble if you don't!"</p> + +<p>"What do you mean by that?" asked Frank.</p> + +<p>"Do you see the tug coming up the bay?" asked +Boswell.</p> + +<p>"Certainly!" was the reply.</p> + +<p>"Well, she's been signalling to have this boat held +until she arrives! And the chances are that she +picked up Jamison and his pirates somewhere near +the island where you left them."</p> + +<p>"Then, of course, Jamison will want us arrested +for piracy?" asked Tommy tentatively. "I presume +that's what it means."</p> + +<p>"Well", Boswell replied, "when you take another +man's boat and leave him afloat in a dinghy, you +must expect something to come of it besides kisses. +Of course you'll be arrested!"</p> + +<p>Frank gave a long, low whistle of dismay.</p> + +<p>"Then," he said, "we'll have to go and notify the +surgeon of what's coming off and get him to go on to +the cabin alone."</p> + +<p>"Yes" Tommy added, "and we can tell him to +inform the boys what's going on here. We may have +to remain here for several days if we are actually +arrested."</p> + +<p>"But how about the code duplicate?" asked Sam.</p> + +<p>"I presume that will have to remain with us unless +it comes before the doctor leaves for the cabin," +Tommy answered.</p> + +<p>"Look here," Sam said, "you two boys are the +fellows Jamison wants. He won't put up much of a +search for me. You go back to the wireless station +and tell the operator to deliver the code duplicate to +me and I'll see that it gets to the cabin."</p> + +<p>"It's all right of you to make the offer," Tommy +replied, "but there's no one at the camp that can +read it."</p> + +<p>"Then why can't Frank slip away and get the +message to camp?" inquired Sam.</p> + +<p>"Will certainly ought to have it," suggested +Tommy.</p> + +<p>"I'll tell you what we'd better do," Frank advised. +"We'd better make a rush for the Cordova dock +before that tug gets in. Then we can arrange with +the doctor to go on to the cabin by any conveyance +he can secure while we take a sneak into the wilderness +and get back when we can and as we can. +That's better than being arrested."</p> + +<p>"I'm for it!" declared Sam. "But how will you +obtain possession of the wireless when it comes if +you duck away in advance of the arrival of the tug? +The message won't be here as soon as the tug is."</p> + +<p>The boys pondered over this proposition for a +moment, and then Frank came to the front with +another suggestion.</p> + +<p>"I'll go back to the wireless station," he said, +"and arrange for the operator to leave the message +in some secret hiding place where we can get it after +nightfall."</p> + +<p>"I don't like this fugitive-from-justice business!" +exclaimed Tommy.</p> + +<p>"I don't either," replied Frank, "but it's a long +ways better than lying in some dirty old jail. We +can arrange here with father's agent to find out +what sort of a case they've got against us, and pick +out a good lawyer to represent us, so we'll be all +ready to defend ourselves when the arrest is finally +made."</p> + +<p>"Your father has an agent here?" asked Tommy, +regarding Frank suspiciously. "What business is +he in?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, quit it!" replied Frank. "We haven't any +time to talk about private affairs. What we've got +to do right now is to find out how we're going to +escape arrest at this time. I'll go and make the +arrangement with the operator, and we'll all make +the arrangements with the doctor, and then we three +boys will start across country to the little old log +cabin in the lane!"</p> + +<p>"There ain't no lane there!" grinned Tommy.</p> + +<p>"There may be some time, when that part of the +country becomes a suburb of Cordova!" laughed +Frank. "But I reckon I'd better be getting back to +the wireless office. That tug's coming in hand over +hand!"</p> + +<p>The boy was back from the office inside of ten +minutes, but by that time the tug was so near that +the motor boat was obliged to shoot ahead at full +speed in order to keep clear of her. The boys saw +Jamison standing by the captain urging him to +greater efforts in the speed direction, and saw him +shake a huge, ham-like fist in their direction as the +motor boat left the tug behind.</p> + +<p>"I'll tell you why I want to leave the case in the +hands of a lawyer here," Frank said, as the boat shot +toward the Cordova dock, "Jamison doesn't want to +prosecute us boys for piracy. He's interested in some +way in this case you are here to handle, and he wants +to keep us under lock and key until something he +wants done can be accomplished."</p> + +<p>"I'm sure that's right!" Tommy answered.</p> + +<p>"I don't know much about this thumb-print +case," Frank went on, "but I believe that this man +Jamison is trying to make sure that you boys don't +get hold of the drawings you are looking for. Of +course I have no proof, but I'm sure that, in the long +run, you'll find that I'm right?"</p> + +<p>The motor boat made such good time in the run +for the Cordova dock that the tug was nearly out of +sight when the boys climbed into the main street of +the town.</p> + +<p>"Now," Tommy said, as they all stood together +at the principal business place of the town, "Frank +can go and make sure that the doctor will start for +the cabin immediately, and Sam and I will go and +buy provisions for the cross country trip. We may +be two or three days in making it, and we'll surely +want to eat on the way."</p> + +<p>"But we can't get the wireless until night!" urged +Frank. "He's going to bring it to Cordova tonight +and leave it in the old blacksmith shop just back of +the line of store buildings."</p> + +<p>"Well, we can get all ready to go," Tommy urged. +"We don't want to take any chances on being +pinched just as we get ready to leave!"</p> + +<p>"We'll meet at the old shop in half an hour," +Frank suggested, "and then we can make all the +plans necessary."</p> + +<p>Tommy noticed that afternoon that a strange +fatality seemed to accompany all of Jamison's +efforts to cause the arrest of the boys. First, there +was no Federal officer in the town. Next, there +was no judicial or ministerial officer before whom a +complaint of piracy could be made. Next, the motor +boat owner and his two outlaws accosted Boswell +on the street and made to him insulting remarks +concerning his championship of the boys.</p> + +<p>Following this there was a general mixup, in which +Boswell was not permitted to fight alone, and the +result was that Jamison and his two sailors were +badly beaten up. However, while the lads knew +exactly what was taking place, and understood the +hostility of the town toward Jamison, they understood, +too, that it would be the duty of almost any +officer to arrest them if they should make their appearance +on the public street.</p> + +<p>Tommy wondered vaguely at the hostility displayed +toward Jamison, but Frank explained it all +by saying that the fellow was a common loafer and +hadn't a friend in town.</p> + +<p>The boys might have been arrested a dozen times +that day had the hostility to Jamison and his men +not taken such positive form. But while Jamison, +half-intoxicated, roared about the street, the boys +kept as quiet as possible and so escaped general +notice.</p> + +<p>About two in the afternoon the boys were very +much surprised to see a gentleman who had been +pointed out to them as the surgeon walk into the +old blacksmith shop where they sat. He beckoned +Frank to one side and the two engaged in a short but +apparently satisfactory conversation, at the conclusion +of which the doctor shook the boy's hand +heartily.</p> + +<p>"All right," he said on taking his departure, "I'll +attend to the matter at once! I know the operator +and it'll be all right there."</p> + +<p>"Now, what's up?" demanded Tommy suspiciously.</p> + +<p>"I've got a new scheme!" replied the boy.</p> + +<p>"Pass it around!" urged Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Now, you just wait until I see whether the doctor +gets the message or not!" replied Frank. "If he +does, it's us for a ride home!"</p> + +<p>"I'd like to steal that old drunkard's motor +boat!" Tommy said.</p> + +<p>Frank broke into a hearty laugh.</p> + +<p>"You just wait and see!" he said. "We've got +to be mighty careful to keep away from the Federal +officers, for a deputy marshal has been sent for. Can +you get up a good hot run if you have to?"</p> + +<p>"You bet I can!" answered Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Well, we may get a signal to make a hot foot to +the dock directly," the boy went on, "and if we do, +there mustn't be any mistake about the pace you set."</p> + +<p>"Are you really going to steal the motor boat?" +asked Sam.</p> + +<p>"I don't know!" replied Frank. "We've been +waiting around here all day for something to take +place, and I guess it's about time there was something +doing."</p> + +<p>"I thought you were going to wait until night +before sneaking out with the despatch," suggested +Tommy, eyeing his friend suspiciously.</p> + +<p>"When we made those plans," replied Frank with +a grin, "I didn't know how many friends I had in +town."</p> + +<p>"Is the doctor going with us?" asked Tommy.</p> + +<p>"No," was the reply, "we are going with him!"</p> + +<p>"Aw, have it your own way," Tommy exclaimed. +"I never could get any satisfaction talking with +you!"</p> + +<p>The doctor returned to the old blacksmith shop +in an hour and called Frank outside. The two talked +together for a moment, and then the boy called out +the wonderful news that they wouldn't even have to +run to the dock; that a carriage was waiting for +them!</p> + +<p>"Something mighty funny about this!" mused +Tommy. "I'd like to know who that boy is that has +such luck in Alaska! Anyone would think he owns +the town, the way things are shaping themselves +here!"</p> + +<p>A moment later a wagon drawn by a pair of sturdy +horses made its appearance in front of the old blacksmith +shop, and the boys took their seats. As they +did so the sound of a pistol shot came from around +the corner and Jamison dashed into view, hatless, +coatless, very red in the face and very excited as to +manner.</p> + +<p>By his side appeared a man whom the doctor at +once recognized as a Federal officer. He came to +a halt when he saw the boys in the wagon.</p> + +<p>"Wait!" he commanded, "I have warrants for +your arrest!"</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_XIIa" id="Chapter_XIIa"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter XII</span></h2> + +<h3>ANOTHER LOST "BULLDOG"</h3> + + +<p>The step outside the cabin door halted, and the +boys stood silent for a moment, hardly knowing +whether to dispute the stranger's entrance or to +admit him with a show of courtesy.</p> + +<p>While they waited, Will glanced at the window +and saw the flutter of a white hand on the pane.</p> + +<p>"That's the Boy Scout salute!" he said.</p> + +<p>"Another Boy Scout?" whispered Sandy. "I +wonder if it rains Boy Scouts up here in Alaska!"</p> + +<p>"I wish there were a thousand here!" George +declared.</p> + +<p>"I don't care how many Boy Scouts show up just +now," Will argued, "but I would like to know where +they all come from!"</p> + +<p>There now came a knock on the door and a gruff +voice demanded admittance.</p> + +<p>"Shall I open the door?" whispered Will.</p> + +<p>"May as well," answered George.</p> + +<p>When the door swung open, a stout man of middle +age presented himself in the opening. After casting +a keen glance about the interior he stepped inside +and closed the door.</p> + +<p>"You boys seem to have taken possession of my +home!" he said.</p> + +<p>"We found the cabin unoccupied, and took the +liberty of using it," Will answered in a conciliatory +tone.</p> + +<p>"Oh, it's all right!" returned the other. "That's +the way I took possession of the place! I found the +cabin deserted and just moved in."</p> + +<p>"We can vacate if necessary," Will suggested.</p> + +<p>"Oh, there's room enough for all of us, I take it!" +answered the stranger. "My name is Cameron, +and I spend only a day or two here occasionally. I +was hoping when I saw your light that you were +having a midnight supper. How about something +to eat?"</p> + +<p>"There's plenty in the cabin!" George replied. +"We can give you either fish or bear steak for +supper."</p> + +<p>"Then I'm glad to find you here!" laughed the +other, "for I've been traveling all day and I'm as +hungry as a wolf!"</p> + +<p>The visitor threw himself into a chair and began a +careful survey of the interior, far more searching than +the one made from the doorway.</p> + +<p>"My name is Cameron, as I said before," he said, +"and I'm prospecting for gold."</p> + +<p>"Prospecting for gold on a glacier?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"Young man," Cameron replied, "there is plenty +of gold in this vicinity. The ice brought it here. +I'm being laughed at by my friends," he continued, +"because I'm searching for the mother lode. But, +all the same, I've every prospect of discovering it!"</p> + +<p>"The mother lode in a glacier?" asked Sandy.</p> + +<p>"It is my theory," Cameron went on, "that the +range of mountains to the north holds gold in large +quantities. It is a part of my theory, too, that the +drifting ice brought tons of it down to the moraine. +If I find any gold here at all, I'll find it in quantities +sufficient to clog the money markets of the world!"</p> + +<p>Cameron looked from face to face as he spoke, +apparently anticipating a burst of enthusiasm from +his listeners.</p> + +<p>"Up on the Yukon," he went on, "the gold was +found under the ice, where it had been deposited by +glaciers which are now dead. The same conditions +exist here. For all we know, there may be tons of +the precious metal at the bottom of the first layer of +ice."</p> + +<p>"That's very true!" replied Will. "And if you +don't mind, we'll stick around a short time and see +what you discover."</p> + +<p>"Remember," Cameron said then, "that this is +my claim!"</p> + +<p>"Of course," Will answered, "we wouldn't attempt +to rob you of any legitimate discovery."</p> + +<p>In the meantime George and Sandy were preparing +a supper for the visitor. With their heads bent low +over the gasoline "plate," they discussed the personality +of the man and his theory in low conversation.</p> + +<p>"How tall should you say that fellow was?" asked +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"About five foot six!" was the reply.</p> + +<p>"And he's stout!"</p> + +<p>"Decidedly so."</p> + +<p>"And he wears a leather hunting shirt, and leather +leggins, and he took off a pair of serviceable leather +gloves when he entered?"</p> + +<p>"I see what you're getting at," George replied, +"Can you see whether there's a buckle missing from +his leggins?"</p> + +<p>"There is!" answered Sandy.</p> + +<p>"And a patch missing from his hunting shirt?"</p> + +<p>"Just as sure as you're a foot high!"</p> + +<p>"Did you ever see such nerve?" whispered George. +"He comes here and steals a sick boy, and then has +the nerve to return and claim the cabin!"</p> + +<p>"Well, I'm glad he came," Sandy whispered back. +"All we've got to do now is to play the sleuth when +he leaves the cabin."</p> + +<p>"You mean that if we follow him in his journeys +over the country we'll be apt to find Bert?" asked +George.</p> + +<p>"That's just the idea!" replied Sandy. "I wonder +if his mug is sore where Bert extracted the whiskers?"</p> + +<p>"I wonder if he expects to get a good night's +sleep, with Bert lying in some uncomfortable hiding +place?" George asked. "I'd like to poke him in the +mug, just for luck!"</p> + +<p>"That wouldn't help us find Bert," Sandy cautioned. +"We've just got to be good to him and follow +him wherever he goes."</p> + +<p>"Watch me put him off his guard," George suggested.</p> + +<p>"How long have you been in this neighborhood?" +he asked, turning to Cameron. "I ask," the boy +continued, "because one of our chums wandered +away from the cabin while we were out fishing and +hasn't returned."</p> + +<p>Cameron's eyes sought the floor for a moment.</p> + +<p>"I have just returned from the coast," he said, +"so, unless your friend strayed off in that direction, +I wouldn't have caught sight of him. Do you mean +that he strayed away in the darkness?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"No," replied George, "he strayed away this afternoon +while temporarily out of his mind. My friends +were out fishing, and I was asleep at the time. He +received a slight wound on the head, from a fall, +not long ago, and that is probably the cause of his +aberration of mind."</p> + +<p>The boys thought they saw a sudden expression of +satisfaction creep over Cameron's face as George +finished his explanation.</p> + +<p>"If you'll serve Mr. Cameron's supper," Sandy +said, giving George a sly wink, "I'll go with Will, and +we'll take different directions so as to cover more +ground. We are getting anxious about Bert."</p> + +<p>Of course the object of the boys in leaving the +cabin was to meet the Boy Scout who had signalled +to them from the window. When they turned the +corner of the cabin, they found a thin, pale lad in a +torn and faded khaki uniform leaning against the +outer wall.</p> + +<p>"Why don't you come in?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"Is the miner in there yet?" asked the boy.</p> + +<p>"Yes, he says the cabin belongs to him, and he's +going to remain all night! What do you know of +him?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing at all!" replied the boy, "except that +I've been following him for half a dozen miles in the +hopes that he would lead me to some place where I +could eat and sleep."</p> + +<p>"Did you call out to him?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"No," was the answer. "I was afraid he would +send me back if I did. Miners in this section are +not fond of leading strangers to their claims."</p> + +<p>"Where do you belong?" asked Sandy pointing +to the Bulldog badge displayed on the boy's ragged +coat.</p> + +<p>"Bulldog Patrol, Portland," was the reply.</p> + +<p>"How'd you get out into this country in such a +plight?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"My chum and I," was the reply, "started out to +seek our fortunes. We got to Katalla and couldn't +get a thing to do. Sam—his name is Sam White—insisted +on remaining in town, but I made a break +for the country."</p> + +<p>"How long since you've had anything to eat?" +asked Sandy.</p> + +<p>"About twenty-four hours," was the reply.</p> + +<p>"Well, come on in, then, and we'll feed you up."</p> + +<p>"Of course I'll go, now that I know that you are +running the camp," replied the boy. "I suppose I +should have gone in anyway, directly, for just as I +came up I heard the man knocking at the door. +I was still afraid I'd get kicked out if I put in an +appearance at any miner's cabin and asked for food, +but I should have risked it."</p> + +<p>"I didn't know that miners did such things," +Sandy observed.</p> + +<p>"Some of them do, and some of them don't," +replied the boy.</p> + +<p>"You haven't given us your name yet," suggested +Will.</p> + +<p>"Ed Hannon," was the reply.</p> + +<p>"Well come on in the cabin, Ed Hannon," laughed +Sandy, "and we'll fill you up, but you mustn't say a +word about having seen that miner, and if he talks to +you about the route by which you approached the +cabin lie like a thief! Which way did he come +from, anyway?"</p> + +<p>"He came from the west," was the reply. "I +plumped into him not far from one of the little +rivulets which joins Copper river not very far away."</p> + +<p>"There!" said Sandy. "Now I guess we've got +something tangible".</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_XIIIa" id="Chapter_XIIIa"></a>Chapter XIII</h2> + +<h3>THE BEGINNING OF THE TRAIL</h3> + + +<p>When Will and Sandy entered the cabin with Ed +Hannon, Cameron sprang up to meet them. There +was a show of excitement in his manner as he exclaimed:</p> + +<p>"So you found the lost boy, did you?"</p> + +<p>"No," Will replied, "this is not the lost boy, but +it is a lost boy!"</p> + +<p>"Where did you come from?" asked Cameron +hastily, regarding Ed with a pair of bold, black eyes. +"How long have you been in this district?"</p> + +<p>"I came from Katalla today," answered the boy.</p> + +<p>"Tonight, you mean," corrected Cameron.</p> + +<p>"I started early this morning," replied Ed, "but +I guess I've been wandering around the country a +good deal. It seems that I came up to the cottage +from the north."</p> + +<p>Cameron sank back into his chair with a look of +satisfaction on his face. The boys now busied themselves +getting a substantial meal for Ed, and the boy +was soon attacking a generous slice of bear steak.</p> + +<p>If Cameron had the plans bearing the thumb +marks, he was certainly the man to keep them concealed +if he believed them to be of any value whatever +to any one. If he did not have charge of the +plans, then the chances were that Vin. Chase, the +crooked clerk, had them and that any reference to +them in the presence of Cameron would be communicated +as soon as possible to the actual holder.</p> + +<p>Will was certain that Cameron was the man who +had given the name of Len Garman by Mr. Horton +in the interview in which he had received his instructions. +At that time he did not believe that +Cameron, or Garman, whichever his name was, knew +anything whatever of the thumb prints on the plans.</p> + +<p>He did believe, however, that the fellow would +fight to the death for the drawings, not because he +believed them to be of value as evidence, but because +he believed them to be of great value to one in quest +of mining machinery suitable for that section of the +country.</p> + +<p>Directly Cameron began pacing to and fro in the +cabin and occasionally glancing out of the window. +There were only a few stars in sight and no moon, +but for all that the fellow appeared greatly interested +in the landscape outside.</p> + +<p>"Are you expecting some one?" Will finally +asked.</p> + +<p>"Certainly not," was the reply. "Why do you +ask such a question?"</p> + +<p>"Because you seem anxious about something."</p> + +<p>"I am anxious about something," replied Cameron +seating himself by Will once more. "I don't like +the idea of this boy coming in here with his story of +being lost on the moraine.</p> + +<p>"You think he came here for a purpose?"</p> + +<p>"I must say that I do!"</p> + +<p>Will saw that Cameron was fearful that Ed had +brought in a message of some kind, and so talked to +the point for some moments in the hope of drawing +the miner out. But the miner only stared at Ed +with his evil eyes and said nothing of importance.</p> + +<p>"I know what's eating you, old fellow," Will +thought to himself. "You think that there's a gang +of Boy Scouts scattered over the moraine looking for +Bert, and you're afraid they'll find him!"</p> + +<p>Sure enough this prognostication seemed to be the +true one, for directly Cameron drew on his head net +and leather gloves and walked to the door. He +paused there a moment and turned back to say to +Will:</p> + +<p>"It will soon be morning, and I desire to get to the +point of my investigation before daylight. I have +been very courteously entertained and shall return +to your cabin at night, with your permission."</p> + +<p>"I guess it's your cabin rather than mine!" replied +Will with a smile. "I think you are acting very +decently about our taking possession of it. Of +course you'll always find food here as long as we +remain."</p> + +<p>With a wave of the hand at the group of boys +gathered about the table, Cameron went out and +closed the door. They heard him moving heavily +along toward the east and then came silence.</p> + +<p>"He's stopping to see if he's watched," suggested +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"He'll be watched all right!" George declared.</p> + +<p>"But how?" asked Sandy.</p> + +<p>"I'm the original sleuth!" George replied with a +grin. "I can follow the fellow by the sound of his +footsteps, even if he is wearing moccasins!"</p> + +<p>"Does any one doubt that Cameron is the man +formerly known as Len Garman?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>The boys all shook their heads, but Ed turned an +inquiring face toward the speaker.</p> + +<p>"He gave the name of Cameron here, did he?" he +asked.</p> + +<p>Will nodded.</p> + +<p>"Well, that isn't the name I heard him called by at +Katalla," Ed declared.</p> + +<p>"So you saw him at Katalla, did you?" asked +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I saw him at Katalla two days ago. He +seemed to have a lot of business with a young fellow +who appeared to be a stranger in the town."</p> + +<p>"What name did ho give there?"</p> + +<p>"Brooks!" replied Ed.</p> + +<p>"Well, we mustn't stand here chinning while the +fellow is getting out of sight," suggested George. +"I'm going to take after him right now!"</p> + +<p>"Wait," Sandy suggested, "and I'll go with you."</p> + +<p>"Do you think he will go straight to Bert?" asked +Will.</p> + +<p>"I have no doubt of it!" was the reply.</p> + +<p>"It's just this way," George went on, "Cameron +is suspicious that a great effort is being made to discover +the whereabouts of the kidnapped boy, and +he can't rest easy until he knows that he is safe. Besides, +the fellow would like to know whether Bert had +regained consciousness."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I presume he is anxious to learn what the +code despatch he stole contains," Will answered.</p> + +<p>"There was some talk," Sandy said, directly, +"about Bert regaining consciousness before he left +the cabin. Do you think that possible?"</p> + +<p>"No, I don't!" replied George. "I should have +heard a struggle had anything of the kind taken +place. The fact of the matter is," the boy went on, +"that Cameron thinks some one is after the drawings +he values so greatly. He found Bert here with +the code message and naturally concluded that the +cipher referred in some way to his plans."</p> + +<p>"Well, come on, then," Sandy urged. "We'll +have to be moving if we follow Cameron. I think +we've talked too long already."</p> + +<p>"Don't you worry about that," Will declared. +"Cameron will hang around the cabin for half an +hour or more in order to see if any one leaves. Before +any one goes out, we'll turn off the light and +make a noise like going to sleep. Then, when all is +good and dark, you two can slip out and locate the +miner if you can."</p> + +<p>"Locate him?" repeated Sandy. "We've got to +locate him. He'll go straight to Bert and that's +exactly where we want to go."</p> + +<p>The boys made a great commotion in the cabin as +if preparing for bed, and finally the lamp was extinguished, +leaving the room in complete darkness.</p> + +<p>"Now, be careful when you open the door," +whispered Will.</p> + +<p>For a wonder the door opened noiselessly on its +hinges, and was closed without the slightest jar. +Directly Will heard a soft tap at the window and +pressed his face against the pane.</p> + +<p>"Cameron is still in sight," Sandy's voice said, +"and not very far away. He seems to be satisfied +that we've all gone to bed, and is heading for the +west. Looks like he was following the trail we followed +when we went out after fish."</p> + +<p>"Go to it, then," Will said. "Don't expose yourselves +by being too rash, and don't come back in the +morning without bringing Bert with you."</p> + +<p>"You watch me!" Sandy replied, and then he was +gone.</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_XIVa" id="Chapter_XIVa"></a>Chapter XIV</h2> + +<h3>THE LAD WITH THE "DRAG"</h3> + + +<p>When the federal officer appeared in front of the +spirited team, announcing that he had a warrant for +the arrest of the boys, Tommy and Sam both +whispered to the driver to cut loose with the whip.</p> + +<p>"Run him down!" Tommy insisted.</p> + +<p>"Jump the rig over him!" Sam advised.</p> + +<p>The doctor, however, stretched forth a detaining +hand and the driver held in the horses.</p> + +<p>"That's right!" Frank exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"You mustn't get into any quarrel with the +officers," Dr. Pelton suggested. "We can soon +settle this matter."</p> + +<p>"Je-rusalem!" exclaimed Tommy. "Here we've +been hanging around an old blacksmith shop all day, +and skulking through the streets, and not getting +half enough to eat, only to get pinched at the last +minute! If I had my way, I'd bump that officer +on the coco and make for the landing. We can't +stay in this blooming little burg all the rest of our +natural lives. Will will be anxious."</p> + +<p>"Now don't get excited!" laughed Frank. "We'll +get out in, a few minutes, all right."</p> + +<p>"If it was so easy to get out in a few minutes," +argued Tommy, "why didn't you get out hours ago?"</p> + +<p>Frank only laughed as the impatient question and +sprang out of the carriage. The doctor alighted, +too, and they both stood for a moment in close consultation +with the officer.</p> + +<p>Jamison, who was now very drunk, stood weaving +about in the street, demanding that all the boys, +and the doctor, and the driver of the carriage, be +thrown into jail on a charge of piracy.</p> + +<p>"Don't you think," Frank suggested to the officer, +"that this man is too drunk to be out on the street?"</p> + +<p>"Why, of course he is," replied the officer beckoning +to an associate who stood watching the group +from the next corner.</p> + +<p>When the associate came up, Jamison was ordered +under arrest, and was taken away with many +threats and exclamations of rage.</p> + +<p>"I don't like this man Jamison any better than +you do," the officer said, speaking to Frank and Dr. +Pelton, "but the case did look rather bad for the +boys, and I had to do something."</p> + +<p>"He collected three hundred dollars of me, for a +trip to and from Cordova," Frank explained, "and +then tried to maroon us on one of the Barren islands. +There's a member of his crew back here in the blacksmith +shop who will tell you the same story."</p> + +<p>"So you paid him three hundred dollars, did you?" +asked the officer.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir," answered the boy.</p> + +<p>"And you have proof that he tried to maroon +you?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir!"</p> + +<p>"And you took the boat only to enforce the contract +you had made?"</p> + +<p>"That's the idea!" replied Frank.</p> + +<p>"Then I'm not going to bother with the case at +all!" replied the officer. "If you had come to me +with this story the minute Jamison began to rave +about arrest, you wouldn't have been put to all this +inconvenience."</p> + +<p>"I think," grinned Frank, "that Jamison ought to +pay us back the three hundred dollars, because he +never brought us to Cordova at all, and even if he +had, he wouldn't have earned the money until he +returned us to Katalla. He ought not to keep the +money."</p> + +<p>"That's a fact!" exclaimed the officer with a +smile at the boy. "I'll go down to the jail and make +him give it back."</p> + +<p>The officer started away, and Tommy and Sam +sat in the carriage regarding Frank with wide open +eyes.</p> + +<p>"Say, who is that kid?" Tommy asked.</p> + +<p>"I don't know," replied Sam.</p> + +<p>"Did you notice that any time he said anything +to the officer that the officer just fell right in with his +ideas?"</p> + +<p>"Sure I did," was the reply.</p> + +<p>"And did you notice how the doctor paid special +attention to every remark he made?"</p> + +<p>"I couldn't help but notice it," was the reply.</p> + +<p>"Well, that kid's got these fellows up here buffaloed +all right," Tommy declared. "And that being +the case, I wonder why he didn't use some of his +influence hours ago and get us started on the road to +Katalla."</p> + +<p>"I give it up!" Sam replied.</p> + +<p>Frank and the doctor stood talking together for a +few moments, and then the federal officer returned +and handed two hundred dollars in bank notes over +to Frank.</p> + +<p>"Jamison thinks he ought to have a hundred +dollars because he paid the tug for bringing him and +his crew in," the officer said, "and because he's going +to let you run his motor boat up to Katalla."</p> + +<p>"What do you know about that?" whispered Sam.</p> + +<p>"I'll bet that boy's father is president of the +United States," replied Tommy. "Or he may be +king of England."</p> + +<p>"Whoever he is, he's got a pull," replied Sam.</p> + +<p>"Drag!" exclaimed Tommy. "Whenever a man's +got a dead sure cinch like that, it's a drag and not a +pull!"</p> + +<p>"Well," the doctor said, "we're losing time! We +may as well go to the wireless office and get our code +message. I presume it's ready for delivery by this +time."</p> + +<p>"It's about time we were thinking about that boy +with his head in a sling, too!" Tommy suggested.</p> + +<p>"It won't take us long to get there now," Doctor +Pelton remarked.</p> + +<p>The Gulf of Alaska was remarkably smooth, when +the vicious habits of that body of water are taken +into consideration, and the boys made the run to +Katalla without accident in little less than three +hours, arriving at the floating dock with the sun still +more than three hours in the sky.</p> + +<p>"Now for the rotten part of the journey," Tommy +suggested. "If we hadn't had to wait for the wireless +after we landed at the dock we should have +arrived here in time to reach the cabin before dark."</p> + +<p>"Who's got the wireless?" asked Sam.</p> + +<p>"Frank's got it tucked away under his uniform!" +laughed Doctor Pelton. "He wouldn't even let me +take a look at the envelope!"</p> + +<p>"Do you know what's in it, Frank?" asked +Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Sure I do," was the reply.</p> + +<p>"Then, what's all this mystery about? Why don't +you pass the information around?" demanded +Tommy impatiently.</p> + +<p>"All in good time!" laughed the boy.</p> + +<p>"I don't see any use of all this mystery!" Tommy +grumbled, turning to Sam, "I get shut out of the +inside features of every game I'm in!"</p> + +<p>"Now, how do we get to the cabin?" asked the +doctor.</p> + +<p>"Walk, I suppose," grumbled Tommy. "It's +only about fourteen or fifteen miles, and the country +between the two points is mostly on end. We +ought to get there by an hour or two after midnight, +if we don't stop to play marbles on the way."</p> + +<p>"If you will all wait here a few moments," Frank +said, "I'll go and see what I can do in the shape of a +rig."</p> + +<p>"A rig!" repeated Tommy. "Fat lot of fun you'd +have driving a rig over that moraine!"</p> + +<p>"Of course we can't drive clear to the cabin," +Frank replied, "but we can get quite along way from +the coast if we have a strong team and a good +wagon!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I remember smooth country somewhere on +the route," replied Tommy.</p> + +<p>"But even at best," Frank explained, "we shall +have to walk five or six miles, so we may as well be +getting busy."</p> + +<p>In a very few minutes Frank returned with a pair +of strong horses and wagon more desirable for its +strength than its comfort.</p> + +<p>"Where'd you find it?" asked Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Sent a wireless ahead asking for it!" replied +Frank.</p> + +<p>"I wish you'd send a wireless over to the cabin," +Tommy grinned, "and ask the boys to have supper +all ready when we get there, and you might suggest +that Sandy and George meet us a half a mile this +side with a pie under each arm."</p> + +<p>"I believe if that kid should ask to have some one +dip him a blue blazer out of an ice cold spring it +would be done," Sam whispered to Tommy, as the +party clambered into the wagon.</p> + +<p>"He's certainly got a drag somewhere!" replied +Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Things are running pretty smoothly boys," suggested +Doctor Pelton as the straggling buildings of +the coast town disappeared from view.</p> + +<p>"They're running too smoothly!" exclaimed +Tommy. "First thing we know, there'll be a cylinder +head blowing out, or a volcanic eruption, or +something of that kind. We've been having things +altogether too easy ever since we landed at Cordova."</p> + +<p>"Just listen a moment," Frank said, "I guess +there's something going to happen, right now!"</p> + +<p>There came a long, low rumbling sound, apparently +moving from east to west, followed by a tipping of the +moraine which almost brought the horses to their +knees.</p> + +<p>"It would never answer," Tommy grumbled, "for +us to make a trip to Alaska without bunting into a +glacier ready to smash up things!"</p> + +<p>"That's not a glacial slide!" Frank said. "It's an +earthquake!"</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_XVa" id="Chapter_XVa"></a>Chapter XV</h2> + +<h3>A BREAK IN THE GLACIER</h3> + + +<p>"An earthquake?" repeated Tommy. "I thought +they never had earthquakes in Alaska any more!"</p> + +<p>"There are few weeks when there are no earthquakes!" +was the reply.</p> + +<p>"Well, when's it going to stop quaking?" asked +Sam, springing out of the wagon. "It seems to me +that we're getting a sleigh ride!"</p> + +<p>The others followed his example, and stood in a +moment within fifty feet of a slowly widening chasm +which seemed to run from east to west across the +entire moraine. They had just reached the timber +line when the disturbance began, and now they saw +trees a hundred feet in height and from six to eight +inches in diameter dropping like matches into the +great opening in the earth.</p> + +<p>"Gee!" exclaimed Tommy. "The breath of the +earthquake is enough to freeze one! I wish I had a +couple of fur coats!"</p> + +<p>The boy expressed the situation very accurately, +for the opening of the moraine revealed the mighty +mass of ice which lay under it. The glacier which +had lain dead under the mat of vegetation for how +many hundred years no one would ever know, showed +far down in the great cavern, and a gust of wind +sighing through the ragged jaws laid a chill over +the little party.</p> + +<p>Slowly the chasm widened. The ground under +the boys' feet seemed to be unsteady. With a swaying +motion it dropped off toward the coast, except +at the very edge of the cavern, which seemed to be +doubling down like a lip folded inside the mouth.</p> + +<p>"It strikes me," Frank said, "that we would +better be getting the team out of the track of that +chasm! If we don't, the horses and wagon will take +a drop."</p> + +<p>Tommy and Sam both sprang forward, but it was +too late! The southern line of the chasm seemed, to +drop away for fifty feet or more, and trees and +rocks crashed into the opening. The horses and the +wagon went down with the rest. The screams of +the frightened horses cut the air for an instant, and +then all was silent.</p> + +<p>"Rotten!" cried Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Fierce!" shouted Sam.</p> + +<p>"Awful!" declared Doctor Pelton.</p> + +<p>Frank stood looking at the ever-widening chasm +for a moment and then faced toward the coast.</p> + +<p>"We'll have to walk around it now, I'm thinking," +Tommy said, in a moment. "And a nice job we've +got!"</p> + +<p>As far as the eye could see the chasm extended, +now growing in size, now contracting. A pale blue +mist rose out of the opening, and the air was that of +an August day no longer.</p> + +<p>The sliding motion continued, and the chasm increased +its width.</p> + +<p>"Will it never stop?" asked Sam, almost thrown to +the ground by a quick convulsion of the surface.</p> + +<p>"Not just yet!" replied the Doctor gravely. "I +can tell you in a moment just what has taken place. +The weight of soil and timber on top of the dead +glacier is shifting. The volcanic action tipped the +moraine to the south and it broke, opening the way +to the ice below. There is no knowing how serious +the break may be. For all we know, the upheaval +may send this whole moraine into the Gulf of +Alaska."</p> + +<p>"That's a cheerful proposition, too!" Tommy +exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"I wish I could get close enough to the chasm to +look down," Sam observed. "I'll bet it's a thousand +feet!"</p> + +<p>"You'd better not try that!" advised Frank.</p> + +<p>"The question before the house at the present +moment," the doctor said, "is how I am going to get +to my patient."</p> + +<p>"Can't we get across this little crack in the earth?" +asked Sam.</p> + +<p>"That depends on the length of it!" answered +Frank. "If the Doctor's theory is correct, this whole +point has cracked away from the glacier above. In +that case, we may be obliged to in some way work +ourselves to the bottom of the chasm and up on the +other side."</p> + +<p>"We never can do that!" Sam insisted.</p> + +<p>"Alaska is full of just such gorges as this one," +Frank explained. "The whole country is resting +on an icy foundation, and earthquakes find congenial +conditions when it comes to cracking the crust. We +don't know how long this chasm is, but the chances +are that it isn't as long now as it will be!"</p> + +<p>"Yes," agreed the doctor. "The chances are that +the chasm started here today will continue to grow +in length until it cuts across the point of land between +Controller bay and the Bering glacier. I have +known chasms of this character to travel fifty miles +in a night, and I have known them to walk with +such dignity that it took them ten years to go ten +miles."</p> + +<p>"But there must be some way of getting across +it!" exclaimed Tommy. "Everything has been going +all right up to now, and we're not going to be +kept away from the cabin by any such playful little +earthquake as this!"</p> + +<p>"We'll do the best we can," Frank said gravely.</p> + +<p>The boys turned to the east and west and traversed +the line of the chasm for long distances. In +places the width was not more than thirty feet. In +others it was at least a hundred. Occasionally the +walls of soil and ice sloped down at an angle of forty +degrees, in other places the wall was vertical.</p> + +<p>Within an hour the sound of running water was +plainly heard, and the boys understood that the convulsion +of nature had opened a reservoir somewhere +in the glacier, and that the long chasm would soon +become a rushing torrent. The prospect was discouraging.</p> + +<p>"I wish we had an airship!" suggested Tommy, as +they came back to the starting place, a few minutes +before the night closed down upon the moraine. +"It's provoking to think that we can't get across a +little chasm not any wider than a street in old +Chicago!"</p> + +<p>"I think I could get along very well with a derrick!" +said Sam.</p> + +<p>After a long conference, it was decided to keep to +the west and endeavor to pass around the chasm in +that direction.</p> + +<p>"We certainly can't remain here inactive," the +doctor argued. "We've got to go one way or the +other, and I think the chances are better toward the +west!"</p> + +<p>"It will soon be good and dark," cried Tommy, +"and then we'll have to make some kind of a camp +for the night."</p> + +<p>"I've got a searchlight with me," suggested +Frank.</p> + +<p>"So've I," answered Tommy.</p> + +<p>"I'll tell you one thing we forgot," Sam cut in. +"You didn't make Jamison give up your automatics!"</p> + +<p>"Don't you ever think we didn't," Tommy answered. +"That is," he continued, "the officer made +him give them up. At least he brought them back +when he came from the jail!"</p> + +<p>"Seems to me," Tommy added, looking at Frank +critically, "that you've got some kind of a drag with +the people at Cordova."</p> + +<p>"Never mind that now," Frank replied. "What +we need now is some kind of a drag to get us across +this chasm."</p> + +<p>The electrics illuminated only a narrow path, but +the boys and the doctor made fairly good time as +they advanced toward the west.</p> + +<p>After walking at least a mile and finding no +narrowing in the surface opening, the boys stopped +once more for consultation.</p> + +<p>While they stood on the edge of the chasm considering +the situation, a bright blaze leaped up some +distance to the north.</p> + +<p>"Some one's burning green boughs!" exclaimed +Tommy.</p> + +<p>"How do you know that?" asked Sam.</p> + +<p>"Look at the white smoke!" answered Tommy. +"I guess if you had made and answered as many Boy +Scout smoke signals as I have, you'd know how to +make a smudge."</p> + +<p>"It's so bloomin' dark I couldn't tell whether the +smoke is while or black!" declared Sam. "I can +see only the bulk of it."</p> + +<p>"If it was good and black," Tommy answered, +"we couldn't see it so plainly. And, come to think +about it," he added, laying a hand excitedly on +Frank's shoulder, "there are two columns of smoke."</p> + +<p>"I see the two now," Frank answered. "One +column has just begon to show. You know what +that means, of course!"</p> + +<p>"It means a Boy Scout signal for assistance," replied +Tommy.</p> + +<p>Doctor Pelton turned to the boys with an anxious +face.</p> + +<p>"Do you really mean that?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Sure we do!" replied Tommy. "Two columns +of smoke ask for help."</p> + +<p>"Then there must be Boy Scouts in trouble on the +other side of the chasm!" the doctor concluded.</p> + +<p>"That's about the size of it!" Frank exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"Look here," Tommy declared, "we've just got to +get across that crack! I wonder if it would be +possible to find walls so slanting that we could pass +down this side and up the other."</p> + +<p>"Well, even if we did," Sam argued, "there's a +rush of water at the bottom. I don't see how we +could get across that."</p> + +<p>"I know how we can get across it if we find the +walls accommodating," Tommy exclaimed. "You +saw how the trees tumbled into the chasm, didn't +you? Well, if we can find a place where the moraine +was heavily wooded, we'll find a bridge of tree trunks +across any water there may be at the bottom! And +the bridge may not be very far down, either!"</p> + +<p>"Great head, little man!" laughed Frank.</p> + +<p>"You ought to consider the matter very seriously +before entering the chasm at all," suggested the +doctor. "Remember that it is uncertain as to size +and that the walls are liable to crumble."</p> + +<p>"But see here," exclaimed Tommy, "there's a +Boy Scout signal for help on the other side, and we've +just got to get across! For all we know, the cabin +may have been wrecked by the earthquake, and the +boys may have been injured in some way!"</p> + +<p>"I'm game to go!" shouted Sam.</p> + +<p>"Of course I'll go with you," the doctor went on. +"In fact, I am satisfied that you are doing the right +thing in making the attempt to cross. I only +uttered a warning which we must all heed whenever +we come to a place where a crossing seems possible."</p> + +<p>The boys soon discovered a place where the walls +did not appear to be very steep and where the mass of +trees which had fallen completely covered the +bottom. Then, cautiously feeling their way, they +crept down.</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_XVIa" id="Chapter_XVIa"></a>Chapter XVI</h2> + +<h3>GEORGE AND SANDY CAUGHT</h3> + + +<p>When George and Sandy left the cabin they saw +the figure of the miner very dimly outlined away to +the west.</p> + +<p>"We ought to get closer," Sandy whispered. +"First thing we know, he'll duck down into some +hollow, and that'll be the last of him for the night. +I guess we can creep up without his catching us at +it."</p> + +<p>"Of course we can!" replied George. "He's +making so much noise himself that he can't hear us! +He wouldn't make much of a Boy Scout when it came +to stalking, would he?"</p> + +<p>The boys succeeded in getting pretty close to the +miner; so close in fact, that occasionally they heard +him muttering to himself as he stumbled over rocks +and occasionally became entangled in such underbrush +as grew along the top of the moraine.</p> + +<p>"We can't be very far away from the place where +the bear tried to beat me up," Sandy whispered, as +they drew up for a moment. "I wouldn't mind +having a bite out of that same bear just about now!"</p> + +<p>After a time they came to the head waters of the +creek in which Will and Sandy had fished, and saw +Cameron standing on the other side.</p> + +<p>"He's going into the mountains!" whispered +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"That's exactly where he's keeping Bert," George +agreed.</p> + +<p>In a short time Cameron paused in his walk and +uttered a low whistle.</p> + +<p>"What do you think of that?" asked Sandy. +"He's going to meet some one here. And that +means," the boy went on, "that he's had a pal +watching Bert while he's been away."</p> + +<p>"And it also means," George added, "that we +can't be very far from the spot where Bert is concealed. +I hope so, anyway, for I'm about tired +enough to crawl into my little nest in the cabin."</p> + +<p>"I should think you'd talk about sleep!" scoffed +Sandy. "You slept all the afternoon!"</p> + +<p>"If you mention that long sleep of mine again," +George said half-angrily, "I'll tip you over into the +creek. I'm sore over that myself!"</p> + +<p>While the boys stood waiting end listening an +answering whistle came from the side of a mountain +not far from the rivulet.</p> + +<p>"There's his chum!" whispered Sandy. "If we +get up nearer, we may be able to hear what they +say."</p> + +<p>The boys crept along under the dim light of the +infrequent stars, and finally crouched down behind +an angle of rock which was not more than twenty +feet removed from where Cameron stood.</p> + +<p>They had hardly taken their position when a +second figure made its appearance. The two stood +talking together in whispers for a short time and +then started to walk away.</p> + +<p>"There's something doing, all right!" exclaimed +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Yes, indeed, there is!" agreed George. "They +wouldn't come out into such a hole as this after +midnight to tell each other what good fellows they +are, or anything like that."</p> + +<p>"I'm getting suspicious!" Sandy chuckled.</p> + +<p>"Why suspicious?"</p> + +<p>"Because those fellows whispered!"</p> + +<p>"I see the point," replied George. "From our +standpoint those fellows were all alone here in one of +the wild places of Alaska, yet they drew close together +and whispered when they communicated with +each other!"</p> + +<p>"They wouldn't do that," urged Tommy, "unless +they were afraid of being overheard. It shows that +they believe some one to be watching them."</p> + +<p>The two men were now moving quite swiftly up +the slope of the mountain. At times they were +entirely hidden by the luxuriant growths, and at +times they came out on little bald spots where rock +outcropped to the exclusion of vegetation. The boys +followed on into the thickets, pausing now and then +to listen for the sounds of the advance of the others.</p> + +<p>Presently they came to a shelf of rock which overlooked +the valley of the rivulet. They paused for a +moment to listen for the sounds of those in advance +when a strong electric searchlight was thrown on +their faces and they saw the grim, round barrel of +an automatic pointing at their breasts.</p> + +<p>"You may as well hand over your automatics, +boys!" Cameron said.</p> + +<p>"And be quick about it, too."</p> + +<p>This last sentence came from a thin, cadaverous +looking fellow whose face was only half revealed +through the meshes of the head net.</p> + +<p>There was nothing for the boys to do but to pass +over their revolvers. Their searchlights were also +taken from them, and then their hands were tied +tightly behind their backs.</p> + +<p>"Did you have a pleasant tramp through the +woods?" asked Cameron.</p> + +<p>"Say," growled Sandy, "if you'll just turn my +hands loose, I'll give you a poke in the jaw!"</p> + +<p>"That wouldn't be polite!" sneered Cameron.</p> + +<p>"Don't take any lip from the young imps," +snarled the other. "They've given us enough +trouble already!"</p> + +<p>"You're a foxy old gink!" exclaimed Sandy. "I +wish I had you on South Clark street, Chicago, for a +few minutes!"</p> + +<p>"So that's why you came to the cabin is it?" +asked George.</p> + +<p>"Certainly," replied Cameron. "I had an idea +that you'd follow me away! You see I figured it out +exactly right!"</p> + +<p>"Why did you want to make trouble for us?" +asked Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Because you're too smart!" answered Cameron.</p> + +<p>"What do you mean by that?"</p> + +<p>"When you sat sizing me up in the cabin while I +was eating supper," Cameron went on, "you informed +me as plainly as words could have done that +you knew me to be the man who had abducted your +friend."</p> + +<p>"You didn't show that you knew," George suggested.</p> + +<p>"I tried not to show that I knew," answered the +other.</p> + +<p>"What'd you steal Bert for?" asked Sandy.</p> + +<p>"I needed him in my business," answered +Cameron.</p> + +<p>"Come, don't stand here all night talking with +the little guttersnipes!" exclaimed Cameron's companion. +"We've got work to do!"</p> + +<p>"March along, then, boys!" Cameron ordered.</p> + +<p>The lads were now pushed forward into a cavern +which opened on the shelf of rock where they had been +taken prisoners. The opening in the mountain side +seemed to be of considerable size, for the boys passed +from an outer chamber of fair dimensions to two +smaller ones further in.</p> + +<p>In the last of these chambers, on a huddle of +blankets, lay the boy for whom they had been searching.</p> + +<p>"Is he dead?" asked Sandy.</p> + +<p>"No such luck," snarled Cameron.</p> + +<p>"If you'll untie my hands, I'll look after him," George +said.</p> + +<p>The bonds were cut and George bent over the still +figure.</p> + +<p>"Has he regained consciousness at all?" he asked.</p> + +<p>Cameron turned to his companion.</p> + +<p>"Tell them, Fenton," he said, "whether the lad +woke up during my absence. You were here all the +time?" he added.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I was here all the time!" answered Fenton. +"And the lad never opened his eyes once. That was +a deuce of a blow you gave him, Cameron!"</p> + +<p>"And what did you gain by it?" demanded Sandy.</p> + +<p>"We'll show you directly what we gained by it!" +Cameron answered.</p> + +<p>Seeing a bucket of water at one side of the cavern, +George carried it over to the heap of blankets where +the boy lay and began bathing his forehead and +wrists. The boy groaned feebly but did not speak.</p> + +<p>"What did you hit him with?" asked George +angrily.</p> + +<p>"The handle of my gun!" was the sullen reply.</p> + +<p>"Why?" asked Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Because I wanted to get a paper he had."</p> + +<p>"Well, you got it, didn't you?" asked the boy.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I got it!"</p> + +<p>"And much good it did you, too!" said George +angrily.</p> + +<p>"Look here!" Cameron almost shouted, "can +either one of you boys read that code despatch?"</p> + +<p>George shook his head.</p> + +<p>"Is there any one at the cabin who can read it?"</p> + +<p>"I have never known of any member of the party +reading the cipher," replied George. "I never have +seen a code despatch before."</p> + +<p>"You are lying to me!" shouted Cameron. "The +boy to whom the despatch was addressed can certainly +read it! Which one of you bears the name of +Will Smith? Don't lie to me now!"</p> + +<p>"Will Smith is at the cabin!" replied Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Just my luck!" shouted Cameron.</p> + +<p>"What do you want to know about the code +despatch?" asked Sandy.</p> + +<p>"I want to know what it contains. And what is +more, I'm going to know, too! I want one of you boys +to write a note to this Will Smith and get him to +come here to this cave."</p> + +<p>"Not for mine!" exclaimed Sandy.</p> + +<p>George made no verbal reply, but the expression +of his face showed that he had no intention of doing +anything of the kind.</p> + +<p>"It will be the worse for you if you don't!" shouted +Cameron.</p> + +<p>"Oh, you've got the top hand for a few minutes +now," Sandy said, tauntingly, "but you'll soon find +out that you're not the only man in the world that's +got a gun!"</p> + +<p>This last as Cameron flourished an automatic in +his hand.</p> + +<p>"You'll write the note, or you'll starve to death!" +replied Fenton.</p> + +<p>"Then we'll starve!" answered George.</p> + +<p>"No, we won't starve!" declared Sandy. "We'll +get the best of you outlaws in some shape, and give +you a beating up that will put you in the hospital +for six months!"</p> + +<p>Fenton raised his fist as if to strike the speaker. +but Cameron caught his arm.</p> + +<p>"Not now," he said. "Wait until all other plans +have been tried."</p> + +<p>"We have other work to do at this time, anyway," +Fenton said, with a scowl, "so we'll just lock the door +on these young gutter-snipes and leave them to +think the matter over!"</p> + +<p>The men passed out of the small cavern, but before +they left the outer one, they rolled a great stone +into the opening they had just passed through and +blocked it firmly on the outer side.</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_XVIIa" id="Chapter_XVIIa"></a>Chapter XVII</h2> + +<h3>THE MORSE CODE</h3> + + +<p>"And this," said Sandy, as the great stone began +to render the atmosphere of the place close and unpleasant, +"is what I call a fine little Boy Scout +excursion! Did they leave one of the searchlights?"</p> + +<p>"Not intentionally," replied George, "but I +swiped one!"</p> + +<p>"Well, we mustn't show a light until they get some +distance away!" advised Sandy. "We don't want +them to know that we have it."</p> + +<p>"And we'll need it badly," George suggested, "if +we're to give Bert any attention! I wonder if the +poor boy has had any care since he's been here! +It doesn't seem to me that they would be heartless +enough to leave him here in an unconscious condition +very long!"</p> + +<p>"You can never tell what such fellows'll do," +Sandy observed.</p> + +<p>The boys remained silent for a long time, each one +busy with his own thoughts. After what seemed an +aeon, they saw that it was daylight outside. Then +they turned on their electric and made an examination +of their wounded chum.</p> + +<p>They found that the bandage on his head had been +changed, and that his pulse was not so high as when +he had been discovered in an unconscious condition +at the cabin.</p> + +<p>"I guess they've done the best they could," Sandy +observed, "and I'm much obliged to them for that! +Have you got anything to eat?"</p> + +<p>"Now, look here, Sandy," George replied whimsically, +"have you any idea that I'd ever go away +with you without taking something to eat? You +got up from the table one minute and demand something +to masticate the next! You're about the most +regular boy at your meals I over knew. What'll +you have now, pie or cake?"</p> + +<p>"Pie!" laughed Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Well, you get a bear sandwich!" replied George. +"I've got four great big thick ones wrapped up in +paper and stowed away in my pockets. If those +ginks had suspected anything of the kind, they would +have taken them away from me. They're a bum lot, +those men!"</p> + +<p>"Produce one of the sandwiches!" demanded +Sandy. "They named me Sandy at first because +I'm such a hand for sandwiches!"</p> + +<p>George brought forth two great slices of bread and +about a pound of fried bear meat. Sandy's eyes +sparkled at the sight.</p> + +<p>"We'll have one apiece now," George suggested, +"and one apiece tonight. But every time they come +near the cave, we'll tell them how hungry we are. +That will make them think we're suffering."</p> + +<p>"You don't think we're going to stay here till +night, do you?" demanded Sandy munching away at +his meat.</p> + +<p>"I hope not," answered George.</p> + +<p>"I wonder if Bert's had anything to eat since he +got the wallop on the coco?" asked Sandy. "Suppose +we mince some of this meat up very fine and feed it +to him. He may not know when he swallows it, but +it will give him strength just the same."</p> + +<p>The suggested plan was followed, and Bert was +given quite a quantity of the tender meat. At first +it was necessary to pass it down his throat with +draughts of water, but later, much to the surprise +and joy of the boys, he began, to swallow naturally.</p> + +<p>"He's coming back to life!" shouted Sandy. "A +boy's all right as soon as he begins to eat! Sprinkle +some water in his face and we'll see what effect that +has."</p> + +<p>The boys were so pleased that they almost cheered +with delight when at length Bert opened his eyes +and looked about.</p> + +<p>"Time to get up?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Naw," replied Sandy. "Go to sleep again!"</p> + +<p>"That you, Sandy?" asked Bert.</p> + +<p>"That's Sandy all right!" replied the boy.</p> + +<p>"Why don't you open a door or window and let +in some air?" asked Bert.</p> + +<p>"Aw, go to sleep!" advised Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Nice old dive you've got here!" Bert went on. +"Here I've walked about nineteen thousand miles to +find a boy named Sandy and a boy named Will, and +a boy named Tommy, and a boy named George, and +when I find them they shut me up in a rotten old +morgue."</p> + +<p>"How'd you come to ask for Sandy?" demanded +the boy.</p> + +<p>"The name struck me as being funny!" was the +reply. "Where are the others? Are you here +alone?"</p> + +<p>"George is over there on the floor," replied Sandy. +"Ring off, now, and go to sleep! You're in no shape +to talk."</p> + +<p>"I remember something about getting a dip on +the head," Bert said in a moment, evidently after +long cogitation. "What was there about it?"</p> + +<p>"You got it!" replied Sandy. "Go to sleep!"</p> + +<p>"If you'll give me some more of that meat, I'll go +to sleep!"</p> + +<p>George pushed forward about half of one of the +sandwiches and the boy began eating it greedily. +In a moment, however, his arm dropped to his side +and he appeared to be unconscious again.</p> + +<p>"He's too weak to go at the grub like that," George +advised, turning on the light. "We'll have to be +careful!"</p> + +<p>But Bert was not unconscious again. He was +only sleeping.</p> + +<p>"I'd like to know what brought him out of that +trance," remarked George as the boys sat regarding +the youngster with inquiring eyes.</p> + +<p>"I don't know any more about it than you do," +answered Sandy, "but, if you'll leave it to me, setting +the stomach to work put the blood in circulation, +and that swept the cobwebs out of his brain."</p> + +<p>"Sounds all right, but I don't believe it!" replied +George.</p> + +<p>The day passed slowly. Bert slept continuously +until George's watch told him that it was nearly four +o'clock in the afternoon. Then he opened his eyes +for a few moments, finished the rest of the sandwich +and went to sleep again.</p> + +<p>"Weak as a cat!" exclaimed Sandy.</p> + +<p>The boy had scarcely closed his eyes when Cameron's +voice was heard at the entrance.</p> + +<p>"Are you boys ready to write that note?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Come in here a minute," requested Sandy. "I +want to get a good poke at that ugly mug of yours!"</p> + +<p>"You won't feel quite so lively after going hungry +for a day or two," sneered Cameron. "You needn't +mind about the letter, anyway," he added. "I +have information that there's a boy coming in from +Cordova who can read the code despatch and we're +laying for him now."</p> + +<p>"I don't want to seem to be irreligious," Sandy +replied, "but I beg leave to state that if I owed the +devil a debt of a thousand of the greatest liars on +earth and he wouldn't take you and call the debt +square, I'd cheat him out of it! Your fabrications +are too cheap!"</p> + +<p>"Don't get fresh now," advised Cameron. "If +you do, I'll come in there and take it out of your +hide!"</p> + +<p>"Come on in!" urged Sandy. "I'd just like to get +a good crack at your crust! I think I could fix you +up in about five minutes so you'd want to lie in bed +for about five months!"</p> + +<p>"Aw, what's the good of stirring him up!" whispered +George.</p> + +<p>"I want to get him so mad that he'll say something +that he wouldn't say if he wasn't angry!" replied +Sandy. "What's your idea about this boy coming +in, anyway? Do you believe it?"</p> + +<p>"No!" was the reply. "There isn't any one to +come in. And even if there was, there is no way in +which he could be notified that he was coming! So +you see, he's just lying for the fun of it!"</p> + +<p>"Well, I'm sorry, boys," Cameron observed, +"that you won't take advantage of the offer I'm +making you. I brought a basket of provisions with +me, and you might be having a square meal in five +minutes if you'd only do what I ask you to do."</p> + +<p>"I thought you didn't want the letter now!" +scoffed Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I'll get it all right whether you write it or +not!" answered Cameron. "But if you have anything +to say to me, you'd better say it now, because +you won't see me again until tomorrow morning. +I've just come from the cabin, and the boys there are +about wild over your disappearance. I explained +that I found your hats not far from a piece of torn +and bloody turf, and that seemed to make them feel +worse than ever."</p> + +<p>"Oh, they're on to you all right!" replied Sandy. +"You can't make anything stick with them. They +know that you're the outlaw who stole Bert, and they +know that you haven't any more right to the cabin +than they have. You'll go sticking your nose around +that domicile some time and get it knocked off! +It's a two to one bet right now that they know that +you've caught George and I in some kind of a trap."</p> + +<p>"Let him alone," advised George. "What's the +use of starting anything? He can make us trouble +if he wants to!"</p> + +<p>"Run along now," continued Sandy. "We were +having a quiet little snooze when you butted in. +It's all right this time, but don't you ever do it again. +Here's hoping you remain away until morning!"</p> + +<p>Cameron was heard to pass through the outer +caverns and all was still, about the place. Notwithstanding +the assumed lightheartedness of the boys, +they realized that they were in a serious situation.</p> + +<p>"I'm going to dig this stone out!" declared Sandy +shortly after the departure of the miner. "I believe +we can move this beautiful door if we go at it right. +Come on and help me push."</p> + +<p>The boys pushed with all their might, but the +stone was firmly blocked on the outside, and could +not be moved.</p> + +<p>"It's after five o'clock," George said looking at +his watch, "and if we do anything tonight, we'll +have to do it right away. What time did Tommy +say he would be back with the doctor?"</p> + +<p>"There was some talk about his being back early +in the evening," replied Sandy. "And that gives me +an idea!" the boy continued.</p> + +<p>"Pass it out!" said George.</p> + +<p>"First," Sandy said, hesitatingly, "let me ask a +question. Do you know how the boys are going +to get in from the coast? What I mean is, have you +any idea which way they will take on leaving +Katalla?"</p> + +<p>"That's all a guess," replied George.</p> + +<p>"They may come this way, though," suggested +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Yes, if they keep straight to the north until they +strike the valley of this little creek and then turn +east to the cabin, they'll be apt to pass this way."</p> + +<p>"Here's hoping they do," Sandy said fervently.</p> + +<p>"I don't see how that will help," George complained. +"We're shut up in a hole, and might yell +for a thousand years without being heard."</p> + +<p>"Just you wait a minute," Sandy advised. "Let +me see that searchlight of yours. Have you the red +and blue caps with you?"</p> + +<p>"They're right at the end," replied George. "Just +unscrew that cover and take them out. I thought +you knew where to find everything connected with an +electric searchlight!"</p> + +<p>Sandy unscrewed the false cover at the end of the +battery case and brought forth two celluloid caps; +one blue, and one red.</p> + +<p>"It's been so long since we've used these Boy +Scout signals," he add, "that I've almost forgotten +which color we use for the dash and which for the dot +when we signal in the Morse code."</p> + +<p>"The red is the dash," explained. George. "What +are you going to do?"</p> + +<p>"I'm going to hoist a signal of distress," laughed +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"Expect it to show through the rocks?"</p> + +<p>"I guess it'll show out of any opening we can look +out of!" exclaimed Sandy. "I'm going to put on the +red cap and set the light where it'll shine through the +two outer caverns. If any of the boys come within +sight of it, they'll understand the scrape we're in."</p> + +<p>"Great head!" exclaimed George. "The boys +will be coming back from Katalla before long, and +Will and Ed will naturally be searching for us, so +we're pretty sure to have the signal seen and answered +before morning!"</p> + +<p>"That's our only hope!" replied Sandy. "Unless +our Boy Scout signal brings one party or the other, +we're likely to starve to death in this rotten old +cavern. Let's see how it works," the boy went on, +screwing the red celluloid cap firmly over the eye of +the electric.</p> + +<p>After seeing that everything was in order, he +switched to the blue cap. In both cases the light +worked perfectly.</p> + +<p>"There you are!" he said with a chuckle. "If +one of the boys sees the red light, he'll read it for a +Morse dash and if he sees the blue light, he'll read it +for a Morse dot!"</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_XVIIIa" id="Chapter_XVIIIa"></a>Chapter XVIII</h2> + +<h3>THE ROCKS TUMBLE DOWN</h3> + + +<p>After the departure of George and Sandy from the +cabin, Will and Ed decided that the best thing they +could do would be to go to bed. They had been without +sleep for many hours, and were thoroughly +exhausted.</p> + +<p>"I am anxious to know what success George and +Sandy have in chasing Cameron," Will said, as he +disrobed in the dark and tumbled into his bunk, "but +I don't see how we can help matters any by sitting +up."</p> + +<p>No answer came from the bunk occupied by Ed +save a prolonged snore, and Will knew that his +companion was already in the land of dreams.</p> + +<p>When Will awoke it was broad daylight and the +sun was high in the heavens. Looking at his watch, +he was surprised to see that it was after twelve +o'clock. In a moment, he heard Ed stirring in his +bunk, and then the boy sat up, rubbing a pair of +sleepy eyes.</p> + +<p>"That was a corker!" Will exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"Have any of the boys returned?" asked Ed.</p> + +<p>"Oh, they're back before this, of course," Will answered. +"They've probably gone outside in order +to give us a chance to sleep!"</p> + +<p>"I don't see any indications of their presence," +Ed said. "Everything looks exactly as it did when +we went to bed last night."</p> + +<p>Will, after arranging his head net, and drawing on +a pair of gloves, opened the door and cast an anxious +glance over the landscape.</p> + +<p>"They haven't been out here!" he said. "What +do you think it means?"</p> + +<p>"It means that they're giving that fat miner along +chase!" answered Ed.</p> + +<p>"I'm afraid they're in some trouble," replied Will +apprehensively.</p> + +<p>"Suppose I look for them while you get breakfast," +suggested Ed.</p> + +<p>"Good idea," replied Will "I'll get pancakes +and coffee and eggs for breakfast and then, after we +eat, we'll both go out and look for the boys. I'm +afraid they've been led into a trap!"</p> + +<p>"How about leaving the cabin alone?" asked Ed.</p> + +<p>"The cabin can go hang!" answered Will.</p> + +<p>Ed returned in half an hour and reported that no +trace of the lost lads had been discovered. The boys +then ate breakfast and started away.</p> + +<p>"Which way did they go?" asked Ed,</p> + +<p>"Sandy said they were headed to the west."</p> + +<p>"Then to the west we go," Ed exclaimed, darting +forward in advance.</p> + +<p>The boys searched patiently until five o'clock without +discovering any trace of the missing lads. Then, +they returned to the cabin and prepared supper. As +they came within sight of the cabin they saw a stout +figure dodging away into the grove of trees to the +east.</p> + +<p>"That's that sneak of a Cameron," Will said. +"If he keeps shoving his ugly nose into our business, +I'll ornament it with lead!"</p> + +<p>After supper the boys loaded their pockets with +sandwiches and a bottle of cold coffee and set forth +again.</p> + +<p>"I don't think we went far enough to the west," +Will said, as they made their way over the moraine. +"You remember the line of hills across the little +creek? Well, I have an idea that if the boys have +been captured they have been taken there."</p> + +<p>"And if Bert has been hidden away anywhere in +this vicinity," Ed answered, "he is there, too! In +fact," the boy added, "it is my belief that if the +miner is responsible for the disappearance of George +and Sandy the three boys will be found together +somewhere!"</p> + +<p>"You are probably right!" Will agreed. "The +miner and his gang wouldn't care about watching +two separate points."</p> + +<p>"I don't think they'd be apt to murder the boys, +do you?" asked Ed.</p> + +<p>"No, I don't think they would," Will replied. +"Outlaws of the Cameron stamp resort to all sorts of +tricks and crimes, but they usually fight shy of +murder. I'm afraid, however, that the boys will be +starved or beaten up."</p> + +<p>It was seven o'clock when the boys finally came to +the south bank of the rivulet, in the vicinity of the +plaee where Sandy had encountered the bear. The +sun was now well in the west and the south side of +the line of cliffs lay in heavy shadows.</p> + +<p>"If there's any deviltry going on," Will said, +pointing to the summits above, "it's right over there +under those peaks!"</p> + +<p>"I guess there's plenty of room under the peaks +for mischief to be plotted," Ed suggested, "I can +see pigeon holes all along the cliff."</p> + +<p>"Caves, do you mean?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"Sure," was the reply. "Those cliffs are of volcanic +formation, and some of the strata are softer +than others, and the water has cut into the heart of +the range in many places."</p> + +<p>"One would naturally suppose that such openings +would be filled with ice in Alaska," Will suggested.</p> + +<p>"They may be filled with ice in the winter," +answered Ed, "but in the summer time they are +hiding places for bears and crooked miners."</p> + +<p>The boys advanced to the edge of the stream +and Will swept his field glass along the distant slope.</p> + +<p>Presently he handed the glass to Ed.</p> + +<p>"Tell me what you see," he said.</p> + +<p>"I see something that looks like the eye of a wild +animal looking out over the valley!" answered the +boy. "What can it be?"</p> + +<p>"My first idea was that some one had built a fire +in a cave," Will answered, "but the more I look at +it, the more I suspect that the light comes from an +electric."</p> + +<p>"Then that must be the boys!" exclaimed Ed +excitedly.</p> + +<p>"But why don't they come on out?" asked Will, +anxiously.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps they have found Bert and don't want to +leave him!" suggested Ed.</p> + +<p>While the boys watched the red light, which +seemed to glimmer from the very extremity of the +cavern, it turned to blue!</p> + +<p>"Now I've got it," cried Will almost dancing up +and down in his excitement, "you know what that +means, don't you?"</p> + +<p>"I can't say that I do!" replied Ed.</p> + +<p>"It seems to me that the Portland Boy Scouts are +not very well posted," laughed Will. "One of the +boys—which one, I don't know, of course—is talking +to us in the Morse code!"</p> + +<p>"Still I don't understand," said Ed.</p> + +<p>"The red light means a dash," Will explained, +"and the blue light means the dot. Now we'll see +if we can catch what the boy is saying."</p> + +<p>"But where does he get the red and blue lights?" +asked Ed.</p> + +<p>"From red and blue caps screwed over the electric +searchlight," was the reply. "All of our electrics +are provided with these signal caps."</p> + +<p>"There, the light is red again!" cried Ed.</p> + +<p>"I'll show how how it works," Will said, bringing +out his own flashlight and unscrewing the false +cover from the loading end.</p> + +<p>Directly he had the blue and red caps out, and then +the red one was fastened over the eye of the searchlight.</p> + +<p>"There, you see!" Will exclaimed turning on the +light. "We've got a beautiful red light and that +means a Morse dash."</p> + +<p>"I see," answered Ed. "And when you turn on +the blue, that means a dot. I learned the Morse +code, of course, when I was admitted to the Boy +Scouts, but I never knew that it was used in that +way."</p> + +<p>"I wonder if he sees this?" asked Will as he swung +the red light back and forth in the growing twilight.</p> + +<p>"We'll have to wait and see," replied Ed. "Of +course, he'll answer if he knows we're here!"</p> + +<p>Swiftly the light changed from red to blue and from +blue back to red again. This took place several +times and then Will said:</p> + +<p>"Now, count!"</p> + +<p>"Red," said Ed. "Red again. Red again."</p> + +<p>"That's 'O'," exclaimed Will. "I guess we've +got him at last!"</p> + +<p>"Now there's another red," Ed went on. "Now +there's a blue. Then one more red. Ob, this seems +to be easy!"</p> + +<p>"That's 'K'!" cried Will. "O.K., don't you see? +O. K. That means that he knows we're here!"</p> + +<p>"Glory be!" shouted Ed. "The boys are all right +or they wouldn't be signalling. I hope they've +found Bert!"</p> + +<p>Will signalled back "O.K.," and then the lads +turned back up the rivulet, the idea being to cross +over to the north side.</p> + +<p>"I want to find out why the boys don't show themselves +instead of signalling," Will explained. "There +must be some good reason."</p> + +<p>After a walk of half a mile upstream the boys +found it possible to cross without wading, and then +they turned down toward the mouth of the cavern +where the lights had been seen.</p> + +<p>As they did so, two figures detached themselves +from a group of trees which stood not far to the east +and followed stealthily along behind them.</p> + +<p>If the lads could have heard the conversation +carried on at that time between Cameron and +Fenton, they would have proceeded on their way +with less confidence.</p> + +<p>"Just what we've been looking for!" chuckled +Cameron.</p> + +<p>"We surely have them trapped now!" replied +Fenton.</p> + +<p>"They'll naturally step into the outer cavern to +see why their chums don't walk out, and when they +do so, we'll hold them up with our guns until we can +build up a barrier which will keep them in."</p> + +<p>"One of the boys certainly must understand the +code we are so anxious about," Fenton observed. +"That's the kid we want. We've certainly got to +find out what that message contains! If the people +in the east are trying to steal our plans, we certainly +ought to know it!"</p> + +<p>The boys, however, heard nothing of this talk and +passed on down the north side of the creek. As +soon as they came opposite the cavern, in sight of the +light once more, they stopped and began signalling.</p> + +<p>As they did so, Cameron and Fenton came nearer +and waited anxiously for the lads to enter the +cavern.</p> + +<p>"I'd like to know what all that signalling means!" +said Cameron.</p> + +<p>"Boy Scout signals," replied Fenton.</p> + +<p>"You can't read them, can you?" asked the miner.</p> + +<p>"Of course not," replied Fenton, "I'm no Boy +Scout!"</p> + +<p>The boys continued to signal back and forth until +the situation was fairly well understood. Will and +Ed knew that Bert had been found and that all three +were barricaded in the cave.</p> + +<p>They were disposed to make their way to the rescue +of the boys without further delay, but George advised +them to wait until it became darker, as Cameron +might return at almost any moment. The +news that Bert had regained consciousness was very +welcome and, confident of their ability to thwart the +plans of the miner, the boys looked forward to quiet +hours in the cabin.</p> + +<p>Of course the boys had no suspicion that their +enemies were close at hand watching every movement. +Cameron and Fenton became impatient, +after a time, and began advancing slowly toward +the boys, who were now not very far from the mouth +of the outer cavern.</p> + +<p>Something better than an hour passed, and then +George signalled from the interior of the cavern that +it might be well for the boys to come up and begin +the work of removing the rocks which barred their +egress.</p> + +<p>"Sneak In," George signalled. "Don't show +yourself more than you have to. Cameron may be +about! It may be that he has seen our signals +already!"</p> + +<p>Sandy replied that he had not discovered any +indications of the presence of the miner, and the two +boys advanced to the shelf of rock which faced the +opening. It was nine o'clock then.</p> + +<p>"What's that strange noise?" asked Will as they +moved along the shelf.</p> + +<p>"You've got me!" replied Ed, "The ground's +tipping!"</p> + +<p>There came a deafening crash and the whole face +of the cliff fell away! When Will and Ed regained +their feet and looked through the dust which was +rising over the scene, they saw that there was no +longer any cavern in view. The rock on which they +stood was sliding down the slope.</p> + +<p>"Buried alive!" cried Will with a sob, "Buried +alive!"</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_XIXa" id="Chapter_XIXa"></a>Chapter XIX</h2> + +<h3>VICTIMS OF THE QUAKE</h3> + + +<p>The broad rock upon which the boys stood slid +down the declivity for some distance and brought up +against a thicket of trees which stood not far from +the bank of the creek. The boys were fairly thrown +from their feet as the rock struck, but fortunately +they were not injured in the least. It was quite +dark now, and the dust rising from the disturbed +earth made the scene still more dim.</p> + +<p>The first thing the boys heard when they +scrambled to their feet was a faint moan and then a +call for help.</p> + +<p>"Sandy! George!" called Will.</p> + +<p>There was no answer from above, but a faltering +voice was heard just at the edge of the thicket, where +the rock had crushed into a hemlock of unusual size.</p> + +<p>"Help," the voice said. "Help!"</p> + +<p>Will threw his searchlight in the direction of the +sound and soon saw a writhing figure in the underbrush +which had been crushed down by the fall of +the rock.</p> + +<p>"Who are you?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"Fenton," was the answer.</p> + +<p>"Where'd you come from?" asked the boy in +amazement.</p> + +<p>"For God's sake," exclaimed the writhing man, +"don't stop to ask questions now. My leg is smashed +under the rock upon which you are standing! It is +enough to say that I came here with Cameron!"</p> + +<p>"Where is Cameron?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>Fenton pointed further down the slope.</p> + +<p>"He fell over in that direction when a rock struck +him," he said.</p> + +<p>Will and George made a thorough examination of +the slope where the cavern had been before wasting +any time on their injured enemies.</p> + +<p>They called loudly to George and Sandy but received +no answer.</p> + +<p>"I'm afraid," Ed said, "that the boys were +crushed under the falling rocks! If they were, we +ought to leave the men responsible for their death +where they are! They are not deserving of human +help!"</p> + +<p>"And yet," Will replied, "I can't find it in my +heart to leave them in such a plight. We ought at +least to see if we can get them out of their present +cramped quarters."</p> + +<p>After much exertion the boys managed to manufacture +something like a handspike from one of the +broken saplings, and with this they began prying at +the heavy rock. It gave, but slowly.</p> + +<p>While they worked away, hoping every instant +to be able to draw Fenton from under the stone and +so lessen his sufferings, they saw the hand of the man +they were so unselfishly assisting stealing toward his +hip pocket.</p> + +<p>"Watch him!" whispered Will. "He means to +shoot us as soon as he is released! That shows what +kind of a dirty dog he is!"</p> + +<p>As the rock was lifted by slow degrees and propped +so that its weight was not so heavy upon the unfortunate +man the boys saw that his hand was creeping +closer to his hip pocket.</p> + +<p>When at last the weight was removed, Fenton's +first act was to attempt to draw his weapon. Ed +kicked it from his hand and then proceeded to tie +the fellow's wrists together behind his back.</p> + +<p>"You're a dirty sneak," the boy exclaimed, "or +you wouldn't try to kill the people who have saved +your life! From this time on, you get no assistance +from us!"</p> + +<p>"I didn't mean anything!" whined Fenton.</p> + +<p>"Don't lie about it!" fritted Will. "Where's +Cameron?"</p> + +<p>"You'll find him lower down!" was the reply.</p> + +<p>"I hope he's broken his neck!" Ed cut in.</p> + +<p>But Cameron had not broken his neck. Instead, +he had broken an arm, and one foot had been badly +bruised by a falling stone. He was unconscious +when the boys lifted him and laid him in an easier +position.</p> + +<p>The two men were at once searched for weapons +and left for the time being to take care of themselves. +There was no fear of their escaping, for one of +Fenton's legs had sustained a compound fracture and +Cameron's foot was badly injured.</p> + +<p>"What next?" asked Will as the two boys stood +facing the spot where they believed George, Sandy +and Bert to be buried under many tons of rock. +"It seems as if we ought to do something for the +boys!"</p> + +<p>"I'm afraid it's too late!" replied Ed, dejectedly.</p> + +<p>"We never can dig under those rocks without +help," commented Will, "therefore, I think we'd +better be on the watch for Tommy and Frank and +the surgeon. They surely ought to be somewhere +near the cottage by this time, if not already in it."</p> + +<p>"If they've had such blooming bad luck as we +have," Ed observed, "they're probably in jail somewhere! +I don't think I ever saw anything in a +worse mess! The very Old Nick seems to be after +us!"</p> + +<p>"This," Will observed with a grave smile, "is +what we call a quiet little Boy Scout excursion! We +have visited the Pictured Socks, the Everglades, +the Great Continental Divide, the Hudson Bay +country and got trapped in an anthracite mine in +Pennsylvania since we started out on our quests for +adventure."</p> + +<p>"You seem to have found adventure all right!" +smiled Ed.</p> + +<p>"You bet we have!" replied Will.</p> + +<p>The boys made still another inspection of the spot +where the cliff had fallen, and thought that they heard +a faint call from the inside.</p> + +<p>"They are there!" cried Will. "I'm sure they're +there, and alive!"</p> + +<p>"But they can't live there very long!" suggested +Ed. "So we'd better be doing something to get +them, out!"</p> + +<p>"The first thing to do," Will stated, "is to signal +to the other fellows. I'm sure Tommy and Frank +must be in with the surgeon before this!"</p> + +<p>"There'll be plenty of work for the surgeon, I +imagine," Ed added.</p> + +<p>"I'm afraid so," Will admitted.</p> + +<p>"But how are you going to signal to the cabin?" +asked Ed.</p> + +<p>"Indian smoke signals!" was the reply.</p> + +<p>Almost before the words were out of Will's mouth, +Ed was gathering both dry and green branches from +the thicket.</p> + +<p>"If the boys are at the cabin, or even on their way +there," Will continued, "they'll be sure to see the +signal, for the night is not so very dark now, and the +land where we are is considerably higher than the +moraine upon which the cabin is built. We'll have +to get a blazing fire of dry wood and then pile on +green branches."</p> + +<p>"That ought to make a smudge visible ten miles +off!" said Ed.</p> + +<p>"Not quite so far as that!" smiled Will, "but it's +a sure thing the signals ought to be seen as far as the +cabin."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps this earthquake shook the cabin down," +suggested Ed. "I heard a racket over to the south +which seemed to indicate that the moraine was being +crumpled up like a piece of leather in a blaze."</p> + +<p>"It seems to me," Will agreed, "that the earthquake +did change the map of Alaska in some particulars. +Now, if you've got enough dry wood, we'll +start the fire and in five minutes we'll be ready for +the green boughs!"</p> + +<p>Two roaring fires were soon going on the mountainside, +and then both Cameron and Fenton pleaded +to be assisted nearer to the circle of warmth. They +were both shivering with the cold.</p> + +<p>"We ought to give you a swift toss into the blaze!" +exclaimed Will. "And we may do it, too," he went +on, "if we find that our chums have been brought +to their death by your abducting them!"</p> + +<p>"We had nothing to do with their being in the +cave!" lied Cameron.</p> + +<p>"What were you doing in the edge of the thicket?" +asked Ed.</p> + +<p>"We were watching you and your friends," was +the reply. "We thought that you were in quest of +our mine!"</p> + +<p>"Did you see those red and blue lights?" asked +Will.</p> + +<p>"Certainly we did," replied Cameron.</p> + +<p>"Well, they told the story of what has taken place +since the boys left the cabin to follow your footsteps +last night, so you may as well save your breath. +Lies won't help you any!"</p> + +<p>However, the lads managed to bring the two men +closer to the fire and then set about piling on more +green boughs.</p> + +<p>"Now," Will said, as he stood regarding the two +columns of smoke with no little satisfaction, "if our +friends are within five miles of us, they ought to +understand that we are in need of a little friendly +assistance."</p> + +<p>Time and again the two boys went back to the +place where the cavern had been and listened patiently +for some further indication that their friends +were still alive. Several times they heard the +rumbling of a voice but they could not distinguish +the words of it.</p> + +<p>Finally Will went back to where Cameron lay on +the ground by the fire and asked abruptly:</p> + +<p>"Is your name Garman, Cameron or Brooks?"</p> + +<p>The fellow gave a quick start of surprise but made +no answer.</p> + +<p>"Is this man Fenton the clerk who stole the machine +drawings?" was the next question. "Where +are the plans now?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know anything about any plans!" declared +Cameron.</p> + +<p>"What do you fellows expect to do with the +plans?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"We haven't got them!" was the surly reply.</p> + +<p>"Don't lie about it!" Will advised. "We know +that the plans were sent to Fenton's employer and +that Fenton stole them."</p> + +<p>"How do the plans concern you?" demanded +Cameron.</p> + +<p>"We don't want the plans because they are alleged +to represent a valuable invention," Will replied. +"We want them because they are needed in the +criminal court of Chicago."</p> + +<p>"I suppose you boys planned this costly and +dangerous expedition for the purpose of seeing how +the plans look!" sneered Fenton.</p> + +<p>"That's about the size of it!" replied Will.</p> + +<p>"Well, we don't know anything about the plans!" +declared Cameron, "and we wouldn't give you any +information on the subject if we did!"</p> + +<p>"All right," Will replied. "We can tie you up +out here and the mosquitos will do the rest!"</p> + +<p>Before Will could ask the question which was on +his lips, three quick pistol shots came from the +south.</p> + +<p>"There!" the boy said excitedly, "the signals +have brought a response!"</p> + +<p>"Friend or foe?" asked Ed.</p> + +<p>"That's more than I know!" Will replied.</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_XXa" id="Chapter_XXa"></a>Chapter XX</h2> + +<h3>DOWN IN THE CHASM</h3> + + +<p>When Tommy, Frank, Sam and the doctor +started toward the bottom of the chasm in order +that they might reach the spot from which the smoke +signal was ascending on the other side, they anticipated +rough going, but the actuality was much +worse than anything which had been expected.</p> + +<p>The soil extended only six or eight feet. Passing +this they came to a point where the solid glacier had +been opened by the earthquake.</p> + +<p>The break was uneven, there being little shelves +and ledges upon which the feet might rest, but the +going was uncertain for all that.</p> + +<p>The roaring of the fast-lifting torrent prevented +conversation, and the darkness made signalling impossible +except when the searchlights were held in +position.</p> + +<p>It was very cold at the bottom of the break, too, +and the boys felt their hands growing numb.</p> + +<p>However, they proceeded with good speed until +they came to a point where the current had swept the +tree trunks far apart and parallel with each other. +Here it became necessary for them to take the chance +of a long jump. When it came Sam's turn to make +the leap, the log upon which he struck rolled under +his weight and he went down under the wreckage +and rush of water.</p> + +<p>Frank and Tommy sprang to his assistance at +once, reaching down in the hope of getting hold of +his hand, but the swift current carried the boy along +until he was beyond their reach.</p> + +<p>They saw his head come to the surface and saw +him strike out for the floating logs on the north side +of the chasm.</p> + +<p>Then the bushy top of a tree drifted down upon +him and he went under.</p> + +<p>The boys stood for a moment as if paralyzed at +what had taken place, and then Tommy sprang into +the mass of floating boughs and, clinging to one which +sustained his weight, called out to Frank to turn his +searchlight on the place where he stood.</p> + +<p>Frank did as requested, but it showed only a half-frozen +and dripping boy clinging to the boughs of a +tree which was already beginning to drop down +beneath his weight.</p> + +<p>The lads had about abandoned all hope of rescue +when Sam's head once more appeared above the surface. +He was within a short distance of Tommy and +the boy, dropping his searchlight, sprang toward +him.</p> + +<p>He succeeded in getting hold of the boy's arm.</p> + +<p>Then Frank, appreciating the situation, dropped +in and, while retaining hold of a reasonably firm log +on the west side of the chasm, caught the rescuer by +the hand. Doctor Pelton, who had been creeping +nearer to the point of danger, now seized Frank +by the arm and slowly and with great effort the +human chain drew the half-drowned boy to the +little platform of logs and brush upon which the +doctor stood.</p> + +<p>Sam lay there for a moment panting and shivering, +and then sprang to his feet. The north wall +was still to climb.</p> + +<p>The slope here was more gradual and all four soon +found themselves at the top of the chasm, wet and +cold, but on the side where the Boy Scout signal had +shown.</p> + +<p>"We ought to tell the boys we are coming, hadn't +we?" asked Tommy.</p> + +<p>He drew his automatic from his pocket as he spoke +and pressed the trigger, but there was no explosion.</p> + +<p>"Try mine!" advised Doctor Pelton. "I guess +I'm the only person who didn't get wet."</p> + +<p>As he spoke the doctor fired three quick shots.</p> + +<p>"I wonder if they'll answer?" asked Tommy.</p> + +<p>"They will if they can," replied Sam. "I don't +know your chums, of course, but when a Boy Scout +sends up a signal for help and shots are fired, it is +only good manners to acknowledge the courtesy."</p> + +<p>No answering shots came for a moment, however, +for Will and Ed were at that moment some distance +away from the place where their automatics had been +thrown after having been taken from Cameron and +Fenton.</p> + +<p>The shots came before long, however, and the +party of wet and shivering boys pressed on.</p> + +<p>"I'd like to know what the boys are doing so far +away from the cabin," Tommy grumbled. "They +ought to have sense enough to stay put!"</p> + +<p>The party was met just beyond the illumination of +the fire by Will and Ed, who greeted their chums +with such cordiality that a rather perilous situation +was at once suspected.</p> + +<p>"What are you boys doing out here in the scenery, +anyhow?" demanded Tommy. "You ought to be +at home in the cabin with a hot supper ready for us! +You always go wrong when I go away!" he added +with a grin.</p> + +<p>"There's no time to tell long stories now," Will +hastened to say. "The thing we've got to do is to +pry open that mountain and dig George, Sandy and +Bert out."</p> + +<p>"Are they dead?" asked Tommy, turning very +white.</p> + +<p>"There's some one alive in there," replied Will. +"We hear something which sounds like the human +voice but we can't distinguish any words."</p> + +<p>"Earthquake?" asked Tommy,</p> + +<p>"Earthquake!" replied Will.</p> + +<p>"But how——"</p> + +<p>Will cut Frank off with a gesture and pointed to +the cliff.</p> + +<p>"We've got to get to work!" he said.</p> + +<p>Just then a low groan reached the ears of the +members of the group and Doctor Pelton sprang +toward the place where Cameron and Fenton lay.</p> + +<p>Tommy dashed after him and looked down on the +two men.</p> + +<p>"Where did you get 'em?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"We didn't get 'em," was the reply. "The earthquake +got 'em."</p> + +<p>"Then I'll bet they were trying to do something +to Bert!" Tommy declared.</p> + +<p>"Right, little man!" replied Will. "But we +haven't got time to talk about it now. This, I suppose," +he added, turning to the surgeon, "is the doctor +you brought from Cordova?"</p> + +<p>"That's Doctor Pelton," Tommy answered, "and +this," he continued, pointing to Sam, "is Sam White, +Bulldog Patrol, Portland, Oregon. He isn't as +hungry as he looks to be, for we fed him up good and +proper on the way out!"</p> + +<p>During this brief introduction, Sam and Ed had +been eyeing each other with half concealed grins.</p> + +<p>"You boys seem to know each other," Tommy +said.</p> + +<p>"That's my chum," Sam replied, pointing to Ed. +"I saw fit to seek my fortunes in town while he made +a break for the mines."</p> + +<p>The boys greeted each other warmly and then all +turned their attention to that portion of the cliff +where the caverns had once stood.</p> + +<p>"They're still alive," Frank exclaimed as he +reached a little fissure in the rock and bent downward. +"I can hear some one talking!"</p> + +<p>"Did you say that George and Sandy and Bert +were all in there?" asked Tommy, turning to Will. +"How did they get in there?"</p> + +<p>"They were all in there just before the earthquake," +replied Will. "I can't stop now to tell +you how it all happened. They were signalling to +us when the shock came."</p> + +<p>"Signalling, how?" asked Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Morse code, red and blue lights!" replied Will. +"It's all the work of the miner and his bum friend," +Will continued. "The boys were barricaded in the +cave when the earthquake stirred things up, and the +same convulsion which wrecked the cave injured the +two men who were responsible for the condition the +boys were in. Now you know all about it that I'm +going to tell you until we get the lads out and get +back to the cabin!"</p> + +<p>"They're not dead, anyway," Frank exclaimed +"I can hear Sandy's voice!"</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_XXIa" id="Chapter_XXIa"></a>Chapter XXI</h2> + +<h3>EXPLAINING CORDOVA INCIDENTS</h3> + + +<p>"I've found the door to the hole in the ground!" +shouted Tommy, a few moments later, as he sent +a great rock rolling down the slope.</p> + +<p>The boys rushed to the opening so made and were +overjoyed at seeing a light in the cavity thus exposed.</p> + +<p>"Your door isn't big enough!" laughed Frank. +"A good-sized cat couldn't get through there!"</p> + +<p>"What are you boys talking about?" came a +voice from the inside.</p> + +<p>"Another one of those foolish questions!" laughed +Tommy. "We're not talking at all, little man!" he +continued. "We're getting our shoes shined! What +are you doing in there?"</p> + +<p>"We're not in here at all!" replied Sandy. "We're +up on the Masonic Temple, watching a Columbia +Yacht Club regatta!"</p> + +<p>"Aw, cut it out!" advised Will. "Are you boys +all safe?"</p> + +<p>"Sure we're all safe!" answered Sandy, "George +has a grouch because he hasn't anything to eat +here, but the rest of us are all right!"</p> + +<p>"Where's Bert?" asked Frank.</p> + +<p>"In here!" was the answer.</p> + +<p>"We brought a surgeon for him," Frank went on.</p> + +<p>"He doesn't need a surgeon now!" replied George. +"What he needs more than anything else is a cook!"</p> + +<p>"We'll give him two cooks!" shouted Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Why don't you hurry up and get us out?" demanded +Bert, in a weak voice.</p> + +<p>"If you remain in there a few weeks," Tommy +laughed, "perhaps you'll get so thin you can crawl +out of this crack!"</p> + +<p>"Well, get to digging!" replied George.</p> + +<p>"And for the love of Mike," exclaimed Sandy, +"when you get to digging, don't drop any rocks on +top of us! We have a little hole here now about four +feet square!"</p> + +<p>After making a study of the situation and advising +with Doctor Pelton as to the proper course to +pursue, the boys began prying at a large rock which +lay almost on top of the shelf upon which the boys +had ridden to the thicket. The rock moved, but +grudgingly.</p> + +<p>"If you can move that rock," the doctor said, "I +think the one just above it will slide down and leave +an opening large enough for the boys to pass out of. +It ought not to be much trouble to move it!"</p> + +<p>Notwithstanding the doctor's predictions, the boys +worked at the rock with their home-made handspikes +for an hour before it broke loose and rattled down +upon the shelf just above the fire.</p> + +<p>"Come out of that now," cried Tommy stooping +down and looking into the cavern. "Come on out, +now!"</p> + +<p>Sandy was not long in obeying instructions. +George came next and then the two lads turned about +and lifted Bert out of his cramped position.</p> + +<p>"That pigeon hole we've been occupying is about +four inches square!" Sandy declared. "And I'm +just about dead for a good long breath of fresh air! +I never knew before how good air tasted."</p> + +<p>Bert glanced around the circle of faces and smiled +amusedly as he saw that his chum was there with +the rest.</p> + +<p>"Where'd you go, Frank?" he asked.</p> + +<p>Frank hastened to the lad's side and bent over +him.</p> + +<p>"I headed for the cabin," he answered, "and +missed it. The Indian smoke signal brought the +boys out and they fed me up."</p> + +<p>Will now approached the spot where the two boys +were talking and pointed to Cameron and Fenton +now sitting with their faces illuminated by the +blaze. They both scowled at the inspection.</p> + +<p>"Which one of those men gave you the clout on +the head?" Will asked.</p> + +<p>"That fellow with the alfalfas," replied Bert.</p> + +<p>"And he stole the code message you were carrying?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know!" replied Bert. "I had it when he +came into the cabin and began talking with me and +I haven't thought of it since. Was it stolen?"</p> + +<p>"You bet it was!" replied Frank. "But we've +been to Cordova and got a duplicate of it!"</p> + +<p>Cameron and Fenton scowled fiercely as they +listened to the conversation.</p> + +<p>"Have you got the code message with you now?" +asked Will.</p> + +<p>"Sure I have!" answered Frank.</p> + +<p>"Suppose you read it, then."</p> + +<p>Frank took an envelope from his pocket, tore off +one end, and brought out an ordinary sheet of letter +paper bearing the heading of the wireless company. +The boys gathered about him eagerly.</p> + +<p>"It isn't very much!" Frank said with a laugh. +"Say, you two fellows," he added, waving the +paper in the direction of Cameron and Fenton, +"would, you like to hear this code despatch read?"</p> + +<p>"You bet they would," cut in Sandy. "That's +all they've been thinking about for the last two +days!"</p> + +<p>"Well, it's short and sweet and very satisfying!" +Frank laughed.</p> + +<p>"Aw, read it!" demanded Tommy. "What's +the use of making a monkey of yourself? Let's see +what it has to say for itself."</p> + +<p>Frank bent a searchlight on the paper and read:</p> + +<p>"Will Smith, in camp near Katalla, Alaska: +The machine plans have been traced to the cabin +to which you were directed. Make close examination +there before looking elsewhere. Horton."</p> + +<p>"What do you know about that, Cameron?" +asked Will with a smile. "Are the plans really +hidden in our cabin?"</p> + +<p>"Your cabin!" sneered Cameron.</p> + +<p>"I guess the cabin belongs to us as much as it +does to you!" Tommy cut in. "Are the machine +plans hidden there?"</p> + +<p>"What do you want of the machine plans?" +demanded Cameron.</p> + +<p>"They don't belong to you!" roared Fenton.</p> + +<p>"We have no claim upon them," replied Will. +"In fact, we have no use for them at all, except +that we want to identify the mark of a human +thumb which soiled one of the papers."</p> + +<p>"All lies!" shouted Cameron.</p> + +<p>"I'm telling you the truth," declared Will.</p> + +<p>"Then why didn't you come right to me and say +so?" demanded Cameron.</p> + +<p>"You didn't give us a chance!" replied Will.</p> + +<p>"Are the plans hidden in the cabin?" asked +Sandy.</p> + +<p>"This is all a faked-up story you are telling me!" +Fenton shouted. "Whoever wired you that the +plans were in the cabin didn't know what he was +talking about! We don't know anything about the +plans."</p> + +<p>"That doesn't agree with what Cameron just +said," Frank laughed.</p> + +<p>"Cameron doesn't know anything about the +plans, either," raged Fenton.</p> + +<p>"Are you the clerk who stole the plans from your +employer?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"I tell you that I don't know anything about any +plans!" stormed Fenton. "Cameron and I are +prospecting this moraine for gold, and we have no +interest in any plans whatever!"</p> + +<p>"And yet Cameron gave Bert a crack on the coco +and stole the code message!" suggested Will.</p> + +<p>"He probably thought the message referred to +our mining properties!" declared Fenton. "We +had a right to suppose it had."</p> + +<p>"Then you won't tell us where the plans are?" +demanded Will.</p> + +<p>"I tell you that I don't know anything about the +plans," screamed Fenton. "I never saw the plans."</p> + +<p>"All right," Will replied. "We'll leave you fellows +out here to think the matter over. By morning +you will probably know where the plans are +hidden. The mosquitos may be able to convince +you."</p> + +<p>"A little meditation may refresh his memory," +Frank said.</p> + +<p>"What have you got to do about it, anyhow?" +demanded Cameron. "I don't think you've got +any right to butt in here!"</p> + +<p>"Who is that freshie?" asked Fenton.</p> + +<p>"Frank Disbrow," replied the doctor with a +smile. "He's the son of the military officer in +charge of the military stations in Alaska."</p> + +<p>The boys all turned and regarded Frank curiously.</p> + +<p>"So that's why the walls all fell down when you +knocked!" exclaimed Tommy. "That's why the +federal officer refused to make any arrests. That's +why Jamison returned the money and gave us the +use of his motor boat. I begin to understand some +of the things that took place at Cordova now. +Why didn't you tell us something about it before +we had all that trouble?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, I didn't want to mix father up in the combination," +Frank replied with a smile. "Besides," +he added, "it did look something like piracy."</p> + +<p>"It certainly did," observed Doctor Pelton. "If +Frank hadn't been a member of the pirate crew, I +rather imagine that you boys would be cooling your +heels in some Alaska prison about now. Of course, +you would have been released in time, but the affair +would have made you considerable trouble."</p> + +<p>"Who's Bert, then?" demanded Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Bert is the son of a prominent federal official at +Chicago," replied Frank. "But we've had enough +of this," the boy declared modestly. "I didn't do +any more than any other boy would have done."</p> + +<p>"You undertook that long trip out to the cabin +when you didn't have to!" exclaimed Will. "That +was good of you!"</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Chapter_XXIIa" id="Chapter_XXIIa"></a>Chapter XXII</h2> + +<h3>THE PLANS AT LAST</h3> + + +<p>With a parting glance at Cameron and Fenton, the +boys, accompanied by the doctor, turned away in +the direction of the cabin.</p> + +<p>"Wait!" shouted Fenton. "Don't go off and +leave us in this plight! We'll starve to death if +you do!"</p> + +<p>"What about those plans?" demanded Will.</p> + +<p>"I'll help you find the plans!" screamed Cameron. +"I'll see that you get the plans; if you get us out of +this scrape!"</p> + +<p>"Keep still!" commanded Fenton.</p> + +<p>"I refuse to keep still!" declared Cameron. "I'm +not going to be left here to be devoured by insects. +Tell me the truth about the plans," he went on, +"what do you want of them?"</p> + +<p>"We want to introduce the plans in evidence in +the criminal court at Chicago," replied Will.</p> + +<p>"And that will betray our secret," commented +Fenton fiercely. "Those plans are worth millions +of dollars to us! They represent the only perfect +mining machine ever invented."</p> + +<p>"We don't care anything about your mining +machine," Will answered.</p> + +<p>"Have you noticed anything peculiar about the +plans?" Frank asked.</p> + +<p>"Nothing except that they are dirty!" was the +reply.</p> + +<p>"Marked up with thumb prints, for instance?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, there are thumb prints," replied Cameron.</p> + +<p>"Well, we want the thumb prints," Frank laughed.</p> + +<p>"You're a fool if you listen to any such arguments!" +screamed Fenton. "Why should these +gutter snipes want the papers for the thumb prints?"</p> + +<p>"That's what we want them for!" insisted Frank. +"Are you going to tell us where the plans are?"</p> + +<p>"I'll tell you!" replied Cameron.</p> + +<p>Fenton turned his back on his friend and refused +to discuss the question further. When the lads +started away carrying Cameron on a rude litter, +they left his follow conspirator lying by the fire.</p> + +<p>"Please bring him along," pleaded Cameron. +"He'll die if you leave him there! I can tell you +where the plans are, and I'll do so, whether he likes +it or not. This has been a misunderstanding all +around. We were only trying to protect our interest +in the mines which we believed to exist in this +neighborhood, and in the plans, which we believed +to be very valuable!"</p> + +<p>Thus urged, the boys turned back and constructed +a second stretcher for Fenton. The journey to the +cabin was a long one, but the shelter was reached +about daylight. Then Tommy at once began the +preparation of breakfast.</p> + +<p>"We'll have to get out pretty soon," Will laughed, +"because the population of this county seems to be +increasing with amazing rapidity. At the present +time we have four Beavers, two Foxes, and two Bulldogs +besides a very eminent surgeon. In other +words," the boy went on, "we have this collection +of wild animals in addition to a very eminent surgeon +and two men with busted legs. If some one doesn't +bring in provisions pretty soon, we'll have to exist +on mosquito soup!"</p> + +<p>"The mosquitos have been living off us long +enough!" Tommy answered. "They ought not to +find fault if we begin living off them!"</p> + +<p>"I heard you boys talking about thumb prints on +a set of plans," Doctor Pelton said, addressing Will. +"I'd like to know what it all means."</p> + +<p>"The story is soon told," Will answered. "On a +night in Chicago not long ago, three men, Spaulding, +Hurley and Babcock, worked until nearly daylight +on the plans which we came to Alaska to find. They +are experts in their line and were examining the +plans of an invention which the inventor claimed +would revolutionize mining.</p> + +<p>"The three men rejected the plans as impractical, +and Spaulding and Hurley left for home, leaving +Babcock at the office. After the departure of the +two men, the company's safe was broken open and +robbed of a large sum of money. Naturally the +men who had worked in the office during the night +were questioned concerning the disappearance of +the cash. Spaulding and Hurley replied, truthfully, +that they had left Babcock in the office and that the +safe was intact at the time of their departure.</p> + +<p>"Babcock's reply to this statement was that he +had not been at the office that night at all, and that +he could furnish a perfect alibi which he proceeded +to do. Spaulding and Hurley were arrested and +thrown into prison, while Babcock, secure in his +fraudulent alibi, was not even suspected until Mr. +Horton, a noted criminal lawyer, was retained by +the two respondents.</p> + +<p>"In discussing the case, Spaulding and Hurley +explained how Babcock had participated in the discussion +of the plans, and added that if the plans +could be found, his thumb marks would be noted +on the paper. They said he handled the attached +sheets carelessly, and that the marks of both thumbs +showed very plainly."</p> + +<p>"That will be a perfect defense!" said the doctor.</p> + +<p>Cameron and Fenton who had been listening intently +to the recital, now both spoke at once:</p> + +<p>"Were the plans really rejected by the experts?" +they asked.</p> + +<p>"They certainly were!" replied Will.</p> + +<p>"Then we've been through all this trouble for +nothing!" exclaimed Fenton.</p> + +<p>"If you two fellows hadn't been engaged in this +dirty game," Will said severely, "you would have +been mixed up in some other dirty deal, so you're +probably no worse off than you would have been in +any event."</p> + +<p>"If you'll go to the peg driven into the wall near +the north window," Cameron remarked, "pull out +the peg and run your finger into the augur hole, +you'll find the plans rolled into a very small package."</p> + +<p>Will rushed to the peg indicated, and the plans +were soon in his hands.</p> + +<p>"This settles it!" exclaimed Will. "The case is +finished!"</p> + +<p>"Are the thumb marks there?" asked Frank.</p> + +<p>"Plain as the nose on your face!" replied the boy.</p> + +<p>"And to think that they have been right under +our nose all the time!" exclaimed Tommy. "I +shall certainly have to partake of a large meal before +I can recover my reason!"</p> + +<p>"And to think that, after we came all the way to +Alaska, we received the correct tip regarding the +hiding place from Chicago by wireless!"</p> + +<p>"I know how the people at Chicago came to discover +the whereabouts of the plans," shouted +Fenton. "There's a sneak of a clerk in the office +where I was employed who gave me away. He +saw me looking over the plans and betrayed me."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps he didn't want to see you make a fool +of yourself!" Will suggested. "He probably knew +the plans had been rejected."</p> + +<p>"I'll settle with him!" declared Fenton.</p> + +<p>"If you do," Will replied, "you'll serve a term in +an Alaska prison for abduction!"</p> + +<p>"Yes," Fenton went on, "he probably wired the +truth to Chicago after the search for the plans began +in the office! When he saw me looking over the +plans, I was obliged to tell him what they represented. +I also told him where we were going to hide +the plans, and of course, he had to wire that, too!"</p> + +<p>"That clerk must be rewarded!" smiled Tommy.</p> + +<p>Such a supper as the boys ate that night!</p> + +<p>Notwithstanding the dreary predictions of +Tommy, there was plenty of provisions in the +cabin, and the party feasted on the game which +was brought in as an addition to the supply until +they returned to civilization.</p> + +<p>They were obliged to bridge the chasm in order +to reach Katalla, where they found the Jamison +motor boat waiting for them.</p> + +<p>They also found the wheelsman, Boswell, waiting +for them there, he having made the trip from Cordova +in a tug. At the request of Jamison, who had been +released after the departure of the boys, he had +made the journey in order to take possession of the +motor boat.</p> + +<p>When, after many delightful trips about the Gulf +of Alaska, the Boy Scouts all turned their faces +homeward, the wheelsman was left in charge of the +boat. They afterwards learned that Jamison never +claimed the craft, and that Boswell retained undisputed +possession of it.</p> + +<p>Doctor Pelton saw that Cameron and Fenton +were well cared for on their arrival at Katalla, and +a handsome present was sent to the federal officer +by Frank Disbrow.</p> + +<p>Frank and Bert accompanied the Boy Scouts to +Chicago and later on became very warm friends. +The two members of the Fox patrol, Sam White and +Ed Hannon, traveled with tho boys as far as Portland.</p> + +<p>When the boys reached Chicago, Babcock was +arrested and the unmistakable thumb prints secured +the immediate release of Hurley and Spaulding.</p> + +<p>"There's one thing we've forgotten," Tommy said +as the boys landed in Chicago, one autumn morning.</p> + +<p>"What's that?" asked Will.</p> + +<p>"We neglected to bring back that bear hide!"</p> + +<p>"I should think you'd want that bear hide!" +laughed Frank.</p> + +<p>"I should think you'd be ashamed to look the +bear in the face!" declared Sandy.</p> + +<p>The boys received the promised reward for the +discovery of the plans and once more settled down +in Chicago to take up their studies.</p> + + +<h3>THE END.</h3> + +<p><br /><br /></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="BLACK_ART_IN_CINCINNATI" id="BLACK_ART_IN_CINCINNATI"></a>BLACK ART IN CINCINNATI</h2> + + +<p>Mr. Quinsey of Cincinnati was not an Apollo; +neither had he ever assumed a name other than his +own. He had never conducted a scheme to defraud +by use of the mails; nor had he ever robbed a post-office +or shot any body; yet his character is so interesting +that I cannot, in justice to myself, omit +a passing notice.</p> + +<p>Quinsey was known as a mesmerist, a ventriloquist, +an illusionist, a prestidigitator and a master of the +Black Art, and occasionally in "pleasing sorcery that +charms the sense" he would entertain audiences at +church fairs, picnics and the like for simple fees, +while he found much pleasure amusing friends gratuitously +at their homes, at his home and sometimes +at his place of business.</p> + +<p>One evening, at a little entertainment given by +himself in neighboring Glendale, after he had knocked +the spots off of several decks of cards; after he had +taken half a dozen watches that belonged to people +in the audience from the janitor's pocket; after he +had received communications from departed spirits; +after he had removed the head from a beautiful woman +and had made the removed head talk; after he +had paralyzed four men and a woman on the stage +and had allowed the committee to stick pins in them, +and after the curtain had dropped, one of the awestricken +auditors, who had been instrumental in introducing +Mr. Quinsey in Glendale, asked the wonderful +magician why he did not follow this business +in preference to any other?</p> + +<p>The professor smiled blandly and appeared silent, +but a voice that seemed to come from the bakery +underneath the hall, was heard to remark in a deep +melodious tone: "He has something better."</p> + +<p>Quinsey was superintendent of what was known as +the night set in the registry division of the Cincinnati +post-office, and his hours of labor were from +10:30 <span class="smcap">P. M.</span> to 7 <span class="smcap">A. M.</span> In this set were employed six +or seven clerks who worked under the superintendant's +direction, and who performed practically the same +kind of work that he did. It was their duty to properly +record all registered matter that arrived in Cincinnati +between 4 <span class="smcap">P. M.</span> and midnight from the various +railroad lines centering there, rebill it and pouch it in +the through registry pouches to be dispatched in the +morning.</p> + +<p>There were something like thirty bills to make out, +and the same number of pouches to properly close +and send out. When the mails were running heavy +the clerks never had a minute to spare, but when +they were light, as they frequently were one or two +nights each week, there was some opportunity for +sociability and innocent amusement.</p> + +<p>On these occasions Quinsey would sometimes tell +the boys how easy it was for people to be mistaken; +how much quicker was the hand than the eye; how +it was that frequently things were not what they appeared; +how easy it was to deceive the keenest intellect +by doing something different than your actions +would indicate, and how figures and objects are +materialized and made to do their master's bidding.</p> + +<p>Sometimes he would illuminate his ideas by a few +practical illustrations, and after the young men had +seen him shake any number of big silver dollars, a +wheelbarrow full of handkerchiefs, and a lot of lanterns +from a common gesture, and, in transfixed +amazement, had beheld ordinary registered letters +vanish before their eyes, without being able to tell +where they went, they longed for the nights to come +when the work was light. Quinsey was immense!</p> + +<p>About this time, while in Chicago, Kidder came +to me for conference with an armful of documentary +evidence of skillful depredations. Here were the envelopes +in which registered letters had from time to +time been mailed at offices in Southern Indiana, Ohio, +Kentucky, and West Virginia, addressed to offices in +all portions of the great Northwest, and which had +been rifled of large portions of their contents. Everyone +of the letters had passed through the Chicago +post-office, where they had been handled during the +night time. At first glance one would say it surely +indicated trouble in Chicago.</p> + +<p>But why, if the thief was in Chicago, did he confine +himself to operations on the letters from this particular +section, when he could probably have access to +those from any other as well. A few minutes later +when we discovered that everyone of the letters referred +to had also passed through the Cincinnati +office, and in every instance had been dispatched from +that office in the morning in through pouches to Chicago, +Kidder adjusted his eye-glasses, and offered as +a reward, for the capture of the villain, a claim near +that beautiful miniature salt-water sea, known as +Devil's Lake in Dakota.</p> + +<p>On the following morning when I tapped Herrick +on the shoulder in Cincinnati, and asked who wrote +the Chicago registry bills at night that were dispatched +in the morning, he answered, "Quinsey," +and seemed so amused at my question that he asked +why I wanted to know.</p> + +<p>"For the reason that I think whoever is doing it +is too inquisitive."</p> + +<p>"Well, if its Quinsey, I am afraid we'll have our +hands full to catch him, for he's just a little bit the +slickest man in America. He does all the seemingly +impossible things ever heard of, and he does them +right before your eyes, too. Quinsey is absolutely +marvelous. Why, one night I was in the registry +room looking around when, suddenly, I discovered +my watch was gone. I had looked to see what time +it was when I entered. Well, a little later somebody +found it in the Boston pouch, with a tag on it marked: +'Covington.'"</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Salmon, who was listening, "and I +understand he charms birds, too; while somebody told +me a few days ago that at cards he was so expert +that nobody would sit in with him; that when it came +his deal he could hold anything he wanted; that the +high cards, figuratively speaking, would come to him +in carriages; and remain till after the show-down."</p> + +<p>The next day I went to Lexington, Ky., and while +there I wrote a letter to Mr. Abram Hayden, of +Aberdeen, Dakota, on one of the letter-head sheets +of Mills, Jackson & Johnson, which read as follows:</p> + +<p><span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Dear friend Abe:</span> +</p> + +<p>Jim Turner was in from East Hickman half an +hour ago and left the enclosed $200 for me to send to +you, and he said you would know how to use it. He +has just sold a car-load of mules to Springer, of Cincinnati, +but he said he believed there was more profit +in loaning money at 20 per cent. in Dakota, than there +was in raising mules in Kentucky at present prices.</p> + +<p>Say, Abe, when are you coming back after Mary? +I heard Min. Stevens and some of the girls in her set +say it was considered a sure thing. Hope it is; for of +all the real fine blue-grass girls around these parts I +think Mary is the——well never mind, old boy, if +I wasn't married I'd try and prevent her going to +Dakota. You better hurry up.</p> + +<p>Jim just stuck his head in the door and told me to +tell you if you couldn't get a gilt edge loan at 20, not +to let it go less than 18. Jim is a cuss.</p> + +<p>I suppose your brother wrote you what happened +up at Gil. Harper's recently.</p> + +<p>If the cyclones haven't got you by the time this +reaches Aberdeen, write.<br /><br /></p> + +<p class='center'> +Very truly, your friend, +<br /> +<span class="smcap" style="margin-left: 2em;">Frank N. Mills</span>."<br /> +</p> + + +<p>This letter I registered at Lexington and at night, +about 11 o'clock, when I had followed it into the +Cincinnati post-office, Herrick and Salmon were in +the money-order division on a step-ladder, peering +through a glass transom into the registry division. +As soon as possible I joined them, and patiently we +waited for Quinsey to turn a trick.</p> + +<p>It was exactly two <span class="smcap">A. M.</span> when he commenced on the +Chicago bill. He reached the letter from Lexington +at precisely 2:45. It was fat and tempting. Herrick +was on the top of the ladder at that instant, and he +sent a peculiar thrill of surprise through me when he +turned and whispered:</p> + +<p>"Hush, hush, he has picked it up.</p> + +<p>"Now he's feeling of it.</p> + +<p>"He's looking at the back of the of the R. P. E. (the +outside envelope) to see how well it's sealed.</p> + +<p>"He's laid it down and placed a book over it; +somebody is moving around.</p> + +<p>"It's quiet now and he's looking at the back again.</p> + +<p>"Hush, don't move, he's carefully feeling again.</p> + +<p>"It's under the blotter now; somebody at the +other table got up to get a drink. There's no one at +his table but himself.</p> + +<p>"Hush now, he's making a close examination to +see how well its sealed.</p> + +<p>"Hush now, for God's sake don't move; he's trying +to open it with his knife.</p> + +<p>"Hush, hush, hush, he'll have it opened in an instant.</p> + +<p>"Its open now, and he's looking at the letter envelope +very closely.</p> + +<p>"There, d——n it, some fellow has moved again and +he's shoved it under the blotter.</p> + +<p>"Hush, hush, don't stir; he's feeling of the letter +again.</p> + +<p>"Hush, don't breathe, he's trying to raise the flap +of the envelope; it comes up hard; don't move."</p> + +<p>"There, there, there, he's got it up.</p> + +<p>"Hush, he's got the money out and is reading the +letter."</p> + +<p>"He's smiling as he reads.</p> + +<p>"We must open the door and rush, in now."</p> + +<p>"Come, be quick and be quiet; you know he's +chain lightning."</p> + +<p>"The door's unlocked; now, all together, go!"</p> + +<p>An instant later there was a flutter, and all was +over. The great conjurer had at last performed an +illusion that was not optical—an act not mentioned +on the bill.</p> + +<p>Applause. Curtain. Prison.</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="BOYS_COPYRIGHTED_BOOKS" id="BOYS_COPYRIGHTED_BOOKS"></a>BOYS' COPYRIGHTED BOOKS</h2> + +<p>Printed from large, clear type on a superior quality of paper, embelished +with original illustrations by eminent artists, and bound +in a superior quality of binders' cloth, ornamented with illustrated +covers, stamped in colors from, unique and appropriate dies, each +book wrapped in a glazed paper wrapper printed in colors.</p> + + +<h4> +BOY SCOUT SERIES<br /> +By<br /> +G. HARVEY RALPHSON, of the Black Bear Patrol.<br /> +</h4> + +<p>1.—Boy Scouts in Mexico; or, On Guard with Uncle Sam.</p> + +<p>2.—Boy Scouts in the Canal Zone; or, The Plot Against Uncle Sam.</p> + +<p>3.—Boy Scouts in the Philippines; or, The Key to the Treaty Box.</p> + +<p>4.—Boy Scouts in the Northwest; or, Fighting Forest Fires.</p> + +<p>5.—Boy Scouts in a Motor Boat; or, Adventures on the Columbia River.</p> + +<p>6.—Boy Scouts in an Airship; or, The Warning from the Sky.</p> + +<p>7.—Boy Scouts in a Submarine; or, Searching an Ocean Floor.</p> + +<p>8.—Boy Scouts on Motorcycles; or, With the Flying Squadron.</p> + +<p>9.—Boy Scouts Beyond the Artic Circle; or, The Lost Expedition.</p> + +<p>10.—Boy Scout Camera Club; or, Confessions of a Photograph.</p> + +<p>11.—Boy Scout Electricians; or, The Hidden Dynamo.</p> + +<p>12.—Boy Scouts in California; or, The Flag on the Cliff.</p> + +<p>13.—Boy Scouts on Hudson Bay; or, The Disappearing Fleet.</p> + +<p>14.—Boy Scouts in Death Valley; or, The City in the Sky.</p> + +<p>15.—Boy Scouts on the Open Plains; or, The Round-up not Ordered.</p> + +<p>16.—Boy Scouts in Southern Waters; or, the Spanish Treasure Chest.</p> + +<p>17.—Boy Scouts in Belgium; or, Under Fire in Flanders.</p> + +<p>18.—Boy Scouts in the North Sea; or, the Mystery of U-13.</p> + +<p>19.-Boy Scout Verdun Attack.</p> + +<p>20.—Boy Scouts with the Cossacks; or, Poland Recaptured.</p> + + +<h4> +THE MOTORCYCLE CHUMS SERIES<br /> +By Andrew Carey Lincoln<br /> +</h4> + +<p>1.—Motorcycle Chums in the Land of the Sky; or, Thrilling Adventures on the Carolina Border.</p> + +<p>2.—Motorcycle Chums in New England; or, The Mount Holyoke Adventure.</p> + +<p>3.—Motorcycle Chums on the Sante Fé Trail; or, The Key to the Treaty Box.</p> + +<p>4.—Motorcycle Chums in Yellowstone Park; or, Lending a Helping Hand.</p> + +<p>5.—Motorcycle Chums in the Adirondacks; or, The Search for the Lost Pacemaker.</p> + +<p>6.—Motorcycle Chums Storm Bound; or, The Strange Adventures of a Road Chase.</p> + +<h4> +List Price $1.00 Each<br /><br /><br /><br /> +</h4> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<a name="fig003" id="fig003"></a><img src="images/fig003-300dpi.jpg" width="348" height="555" alt="Mead Cycle Company advertisement" title="" /> +</div> + + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CALL OF THE BEAVER PATROL***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 20040-h.txt or 20040-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> +<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/0/0/4/20040">http://www.gutenberg.org/2/0/0/4/20040</a></p> +<p>Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed.</p> + +<p>Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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T. +Sherman + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: The Call of the Beaver Patrol + or, A Break in the Glacier + + +Author: V. T. Sherman + + + +Release Date: December 6, 2006 [eBook #20040] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CALL OF THE BEAVER PATROL*** + + +E-text prepared by Barbara Tozier, David T. Jones, Bill Tozier, and the +Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team +(https://www.pgdp.net/) + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 20040-h.htm or 20040-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/0/0/4/20040/20040-h/20040-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/0/0/4/20040/20040-h.zip) + + + + + +THE CALL OF THE BEAVER PATROL + +Or + +A Break in the Glacier + +by + +CAPT. V. T. SHERMAN + +Author of + +The War Zone of the Kaiser; +Boy Scouts with Joffre; +The Perils of an Airship; +The Boy Scout Signal, Etc. + + + + + + + +[Frontispiece] + + +[Illustration] + + + +1913 +M. A. Donohue & Co. +Chicago + + + + +CONTENTS + + Chapter Page + + I--Camping in the Breaker 7 + + II--The Call of the Pack 15 + + III--Who Cut the String? 21 + + IV--A Sensational Discovery 28 + + V--The Flooded Mine 35 + + VI--The Beaver Call 41 + + VII--A Treacherous Foe 47 + + VIII--They Went Up in the Air 54 + + IX--Who Discovered the Leak? 60 + + X--The Boy in the Empty 67 + + XI--A Knock at the Door 73 + + XII--A Midnight Robber 79 + + XIII--One More Hungry Boy 86 + + XIV--Mine Rats Ready for War 92 + + XV--A Stick of Dynamite 99 + + XVI--Caused by a Fall 106 + + XVII--The Signs in Stones 113 + +XVIII--Two Hold-Up Men 120 + + XIX--The Money in Sight 127 + + XX--Sandy Is Discharged 134 + + XXI--"I Told You So" 141 + + XXII--Conclusion 148 + + + + + Boy Scouts in the Coal Caverns + + Or, The Light in Tunnel Six + + + + +CHAPTER I + +CAMPING IN THE BREAKER + + +"And so I says to myself, says I, give me a good husky band of Boy +Scouts! They'll do the job if it can be done!" + +Case Canfield, caretaker, sat back in a patched chair in the dusky, +unoccupied office of the Labyrinth mine and addressed himself to four +lads of seventeen who were clad in the khaki uniform of the Boy Scouts +of America. + +Those of our readers who have read the previous books of this series +will have good cause to remember George Benton, Charley ("Sandy") Green, +Tommy Gregory and Will Smith. The adventures of these lads among the +Pictured Rocks of Old Superior, among the wreckers and reptiles of the +Florida Everglades, in the caverns of the Great Continental Divide, and +among the snows of the Hudson Bay wilderness have been recorded under +appropriate titles in previous works. + +The four boys were members of the Beaver Patrol, Chicago. Will Smith was +Scoutmaster, while George Benton was Patrol Leader. They wore upon the +sleeves of their coats medals showing that they had passed the +examination as Ambulance Aids, Stalkers, Pioneers and Seamen. + +Instructed by Mr. Horton, a well-known criminal lawyer of Chicago, the +boys had reached the almost deserted mine at dusk of a November day. +There they had found Canfield, the caretaker, waiting for them in a +dimly-lighted office. The mine had not been operated for a number of +months, not because the veins had given out, but because of some +misunderstanding between the owners of mines in that section. + +The large, bare room in which the caretaker and the Boy Scouts met was +in the breaker. There was no fire in the great heater, and the tables +and chairs were black with dust. A single electric light shone down from +the ceiling, creating long, ghostlike shadows as it swayed about in a +gentle wind blowing through a broken window. + +"Well," Tommy Gregory said, as the caretaker paused, "you've got the Boy +Scouts, and it remains for you to set us to work." + +"And a sturdy looking lot, too!" grinned the caretaker. + +"Oh, Mr. Horton wouldn't be apt to send a lot of cripples!" laughed +Sandy Green. "He's next to his job, that man is!" + +"I presume he told you all about the case?" suggested Canfield. + +"Indeed he did not," replied Will Smith. + +"Not a thing about it?" asked the caretaker. + +"He only said that you would give us full instructions." + +"That's strange!" Canfield observed thoughtfully. + +"Perhaps he thought we wouldn't want to undertake the job if we knew +exactly what it was!" suggested Sandy. + +"It is a queer kind of a job," Canfield admitted, "but I don't think you +boys would be apt to back out because of a little danger." + +"I have wanted to back out several times," laughed Tommy, "but, somehow, +these others boys wouldn't permit me to." + +"Go on and tell us about it," urged Sandy. "Tell us just what you want +us to do, and then we'll tell you whether we think we can do it or not." + +"You've got to find two boys!" replied Canfield. + +"Mother of Moses!" exclaimed Tommy. "I hope we haven't got to go and dig +up blond-haired little Algernon, or discover pretty little Clarence, and +turn a bunch of money over to him!" + +"I think these two boys may have money coming to them," the caretaker +replied. "There must be money back of it or the friends of the lads +wouldn't be giving me cash to spend in their interest." + +"Where are these boys?" asked Will. + +"I've heard the opinion expressed that the boys are somewhere in the +mine!" answered Canfield. "I can hardly believe that they are, but it +has been suggested that we may as well begin the search under ground." + +"Where do these boys belong?" asked George. + +"Anywhere and everywhere," was the reply. "Jimmie Maynard and Dick +Thompson came here as breaker boys six months ago. They were ragged and +dirty, and appeared to be as tough as two young bears. They worked +steadily until the day before the mine closed down and then they +disappeared." + +"That's easy!" declared Tommy. "They got tired of work!" + +"That may be," answered the caretaker, "but they certainly didn't get +tired of drawing their pay. They went away leaving about eight dollars, +the two of them, in the care of the company." + +"Then something must have happened to them!" Will suggested. + +"Who's looking for these boys?" asked George. + +"A New York lawyer," was the reply. "I know nothing whatever about the +man. In fact, I don't know why he wants to find out where the boys are. +He sends me money and tells me to continue my quest until the boys are +found, and then to send them to New York." + +"So you have entire charge of the search," said Sandy, tentatively. + +"Yes," was the reply, "except for Joe Ventner. He's a detective sent on +from New York by this Burlingame person, the lawyer to whom I referred a +short time ago." + +"What part of the world is he searching?" asked Will. + +"He seems to think that the boys ran away because of some childish prank +put on by them the night before. They broke some windows in a couple of +shanties down by the tracks, or, at least, the other boys say they did, +and Joe thinks they ran away because of that. He accounts in that way +for their not calling after their pay envelopes." + +"So he thinks they've gone out of the country, does he." + +"Yes," was the reply. "He comes back here every few days to ask if I +have heard anything regarding the youngsters, and then goes away again. +If you leave it to me, I don't think the fellow is working very hard in +the case. There's a half a dozen saloons in a little dump of a place +about ten miles away, and my idea is that he puts in a good deal of his +time there." + +"You don't seem to take to this detective?" asked George. + +"Oh, I don't know as he's so much worse than the average private +detective," replied the caretaker. "He's out for his day's wages, and +the easier he can get them, the better it suits him. + +"So you don't know who wants these boys, or what they're wanted for?" +asked Will. "Lawyer Burlingame never took you into his confidence so far +as to post you on the details of the case." + +"He never did!" answered the caretaker. + +"Is he liberal with his money?" asked George. + +"He pays all the bills I send in," was the answer. "And seems to keep +this bum detective pretty well supplied with ten-dollar bills." + +"We may have to investigate this investigator!" laughed Sandy. + +"Did Mr. Horton say anything to you about your lodgings while here?" +asked the caretaker. "It's getting too cold here for me, and we may as +well be shifting to warmer quarters." + +"You said a short time ago," Will began, "that you rather thought we +ought to begin this search in the mine itself." + +"That's my idea!" answered the caretaker. + +"Do you think the boys are hiding in the mine?" + +"Well, there are some things connected with the case which point in that +direction," replied Canfield. "For instance, there's a lot of queer +things going on under ground." + +"Ghosts?" demanded Tommy. + +"You're not steering us up against a haunted mine, are you?" asked +George with a wink at his chum. "That would be too good to be true!" + +"I haven't said anything about ghosts or haunted mines," chuckled the +caretaker. "I'm only saying that there are queer things taking place in +the mine. Now there's Tunnel Six," he went on, "I have seen lights there +with my own eyes, when I know there wasn't a person within two miles of +the spot except myself. And I've heard noises, too! These unaccountable +noises which make a man think of graveyards and ghosts." + +"But why should two healthy, active boys want to seek such a hiding +place?" asked Will. "It certainly can't be very pleasant in the dark and +damp tunnels! Besides, where would they get their provisions?" + +"I'm not arguing the case, lads," the caretaker replied, "I'm placing +the case in your hands without instructions. I only suggest that you +look in the mine first, but you don't have to do that unless you want +to!" + +"I don't see how we can find fault with that arrangement!" laughed Will. +"And now," he went on, "let's arrange about our lodgings. In the first +place, who knows that we are here on this job?" + +"Not a soul, unless some one saw you coming into the breaker!" + +"That's just as it should be," Will went on. "Now I propose that we camp +out in the breaker. There must be a cosy corner somewhere, under the +chutes, or in back of a staircase, or away up under the roof, where we +can camp out while we are going through the mine." + +"You won't find the old breaker a very comfortable place to live in," +suggested Canfield. + +"Oh, we can line the walls of some little cubby-hole with canvas if +necessary, and you can string a wire in so as to give us electricity for +heating and lighting, and we can live as comfortable as four bugs in a +rug. If we keep out of sight during the day time, no one will ever +suspect that we are here." + +"Have it your own way!" replied Canfield. "I'll see that you get plenty +to eat and plenty of bed clothing." + +"That'll help some!" laughed Tommy. "During the night we can travel +through the mine with our lights, and during the daytime we can crawl +into our little beds and sleep our heads off!" + +"When do you want your first load of provisions?" asked Canfield. + +"Right now, tonight!" replied Sandy. + +"Well, come along then," Canfield said, rising from his chair, "and I'll +let you pick out a spot for your camp, as you call it." + +After quite an extended search through the breaker the boys selected a +small room on the ground floor, from which one window looked out on the +half-deserted yard where the weigh-house stood. The room was perhaps +twenty feet in size each way, and the walls were of heavy planking. The +whole apartment was sadly in need of a scrubbing, but the lads concluded +to postpone that until some future date. + +"I can bring in cot beds and bedding," the caretaker announced, "and +string the electric wire for heating, lighting, and cooking before I go +to bed. That will leave you all shipshape in the morning, and you can +then begin your cleaning up as soon as you please." + +The caretaker was as good as his word, and before ten o'clock the cots +and bedding were in place, also an electric heater and an electric plate +for cooking had been moved into the apartment. + +Not considering it advisable to go out for supper, Canfield had also +brought in provisions in the shape of bacon, potatoes, eggs, bread, +butter, coffee, and various grades of canned goods, so the boys had made +a hearty meal and had plenty left for breakfast. While cooking they had +covered the one window with a heavy piece of canvas. + +"Now you're all tight and snug for the night," the caretaker smiled, as +he turned back from the door and glanced over the rather cozy-looking +room. "If I'm about here during the night, I'll look in upon you again." + +Canfield stepped out and closed the door behind him. Then he came back +and looked in again with a half-smile on his face. + +"Do you boys know anything about mines?" he asked. + +"Not a thing!" replied Tommy. + +"Then don't you go climbing down the ladders and wandering around in the +gangways tonight!" the caretaker warned. + +"Say, there's an idea!" Tommy said to Sandy, with a wink, as Canfield +went out. "How do you think one of these mammoth coal mines looks, +anyway?" + +"Cut that out, boys!" exclaimed Will. "If I catch one of you attempting +the ladders tonight, I'll tie you up!" + +"Who said anything about going down the ladders tonight?" demanded +Tommy. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE CALL OF THE PACK + + +It was somewhere near midnight when the boys sought their beds. Will and +George were soon asleep, but Tommy and Sandy had no notion of passing +their first night in the mine in slumber. Ten minutes after the regular +breathing of the two sleepers became audible, Tommy sat up in his bed +and deftly threw a pillow so as to strike Sandy in the face. + +"Cut it out!" whispered Sandy. "You don't have to do anything to wake me +up! I've been wondering for a long time whether you hadn't gone to +sleep! You looked sleepy when the light went out." + +"Never was so wide awake in my life!" declared Tommy. + +"Well, get up and dress," advised Sandy. "If we get into the mine +tonight, we'll have to hurry!" + +"Have you figured out how we're going to get into the mine?" asked +Tommy. "It will be the ladders for us, I guess." + +"Of course it'll be the ladders!" replied Sandy. "Do you suppose +Canfield is coming here in the middle of the night to turn on the +power?" + +"I wonder how deep the shaft is?" asked Tommy. + +"I guess this one must be about five hundred feet." + +"Is that a guess, or a piece of positive information?" + +"It's a guess," laughed Sandy, drawing on his shoes and walking softly +across the bare floor in the direction of the shaft. + +The boys passed out of the sleeping chamber into a passage which led +directly to the shaft of the mine. This shaft was perhaps twenty feet in +width. It included the air shaft, the division where the pumps were +operated, and two divisions for the cages which lifted the coal from the +bottom of the mine. The pumps were not working, of course, and no air +was being forced down. + +One of the cages lay at the top so the other must have been at the +bottom of the shaft. As the boys looked down into the shaft, Tommy +seized his chum by the arm and whispered: + +"Did you see that light down there?" + +"Light nothing!" declared Sandy. + +"But I did see a light!" insisted the other. + +"Perhaps you did," replied Sandy, "but if there's any light there it's +merely a reflection from our electrics. There may be a metallic surface +down there which throws back the light rays." + +"Have it your own way!" grunted Tommy. "You know yourself that the +caretaker said there were lights in the mine which no one could account +for, and he especially mentioned the light in Tunnel Six." + +"All right!" Sandy grinned. "We'll sneak down so quietly that any person +who happens to be at the bottom of the shaft with the light will never +suspect that we are within a hundred miles of the place. We may be able +to geezle the fellow that's making the ghost walk around here nights." + +The boys took to the ladders and moved down as silently as possible. Now +and then a rung creaked softly under their feet, but they got to the +bottom without any special mishap. + +Tommy drew a long breath when at last they landed at the bottom of the +shaft. He threw his light upward, then, and declared that in his opinion +they were at least ten thousand feet nearer the center of the earth than +they were when they started down. + +"I remember now," Sandy said with a grin, "that the Labyrinth mine is +only about five hundred feet deep. If I remember correctly, there are +three levels; one at three hundred feet; one at four, and one at five." + +"And which level is this?" asked Tommy. + +"Why, we're on the bottom, ain't we?" + +"Of course," laughed Tommy. "I ought to have known that!" + +"Well come along if you want to see the mine!" urged Sandy. "All we have +to do is to push our searchlights ahead and walk down the gangway. We'll +come to something worth seeing after a while." + +As the boys advanced they found the gangway considerably cluttered with +"gob," or refuse, and the air was none of the best. + +"I wish we could set the air shaft working," suggested Sandy. + +"Well, we can't!" Tommy answered with a scornful shrug of his shoulders. +"We can't set the whole works going in order to give us a midnight view +of the Labyrinth mine. What gets me is, how are we going to find our way +back? There seem to be a good many passages here." + +"I've got that fixed all right!" Sandy exclaimed. + +As the lad spoke he took a ball of strong string from his pocket and +tied one end to the cage which lay at the bottom of the shaft. + +"Now we can go anywhere we please," he chuckled "and when we want to +return, all we've got to do is to follow the string." + +"Quite an idea!" laughed Tommy. + +The boys proceeded along the gangway, walking between the rails of the +tramway by means of which the coal was delivered at the bottom of the +shaft. The experience was a novel one to them. The dark walls of the +passage, the echoes which came from the counter gangways, the monotonous +dripping of water as it seeped through seams and crevices in the rock, +all gave a weird and uncanny expression to the place. + +After walking for some distance the boys came to a level which showed +several inches of water. + +"We can't wade through that!" Tommy declared. + +"Well," Sandy suggested, "if we go back a little ways, we can follow a +cross heading and get into the mine by another way." + +The boys followed this plan, and, after winding about several +half-loaded cars which had been left on the tramway, found themselves in +a large chamber from which numerous benches were cut. + +"Where does all this gas come from?" asked Tommy stopping short and +putting a hand to his nose. + +"There must be a blower somewhere," Sandy explained. + +"What's a blower?" demanded Tommy. "What does it look like, and does it +always smell like this?" + +"It doesn't look like anything!" replied Sandy. "It's composed of +natural gas, and they call it a blower because it blows up out of +crevices in the coal and in the rocks." + +"If I should light a match, would it set it on fire?" asked Tommy. + +"I wouldn't like to have you try it!" + +The boys continued on their way for some moments, and then Tommy stopped +and extinguished his light, whispering to Sandy to do the same. + +"What's that for?" demanded the latter. + +"Didn't you hear that noise behind the cribbing?" asked Tommy. + +"Rats, probably!" + +"Rats nothing!" replied Tommy. "Rats don't make sounds like people +whispering, do they? Keep still a minute, and we'll find out what it +is!" + +"You'll be seeing a light next!" Sandy suggested. + +"I see it now!" answered Tommy. + +Sandy saw it, too, in a moment. It seemed at first to be floating in the +air at the very top of the gangway. It moved from side to side, and +finally dropped down nearer to the floor. There seemed to be no one near +it or under it. Its small circle of illumination showed only the empty +air. + +"What do you make of it?" asked Tommy. + +"Is this Tunnel Six?" asked his chum. + +"I don't know! If it is, we've seen the light the caretaker referred to. +We'll have a great story to tell in the morning!" + +The boys stood in the darkness of the gangway watching the light for +what seemed to them to be a long time. Now the light advanced toward +them, now it receded. Now it lifted to the roof of the gangway, now it +dropped almost to the floor. + +At intervals, the noises behind the cribbing to which Tommy had referred +were repeated, and the boys at last moved over so as to stand with their +ears almost against the wooden walls. + +"There is some one behind the cribbing, all right!" Tommy declared. "I +hear some one breathing." + +"Aw, keep still!" whispered Sandy. "If there is anyone there, you'll +frighten them away! I thought I heard some one myself!" + +"I'll tell you what I think," Tommy suggested in a moment, "and that is +that either Will and George, or both of them, beat us to this gangway. +They are hiding behind there on purpose to give us a scare." + +"That's a dream!" replied Sandy. "We left them both asleep." + +"Dream, is it?" repeated Tommy scornfully. "You just listen to the sound +that comes from behind this cribbing, and tell me what you make of it!" + +Both boys listened intently for a moment, and then Sandy switched on his +light and moved swiftly along the cribbing as if in search of an +opening. Tommy gazed at him in astonishment. + +"You've gone and done it now!" he said. + +"There's some one in here all right!" Sandy explained. "Did you hear the +call of the pack a minute ago? There are Boy Scouts in there, and what +we hear are the signals of the Wolf Patrol." + +"That's right!" cried Tommy excitedly. "That's right!" + + + + +CHAPTER III + +WHO CUT THE STRING? + + +"Do you suppose he would understand the call of the Beaver Patrol?" +asked Sandy. "I'm going to try him, anyway!" + +The boy brought his hands together in imitation of the slap of a +beaver's tail on the water, and listened for some reply. + +"He'll understand that if he's up on Boy Scout literature," suggested +Sandy. "He ought to be wise to the signs of the different patrols if +he's a good Boy Scout." + +There was a short silence, broken only by the constant drip of the water +in an adjoining chamber, and then the call of the pack came again, +clearly, sharply and apparently only a short distance away. + +"What did Mr. Canfield call those two boys we are looking after?" asked +Sandy, after waiting a short time for the repetition of the sound. + +"Jimmie Maynard and Dick Thompson," replied Tommy. + +Sandy threw out his chest and cried out at the top of his lungs: + +"Hello, Jimmie! Hello, Dick!" + +The lad's voice echoed dismally throughout the labyrinth of passages, +but there was no other reply. Tommy and Sandy gave the call of the +Beaver Patrol repeatedly, but the call of the Wolf pack was heard no +more. + +"I'll bet it's some trick!" exclaimed Sandy after waiting in the chamber +for a long time in the hope of hearing another call from the boys who +were hidden somewhere behind the cribbing. + +"What do you mean by trick?" demanded Tommy. + +"Why, I mean that some of the breaker boys, out of work because of the +stoppage of operations, may have sneaked into the mine on purpose to +produce the impression that there are ghosts here." + +"But ghosts wouldn't be giving signals of the Wolf Pack, would they?" +asked Tommy. + +"Not unless they were Scouts," replied the other. + +"Oh well, of course the kids would want to test us, wouldn't they, +seeing that we were only boys?" + +"Well, we've discovered one thing by coming down," said Tommy, "and that +is that there really are people in the mine who have no business here." + +"Then we may as well go back to bed," advised Sandy. + +"Do you know how many corners we've turned since we came in here?" asked +Tommy. + +"About a thousand, I guess," replied Sandy. + +"Yes, and we'd have a fine old time getting out if you hadn't brought +that ball of twine!" + +"Tell you what we'll do," Sandy said, as the boys turned their faces +down the gangway, "we'll pass around the next shoulder of rock and then +shut off our lights. Perhaps the kids who gave the cry of the pack in +there will then show their light again." + +"That's a good idea, too!" + +The boys came at length to a brattice, which is a screen, of either wood +or heavy cloth, set up in a passage to divert the current of air to a +bench where workmen are engaged, and dodged down behind it, first +shutting off their lights, of course. + +"Now, come on with your old light," whispered Tommy. + +As if in answer to the boy's challenge, the light showed again, +apparently but a few yards away from their hiding place. + +A moment later the call of the pack, sounding louder than before, rang +through the passage. The boys sprang to their feet and switched on their +lights. + +"Why don't you come out and show yourselves?" shouted Tommy. + +"I don't believe you're Scouts at all!" declared Sandy. + +There was no answer. The boys could hear the drip of water and the +purring of the current as it crept into a lower gangway, but that was +all. + +"That settles it for tonight!" exclaimed Tommy. "I'm not going to hang +around here waiting for Boy Scouts who don't respond to signals!" + +"That's me!" agreed Sandy. "We'll go to bed and think the matter over. +There may be some way of trapping those fellows." + +"Suppose it should be Jimmie Maynard and Dick Thompson?" asked Tommy. + +"Then we'd have the case closed up in a jiffy!" was the reply. + +Before leaving that particular chamber, Tommy selected a large round +piece of "gob," placed it in the center of the open space, and laid +another small piece of shale on top of it. + +"What are you doing that for?" demanded Sandy. + +"Don't you know your Indian signs?" demanded the boy. "That means 'This +is the trail.' Now I'll put a stone to the right, and that will tell +these imitation Boy Scouts to turn to the right if they want to get +out." + +"I guess they can get out if they want to," suggested Sandy. + +Thirty or forty feet further on, where, following the string, the boys +turned again, this time to the left, Tommy laid another signal which +showed the direction to be taken. + +"There," he said with a grin, "we've started them on the right path. If +they don't want to follow it, that isn't our fault!" + +"We must be getting pretty near the shaft," Sandy said, after the boys +had walked for nearly half an hour on the backward track. + +"Pull on your string," suggested Tommy, "and see if it stiffens up like +only a short length of it remained out." + +Sandy did as requested, and then dropped to the floor with his +searchlight laid along the extension of the cord. + +"The other end is loose!" he said in a tone of alarm. + +"Loose?" echoed Tommy. "How did it ever get loose?" + +Sandy sat down on the floor of the passage and began drawing the cord +in, hand over hand. + +"I'm going to see if it's been cut!" he said. + +Tommy stepped on the swiftly moving cord and held it fast to the floor. + +"You mustn't draw it in!" he exclaimed. "As long as it lies on the floor +as we strung it out, we can follow it without taking any chances. If you +pull it in, then it's all off." + +"I understand!" Sandy agreed. "I didn't pull much of it in." + +The boys started up the gangway, one of them keeping a searchlight on +the white thread of cord. + +They seemed to make a great many turns and once or twice Sandy declared +that they were walking round and round in a circle. + +"I don't believe the passages run so we could walk around in a circle!" +argued Tommy. "That ain't the way they run passages in mines!" + +"I don't care!" Sandy insisted. "We've been turning to the left about +all the time, and if you leave it to me, we'll presently come out in the +chamber where we heard the call of the pack!" + +"That may be right," admitted Tommy. "It does seem as if we'd been +turning to the left most of the time. Besides," he went on, "we've been +walking long enough to have reached the shaft three or four times." + +"And yet," argued Sandy, "we've been following the line of the cord +every step. It lies right in the middle of the gangway here, and we're +going the way it points all the time." + +This bit of reasoning seemed to give the boys fresh courage, and they +walked on, expecting every moment to come in sight of the frame work +which surrounded the shaft. At length, after a long half hour, Tommy +stumbled over an obstruction lying in a chamber which somehow seemed +strangely familiar. He lifted his foot and gave the obstruction a hearty +kick. + +"That's my Indian sign of the trail!" grunted Sandy. + +"For the love of Mike!" exclaimed Tommy. "Have we been traveling all +this time to come out in this same old hole at last?" + +"That's what we have!" replied Sandy. "If we had paid no attention to +the string whatever and followed the rails when we came to the main gang +way, we would have been home and in bed by this time!" + +"But we didn't," grinned Tommy. "We thought we had a cinch on getting +out by way of this cord and so we followed that. I don't see, though," +he continued, "how we came back to this same old chamber by following +the cord. That looks queer to me!" + +"I'll tell you how!" replied Sandy. "There's some gink been walking on +ahead of us stringing the cord out for us to follow!" + +Tommy sat down on the bottom of the chamber and wrinkled his freckled +nose provokingly. + +"We're a couple of easy marks!" he laughed. + +"Easy marks is no name for it!" + +"Well, what'll we do now to get out?" Tommy asked. "First thing we know, +it'll be daylight, and then Will and George'll be calling out the police +to find us. We ought to get home before they wake up." + +"I'm willing!" declared Sandy. "I'd like to be in my little bed this +minute! I've had about enough of this foul air!" + +The boys passed along until they came to the second trail sign and then +stopped. Tommy pointed down to it with a hand which was not quite steady +and looked up into his chum's face with frightened eyes. + +"That's been moved!" he said. + +"How do you know it's been moved?" + +"Because you had the side stone on the other edge." + +"I don't think I did!" argued Sandy. + +The boys puzzled over the situation for a few moments, and then +proceeded down the chamber looking for the tramway rails. + +They passed from chamber to chamber and finally came to a place where +the slope was upward. + +"I guess we've struck it at last!" Sandy exclaimed. + +"But there are no rails here!" Tommy argued. + +"Then we're on the wrong track again," admitted Sandy. + +He bent down to the rock with his searchlight and pointed out evidences +that the passage had once been laid with rails. + +"When they strip a chamber or a counter gangway," he said, "they take +away the rails. It seems that we are now in a part of the Labyrinth mine +which has been worked out." + +"I know what to do!" exclaimed Tommy. "I'll give the call of the Beaver +Patrol and tell those ginks who have been giving the call of the pack +that we're lost! That ought to bring them out of their holes." + +The Beaver call was given time after time, but no reply came. + +"Say," Tommy said after his patience had become exhausted, "I believe +it's daylight. Look at your watch. I left mine in the bed!" + +"I left mine in bed, too," answered Sandy. "I know it is day, because +I'm hungry." + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +A SENSATIONAL DISCOVERY + + +When Will awoke he began preparations for breakfast before paying any +attention whatever to his chums, whom he believed to be sleeping quietly +on their cots. It was November, and quite chilly in the apartment, so +his next efforts were directed to coaxing the electric coils into a +cheery glow. + +Presently George came tumbling out in his pyjamas and sat down on a +rickety chair to talk of the adventures in prospect. + +"I wonder if the Labyrinth mine is so much of a labyrinth after all?" he +asked. "It seems to me that we might find our way through it without +danger of losing ourselves," he continued with a yawn. + +"It's some labyrinth, I take it," Will replied. + +"Well, we can make chalk marks on the walls as we move along," suggested +George. "Besides," he added, "we can string an electric wire through the +center gangway and turn on the lights." + +"There are probably electric lights there now," answered Will. + +"Then there's no danger of our becoming lost," George argued. + +"I wish you'd go to the back of the room and tip over those two cots," +grinned Will. "It's the hardest kind of work to get Tommy and Sandy to +bed, but when you do get them in bed once, it's harder still to get them +out of it. Just tip the cots over and roll 'em out on the floor." + +George approached the two cots in a stealthy manner and made ready to +give Tommy and Sandy the bump of their lives. + +"Don't break their necks!" advised Will. + +As soon as George reached Tommy's bunk he stretched forth a hand for the +purpose of tangling the boy up in the bedclothing so that his fall to +the hard floor might be in a measure broken. + +As he swung his hand over the cot, however, his eyes widened and he +called out to Will that the boys were not in their cots. + +There was a look of alarm as well as of annoyance on each face as the +lads thought over the situation. + +"The little idiots!" exclaimed Will. + +"That isn't strong enough!" George corrected. + +"There's no knowing how long they've been gone," Will suggested. "The +chances are that they went away as soon as we went to sleep." + +"In that case, they're in trouble!" George declared. + +"In what kind of trouble?" + +"The good Lord only knows!" replied George. "Tommy and Sandy can get +into more different kinds of trouble in less time than any other boys on +the face of the earth. They're the original lookers for trouble!" + +"Do you suppose they've got lost in the mine?" asked Will. + +"It may be worse than that!" cried George. "They may have butted into +some of the people the caretaker indirectly referred to last night." + +"He did speak of strange noises and mysterious lights, didn't he?" + +"He certainly did, and I've got a hunch that Sandy and Tommy have butted +into some hostile interests. + +"It does seem as if they would be back by this time unless they were in +trouble!" + +The boys prepared an elaborate breakfast in the hope that Tommy and +Sandy, who would be sure to be hungry, would return in time to partake +of it. A dozen times during the meal they walked back to the shaft +opening and looked anxiously down into the dark bowels of the mine. + +"Those fellows are always getting into trouble," Will said, rather +crossly, as he stood looking down. "They have a way of running into most +of their dangers at night, too. It was the same up on Lake Superior; the +same in the snake-haunted Everglades of Florida; the same on the Rocky +Mountains, and the same in the Hudson Bay country." + +"They sure do keep things moving," grinned George. + +"I think," Will suggested after a time, "that we'd better find Canfield +and get his advice before we do anything in the way of setting up a +search. I hate to admit that two members of our party got into a scrape +on the same night we struck the mine, but I guess there's no way out of +it." + +While the boys talked together, the door opened softly and the caretaker +entered, accompanied by a short, paunchy man with a very red face and +eyes which were black, small and suspicious. He was a man well past +middle age, but he seemed to be making a bluff at thirty-five. His hair, +which had turned white at the temples, and his moustache were both dyed +black. + +Canfield introduced the new-comer as the detective, Joe Ventner, of New +York, and the boys greeted him courteously. + +He accepted their proffered hands with an air of condescension which was +most exasperating. He puffed out his chest, and at once began talking of +some of his alleged exploits in the secret service of the government. + +"How did you pass the night, boys?" asked the caretaker. + +"Slept like pigs!" replied Will with a laugh. + +"Where are the others?" asked Canfield. + +"They're out getting a breath of fresh air, I reckon," answered George. + +The boys did not take to the detective at all. There was an air of +insincerity about the man which at once put them on their guard. + +Had Canfield visited them alone, they would have explained to him the +exact situation. In the presence of this detective, however, they +decided to do nothing of the kind. + +"Now then," the detective said after a moment's silence, "if you boys +will outline the course you intend to pursue in this matter, I think we +can manage to work together without our plans clashing." + +"We have talked the matter over during the night," Will replied, "and +have decided to remain here only long enough to obtain some clue as to +the direction taken by the boys in their departure." + +"Then you think they are not here?" asked the detective. + +"There is no reason why they should be here, is there?" asked Will. + +"I don't know that there is," relied Ventner. + +"Can you imagine any reason for their wanting to linger about the mine?" +asked George. + +"No," was the reply. "It has always been my opinion that the boys left +the mine because they feared arrest for some boyish offense committed in +some other part of the country, and that they are now far away from this +place." + +Both lads observed that the detective seemed particularly pleased with +the statement that they proposed to abandon the search of the mine +immediately. Somehow, they caught the impression that they would +interfere with his plans if they remained. + +"It might be well," Ventner said, directly, "to keep me posted as to any +discoveries you may make. We must work together, you know." + +"Certainly," replied Will, speaking with a mental reservation which did +not include the giving up of any information worth while. + +"Well, then, I'll be going," the detective said, strutting across the +room, with his little round belly protruding like that of an insect. +"You can always find me at the hotel down here, if I'm in this part of +the country. Just ask for me and I'll show up." + +Canfield was turning to depart with the detective when Will motioned to +him to remain. The caretaker turned back with a surprised look. + +Will waited until the door had closed on the detective before speaking. +Even then, he went to the door and glanced down the passage. + +"Something exciting?" smiled the caretaker, noting the boy's caution. + +"Yes," Will answered, "there's something exciting. Tommy and Sandy +disappeared during the night." + +"Disappeared?" echoed the caretaker. + +"Yes," George cut in, "there was some talk of their visiting the mine +just before we went to bed, and we are of the opinion that they went +down the shaft shortly after we fell asleep, and failed to find their +way to the surface again. We are considerably alarmed." + +"I should think you would be!" replied the caretaker. "In the first +place, the Labyrinth mine bears the right name. There are old workings +below which a stranger might follow for days without finding the way +out." + +"Then we'll have to organize a search for the boys," George suggested. + +"Besides," continued Canfield, "there are things going on in the mine +which no one understands. I have long believed that there are people +living there who have no right to take up such a residence." + +"I'm sorry you said anything to this detective about our being here," +Will said, after this phase of the case had been discussed. + +"As a matter of fact," the caretaker replied, "I didn't intend to say +anything to Ventner about your being here, but in some way he received +an intimation that you were about to take up the case and so pumped the +whole story out of me." + +"Perhaps he received his information from the New York attorney," +suggested Will. + +"I'm sure that he did not," answered the caretaker. "If the attorney had +written to him in regard to the matter at all, he would have posted him +so fully that when he cross-examined me such a proceeding would have +been unnecessary." + +"Has this man Ventner visited the mine often?" asked George. + +"Yes, quite frequently." + +"Does he always go alone?" + +"Yes, he always goes alone," was the answer. "Once I accompanied him to +the bottom of the shaft, but there he suggested that we go in different +directions, and did not seem to want me anywhere near him." + +"I don't like the looks of the fellow, and that's a fact!" exclaimed +Will. "He doesn't look good to me." + +After some discussion it was decided that the caretaker would accompany +the two boys to the bottom of the shaft and direct them down gangways, +which they could follow without fear of losing their way, and the +illumination of which would be likely to be observed by anyone wandering +about the blind chambers and passages of the mine. + +When they reached the bottom of the shaft, climbing down the ladders, as +Tommy and Sandy had done some hours before, they gathered in a little +group at the bottom while the caretaker gave them a few general +instructions regarding the general outlines of the Labyrinth of tunnels, +chambers and cross passages which lay before them. + +"Did any one come down after us?" asked Will directly. + +"No one," was the reply. "Why do you ask?" + +"Because," Will answered, "there's some one skulking off down that +passage, and it looks to me like that bum detective!" + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE FLOODED MINE + + +"What makes you think it's Ventner?" asked the caretaker. "Did you see +his face? I don't think he is here." + +"I didn't see his face," answered Will, "but I saw the shape of his +shoulders and the hang-dog look of him." + +"You're prejudiced against Ventner," laughed Canfield. + +"I admit it!" replied Will. "He looks to me like a snake in the grass. I +don't think anything he could do would look good to me." + +"Now," Canfield said, "perhaps we'd better be mapping out a plan of +campaign. Here are three gangways leading in three different directions. +We'll leave one of the lights burning at the shaft, then we'll each take +a light and proceed into the interior, making as much noise as we +conveniently can, and flashing the light into all the chambers and cross +headings we come to." + +"How long are these gangways?" asked Will. + +"Somewhere near a half a mile straight ahead!" was the answer. + +The caretaker went away swinging his electric searchlight, and Will and +George pushed forward in their respective passages. + +After proceeding a short distance, George heard Will calling to him. + +"There's some one just ahead of me in the gangway!" Will declared. "I +think we ought to go together!" + +"Do you think it's that bum detective?" asked George. + +"I certainly do!" + +"Well, we can go together if you like," George said. "We can't cover +quite as much ground in that way, but I guess we can accomplish more in +the long run!" + +The boys had proceeded only a short distance when they heard Canfield +calling to them. A moment later they heard the caretaker's steps ringing +on the hard floor of the gangway down which they were advancing. He came +up to them panting, in a moment. + +"There's something mighty queer about this mine," the caretaker +declared. "It was punk dry only two days ago, and now there are four or +five feet of water where the gangway I started to follow dips down. + +"And look there!" Will exclaimed holding his light aloft and pointing, +"you can see plenty of water ahead! I guess all the gangways are taking +a washing, and the water seems to be rising, too!" + +"Is there any way by which the mine could be intentionally flooded?" +asked George. "There may be some one planning trouble for the owners." + +"There is only one way that I know of in which the mine could be flooded +intentionally," replied the caretaker. "There is a large drain, of +course, in what is known as the sump. Considerable water runs off in +that way, and the rest of the drippings are taken out by the pumps. If +this sump drainage should become clogged, the mine, of course, would +become flooded though not to such an extent, unless the pumps were kept +constantly at work." + +"Then I guess you'd better set the pumps going," Will suggested. "We +can't get into the mine in its present condition unless we swim." + +"Haven't you got a boat?" asked George. + +"Why, yes," replied the caretaker. "There's a couple of boats somewhere +in the mine. The operators placed them here thinking they might come in +handy at some future time, but I haven't any idea where they are now. +Still, I think they're not far away." + +"If you'll go and set the pumps in motion," Will advised, "George and +I'll look around for the boats. We may need them before the pumps get +under motion the way the water is pouring in now." + +"I guess Tommy and Sandy don't come back because they're penned in by +water," George suggested, as the boys began searching the vicinity of +the shaft for the boats. + +"If they're anywhere within hearing distance, they ought to answer us +when we called out, hadn't they?" asked Will. + +"We haven't tried that yet," George answered. "Suppose we let out a +couple of yells!" + +To think in this case was to act, and the boys did let out a couple of +yells which brought the caretaker running back from the shaft. + +The boys were listening for some answer to their shouts when he arrived, +and so they paid little attention to his numerous questions. + +"There is no time to lose," Canfield went on. "I'll go to the top at +once and call an engineer and a couple of firemen. When you find the +boat, take a trip down the main gangway here and stick your lights into +all the crossheadings and chambers you see. But, above all," he +continued, "don't fail to leave a light here at a shaft, and be careful +that you never pass out of sight of it." + +Canfield hastened away, climbing the ladders two rungs at a time, and +soon disappeared into the little dot of light at the top. + +The two boys searched patiently for the boat for a long time, but did +not succeed in discovering it. At last, Will suggested that it might be +in the mule stable and thither they went. + +The boat was there, in excellent condition, and the boys soon had it +swinging to and fro on the surface of the water which now lay several +feet deep in the main gangway. + +"Je-rusalem!" exclaimed George, taking the depth of the water with an +oar, "if the water is four feet deep here, how deep must it be at the +middle of the dip?" + +"About forty rods, I should think!" exaggerated Will. + +The boys left a large searchlight at the shaft, so situated that it +looked straight down the passage they proposed following, and started +away in the boat. The flashlights illuminated only a small portion of +the underground place, but the boys could see some distance straight +ahead. + +Once they ceased rowing to listen, believing that they had heard calls +from the darkness beyond. The sound was not repeated, and they were +about to proceed when a sound which brought all their nervous energy +into full swing reached their ears. + +It was the bumping of an oar or paddle against the side of a boat. The +blow echoed through the cavern as sharply as a pistol shot might have +done. There could be no mistake in the cause. + +"Now who's in that other boat?" + +"Somehow," George grumbled in a whisper, "we always have propositions +like that put up to us! There's always a mystery in every trip we take! +We found one on Lake Superior, and one in the Florida Everglades, and +one at the top of the Rocky mountains and one in the Hudson Bay +wilderness." + +"Yes, and we solved them, too!" grinned Will. "And we're going to solve +this one! You remember about my seeing some one sneaking in here just +ahead of us, don't you?" + +"Yes," was the answer. "You thought it was that bum detective." + +"I think so yet," replied Will. + +"If it's the detective," asked George, "why didn't he give the alarm +when he found that the mine was being flooded. He might at least have +done that and saved the company a great deal of expense and trouble." + +"Give it up," replied Will. "I might ask you," he went on, "why he was +rowing away into a flooded mine which is supposed to be deserted." + +"And I'd have to give you the answer you gave me," George declared. + +The boys could now hear the strokes of the oarsman who was in the lead +quite regularly and distinctly. Now and then he turned into +crossheadings and chambers, as if to escape from their surveillance, but +they kept steadily on after him, not taking into account the fact that +they were leaving the light they had set at the shaft far out of view. + +"Perhaps we ought to turn back now," George proposed, in a short time, +seeing that they came no nearer to the boat in advance. "We left the +main gangway some time ago, and we ought not to get too far away from +it." + +Will turned and looked back, facing only an inky blackness. + +"We should have stuck to the main gangway," he said. "I don't even +remember when we left it! Is it very far back?" + +"Some distance," answered George. "You see we followed this other boat +without thinking what we were doing." + +"Perhaps, if we continue to follow the other boat, it will lead us +somewhere. The fellow rowing must know something about the interior of +the mine or he probably wouldn't be here!" + +"I've been listening for a minute or more, trying to catch sound of the +fellow's oars," George went on, "but there's nothing doing. I guess he's +led us into a blind chamber and slipped away!" + +"We don't seem to be lacking for excitement," Will suggested with a +grin. "We've lost Tommy and Sandy, and the machinery of the mine has +been interfered with, and the lower levels are filling with water! Any +old time we start out to do things, there's a general mixup!" + +"Aw, quit growling and listen a minute," suggested George. + +The boys listened only for a moment when the sound George had heard was +repeated. It was the call of the Wolf pack! + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE BEAVER CALL + + +"That's Tommy!" exclaimed Will. + +"I never knew that he belonged to the Wolf Patrol!" George observed. + +"He might give the call without belonging to the Patrol!" urged Will. + +The boys listened, but the sound was not repeated, although they called +out the names of their chums and gave the Beaver call repeatedly. + +"I guess it was a dream," George suggested. + +"Then it was the most vivid dream I ever had!" Will declared. + +They rowed about the chamber for some moments searching for the source +of the call, but to no purpose. + +"Let's go back to the shaft," urged George. + +"I'm agreeable," answered Will. "The only question now is whether we can +find the shaft. The water is so deep that all branches of the mine look +alike to me!" + +In passing out of the chamber into another passage the boys were obliged +to stoop low in order to avoid what is called a dip. + +After passing under the dip so close to the ceiling that the boys were +obliged to lie down in the boat in order to protect their heads, they +came to a large chamber which seemed to be fairly dry save in the +center, where there was a depression of considerable size. + +"Nothing doing here!" Will exclaimed as he flashed his searchlight +around the place. "This chamber looks as if there hadn't been an ounce +of coal mined here for a hundred years." + +"Then let's get out," George proposed, "and make our way back to the +shaft if possible. If we can't, we'll make noise enough to attract +Canfield's attention and let him come and lead us out." + +"Here we go, then," cried Will, giving the boat a great push toward the +dip. "We can't get out any too fast." + +The boat came up against a solid projection of rock! + +"I don't seem to see any way out!" George exclaimed. + +"Well, it's there somewhere!" declared Will. + +"I see it now!" cried George. "It's under water!" + +"Under water?" repeated Will. + +"Yes, under water!" answered George. "If we don't get out of this hole +before the pumps get to working we'll have to swim!" + +Will turned his searchlight on the dip and saw that it was now full +clear to the down dropping roof. + +"I guess we'll have to swim," he agreed. + +"That black water doesn't look good to me," George exclaimed with a +little shudder. "It seems to me that I can see snakes and alligators +wiggling in it from here. Looks worse to me than the swamps of the +Everglades! And there was a quart of snakes to every pint of water down +there!" + +"But we got to swim just the same!" urged Will. "In half an hour from +now the air in this chamber will be unbreathable. There is no vent at +all, now that the water fills the dip, and the coal gas is naturally +seeping in all the time." + +"That's all right, too!" admitted George. "But I'm not going to jump +into that black water until I have to. If a rope or something should +twine around my legs while I was in there, I'd drop dead with fright! +Besides," he went on, "the chances are that Canfield will get the pumps +going before long now." + +The boys waited for a long half hour, during which time the water rose +steadily. It seemed certain that the mine was about to be flooded +throughout all the lower levels. + +"Tommy and Sandy may have bumped into just such a situation as this," +Will said, as he pushed the boat from side to side in the hope of coming +upon some exit from the place. + +"Serves 'em good and right!" exclaimed George. + +Will chuckled to himself and held a wet hand high up toward the roof of +the chamber or passage. + +"There's a current of air here!" he said. + +"Then we won't smother to death!" George grunted. + +"And, look here," Will continued, as the boat bumped into a pyramid of +shale which had been thrown up to within a few inches of the roof, "some +one has been building this hill of refuse and using it for a refuge!" + +"It does look that way," George agreed. "That shows that at some time +the water must have ascended to the very top of the wall. We may have to +climb up there ourselves in order to keep from getting our clothing +soaked in that ink down there!" + +The water rose higher and higher in the passage, and it seemed to the +boys that by this time most of the lower gangways were entirely +impassible. + +"It doesn't seem to me that the water in this blooming old mine could +rise any faster if the whole Mississippi river were turned into it!" +cried George in a tone of disgust. "If Canfield doesn't get his pumps +going before long, he'll have a job here that'll take him all winter!" + +"I presume he's doing the best he can," Will argued. "For all we know, +the boilers as well as the electric motors may have been tampered with. +That would be just our luck!" + +"I wonder what's become of that bum detective?" asked George after a +short silence. "We heard him rowing along in front of us one minute, and +the next minute there wasn't a single sound to indicate that there was +another boat in the mine." + +"As soon as I get out of this," Will stated, "I'm going to make it my +business to find out whether that detective is regularly employed on +this case. He looks to me like a crook!" + +It was dreary waiting there in the sealed-up chamber, and the boys found +themselves dropping into long intervals of silence while they listened +for the gurgle of the water which would indicate that the great pumps +had been set in motion. + +During one of those intervals of silence, they heard sounds which +brought them to their feet in great excitement. Almost unable to believe +his ears, Will turned to George with a question on his lips: + +"Did you hear that?" he asked. + +"Of course I did!" + +"I did, too, but I thought I must be dreaming." + +"No dream about that!" replied George. "That's the call of the Beaver +Patrol!" + +"And that means that Tommy and Sandy are not far away!" + +"We heard the call of the Wolf Patrol not long ago," suggested George. +"I wonder if this blooming old mine is chock full of Boy Scouts of +assorted sizes. There can't be too many here to please me!" + +The boys returned the Beaver call but no answer came. At times they +thought they heard whispers coming from the dark reaches of the cavern, +but they were not quite certain. + +"There may be real Beavers in here for all we know!" suggested Will. + +"That's all you know about it!" chuckled George. "Beavers only operate +in running water." + +"Well, isn't that water out there running?" asked Will. + +"No jokes now!" replied George. "I've got all I can endure now without +standing for any of your alleged witticisms!" + +While the boys sat in the boat, occasionally moving it from side to +side, a shaft of light appeared directly above the point where the shale +had been heaped up. It moved swiftly about for an instant and then +dropped out of view. It was a moment before either boy spoke. + +"That's some of Tommy's foolishness!" Will declared. + +George repeated the Beaver call several times, but no answer came. + +"That's a searchlight, anyway!" insisted Will. "And I don't believe +these ginks in the mines have electric searchlights to lug around with +them!" + +Will unshipped an oar and struck the water with the flat of the blade +several times, exerting his whole strength. + +"Keep it up!" advised George. "That sounds exactly like a beaver's tail +connecting with the surface of a stream!" + +"Yes, keep it up!" cried a voice out of the darkness. "Keep it up, and +perhaps some beaver'll come along and build a dam to get you out of that +mess you're in! You're always getting into trouble, you two!" + +"You've got your nerve with you!" exclaimed Will, half-angrily. "Here +you go out in the night and get lost, and we come out after you, and the +mine gets flooded, and we get tied up between the solid wall and a +bend in the passage, and then you blame us for getting into trouble!" + +"Can you climb?" chuckled Tommy, throwing the rays of his searchlight on +the boat. "If you can, just mount up on that pile of shale and work your +way through the opening between the two levels. This might have been +used as a sort of an air hole a few hundred years ago," he went on, "but +I'll bet that not one out of a hundred of the miners of today know that +there is an opening here!" + +Leaving the boat, the boys mounted the pile of shale and were soon +making their way up the rugged face of the shaft in the direction of the +level, which ran along above the one now being flooded. + +"Can you find your way out of this dump, now?" asked Will as the boys +stood with their chums at the end of a long passage. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +A TREACHEROUS FOE + + +"There seems to be fewer twists and turns in this level than on the one +below it," Tommy explained, "and I guess we can find our way out readily +enough. If we don't," he went on, "I shall be obliged to eat a ton or +two of coal to keep from starving to death." + +"Serves you right!" declared Will. "You had no business getting up in +the middle of the night and wandering off into the mine!" + +"What did you do?" demanded Tommy. + +"We waited until morning, and then enlisted the services of the +caretaker," replied Will. "So far as I can remember, this is about the +nine hundredth relief expedition we've been out on in search of you +boys!" + +"Seems to me," Tommy chuckled, "that you're the lads that were in need +of the relief expedition! We found you boxed up in a chamber in a boat." + +"But we wouldn't have been in any such mess if we hadn't started out to +look you up!" George declared. + +"We should have been back before you got out of bed this morning, if +some one hadn't cut our string," replied Sandy. "We had a cinch on +getting out, but some geezer led us a fool chase by cutting our cord and +steering us around in a circle." + +"Did you see any one?" asked Will. + +"Not a soul!" was the reply. "But there's some one in here, just the +same. We heard the call of the Wolf Patrol a long time ago and we've +heard it several times since." + +"What do you mean by some one cutting your string?" asked George. + +"Why," replied Sandy, "we tied the loose end of a ball of twine to one +of the shaft timbers and unwound the ball as we moved along, expecting +to follow it back when we wanted to get out." + +"How do you know some one cut it?" asked Will. + +"Perhaps you broke it," George suggested. + +Sandy took a piece of the cord from his pocket and passed it over to +George with a sly chuckle. + +"See if you can break that!" he said. + +George tried his best to break the string, but it remained firm under +all his strength. + +The boys now fell into a discussion of the ways and means of getting out +of the mine. + +"I believe," Sandy exclaimed, "that if we follow the current of air +which the rising water is forcing out of this old shaft, we will come to +the entrance. As you all know, a current of air takes the shortest way +to any given point, and this one ought to blow straight toward the +shaft." + +"Great head, that, little boy!" laughed Tommy. + +After proceeding some distance the steady thud, thud of the pumping +machinery was heard, and the boys understood that the efforts of the +caretaker were at last bringing results. The sounds also aided them in +direction, and in a short time they stood at the shaft on the second +level. + +When they came out to the timber work, Will, who was in the lead, +motioned to the others to remain in the background. + +"What's doing now?" whispered Sandy. + +"There's a man working on the ladders," explained Will in a low whisper. +"I can't see him yet, but I can hear the sound of a saw." + +"He may be cutting the rungs," suggested Tommy. + +"That's the notion I had," replied Will. "Suppose we all get around +behind the air shaft and wait until we can find out what he is up to. It +may be that bum detective, for all we know." + +"What would he be doing there?" questioned Sandy. + +"Sawing the rungs!" whispered Will. "He wouldn't cut them down, of +course, but he might saw them so that they would break under our weight +and give us a drop of a couple of hundred feet." + +"It doesn't seem as if any human being would do a thing like that!" +cried George. "It would be a wicked thing to do!" + +While the boys whispered together, the sound of sawing continued. The +man engaged at the task was evidently unfamiliar with such work, for +they heard him puffing and blowing as the saw cut through the wood. + +"He's cutting the rungs, all right!" Will said in a moment. "And that +cuts off our escape until the cables can be put in motion and the cages +started. I wish I had him by the neck!" + +"We'll get him by the neck, all right, before many days," Sandy cut in, +"if we can only get a sight of him so as to be sure of his identity." + +Presently the man ceased working, and they heard him ascending the +ladders, step by step. In a moment the saw which he had been using +dropped from his hands and clattered to the bottom of the shaft. + +Then they heard him springing swiftly forward, and directly they knew +that he had reached the top. The boys all looked disgusted. + +"And we never caught sight of him!" exclaimed Tommy. + +Will now walked around to the front of the shaft and looked down. The +saw which had been used lay shining on the lower level. + +"I'm going down after that!" he said in a moment. + +"Yes, you are!" whispered Tommy. + +"Got to have it!" insisted Will. + +"Well, go on and get it, then," laughed Sandy. "You've got to show me!" + +"I don't think he cut the rungs between this level and the next one," +George interposed. "It may be safe to use the lower ladders." + +"I can soon find out!" Will declared. + +The cutting had been done between the second level and the top. The +ladders below seemed perfectly safe. After testing them thoroughly, Will +trusted himself on one of the rungs and let himself down slowly, bearing +as much weight as was possible on the standards. + +He was at the bottom in a moment, and in another moment stood by the +side of his chums with the saw in his hand. + +"I don't think that's so very much!" Tommy exclaimed. + +"Right here, then," Will explained, "is where you get your little +Sherlock Holmes lesson! This is a new saw, as you all see. It probably +never was used before. Now the man who did the cutting bought this at +some nearby store. Don't you see what it means?" + +"That's a fact!" cried Tommy. "We can find out who bought the saw, and +so discover the gink who tried to commit murder by sawing the ladders." + +"And look here," Will went on, "do you see these threads hanging to the +teeth of the saw? Do you see the color?" + +"Blue!" replied the boys in a breath. + +"That's right, blue. Now, what sort of a suit did the detective wear +this morning? It was blue, wasn't it?" + +"Sure it was!" replied George. "A blue serge! I noticed it particularly +because it wasn't much of a fit." + +"Well, these are blue serge threads!" commented Will. + +"That's right, too," admitted Sandy. + +While the boys still stood at the second level they heard some one +moving down from the top. Will rushed around to the ladder and looked +up. + +He could not see the face of the man who was climbing down, but he could +see that he did not wear a blue serge suit. + +In a moment he called out to him, asking some trivial question regarding +the action of the pumps. When the man looked down he saw that it was +Canfield. The caretaker seemed surprised at finding the boys at the +second level. He kept on descending. + +"Wait!" Will called. "Stop where you are!" + +"But I've got to find out what's the matter with the machinery at the +bottom," the caretaker called out. "There's something wrong there!" + +"Then you'd better take long steps," replied Will, "for if you put any +weight on those rungs, you're likely to land at the bottom of the shaft. +The rungs have been cut!" + +"I can't believe that!" replied Canfield. + +"Suppose you look and see!" + +The caretaker advanced cautiously downward until he came to where a fine +line of sawdust lay on one of the rungs. + +"Do you know who did this?" he asked. + +"We think we do," replied Will, "but this isn't any time for long +stories. The first thing for us to do is to get back into the breaker +and cook Tommy and Sandy three or four breakfasts apiece!" + +"So you found them, did you?" asked Canfield. + +"No; we found them," shouted Tommy. + +"Well, how're you going to get out?" asked the caretaker. + +"Get a rope," directed Will, "and throw it over the sound rung lowest +down, and we'll climb up until we can trust our weight on the ladder." + +This plan was followed, and in a short time the boys all stood, hungry +and tired, in their room in the breaker. Tommy made an instantaneous +dive for the provisions which had been brought in the night before. + +"Nice old time we've had!" he exclaimed, with his mouth full of pork and +beans. "I guess we're some Boy Scouts after all!" + +"I'm going to tie you up tonight!" Will declared. + +While the boys talked and ate the caretaker darted to the door leading +to the passage which ended at the shaft. + +He returned in a moment looking both angry and frightened. + +"The pumps have stopped!" he said. "The mine will probably be flooded +before tomorrow morning! The very devil seems to have taken full charge +here today. I never saw anything like it!" + +"There are boys in the mine who will be drowned!" exclaimed Tommy. + +"I'm not so sure of that!" answered Canfield. "It was only a suggestion +on my part that the boys we are in search of have taken refuge under +ground. I think I must have been mistaken!" + +"Do you know whether these breaker boys belonged to the Boy Scouts or +not?" asked Will. "Did you ever see any medals or badges on their +clothing which told of Boy Scout experiences?" + +"Sure they belong to the Boy Scouts!" declared the caretaker, "and that +is the very reason why I sent for Boy Scouts to help find them." + +"What Patrol did they belong to?" asked Will. + +"If you had heard them howling like wolves around the breaker night +after night," was the reply, "you wouldn't ask what patrol they belonged +to!" + +"Then they are in the mine!" shouted Tommy. "We all heard the call of +the pack, but the funny thing is that they wouldn't show themselves." + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +"THEY WENT UP IN THE AIR!" + + +"There's something funny-about those boys!" exclaimed Canfield. "They +seemed to be merry-hearted fellows, just a little bit full of mischief, +but for some reason they never mixed with the others much." + +"Where did they come from when they came here?" asked Will. + +"The information in the letters I received from the attorney in charge +of the case is that they came here from New York, not directly but by +some round-about way." + +"Did this attorney ever inform you why he wanted the boys found?" asked +Tommy. "Are we all working in the dark?" + +"He never told me why he wanted the boys found. For all I know, they may +be wanted for some crime, or they may be heirs to an immense property. +My instructions are to find them. That's all!" + +"Where did these boys lodge?" asked Will. + +"They didn't have any regular room," was the reply. "They slept in the +breaker whenever the watchman would permit them to do so, and when he +wouldn't, they threw stones at him and slept in the railroad yard +somewhere. But the strangest part of the whole business is the way they +disappeared from sight." + +"You didn't tell us about that!" exclaimed Sandy. + +"I meant to," the caretaker answered. "The last seen of them here they +were at work on the breaker. It was somewhere near the middle of the +afternoon, and the cracker boss had been particularly ugly. The two boys +were often caught whispering together, and more than once the cracker +boss had launched such trifles as half pound blocks of shale at them. I +happened to be on the outside just about that time." + +"The boys didn't go up in the air, did they?" asked Sandy with a +chuckle. "They haven't got wings, have they?" + +"To all intents and purposes, they went up into the air!" answered the +caretaker. "One moment they were on the breaker sorting slate and stuff +of that kind out of the stream of coal which was pouring down upon them, +and the next moment they were nowhere in sight!" + +"Had any strangers been seen talking with them?" + +"Now you come to a point that I should have mentioned before!" replied +the caretaker. "Two days before they left a strange boy came to the mine +and went to work on the breaker. He was an unusually well-mannered, +well-dressed young fellow, and so the breaker boys called him a dude. He +resented this, of course, and there was a fight at the first quitting +time. These two boys, Jimmie and Dick, stood by the new lad, and gave +three or four of the tough little chaps who work on the breaker a good +beating up." + +"Now we've got hold of something!" exclaimed Will. "Were these three +boys together much after that?" + +"No," was the reply. "The new boy thanked Jimmie and Dick for helping +him through his scrape, and that was about all. They might have talked +together for five minutes that night, but they were never seen, in each +other's company again so far as I know." + +"How long did this new boy stay here?" asked George. + +"He quit the next day." + +"He didn't go up in a pillar of fire, did he?" grinned Sandy. + +"No, he walked up to the office and asked if he could get his pay for +the time he had worked. The boss told him he'd have to wait until +Saturday night, and he turned up his nose and walked out." + +"And where did he go?" asked George. + +"He said he was going down the river in a boat," answered the caretaker. +"He bought an old boat, stocked it with quite a supply of provisions, +and started on his way. The next day the boat was found bottom side up +on a bar, and the lad's hat lay on the bank not far away." + +"Do you think he was drowned?" asked Sandy. + +"It would seem so." + +"Drowned nothing!" exclaimed Tommy. "He sneaked those provisions into +the mine under cover of the darkness, and the three little rascals are +feeding on them yet. You can see the end of that without a telescope!" + +"Now, smarty!" exclaimed George. "You've told us where the boys went, +and where the provisions landed, and all that, now tell us why these +kids hid themselves in the mine. And while you are about it, you may as +well tell why they gave the Wolf call and refused to reply." + +"This story," replied Tommy with a grin, "is not a novelette, complete +in one number. It's a serial story, and will be continued in our next +issue. What did you say about the pumps stopping, Mr. Canfield?" + +"They've stopped, all right!" the caretaker replied. + +"Are you going to let the ginks flood the mine?" asked Sandy. + +"While I was out a few moments ago," Canfield explained, "I notified one +of the clerks in the company's office to send up a gang of men to repair +the machinery. They ought to be here by this time." + +"How long will it take to repair the pump?" asked Tommy. + +"It may take an hour and it may take twenty-four." + +"In the meantime," Tommy continued, "do you think you could send one of +the county officers out to round up this bum detective?" + +"You mean that you want him watched?" asked Canfield. + +"Sure!" answered Tommy. "He sawed the rungs in the shaft, didn't he? He +could get ten years for that!" + +"All right," replied Canfield. "I'll send word out and have him arrested +if you are positive that he is the man that did the cutting." + +"We are positive that he's the man," replied Will, "but it'll spoil +everything if you have him arrested. We want to give him a free hand for +a time, and see what he will do. He's a crook, and he's bound to show +it! And another thing," the boy went on, "we don't want anyone to know +that he is under suspicion. We just want him watched." + +"You're handling the case," smiled Canfield, "and I'll take any steps +you advise. I can't tell you how sorry I am that I brought the detective +in here this morning!" + +"Well," Will said, "we put up a bluff about getting out of town and +perhaps we can make that stick. We can take a train out and come back in +on a lonely freight, and get into the mine without his knowing anything +about it. The mine is the best place to work from, anyway!" + +"That's why I wanted to know how soon the mine could be pumped out!" +stated Tommy. "I don't care about wading around in a mess of water +that's blacker than a stack of black cats." + +"I think I can have the mine fairly dry by the time you boys get out of +town and back again!" laughed Canfield. + +"Well," Tommy said, "then you'd better get a couple of dry-goods boxes +and fill them full of good things to eat, and drop 'em down to the first +level. Perhaps you know of a cosy little chamber there where we can set +up housekeeping." + +"I know just the place," said the caretaker. "To the left of the old +tool house there's a room where odd articles of every description have +been stored for any number of years. The blacksmith and the fire-boss +used to go there to smoke and tell stories, if I remember right." + +"Does anyone ever go there now?" asked Will. + +"Not that I know of," was the reply. + +"Then we'll drop down there some time towards morning," Will decided. +"And in the meantime," he added, with a wink at his chums, "we'll be +looking for a boy tramp out in the railroad yards." + +"What do you mean by that?" asked the caretaker. + +"Oh, I've just got an idea," replied Will, "that there's a kid hanging +around this part of the country whom we ought to interview." + +"But I don't understand." + +"You wait until we get hold of him, and you'll understand all right!" +laughed Will. "We just need that boy!" + +"But how do you know there is such a boy?" urged the caretaker. + +"He gets it out of a dream book!" Tommy chuckled. + +"Do you mean to say that there is some go-between between the boys who +may or may not be in the mine and some persons outside who are +interested in them?" asked the caretaker. + +"I didn't say anything of the kind!" replied Will. + +"There are times," Tommy explained to Canfield, "when the gift of frank +speech is taken away from Will, so you mustn't blame him for not +answering. He'll tell you all about it when the time comes." + +The caretaker went away with a puzzled look on his honest face. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +WHO DISCOVERED THE LEAK? + + +"You've got to explanation me," George laughed, as the caretaker left +the room, and the boys began picking up their clothing, preparatory to +the alleged journey. "I can't understand what you mean by saying that +you'll watch out for a boy tramp in the railroad yards." + +"It's a sure thing, isn't it?" Will asked, "that the boys we are in +search of are in the mine? We don't know what they're in there for. They +may be hiding there because of some fool notion they have in their +heads, or they may have been sent here for some definite purpose." + +"You bet they've been sent here for some definite purpose," George +replied. "They never came here to work on the breaker without having +some well-defined motive. Boys answering to their description don't +accept such jobs as they accepted here!" + +"Well, the boys are in the mine," Will continued. "As stated, we don't +know what they're there for, but we know they're there. Now, this third +boy comes to the mine and works just long enough to get in touch with +the other two. Then he disappears." + +"Buys a lot of provisions and goes down the river to leave his hat on +the bank!" laughed Tommy. "I guess that was a pretty poor imitation of a +suicide or a drowning accident, either!" + +"But this boy didn't get to be intimate with the two breaker boys," +contended George. "He talked with them about two minutes after the +fight, according to Canfield, but paid no further attention to them +after that. If he had any secret understanding with them, he must have +done a whole lot of talking in a mighty short space of time." + +"The right kind of a boy can say a good deal in a minute and half!" +laughed Tommy. "But suppose we let Will go on and explanation us about +that boy tramp in the railroad yards. I think I know what he's getting +at, but I'm not quite certain. Go on, Will, it's up to you." + +"In order to make the connection," laughed Will. "I'll state for the +third time that we know that the boys are in the mine. It may also be +well to state, once more, that we are reasonably certain that this third +boy came to the mine for the specific purpose of communicating with the +other two. Now, this boy didn't drop into the river. He dropped the +provisions he bought for the boat into the coal mine, and left them +there for the consumption of the two boys inside. That's reasonable, +isn't it?" + +"Fine deduction, as Sherlock Holmes would say to Watson!" laughed +George. + +"But this third boy," Will went on, "doesn't go into the mine. He stays +outside to serve as a means of communication between the boys who are +hiding in the mine and some interested person or persons on the outside. +That's perfectly clear, isn't it?" + +"That'll do very well for a theory," replied George. + +"I'll go you a plate of cookies," argued Sandy, "that Will is right, and +that this third boy is hanging around taking messages from the two boys +in the mine and also to the two boys in the mine." + +"Didn't I say it was all right for a theory?" chuckled George. + +"Now, the point is this," Will continued. "What are those boys in the +mine for? What do they want there? Why didn't they answer our Boy Scout +challenge when we replied to their call of the pack?" + +"If you don't ask so many questions, you won't get so many negative +answers," Sandy advised. "We're here to find the boys, and I don't see +that it makes any difference to us what they're in there for." + +"But we've found the boys now," contended Tommy. "We haven't got our +hands on them yet, of course, but we know they're in there, and we know +it's only a question of time when we get hold of them." + +"Well," Will insisted, "I'm going to find a motive before I quit the +case. I'm going to know who sent those boys here, and all about it, +before I make any report to Mr. Horton." + +"Go as far as you like," laughed Tommy. "My bump of curiosity is growing +half an inch a day, and will continue to spread out until I find out +exactly what those boys are doing burrowing in a deserted mine." + +"Now, we'll get back to the point we started from," Will explained. +"This boy who is undoubtedly doing duty outside the mine in the +interests of the persons who sent the two boys in, furnishes the clue to +the whole situation! When we find him, and find out what he's up to, and +trace any communications he may make back to their original source, +we'll have the whole case tied up tight!" + +"That's right!" declared Tommy. "We'll have the case tied up tight if we +succeed in getting hold of this third boy." + +"Oh, go on!" laughed Sandy. "We'll be picking third boys and fourth boys +and fifth boys out of the air, first thing you know. We never went away +on a Boy Scout expedition yet that we didn't find all manner of kids +hanging around on purpose to be discovered. We found them on Old +Superior; and in the Everglades; and on the Great Continental Divide; +and up in the Hudson Bay country, we began to think we had stumbled on +the center of population so far as Boy Scouts were concerned!" + +"There's just one thing that's likely to make us trouble," Will resumed. +"And that is the fact that Canfield very foolishly slopped over to +Ventner when explaining the purpose of our visit here. That bum +detective knows now that we're here to search the mine. Of course he +might have received, as Canfield says, the most of his information from +outside sources, but the caretaker should have thrown him off the track +instead of telling him exactly what our mission here was." + +"But Ventner came here to search for the boys himself!" George broke in. +"At least, he says that he did." + +"There's a mystery about the whole matter," Sandy declared, "and I'd +like to help clear it up from beginning to end!" + +"We're likely to have a chance!" laughed Tommy. + +"What are we going to do all the afternoon?" George asked. + +"Wander around town," smiled Will, "and find out about the evening +train, and ask fool questions about the pumps and the mine, and laugh at +the idea of anybody living in there. That'll give Ventner the idea that +we're going for good, I reckon. He's a pretty bum skate to pose as a +detective!" + +"I'll tell you what I'm going to do most of the afternoon!" Tommy +declared. "I'm going to the hay! I never felt so bunged up for want of +sleep in my innocent life." + +"Haven't you forgotten something?" asked Sandy. + +"Sure!" shouted Tommy. "I'm forgetting to eat!" + +"And you're forgetting something else!" insisted Sandy. + +"Nix on the forget!" declared Tommy. "When I forget my eatings and +sleepings, the world will come to an end!" + +"You forgot to read a chapter in your dream book!" said Sandy. + +"Never you mind that dream book," Tommy replied. "Whenever you want to +find the answer to any puzzle, you look in that dream book!" + +After eating another hearty meal the boys, having already packed their +wardrobes, locked the door of their room and addressed themselves to +slumber. + +They were awakened about five o'clock by a loud knocking on the door, +and presently they heard the voice of Canfield calling to them. + +"Wake up, boys!" he cried. "I have good news for you!" + +"All right, let her go!" shouted Tommy. + +"The pumps are working, and the water is lowering in the mine!" + +"That's nice!" laughed Sandy. + +"And we've found out what caused the sudden flooding," the caretaker +went on. "It seems that a partition, or wall, between the Labyrinth and +the Mixer mines unaccountably gave way. The Mixer mine has been flooded +for a long time and, as it lies above the level of the Labyrinth, the +water naturally flowed into our mine as soon as the wall was down." + +"But what caused the partition to fall?" asked Will, opening the door +for the admission of the caretaker. + +"No one knows!" was the answer. + +"If you look about a little," Tommy suggested, "I think you'll find +traces of dynamite. Who discovered the break in the dividing wall?" + +"A gang under the leadership of Ventner, the detective!" was the reply. + +The caretaker was very much surprised and not a little annoyed at the +effect his answer had upon the four boys. + +"I don't see anything humorous about that!" he said as the lads threw +themselves down on the bunks and roared with laughter. + +"It looks funny to me!" Tommy replied. "If we had never showed up here, +the mine wouldn't have been flooded. As soon as we start away or promise +to leave the district, which amounts to the same thing, this cheap skate +of a detective finds the break, and all is well again!" + +"Why, you don't think that he had anything to do with the trouble at the +mine, do you?" questioned the caretaker. + +"Oh, of course not!" replied Sandy. "Ventner had nothing to do with +cutting the ladder! That fellow will land in state's prison if he keeps +on trying to murder boys by sawing ladder rungs!" + +"I had forgotten that," said Canfield. + +"Well, don't forget that this man Ventner is playing the chief villain's +role in this drama!" Tommy advised. "And another thing you mustn't +forget," the boy continued, "is that you're not to say a word to him +that will inform him that he is suspected." + +"I think I can remember that!" replied the caretaker. + +The boys prepared a hasty supper and then, suit cases in hand, started +for the little railway station. There they inquired about the arrival +and departure of trains, bought tickets, and made themselves as +conspicuous as possible about the depot. + +"Keep your eye out for the third boy," George chuckled, as the lads +walked up and down the platform. + +"Don't get excited about the third boy," Will replied. "We'll find him +when the right time comes!" + +"There's Ventner!" exclaimed Tommy as the detective came rushing down +the platform. "Of course the good, kind gentleman would want to bid us +farewell!" + +"I'd like to crack him over the coco!" exclaimed Sandy. + +"I'll bet he's got some kind of a fake story to tell," suggested Will. +"He looks like a man who had been working his imagination overtime!" + +"News of the two boys!" shouted the detective as he came up smiling. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE BOY IN THE "EMPTY" + + +"Didn't I tell you," whispered Will, "that he is there with a product of +his imagination? If you leave it to him, the two boys we're in search of +are somewhere on the Pacific slope!" + +"He must think we're a lot of suckers to take in any story he'll tell!" +whispered Tommy. "A person that couldn't get next to his game ought to +be locked Up in the foolish house!" + +"I've just heard from a railway brakeman," Ventner said, rushing up to +the boys with an air of importance, "that the two lads you are in search +of were seen leaving a box car at a little station in Ohio. I don't just +recall the name of the station now, but I can find it by looking on the +map! It seems the lads left here on the night following their departure +from the breaker, and stole their passage to this little town I'm +telling you about." + +"Good thing you came to the depot," declared Will. "We should have been +out of town in ten minutes more!" + +"Where is this town?" asked George, thinking it best to show great +interest in the statement made by the detective. + +"It's a little place on the Lake Erie & Western road!" was the answer. + +The detective took a railroad folder from his pocket and consulted a +map. It seemed to take him a long time to decide upon a place, but he +finally spread the map out against the wall of the station and laid his +finger on a point on the Lake Erie & Western railroad. + +"Nankin is the name of the place. Strange I should have forgotten the +name of the place. They were put out of the car at Nankin, and are +believed to have started down the railroad right of way on foot." + +"But you said they were seen leaving the car at Nankin!" Tommy cut in. +"Now you say they were put out of the car!" + +"Well, they were chased out of the car, and that covers both +statements," replied the detective somewhat nervously. + +"Thank you very much for the information!" Will exclaimed as the train +the boys were to take came rolling into the station. "The pointer is +undoubtedly a good one, and we'll take a look at the country about +Nankin." + +There was a crossing not more than six miles from the station where the +boys had taken the train, and they were all ready to jump when the +engineer slowed down and whistled his note of warning. It was quite +dark, although stars were showing in a sky plentifully scattered over +with clouds and, as the boys dropped down out of the illumination of the +windows as soon as they struck the ground, they were not seen to leave +the train by any of the passengers. + +In a moment the train rushed on, leaving the four standing on the +roadbed looking disconsolately in the direction of the town. + +"Now for a good long hike!" exclaimed Tommy. + +"It's for your own good!" laughed Sandy. + +"I can always tell when anything's for my own good," Tommy contended. + +"You don't look it!" chuckled Sandy. + +"When anything's for my own good," the boy continued, "it's always +disagreeable! It makes me think of a story I read once where the man +complained that everything he ever wanted in this world was either +expensive, indigestible or immoral." + +"Well, get on the hike!" laughed George. "You can stand here and +moralize till the cows come home, and it won't move you half an inch in +the direction of the mine!" + +"And look here," Will exclaimed as the boys started up the grade, "when +we get within sight of the lights of the station, we must scatter and +keep our traps closed! We can all make for the mine by different routes. +Ventner thinks we are out of town now, and the chances are that he'll be +plugging around trying to accomplish some purpose known only to himself. +For my part I don't believe he is employed on the same case we are! He's +working here for some outside parties!" + +"That's the way it strikes me!" George agreed. "If the detective had +been honestly trying to assist us, the mine wouldn't have been flooded, +the pumps wouldn't have broken down, and the electric motors would have +been found in excellent working order." + +"Did you notice the suit he had on when he stood talking with us at the +station?" asked Will. "That was a blue serge suit, wasn't it?" + +"It surely was!" Tommy declared, quick to catch the point. "And there +was a tear down the front of it which looked as if it had been made by +the scraping of a saw! I guess if you'll match the shreds we found on +the saw with the breaks in that coat front you'll find where the saw got +in its work, all right!" + +"And there was a cut on his hand, too!" Sandy observed. "Looked like he +had bounced the saw off one of the rungs on top of a finger." + +"Oh, he's a clever little boy all right!" Tommy cut in. "But he forgot +to leave his brass band at home when he went out to cut into that +ladder! If he does all his work the way he did that job, he'll be +sitting in some nice, quiet state's prison before he's six months +older." + +When the boys came within a quarter of a mile of the station lights, +they parted, Will and George turning off from the right of way and Sandy +and Tommy keeping on for half a dozen rods. When the four boys were +finally clear of the tracks they were walking perhaps twenty rods apart, +and at right angles with the right of way. + +"Now, as we approach the mine," Will cautioned his companion, "keep your +eye out for Ventner and this third boy. They are both likely to be +chasing around in the darkness." + +The route to the mine taken by Tommy and his chum crossed a network of +tracks, led up to the weigh-house and so on into the breaker. As they +came to a line of empty cars standing on a spur they heard a movement in +one of the empties and crouched down to listen. + +"There's some one in there!" declared Tommy. + +"Some old bum, probably!" + +This from Sandy who had recently bumped his shins on a pile of ties and +was not in a very pleasant humor. + +"It may be the boy we're looking for!" urged Tommy. + +Sandy sat down on the end of a tie and rubbed his bruised shin +vigorously, muttering and protesting against railroad yards in general +and this one in particular as he did so. + +Tommy made his way under the empty and sat listening, his ear almost +against the bottom of the car. Presently he heard a movement above and +then it seemed to him that something of considerable weight was being +dragged across the floor. This was followed in a moment by a slight +groan, and then a shadowy figure leaped from the open side door and +started away in the darkness. + +Now Sandy had been warned to hang onto the third boy like grim death if +he caught sight of him. He saw this figure bounce out of the car and +start away. Therefore, he promptly reached out a foot and tripped the +unknown to the ground. + +He fell with a grunt of anger and pain and lay rolling on the cinders +which lined the roadbed for a moment without speaking. In the meantime, +Tommy had crawled out from under the car and stood ready to seize any +second person who might make his appearance. + +Almost immediately a second body came bouncing out of the empty. + +Instead of starting away on a run, however, the second person stopped +where Sandy stood beside the wiggling figure and looked down upon it. + +"Hand him one!" he said in a boy's voice. + +"Who is it?" asked Sandy. + +"Don't know!" was the reply. + +"What was he doing to you?" + +"He was trying to rob me!" + +"I don't think a man would get rich robbing people who ride in empties!" +laughed Sandy. "I shouldn't think their bank rolls would make much of a +hit with a bold, bad highwayman!" + +"There's men riding the rods," was the reply, "who would kill a boy for +a dime! If I wasn't opposed to cruelty to animals, I'd give this fellow +a beating up right now. He tried to drag me from the car by the leg and +nearly broke my ankle!" + +"I heard him dragging you across the floor!" Tommy said, coming up to +where the two boys stood. "Can you see who it is?" he added. + +"He's just a tramp!" the other replied. "I saw him sneaking around the +empties just before dark." + +"Why were you sleeping in an empty?" asked Sandy. + +"Because I like plenty of fresh air!" replied the boy with a chuckle. + +While the boys talked the tramp arose and sneaked away, limping over the +ties as if tickled to death to get out of the way of the three +youngsters. + +As he disappeared in the darkness Tommy turned to the boy who had +dropped out of the car to ask him a question. + +The boy was nowhere to be seen. + +"Now we've gone and done it!" cried Sandy. + +"I guess we have!" agreed Tommy. "We've let the third boy get away from +us! And we couldn't have done a worse thing!" he went on, "because the +boys in the mine will know that we are still in this vicinity!" + +While the boys stood blaming themselves the sharp call of the Wolf pack +came to them. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +A KNOCK AT THE DOOR + + +When Will and George came to the back of the weigh-house they heard some +one moving about at the front. + +"That's probably the caretaker, taking his last look for the night," +suggested Will. "He pokes around all the outbuildings every night before +he goes to bed. At least, he is supposed to." + +"But this fellow hasn't got any lantern," urged George. + +"The plot deepens!" chuckled Will. + +"Can you crawl around there and see who it is," asked George, "or shall +I go? It may be a thief, or it may be Ventner, or it may be this boy +we're looking for. Anyway, we want to know who it is!" + +"I'll go!" Will suggested, "and don't you make any racket if you hear +something doing there. The one thing to do at this time is to keep our +presence here a profound secret." + +Will moved cautiously around the angle of the weigh-house just in time +to see a figure leaving the side of the building and moving toward the +breaker. There was a little side door in the breaker not far from the +weigh-house, and it was toward this that the prowler was making his way. + +Half way to the little house the fellow stumbled over some obstruction +in his path and fell sprawling to the ground. He arose with an impatient +oath and moved on again, but not before the watcher had recognized both +the figure and the voice. Will turned back to where George stood. + +"That's Ventner," he said. + +"Are you sure?" + +"Dead sure!" + +There was a short silence. + +"What can we do now?" + +"I don't know of anything we can do, unless it is to watch the rascal +and see where he goes," answered the other. "The chances are that he's +trying to get into the mine!" + +"That shows that the fellow's a crook," Will contended. "He has full +permission to enter the mine at any time he sees fit." + +"Of course, he's a crook!" agreed George. "What would he be sneaking +around here in the night for, if he wasn't engaged in some underhand +game? You just wait until we get into the mine," the boy continued, "and +we'll give him a ghost scare that'll hold him for a while." + +As Ventner approached the little side door leading into the breaker, a +light flashed in the window of the room which the boys had occupied, and +directly Canfield's voice was heard asking: + +"Who's there?" + +"Now if he's on the square, hell answer!" whispered Will. + +There was no reply whatever, and in a moment the caretaker called again, +this time rather peremptorily: + +"What are you prowling about the yard for?" + +The detective dropped to his knees and began crawling away. + +"If I see you around here again," the caretaker shouted in a braver tone +now that the intruder was taking his departure, "I'll do some shooting!" + +Evidently giving over the attempt to enter the mine at that time, the +detective arose to his feet as soon as he gained the shelter of the +weigh-house, and walked away, passing as he did so, within a few feet of +where the boys were standing. + +"That settles that bum detective, so far as we are concerned!" Will said +to his chum, in a whisper. "We knew before that he was playing a rotten +game on us, but we didn't know that his plans included such +surreptitious visits to the mine." + +After making sure that the detective was not within sight or sound, Will +and George tapped softly at the little door and were admitted by the +caretaker. Five minutes later they were joined by Tommy and Sandy. + +"Were you boys out there a few moments ago?" asked Canfield. + +"Nix!" replied George. "That was Ventner. We saw him from the +weigh-house. He was trying to sneak his way into the mine!" + +"But he has full permission to enter at any time he sees fit!" urged the +caretaker. "It doesn't seem as if he would attempt to steal his way in +during the night. You must be mistaken!" + +"Yes, and perhaps we were mistaken about the sawing of the ladder, too!" +Tommy broke in. + +"Yes, we may all be mistaken about that." + +"Not so you could notice it!" declared Sandy. "If you look at the +thief's coat, you'll see that he didn't do all the sawing on the rungs +of the ladder. We've got him too dead to skin!" + +Without any lights being shown on the surface, the boys were conducted +down the ladder to the first level. There they found a room very cosily +furnished, indeed. A lounge from the office, a couple of good sized +cupboards, and a large table had been brought down, together with a +serviceable rug and numerous chairs, and the apartment presented an +unexpectedly homelike appearance. + +The current was on, and two electric lamps made the room as light as +day. The cooking was to be done over electric coils so that the presence +of the boys would not be disclosed by smoke. One of the ventilating +pipes which supplied the offices in the vicinity of the shaft with fresh +air passed through the room, so there was no lack of ozone. + +"Have we got plenty of eatings?" asked Tommy. + +"Plenty!" was the reply. "I have arranged for fresh meat, milk and +vegetables to be brought in every evening." + +"Talk about your bull-headed, obstinate men!" exclaimed Tommy, as the +caretaker finally took his departure. "That fellow takes the cake! He +knows very well that we caught Ventner in the act of sawing on the +ladder, and he knows, too, that we heard Wolf calls while we were in the +mine. Still, he shakes his head and says that he don't know about the +boys being there, and don't know about that bum detective being crooked. +If you could get a saw and operate on his head, you'd find it solid +bone!" + +"You'll feel better after you get supper!" Sandy declared. + +"This isn't any grouch!" insisted Tommy. "This is the true story of that +man's life! If I had a dollar for every time he doesn't know anything, +I'd be the richest boy in the world!" + +"Are you thinking of going down the mine tonight?" asked George, with a +wink at Will. "We might try another midnight excursion." + +"If you kids go into the mine tonight," declared Will, "I'll send you +both back to Chicago on the first train!" + +"Aw, how are you going to find these boys if you don't go into the +mine?" demanded Tommy. "I suppose you'll want us to wait till daylight +when the owners will be looking around to see if any damage was done by +the inundation. The best time is at night!" + +"Look here," Will argued, "we've got to do more than lay hands on the +boys! We've got to find out why they are hiding in the mine." + +"That's the correct word," agreed George. "Hiding is the word that +expresses the situation exactly!" + +"There is no doubt," Will continued, "that the boys were sent here by +some one for some specific purpose. They are hiding in the mine with a +well-defined motive. I have an idea that we might be able to find them +in twenty-four hours, but what is more important, is to find out what +they are up to." + +"Well, in order to get the whole story, we'll have to pretend that we +are looking for them and can't find them!" George said. + +"That's right!" laughed Tommy. "Give them plenty of rope and they'll +hang themselves. We may as well have the whole story while we're at it." + +Before preparing their beds for the night, the boys paid a visit to the +shaft and made their way down to the rungs which had been cut. They +found that they had been replaced by new ones. + +There was still water in the lower levels of the mine, but it was slowly +disappearing through the sump, and the indications were that it would be +dry by morning. The boys listened intently for some evidence of +occupancy as they moved up and down the shaft, but all was still. + +"This would be a good place to tell a ghost story," Tommy chuckled as +they moved back to their room on the first level. + +"There's about a million stories now, entitled The Ghost of the Mine!" +declared Sandy. "Perhaps however," he went on, "one more wouldn't hurt." + +"If I see a ghost tonight," declared Tommy, "it'll be in my dreams!" + +Sandy and Tommy were sound asleep on their cots as soon as supper was +over, and Will and George were getting ready to retire when the soft +patter of a light footstep sounded in the vicinity of the shaft. + +"Rats must be thick in the mine!" suggested George. + +"Rats nothing!" declared Will. "Those two youngsters are prowling about +in order to see what we are up to!" + +As he spoke the boy arose, turned off the electric light and stepped out +into the passage. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +A MIDNIGHT ROBBER + + +There was a quick scamper of feet as Will stepped out, then silence! + +"Where did he go?" asked George, joining his chum on the outside. + +"Down the ladder!" replied Will. + +"Why don't we go and see where he went?" + +"That might be a good idea," Will replied. "Do you think it's safe for +us to try to navigate that shaft in the dark?" + +"We can stick to the ladders, can't we?" asked George. + +"We ought to find out where the kids hang out," Will argued. "I'd like +to get my hands on one of them!" + +"I don't think we're likely to do that tonight," George answered. "It +seems to me that about the only way we can catch those fellows is to set +a bear trap. They seem to be rather slippery." + +Will, clad only in pajamas and slippers, moved toward the shaft, and +looked down. It was dark and still below, and he turned back with a +little shudder. The situation was not at all to his liking. + +"Well, are you going down?" asked George. + +"Sure, I'm going down!" Will answered. "I'm only waiting to get up my +nerve! It looks pretty dreary down there. If we could use a light I +wouldn't mind, but it's pretty creepy going down that hole in the +darkness." + +"Then suppose we wait until morning," suggested George. + +Will leaned against the shaft timbers and laughed. + +"It'll be just as dark in here in the morning, as it is now!" he said. +"I think we'd better go on down tonight and see if we can locate the +fellows." + +The two boys passed swiftly down the ladder, paused a moment at the +second level, and then passed on to the third. The gangways leading out +from the shaft were reasonably dry now. Lower down the dip they were +still under a few inches of water. + +"I don't see how we're going to discover anybody down in this blooming +old well!" George grumbled. "There might be a regiment of state troops +here and we wouldn't be able to see a single soldier!" + +"We can't show a light, for all that!" declared Will. "We've just got to +wait and see if _they_ won't be kind enough to show a light." + +"You guessed it," chuckled George, whispering softly in his chum's ear, +"there's a glimmer of light, now!" + +"I see it!" Will replied. + +The boys left the ladder and moved out into the center gangway. They +could see a light flickering some distance in advance, and had no +difficulty in following it. + +"That's an electric torch!" Will commented. + +"Perhaps, if we follow along, we'll be able to track them to their +nest," George suggested, "and, still, I don't care about getting very +far away from the shaft. We might get lost in these crooked passages." + +"Yes," replied Will. "Some one might head us off, too. I don't care +about being held up here in pajamas." + +The mine was damp and cold, and a wind was sweeping up the passage +toward the shaft. The boys shivered as they walked, yet kept resolutely +on until the light they were following left the main gangway and +disappeared in a cross heading. + +"That means 'Good-night' for me," whispered Will, "for I'm not going to +get out beyond the reach of the rails. I guess well have to go back and +invent some other means of trapping those foxy boys." + +As Will spoke the light reappeared and moved on down the gangway again. +Then, for the first time, the boys saw a figure outlined against the +illumination. Will caught his chum by the arm excitedly. + +"That isn't one of the boys at all!" he exclaimed. + +"Well, how large a population do you think this mine has!" demanded +George. "If it isn't one of the boys, who is it?" + +"That bum detective!" answered Will. + +"So he got in here at last, did he?" chuckled George. "Well, it's up to +us to find out what he's doing in here!" + +"Do you think that is the gink who was prowling around our room?" asked +Will. "If he is, then our little trip in the country doesn't count for +much!" + +"The fellow who visited us," George argued, "was light and quick on his +feet. This bum detective waddles along like an old cow." + +"Then we've passed the boy who called to see us, and failed to leave a +card," grinned Will. "We may meet him as we return!" + +"Here's hoping we bump straight into him if we do meet him," George +exclaimed. "I'm just aching to get my hands on that fellow!" + +"I'm not particularly anxious to catch him just yet," Will suggested. "I +want to find out what the kids are up to before we pounce down upon +them." + +While the boys stood in the passage, whispering together, the light +moved on until it came to a chamber which seemed to be rather shallow, +for the reflection of the searchlight was still in the gangway. + +"Now we've got him!" exclaimed Will. "I think I remember that chamber, +and, unless I'm very much mistaken, it opens only on this passage! While +he's poking around in there, we'll sneak up and see what he's doing!" + +Before the boys reached the entrance to the chamber they heard the +sounds of a pick. When they came nearer and looked in they saw the +detective poking away at a heap of "gob" which lay in one corner of the +excavation. He worked industriously, and apparently without fear of +discovery. Now and then he stooped down to peer into a crevice in the +wall, but soon went on again. + +"I wonder if he thinks he can find two boys in that heap of refuse?" +laughed George. "I wonder why he don't use a microscope." + +The detective busied himself at the heap of refuse for a considerable +length of time, and then began a further investigation of little breaks +in the wall. Using his pick to enlarge the openings he made a systematic +search of one break after another. + +"Looks like he might be hunting after some pirate treasure," George +chuckled. "I never heard of Captain Kidd sailing over into the sloughs +of Pennsylvania. Did you?" + +"That tells the story!" Will whispered. "The fellow is here on some +mission of his own. That story of his about being in quest of the boys +is all a bluff! I reckon he had heard somewhere that two boys were +missing and came here with the fairy tale!" + +"Well, he's got a good, large mine to look in if he's in search of +treasure," George suggested. "He can spend the rest of his days here, +provided the operators don't get sore on him." + +While the boys looked, Ventner turned toward the entrance to the +chamber, and they scampered away. Turning back, they saw him pass out of +the place where he had been working and into a similar excavation +farther on. There he worked as industriously as before. + +"You see how it is," Will suggested. "The fellow is hunting for +something, and doesn't know where to look for it! So it's all right to +let him go ahead with his quest for hidden wealth, or whatever it is +he's after. When he finds it, we'll not be far away!" + +"I like this walking about in my naked feet," George grunted in a +moment. "I had my slippers on when I came down the ladder, but I either +had to take them off and carry them in my hands or lose them in the +mud." + +"Same here!" Will said. "I'm going back to my little cot bed right now +and go to sleep. I think we have the detective sized up and we can catch +the kids some other night." + +"Me for the hay, too," George exclaimed. "I don't think I was ever quite +so sleepy in my life!" + +"Now, on the way back," Will cautioned, "we ought to keep still and keep +a sharp lookout for the person who was sneaking around our quarters." + +"Whoever it was may be between us and the shaft," George suggested. + +"If I thought so," Will argued, "I'd just stand around and wait until +they pass us on the way in. I don't want to find those boys just now. +There's a mystery connected with this mine which the caretaker knows +nothing about, and which Mr. Horton never referred to when he sent us +down here. + +"We wouldn't be able to breathe if we didn't discover an air of mystery +every fifteen minutes," George declared. + +Half way back to the shaft, the boys, who were walking very softly in +their stockinged feet, heard a rattle as of a moving stone or piece of +coal in the passage, and at once drew up against the side wall. + +While they stood there, scarcely daring to breathe, they sensed that +some one was passing them in the darkness. The tread was light and +brisk, and they thought they heard a soft chuckle as the unseen figure +breezed by them. + +"I'll bet the lad who was listening near our door never came down the +shaft until after we did!" George whispered after the figure had passed +by. + +"That's very likely!" agreed Will. + +"Then he may have been poking around our quarters while we have been +gone." + +"That's very likely, too." + +Believing the way to be clear now, the boys hastened on toward the +shaft. Just as they reached the foot of the ladder they heard a sound +which sent the blood throbbing to their cheeks. + +"He's making fun of us!" exclaimed George. + +"It looks like it," admitted Will. + +The sound they heard was the low, complaining snarl of the Wolf. + +"The nerve of him!" exclaimed George. + +"Perhaps he'll answer now!" Will suggested. + +Then followed the "slap, slap, slap!" of the Beaver Patrol. + +No answer came from the darkness beyond the shaft. + +"He's got his nerve with him!" declared Will. "When I get hold of him, +I'll teach him to answer Boy Scout challenges!" + +When the boys got back to their quarters they found Tommy and Sandy +sitting in the darkness with their automatics and their searchlights in +their hands. One of them turned on a finger of light as the boys entered +but immediately shut it off again. + +"What's coming off here?" demanded Will. + +"Do you know what those fellows did?" asked Tommy. "They came here while +we were asleep and stole about half our provisions!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +ONE MORE HUNGRY BOY + + +"We may as well turn on the lights!" Will said. "If any one comes in +here to steal Tommy's necktie," he added with a wink at his chum, "we +want to see what he looks like." + +"Why didn't you stay here and watch, then?" demanded Tommy. "Why did you +go off and leave the camp all alone? I heard people moving around, and I +thought it was you." + +Will and George sat down on the edge of their cots and laughed. + +"Yes, you thought it was me!" Will said directly. "You never heard a +thing! You'd better look and see if the midnight visitors didn't steal +your pajamas. Or they might have taken your pillow." + +Tommy threw a shoe at his tormentor and turned on the electric light. + +"Now that I'm awake," he said with a sly grin, "I think that I'll get +myself something to eat. Seems to me I'm always hungry." + +While the boy rattled among canned goods and candled eggs to see if they +were fit for a four-minute boil, Sandy turned to George. + +"What did you find in the mine?" he asked. + +"We found that bum detective nosing around. We've got his number now, +all right," the boy went on, "and there's something in the mine that he +wants to find and he doesn't know where to look for it. He isn't looking +for Jimmie and Dick any more than we're looking for a pot of gold at the +end of a rainbow. I don't believe he was ever sent here to make a search +for the missing boys!" + +"What was he doing when you saw him?" asked Sandy. + +"Poking around in worked-out chambers with a pick!" + +"Did he see you?" + +"You bet he didn't! Do you think we're going to walk six miles in from +the country in order to dodge the detective, and then let him run across +us in the mine?" + +"Yes, but what's he looking for?" insisted Sandy. + +"That, me son," George replied with a wink, "is locked in the bosom of +the future! We may be able to find out what he's doing here when we find +out who struck Billy Patterson." + +"Don't get gay now!" grinned Sandy. + +"Well, if you insist upon it," George continued with a smile, "Ventner +was digging in refuse heaps for something which he didn't find!" + +"Did you meet the boys who stole our provisions?" was the next question. +"I wish you'd got hold of them!" + +"We are certain that one of them passed us while we were returning," +George answered. + +"The nerve of him!" shouted Sandy. + +"The idea of his coming here and swiping our provisions!" Tommy cut in. +"If I ever get hold of that gink, I'll beat his head off!" + +"You going back after than bum detective tonight?" asked George. + +"Not me!" answered Sandy. "Me for ham and eggs!" + +"What's the matter with passing the ham and eggs around?" + +Every one of the four boys sprang forward as the words came from +somewhere just outside the door. + +"That's one of those thieving kids!" declared Tommy. + +"You've had your share!" shouted Sandy. + +"It has now been nine days since I've tasted food!" came the answer from +the other side of the door, and the boys thought they caught a chuckle +between the words. + +"All right!" replied Tommy. "You go and sit in the deserted mine nine +days more, and then we'll consider whether you have any right to be +hungry. Go on away tonight, anyhow!" + +"Not so you could notice it," came the insistent tones from beyond the +door. "I'm going to stay right here until I get something to eat!" + +"Eat the stuff you stole!" advised Sandy. + +"You're in wrong!" came from the other side of the door. "I haven't had +a thing to eat in forty or fifty days. Come on, now," he added "be good +fellows and open up. I'm so hungry I could eat a brass cylinder." + +"Aw, let him in!" advised Tommy. "He'll stand there chinning all night +if we don't! We've got enough to eat for the present anyway." + +Will unfastened the door and a tall, slender young fellow of perhaps +seventeen stepped inside the room and stood blinking a moment under the +strong electric light. His face was streaked with coal dust and his +clothing was ragged and dirty. Still, the boy looked like anything but a +tramp. Tommy eyed him suspiciously for a moment. + +"Where'd you come from?" he asked. + +"Off the rods!" was the reply. + +"And I suppose," Sandy broke in, "that you were just taking a stroll by +starlight and just happened to walk into this mine." + +"Sure!" answered the other with a provoking grin. + +"Well, if anybody should ask you," Tommy continued, "you're the boy that +had a mixup with the tramp tonight, and ran away while we were trying to +invite you to supper. What do you know about that?" + +"Invite me to supper now and see if I'll run away!" + +"If you boys will cut out this foolish conversation for a minute," Will +suggested, "I'll try to find out what this boy wants. Do you mean to +say," he added turning to Tommy, "that you bumped into this kid while +returning to the mine from the tracks?" + +"Didn't I tell you about that?" asked Tommy. "I thought I did. We found +him in a mixup with a tramp, and that's all there is to it!" + +"And I told you at the time," the stranger interrupted, "that the tramp +tried to rob me! That was all right, too. He did try to rob me, but I +didn't have a blessed cent in my possession, so he didn't get anything! +The tramp who got a hold of me night before last stripped me clean! And +that, you see, is why I haven't got any money to buy provisions with. +And also that's the reason why I'm hungry." + +The four boys gathered around the stranger and began a systematic course +of questions which at first brought forth only unsatisfactory answers. + +"And also," the boy went on, taking up the speech he had begun some +minutes before, "that's why two other boys are hungry just about this +time. I got rolled for my wad plenty." + +"That's South Clark street!" laughed Tommy. + +"That's Bowery!" corrected the other. + +"What'd you say about other boys being hungry?" asked Sandy. + +"I said that's why two other boys are hungry." + +"They ain't hungry any more," Tommy declared with a wink. + +"That listens good!" the stranger said. + +"Because," continued Tommy, "they came in here about an hour ago and +stole everything they could get their hands on." + +"Brave boys!" laughed the other. + +"You wasn't hiding behind the door when they gave out nerve, either!" +declared Tommy. "Here these boys come here and steal our grub and you +seem to think they did a noble thing! What's your name, anyhow?" + +"Buck," was the reply. "Elmer Cyrus Buck, 409 Lexington Avenue, N. Y. C. +Member of the Wolf Patrol, Boy Scouts of America, and just about ready +to scrap for something to eat!" + +"Why didn't you say so before?" Tommy exclaimed, setting a great slice +of ham and several freshly boiled eggs, together with bread and butter +and canned tomatoes, before the young man. "Why didn't you say something +about being a Boy Scout before you tried to hold us up for a hand-out? +You seem to go at everything wrong end first!" + +"How long since you've seen Jimmie Maynard and Dick Thompson?" asked +Will. "You must have failed to connect with them tonight!" + +"How do you know that?" + +"Because, if you had bumped into them, they would have fed you out of +the provisions they stole from us!" + +"I haven't been looking for them tonight!" Elmer replied. "I tried to +follow you to the mine," he added turning to Tommy and Sandy, "when you +left me at the car. But, somehow, I lost track of you in the darkness, +and when you finally got into the mine, I had to wait for things to +quiet down before I could force an entrance. I don't think I could have +got in at all if some one hadn't been ahead of me with a jimmy, or an +axe, or something of that kind." + +"That must have been Ventner," suggested Will. + +"Mother of Moses!" cried Elmer. "Has that fellow got into the mine +again? Does he know you're here?" + +"He knew that we were here," was the answer, "but he thinks we've gone +away! He's down in the mine now, hunting for a pot of diamonds in the +refuse cast aside by the miners." + +"Well you got into the mine at last," Will suggested, "what is the next +move you are thinking of making?" + +"After I finish my modest supper," Elmer answered, with a nod at the +great stack of food which Tommy had piled up on his plate, "I'm going to +give you boys the surprise of your lives!" + +"You've pretty near done that now!" laughed Will. + +"And I'm going to begin," Elmer resumed, "by fishing two members of the +Wolf Patrol out of the mine and bringing them up here to apologize for +stealing your grub!" + +"If you'll do that," replied Will, "we'll forgive you!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +MINE RATS READY FOR WAR + + +"Wait till I destroy this hen fruit," Elmer said, "and I'll go down and +bring those two foolish youngsters up with me. It's time we had an +understanding with you boys. You're here looking for something, and +we're here looking for something. Perhaps we would meet with better +success if we talked over our plans." + +"What are you looking for?" demanded Tommy. + +"Keep it dark," grinned Elmer. "I'm not going to tell you a thing until +I bring Jimmie and Dick up here so they can get next to the whole story! +I guess you boys can work together without scrapping, can't you?" + +"When we find the boys," laughed Will, "our job will come to an end!" + +"So that's what you came down here after, is it?" + +"Yes, we came here to dig two boys out of a mine." + +"I don't believe it!" replied Elmer. + +"We came here from Chicago for that very purpose," went on Will. + +"Who sent you here?" asked Elmer. + +"Lawyer Horton." + +"Then Lawyer Horton didn't tell you the whole story," laughed Elmer. "He +held out on you boys, just to see if you wouldn't get the story at the +mine. Of course he didn't know where we were at the time he sent you +down here, but he never sent you for the express purpose of finding us!" + +"Then why did he send us?" asked Tommy. + +"You just wait till I go and bring up Jimmie and Dick, and I'll tell you +all about it! I won't be gone more than a minute." + +"But hold on!" cried Sandy. "You mustn't go chasing down into the mine +now. That bum detective is there, and we don't want him to know that +we're anywhere within a hundred miles of this place." + +"He doesn't know that we're here, either," commented Elmer. "His notion +is that he drove us all into the next state when he caused the mine to +be flooded. He thinks he has the whole mine to himself now." + +"So he caused the mine to be flooded, did he?" + +"Sure he did," was the curt reply. "The boys saw him digging away at the +wall which protects this dry mine from the wet one next door." + +"So you saw him doing it, did you?" + +"I didn't, because I haven't been in the mine before for any length of +time, but Jimmie and Dick saw him." + +"We've been told that he made the trouble," Will agreed, "but we weren't +so very sure of it, after all. At least, we didn't have the proof. He +ought to get twenty years for that!" + +"Well, if you keep asking me questions all night," Elmer declared, "I'll +never get the boys up here, and you'll never know why you were sent +here! You can come along with me if you want to." + +"But how about this detective?" insisted Sandy. + +"We ought to be able to get the boys up here without letting him know +that we are in the mine," answered Elmer. "We needn't travel with a fife +and drum corps ahead of us, nor even carry any lights down with us. He's +probably working in some inside chamber." + +"All right," Will answered, "we've had our trip through the mine +tonight, so we'll let Tommy and Sandy go with you. Are you sure the boys +will come if you ask them to?" + +"Sure they'll come!" was the reply. + +The two boys drew on their rubber boots with which they had provided +themselves before taking up their quarters in the mine, and which they +had been too excited to use on a previous occasion, and Will loaned a +pair to Elmer, then they started down the ladders. + +"It would be something of a joke if we should butt into that detective +now, wouldn't it?" Sandy laughed, as they passed down from the second +level. + +"I shouldn't consider it much of a joke," replied Tommy. "We took a lot +of pains to make him think we'd gone out of town!" + +As the boys walked softly down the center gangway they heard a fall of +rock which seemed to come from the passage next north. This passageway +was connected by the main one with a cross-heading situated perhaps +three hundred feet from the shaft. + +"I don't know much about mines," whispered Elmer as the boys stopped and +listened to the clatter of the rocks as they settled down on the floor +of the cavern, "but that sounds to me a whole lot like a fall from the +roof. I hope the boys are not injured." + +The boys walked faster until they came to the cross-passage and then +turned to the right. Just as they left the main gangway, they heard the +sound of running feet and directly the distant creaking of the ladder +rungs. + +"Some one's making a hot-foot for the surface!" exclaimed Tommy. + +"That's Ventner!" declared Sandy. + +"How do you know that?" + +"Because he wears heavy boots. We have rubbers on, and Jimmie and Dick, +who are down in the mine, are also wearing rubber boots!" + +"The farther he gets away from the mine, the better it will suit me," +Elmer broke in. "I wish he'd go away and stay for a hundred years!" + +"The chances are that he dug away one of the pillars and caused that +drop from the roof," suggested Sandy. + +"I guess that's all right, too," Elmer argued. "If he's been digging +around here the way the boys say he has, he's certainly taking chances +on cutting down more than one column. He ought to be fired out of the +mine!" + +The boys now came to a chamber across the entrance to which a great mass +of shale had been thrown when the fall from the roof took place. + +At first they listened, fearful that they would hear the voices of the +lads they were in search of beyond the wall, possibly crushed under the +weight of the mass of stone. Then they passed along for a short distance +and peered into the chamber over the heap of refuse. + +What they saw brought excited exclamations to their lips. + +Jimmie and Dick stood in the interior of the chamber, hedged in by +fallen debris. They were swinging their searchlights frantically from +side to side, and while the boys looked, they began, the utterance of +such yells as had never before been heard in that gloomy place. + +"What's the trouble?" asked Elmer, showing his light at the narrow +opening between the roof of the chamber and the pile of refuse. + +"Oh, you're there, are you?" asked one of the boys. "We thought perhaps +you'd gone back to New York and left us to starve to death." + +"Well, you didn't starve, did you?" asked Elmer. + +"Wow, wow, wow!" yelled Jimmie. + +"Now, what is it?" asked Elmer. + +"Rats!" yelled the boy. "Millions of rats! They're creeping out by the +regiment from behind the cribbing where we were hidden!" + +"That idiot of a detective," the other boy went on, "undermined a pillar +and let about half an acre of roof down into this chamber. When the roof +fell, it broke the cribbing and the rats began pouring out." + +"They won't hurt you!" declared Tommy. "Only you mustn't go to picking a +quarrel with them. They're fighters when they get their tempers up. Just +let them alone and they'll let you alone!" + +"Who's that talking?" demanded Jimmie. + +"That's the relief expedition!" laughed Elmer. + +"You ought to be fired out of the Wolf Patrol for not answering Boy +Scout signals!" Tommy broke in. "We called to you more than a dozen +times, and you never answered once!" + +"Well, we had to wait until Elmer reported what kind of fellows you +were, didn't we?" asked Dick. "We couldn't go and make friends with you +without knowing what you were here for, so we kept out of your way until +Elmer could find a way to learn more about you." + +"And instead of finding a way," Jimmie took up the argument, "he goes +off and gets lost in a thicket about six feet square and never shows up +with any grub for twenty-four hours! So we had to go and steal grub off +the boys!" + +"Yes, and we're going to have you pinched when you get out!" laughed +Tommy. "You'll get ninety days for that." + +"Where'd that bum detective go?" asked Jimmie. "When the roof fell, we +heard him go clattering down the gangway running as though he had only +about thirty seconds in which to get to New York." + +"He's a long distance from the mine by this time," Elmer suggested. + +"Well," Jimmie said, "I don't like the company of these rats, so if +you'll kindly dig into the refuse on your side, we'll work from this +side and we'll soon be out. These rats look hostile." + +"You let 'em alone!" advised Tommy. + +"Yes, I'll let 'em alone--not!" shouted Jimmie. "You wait until I get an +armful of rocks and I'll beat some of their heads off!" + +"For the love of Mike, don't do anything of the kind!" yelled Tommy. +"They'll climb onto you nine feet thick if you injure one of them!" + +But it was too late! Jimmie acquired an armful of large sized pieces of +slate and began tossing them into the huddle of rats in the corner. + +For an instant the rats squealed viciously as they Were struck by the +sharp edges of the slate, then they seemed to confer together for a +moment or two, then they spread out like a fan and began moving toward +the two boys. + +"Now you've done it!" cried Tommy. "If you don't get out of there in +about a second, the rats'll eat your legs off!" + +Without waiting for the boys to assume the offensive, the rats began +screaming and springing at their feet. + +The three boys on the outside of the barrier, understanding the peril +their friends were in, crawled up to the top of the wall of refuse which +shut the boys into the chamber and turned their lights inside. + +It seemed to them then that the rats were two or three deep on the +floor. There appeared to be hundreds--thousands of them. They circled +around the boys, becoming bolder every moment. They nipped at the rubber +boots and left the marks of their teeth on the tough uppers. + +"Now, boys," Tommy yelled, as they drew their automatics and leveled +them over the wall, "shoot to kill! This is no Sunday School picnic! And +while we're shooting, boys, you back up to this wall, and see if you +can't work your way to the top. If you can get up here, we can manage to +displace enough slate to let you through." + +The boys fired volley after volley, but the rats came on viciously. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +STICK OF DYNAMITE + + +By this time Jimmie and Dick had their automatics out and were firing +into the horde of rats. They killed the rodents by the score, yet for +every one slaughtered a dozen seemed to appear. + +Presently the chamber became so full of powder smoke, the air so +stifling, that the lads were obliged to cease firing. + +"Work your way up this wall," Tommy cried out to the lads as he heard +them panting below. "Work your way up so we can catch hold of you, and +you'll soon be out of that mess!" + +"There's a dozen rats hanging to my boots!" cried Dick. + +"And mine, too!" declared Jimmie. + +The three boys on the outside continued to hurl refuse from the top of +the wall into the chamber. This in a measure kept the rats back, and +before many minutes Jimmie and Dick were drawn to the top of the +barrier. + +Their rubber boots were cut in scores of places by the sharp teeth of +the rats, and even their clothing as high up as their shoulders showed +ragged tears. A dozen or more rats hung to the boys' boots until the top +was reached, then they dropped back screaming with baffled rage. + +"Talk about your wild Indians!" exclaimed Tommy. "I never saw anything +as vicious as that was! I told you boys not to open up an argument with +those fellows! Mine rats are noted for their courage when attacked." + +"How many bites did you get?" asked Elmer anxiously. + +"I got half a dozen nips!" answered Jimmie. + +"And so did I," Dick cut in. + +"Well, you boys ought to get back to the room right away," Tommy +suggested, "and have peroxide applied to the wounds. I've known of +people dying of blood poison occasioned by rat bites." + +"Have you got it in camp with you?" asked Elmer. + +"We're the original field hospital!" laughed Tommy. "We never leave +Chicago without taking with us everything needed in the first aid to the +wounded line. We'd be nice Boy Scouts to go poking about the country +with nothing with which to heal our wounds!" + +"Boys," Elmer now said, with a mischievous grin on his face, "I want to +introduce you to Jimmie Maynard and Dick Thompson. I've heard that your +names are Sandy and Tommy, but that's all I know about it!" + +"Green and Gregory!" laughed Tommy. "My name's Gregory. Sandy's name +isn't Sandy at all, but Charley. We call him Sandy because he looks like +he'd been rolled in sand." + +"Well, we may as well be getting back to headquarters!" declared Sandy +after these original introductions had been made. "But hold on," he +continued turning back to Jimmie and Dick, with a look on his face +intended to be severe, "aren't you going to bring our provisions back?" + +"The provisions," laughed Jimmie, "were hidden in the chamber where the +rats were, and you're welcome to all you can get your hands on now!" + +"Oh, well," Sandy groaned, "I suppose we'll have to buy more." + +"One difficulty about passing in and out of the mine so frequently," +Tommy stated, "is that this man Ventner is likely to catch us at it. +There's no knowing what he'll do next if he finds that we're searching +the place. According to Elmer, you know," he continued, "we didn't +finish our job when we landed on you boys. He says the real game is now +about to begin." + +"He's right there!" declared Jimmie. + +"Strange thing Mr. Horton didn't tell us all about it!" complained +Tommy. "Where was the use of his sending us down here and making monkeys +of us? He ought to be ashamed of himself!" + +"He wanted to see whether you could find out what you were here for!" +laughed Elmer. "Perhaps he understood that after you caught us, we'd +tell you all about it. He's a pretty foxy guy, that man Horton, from all +I hear about him! I'm going to Chicago some day to meet him!" + +"Well, what is it we've got to look for now?" demanded Sandy. + +"You just wait till we get to headquarters!" replied Jimmie. + +"We ought to do that just as quickly as possible," Tommy ventured, +"because there's no knowing when that bum detective may return. I'd give +a whole lot of money right now to know what he is looking for!" + +The three strangers regarded each other laughingly, evidently well +pleased at the puzzled look showing on the faces of their friends. + +"Wait till we get to headquarters and get a square meal under our +belts," Jimmie promised, "and we'll tell you what this bum detective is +looking for. It won't take long to do it, either." + +"You know, then, do you?" asked Tommy. + +"Of course, we know!" + +"Then why don't you tell?" + +"Couldn't think of telling on an empty stomach!" laughed Jimmie +provokingly. + +As the boys walked along the passage, only a short distance from the old +tool house, they heard a rattling and bumping on the shaft ladders and +instantly extinguished their lights. + +Presently they heard footsteps on the hard floor of the gangway, and +then a light such as those being used by the boys flashed out. + +"Now we're in for it!" exclaimed Tommy. + +"For the love of Mike, don't let him see us!" whispered Jimmie. + +"It'll spoil everything if he does," Dick submitted. + +The boys crowded close against the wall of the gangway and waited +impatiently for Ventner to pass along. + +He was muttering to himself as he moved down the gangway, and his round, +protruding belly and his little shapeless shoulders reminded the +watching lads of the gnomes they had read about, living in underground +cells and preying at night upon the fairies. + +Only for a trifling accident the boys would certainly have been +discovered. Just as the detective came to a position ten or fifteen feet +from where they were standing, when he was in a position to see their +faces by the rays cast on ahead by the flashlight, he partly turned his +ankle in a stumble on the rails, and for a moment the rays of the light +were directed downward. He hobbled along, raving and cursing, for a few +steps and then walked briskly on again. + +But the ever-watchful eye of the searchlight no longer struck upon the +wall where the boys stood, and they realized that for the present they +were safe from discovery. Ventner moved on down the gangway and soon +disappeared in a cross cutting which ran to the right. + +"That's lucky!" exclaimed Jimmie. + +"Why didn't we geezle him?" demanded Tommy. + +"Because we want his help!" replied Dick. + +"His help?" laughed Sandy. "Yes, you'll get his help, all right! That +fellow would get up in the middle of the night to do you a dirty trick, +and don't you ever forget it!" + +"That's the way he's going to help us!" laughed Elmer. "He'll get up in +the middle of some dark night to do us a dirty trick, and before he +knows what he's about, he'll be doing us a great kindness!" + +"Suppose I slip back there and see what he's doing?" asked Tommy. + +"Can you find your way back to headquarters alone?" asked Sandy. + +"If I can't," asserted Tommy, "I won't be sending any wireless messages +to you! If you think I'm likely to get lost, Dick can go back with me. +He ought to know every corner in the old mine." + +"Sure he does!" laughed Jimmie. "We've been travelling this mine for a +good many nights now, and we know it like a book." + +So Tommy and Dick started back down the passage, the intention being to +hasten to the spot where Ventner had disappeared from the gangway, and +then return to their companions immediately. + +"We can't stay very long, you know," Tommy explained, "because you've +got to have that peroxide dope put on your bites. It doesn't pay to fool +with wounds of that description!" + +"We'll be back to the old tool room as soon as they are!" answered Dick. +"It will take only a minute to run down there and back!" + +When the boys reached the cross-cutting into which Ventner had +disappeared, they saw his light some distance away. It seemed to be in +one of the chambers connected with the cross-cutting. + +As they looked, the detective stepped forward into the circle of +illumination and began working with a pick. + +"Is he always doing that when you see him?" asked Tommy. + +"You bet he is!" answered Dick. + +"What's he doing it for?" + +"You'll have to ask Elmer that." + +"But you know, don't you?" + +"Of course I know, but I'm not going to tell, because we all agreed that +the story should never be told by any member of our party until Elmer +got ready to tell it. So you see you've got to wait!" + +"If I had my way about it," gritted Tommy, "I'd go back there and geezle +that bum detective and wall him up in a chamber until he got hungry +enough to tell the story himself. Then we wouldn't have to go sneaking +around the mine in order to keep out of his way!" + +"That would be a foolish move," insisted Dick, "because every stroke of +the pick Ventner takes helps us along in the game we're playing." + +"You're the original little mystery boy, ain't you?" said Tommy rather +crossly. "All right, I'll get even." + +The detective now moved farther along the cross-cutting and attacked a +column of mingled rock and coal which helped to support the roof. + +"The blithering idiot is going to try that trick again!" exclaimed Dick. +"He'll have the whole mine down on our heads if he doesn't stop that +business. He's always cutting down pillars." + +"Just say the word," declared Tommy, "and I'll go stop him!" + +"Let him go his own gait," replied Dick. "We'll manage to keep out of +the way of the falls, and he can run his own chances." + +Presently they saw the detective take something which resembled a stick +of dynamite from a pocket and begin the work of setting it into the +pillar. The boys moved hastily back. + +"Now what do you think of that for a fool?" exclaimed Dick. "He'll have +the whole mine down on our heads some day, just as sure as he's a foot +high! I hope he'll be broken in two when the fall comes." + +The boys stood some distance away watching the detective as he awkwardly +manipulated the stick of dynamite. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +CAUSED BY A FALL + + +In the meantime Sandy, Elmer and Jimmie, reaching the old tool house, +found Will and George very wide awake and doing the most extraordinary +stunts of cooking. + +"You said that your friends would be hungry," laughed Will, "and so +we're preparing to feed them up fine. After that, you know, you've got +to go on and tell us why we were sent down here without any real +information as to the work we were to do." + +"Where did you leave Tommy and Dick?" asked George. + +"They went back to see what the detective was up to." + +"So he's in the mine again, is he?" + +"Yes," replied Sandy, "and if I had my way about it, he'd go out so +quick that he'd think he'd struck a barrel of dynamite." + +"If he keeps fooling with dynamite, he's likely to do that anyhow," +Elmer cut in. "The boys say that he uses dynamite in the search of the +mine he is making. He doesn't know how to use it, either!" + +"Then he's got to be fired out of the mine!" declared Will. "We can't +have him around here carrying dynamite in his clothes, and dropping it +on the ground. You might as well give a baby a box of matches and a +hammer to play with. Some day there'll be an explosion." + +"Aw, leave him alone for a few days!" Jimmie advised. "He's doing us a +lot of good just now, and we don't want to lose his help." + +"His help?" repeated Will. + +"He's bully help!" shouted George, with fine sarcasm. + +"I guess I'll have to tell you about the mystery of the mine," Elmer +laughed. "Tommy ought to be here to get the story with the rest, but you +can tell him about it later on." + +"He ought to be here any minute now," Jimmie asserted. + +"Oh, he'll be here all right!" George argued. "Go on with the story. +It's been hours since you came in here with the suggestion that there +was a story, and you haven't told it yet!" + +"Yes," Will interrupted, "get busy and tell us what Mr. Horton neglected +to say when he sent us down here; and while you are about it," the boy +went on, "you may as well tell us whether you really became lost in the +mine, or whether you were sent here to do the very things you did do." + +"Also," George broke in, "you may as well tell us what the detective is +doing here, and how he is helping you in trying to blow up the mine." + +"The boys were never lost in the mine a minute!" replied Elmer, with a +grin, "and Mr. Horton knew it. Mr. Horton received his instructions from +Attorney Burlingame of New York, and I am positive that Burlingame gave +his brother lawyer the whole story." + +"Foxy game, eh?" laughed Will. + +"I guess they wanted you to find out if we boys were of any account, and +whether we were playing fair!" laughed Jimmie. + +"Well, anyway, they expected you to find us and learn the story I'm now +going to tell," Elmer continued. + +"Je--rusalem!" exclaimed Will. "Why don't you get at it. That story has +been jumping from tongue to tongue clothed in mystery for hours and we +haven't been favored with it yet!" + +"The story opens," Elmer began, "on a cold and stormy night in October +in the year 1913. As the wind blew great gusts of rain down upon such +pedestrians as happened to be out of doors----" + +"Aw, cut it out!" exclaimed Will. "Why don't you go on and tell the +story? We don't want any more of that Henry James business! You know he +always has a solitary horseman proceeding slowly on foot." + +"Well, it was a dark night, and a stormy one!" declared Elmer. "If it +had been clear and bright, Stephen Carson, the Wall street banker, +wouldn't have received a dent in his cupola. In stepping down from his +automobile his foot slipped on the wet pavement, and he fell, striking +on the back of his head." + +"What's that got to do with this mine mystery?" demanded George. + +"It has a great deal to do with this mine mystery," Elmer answered. +"Stephen Carson arose from the ground, rubbed the back of his head with +his gloved hand, and continued on his way to a meeting of a board of +directors. He appeared to be perfectly sane and responsible for his acts +at the meeting of the board, and when he left in his machine there were +no indications that he had suffered more than a slight bruise from his +fall. He was not seen at home again for two weeks." + +"Now you begin to get interesting!" declared Will. + +"Where did he go?" asked Sandy. + +"That is what his friends don't know," replied Elmer. + +"But he must have been seen somewhere!" insisted Sandy. + +"He was!" answered Elmer. "He was seen in the vicinity of this mine!" + +"Wow, wow, wow!" exclaimed Sandy. + +"What was he doing here?" asked Will. + +"Wandering about the premises." + +"Now I can tell you the rest," Will said with a chuckle. + +"Go on, then," advised Elmer. + +"From the meeting of the board of directors that night," Will went on, +whimsically, "this man Stephen Carson went directly to a safety deposit +vault where three or four hundred thousand dollars' in the way of cash +and jewelry, were hidden. He took the whole bundle and disappeared. Is +that anywhere near right, Elmer?" + +"Go on!" Elmer replied. + +"Then in two weeks time he comes back and says that he don't know where +he put the jewelry, but that he thinks he hid it in this mine. And, as +they can't find any place where he hocked the jewelry, or put it up to +carry out some gigantic Wall street plan, they are forced to believe +that he really did mislay the jewelry while temporarily out of his head. +Is that anywhere near right?" + +"If you'll amend your report so as to show that he went to the Night and +Day bank and drew out something over two hundred thousand dollars which +he had on deposit there, and disappeared with the entire sum, you'll +come nearer to the truth." + +Will gave a long whistle of amazement. + +"Two hundred thousand dollars in real money!" exclaimed George. + +"Yes, he took two hundred thousand dollars in real money away with him +that night," Elmer went on, "and when he returned to his home again, he +was penniless and in rags." + +"Was he in his right mind?" asked Will. + +"He seemed to be." + +"Has he now recovered from the injury he received that night?" + +"So the doctors say." + +"Then why doesn't he tell what he did with the money?" + +"That part of his life is blank. He was seen in the vicinity of this +mine, yet denies it. He was seen loitering in the woods not far away, +but insists that he never visited this mine except to attend meetings of +the board of directors." + +"Now I've got you!" laughed Will. "His friends think he hid the money in +this mine and we've been sent here to find it!" + +"That's the idea," agreed Elmer. + +"And this bum detective is here for the same purpose!" + +"Yes, though where he received his information is more than I know. Upon +his return to his home, Mr. Carson immediately made good the two hundred +thousand dollars taken from the Night and Day bank and employed +detectives to look up the missing coin. + +"Is Ventner one of them?" asked Will. + +"I don't think so," replied Elmer. "We were sent here to look through +the mine, with the understanding that you were to come on from Chicago +in a few days. Mr. Horton recommended you to Mr. Burlingame and so you +were employed." + +"Then this detective has no right here at all?" + +"None whatever, so far as I can make out." + +"Then why not fire him?" + +"Because he may accidentally run across the money some day." + +"If he does, he'll get away with it!" declared George. + +"No, he won't," answered Elmer, "He'll be watched every minute from now +on. You may be sure of that!" + +"But you didn't seem to know what he was doing tonight," laughed Will. + +"But I knew enough to come to the right place for the information I +desired," replied Elmer. + +"Strange thing Tommy and Dick don't come!" Sandy exclaimed, stepping to +the door of the old tool house and listening intently. "They should have +been here a long time ago!" + +"Perhaps they've butted into Ventner," suggested Jimmie. + +"They wouldn't do that," Elmer replied. "Every blow he strikes with his +pick saves us the trouble of making one." + +"You don't think he had any directions from anyone, do you?" asked Will. +"You don't, think he knows where to look for the money any more than you +do?" + +"No, I think he just heard of the loss of the money and came down here +on his own account." + +"Well, if he's using dynamite in the mine," Will continued, "he ought to +be turned out of it. If Mr. Carson really hid two hundred thousand +dollars in currency in here, it's in some little pocket easy to find if +we get into the right chamber. The use of dynamite might bury it twenty +feet deep under a load of shale that would never be removed!" + +"That's a fact!" cried Elmer. + +The boys now stepped to the door and listened again, attracted by the +sound of running feet. + +"There's something doing!" exclaimed Sandy. "When Tommy comes home on a +run, there's always something going on." + +Directly the boys came panting up, stopping in the doorway to look +behind them. They were both well winded. + +"That bum detective back there," Tommy exclaimed, as soon as he could +catch his breath, "is putting in dynamite enough to blow up the whole +mine. He's attaching a long fuse, so he can get out before the explosion +comes. We cried to get down far enough to choke off the fuse, but +couldn't do it. In just about another minute, you'll hear something like +a Fourth of July celebration!" + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE SIGNS IN STONES + + +"We thought he'd send the shot off before we got up the ladders!" +exclaimed Dick. "We're expecting to hear the roar of it every minute +now!" + +"Perhaps something went wrong," suggested Will. + +"What part of the mine is he in?" asked Jimmie. + +Tommy explained the location of the cross-cutting and Jimmie gave a +whistle of dismay. In a moment he asked: + +"Was he cutting into one of the pillars?" + +"Yes," was the answer; "he was getting ready to blow it down with +dynamite. It's a wonder we don't hear the explosion!" + +"If the spot where he's working is the place I think it is," Jimmie +continued, "the gink stands a pretty good chance of finding something. +We've been searching in that chamber, and just before you boys showed up +tonight we thought we were on the right track. Whether the money is +there or not, it is a sure thing that the walls of the chamber have been +tampered with. We think, though, that the money is there!" + +"Then we mustn't let Ventner get it!" exclaimed Will. + +"It won't do him any good to get it after that stick of dynamite +explodes!" exclaimed Tommy. "It'll blow him to Kingdom Come." + +"Well, why don't we go down and see about it?" asked Will. + +"Not for me!" exclaimed Tommy. + +"He may blow his own head off if he wants to," Dick cut in, "but he +can't blow off mine, not with my consent. I've got only one head!" + +"I don't believe there's going to be any explosion at all!" exclaimed +Elmer. "He wouldn't be apt to lay a fuse that would burn fifteen or +twenty minutes, and you've certainly been that length of time coming up +here, to say nothing of the time we've been talking!" + +"All right!" Tommy exclaimed. "Perhaps he was loading up that pillar +with dynamite just for the fun of it!" + +"It would be a nice thing to have him blow that money out of the pillar +and get away with it, wouldn't it?" scoffed Will. + +"Come on, then," shouted Tommy, "I can take you to the firing line in +about a minute. If you want to see an earthquake in a coal mine, just +come along with me! You'll see it, all right!" + +The boys left the old tool house without spending any more time in +conversation, and hastened down the ladders to the lower level. On the +way down the last gangway they heard some one moving about in the +darkness, and then came a cry of warning. + +"Stand clear! Stand clear!" + +"That's Ventner's voice!" exclaimed Will. + +"There's a blast going off in a minute!" the voice came again. + +"Now we've gone and done it!" exclaimed Will. "After all the trouble +we've taken to make that fellow think we've left the country, we've let +him bump right into us. I wonder if he really has fired the fuse." + +"Stand clear! Stand clear!" shouted the voice. + +Almost before the words had died out, the explosion came, tearing more +than one pillar out of position and dropping a great mass of slate down +on the floor of the cross-cutting. + +For a moment the gases which filled the chambers were overpowering. The +only wonder was that they were not ignited. The electric lights carried +by the boys shone dimly through the smoke of the confined place. + +"There goes Ventner," whispered Will, pointing to a figure moving +swiftly through the half-light of the place. + +"He's going to see what the shot brought down!" suggested Tommy. + +The boys rushed forward in a little group. When they gathered at the +scene of the explosion, the detective was not there. + +"If he got hold of the cash, he knew what to do with it all right!" +exclaimed Tommy. "He got away with it before we got a chance to see what +he had. Now we've got to catch him!" + +"May as well look for a needle in a load of hay!" grumbled Sandy. + +"Look here," Jimmie exclaimed. "There's a way to keep him shut up in the +mine if we do the right thing. This cross-cutting runs out to a gangway +on the north, and that, in turn, leads, of course, to the shaft. Now, +one of you boys duck out to the shaft and see that he doesn't get up. +You'll have to go some on the way there, because a man with two hundred +thousand dollars in his pocket will put up some running match!" + +"I'm off!" shouted Tommy. "I know I can get to the shaft before he can! +He's too fat-bellied to run, anyway!" + +Tommy started away at a swift pace, and the other boys closed in on the +gangway, Will alone stopping at the scene of the explosion. + +"This gangway," Dick explained, "runs back into the mine for some +distance, but there are no cross passages. I guess the coal wasn't very +good here. At least, they never spread out the drive." + +"Then we've got him bottled up unless he got out of the shaft!" declared +Sandy. "We'll soon know whether he got out or not!" + +"I don't believe he would try to get out," suggested Elmer. "The chances +are that he'd make for the back of the mine, thinking to hide away with +the plunder, provided he had any plunder to hide away with." + +"I'm afraid he found the hidden money," Will said, taking a scorched +ten-dollar bill from a pocket. "I found this back there, where the +pillar fell. I guess he found the cash all right!" + +"And that's a nice thing, too!" exclaimed Sandy. "You boys kept saying +that Ventner was helping you find the coin. You were right about that, +for he did find the coin. And now the trick is to get it away from him!" + +"I'd like to know whether Ventner got up the shaft or not," suggested +George, "and I believe I'll take a run up there and see. + +"That's a good idea!" advised Will. "If he didn't get up the shaft he's +surely imprisoned in the gangway. He may be between this cross-cutting +and the shaft, or he may have gone further in!" + +"It'll take a long time to find out about that," suggested Jimmie. + +Directly Tommy and George were heard returning from the shaft. They came +through the gangway flashing their lights in every direction. + +"He never went up the shaft!" Tommy exclaimed as they came near. "We've +got him canned in the mine all right. If he's got the money, we'll take +it away from him! He wouldn't know what to do with it, anyway!" + +"First," suggested Will, "we'd better make sure that the fellow got the +money. The bank note I found may have never been in the possession of +Mr. Carson. And even if it was, it may be the only one to be blown out +of its hiding place by the explosion. It strikes me that we'd better +give the place a thorough search before we waste much time looking for +Ventner. If, as Tommy says, he never left the mine by way of the shaft, +we've got him blocked in, all right!" + +The boys now began a careful examination of the cross-cutting where the +explosion had taken place. As has been stated, more than one pillar had +been blown out. There was a great heap of debris on the floor, and this +the boys attacked with a vim. + +Tommy and George were now standing guard at the mouth of the +cross-cutting so that no one could pass down the gangway toward the +shaft. + +"Suppose that fellow did get the money?" asked Sandy, as the boys +cleared away the heaps of slate, "what then?" + +"Then we'll have to take it away from him!" + +"We'll catch him first." + +"We've got him blocked in, haven't we?" asked Sandy. + +"Oh, we know that he can't get out," Dick cut in, "but we know, too, +that there are a lot of shallow benches along that gangway. We can't +walk in and pick him out in a minute. Besides," the boy continued, "when +we find him, we may find his pockets empty." + +"That's just what we will do!" Elmer agreed. "He'll hide the money in +another place, and swear that he never found it!" + +"I wish we'd kicked him out of the mine!" exclaimed Sandy. + +The boys continued their search until daylight, and then, leaving Tommy +and George still on guard, they went up to the old tool house for +breakfast. The lads were by no means elated over what had taken place. +They believed that Ventner had succeeded in finding the money, and were +certain that, even if located in the mine, he would deny any knowledge +of it. + +"I guess we got you boys into a mess by insisting on having the +detective roaming around," admitted Elmer, as the boys were eating a +hastily prepared breakfast. "I guess we should have listened to you in +regard to that. There is no knowing how much trouble we have made!" + +"He may help us find the money after all!" laughed Will. + +"Yes," cut in Sandy, "it may be easier to get it away from him than to +find the place where it was hidden." + +"Oh, yes, if we could lay our hands on him and order him to give up two +hundred thousand dollars, and he would say: 'Yes, I've been waiting to +find the owner,' that would be all right, too! But the thing isn't +likely to turn out in that way! He'll hide the money, and swear he never +found it! Then, when everything quiets down, he'll sneak back and get +it!" + +This from Jimmie, who seemed to take a rather gloomy view of the +situation. The boys remained at the old tool house only a short time. +Their minds were fixed so intently on the work in hand that they hardly +knew whether they had had any breakfast at all. + +As they passed down the ladders to the lower level, they heard something +which resembled a pistol shot, and almost tumbled over each other +getting down into the gangway. Will and Elmer were first to reach the +cross-heading where the explosion of dynamite had taken place. + +They called to Tommy and George, but received no answer. They walked for +some distance down the gangway without hearing any sound indicating the +presence of their companions, or of any one else. + +"Now that's a funny thing!" exclaimed Will. "I don't see why those boys +should go rambling about the mine at a time like this just for the fun +of the thing!" + +"They never did!" replied Elmer. "You remember the shot we heard!" + +"It might not have been a shot!" suggested Will. + +As the boy spoke he bent over and pointed to three stones lying on the +floor of the gangway. + +"There!" he said. "The boys have left a record. They not only point out +the trail, but warn, us that there is danger in following it!" + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +TWO HOLD-UP MEN + + +"That's Boy Scout talk all right!" exclaimed Elmer. + +"Yes, the three stones, piled one on top of the other, mean that there +is danger in following the trail. I don't understand exactly what kind +of danger can be threatening us, and so the only thing we can do is to +go on and find out," Will said with a glance backward. + +The other boys now came up and a short consultation was held. It was +decided to leave Sandy and Dick at the point where the explosion had +taken place, while Will, Elmer and Jimmie followed on down the gangway. + +"Now whatever you do," warned Will as the two boys were left behind, +"don't leave this gangway for a minute. If Ventner isn't out of the mine +now, we don't want him to get out. He may have the money or he may not. +That is one of the things no fellow can find out at this time, but +whether he has or not, we want him to give an account of himself before +he leaves the Labyrinth. He's got several important questions to +answer." + +The boys promised to watch the passage faithfully, and the others passed +on down the gangway, flashing their lights in every direction and making +no pretense of moving quietly. + +"Look here," Jimmie said after they had proceeded some distance into the +mine and discovered nothing of importance, "I have in my possession a +great idea! Want to hear about it?" + +"Sure!" laughed Will. + +"We're making too much noise." + +"Making too much noise in order to attract the attention of a couple of +lost youngsters?" asked Elmer. + +"They're not lost!" insisted Jimmie. "They've been lured away or dragged +away! We don't know how many men were in the mine with Ventner!" + +"Well, produce your idea!" Elmer exclaimed. + +"Well, my notion is that I ought to go on ahead of you boys, walking as +quietly as possible and without a light. If there are people waiting to +snare us, they'll naturally think we've bunched our forces and are all +coming along together. Then, you see," he continued, "I'll be right in +among them before they suspect that we have a skirmish line out." + +"That's an all right notion, kid!" answered Will. + +"Then I'll be on my way," Jimmie replied. "And if I need help at any +time, I'll give the call of the pack!" + +"But you mustn't do that unless you have to," Will cautioned, "because, +the minute the cry is heard, everybody within eighty rods would know +what's going on. Have you matches with you?" + +The boy felt in the pockets of his coat and nodded. + +"Well, then," he said, "if you want to signal, wet your hands and rub +the phosphorus off the matches. Turn your hands, palms in our direction, +so no one can see from the other side and wig-wag." + +"That will be fine!" exclaimed Jimmie. "I've got this wig-wag system +down pat. I guess this Boy Scout training is pretty poor, ain't it, eh? +The darker it is, the better we can talk!" + +Jimmie darted away, while Will and Elmer remained stationary for a short +time in order to give him an opportunity to get out of the range of +their lights. Directly they heard him whispering back and listened. + +"There's another stone cairn here!" he said. "I guess I knocked it over, +for I can't tell exactly what it is. You can learn that when you come up +with your searchlights! I think there are three stones." + +"All right!" Will whispered back. + +When the boys came to the spot from which the voice had been heard they +found three stones lying side by side on the floor of the gangway. It +was plain that they had been placed one on top of the other, and so they +accepted them as another warning of danger. + +"I wish we had some intimation of the kind of trouble we are likely to +get into," Elmer suggested, as they passed along. "I don't like this +idea of boring a hole in the darkness with a little bit of a light and +anticipating an attack at any minute." + +"I don't like it a little bit myself," replied Will. + +"A person so inclined might shoot us down without ever showing himself," +declared Elmer. "In fact, the only protection we have lies in the fact +that Jimmie is on ahead, and would not be likely to pass any one lying +in wait for us. Bright little boy, that!" + +"There he is now!" exclaimed Will. "He's using the phosphorus, all +right, and I can begin to understand what he's trying to say? There's a +'W', and an 'A', and an 'I', and a 'T'. That means that he wants us to +stay where we are. The system works fine, doesn't it?" + +The question now was as to whether the lads should extinguish their +lights. That, of itself, they understood would be suspicious in case +they should be in sight of their enemies. It would simply proclaim their +knowledge of the danger they were in, whatever it was. + +"I think we'd better keep the lights going until we hear something +more," Elmer said. "Jimmie will talk again in a minute." + +The boys waited patiently for some moments, and then the wig-wag figures +came again. Will read slowly: + +"There's a 'V', and an 'E', and an 'N', and a 'T', and an 'N', and an +'E', and an 'R'," he said. "Now the boy's starting it again. He says, +'Ventner is here.' Now wait a minute, there's more coming!" + +"The next words are: 'With two others'." + +"It's only a question of time when that detective will get next to the +wig-wag game," Elmer declared. "This gangway smells like a match factory +already. I wonder how far Jimmie is away from them." + +Directly Jimmie began talking the wig-wag tongue again. This time he +said that Tommy and George were not in sight, and had evidently been +surprised and taken prisoners. He advised Will and Elmer to come on +softly with their lights out. + +The boys did as requested, but they had advanced only a few paces in the +darkness when Canfield, accompanied by Sandy and Dick came running up, +showing both lack of breath and profound excitement. + +"Boys," Canfield called. "Boys!" + +"Will!" yelled Sandy. + +"I guess they're going to bust up the whole combination!" declared Will +rather sourly. "I wish I had them by the neck!" + +"They may have important news," suggested Elmer. "Anyway, we'll have to +turn on our lights and meet them. If we don't, they'll keep on yelling +all down the gangway!" + +Canfield and the two boys came up as soon as Elmer showed a light, and +stood for a moment looking cautiously about. + +"I don't think you boys ought to go any further into the mine!" Canfield +exclaimed, breathing heavily from the long chase down the passage. "I +have just received word that two of the most desperate hold-up men in +the country have taken refuge here. There's no knowing how they got over +to the mine, but it is a sure thing that they did get here, for a couple +of breaker boys saw them climbing into the breaker." + +"What time was this?" asked Will. + +"Oh, I don't know," replied Canfield. "The matter was reported to me +early this morning. I couldn't find you before, or you should have had +the news sooner. It isn't safe for you to go into the mine!" + +"Your information," grinned Will, "comes a little bit late, but it's all +right, just the same! Ventner is in there, and there are two men with, +him. It's a mystery how they made their way in without being discovered, +but it seems that they did so." + +"What are you going to do?" asked Canfield. + +"We're going on into the mine." + +"In the face of my warning?" + +"It's just this way," answered Will. "We left two of the boys on guard +in this passage, not so very long ago, and they have disappeared. We +suspect that Ventner and the two men to whom you refer have good reason +to know something of their whereabouts." + +"They won't injure the boys!" pleaded Canfield. + +"We don't mean to give them a chance!" insisted Elmer. "We're going to +jerk those boys out so quick it'll make their heads swim!" + +"But it's positively dangerous!" urged the caretaker. + +"If there wasn't an element of danger in the situation, we wouldn't be +here!" replied Will. "I don't see as we need to run away from two +hold-up men, anyway," the boy went on. "Here are five boys and one full +grown man in the gangway. We ought to give a pretty good account of +ourselves, in case some one starts anything!" + +"Where's the fifth boy?" asked Canfield. "It seems to me that you're +getting quite an accumulation of boys in here!" + +"Two of the boys are Jimmie Maynard and Dick Thompson!" answered Will. +"You know you informed me quite positively not long ago that the two +lads were hundreds of miles from this place by this time." + +"You might barricade the hold-up men and starve them out," suggested +Canfield, "that is, if you're sure they're in there!" + +"We have just had a wireless from the interior," Elmer answered. "There +are three men in there, all right!" + +"Well, it won't take any longer to starve three out than it would one!" +declared Canfield. + +"Yes," Elmer cut in, "and about the first time the hold-up men got good +and hungry, they'd be sending out Tommy's ears or one of George's +fingers just as a warning to us not to meddle with their appetites." + +Before long Jimmie began wig-wagging again, but before any words could +be formed the waiting boys heard a distant scuffle, a short, quick cry +of alarm, and then the phosphorus-covered palms disappeared from sight. + +"They've got Jimmie!" Elmer said in a tone of dismay. + +"Well, what are we going to do?" demanded Sandy. "We've got to do +something right away, and that's no story out of the dream book!" + +"I don't suppose it would be of any use to rush them," suggested Elmer. + +"They'd mow us down like rats!" declared Dick. + +"It strikes me," Sandy said, "that we'd ought to get back further and +keep out of sight until we can decide upon some definite plan of +action." + +"I've got an idea wandering around in the back of my brain," Will said. +"If the situation is exactly as I think it is, we may be able to get the +best of those hold-up men after all." + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +THE MONEY IN SIGHT + + +"Not while they have possession of the boys," Canfield declared, +dolefully. "They'll murder those boys if we shut off their supplies!" + +"Oh, I don't know about that!" suggested Dick. "We've been mixed up in a +great many awkward situations, but we've always managed to save our +necks. We'll get the boys out in some way!" + +"Look here, Mr. Canfield," Will said, "how well do you know this mine?" + +"Every inch, of it!" was the reply. + +"Every inch of every level," asked Will. + +"Yes, sir!" replied the caretaker, rather proudly. "I can go into any +part of it without a light!" + +"Then look here, Dick," Will directed. "You chase back to the old tool +house and bring back a long rope. And when you return, stop at the +second level. Some of us will meet you there." + +"I hope you don't expect to pull these boys up through fifty or a +hundred feet of shale?" asked the caretaker. + +"I don't know whether my scheme will work or not," Will answered, "but +it's worth trying! We shall have to leave at least two here, well armed, +and take the others with us. You'll have to act as guide, Mr. Canfield, +and we'll meet Dick when he comes down to the second level with the +rope. As soon as we get the boys out of their trouble, we can leave the +three outlaws in full possession of the mine. If we watch the shaft at +the old tool house, they can never get out without our knowing it!" + +"I don't understand what you have in mind," faltered Canfield. + +Leaving Sandy and Elmer in the gangway from which the wig-wag signals +had been shown, the others hastened up the ladder to the second level. +Then Dick ran away to bring the rope, while Will questioned the +caretaker regarding the fall between the two levels. + +"You remember the old shaft, cut through years ago, and doubtless +deserted when the vein ran out, which at one time connected the two +levels, don't you?" asked the boy of the caretaker. + +"There is such a place," replied the caretaker. + +"Can you find it?" + +"Of course I can." + +"Does the fall open into the system of chambers in the center or to the +north? You understand what I mean! Is it possible to enter any of the +benches or chambers connecting with the north gangway on the lower level +by means of this deserted shaft?" + +"I am not quite certain about that," replied Canfield, "but my idea is +that the north benches and chambers can be reached by means of that +opening. I am glad you thought of that," he went on. + +Dick now returned with the rope, and the three proceeded down the second +level until they came to a confusion of passages and benches which would +certainly have bewildered any one not familiar with the mine. + +"Unless I am very much mistaken," Canfield went on, "this passage, the +one straight ahead, runs almost directly over Tunnel Six. If I am right +in this, the deserted shaft is here." + +"And Tunnel Six is the haunted corridor, isn't it?" asked Dick. + +"That's where the lights have been seen!" replied the caretaker. + +"You never believed in the ghost stories told about Tunnel Six?" asked +Will. "I should think you'd begin to see now that the alleged ghosts +were pretty material things." + +"Well, I don't know about the ghosts," replied the caretaker, "but I +really was getting a little bit nervous when you boys arrived. You +know," he continued, "that we all feel a little shivery when we butt +into anything which we can't understand." + +"Well, suppose you follow this passage to the end and see if you +discover anything like the deserted shaft," suggested Dick. + +"You're not going to venture into the lower level again, are you?" asked +Canfield. "I don't blame you boys for wanting to rescue your companions, +but, at the same time, I don't want to see you throw your lives away. +Those are desperate men in Tunnel Six!" + +"If my idea is worth anything at all," replied Will, "we'll get the boys +out without ever letting the hold-up men know that we are within a mile +of them. You know we had very little difficulty in getting out of the +chamber where we left the boat." + +"Trust you boys for inventing ways of doing things!" exclaimed Canfield. + +"Of course," Will said hesitatingly after a time, "it may be that this +deserted shaft doesn't connect with Tunnel Six, but even if it doesn't, +we'll find some way of getting to our friends from the new position. We +can only try, anyway!" + +"I'm pretty certain that it connects with Tunnel Six," replied the +caretaker. "But you mustn't show your light when you approach the old +shaft," he went on, "because if it does connect with the chamber we +seek, and the chamber in turn connects with the north passage, the +robbers will see what we're doing." + +"That's a valuable suggestion!" replied Will. + +"I'll go on ahead," Canfield continued, "and find the old shaft. Then +you can follow on with the rope, and one of you boys can drop down and +see what can be discovered." + +"It's dollars to apples," chuckled Dick, as the boys trailed along after +the caretaker, "that we find the three kids trussed up like a lot of +hens ready for the market in the chamber where you came so near getting +wet. I hope we do, at any rate!" + +"There's one thing we overlooked," Will said as Canfield whispered to +them that he had found the deserted shaft, "and that is this: We should +have directed the boys in the gangway to have attracted the attention of +the outlaws by a little pistol practice while we are communicating with +our friends. They may be all packed away in the chamber together." + +"Yes, we should have attended to that," replied Dick. "Perhaps I'd +better go back now and tell them to get busy with their automatics." + +"We may as well investigate the situation here first," the other +answered. + +The boys heard the caretaker creeping about in the darkness, and +presently a piece of shale or coal was heard rattling down the old +shaft. + +"We'll have to get that blundering caretaker away from there," whispered +Will. "If we don't, he'll notify the hold-up men that we're getting +ready to do something! I've heard that about three-fourths of the people +in the world object to doing anything unless they can take a brass band +along, and I guess it's true." + +"Say," Canfield whispered, calling back to the lads, "when that stone +dropped down, I heard something that sounded like a paddle slapping down +on the water. That room can't be wet yet, can it?" + +"The Beaver call!" whispered Will. + +"Right you are!" replied Dick. "The boys are there, all right!" + +"Now the next thing to do is to find out if those highwaymen are +watching them," declared Will. + +"I'll tell you that in a minute," Dick whispered. + +As the boy spoke, he passed one end of the rope to Canfield. + +"Hang on to it, whatever takes place!" he whispered, "and I'll drop down +and see what's going on." + +"You must be very careful," warned Canfield. + +"That's all right," answered Dick, "but we can't stand here all day +figuring out precautions. We've got to know right off whether there's +anyone in that chamber watching the boys!" + +"What a joke it would be to put on a ghost in Tunnel Six!" laughed Will, +in a decidedly cheerful frame of mind, now that rescue seemed so near. + +"Don't try any foolishness!" advised Canfield. "Let's rescue the boys if +possible and make our way out of this horrible place." + +Will crawled to the edge of the shaft with Dick and whispered as he +lowered him into the dark opening below: + +"Remember," he said, "that Ventner may have discovered the money. If so, +we must secure it before we leave the place! It will be just like him to +stow the bank notes away in some chamber like the one you are about to +enter. When you strike bottom, if there is no one in sight except the +boys, turn on your searchlight and take a good look over the interior of +the chamber. + +"We were in there not so very long ago, but at that time we weren't +thinking of making a search there for hidden money. You'll have to use +your own judgment about turning on the light, of course. The outlaws may +be out in the gangway, some distance from the entrance to the chamber, +or they may be within six feet of where the boys are held as prisoners." + +"Tommy ought to be able to tell me the minute I strike the heap of shale +whether the outlaws are close by or not!" Dick suggested. + +"Of course!" answered Will, "if he knows. If the men are not in sight, +and he doesn't know where they are, you'll simply have to take chances. +If you get caught in there, you'll have to shoot, and shoot quick!" + +Dick, dropped down into the old shaft and directly the anxious watchers +above heard the rattle of shale as it dropped from the pyramid under the +opening. Will, still clinging to the rope, lay on his stomach and peered +downward, watching with all anxiety for some show of light, or some +sound which might indicate the situation below. + +Directly Will felt a soft, steady pull at the rope, and knew that one of +the boys was ready to be assisted to the top. + +Dick came up first, chuckling as he landed on the edge of the break in +the rock, and was immediately followed by Jimmie. + +"Where's Tommy and George?" asked Will in a whisper. + +"They're down there looking for the money!" + +"Looking for the money in the darkness?" + +"Sure!" was the reply. "You see," he went on, "those ginks tied us up +good and tight, and then threw the money around promiscuous like!" + +"So the money is there?" asked Will. + +The news seemed too good to be true! + +"It was there when we were first thrown into the chamber," replied +Jimmie, "but I have an idea that Ventner sneaked in and removed it so as +to prevent his mates getting any share." + +A light flashed out from below, followed immediately by a pistol shot! + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +SANDY IS DISCHARGED + + +Elmer and Sandy, guarding the gangway variously called the North section +and Tunnel Six, presently heard voices coming from the direction of the +shaft, and the latter moved back a few paces in order to inspect the +new-comers. In a moment he saw three rather pompous looking men +approaching him, their footsteps being directed by a man clothed as a +miner. + +"Here, boy!" shouted one of the pompous men. "Can you tell me where +Canfield, the caretaker of this mine, may be found?" + +"He's up on the next level," replied Sandy. + +"I was told he was down here," growled the speaker, who was very short +and fat, and very much out of breath. + +"He was here a little while ago," answered Sandy. + +"What's the meaning of this show of firearms?" demanded the fat man, +after glancing disdainfully at the automatic in the boy's hand. + +"We've got three robbers cooped up in the mine," replied Sandy. + +"That's the old, old story!" exclaimed the fat man. "I don't know that I +ever knew of a mine that wasn't haunted, either by ghosts or robbers! +Mysteries seem to breed in coal mines!" + +Sandy walked back to the place where he had left Elmer, and the three +men and their guide followed him. When Elmer caught a view of the fat +man's face and figure, he gave a sharp pull at Sandy's sleeve. + +"That's Stephen Carson!" he said. "I guess I'd better keep out of sight, +because I don't care about getting into an argument with him. He's the +most contrary person I ever saw in my life, and never fails to get up an +argument about something or other with yours truly." + +"You seem to know him pretty well," whispered Sandy. + +"I ought to," returned Elmer, "he's my Uncle! The two tall men in the +party are my father and the cashier of the Night and Day bank. I'll take +a sneak, and that will shorten the session." + +Accordingly, Elmer strolled along the gangway and came to a halt some +distance from where the three men had drawn up. + +"My boy," Carson went on, looking condescendingly at the youth, "will +you kindly run up to the second level and tell Mr. Canfield that his +presence is required by the president of the mining company?" + +"I'm not allowed to leave this place, sir," replied Sandy, taking +offense at the man's air of proprietorship. + +"All persons in and about this mine," Carson almost shouted, "are +subject to my orders. Run along now, you foolish boy, find don't make +any further trouble for yourself!" + +The man's manner was so unnecessarily dictatorial and offensive that +Sandy found it impossible to retain his temper. He was not naturally a +"fresh" youngster, but now he had passed the limit of endurance. + +"Aw, go chase yourself!" he said. + +"You're discharged!" shouted Carson. + +"You didn't hire me!" retorted Sandy. "You haven't got any right to +discharge me! I'm going to stay here until I get ready to leave!" + +"If you don't get out of the mine immediately, I'll have you thrown +out!" shouted Carson. "I never saw such impudence!" + +"If I do get out," replied Sandy with a grin, "you'll wish I hadn't!" + +Carson turned to Elmer's father and the bank cashier, and the three +consulted together for a short time. Then Elmer's father came closer to +where Sandy was standing. + +"Why do you say that?" he asked. "Why do you think we will wish you had +remained in case you are sent out of the mine?" + +"Because I was left here to prevent robbers getting out of the gangway. +They're further in, and have captured three of my chums." + +"All nonsense!" shouted Mr. Carson breaking into the conversation +impatiently. "These breaker boys never tell the truth!" + +"Are you Mr. Buck?" asked Sandy, speaking in an undertone to Elmer's +father. "Because if you are, you'll find Elmer just a short distance +ahead. He's on guard, too. He didn't want his uncle to recognize him, +because he says he's always getting up an argument with him." + +"I'm glad to know that Elmer is attending to his duty," Mr. Buck +answered. "Somehow," he continued with a smile, "Stephen Carson always +rubs Elmer the wrong way of the grain." + +"What's he butting in here for?" asked Sandy, while the cashier of the +Night and Day bank and the miner stood by waiting for the peace +negotiations to conclude. + +"Why, he came in to get his two hundred thousand dollars!" replied Mr. +Buck. "He thinks he knows How right where he left it." + +"Does he often get foolish in the head like that?" asked Sandy with a +grin. "If he does, he ought to hire a couple of detectives to keep track +of him when he goes wandering out in the night!" + +"Oh, Stephen is usually a pretty level-headed sort of a fellow!" replied +Mr. Buck. "He is out of humor just now because he has always denied that +he visited the mine during his two weeks of absence. He is one of the +men who dislike very much to be caught in an error of any kind." + +"So he knows where the money is?" asked Sandy. + +"He says he can find it if he can secure the services of Canfield, the +caretaker. He remembers now of getting in the mine, and of hearing +footsteps in the darkness. His impression at that time was that robbers +had followed him in, so he unloaded the banknotes in a small chamber +which he is now able to describe accurately but which he cannot, of +course, find." + +"Was the money hidden on this level?" asked Sandy. + +"Yes, on this level." + +"In this gangway?" + +"He thinks it was hidden here." + +"Right about here, or further on?" + +"Why," was the answer, "he seems to remember something about Tunnel Six. +He thinks he hid the money there! As soon as he finds Canfield, the +caretaker will probably be able to tell him exactly how Tunnel Six +looks." + +"It looks all in a mess right now! I can tell you that," grinned Sandy. + +"What do you mean by that?" + +"I mean that there's been doings here!" replied Sandy. + +"Are there really robbers in there?" + +"Sure, there are robbers in there!" + +"Then perhaps we'd better bring in a squad of deputies." + +"If you'll just let us boys alone," Sandy said, "we'll bring the money +out if it's anywhere in the mine, but if this man Carson goes to butting +in at this time, he'll have to dig out his own money. He won't believe +there's any robbers in there, and he wants to fire me out of the mine, +so I guess we'd better let him go his own gait a little while." + +"He'll do that anyhow no matter what you say!" replied Mr. Buck. + +"Look here!" shouted Carson, starting forward, with his stomach out and +his fat shoulders thrown back, "what's all this conversation about? Why +don't some one go up and get Canfield, and why isn't that young rowdy +thrown out of the mine? I won't have him in here!" + +"Say," Sandy broke in, "Mr. Buck says that you're looking for Tunnel +Six. If you are, I can show you right where it is!" + +"Do so, then!" shouted Carson. + +"Go straight ahead," Sandy directed, "and when the robbers begin to +shoot, you command them to throw down their weapons in the name of the +law. They'll probably do it, all right, if you tell them to, but you'll +be lucky if they don't throw them down your throat!" + +"Do you mean to tell me," screamed Carson, "that there are actually +robbers here, and that they have taken possession of Tunnel Six?" + +"That's the idea," replied Sandy. + +"Why, that's where I put my----" + +"That's where you put your money, is it?" Sandy went on. + +"I never saw such impudence!" reared Carson. + +"Well, go on and get your money!" advised Sandy. "Just go straight down +the gangway until you come to a face of rock and then switch off to the +left, and you'll find yourself in a chamber used at present by robbers +and hold-up men as a winter resort." + +"Oh you can't frighten me!" declared Carson. "I believe that you're here +in quest of the money yourself!" + +"That's right!" admitted Sandy. "Go on in, now, and tell the robbers to +give up your hoarded gold! Just butt in, and tell 'em what you want them +to do! They'll probably do just as you tell them to!" + +"I never saw such impudence in my life!" roared Carson, wiping his +perspiring forehead with a large red silk handkerchief. + +"I don't see where the impudence comes in!" replied Sandy. "You said you +wanted to find Tunnel Six in order that you might locate your money. I'm +telling you where it is, and what to do to get it!" + +"Old Stephen never took a bluff in his life!" chuckled Mr. Buck, "Now +see if he doesn't go stalking down that passage and declaring himself in +the name of the law!" + +The banker did exactly what Mr. Buck had predicted. He went storming +down the passage, giving notice to all intruders to walk out of his mine +in a peaceable manner. Mr. Buck followed along until he came to where +Elmer was standing with his back against the wall, and then the two +paused and entered into conversation. The cashier of the Night and Day +bank and the miner started back toward the shaft. + +"What's the matter?" shouted Sandy. "Why don't you stay and see the fun? +There'll be shooting here directly!" + +The miner and the cashier now took to their heels and were soon out of +sight. Every moment the boy expected to see a flash of fire in the +gangway. Carson was now very near to Tunnel Six, and it seemed certain +that the outlaws must soon open fire on him. + +"Come back, Stephen!" shouted Mr. Buck. "Don't make a fool of yourself!" + +"This is all pure bluff!" shouted Carson. "There are no robbers here at +all. This is a scheme to keep me out of Tunnel Six, where I believe my +money to be hidden!" + +They saw Carson halt in his rather clumsy passage down the gangway, and +draw an automatic revolver from his pocket. + +There was a quick shot and the banker rushed ahead! + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +"I TOLD YOU SO!" + + +Directly Elmer, Sandy and Mr. Buck heard the banker shouting at the top +of his lungs and dashed on toward the mysterious tunnel. + +"He'll get his head shot off in there!" exclaimed Sandy. + +"I don't care if he does!" declared Elmer. + +"Your uncle isn't such a bad old fellow, after all," Mr. Buck exclaimed. +"He has plenty of courage, at any rate!" + +"But I don't understand why they don't open fire on him!" exclaimed +Sandy. "The robbers certainly were in there not very long ago. We heard +the scuffle when they geezled Jimmie." + +"Who fired that shot?" asked Mr. Buck. + +"Uncle Stephen did," replied Elmer. "I saw the flash spring out from the +spot where he stood!" + +"Well, what do you know about that?" exclaimed Sandy. "The old chap is +actually making his bluff good! He's getting into Tunnel Six single +handed and alone! I guess we'll have to advertise for those three +outlaws if we find 'em in here! He's a nervy old fellow, isn't he?" + +The three now followed fast on the heels of the banker, and soon came to +where he stood swinging his searchlight at the end of a short drift +which ended, after sliding under a dip, in a chamber which at first +glance seemed to be piled high with a mass of shale. + +While the three looked on, Carson dropped on his knees beside a crevice +in the wall and began an eager exploration of the opening. + +Directly he sprang to his feet with rage and disappointment showing on +every feature of his face. He raved about the cluttered chamber for a +moment, almost dancing up and down in his anger and chagrin, and then +sat limply down on the pile of shale. + +"It's gone!" he said. "The money's gone!" + +"So it wasn't hidden back there in that cross-cutting at all?" asked +Sandy. "We thought sure we had a cinch on the coin several hours ago!" + +"It was hidden here in this chamber!" declared Carson wearily. "The +minute I entered the place I remembered where I had hidden it. And now +it's gone! I've had all my trouble for nothing." + +As he ceased speaking, he glanced suspiciously at Sandy. And Sandy, in +turn, made a most provoking face. + +"I believe you know something about my money!" Carson said. + +"Sure I do!" replied Sandy. + +"Then where is it?" + +"The robbers got it!" + +"That's a nice story to tell," howled Carson. "If you think I'm going to +be defrauded out of my money in this way, you're very much mistaken!" + +Without paying any further attention to the threats of the banker, Sandy +stepped over to Elmer's side and pointed up the deserted shaft. + +"There's where the robbers went," he said, "and they doubtless took +Carson's money with them. I don't understand why Will didn't stop them." + +"Will and George probably released their friends and went away," +complained Elmer. "I don't think they showed very good judgment in doing +that, either. The result is that the money has now disappeared entirely. +A short time ago, Uncle might have reclaimed it." + +"We don't know whether the money has gone beyond recall or not," replied +Sandy. "I don't believe Will and George ever left the old shaft +unguarded. They are still somewhere in this vicinity!" + +Carson now blustered up to Sandy and pointed an accusing finger into the +lad's face. Sandy regarded him with indifference. + +"Now that your story of the robbers has been disproved," Carson shouted, +"you may as well tell me who took my money. If I had not the courage to +make this investigation in person, that cheap story of the robbers would +have held good for all time!" + +"That's a horse on me, all right!" admitted Sandy. "I don't know where +the robbers are, unless they went up through that old shaft, and it +doesn't seem as if the boys would permit that!" + +"Too thin! Entirely too thin!" declared Carson. "A moment ago you tried +to tell me that the money wasn't hidden near Tunnel Six at all, but was +hidden back there near the cross-cutting." + +"We had good reason to believe it was hidden there!" replied Sandy. "We +found a burned ten-dollar banknote there just after a dynamite explosion +had taken place." + +"That would naturally lead to the supposition that the money had been +hidden there!" Mr. Buck exclaimed. + +"Come to think of it," Sandy went on, "I believe that was one of +Ventner's tricks. I believe he blew down those pillars and burned the +banknote for the express purpose of making us search two or three weeks +in the wrong place. I guess we have under-estimated that fellow's +ability. He's a keener man than I supposed!" + +"I don't quite see the point to that," Elmer suggested. "When you say +that Ventner probably caused you to dig in the wrong place, you admit +that he must have known something about the right place. Now, how could +he have known anything about where to look for that money?" + +"I don't know," replied Sandy. "But when you say that he might have +known exactly where to look, you set him down as a fool, because he has +been searching a long time and never came upon it until today." + +"I think I can understand that," Mr. Buck said. "This man you speak of +probably knew where to find the money provided he could discover the +right drift, bench, chamber or tunnel. Like Mr. Carson, here, he could +doubtless go straight to the cache if directed into the right +apartment." + +While the four stood together at the bottom of the chamber, their +searchlights making the place as light as day, an exclamation came from +the shaft above, followed by two pistol shots. + +Carson dropped to his knees and began twisting at his automatic, which +had in some way become entangled in the lining of his pocket. + +"There are your robbers!" he shouted. "Put out your lights!" + +"Don't you do anything of the kind!" argued Sandy. "Get out of range of +the old shaft and keep your lights burning so you can shoot any one who +drops down! I guess we have them hemmed in!" + +"It's a scheme to get away with my money!" shouted Carson. + +"I wish you had your old money chucked down your throat!" exclaimed +Sandy. "I'm getting sick of the sound of the word!" + +All members of the party now drew back toward the dip, where they were +entirely concealed from any one in the old shaft. + +Directly there was a rattling of shale and slate, and then the lights +showed the figure of Tommy sitting astride the peak of the pyramid. + +"What you fellows trying to do down there?" he asked. + +"We're looking for Carson's money?" replied Sandy. + +"Did you get it?" the boy demanded. + +"Not yet!" + +"That's the boy that's got my money!" shouted the banker. + +"Money's a good thing to have!" grinned Tommy. + +"What have you done with the highwaymen?" asked Sandy. + +"Why continue this senseless talk about highwaymen?" demanded Carson, +"when you know just as well as I do that there are no robbers here other +than yourselves! Mr. Buck," he added, turning to Elmer's father, "I call +upon you to assist me in restraining these robbers until the proper +officers can be summoned." + +"Where did that fat man come from?" asked Tommy. + +"You impertinent rascal!" shouted Carson. + +"Sure!" answered Tommy. "But where did you say you came from?" + +"I'm president of this mining company!" screamed Carson, "and I'll have +you all in jail if you don't produce my money!" + +"Is this the gentleman who went batty and lost two hundred thousand +dollars?" asked Tommy, sliding down from the slate pyramid and standing +beside Sandy. + +"That is believed to be the man!" laughed Sandy. + +"Believed to be!" roared Carson. + +"Does he know where he left the money?" asked Tommy. + +"Sure I know where I left my money, you young jackanapes!" declared +Carson. "I pointed out the exact hiding place only a few moments ago!" + +"You found it empty?" + +"Yes, I found it empty," roared Carson. + +"Then," Tommy suggested, "we've all got to get busy." + +"What do you mean by that?" demanded Carson. + +Before Tommy could reply, Will came sliding down the rope and landed +within a few feet of where the little group stood. + +"Look here, Will," Tommy said, "are you sure we made a good search of +those three ginks? They've got the money all right!" + +"How do you know they did?" demanded Will. + +"That fat man over there who looks as if he was about to bust," Tommy +grinned, "is Mr. Carson, the man who hid the money and couldn't find it +again. He's just been looking in the place where he concealed it, and it +isn't there! We've got to get busy!" + +"I don't understand this at all," Mr. Buck interrupted. + +"It's just this way," Will said, facing the speaker "we caught the three +men who were wandering about in the mine. We rescued our chums first, +and then when the outlaws heard your party advancing they scrambled up +the old shaft and took to their heels, supposing, of course, that we had +lost no time in getting out of the mine." + +"And you geezled them all?" asked Sandy. + +"The whole three!" replied Will. "All we had to do was to stretch a rope +across a passage, trip them up, and do a little winding around their +great big forms before they could get their breath. They're all tied up +good and tight now." + +"And you searched them for the money and didn't find it?" shouted +Carson. + +"And we searched them for the money and didn't find it!" repeated Will. + +"I don't believe it!" shouted Carson. "You'll be telling me in a moment, +when I ask you to produce your robbers, that they have broken their +bonds and escaped!" + +At that moment, George's voice was heard calling down the shaft: + +"Break for the main shaft!" they heard him saying. "Head those fellows +off! They cut their ropes and got away!" + +"I told you so!" thundered Carson. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +CONCLUSION + + +"Bright boys up there!" exclaimed Will, as the unwelcome news of the +escape of the robbers came down the old shaft. + +"Me for the elevator!" shouted Tommy. + +All four boys, Will, Elmer, Tommy and Sandy, started in a mad race down +the gangway. As they carried their searchlights with them, and as Mr. +Carson and Mr. Buck moved at a slower pace, the latter gentlemen were +soon feeling their way through a dark tunnel. + +"We've just got to head 'em off!" grunted Tommy, as the boys passed +along at a pace calculated to break the long distance running records. + +"I don't believe they'll make for the main shaft anyway," Sandy panted. + +"I don't believe they will, either," Will declared, "but if we get to +the lift first, we'll be dead sure they don't get out!" + +Will was in advance as they swung into the lighted space about the +shaft. The first thing he observed was that one of the cages was just +starting upward. He sprang to the push button and almost instantly the +cage dropped back to the third level again. The power was on in honor of +the visit of the president of the company. + +"Pile in, boys!" he shouted. "We'll stop at the second level!" + +The man at the top responded nobly to the quick signals given to start +and stop, and in a very short space of time the elevator stood at the +second level. The bar was down, but Will threw it aside and stepped out +into the passage. There he saw the bank cashier and the miner standing +cowering against the wall only a few feet from the shaft. + +"What are you doing here?" asked Will. + +"We started to the top," the miner replied, "but stopped here because we +thought there might be need of our assistance on this level." + +"Why on this level?" asked Will, observing that the miner was pretty +thoroughly frightened. "I haven't heard of any disturbance here!" + +"But there has been a disturbance here!" insisted the cashier. "We heard +scuffling out there in the darkness, but as we had no lights, we could +not investigate. My friend, the miner, had a light on the lower level, +but he lost it as we made our way out to the shaft." + +"Has any one passed up the shaft?" asked Will. + +The miner shook his head. + +"Then we're in time all right!" cried Will exultantly. "We have the +outlaws headed off!" + +The heavy voices of the two men who had been left on the lower level now +came rumbling up the shaft. + +"What do you mean by leaving us in this plight?" demanded Carson. "Lower +the cage instantly, and take us to the top!" + +"Stay down there and look after your money!" cried Sandy, mockingly. + +"I think I know where my money is!" shouted Carson. + +"I wish I knew!" returned Sandy. + +In the moment of silence which followed the boys heard the call of the +Beaver Patrol ringing down the second level. + +"George seems to be alive anyway!" laughed Tommy. + +A moment later a snarling sound which seemed to emanate from a whole +pack of Wolves reached the ears of the boys. + +"Why didn't you tell me there were wild animals in the mine?" shouted +the cashier. "Let me into that cage immediately!" + +"Don't be in a hurry," advised Tommy. "All the Wolves and Beavers you'll +find in here won't do you any harm!" + +While Carson and Elmer's father continued to call from below, and while +the Boy Scout challenges rang in the second level, two pistol shots were +heard not far away from the shaft. + +The cashier and the miner both broke for the cage, but were turned back +at the point of Sandy's automatic revolver. + +"You stopped here because you thought you might be of some assistance, +you know," the boy said. "Now you just remain here long enough to help +out." + +"But there are people being murdered in there!" cried the cashier. + +Two more shots came from the gangway and then the stout figure of the +detective came staggering into the circle of light around the shaft. He +had evidently been wounded seriously, for he fell as he drew near to +where the boys were standing and raised his eyes in a piteous appeal for +help. Will stooped over and felt of his pulse. + +"You're about done for!" the boy said in a husky tone. "Who did it?" + +"Those two hold-up men," was the faint reply. + +"Where are they now?" asked Will. + +"I fired back," replied the detective with a grim smile, "and I guess +they're lying on the floor of the passage!" + +Will bent closer over the wounded detective while Tommy and Sandy +started down the gangway on a run, closely followed by Elmer. + +"Why did they shoot you?" asked Will. + +"I found the money," Ventner replied, "and hid it in a crevice in the +wall, and they found it. When we managed to escape by cutting the ropes +I saw them take the money and disappear in the darkness. I followed on +and accused them of the act and they shot me! Then I shot back, and I +guess it's a pretty bad mess, when you take it altogether!" + +"Where is the money?" asked Will. + +"They have it in their possession," was the reply, "if they haven't +hidden it again." + +Before the wounded detective could continue, George, Jimmie, Dick, +Canfield, Sandy and Tommy came running out of the gangway. + +"Where's Elmer?" asked Will. + +"We left him back there talking with one of the hold-up men," replied +George. "They're both badly hurt, and won't last long!" + +"I'm not sorry!" moaned Ventner. + +A moment later, Elmer came out of the passage with a bill-book of good +size in his hand. He lifted the book gaily as he entered the +illumination. + +"I'll bet he's got the money!" exclaimed Tommy. + +"Sure he has!" replied Will, and Elmer nodded. + +The voices of Carson and Buck again came roaring up from below. + +"Why don't you lower the cage?" Carson shouted. "I'm going to have every +one of you arrested as soon as I can find an officer! You can't work any +of your gold brick schemes on me!" + +"We may as well drop down and take them aboard," Will laughed. + +Carson was swelling with rage when he stepped onto the platform of the +list. He shook his fist fiercely under Will's nose, and announced that +he would have him wearing handcuffs before night. + +"How much reward was offered for the return of that two hundred thousand +dollars?" asked the boy, without paying any attention to the angry +demonstrations of the banker. + +"Twenty thousand dollars!" replied Carson. "But you'll never get a cent +of it. I hired a party of Boy Scouts to come here from Chicago and look +into the case, but they never came near me." + +"When you write to Chicago again," Will replied, with a smile as the +elevator stopped at the second level, "just tell Mr. Horton that the +Beaver's didn't succeed in getting the money, but that the Wolves did. +Elmer has the money in his possession right this minute!" + +"Impossible!" shouted Carson. + +"Hand him the money, Elmer," requested Will. + +Carson snatched the bill book as it was held out to him and began +looking through the ten-thousand-dollar banknotes which it contained. + +"The next time you get drunk and fall out of your machine, don't accuse +every one you meet of robbing you!" Sandy cut in. + +"Are you the boys who came on from Chicago?" demanded Carson. + +"Sure!" replied Will. + +"I guess I'm an old fool!" admitted Carson. "Here I've been roaming +around about half a day accusing you boys of stealing my money, when all +the time you were planning on returning it to me!" + +"Do we get the reward now?" asked Will. + +"Twenty thousand and expenses!" replied Carson. "I'll settle with Elmer +and his chums later on!" + +"It's a shame to take the money!" declared Sandy, but Will gave him a +sharp punch in the back and he cut off any further remarks which he +might have had in his mind. + +The story ends here because the adventure ended with the finding of the +money. The old tool house was deserted that night. The two hold-up men +and the detective recovered after a long illness in a Pittsburgh +hospital. The detective was permitted to go his way after promising to +keep out of crooked detective deals in the future. He never told how or +where he received his information about the lost money. The hold-up men +were given long sentences in prison. + +A few weeks later, when the mining company resumed operations at the +Labyrinth, Tunnel Six was walled up. Mr. Carson, the president, declared +that it made what few hairs he had left stand on end to think of the +experiences he had endured there! + +However, there are still stories about the breaker, that on dark nights, +when the wind blows, and the rain falls in great sheets, there are +mysterious lights floating about Tunnel Six. + +Jimmie and Dick often tell exactly how these lights were made, and how +they enjoyed themselves living down in the bowels of the earth, but the +superstitious miners still claim that the boys were not responsible for +all the lights which burned there! + +Dick and Jimmie also have their joke with the Beaver Patrol boys +whenever they meet, declaring that if they had not finally relented and +dropped the string the boys had carried into the mine for their own +protection, they would still be wandering around in the Labyrinth Mine. + +"And now," Will said as they settled down in their old room on +Washington boulevard, "we're going to be good boys from this time on and +remain in Chicago and stay at home nights!" + +However, in three days, the boys were preparing for another bit of +adventure, the details of which will be found in the next volume of this +series entitled: + +"Boy Scouts in Alaska; or, The Camp on the Glacier." + + + The End. + + + + + [Frontispiece] + + + + + BOY SCOUTS IN ALASKA + + Or, The Camp on the Glacier + + + + + CONTENTS + + + Chapter Page + + I--UNDER SEALED ORDERS 7 + + II--THE PRINT OF A THUMB 14 + + III--A MESSAGE IN CODE 21 + + IV--THE LOST PLANS 28 + + V--FISHING IN ALASKA 35 + + VI--A MISSING BOY 42 + + VII--A LOST "BULLDOG" 49 + + VIII--ON THE GULF OF ALASKA 56 + + IX--THE CLUES WILL FOUND 63 + + X--IN LUCK AT LAST 70 + + XI--MAKING NEW PLANS 76 + + XII--ANOTHER LOST "BULLDOG" 83 + + XIII--THE BEGINNING OF THE TRAIL 89 + + XIV--THE LAD WITH THE "DRAG" 94 + + XV--A BREAK IN THE GLACIER 100 + + XVI--GEORGE AND SANDY CAUGHT 107 + + XVII--THE MORSE CODE 114 + +XVIII--THE ROCKS TUMBLE DOWN 122 + + XIX--VICTIMS OF THE QUAKE 130 + + XX--DOWN IN THE CHASM 137 + + XXI--EXPLAINING CORDOVA INCIDENTS 142 + + XXII--THE PLANS AT LAST 148 + + + + +CHAPTER I + +UNDER SEALED ORDERS + + +An August night in Alaska. + +To the North, the tangle of the Chugach Mountains; to the East, Bering +Glacier; to the South, the purple waters of the Gulf of Alaska; to the +West, Prince William Sound. All around, the grandeur of a world in the +making--high mountains, rugged summits, deep cut valleys, creeping +glaciers. + +In a log cabin standing in the center of a small forested moraine four +boys of about seventeen were grouped together. The one door and the two +windows of the structure were covered with mosquito wire. The hum of +insect life came into the room with the monotony of the murmur of the +sea. Although it was after ten o'clock in the evening, the sun still +rode high above the horizon. + +A few hundred feet from the outer edge of the ice-cliff, the forested +moraine became a "dead" glacier. When a glacier advances no longer, but +draws back year by year, it is said to be "dead." The live glacier is +simply a river of ice pouring down precipices and into gorges and +fiords. + +As a matter of fact, the log cabin was built upon a glacier, for under +the luxuriant summer undergrowth, under the flowers, and under the +bright green of the hemlocks, lay a great bed of ice which, however, was +slowly receding. In times gone by the current of ice had flowed into the +Gulf of Alaska, but now, because of drainage in another direction, the +glacial ice swept off to the west, in the direction of Copper river. + +The four boys in the cabin had just finished supper, the cooking having +been done over a gasoline "plate," and they were now discussing the +advisability of spending the remaining hour of daylight in the +investigation of the strange, wild land in which they now found +themselves. + +Two days before they had landed at Katalla, and had spent the +intervening time in transferring their supplies to the log house on the +glacier. They had traveled northward by the inland route, and landed in +the vicinity of Controller bay, bringing with them provisions sufficient +for a long stay in the wonderful North. + +Those who have read the previous volumes of this series will well +remember the adventures of Will Smith, Charley (Sandy) Green, George +Benton and Tommy Gregory. After startling experiences among the Pictured +Rocks of Old Superior, in the mysterious swamps of the Everglades, in +the rocky caverns of the Continental Divide, amidst the snows of the +Hudson Bay wilderness, and in the coal caverns of the Pennsylvania +anthracite region, they had decided to spend a portion of the summer in +Alaska. They had reached Controller bay without serious accident, and +now found themselves in one of the most picturesque sections of the +great territory, with plenty of provisions and ammunition. + +The lads were all dressed in the khaki uniform of the Boy Scouts of +America, the badges showing membership in the Beaver Patrol of Chicago. +Their coat sleeves showed medals proclaiming the fact that they had +passed examinations and were well qualified to serve as Stalkers, +Seamen, Pioneers, or in the Ambulance squad. The pennant of the Beaver +Patrol flew above the door of the cabin. + +Tommy Gregory separated himself from, the group about the supper table +and walked to the heavily-screened doorway. His face was covered by an +Alaska head-net, and he wore a pair of strong leather gloves. + +"Why didn't some of you boys tell me that the mosquitos here are as +large as robins?" he asked. + +"Because they are only half as large," replied Sandy Green with a grin. + +"If some one will hand me my gun off the table," Tommy went on, with a +wrinkling of his freckled nose, "I'll shoot one, and we can have him for +supper! One of the outlaws ought to make a good meal for us four!" + +"Better do the killing with a handspike," advised Sandy, "for we haven't +any ammunition to throw away. Besides," the boy went on, "I don't +believe a thirty-eight would kill one of these wild animals, anyway!" + +"Up on the Yukon," George Benton interrupted, "when they sentence a man +to death, they don't hang him. They send him down the river in an open +canoe, and give the mosquitos a crack at him!" + +"You stated that in the way of an exaggeration," Will Smith suggested, +"but it is the absolute truth, for all that! Men lost among the +nigger-heads have been found later on with their bones picked dry." + +"What's a nigger-head?" asked Tommy. + +"A nigger-head is a bog," was the reply. "When I say a bog, I don't mean +a swampy hole, either. I mean a grassy knoll sticking up out of a swamp +full of mud. If you keep on the bogs, or nigger-heads, you are +reasonably safe, but if you drop down into the mud, you are likely to go +in over your head." + +"How far down does this mud go?" demanded Sandy. + +"Down to the ice," replied Will. "This entire country," he went on, "is +lined with ice! Ten or twelve feet below the foundation of this cabin, +the ice is almost as hard as steel. Sometimes the earth-crust over the +ice is a foot thick, and sometimes it is ten feet." + +"Are those brilliant flowers growing over a glacier?" asked Tommy, +pointing to a group of violets growing not far away. + +"Sure!" replied Will. "If it wasn't for the ice, there wouldn't be any +violets here. The glacier supplies water as well as soil." + +"What'd you say about going up to the end of the moraine?" asked Sandy, +joining Tommy at the screened door of the cabin. + +"Isn't it quite a climb?" asked Will. + +"It isn't so very steep," replied Tommy, "but the way seems to be rather +rocky. I'd like to know where all these round stones come from!" + +"They are brought down by the glacier ice and rounded into shape by the +same force which discharges the ice stream into the gulf. There is +always a line of moraine at each side of a glacier, and usually several +ridges in the middle of it. Those at the edge are called lateral +moraines, those in the middle, medial moraines, and those at the end, +terminal moraines. And that's about all I know of Alaska," Will added, +with a smile. + +The lads passed up the moraine for some distance, until, in fact, they +came to a point where vegetation became thinner, and hemlocks of smaller +growth. Then they turned toward the west and stood for a long time +watching the yellow glory of the sunset. + +But the heat of day passes swiftly in Alaska when the direct rays of the +sun fail, and so the boys were soon glad to return to their cabin, which +they had found standing unoccupied. + +"I'd like to know the history of this old shack," Sandy said, as they +paused in the gathering darkness at the doorway. + +"There's no knowing how long it has stood here, waiting for us to come +and gladden its dirty old walls with our presence and our scrubbing +brushes!" laughed Tommy. "I've seen a good many cleaner cabins in my +life!" + +"And there is no knowing how many tragedies have been enacted here, +either!" exclaimed George. "It must have witnessed many a queer sight!" + +"It must have been built within a year or two," Will observed, "for the +logs do not yet show decay." + +"What I can't get through my noodle," George said, with a puzzled look, +"is why any one should construct such a habitable little cabin in this +out of the way spot, and then go away and leave it. We must be at least +twelve or fifteen miles from the nearest neighbor." + +"We're farther than that," observed Sandy, "judging from the time it +took us to row our supplies over from the floating dock where we landed. +I hope we'll be ready to go out by the time our provisions run short." + +"Look here, Will," Tommy questioned, "did Mr. Horton direct you to this +exact spot, or did he only tell you to locate somewhere in this +vicinity? You never told us what he said." + +"He told me," was the guarded reply, "that I might be able to find a +deserted cabin on this moraine." + +"And he told you right where to find the moraine?" asked Sandy. + +"Of course he did!" + +"And you said nothing to us about that, either," complained Tommy. +"You're always holding something back from us!" + +"Well, now that we're here," George suggested, "perhaps Will can be +coaxed into telling us exactly what we're here for." + +"I should say so!" exclaimed Tommy. "We don't, know at the present +moment whether we're here to trap brown bears, or to box and ship +Northern Lights to the eastern markets." + +"Don't get sarcastic, boys!" replied Will. "I was instructed by Mr. +Horton to communicate to you all the information in my possession on our +first night in camp, and I'm ready right now to obey orders. Shall we go +inside? The bugs are pretty thick out here!" + +"I should say so!" shouted Tommy. "I'm pretty well hedged in from the +blooming insects," he went on, "but it makes me nervous to hear them +blowing their dinner horns every minute." + +"Gee!" exclaimed Sandy. "Whenever I get into this anti-mosquito rig, I +feel like an armored train!" + +Twilight lay heavy over the landscape now, and so the boys were +confronted by a dark interior as they stepped into the cabin. + +"Who's got a searchlight handy?" asked Will. + +Tommy replied that he would have a light on in a second, but before the +finger of light from the electric shot into the room, Will half fell +over a yielding figure which lay on the floor not for away from the +table. + +Then the circle of light, thrown hastily down, rested upon the white, +drawn face of a boy not far from sixteen years of age. There was a +little showing of blood on the floor, and his eyes were tightly closed, +indicating that he had been rendered unconscious by a wound. + +The lad was dressed in the khaki uniform of the Boy Scouts of America, +and the badge on his hat showed that he was Leader of the Fox Patrol. + +A long envelope torn open at one end and bearing the name of Will Smith, +lay empty by the lad's side. + +"Where did he come from?" cried Tommy, "and who is he?" + +"Must have dropped out of the sky!" declared Sandy. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE PRINT OF A THUMB + + +"The Fox Patrol!" exclaimed George. "I wonder if that means the Fox +Patrol of Chicago? It doesn't seem to me that this kid could have +followed on our heels across the continent!" + +Will lifted the torn envelope from the floor and examined it critically. + +"That's your name isn't it?" asked Sandy looking over his shoulder. + +"It certainly is!" replied Will. + +"Well, you've got the address left, anyhow!" said George. + +"Say," Tommy suggested, opening his eyes very wide, "some gink followed +the boy here, bumped him on the coco, and stole the communication! I +reckon we're getting into the center of population again. Here we are, +several hundred miles from nowhere, and we've unearthed an innocent +messenger and a bold highwayman already!" + +"Have you any idea what the stolen paper contained?" asked George. + +"Not the slightest!" replied Will. + +"Wasn't it arranged that Mr. Horton should communicate with you after we +reached this point?" asked Sandy. + +"Certainly not!" was the reply. "He gave me full instructions before we +left Chicago. If I found a deserted cabin at this point, I was to make +camp here. If I did not, I was to keep along the coast toward Bering +Glacier until I discovered one answering this description." + +"But where did this kid come from?" insisted Tommy. "How did he ever get +here all by his lonely? We had two guides to help us in, and it seems +that he came alone, that is, as far as we can see." + +"I don't think he came alone!" replied Sandy pointing to the wound on +the boy's head. "He never got a bump like that in a fall!" + +"Oh, we'll have to wait until the kid wakes up!" Tommy cut in. "We'd +better be doing something to help him out of his trance, instead of +standing here guessing. He may be badly hurt!" + +The limp figure was lifted from the floor and placed on one of the bunks +fastened to the wall of the cabin. The lad groaned slightly as the +change was made, but did not open his eyes. + +"I guess he got a bad bump," Will suggested. "And I'm sorry to say that +his wound requires a piece of surgery far beyond my ability to perform. +I'm afraid we'll have to send out for a doctor!" + +The boys used every means within their knowledge to bring the lad back +to consciousness, but all their efforts proved unavailing. The lad lay +in a comatose condition long after all their resources had failed. + +So busily engaged were the boys in their efforts at resuscitation that +they did not for a moment remember that they, themselves, might be in +danger from the same hand which had struck down the boy. + +As they worked over the lad, bathing the wound with hot water and +endeavoring to force stimulating drinks between the set teeth, they did +not observe a bearded face was pressed for a moment against a window +pane. It was an evil face, and was gone on the instant. + +After three hours of steady exertion, the boys relaxed their efforts and +sat down to consider the situation. They had searched the boy's +clothing, but had found nothing giving a clue to his name or residence. + +"Right out of the air!" exclaimed Sandy. "If we should blunder into a +camp devoid of a mystery, we'd have to move out or die of suffocation!" + +"I'd like to know who the boy is, and where he came from," Will said, +after a short pause, "but the principal question now is this: What was +in the paper that was stolen from the envelope?" + +"Probably some information directed to you," suggested Tommy. + +"Undoubtedly," Will answered. + +"And now, instead of coming into your hands," George remarked, "the +warning, or the command, or whatever you may call it, passes over to the +man who attempted murder in order to secure it!" + +"That's just the size of it!" Tommy agreed. + +"It strikes me," George suggested, "that we'd better set a guard through +the rest of the night. The fellow who struck this blow may be waiting to +strike another!" + +"How long were we gone from the cabin?" asked Will. + +"Less than an hour," replied Sandy. + +"Then, if we had at once set up a search for the assassin," Will went +on, "we might have discovered him." + +"Not in a thousand years, in this wild country!" exclaimed Tommy. + +Will went to the door and looked out toward the east. + +"It will be daylight directly," he said, "and then we will see what can +be accomplished in the way of finding clues." + +"Nix on the clue!" argued Tommy. "The gink who bumped our friend on the +cupola came after the paper. He got the paper and ducked, and that's all +there is to it! If there were any secret communications concerning our +mission in the paper, the robber got them!" + +"And where does that leave us?" asked Sandy. + +"Up in the air!" grumbled Tommy. + +"So far as I can see," Will stated, "you boys have the situation sized +up correctly! The boy was sent here to convey certain information to me. +He made his way to the cabin before being attacked. Then he was struck +down and the important paper abstracted from the envelope." + +"I've got an idea!" cried Tommy springing to his feet and walking up and +down the cabin floor. "I've got a bully idea!" + +"Pass it around," advised Sandy. + +"This lad wasn't followed in at all!" Tommy went on. "The man who +attacked him and stole the paper was waiting for him at this cabin! The +lad was mistaken for the boy whose name appears on the envelope, and so +he got what was meant for some one else!" + +"But look here," George argued, "if the assassin was waiting here for +the boy to come, why didn't he jump us as soon as we made our +appearance?" + +"That's another question I can't answer," Tommy admitted. "I might say +that the man reached the cabin and found this boy sitting here alone, +but that would be only guess work." + +Will arose and walked over to the bunk where the wounded boy lay. + +"Half a dozen words from his lips would settle the whole question," he +said, "but it appears to me that it will be a long time before he will +be able to speak a word. All our Boy Scout learning in the matter of +wounds is ineffective here!" + +"There's one thing clear to me," George argued, "and that is that some +one in this wild region now knows more about our mission here than we do +ourselves. Of course, Will may know quite a lot regarding it," he added, +with a wink, "but, if he does, he hasn't yet confided the story to us." + +"That's a hint that you get busy and tell us what we're here for," +suggested Tommy with another wink. + +"I'll tell you what I know about the matter," Will answered, "but in the +face of the fact that a more recent reading of the case is known to +exist, the chances are that any explanations I may make may prove to be +worthless." + +"Can you answer a straight question?" asked Tommy. + +"I think so," answered Will. + +"Will you answer a straight question?" persisted the boy. + +"Certainly!" + +"Then answer it. What are we here for?" + +"We are here," replied Will, "to secure the print of a thumb!" + +"Has the shock of this incident turned your head?" asked Tommy. + +"I answered the question correctly!" replied Will. "We came all the way +from Chicago to find the print of a man's right thumb!" + +"Where do you expect to find it?" demanded Sandy. + +"Somewhere among the mountains and glaciers," smiled Will. + +"I can get all the thumb prints I want on South Clark street!" declared +Tommy. "Of course, it's fun to come out here, under any pretext +whatever, but I think Mr. Horton might have given us a more sensible +errand than that. This is worse than the trip to the coal mine!" + +"Now tell us the excuse Mr. Horton gave for wanting this print of a +man's right thumb," smiled Sandy. + +Will arose and went to the door. The sun was lifting through a narrow +pass in the mountains, and the creatures of the thickets and the air +were astir. A flock of water fowl was winging swiftly to the north, and +what seemed to be the keen eyes of a wolf looked out from the shelter of +the undergrowth. The air was clear and invigorating. + +"Why don't you answer my question?" asked Sandy. + +"Did you hear footsteps outside?" asked Will. + +Sandy shook his head, but the two boys, after drawing on their +head-nets, stepped out into the glorious morning. + +"There is no reason," Will decided, "why the person who attacked the boy +and stole the paper should find it necessary to leave this section +without trying to find out something more. I have an idea that whoever +injured the lad is still in this vicinity--that he will remain in this +vicinity as long as there is a prospect of his securing additional +information." + +"The mosquitos will eat him up if he remains around here without proper +shelter!" Sandy suggested. + +"That is one way of fighting off mosquitos," Will said, catching the boy +by the arm and pointing off to the east, where a faint line of smoke was +making its way through the still air. + +"There's some kind of a camp there, all right!" exclaimed Sandy. + +Tommy and George now came out of the cabin and the four boys stood for +some moments watching the column of smoke which seemed to grow more +dense every moment. While they looked, a second column appeared beside +the first. + +"If we were in a Boy Scout country," Tommy exclaimed, "I should say that +was an Indian signal for help." + +"In a Boy Scout country!" repeated Sandy. "If this isn't a Boy Scout +country, what is it? Every inhabitant, so far as we know, belongs to the +order!" + +"Well, there's a Boy Scout call for assistance," urged Tommy, excitedly, +"and I think we'd better get a move on and see what it means!" + + + + +CHAPTER III + +A MESSAGE IN CODE + + +"We mustn't all go," Will said, as his companions started on a run in +the direction of the smoke signals. + +"I should say not!" exclaimed Sandy. "If we should all go away at one +time we might find another wounded boy in the cabin on our return!" + +"Suppose you keep watch, then," Tommy suggested. + +"All right," Sandy agreed. "I'll stay if you'll stay with me." + +Tommy grumbled a little at the idea of missing a little possible +excitement, but the two lads entered the cabin and closed the door while +Will and George started away toward the signals. + +The moraine over which they passed was something like a floor of loose +rocks of different sizes, with mats of mosses, lichens, sedges, and +dwarf shrubs scattered here and there, so the traveling was by no means +easy. Now and then the boys came to a place where the rocks were +entirely bare, and here their progress was more rapid. + +The columns of smoke grew more distinct as they advanced, and, after +traveling a mile or more, they came to a position from which a figure +could be seen moving back and forth between the two fires. + +"That's a kid all right!" Will decided, watching the figure closely +through a field glass. "And he's wearing a Boy Scout uniform, too!" + +"I have an idea," George declared, with a sly wink at his chum, "that if +we should ascend to the Mountains of the Moon and drop into a gorge a +thousand feet deep, we'd find a Boy Scout in a khaki uniform at the +bottom." + +"I'm not kicking at the discovery of a Boy Scout," laughed Will. "The +more Boy Scouts we come across in this desolate land the happier we +shall be." + +"I'm not kicking, either," replied George. "I was only commenting on the +queer fact that we find Boy Scouts in every region we chance to visit." + +"You'll find the little fellows scattered all over the world!" declared +Will. "And they're always doing something wherever they are." + +Will now handed the field glass to George and he, in turn, made a short +study of the figure passing back and forth between the two fires, piling +wood now on one and now on another. + +"It's dollars to doughnuts," Will observed, "that the boy by the fires +came in with the one who lies in the cabin with a busted head." + +"I've been considering that proposition," George said. + +"Then, perhaps, we may be able to solve a portion of the mystery as soon +as we get into conversation with the lad," Will continued. + +"I wonder why he didn't come to the cabin during the night?" asked +George. "He surely must have seen the lights shining from the windows." + +Will turned and looked back over the route they had followed. + +"We can't see the cabin from here," he said. + +"That's a fact," George agreed, "and if the smoke hadn't been going up +good and plenty we would never have seen that!" + +The next moment the lad at the fires saw Will and George approaching and +ran forward to meet them, uttering as he ran the sharp, quick bark of +the fox. The boys responded with the challenge of the Beaver Patrol. + +The lad met the two with anything but a serious or anxious expression on +his face. He grasped them heartily by the hand and pointed toward the +columns of smoke, still rising into the sky. + +"No matter where you start a signal fire," he said with a smile, "you're +sure to find some Boy Scout who will understand and answer." + +"Even in Alaska!" George grinned. "A thousand miles from nowhere you can +dig up a nest of Boy Scouts by sending up an Indian sign for help." + +"Are you Will Smith?" the boy asked after a few more words of greeting +had been exchanged. "If you are, I've come along way to find you!" + +"Yes, I am Will Smith," the boy answered. + +"How'd you guess it?" asked George. "Why didn't you ask me if I was the +boss of the bunch? Don't I look dignified enough?" + +"I have a description of Will Smith lying nicely tucked in at the back +of my brain!" replied the boy. "Mr. Horton told me where I'd be apt to +find him. It seems that I've found him all right, but in doing so, I've +lost my chum! Haven't seen anything of a stray Boy Scout, have you?" + +Will did not reply to the question immediately, yet he did not care to +convey to the boy the news of what had occurred until after a clear +understanding of the situation had been reached. + +"What's your name?" asked George. + +"Frank Disbrow, Fox Patrol, Chicago," was the reply. + +"And your chum?" asked Will. + +"Bert Calkins, Fox Patrol, Chicago." + +"Do you mean to tell me that you have followed us boys from Chicago?" +asked George. "You've had a long chase if you have done so!" + +"No," answered Frank, "we were very much surprised, one day, to receive +a wireless telegram from my father, who is connected in various business +operations with Lawyer Horton. The wireless stated that father had work +for us to do in Alaska, and the result of it all was that we received a +long message in code from Mr. Horton." + +"In code?" asked Will, excitedly. + +"Exactly! In code." + +"In whose code?" asked Will. + +"Father's," was the reply. + +"I see," said Will. "And you, of course, understand your father's code?" + +"Certainly!" was the answer. + +"What did the message in code say?" asked George. + +"It was addressed to Will Smith," was the answer, "and I, following +instructions, did not translate it." + +"The message to you simply requested the delivery of the code message?" +asked Will. + +"Yes, that's all it told us to do." + +"Do you know what the code message contained?" asked Will. + +"I do not!" was the reply. "You see," the boy went on, "Bert Calkins and +I were at Cordova on a vacation. If the wireless message had been two +hours later it would have found us on the way to Cook Inlet." + +"Just traveling about for the fun of the thing, eh?" asked George. + +"That's the idea," replied Frank. + +"Perhaps we'd better return to the cabin before we get the history of +this boy's life," suggested George, with a grin. "I don't like the way +these mosquitos howl about my ears. I'm afraid they'll devour the net +and begin on me." + +"The cabin?" repeated Frank. "Did you find the cabin?" + +"Sure we did," answered George. "And we left the cabin for an hour or so +last night, and when we came back we found a member of the Fox Patrol +asleep on the floor." + +"So that's where Bert went, is it?" asked Frank. "You see," the boy went +on, "I got separated from Bert just this side of Katalla. He loitered +behind to view the scenery, or something of that sort, and I came on +ahead." + +"And he never caught up with you?" asked George. + +"He never did," was the reply, "although I saw him at different times +during yesterday. I thought he headed off in this direction, and so came +here. I've had rather a bad night looking for him." + +"He had the code message addressed to Will?" asked George. + +"Yes," was the reply. + +"The untranslated code message?" Will asked. + +"Yes, the untranslated code message." + +"Glory be!" shouted George. + +Frank looked at the boy in wonder for a moment, and then turned to Will +with a question in his eyes. + +"It's a long story," Will said in answer to the look, "and we'd better +wait until we get to the cabin before entering upon it." + +"Is Bert all right?" asked Frank. + +"He got a little bump on the head somewhere," answered George, "but +he'll come out of that all right, in time. I wasn't rejoicing because +your chum got a poke on the belfry," George went on, whimsically, "I was +shouting because the man who stole the code message didn't accomplish +anything." + +Frank, who was now standing by the fire collecting such bits of wardrobe +as had been removed from his handbag, and also collecting the remains of +the solitary lunch of which he had partaken that morning, again turned +to Will with an interrogation point in each eye. + +"Was the code message stolen?" he asked. + +"It certainly was!" Will answered. "At least a large envelope with my +name written across the front was found, with the end torn open, by your +friend's side as he lay on the floor." + +"That's the work of the man who followed us in!" declared Frank. + +"We'll get this story all out of you pretty soon," laughed George. + +"Suppose we go to the cabin before we uncork the entire yarn," suggested +Frank. "To tell you the truth, boys, I didn't have half enough +breakfast, and I'm about starved to death!" + +"All right," Will replied. "There's nothing to keep us here that I know +of. Did you see any one around your camp in the night?" he continued. +"What kind of a night did you pass?" + +"A rotten, bad night!" was the answer. "I traveled a long way before I +came to any wood suitable for building a campfire, and after I got one +built it seemed to send out a bugle call to every wild animal within +forty miles of the place. I guess I heard bears, and wolves, and wild +dogs, and bull moose, and every other form, of wild life known to +Alaska, at some time during the night!" + +"And all the time," grinned George, "you were not more than a mile or so +from our cabin. It's a wonder you didn't see our light." + +"Well, I didn't," Frank replied. "But that's past and gone," he went on, +in a moment, "and what I'm thinking about at the present time is this: +Did the man who stole the code message from Bert force the boy to +translate it for him? Tell me something more about the attack on the +boy." + +"We don't know anything about the attack," replied Will. "We found him +lying on the floor of the cabin unconscious, and he has been unconscious +ever since." + +"Well," Frank went on, "Bert understands the code, for I taught it to +him while we were translating the telegrams which came to me. Now, if +this outlaw took the code before he struck the blow, the chances are +that he ordered Bert to translate it for him. In that case, something +which those opposed to you ought not to know is in the hands of your +foes." + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE LOST PLANS + + +"Well, there's a chance that the boy didn't translate the code message," +George argued. "Anyway, we ought not to worry about that part of the +case. Time enough to fret when real trouble comes." + +By this time the boys had reached the cabin, after an exhausting journey +over the moraine. They found Tommy and Sandy standing just inside the +screened doorway, waiting impatiently for their arrival. + +"Where did you find this one?" asked Tommy with a grin. + +"Did he drop down out of the sky?" Sandy questioned. + +Frank stood back for a moment, eyeing the two critically. + +"I know you two kids," he said. "You're Tommy and Sandy. I've read about +you in the Chicago newspapers, but I never expected to meet you out in +Alaska. You seem to be getting plenty to eat, judging from your +condition. And that brings back to my mind the condition of my own +stomach." + +"Boys," Will exclaimed, "this is Frank Disbrow. He started for our cabin +in company with Bert Calking, the boy we found on the floor last night. +The two were bringing a code despatch to me, and they became separated +early yesterday morning." + +"A code message, was it?" Tommy asked. + +"Yes, a code message," Will answered, "but the bearer of the despatch +may, for all we know, have been forced to translate the message for the +benefit of the man who robbed him of it." + +In a moment Frank was by the side of his chum, gazing down into a white +and haggard face. He turned away in a moment with a little shiver of +anxiety. His face, too, was pale. + +"I'm afraid that's a serious wound!" he said. + +"If we only had a surgeon," Sandy suggested. + +"I'll go get one," offered Tommy. "I can cut across to Katalla in no +time and bring back the best doctor there is in the country." + +"I'll go with you," offered Sandy. + +"Now, wait a minute, boys!" Will said in a moment. "Let's think this +matter over. If you go to Cordova instead of Katalla, you can +communicate with Frank's father at Chicago, and so get in touch with Mr. +Horton. In this way, we can learn the contents of the code despatch. +There surely was some strong reason for sending it, and it seems as if +we ought to know its contents." + +"That's a good idea, too," exclaimed Tommy. "We'll go to Katalla, and +perhaps we can find a boat about ready to sail for Cordova. In that case +we ought to get up to the wireless station and back in a couple of days. +The distance isn't great, but it's rough traveling." + +"I wish we could take Bert with us," suggested Frank. + +"Are you thinking of going?" asked Will. + +"Yes," was the reply, "if I could take Bert out." + +"Bert is in no condition to be taken out," Will answered, "and even if +he were it would take so long to make the journey that we could get a +surgeon out here before we could land him in a hospital." + +"I think," Frank said, "that I ought to go with the boy who is sent out +after a surgeon. It is not certain that father will communicate by +wireless save to his son. Anyway, I can find out a great deal more by +talking with him than could any one else." + +"I guess that's right!" Will replied. + +"Then I'll go with him!" Tommy shouted. "I want to see what's going on +in the world of fashion, anyway!" + +"All right," Will said. "Pack up your provisions and get ready to move. +Of course you'll need provisions." + +"I usually do!" grinned Tommy. + +The lads packed up the good supply of sandwiches and started off towards +Katalla. It was somewhere near noon when they left the cabin, and they +expected to reach the town on the coast before twilight fell, the +distance being not more than fourteen miles. + +"If you don't get to town when night falls," Will warned, "don't try to +camp out in the open, but keep going until you find some human +habitation. You remember what happened to Bert!" + +"Any one who comes within a half a mile of me in a lonely place," Tommy +put in, "will scrape the acquaintance of a bullet." + +"And here's another thing," Will advised, "don't travel without a wet +cloth or a bunch of green leaves inside your hat. It'll be ninety in the +shade before the afternoon is over!" + +"Yes, and a hundred in the sun!" declared Sandy. + +"That's a nice weather for the Arctic regions, isn't it?" asked Frank. + +"We have to take it just as we find it!" replied Will. + +The boys started away on a brisk walk, and were accompanied by their +chums some distance down the faint trail which led to the coast. At one +time in the history of the country one large glacier had completely +covered that section. But now, thousands of subordinate canyons and +hollows on the mountains were filled with independent masses of ice. + +All that section of Alaska, from smoking Wrangell to the Pacific coast, +shows volcanic peaks. There are many dead craters, and some which are +not so dead! There are still peaks of fire as well as rivers of ice. + +After the departure of the two boys, Will and the others devoted +considerable attention to the wounded lad. They did their best with the +simple means at hand, but never, for an instant, did the boy regain +consciousness. + +"I don't think we can do anything for him until the surgeon comes," Will +said as he threw himself disconsolately into a chair. + +"If we only knew whether he was forced to translate the code message for +the benefit of the man who robbed him," Sandy suggested, "there wouldn't +be so much doubt as to what course we ought to take." + +"The code message," Will argued, "may change the whole scheme." + +"Yes," Sandy complained, "and we won't know what to do until Frank comes +back with the duplicate." + +"We won't know what to do then unless Will loosens up!" laughed George. + +"Referring, of course," Sandy laughed, "to the prospective story of the +mark of the human thumb. Will was about to tell us all about it when we +saw the signals sent up by Frank." + +"That's a fact," Will replied. "I didn't get any further than the +mention of the human thumb, did I?" + +"We're waiting to hear the rest of it now!" declared Sandy. + +"Well," Will began, "there was a safe robbed in Chicago one night, and +two men were accused of the crime. The accused men were in the employ of +the manufacturing concern whose safe was entered. They admit that they +were in the private office of the firm during the night, but they deny +that they opened the safe." + +"Of course!" laughed George. + +"Now don't form any hasty conclusions," Will went on. "There was a third +person in the office that night, according to the stories told by the +two men who are accused, but this third person says he wasn't there!" + +"Then this third person may be the one who opened the safe." + +"That is the theory of the defense," Will explained. + +"But what's all this got to do with the mark of a man's right thumb?" +asked George. + +"I'm coming to that," Will went on. "The three men who were in the +office that night--we are supposing for the sake of the argument that +there were three men there, and that the man who says he wasn't there is +lying about it--were looking over a set of plans for a new machine which +the company was arranging to manufacture." + +"I've got you now!" laughed Sandy. "The thumb print of the third man was +left on the drawings!" + +"That's the idea," admitted Will. "The two men say that they were not a +little annoyed during the course of the evening because this man, +Babcock, persisted in pawing over the plans with dirty hands. They +declare that the marks of both thumbs are to be seen on drawings, not in +plain dust and grime, but in ink." + +"He must have spilled the ink," suggested George. + +"That's what they say," Will replied. + +"Well, go on!" urged George. + +"The statement is made by the two accused men that they worked over the +plans until after midnight, and that they left this man Babcock at the +office when they went to their homes. Babcock denied that he was in the +office at all that night." + +"Where are the plans?" asked George. + +"In Alaska," answered Will. + +"But whereabouts in Alaska?" + +Will looked at the boy quizzically for a moment before he answered. + +"That's just what we're here to find out!" he finally said. + +"But why, when, where, how?" began the boy. + +"One at a time!" laughed Will. "On the morning following the robbery, +the plans having been rejected by the two men who were accused of +robbing the safe, were sent to a mining company having an office at +Cordova. So far as the defense is concerned, they have never been seen +since that time." + +"Were they actually sent?" demanded George. + +"Yes, they were sent. The manager of the mining company admits having +received them. He says they were turned over to a clerk for examination. +From the time they passed into the hands of this clerk, no one had seen +them. The clerk says he never had them." + +"Do the manager and the clerk know what the defense in the robbery case +expects to prove by the papers if they can be secured?" asked George. + +"They are not supposed to know," Will answered. + +"But you think that they may know, for all that?" + +"At the time of leaving Chicago, I had no idea that there would be any +trouble at all in securing the plans. In fact, until Bert was found +lying on our floor last night, I believed that we should discover the +papers as soon as we came upon one Len Garman, a miner who has, against +the advice of his friends, been prospecting in this district, and who is +known to have at one time occupied this cabin." + + + + +CHAPTER V + +FISHING IN ALASKA + + +"Are you sure this is the same cabin?" asked George. + +"Yes, I am sure this is the same cabin. At any rate, the description is +perfect, both as regards the structure and the surroundings." + +"I may be somewhat dense," George went on, "but I can't understand why a +miner who is fool enough to prospect for gold on a dead glacier should +take pains to conceal plans concerning the manufacture of a machine. +What did he want of the plans?" + +"I didn't say that he was concealing the plans," laughed Will. + +"Well, you inferred as much!" + +"As a matter of fact, I think he is hiding the plans." + +"Does he expect to go into the manufacturing business?" grinned Sandy. + +"I don't know about that," Will replied, "but there is talk that the +clerk and the miner conspired to lose the plans." + +"Because of the thumb prints?" asked Sandy. + +"No; because the machine outlined in the plans is a mining machine, and +because this clerk, Vin Chase, his name is, and this miner, Garman, have +a notion in their head that they can steal the idea and bring forth a +machine of their own. At least that is the supposition in Chicago." + +"The plot deepens!" laughed George, "We'll be doing business with the +Patent Office the first thing we know!" + +"Are the plans which are claimed to hold the thumb prints of any value?" +asked Sandy. "What I mean is, is the alleged invention of any account? +You know there are plenty of inventions which are not worth the paper +they are drawn on." + +"Spaulding and Hurley, the two men accused of stealing the money," Will +answered, "declare that the plans are absolutely without value." + +"Why didn't you tell us all this before we left Chicago?" asked George. +"I don't see any necessity for your keeping the story of the plans such +a profound secret!" + +"Well," answered Will, "the principal reason why I didn't tell you the +whole story in Chicago is that I didn't care to clutter your minds up +with a puzzling proposition which might be solved in a moment at the end +of the journey. I expected to find Garman and the plans in this cottage. +In that case, I should have shipped the plans back to Chicago and we +should have gone with our playful little vacation under the North Star." + +"Then you wouldn't have told us anything about the plans or the +robbers?" questioned Sandy. + +"Certainly not," was the reply. "You see, boys," Will went on, observing +the injured look on the faces of his chums, "we've always been mixed up +in some mystery, ever since the day we started out to visit the Pictured +Rocks of Old Superior. So I thought you might like one trip free of +puzzles and excitements." + +"Don't you never permit us to lose sight of a mystery!" exclaimed +George. "I eat mysteries three times a day, and then dream of mysteries +at night! And Sandy," he went on, "just gets fat on mysteries!" + +"All right," Will agreed. "If you want to tie your intellect all up into +knots studying out such Sherlock Holmes puzzles as come to me, I have no +objections." + +"Well, we've found the cottage," George observed presently, "but we +haven't found the man." + +"Perhaps Bert Calkins found him," contended Will. + +"Do you really think the miner is still hanging around this cabin?" +asked Sandy. "Do you think he is the man who gave Bert the clout on the +head? If you do think so, we'd better keep a sharp lookout." + +"Garman wouldn't know anything about our coming here after the plans!" +suggested George. + +"Any man who steals another man's invention, or tries to steal it, will +go to almost any length to protect the thing he has stolen. Even if +Garman had no previous knowledge of our visit to this place our arrival +here would at once excite his suspicions." + +"I see that now," agreed George, "and the first thing the fellow would +do would be to try to discover what we were doing here." + +"Yes," continued Will, "and that would be sufficient motive for him to +attack the bearer of the code despatch." + +"I guess we've got it all doped out now," laughed George. "All we've got +to do is to find this man Garman, take the original plans away from him, +mail them back to Chicago, and go on about our business." + +"And the lawyers in Chicago will do the rest!" grinned Sandy. + +"It looks easy, doesn't it?" suggested Will. + +"Why, if this miner doesn't know anything about what we're here for, we +can tell him any story we're a mind to. We can tell him we're here on a +vacation and have money to invest in a mine, if he can find the right +kind of a mine for us," laughed George. "In twenty-four hours after we +get hold of him, we can have him eating corn out of our hands, like a +billy goat." + +"You say it well!" laughed Sandy. + +"That's all very well," Will agreed, "provided Garman isn't the man who +took the code despatch from Bert Calkins." + +"And provided, too," George declared, "that Garman didn't force the boy +to translate the despatch for his benefit." + +"And provided, also," Sandy cut in, "that the code despatch doesn't give +away the whole snap to the miner. If he sees the machine plans referred +to in any way, he'll think we want to get them away from him, because +they are the stolen plans, and then it will be all off for us!" + +"And so, when you come to round up on the proposition," Will argued, "we +are not much further along than we were when we left Chicago, except +that we have found the cabin." + +"Who said anything about getting dinner?" asked Sandy, after a short +pause. "I remember having a little snack about twelve o'clock, but that +wasn't to be considered as a full meal, I hope." + +"What have we got to eat?" asked Will. + +"Nothing but a lot of canned stuff!" declared Sandy. + +"Well, then, go out and get a deer, or half a dozen rabbits, or go back +here to the little creek that runs into Copper river and see if you can +get a mess of fish. There ought to be plenty of fish in Alaska!" + +"What kind of fish can you get?" asked Sandy. + +"Salmon!" answered Will. + +"How far is it to the creek?" was the next question. + +"Something over a mile, I should say," replied Will. + +"It can't be any further than that," George cut in. "The glacier this +cabin is built on supplies most of the water for it." + +"All right, then," Sandy replied. "I'll get myself up a little lunch +consisting of a couple of slices of bacon and three or four eggs, and go +out and catch a ten-pound salmon for dinner. Want to go with me, +George?" he added. "No need of all three staying here." + +"Let Will go," replied George. "I'm tired, and there's a particularly +interesting book I'd like to finish this afternoon." + +Will went pawing among the fishing tackle, and finally called out to +George who was just crawling into a bunk with his book: + +"What do they catch fish with in Alaska?" + +"Hooks!" replied George. + +"Hooks and eyes?" asked Will, with a chuckle. + +"Sure! Hooks and eyes! You see 'em with the eyes, and grab 'em with the +hooks!" + +"Aw, never mind that gink!" laughed Sandy. "He doesn't know any more +about fishing in Alaska than a hog knows about Sunday! Bring along all +the flies we've got and some red flannel, and some pieces of dirty +bacon, and we'll manage to get fish. If one bait won't answer, another +will." + +"Do we have to cut a hole through the ice?" asked Will. + +"Cut a hole through the ice!" repeated George. "Eighty or ninety in the +shade! If you don't get this boy out of here, Sandy," George added, +"I'll give him a poke in the eye!" + +After selecting such flies, hooks, and lines as they thought might prove +alluring to the fish, Will and Sandy started away in the direction of +the little stream which ran out of the glacier a mile or so to the north +and took a general direction toward Copper river. + +After walking half a mile or more, they came to a line of rocks which +seemed to extend from the open ice of the glacier to the coast, a +distance of perhaps five or six miles. West of this line of moraine +rocks the land sloped gradually to the northwest and here the headwaters +of the little creek they sought were found. + +Straight away to the north, west of the glacier, rose a range of wooded +hills just now bright with blossoms and swarming with insect life. The +little creek crept along to the south of this range, and, further down, +separated the ground to the south from the hills. + +Sandy leaped across the little rivulet as it came bubbling out of the +ice hidden under the moraine and started down the bank next to the line +of hills. Will kept to the other side. + +"Why don't you come across?" shouted Sandy. + +"What's the good of crossing over at all?" Will asked. "Before long the +stream will be so wide that you can't cross back, and then you'll have +to retrace your steps clear to the headwaters!" + +"I can swim, can't I?" laughed Sandy. + +"Not in that cold water!" replied Will. + +Sandy only laughed in reply to the warning, and the two boys proceeded +downstream, one on each side of the rivulet. + +Within half an hour they caught half a dozen salmon of fair size, +weighing from four to six pounds, using only red flannel for bait. + +"What do you think of a fish in his right mind that'll try to eat red +flannel?" asked Sandy, speaking from the opposite side of the creek. + +"Boys do more foolish things than that!" answered Will. + +"Explanation!" grinned Sandy. + +"They smoke cigarettes, for one thing!" replied Will. "Even a fish that +tries to make a meal off red flannel won't smoke a cigarette." + +"We don't seem to get anything very big!" shouted Sandy. + +"Well," Will answered back with a faint smile, "take a look up the +hillside and see if that bear coming is large enough for you!" + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +A MISSING BOY + + +"Bear nothing!" laughed Sandy. "There isn't a bear within a hundred miles +of us! You can't fool your Uncle Isaac!" + +"Look back and see!" advised Will. + +Sandy paid no attention to the remark, but kept on fishing, following on +down stream until he was some yards in advance of his chum. + +So interested was he in the sport in which he was engaged that he +thought no more of what had been said to him regarding the bear until a +pistol shot reached his ears. + +Then he glanced quickly in the rear, taking in the whole line of the +hillside at one glance. + +Just at that moment the whole landscape seemed to consist principally of +bear! Will had wounded a great brown bear, and he was charging down +toward the place where Sandy stood. The boy drew his automatic and faced +about, hardly knowing what else to do, as the creek was too wide to leap +across. The bear came on with a rush. + +"Run!" shouted Will. + +"I guess you'll have to show me a place to run to!" Sandy shouted back. +"This bear seems to have taken possession of about all the territory +there is on this side of the creek." + +"Shoot, you dunce, shoot before he gets up to you!" shouted Will. "If he +gets one swipe at you with that paw, you'll land out in the Gulf of +Alaska! Fill him full of lead!" + +Sandy began firing, but the bear came steadily on. + +"You'll have to swim for it!" shouted Will in a moment. "You mustn't let +that big brute get near enough to hand you one with that educated left +of his. Jump in and swim and I'll help pull you out!" + +Sandy looked at the creek and shivered. The water looked blue, as if +shivering from the cold. He faced about and decided to take a few more +shots at the bear before risking his life in the cold water. + +"You'll have to jump!" Will shouted from the other side. + +"I wouldn't have to jump," Sandy cried back, "If you'd do more shooting +and less talking! Go on and use up your lead!" + +In the excitement of the time, Will had, indeed, forgotten to keep his +automatic busy. He now began shooting as fast as the weapon would carry +the lead away, and bruin seemed to take offense at the activity with +which the bullets flew about him. He was bleeding in several places, and +was in a perfect frenzy of rage. + +"I guess that's an armored bear!" Will shouted across the creek. "I +don't believe our bullets have any effect on him!" + +By this time the bear was within a few paces of Sandy. The boy's +automatic was empty now, yet he obstinately refused to spring into the +water. Bruin reached out one paw and Sandy ducked, coming up behind the +clumsy animal and landed a blow with the butt of the automatic on his +head. + +The next few moments were something of a blank in the mind of the boy. +He heard Will calling to him, he knew that he had been struck by the +bear, knew that his chum's bullets were still flying across the river, +and knew that things were turning black around him. + +Then he felt a dash of cold water in his face, and looked up to see Will +standing over him, pouring water out of his hat. + +"What did I do to the bear?" he asked faintly. + +"Wait till you get to a mirror and see what the bear did to you!" +replied Will. "What you got was a plenty!" + +"Why didn't I jump in and swim across?" asked Sandy feebly. + +"Because you're the most obstinate little customer that ever drew the +breath of life," answered Will. "You took a chance on being eaten alive +by a bear rather than get your feet wet!" + +"Did I get my feet wet?" asked Sandy. + +"No, but I did!" answered Will. "I had to swim across. The bear handed +you one between the eyes and then dropped dead. I was afraid you'd lie +here all night if I didn't do something, so I swam over." + +"So you're the one that got wet?" grinned Sandy. + +"Yes, I'm the one that got wet, but you're the one that got beat up!" +replied Will. "Do you think you can walk home now?" + +"Sandy straightened out one arm at a time, then one leg at a time, then +arose to a sitting position. + +"I don't know why not!" he replied. + +"Get up and see if you can walk!" advised Will. + +"'Course I can walk!" replied Sandy. "I just went down for the count!" + +He scrambled slowly to his feet and turned about to gaze at his late +antagonist. The bear was lying stone dead close to the stream. + +"He's a big one, isn't he?" he asked. + +"He certainly is," was the reply. "If he'd got a good swipe at you +before he became weak from loss of blood, you'd be in the 'Good-night' +land all right now!" the boy added, with a grin. + +"Well, I'm glad he didn't, then!" answered Sandy. + +"Do you think we can carry the rug home?" asked Will. + +"Perhaps you can," replied Sandy. "I don't feel as if I could carry an +extra ounce. I guess Bruin did pass me a stiff jolt!" + +"You bet he did!" replied Will. "Anyway," he added, "we'll have to leave +the rug until some other time, because we've got quite a lot of fish to +carry. If any one steals the hide, we'll have to stand it." + +"We might skin the bear and put the hide up in a tree," suggested Sandy. +"We'll have to tan the pelt in the sunshine, anyway!" + +"That's a good idea, too!" exclaimed Will, getting busy at once with his +knife. "And that reminds me that we can have bear steak for supper if we +want it. We all like bear steak, you know!" + +"I should say so!" replied Sandy. + +It took the boys only a short time to remove the pelt from the bear and +provide themselves with a few pounds of steak. Then leaving part of +their fish, they started away up the creek toward the cabin. + +Now and then Will stopped in the hurried walk to look toward Sandy and +grin in the most provoking manner. + +"If you see anything about me you don't like," Sandy said, half-angrily, +on the third or fourth inspection, "you can just step over here and +knock it out of me! What are you making fun of me for?" + +"You look like you'd been through a battle with a cage of monkeys," +replied Will. "You've got a swipe on the side of the face, and your +cheek is scratched and bloody, and you got a swipe on your shoulder, and +there's a tear on your shoulder, in the flesh as well as in your coat, +and one eye will be black as soon as the blood settles under the +contusion. Take it up one side and down the other, you're a pretty +disreputable looking object!" + +"You wait until you get into a fight with a bear, and see how you come +out! I'll bet you won't look as if you'd just dropped in from a pink +tea! You'll look about like thirty cents!" + +"When I see a bear coming," replied Will, "I hope I'll have the sense to +run! I won't stay and get into a knock-down argument with him!" + +It was nearly sundown when the boys came in sight of the cabin. They +looked eagerly through the twilight for a light, expecting that George +would have the great acetylene lamp in working order. + +But no light showed from the cabin, and all was still as they approached +the door. When Will looked in he saw the interior was in confusion. + +"I should think George might straighten things out a little bit," he +grumbled. "I'll bet he's been asleep all the afternoon!" + +"I presume he has," agreed Sandy. + +Will reached to the top of a shelf for an electric flashlight and swung +the circle of flame about the room. + +"Why, look here!" he said excitedly, "what do you know about that?" + +"About what?" demanded Sandy, who was looking the other way. + +"About Bert's bed being empty!" + +"That's another joke!" + +"Not on your life!" exclaimed Will. + +Sandy turned around, gave one glance at the vacant bunk, and dropped +weakly back into a chair. + +"Do you think he got up and walked away?" he asked. + +"No," replied Will, "I don't!" + +"Then, who carried him away?" demanded Sandy. + +Will turned the rays of the searchlight on the bunk where he had seen +George cuddle down and then walked over toward it. + +"George didn't!" he answered, "because George is here sound asleep!" + +"Sound asleep?" repeated Sandy. "Do you suppose he'd lie here and sleep +and let some one come and carry away Bert?" + +Will took hold of the boy's leg and half drew him out of the bunk. + +"Wake up, here!" he shouted. + +George yawned and rubbed his eyes. + +"First good sleep I've had in a week!" he said. + +"Did you sleep all the afternoon?" asked Will. + +"I guess I did!" + +"Hear any one around the cabin?" + +"How could I, when I was sound asleep?" + +"Well," Will went on, "while you were having that fine sleep, some one +came to the cabin and carried off Bert Calkins!" + +"What are you talking about?" demanded George. + +"Look in his bunk and see!" advised Sandy. + +"How was it ever done?" demanded George. + +"I'm not asking how it was done," Will returned. "What I want to know +is: Why was it done? What object could any one have in carrying away +that kid? I wouldn't believe he was gone if I didn't see the empty +bunk." + +"It's something connected with that code message!" Sandy suggested. + +"I've got it!" replied Will. "The man took the message away before he +knew whether he could read it or not. When he found he couldn't read it, +he came back to get Bert to read it for him." + +"But Bert is in no condition to be kept prisoner," George insisted. "He +won't give the information the man seeks, and the man will probably +mistreat him because he can't! What we've got to do is to get a move on +and find the boy before he is starved or beaten to death." + +"That's just what we've got to do!" agreed Will. "We've got to drop +everything until we find that boy!" + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +A LOST "BULLDOG" + + +"How much do you know about this case?" asked Tommy of Frank, as the two +stumbled over the uneven moraine. + +"How much do I know about what?" asked Frank. + +"Why, this case that your father talked with you about when he used the +wireless; the case referred to in the code message." + +"Why, I know that you boys are out here in search of the print of a +man's right thumb!" laughed Frank. + +"Is that all?" + +"Yes, I know a little more than that. I know that two men are soon to be +tried for burglary, and that the discovery of the thumb marks is quite +essential to a successful defense." + +"Did your father tell you all that?" + +"Oh, we talked quite a lot by wireless." + +Tommy considered the situation for a moment and then said: + +"I wish you'd tell me all you know about it." + +In as few words as possible, Frank related the story practically as told +to George and Sandy by Will. + +"Does Bert know all about this?" asked Tommy when the recital was +finished. "Did you talk the matter over with him?" + +"I certainly did." + +"I hope," Tommy mused, "that he wasn't forced to tell anything about the +thumb marks when the man robbed him." + +"I don't think he would do that," suggested Frank. "He would be apt to +plead ignorance." + +The boys came, about nine in the evening, to the little station of +Katalla, which is just a mite of a town sitting perched high above the +Gulf of Alaska. The first thing they did was to make inquiries at the +water front regarding transportation to Cordova. + +As they passed swiftly from point to point, consulting a half-breed +here, an Esquimaux there, and an American trader at another point, they +noticed that they were being followed. Finally Tommy drew back and +waited until the man who seemed to be pursuing them came up. + +"Are you looking for me?" he asked. + +"I would like to speak with you," was the reply. + +"Well, then, why didn't you come up like a man and say so?" demanded +Tommy. "You needn't have skulked along in the dark!" + +"Fact is," the man answered, "that I heard you making inquiries +regarding the possibility of getting to Cordova tonight." + +"Yes, that's where we want to go." + +"Have you secured transportation yet?" + +"We have not!" Tommy answered. + +"Well, I was going to let you inquire at one more place," said the +other, "and then tender you the use of my boat." + +"Why were you going to wait?" + +"Because I wanted you to exhaust your last chance so that I could get my +own price for the service." + +"You must be a Yankee!" laughed Tommy. + +"Right!" was the reply. "I'm a Yankee direct from Boston. I don't have +many opportunities of acquiring wealth out here, and I smelt real money +as soon as I saw you boys come to town a couple of days ago." + +"What kind of a boat have you?" asked Tommy. + +"A swift little motor boat." + +"Can you get us to Cordova and back by seven or eight in the morning?" + +"I don't think I can do the job as soon as that, but I'll do the best I +can! Why are you in such a hurry?" + +"There's a boy sick at the camp!" was the short reply. + +"How much are you going to charge for the use of your boat?" asked +Frank. "We're willing to pay for fast service." + +"I think a couple of hundred dollars will be about right," was the +reply. "It's a little bit risky going out in the night." + +Tommy was about to protest against the exorbitant charge, but Frank +motioned him to remain silent. + +"The price is satisfactory," he said. "When can you start?" + +"In an hour," was the answer. + +After promising to meet the boys at the floating dock in an hour's time, +the owner of the motor boat took his departure, and the two lads dropped +into a smoky and smelly restaurant for supper. + +The place was foul with evil language as well as evil smells, and the +boys did not remain long. Instead of sitting down at the table and +ordering their meal, they bought such provisions as they could get and +took their way to the water front. When they sat down to eat their +rather unpalatable repast, they saw that a boy of about their own size +and age was loitering not far away. + +"I'll gamble you a five cent piece," Tommy whispered to Frank, "that +that is a Boy Scout! What do you say?" + +"You're on!" exclaimed Frank. + +Tommy struck three times on the planking of the dock with his open hand. +Instantly there came back to his ears the low snarling voice of a +bulldog. Then footsteps advanced down the dock, and the boy soon stood +close to the others. + +"You're a Beaver?" he asked. + +"And you're a Bulldog!" said Tommy. + +The boys presented their hands, palm out, in the full salute of the Boy +Scouts and then stood examining each other's faces. + +"Where's the Bulldog Patrol located?" asked Tommy. + +"Portland, Oregon," was the reply. + +"Do you live here now?" asked Frank, who had already been introduced as +a member of the Fox Patrol. + +"I'm obliged to live here," was the answer, "because I can't get out of +town. I wish I could get away!" + +"You may go with us," offered Tommy. + +"Where?" was the question. + +"To Cordova tonight, and to a camp out on a glacier tomorrow." + +"Tickled to death!" exclaimed the boy. + +"You're welcome!" declared Tommy; + +"Who're you going with?" was the next question. + +"He didn't give us his name, but he said he owned a fast motor boat, and +he said he'd get us there and back before noon tomorrow!" + +"Jamison is the only man here who has a motor boat, but you want to look +out for him. He's as crooked as a corkscrew!" + +"That's the impression I received when he fixed his price." + +"Well," the stranger said in a moment, "I've got a little baggage up the +street and I'll go and get it." + +He was gone perhaps half an hour, and when he returned the boys saw an +anxious expression on his face. + +"Are you sure that man Jamison is going out with you tonight?" he asked. + +"He said he would," was the reply. + +"He's up there loading in whiskey," the boy, who had given his name as +Samuel White, continued, "and has surrounded himself with about as tough +a bunch of crooks as there is in all Alaska." + +"Perhaps he wants them to help run the boat," suggested Tommy. + +"No, there's something crooked on foot!" declared Sam. "The fellows are +whispering together in a bar-room up the street, and pounding the +tables, and letting cut great shouts of laughter as if they had a good +joke on some one." + +"Do you know any of the men with Jamison?" asked Frank. + +"One of them," the boy replied, "is a crooked mine agent, and one is a +fellow who hangs around town without revealing any business whatever, +but seems to have plenty of money." + +While the boys talked, Jamison, accompanied by two men who seemed to be +somewhat under the influence of liquor, came down to the dock. + +After nodding familiarly to the lads, he gave a signal with a lantern +which he carried in his hand, and in a short time a very capable looking +motor boat came puffing out of the darkness. + +"There you are, boys!" he said. "Jump in, and I'll have you up to +Cordova in no time. I've got a good crew on board, and I may be able to +get you back long before noon." + +The boys did not exactly like the looks of the "good" crew, but they +said nothing as they took their seats in the little trunk cabin and +waited for the boat to get under motion. + +When at last the motors began whirling and the rocking motion told the +lads that they were out among the high waves, Jamison came in and seated +himself by Tommy's side. + +"Little bit bumpy tonight," he said, "but you'll soon get used to that. +If you have the money ready, I'll collect fares now." + +Frank took two hundred dollars in bank notes from a pocket and passed it +over to the owner of the boat. + +"A hundred apiece," Jamison said. "I was to have a hundred for each +passenger. You owe me a hundred more." + +"Don't pay any hundred for me," Sam White exclaimed, springing to his +feet. "I'll jump overboard and swim back." + +Frank laid a hand on the boy's arm and pushed him back into a seat. + +"It's all right," he said. "I did agree to pay a hundred dollars a +passenger. You're quite welcome to the ride at my expense." + +As Frank spoke he took a roll of bank notes from another pocket and +stripped off one of the denomination of one hundred dollars. + +Jamison saw large denominations, some as high as five hundred dollars, +in the roll, and his evil eyes glittered greedily. + +When Frank put up the roll, the fellow's eyes followed it until it +passed out of sight in the pocket. Other members of the crew had seen +the money also, and Tommy was decidedly uncomfortable as he thought of +the situation they were in. + +Having received his pay, Jamison grew very friendly and confidential, +and began pointing out the show places along the dim coast. + +Presently Sam whispered cautiously in Tommy's ear: + +"He is headed for the Barren islands, and not Cordova," he said. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +ON THE GULF OF ALASKA + + +"Where are the Barren islands, and why should he want to take us there?" +asked Tommy, apprehensively. + +"The Barren islands," replied Sam, "lie in the Gulf of Alaska, just +south of the mouth of Copper river, west of Controller bay. They extend +along the coast, only a short distance out, for twenty miles or more, +and are just what the local name signifies, Barren islands." + +"But why should he want to take us there?" insisted Tommy, slipping a +hand toward his hip pocket to make sure that his automatic was ready for +any emergency. + +Sam did not answer the question, for Tommy's quick start of surprise, +his low exclamation of dismay, checked the words which were on his lips. +Instead, he pushed closer to the lad and asked: + +"What is it? What's wrong?" + +"My revolver has been taken!" replied Tommy. + +Frank, sitting close to his chum on the other side, now pushed his hand +into his hip pocket and brought it forth empty. + +"So is mine!" he said. + +The boys looked at each other for a moment in the gathering darkness +without speaking. The situation was a serious one. + +"Who did it?" asked Tommy presently. + +"No one has been near me except that man Jamison," replied Frank. + +"He's the only one who's been within reaching distance of me," Tommy +observed. "He must be a clever pickpocket!" + +"I saw him eyeing that roll of money rather greedily," Sam cut in, +speaking in a very low tone, for Jamison had new turned back from the +prow and was looking in their direction. + +"I noticed that, too," Frank answered. "I'm afraid we're going to get +into trouble with that gink. Anyway," he continued, "he's started in +right. He did well to get our guns before he started anything!" + +"He didn't get my revolver," Sam said with a low chuckle. "It's a little +bit of a baby thing, but it's a great deal better than none!" + +"It will shoot, won't it?" asked Tommy. + +"It will shoot, all right, but it's only a twenty-two," replied the boy. +"I've been trying for the last two days to get a square meal on it, but +couldn't get even a ham sandwich. They don't look with favor on baby +guns up in Alaska. They want the real thing!" + +"Well, keep your gun where you can reach it at any moment!" advised +Frank. "Even a twenty-two caliber may prove effective at short range." + +"I presume," Sam went on, "that my coming on board in shabby clothes, +and as an object of charity, convinced Jamison that I wasn't worth +searching. I saw him looking me over, though!" + +"Object of charity--not!" returned Frank. "We're mighty glad you're with +us right now! You say he's taking us to the Barren islands. Well, we +wouldn't know the Barren islands from any other place without you. +You've put us on our guard, at least, and that's worth more than the +price of the ticket! We're glad of your company, too!" + +"Now, see here, boys," Tommy whispered, "we mustn't let this man Jamison +know that we have discovered that we have been robbed. The minute he +knows that we are suspicious of him, the matter will come to a focus +immediately. We've got to have time to think this matter over before +anything is done." + +This plan of action was agreed to, and the boys sat for some minutes in +silence. After a time Jamison came to where they were seated, just at +the doorway of the trunk cabin, and began asking questions about the +need for a doctor. Tommy explained that a member of their party had been +injured by a fall, and that they were going to Cordova in quest of a +surgeon. He again asked Jamison to put on full speed. + +"There's a man over here on the coast, this side of Katalla, who is said +to be a fine surgeon," Jamison explained, after Tommy had finished his +statement. "He's a sort of a recluse, people say, and lives alone in a +shabby hut, high up above the tide. You might stop and consult him. That +would be better, it seems to me, than going away up to Cordova. Still," +he went on with a grim smile, "I've been paid to take you to Cordova and +back, and, if you insist, I mean to live up to my bargain!" + +Sam gave Frank a quick poke in the ribs and whispered in his ear: + +"Yes, he does!" + +"Let him play out his string," whispered Frank in return. + +"This surgeon," Jamison went on, "is a queer old fellow. Sometimes he'll +take a case, and sometimes he won't. If he feels in an ugly mood, he's +likely to kick us out of his cabin." + +Tommy listened with apparent interest to what the treacherous Jamison +was saying, but it is needless to remark that he did not accept it as +truth. It was his belief that the fellow was manufacturing a pretext for +getting himself and his friends quietly on shore as soon as one of the +Barren islands was reached. + +There were three men on board the motor boat besides Jamison. They were +evil-looking fellows, and spent most of their time on the forward deck, +where the steering wheel and the motors were located. + +The men frequently drank out of a black bottle, and were fast becoming +intoxicated. Instead of attempting to restrain the fellows, Jamison +seemed to encourage them in their debauch. + +"He's getting them in trim to start something," Sam whispered, as the +three men broke into a rough drinking song. + +"Yes," agreed Tommy, "I imagine that he wants whatever takes place on +board the boat tonight to be regarded as the acts of men made +irresponsible by whisky. You'd better keep your gun handy, Sam!" + +"I've got my hand on it every minute!" replied the boy. "And if anything +is started here, Jamison will be the first one to know that I've got it! +He's the man that needs the lesson!" + +It was very dark now, and the sea was rough. The motor boat plunged +about like a leaf, tossing from wave to wave, and dropping into one +trough after another. It was plain that the members of the crew were +becoming too drunk to handle the boat. + +Jamison finally approached the cabin doorway and sat down on one of the +stationary seats. Notwithstanding the fact that the boat was taking +water at almost every jump, the fellow's face bore a satisfied look. + +"What are those fellows trying to do with the boat?" asked Tommy. + +"Oh, they're all right!" answered Jamison. + +"Looks to me like they were trying to drop us to the bottom," Frank +said. "There won't be any boat left directly!" + +"I guess they have got a little too much John Barleycorn on board!" +laughed Jamison, as the boat gave a lurch which sent him head foremost +from his seat. "I'd go and take the wheel myself, only I don't know much +about running a motor boat under present conditions." + +Frank gave Tommy a quick nudge in the side. + +"I can run the boat," he whispered, "shall I?" + +"If he'd let you, yes!" replied Tommy. + +"Where shall I take her?" + +"To Cordova, of course, but perhaps you'd better wait until the men get +a little bit drunker. Jamison will become frightened for the safety of +his boat before long, and then he won't object to your taking charge of +her. He's beginning to look sick already." + +"If I ever get hold of that wheel," Frank whispered to Tommy, "I'll send +her flying toward Cordova! I hope the members of the crew will be too +drunk to know which, way I'm taking them." + +Directly the boat gave another tremendous lurch, soaking the boys with +cold salt water. Jamison rose to his feet with an oath and, steadying +himself by clinging to the top of the cabin, shook a fist angrily at the +man at the wheel. The man frowned back. + +"What are you doing, you drunken hobo?" shouted Jamison. + +The man grinned foolishly but said not a word. + +"I wish I knew how to operate a motor boat as well as he does when he's +sober," gritted Jamison. + +"The owner of a boat ought to know how to run her!" suggested Frank. + +"I bought the boat only a few days ago," replied Jamison. + +"Look here," Frank said, as the boat gave another sickening whirl, "I +can run a boat all right. Shall I take hold?" + +"No," replied Jamison sourly, "we've got to land!" + +"But there is no place to land," urged Sam. + +"There is a place on the point where the doctor lives," answered +Jamison, "where we can land in a rowboat. I'm glad now that I brought +the dinghy along with us. We can anchor the motor boat under the point +and take refuge in the doctor's cabin until this storm blows over." + +The boys were greatly disappointed at this decision on the part of +Jamison, but they dare not argue the point with him for fear that he +would suspect that they were watching his every movement. + +In a few moments a dark bulk showed directly in front of the racing +motor boat, and only the quick action of the man at the wheel prevented +a collision with a bold headland which showed dimly under the light of +the few stars which looked down from the cloudy sky. + +In a moment the boys saw a light, and then Sam whispered to Frank: + +"That's not a coast point," he said. "It's one of the Barren islands. I +don't believe there's any doctor there, as he said! What shall we do if +he asks us to go ashore?" + +"We'll have to go, I suppose," returned Tommy, "but, all the same," he +went on, "if we get a chance to get possession of the boat, we'll let +these outlaws take a swim to the shore!" + +Presently the boat came under the shelter of the headland, and then a +member of the crew, in obedience to whispered orders from Jamison, +dropped into the dinghy which had been trailing behind, and shouted to +his mate to follow. Then Jamison himself stepped into the dinghy, which +was swinging about wildly in the surf. + +"Now boys," he said, "if you'll get aboard, we'll take you ashore for an +interview with the doctor. He'll demand big pay, but he's skillful and +you ought to secure his services if you can." + +"Only one man on board now," cried Tommy, "Now's our chance!" + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE CLUES WILL FOUND + + +"I wish one of you boys would give me a good swift kick," George +exclaimed as the three lads stood in the cabin discussing the strange +disappearance of Bert Calkins. + +"I'd do that all right if it would accomplish anything!" laughed Will. + +"I'll do it anyhow, if you insist upon it!" grinned Sandy. + +"It was a rotten thing for me to do!" exclaimed George. "I never +expected to go to sleep when I lay down in my bunk, but I did go to +sleep, and some one walked into the cabin and carried Bert away! I'll +never get over it if anything serious happens to him!" + +"Aw, cut it out!" exclaimed Sandy. "We'll find him all right. The +question before the house right now is whether we're going to get supper +before we start out on a hunt for the kid." + +"We may as well get supper," Will advised. "There's no use whatever of +our running around in circles in the dark. We've got to sit down here +and reason it out. Before we do anything at all, we ought to reach some +conclusion as to why the poor kid was taken away." + +"Why, I thought that was all understood," Sandy interrupted. "I thought +we decided not long ago that the man who stole the code wireless came +back to get Bert to translate it for him." + +"There was some talk of that kind," Will agreed, "and I guess it's as +near to the truth as we can get with our present knowledge of the +incident. Anyway, I can conceive of no other reason for the abduction." + +"Then we may as well get supper while we're studying out the +proposition," George said, "and, by way of penance, I'll do the +cooking!" + +The lad turned to Sandy to ask a question regarding the sudden +appearance of the bear steak, and then for the first time noted his +dilapidated and generally disreputable condition. + +"Where did you get it?" he asked, pointing to the bruised face and torn +garments. "You've gone and spoiled a perfectly good Boy Scout suit." + +"And the bear we're going to have for supper," Will chuckled, "came very +near spoiling a perfectly good Boy Scout." + +"Did the bear hand him that?" asked George. + +"He certainly did!" replied Sandy. "And he put me out for the count, +too!" + +"Then I'll take great joy in eating him!" declared George. + +While George fried the bear steak over the gasoline "plate," Sandy told +the story of the fishing trip, while Will listened with a grin on his +face, now and then interrupting with what Sandy declared to be an +entirely irrelevant remark. + +The big acetylene lamp which, had come in with the boys' baggage had not +been set up, so the cabin was now lighted only by flashlights. This made +cooking difficult, and George protested against it, so Will went to work +setting up the tank and getting the big lamp into use. + +"That's better!" exclaimed George, as the great light flashed out. "Now, +while I'm cooking the supper, you might look about and see what you can +discover in the way of clues. There is an old theory, you know, that no +person can enter a room and leave it without their leaving behind some +trace of having been there!" + +"That's a part of the Sherlock Holmes business that I entirely +overlooked!" laughed Will. "Come to think of it, the fellow must have +left some clue here. We'll see if we can find it!" + +While Sandy and George worked industriously over the gasoline "plate," +frying bear meat and fish, and making toast and coffee, Will began a +thorough search of the cabin floor. He moved about for some moments on +his hands and knees, studying the rough boards through a microscope. + +When he came to the bunk he examined that in the same careful and +painstaking way. Sandy and George pretended to be very much amused at +his alleged posing as an investigator, but the boy paid no attention to +their smiles and sarcastic remarks. + +All through the meal Will kept his own counsel as to what he had +discovered, if anything. His chums quizzed him unmercifully, but he gave +out no information regarding discoveries until after the meal was +completed and they sat, wrapped in their heavy coats, before the +stripped table, now bearing only empty dishes. + +"Now tell us about it!" demanded Sandy. "How tall was this man who +carried Bert, away?" + +"Five feet six," replied Will. + +"Black or white?" + +"Black hair and eyes and whiskers." + +"Fat or lean?" + +"Neither, just heavily built." + +"Come, Smarty," Sandy laughed, "perhaps you'll be kind enough to go on +now and tell us the color of his necktie." + +"He didn't wear any necktie!" answered Will. "He wore a leather hunting +shirt and leather leggings. His hands were protected from the mosquitos +by leather gloves. He wore moccasins." + +"Will you be kind enough to tell us what he had for supper last night?" +asked Sandy. "Also, can you tell us which side he sleeps on nights?" + +"This is no joke!" Will answered. "I really think I have a good +description of the man who abducted Bert. And I think, too, that the +description will serve to locate him." + +"That's all right!" laughed George, "when Tommy comes back, we'll have +him get out his dream book and read you to sleep!" + +"Yes," Will said gravely, "when Tommy comes back with the surgeon." + +"It would be a rotten proposition, wouldn't it, if Tommy should get back +with the surgeon before we found Bert?" + +"It certainly would," answered Will. + +"Tommy can't possibly get back before some time tomorrow night," Sandy +argued, "and we ought to be able to find the boy before that time!" + +"Especially as Will has a perfect description of the outlaw," said +George with a wink at Sandy. + +Then the boy added with a laugh: + +"Go on, Will, and tell us how you know the man's size and weight." + +"Yes," Sandy broke in. "Tell us how you know he's exactly five feet six. +You weren't here to measure him!" + +"The wall measured him!" replied Will. + +"Oh!" exclaimed Sandy with a grin. + +"Back there by the door," Will went on, "the man leaned against the wall +for some purpose. Of course, I don't know why, but I suspect that he +leaned there for a moment to get the boy well balanced in his arms +before stepping outside. At any rate, he stood there for an instant with +a broad back braced against the dusty logs. You can see where the top of +his head came, without getting up." + +"That's reasonable!" replied Sandy. "Now tell us how you know he has +black hair and eyes." + +"He left half a dozen hairs on the pillow at Bert's bunk," replied Will. +"Also he left coarser black hairs which evidently came from his face. +They lie there on the table." + +The boys examined the hairs curiously, and then Will asked: + +"What do you think of it?" + +"I think," replied Sandy, "that Bert regained consciousness while he was +being lifted from the bunk and got in a couple of digs at the fellow's +hair and whiskers." + +"The motion which removed the hair and whiskers," suggested George, +"might have been entirely involuntary." + +"That's very true!" answered Will. "It doesn't seem to me that the boy +regained consciousness. If he had, he would have made such objections to +being taken away that George would have been awakened. At any rate the +hairs are here, and that is sufficient!" + +"Now tell us how you know about the bulk of the fellow." + +"The marks on the wall show that," replied Will. + +"What do you know about his leather leggings, hunting shirt and gloves?" +asked Sandy. "I know about the moccasins, because I saw the tracks on +the floor myself. He must be an Indian if he wore moccasins." + +"I never saw an Indian with long whiskers!" replied Will. + +"Well, go on and tell us about the leather he wore," urged George. + +"The hunting shirt," Will replied with a smile, as he pointed to a small +piece of leather lying on the table, "was patched and in the struggle at +the bunk the patch was torn away. A cloth garment, you know," he +continued, "wouldn't be apt to be patched with leather." + +The boys looked at the leather patch, not much larger than a silver +dollar, and nodded their heads. + +"The marks on the wall where the outlaw seems to have balanced his +burden, show that he wore leather gloves," Will continued. "You can see +the blunt mark where he threw up a hand to steady himself. The fingers +of a cloth glove would have shown narrower." + +"I guess you've got the Sherlock Holmes part of it all right!" said +George, "so all we've got to do now is to find the boy!" + +"But this will help!" Sandy argued. "At least we know what kind of a man +to look for. By the way, how did you know that he wore leather +leggings?" + +"He lost a buckle!" replied Will. "I found it on the floor under Bert's +bunk. And so, you see," the boy went on, "when we find a man wearing +leather leggings from which a buckle has been lost, we'll be perfectly +justified in keeping close watch of him." + +"It seems as if there must have been a struggle here!" George argued in +a moment. "The man lost hair, whiskers, a buckle, and a patch off his +hunting shirt! I don't see how I could have slept through it all!" + +"Well, you did!" returned Sandy, "and that's all there is to it!" + +"Are we going out tonight?" asked George. + +"Of course, we are!" answered Sandy. "We're not going to crawl into bed +in comfort and leave Bert in the hands of some brigand!" + +Will held up his hand for silence, and the boys sat looking at each +other with questioning eyes as a soft knock came on one of the windows. + +In an instant their eyes were turned in the direction of the sound, and +what they saw caused them to spring excitedly to their feet. + +During the silence which followed, the sound of a heavy footstep was +heard at the door of the cabin. When they looked again nothing was to be +seen at the window. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +IN LUCK AT LAST + + +Instead of moving toward the dinghy, the boys sprang to the top of the +trunk cabin and dashed forward toward the wheel. + +With an oath Jamison tried to clamber back to the deck of the motor +boat, but the dinghy was just then performing a bit of nautical +gymnastics at the bottom of a trough and he did not succeed in reaching +the desired footing. He fell back into the bottom of the boat, cursing +the two rowers because they had not assisted him. + +As Frank and Tommy sprang forward over the cabin the man at the wheel +released his hold and reached for a pistol. The boat swung around and +would have been capsized only that Frank seized the wheel and brought +her head to the waves again. + +The wheelsman struck a savage blow at the boy as he threw the wheel +around, and was in turn the object of attack from Tommy. The two went to +the deck together and came near being thrown into the sea. + +When the short battle ended the wheelsman lay on the deck unconscious, +his head rolling from side to side as the boat tossed about on the +waves. In the fall his head had struck the rail. + +Seeing that Jamison and the rowers were still trying to board the motor +boat, Sam rushed to the after deck and threatened them with his +revolver. In a moment Jamison presented a thirty-eight at the boy's +head. + +"This is piracy!" he shouted. "Surrender, or I'll blow your head off! +This is piracy, I tell you!" + +The only reply to the man's threat was the increased clatter of the +motors. Tommy had turned on full power, and Frank was heading the craft +for the mouth of Copper river. As she drew away from the dinghy, several +harmless shots were fired. + +"That was a close shave!" Tommy declared as the three boys gathered on +the forward deck. "If Jamison hadn't been a fool, we couldn't have done +it! Can you find your way to Cordova, Frank?" he added. + +"Sure I can!" was the reply, "but I take it that we don't want to go +there just now." + +"And why not?" asked Tommy is surprise. + +"Because this is piracy, all right!" exclaimed the boy. "Old Jamison was +right, and he'll have all the officers along the coast after us as soon +as he gets to land. We're in bad with the cops now." + +"But Jamison won't be able to get to land tonight!" suggested Sam. + +"Indeed he won't!" agreed Frank. "He'll have to pull in toward the +island and lie there on his oars until daylight." + +"Can't he land?" asked Tommy. + +"I don't think he can land in the dark!" was the reply. + +"Why can't we get to Cordova and get back here with the surgeon before +he can communicate with the officers?" asked Tommy. "We can't afford to +go into hiding just now. We've got to get the doctor up to the cabin, +and we've got to find out what that code message contained." + +"How far is it from here to Cordova?" asked Frank. + +"It must be about thirty-five or forty miles," replied Sam. "If the waves +wouldn't keep us traveling up and down all the time, we ought to make it +in about three hours." + +"Jamison was trying to make us believe he was doing a fine thing if he +took us to Cordova and back in ten or twelve hours!" said Tommy. + +"I don't think he intended to take us to Cordova at all!" insisted Sam. + +"Well," Tommy argued, "there's no way he can stop us until we get to +Cordova, and he can't stop us then unless he reaches the coast or gains +the wireless station before we leave the town. Once out on the gulf +again, with the surgeon on board, we'll reach Katalla in spite of +Jamison, and start the doctor toward the cabin." + +"Then here goes for the town!" cried Frank, turning on an extra bit of +power and sending the boat through the waves like a meteor. + +It was rough riding, but the boys were fairly good seamen and stood the +shaking up well. + +About midnight the wheelsman began showing signs of consciousness. He +sat up on the swaying deck and motioned for water. + +"Tip him overboard!" advised Sam. + +"Aw, give him a drink," argued Tommy. "If you'd had had as much red +liquor during the last few hours as he's had, you'd want to connect with +the water cooler, I guess! Give the man a show!" + +"Where are you taking the motor boat?" asked the wheelsman. + +"Cordova." + +"Is that right about your wanting a surgeon?" + +"That is right!" replied Tommy. + +"Where is he wanted?" asked the wheelsman, who had given the name of +Boswell. "Why didn't you bring the sick boy out with you?" + +"Because we thought it better to take the surgeon to him!" replied +Tommy. "The boy really wasn't able to be moved!" + +"Fever?" asked Boswell. + +Tommy hesitated a moment before replying. He was in doubt as to just how +much he ought to tell Boswell. The fellow seemed to be friendly enough, +and might be useful in case the lads were arrested for piracy, as, if he +saw fit, he could testify that Jamison was not carrying out his +agreement with them, but, instead, was planning to maroon them on a +barren island in the gulf. Owing to these considerations it seemed best +to keep on good terms with the fellow, and yet Tommy did not care to +describe in full what had taken place at the cabin. + +"No, the boy isn't sick of fever," Tommy finally answered. "He received +a wound on the head and lies unconscious." + +Both boys thought they saw Boswell give a quick start, but in a moment +his face was as impassive as ever. + +"Do you know what Jamison was up to?" asked Sam after a short pause. + +Boswell looked keenly at the boy before answering. + +"I only know what he told me!" he replied. + +"What did he tell you?" + +"He said he had a joke on you boys; that he was charging you three +hundred dollars for a trip to Cordova, and that he meant to leave you on +the first little island in the gulf that he came to." + +"Did he tell you why he was going to do that?" asked Tommy. + +Again Boswell looked keenly at his questioner. + +"I guess I'd better not answer that question," he said finally. + +"I wish you would answer it," Tommy urged. "I ought to know just what +motive the fellow has for throwing obstacles in my way. + +"He thinks it's funny!" answered Boswell. + +"That isn't the correct answer," Tommy insisted. "He has some motive for +what he is trying to do. I'd like to know what that motive is." + +"You can't find out from me!" declared Boswell. + +"You must be a chum of his!" sneered Sam. + +"I hate the ground he walks on!" replied Boswell. "I wouldn't have hired +out to him at all if I hadn't been drunk. But I'm not going to repeat to +any one what he told me in confidence!" + +"We shall have to put you off some distance this side of Cordova," Tommy +suggested, "because if we don't you're likely to make us trouble by +reporting the case of alleged piracy as soon as we land." + +"You needn't trouble yourself about my reporting anything," Boswell +answered. "I'm not mixing with Jamison's affairs! If you boys are +arrested for piracy, I'll tell all I know about it, and that won't do +you any harm." + +Dawn came slowly that morning, for heavy clouds were gathering in the +sky. The short Arctic night came to an end at last, however, and in the +murky distance the boys saw the long coast line. Shortly after three +o'clock they passed the wireless station and landed, not without some +difficulty at Cordova. + +They found the town asleep, of course, but after a time an early riser +directed them to the residence of a surgeon. They arranged with him to +meet them later in the day and at once set out for the wireless station. +It was two hours before they saw the operator coming to his post of +duty. + +He remembered Frank, and willingly promised to at once open +communication with Seattle and take up the work of securing a duplicate +of the code message. He explained that a copy had been kept, but that it +had been destroyed by a careless janitor, who had said that he could +make nothing at all of the jumble of words and letters! + +As soon as Seattle answered the Cordova call, a duplicate of the code +telegram was asked for, and Seattle undertook to place the request on +the wire and cause it to be rushed through to Chicago. + +"We ought to receive the answer some time this afternoon," the operator +said as the boys started away. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +MAKING NEW PLANS + + +When the boys returned to the floating dock at which the motor boat had +been tied during their absence at the station they found Boswell sitting +in the cabin in a crouching attitude. + +"Did you get what you wanted?" he asked. + +Tommy shook his head. + +"Then," continued the sailor, "you'd better give over trying to get it +for the present and duck away from here! You'll have trouble if you +don't!" + +"What do you mean by that?" asked Frank. + +"Do you see the tug coming up the bay?" asked Boswell. + +"Certainly!" was the reply. + +"Well, she's been signalling to have this boat held until she arrives! +And the chances are that she picked up Jamison and his pirates somewhere +near the island where you left them." + +"Then, of course, Jamison will want us arrested for piracy?" asked Tommy +tentatively. "I presume that's what it means." + +"Well," Boswell replied, "when you take another man's boat and leave him +afloat in a dinghy, you must expect something to come of it besides +kisses. Of course you'll be arrested!" + +Frank gave a long, low whistle of dismay. + +"Then," he said, "we'll have to go and notify the surgeon of what's +coming off and get him to go on to the cabin alone." + +"Yes," Tommy added, "and we can tell him to inform the boys what's going +on here. We may have to remain here for several days if we are actually +arrested." + +"But how about the code duplicate?" asked Sam. + +"I presume that will have to remain with us unless it comes before the +doctor leaves for the cabin," Tommy answered. + +"Look here," Sam said, "you two boys are the fellows Jamison wants. He +won't put up much of a search for me. You go back to the wireless +station and tell the operator to deliver the code duplicate to me and +I'll see that it gets to the cabin." + +"It's all right of you to make the offer," Tommy replied, "but there's +no one at the camp that can read it." + +"Then why can't Frank slip away and get the message to camp?" inquired +Sam. + +"Will certainly ought to have it," suggested Tommy. + +"I'll tell you what we'd better do," Frank advised. "We'd better make a +rush for the Cordova dock before that tug gets in. Then we can arrange +with the doctor to go on to the cabin by any conveyance he can secure +while we take a sneak into the wilderness and get back when we can and +as we can. That's better than being arrested." + +"I'm for it!" declared Sam. "But how will you obtain possession of the +wireless when it comes if you duck away in advance of the arrival of the +tug? The message won't be here as soon as the tug is." + +The boys pondered over this proposition for a moment, and then Frank +came to the front with another suggestion. + +"I'll go back to the wireless station," he said, "and arrange for the +operator to leave the message in some secret hiding place where we can +get it after nightfall." + +"I don't like this fugitive-from-justice business!" exclaimed Tommy. + +"I don't either," replied Frank, "but it's a long ways better than lying +in some dirty old jail. We can arrange here with father's agent to find +out what sort of a case they've got against us, and pick out a good +lawyer to represent us, so we'll be all ready to defend ourselves when +the arrest is finally made." + +"Your father has an agent here?" asked Tommy, regarding Frank +suspiciously. "What business is he in?" + +"Oh, quit it!" replied Frank. "We haven't any time to talk about private +affairs. What we've got to do right now is to find out how we're going +to escape arrest at this time. I'll go and make the arrangement with the +operator, and we'll all make the arrangements with the doctor, and then +we three boys will start across country to the little old log cabin in +the lane!" + +"There ain't no lane there!" grinned Tommy. + +"There may be some time, when that part of the country becomes a suburb +of Cordova!" laughed Frank. "But I reckon I'd better be getting back to +the wireless office. That tug's coming in hand over hand!" + +The boy was back from the office inside of ten minutes, but by that time +the tug was so near that the motor boat was obliged to shoot ahead at +full speed in order to keep clear of her. The boys saw Jamison standing +by the captain urging him to greater efforts in the speed direction, and +saw him shake a huge, ham-like fist in their direction as the motor boat +left the tug behind. + +"I'll tell you why I want to leave the case in the hands of a lawyer +here," Frank said, as the boat shot toward the Cordova dock, "Jamison +doesn't want to prosecute us boys for piracy. He's interested in some +way in this case you are here to handle, and he wants to keep us under +lock and key until something he wants done can be accomplished." + +"I'm sure that's right!" Tommy answered. + +"I don't know much about this thumb-print case," Frank went on, "but I +believe that this man Jamison is trying to make sure that you boys don't +get hold of the drawings you are looking for. Of course I have no proof, +but I'm sure that, in the long run, you'll find that I'm right?" + +The motor boat made such good time in the run for the Cordova dock that +the tug was nearly out of sight when the boys climbed into the main +street of the town. + +"Now," Tommy said, as they all stood together at the principal business +place of the town, "Frank can go and make sure that the doctor will +start for the cabin immediately, and Sam and I will go and buy +provisions for the cross country trip. We may be two or three days in +making it, and we'll surely want to eat on the way." + +"But we can't get the wireless until night!" urged Frank. "He's going to +bring it to Cordova tonight and leave it in the old blacksmith shop just +back of the line of store buildings." + +"Well, we can get all ready to go," Tommy urged. "We don't want to take +any chances on being pinched just as we get ready to leave!" + +"We'll meet at the old shop in half an hour," Frank suggested, "and then +we can make all the plans necessary." + +Tommy noticed that afternoon that a strange fatality seemed to accompany +all of Jamison's efforts to cause the arrest of the boys. First, there +was no Federal officer in the town. Next, there was no judicial or +ministerial officer before whom a complaint of piracy could be made. +Next, the motor boat owner and his two outlaws accosted Boswell on the +street and made to him insulting remarks concerning his championship of +the boys. + +Following this there was a general mixup, in which Boswell was not +permitted to fight alone, and the result was that Jamison and his two +sailors were badly beaten up. However, while the lads knew exactly what +was taking place, and understood the hostility of the town toward +Jamison, they understood, too, that it would be the duty of almost any +officer to arrest them if they should make their appearance on the +public street. + +Tommy wondered vaguely at the hostility displayed toward Jamison, but +Frank explained it all by saying that the fellow was a common loafer and +hadn't a friend in town. + +The boys might have been arrested a dozen times that day had the +hostility to Jamison and his men not taken such positive form. But while +Jamison, half-intoxicated, roared about the street, the boys kept as +quiet as possible and so escaped general notice. + +About two in the afternoon the boys were very much surprised to see a +gentleman who had been pointed out to them as the surgeon walk into the +old blacksmith shop where they sat. He beckoned Frank to one side and +the two engaged in a short but apparently satisfactory conversation, at +the conclusion of which the doctor shook the boy's hand heartily. + +"All right," he said on taking his departure, "I'll attend to the matter +at once! I know the operator and it'll be all right there." + +"Now, what's up?" demanded Tommy suspiciously. + +"I've got a new scheme!" replied the boy. + +"Pass it around!" urged Tommy. + +"Now, you just wait until I see whether the doctor gets the message or +not!" replied Frank. "If he does, it's us for a ride home!" + +"I'd like to steal that old drunkard's motor boat!" Tommy said. + +Frank broke into a hearty laugh. + +"You just wait and see!" he said. "We've got to be mighty careful to +keep away from the Federal officers, for a deputy marshal has been sent +for. Can you get up a good hot run if you have to?" + +"You bet I can!" answered Tommy. + +"Well, we may get a signal to make a hot foot to the dock directly," the +boy went on, "and if we do, there mustn't be any mistake about the pace +you set." + +"Are you really going to steal the motor boat?" asked Sam. + +"I don't know!" replied Frank. "We've been waiting around here all day +for something to take place, and I guess it's about time there was +something doing." + +"I thought you were going to wait until night before sneaking out with +the despatch," suggested Tommy, eyeing his friend suspiciously. + +"When we made those plans," replied Frank with a grin, "I didn't know +how many friends I had in town." + +"Is the doctor going with us?" asked Tommy. + +"No," was the reply, "we are going with him!" + +"Aw, have it your own way," Tommy exclaimed. "I never could get any +satisfaction talking with you!" + +The doctor returned to the old blacksmith shop in an hour and called +Frank outside. The two talked together for a moment, and then the boy +called out the wonderful news that they wouldn't even have to run to the +dock; that a carriage was waiting for them! + +"Something mighty funny about this!" mused Tommy. "I'd like to know who +that boy is that has such luck in Alaska! Anyone would think he owns the +town, the way things are shaping themselves here!" + +A moment later a wagon drawn by a pair of sturdy horses made its +appearance in front of the old blacksmith shop, and the boys took their +seats. As they did so the sound of a pistol shot came from around the +corner and Jamison dashed into view, hatless, coatless, very red in the +face and very excited as to manner. + +By his side appeared a man whom the doctor at once recognized as a +Federal officer. He came to a halt when he saw the boys in the wagon. + +"Wait!" he commanded, "I have warrants for your arrest!" + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +ANOTHER LOST "BULLDOG" + + +The step outside the cabin door halted, and the boys stood silent for a +moment, hardly knowing whether to dispute the stranger's entrance or to +admit him with a show of courtesy. + +While they waited, Will glanced at the window and saw the flutter of a +white hand on the pane. + +"That's the Boy Scout salute!" he said. + +"Another Boy Scout?" whispered Sandy. "I wonder if it rains Boy Scouts +up here in Alaska!" + +"I wish there were a thousand here!" George declared. + +"I don't care how many Boy Scouts show up just now," Will argued, "but I +would like to know where they all come from!" + +There now came a knock on the door and a gruff voice demanded +admittance. + +"Shall I open the door?" whispered Will. + +"May as well," answered George. + +When the door swung open, a stout man of middle age presented himself in +the opening. After casting a keen glance about the interior he stepped +inside and closed the door. + +"You boys seem to have taken possession of my home!" he said. + +"We found the cabin unoccupied, and took the liberty of using it," Will +answered in a conciliatory tone. + +"Oh, it's all right!" returned the other. "That's the way I took +possession of the place! I found the cabin deserted and just moved in." + +"We can vacate if necessary," Will suggested. + +"Oh, there's room enough for all of us, I take it!" answered the +stranger. "My name is Cameron, and I spend only a day or two here +occasionally. I was hoping when I saw your light that you were having a +midnight supper. How about something to eat?" + +"There's plenty in the cabin!" George replied. "We can give you either +fish or bear steak for supper." + +"Then I'm glad to find you here!" laughed the other, "for I've been +traveling all day and I'm as hungry as a wolf!" + +The visitor threw himself into a chair and began a careful survey of the +interior, far more searching than the one made from the doorway. + +"My name is Cameron, as I said before," he said, "and I'm prospecting +for gold." + +"Prospecting for gold on a glacier?" asked Will. + +"Young man," Cameron replied, "there is plenty of gold in this vicinity. +The ice brought it here. I'm being laughed at by my friends," he +continued, "because I'm searching for the mother lode. But, all the +same, I've every prospect of discovering it!" + +"The mother lode in a glacier?" asked Sandy. + +"It is my theory," Cameron went on, "that the range of mountains to the +north holds gold in large quantities. It is a part of my theory, too, +that the drifting ice brought tons of it down to the moraine. If I find +any gold here at all, I'll find it in quantities sufficient to clog the +money markets of the world!" + +Cameron looked from face to face as he spoke, apparently anticipating a +burst of enthusiasm from his listeners. + +"Up on the Yukon," he went on, "the gold was found under the ice, where +it had been deposited by glaciers which are now dead. The same +conditions exist here. For all we know, there may be tons of the +precious metal at the bottom of the first layer of ice." + +"That's very true!" replied Will. "And if you don't mind, we'll stick +around a short time and see what you discover." + +"Remember," Cameron said then, "that this is my claim!" + +"Of course," Will answered, "we wouldn't attempt to rob you of any +legitimate discovery." + +In the meantime George and Sandy were preparing a supper for the +visitor. With their heads bent low over the gasoline "plate," they +discussed the personality of the man and his theory in low conversation. + +"How tall should you say that fellow was?" asked Sandy. + +"About five foot six!" was the reply. + +"And he's stout!" + +"Decidedly so." + +"And he wears a leather hunting shirt, and leather leggings, and he took +off a pair of serviceable leather gloves when he entered?" + +"I see what you're getting at," George replied, "Can you see whether +there's a buckle missing from his leggings?" + +"There is!" answered Sandy. + +"And a patch missing from his hunting shirt?" + +"Just as sure as you're a foot high!" + +"Did you ever see such nerve?" whispered George. "He comes here and +steals a sick boy, and then has the nerve to return and claim the +cabin!" + +"Well, I'm glad he came," Sandy whispered back. "All we've got to do now +is to play the sleuth when he leaves the cabin." + +"You mean that if we follow him in his journeys over the country we'll +be apt to find Bert?" asked George. + +"That's just the idea!" replied Sandy. "I wonder if his mug is sore +where Bert extracted the whiskers?" + +"I wonder if he expects to get a good night's sleep, with Bert lying in +some uncomfortable hiding place?" George asked. "I'd like to poke him in +the mug, just for luck!" + +"That wouldn't help us find Bert," Sandy cautioned. "We've just got to +be good to him and follow him wherever he goes." + +"Watch me put him off his guard," George suggested. + +"How long have you been in this neighborhood?" he asked, turning to +Cameron. "I ask," the boy continued, "because one of our chums wandered +away from the cabin while we were out fishing and hasn't returned." + +Cameron's eyes sought the floor for a moment. + +"I have just returned from the coast," he said, "so, unless your friend +strayed off in that direction, I wouldn't have caught sight of him. Do +you mean that he strayed away in the darkness?" he asked. + +"No," replied George, "he strayed away this afternoon while temporarily +out of his mind. My friends were out fishing, and I was asleep at the +time. He received a slight wound on the head, from a fall, not long ago, +and that is probably the cause of his aberration of mind." + +The boys thought they saw a sudden expression of satisfaction creep over +Cameron's face as George finished his explanation. + +"If you'll serve Mr. Cameron's supper," Sandy said, giving George a sly +wink, "I'll go with Will, and we'll take different directions so as to +cover more ground. We are getting anxious about Bert." + +Of course the object of the boys in leaving the cabin was to meet the +Boy Scout who had signalled to them from the window. When they turned +the corner of the cabin, they found a thin, pale lad in a torn and faded +khaki uniform leaning against the outer wall. + +"Why don't you come in?" asked Will. + +"Is the miner in there yet?" asked the boy. + +"Yes, he says the cabin belongs to him, and he's going to remain all +night! What do you know of him?" + +"Nothing at all!" replied the boy, "except that I've been following him +for half a dozen miles in the hopes that he would lead me to some place +where I could eat and sleep." + +"Did you call out to him?" asked Will. + +"No," was the answer. "I was afraid he would send me back if I did. +Miners in this section are not fond of leading strangers to their +claims." + +"Where do you belong?" asked Sandy pointing to the Bulldog badge +displayed on the boy's ragged coat. + +"Bulldog Patrol, Portland," was the reply. + +"How'd you get out into this country in such a plight?" asked Will. + +"My chum and I," was the reply, "started out to seek our fortunes. We +got to Katalla and couldn't get a thing to do. Sam--his name is Sam +White--insisted on remaining in town, but I made a break for the +country." + +"How long since you've had anything to eat?" asked Sandy. + +"About twenty-four hours," was the reply. + +"Well, come on in, then, and we'll feed you up." + +"Of course I'll go, now that I know that you are running the camp," +replied the boy. "I suppose I should have gone in anyway, directly, for +just as I came up I heard the man knocking at the door. I was still +afraid I'd get kicked out if I put in an appearance at any miner's cabin +and asked for food, but I should have risked it." + +"I didn't know that miners did such things," Sandy observed. + +"Some of them do, and some of them don't," replied the boy. + +"You haven't given us your name yet," suggested Will. + +"Ed Hannon," was the reply. + +"Well come on in the cabin, Ed Hannon," laughed Sandy, "and we'll fill +you up, but you mustn't say a word about having seen that miner, and if +he talks to you about the route by which you approached the cabin lie +like a thief! Which way did he come from, anyway?" + +"He came from the west," was the reply. "I plumped into him not far from +one of the little rivulets which joins Copper river not very far away." + +"There!" said Sandy. "Now I guess we've got something tangible." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE BEGINNING OF THE TRAIL + + +When Will and Sandy entered the cabin with Ed Hannon, Cameron sprang up +to meet them. There was a show of excitement in his manner as he +exclaimed: + +"So you found the lost boy, did you?" + +"No," Will replied, "this is not the lost boy, but it is a lost boy!" + +"Where did you come from?" asked Cameron hastily, regarding Ed with a +pair of bold, black eyes. "How long have you been in this district?" + +"I came from Katalla today," answered the boy. + +"Tonight, you mean," corrected Cameron. + +"I started early this morning," replied Ed, "but I guess I've been +wandering around the country a good deal. It seems that I came up to the +cottage from the north." + +Cameron sank back into his chair with a look of satisfaction on his +face. The boys now busied themselves getting a substantial meal for Ed, +and the boy was soon attacking a generous slice of bear steak. + +If Cameron had the plans bearing the thumb marks, he was certainly the +man to keep them concealed if he believed them to be of any value +whatever to any one. If he did not have charge of the plans, then the +chances were that Vin. Chase, the crooked clerk, had them and that any +reference to them in the presence of Cameron would be communicated as +soon as possible to the actual holder. + +Will was certain that Cameron was the man who had given the name of Len +Garman by Mr. Horton in the interview in which he had received his +instructions. At that time he did not believe that Cameron, or Garman, +whichever his name was, knew anything whatever of the thumb prints on +the plans. + +He did believe, however, that the fellow would fight to the death for +the drawings, not because he believed them to be of value as evidence, +but because he believed them to be of great value to one in quest of +mining machinery suitable for that section of the country. + +Directly Cameron began pacing to and fro in the cabin and occasionally +glancing out of the window. There were only a few stars in sight and no +moon, but for all that the fellow appeared greatly interested in the +landscape outside. + +"Are you expecting some one?" Will finally asked. + +"Certainly not," was the reply. "Why do you ask such a question?" + +"Because you seem anxious about something." + +"I am anxious about something," replied Cameron seating himself by Will +once more. "I don't like the idea of this boy coming in here with his +story of being lost on the moraine. + +"You think he came here for a purpose?" + +"I must say that I do!" + +Will saw that Cameron was fearful that Ed had brought in a message of +some kind, and so talked to the point for some moments in the hope of +drawing the miner out. But the miner only stared at Ed with his evil +eyes and said nothing of importance. + +"I know what's eating you, old fellow," Will thought to himself. "You +think that there's a gang of Boy Scouts scattered over the moraine +looking for Bert, and you're afraid they'll find him!" + +Sure enough this prognostication seemed to be the true one, for directly +Cameron drew on his head net and leather gloves and walked to the door. +He paused there a moment and turned back to say to Will: + +"It will soon be morning, and I desire to get to the point of my +investigation before daylight. I have been very courteously entertained +and shall return to your cabin at night, with your permission." + +"I guess it's your cabin rather than mine!" replied Will with a smile. +"I think you are acting very decently about our taking possession of it. +Of course you'll always find food here as long as we remain." + +With a wave of the hand at the group of boys gathered about the table, +Cameron went out and closed the door. They heard him moving heavily +along toward the east and then came silence. + +"He's stopping to see if he's watched," suggested Sandy. + +"He'll be watched all right!" George declared. + +"But how?" asked Sandy. + +"I'm the original sleuth!" George replied with a grin. "I can follow the +fellow by the sound of his footsteps, even if he is wearing moccasins!" + +"Does any one doubt that Cameron is the man formerly known as Len +Garman?" asked Will. + +The boys all shook their heads, but Ed turned an inquiring face toward +the speaker. + +"He gave the name of Cameron here, did he?" he asked. + +Will nodded. + +"Well, that isn't the name I heard him called by at Katalla," Ed +declared. + +"So you saw him at Katalla, did you?" asked Sandy. + +"Yes, I saw him at Katalla two days ago. He seemed to have a lot of +business with a young fellow who appeared to be a stranger in the town." + +"What name did he give there?" + +"Brooks!" replied Ed. + +"Well, we mustn't stand here chinning while the fellow is getting out of +sight," suggested George. "I'm going to take after him right now!" + +"Wait," Sandy suggested, "and I'll go with you." + +"Do you think he will go straight to Bert?" asked Will. + +"I have no doubt of it!" was the reply. + +"It's just this way," George went on, "Cameron is suspicious that a +great effort is being made to discover the whereabouts of the kidnapped +boy, and he can't rest easy until he knows that he is safe. Besides, the +fellow would like to know whether Bert had regained consciousness." + +"Yes, I presume he is anxious to learn what the code despatch he stole +contains," Will answered. + +"There was some talk," Sandy said, directly, "about Bert regaining +consciousness before he left the cabin. Do you think that possible?" + +"No, I don't!" replied George. "I should have heard a struggle had +anything of the kind taken place. The fact of the matter is," the boy +went on, "that Cameron thinks some one is after the drawings he values +so greatly. He found Bert here with the code message and naturally +concluded that the cipher referred in some way to his plans." + +"Well, come on, then," Sandy urged. "We'll have to be moving if we +follow Cameron. I think we've talked too long already." + +"Don't you worry about that," Will declared. "Cameron will hang around +the cabin for half an hour or more in order to see if any one leaves. +Before any one goes out, we'll turn off the light and make a noise like +going to sleep. Then, when all is good and dark, you two can slip out +and locate the miner if you can." + +"Locate him?" repeated Sandy. "We've got to locate him. He'll go +straight to Bert and that's exactly where we want to go." + +The boys made a great commotion in the cabin as if preparing for bed, +and finally the lamp was extinguished, leaving the room in complete +darkness. + +"Now, be careful when you open the door," whispered Will. + +For a wonder the door opened noiselessly on its hinges, and was closed +without the slightest jar. Directly Will heard a soft tap at the window +and pressed his face against the pane. + +"Cameron is still in sight," Sandy's voice said, "and not very far away. +He seems to be satisfied that we've all gone to bed, and is heading for +the west. Looks like he was following the trail we followed when we went +out after fish." + +"Go to it, then," Will said. "Don't expose yourselves by being too rash, +and don't come back in the morning without bringing Bert with you." + +"You watch me!" Sandy replied, and then he was gone. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE LAD WITH THE "DRAG" + + +When the federal officer appeared in front of the spirited team, +announcing that he had a warrant for the arrest of the boys, Tommy and +Sam both whispered to the driver to cut loose with the whip. + +"Run him down!" Tommy insisted. + +"Jump the rig over him!" Sam advised. + +The doctor, however, stretched forth a detaining hand and the driver +held in the horses. + +"That's right!" Frank exclaimed. + +"You mustn't get into any quarrel with the officers," Dr. Pelton +suggested. "We can soon settle this matter." + +"Je-rusalem!" exclaimed Tommy. "Here we've been hanging around an old +blacksmith shop all day, and skulking through the streets, and not +getting half enough to eat, only to get pinched at the last minute! If I +had my way, I'd bump that officer on the coco and make for the landing. +We can't stay in this blooming little burg all the rest of our natural +lives. Will will be anxious." + +"Now don't get excited!" laughed Frank. "We'll get out in, a few +minutes, all right." + +"If it was so easy to get out in a few minutes," argued Tommy, "why +didn't you get out hours ago?" + +Frank only laughed as the impatient question and sprang out of the +carriage. The doctor alighted, too, and they both stood for a moment in +close consultation with the officer. + +Jamison, who was now very drunk, stood weaving about in the street, +demanding that all the boys, and the doctor, and the driver of the +carriage, be thrown into jail on a charge of piracy. + +"Don't you think," Frank suggested to the officer, "that this man is too +drunk to be out on the street?" + +"Why, of course he is," replied the officer beckoning to an associate +who stood watching the group from the next corner. + +When the associate came up, Jamison was ordered under arrest, and was +taken away with many threats and exclamations of rage. + +"I don't like this man Jamison any better than you do," the officer +said, speaking to Frank and Dr. Pelton, "but the case did look rather +bad for the boys, and I had to do something." + +"He collected three hundred dollars of me, for a trip to and from +Cordova," Frank explained, "and then tried to maroon us on one of the +Barren islands. There's a member of his crew back here in the blacksmith +shop who will tell you the same story." + +"So you paid him three hundred dollars, did you?" asked the officer. + +"Yes, sir," answered the boy. + +"And you have proof that he tried to maroon you?" + +"Yes, sir!" + +"And you took the boat only to enforce the contract you had made?" + +"That's the idea!" replied Frank. + +"Then I'm not going to bother with the case at all!" replied the +officer. "If you had come to me with this story the minute Jamison began +to rave about arrest, you wouldn't have been put to all this +inconvenience." + +"I think," grinned Frank, "that Jamison ought to pay us back the three +hundred dollars, because he never brought us to Cordova at all, and even +if he had, he wouldn't have earned the money until he returned us to +Katalla. He ought not to keep the money." + +"That's a fact!" exclaimed the officer with a smile at the boy. "I'll go +down to the jail and make him give it back." + +The officer started away, and Tommy and Sam sat in the carriage +regarding Frank with wide open eyes. + +"Say, who is that kid?" Tommy asked. + +"I don't know," replied Sam. + +"Did you notice that any time he said anything to the officer that the +officer just fell right in with his ideas?" + +"Sure I did," was the reply. + +"And did you notice how the doctor paid special attention to every +remark he made?" + +"I couldn't help but notice it," was the reply. + +"Well, that kid's got these fellows up here buffaloed all right," Tommy +declared. "And that being the case, I wonder why he didn't use some of +his influence hours ago and get us started on the road to Katalla." + +"I give it up!" Sam replied. + +Frank and the doctor stood talking together for a few moments, and then +the federal officer returned and handed two hundred dollars in bank +notes over to Frank. + +"Jamison thinks he ought to have a hundred dollars because he paid the +tug for bringing him and his crew in," the officer said, "and because +he's going to let you run his motor boat up to Katalla." + +"What do you know about that?" whispered Sam. + +"I'll bet that boy's father is president of the United States," replied +Tommy. "Or he may be king of England." + +"Whoever he is, he's got a pull," replied Sam. + +"Drag!" exclaimed Tommy. "Whenever a man's got a dead sure cinch like +that, it's a drag and not a pull!" + +"Well," the doctor said, "we're losing time! We may as well go to the +wireless office and get our code message. I presume it's ready for +delivery by this time." + +"It's about time we were thinking about that boy with his head in a +sling, too!" Tommy suggested. + +"It won't take us long to get there now," Doctor Pelton remarked. + +The Gulf of Alaska was remarkably smooth, when the vicious habits of +that body of water are taken into consideration, and the boys made the +run to Katalla without accident in little less than three hours, +arriving at the floating dock with the sun still more than three hours +in the sky. + +"Now for the rotten part of the journey," Tommy suggested. "If we hadn't +had to wait for the wireless after we landed at the dock we should have +arrived here in time to reach the cabin before dark." + +"Who's got the wireless?" asked Sam. + +"Frank's got it tucked away under his uniform!" laughed Doctor Pelton. +"He wouldn't even let me take a look at the envelope!" + +"Do you know what's in it, Frank?" asked Tommy. + +"Sure I do," was the reply. + +"Then, what's all this mystery about? Why don't you pass the information +around?" demanded Tommy impatiently. + +"All in good time!" laughed the boy. + +"I don't see any use of all this mystery!" Tommy grumbled, turning to +Sam, "I get shut out of the inside features of every game I'm in!" + +"Now, how do we get to the cabin?" asked the doctor. + +"Walk, I suppose," grumbled Tommy. "It's only about fourteen or fifteen +miles, and the country between the two points is mostly on end. We ought +to get there by an hour or two after midnight, if we don't stop to play +marbles on the way." + +"If you will all wait here a few moments," Frank said, "I'll go and see +what I can do in the shape of a rig." + +"A rig!" repeated Tommy. "Fat lot of fun you'd have driving a rig over +that moraine!" + +"Of course we can't drive clear to the cabin," Frank replied, "but we +can get quite along way from the coast if we have a strong team and a +good wagon!" + +"Yes, I remember smooth country somewhere on the route," replied Tommy. + +"But even at best," Frank explained, "we shall have to walk five or six +miles, so we may as well be getting busy." + +In a very few minutes Frank returned with a pair of strong horses and +wagon more desirable for its strength than its comfort. + +"Where'd you find it?" asked Tommy. + +"Sent a wireless ahead asking for it!" replied Frank. + +"I wish you'd send a wireless over to the cabin," Tommy grinned, "and +ask the boys to have supper all ready when we get there, and you might +suggest that Sandy and George meet us a half a mile this side with a pie +under each arm." + +"I believe if that kid should ask to have some one dip him a blue blazer +out of an ice cold spring it would be done," Sam whispered to Tommy, as +the party clambered into the wagon. + +"He's certainly got a drag somewhere!" replied Tommy. + +"Things are running pretty smoothly boys," suggested Doctor Pelton as +the straggling buildings of the coast town disappeared from view. + +"They're running too smoothly!" exclaimed Tommy. "First thing we know, +there'll be a cylinder head blowing out, or a volcanic eruption, or +something of that kind. We've been having things altogether too easy +ever since we landed at Cordova." + +"Just listen a moment," Frank said, "I guess there's something going to +happen, right now!" + +There came a long, low rumbling sound, apparently moving from east to +west, followed by a tipping of the moraine which almost brought the +horses to their knees. + +"It would never answer," Tommy grumbled, "for us to make a trip to +Alaska without bunting into a glacier ready to smash up things!" + +"That's not a glacial slide!" Frank said. "It's an earthquake!" + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +A BREAK IN THE GLACIER + + +"An earthquake?" repeated Tommy. "I thought they never had earthquakes +in Alaska any more!" + +"There are few weeks when there are no earthquakes!" was the reply. + +"Well, when's it going to stop quaking?" asked Sam, springing out of the +wagon. "It seems to me that we're getting a sleigh ride!" + +The others followed his example, and stood in a moment within fifty feet +of a slowly widening chasm which seemed to run from east to west across +the entire moraine. They had just reached the timber line when the +disturbance began, and now they saw trees a hundred feet in height and +from six to eight inches in diameter dropping like matches into the +great opening in the earth. + +"Gee!" exclaimed Tommy. "The breath of the earthquake is enough to +freeze one! I wish I had a couple of fur coats!" + +The boy expressed the situation very accurately, for the opening of the +moraine revealed the mighty mass of ice which lay under it. The glacier +which had lain dead under the mat of vegetation for how many hundred +years no one would ever know, showed far down in the great cavern, and a +gust of wind sighing through the ragged jaws laid a chill over the +little party. + +Slowly the chasm widened. The ground under the boys' feet seemed to be +unsteady. With a swaying motion it dropped off toward the coast, except +at the very edge of the cavern, which seemed to be doubling down like a +lip folded inside the mouth. + +"It strikes me," Frank said, "that we would better be getting the team +out of the track of that chasm! If we don't, the horses and wagon will +take a drop." + +Tommy and Sam both sprang forward, but it was too late! The southern +line of the chasm seemed, to drop away for fifty feet or more, and trees +and rocks crashed into the opening. The horses and the wagon went down +with the rest. The screams of the frightened horses cut the air for an +instant, and then all was silent. + +"Rotten!" cried Tommy. + +"Fierce!" shouted Sam. + +"Awful!" declared Doctor Pelton. + +Frank stood looking at the ever-widening chasm for a moment and then +faced toward the coast. + +"We'll have to walk around it now, I'm thinking," Tommy said, in a +moment. "And a nice job we've got!" + +As far as the eye could see the chasm extended, now growing in size, now +contracting. A pale blue mist rose out of the opening, and the air was +that of an August day no longer. + +The sliding motion continued, and the chasm increased its width. + +"Will it never stop?" asked Sam, almost thrown to the ground by a quick +convulsion of the surface. + +"Not just yet!" replied the Doctor gravely. "I can tell you in a moment +just what has taken place. The weight of soil and timber on top of the +dead glacier is shifting. The volcanic action tipped the moraine to the +south and it broke, opening the way to the ice below. There is no +knowing how serious the break may be. For all we know, the upheaval may +send this whole moraine into the Gulf of Alaska." + +"That's a cheerful proposition, too!" Tommy exclaimed. + +"I wish I could get close enough to the chasm to look down," Sam +observed. "I'll bet it's a thousand feet!" + +"You'd better not try that!" advised Frank. + +"The question before the house at the present moment," the doctor said, +"is how I am going to get to my patient." + +"Can't we get across this little crack in the earth?" asked Sam. + +"That depends on the length of it!" answered Frank. "If the Doctor's +theory is correct, this whole point has cracked away from the glacier +above. In that case, we may be obliged to in some way work ourselves to +the bottom of the chasm and up on the other side." + +"We never can do that!" Sam insisted. + +"Alaska is full of just such gorges as this one," Frank explained. "The +whole country is resting on an icy foundation, and earthquakes find +congenial conditions when it comes to cracking the crust. We don't know +how long this chasm is, but the chances are that it isn't as long now as +it will be!" + +"Yes," agreed the doctor. "The chances are that the chasm started here +today will continue to grow in length until it cuts across the point of +land between Controller bay and the Bering glacier. I have known chasms +of this character to travel fifty miles in a night, and I have known +them to walk with such dignity that it took them ten years to go ten +miles." + +"But there must be some way of getting across it!" exclaimed Tommy. +"Everything has been going all right up to now, and we're not going to +be kept away from the cabin by any such playful little earthquake as +this!" + +"We'll do the best we can," Frank said gravely. + +The boys turned to the east and west and traversed the line of the chasm +for long distances. In places the width was not more than thirty feet. +In others it was at least a hundred. Occasionally the walls of soil and +ice sloped down at an angle of forty degrees, in other places the wall +was vertical. + +Within an hour the sound of running water was plainly heard, and the +boys understood that the convulsion of nature had opened a reservoir +somewhere in the glacier, and that the long chasm would soon become a +rushing torrent. The prospect was discouraging. + +"I wish we had an airship!" suggested Tommy, as they came back to the +starting place, a few minutes before the night closed down upon the +moraine. "It's provoking to think that we can't get across a little +chasm not any wider than a street in old Chicago!" + +"I think I could get along very well with a derrick!" said Sam. + +After a long conference, it was decided to keep to the west and endeavor +to pass around the chasm in that direction. + +"We certainly can't remain here inactive," the doctor argued. "We've got +to go one way or the other, and I think the chances are better toward +the west!" + +"It will soon be good and dark," cried Tommy, "and then we'll have to +make some kind of a camp for the night." + +"I've got a searchlight with me," suggested Frank. + +"So've I," answered Tommy. + +"I'll tell you one thing we forgot," Sam cut in. "You didn't make +Jamison give up your automatics!" + +"Don't you ever think we didn't," Tommy answered. "That is," he +continued, "the officer made him give them up. At least he brought them +back when he came from the jail!" + +"Seems to me," Tommy added, looking at Frank critically, "that you've +got some kind of a drag with the people at Cordova." + +"Never mind that now," Frank replied. "What we need now is some kind of +a drag to get us across this chasm." + +The electrics illuminated only a narrow path, but the boys and the +doctor made fairly good time as they advanced toward the west. + +After walking at least a mile and finding no narrowing in the surface +opening, the boys stopped once more for consultation. + +While they stood on the edge of the chasm considering the situation, a +bright blaze leaped up some distance to the north. + +"Some one's burning green boughs!" exclaimed Tommy. + +"How do you know that?" asked Sam. + +"Look at the white smoke!" answered Tommy. "I guess if you had made and +answered as many Boy Scout smoke signals as I have, you'd know how to +make a smudge." + +"It's so bloomin' dark I couldn't tell whether the smoke is while or +black!" declared Sam. "I can see only the bulk of it." + +"If it was good and black," Tommy answered, "we couldn't see it so +plainly. And, come to think about it," he added, laying a hand excitedly +on Frank's shoulder, "there are two columns of smoke." + +"I see the two now," Frank answered. "One column has just begun to show. +You know what that means, of course!" + +"It means a Boy Scout signal for assistance," replied Tommy. + +Doctor Pelton turned to the boys with an anxious face. + +"Do you really mean that?" he asked. + +"Sure we do!" replied Tommy. "Two columns of smoke ask for help." + +"Then there must be Boy Scouts in trouble on the other side of the +chasm!" the doctor concluded. + +"That's about the size of it!" Frank exclaimed. + +"Look here," Tommy declared, "we've just got to get across that crack! I +wonder if it would be possible to find walls so slanting that we could +pass down this side and up the other." + +"Well, even if we did," Sam argued, "there's a rush of water at the +bottom. I don't see how we could get across that." + +"I know how we can get across it if we find the walls accommodating," +Tommy exclaimed. "You saw how the trees tumbled into the chasm, didn't +you? Well, if we can find a place where the moraine was heavily wooded, +we'll find a bridge of tree trunks across any water there may be at the +bottom! And the bridge may not be very far down, either!" + +"Great head, little man!" laughed Frank. + +"You ought to consider the matter very seriously before entering the +chasm at all," suggested the doctor. "Remember that it is uncertain as +to size and that the walls are liable to crumble." + +"But see here," exclaimed Tommy, "there's a Boy Scout signal for help on +the other side, and we've just got to get across! For all we know, the +cabin may have been wrecked by the earthquake, and the boys may have +been injured in some way!" + +"I'm game to go!" shouted Sam. + +"Of course I'll go with you," the doctor went on. "In fact, I am +satisfied that you are doing the right thing in making the attempt to +cross. I only uttered a warning which we must all heed whenever we come +to a place where a crossing seems possible." + +The boys soon discovered a place where the walls did not appear to be +very steep and where the mass of trees which had fallen completely +covered the bottom. Then, cautiously feeling their way, they crept down. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +GEORGE AND SANDY CAUGHT + + +When George and Sandy left the cabin they saw the figure of the miner +very dimly outlined away to the west. + +"We ought to get closer," Sandy whispered. "First thing we know, he'll +duck down into some hollow, and that'll be the last of him for the +night. I guess we can creep up without his catching us at it." + +"Of course we can!" replied George. "He's making so much noise himself +that he can't hear us! He wouldn't make much of a Boy Scout when it came +to stalking, would he?" + +The boys succeeded in getting pretty close to the miner; so close in +fact, that occasionally they heard him muttering to himself as he +stumbled over rocks and occasionally became entangled in such underbrush +as grew along the top of the moraine. + +"We can't be very far away from the place where the bear tried to beat +me up," Sandy whispered, as they drew up for a moment. "I wouldn't mind +having a bite out of that same bear just about now!" + +After a time they came to the head waters of the creek in which Will and +Sandy had fished, and saw Cameron standing on the other side. + +"He's going into the mountains!" whispered Sandy. + +"That's exactly where he's keeping Bert," George agreed. + +In a short time Cameron paused in his walk and uttered a low whistle. + +"What do you think of that?" asked Sandy. "He's going to meet some one +here. And that means," the boy went on, "that he's had a pal watching +Bert while he's been away." + +"And it also means," George added, "that we can't be very far from the +spot where Bert is concealed. I hope so, anyway, for I'm about tired +enough to crawl into my little nest in the cabin." + +"I should think you'd talk about sleep!" scoffed Sandy. "You slept all +the afternoon!" + +"If you mention that long sleep of mine again," George said +half-angrily, "I'll tip you over into the creek. I'm sore over that +myself!" + +While the boys stood waiting end listening an answering whistle came +from the side of a mountain not far from the rivulet. + +"There's his chum!" whispered Sandy. "If we get up nearer, we may be +able to hear what they say." + +The boys crept along under the dim light of the infrequent stars, and +finally crouched down behind an angle of rock which was not more than +twenty feet removed from where Cameron stood. + +They had hardly taken their position when a second figure made its +appearance. The two stood talking together in whispers for a short time +and then started to walk away. + +"There's something doing, all right!" exclaimed Sandy. + +"Yes, indeed, there is!" agreed George. "They wouldn't come out into +such a hole as this after midnight to tell each other what good fellows +they are, or anything like that." + +"I'm getting suspicious!" Sandy chuckled. + +"Why suspicious?" + +"Because those fellows whispered!" + +"I see the point," replied George. "From our standpoint those fellows +were all alone here in one of the wild places of Alaska, yet they drew +close together and whispered when they communicated with each other!" + +"They wouldn't do that," urged Tommy, "unless they were afraid of being +overheard. It shows that they believe some one to be watching them." + +The two men were now moving quite swiftly up the slope of the mountain. +At times they were entirely hidden by the luxuriant growths, and at +times they came out on little bald spots where rock outcropped to the +exclusion of vegetation. The boys followed on into the thickets, pausing +now and then to listen for the sounds of the advance of the others. + +Presently they came to a shelf of rock which overlooked the valley of +the rivulet. They paused for a moment to listen for the sounds of those +in advance when a strong electric searchlight was thrown on their faces +and they saw the grim, round barrel of an automatic pointing at their +breasts. + +"You may as well hand over your automatics, boys!" Cameron said. + +"And be quick about it, too." + +This last sentence came from a thin, cadaverous looking fellow whose +face was only half revealed through the meshes of the head net. + +There was nothing for the boys to do but to pass over their revolvers. +Their searchlights were also taken from them, and then their hands were +tied tightly behind their backs. + +"Did you have a pleasant tramp through the woods?" asked Cameron. + +"Say," growled Sandy, "if you'll just turn my hands loose, I'll give you +a poke in the jaw!" + +"That wouldn't be polite!" sneered Cameron. + +"Don't take any lip from the young imps," snarled the other. "They've +given us enough trouble already!" + +"You're a foxy old gink!" exclaimed Sandy. "I wish I had you on South +Clark street, Chicago, for a few minutes!" + +"So that's why you came to the cabin is it?" asked George. + +"Certainly," replied Cameron. "I had an idea that you'd follow me away! +You see I figured it out exactly right!" + +"Why did you want to make trouble for us?" asked Sandy. + +"Because you're too smart!" answered Cameron. + +"What do you mean by that?" + +"When you sat sizing me up in the cabin while I was eating supper," +Cameron went on, "you informed me as plainly as words could have done +that you knew me to be the man who had abducted your friend." + +"You didn't show that you knew," George suggested. + +"I tried not to show that I knew," answered the other. + +"What'd you steal Bert for?" asked Sandy. + +"I needed him in my business," answered Cameron. + +"Come, don't stand here all night talking with the little gutter-snipes!" +exclaimed Cameron's companion. "We've got work to do!" + +"March along, then, boys!" Cameron ordered. + +The lads were now pushed forward into a cavern which opened on the shelf +of rock where they had been taken prisoners. The opening in the mountain +side seemed to be of considerable size, for the boys passed from an +outer chamber of fair dimensions to two smaller ones further in. + +In the last of these chambers, on a huddle of blankets, lay the boy for +whom they had been searching. + +"Is he dead?" asked Sandy. + +"No such luck," snarled Cameron. + +"If you'll untie my hands, I'll look after him," George said. + +The bonds were cut and George bent over the still figure. + +"Has he regained consciousness at all?" he asked. + +Cameron turned to his companion. + +"Tell them, Fenton," he said, "whether the lad woke up during my +absence. You were here all the time?" he added. + +"Yes, I was here all the time!" answered Fenton. "And the lad never +opened his eyes once. That was a deuce of a blow you gave him, Cameron!" + +"And what did you gain by it?" demanded Sandy. + +"We'll show you directly what we gained by it!" Cameron answered. + +Seeing a bucket of water at one side of the cavern, George carried it +over to the heap of blankets where the boy lay and began bathing his +forehead and wrists. The boy groaned feebly but did not speak. + +"What did you hit him with?" asked George angrily. + +"The handle of my gun!" was the sullen reply. + +"Why?" asked Sandy. + +"Because I wanted to get a paper he had." + +"Well, you got it, didn't you?" asked the boy. + +"Yes, I got it!" + +"And much good it did you, too!" said George angrily. + +"Look here!" Cameron almost shouted, "can either one of you boys read +that code despatch?" + +George shook his head. + +"Is there any one at the cabin who can read it?" + +"I have never known of any member of the party reading the cipher," +replied George. "I never have seen a code despatch before." + +"You are lying to me!" shouted Cameron. "The boy to whom the despatch +was addressed can certainly read it! Which one of you bears the name of +Will Smith? Don't lie to me now!" + +"Will Smith is at the cabin!" replied Sandy. + +"Just my luck!" shouted Cameron. + +"What do you want to know about the code despatch?" asked Sandy. + +"I want to know what it contains. And what is more, I'm going to know, +too! I want one of you boys to write a note to this Will Smith and get +him to come here to this cave." + +"Not for mine!" exclaimed Sandy. + +George made no verbal reply, but the expression of his face showed that +he had no intention of doing anything of the kind. + +"It will be the worse for you if you don't!" shouted Cameron. + +"Oh, you've got the top hand for a few minutes now," Sandy said, +tauntingly, "but you'll soon find out that you're not the only man in +the world that's got a gun!" + +This last as Cameron flourished an automatic in his hand. + +"You'll write the note, or you'll starve to death!" replied Fenton. + +"Then we'll starve!" answered George. + +"No, we won't starve!" declared Sandy. "We'll get the best of you +outlaws in some shape, and give you a beating up that will put you in +the hospital for six months!" + +Fenton raised his fist as if to strike the speaker, but Cameron caught +his arm. + +"Not now," he said. "Wait until all other plans have been tried." + +"We have other work to do at this time, anyway," Fenton said, with a +scowl, "so we'll just lock the door on these young gutter-snipes and +leave them to think the matter over!" + +The men passed out of the small cavern, but before they left the outer +one, they rolled a great stone into the opening they had just passed +through and blocked it firmly on the outer side. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE MORSE CODE + + +"And this," said Sandy, as the great stone began to render the +atmosphere of the place close and unpleasant, "is what I call a fine +little Boy Scout excursion! Did they leave one of the searchlights?" + +"Not intentionally," replied George, "but I swiped one!" + +"Well, we mustn't show a light until they get some distance away!" +advised Sandy. "We don't want them to know that we have it." + +"And we'll need it badly," George suggested, "if we're to give Bert any +attention! I wonder if the poor boy has had any care since he's been +here! It doesn't seem to me that they would be heartless enough to leave +him here in an unconscious condition very long!" + +"You can never tell what such fellows'll do," Sandy observed. + +The boys remained silent for a long time, each one busy with his own +thoughts. After what seemed an aeon, they saw that it was daylight +outside. Then they turned on their electric and made an examination of +their wounded chum. + +They found that the bandage on his head had been changed, and that his +pulse was not so high as when he had been discovered in an unconscious +condition at the cabin. + +"I guess they've done the best they could," Sandy observed, "and I'm +much obliged to them for that! Have you got anything to eat?" + +"Now, look here, Sandy," George replied whimsically, "have you any idea +that I'd ever go away with you without taking something to eat? You got +up from the table one minute and demand something to masticate the next! +You're about the most regular boy at your meals I over knew. What'll you +have now, pie or cake?" + +"Pie!" laughed Sandy. + +"Well, you get a bear sandwich!" replied George. "I've got four great +big thick ones wrapped up in paper and stowed away in my pockets. If +those ginks had suspected anything of the kind, they would have taken +them away from me. They're a bum lot, those men!" + +"Produce one of the sandwiches!" demanded Sandy. "They named me Sandy at +first because I'm such a hand for sandwiches!" + +George brought forth two great slices of bread and about a pound of +fried bear meat. Sandy's eyes sparkled at the sight. + +"We'll have one apiece now," George suggested, "and one apiece tonight. +But every time they come near the cave, we'll tell them how hungry we +are. That will make them think we're suffering." + +"You don't think we're going to stay here till night, do you?" demanded +Sandy munching away at his meat. + +"I hope not," answered George. + +"I wonder if Bert's had anything to eat since he got the wallop on the +coco?" asked Sandy. "Suppose we mince some of this meat up very fine and +feed it to him. He may not know when he swallows it, but it will give +him strength just the same." + +The suggested plan was followed, and Bert was given quite a quantity of +the tender meat. At first it was necessary to pass it down his throat +with draughts of water, but later, much to the surprise and joy of the +boys, he began, to swallow naturally. + +"He's coming back to life!" shouted Sandy. "A boy's all right as soon as +he begins to eat! Sprinkle some water in his face and we'll see what +effect that has." + +The boys were so pleased that they almost cheered with delight when at +length Bert opened his eyes and looked about. + +"Time to get up?" he asked. + +"Naw," replied Sandy. "Go to sleep again!" + +"That you, Sandy?" asked Bert. + +"That's Sandy all right!" replied the boy. + +"Why don't you open a door or window and let in some air?" asked Bert. + +"Aw, go to sleep!" advised Sandy. + +"Nice old dive you've got here!" Bert went on. "Here I've walked about +nineteen thousand miles to find a boy named Sandy and a boy named Will, +and a boy named Tommy, and a boy named George, and when I find them they +shut me up in a rotten old morgue." + +"How'd you come to ask for Sandy?" demanded the boy. + +"The name struck me as being funny!" was the reply. "Where are the +others? Are you here alone?" + +"George is over there on the floor," replied Sandy. "Ring off, now, and +go to sleep! You're in no shape to talk." + +"I remember something about getting a dip on the head," Bert said in a +moment, evidently after long cogitation. "What was there about it?" + +"You got it!" replied Sandy. "Go to sleep!" + +"If you'll give me some more of that meat, I'll go to sleep!" + +George pushed forward about half of one of the sandwiches and the boy +began eating it greedily. In a moment, however, his arm dropped to his +side and he appeared to be unconscious again. + +"He's too weak to go at the grub like that," George advised, turning on +the light. "We'll have to be careful!" + +But Bert was not unconscious again. He was only sleeping. + +"I'd like to know what brought him out of that trance," remarked George +as the boys sat regarding the youngster with inquiring eyes. + +"I don't know any more about it than you do," answered Sandy, "but, if +you'll leave it to me, setting the stomach to work put the blood in +circulation, and that swept the cobwebs out of his brain." + +"Sounds all right, but I don't believe it!" replied George. + +The day passed slowly. Bert slept continuously until George's watch told +him that it was nearly four o'clock in the afternoon. Then he opened his +eyes for a few moments, finished the rest of the sandwich and went to +sleep again. + +"Weak as a cat!" exclaimed Sandy. + +The boy had scarcely closed his eyes when Cameron's voice was heard at +the entrance. + +"Are you boys ready to write that note?" he asked. + +"Come in here a minute," requested Sandy. "I want to get a good poke at +that ugly mug of yours!" + +"You won't feel quite so lively after going hungry for a day or two," +sneered Cameron. "You needn't mind about the letter, anyway," he added. +"I have information that there's a boy coming in from Cordova who can +read the code despatch and we're laying for him now." + +"I don't want to seem to be irreligious," Sandy replied, "but I beg +leave to state that if I owed the devil a debt of a thousand of the +greatest liars on earth and he wouldn't take you and call the debt +square, I'd cheat him out of it! Your fabrications are too cheap!" + +"Don't get fresh now," advised Cameron. "If you do, I'll come in there +and take it out of your hide!" + +"Come on in!" urged Sandy. "I'd just like to get a good crack at your +crust! I think I could fix you up in about five minutes so you'd want to +lie in bed for about five months!" + +"Aw, what's the good of stirring him up!" whispered George. + +"I want to get him so mad that he'll say something that he wouldn't say +if he wasn't angry!" replied Sandy. "What's your idea about this boy +coming in, anyway? Do you believe it?" + +"No!" was the reply. "There isn't any one to come in. And even if there +was, there is no way in which he could be notified that he was coming! +So you see, he's just lying for the fun of it!" + +"Well, I'm sorry, boys," Cameron observed, "that you won't take +advantage of the offer I'm making you. I brought a basket of provisions +with me, and you might be having a square meal in five minutes if you'd +only do what I ask you to do." + +"I thought you didn't want the letter now!" scoffed Sandy. + +"Oh, I'll get it all right whether you write it or not!" answered +Cameron. "But if you have anything to say to me, you'd better say it +now, because you won't see me again until tomorrow morning. I've just +come from the cabin, and the boys there are about wild over your +disappearance. I explained that I found your hats not far from a piece +of torn and bloody turf, and that seemed to make them feel worse than +ever." + +"Oh, they're on to you all right!" replied Sandy. "You can't make +anything stick with them. They know that you're the outlaw who stole +Bert, and they know that you haven't any more right to the cabin than +they have. You'll go sticking your nose around that domicile some time +and get it knocked off! It's a two to one bet right now that they know +that you've caught George and I in some kind of a trap." + +"Let him alone," advised George. "What's the use of starting anything? +He can make us trouble if he wants to!" + +"Run along now," continued Sandy. "We were having a quiet little snooze +when you butted in. It's all right this time, but don't you ever do it +again. Here's hoping you remain away until morning!" + +Cameron was heard to pass through the outer caverns and all was still, +about the place. Notwithstanding the assumed lightheartedness of the +boys, they realized that they were in a serious situation. + +"I'm going to dig this stone out!" declared Sandy shortly after the +departure of the miner. "I believe we can move this beautiful door if we +go at it right. Come on and help me push." + +The boys pushed with all their might, but the stone was firmly blocked +on the outside, and could not be moved. + +"It's after five o'clock," George said looking at his watch, "and if we +do anything tonight, we'll have to do it right away. What time did Tommy +say he would be back with the doctor?" + +"There was some talk about his being back early in the evening," replied +Sandy. "And that gives me an idea!" the boy continued. + +"Pass it out!" said George. + +"First," Sandy said, hesitatingly, "let me ask a question. Do you know +how the boys are going to get in from the coast? What I mean is, have +you any idea which way they will take on leaving Katalla?" + +"That's all a guess," replied George. + +"They may come this way, though," suggested Sandy. + +"Yes, if they keep straight to the north until they strike the valley of +this little creek and then turn east to the cabin, they'll be apt to +pass this way." + +"Here's hoping they do," Sandy said fervently. + +"I don't see how that will help," George complained. "We're shut up in a +hole, and might yell for a thousand years without being heard." + +"Just you wait a minute," Sandy advised. "Let me see that searchlight of +yours. Have you the red and blue caps with you?" + +"They're right at the end," replied George. "Just unscrew that cover and +take them out. I thought you knew where to find everything connected +with an electric searchlight!" + +Sandy unscrewed the false cover at the end of the battery case and +brought forth two celluloid caps; one blue, and one red. + +"It's been so long since we've used these Boy Scout signals," he add, +"that I've almost forgotten which color we use for the dash and which +for the dot when we signal in the Morse code." + +"The red is the dash," explained. George. "What are you going to do?" + +"I'm going to hoist a signal of distress," laughed Sandy. + +"Expect it to show through the rocks?" + +"I guess it'll show out of any opening we can look out of!" exclaimed +Sandy. "I'm going to put on the red cap and set the light where it'll +shine through the two outer caverns. If any of the boys come within +sight of it, they'll understand the scrape we're in." + +"Great head!" exclaimed George. "The boys will be coming back from +Katalla before long, and Will and Ed will naturally be searching for us, +so we're pretty sure to have the signal seen and answered before +morning!" + +"That's our only hope!" replied Sandy. "Unless our Boy Scout signal +brings one party or the other, we're likely to starve to death in this +rotten old cavern. Let's see how it works," the boy went on, screwing +the red celluloid cap firmly over the eye of the electric. + +After seeing that everything was in order, he switched to the blue cap. +In both cases the light worked perfectly. + +"There you are!" he said with a chuckle. "If one of the boys sees the +red light, he'll read it for a Morse dash and if he sees the blue light, +he'll read it for a Morse dot!" + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +THE ROCKS TUMBLE DOWN + + +After the departure of George and Sandy from the cabin, Will and Ed +decided that the best thing they could do would be to go to bed. They +had been without sleep for many hours, and were thoroughly exhausted. + +"I am anxious to know what success George and Sandy have in chasing +Cameron," Will said, as he disrobed in the dark and tumbled into his +bunk, "but I don't see how we can help matters any by sitting up." + +No answer came from the bunk occupied by Ed save a prolonged snore, and +Will knew that his companion was already in the land of dreams. + +When Will awoke it was broad daylight and the sun was high in the +heavens. Looking at his watch, he was surprised to see that it was after +twelve o'clock. In a moment, he heard Ed stirring in his bunk, and then +the boy sat up, rubbing a pair of sleepy eyes. + +"That was a corker!" Will exclaimed. + +"Have any of the boys returned?" asked Ed. + +"Oh, they're back before this, of course," Will answered. "They've +probably gone outside in order to give us a chance to sleep!" + +"I don't see any indications of their presence," Ed said. "Everything +looks exactly as it did when we went to bed last night." + +Will, after arranging his head net, and drawing on a pair of gloves, +opened the door and cast an anxious glance over the landscape. + +"They haven't been out here!" he said. "What do you think it means?" + +"It means that they're giving that fat miner along chase!" answered Ed. + +"I'm afraid they're in some trouble," replied Will apprehensively. + +"Suppose I look for them while you get breakfast," suggested Ed. + +"Good idea," replied Will "I'll get pancakes and coffee and eggs for +breakfast and then, after we eat, we'll both go out and look for the +boys. I'm afraid they've been led into a trap!" + +"How about leaving the cabin alone?" asked Ed. + +"The cabin can go hang!" answered Will. + +Ed returned in half an hour and reported that no trace of the lost lads +had been discovered. The boys then ate breakfast and started away. + +"Which way did they go?" asked Ed. + +"Sandy said they were headed to the west." + +"Then to the west we go," Ed exclaimed, darting forward in advance. + +The boys searched patiently until five o'clock without discovering any +trace of the missing lads. Then, they returned to the cabin and prepared +supper. As they came within sight of the cabin they saw a stout figure +dodging away into the grove of trees to the east. + +"That's that sneak of a Cameron," Will said. "If he keeps shoving his +ugly nose into our business, I'll ornament it with lead!" + +After supper the boys loaded their pockets with sandwiches and a bottle +of cold coffee and set forth again. + +"I don't think we went far enough to the west," Will said, as they made +their way over the moraine. "You remember the line of hills across the +little creek? Well, I have an idea that if the boys have been captured +they have been taken there." + +"And if Bert has been hidden away anywhere in this vicinity," Ed +answered, "he is there, too! In fact," the boy added, "it is my belief +that if the miner is responsible for the disappearance of George and +Sandy the three boys will be found together somewhere!" + +"You are probably right!" Will agreed. "The miner and his gang wouldn't +care about watching two separate points." + +"I don't think they'd be apt to murder the boys, do you?" asked Ed. + +"No, I don't think they would," Will replied. "Outlaws of the Cameron +stamp resort to all sorts of tricks and crimes, but they usually fight +shy of murder. I'm afraid, however, that the boys will be starved or +beaten up." + +It was seven o'clock when the boys finally came to the south bank of the +rivulet, in the vicinity of the place where Sandy had encountered the +bear. The sun was now well in the west and the south side of the line of +cliffs lay in heavy shadows. + +"If there's any deviltry going on," Will said, pointing to the summits +above, "it's right over there under those peaks!" + +"I guess there's plenty of room under the peaks for mischief to be +plotted," Ed suggested, "I can see pigeon holes all along the cliff." + +"Caves, do you mean?" asked Will. + +"Sure," was the reply. "Those cliffs are of volcanic formation, and some +of the strata are softer than others, and the water has cut into the +heart of the range in many places." + +"One would naturally suppose that such openings would be filled with ice +in Alaska," Will suggested. + +"They may be filled with ice in the winter," answered Ed, "but in the +summer time they are hiding places for bears and crooked miners." + +The boys advanced to the edge of the stream and Will swept his field +glass along the distant slope. + +Presently he handed the glass to Ed. + +"Tell me what you see," he said. + +"I see something that looks like the eye of a wild animal looking out +over the valley!" answered the boy. "What can it be?" + +"My first idea was that some one had built a fire in a cave," Will +answered, "but the more I look at it, the more I suspect that the light +comes from an electric." + +"Then that must be the boys!" exclaimed Ed excitedly. + +"But why don't they come on out?" asked Will, anxiously. + +"Perhaps they have found Bert and don't want to leave him!" suggested +Ed. + +While the boys watched the red light, which seemed to glimmer from the +very extremity of the cavern, it turned to blue! + +"Now I've got it," cried Will almost dancing up and down in his +excitement, "you know what that means, don't you?" + +"I can't say that I do!" replied Ed. + +"It seems to me that the Portland Boy Scouts are not very well posted," +laughed Will. "One of the boys--which one, I don't know, of course--is +talking to us in the Morse code!" + +"Still I don't understand," said Ed. + +"The red light means a dash," Will explained, "and the blue light means +the dot. Now we'll see if we can catch what the boy is saying." + +"But where does he get the red and blue lights?" asked Ed. + +"From red and blue caps screwed over the electric searchlight," was the +reply. "All of our electrics are provided with these signal caps." + +"There, the light is red again!" cried Ed. + +"I'll show how it works," Will said, bringing out his own flashlight and +unscrewing the false cover from the loading end. + +Directly he had the blue and red caps out, and then the red one was +fastened over the eye of the searchlight. + +"There, you see!" Will exclaimed turning on the light. "We've got a +beautiful red light and that means a Morse dash." + +"I see," answered Ed. "And when you turn on the blue, that means a dot. +I learned the Morse code, of course, when I was admitted to the Boy +Scouts, but I never knew that it was used in that way." + +"I wonder if he sees this?" asked Will as he swung the red light back +and forth in the growing twilight. + +"We'll have to wait and see," replied Ed. "Of course, he'll answer if he +knows we're here!" + +Swiftly the light changed from red to blue and from blue back to red +again. This took place several times and then Will said: + +"Now, count!" + +"Red," said Ed. "Red again. Red again." + +"That's 'O'," exclaimed Will. "I guess we've got him at last!" + +"Now there's another red," Ed went on. "Now there's a blue. Then one +more red. Oh, this seems to be easy!" + +"That's 'K'!" cried Will. "O. K., don't you see? O. K. That means that +he knows we're here!" + +"Glory be!" shouted Ed. "The boys are all right or they wouldn't be +signalling. I hope they've found Bert!" + +Will signalled back "O. K.," and then the lads turned back up the +rivulet, the idea being to cross over to the north side. + +"I want to find out why the boys don't show themselves instead of +signalling," Will explained. "There must be some good reason." + +After a walk of half a mile upstream the boys found it possible to cross +without wading, and then they turned down toward the mouth of the cavern +where the lights had been seen. + +As they did so, two figures detached themselves from a group of trees +which stood not far to the east and followed stealthily along behind +them. + +If the lads could have heard the conversation carried on at that time +between Cameron and Fenton, they would have proceeded on their way with +less confidence. + +"Just what we've been looking for!" chuckled Cameron. + +"We surely have them trapped now!" replied Fenton. + +"They'll naturally step into the outer cavern to see why their chums +don't walk out, and when they do so, we'll hold them up with our guns +until we can build up a barrier which will keep them in." + +"One of the boys certainly must understand the code we are so anxious +about," Fenton observed. "That's the kid we want. We've certainly got to +find out what that message contains! If the people in the east are +trying to steal our plans, we certainly ought to know it!" + +The boys, however, heard nothing of this talk and passed on down the +north side of the creek. As soon as they came opposite the cavern, in +sight of the light once more, they stopped and began signalling. + +As they did so, Cameron and Fenton came nearer and waited anxiously for +the lads to enter the cavern. + +"I'd like to know what all that signalling means!" said Cameron. + +"Boy Scout signals," replied Fenton. + +"You can't read them, can you?" asked the miner. + +"Of course not," replied Fenton, "I'm no Boy Scout!" + +The boys continued to signal back and forth until the situation was +fairly well understood. Will and Ed knew that Bert had been found and +that all three were barricaded in the cave. + +They were disposed to make their way to the rescue of the boys without +further delay, but George advised them to wait until it became darker, +as Cameron might return at almost any moment. The news that Bert had +regained consciousness was very welcome and, confident of their ability +to thwart the plans of the miner, the boys looked forward to quiet hours +in the cabin. + +Of course the boys had no suspicion that their enemies were close at +hand watching every movement. Cameron and Fenton became impatient, after +a time, and began advancing slowly toward the boys, who were now not +very far from the mouth of the outer cavern. + +Something better than an hour passed, and then George signalled from the +interior of the cavern that it might be well for the boys to come up and +begin the work of removing the rocks which barred their egress. + +"Sneak In," George signalled. "Don't show yourself more than you have +to. Cameron may be about! It may be that he has seen our signals +already!" + +Sandy replied that he had not discovered any indications of the presence +of the miner, and the two boys advanced to the shelf of rock which faced +the opening. It was nine o'clock then. + +"What's that strange noise?" asked Will as they moved along the shelf. + +"You've got me!" replied Ed, "The ground's tipping!" + +There came a deafening crash and the whole face of the cliff fell away! +When Will and Ed regained their feet and looked through the dust which +was rising over the scene, they saw that there was no longer any cavern +in view. The rock on which they stood was sliding down the slope. + +"Buried alive!" cried Will with a sob, "Buried alive!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +VICTIMS OF THE QUAKE + + +The broad rock upon which the boys stood slid down the declivity for +some distance and brought up against a thicket of trees which stood not +far from the bank of the creek. The boys were fairly thrown from their +feet as the rock struck, but fortunately they were not injured in the +least. It was quite dark now, and the dust rising from the disturbed +earth made the scene still more dim. + +The first thing the boys heard when they scrambled to their feet was a +faint moan and then a call for help. + +"Sandy! George!" called Will. + +There was no answer from above, but a faltering voice was heard just at +the edge of the thicket, where the rock had crushed into a hemlock of +unusual size. + +"Help," the voice said. "Help!" + +Will threw his searchlight in the direction of the sound and soon saw a +writhing figure in the underbrush which had been crushed down by the +fall of the rock. + +"Who are you?" asked Will. + +"Fenton," was the answer. + +"Where'd you come from?" asked the boy in amazement. + +"For God's sake," exclaimed the writhing man, "don't stop to ask +questions now. My leg is smashed under the rock upon which you are +standing! It is enough to say that I came here with Cameron!" + +"Where is Cameron?" asked Will. Fenton pointed further down the slope. + +"He fell over in that direction when a rock struck him," he said. + +Will and George made a thorough examination of the slope where the +cavern had been before wasting any time on their injured enemies. + +They called loudly to George and Sandy but received no answer. + +"I'm afraid," Ed said, "that the boys were crushed under the falling +rocks! If they were, we ought to leave the men responsible for their +death where they are! They are not deserving of human help!" + +"And yet," Will replied, "I can't find it in my heart to leave them in +such a plight. We ought at least to see if we can get them out of their +present cramped quarters." + +After much exertion the boys managed to manufacture something like a +handspike from one of the broken saplings, and with this they began +prying at the heavy rock. It gave, but slowly. + +While they worked away, hoping every instant to be able to draw Fenton +from under the stone and so lessen his sufferings, they saw the hand of +the man they were so unselfishly assisting stealing toward his hip +pocket. + +"Watch him!" whispered Will. "He means to shoot us as soon as he is +released! That shows what kind of a dirty dog he is!" + +As the rock was lifted by slow degrees and propped so that its weight +was not so heavy upon the unfortunate man the boys saw that his hand was +creeping closer to his hip pocket. + +When at last the weight was removed, Fenton's first act was to attempt +to draw his weapon. Ed kicked it from his hand and then proceeded to tie +the fellow's wrists together behind his back. + +"You're a dirty sneak," the boy exclaimed, "or you wouldn't try to kill +the people who have saved your life! From this time on, you get no +assistance from us!" + +"I didn't mean anything!" whined Fenton. + +"Don't lie about it!" fritted Will. "Where's Cameron?" + +"You'll find him lower down!" was the reply. + +"I hope he's broken his neck!" Ed cut in. + +But Cameron had not broken his neck. Instead, he had broken an arm, and +one foot had been badly bruised by a falling stone. He was unconscious +when the boys lifted him and laid him in an easier position. + +The two men were at once searched for weapons and left for the time +being to take care of themselves. There was no fear of their escaping, +for one of Fenton's legs had sustained a compound fracture and Cameron's +foot was badly injured. + +"What next?" asked Will as the two boys stood facing the spot where they +believed George, Sandy and Bert to be buried under many tons of rock. +"It seems as if we ought to do something for the boys!" + +"I'm afraid it's too late!" replied Ed, dejectedly. + +"We never can dig under those rocks without help," commented Will, +"therefore, I think we'd better be on the watch for Tommy and Frank and +the surgeon. They surely ought to be somewhere near the cottage by this +time, if not already in it." + +"If they've had such blooming bad luck as we have," Ed observed, +"they're probably in jail somewhere! I don't think I ever saw anything +in a worse mess! The very Old Nick seems to be after us!" + +"This," Will observed with a grave smile, "is what we call a quiet +little Boy Scout excursion! We have visited the Pictured Socks, the +Everglades, the Great Continental Divide, the Hudson Bay country and got +trapped in an anthracite mine in Pennsylvania since we started out on +our quests for adventure." + +"You seem to have found adventure all right!" smiled Ed. + +"You bet we have!" replied Will. + +The boys made still another inspection of the spot where the cliff had +fallen, and thought that they heard a faint call from the inside. + +"They are there!" cried Will. "I'm sure they're there, and alive!" + +"But they can't live there very long!" suggested Ed. "So we'd better be +doing something to get them, out!" + +"The first thing to do," Will stated, "is to signal to the other +fellows. I'm sure Tommy and Frank must be in with the surgeon before +this!" + +"There'll be plenty of work for the surgeon, I imagine," Ed added. + +"I'm afraid so," Will admitted. + +"But how are you going to signal to the cabin?" asked Ed. + +"Indian smoke signals!" was the reply. + +Almost before the words were out of Will's mouth, Ed was gathering both +dry and green branches from the thicket. + +"If the boys are at the cabin, or even on their way there," Will +continued, "they'll be sure to see the signal, for the night is not so +very dark now, and the land where we are is considerably higher than the +moraine upon which the cabin is built. We'll have to get a blazing fire +of dry wood and then pile on green branches." + +"That ought to make a smudge visible ten miles off!" said Ed. + +"Not quite so far as that!" smiled Will, "but it's a sure thing the +signals ought to be seen as far as the cabin." + +"Perhaps this earthquake shook the cabin down," suggested Ed. "I heard a +racket over to the south which seemed to indicate that the moraine was +being crumpled up like a piece of leather in a blaze." + +"It seems to me," Will agreed, "that the earthquake did change the map +of Alaska in some particulars. Now, if you've got enough dry wood, we'll +start the fire and in five minutes we'll be ready for the green boughs!" + +Two roaring fires were soon going on the mountainside, and then both +Cameron and Fenton pleaded to be assisted nearer to the circle of +warmth. They were both shivering with the cold. + +"We ought to give you a swift toss into the blaze!" exclaimed Will. "And +we may do it, too," he went on, "if we find that our chums have been +brought to their death by your abducting them!" + +"We had nothing to do with their being in the cave!" lied Cameron. + +"What were you doing in the edge of the thicket?" asked Ed. + +"We were watching you and your friends," was the reply. "We thought that +you were in quest of our mine!" + +"Did you see those red and blue lights?" asked Will. + +"Certainly we did," replied Cameron. + +"Well, they told the story of what has taken place since the boys left +the cabin to follow your footsteps last night, so you may as well save +your breath. Lies won't help you any!" + +However, the lads managed to bring the two men closer to the fire and +then set about piling on more green boughs. + +"Now," Will said, as he stood regarding the two columns of smoke with no +little satisfaction, "if our friends are within five miles of us, they +ought to understand that we are in need of a little friendly +assistance." + +Time and again the two boys went back to the place where the cavern had +been and listened patiently for some further indication that their +friends were still alive. Several times they heard the rumbling of a +voice but they could not distinguish the words of it. + +Finally Will went back to where Cameron lay on the ground by the fire +and asked abruptly: + +"Is your name Garman, Cameron or Brooks?" + +The fellow gave a quick start of surprise but made no answer. + +"Is this man Fenton the clerk who stole the machine drawings?" was the +next question. "Where are the plans now?" + +"I don't know anything about any plans!" declared Cameron. + +"What do you fellows expect to do with the plans?" asked Will. + +"We haven't got them!" was the surly reply. + +"Don't lie about it!" Will advised. "We know that the plans were sent to +Fenton's employer and that Fenton stole them." + +"How do the plans concern you?" demanded Cameron. + +"We don't want the plans because they are alleged to represent a +valuable invention," Will replied. "We want them because they are needed +in the criminal court of Chicago." + +"I suppose you boys planned this costly and dangerous expedition for the +purpose of seeing how the plans look!" sneered Fenton. + +"That's about the size of it!" replied Will. + +"Well, we don't know anything about the plans!" declared Cameron, "and +we wouldn't give you any information on the subject if we did!" + +"All right," Will replied. "We can tie you up out here and the mosquitos +will do the rest!" + +Before Will could ask the question which was on his lips, three quick +pistol shots came from the south. + +"There!" the boy said excitedly, "the signals have brought a response!" + +"Friend or foe?" asked Ed. + +"That's more than I know!" Will replied. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +DOWN IN THE CHASM + + +When Tommy, Frank, Sam and the doctor started toward the bottom of the +chasm in order that they might reach the spot from which the smoke +signal was ascending on the other side, they anticipated rough going, +but the actuality was much worse than anything which had been expected. + +The soil extended only six or eight feet. Passing this they came to a +point where the solid glacier had been opened by the earthquake. + +The break was uneven, there being little shelves and ledges upon which +the feet might rest, but the going was uncertain for all that. + +The roaring of the fast-lifting torrent prevented conversation, and the +darkness made signalling impossible except when the searchlights were +held in position. + +It was very cold at the bottom of the break, too, and the boys felt +their hands growing numb. + +However, they proceeded with good speed until they came to a point where +the current had swept the tree trunks far apart and parallel with each +other. Here it became necessary for them to take the chance of a long +jump. When it came Sam's turn to make the leap, the log upon which he +struck rolled under his weight and he went down under the wreckage and +rush of water. + +Frank and Tommy sprang to his assistance at once, reaching down in the +hope of getting hold of his hand, but the swift current carried the boy +along until he was beyond their reach. + +They saw his head come to the surface and saw him strike out for the +floating logs on the north side of the chasm. + +Then the bushy top of a tree drifted down upon him and he went under. + +The boys stood for a moment as if paralyzed at what had taken place, and +then Tommy sprang into the mass of floating boughs and, clinging to one +which sustained his weight, called out to Frank to turn his searchlight +on the place where he stood. + +Frank did as requested, but it showed only a half-frozen and dripping +boy clinging to the boughs of a tree which was already beginning to drop +down beneath his weight. + +The lads had about abandoned all hope of rescue when Sam's head once +more appeared above the surface. He was within a short distance of Tommy +and the boy, dropping his searchlight, sprang toward him. + +He succeeded in getting hold of the boy's arm. + +Then Frank, appreciating the situation, dropped in and, while retaining +hold of a reasonably firm log on the west side of the chasm, caught the +rescuer by the hand. Doctor Pelton, who had been creeping nearer to the +point of danger, now seized Frank by the arm and slowly and with great +effort the human chain drew the half-drowned boy to the little platform +of logs and brush upon which the doctor stood. + +Sam lay there for a moment panting and shivering, and then sprang to his +feet. The north wall was still to climb. + +The slope here was more gradual and all four soon found themselves at +the top of the chasm, wet and cold, but on the side where the Boy Scout +signal had shown. + +"We ought to tell the boys we are coming, hadn't we?" asked Tommy. + +He drew his automatic from his pocket as he spoke and pressed the +trigger, but there was no explosion. + +"Try mine!" advised Doctor Pelton. "I guess I'm the only person who +didn't get wet." + +As he spoke the doctor fired three quick shots. + +"I wonder if they'll answer?" asked Tommy. + +"They will if they can," replied Sam. "I don't know your chums, of +course, but when a Boy Scout sends up a signal for help and shots are +fired, it is only good manners to acknowledge the courtesy." + +No answering shots came for a moment, however, for Will and Ed were at +that moment some distance away from the place where their automatics had +been thrown after having been taken from Cameron and Fenton. + +The shots came before long, however, and the party of wet and shivering +boys pressed on. + +"I'd like to know what the boys are doing so far away from the cabin," +Tommy grumbled. "They ought to have sense enough to stay put!" + +The party was met just beyond the illumination of the fire by Will and +Ed, who greeted their chums with such cordiality that a rather perilous +situation was at once suspected. + +"What are you boys doing out here in the scenery, anyhow?" demanded +Tommy. "You ought to be at home in the cabin with a hot supper ready for +us! You always go wrong when I go away!" he added with a grin. + +"There's no time to tell long stories now," Will hastened to say. "The +thing we've got to do is to pry open that mountain and dig George, Sandy +and Bert out." + +"Are they dead?" asked Tommy, turning very white. + +"There's some one alive in there," replied Will. "We hear something +which sounds like the human voice but we can't distinguish any words." + +"Earthquake?" asked Tommy. + +"Earthquake!" replied Will. + +"But how----" + +Will cut Frank off with a gesture and pointed to the cliff. + +"We've got to get to work!" he said. + +Just then a low groan reached the ears of the members of the group and +Doctor Pelton sprang toward the place where Cameron and Fenton lay. + +Tommy dashed after him and looked down on the two men. + +"Where did you get 'em?" he asked. + +"We didn't get 'em," was the reply. "The earthquake got 'em." + +"Then I'll bet they were trying to do something to Bert!" Tommy +declared. + +"Right, little man!" replied Will. "But we haven't got time to talk +about it now. This, I suppose," he added, turning to the surgeon, "is +the doctor you brought from Cordova?" + +"That's Doctor Pelton," Tommy answered, "and this," he continued, +pointing to Sam, "is Sam White, Bulldog Patrol, Portland, Oregon. He +isn't as hungry as he looks to be, for we fed him up good and proper on +the way out!" + +During this brief introduction, Sam and Ed had been eyeing each other +with half concealed grins. + +"You boys seem to know each other," Tommy said. + +"That's my chum," Sam replied, pointing to Ed. "I saw fit to seek my +fortunes in town while he made a break for the mines." + +The boys greeted each other warmly and then all turned their attention +to that portion of the cliff where the caverns had once stood. + +"They're still alive," Frank exclaimed as he reached a little fissure in +the rock and bent downward. "I can hear some one talking!" + +"Did you say that George and Sandy and Bert were all in there?" asked +Tommy, turning to Will. "How did they get in there?" + +"They were all in there just before the earthquake," replied Will. "I +can't stop now to tell you how it all happened. They were signalling to +us when the shock came." + +"Signalling, how?" asked Tommy. + +"Morse code, red and blue lights!" replied Will. "It's all the work of +the miner and his bum friend," Will continued. "The boys were barricaded +in the cave when the earthquake stirred things up, and the same +convulsion which wrecked the cave injured the two men who were +responsible for the condition the boys were in. Now you know all about +it that I'm going to tell you until we get the lads out and get back to +the cabin!" + +"They're not dead, anyway," Frank exclaimed "I can hear Sandy's voice!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +EXPLAINING CORDOVA INCIDENTS + + +"I've found the door to the hole in the ground!" shouted Tommy, a few +moments later, as he sent a great rock rolling down the slope. + +The boys rushed to the opening so made and were overjoyed at seeing a +light in the cavity thus exposed. + +"Your door isn't big enough!" laughed Frank. "A good-sized cat couldn't +get through there!" + +"What are you boys talking about?" came a voice from the inside. + +"Another one of those foolish questions!" laughed Tommy. "We're not +talking at all, little man!" he continued. "We're getting our shoes +shined! What are you doing in there?" + +"We're not in here at all!" replied Sandy. "We're up on the Masonic +Temple, watching a Columbia Yacht Club regatta!" + +"Aw, cut it out!" advised Will. "Are you boys all safe?" + +"Sure we're all safe!" answered Sandy, "George has a grouch because he +hasn't anything to eat here, but the rest of us are all right!" + +"Where's Bert?" asked Frank. + +"In here!" was the answer. + +"We brought a surgeon for him," Frank went on. + +"He doesn't need a surgeon now!" replied George. "What he needs more +than anything else is a cook!" + +"We'll give him two cooks!" shouted Tommy. + +"Why don't you hurry up and get us out?" demanded Bert, in a weak voice. + +"If you remain in there a few weeks," Tommy laughed, "perhaps you'll get +so thin you can crawl out of this crack!" + +"Well, get to digging!" replied George. + +"And for the love of Mike," exclaimed Sandy, "when you get to digging, +don't drop any rocks on top of us! We have a little hole here now about +four feet square!" + +After making a study of the situation and advising with Doctor Pelton as +to the proper course to pursue, the boys began prying at a large rock +which lay almost on top of the shelf upon which the boys had ridden to +the thicket. The rock moved, but grudgingly. + +"If you can move that rock," the doctor said, "I think the one just +above it will slide down and leave an opening large enough for the boys +to pass out of. It ought not to be much trouble to move it!" + +Notwithstanding the doctor's predictions, the boys worked at the rock +with their home-made handspikes for an hour before it broke loose and +rattled down upon the shelf just above the fire. + +"Come out of that now," cried Tommy stooping down and looking into the +cavern. "Come on out, now!" + +Sandy was not long in obeying instructions. George came next and then +the two lads turned about and lifted Bert out of his cramped position. + +"That pigeon hole we've been occupying is about four inches square!" +Sandy declared. "And I'm just about dead for a good long breath of fresh +air! I never knew before how good air tasted." + +Bert glanced around the circle of faces and smiled amusedly as he saw +that his chum was there with the rest. + +"Where'd you go, Frank?" he asked. + +Frank hastened to the lad's side and bent over him. + +"I headed for the cabin," he answered, "and missed it. The Indian smoke +signal brought the boys out and they fed me up." + +Will now approached the spot where the two boys were talking and pointed +to Cameron and Fenton now sitting with their faces illuminated by the +blaze. They both scowled at the inspection. + +"Which one of those men gave you the clout on the head?" Will asked. + +"That fellow with the alfalfas," replied Bert. + +"And he stole the code message you were carrying?" + +"I don't know!" replied Bert. "I had it when he came into the cabin and +began talking with me and I haven't thought of it since. Was it stolen?" + +"You bet it was!" replied Frank. "But we've been to Cordova and got a +duplicate of it!" + +Cameron and Fenton scowled fiercely as they listened to the +conversation. + +"Have you got the code message with you now?" asked Will. + +"Sure I have!" answered Frank. + +"Suppose you read it, then." + +Frank took an envelope from his pocket, tore off one end, and brought +out an ordinary sheet of letter paper bearing the heading of the +wireless company. The boys gathered about him eagerly. + +"It isn't very much!" Frank said with a laugh. "Say, you two fellows," +he added, waving the paper in the direction of Cameron and Fenton, +"would, you like to hear this code despatch read?" + +"You bet they would," cut in Sandy. "That's all they've been thinking +about for the last two days!" + +"Well, it's short and sweet and very satisfying!" Frank laughed. + +"Aw, read it!" demanded Tommy. "What's the use of making a monkey of +yourself? Let's see what it has to say for itself." + +Frank bent a searchlight on the paper and read: + +"Will Smith, in camp near Katalla, Alaska: The machine plans have been +traced to the cabin to which you were directed. Make close examination +there before looking elsewhere. Horton." + +"What do you know about that, Cameron?" asked Will with a smile. "Are +the plans really hidden in our cabin?" + +"Your cabin!" sneered Cameron. + +"I guess the cabin belongs to us as much as it does to you!" Tommy cut +in. "Are the machine plans hidden there?" + +"What do you want of the machine plans?" demanded Cameron. + +"They don't belong to you!" roared Fenton. + +"We have no claim upon them," replied Will. "In fact, we have no use for +them at all, except that we want to identify the mark of a human thumb +which soiled one of the papers." + +"All lies!" shouted Cameron. + +"I'm telling you the truth," declared Will. + +"Then why didn't you come right to me and say so?" demanded Cameron. + +"You didn't give us a chance!" replied Will. + +"Are the plans hidden in the cabin?" asked Sandy. + +"This is all a faked-up story you are telling me!" Fenton shouted. +"Whoever wired you that the plans were in the cabin didn't know what he +was talking about! We don't know anything about the plans." + +"That doesn't agree with what Cameron just said," Frank laughed. + +"Cameron doesn't know anything about the plans, either," raged Fenton. + +"Are you the clerk who stole the plans from your employer?" asked Will. + +"I tell you that I don't know anything about any plans!" stormed Fenton. +"Cameron and I are prospecting this moraine for gold, and we have no +interest in any plans whatever!" + +"And yet Cameron gave Bert a crack on the coco and stole the code +message!" suggested Will. + +"He probably thought the message referred to our mining properties!" +declared Fenton. "We had a right to suppose it had." + +"Then you won't tell us where the plans are?" demanded Will. + +"I tell you that I don't know anything about the plans," screamed +Fenton. "I never saw the plans." + +"All right," Will replied. "We'll leave you fellows out here to think +the matter over. By morning you will probably know where the plans are +hidden. The mosquitos may be able to convince you." + +"A little meditation may refresh his memory," Frank said. + +"What have you got to do about it, anyhow?" demanded Cameron. "I don't +think you've got any right to butt in here!" + +"Who is that freshie?" asked Fenton. + +"Frank Disbrow," replied the doctor with a smile. "He's the son of the +military officer in charge of the military stations in Alaska." + +The boys all turned and regarded Frank curiously. + +"So that's why the walls all fell down when you knocked!" exclaimed +Tommy. "That's why the federal officer refused to make any arrests. +That's why Jamison returned the money and gave us the use of his motor +boat. I begin to understand some of the things that took place at +Cordova now. Why didn't you tell us something about it before we had all +that trouble?" + +"Oh, I didn't want to mix father up in the combination," Frank replied +with a smile. "Besides," he added, "it did look something like piracy." + +"It certainly did," observed Doctor Pelton. "If Frank hadn't been a +member of the pirate crew, I rather imagine that you boys would be +cooling your heels in some Alaska prison about now. Of course, you would +have been released in time, but the affair would have made you +considerable trouble." + +"Who's Bert, then?" demanded Tommy. + +"Bert is the son of a prominent federal official at Chicago," replied +Frank. "But we've had enough of this," the boy declared modestly. "I +didn't do any more than any other boy would have done." + +"You undertook that long trip out to the cabin when you didn't have to!" +exclaimed Will. "That was good of you!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +THE PLANS AT LAST + + +With a parting glance at Cameron and Fenton, the boys, accompanied by +the doctor, turned away in the direction of the cabin. + +"Wait!" shouted Fenton. "Don't go off and leave us in this plight! We'll +starve to death if you do!" + +"What about those plans?" demanded Will. + +"I'll help you find the plans!" screamed Cameron. "I'll see that you get +the plans; if you get us out of this scrape!" + +"Keep still!" commanded Fenton. + +"I refuse to keep still!" declared Cameron. "I'm not going to be left +here to be devoured by insects. Tell me the truth about the plans," he +went on, "what do you want of them?" + +"We want to introduce the plans in evidence in the criminal court at +Chicago," replied Will. + +"And that will betray our secret," commented Fenton fiercely. "Those +plans are worth millions of dollars to us! They represent the only +perfect mining machine ever invented." + +"We don't care anything about your mining machine," Will answered. + +"Have you noticed anything peculiar about the plans?" Frank asked. + +"Nothing except that they are dirty!" was the reply. + +"Marked up with thumb prints, for instance?" + +"Yes, there are thumb prints," replied Cameron. + +"Well, we want the thumb prints," Frank laughed. + +"You're a fool if you listen to any such arguments!" screamed Fenton. +"Why should these gutter snipes want the papers for the thumb prints?" + +"That's what we want them for!" insisted Frank. "Are you going to tell +us where the plans are?" + +"I'll tell you!" replied Cameron. + +Fenton turned his back on his friend and refused to discuss the question +further. When the lads started away carrying Cameron on a rude litter, +they left his follow conspirator lying by the fire. + +"Please bring him along," pleaded Cameron. "He'll die if you leave him +there! I can tell you where the plans are, and I'll do so, whether he +likes it or not. This has been a misunderstanding all around. We were +only trying to protect our interest in the mines which we believed to +exist in this neighborhood, and in the plans, which we believed to be +very valuable!" + +Thus urged, the boys turned back and constructed a second stretcher for +Fenton. The journey to the cabin was a long one, but the shelter was +reached about daylight. Then Tommy at once began the preparation of +breakfast. + +"We'll have to get out pretty soon," Will laughed, "because the +population of this county seems to be increasing with amazing rapidity. +At the present time we have four Beavers, two Foxes, and two Bulldogs +besides a very eminent surgeon. In other words," the boy went on, "we +have this collection of wild animals in addition to a very eminent +surgeon and two men with busted legs. If some one doesn't bring in +provisions pretty soon, we'll have to exist on mosquito soup!" + +"The mosquitos have been living off us long enough!" Tommy answered. +"They ought not to find fault if we begin living off them!" + +"I heard you boys talking about thumb prints on a set of plans," Doctor +Pelton said, addressing Will. "I'd like to know what it all means." + +"The story is soon told," Will answered. "On a night in Chicago not long +ago, three men, Spaulding, Hurley and Babcock, worked until nearly +daylight on the plans which we came to Alaska to find. They are experts +in their line and were examining the plans of an invention which the +inventor claimed would revolutionize mining. + +"The three men rejected the plans as impractical, and Spaulding and +Hurley left for home, leaving Babcock at the office. After the departure +of the two men, the company's safe was broken open and robbed of a large +sum of money. Naturally the men who had worked in the office during the +night were questioned concerning the disappearance of the cash. +Spaulding and Hurley replied, truthfully, that they had left Babcock in +the office and that the safe was intact at the time of their departure. + +"Babcock's reply to this statement was that he had not been at the +office that night at all, and that he could furnish a perfect alibi +which he proceeded to do. Spaulding and Hurley were arrested and thrown +into prison, while Babcock, secure in his fraudulent alibi, was not even +suspected until Mr. Horton, a noted criminal lawyer, was retained by the +two respondents. + +"In discussing the case, Spaulding and Hurley explained how Babcock had +participated in the discussion of the plans, and added that if the plans +could be found, his thumb marks would be noted on the paper. They said +he handled the attached sheets carelessly, and that the marks of both +thumbs showed very plainly." + +"That will be a perfect defense!" said the doctor. + +Cameron and Fenton who had been listening intently to the recital, now +both spoke at once: + +"Were the plans really rejected by the experts?" they asked. + +"They certainly were!" replied Will. + +"Then we've been through all this trouble for nothing!" exclaimed +Fenton. + +"If you two fellows hadn't been engaged in this dirty game," Will said +severely, "you would have been mixed up in some other dirty deal, so +you're probably no worse off than you would have been in any event." + +"If you'll go to the peg driven into the wall near the north window," +Cameron remarked, "pull out the peg and run your finger into the augur +hole, you'll find the plans rolled into a very small package." + +Will rushed to the peg indicated, and the plans were soon in his hands. + +"This settles it!" exclaimed Will. "The case is finished!" + +"Are the thumb marks there?" asked Frank. + +"Plain as the nose on your face!" replied the boy. + +"And to think that they have been right under our nose all the time!" +exclaimed Tommy. "I shall certainly have to partake of a large meal +before I can recover my reason!" + +"And to think that, after we came all the way to Alaska, we received the +correct tip regarding the hiding place from Chicago by wireless!" + +"I know how the people at Chicago came to discover the whereabouts of +the plans," shouted Fenton. "There's a sneak of a clerk in the office +where I was employed who gave me away. He saw me looking over the plans +and betrayed me." + +"Perhaps he didn't want to see you make a fool of yourself!" Will +suggested. "He probably knew the plans had been rejected." + +"I'll settle with him!" declared Fenton. + +"If you do," Will replied, "you'll serve a term in an Alaska prison for +abduction!" + +"Yes," Fenton went on, "he probably wired the truth to Chicago after the +search for the plans began in the office! When he saw me looking over +the plans, I was obliged to tell him what they represented. I also told +him where we were going to hide the plans, and of course, he had to wire +that, too!" + +"That clerk must be rewarded!" smiled Tommy. + +Such a supper as the boys ate that night! + +Notwithstanding the dreary predictions of Tommy, there was plenty of +provisions in the cabin, and the party feasted on the game which was +brought in as an addition to the supply until they returned to +civilization. + +They were obliged to bridge the chasm in order to reach Katalla, where +they found the Jamison motor boat waiting for them. + +They also found the wheelsman, Boswell, waiting for them there, he +having made the trip from Cordova in a tug. At the request of Jamison, +who had been released after the departure of the boys, he had made the +journey in order to take possession of the motor boat. + +When, after many delightful trips about the Gulf of Alaska, the Boy +Scouts all turned their faces homeward, the wheelsman was left in charge +of the boat. They afterwards learned that Jamison never claimed the +craft, and that Boswell retained undisputed possession of it. + +Doctor Pelton saw that Cameron and Fenton were well cared for on their +arrival at Katalla, and a handsome present was sent to the federal +officer by Frank Disbrow. + +Frank and Bert accompanied the Boy Scouts to Chicago and later on became +very warm friends. The two members of the Fox patrol, Sam White and Ed +Hannon, traveled with the boys as far as Portland. + +When the boys reached Chicago, Babcock was arrested and the unmistakable +thumb prints secured the immediate release of Hurley and Spaulding. + +"There's one thing we've forgotten," Tommy said as the boys landed in +Chicago, one autumn morning. + +"What's that?" asked Will. + +"We neglected to bring back that bear hide!" + +"I should think you'd want that bear hide!" laughed Frank. + +"I should think you'd be ashamed to look the bear in the face!" declared +Sandy. + +The boys received the promised reward for the discovery of the plans and +once more settled down in Chicago to take up their studies. + + + THE END. + + + + +BLACK ART IN CINCINNATI + + +Mr. Quinsey of Cincinnati was not an Apollo; neither had he ever assumed +a name other than his own. He had never conducted a scheme to defraud by +use of the mails; nor had he ever robbed a post-office or shot any body; +yet his character is so interesting that I cannot, in justice to myself, +omit a passing notice. + +Quinsey was known as a mesmerist, a ventriloquist, an illusionist, a +prestidigitator and a master of the Black Art, and occasionally in +"pleasing sorcery that charms the sense" he would entertain audiences at +church fairs, picnics and the like for simple fees, while he found much +pleasure amusing friends gratuitously at their homes, at his home and +sometimes at his place of business. + +One evening, at a little entertainment given by himself in neighboring +Glendale, after he had knocked the spots off of several decks of cards; +after he had taken half a dozen watches that belonged to people in the +audience from the janitor's pocket; after he had received communications +from departed spirits; after he had removed the head from a beautiful +woman and had made the removed head talk; after he had paralyzed four +men and a woman on the stage and had allowed the committee to stick pins +in them, and after the curtain had dropped, one of the awe-stricken +auditors, who had been instrumental in introducing Mr. Quinsey in +Glendale, asked the wonderful magician why he did not follow this +business in preference to any other? + +The professor smiled blandly and appeared silent, but a voice that +seemed to come from the bakery underneath the hall, was heard to remark +in a deep melodious tone: "He has something better." + +Quinsey was superintendent of what was known as the night set in the +registry division of the Cincinnati post-office, and his hours of labor +were from 10:30 P. M. to 7 A. M. In this set were employed six or seven +clerks who worked under the superintendant's direction, and who +performed practically the same kind of work that he did. It was their +duty to properly record all registered matter that arrived in Cincinnati +between 4 P. M. and midnight from the various railroad lines centering +there, rebill it and pouch it in the through registry pouches to be +dispatched in the morning. + +There were something like thirty bills to make out, and the same number +of pouches to properly close and send out. When the mails were running +heavy the clerks never had a minute to spare, but when they were light, +as they frequently were one or two nights each week, there was some +opportunity for sociability and innocent amusement. + +On these occasions Quinsey would sometimes tell the boys how easy it was +for people to be mistaken; how much quicker was the hand than the eye; +how it was that frequently things were not what they appeared; how easy +it was to deceive the keenest intellect by doing something different +than your actions would indicate, and how figures and objects are +materialized and made to do their master's bidding. + +Sometimes he would illuminate his ideas by a few practical +illustrations, and after the young men had seen him shake any number of +big silver dollars, a wheelbarrow full of handkerchiefs, and a lot of +lanterns from a common gesture, and, in transfixed amazement, had beheld +ordinary registered letters vanish before their eyes, without being able +to tell where they went, they longed for the nights to come when the +work was light. Quinsey was immense! + +About this time, while in Chicago, Kidder came to me for conference with +an armful of documentary evidence of skillful depredations. Here were +the envelopes in which registered letters had from time to time been +mailed at offices in Southern Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and West +Virginia, addressed to offices in all portions of the great Northwest, +and which had been rifled of large portions of their contents. Everyone +of the letters had passed through the Chicago post-office, where they +had been handled during the night time. At first glance one would say it +surely indicated trouble in Chicago. + +But why, if the thief was in Chicago, did he confine himself to +operations on the letters from this particular section, when he could +probably have access to those from any other as well. A few minutes +later when we discovered that everyone of the letters referred to had +also passed through the Cincinnati office, and in every instance had +been dispatched from that office in the morning in through pouches to +Chicago, Kidder adjusted his eye-glasses, and offered as a reward, for +the capture of the villain, a claim near that beautiful miniature +salt-water sea, known as Devil's Lake in Dakota. + +On the following morning when I tapped Herrick on the shoulder in +Cincinnati, and asked who wrote the Chicago registry bills at night that +were dispatched in the morning, he answered, "Quinsey," and seemed so +amused at my question that he asked why I wanted to know. + +"For the reason that I think whoever is doing it is too inquisitive." + +"Well, if its Quinsey, I am afraid we'll have our hands full to catch +him, for he's just a little bit the slickest man in America. He does all +the seemingly impossible things ever heard of, and he does them right +before your eyes, too. Quinsey is absolutely marvelous. Why, one night I +was in the registry room looking around when, suddenly, I discovered my +watch was gone. I had looked to see what time it was when I entered. +Well, a little later somebody found it in the Boston pouch, with a tag +on it marked: 'Covington.'" + +"Yes," said Salmon, who was listening, "and I understand he charms +birds, too; while somebody told me a few days ago that at cards he was +so expert that nobody would sit in with him; that when it came his deal +he could hold anything he wanted; that the high cards, figuratively +speaking, would come to him in carriages; and remain till after the +show-down." + +The next day I went to Lexington, Ky., and while there I wrote a letter +to Mr. Abram Hayden, of Aberdeen, Dakota, on one of the letter-head +sheets of Mills, Jackson & Johnson, which read as follows: + + "Dear friend Abe: + + Jim Turner was in from East Hickman half an + hour ago and left the enclosed $200 for me to send to + you, and he said you would know how to use it. He + has just sold a car-load of mules to Springer, of Cincinnati, + but he said he believed there was more profit + in loaning money at 20 per cent. in Dakota, than there + was in raising mules in Kentucky at present prices. + + Say, Abe, when are you coming back after Mary? + I heard Min. Stevens and some of the girls in her set + say it was considered a sure thing. Hope it is; for of + all the real fine blue-grass girls around these parts I + think Mary is the----well never mind, old boy, if + I wasn't married I'd try and prevent her going to + Dakota. You better hurry up. + + Jim just stuck his head in the door and told me to + tell you if you couldn't get a gilt edge loan at 20, not + to let it go less than 18. Jim is a cuss. + + I suppose your brother wrote you what happened + up at Gil. Harper's recently. + + If the cyclones haven't got you by the time this + reaches Aberdeen, write. + + Very truly, your friend, + + FRANK N. MILLS." + + +This letter I registered at Lexington and at night, about 11 o'clock, +when I had followed it into the Cincinnati post-office, Herrick and +Salmon were in the money-order division on a step-ladder, peering +through a glass transom into the registry division. As soon as possible +I joined them, and patiently we waited for Quinsey to turn a trick. + +It was exactly two A. M. when he commenced on the Chicago bill. He +reached the letter from Lexington at precisely 2:45. It was fat and +tempting. Herrick was on the top of the ladder at that instant, and he +sent a peculiar thrill of surprise through me when he turned and +whispered: + +"Hush, hush, he has picked it up." + +"Now he's feeling of it." + +"He's looking at the back of the of the R. P. E. (the outside envelope) +to see how well it's sealed." + +"He's laid it down and placed a book over it; somebody is moving +around." + +"It's quiet now and he's looking at the back again." + +"Hush, don't move, he's carefully feeling again." + +"It's under the blotter now; somebody at the other table got up to get a +drink. There's no one at his table but himself." + +"Hush now, he's making a close examination to see how well its sealed." + +"Hush now, for God's sake don't move; he's trying to open it with his +knife." + +"Hush, hush, hush, he'll have it opened in an instant." + +"Its open now, and he's looking at the letter envelope very closely." + +"There, d----n it, some fellow has moved again and he's shoved it under +the blotter." + +"Hush, hush, don't stir; he's feeling of the letter again." + +"Hush, don't breathe, he's trying to raise the flap of the envelope; it +comes up hard; don't move." + +"There, there, there, he's got it up." + +"Hush, he's got the money out and is reading the letter." + +"He's smiling as he reads." + +"We must open the door and rush, in now." + +"Come, be quick and be quiet; you know he's chain lightning." + +"The door's unlocked; now, all together, go!" + +An instant later there was a flutter, and all was over. The great +conjurer had at last performed an illusion that was not optical--an act +not mentioned on the bill. + + Applause. Curtain. Prison. + + + + +BOYS' COPYRIGHTED BOOKS + + +Printed from large, clear type on a superior quality of paper, +embellished with original illustrations by eminent artists, and bound in +a superior quality of binders' cloth, ornamented with illustrated +covers, stamped in colors from, unique and appropriate dies, each book +wrapped in a glazed paper wrapper printed in colors. + + +BOY SCOUT SERIES +By +G. HARVEY RALPHSON, of the Black Bear Patrol. + + 1.--Boy Scouts in Mexico; or, On Guard with Uncle Sam. + + 2.--Boy Scouts in the Canal Zone; or, The Plot Against Uncle Sam. + + 3.--Boy Scouts in the Philippines; or, The Key to the Treaty Box. + + 4.--Boy Scouts in the Northwest; or, Fighting Forest Fires. + + 5.--Boy Scouts in a Motor Boat; or, Adventures on the Columbia River. + + 6.--Boy Scouts in an Airship; or, The Warning from the Sky. + + 7.--Boy Scouts in a Submarine; or, Searching an Ocean Floor. + + 8.--Boy Scouts on Motorcycles; or, With the Flying Squadron. + + 9.--Boy Scouts Beyond the Artic Circle; or, The Lost Expedition. + +10.--Boy Scout Camera Club; or, Confessions of a Photograph. + +11.--Boy Scout Electricians; or, The Hidden Dynamo. + +12.--Boy Scouts in California; or, The Flag on the Cliff. + +13.--Boy Scouts on Hudson Bay; or, The Disappearing Fleet. + +14.--Boy Scouts in Death Valley; or, The City in the Sky. + +15.--Boy Scouts on the Open Plains; or, The Round-up not Ordered. + +16.--Boy Scouts in Southern Waters; or, the Spanish Treasure Chest. + +17.--Boy Scouts in Belgium; or, Under Fire in Flanders. + +18.--Boy Scouts in the North Sea; or, the Mystery of U-13. + +19.--Boy Scout Verdun Attack. + +20.--Boy Scouts with the Cossacks; or, Poland Recaptured. + + +THE MOTORCYCLE CHUMS SERIES +By Andrew Carey Lincoln + +1.--Motorcycle Chums in the Land of the Sky; or, Thrilling Adventures on +the Carolina Border. + +2.--Motorcycle Chums in New England; or, The Mount Holyoke Adventure. + +3.--Motorcycle Chums on the Sante Fe Trail; or, The Key to the Treaty +Box. + +4.--Motorcycle Chums in Yellowstone Park; or, Lending a Helping Hand. + +5.--Motorcycle Chums in the Adirondacks; or, The Search for the Lost +Pacemaker. + +6.--Motorcycle Chums Storm Bound; or, The Strange Adventures of a Road +Chase. + +List Price $1.00 Each + + + + + Rider Agents WANTED + + +[Illustration] +Boys and young men everywhere are +making good money taking orders for +"Ranger" bicycles and bicycle tires. +You are privileged to select the particular +style of Ranger bicycle you prefer; +Motorbike model, "Arch-Frame," "Superbe," +"Scout," "Special," "Racer," etc. While +you ride and enjoy it in your spare time hours +--after school or work, evenings and holidays +--your admiring friends can be easily +induced to place their orders through you. + +Factory to Rider Every purchaser of a Ranger bicycle +(on our factory-direct-to-the-rider sales plan) +gets a high-grade fully guaranteed model direct +from the factory at wholesale prices, and is privileged +to ride it for 30 days before final acceptance. +If not satisfied it may be returned at our expense +and no charge is made for the use of machine during +trial. + +Delivered to You FREE + +We prepay the delivery charges on every Ranger +from our factory +in Chicago +to your town +and pay the +return charges +to Chicago if +you decide not to keep it. + +Choice of +44 Styles +Colors +and Sizes in +the Ranger line + +Easy Payments if desired, at +a small advance over +our special Factory-to-Rider cash prices. + +Parts For All Bicycles + +In the Ranger catalog you will find illustrated +bicycle cranks, cups, cones, sprockets +and a complete Universal Repair +Hanger and Repair Front Forks designed +to fit any and every bicycle ever manufactured +in America. Complete instructions +are given so that any boy can intelligently +order the parts wanted. You will also find +repair parts for all the standard makes of +hubs and coaster-brakes and all the latest +equipment and novelties. + +Tires at Factory Prices Share with us +our savings in Trainload Tire Contracts and in the Samson, +Record and Hedgethorn Tires get the best Tire values in +America at Wholesale Factory Prices. + +Send No Money But write us TODAY for the Big +Ranger Book and particulars of +our 30 Day Free Trial Plan, wholesale prices and terms. + +[Illustration] +MEAD CYCLE COMPANY +Dept. 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