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diff --git a/43875.txt b/43875.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 45bc420..0000000 --- a/43875.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6955 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The Boy Chums in the Florida Jungle, by Wilmer M. Ely - -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 Boy Chums in the Florida Jungle - or, Charlie West and Walter Hazard with the Seminole Indians - -Author: Wilmer M. Ely - -Illustrator: J. Watson Davis - -Release Date: October 3, 2013 [EBook #43875] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOY CHUMS IN FLORIDA JUNGLE *** - - - - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - -[Illustration: LIKE LIGHTNING THE HUGE BOOM SWUNG AROUND, AND THE -AVALANCHE OF MUD DESCENDED AT THE PONY'S FEET. _Page 128._ - -_The Boy Chums in the Florida Jungle._] - - - - -The Boy Chums In The Florida Jungle - -OR - -Charlie West and Walter Hazard With the Seminole Indians - - By WILMER M. ELY - - AUTHOR OF - - "The Boy Chums Cruising In Florida Waters" - "The Boy Chums In The Gulf Of Mexico" - "The Boy Chums On Haunted Island" - "The Boy Chums On Indian River" - "The Boy Chums' Perilous Cruise" - "The Boy Chums In The Forest" - -[Illustration] - - A. L. BURT COMPANY - NEW YORK - - - - - Copyright, 1915 - BY A. L. BURT COMPANY - - THE BOY CHUMS IN THE FLORIDA JUNGLE - - - - -Contents - - - CHAPTER PAGE - I. THE BOY CHUMS 3 - II. THE NEW VENTURE 11 - III. INVESTIGATING 20 - IV. BUNCOED 28 - V. THE STRIKE 37 - VI. LOYALTY 45 - VII. CHARLEY HAS A NARROW ESCAPE 53 - VIII. WALTER TAKES HIS FIRST LESSON IN RUNNING AN ENGINE 61 - IX. BOB IS SENT HOME 69 - X. WALTER AND THE ENGINEER GO A-HUNTING 76 - XI. THE CONVICTS' CAMP 83 - XII. CHARLEY GETS A NEW CREW 91 - XIII. LOOKING AHEAD 98 - XIV. SCOUTING 105 - XV. THE FIRST BLOW 112 - XVI. FIGHTING THE FIRE 120 - XVII. THE CONVICTS 128 - XVIII. THE MEDICINE MAN 136 - XIX. THE OLD FORT 144 - XX. THE HIDDEN VOICE 152 - XXI. CHARLEY GETS A TELEGRAM 160 - XXII. MOVING THE CAMP 168 - XXIII. EXCITING EVENTS 176 - XXIV. A CLEW 184 - XXV. SICKNESS IN THE CAMP 192 - XXVI. A MIDNIGHT RAID 200 - XXVII. BURNING OUT THE JUNGLE 208 - XXVIII. SHOOTING TO KILL 216 - XXIX. THE SEMINOLE LAD 224 - XXX. VISITORS 232 - XXXI. MR. JONES BUYS THE OUTFIT 240 - XXXII. THE MYSTERY SOLVED 248 - - - - -THE BOY CHUMS IN THE FLORIDA JUNGLE - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -THE BOY CHUMS. - - -"GOLLY! I'm getting powerful tired ob dis. Fish what just clusterers -'round youah bait an' won't bite at hit noways is jest trifling and -noaccount. I reckon dey's too ornery an' too finiky anyway to be fit to -eat. Well, here goes again, though hit ain't no use. I'se dun spit on -mah bait fifty times, an' rubbed hit twice with my rabbit's foot, but -hit doan' do a bit of good. Dey jes' look at hit an' grin like white -folks at a nigger's wedding." The little ebony negro who had spoken let -drop his daintily baited hook into the water again with a gesture of -disgust. - -"Let me have a look at them, Chris," said another voice, and a white -face joined the black, as the two peered over the edge of the bridge -down into the crystal-clear depths of the water below. - -The white boy straightened up after a brief glance into the azure -waters. He was tall and sturdily built, with lines of self-reliance -and determination upon his youthful face. His mouth widened into a grin -of amusement, as he watched the little negro peering anxiously down at -the circle of black-circle-eyed fish that crowded eagerly but warily -around the baited hook. - -"You're fooling away your time, Chris," said the white lad. "Look -here." He chopped up a few pieces of bait and flung them over beside -the other's line. As they slowly sank there was turmoil and confusion -amongst the finny observers below. With swirl and splash they darted up -and seized upon the tiny fragments. - -Chris wound up his line with a snort of disgust. "Dey are conjured, -clean conjured," he declared; "going clean out ob their way to get bait -when dar was plenty right afore 'em. Them's sure some fool fishes, -Massa Charles." - -"You're wrong," said the other boy lightly. "They are mangrove -snappers, the foxiest fish that swims. Some one of them got hurt on a -hook some time, and his misfortune has become history among the tribe. -I guess that's what makes the black circles around their eyes. They -just keep worrying so about getting hold of another tempting morsel -with a hook attached that they don't eat half enough, and are fast -worrying themselves into nervous prostration." - -The little negro snorted, and continued to wind up his line, while his -white companion paused to gaze with appreciation at the beautiful scene -spread out to his view. At the shore end of the high railroad bridge -upon which they stood was Jupiter, a tiny nest of white houses, almost -lost among the glossy green palms and vivid blazing tropical flowers. -Below them flowed the blue waters of the Laxahatchu River. To the west, -the river broke into a dozen parts, each flowing swiftly between as -many shoals and islands, and finally losing itself in the distance. -To the east, it joined the sea, scarce a mile distant, the breakers -meeting the river's waters in a tumbling mass of foam. A little below -the bridge, on the opposite side of the river from Jupiter, three -government buildings rose up from a high bluff--a wireless station, -a weather bureau office, and a towering lighthouse, built long, long -before the civil war. Beyond these, down close to the inlet, the lad's -eyes focused upon a long point, jutting out into the river, upon which -stood two small tents. From the inlet a rowboat, with two occupants, -was approaching the point with the long easy strokes characteristic of -experienced boatmen. - -The lad turned to his black companion. "Come on, let's go back to camp, -Chris," he said. "The Captain and Walter are nearly there now." - -"Better look to youah line. De slack's running out like mad, Massa -Charles," chided the little darkey. "Golly! I don't know what you -white chillens would do widout dis nigger. 'Pears like you white -chillens can't even fish widout Chris along to tell you-alls when you -got a bite." - -But Charley had already sprung for the coiled-up line, which was -whizzing out at a rapid rate. Taking a turn around a post, he -endeavored to stop the hook's victim in its mad career, but, as the -long, heavy line tauted like a bar of iron, he realized that he stood a -chance of losing both line and fish, and he paid out the balance of the -line very slowly. It was not until the very end of the line was reached -that the fish suddenly changed its tactics and, turning short, rushed -for the bridge. - -Charley yanked in the slack line swiftly and called to Chris to come -to his assistance. Near the bridge the fish turned again and sped for -the far-off inlet, both boys clinging to the line in a vain attempt to -check the outward rush. - -"Golly!" panted Chris, as the line dragged slowly and burningly through -his grip. "Hit's lucky we ain't got this line tied to no post. Dat fish -would sure pull de whole bridge ober." - -"Rats!" laughed Charley, as he grabbed out his pocket handkerchief and -hastily wrapped it around one hand to protect it from the burning line, -"isn't the bridge bearing the whole strain as long as we are standing -on it?" - -"Course it ain't," maintained the little negro pantingly, "ain't my -back beginning to ache, an' my arms get lame, an' mah hands burn like -fire? Golly! You white chillens sho' don't use no logic or reason. -Maybe you ain't holdin' back hard enough to feel hit, but I'se sho' -getting de strain, not dis pesky ole bridge." - -"Well, you will not have to bear it much longer," Charley grinned. -"Don't you notice that the strain is getting weaker all the time? -He's a monster, but he's evidently swallowed the hook clean down, and -that's why he is giving up so fast. We'll have the best of him in a few -minutes." - -The lad's prophecy proved true, for, long before the end of the line -was reached, the fish began circling in ever-narrowing circles until, -at last, the two boys were able to tow it up slowly to the shore. - -"Golly!" exclaimed Chris, as the fish's huge bulk came into view. -"Dat's de biggest an' ugliest fish I ever catched. What is hit, anyway?" - -Charley glanced down at the short, thick, black body and the huge, -gasping, red mouth. "It's a Jew fish," he announced. "I guess it weighs -about 800 pounds, but that's not so very much, when you consider that -they sometimes grow to weigh over 1,800. Unlike most big fish, however, -they are very good eating. Wind up the fish line, and then cut out some -good big steaks. They will make dandy fish balls and chowder. While -you're doing that, I'll run up to the village and tell everyone to -come down and help themselves, then I'll bring the launch around from -the dock and pick you up." - -Soon after his departure the villagers began to arrive in twos and -threes, but not before Chris had cut out several fine steaks from -the huge fish. By the time he wound up his line, washed the steaks -carefully and strung them upon a piece of cocoanut fiber, Charley hove -in sight in a little motor boat. He ran up as close as he dared to the -shore and stopped his engine. "Hurry up and climb aboard," he called, -"we want to get back to camp before dark." - -Chris waded out, treading gingerly with bare feet over the oyster -shells that strewed the bottom. - -"Hurry up," laughed Charley, "your feet are too tough to be hurt by -oyster shells." - -The little darkey grinned as he clambered aboard. "Dat ain't de point," -he protested. "I was reckoning dat some ob dem oysters might be alive, -an' I sho' would have hated to crush de life out ob dem." - -Charley threw over the wheel and started up the motor, and the little -boat, whirling around, darted away for the distant point with its two -snow-white tents. A few minutes' run brought them close to it, and -Charley steered round into a cove, to avoid the tide wash, and ran the -boat up on the shore. The anchor was taken out and imbedded in the -sand. The motor was covered and everything made snug for the night. -Then the two boys strolled forward with their burdens for the tents. - -Although it was not yet dark, a big fire of fragrant, spicy, mangrove -wood blazed before the tent. A little ways from it on blocks of -driftwood sat a boy of about Charley's own age, while close beside him -sat an elderly man with a heavy beard. The boy was opening oysters, -while the man was carefully breaking turtle eggs into a big pan beside -him, taking care to let only the yolks fall into the pan and throwing -away the uncookable whites. - -"Hallo!" greeted Charley cheerfully. "What luck, Walt?" - -"Too good," said the boy on the block listlessly. "Every turtle in -the Atlantic must have tried to lay on the beach along here. Didn't -even have the fun of looking for a nest. They were scattered around -everywhere." - -"And you, Captain?" asked Charley, with a grin at his chum's reply. - -"Ran the skiff right up on a bed of oysters," the old sailor said -briefly. "All I had to do was lean over the side and pick 'em up with -my hand--big, nice, fat oysters, too." - -Charley took a seat on a piece of driftwood, and silence fell upon the -three. Only Chris, with the high spirits of his race, stamped down the -fire into a bed of glowing coals, and prepared to make an omelette -of the turtle eggs, a stew from the oysters, and a big pot of coffee, -singing as he worked, - - "Ham meat hit am good to eat, - Bacon's berry fine, - But gib, oh, gib me what I long for, - Dat watermilen asmiling on de vine." - -Charley broke the long silence that had fallen on the three. "We are -getting to be three old grouches," he said calmly. "We have got the -best of health. We have got $5,000 cash in the bank. We have been -truckers, wreckers, pearl hunters, plume hunters, spongers, and, -lastly, net fishermen, and have gone through all kinds of hardships -and perils, and yet, after we agreed to take a long vacation trip and -rest up, here after only two weeks of it we are getting restless and -dissatisfied. Am I right?" - -"You are," declared Walter Hazard heartily. "I admit it. I'm sick of -loafing. I want to get back to real work again." - -"It's all right for a while, this lounging about from place to place, -but I reckon I've about got my fill of it," Captain Westfield admitted. -"I had a heap sight rather be working at something." - -"I feel the same way," Charley agreed, "and I believe I've found the -very thing for us, but it's big--the biggest thing the Boy Chums ever -tackled. Come on. Chris has got supper ready. We will talk it over -while we eat." - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE NEW VENTURE. - - -FOR a few minutes there was entire silence while the four devoted their -whole attention to the delicious meal Chris had prepared, and, during -this lull, the reader has time to observe and note more carefully -this little band of old friends, whom he has doubtless met amid many -adventures in the Boy Chum Series. They have changed but little since -he met them last in "The Young Net Fishermen." Charley West, the -strapping young fellow, who now sits on one side of the fire eagerly -devouring piping hot omelette and rich oyster stew, is the same old -Charley of yore, his face a trifle older and more alert, perhaps, -from the dangers and hardships through which he has passed, but with -the same old merry twinkle in his eyes. Walter Hazard, now grown -almost as husky as his chum, sits next to him, and close beside Walt -is gray-haired Captain Westfield, a sort of guardian father to them -both, a master of the sea, but rather helpless on land. He, too, is -little changed, while Chris, the little ebony darkey, wears the same -broad, good-natured smile as ever. But we must stop and listen to the -conversation now starting up, for upon it depends the future of our -four friends. - -"Tell us what our next move is to be," Walter demanded. - -"It rests with the rest of you as much as with me," Charley smiled. -"All I am going to do is to make the suggestion." - -"Go ahead," said the captain impatiently, "we're waiting to hear it." - -"Well," said Charley, "West of Jupiter about forty miles lays the great -lake Okeechobee. It's reported by explorers that there's a ten-mile -belt clear around the lake of the richest land in the world. Between -the lake and Jupiter there is only one little trading-post, called -Indiantown. All the way leads through swamps, prairies, and pine -barrens. There is a sort of road, but it is under water for about six -months in the year." - -"All that's interesting, but what has it got to do with us?" said -Waiter impatiently. - -"I'm coming to that in a minute," said Charley placidly. "Last year the -county commissioners passed a law for the building of a dirt road from -Jupiter to the lake, and a man named Murphy made a bid of 17-1/2 cents a -yard for the dirt handled and he got the contract. He bought a steam -shovel with a 1-1/2-yard bucket. He went to work and has got about ten -miles of the road completed. Now he wants to sell out his machine and -contract. Says his wife in Connecticut is sick, and he's got to go back -and stay with her. I saw him in Jupiter to-day, and he told me he would -sell machine, tents, a team of mules, and the contract for one-third of -what the machine alone cost him, $3,000. I didn't promise him anything, -but said we would ride out and look at it in the morning. It looks to -me like a good chance to establish ourselves in a good steady business. -There's about thirty miles of the road yet to build. And he says there -are plenty more contracts to be had for the asking. The machine can dig -one and one-half cubic yards of earth per minute, and, at 17-1/2 cents per -yard, that's some money, I'm thinking. Besides it works nights as well -as days. Well, what do you think about it?" - -Walter looked rather disappointed. "That sounds all right," he -admitted, "but there doesn't seem much chance of having any fun, -adventure or excitement out of such a job." - -"Adventure, excitement!" echoed Charley. "Why, I don't know where -you'd be more likely to find both. Remember, we are going through an -almost unknown country. Right through the Indians' hunting grounds, and -through a country alive with snakes and game." - -"Good," exclaimed Walter, with eyes shining. "I vote yes for the steam -shovel." - -"I don't know about it," said the Captain doubtfully. "It ain't a good -plan generally to go into a business that you don't know anything -about." - -"But we will soon learn," protested Charley vigorously. "If we buy, -Murphy has agreed to stay on for a couple of weeks until we get on to -the run of things." - -"Well," consented the old sailor reluctantly. "It won't do any harm to -look at the critter, though I guess I won't be able to tell as much -about her as I would about a sea-going craft." - -"Well, how about you, Chris?" Charley inquired. - -The little negro grinned. "Golly, Massa Charley, I reckon I'm pretty -well satisfied as I is. Don't reckon you-alls ebber seed a nigger but -was willing to lay around in de sun all day an' do nothin' but eat an' -fish, but if you-alls are goin' into any foolish projectin's, I reckon -dis nigger will hab to go along to keep you outer trouble." - -"Then it's settled," Charley declared with satisfaction. "We will get -an early start in the morning and drive out and see just how things are -going." - -Thus settled, an early hour next morning found them on the way, drawn -in a rickety wagon behind a lean mule with a wicked-looking eye. There -was no danger of their losing their way for the machine-made road -stretched out before them a smoothed mound of earth flanked on each -side by deep ditches made by the removed dirt. At places the road was -raised a full four feet above the surrounding land, while at other -places it descended gradually to a mere two feet. - -Charley viewed it with satisfaction. "That's the kind of work I want -to do," he said. "The kind of work that creates something, that helps -people, gives them employment, and makes them happy. Take that road, -for instance," he continued dreamily, "of course it is only a road, but -it will open up the way to thousands of acres of rich land, and give -thousands of people a chance to own a home and farm." - -"Yes," agreed the Captain testily, who was hot and sweating under -the blazing sun, "and it will drive away the Indians from their last -hunting ground, and the people who will flock in will be Huns, Polacks -and Japs, and most of them will die off with the malaria, and the rest, -after they have raised their crops, will find it costs them more to get -them to market than they are worth. Say, Chris, can't you spread more -sail on that craft of yours? I allow that there ain't much breeze, but -surely it can do more than a mile an hour." - -Chris, who was driving the melancholy beast, obediently leaned forward -and brought his tattered hat down on the mule's flank. "Get up, you -Clarence; wake up, you mule," he shouted--and Clarence woke up. What -had simply been before a saddened, downcast, plodding mule, became a -marvel of upstanding ears, bared teeth and flying hoofs. Charley landed -with a bump on the side of the road. Walter, close beside him, and the -Captain not far away, while Chris, disdaining solid ground, lit far -over in the ditch of stagnant water and mud. The cart, a battered wreck -in front, with one thill gone, still remained, while Clarence, still -enveloped in his harness and dragging the other thill behind him, with -leaping bounds was headed back for home. - -Captain Westfield arose slowly and painfully, and felt gently of his -trousers' seat. "I reckon Chris crowded on a wee bit too much sail," he -said mildly. - -Chris crawled out of the ditch, spitting out mud and water. "Golly, -dat Clarence sho' can move some," he exclaimed admiringly, as he gazed -after the vanishing mule. "Who would hab thought dat a little slap of -the hat could liven him up so?" - -"I don't think it was that, at all," laughed Walter, as he regained -his feet. "I believe he took offense at being called Clarence, as any -self-respecting mule would--probably his real name is Maud." - -"You fellows can laugh, if you see anything funny in it," stated -Charley reproachfully. "You wouldn't if you were me. You lit on the -sand or water, but I landed broadside on a slab of rock. Well, there's -no use trying to catch Clarence. He's singing 'Home, Sweet Home,' with -four feet. I guess we are as near the camp as we are Jupiter, so we -might as well go ahead." - -So ahead they marched, looking more like a trio of hoboes than possible -investors in a big enterprise. A walk of a few miles brought them in -sight of a cluster of white tents, and they hastened their steps, -knowing that their destination was not far ahead. They paused at the -first tent, the largest of the cluster, and evidently the eating tent, -for they could see through the open flap two long tables with rude -seating benches running down the middle, and a heap of tin dishes -on a table in one corner. Outside a big, powerful, sweating negro -was kneading bread on a dirty-looking bench, upon which a protruding -stove-pipe from the tent was sending down fine flakes of soot. - -"Mister Murphy's dun fudder up the road apiece by the machine," he -informed them in reply to their questions. "Be you gentlemen going to -stay for dinner?" - -They told him that they were not sure as yet, and hurried up the road, -eager to be away from the odors of the camp. - -"Golly," exclaimed Chris, "did you-alls notice de bench dat nigger -was makin' bread on? I'll bet dar was a solid inch ob dirt on de top -ob hit. Dat nigger's been scaling fish, chopping up meat, and making -bread on dat same bench for de past six months widout washin' hit up -once. Huh, if I was his boss I'd give him a licking for sho'." - -A few minutes' walk brought them in sight of the big steam shovel, -which was doing the work of two hundred men with wheelbarrows. It -looked simple enough, a kind of short steel car, resting upon sections -of railroad track. Upon the car was mounted, on a kind of ratchet work -of iron, a swinging steel platform, from which projected out a long -tapering steel boom, at the end of which dangled from wire ropes a huge -steel bucket with wicked looking big teeth. Wire ropes an inch and a -half thick led down the boom and wound, coil upon coil, around the -big controlling drums on the platform below. Two gigantic cog-wheels -controlled the lowering and raising of the huge boom in front. Just -back of the big revolving drums and cog-wheels a second little platform -arose from the first. It was iron-hooded overhead, but in front it was -open, and behind the opening, with before him six huge brass levers, -stood a man controlling the movements of this mighty worker. Even as -the little party watched, the great shovel plunged down, straight down, -burying its great teeth in the rooty ground. The drag rope pulled it -in until it had gathered up a full load of earth. The boom lifted -slightly, the platform swung around, and the bucket dropped its load. -For five minutes Charley watched the operation repeated, with his -watch in his hand. "Murphy hasn't lied about that," he said. "They are -digging a bucket a minute, all right. Let's figure it out: One and -one-half yards a minute, that's 26 cents a minute; multiplying that by -60 minutes in the hour, makes $15.60 per hour, and 24 hours in the day, -makes $374.40 per day. That's going some, I guess." - -"Whew," whistled Walter, "that's just like finding money." - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -INVESTIGATING. - - -THE working of the powerful machine had been observed from a distance. -As the little party drew nearer, they could see more plainly the heaps -of mud and wet dirt left in the wake of the steam shovel. Five gigantic -negroes, with shovels and hoes, leveled off the piles, working slowly -and languidly over the task, their legs wet to the knees and their -bodies plastered with mud. - -"Saws, all of them." Charley commented briefly, as they passed the -sudden, slow-working group. - -"Saws?" echoed Walter questioningly. "I never heard of that race -before." - -"They come from the Bahama Islands," Charley replied. "They all have -to ship for this country by way of the port of Nassau. So they get -their title from that port, but people on this side have shortened -the title down to 'Saws.' They are the finest built and laziest race -in existence, I believe. There, that's Mr. Murphy, right back of the -machine. He hasn't seen us yet. Whew! Just listen to him." - -Mr. Murphy, a short, florid-faced man, was standing with his back -to them, cursing earnestly at two negroes, who guided the moving of -the sections of track and cleared away all roots and brush from the -machine's path. The negroes' faces were ashen with anger, but they -worked on sullenly, probably because the butt of a heavy revolver -protruded from the white man's pocket. - -Mr. Murphy's face became wreathed in smiles, and he ceased his cursing -to greet the little party cordially. - -"You've just got to cuss at them Saws occasionally," he apologized, as -he rubbed the sweat from his red face. "If you don't, you just simply -can't get any work out of them. Well, I'm glad to see you. I expected -you early and had given you up. Well, there's the machine, and you -can see for yourself what kind of work it does. I've got my contract -with the county commissioners back in my tent, but I'll show it to you -when we go back to dinner, so that you'll see everything is O. K. Any -questions you want to ask?" - -"Sure," said Charley, with a smile. "We don't want to go into anything -blindfolded. First, what are your monthly expenses?" - -Murphy wrinkled his brow in thought. "Let's see," he said. "We work the -engineers in shifts of 8 hours each. They get $85.00 a month and board; -that's $255.00. Then there's two shifts for the firemen and ground -men; that makes six men at $36.00 a month--a total of $216.00. Then, I -have to carry two bridge builders at the same wage, which makes $72.00 -more. Then there's five graders, one cook, and one teamster, and a -dynamiter to blow up the trees ahead of the machine; that's eight more, -at $36.00, or $288.00. That brings my total payroll up to a little over -$800 a month. Then, there's the grub bill. It runs from $250 to $300 -a month. Carbide for machine lights, feed for the mules, and other -extras will likely bring the total expenses for a month up to $1,200, -but that's a trifle compared to what the machine is earning, and $3,000 -for the bunch is like giving it away. The machine alone cost $12,000, -and the tents, mules, wagons, and the motor truck would be cheap at -another thousand dollars." He pulled a big watch out of his pocket and -looked at the time. "Chuck's ready by now at the cook tent," he said. -"Let's go and have a bite, and I'll run you into Jupiter in the truck -afterward. We can talk business on the way." - -In the cook tent they found one long table filled up with big, black, -sweating negroes. At the other smaller one were seated the teamster--a -white man--and the two sleepy-eyed engineers, off duty. The food was -plenty, but coarse and cheap in quality. Hungry as they were, the boys -partook of it meagerly, for they could not forget that dirty bench -outside, and the inside was foul from the sweating negroes crowded into -it. One thing they all noticed was the sullen silence that prevailed. -Even the white men at their own table had nothing to say, except to ask -occasionally for the passing of some dish they could not reach. The -boys were glad when the meal was at last finished and they were able -to get out again into the sweet, sun-purified air. Mr. Murphy remained -behind for a few minutes, arguing loudly with the two engineers. - -"I don't like the looks of this outfit very much," said Walter, as the -four gathered together at the base of a pine tree. "The whole camp is -filthy--tents, cooking, men, and everything else. And everyone appears -so sullen and ugly, as though a little thing would start a fight going. -Of course, the price is dirt cheap, but I don't like the looks of -things." - -"We can alter things in short order," Charley declared eagerly, for -he was letting his eagerness to seize this new opportunity cloud -his usually clear judgment. "Why, it won't take any time to change -things around. We can stop the machine for a day, and turn all hands -in on the job, make them scrub the tents good with soap and water, -and, after they are dry, pitch them all again in a different place. -A change of cooks, and Sunday to rest up in, will take away a lot of -that sullenness, I bet. I really believe that half of it is caused by -Murphy cursing the men so much." - -"Maybe you're right," Walter admitted. "Anyway, I would like to learn -to run that steam shovel. I bet I could do it in a week." - -"I don't ever want to have to climb aboard that critter," Captain -Westfield observed; "but I reckon I could stay on the ground and keep -the other fellows up to scratch. I ain't nowise anxious to go into the -business, but I leave it up to you, Charley. I've never had much to do -with shore business. Just do as you think best, boy." - -"I leave it up to you, too, so far as I'm concerned," Walter agreed. - -"I hopes you-alls do buy it," Chris said, earnestly; "I sho' wants to -do de cookin'; dat dirty nigger what's doing it now ain't fitting to do -hit, no way." - -"All right," Charley agreed, reluctantly. "If it's left up to me to -do the deciding, I'll do it, though I had rather not take all the -responsibility. Well, I'm going to buy----" - -He had no time to continue what he was going to say, for at that moment -Mr. Murphy stepped out of the tent and called to them. "Come around -here to the next tent; that's where my motor truck is housed." - -Walter examined the motor truck carefully. It was almost new, but -it was evident that it had received rough treatment at the hands of -inexperienced drivers, but its main parts were still good and unworn. - -"Well, what have you decided to do?" asked Mr. Murphy, as they all -clambered aboard the truck. - -"We would like until to-morrow morning to talk it over," Charley said -cautiously. - -"Sorry, but the way it stands, I've got to close up at once," said Mr. -Murphy briefly. "I've just got to get back home to my wife. I've got -another man on my string, and if you fellows don't want the business -I'll just run down to his place and see him to-night. I'm pretty sure -he'll take it." - -"All right, then; we'll take it," said Charley promptly. "Machine, -truck, contract, and all equipment for $3,000." - -"Agreed," said Mr. Murphy, equally prompt. "I'll give you a regular -bill of sale, covering everything, as soon as I get to Jupiter. We'll -get there in time to find a notary, I guess." - -There was no further chance for conversation, for, as soon as it was -started up, the motor truck kept all hands busy trying to retain their -seats. The dirt road was full of hollows, bumps and ruts that sent the -truck's occupants bouncing and jarring from side to side, so that they -were not at all sorry when Jupiter was at last reached. Once arrived, -the notary was hunted up, and the transfer papers made out. "I'll -stay with you two weeks and show you how to run the thing," said Mr. -Murphy. "I ought to go at once, but I promised you I would stay, and I -will. I suppose you will want to pack up and not go back until morning. -So, I guess I'll take this check for $3,000 down to Palm Beach, and get -it cashed, and come back on the early morning train. There's a local -train due for Palm Beach in about five minutes, so I'll say so long -until morning." - -The boys were up at the first crack of day, packing up their few -belongings, taking down their tents, and pulling out their little -launch and concealing it back among the bushes. By sunrise they were -at Jupiter, having rowed over in the skiff, which they hauled out -and left, feeling confident that it would not be molested until they -returned. - -They found, upon inquiry at the little station, that the train would -not arrive until nine o'clock. - -"Want tickets?" inquired the station agent, who had answered their -questions. - -"No," said Charley. "We are waiting for Mr. Murphy. He's coming up on -the train to take us out to camp. We have bought out his machine and -contracts." - -"Whew!" whistled the agent. "What did you pay him?" - -"We got the whole outfit for $3,000," said Charley proudly. - -"Good Lord!" murmured the agent. "Cash or check?" - -"Check on the Bank of West Palm Beach," answered Charley less proudly. - -The agent glanced at the clock. "Ten minutes of nine," he said -musingly. "The bank opens at eight. You have got a chance--just a bare -chance." He shoved over a pad of telegraph blanks. "Just wire the bank -to stop payment on that check." - -"Why?" asked Charley, bewildered. - -"Because, it's a rotten proposition," declared the agent earnestly; -"rotten all the way through. If you can stop payment on that check -you'll save losing $3,000, that's all." - -Reluctantly Charley filled in a blank and shoved it over to the agent, -who clicked it off rapidly on the key. When he had finished he came -around from behind the partition. "It was none of my business, butting -in in that way," he apologized, "but I hate to see a man robbed of his -money." - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -BUNCOED. - - -"DO you mean to say that Mr. Murphy does not own the machine, the -contract, and all the equipment?" Charley asked. - -"Oh, I guess he owns the stuff out there, all right," said the agent. -"The point is, that in a year's time he has only completed ten miles -of the road, and, if you have read the contract over carefully, you -will have noticed that it calls for the completion of the road in two -years, or the contractor is liable to forfeit the machine itself. -There remains thirty miles to do within a year. And that thirty miles -is far harder to do than the ground Murphy has gone over. He has lost -thousands of dollars upon the work he has done. I hardly blame him for -trying to catch a sucker." - -"But," Charley protested, "we saw the machine work. It digs over a -cubic yard of earth a minute, and, at 17-1/2 cents a yard, that ought to -pay big money." - -"It looks all right on paper," answered the agent wearily, "but -it doesn't figure out that way in fact. You have got to allow for -breakdowns, and a host of troubles you don't expect. The farther out -you get the more troubles you are going to have. I cannot tell you all -that may happen to you, for I do not know exactly, and, if I did, it -would be against the rules of the telegraph company for me to repeat -anything I have learned from messages that have come over the wire. -That is a rule an agent is honor-bound to obey. But I may, however, -give you a hint to be on your guard all the time. There are powerful -people and influences at work to stop that road-building." - -"But why should anyone wish to stop it?" asked Charley, whose face -began to wear an anxious expression. - -"That I do not know," answered the agent. "All I know is that you will -not be allowed to build that road in peace. How far its enemies will go -to stop it, and what their motive is, I cannot say. But, if I were you, -I'd be on the watchout for trouble right from the start." - -"Cheerful news," commented Charley grimly. - -"It isn't very joyful tidings, I admit," said the agent. "I would -hate to tackle the job under such circumstances. The work itself is -uncertain enough to keep any man worrying, without any trouble from -outside. Now you have all the warning I am permitted to give you, and, -if I may, I would like to ask you what are you going to do about it?" - -"Do?" echoed Charley, throwing back his shoulders. "I coaxed my -companions into this deal, and it's up to me, with their help, to pull -out clear." - -"Go to it," said Captain Westfield, approvingly. "We have still got -$2,000, and we'll back you up to the last cent. If we go broke, it will -not be the first time we've been that way." - -"You've voiced my sentiments," agreed Walter, quickly. - -"Dis nigger's sho' got to go wid you white chillens," Chris joined in. -"Don't know what you'd do widout dis nigger to look out for you-alls." - -The agent observed this demonstration of loyalty with increased -interest. "If you all stick by each other like that, you will do better -than Murphy has, at any rate," he observed. "I'll help you all I can, -but I'm afraid that will not be very much, but, perhaps, I can drop -a hint now and then that will be of help to you. Well, there goes my -telegraph call. Guess it is an answer to your telegram to the bank." - -In a few minutes he reappeared with the written message: - - "Your message too late; check cashed a few minutes - after eight." - - "BANK OF WEST PALM BEACH." - -"I gossiped a little with the agent at Palm Beach," he said. "Murphy -left there on the southbound a few minutes ago. He bought a ticket -to Havana. Sorry, boys, I did my best for you, but it was too late. -Well, I hope you will have better luck than Murphy did. Drop in on me -whenever you feel like it. I have got to get some waybills ready for -the morning freight, now, so will have to get busy." - -The little party thanked him for his kindness and, strolling down to -the dock, sat down to discuss the new turn of affairs. - -"What a chump I am!" exclaimed Charley bitterly. "Here I've gone and -dragged you fellows into a hopeless proposition, when common sense -should have led me to investigate carefully. It was too good a bargain -not to have some string fastened to it. One can't get something for -nothing in this world." - -"Maybe you were a mite hasty, lad," admitted the Captain; "but shucks, -we all make our little mistakes. Maybe we can do better than Murphy did -with that big land turtle. It appeared to me that Murphy wasn't just -the kind of a man to handle a lot of negroes, especially Saws. I could -see there was a pile of dissatisfaction in that camp, and, when there's -trouble in the forecastle, the ship is never worked right." - -"Golly, I don't blame them niggers for looking sullen and working no -account when dey has to eat grub de way dat cook fixes it up. I reckon -I could fix up some dishes dat would sho' make them open their eyes." - -"I believe there are several things that could be done to that machine -which would make her work a lot better," Walter remarked thoughtfully. -"I would like to work on the machine firing, if necessary, until I -learned how to run her. That's the way we will fix it. Chris can -be cook, I'll be engineer, the Captain overseer, and you, Charley, -business manager." - -Charley forced a grin. "I'm afraid my ability as business manager -is at a discount now, but, if you fellows care to trust me again, I -believe I will profit from the lesson I've just learned, and, with your -help, will pull our hot chestnuts out of the fire. I believe it can be -done. The first thing now is to get back to our white elephant. Do you -suppose you can run that truck back to camp?" - -"I believe so," said his chum doubtfully. "I used to run a car a little -at home, but it was a different make." - -"Well, go ahead, and see about it," Charley said. "The Captain and -Chris will help you get our stuff aboard. I am going to make a round -of the stores and see whether Murphy owes all of them. It is likely we -will have to lay in supplies every week." - -Charley found his surmise correct. Every merchant he met was clamorous -to collect overdue bills on Mr. Murphy's camp. It was here that -Charley's steady, if slow and interrupted, study of the law stood him -in good stead. "You can't collect from us, and there's no use you're -getting mad over it," he said coolly to each infuriated merchant. "You -took a chance on Murphy, and got stung, the same as we have, and you've -got to stand it the same as we have. If you get any of your money back -it will have to be from Murphy. If we had been notified beforehand -about your claims against Mr. Murphy, then we would have seen to it -that the bills were settled before we paid over the purchase price. We -have not benefited in the slightest by the things Mr. Murphy bought of -you, and you cannot expect us to pay his debts." - -It was a frank, manly, straightforward statement, but the merchants -received it with wrath, sore over the losses they had sustained, and -treated the lad with many threats and charges of underhandedness, even -going so far as to accuse him of being in collusion with Murphy in an -attempt to defraud them. By the time the last merchant was visited -the lad was convinced that he could expect no credit or sympathy in -Jupiter. The knowledge did one good thing for him, however. It stirred -up every bit of his fighting spirit, and, when he rejoined his friends -at the truck, it was with the determination to make good on his -unfortunate venture, if it were possible for a human being to do so. - -Walter looked up at him with beaming face. "I can run it all right," -he declared, "and it's in pretty good shape, too, though it's been -frightfully misused." - -"Good," said his chum cheerfully, as he climbed aboard. "Run me down to -the station first. I've got to send a telegram, and then we will go out -to camp." - -"I've come back to ask some more questions," he grinned to the -friendly agent. "What's the name of a good wholesale grocery house -in Jacksonville? I want one that does not deal much with the local -merchants here." - -"James K. Riley & Co. are the best I know of," said the agent promptly. -"Their prices are very low, but they demand spot cash, so retail -merchants do not trade with them much." - -Charley wrote a few lines on a telegram blank and shoved it over to -him. "Will you rush that through for me?" he asked. - -The agent grinned as he read the telegram: - - "JAMES K. RILEY, - Jacksonville, Fla. - - Please send at once your price list of staple groceries. - - WEST, HAZARD, WESTFIELD & CO." - -"Merchants here didn't exactly fold you to their bosoms, when they -learned that you were Murphy's successor?" he asked. - -"Not so you could notice it," Charley admitted, with a smile. "One -can't blame them much for being sore, but, of course, we have got to -look out for ourselves." - -"Sure," assented the agent, "you're making a wise move at that, kid. -It's a 250-mile haul from Jacksonville here, and the freights will be -high, but, even so, you'll get your stuff 20 per cent, cheaper than the -merchants here would charge you. The charge on this message will be a -quarter." - -Charley paid over the twenty-five cents and hurried out to the truck, -where his companions were impatiently awaiting him. As they whirled out -on the dirt road leading to the camp he explained to them what he had -been doing. - -"You did just right," approved the Captain. "There can't be more than -one captain to a ship, and I reckon you have got to be captain of this -one until she sails into port or is wrecked on the rocks. You have got -more business sense than the rest of us. I don't reckon because you -made one slip that you are going to keep on making them. We will back -you up with the last dollar we've got in the bank, won't we, lads?" - -"Sure," said Walter heartily. - -"Sho'," Chris agreed solemnly. - -"Thanks," said Charley simply. "I'll do my best. Now, Walt, I wish you -would show me how to run this truck. I've got a hunch that I'm going -to have to use it a whole lot the next few months, and now's as good a -time as any to learn." - -Fortunately the truck mechanism was very simple. And in half an hour -Charley had so far mastered the principles of the different levers that -he felt sure that he could run it if necessity demanded. - -"There's one thing more to do before we reach camp," Charley said, when -his lesson was finished. "We ought to unpack our pistols and have them -handy in our pockets. I don't expect trouble, but it is just as well to -be ready for it. I guess there are some pretty tough characters in that -bunch. I noticed, big man as he is, Murphy had a couple of big pistols -strapped on him when he was in camp." - -The pistols were gotten out of the pack and carefully oiled and -reloaded. They were late purchases and looked as small and harmless as -toy pistols, but their appearance was deceiving. In reality they were -automatics of the latest make, deadly accurate, and each, when loaded, -carried 11 steel-jacketed bullets, that could be discharged in as many -seconds. When slipped into a coat pocket they made only a slight bulge. - -By the time they had all pocketed their weapons they came in full sight -of the camp. Charley stood up and viewed it with a puzzled frown on his -face. - -"Something's gone wrong," he announced. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE STRIKE. - - -THE camp was soon plainly in view of all, and the reason for Charley's -exclamation apparent. Although it was not nearly noon, groups of -negroes were gathered around the various tents, and the big steam -shovel lay far ahead, motionless and deserted, with no hint of smoke -trailing from its smokestack. The only sign of activity about the camp -was the sweaty cook, once more engaged in the seemingly endless process -of molding bread on the dirty bench outside the tent. - -Walter stopped the car, and Charley jumped out nimbly. None of his -anxiety showed in his manner. He strode up to the negro. - -"Do you make bread every day?" he inquired lightly. - -"Sho', Cap," responded the big negro. "De niggers want hit fresh every -day." - -"Humph," commented the lad. "If I were you, I'd bake up enough at a -time to last two or three days. Then you would have more time to keep -things neat and clean, as they should be in a camp of this kind." - -"Massa Murphy nebber found no fault wid my way ob doing things," -objected the negro. - -"Well, we are not Mr. Murphy," Charley said curtly. "We have bought him -out. We are the owners of this thing now, and we want our food clean. -Remember that. Now, tell me, which are Mr. Murphy's and the engineers' -tents?" - -"Right ober dar 'mongst dat little clump of pines. De furst one is Mr. -Murphy's." - -Charley strolled over to the little tent and entered it. It was small -and dirty, and the dirt floor was littered with whiskey bottles, all -empty. Charley viewed them with a grim smile. "No wonder Murphy lost -out," he murmured. "A man cannot put up a good fight and entertain -John Barleycorn at the same time." There was a rude box desk in one -corner of the tent, littered with letters and papers. Charley seated -himself beside it and overhauled its contents quickly. This done, he -walked out of the tent's squalor into the open air once more. He next -drew back the flap of the first engineer's tent, and peeped inside, -but the tent was deserted, as was also the second, save for disordered -cots and black, greasy clothing, flung here and there. In the third -tent, however, he found a young man, stretched out on a cot reading -a magazine. Unlike the other tents, this was neat and cleanly, and -the dirty working clothes of its occupants were hung up on a line -stretching across the tent. "Hello," he greeted Charley boyishly. -"Back again are you?" - -"Yes," agreed Charley, as he noted the other's self-reliant, boyish -face. "I ought to have to apologize for not ringing your bell, or -knocking at your front door, but I didn't see either." - -"That's all right," laughed the youth, as he sat up on the end of his -cot. "Take a seat on the other end. That's my seat of honor for my -visitors." - -"What's your name?" Charley inquired. - -"C. P. McCarty," replied the youth, with a grin. "I'm ashamed to -confess that the C. P. stands for Clarence Percy, but don't call me -either, for I see red when I get good and mad." - -"One of the engineers?" - -"Oh, we get called that sometimes by courtesy. Really, we are what you -might term runners. No one of us three is really a licensed engineer. -Say, what might your name be?" - -"Charley West, one of the new owners of this business." - -McCarty threw back his head and chuckled. "Whew!" he whistled, "just -to think I've been talking flippant to a new boss for the last ten -minutes." - -"Never mind that," Charley grinned. "What I want to know is what's the -matter here? Why is the steam shovel not running? Where are the other -two runners?" - -"Answer to question number one and two the same--general strike of all -hands," replied McCarty briefly. "Yesterday was pay day. We have had -no pay, any of us, for two months. Strike came when I went on watch. I -tried to stop it, but it was no good. Can't say as I blame the niggers -much. I'm kind of sore myself. It's bad enough living in a crowd like -this, working in mud and water, living on bum, dirty grub, and, when -you can't get your wages promptly, when you have a family to support, -it's pretty tough. As for your third question, the other two runners -have taken the dog and gone quail hunting." - -"I see," said Charley absently. "How long have you been on the job?" - -"Six months," said McCarty briefly. "I'm not an engineer, but I've -worked around machinery ever since I can remember, and I've dug out -more dirt on this job than the other two runners put together, if I do -say it, and I could have done double if I had had a good crew back of -me." - -"I found Mr. Murphy's payroll in his tent," Charley observed. "I notice -that, for the past two months, the men have been working only a little -over half the time. How does that happen?" - -"Accidents to the machine," said McCarty laconically. "I can't explain -them, but they keep happening right along. Strange part of it is, they -don't happen on my watch. Maybe that's just my good luck, but I have a -feeling that there's something wrong somewhere. I don't know as there -is anything wrong going on, but I've kinder got a hunch there is." - -"How about the other two engineers? Are they all right?" Charley asked. - -"Now, I'm not going to snitch on my mates," said McCarty decidedly. "I -may like them, or I may not, that has nothing to do with the matter." - -"I think it has," said Charley coolly. "You owe a duty to your -employers far above any ethical or fancied duty to your mates, as you -call them. You are working for us, and we are the ones you look to -for your pay. I'm going to give you a check for your wages due this -afternoon. After to-day your salary will be $100 a month, and you'll -be chief engineer or runner on the job. There are conditions attached, -of course. You are to give me fully reports on everything pertaining -to your department; and, second, you will have to teach my chum, -Walter, how to run the machine. You will have to look after the machine -carefully, and, as soon as a part becomes worn in the least you must -notify me, so I can have a new part ready as soon as the old one gives -out. That's my proposition. Take it, or reject it, as you please." - -McCarty reflected for a moment. "You're right," he said at last, "a -man cannot serve two masters, and I have no reason to love either of -the two engineers. They have bullied and slanged me as much as they -dared ever since I've been on the job. It's hard to judge a dredge man, -for they are the hardest class in the world. I guess it's the work and -the men they work for that makes them so, and, when it comes down to -real meanness and hardness, Bully Rooney and One-eye McGill stand at -the lowest of the list. I know it sounds like a sneak, knocking his -friends behind their backs, but I don't mean to be sneakish about it. -You can tell them just what I've said. That I believe they have caused -most of the hang-ups on this job--that but for them this job would have -paid expenses, at any rate." - -Charley smiled. "I'm going to have a little talk with them," he -admitted, "but I am not going to tell them anything you have said. I -am grateful to you for what you have told me, and I believe we are -going to make this thing pay. By the way, can you tell me of any good -engineer that a man could depend upon to do the right thing?" - -"There is Bob Bratton, of Miami," said McCarty, brightening, "he is -as white as they make them; but," he added despairingly, "the best -engineer in the world can do but little with a poor crew." - -"I'm going to tend to that part of it," Charley said, with a smile. -"You do your part, and I'll see that the crew does theirs. Well, go -ahead and finish your story. There will be no work done on the machine -to-day. Glad to have had this little chat with you. So-long. I'll make -out your check this afternoon." - -He stepped out of the tent into the clear sunshine again, strangely -cheered by the fact that he had found at least one man in the gang upon -whom he could depend. - -At the cook tent he found Chris industriously scraping the dirt off the -bench, and vigorously scolding the big negro, who was standing idly by, -with a look of dismay on his ebony face. - -"I'ze plum ashamed of you," Chris was saying. "I nebber thought dat a -Bahama nigger could be so plum nasty and dirty. I'se sho' ashamed of my -country when I see things like dis going on. Say, what island are you -from, nigger?" - -"Eluther," said the negro sullenly. - -"Elutheria," echoed Chris, "right next to de Spanish Wells Island, whar -you could hab learned all manner ob things from all dose white people -what lives there. Nigger, I'se sho' ashamed ob you." - -Charley grinned, as he turned to the Captain, who was facing the rest -of the negroes, who had been drawn to the spot by the loud talking. -They were a rough-looking lot of humanity, pitted by smallpox on their -faces, and their bared arms and chests marked by old knife cuts and -pistol wounds. But they were almost giants in size, broad-shouldered, -and muscular-backed men with the narrow hips that mark the true athlete. - -Charley paused to choose his words before addressing them. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -LOYALTY. - - -"WHERE do all you boys come from?[A] I've been pretty well over the -Bahama Islands, but I can't quite place you chaps," Charley said, -smilingly. "What island are you from, anyway?" - -"I reckon most of us men are from Andros and Abacco Islands. Thar's -four or five from Little Abacco or Green Turtle Key." - -"I have never been ashore at Andros or Abacco Island, but I know -lots of fellows from Green Turtle Key. Will those of you from Green -Turtle Key please step to one side?" Five grinning negroes separated -themselves from the crowd. - -"I understand that you boys have quit work and gone on a strike because -your wages have not been paid. Well, inside of two hours I will have -your checks made out, and you can go. We will not need you any longer. - -"Hold on, you fellows from Green Turtle Key," he said, as they began -to move away with the crowd. "I can't carry you all in at one trip. -The truck can't do it on a dirt road. I want you fellows to stay over -to-morrow, and I will take you in the next day, and I want you to work -cleaning up this camp. Of course, we will pay you extra for the work, -but it must be done well. Captain Westfield, here, will show you what -we want done." - -The five negroes began to grumble, but the lad silenced them with a -word. "If you are in such a hurry to go, you can walk in," he said. The -negroes were not anxious to walk in, so they gave a grudging consent. - -"Gee," whispered Walter, who had been listening closely. "How can we -afford to pay them? They say there is two months' pay due them, and -that will about eat up the balance of our funds." - -"We have simply got to pay them," Charley grinned. "The labor alien law -is strict, and they could tie up the machine with liens and render us -helpless. Things are not quite as bad as they look. I've been looking -over Murphy's papers, and I find that this month he had dug 10,000 -yards so far. He could not collect the money on it until the county -engineer comes out and measures it up, and that will not be until the -end of the month, so we will get the $1,750 coming in." - -"But look what shape we are putting ourselves in," said Walter -anxiously. "We can't work the machine without men." - -"Don't worry about that," said Charley cheerfully. "I'll tend to -getting new and better men. What I would like you to do is to stick -right close to McCarty and learn everything you can about the machine. -He'll be glad enough to show you. I want you to master it, so that you -will know how every part of it works, and can let me know, so that I -can have a new part ready when the old one gives out." - -"Good," Walter exclaimed. "I would rather fool around machinery than do -any other work. Say, where's McCarty's tent? I want to have a talk with -him." - -"Wait until after dinner," Charley counseled. "He's enjoying himself -now." - -"But what am I going to do, Charles?" protested Captain Westfield. "I -don't see where I come in." - -"I want you to be general overseer over the ground men, graders, and -teamsters. You see, Captain, we want to push the work as fast as we -can, and with as few accidents as possible. I am going to increase the -men's wages, but they have got to earn their money. Take the graders -we watched yesterday. Two good men could have done the work those five -were doing. Now, if you will help me, we will get up our two tents a -little farther up the road. To-morrow I wish that you would see that -every tent is taken down and scrubbed with soap and water with a good -dose of carbolic acid in it. When they are dry, have them pitched -again, not far from that little bunch of spruce there. We will pitch -our own tents among the spruces." - -McCarty and Walter came to their assistance, and in a short time the -two tents were pitched in the thicket of glossy green and the dirt -floors carpeted thickly with fragrant pine needles. This done, Charley -brought over from Murphy's tent the box with its collection of papers. -The payroll was already made out, so all the lad had to do was to make -out the checks and, as soon as it was done, the negroes filed in, one -by one, signed their names to the pay sheet, and received their checks. -Some of them would have liked to have stayed and worked on, but the lad -was sick of their dirtiness and laziness, and wanted no more of them. - -Dinner followed close upon the completion of this task, and all -gathered around the long tables upon which Chris had already impressed -somewhat of cleanliness, and had cleaned up some of the rubbish which -had littered the floor. The grinning negroes sat down to a dinner such -as they hadn't eaten in many a day--plain and simple, but wholesome and -well flavored and well cooked. - -They had hardly begun to eat when the engineers entered, bearing a -big bag of quail and followed by a panting pointer dog. They sat down -quietly at the boys' table, and sullenly began to eat. Charley noted -their faces with dissatisfaction. He knew, from what he had seen of the -class, that dredge men are a hard, cruel, overbearing class, but these -two shocked him in their sheer coarseness and brutality of expression, -and from each emanated the strong odor of cheap whiskey. If not drunk, -they were apparently on the verge of drunkenness. - -Charley waited until the last negro had filed out of the tent, then he -turned to McCarty. "You might introduce me to your mates," he said, -with mild sarcasm. "They are so highly trained, socially, that it seems -that they will not speak without an introduction." - -McCarty grinned with delight at his new boss. - -"This," he said lightly, "is Bully Rooney; the one on the left is -One-eyed McGill. Mr. Rooney, Mr. McGill, meet your new boss, Mr. West." - -"If he's the new boss, he can just understand one thing," growled -Rooney, "I'm not going to have any greenhorn fooling around the machine -when I am working on it." - -"Nor me, neither," growled his companion. - -"You will not be troubled at all in that way," Charley assured them -smilingly. "I'm going into town in the truck between two and three -o'clock, and, if you can get your things packed up, I'll take you -in. Your checks are ready, and I'll give them to you as soon as you -sign the payroll. I do not want a man in our gang whom I cannot trust -absolutely. And I will not have one that drinks. Drink leads to -carelessness, and carelessness leads to accidents. I imagine that's why -the machine has been broken down so much." - -A scowl of rage showed on Rooney's face. "That snip of a McCarty has -been shooting off his mouth too much." - -"Murphy's papers told me all I needed to know," said Charley quickly, -but McCarty spoke up coolly and on his own behalf: - -"And I've told him about the same thing, and ought to have told him -more. I should have told him that the machine has been losing money -ever since you two came on the job. That nearly all the dirt that has -been thrown out has been thrown out on my shift. That not a week has -passed without the machine suffering some breakdown that, in most -cases, could have been avoided. Lastly, I could, and should have told -him, that there will not be a cent of money made on this job until it's -rid of you two skulking, booze-fighting man-killers." - -Bully Rooney's face grew black with anger, and he launched himself like -a clumsy bear at the slight McCarty. The youth, his Irish-blue eyes -sparkling with anger, drew back his fists for a swinging blow at the -other, but Charley promptly stepped in between the two with his little -automatic in his hand. - -"Here, that's about enough of this," he exclaimed. "If there's any -fighting to be done in this camp hereafter, we will do it--understand -that. Now you two go to your tents and pack up what belongs to you, for -I start for town at three prompt." - -The two sullenly departed for their tents, muttering angrily as they -went, and Charley turned to McCarty. - -"I wish you would take Walter down to the machine with you this -afternoon and show him all you can about its workings. I would also -like you to make out a list of what new parts may be needed soon, and I -will order them at once. If you know or can think of anything that will -help to make the machine dig more dirt, I wish you would suggest it to -me, and we will go over it together. If it's feasible, we'll adopt it -at once." - -"I can suggest two or three things, right now," said McCarty, eagerly. -"First, our pump is all on the bum. Its valve is all worn out. It -needs repacking, and it needs a bigger intake pipe. We have to fill -the boiler six times in twenty-four hours, and it takes an hour each -time. If it had been tended to properly it would not take over fifteen -minutes at a time to fill up the boiler; as it is, we lose a clear -five hours' work a day on that one item alone. Then, there's the wood. -It is always piled on the left side of the track, so that we always -have to swing the machine around and wait for the ground men to load -it on, and, of course, we do no work until they get through, which -generally takes them 15 minutes, while, if it were placed on the other -side, the machine could keep right on while the men were loading. -There's another hour lost a day." - -"Six hours' waste out of twenty-four," Charley exclaimed. "Get the -measurement of that valve and intake pipe at once, and I'll get -them when I go in this time. As for the wood business, that belongs -in your department," he said, turning to the teamster, a lanky, -humorous-looking Missourian; "what have you got to say about it?" - -FOOTNOTE: - -[A] A form of address generally used in the South when white speaks to -black. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -CHARLEY HAS A NARROW ESCAPE. - - -"I AM not the boss of this outfit," said the Missourian, with a smile. -"I do what I am told to do. Rooney and McGill ordered me to pile the -wood on that side, so I've been doing it. I reckon Rooney and his -partner figured it out that they would get a little more rest that way. -Let's have a look at the mules, if you can spare the time." - -"Sure," said Charley gladly. "I want to get in touch with every part of -the business as soon as possible." - -"I always build them a corral whenever we make a new camp," observed -the Missourian, as he led the way to the pen where he kept the mules. -"Hold on!" he shouted, as Charley stooped to pass under the bars. "If -Pansy and Violet don't just happen to like your appearance, they are -likely as not to kick the soul out of you." - -Charley withdrew in haste. "My, but they are beauties for mules." - -"Finest team I've handled," declared the teamster, with a grin. "I -kinder like to have them a little savage with everyone. It keeps -strangers from fooling with them. They have life and plenty of sense. -I could not do my work with a poor team of mules. This work is terrible -on animals." - -"And on men, too, I guess," Charley agreed. "I want to say that -hereafter your wages will be $2.00 per day as long as we satisfy each -other. Now, how is your work? How much wood have you got ahead for the -machine?" - -"Not much," admitted the teamster ruefully; "perhaps enough for a day -and night, if the machine runs like it usually does." - -"That's not enough," Charley said decidedly. "There should be at least -a week's wood ahead all the time. In case a mule gets sick, or goes -lame, don't you see that the machine would have to lie up until we -could get another team? It looks to me like this dredging business -is like links in a chain. If any one man, from teamster up, fails to -do his part in the work, why, the whole machine has got to go out of -business until the defect can be made good." - -"I'm doing my best," the teamster protested. "Most of my wood has to -be cut and hauled over a mile to the machine, and the route I have to -take to get to it is generally a winding one, for I have to pass around -all ponds and bog holes. It takes careful driving to avoid bogging down -your team and losing it." - -"Well, then there is one weak link we have got to strengthen right -away," said the lad cheerfully. "I will not be back from town until day -after to-morrow, but, when I come, I will bring a good man to help you. -He can do the wood chopping while you do the hauling; meanwhile, keep -on with your work, so as to get ahead while the machine is idle to-day -and to-morrow. Another thing I would mention is that I want to get -things so systematized that it will not be necessary to do but little -work on Sunday. I want that as a day of rest for all hands, so far as -possible." - -The lanky Missourian reached out and grasped Charley's hand. "I'm right -with you, lad, clean up to the hilt. You've got the right ideas. A body -of men will do as much in six days as in seven, besides being more -contented, healthy and cheerful." - -"Well, I must get back to camp. I've got several things to see to -before I start for town," Charley said. - -"Hold on!" yelled the teamster, as the boy was turning away. "For God's -sake don't move your feet!" - -Startled, Charley looked down. In moving forward he had placed his -right foot squarely upon the head of a huge snake, while his left foot -was lying across the reptile's big body. It was only by summoning all -his self-control that the lad kept from jerking impulsively ahead -or to one side, a course which would surely have resulted in instant -death. In fact, death was threatening as it was. The boy could hardly -retain his position as the powerful reptile began to twist back and -forth beneath his feet. Luckily, where he stood the ground was soft, -and the parts of the snake upon which he stood were deeply imbedded in -the soft sand, but, even with that in his favor, it was only a question -of seconds before the repulsive reptile wriggled free. Charley drew his -automatic and fired down at the huge, writhing, black body between his -feet. The first shot penetrated the middle of the snake, and, firing -slowly and carefully, Charley cut roughly through the middle of the -snake's body. As its struggles grew less, the lad leaped far ahead and -looked back. The snake was still struggling vigorously, but, with its -body nearly severed, it could do nothing but swing its head viciously. - -"You did that pretty neat, lad," said the teamster cheerfully. "I was -afraid you would try to jump. You've shore got pluck." - -Charley grinned. "It was simply a bad case of being too scared to -move. Well, let's climb on the wagon and get back to camp. Say," he -continued, as the teamster whipped up the mules he had harnessed up -while talking, "do you have many of those moccasins out here?" - -"Not many right here," grinned the driver, "but on these strips of pine -lands there is not supposed to be any. I suppose our crew kills from -twenty to twenty-five a week. Sometimes we kill them all curled up nice -and comfortable in our bunks. But, pshaw! that ain't nothing to the day -it will be five or ten miles farther out. I drove out there once and -it's a sure bet the wheels and mules' hoofs killed over a hundred going -and coming." - -"Whew!" Charley whistled, "that's not very pleasant to hear, but, here -we are at camp, and I've been too excited over this trip to ask your -name." - -"It's Jim Canody--'Languid Jim' they generally call me," grinned the -teamster. - -"You can go back to work, then, Jim," said Charley. "Do your best, and -I'll have a good man to help you soon. Drive in by the cook tent and -I'll jump off there." - -"Well, Chris," he inquired, "how are you getting on?" - -The little negro grinned. "Dis ain't going to be no cinch, Massa -Charles," he said. "Cooking and cleaning up for twenty-five men is -goin' to be a mighty big job for one small nigger. 'Sides, if you -work a night crew hit means a whole lot more work putting up midnight -lunches. Dat's a lot of extra work." - -"I see you have got to have an assistant," Charley agreed. - -"Dat's so," acquiesced Chris, "but he's going to be mah helper, and I -want to pick him out." - -"Give me a description of the kind of help you want, and I'll try to -get it," Charley grinned. - -Chris reflected. "I'd like a nigger jes' 'bout my size," he said -musingly. "'Cause he won't be noaccount 'less I can make him do as I -tell him. I'd like him to be a yellar nigger, too. 'Cause a yellar -negro is much more timid, and shows de dirt much quicker dan a -coal-black nigger. Hit's a lot moah easy to keep him clean. Dis nigger -don't want no noaccount nigger trifling around dat he can't lick." - -Charley grinned. "I'll try to get you one like you wish. Now, I want -you to make up a list of everything you need for the next sixty days." - -"Golly! Massa Charles," exclaimed the little negro. "I can't do dat, -noways. I might figure out what it would take to feed one man, but -I can't calculate on twenty-five men for sixty days. Dat's too big -figuring for one little nigger." - -"Well, just figure on one man for thirty days," said Charley, amused, -"and I'll figure on the other twenty-four men." - -"Golly," exclaimed Chris, "youah sure got a head on you, Massa Charles. -I don't see at all how's you going to figure dat out." - -"Get out your list," said Charley, "and some time I'll tell you how -to do it. Don't put down any fancy thing--only just what will make -substantial hearty grub, like rice, pork, beans, coffee, salt, canned -milk, sugar, flour, dried fruits, macaroni, and, I guess, canned meats, -until we get out to the hunting ground. Hurry up, now, and get up that -list. It's time I was going now." - -Leaving Chris to his strenuous labors of figuring out what one man -could eat in thirty days, Charley gave a few instructions to the -Captain about cleaning up the camp, and then sauntered over to the -engineers' tent. With only a "Hello" he threw open the flap. Bully -Rooney, half-dressed, rose up from his cot and jerked a rifle from its -slings. - -"Better put that down," Charley advised him. "Before you could get -that thing into action I could riddle you with my automatic." Rooney -reluctantly obeyed. - -"Now, I didn't come in here for a row," the lad continued. "I came -in to tell you that the car is ready for town. I'm going to leave in -fifteen minutes. Better hustle and get your things together." - -"I ain't going," said Rooney sullenly. "I've been working by the month, -and I've got to have a month's notice or an extra month's pay." - -"You are going. We will not have you on the ground--and that's pat," -Charley declared. "If you and your partner stay on, we will see that -you eat none of the company's grub. You can just stay here and starve, -for all we care. Make up your mind quick--five minutes of that fifteen -minutes have gone." - -"We'll go," growled Rooney, "but let me tell you, young fellow, we will -sue you as soon as we strike town." - -"That's good," said Charley, with cheerfulness. "We have got nothing to -lose, because you've got no legal grounds for a suit; besides which, -I don't believe either you or McGill dare to go to court. I really -believe that neither of you dare face the showing up of the foul things -you have done on this job. Now you both get a move on you. If you are -not ready when starting time comes I'll leave you and bring out the -sheriff to move you when I come back." - -Before the time arrived to go, McGill and Rooney were stowing their -hastily packed luggage in the car, and the negroes, with their few -tattered belongings, were trying to find a place for themselves in the -crowded truck. Then, with Charley at the wheel, the truck was headed -around for Jupiter, and they were off. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -WALTER TAKES HIS FIRST LESSON IN RUNNING AN ENGINE. - - -"I DON'T like the idea of Charley going in alone with that gang," -Captain Westfield said uneasily. "It's a bad crowd he's got along with -him, and they may make him trouble." - -"I don't think they will," said Walter, as the two stood watching the -truck out of sight. "They have all got their checks, and have got no -reason for making trouble. I guess Charley can take care of himself. -Did you see how fast he was driving the car--almost too fast? If those -engineers are not just plain fools, they will not touch him, for, if -he let go that steering wheel for a second or two, the car would turn -turtle into the ditch and all hands be killed or hurt." - -"Well," said the Captain, with relief, "if that's the case, I'll quit -worrying and get out those Saws to get down the tents that are empty." - -"And I'll go back to the machine," Walter said. "I want to learn all -about it as soon as I can. McCarty seems to be a mighty fine fellow, -and he is going to show me how to run it." - -McCarty was waiting for him at the machine. "Now the first lesson is -going to be a dirty one," he said. "We will have to crawl under the -car, so you can see how each part works." - -Shedding their coats, the two wriggled under on the wet ground and, -lying on their backs, McCarty pointed out the various cog-wheels that -worked the car and the swinging table. - -"Gosh!" exclaimed McCarty suddenly. "Look at that!" - -Startled, Walter looked to where the other was pointing. In one of the -deep, sharp niches, into which the long teeth of the ratching descended -when the platform was in motion, was wedged a round, yellow stick, of -some eight inches in length. - -McCarty pulled out the strange object and looked at it musingly. He -broke off a bit of it, and, crumbling it up in his hand, examined it -closely. "That stuff must have been put in there just before I went on -duty night before last," he said. "Gosh! It's lucky the nigger struck -on me before I started up the machine." - -"Why?" Walter asked. "What is that stuff, anyway?" - -McCarty threw him the stick. "Catch it," he said; "that's dynamite of -the strongest grade." - -Walter held the stick gingerly, as though he was afraid it might go off -at any minute. - -"Don't be afraid of it," laughed McCarty. "It doesn't go off so very -easy. It needs a sudden, hard jar, or a cap and fuse, to explode it. If -I had swung that thirty-ton platform around on top of that stuff the -machine would likely have been pretty badly smashed up, and maybe some -of us killed." - -"Who could have put it there?" Walter asked. - -"Hard to say. Someone who wanted to put the machine out of business, -of course. To be frank, however, it all points to Rooney, who had the -shift before mine. He blew the whistle for me when his shift was up, -and I left from the camp at once. We passed each other about halfway, -so no one else would have had much chance to put anything in there, -between his departure from the machine and my arrival. However, it -has done no harm, so there's no use worrying about it now, but we had -better look good, and see if there's any more of it scattered around." - -A close search, however, failed to reveal any more of the dangerous -explosive, so the two boys crawled out from under the car and mounted -the swinging steel platform, where McCarty showed the other which part -of the cog-wheels they had seen below each lever controlled. There -was a lever to move the car back and forth on its tracks like a steam -engine, a lever to put on brakes, one to control the two-ton steel -bucket, and another to raise and lower the long steel crane. - -"Best way for you to learn to run it is to come on as fireman," he -advised. "It's a hot, dirty job, and long hours, but you've got to -learn the steam part first before you can become a good runner. You've -got to know enough about a steam engine to tell if your fireman is -doing his part right--to know whether he is carrying too much or too -little steam, and whether he keeps water enough in the boiler all the -time. A careless fireman can easily blow up a boiler and wreck his -engine, so it pays to keep an eye on your fireman." - -"All right. I'll come on as a fireman," agreed Walter, cheerfully. - -"That's right," approved McCarty. "It's the only proper way to learn. -Here's another thing to think of: Suppose you went on to that machine -to-morrow as a runner. You know now how it works, all about the levers, -etc. But, take one example. The first thing you may have to do is to -move back on another section of track. A section of track is only -fifteen feet long, and the part of the car that rests on it covers -twelve of the fifteen feet. The section next is butted up against -the one the car is on, but is not fastened to it. Across the ends of -the two sections the ground men place two six-foot pieces of iron -rail, to catch the center wheels of the car. Now, everything is ready -for moving, and the ground men signal, 'Go ahead.' You start ahead. -Suddenly the ground men, who are watching cry, 'Hold, hold.' When you -have heard that cry you know the car is not hitting that second section -right. You have to stop that machine, and stop it, not in a second, -but in a fraction of a second, or your machine will be off the track -and buried in the sand; or, perhaps, even skidded into the ditch, and -likely lost to you forever. Do you suppose a green man, with all that -array of levers before him, could act quick enough to save his machine -and crew? Why, running a steam locomotive is easy compared to running -one of these things. Well, I guess we have gone over everything, and we -might as well go back to camp. In the morning we will come out and fire -up and take a few lessons in actual practice in firing and handling -some of the simpler levers." - -"Good!" Walter exclaimed. "Say, what's that haze off there in the west? -Isn't it smoke?" - -"Indian fires," said McCarty. "They burn off parts of the prairies -every six months so as to get fresh pasture for their stock. -Appearances are deceptive out here. The air is so clear that one can -see objects very far distant. Now, how far off would you say that fire -is?" - -"About ten miles off," Walter guessed. - -"It's more than twice that far," declared the other. "It's a queer -country we will be entering soon, and I'm thinking we'll see some queer -things before we get through this job. But, here we are at the camp. -My, that supper smells good." - -They found the Captain driving the negroes at their task with all the -authority an old shipmaster can display. - -"Gee," exclaimed McCarty, "I never saw those niggers work like that -before. Why, they've got all the empty tents down and one of them -washed up. I wonder how he did it." - -"Oh, the Captain can handle men, all right," said Walter proudly. "That -has been his business all his life, handling tough crews of sailors." - -The old skipper knocked off his men for the night and joined the two -lads. "Well, I've got a good start for to-morrow," he said, with -satisfaction. "We'll have everything finished up by to-morrow night. -Say, those Saws ain't half-bad workers when you handle them right." - -"Negroes are no good out on this kind of work. A nigger wants to be in -or near a town," McCarty declared positively. "He wants to be where he -can get out nights and 'rambles,' as he calls it. He don't like to stay -long on a job, anyway. If he's not paid every Saturday night, he quits. -If he is paid, he's pretty likely to quit, too, for he will have $8 or -$9 in his pocket, and, as long as he has a dollar he does not believe -in work. I remember hearing once this dialogue between a white man and -a nigger: - -"White Man--'Say, boy, do you want to earn a quarter?' - -"Negro--'No, sah, boss; I'se dun got a quarter.'" - -Chris beating on a tin pan drew them all to the cook tent, where a -good supper awaited them. The sun went out of sight while they were -eating, and darkness followed immediately, as there is no twilight in -Florida. Lanterns were lit, and, while the Captain and Walter lent the -overworked little negro a hand in cleaning up, McCarty, who had moved -his tent close to the Captain's, built up a big fire in front of the -tents, and hunted up a few boxes for seats. Here the Captain and Walter -soon joined him, while Chris wandered over to visit with his countrymen. - -"I always like to sit by a camp fire evenings, when I am out on a -job like this." McCarty said. "It seems to take away some of the -loneliness, and makes things seem more cheerful. Just listen for a -minute to the din, will you?" - -There was no need to listen--the din could not be ignored. The croaking -of millions of frogs, the honk of sand-hill cranes, and the screeching -of innumerable owls rose up from the darkness about them. - -"Sounds like they were all saying their prayers at once and getting -ready to go to sleep," said Walter, with a laugh. - -"And that's just what they are doing," said McCarty. "Step outside of -the circle of firelight with me, and take a look around." - -The three stepped out a few paces from the fire and gazed about them. -It was pitch dark, but all around them glowed millions of tiny lights, -flittering here and there. - -"Just fireflies," explained McCarty. "But watch. See that thin white -mist rising from the ground?" As they watched, the white vapor rose -higher, grew denser, and shrouded the land with a ghost-like shroud. -The fireflies disappeared, the frogs ceased croaking, the owls' hooting -died away, and all was still. - -"Night has drawn its sheet over them, and they have gone to sleep," -said McCarty whimsically. - -"Hark!" exclaimed Walter. "What's that?" - -"Hanged if I know," said McCarty, puzzled. "It's coming closer all the -time, whatever it is." - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -BOB IS SENT HOME. - - -IT was strange sounds coming out of the mists that had drawn the lads' -attention. They were not kept long in suspense as to the nature of -the noises, for it soon became plain that they were human voices, one -shrill and piercing, the other deep and guttural. Nearer they drew, -until out of the white vapor loomed a huge, grotesque object, which -gradually resolved itself into a big covered wagon, drawn by four gaunt -oxen. In the front of the wagon sat an Indian woman, urging the weary -beasts on with whip and shrill cries. Behind the wagon walked a huge, -powerful Indian, closely followed by a mass of pigs, cattle and goats, -which were urged on from the rear by a pack of mongrel dogs, of all -sizes and colors. With much squealing of pigs, barking of dogs, and -cries from the squaw, this strange equipage came to a stop in front of -the camp. - -The two boys advanced to the road to meet the visitors. - -"Hello," Walter greeted them. - -"Hello," returned the Indian. "No can get by big machine?" - -"No," said McCarty, "I'm afraid you can't. Machine right in road, deep -ditches both sides, plenty mud. Back one mile is a road that circles -around the machine. You understand?" - -The Indian nodded comprehension. "No can find road at night. Me camp -here." - -"All right," Walter assented. "When you get unhitched, come over to -camp fire and have something to eat." - -The two boys rummaged around in the cook tent and got out a can of -salmon, one of corned beef, and a box of crackers, which they carried -out to the camp fire. The Indian was there awaiting them. "She unhitch -oxen," he explained. - -Walter grinned. "Indian man no work?" he inquired. - -"No work," agreed the Seminole. - -"Your squaw?" asked the interested lad. - -"No, sister," and a gleam of interest shone on the Indian's impassive -face. "You want squaw?" he demanded. - -"No," said Walter hastily, while McCarty laughed. - -"Sister strong, work good, cook good, too," recommended the Seminole -seriously. - -"Why don't you get a squaw yourself?" McCarty demanded. - -"Sister got tongue sharp as knife point," admitted the Indian sadly. -"She and squaw would fight and fight and fight with their tongues, and -there would be no peace in the camp for its master." - -Her task performed, the Indian girl now approached the fire. She was -pretty for an Indian. Like all Seminole girls, she wore a waist of -bright colors, a skirt of calico of many hues, and beaded moccasins on -her feet. She was frankly unembarrassed and smiled around at her hosts -in evident friendliness. - -Walter opened the cans and handed them and the crackers to the girl. -"No meal cooked in big tent," he explained. "To-morrow morning have -plenty hot grub." - -The two ate silently and hungrily, and as soon as they had finished -departed for their wagon with a brief "Good-by." - -"They never even said thanks," McCarty commented. - -"An Indian never expresses his gratitude in words," Walter explained, -"but they never forget a favor done them. If we ever happen near that -fellow's camp, he will bring in some present, such as venison or pork. -Well, it is time we were turning in. The Captain has been asleep for -hours." - -Chris awoke all hands next morning at daylight by beating on a tin pan. -He had breakfast all ready by the time they were washed and dressed. -The Seminoles had already hitched up their oxen, and, seated by the -cook tent, were patiently waiting for the promised meal. - -The boys invited them to seats at their own table, and were surprised -to note that they seemed perfectly at ease, handling knife and fork. - -The meal was quickly dispatched, and the Indians, with a brief -"good-by," departed to pick up the road they had passed in the night, -and the boys hastened out to the machine, while the Captain, with his -negro helpers, resumed the work of cleaning up the camp. - -Walter quickly picked up the knack of firing, and, after he had -mastered its principles, McCarty, standing by his side, permitted -him to handle the two levers that controlled the great steel bucket. -Simple as it looked to be when he watched McCarty do it, Walter soon -found that it required both quickness and coolness to handle only these -two levers out of the many before him. He repeated the operation of -raising, lowering, digging, and dumping several hundred times, gaining -more quickness, sureness, and certainty with each operation. - -"You're going to learn quickly," McCarty said. "I am sorry, but we can -do no more to-day. If you'll look back at your water gauge you'll see -that there are only a few inches of water left in your boiler. Filling -it is too big a job for us to tackle alone, so you might as well rake -out your fire, and we will go back to camp." - -"I say," he continued, as Walter threw open the furnace door and raked -out the blazing billets of wood with an iron rake, "it's only nine -o'clock. What do you say if we go off on a little hunt for the balance -of the day? It's likely to be the last chance we will have in many -months." - -"I'll go you," Walter agreed. "That is, provided the Captain does not -need any help." - -They found the Captain with his task nearly completed. "No, you can't -help me any," he said. "The niggers will have everything done by noon. -Go on and have your fun, lads, but be careful, and be sure to get back -by dark." - -The boys sought their tents, and got out their guns and game bags. By -the time they were ready Chris had a lunch wrapped up for them, and -they struck out into the open woods, with Bob, the dog, gamboling in -front of them. - -"Why, you have brought your rifle along with you," Walter exclaimed, -noting his comrade's gun. - -"Yes; one shotgun is enough," said his friend; "and I am in hopes that -we may run on to some big game. I've seen plenty of signs of deer -lately." - -"I'll be contented if I can get a good bag of quail." - -"Oh, you'll get them, all right," said McCarty confidently. "The woods -are full of them, and Bob is as good a bird dog as there is in the -State of Florida. Look, he is at it already." - -As if to justify the compliment paid him, Bob had stopped in front -of a little oak thicket, and stood with head thrust forward and tail -sticking straight out. He waited patiently in this attitude for the -lads to approach. - -"Get your gun ready, and I'll scare them up for you," McCarty said. -"If you are not used to shooting on the wing just aim at the flock and -blaze away when they rise." - -He picked up a heavy stick and threw it into the thicket. With a -whirling of wings a big covey of quail rose up from its center. - -Walter fired one barrel after the other into the middle of the flock. - -"Good!" exclaimed McCarty. "You got a dozen at least. Watch where the -balance light. Here, Bob, fetch 'em out." - -The dog rushed forward, but stopped at the edge of the thicket. - -"Fetch 'em out, Bob; fetch 'em out," encouraged the lad, but the dog -turned back with drooping tail. - -"There's something wrong in there," declared McCarty; "something the -dog is afraid of." - -"Well, I'm going in and get my quail," Walter said. "I'm not going to -be cheated out of the first quail I ever killed." - -"Hold on," said McCarty, "there's no telling what you may run up -against. The thicket isn't over fifty feet across. Let's set fire to -both sides of it, and one of us stand by each end. We ought to be able -to kill whatever it is as it comes out." - -"Good," Walter agreed. "I'll take my stand by this end, and you can -take yours by the other." - -In a few minutes the thicket was ablaze on both sides, while the two -lads, with guns cocked, stood eagerly waiting the appearance of its -occupant. - -The thicket was all of small growth, and in a few minutes the fire -had swept it clear to the ground, leaving only here and there a few -smouldering stalks of thicket growth. The dead quail lay scattered -around on the ground, unhurt except for a slight singing of feathers. - -"I guess Bob got a wrong hunch that time," Walter said, as he picked up -his quail, of which there were thirteen. - -"I'll bet on Bob every time," said McCarty. "There was something in -here that he was afraid to tackle, and I'll bet if we look around long -enough we'll find some trace of it." - -"Look out!" said Walter. "There it is, right in front of you." - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -WALTER AND THE ENGINEER GO A-HUNTING. - - -A FEW feet in front of McCarty lay a little mound of soft dirt, thrown -up by a gopher when digging its hole down deep into the earth. It was -the stirring of this mound of sand that had called forth Walter's -exclamation. - -The boys watched, fascinated, as the sand trembled more violently, and -a big, flat head, with lidless eyes, reared itself above the dirt. At -sight of the repulsive-looking head, both boys fired, and the head -dropped back, nearly severed from its body. - -"Gracious!" exclaimed Walter, as they pried the rest of the body from -the sand with their gun barrels. "Did you ever see one like it in your -life?" - -"I never saw such a monster before, and I don't believe anyone -else ever did," agreed McCarty, as he gazed down at the beautiful, -diamond-marked body of the huge rattlesnake, for such it was. - -Walter measured the body with his gun barrel, while McCarty counted the -rattles at the tip of the tail. - -"It's eight feet two inches long," Walter announced. "No one will ever -believe that we killed a rattle of that size." - -"Well, here is one way to convince them," said McCarty, as, with his -knife he severed the rattles from the body. "They can't doubt that it -was a whopper. Here's twenty-four rattles and a button, which shows -that it was twenty-four years old." - -"My, but I would like to get that skin off," Walter said, longingly. -"It's a beauty, but I'm afraid to skin it." - -"Yes, it would be risky," agreed McCarty, who, like his companion, -was well versed as a hunter. "It may have bitten itself when the fire -was going over it. But come, let's move on. The sport is only just -beginning. Did you notice where that covey of quail settled?" - -"Yes," Walter said, "they went down in that bunch of spruce over there. -Bob is nosing them up already." - -The lads followed up the sniffing dog, and out of the rise Walter got -seven more birds. "That makes twenty," he observed. "That's enough for -supper, and there is no use killing more than we can use. I've got some -buckshot cartridges. Let's try and find some bigger game. You've had no -fun at all, so far. I've been having it all. Which is the best way to -go?" - -"I don't really know," said McCarty. "I have never hunted far from camp -out here, but, I fancy, straight ahead is as good as any. I climbed -way up on the machine's boom the other day and took a good look over -the country. Say, it's the craziest looking country you ever saw. It's -a regular Chinese puzzle of stretches of prairie, ponds, bits of flat -woods, hummocks, and even little hills rising up suddenly from the -prairie. It's a queer country, all right. Looks as though there might -be any kind of game in it. Hang it, there goes that fool, dog again. -Won't he ever learn a lesson?" - -Bob, barking madly, had dashed into a little thicket a few paces ahead. - -"Hold on!" McCarty cried, as Walter started forward with cocked gun. -"Bob, Bob," he yelled. "Come here; come here, you fool." - -But the dog did not instantly obey. Instead, from the thicket came the -sound of a fierce struggle. - -"What can be in there?" Walter asked anxiously. "It sounds as though -Bob was getting the worst of it." - -"He is, and he isn't," grinned the other. "Just wait a minute and you -will see what I mean." - -Walter did not have long to wait. Soon a few short barks announced that -Bob had triumphed, and a moment later the dog emerged from the bushes, -but not before a villainous odor had reached the boys' nostrils. So -strong and sickening it was, that the lads retreated in haste. - -"Get out of here; go home," ordered McCarty angrily. "Go home, you -fool." - -Bob stopped and eyed him reproachfully; then, as if in obedience to an -oft-repeated lesson, he turned around and trotted back to camp. - -McCarty chuckled as he gazed after him. "That's Bob's one failing," he -said. "He will go out of his way to tackle a pole-cat. As soon as the -scent of one battle wears off he goes out and seeks another. Seems like -a regular mania with him. I sure hope he will not do as he did last -time--when he went back to camp, sneaked into my tent and went to sleep -on my cot. Whew! I had to burn my blankets and fumigate my tent before -I could sleep in it again, but I guess I had better shut up. If we talk -as we go along, we will never get near a deer." - -Thus far the boys had been traveling through low, flat woods, scantily -dotted with small pine trees and little thickets of spruces and oaks, -but soon they began to enter an entirely different kind of country. -Before them stretched a vast prairie, covered with grass and broken -here and there by rising hummocks, densely wooded with pines, oaks and -huge tropical trees. Every few hundred yards they saw grass ponds, or -little sandy-bottomed lakes of crystal-clear water. Beside one of these -little lakes the lads stopped to eat their lunch. It was full of fish -of all sizes. - -"I wish Chris was here," Walter observed. "He would have the time of -his life yanking out those big fellows." - -"Oh, he can get all the fishing he wants right close to camp," McCarty -said. "I never saw such a country for fish in my life. Any hole that is -deep enough to hold water is full of fish. Even the ditches the machine -has left behind are full of little minnows already." - -The lunch finished and washed down by draughts of clear, cold water -from the lake, the lads began searching around its sandy shore for deer -signs. They found animal tracks in abundance, and were amazed at the -number of different kinds--coons, wild-cats, foxes, deer, bears--all -seemed to have made the little lake their drinking place, and, in one -place, they came upon the padded footprint of a panther. - -"My, I wish we could put in a week hunting around this little lake," -said McCarty regretfully. "We could make a shelter not far away and -take stands here at night. But, wishing don't accomplish much, so I -guess we might as well be pushing on. Without a dog our only chance is -to work up against the wind and keep our eyes open." - -They had traveled about two miles in this manner when Walter suddenly -stopped. "Look ahead, there," he exclaimed. "Can't you see something -rising up a little above the grass?" - -"By George, you beat me to it," McCarty acknowledged. "It's a deer's -antlers. The deer must be lying down resting, or we would see its body -from here. It's hands and knees for us now. We had better keep together -and make as little noise as we can. A deer's hearing is keen." - -It was slow, hard work, crawling forward in this manner, but in the -excitement the boys did not notice the strain it put on hands and -knees. From time to time they would raise their heads cautiously and -peer ahead, to see if the deer was still there. An hour and half -of this slow traveling brought them to within a few hundred yards -of the resting animal; then it suddenly arose, and sniffed the air -suspiciously, with its head thrown back. - -"Don't move," McCarty whispered. "It's beginning to scent danger." - -The boys lay quiet for several minutes; then slowly raising their -heads, took another peep. The deer still stood broadside to them, -sniffing the air. - -"It's no use trying to get any closer," Walter whispered softly. "It's -ready to run at any minute. Better try a crack at it with your rifle. -I'll get up on my knees and you can get a rest on my shoulder." - -McCarty noiselessly obeyed, and, taking careful aim, fired. - -"I got him," he shouted, as the deer sank to its knees, but, even as -he spoke, the deer was up again and off like a flash. McCarty, taken -unawares, had to stop to eject the worthless shell and throw in a new -one, by which time the deer was far away, running in great bounds over -the prairie. - -Walter could not refrain from laughing at the expression on the other's -face. "Counted your chickens before they were hatched," he chuckled. - -"Oh, I got him all right!" declared his companion confidently. "Look at -the blood on the grass. He can't run far before he drops. See, he is -beginning to falter now." - -All the while they had been talking the boys had been hurrying after -the deer, which, although a good mile away, was still in plain sight. -Within five minutes after McCarty spoke, it suddenly disappeared. - -"It's down," McCarty cried. "Let's hurry as fast as we can. It's -getting late, and we are a good eight miles from camp." - -When they reached the deer it was dead. The bullet had passed through -the body close to the heart. McCarty produced a cord from his game bag, -and, tying its front legs to its hind ones, slung the deer upon his -back. "If you'll bring my gun, I'll manage the deer," he said. "It's a -rule of the chase that each man shall bring in his own kill." - -Walter slung the rifle over his shoulder. "I'll spell you when you get -tired," he offered. - -"I am not likely to get tired. The only thing I'm afraid of is that we -are not going to be able to make camp before dark, and, for certain -reasons, I hate to camp in this country overnight." - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -THE CONVICTS' CAMP. - - -MCCARTY took the lead, and, without hesitation, struck out due north. - -"Why, you're going the wrong way," Walter exclaimed, "or at least it -seems the wrong way to me. How do you know you're headed right?" - -McCarty grinned. "I spent lots of my spare time hunting," he explained, -"and most of it was done in a worse country than this, where one could -get lost within a couple of hundred yards of camp. That kind of hunting -develops a kind of direction instinct, as hunters call it, but which is -really a habit of observation. Now I have taken note of every turn we -have made to-day, and, although we are not going back the way we came, -I'll guarantee that we'll come out within a hundred yards of camp. But -I guess I had better stop bragging. I need all my wind to handle this -deer." - -It soon became evident that McCarty was right, and that they were not -going to be able to make camp before dark. Indeed, they had covered -not more than three miles of the distance when darkness descended upon -them. - -"It's a little risky, but I guess we can push on until the white mist -rises," said McCarty, as they halted for a moment to rest. "The moon is -bright enough for us to pick our way now, but when the mist rises we -will have to make camp for the night. I couldn't trust myself to find -my way through the fog." - -"I don't mind a night out," Walter said, "but I hate to have the -Captain worrying about us." - -"Same here," agreed McCarty. "But that cannot be helped now. Let's push -on again, and get as far as we can." - -"Well, let me take the deer for a while," Walter urged. - -"Well, I don't mind if you do, for a few minutes," McCarty admitted. -"I've carried many a one twice this distance, but that was in the day -time. This trying to pick trail and carry too is sure getting my goat." - -They had not proceeded far before McCarty stopped again. "If I am not -badly fooled, there's a campfire right ahead of us," he said. "See that -faint glow there in the darkness." - -"Good," Walter said. "We can perhaps camp for the night with them, -whoever they are." - -"Maybe," agreed his companion doubtfully. "If they are Indians, it is -all right, but I am suspicious of white men I meet in this country. -We can keep on for a ways, then one of us had better go ahead and -investigate before we walk in on them." - -"That's my part of the job," Walter exclaimed. "I'm a pretty fair -scout, if I am not much of a woodsman." - -"No," contested McCarty. "I'm better used to the kind of people we have -in this part of the country than you are." - -"Let's not quarrel about it," laughed Walter. "We can both go. Whoever -they are, they are not likely to hear us above the din of the frogs and -owls." - -As the boys drew nearer to the campfire they became silent, lest the -sound of their voices should make their presence known. When some -two hundred yards from its glow, they left the deer behind and crept -forward on hands and knees. - -It was well that they had used such precautions, for the appearance of -the group around the campfire was not reassuring. It consisted of three -white men and one negro. The four were sprawled around the fire, over -which a large turkey was hung to roast, and the firelight lit up four -of as villainous looking faces as ever existed. The boys crept close -enough to distinguish their features and hear the conversation that was -going on. - -The negro, whose face was scarred by several knife wounds, was -speaking. - -"I'se done getting tired ob dis," he was saying. "I don't like dis -hangin' around in de woods day atter day adoing nothin'. What for dat -white man send us out in dese woods foah if he don't want us to do -nothin'?" - -"Shut up," said one of his white companions curtly. "You've got no -cause to kick. If he hadn't bribed the guard at the convict camp to let -you escape, you would be working hard gathering turpentine yet." - -"You ain't got no call to talk. I reckon you was in as bad a fix as me. -Worser, 'cause de guard was just layin' foah a chance to put de whip on -youah back." - -"You two stop fussing," said the second white man in the group. "We -are all escaped convicts, one no better than the other. A man helped -us to escape, and sent us out here with a couple of months' grub and -instructions to wait his orders. That suits me. I ain't anxious to go -around any town until I get new clothes and my hair grows out, so I -will not be spotted as an ex-convict. I'm willing to do what he says -and wait for his orders." - -"Same here," agreed the fourth man. "I don't know the boss' business, -but I figure that he don't want to use violence to stop the building of -that road unless he has to. He put Murphy out of business pretty quick -by spending a little money with the engineers. Likely he's waiting to -see if he can't work some such trick on the new concern before he tries -any rough work." - -"Why don't he want the road built?" inquired one of his companions. - -"Give it up. I reckon he's just an agent for some big corporation," -said the other. "I ain't worrying my head about it. What I want is new -clothes and some money, and I reckon we will get both if we do as the -boss tells us to do." - -The talk drifted round to other topics, and the two lads crept silently -back to the deer, and, shouldering it, circled around the convicts' -camp, being careful to give it a wide berth. It was not until they had -placed a full half mile between themselves and the convicts that they -ventured to speak aloud, and by that time the white mist had begun to -rise, and McCarty stopped near a clump of small spruces. - -"No use trying to go any farther," he said. "Let's make camp here in -these spruces. We can cut some boughs and make a comfortable bed in a -few minutes." - -The spruce thicket really made a comfortable camping place. The dense -growth of spruce shut out the dampness, and the ground beneath them was -thickly carpeted with fragrant pine needles. In a few minutes the boys -had cut enough small boughs to make a comfortable bed. They were too -utterly weary to light a fire and cook any of their game. They still -had part of their lunch left, and, as soon as it was eaten, they lay -down on their couch with sighs of relief. - -"That was sure a tough-looking bunch back there," said McCarty, as he -stretched out his weary limbs. - -"And, judging from their conversation, they don't mean any good to us," -Walter commented. - -"It's queer, but I've felt all the time that some outside influence was -holding back this road building, but it was only a hunch, and I could -not be sure about it. Those fellows' talk to-night proves my hunch was -right." - -"The agent at Jupiter hinted that the Southern Dredging Co. might make -us trouble," Walter remarked. - -"The agent is mistaken," said McCarty, decidedly. "I worked for that -company for years, and, while they will try to crush any company that -gets in their way, they certainly would not take the trouble to go out -of their way to crush a little concern like ours. No, there's some -other reason for the trouble we've been having. Well, it's no use -worrying. We had better go to sleep and get what rest we can. We will -have to work to-morrow if your chum gets back with a new crew." - -The two weary lads were soon sound asleep, and did not awaken until -break of day. As it grew lighter, they were delighted to see the camp -only three miles away. McCarty had made good his boast. He had come in -a straight line from where they had killed the deer. In an hour's time -they reached the camp, where Chris and the Captain were overjoyed to -see them back. - -"If you hadn't shown up early this morning I would have been out -hunting for you," the old sailor declared. "Chris and I didn't sleep -much last night." - -"I'm glad you didn't start out," said Walter, with a grin, "for then we -would have had to turn around and hunted you up. Chris, cut off some -venison steaks and fry them for us, please. We are as hungry as wolves." - -As soon as breakfast was over the two lads went out to the machine and -took the pump to pieces, so as to have it ready for putting in the new -parts Charley was expected to bring back with him. This was all they -could do until he arrived with a new crew, so they returned to the camp -and lounged around, chatting with the Captain and Chris until they -heard the truck coming in the distance, when they went out to the road -to meet it. As it came in sight they could see that it was loaded with -men. - -"He's got them all right," Walter exclaimed with delight. - -"Yes," agreed McCarty, "he's sure got a load of them. Gosh, I hope -they are the right kind. If they are, we will soon get things running -smooth and good." - -As the truck drew near, they could see two white men on the seat beside -Charley, while the body of the car was filled with well-dressed men -with black eyes and hair and rather dark complexions. - -McCarty gave a whoop of delight. - -"Bully for your chum!" he said. "He's got some of the best class of -laborers that work in Florida." - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -CHARLEY GETS A NEW CREW. - - -CHARLEY stopped the car in front of the camp and jumped nimbly out, -followed by the two white men, whom he introduced to the two boys as -"Bob Bratten and Will Kitchner, our new engineers." Both were well -known to McCarty, and the three were soon busy recalling old times -on other jobs where they had worked together. But Walter was chiefly -interested in the new men who were climbing out of the car with their -suit-cases in their hands. - -"Gee, Charley," he whispered, "what kind of crew is this you have -brought, a bunch of tourists?" - -"They look like it, don't they?" Charley grinned. "But have you -forgotten your manners? Can't you say good day to them, at least?" - -"Good day, men," said Walter pleasantly, but his greeting was ignored, -save by one of the strange men, who had a cast in his left eye and a -humorous twist of the mouth. "Good day, _senor_," he said, with a grin. -"These men no savey Americano. Me speak Americano plentee. Four years -this country. Work plentee on dredges." - -"This is Bossie," Charley said, with a smile. "He is going to be -one of our firemen and also interpreter." He waved his hand toward -the empty tents. "Tell the men to put their things in them and make -themselves comfortable, Bossie," he said. - -"Spaniards!" exclaimed Walter. "Where in the world did you get hold of -them?" - -"Miami," said Charley happily. "I got the pick of four hundred of them -that had just been laid off from work by the East Coast Railway Co. -They have all had experience in this kind of work. There are several -firemen among them, and that Bossie could even be trusted to run the -machine, I believe. They are the best class of laborers that there -is in Florida to-day. They are cleanly, hard-working, contented and -ambitious. I've got two good engineers, too. But I must not stand here -talking. I had to leave some Spaniards in Jupiter. I could not bring -them all on one trip. I told them I'd be right back, so I will have to -go. I'll be back with them before dinner." - -"Shall we start up the machine?" Walter asked. - -"No, wait until I get back. There are some things I want to talk -over with all hands first. Here are those parts for the pump. Tell -McCarty to have it fixed up this morning, so that we can start up this -afternoon. I've got lots to talk over with you and the Captain, but -that will have to wait. So long; I'll be back in a couple of hours." - -Walter watched the truck out of sight with a grin. "He sure is doing -some hustling," he said to himself. - -Before noon, Charley was back with the second load of Spaniards, and -he also brought a yellow-skinned negro lad of about Chris' size and -age. The Spaniards immediately made their way to the tents where their -fellow countrymen had already unpacked and changed their fine clothes -for overalls and jumpers. - -Charley led the little negro to the cook tent, and lifted up the flap. -"Here's your assistant, Chris," he said. "I hope he will give you -satisfaction." He stepped quickly outside again, but stopped there, -with a grin on his face, and beckoned to Walter to listen to the -conversation that was going on inside. - -"Hello, nigger," Chris was saying. "Where you come from?" - -"Bimini," said the other negro meekly. - -"Dat's where dey raise de laziest niggers in de world," Chris -commented. "What's your name?" - -"Sam Roberts," responded the cowed assistant. - -"All right, you Sam. You get to work an' set dem tables, 'cause -dinner's going to be ready mighty soon. After dinner I'll decide jus' -what I wants you to do each day. Get to work dar widout no grumbling. -I'se de boss in dis cook tent, an', if you don't do like I says, I'se -goin' to gib you a worse lickin' dan youah mammy ebber gib you." - -When they were called to dinner later, it was to find the new -assistant, shiny-faced from soap and water, serving hot venison steaks -and mashed potatoes to both tables, while Chris watched him with a -critical eye. - -The two new engineers proved to be pleasant, healthy, vigorous, young -men, and, before the dinner was over, those at the American table had -got well acquainted with each other, while the Spaniards at the next -table chattered noisily like a lot of magpies. - -"I wish you would all come over to my tent," Charley requested, when -the meal was over. "I want to say a few words to you before we start -work." - -When they had all collected in the little tent, the lad spoke out -frankly. "This is rather an uncertain piece of work we are on, -friends," he said; "and it largely depends upon you whether we can -carry it through. We are pressed for time to complete it, and we have -pretty nearly reached the end of our capital. Some unknown enemy is -trying to stop or delay the work, for some reason I do not understand. -If you will all do your best, I believe we will pull out all right, but -it's going to be close work. Two things we must do: keep the machine -running, and beware of all strangers. Allow no stranger to come near -the machine. McCarty has been longest on this job, so when you are in -doubt about anything you can consult him. Now you can fix the watches -to suit yourselves and pick your crews." - -The question of shifts and crews was quickly settled between the -engineers, Bob Bratton taking the first watch, from 12:00 o'clock until -8:00 o'clock at night. From 8:00 P. M. until 4:00 A. M. would be Will -Kitchner's watch, while McCarty's trick would be from 4:00 A. M. until -noon. This order, they agreed, should be changed each week, so that one -man would not have to do all the night work. Each engineer understood -some Spanish, and they soon picked out experienced firemen and ground -men from among the Spaniards. As soon as all was settled, Bratton, with -his crew, left for the machine, and the rest dispersed, to get things -settled in their tents and to gain a little rest before it came their -turn to go on duty. - -As soon as our little party was alone, Walter related to the others the -finding of the dynamite under the machine, and the presence of the four -convicts in the near neighborhood. - -"There's something big going on, but I can't imagine what it is," -Charley said gravely. - -"I reckon this road building is interfering with someone's plans, or -they wouldn't be wanting to stop it," Captain Westfield observed. - -"Sure," Walter agreed, "but who is this somebody, and what is his plan -that we are interfering with?" - -"I expect we will get a clew to that before long," Charley said -thoughtfully. "As soon as they see we are going to push things they -will likely try to stop us. They got at Murphy through his engineers, -apparently. But they can't get at us in that way. In fact, I don't -see any way they can get at us, if we are careful and keep a sharp -lookout. We've got good engineers, and a good crew, now, and I brought -out two extra men, so as to have plenty of help in case of sickness or -accident." - -"How about those convicts?" Walter asked. - -"I'm going in day after to-morrow for the supplies I ordered from -Jacksonville, and I'll telegraph the sheriff about them," Charley -said promptly. "I guess he will lose no time in recapturing them. In -the meantime we will just have to watch out for them, that's all. I -guess, Walt, you'd better give up the idea of firing--for a while, at -any rate. I'll have to spend most of my time running around, and the -Captain will be busy with the graders. It needs someone to keep a sharp -lookout for any possible trouble or danger." - -"All right," agreed Walter cheerfully. "I'll stay wherever you put me." - -Further conversation was interrupted by one long whistle coming from -the machine. - -"He's got his boiler filled and is ready to start," Charley exclaimed. -"Come on; we don't want to miss the start." His three chums were close -at his heels, as he hurried out to the machine. Bratton saw them -coming, and waited. - -"Thought you might like to break a bottle of wine over her before we -started," he said, with a grin. He swung the powerful machine around -and began to dig. - -Our little party watched with admiration the ease and dexterity with -which he handled the heavy, panting machine. Each time the big bucket -dumped its load of mud in exactly the right spot, as though placed -there by hand. - -They lounged around the machine the greater part of the afternoon, -watching with delight the steady progress being made. Except for brief -stops, to take on wood and water, the bucket swung back and forth with -the regularity of clockwork. - -All the way back to camp Charley was silent. "Captain," he asked -finally, "do you think you can handle that grading with three men?" - -"I reckon so," said the old sailor. "Why?" - -"If you can, I want to put the other two men on as night watchmen to -guard the camp." - -"Whew!" whistled Walter. "You must be looking for trouble." - -"There's nothing like being prepared for it," Charley replied grimly. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -LOOKING AHEAD. - - -AS soon as our little party got back to camp, Charley called together -the Spaniards not yet assigned to duty, and had the Captain select the -three men he wanted for graders. Although both Walter and Charley could -speak and understand a little Spanish, the old sailor could not speak a -word of it, and he was careful to pick out three men who understood a -few words of English. Out of the remainder Charley selected two to go -ahead of the machine, to clear its path of trees and to dynamite the -larger stumps. Two men were assigned as bridge builders, for at every -thousand feet a gap must be left in the road for the back water to pass -through during the rainy season. A big, strapping fellow, over six feet -tall, was named as assistant for the teamster, and the remaining two -Spaniards were named as night guards. All but the night guards were to -go to work next morning. To each one Charley explained that they must -not permit any strangers to come near either camp or machine. If they -saw any strangers, except Indians, they were to report it to him at -once, or, if he was not in camp, they must report it to Walter. - -"That ought to protect us pretty well," he remarked to his chums, after -the Spaniards had dispersed, chattering over the jobs that had been -assigned to them. "In the day time, the bridge builders will guard our -rear, and the right-of-way men will be the same as scouts in front, -while you will be watching all around generally. There will always be a -crew on the machine, and the teamster and his helpers will be of some -use as scouts in their work. That ought to prevent any chance of our -being taken by surprise." - -"You talk as though you were preparing for war," Walter remarked. - -"It does sound that way," his chum admitted. "I've got a hunch that -we are going to see trouble as soon as those convicts get word to -their boss that the machine is running again. Judging from what has -been attempted already, our mysterious enemies will stop at nothing to -accomplish their purpose." - -"It's like fighting in the dark," Walter commented. "If we only knew -just what we are up against, we would know better what to expect. This -mystery business is something I don't fancy." - -"It's up to us to solve it," said his chum; "and I'm going to have a -try at the job to-morrow. It's comforting, anyway, to hear that machine -working so steadily. That Bratton is sure doing some digging. Hear how -regular that bucket is dumped. I wonder what those two long and two -short whistles mean." - -"That's the signal to move track and back up," said Walter, proud of -his newly acquired knowledge. "One short whistle means go ahead, three -long ones are for the teamster; four long ones are the distress signal, -and five long ones is the signal for everyone to come to the machine." - -"The men must all be told what that last signal means," said Charley -thoughtfully. "It may come handy some time." - -As night drew near, the resting crews emerged, yawning, from their -tents, and began to prepare for their night's work. Lanterns were -filled and cleaned and working clothes donned. Chris, with his -assistant's help, filled up a large basket with food, which, at -sundown, was sent out to the workers on the machine. - -Supper was eaten, and all the Americans gathered around the campfire -and told stories and jokes in its genial glow. The Spaniards built -another fire, in front of their own tents, and sang Spanish songs to -the accompaniment of a couple of mandolins, while Chris and Sam, his -new assistant, lounging in the cook tent, talked lovingly about their -own country, the poverty-stricken Bahama Islands. - -"This is a mighty different camp from what it was four days ago," -remarked McCarty. "There was no music or laughing going on then. All -you could hear was grumbling and cursing. Believe me, I like this new -order better." - -When 8 o'clock came, Kitchner called his crew and left for the machine, -from which soon came Bratton with his tired crew. "Digging's good," he -said, in answer to McCarty's questions. "She's hitting a little rock, -but it's soft and digs easy. I struck one dead head, but got it out -without much trouble." - -"What's a dead head?" Walter asked. - -"Submerged stumps or trees," McCarty explained. "We often come upon -them in our digging. They are generally big, hard as iron, and mean to -get out. One does not see them until the bucket hits them, and then the -machine is too close to use dynamite." - -"Queer," the other commented. - -"Yes," McCarty agreed. "There are forests buried below us, I suppose. -The process of building up and tearing down goes on all the time. In -the centuries to come, likely, these trees around us will be buried in -turn, and another forest rise above them." - -"The Lord moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform," quoted the -Captain reverently. - -While this conversation was going on, Charley had slipped away from -the little circle unnoticed, and stepped softly out into the darkness. -He had not gone far before he was halted by an abrupt challenge and a -leveled rifle. - -"It's the boss," he said, in answer to the challenge. "Where's Gomez?" - -"Gomez is on the other side of the camp," answered the sentinel in -Spanish. "Each of us make a half circle of camp, meet, and turn back -again. No one can go or come unnoticed." - -"_Esto bueno. Bueno nosche, hombre._" (It is good. Good night, man.) - -"_Bueno nosche, senor_," replied the Spaniard politely, and Charley -strolled back to the fire, satisfied that the night guards were doing -their duty. - -"Jim," he said, to the teamster, "I want to use one of the mules -to-morrow. You've got enough wood hauled to last a couple of days. You -can keep right on chopping while I'm gone. Take Juan out with you. He -is to be your regular helper. Now, which mule had I better take?" - -"Going to ride?" inquired the teamster. - -"Yes." - -"Waal," he said thoughtfully, "Violet will throw you the furthest, but -Pansy might kick you while you're down." - -"I'll take Violet," decided the lad, with a grin. "I object to being -kicked when I'm down." - -"I'm going to take a ride ahead to-morrow," he told his chum, when the -rest had retired. "I am in hopes that I may hit on some clew to this -mystery. At any rate I will look over the route we have to take, and -see what we have got to encounter. I ought to have done that before we -bought Murphy out. Well, here goes for bed. I am going to get an early -start in the morning." - -His intentions were sincere, but he slept so soundly that he did not -awaken until the general call for breakfast. While he was eating Chris -put up a lunch for him, and, when he was through, Jim, the teamster, -accompanied him out to the corral. "I'll put the bridle on Violet for -you," he offered. "She sorter objects to strangers fooling around her -mouth." - -"All right," Charley agreed, but it was with some little secret dismay -that he viewed the towering, powerful mule, as Jim bridled it, and, -throwing a sack over its back, led it out of the corral. - -It was too late to back out without chaffing, for the whole camp had -paused on its way to work, to watch the proceedings. - -"Lead it out on the grade and give me a hand up," he ordered, and Jim -meekly obeyed. Charley placed his foot in the teamster's hand and -swung himself lightly astride of the mule, while the teamster jumped -hurriedly back. - -"Get up," Charley said, as he gathered up the reins. Down went the -mule's head, and up and down went its hind part, in a series of -jolting, jarring bucks. - -"Give it the whip," howled Walter in delight. - -But Charley was too busy to heed advice. He grasped desperately at the -mule's mane to save himself, but it was too short for a hand-hold, and -over the mule's head he went, to land ten feet away in the soft sand -with a thud that made his teeth ache. - -Slowly he picked himself up, and, rubbing the sand out of his eyes, -looked back. The mule was nibbling placidly at a bit of grass, and -behind it the whole camp was howling with laughter. - -"I really think," remarked the teamster critically, "that you could do -better with a saddle on." - -"Saddle," exclaimed Charley wrathfully, "have you got a saddle?" - -"Got a good one over in my tent. I 'lowed you preferred to ride bare -back. Some do, you know." - -Charley glared at him with suspicion, but the Missourian's pale-blue -eyes met his with a look of entire innocence. - -"I guess I could do better with a saddle," agreed the lad dryly. "Go -and get it, if you please." - -Even with the saddle on, it was all he could do to retain his seat as -the mule bucked up and down. But the teamster at last gave it a whack -with a stick over the hind quarters and started it off on a run. For -one fleeting second Charley glanced back at the grinning faces behind, -then he settled down in the saddle and strove to master the vicious -brute. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -SCOUTING. - - -FORTUNATELY for Charley the newly-leveled road was still so unpacked -and soft that the mule quickly tired, with its feet at every stride -sinking to the fetlocks, and, before it reached the end of the grade, -the lad had it under control. At the end of the grade lay the heaps of -soft sand and mud the machine had lately thrown out. He must cross the -ditch in order to get around the machine and do it before he reached -the ant-like hills of dirt. He rose in his stirrups and surveyed the -ditch ahead. It was about eight feet wide and several feet in depth, -and in many places the bottom was nothing more than liquid mud. Picking -out a place where the bottom showed white sand, the lad headed the -mule for the ditch, and, as it hesitated for a moment on the edge, he -brought his whip down smartly on its flank. With a snort of rage the -mule leaped forward, clearing the ditch by a full two feet. It was a -wonderful jump, and Charley settled back in the saddle with a sigh of -relief. "You're sure some jumper, Violet," he said. - -Skirting the edge of the ditch until he had passed the machine the -lad regained the old road and rode slowly along, examining closely -the route the machine would have to take. This was indicated by the -surveyors' stakes, pieces of lath stuck into the ground every hundred -feet. For the most part the stakes followed the line of the old road, -departing from it only where the road turned and twisted, and Charley -was able to follow them easily. The surveyor had done his work well. -Every hundred feet had its stake, and on each stake was marked in blue -pencil the number of the stake and the number of feet the new road -should be graded to make it level. A full sense of the magnitude of -the task they had undertaken came upon the lad, as he followed up the -never-ending line of stakes. Here they led through a little hummock of -dense growth, where it would be a fearful job to clear away the timber -and dynamite the stumps. Beyond the hummock they crossed stretches of -prairie or pine barrens, or skirted the treacherously soft edges of saw -grass ponds, only to enter another hummock beyond. Charley gave a sigh -of relief when the stakes joined the old road again. "There's sure some -bad digging in those hummocks and around the edges of those ponds," he -said to himself, "and how easy it will be for our enemies to tie up the -machine for weeks, break us financially, and drive us off this job, if -they just do one simple little thing that a child ought to think of. I -guess it is because the thing is so simple that they have not thought -of it." - -The reason for the stakes following the old road so steadily soon -became apparent, for a little farther on it entered the thickest jungle -the lad had ever seen. On both sides rose gigantic trees, matted -together by great entwining creepers, and on each side of the road lay -stagnant pools of water, covered with nauseous-smelling green slime. -Not a sound of life came from the jungle's gloomy depths. The only -living things seemed to be the huge, sluggish moccasins that slipped -noiselessly from the road into the pools as the mule approached. -Evidently the surveyor had decided that the old road was the only -feasible route through the jungle. - -Suddenly Charley ducked his head, as a whining, singing sound, passed -over him. He had heard that whining message before, and knew it for -what it was. - -"A rifle bullet," he ejaculated, bewildered, as he reined in the mule -and looked around. But no powder smoke met his searching gaze, and no -report followed the bullet's whine. - -Again it came, that menacing, whining sound, and from a tree close -beside where he sat on the mule an inch-thick branch rattled to the -ground, cut clean from the tree by the bullet. - -Still Charley remained motionless, not knowing which way to go, -backward or forward, but the next whining bullet decided the matter for -him. It plowed a bit of skin from the mule's flank, and the startled -animal, leaping forward, began to run. By the time the lad got it under -control they were half a mile from where the shooting had taken place. - -"Whew! That was almost uncanny," the lad muttered to himself. "No -smoke, no report, nothing but the whizzing of the bullets. It was -not any native of these parts doing that firing, that's a cinch. The -Indians and cowmen do not know that there are such things in existence -as smokeless powder and Maxim silencers." - -The weird jungle proved to be about two miles across, and Charley soon, -with a feeling of relief, rode out into a pleasant, open country, -dotted with small, clear-water lakes. He now began to come upon signs -of life: cows grazing on the short, crisp grass; hogs rooting in the -soft, muddy places. He grinned, as, turning a curve in the road, he -came suddenly upon a group of Indian maidens, bathing in a little lake, -and who, with shrill cries, bolted for the cover of a thicket when they -spied him. Charley, with a grin on his face, kept his head turned the -other way as he rode past. Not long after passing them he began to come -upon patches of cultivated ground, and the thatched-roofed, open-walled -dwellings of the Indians. At the first dwelling he dismounted and -fastened the mule to a tree. The Indians from all the shelters crowded -around him with eager greetings. He was delighted to find among the -crowd many whom he had met before in the Everglades. These were -apparently delighted to see him, and gravely made him acquainted with -the rest of the tribe, which was composed of about one hundred braves, -besides women and children. They insisted upon his having dinner with -them. They fed and watched the mule, and altogether made him feel -that he was among friends. For his part Charley was astonished at the -evidences of prosperity this tribe exhibited. Their ponies, dress, and -dwellings were far superior to any other tribes that he had ever met -up with. But what astonished him most was the patches of cultivated -ground. Never before had he seen such a wonderful growth of corn, yams, -melons, and pumpkins. - -After a dinner of stewed venison, yams, and melon, Charley began to ask -the questions that had brought him out on his lonely ride. The Indians -answered them readily. "Yes, they had seen white men--strangers. There -had been several out as far as Indiantown. Sometimes they came two or -three together. Sometimes one would come alone. They would camp for -one sleep, then return to town and be seen no more. One there was who -came often--a little man, with a beard like a spade. No, they did -not know what the strangers' business was so far out from town. They -carried guns, but seemed to kill no game." Mr. Bower, the man who kept -the trading-post two miles farther out, might be able to tell him more -about the strangers. - -So Charley mounted the mule again, and rode out to the trading-post. -The road led direct to the little store hut, which was surrounded by -a magnificent grove of oranges and grape fruit. Mr. Bowers, a fat, -jovial-looking man, greeted him cordially, but could tell him nothing -more about the strangers than he had already learned from the Indians. -One fact he did learn, however, none of the visitors ever went beyond -the trading-post. The lad then knew the clew for which he was looking -must lie somewhere between the trading-post and the machine. - -"We are meeting with some opposition in our road-building," Charley -explained frankly, "and I did not know but what it might come through -you cattle owners objecting to having your grazing lands thrown open to -new settlers." - -"Lord, no!" exclaimed Mr. Bowers, in frank surprise. "We have been -trying to get that road out here for years. There's only half a -dozen of us scattered between here and the big lake, and it has been -hard work forcing the county commissioners to have the road built. -Of course, we want the road. Our oranges rot on the trees now every -season, because we are not able to haul them through the mud to the -railroad. Our groves, with that road opened, would be worth more than -our cattle. What if it does bring in new settlers? They will help to -make our groves and lands still more valuable. If any one tries to hold -up that road-building we will fix him if we can get our hands on him." - -It was well along in the afternoon when Charley bade the genial Mr. -Bowers good-by and headed his mule back for camp. He alighted at -the Indian camp for a moment, to examine the land, which seemed so -wonderfully fertile. On the surface it appeared sandy and like other -pine land, but a couple of feet below the surface he came upon a kind -of soft, grayish rock. He dug out several pieces with his knife, -dropped them in his game bag, and, remounting and waving a last -farewell to the Seminoles, he proceeded on his homeward way. - -It was with a feeling of dread that he rode back through the jungle, -expecting every minute to feel the impact of a bullet. But he emerged -safely on the other side without any message from the hidden enemies. -Darkness fell soon after he left the jungle, but he merely let slack -the reins and trusted to his animal's instinct to find the way home. -Soon he spied the lights of the machine in the distance, and a half -hour later he dismounted at the camp, aching and sore in every muscle -of his body, and discouraged over his fruitless trip. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -THE FIRST BLOW. - - -"THIS mystery business just seems to get thicker and thicker," Captain -Westfield remarked, when Charley had finished relating his experience -of the day. "Smokeless powder and Maxim silencers are no ways common -out in these woods." - -"It startled me for a minute," Charley admitted. "No smoke, no -sound--just the whine of the bullets coming out of that frightful -jungle got me for a while. I did not know which way to go, forward -or back. I don't know whether they meant to kill me or not, but they -pretty nearly scared me to death." - -"Did you meet a little man with a spade-like beard?" Walter asked. - -"No," said his chum. "Was there one here?" - -"Yes. He was on horseback, and came from the direction of Jupiter. The -bridge builders stopped him and sent in word to me. I went out and -escorted him by the machine. He said his name was Jones, and that he -had a young orange grove out near Indiantown." - -"You did not let him go near the machine, did you?" Charley inquired -anxiously. - -"I did not," said his chum emphatically. "He wanted to stop and chat -with the engineers, but I told him we did not permit anyone around the -machine but our own men, and he rode on." - -"Funny," Charley observed. "I did not meet him. He must have turned off -into the woods somewhere. I wish I had got a glimpse of him. I have an -idea that he is the boss those convicts were talking about." - -"He was a mild-mannered, kind of timid-looking, little man," Walter -objected. "He did not look as though he would hurt a fly." - -"Mild-appearing men are sometimes the worst of all," Charley observed, -as he stretched out on his cot. "Gee! but I am tired enough for a -twenty-four hours' sleep." - -But, tired as he was, the lad could not go to sleep. His active brain -kept turning over every event that had occurred, in a vain search for -a clew as to who their enemies were, and what was their purpose. That -they would resort to desperate measures, if necessary, he had not the -slightest doubt. The placing of the dynamite under the machine, the -presence of the convicts, and the shots in the jungle, proved that. It -must be a powerful motive that would induce men to go so far. For all -his knowledge of the state and its people, the lad could not think of -anything in this wild, remote country that would tempt men to risk the -hangman's rope. - -Suddenly the lad raised himself on his arm again and listened. One of -the sentinels had cried "Halt!" Then in quick succession came repeated -cries of "Halt! Halt! Halt!" and then a shot. - -Charley leaped from his cot, calling his companions, and, quickly -lighting a lantern, found his rifle. But, before he could pull on his -shoes, the flap of the tent was thrown open, and one of the sentinels, -white-faced and trembling, rushed in. - -"Me killie de man! Me killie de man!" he cried in broken English. - -By this time both the Captain and Walter were awake, and the three -gathered around the guard, somewhat pale themselves, for they were not -the kind that value human life lightly. - -"Go on, and tell us all about it," commanded Charley. "Talk Spanish." - -The guard broke into a torrent of words. "He had seen the man -approaching in the mist. Four times he had called to him to halt but -the man kept coming on. Then he had fired and the man had dropped, and -now he, Gomez, would be hung." - -The chums had been pulling on their shoes and pants as they listened to -the frightened Spaniard, and now seizing their automatics and giving -the guard the lantern, they told him to lead the way to where the man -lay. - -It was but a short way from the tents, that the Spaniard stopped and -pointed ahead. "There he lies," he said. "I do not want to gaze on him. -May the Blessed Virgin forgive me for his death." - -The boys, peering into the mist, could dimly see a dark form lying on -the ground ahead of them. - -Charley snatched the lantern from the Spaniard's shaking hand and -darted ahead. A few steps brought him to the motionless form. When the -lantern's light fell upon it, he gave a howl of laughter, for, instead -of lighting up the pale face of a dead man, as he had expected, its -rays revealed the form of a small black bear. - -At the sound of his laughter, Gomez timidly approached. His delight was -unbounded when he found out that it was a bear and not a man he had -killed. The four of them picked up the bear and carried it back to the -cook tent. - -"Where is Lavinia, Gomez?" Charley asked as they laid the bear down -near the tent. "Why did he not come to your aid when you fired?" - -The Spaniard shrugged his shoulders. "I have not seen him since I shot. -He is afraid maybe. Maybe he climb up a tree." - -But Charley did not join in the Spaniard's laugh; instead, he picked up -the lantern. "Come on," he said shortly. "Let's see what has become of -him." - -Already the guards had tramped a beaten track around the camp and -it was not difficult to find where Lavinia had made his half of the -circle. Midway of it lay the Spaniard, face down on the ground. - -"Esto Morta (he is dead)!" cried Gomez. - -"No," Charley said, as he felt of the man's wrist. "He has just -fainted, I guess. Give me a hand and we will carry him into our tent. -We don't want to rouse up the whole camp and get every one excited." - -They bore the Spaniard into their own tent and laid him on Charley's -cot. A sprinkling of cold water in his face, and a small drink of -liquor quickly brought the man to his senses. "What's the matter with -you?" Charley asked when the Spaniard had emerged from his stupor. - -"I do not know, senor," replied the guard. "Everything go black all of -a sudden. I know nothing more--head hurts more now bad." - -Charley examined his head. "The skin is broken a little," he said. "I -guess you must have hit it against something when you fell. How do you -feel now? Feel able to get over to your tent and get to bed?" - -"I go back on guard," the man said as he staggered to his feet. "I feel -all right again pretty soon," but as he still appeared half dazed the -lad insisted on his going to his tent. Gomez was sent back on guard -and Charley took the sick man's place. Both the Captain and Walter -offered to take the guard duty, but Charley refused. - -"You both have to work to-morrow," he said, "while I will have most -of the day to rest up in. I don't feel the least bit sleepy now," and -in truth he did not. This new incident had given him fresh food for -thought. It had needed only a glance at the wound on Lavinia's head -to convince him that it had been made by a bullet. If he had had the -slightest doubt, it would have been dispelled by the fact that they had -found the Spaniard lying face down. Their hidden enemies were getting -bold. - -When daylight came the weary, troubled lad drank a cup of coffee Chris -had ready for him and tumbled down on his cot for a few hours' sleep. -He was up again before noon, and after a hasty lunch he drove the truck -into Jupiter after the supplies he had ordered from Jacksonville. He -found them waiting for him, and after loading them on the truck, he -wrote out a telegram to the sheriff and handed it to the agent, who -whistled as he read it over. "There's a big reward offered for those -four men," he commented as he clicked off the message with his key. -"They are all four of them desperate characters. I guess I'll wait for -the sheriff's reply;" then Charley said: "If there's a reward in it, we -might want our share. Money isn't any too plentiful with us yet. By the -way," he continued, "do you know a little man with mild blue eyes and -a spade-like beard that goes by the name of Jones?" - -"I don't know him, but I see him quite often," said the friendly agent. -"He comes and goes here quite frequently, generally on night trains. -He gets a lot of telegrams here. Most of them come from the state -capital and New York. They are all code messages, that I can't make -head or tail of. Everyone here in town knows him, but nobody knows his -business, which is unusual in a little town like this. When he comes -here he generally hires a horse and spends most of his time riding out -in the woods. There, that's the reply to your message, I guess." He -scribbled rapidly on a telegraph blank while the instrument clicked -noisily. "That satisfactory?" he asked, as he tossed the sheet to -Charley with a smile. - -"Sure," Charley grinned, as he read: - - "SHERIFF'S OFFICE, - Palm Beach Co. - - "The four escaped convicts you described are desperate - characters--$500 reward offered for the capture of - each. We'll divide reward. Too late to come to-day. - Will come out by auto to-morrow morning and bring - posse." - - "SHERIFF." - -It was almost dark when Charley got back to camp with his load, and he -was thoroughly tired out, but he felt happier in spirits than he had -in many days. - -"We've only got one more night of suspense to go through," he told his -chums, over the campfire. "The sheriff will be out in the morning, -with his posse, and that will dispose of the convicts, make us $1,000 -richer, and we will have peace for a while, I hope. Has that little -man, Jones, come back yet, Walt?" - -"Haven't seen anything of him," his chum replied. "The convicts are -still camped in the same place. At any rate I can see the smoke of -their campfire from the machine." - -"Good!" Charley exclaimed. "You fellows can sit up and talk, as long as -you want to--I'm going to bed. I'm dead tired." - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -FIGHTING THE FIRE. - - -MIDNIGHT and the silence of sleep hung over the little camp, when -suddenly there came the shriek of the whistle from the machine, four -long blasts--the distress signal--and from their lines the guards came -running in, crying, "Fire! Fire!" - -Our little party, awakened by the din, stopped only to slip on their -shoes, and when they emerged from the tent it was to find the Spaniards -half-dressed, pouring out of their shelters. One glance was all that -was needed to take in the situation. Not half a mile distant from the -camp the prairie was a mass of flames. A strong wind was blowing from -the north, and it was rapidly sweeping the flames down upon the little -camp. - -"My!" exclaimed Walter. "It looks as though we were goners, all right." - -"Let's fight as long as we can, anyway," said Charley, who was rapidly -making his plans. "Captain, get all the buckets out of the cook tent, -and set half the men to wetting down the tents; the other half will -come with me. Walt, come with me, also. Come on, men. Each of you -bring along a big spruce limb with you." - -"We have got to fight fire with fire," he explained to Walter, as -he headed for the path the guards had trod down in the grass. "Just -outside the path is the best place to start a back fire. The path will -help to keep it from working back on the tents." - -The two lads tore up big bunches of dry grass, and, lighting them, ran -along the half-circle path, scattering fire as they went. The Spaniards -were quick to catch the idea, and, stationing themselves at regular -intervals along the path, with their green spruce boughs they beat out -the flames that leaped the little path and threatened the tents. The -prairie grass was knee high, and as dry as tinder, and, although the -wind was against it, the back fire ate its way steadily back toward the -leaping flames. - -"We have done all we can," said Charley to his chum, as they stood -watching anxiously the approach of the flames. "It's a toss-up whether -we will win or not. If our camp goes, we are done for, that's all. We -haven't got the money to refit again. My! that would be a wonderful -sight to enjoy if our future wasn't hanging in the balance." - -It was, indeed, a wonderful sight. The fire, now scarcely a quarter -of a mile away, was sweeping steadily down upon them, a solid wall of -flame ten feet high licking up the dry grass with a roaring cackle -like a mighty wind in a forest, while toward it the back fire was -slowly but steadily eating its way. The space between the two fires -was as bright as day, and in it the lads could see scores of animals, -running bewildered here and there, trapped between the two lines of -flames: deer, coons, wild-cats and foxes ran back and forth in frantic -terror. Within twenty feet of where the boys stood a lithe form cleared -the flames of the back fire in a mighty leap, and rushed by the tents, -heedless of the presence of human beings in its mad flight for safety. - -"A panther," commented Charley briefly, as the terror-stricken animal -rushed by. - -During all this time the other occupants of the camp had not been idle. -Under the Captain's directions, his gang of Spaniards had formed a -bucket line from the ditch to the tents, and they soon had the little -dwellings dripping with water. The teamster had got his frightened -mules out of the corral and led them to a place of safety on the grade, -and the two engineers had run the truck out on the road beyond the -line of flames. Their tasks done, all--Americans and Spaniards--worked -to get their most valuable possessions to a place on the grade were -they would be safe. They had but little time to work, however, for the -intense heat soon drove them back to the road, where they gathered -together and watched anxiously the meeting of the fires. They had not -long to wait. With a roar, in which was mingled the cries of the -tortured animals, the advancing wall of fire swept down on the thin -line of back fire. Our little party held their breath and waited. If -the wall of flame leaped the dozen or so feet the back fire had eaten -away, their camp was gone. Five minutes and a transformation had taken -place. Of the mighty conflagration nothing remained but the blacked, -smoking dirt of the prairie. The back fire had vanquished its mighty -rival. But the danger was not yet over. The wind had swept bits of -blazing grass down among the tents, and tiny fires were springing up in -a hundred different places. These the boys and their followers beat out -with the green branches of the spruces. It was a full half hour before -the last of them was extinguished, and they were able to stop and rest, -and take account of the damage done. No one was seriously hurt, but all -bore marks of the conflict, in the way of burned clothing, singed hair, -and blisters, but all were too happy over the saving of the camp to pay -much attention to these minor injuries. - -"Whew! that was a close shave," said Walter; "but all's well that ends -well. By the way, I didn't see anything of McCarty and his crew. I -should have thought he would have come in with his men and given us a -hand." - -"Perhaps he has had his hands full out there," suggested Captain -Westfield. "Maybe that fire was just set so as to draw the men off the -machine." - -"I never thought of that," said Charley, anxiously. "The fire drove -everything else out of my head. Let's go out and see what's the matter. -The machine isn't running." - -As if in answer to their conversation, there came from the machine -three long blasts of the whistle, a pause, then four long blasts. - -"The signal for the wagon, and the distress signal," Walter cried. - -The three lads went forward on the run, followed by half a dozen -curious Spaniards. The Captain remained behind to keep an eye on the -camp. - -The boys were half way to the machine when the signals sounded -again--three long blasts, followed by four long blasts. - -Panting, they reached the machine, and clambered up on the steel -platform, where the fireman and the two ground men were grouped around -McCarty, who lay motionless, with his head in a little pool of blood. - -Charley dropped to his knees beside the prostrate lad and felt for his -pulse. "He is alive, all right," he exclaimed. "We'll have to get him -to camp before we can do anything for him. Bossie, how did this happen?" - -"Two men climb aboard while we standing still looking at fire," said -the excited fireman. "McCarty no see them. I no see them. We busy -watching fire, ground men busy watching fire, too. I no see them till -there come a crack and McCarty falls. Man hit him over the head with a -gun. Other man hit at me. I dodge. I got steam hose in my hand. I turn -steam hose on two men. It burn them, plentee. They yell plentee. They -drop guns. Run, plentee run." - -By the time he had finished his narrative, the wagon had arrived, and -McCarty was gently lifted and placed in it, and the wagon headed back -for camp. - -"Please stay by the machine, Walt," Charley requested, as he took his -seat in the wagon and pillowed McCarty's head in his lap. "I'll send -one of the engineers to take McCarty's place as soon as I get to camp." - -As soon as the wagon had gone Walter took one of the ground men's -lanterns, and looked around for the guns Bossie claimed the strange -assailants had dropped. He found both, half buried in the soft sand -beside the car. They were Savage rifles, of the latest make, equipped -with Maxim silencers. The lad ejected one of the cartridges, and prying -out the bullet, examined the powder. It was high-grade smokeless. He -gave one of the rifles to Bossie, much to the fireman's delight. "I -think," said the Spaniard in his quaint English, "I think this be much -more better than steam." The other rifle the lad gave to the ground -man, with instructions to keep it always with him. He was showing -them how to operate it, when Bob Bratton arrived to take McCarty's -place. Bob grinned as he saw the Spaniards awkwardly handling their -new weapons. "They are more likely to shoot themselves than one of the -enemy," he commented, "but I guess it will make them feel safe to have -a gun along with them." - -"How's McCarty?" Walter asked, anxiously. - -"Oh, he's come too, all right," answered the other carelessly. "He got -a pretty good crack over the head, but it didn't break the skull any. -He'll be all right in a couple of days. Meanwhile," he added, with a -sigh, "Will and I will have to work twelve-hour shifts." - -"Are you not afraid to work nights, with all the queer things that are -going on around us?" Walter asked curiously. - -The other laughed frankly. "Thunder, no," he said. "Dredge men get used -to danger. It's around them all the time. Why, kid, when we are working -in the Everglades, it is often impossible to hire men to work in the -rotten mud, and then we have to go to the jails and convict camps to -get our labor. I've worked on jobs there that there were no free men on -the payroll but the engineers. All the rest were men working out their -fines, and every last one of them eager to crack the engineers over -the head and get away. Bosh! This job is a cinch compared with some -jobs we have all worked on." - -The sun was rising when Walter started back to camp. He had only gone a -few steps when he stopped and waited. From the direction of Indiantown, -a horseman was approaching the machine. The waiting lad recognized the -pony and its rider. It was the little man whom he had escorted past the -machine a couple of days before. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -THE CONVICTS. - - -WALTER stepped back of the machine, where he could not be seen, and -watched the little man approach. He was curious to see if Mr. Jones -would attempt to speak to the engineer after the warning he had given -him. - -Just before he reached the machine the little man turned off the road -and rode along the other side of the ditch. When opposite the machine, -he reined in his pony and hailed the engineer. Bratton stopped the -machine for a second. "Go on," he shouted. "No strangers are allowed -near this machine." - -"I just want to talk to you for a minute," said the little man. - -"Nothing doing," answered Bratton shortly. "I don't talk with strangers -when I am on duty. Go on. Get out of the way." But the little man still -persisted. Bratton swung the machine around, and winked at Walter, as -the bucket gathered up its huge load of mud. Like lightning the huge -boom swung around, and the avalanche of mud descended at the pony's -feet. The frightened animal leaped forward, almost unseating its -rider. Walter hurried forward to meet the little man, as he crossed the -ditch to the graded road. "I thought I told you the other day that we -allowed no one to bother our engineers, Mr. Jones," he said severely. - -"I beg your pardon. I had forgotten that," said the little man mildly. -"Really, that engineer acted very rude. I merely wanted to ask him a -simple little question." - -"You can address your questions to me or one of my chums, hereafter," -said Walter stiffly. - -"I merely wanted to ask if he had chanced to see anything of my -glasses. I dropped them along the road somewhere, and really I am quite -helpless without them." - -"I'll inquire at the camp if anything has been seen of them," said the -lad briefly. - -"I have ridden a long ways this morning," continued Mr. Jones, "and I -am very hungry. I wonder if I could get a bite to eat at your camp." - -Walter hesitated. He did not like to have the man stop at camp, but -he disliked to refuse such a simple request, when, after all, the man -might be harmless and well-meaning. - -"You may stay and have breakfast with us, if you wish," he said. "I -guess it is ready now." He walked along silently by the pony's side -while the little man chattered volubly. - -"Why, you have had a fire," the little man said, as he surveyed the -flame-swept prairie and smoke-blackened tents. "How lucky it didn't get -your camp. I suppose that would have delayed you a lot in your work?" - -"Oh, I don't know about that," said Walter indifferently. "I fancy it -would not have taken long to have got other tents and supplies." - -The Spaniards and engineers were finishing their breakfast when the two -entered the tent, but Charley and the Captain were not in sight. They -came in and took their places at the table, however, while the little -man and Walter were still eating. - -"This is Mr. Jones," said Walter. "He lost a pair of glasses on the -road, and wishes to know if we have seen anything of them." - -"Please describe them to me, Mr. Jones," requested Charley, eyeing the -little man closely. - -"They were just ordinary nose-glasses, with gold rims. They were in a -hard black leather case," said the little man promptly. - -"I guess these are the ones," said Charley, producing the black leather -case. "I found them." - -"Where?" asked the little man, as he fitted the glasses on his nose. - -"Right where the fire was started that nearly burnt us out last night," -said Charley promptly. "The Captain and I just came from there. I think -it's up to you, Mr. Jones, to explain how they got there." - -"Dear me," said the little man quickly. "How queer! I suppose some -Indian must have picked them up on the road and dropped them again when -he started that fire. You know they are always burning off the prairie -for their cattle. Quite a queer incident, isn't it?" - -"It is," agreed Charley dryly. "Perhaps you can explain----" But -the lad did not finish his sentence, for from the road came the -loud tooting of a horn, and all rushed for the tent opening, Walter -exclaiming, "It's the sheriff." The sheriff it proved to be, and with -him were a dozen active-looking men, each carrying a rifle. - -"I've come for those convicts," the sheriff announced. "Can one of you -show me where they are camped?" - -"I can," Walter volunteered. "We will have to go on foot, but I guess -we will catch them all right. They were up about all night, so they -ought to sleep late this morning." He glanced around at Mr. Jones, to -see how that person was taking the sheriff's arrival, but the little -man was placidly picking his teeth with a bone toothpick and smiling -pleasantly at the newcomer. - -"All right, lead us to them," said the sheriff. "We want to get them -back in the stockade before night, if we can." - -Charley watched them out of sight, and then turned to the little man. -"I wish you would tell me, Mr. Jones, what your game is," he said -earnestly, "and why you are trying to stop this road-building." - -The little man looked at him with surprise on his face. "I really -don't understand you," he protested mildly. "I must say this is a most -extraordinary camp. Everyone seems so suspicious and rude. I have never -encountered such treatment before." - -"All right, Mr. Jones," said Charley, wearily. "Let's forget it. I -must, however, request you to keep away from this camp hereafter." - -"It is not likely I will come around here again, after the treatment -I have received," said the little man stiffly, as he mounted his -pony. "Good-day, sir," and he rode off, leaving the lad with the -unpleasant feeling that he had perhaps wounded the feelings of an -entirely innocent person. Slowly the lad turned away, and, going to -his tent, flung himself face downward on his cot. In truth his nerves -were strained almost to the breaking point by the tension and worry he -had borne since the fateful day they had bought the machine. He felt -himself responsible for the fortunes and even the lives of his friends -and the men working for him, and the burden was a heavy one. But nature -soon asserted itself, and the worried lad fell into a deep, dreamless -sleep, from which he did not awaken until Chris aroused him for dinner. -He found Walter at the table waiting for him. The sheriff's auto was -gone. - -"Yes, we got the convicts, all right," Walter said, in answer to -his questions. "They were sound asleep, just as I expected, and the -sheriff's men had the handcuffs on them before they knew what was going -on. The sheriff permitted me to question them, but I could not get a -word out of them. They just shut up like clams. There is no doubt, -though, that it was two of them that assaulted McCarty. Their faces and -hands were badly scalded. While they were laying for a chance to get -at him, Jones and the other two started that fire, I guess. Well, they -gave us some hard work and worry, but all's well that ends well." - -"We haven't come to the end yet," Charley said, gloomily. "We have only -gained a few days of peace, I'm afraid." - -Walter looked at his chum closely. It was so unlike Charley to give way -to gloomy forebodings. "You want to get out and have a little fun," -he said decidedly. "If you keep on brooding and worrying over this -business, you are going to break down, and then what will become of the -job? What you want to do is to get out and forget trouble for a couple -of days and get the cobwebs out of your brain." - -"I guess you are right," Charley admitted, "and I guess now is the time -for both of us to take a little vacation. There is not much likelihood -of trouble for several days. Let's get an early start in the morning, -take our guns and some grub, and foot it out to Indiantown. Hire a -couple of ponies from the Indians, and ride out to the great lake." - -"I'll go you," Walter cried eagerly, for he always welcomed anything -that promised excitement or change. "It does seem a bit selfish, -though, for us to go and leave the Captain and Chris behind." - -"They would not care to make such a trip," declared his chum, "but -we'll ask them, anyway." - -"Go 'way, you white chillens," said Chris, when they approached him on -the subject. "How you 'spect dis nigger's going to get away? Dat Sam -can't cook none yet. 'Sides I don't want to go trapsing 'round. I'se -done found a little pond back there a bit, whar de fish is so thick you -have to push 'em away with a stick to keep them from all taking de bait -at once." - -They found the Captain, seated in the shade of a pine tree, smoking his -pipe and watching the graders at work. - -"No, lads, I don't care to go," he said, with a smile. "I reckon I'm a -heap sight more comfortable here than I would be tramping around in the -sun. I'm getting too old to get much pleasure out of such trips. You -two go and enjoy yourselves. I'll stay and look out for things." - -"We'll have to move camp in a few days," Charley remarked, as they -paused on the grade for a few minutes to glance over the work that had -been done since they had bought out Murphy. "The machine is getting too -far from camp. It gives the men too long a walk, and wastes a lot of -time. Well, I can't see but what everything is running smooth now," he -concluded with satisfaction. - -And, in truth, the boys had reason to be satisfied with the way things -were going. From ahead of the machine came the sound of axe and the -sharp report of dynamite, as the right-of-way men cleared a path for -the machine. The machine itself was swinging back and forth with the -regularity of clockwork. Back of the machine followed the graders, -leveling off the thrown-up dirt, while behind them came the bridge -builders, constructing bridges over the gaps left by the machine. -Everywhere was bustle. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -THE MEDICINE MAN. - - -SUNRISE found the boys well on their way to Indiantown. By nine o'clock -they were entering the jungle where Charley had been fired at on his -previous trip. Before entering it, however, the lads stopped and cut -two long slender poles with which to kill the moccasins basking on the -road. - -This time no rifle bullets halted their progress, but the snakes were -there, and, by the time they had passed out of the jungle they had -slaughtered over fifty of the loathsome creatures. - -"Whew!" exclaimed Walter, as they broke out of the darkness of the -jungle, "that's the most awful place I was ever in. It fairly reeks -with rottenness and fever." - -"Yes," Charley assented. "I dread putting the machine into it, but -it's got to be done. I am going to set fire to it before the machine -gets there; that may help some. Once we get through it, we are over -the worst. There's Indiantown, about two miles from here. Now, I -figure that the motive for the attacks on us lies somewhere between -the machine and Indiantown, for the strange white men never go beyond -the trading-post, but, for the life of me, I can see nothing in this -country that would supply the motive, can you?" - -"No," Walter admitted. "The land seems fertile enough, but there is -plenty of good cheap land along the coast, right close to the railroad, -so no one would want to come way out here for land. There is not -enough timber here to offer any temptation, and we know that Florida -contains no iron, coal, or precious minerals. I can see no motive for -any striving out here. I guess we are just dreaming when we talk of a -powerful motive out here." - -"It's no dream," said Charley decidedly, "unless that fire was a dream, -those convicts a dream, that dynamite a dream, the assault on McCarty -a dream, those rifle-bullets a dream, and the whole one disagreeable -nightmare." - -"Well, let's forget it all," urged Walter. "Remember, this is a -pleasure trip, and we want to make the most of it." - -This conversation brought the two lads to the first Indian dwelling, -but they found it empty, as was the next and the next. Near the middle -of the little settlement, however, they came upon the whole tribe, -gathered around a large wigwam. Unlike the other buildings, this one -was not only thatched on top, but was also inclosed on sides and -ends with bark and palmetto leaves. In one end was a small opening, -just large enough for a man to enter by lying flat on the ground and -wriggling through. - -The two lads approached the silent group with their interest thoroughly -aroused. - -"What's the matter, Willie John?" Charley asked of an Indian he knew. - -"Chief plenty sick," said the Indian sadly. "Indians go get paleface -doctor, but paleface doctor say medicine no good, chief must die, but -medicine man say he cure chief for two ponies. All right, we give -two ponies. Medicine man come pretty soon to cure chief. No cure, no -ponies. Understand?" - -Charley nodded comprehensively. "Can we go in and see the chief?" he -asked. - -"I guess so," said the Indian indifferently. "It no matter, I guess. -Chief be dead, maybe, before medicine man comes. He have to come all -the way from Big Cypress." - -Charley did not wait for other permission. Lying flat on his stomach, -he wriggled into the wigwam, followed by his chum. Once inside the lads -found themselves in pitch darkness, save that in a distant corner a -feeble rushlight, set in an earthen saucer of oil, glowed faintly. For -a moment, the lads were sorry that they had been so rash in entering, -for the close air of the wigwam was heavy with the sickening smell of -fever. A low moaning from one corner, however, drew them on. - -On a bed of boughs and skins near the rushlight lay what had been once -a magnificent figure of a warrior. The rushlight was too dim to be of -much use, so Walter lit match after match, while Charley bent over and -examined the stricken man. The warrior was hardly more than a skeleton. -The skin was drawn tightly over protruding cheek bones, and the black, -beady eyes glowed with unearthly brightness in their deep sockets. - -Charley felt of the Indian's cheek. It was almost hot enough to burn -his hand. "We can do nothing for him," he said to his chum. "He is -just skin and bones, and he cannot live long with such a fever. We had -better get out of here. He may have something contagious. We were fools -to come in here." - -But, before the boys could reach the opening, the Indians outside began -to wriggle in, each bearing a rushlight in its earthen saucer of oil. -"Medicine man come," whispered Willie John, as he passed them. "Better -sit down and keep still. Indians no like you go now. They get plenty -angry if you go." - -The boys' curiosity overcame their prudence. They were both anxious to -witness the rites of the medicine man and they seated themselves among -the Indians, who, after lighting their rushlights, set them together in -the middle of the wigwam and sat down Turk fashion on either side of -the wigwam and folded their arms across their breasts. It was a curious -scene, with the dim glow of the rushlights falling on their impassive -faces and black, beady eyes. - -For perhaps ten minutes the silence was unbroken save by the restless -tossing and moaning of the sick man. Then, from outside the tent came a -shrill, wailing sound, gradually getting nearer and nearer, until the -skin that covered the entrance was pushed to one side and through the -opening wriggled a figure that made the boys' flesh creep. Once inside -the figure rose erect, and the lads could see in the rushlights' glow -that it was an old Indian, naked save for a loin cloth. So old was he -that his face was a mass of wrinkles, and he tottered as he walked. -Around his withered neck was a string of alligators' teeth, and from -his arms and waist and ankles hung strings of human bones. His withered -body was painted a vivid red, slashed with streaks of bright yellow. In -his right hand he carried a wand, from which hung dozens of rattlesnake -rattles, which made a noise like the song of a locust whenever he moved -his skinny arm. In his left hand was clutched a bag made of snake skin. - -As this grewsome object passed by them the boys shrank back in dread, -but the old savage did not notice them. He tottered on, and sank to -the ground beside the sick man. Then followed a scene which the boys -never forgot. Rolling on the ground beside the sick man the old Indian -began to beat the air with his hands, uttering a low, wailing cry, -that was taken up and repeated by the circle of Seminoles. Faster and -faster the old man beat the air, flecks of foam gathered on his lips, -and his withered face grew horribly contorted. With his talon-like -hands he began clawing at the sick man, who was twisting and tossing -on his couch, as though with convulsions. The medicine man paused for -a moment in his wild exertions, and, taking from his snakeskin bag a -packet of reddish powder, he scattered it over the burning rushlights. -Immediately there rose a sweet, sickening, pungent vapor, that made the -boys gasp for breath. They would have given a good deal to have got out -in the fresh air, but they were afraid the Indians would resent any -move on their part, and, besides, they were curious to see the end of -this weird ceremony. They had not long to wait. The medicine man, with -a sudden yell, snatched a knife from his loin cloth and plunged it into -the sick man's arm. Into the long, shallow cut he had made he rubbed -more of the reddish powder; then, with a long-drawn-out wail, he sank -back to the ground and his limbs and body stiffened out as rigid as -stone. Evidently this was the end of the incantations, for a couple of -Indians advanced, and, picking up the stiff figure, bore it outside of -the wigwam. The two lads started to follow, but Willie John put forth a -detaining hand. - -"Go look at chief first," he said, and they silently obeyed. - -The change in the sick man was amazing. They could hardly believe their -eyes. The haggard look of pain had disappeared from his face, his skin -was moist and cool, his tossing had ceased, and he had fallen into a -deep sleep. - -"Pale face doctor no cure chief like medicine man," proudly said Willie -John, and the wondering lads had to admit the truth of his assertion. - -Outside the two lads found the Indians dashing water in the medicine -man's face and trying to bring him out of his cataleptic state. - -"He be all right, pretty soon," Willie John assured them. "Alway he get -stiff like this when he wrestles with the evil spirits of sickness. -Now I will go and get two ponies for you." He soon returned, leading -two ponies already saddled and bridled. The boys mounted, and, with -farewell waves of the hand, rode out of the camp and turned into the -road leading to the great lake. - -"What did you think of that business back there?" Walter asked, as soon -as they were out of hearing of the little settlement. - -"I give it up," Charley said frankly. "It's a mystery beyond me. Of -course, I don't take much stock in all that wriggling, clawing, and -wailing, but there must certainly be some wonderful curative agent in -that powder. I agree with the doctor that the chief was dying when the -medicine man came." - -"Well, it is not so very wonderful, after all, when one stops to -consider the matter," said Walter reflectively. "The Seminoles are an -old, old race, so old that nobody knows how old they are. For ages and -ages they have lived in these great swamps, and it would be strange, -indeed, if the more intelligent of them had not by this time found some -remedy for the fevers of the country." - -"It's interesting, anyway," Charley declared. "I'd give something -to know what that powder was made of. It would be a blessing to the -fever-stricken world." - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -THE OLD FORT. - - -NOT long after leaving Indiantown the boys passed into a higher -country, where the road wound in and out among great towering live -oaks, under which the ground was thickly strewed with acorns. -Multitudes of gray squirrels frisked among the branches and made the -air noisy with their chattering. - -"I'll bet this is a great game country," Charley remarked, as they -stopped to water their ponies at the edge of a clear-running brook. -"There ought to be bear and turkeys around where there are so many -acorns. Listen! if I am not mistaken, those are turkeys drumming now." -From a point a little to the left of the road came a hollow thumping -sound, repeated at frequent intervals. "It's turkeys," said Charley, -with conviction. "Come on, let's see if we can get a shot at them." - -The two lads dismounted, and, tying their ponies to convenient trees, -took their guns and picked their way softly toward the sound. A hundred -feet brought them to where they could look out from the shelter of the -oaks into a little glade or clearing a couple of acres in extent. What -they saw caused them to pause and stare in admiration and amusement. In -the center of the glade was a bunch of some twenty turkeys. The sun, -shining down, lit up their plumage with a thousand colors, and made of -them a picture well worth remembering, but it was the antics that they -were going through that drew a smile from the two lads. - -The leader of the flock, a huge gobbler with ruffled feathers and -drumming wings, was going through a sort of strutting, mincing dance, -every motion of his being closely followed by each of the flock, moving -with slow, stately dignity. - -"Gee!" grinned Walter. "They are doing the 'turkey trot.' It costs five -dollars to see that dance in New York." - -"The ministers say it's immoral," said Charley laughingly, "so let's -put a stop to it. Be sure to pick out one of the younger birds. We -never could cook that gobbler tender. I'll bet he is ten years old." - -The lads fired almost together, and two of the smaller turkeys sank to -the ground, while the rest of the flock rose in flight, but only to -settle again within easy gun-shot. - -"No use killing any more," Walter said, as the two lads emerged from -behind the oaks and picked up the dead birds. - -"No," Charley agreed. "These will be all we can use. They would spoil -before we got back to camp. But say, I am tickled to see game so -plentiful. When we get the machine and camp out here, it will make a -big difference in our grub bills." - -"Hold on a minute," said Walter, as his chum turned to retrace his -steps to the road. "Doesn't it strike you as queer--this bare space in -the heart of a great oak forest?" - -"It is odd," admitted Charley. "I never thought of that until you -mentioned it. Let's look around a bit." - -The boys, up to now, had barely noticed the clearing, all their -interest being centered on the turkeys. As they advanced into it they -were surprised to note that it was not a freak of nature, but had been -carefully cleared by hand. The indestructible live oak stumps still -bore evidence of the axe. Wonderingly, the lads made their way forward. - -"Those are not live oak trees at the other end of the clearing," -declared Charley, who was looking around with eager eyes. "Let's see -what they are." - -A few minutes' walk brought them to the fringe of trees that had -drawn the lads' attention. Here they paused, with an exclamation of -astonishment. - -"Gee!" Charley cried, "they are orange trees, and, from their size, -they must be hundreds of years old." - -"And there's another clearing beyond this one," cried Walter, who had -entered the fringe of trees to pluck some of the golden fruit. "Come -on, let's have a look at it. The oranges can wait until we come back." - -With all of boys' healthy love of mystery and discovery, the two lads -pushed eagerly through the fringe of orange trees and found themselves -in another but smaller clearing, in the center of which rose up high -posts, forming four sides of a square enclosure. - -"A stockade!" exclaimed Charley excitedly. "Let's see what's inside. It -ought to be easy to break down one of those posts." - -But their united efforts failed to crack any of the posts. They were -all of live oak, which successfully resists the wear of centuries. - -"It's no use tiring ourselves out for nothing," Charley said, after -they had tried several of the posts without any success. "There must -be an opening somewhere, and we have only to follow up the posts -to find it." This they did, and, rounding the first corner of the -stockade, came upon an opening in the wall, where had evidently once -hung a strong gate. Pushing through the opening, they stood inside of -the stockade, and, pausing, gazed around with a feeling of awe. The -little enclosure was perhaps a half acre in extent. In the middle of -it stood a small fort, cunningly constructed of big blocks of coquina -rock. Around the little fort were grouped what had once been dwellings, -but of which nothing now remained but their upright live-oak posts. A -hole, in one side of the fort, which likely in some past age had been -closed by a massive door, showed the enclosure to the fortress. Passing -through the hole, the boys found themselves in a dim room, some forty -feet square. The only light was the few rays that filtered through the -loopholes, and the two lads had to pause to accustom their eyes to the -dim twilight. - -"My, but look here!" cried Charley, as his vision cleared. - -Walter backed nervously toward the door, as he, too, began to perceive -the grewsome objects grouped around them. Directly in front of them -stood a gigantic, man-like form. Gaping holes, where the eyes should -have been, stared upon them, and one long arm pointed directly at them. - -"Whew, that gave me a shock at first!" exclaimed Charley, with a -nervous laugh of relief. "One does not expect to stumble upon dead men -in armor in the wilds of Florida. Look! there's another and another -and another," he continued, pointing to the other motionless figures -sprawled in all sorts of attitudes about the room. At the foot of a -cunningly constructed stone stairway, the suits of armor lay so close -together that the boys could hardly pick their way between them. - -"The defenders evidently made a brave stand here at the foot of the -stairway," Charley observed. "Let's go up and see what's in the upper -chamber." - -With but little relish for further investigation, Walter followed his -chum as he climbed up the stone stairs. - -The scene in the upper chamber was but a repetition of that below, -only the floor was more thickly strewn with the suits of mail. Charley -lifted the rust-encrusted visor of one, but let it drop hastily as his -eyes encountered the grinning skeleton within. - -"They were Spaniards who made this clearing and built this fort," -he explained to his chum. "It may have been part of one of DeSoto's -expeditions, or they may have been one of the treasure-hunting parties -that were so numerous in the fifteenth century. Likely they became -disgusted with tramping through swamps, and, when they came to this -pleasant spot, they decided to stay for a time at least. So they, -probably, made captives of many of the Indians, and put them to work, -clearing, planting and building. But the Indians had their revenge in -the end." - -"You can stay here as long as you want to, but I am going to get out -in the fresh air," said Walter, shuddering as he watched a hairy rat -creep out from one of the suits of armor. "I will wait for you just -outside the fort." - -"All right," Charley agreed. "I'll be out in a few minutes." - -Left to himself, the lad searched around in the corners for a few -minutes, trying to find something to carry away with him as a souvenir -of their strange discovery, but, finding nothing, he soon gave up the -hunt, and, gathering up his game bag and gun, he made his way back down -the stairs and out of the fort, glad to be in the sunshine and fresh -air once more. - -Walter was not in sight, and, after calling him a couple of times, -Charley decided that he had probably grown tired of waiting, and had -returned to the orange trees to eat his fill, and for them the lad -hastened. But his chum was not there, and, with a vague feeling of -alarm, the lad hurried on to where they had left their ponies, but -Walter was not there. Now thoroughly alarmed, the lad fired off his gun -four times in rapid succession, then waited and listened, but there -came no answering report. - -After a moment's consideration, Charley turned around and hastened back -to the ancient clearing. He made the round outside of the stockade, and -then, entering the gate, searched the inside thoroughly, but no sign -could he find of the missing one. Again he fired the distress signal -of four shots, but there was no reply. - -The thoroughly frightened lad sat down on a block of stone, and strove -to master his nervous fears and gather together his scattered wits. -The whole thing was incomprehensible. Not fifteen minutes had elapsed -since he had parted with Walter in the upper chamber of the fort, and -now his chum was gone. He could not have gotten lost in the woods, for -the way back to the ponies could be followed by a child, with its plain -landmarks of orange trees and the other clearings. Besides, in that -short length of time, Walter could not have got beyond the sound of the -gun signal, to which he would certainly have replied. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -THE HIDDEN VOICE. - - -FOR a few minutes Charley was almost a prey to vague, suspicious fears, -which lie hidden deep in most of mankind. The suddenness of his chum's -disappearance, the ages-old stockade, the ancient fort, with its -grewsome occupants, all gave force to weird imaginings; but, with an -effort, the practical lad shook off his gloomy thoughts with the simple -logic that age is no more mysterious than youth, and that dead men are -less to be feared than live ones. But, in spite of his sound reasoning, -the worried lad could not imagine what had become of his chum. He was -not in the stockade; he was not in either clearing; he was not among -the orange trees; he was not back with the ponies, yet he had passed -out of the fort not five minutes ahead of himself, but at this point in -his reasoning Charley gave a start. He had found the flaw in his own -logic. He had no proof that Walter had passed out of the fort. Affected -as the lad had been by the grewsome sights, he might have fainted -before reaching the open air and he might well have passed him by in -the dim light without noticing him. - -Hastily gathering some dry sticks, Charley held them in one hand and -fired the ends. As soon as his torch was blazing good, he entered the -fort, and, holding it aloft, inspected the lower chamber. Near the -middle of the chamber he found Walter's rifle lying on the stone floor, -but a close search showed no other trace of the missing lad. Puzzled, -he ascended to the upper chamber, but here he found everything as he -had left it, and he descended again to the lower chamber, convinced -that in it must lie the key to the mystery, for he was certain Walter -would not have left the fort without taking his gun with him. - -Walking around the stone chamber, Charley held his torch aloft and -inspected the solid floor and walls, in the vain hope of discovering -some clew to his chum's mysterious disappearance. - -Suddenly he gave a frightened cry, and flung out his arms to save -himself, for something had given way beneath his feet, and he felt -himself sinking downward. Fortunately, his instinctive action had been -so quick that his extended arms caught on the stone floor and saved -him from sinking into the gaping black hole beneath him. Summoning up -all his strength, the lad drew himself up out of the trap into which -he had partly fallen, and, seizing the torch he had dropped, surveyed -the spot. A large stone slab was slowly lifting back into place. In a -flash, the lad grasped the situation. The slab had been so cunningly -contrived as to appear part of the solid floor, but, when a person -stepped on one end the slab would tilt down, sending the victim down to -the depths below, and, when his weight was removed, the slab would tilt -back into place again. - -Charley was quick to act. Sitting down on the floor, he placed his -feet against the end of the slab and pressed downward. The end of the -stone immediately tipped downward, exposing the dark hole beneath, and -the lad shoved his rifle across the opening to prevent the slab from -lifting back into place. From below him came a call that sent his heart -bounding with joy: "Is that you, Charley?" it said. - -"Yes. Are you hurt, Walt?" replied the delighted lad. - -"Not much; some bruises, and a bump on my head, that's all. But, for -goodness sake, hurry and get me out of here. The air is so foul it is -making me feel faint. Get the ropes off the ponies, and fasten them -together. I do not believe this hole is more than fifteen feet deep. -But hurry, hurry!" - -Charley was off like a shot and back in a few minutes with the halters -from the two ponies. Hastily knotting them together, he fastened one -end to a projecting stone in the wall, and let the other end down to -his chum, who, white-faced and shaken, crawled up it, hand over hand. - -Pausing only to secure their rifles and the ropes, the two lads hurried -out into the open air. - -"Gee!" said Walter, drawing long breaths of the sweet, pure air, "I -thought I was a goner that time. I kept calling and calling after I -fell, but when you did not answer I knew that you could not hear me. -When I was sure that my voice did not penetrate outside of the hole I -gave up hope, for I was positive that you would not find out the secret -of that slab unless you stepped upon it, and, if you did that, there -would be two of us buried alive, instead of one. Ugh!" he concluded, -with a shudder, "I know now what fear is--genuine, blind, unreasoning -fear." - -The boys stopped at the orange trees only long enough to fill their -game bags with the golden fruit, and hastened on to their ponies, -fearful that, with no halters on, they might have turned back for -Indiantown, but, much to their relief, they found the two animals -browsing contentedly by the roadside. Each slung a turkey from one side -of his saddle and a loaded game bag from the other, and, mounting, -they rode on for their goal, the great lake. About four o'clock they -rode out from a heavy growth of timber into full view of the broad, -shining blue waters, and a few minutes later reined in their mounts on -a high, grass-covered bank, shaded by big live oaks. Here they staked -out their ponies to browse upon the sweet, tender grass, and, after a -plunge in the cool waters of the lake, began their preparations for the -night. Walter gathered great bunches of moss, and made soft beds at -the base of a huge live-oak tree. Charley lit a big fire of live oak -and pine, and, while it was burning down into a bed of glowing coals, -he dressed and cut up the two turkeys, and soon had them frying and -stewing in the pan and kettle they had brought with them. While Charley -tended to the cooking, Walter gathered armfuls of dry wood and placed -them in a circle around the oak, where he had made the beds. Before -night fell everything was ready, and the boys sat down to a delicious -meal of fried and stewed turkey and the eatables they had brought with -them. They had eaten nothing since morning, and, when the meal was -over, they were full enough and tired enough to be content to lie upon -the grassy bank and simply gaze out at the glories of the sunset on the -waters of the lake. When at last the light began to fail they watered -their ponies and staked them in a fresh place, close to where they were -going to sleep. This done, they started up the circle of fires around -the tree and stretched out on their soft moss bed with a pleasant -feeling of security, knowing that the slow-burning live-oak wood would -keep the fires burning all night and protect them from all snakes and -wild animals. - -"I have been wondering why that hole was made in that old fort," said -Walter, as they lay on their backs gazing up at the stars. "It isn't -deep enough for a well or a dungeon." - -"Maybe it was a hiding place for their treasures," suggested Charley, -idly. - -"By Jove, I believe you've hit it," Walter exclaimed. "And that reminds -me that I picked up something for a souvenir of my adventure before I -climbed out. I couldn't see what it was, for the hole was dark and I -had no matches. It was something hard, round and heavy. I have got it -in my game bag now." - -"Get it out and let's see what it is," said Charley, interested. - -Walter rummaged in his game bag and brought out a round object, about a -foot long and ten inches in circumference. - -"Looks like a piece of petrified wood," he said, as he handed it over -for his chum's inspection. - -Charley took it, and, drawing near the fire, examined it closely. "Too -heavy for petrified wood," he commented, as he took out his knife and -scraped away at the green encrusted object. "By Jove! Look here," he -exclaimed a moment later. - -Walter bent over and looked at the place where his chum had been -scraping. A reddish-brown color appeared where the green crust had -been removed. - -"Is it gold?" he asked, excitedly. - -"No," Charley replied. "It's copper. Let's scrape the balance of this -verdigris off, and see if we can get an idea what it was intended for." - -Laying the cylinder on the ground between them, both boys set to -scraping away the green crust, and in a short time they had it all -removed, leaving exposed the bright metal beneath it. - -"Looks like there was a crack running around it near that end," Walter -observed, as Charley held the cylinder down by the fire for closer -examination. - -"There is," agreed his chum, excitedly. "I believe the thing is hollow. -That this end is nothing but a close fitting cap. Shall I see if I can -knock it off?" - -"Sure," agreed Walter, and Charley hammered against the end with his -hunting knife. Suddenly the end gave way and out on the ground before -the boys fell a shower of gold coins and jewelry. - -Charley picked up one of the coins and held it to the light. "It's a -Spanish doubloon," he announced breathlessly. "Let's count them and put -them back in the cylinder. This is almost too good to be true." - -The gold coins were gathered up from the ground and counted. There -proved to be a thousand dollars' worth altogether. Besides the coins, -there were some twenty gold rings set with gems, but these the boys -were too inexperienced to tell the full value of. They, as well as the -gold coins, were put back into the cylinder, and it was replaced in the -game bag. - -"I expect there are more where those came from," Walter remarked. - -"I doubt it," said his chum, thoughtfully. "Even what we have found -would have been considered a big amount in the days of those Spaniards. -We can look when we go back to-morrow. Meanwhile, I am going to get me -a good night's sleep. To-morrow is going to be another hard day." - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -CHARLEY GETS A TELEGRAM. - - -THE tired-out boys slept soundly until awakened by the rays of the -morning sun. Rising, they enjoyed a good swim in the cool waters of -the lake, and then, stirring up the dying embers of the campfire, they -warmed up and ate what remained of their feast of the night before. -As soon as it was finished, they saddled up their ponies, and, with a -parting look at the beautiful lake, headed back for camp. - -They had not gone far before the sky became overcast, and soon there -began to fall a fine, drizzling rain, that soaked their thin clothing -and chilled their bodies. There was no shelter to get under, so they -could only ride on and take it as it came. When they came to the place -where they had stopped the day before Walter wanted to halt and look -for more treasure, but Charley objected. - -"Our matches are all wet, so that we cannot make a torch," he -explained, "and we could not do much searching without a light. -If there is any more treasure in that hole there is no danger of -anyone finding it. We, ourselves, would never have found it but for -an accident. We had better wait until we can come back with a proper -outfit of ropes, candles, etc. To tell the truth, I want someone else -along with us next time. If one of us should get hurt in any way it -would be a bad fix for both so far away from camp. See how near I came -to joining you in that hole yesterday? Two is not enough where there is -danger of that kind. We will bring the Captain and Chris next time." - -Walter, still mindful of his experience in the black hole, was not -overly anxious to repeat it, and they rode on in the drizzling rain. -Before they reached the Indian camp the rain ceased and the sun came -out again with a warmth grateful to their chilled bodies. On reining -in at the camp, they were astonished to see the chief sitting out in -the sun in front of his wigwam. He was thin as a skeleton, but appeared -bright and cheerful. The Indian, Willie John, who had furnished them -with the ponies, stopped them when they started to unsaddle. - -"No, no," he said, "ride ponies on to big camp. Turn 'em loose. They -come back all right." - -The boys tried to pay him for the use of the animals, but he refused to -take any money. - -"Young pale-faces friends. No take money from friends," he said -generously. - -"Very well," Charley said, "but friends may give gifts to friends. -Soon I go to town and get plenty of red and blue and yellow cloth and -much beads. Two sleeps (nights) from now you come to big camp and get -them. They will be a gift from the palefaces to their Seminole brother." - -"It is well," said the Seminole, gravely. "Two sleeps I come to big -camp." - -"There is something noble about the Seminoles," said Charley, as they -rode on. "Now that fellow knows the value of money, and he knows he can -get with it many things that he desires, but his code forbids him to -take it from a friend." - -"I like them," agreed Walter emphatically. "They are so different from -our slovenly tribes of Western Indians. They are so clean, honest, -generous, and truthful. I doubt if a white race put in this awful -country would retain so many virtues." - -"And they have never waged an unjust war," Charley added. "When they -fought it was to save themselves from being crushed out of existence. -But, when they did have to fight, they fought bravely. During the -Seminole war, not so very many miles north of here, a party of Indians -encountered a company of soldiers. The soldiers stood their ground -until the last one was killed and the Seminoles victorious, but, after -the battle was over, not a dead soldier was scalped according to savage -custom. Not one was touched. Even their guns and equipment were left -lying where they had fallen. It was a silent tribute the Seminoles -paid to a brave enemy, and, to my mind, there was something fine in the -act." - -This conversation had brought the lads to the jungle, and they fell -silent as they rode through its gloomy depths. - -It was after noon when they came in sight of the machine, which they -were pleased to see was still working steadily, showing that nothing -serious had occurred during their absence. When close to it, Charley -reined in his pony and hailed the engineer. - -"Hello!" he called. "How are they coming?" - -Kitchner stopped the machine, and clambering down, walked up to him. -"Not so bad," he said, in answer to the question. "But we've only got -enough carbide to run the light to-night. Have to have some more before -to-morrow night, or we will have to quit night work." - -Charley frowned slightly. "That carbide light costs like fury," he -said. "I brought out a big lot of it the last time I went to town. At -the rate it has been used up, that light costs us about $5.00 a night." - -"It is expensive," agreed Kitchner, "and that is not the worst feature -about it. It's dangerous to use on a job like this, where the men do -not understand it. There is always some escaping gas from the tank, -which is easily set afire by a spark from the engine or the careless -lighting of a match close by. One of the firemen was burnt some last -night. The gas caught fire from his lantern. An electric light would be -far better, less dangerous, and save its own cost in the long run." - -"We'll get a dynamo and fix up an electric light, then," said Charley. -"I'll go in to-night and order one. It will likely take several days to -get it here, so I'll bring back enough carbide with me to run the light -until it comes." - -This settled, the boys rode on into camp, where Charley paused long -enough to wash and change his clothes, then got out the truck and -headed for town, where he arrived in time to catch the train for Palm -Beach. He carried with him the gold and rings they had found in the -old fort, for the boys had decided that it would be unwise to keep the -treasure at camp, and that the sooner it was turned into money and -safely deposited in the bank the better it would be. Once at the Beach, -the lad sought out the leading jeweler in town, and showed him the -rings and coins, and asked if he thought he could dispose of them for -him. - -The jeweler examined the rings with the greatest interest. "Some of -these rings are very valuable," he declared. "Just how valuable, I -would not like to say, offhand. If you care to intrust me with the -disposal of them, I will get all the money I can out of them for you. -The gold coins you will have no trouble about. Your bank will accept -them at nearly their real value." - -Charley quickly accepted the jeweler's offer, and turned over the rings -to him and received a receipt in return. At the bank he had no trouble -with the gold coins, the cashier readily accepting them and crediting -the value to his account. - -His business transacted, the lad bought a paper, and, securing a room -in a nearby hotel, stretched out on the bed to read and rest, for he -was thoroughly tired out by the long day he had put in. He scanned -the headlines with mild interest, but at last he came to a paragraph -that he read and reread with growing excitement. The brief item ran as -follows: - -"Among the bills that will come up before the legislature when it meets -next month is one to give to a wealthy New York company a grant of one -thousand acres of land, just east of Indiantown, for the nominal sum -of $1 per acre. There is but little doubt that the bill will pass, -for this land is so remote from transportation that it is considered -of little or no value. The New York company, it is said, intends to -develop the entire tract. They certainly seem very eager about it, for -much money and influence is being used to secure the desired grant." - -For a long time the lad lay back and considered this short notice, but -could see nothing in it to account for the many attempts to stop the -road building, for certainly a good road would be of vast value to the -development company. At last he gave up puzzling over the matter, and -turning out his light, prepared to go to sleep; but, he had no sooner -stretched out, than there came a thumping at his door. "Wait a minute," -he called to the knocker, as he turned on the light and slipped on his -clothes. He opened the door, and in stepped a little, freckled-faced -messenger boy. - -"Gee, Mister," he said, "I've had a peach of a job finding you. Been to -every hotel and boarding-house in town. Got a telegram for you. Sign -right here." - -"Wait a minute," said Charley, as the youth turned to go. "There may be -an answer to this." - -Hastily tearing open the envelope, the lad read: - -"Better get back as soon as you can. Bunch of New York toughs or gunmen -just got off train. Met by wagons. Gone out direction of your camp. Saw -Jones talking to some of them. Bad-looking characters." - -There was no name signed to the message, but the lad knew it was from -the friendly agent at Jupiter, and, turning it over, he wrote on the -back. - -"Can't get up until morning train. Many thanks." - -He gave the message to the boy, together with a half dollar to pay him -for his trouble, and, as soon as the boy had departed, he undressed -and went again to bed, where he lay awake half the night, worrying over -the agent's message. - -He was waiting at the sheriff's office next morning when that officer -arrived, and to him he laid bare the whole story of their trials since -he and his chums had bought the machine. - -The sheriff listened with deepest interest, and when the lad concluded -he said to him frankly: "I would like best in the world, lad, to help -you, but you have no direct evidence against anyone, and I can make no -arrests without proof. I would advise you to see a good lawyer. Maybe -he will be able to untangle this mess for you." - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -MOVING THE CAMP. - - -MUCH downcast by his failure to secure the sheriff's aid, Charley made -his way to the building where most of the lawyers of the county had -their offices. Selecting one of the offices at random, for he knew none -of the lawyers, even by reputation, he opened the door and entered. He -found himself face to face with a bright, alert, keen-eyed young man, -who greeted him pleasantly, and invited him to be seated. Briefly he -stated his errand and retold the tale he had told the sheriff. - -The young lawyer listened with deepest interest, and at the end of it -exclaimed boyishly: - -"By Jove, this is an interesting case. I wouldn't miss a chance to -handle it for a hundred dollars. I was a detective before I was -a lawyer, and the lure of mystery always appeals to me. There is -certainly enough mystery in this case of yours to satisfy anyone. I -will have to think it over carefully, and look up some features of it, -before I can be of any help to you. I will be busy to-day, for I have -a case coming up in Circuit Court, but to-morrow I will come out to -your camp and look the ground over with you. I have a little auto of my -own, and I will enjoy the trip out, even if nothing comes of it. I have -always wanted to see that back country, and this will be a good chance -to combine business with pleasure." - -Charley left the friendly lawyer's office feeling more cheerful in -having enlisted his aid. He reached the station just in time to catch -the train for Jupiter, where he alighted half an hour later. The agent -was watching for him, and immediately drew him to one side. - -"I am afraid you are in for a rough time out at camp," he said; "that -was the wickedest-looking bunch of men I ever saw in my life. There -were twenty of them altogether. They were expected, too, for there were -wagons waiting for them a little ways from the station, and they drove -off immediately." - -"I cannot even stop to thank you properly," Charley said, earnestly. -"We cannot thank you enough for what you have done for us, anyway." - -"That's all right," said the agent heartily, "I am pleased to have been -of any assistance to you. But I will not keep you, for I know you are -anxious to see how things are at camp. So-long, and good luck to you." - -A minute later Charley was in the truck and driving out on the dirt -road at a dangerous rate of speed, for before him he could see the -sharp cut of wagon tires in the soft earth. - -About three miles from camp the wagon tracks left the road, and, as far -as the lad could see from the car, continued at a right angle to it. -Somewhat relieved by this discovery, he reduced his speed and drove -into camp at an easy gait. - -Much to his delight, he found everything going on as usual, dinner -cooking in the cook tent, the machine busily digging, and the graders -leveling off close behind it. After a little chat with Chris, the lad -retired to his tent, where he rested until his chums and the men came -trooping in to dinner. - -After dinner was eaten, Charley called a council of war of his chums, -the two engineers off duty, and Bossie the fireman. He told them of all -he had learned during his trip. "Of course I may be making a mountain -out of a mole hill," he said, in conclusion. "Those men may be only a -party of hunters out for a good time, but, from what we have already -met with, it will be well to be on our guard until we are sure of the -fact. We cannot tell in what way or when we will be made to suffer. I -want every man--Spaniard as well as American--to be constantly on the -watch for any signs of trouble. You, Bossie, explain to your countrymen -just how things stand, so that none of them will be taken unawares. -Now, have any of you any suggestions to offer?" - -"I think we ought to move camp as soon as possible," said McCarty -promptly. "It's a good two miles from here to the machine now, and the -distance is growing greater every day. Of course, it does not make so -much difference in the daytime, but, with an enemy around, it makes it -risky for the men going back and forth at night." - -"You're right," Charley agreed. "We had better get an early start and -move camp to-morrow morning to a place about a quarter of a mile ahead -of the machine. I noticed a knoll of good, high sloping ground there. -When you go out, McCarty, have one of the dynamiters set fire to the -grass there, so that the ground will be bare for the pitching of our -tents. We don't want to run any chance of being burnt out." - -"I don't think we on the machine run so very much danger," observed -Bratton; "not if we keep a good watch out. It is all steel, and, in -case of attack, we can call the ground men aboard and keep the platform -revolving fast. No one can then climb aboard, and the boiler and -machinery will give pretty good protection, while we can use our guns -from the platform to pretty good advantage." - -"Good idea," approved McCarty. "I will adopt that plan and tell -Kitchner about it when I go out." - -"The dynamiters are a good mile and a half ahead of the machine," -Captain Westfield observed. "I reckon it wouldn't be a bad idea to add -them to the guard around the camp until the machine catches up with -them a little." - -"Good suggestion," Charley approved. "We will do that." - -"I have got an amendment to offer to the moving plan," Walter said. -"I suggest that we move camp this afternoon. You have all apparently -forgotten that to-morrow is Sunday, and all hands need a rest." - -"You're right," Charley agreed promptly. "Call in all the men except -the crew on the machine, and the bridge builders, Bossie. Get the other -men in the tents to roll out and help. Tell the bridge builders to -throw a bridge across the ditch, so that we can cross and get by the -machine with the truck and wagon." - -In a few minutes all was astir in the camp, men busy packing up, others -pulling down and folding up tents, while still others piled them in -the waiting truck and wagon. Within half an hour of giving the orders, -Charley started with the first truckload, carrying with him half of -the Spaniards to pitch the tents on the new camp-site. He found the -knoll burnt clear of grass and the ground still smoking from the recent -fire. Hastily unloading and directing the Spaniards where to set up the -tents, the lad hurried back for another load. - -Twenty men working with system can accomplish wonders, and long before -dark the moving was finished and Chris was getting supper in the cook -tent. - -"I don't like staking out the mules," said the teamster, as he joined -the rest at supper, "but I can't build a corral for them until -to-morrow. You see, they keep moving around nearly all night, and they -get all tangled up in the ropes and wear the hide off their legs trying -to get free." - -"I don't believe they will hurt themselves much in one night," Charley -assured him, "and to-morrow all hands can turn in and build a corral -for them. How much wood have you got ahead?" - -"Enough for a week," answered the teamster, brightening. "That Juan -is a first-class worker, and I have been hauling steady. I've got it -strung along the road for a mile ahead of the machine." - -As soon as it began to get dark, Charley gave a gun to each of the two -dynamiters, and gave them instructions to join their two countrymen as -guards. - -Everyone was tired, and all retired early to their tents. It was agreed -that the machine should stop work at midnight, and that, when her crew -came in, two of the camp guard would go out and keep watch on it the -balance of the night. - -Charley was roused up about midnight by the stop whistle of the -machine, and a few minutes later he heard its crew entering the camp, -and the chatter of the two guards, as they went out to take the crew's -place. The lad rolled over with a sigh of content, and dropped off to -sleep again, only to awaken again to the sharp crack of rifles. "Get -up, you fellows," he shouted to his chums. "There's more trouble afoot." - -"Great Caesar," exclaimed Walter, in disgust. "Can't we ever get a good -night's sleep?" - -"Don't look that way," said his chum grimly, as he pulled on his -clothes. - -Outside the tent the lads found the Captain and engineers just emerging -from their shelters. - -Along the road for a mile in front of the machine, huge bonfires were -burning. - -"They have fired the woodpiles!" Charley exclaimed. "Well, let 'em -burn. There's more wood where that came from. Let's make for the -machine; that's where the shooting came from." - -A few minutes' walk brought them to the digger, where they found the -Spanish guards excited but unhurt. They had fired the guns to let the -camp know of the fire. They were so apparently nervous, however, that -McCarty volunteered to stay with them the balance of the night. - -"Well, it might be worse," said Charley, as the little party made their -way back to camp. "They have just made more work for the teamster and -woodchopper, that's all." - -But, as they approached close to the camp, they were met by one of the -guards. "_Senors_," cried the man, his voice trembling, "there is -frightful groaning coming from the darkness behind our picket line." - -"Where?" demanded the teamster, who had joined the little party. - -"Toward the North Star, not far from our picket line," answered the -shaky sentinel. - -"Go back to your post, _hombre_," Charley ordered. "We'll get the -lanterns and come right out and see what it is." - -The frightened sentinel obeyed, but he moved so slowly that the boys -overtook him before he reached his post. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -EXCITING EVENTS. - - -EVEN before they reached the guard line, the little party could plainly -hear the groans that had so frightened the Spanish sentinel. The sounds -came from a point some two hundred feet beyond the line. Between the -spells of groaning would come noises like a struggle going on, a heavy -fall, then more groans. - -Suddenly the teamster with an oath broke into a run and the boys -followed close at his heels. It was a pitiful scene that the lanterns -revealed when they reached the spot. The teamster, with tears in his -eyes, was swearing vigorously as he untangled the hitching ropes from -the legs of the two mules whose sufferings were frightful to behold. -Their bellies were swollen up to twice their natural size and their -eyes were glassy with pain. Occasionally one would stagger to its feet, -stand swaying for a few minutes, then fall heavily to the ground, where -it would lay groaning in spasms of pain. - -"What's the matter with them?" Charley demanded anxiously. - -"The Lord only knows," said the teamster, "that swelling of the stomach -looks as though they had been foundered, but that can't be. I only gave -them their usual feed for the night--just what they always have." - -"Can we do anything for them?" inquired the lad. - -Canady shook his head. "I am afraid they are too far gone," he said. -"But I'll try. I've got all kinds of medicines in my tent. I'll run and -get them." - -He was back in a minute with a box full of pint bottles. Then followed -hours of anxious labor, holding and dosing the sick animals, but it was -all in vain. Before daylight one mule stiffened out in death and a half -hour later the other one died. - -It was a sorrowful little party that stood around the dead animals. To -the little party of chums it meant the loss of $500 and the tying up -of the machine until a new team could be procured. To the teamster it -meant the loss of two animals to which he had really grown attached. - -"This was no accident," declared the Captain, as they stood around -discussing the affair. "It comes right at the time the wood piles were -fired. That ain't no coincident, I reckon." - -"You're right," Charley agreed. "Their aim was to tie up the machine -by cutting off our wood supply, and it looks as though they have -succeeded. No doubt the mules were poisoned, but the thing that -puzzles me is how the poison was administered. Mules are the most -particular animals in the world about what they take into their mouths." - -"Let's have a look at the feed boxes," Walter suggested; "there ought -to be some clews in them." - -The teamster uttered an oath as he held his lantern over the feed -boxes, for each was still partly filled with wheat. "That's what done -it," he swore savagely. "All animals love the taste of wheat, but it is -sure death to them if they eat any quantity of it. It swells so fast -in their stomachs. Lord, I wish I had hold of the fellow who did this -thing." - -"Bring your lanterns," called Walter, who had stepped away a few paces -from the crowd. "There's something lying here on the ground. I believe -it's a man." - -In a second his companions were by his side with their lanterns. As the -lights flashed down on the prostrate object, an exclamation of horror -burst out from the little party, for, lying on his back, his head in a -pool of blood, lay a man, one side of his skull entirely crushed in. - -"He's the one that fixed the mules," declared the teamster excitedly. -"One of the mules killed him. Serves him right. I'm glad he got his." - -"Shut up," said Charley shortly. "This is too horrible a thing to exult -over. Come on, some of you, and give me a hand to carry him to my -tent. We cannot leave him lying here." - -Silently the little party lifted the dead man and bore him into the -lad's tent and laid him down on a cot. Charley got water and a cloth -and washed away the blood on the dead man's face and head. The face was -that of a young man but was seamed and aged by lines of dissipation. -The lad, with repugnance for the task, searched the dead man's pockets, -but found nothing but a loaded revolver and a box of small white -pellets which he decided was dope of some kind. - -His unpleasant task finished, the lad stepped out of the tent, followed -by his chums, who had helped him with the dead man. The three stood -silent for a minute drinking in deep breaths of the fresh early morning -air. - -"What are you going to do with him?" the Captain asked, jerking his -head toward the tent where the dead man lay. - -"Keep him until afternoon," Charley said wearily. "Some of his friends -may come and claim the body. If not, we will give him as good a funeral -as we can. It's a terrible piece of business. If all our money was not -tied up in this job, I would vote to quit right now." - -"Same here," agreed Captain Westfield. "I'm getting sick of the mud and -water and all the troubles we are having, and this last business is -about the last straw." - -"You fellows will feel better after a little nap, and a good -breakfast," said Walter cheerfully. "I guess none of us is in love -with this new venture of ours, but there is no good to be gained by -getting in the dumps. We must keep cheerful and do the best we can. It -is madness to talk about quitting now. It would likely take us years of -hard work to save up the money we've got tied up in this business." - -"You're right," Charley acknowledged. "We have got to fight it out. I -guess I'll crawl in and catch a catnap before breakfast. A little sleep -makes a whole lot of difference in a man's feelings." - -Such indeed seemed to be the case, for, when a couple of hours later -he joined the rest at the breakfast table, he was once more his old -cheerful self. During the meal he outlined his plans to meet the new -difficulty that opposed them. - -"There's a lawyer coming out to see us to-day," he said, "and when he -goes back I want you, Canady, to go back with him. I'll give you a -check for $500 and I want you to buy a good pair of mules and get them -out here as soon as possible. I will try to get some of the Indians to -haul wood while you are gone. I see there's a couple of piles of wood -left near the machine that will do to fire up with to-morrow morning. -After breakfast, Captain, take part of the men and have them bury the -mules, and also dig a grave in that little bunch of spruces. It ought -not to take more than an hour for the job, then all hands are to knock -off and get a good day's rest. I think we all need it. I do not believe -there is any need for a guard on the machine to-day, but we will have -to put one on it to-night." - -Shortly after breakfast, Willie John, the Seminole, arrived as he had -promised. Charley had not forgotten him when he was in town and the -Indian's eyes sparkled over the bright colored cloth, beads, and mouth -organ the lads presented him with. Before he left, Charley succeeded -in hiring him and the two teams and wagons he had in Indiantown to -haul wood for the machine until the teamster returned with the mules. -The Seminole immediately took his departure, promising to be back with -wagons and oxen before dark. - -He had hardly gone, when Mr. Bruce, the lawyer, drove up in his auto. -He was made welcome in the boys' tent and Charley briefly told what had -occurred since he had seen him. The lawyer took a look at the dead man. -"He has all the appearance of a tough," he said. "Rather an ignoble end -for a gunman, to be kicked to death by a mule. I would advise you to -bury him at once. It is not at all likely that his friends will call -for him. To do so would be to give themselves away." - -The grave was already dug and, following the lawyer's advice, the body -was at once laid to rest, the Captain saying a brief prayer over it -before it was lowered into the grave. - -The ceremony over, they all gathered in the shade of a big pine and -discussed their troubles with Mr. Bruce. - -"I confess," said the lawyer, "that I thought your young friend was -exaggerating in the story he told me at Palm Beach, but I see now that -the trouble is far more serious than I thought. I have not been idle -since his visit to my office, and I have discovered one or two things -that are extremely interesting, although I do not see as yet how they -solve the mystery of your troubles. I have come out to-day to look -over the ground and see if I cannot discover some connection between -the facts I have learned and the trouble you are having. One peculiar -thing I notice in all your accounts is that, with the exception of the -placing of the dynamite under the machine, which may have been done by -Rooney out of sheer personal cussedness, there has been no attempt made -to destroy the machine." - -"You are right, sir," Charley admitted, "but of course they have not -had much chance to get at the machine." - -"Another thing," continued the lawyer, "although you have been caused -much anxiety, and worry and have suffered considerable loss, yet no one -of you has been seriously hurt so far." - -"I follow your reasoning, sir," Charley said. "Your idea is that they -do not wish to wreck the machine, but merely to stop its working, and -that they do not want to kill, but merely to drive us off the job." - -"Correct," said the lawyer; "but I am not going to say but what they -will kill some of you if they can't stop the job any other way." - -"You're comforting at any rate," said Walter, with a grin. "If we stop, -we lose every dollar we have in the world. If we don't stop we are -likely to be killed. Now which would you advise us to do?" - -Mr. Bruce laughed. "I am not going to advise either at present," he -said. "It's my duty as a lawyer to try to save you from both. Before I -give any advice I want to look over the ground. Can I drive on out to -Indiantown in my auto?" - -"Sure," said Charley, "and we will go with you if you do not mind." - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -A CLEW. - - -CHARLEY and Walter climbed into the auto with Mr. Bruce, who -immediately started up the machine and drove slowly out on the old -road, noting his surroundings with interest. - -"I have never been out in this country before," he said. "It seems -wonderfully strange and interesting to me. So unlike anything I have -ever seen in the North. I suppose that thick growth of trees ahead is -the jungle you told me about." - -The boys assured him that such was the case, and before entering the -jungle he stopped the car and looked back at the machine. "At the rate -your men are working, you will have the road completed up to the jungle -in another week," he observed. - -"Yes," Charley agreed, "that is, if we are not molested too much. I -dread the work through the jungle, though." - -"I should think you would dread it," agreed Mr. Bruce as the car -slipped into the jungle's gloomy depths. "Gosh, I never saw such a -sickly looking place and these awful snakes. I'll dream of them for -weeks. Why, the place fairly reeks with fever and disease." - -"We are going to set fire to it before we put the machine into it," -Walter said. "The fire will kill off a good many of the snakes, but it -won't stop the danger from fever much." - -Mr. Bruce drove on in silence until the car rolled into Indiantown, -where he stopped it in front of one of the truck gardens with an -exclamation of surprise. "My, I never saw stuff grow like that before," -he said. "This land must be wonderfully fertile, although it does not -look so very rich on top." - -"There's a soft grayish rock a little below the surface," Charley -explained. "I believe it produces that wonderful growth. I've got some -samples of it in my game bag. You can have them if you want them. This -land is wonderfully fertile, as you say," he continued, while Mr. Bruce -examined the bits of rock, "but I don't believe, even with that in its -favor, that it will be worth much until a railroad runs through here. -It's too far from transportation." - -"Yes," agreed Mr. Bruce absently. "It is too far away to be worth much -for farming purposes." - -The little party rode on as far as the trading-post, then Mr. Bruce -declared he had seen enough, and turning the car around headed back for -camp. - -"It's queer how a really brilliant mind sometimes overlooks plain -simple little things," he said as they slipped by the row of surveyor's -stakes. "Now the man who is directing operations against you is a -man of considerable intelligence, the ingenuity of his moves against -you prove that. He has kept in concealment, and, in spite of all the -annoyance he has caused you, you haven't got the slightest bit of -evidence against him. Some of his tricks have been infernally clever, -and yet he has overlooked one little thing that would have put you out -of business in a short time." - -"Don't name it out loud," Charley begged. "I noticed it long ago, but I -haven't even dared think of it for fear it might occur to him." - -"I don't know but what you fellows are in the same class with him," -said Mr. Bruce, with a smile. "This case reminds me of a story by Edgar -Allan Poe about a long search for a hidden document. All sorts of -out-of-the-way nooks and places were searched, and all the while the -document lay in full view upon a mantel shelf." - -"You mean that we have overlooked the solution of our troubles because -it was in plain sight?" said Walter eagerly. - -"Something like that," Mr. Bruce admitted. "I am not positive about it -yet, but I expect to be within a few days. In the meantime, I'm going -to refuse to answer any questions about it." - -It was not yet noon when they got back to camp and Mr. Bruce retired at -once to Charley's tent and began filling in the blank places on a lot -of legal forms he had brought with him. "I want all you Americans to -sign these without asking any questions," he said. "I know it's rather -an unusual request, but this case is rather an unusual one, so you will -have to do this blindfold if you want me to go on with your case. You -will just have to trust to my honor, that's all." - -Without any hesitation, our little party affixed their signatures to -the papers, the contents of which the lawyer kept carefully hidden. -They reasoned that in their present position they had nothing to lose, -if the lawyer proved dishonest, which they did not believe he would, -for they were all favorably impressed with his appearance and brisk, -business-like manner. - -After they had signed, the teamster and engineers were called in and -also asked to sign, which they willingly did, without question or -comment. - -"Now," said Mr. Bruce, when the signing was over, "I'll be going, for -I've got to do some hustling the next few days if I am going to be of -any use to you." - -"Better wait for dinner," Charley urged, but Mr. Bruce shook his head. -"I'll get a lunch in Jupiter," he said. "Every hour is important now. -I wish you had come to me sooner; as it is, I have only a short time to -do a whole lot of work in." - -Charley followed him out to the auto. "I wish you would tell us what -you have discovered and what you are going to do," he said. - -"No, I'm not going to do that," said the lawyer decidedly, "not until I -am sure that I am right. Do you think you can keep on working and stand -those fellows off for a week longer?" - -"I think so," Charley said simply. - -"Good," approved Mr. Bruce, "I will be back within a week. I must warn -you, however, that if my theories are correct the further you dig the -more trouble you are likely to have. I expect the enemy will abandon -all tricks and resort to attempts to kill before the week is out." - -"That's a cheerful outlook," said Charley dryly. - -Mr. Bruce hesitated before replying. "As a lawyer," he said, "I am -against killing in any form, but as a mere man I would say that I would -shoot to kill if the other fellow was doing the same." - -"But killing is an awful thing," protested Charley. "It is never -justified except in war." - -"Then just consider that this is war," smiled the lawyer. "You will not -have to stretch your imagination much. Good-by. I will be back in a -week." The teamster climbed into the auto with him and in a few minutes -the car was out of sight. - -Charley slowly returned to the camp, where he told his chums what the -lawyer had said. - -"I think I know about where those gunmen are camped," Walter said. "I -can see the smoke of a campfire near where the convicts camped. If we -have any more trouble with them, we could, perhaps, capture them in the -daytime when they are sleeping and turn them over to the sheriff." - -Charley shook his head. "That won't do," he said. "In the first place, -even counting in the engineers, there would only be seven of us to do -the job, for we could not count on the Spaniards. They lack the nerve -for such work. Seven men could hardly handle twenty. In the second -place, we have no evidence against any of them, except the one who -killed the mules, and he is dead. If we turned them over to the sheriff -he would have to turn them loose again." - -"You're right about the Spaniards lacking nerve," Captain Westfield -observed. "All these mysterious night attacks are frightening them. I -am afraid we are going to have trouble holding them if this sort of -thing continues." - -"I've been fearing that very thing," Charley said thoughtfully. "They -are a superstitious people and what they cannot understand frightens -them. I can see only one thing more that we can do and that is for Walt -and I to go on the night guard with them, and if there is any shooting -we had better do as the lawyer says--shoot back." - -"I don't like the idea of bloodshed," said Captain Westfield. - -"Nor I," said Charley grimly. "But if blood must be shed I would rather -it would be theirs than ours." - -"Same here," agreed Walter. "If we are going to keep watch to-night, -Charley, we had better eat dinner and turn in for a nap." - -It was nearly sundown when the boys emerged from their tents where they -had been awakened from their sleep by a clamoring outside. - -They found the din the herald of the arrival of Willie John with all -his worldly goods, consisting of numerous dogs, pigs, cattle, two -wagons, eight oxen, a squaw, his mother and his mother-in-law, a crowd -of children, and a couple of wrinkled old Indians, likely his father -and father-in-law. - -Much to the chums' relief, Willie John decided to make camp further -on close to the machine. After they had reached their camping place, -Willie John left the squaws to the ignoble menial work of making camp, -and with his son, a fine looking Indian lad, came over to discuss -business with his pale-face employers. - -"Me drive one wagon, four oxen," he said. "Boy drive one wagon, four -oxen. How much?" - -"Six dollars a day," said Charley promptly. "Six dollars and plenty of -tobacco." - -"It is well," said the Seminole. "Some tobacco now." - -Charley went to the supply and got a package, and the Indian, filling -his pipe, sat down on a log and puffed away in silent content, his son -sitting by his side silent and motionless except for the quick shifting -of his black, beady eyes that took in every detail of the camp and its -occupants. - -"Fine boy you've got," observed Walter, who had been admiring the -perfect form and proud carriage of the Indian lad. - -There was a glint of fatherly pride in Willie John's eyes as he laid -his hand caressingly on the lad's black head. "Him good boy," he said -simply. "Him run faster, wrestle better, swim better than any other -Indian boy. Him no drink wyomee (whiskey). Him no smoke. Him save all -money. By and bye, he go to school, all the same as pale-face boy." - -"That's good," Walter approved. "How old is he?" - -"Twelve years," answered the Seminole. "We go back to camp now. -Good-by." - -"He certainly thinks a lot of that boy for an Indian," Walter remarked -to his chum. - -"Why not?" said Charley. "Don't you suppose Indians have feelings like -other human beings?" - -Both lads had occasion to remember this conversation in the near -future. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -SICKNESS IN THE CAMP. - - -ACCORDING to agreement, as soon as night fell, Charley, taking two of -the Spaniards with him, went out to stand guard on the machine for -the night, while Walter and the other two took their posts on the -guard line circling the camp. There is nothing so slow and tedious as -doing guard duty, but the boys managed to hasten the flight of time by -chatting with their Spanish companions and adding new words and phrases -to their already fair knowledge of the language. - -Much to their surprise nothing occurred to alarm the lads during the -night. At daybreak Charley climbed up on the steel crane and took a -good look over the country, but he could discover no trace of the enemy -or any sign of campfire smoke. - -With the break of day the fireman came out to get up steam, and Charley -with his men returned to camp. "I can't see any trace of them or their -campfire," he told his chum, "and I believe I've hit upon the reason -why we were not molested last night." - -"Let's have it," said Walter eagerly. - -"I believe they think they have put us out of business with the killing -of the mules and the burning of our wood supply," Charley answered. "Of -course they will soon discover their mistake and be at it again." - -"Maybe they have gone back to town," his chum suggested hopefully, -but Charley shook his head decidedly. "They would not go far," he -declared positively. "They know it will not take us more than four or -five days at the most to get another pair of mules and start up again. -Well, let's be thankful for their giving us even one night's peace. I -am going to get a bite to eat and turn in, and I advise you to do the -same. If we wake up early enough we'll take the truck, run in to town -and see if that electric light has come." - -"All right," Walter agreed. - -It was nearly sundown when the boys awoke, so the purposed trip was -not made. As the machine was now working again, there was no need of -a guard on it, so the boys agreed to divide up the camp watch. One -standing guard with the Spaniards until midnight, and the other one -from midnight until morning. "I'll take the first watch," Charley said, -"then I can get a good nap and run into town in the morning." - -Before going out to his post, Charley sauntered over to the Indian's -camp and exchanged greetings with Willie John. "Did you see any -pale-faces in the woods to-day?" he inquired. - -The Seminole shook his head. "No see strange pale-face," he said. "See -campfire. Him one sleep old. Pale-faces gone." - -"Well," said Charley, puzzled. "You must not go near any pale-face -camp in woods. They very bad men. Maybe they shoot you or oxen. You -understand?" - -"Yes, me understand," said the Seminole. "No go near campfires any -more." - -"The gunmen have either moved camp or gone to town," the lad remarked -to his chum when he returned to camp. "But we will keep watch just the -same. It may be only a ruse to throw us off our guard." - -The night passed away, however, without the slightest alarm, much to -the lad's relief. Charley slept later than usual in the morning, and -when he emerged from his tent he found the Captain waiting for him. - -"One of the graders is sick," the old sailor informed him. "I wish you -would take a look at him. He looks to me to be pretty badly off." - -The lad found the sick man, one of their best workers, tossing -restlessly on his cot, his face a brick red. - -"What's the matter, Meticas?" he said cheerfully as he felt of the sick -man's hot face. - -"Plenty sick, senor," said the sufferer. "Plenty not all the time. No -can work to-day. Work to-morrow, maybe." - -"Don't you worry about the work," said the lad kindly. "I go to town -this morning, get doctor. He will make you well pretty quick." - -"Thanks, senor," said the man gratefully. - -"It looks to me like a case of jungle fever," the lad said as he joined -the Captain. - -"It's working in that nasty mud all the time that has made him sick," -the old sailor declared. "The hot sun burning down on that foul muck is -enough to make an alligator sick. It don't bother me much, for I get -off to one side and keep out of it. It's hardest on the ground men and -the graders. They are in it all the time. They don't complain any, but -I notice they are getting sores all over their legs from standing in -it. It would not surprise me if more of them came down before long." - -"I hope not," Charley said fervently. "We are in enough trouble as it -is. I am going in and get a doctor for him this morning. You can take -out one of the guards with you to take Meticas' place." - -As soon as he had eaten breakfast, the lad took the truck and started -for town. By noon he was back in camp again. - -"Gosh, you made a quick trip," Walter commented. - -"I didn't go to town," Charley said dejectedly. "Two miles from here -is as far as I could get with the truck." - -"Why?" demanded his chum. - -"Bridges blown up by dynamite from there on," said the other briefly. -"I walked ahead two miles from where I left the truck and there was not -a bridge but what was wholly or partly wrecked." - -"Whew!" whistled Walter, "that will shut us off from getting more -supplies." - -"That's what it was intended to do," said his chum wearily, "but, I -think, we can fool them on that point if we act quickly. Has Willie -John come in for his dinner yet?" - -"I think he is over at his camp now." - -"Come on over with me," Charley said. "We have got to act quickly or we -will find ourselves penned up out here without food." - -They found Willie John and his family squatted around a big iron pot -full of bear meat into which they kept dipping their hands and fishing -after choice tid-bits. - -"This afternoon you and boy go to Indiantown for us," Charley said. -"You tell all of tribe we want to buy plenty yams, corn, pumpkins, -pigs, and two cattle, then go out to trading-post and buy all the -flour, sugar and coffee Mr. Bowers will sell. Have Indians bring all -here to camp quick. Pretty soon bad pale-faces tear up bridge so we can -no get grub. You understand?" - -"Yes, me understand," said the Seminole. "Me go on foot. Indians got -plenty of wagons to bring grub. Go much faster walk. Boy and squaw -drive oxen and haul wood while I am gone." - -"Good," Charley approved. "You come over to camp before you go and I -give you plenty of money to buy grub with." - -"That will settle the food question for quite a while," the lad -observed, as the two boys sauntered back to the tent. - -"We don't really need anything from town for quite a while, except a -doctor. I am going to see if I cannot do something for the sick man, -but if he gets worse, we will have to get a couple of Indian ponies and -go in for a doctor. By leaving the road and taking to the woods one can -pick their way into town, but it would make a long, tiresome, dangerous -journey, and we don't want to attempt it unless we absolutely have to." - -Charley found the sick man about as he had left him, hot with fever and -tossing restlessly. After viewing his condition carefully, the lad went -back to his tent and got out the little medicine chest they usually -carried with them. - -"What are you going to give him?" Walter inquired. - -"A big dose of calomel now, and as soon as the fever passes off I will -give him two grain doses of quinine every two hours," said Charley -promptly. "That's what the doctors always give for these swamp fevers. -I am not much afraid of this kind of fever. It seldom kills and when -properly treated it is easily cured. Of course it leaves one weak for a -while, and not able to do much work. I wish, though, that I knew what -to do to keep the mud from making sores on the men. I am more afraid of -the sores than I am of the fever." - -"I don't know anything about medicine," said Walter thoughtfully, "but -it is evident that the sores come from germs or poisons in the mud. Now -if the men would put carbolic acid in the water when they bathe morning -and night and then put on some carbolic salve, I believe it would check -or kill that which makes the sores." - -"I believe you're right," Charley agreed. "We will have them try it -anyway. As soon as I can get to town I am going to get leggins for them -all. That will keep the mud from coming in direct contact with their -skins. Well, we had better get what rest we can now. Those fellows have -finished with the bridges and they will likely be back to make us more -trouble to-night. I don't feel as though I had got enough sleep anyway." - -The two lads wisely retired to their cots, where they gained a couple -of hours of good hard slumber from which they were awakened by the -arrival of Willie John returning from his errand. "Wagons come pretty -soon, bring plenty grub," he informed them. - -Before dark the wagons began to arrive, loaded with yams, pumpkins, -corn, and young pigs, besides all the flour, sugar and coffee Mr. -Bowers had been able to spare from the trading-post. - -The boys viewed the supply of food with satisfaction. - -"There's enough to run us a couple of months," Charley declared, "and -by that time we will either be doing well or else driven off the job." -Before night fell the lad went in and took another look at the sick -man. The fever had left him, so he gave him the first dose of two -grains of quinine. "Repeat it every two hours until you go to bed," he -told the Captain, who had come in from work. "I'll manage to slip in a -couple of times after you retire and give it to him." - -"There is another one coming down with it," the old sailor said -gloomily. "Rama has been yawning and complaining of aching bones all -day." - -"Send him in here and to-morrow take out one of the guards in his -place," said the lad promptly. "I am going to have the rest of the men -move out of this tent into the others and turn this one into a hospital -tent where the men can be quiet and undisturbed." - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -A MIDNIGHT RAID. - - -THE Spaniards sharing the sick man's tent willingly complied with -Charley's request and moved their belongings to the other tents in -which there was plenty of room for them. With Walter's assistance the -lad cleaned the tent out thoroughly and tied back the flaps at both -ends to permit the free circulation of air. Rama was made to go to bed -on a second cot and given a dose of the same medicine given the other. -This done, Charley called the balance of the graders and ground men -together and gave them a large bottle of carbolic acid and a box of -salve, instructing them how to use both. It was now getting dark, and -after a hasty supper the boys with their two Spaniards repaired to the -guard line. Before night, however, Walter had climbed a small tree and -taken a survey of the country. Much to his disappointment, he had seen -smoke rising from the convicts' old camping place, showing that the -gunmen had returned to their old haunts. - -"I wonder how they manage to find our camp so easy at night," the lad -remarked, as he and his chum met on their rounds. "When McCarty and I -were out hunting that time we could not see this camp from theirs, and -after we camped in the thicket we could not see their camp, although we -were not over half a mile away. The white mist blotted out everything." - -"That digging light way up on the machine's boom guides them," Charley -answered. "The mist is densest close to the ground. The further up one -goes the thinner it gets; consequently they can see that light even -when they can't see our campfire." - -"Simple enough, after all," Walter commented. "It's the simple things -that puzzle one the most sometimes." - -"Which reminds me of what Mr. Bruce hinted," Charley said, "that the -solution of our mystery was in plain sight all the time, but hanged if -I haven't puzzled over it till I made my head swim and can't make it -out." - -"Same here," Walter said. "I hope he is right and can make an end to -this trouble, but I doubt it." - -"Well, we will know in a few days. He promised to be out again within a -week." - -The lads turned back on their patrol and the conversation ceased. - -The hours slipped slowly away while the four guards kept up their slow, -weary, monotonous pacing back and forth. Three times Charley slipped -in and administered doses of quinine. On the last trip he passed by the -cook tent and, striking a match, glanced at the clock inside. - -"It's just midnight," he said as he rejoined his chum. "That seems -to be the favorite time for their devilment. I suppose we can look -for trouble any minute now." He had hardly finished when there came -the sharp crack of rifles from about the machine. "Good," Charley -exclaimed, "they haven't all got silent guns this time. Those reports -will give our men an idea where to shoot." - -"Hadn't we better go out there?" Walter asked. - -"No, we may have our hands full here," his chum replied. "Besides, the -engineer will whistle if he wants us. Gee, look at that!" - -The swinging platform of the machine was turning around and around at -great speed and from it burst forth little jets of flame as the machine -men answered the enemy's fire. - -"Good boy, McCarty," Walter exclaimed. "I guess they will have a job -hitting any of your men." He ducked as a bullet whizzed close by him. - -"Watch out!" Charley cried, "they have got the camp surrounded, too." - -"Shoot wherever you see a flash, then step to one side so they won't -locate your position." - -The Captain, Chris and the two engineers came running from the camp -half dressed with their guns in their hands. By the time they reached -the line, the rifles of both defenders and attackers were crackling -merrily and the bullets were whining back and forth. For half an -hour the firing continued on both sides, then the attacking party -slowly withdrew, firing as they retired. The attempt on the machine -had quickly been silenced, and McCarty was digging again as though -nothing had happened. Lanterns were lit and the defenders took stock -of the damage done. Captain Westfield had a scratch on the leg where a -bullet had grazed, one of the Spaniards had lost a finger tip, and a -cow staked out within the line had been killed. Whether the enemy had -suffered from their fire they could not tell. - -"I doubt if they were hurt much," Charley observed. "I think they did -most of their fighting from behind trees. We want to take a lesson from -them on that. To-morrow we will have to fix up some kind of protection -to get behind when the fun begins. I do not expect we will get off as -lucky next time as we did this. I believe they were trying to scare us -this time more than anything else." - -Satisfied that the trouble was over for the night, the Captain and his -companions returned to bed while the lads resumed their weary round of -sentinel duty. Nothing more occurred to disturb them, and they were -heartily glad when day at last came. As soon as it grew light enough -to see well, the two lads went out and examined the place from which -their enemies had fired. They found nothing, however, but a few drops -of blood on the grass beside a tree. "Some one got barked a little -here," Charley observed. "It wasn't anything serious, however, or there -would be more blood around." - -The boys had just finished breakfast when one of the Spaniards came in -from the machine. - -"Boss, McCarty want you to come out to the machine," he said to Charley. - -"I wonder what the trouble is now," said the boy wearily, as he arose -and put on his hat. "Want to walk out with me, Walt?" - -"Sure," his chum assented. - -"What's the matter?" Charley asked of the white-faced Spaniard who -accompanied them back. - -The Spaniard hastily crossed himself. "God knows," he said with a -shudder. "It's blood that we wash in and blood that we drink. May the -Blessed Virgin forgive us." - -As they were near the machine, the lads did not question him further, -but hastened on to where McCarty was standing a little ways beyond the -road. - -"What's the matter?" Charley asked the engineer. - -"You can see for yourself," was the reply. "Look at that little brook -over there where we have been getting our water. Last night it was just -ordinary sweet, pure, cold water, but just look at it now." - -The two lads stepped over to the tiny brook McCarty pointed out. It was -only a few feet wide and three or four inches in depth, except where -the machine men had dug a hole a couple of feet deep to make possible -the dipping up of a few bucketfuls at a time. The boy's eyes opened -wide with wonder and surprise, for the waters of the little rill were -red like blood. - -"Queer, isn't it?" said McCarty. "Hanged if I can account for it." - -"I have seen brooks of that color where the water flowed over red bay -tree roots," Walter volunteered. - -"That color does not come from bay roots," objected the other. "You -want to remember that it was all right and colorless yesterday. We got -a fresh pail of water about two hours ago. Of course we did not notice -the color then because it was dark, but one of the men went to get a -drink a while ago and I thought he would throw a fit when he saw the -color of the stuff he had been drinking. Bossie washed his face and -hands in the brook a couple of hours ago and just look at him now." The -lads glanced at the Spaniard, whose frightened face was a bright red. -"They want to quit," McCarty continued in a low voice. "This, coming -after all the other mystery, has scared them out of their wits. Unless -you can hit upon some reasonable explanation of this thing and do it -quick, I am afraid the whole gang will quit. They have been crossing -themselves and muttering prayers to the Virgin for the last hour." - -A glance at the three frightened Spaniards convinced the two lads that -McCarty was not exaggerating the seriousness of the situation. - -"Keep them here until I come back," Charley told him softly. "Come on, -Walt, I am going to follow that rill up to its source." - -They had not far to go. A couple of hundred yards from the machine -they found the rill's source among a clump of willows. Here a little -spring bubbled up from the ground. Near its mouth, fastened tightly -to a stake, was an object that caused the boy to utter exclamations -of surprise and relief. It was a muslin bag capable of holding eight -or ten pounds and it was stained a bright red. It had been cunningly -placed in a narrow part of the rill and the dirt banked up on both -sides so that all the water from the spring would have to pass through -or over it. - -"Don't touch it," Charley said. "Go bring the machine men here. I want -to make this an object lesson to them." - -While Walter was gone on this errand, the lad gathered up several -pasteboard packages that lay scattered around on the ground. He noted -with satisfaction that the directions on them were printed in Spanish -as well as English. - -In a few minutes Walter was back with the wondering Spaniards. Relief -began to replace the look of fright on their faces as Charley silently -pointed out to them the red stained bag and, untying it from the stake, -undid the string closing its mouth and shook out on the ground a mass -of water-soaked red powder. He picked up three of the packages he -had collected and gave one to each of the Spaniards. "Read," he said -shortly. The Spaniards burst out laughing as they grasped the cause of -the thing that had so frightened them. - -"Our enemies want to stop us from building this road," Charley said -in Spanish. "They are fools. They think by firing off their guns in -the air at night, starting fires in the grass, and coloring water red -with dyes, that they can frighten away the brave, noble sons of Spain. -Surely they are fools." - -"They are fools," agreed Bossie, now completely recovered from his -fright. "They might frighten children, but Spaniards never. No other -race is as brave and fearless as the sons of Spain." - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -BURNING OUT THE JUNGLE. - - -WHEN the boys left the machine to return to camp the men were in the -highest of spirits and the ground men were joking Bossie about his red -face. - -"I really believe that dye business is going to work out to our -advantage," Charley remarked to his chum. "Those Spaniards will not be -so likely to get frightened next time at a little thing they do not -understand." - -"I hope you're right," Walter said, "but, if these night attacks keep -up much longer, I believe all the men will quit, and I shall not blame -them if they do. One cannot expect men to work hard and then have -targets made of them every night, all for $2.00 a day." - -"No," Charley agreed, "but we have got to hold them as long as we can. -I am in hopes that Mr. Bruce will come to our rescue in some way. If -he does not and this sort of thing continues, we are bound to go under -sooner or later. We will simply be unable to keep men on the job." - -"How do we stand now?" Walter asked. - -"I haven't figured it out exactly," his chum replied, "but we are not -much ahead of the game, for our expenses so far have been enormous. -After this month's wages have been paid the men we will have but little -left. Of course, we have got the part of the reward for the convicts -coming and the money from the sale of the rings, but we have got -neither of those yet and we cannot tell when we will get them. We are -well equipped for three months ahead now, plenty of food, a new pair of -mules on the way, and new parts for the machine. We will be under but -little expense for several months to come. We are making good money on -the digging, and if we could continue it in peace, we would have a good -lump sum coming to us at the end of the job. But if this interference -keeps up, the machine will be laid up and we will be broke--that's all." - -"But there's the money for what we have already done," suggested Walter -hopefully. - -"We will not get that until the middle of next month," his chum said -gloomily. "If we are forced to quit the job before then we will get -nothing. The county will keep it for failure to carry out our contract. -We have just simply got to keep the machine working, that's all." - -When the boys arrived at camp, Charley went at once to the hospital -tent, where he found both sick men slightly improved. He left four -quinine tablets with each, with directions to take one every two -hours. To Chris he gave instructions to prepare some rich broth and dry -toast for the invalids. This done, the two lads turned in and slept -soundly until well along in the afternoon. - -They found the Captain had not been idle while they rested. With his -graders he had thrown up mounds of dirt and roots every fifty feet -circling the camp. - -"Good!" approved Charley, as he viewed the old sailor's work. "When -we get behind those we will be fairly safe from bullets. I wish those -trees out there were out of the way. They give the enemy too much -protection." - -"There are only about a dozen of them big enough to give any -protection," Walter observed. "Why not blow them up with dynamite?" - -The suggestion was a good one and they immediately set about carrying -it out. Assisted by the Captain with his graders, they dug holes under -the trees' roots and placing several sticks of dynamite under each, -thus exploded them with a fuse and cap. The powerful explosive blew the -big trees clear out of the ground and in some cases many feet above -ground before they fell. - -"That's better," said Charley, with satisfaction when the job was -completed. - -"We can make still another improvement," Walter suggested. "Why not set -fire to the roots? They are pitchy enough to burn good and the fires -will show up any one trying to approach the camp." - -The idea was so feasible that the lads carried it out at once, and by -the time night fell a bright glowing ring of fires surrounded the camp. - -"I don't believe they will bother us to-night with all those fires -going, but we'll keep watch just the same," Charley said. "We cannot be -too careful." - -The camp was not molested during the night, but about the middle of the -night there came explosions at regular intervals from the direction of -Indiantown. - -Charley chuckled. "They are shutting the stable door after the horse is -stolen," he remarked. "They are blowing up the bridges between here and -Indiantown." - -"I expected that would be their next move. That's why I was in such a -hurry to get the provisions from the Indians." - -"But the blowing up of the bridges ahead of us will stop the machine," -Walter said. - -"No, it will only delay us a little," his chum replied. "It's easily -remedied. When the machine gets to a blown-up bridge it will simply -face around and fill up the gap with mud and sand, and after it has -passed over it will dig out the gap again and our bridgemen will put in -a new bridge, which they would have to do anyway." - -"I see," said Walter, greatly relieved. "Things are not always as bad -as they seem." - -But while the lads had reason to be thankful for a quiet night, they -were not encouraged by the state of affairs in the camp next morning. -Two more men, a ground man and a grader, were down with the fever. The -condition of the other two sick men was greatly improved, but it was -plainly evident that it would still be several days before they would -be strong enough to go to work. - -The lads provided the new sick ones with medicine and made them as -comfortable as they could before they themselves retired to rest. - -"You'll have to get along with one man to-day, and let the other one go -on the machine gang," Charley told the Captain. "To-morrow the guards -will be rested up and you can have them to help you. Walt and I will -keep watch alone hereafter." - -"If this thing keeps up much longer it will not need the enemy to put -us out of business," he remarked to his chum as they prepared for bed. -"We can't spare another man off the job. If just one more man caves in -we will only be able to run the machine half time, and that's a losing -proposition. The worst of it is that we cannot get into town to get -more men until Canady returns with the mules. I can't imagine what's -keeping him. He ought to have been back yesterday." - -"Well, let's not worry until the things actually happen," said Walter -sleepily, as he stretched out on his cot. "It don't pay to cross a -bridge until you get to it." - -"We have got to set fire to that jungle to-day," said Charley some -hours later, as rested and refreshed, the lads ate their mid-afternoon -meal. "The machine is within a thousand feet of it now. It will not do -to wait until it gets closer, for the heat from that fire is going to -be intense. We can't do better than to start it right now. The wind is -blowing away from the machine, so the crew will not be troubled with -the smoke." - -The boys stopped at the first wood pile and split up a log of fat pine -into long sticks for torches. Carrying these and a plentiful supply of -matches, they made their way out to the edge of the jungle, which was -not far from their new camp. Lighting their torches, one went north and -the other south, scattering fire as they went. After they had started -blazes for a couple of hundred yards either way, they returned to the -road and watched the progress of the flames. - -"Isn't there danger of its sweeping on into Indiantown?" asked Walter, -as the flames began to mount skyward. - -"No," replied his chum. "I made sure of that before I decided to set -fire to it. There is a creek running along the other side of the jungle -that will stop its progress. Just look at it. Did you ever see anything -like it?" - -The two boys stood and watched with awe the mighty conflagration they -had started. The jungle was filled with dead and dying trees which -flamed up like tinder at the fire's breath. Soon the flames were -shooting up forty or fifty feet high and the roaring was like that of -a mighty tempest. The heat quickly grew so intense that the boys were -compelled to retreat slowly back to the machine. Even there the heat -could be felt, although it was a thousand feet to the jungle and the -wind was blowing the fire away from them. - -The engineer stopped the machine for a few minutes to give all hands a -chance to view the wonderful sight. - -As the pillars of flame and smoke reared themselves skyward, the boys -realized with astonishment that the jungle that had seemed so lifeless -was really teeming with life. From both sides of the mighty blaze rose -great flocks of blue and white cranes, egrets, whoopers, owls, parrots, -great scarlet flamingoes, and dozens of strange birds the like of which -the boys had never seen before. Nor was animal life lacking in either -number or variety. Hundreds of hairy swamp rabbits, as big as a small -dog, poured out from their doomed hiding places. Great big rats by the -thousands swarmed by the machine. A couple of deer went by, covering -the ground with great bounds. Wild cats, foxes, squirrels poured forth -in great numbers. One huge, sprawling object emerged from the thicket -and lumbered toward the machine, but before reaching it turned aside -and sunk with a splash in a nearby lake. - -"Whew!" breathed the engineer, "that was the grandfather of all -alligators. He must be all of twenty feet long." - -As the fire spread to either side the flow of animal life was diverted -in other directions and their rushing by the machine ceased. - -"I believe that fire will kill every snake in the jungle," Charley -declared with satisfaction. - -"I doubt it. They will just keep under water until it is all over," his -chum replied. - -"That water is shoal and stagnant," Charley reminded him. "Burning -branches and trees are dropping in it all the time. I'll bet it is -actually boiling by now." - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -SHOOTING TO KILL. - - -WHEN night came Charley and Walter had to go on the picket line alone, -for the two remaining Spanish guards would have to join the grading -gang in the morning. They adopted the plan the first two Spanish guards -had used of each one making a half circle of the camp. For several -hours they paced wearily back and forth, but as midnight drew near -they became more watchful and alert, for this was the hour that their -enemies generally chose to make their attacks. - -All the camp was fast asleep and silence reigned unbroken, except -for the exhaust of the machine and the occasional heavy fall of a -fire-eaten tree in the jungle. But in their loneliness the boys were -comforted by the knowledge that in their tents Captain, Chris, the -engineers, and many of the Spaniards were sleeping, fully dressed with -their guns by their sides, ready to run to the lads' assistance at the -first alarm. - -And soon it came, the sharp crack of rifles around both camp and -machine. The two lads answered promptly, firing at the bright streaks -of the blazing rifles in the darkness. - -"Keep down, keep down. Get behind the sand heaps," Charley shouted, as -those in the tents came running to their assistance. "Keep down. They -are shooting to kill this time." - -A rain of bullets thudded against the sand heaps as the defenders -dropped behind them and fired over the tops. The darkness was pierced -with streaks of spurting fire as rifle spoke to rifle. It was evident -that the enemy were shooting to kill, and the defenders did the same. -Wherever a rifle flash lit up the darkness they aimed at the place -and quickly fired. Occasional cries and oaths told them that some of -their bullets were finding their mark. But they were not to go unhurt -for their part. Charley, who had raised himself up to fire, felt the -thud of a bullet and his left arm dropped helplessly by his side. In -the excitement he felt no pain, but, letting go his rifle, he drew his -automatic and blazed away with it. Walter, behind the next pile, had -his straw hat shot off his head. Bob Bratton pitched forward on his -face and lay still and motionless, while one of the Spaniards sank to -the ground, his hand clapped to a wounded leg and cursed fluently. Once -Walter glanced back at the machine. Its platform was revolving rapidly -and the rifles of its crew were spatting viciously. But the enemy did -not now have the protection of the trees, and they could not long face -the hail of lead being poured upon them. Their firing suddenly ceased. -From where they had stood came piercing shrieks, and following the -shrieks came frightened yells and the thud of running feet. - -"Captain, take most of the men and go to the aid of the machine," -Charley commanded. "The fighting is over here." The old sailor hurried -away, followed by McCarty and most of the Spaniards. - -From the darkness ahead of the two boys still came the awful shrieks. - -"Chris, get a lantern, we must find out what's the matter out there," -Charley said. - -The little negro was back in a minute with the light and, taking it -from him, Walter led the way hastily toward the shrieks which were -growing fainter. He was closely followed by his chum and Chris with -their automatics in their hands. As the lantern lit up the scene of the -shrieks, Walter shrank back with a cry of fear and horror. A hideous -head with lidless gleaming eyes was reared many feet above the ground. -Recovering himself with an effort, the lad raised his automatic and -fired directly between the gleaming eyes. At the same minute Charley -and Chris discharged their weapons and the hideous head fell to the -ground. - -Holding aloft the light, the three frightened boys advanced cautiously. -Its rays shone down on a sickening sight. On the ground lay one of -the gunmen crushed into a shapeless mass, while, still partly coiled -around the man's body, a great boa constrictor writhed in its last -death struggles. - -"Ugh!" shuddered Walter, "I did not know there was such an awful thing -in Florida." - -"Fire drove it out of the jungle, I guess," said Charley jerkingly. -"Let's get back to camp. Bratton has fallen and one of the Spaniards is -badly hurt. We can do nothing here, it's all over." - -They had carried Bratton in and laid him upon his cot and were helping -the wounded Spaniard in, when Walter cried: - -"Look at the machine! Look at the machine!" - -The machine and the air about it was a mass of flames. Black figures -were leaping from its platform. - -"Rifle bullet hit gas tank," muttered Charley dreamily. "Explosion. -Can't work nights. Keep her going daytimes, Walt. Enough men unhurt to -do that. I'm tired, awfully tired. Think I'll go to sleep pretty soon," -and the lad, weak from loss of blood, sank unconscious to the ground. - -When Charley opened his eyes it was to find himself in his cot, his arm -neatly bound in splints, the sun shining in the open tent flaps, and -Walter sitting on a box by his side. - -"How did I get here?" he asked in wonder. "The last I remember was the -machine being in flames." - -"You keeled over in a faint," Walter replied cheerfully. "Loss of -blood, I guess." - -"Was there any one killed?" Charley demanded anxiously. - -"We thought Bratton was for a while, but the bullet hit a rib and -glanced out again, making only a flesh wound. He'll be all right again -in a week. The three Spaniards on the machine got pretty badly burned, -but not dangerously so. Luckily for them, the ditch was there. They -jumped right off the machine into it. The engineer by some miracle -escaped without a burn. Sicavia, the Spaniard that was wounded in the -leg, will be around again in a few days. He has only got a flesh wound. -I guess that's all, except we buried that dead gunman this morning." - -"The machine, is it running?" Charley questioned eagerly. - -"Yes, I got them to start her up again this morning. But we can't run -her nights for we have neither lights nor a night crew." - -"Go on," said Charley gravely. "I see that there's worse to follow." - -"Well, if you will have it, I suppose you might as well learn it now as -a little later," Walter said. "The fact is the whole gang of Spaniards -are going to quit. I had hard work to get any of them to remain over -to-day." - -"I suppose this is the end," said Charley, with a wry smile. "Well, we -have fought a good fight, and I, for one, am not going to give up yet." - -"There is such a thing as knowing when one is licked," his chum said -sadly, "and I think about every one on the job has reached that point. -I do not see how we can do anything more." - -Charley lay quiet for a minute thinking, then he said quietly: "Will -you get me about a pint of hot, strong coffee, Walt?" - -"Sure," answered his chum quickly, glad to see Charley taking the ill -news so quietly. - -When he returned it was to find his chum sitting on the edge of his cot -trying to dress, but making an awkward job of it with only one hand. - -"You must not get up," he protested, but Charley only smiled and said -lightly: "Nonsense, a broken arm is no excuse for lying in bed. Why, it -don't even pain me much. The pain will come later when the bone begins -to knit. Will you please get all the men together? I want to talk with -them a bit." - -When Walter had gone the lad finished dressing and drank the strong -coffee, which put new strength in his body. - -When he emerged from the tent it was to find that his chum had gathered -together in a body outside all the men but those confined to the -hospital tent. He had even brought in the men from the machine, which -had been stopped for the purpose. - -Charley wasted no time in idle words, but came directly to the point. - -"My chum tells me, men, that you all want to quit," he said in Spanish. - -"Si, senor, si, senor (Yes sir, yes sir), came the eager answer from -the crowd. - -"You are your own masters," continued the lad. "Of course, you are -free to quit whenever you want to and there will be no trouble about -getting your money when you wish to go, although your month is not up -yet." He paused for a moment and looked over the eager faces gathered -before him, before he continued: "I would not attempt to keep you on -this job against your will, but I will say that I think it is foolish -of you to quit now. All the bridges between here and Jupiter have been -destroyed, so I cannot take you in with the truck. To attempt to make -your way in through the woods and carry your belongings with you would -be folly, for the way would be long and winding and you would run the -risk of getting lost. Besides, there are several of your companions who -are sick and unable to travel. Surely you do not want to desert them. -Now, what I wish to propose is this: You all know the teamster has gone -in to get more mules. We expect him back any hour. When he comes if you -are still minded to quit, we will hire an Indian guide and send you in -by wagon. Until he comes, I would ask you to continue at work. Our -lights on the machine are ruined so we can only work day times, and in -the day time you are in no danger from our enemies. Those of you who do -not work on the machine will throw up breastworks all around the camp -so that we will be well protected at night." - -When he ceased the Spaniards drew to one side for consultation. In a -few minutes Bossie came forward and said in his quaint broken English: - -"We stay till by and bye, wagon come, then catchee town. We all likee -Boss plenty. Likee grub, likee job, but no likee mud, no likee fever, -no likee shooting all the time. We work till wagon come--no more." - -"Good," said Charley, "you can go back to work now. It might be worse," -he remarked to his chum. "The machine will be kept going day times -anyway." - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX. - -THE SEMINOLE LAD. - - -THE two lads next visited the hospital tent, where they found the fever -patients much improved but the three machine men suffering greatly from -their burns, while Bob Bratton and the wounded Spaniards were resting -as comfortably as could be expected. The boys did all they could to -make the sufferers comfortable, then sauntered out for a look at the -burned jungle. Here they met with a scene of utter desolation. Many -trees and stumps were still burning, but the larger part of the jungle -had been swept clean. The shallow pools of water had been dried up by -the intense heat, leaving exposed an expanse of black mud fissured -by cracks. Of the former multitude of snakes that had infested the -place they saw not one. Returning from the destroyed jungle, the lads -searched over the scene of battle of the night before. They found blood -on the ground in several places, indicating that all their bullets had -not been wasted. Before entering the tent, Charley paused and took a -last look around. Several Spaniards, under the Captain's direction, -were throwing up a solid breastwork, close to and surrounding the camp. -The machine was working steadily, and the slow moving ox carts were -crawling back from the distant timber with their loads of wood. The -Indian camp had been outside of the fighting zone the night before. -With a sigh, the wounded lad entered his tent and throwing himself on -his cot, gave way to his despair. Try as he might, he could see nothing -but ruin for himself and companions. There was little hope of getting -another crew for the machine. The departing Spaniards would carry the -story of their disasters in with them, and it would be impossible to -induce others to come out. A negro crew might be secured, but it would -take time, and the lad knew the colored race well enough to know that -they would not stick in the face of danger. - -The crew's wages would take almost the last dollar they had in the -bank, and if the County insisted, as he feared it would, on their -rebuilding the destroyed bridges, the reward for the convicts, the -money they had found in the old fort, and what was due on the digging -they had already done, would be swept away to the last cent. In no -direction could he see any hope. In spite of all his efforts and -careful planning, their mysterious enemy had triumphed, and he and his -companions were ruined. He did not blame the Spaniards for quitting. -The work was hard enough and dangerous enough to bear, without the -added risk of being shot in the dark. - -At last, worn out by his gloomy reflections, the lad fell into a fitful -slumber from which he was awakened by Walter, who was pale of face and -excited. - -"What's the matter?" Charley demanded as he sat up on the edge of the -cot. "You look as though you had seen a ghost." - -"I hate to tell you," faltered his chum, "but I knew you would have to -hear about it, so I ran ahead to break the news to you myself." - -"Out with it," Charley said. "I'm strong enough to bear anything now." - -"You know the Indian lad that drives one of the wagon teams--the boy -Willie John is so proud of--they just found him dead on his load of -wood--shot through the heart." - -"The fiends," said Charley, "to shoot a poor, innocent, harmless child. -They shall pay for it. Pay for it dearly." He threw aside the tent flap -and strode out, Walter by his side babbling over the details of the -tragedy. - -"You ought to have seen Willie John's face when he found him," he said. -"It was like a demon's for a minute, then it became like stone." - -Charley made his way out to the Indian camp, where the Spaniards and -the Americans were already gathered. The squaws were breaking up camp, -while Willie John sat in one of the wagons holding the dead lad in his -arms. - -"Willie John, Willie John," said Charley brokenly. "We never thought -anything like this would happen. We never dreamed those fiends would -fire on you or the lad." - -"Me understand," said the Seminole without emotion. "You no to blame. -Bad pale-faces in wood did it." - -"We will see that they are punished for it, Willie John," Charley -promised, with tears in his eyes. "We will do all in our power to bring -them to justice." - -"Me understand," said the Seminole, and added simply as he gazed down -at the lad in his arms: "Him was good boy. Him no smoke, no drink -wyomee. Him save every little bit of money he get so by and bye him go -to school all the same as pale-face boy. Him was very good boy." - -The boys watched the lumbering, slow moving wagons out of sight with -unashamed tears in their eyes. Then Charley turned to the machine men. -"Rake out your fire and make everything snug on the machine," he said -quietly. "There will be no more work for there will be no more wood." - -When the machine men, their task done, had gathered with the others at -the camp, the lad addressed them again. - -"You have all seen what has happened to-day," he said quietly. "A -bright, innocent, harmless child murdered simply because he was working -for us. We hardly deserve the name of human if we do nothing to avenge -his death. It is getting too near night to do anything to-day, but I am -going to call for volunteers to go with me to-morrow morning to either -capture his murderers or wipe them out of existence. Who will go with -me?" - -His chums and the two engineers stepped promptly to his side, and the -Spaniards followed one by one. - -"Good," said the lad, with a sad smile. "We will start at daylight." - -There was no singing or laughter in the camp that night, for each man -carried to his tent with him the reflection that the morrow might see -him as dead as the Indian child they were going to avenge. There were -plenty of men to act as guards for the night now that the machine was -not working, so Charley retired early to his tent and soon fell asleep. -At daybreak the guards awoke him and his companions as they had been -ordered to do, and reported that the night had passed off without -alarms. Chris soon had breakfast ready and over cups of strong steaming -coffee their plans for the expedition were made. - -When the sun arose ten Spaniards and seven Americans armed with guns -and pistols filed out of the little camp and silently tramped away for -where a distant smudge of smoke showed the location of the gunmen's -campfire. Only enough more remained behind to guard the camp. - -The little party of avengers advanced with caution. They marched in -a twisting line so as to always keep a hummock or a bunch of spruces -between them and the distant camp smoke so that their approach would -not be noticed. As they slowly drew nearer double caution was observed, -but at last they came upon an open stretch of prairie which they must -cross to reach the thicket in which the gunmen's camp was located. - -"Here is where they take the alarm," commented Charley, as they emerged -out upon the open prairie. - -But the little party crossed the open stretch without any sign of life -from the gunmen. - -"They have either moved or are sound asleep," he said. "Get your guns -ready. Don't fire unless I give the word. Follow me, and make as little -noise as you can." - -The little party filed into the thicket, the chums and engineers in -the lead and the Spaniards following close behind. At the edge of the -cleared camping place the little party halted in horrified amazement. -They had come to avenge the killing of the Indian lad, but another -avenger had come before them. Sprawled upon the ground in all manner of -attitudes, lay eighteen men--all dead. - -"Lord!" breathed McCarty softly. "Who could have done it?" - -"There is only one answer to that question," said Charley gravely. -"Those whose right it was to do it, if the taking of human life is ever -right. Look at those heads." - -The others shuddered with horror as they gazed upon the reddened skulls -from which the scalp locks had been skillfully removed. Aside from that -nothing had been touched, guns still lay where they had fallen and -tents and supplies were undisturbed. - -"The Seminoles," exclaimed Walter, and his chum nodded assent. - -Two men were sent back to the camp for shovels, and when they returned -graves were dug in the sandy soil and the dead men laid to rest. A -search of their clothing and belongings gave little clew to the strange -men's identity, but from the quantity of tablets and powders found upon -them, and their dissipated appearance, the boys decided that they were -members of that deadly drug-crazed band of New York gunmen. - -Their sickening task finished, the little party headed back for camp. - -"I am glad, after all, that it is not by our hands that they fell," -Charley said to his chums as they tramped along. "To take life, even in -the heat of passion, is a terrible thing." - -"Aye, aye, lad," said Captain Westfield reverently. "The Good Book -truly says, 'Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord.'" - -The little party arrived back in camp by noon. Much to their surprise, -they found Willie John back again with his wagons busily engaged in -making camp. - -"Me come back, haul more wood," explained the Seminole simply. - -During dinner there was great chattering and whispering at the -Spaniards' table, and after the meal was over Bossie, always their -spokesman, approached Charley. - -"Spanish _hombres_ (men) no want to quit now," he said in his quaint -English. "They likee boss, they likee grub, likee job. They no be shot -at nights any more. They want to stay on job now. They think it much -more better." - -"All right, Bossie," replied the lad listlessly. "We can only work half -time now until the mules come and I can go in and get the electric -light." - -"I will be glad when this job is over," he told Walter. "The violence, -trouble, and bloodshed have destroyed all my interest in the work. The -gunmen will bother us no more, but I am wondering already where the -enemy will strike next. The gunmen were only tools." - -"Cheer up," said his chum, with an attempt at cheerfulness. "The -darkest hour is always just before the dawn." - - - - -CHAPTER XXX. - -VISITORS. - - -ONE and all in the camp now began to look forward to the coming of -Canady with the mules. The Spaniards because, until a new light was -installed, they could only work half time and consequently could only -earn half their usual wages. The rest of the party because they were -getting really alarmed over the Missourian's long absence. - -"He ought to have been back long before this," said Charley, the day -after the tragic discovery of the dead gunmen. "If he does not show up -by to-morrow morning, I am going to hire a pony from the Indians and -start in and look for him. Something surely must have happened to him." - -"If you do go in you are liable to miss him on the way," Walter -objected. "He may come back by one route while you are going in by -another. Better give him a little more time. Jim impressed me as being -perfectly well able to look out for himself." - -"You don't think he could have been tempted by the big amount of money -he carried?" asked Captain Westfield, with some hesitation. "Five -hundred dollars is a lot of money to a poor man." - -"But not to Jim," Charley said decidedly. "Jim is a true Southerner and -a thief is almost a curiosity among Southern races. No, Jim would not -touch a cent that did not belong to him. Something has happened to him, -that's all." - -"Well, if you go in to-morrow, I am going with you," Walter said -decidedly. - -"We will talk that over later," Charley said. "We have nothing to do -to-day so we might as well amuse ourselves and try to forget for a time -that, if we are not actually ruined, we are pretty close to it." - -"That's a good idea," his chum agreed heartily. "What shall the program -be?" - -"I would like to explore the country to the side of the road a bit, say -out where you and McCarty went when you killed the deer. I have not -been out that way yet." - -"Suppose we all go," Walter suggested. "All can get away except the -man running the machine, and even a little change like that will do a -fellow a pile of good." - -"Good!" Charley approved. "We will all go that want to and make a day -of it." - -It developed that all the Americans were eager for something in the way -of a change. Even the Captain was willing to take a day off and Chris -insisted that his assistant Sam was now competent to prepare a meal for -those left behind. Armed with guns and lunch baskets, and with Bob, the -dog, frisking ahead, the merry little party set out determined to have -a pleasant time. - -Quail was plentiful and a great number were bagged before the little -party reached the prairie regions with its sandy bottomed lakes. They -stopped by one of the lakes and rested at noon. They had brought -fishing tackle with them and enjoyed huge sport pulling in the big fish -with which the lake was full. Several of these roasted over the coals -made a welcome addition to the lunch they had brought with them. - -The afternoon was spent killing more quail, fishing, following up a -homing bee which led them straight to a big hollow tree filled with -delicious honey, and digging in the mounds which dotted the prairie. -These mounds were found to contain quantities of human bones, arrow and -spear heads, stone hatchets, and vessels of earthen ware. They were -evidently the relics of a race long since gone out of existence, a race -that lived in the country long before the Seminole Indians. - -Tired but happy, the little party got back to camp just after sundown. -Here a surprise greeted them, for they found the sheriff, and half a -dozen of his aids, awaiting their arrival. The sheriff's face was very -grave and he answered their cordial greetings crisply. - -"Gentlemen," he said, "I have a warrant for the arrest of Charley West, -Walter Hazard, Capt. Benjamin Westfield, Bob Bratton, Will Kitchner and -C. P. McCarty (white), and Christopher Columbus (negro)." - -The little party stared at each other in stupefied amazement. - -"On what charge?" demanded Charley, recovering his breath. - -"On the charge of being the principals and accessories before and after -the fact in the murder of one Levi P. Morton, late of New York City, on -the night of November 23d, 1913," read the sheriff droningly. - -"That gunman!" gasped Walter. "Why no one murdered him, Mr. Sheriff. He -was kicked to death by mules he attempted to poison." - -"I shall have to warn you that anything you say can be used against you -at your trial," said the sheriff sternly. "I have found the grave of -the dead man near this camp." - -"Rats!" sneered McCarty angrily. "No sane judge would hold us ten -minutes on such a charge." - -"Well," observed the sheriff coolly, "you will have a chance to test -that. Even if I were convinced of your innocence, I would have to -arrest you just the same. When a warrant is given me it is my sworn -duty to serve it." - -"The sheriff is right," Charley said hopelessly. "We will have to go -with him, and we might as well do it without argument. The judge will -turn us loose as soon as he hears our story, but it will be too late -then." - -"Too late for what, lad?" asked Captain Westfield. - -"Why, can't you see this warrant is a put-up job," Charley exclaimed -impatiently. "Don't you understand it's the latest move of the enemy to -get us out of the way while they disable the machine and destroy our -camp?" - -"By Jove, I believe you're right," exclaimed McCarty. - -"Right, of course I'm right," said the lad fiercely. "What other reason -could there be for such an absurd charge? You will see that no one will -appear against us when we are brought up in court. Well, the game's up, -boys. We have all put up a good fight, but this settles it. I would not -give ten cents for what we will find here if we return after being set -free. May we have time enough, Mr. Sheriff, to pay off our men and pack -up our things?" - -"You can have all night," replied the officer. "We will not go in until -morning. It's a long journey, for, with the bridges gone, we will have -to pick our way back through the woods." - -After our little party had finished a silent, gloomy supper, they -retired to their tents to pack up their scattered belongings. - -Charley called the workers to his tent one by one and gave each a check -for a full month's wages. He made all of them promise to stay and guard -camp and machine during their absence, but he really had but little -hope that they would remain in camp long after all the Americans were -gone. - -Their packing done, the little party gathered around the campfire as -gloomy and disheartened a little bunch of men as it would be possible -to find. One of the larger of the tents had been given up to the -sheriff and his posse, and to it the officer sent his tired men early, -saying he would stand guard over the prisoners himself the first part -of the night. - -"Boys," he said, when the last one of his men had retired, "I hate to -execute this warrant. I had to be stern to you before my men, for every -one of them wants my job and would be glad to make any trouble they -could for me at headquarters. Being as we are alone together now, I -will say that I believe you fellows are as guiltless as a babe of the -crime with which you are charged. I believe, as you say, that it's a -frame-up, but I've got to take you all in to answer to it, unless----" - -"Unless what?" asked Walter eagerly. - -"Unless," said the sheriff suggestively, "you overpower me, tie me up, -and make your escape to-night." - -Charley grasped the meaning in the officer's tones. "No, it would be of -no use," he said. "It might make you trouble and we would be no better -off, compelled to hide out in the woods, than we would be in jail." - -"I guess you're right," the sheriff admitted. "It's too bad, it's too -bad." - -"We thank you for your kindness," Charley said gratefully. "We know -what your duty demands and do not blame you in the slightest for this. -You could not do otherwise." - -"I'm glad you understand that," said the sheriff, brightening. "By the -way, I had to arrest your teamster, too, day before yesterday, on the -same charge." He grinned at the recollection. "He was just starting out -for here with a new pair of mules when we nabbed him. Lord, he fought -like a wild cat and swore like a pirate while we were taking him to the -lock-up." - -"So that's why Jim hasn't come back," said Charley, with a grim smile. - -"That's the reason," assented the sheriff. "He hasn't had a hearing -before the judge yet. My eldest boy is looking out for the mules for -him. When I left, Lawyer Bruce was flying around trying to get Jim -out. Swore he would have him set free before noon." - -"Did Mr. Bruce know you were coming out for us?" Charley inquired, with -interest. - -"I dropped him a hint," said the sheriff. "My, you ought to have heard -him rave. He had Jim Canady's cussing beat a mile. He used longer -words, and more of them." - -"I'm glad he knows the position we are in," said the lad, with relief. -"He may be able to help us in some way." - -"Don't you worry, lad. Bruce will do all he can for you--he's that -kind," said the sheriff kindly. "Now you had better all turn in and get -a good night's rest. It will be a long hard trip in to-morrow." - -All hands thanked the kind officer and retired to their tents, where -they were soon fast asleep. - -Chris, who, as usual, was the first one out in the morning, awakened -the others with shouts of delight. - -"Jim's coming," he cried in their ears. "Jim an' Mr. Bruce and that -little man, Jones. They are within a half mile of camp." - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI. - -MR. JONES BUYS THE OUTFIT. - - -THE Americans came tumbling out of their tents just as Mr. Bruce, with -his companions, rode into camp. - -"No questions, no questions, until we have had something to eat," -protested the lawyer good-humoredly, as our little party crowded around -him. "We haven't had a bite to eat since yesterday noon. Just fill us -up with something hot and tasty and we'll talk on anything you name. -I am not going to say another word on an empty stomach, except to the -sheriff here, and that only to tell him that I've got an order from the -judge revoking that warrant he's got for all of you fellows, and that -he might as well trot right back to town." - -"Not before breakfast," protested the officer vigorously. - -"As these boys' counsel, I advise them not to feed either you or your -men," said the lawyer, with twinkling eyes. "They ought to punish you -by sitting you in the corner and letting you watch the rest of us eat." - -"That would be inhuman," declared the sheriff. "Um, man, just smell -those fish frying and that coffee steaming." - -At this moment Chris announced breakfast and all filed in to where -the little negro had the table filled with fried fish, quail, ham and -eggs, potatoes, hot corn bread and coffee. Silence reigned supreme as -the hungry lawyer and his companions attacked the savory food. When at -last they had satisfied their gnawing appetites the lawyer turned to -the sheriff. "You can run along home now," he said. "Here's that paper -I spoke about to show that everything's all right and proper. You can -leave the boys with me now." - -"I'm not sure but that I ought to take charge of their pocketbooks for -them if you are going to remain here," said the sheriff, with a laugh. - -"I'll promise that their pockets will be fuller when I leave them than -they are now," said Mr. Bruce. - -"All right, I'll go then," agreed the sheriff, with a grin. "So long, -boys, and the best of luck to you." - -"That's a true-blue old chap," remarked the lawyer, as the sheriff -departed. "We joke pretty rough with each other sometimes, but I like -him and I think he likes me." - -"He is good and kind," Charley agreed. "Do you feel able to talk -business now?" - -Mr. Bruce lit a cigar and puffed in dreamy content for a few minutes -before replying. - -"You know my friend Mr. Jones here, I believe?" he said, with an airy -wave of the hand toward the little man whose face at that moment -looked as though he had just taken a dose of castor oil. - -"We have seen him before," said Charley coldly. - -"Mr. Jones is a remarkable man, a very remarkable man," said the -lawyer, and the lad thought he could detect a mocking note in Mr. -Bruce's voice as he continued. "Like many other remarkable men, -however, Mr. Jones has not until the present time been able to gratify -his greatest desire and ambition. Is that not correct, Jones?" - -"Go on. You're doing the talking," said the little man grimly. - -"That's so, I am," said Mr. Bruce, with the air of one who had just -been informed of a startling fact. "You're a man of unusual observation -and intelligence, Jones. Well, gentlemen, even in childhood Mr. Jones -gave evidence of what was to be his ruling passion in life. Before -he had reached the age of five, he nearly lost a finger in trying to -discover how his mother's clothes-wringer worked. Your mother did have -a clothes-wringer, didn't she, Jones?" - -"That was before the clothes-wringers came into use," growled the -little man testily. "Can't you come to the point?" - -"Dear me, so it was," agreed the lawyer. "I have got my facts all mixed -some way. Well, at the age of six, Mr. Jones was licked by his father -for taking the family lawn-mower to pieces to discover what made it cut -grass." - -"We didn't have any lawn or lawn-mower," declared the little man mildly. - -"At the age of seven Mr. Jones used to sit for hours by the railroad -track wondering what made the locomotive's wheels go round. At ten -he ruined a bicycle, a present from an uncle, by taking it to pieces -trying to discover why it would keep upright when moving but would fall -down when stationary." - -The boys grinned, and the little man squirmed uneasily in his seat. - -"Gentlemen, you have no doubt discovered by now what Mr. Jones' ruling -passion was, and is, namely, an almost overwhelming love of machinery. -I have not sketched out his entire life, but I have not the slightest -doubt that this passion displayed so early in life grew with the -passing years until it became a mania. I believe that, when Mr. Jones -came to own an automobile, the happiest hours of his life were those -spent under the machine with a monkey-wrench in his hand and his -clothes covered with grease." - -"Can't you come to the point?" demanded the little man irritably. - -"In just a minute, Jones," said the lawyer gently. "Now, gentlemen, I -have related all this to show you how natural it was when Mr. Jones -first laid eyes on your magnificent machine he became possessed of the -desire to own it. His whole heart and every fiber of his being yearned -to possess that marvel of cog-wheels, levers, and power. The desire -grew so upon him that he could not sleep at nights, and at last he came -to me and begged me to see if you would not sell out to him. I warned -him that you loved your work, and that nothing but a very high price -would tempt you to give it up, but that has not diminished his ardor, -and so I brought him out here to see what could be done in the matter." - -The lads' hearts beat high with hope. Here was a way out of their -difficulties they had never dreamed of. They managed to keep their -delight out of their faces, however, for they realized that the lawyer -was playing a deep game, which they did not understand. - -"I am afraid that you will set an unreasonable price on your outfit," -said Mr. Bruce, "so I suggest if you will entertain a proposition to -sell, that you let me conduct the negotiations. I would hate to have -Mr. Jones pay more for the machine than it is worth to him." - -The little man winced visibly and shifted uneasily in his chair. - -"We would sell, if we could get a proper price," Charley said slowly. -"We are willing to leave the matter in your hands." - -"Good," said the lawyer. "Now we can get down to business. Let's see; -the machine cost $12,000 laid down at Jupiter, I believe." - -"I'll buy it for that," said the little man promptly, while our chums -held their breath. - -"Not so fast," said the lawyer. "I'm not setting a price yet. I'm just -figuring up things. Twelve thousand dollars was the price at Jupiter, -but it cost a lot more to set it up and get it on the ground to work; -then, there's the camp outfit, mules, truck, etc. The whole thing -should be worth at least $18,000." - -"I'll take it at that," said Mr. Jones quickly. - -"Don't be so hasty," reproved the lawyer. "I am not half through my -figuring yet. I believe the lads here have done a lot of work which -they haven't been paid for yet." - -"About $2,000 worth," Charley said; "then there is $1,700 coming on -work that Murphy did." - -"That makes $3,700," said the lawyer with satisfaction. - -"It's highway robbery!" exclaimed the little man excitedly. - -"We haven't counted in the good will of the business yet, nor the -mental anguish my clients have suffered from troubles caused by enemies -to this road-building. I think $25,000 would be a fair selling price." - -"It's blackmail!" shouted the little man. "It's nothing but pure -blackmail." - -"Oh, no," said Mr. Bruce calmly. "You know you don't have to buy unless -you want to. But I haven't finished yet. The buyer would have to keep -on all the present crew, if they wish to stay. The sick ones would -have to be well cared for, and their wages go on just the same as if -they were at work. He would have to rebuild all the bridges destroyed -between here and Jupiter, and, lastly, he would have to pay to Willie -John, the Seminole, whose son was killed while working for the company, -the sum of $5.00 a week for life. That's my proposition for my clients. -Of course, if you do not want to accept it, Mr. Jones, you do not have -to do so." - -For a few minutes silence reigned in the tent. Then the little man, -with a groan, pulled out his checkbook. "I give up," he said. "You've -got me where I can't do otherwise." - -"Sensible man," approved the lawyer. "Now, gentlemen, will you please -call in your engineers and teamster? I've got some papers I want all -hands to sign." The rest of the Americans were quickly assembled in the -tent, and the paper signed, after which Mr. Jones handed the lawyer a -check for $25,000 and received the papers in exchange. - -"Do you know, Mr. Jones," said the lawyer, as he held the check in -his hand, "this road building could have been stopped long ago if its -enemies had been smart enough to do one little thing?" - -"What was that?" inquired the little man, with a display of interest. - -"Pull up and destroy the surveyors' stakes," said Mr. Bruce, smiling. - -Chagrin swept over the little man's face. "I guess I am beginning to -get old and feeble-minded," he said humbly. - -"Not too old but to be watched, and carefully, too," said the lawyer. -"Gentlemen, I think Mr. Jones would like to retire and rest up a bit, -after his hard ride. If you could place a tent at his disposal, it -would be a great favor. I would suggest that a few men be placed around -the tent until one of you can ride in and get this check cashed." - -"Think I would stop payment on it?" growled Mr. Jones. - -"You might, you know," said the lawyer quietly. - -So Mr. Jones was escorted to a tent, and a guard of Spaniards placed -around it. - -Walter offered to ride in on the little man's pony to get the check -cashed and the money placed to their credit in the bank. Charley would -have liked to have made the trip himself, but his arm was paining him -so intensely that he decided to remain behind. Soon after breakfast -Walter rode away on his errand. - -"I am thoroughly bewildered," Charley said to Mr. Bruce. "I don't see -how you forced Jones to buy us out at such an enormous price, and I do -not see any solution of our mystery. It is still a mystery." - -"Same here," agreed Captain Westfield. "I must own up, I am as curious -as a woman about it." - -"I am willing to explain now," said Mr. Bruce, with a smile. "It's a -very simple affair, after all." - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII. - -THE MYSTERY SOLVED. - - -MR. BRUCE paused before beginning his story. "I take it that you are -well satisfied with the settlement you have made with Jones?" he asked. - -"More than satisfied--delighted," said Charley, at which sentiment -Captain Westfield nodded his head vigorously. - -"Very well," said the lawyer. "I am glad of that, for I must confess I -have carried things with a pretty high hand in this matter. I am almost -afraid to tell you the whole truth now, for you may condemn me for the -settlement I have made of your affairs after I tell you everything, but -I have acted for what I thought was your best interests all the way -through." - -"We believe that," said Charley simply. "But for you we would have lost -out completely. We would not ask for particulars if it were not that -the mystery of the whole business still puzzles us." - -"And yet it's a simple thing," said the lawyer. "You gave me nearly all -the clews to it that day you called at my office in Palm Beach. You -told me of all the efforts that had been made to hold up your work. You -told me about the man Jones, and what the agent at Jupiter had told -you about his getting cipher telegrams from the state capital and -New York, and you also showed me a newspaper clipping, telling of the -efforts of a big company to get free from the State of Florida a big -grant of land between Indiantown and the jungle. Why, your mystery was -nearly all solved in just what you told me that day." - -"I don't see how," said Charley bewildered. - -"The connection was plain enough," said Mr. Bruce, with a smile. "It -was a big New York company that wanted to get the land for nothing. -Jones was getting mysterious messages from New York and from the state -capital. You were almost certain that Jones was the one back of all -your troubles. Well, the deductions from all those facts were simple -enough. Jones was evidently the agent for the New York company. Jones -was not trying to kill any of you or to break up the machine. He was -simply trying to hold up and delay the building of the road. Why did he -want to hold up your work, you will ask. Well, the answer is contained -in that newspaper clipping. The legislature will not meet until next -month, when they will likely give the land grant to the company. The -inference was plain, Jones' company wanted to have the road built, but -not before they got the land from the state." - -"But why?" persisted Charley, still puzzled. - -"That's the question that puzzled me," smiled the lawyer. "It was what -brought me out here the first time to look over the ground, and I found -that you were carrying the answer around without knowing it. You were -like Jones was about the surveyors' stakes. It was such a little thing -that you never thought it of any importance." - -"Go on," said Charley, still mystified. - -"Those bits of rock you had in your game bag were phosphate at the -highest grade," said the lawyer, with a smile. "The company was asking -the state to give them millions of dollars' worth of phosphate for -nothing, trusting to the state's ignorance of the value of the land." - -"I see," said Charley excitedly, "they wanted to hold the machine back -from digging through that land until they got the grant from the state. -They reasoned that, when the shovel began to throw out that stuff, -someone would be sure to recognize it, and the news would leak out, -destroying their chances of getting millions of dollars for nothing." - -"That's about the size of it," Mr. Bruce admitted. - -"But I still don't see how you made Jones buy our machine at such an -enormous price," said the lad. - -"I am rather proud of that stroke," admitted the lawyer. "Perhaps my -method was not entirely ethical, but, as a lawyer, I owed a duty to -you, my clients, before any abstract duty to the state. Once I got the -lay of things, I began to study out how I could turn my discoveries to -your advantage. Of course, I could have made public the discovery of -the phosphate and the grant would not be made, but that would not repay -you fellows for your losses. So I hit upon a scheme which was simple -but effective. Do you remember I had you all sign some papers the first -time I came out here?" - -"Yes," said Charley, "and I have often wondered what they were." - -"Each one has a homestead entry on 160 acres of that phosphate land. -The whole of them just about covered the land for which the company was -asking a grant. I got those entries all filed in the state land office, -and that put an end to the grant question, and it brought Jones to my -office almost foaming at the mouth, and ready to make almost any kind -of terms. That is how I was able to make him buy your machine at a big -price and assume your indebtedness. The papers you all signed to-day -were a bill of sale and the relinquishment of your homestead claims. -They leave the phosphate land open to grant again, if the state sees -fit." - -"It looks to me," observed Captain Westfield, "that we have given up -millions of dollars to secure thousands." - -"That's one way of looking at it," replied the lawyer dryly. "But let -us see the other side. If you held that land you would have to live -on it for four years before the state would give you title to it. You -would have to build a railroad to the coast to get your phosphate out -to market, and you would have to finish up the county road you are -building, which would be a losing proposition from now on. In other -words, it would take four years of your time, and about $300,000 of -capital before you would get anything out of the phosphate." - -"You're right," Charley agreed. "The homesteads would have just been -white elephants on our hands. There is one feature about our settlement -with Jones, however, that does not seem exactly right to me. The law -ought to punish him for the killing of that Indian boy." - -"That was the independent act of the gunmen, not Jones' act," said the -lawyer. "Jones gave them orders not to hurt any of you, but just to -frighten you off the job. He was away in town when the shooting was -done. Of course, he is responsible, in a way, for the gunmen were his -agents. He brought them out here. But how can it be proved against him? -The gunmen are all dead, and, while we know Jones was responsible for -your troubles, we would have a hard job proving it, for he has kept in -the dark and covered up his tracks pretty well." - -"You're right," the lad admitted, "and I for one am well satisfied with -the way you have handled things. You have done the wisest thing all -the way through. We are lucky to get out of the business so well off." - -"You certainly are," agreed Mr. Bruce decidedly. "There is one thing I -have not told you about yet, which will make you still gladder that you -are out of the business." - -"What is it?" Captain Westfield asked. - -"The county's road fund is exhausted," replied the lawyer. "You would -have had to wait until the taxes are collected next year before you -could have gotten any money for your road work." - -"Whew!" Charley whistled. "Then Jones has bought $3,700 worth of bad -debts?" - -The lawyer chuckled. "Yes, and he knows it. He's a pretty sore man just -now. But you needn't waste any sympathy on him. His company is a rich -one and can afford to wait a year for their road money. The road will -benefit them more than anyone else, anyway. Well, that's all the story, -gentlemen, and, if you don't mind, I will lie down and rest a while. I -am not used to horseback riding, and I'm just one big ache now. Jones -and I are going to stay out here with you until your chum gets back. I -want to do a little hunting while I'm waiting, and I would like to get -a look at that old Spanish fort you told me about." - -"We can go out there to-morrow, and hunt on the way," Charley said, as -he showed Mr. Bruce to his own tent. "I will send Willie John out to -Indiantown to-day, and have him bring back ponies for all hands. We -will make a general holiday and party of it." - -Early next morning they all started out on the proposed trip. Even Mr. -Jones was released from his tent and permitted to accompany the party. -All carried guns and supplies, and Charley also carried a lantern and a -supply of candles, for he was determined to search closely the hole in -which Walter had found the gold and jewels. - -Two days later the party returned, tired but happy, their ponies loaded -with game. Charley also bore a second cylinder the same as the one -Walter had found. - -Soon after they arrived Walter rode into camp with the happy news that -the check was cashed and the money placed to their credit in the bank. - -The next morning our little party packed up their belongings and bid -good-by to the engineers and Spaniards, who had decided to stick by -the job. To each of the Spaniards they gave a $10 bill, and to the -engineers $20 each as a parting gift out of the abundance they had -made. Both the laborers and engineers were sorry to see them go, and, -for their part, the boys and the captain disliked the parting, for they -had grown quite attached to their willing helpers. - -"Drop us a line once in a while," Charley told them, in parting. "We -may get into some business again where we will need men, and I do not -know where we could get better ones." - -Mr. Jones had granted them the use of the mules and wagon with the -teamster to bring the rig back, and with their things stowed in the -wagon our little party took their departure for Jupiter. As Mr. Bruce -had ridden out on one of the mules he accompanied them back in the -wagon. - -"We are coming out of this business in fine shape," Charley said, with -satisfaction. "When the jewelry is disposed of we will have over $7,000 -apiece." - -"Where are you going from here?" Mr. Bruce inquired; "and what are your -plans for the future?" - -The chums looked blankly at each other. "Why, we haven't even decided -where we are going," Walter gasped. - -"Back to our old camping-place on the point for me," said Captain -Westfield decidedly. "I'm sick for a breath of sweet, salt air once -more. While we are resting up we can decide what we are going to do -next." And so it was agreed. - -At Jupiter our little party bid good-by to Mr. Bruce and Mr. Jones, -who returned to Palm Beach on the first train. Before parting, Mr. -Bruce drew Charley to one side. "I am going to always regard you and -your chum as my mascots," he said. "I am ashamed to confess it, but -yours was the first and only case I have had since I was admitted to -the bar. It is always hard for a young lawyer to get a start, and it is -especially so in this state. You have broken the ice for me, and now -Mr. Jones has retained me as counsel for his company, at a salary of -$3,000 per year." - -"Good," said Charley heartily. "I congratulate Jones on having sense -enough to know that he could not get a better attorney." - -The friendly station agent was delighted to see the little party -back again, and pleased to learn that they had done so well in their -unpromising venture. As he had just been granted a short vacation, the -boys invited him to camp out with them for a while, an invitation which -he was quick to accept. - -And now all five of them are camped on that sand point again, fishing, -swimming, boating, getting oysters and clams, hunting turtle eggs, and -having a good time generally. They are having lots of fun, but, as -Captain Westfield remarked the other day: "I'll bet it won't be two -weeks before you lads will get tired of this, and will want to get out -and look for more trouble," to which Chris sighed: - -"Golly, I hopes not. Dis nigger is sho' enjoying dis sunshine and -fishin'." - - - THE END. - - * * * * * - -Transcriber's Notes: - -Original text did not have a Table of Contents. One was created by the -transcriber to aid the reader. - -Obvious punctuation repaired. - -Page 12, "Okechobee" changed to "Okeechobee" (lays the great lake -Okeechobee) - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Boy Chums in the Florida Jungle, by -Wilmer M. Ely - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOY CHUMS IN FLORIDA JUNGLE *** - -***** This file should be named 43875.txt or 43875.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/3/8/7/43875/ - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -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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