CHAPTER VI
SETTING THE TRAP
"Three weeks have gone by since we had that first meeting, Tom; justthink of it."
Carl was walking along the river road with his chum when he made thisremark. They had seen the last of the snow vanish, and with the comingof milder days all the boys began to talk of going fishing before long.
Perhaps this saunter of the pair after school may have had something todo with the first contemplated outing of the season, and they wanted tosee whether the fish had commenced to come from their winter quarters,though the law would not be off for trout yet awhile.
"That's a fact, Carl," replied the other boy; "and at our very nextmeeting most of the members of the patrol are going to get their badgesas second-class scouts, because they've already qualified for it to thesatisfaction of Mr. Witherspoon."
"Honest to goodness I believe there'll be only one tenderfoot left inthe lot," Carl continued; "and that of course is our dude, Horace. Hemanaged to exert himself just enough to fulfill the requirements atenderfoot has to possess, but there he sticks."
"Wait a while longer," Tom told him, "and one of these fine days youmay see Horace wake up. I haven't lost hopes of him by a long shot. Atour next meeting, after we've passed up, the first thing we have to dois to elect a patrol leader."
Carl laughed softly.
"Oh that's all cut and dried, already," he asserted.
"Well, if it is no one has said anything to me about it," objected Tom,at which the other laughed again.
"Why should they bother when it was seven against one, Tom?" arguedCarl. "Why, the boys wouldn't dream of having any other leader thanyou!"
"But that doesn't seem quite fair, it ought to be talked over openly.Why pick me out above every one else for that?"
"Because you've always been a leader among your schoolmates, Tom,that's why!" he was quickly, told. "You've got it in you to take thelead in every kind of sport known to boys. Baseball, football, hockey,athletics--tell me a single thing where you've had to play secondfiddle to any other fellow. And it isn't because you want to pushyourself either, but because you can go ahead."
"Well," said Tom, slowly and musingly, "it's mighty nice to know thatthe other boys like you, and if the fellows are bound to make me takethe office of patrol leader I suppose I'll have to accept it."
"No one so well able to do the work as you are, Tom. But this has beena terribly long three weeks to me, I tell you."
"Now you're thinking that we haven't made a bit of progress aboutfinding that stolen paper," suggested Tom, looking a littlecrest-fallen. "Both of us have tried from time to time to watch Dockafter nights, but somehow we haven't had much success up to now."
"No," added Carl, with one of his heavy sighs, "if he has that paperhidden somewhere he's smart enough to keep away from his cache, so faras we've been able to find out."
"I don't believe he's come to any settlement with Amasa Culpepper asyet," Tom observed, with considerable positiveness.
"We think that, but we don't know for sure," ventured the lessconfident Carl. "If only I could glimpse the paper I'd have a big loadlifted from my mind. And it cuts me to the quick to see poor mothertrying to look cheerful when I come indoors, though I've noticed signsof tears on her cheeks several times."
"I've been thinking of some sort of scheme," began Tom, slowly.
"Good for you!" burst out Carl, delightedly. "Tell me what it is then;and can we start in to try it right away?"
"That depends on several conditions," explained the other. "First ofall do you remember what that receipt made out by Mr. Culpepper lookedlike, Carl?"
"Do I? Why, it seems to me it must have been burned on my memory asthough you'd take a red hot poker and make marks on the clean kitchenfloor. When I shut my eyes nights and try to go to sleep it keepsdancing in front of me. Before I know what I'm doing I find myselfgrabbing out for it, and then I want to kick myself for being sofoolish, when I know it's all just a silly bit of imagination."
"I'm glad you remember so well how it looked," remarked Tom, somewhatto the mystification of his companion.
"What has that got to do with your scheme?" he demanded, in perplexity.
"A whole lot," came the swift answer; "because I want you to get me upas close a copy of that receipt as you possibly can!"
"Whew! do you mean even to signing Mr. Culpepper's name at the end?"asked Carl, whose breath had very nearly been taken away.
"Yes, even to that," he was told; "in fact the paper wouldn't be wortha pinch of salt in my little game if that signature were omitted. Doyou think you could duplicate the receipt, Carl?"
"I am sure I could; but even now I'm groping in the dark, because forthe life of me I can't see what you expect to do with it, Tom."
"Don't forget to crease it, to make it look as though it had beenfolded and opened ever so many times; yes, and soil the outside alittle too, as if it had been carried in a boy's pocket along with alot of other things like marbles or a top or something like that."
"But please explain what all this means," Carl pleaded.
"Listen!" replied the other, impressively, "and I'll tell you what mygame is. It may work, and it may fall flat; a whole lot depends oncircumstances, but there's no harm trying it out."
"Of course not; go on and tell me."
"In watching Dock when he didn't know it, we've learned considerableabout his habits," continued Tom. "For one thing every single night hewalks home along the river road here after delivering a package or twoat certain houses. It seems to be a part of the programme. Well, somefine night we'll lie in wait for him about this spot; and on the roadwill be that duplicate of the paper which we believe he stole."
At that Carl became quite excited.
"Oh! now I see what your game it!" he cried; "and let me tell you Ithink it's as clever a trick as could be thought of. He'll pick up thepaper, thinking it may be something worth while; and when he sees thatit is the very receipt he thinks he has got safely hidden awaysomewhere, Dock will be so rattled that the first thing he does will beto hurry to find out whether it's been taken or not."
"That's the idea, Carl; and of course we'll follow him, so as to jumpin the very minute he gets out the real document to compare them."
"Fine! fine, Tom! You are certainly the crackerjack when it comes tolaying a trap to trip a scamp up. Why, he'll fall into that pit headover heels; and I do hope we can snatch the paper away from him beforehe has a chance to tear it up."
"We'll look out for that all right, you can depend on it," came thereassuring remark from the other scout. "When will you get busy on thatcopy, Carl?"
"To-night, after the kids are in bed," Carl hastened to reply; "Iwouldn't care to have them see what I was doing, though in this case Ifirmly believe it's all right."
"And if your mother wants to know, tell her," said Tom.
"I'd have to do that anyway," said Carl, without the least confusion orhesitation; "I always tell my mother everything that happens. She takesan interest in all my plans, and she's the dearest little mother a boyever had. But she'll understand that it's only meant to be a trick tocatch the thief."
"Then if you have it ready by to-morrow afternoon we might try how itworks that same evening," Tom remarked.
"I wish the time was now, I'm getting so anxious to do something,"sighed the second boy, as he again remembered how he had seen hismother force herself to appear cheerful when he came from school,though there were traces of tears on her cheeks, and her eyes lookedred.
Soon after that the chums separated, as the afternoon was drawing neara close.
"I wish you luck with your work to-night, Carl," was what Tom calledout in parting; "and if any one wants to know where we've been, be sureand tell them that so far as we've been able to find out the fishingpromises to be mighty fine this spring, better than for years, if signsgo for anything."
On the following day at noon when they walked home for lunch Carlshowed his chum the paper. It had been carefully don
e, and even borethe marks of service in the way of numerous creases, and some soiledspots in the bargain.
Tom was loud in his praise.
"It certainly looks as if it had been carried in a boy's pocket forsome time," he declared; "and it's up to you to say how close a copythe contents are to the original."
"I'm sure Amasa Culpepper would say it was his own crabbed handwritingto a fraction," Carl had no hesitation in asserting. "And so far asthat goes Dock Phillips isn't capable of discovering any slightdifference. If he ever picks this up you mark my words, Tom, he's goingto get the biggest shock he's felt in many a day."
"And you can see how the very first thing he'd be apt to do would be tolook around to see if anybody was spying on him, and then hurry away tofind if his paper could have been taken from the place where he hidit."
"Oh! I hope, Tom, he doesn't just step over it, and never bother topick it up."
"We've got to take our chance of that happening," he was told; "but weknow how nearly every boy would act. Besides, scraps of paper havebegun to seem worth something in Dock's eyes lately. The chances arethree to one he'll get it."
"Well, I'll meet you at just seven o'clock to-night at the old smithy,and we'll lay the trap when we hear his whistle up the road. Dockalways whistles when he's out after dark. I think it must help him keephis courage up."
The church bells had just started to ring seven when the two boys cameclose to the old blacksmith shop that had been deserted when Mr.Siebert moved to a better location.
They had chosen this spot because it was rather lonely, and there didnot seem to be very much chance of their little game being interruptedby any other pedestrian coming along just at the critical time.
On one side of the road lay the bushes, in the midst of which the boysexpected to hide; on the other could be seen the river.
All was quiet around them as the minutes passed away.
"There, that's his whistle, Tom!" whispered Carl, suddenly.
Thereupon the other scout crept swiftly out upon the road, and placedthe folded paper where it could hardly help being seen by any one withordinary eyesight. He had just returned to the bushes when a figurecame hurrying around the bend, whistling vigorously as some boys are inthe habit of doing. Carl's heart seemed almost to stop beating when hesaw Dock suddenly halt and bend over.
Boy Scouts of Lenox; Or, The Hike Over Big Bear Mountain Page 7
