CHAPTER XXV
TIME TO GO BACK
"What is it, Bobolink--Jack?" asked the scout master.
"The boxes yonder!" Bobolink managed to exclaim.
"You evidently have seen them before; tell me, Jack, are they the onesyou said your father stored for that man?" continued Paul.
"They certainly look mighty like them," replied the other; "and you know,they were taken away that morning early. They must have been carriedacross country to the shore of the lake, and then ferried over in arowboat. That was what we saw the marks of, and the four men walked offwith these between them."
"Whee! did you ever?" gasped the still bewildered Bobolink. "Yes, hereyou c'n see the markin' on the lid they threw away when they opened thisone--'Professor Hackett, In care of John Stormways, Stanhope,' all asplain as anything. And to think how after all my worryin' the old boxeshave bobbed up here. Don't it beat the Dutch how things turn out?"
That seemed to be the one thing that gripped Bobolink's attention--thestrange way in which those two heavy boxes with the twisted wire bindinghad happened to cross his path again.
But Paul was thinking of other things, that might have a more seriousbearing on the case. He turned to Jack again.
"What do you know about this so-called professor?" he asked.
"Me? Why, next to nothing, only that he comes from down near New YorkCity at a place called Coney Island, where lots of fakirs hold out; andplenty of men too, in the summer season, who would want to circulate alittle money that did not bear the Government stamp."
"But your father seems to have known him; or at any rate believed he wasa law-abiding citizen," pursued Paul; "otherwise he would hardly havegiven him the privilege of storing his cases in his mill over night."
"Oh! my father is that easy-going, nearly anybody could pull the woolover his eyes. He believed the yarn this pretended professor told him,I've no doubt, and thought it next door to nothing to let him keep theboxes in the mill for a short time. You know, my father is thebest-hearted man in Stanhope, barring none. But I agree with the rest ofyou that this time he must have got stung. The professor is sure a badegg. I must put my dad wise as soon as I get half a chance."
"Perhaps it's already too late to save him from getting stuck with a lotof the stuff they manufacture?" suggested Tom Betts.
"Oh! that could hardly be so," Jack replied, cheerfully. "When thesebogus money-makers want to get rid of some of their stock they alwayshave go-betweens do the job for them. It would be too easy tracing thingsif they passed the stuff themselves. So I guess my dad hasn't taken inany great amount of the counterfeits."
Bobolink was down on his knees. He even crawled into one of theoverturned boxes, as though trying hard to ascertain from sundry markswhat could have been contained under that wooden cover.
He came out, shaking his head, as though his efforts had not beenattended by success.
"Looks like machinery of some kind, that's all I c'n tell," he admitted."But of course, they'd need a press of some sort to work off the papermoney on. Now, chances are, it's bein' put up right in that long shedyonder, that we c'n see. Question is, how're we goin' to get close enoughto peek through a crack, and find out what's goin' on in there?"
Again did most of the boys look uneasily at each other. Paul believedthat, now the great test had arrived, they were beginning to weaken alittle. No doubt it did not seem so glorious a thing when you got closeup, this spying on a band of lawless men, who would be apt to dealharshly with eavesdroppers, if caught in the act.
Still, he would not give the order to retreat unless they asked for it.They had been allowed to settle that matter when they voted; it was up toBobolink, Tom, Bluff or Andy to start the ball rolling, if they began toreconsider their hasty conclusion of a while back.
Bobolink looked toward the low, long shed, now plainly seen, in somethingof a rocky opening, with glimpses of water beyond which told how close tothe shore it had been built. But he did not act as though as anxious torush matters as before.
"Why d'ye believe they ever landed those boxes where they did, and toted'em all the way up here, heavy as they were, when there's the water closeby?" asked Jack.
"I was thinking about that a minute ago," replied Paul; "and the onlyexplanation I can find is this: Perhaps the water is mighty shallow allaround up at the north end of the island. I can see that the shore isrocky, and if that's so, then no boat with a heavy load could get closeenough in to land the stuff. And so they had to get busy, and carry theboxes, one at a time."
"Sounds reasonable, and we'll let her go at that," commented Bobolink,who, as a rule, was contented to take Paul's opinion.
Paul himself stooped down to take a look into the cases. He did not makeany remark as he straightened up again, nor did any of the others thinkto ask his opinion; which possibly may have been lucky, for perhaps Paulwould not have liked to commit himself just then. If he had foundanything that gave him a new clue, he was evidently keeping it to himselfuntil he could get more proof.
"S'pose we ought to make a fresh start," suggested Bobolink, but with alack of eagerness that was plainly noticeable; it was as though thediscovery of those two mysterious boxes under such strange conditions hadrather cooled his ardor.
"That's so," remarked Tom.
"We've g-g-got so n-n-near now, we ought to f-f-finish!" Bluff declared.
And yet none of them made the slightest movement looking to an advance, afact that Paul could not help but notice, and which warned him they wereclose to the point of a change of policy. A suggestion that they give upthe spy business at this stage, and retreat in good order to their camp,would doubtless have met with favor, and been sure of a unanimous vote.
But still Paul, having his own notions of such matters, when dealing withboys, declined to say anything. If one of the four who were mainlyresponsible for their being there should take it upon himself to offersuch a motion, he would only too gladly put it to a vote. Until such timecame he must continue to remain silent.
"Just as you say, boys; I'm carrying out your plans," he remarked,quietly, wishing to let them know that they had it in their own power toalter conditions at any time they so desired.
They all finally moved after the scout master, even if some feet did laga little. Bluff and Phil particularly were conscious of a strange sinkingsensation in the region of their hearts, which they mistrusted signifiedfear; and rather than have any of their comrades suspect that they had acold hand pressing there, they shut their teeth hard together, anddetermined that under no circumstances would they show the white feather.
So Paul led them on.
Again they tried to conceal themselves as best they might in deviousways. Here the wide and generous trunk of a friendly tree afforded thema certain amount of shelter; a little further on a small pile of rocksanswered the same benevolent purpose; but always the main idea was tohide from any curious eyes that might be on the lookout in thevicinity of that queer looking shed--newly made, if the fresh boardssignified anything.
"Looky here! there's a man!" suddenly exclaimed Bobolink.
The others had discovered the man at about the same time. They all layflat and hardly dared breathe, lest in some manner they attract theattention of the stranger, who seemed to be not only a big man, butrather a fierce-looking fellow in the bargain.
He was glancing all around at the heavens, as though wondering whetherthe aeroplane was not coming back, whatever its mission in flying awaysouth could have been. Standing there, he shaded his eyes with hishands and continued to look toward the south for several minutes. Thenhe made a gesture as of disappointment, and vanished around the cornerof the shed.
"Never looked down this way once!" Bobolink said triumphantly, as thoughtheir escape had caused his spirits to rise a little.
"That leaves the coast clear again, anyhow," said Tom Betts, as if he nowhad a rather disagreeable duty to perform, which, since it had to bedone, had better be gotten through with as speedily as possible.
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nbsp; When leaving camp these brave scouts had never dreamed but thatspying upon the enemy would prove the most delightful task imaginable.Even later on, when they had voted to keep moving forward, with somuch assurance, the picture had not begun to fade; but now it did notseem the same.
As the shelter grew less and less, however, it became evident thatpresently, if they continued to advance in this fashion, they must reacha point where, in order to make progress, they must expose themselves tohostile eyes, should any be on the watch.
Would even this cause one of the four scouts to "take water," as Bobolinkcalled it, and make the sign that he had had enough?
Paul knew them all pretty well, and he also realized the fact that everyfellow possessed a nature bordering on the stubborn. It was the dread ofbeing thought cowardly that kept them from taking the cue from Paul, andending this foolish advance.
They had gone over fifty feet since the last stop, and passed the lastlarge tree which could be looked on to give them any shelter.
It was just at this moment that once again the big man was seen cominghastily around the corner of the shed.
At sight of him the boys stood still. There was no use trying to hidenow. Perhaps some faint hope took possession of them that they might beunnoticed if they did not move; just as the still hunter, stalking afeeding deer, will watch its short tail, and whenever he sees it twitchhe stands perfectly motionless; for he knows that the animal is about toraise his head, and that he will probably be taken for a stump if he doesnot move hand or foot.
But evidently the man had sighted the seven khaki-clad scouts. He seemedalmost petrified with amazement at first, and stood staring at them. Asif awaking from his trance, he began to make frantic motions with hisarms, and at the same time shouted hoarsely at them:
"Go back! Get out of that! You're crazy staying there! Run, I tell you,while you have the chance! Get away! Get away, you fools!"
The scouts looked at each other in astonishment. What could it all mean?Were all the men on this queer island stark, staring crazy? He calledthem that, but it is always a rule for mad people to believe every oneelse crazy but themselves.
"Say, what does the guy mean?" cried Bobolink, who seemed to be utterlyunable to understand a thing; "mebbe it's a small-pox hospital we've runon, fellows!"
But Paul was beginning to see a light. Possibly the excited gestures, aswell as the urgent words of the big man, may have assisted him to arriveat a conclusion.
He no longer felt so decided about not speaking the word that wouldcause his little detachment to turn and retreat. There must be dangerhovering over them, danger in some terrible form, to make that unknownman so urgent.
"Let's get out of this, boys!" he called, "every fellow turn, and streakit as fast as he can. And get behind trees as quick as you can,because--"
They had already started to obey the scout master, and possibly hadcovered a few jumps when it seemed that the very earth shook and quiveredunder them, as a fearful roar almost deafened every boy.
Just as you have seen a pack of cards, made into tent shape in a curvingrow, go falling down when the first one is touched, so those seven scoutswere knocked flat by some concussion of the air.
They had hardly fallen than one and all scrambled to their feet, and fledmadly from the scene, as if fearful lest the whole end of the islandmight be blown up behind them, and catch them in a trap from which therecould be no escape.
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