CHAPTER XXIX
A BAFFLING SEARCH
Fenn sat down rather suddenly on hearing Ruth make that announcement. Hegrew calm.
"All right," he said, good-naturedly, "there's no use alarming you. I'mnot delirious. I never felt better in my life. That sleep I had wasfine. My fever is all gone. But, go ahead, if you want to. Send for thedoctor. I don't mind. I know what he'll say, and then I can go and huntfor that cave."
"Oh, Fenn, are you sure you're all right?" asked Ruth, much reassured bythe cool manner in which the boy spoke.
"Sure. Here, feel of my pulse. It's as slow as yours."
Ruth did so, and, having had some experience in cases of illness, sherealized that Fenn's fever had gone down.
"You do seem better," she acknowledged. "However, I think it would be agood thing for the doctor to see you. I don't want you to run anychances."
"All right," agreed Fenn.
The physician came again and said that, much to his surprise, Fenn'sillness was not as alarming as had at first appeared.
"Can't I go out?" asked the lad, not telling what for.
"Hum--ah--er--um--well, it's a little risky, but then--well, I guess youcan," and, after much humming and hawing the medical man gave hisconsent and left, shaking his head over the perverseness of those whowere always in a hurry.
"Now send up my clothes, please," begged Fenn, when the doctor wassafely away. "We'll solve the mystery of that cave in jig style."
"Hadn't we better wait for the other boys?" suggested Ruth. "Besides it'snearly dinner time, and you ought to eat something."
"Good idea," declared Fenn, but, whether it was the one about eating, orwaiting for the boys he did not say.
Frank, Bart and Ned were rather late getting back from the motor boatride, but they had such a good time that no one blamed them. Mr. Haywardalso returned, and it was quite a merry party that gathered about thetable. That is all except Mr. Hayward. He seemed to be rather worriedover something, and, at times, was rather distracted, his thoughtsevidently being elsewhere.
"What's worrying you, daddy?" asked Ruth, after a while.
"Nothing, my dear. Why?"
"You're not eating at all."
"I'm not very hungry. But come, we must go with Fenn and see if we can'thelp him locate that cave. I don't imagine we shall find anything of anyaccount. Most likely the men were engaged in working an abandoned minefrom which the prehistoric inhabitants took everything of value. Perhapsthe men were those Chinese smugglers. I have telephoned word to theGovernment authorities about them, and some detectives may arrive anyminute."
"Those men were not smugglers," declared Fenn. "They were takingsomething valuable from that mine, and they were so secretive aboutit that I'm sure they had no right to the stuff."
"Well, we'll soon see," declared Mr. Hayward.
"Where are we going to begin?" asked Bart.
"Let's go up to that hole, where we found Fenn's hat, and work down,"suggested Ned.
"That's no good," declared the lad who had made the queer passage. "Thatchute only comes out on the ledge, where the main shaft begins. If wecould get to the ledge we'd be all right."
"I think we can get there without crawling or sliding down that dark,roped passage," said Mr. Hayward. "But I was going to suggest that wetake the motor boat and cruise along near where we picked Fenn up. If wefound the opening in the cliff, from where he jumped, it would be easier.It is rather difficult to get to the ledge."
"I think that's the best idea," remarked Frank.
"May I go with you, daddy?" asked Ruth, a bright flush of excitementcoming into her cheeks.
"Maybe I can find the--" She stopped suddenly.
"I'm afraid not. There might be danger," said her father, not noticingher last remark.
"I'm not afraid."
"I wouldn't," said Fenn quickly. "Those men that I saw, didn't have anyweapons, but they might be ugly customers, just the same."
"I think you had better remain at home, my dear," decided the girl'sfather, and, somewhat against her will, she consented, after a whisperedconference with Fenn.
The others were soon in the motor launch, and were cruising along thelake shore, as near as possible to where Fenn had leaped into the water.Narrowly they scanned the face of the cliff, for a sight of the openingfrom which Fenn had jumped. They went up and down for half a mile, ineither direction, but there was no sign of it.
"Are you sure you jumped out of a hole, Stumpy?" asked Bart.
"Sure. I remember catching just a glimpse of that point of land before Iwent under water."
"Then the opening into the cave ought to be somewhere near here,"remarked Mr. Hayward, bringing the boat to a stop.
Once more they scanned the cliff, going as close to shore as they could.There appeared to be no break in the surface of the palisade.
"I guess we'll have to try the ledge," announced Mr. Hayward. "We can godown that tree-trunk ladder, but it's more risky than this way."
He was about to head the craft for a landing place, in order to beginthe tramp through the woods, to a point whence the ledge could bereached, when the attention of all in the motorboat was attracted bysomething happening on shore. From the bushes dashed a Chinaman, hispig-tail streaming in the wind. Behind him came a man, with a revolverin his hand.
"Stop! You almond-eyed scare-crow!" he exclaimed. "I'm not going to hurtyou!"
But the Chinaman only ran the faster. Suddenly the man raised hisrevolver and fired in the air. The Celestial stopped as though he hadbeen shot.
"I thought that would fetch you!" shouted the man, and, a moment later,he had the handcuffs on the representative of the Flowery Kingdom.
"That's one of the smugglers!" cried Fenn. "The police must be afterthem!"
"What's the trouble?" asked Mr. Hayward, of the white man, as the boatneared shore.
"Chinese smugglers," was the short answer. "We got the whole crowd awhile ago, just as they were landing a boat load in a secluded cove. Butare you Mr. Hayward?"
"I am."
"I was told to look out for you. I understand you gave the informationthat led to the capture."
"I did, but these boys here told me of it. They're to get whateverreward is coming."
"Oh, there's a reward all right. This fellow got away when we werebagging the rest. I had a hard chase after him, and I wanted to catchhim, as he's one of the ring-leaders. But what are you doing here; onthe lookout for some more of the Chinks?"
"No, we're searching for a queer cave where Fenn, one of these boyshere, was kept a prisoner. There have been some strange goings on inthese parts, and I'd like to get at the bottom of them. I thought maybethe smugglers had a hand in it."
At the mention of the cave, concerning which Mr. Hayward gave thegovernment officer a few details, as Fenn had related them to him, theChinese captive seemed suddenly interested. When Mr. Hayward told howthey had so far, conducted a baffling search, for the entrance, theCelestial exclaimed:
"Me show you."
"What does he mean?" asked Mr. Hayward.
"Blessed if I know," answered the officer. "What's that, John?"
"Me show hole in glound. Me know. Clum that way," and he pointed a shortdistance up the lake.
"Do you suppose he knows where the entrance is?" asked Mr. Hayward.
"Shouldn't wonder," replied the detective. "Those Chinks know more thanthey'll tell. Probably he knows the game is up, and he may think, if heplays into our hands, he'll get off easier."
"That's lite!" exclaimed the Chinese with a grin. "Me turn state'sevidence. Me know. Me show you."
"I guess he's an old hand at the game," commented the officer. "Probablyit wouldn't be a bad plan to follow his advice. Wait, I'll summon acouple of my men, and we'll go along. No telling what we'll run upagainst."
He blew a shrill signal on a whistle he carried and soon two men emergedfrom the woods on the run. They did not appear surprised to see theirchief with the prisoner, and at a word from him they
got into the motorboat, the handcuffed Celestial meekly following.
"Now, John, which way," asked the detective, who introduced himself asMr. Harkness.
"Up by bluushes," replied the Chinese, pointing to a clump which grew onthe cliff. "Hole behind bluushes, so no can see. Smart trick. Me know."
"I believe he does," commented Mr. Harkness. "I'll unhandcuff him, andhe can show us," and he removed the irons from the almond-eyed chap.
The motor boat was put over to where the Chinaman indicated. It came toa stop at the foot of a sheer cliff, right under the clump of bushes,which grew about thirty feet up from the surface of the water.
"How in the world are we going to get up there without a ladder?" askedFenn. "We should have brought one along."
"Here ladder!" suddenly exclaimed the Celestial, who, at a question fromone of the officers gave his name as Lem Sing. "Me get ladder."
Lem Sing took hold of a stone that jutted out from the face of the cliff.He pulled on it, and it came out in his hand. To it was attached a strongcord, extending up somewhere inside the cliff, Lem Sing gave a vigorousyank, and something surprising happened.
The clump of bushes vanished, and, in their place, was a round hole.
"That's where I jumped from!" exclaimed Fenn.
But this was not all. Down the cliff, out of the hole in the face of it,came tumbling a strong rope ladder, being fastened somewhere inside thehole.
"That how up get!" exclaimed Lem Sing, with a grin. "Now can up-go!"
"Sure we can 'up-go'!" exclaimed Mr. Harkness. "Come on, boys," and hebegan to ascend the ladder, which swayed rather dangerously.
CHAPTER XXX
THE DISCOVERY--CONCLUSION
The others followed, one at a time, leaving one of the detectives incharge of Lem Sing.
"Now, Fenn, lead the way," called Mr. Hayward.
"I guess they've all gone," said Fenn. "There don't seem to be any ofthe miners here, now."
Hardly had he spoken when, turning a corner in the shaft, the party cameupon a curious scene. In a big chamber, the same one which Fenn hadviewed from the crack in the door of his small prison, there were half ascore of men, working by the light of torches, digging stuff from thewalls of the cave, and carrying it out in small boxes.
"Here they are!" shouted Fenn. "This is the place, and they're at work!"
"To the shaft!" shouted some one. "They're after us!"
There was a hurrying and scurrying to escape, and, before the detectivesor Mr. Hayward could make any move to capture the men, they had alldisappeared.
"Come on!" cried Mr. Harkness. "Show us the way to the shaft where theladder is, Fenn! Maybe we can nab some of 'em."
"It isn't worth while," declared Mr. Hayward. "These men were evidentlyafraid of being caught, but, from what I can see, they were not doinganything unlawful."
"No," admitted Mr. Harkness. "We caught the last of them when we got LemSing. But what were these men digging?"
"I'll take a look," answered Robert Hayward.
Suddenly he gave a cry, as he took some of the soft earth in hisfingers.
"Say, this is almost as good as a silver mine!" exclaimed Mr. Hayward."This stuff is in great demand! It's used by chemists, and they can'tget enough of it."
"Lucky for the man who owns this land," commented Mr. Harkness. "But Idon't see that it concerns us. Guess I'd better be going."
"Why, man, this is my land!" suddenly exclaimed Mr. Hayward. "I own abig tract in here, but I believed it was worthless, and I was about tosell it very cheap. Now--well, say, you couldn't buy it! My fortune ismade again!"
"Boys," he went on, a little more soberly, "you don't know it, but I'vebeen in quite a hole lately. The house where I live was about to be soldfor a mortgage. But my daughter never knew. She--"
"Yes, she did," interrupted Fenn. "She knew all about it, and she wastrying to help you!"
"She did? You don't mean it!"
Then Fenn explained; telling of Ruth's strange remarks while in adelirium at his house, her unexpected discovery of the cave, the man'sthreat, her long silence under fear of it, and her desire to aid herfather to recover his wealth.
"Well, this gets me!" exclaimed Mr. Hayward. "Ruth is a girl that's hardto beat."
They went to the foot of the shaft, where Fenn had come down, but therewere no men to be seen.
"Let them go," suggested Mr. Hayward. "I've got all I want, and I musthurry and tell my daughter the news, bless her heart!"
"It was all Fenn's good luck," declared Ruth, when the story had beentold. "You ought to reward him, daddy."
"Reward him! Well, I guess I will. And the other boys, too. Nothing istoo good for them."
The Chinese smugglers were punished for their attempt to break theUnited States immigration laws, and the Celestials they tried to landwere sent back to Canada.
Lem Sing had planned the trick so that by pulling on the rope the bushesdropped back out of sight, and the ladder came down. The miners usedthis device to send away the valuable clay, and it was by this queerhole that the men on the cliff so mysteriously appeared and disappearedwhen the boys were watching them from the deck of the _Modoc_.
The two Chinamen and the white man, whom Fenn had followed, were theadvance party, looking to see if the coast was clear for a landing whichhad once been unintentionally frustrated by the boys, and, the visit ofthe one Chinese to the camp was only to discover if the lads weredetectives, which Lem at first feared. While Fenn was following the men,one had slipped behind him and gone to the camp, to see if it wasdeserted. It was this fellow who had dropped the button which gaveFrank, Ned and Bart their clue.
"But what I can't understand," said Fenn, "is why that man Dirkfellshould chase us the night of the fire, and pursue us in the steam yacht.Do you know him, Mr. Hayward?"
"Dirkfell!" exclaimed the gentleman. "I should say I did, to my sorrow.It was through business dealings with him that I lost all my wealth. Heheld the mortgage on this house, and was about to buy that land, underwhich the cave is located. He has long borne a grudge against me--agrudge for which there is no excuse, for I never injured him. When heheard of my loss in the elevator fire I presume he could not help sayinghow glad he was. Then, probably, when he saw you looking at him sosharply, Fenn, he imagined you must be some agent of mine. He wasevidently in fear of being found out in his secret mining operationsunder my land, and that was why he made such an effort to catch you,even following the _Modoc_. I understand now, why he was so anxious toget possession of this land that I considered worthless. But I beat himat his own game, thanks to you and your chums."
"And your daughter did her part," said Fenn, "for she saw the cavefirst."
"Of course she did, God bless her."
"I don't understand how the Chinese smugglers and the miners both usedthe cave and the secret entrances," said Frank.
"I didn't until I had a talk with the detectives," said Mr. Hayward."The Chinese used the cave a long time before Dirkfell was aware ofwhat valuable stuff was in it. He and his gang worked in harmony withthe Celestials."
"Are they going to try to catch him?" asked Fenn.
"No, it's not worth while, since they have broken up the smuggling gang.I guess Dirkfell will not show himself in these parts soon again."
Nor did he, or any of his gang. The boys spent a week with Mr. Hayward.Then they started back to Duluth, to join Captain Wiggs.
They found the _Modoc_ ready to sail, and they were warmly welcomed bythe commander.
"Well, we've certainly had some strenuous happenings this trip,"observed Frank. "I don't think we'll have such lively times again." Buthe was mistaken, they did have plenty of adventures, and what some ofthem were I shall relate in another book, to be called "Bart Keene'sHunting Days."
THE END
Transcriber's Notes:
--Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_).
--Punctuation and spelling inaccuracies were silently corrected.
--Archaic
and variable spelling has been preserved.
--Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved.
Fenn Masterson's Discovery; or, The Darewell Chums on a Cruise Page 29
