CHAPTER XI
CONVINCING BAD.
The next day was one of rejoicing among the Boy Scouts of Lakefarm. Ifthere had been any doubt concerning the popularity of Hal Kenyon, thatdoubt surely was gone now. The fact that his parents were poor made nodifference with any of his schoolmates. Indeed, Dr. Byrd would not havepermitted any feeling against Hal on this account. There would have beentrouble instantly.
The news of Hal's return spread rapidly soon after sun-up. It wascommunicated principally in the wash room, accompanied by a wild rumorof the manner in which he had been entrapped. Some one started a storythat Hal had been a prisoner in a robbers' cave and was rescued onlywith much daring and danger. Frank's connection with the real adventureremained in darkness. Nobody, except Hal, Dr. Byrd, Mrs. Byrd, the twoinstructors, Pepper, and Frank himself, knew anything about it, andthere had been a general agreement that it was wisest to keep the mattersecret.
Hal and Frank both slept late that morning. The doctor gave orders thatthey should not be awakened until they had "had their sleep out." Whilethe others were eating breakfast, Mr. Frankland went to Frank's room andfound the latter dressing. The boy's eyes were red and swollen fromweeping. He searched the face of the instructor carefully, and theninquired, with trembling voice:
"Did you find him, Mr. Frankland?"
"Certainly," replied the latter reassuringly.
"And did you get him out?"
"You bet we did."
"Alive?"
"Alive."
"And is he here--alive?"
"He surely is," declared Mr. Frankland, the smile on his facebroadening.
Frank was so overcome with relief that for several minutes he was unableto continue his dressing. A stocking that he had been in the act ofputting on dropped to the floor, and it seemed that he could not reachdown and pick it up again.
He had been ready for this announcement, and yet it was hard for him tobelieve that it was true. He could not get rid of that picture of Halfalling with the water onto the rocks at the foot of the cataract. Itwas so real that only the sight of his friend standing before him wouldconvince him that his eyes had not fooled him.
"Come, Frank; hurry up and get dressed, and I'll take you to Hal andshow him to you," urged Mr. Frankland, still with a smile of amusement.
This promise renewed Frank's energy, and he picked up the stocking andpulled it on. Then he slipped on his shoes and announced that he wasready to call on his rescued schoolmate.
They stepped out into the hall and walked several doors toward thefarther end. Hal's door was slightly ajar, and Mr. Frankland pushed itwide open and they walked in.
Hal was still asleep. Frank stepped forward, like one in a trance, andplaced one hand on the face of the sleeper. Suddenly Hal's eyes openedwide and he sat up in bed. He recalled everything immediately, as hisfirst words indicated:
"Hello, Bad; I'm all right. Why, what's the matter?"
And no wonder! Frank had fallen forward on the bed and buried his facein the counterpane. The relief of the truth was too much for him.
Mr. Frankland had not realized the tenseness of the nervous strain underwhich the boy was laboring, or he would have proceeded more carefully.
"Frank, what _is_ the matter?" repeated Hal, himself half alarmed.
The other boy sobbed on for a minute or two, and Hal threw off the bedclothes and sat on the edge of the bed. Then he shifted his gaze fromFrank to the instructor and back to the boy again.
But finally Frank got sufficient control of himself to choke down hissobs, and he arose and wiped his eyes with his fists and said:
"I----I thought sure you was dead, Hal. How--in the world did you getout?"
"Out o' where--the cave?" inquired the older boy.
"No, out o' the water."
"Out o' the water? I wasn't in the water."
"You wasn't?" Frank's eyes opened very wide again. He had been assuredof this before, but it was as incredible from Hal. Still with awondering look in his eyes and disbelief in his voice, he continued,putting one hand on his friend's left arm:
"Hal, I saw you fall. You went down, down. I saw you, oh, I did."
The other laughed outright. The laugh was so merry and hearty thatpresently Frank wasn't so sure of what he had seen as he thought he hadbeen. Then Hal gave his delusion a further jar by saying:
"No you didn't do any such thing, Frank. I didn't fall at all. Is thatwhat made you run away so fast? It was getting dark, you know, and maybethere was a shadow in the water that looked like me falling."
"That must have been it," declared Frank with a big sigh of relief. Thenhe laughed hysterically, for the picture in his memory had changed.Instead of a falling boy, he saw a shadow, or a dark-colored patch ofwater, in the tumbling flood.
That settled it. Frank recovered his nerve, but he was a much quieterboy for several days after. He was fourteen years old, his voice hadalready "changed," and he was begging permission from his parents towear long trousers on "dress" occasions; hence, it was no wonder thatsuch an experience as he had recently gone through should convince himthat it was about time for him to mend his ways.
Lakefarm was a comparatively tame place for several days following thehappenings in Mummy Canyon. After the affair had been thoroughlydiscussed by the boys and nothing more of interest could be found, thesubject was laid aside and picked up only now and then. The bag ofspecimens was returned to its owner and little more was heard concerningthat for some time. But the aviator, Mr. Miles, continued to be ofinterest, for the boys looked eagerly forward to the time when hisbroken bones would be sufficiently mended to enable him to be among themand tell them stories of his adventures.
The summer program in the school was more of a vacation series of doingsthan anything else. Some book work and shop duties were required eachweek, but these were really a relief from the long succession of outingsand excursions that filled the greater part of the summer program.
Among the favorite sports at the school were baseball and swimming. Thecampus and the lake were therefore scenes of much activity in the warmermonths. All things considered, it was a lively time the boys at Lakefarmschool had the year round.
Because of these activities, the young Scouts looked forward with littleinterest toward vacation-time. Most of them spent the Christmas holidaysat home, but few remained away from the school during the whole summerseason. At the time of the beginning of these events, the vacation weekswere more than half gone, and the absentees were fast returning. Aspecial program, including an excursion to the Grand Canyon of theColorado River, was scheduled for the latter part of August and theearly part of September, and most of the Scouts were expected to bepresent for this.
The boys of Lakefarm were skilled in mountain climbing. It was theirexperience in this line that emboldened Hal and Frank to hunt along thesteep bank of Flathead River for the lost bag of specimens. However, Dr.Byrd's policy on all mountain-climbing excursions was to avoid steep anddangerous places, and he felt that he had good reason to scold them fortaking such a chance.
On the day following the imprisonment of Hal in the waterfall cave, thedoctor summoned all the boys into the assembly room and lectured them.He told them he had thought his instructions from time to time inmountain climbing had impressed upon them sufficiently the importance ofjudgment in their excursions among the hills. Finally he wound up bysaying:
"It seems that some of you boys need another lesson on this subject. Soour next outing will be a mountain climb. We'll have to give you somemore advice as to where to go and what places to avoid. As soon as theother boys get back we will go over and climb Porcupine Hill."
"And see Aunt Sarah Jane," whispered Pickles to Ferdinand loudly enoughto be heard by all in the room.
Dr. Byrd smiled. He expected some such eager demonstration. Aunt SarahJane Turman was an aged woman who lived with her husband on the verypeak of the mountain. Porcupine Hill was one of the lower mountain
s ofthe neighborhood, being just west of Flathead and affording the bestview of the top of the latter. Aunt Sarah was an interesting character,a kind-hearted nurse, ever thoughtful of the welfare of her friends andacquaintances. Most of the boys had been up there several times andevery one of them adopted Mrs. Turman as his aunt on beholding herpleasant face and hearing her cheery voice and eating some of her"dandy" bread covered with a liberal supply of homemade jam.
So the doctor's lecture closed with anything but an unpleasantannouncement, the fulfillment of which was to prove of considerableimportance in the chain of events that made notable that summer atLakefarm, Mummy Canyon and Flathead Mountain.
Hal Kenyon Disappears Page 11
