“I guess you’re right,” agreed Penny, disappointed to have her theory exploded. “I wonder who did camp here?”
“I’m a-wonderin’ myself,” replied the old trapper. “If it’s the feller thet stole my gun, I’d like pow’ful well to catch up with him.”
Joe inspected the ground for some distance inland, satisfying himself that no one was about. As they returned to the boat, he said thoughtfully:
“Not in years heve I been as far as Black Island, but I’ve got an itch to go there now.”
“Good!” chuckled Penny. “I want to see the place myself.”
“It’s a long, hard row. I couldn’t rightly take you’uns.”
“Why not?”
“Fer one thing, I hain’t sure what I’ll find at the island.”
“All the better,” laughed Penny.
But the old trapper was not to be persuaded. “The trip ain’t one fer young’uns. Likewise, with three in a boat, it’s hard goin’. Part o’ the way, the run’s so shallow, ye have to pole.”
“In a polite way, he’s telling us we’re excess baggage,”Louise said, grinning at Penny. “To me it sounds like a long, hot trip.”
“I kin go another day,” said the trapper. “There hain’t no hurry.”
“But you’re well on your way there now,” Penny remarked. “How long would it take to go and return here—that is, if you went alone?”
“Two hours if I made it fast.”
“Then why not go?” Penny urged generously. “Isn’t there somewhere Louise and I could wait?”
“Without a boat?” Louise interposed in alarm.
“I hain’t suggestin’ ye do it,” said the old trapper. “But there is a safe place ye could wait.”
“Where?” asked Penny.
“On the plank walk.”
“Does it extend so far into the swamp?”
“This is a section of an old walk that was put in years ago,” Joe explained. “It used to hook up with the planking at the entranceway, but it went to pieces. Folks never went to the trouble to rebuild this section.”
“All right, take us there,” Penny urged, ignoring Louise’s worried frown. “If we’re above the water, we should be safe enough.”
The old trapper rowed the girls on a few yards to a series of shallow bays where water lilies and fragrant pink orchids grew in profusion. As they drew in their breath at the beautiful sight, he chuckled with pleasure.
“Purty, hain’t it?” he asked. “Gatherin’ posies should keep ye busy for awhile. The boardwalk’s right here, and goes on fer quite a spell before it plays out. If ye stay on the walk, you’ll be safe until I git back.”
Louise gazed with misgiving at the old planks which were decayed and broken. As she and Penny alighted, the boards swayed at nearly every step.
“I’ll pick ye up right here, soon’s I can,” the old guide promised. “If ye keep to the shade, ye won’t git so much sunburn.”
“What if you shouldn’t get back before nightfall,”Louise said nervously. “Wouldn’t we be stranded here?”
“I’ll git back.”
“Where does the walk lead?” Penny asked.
“Nowheres in particular any more. Ye’d best not foller it far. Jest wait fer me purty close here, and I’ll be back soon’s I kin.”
Reaching into the bottom of the skiff, the trapper tossed a parcel of lunch to Penny.
“Here’s some meat if ye git hongry while I’m gone. Mind ye stay on the planks!”
With this final warning, Joe paddled away and soon was lost to view behind the tall bushes.
CHAPTER 16
TREED BY A BOAR
Left to themselves, Penny and Louise walked a few steps on the sagging planks which had been nailed to tree stumps. The boards beneath them creaked protestingly and dipped nearly into the water.
“We must have been crazy!” Louise exclaimed. “We’ll die of boredom waiting here. Two hours too!”
“It is a long time.”
“And if Joe shouldn’t come back, we’re stranded—absolutely stranded.”
“We did take a chance, Louise, but I’m sure Joe can be trusted.”
“He seems all right, but what do we really know about him?” Louise argued. “If anything queer is going on here in the swamp, he may be mixed up in it!”
“I thought about that,” Penny admitted. “Anyway, if we’re to learn anything, we had to take a certain amount of chance. I’m sure everything will be all right.”
Slowly they walked on along the rickety planks, now and then bending down to pluck a water lily. Louise quickly jerked back her hand as a water snake slithered past.
“Ugh!” she gasped. “Another one of those horrid things!”
Interested to learn where the planks led, the girls followed the bridge-like trail among the trees. Louise, however, soon grew tired. As they presently came to a stump which offered a perfect resting place, she sat down.
“This is as far as I’m going,” she announced.
“But we have lots of time to explore, Louise. Don’t you want to learn where this boardwalk goes?”
“Not at the risk of falling into the water! At any rate, I’m tired. If you want to explore, go on alone. I’ll wait for you here.”
Penny hesitated, reluctant to leave her chum alone.
“Sure you won’t mind, Louise?”
“I’d much rather wait here. Please go on. I know you’ll never rest until you reach the end of the walk.”
Thus urged. Penny, with the package of lunch still tucked under her arm, picked her way carefully along.
The board path curved on between the trees for some distance only to end abruptly where boards had rotted and floated away. After a break of several yards, the walk picked up again for a short ways, but Penny had no intention of wading through water to follow it further.
Pausing to rest before starting back, she noticed beyond the water oaks a narrow stretch of higher land covered with dense, wild growth. Above the trees a huge buzzard soared lazily.
“Ugly bird!” she thought, watching its flight.
Penny was about to turn and retrace her steps, when she noticed something else—footsteps in the muck not far from the end of the boardwalk.
“Someone has been here recently,” she reflected. “Those prints must have been made since the last rain.”
Even from some distance away. Penny could see that the shoemarks were small ones.
“Probably the person who made them is the same fellow who built the campfire,” she thought. “Wonder where the footprints lead?”
Penny tried to draw her eyes away, but the footprints fascinated and challenged her. She longed to investigate them further. However, she had not forgotten Trapper Joe’s warning that it was unsafe to leave the boardwalk.
“If I watch out for snakes and only go a short ways, what harm can it do?” she reasoned.
A moment more and Penny was off the walk, treading her way cautiously along the muddy bank. She paused to listen.
All was very quiet—so still that it gave the girl an uneasy feeling, as if she were being watched by a multitude of hostile eyes.
The footprints led to a large tree in a fairly open area. On one of the low, overhanging bushes, a bit of dark wool had been snagged.
“Someone climbed up there either to rest or sleep,”Penny thought.
In the bushes close by, the girl heard a faint, rustling sound.
“Who’s there?” she called sharply.
No one answered. All was still for a moment. Then again she heard the whisper of disturbed leaves.
Penny’s flesh began to creep. Suddenly losing all interest in the footprints, she decided to beat a hasty retreat to the boardwalk.
The decision came too late. Before she could move, a dozen big rooters led by an old gray boar, swarmed out of the bushes, surrounding her.
Too frightened and startled to cry out, Penny huddled back against the tree trunk. The rooters had spread out in a circle an
d slowly were coming closer.
Retreat to the safety of the boardwalk was completely cut off. The leader of the pack now was so near that she plainly could see his razor-sharp ivory tusks. In another moment, the animal would attack.
Throwing off the paralysis of fear which gripped her, Penny swung herself into the lowermost branch of the big trees. The package of lunch she had carried, dropped from her hand, falling at the base of the trunk.
Instantly, the rooters were upon it, tearing savagely at the meat and at each other. Sick with horror, Penny clung desperately to the tree limb.
“If I slip now, I’m a gonner!” she thought. “Those rooters are half starved. If I fall, they’ll attack me!”
Penny considered shouting for Louise, but dismissed the thought as quickly as it came. Her chum probably was too far away to hear her cries. If she did come, unarmed as she was, she might leave the boardwalk only to endanger herself.
“Louise can’t help me,” Penny told herself. “I brought this on myself by not heeding Old Joe’s warning. Now it’s up to me to get out of the mess the best way I can.”
The girl lay still on the limb, trying not to draw the attention of the rooters. Once they finished the meat, she was hopeful they would go away. Then she could make a dash for the walk.
Grunting and squealing, the rooters devoured the meat and looked about for more. To Penny’s relief, they gradually wandered off—all except the old boar.
The leader of the pack stayed close to the big tree, eyeing the girl in the tree wickedly. Even in the dim light she could plainly see his evil little eyes and working jaws.
“Go away you big brute!” she muttered.
Penny’s perch on the limb was a precarious one and her arms began to ache from the strain of holding on. Unsuccessfully, she tried to shift into a more comfortable position.
“I may be treed here for hours!” she thought. “Can I hold on that long?”
The old boar showed no disposition to move off, but kept circling the tree. It seemed to the now desperate Penny, that the animal sensed she was weakening and only awaited the moment when she would tumble down to the ground.
Breaking off a small tree branch she hurled it defiantly at the boar. The act caused her to lose her balance. Frantically, she clawed for a foothold but could not obtain it. Down she slipped to the base of the tree.
The old boar, quick to see his opportunity, charged. With a scream of terror, Penny leaped aside and the animal rushed past, squealing in rage at having missed his prey.
Even now, the boar stood between the girl and the plank walk. The tree from which she had fallen, offered her only refuge, and as she measured her chances, she realized that the probability of regaining the limb was a slim one.
But at that instant, as Penny froze in terror, a shot was fired from somewhere in the bushes behind her. The bullet went straight and true, stopping the boar in his tracks. He grunted, rolled over, twitched twice, and lay still.
CHAPTER 17
RESCUE
With a sob of relief, Penny whirled around to thank her rescuer. Through the thick leaves of the bushes she could see the shadowy figure of a man. But even as she watched, he retreated.
“Wait!” the girl cried.
There was no answer, and before she could call out a word of thanks for deliverance, the man had vanished.
His disappearance reminded her that though she had been snatched from the jaws of death, the danger by no means was over. At any moment the herd of rooters might return to attack.
Turning, Penny ran swiftly to the planked walk, in her haste not watching where she stepped. Her boots sank deeply in muck. Once on the planks well above the water level, she paused to catch her breath, and to gaze searchingly toward the bushes. All now was still.
“Who could my rescuer have been?” she mused. “Why didn’t he wait for me to thank him?”
Penny called several times but received no reply. Finally, giving up, she started slowly back along the walk toward the bay where she had left Louise.
More than the girl realized, the adventure had unnerved her. She felt weak all over, and several times as she gazed steadily at the water, became dizzy and nearly lost her balance.
“Guess I’m not tough enough for swamp life,” she reflected. “If ever I get out of here in one piece, I’m tempted to forget Danny Deevers and let the police do all the searching.”
Footsteps became audible on the boardwalk some distance away.
Every sense now alert to danger, Penny halted to listen.
Someone was coming toward her, moving swiftly on the creaking planks.
“Penny!” called an agitated voice.
Penny relaxed as she knew that it was her chum. “Louise!” she answered, running to meet her.
Rounding a clump of bushes, and walking gingerly on the narrow boards, Louise stopped short as she beheld her friend.
“Why, you’re as white as a ghost!” she exclaimed. “And I distinctly heard you shout! What happened? Did you see a snake?”
“A snake would be mild compared to what I’ve been through. Were you ever eaten alive?”
“Not that I recall.”
“Well, I escaped it by the skin of my teeth,” Penny said, rather relishing the adventure now that the story made such good telling. “I was saved by a mysterious stranger!”
Louise gazed at her chum anxiously and reached out to touch her forehead. “You’re hot and feverish,” she insisted. “This trip has been too much for you.”
“I’m as cool as a piece of artificial ice!” Penny retorted. “Furthermore, I’m not touched by the heat!”
“Well, something is wrong with you.”
“I’ve just had the fright of my life, that’s all. If you’ll give me a chance, I’ll tell you what happened.”
“The stage is all yours, sweet. But don’t give me any tall tale about being rescued by a Prince Charming disguised as a frog!”
Penny’s lips compressed into a tight line. “I can see you’ll never believe the truth, Lou. So I’ll prove it to you! Come with me, and I’ll show you the animal that nearly made mince meat of me.”
Treading single file, the girls returned the way Penny had come, to the end of the planks.
“Look over at the base of that big tree,” Penny instructed, pointing. “What do you see?”
“Nothing.”
“The boar that was shot—why, it should be there!”Penny scarcely could believe the sight of her own eyes. “But it’s gone!”
“It’s gone because it never was there. Penny, you’re suffering from too much heat.”
“I’m not! Neither am I imagining things! That old boar was there ten minutes ago. Either he came back to life and went off, or someone dragged him away.”
“And your mysterious rescuer?” Louise teased. “What became of him?”
“I wish I knew! Lou, I’m not imagining any of this! Surely you must have heard the shot?”
“Well, I did hear something that sounded like one.”
“Also, the lunch is gone. All that remains of it, is the paper lying over there by the tree.”
“I do see a newspaper,” Louise conceded.
“And that broken tree branch lying on the ground? I was up the tree and threw it at the boar. That’s how I lost my balance and fell.”
Louise now was convinced the story had solid foundation. “Start from the beginning,” she urged.
Penny related what had occurred, rather building up the scene in which she had been delivered from death by the bullet shot from behind a bush.
“Whoever the man is, he must be somewhere close by,” Louise said when she had finished. “Perhaps we can find him.”
“Not a chance! He’s deliberately hiding. Besides, I know better than to leave the walk again. It’s dangerous!”
“In that case we may as well go back and wait for Joe,” Louise said.
Treading their way carefully, the girls returned to the far end of the boardwalk. To their surpr
ise, they saw a boat approaching.
“Why, it looks like Joe in the skiff!” Penny commented. “But he isn’t due back for a long while yet.”
Watching the oncoming boat for a moment, Louise said: “It’s Joe all right, and he’s coming fast. Something must be wrong.”
Soon the guide brought the skiff alongside the sagging boardwalk.
“I heard a shot and started back,” he explained. “I sure am glad to see both o’ ye safe.”
Before Penny could do so, Louise told Joe what had befallen her chum.
“Ye could have been kilt by that old boar,” he said soberly. “It was the package o’ meat that drew them rooters to the tree. They hain’t likely to attack a human lest they’re half starved.”
“I wish I knew who saved me,” Penny said. “Could it have been one of the Hawkins’ boys?”
“From the sound, I’d say that shot weren’t fired from their rifles. More’n likely it came from my own gun!”
“The stolen one?”
“That’s what I’m a-thinkin’. If I could see the bullet that was fired, I could tell fer sure.”
“The boar disappeared and the bullet with him,”Penny said. “That’s another queer thing.”
“Whoever kilt the critter may have drug him off, or maybe the animal was only stunned.” The guide squinted at the lowering sun. “I’d like powe’ful well to see the place, but it’s gitten late. We gotta git back.”
“What did you learn at Black Island?” Louise asked as she and Penny climbed into the skiff.
“Never got half way there,” the guide said in disgust. “Since I went in last time, the main channel’s clogged thick with hyacinths. To find yer way in now’s a half day’s job.”
“Can’t we try again tomorrow?” Penny asked eagerly.
The old guide gazed at her quizzically as he dipped his paddle. “Hain’t ye had enough o’ the swamp after today, young’un?”
“When that old boar came for me, I told myself if ever I got safely away, I’d never come again. But that was only a passing impulse. Black Island interests me.”
“It’s the most dangerous part of the swamp.”
“Because of wild animals, you mean?”
“There’s lots wuss things than animals,” said the old guide soberly.
The Penny Parker Megapack: 15 Complete Novels Page 182
