CHAPTER XVIII
A NEST OF CONSPIRATORS
The radio boys saw Buck Looker often--all too often--in the days thatfollowed. As the boys had feared, Buck and his crowd were staying atthe Mountain Rest Hotel, and it was almost impossible to helpencountering them.
Several times there were arguments which almost resulted in blows, butBuck always managed to sneak off at the critical moment, leaving theboys to fume helplessly.
"Wish we could find out how that shack of theirs caught fire," Joegrumbled on one of these occasions. "Then we could stop their mouthson that firebrand question once and for all."
"Wouldn't make any difference," remarked Herb gloomily. "If theycouldn't make trouble for us on that score, they'd think up somethingelse."
But about this time something happened that took the minds of theradio boys from Buck Looker and his trouble making.
One day, as they were tramping through the woods in the still deepsnow, they came upon a little decrepit-looking one-room shack,standing dejectedly within a circle of skeleton trees.
They had wandered further than usual from camp in exploring thesurrounding country and had come upon the tiny cabin unexpectedly.Jimmy was about to utter a gleeful shout at sight of theinteresting-looking place when Bob clapped a warning hand over hismouth.
"Keep still," he whispered sharply. "I hear voices in there."
"Well, what if you do?" demanded Joe, but he kept his voice cautiouslylowered just the same. "Probably some harmless dubs----"
"Like ourselves," finished Jimmy, with a grin, "seeking shelter fromthe bitter weather."
"Well, whoever they are, they sure are mad about something," said Bob,hardly knowing why he should be so excited.
The voices inside that one-room shack had been raised in altercation,but now, as the boys listened, somebody evidently cautioned silence,for once more the tones were lowered almost to a whisper.
"There's something mysterious about this," said Bob, his eyes gleamingjoyfully. "I vote we look into it."
"Right-o," agreed Joe, following the leader as Bob started softlytoward the shack.
What they expected to find they had no idea. But it was an understood,though unspoken, rule with the radio boys never to pass by anythingthat looked in the least mysterious. And certainly this queer littleshack in the woods bore all the air of mystery.
There was one small window near where they were standing and the fourboys crowded up to this, jostling each other in the attempt to be thefirst to see through the dingy pane.
"Hey!" whispered Jimmy in anguish, as Joe's foot clamped firmly downupon his. "Quit parking on my toe, will you? There's lots of room onthe ground."
Joe snickered derisively and that small sound came near to provingtheir undoing. For inside the cabin it happened that for a momentevery one had stopped talking and in the silence Joe's laugh wasdistinctly audible.
"Some one's getting in on this," they heard one of the voices say, asthough its owner were nervous, yet was trying his best to hide hisuneasiness. "Let's take a look around, boys. You never can be toosure."
The radio boys looked at each other in consternation. There was notime to get away, even if they had wanted to. And now that they wereconvinced there was crooked work going on in the shack, they certainlydid not want to leave.
Bob flattened himself against the wall and motioned to his chums to dolikewise. If the fellows found them and wanted to put up a fight,"well, they'd get their money's worth, anyway."
But it so happened that the lads were not discovered. The door of theshack was on the opposite side from them, and either the men were toolazy to search carefully or they were too confident of the obscurityof their meeting place. At any rate, they went to the door, lookedaround, and, finding no one within sight, evidently decided that theyhad been mistaken in thinking they had heard a suspicious noise andreentered the shack without searching further.
"You're crazy, Mohun," the boys heard one of them remark, in anirritable voice. "You're letting your imagination--and yournerves--run away with you."
"Well, this deal is enough to get on anybody's nerves," was thegrumbled reply, evidently from the person addressed as Mohun. "If wedon't put it across pretty quick I'm going to quit. I've told you toomuch delay would be fatal."
The boys glanced at each other, and the relief they had felt at notbeing discovered was closely followed by huge excitement as theybecame more and more certain that they were on the verge of making animportant discovery.
They crowded closer to the window though, mindful of how close theyhad come to discovery, they were careful to make not the slightestsound.
Bob, who was closest to the window, could, by exercising the greatestcaution, peer into the shadows of the room. He put out his hand as awarning to Joe, who was crowding him closely.
"Don't push," he said, in the merest whisper. "I have a notion this isgoing to be good."
So had the other boys, but they were mad clean through at the fatethat prevented their getting a glimpse into the tumbled-down shanty.However, they held back, knowing that if they were too eager theywould spoil everything. Discovery then would mean that they wouldnever hear the secret these men were about to disclose.
The old shack had evidently once been lived in, for it was fitted upwith furniture of a crude sort. Along one side of the room ran twolong bunks, one above the other, and on the walls were some olddilapidated-looking pictures, evidently cut out of magazines or newsperiodicals.
There was a three-legged, rickety table in the center of the room, andabout this the conspirators--for such they were--were gathered. Two ofthe men had chairs, patently home-made, for seats, while the third,who sat facing Bob, had merely an empty wooden box turned on end.
It was this last fellow who was now speaking and who had beenaddressed by the name of Mohun. He was short and of fair complexion,with protruding, horsey teeth that stuck out disagreeably over hislip.
Another of the trio was a giant of a fellow, tall, dark andheavy-browed, while the third, who sat with his back to Bob, was ofslighter build, but nearly as tall.
Mohun seemed to be the leader of the party, for now he was leaningacross the rickety table, talking earnestly and emphasizing hisremarks with blows of his fist upon it.
"I tell you, Merriweather," he said, addressing the giant, "this isour time to act. You are merely pussy-footing when you ask delay. I amconvinced that delay means suicide."
Jimmy, catching the last word, gasped involuntarily and Bob nudged himwarningly.
"Keep still," he hissed. "This sure is going to be good!"
The two other men looked uncertain but the fellow called Mohun waspushing the point home.
"This is our chance," he cried vehemently. "Salper is out of the wayfor the present, but we never know when he may take the notion to goback to the old job. They say he is getting mighty restive already."
At the mention of Mr. Salper's name Bob fell back in his amazement andlanded on Joe's foot, whereupon the latter emitted a squeak of painthat he immediately stifled.
"Did you hear that?" demanded Bob in an excited whisper, without athought for poor Joe's foot. "They're talking about Mr. Salper."
Eagerly he turned back to the window while Herb whispered in an awedtone:
"Maybe they're going to murder the old fellow."
"Say, keep still, can't you?" said Bob impatiently, as he strained hisears to catch the lowered tones of the three men.
Herb subsided, and the four of them waited with bated breath to findout what these three conspirators had to do with Gilbert Salper.
"Maybe you're right, Mohun," the tall man with the craggy browsanswered reluctantly. "But I can't help thinking that to strike now isa poor move."
"In two or three weeks we'll have everything just as we want it,"added the man who sat with his back to Bob. "We'll have a sure thingthen, while now----"
The man called Mohun threw up his hands in a gesture of despair.
"Pussy-footing again!" he cried disg
ustedly. "What kind of gamblersare you, anyway, to wait until you have a sure thing before you testyour luck? Don't you know that the big deals down on the Street thathave been successful have been put through because the fellows doingit had nerve?"
"Yes, but not many of the deals have been as big or as important asthis," said the giant quietly.
"All the more reason to strike quickly," argued Mohun, with heat,adding in a lowered tone: "I tell you this absence of Salper from WallStreet is the chance of a lifetime. It's the thing we've been waitingfor. With him on the Street we haven't a chance for our lives. Withhim away, we have everything in our own hands. Now it's up to youwhether we make the most of our luck, or throw it in the rubbishheap."
"But Salper is up here for an indefinite length of time," argued theman with his back to Bob. "It is said he will stay at least a month,maybe two. And a week--two at the outside--is all we need to make sureof relieving him of some of his ill-gotten wealth."
The man laughed noisily at this poor attempt at humor, and Mohunglanced nervously about him.
"Better look out," he said, peevishly. "You never can tell who'slistening. They say the trees have ears around this way."
"Your nerves are getting the best of you, I think," cried the big man."Just because you've got cold feet is no reason why we should take thechance of losing out on the biggest deal we've had the chance ofhandling for many a day. Get a good sleep, man, and you'll think theway we do, tomorrow."
For a moment it seemed as though Mohun were about to spring upon thebig man and Bob held his breath, expecting a struggle. Mohun's faceturned a brick red and his lips drew back from his protruding upperteeth as though in a snarl. His hands clenched, he took a step towardthe bigger man who had half risen from his chair.
"Then I'll tell you one thing, you pussy-footers!" he cried furiously."If this deal isn't pulled through by the end of a week and if by thattime we haven't our hands on a good chunk of Salper's money, then I'mthrough. Do you hear that? I quit!"
The Radio Boys at Mountain Pass; Or, The Midnight Call for Assistance Page 20
