THE NIGHT ALARM
"It's gone!" exclaimed Jack, drawing a long breath.
"Seems like it," remarked Paul, with a trace of excitement in his
usually steady voice; for that strange moving light mystified him.
"What do you suppose it could be?" asked his chum, relying as always
upon the ability of Paul to solve the puzzles.
"Oh! well, that isn't hard to guess," returned the scout leader.
"Somebody was moving about with a lantern, as sure as you live. The
question that bothers me is to say who the fellow can be."
"There's Ted and his squad; we happen to know they're roaming around
these regions somewhere," suggested Jack, quickly.
"That's true," said Paul, thoughtfully; "and it may be one of that
crowd; but somehow I doubt it. In the first place I don't believe they
were smart enough to fetch even a lantern along. You know they brag
about how they can go into the woods with only a hatchet and a few
cooking things, and enjoy life. But we didn't come up here to endure
things."
"Not much," declared Jack; "we want all the comforts of a well managed
camp. And in the line of fun we've got a string of things laid out that
will keep us doing stunts every hour of the time. But if not Ted's
toadies, then who could be wandering about up there? Can you give a
guess, Paul?"
Paul could; but then he debated with himself whether he ought to take
Jack fully into his confidence. He decided that as they had been chums
so long, and shared each other's confidences, he ought to speak.
Besides, Joe had shown no intention of confiding anything in him.
So in low tones he told about the queer actions of Joe Clausin when that
man in the vehicle had gone by; and the few words he had heard the boy
scout mutter. After that he related the incident of his interview with
Joe.
"Say, that is mighty funny," observed Jack, after he had listened to the
whole story.
"Don't you think the same as I do, and that Joe recognized that man?"
"It looks that way to me. And he seemed to guess something that was
anything but pleasant to him," replied his chum.
"Speak plainly, Jack," said Paul, eagerly, catching the other's eye,
"you mean that he must have connected the presence of that man here
with the robbery of his father the other night? Is that it?"
"I reckon that was what flashed into Joe's mind," remarked Jack; "he
thought this man was at the other side of the world, he said, did he?
Well, the very fact that he had turned up here at such a time looks
mighty suspicious. Paul, what if we happened to run across him while we
were in camp here; wouldn't it be a great thing if we found that old tin
box for Mr. Clausin?"
"I was thinking about something. Did you happen to get a good look at
the face of that man as he drove past?" asked the scout leader, gravely.
"Well, no, I didn't, to tell the truth. I happened to be doing something
just then, and when I looked up I only saw his back. But what of it?"
asked Jack, knowing that his comrade would not speak in this way without
a motive.
"I did, and it's been bothering me ever since," came the reply.
"How was that? Did you know him?" demanded Jack.
"I seemed to see something familiar about him, and yet I couldn't just
get hold of it. And Jack, just while we were talking it over, and I was
telling you about what Joe said to me in his confusion, it flashed over
me who he made me think of."
"Who was that?" demanded his chum.
"Joe!" answered Paul, quietly.
Of course Jack was stirred deeply when he heard that.
"Oh! I wonder what it can mean?" he exclaimed. "I've known Joe for more
than five years now, and so far I've never heard that he had a brother.
You know they came to Stanhope from down in Jersey somewhere. Do you
really think it might be so? This fellow, who was, as he believed at the
other side of the world, in China or the Philippines perhaps, may have
come home to rob his father!"
"Hold on," laughed Paul; "you're getting too far ahead, old hoss! Don't
jump at things that way. This man looked too old to be any brother of
Joe's. He might be an uncle, though. Uncles sometimes go bad, I guess,
and do things that make their relatives ashamed of them. Suppose we
leave it at that, and wait to see if we happen to learn anything more."
"But Joe knows," persisted Jack, doggedly.
"That's right," replied Paul, seriously; "but don't forget that it's his
secret, and as true scouts we've no business to go prying into his
affairs unless he asks our help. Forget it all for a while, and let's
talk about what we have laid out for to-morrow. I do hope Mr. Gordon
shows up. I wonder if he can read the Indian talk I left in each place
we stopped."
They were soon deep in the various interesting features of the programme
as mapped out for the next day. Having now settled into what they
expected would be the permanent camp of the tour, the boys were wild to
get down to business, and show their efficiency in the various lines
which they favored.
"Listen to 'em gabble like a pack of old women," laughed Jack, as the
friendly argument about the crackling fire grew more heated.
"Bob Tice is demanding why they didn't think to bring a portable dark
room along, so he could develop his films in the daytime," said Paul,
after listening a minute; "and Jud is explaining to the novice that with
his new film tank there's no need of any such thing, for he can do all
that work right in the tent at noon."
Many other subjects were discussed about that blazing fire, and much
information passed around.
Strict discipline was maintained in camp, just as though the scoutmaster
himself were present to enforce it.
At the hour appointed, Bobolink tooted his bugle, and immediate
preparations for retiring commenced. Twenty minutes later taps sounded,
and every light had to go out save the one fire that occupied the centre
of the camp.
Three sentries paced to and fro, and they had been given to understand
that any failure to keep constant watch would meet with prompt
punishment. They knew that Paul meant to enforce his orders; and
suspecting that he might creep out under the rear of his tent to make a
secret rounds, they were one and all determined that nothing should
cause them to fail in their duties.
Paul was asleep in his tent with two of his mates, when something
suddenly awoke him. He sat up to listen, and again heard the sound. It
was a dull thud, as of a hard object falling to the ground. Then came a
distinct splash in the nearby lake.
"What in goodness can it be?" he thought, as he listened for a
repetition of the strange sounds. "Hello! what's going on, Paul?" Jack
asked at that moment, raising his head as if he too had been awakened by
the several thumps, and wondered what his chum was doing sitting up.
"That's what I'm trying to guess," replied Paul, quietly.
"Sounds as if it was hailing to beat the band!" exclaimed Jack, as a
series of continuous thumps came.
Just then some one burst in at the open flap of the tent. It proved to
be Bluff Shipley, who had been appointed sentry from the Red Fox
Patrol.
"Paul, c-c-come out here, q-q-quick!" he cried, in considerable
excitement; and as this condition was always bad for the poor fellow's
twisted tongue, he began to "fall all over himself," as Jack expressed
it, when he attempted to go on and explain what had happened.
In the jumble, however, Paul caught something that gave him the clue he
wanted--"Ted Slavin" and "rocks!"
He quickly got inside some clothes, not even waiting in his hurry to
remove his pajamas. When he crawled out of the tent he found a number of
the scouts had been aroused. Their angry shouts were heard on every
hand; for a shower of stones was descending upon the camp from some
point further up the abrupt side of the mountain.
"It's that Slavin crowd, as usual!" cried Jud, furiously, rubbing his
arm where he had been struck.
"We've just _got_ to get after them with a hot stick!" exclaimed
Wallace, who was usually the warmest advocate of peace in the troop; but
this constant and vicious annoyance on the part of their rivals was
proving too much for even his temper.
"Come on, fellows; us to the attack!" called Bobolink, with his
accustomed vim; "this is the limit, and we've just got to flag 'em!"
All discipline was forgotten in the excitement of the moment. Nor did
Paul try to show his authority. He was very nearly as indignant as any
of them; and had they been able to locate the enemy, possibly there
might have ensued a scramble that would hardly have been to the credit
of the well known peaceful principles of the scouts.
But the stone throwing seemed to cease about the time the scouts began
to climb the side of the rocky elevation. Doubtless Ted and his allies
knew that it would be dangerous for them to remain longer; and having
stirred up a hornets' nest below, they probably crept away over a path
they had mapped out, which would lead to their cave camp.
The boys came back in bunches of twos and threes presently, heated with
their useless search, and breathing out all sorts of threats against the
disturbers of their peace. On the next night Paul meant to have a
vidette posted on the mountain side, whose one particular duty would be
to look out for prowlers.
There was no further alarm that night. Possibly Ted and his crowd
believed that it would not be wise to go in too strongly for these
things. And so another day dawned, that was fated to be full of
strenuous doings between sunrise and sunset.