THE UNDERGROUND REFUGE
"Jack! oh! Jack!" called the patrol leader, filled with dismay over the
mysterious disappearance of his best friend.
"Hello! Paul!"
That was surely Jack answering him, but where could he be? The sound
seemed to come from underground, which fact gave Paul a suspicion
regarding the truth.
"Where are you?" he shouted, as he flattened himself out close to the
ground.
"Down in a hole! Look out, or you'll come in too. Tell Mr. Gordon I've
found a cave!" came back to his ears.
So, after all, it was Paul who sent forth the signal agreed on,
announcing the welcome fact that a refuge had been discovered. The rest
of the boys came crawling to the spot by twos, eager and curious.
"Take care!" Paul cried out, as he heard them arriving on either side,
"Jack fell down a hole right about here. We must find where it is, or
else some more of us may follow suit!"
Paul believed that his chum could not have been seriously injured by his
sudden and unexpected descent. Had this been the case he would not have
called quite so cheerily as he did.
Searching in the quarter where he last remembered seeing Jack, he
presently discovered that the trailing vines hid the mouth of a cave. It
was not more than four feet across, but would answer their purpose, no
doubt.
And even as he looked he saw a match flame out below, and caught sight
of Jack on his knees, peering eagerly upward. Luckily he, as well as
every other scout, had learned to always carry matches in a waterproof
case while in camp, since there could be no telling when they might need
such valuable little articles.
Paul quickly found a way to clamber down the side of the opening, and
join his chum.
"Well, this is something like," he observed, relieved to find that he
could now speak without shouting, as the sound of the gale was deadened
underground. "Were you hurt by that tumble, Jack?"
"Oh! not worth mentioning," replied the one addressed, as he rubbed his
knee, and then struck another match, so that the others might see how to
get down.
Some were fortunate enough to make the descent safely. A few came
sprawling, and sat there rubbing their bruises and grunting. Presently
Mr. Gordon, counting noses, announced that the entire troop had been
safely housed.
Wallace being one of the first to arrive, had busied himself looking
around while the balance of his comrades were making the descent.
Finding some bits of dry wood handy he started a little blaze. This
served two purposes, for while it dissipated the dense darkness that
surrounded them, at the same time it seemed to give the drenched and
shivering lads a trifle of new courage.
"See if you can find more wood, fellows," Wallace observed, knowing that
if thus employed the scouts were less apt to grow despondent over their
discouraging condition.
As the boy scouts began to feel more comfortable, their spirits
commenced to go upward again, just as the mercury in a thermometer rises
with the coming of heat.
"We're a lucky lot, I tell you, fellows, to stumble on such a fine snug
hole in the nick of time!" declared Tom Betts, as he rubbed his hands
together, before giving his place in the front rank to another scout
less favored, and still shivering.
Some of the scouts were so utterly exhausted that presently, when they
began to feel more comfortable, as their clothes dried in a measure,
they gave evidence of drowsiness.
Mr. Gordon made these fellows lie down in a heap, and try to sleep. They
would secure a certain degree of warmth by contact with their mates.
But there were others of just a contrary mind, who had never been more
wideawake in their lives than just then. Sleep was the last thing they
thought about.
"I wonder where this cave leads to?" remarked Bobolink, after more than
an hour had elapsed.
Paul was interested, of course. Anything that bordered on mystery at
all, always had a peculiar fascination for him. And Jack was pretty much
of the same mind.
"If we could only get a few torches together," the former observed in
answer to Bobolink's remark, "I'd just like to take a little trip
around, and see what lies back there. Some of us have gone fifty feet
and more, looking for more wood; and there was no back wall to the
place. Perhaps it might have another entrance; and I'd just like to know
whether any other fellows ever did camp in here. If we found the ashes
of a fire we'd know for certain."
"Let's go!" suggested Bobolink, ready for any lark.
"But how about the torches?" continued the cautious Jack; "I wouldn't
like to get lost in such a twisting hole in the ground. That might turn
out to be worse than lying out there in the storm."
"Oh! we can get enough wood to keep us going," replied Bobolink; "and
besides, it seems to be lying all along the passage, as if some feller
had dropped pieces every time he went in with a load. Come on, say yes,
Paul."
"All right, then," said the patrol leader, ready to give way to
argument; "but we must be careful. I've got a scheme boys, to keep from
getting lost in this place."
"Tell us how, then!" demanded both the others; and Joe Clausin, who had
been hovering near by, came closer to catch what was being said.
"I've got a piece of red chalk in my pocket; and we can mark the way as
we go," Paul continued; "and when we get tired of prowling around so
that we want to come back here, all we have to do is to follow the red
marks of the arrows."
"That's what I call a bully scheme, Paul. Now come along," cried
Bobolink.
"Count me in too, fellows," said a voice just then.
"Why, hello! Joe, is that you?" exclaimed Paul, turning to look into the
eager face of the Clausin boy. "Why sure, if you want to go along, and
feel able to keep on your feet. Start up one of your torches, Bobolink;
and every one keep his eyes on the lookout for more tinder as we go
along."
Paul could not help noticing that Joe had an unusually eager look on his
face at the time he asked to accompany them. He could read between the
lines, and guessed what was in the other's mind. Perhaps Joe allowed
himself to imagine, or even hope, that luck might enable them to run
across the man who had passed up into this region, and who looked so
like some one he believed must be at the other side of the world.
Paul took the lead as the four boys moved away. Mr. Gordon looked after
them; but having the utmost confidence in the young patrol leader, he
did not ask them what their intentions were. And none of them imagined
they would be gone any great length of time.
Presently they had passed the line that marked the boundary of any
former search for fuel. And Paul noticed as he walked on, holding the
rude torch above his head, that the winding passage seemed to be
constantly getting larger. This gave him the idea that they must have
fallen into one of its extreme branches; and that perhaps, after all,
their exploration might reveal wonders of which none of them had so much
as dreamed.