A MINT IN THE MOUNTAINS
"Why," the old woman said, stepping closer to the group of boys,
"that's Buck!"
A heavily-built man with a scraggly beard stepped away from the
corral and approached the group by the fire, his stubby fingers
twining in and out of his unkempt whiskers as he walked along, his
eyes fixed on the fire and those about it.
"That's Buck Skypole," the old woman went on, as the advancing figure
stopped. "I didn't know you was to come after me Buck," she added,
speaking to the new-comer.
"I 'lowed you'd be right skeered of the dark," the man answered, "so
I 'lowed I'd come on up an' tote you home."
He rubbed his left thigh carefully for a moment and then spoke to
Ned.
"That's a right pert mule," he said.
"Did Uncle Ike kick you?" asked Jack, nudging Oliver in the ribs with
an elbow. "We'll have to wallop him a bit, if he did."
"I reckon I ain't got no mad at the creeter," Buck replied. "A man
must keep out'n reach of a mule. Seein' the mule's got only a few
feet of play in his laigs, he ought to be able to do that! No; I
ain't goin' to recommend no beatin's f'r the mule!"
"Buck," said the old lady, "these are boys from New York, my old
home! They're taking pictures of the mountains."
"They c'n take the mountains, too!" Buck laughed. "F'r all me!"
"I thought Mike might have come in with them," the old lady went on.
"He isn't here, but I've had a real pleasant time with the boys. I'm
much obliged to you, lads," she added, facing Ned. "I'm grateful for
the tea and the fruit. They're rare here."
"I reckoned you wouldn't find Mike here," Buck chuckled, "f'r while
you was gone a message come from Mike. He can't get here now, but
he's sent the kid!"
"He has?" cried the woman, joyfully. "Do you mean to tell me, Buck,
that the boy is right down there this minute, in my cabin?"
"Sure I do," was the reply, "an' a bright little feller he is."
"Give us a guess on that," whispered Jack to Oliver. "Is the kid in
the cabin Mike III., or is he the prince? Give you three guesses!"
"I give it up!" the boy whispered back.
"Why didn't you bring the kid along with you?" asked Frank. "We all
want to see him. His grandmother has been telling us about him."
"Its a right smart walk for a little one!" Buck answered.
"You're welcome to come down and see him," Mrs. Brady said. "I'd be
proud to give you all a snack in the morning."
"Suppose we do go and see the kid?" asked Oliver. "I'm curious to
know all about the little shaver!"
"I'm for it!" Frank exclaimed.
"And I'll be the first one there!" Jack put in. "I always liked
kids--from Washington! No one will molest the camp while we are gone."
"I wouldn't leave it alone, if I were you," advised the old lady.
"There's a heap of bad people come into the mountains sometimes.
Don't all leave at once."
"That's good advice, mother," Ned said. "Two will go and two will
remain here. In a short time the two out in the hills will return,
and then there will be a good-sized guard for what little stuff we
have."
"All right," Jack declared, "if any one is going to stay here, it
will be me! Come to think of it, I'm too blamed tired to walk another
step to-night. Eh, Oliver?"
"I'll remain here if you do," the boy replied. "I'm worn out up to my
knees now, climbing mountains. And, besides, Uncle Ike would be
lonesome without me away!"
"Very well," Ned agreed. "That leaves Frank and me for the visit. When
Jimmie and Teddy come, put them to bed without supper!"
"You'll know when they come, then," laughed Jack, "for Jimmie going
to bed without supper will be a noisy proposition. You can hear him
for ten miles."
"I'm anxious about the boys," Ned went on. "I'm afraid something is
wrong with them. They should have been back here hours ago."
"You remember the Indian signal for help you saw in the valley?"
asked Frank, in a moment. "Well, they may have seen that, too, and
taken a notion to find out about it. They went in that direction when
they left the camp."
"That may be the reason for their delay," Ned answered. "We should
have attended to that signal ourselves," he added. "There may have
been some one in serious trouble down there. I hope the boys did
go--that is, if nothing happens to them because of their going. Boy
Scouts should assist each other at every opportunity."
After a little more talk regarding the boy who had been sent to Mary
Brady by her son in Washington, and after Buck had been given a
couple of cups of steaming hot coffee, the four started down the
slope to the west.
"Did any one say how far it was to the old lady's cabin?" asked Jack
of his chum, as they nestled down by the fire, the mountain air being
cold, even in June.
"Buck said it was three whoops and a holler!" almost shrieked
Oliver. "Do you know what he meant by that?"
"I don't know," answered Jack, "but I should think, from what she
said, that the boys won't feel like walking back up the mountain
to-night. Therefore, if Jimmie and Teddy don't come, well be alone."
"I wonder if they would know the prince if they met him in the road?"
laughed Oliver. "That kid down there is just as much the prince as I
am. What did they steal the kid for, anyway?"
"Politics!" yawned Jack.
"What did they send him over here for, anyway?"
"Politics!" with another yawn.
"Aw, go on to bed!" grinned Oliver. "I'll build up another fire, to
serve as a sort of lighthouse for the boys and sit up for them."
So Jack went into the tent, pulled down a great heap of blankets,
drew off his coat and shoes and stockings, and was soon asleep in a
neat little nest!
Oliver sat by the fire for a short time and then went up to the
summit to look over the valley. The moon was rising now, and he could
see the four who had recently left the camp working their way over a
ridge to the south and west.
Straight down, in a canyon made by an outcropping ledge of rock, he
saw a faint light, as from a campfire which had been allowed to die
down.
"The mountains are full of people to-night!" he mused. "If I thought
I could make Uncle Ike behave himself, I'd ride down there and see
who those campers are."
The boy stood undecided for some moments, then his eyes opened wider
and he moved downward toward the fire. He was thinking of the Boy
Scout signals for help which Ned and Frank had mentioned seeing!
"I wonder if Jack would go down there with me!"
When he reached the camp Jack was in the land of dreams, and he
decided not to awake him. He could go alone just as well!
He went on down to the feeding ground and presented Uncle Ike with a
lump of sugar. The mule thanked him with wiggling ears and dived a
soft muzzle into his coat pocket for another lump.
"Not until you come back, Uncle Ike!" Oliver explained. "If you do a
good job traveling up and down the mountainside, you're going to have
another piece of sugar when we get back!"
The boy saddled and bridled the animal, mounted, and urged him away
from the feeding ground. Uncle Ike, thinking his day's work finished,
objected to being put into harness again, and reared and kicked until
Oliver was obliged to dismount and bribe him with more sugar.
"Will you go now, you fool mule?" he asked.
Uncle Ike finally decided to go, and his sure feet were soon pressing
the slope toward the campfire. Oliver struck the canyon just about
where Jimmie and Teddy had entered it.
He left Uncle Ike there and advanced toward the campfire on foot.
There were only a few embers left, and no signs of the fires which
had sent up the two columns of smoke! There was no one in sight from
the place where Oliver first came in direct view of the blaze.
He stepped along cautiously, listening as he walked, and soon came to
a second fire. This, too, was burned down low. Beyond this he saw the
dark opening of a cave in the outcropping ridge.
As Oliver stepped toward it, thinking the boys might have taken
refuge there for the night, he stumbled over something which rolled
under his foot and nearly fell to the ground. When he stooped over to
see what it was that had tripped him, he saw an electric flashlight
lying before him.
"The boys have been here, all right," he mused. "Now, I wonder if this
was taken from them, or whether they lost it, or whether it was
placed here to mark the trail? Either supposition may be the correct
one!"
The question was settled in a moment, for a voice which he knew came
out of the darkness.
"Found it, eh? Give it to me!"
"Jimmie!" whispered Oliver.
"Get in here out of the light of the fire!" Jimmie whispered, "and
bring the electric in with you. Come on in, and see what we've
found."
The opening in the ridge was a shallow one, Oliver discovered as he
entered it. To his surprise he found three lads there instead of the
two he had been looking for.
"You saw the fires?" asked Jimmie, in a low tone.
"Of course I did. Why didn't you come to camp?"
"This is the boy that built the Boy Scout signals!" Jimmie said,
bringing the other forward. "His name is Dode Surratt, and he's a
bold, bad boy, being at present lookout for a gang of counterfeiters!"
"That's a nice clean job," Oliver replied. "Where are the
counterfeiters?"
"At work in a hole in the ground. Hear the click of their machines?
They are turning out silver dollars faster than we can spend them. We
hid around until they went to work, then came up to talk with Dode."
Jimmie pointed to a crevice in the rock and invited Oliver to look. A
lance of light came up into the cave, and the boy's eyes followed it.
He could see a square room below, with a bright fire burning at one
end and figures moving about it.
"Making counterfeit money, are they?" asked Oliver.
"That's what they're doing! We were just thinking of getting out when
you came. Dode wants to go with us, but we tell him to remain with
the gang until they can be rounded up by the officers."
Dode started to make some remark, but Jimmie stopped him.
"They haven't got any consideration coming from you, have they?" he
asked. "They stole you, didn't they? They brought you here from
Washington to make a thief of you, didn't they?"
"And they beat you up for making the signals, too," Teddy put in.
"And they're coming out now!" he added. "So we'll all git--but Dode!"