THE SUBTERRANEAN CLUB.
I am afraid we were not very glad to get back to school that fall. It
seemed very hard to give up the sport we had been having, and our heads
were brimful of new schemes which we could hardly wait to put into
practice. But we soon learned that there are many things that could be
done during recreation hours at school. We had intended building a cave
on our island that summer, but our vacation came to an end before we got
around to it. There seemed no reason why we shouldn't dig one in the
woods at the back of the schoolhouse.
A CAVE-IN.
Bill had read somewhere that if you dig a cave under a tree the roots of
the tree will support the ground on top and make a natural and
substantial roof. It sounded very reasonable, we thought; in fact, we
never questioned the truth of the statement, because we had somehow
gotten the notion that books were never wrong, and that whatever was set
up in type must surely be so. But events proved that the man who wrote
that book had never attempted to build a cave in the manner he
described, at least not in the loose, sandy soil of south Jersey. A
large spreading cedar was selected as the tree which should support the
roof of our cave. It was situated on a mound at the edge of the woods.
First a passageway, or ditch, was dug at the bottom, and then we begun
tunneling in the side of the mound under the roots of the tree. For a
while the ground above held, and our tunnel had reached a length of
about four feet, when suddenly, without the slightest warning, the sandy
soil gave way and we were engulfed. Bill, who was furthest within the
cave, was almost entirely covered, while I was buried to the shoulders.
A crowd of boys came to our assistance and dug us out. Poor Bill was
almost smothered before they scooped the sand away from around his mouth
and nose. The boys made slow work of it, having to dig with their hands
and a couple of shingles, because the two spades we had were buried with
us at the bottom of the cave.
Of course, this little episode gave us a scare, but it was only
temporary. We swore every one to secrecy, so that Mr. Clark, the
principal, wouldn't hear of the mishap and suppress any further cave
building. It was obvious that the only roof we could depend on for our
cave would be a wooden roof. If we had been at Willow Clump Island we
would have gotten any amount of slabs from the lumber mills across the
river.
One of our schoolmates, a day scholar, came to the rescue. His name was
Chester Hill, a little bit of a chap, about the shortest for his age
that I have ever seen. His name was so at variance to his size that we
called him "Hillock," for short. Now Hillock lived on a farm about eight
miles from school, and used to drive in every day on a farm wagon. He
had helped us dig the cave under the cedar tree, and when he learned
that we would need some lumber to build a safe cave, he told us that he
had an uncle who owned a lumber mill on the Morris River, from whom he
was sure we could get all the slabs we wanted. Of course, we were
delighted, and laid our plans for an elaborate cave house. Hillock
promised to be on hand on the following Saturday afternoon with his load
of lumber.
EXCAVATING FOR THE CAVE.
We immediately set out to make the necessary excavation. The side of a
bushy knoll was chosen as a suitable site. First we carefully
transplanted the bushes that grew in the square we had marked out for
the cave, and cutting the sod into squares, piled it all neatly to one
side. Then we shoveled away the top-soil and heaped it up for future
use. After that we dug away the sandy subsoil. The cave proper we
planned to make about 8 feet by 10 feet, with a passageway 2 feet wide
and 6 feet long, leading in from a large bush at the base of the knoll.
Our excavation was therefore somewhat T-shaped (see Fig. 182). At the
deepest part we had to dig down about 10 feet.
[Illustration: Fig. 182. Excavation for the Cave.]
[Illustration: Fig. 183. Framework of the Cave.]
The digging was all done by Saturday, when Hillock pulled up with a big
load of slabs. Slabs are a very unsatisfactory kind of wood for most
purposes. Being the outside cut, they are usually very irregular and
weak in spots. In many places they are almost clear bark. Of course, had
our pocketbooks permitted, we would have used stout scantlings for the
corner posts of our cave house and substantial boards for the walls,
roof and flooring, but we had to be content with materials at hand.
Eight of the best slabs were selected for our corner posts; four of them
we cut to the length of 8 feet and the others to a length of 6 feet. The
long slabs were set up at the rear of the cave, two at each corner, one
flat against the rear wall, with its edge buried in the corner, and the
other against the side wall, with its edge tight against the rear slab,
as in Fig. 183. The same was done at the forward corners with the
shorter slabs. A couple of slabs were now set up on each side of the
passageway, and a corresponding pair against the rear wall. The upper
and lower ends of the uprights were then connected with slabs, called
stringpieces.
[Illustration: Fig. 184. The Siding and Flooring.]
The sides were now boarded up with upright slabs nailed to the
stringpieces. An opening 3 feet 6 inches high was left in the forward
wall for a passageway. Several slabs were now placed on the edge across
the bottom of the cave, to serve as floor beams, upon which a flooring
of slabs was laid. Next the rafters were set in place, one on each
upright slab. Slots were cut in the ends of the uprights to receive the
rafters, which were slabs placed on edge. As the forward uprights were 2
feet shorter than the rear ones, the rafters were given a good slant, so
that the roof would properly shed any water that might soak in through
the ground above.
[Illustration: Fig. 185. Notching in the Rafters.]
The roof was laid on the same way that we had made the roof of our tree
house; that is, a slab was first nailed at the forward end of the
rafters with its edge projecting far enough to make a good eave; then
the second slab was nailed on, with its edge overlapping the first, and
a third with its edge overlapping the second, and so on with the rest.
At the rear end of the roof a hole was cut, into which we fitted a piece
of stovepipe. We didn't plan to have a fire in the house, but set the
stovepipe in place to provide the necessary ventilation. As the pipe had
an elbow in it, there was no danger of rain or dirt falling through it.
The upper end of the stovepipe was concealed among some rocks at the top
of the knoll.
A suitable flooring was now laid in the passageway, and the sides were
boarded up to a height of 2 feet from the floor at the entrance to a
height of 3 feet 6 inches at the inner end. A roof of slabs was nailed
on, and then we were ready to cover our slab house with dirt.
COVERING THE CAVE.
We avoided piling on the dirt very deep, because there was danger of
breaking in the roof with a heavy load. A thin layer of sand covered
with the top-soil brought up the level to about that of the rest of the
knoll. Then the sod was laid back in place and well watered, and the few
bushes planted back in their original positions. Our sodding should have
been done in the spring for best results. The frost soon killed the
grass, and the bushes withered away. But a few cents' worth of grass
seed was sowed in, and in time gave the knoll a very natural appearance.
A bush at the bottom concealed the entrance of the cave, so that no one
who was not in the secret would have suspected that beneath that
innocent looking knoll were gathered the members of the "Big Bug Club."
THE BIG BUG CLUB.
[Illustration: Fig. 186. A Section through the Completed Cave.]
Of course, we had to organize a secret society, to occupy our
subterranean dwelling. In that I fear we overstepped the rules of the
school. Of course, Mr. Clark knew of our cave, in fact he visited us
there once, lowering his dignity sufficiently to squeeze into the narrow
passageway, and playing Bill a game of chess at our club table. He
seemed quite pleased with our work, and complimented us very highly on
the masterful way in which we had built the underground house. We told
him that we had organized a club of the older fellows to play indoor
games and have occasional spreads, but we did not tell him that most of
our spreads were held at the dead of night, when there was no moon and
the stars were hidden by clouds. At 10 o'clock each night the bell rang
for us to turn out our lights, and after that the six members would
each, in turn, keep a half-hour watch, that is, first one would sit up
and try to keep awake for half an hour, after which he would waken the
next fellow, who at the end of a half hour would rouse the third, and so
on, until 1 o'clock, when the sixth watcher would wake up the entire
club. Then we would all creep out the back window in the hall, onto the
roof of the rear annex of the schoolhouse, and thence climb down a rope
ladder to the ground.
MIDNIGHT BANQUETS.
I suppose we could have just as easily have tiptoed downstairs and out
the back door, but it would have spoiled the romance of it all. The
absolute stillness and the pitch-black darkness of the night were
awe-inspiring. The roll of a pebble or the crack of a twig under foot
would set us all atingle as we stole out to our cave house. Sometimes
the night was so black that we could hardly find the entrance of the
cave. Once inside, in the light of a few candles, the nervous tension
was relieved, and we reveled in a banquet of cold victuals and dainties,
purchased out of the monthly club dues. Our meetings in the cave lasted
scarcely half an hour. In fact, the meeting, and even the banquet, were
mere incidentals. The main enjoyment consisted in stealing out to the
cave and back again, always at the risk of getting caught. Usually when
we got to bed again we would be too excited to fall asleep right away,
and when we did finally drop off our sleep was so sound that several
times the breakfast bell caught one or more of us still napping.
THE CLUB PIN.
[Illustration: Fig. 187. The Club Pin.]
The only other charm our secret club afforded was the wearing of a
mysterious club pin. It was a silver beetle, with the letter G engraved
on the head and the letter B on the body, while down the center of the
back was the letter I (see Fig. 187). In public we called ourselves the
G. I. B.'s, but it was only the initiated members who knew that these
letters were to be read backward, and, with the beetle on which they
were engraved, signified the "Big Bugs." Of course, we had some secret
signs and signals, a secret hand grasp, a peculiar whistle as a warning
to run, another meaning "lie still," and a third signifying "all is
well."
THE COMBINATION LOCK.
[Illustration: Fig. 188 The Notched Washers.]
[Illustration: Fig. 189. Washers Fastened on Spools.]
[Illustration: Fig. 190. The Combination Lock.]
We found it necessary to close the entrance of our cave with a door
fastened with a padlock, so as to keep meddlers out. The entire school
had watched us build the cave house, and, of course, knew just where our
entrance lay. Then, in addition to the outer door, we put in another
one, half-way down the dark passageway. On this Bill rigged up a simple
combination lock which would baffle any one who managed to pick the
padlock. This inner door opened outward. It was hinged to the floor of
the passageway, and swung up against a frame set in the passageway. At
the top was a board whose lower edge lay flush with the edge of the door
when it was closed. For the combination lock we used a couple of spools,
each with one head cut off and the central hole plugged up with a stick
of wood. In the floor and the top board of the frame, holes were drilled
just large enough for the shanks of the spools to fit snugly in them.
Next we made a trip to a hardware store for a file and a couple of large
copper washers, about 1-1/4 inches in diameter. The washers were
fastened to the inner ends of the spools after they had been pushed
through the hole. The washer on the door came just to the edge of the
door, while the other extended below the door frame and lapped under the
door washer. Then in the edge of the washer on the frame a notch was
filed, while in the other washer two notches were filed, so as to leave
a tooth which fitted snugly into the notch of the first washer (see
Figs. 188, 189). The door was locked by turning both the washers until
the notch and tooth came in line with each other, then pushing the tooth
through the notch, and turning the washers so that the frame washer
hooked over the door washer. Then the door could be opened only when the
tooth and notch were brought in line.
On the head of each spool we pasted a disk of white cardboard, the edge
of which was graduated, as in Fig. 190. Then we had a secret
combination, say 11-19, which meant that when the spools were turned so
that the number 11 on the door spool came in line with the number 19 on
the frame spool the tooth and notch would be in line, and the door could
then be opened. Of course, this combination was known to the members of
the club only, and any one outside who tried to open the door might have
tried for some time without bringing the tooth and notch into line with
each other. Occasionally we changed the combination by loosening the
screws which held the washers, and turning them so that the notch and
tooth came opposite different numbers on the dials. This was done so
that if any one should chance to learn our combination he could not make
use of it very long.