A SIGHT OF THE GOD
"All quiet at the cabin?" asked Tommy.
"All quiet when we left," Sandy replied.
"What time did you leave?" demanded Tommy, suspiciously.
"Shortly after dinner."
"And you've gone and left George alone all this time!" exclaimed
Tommy indignantly. "You're a bright lot!"
"We thought you boys would be back to the cabin long before this!"
Sandy declared. "But what is it about this Little Brass God?"
"When we reached the system of caverns which we visited not long
ago, and in which we were held prisoners for a short time," Will
said, "we found two men, well bundled up in furs, lying asleep, or
apparently asleep, in one of the smaller rooms. They sprang up
when they saw us and seemed about to engage in conversation with us
when Antoine made his appearance. Antoine seemed to want to talk
with us, too, but when he saw the two men who had been asleep in
the cavern he hot-footed down the slope, with the two fellows after
him. I never saw a man run so fast in my life."
"I bet they chased him clear to our tree!" Thede cut in.
"I guess he never stopped running until be got there anyway!" Sandy
grinned. "But why should he come right back here after being
chased away?"
"I don't think he did!" "Will replied.
"Oje saw him out here not long ago!" Sandy insisted.
"What was he doing?"
"I presume he was watching the fire."
"The two men who pursued him are back, too!" Will continued.
"Tommy and I found them in a cute little nest in the rocks not more
than an hour ago. Just before we built these fires, in fact."
"I suppose you built the fires to lure us from the cabin!" laughed
Sandy. "Well, we wasn't at the cabin, but we saw the signals just
the same!"
"We wanted you to come and help capture the men who have the Little
Brass God," Will answered.
"So you've got the Little Brass God penned up under the hill!"
laughed Sandy. "You've got it, and yet you haven't got it!"
"I never said we had it!" Will replied. "I said we had it penned
up under the hill. You didn't give me time to explain that there
were two men penned up with it."
"All right!" Sandy said. "You've come to the right shop for
fighting men. I can see those two fellows fading away at my
approach!"
"Then you go in ahead," advised Tommy. "They seem to be well armed
and may shoot, if you don't scare them into fits with one of your
fierce glances! They're bold, bad men!"
"How do you know they haven't disappeared while you've been making
signals?" asked Sandy. "They've had time enough to be five miles
away!"
"We nailed 'em in with a couple of boulders!" grinned Tommy.
"You followed Pierre's example, did you?"
"Yes, we just blocked 'em in."
"Well, I think we'd better be getting them out, then!" Sandy urged.
"And also be moving toward the cabin. George'll think we've got
killed or something."
"Come on, then," Will exclaimed. "I'll show you where they are!"
The boy led the way down the slope for some distance and then
paused at a boulder which blocked the entrance to what seemed to be
a cavern of good size. They listened for a moment, but could hear
no sounds coming from the interior.
"How're you going to get them out?" asked Thede.
"We ain't going to get 'em out!" replied Will. "What do you think
we brought you boys here for? We know they can't get out, so we're
just going to sit down here and wait for them to get good and
hungry."
"All right!" Sandy answered. "Two can watch and two can go back to
the cabin! George will be good and anxious by this time."
"I was thinking of asking Oje to watch a short time," Will said.
"It's a good thing the Indian came along with you."
Oje was called down to the barricaded entrance and the situation
briefly explained to him. The Indian stepped close to the boulder
and listened for a long time for sounds from the inside.
Then he turned to, the boys and shook his head gravely.
"Don't you ever tell me they've gone and got away!" exclaimed
Tommy. "Why, they couldn't get away unless they walked through
forty feet of solid rock! And they couldn't do that!"
"I'm going to find out!" declared Will.
The lads pried the boulder away, blocking it so that it could not
crash down the slope and so warn the men inside of the approach of
the boys. Then Will crept cautiously into the dark passage.
The others were at his heels in a moment. On the previous visit of
Will and Tommy, there had been the light of a torch in the cavern,
but there was no illumination of any kind now.
"I guess they've gone, all right!" Tommy, whispered.
"Why didn't you get the Little Brass God while the getting was
good?" demanded Sandy.
"The guns those fellows carried didn't look good to me!" was the
reply.
"It's a mystery to me how they ever got out of this cavern," Will
observed.
"Perhaps they are still here, waiting to get a shot at us!"
suggested Thede. "This would be a bad place for an attack."
As the boys advanced they heard a whisper of voices farther in, and
what seemed to be the rattle of footsteps over the uneven floor.
Then from some, apparently, distant comer of the cavern came a cry
in an unknown tongue. The next instant the place was illuminated
by two great torches of resinous wood.
They flamed high in the hands of the men who had been discovered in
the cavern during the first visit.
"Look!" cried Will, pointing. "Look!"
The eyes of the boys followed the pointing finger dimly outlined in
the light of the torches, and saw the Little Brass God swinging to
and fro in an uplifted hand!
"There!" exclaimed Tommy. "I told you we'd got the Little Brass
God!"
"But you haven't got it yet!" taunted Sandy.
"We'll have it in a minute!" replied the boy confidently.
The ugly little image remained in sight for perhaps half a minute,
and then the cavern became dark as pitch again.
The boys heard a quick rush of footsteps, apparently passing
further into the cavern, and then all was silent.
"That isn't the man who had the Little Brass God the other time I
saw it!" Thede declared. "I guess these fellows must have got it
away from Antoine, or whoever it was who had it at that time."
"I wish we had a searchlight," suggested Sandy.
"I've got a little one for a cent," Tommy answered. "I never leave
the camp without one. No knowing when one may be needed,"
"Strike a light then!" whispered Sandy.
"That would be a fine way to get a bullet into my coco!" Tommy
whispered back. "I'll just wait a while and see what's doing."
There was nothing doing--nothing whatever! The boys, after waiting
some ten minutes, advanced into the cavern which was now perfectly
still.
Directly Tommy turned on his electric. The little flame revealed
no presence there save that of the boys themselves. They searched
every nook and corner of the place, believing it impossible that
the two men could have escaped. At last, however, they were forced
to the conclusion that once more they had lost track of the object
of their search.
"But where did they go?" demanded Tommy.
"I guess that's what no fellow can find out," replied Will.
The boys continued their search in the hope of finding the passage
by which the two men had escaped. At last they came to a small
opening in the floor of the cavern which apparently led to a cavity
farther down.
"They didn't wait for the elevator!" laughed Tommy. "Shall we go
down after them?" asked Sandy.
"I think we'd better get back to the cabin." Will argued. "It must
be after ten o'clock now, and George may be in trouble for all we
know."
"Three times and out!" exclaimed Sandy. "The next time we catch
sight of the Little Brass God, we'll sure get out fingers on it!"
"I'd be happy just now if I could get my fingers on something to
eat!" Thede declared. "I'm about starved!"
"We've got a few sandwiches, if they'll do any good," suggested
Will.
"If they'll do any good!" repeated Sandy. "You bring 'em out here
and we'll see whether they will or not."
"Thede ran to the door of the cavern and looked out, calling softly
to the Indian as he did so. Oje was nowhere to be seen!
"I wonder where that Indian went?" the boy asked.
"He probably got busy after some one!" Will replied.
The boys devoured the sandwiches which remained from the supply
provided by Will and then started back to the cabin.
The moon was now high up in the heavens, and the boys could trace
foot tracks in the snow quite distinctly. For a time they saw the
prints of Oje's moccasins. They seemed to be following another
track which was obliterated by his passage.
"Perhaps he's chasing the two fellows who had the Little Brass
God!" suggested Sandy. "If he is, I hope he gets 'em."
After a time the tracks swung away to the left and the boys saw
them no more. When they came in view of the cabin a bright light
was reflected through the broken window pane, but there seemed to
be no evidences of motion on the inside.
"I presume George has gone to sleep," Will said. "I should think
he'd be tired of waiting. It must be somewhere about one o'clock!"
When the boys came up to the cottage they saw a figure detach
itself from the shadows which lay against the west wall and dash
precipitously into the thicket. Will hastened to throw the door
open.
The boy started back in alarm, as he noted the condition of the
interior. The bunks lay broken on the floor, and it was plain that
the whole apartment had been most thoroughly pillaged.