THE SEARCHING PARTY
"Hugh, it looks like we mightn't need those lanterns after all,"
remarked Horatio, after they had gotten well started along the dimly
seen quarry road.
Indeed, the brilliant headlights of the big car illuminated a radius
of considerable size ahead of them and around. Every tiny twig was
thrown out into bold relief, as though a powerful sun had found a way
of forcing ingress through the canopy of leafless branches overhead.
"Not just at present, perhaps," replied the driver at the wheel; "but
they may come in handy yet. We'll wait and see."
Owen sat beside Hugh, the other three occupying the tonneau of the
car. There was abundance of room for all, and some to spare. Owen
held his new shotgun in his hands and he kept a close watch upon
the road ahead, just as though that idea connected with a ferocious
wildcat might have taken hold on his mind, and he believed there
was a possibility of such a thing coming to pass. Hugh drove with
exceedingly great care, and made no attempt at speed. Indeed, such
a thing was utterly out of the question, with that rough road to
follow and the necessity of keeping a constant vigilant outlook,
lest they collide with some tree. When the quarry was in full operation
automobiles were an unknown luxury; and certainly no provision had
ever been made for such a contraption passing along that crooked
trail, with its numerous sharp curves intended to avoid natural
obstacles. Three separate times already had Hugh brought the car
to a full stop, and even caused the engine to cease its throbbing.
This was done in order that all of them might strain their hearing,
in hopes of catching some faint sound to tell that the missing boy
whom they sought was close at hand.
But only disappointment succeeded each attempt to pick up information.
They caught the dismal hooting of an owl in some dead tree not far
away, but certainly such a doleful sound did not raise their spirits
materially. Several times while they were moving along Owen had seen
a movement amidst the brush that gave him a little thrill; but the
glimpses he obtained of the disappearing animal convinced him in
one instance that it was a red fox that scurried off in alarm; while
on the second occasion he rather imagined it was only a ring-tailed
raccoon scuttling away and badly frightened by the intense white glow
that bad suddenly penetrated his dark quarters.
If there was a wildcat within twenty miles of the spot they certainly
never knew of it, because no such beast of prey disclosed its presence
to them while they continued on their way.
But then there were plenty of thrills for the boys. Not only did the
weird hooting of that horned owl come to make their flesh creep, but
now and again they detected strange sounds that may have been caused
by limbs of the trees rubbing together in the night breeze, but which
had a wonderful resemblance to human groans.
They had been pursuing their way along for some little time without
much attempt at conversation; but it is pretty hard for a parcel of
boys to remain long silent, no matter what the provocation. And
Horatio, for one, felt urged to free his mind of certain fancies that
had taken lodging there.
"I say, fellows, doesn't this beat everything you ever saw all hollow?"
he went on to say, for there was really no need of their keeping quiet;
since they had not started out to steal a march upon any enemy,---only
to find poor lost K.K.
"Just listen to that awful groaning sound, will you? If I didn't know
it was caused by the limbs of trees sawing across each other in the
wind I'd think somebody was almost dying."
"At another time I guess we wouldn't bother our heads about such
a silly thing," observed Julius Hobson; "but, of course, our minds
are full up with what may have happened to our comrade, and all
that noise makes us shiver a heap; it's so suggestive, so to speak."
"Oh! what did you think you saw then, Owen?" gasped Horatio, as,
chancing to fix his gaze on the other, he noticed him suddenly elevate
his gun as though tempted to shoot the same.
Owen chuckled.
"It was only a frisky rabbit, after all," he announced calmly enough.
"I was just covering him to find out how easy I could nail the rascal,
if only I was out hunting game instead of a lost boy. And we'd have
had rabbit stew at the Dugdale home to-morrow, let me tell you,
Horatio, if I'd cared to let fly, for I had him covered handsomely."
"Well, please don't do it in a hurry again, Owen," asked Horatio,
settling back once more, and hoping his throbbing heart might not
beat so loudly that any of his comrades could hear it pounding against
his ribs. "Remember this is no ordinary patch of woods we're in right
now."
All sorts of stories have been told concerning the country up here;
and in passing through after nightfall we're doing what a big bribe
couldn't tempt any farmer's help to try. But, Hugh, don't you think
we must be getting pretty near that place by this time?"
"Just about two-thirds of the way, Horatio," he was informed. "That
leaning tree we passed is exactly three hundred and thirty-seven
paces from the place we left the road."
"Well, what do you think of that for looking ahead, fellows!" ejaculated
Horatio. "Hugh here took all the trouble to count the steps while
passing through, the day he came up to examine the ground. That's
what I call preparedness, and I guess it counts in a race, just as
much as in getting ready for war."
Hugh laughed as though momentarily amused.
"Well, they're both in the same category, Horatio, if you look at
things from the right point of view; rival armies and rival athletes
contending for the prize which in both cases would mean victory.
Looking ahead is a useful hobby, and it's served me handsomely on many
an occasion. I consider no time wasted that is employed to insure
success; even if you never need the information you've picked up it
adds to your stock of knowledge; and no fellow can have too big a
fund of that."
"Then we ought soon to be getting there, at this rate," continued
Horatio. "Let's hope nothing happens to our old car. We'd have a
jolly walk back to town if we broke down here and couldn't fix things.
I'd prefer making a fire and spending the night in the woods to
taking such a tramp, which would debar us from all hope of making
that big run to-morrow."
"With K.K. out of the game the chances for Scranton High begin to
flicker some," admitted Julius. "He was showing unusual stamina
right now, and secretly I was backing K.K. to bring home the bacon
for our school. Of course, with Hugh and Horatio and 'Just' Smith
still in the ring it isn't hopeless by any means; but they do say
those Allandale chaps have unearthed several wonders at long-distance
running, and they are dying to knock Scranton down this time."
Again Hugh stopped the car and bade the others listen.
"It isn't that I thought I heard anything suspicious, fellows," he went
on to explain, when they manifested a certain amount of excitement;
"but, on general principles, I think we ought to stop oftener, and
find out if there's anything doing."
After testing their combined hearing to the limit, and without any
success, Hugh again started up. It was Thad who spoke next, and
apparently he had been considering something that he would like to
have made clear.
"What if we pass all the way through to the other road, without
learning a single thing, Hugh?" he went on to say; "do you mean to
give it up, and head for home then and there?"
"Well, I should hope not, Thad!" burst out Horatio; "we're none of us
built that way. Because a fellow gets a single knock-down in a fight
ought he to throw up the sponge right away, and own himself beaten?
Why, we started out to find K.K., and sleep isn't going to visit my
eyes this night until we succeed. That's the way I look at it, and
I reckon the rest of you are in the same boat."
"If such a thing should happen, Thad," said Hugh, sturdily, "we'll
simply turn around and come back again; only, under the new conditions,
some of you will have to turn out with the lanterns, and search
alongside the road as we go slowly along."
Horatio gave a gasp that was plainly audible.
"Do you really mean, Hugh," he went on to task, in a voice that
trembled more or less despite Horatio's effort to control the same,
"that you half expect to find K.K.lying alongside the road, either
dead, or else insensible from the pain of his broken leg?"
"Well, I wasn't just thinking things would be as bad as all that,"
Hugh hastened to say. "What I had in mind was the chance of coming
on his footprints, and then trying to follow the same. We could
easily tell them, for K.K. had on his running shoes, you remember.
By tracking him, step by step, don't you see, we could tell just
where he met with his trouble, even find out, perhaps, the nature
of his accident, and continue to follow him up."
"That would suit me first rate," said Julius, promptly; "and my fine
electric hand-torch might come into play with a vengeance. There's
nothing better going for following a trail in the dark, because the
light is focussed, you see, on a small compass. Why, you can pick
up night-walkers like everything when the fishing season's on, by
using a flashlight. I could even find a needle in a haystack, I
believe, with one of these jim-dandy contraptions."
"All right, Julius, we'll appoint you head tracker, then," chuckled
Horatio. "But, after all, perhaps we'll run across our comrade yet,
before we get out of this tangle. We're about to come to the most
critical point of the entire trip, remember, for the old quarry is
just ahead of us."
Horatio chanced to be on the side of the car toward the quarry. He
was not spending nearly so much time now looking ahead, leaving that
task to his chums; even while talking he kept his eyes fixed upon
the dark expanse that represented the surrounding woods, anticipating
catching a glimpse of something, he hardly knew what, at any moment
now. Doubtless all those silly yarns retailed by the ignorant gossiping
farm-hands in the market-place in Scranton, while they tried to
outdo one another in matching fairy stories, must have been circulating
through Horatio's brain just then. The heavy atmosphere of the
deserted stone quarry, and its lonely surroundings, added to the
mysterious disappearance of K.K., combined to make him peculiarly
susceptible to such influences as see ghosts in every white object
that moves in the darkness.
This being the case with the Juggins boy it was not to be wondered
at that there could be traced a vein of actual gratification in his
voice when he suddenly electrified his companions by exclaiming:
"Hugh! fellows, I tell you I saw it right then, just as that Swanson
farmhand vowed to me he did once on a time this last summer---it
was a light, waved up and down, back and forth, and just like they
teach you when you join the Signal Corps, and learn how to wigwag with
a flag or a lantern. It came from right over yonder, where we all
know the old quarry lies! And I'm not fooling, either; cross my heart
if I am!"