THE MYSTERY SOLVED--CONCLUSION.
"Hooray for the greatest thing that ever happened!" Jimmy roared, as he
swung his campaign hat wildly about his head, and even started a jig,
such was his exuberant condition. "The luck of the Wolf Patrol holds as
good as ever! In the nick of time, the villain gets his dope and we pull
off a brilliant victory. Hooray!"
Indeed, the other boys felt almost as exultant as Jimmy; and hearing
all this racket, both Frank and the Cree chief came hurrying over,
wondering what it could stand for.
Many questions were poured upon Captain Bill and his younger companion,
who gave his name as Asa Plunkett, once captain of the very vessel upon
whose sloping deck they were then standing.
"A plenty of room for the whole kit of ye in our whale-boat, lads," said
the older man, "and I reckons as haow we kin find grub for the lot,
aboard the _Grampus_, which will soon be headin' for the home port,
since there ain't nawthin more to be picked up on this ere cruise into
foreign waters, and arunnin' risks all the time o' being hauled up by a
Canadian cruiser."
"Just gimme about ten minutes to bust open the bulkhead, and see if my
papers has stood all the exposure of months alyin' here on the beach,"
remarked Mate Plunkett.
"You bet we will, sir!" exclaimed Jimmy, "and if you want any help, just
sing out for me. I'm a champion hand to smash things. The habit's gone
and got me into lots of trouble before now. And here's an old, rusty
marlin-spike that might come in handy."
"We took pains to fetch a hatchet along for that purpose," the mate
informed him, as he hurried toward the companionway, meaning doubtless
to seek the cabin.
They soon heard him pounding away at a great rate, he having lighted a
lantern that had been fetched from the whaling vessel anchored a mile or
so away.
"Get your things together, fellows," Ned advised, "because we're
expecting to be afloat on Hudson Bay before many minutes."
"Seeing how we've been robbed of our most cherished possessions,"
declared Teddy, sadly, "that job isn't going to take us very long, I'm
sorry to say."
"To think that the chance has come to snap our fingers in the faces of
that ugly crowd!" observed Jimmy, who could hardly keep his feet still
through joy.
"They'll be as mad as anything when they come aboard in the morning to
find us gone," Frank remarked.
"And as they've got sentries posted, like as not, to give the alarm, if
we try to slip away, up or down the shore, they'll never be able to
guess what became of us all," Jack gave as his opinion, at which they
all laughed again, feeling in a particularly merry mood.
Then up came Mate Plunkett, waving some yellow papers in his hand.
"Found 'em all right, Captain Bill!" he called out; "a little tough
lookin', to be sure; but wuth the same money to me, all the same. And
now, lads, if so be you're ready to quit this old wreck, say the word,
and we'll clear out."
There was not a single dissenting vote, for while the hulk had offered
them an acceptable asylum during the downpour and had proved to be a
pretty serviceable fort when Sol Griggs and the men connected with the
fake copper mine had attempted to effect their capture, none of them
cared to remain a minute longer aboard the old whaler than was
necessary.
So they embarked, not finding it very difficult, while the boat lay on
the leeward side of the stranded wreck. There was plenty of room for
all, just as the men had stated; and after starting away the scouts saw
the last of their late refuge merged with the dim outlines of the shore.
Apparently, the miners could not have had any suspicion with regard to
what was transpiring; for they made no move. This would make their
surprise all the more overpowering, when they found in the morning that
their birds had slipped out of the trap.
As all of the boys had often been upon the sea before in various places,
there was no particular novelty about their sensations now. The relief
from the recent strain was so great that Jimmy insisted on shaking hands
all around several times, while they were moving over the mile that
separated them from the first of the floating lights, aboard the
anchored vessels of the fleet.
"Mebbe, we'll be apt to learn all about this wonderful disappearing
fleet now, since we expect to be aboard one of the vessels till we reach
some port, where we can telegraph and take a train," Teddy went on to
say, as they drew near the _Comet_, looming up out of the night gloom to
seaward.
At hearing his remark Mate Plunkett chuckled.
"So that's what they been calling us, is it?" he said, as he shifted his
quid to the other cheek. "Well, the way we've been dodgin' around
lately, hardly gettin' settled in one anchorage before we'd hear an
alarm raised that a cruiser was comin' down on us, so we'd have to skip
out like the wind from the three-mile limit, I don't wonder at it."
His words enlightened Ned, who had already been entertaining certain
suspicions with regard to the possible explanation of the mystery.
"Are you after whales or seals?" he asked, plainly.
"This time, it's seals we been takin'," replied the mate. "You see, word
was fetched to us, some months back, that a whopping big herd of seal
had taken to some of these here islands in old Hudson Bay, and there was
a rush of vessels to scoop in the same, our hooker along with the rest.
I wanted to come up here again, to find out if anything had ever been
heard of the poor old _Comet_ that I was captain of last season, and so
I took the berth of mate to my old friend, Captain Bill, here."
"What luck have you had?" asked Jimmy, eagerly.
"Nawthin' to brag about," came the reply from the old skipper. "I
reckons that it'll pay me nigh as well to go back to whalin' agin; and
there needn't be sech risks of havin' your ship and cargo confiscated by
revenue vessels, as this seal huntin' in Hudson Bay turns out to be."
"But they say it's nearly five hundred miles across in its widest part,"
Frank broke in with; "and how can Canada claim jurisdiction over an
ocean like that? Why, you might as well say, that the Mediterranean was
a closed sea."
"That's the trouble," remarked Mate Plunkett; "always has been a pesky
lot of trouble about this here place. Because the two roadways of
getting into Hudson Bay happen to be only a certain number of miles
wide, Canada has always tried to claim it as her private preserves. Lots
of whalers has been chased for darin' to ply their trade in these same
waters. Course, they got the right to that three-mile from shore limit,
but they want the whole hog up here. We been keepin' a lookout right
along, while we sent boats out after the seal. It's late in the season
for the work, but skins is so skeerce that we got to take 'em any old
time. But the game's hardly worth the candle, and next year you won't
see many sealers up this way."
"Then we were in great luck to have you around just when we needed help
most," declared Ned; who had already arranged with Captain Bill to carry
the whole party down to Halifax, where they could be landed; Francois
and the Cree to head for their home country, well paid for their
services, and the scouts starting for New York by the first steamer,
after wiring to Jack's father about the success of their great
expedition.
They were soon aboard the _Grampus_, where their coming was a surprise
to the crew. Their astonishment increased, however, when Captain Bill at
once gave orders for getting the mudhook up, and leaving their
anchorage, as well as preceding all the other sealers on the homeward
bound trip.
The boys were willing to put up with such accommodation as might be
looked for on board a Yankee sealing vessel. Of course, steam was the
propelling power, for sailing vessels belong to a by-gone age; and they
were soon making good time out to sea.
That was the last Ned and his chums were likely to ever see of the
inhospitable shores of the famous Hudson Bay. They had found it the home
of more than one mystery, and would often recall some of their strange
experiences there, while investigating the facts connected with the
wonderful mining find that had been offered to Jack's father, and other
capitalists, for investment.
When the next morning came along, they were out of sight of land, and
bowling on at a ten knot an hour clip. Look which way they might, there
was nothing but a vast expanse of heaving, tumbling water around them;
and yet Mate Plunkett told them they were still in Hudson Bay, and would
be for two days, even under the most favorable conditions, such was the
extent of the inland sea.
Fortunately, the boys all proved to be good sailors, so that they felt
very little bad effects from the motion of the vessel, as she ploughed
her way through the rolling billows, throwing the spray high in the air.
It would have been difficult to have found a happier and more care-free
group of scouts than those five lads from the great metropolis, as day
followed day, and they enjoyed one of the most wonderful voyages they
had ever had the good fortune to embark upon.
The weather proved to be splendid, and besides, they were just brimming
over with joy, because of the great success that had followed their long
journey up into the Far Northland.
It would be weeks before those in charge of the mining enterprise could
get any word to the head officials down in New York. Ned expected to be
home long before this would come about, for he knew how tedious it was
journeying for hundreds of miles over long stretches of waste land,
following the course of rivers, and often not covering twenty miles from
sun-up to the setting of the same.
During those long sunny days, it was a great pleasure to loll around on
deck and watch the wonderful ocean, over which the steam sealer was
steadily passing, headed toward Halifax, where the boys meant to
disembark.
They discussed every phase of the adventure, and many little matters
which had seemed a bit strange were cleared up when they could exchange
views. Ned also prepared his full report, showing just what was going
on up there in the wilds. He had ample proof of all he meant to relate,
even to samples of the real ore, and also of the "salted" stuff that was
being placed around the mine, in order to deceive any investigator,
should one be sent up to look about.
Of course, Mr. Bosworth would wash his hands of the entire business, and
the sly swindlers must look elsewhere, in order to unload their
property. The extravagant claims they had made for its richness could
not be justified, because it was after all a very mediocre discovery,
which would never pay for the working, so far away from railroad
facilities.
In due time, they arrived at the Nova Scotia port, where the boys were
taken ashore in one of the whale boats, because Captain Bill did not
want to risk seizure by entering the place.
They were sorry to have to say good-bye to the friendly skipper and his
mate, and promised to let them hear how things turned out.
Once ashore, the first thing Ned did was to send a cable to Mr.
Bosworth, telling him not to do anything until they got home, which
would be as soon as a ship sailed heading south.
Francois and the old Cree Indian left them here, after being loaded down
with presents, in addition to the wages promised them. The boys felt
that they could afford to be generous, because, as they had saved the
capitalists possibly a million or more dollars, the chances were that
quite a tidy sum of money would be coming their way soon, from the
grateful gentlemen forming the clique.
The balance of their trip was uneventful, and one day they came in
through the new Ambrose Channel and up past Liberty Island, making the
steamer's dock just as the sun was sinking behind the distant Jersey
hills.
That night there was the greatest talking match at the Bosworth home
ever known, and it kept up until nearly midnight. Jimmy had such a share
in the telling of their adventures that he was as hoarse as a crow
afterwards, and could hardly raise his voice above a whisper.
When the rest of the troop gathered in their lodge-room at the called
meeting, and heard a detailed account of what had happened in that
far-away land along the shores of the greatest bay in all the world, they
united in declaring that Ned and his four chums had done the whole
organization credit, in finding out the truth in connection with the
supposed mine.
It was voted that the adventure was by long odds one of the most
thrilling that had ever come to any scouts belonging to the New York
troop; and some of the boys even went so far as to declare that in all
probability it would never be equaled. But when they made such a rash
prediction as this, they did not know how soon Ned and his chums would
be called upon to once more take part in another series of hazards that
would try their courage, as few scenes had ever done before; as well as
bring to the front their knowledge of woodcraft and other things that
scouts should know.
These astonishing experiences will be found recounted in the next volume
of this series, under the title of "Boy Scouts In Death Valley; or, The
City in the Sky;" and those boys who are fortunate enough to secure this
story will surely vote it one of the most interesting they have ever
read. Until we meet again in the pages of the new book, we will say, not
good-bye, but "good-night."
THE END.
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