WHAT HAPPENED UNDER THE CLIFF
It was presently made evident to our friends that the persons ahead
were Ham Spink, Carl Dudder and a lad named Dick Bush, who had in
former years been a close personal friend to Ham.
"Wonder where they are going?" asked Snap.
"Down to the lake," answered the doctor's son. "Most likely to
where they left their boat."
"Let us keep behind them and out of sight," suggested Giant. "If
they see us they may follow us up and damage our boat after we are
gone."
So, although they kept the Spink crowd well in sight, they took
good care not to show themselves.
Reaching the lake shore, Ham Spink and his friends came to a halt
behind a clump of willows overhanging the water. Close by the
others saw a rowboat tied up.
"That must be their boat," whispered Snap. "Most likely they came
for the same purpose that we did---to get supplies."
"Listen!" whispered the doctor's son. "I just heard somebody
mention my name."
"Their boat must be somewhere along here," they heard Ham Spink
exclaim. "And if it is---We'll fix it, all right," finished
Carl Dudder. "Well, that's all right," expostulated Dick Bush.
"But we don't want to do anything unlawful. They might have us
arrested."
"They won't know who did it," answered Ham.
"What do you think of doing if you locate their boat?" asked Dick.
"We'll take out the supplies and hide 'em, and then fill the boat
with rocks and sink her," answered Ham.
"That will be doing 'em up brown!" chuckled Carl.
"Well, I don't know about this," answered Dick Bush doubtfully.
He was not quite so lawless in his ideas as were the others.
"Oh, it will be all right; we won't hurt the boat any," answered
Ham. "Come on; the quicker we locate the boat the better. As
soon as we've fixed their boat we can come back here and get our
things and hurry back to camp." And then the three boys moved
along down the lake shore.
"Well, wouldn't that jar you?" cried Snap, when the other crowd was
gone. "Hide our supplies and sink our boat! Well, I guess not!"
"They haven't turned in the right direction to find our boat,"
returned the doctor's son. "We can get it out of the way before
they come back."
"We ought to pay them for this," murmured Giant. "Let us take their
boat and row it up the lake. It will give 'em something to do to
find it."
"That's the talk!" cried Snap. "As the old saying goes, 'what
is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.' Jump in and we'll
take the boat to where we left our own."
They soon had the Spink rowboat untied, and leaping aboard they
shoved the craft out into the lake. Then Snap and Shep took the
oars, and they were soon moving up Firefly Lake. They kept close
to the overhanging trees and bushes, so that the other crowd might
not discover what was taking place.
The distance to where they had left their own craft was not quite
half a mile, and they reached the spot in less than a quarter of
an hour. They pulled inshore, to find their boat just as it had
been left.
"Now, the quicker we work the better," said the doctor's son. "I've
got an idea," he went on, as he caught sight of a tiny island
about a hundred feet from shore. "Why not tie their boat fast
over there? Then if they want it they can swim for it."
"Good!" cried Snap, and grinned.
Taking their own boat along, they rowed to the island, and there
the Spink craft was made fast on the side next to the main shore
and in plain view of anybody who might be passing. On the shore
of the island Snap stuck up one of the oars and on the top placed
a rubber boot he found in the rowboat---one of a pair Ham had
brought along in case of prolonged wet weather.
"Ham will recognize that rubber boot," said Snap. "And then he'll
know the boat is his." The sight of the rubber boot on the top of
the oar was a comical one and the boys had to laugh as they looked
at it.
Having fastened the boat so that it could not possibly drift away,
the boys boarded their own craft and rowed still farther up Firefly
Lake, until they came to a cove and a creek, the latter thickly
overhung with bushes. They pulled the craft out of sight, so that
to find it without knowing where it was located would be
practically impossible.
"Now, then, to take our things and go into camp for the night,"
said the doctor's son. "We'll have to find some shelter under the
rocks, not having a tent."
The boys knew the locality fairly well, from their previous visits,
and walked to where there was a split in the hills. Here was
located a rocky cliff, hollowed out somewhat at the bottom.
"We can camp here," said Shep. "With a camp fire in front the hollow
will be quite comfortable."
While in the cove they had managed to catch a few perch and a
pickerel, and starting a blaze, they cooked these. They had some
crackers and cheese along, so made a comfortable if not an elaborate
meal, washing it down with a drink from a spring.
"We ought to get to bed early," said Snap. "Then we can start
back for camp at sunrise, and so get ahead of the Spink crowd."
"Oh, they won't go back until they find their boat," said Giant.
"I don't know about that," said the doctor's son. "They may get
mad and lay it to us and start back to-night. You can never tell
what Ham Spink and Carl Dudder will do. Dick Bush isn't quite
so bad."
As it was warm, they allowed the fire to die down, and by nine
o'clock all were sleeping soundly. They did not think it necessary
to stand guard, for the hollow was well screened from outside
observation, and they had all their traps behind them, next to
the cliff.
How long he had been asleep the doctor's son did not know, but
he awoke with a start, feeling something pressing on his breast.
He gave a yell of fright and alarm and added another yell as
he felt his leg pulled. Then a dark body fled from the hollow
and went crashing through the bushes beyond.
"Wha---what's the matter?" came in a stammering voice from Giant.
"Who was that?" demanded Snap as, in the darkness, he felt for
his gun. The fire was practically out, and the hollow was intensely
gloomy.
"I don't know; Ham Spink, maybe," answered the doctor's son, much
bewildered. "He stood on me and pulled my foot," he added.
The boy hunters leaped up, and after some trouble armed themselves.
It was dark around the cliff, so they could see nothing. They
listened intently and at a distance heard a peculiar noise and the
rustling of some brushwood.
"Shall I give 'em a shot?" suggested Snap.
"No; you might kill somebody," answered Shep. He raised his voice:
"Hi, Ham Spink! Come back here! We know you!"
To this call no answer was vouchsafed. Again the boys listened, but
now the only sound that broke the stillness was the low wind in the
tree branches overhead.
"He has gone, whoever he was," said Snap. "Shep, are you sure
it was Ham?"
"Not at all. I only thought it might be. For all I know it might
have been a wild animal."
"What! to pull your leg?" queried Giant.
"Well, maybe he didn't really pull the leg. You see, I was pretty
sound asleep. But he, or it, jumped over me and back again."
"Let's make a light and see if the outfit is O.K.," suggested Snap.
They had a small pocket lantern along, and this was lit and an
examination was made.
"See, the sugar bag is bursted open!" cried the doctor's son.
"The beans are scattered everywhere!" came from Giant.
"And the cracker box is open and some of the crackers are missing,"
added Snap. "That must have been the work of some enemy. He
wanted to destroy our stores."
"But I---I really don't think it was Ham," said Shep slowly. "It
was---well, it didn't seem like anybody of that crowd. I didn't
get much of a look, but it wasn't like Ham, or Carl, or Dick."
"A wild animal might do this, rooting around," said Snap. "Could
it have been a bear?"
"A bear!" ejaculated Giant. "Don't say a bear rooted around here
while we were asleep! Why, it's enough to give a fellow heart
failure thinking about it!"
"Wonder what time it is?" said the doctor's son, and felt for his
watch. "Why, I declare, my watch is gone!" he exclaimed in
consternation.
Just then Snap saw something on the ground and picked it up. It was
a shred of a red bandanna handkerchief.
"Boys, do you know what I think?" he said excitedly. "I think our
visitor was that wild hermit who lived in the lonely cabin in the
woods!"
"You mean the one Whopper and I met?" asked Shep.
"Yes."