STEBBINS IS FOUND.
"Does a lalapaloosla make a noise like that?" Bob asked, as the last
strain of the weird cry died out.
"Only the red ones, and they don't raise that kind in Maine."
"But what'll we do next?" Bob turned to the Indian once more.
"We find good place watch cabin," he replied.
"That's a good plan, I should say," Jack agreed. "We may find out just
what we're up against."
Led by the Indian, they crept softly toward the lake, until they reached
the edge of the forest.
"Here heap good place," Kernertok announced in a loud whisper.
It was so dark where they stood that they could scarcely see each other
when standing close together, but Kernertok told them that the cabin was
only a few yards from them.
"White boys go sleep, Injun and Sicum keep watch."
"Not so you'd notice it," Bob insisted. "I know you haven't got over
that beating and you need the rest."
Kernertok insisted that he was all right, but Bob wouldn't listen to
him. However, it was only after he told the Indian that he wouldn't go
to sleep anyhow and that if he sat up he would do the same that the old
man finally yielded the point. Both Rex and Jack tried to get him to let
them watch, but he was firm, and as usually the case, made them give in
to him.
"Now stop your fussing and get to sleep like good children," he said.
"But you've got to promise to call me at one o'clock," Jack persisted.
"And me too," Rex broke in.
"All right, I'll promise."
"I could eat a bit more supper if I had it," Jack said, as he stretched
out on the ground.
"That's all right," Rex added. "But how about breakfast?"
"Sufficient unto the day is the food thereof," Bob grinned.
"Yes, but there wasn't sufficient," Jack growled.
"Well, there'll be less to-morrow unless we strike something," Bob
assured him.
"There can't be very much less than there is right now," Jack retorted
with a long sigh.
Bob called Rex and Jack according to his promise at one o'clock and
reported that everything had been quiet.
"No more lalapalooslas howling around?" Jack laughed.
"Haven't heard any."
"Well, here's hoping they will keep quiet for the rest of the night."
"How still it is," Jack whispered a little later, as he and Rex sat with
their backs against a spruce tree.
"It's so still you can almost feel it," Rex agreed. "I'd give a good bit
to know who's in that cabin," he added in a whisper.
"Well, we'll probably find out before many hours. It'll be light now in
about three hours."
"And I'll bet they'll seem like three years."
"What did you think of that spook out on the lake?" Jack asked a few
minutes later.
"It did look spooky for a fact, but I imagine that Bob's explanation was
about right. Things often look displaced in the night and especially in
the moonlight, you know."
"But what would anyone be doing out there at that time?"
"Ask me something easy. It's quite evident that someone knows we are up
here and is trying to throw a scare into us, and--"
"No doubt about that," Jack interrupted.
"And there are two questions in my mind regarding it."
"And I'll bet I can guess them both first time."
"All right, go ahead."
"First you'd like to know who it is and second you'd like to know what
they know about us, or rather what they think they know. How's that?"
"You're pretty near right on both counts. The main thing that's puzzling
me is whether or not Stebbins is mixed up in it."
"What makes you think he isn't?"
"I didn't say I did think so, but as I was saying awhile ago, he's not
that kind of a guy."
"Well, it seems to me--" Jack began, when he was interrupted by a sound
which seemed to come from the direction of the lake.
"Listen," he whispered.
"Sounds like a groan," Rex replied after a moment.
"Let's get up a bit nearer the cabin," Jack suggested.
Followed by Rex he crept carefully forward on his hands and knees. It
was very dark now, as the moon had set some time before and they had to
feel their way as they advanced foot by foot.
"I think I can see the cabin," Jack whispered, after they had gone a few
yards.
The groaning had been repeated several times since they had first heard
it, and now they were certain that the sound came from the cabin.
"Sounds as though someone was having a nightmare," Rex whispered.
"What had we better do?" Jack asked, as he stopped a moment later.
"We're only a few feet away from the cabin now."
"We want to be mighty careful for one thing," Rex cautioned in a low
whisper. "If we should get caught now all our work would probably go for
nothing."
"Let's camp right here then."
They stretched themselves flat on the ground behind a small clump of
small cedars and listened.
"That's no nightmare, if you ask me," Jack declared, after a few minutes
had passed and the sound still continued.
"Guess you're right," Rex agreed. "Who ever's making that noise would
have waked up before this if he was asleep."
"My idea exactly. But somebody in there's pretty bad off, unless it's
being done for our special benefit. The trouble is, we can't tell which
is right."
"What do you think we'd better do?"
"I think we had better get back, if you ask me. It'll be light in a
short time now, and if we stay here much longer we may spill the beans,
and it's too much of a risk to do any investigating in the dark."
So they crept back to their former position and waited with what
patience they could summon until daylight stole over the forest.
"I hate like the dickens to wake Bob and Kernertok so early," Jack
whispered. "But I feel it in my bones that something is going to happen
before long."
"What you call a hunch, eh?"
"Something of the sort."
"You did just right, son," Bob declared a few minutes later, after Jack
had apologized for calling him and Kernertok so early. "We don't want to
lose a single bet now."
After a brief whispered conference it was decided to separate two and
two and keep a close watch at both the front and back of the cabin.
"Jack, you and Kernertok stay here where you can see the rear, and Rex
and I'll get round where we can see the front. If either sees anything
the whip-poor-will call will be the signal. All right?" Bob asked.
"All right is right," Jack nodded his head.
Bob and Rex crept slowly toward the lake and soon found a position where
they had a fair view of the front of the cabin without much risk of
being seen. They could hear nothing of the groans and Rex whispered that
he hardly thought they would be able to hear them at that distance. For
over an hour they watched, and both boys were beginning to get uneasy,
when suddenly the door opened and a man stepped out, and a moment later
he was followed by two others.
"I thought as much," Bob whispered. "You remember them, don't you?"
"Sure; it's Jacques Harbaugh and his two friends."
"And the plot thickens," Bob whispered, as he bent slightly forward to
get a clearer view. "But I must signal the others." And the clear shrill
call of the whip-poor-will floated out in the still air.
For ten minutes or a little more the three men stood in front of the
cabin talking in tones too low for the boys to catch any of the
conversation. Then they went inside and a few minutes later smoke began
to pour from the chimney.
"They're getting breakfast, and I guess we might as well go back and
tell Jack and Kernertok who's here," Bob suggested.
"I had a good-sized hunch that those fellows were mixed up in the case,"
Jack declared, as soon as he learned of the presence of the three men.
"What do you make of it?"
"Well, of course, it's largely guesswork, but my guess is that they have
Stebbins in that cabin and are holding him prisoner for some reason or
other, hence the groans which you heard," Bob said.
"And I'll say you're some guesser," Jack replied, casting a questioning
glance at Kernertok.
"Him heap good at guess," the Indian agreed.
"What's the next move then?" Rex whispered.
"I guess it's their next move," Bob said. "You see, they're all powerful
as well as desperate men, and we don't want to come to a showdown with
them if we can help it, until we have bigger odds on our side. I tell
you those fellows would put a bullet through one of us as quick as
lightning if he thought his safety depended on it."
"Then you think--"
"That we'd better lay low for a while in the hope that they'll go away
and give us a chance to see what's inside that cabin without meeting
them," Bob interrupted.
"That heap good plan," Kernertok nodded his head.
"Then we'd better get back where we were, I suppose," Rex suggested.
"Right away I should say," Bob agreed.
It was nearly eight o'clock before the three men again emerged from the
cabin. This time they did not hesitate, but made their way at once down
to the shore of the lake, and by parting the bushes in front of him, Bob
saw that they got into a canoe and started swiftly down the lake.
"Come on," he whispered to Rex. "Let's get back and tell Jack and
Kernertok."
"So you think the coast is clear," Jack said, as soon as they had told
what they had seen.
"It is, so far as those three are concerned."
It was quickly decided that Kernertok should stay outside and keep watch
while the three boys went into the cabin.
"Me an' Sicum keep heap good watch," the Indian assured them, as they
started off.
They paused to listen, as they were close beside the cabin, but all was
still. The tiny windows were too high to permit them to peep in from the
ground, and besides they were so covered with dirt that Bob declared it
would be impossible to see through them even if they got up high enough.
So they quickly made their way around to the front. The door was closed
and fastened with a heavy padlock.
"No getting in here without breaking that lock," Bob declared. "Let's
see what it looks like around back."
But the prospect was not much more promising, as the small door
evidently was fastened with a bar on the inside, and although they
pushed against it with all their strength, they were not able to make
the slightest impression on it.
"Guess we'll have to try the windows after all," Bob declared, as he
stepped back after a final push.
"All right, let's make it snappy," Jack agreed, as he started around to
the side.
Here there were two small windows, each of a single pane of glass about
twelve by fourteen inches. Bob took a stand under one of them and in an
instant Jack was on his shoulders.
"Can't see a blamed thing," he declared a moment later.
"Is it puttied on the outside?" Bob asked.
"No; it's just set into the frame from the inside."
"Then we'll have to smash it, I reckon."
"How about cutting it with this diamond ring?" Rex asked, as he pulled
the ring from his finger and passed it up to Jack.
It was but the work of a moment to make a deep scratch on the four sides
of the glass close to the edge. Then by hitting it lightly with his
pocket knife, he soon started a crack, and a moment later the pane fell
in with a loud smash. Eagerly the boy pushed his head in and looked
about.
"What about it?" Bob whispered loudly.
"Not much," Jack replied, as he withdrew his head and leaped to the
ground. "It's about the same as you'd expect. An old stove, a table and
a few old chairs and lots of dirt."
"There's no one there?"
"I didn't say that. There are some bunks on the other side of the room,
but it's not light enough to see whether there's any one in them or
not."
"Can you squeeze through?"
"Mebby, but it'll be pretty close."
"We'll pull you out if you get stuck," Rex assured him, as Jack again
mounted to Bob's shoulders.
It was but a minute's work to pick out the thin strips of glass from the
frame, and this accomplished, he began the task of squirming through. It
was, as he said, a mighty close squeeze, but he was an adept at
squirming through small openings. Indeed, Bob had often declared that he
believed Jack could squeeze his way through a key hole if he had to.
Once he thought he was stuck, but he managed to free himself, and after
a few minutes he dropped lightly to the floor. In another moment he had
unbarred the back door and admitted the others.
As they stood in the open doorway, a low groan reached their ears. Bob
quickly ran to the side of the room where the bunks were. After a single
glance he started back in amazement. Then, recovering himself, he
stepped forward again and bent over for a closer look.
Bound hand and foot, his mouth tightly gagged, lay the form of a man.
His eyes were closed and his face, covered with a stubble of several
days' growth, was gaunt almost to the point of emaciation. It was
evident to Bob that the man was unconscious, if not at the point of
death.
"Is this Stebbins?" he whispered to Rex, who was close behind him.
"I--I think so," Rex stammered. "But it's hard to tell, he's so changed.
Let me see his right hand. Yes, it's he all right," he declared a moment
later, as he held up the man's right hand. "See that middle finger."
The first joint of the finger was gone and the fact settled the identity
of the man beyond all question.
"See if you can find some water, Jack," Bob ordered, as he drew out his
knife and cut the ropes.
Jack was back almost immediately with a pan of water, and dipping his
handkerchief in it, Bob proceeded to wet the man's forehead, while Jack
and Rex rubbed his wrists. In a few minutes their efforts were
successful. The man groaned, and a moment later opened his eyes. At
first there was no recognition in them, but as he glanced from one to
the other, his eyes finally rested on Rex.
"Do you know me, old man?" Rex asked.
The man was too weak to reply, but from the look in his eyes they knew
that he had recognized him.
"Don't try to talk now," Rex said bending over him. "It's all right and
we'll have you on your feet in no time."
"He's nearly starved to death," Bob whispered to Jack. "See what you can
find. Some condensed milk mixed with water will be all right if you can
find it."
In the back of the room was a small closet, and Jack was delighted to
find it well stocked with provisions, including several cans of milk. He
quickly opened one of the latter with his knife, and pouring the
contents into a dipper, he thinned it with water.
"Drink a little of this," Bob cautioned. Then turning to Jack he
ordered: "You get the fire going and I'll see if I can find some oatmeal
or something to make some gruel of. He's got to have something a bit
more substantial than that condensed milk."
"But how about those fellows seeing the smoke?" Rex asked.
"We'll have to take a chance on that. This man will die if we don't get
something inside him, and if they return we'll have to do the best we
can. Anyhow Kernertok'll give us the word so they can't take us by
surprise."
An hour later, after the man had taken as much of the gruel as Bob dared
to give him, he seemed considerably stronger and the boys began to
remember that they had had no breakfast themselves. Thanks to the
provisions in the cabin this condition was soon remedied and a goodly
portion taken out to Kernertok and Sicum. Stebbins was sleeping quietly
as they returned to the cabin.
"What's the next move?" Jack whispered.
"That's the big question," Bob replied. "That man won't be fit to move
for two or three days at the most, and they'll probably be back before
night at the longest."
"That's a safe bet at any rate," Jack agreed. "And it's another safe bet
that they'll make mince meat of us if we give them the chance."
"Well we mustn't give them the chance, that's all," Bob said, shaking
his head.
"I think we're unanimous on that point," Rex broke in. "The only
question seems to be how we're going to help it."
"We've got three good persuasive automatics, which will help some if it
comes to a show down," Bob declared. "I wish we had the rifle, but
there's no use worrying over that."
"And there's food enough here to stand a siege for two or three weeks if
we have to," Jack said slowly.
"Well it seems to me about the only thing we can do," Rex said in a tone
of resignation.
About eleven o'clock Stebbins awoke and Bob fed him some more of the
gruel, and he seemed much stronger and inclined to talk.
"Better wait a little longer," Bob continued. "You want to get your
strength back as soon as you can, you know, and it will tire you to talk
now."
With a sigh, the man lay back on the bed and closed his eyes.
"He'll be strong enough to tell us his story when he wakes up again and
has had one more feed," Bob whispered.
They prepared a good dinner, with the help of some trout which Jack got
from a little brook a short distance up the lake. They had just finished
cleaning up when Stebbins again opened his eyes and asked for food. As
soon as he had finished eating, he declared that he was much stronger
and insisted on talking.
"All right, but take it easy and stop as soon as you begin to feel
tired," Bob cautioned.
"I took the money," he began slowly, looking at Rex, "but I want you to
believe that I'm not so bad as you must think. It started the year
before I went to work for your father. I was cashier in a bank in
Waterville, and a large sum of money disappeared. No, I didn't take it,
but I knew that they suspected me and I was unable to prove that I was
innocent. They never found out who took it, and after a time I resigned.
At the time a big half-breed by the name of Jacques Harbaugh was janitor
of the bank. He never liked me, as I had to reprimand him many times for
poor work. Although Jacques is a half-breed, he is a pretty sharp
fellow."
Here Stebbins paused and the boys urged him to rest before telling more,
but in a few minutes he insisted that he was strong enough to proceed.
"Well, I was happy in Philadelphia, and had nearly forgotten all about
the matter, when suddenly, about three months ago, I met Jacques on
Chestnut Street. He knew me at once. As a matter of fact, he had been
hunting for me for some days. To make a long story short, he had found
or made up a bit of evidence which seemed to prove conclusively that I
had stolen that money so many years ago. I realize now that I was weak,
but at that time I was scared so that I hardly knew what I was doing.
Jacques promised that he would keep still about it, provided I paid him
a large sum of money. Otherwise he declared that he would go back to
Waterville and give me away. The sum, fifty thousand dollars, was
entirely beyond my means, and I told him so. But he had learned in some
way of my position and hinted that I could get the money all right.
Finally I yielded, and it was arranged that we should meet up here, a
place we both knew about."
"But the amount you took was a good deal more than fifty thousand," Rex
interrupted.
"I know it, but as I had the chance, I thought I might as well take all
I could get. As well be hanged for an old sheep as a lamb, you know. But
I've got the money safe, and if possible, you shall have every cent of
it back. You see, I got here first and had a day to think things over
and made up my mind that I would give the money back and let Jacques do
his worst. So I hid it in a place where no one can ever find it. I had
just finished when Jacques and two other men arrived. I told them that I
didn't have the money and that they could do what they pleased about it.
Of course, he was furious and insisted that I was lying and that I had
the money. They have kept me here ever since and have done all sorts of
things to make me tell where it is, but I made up my mind that I
wouldn't even if they killed me. If you hadn't come just about when you
did I'm afraid it would have been--"
Before he was able to finish the sentence the back door opened and
Kernertok stole softly in.
"Men coming," he announced. "Be here heap soon."
"How far away are they?" Bob asked.
"Mebby quarter mile, no more."
"All three of them?"
"All three."
"All right. Bar that back door, Jack."
"What are you going to do?" Rex asked anxiously.
"The only thing we can do. Just wait and see what they will do," Bob
replied.
"One thing's on our side, and that is that we've got all the food and I
reckon we can stand a siege longer than they can," Jack declared.
"I'm not so sure about that," Bob said slowly shaking his head.
"Remember, they are skilled woodsmen, and I guess they can find plenty
to eat such as is. They won't starve."
"They're just landing," Rex, who was watching from a little front
window, announced.
"Quick! Get that front door barred," Bob said. "I nearly forgot that."
Fortunately the front door as well as the back was made to be fastened
with a heavy bar of wood, and it was but an instant's work to slip the
bar in its place.
"Now keep quiet," Bob cautioned, "and be sure to keep out of range of
the windows. Remember, they would shoot us quick as a wink if they got
the chance."
The men were evidently in good humor, for they could hear them talking
and laughing as they approached the cabin. Soon they heard one of them
fumbling with the lock, and a moment later there came a heavy shove
against the door, followed by an oath in French.
"We've got them guessing," Jack whispered.
"Hush," Bob cautioned.
For a moment all was still, then they could hear the man talking rapidly
in broken French. Then came another push against the door, followed by
more excited talking.
"They're coming round back," Rex whispered.
A moment later a shout from one of the breeds announced the discovery of
the broken window. For several minutes after that they could hear no
sound.
"Wonder what they're up to," Jack whispered.
"Guess they're trying to make out what it means," Bob replied.
Almost as he spoke there came the loud report of a revolver, and a
bullet buried itself in a log on the side opposite the open window.
"They're at a loss to know whether their prisoner has got free or some
one has got in," Bob suggested.
For another moment all was silent, then from directly beneath the open
window came the voice of Jacques Harbaugh.
"You open dat door, oui, or we bust heem in."
Bob held up his hand as a signal not to answer.
"When we geet in we keel you you no open door."
Again Bob signaled for silence.
"Keep him guessing," he whispered.
"You Stebbins, what you mean, eh?" Jacques's voice now had more of a
coaxing note in it.
"Guess he's afraid to peep in," Jack whispered.
After a short time they heard the man moving away from the cabin, and
for fully half an hour there was no sound from outside.
"They're hunting for a log with which to batter in the door, I reckon,"
Bob whispered.
"Can they do it?" Rex asked.
"Well, it's a pretty strong door, but with a heavy log, I suppose they
can knock it from the hinges give them time enough," Bob answered.
"Which we won't," Jack said.
"Well, you'd better make up your mind just how you're going to stop
them, for here they come," Rex cried a few minutes later.