PITCHING TENTS IN THE "SINK"
"This thing is giving us lots of good practice at making camp, and that's
something," Bobolink remarked while he ate, always taking care to keep
his voice down to a low pitch, so it would not carry far on the night
air; though for that matter the wind had increased by now and was making
quite some noise through the tops of the trees around them.
"I'd like to see anybody put up tents faster and better than we did right
here," declared Frank Savage; who had by now about recovered from the
feeling of sickness which came so near keeping him at home, when the
expedition was formed.
"And as for fires, these couldn't be beat," observed Spider Sexton, as
he began to catch glimpses of the bottom of his tin platter, after
making away with some of the food that had been piled high on it by the
cook of his mess.
"And talk about the grub--it just takes the cake," admitted Old Dan
Tucker; though no one seemed to pay the least attention to what he
thought, for they knew him of old, and that the present meal was always
the "best he had ever eaten, barring none."
Of course it was only natural that while the scouts were enjoying
their meal in this fashion, many looks betrayed an uneasiness on the
part of some among their number. Possibly they were wondering whether
it could be that hostile eyes were fixed upon them then and there, and
if so, what those strange, unknown men, who seemed to want to rule the
island, would do when they discovered that the scouts had disobeyed
their order to leave.
Would they resort to violence? It would not be an easy task to banish a
dozen and a half lively boys, they were thinking.
Paul had made up his mind with regard to certain things that must be
done. First of all, they ought to get their heads together, and decide on
a plan. Should they make any sort of attempt that night to explore the
island? He owned a splendid little hand electric torch, into which he had
slipped a fresh battery before starting out on the voyage along the two
rivers; and this might prove very useful in searching dark and gloomy
parts of the island. But on the whole, it seemed so foolish to think of
such a thing, Paul wanted the rest to settle the matter.
So, still cautioning them to speak only in whispers at the most, he
placed the whole matter before them; much as might the chairman of a
meeting, after which he asked in so many words:
"You've heard all I know about it; now, what is your pleasure, fellows?"
"So far as I'm concerned," said Bobolink, always the first to speak; "I'm
willing to do anything the rest say, or go wherever they want to head;
but to be honest, boys, I'd think we were off our base if we went
prowling around this queer old island at night time. There are a heap of
things about it that some people don't want us to know, it seems; and we
ought to take daylight to spear such facts."
Others were of the same opinion; and when Paul put the vote, it was
overwhelmingly the sentiment of the meeting that they simply take things
as easy as they could until dawn came, and then, with fourteen hours of
light ahead, do all the exploring they liked.
That settled it, since there could be no going behind the returns when a
majority favored any move. Accordingly, they made preparations for
passing the night as the conditions best allowed.
"Of course, we must have sentries posted to keep watch?" remarked Jack.
"All through the livelong night. They will have to be changed every
hour; and four can be on guard at a time. That'll give about two
turns to every scout, with a chance to get four hours sleep between
times on duty."
And having said his, Paul, as the acting scout master, proceeded to
assign each one to his post number. There was no confusion. They had
practiced this same movement many a time, and now that it was to be
carried out, the boys profited by their experience.
It could be seen that there was a condition of almost feverish excitement
under the surface, try as they might to conceal the fact by an appearance
of coolness. A real peril seemed to be hovering over them, since they had
chosen to disobey the mandate of the unknown who seemed to claim the
island as his private property. And if they were discovered during the
night, there would be no telling what might happen.
At the same time the boys were enjoying the novel experience. It seemed
to give them a peculiar thrill, not unlike that of a daring skater who
shoots boldly over thin, new ice, that crackles under him, and bends in a
dreadful way, but does not break, because his passage has been too swift.
In the morning Paul would pick out several of them, as he thought best;
and with this exploring party set out to learn what the island contained.
Meanwhile they would rest quietly in that rocky retreat, in the hope that
their return had not been noted by any observing eye, and that their
presence on the island was utterly unknown.
The sentries had been selected, and every boy knew just when his turn to
take a post would come around. Those who were ready to lie down and get
some rest were expected to arouse their successors, so that the thing was
calculated to run along as smoothly as though on a greased track.
If anything out of the ordinary came to pass, and there was time to
arouse the scout master, Paul wanted it done. He could not remain awake
himself more than any one of the others, much as he might wish to be on
the job all the time; but that need not prevent his keeping in touch with
whatever happened.
Paul still had his shotgun, and had of course made sure to bring it from
the motorboat when he led his column of burden-bearers trailing through
the timber and rocks to that little sink in which the new camp had been
pitched. It had served him often and well, and he was accustomed to
placing the utmost confidence in the trusty little weapon. But he hoped
he would find no occasion to use it now, and against human beings. Only
as the very last resort would he turn to this.
Still, there are times when the presence of an empty gun has done
wonders; since imagination invests it with all the attributes of a loaded
weapon. And that was one of the many reasons why Paul kept the
double-barreled gun close to him, even when he crept into the tent to
which he was assigned, and lay down on his blanket to try and get a
little sleep.
Some of the other boys whispered for a while, as they lay with their
heads close together; but they were too sleepy to keep this up for long;
so that one by one they dropped off, until from their regular breathing
it was easy to guess that all had surrendered to the heavy hand of sleep.
Those on guard duty were not supposed to move about very much. They had
been posted at what might be called the four corners of the camp. Here
they could, between them, about cover all the space around the sink, for
their positions were on the more elevated ground.
And as the clouds were breaking at the time Paul crawled under the
tent, he felt pretty sure that before long they would have the
assistance of the moon, now more than half full, and which would not
set until after midnight.
Those who were the first on duty fulfilled their part of the programme
faithfully. After standing out their "spell," they proceeded to quietly
awaken those who were scheduled to follow after them. Each fellow knew
who his successor was, and it had been made a part of his duty to see
that this scout was not only awakened, but on the job; after which he
himself could crawl in under his blanket, and take it easy until his
second turn came, hours later.
Thus Bobolink was one of the second watch. In turn he would have the
pleasure of arousing the commander, and seeing that Paul took up his
duty; for in laying out the schedule Paul had not spared himself in
the least.
Bobolink was an imaginative boy. He could see many things that others
were apt to pass by without discovering anything out of the ordinary. It
was a weakness which Bobolink had to guard against; lest he discover
things that had no foundation in fact.
He sat there, listening and looking, for a long time. The music of the
breeze in the tree-tops made him a little nervous at first; but presently
he seemed to get more accustomed to the sounds, and then they made him
drowsy, so that he had to take himself sharply to task more than once
because his eyes found it so easy to shut.
Wishing to have something to think about, so as to keep his wits aroused,
Bobolink began to try and figure out just where his fellow sentinels were
located and imagine what they were doing. Could they be struggling, as he
was, to keep awake, one of the hardest things a boy can battle with?
What was that? Surely something moved out yonder among the scrub!
Bobolink sat straight up. He was no longer sleepy. This thing seemed to
have made his eyes fly wide open; and with his heart pumping at a
tremendous rate, sending the hot blood bounding through his veins, surely
he was now in no danger of sleeping on his post.
He watched the spot from which the sound had seemingly come. The moon
penetrated the bushes only faintly, because it was now nearing the
western horizon, its journey for the night almost done. Strive as
Bobolink might to see whether any one was crawling along there, he could
not for a time make sure.
Then he detected a movement that must mean something. And at the same
time he discovered what seemed to be twin glowworms in the darkness.
Bobolink had had some little experience in such things, and had read a
good deal on the subject. He knew that in the night time the eyes of many
wild animals, particularly of the cat tribe, can appear luminous, so
that, seen in a certain kind of gloom, they seem to be like yellow
globes. And that was what these were.
"Huh!" said Bobolink to himself, after he had watched these queer glowing
balls of fire move several times, that proved in his mind they must be
the eyes of an animal: "Guess I better give Paul the high sign, and let
him figure out what it is."
And with that he started to creep into the camp, leaving his post for
the time being unguarded; for with three other sentries on duty
Bobolink did not imagine there could be any danger in his withdrawing
from the line.