THE EXPLORING PARTY
Soon after breakfast was over, Paul began to make his arrangements. Like
a wise general he wanted to have all the details arranged beforehand, so
far as he could do so.
"I hope you'll take the gun along, Paul," remarked Bobolink, when those
who had been selected to accompany the leader were stowing some crackers
and cheese in sundry pockets, so that they might have a little lunch, in
case they were delayed longer than seemed probable.
"Yes, because we're more apt to find need for it than those who stay in
camp," the scout master had replied; which fact seemed to give Bobolink
considerable satisfaction.
He had not liked the looks of that big fellow which Nuthin claimed to
have recognized as his old Lion. If they chanced to run across the beast
again, it might feel disposed to attack them; and nothing would please
Bobolink more than to have Paul bowl the creature over with a single
shot. Any dog that did not have the sense to stay at home, and feed at
the hands of a kind master, deserved to get the limit, he thought.
"It isn't that alone," Bobolink had protested, when Paul took him to
task for showing such a bloodthirsty spirit; "I've been hearing lately
that some of the farmers up this way are complainin' about dogs killin'
their lambs this last spring. And chances are, this same Lion's been one
of the pack that did the mischief. Once they start in that way, nothin'
can cure 'em but cold lead. My father said that right out at table. So
you see, when dogs take to runnin' loose, they're just like boys, an'
get into bad ways."
Paul thought this was a pretty good argument. He had himself made up his
mind that should they ever meet that animal again, and he showed a
disposition to attack any of the scouts, there was only one thing to do.
"How about getting into communication with you while you're gone?" asked
Jud, who was naturally feeling the new responsibilities of his position
more or less, and wished to be posted.
"It might be found a good thing," replied the scoutmaster; "and we could
do it easy enough by flags, if we managed to get to the top of that hill
where the lone cedar grows. So all the time we're away, Jud, be sure and
have a scout posted in a tree, where he can watch that cedar, keeping his
flag handy to answer, if he gets the signal.
"Guess that can be fixed, all right," declared Jud.
"Have him keep his eye out for smoke at the same time," continued Paul.
"We might want to tell you something, even without getting up to that
cedar tree. And in case you felt like sending back an answer, you'd
better have the boys collect a lot of that wood I showed you, that makes
a black smoke. You know our smoke code, Jud; no danger of our failing to
make good while you're handling the other end of the line."
That made Jud smile, and feel like doing everything in his power to
satisfy the scout master. A few drops of oil prevents a vast amount of
friction. Paul knew there are few boys who do not like to be appreciated;
and they will do double the amount of work if they feel that they possess
the full confidence of the one who has been placed in command over them.
When the word was finally given for the little expedition to leave camp,
and start into the unknown depths of the island, those who were to
remain behind insisted on shaking hands all around, and wishing them the
best of luck. Bobolink pretended to make light of it, and to laugh at
the fellows.
"Great Scott! you'd think we were going away off to Hudson's Bay, not to
come back again for many moons, if ever!" he scoffed. "Talk about
Stanley's farewell to Livingstone in the African jungle, why it wasn't
in the same class as this. Don't you dare try to embrace me, Dan Tucker.
What d'ye think I am, the pretty new girl that's come to town, and who
danced with you at our class spread? Hands off, now! And don't any of
you cry when we're gone. I declare if you aren't turnin' into a lot of
old women."
So the seven scouts strode away from the hidden camp in the sink,
plunging into the heavy growth of timber that covered most of the island.
Once only did they turn, to wave a goodbye to their watching companions,
who flourished their hats in response, but dared not give the cheer that
was in their hearts, because Paul had enjoined the strictest silence.
Paul and Jack had more than once tried to figure out what Cedar Island
must look like; but at the best it was only guess work. None of them had
ever been here before, and so far they had only roamed over a small
portion of one end of the island, so that they could not tell even its
general shape.
That was one of the reasons why Paul wanted to climb the little hill on
which grew the cedar from which the island must have taken its name.
Once they gained this point, he fancied they might be able to see all
parts of the place, and in this manner get a comprehensive idea as what
it was like.
They kept pretty well together as they pushed through the brush and
timber. Paul instructed them to watch constantly on all sides, so that
nothing might escape their scrutiny; and as the little band of scouts
pushed deeper into the unknown depths of the mysterious island, they felt
more than ever a sense of the responsibility that rested upon their
shoulders.
As one of the boys had remarked before, this was good training. They
could look back to other occasions when they had roamed the woods, once
in search of a little chap who had been lost; but somehow these incidents
lacked the flavor of mystery that surrounded them now.
If these men should turn out to be what they already suspected, lawless
counterfeiters, would they not be apt to show a revengeful spirit if the
persistent boys interfered with their business to any extent?
Just how far he would be justified in leading his companions on, when
there was this element of danger in the affair, was a serious question,
which Paul had as yet not settled in his mind. He was waiting until
something more definite turned up, and when that occurred he expected to
be governed by circumstances to a great extent.
Of course they had frequent little shocks. These came when some small
animals rustled the bushes in fleeing before them, or a bird started out
of the thick branches of a tree.
The boys were keyed up to such a pitch that their nerves were on edge.
When a crow, that had been watching their coming with suspicious eye,
gave a series of harsh caws, and flapping his wings, took flight, Andy
caught hold of Bluff's sleeve, and gave it a tug.
"Q-q-quit t-t-that!" exclaimed Bluff, in a shrill whisper. "G-g-guess I'm
k-k-keyed up enough, without m-m-akin' me j-j-jump out of my s-s-skin!"
"Arrah but I thought it was that ould dog a-goin' to lape at us, so I
did!" muttered the Irish lad, shaking his head, and grasping his cudgel
more firmly.
All of them had been wise enough to arm themselves in some way before
starting out. And when seven fairly muscular boys wield that many clubs,
that have been tried and found true, they ought to be capable of doing
considerable execution. But in truth there were but six of the cudgels,
for Paul carried his gun only.
They had by now cleared quite considerable ground, even though their
progress was in anything but a direct line. On account of dense patches
of thorn bushes Paul found it necessary to make various detours; but then
this did not matter to any great extent; for while it added to the length
of their journey, at the same time it promised to reveal more of the
island to their search.
One thing surprised Paul. They found the trees so dense that most of
the time it was possible to obtain only glimpses of the sky above.
Fortunately the sun continued to shine. He thought it must be pretty
dingy here on a cloudy day. And the more he saw of Cedar Island the
less he wondered that some of the ignorant country people believed it
to be haunted.
Bobolink must have been allowing his mind to run in a similar groove, for
presently pushing up alongside Paul, he remarked in a whisper:
"Gee! did you ever see a more spooky place than this is, Paul? Now, if a
fellow _did_ believe in ghosts, which of course I don't, here's where
he'd expect to run across some of them. Look at that hollow over yonder,
would you? There goes a woodchuck dodging back into his hole in the bank.
Ain't it queer how all these animals ever got across from the mainland to
this island? Why, seemed like all of half a mile to me."
"Wait till we get on top of that hill, and perhaps the thing won't seem
so queer, after all," replied Paul. "I was thinking the same way; and
then it struck me that the land might be a whole lot closer to the island
on the northern side. Why, how do we know but what it's only a narrow
strait there?"
"I wonder, now," mused Bobolink, who always found much food for thought
in what information he extracted from the scout master.
They kept on for some five minutes longer, under about the same
conditions. Paul, however, began to believe that they must by now be
drawing somewhere near the foot of the little hill that arose near the
center of the island, as closely as they could figure from their camp at
the southern end.
The result of their watchfulness was made apparent when Tom Betts
suddenly declared that he had seen something that looked like a
blacksmith's forge just beyond a screen of bushes ahead of them.
Cautiously advancing, the seven scouts presently found themselves looking
upon the exact object Tom had mentioned, which proved that his powers of
observation were good. It was a forge of some sort, with a bellows
attached, and a wind screen, but no shelter over the top; which fact
would seem to indicate that it must be in the nature of a field smithy,
used for certain purposes to heat or melt metal.
There being no sign of life around, Paul and his six followers swarmed
out of the brush, and surrounded the forge, which was about as unlikely a
thing to be run across, away in this forsaken quarter of the country, as
anything they could imagine.
And as Paul examined the portable forge closer he made an interesting
discovery.