TIME TO GO BACK
"What is it, Bobolink--Jack?" asked the scout master.
"The boxes yonder!" Bobolink managed to exclaim.
"You evidently have seen them before; tell me, Jack, are they the ones
you said your father stored for that man?" continued Paul.
"They certainly look mighty like them," replied the other; "and you know,
they were taken away that morning early. They must have been carried
across country to the shore of the lake, and then ferried over in a
rowboat. That was what we saw the marks of, and the four men walked off
with these between them."
"Whee! did you ever?" gasped the still bewildered Bobolink. "Yes, here
you c'n see the markin' on the lid they threw away when they opened this
one--'Professor Hackett, In care of John Stormways, Stanhope,' all as
plain as anything. And to think how after all my worryin' the old boxes
have bobbed up here. Don't it beat the Dutch how things turn out?"
That seemed to be the one thing that gripped Bobolink's attention--the
strange way in which those two heavy boxes with the twisted wire binding
had happened to cross his path again.
But Paul was thinking of other things, that might have a more serious
bearing on the case. He turned to Jack again.
"What do you know about this so-called professor?" he asked.
"Me? Why, next to nothing, only that he comes from down near New York
City at a place called Coney Island, where lots of fakirs hold out; and
plenty of men too, in the summer season, who would want to circulate a
little money that did not bear the Government stamp."
"But your father seems to have known him; or at any rate believed he was
a law-abiding citizen," pursued Paul; "otherwise he would hardly have
given him the privilege of storing his cases in his mill over night."
"Oh! my father is that easy-going, nearly anybody could pull the wool
over his eyes. He believed the yarn this pretended professor told him,
I've no doubt, and thought it next door to nothing to let him keep the
boxes in the mill for a short time. You know, my father is the
best-hearted man in Stanhope, barring none. But I agree with the rest of
you that this time he must have got stung. The professor is sure a bad
egg. I must put my dad wise as soon as I get half a chance."
"Perhaps it's already too late to save him from getting stuck with a lot
of the stuff they manufacture?" suggested Tom Betts.
"Oh! that could hardly be so," Jack replied, cheerfully. "When these
bogus money-makers want to get rid of some of their stock they always
have go-betweens do the job for them. It would be too easy tracing things
if they passed the stuff themselves. So I guess my dad hasn't taken in
any great amount of the counterfeits."
Bobolink was down on his knees. He even crawled into one of the
overturned boxes, as though trying hard to ascertain from sundry marks
what could have been contained under that wooden cover.
He came out, shaking his head, as though his efforts had not been
attended by success.
"Looks like machinery of some kind, that's all I c'n tell," he admitted.
"But of course, they'd need a press of some sort to work off the paper
money on. Now, chances are, it's bein' put up right in that long shed
yonder, that we c'n see. Question is, how're we goin' to get close enough
to peek through a crack, and find out what's goin' on in there?"
Again did most of the boys look uneasily at each other. Paul believed
that, now the great test had arrived, they were beginning to weaken a
little. No doubt it did not seem so glorious a thing when you got close
up, this spying on a band of lawless men, who would be apt to deal
harshly with eavesdroppers, if caught in the act.
Still, he would not give the order to retreat unless they asked for it.
They had been allowed to settle that matter when they voted; it was up to
Bobolink, Tom, Bluff or Andy to start the ball rolling, if they began to
reconsider their hasty conclusion of a while back.
Bobolink looked toward the low, long shed, now plainly seen, in something
of a rocky opening, with glimpses of water beyond which told how close to
the shore it had been built. But he did not act as though as anxious to
rush matters as before.
"Why d'ye believe they ever landed those boxes where they did, and toted
'em all the way up here, heavy as they were, when there's the water close
by?" asked Jack.
"I was thinking about that a minute ago," replied Paul; "and the only
explanation I can find is this: Perhaps the water is mighty shallow all
around up at the north end of the island. I can see that the shore is
rocky, and if that's so, then no boat with a heavy load could get close
enough in to land the stuff. And so they had to get busy, and carry the
boxes, one at a time."
"Sounds reasonable, and we'll let her go at that," commented Bobolink,
who, as a rule, was contented to take Paul's opinion.
Paul himself stooped down to take a look into the cases. He did not make
any remark as he straightened up again, nor did any of the others think
to ask his opinion; which possibly may have been lucky, for perhaps Paul
would not have liked to commit himself just then. If he had found
anything that gave him a new clue, he was evidently keeping it to himself
until he could get more proof.
"S'pose we ought to make a fresh start," suggested Bobolink, but with a
lack of eagerness that was plainly noticeable; it was as though the
discovery of those two mysterious boxes under such strange conditions had
rather cooled his ardor.
"That's so," remarked Tom.
"We've g-g-got so n-n-near now, we ought to f-f-finish!" Bluff declared.
And yet none of them made the slightest movement looking to an advance, a
fact that Paul could not help but notice, and which warned him they were
close to the point of a change of policy. A suggestion that they give up
the spy business at this stage, and retreat in good order to their camp,
would doubtless have met with favor, and been sure of a unanimous vote.
But still Paul, having his own notions of such matters, when dealing with
boys, declined to say anything. If one of the four who were mainly
responsible for their being there should take it upon himself to offer
such a motion, he would only too gladly put it to a vote. Until such time
came he must continue to remain silent.
"Just as you say, boys; I'm carrying out your plans," he remarked,
quietly, wishing to let them know that they had it in their own power to
alter conditions at any time they so desired.
They all finally moved after the scout master, even if some feet did lag
a little. Bluff and Phil particularly were conscious of a strange sinking
sensation in the region of their hearts, which they mistrusted signified
fear; and rather than have any of their comrades suspect that they had a
cold hand pressing there, they shut their teeth hard together, and
determined that under no circumstances would they show the white feather.
So Paul led them on.
Again they tried to conceal themselves as best they might in devious
ways. Here the wide and generous trunk of a friendly tree afforded them
a certain amount of shelter; a little further on a small pile of rocks
answered the same benevolent purpose; but always the main idea was to
hide from any curious eyes that might be on the lookout in the
vicinity of that queer looking shed--newly made, if the fresh boards
signified anything.
"Looky here! there's a man!" suddenly exclaimed Bobolink.
The others had discovered the man at about the same time. They all lay
flat and hardly dared breathe, lest in some manner they attract the
attention of the stranger, who seemed to be not only a big man, but
rather a fierce-looking fellow in the bargain.
He was glancing all around at the heavens, as though wondering whether
the aeroplane was not coming back, whatever its mission in flying away
south could have been. Standing there, he shaded his eyes with his
hands and continued to look toward the south for several minutes. Then
he made a gesture as of disappointment, and vanished around the corner
of the shed.
"Never looked down this way once!" Bobolink said triumphantly, as though
their escape had caused his spirits to rise a little.
"That leaves the coast clear again, anyhow," said Tom Betts, as if he now
had a rather disagreeable duty to perform, which, since it had to be
done, had better be gotten through with as speedily as possible.
When leaving camp these brave scouts had never dreamed but that
spying upon the enemy would prove the most delightful task imaginable.
Even later on, when they had voted to keep moving forward, with so
much assurance, the picture had not begun to fade; but now it did not
seem the same.
As the shelter grew less and less, however, it became evident that
presently, if they continued to advance in this fashion, they must reach
a point where, in order to make progress, they must expose themselves to
hostile eyes, should any be on the watch.
Would even this cause one of the four scouts to "take water," as Bobolink
called it, and make the sign that he had had enough?
Paul knew them all pretty well, and he also realized the fact that every
fellow possessed a nature bordering on the stubborn. It was the dread of
being thought cowardly that kept them from taking the cue from Paul, and
ending this foolish advance.
They had gone over fifty feet since the last stop, and passed the last
large tree which could be looked on to give them any shelter.
It was just at this moment that once again the big man was seen coming
hastily around the corner of the shed.
At sight of him the boys stood still. There was no use trying to hide
now. Perhaps some faint hope took possession of them that they might be
unnoticed if they did not move; just as the still hunter, stalking a
feeding deer, will watch its short tail, and whenever he sees it twitch
he stands perfectly motionless; for he knows that the animal is about to
raise his head, and that he will probably be taken for a stump if he does
not move hand or foot.
But evidently the man had sighted the seven khaki-clad scouts. He seemed
almost petrified with amazement at first, and stood staring at them. As
if awaking from his trance, he began to make frantic motions with his
arms, and at the same time shouted hoarsely at them:
"Go back! Get out of that! You're crazy staying there! Run, I tell you,
while you have the chance! Get away! Get away, you fools!"
The scouts looked at each other in astonishment. What could it all mean?
Were all the men on this queer island stark, staring crazy? He called
them that, but it is always a rule for mad people to believe every one
else crazy but themselves.
"Say, what does the guy mean?" cried Bobolink, who seemed to be utterly
unable to understand a thing; "mebbe it's a small-pox hospital we've run
on, fellows!"
But Paul was beginning to see a light. Possibly the excited gestures, as
well as the urgent words of the big man, may have assisted him to arrive
at a conclusion.
He no longer felt so decided about not speaking the word that would
cause his little detachment to turn and retreat. There must be danger
hovering over them, danger in some terrible form, to make that unknown
man so urgent.
"Let's get out of this, boys!" he called, "every fellow turn, and streak
it as fast as he can. And get behind trees as quick as you can,
because--"
They had already started to obey the scout master, and possibly had
covered a few jumps when it seemed that the very earth shook and quivered
under them, as a fearful roar almost deafened every boy.
Just as you have seen a pack of cards, made into tent shape in a curving
row, go falling down when the first one is touched, so those seven scouts
were knocked flat by some concussion of the air.
They had hardly fallen than one and all scrambled to their feet, and fled
madly from the scene, as if fearful lest the whole end of the island
might be blown up behind them, and catch them in a trap from which there
could be no escape.