GOOD-BYE TO CEDAR ISLAND
They passed a most anxious hour, after the coming of the professor and
his assistants. The lake kept on rising until pretty much all of the
island except the hill was under water. Of course the trees stood out,
but most of their roots were under ten feet or more of water.
It would not last much longer, that they knew, for the supply must be
falling short, and besides there was always a chance that the fearful
force exerted by such a mass of pent-up water would break away the
obstruction that clogged the outlet.
Paul had done everything he could think of to add to their security in
case the worst came. Some of the scouts were even perched in the
neighboring trees. These were the more timid, who Paul knew were
shivering from anxiety, and watching the spot where the lake water
ordinarily escaped, as though dreading lest at any second they should see
a sudden heave that would mean the beginning of the end.
"Good news, Paul!" sang out Jud Elderkin, to whom had been delegated the
duty of keeping watch on the rise of the flood. "She's stationary at last
Never rose a bit the last ten minutes. And believe me, I honestly think
she's begun to go down just a little."
The other boys let out a cheer at this news. That was what they were all
hoping for--that the water would go down gradually, so as not to endanger
the motorboats.
Just how the craft were to get out of the lake, if the exit remained
closed, no one could say; but then they might look to Paul to open a way
somehow. He could make use of some dynamite to blow up the obstructions,
so Mr. Jameson had suggested, and it sounded all right.
Five minutes later Jud was quite positive that the tide was on the ebb.
"Two inches lower than she was at the highest point. Paul!" he called
out, jubilantly.
"Hurrah! that sounds good to me!" exclaimed Bobolink, swinging his
campaign hat vigorously about his head, as he sat in the bow of the
_Comfort_, it being a part of his task to watch the cable, and if the
worst came to ease up on it so that there would be less likelihood of a
sudden snap.
"But we're not out of danger yet, remember," cautioned the scout master.
Presently the water was lowering at a still faster rate.
"Looks like the opening might be getting larger," said Jack, when this
fact was made clear beyond any doubt.
"Watch over there," said Paul, "and see if there's any sudden rush,
though already the water is escaping so fast that I begin to believe we
might hold on here, even if the whole pile of earth and rocks were washed
away, leaving the channel clear."
Five, ten, fifteen minutes crept along, and all the while the water kept
going steadily down until much of the island could be seen again under
the trees.
"Oh! look, there she goes!" cried Bobolink, without warning, and thereby
causing some of the fellows who had descended from the trees to wish they
were aloft again.
Over in the vicinity of the outlet they could see something of a
commotion. The water seemed to be running down hill, as it struggled to
pour out through the now cleared passage.
Immediately the boats felt the suction, which must have been very strong
indeed. They strained at their ropes, and those who had the cables in
charge obeyed the instructions given to them, allowing a certain length
of line to slip, thus easing the fearful drag.
"Whoop! they're going to hold!" exclaimed Bobolink, in great glee.
Paul believed so himself, and a smile came to his face that up to now had
looked careworn and anxious; for a dreadful catastrophe had been hovering
over them, he felt certain.
And the ropes did make good, holding in spite of that fierce drag. The
water soon got down to about its normal level, when the pull upon the
hawsers ceased, and everything seemed to settle back into the old rut.
But the boys had had quite enough of Cedar Island. It was water-soaked
now, and offered little attraction to them for camping. Paul suggested
that they leave the cove and head for a certain section of the main shore
which, on account of being much higher than the island, had not been
overflowed.
There was not a single voice raised in opposition, and so they started
the motors and with a series of derisive sounds that seemed almost like
chuckles the boats said goodbye to Cedar Island. Landing they found a
splendid spot for the erection of the tents, and before the coming of
night the scouts were as snugly fixed as though nothing had happened to
disturb them.
The injured professor declared that he meant to stick by Paul until his
messenger arrived with a carriage and a doctor by way of the road, which
ran only a half mile away from the lake.
He expressed himself satisfied with the work Paul had done on his arm,
and believed it to be the right thing.
They hoped to spend a quiet night. There would be no bomb explosions in
the heavens to disturb them, at least. Mr. Jameson had already
explained to the boys that, if they had happened to be awake at the
time of that first tremendous shock, they must have seen by the glare
in the heavens that it was a new kind of aerial bomb that had been
fired; and possibly under such conditions some one of the scouts would
have guessed the truth. But when they crept out of the tents there was
nothing to be seen aloft.
Luckily, these wide-awake boys could accommodate themselves to their
surroundings. Their former experiences had made most of them
quickwitted, resolute and cheerful under difficulties that might have
daunted most lads.
Although they had received a tremendous shock because of the numerous
remarkable occurrences that had taken place since their landing on Cedar
Island, now that their troubles seemed to have departed, most of the
scouts were just as full of life and good-natured "chaff" as ever.
Bluff seemed to never tire of entertaining those who had not been
fortunate enough to be among the valiant band of explorers with
wonderful accounts of all they had seen. He had them holding their
very breath with awe, as he described, in his own way, how they first
of all crept up to the shack in the thicket and looked in upon the
wild man asleep.
But when Bluff told of how he and his comrades had been warned off in
such a dramatic manner by the unknown man, and immediately afterwards
found themselves knocked down by that tremendous concussion, as the
explosion took place, he had them hanging on his every sentence.
But words failed Bluff when he tried to picture the wild scene that had
followed. That furious scamper through the wooded part of the island must
remain pretty much in the nature of a nightmare with the boys.
Phil and Bobolink and Andy all eagerly chimed in, trying to do the
subject justice, but after all it seemed beyond their powers. They could
only end by holding up both hands, rolling their eyes, shrugging their
shoulders, and then mutely pointing to the various cuts, scratches and
contusions that decorated their faces. The rest had to be left to the
imagination.
Fortunately there was an abundance of witch hazel ointment along, so that
every sufferer was able to anoint his hurts. The whole bunch seemed to
fairly _glisten_ from the time of their arrival at the boats. Indeed,
there never had been such a wholesale raid made upon the medical
department since the Stanhope Troup of Banner Boy Scouts was organized.
But after all was said and done they had come out of the whole affair at
least with honor. And now that the peril was a thing of the past they
could well afford to laugh at their adventures on Cedar Island.