A ROUT AND A CAPTURE
The intruder had halted. Harriet knew that from his position he could
see the camp. From her position it was not visible. She saw the man
halt, peer, then suddenly straighten up and glance about him
apprehensively. Being now between her and the light shed by the
campfire, the girl was able to observe his movements quite clearly.
"He suspects something," quivered Harriet. But being at a loss as to
what to do next the girl dropped swiftly to the ground, rising almost
the next second. She was leaning well forward, peering at the figure
with all the concentration she could bring to bear. The intruder had
by this time again directed his attention to the camp. There was now
in the man's hands something that he seemed to be leveling over the
tops of the bushes amid which he was standing.
Harriet Burrell drew her right hand cautiously above her shoulder.
That hand held a stone. Suddenly the stone cut through the bushes
about a foot to the right of the intruder's shoulder. He jumped, but
before he could decide upon what his next move should be a second and
larger stone smote him between the shoulders. Then followed a perfect
rain of stones. Some hit him, others did not.
There was but one way by which the man could get away without turning
back and facing this unseen peril. That way was almost straight toward
the camp. He hesitated. A large stone grazed his cheek. The fellow
leaped through the bushes. Something was swept from his hands by the
bushes and fell to the rocks with a clatter. The girls in camp heard
the sound.
"Harriet, what are you doing?" called Jane.
"Look out!" shouted Harriet. She started in pursuit of the fleeing
man, sending a shower of missiles after him. Some of the stones
dropped to the rocks back of the camp, rolling into the camp itself.
Then, to the amazement of the Meadow-Brook party, a man darted across a
corner of the lighted space, which he cleared in half a dozen leaps and
bounds, Harriet still hurling stones after him and shouting her
warnings to her companions.
The girls fled from the campfire, crying out in alarm. Janus, for the
instant, was overcome with surprise, but he pulled himself together
sharply, running to his pack and snatching up his revolver.
"It's our man!" cried Harriet. "I made him run."
"Thave me!" wailed Tommy, throwing herself flat on her face behind a
rock.
Janus had clattered down the rocks after the intruder. The guide's
revolver began to speak. He was firing wildly, not being able to see
the man, who either had got safely away, or else was in hiding behind
one of the many rocks and projections. It did not seem as if he could
have run down the mountainside at the rate he was going without falling
and breaking his neck. The guide fired his revolver into every dark
recess that he thought might afford a hiding place for the fugitive.
Then he loaded up and emptied his revolver a second time.
By this time the camp was almost in a state of panic. Miss Elting
spoke sharply to the girls, commanding them to stop their shouting and
to come back.
"Mr. Grubb, if you keep on shooting you will have no ammunition left,"
the guardian warned him. "Besides, I would rather you wouldn't shoot
any more. We don't know that this man is the one we suspect."
Janus broke his smoking revolver and ejected the exploded shells, after
which he recharged the cylinder and put the weapon back in his pocket.
He returned to the campfire, holding his hat in one hand, with the
other hand brushing the perspiration from his forehead.
"Well, I swum!" he muttered. "I swum!"
"Harriet, we will hear your explanation. Why didn't you tell Mr. Grubb
in time, so he could look after this fellow?" demanded Miss Elting.
"You knew there was some one about some time before you got up and
walked away, didn't you?"
"I thought I heard some one. That was the reason I strolled off by
myself."
"So I supposed," commented the guardian.
"Had I said anything the person would have cried out and given the
alarm. I wanted to satisfy myself that I was right, and I was."
"I should say you were!"
"Yeth, and he had black whithkerth, too," interjected Tommy.
"He wore a soft hat pulled down over his face," added Margery.
"I believe it is the same man," said the guardian reflectively.
"Get back out of the light, ladies, please," urged the guide. "We will
let the fire burn, but we had better keep out of the light. The man
may have a gun."
"No, he has not," spoke up Harriet.
"What was he doing out there?" questioned Miss Elting.
"Spying on the camp, then getting ready to shoot. I think he was going
to shoot Mr. Grubb," was the startling declaration. Janus gripped his
whiskers with all the fingers of the right hand. He gave the whiskers
a tug that threatened to thin them out.
"Shoot me?" he roared.
Harriet nodded and smiled.
"But I thought you said he had no gun," objected Miss Elting.
"He hasn't now. I have his gun," answered Harriet with a twinkle in
her eyes. "Yes, it is a rifle. I am glad we have it, for, from the
present outlook, we shall need it." She stepped away and from a rock
picked up a repeating rifle. This the intruder had dropped. Harriet
had picked up the weapon and taken it to camp, laying it down to
continue her stone-throwing. She had forgotten all about the gun until
the excitement had subsided somewhat, and Miss Elting and the guide had
begun questioning her. Janus took the rifle, turning it over in his
hands, examining it with critical eyes.
"Modern gun, thirty-eight calibre, repeating," he muttered. "Well, I
swum!"
"Do you recognize it?" asked the guardian.
Janus shook his head. "Of course, you will keep it for the present."
"Until the owner calls for it, Miss," replied Janus grimly, whereat
there was a giggle from Margery.
"Tell us how you discovered the man. Let us have the whole story,"
urged Miss Elting. Harriet related briefly how she had discovered the
stranger and all that followed until she had driven him into the camp,
as she had hoped to be able to do, believing that Janus would be able
to capture the man. Had Janus been a more active man and quicker of
wit, he undoubtedly would have been able to catch the fellow; however,
by the time the guide had collected himself, the intruder had
disappeared.
Miss Elting was vexed at Janus's inactivity, but it would do no good to
say so. Janus had done the best he could and had wasted more than a
dozen bullets among the rocks of Mt. Washington. They had the
stranger's gun, therefore she was reasonably certain that their enemy
could do them no further harm that night. Still, it was thought best
to have Mr. Grubb remain on watch for the rest of the night. Harriet
offered to do this, but the guide would not listen to such a
proposition, nor would Miss Elting. While they were discussing the
incident he kept his eyes on Harriet almost continuously. Wonder and
admiration were plainly to be seen in their expression.
Some time elapsed before the camp of the Meadow-Brook Girls settled
down. They felt even more secure, knowing that Harriet had captured
the intruder's rifle. It was not believed that the man possessed
another, so there was little danger of further shooting that night. At
the suggestion of the guide, and the further orders of their guardian,
the girls rolled in their blankets and soon were asleep. They were
awakened, shortly after twelve, by a shout from the guide. Then
followed a volley of quick shots and a warning cry from Janus Grubb.