AT THE CABIN――CONCLUSION
“What do you know about that fire?” questioned Jack.
“That fire was sot by three of them Longley boys,” answered Jeff. “I
done heard them talkin’ about it one night.”
“You did!” exclaimed Fred. “Who were the boys?”
“They was that Flanders boy and them two other fellows named Sands and
Halliday.”
“Tell us all about this, Jeff!” cried Andy eagerly.
Thereupon, sitting on the bungalow porch with the boys around him, the
colored man gave the particulars. He said that he had caught the three
boys behind the shed at the Willoughby camp smoking and playing cards.
They were talking about old times and did not notice him when he went
into the shed. He heard them mention a fire at the Colby Hall boathouse
and, listening, found that it had been caused by Flanders and his two
cronies.
“I ain’t sure that they done it on purpose,” went on Jeff. “They went
there to rough-house the place, same as when they done come here and
rough-housed this bungalow. They had a lantern with ’em, and Sands said
the lantern got knocked over accidental like. But Flanders didn’t act
much like it was accidental like and Halliday didn’t neither.”
“I guess if it was accidental they were glad it happened,” cried Jack.
“And one thing is certain, they didn’t try to put out the fire. They
just skipped out and let the place take care of itself.”
“We ought to let Colonel Colby know about this,” said Spouter. “It’s
too serious a matter to let go by. Of course, we could accuse Flanders
and those other fellows, but what good would it do us?”
“Let’s put it all down in writing and get Jeff to sign it,” suggested
Gif.
This was agreed upon, and the boys lost no time in taking down the
colored man’s statement. Then they read it to him and he signed it, and
they put their names on the paper as witnesses to the signature. Then
Jeff shuffled off into the kitchen of the bungalow to get ready for
supper.
“I’ll surprise you young gen’lemen, you see if I don’t,” said the
colored man. “And I’ll surprise that Mr. Stevenson, too.”
“All right, Jeff,” said Gif, “you can remain here just as long as you
make good. The minute you fail in your duties you’ll have to leave.”
It was growing dark when the boys heard the put-put of a motor-boat
coming from the lake, and soon the craft rounded a point of the shore
and glided up to the bungalow dock.
“Hello, Mr. Stevenson! Glad to see you!” cried Jack, as he ran down to
the dock.
“And I’m glad to get here,” answered Ruth’s father, as he leaped from
the boat and shook hands. “Great news you fellows sent me.”
“I certainly hope it proves all right,” returned the young major.
“I’m impatient to learn the details,” continued Frederic Stevenson. And
then he went on: “How about it, Gif? Can you take care of the man who
has the motor-boat? I thought we might be able to use that craft in
getting around the lake.”
“Sure, we can,” answered Gif readily. “There are empty rooms galore in
this place and we have plenty on hand to eat. We can give you a real
treat to-night. We have some bear steaks.”
“Good gracious! did you shoot a bear?” came from the man who ran the
motor-boat.
“We sure did!” answered Fred proudly, while the others were shaking
hands with the new arrival. “A great big black bear! And we got a
wildcat, too!” he continued.
While Jeff was preparing supper the boys gave Ruth’s father the
particulars of the interview they had overheard at the old cabin on the
other side of Big Bear Lake. Of course, the gentleman was tremendously
interested and listened to every word with close attention.
“I believe you’ve solved the mystery of that disappearance,” said he,
after they had finished. “Now the only thing to do is to get hold of
that book of formulas.”
“Don’t you want to catch Mr. Flanders when he tries to buy the book
from those rascals?” asked Spouter. “It seems to me a man who would be
mean enough to do that ought to be exposed.”
“It’s just possible that Mr. Flanders may be innocent in the matter,”
suggested Mr. Stevenson. “The other men may claim that they brought the
book of formulas from Germany direct and that they have a right to it.
However, it won’t do any harm to listen to what the men have to say
when Flanders appears.”
During the evening the boys related what had taken place during their
outing at Big Bear Lake and in return Mr. Stevenson told them something
of what Ruth and the other girls had been doing, and of how matters
were going with himself and Uncle Barney.
“If I can only get hold of that book of formulas I’ll be all right,”
said the gentleman. “Otherwise everything will be at sixes and sevens.”
It was an impatient crowd that went to bed that night, and they were
equally impatient after breakfast in the morning, all wanting to see
how the affair concerning the book of formulas would terminate. It was
not until about ten o’clock that they started for the other side of the
lake. They landed at the spot where the boys had been two days before
and, leaving the boatman behind, followed the same trail leading to the
cabin in the woods.
“Now I suppose we had better hide,” said Mr. Stevenson. “If those men
catch sight of us they may run away and we may never be able to catch
them.”
With great care they concealed themselves behind some brushwood and
there waited for a long time in silence. Some of the boys were just
about thinking that the men would never come when they heard voices in
the distance.
“Here they are, I think,” whispered Gif. And then Mr. Stevenson put his
finger over his lips and all became silent.
Peering through the brushwood, Jack saw that two of the men were Carl
Lemrech and Tex Norris. The third individual was short and stocky and
his face bore a strong resemblance to that of Tommy Flanders.
“Oh, you needn’t be disturbed, Flanders,” said Carl Lemrech, in his
German accent. “We got the goods. It’s the same book that was sold to
that man Stevenson.”
“You’d better not mention names around here, Lemrech,” grumbled Mr.
Flanders.
“Oh, this is a very lonely place. Nobody ever comes here,” put in Tex
Norris.
Thus talking, the three men entered the cabin, leaving the door,
however, wide open. There were two windows on one side of the building,
and these were open also.
“I’m going forward to investigate,” whispered Mr. Stevenson. “If I give
the signal, jump out and point your guns at them. I don’t want any of
them to get away.”
“Gee, this is getting real exciting!” murmured Randy. All the boys had
brought their weapons with them, but more for a show of arms than for
any thought of actually using them.
Mr. Stevenson crawled up toward one of the open windows and Jack and
Fred could not resist the temptation to crawl up to the other. The
three heard the men inside talking earnestly. Lemrech had made a demand
for five thousand dollars and Flanders tried to cut this amount in half.
“No, sir, it’s five thousand dollars or nothing,” growled Lemrech.
“Isn’t that so, Tex?”
“It sure is! Five thousand!” answered Norris. “And we want it in cold
cash, too! No checks or anything like that!”
“How do you know I’ve got so much cash with me?” demanded Tommy
Flanders’ father.
“Well, I told you to bring cash,” answered Carl Lemrech.
“Let me see the book, so that I know it’s all right,” answered Flanders.
“You’ll pay the five thousand in cash?”
“Yes.”
Carl Lemrech paused for a moment and then, going to a corner of the
cabin, removed a couple of boards in the flooring. From an opening
below he took a heavy tin box. This he unlocked and brought forth a
package wrapped in a newspaper.
“Here’s the book,” he said, as he unwrapped the package. “And I want to
tell you, Flanders, it contains the best formulas for making artists’
paints that I ever heard of. You ought to make a fortune out of these
formulas. You can manufacture those paints for artists in that old
factory up on Flat Rock Creek and very few people will be the wiser.
You can capture the market with that sort of artists’ material.”
The book was passed over to Flanders and he began to study it carefully.
“Seems to be all right,” he said slowly. “Of course, I don’t―― Hello!
what’s that? Give me that book!”
Flanders broke off abruptly, for while he had been looking into the
book of formulas it had suddenly been snatched from his grasp. Turning,
he found himself confronted by Mr. Stevenson.
“This book is mine, Mr. Flanders,” said Ruth’s father coolly.
“Stevenson!” muttered Carl Lemrech, and turned pale.
“A fine piece of business you’re in,” went on Frederic Stevenson.
“About to buy a book of formulas that was stolen by those men from me!”
“Jump him! Get the book away from him!” yelled Tex Norris, and made a
leap forward.
But Frederic Stevenson had anticipated such a move, and as Norris came
on he backed out of the doorway, stuffing the book of formulas into
his pocket.
“Up with your hands, every one of you!” he called sternly, as he
produced a pistol. Then, turning to the boys, he added: “Don’t let any
of them get away.”
All of those in the cabin had come to the doorway, and now they gazed
around in bewilderment to find six young fellows in sight and each
armed with either a shotgun or a rifle.
“I guess you understand the game is up,” said Mr. Stevenson quietly.
“All those young men attend Colby Hall Military Academy and they all
know how to shoot. You’ll be safer if you keep your hands up,” and
thereupon every hand in the cabin doorway was elevated.
It had been a quick victory, and now that it was over Mr. Stevenson
and the boys hardly knew what to do with the three men. In the end,
however, each of them was searched and disarmed, and then each had to
submit to having his hands bound behind him. In this fashion all were
marched down to the lakeshore and made to step into the motor-boat.
“See here, Stevenson, let us settle this matter,” said Mr. Flanders
eagerly. “It’s all a mistake, I tell you. These fellows said you were
trying to do them out of something that rightfully belonged to them.
I’ll give you a thousand dollars to drop the whole matter.”
“Nothing doing, Flanders,” answered Mr. Stevenson briefly. “You can
tell your story to the officers of the law.”
The three men were taken to Beldane where a complaint was lodged by
Ruth’s father. Then Lemrech and Norris were placed in jail, Flanders
being let out on bail.
It may be mentioned here that later on Lemrech and Norris were tried
for the theft of the book of formulas and each received a long term
in prison. Then Tommy Flanders’ father was tried for his part in the
transaction, and it was only by the shrewdness of his lawyers that he
finally managed to escape imprisonment. As it was, many felt that he
was guilty and refused after that to have anything to do with him.
In the meanwhile, Colonel Colby took up the matter concerning the
burning of the boathouse. Tommy Flanders, as well as Paul Halliday and
Billy Sands, were terror stricken when confronted with the evidence
against them. They, however, insisted that the fire had been an
accidental one――that they had simply come to the place to “rough-house”
it and perhaps to damage some of the shells. When the lantern had been
broken and the scattered oil had blazed up, they had become frightened
and run away. Their parents paid for all the damage that had been done
and there the matter rested. None of the three boys returned to the
camp on Big Bear Lake, and Maxwell, Mason and a number of the others
were glad to get rid of them.
“They are altogether too rough for our crowd,” was Ted Maxwell’s
comment. “I wish they would leave Longley Academy.”
After the excitement attending the capture of the three men and
the exposure of Tommy Flanders and his cronies the Rover boys and
their chums put in several weeks more boating and fishing, as well
as hunting. They brought down another wildcat, and Randy had the
satisfaction of bringing in the biggest fish ever caught in the lake.
“Some adventures we’re having,” declared Jack. But still more stirring
times were in store for the boys, and what some of them were will be
related in another volume, to be called, “The Rover Boys Shipwrecked;
Or, A Thrilling Hunt for Pirates’ Gold.”
During those days Jack got another letter from Ruth in which she said
she was very thankful that matters were being straightened out for her
father and her Uncle Barney.
Then one day came a surprise for the boys. Two motor-boats came in
from Beldane and on them were all the girls, accompanied by Mrs.
Stevenson, Mrs. Dick Rover, and Mr. and Mrs. Garrison.
“We’ve come to stay a week!” cried Martha Rover.
“And we expect you to entertain us royally,” came from her cousin Mary.
“We’ll do that, all right enough,” answered Jack quickly, and with his
eyes full on Ruth.
“We’ll give you the best times ever!” exclaimed Fred.
“When you go away you’ll say Big Bear Lake is as nice a spot as you
ever visited,” put in Randy.
“And you’ll want to come here every year,” finished his twin.
And here while the Rover boys and their chums are getting ready to give
the girls a glorious time, we will say good-by.
THE END
_This Isn’t All!_
Would you like to know what became of the good friends you have made in
this book?
Would you like to read other stories continuing their adventures and
experiences, or other books quite as entertaining by the same author?
On the _reverse side_ of the wrapper which comes with this book, you
will find a wonderful list of stories which you can buy at the same
store where you got this book.
_Don’t throw away the Wrapper_
_Use it as a handy catalog of the books you want some day to have.
But in case you do mislay it, write to the Publishers for a complete
catalog._
THE FAMOUS ROVER BOYS SERIES
By ARTHUR M. WINFIELD
(EDWARD STRATEMEYER)
=Beautiful Wrappers in Full Color=
[Illustration]
No stories for boys ever published have attained the tremendous
popularity of this famous series. Since the publication of the first
volume, The Rover Boys at School, some years ago, over three million
copies of these books have been sold. They are well written stories
dealing with the Rover boys in a great many different kinds of
activities and adventures. Each volume holds something of interest to
every adventure loving boy.
A complete list of titles is printed on the opposite page.
FAMOUS ROVER BOYS SERIES
BY ARTHUR M. WINFIELD
(Edward Stratemeyer)
OVER THREE MILLION COPIES SOLD OF THIS SERIES.
=Uniform Style of Binding. Colored Wrappers.=
=Every Volume Complete in Itself.=
THE ROVER BOYS AT SCHOOL
THE ROVER BOYS ON THE OCEAN
THE ROVER BOYS IN THE JUNGLE
THE ROVER BOYS OUT WEST
THE ROVER BOYS ON THE GREAT LAKES
THE ROVER BOYS IN THE MOUNTAINS
THE ROVER BOYS ON LAND AND SEA
THE ROVER BOYS IN CAMP
THE ROVER BOYS ON THE RIVER
THE ROVER BOYS ON THE PLAINS
THE ROVER BOYS IN SOUTHERN WATERS
THE ROVER BOYS ON THE FARM
THE ROVER BOYS ON TREASURE ISLE
THE ROVER BOYS AT COLLEGE
THE ROVER BOYS DOWN EAST
THE ROVER BOYS IN THE AIR
THE ROVER BOYS IN NEW YORK
THE ROVER BOYS IN ALASKA
THE ROVER BOYS IN BUSINESS
THE ROVER BOYS ON A TOUR
THE ROVER BOYS AT COLBY HALL
THE ROVER BOYS ON SNOWSHOE ISLAND
THE ROVER BOYS UNDER CANVAS
THE ROVER BOYS ON A HUNT
THE ROVER BOYS IN THE LAND OF LUCK
THE ROVER BOYS AT BIG HORN RANCH
THE ROVER BOYS AT BIG BEAR LAKE
THE ROVER BOYS SHIPWRECKED
THE ROVER BOYS ON SUNSET TRAIL
THE ROVER BOYS WINNING A FORTUNE
GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
WESTERN STORIES FOR BOYS
By JAMES CODY FERRIS
=Individual Colored Wrappers and Illustrations by=
=WALTER S. ROGERS=
=Each Volume Complete in Itself.=
Thrilling tales of the great west, told primarily for boys but which
will be read by all who love mystery, rapid action, and adventures in
the great open spaces.
The Manly Boys, Roy and Teddy, are the sons of an old ranchman, the
owner of many thousands of heads of cattle. The lads know how to ride,
how to shoot, and how to take care of themselves under any and all
circumstances.
The cowboys of the X Bar X Ranch are real cowboys, on the job when
required but full of fun and daring――a bunch any reader will be
delighted to know.
THE X BAR X BOYS ON THE RANCH
THE X BAR X BOYS IN THUNDER CANYON
THE X BAR X BOYS ON WHIRLPOOL RIVER
THE X BAR X BOYS ON BIG BISON TRAIL
THE X BAR X BOYS AT THE ROUND-UP
THE X BAR X BOYS AT NUGGET CAMP
THE X BAR X BOYS AT RUSTLER’S GAP
THE X BAR X BOYS AT GRIZZLY PASS
THE X BAR X BOYS LOST IN THE ROCKIES
GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
Transcriber’s Notes:
――Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_); text in
bold by “equal” signs (=bold=).
――Printer’s, punctuation and spelling inaccuracies were silently
corrected.
――Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved.
――Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved.