Transcriber’s Note
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[Illustration:
“I have a feeling that we’ll never be bothered with them again,” said
Buck.
(_Page 234_) (_In the Camp of the Black Rider_)
]
IN THE CAMP
OF THE
BLACK RIDER
By CAPWELL WYCKOFF
AUTHOR _of_
“The Mercer Boys Series,” “The Secret of
the Armor Room,” etc.
[Illustration: Decoration]
A. L. BURT COMPANY
_PUBLISHERS_
New York Chicago
Printed in U. S. A.
ADVENTURE AND MYSTERY SERIES FOR BOYS
12 TO 16 YEARS OF AGE
=Tom Blake’s Mysterious Adventure.= By Milton Richards.
=Barry Dare and the Mysterious Box.= By Gardner Hunting.
=The Black Skimmer.= By Philip Hart.
=The Wreck of the Dauntless.= By Philip Hart.
=The Valdmere Mystery.= By Milton Richards.
=The Flight of the Mystic Owls.= By Philip Hart.
=The Secret of the Armor Boom.= By Capwell Wyckoff.
=Adventures of a Patriot.= By Philip Hart.
=Donald Price’s Victory.= By L. P. Wyman.
=The Mystery of Eagle Lake.= By L. P. Wyman.
=In the Camp of the Black Rider.= By Capwell Wyckoff.
=The Mystery at lake Retreat.= By Capwell Wyckoff.
Copyright, 1931
By A. L. BURT COMPANY
IN THE CAMP OF THE BLACK RIDER
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. TED TAKES A POST 5
II. IN THE CAMP OF THE BLACK RIDERS 16
III. FOLLOWING THE LIGHT 26
IV. A STARTLING SIGHT 33
V. SETTING UP CAMP 44
VI. A PROWLER IN THE NIGHT 56
VII. WEIRD SOUNDS 66
VIII. A GRIM FIND EXPLODED 76
IX. TED LAYS DOWN THE LAW 88
X. MOUNTAIN CHASE 99
XI. THE LONE LIGHT 110
XII. HEAVEN’S ARTILLERY 119
XIII. BUCK MAKES A DISCOVERY 129
XIV. THE STORY OF THE BLACK RIDERS 140
XV. MUTINY 152
XVI. THINGS ARE SETTLED MAN-FASHION 165
XVII. BUCK’S SQUAD TAKES THE FIELD 177
XVIII. AN UNEASY CAMP 188
XIX. DRUMMER SAVES HIS CHIEF 198
XX. A VISIT TO HOGS’ HOLLOW 210
XXI. THE WATCHING POST 220
XXII. GHOST MEETS GHOST 229
XXIII. A GAME OF NICKY NIGHT 238
XXIV. MYSTERIES ARE CLEARED UP 249
IN THE CAMP OF THE BLACK RIDER
CHAPTER I
TED TAKES A POST
The noon whistles blew in the little inland town of Ridgefield and the
sound, flung from many a hoarse factory siren, reached the ears of the
few men who worked at piling lumber in Thorn’s Lumber and Millwork
Company yard. The work of the men was instantly suspended and most of
them walked off to look into well-filled lunch pails. A few, fortunate
enough to live close by, started off for their homes.
At the first sound of the whistles two clean-cut young fellows at
the far end of the yard had just lifted a long plank, preparatory to
tossing it on a towering pile beside them. They looked smilingly at
each other as the whistles, joined by others, increased in volume of
sound.
“That’s what we have been listening for!” smiled Ted Thorn, son of the
owner of the lumber yard.
“Be careful!” warned Buck Dalton, his constant companion and devoted
chum. “You will come under the heading of a whistle-listener! That’s
the next worse thing to being a clockwatcher!”
“Can’t help it,” grinned Ted. “My stomach has been listening for that
sound for some time past.”
“Mine has, too,” confessed Buck. “Let’s heave this last board up.”
With a concerted heave they sent the long board flying upward to the
top of the pile and then, after washing at the nearby faucet, they set
off for home and the noon meal. It was a noontime in late July and as
they walked along they talked of summer plans.
“I hope we can get in some camping before long,” Ted said, as they
turned down the shady street upon which they both lived. “We’ve made a
little extra money this summer so far and we’re in fine shape for the
football season this year. I think that it is time we knocked off our
work and figured on a little camping trip.”
“I agree with you on that,” nodded Buck. “I’m just about ready for a
good outdoor trip and a few weeks under canvas. There is nothing I like
as well as the woods and a tent.”
“That, and a fire which glows a dull red,” cried Ted, his eyes shining.
“You bet! Well, here’s your gate, so the best of friends must part. See
you after dinner.”
Ted Thorn went into the plain old house while Buckley Dalton continued
on his way to a house a little way further along the street. These two
boys had been loyal comrades since they had been old enough to play
together. Ted was the son of the owner of the local lumber yard, a man
of quiet personality and moderate means, who was wrapped up in the
lives of his two children and his wife. Ted’s sister Dorothy was one
year his junior and his companion of more than one good time in the
events of the local school. The household was a happy one and in such
an atmosphere Ted had grown up to be a clean-cut, manly fellow, now
eighteen, and about to enter upon the last year at the local academy.
Buck was Ted’s age and was a worthy companion, a fun-loving fellow who
was honest and generous to the core. In physical proportions he passed
Ted, weighing a few pounds more and being gifted with a wider span of
shoulders. Both of the boys had been working throughout the summer
at Ted’s father’s lumber yard, to store up a little money to their
accounts at the bank and to keep themselves in trim for the coming
football season. On the Ridgefield Academy team Buck played fullback
and Ted had been for the past two years the quarterback of the team. It
was the intention of the boys to work at least a month or more and then
to spend some time during the summer on a camping trip, to round off
their summer training in that way. Now, with August near at hand, they
were beginning to think more seriously of the trip into the woods.
Ted entered the house quickly and washed up, after which he reported
to the dining room table. His father and mother were there, though
his sister was visiting at another house. With all the evidence of a
healthy appetite Ted attacked the food which his mother placed before
him.
“The foreman tells me that you and Buck are becoming first class men,”
his father, a middle-aged man with heavy gray hair, told him.
“Glad to hear that,” Ted smiled. “When we first started to work at
the yard it seemed that all we could do was to collect sore hands and
blisters! I guess that after we finish at the academy you may be able
to hire us for good, Dad!”
“I shouldn’t wonder if you might be able to do something else beside
pile lumber, after you graduate from the academy,” returned his father.
“Hope so,” his son said. “Pretty soon we’ll have to pick out a
preparatory school or college for me, won’t we Dad?”
“In another six months,” his father nodded, deriving pleasure from the
thought. The fact that Ted was going to college outweighed the thought
of personal expense with Mr. Thorn.
“Ted, there was a telephone call for you today,” his mother, a fine
looking, sweet-faced woman, put in. “Mr. Calvert called up and left a
message for you.”
“Mr. Calvert?” frowned Ted. “Let’s see, he’s the president of the Boys’
Club of the town, isn’t he?”
“Yes, and also a prominent lawyer,” replied his father. “I wonder what
he wants you for?”
“Can’t guess,” Ted shook his head. “What message did he leave, Mother?”
“He asked to tell you to get in touch with him as soon as possible,”
she replied.
“All right, I will. I suppose I had better go to his house this
evening.”
“Go to his office this afternoon,” his father said. “It may be
something important and there is no use keeping Mr. Calvert waiting. I
guess the lumber yard can spare you for a little while.”
“I guess you won’t lose any money while I’m gone,” grinned Ted.
“All right, I’ll call him and make an appointment with him for this
afternoon.”
After the noon meal Ted called up the lawyer and made an appointment
with him for an early hour. He then went out to the gate and waited
for Buck to come by. In a few moments his chum came swinging along the
street.
“Come on, back to the field of battle,” he called, gaily.
“You go ahead,” Ted advised him. “I won’t be over there right away.
I’ve got an appointment with Lawyer Calvert.”
They discussed the item for a few moments before they parted. “He must
want you for something pretty important,” Buck thought. “Maybe he wants
you to work for him during the rest of the summer.”
“If that is what he wants, he won’t get it,” Ted shook his head. “I’m
going camping with you, Buck old boy.”
“Well, don’t be foolish about that,” Buck advised. “We can go camping
some other time, you know, and Mr. Calvert doesn’t offer jobs every
day.”
“We’re getting a bit ahead of the game,” Ted smiled. “We don’t know yet
what he does want. I’ll see you later in the day and tell you all about
it.”
Buck went on the way returning to his work in the lumber yard, while
Ted waited until it was time to go downtown to see the lawyer. Promptly
at the appointed hour he reported at the office of Mr. Calvert and
after his name had been sent in, he was admitted to the presence of the
man.
Ted had seen Mr. Calvert before but he was not personally acquainted
with him. The lawyer was a fine, upstanding man, a power in the little
community, and a great lover of boys and their activities. Ted was a
little surprised when the handsome, middle-aged lawyer got up from his
deep leather chair and smilingly shook hands with him.
“How do you do, Thorn!” he asked, giving Ted a hearty pressure of the
hand. “I’m glad you found the opportunity to drop in and visit me. I
suppose you have no idea why I sent for you!”
“None at all, sir,” Ted confessed.
“Take a seat,” the lawyer directed, and when Ted had seated himself
opposite him the man went straight to the point.
“Thorn, you know that I am president of the Boys’ Club of this town, an
organization of young fellows numbering about twenty young fellows, all
pretty wide-awake boys who are banding their activities together and
learning some pretty useful things in life. These boys are younger than
you are and that is the reason that you and some of your particular
friends have never been asked to join. Well, the time has come when
these boys are asking for a regular summer camping trip, and the
officers of the club have agreed that the boys shall have a month of
camping life this year, under the direction of the club. We want some
one trustworthy to take these boys off on a camping trip and take care
of them, and we feel that we couldn’t get a better leader than you.”
Ted’s face flushed with pleasure but he hesitated, questions surging
in his mind. “That’s a very kind thought, Mr. Calvert,” he said. “But
don’t you think I am a little young?”
“No, I don’t, and besides, you’d have help. We know that you travel
constantly in the company of Buckley Dalton and if you accept the post,
we want your comrade to go with you. Between the two of you, you’d have
no trouble in handling the boys. You speak of being young. Well, we
wouldn’t consider anyone as young as you are unless he was the power
among younger fellows that you are. For the past two years you have
been quarterback on the academy team, and the boys in the club have
looked at you with eyes of worship! Your clean playing, your clear head
work on the field, has captured their imagination so that they will hop
with joy when they are told that you will lead the camping trip. We
propose to pay you and Buck a small salary for your work. How about it,
Thorn?”
“On one condition,” said Ted, instantly.
“What is that?” Calvert asked.
“That you withdraw what you said about the salary. Buck and I were
planning to go for a camping trip very soon and this plan which you
propose would simply be a bigger trip than we had planned. If you pay
all expenses for food, as I suppose you will, that will be enough.”
“Nonsense, Thorn! If we hired a professional man, we’d have to pay
him,” the lawyer said.
“Yes, but we’re not professionals. Buck and I have camped before,
and this trip will be a new experience for us. Now, if our food and
equipment is to be furnished, Buck and I will be saving, and that will
be plenty as it is. How do you know that we’ll make a success of it?”
“The men in this town notice a thing or two, Thorn,” was the quiet
answer.
“This is something new,” Ted said. “But we’ll try it—with no salary! I
think we’ll both feel more like doing the job right if we do it for the
benefit of the club and the boys, than if we do it because we are paid
for it. The Boys’ Club is a fine institution, and Buck and I will be
glad to help it along.”
“I appreciate your good spirit,” smiled the lawyer. “I am glad that we
are able to get leaders like you two. And now I want to speak to you
about the camping site.”
“I was wondering where the camp would be,” Ted nodded.
“Have you ever heard of Black Riders’ Camp?” the lawyer asked.
Ted considered. “That is the place where a number of patriots used to
meet in a band at the time of the Revolutionary War, isn’t it?”
Mr. Calvert nodded. “Yes. This state played a big part in the
Revolution and a band of mounted men, known as the Black Riders, used
to meet in a camp near here and sally forth to worry the British all
over the countryside. That camp is now owned by the members of the
Boys’ Club Trustee Board, and it is on that spot that we wish the
camp to be pitched. A large and beautiful stream of water, called
Bear Creek, runs through the hollow where the camp was, there is an
excellent natural swimming hole, and all in all the spot is ideal,
except in one particular.”
“What is that?” Ted asked.
“Unfortunately,” replied Mr. Calvert slowly. “The camp of the Black
Riders is said to be a haunted spot!”