The Black Shadow
Losing his temper for the moment, Kent launched two heavy kicks against
the door of the quarry shed. The sound boomed out across the big cleared
space, and the boys listened expectantly, hoping that this vigorous
summons would bring results. But no answer came to them.
“Let’s break in,” Kent proposed. “We can’t freeze to death out in the
open, and besides that, I’d like to tell that man inside what I think of
him. We can crash that door down.”
For a moment Barry was swayed by the idea. It seemed to them as though
they had been cold and lost for ages, and the prospect of warmth and
shelter from the driving wind was alluring. But as he considered it, he
shook his head.
“I don’t think we ought to, Kent. For some reason that we don’t know,
whoever went into the shed is hiding. That shows he is up to no good.
Such a person may have a gun on him, and if we break in, we may get
shot.”
“I suppose you’re right, but I do want to have a few words with that
fellow. No matter who he is or what he is up to, he could at least shout
out directions. What are we going to do? Wait awhile until he comes
sneaking out?”
“We could do that. We could hide and watch the place and then go into it
when he comes out. But look here, isn’t this quarry familiar to you?
Isn’t it the one we can see from the lodge?”
Kent looked around, impatiently brushing the snow from his collar. “I
don’t know. All quarries look the same, especially in a storm.”
“I know it, but how many quarries are there near the lodge? Only one
that I know of, and we can see that one from the place.”
“If that is true,” said Kent, thoughtfully, “we have just wandered
around in a big circle and come around in back of the lodge instead of
approaching it from the side. By golly, we may be almost home!”
“I wouldn’t be surprised.” Barry pointed through a gap formed by the
quarry and the dark, snow-laden trees of the forest. “The lodge would be
in that direction, wouldn’t it?”
“I think so. Shall we hike that way?”
“Yes, let’s go. No use standing around here.”
“But suppose we’re wrong? We ought to try and get back here and break
into this little building. We might wander until we’re exhausted, drop
and then freeze. More than one hunter has done that, you know.”
“If we find we’re wrong, we’ll try and make our way back here,” Barry
said. “But I just have a hunch that the lodge lies in that direction.
We’ll try it.”
Spurred on by the faint hope that they might be somewhere near their
camp, the boys hurried out of the bowl of the quarry and once more
plunged into the woods. They found that their feet had become numb from
standing, and they winced as they began their journey. The wind was
still sharp, but the snowflakes had thinned out and the storm was
obviously letting up. There had been considerable snow, however, and
their feet sank deep into it as they traveled on.
“I believe that the storm is letting up,” Barry said, as they tramped
on, heads down and faces bent to escape the bite of the wind.
“That will be a help,” Kent acknowledged. “But isn’t this cold intense?
I’d give something to be out of this wind and to get my feet warm. I
don’t want to kick a rock or a tree root, for fear of knocking a couple
of toes off!”
“When we get up to the top of this slope, we may be able to see our way
and figure out where we are,” Barry consoled.
“We’ve had mighty bad luck,” Kent said. “We haven’t come across a single
home, and there are some in these mountains, but our wanderings have
taken us away from them.”
“Yes, if we had run across a house, we could have put up for the night.
We may do so yet. Well, in a few minutes we can see something.”
Toiling on up the slope, they came at last to a break in the timber, and
their anxious eyes scanned the dark landscape for any signs that might
guide them. Then Barry pointed.
“I wonder if that is a light off there? It’s pretty small and still some
distance away. What do you think?”
“Looks like a light to me. We might as well go in that direction and
see. It is as good as walking around blindly.”
They set off at a faster pace, and soon there could be no doubt that a
light of some kind was before them. The confirmation of their hope
caused their spirits to rise rapidly.
“It is either our camp or some house,” Barry said, as he walked on with
a new vigor in his stride. “Whichever it is, it means warmth for us.”
“I hope it is the camp, but if it isn’t, a house will be all right,”
observed Kent. “Unless the people there are like the man who hid in the
quarry shed.”
“We won’t find many like that, thank goodness,” Barry remarked.
For a short distance they lost sight of the light as they crossed a low
section of ground where many bushes grew, and then when they once more
came out on high ground a joyous shout burst from Kent. “It is the
lodge!” he shouted. “Hurrah, we’re located at last. See the old cabin
over there, beside it?”
“Yes, there is no doubt of it,” agreed Barry, thankfully. “Boy, does
that place look good to me! Before long we’ll be hugging the fire!”
“We’ll give it a big bear hug,” Kent promised. “Gosh, I am glad to be
back safely. Things looked black for us for a while.”
“They certainly did,” Barry agreed, soberly. “Too bad we didn’t bring
the sled on with us, but we just didn’t know.”
“It’s all right,” Kent assured him. “With this depth of snow on the
ground it was hard to pull the sled, and we have made better time
without it. I believe we can find our way back to the place where we
left it.”
“So do I. We’ve got to get Mac’s sausage for him! To say nothing of our
oil and the other things on the sled.”
Their spirits were climbing with every step, and now that the cold
adventure was about over with, they felt strength and confidence
returning. With the knowledge that they would soon be reunited with the
boys in the lodge, they were beginning to forget the suffering and
anxiety of their wandering in the storm.
They approached the lodge from the timber that grew close to the back of
it, and as they drew nearer, they heard three loud thumps.
“The boys must be nailing something on the walls,” Barry remarked.
“I’m glad they left that lamp in the window,” Kent observed. “It has
been a life-saver for us.”
“Here comes one of them around the house,” Barry exclaimed. “I wonder
what he is doing?”
The returning travelers were just on the point of leaving the shelter of
the trees and crossing the open space to the lodge when the appearance
of someone from the porch stopped them. A figure in black raced along
the side of the lodge and crouched near the window where the lamp stood.
At the same time the lamp was taken away and the boys in the woods saw
Tim’s face briefly through the window.
“Say, that’s not Tim or Mac!” Barry cried, in a low tone, as they stood
and looked at the black shadow stooping beneath the window. “The boys
are in the house! Something is going on here!”
“Something funny, too,” Kent quivered. “Want to tackle that fellow by
the window?”
Before Barry could answer, the black shadow straightened up and ran to
the back of the lodge, disappearing in the tool house. The man seemed to
have a long overcoat on, and he was a weird sight as he fled with long,
loping strides to the tool house. Barry grasped Kent’s arm.
“Kent, that’s the spook of this lodge!”
“Sure thing!” his companion breathed. “We’ve got to get him!”
“Listen,” proposed Barry, rapidly. “You sprint for the lodge and get the
twins. Bring the guns with you. I’m going to watch that tool house so
that the man doesn’t get out and give us the slip. Step to it!”
Kent needed no urging. He was a little too stiff to run well, but he did
the best he knew how and covered the distance from the woods to the
lodge in fairly good time. The porch creaked as he ran across it, and he
threw open the front door without ceremony. Then he received a surprise
as he came face to face with the twins.
They were standing in the cold hall, and Tim held the lamp, which Mac
had just lighted. The poker was on the floor at Mac’s feet, and they
turned with startled faces as Kent dashed in at the door. Then Tim’s
face darkened with anger.
“Oh, it was you fellows, after all,” he began, with some heat. But Kent
interrupted him.
“It was like fun! There is a man hiding in the tool house. We saw him
run around the lodge. Get the rifles and come on! Barry is watching the
tool shed!”
The twins lost no time. Mac forgot about the poker and ran into the
living room, returning with the rifles and his hat and Tim’s.
“How about the lamp?” Tim asked, as he seized his hat.
“Leave it here,” Kent returned, curtly. “I have my flashlight. Come on!”
They raced across the front porch and jumped into the snow, the twins
shivering with cold as they came in contact with the outside air. Barry
had moved in from the timber and was standing near the back porch. Mac
tossed him his rifle, which he caught on the run. Tim had taken the
poker, and Kent had his rifle. Mac alone was not armed, but Kent passed
the flashlight to him.
“He’s still in there,” Barry told them, as they stopped outside the
door. “I haven’t taken my eyes off of the place since you left, and he
hasn’t come out. Turn on the light, whoever has it.”
Mac pressed the button, and the beam of light showed the door. Barry
wasted no time in summoning the one who was inside. With his rifle held
forward he pushed the door of the tool house. Kent was close to him, and
Tim brought up in the rear.
They were all excited and a trifle scared, but the general feeling was
that the black shadow should be captured at once. Under Barry’s push the
door yielded slightly, and it was evident that it was not locked. He
gave it a stronger push, and it rushed back against the wall with a
crash. The light from the flash swept into the shed.
Their nerves were tense and eyes strained as they looked about the tool
house. And it was Barry who voiced the conviction of all of them:
“He got away! There’s no one in the place!”