THE MYSTERY GROWS DEEPER
“Why, it’s gone!” muttered Dick, immediately afterwards, for the object
that he had seen so dimly had now vanished.
He stepped over to the red ashes and threw on some small stuff that,
taking fire immediately, blazed up brightly and allowed him to see much
better.
“I wonder if it slipped into those bushes, or went around another way?”
he asked himself.
Was it one of the campers he had seen slipping along in a bent-over
attitude, or could it have been a shadow moving? Dick’s heart was
thumping against his ribs, for he was more or less excited over the
occurrence, especially after what had happened on the preceding night.
[Illustration: “WHY, IT’S GONE!” MUTTERED DICK.]
“I’d like to see if anybody is missing from his blanket,” he continued
to mutter, “but to do that I’d have to wake the whole bunch up, and
there would be the mischief to pay. Perhaps I fooled myself after all,
and just imagined I was seeing things.”
So concluding to let the matter rest until morning came, Dick proceeded
to toss a couple of big pine-knots, that would burn for several hours,
on the fire. Then he glanced dubiously around him once more, after
which he returned to his blanket.
But not to sleep immediately, for his brain was too excited for that.
Indeed, the boy lay there, turning from side to side, until the morning
star had arisen above the horizon and shone in upon him, which fact
announced that it was three o’clock.
After that his tired brain allowed him to forget his troubles for a
time; and when he opened his eyes again the first peep of dawn had come.
Dick crawled softly out and proceeded to get into some clothes. There
was no need of arousing everybody in the camp at such an early hour,
and he knew very well that if he chanced to awaken some of the noisy
ones there would be no further peace until the last sleeper had been
dislodged.
He was building up the fire a little later when Leslie appeared in his
pajamas, stretching himself, having evidently just awakened.
“Always the first to be on deck, Dick; there’s no getting ahead of
you,” he said. And then he added: “But why are you looking over our
cooking outfit that way? Peg made sure to hide the aluminum kettle he
brought along, if that’s what you miss. He said it was bad enough to
lose his frying-pan without having the kettle follow it.”
“I had forgotten,” remarked Dick, relieved, and it was evident that he
had feared the unknown thief had paid the camp another of his nocturnal
visits.
“Looks as if we might have another good day,” continued Leslie, as he
began to change from his pajamas to his “work clothes,” as he called
the old suit he had been wise enough to wear on this outing.
“I certainly hope we shall have a bright day,” Dick observed, “because
Mr. Rowland has a programme laid out that fills in the whole of it for
everybody.”
“I can see that they mean the boys sha’n’t rust out while we’re up here
on Bass Island,” chuckled Leslie. “They believe with the ant that every
shining hour ought to be improved, because there’s always lots to do.”
“Oh! it isn’t that alone,” he was told, calmly. “As Mr. Holwell says,
boys have just got to be doing something all the time or they’ll think
up mischief; so it’s policy to chain that restlessness to good works.
Most of us seem to like it first-rate in the bargain.”
“Haven’t heard the first whine so far,” admitted Leslie. “Those boys
from the mill are certainly doing great stunts. They never had a chance
before really to camp out decently, with plenty to eat along. And then
there’s Nat and his cronies behaving like human beings for once, though
I shouldn’t be surprised if they did manage to break out before we get
home again.”
“Let’s hope not,” said Dick.
Several other boys now made their appearance. They were not in the
habit of getting out of bed at such an early hour at home; but in
camp the surroundings were so entirely different that they could not
get to sleep again, once they opened their eyes at daybreak and heard
whispering going on outside. Besides, they expected the bugle to sound
at any minute now.
Then again with some of them it was a case of hunger, for those
terrible appetites had taken complete possession of them, and hardly
had they disposed of one meal than they began to talk of what they
would like to have for the next one.
Eddie Grant and Ban Jansen, being the assistant cooks for the morning,
were soon helping Sunny Jim. Peg hovered near them, having first of all
hastened to where he had secreted his aluminum kettle which he brought
back to the kitchen department with considerable satisfaction, if the
grin on his face meant anything.
“Gave us the go-by last night, it seems, Dick,” he observed, as he
flourished the shiny article in which their rice had been cooked on the
preceding night.
“I hope we won’t be troubled any more by having our things disappear,”
was all Dick remarked, for somehow he did not feel altogether certain
that the crisis had passed by.
Just then the loud notes of the bugle sounded, for Harry Bartlett had
practised the various army calls and had them down to perfection, from
the “reveille” to the “assembly” and “taps.”
Once again the boys went through the customary manual drill, while Mr.
Holwell, ready for his morning bath, stood and watched the display with
considerable interest.
“I can see that you mean your boys shall get the full benefit of their
outing up here, Mr. Rowland,” he told the athletic trainer as all
started down to the brim of the lake to enjoy a brief plunge. “I can
easily understand now what wonderful benefit any lad is sure to get
from a few weeks spent in one of the many Y. M. C. A. camps spread all
over this broad land, especially if they are being conducted on the
same principles you and Mr. Bartlett have instituted here.”
“Oh! this is only a very small edition, sir,” laughed the other, who
had had considerable experience in Y. M. C. A. camps. “I’ve been in
camps where there were as many as a hundred and fifty boys and young
fellows coming and going all summer.”
“When you have time,” said the minister, eagerly, “I wish you would
tell me more about how these wonderful camps are conducted. As you say
our attempt is only a small beginning, but if all goes well next season
we can have this camp running for two months. Mr. Nocker has become
greatly interested in the matter, and offers to erect a few buildings
up here, such as an ice-house, a dining hall, and the like, though
tents would still be used for sleeping purposes.”
“I am delighted to hear that, sir,” said the athletic instructor,
warmly. “From what I have seen I believe this to be one of the finest
movements ever started to give boys the right kind of outdoor life
under clean and religious surroundings. They can have all the fun
necessary, and at the same time build up both their bodies and their
minds in a healthy fashion. Now if you will watch I can show you some
of the work of our life-saving corps. You will see that with such
well-trained helpers there will be no danger of even the most timid or
awkward bather incurring any risk of losing his life.”
Mr. Holwell was deeply interested.
“Tell me more about the life-saving crew, and what requirements they
must be able to meet before they are fully qualified to serve as
members in good standing,” he asked the athletic director, as they
stood, after coming out of the water themselves, watching all that went
on.
“I shall do so with pleasure,” replied the other, his eyes sparkling.
Truth to tell, that was the very thing he took the keenest interest
in. “You see the crew in one of the big Y. M. C. A. camps is really an
auxiliary branch of the United States Volunteer Life-saving Corps. To
become a member a boy must pass through a stiff test. This consists of
swimming one hundred yards, using three different strokes; swimming
on the back without the use of his hands; swimming one hundred yards,
starting with his clothes on, and removing them while doing it; diving
into water about eight feet deep for a ten-pound rock, and bringing it
to shore; knowing how to handle a boat, and being familiar with its
different parts, as well as tying various sailor knots.”
Mr. Holwell looked surprised.
“Quite an education in itself, I should say,” he remarked.
“Oh! that is only a beginning,” continued the other. “The candidate
must show himself capable of rescuing a drowning person, and must
actually carry him to safety. He must be able to break a ‘death-grip’
so as to be in a position to keep himself from being dragged down by a
frantic victim of cramps. He must also know the best way to resuscitate
a person who has apparently been drowned. When a young fellow can pass
this strict examination with flying colors he receives a certificate
from headquarters, and is entitled to wear the official badge.”
“And that whistle which you have just given three times, calling the
boys up out of the water--does that stand for anything in particular?”
asked the minister, as the entire party hurried to their tents to rub
down and dress.
“Yes, indeed, sir,” he was told. “That is the emergency whistle when
we are in camp. Whenever it is sounded every life-saver runs for the
shore, ready for business. It is on this account that scores of big
camps are held every summer without a single drowning. Parents may feel
perfectly safe in allowing their boys to spend a term at such well
protected camps.”
“I shall never hear three blasts from a whistle again,” said Mr.
Holwell, “but that I shall think of this time up here.”
“Indeed, sir,” continued Mr. Rowland, “I understand that some of the
young volunteer life-savers on returning to the city after a summer
in the woods, confess to having a shock whenever they hear a whistle.
When the emergency call sounds, no matter whether in the midst of the
swimming hour or at dead of night, the rule is to drop everything and
run.”
Dick had noticed that Asa Gardner seemed to be enjoying himself
greatly when in the water. He was turning out to be a clever swimmer.
Evidently, the boy had included this in his programme when he decided
to take all the open air exercise he could. Dick mentioned the fact to
Peg while they were dressing as fast as they could, urged on to speed
by the odor of breakfast that was in the air.
“Why, yes,” the other boy remarked, immediately, “that fellow acts as
if he had sprung from a fish family.”
“What makes you say that?” demanded Dick, smiling at the same time on
account of the queer way Peg had of describing things.
“Oh! only that he seems to go fairly wild when he gets in the lake,”
was the reply. “Eddie Grant says he really believes Asa can stay under
water longer than any fellow he ever knew. And did you see him dive
off that high tree stump overhanging the edge of the deep hole? He
turned a complete somersault in the air, and struck the water as clean
as a knife. Mr. Rowland complimented him on his feat, though he also
cautioned Asa to be careful not to overdo it.”
“Yes, Asa is improving right along,” confessed Dick. At the same time
he could not help wondering deep down in his mind whether the strange
boy could be as successful in overcoming his one terrible fault as he
seemed to be in regaining his health. For somehow Dick could not quite
forget about the shadowy figure that had vanished from his sight on
the preceding night, not far from the tent where he knew Asa had been
quartered.
“I never thought he had it in him,” admitted Peg; “but I’m ready to say
Asa is beginning to pick up considerably, and show the stuff he’s made
of.”
It was kind of Peg to say that, for, truth to tell, as Dick well knew,
the other had had good reasons in the past for looking on the lonely
boy with anything but friendly feelings. But then Peg could never hold
anything against another who showed signs of being sorry for faults.
Peg believed in giving every one a second, yes, even a third, chance to
make amends.
After finishing his dressing and coming outside again, Dick looked
toward the tent which Mr. Holwell occupied. He knew the minister must
be dressing, for he had seen him peer out once. Perhaps he was shaving,
for he had laughingly said on the previous night that he hoped they
did not have any iron-bound rules in the camp prohibiting brushing the
hair, or using a razor during the whole stay, such as he had heard was
the case with some outing parties.
Just then Dan came along, and stopped to exchange a few words with Dick.
“To-morrow being Sunday, I expect we’ll be pretty quiet up here,” he
observed; “so we ought to do all we can to-day. The fellows who go
fishing will have to try to get a double quantity, if we think to have
a course dinner to-morrow. I’m one of the six selected by Mr. Bartlett
to go over to that farm we heard about. If we can buy a few chickens or
ducks or anything in that line, don’t you think we’d better go prepared
to dicker?”
“Not a bad scheme, Dan,” Dick told him. “And don’t forget that while
there are just twenty-one of us all told, besides Mr. Holwell, Mr.
Bartlett and our physical director, we’ve got the storage capacity of
twice that number.”
“Oh! we’ll take on all the supplies we can stagger under, make up your
mind to that, Dick. But here comes Mr. Holwell straight this way, and,
tell me, doesn’t he look kind of queer? I wonder if anything could have
happened to _him_ in the night.”
Dick almost held his breath as the minister hurriedly drew near them.
“A ridiculous thing has happened to me, Dick,” remarked the minister,
as he reached them. “The very first night I’m in camp I have been
guilty of the fault of carelessness. To tell you the truth, I am unable
to find my gold watch this morning, though Harry Bartlett thinks I
wound it up as usual, and hung my vest upon a nail driven part way into
the tent pole.”
Dick felt as though a cold hand had clutched his heart. He and Peg
exchanged anxious looks, but before either of them could say a word
Mr. Holwell went on.
“I wouldn’t care so much, you understand, boys, only it was presented
to me years ago by my people in a church of which I formerly had
charge, and consequently I value it many times over its intrinsic
worth. But, of course, I have mislaid it. I’ll go back once more and
turn things over. The chances are I’ll find it where I placed it. On
account of my strange quarters and having no regular spot for it, I
must have dropped it down at random and don’t know just where.”