TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT
Dick knew it would not come out that way. He seemed to “feel it in
his bones” as he told Leslie afterwards, that the terrible mystery
with which they had been confronted on their first night in camp, was
closing around them with even a tighter grip.
When Mr. Holwell had left them to hasten back to his tent Dick and Dan
looked at one another with blank expressions on their faces.
“Whew!” gasped the latter. “Say, Dick, this is what I call piling it on
thick.”
“It begins to look like a bad business I must admit,” returned the
other, trying to grasp the situation fully.
“All these things couldn’t just happen by _accident_, you see,”
continued Dan, as if arguing with himself. “Mr. Holwell is a careful
man, and wouldn’t be guilty of leaving so valuable a watch around
loose, so it could be mixed up with the bed clothes in his tent. I tell
you we’re up against a real old-fashioned mystery, and no mistake.”
“There’s something queer going on around this camp, for a fact,” said
Dick, and taking advantage of the fact that they were alone for a brief
time he confided to Dan what he had seen during the night on coming
suddenly out of his tent.
The other was deeply impressed by the story. His eyes grew round with
wonder and curiosity.
“Let’s go over to Mr. Holwell’s tent and see if we can help him hunt,”
he proposed presently. “I used to be a master-hand at finding lost
things, and mebbe my luck may hold good in this case.”
“I certainly hope it will, Dan. Nothing would tickle me more than to
have you unearth that watch somewhere in his tent. All the same I don’t
believe it can be done.”
“Well, there’s no use crying over spilt milk, anyhow,” said Dan with
philosophy.
When the two boys reached the minister’s tent they met Mr. Holwell,
accompanied by Mr. Bartlett and Mr. Rowland, coming out. The
minister looked a little grave and deeply puzzled, though on seeing
the expression of anxiety on the faces of the two lads he smiled
encouragingly.
“We haven’t been able to find it so far, boys,” he remarked. “Suppose
you step in and root around a bit. Young eyes are sharper than older
ones. I hope it turns up, because I should very much dislike to lose
anything that was endeared to me by so many precious memories.”
Although Dick and Dan turned everything upside-down, they failed to
discover any sign of the lost watch. Breakfast was soon announced and
they were forced to abandon the search.
Some of the other boys had noticed that something unusual had happened.
The doings of Dick and Dan had struck them as suspicious, especially
after their previous experience.
Accordingly, Harry Bartlett, knowing that there was no use of trying
to keep things secret, announced the new catastrophe that had befallen
Russabaga Camp. It came like a thunderbolt upon the assembled boys, who
exchanged puzzled and anxious looks, as though a great fear had fallen
upon them.
Conversation languished after that. It was as though a wet blanket had
been suddenly cast upon them. Every one was busy with his own thoughts,
wondering if it could be possible that the dreadful finger of suspicion
pointed anywhere in his direction.
Mr. Holwell it was after all who, laughing as though he did not have a
care in the world, started to raise their spirits.
“Come, this will never do,” he told them. “You look as if you had lost
all interest in life. We mustn’t let a thing like this spoil the whole
outing. Doubtless in good time the mystery will be cleared up. And now
let’s talk of all our good friends here, Mr. Bartlett and Mr. Rowland,
have planned to do to-day.”
By degrees he had the boys looking much more cheerful, though when they
got together in clumps after the meal, the conversation was naturally
almost wholly of the last strange happening.
Nat and his two cronies were seen talking earnestly. Some of the
others could hazard a pretty good guess as to what must be troubling
the trio. This was a time when a person’s past reputation was going to
come back to haunt him. Nat, aided and abetted by Dit and Alonzo, had
engineered numerous dubious enterprises in times that were gone, some
of them of a questionable nature. And now being reproached by their
consciences, they felt that the others must of a certainty be eyeing
them with suspicion. Alonzo showed signs of wanting to desert the camp
at once, being only restrained from doing so by the stronger wills of
his companions, who realized that this action would look too much like
guilt.
Altogether it was not a very happy lot that proceeded to take up the
various duties laid out for that morning, and in doing which they had
expected to enjoy themselves hugely.
After the excitement had died down the six who had been selected to
visit the farm went off in one of the two boats. And while the chosen
fishermen were making deft use of the mosquito-net seine in order to
secure minnows for bait, Dick found an opportunity to have a little
talk with Mr. Holwell.
Eddie Grant, Ban Jansen and Cub Mannis, with tin pails in their hands,
hurried past, looking as though they meant business.
“We have found where the blueberries are as thick as clover in a
field,” called Ban. “It’ll be an easy job filling these pails by noon.
Never saw such big berries as there are on this island. It’ll be a
picnic getting stacks and stacks of ’em, and we can pay our way easily
as we go.”
Mr. Holwell looked at Dick on hearing this, as though he did not quite
understand. Accordingly, the boy hastened to explain that Mr. Nocker
had proposed that boys belonging to the association who wanted to go on
the camping trip and could not spare the ready money to pay for their
share of the expenses should earn enough while on the island by picking
the blueberries that found a ready market in Cliffwood.
“That’s a very good scheme,” declared the minister, smiling. “And it
shows that our friend, Mr. Nocker, knows more about boys than some of
us gave him credit for. Of course he could have offered to pay the
way of Eddie and the rest, but after all it’s the wise thing to do to
make boys feel that they have earned things, and are not objects of
charity.”
“Of course,” Dick went on to explain, “that sort of thing is unusual,
and will break in on some of the customary rules that govern all Y.
M. C. A. camps. But Mr. Bartlett says that after all this is only a
beginning, and on that account we can’t expect to do everything with
perfect regularity.”
“Another year,” said Mr. Holwell, “it may perhaps be different. We
will find some way whereby a score or two of the mill hands can spend
a week or two up at a regularly organized camp. And when we get things
to working smoothly, such an outing is bound to be of great benefit to
everybody concerned. I’m in it heart and soul, and so is Mr. Nocker.”
“I want to talk with you a little more, sir,” said Dick, boldly, “about
this queer disappearance of your watch. I wish now I had gone to Mr.
Nocker and asked him to explain what he meant when just before leaving
the meeting that night he warned us to beware of the thief up here in
Bass Island.”
“Did he say that?” demanded Mr. Holwell, quickly. “Then there must have
been a reason for it. Others who have camped here, fishing parties,
perhaps, have lost things. And Dick, what you have told me actually
raises my spirits considerably, even if it does not promise to bring
back my missing property.”
Dick could understand. The kind-hearted minister must have been
oppressed by some of the same dreadful thoughts that ever since the
first raid had been tugging at his own heart-strings. He feared that
one of the boys might be guilty, and the very suspicion caused him
unhappiness. It would be so much easier to bear if in the end the
culprit proved to be some outside person, possibly a crazy man who had
escaped from his keepers, as Peg had suggested.
Long and earnestly did the minister and Dick converse while sitting
there. Dick found much encouragement from what the gentleman told him.
He even took occasion to mention the suspicions that had oppressed
him concerning Asa Gardner; but Mr. Holwell shook his head as though
determined not to harbor such himself.
“I have studied boy-nature for many years, Dick,” he said, with
feeling; “and I know how hard a fight poor Asa is doubtless putting
up against the strange weakness that used to dominate him. The memory
of his dead mother will cause him to be victorious in the struggle, I
fully believe; and just now he needs all the encouragement he can get.
And you are the one best fitted to stand by him as a faithful friend.”
“I’ll willingly do everything I can to help him along,” said Dick, with
a look of determination on his young face. “I’ve known times myself
when I needed a friendly hand to help me along, but never one half so
much as he does. There go Nat and his two chums into the woods. Mr.
Bartlett must have given them permission to explore the island.”
“I wonder if they are thinking of hunting up Eddie’s crowd, and helping
pick berries,” remarked Mr. Holwell. “It would be a kindly thing if
some of the other boys would lend a helping hand. The berry pickers
will find it no easy task to collect enough at a few cents a quart to
pay their expenses.”
Although Dick did not say so, he was of the opinion that Nat and his
cronies were hardly the kind of boys to be anxious about anything
excepting their own welfare.