UNEXPECTED VISITORS
“All right, dad; I’m up!”
That was Perk, who, aroused so suddenly by the racket doubtless
imagined himself at home in his own bed, with his father rapping on
the wall when the son indulged in his favorite habit of oversleeping
mornings.
Elmer, Amos and Wee Willie were already on deck, having jumped to
their feet in a hurry. The gruff voice seemed to be one invested
with some degree of authority; it struck them all “in a heap,” as
the tall chum afterwards described the sudden awakening.
Again came that loud thumping on the quivering door.
“Hurry up and open, do you hear?” rasped the voice, now with a touch
of anger in the tones. “Don’t think you can escape, because we’ve
got you cornered like a rat. Better be sensible, and go back with
us!”
“Oh! my stars! who is it, and what _does_ he mean?” gasped Perk,
realizing at last that things were quite different from what he had
at first imagined.
Perk was really responsible for the fastened door. He had in his
timidity pictured the frowsy tramp creeping back when they were all
fast asleep, and perhaps almost cleaning out their limited supply of
provisions, thus bringing the glorious camping trip to an untimely
end; since four healthy boys could not be expected to stay up in the
woods without sufficient “grub” to keep the wolf from the door.
So he had managed to make a shift with a piece of clothes-line
(which was likely to be searched for in vain at home when next
washday came along), securing the door so that it could not be
opened from without unless by a display of extreme violence.
Elmer was by now across the cabin. He touched the planks of which
the door was composed, to find them still quivering under the impact
of the unknown party’s knuckles.
“Wait a minute, and we’ll open up; the door is fastened, don’t you
understand? Hold your horses, Mister; I’m undoing it right now!” he
called out.
Immediately he caught the sound of voices again just beyond.
Evidently the men, whoever they might turn out to be, seemed
astonished at something, perhaps disappointed in the bargain. Once
more there also came to the ears of the boys the eager whining of a
dog. Elmer imagined that this animal might have been partly
responsible for the visit of these midnight prowlers.
Perk gave a low cry as the door suddenly swung back under Elmer’s
push. The moon was shining brightly, and standing there in its
mellow glow were two stalwart figures and a hound. The first thing
Perk noticed was the fact that both men were garbed in some sort of
uniform, with caps that bordered on the military.
Meanwhile the two men were bending forward and looking at the
youthful group that filled the doorway of the cabin. One of them
gave a grunt, and followed this with a scornful laugh that grated on
the nerves like a file.
“There you are, Collins, with all your being so sure we’d find the
tricky chap located here, just because his trail headed this way.
Sold again, Elihu, and off the scent once more! Now perhaps you’ll
pay some attention to _my_ plan of campaign, since yours has petered
out so flat.”
The other man continued to stare at Elmer and his mates.
“Who are you chaps anyway, and what’re you doing here?” he demanded.
“Oh! that’s easily explained,” said the Kitching boy cheerily. “We
all belong in Chester, you see, and make up the Camp Fire Boys’
Club. Just now we are on one of our regular trips to the woods for
sport, and to wind up the summer vacation. My name is Elmer
Kitching, this is Amos Codling; the tall chum is a son of Caleb
Winkleman who owns the classy motion picture theater in our town;
and the last boy is Perk—his dad is an engineer on the B. & S.
Railroad. Might I ask who you are, and what you expected to find
here in this shack at Old Cabin Bend of the Beaverkill?”
“That’s a civil question, youngster, and since you’ve been so
obliging, I don’t mind answering it. Me and my mate Andrews here are
guards over at the big State Asylum for the Insane. A few days ago
one of the inmates managed to escape, and we’ve been searching the
whole countryside for him ever since. Our hound here found and lost
his trail again and again in the queerest way ever. The last time he
ran it out the fugitive was heading this way. Somehow I got a notion
he must know about this old cabin here, and was making for it. You
see I originally came from Crawford Notch, and knew all about the
deserted cabin up here. So I influenced my pal to drop around.”
“Yes,” broke in the man who had been called Andrews, “and when we
caught the glimmer of a dying fire through the trees, Collins here
was dead sure we’d treed our coon at last. But the game is all off
again, it seems; and we can start in looking where we left off;
warning the farmers as we go to keep their eyes peeled for a clever
chap who’ll hoodwink them with his blarney, if he gets half a
chance.”
“Thank you for telling us,” said Elmer; “and in return let me say
that when we struck this cabin some time after moonrise to-night,
there was an odor of stale tobacco smoke hanging around inside. One
of my chums here also declared he glimpsed some sort of figure
bending over like an animal, and getting out of sight in a hurry!”
At hearing this the men both uttered exclamations that told of
renewed interest. “That sounds interesting,” said Collins, warmly.
“It might be we can pick up a fresh trail around these diggings.
About where was it he was seen?”
“Perk, step up here,” said Elmer; “can you point out the spot for
the gentlemen?”
“Sure thing, Elmer. There, over to the left yonder, see the tree
that seems to bend over toward the southeast—it was right under that
same I sighted a moving figure; but it flashed out of sight before I
could rub my eyes twice to make sure.”
“That’s aplenty, Perk, and thank you,” said Collins, who seemed a
pretty decent sort of a chap after all, though he must have been
terribly disappointed when his theory turned to bitter fruit; his
comrade’s jeers too had not added to his enjoyment of the situation.
“Let’s try the dog around that place,” immediately suggested the
other man, plainly full of action. “If it’s our bird, Jock’ll soon
give tongue, and lead us off right smart.”
“Our only play, I reckon,” agreed Collins. “So good night, boys;
hope you have a bully time of it in camp; used to do that sort of
thing myself years back, and know what it means. We’ll soon be
clearing out of this region, hit or miss, so you won’t be pestered
with our hound barking for long.”
Elmer and the others saw them hurry away with mingled emotions.
Despite the fact that the night air seemed pretty chilly, and their
garments exceedingly thin, they continued to huddle in the open
doorway, listening and watching.
Even Perk refused to go back again to his snug blanket so long as
the other three remained there; and once Elmer heard him saying
softly, as though to himself:
“Poor thing, just to think of him out of his mind, and wandering at
large in these big woods, hungry, and without even a blanket to hug
nights. I almost wish he’d crept in, and cribbed that last loaf of
bread we fetched along.”
That was Perk all over, full of feeling for any one apt to be
suffering; and it was this spirit of wanting to be of service that
endeared him to the hearts of all his boy friends in Chester.
“There’s the hound picking up!” snapped Amos, suddenly.
“But you want to notice there isn’t a note of eagerness in his
baying,” added Elmer, quickly. “If he’s found any sort of scent at
all, it isn’t what he’s been searching for. You can even detect a
sort of disappointed sound about his mournful notes.”
“That’s what!” echoed Wee Willie. “Either the lunatic has been too
smart for the trackers, or else it wasn’t him after all, and the dog
knows it.”
Elmer shut the door again, though only with an effort, owing to its
really dilapidated condition. And Perk, as if in duty bound,
proceeded again to adjust his rope guard. It had served them one
good turn already, he figured; because had those two guards burst
suddenly in upon them, their consternation must have been many times
aggravated.
“A nice state of affairs, I must say!” Wee Willie was grumbling. “We
came all the way up here to camp in solitude and peace, and now see
what we’re up against! Gee whiz! can you beat it?”
“No, but mebbe we’d better beat it for home,” Perk faintly
suggested, as if even the thought gave him fresh pain.
“Here, none of that, Perk,” sternly rebuked Elmer. “We’re not the
kind to be frightened off by such a silly little thing as that.
We’ll stick it out, no matter what comes along!”
“Hear! hear!” came from Wee Willie; while Amos too added his voice
to the chorus, and even Perk hastened to say:
“Oh! I didn’t really mean it, I assure you, boys, and you can
believe me. I’ll hang on as long as the next one, no matter if the
whole asylum breaks loose.”