THE CABIN ABANDONED TO THE GHOSTS
Amos had just stopped, in order to draw out his red bandana
handkerchief, and wipe the drops from his forehead, because it was
pretty warm work, fiddling away for half an hour “like a house afire,”
as he expressed it.
Just then a distinct and most dreadful groan was heard.
Crawley jumped to his feet with an oath; and even Gabe raised his head
to listen, for to ease the strain on his arm he had been lying down on
a blanket.
Upon both their faces astonishment, incredulity, and even a wild,
ungovernable fear could be detected, as they stared at each other, and
then all around.
Another groan, even more terrible than before, seemed to well up out
of space, nor could the listening Dolph locate its source, even though
positive Teddy must be responsible for the sounds, which were intended
to alarm the two rascals.
“Boy, air thet you a-makin’ thet n’ise?” demanded Crawley, seizing
hold of Amos’ sleeve; but it did not need the emphatic denial of the
lad to convince him, for another of the chilling sounds came, setting
his cowardly heart to beating madly.
“It’s a trick!” yelled Big Gabe, turning white in spite of his words,
“Crawley, climb up into the loft, an’ see if they ain’t a critter
a-hidin’ thar! Ef ye find him, throw the measly skunk down fur me ter
tromp on.”
Crawley evidently did not like the job, for he was slow to follow out
the plan suggested by his companion; but by dint of much jeering, and a
little flattery, he was finally induced to climb up the partly broken
ladder that led to a sort of loft, extending half-way over the room.
In the past those who lived in the pine woods cabin probably stored
their pelts up there until the spring came, and it was time to get them
properly stretched and dried as they had been before packing away, to
market.
He carried with him another candle that with shaking hands he had
managed to light from the first one. Upon gaining a position where he
could peer over the edge of the flooring of the loft, Crawley was heard
to give vent to a sigh of relief.
“Ain’t nawthin’ doin’ up here, Gabe; the place is empty as all
git-out,” he remarked, and as if deeming his duty done Crawley came
down much faster than he had ascended.
His arrival below seemed to be the signal for another outburst of
groans, this time more than ever of a nature to chill the blood of any
one given to superstition.
Crawley had a failing that way, though how he ever came to take
lodgings in this said-to-be haunted cabin under such circumstances
would always be a mystery.
Big Gabe had himself never taken much stock in such things as ghosts.
But then that may have been simply because up to now he had never
happened to run across anything bordering on the supernatural.
He looked very much shaken, and seemed disposed to lay the blame on the
shoulders of poor Amos.
“See wot yer pesky scrouchin’ hes gone an’ done,” he shouted, angrily.
“Even the ghostes hes ris’ up an’ howled agin sech n’ises. I knowed
sumthin’d happen, as sure as thunder, when ye let loose all them
caterwaulin’ sounds. Now we gotter vamose outer here right speedy, an’
make a camp in the open. Crawley, it’s all yer fault, encouragin’ sech
crazy doings. Now! hear thet! would ye? Hole on thar Mister Ghost,
we’re a-goin’ peaceable like, if ye gives us harf a chanct,” as a
terriffic shriek rang through the cabin accompanied by a pounding that
seemed to make the floor tremble.
Dolph could not keep out of the game; the temptation to join in was too
much for him. And so he began to kick upon the wall wherever a board
had been used to cover up some broad chink, where the dried mud between
the logs had fallen away.
Taken in all, it was quite a tremendous racket; and even Amos began to
look uneasy, as though he found himself entertaining a suspicion that
after all there might be some grain of truth connected with that story
of the spirits of the trappers who had met a tragic fate, returning to
fight their battles over; while Sallie’s face was the picture of dismay.
Crawley was already making for the door; with the evident intention of
fleeing from the wrath to come; nor did he stop give his devoted child
one thought in this time of alarm. Big Gabe did not mean to be left in
the lurch either, evidently. He had an excuse that with only one good
arm he was hardly in condition to wrestle with anything or anyone,
either human or of a ghostly order.
The retreat became a scramble, with the whole four at the door at the
same time, trying to escape from the haunted interior. The groans had
ceased but that might only be a ruse to deceive them.
Amos clutched the precious fiddle, and the girl only stopped once, to
possess herself of some article of apparel, for which she possibly
entertained fondness on account of certain memories associated between
it and her dead mother.
So they streamed out of the cabin in a bunch.
Dolph knew enough to hide, and keep very still. Teddy’s little game
had worked very well, only it chanced that in fleeing from the haunted
cabin, the two game poachers had gone and carried Amos with them.
So far as the rescue of their camp mate went, Teddy and Dolph were no
nearer the goal of their ambition than before.
True, the cabin had been abandoned, temporarily at least, to the
spirits, but it was an empty victory after all, since the work must be
done over again.
There was always a chance that in the open Amos might slip away. But
even at that Teddy would refuse to be pacified; because the rascals
held possession of his highly prized Marlin gun, and he did not mean to
abandon that indispensable weapon without a fight for it.
Dolph knew that Teddy would join him as soon as he could crawl out from
the confined space under the floor. Accordingly, he contented himself
with trying to note the direction taken by the fugitives.
There did not seem to be much trouble about doing this, for they
certainly made a tremendous racket; indeed he was partly convinced
that Amos played the part of martyr, clumsily falling over about every
log he could find on the way, with sundry cries of pain or disgust,
calculated to reach the ears of his chums.
Sure enough, in a couple of minutes Teddy came out of the cabin,
breathing hard.
“They’ve gone, of course,” he observed, between his pants for breath.
“Scared ’em off, did I? Too bad they took Amos along, ain’t it? But
we’re bound to get after the thievy cowards, hot-footed. It’ll sure
be queer if we can’t make ’em give our chum up. Notice which way they
went, Dolph?”
“Yes,” said Dolph, “Amos took pains to make all the noise he could.
Listen. I think you can hear him floundering around yet. Come, let’s
be on the jump. The way things are going, we must win out soon. But I
was sorry to see how you scared that girl. Think of that beast Crawley
being her father, poor child.”
“Yes, I know Sallie,” the other replied, in a low voice, as they
started away. “She’s a wise little thing, older than her years because
she’s had the troubles of a grown-up. I reckon they won’t go far away,
but halt, and build a big camp fire to scare ghosts off!”
“Well,” remarked Dolph, “I must say these two rascals are giving us a
run for our money, all right. Once we get Amos and the gun, and we want
nothing more from them. But I’d like to take that child out of this
horrible life. Say, do you really know whether she’s got any uncles or
aunts or cousins?”
“A grandmother at the Soo, I was told, but you’d waste your time trying
to induce her to leave that Crawley. I tried it once, but she told me
she just _had_ to stick to him—that the last chance he’d ever have lay
in her, and she’d promised her mother never to give him up. I’m afraid
from her delicate looks, she’ll die from exposure one of these days,
following him around. He thinks she can stand whatever he can, the big
brute. I’d like to help him to a coat of tar and feathers, or give him
a cow-hiding, that’s what,” and Teddy’s indignation actually made his
voice tremble.
While they moved along, as silently as possible, occasionally they
would hear one of the men call out to the other; for their gruff voices
carried far on the still night air.
Perhaps Amos might himself have slipped away during this rapid retreat.
The chances were, however, that his stubborn nature would not allow him
to think of escape unless he could also carry off the gun that had been
entrusted to his charge.
Big Gabe was holding greedily to the weapon; if he could not get
anything else out of the game, at least he was sure of this; and ever
since his eyes had first fallen upon that gun, in Teddy’s hands, his
fingers had fairly itched for it.
At one time the adventure had threatened to develop into a tragedy,
but somehow, with the advent of that old fiddle on the stage, it had
changed to a comedy, bordering almost on a farce.
The two pursuers presently decided that those they were following must
have come to a halt, for the sound of voices grew more perceptible and
then a light sprang up just ahead.
This, of course, came from a fire that had been hastily kindled for
several reasons, chief of which might be set down the sudden dislike
both men just now entertained with regard to being left in the dark.
Doubtless all thoughts of their plan against the liberty of the
Cincinnati millionaire-manufacturer’s son and heir was now abandoned,
temporarily, at least. Crawley was drinking from time to time, to
imbibe artificial courage; Big Gabe uttering ugly words, because in
his mad rush to escape he had struck his wounded arm against the door
frame, with much consequent pain.
Teddy now led his companion closer to the camp, where the two men had
started a fire. He warned Dolph to be very careful, since Big Gabe was
in a surly temper, and would possibly shoot “at the drop of the hat,”
leaving all inquiries until afterwards.
It was found that the fire burned on the bank of a small creek that ran
into the lake, presumably.
This creek flowed through a sunken bed, some six feet or so below the
surrounding surface; and to Teddy’s experienced eye, the depression
presented the best possible opportunity for approaching unseen the spot
where the camp fire burned.
By stooping low, and creeping along under the bank, they would be able
to actually invade the boundaries of the space illumined by the glow
of the fire—Crawley having hastily gathered together a mass of dried
wood, and fired the same, at the request of his wounded companion who
refused to let the captured gun out of his possession for a single
minute.