Читать книгу The Camp Fire Boys at Log Cabin Bend; Or, Four Chums Afoot in the Tall Timber - St. George Rathborne - Страница 6

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“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.”