CHAPTER XVIII
IN THE CAVE
Trouble felt very bad about his playhouse of blue stones which had beentaken away. He was only a little fellow, and when he had gone to so muchwork, building up what looked like a fairy castle, he surely thought hewould find it where he left it at night to have it to play with the nextmorning. But it was gone.
"All goned," sobbed Trouble.
"Isn't it funny, though?" said Teddy. "Mine is all right, and so isyours, Jan, and Hal's, too. They just spoiled Trouble's."
"Maybe it was Nicknack," suggested Jan. "He might have got loose in thenight and knocked it down. But he didn't mean to I guess, for he's agood goat."
"It couldn't have been Nicknack," declared Hal.
"Why not?" asked Ted. "Didn't he fall down into the big hole whenTrouble led him to it?"
"Yes, but Nicknack is there in his stable. He isn't loose at all, andhe'd have to be loose to come here and knock over Trouble's playhouse.The goat is tied fast just where he was last night."
So Nicknack was; and Grandpa Martin, who was the first one up in thecamp that morning, said the goat was lying quietly down in his stablewhen he went to give him a drink of water. So it couldn't have beenNicknack.
"Anyhow, Trouble's blue-stone castle wasn't just knocked down," went onHal, "it's gone--every stone is gone. Somebody took 'em!"
Jan and Ted noticed this for the first time. When Trouble had called outthat his playhouse was gone they had thought he meant it was justknocked over. But, instead, it was gone completely. Not a blue stone wasleft.
And, strangely enough, none of the other three castles was touched. Halhad built quite a large one, but not a stone had been taken from it.
"Where my p'ayhouse?" asked Trouble, looking all about. "I want myp'ayhouse."
"We'll find it for you," promised Jan, though she did not know how shewas going to do it. Perhaps Hal could think of a way. Hal was older thanJan and Ted.
"What's the matter, Curlytops?" asked Mother Martin as she came out ofthe tent. "Has anything happened? Why is Trouble crying? Did he gethurt?"
"No, but someone took away his nice blue stone castle," explained Jan,and she and the others took turns telling what had happened.
"It is queer," said Grandpa Martin, when he came up and heard what hadtaken place. "I wonder if any of those----"
Then he stopped talking and looked at the children's mother in a queerway. She nodded her head, glanced down at the Curlytops and Hal, and puther finger across her lips as your teacher does in school when she wantssomeone to stop whispering.
Hal saw what Mrs. Martin did, but neither Jan nor Ted noticed, for theywere running around looking for any of the blue stones that might havebeen scattered from Trouble's playhouse.
"Never mind," said Mother Martin. "I'll find you something else to playwith, Trouble. You shall have a nice ride with Nicknack. You'll takehim, won't you, Jan and Ted?"
"Yes," they answered.
"I want my p'ayhouse!" sobbed Baby William, and for a time he made afuss about his missing blue stones.
"I guess I know what happened to them," said Hal in a whisper to Jan andTed when their mother had taken Trouble into the tent to find somethingwith which to amuse him.
"What?" asked Ted in a whisper.
"The tramps!" exclaimed Hal, looking over his shoulder to make sure noone but his two little friends heard him. "That's what your grandfatherwas going to say the time he stopped so quick. Your mother didn't wanthim to speak of them. But I'm sure the tramps took the blue stones fromTrouble's castle."
"What would they do with 'em?" Ted demanded.
"There's gold in 'em!" whispered Hal, more excited than ever now."There's gold in those blue stones, and the tramps know it. That's whatthey've been looking for, and when Trouble had 'em all in a nice pilemade into a playhouse, the tramps came along in the night and took 'emaway."
"Oh, do you s'pose it could happen that way, really?" asked Jan, hereyes big with wonder.
"Course it could!" said Hal, growing more excited all the while. "Iremember now, gold doesn't always look yellow when you find it, the wayit does in a watch or a ring. Sometimes gold is inside stones and theyhave to melt 'em in the fire to get the gold out. My nurse at theCrippled Home read me about it. And there was gold in the blue stones.That's why the tramps came and got 'em--I mean _them_," and he correctedhimself. "They told me not to say 'em,'" he added with a smile.
"Do you really think the blue stones had gold in 'em--them?" asked Ted.
"Yes, I do! Else why would the tramps want them? They came last nightand took Trouble's castle--every stone, and now they've hid the goldaway."
"Where?" asked Jan, as excited as the boys.
"I think it must be up in the cave," went on Hal. "If we could only gothere and look we could find it too. Let's go."
"Maybe mother wouldn't let us," suggested Ted.
"We don't have to tell her," said Jan.
"I don't mean to do anything bad, nor have you," went on Hal. "Butwouldn't it be great if we could go up to the cave, without anybodyknowing it, and get the gold? Then your mother would be glad, and yourgrandpa, too."
"Maybe they would--if there was gold in the blue stones," agreed Ted.
"We could pretend there was," said Janet. "Wouldn't that be fun? But Idon't want to go into that dark cave 'cept maybe grandpa goes, too, witha light."
"You wouldn't be afraid with us, would you?" asked Hal.
"Hal and I would be with you," added Ted.
"Well, maybe I wouldn't be afraid if you took hold of my hands. But it'sdark there--awful dark."
"I've got one of those little electric lights," Hal said. "My fathersent it to me for my birthday when I was in the Home, and I didn't useit hardly at all, 'cause I wasn't up nights. It flashes bright. Ibrought it with me when I came to visit you, and I can get it and takeit to the cave with us."
"That'll be fun!" cried Ted. "Let's go, Jan!" he pleaded.
"Well, maybe I will. But hadn't we better ask mother?"
"Maybe she'd say we couldn't," suggested her brother, speaking veryslowly. "We'll tell her when we come back."
Of course this was not just the right thing to do, especially after Tedand his sister had been told not to go to the cave alone. But theyforgot all about that when Hal spoke about gold being in the bluestones. Ted and Jan thought it would be wonderful if they could get somegold for their mother and grandfather, who was not as rich as he hadbeen, even if he did sell a lot of cherries.
"We can't take Trouble along," said Jan, as she saw her little brothercoming out of the tent. "We've got to leave him here."
"Yes," agreed Hal. "But we don't need to go right away. We can play withhim awhile. You and Ted take care of Trouble and I'll go to get myflashlight. I put it under my pillow last night."
"And I'll get something to eat from Nora," added Ted. "We'llmake-believe we're going on a little picnic in the woods."
"Oh, that'll be fun!" cried Jan. She was not afraid to think of the darkcave now.
"Trouble want p'ayhouse!" cried Baby William, as he toddled up to hissister. "Want b'ue stones."
"I can't get you the blue stones--not now," said Janet. "But I guessTeddy will let you knock down his playhouse and build up another one.And you can knock down my playhouse, too. Come on, Trouble!"
Knocking over the playhouses of stone which his brother and sister hadbuilt the night before seemed such great fun to the little boy, and hehad such a good time doing this and, with Jan's help, making another andlarger house of his own, that he forgot all about his blue stones.
Ted and Hal did not forget them, though, and the more they thought ofthe queer way they had been taken away in the night, the more they feltsure that the stones must have gold in them, or, at least, somethingthat the tramps wanted badly enough to come and take it.
And that it was the tramps, or some man, or men, who had taken the bluestones, Hal and Ted felt certain.
"For no dog or other animal could carry aw
ay every stone," said Hal."Anyhow a dog wouldn't want them, nor a fox either. It was the trampsall right."
"Maybe they wouldn't like us to go to the cave and get the stones back,"suggested Ted.
"Well, the tramps can't have the blue stones," said Hal, shaking hishead. "We found 'em, and they're Trouble's. But he's so little he don'twant any gold, so we'll give it to your grandfather and grandmother."
"Don't you want any?" asked Ted.
"No. My father's got lots of money. I just want to find some gold foryou. I got my light from under my pillow," and Hal showed it to Ted.They were out behind the sleeping tent talking, and Ted had his pocketsfull of cookies and little cakes he had begged from Nora.
"Though what in the world the child is going to do with them all, ismore than I can guess," laughed the maid. "But I s'pose the children arealways hungry."
Ted and Hal were now ready to go to the cave. They looked around thecorner of the tent and saw Janet still playing with Trouble. He hadgotten over crying for his blue stones, and was now busy making aplayhouse of the rocks and pebbles his brother and sister had used.
"Come on, Janet! We're going!" called Ted in a loud whisper, as hissister looked at him. He also made motions with his hands to show thathe and Hal were ready to start for the cave.
Janet saw that her little brother was too busy playing to need her tostay with him--at least for a time. Still she could not leave him alonewithout calling her mother or Nora to watch what he did.
Very quietly, while Baby William was trying to make one stone stay ontop of another in one side of the castle he was making, Janet stepped upto the flap of the tent, inside which her mother was sitting sewing.
"I'm going with Ted and Hal into the woods," said the little girl. "Willyou watch Trouble, Mother?"
"Yes, Janet. But be careful, and don't go too far."
Janet did not answer but hurried away. Of course she did not do justright, for she knew her mother would not want her to go to the cave, norwould Mrs. Martin have let Ted and Hal go had she known it. But theCurlytops and Hal were very desirous of finding the blue stones and ofseeing if there was any gold in them, and they did not stop to think ofwhat was right and what was wrong.
"Hurry up now!" exclaimed Hal as he went on ahead up the path that ledfrom behind the tents to the queer cave. "We want to get there beforeanybody knows it."
"What'll we do if the tramps are there?" asked Ted.
"They won't be there," said Hal, though how he could tell that he didnot say.
"I've got a little hatchet and we can cut down some clubs," said Ted. Hehad brought with him a little Boy Scout hatchet, with a covering overthe sharp blade. His grandfather had given it to Ted, but had told himnever to take it out alone. But Ted did, and this was another wrongthing.
I'm afraid if I speak of all the wrong things the Curlytops did that dayI'd never finish with this story. But it wasn't often they did so manyacts they ought not to have done.
On they hurried through the woods, the boys hurrying ahead of Janet. Shedid her best to keep up with them, but her legs were shorter than Ted'sor Hal's and it was hard work for the little girl.
"Oh, wait for me!" she called at last. "I'm awful tired."
"Hurry up!" begged Ted. "We want to get the blue stones before thetramps take 'em away!"
"Are they going to?" asked Janet, sitting down on a stone to rest, aftershe had caught up to the boys.
"Well, they might," answered Hal. "We've got to hurry."
They went on again, walking a little more slowly this time, and whenthey came to a muddy puddle in the middle of the woodland path, Tedtried to jump over it. But he slipped on the edge and one leg, from hisfoot to above his knee, got very wet and muddy.
"Oh, wow!" he cried. "Now I've got to stop and clean this off."
He began to wipe off the worst of the mud on bunches of grass, whileJanet sat down on a log near by.
"I'm sorry you fell in the mud, Teddy," she said, "but I'm glad I canrest, for I'm awful tired. You go so fast!"
HAL WALKED BOLDLY INTO THE DARK CAVE. _Page 224_]
"Come on, hurry up!" called Hal, as Ted still brushed away with thebunch of grass. "Let it dry and it will come off easier."
"I guess it will," agreed Ted, looking at his muddy stocking. "It won'tcome off this way."
However, the accident had given his sister a little chance to rest, andnow Janet was able to keep up with the boys. Pretty soon they were nearthe hole into which Ted had fallen, and out of which the cave opened.
"Now be careful!" whispered Hal, as he got out his flashlight. "Maybethe tramps are there!"
"I've got my hatchet!" exclaimed Ted.
"I'm not going in if the tramps are there," declared Janet.
"We'll look first, and see," offered Hal.
"But I don't want to stay here alone!" objected Janet, as her brotherand Hal slid down into the hole and looked into the black opening of thecave.
"We won't go very far," promised Ted. "We'll be back in a minute. Don'tbe afraid."
Then he and Hal went into the cave, while Jan, half wanting to cry,waited outside.