CHAPTER XII
THE BURGLARY
"GREEN," said Atherton, "I hope you are not so dead tired as I am:will you do me a good turn?"
"Rather, old chap," replied Green, without hesitation.
"Well, the four of us who stuck up on watch all last night are goingto turn in at once. The other fellows won't be long after us, Ifancy. What I want you to do is this--to take charge, maintain order,and keep watch for the arrival of Mr Buckley. Directly you hear theboat approaching the landing wake us up. We must give him a rousingwelcome, you know."
"Right-o! I'll see to all that," assented Green. "My word, you dolook tired."
"And I jolly well feel it," agreed Atherton, with an irrepressibleyawn. "Now, you fellows, who's going to have a snooze?"
When Atherton awoke he could hardly believe his senses. It was broaddaylight. The other occupants of the tent, thoroughly tired out withtheir exertions, were sleeping soundly.
The Leader sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"Surely young Green never let me sleep like this on purpose," hemuttered. "And the new Scoutmaster has arrived and I wasn't there toreceive him and hand over the care of the two patrols. A pretty fineScout I am; and a nice mess I've made of things."
In anticipation of being called at ten o'clock Atherton had "turnedin all standing." He pulled out his watch. It was seven o'clock.
Unlacing the door of the tent, the Leader stepped out. The sun wasshining brightly. The storm had passed, but the wind still remainedfairly high.
Atherton gazed at the ashes of the camp fire. They were still redhot. An iron pot, suspended by a chain from a tripod, was hangingover the embers. The fire had evidently been kept up for long pastmidnight.
"I'll wake Green and ask him all about this," said Atherton tohimself; but a comprehensive examination of the blanket-enshroudedfellows in the "Otters'" tent revealed the fact that Green was notone of them.
The Leader made his way to the ridge tent that had been appropriatedto the Scoutmaster's use. It was closed: the knot securing the flapwas on the outside, and since it was quite evident that it was amatter of impossibility for the occupant of a tent to lace the flapon the outside, Atherton rightly concluded that Mr Buckley had notarrived.
He gave a sigh of relief; then, seized by an inspiration, he set offat a run towards the landing-place.
There, muffled in his greatcoat, and leaning heavily on his staff,was Phil Green. Hearing the approaching footfalls the Scout turned.
"What's the meaning of this, Green?" demanded Atherton.
"You told me to wait till Mr Buckley arrived," replied the Scout,without the faintest sign of reproach. "I am a bit tired, but reallyI've enjoyed myself. It was a beautiful sunrise. You missed somethingby not seeing it, Atherton."
Leader Atherton looked at the Scout to see if he could detect anysigns of "pulling his leg" on Green's part.
"I'm sorry," he said at length. "It was my fault. I ought to havegiven more definite orders. Cut off now, and get something to eat andthen turn in."
"Nothing to be sorry for, Atherton. It was like a bit of the realthing. But how about Everest and Baker?"
"Goodness only knows why they haven't turned up. I'll rout out therest of the 'Otters,' and we'll tramp into Wadebridge directly afterbreakfast."
"Now, 'Otters!'" exclaimed Atherton, after the meal was over, "we areoff to Wadebridge to bring in Everest and Baker, and find out why ourtemporary Scoutmaster hasn't arrived. The 'Wolves' can do camp dutytill we return. By the by, Phillips, since Mr Trematon got you a gunlicence you might just as well make yourself useful. There's his gun:you know how it works, and here are a couple dozen cartridges. See ifyou can't knock over enough rabbits to make a jolly good stew forsupper to-night."
Accordingly Atherton, Mayne, Sayers and Scott manned one of the boatsand rowed over to Polkerwyck. It was a fairly lively experiencecrossing Seal Bay, for there was still a heavy swell running in fromthe open sea; but at the expense of another drenching with spray--acircumstance that the Scouts were quite used to by this time--theylanded safely on the lee side of the stone pier.
"Good morning, Mr Varco," said Atherton, as he formed up hisdiminished patrol on the quay.
"Good marnin', young gents. That be a fine piece o' work o' yoursyestermorn."
"I'm glad we did what we were able to," replied the Leader. "By theby, did you see Mr Tassh come ashore yesterday?"
"Sure I did. He left t'Island in old Tregaskis' boat. What wur 'ea-doin' on t'Island I should like to know?"
"Wasn't it too rough last night for a boat to put off?" asked theLeader, since he could not satisfactorily reply to the oldfisherman's question. "Two of our Scouts went to Wadebridge to meetthe 8.15 train. I thought perhaps they couldn't get back, and hadslept in the village."
"No, 'tweren't rough, in a manner o' speakin'. An no Scouts came thisway up till eleven o'clock, that I du declare."
"Then they must have found a place to put up at in Wadebridge. Well,good-bye for the present, Mr Varco. We must be on the move."
As the patrol was passing the post-office the old lady came hobblingout with a small bundle of telegrams.
"These came in from Wadebridge this marnin'," she explained. "Theywere too late to be sent on from there last night. I was just a-goingto ask Peter Varco if he'd mind a-taking them across to 'e."
"What's up now, I wonder?" asked Atherton, looking at the sixenvelopes.
The first one was from Mr Trematon: "Just heard of rescue. I am proudof my Scouts."
The second was from Mr Buckley: "Missed connection at Exeter.Arriving to-morrow morning 11.45."
The third completely mystified the Scout.
"Again I am indebted to Scouts for a good turn to me and mine. Amcoming to Polkerwyck to personally thank you--Silas Gwinnear."
"What ever does Sir Silas mean?" asked Atherton. "How have we donehim a good turn? I vote we reply to say that we do not know that wehave done anything for him, unless he means that by helping FarmerTrebarwith complete his haymaking we have rendered Sir Silas aservice in a roundabout way."
"Better wait a bit," suggested Sayers. "I am as much in the dark asyou; but evidently Sir Silas knows more than we do. What's in theother telegrams, Atherton?"
Number four was from headquarters: "Well done, Scouts. Glad you knowhow to 'Be prepared.'"
Numbers five and six, couched in similar terms, came from two NorthLondon troops who had often co-operated with the 201st, and were wellacquainted with the "Otters" and the "Wolves."
"My eye, they are making a song about it," remarked little ReggieScott. "I wish you had let me bear a hand instead of sending me awayto make coffee, Atherton."
"Yours was not the least part of the business, Scott," replied theLeader. "We were all jolly glad you did your part so well, I canassure you. But I agree with you, they are making a song about it. Itreminds me of Shakespeare's words: 'Seeking a bubble reputation atthe cannon's mouth.' That's what the bard said, eh, Phillips?"
"I don't know," replied that worthy. "I only hope we won't bebothered too much, or our holiday will be somewhat spoiled."
Maintaining a steady pace, the Scouts made light work of their marchto Wadebridge. Arriving there they were greeted by Everest and Baker,who, looking as "chirpy as crickets," were patrolling the stationplatform.
"No luck yet," said the former, nonchalantly. "The Scoutmaster hasn'tturned up yet."
"Why didn't you return last night, then?" asked Atherton.
"Return? You said we were to wait for Mr Buckley. We've had a rippingtime. One of the porters made us a jolly bed in the waiting-room, andthe stationmaster gave us supper and breakfast. And we know an awfullot how railways are run now, Atherton. You've missed something."
After being told this on two occasions that morning, Atherton beganto think he really had missed a novel experience.
"We've had a wire," he remarked. "Mr Buckley is arriving by the11.15. Only another ten minutes to wait."
"Here she comes," announced A
therton, when at length the train wasobserved in the distance. "Form up, lads, and let's give our newScoutmaster a proper Scouts' welcome."
So intent was Atherton upon looking out for the familiarScoutmaster's uniform that he was startled to hear a hearty voiceexclaim:
"Bless my soul, Atherton! You here to meet me! And these are yourchums, eh?"
Turning, Atherton saw that the speaker was Sir Silas Gwinnear.
"No, sir, we are not here to meet you. We did not know you werecoming by this train," explained Atherton. "All the same we areawfully pleased to see you. It is our new Scoutmaster we are waitingfor. Mr Trematon had to go home on important business."
"Oh," exclaimed the Baronet with a slight tinge of disappointment."No matter; we'll all run down to Polkerwyck House in my motor.Squeeze you all in at a pinch. Ha there is your Scoutmaster, I see."
Mr Buckley, having seized the opportunity of doing a good turn byassisting out of the carriage a very timid and fussy old lady with aheap of small parcels, had not been able to make a prompt appearance.
He was a heavily built man of about thirty-five, slightly abovemiddle height, clean shaven; his full face and fairly heavy jawdenoting firmness and good temper. He had been a lieutenant in theRoyal Navy, but owing to a gunnery accident that greatly impaired theuse of his right arm, he was invalided on a modest pension. It wasgalling to him to be compelled to give up his prospects in theservice, but he made the best of a bad job. In spite of hisdisability he took up a Scoutmastership, and soon worked his troopinto a state of efficiency. Always ready to oblige his friends, MrBuckley had willingly agreed to take over temporary charge of theScouts of Seal Island, and now he was in touch with one of his futurepatrols.
Returning the Scouts' salute, Mr Buckley looked enquiringly at thegentleman who was waxing so enthusiastic over the lads.
"This is Sir Silas Gwinnear who is letting us have the use of SealIsland, sir," explained Atherton.
"And who is indebted to young Atherton for saving my life, and to himand his fellow Scouts for saving the lives of several of the crew ofone of my ships," added the baronet.
"One of your ships, sir?" asked Atherton, in astonishment.
"Yes, the _Polybus_: you saw the account in this morning's papers,Mr----?"
"Buckley," said the Scoutmaster. "Yes, I saw the account in thepapers, but I did not notice to whom the vessel belonged."
"Haven't you seen the papers, lads?" asked Sir Silas.
"No, sir," was the reply.
"H'm; when you do I hope you won't suffer with swollen heads, lads.All the same it was a gallant deed. Do you know, Mr Buckley, up toonly a few days ago I held strong unfavourable views on the Scoutmovement. It will be unnecessary for me to state what they were as Iam now convinced of my error. If all Scouts are like these--and Ihave been assured that they are no better and no worse than theirfellows in all parts of the world--mankind owes a debt of gratitudeto the founder of the movement. To show my practical appreciation ofwhat these lads have done, I have come down to Polkerwyck House forthe rest of the time they remain at Seal Island. Mr Buckley, I trustyou will avail yourself of my offer and ride down to Polkerwyck in mycar?"
"But these lads?" asked the Scoutmaster.
"They, of course, are included: the more the merrier. My car is afairly large one, and I have no doubt that the Scouts can exercisetheir ingenuity in stowing themselves somewhere."
So saying, Sir Silas led the way out of the station to where apowerful six-seater was drawn up.
Sir Silas and the Scoutmaster occupied a seat each, one of the Scoutsperched himself beside the chauffeur, and the remaining fivecontrived to squeeze in without regard to their cramped quarters. Allthe lads agreed that it was infinitely better than tramping up anddown dale upon the hard granite roads, for the car, under theguidance of the skilled chauffeur, simply flew. Eleven minutes fromthe time of leaving the station the car drew up at the gates ofPolkerwyck House.
The lodge keeper hastened to throw open the massive iron gatesembellished with Sir Silas Gwinnear's arms, but before the chauffeurcould restart, a sergeant of the Cornish constabulary, accompanied bya policeman and a plain-clothes officer, stepped up and saluted thebaronet.
"Sorry to have to inform you, Sir Silas, that up to the present wehaven't any clue," said the sergeant.
"Clue? What on earth do you mean, Coombes?" asked the baronet inastonishment.
"About the burglary, sir; haven't----"
"Burglary--where?"
"Didn't Mr Tassh wire to you, sir?"
"Certainly not. What's wrong now?"
"Mr Tassh reported to us early this morning that Polkerwyck House hadbeen broken into during the night and a large quantity of silver hadbeen taken away."
"My silver? Surely none of the presentation plate I had given me byLloyds'?"
"Unfortunately, sir, that is missing."
"Come back to the house, Coombes. Drive on, Rogers."
"We had better get down, Sir Silas," suggested Mr Buckley. "I am surethat in this unfortunate trouble we do not want to thrust our companyupon you."
"There's no thrust about it. Stay where you are, Mr Buckley, and you,too, lads. Now, Atherton, you're a sharp lad. You've been jollyuseful to me twice, and there's nothing like three for luck. Use yourwits, and put your scouting abilities to the test."
There was a constrained silence amongst the numerous servants as SirSilas entered the hall of Polkerwyck House and led his youthfulguests into the study.
"The police will be here directly," he observed. "Meanwhile I'll havethe butler in and see what he has to say."
In a few minutes Tassh, dressed in his black suit, obsequiouslyentered the room.
"What's all this I hear, Tassh?" asked the baronet. "Some of mysilver gone, eh? Tell me about it."
"I locked up last night, sir, as I always do. This morning when Icame down at 7.30 the safe was open, and the silver, which you gaveorders was to be placed there for safety, was missing. There weremarks of a jemmy on the window-sash, and footprints on theflower-beds outside. I immediately told the housekeeper, and sentWilliams on horseback to fetch the police."
"H'm; have you made a list of what is missing?"
"Not yet, sir; truth to tell I was so upset that I haven't recoveredmy normal self."
"It would have been better if you had recovered my silver," remarkedthe baronet, grimly. "Or better still if you had taken steps toprevent the burglars from making their haul. How about the electricalarm?"
Tassh hesitated before replying.
"It must have been out of order, sir."
"Then it was your place to see that it was in order, Tassh. You arequite sure you slept in the house last night? I remember I had tospeak to you on one occasion for stopping at Padstow one night lastwinter."
"I've never slept out of the house since you left, sir," said thebutler, with conviction.
Atherton and his companions exchanged glances. The cool, bold-facedaudacity of the man to make a declaration like that when he had beenthe involuntary guest of the Scouts only the day before seemed toostupendous for words.
"Very good, Tassh, you may go," said Sir Silas. "Ah, here is Coombes!Now, Coombes, let us hear what you know of the matter."
"Precious little, sir, unfortunately. The front of the safe has beencut through with an electric drill. Here is the lock, sir. The windowwas forced, showing that the burglars entered that way, but thestrange thing about it, sir, is that they must have left by someother way, since none of the footsteps lead away from the house."
"There were two or more burglars?"
"Undoubtedly, sir. The weight of the stolen stuff is too great forone man to carry."
"Well, do your best, Coombes. Tell your inspector that I am offeringtwo hundred pounds reward for the capture and conviction of theburglar or burglars. Let me know at once if there is anyinformation."
"Very good, sir," said the sergeant, and, saluting, he withdrew.
"Now, Atherton, have you any suggestions to make?"
asked Sir Silas."You are the--er--Leader, don't you call it?--of the patrol. Butperhaps you haven't had time to consider the case properly?"
"Can I examine the window by which the burglars are supposed to haveentered, sir?"
"Certainly, you have a free hand."
"I wonder if Sir Silas is trying to pull Atherton's leg?" whisperedBaker to his chum Everest.
"Shut up!" replied Everest. "If he is, he doesn't know Atherton as Ido. Atherton's on to something, I'll stake my word."
The Leader of the "Otters" carefully examined the marks of the jemmy,tried the window fastenings and the sash frames.
"Now, sir, may I see the lock of the safe?"
Sir Silas pointed to the cut-out portion of metal containing thecomplicated lock.
"The story of the burglars is a make-up, sir," announced Atherton.