CHAPTER XVIII.
THE ALARM.
Davy's words created no end of excitement in the camp of the Boy Scouts.Every fellow jumped to his feet, and several immediately stepped out sothat they could get a better view of the dark lake. The stars shonebrightly, and gleamed on the tiny wavelets that purled along toward thebeach close by.
Knowing just where the distant island lay, they could manage to locateit by the inky blur that seemed to settle upon the water at this oneparticular spot. But if any one expected to see lanterns moving to andfro like animated fireflies, they made a sad mistake. It remained asdark as the inside of a pocket over there.
"Oh! come, what sort of talk were you giving us, Davy?" remarkedStep-hen, in disgust. "I was mighty comfortable lying on my blanket, andyou just thought you'd see how you could stir us up with some fakenews."
"I tell you I _did_ see it!" affirmed Davy, stoutly.
"Say, I know what he glimpsed," remarked Bumpus.
"What was it, then?" asked Step-hen.
"That star hanging low over yonder," the fat boy went on, eagerly; "if afeller saw it all of a sudden, he might think it moved. And it does looklike a lantern, now, it sure does."
"Think everybody is a booby like,--well, some people, do you, Bumpus?"demanded Davy, indignantly. "What I saw waved back and forward, justlike I might do, if I wanted to make a signal to somebody over here onthe mainland. Thad, you believe me, don't you?"
Before the scout leader could answer, another took up the argument.
"Boys," said Smithy, "what Davy Jones says is perfectly correct, becauseI myself saw some sort of moving light. I just happened to turn my head,for perhaps Davy said something right then, and it was out there overthe dark water."
"There, what d'ye think of that, Smarty?" demanded Davy, turning onStep-hen and Bumpus, who were on the same side for once, and about theonly time the others could remember:
"It goes," said Thad, positively. "What Davy told us has now been provenby a second reliable witness. Then there must have been some sort oflight moving over there on the island. If a light, then a human being,either boy or man. And that makes me all the more anxious to look thatsame island over again. I didn't get to cover all the ground when wewere there last."
"But there wasn't any cabin or hut there?" Bob White declared.
"I don't believe there could be one, and none of us sight it. Still,it's a rocky island, you remember, and there might be some sort of caveon it, good enough to be used to keep a man from the rain, or housinggoods, if need be."
"Whew! listen to Thad, would you?" said Step-hen, drawing a big breath,which betrayed his state of mind, and the excitement that was beginningto make his pulses thrill. "Whatever do you suppose these unknown mencan be doing around here?"
"You remember what I said before about this country having been stockedwith game, and this lake with thousands of young bass years back?" Thadcontinued. "It is possible that some of the late gamekeepers have a neatlittle plan to make a pile of money out of their knowledge. And as thelaw would punish them if they were caught, perhaps they're hiding whilewe're in camp so close by."
"That sounds good enough for me," remarked Giraffe, taking advantage ofThad's attention being diverted to softly toss another pine knot uponthe fire.
"Perhaps it's worse than that," Step-hen remarked, in a half-awed voice."I've been reading a lot lately about some convicts that broke out of apenitentiary up in the next county. Mebbe now some of 'em have locatedhere, and are living off the game they snare in the woods, or the fishthey hook."
"That might be, of course, though I doubt it," Thad went on to remark."In the first place, if they were convicts they would be wearing heavybrogans, such as are always used in prisons. One of these men had on aneat pair of pointed shoes, for I saw the marks clearly. The other'sshoes were pieced. I pointed that out to Bob White, didn't I, Bob?"
"It is just like you say, suh," replied the other, readily; "and youshowed me how I could tell that shoe again any time, and under anyconditions; foh it had a home-made patch on the sole, running crisscrossfrom side to side," and he made the figure with his finger in the earthbeside him.
Davy Jones had left the fire again, to go back to the lake shore, and sodid not happen to hear this explanation. He seemed to be hoping anotherglimpse of the moving lantern would be granted to him. There wassomething so weird and fascinating about the mystery that Davy wished itto keep up.
"How about our moving the camp over on the island to-morrow; have youchanged your mind about that, Mr. Scout-Master?" asked Allan.
"Yes, I was just hanging in the balance, when this new thing happened,and settled it for me," replied Thad.
"Then we don't go?" asked Step-hen, guessing the way things were movingfrom the expression he saw on the other's face.
"It would hardly pay us," answered Thad. "In the first place we'renicely fixed where we are. Then again, if that island should be aharboring place for hoboes or some other rough men, we'd soon get intotrouble with them. I don't think many of us would enjoy sound sleep ifwe camped over there. It would mean sentry duty every night, just likewe were soldiers."
The boys had voted in one way to go over, and no one would have liked toshow the white feather. But this decision on the part of theirscout-master let them "down easy," as Step-hen afterwards confessed. Andthey all seemed to look pleased over the decision, even Davy, who camein just in time to hear the last words Thad spoke, having seen nofurther sign of a lantern.
But perhaps there was one who remained silent, and looked glum when itwas thus decided to remain in the old camp. Giraffe dropped his head, sothat his comrades might not see how disappointed he felt over the changeof plans. For he had hoped that the bear would be set at liberty whenthe last scout took passage for the new island camp; and that the beastwould start off hunting food in the woods after the fashion of bears ingeneral.
Now they faced a panic in the food department, Giraffe feared; for heseemed to be certain that some night that beast would break loose fromhis chain, and devour everything they had in the line of provisions.
"Who goes over with you to-morrow, Thad?" asked Davy, hoping that hemight be the favored one; for Davy loved adventure, and could never gettoo much of the same, he believed.
"Well, I hope he don't choose you, for one, Davy," said Step-hen,jealously.
"Why not?" demanded Davy, showing resentment at once.
"Because you might have one of your fits in the boat, and upset thewhole outfit," Step-hen went on, with a grin; "you know, when we wantedyou to help clean up around the camp yesterday, you said you were afraidof exerting yourself too much, because you felt the signs that alwayscame along before you got one of them terrible cramps."
Davy looked a little confused. Deep down in his own heart he knew thathe had been playing a little game of "shirk" about that time, and takingwhat was a mean advantage of the good nature of his fellow scouts. Andnow it was coming back to make him pay the penalty. So he said notanother word.
"I haven't decided yet who I want to take," remarked Thad, lookingaround at the circle of eager faces upon which the light of the glowingcamp-fire shone; "and perhaps the fairest way will be to draw lots, thenthe lucky one will not be of my picking; and there can be no badfeeling."
Bumpus had been sitting there for some time now, taking things easy. Hecertainly enjoyed remaining quiet as well as any one in the patrol,which, considering his weight, was not to be wondered at.
Some thought must have struck him just about that time, for he wasobserved to struggle to his knees with many a grunt, and then gaininghis feet vanish within the nearest tent.
Nobody was paying any particular attention to the fat youth, however,unless it might have been Step-hen, who turned his head to see what wasgoing on; and even he joined in the laugh when Davy Jones performed oneof his comical antics, jumping up, and hanging from the lower limb of atree by his toes, so that he swung to and fro like a big pendulum.
"Better be careful, suh, how
you play that trick, if ever you go downwith me into the Blue Ridge country," laughed Bob White.
"Why, would they arrest me for cruelty to animals?" demanded Davy, as hemade a flying leap, turned completely over in the air, and landed everso lightly on his feet, as neatly as a circus gymnast might have done.
"No, but if some of the darkies were passing through the woods, suh, andsaw you hanging like that, they'd positively think it was the biggest'possum that ever was grown in North Car'lina. And you'd hear an ax atthe butt of that tree in a jiffy, believe me."
Just then Bumpus came staggering out of the tent, having tripped asusual on a guy rope in his hurry. He scrambled to his feet, and althoughnearly out of breath, managed to grasp:
"Well, there's thieves broke loose in this same camp, fellows, or elsethe place is just bewitched, that's what!"
"You'll have to explain what you mean, Bumpus?" declared Thad; whileStep-hen half started from his seat on a blanket, his face becomingscarlet as if he expected that every eye would immediately be turned inhis direction.
"I tell you I hung it right on the pole in the middle of the tent, andnow it's clean gone. Yes, I even hunted around on the ground, andeverywhere, but nary a sign did I see. Things have come to a prettypass, I think, when a fellow just ain't allowed to leave his haversackaround without somebody running off with the same. Like to know what therules'd say to that sort of thing. Thad, is this going to keep up rightalong? It's downright robbery, that's my opinion; and I don't care whoknows it. Oh! my goodness gracious! there they come now, walkin' rightin on us!"
From the way Bumpus spoke, one would think he meant the thieves weredescending on the camp to complete its looting; and as the boysscrambled to their feet, no wonder they were thrilled to see two shadowyfigures of men advancing from the direction of the dense forest!