CHAPTER X
AT CAMP NO. 2
Professor Skeel might well have shrunk back at the sight whichconfronted him, for Jack stood poised, with raised weapon, as thoughhe had it pointed at the former instructor. But Professor Skeel didnot shrink back. He gazed at the boys, though there was evidence ofsurprise on his face.
"I--I beg your pardon," said Jack, for he could not forget the timewhen the crabbed man had been in authority over him. "I--I--didn't seeyou there," Jack went on.
"Evidently not," said the man, dryly. "You had better be careful whatyou do with a gun."
"I am careful," answered Jack, a trifle nettled at the words and mannerof Mr. Skeel. "I wasn't going to fire until I saw you."
"Oh," said Mr. Skeel.
"I--I didn't mean just that," Jack went on. "I meant I was going to seewhat it was before I shot."
That was decidedly the better way of putting it.
"You--you are quite a ways from--from Elmwood Hall," said Tom,changing from his first intention of saying "home," for he recollectedhe did not know where Professor Skeel lived.
"Yes, I am up here on--business," went on the unpopular man. "And Itrust there aren't any hills where you can roll down big snowballs," headded significantly.
"You seem to forget that was an accident," Tom said. He did notaltogether like Professor Skeel's tone.
"Well, I don't want any accidents like that to happen up here," went onthe former teacher. "And now another matter. Are you boys following me?If you are, I warn you that I will not tolerate it. You must leave mealone. I have business to do up here, and----"
"We most decidedly are _not_ following you!" exclaimed Tom, withemphasis. "Besides, we are on private grounds, the use of which we weregranted for this holiday season, and----"
"Is that a polite request for me to--get off?" asked Mr. Skeel.
"Well, no, not exactly," Tom answered. "We are not the owners, but wehave the privilege of hunting here. It is possible that the caretakermay order you off. But you have no right to say that we are followingyou. We have a right here."
"I didn't _say_ you were--I only _asked_ if you were," said Mr. Skeel,who seemed to "come down off his high horse a bit," as Jack saidafterward.
"Then I'll say that you are entirely mistaken," went on Tom. "Wewere out hunting, and we came upon you unexpectedly. We were as muchsurprised as you were, though we guessed you were in the neighborhood."
"You did?" cried Professor Skeel, with sudden energy. He seemed bothstartled and angry. "Who told you?" he demanded.
"Sam Wilson, the man who drove you over from the depot to Hounson'splace," replied Tom, who had no reason for concealment, and who alsowanted to show that he knew the whereabouts of Mr. Skeel.
"I never told him my name!" declared the former instructor.
Tom did not care to state that they had guessed the identity of the manby the description of his injured ear. The member was in plain sight asTom looked--a ragged, torn lobe, of angry-red color, and it did look,as Sam had said, as though it had been "chawed by some critter."
"You seem to know considerable of my affairs," went on Mr. Skeel. "ButI want to warn you that I will tolerate no spying on my movements, andif you try any of your foolish schoolboy tricks, I shall inform theauthorities." He glared at Tom as he said this, as though challenginghim to make a threat. Doubtless the professor knew that any chargeswhich might lie against him in New Jersey would be ineffective in theAdirondacks. But Tom did not care to press that matter now.
"You need not fear that we will spy on you," said the leader of theyoung hunters. "And as for playing tricks, we have something else todo, Mr. Skeel."
"Very well; see that you keep to it."
He turned as though to go away, and, as he did so the boys saw twoother men advancing up a woodland path toward the professor.
Mr. Skeel made a quick motion toward the men, exactly, as Bert saidafterward, as though he wanted to warn them back. But either they didnot see, or understand, the warning gestures, or else they chose toignore them, for they came up the inclined snowy path, until they stoodin full view of the four boys. At the sight of one of the men, Tomuttered an exclamation, that was echoed by his chums.
"Whalen!" he murmured, recognizing the discharged employee, for whosedismissal he was, in a great measure, responsible, since he had made areport of the man's cruelty to a young student at Elmwood Hall.
"We were looking----" began Whalen, speaking to the professor, whenhe happened to recognize the four young hunters, whom he had evidentlyfailed to notice, as they stood somewhat in the shadow of a big pinetree, and were well wrapped up from the cold.
"Never mind now," said Mr. Skeel, quickly, as though to keep the mansilent. "I was just going back to you. It seems we are on privategrounds."
"Well, what of that?" jeered the other man, who had not yet spoken. Hehad a brutal, evil face.
"Lots of it, if you're not careful," snapped Tom, who did not like thefellow's tone, or manner.
"Oh, is that so, young feller? Well, I'd have you know----"
The man stopped suddenly, for Whalen had administered a quiet kick, andwhispered something in his ear. What he said the boys could not hear,but they saw the warning and quieting chastisement.
"Oh," and the other man, who had been addressed as Murker, seemed toswallow the rest of his words.
"Come on," said Professor Skeel, and without a further look at the fourchums he turned away, followed by the two men with evil faces.
"Whew! This is going some!" gasped Jack, when the trio was out ofsight. "Who'd think of meeting Skeel and those two worthies up here inthe wilderness?"
"Well, we practically knew Skeel was here," said Bert, "though wearen't any nearer than we were in guessing at what his object is. Butit is a surprise to see Whalen and that other man, whoever he is. Theymust be trailing in with Skeel. What's the game, Tom?"
Tom Fairfield did not answer for a moment. He was busy looking at sometracks in the snow.
"Yes, they are just the same," he murmured, slowly.
"What is it? A bear?" asked George, eagerly.
"No, but look," and Tom pointed to some footprints. In the middle ofthe sole of each one was a star made in hob nails.
"Why--why, that's the same mark that was near our cabin," cried Jack.
"Exactly," Tom agreed coolly. "I thought it would prove so."
"But what does it all mean?" asked Bert. "What are they doing up here,and around our cabin?"
"Give it up," spoke Tom. "Maybe they're hunting, as we are."
"But they had no guns," Jack said.
"No. Well, we'll just have to wait and see what turns up," Tom wenton. "I think we gave 'em rather a surprise, though."
"We sure did," agreed George. "But that Whalen surprised me, too. Iwonder how he got here?"
"Didn't you say you told him where we were coming?" Tom asked.
"Yes, I did, after he pumped me with a lot of questions. I didn'trealize what I was doing. I say, Tom, I hope I haven't done any harm!"
"Oh, no. There wasn't any secret about where we were going to spendthe Christmas holidays," Tom said. "But it is rather odd to find thosethree so close after us. But maybe it will be all right. They know theyare on private preserves--our private grounds--for the time being, andI guess they won't trouble us."
"Then it was those three, sneaking around the cabin?" asked Jack.
"Professor Skeel, at least," Tom went on, "though it may have been onlyordinary curiosity that took him there. We'll take a little trip overto Hounson's some day, and see what we can pick up there."
It was getting late, so the young hunters made haste back to theircabin. They had supper, and then once more sat about the fire andtalked through the long Winter evening. The next day they dressed theirgame and cooked it, finding it a welcome relief from the canned meatsand bacon on which they had been living.
The rest of that week they remained in the vicinity of Cabin No. 1,having fair luck, but getting no big game. They saw
one deer, butmissed him. In this time they saw no more of Skeel or his cronies.
"What do you say we go over to Camp No. 2 for a change?" asked Tom, onenight.
"We're with you," his chums agreed, and they made an early start,through the woods, locking up the place they left behind, for theymight not be back for several days. They managed to bag several rabbitsand squirrels on their march, but saw no signs of deer. Sam had toldthem they might not have much luck in this direction.
In due time, by following a copy of the blue print map they had made,they came to Camp No. 2. There had been a light fall of snow in thenight, and as Tom approached the cabin, he cried out:
"Boys, they've been here ahead of us!" He pointed to footprints in thewhite blanket--footprints, one of which had a star in the middle of thesole.