CHAPTER X -- A Sudden Separation
When Mike Murphy hurried off the opposite end of the porch of thebungalow, his single purpose was to rid himself of Hoke Butler, who hadset his heart upon keeping him company for the day. It was a happythought thus to send the youth to collect an imaginary debt from AlvinLandon, and it would seem could scarcely fail of accomplishing the endin view.
"The spalpeen can thravel a good deal faster then mesilf, owing to thelingth of his legs, but I've got too good a start for him to find meamong the traas."
Mike still walked fast, often glancing behind and more and more relievedthat he failed to gain sight of a living person, or rather of him whomhe dreaded to see.
"Hello, Mike, where are you?"
The youth appealed to almost leaped from the ground, for the familiarvoice sounded much too near for comfort.
"I'm here just now," muttered Mike, "but I don't intind to stay. Worrah,worrah, is there no way of shaking ye loose?"
The shout was repeated twice and then ceased. It looked as if Hokebelieved he was too far separated from his friend to reach him bycalling, though he was not likely to give up the search for some time tocome. Mike changed his course and in doing so came near losing himself.It was impossible in the circumstances to go far astray, but he waslikely to waste a good deal of time.
Coming to a halt he took his bearings. He knew he was well to thewestward of the bungalow and not far from the lake. He was sure also,after noting the position of the sun, of the course he should follow toreach the body of water. His plan was to keep along shore until he cameto the western end of the lake, around which he would make his way ifnecessary, returning by the northern bank which would take him past thehome of Dr. Spellman. The conviction, however, was strong with the youngman that he would not be called upon to travel that far before gainingthe knowledge which was drawing him onward as the steel draws themagnet.
When he had traveled far enough to bring him to the lake and stillfailed to catch the gleam of its surface, he halted once more and staredaround.
"If I'm lost agin I'll hire some of the byes to lead me about by thehand, fur I ain't fit to travel alone--hello! there's one of 'em, thatI'll question without letting him know I'm a stray lamb."
He had a glimpse of a moving body almost directly ahead, and knowing itwas one of the scouts he called:
"I wish to remark, me friend, that it's a foine day; if ye agraa wid meI shall be plaised to have ye signerfy the same."
"Why, Mike, I'm so glad to see you again; you ain't mad because I gotlost?"
"Oh, not a bit, as Jim O'Toole said whin the sheriff apologized forshooting him on the wing."
And Mike extended his hand to Hoke Butler as he came grinningly forward.
"How was it ye missed me?" asked Mike innocently.
"I'll be hanged if I can tell; I hurried back after talking to Alvin andought to have found you, but somehow or other I didn't."
"Why didn't ye holler?"
"I nearly split my throat calling to you."
"Strange! I wonder if I'm getting deaf."
"Gracious! I hope not; don't say that or you'll worry me awfully."
"Did Alvin hand ye the five dollars?"
"Not a bit of it. Say, Mike, they must be blamed poor, for they had onlya Canadian quarter between them. I don't think they amount to much."
Mike couldn't stand this slur upon his chums.
"Let me tell ye something that will make ye open yer eyes. AlvinLandon's father is one of the richest men in New York, and Chester's isalmost as wealthy. They are worth millions upon millions of dollars, andthe byes have all the money they want, but they are not such fules asyou and me and don't throw it away, though they give a good deal of itto poor folks. So ye may rist aisy on that score, friend Hoke."
"Gee! I never suspected that. They don't put on any more airs than thepoorest of the Boy Scouts."
"Which the same shows their sinse; they've always been that way andalways will be. But this isn't tending to bus'ness. Do ye wish to keepcompany wid me till night?"
"You bet! I'm going to stick to you like a burr; I hope you haven't anyhard feelings on account of my losing you for a little while. I reallydidn't mean it."
"It's mesilf that has no hard feelings, but I was thinking that if wedon't get back to the clubhouse till night ye will be obliged to loseyour dinner."
"I don't like that much, but I'll stand it for your sake. I'll eventhings up at the supper table. A Boy Scout should learn to suffer whenit can't be helped."
"I've found out the same," replied Mike with a significance which hiscompanion did not catch; "I hope we shan't starve to death."
"No danger of that," remarked Hoke, not absolutely certain that somesuch calamity did not threaten them.
Mike Murphy like a philosopher made up his mind to accept theinevitable. It seemed to be decreed by fate that he should have thisyoung man as a companion throughout at least this day, so what was theuse of kicking against it? Besides, it was not impossible that wherethere was so much eagerness on the part of Hoke to help, he might beable to do so in the strange task Mike had laid out for himself.
One pleasing fact about the intruder was that he never lost his way. Hepointed out the direction in which the lake lay and Mike took care notto let him know he himself had believed that an altogether differentcourse led to it. Pausing on the shore they looked out upon one of themost beautiful and romantic bodies of water to be found in a regionwhich abounds with them. Both saw the canoe laden deeply with three menwhich was heading for a point to the westward of Dr. Spellman's home.The boys studied it closely, but the distance was too great to identifythe old man, and his companions were strangers.
Mike had told young Butler nothing of his experience of the day before,nor did he do so now. Whatever Hoke was able to do in the way of aid hecould accomplish as well while ignorant as if he knew everything.
"Would it be too far, Hoke, for ye to walk wid me round the end of thelake to the spot where the canoe wint from sight?"
"It's a pretty good walk, Mike, but it's nothing so long as I am with_you_. I can't think of anything I wouldn't do to please you."
"I could, but I'll not mintion it," grinned Mike as they resumed theircourse with Hoke in the lead.
The forenoon was half gone when they came to the western end of the lakeand changed their course so as to follow the curvature that would takethem to the northern shore. All the time they were in sight of thewater, which they examined at intervals in quest of other boats. Whilethe home of Dr. Spellman, as we remember, was invisible from the lake,it was easy to locate it by the thin wisp of smoke which filteredthrough the tree-tops. The same could have been said of Uncle Elk'scabin had there been any fire burning.
"I am thinking, Mike," remarked Hoke some time later, "that if youintend to go clean round the lake we haven't any time to throw away."
"We kin take all day and the night, should the same be nicissary, butthere's no call to hurry and if ye find yersilf growing weary, ye haveme permission to turn back whin the notion takes ye."
"We have gone so far that I don't see much choice in taking eitherdirection. I say, Mike, isn't that something queer ahead of us?"
"I'd like to know where ye could be without something qua'ar being aheadof ye,--begora! I belave ye are right," added Mike in surprise. Anobject loomed up which he had not seen before nor had he heard any onespeak of it, though he and others had been in the neighborhood more thanonce.
At a point where the undergrowth was plentiful and less than a hundredyards back from the shore, were the ruins of what probably had once beena fisherman or hunter's cabin. Long before the present time, some partyhad erected these rude quarters as a refuge during cold or stormyweather only to abandon them for more inviting protection. The ruinswere simply four walls of logs hardly a dozen feet square and less thanhalf as high. If there had once been a roof, it had disappeared longsince. No door was visible from where the boys stood.
"I
t reminds me of the Castle of Donleigh, which I niver obsarved,"remarked Mike after they had stood for some minutes.
"I think some one started to put up a cabin such as Uncle Elk did, butchanged his mind before he built a roof. Maybe it was Uncle Elkhimself."
"Aither him or somebody ilse; let's look further."
Instead of going nearer, the two slowly circled the ruins, keeping alittle way from them. When the circuit was completed the surprising factbecame known that nothing in the nature of a door had been made by thosewho laid the logs. Manifestly the structure had been abandoned before itwas half finished.
"It's easy to raise yourself high enough to look inside," suddenlyremarked Hoke; "I'm going to have a peep. Wait here till I come back."
He ran to the side of the pile, with Mike slowly following. The lattergripped his shillaleh firmly, but was moving so slowly that he had notpassed a third of the distance when Hoke inserted the toe of one foot ina lower crevice, sprang lightly upward and seized the topmost log withboth hands. This raised his head above the barrier, and in the sameminute Mike saw a hand thrust forward from the inside, grasp the collarof his companion's coat and violently yank him out of sight.