CHAPTER XX.
SHERIFF BOB'S BOMB EXPLODES.
"There they come!"
It was the observant "Old Eagle Eye," as some of the boys calledGiraffe, who gave utterance to these words.
Early morning was at hand. All through the balance of the night thoseleft in the camp in the valley had been momentarily expecting to havethe sheriff and his older companion drop in on them; but possiblyArtemus may have found himself unable to travel as fast as hisambition would force him, and the pair had been compelled to rest upsomewhere on the road.
Every one in the camp was of course on the line of duty at daybreak.While Bumpus and Bob White started to get breakfast, Giraffe andAllan were using their eyes as best they could, seeing that the mistsstill hung over the valley, obscuring things at a little distance.
Thad was invisible, also Aleck. Truth to tell they had betakenthemselves off within an hour after that astounding message was receivedfrom the far-distant point where Step Hen waved his fiery torch.
Of course, one of the first things Thad had done was to question theother concerning this man who called himself Artemus Rawson. Aleckadmitted that he was in truth his own uncle; but added that the lawyerfrom Denver had fallen under the same spell as many others, and wasallowing himself to dream of being the one to re-discover thelong-lost mine.
Aleck had said that it seemed as though every one who heard about itbecame imbued with a mad desire to possess the treasure. There wasKracker who had made several long searching trips up here with thatone object in view; and was even then doing everything in his power toget possession of the secret.
Crafty Uncle Artemus had gone about it in a different way. He had hungaround the dwelling-place of the widow, and in his sly, lawyer-likemethod, tried to learn what was going on. He suspected that the secretof the location of the mine had been discovered in some way, from thechange in the atmosphere about the Rawson home, and the air ofexcitement that could not easily be subdued; but no matter how hetried, he could not learn just what it all meant.
Then came the sudden vanishing of Aleck. This must have given thelawyer points and he started after the boy. His accusation concerninghis nephew having robbed him was of course all a part of a fine littlescheme he had hatched up. While the big prospector believed in actualforce to squeeze the secret from the unwilling lips of the lad; shrewdUncle Artemus was inclined to try and make a show of having the law onhis side.
But in both cases, actually robbery was intended.
And Thad believed every word of the explanation made by Aleck. Hecould not have done otherwise, looking in those frank and fearlesseyes, and reading the clean soul of the Rawson boy.
So the scoutmaster had decided that he and Aleck would disappear fromthe valley camp for a short time, leaving no trail by which they couldbe followed. He did not tell a single one of his chums just what theplan was, because he was desirous of keeping the secret. Then, in casethe sheriff questioned them concerning the movements of the missing two,they could truthfully declare they did not know a thing about them.
But Thad made preparations looking to the carrying-out of a boldproject which he and the Rawson boy had talked over betweenthemselves. This was nothing more nor less than a hunt for thelong-hidden silver mine!
Thad thought that the sooner Aleck made sure his little chart, foundconcealed in the back of that small pocket mirror which his dyingfather had placed in his hands, was correct, the better.
And that accounted for several queer things he did on leaving camp,one of which, the taking of the only lantern they had brought withthem, astonished Bumpus very much indeed, not to mention Giraffe andBob White.
The Fox had not been invited to join in the expedition; but later onit was found that he had disappeared. Still, no one was worried, forit seemed to be taken for granted that he must have followed Thad andAleck. They remembered that the latter had claimed a long-standingfriendship with the Fox. And it was also known that the Crow boy hadbecome an ardent admirer of the scoutmaster, whom he believed to be achief worth serving.
When Old Eagle Eye, then, announced that the two men were coming, theothers craned their necks to look. Allan told them not to appear toocurious; and so those who were busy at the fire went on with theirculinary labors, cooking a bountiful breakfast, as it seemed that theymight have company.
Sheriff Bob and the lawyer soon strode into camp--at least theofficer did the striding part, for old Artemus seemed pretty nearlyfagged out. A burning desire to acquire a glorious fortune so easilywas all that kept him up, otherwise he would never have been able tohave stood the long tramp as he did.
The first thing the sheriff did after replying to the salutation ofAllan, was to scan each one of the four boys in turn, and then turningto his companion, say tersely:
"None of these the one you want, I reckon, sir?"
The old Denver lawyer looked dreadfully disappointed. His ferrit-likeeyes had flitted from one to another of the scouts, and each time hechanged base his long cunning face grew more like a blank.
"No, my nephew isn't in sight, as I can see, Sheriff," he replied,with a frown, and a look toward Allan, as though to say that it washis opinion the boy might produce the one they sought, if proper forcewere applied.
"Having a hunt up here in the mountains, are you, boys?" asked thesheriff, as he followed the example of the lawyer, and dropped downnear the fire, crossing his legs tailor-fashion, as though he meant tomake himself quite at home.
"Yes, we want to get a big-horn or so to take back with us," repliedAllan.
"Just the four of you?" continued the other, arching his heavy browsas if with surprise.
"Oh! no, there are a lot of other fellows," replied the scout who tookThad's place as leader when the other happened to be absent.
"Oh! that's it, eh? Rest off on a little side hunt right now, Ireckon. P'raps you've got a guide along with you, too?" the officercontinued, bending his neck, so that he could see inside the nearesttent, the flap of which happened to be on the side toward him, andthrown back to allow of ventilation.
"Oh! yes, we've got a guide now, though for a long time we had to goit alone, and managed to get on pretty well," Allan continued,wondering why it was he could catch a peculiar quizzical gleam in thesnapping eyes of the other, once in a while, when the sheriff lookedstraight at him.
"Who is he; perhaps I might happen to know him?" asked the other,accepting a tin cup filled with coffee, from Bumpus.
"I'm sure you do, sir," Allan hastened to remark; and then,remembering that he was not supposed to know of the visit the sheriffand his employer had paid to the camp of the big-horn hunters on theprevious night, he hastened to add: "everybody knows honest TobySmathers, the forest ranger, I should think."
"Well, I should say, yes, I did," replied the other, commencing tocalmly devour the piece of venison that had been placed on hisplatter, as though his appetite was sharp indeed this bracing morning."And so you boys have come away out here just to see what we've got inthese Rockies, eh?"
"Just what we have, sir," replied Giraffe, thinking that he would liketo have the sheriff notice him a little.
"And I declare, you seem to be fixed pretty comfortable like," theother went on. "Just look at the tents they brought with them, Mr.Rawson. I've always said that on the whole they were better than theold-fashioned tents. You can see how the heat of the fire on a coldnight is sent back into the tent; and there's aplenty of head-roomhere. Yes, both of 'em as cozy as you please."
He had seemed so very much interested in the subject that he even laiddown his tin cup and platter, and gaining his feet, passed over, topeer into each tent, as if bent on ascertaining what the interiorlooked like.
Allan, of course, knew just what this meant. The sheriff was looking forAleck, as if he half-expected to find the hunted boy concealed under apile of blankets. And yet it puzzled Allan to note that, in spite of thekeen disappointment which would naturally follow a failure to locate theboy, Sheriff Bob was even chuckling as he once mo
re sat him down in thecircle, and resumed operations on his breakfast.
Something seemed to be amusing him, Allan wished he could tell what.He felt it must have some connection with the search for Aleck Rawson;though for the life of him he could not decide what was in thesheriff's mind.
The talk soon became general, though Artemus took no part in it. Hesent a beseeching glance every now and then in the direction of theofficer, as if begging him to do something; but whatever it might be,evidently Sheriff Bob was in no hurry, and meant to finish that goodbreakfast first, anyway.
Presently, as he emptied his platter the second time, and swallowedhis third cup of scalding Java the officer remarked:
"I know something about the Boy Scouts myself, it happens. Got ayoungster down below that belongs to a troop. Great thing. Teacheslads lots of the right kind of outdoor business. Makes 'em healthy,and able to depend on themselves a heap. My kid, he's dead stuck onthis signal business with flags and such. Glad to see it, too. Takesme back to old times, as sure as you live."
He stopped there, and seemed to reflect. It was as though memoriesmight be arising that were pleasant to look back upon. Meanwhile Allanwas conscious of something like a little thrill passing through him.He seemed to feel that this was no accidental mention on the part ofthe man with the twinkle in his eye; but in fact, it might havesomething deep back of it.
"Yes," Sheriff Bob went on, presently, turning straight toward Allannow. "I used to belong in the army years ago--spent six years of mylife in the Signal Corps, and was accounted a pretty good operator inwigwag, telegraph, telephone building, and heliograph work while Iserved. And honest now, I must say I never enjoyed a finer half hourthan I spent last night, sitting on a rock up yonder, and watchingthat lively little confab you held with your chum, who, I think wasthe boy calling himself Step Hen. He did the job up pretty well,considering; and as for your Thad, he's chain lightning on the send.Yes, siree bob, that was a picnic to an old Signal Corps man like me,as you can easily understand, my boy!"
The four scouts sat there as if frozen stiff. Consternation waswritten all over their faces; and no wonder the humorous sheriff, ashe saw what a bomb he had exploded, chuckled, and then laughed aloud.