CHAPTER V
GETTING READY FOR THE GREAT HIKE
"Can you see him yet, Paul?" whispered Jack, presently; for he haddropped behind his companion, and his view was slightly hindered.
"Yes, he seems to be following Mr. Clausin," returned the patrol leader,in an awed tone.
"Whatever ought we to do?" demanded Jack. "Perhaps he may be one of thesame crowd that robbed the feed store. And now he is following Joe'sfather home! Oh! Paul, do you think he means to hold him up, or find outwhere he lives, so he can steal something more?"
"I don't know," returned Paul, dubiously; "but we can't stay here andlet this thing go on."
"That's what I say, too," Jack hastened to say, as he once more reachedhis feet. "Shall we call, and bring some of the fellows around? You knowhow to bark like a fox better than any other scout in the troop. Givethe distress signal, Paul. If there's any fellow within a block of ushe's bound to hurry this way."
But Paul hesitated.
"That might do the job all right; but at the first sign of danger don'tyou expect this fellow would disappear? How could we prove anything,then, Jack; tell me that?"
"But if you won't do what I say, I'm sure it's because you've gotsomething else on tap that is better. Put me wise to it, Paul," beggedJack.
"Come on then; we mustn't lose sight of that fellow. Walk fast, becausewe ought to pass him by," observed the scout leader, starting out.
"But Paul, you don't mean to tackle him, do you?" asked his chum,thrilled by the prospect of an encounter with the unknown.
"Why, not if I know it! He isn't likely to say or do anything when wehurry past him, you see," came Paul's low reply.
"Oh! I get on now;" whispered Jack, as he clung to the arm of his mate;"you expect to warn Mr. Clausin! That's a good idea. He'd know what todo, of course."
Involuntarily Paul caressed the left sleeve of his khaki coat, where thered silk badge that indicated his right to the exalted office ofassistant scoutmaster was fastened, just above the silver one tellingthat he was also a second class scout patrol leader.
"Why should it," he said in reply; "when our motto is always 'beprepared'? But don't say anything more, Jack, just now."
His companion saw the wisdom of what he said, for they had been rapidlyovertaking the figure that was trailing after Mr. Clausin.
The man looked back over his shoulder several times, as though he hadcaught the sound of their footsteps, and was interested. Paul noticed,however, that he did not show any intention of slinking away, and hewondered at this.
When the boys passed him the man simply lowered his head, so that thebrim of his hat would shield his face. He gave no sign that he felt anyannoyance, and Paul could hear his chum breathe a sigh of relief.Evidently Jack was keyed up to a point close to an explosion.
Mr. Clausin was now only a short distance ahead, and they hurriedfaster, so as to overtake him quickly.
"Why, is that you, Paul?" he asked, as, hearing the patter of stepsclose behind, he turned hastily.
"Yes, sir," replied the scout leader, somewhat out of breath from hisexertions, "we wanted to catch you before you left the town limits,sir."
"To catch me," returned the gentleman, showing signs of interest. "Andwhy, may I ask, Paul?"
"Oh! Mr. Clausin," broke in Jack at this juncture, "somebody isfollowing you--a man who seems to be a stranger in town! After whathappened last night we thought you ought to know it. There he is,standing in the shadow of that big elm back there."
To the utter astonishment of the two boys the gentleman, instead ofshowing any alarm, such as they expected, seemed amused. He evenchuckled, as though something bordering on the humorous took the placeof fear.
"It was very kind of you, boys, to follow after me to give me warning,"he said, laying a hand on each of them. "But this time I rather suspectit's going to turn out to be a flash in the pan. Because, you see, mylads, I just said good-night to that same stranger at the door of myplace of business, where we have been holding a consultation. Possiblyhe took a notion to see me safely home, not knowing but what I might beheld up a second time."
"Oh!" exclaimed Jack, in a disappointed tone, "then he's a friend ofyours, sir? How silly we have been! We thought we might be doing you aservice in warning you. Come along, Paul; let's fade away!"
"Not just yet, boys, please," said Mr. Clausin. "Your intentions wereall right, and for that I'm a thousand times obliged. Besides, you didme a great favor last night, one I'm not likely to forget. I want you tomeet my friend. He's expressed himself as one who believes in the greatmovement you lads represent in this town."
Then raising his voice he called out:
"Mr. Norris, step this way, please!"
Immediately the shadowy figure started toward them. It was evident thatthe mysterious gentleman must have partly guessed the mission of theboys, for he was chuckling softly to himself as he came up.
"This is something of a joke on me, Mr. Clausin," he remarked, as ifamused. "To think of one in my line of business being outwitted by acouple of lads. But then even lawyers will have to look to their laurelswhen they run up against boys who have been trained in the clevertactics of this scout movement. Am I right in believing one of thesechaps must be Paul?"
"Yes, this one, Mr. Norris; and the other is his friend, Jack Stormways,of whom I was also speaking to you," replied the merchant.
"Glad to meet you, boys, and shake hands with you both," observed Mr.Norris warmly. "I've got a couple of my own boys down in the city, whoare just as wild over this scouting business as you fellows up here seemto be. And my friend Clausin here, has been telling me a few interestingthings in connection with a runaway horse, and a burning house. Suchevidences make me feel more positive than ever that only good can comeout of the organization you belong to."
Of course the boys hardly knew what to say in connection with such ahandsome compliment; but they returned the warm pressure of thegentleman's hand.
"I ought to tell you, Paul," remarked Mr. Clausin just then, "that thisgentleman is my lawyer. I wired him to come up here and see me, as Iwished to consult him about those papers which are so strangely missing.You see, I have a pretty good idea who may have taken them, and theirloss complicates matters very much. So I was in need of advice. Besides,I was in hopes Mr. Norris, who is a smart man in his class, might beable to suggest some way in which I could recover the papers."
Paul was more than ever interested now in those missing documents. Hecould not help wondering what their nature could be to give their lateowner so much distress of mind. And besides, he was puzzled tounderstand just how Mr. Clausin hoped to ever set eyes on them again.Would the thief open up communications with him, and demand a ransom fortheir return?
These things kept cropping up in his mind long after he had saidgood-night to the two gentlemen, and even separated from his chum. Theycame back to him when he woke up in the middle of the night, and laythere in his own snug little room at home, where he was surrounded byshelves of books, trophies of contests on the athletic field, and suchother things as the heart of a healthy lad loves.
There was something very singular in the manner of Mr. Clausin when hereferred to the contents of the little tin box. Paul disliked very muchto give anything up; but it was only groping in the dark to try andsolve the puzzle without more of a clue than he possessed.
Besides, the regular scoutmaster being off on one of his periodicalbusiness trips, much of the duty of preparing for the long trip into thewilderness devolved on Paul.
School was just over for the Summer, and every member of the troopseemed to be bubbling with enthusiasm in connection with thecontemplated outing. Nothing like it had ever been attempted before; andscores of things must be looked after.
By the time the scouts got in camp they expected Mr. Gordon, thescoutmaster, to join them, and take charge. But it would be upon Paul tomake all necessary preparations, secure the supplies, look after thetents, packing of knapsacks, blankets, and such food as they
would need.
No one could have been found better equipped for such a task. Paul lovedall outdoors, and for some years had spent every bit of time he couldduring his vacations away from town. He was a good swimmer, knew allabout the best way to revive a person who had been in the water aperilous length of time, and besides, had studied the habits of bothgame fishes and the inhabitants of the woods, fur, fin and feather.
It can be readily understood then, how he threw himself heart and soulinto the task of getting Stanhope Troop in readiness for the long trip.Some of the boys' parents were worried about letting their boys go sofar away; in fact three were sent to visit distant relatives just tokeep them from temptation; but this move made discontented boys duringthe entire Summer; for they had set their hearts on being with theirfellow scouts, and felt that they were missing the time of their lives.
When only one more day remained before the time arranged for thedeparture of the troop, Paul, on "counting noses," found that he mightexpect just twenty-two besides himself to make the grand march.
"It's going to be a success!" ventured Jack, as he and his chum wentover the roster on that preceding night, checking off all those who hadsolemnly agreed to be on hand in the morning.
"I hope so," replied Paul, seriously; "but I'd feel better if I knewwhat we were going to buck against up there at Rattlesnake Mountain,and that's a fact."
That was a boy's way of putting it; but perhaps had he been granted thatprivilege Paul might have been appalled at the array of adventures instore for them.