CHAPTER XXII. DRAWING THE NET.
Whenever Thad Brewster started to do anything he went about it in athorough manner. He was no believer in halfway measures, which accountedfor much of the success that had crowned his efforts in the past, asthose who have read former books in this series must know.
He arranged the beating party in such a way that Giraffe and Davy wenttogether; Allan had Step Hen for a companion; while the Southern ladaccompanied Thad himself.
Having given the camp keepers a few last instructions, with regard toremaining on the alert, and listening for any signals such as members ofthe Silver Fox Patrol were in the habit of exchanging while in the woodsand separated, Thad led the way toward the upper end of the island.
They found no trouble in arriving there. The river had indeed fallen verymuch, and the flat rock upon which the nose of the shanty-boat had beendriven by the fierce current was now away out of the water. Had the craftremained where it struck it would be high and dry ashore.
The boys would not have been human had they not first of all lookedyearningly toward the shore, between which and themselves rolled a widestretch of water. Still, as the sun shone brightly, and the air wasgetting comfortably warm, the outlook did not seem anything like thatwhich they had faced on the preceding morning. And, besides, they hadjust eaten a breakfast that at least satisfied their gnawing hunger, andthat counted for considerable.
Thad did not waste much time in looking around, but proceeded tobusiness. He had already apportioned his followers, so that everyone knewwho his mate was to be.
"Allan, you and Step Hen take the right third; Giraffe, cover the leftside with Davy; and we'll look after the middle," he told them, in hisquiet yet positive way, that caused the words to sink in and beremembered.
"And in case we run across George and his pal we're to give a yell; isthat the game, Thad?" asked the lengthy scout.
"Our old shout that we know so well, don't forget," he was told. "Anordinary whoop isn't enough, for somebody might let out that kind if onlyhe tripped and felt himself falling. If you want me to come across, barklike a fox three times. In case you get no answer, repeat the signal; andif that doesn't fetch me, call out my name."
"We're on, Thad; is that all?" Giraffe asked impatiently.
"Go!"
With that they were off, three pair of eager human hounds, bent ondiscovering the hiding-place of the tramps who had for so long beenhovering just ahead of them like one of those strange lights in swampymarshes, a jack-o'-lantern they call it, that keeps eluding your grasp,now appearing here, and then vanishing, to crop up suddenly in anotherplace.
To begin with it seemed easy enough to move along. The scrub was not verydense at the upper end of the island, for some reason or other, butseemed to get heavier the further they advanced.
Acting on the suggestions of Thad, each couple spread out a little moreas they continued to push on, although remaining in touch with oneanother. In this way it was possible to cover more ground than by keepingclose together.
Giraffe was certainly in his element. He kept his gun-stock partly underhis arm, and was ready to elevate the weapon at a second's warning; infact, as he prowled along in this way the tall scout looked the pictureof a hunter expecting feathered game to flush before him, which he mustcover instantly, or expect it to place obstacles between, as a woodcockalways will.
Davy did not like to roam along entirely unarmed, and hence he had huntedup a club, which he gripped valorously. He kept just a little behindGiraffe, if an imaginary line were marked across the island from shore toshore. This was because he wished to allow the one who held the firearm afull sweep of territory in case he found occasion to shoot, or eventhreaten.
Now and then Giraffe would speak to his companion, as a rule asking himto "kindly give a poke in that patch of bushes, where it looks like a manmight find it easy to hide"; or "peek into that hole between the rocks,Davy--don't be afraid a bear'll come out at you, 'cause there ain't anysuch good luck waiting for us."
By giving various signals the boys managed to maintain something like astraight line as they pushed on. They could see one another frequently,too, which enabled them to keep from forging ahead in any one place.
"Listen to the crows cawing, will you?" Giraffe presently remarked, asthough the noise of the flock might be sweet music to his ears, since ittold of the life in the open which Giraffe dearly loved.
"They're a noisy lot, ain't they?" remarked Davy; "whatever d'ye s'poseails that bunch of crows, Giraffe? Would they scold that way if they justhappened to see a pair of hoboes eating breakfast, d'ye think?"
"Well, it might be they would," the other replied thoughtfully; "and cometo think of it they're somewhere down below us, ain't they? Hunters oftenknow when game is moving by the signs in the sky; for birds can see down,and they talk, you know, in a language of their own. I've often wished Icould understand what crows said when they scolded so hard."
Just there Davy began to move away from his partner again, as he tried tocover his share of the territory; so conversation died out temporarilybetween them.
They had passed the place where the camp fire burned, with Bumpus andSmithy watching their movements eagerly. The thick brush now hid the campfrom their sight, and what lay before them they could only guess.
Once more Davy drew close to his mate, thrusting his club to the rightand to the left, in the endeavor not to leave a stone unturned inclearing up the land.
"Wherever do you think they've gone, Giraffe?" he asked, as thoughbeginning to feel the strain of the suspense that hung over them, as theycontinued this strange hunt for the tramps.
"It's my honest opinion," the other replied, "that we ain't going to seea sign of 'em till we get away down to the other end. And they didn'tcome through here, either, because we'd have run across some sign to tellus that."
"Then how could they reach the lower end of the island?" demanded Davyquickly, thinking he had caught Giraffe in a hole.
"Why, they made off to the beach after they got the stuff, and traileddown that way, which you can understand must have been the easiest, allthings considered," the tall scout went on to explain. "I believe inapplying that old principle, and figgering what you'd have done if it hadbeen you. And anybody with horse sense'd know it was lots easier trampingon the shore, to this way of breaking through."
"Still, Thad thought we ought to do it?" Davy remarked.
"Thad was right, as he nearly always is," Giraffe pursued doggedly;"because this is the only way we can make dead sure. I've got a hunchthat they built a fire and proceeded to cook a warm meal. Want to knowwhat makes me think so? Well, we had an extra box of matches along, andthat went with the rest of the things. George knew he needed it. Longbefore now they've had their fire, and it's all day with that grub ofours. We'll get it back when we surround the hoboes; but you won't knowit."
"What if they won't surrender when we ask 'em?" Davy wanted to know.
"They'd better go slow about that same," he was immediately told, asGiraffe shook his head energetically; "we've got the law on our side, yousee, after that pair breaking into the farmhouse the way they did, andshowing themselves to be regular robbers as well as tramps, yeggmen theycall that kind. If I pinked George, after seeing him threaten me, Icouldn't be held responsible for the same. When a man is a fugitive fromjustice, and the long arm of the law is stretched out to grab him, hehasn't got any rights, you understand. Every man's hand is against him,and he's just got to take his medicine, that's all."
Giraffe had a little smattering of legal knowledge, and he certainly didlike to hear himself talk, given half a chance. Just then Davy seemed tobe glad to learn certain facts, upon which he may have been a littlehazy.
"Didn't I hear you talking with Step Hen the last time you crossed overto his line; or no, it must have been Bob White, because he's with Thadin the middle track?" Giraffe asked, a short time later, as once more heand his partner came into
touch.
"Yes, it was Bob speaking to me," admitted the other, "and what d'yethink, he said he believed he had discovered a bee tree, and only wishedwe would be here long enough to get a chance at the honey."
"Well, what next, I wonder?" ejaculated Giraffe, with the air of one whohad received especially good news; "I always did say I liked honey aboutas well as anything that grew; but, then," he added, as though seizedwith a sudden depressing remembrance, "what good would all the wild honeygoing do a fellow when he hasn't got a cupful of flour to make a flapjackwith, or a single cracker to eat with the nectar? Oh! rats! but this istough!"
"Anyhow," Davy continued, "Bob, he said the tree was a whopper for size,and the hive was away up in a dead limb that we couldn't well reach; so Iguess that winds it up for us this trip. And as you say, Giraffe, whatgood would just plain honey do a starving crowd? Give me bread before youtry to plaster me with honey. Still, it's queer how many things we keepfinding on this same island, isn't it?"
"There goes another rabbit right now, Davy; and I could have knocked himover as easy as you please, if I was hunting something to eat, instead of_men_! They always do say what strange things you do see when you haven'tgot a gun; and with us it runs the other way; for we've got ashooting-iron, but dassen't use the same for fear of alarming our humanquarry."
"You do manage to put things before a fellow the finest way ever,Giraffe," Davy told him; "and some of these days I expect to see youmaking a cracking good lawyer, or an auctioneer, or something thatrequires the gift of gab. But seems to me we've been poking like this fora long time now. How much further d'ye think the island runs?"
"It's some longer'n I had any idea would be the case," admitted Giraffe;"but I reckon we're shallowing up now. The shore line looks to me likeit's beginnin' to draw in closer, every time I make the beach. If that'sso we ought to come together down at the lower end before a great whilenow."
"Say, what if we do get there and never once sight George and his pal,Giraffe?"
"Aw! don't be trying to get off conundrums on me, Davy; I never was muchgood guessing the answer," the tall scout went on to complain. "It don'tseem like that could happen, because they're here on our island, and wesure haven't left a single place unsearched where a fox could hide. Don'tborrow trouble, my son. We're bound to corral the pair down at the lowerpoint; and they'll throw up their hands when they see us coming, sixabreast, with guns leveled and all that."
"I hope so, Giraffe; I hope it turns out that way; but I'm not feeling assure as you are. Something seems to keep on telling me we're due for abig surprise, and I'm trying to shut my teeth, so as to be ready to meetit like a scout should always meet trouble."
He had hardly said the last word when a large object jumped almost underDavy's feet, upsetting him completely. And as he fell over, nimblyturning a complete back-somersault, for Davy was as smart at such thingsas any circus performer, he managed to bawl out wildly:
"Bear! Bear! why don't you shoot it, Giraffe?"