CHAPTER XVIII
WHAT LAY IN THE BRUSH
"Wake up, Paul!"
Bobolink accompanied these whispered words by a gentle shake. He seemedto know instinctively just where the scout master was lying; or else itmust have been, that all this had been systematically laid outbeforehand; and every fellow had a particular place where he was to curlup in his blanket when not on duty.
Paul was awake instantly, even though he had been far gone in sleep atthe moment that hand touched his arm.
"All right, Bobolink," he said, in a low tone, so as not to arouse any ofthe others. "I'm with you. Time up?"
"Not quite, Paul; but there's some sort of beast creeping around thecamp; and I thought you ought to know."
Paul sat up at once.
"You did the right thing, Bobolink," he remarked, quietly.
The sentry could hear him groping around, as if for something. PresentlyPaul seemed to have found what he sought. Of course it was his shotgun.
Wildcats were to be found in some of the woods not many miles fromStanhope. The scouts knew this, because they had experience with thesebold pests, who had been attracted by the smell of food in their camp.Besides, there were sometimes packs of wild dogs roaming the woodsthat might need to be taught a lesson, in case they gave the campersany trouble.
So Paul had been wise to bring that double-barreled gun along. In apinch it would prove a handy thing to have with them. And no doubt itgave Bobolink considerable satisfaction to realize that Paul had such aweapon handy.
Immediately the sentry started to crawl out of the tent again, with Paulclose at his heels. A head was raised, and one of the supposed sleeperswatched the dim figures retreating.
It was Nuthin, who had chanced to be restless, and was awake at the timeBobolink came in to arouse the scout master. He had heard all that passedbetween them, and of course felt a thrill at the idea of some ferociouswild beast prowling around the tents.
Hardly had the other pair withdrawn before Nuthin started after them. Hemight be a rather timid boy by nature; but when there was anything goingon Nuthin could not rest content unless he placed himself in a positionwhere he could see or hear--perhaps both.
Bobolink led the way back to the post he had been occupying at the timehe made his discovery. He hoped those luminous eyes would still bethere, because it might not look just right should he be able to show noproof of his story; and boys will take occasion to make all sorts ofjeering remarks about a fellow falling asleep on his post, and dreamingwonderful things.
So it was with considerable anxiety that the sentry crept along to thevery spot which he remembered he had been occupying at the time.
Considerably to his dismay he could see nothing. There was the patch ofbrush in which he had discovered those gleaming orbs, and from which hadarisen a low, threatening growl when he first moved off; but look as hemight Bobolink was unable to detect the first sign of a hostile presence.
He felt disgusted with himself. Luck seemed to be playing him allmanner of tricks of late, and nothing went right. There was that affairof the queer boxes which had been bothering him so long; then themystery of the unknown men who had ordered the scouts to leave theisland in such a peremptory fashion, without giving the least reasonfor their churlishness. And now, here, even this little matter couldnot work straight.
"It's gone, Paul!" he felt compelled to mutter, after striving severaltimes to detect some sign, however faint, of those terrible yellow eyes.
"Just where did you see it, Bobolink?" asked the scout master, knowingfrom his chum's manner how disappointed the sentry must feel that he wasthus unable to prove his assertion.
"Right in that brush yonder; you c'n see it looks darker than anythingelse," replied Bobolink, eagerly; as if hoping that after all Paul's eyesmight prove better than his own, and pick up the lost glow.
"Well, it seems to have gone away, then," said the scout master.
"I'm afraid so," grumbled Bobolink, for all the world as though his wholereputation for veracity depended on his showing the other that he had notbeen imagining things when he gave his alarm.
"What did you see?" continued Paul.
"Two yellow eyes, and say, weren't they just awful, though? But seemslike the varmint has side-stepped, and vamoosed. Just my luck, hang it! Iwanted you to see 'em the worst kind, Paul."
"A pair of shining eyes, eh? When you moved, did you hear anything,Bobolink?"
"Sure I did. It growled just like our dog does at home, when he's got abone, and anybody gets too near him," the sentry hastened to explain.
"Made you think of a dog, did it, and not a cat?" asked Paul, quickly.
"Why, yes, I reckon it did," replied Bobolink; "leastways, that's whatcame into my mind. But then a big cat, a regular bobcat, I take it, couldgrowl that way, if it felt a notion to."
"You came straight in to wake me up, of course?" continued Paul,wishing to figure on the time that might have elapsed since Bobolinkleft his post.
"Crawled right in, and we got back here in a jiffy; but you see it was nouse when that jinx is on my trail, meanin' to loco everything I do. Now,I reckon if it'd been any other feller in the bunch, the critter'd juststood its ground, and I'd be vindicated. But me--I'm hoodooed of late,and can't do a thing straight."
"Listen!" said Paul, a little sharply, as though he had no sympathy withsuch talk.
They strained their hearing for possibly a full minute. Then Bobolink,who liked to talk, could no longer hold in.
"What'd you think you heard, Paul?" he whispered.
"A little rustling sound just alongside the brush you pointed out," thescout master replied.
"But you didn't get it again; did you?" urged the other.
"No. But that needn't be proof that something isn't there, and watchingus, even if we don't glimpse his eyes," replied Paul.
"Oh!" ejaculated Bobolink, with a sudden sense of relief in his voice.
"You heard the rustling then; didn't you?" Paul demanded.
"I sure did, and right over back of the brush it seemed to be. P'rapshe's givin' the camp the shake, Paul; mebbe he's made up his mind itain't as healthy a place as he thought, after all."
"It couldn't be one of the other sentries moving around, I suppose?"ventured Paul, at which his companion gave a low chuckle.
"With those glaring yellow eyes? Well, hardly, Paul. My stars! but ifyou'd only seen 'em, you'd never say that. And besides, the boys wereordered not to leave their posts, only to wake up the fellow thatcame after 'em. Oh! put it down for me that isn't any of our bunchstirring around."
"Then I must find out what it is!" said Paul, with a ring ofdetermination in his voice.
"Wow! d'ye mean to rush the beast, Paul, and try to knock him over with acharge of Number Sevens?" demanded Bobolink.
"I've got something better than that to scare him off," replied Paul."You know we don't want to shoot a gun, if we can help it; because thereport would tell the men that we'd come back, and might bring trouble.I've got my little electric hand torch with me, and if I flash that intothe face of any wild animal the chances are it'll give him a scarethat'll send him off about his business."
"Oh! I forgot all about that," said Bobolink. "It's just the thing, too.How lucky you brought it along, Paul."
Bobolink looked on a good many things as "luck," one way or the other,when of a truth they were really planned ahead. The scout master hadrealized that such a useful little contrivance would be apt to come inhandy on many occasions, when camping out, and had made it a particularpoint to put the torch in his pack before leaving home.
He had it beside him as he slept, but did not consider it wise to pressthe button when awakened, lest the flash arouse the others who weresleeping in the same tent.
Bobolink could feel him moving away, and not meaning to be left behind,he started after. Bobolink possessed courage, even if he lackeddiscretion. The possibility of an encounter with this doubtless savageanimal did not deter him from following his leader.
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Again they heard that suspicious rustling in the bushes ahead, this timelouder than before. And quickly on the heels of this sound came a low,threatening growl that, strangely enough, made Bobolink chuckle softly,he was so pleased over having his announcement proven true to theCommodore of the motorboat fleet.
"Look out, Paul," he whispered; "he's laying for you in those bushes.Better keep your gun handy, and be ready to give him Hail Columbia!"
Paul did not answer. He had his gun held in such a way that it could befired with a second's warning. At the same time his left hand wasgripping the little electric torch, with his thumb pressed against thetrigger that would connect the battery, and send an intense ray of lightwherever he pointed.
When he heard another rustle, and a growl even more vicious than before,he judged about the position of the sounds, and pointing the end of thetorch straight ahead, pressed the button.
As the vivid flash followed Paul saw something that looked like acrouching panther staring at the dazzling glow of his torch--a hairybeast that had rather a square head, and a tail that was lashing to andfro, just as he had seen that of a domestic cat move with jerks, when ahostile dog approached too close to suit her ideas of safety.