CHAPTER XXVI
HONORABLE SCARS
So it turned out after all that the scout master did not have to changehis mind, and give the order for retreat. When that dreadful panicoverwhelmed the scouts, it was really a case of "every one for himself."
Either by rare good luck, or some sort of instinct, the seven ladsmanaged to keep pretty well together as they ran. Not a single fellowdreamed of allowing himself to get separated from his comrades. It seemedto be a case of "united we stand, divided we fall," or "in union there isstrength."
If in their mad rush some of the boys collided with trees, or stumbledover obstacles that they failed to discover in time, they were not of amind to let such trifles interfere with their making record time.
In such cases it was only necessary to scramble erect again, and put on alittle extra spurt in order to overhaul their comrades.
What had taken them half an hour to cover when they were "scouting" insuch approved fashion, was passed over in about five minutes.
It was Paul who came to his senses first. He realized that there was noone chasing them and that, to tell the truth, not one of the boys couldhave been seriously hurt by what had befallen.
So he began to laugh, and the sound reaching the ears of the others,appeared to act on their excited minds like soothing balm.
Gradually the whole lot slackened their pace until they were going at ajog trot; which in turn settled down to a walk.
Finally Bobolink came to a full stop.
"Whee! let's get a few decent breaths, fellows!" he managed to gasp.
The others were apparently nothing loth, and so they all drew up in abunch. A sorry lot they looked just then, to tell the truth. It seemed asthough nearly every fellow had some distinguishing mark.
Phil's rather aristocratic face had a long scratch that extended down theright side, and gave him a queer look; Jack was caressing a lump on hisforehead, which he may have received from a tree, or else when he wasknocked down without warning by that singular explosion; Andy was tryingto quench a nose-bleed, and needed his face washed the worst way; Bluff'sleft eye seemed partly closed, as if he had been too close to thebusiness end of an angry bee; while Bobolink had two or three small cutsabout his face that made him look as if he had been trying to tattoohimself--with wretched success.
So they looked at one another, and each thought the balance of the crowdhad the appearance of a set of lunatics on the rampage.
Hardly had they stared at each other than they set to laughing.
"Oh! my stars! but aren't you a screamer though, Andy, with all thatblood smeared over your face; and Bluff, why he looks as if he'd been ina prize fight!" was the way Bobolink expressed his feelings, bending overas he laughed.
"Huh! you're not so very pretty yourself!" replied Bluff, with not theslightest sign of an impediment in his speech--evidently it had beenfrightened out of his system for the time being. "Anybody'd think youwere a South Sea Islander on the warpath. And wouldn't they cross over tothe other side of the road in a hurry if they met you! Say, if MazieKenwood or Laura Carson could only see you now, they'd give you the cutstraight."
"Look at Jack's bump, would you?" Tom Betts exclaimed.
"Don't call attention to me any more than you can help," Jack remarked,making a wry face, as he caressed the protuberance on his forehead; "itfeels as big as a walnut, let me tell you, and hurts like fun. The soonerI'm back in camp, so I can slap some witch hazel on that lump, the betterit'll please me, boys."
After a little more laughing and grumbling, Paul, who had escaped withoutany visible hurts, though he walked a little lame, remarked:
"Well, do we start right back again, and take a look-in on those men?Don't everybody speak at once, now!"
All the same they did, and the burden of the united protest was thatcircumstances alter cases; that they had arrived at the conclusion thatwhat those men were doing on the island could be no affair of honest,law-abiding scouts; and that as for them, the camp in the sink offeredmore attractions at that particular moment than anything else theycould think of.
Of course that settled it. The scouting was over for that occasion. Theyhad done themselves credit, as far as it went; but then, who would everdream that they would come within an ace of being blown sky-high with thewhole upper end of the island?
As if by common consent, they started to move forward again, and everyfellow seemed to know, as if by instinct, which was south, andwhereabouts the camp was, for they needed no pilot now.
And as they journeyed they talked it all over. Every boy seemed to havean opinion of his own with regard to what had happened, and they differedradically.
"Tell you what," said Tom Betts, who had also escaped with only a fewminor injuries, because he was as quick as a cat, and must have fallen ona soft piece of ground besides; "tell you what, I thought that old hillhad turned into a volcano, and just bust all to flinders."
"Well, now," Phil admitted, "I somehow had an idea that storm had chasedup when we didn't chance to be watching, and lightning had struck a treeclose to the place where we happened to be standing looking at that crazyman wave his arms."
"Me?" Bobolink remarked; "why, I was dead sure what we guessed about awar game bein' played up here between two pretended hostile armies wasright; and that one of 'em had blown up the fort of the other. You see,that aeroplane had a sorter military air about it, even if I didn't seeit. And I'm not sure yet it isn't that."
"One thing sure," remarked Paul; "the man was trying to warn us to keepback, for he knew some sort of mine was going to explode, and that wemight be killed. As it was, we got off pretty lucky, I think. This sprainwill heal in a day or two; but if a rock weighing a ton or two haddropped down on me, I guess the chances of my ever seeing Stanhope againwould have been mighty slim."
"But tell me," Bobolink asked, "what in the world would counterfeiterswant with exploding mines, and doin' all that sort of thing? Justremember that big bang we had the other night, that woke everybody up.Shows it's a habit with 'em, and that this wasn't some freak accident.Gee! my head's buzzing around so I can't think straight. Somebody do myguessin' for me; won't you, please?"
"That's right," said Tom Betts, suddenly; "who are these men, anyway?P'raps we didn't size 'em up straight when we made up our minds they werebogus money-makers. Mebbe they happen to be a different sort of crowdaltogether. How about that, Paul; am I off my trolley when I say that?"
"I've been beginning to believe something was crooked in our guess for alittle while, Tom," replied the scout master; "but all the same, you'vegot me up in the air when you ask who and what they are. I'm rattled morethan I've been in many a day, to be honest with you all."
Bobolink took out something from his pocket. He stared hard at the twoshining quarters, and jingled them in his hand.
"Look good to me," he was heard to say; "I'd pass 'em any time forgenuine. But what silly chump'd be throwing good money around likethat, tell me?"
"Or bad money either, Bobolink," remarked Paul; "so you see, it was anaccident in any case. You've lost money many a time out of your pocket;well, this man was in the same boat. Chances are, that's straight goods."
Bobolink grinned.
"If that's so," he remarked calmly, "I'm in a half dollar, and that'ssome satisfaction. But say, what a time we'll have tellin' the boys. Wow!I can see the eyes of Little Billie, and Curly, and Nuthin just stickin'out of their heads when they hear all we've run up against."
"And we'd better move along a little faster while about it,"observed Paul.
"Why? Hope you don't think any of those men are chasin' after us; or thatwe'll run up against that wild man, or the big yellow dog again?"Bobolink inquired, glancing fearfully about him.
"No, I was considering the feelings of the boys," replied thescout master.
"That's a fact," Jack went on, "they'll be worried about us, afterhearing that terrible report, and think something has happened to ourcrowd. But we're not a great way from camp now, Paul."
"No, and if the distance was greater, I'd stop long enough to send up asmoke signal that would tell Jud we were all right. But that'd take time,and perhaps we'd better hurry along," and the scout master set a newpace, even though limping slightly.
"Got hurt some yourself; did you, Paul?" Jack asked, solicitously.
"Oh! only a little sprain, but it happens to be on a muscle that I haveto use when I walk, and you know a fellow favors such a pain. But I cansee where the sink lies now; we'll be there in ten minutes, perhapshalf that."
They continued to push on. For the time being most of them forgot abouttheir personal troubles, in their anxiety to join their comrades. AndBobolink, as he walked beside Jack, spoke what was on his mind:
"It was a grand old scare, all right, and one we won't ever forget,believe me; but there's one thing that tickles me half to death, Jack. Weknow _now_ where the queer old boxes went to, even if we are up in theair about what was in them. And the chances are we may find that outbefore we're done with this business; because those men ought to comedown and ask if anybody got hurt by their silly Fourth of July fireworksdisplay. There's the camp, boys. Whoopee!"