CHAPTER XXIII
WHERE WAS BUMPUS
"Huh? I don't all speak at once, please. Seems like my splendid ideaain't made a hit like I expected it would. What ails you all?" Giraffedemanded, after a dead silence had fallen upon the little party, insteadof the quick response he had hoped for.
"We're waiting to hear from Thad," explained Step Hen, as though hemight himself be "up in the air," or, as he would himself have said,"straddling the fence," not knowing whether to scoff at the other'sscheme, or give it his unqualified approval.
"Well, I wanted to figure it over in my own mind first," remarked thescout-master, slowly. "It has some good points, Giraffe, but we'll haveto get good and hungry before we start to holding up other people anddemanding that they supply our wants, even if they are only fishpoachers."
"Then you don't think we had ought to rush the cabin, as yet?" asked theother in a disappointed lone.
"Wait awhile; and see what turns up," Thad told him.
"But what could come along to give us a meal around noon?" Giraffeflashed up, always thinking of the main chance, which meant lookingafter the demands of that voracious appetite.
"Oh! lots of things," laughed Thad. "You know yourself it's theunexpected that keeps happening with us right along. Many a time in thepast we didn't have any idea of what was going to stir us up, till itcame along. Just now it strikes me all of us ought to stick together,and not go wandering around by ourselves."
"Bumpus ought to be here to get that advice, then," remarked Davy.
At that Thad turned upon the other scout.
"Why, I hadn't noticed that he was away," he said, hastily, and frowningat the same time; "when and where did he go, can you tell me that, Davy,since you seem to be the only one who knows about his being gone?"
"Why, you see, Thad," began the other, looking a trifle alarmed himselfnow, "he just remembered after we'd had our breakfast, you know, that hemust have dropped his belt somewhere; and as he remembered having thesame after he came out of the water, he said he expected he'd be able topick it up between here and that place; so he strolled off. Why, Inever thought but what some of the rest of you saw him go; and becausenobody said a word I 'spected it was all right."
"How long ago was that, did you say, Davy?" Thad asked.
"Why, just after Giraffe here cleaned out the last piece of bacon in thepan, as he said it was silly to waste even little things; and, afterall, he wasted it in a hurry, too, let me tell you," Davy proceeded tosay.
"Why, I think that must have been nearly twenty-five minutes ago!"exclaimed Step Hen, in some excitement, as he cast an anxious look awayacross the rocks and brush that interfered somewhat with their view ofthe route Bumpus would be apt to take on his way toward their landingplace.
Thad jumped to his feet.
"This must be looked into!" he said, decisively.
"You're going off to hunt for him, I take it?" observed Giraffe; "howabout not getting separated, like you just told us? Ain't it going frombad to worse, Thad, if so be you rush out by yourself and leave ushere?"
"Yes," added Davy, quickly, "if they're alooking around for chances togobble us up, one by one, first it'd be Bumpus, then our scout-master,and then another of the bunch, till we all got caught. Thad, hadn't weought to go along with you--"
"Just what I would have proposed, if you'd let me speak," the otherassured them readily enough; "so get, ready now, and we'll start off."
"But how about all our stuff here; shall we leave it behind?" questionedDavy.
"Oh! I hope not," remarked Step Hen; "I've got somewhat attached to thatblanket of mine, you know."
"Yes, we've noticed that lots of times, when you hated to get up in themorning," chuckled Giraffe.
"But how about it, Thad; do we leave 'em here, and run the chance ofgetting the same took; or shall we take the stuff along with us?"
"I don't believe these men will bother with such small things asblankets and cooking things; if we had a supply of eatables it might bea different matter; but we happen to be shy along that line. Yes,bundle them up, and hide them 'as best you can. We may be in for afight, for all we know, and in that case we'd want the freedom of ourarms to work those clubs."
"Sounds like business, anyway!" muttered Giraffe, as he started in to doas the scout-master recommended; for obedience is one of the firstprinciples laid down in the rules by which Boy Scout are guided whenthey subscribe to the regulations of the troop they have joined.
They were soon ready.
As the five lads went forth they presented quite a formidable appearanceindeed, what with the gun, the camp hatchet, the long bread knife, and apair of clubs thick enough to give a fellow a nasty headache if everthey were brought in contact with his cranium.
"First of all, it's only right we should give a hail; and if Bumpus iswandering around somewhere he may answer us; and then we can wait forhim to come in. I see he's left his bugle with his blanket here; pickit up somebody and give the recall, if anybody knows how."
"Trust that to me!" exclaimed Davy; and snatching up the nickeledinstrument he placed it to his lips, immediately sending forth thestrident sounds that have done duty on many a battlefield.
No sooner had the last note pealed forth than every boy listenedeagerly; but there was no reply.
"Sure he could have heard that, even if he was at the other end of theisland," remarked Davy, ready to try again if the scout-master told himto do so.
"And Bumpus has got a good pair of lungs, so he'd be able to let us knowhe was on to the job, if he had the use of his mouth!" remarked Giraffe,darkly.
"But you don't hear even a peep, do you, fellows?" remarked Step Hen.
"Come on, and fetch that bugle with you, Davy," said Thad; "we mightneed it again later, you know. I wonder, now, what the poachers willthink when they hear a bugle sound? If they don't know anything aboutthe Scouts, they'll think more than ever that we belong to the Canadianmilitia."
Thad could understand just what course Bumpus was likely to take inpassing along the rough surface of the ground between their landingplace and the spot where they had found the friendly ledge.
That was the way he expected to go also, keeping constantly on thelookout for any sign calculated to tell him if the fat scout had falleninto difficulties.
It led them down near the edge of the water, too; and this gave Thad asudden bad feeling. Could it be possible that Bumpus, who was always aclumsy fellow at best, owing to his great bulk, had tripped, and taken anasty fall, so that his head had struck some cruel rock?
He would not say anything to the rest just now upon that score; but allthe same it troubled him not a little as he wandered along, keeping onthe alert for just such a trap, into which the missing scout may havefallen.
All at once Thad stopped, and the others saw a peculiar look cross hisface. It seemed to tell them that their guide had conceived an idea.
"Guessed where he's gone, have you, Thad?" inquired Giraffe, quickly.
"Well, no, hardly that," was the reply; "but I ought to tell you thatright now we're close to that clump of brush that hides the little rockhollow where they've got their boat hidden."
"Oh! mebbe Bumpus he went and took a look in there, just the same as youdid, and discovered the boat, too!" remarked Step Hen.
"Well, what if he did, would that explain his absence one little bit?"demanded Davy. "You don't think, now, I hope, our chum is such an idiotthat he'd start to take a little cruise out there on that rough waterall by himself? Bumpus ain't quite so much in love with sailing as allthat, let me tell you right now."
In another minute they were looking at the boat that lay concealed inamong the rocks and brush. Thad even jumped down, and passed into itscabin; while the others listened, and waited with their heartsapparently ready to jump up into their throats, lest they caught soundsof a conflict.
But presently the scout-master again appeared, and joined them.
"Not there, then?" asked Giraffe, in a d
isappointed tone.
"No, but I saw the print of his shoe on the seat of the boat, whichshows Bumpus did climb down here; but it was heading outward, so itseems he came up again. Now to look a little further, and find out ifhe went on toward the spot where we came to land."
They started off, leaving the vicinity of the fish poachers' hiddenboat. For a couple of minutes, Thad seemed to be having little or notrouble in following the marks which Bumpus had left behind him; for thefat scout never so much as dreamed that there was such a thing ascovering his trail; nor would he have known of any reason for doinganything like this had he been so far up in woodcraft.
"Hold up!" they heard Thad say, suddenly, as he bent over more than hehad been doing up to now.
All of the others waited anxiously to hear what the scout-masterbelieved he had discovered, for they could see him moving this way andthat. Finally Thad looked up, to disclose a frown upon his usually calmbrow.
"Well, would you, believe it," he went on to say, as free from anger ashe possibly could bring himself to speak, "they've gone and done it,after all."
"What, Thad?" asked Giraffe, who had been actually holding his breaththe while.
"Jumped on our chum right here, and made him a prisoner," came thestaggering reply; "I reckon they must have done something rough to him,or we'd have heard him make some kind of an outcry; but they got Bumpus,all right, boys!"