The Boy Scouts' Mountain Camp

“About time you did,” came in Merritt’s voice.

In the chase that ensued a wave of merriment burst loose. But time pressed, and the march was speedily resumed, with but a short interruption for lunch.

Late that afternoon they emerged on the shores of the other lake. It was a beautiful sheet of water, narrow and hemmed in by high hills which shot up abruptly on every side. At the far end could be seen a series of three peaks, jagged and sharp against the sky. The major turned to the professor, and both consulted the map and the translation of the cipher.

“When the ruby mound masks the Three Brothers take a course by the great dead pine. Four hundred to the west, three hundred to the north, and below the man of stone.”

Such were the words which the major read aloud from the professor’s translation.

“How do you interpret that, professor?” he asked.

“Why, plainly enough: the three brothers referred to are those three similar peaks,” said the professor; “the map indicates them. The ruby mound is not quite so clear. But I don’t doubt that we shall stumble across its meaning, and also that of ‘the man of stone,’ which, I confess, I cannot make out.”

“May be it’s some mass of rock that looks like a man,” volunteered Rob, who, like the others, had listened with eager attention while the major read.

“An excellent idea, my boy. That is possibly the correct meaning, although the old buccaneer may have spoken in riddles. Such men frequently did. However, we are at the gateway of our venture. To-morrow we shall know if it meets with success or failure.”

“To-morrow!” echoed the Boy Scouts.

“Ef ah could cotch dat five-hundred-dollah-pusson to-morrow dat would be all de treasure ah’d want,” mumbled Jumbo as he set down his canoe. He had kept it on his back up to now, like a shell on a black turtle.

“Ah don’ lak dis business ob interfussin’ wid a dead man’s belongin’s. No good ain’t gwine ter come uv it.”

“What are you mumbling about, Jumbo?” asked the major, overhearing some of this last.

“Why, majah, I was jes’ a communicatin’ to myself mah pussonal convictions on de subjec’ ob dead men’s gold.”

“Why, Jumbo, are you superstitious?” inquired the professor.

“No, sah. Ah’s bin vaccinated an’ am glad to say it took. We ain’t neber had no supposishishness in our fam’bly. But dis yar meddlin’ an monkeyin’ wid what belongs to dem as is daid and buried is bad bis’nis, sah – bad bis’nis.”

“I thought that you had more courage than that,” said the professor seriously.

“Ah got lots ob dat commodity, too, sah. Ah dassay dat ah is de bravest man in de – Oh! fo’ de law’s sake, wha’ dat? Oh, golly umptions! Majah! You Boy Scrouts, help!”

Jumbo suddenly cast himself down on the ground and began rolling over and over, trying to seize the major’s feet in his paroxysm of real alarm.

“Get up!” ordered the major curtly, “get up at once, you cowardly creature. What’s the matter?”

“Oh, mah goodness, majah, you didn’t see it. You had yo’ back to der bushes. So did de odders. But ah seed it.”

“Saw what, sir?”

“Oh, golly gumptions! De ugliest lilly face wid black whiskers an’ eyes dat I ebber seed. It was lookin’ frough de bushes an’ listening to you alls.”

“Where? Show me the place at once.”

The major’s tone was curt and fraught with a deeper meaning.

“Right hyah, sah, majah. Right hyah, dis am whar I seen dat homely lilly face. Yas sah.”

But although they made a thorough search of the vicinity no trace of a concealed listener could be found.

“I’d be half-inclined to put it down to Jumbo’s foolishness if it wasn’t that we know we have enemies in the mountains,” said the major, after supper that night.

“But as it is, sir?” asked Rob.

“As it is,” replied the major, “I think we had better keep a sharp look out and ‘Be Prepared.’ Jumbo’s description of that face seems to tally pretty closely with the countenance of Black Bart.”

“Just what I think,” rejoined Rob; “if he hadn’t got so frightened Jumbo might have secured that five hundred dollars after all.”

“Marse Rob,” said Jumbo, who had been listening intently, “you ebber hyah dat lilly story ’bout de man wot caught de wild cat?”

“No; heave ahead with the yarn, Jumbo,” said the major.

“Well, sah, onct upon a time two men was campin’. One went to der spring ter git watah. Pretty soon de one lef’ behin’ hearn de awfullest racket and caterwaulin’ by dat spring you ever hearn tell ob.

“‘What de mattah?’ he call.

“‘I got a wild cat!’ holler de man by de spring.

“‘Kain’t you hole him?’ hollers his fren’.

“‘I kin hole him all right,’ hollered de udder feller, ‘but I don’t know how ter let him go ag’in’.”

After the laughter excited by this narration had subsided, Jumbo rolled his eyes solemnly and cleared his throat. Then he spoke:

“An’ dat lilly nanny-goat (anecdote) applies sah, dat applies ter me and dis yar Black Bart or whateber his name am.”

CHAPTER XXII

THE BUCCANEER’S CAVE

“The three peaks are in line, but no trace of the ‘ruby glow’ the cipher speaks of.”

The speaker was Rob Blake. He and Merritt, in the red canoe, were in advance of the other craft. The first level rays of the early sun were slanting down over the precipitous hills surrounding the lake and gilding the placid sheet of water with a glittering effulgence. The canoes seemed to hang on the clear water as if suspended.

Right ahead of the adventurers, the three jagged peaks seen the previous evening had gradually swung into line, until the first and nearest one veiled the other two.

“Let’s run the canoe ashore. May be we shall come across something to make the meaning of the cipher plainer,” suggested Merritt.

Presently the bow of the canoe grazed the beach, and the two active young uniformed figures sprang out. For an instant they looked about them. Then suddenly Merritt gripped Rob’s arm with such a tight pressure that it actually pained.

“Look!” he cried, “look!”

Rob followed the direction of Merritt’s gaze and was tempted to echo his cry. Through the trees a rectangular mound of rock, with a dome-like summit, had just caught the rays of the sun.

In the early morning light it glittered as redly as if bathed in blood.

“The ruby glow!” breathed Rob poetically, gazing at the wonderful sight.

“Must be some sort of mica or crystal in the rock that catches the sunlight,” said the practical Merritt; “good thing we didn’t come here on a dull, cloudy day.”

“I guess so,” rejoined Rob; “we might easily have missed it.”

“Let’s get the others!” exclaimed Merritt. “See, the ruby glow is masking the Three Brothers.”

“That’s so,” agreed Rob, “this is the place, beyond a doubt.”

By this time the other canoes had been beached and their occupants were presently gazing in wrapt wonder at the spectacle. As the sun rose higher they could see the glow diminishing.

“Your ancestor chose his hiding place well,” said the professor to Major Dangerfield, “only at sunrise and at sunset can the glow be visible. At any other hour of the day there would be nothing unusual about that rock but its shape.”

Suddenly Tubby broke into song. He caught at the others’ hands. In a jiffy the Boy Scouts were dancing round in a joyous circle, singing at the top of their lungs:

“Ruby glow! ruby glow!We have sought you long, you know!Now you’re found we won’t let goTill we get the treasure – ruby glow!”

“Rather anticipating, aren’t you, boys?” asked the major, “there is still quite a lot to be done before we discover the cavern where the treasure is supposed to be buried.”

But despite his calm words they could see that the major was quite as much excited as themselves at the idea of being on the threshold of great discoveries.

“Suppose we press forward,” suggested the professor presently; “I think that the base of the ruby mound is the place to start from.”

The canoes were hauled up on the beach and concealed in a high growth of tangled water plants. They did not wish to risk having them stolen for a second time. Then they struck forward into the gloom of the woods lying between the ruby mound and the lake. As they went the Boy Scouts hummed Tubby’s little song. Even Jumbo seemed to have cast off his gloom. His great eyes rolled with anticipation as they pressed on, ambition to find the treasure cavern lending wings to their feet.

Before long they were at the base of the ruby mound. It was quite bare, and rose up almost as if it had been artificially formed. The professor declared it to have been of glacial origin. Certain markings on it he interpreted as being Indian in design.

“They seem to indicate that at one time the Indians, who formerly roamed these mountains, used this mound as a watch tower,” he said. “It must have made a good one, too.”

“Too high colored for me,” said Tubby in an undertone.

But by this time the glow had fled from the conical-shaped top of the mound. It was a dull gray color now, and, except for its shape and barrenness, looked just like any other rock pile.

“There’s the dead pine!” cried Hiram suddenly.

“So it is!” exclaimed the major, as his gaze fell on an immense blasted trunk soaring above the rest of the trees, “boys, we are hot on the trail.”

“Looks so,” agreed Rob.

“Now, then,” exclaimed the professor, as they stood at the base of the pine, which appeared to have been blasted by lightning at some remote period, “now then, one of you boys pace off four hundred feet to the west.”

Rob drew out his pocket compass and speedily paced off the distance. This brought them into a sort of clearing. It was small, and circular in shape, and dense growth hedged it in on all sides. By this time the boys were fairly quivering with excitement, and their elders were not much behind them in eager anticipation.

“Now, three hundred to the north,” ordered the major.

“We’ll have to plunge right into the brush,” said Rob.

“All right. Go ahead. In a few minutes now we shall know if we’re on a fool’s errand or not.”

The former army officer’s voice was vibrant with emotion.

Followed by the others, Rob pushed into the brush, pacing off the required three hundred feet as accurately as he could. All at once he came to a halt.

“Three hundred,” he announced.

As they looked about them a feeling of keen disappointment set in. Tall brush was hemming them in on all sides. No trace of a stone man, or anything else but the close-growing vegetation, could be seen.

“Fooled again!” was the exclamation that was forcing itself to Tubby’s irrepressible lips when he stopped short, struck by the look of keen disappointment on the major’s face.

“It looks as if we had had all our trouble for nothing, boys,” he began, when Rob interrupted.

“What’s that off there, major, through the bushes yonder. You can see it best from here.”

The major hastened to the young leader’s side.

“It’s a sort of cliff or precipice,” he cried.

“Maybe the man of stone is located there,” suggested Rob; “it’s worth trying, don’t you think so, sir?”

“By all means. This growth may have sprung up since the treasure was hidden away, and so have concealed the place.”

Once more the party moved on. A few paces through the undergrowth brought them to the foot of a steepish cliff of rough, gray stone. It appeared to be about thirty feet or more in height. Above it towered the rugged peak of the first of the Three Brothers.

“Now, where’s the man of stone?” asked the professor in a puzzled tone, gazing about him.

“There’s certainly no indication of a man of that material or any other,” opined the major, likewise peering in every direction.

“What’s that mass of rock on the cliff top?” asked Merritt suddenly; “it looks something like a human figure.”

They all gazed up. A big mass of rock was poised at the summit of the cliff. There was a large rock with a smaller one perched on the top of it. To a vivid imagination it might have suggested a body and a head.

“It’s worth investigating, anyway,” decided the major; “we’ll look at the face of the cliff directly beneath it. Maybe there is an opening there.”

But this decision was more easily arrived at than carried out. Thorny brush and thick, tall weeds shrouded the base of the cliff for a height of eight or ten feet. But the Boy Scouts had their field axes with them, and before long the blows of the steel were resounding. In a few minutes they had cleared away a lot of the brush directly beneath the two poised stones.

The major and the professor, with Jumbo looking rather awe-stricken at the major’s side, stood watching.

“These balanced stones prove my theory that all this is of glacial origin,” the professor was saying. “Some antediluvian water course must have left them there. Why, it wouldn’t take much of a push to shove them over.”

“That is true,” agreed the major; “in that case, supposing that an entrance does exist at this spot, they would block it effectually.”

“Very much so,” agreed the professor dryly; “in fact – ”

“Hoo-r-a-y!”

The shout rang gladly through the silent woods. The boys had thrown down their axes and stood with flushed, triumphant faces turned toward the elder members of the party. The major was quick to guess the cause of their excitement.

“They’ve found it!” he cried, springing forward.

The professor and Jumbo followed. As they came up Rob was pointing to an opening at the base of the cliff which the cleared brush had revealed.

“The entrance to the cavern of Ruby Glow!” he exclaimed dramatically, while the rest of the Boy Scouts swung off into Tubby’s extemporized song of triumph.

CHAPTER XXIII

TRAPPED IN A LIVING TOMB

After the first excitement and confusion had quieted down a bit, the major and the professor began discussing ways and means for exploring the cavern.

“When shall we start?” asked Merritt.

“At once, I think,” said the major.

“I agree with you,” said the professor; “no time like the present.”

“That being the case,” declared the major with a smile, “Jumbo had better set out for the canoes at once, and bring some provisions and the lanterns.”

The lanterns referred to were of the variety used by miners, which had been brought along for the special purpose in which they were now to be employed.

But Jumbo was not allowed to set off alone on his expedition. The eager Boy Scouts raced off with him. They soon returned with a supply of canned goods, plenty of matches and some firearms and the lanterns. The latter were quickly lighted and, each member of the party shouldering a burden, the dash into the cave was begun.

It was a creepy, mysterious sensation. The light seemed to go out with a sudden snap as they passed the portals of the cave entrance. Only the yellow light of the lanterns, pale after the bright sunshine, illumined the damp walls. A queer, dead, musty smell was in the air.

“Better proceed carefully,” said the professor; “we may encounter a pocket of poisonous air before long.”

“I thought we were looking for a pocket full of money,” whispered Tubby to Merritt, behind whom he was pacing.

The party had to advance in single file, for beyond the entrance of the cave was a narrow passage.

“I wonder how your ancestor ever located this place?” said Rob, wonderingly, as they proceeded cautiously.

“The family legend has it that he came in here in pursuit of a wounded wild animal he had shot, and which sought refuge here,” said the major.

It was a strange, rather uncanny feeling to be treading the long unused path leading into the bowels of the cliff. They talked in whispers and low tones. A loud voice would go rumbling off in a weird way, not altogether comfortable to listen to.

“Gee! I wouldn’t much care to be trapped in here,” said Tubby, as they pressed on.

All at once the path they had been following took a sudden dip. Right under their feet was a narrow chasm. If they had not had lights they might have been precipitated into it, but luckily their lanterns showed them the peril just in time.

For a short time it looked as if the treasure hunt would have to end right there. There seemed to be no means of crossing the chasm, and they had brought none with them.

“So near and yet so far,” breathed Merritt.

But presently the major discovered a stout plank resting against the wall of the passage. It was worm-eaten and old, but a test showed it would support them. It had evidently been left there by the old buccaneer. It caused an odd thrill to shoot through Rob, as he stepped upon it, to reflect that the last foot to press it had been in the tomb for many scores of years.

On the other side of the chasm the cave widened out. In fact, it developed into quite a spacious chamber. The rock walls, imbedded with mica, glistened brightly in the yellow glow of the lanterns.

“We look like a convention of lightning bugs,” commented Tubby, gazing about him at the unusual scene. The professor drew out a paper. He and the major bent over it, while the others listened breathlessly to ascertain the outcome of this inspection of the plan of the long lost treasure trove.

“According to the plan the treasure is located in this chamber,” said the major at length.

“At any rate,” added the professor, “the plan does not give any further details of the cave.”

“Do you think it extends further?” inquired Merritt.

“Impossible to say. Some of these caves and their ramifications extend for many miles. When the major has concluded his quest, I think it would be of scientific interest to explore the subterranean thoroughfares at length.”

All agreed with this view. But the present business speedily banished all other thoughts from their minds. Like so many hounds on the scent, the boys ran about the place, seeking for clews to the hiding place. But to their bitter disappointment all their efforts resulted in nothing. No trace of any hoarded stock of precious articles could be found.

“We had better have something to eat and then we can determine on our further course,” said the major, looking at his watch; “I am convinced that the treasure is here, however, and equally positive we shall find it.”

When they sat down to their meal it was discovered that, in their haste, they had forgotten to bring any water. Tubby, Hiram and Jumbo at once volunteered to fetch some in the canteens which had been left in the canoes.

“Ah’m jes’ pinin’ ter see dat ole Massa Sol once mo’;” confessed the negro.

“All right,” said the major, “you can be one of the party, Jumbo. But hurry back, Hopkins, for I am anxious to waste no more time than necessary.”

“We’ll hurry,” Tubby assured him.

The trio, the two boys and the black, hastened off, retracing their steps through the dark passage of the cavern. It was a distinct relief to regain the sunlight and open air. So much so that perhaps they lingered by the concealed canoes rather longer than they should have done.

“Come on. We’ve wasted enough time,” said Tubby at length; “let’s hurry back.”

They set out at a good pace. But as they pushed through the brush separating them from the cliff; in the face of which was situated the cave entrance, a sudden sound brought them to an abrupt standstill. Tubby, who was in the lead, raised his hand for silence.

In the hush that followed they could distinctly catch the sound of voices ahead of them. At first Tubby thought that they were those of some of the party in the cave who had come out to see what had become of them. But he was speedily undeceived.

One of the voices struck suddenly on his ear with an unpleasant shock. It was a harsh, grating voice, and Tubby, to his dismay, recognized it in a flash as being that of Stonington Hunt. He had heard it too often to be mistaken.

“Are you all ready?” Hunt was saying.

A sort of growl of assent followed these words.

“What can they be up to?” asked Hiram, who was also aware now of the identity of the voices in front of them.

“I don’t know,” rejoined Tubby in the same low tones; “as well as I can see, they are all on that cliff top alongside those balanced stones.”

“Wonder what they are doing up there?” mused Hiram; “I suppose that – ”

His voice was drowned in a loud crash as the larger of two stones was pushed over the edge of the cliff. In a flash Tubby perceived the fiendish object of Stonington Hunt and his followers.

The great rock fell directly in front of the opening of the cave. The way in or out of the underground chamber was effectually blocked, unless the obstruction was blasted with dynamite.

Cold chills ran up and down Tubby’s spine. Hiram shuddered and turned white, and Jumbo groaned.

“Oh lawsy! lawsy! I knowed no good ’ud come uv meddling wif dat ole dead teef’s money.”

“Be quiet,” ordered Tubby, sternly. With every nerve on the alert he watched Hunt peer over the cliff-face. The next moment their enemy retreated with a chuckle of laughter.

“They’re all sealed up good and tight,” he said. “We’ll let them stay in there a day or two and then we’ll blast the rock away.”

“Gee, that fat kid will be thinner when he gets out,” Tubby heard Freeman Hunt say as his father rejoined the group.

“Ho! ho!” thought the lad, “‘that fat kid’ as you call him is on the outside, Master Hunt. And it’s a good thing he is, for the outside is where help will have to come from.”

The watchers concealed in the brush below saw a new figure join the group on the cliff summit, a man with a great, bushy, black beard and shifty black eyes.

“Mah goodness!” exclaimed Jumbo; “dat am de pussonage who peeked frough dem bushes las’ night. I thought I knowed him. Dat’s Black Bart, the sun-shiner.”

The party at the cliff summit turned and vanished. Apparently they had a camp up there from which they had observed every movement of the Boy Scout party. It was plain enough now, since Jumbo’s recognition, how they came to be there. Black Bart must have overheard the major discussing the plan the night before. By making a forced march by night the rascals had arrived ahead of the rightful searchers for the old buccaneer’s hoard.

“We’d better get back toward the boats before they take a notion to investigate,” said Tubby. “I don’t fancy sticking around here much longer.”

“Nor I,” said Hiram; “come on.”

“Golly knows ah’m willin’,” breathed Jumbo.

Snugly hidden in the thick growth into which the canoes had been dragged, the two Scouts and the negro discussed the situation. It was a desperate one. For the present, at least, Hunt and his party dominated it. One unpleasant thought, too, kept obtruding itself. The party in the cave had no water.

“And Hunt says he won’t blast it open for two days, anyhow,” put in Hiram; “I suppose he figures that the major would be too weak to oppose him then.”

“Guess that’s it. What a rascal that Hunt is! But what are we going to do to help them? We can’t move that rock, and we’ve got nothing to blast it away with.”

Tubby’s face showed the dismay, the almost despair, that he felt.

“Tell you what, Hiram,” he said at length, “you’ll have to take one of the canoes and get off down the lake. When you reach the foot of it make a dash to the westward, where there is a village. I’ll wait here with Jumbo till you return.”

“But it will take two days, at least, maybe a week,” objected Hiram.

“Can’t be helped. We’ve got to do something. You are lighter and can travel quicker than I. Take food and a rifle and get through as quick as you can.”

Ten minutes later the red canoe, well stocked with food, and paddled by the young Scout, shot out from the shore. By hugging the rim of the lake the boys had figured that he would be able to undertake the first stage of his journey without running much risk of being seen by their enemies. Besides, it was unlikely that Hunt or his cronies would be keeping a very keen lookout as they evidently believed that all the party was imprisoned in the cave.

Tubby and Jumbo watched the canoe while it remained in sight, and then returned to their hiding place. Toward the middle of the afternoon they saw smoke on the cliff top and well back from the edge.

“At any rate,” thought Tubby, “they are camped at a good distance back from us. I reckon there’s no danger of their seeing us moving about.”

With great caution the lad wormed his way through the brush, leaving Jumbo to guard the canoes. He had formed a daring determination to examine the rock and see if it was not possible in some miraculous way to move it. But an examination confirmed his worst fears.