jack had reached the edge of the woods in front of the cabin before he became aware that bob was not following him. he stopped and looked back at the building. it was so dark that he was unable to see even its outline. he strained his ears but all was still.
“now what,” he muttered, as he slowly retraced his steps. as he neared the door he could hear the noise of a struggle and he quickened his pace although just what he intended to do he did not know. it was enough that bob was in the power of their enemies, and at the moment, he had but little thought of what might happen to him.
he had reached the door and was about to pull it open when without warning it opened almost in his face and a figure dashed out nearly knocking him down.
“come on, jack. make it snappy.”
it was bob’s voice and the thought that he was free after all almost overcame him for the moment, but as he hesitated, bob caught him by the hand and together they raced across the open space. just as they reached the edge the sharp crack of an automatic came from behind them and jack heard the bullet strike a tree not more than six inches from his head.
“duck,” bob shouted.
ping!
another ball struck just over bob’s head.
“they’ve got the range all right,” he muttered loudly enough for jack to hear.
“lucky they can’t see us,” jack said as he ducked beneath the branches of a big pine.
no other shots were fired and after getting some hundred yards into the woods they paused.
“think they’ll follow us?” jack asked.
“i’ll bet they will. for some reason they don’t want to lose us.”
“did you bring our packs?”
“i did that but whether we can find them in the dark is another question. we’ll have a try at it but for one i don’t think it will be healthy for us to linger round here very long. unless i’m very much mistaken they’ll be after us in about two shakes of a dog’s tail.”
as luck would have it he stumbled onto the packs just as he spoke.
“here’s luck,” he cried. “now let’s beat it.”
“listen.”
“they’re coming after us, but if we can’t keep out of their hands in this darkness we deserve to be caught. but we want to be mighty careful not to get separated,” bob cautioned as he started off toward the south.
although the forest was, at this point, fairly free of underbrush, the trees grew very close together, and in the intense darkness, their progress was slow.
“it’ll hinder them more than it will us,” bob chuckled as he dodged just in time to avoid hitting a big spruce.
“look! they’re just over to the right,” jack whispered as he saw a flash of light through the trees.
“then we’d better bear a little to the left,” bob advised as he slightly changed his course.
“they’re getting pretty close,” he declared a few minutes later as he heard the sound of the pursuit seemingly but a few yards behind him. “guess we better go into high.”
at the risk of banging full tilt into the trees they increased their pace, and after a short time were rejoiced to note that the sounds of the chase were growing fainter and soon they died out altogether.
“guess they’ve either given it up or have taken the wrong direction,” bob said as he paused for a moment.
“you mean the right direction for us,” jack corrected.
“you win,” bob laughed, “but we better keep a going for a while longer before we slack up. the greater the distance we put between them and us the safer i’ll feel.”
for another hour or more they kept up as rapid a pace as was possible and then bob called a halt, and after listening for a moment he expressed the opinion that, for the time at least, they were safe.
“i guess we’ve shaken them off all right.”
“looks like it,” jack agreed. “i reckon i can stand a few minutes’ rest. how about you?”
“you said it, boy. i’m dead tired.”
they threw off their packs and dropped to the ground. eagerly they compared notes telling each other all that had happened since they had parted.
“but why didn’t you come out of that cabin when i did?” jack asked as bob finished telling what a time he had in cutting through the door.
“for the same reason the paddy didn’t ride the mule,” bob laughed. “i couldn’t. you see, just as i reached the door someone grabbed me and jerked me back. and say, boy, that fellow must be stronger than sampson himself, the way he dragged me back into that room was a caution. i thought he’d snap my head off.”
“that must have been tiny.”
“tiny! tiny who or what?”
“just tiny. i believe though that pierre did refer to him once as big tiny. he’s only about seven feet tall and i don’t believe he weighs a pound over four hundred. oh, he’s a real cunning little fellow; as playful as a kitten. but how in the world did you get away?”
bob laughed.
“it was the funniest thing while it lasted. you see, he had me by the collar and i turned my head just enough to bring his arm against my mouth. and i bit him. yes, i did. the way i set my teeth into that arm was a caution. but i was good and mad, and when i get just that mad, well, you know me.”
“i’ll say i do. but go on.”
“well, he ripped out an oath and drew back his right arm. i felt the blow coming rather than saw it. it was too dark to see. anyhow i dodged just in time and pierre, who was right behind me caught it exactly on the end of his nose. mad? i never saw, or rather heard a man so mad in my life. he jumped for the other fellow and i ducked. pierre is no slouch when it comes to a rough and tumble and the way they went at it would have made a champion look like a plugged thirty cent piece. i don’t know who won out. i didn’t wait to see. i had business elsewhere.”
“but where was the little guy all this time?”
“i don’t know. guess he was busy, keeping out of the way.”
“mebby, but take it from me, he’s some scrapper himself. i thought he was going to choke me to death before i could get his hand away. he may be small but he’s all there what there is of him. by the way, who do you suppose he is? he’s not french nor a half-breed and he talks like an educated man.”
“did you hear either of the others call him by name?”
“no.”
“did he act as though he were the boss?”
“i wouldn’t say so. in fact he didn’t have much to say. seemed like one of those quiet kind. but you never can tell.”
“‘still waters run deep,’ hey?”
“something like that. at least that’s the way it struck me.”
“suppose he’s the brains of the gang?”
“hard to tell, but i hardly think so. pierre and tiny didn’t seem to pay very much attention to him.”
“that may have been a plant.”
“mebby.”
“anyway it’s a cinch that neither pierre or that there tiny, as you call him, is the leader. there’s someone with more brains behind all this. it takes brains and a lot of them to outwit uncle sam as long as this gang have done it, and i don’t believe either of those fellows can qualify.”
“i believe you. they run more to muscle than to grey matter. but some of these half-breeds are pretty shrewd at that.”
“cunning rather. they know the woods but when it comes to planning out things like this it takes the brain of a white man, and, mark my word, when the puzzle is solved, you’ll find that an american of education is the power behind the throne.”
“i don’t doubt it,” jack agreed. “but what’s the next move?”
“i don’t think we can do better than stay right here till it gets light enough to see. then i reckon we’ll have to go back to the camp and stock up on grub. i lost two or three packages on the way up here and the larder is pretty low. by the way, i wonder why that cabin didn’t disappear. it didn’t live up to its reputation.”
“guess we didn’t give it time. if we went back there now i’ll bet a cent we’d find it gone.”
“perhaps. but we’ll take your word for it, that is, for the time being.”
“the one thing which i regret more than anything else about this expedition so far is that they’ve got my radio set,” jack mourned.
“you needn’t shed any tears about that because i’ve got it in my pocket,” bob assured him.
“do you mean it?”
“sure do. you see when i first got in the cabin the first thing i bumped into was the table and my hand struck it as i ran it over the surface. i knew what it was the minute i felt it so, of course, i shoved it into my pocket.”
“good boy. they’re welcome to the revolver and the rest of the things i had with me just so they haven’t got that set.”
by this time the first hint of the coming dawn made itself evident and in a short time it was light enough for them to see for some distance. bob discovered a small spring of icy cold water bubbling up by the side of a rock and there they ate their scanty breakfast of bread and crackers washing it down with the clear cold water. they had a small supply of bacon left but did not dare to build a fire for fear the smoke would betray them.
“how far do you suppose we are from the camp?” jack asked as they were on the point of starting off again.
“pretty hard to say, but it must be all of twenty miles or more. we’ll have all we want to do to make it by night.”
“i wish we didn’t have to go back. it seems like such a waste of time.”
“i know, but we have to eat. if i hadn’t lost part of the stuff we could have made out for a couple of days longer but, as it is, i’m afraid it’s the only thing to do.”
“i suppose so but it seems to me that so far this expedition has not been what you would call a howling success. we really know just about as much as before we started.”
“we must have patience,” bob counseled. “we can’t expect to solve, in a day, a case that has baffled the captain for weeks.”
“hark! someone’s coming,” jack grabbed his brother by the arm.
“and they’re close on us. quick follow me. it’s our only chance.”
as he spoke he caught hold of a branch of a big spruce and quickly pulled himself up closely followed by jack. they had hardly ascended half way to the top when they heard voices directly beneath them. so thick were the branches below that they were unable to see them but they had no trouble in recognizing pierre and the man called tiny. whether or not the little man was with them they could not tell for, if he was, he did none of the talking.
the two men were speaking french, but although they talked rapidly and in low tones the boys had little difficulty in following the drift of the conversation. pierre was insisting that they were on the right trail to catch them while tiny argued that they were too far toward the east, maintaining that they would take the shortest way back to the camp. the former won the argument when he discovered a few crumbs of bread by the side of the spring, and tiny acknowledged that he was right.
the boys, hiding in the branches of the tree hardly dared breathe for fear that the sharp ears of the men below would hear them. but the men never suspected that their quarry was directly over their heads and after a little more talk they started off. the boys waited a full half hour before they deemed it safe to return to the ground.
“they might take a notion to come back and we’d better play it safe,” bob advised and jack agreed.
“it seems funny that they didn’t notice that our trail ends here.” jack whispered.
“i was afraid of that but it’s pretty hard to follow a trail through these woods without a dog as i found out yesterday and i’m inclined to think that they just happened to stumble on us here.”
“i dare say you’re right,” jack agreed. “but i wish they had said something to give us an idea which way they’re going.”
“oh, they’ll make for the camp as fast as they can go hoping to catch us before we get there, and all we’ve got to do is to trail along behind and be careful not to catch up with them.”
“i guess it won’t be very hard not to do that last,” jack declared as they made their way to the ground.
“according to your friend. tiny, we’ve come a little too far to the east so i guess we’d better bear a bit toward the west,” bob said when they were once more on the earth.
until nearly noon they trudged on without stopping. then, coming to a small brook, they decided to pause for an hour’s rest and to eat their dinner. jack succeeded in catching half a dozen trout, and risking a small fire, they fried them with the last of their bacon.
“there, we’re cleaned out,” jack declared as the last morsel slipped down his throat.
shortly after four o’clock, as good luck would have it, they struck the lake and an hour later were back at the camp. they went to bed shortly after eating their supper both being thoroughly tired out with their long tramp.
none of the three men showed up at the camp that night or the following day, a fact which rather surprised them.
“we’ll wait over tomorrow which is sunday and get an early start monday morning,” bob planned as they were eating breakfast. “if we started right off the proprietor here might suspect something. not that i think he is mixed up in the business but you never can tell and the only safe bet is to suspect everyone till you know he is innocent.”
they thoroughly enjoyed the two days’ rest and early monday morning, well supplied with provisions, they again hit the trail. the first day out they made rapid progress since they were not obliged to look for signs, and by ten o’clock they reached the spot where they had spent the night on their former trip. bob half expected to see the mysterious cabin as they approached the place but there was no sign of it.
“guess it don’t appear twice in the same place,” he said.
“what don’t?”
“that cabin with wings.”
jack laughed. “i guess you were thinking about the same as i was. i was rather hoping that the cabin would be here.”
“same here. but it isn’t. and now we must go slowly again and be sure not to miss anything.”
“‘slow but sure,’ as the old lady said when she shooed the hen out of her garden,” jack laughed.
“but i move we eat before we start out,” bob said as he threw off his pack.
“this maine air sure does give you an appetite.”
“you said it,” jack agreed.
“i’d give a cent to know whether or not that little guy was with the other two when they had us treed,” bob mused between bites.
“why? what difference does it make?”
“to my way of thinking it makes just this difference. if he was there he didn’t say a word and that would indicate that he didn’t amount to much. but if he wasn’t there it looks as though he had sent them after us while he went some other way. that way of looking at it he may be the big gun after all.”
“a la sherlock holmes,” jack laughed. “but your deducting listens pretty good at that.”
“the more i think about it the more i’m convinced that he’s the boss. it don’t seem reasonable that a man such as you described would be mixed up in this sort of thing in any role except the leading part. can you imagine an american taking orders from a couple of breeds?”
“does sound kinder fishy but i’ve known some white men to get pretty low and so have you.”
“that’s true too, but just the same i’ve got a hunch.”
“well, here’s hoping that we’ll find out some time.”
it took a long time before they could find the next stone which marked the boundary line and when they camped for the night bob reckoned that they had not made more than five or six miles from where they had eaten dinner. not a trace of a clue had they discovered and both were a trifle discouraged as they ate their supper.
“think there’s any need of keeping watch to-night?” jack asked after he had finished washing the dishes.
“what do you think about it?”
“unless someone’s been following us i don’t believe there’s any need, and if those fellows are on our trail i don’t think they would have waited this long to nab us.”
“well, let’s see if we can find a good thick place where no one will be likely to step on us and we’ll take a chance.”
they were not long in finding a place in a thick clump of bushes where one could pass within a foot or two of them and never suspect their presence, and by eight o’clock they were rolled side by side in their blankets.
jack was almost asleep when the call of a whip-poor-will brought him wide awake.
“did you hear it?” he asked.
“hear what?”
“that whip-poor-will.”
“no. guess i must have been asleep.”
just then the call came again, “whip-poor-will.”
“that’s a genuine bird if i’m any judge,” bob declared. “listen and see if an owl answers.”
they listened while the call was repeated several times but the owl was silent.
“i guess will got his licking this time all right,” bob said as he turned over. “if that was a man he was a good deal better imitator than the other fellow.”
the night passed without incident and both boys were up with the sun much refreshed and in much better spirits.
“funny how much rosier things look in the morning,” jack remarked as he touched a match to the little pile of birch bark which he had gathered to start their fire.
“sure does and i can feel it in my bones that we’re going to strike something today,” bob replied.
“if it don’t hit us first,” jack laughed.
“why do you suppose pierre didn’t show up at the camp?”
“ask me something easy. perhaps he was afraid we’d get a line on him.”
“hardly that. more likely he had an appointment to meet that white man and didn’t have time to go clear to the camp and get to him on time.”
“sounds reasonable.”
“thanks.”
“don’t mention it.”
by six o’clock they were ready to start. their way led due west and over a long range of mountains.
“we’ve got some climb ahead of us,” jack declared, as an hour later they came to the foot of the range.
“well, it won’t be the first time we’ve climbed a mountain and i hope it won’t be the last.”
“i don’t believe we need to hunt for signs very much going up here. they wouldn’t be apt to take it across over a mountain,” jack said as they began the ascent.
“you forget that with these fellows the most unlikely place is the most likely place. if they took it across where anyone would suspect they’d have been caught long ago. the fact that they haven’t been is because they’ve been taking it across some place so unlikely that no one has looked there.”
“my, but it’s a great thing to have brains,” jack declared as bob paused.
“sure is. the trouble is a good many people have them but don’t use them.”
so as they went up the mountain they looked even more carefully for signs if that were possible. as they approached the top the trees began to thin out and the going became easier.
they were almost up when suddenly bob, who was a few feet ahead, dodged behind a tree and held up his hand for jack to do the same.
“what’s up?” the latter whispered.
“there’s a man on the top of the mountain just a little way ahead of us.”
“did you see him?”
“sure did.”
“what did he look like?”
“i didn’t see him plainly enough to tell but follow me carefully and we’ll soon know.”
dropping to their hands and knees they crept on up the mountain keeping behind the trees so far as possible.
“we’ll wait here a bit and i think we’ll see him in a minute,” bob said, as he stretched himself at full length behind a thick bush.
he found that by parting the bushes slightly he had a fair view of the summit which, for a large space, was entirely devoid of trees. no one was in sight at first but after waiting a few minutes he saw a man emerge from a small clump of trees a little to one side of the clearing.
“take a peep at that fellow and see if you know him,” bob said as he drew back and let jack take his place.
“he’s the little fellow who was with pierre and tiny,” jack announced a moment later as he drew back.
“i thought as much. now we’ll watch and see what he’s up to.”
bob resumed his former position and kept his eyes on the man. he was standing on the highest peak of the range on a huge rock which raised itself ten feet or more from the earth. evidently he was watching for a signal of some kind for he shaded his eyes as he scanned the lower regions on all sides. for nearly a half hour he stood there like a statue save for the slight movement of his head as he slowly turned it. then, suddenly, as if he had found that for which he was looking, he jumped to the ground and quickly kindled a small fire at the base of the rock. when it was burning brightly he threw on some damp leaves causing a dense cloud of smoke to arise. this he smothered with a small blanket for an instant then he drew the blanket aside allowing a puff of the smoke to ascent like a toy balloon.
“he’s signaling someone indian fashion,” bob whispered.
“guess your hunch is working,” jack whispered back.
“wouldn’t wonder. now if we could only see if he gets and answer and where it comes from we might learn something that would help.”
but from where they lay they could see none of the surrounding country and they did not dare to move from their position.
“it’s a cinch that it’s somewhere round here that they bring the stuff over anyhow. we’ve learned that much if nothing more,” bob declared.
“no doubt about that,” jack agreed.
the man continued to signal for fifteen or twenty minutes but whether or not he received an answer the boys could only guess. finally, however, he seemed to be satisfied and after carefully extinguishing the fire he started off down the opposite side of the mountain.
