“the ladder, jack, the ladder!”
after another thorough search of the chamber which had disclosed nothing to aid them, the boys had sat for some moments side by side on the hard floor each busy with his own thoughts. it was bob who had broken the silence.
“well, what do you know about that? please kick me where it will do the most good. talk about being dumb. here we’ve got a perfectly good ladder right close by and we never thought of it.”
in another moment they had crawled back into the other room and were examining the old ladder which led up to the trap door.
“it’s nailed fast to that piece of wood,” bob said.
“no it isn’t,” jack insisted and to prove that he was right he grabbed hold of it and proved that while it was nailed fast to the piece of wood as bob had said, the latter was in no way fastened to the wall.
“go easy now,” bob whispered. “we don’t want them to hear us or they will be watching the other opening, that is if there is one.”
“let me go first, i found it,” jack insisted a few minutes later after they had dragged the ladder through the hole and had raised it in the corner.
“all right, but i’ll be right at your heels.”
“must be a hole through here,” jack announced as soon as his head was up above the ledge. “there’s a pretty strong draft here.”
“how big is it?”
“it’s none too large, but i reckon we can squeeze through.”
“look out you don’t get stuck in it.”
by this time jack’s feet had disappeared from sight or rather from touch for, since he had the torch bob was unable to see a thing. he followed as rapidly as he could raise himself over the edge of the rock. as jack had said the passage was a pretty tight fit, in fact there was barely room enough for him to hitch his body forward inch by inch. a few feet ahead he could hear jack grunting and puffing as he crawled along. he had gone but a few feet when a sudden thought struck him. suppose the men above had heard them and, suspecting what they had done, should drop through the trap and—
“but it’s too late to worry about that now,” he thought. “probably they’d think that one of us was on guard and be afraid to risk it anyhow.”
it seemed to him that they had been in the passage for a long time although it really was only a few minutes, when jack called back:
“light ahead.”
“wait a minute,” bob ordered, and jack stopped until he caught up with him.
“look,” he said, pressing his body close against the side so that bob could look past him.
in the distance, although it was hard to judge how far away, appeared a spot of light.
“it’s a way out all right,” he whispered. “but, jack, we’ve got to be mighty careful, because more than likely one of them at least is watching there.”
“maybe, but i doubt it.”
“why?”
“well, i don’t believe they could hear us when we moved the ladder. we didn’t make hardly a bit of noise and then again they wouldn’t think we would find that hole.”
“but that’s all guess work. i tell you we must go on the assumption that they’re on the watch.”
“sure, but just the same i bet they aren’t.”
the passage was a little larger now and they were able to make better headway so that it was only a few minutes before they had reached the end of the burrow. jack had been filled with misgivings for the last thirty feet or so of the passageway. that hole looked mighty small to him and although it seemed to get larger as they got nearer it continued to look far too small for their purpose.
“i was afraid of it,” he called back a minute later as he reached the end.
“afraid of what?”
“look at the hole and you’ll see,” he replied squeezing close to the wall.
“goodness, only a rabbit could get through there,” bob declared.
“and we’re no rabbits.”
“but there’s one good thing about it. probably they don’t know of it.”
“but what good’s that going to do us if we can’t get out?”
“maybe we can. the ground there looks pretty soft and perhaps we can dig out.”
“we might if we had a shovel.”
“you wait a minute,” bob said as he began to hitch backward. he remembered feeling a flat stone a few feet back and the thought struck him that it might serve as a shovel.
“here, try this and see how it works,” he said a moment later passing the rock, which was about a foot long and half as wide, to jack.
“it’ll be a long hard job but i believe it can be done,” jack announced after he had worked for about five minutes.
“see if you can get back of me and let me try it.”
“wait till i get tired. we’ll work in short shifts. it isn’t very hard digging even with this stone but the main trouble is going to be to dispose of the dirt.”
“you work it back of you and then i can push it back of me with my hands,” bob assured him.
but it was slow hard work. they were so cramped for room that they tired quickly, although they changed places every little while.
“take it easy, jack boy,” bob cautioned. “she’s coming along in good shape and we’re in no hurry.”
“and it’s a lucky thing we aren’t,” jack chuckled, “or i reckon we’d have to wait till our hurry was over.”
it took exactly three hours by bob’s watch before jack declared that he believed he could squeeze through.
“you can pull me back by the heels if i get stuck,” he told bob.
“wait a minute before you try. how far from the shack do you suppose we are?” bob asked.
“i should say about three hundred feet.”
“which is about a hundred too much. i don’t think it’s more than two hundred if it is that.”
“maybe you’re right. i didn’t pay much attention to the distance while we were crawling through. but what difference does it make?”
“it might make a lot and then it might not make any. it all depends on whether or not you’ll be in sight of the shack when you get out. i don’t think that anyone has been watching this place because i don’t believe they know anything about it, but that doesn’t mean that it’s so, you know. they may be ready to grab us the instant we show our heads, but we’ve got to risk that. i only want to caution you to keep low down and not make any noise.
“all right, then, here goes.” and jack started to force his body through the hole.
it was a tight fit and required a lot of twisting and squirming, but he finally managed it. as he drew his feet out he lay still stretched at full length on the ground only raising his head slightly to glance about him. there was no sound to indicate the presence of anyone and after a moment he got to his hands and knees. to his great satisfaction he saw that the opening was surrounded by thick growth and that the shack was not visible. he placed his head back into the hole and whispered:
“it’s all right, old man, there’s nobody here and the shack is out of sight.”
“can you hear them talking?”
“not a thing.”
“then they’re probably in the cave. think i can get through?”
“not yet. it was all i could do and you’re too fat, but hand me that stone and i’ll soon fix it so you can.”
working from the outside was much easier and in about fifteen minutes he had enlarged the opening sufficiently to permit him to pull bob through.
“now let’s beat it,” bob said as soon as he was on his feet.
“just a minute,” jack proposed. “if they’re in the cave what’s the matter with locking them in? i believe we could do it.”
“but what good would it do?” bob objected. “no, it’s too much of a risk for the amount of gain. we couldn’t leave them there to starve, you know. i say let’s beat it while the beating’s good.”
“i suppose you’re right,” jack agreed somewhat reluctantly. “but i sure hate not to try it.”
“he who fights and runs away may live to fight another day,” bob quoted.
he turned and was about to lead the way down the mountain when the unexpected happened. a large clump of bushes, a few feet behind them, suddenly parted and a burly black whiskered giant stepped out. the man was evidently as much surprised at the meeting as were they and for an instant no one spoke.
“how you geet out?” the man finally demanded.
he did not wait for an answer but turned and shouted:
“here dey am.”
“follow me,” bob said quickly at the same time bounding away into the thick woods closely followed by jack.
he knew that the path was only a short distance away but, for a moment was undecided as to whether it would be best to strike it or to keep to the thick woods. but before he had taken many steps he decided to pursue the latter course judging that they would be better able to elude them in case they took up the chase.
“keep close behind me, jack,” he cried turning his head.
“you can’t lose me,” jack shouted back. “but hit it up lively. that fellow’s coming like a bull moose.”
so thick was the undergrowth that, although their way led down hill, they were unable to make anything like fast time. once a loud report sounded not far behind and he heard the thud of the bullet as it struck a tree a little to his right.
“make it snappy,” jack cried and he redoubled his efforts to make time.
they could hear the sound of pursuit only a short distance behind and it seemed as though the man was gaining on them. but a moment later the sound of a crash followed by a volley of french oaths reached their ears.
“guess he came a cropper,” jack cried. “but don’t let up.”
“bet your life we won’t,” bob called back.
for another ten minutes they made the best speed possible down the mountain. then bob stopped and for a moment they listened.
“guess he gave it up after that tumble,” jack declared.
“looks that way,” bob agreed, “but we better make ourselves as scarce as possible. they may know of a short cut down the mountain and try to cut us off.”
after a short rest they started off again in the general direction of the dam, making as fast time as they could through the thick underbrush which covered the ground. although they felt fairly confident that their pursuers had given up the chase they took no unnecessary chances of a surprise, but were on their guard every minute. that the men were thoroughly familiar with the lay of the land they had little doubt, but as they approached the entrance of the gorge leading up to the dam, and had neither seen or heard anything suspicious, they began to breath more easily.
finally they reached the dam itself and to their great joy, saw the motor boat from the camp, tied up to the little wharf.
“hurrah!” jack shouted. “we don’t have to hike it home.”
“and there’s jacques,” bob added as he spied the man coming from the house of the keeper of the dam.
“whar you tink you was, eh?” the breed asked as soon as he was within speaking distance.
“we’re here, what there is left of us,” bob laughed as he glanced down at his torn clothes which were literally covered with dirt.
“you look lak’ you been deegin’ wid your hands, oui,” the breed suggested looking at them both with a curious glance.
“i’ll say we’ve been digging,” jack broke in. “but what are you down here for?”
“me blow breakfas’ horn two tree time; you no come; we wait long time, still no come; we geet scared, oui, so me tak’ boat, come down here, see if find you.”
“well you’ve found us all right,” bob said as he led the way toward the boat. “let’s get back to camp and we’ll tell you all about it on the way.”
the boat was soon chugging merrily up the lake and bob suggested that jack begin the story.
“you haven’t told me how they got hold of you, you know,” he added.
jack began his story by telling jacques how they had started out the night before determined to catch whoever it was that, as he put it, was responsible for the monkey shines at the camp.
“i was following along after you, bob,” he continued, “when, all of a sudden, somebody grabbed me from behind and, before i could cry out, had clapped a big hand over my mouth and pulled me over backwards onto my back. oh, it was a slick job all right and they didn’t make the least bit of noise about it. i know it sounds fishy and all that, but it’s a fact nevertheless. there were three of ’em and i didn’t have a chance. they slipped a gag in my mouth and tied it so tight that i couldn’t yip a sound. then they tied my hands behind my back and told me to stand up.
“all this didn’t take half so long as i’ve taken in telling it, but you must have gotten quite aways ahead. well those two big huskies took hold of me, one on each side, and we started off. i wouldn’t believe it could have been done if i didn’t know that it had been. gee, but that was the hardest trip i ever took, but at last we got back and they put me where you found me.”
bob finished the story and then, after giving as good a description of the men as he was able, asked jacques if he knew them.
the breed had said nothing while the boys had been talking and when bob asked the question, he slowly shook his head.
“me no know um,” he declared. “them no belong round here or me know um.”
all three of the sleepers were waiting on the wharf as they pulled in and the story had to be told again.
“this is getting serious and something ought to be done about it,” mr. sleeper declared as soon as they had finished.
“they won’t catch me napping again,” jack assured him. “but just now i’m more concerned about some eats than anything else.”
“you poor boys,” mrs. sleeper broke in, “dinner will be ready in less than ten minutes. we told jacques that we would have it ready by the time he got back, but you came a bit sooner than we expected. go get washed up and i’ll help him get it on the table.”
“it strikes me that we’re making a grand foozle of this job,” jack declared about an hour later as he threw himself on his bed.
dinner was over and they had gone to their cabin for a much needed rest.
“i’ll make it unanimous,” bob smiled as he too stretched out on his bed. “but what could we have done that we haven’t done?”
“ask me something easy,” jack yawned.
“i know but we’ve got to do something,” bob insisted. “we’ve never fallen down on a task yet and i for one don’t propose to begin now.”
“bravely and nobly spoken, son. and now if you’ll only elucidate the modus operandi everything will be lovely.”
“and the goose’ll hang high,” bob laughed. “but seriously, jack, what do you suppose those fellows are up to there in that shack?”
“i’ll never tell you.”
“meaning you haven’t an idea?”
“meaning exactly that. have you?”
“not one.”
“then it’s unanimous again. we do have a wonderful faculty of agreeing.”
for a few moments neither spoke, then bob began:
“you see, it’s like this. if we only—” then he stopped as a light snore from the other bed told him that jack had started on a trip to the land of nod.
“poor fellow, i guess he’s about all in,” he thought as he turned over and closed his eyes and in another minute he too was bound for the same place.
a loud knock on the door awakened him some three hours later. rubbing his eyes he sat up and glanced over toward jack’s bed. he saw that his brother was awake and swinging his feet to the floor as he called “come in.”
the door slowly opened and, to their great amazement, the young man of the shack on the mountain, entered.
“sorry if i’ve disturbed you,” he apologized.
for a moment both boys were too astonished to speak but finally bob found his voice.
“that’s all right. it’s time we were getting up.”
“i suppose you are somewhat surprised to see me here,” the stranger said, glancing toward a chair as though awaiting an invitation to sit down.
“well, we weren’t exactly expecting you, if that’s what you mean,” jack assured him.
“i suppose not. do you mind if i sit down? the long walk has rather puffed me.” and without waiting for permission he took a seat in a rocking chair.
“you see, it’s this way,” he began after a moment’s pause. “i believe we’ve been working at cross purposes and it occurred to me that a good talk might clear the atmosphere a bit. so i decided to make a call on you.”
“kind of you,” jack assured him.
if the stranger sensed the note of sarcasm in jack’s voice he took no notice of it but continued:
“my name is kane, george kane, and i’m a mining engineer, graduated from boston tech three years ago. most of the time since then i’ve been out west and in alaska hunting gold. it’s a pretty long story and i hope it won’t bore you,” he hesitated.
“go on,” bob told him. “we like good stories.”
“well, they say truth is stranger than fiction so i hope you’ll believe it. last october i was on the klondike about forty miles from dawson. i had been there about three weeks and had staked out a claim which promised to be rich but, i may as well say right off, the promise was not fulfilled. the vein petered out after a few days’ work on it and i was unable to relocate it. you can imagine that i was pretty well discouraged, especially as i was all alone and had no one to cheer me up when the blue devils got hold of me.
“the weather had turned cold and there had been a couple of light snows and i knew that in a week or two winter would set in in earnest. so i decided to return to dawson for i didn’t want to spend the long winter away up there in the mountains alone. it was to be my last night there and i was busy in my shack getting together what few things i wanted to take out with me. the mercury was well down below zero and it looked as though it might snow before morning. i had nearly finished and was about to turn in when i heard a cry from out of the night. i rushed out of doors and listened, but the cry was not repeated, so i called but there was no reply. i was sure that someone was not far away and in trouble so i got a lantern and started to hunt. it was all of an hour before i stumbled over a form lying huddled close to the foot of a large tree.
“at first i thought the man was dead, but finally i discovered that his heart was still beating, though feebly. he was unconscious and it was sometime before i got him to the shack. i saw at once that he was done for, but i’m not going to tire you with details. he lived a week and i did what i could for him and finally buried him. but, before he died, he told me a lot about himself. it seems he was from maine and had got into some trouble which had caused him to leave. and now comes the strange part. he told me that just before he had had to skip out, he had found a rich vein of gold up on mount katahdin. i had never heard of gold being found in maine, but i couldn’t see why he should want to lie to me about it, especially as he seemed very grateful for what i had done for him. he told me all about the place here and just how to find it. but either he wasn’t telling the truth or else i didn’t get it straight for i’ve been hunting nearly two weeks and haven’t found a thing.”
