Archibald Lee Fletcher

“ It seemed to Paul more like the snarling of an angry domestic cat, several times magnified.
For the life of him he could not imagine what a cat would be doing here in the heart of the dreaded Black Water Swamps. Surely no hermit could be living in such a dismal and inaccessible place; even a crazy man would never dream of passing over such a terribly slippery ledge in order to get to and from his lonely habitation. ”

“ When they came out to the timber work, Will, who was in the lead, motioned to the others to remain in the background.
"What's doing now?" whispered Sandy.
"There's a man working on the ladders," explained Will in a low whisper. "I can't see him yet, but I can hear the sound of a saw."
"He may be cutting the rungs," suggested Tommy.
"That's the notion I had," replied Will. "Suppose we all get around behind the air shaft and wait until we can find out what he is up to. It may be that bum detective, for all we know." ”

“ If I see a campfire, and it isn't too far away, I'll sneak down and see whether it belongs to Wagner, to the cheap detectives, to the train robbers, or to the cowboy vigilantes."
"That's quite a collection of interests to be assembled in one spot on the Great Divide!" laughed Sandy.
"Oh, we always get into some kind of a mess like this," grumbled Tommy. "We could have a nice peaceful time catching Wagner if the detectives, and the train robbers, and the cowboys had remained away. I hope the cowboys will catch the robbers and lug them out, anyway!" ”

“ Sandy asked after greetings had been exchanged.
"Did you build these fires so we could cook supper?"
"You're not hungry, I hope!" grinned Tommy.
"Starved to death!" answered Sandy. "We've been treed by bears, and dumped down on the back of a great beast about nine feet long, and had our fish devoured, and there's been nothing doing in the eating line since noon!"
"Never you mind the hardships of life!" grinned Will. "We've got great news for you, so get ready to shout!"
"What's the great news?" demanded Sandy.
"We've got the Little Brass God penned up in the cavern just under this rock! ”

“ Jimmie acquired an armful of large sized pieces of slate and began tossing them into the huddle of rats in the corner.
For an instant the rats squealed viciously as they wore struck by the sharp edges of the slate, then they seemed to confer together for a moment or two, then they spread out like a fan and began moving toward the two boys.
"Now you've done it!" cried Tommy. "If you don't get out of. There in about a second, the rats'll eat your legs off!"
Without waiting for the boys to assume the offensive, the rats began screaming and springing at their feet. ”

“ She had raised her head a little, and appeared to be observing his coming with certain suspicious signs.
"Go slow, Fritz; she don't like your looks any too much!" warned Paul, who had climbed to the top of the rail fence, the better to see what happened.
Perhaps Fritz himself may have felt a little qualm just about that time, for the actions of the cow were far from reassuring; but he was too proud to show anything that seemed to savor of the "white feather" before his chums, especially after making all the boasts he had. ”

“ George declared with a grin, "that story about how to kill mosquitos came out of Noah's ark on crutches."
The sun was setting over the great wilderness to the west, and the boys hastened to pile more wood on the fire. The forest was alive with the cries of birds, and the undergrowth showed curious eyes peering out at the intruders.
"This beats little old Chicago," cried George, bringing out a great skillet of ham. "When we live in the city, we've got to eat in the house and smell dishwater. When you live out doors, you've got a dining room about a thousand miles square." ”

“ Will and Elmer were first to reach the cross-heading where the explosion of dynamite had taken place.
They called to Tommy and George, but received no answer. They walked for some distance down the gangway without hearing any sound indicating the presence of their companions, or of any one else.
"Now that's a funny thing!" exclaimed Will. "I don't see why those boys should go rambling about the mine at a time like this just for the fun of the thing!"
"They never did!" replied Elmer. "You remember the shot we heard?" ”

“ Johnson threw back his head and laughed until the echoes came back from the mountains.
"Well, boys," he said, "you seem to have lighted in a hornet's nest the first jump out of the box. And so the kid stole the detective's badge and weapons and money, did he?" he went on, with another roar of laughter. "That's about the best thing I've heard yet!"
"I don't see anything funny about it!" replied Will.
"You will directly," replied Johnson. "Read your instructions, and then I'll tell you all about this boy, and all about these two imitation detectives. Then you'll see how funny this incident is." ”

“ The boys continued on their way for some moments, and then Tommy stopped and extinguished his light, whispering to Sandy to do the same.
"What's that for?" demanded the latter.
"Didn't you hear that noise behind the cribbing?" asked Tommy.
"Rats, probably!"
"Rats nothing!" replied Tommy. "Rats don't make sounds like people whispering, do they? Keep still a minute, and we'll find out what it is!"
"You'll be, seeing a light next!" Sandy suggested.
"I see it now!" answered Tommy.
Sandy saw it, too, in a moment. It seemed at first to be floating in the air at the very top of the gangway. ”

“ You would never have believed that those agile lads had been walking for nearly twelve hours that day, if you could see how they got over the ground, even with two of them limping.
It can be easily understood that there was more or less speculation among the scouts as they hurried along. Would the farmer find his missing wad snugly secreted in the old Dutch oven, as Paul so confidently suggested? And if such turned out to be the case, wouldn't it prove that the scoutmaster was a wonder at guessing things that were a blank puzzle to everybody else? ”

“ Save for the great fire blazing in the rudely-constructed fire-place, the cabin seemed to be absolutely deserted.
"Suppose you give me a boost through this window," Thede suggested, as the boys at last stood close against the rear wall.
"Why not go around to the door?" George asked.
"I might get a bullet in my coco when I turned the angle of the house!" replied Thede. "There's no knowing who's around there."
"That's a fact!" Will agreed. "We've got one wounded boy on our hands now, and we don't care about having another." ”

“ Directly the sound of heavy boots scrambling over broken rocks, accompanied by private and personal opinions of that part of Wyoming, of rocky surfaces, and of midnight expeditions, came to the ears of the listening boys. As the sounds drew nearer they grouped closer together.
"Here comes the boys who did the shooting!" exclaimed Tommy.
"I hope they won't mistake us for the men they're after!" George suggested. "They look like rather tough citizens," he added, as the bearded faces and roughly-clad figures of half a dozen men swept into the firelight. ”

“ Dismal groans sounded; but with a smile Paul went on to add:
"We've already made our twenty-five miles since sun-up, just this side of Warwick; but it's a fine day, and I did hope we might hang on a little while further, so as to cut down our last day's hike a few miles. It's always the hardest part of the whole thing, the finishing spurt. But of course, if any of you feel played out we can call it off right now."
Eben and Noodles braced themselves up at this, and tried to look as though they had no calling acquaintance with such a thing as fatigue. ”

“ CHAPTER XVIII A PILLAR OF FIRE "Can you build a fire with one match?" asked Thede, after a short silence, during which the boys had been trying in vain to get a shot at the bears.
"Of course I can!" answered Sandy. "What's the good of going through all those Boy Scout examinations, if a fellow can't build a fire with one match? Of course I can build a fire with one match!"
"Can you build a fire with one match up in a tree?" asked Thede, with a suspicion of mirth in his voice. ”

“ They are hiding behind there on purpose to give us a scare."
"That's a dream!" replied Sandy. "We left them both asleep."
"Dream, is it?" repeated Tommy scornfully. "You just listen to the sound that comes from behind this cribbing, and tell me what you make of it!"
Both boys listened intently for a moment, and then Sandy switched on his light and moved swiftly along the cribbing as if in search of an opening. Tommy gazed at him in astonishment.
"You've gone and done it now!" he said.
"There's some one in here all right!" Sandy explained. "Did you hear the call of the pack a minute ago? ”

“ CHAPTER XVI CULLEN LOSES HIS STAR
"So these are the detectives, are they?" asked one of the train robbers, as the two men crouched against the wall of the cavern.
"That's what they say!" answered Tommy.
"What were they doing to you?"
"They had us pinched."
"What for?"
"They said we belonged to your gang."
The bandit laughed hoarsely.
"To our gang?" he said. "The perfectly correct gentleman of the road never has a 'gang'. He believes thoroughly in the old theory that 'he travels fastest who travels alone'."
"So they pinched you for being associates of ours, did they?" asked the other outlaw. ”

“ Scouting has been the making of him, as it will of any feller that cares to set his teeth together, and just try real hard."
"I suggest then," went on Paul, his face beaming with pleasure, "that we take a little rest right here, say of half an hour; and then march along again for three miles, as near as we can guess. And if we do that, fellows, it leaves only twenty more for the last day."
"I reckon that silver trophy is as good as won," remarked Andy Mullane.
"Barring accidents; and you never can tell when something may happen," added wise Seth. ”

“ Tommy declared with a yawn, "I'm going back to bed!"
"That's what I'm going to do," Will agreed. "If we sit up here until we solve this new problem, we'll probably never get any more sleep as long as we live."
Seeing that the door and windows were securely fastened, the boys, who had been sleeping together, went back to their bunk, and there was only the crackling of the fire and the roaring of the wind to break the silence.
Tommy was soon sound asleep, but Will lay awake listening. Again he heard the window sash rattle, but this time he did not move. ”

“ It was quite dark, although stars were showing in a sky plentifully scattered over with clouds and, as the boys dropped down out of the illumination of the windows as soon as they struck the ground, they were not seen to leave the train by any of the passengers.
In a moment the train rushed on, leaving the four standing on the roadbed looking disconsolately in the direction of the town.
"Now for a good long hike!" exclaimed Tommy.
"It's for your own good!" laughed Sandy.
"I can always tell when something is for my own good," Tommy contended. ”

“ The tents had been set up on the previous evening, and the boys did not think it possible that the messenger could be more than twenty-four hours behind them. While they waited for the supper to cook they watched the country off to the south anxiously.
"Last call for supper!" cried Sandy, spreading a great white cloth on the fragrant grass of the valley. "We can eat out-doors in this country without any danger of people butting in to see what we've got for supper." ”

“ As the obliging branch saw fit to let go its tenacious grip about that time, of course Noodles was soon drawn in triumph over the edge of the shale, protesting more or less because he was scratched in several places by sharp edges of the rock.
"Hurrah for Scout tactics; they count every time!" exclaimed Eben.
Fritz was unusually solicitous, and asked Noodles several times whether he had received any serious hurt as a result of his strange experience. The German boy felt himself all over, grunting several times while so doing. ”

“ Sandy and Tommy were sound asleep on their cots as soon as supper was over, and Will and George were getting ready to retire when the soft patter of a light footstep sounded in the vicinity of the shaft.
"Rats must be thick in the mine!" suggested George.
"Rats nothing!" declared Will. "Those two youngsters are prowling about in order to see what we are up to!" ”

“ We ought to be home now."
"Does the moon rise in the south?" asked Sandy,
"There's no knowing what will take place in this part of the country," answered Thede. "Me for little old Chicago right soon!"
"I think it's about time we headed for Chicago," Sandy agreed. "When a couple of Boy Scouts who are supposed to be in their right minds climb a tree to get away from bears who are so busy eating stolen fish that they don't know there is a boy within a hundred miles, I think it is about time they headed for civilization." ”

“ Sandy nudged George in the side and whispered:
"I'll bet Tommy's got him scared half to death!"
"I guess that's what the kid's telling him these stories for!" George ventured. "He's always up to tricks like that."
While the boys worked about the camp preparing beds for the night and clearing away the remains of the supper Tommy remained close to the side of the trench, asking of his experiences on the way in and telling many exciting stories of highwaymen, the most of which had origin in his own brain.
"Tommy'll have that fellow so scared that he can't sleep!" Sandy whispered to George. ”

“ And when fellows are just dead tired it seems a sin to try and keep them awake, especially when there is no need of it.
So Paul announced that those who wanted to could turn in, while the rest were enjoined to keep quiet, doing their talking in whispers, so as not to disturb the sleepers; just as if the discharge of a six pound cannon close by would bother those weary scouts, once they lost themselves in the dreamland of Nod. ”

“ Will grumbled. "If people walk out of the valley and drop down here, there may, for all we know, be others in hiding further down."
"That's a fact," Chester admitted.
"I wish we knew who the people are who are entering the tunnel," Will said. "It may be the robbers, or the detectives, or the sheriffs. It may even be your father, for all we know."
"Well, shall we move on down to see if we can find an outlet?" asked Chester. "That seems to me to be the best thing to do."
"It strikes me that that is the only thing we can do." ”

“ Thede answered.
"I don't believe they'll jump on us if we keep our light going," George argued. "Anyway," he went on, "we've got to get somewhere out of this wind and snow. If we don't, we'll freeze to death!"
Very slowly and cautiously the boys made their way into the cavern. It was a small place, not more than six feet in width and twice that in depth, and the electric revealed about all there was inside.
Two black huddles of fur showed under the finger of light, and as the boys crept on, George with his automatic ready for use, two pair of surly, pig-like eyes became visible. ”

“ The boys heard the caretaker creeping about in the darkness, and presently a piece of shale or coal was heard rattling down the old shaft.
"We'll have to get that blundering caretaker away from there," whispered Will. "If we don't, he'll notify the hold-up men that we're getting ready to do something! I've heard that about three-fourths of the people in the world object to doing anything unless they can take a brass band along, and I guess it's true." ”