John Henry Goldfrap

“ As he climbed higher it grew hotter. The place was like the interior of a volcano. Beyond the wall of the stairway Rob could hear the flames roaring like the beat of the surf on a rocky coast. It almost seemed as if the fire demon possessed an articulate voice and was howling his rage and defiance at the boy who had dared to face his terrors. But, hot as it was growing, Rob yet found some small grain of comfort in the fact that the smoke was not so thick. ”

“ All the time the trail kept getting fresher. Their hopes rose high.
All the time the trail kept getting fresher.
“We’re catching up on them,” cried Rob. “It’s slow but sure; we’re catching up.”
Presently they stood in the space under the tall trees where Tubby and Fred had paused and where the San Blas Indians had surprised them. Rob, like a pointer dog, went rapidly hither and thither, crouched low, looking for the tiny signs which mean so little to an untrained and so much to a carefully educated eye.
Suddenly he gave a sharp cry. It brought Mr. Mainwaring to his side in an instant. ”

“ The fat boy had become very fond of the cocoanut, which can be bought on the Isthmus for little or nothing. He had slung several around his waist and at intervals, amidst the dust and turmoil of the work on the great dam, he refreshed himself by a copious draught of their cool contents.
At the boys’ feet, as they stood on the lofty concrete battlement, lay the cut for the Gatun locks, which will raise and lower vessels eighty-five feet. There are no such locks anywhere in the world. ”

“ If the fat boy had not taken his tumble down the bank it is not likely that the nuts would have exploded. But the fall was what proved too much for the already fermented milk. Like so much gunpowder it had expanded and blown the “eyes,” or thin parts, out of each cocoanut, spraying the unfortunate Tubby with milk, and making the sharp series of reports that had so alarmed them.
Even Ram Chunda’s immobile face bore the trace of a smile at Tubby’s disaster. ”

“ The Eagles now came to the bat, Rob leading. Rob was not only a good pitcher but a sure batter. Whiz-z came Jared’s ball. Rob met it and promptly drove a humming liner into right field. It was a safe base hit.
“Oh, you Eagles!” chanted the crowd; those of them who were not lined up for Hampton, that is.
Rob watched his chance and stole second, to the huge delight of his team supporters. An ugly look was on Jared’s face. The next batter, Merritt, received first base on four balls. Cheers and yells greeted this. Jared’s countenance grew blacker and blacker. He bit his lip impatiently. ”

“ There were also clumps of banana plants growing to a height of fifteen or twenty feet, with immense broad leaves often six feet in length. Curiously enough, the banana bunches appeared to be hanging upside down. Beyond the fruit extended a stem like a snake, ending in a big blossom something like a red-brown water lily. There were occasional clumps of cocoanut trees, too, at which Tubby looked with a strange mixture of awe and longing.
Occasionally, through all this brilliant jungle gaily colored parrots or a flock of screaming macaws would fly, alarmed by the chugging of the launch. ”

“ Suddenly a man, hatless and coatless, came sprinting up the street.
“It’s the ’cademy!” he was yelling, “the ’cademy’s on fire!”
“The Academy!” gasped Rob, aghast at the thought that the private school which most of the boys enrolled as Scouts attended was in flames.
“It’s up to us to do something and do it quick!” he cried the next instant. “Merritt, run as quick as you can to Andy’s house. Tell him to sound the Assembly. There’s lots of work for the Eagles to-night.” ”

“ Fred shoved the two dugouts off. In a jiffy the current caught them and they went sailing out of sight. At the same instant there came another flash of lightning. It showed the river, swollen and angry, racing furiously along.
“Can you handle a paddle, Fred?” asked Tubby.
“Yes; I had a canoe on the Hudson,” was the reply.
“Well, this is going to beat any Hudson you ever saw. There’s a storm in the mountains evidently, and the river is rising every minute. It can’t be helped, though. Take a paddle and shove off.” ”

“ Rob spoke very soberly, laying his hand on the other’s arm, “it looks to me as if we’ve stumbled on a monumental plot against Uncle Sam’s canal. I don’t know much of politics, but I do know enough to realize that there is a certain South American republic that thinks that the Canal Zone was stolen from her by trickery and deceit. I’m sorry to say, too, that I’ve heard that there are interests right here in the States that agree with her—people who think that the opening of the canal will result in enormous losses to freight, and who would like to see the canal completion delayed at all costs.” ”

“ The creeper had emitted a loud, angry hiss and then they saw that it was no creeper at all, but a brilliantly colored snake, at least fifteen feet long, that was swinging from a limb around which its tail was coiled. Tubby echoed Fred’s yell of alarm and the next instant both boys took to their heels in mad flight. The serpent had swiftly and silently begun writhing its way to the ground.
“Run for your life!” cried Tubby wildly. “He’s after us.” ”

“ Tubby proffered the apple and instantly Jake forgot his troubles in devouring it. In the meantime Tubby slipped to the wagon and selected a poster or two and a brush full of paste. Returning, amidst shouts of laughter from his fellow conspirators, he plentifully “shampooed” Jake with paste, and then slapped the gaudy yellow bills on till it appeared as if the astute Jake had enveloped himself in a bright orange overcoat.
“Now cut him loose,” ordered Rob, when Tubby, with all the satisfaction of a true artist, stepped back to view his completed work. ”

“ ALONG THE CHAGRES.
“Well, did you ever!! Jared of all people!”
“What on earth is he doing here?”
“That’s plain enough,” was Rob’s reply to the last exclamation, which had proceeded from Tubby following Rob’s hasty recital of what he had seen on the top of the dam.
“That’s plain enough,” he repeated. “Jared is a pretty slick sort of article, or, at any rate, the men with whom he is in league are cunning and clever. What better place could Jared be, watched as he is, than holding down a job as a canal worker, bossing some small undertaking? ”

“ They all faced round and saw a man shuffling off rapidly. Something familiar about him struck Rob, but for the life of him he could not place the man. It was not until later that he recalled where they had seen him before. He was the man who had driven them to the ruins of old Panama on that memorable morning, and who must have heard some of their talk. But what was he doing on the canal work? Was he allied with the forces that were trying to defeat the completion of the canal? Had he told the plotters of what he had overheard and warned them that vigilant retribution was on their trail? ”

“ But Rob’s effort came too late.
“He’s gone!” yelled Tubby, turning as white as a ghost as Rob, without a sound, plunged over the parapet and out of sight.
His chums turned sick and faint. They dared not go to the edge to gaze upon what they knew must lie at the foot of the tower. They simply stood like figures carved out of wood waiting for the sound of Rob’s crashing fall. ”

“ Then, losing his head completely, he rushed at Rob and seized him in a wrestling grip. Rob, caught off his guard, lost his feet and the two toppled to the ground, going at it in rough-and-tumble fashion.
“Magnificent, but not war!” cried Merritt as he danced about.
Over and over they rolled, Jared managing in this style of battling to get in some heavy blows that caused Rob to gasp. But in a short time Rob had Jared fairly howling for mercy.
“Help!” he bawled out, “take him away, you fellows! He’s not fighting fair.” ”

“ The workmen shouted and ran for places of safety.
[222]
Suddenly Mr. Raynor, who had been watching with hawk-like eyes, gave a sharp, commanding cry:
“Run, boys! Run for your lives! After me!”
For an instant they hesitated. Why should they run? There appeared to be no danger. At the distance that they were from the spouting column it did not appear possible that they would be in jeopardy from it even when it collapsed and came crashing to earth.
“What’s the matter?” cried Rob.
“Don’t stop to ask questions. Run! Run! Run, I tell you!” roared the engineer. ”

“ Rob intercepted the glance and turned red, at which both his companions teased him more than ever. Luckily for Rob’s peace of mind, however, at this juncture something occurred to cause the current of Tubby’s thoughts to flow in another direction.
Beyond the farm buildings a spotted pig was nosing about contentedly in the middle of the road. As his eyes lighted on the porker, Tubby gave a shout of delight.
“We can use him,” he cried delightedly.
“There you go again. Always thinking about something to eat,” snorted Merritt. ”

“ Instantly Tubby was all activity. Quickly he aroused Fred.
“Wake up! Quick! Don’t ask questions. Follow me.”
“Why? What?” began Fred sleepily.
“Not a word. We’ve got to move quick. I squeezed the juice of those berries you told me about into the remains of our supper. The guards ate it. They’re fast asleep. It’s up to us to cut and run for those canoes on the river bank.”
[280]
Fred was alert in an instant. As he rose softly to his feet a vivid flash of lightning illumined his face. Tubby saw that it was set and determined as became a Black Wolf Scout. He gripped Fred’s hand tightly. ”

“ The ball shot from Rob’s hand apparently without effort. But it shot over the plate like a bullet.
“Strike two!” bellowed the umpire.
“Oh, you Rob!” yelled his friends.
“K-r-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee!” shrilled the Scouts.
But Rob took no notice; nor did he regard Jared’s look of hatred, oddly mixed with worry. Rob’s pitching bothered him. He wanted no more off that plate.
But whi-z-z-z-z-z-z! came another “cannon ball” like a high powered projectile burning up the atmosphere. Jared swung wildly an inch too high.
“Striker’s out!” came the call of Jared’s doom from the umpire. ”

“ To the delight of the boys a light draught launch, fitted with powerful engines and a spidery stern paddle wheel, was to do the towing while they took it easy. This suited Tubby down to the ground, and Rob’s cup of satisfaction was full to the brim when he learned that he and Merritt were to alternate as engineers. As we know, both boys were familiar with the management of gasolene engines, and they gazed with approval at the fourteen horse-power, twin-cylinder engine of the Pathfinder, as the launch was called. ”

“ Nothing made the young Scout leader more angry than cruelty or injustice to children, the old and feeble, or dumb animals. His eyes fairly blazed now as he faced Max, who looked mean and cringing beside him.
[164]
“Now get out of this, you coward,” he exclaimed, grabbing Max’s shoulder and giving that worthy a good shove. “Be off and take your friends with you. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves, treating a poor old woman this way.”
“Let’s give ’em a good punching,” muttered Tubby belligerently.
“That’s what I say,” chimed in Merritt; but Rob held back his two fire-eating chums. ”

“ Rob’s grip with his left was relaxed and he seized Merritt’s wrist, giving it a jerk that almost pulled his arm out of the socket. For an instant his heart was in his mouth. If the boys above weren’t strong enough to hold them, they would both be dashed downward to the ground that looked so fearfully far below. But both Tubby and Fred were heavy youths, and then, too, the belt that was looped through that accommodating iron staple was an anchor in itself.
There was a slight give and a sag, but the “human chain” held. ”