L. P. Wyman

“ Finally they were obliged to give over the search and reluctantly began to pack the things in the canoe. There was but little talk each being busy with his own thoughts. All, including the Indian, sensed a mystery in the air which seemed unexplainable. Both Bob and Jack knew that Kernertok was in the depths of despair, not only because of the loss of his beloved dog but because something had happened in the woods for which he could give no accounting. It was a severe blow to the old man’s pride. ”

“ The groaning had been repeated several times since they had first heard it, and now they were certain that the sound came from the cabin.
“Sounds as though someone was having a nightmare,” Rex whispered.
“What had we better do?” Jack asked, as he stopped a moment later. “We’re only a few feet away from the cabin now.”
“We want to be mighty careful for one thing,” Rex cautioned in a low whisper. “If we should get caught now all our work would probably go for nothing.”
“Let’s camp right here then.”
They stretched themselves flat on the ground behind a small clump of small cedars and listened. ”

“ For an hour the two boys talked about the accident and wondered how badly their boat was injured.
“Wait till I get the water glass and a buoy to mark the place and I’ll be with you,” Jack said as he swung himself out of the hammock.
“Must have been about here don’t you think,” he asked a little later as he rested on his oars.
“I should say so. I happen to remember that we were right out from that clump of cedars before they hit us but I’m rather hazy as to how far out.” ”

“ Rex asked anxiously.
“I reckon they’ll stop too,” Jack replied dryly.
“I don’t like it at all,” Bob shook his head.
“Him heap bad,” Kernertok agreed.
“Well, we might as well land as soon as we come to a good place,” Bob declared. “They evidently intend to keep it up.”
“Don’t you think the four of us could handle them in a rough and tumble?” Rex asked, as they paddled slowly along close to the shore.
“That all depends,” Bob replied slowly. “So far as brute strength is concerned any one of them could probably handle two of us, but as a rule they don’t know much about either boxing or wrestling.” ”

“ Bob asked.
“Just keeping along about the same distance away.”
“What do you make of it, Kernertok?”
“Them heap bad mans.”
“No doubt about that, but what do you suppose they want with us?”
“Mebby steal.”
“I say, Bob,” Jack said suddenly, “how do you suppose that fellow knew your name?”
“Ask me something easy. I never saw the fellow before, to the best of my knowledge.”
“Well, it seems mighty strange that they should follow us. Their time can’t be very valuable, or else they’re up to some kind of a game that we aren’t in on.” ”

“ Rex asked, as Bob was about to slip the bar.
“Guess we’ll have to,” Bob replied, then after a moment’s thought he added, “I believe we’re going at this all wrong after all. If we all three go out we’ll have to keep close together or we’ll be unable to tell who’s who. It’s so dark you can’t see your hand before your face. No, the proper thing is for me to go alone. So far as watching is concerned, one will be as good as three, and if I call, you can come.”
“What’s the matter with me going?” Jack asked. ”

“ Jack replied, casting a questioning glance at Kernertok.
“Him heap good at guess,” the Indian agreed.
“What’s the next move then?” Rex whispered.
“I guess it’s their next move,” Bob said. “You see, they’re all powerful as well as desperate men, and we don’t want to come to a showdown with them if we can help it, until we have bigger odds on our side. I tell you those fellows would put a bullet through one of us as quick as lightning if he thought his safety depended on it.” ”

“ Rex assured him. “I’m going to stick closer than any brother you ever saw.”
“You’d better,” Jack laughed.
It was a clear night, with a new moon, which, although it did not give much light, relieved the intense darkness of the previous nights.
“It’s a whole lot better than nothing,” Bob told the Indian.
“Heap much,” Kernertok grunted.
Twelve o’clock came and nothing had happened.
“Reckon he or it or whatever it is knows we are on the watch and is afraid to try anything,” Bob told the Indian as he started to call Jack and Rex. ”

“ Rex said.
“Most of them are good shots, all right,” Bob declared, “but most of the time the light has been bad, and then I’m inclined to think that perhaps they haven’t yet shot to hit. You see, although they won’t hesitate to kill if they think their safety depends on it, they’d rather get that money without killing us if they can, and I reckon it looks to them just now as though they could.”
“And to tell the truth, it kinder looks that way to me,” Jack grinned. ”

“ Bob had told him that a wild cat will seldom attack a man unless it is cornered, but if there should be two of them together they will sometimes take the initiative. All this passed through his mind as he was getting to his feet. He stood for a moment, his head still reeling from the contact with the stone. Another fierce shriek sent him rushing away toward the brook. He fancied that the last yell differed somewhat from the others, indicating that there were two cats in that clump of cedars. ”

“ Rex agreed. “I’d give a good bit to know who’s in that cabin,” he added in a whisper.
“Well, we’ll probably find out before many hours. It’ll be light now in about three hours.”
“And I’ll bet they’ll seem like three years.”
“What did you think of that spook out on the lake?” Jack asked a few minutes later.
“It did look spooky for a fact, but I imagine that Bob’s explanation was about right. Things often look displaced in the night and especially in the moonlight, you know.” ”

“ Jack took the little axe and started off. He was obliged to hunt for some time before finding a dead tree, which, lying beneath a thick spruce, was fairly dry. Fifteen minutes later he returned, carrying a large armful of wood, and soon a cheerful fire was as Rex declared, thawing the frost out of their bones.
“Kernertok and I’ll get dinner if you and Rex’ll get some more of that wood,” Bob suggested.
“Righto. Come on, Rex. We’ll bring in a load big enough to build a house.”
“Better make that house a wood shed,” Rex laughed as he followed him into the forest. ”

“ Catching fish was, as Jack often said, the best thing he did, and by the time Bob had his biscuits in the oven he had six big perch sizzling in the frying pan.
“These are pretty near as good as trout,” he declared a little later as he reached for his third.
“To say nothing of the biscuits,” Bob grinned.
“They’re always the best ever. Melt in your mouth,” Jack assured him. ”

“ Rex asked.
“While there’s life there’s hope,” Bob reminded him.
“I know, but we’ve got to do something.”
“And if we can find an axe we’ll be doing it. Do you know if there is one in the cabin?” he asked, turning to Stebbins.
“I think so,” Stebbins replied, and to their great joy he pulled one from beneath one of the bunks.
“Now we’ve got a chance at least,” Bob cried, as he grabbed the axe. “Jack, light that lantern and hold it for me.”
Jack sprang to obey, and in another minute Bob was making a vigorous attack on the logs in the corner where Jack had located the fire. ”

“ Jack declared some time later, as supper, having been finished, they sat around the camp fire.
“Meaning?” Rex asked.
“Well, in the first place we’re not at all sure that the guy we’re after is within a thousand miles of here. Then there’s that funny business of the big tracks, the likes of which no mortal man ever saw before, and the stealing of the rifle. And now those breeds are to be reckoned with. The big question is whether they just happened to meet us or had been after us.”
“Is that all?” Bob smiled. ”

“ I don’t believe they will kill me so long as they don’t know where the money is.”
“Nothing doing along that line,” Jack declared emphatically, and Bob and Rex quickly agreed with him.
“But it’s not right for you to risk your lives for me,” Stebbins insisted.
“Right or wrong, we’re going to stick together,” Bob said in a tone which told him that it would be useless to argue further.
“Then I think your plan is probably best,” he acknowledged reluctantly; “but please be careful. If anything should happen to any of you I’ll never be able to forgive myself.” ”

“ Jack thought, as he rubbed his eyes.
Slowly the minutes and hours passed, until after what seemed an eternity, his watch told him that it was time to call the others. Nothing had happened and they had not heard the strange cry.
“All quiet along the Potomac,” he announced after he had awakened Bob and Rex. “Hope you have better luck.”
“What day is it?” Rex asked as soon as they had taken their places down by the lake.
“Search me. It’s funny how one loses all track of the time up here in the woods. But it must be Sunday, I think. Wait a minute, till I reckon up. ”

“ Bob assured him as he shook hands.
The boys then introduced their friend.
“Sicum has accepted him, so you can be sure he’s all right,” Jack laughed.
“Injun heap glad know friend of white boys,” Kernertok assured him.
“And it’s a great pleasure for me to know you,” Rex replied as he took the old Indian’s hand. “I’ve heard so much about you from the boys that I feel as though I had known you for a long time already. Believe me, they never get tired of talking about you.”
“White boys talk heap too much,” the Indian grunted and the boys all laughed. ”

“ The reel stopped clicking as the final layer of line ran out and Rex braced his feet for the tug.
“He’s a big one all right,” Jack shouted as the fish broke water far out near the middle of the stream.
“If only this line doesn’t break,” Rex gasped.
“It’s a brand new silk line and ought to hold if he isn’t over eight pounds,” Jack assured him.
“Now quick. Reel in,” he shouted as he saw the line slacken.
And Rex reeled in the line as fast as he could turn the handle. He had recovered nearly half of the line when the trout again broke water and again headed for the opposite shore. ”

“ Kernertok announced as he turned the canoe toward the shore. “Have to make little carry,” he added as the bow scraped the sand.
“And do you mean to tell me that you’d make a carry for a little thing like that,” Rex asked a little later as he stood on a huge rock and gazed at the rushing water as it leaped high in the air and fell to the whirling pool some twenty feet below. “Just for a little ripple like that?”
“We’ll all wait here while you try it,” Bob laughed. ”

“ Kernertok shook his head: “We try um. Here, Sicum, you smell um track.”
But the dog only whined, and with his tail between his legs, slunk away from the tracks.
“Never mind, old fellow. We understand that it isn’t your fault,” and Bob, kneeling down, took the dog’s head between his hands and looked into his eyes.
The dog whined and eagerly licked his hand, as if fully appreciating the sympathy.
“He’ll come around in time,” Bob assured them. “Remember, he saved our lives once,” he added with a glance toward Jack. ”

“ The cold water refreshed him somewhat, and after a short rest he started to follow the brook. It was a very crooked stream and the underbrush and bushes were thick along its banks, so that his progress was slow. But he did not dare to try any short cuts, as he feared he might lose it. It had been cloudy all day and darkness came on early.
“Guess I won’t be able to reach the lake to-day,” he panted, as he stumbled and fell headlong over a stick. “Guess one place is as good as another to camp and I’m going to stop right here. ”

“ Rex laughed.
“And you’ll need a lot. The Maine Woods is a great appetizer as you’ll find out before you get back and you can’t tell how long you may be gone. A little too much is a whole lot better than a little too little.”
“I’ll say it is,” Jack laughed.
41
“I’ll tell you what I’d do,” Mr. Golden said as if struck by a sudden thought. “I’d take Kernertok along. He knows all about that country up there and I always feel safer when I know he’s along with you. And then he’ll be a lot of help on the carries.”
“Just the thing,” Bob said enthusiastically. “We’ll stop for him on the way up. ”

“ Although they did not have to make a regular carry between the two lakes, they were obliged, no less than eight times, to take the canoe from the water and drag it around big rocks or places where the stream was too shallow to allow of its passing.
“This is most as bad as a carry,” Jack panted as, for the eighth time, they were obliged to disembark.
“They do make awful long miles up here,” Rex grinned as he lifted the front of the canoe from the water.
“Well, I reckon we’re holding our own,” Bob laughed. ”

“ Jack said.
“Seems is right,” Bob returned. “But we must not let them have a chance to start another fire. We haven’t water enough left to put out a match, and if they get another one going it’s curtains for us.”
“Then they mustn’t start it, that’s all,” Rex said.
“I don’t believe they’ll try it while it is as light as it is now,” Bob declared. “They know that we can see them and they have a good deal of respect for their skins. It’s the time after the moon sets that’s worrying me. It’ll be mighty dark again along about two o’clock.”
“You think they’ll try it again?” Rex asked. ”

“ Jack reminded him.
“Not always,” Rex declared. “Stebbins was still enough, goodness knows, but he absolutely was not deep.”
“Well there’s some one connected with this affair who’s deep enough,” Bob said. “You know as well as I that somebody has been trying to scare us away from here. There’s that arrow and those tracks. It’s mighty lucky for us that Kernertok knows enough to be above superstition. I’ll bet there’s not another Indian in the state that wouldn’t have turned back long ago.” ”

“ Bob said. “But, as it happens, you can’t choose the time for such things.”
“Another thing we’re in luck about and that is that our canoe is birch bark instead of canvas,” Jack remarked.
“How come?” Rex asked.
“Because Kernertok’ll have this fixed in two shakes of a dog’s tail, but if it was canvas it would be a different matter.”
“You mean he can mend that big hole up here in the woods?”
“Just watch him,” Bob laughed. “He’s after birch bark now.”
“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Rex promised. “But if he can mend that hole he’s good, that’s all.” ”