Mildred A. Wirt

“ Exhausted from the effort required to talk, Old Miquel cringed down into his blanket again. Though he did not lapse into a stupor, he seemed to lose all further interest in his surroundings.
“He doesn’t know White Nose and Eagle Feather came here to punish him for stealing the turquoise,” Dan thought. “The old fellow’s in a bad way. Gosh, what can be keeping Brad and Dan?”
He arose and went to peer down the dark tunnel. Not a sign of any help coming! And yet Brad and Red surely had had more than ample time to get to the Cub camp and return with a stretcher. ”

“ The Cub leader was still out on the river giving Midge and his son a few advanced pointers on stroking.
Brad, he noticed, was talking to Red and Chips farther down the beach. They were speaking rather loudly and seemed to be deep in some sort of argument.
“Sure, I brought the paddle in when I got through with my turn at the canoe,” Red said furiously. “Don’t try to accuse me of losing it!”
“I’m not accusing anyone,” Brad told him, holding his temper in check. “No use getting your back up! I’m just checking on the paddles, that’s all. We’ve lost one and we can’t afford to lose another.” ”

“ Old Miquel had listened attentively to the two Cubs. They were hopeful that he had understood at least part of what they had said. But when he spoke, they knew they had completely failed.
“Rabbit almost done now,” he said cheerfully. “We eat.”
Removing the meat from the spit, he divided it into four equal parts. Brad and Red refused a share. Old Miquel’s hurt was so apparent that Dan accepted his share. However, he only made a pretense of eating, as he watched the old Indian ravenously devour the remainder of the food.
“He’s half starved,” Brad observed in deep concern. ”

“ Hatfield was right in assuming that the cave had an inhabitant.
It occurred to Dan that the man who had taken refuge there might indeed be the medicine man sought by White Nose and Eagle Feather.
“Do you suppose that bird, whoever he is, has Professor Sarazen’s blanket tucked away somewhere in the cave?” he mused aloud.
“I was asking myself the same thing,” replied Brad. “I sure hope we get another chance to explore before too long. We ought to get that blanket back before our Indian pow-wow.”
The camp near Mr. Holloway’s home was shrouded in evening shadow as the Cubs trudged in. ”

“ I heard it again! Someone is running through the underbrush!”
The other three had halted to listen.
“You’re right, Brad!” exclaimed Mr. Hatfield. “It must be Red!”
Their hope revived, the four shouted the missing boy’s name repeatedly. To their intense relief, an answering shout came from the left of the trail.
“That’s Red!” cried Brad.
“He’s over by the ravine, just as I thought!” added Mr. Hatfield. “Keep shouting, so he can find us. We’ll wait here on the trail.”
Five minutes later, Red struggled through the bushes and brambles to confront his would-be rescuers with a sheepish grin. ”

“ You didn’t move it, Brad?”
“Haven’t been inside this hogan all day.”
“Well, it went the same way the blanket did,” Mr. Hatfield said grimly. “Frankly, Brad, I don’t like the way things are disappearing.”
“That paddle too,” Brad recalled. “The Cubs still blame Ross.”
“I don’t think he took it,” Mr. Hatfield said. “Ross isn’t a thief. Someone else is prowling around this camp. We’ll have to be very careful about leaving anything of value lying around, even during the daytime. Warn the Cubs.” ”

“ Dan in particular, swam like a fish, and could be depended upon if an aquatic emergency arose.
“Arm yourselves with long, stout sticks,” he instructed. “They’ll be useful in feeling our way. No telling either, what we may run into.”
The Cubs obtained the sticks from the beach, and they presented themselves again at the yawning mouth of the cavern.
A narrow stream of fast-moving water flowed silently into the dark tunnel of rock. Gazing into its mysterious depths, the other Cubs were not too reluctant to have Dan and Brad do the initial exploring. ”

“ Red announced grimly. “I’ll show that Ross Langdon!”
“That’s the spirit,” laughed Brad. “Maybe it’s a good thing he came prowling around here. It will spur us to greater effort.”
After Ross had gone, the Cubs kept on with their canoe practice until long shadows began to finger out across the water. Mr. Hatfield then called a halt.
“It’s getting late,” he said. “If we want to hike to the ravine, we’ll have to make a start.”
Dan and Chips pulled the canoe out of the water, taking care to drag it far up on shore beyond the reach of waves. ”

“ Dan said indignantly. “I may not be an artist, but my picture isn’t that bad. I’m going to give that old Indian a chunk of my mind!”
“Let me handle this, boys,” Mr. Hatfield said.
He went ahead of the Cubs to the hogan where Fred, Mack and Red were talking to the two Indians. The pair did not appear unfriendly, but as Chips had said, their inspection of the camp had not been very polite.
“Good afternoon,” Mr. Hatfield introduced himself. He extended his hand, and gave his name. “I’m the Cub leader here. Anything we can do for you?”
Neither White Nose or Eagle Feather made reply. ”

“ Hatfield laughed, remarking that he thought all the Cubs wanted to go.
“Mystery always is more intriguing than work,” he chuckled. “But then, we’re well along with our preparations for the big pow-wow. The hogan is finished, the sand painting started, and we expect to get at our Wells Fargo station in a couple of days. Let’s all knock off, and go to the cliff.” ”

“ The Den Chief clasped Dan’s hand for an instant, well aware that the younger boy deliberately had sacrificed himself that his Cubmates might have a better chance to win.
“If Old Miquel should come to, he might get rough,” Brad warned in parting. “Don’t take chances. If he makes trouble, just get out of the cave as fast as you can.”
“Sure,” Dan promised. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be okay. Just get to camp as fast as you can and tell Mr. Hatfield what happened.”
With reluctance, Red and Brad started off through the tunnel, not at all sure that they were doing right in leaving Dan behind. ”

“ Upon reaching the ravine, he made a careful inspection of the work, declaring it to be Indian in origin.
“A somewhat crude carving,” he told the Cubs, “but the work of a man of great talent. Amazing that such a face could be created here and no one have seen the artist.”
After Professor Sarazen had studied the face awhile, viewing it from several angles, the group returned to the river camp.
“Time to break up for tonight, boys,” Mr. Hatfield said. “See you all tomorrow after school—same time.”
As the other Cubs gathered up their belongings, Dan went to the hogan for the Navajo blanket. ”

“ Dan was quite sure he had figured out the real story behind the old Indian. Undoubtedly, Old Miquel had told the truth about placing the turquoise toad in the trader’s safe. When the old medicine man was better, he should be able to furnish clues which would result in recovery of the tribal treasure.
“He must have wandered off the reservation, not even knowing who he was,” Dan reasoned. “The tribe members couldn’t understand his strange disappearance. Naturally, they figured he’d made off with the turquoise. So White Nose and Eagle Feather were sent to trail him.” ”

“ Since the Cubs first had discovered the carved clay face at the ravine, park officials had made several visits to the site. Twice they had noted that additional work had been done. But on no occasion had they found anyone in the vicinity.
“The park is too short-handed to assign a man to watch the ravine,” Mr. Hatfield said. “Eventually the culprit or culprits will be caught, but it may take time.”
“I think the one who is doing the work is hiding out somewhere in the woods,” Dan volunteered his theory. “And we’re likely to lose things until he’s found and put out of the park preserve.” ”

“ The next night after school, all the Cubs except Mack, who had a paper route, gathered at the Holloway beach for canoe practice.
Dan, Brad, Chips and Fred had passed their swimming tests with flying colors. Red, less skillful at water sports, was assigned to painting paddles.
Mr. Hatfield provided him with a number of interesting Navajo designs, telling him to make his own selection.
“If you do a good job of painting, Red, we’ll exhibit your paddle at the Indian pow-wow,” he promised. “An award is to be made to the Den that turns in the most artistic one.” ”

“ I thought we might adopt a Navajo Pack.”
“Do the Navajos have Cub Scout organizations?” demanded Red. In his surprise, he nearly dropped the paper bag which he had kept so carefully tucked under his arm.
“Why should we adopt an Indian Pack?” questioned Midge Holloway.
“Because the Navajo youngsters need our help,” Mr. Hatfield explained. “The government has aided the Indians by setting up schools and providing many necessities. But while some of the Navajos are well off, others are very poor, depending almost entirely upon sheep raising for a living. ”

“ Hatfield stood. Farther on, Dan and Brad could see that it widened to a sizeable floor.
“Be careful,” Mr. Hatfield warned as the Cubs came on. “There’s a sharp drop-off here at the entrance into the chamber. I couldn’t probe it with my stick. The pool must be over a man’s head.”
“Is this the end of it?” Brad asked, pausing.
“It’s as far as we’re going today. Maybe it’s as far as we’ll ever go. I’m satisfied now that the underground stream empties into James Lake. The tunnel through to the lake may be too small for exploration. ”

“ Before Brad and Dan could make a move, White Nose leaped into the water. He submerged, and seemingly could not find Old Miquel’s body. In a moment though, he was back on the surface, holding Old Miquel by a lock of his long, black hair.
[170]
Eagle Feather helped to haul the old man out on the ledge.
“He’s done for,” he said, speaking in English. “His head was gashed on a rock.”
“The Gods have spoken,” muttered White Nose. “Vengeance is not to be ours. They have punished him for robbing his people of the Turquoise Toad.” ”

“ Holloway, Dan, Brad and I will try to pick up his trail,” the cubmaster said quietly. “The rest of you go to the house and wait there.”
Dan and Brad followed Mr. Holloway and the cubmaster to the fringe of woods, leaving the other Cubs to make their way up the hill. Mr. Hatfield took an optimistic view of the disappearance.
“Red has good sense,” he said. “Furthermore, unless he’s forgotten Cub training, he’ll eventually find his way back to camp or to the road. The worst is, if he doesn’t show up shortly, his parents will be scared.” ”

“ Hatfield rather anxiously. No one wanted to be assigned to remain behind.
“Oh, except for a few tools, we have nothing here today of great value,” Mr. Hatfield said. “We’ll take a chance.”
The Cubs proceeded to the site of the cave, following Mr. Hatfield, Brad and Dan along the shore. Tangles of brush and willows frequently caused the group to detour away from the river. So when finally they located the mouth of the cavern again, it was much later than the Cub leader had expected.
“There’s no time to waste,” he told the Cubs. “We can’t afford to be caught here after dark. ”

“ I thought from your clothes—that is—”
“Never mind, Red,” Brad came to his rescue. He spoke politely to the two Indians. “We’re a Den of Cub Scouts, out for a hike. This carved face interests us. You made it perhaps?”
The Indian shook his head. “I am Eagle Feather,” he introduced himself. “This is White Nose. We are of the People.”
“That means you’re Navajos, doesn’t it?” asked Dan, who had been reading up on customs of the reservation Indians.
“We come from New Mexico,” Eagle Feather replied.
“We search for one of our brothers,” added the other Indian. ”

“ Red rattled on. “It must have been you and White Nose.”
“We have no skill at sand painting,” said Eagle Feather. “We know one who does have cleverness in his hands—”
Red broke in, not giving the Indian an opportunity to finish.
“I’ll bet you’ve been living in the river cave on the park reservation,” he went on.
By this time Dan and Brad were thoroughly exasperated by the rash manner in which Red was revealing information. They were particularly annoyed because they could see that their den mate was supplying the Indians with facts of great interest to them. ”

“ Holloway then told the Cubs of plans which included the building of a Navajo trading post, a hogan and perhaps the making of a sand painting.
“We’ll practice canoeing too,” he added. “Fact is, we’re hoping to schedule a canoe race with Den 1 at the end of the season.”
[8]
“We’ll beat ’em too!” Midge announced proudly. “Dan and Brad are handy with a paddle.”
“So is Ross Langdon of Den 1,” Dan reminded him. “Don’t count our trophies until we win ’em.”
“Also, keep in mind that winning isn’t nearly as important as good, friendly competition and fun,” Mr. Hatfield added. ”

“ Hatfield and Mr. Holloway were within hearing distance, Ross addressed the two Cubs respectfully enough.
“Working hard, I see.”
“Oh, just practicing a little,” Dan answered carelessly.
“You should,” Ross retorted boastfully. “Den 1 is all set to take you for a cleaning in the canoe race. We’ll win in a walk.”
If the Den 1 boy had hoped to get a retort from Brad or Dan, they disappointed him by remaining silent. Irked by his failure to start a spirited debate, Ross picked up the paddle upon which Red had been working. ”

“ The structure had only a single door which traditionally faced east toward the rising sun.
“The north side of the hogan always is the ‘woman’s side’ of the house,” Brad went on with a grin. “In our hut, we’ll skip that. We want it to look like a real Navajo hogan though. So we’ll need a lot of clay. When it hardens on the skeleton-pole structure, it should form a hard, rain-proof surface.”
“We can get plenty of good clay over the cliff,” Dan suggested. “I noticed the quality was especially good there at the ravine near the carved face.” ”

“ White Nose and Eagle Feather could be very bad medicine, if one met ’em on a dark night.”
Mr. Hatfield spoke firmly.
“The Cubs,” he said, “will concern themselves with organization affairs. We’re not getting mixed in any tribal feuds. Get that straight!”
“Yes, sir,” replied the Cubs, speaking as one. And Red added: “I wouldn’t have anything to do with ’em, even if you’d give me a prize turquoise toad!”
[113]
“From now on,” said Mr. Hatfield, issuing a further order, “no one is to remain in camp alone. Mr. Holloway or I always will try to be here. ”