"Listen!" exclaimed Thad, a little while later, just as they were about done supper.
"I heard somebody talking, too!" declared Davy Jones; while Allan showed by his manner that the sounds had surely come to his acute hearing, trained by long service in the piney woods of his native state.
"They're comin' this way, too; I c'n hear 'em pushin' through the bushes, and stumblin' along too." Bumpus declared, in an awed tone; looking a trifle worried, and wishing Thad would only snatch up that gun, lying against the tree trunk, which the other did not seem at all anxious to do.
The voices drew steadily nearer, as the boys stood and listened.
"Hyar's a fire, Nate; we gut ter git him thar, sure's anything. I tell yuh he'll never be able tuh walk 'crost tuh the doc's cabin. He'll bleed tuh death long 'foah we gits thar with 'im. Steady now, Cliff; hyah's a light, an' we kin see how bad yuh is hurt!"
Then, while the scouts stood and stared in amazement, a group of three men staggered into view, two of them assisting the third, whose faltering steps showed that he must have been injured, even if the arm that dangled helplessly at his side had not told the tale of a serious gunshot wound!
No wonder that the Boy Scouts felt a thrill as they watched these rough mountaineers enter their camp in this strange way.
"Whee!"
It was Bumpus who gave utterance to this exclamation, though possibly he hardly realized, himself, that he was saying anything, as he stood there, and gaped at the sight of the wounded mountaineer being helped along into their camp.
But if Bumpus, and some of the others, were spell-bound by what they saw, gazing as though fascinated at the blood dripping from the man's fingers, Thad Brewster was not included in this group.
He had long ago picked up a smattering of knowledge connected with a surgeon's duties; and ever since taking up the new life of a Boy Scout, those things which concerned the saving of human life had somehow appealed to young Thad with redoubled force.
More than once now had he been called upon to show what he knew along these lines. A boy had been severely cut by an ax he was carelessly wielding in camp; and might have bled to death only for the energetic actions of Thad, who knew just how to secure a stout bandanna handkerchief around above the wound, with the knot pressing on the artery; and making a tourniquet by passing a stick through the folds of the rude bandage, twist until the bleeding was temporarily stopped, and the boy could be taken to a doctor.
Another time it had been a case of near drowning, when Thad, who had learned his lesson well, succeeded in exercising the lad's arms, after laying him on his chest and pressing his knee upon him, until he had started the lungs to working. In that case every one of the other scouts declared that only for these prompt applications of scout knowledge the unfortunate one would surely have died.
And so, when he saw that the man who was being thus supported into their camp had been shot in the arm, and was in danger of bleeding to death, the surgeon instinct in Thad Brewster came immediately to the surface.
He never once thought about the fact that the man was very probably one of those very lawless moonshiners, whose presence all around had virtually marooned himself and chums in the heart of the mountains. He was a man, and in trouble; and perhaps Thad could be of some help!
And so the generous-hearted boy sprang forward, eager to lend a hand.
"Bring him right up to the fire, men!" he exclaimed. "What happened to him? Was he shot? We heard a gun go off a little while ago, and wondered what it meant."
The two men urged their injured companion forward. He seemed to have little mind of his own in the matter; though Thad could see that he had his jaws set, and was apparently determined to betray no sign of weakness in this terrible hour. The customary grit of the North Carolina mountaineer was there, without fail. It showed in the clenched hand, the grim look on his weather-beaten face, as well as in those tightly closed teeth.
"Yep, 'twar an accident," almost fiercely replied one of the men, whom Thad now recognized as the fellow whom they had met driving the vehicle that Bob declared had kegs of the illicit mountain dew hidden under the straw—Nate Busby. "We was walkin' thro' ther woods w'en a twig cort the trigger o' my gun, and she hit Cliff in the arm, makin' a bad hurt. Reckons as how he never kin hold out till we-uns git him acrost ter ther doc's cabin."
"You could, if we managed to stop that bleeding," said Thad, eagerly. "Bring him over here, and let me take a look, men. I've done a little something that way. And perhaps you don't know it; but all Boy Scouts are taught how to shut off the flow of blood. There, set him down, and help me get his coat off. There's no time to lose."
"Nope, thar's sure no time tuh lose," muttered the wretched Nate, who was undoubtedly feeling very keenly the fact that it had been his gun that had been discharged through accident, causing all this trouble; and that if the man died, his relatives might even want to hold the unlucky owner of that weapon to account for his carelessness, inexcusable in one who had been mountain born and bred.
They sat the wounded man down as gently as though he had been a babe; after which Nate assisted Thad to take the ragged coat off.
Some of the scouts crowded close, though with white faces; for the sight of blood is always enough to send a cold chill to the hearts of those unaccustomed to the spectacle. But Allan was an exception; and strangely enough, there was Smithy, whom no one would ever have expected to show the least bit of nerve, evidently ready to lend the amateur surgeon a helping hand, if he called for recruits. It often takes a sudden emergency call like this to show what is under the veneered surface of a boy. Smithy had always been deemed rather effeminate; yet here he could stand a sight that sent the cold shivers chasing up and down the spines of such fellows as Giraffe, Davy Jones, and Step Hen, and almost completely upset poor Bumpus.
"Get me one of those stout bandages I brought along, Allan, please," said Thad, when he could see what the terrible nature of the wound was; "you know where they are. And Smithy, will you hand me that stick yonder?"
In a brief space of time the several articles were at the service of the boy, who first of all made a good-sized knot in the handkerchief, after wrapping it around the man's arm above the wound; and then, inserting the stout stick, he began twisting the same vigorously.
It must have pained tremendously, but not a whimper, not a semblance of a groan did they hear from the bearded lips of the wounded mountaineer. Indeed, he seemed to arouse himself sufficiently to watch the confident operations of the young surgeon with a rising curiosity; and Thad thought he could detect a slight smile on his dark face.
As for Nate and the other rough man, they stared as though unable to believe their eyes, to thus see a mere boy so wonderfully able to do what was necessary in a case of life and death. Every little movement did they follow with wrapt attention. No doubt, a great relief had already commenced to rise up in the heart of Nate, as hope again took hold upon him. If the other survived the shock, and loss of blood, it would not be so bad; and trouble might not come home to him on account of his liability for the accident.
Thad soon knew that he had done the right thing. The knot had been properly placed, so that the pressure upon the artery above the wound prevented any more blood being pumped that way by the excited action of the man's heart.
"There," he remarked, in a satisfied way, "I guess we've got the bleeding held up, and you can get him to a doctor, if, as you say, there is one across the valley. I'm going to bind this stick so it can't come loose while you're helping him along. But if it should, perhaps you've seen how I did the job, and you could fix it up again?"
"Sure," replied Nate; "and yuh dun it ther neatest I ever knowed, younker. Reckon as how Cliff Dorie an' me has reason tuh be glad yuh happened tuh be so clost. If so be he lives thru hit, as he will now, dead sartin, he's gwine tuh owe his life tuh yer."
Thad happened to catch a glimpse of Bob's face just then, as the other turned toward him; for up to now he had been keeping rather aloof, not wishing to be noticed by either of the mountain men. He was surprised to see the expression of suddenly renewed hope that seemed to have taken up its abiding place there. Apparently the Southern boy had made a pleasing discovery, which of course Thad could only guess at, until he had found a chance to speak to his comrade. But he understood readily enough that it must concern the coming of the three men, and the fact of the scouts being enabled to place them under obligations.
With the flow of blood stopped, the wounded man seemed to gather new energy. He no doubt felt that he had at least a fair chance to pull through. He started to get on his feet, seeing which Thad immediately offered his hand to help him; and the mountaineer's horny palm was confidently thrust into his much smaller one; as though, after what miracle he had already seen the lad perform, the man were willing to trust him in anything.
Yes. Fortune had again been kind to the scouts; only in this instance it had not been a case of searching for chances to do good; the opportunity had come knocking at their very door, so that all that was necessary was for them to be prepared, just as the scout's motto signifies, and then do the best they knew how.
Again did the two men take hold of their stricken companion. Before they quit the vicinity of the fire, however, the man named Nate Busby turned and shook hands all around. Evidently he was grateful for the assistance rendered. To his mind this first aid to the injured meant a whole lot; and while he did not say a single word, his action was enough to show what he thought.
Then the group departed, heading toward the other side of the valley, where, in one of the humble cabins, some sort of mountain doctor was to be found, rude in his way, no doubt, but perfectly capable of attending to a gunshot wound; for these doubtless constituted the bulk of calls that were made upon his services.
When they had gone the scouts began to discuss the queer happening, and compare notes as to which one of them had shown the least alarm.
Bob Quail came directly over to where Allan and Thad were standing, just as the latter had expected he would do. That expression of eager anticipation still shone upon his dark face, and his eyes fairly glowed with satisfaction.
"Well, will wonders ever stop happening?" he said, as he reached the others. "Did you hear what Nate called the wounded man, Thad, Allan?"
"Yes, it was Cliff Dorie. And I guess you've heard it before, judging from the way you act?" observed the scoutmaster.
"Talk about luck, why, we're just swimming neck deep in it, suh!" the other continued. "I thought he looked a little like somebody I'd known befoah; and when I heard that name, I knew it; Why, Cliff Dorie is the brother of Old Phin's wife!"
"Fine!" exclaimed Allan, with a broad smile.
"I should say, yes," Bob went on, eagerly; "seems as though we were just bound to put the whole Dady family in our debt. There was Old Phin himself, who felt so interested in all you told him about the Boy Scout movement; then there was Polly, who might have had her face badly scratched, not to mention other wounds, if we hadn't just happened to get there in time to chase that savage mother bobcat off. And now you've gone and saved the life of Polly's own uncle. Oh! p'raps, suh, we won't have to get into any fuss at all about that prisoner of the Still; p'raps Old Phin might feel that we'd done his family enough good to change his mind about keepin' that revenue man up there any longer, aworkin' his life out; and let him go away with us, if he promised never to tell anything he'd learned. And let me say to you both, I'm feelin' somethin' right here, inside, that seems to tell me it's going to be all right, all right!" and Bob repeated those last two words softly, caressingly, as though they meant everything in the wide world to him.
The other boys of course shared in Bob's deep feeling of satisfaction. Perhaps he might be expecting too much from the old mountaineer; but then, Bob had lived among these people during a good portion of his life, and ought to be able to judge as to the amount of gratitude they were capable of feeling.
"But you ought to be off across the valley yourself, Bob," ventured Thad, presently.
"I know it, suh," the Southern lad replied, quickly; "and let me tell you I'm starting right now in better spirits than I ever dreamed would be the case. I want to get back heah in good time, so as to go up yondah with you, and meet Polly."
"If you're not too much played out," suggested Allan.
Bob drew his figure up proudly, as he went on to say:
"I'd have to be mighty nigh a collapse, suh, let me tell you, to keep from goin' to where I've got a chance to hear about him!" and they did not need to be told who was meant, for they knew Bob was thinking of his missing father, whom everybody had long believed to be surely dead.
And so he presently vanished, with a farewell wave of the hand.
The other scouts gathered around the fire, chatting on various subjects, but principally in connection with the recent happening. They thought it the strangest thing in the world how two girls came to play a part in the affair which their good comrade, Bob Quail, was trying to put through; and of such vastly different types too, the one a plain mountain maid, and the other, according to what they themselves had seen, quite a dainty little thing, cultured and refined.
"Smithy, I'm going to tell you to reverse that badge of yours," said the scoutmaster, as they sat there around the fire, waiting for the return of the absent comrade.
Smithy looked up in surprise. He had been smoothing his coat sleeve after a peculiar habit he had, as though he imagined he had discovered some dust there. And for the moment he fancied that Thad must be joking him on account of those "finicky" ways, as Giraffe called them, which he could not wholly throw aside, since extreme neatness had long ago become a part of his very nature.
"That's very kind of you, Thad," he remarked, trying to appear calm; "and I'm sure I feel grateful for the privilege, which should always be a matter of pride I take it, with every Boy Scout. But I am not aware, sir, just how I've gained the right to reverse my badge."
"By handing me that stick when I asked for it, and thereby becoming a partner with me in assisting that wounded man. You notice that I'm turning my own badge, because I think I've earned it by this act, if I didn't by what Bob and myself did to that bobcat. And Allan, you're in this deal also; you brought me that roll of stout muslin when I wanted it, so you did all you could."
"And I helped get him on his feet!" declared Giraffe, quickly.
"So did I!" exclaimed Bumpus, excitedly; "anyhow, I started to lend a hand; but there was so many around I just got crowded out. But I wanted to do something, sure I did, Thad!"
"Turn your badge, then," ordered the scoutmaster, smiling. "In fact, every scout was full of sympathy, and ready to assist if called on. And under the circumstances, I just guess there needn't be any badge in this camp unturned right now. To-morrow we'll start fresh again, and let's see how quick all of us can follow after Step Hen's example, and help some worthy object along."
"Even if it is only a poor little tumble-bug that can't push his ball home," remarked Giraffe, with a grin.
The time hung heavily upon their hands. No doubt this was partly caused by their intense eagerness to learn just how Bob was coming out. Would Bertha meet him; or might she have been shut up in the house by her guardian, stern Reuben Sparks? If she did come, would she bring that paper which she said was signed with her dead father's name; and supposing it proved to be all Bob hoped and prayed it would, was it possible, if placed in the hands of a competent lawyer in Asheville, that this document would take Bertha from the custody of Reuben, and give her a home with Bob's mother up in Cranford?
All these things were debated from every standpoint; and wide-awake boys can see the weak links in the chain about as quickly as any one; so that Thad was kept busy explaining, and building up plans to suit the altered conditions.
"Ought to be time he was here," Giraffe remarked, as he stifled a huge yawn.
"It's sure nearly a whole hour since we heard that row across there," Bumpus went on to say. "Seemed like a whole crowd had started to yell, and dogs to bark. We none of us could make up our minds what it meant. Some thought the wounded man must a got to the cabins, an' all that noise meant the kind of reception a brave feller gets in these parts when he's brought home on a shutter. But others, they seemed to b'lieve it might have had to do with our chum Bob, and that p'raps he'd been surrounded, and trapped by the wise old Reuben."
"We hope not, for a fact," declared Thad.
"Well, there's somebody coming right now, I give you my word!" observed Smithy, who happened to be on the windward side of the fire, and able to hear better than some of the rest.
"And from the right direction, too," added Allan.
The patter of footsteps came closer, and presently a dim figure loomed up, almost staggering.
"It's Bob, all right!" cried Bumpus; and Thad heaved a sigh of relief, for he had begun to fear that something might have happened to disturb the carefully laid plans of his companion.
The Southern boy came into camp, breathing heavily. He seemed to be very much exhausted, but Thad could detect a look of triumph on his face that seemed to tell of something worth while having been accomplished.
Dropping down, Bob motioned for a drink of water, and Step Hen made haste to get him one from the collapsible bucket they had brought along with them. Draining the tin cup, Bob sighed as though the cooling liquid went just to the right spot, and had refreshed him wonderfully.
"It's all right, Thad!" he managed to say, noticing the questioning look that the other was bending upon him.
"Then you saw your cousin, and got the paper?" asked the scoutmaster, eagerly, while the rest of the boys fairly hung upon every word.
Bob nodded his head.
"Get my breath right soon now," he remarked; "then tell you all about it. Phew! I had a smart run, believe me!"
The boys exchanged expressive looks. They drew their own conclusions from the little Bob had already dropped; and began to believe that he must have been hotly pursued. Evidently then, if this were indeed the case, Bob had met with an adventure since leaving the camp-fire, and a serious one at that.
It is always a difficult thing for the ordinary boy to restrain his impatience, and several of the scouts squirmed about uneasily while Bob was trying to calm himself down, so that he might talk with reasonable comfort.
Thad let him have his own time. He understood that Bob was even more anxious to tell, than any of them were to hear; and that just as quickly as he could, he was sure to start in.
That time came presently, when his heart began to beat less violently; and as a consequence Bob started to breathe more naturally.
"I met Bertha," he began to say, "and she gave me the paper. Boys, it's everything I hoped it'd be; and once I manage to get it in the hands of a good lawyer, good-bye to Mr. Reuben Sparks' authority over little Bertha, and her fortune."
"Wow! that's going some!" burst out Giraffe, rubbing his thin hands one over the other, as though decidedly pleased by the news.
"Was she disappointed when you told her how impossible it would be for us to take her away right now, when these moonshiners have got us marooned up here in their blessed old mountains; and we can't turn whichever way without runnin' slap up against a sentry with his old gun?" asked Bumpus.
"That's right, she was upset when I told her that same," answered the other. "It made me feel right bad too, suh, to see how she took it; and I tell you right now I came mighty neah givin' in, and sayin' we'd make a try. But I remembered what Thad heah had told me, and how it was best for all of us that we let the cou'ts summon old Reuben to bring Bertha before the bar of justice. An' finally, after I'd explained it all to her, she began to see it the same way. My cousin has got the spirit of the Quails all right, I tell you, fellows, even if she is young and little."
"I reckon you stayed so long tryin' to convince her, Bob, that you clean forgot how you'd promised to get back here as soon as you could?" remarked Step Hen, under the belief, no doubt, that he was giving the other a sly dig.
"Well, perhaps you are correct about that same, suh," replied Bob, quite unabashed; "she was like most girls, and had to be argued into seeing things like boys see 'em. Of course, I couldn't break away till she had arranged to go back to the house, and wait for things to begin to move, as they surely would, just as soon as I get to Asheville. But there was one real smart thing she did do, and I've just got to tell you about that befo' I come to my own adventure."
"That's right, don't skip anything, old chum," remarked Giraffe, warmly, as he settled down to listen.
"When Bertha took that document from the little pigeonhole in the safe where he had it hidden, she thought to make up another as much like it as she could, and put that in place of the one she carried off. Some of you scouts ought to take pattern from the smartness of that little girl; don't you think so, Thad?" and Bob turned his now smiling face upon the patrol leader.
"They couldn't improve very much on that sort of work," Thad declared; "and if girls were allowed to join our troop I'd vote every time to let your cousin come in. I'm sure she'd be an honor to any organization."
"Now tell us what happened to you, Bob!" asked Bumpus.
"Well," continued the other, drawing a long breath as though what he was about to say stirred him once more; "I was just ready to say good-bye, when we heard loud voices, together with the barking of a big dog, and Old Reuben, with a man, and a mastiff about hip-high burst into view, both men carrying lanterns, and heavy sticks in their hands. And you can believe me, fellows, I understood that I was in for a little excitement about that time!"
"That's where you had ought to have had our gun, Bob," remarked Giraffe, as the other paused for a moment, to recover his breath before going on with his exacting recital.
"I was about of that opinion myself, suh," the other continued; "and I reckon that if such had been the case, there would have been one less mastiff in the world right now. But after all, it's well I didn't take the weapon. Things would have gone different from what they did; and I have no fault to find, suh, not a bit."
"But what did you do; don't tell us you beat a big dog runnin'?" demanded Bumpus, incredulously.
"I am not so foolish as to want you to believe that sort of stuff, suh," replied the Southern boy, stiffly. "I doubt very much if there is a man living, even the winner of the great world Marathon, who could have outrun that hound. Fortunately I didn't have to depend on my heels altogether, to escape being bitten by his fangs. There chanced to be another way out of the hole."
"Say, I guess she had a hand in it!" suggested Giraffe.
"Go up to the head, suh," remarked Bob, with a smile; "because that is just what did come about. Old Reuben, he must have managed to catch sight of some one, even if he wasn't nigh enough to tell that I was dressed in the uniform of a scout. He up and sicked the dog on me; and I reckon it wouldn't have mattered one bit to that cold-blooded old man if the ugly beast had torn me badly."
"And was you arunnin' like fun all the while?" asked Step Hen.
"I believe I was making pretty fast time, suh, considerin' that the bushes in the garden interfered with my sprinting. But that dog would have caught up with me befo' I ever could have climbed the high fence, only for a thing that happened. First thing I knew I heard Bertha calling at the top of her little voice to the mastiff. And I reckon now that Ajax, he must have been more used to mindin' the crook of her little finger than he was the orders of Old Reuben. Fo', believe me, suh, he just gave over chasin' after me, and went, and began to fawnin' on her hand."
"Great stuff!" declared Bumpus. "Say, I c'n just think I see that Old Rube prancin' around there, orderin' Ajex on to grab you, an' gettin' madder'n madder when the wise dog just utterly declined to obey. I always heard that the sun c'd force a feller to take his coat off, when the wind made a dead fizzle out of the job. Kindness goes further with some animals than fear does."
"Hear! hear! words of wisdom dropping like pearls of great price from the lips of our comrade, Bumpus!" cried Giraffe.
"But they're true, every word, all right," affirmed the stout scout, firmly.
"I kept on running for two reasons," Bob went on to explain. "In the first place, I didn't know but what the dog might be forced to alter his ways, and start out after me. Then again, p'raps that man with Old Reuben might be coming, licketty-split after me; and I want you to believe I didn't mean to be caught, with that valuable paper in my pocket at that."
"So you made pretty warm time of it over here, eh?" remarked Davy Jones, who had remained quiet for some time, being deeply impressed by this story which the other was giving them.
"I never let up for two minutes at a time all the way across," admitted Bob, in a satisfied tone. "Of course I had a few tumbles, but I reckon there was none of 'em serious; leastways I didn't get bruised, or tear my clothes. And now that I've got my breath back again, it's time we thought of starting out; because there's heaps mo' that's got to be done before we c'n call a rest."
"Yes, a great deal," admitted Thad, who, however, was well pleased with the outcome thus far; "and after you've lain here about ten minutes or so, Bob, we'll see whether you feel able to take that other climb. If you don't why, Allan here could go in your place."
"And do just as well, I have no doubt, suh," added Bob; "but thank you, I shall surely be able to take my part in that climb. If you gave the word right now you'd see me spring to my feet, and start; because there's every reason in the world to spur me on. Who wouldn't make an extra effort for that?"
The hour had grown late, since they had waited much beyond the appointed time for the return of the messenger who had gone to meet Bertha. But Thad knew they still had an abundance of time to get to the place arranged with Polly, before midnight, which had been the hour set for their meeting.
"Now, if you feel refreshed, we'll make a start, Bob," remarked the scoutmaster, after a bit.
The other was on his feet instantly, and he gave not the slightest sign of weariness at that.
"Let me have just one more cup of that fine water," he remarked, "and then I'm in fine fettle for business. If this second job only turns out as handsome as that other, this'll sure be the happiest night ever. But I hope that Reuben does not lay his hand on my cousin for what has happened this night. If he does, he'll suffer for it, as sure as my name's Bob Quail."
"You don't really think he'd go as far as to strike her, do you?" asked Thad, to whom the very idea seemed abhorrent.
"I don't just know how far a man of his stripe would go if made very furious, suh. To tell you the truth, I didn't want to run at all; but Bertha insisted on my doing the same. She said nothing was going to happen to injure her; and that if I was caught, with that paper in my possession, she never would have the least chance to get away. And that was all that made me run, believe me, suh."
Thad took his shotgun along with him; and noticing the queer look Giraffe gave him, he condescended to explain.
"Don't believe for a minute that I expect to make use of this on some moonshiner," he said, earnestly, yet with a trace of a smile lurking about the corners of his mouth. "The mission of Boy Scouts is more to bind up, than to give wounds; though they are allowed to do this other in extreme cases, where some person's life may be in danger. But you remember, we ran across a nasty bobcat up yonder once before; and if so be she happens to be laying for us, I'd like to be prepared for trouble. A scout should never go around with a chip on his shoulder looking for trouble; but if it finds him out, why, he's just got to defend himself. That's the way I look at it; and most others do too. Come on, Bob, if you're ready."
When the two boys quitted camp Bob was walking as sprucely as ever. If he still felt the effects of his long run he knew how to conceal the fact in the finest way—Giraffe, Bumpus, Step Hen, Smithy, and Davy Jones believed they had ever seen. Only Allan, being experienced in such things, could see that Bob was laboring under a heavy strain, and had his teeth tightly clenched; though the body might be weak, it was an indomitable spirit that urged him on.
Between them the two boys had noted things when coming down the mountain that afternoon, and in this way picked out the course they expected to take on that same night. It was rough enough, especially when they had to do their climbing in the dark; since carrying a lighted lantern would be foolhardy in the extreme.
Bob's impatience took him in the lead most of the time. Thad cautioned his impetuous companion in low whispers several times; and yet, knowing what the motive was that drew Bob along in such feverish haste, he could hardly blame him. At the same time he knew the danger of making a false step when they happened to be close to the brink of some steep descent, down which a roll meant instant death, or at least broken bones.
As they climbed upwards they would pause every little while to get a new supply of energy, as well as recover their breath. And at such times both boys eagerly scanned the black gulf that lay below them.
It had not taken their keen eyes long to discover several lights that seemed to move in eccentric circles and other movements. Nor was either of them at a loss to understand what this implied.
"The moonshiner videttes are having another talk," Bob remarked, as they sat and watched several lights carrying on in this weird fashion.
"Seems like it," said Thad, thoughtfully.
"I wonder now, what is being carried along the lines? It'd be a great stunt, Thad, if we could read the signs, and listen to the talk, wouldn't it? P'raps now we'd learn something to our advantage," the Southern lad went on, longingly.
"Well, as we haven't got the code book," laughed the scoutmaster, "that would be a pretty hard job, I take it."
"But still," Bob continued, with a shade of entreaty in his voice that was hard to resist, "I take it that you could give a guess that would come pretty nigh the truth, if you cared to try, Thad."
"Well, I don't know about that," replied the other scout; and then adding, as he realized that Bob was grieved: "I'm willing enough to make a try, if you think it would pay. Let's see, first of all, where these fellows are located who are doing all this communicating."
"There's one on the side of the mountain over yonder," declared Bob; "then that's a second fellow across the valley; you can see his lantern or torch dipping every which way; now he's stopped, as if he'd been asking more questions. And Thad, seems to me, the one that's doing the heft of the jabbering is located down yonder. Like as not the information's coming from him."
"That's across the valley, Bob?" remarked Thad.
"You're correct, suh; somewhere neah the place from which I was chased away not more than two hours back. That's where the cabins lie."
"And that's where Nate and the other mountain man took Cliff Dorie," continued the scoutmaster. "Now, you can put things together yourself, if only you think, Bob. Don't you see that Nate is probably telling these other fellows all about what happened to Cliff. And I certainly do hope he doesn't forget to give us our due in the matter, for it would go a great way toward making these rough men our friends. You know only too well what that would mean, Bob. Friends with Phin Dady just now might be the means of giving you back your father."
Bob sighed heavily as he started on again, urged by a desire to come upon Polly as soon as possible, and learn the truth, no matter whether the news proved a disappointment, or not.
But in his haste he forgot the caution Thad was trying always to instill in his mind; for stumbling presently, he found himself toppling over an unknown abyss that lay in the darkness, so that its extent could not be seen.
Thad had kept very close to his heels, and was prepared for something like this, so that he acted from impulse, there being not a second to give to thinking.
"Oh! Thad!"
Bob unconsciously gave utterance to this low, bubbling cry as he felt the ground slipping from under him, and his eyes looking down into an inky void. Then something clutched hold of him, and his downward progress was stayed. Thad had shot out a hand, and grasped his chum by one of his legs, at the same time bracing himself for the shock.
This he did in the twinkling of an eye, dropping his gun, and with that hand laying hold of a sapling that, fortunately, chanced to be within easy reach.
"Careful, don't kick more than you can help, Bob," he remarked, as coolly as he possibly could, though a sensation akin to horror swept over him immediately he had acted. "I've got a good grip on you, and my other hand is holding on to a stout little sapling, so we just can't go down. Now work yourself back, inch by inch, as well as you can. Yo-heave-o! here you come! Another try, Bob! That gave us quite some distance. Ready to make it again? Why, this is easy. Here you are now, altogether boys, with a will!"
And after half a dozen of these concerted pulls and backward movements, Bob found that he had reached a spot where he could take care of himself.
"Whew! that was what I call a close call!" he muttered. "I wonder, now, just how far down I'd have had to go, if you hadn't been clever enough to grab me just in time?"
"We're not going to bother our heads about that, Bob," replied the other, quickly; "only please go a bit slower. We won't make any time, if we have to stop, and go through that circus stunt every little while. And Bob, it might happen that I'd lose my grip, and either let you go down, or there'd be two of us take the drop. Does it pay to try and make speed at such a terrible risk?"
"You're right, just like you always are, Thad," replied the hasty and now penitent one; "and I'm sure a fool for taking chances that way. Here, you go up ahead, and set the pace. That's the only way we can fix it; because, like as not inside of five minutes I'd be rushing along again for all I'm worth."
"Perhaps that would be the best plan," Thad observed, with a chuckle. "I thought of it, but didn't want to make you feel that I distrusted your leadership. And I want to say right now that it isn't that makes me take the lead, only because you are so excited that you're not fit to judge things right."
"But don't let's waste any more precious time, Thad. Polly might have gotten to the place ahead of us, you know. Oh! wouldn't I be sore if she got tired of waiting, and went back home."
"All the same," Thad remarked, confidently, "I don't think Polly would ever do such a mean thing as that. She understands just how crazy you are to know, and she's right now putting herself in your place. No, Polly will wait up for us, make your mind easy on that, Bob. I wish I was as sure that we'd get there, safe and sound."
"Oh! I'm done with my capers, mind you, Thad," returned Bob, eagerly. "Since you've taken the lead, there's no chance for us to go pitching over a precipice. When they catch a weasel asleep, and no mortal man ever did that, I've heard, they'll hear of Thad Brewster making a fool move."
"It's nice of you to say that, anyway, Bob; I only wish I deserved the compliment you pay me. But we'd better talk less, and get on a little faster."
And after Thad had given this gentle little hint the conversation lagged; Bob realized that it was really no time to carry on any sort of talk; and that when they could not tell what dangers might be close around them in that inky darkness, they would be far wiser to keep a padlock on their lips.
Each time they stopped they again saw the signal lights flashing out here and there across the way, or below. They seemed like giant fireflies, striving to free themselves from some invisible bonds. But the boys knew very well what it meant, and that the moonshiners of the Blue Ridge were holding an animated fire talk.
They met no animal on the way, which Thad thought was a piece of good luck. Even though he did carry his faithful little Marlin, which could send a powerful charge of shot a long distance; and close in, serve all the purposes of a big bore rifle, or musket, all the same, Thad was not desirous of meeting with any new and thrilling adventure.
Such things were all very nice after they had passed along, and one sat comfortably by a camp-fire, relating the circumstance; but while in process of action they were apt to bring a cold chill along in their train, not at all comfortable.
"It must be after the time we set, isn't it, Thad?" Bob finally asked, in a low voice, when they rested again.
The scoutmaster could not look at his little cheap but reliable watch without striking a match; and there was really no necessity for doing that. It made very little difference whether they were ahead, or somewhat behind the hour arranged for their meeting with Polly. And besides, there were other ways of telling time pretty accurately, without even having a watch along.
Thad glanced up into the heavens. He had often studied the bright worlds and suns to be seen there, and knew considerable about the positions they occupied, changing, it might be, with the coming and going of the seasons.
"It's just close on to midnight, Bob," he observed, presently.
Of course Bob was at once interested.
"You're saying that because of the stars, Thad," he remarked. "Please tell me how you managed to tell."
"It's like this," the scoutmaster replied, not averse to pointing a lesson that might be seed sown in fertile ground; "notice those three rather small stars in the northeast, all in a line and pointing downward? Well, those are what they call the belt of Orion, the Hunter. They point nearly direct down to a mighty bright blue star that you see there, twinkling like everything."
"Yes, I've often noticed that, and I reckon it must be a planet near as big as Venus or Jupiter," remarked the other boy.
Thad laughed.
"Well," he remarked, "I guess now you'd think me crazy if I told you just how far that same star is away from us right now, ever so many times further than either of the planets you speak of. Why, Bob, that's Sirius, the Dog Star, said to be the biggest sun known to astronomers. Our little sun wouldn't make a spot beside that terrible monster; which may be the central sun, around which all the other tens of thousands revolve everlastingly."
"Oh! yes, I've heard of the Dog Star, but never reckoned it amounted to anything in particular," declared the Southern lad, interested, in spite of the anxiety that was gnawing at his heart all the while; "but suppose you go on, suh, and explain to me how you can tell the time of night by consulting the Dog Star. You sure have got me to guessing."
"Nothing could be easier, if only you'd put your mind to it, and think, Bob?" continued the patrol leader. "These stars and planets rise at a certain hour every night. It grows later all the while, and many of them are not seen only half of the year, because they are above us in the daytime the rest of the twelve months. Now suppose you had watched that star, as I did last night, and knew just when it crept above that mountain ridge over yonder; you'd have a line on when it could be expected to come up to-night. Now do you see?"
"Well, it's as simple as two and two make four," replied Bob. "And so that's the way old hunters tell the time at night, do they? Reading the clock in the sky, you might call it, Thad. I'm sure going to remember all about that; and later on, when my mind's at rest, I'll ask you a heap more questions about these things. They get more and more interesting the deeper you dip in; ain't that so, Thad?"
"I've found it that way," replied the scout leader, quietly. "A fellow who keeps his eyes and ears open can almost hear the stars whispering together, they say; and as to the secrets the wind tells to the trees in passing, why that's easy to understand. But if you're rested by now, Bob, we'd better be on the move once more."
Only too willingly did Bob agree. He believed that they must by this time be very nearly up to the point where Polly had agreed to meet them. She had asked Bob if he remembered the place; and he in return had declared he could easily find it, even in the darkness of night; for often had he climbed the face of this ridge when he lived close by; for at the time, his father had owned the very place where Old Reuben Sparks now had his home, the miser having purchased it from Mrs. Quail upon her moving North with her son.
"Keep on the lookout for three oak trees growing close together, Thad," he said, presently. "It's always been a landmark around here, because any one can see it from the valley, you know. I reckon, now, we must be close by the same; and I'd hate to miss it in the dark. It's been some time since I was up here, and I'm apt to get mixed a bit."
"Well, I think you've done mighty well so far; because, unless my eyes deceive me, there's the place right ahead of us," Thad declared.
"You're right about that," Bob added, feverishly; "that's the place of the three mountain oaks; and they stand out against the sky, now we've changed our position. Oh! I'm beginning to shake all over, Thad, I'm that anxious. What if Polly shouldn't be on hand? Perhaps she just couldn't learn anything, after all, and will only come to tell me she did her best; but they keep the Still guarded too close, and she couldn't get close in. There's a dozen, yes, twenty things that might come up to upset my hopes. They don't seem so strong, Thad, now that we've got to the point."
"Well, I wouldn't let myself get in any sort of gloom about it yet, anyway, Bob. Time enough to cry after the milk is spilt. Here we are at the oaks, and we'll wait for Polly to come, if she's late; but I'm dead certain she'll keep her word with you. When a girl like Polly says she'll do a thing, you can just make up your mind she will, unless the heavens fall."
"That's right peart o' you, suh," said a soft voice close by; and they heard a rustling sound, as though some one might be coming out from amidst the dense foliage just beyond the three oaks. "Here's Polly, be'n awaitin' this half hour fur you-uns to kim along. An' she's agettin' right sleepy, let me tell yuh."
Thad felt his chum quivering with eagerness as the mountain girl made her way carefully down to where they awaited her coming. What sort of news Polly could be bringing neither of them could so much as guess; but it would not be long now ere Bob knew the best, or the worst.
Nearer came the rustling. They could not yet see Polly, on account of the darkness, but the sound of her voice had reassured them.
Presently a moving figure crept close up to the waiting boys; which they knew must be the queer mountain girl. Polly was far from dainty looking; she had coarse black hair that possibly seldom knew a comb; and her voice was rather harsh; but nevertheless Thad believed she had a heart under this forbidding exterior, and that the spirit of gratitude was transforming her, greatly to their advantage.
"I'm right glad yuh kim, even if 'twar late," she said, as she reached their side.
"We started as soon as we could, Polly," said Bob, wondering if the girl really felt hurt because she had been kept waiting. "You see, I had to cross the valley, and talk with my cousin, Bertha. It was very important that I should see her, for she had news to give me, news that we hope will end in taking her away from that cruel old miser, and giving her over to the keeping of my own dear mother."
Polly grunted, as though she felt that she had to exhibit some sign of displeasure; but she said no more on that subject.
"I done found the Still," she remarked, simply.
"That's good, Polly," Bob said, warmly.
"Caus I'd be'n thar afore, but 'twas a long time ago," she went on, as if in apology for any difficulty she may have run across in finding the secret workshop of her father.
"Yes," Bob went on, encouragingly, as she stopped.
"Yuh see, they don't want gals er wimen ahangin' 'round thar. An' ever since they begun ter keep a prisoner ter work ther mash, I reckons as how never one hes be'n up ter thet place."
"But you hadn't forgotten just how to get there, had you, Polly; you knew the old trail, even with its changes; and did they have a prisoner; or was it just a story that's been going around all this time?"
Bob's impatience could not hold back any longer. He felt that he must know the truth with regard to this fact, right away. If there was no prisoner after all, then hope must sink out of sight. On the other hand, should Polly say that she had discovered a guard, and a patient working figure kept in restraint for long, weary months, he might still hug that fond illusion to his heart, that it might yet turn out to be his own father.
"Yep, I gut thar, even if they had hid the trail right smart," the girl continued, "an' sure 'nuff, thar war a prisoner!"
"Oh!" said Bob, and Thad could feel him quiver again with eagerness.
The girl was slow, not because she wished to tantalize Bob, but simply on account of her sluggish nature. The hook-worm has a firm grip upon most of the "poor whites" of North Carolina, as well as in Tennessee and Georgia close at hand. It would take something out of the common to arouse Polly; a sudden peril perhaps; or the anticipation of a new dress, which latter could not be an event occurring in less than yearly stages, Thad had thought.
"An' he war a man," Polly went on, dreamily; "jest like yuh thought, Bob; but his hair hed growed so long, and thar was so much beard on his face, I jest reckons his own mother wudn't never a knowed 'im."
"But did you get close enough to him to say a single word, Polly—just to ask him who he was?" the boy demanded, faintly.
Thad unconsciously let his arm glide around the figure of his chum. He seemed to fear the result, no matter what the answer of the mountain girl might be.
"Sure I did. Thet's what I went up thar fur, ain't it?" Polly went on to say. "They hed him chained ter ther rock. I reckons thar mout a be'n a guard alongside, sum o' ther time; but right then he must a be'n away. So arter peekin' around, an' not seein' any critter astandin' sentry, I jest mosied up clost ter ther man, an' touched him on ther arm."
She paused again, as if to collect her thoughts, and then yawned; but it was only through habit, and not because Polly felt sleepy; far from it, she was seldom more wide-awake than just then, though it was hard for Thad to believe it.
"He looked kinder s'prised tuh see me, 'cause like I done tole yuh, gals, they ain't never be'n 'lowed 'round thar, sense he was took. In course I tole him as how I jest kim ter fin' out who he mout be, 'case thar was somebody as 'peared mighty wantin' ter know thet same."
"And did he tell you; could he speak still, and explain?" asked Bob.
"He shore cud, Bob," she replied, a little more earnestly now, as though she realized that the critical point of her narrative had been reached. "I never'd a knowed him, wid all ther hair on his face; but when he says his name it was shore enuff—" and she paused dramatically.
"My father?" gasped Bob.
"Yep, an' no other then Mistah Quail, as used ter be ther marshal o' this deestrict sum years ago,—yer own dad, Bob!"
Thad tightened his grip upon his chum, for he felt him quivering violently. It was a tremendous shock, since, for more than two years now, Bob and his mother had been forced to believe the one they loved so dearly must be dead; but they say that joy never kills, and presently Bob was able to command his voice again.
"Oh! you'll never know what that means to me, Polly!" he exclaimed, as he groped around until he had found the girl's hand, which doubtless he pressed warmly in his great gratitude. "To think that my poor father has been alive all this time, and a slave up here in the wild mountains, while mother and I have been enjoying all the comforts and luxuries of our home. It just seems to cut me to the heart. But Polly, you talked with him, didn't you?"
"Shore I did. He done tole me he mout a got free a long time ago, if he'd 'greed ter promise my dad never ter tell whar ther ole Still war hid; an' never ter kim inter ther mountings agin ahuntin' moonshine stuff. But he sez as how, sense he still must be in ther employ o' ther Gov'nment, he's bound ter do his duty; an' not in er thousand years wud he change his mind."
"Oh! that is jest like father," murmured the boy, partly in admiration, yet with a touch of genuine grief in his voice, because of the unnecessary suffering they had all endured on account of this stubborn trait on the part of the one-time marshal.
"I tells him thet all ther same, he wa'n't agwine ter stay thar much longer, it didn't matter whether he guv ther promise er not, 'case thar hed be'n a change. An' then I ups an' tells him 'bout yer bein' hyar in ther mountings, bound ter larn ef he was erlive."
"Yes, and was he pleased when he heard that, Polly?" asked Bob, who was gradually coming around in fine shape, now that the stupendous disclosure had been accomplished, and his anxiety a thing of the past.
"I shud say he war," replied the girl, a little aroused now. "Say, he done cry, thet's what. Reckons as how he mout a be'n sorry fur not promisin' like they wanted long ergo. He arsks as how yer looked, an' ef yer mam war still well. Caus I cudn't tell him a heap, 'cause I didn't know; but I sez ter him thet yer hed kim hyar ter fotch 'im home, an' it'd be a shame ef yer hed ter go back erlone, jest 'cause he wanted ter be ugly. So he says as how he'd be'n athinkin', an' mout change his mind 'bout thet thar promise."
"Oh! to think of it, Thad," Bob breathed, gripping the arm of his staunch chum eagerly; "my father is alive after all these terrible months; and perhaps he'll even go home with me. It's worth all I've suffered ten times, yes a thousand times over."
"You deserve all the happiness there can be going, Bob, sure you do," declared the scoutmaster, positively. "I guess nothing could be too good for you. But we don't just understand yet how this is going to be brought about. Will Phin Dady let him go free if he makes that promise, Polly?"
"Shore, he's jest got ter, now," the girl answered, with a little chuckle. "Yer see, like I sez afore, things, have changed a heap now, an' my dad, he hain't a feelin' thet sore agin ther marshal like he used ter. An' Bob Quail, even ef he warn't gwine ter do hit, arter wat I larned this same night, I tells yer I'd set yer dad free on my own 'count."
"What did you learn?" asked Thad, curiously, seeing that apparently the girl could not of her own free will tell a story, but it had to be drawn from her piece meal, through the means of questions.
"I war acomin' down ther mounting," she began, "an' 'bout harf way hyah I seen thet ther lights war a movin' down in ther valley. So I jest natchally stopped ter read what ther news was, 'spectin' thet it meant trouble fur you-uns. But the more I reads ther more I gits wise ter ther fack thet yer be'n an' done hit sum moah."
"Yes," said Thad, encouragingly, though already he understood what was coming.
"'Pears like 'tain't enuff fur yer ter skeer off thet cat, an' keep me from agittin' my face clawed handsome, but yer must go an' save ther life o' my uncle Cliff. I reads thet he was hurt bad by Nate's gun goin' off, an' bleedin' a heap, so's they feels sure he never kin be took 'crost ter the doc's alive. Then they jest happen on yer camp down thar; an' shore he gut his arm fixed up so's ter stop ther blood comin'; an' they fotched him acrost ther valley in good shape."
"It was only a little thing, Polly, and gave me a great deal of pleasure," said Thad, thrilled despite himself by the girl's simple recital of the event.
"P'raps 'twar," she replied, sturdily; "but my maw, she sots some store by Uncle Cliff; an' dad, he cain't nowise go agin wot she wants. So I sees right plain like it was writ, thet Bob, he's bound arter this, ter git his dad free."
"Oh! it's like a dream to me, Thad; I feel as if I must be asleep. Give me a pinch or something, won't you, and let me understand that I'm alive," Bob exclaimed.
"You're awake, all right, old fellow," replied Thad, with a nervous little laugh. "And unless I miss my guess, Polly here is going to give you another pleasant little surprise; ain't you, Polly?"
"W'en I larns thet 'bout my uncle," continued the mountain girl, "I jest thinks as how Bob hyah, he's be'n a wantin' ter larn somethin' 'bout his ole man ther longest time ever. An' so I makes up my min' ter fotch 'im right away up ter ther Still in ther cave, so's ter see how the man as is chained'd feel ter git his boy in his arms onct agin!"
"Oh! Polly, however can I thank you?" exclaimed the excited Bob; "please let's start then right away. I thought I was tired, but now I'm feelin' as fresh as ever I could be. You couldn't go too quick to suit me!"