"Say, I wonder, now, if we could see anything of those fellows from up here?" remarked Bobolink, suddenly.

"That's so," echoed Phil, perceiving what the other intended to convey; "we can see the whole of the island now; and if they're camped somewhere on the north end, perhaps we might get a glimpse of canvas."

"What makes you think these men have their headquarters on the north end, rather than anywhere else?" asked Paul, quickly.

"Why, when we got up here, I noticed that smoke was climbing up over there; and smoke means a fire; which also tells that some person must be around to look after it," replied Phil, promptly.

"Pretty good reasoning," said Paul, nodding his head toward Phil; for if anything gave him pleasure as scout master of the troop, it was to see a boy using his head.

All now looked over the crown of the hill, toward the upper end of the island. The first thing they saw, of course, was the thin column of smoke which Phil had mentioned. Then Bobolink burst out with:

"And you were right, Paul, when you said that the chances were the island was close to the north side of the lake, so animals could swim across. Why, only a narrow streak of water separates 'em there, sure enough."

"Oh! that was only a guess on my part," Paul confessed. "I saw about how far away the mainland trended up there, and supposed that our island must run near it in places. I'm pleased to see that I hit the mark, for once at least, in this mixed-up mess."

Paul was evidently more or less provoked because he had been unable to understand many of the strange things that had happened since their arrival on Cedar Island. And the others knew that he was taking himself to task because of his dullness; but what of them, if the scout master needed to be wakened up—where did they come in?

"I can't be sure about it," observed Phil, who had been looking intently at one particular spot; "but it seems as if I could make out the roof of a shed of some kind, over yonder, close to where the smoke rises."

This set them all to looking again. Andy, who had very good eyes, declared he could make it out, and that it was a roof of some kind; one or two of the others, after their attention had been called to the spot, also admitted that it did look a little that way, though they could not say for a certainty.

"Anyhow, I reckon that's where these men live," Paul declared; "and now the question is, are we going to turn back here; or keep right on exploring this queer old Cedar Island?"

Bobolink, who was busy cutting his initials in the bark of the big cedar that topped the squatty hill, spoke first of all; for being an impetuous fellow, he seldom thought twice before airing his opinions.

"Me to push right on," he said. "What difference does it make to us that some other fellows chance to be camping on the same island? It's free to all. We aren't going to bother them one whit, if only they leave us alone. But they began wrong, you see, when they told us to get off the earth. That riled me. I never did like to be sat on by anybody. It just seems like something inside gets to workin' overtime, and all my badness begins to rise up, like mom's yeast in a batch of dough. Count my vote to go on ahead, Paul."

"Well, who's next?" asked the scout master "and remember, that when it comes to a matter like this, I always try and do what the majority wants."

"I'm willing to do what the rest say," came from Jack.

"Go right on, and make a clean job of it," said Tom Betts, grimly.

"S-s-same here!" jerked out Bluff.

"That spakes my mind to a dot, so it do," Andy followed.

Paul threw up his hand.

"Enough said; that makes four in favor already, and settles the matter. I won't tell you which way I would have voted, because the thing's been taken from my hands. And besides, I would only have considered your welfare in making my decision, and not my own desire."

"Which manes he would have said yis for himsilf, and no for the rist of us," declared the Irish boy, exultantly; "so it's glad I am we've made up our minds to go on. Whin do we shtart, Paul, darlint?"

"Right away," replied the one addressed. "There's no use staying any longer up here, unless you think I'd better get Jud again, and wigwag him all that we've learned up to now."

"It'll keep," said Phil, hastily, for he wanted to see the faces of those other scouts when the several astonishing pieces of news were told; especially about the finding of the real wild man asleep, the discovery of the field forge in the open glade and the picking up of the two silver quarters, which last he felt sure would give them all a surprise.

"A11 right!" the scout master announced, "I think pretty much the same way; and besides, it would take a long while sending all that news. But perhaps I ought to let the boys know we're going on further; and that they needn't expect us much before the middle of the afternoon. That'll give us plenty of time to roam around, and perhaps come back another way."

So he started once more to catch the attention of Jud, perched high up in that tree above the sink near the lower end of the island, where he could have an uninterrupted view of the cedar on the top of the hill.

Then there was a fluttering of the signal flag and briefly the scout master informed the other as to what their intentions were.

"That job's done," Paul remarked, presently, when Jud replied with a gesture that implied his understanding the message; "and now to move down-hill again. We're taking some big chances in what we're expecting to do, fellows, and I only hope it won't prove a mistake. Come along!"



CHAPTER XXIV

THE DISCOVERY

"There's one thing that I think we haven't bothered our heads much about, Paul," remarked Jack, just before they quitted the vicinity of the big cedar on top of the hill.

"What?" asked Bobolink, cocking his head on one side to see how well his initials looked in the bark of the tree from which Cedar Island took its name; and which would tell later explorers that others had been there ahead of them.

"Why, it seems to me those clouds down there on the southern horizon have a look that spells storm," Jack continued.

"Wow! wonder if we will strike another rainy spell?" said Bobolink, so quickly that none of the others had a chance to get a word in; "that last one helped us get out of the mud in the canal; if another comes will it be as accommodatin', or turn on us, and whoop things up, carrying our tents away over the island, and losing 'em in the swamps beyond there?"

"Oh! say, don't imagine so much, Bobolink," interrupted Phil. "You're the greatest fellow I ever saw for figuring all sorts of bad things out long before they ever get a chance to start. What Jack means is, will we be apt to get caught in the rain, and be soaked?"

"That's the main thing," added Tom Betts, who was rather particular about how his khaki suit looked on him, for Tom was a bit of a "dresser," as some of the others, less careful with regard to their looks, called it.

"I've noticed that it's grown pretty close and muggy," Paul went on.

"I should say it had," added Bobolink. "I kept moppin' my face most of the way up the rise. Thought we'd sure get a fine breeze after reachin' the top; but nixey, nothing doing. It's as dead as a door nail; or Julius Caesar ever was. Yes, that spells rain before night, I'd like to risk my reputation as a weather prophet in saying."

"Still, we go on?" Paul asked.

"Well, we'd be a fine lot of scouts," blurted out Bobolink, "if the chance of getting our backs wet made us give up a plan we'd decided on."

"Lead the way, Paul; they're bent on finding out something more about these men. And feeling that way, as Bobolink says, a little rain storm wouldn't make them change their minds," and Jack, while speaking, started after the scout master, who had commenced to descend the hill.

They did not immediately turn toward the north side. There seemed no use in deliberately making their presence known to any one stationed over at the north end of the island, providing the mysterious men were not already aware of it.

Paul, when doing his wigwag act, had been careful to keep the crest of the hill between his flag and that suspicious quarter where the smoke column was lazily creeping up, as smoke has a habit of doing just before rain comes.

Of course it might be possible that the man in the aeroplane, after discovering the tents in the sink, may have made some sort of signal that would tell his comrades the fact of the scouts having returned in the night.

Paul wished, now that it was too late, he had thought to ask Jud about that point. It might be of some benefit to them to know whether the men were aware of their presence; or rested serene in the belief that they were the only occupants of the island, besides the wild man.

After the scouts had gone down a little way, Paul began to change his course. He was now turning toward the north. The trees grew much more thickly here, and would surely screen them from observation.

The boys had resumed their former habit of observing everything that came in their way, as true scouts always should. They turned their heads from right to left and Bobolink even looked back of him more than a few times. Perhaps he remembered that there was a wild man at large who might take a notion to awake from his sleep, and, discovering the scout patrol, think it his business to follow them.

And then, to be sure, they ought to keep in mind the fact concerning that wild dog that had gone back to the habits of its ancestors, preferring to live by hunting, rather than take food from the hand of man. It would be far from pleasant to have old Lion suddenly sneak up on them, and give them a scare.

But everything seemed peaceful around them. Now and then a bird would fly out of a thicket, or give a little burst of song from the branch of some tree. A red-headed woodpecker tapped boisterously on the dead top of a beech near by, trying hard to arouse the curiosity of the worms that lived there, so as to cause them to poke out their heads to see who was so noisy at their front doors; when of course the feathered hammerer stood ready to gobble them up.

"Oh!" gasped Bobolink, when there was a sudden whirring sound of wings, and they had a furtive glimpse of something flashing through the undergrowth near by.

"It's only a partridge; don't be worried!" remarked Phil.

"Sure it was," muttered Bobolink, with scorn; "any fellow with only one eye'd know that now; but all the same, the thing gave me a bad turn, I'm that keyed up."

"And that's a cotton-tail looking at us over yonder, so don't throw another fit when he takes a notion to skip out," Phil continued, pointing with his cudgel to where a rabbit sat, observing the intruders, as though wondering what business any human beings had coming to the island that had been left alone so long.

Presently the little animal skipped off a few paces and then stopped again. As the scouts advanced, it repeated these tactics; indeed, so tame did it seem that any of them could have easily hit the rabbit with a stone, had they felt so inclined, which, as scouts, they could not think of doing.

"Looks like she's got a litter of young ones close by here," said Bobolink; "and is playing lame just to lead us away from the bunch. I've seen rabbits do that before now. The cuteness of the thing! Look at her, would you, just beggin' us to run after, and try to capture her?"

"I've seen a partridge act as if she had a broken wing," Jack remarked, quietly; "and flutter along the ground in a way that couldn't help but make one try to catch her; but if you chased after her, it would be to see the old bird take wing pretty soon, and go off like a rocket."

"Same here," declared Paul; "and going back, I flushed a whole covey of the prettiest little birds you ever saw. They'd been crouching under a bush while the old one played lame; just as if she'd told them all about it. But I heard her calling in the brush later on, and of course she got them all together again."

"There goes your lame rabbit now, Bobolink; and say, look at the way she jumps over the ground," remarked Phil, chuckling.

"Not so loud, boys," cautioned the scout master. "These things are all mighty interesting; but we mustn't forget what we're here for nor yet the fact that we've got a pretty good hunch there are some men close by who would be just as mad as hops if they knew we meant to stalk their camp and spy on them. If you have to say anything, whisper it softly, remember."

At that they all fell silent. It was true that they had forgotten for the moment that they were doing scouting work; and under such conditions talking was not allowed, especially above the lowest tone.

All of them noticed that it was getting very close now, for they had to use the red bandanna handkerchiefs they carried, and quite frequently at that, to wipe away the perspiration that oozed from their foreheads.

"Lucky we left our coats in camp; isn't it?" remarked Phil.

"Looks that way now, but if that rain does strike us, we may wish we had 'em on," Tom Betts replied; showing that he at least had not been able to put out of his head the possibility of a storm.

"Seems to me we must be getting somewhere," Phil observed.

"It can't be very much further," Paul answered, feeling that the remark was addressed to him as the pilot of the expedition."

"I should say not," came from Bluff, as chipper as a bird's song, and without the least sign of halt or break; "if we go on much more, we'll walk off the end of the island."

Bobolink patted him on the back, as if to encourage him in well doing.

"That's the stuff, Bluff; you c'n do it when you try," he whispered; "but as to steppin' into the lake, I guess we aren't that near the north end yet, by a good sight."

Paul nodded his head, but said nothing; from that Bobolink knew the scout master agreed with him. They could go considerably longer without being halted by coming to the water's edge.

Jack called the attention of his chums just then to something ahead.

"Seems to me I smell smoke," he said, "and if you bend down here, so you can look under the branches of the trees, you'll see something that's got the shape of a shed, or cabin, off yonder."

The others, upon making a try, agreed with Jack that it did seem that way.

"Oh! we're right on top of the nest, all right" chattered Bobolink, but showing his wisdom by keeping his voice down to its lowest note; "and now, if we c'n duplicate that little dodge we played at the shack of the wild man, it's goin' to be as easy as turning over off a spring-board, with a ten foot drop."

"But if we're caught we might get shot at," suggested Phil, as if the idea had struck him for the first time that they were really playing with fire, in thus bearding desperate lawbreakers in their den.

"We aren't going to get caught," said Bobolink; "who's afraid? Not I. Lead along, Paul. I want to get this thing out of my system, so I c'n have a little rest up here," and he placed a hand on his brow.

Although himself doubtful as to the wisdom of the move, Paul could not back down now, after allowing the boys to vote on the matter. Perhaps he was more or less sorry that at the time he had not exercised his privilege as scout master to put his foot down on their taking any more chances, just to satisfy such curiosity as reckless fellows like Bobolink might feel, with regard to the unknown men.

It was too late now. Until some of the boys themselves manifested a desire to call the retreat, he must go on; although it began to seem more than ever audacious—this creeping up on a den of men who were hiding from the eye of the law in order to carry on their nefarious trade.

And so they started to creep forward, now dodging behind trees, and crawling back of friendly patches of bushes whenever the chance presented itself. It was all exciting enough, to be sure, and doubtless gave the boys many a delightful little thrill.

In this fashion they came upon a larger clump of trees and bushes, which, instead of trying to round, they concluded to pass through.

It was just as they gained a point inside this clump that they were brought up with a round turn by discovering a couple of objects standing there, as though they had been left behind when the valuable contents which they formerly encased had been taken out.

These were two large packing cases, of unusual shape, and made of heavy planed boards!

Some of the scouts looked at them carelessly, for to them these objects did not carry any particular meaning. Not so Jack, Tom Betts and Bobolink. Those three boys had received a shock, as severe as it was unexpected.

They recognized those cases as being the identical ones which had only lately reposed snugly in the planing mill of Jack's father in Stanhope, and to guard which one Hans Waggoner had been hired by the man who owned them, Professor Hackett! And as they stood there and gaped, doubtless among the many things that flashed into the minds of those three lads was the fact that somebody had been trying to get to see what the contents of those mysterious cases might be; which person they now knew must have been a Government Secret Service man, a detective from Washington, on the track of the bold counterfeiting gang!

All these things, and much more, flashed through the minds of Jack and his chums, as they stood there in that thicket, and stared hard at the two big cases bound around with twisted wire, but which had now been relieved of their unknown contents, for they stood empty.

And the others, realizing that something had occurred out of the regular channel, waited for them to speak, and explain what they had discovered.



CHAPTER XXV

TIME TO GO BACK

"What is it, Bobolink—Jack?" asked the scout master.

"The boxes yonder!" Bobolink managed to exclaim.

"You evidently have seen them before; tell me, Jack, are they the ones you said your father stored for that man?" continued Paul.

"They certainly look mighty like them," replied the other; "and you know, they were taken away that morning early. They must have been carried across country to the shore of the lake, and then ferried over in a rowboat. That was what we saw the marks of, and the four men walked off with these between them."

"Whee! did you ever?" gasped the still bewildered Bobolink. "Yes, here you c'n see the markin' on the lid they threw away when they opened this one—'Professor Hackett, In care of John Stormways, Stanhope,' all as plain as anything. And to think how after all my worryin' the old boxes have bobbed up here. Don't it beat the Dutch how things turn out?"

That seemed to be the one thing that gripped Bobolink's attention—the strange way in which those two heavy boxes with the twisted wire binding had happened to cross his path again.

But Paul was thinking of other things, that might have a more serious bearing on the case. He turned to Jack again.

"What do you know about this so-called professor?" he asked.

"Me? Why, next to nothing, only that he comes from down near New York City at a place called Coney Island, where lots of fakirs hold out; and plenty of men too, in the summer season, who would want to circulate a little money that did not bear the Government stamp."

"But your father seems to have known him; or at any rate believed he was a law-abiding citizen," pursued Paul; "otherwise he would hardly have given him the privilege of storing his cases in his mill over night."

"Oh! my father is that easy-going, nearly anybody could pull the wool over his eyes. He believed the yarn this pretended professor told him, I've no doubt, and thought it next door to nothing to let him keep the boxes in the mill for a short time. You know, my father is the best-hearted man in Stanhope, barring none. But I agree with the rest of you that this time he must have got stung. The professor is sure a bad egg. I must put my dad wise as soon as I get half a chance."

"Perhaps it's already too late to save him from getting stuck with a lot of the stuff they manufacture?" suggested Tom Betts.

"Oh! that could hardly be so," Jack replied, cheerfully. "When these bogus money-makers want to get rid of some of their stock they always have go-betweens do the job for them. It would be too easy tracing things if they passed the stuff themselves. So I guess my dad hasn't taken in any great amount of the counterfeits."

Bobolink was down on his knees. He even crawled into one of the overturned boxes, as though trying hard to ascertain from sundry marks what could have been contained under that wooden cover.

He came out, shaking his head, as though his efforts had not been attended by success.

"Looks like machinery of some kind, that's all I c'n tell," he admitted. "But of course, they'd need a press of some sort to work off the paper money on. Now, chances are, it's bein' put up right in that long shed yonder, that we c'n see. Question is, how're we goin' to get close enough to peek through a crack, and find out what's goin' on in there?"

Again did most of the boys look uneasily at each other. Paul believed that, now the great test had arrived, they were beginning to weaken a little. No doubt it did not seem so glorious a thing when you got close up, this spying on a band of lawless men, who would be apt to deal harshly with eavesdroppers, if caught in the act.

Still, he would not give the order to retreat unless they asked for it. They had been allowed to settle that matter when they voted; it was up to Bobolink, Tom, Bluff or Andy to start the ball rolling, if they began to reconsider their hasty conclusion of a while back.

Bobolink looked toward the low, long shed, now plainly seen, in something of a rocky opening, with glimpses of water beyond which told how close to the shore it had been built. But he did not act as though as anxious to rush matters as before.

"Why d'ye believe they ever landed those boxes where they did, and toted 'em all the way up here, heavy as they were, when there's the water close by?" asked Jack.

"I was thinking about that a minute ago," replied Paul; "and the only explanation I can find is this: Perhaps the water is mighty shallow all around up at the north end of the island. I can see that the shore is rocky, and if that's so, then no boat with a heavy load could get close enough in to land the stuff. And so they had to get busy, and carry the boxes, one at a time."

"Sounds reasonable, and we'll let her go at that," commented Bobolink, who, as a rule, was contented to take Paul's opinion.

Paul himself stooped down to take a look into the cases. He did not make any remark as he straightened up again, nor did any of the others think to ask his opinion; which possibly may have been lucky, for perhaps Paul would not have liked to commit himself just then. If he had found anything that gave him a new clue, he was evidently keeping it to himself until he could get more proof.

"S'pose we ought to make a fresh start," suggested Bobolink, but with a lack of eagerness that was plainly noticeable; it was as though the discovery of those two mysterious boxes under such strange conditions had rather cooled his ardor.

"That's so," remarked Tom.

"We've g-g-got so n-n-near now, we ought to f-f-finish!" Bluff declared.

And yet none of them made the slightest movement looking to an advance, a fact that Paul could not help but notice, and which warned him they were close to the point of a change of policy. A suggestion that they give up the spy business at this stage, and retreat in good order to their camp, would doubtless have met with favor, and been sure of a unanimous vote.

But still Paul, having his own notions of such matters, when dealing with boys, declined to say anything. If one of the four who were mainly responsible for their being there should take it upon himself to offer such a motion, he would only too gladly put it to a vote. Until such time came he must continue to remain silent.

"Just as you say, boys; I'm carrying out your plans," he remarked, quietly, wishing to let them know that they had it in their own power to alter conditions at any time they so desired.

They all finally moved after the scout master, even if some feet did lag a little. Bluff and Phil particularly were conscious of a strange sinking sensation in the region of their hearts, which they mistrusted signified fear; and rather than have any of their comrades suspect that they had a cold hand pressing there, they shut their teeth hard together, and determined that under no circumstances would they show the white feather.

So Paul led them on.

Again they tried to conceal themselves as best they might in devious ways. Here the wide and generous trunk of a friendly tree afforded them a certain amount of shelter; a little further on a small pile of rocks answered the same benevolent purpose; but always the main idea was to hide from any curious eyes that might be on the lookout in the vicinity of that queer looking shed—newly made, if the fresh boards signified anything.

"Looky here! there's a man!" suddenly exclaimed Bobolink.

The others had discovered the man at about the same time. They all lay flat and hardly dared breathe, lest in some manner they attract the attention of the stranger, who seemed to be not only a big man, but rather a fierce-looking fellow in the bargain.

He was glancing all around at the heavens, as though wondering whether the aeroplane was not coming back, whatever its mission in flying away south could have been. Standing there, he shaded his eyes with his hands and continued to look toward the south for several minutes. Then he made a gesture as of disappointment, and vanished around the corner of the shed.

"Never looked down this way once!" Bobolink said triumphantly, as though their escape had caused his spirits to rise a little.

"That leaves the coast clear again, anyhow," said Tom Betts, as if he now had a rather disagreeable duty to perform, which, since it had to be done, had better be gotten through with as speedily as possible.

When leaving camp these brave scouts had never dreamed but that spying upon the enemy would prove the most delightful task imaginable. Even later on, when they had voted to keep moving forward, with so much assurance, the picture had not begun to fade; but now it did not seem the same.

As the shelter grew less and less, however, it became evident that presently, if they continued to advance in this fashion, they must reach a point where, in order to make progress, they must expose themselves to hostile eyes, should any be on the watch.

Would even this cause one of the four scouts to "take water," as Bobolink called it, and make the sign that he had had enough?

Paul knew them all pretty well, and he also realized the fact that every fellow possessed a nature bordering on the stubborn. It was the dread of being thought cowardly that kept them from taking the cue from Paul, and ending this foolish advance.

They had gone over fifty feet since the last stop, and passed the last large tree which could be looked on to give them any shelter.

It was just at this moment that once again the big man was seen coming hastily around the corner of the shed.

At sight of him the boys stood still. There was no use trying to hide now. Perhaps some faint hope took possession of them that they might be unnoticed if they did not move; just as the still hunter, stalking a feeding deer, will watch its short tail, and whenever he sees it twitch he stands perfectly motionless; for he knows that the animal is about to raise his head, and that he will probably be taken for a stump if he does not move hand or foot.

But evidently the man had sighted the seven khaki-clad scouts. He seemed almost petrified with amazement at first, and stood staring at them. As if awaking from his trance, he began to make frantic motions with his arms, and at the same time shouted hoarsely at them:

"Go back! Get out of that! You're crazy staying there! Run, I tell you, while you have the chance! Get away! Get away, you fools!"

The scouts looked at each other in astonishment. What could it all mean? Were all the men on this queer island stark, staring crazy? He called them that, but it is always a rule for mad people to believe every one else crazy but themselves.

"Say, what does the guy mean?" cried Bobolink, who seemed to be utterly unable to understand a thing; "mebbe it's a small-pox hospital we've run on, fellows!"

But Paul was beginning to see a light. Possibly the excited gestures, as well as the urgent words of the big man, may have assisted him to arrive at a conclusion.

He no longer felt so decided about not speaking the word that would cause his little detachment to turn and retreat. There must be danger hovering over them, danger in some terrible form, to make that unknown man so urgent.

"Let's get out of this, boys!" he called, "every fellow turn, and streak it as fast as he can. And get behind trees as quick as you can, because—"

They had already started to obey the scout master, and possibly had covered a few jumps when it seemed that the very earth shook and quivered under them, as a fearful roar almost deafened every boy.

Just as you have seen a pack of cards, made into tent shape in a curving row, go falling down when the first one is touched, so those seven scouts were knocked flat by some concussion of the air.

They had hardly fallen than one and all scrambled to their feet, and fled madly from the scene, as if fearful lest the whole end of the island might be blown up behind them, and catch them in a trap from which there could be no escape.



CHAPTER XXVI

HONORABLE SCARS

So it turned out after all that the scout master did not have to change his mind, and give the order for retreat. When that dreadful panic overwhelmed the scouts, it was really a case of "every one for himself."

Either by rare good luck, or some sort of instinct, the seven lads managed to keep pretty well together as they ran. Not a single fellow dreamed of allowing himself to get separated from his comrades. It seemed to be a case of "united we stand, divided we fall," or "in union there is strength."

If in their mad rush some of the boys collided with trees, or stumbled over obstacles that they failed to discover in time, they were not of a mind to let such trifles interfere with their making record time.

In such cases it was only necessary to scramble erect again, and put on a little extra spurt in order to overhaul their comrades.

What had taken them half an hour to cover when they were "scouting" in such approved fashion, was passed over in about five minutes.

It was Paul who came to his senses first. He realized that there was no one chasing them and that, to tell the truth, not one of the boys could have been seriously hurt by what had befallen.

So he began to laugh, and the sound reaching the ears of the others, appeared to act on their excited minds like soothing balm.

Gradually the whole lot slackened their pace until they were going at a jog trot; which in turn settled down to a walk.

Finally Bobolink came to a full stop.

"Whee! let's get a few decent breaths, fellows!" he managed to gasp.

The others were apparently nothing loth, and so they all drew up in a bunch. A sorry lot they looked just then, to tell the truth. It seemed as though nearly every fellow had some distinguishing mark.

Phil's rather aristocratic face had a long scratch that extended down the right side, and gave him a queer look; Jack was caressing a lump on his forehead, which he may have received from a tree, or else when he was knocked down without warning by that singular explosion; Andy was trying to quench a nose-bleed, and needed his face washed the worst way; Bluff's left eye seemed partly closed, as if he had been too close to the business end of an angry bee; while Bobolink had two or three small cuts about his face that made him look as if he had been trying to tattoo himself—with wretched success.

So they looked at one another, and each thought the balance of the crowd had the appearance of a set of lunatics on the rampage.

Hardly had they stared at each other than they set to laughing.

"Oh! my stars! but aren't you a screamer though, Andy, with all that blood smeared over your face; and Bluff, why he looks as if he'd been in a prize fight!" was the way Bobolink expressed his feelings, bending over as he laughed.

"Huh! you're not so very pretty yourself!" replied Bluff, with not the slightest sign of an impediment in his speech—evidently it had been frightened out of his system for the time being. "Anybody'd think you were a South Sea Islander on the warpath. And wouldn't they cross over to the other side of the road in a hurry if they met you! Say, if Mazie Kenwood or Laura Carson could only see you now, they'd give you the cut straight."

"Look at Jack's bump, would you?" Tom Betts exclaimed.

"Don't call attention to me any more than you can help," Jack remarked, making a wry face, as he caressed the protuberance on his forehead; "it feels as big as a walnut, let me tell you, and hurts like fun. The sooner I'm back in camp, so I can slap some witch hazel on that lump, the better it'll please me, boys."

After a little more laughing and grumbling, Paul, who had escaped without any visible hurts, though he walked a little lame, remarked:

"Well, do we start right back again, and take a look-in on those men? Don't everybody speak at once, now!"

All the same they did, and the burden of the united protest was that circumstances alter cases; that they had arrived at the conclusion that what those men were doing on the island could be no affair of honest, law-abiding scouts; and that as for them, the camp in the sink offered more attractions at that particular moment than anything else they could think of.

Of course that settled it. The scouting was over for that occasion. They had done themselves credit, as far as it went; but then, who would ever dream that they would come within an ace of being blown sky-high with the whole upper end of the island?

As if by common consent, they started to move forward again, and every fellow seemed to know, as if by instinct, which was south, and whereabouts the camp was, for they needed no pilot now.

And as they journeyed they talked it all over. Every boy seemed to have an opinion of his own with regard to what had happened, and they differed radically.

"Tell you what," said Tom Betts, who had also escaped with only a few minor injuries, because he was as quick as a cat, and must have fallen on a soft piece of ground besides; "tell you what, I thought that old hill had turned into a volcano, and just bust all to flinders."

"Well, now," Phil admitted, "I somehow had an idea that storm had chased up when we didn't chance to be watching, and lightning had struck a tree close to the place where we happened to be standing looking at that crazy man wave his arms."

"Me?" Bobolink remarked; "why, I was dead sure what we guessed about a war game bein' played up here between two pretended hostile armies was right; and that one of 'em had blown up the fort of the other. You see, that aeroplane had a sorter military air about it, even if I didn't see it. And I'm not sure yet it isn't that."

"One thing sure," remarked Paul; "the man was trying to warn us to keep back, for he knew some sort of mine was going to explode, and that we might be killed. As it was, we got off pretty lucky, I think. This sprain will heal in a day or two; but if a rock weighing a ton or two had dropped down on me, I guess the chances of my ever seeing Stanhope again would have been mighty slim."

"But tell me," Bobolink asked, "what in the world would counterfeiters want with exploding mines, and doin' all that sort of thing? Just remember that big bang we had the other night, that woke everybody up. Shows it's a habit with 'em, and that this wasn't some freak accident. Gee! my head's buzzing around so I can't think straight. Somebody do my guessin' for me; won't you, please?"

"That's right," said Tom Betts, suddenly; "who are these men, anyway? P'raps we didn't size 'em up straight when we made up our minds they were bogus money-makers. Mebbe they happen to be a different sort of crowd altogether. How about that, Paul; am I off my trolley when I say that?"

"I've been beginning to believe something was crooked in our guess for a little while, Tom," replied the scout master; "but all the same, you've got me up in the air when you ask who and what they are. I'm rattled more than I've been in many a day, to be honest with you all."

Bobolink took out something from his pocket. He stared hard at the two shining quarters, and jingled them in his hand.

"Look good to me," he was heard to say; "I'd pass 'em any time for genuine. But what silly chump'd be throwing good money around like that, tell me?"

"Or bad money either, Bobolink," remarked Paul; "so you see, it was an accident in any case. You've lost money many a time out of your pocket; well, this man was in the same boat. Chances are, that's straight goods."

Bobolink grinned.

"If that's so," he remarked calmly, "I'm in a half dollar, and that's some satisfaction. But say, what a time we'll have tellin' the boys. Wow! I can see the eyes of Little Billie, and Curly, and Nuthin just stickin' out of their heads when they hear all we've run up against."

"And we'd better move along a little faster while about it," observed Paul.

"Why? Hope you don't think any of those men are chasin' after us; or that we'll run up against that wild man, or the big yellow dog again?" Bobolink inquired, glancing fearfully about him.

"No, I was considering the feelings of the boys," replied the scout master.

"That's a fact," Jack went on, "they'll be worried about us, after hearing that terrible report, and think something has happened to our crowd. But we're not a great way from camp now, Paul."

"No, and if the distance was greater, I'd stop long enough to send up a smoke signal that would tell Jud we were all right. But that'd take time, and perhaps we'd better hurry along," and the scout master set a new pace, even though limping slightly.

"Got hurt some yourself; did you, Paul?" Jack asked, solicitously.

"Oh! only a little sprain, but it happens to be on a muscle that I have to use when I walk, and you know a fellow favors such a pain. But I can see where the sink lies now; we'll be there in ten minutes, perhaps half that."

They continued to push on. For the time being most of them forgot about their personal troubles, in their anxiety to join their comrades. And Bobolink, as he walked beside Jack, spoke what was on his mind:

"It was a grand old scare, all right, and one we won't ever forget, believe me; but there's one thing that tickles me half to death, Jack. We know now where the queer old boxes went to, even if we are up in the air about what was in them. And the chances are we may find that out before we're done with this business; because those men ought to come down and ask if anybody got hurt by their silly Fourth of July fireworks display. There's the camp, boys. Whoopee!"



CHAPTER XXVII

ANOTHER THREATENING PERIL

Loud cheers greeted the appearance of the seven scouts, as they hurried forward into the camp. And when those who had remained with the tents saw the various scratches, contusions and bumps that adorned most of the returned boys' faces, they were burning with eagerness to hear the details of the adventure.

Such a clatter of tongues as ensued, as every fellow tried to tell his version of the happening. If half that was said were written down, it would require many more chapters to give the details.

Gradually, however, each stay-at-home scout began to get a pretty clear idea of the series of adventures that had befallen their mates in trying to explore the mysteries of the island. They understood all about the wild man, and what the consensus among the seven explorers seemed to be concerning the strangers who occupied the island, and were conducting such an amazing series of experiments, even making use of an aeroplane to accomplish their ends.

The guesses that followed were legion, yet Paul, who listened patiently to the most astounding theories, shook his head in the end.

"I don't believe any of us have hit on the right thing yet, fellows," he said. "But there's meat in a number of the guesses you've made, and perhaps we'll get the story after a while. But how about grub; we're as hungry as bears?"

"Never expected to join you at lunch, for a fact," grinned Bobolink; "but then, we made better time than we ever thought we could on the return journey. Talk to me about a prize spurrin' a fellow on to do his level best—the whip that does it is to put a first-class scare in him. Then you're goin' to see some runnin' that takes the cake. Wheel didn't we sprint, though? Bet you I jumped clear over a log that stood six feet high from the ground—more or less."

It happened that the stay-at-home scouts had just prepared their noon meal at the time the explosion occurred that made the whole island tremble. That had startled them so much that they had not had the heart to think of sitting down because of anxiety about the fate of their chums.

And so the dinner had remained untouched up to the time they heard the "cooee" of the returning warriors; and then caught the bark of the fox, that told them that Paul and his posse had returned.

There was enough for all, because the cooks were very liberal in making up their messes. And over the dinner more suggestions were made as to what their future course ought to be.

By now even the fire-eating Bobolink was ready to cry quits, and back down; nor did he seem at all ashamed to admit the fact that he was afraid.

"If those sillies mean to blow up the whole island, some way or other, why, what's the use of us stayin' here, an' goin' up with it, I'd like to know?" he said. "Tell you what, I've got another guess comin', and it's this: P'raps they're meanin' to get rid of this island and lake, and have started to do the job. Mebbe some big railroad wants a short line across country, and this thing is right in their way. I've heard of 'em doin' bigger things than just blowing up a little island; haven't you, Paul?"

He always appealed to the scout master when one of his brilliant thoughts came along. Paul nodded his head.

"That sounds more reasonable than a whole lot of things I've been listening to, Bobolink, for a fact," Paul admitted. "Still, we don't know, and there's no way to find out the true story, right now. Listen, fellows!"

"Thunder, away off, Paul; guess we've all got explosions on the brain, because it gave me a start, too," said Jack, laughing.

"And if a storm's coming along," observed Jud Elderkin, who seemed vastly pleased when he heard that his signalling had been so easily understood, "why, I reckon we ought not to think of pulling down our good tents, and getting out of here, till she's over."

It was plain from this that the scouts had determined to abandon their dangerous island, and spend the balance of the outing by making a camp on the mainland, where at least there was a reasonable expectation of not being blown sky-high by some explosion.

"And since we're done eating perhaps we'd better take another look at the tent pins, to make sure they'll hold when the wind strikes us. Some of these summer storms have a lively advance breeze, you know, boys," Paul suggested.

"Little Billie and I'll go over to the boats, and see that the curtains are buttoned down snug. Some of us can stay inside while its rainin' and that'll give more room in the tents," Bobolink remarked, jumping to his feet, with a return of his customary lively Way.

"And in this sink we'll be protected from any wind coming from the south, don't you think, Paul?" Jack ventured.

"Couldn't be better," was the reply. "Those trees and bushes, as well as the rise in the ground, will help a lot. But get busy, fellows, with those tent pins. I'll take the axe, and go the rounds myself, to make doubly sure. It's not the nicest thing in the world to have your canvas blow away—eh, Nuthin?"

"You're right, it isn't," replied the little scout, "'specially when it lifts you right up with it into a tree, and has you tied up there in the snarls of a clothes line. I know all about that, and none of the rest of you ever tried it. Excuse me from another balloon ride like that."

In a short time everything was done that could be thought of to render things storm-proof. Then the boys went over to the edge of the water to watch the advance of the black clouds, which those at the boats in the little cove declared was a sight worth seeing.

And it certainly was, all the scouts admitted. Some of them were filled with a certain awe, as they saw how inky the clouds looked. But what boy, or man either, for that matter, is there who has not felt this sensation when watching scurrying clouds that tell of an approaching storm?

By degrees the boys began to drift back to the camp. Every sort of excuse was given for leaving the beach. One fellow suddenly remembered that he had left his coat hanging on a bush, another had forgotten to fasten his knapsack, while a third wished to tie his blanket in a roll, in case the water did find a way to get into the sink.

Paul, Jack, Bobolink and Jud remained until they saw the rough water away down near the southern shore of the lake, and understood that the first squall must be swooping upon them. Then they too gave up the vigil, for the chances were the rain would come with the first breeze.

With a howl and a roar the storm broke upon them. Cowering in the tents, about four in each, as the others had taken to the boats, they waited with more or less suspense what might happen.

The wind made the canvas shake at a lively clip, and the fastenings on the southern side were sorely tried; but they had been well taken care of and Paul called out that he believed they were going to hold.

For half an hour the rain beat down in torrents. None of them remembered ever hearing such a deluge descend, but perhaps their imaginations were excited on account of the peculiar conditions that surrounded them. All the same it rained, and then rained some more, until a very large quantity of water must have fallen, all of them decided.

With Paul and Jack in the tent that was nearest to the lake were Bobolink, Tom Betts and Nuthin.

"Seems to me it's gettin' kind of damp in here," remarked Bobolink, when the clamor outside had died down somewhat, and they could hear each other talk.

"That's a fact," declared Paul; "and after all it's just as well that we made sure our blankets and other things were tied up and hung away from the ground. But seems to me I hear one of the fellows in the boat shouting to us."

When he opened the flap he found that the rain had almost stopped, as well as the wind to a great extent. Perhaps the storm was over.

"Hello!" Paul called out.

"Hey! that you, Paul?" came in a voice he recognized as belonging to Jud, who had been one of those in charge of the nearby boats.

"Yes, what's wrong?" asked the scout master.

"Can't you come over here? Going to be the dickens to pay, I reckon. The bally old lake's rising like fun. Looks like the outlet must have got stopped up somehow. You're sure going to have to move your tents mighty quick. Coming, Paul?"

"All right," answered the other, as he crawled out, and started under the dripping trees for the spot where the two motorboats lay in the cove, sheltered from the waves that had been dashing against the shore elsewhere.

When he reached the spot he found that all of the boys who had been sheltered in the boats were lined up on the shore, where they could see down the lake. Jud himself seemed to be watching the water steal up a stick he had thrust into the sand.

"Gee! she's mounting like fun!" he exclaimed. "Water must be pouring into the old lake from every side, and little gettin' out. Say, if this keeps on, the whole island, except that hill up yonder, will be under water before night. It sets rather low, you understand, Paul."

The scout master was naturally thrilled by these words. He knew that the leader of the Gray Fox Patrol was no alarmist, and that he seldom lost his head in times of excitement.

And so it was with considerable apprehension that Paul stooped down so he might see just how fast the lake was rising. And when he noticed that it actually crept up the stick before his very eyes, he knew that what Jud had said about the whole island being covered might not be such a silly assertion after all.

It began to look as though the adventures of the scouts had not yet reached an end, and that they were in for another thrilling experience.



CHAPTER XXVIII

PREPARED FOR THE WORST

"She's just walking up hand over fist; eh, Paul?" asked Jud.

"No question about it, Jud," came the reply as the scout master cast an apprehensive look across the half-mile of water that separated them from the outlet of the lake. "I'd give something to know what's happened down there, to dam this water up, and just how far it's going to rise on us."

"Tell you what," said Bobolink, who had followed Paul when he left the tent, as had also the rest of the occupants, "I wouldn't be a bit surprised if that awful explosion shook the shoulder of earth and rock down, that we saw hanging above the mouth of the Radway River where she leaves the lake."

"You've hit it, I do believe!" cried Paul, exultantly; "and that's just what did happen, chances are, fellows."

"But if the outlet is filled up," said Jud, "and this water keeps pouring in on four sides, it's dead sure the blooming lake will fill up in short order. What had we better do, Paul?"

"That's just what I'm trying to figure on, Jud," answered the other; "it's one of two things—either hike out for the hill, where we'll be safe until the water goes down; or else get our things aboard the boats, and stay here."

"That last strikes me as the best of all!" declared Jack.

"Besides," broke in Nuthin, "we don't want to lose those boats, you know. They were loaned to us and if we let 'em go to smash, wouldn't it take us a long time to pay the bill, though? Besides, we'll need 'em to get away from here."

"That isn't the worst of it," remarked Paul, who was very serious.

"Why, what is there besides?" demanded Bobolink.

"Suppose the water does get up so as to cover the island, all but the hill," the scout master went on deliberately, as though making sure of his ground as he talked; "and then, all of a sudden the weight of it broke through the dam; don't you see the suction, as the water rushed out, would be something terrific. No rope ever made, I reckon, could hold these boats back. They'd sure be drawn through the gap, and carried on the flood, any old way, even upside-down, maybe."

"Whew!" whistled Bobolink; and as for some of the other fellows, they began to lose their usual color as they realized what Paul was saying.

"Now, that's just an idea that came into my mind," Paul went on, seeing that he had alarmed some of the scouts. "It may never happen, you understand. But you know the motto we believe in is 'be prepared!' That means never to take things for granted. Keep your eyes and ears always on guard, and see lots of things, even before they swoop down on you. So, it's up to us, fellows, to get our tents and other fixings loaded up as soon as we can. After that we'll go aboard ourselves, and try to prepare against a sudden break in the dam."

"And lookin' at that water creeping up," remarked Jud, "the sooner we get busy, the better."

Accordingly, they all hastened back to the camp. It was found that already the water seemed to be creeping into the sink. Those in the other two tents were talking it over, and wondering what was about to happen.

When they heard the latest news, their faces indicated both astonishment and not a little alarm. But under the direction of the scout master, they started to convey all their belongings to the boats.

First the blankets and clothes bags were taken over; then the food and cooking utensils; and finally the tents came down in a hurry, for the boys were working in water almost up to their knees when this last part of the job was concluded.

Once out of the sink, they found plenty of high ground to walk on, while carrying the wet tents to the landing where the boats were lying.

After they were all aboard, the scouts packed the stuff as best they could, so that it would take up as little space as possible. Meanwhile Paul and Jack, with both the other patrol leaders, were trying to figure out just what would be the best course for them to pursue.

"Makes me think of old Noah, when he went aboard the ark, and the animals they followed two by two," said Bobolink, with a chuckle.

"Huh, call yourself a kangaroo, or a monkey, if you like," spoke up Old Dan Tucker, "but as for me I'd rather play the part of Ham, or one of the other sons."

"Sure thing!" assented Bobolink, cheerfully; "never saw the time yet when you raised any kick about takin' the part of Ham. Sounds good, don't it, Dan?"

It was pretty hard to keep the spirits of Bobolink from sizzling and gushing forth like a fountain when the water is turned on. He could joke, even while the several leaders of the expedition were consulting gravely about their chances of holding the boats against the frightful suction of the current, when the obstructions in the outlet of the lake gave way, which they hoped would not be suddenly, but by degrees.

It was certainly a condition that confronted them, and not a theory. Paul was really more worried than he showed; for he kept his feelings under control, knowing that if some of the others realized how much he was concerned, the fact might create a panic.

"If I really thought the worst would come," Paul said, in a low tone, to Jack, after it had been concluded that they would stay by the boats, and do the best they could, "why I'd be tempted to give the order to just cut for the hill, and leave everything but some food behind. Once up there, we would be safe, and that's what we can't say is the case now."

"But even if the water goes out with a rush, it can't tear a tree like this one up by the roots; can it?" asked Jack, pointing to where the cables of the boats had been secured as strongly as possible.

"That's so," replied the scout master; "but then, think of the ropes, and what a terrible strain would come on them. I'm afraid both would snap like pipe-stems. To hold tight, we'd need a big chain; or a hawser like that one the switching engine on the railroad uses to drag cars on a parallel track. But then, the water may be nearly as high, right now, as it will get We'll hope so, anyhow."

That was Paul's way of trying to look on the bright side, although he never failed to prepare for the worst, even while expecting the best.

"If we could only think up some way to help ease the strain, it would be a good thing," observed Jack, thoughtfully.

"I wish you could. It would ease my mind more than I care to tell you," was Paul's answer.

"One thing, the storm is over," called out Jud, just then; "see, there's a break in the clouds, and I reckon the sun will be peepin' out soon."

"But the water will keep on rushing down the sides of the hills away off yonder," Paul remarked, "and filling up this cup until it runs over. They say that the Radway River drains three times the amount of country that our own Bushkill does. And by the way the water comes in here, I believe it. Look out there on the lake, will you; it shows that it's getting wider right now."

"Why, in another half hour, if it keeps on the same way, it's going to lap over pretty much all the lower part of the island," Jack declared.

Everything else was neglected now, and the scouts gathered along the side of each boat, watching the lake. It was as if they half expected to see the water suddenly take to rushing toward the spot where they knew the peculiar outlet lay, not more than twenty feet across, and with abrupt sides, one of which had been partly overhanging the water at the time they entered.

It was, of course, this section which must have been dislodged by the blast which shook the surrounding territory, filling the bed of the stream, and causing the rapidly accumulating waters of the lake to back up, since they could find no place to discharge, as usual.

It was while they were moodily watching the waste of waters that one of the scouts, who had wandered across to the other side of the Comfortt suddenly sounded a fresh alarm, that sent another thrill to the hearts of the already excited boys.

"Hey! here's a lot of men comin' down on us, fellows I They're meanin' to capture our boats, just like pirates. Boarders ahoy! Get busy everybody. Clubs are trumps!"

As they rushed to the other side, some having to clamber over the heaps of duffle that took up so much room aboard, the scouts saw that it was no false alarm. A number of men were hurrying toward them, splashing through water that was in places almost knee deep, even when they took the upper levels. Should they make a blunder, and stray off the ridges, it was likely they would speedily have to swim for it.

Paul was considerably aroused at first. They did not know very much about these mysterious people of the island; and after their recent rough experience, most of the boys were decidedly averse to knowing anything more of them. And yet, here they were hurrying toward the two motor-boats, as though they might indeed have some desperate idea in view.

Perhaps they meant to capture the boats, so as to insure their escape from the rising waters. And then again, it seemed at least possible that they might want to keep the scouts from telling what strange things they had seen.

So the first thing Paul did when he had that glimpse of the oncoming men, was to hasten to possess himself of his double-barreled shotgun. Not that he expected that there would be any necessity for firing it, but it was apt to inspire a certain amount of respect.

And the balance of the scouts had made haste to arm themselves with whatever they could find that would help hold the enemy at bay. Some had brought their clubs aboard, others seized upon the push poles, while one grabbed up the camp axe, and another seized upon the hatchet.

When eighteen husky and determined lads line the sides of two boats, prepared to give a good account of themselves, it must needs be brave men who would dare try to clamber aboard.

And it was about this time, when things were looking rather squally around the floating homes of the scouts, that Paul noticed something singular.



CHAPTER XXIX

LIFTING THE LID

Three men could be seen splashing desperately through the water; and they seemed to be carrying a fourth, who was lying on a rude sort of litter, as though he might either be sick, or badly hurt.

And so it flashed through Paul's mind that perhaps after all their mission was not one of conquest, or even hostility, but that they were seeking help.

"Hold up, fellows," he hastened to say; "we'll have to let them come aboard now, because they never could get back to the hill again, with the water rising so fast. Besides, I think they've got a wounded man along, and need help. Don't forget we're scouts, and always ready to hold out a helping hand."

"That's the ticket!" declared the impulsive Bobolink, forgetting his warlike disposition when he saw the man on the litter.

So Paul beckoned to the men to approach. He had already made the discovery that one of those who bore the litter was the big man who had waved them away with such violent gestures, just before the terrible explosion, when they happened to get too near the mine that was being fired for some strange purpose.

Two minutes later, and still splashing through water that came almost up to their hips, those who bore the injured man arrived close to the boats.

"Why, it's Professor Hackett who's being carried!" exclaimed Jack.

The small man on the litter, who looked very white, lifted his head with an effort, and tried to wave his hand.

"Yes, that's who it is; and you're Jack Stormways; aren't you? Oh! I hope that chum of yours can do something to stop this bleeding; I made them carry me down here as a last chance. My man who was sent for a doctor in our aeroplane, has not come back, and we're afraid he had an accident. Can some of you boys help lift me aboard? I'm very weak from loss of blood, and nearly gone."

His voice was as faint as a whisper; and indeed, it was a wonder that he managed to speak at all.

The scouts had quite forgotten everything but that there was some one in trouble. Tender hands immediately were forthcoming to assist in raising litter and man over the side of the boat. Then the three attendants climbed aboard, and strange to say the scouts seemed to have forgotten all their fear of the men they had believed to be lawbreakers. For now they saw that they were an intelligent lot of men, who bore little resemblance to such criminals as they had seemed to be.

Paul had long been interested in surgery. His father was the leading doctor of Stanhope, and had always encouraged this fancy in the boy. It seemed that the professor chanced to remember that he had been told about the ability of Jack Stormways' chum; and when matters began to look desperate, since none of his assistants could seem to stop the flow of blood that followed his accident, as a last resort he had forced them to put him on a litter, and make for the spot where they knew the scouts had their camp, the man in the aeroplane having signaled the fact back to them, just as Paul suspected.

Of course they had not dreamed of such a thing as the lake rising, until they had gone too far to retreat; and then they took desperate chances of finding the boys still there, where they had boats with which they could go to the mainland.

Paul busied himself immediately. It was a pretty bad wound that the little man had received, and his left arm would be practically useless the balance of time; but he cared not for this, if only his life might be spared.

Jack and Jud assisted whenever their services were needed and in the end Paul had not only stopped the flow of blood, but had the injured arm neatly bandaged—as well, the professor weakly declared, as any surgeon could have done.

"And now," said Paul, turning on the big man, who had hovered around anxiously, watching what was being done, as though he thought a great deal of the professor; "in return for what we've done, won't you please tell us who and what you are, and why you're doing all these queer stunts away up here on this lonely island, where nobody can see you? We're all mixed up, and don't know what to think. At first we believed you must be a lot of counterfeiters hiding from the Government agents; but what with these explosions, and such things as aeroplanes, I'm getting it in my head that it means you're trying out some big sensations that are going to be sprung on the Coney Island public next season."

"And that's where you made a pretty clever guess, my boy," said the big man, as he settled down to take it a bit more easily after his recent hard work; "Professor Hackett has invented most of the biggest sensations seen at seaside resorts these last ten years. He expects to excel his record next season, and then retire; and I tell you, now, I began to think he'd retire another way, if he lost much more blood from that wound, which he got by accident this morning."

The scouts looked at each other, and a broad smile appeared on many a face that only a short time before had been pale with apprehension.

When a thing that has seemed a dark mystery is finally explained, it often looks so easy and simple that all of us wonder how we ever could have bothered our heads over such a puzzle. And so it was in this case. Why did it come that no one had guessed the true explanation before, when it was so easy?

They began to tell the big man all about their experiences, and how so many things seemed to make it appear that the strangers were hiding from officers.

"How about that fellow who was hanging around my father's mill that night you had your two big boxes stored there?" Jack asked.

"He represented a rival inventor, who has always been jealous of Professor Hackett, and is forever trying to find out what he has on the stocks," replied the big man, whose name they learned was Mr. Jameson, an able assistant to the inventor of aerial bombs, brilliant exploding mines, and a dozen other wonders that thrill audiences at the seashore each season.

"But wouldn't he be likely to follow the wagon when it took the boxes away in the morning?" the boy continued to ask.

"Oh! we put him on a false scent, by shipping two other boxes away on a train," was the reply. "He must have gone two hundred miles before he discovered his mistake; and I doubt very much if he knows yet, but is watching those cases to see what we do with them, away out in western New York State."

"Er, how about these?" asked Bobolink, jingling the two shining quarters in his hand. "I picked 'em up close to that field smithy you have on the island. We thought they were the best counterfeits we ever saw. I guess they are."

"I lost a bunch of small change through a hole in my pocket," laughed the man, "and so I judge those are a part of it. But keep them as souvenirs of your wonderful adventures on Cedar Island. Every time you look at them you'll remember that narrow escape you and your friends had when you came near stepping on a mine, the fuse of which had been lighted; for Professor Hackett, even while he was wounded, would not hear of us stopping our work."

"Thanks," replied the gratified Bobolink, again pocketing the quarters that had been the cause of so much speculation among the seven scouts; "I'll be glad to accept your kind offer. But there's another thing we'd like to know."

"Speak up, then, and I'll be pleased to accommodate you, if the knowledge is in my power to bestow. This flood bids fair to bring our experiments to an end for the time being, even if the professor's weakness hadn't made it necessary that we get to some place where he can receive the right kind of care, to build up his strength. What's bothering you now, my boy?"

"How about the wild man?" asked Bobolink.

"Oh! he was here when we came, and we made friends with him," the other replied, promptly. "You see, some of us have been up here for a month. We had some new stuff shipped in those big cases; but it'll all be rusted now by this water. The poor fellow is harmless, for all he looks so fierce. Why, at the smell of coffee the tears trickled down his dirty cheeks like rain; it seemed to be just one last link that bound his flitting memory to something in the far-away past. We gave him an old saucepan to cook it in, and showed him how. Ever since he's visited us often, and we supplied him with food, because it seemed as though he was the one who had first right to this island."

"I hope the poor old chap has the good sense to climb that hill, and get away from the rising water," remarked Jack, with some feeling. "Have you any idea who he can be, or where he came from?"

"We made up our minds that he had been out of his head a long time, and perhaps had escaped from some institution. He mentioned the name of John Pennington once, and we think it must have been his. The professor intended to make inquiries, later on, and if possible have him returned to his home, wherever it might be."

"Did he have a big yellow dog tied up at his shack?" asked Nuthin, eagerly, as though he wished to settle that point, because the animal in question had once belonged to the Cypher family.

"Yes," answered Mr. Jameson, "but it got away from him one night, by breaking the rope, and he's been making a great fuss about it ever since. But from the ugly looks of the beast, I'd sooner put a bullet in him than try to make friends."

"Well, that about finishes the list of questions we've been nearly dying to ask somebody," remarked Bobolink, "and seems like everything's been explained. What we want to know now, and there isn't a livin' soul c'n tell the answer to that, I reckon, is, how high is this old lake goin' to get before she commences to fall again? And how in Sam Hill are we expectin' to ride those motor-boats over that pile of rocks and mud, that lies in the outlet? Anybody know the answer? I'd like to hear it."

But they shook their heads. Nobody could say, although all sorts of guesses ran the rounds, for the scouts were good hands at that sort of thing.

The water was still rising, and apparently just as fast as ever. Already it had encroached upon the main part of the island; and Mr. Jameson declared that he was sure it must be all around the shed where they kept their machinery, that had been brought secretly to this isolated spot, where they hoped to complete the greatest marvel in the way of sensations ever known to curious crowds at watering places.

"It'll be badly hurt, unless the water goes down soon," remarked the big man; "but that doesn't seem to be the worst thing that can happen, if what your Doctor Paul here, says, turns out to be true, and the water goes out of the lake in a raging torrent that may drag boats and all with it."



CHAPTER XXX

GOOD-BYE TO CEDAR ISLAND

They passed a most anxious hour, after the coming of the professor and his assistants. The lake kept on rising until pretty much all of the island except the hill was under water. Of course the trees stood out, but most of their roots were under ten feet or more of water.

It would not last much longer, that they knew, for the supply must be falling short, and besides there was always a chance that the fearful force exerted by such a mass of pent-up water would break away the obstruction that clogged the outlet.

Paul had done everything he could think of to add to their security in case the worst came. Some of the scouts were even perched in the neighboring trees. These were the more timid, who Paul knew were shivering from anxiety, and watching the spot where the lake water ordinarily escaped, as though dreading lest at any second they should see a sudden heave that would mean the beginning of the end.

"Good news, Paul!" sang out Jud Elderkin, to whom had been delegated the duty of keeping watch on the rise of the flood. "She's stationary at last Never rose a bit the last ten minutes. And believe me, I honestly think she's begun to go down just a little."

The other boys let out a cheer at this news. That was what they were all hoping for—that the water would go down gradually, so as not to endanger the motorboats.

Just how the craft were to get out of the lake, if the exit remained closed, no one could say; but then they might look to Paul to open a way somehow. He could make use of some dynamite to blow up the obstructions, so Mr. Jameson had suggested, and it sounded all right.

Five minutes later Jud was quite positive that the tide was on the ebb.

"Two inches lower than she was at the highest point. Paul!" he called out, jubilantly.

"Hurrah! that sounds good to me!" exclaimed Bobolink, swinging his campaign hat vigorously about his head, as he sat in the bow of the Comfort, it being a part of his task to watch the cable, and if the worst came to ease up on it so that there would be less likelihood of a sudden snap.

"But we're not out of danger yet, remember," cautioned the scout master.

Presently the water was lowering at a still faster rate.

"Looks like the opening might be getting larger," said Jack, when this fact was made clear beyond any doubt.

"Watch over there," said Paul, "and see if there's any sudden rush, though already the water is escaping so fast that I begin to believe we might hold on here, even if the whole pile of earth and rocks were washed away, leaving the channel clear."

Five, ten, fifteen minutes crept along, and all the while the water kept going steadily down until much of the island could be seen again under the trees.

"Oh! look, there she goes!" cried Bobolink, without warning, and thereby causing some of the fellows who had descended from the trees to wish they were aloft again.

Over in the vicinity of the outlet they could see something of a commotion. The water seemed to be running down hill, as it struggled to pour out through the now cleared passage.

Immediately the boats felt the suction, which must have been very strong indeed. They strained at their ropes, and those who had the cables in charge obeyed the instructions given to them, allowing a certain length of line to slip, thus easing the fearful drag.

"Whoop! they're going to hold!" exclaimed Bobolink, in great glee.

Paul believed so himself, and a smile came to his face that up to now had looked careworn and anxious; for a dreadful catastrophe had been hovering over them, he felt certain.

And the ropes did make good, holding in spite of that fierce drag. The water soon got down to about its normal level, when the pull upon the hawsers ceased, and everything seemed to settle back into the old rut.

But the boys had had quite enough of Cedar Island. It was water-soaked now, and offered little attraction to them for camping. Paul suggested that they leave the cove and head for a certain section of the main shore which, on account of being much higher than the island, had not been overflowed.

There was not a single voice raised in opposition, and so they started the motors and with a series of derisive sounds that seemed almost like chuckles the boats said goodbye to Cedar Island. Landing they found a splendid spot for the erection of the tents, and before the coming of night the scouts were as snugly fixed as though nothing had happened to disturb them.

The injured professor declared that he meant to stick by Paul until his messenger arrived with a carriage and a doctor by way of the road, which ran only a half mile away from the lake.

He expressed himself satisfied with the work Paul had done on his arm, and believed it to be the right thing.

They hoped to spend a quiet night. There would be no bomb explosions in the heavens to disturb them, at least. Mr. Jameson had already explained to the boys that, if they had happened to be awake at the time of that first tremendous shock, they must have seen by the glare in the heavens that it was a new kind of aerial bomb that had been fired; and possibly under such conditions some one of the scouts would have guessed the truth. But when they crept out of the tents there was nothing to be seen aloft.

Luckily, these wide-awake boys could accommodate themselves to their surroundings. Their former experiences had made most of them quickwitted, resolute and cheerful under difficulties that might have daunted most lads.

Although they had received a tremendous shock because of the numerous remarkable occurrences that had taken place since their landing on Cedar Island, now that their troubles seemed to have departed, most of the scouts were just as full of life and good-natured "chaff" as ever.

Bluff seemed to never tire of entertaining those who had not been fortunate enough to be among the valiant band of explorers with wonderful accounts of all they had seen. He had them holding their very breath with awe, as he described, in his own way, how they first of all crept up to the shack in the thicket and looked in upon the wild man asleep.

But when Bluff told of how he and his comrades had been warned off in such a dramatic manner by the unknown man, and immediately afterwards found themselves knocked down by that tremendous concussion, as the explosion took place, he had them hanging on his every sentence.

But words failed Bluff when he tried to picture the wild scene that had followed. That furious scamper through the wooded part of the island must remain pretty much in the nature of a nightmare with the boys.

Phil and Bobolink and Andy all eagerly chimed in, trying to do the subject justice, but after all it seemed beyond their powers. They could only end by holding up both hands, rolling their eyes, shrugging their shoulders, and then mutely pointing to the various cuts, scratches and contusions that decorated their faces. The rest had to be left to the imagination.

Fortunately there was an abundance of witch hazel ointment along, so that every sufferer was able to anoint his hurts. The whole bunch seemed to fairly glisten from the time of their arrival at the boats. Indeed, there never had been such a wholesale raid made upon the medical department since the Stanhope Troup of Banner Boy Scouts was organized.

But after all was said and done they had come out of the whole affair at least with honor. And now that the peril was a thing of the past they could well afford to laugh at their adventures on Cedar Island.



CHAPTER XXXI

A SCOUT'S DUTY

"Seems like a dream; don't it, Paul?"

Jack dropped down beside the acting scout master as he made this remark. He had just stepped out from the new camp on the mainland, and found Paul sitting upon a log, looking across the water in the direction they had come.

The sun was just setting, and a rosy flush filled the western heavens. It seemed to fall softly upon mysterious Cedar Island, nestling there in the midst of the now tranquil waters.

Paul looked up with a smile, as he made room on the log for his chum, who had always been so willing to stand by him through thick and thin.

"Well, do you know, Jack," he spoke, "that was just exactly what seemed to strike me. I was staring hard at the island, and wondering if I had been asleep and dreamed all those queer happenings. Fact is, just before you spoke I even pinched my leg to see if I was really wide awake."

The other laughed at this.

"Oh! you're awake, all right, Paul," he remarked. "You seemed to get off without any show of damage to your good-looking face. As for the rest of us, if ever we begin to think we've been and dreamed it, we've got a remedy better than pinching. All we have to do is to bend down over a still pool of water and take a look at our faces. That'll convince us in a hurry we did have a lively time of it."

Paul pointed across the lake to where the island lay bathed in that wonderful afterglow that shone from the painted heavens.

"Did you ever see a prettier sight?" he asked. "It looks as peaceful as any picture could be. You wouldn't think a bunch of fellows could run up against such a lot of trouble over on such a fine little place as Cedar Island; would you, now?"

"I feel the same way you do, Paul; and I'd say we never ought to have left it, only after the flood it'd be a muddy place, and we wouldn't take any pleasure getting around."

"Oh! well," Paul rejoined cheerfully, "after all, perhaps it isn't our last visit up this way. Who knows but what we may have another chance to come over here and look around. It was a good scheme, I'm thinking, Jack, and we'll never be sorry we came."

"I should say not," remarked the other, quickly; "just turn around and take a look back into our camp. See where Professor Hackett is lying propped up with pillows from the boats. Well, suppose we'd never come over this way, what d'ye think would have happened to him? He says he owes his life to your skill, Paul, and that, try as they would, Mr. Jameson and the other assistants couldn't seem to stop the bleeding. That alone pays us for all we've gone through, Paul."

"I guess it does," Paul admitted, readily, "because he's a smart man, and has done a lot to entertain the crowds that go to the seashore to rest and forget their troubles. But I'm glad none of the boys seem to have suffered any serious damage from the effect of the explosion or that mad chase afterwards."

"Yes, we ought to call ourselves lucky, and let it go at that," Jack remarked.

"When you think about all that might have happened, I tell you we've got lots of reason to be thankful," Paul went on, with considerable feeling.

"Sure we have," added Jack. "Instead of that stick taking me in the cheek, it might have struck my eye and injured my sight for life."

"And where I got only a wrench that may make me limp a little for a few days, I could have broken a leg," said Paul.

"That's one of the rules scouts have to keep in mind, you know," Jack continued; "always be cheerful and look on the bright side of things. I reckon there never comes a time when you can't find a rainbow of promise if you look far enough. Things are never as bad as they might be."

"The boys seem to have settled down here just as if they meant to enjoy the rest of the stay," Paul observed, as he turned his head again, so as to look at the bustling camp close by.

"Yes, and even the very air seems to tell of peace and plenty," said Jack, with a little laugh, as he sniffed the appetizing odors that were beginning to announce that preparations for the evening meal had started.

"You're right," agreed Paul, "I guess there's nothing more 'homey' than the smell of onions frying. I never get a whiff of it on the street of a winter evening but what I seem to see some of the camps I've been in. And then, just think how it gets your appetite on edge, till you can hardly wait for the cook to call out that supper's ready. But I was thinking of some other things when you came up."

"I reckon I could mention one of them," said Jack.

"Let's hear, then," the other demanded.

Jack swept his hand down the lake in the direction of the outlet.

"You're worrying about that," he said.

"Well, that's just about the size of it, Jack. We know the lake's gone down to about what it was before the storm hit us; but what if a great big rock blocks the passage?"

"You know what Mr. Jameson said you could do?" Jack remarked.

"About the dynamite, to blast an opening big enough for our boats to get through? Yes, Jack, I suppose that could be done."

"And he says he'll stand by to see that it is done," the other continued. "As Mr. Jameson is an expert at all sorts of explosives, you can just make up your mind we'll have no trouble getting away. Besides, Paul, I've got a feeling that when we go down in the morning to take a survey, we'll be more than pleased with the way things look."

"Which all sounds good to me," Paul hastened to declare. "Anyhow, I'm going to believe it's bound to turn out as you say. In spite of our troubles we've been a pretty lucky lot."

"But you talked as though the getting away part of the business was only a part of what you had on your mind," Jack went on.

"There was something else," the other scout admitted.

"Suppose you open up and tell me, Paul; because somehow I don't seem to be able to get what you mean."

"It seems to me," the patrol leader remarked, seriously, "that while all of us scouts, and the professor's party in the bargain, have been shaking hands with each other over the lucky escape we had, we've pretty near forgotten one poor chap."

Jack gave a start, and then whistled softly.

"That's right, Paul," he said, "for I take it you mean the crazy islander."

"How do we know what happened to him?" Paul continued.

"But Mr. Jameson seemed to feel sure he would take to the hill when the flood came," Jack replied. "And he also told us, you remember, that some of their food was at a higher point than the water could have reached. So, if the crazy man wanders about that camp, there's no need of his going hungry long."

"I guess that's about so," Paul agreed, as though these words from his chum took away some of his anxiety. "From what they say, it seems as if he has come to look on them as friends. So, chances are ten to one he'd go to their different camps after the flood went down."

"Queer how he came to be here," Jack remarked.

"Oh, I don't know," the other observed; "there's no telling what a crazy person will do. His coming to this island must have been with the hazy notion that any one searching for him couldn't find him here."

"Searching for him, Paul?"

"Well, you remember Mr. Jameson said he had an idea the poor fellow must have escaped from some institution," Jack continued.

"Yes, he did say that; and for all he looks so big and fierce, with his long hair and beard, he's harmless. But, Jack, between us now, do you think we could go back home when our little vacation trip is over and feel that we'd done all our duty as true scouts, when that poor chap had been left up here—perhaps to starve on Cedar Island?"

"Whew! You're the greatest boy I ever saw, Paul, to get a grip on a situation and remember things."

"But—answer my question," persisted the other.

"Well, what you said must be so," Jack acknowledged; "and it makes me feel pretty small to remember that, while we've all been feeling so merry over our wonderful escape, I'd forgotten all about him."

"Jack, it's too late to do anything tonight, you know."

"I reckon it is, Paul," replied the other, looking a bit anxiously across the water to where the glow was commencing to give way to shadows along the wooded shore of Cedar Island; "but if you thought best, I'd be willing to take the lantern and cross over with you."

Paul thrust out his hand impulsively.

"Shake on that, old chum," he exclaimed. "Your heart's as big as a bushel basket, and in the right place every time. But on the whole, Jack, I don't believe it would be the wise thing for us to do."

"Just as you say, Paul; only I wanted you to know I was ready to back you up in anything."

"We're both tired, and sore in the bargain," continued the scout master, steadily.

"Yes," Jack admitted, unconsciously caressing his painful bruises.

"The island is in a bad state just now, after being flooded," Paul continued.

"That's right, I can jolly well believe it," his chum agreed.

"And if the wild man hasn't been drowned, he'll surely be able to look out for himself a while longer. Mr. Jameson felt sure he wouldn't starve, with all the food they left behind."

"Then it won't hurt to let it go till tomorrow, eh, Paul?"

"I had made up my mind that we'd organize another party, this time taking some of the fellows who have been kept in camp, and comb Cedar Island from end to end to find that man."

"A good plan, Paul," said the other scout; "but do you think he'll make friends with us, even when we find him?"

"Mr. Jameson says he understands the peace sign," the scout master continued, "and must really have had a bright mind at some time. He told me he had an idea the man may have met with some injury that had unsettled his reason. He seemed to be greatly interested in all they were doing, and several times even made suggestions that startled the professor."

"I remember that much, too," said Jack, "and Mr. Jameson also said he meant to try and learn if anybody knew about a John Pennington. That was the name the man spoke once in his rambling talk."

"Well, perhaps we may be able in some way to do the poor fellow a good turn, Jack. I hope so, anyhow. My! how those boys are trying to beat the record at getting up a grand supper. Seems to me my appetite is growing at the rate of a mile a minute."

"If it keeps on that way, good-bye to our stock of provisions," laughed Jack; "but, to tell the truth, I feel pretty much the same. The most welcome sound I could hear right now would be Bluff calling everybody to get a share of that fine mess."

"Then you won't have to wait long, I guess," his chum declared, "because from all the signs of dishing out I imagine they're about ready right now."

Paul proved a true prophet, for immediately Bluff began to ding-dong upon a sheet iron frying pan, using a big spoon to produce a discord that, in the ears of the hungry boys, was the sweetest music in the world.

Gathering around, the scouts made a merry group as they proceeded to demolish the stacks of savory food that had been heaped upon their tin plates; and drink to each other's health in the fragrant coffee that steamed in the generous cups, also of tin, belonging to their mess chest.

After supper the scouts sat around, and while some of them worked at various things in which they were particularly interested, such as developing the films that would give a dozen views of the great flood, others sang songs or listened to Mr. Jameson tell strange stories.

The man had been to the corners of the world during a busy lifetime, often with scientific parties sent out by societies interested in geography, natural history or astronomy. And hence it had fallen to the lot of Mr. Jameson to experience some remarkable adventures. The boys felt that he was the most interesting talker they had ever met.

After several hours had slipped by, some of the scouts, notably those who had been among the bold explorers band, were discovered to be nodding drowsily. Indeed, Andy and Tom Betts had gone sound asleep, just as they lay curled up before the fire. The warmth of the blaze, together with the unusual exertions of the day, had been too much for the boys.

And so the bugler was told to sound "taps" to signify that it was time they crawled under their blankets.

A few chose to sleep aboard the motor boats, which, of course, relieved the tents from overcrowding. Professor Hackett and his assistants had been lodged in one of the tents, which fact had something to do with the lack of room.

But presently all these things had been arranged. Paul himself intended to pass the night in the open. He declared he would really enjoy the experience; and two others insisted on keeping him company—little Nuthin and Bobolink.

So Paul, who knew a lot about these things, showed them just how to wrap themselves up like mummies in their blankets, and then lie with their feet to the fire. He said old hunters and cowboys always slept that way when camping in the open.



CHAPTER XXXII

CONCLUSION

Paul was awakened by feeling something nudging him in the ribs. It was Bobolink's elbow; and, thinking at first that it might be an accident, the scout master made no move.

But again he received a severe jolt. And at the same time came a whisper close in his ear:

"Paul! Are you awake?" Bobolink was saying, so low that any one six feet away could not have heard his voice.

"What ails you?" asked Paul.

He might have imagined that the other had been taken ill, from over feeding, perhaps, and wanted Paul, as the doctor of the troop, to give him some medicine. But on second thought Paul realized that there was too much mystery about the action of Bobolink to admit of such an explanation.

"Listen, Paul," the other went on, still whispering, "there's some sort of wild beast goin' to raid the camp!"

"What's that?" asked the scout master, a little sternly, for, knowing the weakness of Bobolink in the line of practical joking, he suspected that the other might be up to some of his old tricks.