The Boy Scouts' Mountain Camp

CHAPTER XXV
THE HEART OF THE MYSTERY – CONCLUSION

We left the major and his party marooned in the cave, and overcome by the suddenness of the disaster that had overtaken them like a bolt from a clear sky. We must now return to them.

After the first shock of the discovery the major suggested that they retreat to the chamber and talk things over as calmly as possible. Each one of the party, with a strong effort to master his feelings, followed the advice. A long consultation followed, the result of which was that they determined that the first thing to be done was to institute a search for water.

The far end of the cavern had not yet been explored and it was decided to begin with that. Headed by the major, they started for what seemed a blank wall at the end of the chamber. But on nearing it, it proved that its appearance of blankness was chiefly caused by a sort of screen of rock that masked an opening as effectually as if it had been placed there by someone anxious to conceal it.

“We’ll penetrate beyond this,” announced the major, and holding his lantern high, was stepping forward when he stopped. One word came to his lips:

“Water!”

From a tiny rift in the rock, sure enough, a small but blessed stream of clear water was flowing. The delight with which the imprisoned party hailed the discovery may be imagined. For a short time, while they assuaged their pangs of thirst, already painful, they almost forgot the seriousness of their situation.

While the others drank, Andy Bowles, who had been one of the first to taste the cool water, strayed further into the passage. Presently his voice was borne back to the others.

“Say!” he cried; “there’s a funny sort of box in here.”

“What kind of a box?” hailed the major, alert in an instant.

“Why, it’s awful old by the looks of it. It’s all bound with iron, and nails are stuck all over it. And – say! There are two more back beyond it.”

“The treasure trove!” gasped the professor.

“Beyond a doubt,” said the major. Then he added gloomily, “but what good is it to us now? If we cannot escape from here before long we shall perish miserably, and nothing but dynamite can release us.”

“At any rate we must not give up hope,” counselled the professor; “suppose we investigate these boxes. At any rate it will give us something to do. It is better than doing nothing.”

“That is right,” declared the major; “it may keep us from dwelling on the situation.”

Merritt’s axe was called into requisition, and, as the others stood round with upraised lanterns, the boy swung the weapon down on the iron lock of the first of the old chests. It was old and rotten, and, after a few blows, it gave way.

With trembling, nervous hands the lid of the box was pushed back. But a surprise greeted the fortune hunters. Instead of a mass of gold objects or coins meeting their eyes only a faded piece of red velvet, covering the contents of the box, met their gaze.

“Pull it off!” ordered the major.

Merritt and the professor raised the bit of fabric and then started back with startled faces. Under the velvet was a picture. A grim portrait of a tall man in black garments holding a skull in his hands, while he knelt beside an open grave. Under it was painted in old fashioned letters:

“The End Of The Quest for Riches.”

“Good heavens,” exclaimed the major, who had paled a little under his tan, “that seems almost like a warning.”

Mastering a feeling of dread, Merritt helped the professor to raise the picture. Under it was an old sea cloak, a brass spy glass of antique make, and an old-fashioned compass and – that was all.

“It begins to look as if my ancestor had played a grim joke on posterity,” said the major; “however, let us see what is in the other two boxes.”

Crash!

Down came Merritt’s axe on the first of the remaining two chests. The lid flew open with such suddenness that it startled them. It was operated by concealed springs.

As the light of the lanterns fell on the contents of this box, however, all doubt as to the success of the quest was removed. It was filled to the brim with golden candlesticks, vases, plates and cups of priceless value. Some of them flashed with gems. The hoarded treasure of the wicked old pirate of the Spanish seas lay before them.

“Now the other,” said the professor in a faint voice, “I can hardly believe my eyes.”

“It does seem incredible,” commented the major.

The contents of the other chest, which was speedily opened, proved to be of the same nature as that of the second one rifled. On the interior of the lid, however, there had been a secret chamber. The spring of this, rotten with age, gave way as the cover was lifted. A niagara of coins of all nations, Spanish doubloons, French crowns, English Rose nobles and florins, and queerly-marked Oriental wealth, flowed out.

“What should you think was the value of all this, professor?” asked the major when he recovered his voice.

“At least two million dollars,” was the rejoinder in tones the man of science tried in vain to render steady.

“I’d give half of it now if we could get out of here,” said the major.

“Perhaps there is a way.”

It was Merritt who spoke.

“What makes you think so, my boy?”

“Why, while we’ve been standing here I’ve noticed a draught. Look at the lantern flames flicker in it. It comes from further down the passage. We might explore it, anyway.”

“I think so, too,” said the major, and followed by the others, still dazed by the sight of the hoarded fortune, he struck out into the darkness. For some distance the passage into which he had plunged was level. Then his feet encountered rough steps. Calling to the others to follow him the major mounted them.

Up and up they climbed, the wind blowing more freshly in their faces every instant. All at once, without any warning, the major emerged into the open air. He looked about him amazed. The others, as they joined him, heard his astonishment. They seemed to be on the summit of a small island in the midst of a sea of woods.

Gazing over the edge, they soon ascertained that they were at the summit of a high cone-shaped mass of rocks. The sides were steep as church walls, and offered no foothold.

All at once the explanation burst upon the major. “We are at the summit of Ruby Glow!” he cried.

Astonishing as it appeared, this was the truth. The professor regarded it as a proof of his theory that the place had been used as an Indian watch tower.

“I know now what puzzled me before,” he said, “and that was the manner in which they gained the summit of the cone.”

“But that doesn’t help us to get down,” said Merritt, “it looks as if we are as badly off as before.”

“I’m afraid you’re right,” said the major; “no living being could scale those walls.”

“And no living being could move that rock from the entrance to the cave,” echoed Rob miserably.

They retraced their steps. The hours passed slowly in the cavern. But in order to employ them somehow they made an inventory of the contents of the treasure boxes.

Supper was eaten from their fast diminishing store of eatables. Nobody talked much. They did not feel inclined for conversation. At length nature asserted itself. Rob actually began to feel sleepy. Andy and the professor had already flung themselves down and were fast asleep.

“Guess I’ll take one more look out from Ruby Glow before I turn in,” thought Rob to himself.

With this intention in mind he left the cave. He did not take long to reach the top of the cone. Moonlight flooded it, and the surrounding forest. Rob looked about him. It was a lovely scene, but somehow its beauty didn’t impress him much just then. All at once he became aware of two figures below the cone gazing curiously up at it. One was oddly familiar to him. In fact they both were.

“Who is it?” he asked, feeling that there was no danger in speaking clearly.

“Hush!” came up the answer in Tubby’s voice, in a low, but penetrating whisper, “it’s me, Tubby. Jumbo’s with me. How under the canopy did you get up there?”

“It’s a long story,” responded Rob, in the same cautious tones; “the question is how are we going to get down again?”

“Gee whiz! that’s so. There’s no way of clambering down the sides. If only we had a rope.”

“We’ve got one. The canoe ropes joined together would be long and strong enough,” said Rob, “but how could you get them up to us? No trees grow close enough. I don’t see how – ”

He stopped short. Tubby had suddenly begun to execute a grotesque sort of war-dance. His figure capered oddly about in the moonlight.

“Wait there till I come back!” he exclaimed, and suddenly darted off, followed by Jumbo.

“Well, if that isn’t just like Tubby,” said Rob; “what in the world is he up to now?”

But Rob knew Tubby well enough to divine that the lad would not have told him to wait if there had not been some good reason for it. So he sat down with what patience he could. It was some time before Tubby reappeared. When he did, he had something in his hands.

“Watch out!” he cried to Rob.

The leader of the Eagle Patrol watched his Scout carefully. Suddenly he realized what Tubby was doing. He had made a bow and arrow out of springy wood. Then he had attached one end of a light string to the arrow. To the other extremity of the string, which was long enough to reach the summit of the cone, was attached the knotted lengths of canoe and pack rope. Rob had hardly time to take in the details of this clever trick before the arrow came whizzing by his ear. He grabbed the string as it followed and began hauling in.

Before long he had reached its end, and started pulling on the rope. He made one end fast about a projecting pinnacle of rock, and then called down his congratulations to Tubby in a low but hearty voice.

“I always told you I could do something else than fall in,” was the message Tubby sent back as he strutted about below.

Rob’s next act was to arouse the sleepers and Major Dangerfield. They were all naturally warm in praise of Tubby’s clever device. It was tested by Rob who slid down it in perfect safety, but landed with barked shins and scraped hands. That was a cheap price to pay for deliverance, though, and the others, when they followed him, felt the same way about it.

“Now what are we going to do?” said the major as they all stood in a group on the ground.

“I think – ” began the professor.

But the words were taken out of his mouth. Rob made a hasty sign to the others to conceal themselves. A sudden heavy rumbling sound had echoed through the air. It was followed by a red flash from the direction of the mouth of the cave.

“They’ve blown the rock up!” cried the major.

“That’s why they were all prowling around there to-night, I suppose,” exclaimed Tubby.

“Let’s get to the canoes and arm ourselves,” said the major; “we can catch them all red-handed.”

First the rope by which they had escaped was cut as high as possible from the ground, and then the major’s suggestion was carried out. They reached the entrance of the cave just in time to hear footsteps approaching down the passage.

They crouched quietly till Dale emerged from the cavern entrance, stumbling over the shattered fragments of the big rock that had blocked it. His arms were full of plunder from the chests, and he was able to offer little resistance. He was seized and bound and gagged without his having any opportunity to make an outcry. One after another, as they came out, the rest of Hunt’s gang were served the same way. Hunt and his son, however, in some manner became alarmed as they neared the entry. They dashed back, outfooting the lads who pursued them. Down the passage they fled and stumbled blindly, in their fear, along the further passage and up the steps to the top of the Ruby Glow peak.

Arriving here they spied the rope. In a flash they were over the edge and down it. Although they had bad tumbles when they reached the part where it had been cut off, they managed to make good their escape. It would have been folly to pursue them in the woods at night.

Black Bart’s capture deserves some mention. It was effected by Jumbo, who literally threw himself on the black-bearded man as he emerged. It was probably the noise of this scuffle that alarmed Hunt and his son.

“You looks like five hundred dollahs to muh,” grinned Jumbo, as Black Bart, sullen and defiant as a wild cat, was manacled.

The remainder of that night was spent in the cave, the prisoners being closely guarded. The next day Dale was induced to tell how they had stolen the explosive from the hut of an eccentric old character who did some experimental mining not far away.

“We figgered we’d find some use for it,” he said cheerfully.

That day was occupied in packing the precious articles, in bags brought for the purpose. By evening all was complete. If they had known how Hiram was faring they would have felt perfectly content. It was decided, if he did not reappear, to leave some of the party in camp to await his return, while the others pushed on to give the prisoners up to the proper authorities.

But at midnight that night they had a great surprise. Rob, who was on watch, heard a sudden hail out of the darkness:

“K-r-r-r-e-e-e-e!”

It was the cry of the Eagle Patrol.

“Who can be giving it, I wonder,” he exclaimed.

The next minute he knew. Hiram and the revenue officers, who had made a night march of it, burst in upon the camp. Hiram had, in his wanderings, retraced much of his way back toward the camp so that they had not had so very far to tramp. The officials were delighted to learn of the clever manner in which the moonshiners had been apprehended. They had been searching for Black Bart, when they sighted Hiram’s signal fires.

Jumbo was assured that his five hundred dollars would be awarded to him at the earliest opportunity.

Had we space, or opportunity, we would like to tell of the journey back to civilization, of the share that each Boy Scout, much against his inclination, was forced to accept of the treasure, and of Alice Dangerfield’s thanks to the Boy Scouts for the brave way in which they stood by her father in time of peril. They really valued this – like true Scouts – more than the monetary reward.

But further adventures impend in the Boy Scouts’ eventful lives, – exciting, as well as amusing, incidents “by flood and field.” If our readers care to follow further the careers of our young friends, they can find them set forth in detail in the next volume of this series:

THE BOY SCOUTS FOR UNCLE SAM

THE END