The Call of the Beaver Patrol
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V. T. Sherman >> The Call of the Beaver Patrol
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"Not for mine!" exclaimed Sandy.
George made no verbal reply, but the expression of his face showed that
he had no intention of doing anything of the kind.
"It will be the worse for you if you don't!" shouted Cameron.
"Oh, you've got the top hand for a few minutes now," Sandy said,
tauntingly, "but you'll soon find out that you're not the only man in
the world that's got a gun!"
This last as Cameron flourished an automatic in his hand.
"You'll write the note, or you'll starve to death!" replied Fenton.
"Then we'll starve!" answered George.
"No, we won't starve!" declared Sandy. "We'll get the best of you
outlaws in some shape, and give you a beating up that will put you in
the hospital for six months!"
Fenton raised his fist as if to strike the speaker, but Cameron caught
his arm.
"Not now," he said. "Wait until all other plans have been tried."
"We have other work to do at this time, anyway," Fenton said, with a
scowl, "so we'll just lock the door on these young gutter-snipes and
leave them to think the matter over!"
The men passed out of the small cavern, but before they left the outer
one, they rolled a great stone into the opening they had just passed
through and blocked it firmly on the outer side.
CHAPTER XVII
THE MORSE CODE
"And this," said Sandy, as the great stone began to render the
atmosphere of the place close and unpleasant, "is what I call a fine
little Boy Scout excursion! Did they leave one of the searchlights?"
"Not intentionally," replied George, "but I swiped one!"
"Well, we mustn't show a light until they get some distance away!"
advised Sandy. "We don't want them to know that we have it."
"And we'll need it badly," George suggested, "if we're to give Bert any
attention! I wonder if the poor boy has had any care since he's been
here! It doesn't seem to me that they would be heartless enough to leave
him here in an unconscious condition very long!"
"You can never tell what such fellows'll do," Sandy observed.
The boys remained silent for a long time, each one busy with his own
thoughts. After what seemed an aeon, they saw that it was daylight
outside. Then they turned on their electric and made an examination of
their wounded chum.
They found that the bandage on his head had been changed, and that his
pulse was not so high as when he had been discovered in an unconscious
condition at the cabin.
"I guess they've done the best they could," Sandy observed, "and I'm
much obliged to them for that! Have you got anything to eat?"
"Now, look here, Sandy," George replied whimsically, "have you any idea
that I'd ever go away with you without taking something to eat? You got
up from the table one minute and demand something to masticate the next!
You're about the most regular boy at your meals I over knew. What'll you
have now, pie or cake?"
"Pie!" laughed Sandy.
"Well, you get a bear sandwich!" replied George. "I've got four great
big thick ones wrapped up in paper and stowed away in my pockets. If
those ginks had suspected anything of the kind, they would have taken
them away from me. They're a bum lot, those men!"
"Produce one of the sandwiches!" demanded Sandy. "They named me Sandy at
first because I'm such a hand for sandwiches!"
George brought forth two great slices of bread and about a pound of
fried bear meat. Sandy's eyes sparkled at the sight.
"We'll have one apiece now," George suggested, "and one apiece tonight.
But every time they come near the cave, we'll tell them how hungry we
are. That will make them think we're suffering."
"You don't think we're going to stay here till night, do you?" demanded
Sandy munching away at his meat.
"I hope not," answered George.
"I wonder if Bert's had anything to eat since he got the wallop on the
coco?" asked Sandy. "Suppose we mince some of this meat up very fine and
feed it to him. He may not know when he swallows it, but it will give
him strength just the same."
The suggested plan was followed, and Bert was given quite a quantity of
the tender meat. At first it was necessary to pass it down his throat
with draughts of water, but later, much to the surprise and joy of the
boys, he began, to swallow naturally.
"He's coming back to life!" shouted Sandy. "A boy's all right as soon as
he begins to eat! Sprinkle some water in his face and we'll see what
effect that has."
The boys were so pleased that they almost cheered with delight when at
length Bert opened his eyes and looked about.
"Time to get up?" he asked.
"Naw," replied Sandy. "Go to sleep again!"
"That you, Sandy?" asked Bert.
"That's Sandy all right!" replied the boy.
"Why don't you open a door or window and let in some air?" asked Bert.
"Aw, go to sleep!" advised Sandy.
"Nice old dive you've got here!" Bert went on. "Here I've walked about
nineteen thousand miles to find a boy named Sandy and a boy named Will,
and a boy named Tommy, and a boy named George, and when I find them they
shut me up in a rotten old morgue."
"How'd you come to ask for Sandy?" demanded the boy.
"The name struck me as being funny!" was the reply. "Where are the
others? Are you here alone?"
"George is over there on the floor," replied Sandy. "Ring off, now, and
go to sleep! You're in no shape to talk."
"I remember something about getting a dip on the head," Bert said in a
moment, evidently after long cogitation. "What was there about it?"
"You got it!" replied Sandy. "Go to sleep!"
"If you'll give me some more of that meat, I'll go to sleep!"
George pushed forward about half of one of the sandwiches and the boy
began eating it greedily. In a moment, however, his arm dropped to his
side and he appeared to be unconscious again.
"He's too weak to go at the grub like that," George advised, turning on
the light. "We'll have to be careful!"
But Bert was not unconscious again. He was only sleeping.
"I'd like to know what brought him out of that trance," remarked George
as the boys sat regarding the youngster with inquiring eyes.
"I don't know any more about it than you do," answered Sandy, "but, if
you'll leave it to me, setting the stomach to work put the blood in
circulation, and that swept the cobwebs out of his brain."
"Sounds all right, but I don't believe it!" replied George.
The day passed slowly. Bert slept continuously until George's watch told
him that it was nearly four o'clock in the afternoon. Then he opened his
eyes for a few moments, finished the rest of the sandwich and went to
sleep again.
"Weak as a cat!" exclaimed Sandy.
The boy had scarcely closed his eyes when Cameron's voice was heard at
the entrance.
"Are you boys ready to write that note?" he asked.
"Come in here a minute," requested Sandy. "I want to get a good poke at
that ugly mug of yours!"
"You won't feel quite so lively after going hungry for a day or two,"
sneered Cameron. "You needn't mind about the letter, anyway," he added.
"I have information that there's a boy coming in from Cordova who can
read the code despatch and we're laying for him now."
"I don't want to seem to be irreligious," Sandy replied, "but I beg
leave to state that if I owed the devil a debt of a thousand of the
greatest liars on earth and he wouldn't take you and call the debt
square, I'd cheat him out of it! Your fabrications are too cheap!"
"Don't get fresh now," advised Cameron. "If you do, I'll come in there
and take it out of your hide!"
"Come on in!" urged Sandy. "I'd just like to get a good crack at your
crust! I think I could fix you up in about five minutes so you'd want to
lie in bed for about five months!"
"Aw, what's the good of stirring him up!" whispered George.
"I want to get him so mad that he'll say something that he wouldn't say
if he wasn't angry!" replied Sandy. "What's your idea about this boy
coming in, anyway? Do you believe it?"
"No!" was the reply. "There isn't any one to come in. And even if there
was, there is no way in which he could be notified that he was coming!
So you see, he's just lying for the fun of it!"
"Well, I'm sorry, boys," Cameron observed, "that you won't take
advantage of the offer I'm making you. I brought a basket of provisions
with me, and you might be having a square meal in five minutes if you'd
only do what I ask you to do."
"I thought you didn't want the letter now!" scoffed Sandy.
"Oh, I'll get it all right whether you write it or not!" answered
Cameron. "But if you have anything to say to me, you'd better say it
now, because you won't see me again until tomorrow morning. I've just
come from the cabin, and the boys there are about wild over your
disappearance. I explained that I found your hats not far from a piece
of torn and bloody turf, and that seemed to make them feel worse than
ever."
"Oh, they're on to you all right!" replied Sandy. "You can't make
anything stick with them. They know that you're the outlaw who stole
Bert, and they know that you haven't any more right to the cabin than
they have. You'll go sticking your nose around that domicile some time
and get it knocked off! It's a two to one bet right now that they know
that you've caught George and I in some kind of a trap."
"Let him alone," advised George. "What's the use of starting anything?
He can make us trouble if he wants to!"
"Run along now," continued Sandy. "We were having a quiet little snooze
when you butted in. It's all right this time, but don't you ever do it
again. Here's hoping you remain away until morning!"
Cameron was heard to pass through the outer caverns and all was still,
about the place. Notwithstanding the assumed lightheartedness of the
boys, they realized that they were in a serious situation.
"I'm going to dig this stone out!" declared Sandy shortly after the
departure of the miner. "I believe we can move this beautiful door if we
go at it right. Come on and help me push."
The boys pushed with all their might, but the stone was firmly blocked
on the outside, and could not be moved.
"It's after five o'clock," George said looking at his watch, "and if we
do anything tonight, we'll have to do it right away. What time did Tommy
say he would be back with the doctor?"
"There was some talk about his being back early in the evening," replied
Sandy. "And that gives me an idea!" the boy continued.
"Pass it out!" said George.
"First," Sandy said, hesitatingly, "let me ask a question. Do you know
how the boys are going to get in from the coast? What I mean is, have
you any idea which way they will take on leaving Katalla?"
"That's all a guess," replied George.
"They may come this way, though," suggested Sandy.
"Yes, if they keep straight to the north until they strike the valley of
this little creek and then turn east to the cabin, they'll be apt to
pass this way."
"Here's hoping they do," Sandy said fervently.
"I don't see how that will help," George complained. "We're shut up in a
hole, and might yell for a thousand years without being heard."
"Just you wait a minute," Sandy advised. "Let me see that searchlight of
yours. Have you the red and blue caps with you?"
"They're right at the end," replied George. "Just unscrew that cover and
take them out. I thought you knew where to find everything connected
with an electric searchlight!"
Sandy unscrewed the false cover at the end of the battery case and
brought forth two celluloid caps; one blue, and one red.
"It's been so long since we've used these Boy Scout signals," he add,
"that I've almost forgotten which color we use for the dash and which
for the dot when we signal in the Morse code."
"The red is the dash," explained. George. "What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to hoist a signal of distress," laughed Sandy.
"Expect it to show through the rocks?"
"I guess it'll show out of any opening we can look out of!" exclaimed
Sandy. "I'm going to put on the red cap and set the light where it'll
shine through the two outer caverns. If any of the boys come within
sight of it, they'll understand the scrape we're in."
"Great head!" exclaimed George. "The boys will be coming back from
Katalla before long, and Will and Ed will naturally be searching for us,
so we're pretty sure to have the signal seen and answered before
morning!"
"That's our only hope!" replied Sandy. "Unless our Boy Scout signal
brings one party or the other, we're likely to starve to death in this
rotten old cavern. Let's see how it works," the boy went on, screwing
the red celluloid cap firmly over the eye of the electric.
After seeing that everything was in order, he switched to the blue cap.
In both cases the light worked perfectly.
"There you are!" he said with a chuckle. "If one of the boys sees the
red light, he'll read it for a Morse dash and if he sees the blue light,
he'll read it for a Morse dot!"
CHAPTER XVIII
THE ROCKS TUMBLE DOWN
After the departure of George and Sandy from the cabin, Will and Ed
decided that the best thing they could do would be to go to bed. They
had been without sleep for many hours, and were thoroughly exhausted.
"I am anxious to know what success George and Sandy have in chasing
Cameron," Will said, as he disrobed in the dark and tumbled into his
bunk, "but I don't see how we can help matters any by sitting up."
No answer came from the bunk occupied by Ed save a prolonged snore, and
Will knew that his companion was already in the land of dreams.
When Will awoke it was broad daylight and the sun was high in the
heavens. Looking at his watch, he was surprised to see that it was after
twelve o'clock. In a moment, he heard Ed stirring in his bunk, and then
the boy sat up, rubbing a pair of sleepy eyes.
"That was a corker!" Will exclaimed.
"Have any of the boys returned?" asked Ed.
"Oh, they're back before this, of course," Will answered. "They've
probably gone outside in order to give us a chance to sleep!"
"I don't see any indications of their presence," Ed said. "Everything
looks exactly as it did when we went to bed last night."
Will, after arranging his head net, and drawing on a pair of gloves,
opened the door and cast an anxious glance over the landscape.
"They haven't been out here!" he said. "What do you think it means?"
"It means that they're giving that fat miner along chase!" answered Ed.
"I'm afraid they're in some trouble," replied Will apprehensively.
"Suppose I look for them while you get breakfast," suggested Ed.
"Good idea," replied Will "I'll get pancakes and coffee and eggs for
breakfast and then, after we eat, we'll both go out and look for the
boys. I'm afraid they've been led into a trap!"
"How about leaving the cabin alone?" asked Ed.
"The cabin can go hang!" answered Will.
Ed returned in half an hour and reported that no trace of the lost lads
had been discovered. The boys then ate breakfast and started away.
"Which way did they go?" asked Ed.
"Sandy said they were headed to the west."
"Then to the west we go," Ed exclaimed, darting forward in advance.
The boys searched patiently until five o'clock without discovering any
trace of the missing lads. Then, they returned to the cabin and prepared
supper. As they came within sight of the cabin they saw a stout figure
dodging away into the grove of trees to the east.
"That's that sneak of a Cameron," Will said. "If he keeps shoving his
ugly nose into our business, I'll ornament it with lead!"
After supper the boys loaded their pockets with sandwiches and a bottle
of cold coffee and set forth again.
"I don't think we went far enough to the west," Will said, as they made
their way over the moraine. "You remember the line of hills across the
little creek? Well, I have an idea that if the boys have been captured
they have been taken there."
"And if Bert has been hidden away anywhere in this vicinity," Ed
answered, "he is there, too! In fact," the boy added, "it is my belief
that if the miner is responsible for the disappearance of George and
Sandy the three boys will be found together somewhere!"
"You are probably right!" Will agreed. "The miner and his gang wouldn't
care about watching two separate points."
"I don't think they'd be apt to murder the boys, do you?" asked Ed.
"No, I don't think they would," Will replied. "Outlaws of the Cameron
stamp resort to all sorts of tricks and crimes, but they usually fight
shy of murder. I'm afraid, however, that the boys will be starved or
beaten up."
It was seven o'clock when the boys finally came to the south bank of the
rivulet, in the vicinity of the place where Sandy had encountered the
bear. The sun was now well in the west and the south side of the line of
cliffs lay in heavy shadows.
"If there's any deviltry going on," Will said, pointing to the summits
above, "it's right over there under those peaks!"
"I guess there's plenty of room under the peaks for mischief to be
plotted," Ed suggested, "I can see pigeon holes all along the cliff."
"Caves, do you mean?" asked Will.
"Sure," was the reply. "Those cliffs are of volcanic formation, and some
of the strata are softer than others, and the water has cut into the
heart of the range in many places."
"One would naturally suppose that such openings would be filled with ice
in Alaska," Will suggested.
"They may be filled with ice in the winter," answered Ed, "but in the
summer time they are hiding places for bears and crooked miners."
The boys advanced to the edge of the stream and Will swept his field
glass along the distant slope.
Presently he handed the glass to Ed.
"Tell me what you see," he said.
"I see something that looks like the eye of a wild animal looking out
over the valley!" answered the boy. "What can it be?"
"My first idea was that some one had built a fire in a cave," Will
answered, "but the more I look at it, the more I suspect that the light
comes from an electric."
"Then that must be the boys!" exclaimed Ed excitedly.
"But why don't they come on out?" asked Will, anxiously.
"Perhaps they have found Bert and don't want to leave him!" suggested
Ed.
While the boys watched the red light, which seemed to glimmer from the
very extremity of the cavern, it turned to blue!
"Now I've got it," cried Will almost dancing up and down in his
excitement, "you know what that means, don't you?"
"I can't say that I do!" replied Ed.
"It seems to me that the Portland Boy Scouts are not very well posted,"
laughed Will. "One of the boys--which one, I don't know, of course--is
talking to us in the Morse code!"
"Still I don't understand," said Ed.
"The red light means a dash," Will explained, "and the blue light means
the dot. Now we'll see if we can catch what the boy is saying."
"But where does he get the red and blue lights?" asked Ed.
"From red and blue caps screwed over the electric searchlight," was the
reply. "All of our electrics are provided with these signal caps."
"There, the light is red again!" cried Ed.
"I'll show how it works," Will said, bringing out his own flashlight and
unscrewing the false cover from the loading end.
Directly he had the blue and red caps out, and then the red one was
fastened over the eye of the searchlight.
"There, you see!" Will exclaimed turning on the light. "We've got a
beautiful red light and that means a Morse dash."
"I see," answered Ed. "And when you turn on the blue, that means a dot.
I learned the Morse code, of course, when I was admitted to the Boy
Scouts, but I never knew that it was used in that way."
"I wonder if he sees this?" asked Will as he swung the red light back
and forth in the growing twilight.
"We'll have to wait and see," replied Ed. "Of course, he'll answer if he
knows we're here!"
Swiftly the light changed from red to blue and from blue back to red
again. This took place several times and then Will said:
"Now, count!"
"Red," said Ed. "Red again. Red again."
"That's 'O'," exclaimed Will. "I guess we've got him at last!"
"Now there's another red," Ed went on. "Now there's a blue. Then one
more red. Oh, this seems to be easy!"
"That's 'K'!" cried Will. "O. K., don't you see? O. K. That means that
he knows we're here!"
"Glory be!" shouted Ed. "The boys are all right or they wouldn't be
signalling. I hope they've found Bert!"
Will signalled back "O. K.," and then the lads turned back up the
rivulet, the idea being to cross over to the north side.
"I want to find out why the boys don't show themselves instead of
signalling," Will explained. "There must be some good reason."
After a walk of half a mile upstream the boys found it possible to cross
without wading, and then they turned down toward the mouth of the cavern
where the lights had been seen.
As they did so, two figures detached themselves from a group of trees
which stood not far to the east and followed stealthily along behind
them.
If the lads could have heard the conversation carried on at that time
between Cameron and Fenton, they would have proceeded on their way with
less confidence.
"Just what we've been looking for!" chuckled Cameron.
"We surely have them trapped now!" replied Fenton.
"They'll naturally step into the outer cavern to see why their chums
don't walk out, and when they do so, we'll hold them up with our guns
until we can build up a barrier which will keep them in."
"One of the boys certainly must understand the code we are so anxious
about," Fenton observed. "That's the kid we want. We've certainly got to
find out what that message contains! If the people in the east are
trying to steal our plans, we certainly ought to know it!"
The boys, however, heard nothing of this talk and passed on down the
north side of the creek. As soon as they came opposite the cavern, in
sight of the light once more, they stopped and began signalling.
As they did so, Cameron and Fenton came nearer and waited anxiously for
the lads to enter the cavern.
"I'd like to know what all that signalling means!" said Cameron.
"Boy Scout signals," replied Fenton.
"You can't read them, can you?" asked the miner.
"Of course not," replied Fenton, "I'm no Boy Scout!"
The boys continued to signal back and forth until the situation was
fairly well understood. Will and Ed knew that Bert had been found and
that all three were barricaded in the cave.
They were disposed to make their way to the rescue of the boys without
further delay, but George advised them to wait until it became darker,
as Cameron might return at almost any moment. The news that Bert had
regained consciousness was very welcome and, confident of their ability
to thwart the plans of the miner, the boys looked forward to quiet hours
in the cabin.
Of course the boys had no suspicion that their enemies were close at
hand watching every movement. Cameron and Fenton became impatient, after
a time, and began advancing slowly toward the boys, who were now not
very far from the mouth of the outer cavern.
Something better than an hour passed, and then George signalled from the
interior of the cavern that it might be well for the boys to come up and
begin the work of removing the rocks which barred their egress.
"Sneak In," George signalled. "Don't show yourself more than you have
to. Cameron may be about! It may be that he has seen our signals
already!"
Sandy replied that he had not discovered any indications of the presence
of the miner, and the two boys advanced to the shelf of rock which faced
the opening. It was nine o'clock then.
"What's that strange noise?" asked Will as they moved along the shelf.
"You've got me!" replied Ed, "The ground's tipping!"
There came a deafening crash and the whole face of the cliff fell away!
When Will and Ed regained their feet and looked through the dust which
was rising over the scene, they saw that there was no longer any cavern
in view. The rock on which they stood was sliding down the slope.
"Buried alive!" cried Will with a sob, "Buried alive!"
CHAPTER XIX
VICTIMS OF THE QUAKE
The broad rock upon which the boys stood slid down the declivity for
some distance and brought up against a thicket of trees which stood not
far from the bank of the creek. The boys were fairly thrown from their
feet as the rock struck, but fortunately they were not injured in the
least. It was quite dark now, and the dust rising from the disturbed
earth made the scene still more dim.
The first thing the boys heard when they scrambled to their feet was a
faint moan and then a call for help.
"Sandy! George!" called Will.
There was no answer from above, but a faltering voice was heard just at
the edge of the thicket, where the rock had crushed into a hemlock of
unusual size.
"Help," the voice said. "Help!"
Will threw his searchlight in the direction of the sound and soon saw a
writhing figure in the underbrush which had been crushed down by the
fall of the rock.
"Who are you?" asked Will.
"Fenton," was the answer.
"Where'd you come from?" asked the boy in amazement.
"For God's sake," exclaimed the writhing man, "don't stop to ask
questions now. My leg is smashed under the rock upon which you are
standing! It is enough to say that I came here with Cameron!"
"Where is Cameron?" asked Will. Fenton pointed further down the slope.
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