  After the first excitement and confusion had quieted down a bit, the major and the professor began discussing ways and means for exploring the cavern. “When shall we start?” asked Merritt. “At once, I think,” said the major. “I agree with you,” said the professor; “no time like the present.” “That being the case,” declared the major with a smile, “Jumbo had better set out for the canoes at once, and bring some provisions and the lanterns.” The lanterns referred to were of the variety used by miners, which had been brought along for the special purpose in which they were now to be employed. But Jumbo was not allowed to set off alone on his expedition. The eager Boy Scouts raced off with him. They soon returned with a supply of canned goods, plenty of matches and some firearms and the lanterns. The latter were quickly lighted and, each member of the party shouldering a burden, the dash into the cave was begun. It was a creepy, mysterious sensation. The light seemed to go out with a sudden snap as they passed the portals of the cave entrance. Only the yellow light of the lanterns, pale after the bright sunshine, illumined the damp walls. A queer, dead, musty smell was in the air. “Better proceed carefully,” said the professor; “we may encounter a pocket of poisonous air before long.” “I thought we were looking for a pocket full of money,” whispered Tubby to Merritt, behind whom he was pacing. The party had to advance in single file, for beyond the entrance of the cave was a narrow passage. “I wonder how your ancestor ever located this place?” said Rob, wonderingly, as they proceeded cautiously. “The family legend has it that he came in here in pursuit of a wounded wild animal he had shot, and which sought refuge here,” said the major. It was a strange, rather uncanny feeling to be treading the long unused path leading into the bowels of the cliff. They talked in whispers and low tones. A loud voice would go rumbling off in a weird way, not altogether comfortable to listen to. “Gee! I wouldn’t much care to be trapped in here,” said Tubby, as they pressed on. All at once the path they had been following took a sudden dip. Right under their feet was a narrow chasm. If they had not had lights they might have been precipitated into it, but luckily their lanterns showed them the peril just in time. For a short time it looked as if the treasure hunt would have to end right there. There seemed to be no means of crossing the chasm, and they had brought none with them. “So near and yet so far,” breathed Merritt. But presently the major discovered a stout plank resting against the wall of the passage. It was worm-eaten and old, but a test showed it would support them. It had evidently been left there by the old buccaneer. It caused an odd thrill to shoot through Rob, as he stepped upon it, to reflect that the last foot to press it had been in the tomb for many scores of years. On the other side of the chasm the cave widened out. In fact, it developed into quite a spacious chamber. The rock walls, imbedded with mica, glistened brightly in the yellow glow of the lanterns. “We look like a convention of lightning bugs,” commented Tubby, gazing about him at the unusual scene. The professor drew out a paper. He and the major bent over it, while the others listened breathlessly to ascertain the outcome of this inspection of the plan of the long lost treasure trove. “According to the plan the treasure is located in this chamber,” said the major at length. “At any rate,” added the professor, “the plan does not give any further details of the cave.” “Do you think it extends further?” inquired Merritt. “Impossible to say. Some of these caves and their ramifications extend for many miles. When the major has concluded his quest, I think it would be of scientific interest to explore the subterranean thoroughfares at length.” All agreed with this view. But the present business speedily banished all other thoughts from their minds. Like so many hounds on the scent, the boys ran about the place, seeking for clews to the hiding place. But to their bitter disappointment all their efforts resulted in nothing. No trace of any hoarded stock of precious articles could be found. “We had better have something to eat and then we can determine on our further course,” said the major, looking at his watch; “I am convinced that the treasure is here, however, and equally positive we shall find it.” When they sat down to their meal it was discovered that, in their haste, they had forgotten to bring any water. Tubby, Hiram and Jumbo at once volunteered to fetch some in the canteens which had been left in the canoes. “Ah’m jes’ pinin’ ter see dat ole Massa Sol once mo’;” confessed the negro. “All right,” said the major, “you can be one of the party, Jumbo. But hurry back, Hopkins, for I am anxious to waste no more time than necessary.” “We’ll hurry,” Tubby assured him. The trio, the two boys and the black, hastened off, retracing their steps through the dark passage of the cavern. It was a distinct relief to regain the sunlight and open air. So much so that perhaps they lingered by the concealed canoes rather longer than they should have done. “Come on. We’ve wasted enough time,” said Tubby at length; “let’s hurry back.” They set out at a good pace. But as they pushed through the brush separating them from the cliff; in the face of which was situated the cave entrance, a sudden sound brought them to an abrupt standstill. Tubby, who was in the lead, raised his hand for silence. In the hush that followed they could distinctly catch the sound of voices ahead of them. At first Tubby thought that they were those of some of the party in the cave who had come out to see what had become of them. But he was speedily undeceived. One of the voices struck suddenly on his ear with an unpleasant shock. It was a harsh, grating voice, and Tubby, to his dismay, recognized it in a flash as being that of Stonington Hunt. He had heard it too often to be mistaken. “Are you all ready?” Hunt was saying. A sort of growl of assent followed these words. “What can they be up to?” asked Hiram, who was also aware now of the identity of the voices in front of them. “I don’t know,” rejoined Tubby in the same low tones; “as well as I can see, they are all on that cliff top alongside those balanced stones.” “Wonder what they are doing up there?” mused Hiram; “I suppose that——” His voice was drowned in a loud crash as the larger of two stones was pushed over the edge of the cliff. In a flash Tubby perceived the fiendish object of Stonington Hunt and his followers. The great rock fell directly in front of the opening of the cave. The way in or out of the underground chamber was effectually blocked, unless the obstruction was blasted with dynamite. Cold chills ran up and down Tubby’s spine. Hiram shuddered and turned white, and Jumbo groaned. “Oh lawsy! lawsy! I knowed no good ’ud come uv meddling wif dat ole dead teef’s money.” “Be quiet,” ordered Tubby, sternly. With every nerve on the alert he watched Hunt peer over the cliff-face. The next moment their enemy retreated with a chuckle of laughter. “They’re all sealed up good and tight,” he said. “We’ll let them stay in there a day or two and then we’ll blast the rock away.” “Gee, that fat kid will be thinner when he gets out,” Tubby heard Freeman Hunt say as his father rejoined the group. “Ho! ho!” thought the lad, “‘that fat kid’ as you call him is on the outside, Master Hunt. And it’s a good thing he is, for the outside is where help will have to come from.” The watchers concealed in the brush below saw a new figure join the group on the cliff summit, a man with a great, bushy, black beard and shifty black eyes. “Mah goodness!” exclaimed Jumbo; “dat am de pussonage who peeked frough dem bushes las’ night. I thought I knowed him. Dat’s Black Bart, the sun-shiner.” The party at the cliff summit turned and vanished. Apparently they had a camp up there from which they had observed every movement of the Boy Scout party. It was plain enough now, since Jumbo’s recognition, how they came to be there. Black Bart must have overheard the major discussing the plan the night before. By making a forced march by night the rascals had arrived ahead of the rightful searchers for the old buccaneer’s hoard. “We’d better get back toward the boats before they take a notion to investigate,” said Tubby. “I don’t fancy sticking around here much longer.” “Nor I,” said Hiram; “come on.” “Golly knows ah’m willin’,” breathed Jumbo. Snugly hidden in the thick growth into which the canoes had been dragged, the two Scouts and the negro discussed the situation. It was a desperate one. For the present, at least, Hunt and his party dominated it. One unpleasant thought, too, kept obtruding itself. The party in the cave had no water. “And Hunt says he won’t blast it open for two days, anyhow,” put in Hiram; “I suppose he figures that the major would be too weak to oppose him then.” “Guess that’s it. What a rascal that Hunt is! But what are we going to do to help them? We can’t move that rock, and we’ve got nothing to blast it away with.” Tubby’s face showed the dismay, the almost despair, that he felt. “Tell you what, Hiram,” he said at length, “you’ll have to take one of the canoes and get off down the lake. When you reach the foot of it make a dash to the westward, where there is a village. I’ll wait here with Jumbo till you return.” “But it will take two days, at least, maybe a week,” objected Hiram. “Can’t be helped. We’ve got to do something. You are lighter and can travel quicker than I. Take food and a rifle and get through as quick as you can.” Ten minutes later the red canoe, well stocked with food, and paddled by the young Scout, shot out from the shore. By hugging the rim of the lake the boys had figured that he would be able to undertake the first stage of his journey without running much risk of being seen by their enemies. Besides, it was unlikely that Hunt or his cronies would be keeping a very keen lookout as they evidently believed that all the party was imprisoned in the cave. Tubby and Jumbo watched the canoe while it remained in sight, and then returned to their hiding place. Toward the middle of the afternoon they saw smoke on the cliff top and well back from the edge. “At any rate,” thought Tubby, “they are camped at a good distance back from us. I reckon there’s no danger of their seeing us moving about.” With great caution the lad wormed his way through the brush, leaving Jumbo to guard the canoes. He had formed a daring determination to examine the rock and see if it was not possible in some miraculous way to move it. But an examination confirmed his worst fears. The great stone was as immovable as if it had formed a part of the living rock. Tubby actually gave a groan of despair. “There’s not a thing we can do,” he moaned disconsolately. A sudden footfall above him made him dive into the brush. He flattened out, immovable, in a flash. The next instant Hunt strode into the glade, followed by his son. They also examined the stone. “If they won’t come to our terms,” said Hunt, as they turned away again, “we can immure them in a living tomb.” Tubby Hopkins, lying as quiet as a rabbit in his place of concealment, could not but feel the bitter truth the words held. * * * * * * * * “Those fellows are a long time getting that water, and I’m as dry as a jar of salt,” said Merritt, as they munched on their provisions. “I guess we’re all pretty thirsty,” said the major. “Perhaps you’d better go and hurry them up, my boy.” Merritt sprinted off on this errand. He had almost reached the ravine and was about to step on the narrow bridge across it when there was a sudden crashing jar that shook the earth. Though, of course, he did not know it, the noise was occasioned by the falling rock dislodged by Hunt and his followers. “Wonder what that was?” thought the boy, little guessing the real cause. “If we were in the west I should think it was an earthquake. But I never heard of any in the Adirondacks.” Before long he gained a point in the passage where he knew he should have seen a disc of daylight ahead of him. Puzzled by its absence, the boy pushed on. Every minute he expected to see the light, but the darkness continued to prevail. Sorely perplexed, he took a few steps more, when he was abruptly confronted by a mass of solid rock. The passage appeared to have terminated. It was several moments before the meaning of this conveyed itself to the boy’s mind. When he mastered the situation it was with a sense of shock that for an instant almost deprived him of his senses. Recovering his wits he lost no time in communicating his alarming intelligence. Incidentally, the cause of the noise he had heard was abundantly explained. It required but a brief examination by the major, to make known the full extent of their calamity. “We are walled in,” he said hoarsely. “Is there no hope of escape?” gasped the professor. The boys were too much overcome to speak. The major shook his head. Unconsciously he repeated Tubby’s words. “Help, if it is to come, must come from the outside,” he said. His words rang hollowly in the musty, subterranean passage. |
|
