CHAPTER XX

A NIGHT OF MISERY

Bart's announcement brought looks of blank astonishment and dismay to the faces of his chums. They had so depended on him, that, to have him go back on them in this fashion, was a shock.

"Are you sure we're lost?" asked Ned, slowly.

"No doubt of it, in my mind," answered Bart, and he laughed a little. The strain of keeping up the pace on a route he was not at all sure of, was harder than admitting the fact of being lost in the wilderness.

"What are we going to do?" asked Fenn, rather helplessly.

"The first thing to do will be to gather wood for a fire before it's too dark to see," announced Bart, with assumed if not real cheerfulness. "Then we'll make a blaze, and eat."

The mention of food was cheering in itself, to say nothing of the prospect of a fire, and then, too, the act of being busy took from the minds of the lads the thoughts that they were lost.

In a short time they had gathered quite a pile of wood. Some of it was dry, for it was under the low-lying branches of spruce and hemlock trees, and the snow had been kept from it. From the interior of hollow logs some "punk" was obtained, and this, together with some dead branches, that had lodged in a hollow under a big rock, made enough fuel to get a blaze started.

"But where are we going to stay to-night?" asked Frank, when the flickering flames had dispelled some of the darkness.

"Don't worry about that," advised Bart. "Some of these fir trees are as good as a tent, and nearly as dry. We can stay under them until morning."

"Will we be any better off by morning?" asked Ned, dubiously.

"Lots better," replied Bart, cheerfully. "But let's get ready for some hot coffee. Lucky we brought the pot along. Ned, you gather some snow in it, and we'll put it on to melt. Fenn, you get some flat stones, to make a sort of fireplace. Frank, you cut some branches from that hemlock, and make cots under that big tree over there. I'll help. That will be our tent to-night. Everybody get busy, now."

Ordering his chums about in this way was the best thing Bart could have done, and, in a short time, everyone was so occupied that he had no time to think of the unpleasant situation. Soon the coffee was boiling away, and Bart had arranged an old log, under the shelter of a tree, for a table. Thereon their frugal meal was spread out.

Luckily each lad carried a drinking cup with him, and this served in which to dispense the coffee. They had no milk, of course, but Bart had been thoughtful enough to bring along some sugar, so the beverage was not at all unpalatable. Then, by the light of the campfire, they sat about, munched their sandwiches, drank the strong coffee, and talked of their afternoon's adventure.

"Why, that isn't a half bad place to sleep," remarked Fenn, as he looked at the "bunk" Bart and Frank had made.

"Sure, it's great," added Ned, but it was probably the cheerfulness engendered by a hot drink and food that made them see things with more hopeful eyes.

They had no blankets, but they wore thick clothing, and had on heavy coats, so their situation was not so bad. Besides, the weather was not cold, though it was growing more so, and the snow still fell thickly. The heavy branches of the tree under which the boys crawled, served to protect them.

They stretched out, and hoped to be able to sleep, in order that morning might come the more quickly, but either the strong coffee, or the unusual situation, kept them wide awake. They lay close together, for the sake of warmth, but first Bart would turn over, restlessly, and then, in sequence, Fenn, Ned and Frank would do the same thing.

"What's the matter; can't you fellows sleep?" asked Ned, at length.

"No; can you?" inquired Bart.

"Nope. Let's talk."

"All right. Say, what do you suppose that man was doing around the mud volcano?" ventured Frank.

They had discussed this, in all its bearings, several times that afternoon, but it was a subject full of new possibilities, and they eagerly welcomed another chance to talk about it.

"I think he was after mud turtles," said Bart.

"Say," asked Fenn, suddenly, "did it ever strike you fellows that this fellow might be a detective?"

"A detective?" gasped the other three.

"Yes; after us," went on Stumpy. "You know we're suspected of taking that bracelet. It hasn't been found, and what would be more natural than for Professor Long to hire a private detective, and have him shadow us. I didn't think of that until just now, but I'll wager I'm right. You'll find that man is a detective, and he's watching us; trying to get a trace of the bracelet. Maybe he thinks we have it, and are going to hide it off in the woods here."

"Say!" cried Bart, "that's not a bad 'think' of yours, Stumpy. I wouldn't be surprised but what you are right," and then they fell to discussing that aspect of the case. It was quite a reversal of the former situation. Instead of them being after the mysterious man, he might be after the chums.

"But how do you account for him entering the school that night, before the bracelet was stolen?" asked Frank.

"Maybe he was shadowing us--or, rather, you fellows--" said Fenn, who, as will be remembered, was not present on that occasion. "Or, maybe we're mistaken, and the man Bart saw to-day may not have been the one who entered the school."

"Oh, he's the same one," declared Bart, with conviction.

There was more discussion, and, if it did nothing more, it served a good turn, for it shunted the thoughts of the lads into new channels, and they began to feel sleepy.

But, just as they were about to doze off, there came an exclamation of dismay from Bart.

"What's the matter?" asked Bart.

"Stream of water trickling down my neck," was the answer. "I believe it's raining!"

There was no doubt of it. Instead of turning colder it had grown warmer, and the snow had changed to rain. The tree, thick as were the branches, was little protection against the rain, and, as it increased to a regular downpour, the plight of our heroes was miserable in the extreme. There was nothing to be done but make the best of it. They huddled together, turned up the collars of their coats, and tried to crawl to spots more or less protected. But they were soon pretty wet, and, to add to their misery, they saw their fire die down, and go out.

"Wow! This is fierce!" exclaimed Ned, as a stream of water trickled down his neck. "I wish it was morning. It wouldn't be so bad if we could travel." But there was no help for it, and they had to sit there in the storm and darkness, waiting for daylight.