CHAPTER XXVII

ORDERED BACK

"Hurry up and get me down!" pleaded Budge, as he tried to grasp the sapling with his hands, to ease the strain on his foot.

"I'm coming," replied Jack, who was laughing heartily. "Guess I'll have to cut the tree down, though."

"No; I have a better plan than that," spoke Will. "I'll show you."

In another moment he was climbing up the thin trunk of the hickory that served to hold Budge Rankin suspended. Then Will's plan was apparent. As he climbed up farther, his weight, added to that of Budge, caused the sapling to sway toward the ground.

"Grab me and cut the rope!" cried Budge.

"All right," replied Jack, and when his queer chum was near enough to him, Jack seized him around the waist. Nat, with his hunting knife, severed the thongs of deer sinew from which Long Gun had made the loop. Then Budge was released, and he assumed an upright position on the ground, while Will dropped from the bending tree, which straightway sprang back to its place.

"Hu!" grunted Long Gun, with just the suspicion of a smile on his copper-colored face. "Boy go up heap fast."

"'Sright," admitted Budge, while he began hunting through his pockets for a piece of gum.

"What in the world did you ever put your foot in that trap for?" asked Jack, when it was ascertained that Budge had not been injured.

"Well," he said, "I'll tell you. You see, I asked Long Gun to show me how to make a spring trap. I thought it might come in handy when I got back home. He showed me, and made one. But it didn't look to me as if it would work. So I just touched the trigger with my foot, and--and----"

"We saw the rest," finished Bony. "Cracky! But I thought at first you were giving us an exhibition of a human skyrocket."

"Or trying to imitate the gigantic bird that left the marks in the snow," added Sam. "Let's tell Budge about it."

Which they did; and as his chum was usually pretty sharp in his conclusions, Jack asked him what he thought it was that had made the mysterious prints in the snow.

"It must have been a roc, one of those birds you read about in the 'Arabian Nights,'" declared Budge.

"There never were such birds," objected Jack.

"Sure there were," declared Budge. "It says so in the book."

"No one ever saw one," objected Sam.

"No, and you never saw George Washington," spoke Budge quickly. "But you're sure he was here once, ain't you?"

"This is different," remarked Bony.

"'Sallright. You'll find that's a big bird, like a roc," declared Budge, while he began to help the Indian get supper.

They discussed, until quite late that night, the cause of the mysterious noises they had heard, and also what peculiar bird or beast had had the struggle with the men. Then Jack finally declared:

"Oh, what's the use of wasting our breath over it? We can't decide what it was. There's only one thing to do."

"What's that?" asked Sam.

"Try and find out what it was."

"How can we?"

"Well, I've got two plans. One is to make another trip on the other side of the mountain, and go farther next time. We can search for some sort of a camp."

"And the other plan?" asked Will.

"Is to keep watch, and see if we hear that thing passing over our camp again. If we do, we'll throw a lot of light wood on the fire, and when it blazes up we may catch sight of it."

"That's a good idea," declared Nat. "We'll take turns keeping watch at night, and we'll begin right away."

They agreed that this was a good plan, and the night was divided into six watches, one for each of the lads, as Long Gun positively refused to have anything to do with seeking a solution of the mystery. Some light wood was collected and piled near the camp fire, in readiness to throw on, so as to produce a bright blaze the moment the queer noise was heard in the air overhead.

But that night passed without incident, and so did the three following. During the day the boys went hunting in the forest, or fishing in the Shoshone River, having fairly good luck both on land and in the water.

It was about a week after Jack's plan of keeping night watches had been in effect, that something happened. He had about given up hearing the noise again, and was about ready to propose that the next day they should go on a trip over the mountain.

It was Jack's watch, and he was sitting by the camp fire, thinking of his father, his aunts and matters at home, and, it must be confessed, of a certain brown-eyed girl.

"I must take a trip over to Pryor's Gap and see her," he said softly to himself.

The fire was burning low, and Jack arose to put on some more wood. As he did so he heard a vibration in the air, not far above the camp. Then came what seemed to be a whirr of wings and a throbbing noise.

"The mystery! The mystery!" cried Jack, tossing an armful of light wood on the embers.

The fire blazed up at once, and Jack looked upward. He saw a great shape hovering over the camp, a shape that was fully sixty feet wide, and he knew he could not be mistaken, for there were the gigantic wings flapping. The object was flying right across the valley.

Will, Sam and Nat rushed from the tent. They had heard Jack's cry.

"Do you see it?" the watcher demanded. "Right up there!"

The fire blazed up more brightly, and in the glare of it could be dimly seen something like a great bird.

"That's it!" cried Nat. "Gasolened grasshoppers! but what is it?"

No one answered. The throbbing and whirring grew fainter, and the shape passed out of sight. From the tent could be heard the howling of Long Gun, as he prayed in his own tongue.

"Quit that!" yelled Bony from the canvas shelter. "Do you want to frighten us all to death?"

Then Long Gun's cries were muffled, and it was evident that he had hidden his head under his blankets.

"This settles it!" declared Jack positively. "We'll make another trip over the mountain to-morrow and see if we can't solve this."

"That's what we will!" added Nat. "First thing you know we'll wake up some night and find ourselves gone."

They made preparations to be away all night if necessary, taking plenty of blankets and food. Budge and Long Gun decided to remain in camp to look after things.

"S'posin'youdon'tcomeback?" asked Budge, all in one word.

"Oh, we'll come back," replied Jack confidently. "If we don't, you and Long Gun will have to come after us."

"Where'llyoube?"

"You'll have to hunt," was Jack's answer as he flicked his horse with the quirt.

They had decided to do some hunting as they proceeded, and were on the lookout for game. The weather continued fine, and the snow had disappeared, though they might expect heavy storms almost any day, Long Gun said.

They crossed the mountain ridge, and started down the other side, without having had a chance to shoot anything. They reached the place where they had seen the mysterious marks in the snow, and made a careful examination, but could discover nothing new.

"Well, Jack, which way now?" asked Sam as they stood looking about them.

"Down the mountain," decided Jack. "I think we may get a shot at some deer, if we don't find anything else in the valley. Long Gun said it was a good hunting ground."

They rode on, Jack and Nat in advance. Whether their horses were better than the steeds of their companions, or whether Jack and Nat unconsciously urged them to greater speed, was not apparent, but the fact was that in about an hour the two found themselves alone, having distanced their companions.

"Let's wait for them," suggested Nat.

"No, let's keep on. It's a good trail, and they can't miss it. They'll catch up to us soon. Maybe we can see something to shoot if we go on a little way, or maybe----"

"Maybe we'll see that mysterious bird," finished Nat. "I believe you'd rather find that than kill a big buck."

"Oh, I don't know," replied Jack slowly. "I'd like to get a nice buck, but I'd also like to solve that mystery."

"Speaking of bucks," whispered Nat quickly, "look there! Two of 'em!"

He pointed to a little glade, into which they were turning, and Jack saw two large mule deer feeding on the grass.

"A buck and a doe," he said as he raised his rifle. "I think we are close enough to risk a shot. You take the buck, Nat. You haven't had a good pair of horns yet, and that fellow has some beauts. We'll both fire together."

Nat nodded to show that he understood. The deer had not scented the young hunters, but were still quietly feeding. Slowly Jack and Nat raised their rifles, having dismounted from their horses.

Just as they were about to pull the triggers a curious thing happened. The deer suddenly raised their heads, and gazed at a spot to the left of them. Then they bounded away, so swiftly that it was difficult for the eye to follow them.

"Well, did you see that?" asked Nat. "Something scared them."

"Yes, and it wasn't us," said Jack. "We're out of sight, and the wind's blowing from them to us. I'm going to see what it was that sent them off."

He mounted his horse again, an example that Nat followed, and they rode down the glade to where the deer had been feeding.

"I wonder if it could have been a bear?" asked Jack of his chum. "If it was----"

He did not get a chance to finish the sentence, for even as he spoke the bushes just in front of the two lads were parted, and three men stepped into view.

"What are you lads doing here?" asked one of the strangers sternly.

"We--we were hunting," replied Jack. "We saw two deer, but they ran before we could get a shot."

"Well, you'd better make back tracks to where you came from," said another man gruffly. "Vamoose, you!"

"Are these private grounds?" asked Jack. "We didn't know. We're camped on the other side of the mountain, and we understood we could hunt here."

"Well, you can't," said the third man. "These aren't private grounds, but we don't want you around here, so you'd better skedaddle. Move on, now, or it won't be healthy for you."

As he spoke he advanced his rifle in a threatening manner.

"Oh, we don't want to trespass," spoke Nat. "We'll go."

"You'd better," was the grim response of the man who had first spoken. "Clear out, and don't come here again. We don't want any spies around."

"We're not spies," said Jack, wondering that the man should use such a term.

"Well, we don't care what you are. Clear out! That's all! Clear out!"

There was nothing to do but turn back. Slowly Jack and Nat wheeled their horses, meanwhile narrowly eyeing the men. The trio, though roughly dressed, did not appear like hard characters or desperadoes. They looked like miners.

"You'll have to move faster than that," said the man who had spoken first. "If you don't we may have to make you."

There was a movement in the bushes back of him, and Jack and Nat glanced in that direction to see who was coming. Another figure stepped into view, the figure of a lad well known to Jack and Nat, for it was none other than Jerry Chowden, the former bully of Washington Hall.

"Jerry Chowden!" gasped Jack.

"Jack--Jack Ranger!" exclaimed the bully, no less surprised than were the two lads on horses.

"Do you know him?" asked one of the men quickly of Jerry.

"Yes--er--that is----"

"Come on, you! Move away from here if you don't want to get into trouble!" fairly shouted one of the men. He advanced toward Jack and Nat, who, deeming discretion the better part of valor, clapped spurs to their horses, and raced along the trail to rejoin their companions. As they galloped on Jack gave one glance over his shoulder. He saw Jerry Chowden in earnest conversation with the three men, and that our hero and Nat was the subject of the talk was evident from the manner in which the bully was pointing toward them.