Chapter 38

GEORGE AND SANDY CAUGHT

When George and Sandy left the cabin they saw the figure of the miner very dimly outlined away to the west.

"We ought to get closer," Sandy whispered. "First thing we know, he'll duck down into some hollow, and that'll be the last of him for the night. I guess we can creep up without his catching us at it."

"Of course we can!" replied George. "He's making so much noise himself that he can't hear us! He wouldn't make much of a Boy Scout when it came to stalking, would he?"

The boys succeeded in getting pretty close to the miner; so close in fact, that occasionally they heard him muttering to himself as he stumbled over rocks and occasionally became entangled in such underbrush as grew along the top of the moraine.

"We can't be very far away from the place where the bear tried to beat me up," Sandy whispered, as they drew up for a moment. "I wouldn't mind having a bite out of that same bear just about now!"

After a time they came to the head waters of the creek in which Will and Sandy had fished, and saw Cameron standing on the other side.

"He's going into the mountains!" whispered Sandy.

"That's exactly where he's keeping Bert," George agreed.

In a short time Cameron paused in his walk and uttered a low whistle.

"What do you think of that?" asked Sandy. "He's going to meet some one here. And that means," the boy went on, "that he's had a pal watching Bert while he's been away."

"And it also means," George added, "that we can't be very far from the spot where Bert is concealed. I hope so, anyway, for I'm about tired enough to crawl into my little nest in the cabin."

"I should think you'd talk about sleep!" scoffed Sandy. "You slept all the afternoon!"

"If you mention that long sleep of mine again," George said half-angrily, "I'll tip you over into the creek. I'm sore over that myself!"

While the boys stood waiting end listening an answering whistle came from the side of a mountain not far from the rivulet.

"There's his chum!" whispered Sandy. "If we get up nearer, we may be able to hear what they say."

The boys crept along under the dim light of the infrequent stars, and finally crouched down behind an angle of rock which was not more than twenty feet removed from where Cameron stood.

They had hardly taken their position when a second figure made its appearance. The two stood talking together in whispers for a short time and then started to walk away.

"There's something doing, all right!" exclaimed Sandy.

"Yes, indeed, there is!" agreed George. "They wouldn't come out into such a hole as this after midnight to tell each other what good fellows they are, or anything like that."

"I'm getting suspicious!" Sandy chuckled.

"Why suspicious?"

"Because those fellows whispered!"

"I see the point," replied George. "From our standpoint those fellows were all alone here in one of the wild places of Alaska, yet they drew close together and whispered when they communicated with each other!"

"They wouldn't do that," urged Tommy, "unless they were afraid of being overheard. It shows that they believe some one to be watching them."

The two men were now moving quite swiftly up the slope of the mountain. At times they were entirely hidden by the luxuriant growths, and at times they came out on little bald spots where rock outcropped to the exclusion of vegetation. The boys followed on into the thickets, pausing now and then to listen for the sounds of the advance of the others.

Presently they came to a shelf of rock which overlooked the valley of the rivulet. They paused for a moment to listen for the sounds of those in advance when a strong electric searchlight was thrown on their faces and they saw the grim, round barrel of an automatic pointing at their breasts.

"You may as well hand over your automatics, boys!" Cameron said.

"And be quick about it, too."

This last sentence came from a thin, cadaverous looking fellow whose face was only half revealed through the meshes of the head net.

There was nothing for the boys to do but to pass over their revolvers. Their searchlights were also taken from them, and then their hands were tied tightly behind their backs.

"Did you have a pleasant tramp through the woods?" asked Cameron.

"Say," growled Sandy, "if you'll just turn my hands loose, I'll give you a poke in the jaw!"

"That wouldn't be polite!" sneered Cameron.

"Don't take any lip from the young imps," snarled the other. "They've given us enough trouble already!"

"You're a foxy old gink!" exclaimed Sandy. "I wish I had you on South Clark street, Chicago, for a few minutes!"

"So that's why you came to the cabin is it?" asked George.

"Certainly," replied Cameron. "I had an idea that you'd follow me away! You see I figured it out exactly right!"

"Why did you want to make trouble for us?" asked Sandy.

"Because you're too smart!" answered Cameron.

"What do you mean by that?"

"When you sat sizing me up in the cabin while I was eating supper," Cameron went on, "you informed me as plainly as words could have done that you knew me to be the man who had abducted your friend."

"You didn't show that you knew," George suggested.

"I tried not to show that I knew," answered the other.

"What'd you steal Bert for?" asked Sandy.

"I needed him in my business," answered Cameron.

"Come, don't stand here all night talking with the little gutter-snipes!" exclaimed Cameron's companion. "We've got work to do!"

"March along, then, boys!" Cameron ordered.

The lads were now pushed forward into a cavern which opened on the shelf of rock where they had been taken prisoners. The opening in the mountain side seemed to be of considerable size, for the boys passed from an outer chamber of fair dimensions to two smaller ones further in.

In the last of these chambers, on a huddle of blankets, lay the boy for whom they had been searching.

"Is he dead?" asked Sandy.

"No such luck," snarled Cameron.

"If you'll untie my hands, I'll look after him," George said.

The bonds were cut and George bent over the still figure.

"Has he regained consciousness at all?" he asked.

Cameron turned to his companion.

"Tell them, Fenton," he said, "whether the lad woke up during my absence. You were here all the time?" he added.

"Yes, I was here all the time!" answered Fenton. "And the lad never opened his eyes once. That was a deuce of a blow you gave him, Cameron!"

"And what did you gain by it?" demanded Sandy.

"We'll show you directly what we gained by it!" Cameron answered.

Seeing a bucket of water at one side of the cavern, George carried it over to the heap of blankets where the boy lay and began bathing his forehead and wrists. The boy groaned feebly but did not speak.

"What did you hit him with?" asked George angrily.

"The handle of my gun!" was the sullen reply.

"Why?" asked Sandy.

"Because I wanted to get a paper he had."

"Well, you got it, didn't you?" asked the boy.

"Yes, I got it!"

"And much good it did you, too!" said George angrily.

"Look here!" Cameron almost shouted, "can either one of you boys read that code despatch?"

George shook his head.

"Is there any one at the cabin who can read it?"

"I have never known of any member of the party reading the cipher," replied George. "I never have seen a code despatch before."

"You are lying to me!" shouted Cameron. "The boy to whom the despatch was addressed can certainly read it! Which one of you bears the name of Will Smith? Don't lie to me now!"

"Will Smith is at the cabin!" replied Sandy.

"Just my luck!" shouted Cameron.

"What do you want to know about the code despatch?" asked Sandy.

"I want to know what it contains. And what is more, I'm going to know, too! I want one of you boys to write a note to this Will Smith and get him to come here to this cave."

"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.