Camp Fires of the Wolf Patrol Part 12

"Yas, suh, dat an' two more ob dem same. He drap it 'case he couldn't hold de lot, an' walk away too. Yuh see, suh, I war cleaning some fish dat de boys dey fotched in las' ebenin', an' which we nebber use foh breakfast dis mornin'. Den I tink I hyah some queer noise in de camp, an' I starts up dis a ways. 'Twar den dat de hairy ole critter steps outen de store tent, and jabbers at me. I was skeered nigh 'bout stiff, suh, 'clar tuh goodness I was."

"Still, you shouted, for we heard you, Ginger!" said Mr. Garrabrant.

"Reckons I did do sumpin' dat way, boss," admitted the negro, a faint grin striving to make its appearance on his ebony face. "Dat was jes'

when de Ole Harry, he was asteppin' into de bushes, acarryin' two ob de boxes ob crackers in his arms."

"Do you mean to say he walked erect, on two legs?" asked the scout master.

"Sh.o.r.e he did, suh, right along, ahuggin' de grub wid one arm, an'

shakin' his fist at me wid de udder."

"Now you talk as though it _must_ have been a man--perhaps a wild man who may have been living in these woods for years?" suggested Mr.

Garrabrant.

But Ginger shook his head in an obstinate fashion, saying:

"I knows right well dat he wa'n't dat, suh; I'se dead suah 'bout it!"

"But why do you say that; what proof have you it was not some sort of man, Ginger?"

"_'Case he done hab a tail, suh!_" cried the other, triumphantly.

Mr. Garrabrant smiled, and gave Elmer, who was close at his elbow all the while, a knowing wink.

"Well," he remarked, "that tail business would seem to settle one thing, Ginger. Unless this turns out to be the long-sought Missing Link, our visitor could hardly have been a human being. He was evidently an animal of _some_ sort. Get that idea of the Old Nick out of your head. Listen to me, Ginger, and try to remember; did he say anything to you?"

"Yas, sah, he did, lots!" answered the black man, eagerly.

"Suppose you tell us what it was, then?" suggested the scout master, quickly.

"Dar's wha' yuh got me, Mistah Grabant," replied the other, reluctantly. "Yuh see, suh, I nebber did git much schoolin' down in Virginny, whah I was bawn an' brought up. Nebber did go to college an'

larn de dead langwidges."

"Oh! then this creature talked to you in Greek, or possibly Hebrew, did he? In other words, he chattered in an unknown tongue! Well, how about you, Oscar; did you happen to catch a glimpse of Ginger's uninvited guest?" and Mr. Garrabrant turned suddenly on Red, as though wishing to make positive that this were not a clever trick he might have been playing on the terrified black man.

"No, sir," came the ready response. "I was busy inside when I heard Ginger give that war whoop! I thought he might have burned himself at the fire, and I hurt my game pin like fun when I tried to run out. All I saw was the c.o.o.n down on his marrowbones asinging that same tune about the 'debble.' That's all I know, sir, give you my word for it."

"All right, I believe you, Oscar," continued the scout master, plainly disturbed by this new mystery that had descended upon the camp, yet pretending to make light of it because he did not wish to alarm the boys under his charge. "And now, Ginger, can you point out to me just the spot where your strange friend vanished?"

"'Deed an' 'deed he ain't no friend ob mine, suh, gibes yuh my word foh dat," replied the other, solemnly. "Right ober yandah, suh, whah dem bushes hangs low. An' I declars tuh Moses, suh, I don't know right now whedder de ugly ole sinner he jes' step intuh de bushes, or go up in a cloud ob fire like de prophet ob old."

Several of the more impulsive scouts started to hurry in that direction.

"Stop, boys!" called the scout master instantly. "Come back here, please. Once before you succeeded in trampling all sign out, so that Elmer was unable to pick up any clue. Now, I want just Elmer and Mark to go over there, to investigate. After that has been done they will report to me. And now, let's settle down in camp, for I know you are all tired.

Supper is the next thing on the program."

Elmer, accompanied by his nearest chum, immediately walked carefully over in the direction of the spot which Ginger had indicated. They bent low, and seemed to be deeply interested in certain tracks they had found.

Of course the boys shot many curious glances that way, but they knew better than to disobey the positive orders given by their chief.

Discipline is one of the first things taught among the Boy Scouts.

About this time Dr. Ted and Jack Armitage got back from a day at the cabin. They had much to tell about what they had occupied themselves in doing all the time, preparing things so that in a few days the family could be moved, for Mr. Garrabrant had fully decided to take the sick man and his "kiddies" down in one of the boats to Rockaway, where they could be looked after until the expedition returned.

It was getting dusk before Elmer and his chum joined the others. They did not give out any information, and to the inquiries of their curious mates returned only vague smiles and nods.

Supper was eaten with more or less clatter of tongues. There were so many interesting subjects claiming their attention that the boys hardly knew which to discuss first.

When, however, the meal was about done, Mr. Garrabrant asked Elmer to step aside with him for a short time.

"Here, let us sit down on this convenient log, Elmer," remarked the scout master. "And please tell me what you found."

"We had no difficulty in discovering the tracks, sir," replied the boy, whose experience on a Canadian prairie farm and ranch made him a valuable addition to the ranks of the Boy Scouts at such a time.

"Was it a man or an animal?" asked the gentleman, as though eager to have that mooted point settled immediately.

"Oh! an animal, sir, there can be no doubt of that," replied Elmer, smiling. "But those tracks puzzle me the worst kind. I know what the trail of a panther looks like, also that of a fox, a wolf, a bear, a deer, a coyote, a wildcat--but this was entirely different from any of these. It resembled the footprint of a human being--a child--more than anything I ever saw."

Mr. Garrabrant smiled, and nodded his head.

"I've got an idea," he said, "but go on, and tell me what else you learned. Then I'll put you wise to what I suspect."

"Well," the boy continued, "the queer thing about it is that Ginger was quite right when he said the thing walked on two legs. I could only find the marks of that many. Now, I've seen a bear do that stunt, and educated dogs, but no other animal outside of a circus."

"How about a monkey?" asked the scout master, quietly.

"Oh! Mr. Garrabrant, how could such an animal get up here? Monkeys live in tropical countries only. But I can see that you've got an idea.

Please let me hear it."

"Listen then, Elmer," the other went on, seriously. "Now, I happen to know that just a month ago a certain gentleman named Colonel Hitchens, living on a country place he calls Caldwell, just a mile outside the town of Rockaway, lost a pet monkey that had been taught to do a lot of funny antics. The gentleman was an old traveler, and had brought the animal himself from some foreign land. I remember his telling me how he caught him, by filling some cocoanut sh.e.l.ls with strong drink, and getting the animal stupid."

"Oh! that must be it, then!" exclaimed Elmer, laughing, while the look of bewilderment left his face. "No wonder the tracks were a riddle to me. I've never as yet had the pleasure of hunting monkeys, or Barbary apes, or gorillas. Yes, sir, the more I think of it, the more I believe that you've hit the truth. It must have been a monkey, hungry for some of the things he had been used to when held a prisoner at Colonel Hitchens'."

"I saw the beast perform once," Mr. Garrabrant went on, "and he was really a marvel. He was a big chap, too, hairy and ugly. When he chattered and scowled he certainly was enough to give one a shiver. No wonder then that he frightened poor Ginger almost into convulsions. No wonder our factotum believed he had seen the Old Nick. But what had he better do about it, Elmer?"

"That's just what I wanted to speak with you about, sir," the boy remarked, with considerable eagerness. "Now the chances are that, having once made a raid on our store tent, this monkey will come again another time, perhaps even to-night."

"That sounds reasonable," replied the scout master, nodding his head.

"By the way, I just happened to remember the monkey's name. It fitted him pretty well, too, as you'll admit when you see him. Diablo it was."

"Just think of it, sir, just the name Ginger gave him, too. But Mark and I have decided to set a trap to catch him. We'll fix it so that if the monkey tries to enter the store tent again he'll set off a trigger, and some queer results will follow. For one thing he'll find himself caught up in the loop of a rope, and held, kicking, off the ground until we can come to corral him. Then, if it happens to be in the night, the falling of the trigger will set a flashlight going, and Mark's camera, placed for the occasion, will take a picture of the trespa.s.ser."

"That sounds fine, Elmer," laughed the scout master. "Now, I leave the matter in your hands entirely. Do what you think best, and I wish you success."

"How about telling the boys, sir?" asked Elmer.

Mr. Garrabrant thought it over a moment.

"Perhaps you'd better take the whole bunch into your confidence," he said, presently. "They are deeply interested, you know, and if kept in ignorance possibly some one might stumble across your plans, and upset every calculation."