Dan Carter and the Great Carved Face Part 30

"Brad and Dan wouldn't have wandered off without good reason," Mr.

Hatfield declared. "I'm sure they'll be along any minute."

Outwardly showing no uneasiness, the two Cub leaders went ahead with last-minute preparations for the pow-wow. As the hour grew later, more and more parents appeared upon the scene.

Fred, Chips, Mack and Midge were on hand, all four togged out in Indian costumes they had made themselves.

"We can delay the start a little while longer by taking the parents to the ravine to see the big carved face," Mr. Hatfield said. "By the time everyone gets back, the boys surely will be here."

Mr. Holloway guided the a.s.sembled parents to the cliff. Deliberately, he made the trip a slow one. But when the group finally returned to camp, Red, Dan and Brad had not put in an appearance.

"It's no use waiting any longer," Mr. Holloway decided. "We'll have to go ahead without them. Frankly, I'm worried. Something serious must have come up, or they'd be here."

The ceremony began with the Cubs from both dens parading in a circle, about the camp fire.

Mr. Hatfield as Akela then emerged from the hogan.

Solemnly, he raised his hand in greeting.

"How!"

"How!" responded all the Cub Scout Indians.

"You my Indian brothers are the true first Americans," Mr. Hatfield recited.

"How!" again answered the Cubs.

"Do you promise to continue to do your best to do your duty to G.o.d and your country?"

"HOW!" the Cubs shouted, howling so loud that the cry reechoed through the forest.

Mr. Hatfield directed the boys to seat themselves about the camp fire.

Mr. Holloway, who had a deep base voice, then led the a.s.sembly in singing "Home on the Range," repeating it twice in the hope of gaining more time.

Next came the branding ceremony, or the induction of new families into the Pack. All regular Cubs were recognized as such by branding them as "old hands." Boys who had qualified for advancement in rank next came forward to receive certificates and badges.

Though Mr. Hatfield and Mr. Holloway ran off the ceremonies as slowly as possible, all too soon it came time for the compet.i.tive events.

"Without Dan and Brad, we haven't a chance to win," Midge remarked to Chips. "It makes me sick! After all the work we've done. Then to lose out to Den 1!"

"We haven't lost yet."

"No, but we will. You know that. Look at Ross Langdon! He's strutting around like a peac.o.c.k. Figures Den 1 already has won the silver plaque."

Deep gloom had settled upon all the Den 2 Cubs. Their uneasiness was shared not only by Mr. Hatfield and Mr. Holloway, but by parents of the three missing boys. Repeatedly, the grown-ups whispered together, apparently uncertain whether to continue the pow-wow or to halt it and organize a search for Brad, Dan and Red.

It was Dan's mother who decided the matter.

"The pow-wow must go on as planned," she declared. "My son wouldn't have disappeared without good reason. I'm confident he'll get word to us as quickly as he can. Meanwhile, he'd want the affair to continue exactly as planned."

Judging of the various handicraft items next began. Above all else, the magnificent sand painting for which Dan had been responsible, drew favorable comment.

Unquestionably, it would have won top honors. However, Mr. Hatfield explained that only the planning work had been Dan's and that therefore the den could not fairly claim the exhibit for points.

Judges awarded Den 1 ten points for a carved tom-tom, eight for an elaborate Indian head-dress, and three for a skillfully painted paddle.

Excellent examples of Indian weaving brought an additional five points.

"That's a total of 26 already," Fred muttered in alarm. "We'll be whitewashed!"

"We'll pick up," Midge insisted, with a confidence he did not feel.

Judges now were grading the Den 2 exhibits. With the sand painting eliminated from the entries, the Cubs of Den 2 could not expect to attain as many points as their compet.i.tors. Their only hope of winning the pow-wow rested in the athletic compet.i.tion.

Chips was highly elated to win ten points for the paddle he had decorated. Fred added five points for having the best Indian costume.

Brad, though not present, was awarded eight points for a cleverly made bracelet.

"Twenty-three points to Den 1's twenty-six," Mack added them up. "We're behind, but it could be worse."

The first athletic event was called a "Medicine Man's Ra.s.sle with the Evil Spirits."

Mr. Hatfield produced a three-foot length of broomstick. The Den 1 boys stood on one side, grasping the stick with both hands. On the other opposing side were Mack, Fred, Midge and Chips.

Though Den 1 to show its sportsmanship, limited their compet.i.tors to the same number of boys, they were able to select their strongest Cubs. Den 2 had no such choice.

Without Brad and Dan, they were greatly handicapped.

At the signal from Mr. Hatfield, each side tried to touch an end of the stick to the floor. Den 1 succeeded almost at once, achieving another ten points.

"Thirty-six to twenty-three!" Ross Langdon rubbed it in. "Why, this isn't even a compet.i.tion."

"Quiet, you!" Midge growled. "It could be different if all our Cubs were here."

"So you're already cooking up an alibi?" Ross gloated. "Poor losers!"

"That's not so!" Midge retorted furiously. "You're welcome to the silver plaque if you can win it. We've beaten you enough times before."

"Brad and Dan didn't show today because they're afraid of being licked in the canoe race," Ross went on.

"You know that's not true."

"Then why didn't they come?"

"I don't know," Midge admitted. "They may be here yet."

"They'd better hurry then. The pow-wow's nearly over."

The next scheduled event was an Indian dance. The Den 1 group offered a rather uninspired number, characterized by a noisy beating of tom-toms.

By contrast, Den 2 had planned an elaborate version of the Navajo fire dance, using flashlights instead of torches. Brad was to have led this number.