Great Hike Part 15

"Fall back and mount, fellows," said Elmer; "and you, Lil Artha, keep listening for the signal to wait for us. Only a mile do we dare keep going; to get closer to the place of ambush might betray us, as they would hear the explosions from one of these machines, the m.u.f.fler of which never works decently. Get that?"

"It's as plain as the nose on my face, and n.o.body can miss that,"

replied the other, as he started off along the road.

Elmer cautioned his comrades to make as little racket as possible, and presently they followed on their motorcycles.

About ten minutes later a low, weird sound floated through the air. To most persons it would have meant that some farmer's watchdog was uneasy, and baying at the stars; but Lil Artha knew better.

It was intended for the howl of the wolf, the sign of his patrol!

CHAPTER XII.

THE AMBUSH.

"I SEE him, Elmer," whispered Toby.

"Couldn't be anybody else," chuckled Nat, "because Lil Artha is as tall as a house, you know."

The contestant representing the Hickory Ridge scouts was standing there in the middle of the road, waiting for them to come up.

"Is it time, Elmer?" he asked, anxiously, as the other three joined him.

The gloaming was about them; indeed, since the heavens were beginning to be overshadowed by clouds, the dusk had already commenced to settle, earlier than usual in the end of August.

It had been a pretty fair day, but there was no telling what the night might bring forth; and Lil Artha, wisely looking ahead to a possible thunder-storm about midnight, was determined to complete his long hike as early as possible.

"Yes," replied the leader of the Wolf Patrol, quietly. "We're going to hide our machines somewhere about here, where we can find them when we need them a little later."

"And you want me to hold up till you're ready?" asked Lil Artha.

"That's the programme," came the reply. "You see, we expect that the four hold-up fellows must be hidden only a little farther along; and we want to have our part of the game fixed. Just sit down here, Lil Artha, and we'll be back again in a jiffy."

"Well, if it's all the same to you, Elmer, I think I'll keep on standing," replied the tall boy, with a chuckle.

"Oh, all right," replied Elmer; "you're the doctor, and ought to know what's best for your own case. Just wait for us here. Come along, fellows, and bring your motorcycles with you."

Of course there was no mystery about the refusal of Lil Artha to sit down. He knew from past experiences how difficult it is to get in working order again at such a stage in a long hike should he give way to the temptation and drop upon the ground. It was better to keep moving, and not allow any of his muscles to get stiffened.

Following Elmer, the others pushed into the woods on the right, where the scout leader seemed to think the conditions looked best for the hiding of the three machines.

It was not a hard task to secrete them in the bushes.

"Hope it don't rain before we come back again," remarked Toby, as he came out from the thicket where he had placed his motorcycle as carefully as though it were a brand-new one; for on account of its recent fairly decent performances the boy began to feel a return of his former affection for the wheel.

"We'll have to take the chances on that," replied Elmer. "These clouds may not stand for anything, after all."

"Often tries a big bluff like that," remarked Nat; "so we ain't going to worry about it. Besides, if the little circus is soon over, we can come here to get the bunch before long."

"Back to the road then, fellows," Toby observed, leading off with confidence.

A minute later Nat broke out again:

"Say, what d'ye know about this?" he remarked. "Don't seem a bit familiar to me along here. What're you laughing at, Elmer? Has Toby led us the wrong way?"

"Rats!" exclaimed that worthy, bristling up in indignation. "Don't you suppose I know what I'm about? Of course this is the right way to the road, ain't it, Elmer?"

"You might get there, if you kept on long enough!" admitted the other.

"But how far would we have to go?" demanded the incredulous Nat.

"Oh, about twenty-five thousand miles, more or less," chuckled Elmer.

"Gee, he's turned right around and is heading _away_ from the road, that's what," declared Nat, laughing softly. "A nice guide you'd be, Toby, old chum. Think of us floundering deeper and deeper into these blessed old woods, when every minute is worth a heap to us right now!"

"But what did you let me do it for, Elmer?" complained the culprit.

"Well, you started off as if you wanted to show us what you know about woodcraft; and I thought the chance to open your eyes a little too good to be lost," Elmer replied.

"But we've wasted time by it," declared Toby, feeling disheartened.

"Only a minute or two, and that doesn't count much beside the lesson it may be to a couple of scouts I know," said Elmer.

"Tell us just how you know which way the road lies," said Nat.

"Oh, that is as easy as falling off a log," came the crushing reply. "I just kept my eyes about me when we were coming in, and noted that we were moving due east at the time, with the breeze exactly on our right, and you remember it was coming out of the south a bit ago. If it had been daylight I'd have known the points of the compa.s.s from the direction of the sun; or, that failing, by the moss that nearly always grows on the north side of the trunks of forest trees. There are many ways for a wide-awake boy to find out these things; but only when he keeps his wits about him _all_ the time, and his eyes and ears open."

"I guess you're right, Elmer," grunted Toby. "Time I woke up and began to do some tall thinking, if ever I'm going to get out of the greenhorn cla.s.s."

While the three were talking after this fashion, in low, cautious tones, Elmer had been leading the way in a confident fashion through the gloomy woods.

Both the others were now more than a little curious to ascertain just how near the point where they had left Lil Artha their guide would fetch up. So far as they themselves were concerned it was by this time all a confused jumble. If asked to point out the proper direction neither could have done better than shut his eyes and thrust out a hand at random; for they were very much turned around, now that the clouds had rendered it impossible for them to even decide which direction was west.

"Well, I declare!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Toby, presently, "here's the bally old road, as sure as you're born, Nat!"

"Elmer!" said a low voice, as some object moved near by.

"And better still, here's Lil Artha!" declared Nat, lost in wonder as to how Elmer could have done such a remarkable stunt, and with hardly an effort, too.

"Sure," came in the same low tone. "Where else should he be but here just where you left him? But say, Elmer, you were gone a long time."

"Not a bit over five or six minutes," replied the leader, immediately; "and even then, we've had quite a lesson in woodcraft. Besides, Felix is half an hour behind, and there's little danger of his catching up, yet awhile."

"Do we start on again now?" asked Nat, who was opening and shutting his hands nervously in a way that might have excited the scout leader's suspicions had he been able to notice the movement.