The Boy Trapper Part 9

"It's more'n that, Dannie," said G.o.dfrey, who, as soon as he could settle his mind to the task, went over his calculations again, adding the astounding statement--

"An' if he gets three dollars a dozen, he'll get a hundred an' fifty dollars for the lot."

Dan's astonishment was so great that for a few seconds he could not speak, and even his father looked puzzled and amazed. He was certain that he had made no mistake in his mental arithmetic this time, and the magnitude of David's prospective earnings fairly staggered him.

It made him angry to think of it.

"The idee of that triflin' leetle Dave's makin' so much money," he exclaimed, in great disgust; "an' here's me, who has worked an'

slaved fur a hul lifetime, an' I've got jest twenty dollars."

"Eh?" cried Dan.

G.o.dfrey was frightened at what he had said, but he could not recall it without exciting Dan's suspicions; so he put on a bold face and continued:--

"Yes, I've got that much, an' I worked hard fur it, too. But a hundred an' fifty dollars! We must have that when it's 'arned, Dannie."

"The hul on it?"

"Every cent. I'm Dave's pap, an' the law gives me the right to his 'arnin's, an' yours, too, until you's both twenty-one years ole. Now, Dannie, I've done a power of hard thinkin' since I've been here on this island, an' I've got some idees in my head that will make you look wild when you hear 'em. I didn't know jest how to carry 'em out afore, but I do now. These yere hundred an' fifty dollars will keep us movin' till we kin find them eighty thousand."

"Be you goin' to look fur them agin, pap?"

"No, I hain't, but you be."

"Not much, I ain't," replied Dan, emphatically.

"Who's to do it, then?" demanded his father. "I can't, kase I'm afeared to go into the settlement even at night. You hain't goin' to give up the money, be you? Then what'll become of your circus-hoss, an' your painted boats, an' your fine guns what break in two in the middle?"

"I don't keer," answered Dan, doggedly. "I wouldn't go into that tater-patch alone, arter dark; if I knowed it was chuck full of yaller gold an' silver pieces."

The savage scowl that settled on G.o.dfrey's face, as he listened to these words, brought Dan to his feet again in great haste. The man was fully as angry as he looked, and it is possible he might have said or done something not altogether to Dan's liking, had it not been for an unlooked-for interruption that occurred just then.

G.o.dfrey had raised his hand in the air to give emphasis to some remark he was about to make, when he was checked by a slight splashing in the water, accompanied by the measured clatter of oars, as they were moved back and forth in the row-locks. This was followed by a clear, ringing laugh, which G.o.dfrey and his son could have recognized anywhere, and a cheery voice said:--

"I'm getting tired. It is time for me to stop and rest when I begin to catch crabs."

There was a boat in the bayou, and Don and Bert Gordon were in it.

They were so close at hand, too, that flight was impossible.

"I don't think there's much difference between riding on horseback and rowing in a boat, as far as the work is concerned," said the same voice. "I've done about all I can do to-day. There don't seem to be any ducks in the bayou; so we'll stop here and take a breathing spell before we go back."

"Is thar any place in the wide world a feller could crawl into without bein' pestered by them two oneasy chaps?" whispered Dan, jumping up from his block of wood and looking all around, as if he were seeking a way of escape.

"Not a word out of you," replied G.o.dfrey, shaking his fist at his son.

Following G.o.dfrey's example, Dan threw himself behind one of the piles of cane, and the two held their breath and listened.

CHAPTER VII.

WHAT HAPPENED THERE.

"You're not going to get out, are you, Don?" asked Bert, and as he was not more than four or five rods away, every word he uttered was distinctly heard by the two listeners in the cane.

"I want to stretch my legs a little," was Don's reply. "Come on, and let's explore the island. You know it used to be a famous bear's den, don't you?"

"I should think I ought to know it, having heard father tell the story of the animal's capture a dozen times or more. He must have been a monster: he was so large and heavy that it was all a span of mules could do to drag him from the sh.o.r.e of the lake, where he was taken out of the boat, up to the house."

"And didn't he make things lively before he was killed, though?" said Don. "He destroyed nine dogs and wounded two men. I'd like to take part in a hunt like that."

"Well, I wouldn't. It looks gloomy in the cane, doesn't it? What would we do if we should find a bear in there?"

"I don't know," answered Don, with a laugh. "Our guns are loaded with small shot, and they would hardly penetrate a bear's thick skin. If he should come at us, I'd be a goner, sure, for I am so stiff I couldn't run to save my life. But I don't think we'll find----Halloo!

Bert, just look here!"

A chorus of exclamations followed, and G.o.dfrey and Dan looked at each other and scowled fiercely.

"That's my canoe," said Don, and they heard the oars rattle as he stepped into it.

"There's no doubt about that," said Bert, in surprised and delighted tones; "but how came it here?"

"That's the question. The fellow who stole it took it up the bayou and then turned it loose, having no further use for it, or else it got away from him and drifted down here."

"Who knows but the thief brought it here himself, and that he is on the island now, hidden in the cane?" said Bert, lowering his voice, but still speaking quite loud enough to make himself heard by G.o.dfrey and Dan.

"I hardly think that can be possible," replied Don. "You see the bow of the canoe was caught on this root; and that makes me think it was brought down by the current and lodged here."

G.o.dfrey and Dan looked at each other again. They had taken no pains to secure the boat when they left it, and the current had moved it from its place on the bank and was carrying it toward the lake, when it caught on the root where it was discovered by its lawful owner.

"I am glad to get it again," said Don, "for I don't know what we should have done without it. It is just the thing to chase crippled ducks with. If I could see the man who stole it, I'd give him a piece of my mind, I tell you."

After that there was a pause in the conversation and the rattling of a chain told G.o.dfrey and Dan that the canoe was being fastened to the stern of the boat in which the brothers had come up the bayou. Then there was more conversation in a subdued tone of voice, and presently a commotion in the cane indicated that Don and Bert were working their way slowly toward the camp. Dan began to tremble and turn white, and his father looked as though he would have been glad to run if he had only known where to go.

"Halloo!" exclaimed Bert, suddenly, "here we are. Come this way, Don.

I've found a path."

"A path!" repeated his brother. "What should make a path through this cane?"

"I don't know, I am sure. What's this? Can you tell a bear track when you see it?"

"Of course I can," answered Don, and the listeners heard him pushing his way through the cane toward the path in which his brother stood.

"But I don't call this a bear track," he added, after a moment's pause, during which he was closely examining the footprint his brother pointed out to him. "A barefooted man or boy has been along here, and that track was made not more than ten minutes ago. And, Bert," he continued, in a lower tone, "you were right about that boat after all. Come on, now, and if the thief is here we'll have a look at him."

"Pap," whispered Dan, hurriedly, "they're comin' sure's you're livin'. Le's slip around to the other side of the island, easy like, and steal their boats afore they know what is goin' on."

"We couldn't do it," replied his father, in the same cautious whisper. "They'd be sure to see us. I'll fix 'em when they come nigh enough. I'd like to shoot 'em both, to pay 'em for findin' my hidin'

place."