CHAPTER XIX.
THE WIGWAG TALK.
"Don't you think Rob ought to be pretty nearly up there by now, boys?"Tubby was asking, when about half an hour had crept by since the patrolleader left them.
He had become quite anxious, so much so, in fact, that with many gruntsand "whees" he had actually managed to get upon his feet. Either Andy orMerritt would have been only too willing to lend the fat chum a helpinghand, but Tubby was more or less proud and sensitive; he might acceptassistance from Rob, who never made a habit of laughing in his face, butit was a different matter when any of the other scouts were concerned.
Then he had practiced waving his signal flags to and fro, making thoseparticular movements that stood for letters in the Myers' code ofwig-wagging. These had been readily interpreted by both Merritt andAndy, who were fairly up in the service, and could also relay messagesby heliograph, using a bit of broken mirror to flash the rays of thesun from hilltop to valley.
"I'm looking to see him show up any old time now," Andy replied; for hewas at that moment standing with his eyes glued on the lofty crag, fromwhich the signal-sender expected to wave his message when the time came.
"But none of us have so much as glimpsed our chum even once on his wayup there," Tubby complained; "which I take it is kind of queer. Gee! Ihope nothing's happened to Rob! That would be a calamity, sure!"
"Oh! don't worry about Rob," Andy cautioned him; "he knows how to lookout for himself, all right. You don't find _him_ stumbling over rootsand all sorts of things like--er--some of the rest of us fellows. Nodanger of Rob bringing up in one of those deep, dry ravines they call_arroyos_ down here in Old Mexico."
"Yes, but sometimes accidents do happen even to the smartest scouts,don't they?" the fat boy persisted in saying, as though bent on allowinghis feeling of anxiety to have full sway. "Huh! haven't you ever had alimb break when you believed it to be good and strong; or a stone slipout from under your foot, throwing you on your face? Even Rob, cleveras he is, might run across a piece of bad luck. Then, how d'ye know butthat one or two of those greaser cavalrymen might not have been campingsomewhere along the trail Rob followed, and seeing him coming, decidedto lie in ambush to knock him over? Any way, I'm getting what my mothercalls 'fidgetty'; and I'll be glad when it's all over."
"Well, chirk up, then, Tubby!" exclaimed Merritt just then, with a lowlaugh.
"Oh! did you see him, Merritt? And is that why you speak soencouragingly?" demanded the stout boy with quivering lips and a look ofintense eagerness on his round face.
The corporal of the Eagles nodded his head in the affirmative.
"Yes, I'm dead sure I had a glimpse of his khaki coat close to the crag,just while you were talking in such a gloomy way; and if you wait twominutes, chances are you'll see him wave his flag to let us know he hasarrived."
"Bully for you, Merritt; that's the best news I've had for a 'coon'sage.' But it is too bad we didn't think to bring a couple of mirrorsalong with us on this trip. Then, you know, we could have carried on ourlittle confab by flashes of the heliograph. It's a whole lot easierthan wigwag work, where your arms get so tired waving flags."
"There! See what's happened?" cried Andy suddenly.
"It's Rob, as sure as anything!" exclaimed the pleased Tubby. "He got upto that rock all right, didn't he? Watch him wave the O. K. sign, willyou? And now I guess he'll take a good look around, so as to locate theenemy, and then begin to tell us what's doing."
Evidently Rob was taking advantage of his elevated position to surveythe surrounding country in all directions. It would doubtless pay thebesieged rebel forces to know what was going on, and if there was anyhope of assistance coming to help drive the foe away.
The minutes began to drag horribly to impatient Tubby, and doubtless tothe other scouts as well. They could see that Rob was turning this wayand that, as though making good use of the excellent field glasses hehad thought to carry with him on his ascent.
"Why doesn't he hurry and send something?" Tubby muttered for the tenthtime as he walked to and fro, partly to work off his excitement, andpartly to avoid the stiffness that overtook him whenever he stood still."Here I'm all primed up for business at the old stand, and ready toreceive any message that may come. I've practiced the whole code overand over, you notice, fellers; and if I do say it myself, thatshouldn't, I never felt in such good trim as right now. If only Robwould get busy and whisper something! He must have learned a heap bynow. Why, it seems like half an hour since he bobbed up serenely there!"
"Less than ten minutes, Tubby, because I timed him," interposed Merritt.
"Well, long enough for him to take a squint at a whole circle and seeall sorts of things," grumbled Tubby, quite disconsolate over the delay."If this keeps up, it's going to wear me away to a skeleton, that'swhat."
"No danger, Tubby, of that happening," declared Andy.
"And get busy now," added Merritt. "There comes your first signal! He isasking if you are ready to take a message. Answer him O. K., Tubby."
"Hurray! Now mebbe there won't be something doing!" exclaimed theother, aroused to a full consciousness that duty called.
Tubby in action was a sight to behold. He was so fat that, when hischubby arms got to working vigorously, he looked something like a Dutchwindmill with the sails flapping furiously in a half gale.
But Tubby knew his Myers' wigwag code all right, and could receivebetter than nearly any fellow on the roster of the Eagle Patrol. Whenone masters the art of taking a message with fair speed, sending is whatTubby always called "pie." This is also the case in telegraph work. Insending, one knows in advance what is coming, and the brain can workahead, but this is not so in receiving.
Rob made his flag do its duty with a vigor that kept both Tubby andMerritt keyed up to top notch in order to read the message, while, asthe fat scout called out the letters, Andy wrote them down.
And this was what the boy on the rocky crag sent as a beginning:
"Can see enemy--number about sixty in sight--have started to turn flank,and make attack from other side--warn Lopez!"
That was alarming news, because, if the movement were undertaken withoutany notice to the rebel force, they would undoubtedly be caught napping;and it does not require much of a surprise to create a panic with troopswho are unseasoned fighters.
"But how could they cross over to the other side of the railroad withoutbeing seen, I want to know?" Tubby asked, after the whole message hadbeen received.
"We can't tell that from here, but you bet your boots Rob knows," Andywas quick to reply, showing what an amount of confidence the boys of theEagle Patrol were wont to place in their recognized leader under any andall conditions.
"Yes, that's right," Merritt added. "It might be there is some gullythat the road spans, which we didn't notice when making our dash here,where the Federals could dodge through without anybody being a whit thewiser. Anyway, Rob says that's what they mean to do, which settles it,Tubby."
"There, he's waving again!" called out the observant Andy. "Quick, getbusy and let him know you're ready to take the next message, Tubby!"
"On deck!" chirped the receiving end of the air telegraph, which theboys often called their "wireless."
This time Rob went on a little further. Possibly he may have guessedthat what he sent before was apt to mystify the boys, and wished to makeit plainer. At any rate he took up the very subject they had just beendiscussing, as though he had some means of overhearing their littletalk.
"One mile above, track passes over a little gulch. Shallow, but deepenough to answer purpose. Can see soldiers crawling under right now.Rocks lie beyond, and from that easy to creep close to train there. WarnLopez, and have him tell captain of rebel forces. Get all that?"
Now came Tubby's turn.
Really, all he had to send back was the "O. K." signal, showing that hehad read everything that had been sent; but, then, Tubby was a goodtalker, and it was hard for him to resist a golden opportunity like thepresent, where he could disp
lay his knowledge along the line of flirtingwith the flags.
So he started the wave, and in another minute was working industriously.
"Don't think we missed a single letter," he told the boy on the crag;"and you sure sent faster than ever before in your life. What are we todo if they attack the train? Ought we to join in and use our guns? Wewant to know, because it might be too late when you get back. Answer."
The two watching boys had started to spell out Tubby's message. Thinkingit a waste of precious time at first, Merritt had even started forwardto object when he caught some of the later words, and this halted him.After all, it was not so far out of the way for Tubby to want to knowwhat their line of conduct should be under certain conditions. They hadnot anticipated anything like this when Rob left; and, as he was theirleader, all orders had to come from him.
On this account, then, they waited to see what the answer would be.Apparently Rob had made out what Tubby asked, for he at once sentanother message. As the letters followed each other in quick succession,even Andy could read their import.
"Hold back all you can, unless it seems absolutely necessary to join in.We have come down here on a peaceful errand, and don't want to side witheither force more than we can help. This is a Mexican affair, and UncleSam is keeping his hands off. Understand?"
"What shall I tell him, Merritt?" questioned Tubby, eagerly waiting fororders, because, in the absence of the acting scout master and patrolleader, the corporal was looked upon as in charge.
"We'll try to be wise and cautious, tell Rob that," replied Merritt;"and we'll keep out of the muss till we think we've just _got_ to help,in order to save our lives. That's all, Tubby."
Accordingly, Tubby started in again, for his arm had by now rested upmore or less, so that he was in condition for work. The short messagewas possibly strung out considerably, because Tubby realized that in allprobability it would be his last chance to flirt the flag, on thisoccasion, at least.
Then Rob waved them good-bye, and turned as though to take one last lookover the country beyond, which was hidden from the sight of the boys atthe stalled train.
Tubby still remained on his feet, though casting anxious eyes toward thespot where the comfortable blanket seat had been temporarily left, whileMerritt was going over the message Andy had written down, so that hecould give it to Lopez accurately for transmission to the rebelcaptain.
All at once Andy uttered an exclamation. There was such a note of alarmin his voice that Merritt looked up from his paper, and Tubby whirledaround so as to face the other.
"What ails you now, Andy?" demanded Merritt.
"It's Rob!" exclaimed the scout addressed. "I just saw several soldierscreeping along the trail he must use coming back; and they mean to liein ambush for him!"