CHAPTER XXVII.
TUBBY SOLVES THE MYSTERY.
"Well, I've got some great news for you, fellers!" Tubby exclaimed as hecame panting into Rob's den, where Andy and Merritt were comfortablycoiled in easy chairs, about a week after they had returned home fromtheir eventful trip down across the Rio Grande.
"Another accident happened to the poor old Academy, just when they'vegot the unlucky building fit for school! And perhaps a lovely journeyfor us, away across the continent this time to Sunny California!"suggested Andy, sitting up suddenly with a look of eagerness on hisboyish face.
Tubby shook his head in the negative.
"You're no good at guessing, Andy; perhaps now, Rob, here, or ourcorporal, might hew closer to the line."
Rob had been looking at the excited, triumphant face of the fat chum. Heremembered what a great fellow Tubby was to hang on to anything, justlike a bulldog might, and there flashed into his mind how he had oncecaught Tubby looking at a certain little object which he had carriedcarefully with him all the way to Mexico and back.
"You've struck something new about that boat business, that's what,Tubby!" he cried, pointing his finger at the other.
"Oh! say, that is hardly fair," grumbled Tubby. "I expected to have youall up in the air guessing; and here Rob goes and hits the facts thevery first pop."
"Then you've made a discovery, is that it, Tubby?" asked Merritt.
"I should say I had, and in the most remarkable way ever heard of," thestout scout declared. "Talk about your luck--but then, if I hadn't beenprepared and kept my eyes open, it wouldn't have happened, that's what.Yes, sir, it pays to have eyes in your head, and some gray matter inyour brain, if I do say it myself that oughtn't. Remember that, AndyBowles, and don't think you're doing your whole duty as a scout when youjust blow that bugle of yours now and then."
"Oh! come, tell us what's happened, Tubby, and never mind about me,"suggested Andy with a broad grin. For it was like putting the cartbefore the horse to have clumsy, good-natured, but careless Tubby tellanother boy how to prove himself worthy of bearing the name of scout.
"All right, I won't keep you wondering too long," Tubby continued, beingin reality just wild to relate his story. "You all remember how, when Ipicked up that little curled shaving floating on the water that was inRob's sailboat, and noticed how it had a queer raised ridge running allalong, I said that the bit that had been used to bore that round holemust have a good-sized nick in each of the two cutting edges? Well, Iwas right; it has!"
"Then you prowled around, and poked into everybody's tool-chest till youfound such a bit, did you?" demanded Andy.
"I meant to," admitted Tubby, "but so many things have kept coming upsince our getting back from Mexico that it just seemed as though Icouldn't make a start. But only this very morning I told myself I'd getbusy, and see if I couldn't wipe that old mystery off the slate. Thenthat wonderful streak of good luck ran slap up against me, and I tookadvantage of my opportunity. Every true scout has to grab a goldenchance when it comes along, Andy; you know that?"
"Oh! go on, and quit your preaching," grunted the other scout.
"Well, I was walking along the main street of Hampton just half an hourago, and all at once I happened to spy just such an object as I had inmy mind right then. It was a carpenter's brace, and was carried underthe arm of a man I immediately recognized as Jacob Ramsay."
"H'm! the father of that bad boy, Max Ramsay," exclaimed Merritt, with awise nod of the head, as though he already knew what was coming.
"Of course," continued Tubby, "that interested me a heap, and I wonderedwhy he was carrying a brace with him. Then he went into the hardwarestore. That made me think quick, and so I hurried after him. Just as Igot inside, I heard him saying something to the dealer about his largestbit having been badly nicked some months ago when he was cutting into aheavy plank that had a lot of rusty nails in it, and that he wanted aduplicate; also, that he'd fetched the bit along so as to make sure thenew one fitted."
"Fine, Tubby!" exclaimed Rob laughingly. "You'd surely make a prettygood detective. Wouldn't he, fellows?"
"Well, I know that he's got a splendid detector for any kind of grubthat is lying around," Andy declared; "but I never before thought hecould follow up a clew that didn't have the odor of cooking about it."
"And here's the broken bit!" Tubby said triumphantly, as he drewsomething out of his pocket and held it up. "Mr. Ramsay got his new one,and never bothered taking the old bit off the counter, because it couldnever be fixed again. And I asked the hardware man if he cared to let mehave it, which he said was all right. And now, Rob, here's that shavingI've been lugging around with me ever so long; just make a try, and seeif that raised ridge fits the nicks in the cutting edges, will you?"
"Surely I will, Tubby," replied the scout master, reaching out his handfor the two articles, and all the others bent their heads closer towatch the result.
After Rob had made repeated trials it was manifest to everyone that theywere positively looking on the identical bit used in boring that holethrough the bottom of Rob's boat. The circumstantial evidence was ascomplete as any that ever sent a criminal to the gallows or the electricchair.
"Well, what d'ye say, Rob?" demanded the fat scout eagerly.
"Shake hands on it, Tubby," remarked Rob. "You've proved your case asclean as a whistle, hasn't he, boys?"
"No question about it," replied Merritt, also grasping the pudgy fist ofTubby and giving it a squeeze that made the tears come to the boy'seyes.
"Looks as though you'd hit on the right borer of holes," admitted Andy,"but now, what are you going to do about it, Tubby? The boat wasn'tlost, so you couldn't have Max arrested, charged with maliciousdestruction of property. And I don't think you're contemplating givinghim a licking for being so mean, because that isn't in your line verymuch--even if you weren't a scout and dassent!"
"I'll tell you what I thought," said Tubby. "Rob, your boat had themischief done to it, not mine; I've only been the means of finding outwho played that low-down trick on you that might have cost us dear.Suppose now you take this bit and curl of shaving, and confront Max.Let him know you'll tell his father all about it unless he says he'ssorry and promises never to try such a contemptible thing again. Ireckon that is what a scout's duty would be in a case like this."
"And you're right about that, Tubby," said Rob, secretly pleased to seehow seriously the other took the affair. "I'll accept the mission, withmany thanks to you for finding out what you did. It was a clever job allaround. Lots of fellows would have forgotten all about that shavingweeks ago, but you've been keeping it on your mind right along. I evensaw you looking at it away down in Mexico, and I had a pretty good hunchyou'd run that rascal down sooner or later."
Rob was as good as his word, and did astonish Max Ramsay one fine day byconfronting him with the evidence of his rascality, to the utterconsternation of the boy. Finding himself cornered, Max confessed thathe had done the deed, but he stoutly declared that he had not dreamedthat anything like danger would result. He knew that, if the watersuddenly poured into the boat when the plug was dislodged, no harm wouldfollow, because Rob could swim like a fish.
He professed to be sorry, but Rob fancied that this was assumed more inorder to keep the other from informing his father, who was already angrybecause of his many pranks about town, than from any compunction that hefelt.
All the same there was considerable satisfaction to Tubby, Rob and theother two scouts, because the mystery had been cleared up. It wasnoticeable in the future, however, that none of those fellows would evergo out sailing without first carefully inspecting the bottom of theboat, to make sure that it had not been tampered with.
Tubby still keeps that nicked bit, as well as the shaving and the plugthat filled the hole in the bottom of the sailboat, to remind him ofwhat happened that dull November afternoon when, with his three chums,he was wrecked three miles up the bay from Hampton town.
The roof of the Academy having been proper
ly repaired and the interiorput in shape again, school was resumed, and in the pursuit of theirstudies Rob and his friends did not find many opportunities to getoutdoors while the winter lasted, save on Saturdays and holidays, whenthe sports of the season claimed their undivided attention.
But the weekly meetings of Hampton Troop, led by the Eagle Patrol,continued to be held in their old quarters; and frequently on othernights Tubby, Rob, Andy and Merritt would get together in one of theirhomes and talk of the great adventure that had come to them whenfavoring circumstances allowed them to go all the way to Mexico. Theyread of the rebel chieftain, whose name figured daily in the papers,with far deeper interest than ever before, since they now had a personalknowledge of the man whose warlike doings kept several nations on theanxious seat.
"That was a great experience, fellers," Tubby often sighed, after theyhad gone over the familiar scenes again and again, always findingsomething new to discuss; "and I'm afraid we'll never meet with such aheap of good times again. It doesn't stand to reason that we'd ever bethat lucky, does it, now?"
And, while the other three reluctantly conceded that Tubby might beright, events proved just the contrary. The scouts of the Eagle Patrolwere fated to come across other still more unexpected adventures, suchas were calculated to call heavily upon their knowledge of scoutcraft,in order that puzzles might be solved and dangers avoided. What theseexperiences were the future only has the power to disclose.
The boys often wondered what had become of Jared Applegate, whether hereally did make an effort to reform, or whether he fell back into hisold mean ways that seemed bound to get him into serious troublecontinually. So far as they knew, his father and mother had heardnothing from him, though Rob thought it his duty to let the old peopleknow that they had seen Jared while down in Mexico, and that he was inTexas when they came away, bent on seeking work on some cattle ranch.
They did have a letter from Lopez, telling them that he had heard the"call" and was about to enlist in the army under the wonderful Villa,meaning to march with the general to take the City of Mexico later on.
Uncle Mark grew steadily better after he knew that a part of his oncelarge fortune had been saved to him through the gratitude of the manwhose life he had once been enabled to keep from slipping away. But hefeared that never again would he be able to endure the severe labor andperils of penetrating dense jungles and tropical forests in search ofrare orchids, or of exploring unknown countries.
In the future the old traveler would have to be content to sit quietlyand take his pleasure in reading of the achievements of other daringsouls, who were still in the heyday of their vigorous manhood andcapable of enduring privations.
He was deeply interested in all the doings of the Boy Scouts, seeingthat the movement was the greatest thing that had ever come to pass fordeveloping the finest American characteristics in the future men of therepublic.
Hampton Troop never had a more enthusiastic admirer than Uncle Markbecame, and indeed, in all quarters now, the scouts gained a finereputation for courage, true manliness, and knowledge of thethousand-and-one things a boy ought to know, if he expects to climb upthe ladder of advancement. At the time we take leave of our youngfriends, the prospects of the scouts never looked so bright, and weshall hear more of their adventures in the succeeding volume, entitled"The Boy Scouts on Belgian Battlefields."
THE END.