CHAPTER XVI.
SCOUTING FOR UNCLE SAM.
"Rob! Rob! Rob!"
Merritt nudged his dozing companion as they lay near to the submarineshed, where they had taken up their position earlier in the night.Immediately after supper the lads had, apparently, slipped off to theirtents; but as soon as they were sure that they were free fromobservation they had, in pursuance of their plans, taken up a positionclose to the sheltering place of the _Peacemaker_.
Rob had dozed off shortly before midnight, and the words at thebeginning of this chapter formed Merritt's notification to him that itwas time to bestir himself.
The boy, aroused at once from his nap, sat up at his comrade's summons.
"What is it?" he asked in a whisper.
"Look! Look yonder! Don't you see Barton sneaking toward the shed?"
There was no moon, but in the starlight Rob, thus admonished, coulddistinctly discern a shadowy figure gliding across the sand dunes to thesubmarine shed.
"It _is_ Barton, sure enough!" he exclaimed in a low, tense voice. "Iguess we were right, Merritt, when we read that 'Ready to-night'message."
"We sure were," was the response; "the question now is, what is thatfellow up to?"
"Some sort of mischief, just as we surmised," was the reply. "Let's doan Indian crawl toward the shed and see what we can find out."
The next instant both boys were noiselessly wriggling their way on theirstomachs toward the shed into the interior of which Barton had, by thistime, vanished. It was easy work to make a noiseless advance over thesoft sand, but so thoroughly had both the Boy Scouts practiced themaneuver of silent advance that even had the ground been different, itis likely that they could have approached unheard.
Right up to the very walls of the shed they wriggled their way and then,placing their eyes to a crack in the timbers, they peered in. By theyellow light of a lantern Barton had lighted they saw him dive down intothe interior of the submarine and emerge, ere long, with several rolledsheets of paper.
The fellow did not appear to labor under anxiety that he was beingwatched, for he went boldly about his business, taking no apparent painsto screen the light or to move noiselessly. Having emerged from thesubmarine and reached once more the door of the shed, he extinguishedthe light and glided out into the night like a half-embodied form.
Merritt half leaped to his feet as he saw the fellow making off, but Robdrew his companion down into their place of concealment with awhispered,
"Hold on. Don't spoil everything now by betraying our presence. Let himget a little way and we'll follow him."
"But we may lose him in the darkness," objected Merritt.
"I scarcely think so," was the rejoinder; "in fact, I have a pretty goodidea where he is bound for."
"And where may that be?"
"The place in which he lay this afternoon to read those signals from thedistant island. Depend upon it, he is going to meet the men whomanipulated that flag!"
"By hooky! That's so, Rob. What a mind you have for figuring out things!Of course, it's plain enough now that he is betraying Mr. Barr by givingdrawings and plans of the submarine to Mr. Barr's enemies, but I didn'tthink he'd take so bold a method."
"There's nothing very bold about it," retorted Rob. "He is a trustedman, and has been given every opportunity to be dishonest, if it sosuits him."
"I guess that's right; but it's our duty to thwart him."
"You just bet it is, and we'll do it, too, if it's possible. See, therehe goes over the top of that sand dune. I could see his figuresilhouetted against the sky. I reckon it's safe now to take after him."
"All right, you say when."
"I'll give the word right here. Silently, now; remember he is on theoutlook for some interference with his plans, and a false move may spoileverything."
"Don't worry about me. A first class Scout should be able to carrythrough a simple little thing like this."
"Don't be too sure it's simple," admonished Rob, as they silently rosefrom their crouching postures and took after the vague shadow; "thisthing may turn out to be bigger than we thought."
"Have you laid any plans as to what you will do if we do apprehend himin the act of transferring the plans to Mr. Barr's enemies?"
"Not yet. There's no use crossing a bridge till you come to it."
Through the night the boys pursued their quarry as silently as twosnakes. At times they lost sight of him, but always his figure wouldloom up against the star-sprinkled sky as he topped a sand dune. Atlength they saw him pause and light the lantern, which he had used inthe shed, and which he still carried.
This done, he swung the light twice across his body, after the fashionof a brakeman signalling a train to come ahead.
Instantly, out of the darkness, flashed an answering beacon--a redlight. The boys clasped each other's arms. That they were on the brinkof an exciting adventure they did not doubt. But in each lad's heart wasa firm resolve that, come what might, they would do their duty by UncleSam.
"Was that red light shown from the other island?" whispered Merritt.
"No, I am inclined to think it came from that launch we saw sneaking inbehind the island this afternoon just before the signalling commenced,"was the response.
"In that case, she must be still far out?"
"Yes; but in any event they would have to send a boat ashore. Thatlaunch is too large to land on the beach directly."
As if in answer to his opinion the watching boys presently saw a redlight creeping over the water toward the island. Undoubtedly it camefrom a small boat, so low on the water was it.
Before long they could detect the splash of oars, although whoever wasrowing the boat was trying to make as little noise as possible.
As the light drew close in shore, Merritt seized Rob's arm.
"What's the next move?" he asked.
"It looks as if it were ours," was the quiet, but determined,rejoinder.