CHAPTER XVII
WHAT BURNED IN THE CABIN
"Why, that's blasting gelatine," Jack declared. "One stick is enough toblow the Fortuna to pieces. Here are one, two, three, four, five,six--six sticks of high powered explosive lying right next to ourengines. Where would the good ship have been if that stuff had let go? Itell you, fellows, this looks serious."
"Serious is no name for it," declared Tom. "I'm scared."
"Wonder where he got it?" mused Frank. "It's dangerous stuff for commonfolks to have. They don't sell it at the stores."
"No doubt he stole it from someone who is using it for stumping, or somesuch work as that. He couldn't buy it," said Tom.
"But look at this fuse," Jack cried. "It looks as if it had beenlighted. Sure as you're a foot high it has been lighted."
"Why didn't the stuff go off then?" queried Tom.
"I don't know," Jack admitted. "I'm going to pull the end of the burnedfuse out of this stick and see what's the matter."
Suiting the action to the word, Jack slowly extracted the end of thefuse from the stick of gelatine in which it had been thrust.
"Ha, Ha," he laughed with a motion as if to slap his thigh. Startled, hecaught himself in time. The laughter died away.
"What's the matter, Jack?" inquired Frank.
"I almost dropped one of the sticks," replied Jack.
"Well, what of it?" innocently Tom suggested.
"Nothing of it," Jack gruffly responded. "At least, I might say nothingof the Fortuna and her crew if I had dropped one of the sticks. They'reonly about an inch in diameter and seven or eight inches long, but oneof them is enough to blow this vessel into chunks and the six would haveblown her to little pieces."
"But why would dropping it to the floor have done damage?" persistedTom. "I thought it had to have fire to explode it."
"That's where you're wrong," Jack explained. "Most people have the sameidea. Evidently that was also the idea of the villain who planted thisstuff here, for he neglected to put a cap on his fuse."
"What's a cap?" Tom eagerly asked. "I don't know about this."
"I couldn't help but notice it," Jack scorned. "Well, it's just thisway--You see, dynamite will burn without exploding. A very little jar,however, sometimes is sufficient to set it going and explode it. Whensetting off a charge, a cap containing some fulminate of mercury is putover the end of the fuse. That stuff will explode from fire. When thefuse burns down to the cap, the cap explodes and the jar of itsexplosion sets off the dynamite. See?"
"Thanks," gratefully replied Tom. "Now I'm enlightened. Then the reasonthe Fortuna is still here is because the guy forgot to put his cap onhis fuse? Am I now correct?"
"Right you are, Tom," answered Jack. "Are there any further questions?If not, the class in explosives is dismissed."
"One more, Professor, if you please." Frank had the floor. "What shallwe do with the stuff? We don't want to keep it aboard."
"That's a problem," Jack announced. "We can't merely throw it overboard;nor we can't leave it in a fence corner. I'll confess I'm puzzled toknow how we shall get rid of it."
"Let's leave it until morning," Tom suggested. "Just now I'm so worn outI can't think. I wish we had Wyckoff here, I'd put it in his pockets andthen climb a telegraph pole with him and throw him down good and hard.When he landed it would explode and he'd get his."
"Sure," laughed Frank. "Listen to the bloodthirsty Thomas. What do yousuppose would be going on up the pole all that time?"
"Well, I'd be there watching for Wyckoff and when the explosion blew himup, I'd reach out and slap his wrist as he went sailing by."
"Well, he isn't here and probably won't be here for some time, either.We'd better get to sleep," Jack stated. "Tomorrow bright and early we'llget those carpenters at work. One plank is a short job and then it'llonly be a few minutes work for all hands to slap on the copper paint andinto the water she goes. We should have the Fortuna afloat before noonif everything goes well."
"Hurray!" cried Tom. "Then we'll go up to the cabin--"
His voice lost its ringing, cheery tone as he thought of what they mightfind at the cabin. No one could speak for a few minutes.
At last they composed themselves for slumber in the after cabin that theboys liked so well. It was fitted up with souvenirs of their varioustrips. Here a pair of wings from a great snowy owl that Tom had shot.There a stuffed porcupine that caused such a commotion in their camp inthe Canadian wilds of Georgian Bay. Here were the jaw bones of a giantmuscalonge that had taken the bait at sunrise one morning as Harry wastrolling from a skiff in northern Michigan. So on it went with varioustrophies of the hunt and chase. The room was their parlor, where theygathered for a pleasant evening and where they preferred to spend thenight.
Rowdy curled on a rug in the middle of the floor. One eye was open. Everas he slept or dozed his limbs twitched convulsively and he moaned andmuttered in his fitful unconsciousness.
No disturbance wakened the boys that night. They slept soundly as onlyhealthy, hearty boys can sleep when their minds are filled with purethoughts of sport and active out-of-doors life. As yet they had not beentainted with the many things that go to disturb rest. Their everydaytraining at the Beaver Patrol club rooms had been along right lines.Their Scout Masters were all young men of high ambition whose purposewas to teach their younger scouts that highest, noblest lesson--that manis here for a purpose and that purpose is not a selfish one. Thus fartheir teaching had not been in vain.
With the early beams of the morning sun Jack was awake.
"Come on, boys," he cried. "We'll have to bathe in a pint bowl thismorning. No hose for us today."
"Well, if we can't have a shower bath, let's take a quick cold spongeand then have a little setting up exercise," suggested Tom.
Their actions were a revelation to the watchman who was now justrecovering from his stupor of the night before. His brain was still sobefuddled by the liquor that he could not at once understand what wasgoing on about him. His surprise pleased the boys.
"What'll we have for breakfast?" asked Tom, and then added, "Suggestsomething easy, for I'm cook, you know."
"Pancakes," cried Frank. "Those you made when we were leaving Petit Boiswere just about the best I ever ate."
"Pancakes it is, then," agreed Tom dashing to the kitchenette, where heproceeded to prepare a breakfast of delicious pancakes and coffee. A fewfreshly boiled shrimp added to the feast were welcomed by the boys. Apassing fisherman had offered them to Jack at just the right moment. Theboys did ample justice to the feast.
Leaving the foreman to superintend the matter of replacing the plankwhere Wyckoff had bored the hole in his dastardly effort to sink theFortuna and her crew, the boys took a boat from the Fortuna and rowed upto the leaning oak. From thence it was easy enough with Rowdy's aid totrail the route to the site of the cabin in the clearing.
The embers had now cooled sufficiently so that the boys could search inthe ruins. For a moment they hesitated to explore the ashes, fearingwhat they might find. A last they plucked up their courage and began athorough search. The task was not a pleasant one.
"What's this?" cried Tom. "Boys, I declare I smell burned flesh. Thatodor hangs around here something fierce."
"Well if that big Doright was telling the truth," Frank argued, "theboys got out of the cabin and were safe last night. How about it?"
"You can't tell anything by what that fellow said," Tom replied. "Hejust saw that we were worried about the boys and wanted them to be safe,so he said they were safe. That's all there is to that."
"He's considerable of a child," Jack announced. "They all are."
During this time Rowdy had been circling the spot where the cabin hadstood, occasionally sending up a doleful howl.
"Watch Rowdy," Tom declared. "If he isn't an indication that somethinghappened here last night, I'll miss my guess."
"Well, I don't believe that what you mean did happen," Jack contended."If it was so, Doright would have acted differen
tly. He was verycomposed when we saw him and that bluff he put up about this being hisfarm showed that he knew where the boys were all the time."
"Then what do you suppose happened to them?" Tom's voice broke.
"I don't know. They're around here somewhere. Of that I'm sure. They arenot far away," Jack stoutly contended.
"What do you think Frank?" was Tom's almost tearful query.
"I think we'd better not make up our minds until we get some betterevidence than a smell or a negro's word. Let's keep digging."
Accordingly the boys vigorously attacked the plan they had in mind ofstirring about through all the ashes in search of a clue to thewhereabouts of their chums. At last a shout from Tom proclaimed adiscovery. His friends rushed to his side.
"Right here by the chimney." Tom broke down. "There it is."
"Now, Tom," half scolded Jack. "Brace up, boy! Suppose it were reversed.Would you want them to squall over you?"
"I can't help it," the boy answered. "I am not squalling, but I feelbadly to lose a chum like those boys were. So do you, too."
"I sure do," answered Jack poking about Tom's discovery. "I'd feel awfulto lose a good friend even if he was a black sheep."
As Jack spoke he held up on the end of a stick a small tuft of woolwhich had adhered to the end of his staff. With it came the odor ofburned flesh again. Jack smilingly pulled Tom's sleeve.
"The boys are safe," he said, exhibiting the wool. "It was a black sheepthat burned. Arnold and Harry are not black sheep."
"Good, oh, goody," cried Tom, capering about. "That's just fine."
In a short time the boys finished their search now fully convinced thatwhatever might have happened to Harry and Arnold they were not now inthe ruins of the burned cabin.
"Now let's get Rowdy to help us track the boys to wherever they went,"suggested Tom. "I'd like to find 'em."
"Good idea," responded Frank. "Let's do that. Here, Rowdy."
"Fine," declared Jack. "Just the thing, if he'll do it."
But the boys were doomed to another disappointment. Rowdy, after beingput on the scent by Tom, circled about a while and then started off inthe direction of the leaning oak. Although the boys tried to drive himoff that trail a number of times, the bulldog persisted in followingthat route or none. At last they yielded.
Straight back to the oak went Rowdy. There he stopped and gazed over thewater for a moment, then let out a howl that echoed and reechoed acrossthe water.
"Well, here goes back to town," cried Jack. "That dog is all right to dosome things, but he isn't much use, of course, as a bloodhound. I can'tblame him but he's really no use in that line."
Rowdy felt keenly the disgrace that was heaped upon him. He slunk intothe stern sheets and hid behind Frank's legs.
Once more at the shipyard the boys began to think of dinner. Beforetheir preparations could be started, however, the foreman of the work onthe Fortuna announced to them that the little vessel was all ready forthe water. The plank was repaired, the boat all painted and ready forlaunching. Nothing was needed except a full crew.
"Let's get her into the briny, then," Jack ordered. "We've had longenough visit ashore. Let's get out to sea again."
"I'm with you there," declared Frank. "It was too bad we were forced tocome here at all. I want to be on my way and find the boys. They must besomewhere near here. May be they are purposely hiding."
"Hello, there's your boat back," cried Tom to the day watchman. "And asI live, there's our Petit Bois skiff," he shouted.
"That's the boat the boys had last night," ejaculated Frank.
"Say," the watchman called, "Wyckoff was lookin' for you."
"What did he say he wanted?" asked Jack.