CHAPTER XVIII
THE CABIN ABANDONED TO THE GHOSTS
Amos had just stopped, in order to draw out his red bandanahandkerchief, and wipe the drops from his forehead, because it waspretty warm work, fiddling away for half an hour “like a house afire,”as he expressed it.
Just then a distinct and most dreadful groan was heard.
Crawley jumped to his feet with an oath; and even Gabe raised his headto listen, for to ease the strain on his arm he had been lying down ona blanket.
Upon both their faces astonishment, incredulity, and even a wild,ungovernable fear could be detected, as they stared at each other, andthen all around.
Another groan, even more terrible than before, seemed to well up outof space, nor could the listening Dolph locate its source, even thoughpositive Teddy must be responsible for the sounds, which were intendedto alarm the two rascals.
“Boy, air thet you a-makin’ thet n’ise?” demanded Crawley, seizinghold of Amos’ sleeve; but it did not need the emphatic denial of thelad to convince him, for another of the chilling sounds came, settinghis cowardly heart to beating madly.
“It’s a trick!” yelled Big Gabe, turning white in spite of his words,“Crawley, climb up into the loft, an’ see if they ain’t a crittera-hidin’ thar! Ef ye find him, throw the measly skunk down fur me tertromp on.”
Crawley evidently did not like the job, for he was slow to follow outthe plan suggested by his companion; but by dint of much jeering, and alittle flattery, he was finally induced to climb up the partly brokenladder that led to a sort of loft, extending half-way over the room.
In the past those who lived in the pine woods cabin probably storedtheir pelts up there until the spring came, and it was time to get themproperly stretched and dried as they had been before packing away, tomarket.
He carried with him another candle that with shaking hands he hadmanaged to light from the first one. Upon gaining a position where hecould peer over the edge of the flooring of the loft, Crawley was heardto give vent to a sigh of relief.
“Ain’t nawthin’ doin’ up here, Gabe; the place is empty as allgit-out,” he remarked, and as if deeming his duty done Crawley camedown much faster than he had ascended.
His arrival below seemed to be the signal for another outburst ofgroans, this time more than ever of a nature to chill the blood of anyone given to superstition.
Crawley had a failing that way, though how he ever came to takelodgings in this said-to-be haunted cabin under such circumstanceswould always be a mystery.
Big Gabe had himself never taken much stock in such things as ghosts.But then that may have been simply because up to now he had neverhappened to run across anything bordering on the supernatural.
He looked very much shaken, and seemed disposed to lay the blame on theshoulders of poor Amos.
“See wot yer pesky scrouchin’ hes gone an’ done,” he shouted, angrily.“Even the ghostes hes ris’ up an’ howled agin sech n’ises. I knowedsumthin’d happen, as sure as thunder, when ye let loose all themcaterwaulin’ sounds. Now we gotter vamose outer here right speedy, an’make a camp in the open. Crawley, it’s all yer fault, encouragin’ sechcrazy doings. Now! hear thet! would ye? Hole on thar Mister Ghost,we’re a-goin’ peaceable like, if ye gives us harf a chanct,” as aterriffic shriek rang through the cabin accompanied by a pounding thatseemed to make the floor tremble.
Dolph could not keep out of the game; the temptation to join in was toomuch for him. And so he began to kick upon the wall wherever a boardhad been used to cover up some broad chink, where the dried mud betweenthe logs had fallen away.
Taken in all, it was quite a tremendous racket; and even Amos began tolook uneasy, as though he found himself entertaining a suspicion thatafter all there might be some grain of truth connected with that storyof the spirits of the trappers who had met a tragic fate, returning tofight their battles over; while Sallie’s face was the picture of dismay.
Crawley was already making for the door; with the evident intention offleeing from the wrath to come; nor did he stop give his devoted childone thought in this time of alarm. Big Gabe did not mean to be left inthe lurch either, evidently. He had an excuse that with only one goodarm he was hardly in condition to wrestle with anything or anyone,either human or of a ghostly order.
The retreat became a scramble, with the whole four at the door at thesame time, trying to escape from the haunted interior. The groans hadceased but that might only be a ruse to deceive them.
Amos clutched the precious fiddle, and the girl only stopped once, topossess herself of some article of apparel, for which she possiblyentertained fondness on account of certain memories associated betweenit and her dead mother.
So they streamed out of the cabin in a bunch.
Dolph knew enough to hide, and keep very still. Teddy’s little gamehad worked very well, only it chanced that in fleeing from the hauntedcabin, the two game poachers had gone and carried Amos with them.
So far as the rescue of their camp mate went, Teddy and Dolph were nonearer the goal of their ambition than before.
True, the cabin had been abandoned, temporarily at least, to thespirits, but it was an empty victory after all, since the work must bedone over again.
There was always a chance that in the open Amos might slip away. Buteven at that Teddy would refuse to be pacified; because the rascalsheld possession of his highly prized Marlin gun, and he did not mean toabandon that indispensable weapon without a fight for it.
Dolph knew that Teddy would join him as soon as he could crawl out fromthe confined space under the floor. Accordingly, he contented himselfwith trying to note the direction taken by the fugitives.
There did not seem to be much trouble about doing this, for theycertainly made a tremendous racket; indeed he was partly convincedthat Amos played the part of martyr, clumsily falling over about everylog he could find on the way, with sundry cries of pain or disgust,calculated to reach the ears of his chums.
Sure enough, in a couple of minutes Teddy came out of the cabin,breathing hard.
“They’ve gone, of course,” he observed, between his pants for breath.“Scared ’em off, did I? Too bad they took Amos along, ain’t it? Butwe’re bound to get after the thievy cowards, hot-footed. It’ll surebe queer if we can’t make ’em give our chum up. Notice which way theywent, Dolph?”
“Yes,” said Dolph, “Amos took pains to make all the noise he could.Listen. I think you can hear him floundering around yet. Come, let’sbe on the jump. The way things are going, we must win out soon. But Iwas sorry to see how you scared that girl. Think of that beast Crawleybeing her father, poor child.”
“Yes, I know Sallie,” the other replied, in a low voice, as theystarted away. “She’s a wise little thing, older than her years becauseshe’s had the troubles of a grown-up. I reckon they won’t go far away,but halt, and build a big camp fire to scare ghosts off!”
“Well,” remarked Dolph, “I must say these two rascals are giving us arun for our money, all right. Once we get Amos and the gun, and we wantnothing more from them. But I’d like to take that child out of thishorrible life. Say, do you really know whether she’s got any uncles oraunts or cousins?”
“A grandmother at the Soo, I was told, but you’d waste your time tryingto induce her to leave that Crawley. I tried it once, but she told meshe just _had_ to stick to him—that the last chance he’d ever have layin her, and she’d promised her mother never to give him up. I’m afraidfrom her delicate looks, she’ll die from exposure one of these days,following him around. He thinks she can stand whatever he can, the bigbrute. I’d like to help him to a coat of tar and feathers, or give hima cow-hiding, that’s what,” and Teddy’s indignation actually made hisvoice tremble.
While they moved along, as silently as possible, occasionally theywould hear one of the men call out to the other; for their gruff voicescarried far on the still night air.
Perhaps Amos might himself have slipped away during this rapid retreat.Th
e chances were, however, that his stubborn nature would not allow himto think of escape unless he could also carry off the gun that had beenentrusted to his charge.
Big Gabe was holding greedily to the weapon; if he could not getanything else out of the game, at least he was sure of this; and eversince his eyes had first fallen upon that gun, in Teddy’s hands, hisfingers had fairly itched for it.
At one time the adventure had threatened to develop into a tragedy,but somehow, with the advent of that old fiddle on the stage, it hadchanged to a comedy, bordering almost on a farce.
The two pursuers presently decided that those they were following musthave come to a halt, for the sound of voices grew more perceptible andthen a light sprang up just ahead.
This, of course, came from a fire that had been hastily kindled forseveral reasons, chief of which might be set down the sudden dislikeboth men just now entertained with regard to being left in the dark.
Doubtless all thoughts of their plan against the liberty of theCincinnati millionaire-manufacturer’s son and heir was now abandoned,temporarily, at least. Crawley was drinking from time to time, toimbibe artificial courage; Big Gabe uttering ugly words, because inhis mad rush to escape he had struck his wounded arm against the doorframe, with much consequent pain.
Teddy now led his companion closer to the camp, where the two men hadstarted a fire. He warned Dolph to be very careful, since Big Gabe wasin a surly temper, and would possibly shoot “at the drop of the hat,”leaving all inquiries until afterwards.
It was found that the fire burned on the bank of a small creek that raninto the lake, presumably.
This creek flowed through a sunken bed, some six feet or so below thesurrounding surface; and to Teddy’s experienced eye, the depressionpresented the best possible opportunity for approaching unseen the spotwhere the camp fire burned.
By stooping low, and creeping along under the bank, they would be ableto actually invade the boundaries of the space illumined by the glowof the fire—Crawley having hastily gathered together a mass of driedwood, and fired the same, at the request of his wounded companion whorefused to let the captured gun out of his possession for a singleminute.