CHAPTER XXII
THE MYSTERY OF AERIAL LAKE
Grace ran on until suddenly halted by a shout from Hippy Wingate.
"Whither away, my pretty maid?" cried Hippy.
"Oh! You gave me a start," answered Grace breathlessly. "I've had such afright, Hippy. I have seen the most awful face that I ever looked upon."
"In the words of the guide, 'don't wolly till to-mollow.' What did itlook like? Tell me about it."
Grace told him what had occurred and described as best she could theface that she had seen mirrored in the pool.
"That sounds like the woman Woo saw watching the camp," he nodded. "Ithink we ought to go back to camp and tell the folks what you havediscovered."
"You mean it sounds like Woo's description of her," answered Gracelaughingly.
"You know what I mean. Come on!"
The Overlanders listened breathlessly to Grace Harlowe's story of herexperience, but no one had an explanation to offer. They asked her ifshe had gone up to the rock to see if anyone were hiding there, butGrace said she had not done so because she was too frightened.
"I've never lost my head before, but I surely did this time," she added,smiling in an embarrassed sort of way. "I found a pool full of mountaintrout--no, not golden trout--and I would suggest that one of you men goout and see if you can't catch a mess. Trout would be relished by all,including even myself, scared as I am."
"Trout! Me for them," cried Hippy. "You come along, Tom, and perhaps,between us, we may be able to find the beautiful creature that gaveGrace the first real scare of her life. I'm glad you have foundsomething that frightens you," chuckled Hippy. "Me for the fish now."
Tom accompanied Lieutenant Wingate, leaving Stacy with the girls, andwith instructions to stay in camp. The two men returned two hours laterwith a mess of trout sufficient to last the party several days. Stacywas asked to assist in cleaning them, then the fish were broiled, and adelicious trout meal was enjoyed. Not since they started had they satdown to such dainty food.
The Overland Riders were on the trail early next morning. This traileventually led them up the side of a mountain, over places where theywere obliged to hitch ropes to the ponies to assist them overparticularly troublesome spots, yet it was all great fun.
As the party went on, game become more plentiful. Quail scuttled away attheir approach, with heads ducked low, and here and there a flash ofbrown and white told of a frightened deer fleeing to safety. No oneventured a shot. The party had sufficient provisions for present needs,and further, it was understood that, unless absolutely necessary, therewas to be no shooting. Tom, however, killed a rattler that lay coiled ona shelf of granite buzzing away like an alarm clock, but that was theonly exciting incident of the morning's ride. By noon they had workedtheir way up to an apparently impassable ridge. Tom went on ahead, soonreturning with the welcome information that there appeared to be a breakin the ridge about a mile to the south of them, and that he thought theycould get through it.
The Overlanders made camp late that afternoon, and on the followingmorning, now thoroughly rested, they followed rough and rugged trails,surmounting difficulties almost as great as the worst they had met abovetimber line. Their reward came later in the morning when they discoveredthat they had unerringly followed the right course.
"There's the lake!" shouted Nora.
Before them, framed in a rim of black forest and rock, lay a lake of thedeepest emerald green they had ever gazed upon. About the shore, andextending down to the water, white pebbles formed a mat for the picture.
"It is our Aerial Lake," declared Grace. "It is the same lake that wesaw several days ago and that we bombarded with rocks." From somewherein that vicinity the shots that had disturbed them undoubtedly had beenfired. It was quite a large body of water, just how large they could notsee, on account of a sharp bend in the lake, and intervening mountains.
"Aren't we going down to make camp now?" asked Elfreda Briggs.
"Yes, for I'm just dying to know what the secret, the great dark secret,of Aerial Lake really is," bubbled Emma.
"From all accounts it's a homely woman," laughed Nora.
"Oh, there are others," reminded Stacy.
"That was not a nice thing to say, Stacy," rebuked Grace, laughing inspite of her efforts to be stern. "It was decidedly ungracious."
"So are the kind I mean," retorted Stacy. "Hark!"
A rifle shot echoed through the canyons, but, though ears were strainedto catch the sound, no second shot was heard.
"I wonder at whom they are shooting this time?" muttered Tom. "We areagain reminded that we are not the only persons in the High Sierras, solet us be cautious."
"Watch your step, ladies and gentlemen," warned Stacy as the partystarted on.
The Overlanders chose a camp site back among the trees a few rods fromthe shore of the lake. This site was not only well screened fromobservation, but afforded an excellent view of the lake as far as thebend. Camp was quickly made, after which Stacy and Hippy shoulderedtheir rifles and started out to get acquainted with their surroundings,as the party intended to remain at the lake for several days. The twohad gone but a short distance from camp ere the Overlanders heard Chunkyutter a shout.
"I've found an ark," he cried, pointing triumphantly to a dugout canoethat lay on the shore.
The dugout had been hewn from a solid log and bore indications of recentuse. Stacy searched for a paddle but could not find one. While theOverlanders, who had hurried out to him, were discussing Stacy's find,Hippy was nosing about on the beach, closely observing the ground. Hefound boot tracks there, but they did not appear to have been recentlymade, so he decided that some days had elapsed since anyone had been onthat particular spot.
Stacy promptly forgot that he was out reconnoitering, and, cutting downa small tree with his hatchet, he proceeded to fashion a crude paddlefrom it. He then announced that he was going paddling. Tom said no, butStacy said yes, whereupon Hippy read his nephew a sharp lecture on"respect to one's elders."
To all this, Stacy made no reply, as he considered that he would gainnothing were he to protest too strenuously.
"That's all," finished Hippy.
"Thanks, Uncle Hip. But if anything should happen to me, you'll be sorrythat you were so cruel."
"Oh, take your old dugout and go on," exclaimed Hippy. "If you drown,don't blame me. If it were not that you are a good swimmer I shouldn'ttrust you in that cranky craft."
"That is very kind of your Uncle Hippy," reminded Grace. "I hope youappreciate it."
Stacy failed to answer. Still tinkering with the paddle, he watched hiscompanions out of the corner of one eye, as they walked slowly backtowards their camp. Lieutenant Wingate, rifle in the crook of one arm,continued on. An hour and a half later, as Hippy was returning, he sawhis nephew paddling slowly down the lake. Hippy waved his hat and"hoo-hooed," to which Stacy paid no attention whatever.
"Better keep in close. The wind is coming up," called LieutenantWingate.
Stacy Brown was still silent, and Hippy, chuckling to himself, went onto camp, where he told his companions of things he had discovered on hisjaunt, none of which were of importance, except that he had foundfurther evidence of the presence of human beings and horses.
At luncheon time, Stacy was still absent, but his absence excited nocomment, because the boy was very fond of the water and probably in hisenjoyment of it he had forgotten all about the passage of time. But whenit came four o'clock in the afternoon and still no Stacy, someonesuggested that they go out and look for him. Hippy was the one who went.He soon came running back, waving his hat to attract the attention ofhis companions.
"Something has happened to Stacy!" he shouted.
"What is it--what has become of him?" called Tom Gray.
"Stacy's dugout is floating bottomside up on the lake, but he is nowherein sight," answered Lieutenant Wingate.
The Overlanders started at a run for the lake.
/> "There it is! I see it," cried Emma.
"Oh, Hippy, can't you do something?" begged Nora. "What is that floatingout there?"
"It's a log," answered Hippy. Despite the fact that the whitecaps wererolling up the lake, this log remained in one position all the time, butno one of the Overland party observed that fact.
"I can swim out to the canoe. Who knows but that Stacy may be under it?"offered Grace.
"No, no," protested the Overlanders in one voice.
"Grace, the water is icy cold. To swim out in that water would be thedeath of you. If anyone does it, either Hippy or myself will," announcedTom. "Is that a hat I see floating there?"
"It's Stacy's hat," cried Elfreda. "Oh, this is too bad. Cannotsomething be done?"
"There he goes! He will be drowned. Somebody stop him!" begged Emma asLieutenant Wingate plunged into the lake and began beating his waytowards the overturned canoe. Hippy had not even paused to remove anypart of his clothing.
"Come back!" shouted Grace shrilly.
"Come back!" urged Tom. "Even if he is there you can't help him now."
"Don't worry. I am all right," came back Lieutenant Wingate's voice,sounding far away.
"Me savvy plenty cold watel," piped Woo Smith, but no one gave heed tohis words, and it is doubtful if any of the Overlanders even heard him.
"I don't believe Stacy is drowned at all," declared Emma. "You willlaugh at me, but I have a thought message that he isn't."
"This is no time for nonsense, my dear," rebuked Elfreda.
"It isn't nonsense, it's transmigration," protested Emma.
About this time they observed that Hippy was close to the dugout, andall eyes were fixed anxiously on him. They saw him grasp the turned-overboat, then dive under it. Hippy was out of sight but a few moments whenhis head was seen bobbing up on the opposite side of the dugout.
The Overlanders shouted to him, but the wind was against them and Hippydid not even know that they were calling.
"Someone run to camp and fetch a bath towel," urged Grace. "Never mind,I'll go," she added, starting away at a run for the camp. Grace was backere Lieutenant Wingate reached the shore. Tom was there to meet him, andassisted Hippy, dripping, and blue of face and lips, to his feet.
"Here, Tom. Take the towel and give Hippy a brisk rub-down."
"How--where?" gasped Tom.
"Anywhere. Go out in the bushes, do it anywhere, but for goodness sakedon't delay. What did you find?"
"Nothing--not a single thing to indicate anything," answered LieutenantWingate dully.
"Please hurry! Don't you see that Hippy has a chill, Tom?"
Tom Gray hustled his companion out of sight, then stripped him and gavehim a brisk rubdown, so brisk in fact that Hippy finally begged him tostop.
"I shan't have any skin left if you go one rub further," he complained.
"Here is Hippy's other suit," called Nora. "How is he?"
"Skinned alive," answered Hippy with a groan.
Tom ran out and snatched up the suit, which he immediately assistedHippy to put on.
"Are you still chilly?" questioned Captain Gray after his companion hadgotten fully into dry clothes.
"I should say not, after what you have done to me. I don't care anythingabout my own condition. What I am half crazy about is Stacy. I don't,for the life of me, understand how a fellow who can swim as well as he,_could_ drown. Tom, help me out. What do you think I had better do?"
"Do? I think you have done enough--all that can be done. My advice isthat we get back to camp. The girls have a good fire going, and mysuggestion is that you sit by the fire and dry out your shoes while wedecide what we should do next."
"I don't suppose there _is_ need for hurry. If he is drowned he'sdrowned, and that's all there is about it, and if he isn't, he isn't.Yes, we will go back."
When Tom and Hippy emerged from Nature's dressing room, Tom carrying hischum's wet clothing, they found the Overland girls awaiting them a shortdistance away. Nora embraced Hippy and wept on his shoulder, and, as amatter of fact, the other three girls of the party had difficulty inkeeping their own tears back.
"Oh, this is terrible!" moaned Nora.
Emma pulled herself together.
"I have a mental message that Stacy is all right, and that he will beback to-night," comforted Miss Dean.
"False hopes, I am afraid," answered Tom.
"Woo, how deep is that lake?"
Woo consulted the skies.
"No savvy. Mebby fish can tell."
No more was said. It was a sober Overland party that slowly retraced itssteps to the camp, but, as they stepped in among the trees and came insight of the little camp, the Overlanders halted abruptly and gazedastounded.
On a blanket that he had spread out sat Stacy Brown, his clothingwrinkled and dirty. Before him stood two cans of beans, open, and aplate of trout, while both cheeks protruded unnaturally as Stacy gazedsoulfully at his companions.