That night we had our first troop meeting in the old car, and Mr.Ellsworth read the letter to all the fellows. He said it was veryinteresting to hear these shots out of the past (that was the way hesaid it), and how we could always think of our quaint meeting-place, asthe scene of a truly remarkable adventure of days gone by. He uses dandybig words, Mr. Ellsworth does.
Then the troop settled down to making plans for going up to Temple Camp,because that's where we always go in vacation. Poor Pee-wee and hisletter had to take a back seat. Mr. Ellsworth said that after all,up-to-date adventures are better than old stale ones, and that we shouldworry about pirates boarding ships and robbers stopping trains andshooting and things like that, that happened a long while ago. He saidthat, because he's down on the movies, especially Wild West stuff, andhe's always trying to keep us thinking about scouting. I've got hisnumber, all right.
But, anyway, Pee-wee wouldn't let me paste that old letter in ourtroop-book. He just hung on to it. I don't know what he was thinkingabout, but I guess he had an idea that something would be _revealed_.That's his favorite word--_revealed_.
On the way home from troop-meeting, he gave me a free lecture. Gee, Iwish you could have heard him.
"Suppose that pirate chief in the movies hadn't kept the--_you_ know--thetell-tale papers," he said; "what would have happened? Do you think I'dlet this letter be pasted in the troop-book? No siree! Look at thatfellow--Ralph Rogers--in the Fatal Vow. He let the other fellow have themortgage and see what happened. His old gray haired mother was turnedout in the snow. No siree; safety first, that's what _I_ say. Suppose adescendant of that robber----"
"Don't make me laugh, Kid," I said; "let's go in Bennett's and get acouple of cones. What do you say?"
That's one thing that Pee-wee was strictly up-to-date on--ice-creamcones. When it comes to ice-cream cones, even dark adventures have tostand in line. Believe me, many's the ice-cream cone that dropped in itstracks--I mean dripped--when he gave it a mortal blow.
I had to laugh to see him hiking alongside of me, with his belt-axedragging his belt way down and his compass dangling around his neck likea locket. His pockets are always stuffed full of Lyric programs andclippings about missing people that he intends to find, and directionsout of papers about how to do in case he should meet a lion or anelephant--on Main Street, I suppose. If he should bunk into a rattlesnakeon his way to school all he'd have to do would be to haul out a clippingand then he'd know to "stare right at it with glaring eyes and it wouldretreat in terror." Honest, he's a scream. He read in "Boys' Life" thata grizzly is afraid of bright red, so he has a red glass in hisflashlight. He's not taking any chances. _Be Prepared._
I wish you could see that kid. He always carries an onion with him,because he thinks if you stick a pen in an onion it will write invisibleand then if you hold the paper over a fire the writing will come outclear. He's got his pockets full of invisible writing. I never saw anyof it come out good and strong yet. The only thing that comes out goodand strong is the onion.
Oh boy!
CHAPTER IV--WE MEET IN THE DEN, AT BENNETT'S
One thing he always carries with him, and that's an old piece of storagebattery out of an automobile. He found it on the bridge and he says aGerman spy left it there.
He has a black feather that he wears stuck in a button hole, because hesays it was dropped by a raven. He's in the Raven Patrol, you know. Mysister said it dropped out of a girl's hat.
When we got to Bennett's we were just going to buy a couple of cones,when who should come walking in but Grace Bronson. Grove Bronson is herbrother--he's in our troop. He's one of the raving Ravens, too. They'recrazy about tracking, the Ravens are--tracking and marsh-mallows. Rightbehind her, who do you think came walking in?
Oh boy, Harry Donnelle!
Maybe you don't know him. But anyway, everybody in Bridgeboro knows him.And if you've read all the crazy stuff I've written about ouradventures, you must know him. He's about twenty-six years old, thatfellow is, and Mr. Ellsworth tried to get him to start a scout troop,but he wouldn't do it, because he said every night he has to kill acouple of Chinamen. He was a lieutenant in France and he got the ServiceCross. He's got red hair. I bet Grace Bronson likes him a lot--gee whiz,you couldn't blame her. He's kind of happy-go-lucky, reckless--_you_know. He's Professor Donnelle's son, but anyway, he's not going to be aprofessor, because there's no adventure in it. He's been to Samoa andSouth Africa, that fellow has. He said if there was a tin spoon buriedmiles and miles away, he'd go and dig it up. That's the kind of a fellowhe is. He had jungle fever, too, and a lot of peachy things.
He always stops and speaks to us, because he likes us, so that night hegave me a kind of a push and shoved my hat to the back of my head andsaid, "What are you doing, Rob Roy? Buying out the store? How would a_regular_ plate of cream strike you?"
"I might if I were urged," I said.
"You don't have to urge _me_," Pee-wee piped up.
So then all four of us went back where the tables were and I orderedpineapple and vanilla. Pee-wee ordered plain vanilla, because one coloralways looks bigger than two.
Harry said, "Well, how are the wild adventures coming on? Been trackingin the silent depths of Terrace Court Park lately? Any more leopards?"
I said, "Oh, we've been doing a lot of killing lately--killing time."
"How's the old car?" he said, "When are you going to have the grandopening?"
I said, "You'd better be careful how you speak about that old car; ithas a past--a dark past."
Grace Bronson said, "Oh, isn't that perfectly _lovely_?"
"There's a mystery connected with it." Pee-wee said.
"No!" Harry said, kind of jollying Pee-wee. "How long has it beenconnected?"
"Twenty-five long years," Pee-wee said, all the while working away onhis ice cream.
"Long ones, hey?" Harry said.
"Do you know what happened to the train that car was on once?" Pee-weesaid.
"Come in on time?" Harry began laughing; because that's one thing thetrains out our way never do.
"Worse than that," Pee-wee said; "here read this letter that we foundway in under the stuffing of the seat."
The kid started digging down in his pocket and pretty soon that tablelooked like a church rummage sale.
"Did you _ever_?" Grace Bronson said; "what in the _world_ is _this_?"
"Take your pick," I told her; "souvenirs of the boy scouts."
All the while Harry Donnelle was reading the letter and I could see hewas interested, because he didn't bother to jolly Pee-wee about all therest of that junk. When he was finished he didn't say a single word,only handed it to Grace and watched her while she read it, all the whiledrumming with his fingers on the table.
"And you _found_ it?" she said. "Oh, I think it's too romantic foranything! Did you ever _read_ such a letter! It carries you back to theold days. Just think how it was there all these years. Who do yousuppose Ann was? And it all happened before I was born. Isn't that_wonderful_!"
Harry said, "Oh, quite a few things happened before you were born."
Then he took the letter and read it through again, and then folded it inthe old creases. Then he just said, "Humph!" After that he opened itvery carefully and laid it on the table and read it again. Then he said,sort of as if he were thinking, "Bully old top, that fellow was. I'dlike to have known him. He seems to have been made out of pretty goodstuff."
"And he was so _brave_," Grace said.
Jiminies, I'll never forget how Harry Donnelle looked that night whilehe sat there studying that letter. He just kept rubbing his tongue alonghis lips, and studying the paper, just as if he were trying to do anexample.
After a while he said, "Funny; wonder what became of that other chap--orscoundrel as old Hickory-nut calls him."
"That's a good name for him--Hickory-nut," I said.
"I wonder who he was," Grace said; "and he was bringing seeds home forhis wife to plant! Isn't that lovely where he admits he's a roughdiamond
! Oh, I think he was _splendid_."
"He was a hero," Pee-wee said.
"And he was bringing those seeds home to her," Grace said, "so theywould grow up and they could have the same kind of a tree at home--oh, Ithink he was just _splendid_!"
"He was a bully old cheese," Harry said.
"He wasn't a cheese at all," Grace said, kind of all excited like. "Hethought more of his home than he did even of his bags of gold. Eventhose seeds that he lost--oh, I think he was _fine_!"
Harry just looked at her, kind of smiling, and he said, "Thanks for yourhint; it takes a girl to see that side of it. Those seeds may come inhandy. What I was thinking about was, if that other chap----"
"He wasn't a _chap_, he was a _villain_!" she said.
"Well, whatever he was," Harry kept on, "if he was shot and had to limp,how far would he get before he had to drop the bags of gold. I waswondering if maybe he buried them. Buried treasure is the regular thing,you know. Hey, Scout Harris? Then I was wondering if he buried it, howsomebody could find it. Just for a stunt, you know. More fun thansitting on the porch, anyway--or playing tennis. How about that, ScoutHarris?
"I kinder like what old Hickory says about paying him in good measurewith a bullet in his leg. I have a kind of hunch he didn't get far--inthose woods. Maybe he buried his pal and the bags at the same time--if hewas able. Be pretty good fun looking into the affair, hey? Wish I knewwho he was and where he is; then we might have something to go by. I'dnever have thought twice about those seeds if it hadn't been for you,Grace. How about it, you kids? Scouts are supposed to know all abouttrees and things. What do you know about the Dahadinee poplar? We may beable to bang some fun out of this letter yet. Hey, Sir Walter?"
Grace said, "I think you're perfectly _heartless_, that's what I think.All you think about is the _adventure_."
"Might as well take an auto trip in one direction as another," Harrysaid. "What's the difference as long as we're burning gasoline. Hangedif _I_ know where Steuben Junction is, but I guess it's somewhere. Nouse hunting for old Hick--he may be dead. If you kids want to hunt up theDahadinee poplar and see what you can find out about it, I'll hunt upSteuben Junction, if there is such a place now. Then I'll get a coupleof new tires and----"
"How about _me_?" Grace said.
"Oh, when we get up there we'll send you a post-card, nice and pretty,showing the village store," Harry said.
"Don't you care," Pee-wee told her; "we'll take Grove with us, and he'lltell you all about it when we get back."
CHAPTER V--WE BEGIN OUR INVESTIGATION
"It was lucky we stopped in Bennett's," Pee-wee said; "do you thinkanybody heard us talking about the treasure? Did you notice that fellowat the soda fountain--how he was kind of listening?"
"I think he's a pirate disguised as a soda clerk," I told him. "Maybehe'll foil us yet."
"We'd better come in two or three times each day and get sodas," the kidsaid, "then we can watch him."
"Good idea," I told him.
"Oh boy, won't it be great!" he kept on. "When do you think we'll start?We'll go down to the library to-morrow and find out about that poplar,hey? And I'll get a couple of big new bags to bring home the gold."Jiminy crinkums, that kid was already on his way home with the treasure.I expected to see him the next day with a red sash on and a red clothtied over his head and a dagger between his teeth.
I said, "Kid, don't get too excited; I've got Harry Donnelle's numberall right. He's not counting on finding any treasure. He just wants someplace to go, that's all. Maybe there's one chance in a hundred offinding any gold. Don't lose any sleep over it."
"The automobile ought to have a name," he said.
I said, "All right, we'll call it the good ship _Cadillac_; that's thekind of a machine it is."
"There ought to be a mutiny," he said.
"The only thing to mutiny will be the carburetor, or maybe the magneto,"I told him, "and then we'll have to put in at some desert island andhunt for a garage."
"Will the whole troop go?" he asked me.
"Not while Harry Donnelle is conscious," I said. "I don't think he'lltake more than three or four of us."
"That leaves plenty of room for the treasure," Pee-wee said. "Who willit be? You and I----"
"I'm going to ask him please to take Skinny, I know that," I said.
"I bet Grove Bronson will want to go after what his sister tells him,"he went on. "He ought to go as her representative, hey? She's entitledto her share of the treasure--you can't deny that. Anyway, one of usought to watch Bennett's."
Now this is the way I thought about it, because I know Harry Donnelle. Iremembered what he said about how a fellow might just as well take anauto trip in one direction as another, and I didn't believe he wasbothering his head much about finding buried treasure. That's just thekind of a fellow he is--happy-go-lucky. I guess that's why everybodylikes him. But, cracky, I'm always game for an auto trip and I was crazyto have Skinny (that's little Alf) go on one, because he had never beenin an auto or had any fun like that.
I guess I might as well tell you about Skinny, because the way thingscame out, it will be best if you know all about him. And especiallybecause he was one of the _big four_--that's what Harry called us. Geewhiz, maybe we weren't very big, but we made noise enough. I guess aslong as I'm at it, I'll tell you about the whole four of us, hey?
Anyway, you know all about Pee-wee, and I guess you know all about me.I'm patrol leader of the Silver Foxes and it's some job. That's whatmakes me so quiet and sad like--I have so much trouble. It's such anervous strain, I have to rub it with liniment. I should worry.
Harry Donnelle said that the reason he took Grove Bronson was, becauseGrove has the pathfinder's badge and would be a good one when it came tohunting for something. But that wasn't the reason he took him at all.The reason he took him was, because he's Grace Bronson's brother. Maybehe thinks he can fool me, but he can't. Anyway, Grove is one of theraving Ravens (that's Pirate Harris's patrol), and he's a nice fellow,only he's left-handed, but he can eat four helpings of chocolatepudding. Gee whiz, that isn't so bad for a fellow that's left-handed. Iknew a left-handed fellow up at Temple Camp who could sing dandy.
So that leaves only Skinny, because if I were to tell you all aboutHarry Donnelle's adventures, believe _me_, there wouldn't be any roomfor anything else, and my sister says I'd better stop using her notepaper. Maybe you notice this story is pink--that's because it's writtenon pink paper.
Skinny's right name is Alfred McCord, and he lives in a marsh shanty;there are a lot of those down near the river. He hasn't got any fatherand he lives all alone with his mother. They're awful poor, but Skinnyshould worry, because how he's in our troop.
He's a funny kid, Skinny is. All the fellows like him, but he's kind ofqueer. His hair is sort of streaky like, and he's awful white in hisface. There's one funny thing about him and that is that he can passmost any merit badge test, but he can't seem to get out of thetenderfoot class. When he gets to be a first class scout, he'll haveabout a dozen merit badges waiting for him. He's kind of different fromthe rest of us and we call him our mascot, but anyway, all the fellowslike him a lot.
So now you know about all four of us and about Harry Donnelle. Youshould worry about the rest of the troop.
The next day we went to the library and got a big book about trees. Wecouldn't find Dahadinee in the index, but anyway, we found somethingabout another tree. This is what the book said about it, and I read itin a whisper to the other fellows:
"The Mackenzie or Balsam poplar sometimes attains in the forest a height of one hundred and fifty feet and a trunk diameter of five or six feet. When isolated from other trees it develops a rather narrow irregular pyramidal open top and its parti-colored leaves, as their dark green upper surfaces and light under surfaces show successively as moved by the wind, make it a handsome object.
"It is distinctly a northern tree, thriving along the banks which are tributary to the Mackenzie River, in a climate
too severe for the existence of most other trees. In those cold regions it is far the largest and most graceful of all trees."
"I know where the Mackenzie River is!" Pee-wee shouted. "It rises in thenorthwestern part of Canada, takes a northerly course and flows intoBeaufort Sea."
"Correct, be seated," I told him.
"That's up near Alaska," he said.
"Right as usual," Grove said; "let's hunt it up."
"You don't need to hunt it up," Pee-wee said; "it's there. I had it inexams, in the third grade."
"Maybe it was there then," Grove said; "but how do we know it's therenow? Safety first."
"How can a river move?" he whispered, because one of the librarians hadher eye on him.
"That's all a river ever does," I told him; "did you ever know a riverto stand still?"
So we hunted it up in the Atlas and sure enough, there it was, away upnear Alaska and, good night, there was a river named the Dahadineeflowing into it.
"We've got the treasure; We've got the treasure!" Pee-wee beganshouting.
"Shh!" I told him. "Don't you know you're in the library? Shhh."
CHAPTER VI--WE GET NEW LIGHT ON THE MYSTERY
That night Grove and Pee-wee and I hiked over to Harry Donnelle's house,to show him what we had copied about the poplar that we thought must bethe kind of a one that was meant in the letter.
I said, "There isn't any such tree as the Dahadinee poplar in any of thebooks, but I think it must be the same as the Mackenzie poplar, becausethe Dahadinee River is up that way."