CHAPTER XVIII
THE DEN OF VIPERS
"This way, fellows!" came a voice.
"There he is, over yonder," said Bluff, pointing.
"He seems to be interested in something down in a hole. Wonder if itcould be another bear's den?" laughed Frank.
"What ails you, Will?" demanded Bluff, as he and his comrade drew near.
"I'm in a peck of trouble again, that's what," replied the other.
"No quicksand this time, eh? And I see no sign of a bear. What'shappened? Where is your camera?" asked Frank, quickly noting the factthat Will failed to have the little black box, as usual, in his hand.
"That's just what's the matter with me. The blessed things have takenpossession, and I don't dare go near. Ugh! I always hated 'em likepoison!"
Frank stepped closer to where he could look down into the gully whichseemed to be holding the attention of his chum.
"Snakes!" he exclaimed.
"Wow! Look at the bunch, will you? They seem to think there's somethingmighty good in that same black box of yours, Will. See how they keeptwisting around it, going and coming. Say, there are more of the vipers!Bless my soul, if they ain't peeking out of every crack in the place,dozens and dozens of 'em!" cried Bluff, aghast.
"Do you mean to say you were down there?" demanded Frank.
"Why, yes, and there wasn't one in sight then. I meant to cross over soas to get a view of the glen with the sun at my back. I laid down thecamera to fasten my belt, where it had slipped. Just then I saw severalof the nasty things creeping up close by me," and Will shivered.
"I bet you cut and run, forgetting all about your camera," declaredBluff.
"Well, now, Mr. Smarty, I did just that same thing. Who wouldn't? Youknow that I'd sooner face seven wildcats than one snake. They alwaysgive me the creeps. But I want my camera, snakes or no snakes," saidWill.
"How are you intending to get it?" observed the unsympathetic Bluff.
"If I'd known that, do you suppose I'd have called you up to help? Iwant advice, that's what," snapped Will.
"Well," remarked Frank soberly, "it looks to me as if you'd had anothernarrow escape, Will. Some of those snakes may be of a poisonous variety.Seems to me I can see rattlers among them, or copperheads, at least.What if one of them had struck you in the hand?"
"Ugh! Please don't mention it, Frank! I'll have the cold shivers now,for sure. If I wake the camp to-night with a wild whoop, don't blame me.What with quicksands and poisonous snakes I ought to be excused for anyracket," he declared.
"Why, hang it, if the place ain't fairly alive with the crawlingcritters! Frank, you wouldn't think of going down there to get that box,I hope?" demanded Bluff, as the other commenced to make a move.
"It would have to be something ten times as valuable as that to temptme," was the reply, "but all the same, we must find a way to rescueWill's camera. Without it how can he take any more pictures of ourwonderful deeds? Let's see, once to-day I've used the limb of a tree togood advantage. Perhaps it can be made to play a part again."
He happened to be holding his little, keen-edged camp hatchet in hishand, having been using it at the moment he heard Will calling. Withthis he walked about until he found just the little sapling he wanted. Afew blows sufficed to lay it low.
The others watched for a moment in silence.
"I catch on to the game," said Bluff presently.
"And so do I," added Will. "That hook at the end gives it away. Youintend to fish for the camera, eh, Frank?"
"Well, luckily, the box has a strap which I can easily catch, if onlythis pole happens to be long enough. Now, when I get out to a point justover the spot, one of you hand me the stick, will you?"
"Sure," replied Bluff, anxious to have a hand in the game.
"Oh, Frank! Be careful, please! Not for a dozen cameras would I see youfall down into that horrible snake den!" ejaculated Will.
"And notice that the limb isn't overly stout, pard," warned Bluff.
"But it happens to be a hickory tree, and there's no danger of itsnapping off. I examined into all that before starting out, thank you.Now the stick, please."
When this was poked out to him, as he clung to the down-hanging limb,Frank immediately placed himself in a position to angle for the blackbox.
"Is it long enough?" asked Will.
"Just, with nothing to spare," replied the other, as he sought to getthe crotch of the stick under the strap of the camera.
"Look at 'em striking at it! My! ain't they mad, though? Just as if theyhad made up their minds to take to the business of picture snapping, andhated to be knocked out of the deal. Did you ever see such a writhingmass of snakes in your life?"
"I never did, Bluff. There! I had it fast, and that big rascaldeliberately upset all my calculations by twisting over the strap. Seemsas if they really knew what I was after, and meant to block me all theycould."
Half a minute later and Will gave a cry of satisfaction, for the camerawas coming slowly up from the depths, fastened to the end of Frank'sstick.
"Say! look at 'em, will you? Ain't they mad, though? Frank, do you thinkit's safe for us to have the camp near such a snake den as this?" askedBluff.
"Oh, yes; safe enough. It isn't as near as you seem to think. Besides,there happens to be a brook between. I don't believe one of thesesnakes will ever cross that water. Still, I admit I'd feel better if thewhole thing were wiped out."
"All right. I'm going to think up some way of doing it. Perhaps we couldthrow heaps of dead brush down there, and set it on fire. Another waywould be to blow it up with a dynamite cartridge."
"Only we haven't got one," added Will quickly, as he rubbed his preciouscamera off with an old handkerchief, which he then threw away.
"Let's get away from here," said Frank, "and perhaps you'd betterpostpone all snapshotting in this neighborhood until after we have foundsome way to dispose of those ugly customers. They might make youtrouble, Will."
Arriving back in camp, Frank went on with his preparations for supper.Adolphus must be tired after his long day of it on the way from townwith that unwieldy load, and Frank thought it well to let the ancientdarky rest up a bit before putting him at cooking for the hungry crowd.
Frank was always thinking of every one's comfort but his own, and thissort of thing made him an ideal comrade for a camping trip in thewilderness.
The supper was pronounced a success by all. Even Bluff's stew of bearmeat was tasty, and "filled a long-felt vacuum," as Jerry expressed it,when he passed up his pannikin for a third helping.
Despite their adventures of the day, which had been of an alarmingcharacter, the boys made merry, as youngsters always will, for troublesets lightly on their shoulders, as a rule.
They sang and joked as they sat about the fire. Indeed, one would notthink that any of them had the slightest cause for anxiety as theevening waned, and they made preparations for the first night on LakeSurprise, far up in the Sunset Mountains.
Frank and Will took a turn at blowing up the rubber mattresses, thoughBluff could hardly be restrained from challenging Jerry to a trial.
Long after the others had crawled under the tents Frank sat there,thinking over the long list of queer things that had come to them in theshort campaign since they left home a few days before.
Most of all, his thoughts seemed to run in line with Andy Lasher, andhis mysterious mission into the hills. Could it be in connection withthat escaped convict? And did the one-time actor, Thaddeus Lasher, haveanything to do with this humbug of a ghost, seen so often along OakRidge by various people?
Then, as he sat there, Frank took out the little gold locket which poorJed had trusted to his keeping. Here was another mystery awaitingexplanation. He looked at it very hard, as though wondering how he couldpenetrate to the secret attaching to that same small ornament, and learnjust why the covetous old farmer, Cal Dobson, wanted to get possessionof it so badly.
His boy chums were soundly sleeping long before this, but Frank haddecide
d to keep watch as long as possible, when he would arouse Jerry.
And as he sat there, once in a while he would look around. The grimsteeps of the mountains arose beyond, for the lake was far from being onthe summit of the cluster known as Sunset Range.
He could hear Adolphus snoring back where he had his bed under a canvasfly. Once the old man awoke with startled exclamations about the ghost,but he had only been dreaming, and soon passed into slumberland again.
As Frank happened to look up to the side of the mountain he caught sightof a flare that came and went several times, as though it might be asignal, after which he saw it no more.
"That was strange," he muttered uneasily, "and the more I see of thingsthe stronger I feel that something mighty queer must be going on up inthis region. What with a ghost roaming about, and a posse of officerssearching for an escaped convict, anything is liable to happen at anytime. H'm! That is a pleasant thought, now, but it's true,nevertheless."