CHAPTER VIII
THE MISSING THOLE-PINS
"I HAD no idea it was so late," exclaimed the Scoutmaster, consultinghis watch. "There is not enough time for us to explore thesouth-western portion of the Island. There is something veryinteresting to be seen there, but as I want to give you fellows alittle surprise I won't say what it is. Perhaps tomorrow we will findtime to complete the circuit of the Island."
Hungry as hunters the Scouts returned to camp, where Mayne andCoventry senior had a sumptuous tea awaiting them.
"Anything to report?" asked the Scoutmaster.
"Yes, sir," replied Mayne. "Mr Trebarwith, of Polkerwyck Farm, hasbeen here. He brought three dozen eggs and several pounds of Cornishcream as a present. He wouldn't hear of payment when I suggested thatyou would square up with him. He also invites us to visit his farmto-morrow at half-past nine."
"What did you say to that?"
"I thanked him, sir, and said you would let him know this evening."
"Very good. After tea you might take a message for me. Now, lads, setto, for if you are all as hungry as I am we will make short work ofthis provender."
"No one else landed on the Island, I suppose?" asked Atherton.
"No, Peter Varco rowed Mr Trebarwith over, and he remained in theboat. Why do you ask?" questioned Coventry major.
"Because we came across the spoor of a recent visitor in the TeaCaves," replied Atherton, and at Mr Trematon's suggestion the ladgave his companions of the "Wolves" and the two former guardians ofthe camp a detailed report of what had occurred.
After tea, the Scoutmaster wrote a letter to the genial farmer,accepting his invitation, and stating that he hoped to bring theScouts to Polkerwyck Farm to-morrow at nine-thirty. Mayne and Bakerwere despatched to take the missive to Mr Trebarwith, while theothers were free to amuse themselves at camp games till half-pastseven, when the camp fire was lighted for the customary eveningpalaver.
Just before sunset Mr Trematon called the Leaders and Seconds of bothpatrols aside.
"Atherton and Simpson, I want you to take charge of the camp till Ireturn," he said. "Phillips and Neale will no doubt feel up to anevening stroll. I have reason to revisit the cliff immediately abovethe ledge leading to the Tea Caves."
As the Scoutmaster and the two Seconds passed by the ruined oratory,Neale called attention to the wild yet beautiful sunset tints. Therewere streaks of deep purple, orange, pale yellow and indigo in thewestern sky, while rugged, dark grey clouds, tipped withcopper-coloured points, gave every indication that the bad weatherwas at hand.
"Yes," assented Mr Trematon, "the colours are remarkable. What do yousay to a little experiment?"
"An experiment, sir?" asked Neale. "How?"
"Stand here, both of you, side by side," said the Scoutmaster. "Backsto the sunset: that's right. Now stretch your legs wide apart, placethe palms of your hands together and bend forward till yourfingertips touch the ground."
The two Scouts promptly obeyed, wondering what was the reason forthis exaggerated "leap-frog" posture.
"Now look at the sunset," continued Mr Trematon.
"The colours are ever so much brighter," exclaimed both lads, who,heads downwards, were observing the western sky between theiroutstretched legs. "They look too bright to be real."
"All the same they are natural colours. Stand up now, or thecirculation of the blood towards your head will be obstructed. Yes,it has a peculiar effect. An artist friend of mine gave me the tip.By so doing one can see the vividness of an Italian sky in thecorresponding misty atmosphere of our native land. But we must bemoving."
Arriving at the edge of the cliff, Mr Trematon produced from hispocket a reel of black cotton. Cutting three or four twigs from aneighbouring bush, he set these in the ground so that they projectedfour inches from the surface. Their exposed ends he connected up by alength of cotton.
"If anybody comes here, the broken thread will give us proof,"exclaimed the Scoutmaster. "I do not suggest that anyone will come,but if they do this is the best means of detecting their presencewithout giving them cause of suspicion."
"But the cotton only stretches for a distance of about ten feet,sir," remarked Phillips. "If anyone descended to the ledge from apoint farther along the cliffs, this arrangement would not give anywarning."
"I am afraid, Phillips, you didn't use your eyes sufficiently thisafternoon. If you had you would have noticed that at all other placesexcept this the cliffs overhang the ledge, and anyone being loweredwould drop clear of the path leading to the caves. Hence it isreasonable to conclude that anybody knowing of the existence of thecaves would naturally know the easiest means of gaining the ledge. Doyou follow?"
"Yes, sir," answered the Second.
"Now let us be off, back to the camp. Those fellows are enjoyingthemselves to be sure. You can hear them quite plainly at thisdistance--it is another sign that stormy weather is near when soundtravels clearly over a long distance."
Ten minutes after "Lights out" the camp at Seal Island was wrapped inslumber. Dead tired with their exertions and aided by thehealth-giving fresh air, the Scouts were soon lost to the world, tilla blaze of red in the eastern sky betokened the dawn of another day.
Before r?veill?, Atherton was up and about. His mind was full ofthe tracks that had been discovered in the Tea Caves. It was notpresentiment that influenced his thoughts. His deductions were basedupon actual facts that were certainly suspicious. On the other handthe mysterious visitor might have gone to the cave for a perfectlylegitimate purpose. In that case the following up of the clues wouldresult in nothing more or less than a little practice.
Something more than curiosity prompted him to run across the Islandto the edge of the cliffs by the caves. Phillips had told him of theharmless and effective booby-trap that the Scoutmaster had prepared.
The cotton had been snapped.
Atherton knelt down and examined the ground, but the dew lay thickupon the long grass, and no sign of human footprints was visible.
Upon his return to the camp, the Scout found Mr Trematon clad in along overcoat, for the morning air was chilly.
"The cotton has been broken, sir," announced Atherton.
"I am not surprised," replied the Scoutmaster. "As a matter of fact Iexpected that it would be, for by a stupid blunder on my part I tiedthe thread without making allowance for its shrinking through themoisture of the night air. But apart from that, Atherton, I have madea discovery. Two of the thole-pins have been taken out of one of theboats."
"Perhaps Mayne and Baker brought them ashore when they returned fromthe mainland last night, sir?"
"Oh, no: I went down to the landing-place last night to see that theboats were properly secured. The thole-pins were in their properplaces then."
"One of the fishermen, perhaps----"
"They are honest men, and it is against their primitive yet effectivecode of honour to trifle with the gear of anybody's boat. Still,although there is a faint possibility that such might have takenplace, and we have an explanation for the broken thread, the doubleoccurrences seem to suggest very forcibly that some one has landed onSeal Island during the night and has paid a visit to the Tea Caves."
"Are we going to explore the caves again to-day, sir?"
"If time permits. Our morning and afternoon are pretty full up: wemay make an opportunity after tea. But turn those fellows out,Atherton; it's time, and there's a lot to be done before we pay avisit to Farmer Trebarwith."
As soon as the meal was over and the camp tidied up, the two patrolsprepared for their trip to Polkerwyck Farm. The weather stillremained calm and bright, and there was little or no wind. All thesame the ground-swell was troublesome, as the "Wolves" learnt totheir cost, for upon landing, a heavy roller threw their boatbroadside on to the beach, and drenched the lads to the skin.
"It's salt water; it won't hurt," shouted Leader Simpson to hispatrol. "Our clothes will be dry by the time we get to the farm."
Meanwhile Atherton had landed and was quiet
ly and unostentatiouslyexamining the other boats hauled up on shore or else lying within theshelter of the land-locked harbour. Presently he went up to MrTrematon.
"There are our thole-pins, sir: I found them in that double-endedboat," he announced, pointing to a whaler lying just inside the oldstone pier.
"One of Peter Varco's boats," observed the Scoutmaster. "Perhaps,after all, he had occasion to land on Seal Island last night. Hemight have gone to look at his boat in Dollar Cove. We'll ask him."
The old Cornish fisherman was discovered sitting in the sun andmending his nets by the side of his cottage.
"No, sir. Sure I hadn't no call tu go over tu t'Island last night.Now you comes tu mention it, sir, I did notice as 'ow some one 'ada-meddled wi' my boat, the _Pride o' Polkerwyck_. Says I tu myself,'Tis they young gen'lmen over up-along, wot come ashore last night."
"How did you know that one of your mates hadn't used her, Peter?"asked Mr Trematon.
"Sure, none o' they wud a-made fast the painter wi' a granny, sir."
"And none of my Scouts would have done so: that I feel sure," addedthe Scoutmaster with conviction. "No, Peter, it's not any of ourlads. Some one, I believe, is in the habit of paying night visits toSeal Island."
"Better not let Roger Penwith, Sir Silas' bailiff, catch 'em," saidthe old fisherman with conviction. "All as goes tu Seal Island aftersunset without permission be liable tu be taken up for poachin',sir."
Returning to the harbour Atherton and the Scoutmaster made a carefulexamination of the boat in question. The thwarts and bottom-boardswere scratched and almost destitute of paint or varnish, but inaddition to the innumerable traces of old Peter's iron-heeled boots,Atherton made the discovery that some one wearing indiarubber shoeshad recently been in the boat.
"Size ten," he added, after measuring one of the footprints with hisfinger joint. "And seven bars across the soles."
"Pity we did not know of this before we left the Island, Atherton,"said Mr Trematon. "However, we must keep a sharp look-out for a spoorup the road."
The two patrols formed up and began their two-mile march to the farm.The traces of the person wearing indiarubber shoes were at firstfairly well defined. In spite of the large size the wearer had takencomparatively short steps, a circumstance that coincided with thediscovery made in the Tea Caves. But half way up the hill the spoorbroke away to the left. Here the short, sun-dried grass effectuallybaffled all farther traces.
The Scouts were, for the time being, baulked. There was nothing leftbut to continue their way to the farm.