CHAPTER VI
CAPTAIN JOE TAKES A PRISONER
Case waited patiently a long time for the return of his chum. When itcame near midnight he decided to awaken Clay and inform him of thesituation. The latter was out of his bed instantly.
"He shouldn't have gone," the boy said, anxiously. "There is no doubtthat he is in trouble of some kind. I'm sorry for this!"
"Well, he would go," Case urged, "and he promised to go only to theshore and look around. Just after he left, Teddy splashed off the boatand ran into the thicket. I presume the two are together."
"Of course they're together," said Clay, "That is, if Teddy hasn'tbeen discovered and shot. That is likely to happen."
"What shall we do?" asked Case anxiously.
"It isn't much use to go into the thicket after him," Clay decided."There is plenty of moonlight here, it is true, but the foliage mustmake it very dark in the forest. It would be like looking for aspecial pebble on the beach to try to find him now. We'll have towait."
"Perhaps Teddy will come and bring us news," suggested Case. "I haveknown him to do such things. He's a wise little bear."
There was no more sleep on board the _Rambler_ that night. With thefirst flush of dawn Clay and Jule were abroad in the forest, leavingCase on watch. Although they searched patiently for a long time, notrace of the missing boy could be discovered.
Here and there were tracks which must have been made by Teddy, but itwas not certain that the two had been together. After a time the boysreturned to the bank of the river just above the location of the_Rambler_. There they found where a boat had been drawn up to thebank.
"I don't see how they ever got a boat by us," Clay argued, "but theycertainly did, for they couldn't have got here first. They must havesneaked up the east shore in the shadows and landed above the_Rambler_. Are you sure that no boat passed down after Alex left?" heasked of Case. "One might have drifted down without making muchnoise."
"I was awake every minute of the time," Case insisted, "and no boatpassed down. When the moon swung around to the south, the whole riverwas illuminated. I would have seen any craft that passed."
"Then it is certain that the intruders are still up river, perhapsabove the falls, and I am afraid that Alex is where they are. Thatlittle rascal is always getting lost! He should have remained onboard."
"Yes, he gets lost," admitted Case, loyally, "but he always comes outon top in the end. There wouldn't be any fun if Alex and Teddy werenot always getting into trouble. It sort of keeps things moving!"
"Well," Clay concluded, "the place to look for the boy is, as I saidbefore, upstream. Now, the question is, shall we take the _Rambler_up?"
"I am afraid the motors would declare our presence," Case observed,speaking from the deck of the boat, "and, besides, we couldn't go veryfar on account of the falls, so, perhaps, we would better go up as faras we can in the rowboat, making as little noise as possible."
"And what's the matter with putting Captain Joe on shore?" asked Jule."He may be able to point out the spot where the men left the river.Anyhow, it won't do any harm to try."
"That's a good idea," declared Clay, "and I'll go along with him."
"I'm afraid you'll find it pretty rough walking along that bank," Casesuggested, "for the country is rocky and leads up to the plateau abovethe falls, and small streams may run in from the peninsula. You mighthave to swim when you wasn't climbing hills."
"I'll try it a short distance, anyway," Clay answered, "and you, Case,remain on board and let Jule row up in the boat."
This arrangement was carried out, and in a short time, the little boatwas moving upstream, with Jule pulling cautiously at the oars. Clayfound the bank a difficult one to ascend. He was obliged to wadethrough small creeks and climb rocky heights, but he kept steadily onhis way, with Captain Joe at his heels.
At last, they came to a creek which ran into the river at the foot ofthe falls. On the south side of this creek, for some distance in, wasa level, grassy plateau, and here Captain Joe picked up the scent theywere looking for. The south bank showed that a boat had recently beendrawn up there.
Disregarding, for the time being, all commands from the boy, the dograced up the small stream, and finally disappeared in a thicket.
Clay hesitated, undecided as to whether he ought to follow the dog atonce or return to notify Jule of his discovery and secure hisassistance.
He had already lost sight of the dog, so he concluded that he might aswell return to Jule. This he did, and in a short time, the boat wasanchored at the mouth of the creek, and the boys were pressing on intothe thicket. Captain Joe was nowhere in sight.
"They certainly are on this side of the creek," Clay reasoned, "forthey couldn't very well make progress on the other side unless theytraveled in an aeroplane."
There were no tracks to follow, no indications of any one havingpassed that way recently, but the boys kept pluckily on, listening nowand then for some sign from the dog.
"If he finds Alex," Jule declared, "he'll make a note of it, and we'llhear a racket fit to wake the dead."
"And that will warn the outlaws of our approach," said Clay in adiscouraged tone of voice. "Perhaps we did wrong to bring the dog."
"You may be sure Captain Joe will give a good account of himself,"Jule said confidently. "He may make a racket, but it's dollars toapples that they won't catch him."
In a short time the clamor the boys had been expecting came from theforest beyond. Captain Joe was barking and growling and, judging fromthe commotion in the copse, was evidently threshing about.
"That's a scrap," Jule declared. "Perhaps he has caught one of themen. If he has, I hope he's got him by the throat."
Pressing into the interior of the forest, the level grassy plateauhaving long since disappeared, the boys finally came to a smallcleared glade and discovered the cause of Captain Joe's enthusiasm.
Teddy, the cub, was standing with his back to the hole of a giant treeinviting the dog to a boxing match. Captain Joe's clamor indicatedonly delight at the meeting with his friend.
Before showing themselves in the glade, the boys looked in everydirection for some indication of the outlaws, but there was no sign ofhuman life anywhere near them. No noise, save the cries of thecreatures of the air and the jungle.
"You're a fine old scout, Captain Joe," whispered Clay as he finallyadvanced into the glade. "You notify everybody within a mile of us asto our location, but you don't do a thing to help us find Alex."
At mention of the lost boy's name, Teddy dropped down from hisantagonistic attitude, and, thrusting a soft muzzle against Clay'shand, moved away to the west.
"The cub has more sense than the dog," Jule exclaimed. "Captain Joemakes a noise, and Teddy does the piloting. Do you suppose he knowswhere Alex is?" he added.
"It seems to me that he is trying to tell us something," Clay replied."Anyway, we may as well follow him."
Teddy, who was an especial favorite of Alex's, and never lost anopportunity of following him about, appeared to know exactly where hewas going, for he maintained a steady pace for half an hour or more,keeping to the south shore of the creek for a time and then crossingon a fallen tree to the opposite bank.
"Now," said Clay, "we ought not to follow close behind the cub. Hemakes as much noise as a freight train going up a steep grade, andwe'll be sure to be seen if the outlaws are anywhere about."
"Perhaps he will go on alone," Jule suggested.
"In that case, we can skirt his track and remain hidden. That oughtnot to be very difficult in this broken country."
Teddy turned about with an inquiring glance as the boys left his side,but soon proceeded on his course. Fearful that Captain Joe wouldindulge in another demonstration of some kind, the boys kept him withthem, Jule keeping a close hold on his collar.
"This doesn't seem much like a river trip to me," Jule grinned as theypassed over rocks, sneaked through miniature canyons and threadedthickets alive with briers and clinging vines. "Seems more like a
noverland expedition to the north star."
"There is one compensation," Clay added humorously. "Alex will getgood and hungry--and serve him right at that."
"Huh!" Jule declared, "Alex is always hungry anyway."
Teddy now quickened his pace so that the boys had great difficulty infollowing him. He ran with his nose to the rough ground, his shortears tipped forward, for all the world like a hound on a scent.
"Look at the beast!" Jule laughed. "Acts like he was a hound afterfoxes. That's some bear, Clay."
"So far as I know," Clay answered, "he's the only cub that ever did astunt like that. Still, he's only exhibiting the advantages of anearly education, for he has long been trained to follow us."
After a short time the boys, advancing up a ledge and then into alittle gully, came upon Teddy lying flat on the ground, his nosepointing straight ahead. When they came to him Captain Joe pulledfiercely to get away, his nose pointing straight to the north.
"I guess," Jule panted, holding to the dog with all his strength,"that they have located Alex. If you'll take charge of thisobstreperous animal for a while, I'll sneak ahead and have a look."
Clay finally succeeded in quieting the dog, and Jule pushed on up thegully. At the very end, where the depression terminated in a wall ofrock, he saw a faint column of smoke. A closer approach revealed asmall fire of dry sticks with something cooking in a tin pail over thecoals.
Jule stopped and considered the situation seriously.
"Now, I wonder," he thought, "why Teddy didn't make a fool of himselfby rushing right up to Alex. I don't believe he's scared of the men,and, to tell the truth, I don't see any men to be frightened at. Alexseems to be there alone. Wonder why he doesn't run."
The reason why Alex didn't run was disclosed in a moment. The boy'shands were tightly bound across his breast and a strong rope encircledhis ankles. For a moment there was no one in sight save the boy, thena roughly dressed man came into view carrying an armful of dry woodfor the fire. Jule heard both the dog and the cub protesting at beingkept away from the fellow, and saw the man turn sharply about.
Then there came another revelation. With bound arms swinging out, andbound feet kicking violently, Alex was ordering the two animals away.Well trained as they were, they protested while they obeyed.
"Is that that bear of yours, again?" Jule heard the man asking. "If Iwasn't afraid of attracting attention, I'd put a bullet into him. Callhim up here and keep him quiet while I gather more dry wood. The boyswill be here in an hour or so and will want breakfast."
"That settles it," whispered Jule. "If the boys are so far away thatthey won't be back in an hour or more, they won't find any cook whenthey return. If I have my way, the cook will be tied up."
"All right," Alex said in reply to the fellow's order, "I'll call himup and keep him quiet after you go away. He's been used to politesociety and doesn't like you!"
The man snarled out some surly reply and disappeared. Jule was at hischum's side in a moment. The ropes were cut, and the two boys werespeeding back to where Clay had been left.
There was a little scene of congratulation, and then Captain Joe,growling fiercely, leaped forward. The man who had gone in search ofwood must have heard the noisy greetings of the boys, for he camerunning back to the fire. The boys saw him throw a hand back for aweapon, heard an exclamation of anger, and knew that the dog wasspringing at his throat.
The struggle was a short one, for the man who had been attacked hadnot succeeded in reaching his revolver. When the boys reached thescene the man was black in the face and the dog was shaking himviciously by the neck.
"Captain Joe seems to know who his friends are!" Alex shouted.
"If we don't break his hold in a minute, the man will be dead," Juleexclaimed, dancing excitedly about, "and we're not out to commitmurder."
When the clutch of the dog was finally released, the man lay back,panting, on the ground. An examination of his injury showed that itwas not serious, his throat having been compressed rather than torn.
In a moment the man sat up and glared about with murder in hisprotruding eyes. Seeing the dog still watching him, he gave him avicious kick and came near inviting a repetition of the attack.
"I'll kill that dog!" he shouted.
"No, you won't!" laughed Alex. "We're going to take that dog out ofthis blooming country. We're going to tie you up so you won'tover-exert yourself while in your present weakened condition, andstreak it for the motor boat. We've had enough of this bloomingelection precinct."
This program was carried out so far as moving back toward the motorboat was concerned, but when, after a long, hard journey, they came tothe place in the river where the _Rambler_ had been left, it wasnowhere to be seen. Satisfied that Case had not proceeded up theriver--the falls would have prevented a long run up--they all enteredthe rowboat and passed on down toward the St. Lawrence.
"Talk about getting lost!" grinned Alex. "Case has gone and lost theboat!"