"Shall we follow him?" asked Sandy.
"Aw, what"s the use?" Tommy questioned. "You said yourself, a little while ago, that he"d come back to get a bite of that haunch of venison."
"And I believe he will!" answered the boy.
George was made comfortable in one of the bunks, additional fuel brought in for the night, and then Will, Tommy and Sandy set out to bring the supplies and tents from the camp.
"Suppose Antoine, or some one else, should bring the Little Bra.s.s G.o.d to this cabin," George began.
"I wish we knew whether it was Antoine who sat before the fire last night," Thede puzzled. "If I could just get my hands on that idiotic little plaything, I"d sneak back to old Finklebaum and get his hundred dollars so quick it would make his head swim."
"His hundred dollars!" repeated George. "I thought I heard you saying last night if you got hold of the Little Bra.s.s G.o.d, you"d make him put up a thousand dollars for it!"
"So I would, too," declared Thede. "And he wouldn"t pay the thousand dollars, either, unless he saw a chance to make ten out of it!"
During the entire absence of the boys George and Thede discussed the mystery of the Little Bra.s.s G.o.d. They wondered how it had made such good time into that country, and puzzled over the strange fact that they had blundered upon it on the very night of their arrival.
But when at last the boys returned with the tents and a part of the provisions, drawn along on the "drag," they had reached no conclusion whatever.
It was all a mystery which time alone could solve!
Although it was now the middle of the afternoon, Will and Sandy insisted on making another trip to the old camp.
"If we"re going to stay in the cabin," Will urged, "we"ve got to do the job some time and we may as well do it now."
"I guess you"ll have a good load if you get it all!" Tommy suggested.
The boys insisted that they were able to bring in the remaining stock and set off through the snow. Tommy and Thede continued to drag in wood until there was a great stack of it piled against the cabin. Every time they opened the door, they looked in vain for the appearance of the man they had seen running away through the underbrush on the other side of the swamp, but he was not seen.
"I"d like to know what"s the matter with that fellow!" Tommy observed as darkness settled down and the two boys returned to the cabin.
In half an hour Sandy and Will came in with the provisions which they had brought from the camp, They reported that quite a large share of the tinned stuff had been cached in the snow about half way between the cabin and the site of the old camp.
"We couldn"t bring it all in," Sandy announced.
"I hope the man we drove out of the cabin will find it if he needs it," Will observed.
After a hearty meal they cleared away the dishes and sat around the fire discussing the situation until ten o"clock. Then they secured the door and windows of the cabin and crawled into their bunks, which were remarkably well supplied with blankets and tanned bear skins.
In the middle of the night the fire died down to embers and Will arose to pile on more wood. He moved softly about in order not to disturb the sleep of his chums, and finally sat down by the blaze to enter anew upon a mental discussion of the mystery which surrounded them.
Will heard the sash rattling, as if in the light wind which was blowing, and glanced toward it.
What he saw was not the velvet darkness of the night laying against the gla.s.s. The firelight which shone through the glazed sash revealed the outlines of a human face looking in upon him.
It was an ugly face, with dusky skin, narrow slits of eyes, and straight black hair which seemed to wind and coil about the repulsive countenance as a collection of serpents might have done.
The face disappeared as the boy looked, and Will tiptoed softly to the bunk where Tommy lay and awoke him with a violent shake.
"Get up!" he said.
"Aw, go chase yourself!" answered Tommy not very politely.
"It"s worth seeing," Will a.s.sured the lad. Tommy seized a shoe from the floor, hurled it at the head of his chum, and then rose to sitting position, rubbing his eyes sleepily.
"What have you found now?" he demanded.
"There"s a new one on us!" Will declared.
Tommy opened his eyes wide in wonder.
"Not a new Boy Scout?" he asked.
"We seem to pick up plenty of new Boy Scouts," laughed Will, "but this isn"t a new Boy Scout. This is the Little Bra.s.s G.o.d given the power of expression and the use of his legs!"
"So you"ve gone and got "em too, have you?" demanded Tommy.
"When I got up to renew the fire," Will answered, "I heard the window sash to the north rattling. Thinking that I ought to go and fix it, I glanced that way and saw the Little Bra.s.s G.o.d looking down upon me."
"Was he sitting up in the window with his legs crossed, and his arms folded, and his face making you think of the Old Nick?" asked Tommy.
"I could see only the head, but the head looked exactly as I imagine the Little Bra.s.s G.o.d looks; with the firelight shining on the yellowish hide, the face gave me the impression of being made out of bra.s.s!"
"You better read another page out of the dream book and go back to bed!" laughed Tommy. "You"ve been laboring under strong excitement lately and I think you need a long rest."
CHAPTER XIV
A CALL FROM THE DARKNESS
"Perhaps you don"t believe I saw anything at the window," replied Will, somewhat indignantly.
"Oh, I don"t doubt that you think you saw something at the window."
Will seized a searchlight, grabbed Tommy by the shoulder, and pulled him out of the door and around to the north side of the cabin.
The boys were not dressed especially for a midnight excursion in the snow, and their teeth chattered as they made their way against the chilling wind. However, they stuck to their purpose and soon stood under the window which Will had pointed out."
"There!" the boy exclaimed in a triumphant tone. "Now perhaps you"ll tell me I didn"t see anything through the gla.s.s."
A light snow had fallen during the late hours of the night, and there, plainly revealed on the undisturbed surface--undisturbed only for what they saw--were clearly outlined the footprints of two people.
One had worn moccasins, the other such shoes as might have been purchased at any department store in Chicago.
"And the tenant came back!" grinned Tommy.
"Then why didn"t he come in?" demanded Will.