"Gee! Perhaps they had some other object in taking the place?" Landy suggested.
"Just what I had in mind," Elmer followed. "If they are the rascals who tried to throw that train off the track for some awful reason, they must know that there"ll be a hunt through the country for them; and, perhaps, they hope to hide as farm laborers until the thing wears off."
"Then we ought to warn Mr. Brady, hadn"t we?" asked Ted.
"Yes, but at the same time we must be careful not to excite the suspicion of those fellows," Elmer replied; and then turning again to Adam, he continued: "Did you have anything to say to either of the men, Adam?"
"Vell," replied the other, slowly and reflectively, "I d.i.n.k me dot berhaps von off dem might dell me der vay to der milk house, und so I stop me to ask."
"Yes, you asked one of them--which one, Adam?"
"I notice me dot as I gome close dey look at me like I vos a pad egg, und put der heads togedder in a punch. So I yust chuck oudt mine preast und valk right up to der spot, like I vas say: "Vat"s der matter mit you; I am Adam Litzburgh, und I pelong to der scouts; put dot in your pipe und smoke it!""
"But you didn"t say all that; you just asked one of them where the milk house might be; wasn"t that it, Adam?" Elmer went on.
"Der short von idt vas; und he turn to der udder und he say it pe all right, nuttings to bother apout from dot Dutch fool. Den, py c.h.i.n.ks, he call oudt to der farmer who vas on der top of dot haymow, und ask vere der milk house pe."
"And that was all, was it, Adam?"
"I knows me nuddings else," replied the German boy; "only ven I gomes me along again, der short von vaves his hand to me, und laughs him some py my pack."
Elmer really sighed with relief when he realized that he had actually succeeded in getting the whole story out of the uncommunicative fellow.
It was like "drawing teeth," as Landy more than once remarked.
"You"ve heard the story, fellows," he said, turning to the others; "what had we better do about it? I want everybody to have a voice in this, and majority rules. So don"t be bashful, but speak up."
"Well," remarked Landy, slowly. "I suppose we ought to give Mr. Brady a hint of the truth; but, as you say, Elmer, we must be mighty careful how we do it. Those tramps must be a pretty desperate pair, and they"d think nothing of sailing in to clean us out if they suspected we were on to their curves."
"How about you, Ted?" asked Elmer.
"Oh, count me in the thame lay," replied the one addressed. "n.o.body knowth when they"re entertaining angelth unawareth, like the good book thayth; or bad men either. The farmerth want help tho bad at timeth that they don"t athk too many quethtionth when they get a thanthe to employ a huthky man. We"ll drop around there in the morning thome time, when they"re out in the haying field, and give the women folkth a little hint that they"d better get rid of the new handth."
"Ty?"
"Them"s my sentiments. No special need of any hurry, I guess," replied Ty, who was really feeling the effect of his unusual exercise of that morning when the unfriendly bull gave him such a lively chase, and who wanted to keep quiet in camp.
"George?"
"Wow! You just couldn"t get me to stir away from here to-night unless you tied a pair of mules to me and started them going," replied the newcomer, as he slyly helped himself to more fish.
"And Adam?"
"I d.i.n.ks me as how it pe werry comfortaples here," grinned the German, duplicating the act of George, as though he feared lest he might not get his full share of the supper.
"Hey, let me in on that, will you, fellers?" cried Landy, spearing another portion from the rapidly vanishing pile. "And if you want to know my sentiments, Elmer, just put them down as "he also ran." Because I"m willing to do whatever the rest of you say."
Elmer himself looked a trifle disappointed. He had been thinking that perhaps they ought to warn Mr. Brady that night; for it could not be a very safe thing to have two such desperate men in his employ longer than was absolutely necessary.
Still, he had said that he would be bound by what the majority of his chums decided was best; and he could not change his ideas.
After all, the chances seemed to be that if the two new farm hands were actually Shorty and Lanky Jim, their sole object in taking service with Mr. Brady must be to lie low until the excitement died away.
Consequently, they would be very careful not to do anything that would turn attention upon them; and in that case a little delay could not matter.
"All right, then," said Elmer; "it"s settled that after breakfast to-morrow we"ll make up a party to go after milk and find a chance to warn the Brady people. Of course the women folks will be scared nearly to death; but they"ll find some way of sending word to town in these days of telephones. And then the officers will come out to arrest the fellows. Pa.s.s my dish, please, Landy, and get a small help of the fish.
I"m mighty fond of it in camp, and never care for a bite at home. And this is as good as they make fried fish, thanks to Ty"s way of cooking."
The balance of the supper was eaten amid a lively lot of talk. Of course much of this concerned the events of the day; the adventure with the bull; the trick Ty attempted to play on Adam, with disastrous results to himself; and last, but not least, the coming of Doubting George with such exciting news.
When, finally, they went to bed it was with all these things fastened upon their minds; so that Elmer expected that more than one among them would be apt to "see things" in the dark that night.
The fire which, after supper, had been built larger, so that it lent a cheerful glow to the scene, was allowed to die down. Really the weather was still so sultry that it took away some of the pleasure of sitting around a blaze; which is always appreciated most when there is a tang of frost in the night air; but, then, these boys were up here for fun and did not mean to be cheated out of anything they considered their due by such a thing as hot air.
One by one they crawled under the canvas and subsided.
The coming of George promised to add to the discomfort of a crowded tent; and secretly Elmer had decided that he would not occupy his quarters of the preceding nights. It would not be a new thing at all for him to sleep out under the stars with a blanket for a covering; and, indeed, he believed he would enjoy the experience, as it must revive recollections of the past when he was accompanying the cowboys on a round-up far away from the home ranch; or else off with a comrade on a hunt in the big Rocky Mountains of Canada.
Only one more day remained, and then the wagon would come for the tent and other things that had to be transported by team. After that they could look forward to a few days of restlessness; when school duties would begin once more.
Elmer noticed that there was little talking indulged in that night. They seemed too tired all around for any "funny business," such as often marked the period when the lively boys started to go to bed.
When all seemed quiet within the tent, Elmer stepped over to where he had slyly hidden his blanket some little time before. He had already picked out the spot in which he intended pa.s.sing the night. It was under a tree, where he could look up through the leafy branches, and get glimpses of the star-decked heavens. The soft, caressing touch of the night wind would lull him to sleep, he felt sure; and on the whole Elmer infinitely preferred such an experience to being crammed up against five others, in one small tent.
So he fixed himself, and lay down. By turning his head he could see the flickering fire, and imagine it surrounded by some of those good fellows whom he had known long ago, daring riders of bucking bronchos, and expert wielders of the flying rope.
Then Elmer dropped off into a sound sleep. The last thing he remembered was hearing some one snoring in the tent; he never knew just who the guilty party might be, although his suspicions pointed to George; since they had not been afflicted up to his coming. And the sounds seemed uncertain too, just as though they were inclined to express a lingering doubt.
From this state of peace and calm the campers were suddenly aroused by a most piercing scream, that rang through the woods on the borders of the river.
Instantly a scene of wild confusion resulted. Out from the narrow exit of the tent came a struggling ma.s.s of boys in pajamas, grabbing hold of each other in their excitement.
And one lone figure might have been seen crawling under the back canvas, in much the same fashion as Elmer had done at the time he started on that hunt for the unknown party who was throwing the stones with a plunk into the river.
Elmer was on his feet instantly, and could, perhaps, be said to be the only one in the lot who had control of his senses in this emergency.
CHAPTER IX.
THE INVASION OF THE CAMP.
"OH! what is it?" cried Landy, who was actually trembling all over as he stood there in the night air, which had grown a trifle cooler during the hours they had been asleep.
"What"s Elmer going to do?" exclaimed George, as he saw the patrol leader spring suddenly forward, and bend down.
"He"th got thomebody!" yelled Ted. "Perhapth it"th jutht one of the trampth come over here to rob the camp!"
"Aber I d.i.n.ks me he iss yust getting some off der vood to puts on der fire," remarked Adam, who, strange to say, in all the excitement, seemed to keep fairly calm.