The run to the island was made without incident, and the boys were glad to see that, contrary to the captain"s fears, his dog Skipper was all right again, for the animal came bounding and barking down the wharf as they drew near, in token of his gladness to see them.
Attracted by his dog"s barking, the old captain, who was at work in a small potato patch he cultivated, came hobbling to meet the boys as they tied up and disembarked.
"Well, well, boys; come ter stay?" he cheerily remarked, as the three lads shook hands.
"No, we"re off after "blues,"" said Rob; "but we thought we"d drop in and see how things are coming along with you, and if you have heard any news yet concerning the robbery."
"Not a thing, boys, not a thing," said the old man. "In fact, I haven"t left the island since my old safe was busted open. Skipper, as yer see, got over his sickness. It"s my belief that them fellers fed him poisoned meat or something."
"I shouldn"t wonder," remarked Rob dryly. "It would be quite in their line."
"By the way," exclaimed the old man suddenly, "a queer thing happened the other day. Skipper had been a-skirmishin" round the other side uv the island after rabbits and critters, and he brought home this-- Wait a minute and I"ll show it to yer."
After some fumbling in his pocket, the old man produced a torn strip of yellow material with a bra.s.s b.u.t.ton attached to it.
"I wonder where that come from," he remarked, as he handed the fragment to Rob for his inspection.
"Why, it"s khaki," exclaimed Rob, as he felt it. "And, by hokey!" he e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed the next instant, "it"s a piece of a Boy Scout uniform!"
Old Skipper was jumping about in great excitement, and endeavoring to sniff the bit of torn material as Rob examined it, and a sudden idea struck the boy.
"I wonder if Skipper could pilot us to where he found this bit of material."
"Are you sure it"s a bit of uniform?" asked Tubby doubtfully.
"Certain of it. No one else wears khaki in these parts. Hey, Skipper, hey, good dog! Sic "em, sic "em!" cried Rob, holding up the khaki for the intelligent creature to see.
The animal seemed to be greatly excited and gave short, quick barks as he danced about the boys.
"Well, we might try and see if he will lead us anywhere." remarked Merritt somewhat dubiously. "At any rate, there"s no harm done, except wasting a little time; and if we can get on the track of our uniforms, it"s not such a much of a waste, after all."
"He sure wants ter be off somewhere," observed the old captain, watching the antics of his dog, whom he regarded in the light of a human being. "He never acts nor talks that way unless he"s got suthin"
on his mind. Yer boys follow him, and I"ll bet he"ll lead yer ter suthin". It may be nothin" more than a dead rabbit, and it may be what ye think. I"ll stay here an" dig my pertaters, fer my rheumatiz is powerful bad today."
"Very well, captain. We shan"t be long," rejoined Rob, calling to the dog. "Hey, Skipper, hey, old boy! After "em, Skipper--after "em!"
The dog bounded on ahead of the three boys, occasionally looking back to see if they were following and then plunging on again.
"As the Captain said, he "sure has got suthin" on his mind"!" laughed Merritt.
After traversing about a mile of beach, the dog suddenly bounded into a thicket overhanging the sh.o.r.e and began barking furiously.
"He"s treed something, all right," remarked Rob, pushing the branches aside.
The next minute he gave a loud shout of triumph.
"Look there, boys! Old Skipper sure did "have suthin" on his mind"!"
Peering over Rob"s shoulder, the other two were able to make out two hidden sacks, the mouth of one of which had been torn open, evidently by the investigating Skipper.
From the aperture appeared the torn sleeve of a Boy Scout"s uniform, and a brief searching of the sacks after they had been lugged out on the beach revealed the entire stolen equipment.
"Bones for you, Skipper, for the rest of your life!" promised Tubby, as the dog, evidently well pleased with the petting he received and the admiration showered upon him, pranced about on the beach and indulged in a hundred antics.
The only one of the uniforms damaged was the one that Skipper had torn.
The others were all intact, but badly crumpled, having been hastily thrust into the sacks, and, as it appeared, tamped down to make them fit more compactly.
"Well, what do you know about that?" was Merritt"s astonished exclamation, as one by one Rob drew forth the regimentals and laid them on the beach.
"You mean what does Jack Curtiss and Company know about that,"
seriously returned Rob.
"However, we found them--that"s one thing to be enthusiastic over,"
observed Tubby sagely.
"I"d like just as well almost to find out exactly who hid them there,"
was Merritt"s reply.
"The same folks that stole the old captain"s seventy-five dollars, I guess," returned Rob, thrusting the garments back into the sacks preparatory to carrying them to the boat. "Here, Tubby, you carry this one--it"ll take some of that fat off you to do a hike along the beach with it. I"ll shoulder this one."
"Well, boys, yer certainly made a haul, thanks ter old Skipper here,"
declared Captain Job, after the delighted boys had made known their discovery. "He"s a smart one, I tell yer. No better dog ever lived."
"That"s what we think," agreed Merritt warmly, patting old Skipper"s black and white head.
The recovery of the uniforms had quite put all thoughts of blue or any other fishing out of the boys" heads, and after bidding farewell to the captain, who promised to point out to them a good site for a camp on their next visit, they made their best speed back to Hampton. On their way to the armory they spread the news of their discovery broadcast, so that in a short time the town was buzzing with the information that the Boy Scouts" lost uniforms had been found under most surprising circ.u.mstances; and the editor of the Hampton News, who was just going to press, held his paper up till he could get in an item about it.
It was this item that caught Jack Curtiss" eye, the next morning as he and Bill Bender and Sam were seated in Bill"s "club room."
"Confound those brats, they seem always to be putting a spike in our schemes!" muttered Jack, as he handed the paper to Bill for that worthy"s perusal. "Which reminds me," he went on, "that we haven"t attended to the case of that young Digby yet."
"I wish you"d leave those kids alone for a while, Jack," objected Sam, in his usual whining tones. "You"ve had your fun with them. They"ve had to do without their uniforms for a long time. Now let up on them, won"t you?"
"Oh, you"re feeling friendly toward "em, now, are you?" sneered Jack.
"Oh, no, it isn"t that," Sam hastened to a.s.sure him; "nothing of the kind. What I mean is that we are liable to get into serious trouble if we keep on this way. I saw Hank Handcraft the other day, and I can tell you he"s in no very amiable mood. He wants his money for the other night, he says, and he intimated that if he didn"t get it he"d make things hot for us."
"He"d better not," glowered Bill Bender, looking up from his paper.
"We know a few things about friend Hank."
"Yes, and he knows a good deal about us that wouldn"t look well in print," retorted Sam gloomily. "I wish I"d never gone into that thing the other night."
"Pshaw, it was just borrowing a little money from the old man, wasn"t it?" snorted Jack. "We"ll pay it back some time."
"When we get it," rejoined Sam more gloomily than ever; "and I don"t see much immediate chance of that."
"Oh, well, cheer up; we"ll get it all right somehow," Jack a.s.sured him.
"And in connection with that I"ve got a scheme. Why shouldn"t we three fellows go camping after the motor-boat races?"