"Why, boys, what is the meaning of this?" asked the General, as soon as he came within speaking distance.
"It means that we have been up here since midnight and are nearly frozen," replied Bob, trying to smile and looking as innocent as a guilty boy could. "We were out "c.o.o.n-hunting in the river bottoms and came through your fields, because that was the nearest way home; but the dogs saw us and drove us up here."
The General had but to use his eyes to find all the evidence he needed to prove this story false. The meal bags, in which the boys expected to carry away the stolen quails, were lying on the ground in plain sight, one of them having fallen in such a position that the owner"s name, which was painted on it in large black letters, was plainly visible. More than that, under one of the planks which protected the window, was the iron lever with which Bob had tried to force an entrance into the cabin. He left it sticking there when he fell off Lester"s shoulders.
"Well, you may come down now," said the General. "The hounds will not trouble you."
It was easy enough to say come down, but it was not so easy to do it, as the boys found when they began working their way over the frosty roof. The shingles were as slippery as gla.s.s, and their hands seemed to have lost all their strength; but they reached the ground without any mishap, and were about to hurry away as fast as their cramped legs would carry them, when the General asked:
"Hadn"t you better go up to the house and get warm?"
"O, no, thank you, sir," replied Bob. "We"ll go directly home. Our folks will wonder what has become of us."
"Are these your bags?"
"No, sir," replied Bob, promptly. "One doesn"t usually carry meal bags to bring home "c.o.o.ns in."
"I am aware of that fact," said the General, "but couldn"t they be used to carry quails in? These bags have you father"s name on them, and you had better come and get them."
These words were uttered in a tone of command, and Bob thought it best to obey. He s.n.a.t.c.hed up the bags, and with Lester by his side made his way down the lane with all possible haste. When they were safe in the road, Bob drew a long breath and remarked:
"That"s the end of that sc.r.a.pe."
"I don"t see it," returned Lester. "It is only the beginning of it.
Everybody in the settlement will know it before night."
"Who cares if they do?" cried Bob, who began to feel like himself, now that he was on solid ground once more. "They can"t prove that we went there to steal the quails, and we"ll not confess it."
"No, sir," replied Lester, emphatically. "You"re a sharp one, Bob, to make up such a plausible story on the spur of the moment, but I know the General did not believe a word of it."
"So do I, but what"s the odds? Let"s see him prove that I didn"t tell him the truth. Now the next thing is something else; we must make up a story to tell my folks when we get home."
"Can"t we run back to the house and go to bed before any of the family are up?"
"I am afraid to try it. A better plan would be to go back in the woods and build a fire and get warm. Then we"ll go home, and if anybody asks us where we have been, we"ll say we couldn"t sleep, and so we got up and went "c.o.o.n-hunting."
"I wish we had one or two "c.o.o.ns to back up the story," said Lester.
"O, that wouldn"t help us any. People often go hunting and return empty-handed, you know."
Leaving Bob and his friend to get out of their difficulties as best they can, we will go back to G.o.dfrey"s cabin and see what the two boys who live there are doing. The day of rest, which Don said would work such wonders in David, did not seem to be of much benefit to him after all. He had been somewhat encouraged by Bert"s cheering words and the knowledge that influential friends were working for him, and, like Bob Owens, he had indulged in some rosy dreams of the future; but that short interview with the young hors.e.m.e.n who met him in the road below the General"s house, reminded him that he had active enemies, who would not hesitate to injure him by every means in their power. He thought about his father all day, and wondered if there was anything he could do that would bring him back home where he belonged, and make a respectable man of him. He had ample leisure to turn this problem over in his mind, for he was alone the most of the day. As soon as he reached the cabin, Dan, who acted as if he did not want to be in his brother"s company, shouldered his rifle and went off by himself; and it was while he was roaming through the woods that he made a discovery which did much to bring about some of the events we have already described.
Dan felt so mean and sneaking that he did not want to see anybody, if he could help it; and when he accidentally encountered Bob Owens and Lester Brigham in the woods, he darted into the bushes and concealed himself. He watched them while they were watching Don and Bert, and when he saw them hitch their horses and creep along the fence in pursuit of the wagon, he suddenly recalled some sc.r.a.ps of a conversation he had overheard a few days before. He knew that Lester was working against David, and believing from his stealthy movements and Bob"s that there was mischief afoot, he followed them with the determination of putting in a word, and perhaps a blow, if he found that David"s interests were in jeopardy. He saw every move the two boys made. He was lying in the bushes not more than fifty yards from them, while they were watching Don and Bert put the captured quails into the cabin, and when they went back to the place where they had left their horses, they pa.s.sed so close to him that he caught some of their conversation. When they were out of sight and hearing Dan arose and sat down on the nearest log to make up his mind what he was going to do about it.
"I"ll bet a hoss you don"t steal them quail nor set fire to the cabin, nuther," said he, to himself. "Thar"s a heap of birds in thar--seems to me that they had oughter ketched "most as many as they want by this time--an" they shan"t be pestered; kase if they be, what"ll become of my shar" of them hundred an" fifty dollars? It"ll be up a holler stump, whar I thought it had gone long ago!"
Dan knew that if Lester and his friend had any designs upon the cabin and the quails that were in it, they would not attempt to carry them out before night; but the fear that something might happen if he went home again troubled him greatly, and he resolved that he would not lose sight of the cabin for a few hours at least. He did not know what he would do to Lester and Bob if he caught them in the act of trying to steal the quails; that was a point on which he could not make up his mind until something happened to suggest an idea to him.
While he was sitting in his place of concealment, thinking busily, he heard a rustling in the bushes and looked up to see one of Don"s hounds approaching.
In the days gone by, before Dan became such a rascal as he was now, he had often accompanied Don and Bert on their "c.o.o.n and "possum hunting expeditions, and the old dogs in the pack were almost as well acquainted with him as they were with their master. Bose recognised him at once, and appeared to be glad to see him.
"I want you to stay here with me till it comes dark, ole feller,"
said Dan, patting the animal"s head. (He never kicked the hounds, as he did the pointer. He knew better.) "If them fellers comes we"ll make things lively fur "em. You hear me?"
Dan waited almost twelve hours before he had an opportunity to carry out the plan he had so suddenly formed. When he became tired of sitting still and began to feel the cravings of appet.i.te, he went into the woods and shot four squirrels which Bose treed for him.
These he roasted over a fire and divided with his four-footed friend.
When it began to grow dark he went back to his hiding-place, where he remained until he thought it time to take up a new position. This was by the side of the road, and a short distance from the big gate, which opened into the lane leading to the negro quarters. There Dan lay for almost four hours, stretched out behind a log, with the hound by his side. He saw several negroes pa.s.s in and out of the gate, and, although some of them walked by within ten feet of him, no one saw him, and the well-trained hound never betrayed his presence by so much as a whimper.
Finally, to Dan"s great relief, the lights in the General"s house were put out, then a door or two was slammed loudly in the quarters, and after that all was still. Dan had grown tired of watching and must have fallen asleep, for he knew nothing more until a low growl from the hound aroused him. He was wide awake in an instant, and having quieted the animal by placing his hand on his neck, he looked all around to see what it was that had disturbed him. He heard footsteps in the field on the opposite side of the road, and presently two figures appeared and clambered over the fence. They crossed to the gate, which they opened and closed very carefully and went down the lane.
"Them"s our fellers, Bose," whispered Dan, who was highly excited.
"They"ve got bags slung over their shoulders, an" they think they"re goin" to play smash stealin" them birds of our"n; but me and you will see how many they"ll get, won"t we?"
As soon as Bob and Lester were out of hearing Dan arose, and holding the hound firmly by the neck with one hand he opened the gate with the other, and moved noiselessly down the lane toward the quarters.
His plan was to make sure that Bob and his friend had come there to force an entrance into the cabin in which the quails were confined, and if he found that that was their object, he would make a pretence of setting Bose upon them. He did not intend to do so in reality, for he knew the dog too well. The animal always did serious work when he began to use his teeth, and Dan didn"t want either of the young thieves killed or maimed. He knew that if he could excite the hound and induce him to give tongue, the rest of the pack would be on the ground in two minutes" time; and as they were all young dogs (Carlo was shut up in the barn every night to do guard duty there), they would not be likely to take hold of the boys, if left to themselves.
They would not permit them to escape, either. They would surround them and keep them there until morning, and that was what Dan wanted.
He could not afford to watch the cabin every night, and he thought it would be a good plan to give Bob and his friend a lesson they would not forget.
That the prowlers had come there to force an entrance into the cabin, was quickly made plain to even Dan"s dull comprehension. He saw them try the door, and then go around to the other side of the building and attempt to pry off the planks that covered the window. Dan heard something crack as Bob laid out his strength on the lever he was using, and believing that the thieves were on the point of accomplishing their object, he uttered a loud whistle to let the rest of the pack know that they were wanted, and shouted:
"Here they be! Take "em, fellers! Take "em down!"
Bose, who had been growing more and more impatient every moment, was quite ready to obey. Uttering a loud yelp, which was almost immediately answered by the rest of the pack, he raised himself upon his hind legs, and struggled so furiously to escape that Dan was obliged to drop his rifle and seize him with both hands. But when the brute was thoroughly aroused, it was hard to restrain him. The thick, loose skin on the back of his neck did not afford Dan a very good hold, and almost before he knew it, Bose slipped from his grasp, and bounded toward the cabin. At the same instant, a chorus of loud bays sounding close at hand announced that the rest of the pack were coming at the top of their speed. Bob and Lester had never before been in so much danger as they were at that moment.
Dan, who began to fear that the plan he had adopted for protecting the quails was about to result in a terrible tragedy, was very badly frightened. He stood for a few seconds as if he had been deprived of all power of action, and then caught up his rifle and took to his heels. He ran as if the pack were after him instead of Bob and Lester, and never slackened his pace until he was out of hearing of their angry voices. He crept home like a thief and got into bed without arousing either David or his mother. But he could not sleep.
He was haunted by the fear that something dreadful had happened down there in the quarters, and that there would be a great uproar in the settlement the next morning. He felt that he could never be himself again until he knew the worst, so a little while before daylight he put on his clothes, slipped quietly out of the cabin and bent his steps toward the big gate near which he had been concealed the night before. By the time he reached it there, was light enough for him to distinguish objects at a considerable distance, and we can imagine how greatly relieved he was when he discovered Bob and Lester perched upon the ridge pole of the cabin. At first, he thought his eyes were deceiving him, but a second look told him that there was no mistake about it. He would have been glad to know if either of them had been injured by the hounds before they got there, but that was something he could not find out just then. They had not been torn in pieces, as he feared, and that was a great comfort to him.
"They never had a closer shave, that thar is sartin," thought Dan, as he turned about and trudged toward home. "I wonder what pap would say if he knowed what a smart trick I played onto "em! I wish I could go an" tell him, but I am a"most afeared, kase he must be jest a bilin"
over with madness. He"s lost the pinter--I reckon Dave must have stole him, kase I don"t see how else he could have got him--an" I don"t keer to go nigh him ag"in, till I kin kinder quiet his feelin"s by tellin" him some good news "bout them hundred an" fifty dollars."
The events of this night were the last of any interest that transpired in the settlement for more than two weeks. Affairs seemed to take a turn for the better now, and the boy trapper and his two friends were left to carry out their plans without any opposition.
Bob and Lester kept out of sight altogether; but they need not have been so careful to do that, for the General was the only one who was the wiser for what they had done, and he never said a word about it to anybody. They could not even muster up energy enough to go out of nights to rob David"s traps; and perhaps it was just as well that they did not attempt it, for they might have run against Dan Evans in the dark. The latter spent very little time at home now. He was sometimes absent for two days and nights, and David and his mother did not know what to make of it. He had built a camp near the field in which the traps were set, and there he lived by himself, subsisting upon the squirrels and wild turkeys that fell to his rifle.
Things went on smoothly for a week, and during this time David and his friends were as busy as they could be. Quails were more abundant than they had ever known them to be before. They seemed to flock into the General"s fields on purpose to be caught, and before many days had pa.s.sed, it became necessary to fit up another cabin for the reception of the prisoners. In the meantime the General"s timber and nails were used up rapidly. The boys had the hardest part of their work to do now, and that was to build a sufficient number of coops to hold all the birds. Silas Jones said that the Emma Deane was expected down every day, and Don declared that the birds must be shipped on her when she came back from New Orleans, if it took every man and woman on the plantation to get them ready. She came at last, and Don was at the landing to meet her. He held a short interview with her captain and Silas Jones, who was freight agent as well as express agent and post-master, and when it was ended he jumped on his pony and rode homeward as if his life depended upon the speed he made.
When he arrived within sight of the field where the traps were set, he saw his brother and David coming in with another wagon load of birds.
"How many this morning?" asked Don.
"We have enough now to make fifty-five dozen altogether," replied Bert.
"Hurrah for our side!" cried Don. "We"ll ship them all. Some may die on the way, you know, and that man must have the number he advertised for. Captain Morgan will stop and get the birds when he comes back.
He will see them shipped on the railroad at Cairo, and all we have to do is to be sure that the game is at the landing in time."
"Did he say how much it would cost to send them off?" asked David.
"No. He will put in his bill when he comes down again. He carries freight by the hundred, you know. He will pay the railroad charges, too, and add that to his own bill."
"But what shall I do if both bills amount to more than ten dollars?"
asked David, with some anxiety.