CHAPTER VII
THE TREASURE CACHE
"H'st! keep quiet!"
As Jack gave utterance to this whisper he set about gaining his feetwithout making any racket. And no sooner had he accomplished this thanhe started to stepping on what few red embers of the fire there chancedto be left; so that almost in a "jiffy," as Buster would have called it,the last glow had been effectually smothered, and there was no longeranything to betray the campers, unless the khaki-colored water-prooftent happened to show later on, should the moon rise.
They could hear the new arrivals making a landing, and talking aboutstarting a fire, in order to cook some supper. The one who had thesmooth voice, and whom they could easily believe to be the youngerfellow Buster had mentioned as sitting at his ease, watching the heavierman work at the engine, George's style, declared that a meal on shorewould not go bad.
"And," he added, the words coming plainly to the ears of the listenersclose by, "I don't believe there's any danger of our being come up withyet awhile. We've got too good a start on those fellows, to worry. Factis, I wouldn't care if we had to stay here in this snug nook all oftomorrow, and get things fixed to suit us. Let 'em go on past, and huntfor us; we could slip by the lot the next dark night, and give 'em themerry ha! ha! Ain't that so, Jenks, old man?"
The other evidently said it was. He seemed to be a man of few words,and was quite satisfied to let his glib-tongued crony do most of thetalking, which the younger man was well able to carry on.
Presently the glimmer of a fire through the brush and trees announcedthat they had indeed started a blaze, and were evidently preparing tocook supper. From certain conversation that followed concerning whatthis meal was to consist of Jack and his chums were quickly convincedthat while this young fellow might be a bold and bad bank thief, he musthave been brought up in the lap of luxury, judging from the fact thatJenks was instructed to have the "porterhouse steak and the mushrooms"for supper, together with coffee, and several other things that appealedto the appetites of hungry cruisers, but which did not strike the boysthat way, simply because their stomachs had been satisfied.
"Listen to that, would you?" whispered George in the ear of Jack, whomhe happened to be very near at the time, "he said 'get it off the ice,and be careful to shut down the ice-box lid too!' Think of these boldbuccaneers cruising with such a luxury aboard as an ice-box? Whew!"
"Not so loud, George, or they may hear you," warned Jack, although hehimself thought that the fact was a remarkable one; but then the youngchap must have been a high-stepper in his palmy days, before he took toevil ways; and possibly old habits clung to him still; so that, havingthe ready cash, he wanted to have all the luxuries going, along withhim. Tenderloin steak and mushrooms sounded like it, that was certain.Perhaps they would be toasting each other at the end of the supper inchampagne, at five dollars the bottle, Jack thought. When wicked menbreak into bank vaults, and make way with all the treasure they findthere, surely they can indulge in any sort of extravagance for a shorttime afterwards.
The supper was finally cooked.
During this time the six boys had been slowly and cautiously creepingup through the brush, and between the trees, it being their intention tosee what the two fugitives, who were fleeing before the officers of thelaw looked like.
But they did not dare go very close, and hence most of what passedbetween the precious pair at the fire came to them only in a rumble ofvoices. But they could at least watch them and it was easy to understandthat they seemed to be debating some point very seriously; for once theyoung fellow went aboard the boat, and when he came back he bore a boxunder his arm, which he carefully deposited on the ground near by. Andhow it thrilled every watcher as he saw this act, for there could be nodoubt in the world but that this same chest was one containing all thetreasure these bad men had taken from that Lawrence bank.
But the younger man, who was smooth-faced and boyish looking in fact,also took a folded paper from his pocket, which he opened and then bothof them bent low down over the same, occasionally tracing along itssurface, with a finger.
"It must be a chart of the river!" George took occasion to faintlywhisper in Jack's ear, taking advantage of the murmur of the night windamong the branches of the trees overhead.
Of course this did not enlighten Jack any, since he had jumped at thesame conclusion long before. But the fact of the others studying a mapof the river's crooked course was highly significant, he thought. Ittold that they realized the danger they stood in of being overtaken, andthat they meant to lay out a plan whereby they could elude pursuit.
Jack was studying the pair as he lay there back of the bushes.
He wondered whether the younger one, who seemed to be at the head of thedangerous combination, could be acting a part. This idea came to Jackbecause, as far as he was able to see, the other looked as though hehardly possessed brains enough to carry him through any ordinarytrouble; and as to plotting such a bold thing as looting a country bank,why, Jack found it hard to believe he would be capable of it. But still,he knew very well that it is not always safe to judge from firstappearances. While the skipper of the white power-boat might seem to bea bit of a "sissy," that might all be assumed for a purpose, to allaysuspicion, a part he liked to play; and that should occasion ever callfor a display of force and ugliness, the fellow might throw off thatcareless demeanor as one would an old glove, appearing in his realcolors.
And while lying there, watching, and trying to pick up a sentence nowand then, as the pair chanced to speak in a little louder tones, Jackbusied himself in speculating what sort of chances they would have, didthey finally decide to accept of the opportunity to close in on the tworascals, and bring about their arrest.
It would be taking a certain risk of course, and he did not want toexpose his chums to any unnecessary chances for getting hurt; but allthe same temptation loomed up large before Jack's eyes.
At any rate, he thought, it would do no harm to try and keep a watchfuleye on the pair, and see what they were up to. Had he not in thebeginning heard the leader say that they might as well bury the treasureon the island as carry it further with them. Of course they meantto come back again, and get possession of whatever that small boxcontained.
The thought of getting hold of the stolen bank funds and papers gaveJack a nice warm little thrill. He was only a boy, and yet he knew howsplendid it was to return home, and hear the people cheering him, whilethe town band played "Lo, the Conquering Hero Comes." And once beforehad they been instrumental in recovering plunder that had been taken bywandering yeggmen; which fact had helped swell the contents of theclub's strong-box, and enabled the members to take several long andexpensive trips.
Now those by the fire seemed to have finished their supper, for theyarose, and the more boyish looking of the pair picked up the box again.It looked as though they might be about to hunt for some hiding-place,where it could be placed, and safely kept until it was wanted again.
"Get that sharp-pointed stick, Jenks," he remarked, pointing as hespoke, "that might do in place of a spade. You see, we didn't bring thatsort of tool along, because we never thought we'd need one. But youought to be able to scratch out a deep enough hole to cram this in. Ihope nobody disturbs it again, that's all. I'd hate to know that was so.Now, come over this way, Jenks. It won't take any great length of time."
He spoke with a slight lisp that made him seem much more effeminate thanmight otherwise have been the case. And to the alarm of Buster the pairactually started toward the quarter where the six lads were flattenedout as close as they could get to the ground.
But then the shadows lay thick, and besides, before there was any realdanger of discovery they heard him say again:
"I imagine this ought to do as well as anywhere, Jenks, just behind thisbush, you notice. Now, see how you can root out the earth with thatstick and your hands. I should think that a hole some fifteen oreighteen inches deep would be enough. There, it seems to work all right,doesn't it, Jenks?"
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bsp; The heavy-set man said that it did, and continued to labor on, throwingthe dirt out of the cavity he was making, by a liberal use of thesharp-pointed stick, then following it up by scooping with his benthands.
But not a thing did the aristocratic partner in the team seem to do inorder to assist. He must be the recognized brains of the crowd, and assuch was entitled to sit by, and give orders in a rather superciliousway, while the other did all the real hard work.
When Jenks had scooped out a hole that he thought deep enough, he pausedto wipe his brow with a red bandanna handkerchief. Meanwhile the othercarefully laid the box in the cavity.
"It fits first-rate, Jenks," he announced, "and now you can cover it upagain. Just push the earth in, you know, like that," and with the toeof his shoe he managed to cause some of the dirt to fall upon the top ofthe box.
When presently Jenks seemed to have patted down the disturbed earth theother spoke again.
"We want anybody that comes meddling around here to think that some onehas been buried, and then they won't dare disturb things, you know,Jenks. So I'll just fix this stone at the head as though it marked agrave. There, what do you think of that, Jenks? Takes some brains to getup a cute little scheme like that, don't it, eh?"
Jenks apparently was an echo, for when the other took snuff he seemed tosneeze, as George could have expressed it. He immediately remarked thathe thought it a very smart trick, did credit to the originator; and thispleased the other for he seemed to chuckle to himself.
Then the pair turned away, and went back to the neighborhood of thefire, where they settled down to enjoy the warm blaze; for as the nightadvanced the air was really becoming more and more keen, especially, asBuster thought, for any unfortunate fellow who had the bad luck to losehis warm sweater; for the sight of his comrades enjoying their woolenprotectors only made Buster feel his loss the more.
Jack gave the signal for a retreat. He intimated in a few whisperedwords that there was something very important upon which they ought tohave a consultation; and in order to do unheard they would have to goback to their camp.
Motor Boat Boys' River Chase; or, Six Chums Afloat and Ashore Page 7