CHAPTER IV
"DANGER--COME"
IT was anxious work, standing around while Hank ran the film from hiscamera through some kind of machine which he had, to bring out thepicture. After what seemed like a long time he took it out and lookedthrough it toward the light.
"Hurrah!" he yelled. "We've got 'em."
We all crowded around to look, and sure enough at one end of the film wecould see as plain as day two men standing up and looking toward us. Andthere was the brook, too, and the ravine, so real that we almost couldhear the water pouring over the stones, which we think is the sweetestmusic in the whole world. Away back in the picture was the bush, behindwhich we boys were hiding when Hank took it. Only you couldn't see us atall, for we had been careful to keep out of sight.
It is wonderful, isn't it? I don't know how it is done and I don'tbelieve that anybody else knows, but I know that it is so because I sawit with my own eyes.
Hank washed the film, and after it was dry put it in a frame with somepaper which he had, and held it up to the gas jet. In a few seconds thepicture showed up on the paper fine, just like our writing does when wedo it in invisible ink and hold it up to a blaze.
We could tell who it was, all right. The big one had a scowl on hisface, as if he had put it there when Hank tossed the stone and hadn'thad time to smooth it out again.
"This picture is for the marshal," Hank told us. "Now I'll print anotherfor the patrol. We'll let them soak and wash a while, and then dry themout. It'll take quite a long time, but we've got 'em all right."
When we finally went down to the marshal's it was evening. He wastickled when he saw the picture. It made Skinny feel real chesty and weall of us were proud.
"I tell you, Mr. Michael," said he, "the Band's the stuff. I mean thepatrol is. They don't get away from us very often. I only wish we'd hada rope with us that time."
"You boys certainly did the trick," said the marshal, examining thepicture. "I don't know those men myself, but I know where they will knowthem, and that is the next best thing. That is, if they are old crooks,as I suspect they are."
"Where's that?" asked Skinny.
"At police headquarters in New York. They have a rogues' gallery therethat would surprise you. It contains the pictures and records of nearlyevery crook in the country. If these men are among them they'll prettynear know where to put their hands on them. I'll mail this downto-night. I've telegraphed already. Come around to-morrow and I'll tellyou if I hear anything."
He met us with a broad grin the next afternoon and showed us a telegram.This is what it said, for I put it down. Skinny thought it ought to bein the minutes of the meeting.
"Men well-known crooks. Are under arrest. Got the goods and most of themoney."
* * * * *
"More than ten words are in that telegram," said Hank, counting them.
"There you go again," laughed the marshal. "I'll have to call the NewYork chief down for being so careless. Anyhow, your robbers will go tothe penitentiary as sure as preaching."
"I don't know about it," Benny told us afterward, when we were talkingit over. "I'm 'most sorry that we did it. I shall always be thinkingthat if it hadn't been for us those men wouldn't be locked up away frombirds and grass and trees. Maybe they didn't have such good folks aswe've got. You know that guy out in Illinois didn't have."
But after we saw Pa we felt better about it.
"I'm glad you feel that way," said he. "Still you did the right thingafter you found out about the robbery. I wouldn't advise you, however,to go around taking photographs of burglars. You might get into troubleanother time. It surely is an awful thing to be in state's prison, butbeing away from the trees and grass is not the worst thing about it. Theworst thing is being so bad that you have to be locked up in order tomake other people safe. It is a terrible thing to be a criminal, whetheryou are in prison or not."
He was quiet for a minute; then went on:
"I can't think of a worse prison for a human soul than a human body thatdoes mean things, lies and steals or is vile in any way."
A few days later when Skinny and I went to the post-office together thepostmaster handed him a letter.
"I say," said he, "you have been promoted, haven't you?"
On the envelope was written, "Captain Gabriel Miller, Patrol Leader,Raven Patrol, Boy Scouts of America."
It made us both excited.
"It's for the whole patrol," said Skinny, trying to look through it. "Idon't think I ought to open it until we are all together, and I hardlycan wait."
He rushed to the door as he spoke and whistled through his teeth, for hesaw Bill and Hank passing on the other side of the street, going to myhouse.
"I could have cawed," he explained when they had come across, "but Ididn't think that I ought to when folks were looking."
We went over to Benny's and found him piling wood and glad enough toquit.
"Never mind about the other boys," I told them. "They will be alongpretty soon. Whatever it is, we'll want to read it twice, anyhow."
Skinny opened the letter and looked at the writing.
"Jee-rusalem, fellers!" he shouted. Then he commenced to caw like somecrow that was crazy with the heat.
Bill cawed, too, but he didn't know what for. Then he tried to snatchthe letter out of Skinny's hand.
"Aw, cut it out, can't you?" said he, when Skinny dodged out of the way."Read it."
"I am readin' it," said Skinny. "It's great."
"Well, read it out loud."
Then Skinny started to read, and this is what the letter said, only itdoesn't tell how Skinny's eyes shone, nor how he stopped every few linesto punch the enemy.
"_To the Boy Scouts of Bob's Hill:_
"I want to thank every boy in Raven Patrol, and especially Henry Bates, for the recovery of my property. But for you I should never have seen it again and the burglars would still be at large. I offered a reward for the capture of the thieves and it rightfully belongs to you, but the marshal has told me that, being Boy Scouts, you do not want to be rewarded for good deeds. What I wish to say is this: I like the Boy Scout idea and want to help it along. Not as a reward but just because I like boys, will you let me buy uniforms for your patrol?
"Sincerely your friend, "ROBERT GREEN."
That is how we happen to have such fine uniforms that make folks turnaround and look every time we pass.
On the day we first wore the uniforms we were made real Scouts; notFirst class ones but Second class. You see, there are three kinds. Firstyou have to be a Tenderfoot. That doesn't mean that your feet aretender, but that you are new to the business. To get to be a SecondClass Scout, you have to do all kinds of stunts and you have to be aTenderfoot at least a month.
We knew how to build fires and cook things out in the woods and thingslike that, which Scouts have to do, and the way we tracked the burglarsshowed that we knew something about that.
The hardest things we had to do were to learn the Morse alphabet of dotsand dashes for signaling and to learn what to do when folks get hurt,how to put on bandages and things like that and how to bring folks backto life when they are nearly drowned. We learned them all right, and itis a good thing we did.
Signaling was the most fun of all. We could do it with flags like theydo in the army; by waving our arms like a semaphore, and by smoke fromfires like the Indians do. We also could spell out things with smoke inthe Morse alphabet, which was something the Indians couldn't do, bymaking the smoke go up in puffs like dots and dashes.
Part of us would go up on Bob's Hill and part on the hill opposite,beyond the Basin where we go swimming, build fires, and signal to eachother. It was hard at first, but after a while we could spell out 'mostanything and understand some of it.
It came in handy, too, because one afternoon, afte
r we had been playingin our yard, we decided to practise our signaling. Just after all theboys had started for the east hill, except Skinny and me, who were goingup on Bob's Hill, Ma came out and wanted to know where the other boyswere.
"It is too bad that they have gone," said she. "I was going to ask themto stay to supper."
"Maybe they'll come back," said Skinny, winking at me.
"We are not going to have much, but I thought you boys would enjoyeating together and we should like it, too. We do not often have thehonor of sitting down to the table with young gentlemen who haveuniforms on."
"We'll stay," said Skinny, "if you will let us do something to help.According to Scout law, a Scout must try his best to do somebody a goodturn every day. I haven't done it now for 'most two days."
"If that is the case," Ma told him, "my woodbox seems to be gettingempty."
That is the greatest woodbox I ever saw for getting empty. We filled itso full that the wood fell off all over the floor; then started for thehill.
"Now is our chance," said Skinny. "We've just got to make themunderstand this time. We never have had anything much to tell the boysbefore, but this is important."
We climbed to the very top of Bob's Hill and soon had a fire going. Whenit was well started we threw on some green stuff that made a big smoke.Pretty soon we saw smoke going up across the valley and knew that theother boys were ready.
"They are there," I said. "Now we'll tell them."
"Wait," said Skinny. "First let's give the danger signal. That'll fetch'em."
"But there ain't any danger," I told him. "What's the use of lying, evenwith smoke?"
"You bet there's danger," said he. "There's danger of losing yourmother's supper, ain't there?"
So I gave him one end of a wet blanket which I was carrying, and Igrabbed hold of the other end. We covered the fire with it, stopping allof the smoke; then took it off and let a big puff go up; then covered itagain and sent up a little puff, and kept doing that until I was surethe boys would be most crazy, for that sign means danger.
After we had done it a while, we spelled out the word "come." We didthat by using the blanket to make a short puff of smoke for a dot and along puff for a dash, like this:
... C .. O -- M . E
We waited and spelled it out twice more to make sure, and then went downthe hill to the house.
"Shall I set the table for the others?" Ma asked, when she saw uscoming.
"They will be here in a few minutes," said Skinny, looking at his watch.
We were not sure of it, but we hoped they would and, as Skinny said, itwouldn't do any hurt to get the table ready.
We were beginning to be afraid that they had not understood and were notcoming, when we heard a faint cawing, a long way off somewhere. Itseemed from beyond Summer Street.
Skinny answered, while I ran into the house to tell the folks that itwas all right. Then we went out in front and waited.
The first we saw of them was when Bill Wilson turned into Park Street ina cloud of dust and came tearing up the middle of the road on a jump.The other boys were close behind, running to beat the band, and everymother's son of them was carrying a big club.
They didn't even yell when they saw us, they were so nearly winded, butBill, being corporal, ran up to Skinny, gave the Scout salute, and thenwhirled his club around his head three times.
It was great to see them come up that way, every Scout whirling hisclub and all out of breath. Skinny's eyes shone like stars, he was soproud, and I saw Ma looking out of a window, surprised some, I guess.
"Show 'em to us!" yelled Bill, as soon as he could speak. "We'll eat 'emup."
"You'll get all the eating you want in about five minutes," Skinny toldhim.
"Where are they?" yelled Bill again, while the other boys marched up andstood in a row, each with his club in the air.
"You are crazy," said Skinny. "Where's who?"
"The Gingham Ground Gang. Didn't you tell us the Gang was after you andfor us to come quick?"
"Not much. I said supper was ready and that if you didn't get a move onyourselves you would lose out."
"Ain't there going to be a fight?"
Just then Ma came out and it was a good thing she did, because theremight have been a fight, after all.
"Boys," said she, smiling at us, "you are all invited to stay to supper,and you will just about have time to wash up and cool off a little. Weare having supper early to-night. I was so disappointed when I found outthat you had gone that your patrol leader, Captain Miller, told me thathe would signal to you and that Corporal Wilson would get you here ontime if he had to run his legs off. I don't exactly see how he did itbut you are here, that is certain. I've let your folks know, so you canstay just as well as not, unless you don't like my cooking."
When she said that the boys set up a shout, for they knew all about Ma'scooking.
"I wish you would tell me how you do it," she added, turning back as shewas going into the house. "If your secretary would come like that when Icall him, I should be the proudest woman in the village."
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