The Pioneer Boys of the Columbia; or, In the Wilderness of the Great Northwest

by St. George Rathborne

  CHAPTER X

  SPRINGING THE TRAP

  "I WONDER if the plan will work?" remarked Roger, when he and Dickonce more found themselves alone, the captain having sauntered over towhere some of the men were joking, Andrew Waller being the life of thecompany.

  "If that torn part of a message meant anything," Dick told him, "andCaptain Lewis is able to bait the trap in the right way, I believe thisnight will see the answer to the question that has been bothering us solong."

  "Meaning that we will learn who the traitor is?" continued the other.

  "Yes. Right now we are no nearer the truth than a week ago, you know,Roger. It may be any one of the three men we had in mind; or some oneelse, for that matter."

  "Look at Andrew Waller, Dick. He seems to be in high spirits! Do youthink that is all put on for effect? From the way he acts no one couldever dream he had an evil thought in his heart for his comrades of thelong trail."

  "As we exhausted that subject a long time ago, Roger, and have learnednothing new since, there's no use trying to figure things out. Betterwait, and, as my father says, 'hold our horses' until the trap issprung--if it ever is."

  "But, if we do trip him up," continued Roger, reflectively, "what doyou believe Captain Lewis will do to the wretch?"

  "He has not given us even a hint on that score," Dick replied.

  "If the man is a traitor, and really tried to take our lives for pay,it seems to me it would be a shame if he were only drummed out of campfor such things. I know what Captain Clark would do if it rested in hishands."

  "Yes, and I can guess the answer there, too, Roger; because he is asoldier, with stern ideas of what treachery means. But Captain Lewishas a tender heart, for all he can be so firm. He is very fond of themen who have clung to his fortunes in this great journey into theunknown country of the West."

  "Do you really mean to say, Dick, he would forgive the rascal on thataccount?" demanded Roger, with a frown of displeasure on his face.

  "Not exactly that," hastily replied the other lad. "I am sure thathe would not want to trust such a man again, but, at the same time,Captain Lewis would not believe it necessary to have the traitor shot,as a soldier would."

  "In that case there would be only one other thing to do," observedRoger, disconsolately; "which would be to kick him out of camp, andwarn him, just as he did Lascelles, that if he ever allowed himself tobe seen near the camp again it would be at his peril."

  "Mark my words, Roger, if we are lucky enough to catch the man in theact, that is what will happen to him. But, before he goes, he willlisten to a ringing talk from Captain Lewis that will make his cheeksburn."

  "Yes, and not for all the money Lascelles ever owned would I wantto have such a fine man as Captain Lewis tell me that, as a traitorto my trust, I had sunk down until I was beneath contempt. But Iwonder, Dick, how he will manage to let them know about the rifles andammunition in the supply tent?"

  "Depend on it the captain has that arranged cleverly enough," Dickdeclared, "and he will accomplish it without awakening any suspicionthat it has been done for a purpose."

  "What shall we do next?" asked Roger.

  "Wait for his signal as arranged with us," explained Dick. "When weget that, it is our duty to slip out of camp without being noticed, andsettle down in that patch of brush, just as he said. Later on, he willjoin us there, and bring Captain Clark with him."

  They sat there and exchanged words for quite a long time, while theevening waned, and some of the tired men, who had been poling or rowingall day, began to creep into the tents, or, it might be, under rudebough shelters, where they expected to sleep through the remainder ofthe night.

  "The time has come at last," said Dick, in a low tone.

  "Did you see Captain Lewis make the gesture he explained to us?" askedhis chum.

  "Yes, and now let us see how smartly we can carry out our part of thegame, as we laid it out in advance."

  After surveying the field, the boys concluded that, by pretending tosettle down in a certain place, they could withdraw by degrees withoutbeing noticed, and come up in the rear of the patch of bushes marked bythe commander as the meeting spot.

  This maneuver was accomplished with considerable skill, because bothlads were well drilled in Indian ways, and could snake their way alongthe ground as well as any painted brave on the warpath, seeking to spyon the enemy's camp.

  In due time, therefore, they crept into the bushes, and settled downto await the coming of the two captains. Just as they expected, fromtheir place of hiding it was possible to keep a close watch upon thesupply tent, though the latter stood in the shadows, with the firelightplaying on one side of it only.

  Slowly the minutes crept along. The boys rarely exchanged words, andthen only in the lowest of whispers; nor did they make any sort ofmove, lest in some way keen eyes discover their presence amidst thebushes.

  It seemed ages before Roger pressed the arm of his cousin, and spoke inhis ear.

  "Something moving behind us, Dick!"

  The other had also caught a faint rustling sound, and knew that in allprobability the two captains must be about to join them. Surely enough,in a short time the men reached the side of the boys, exercising allthe skill possible to avoid making their presence known to others.

  Few words passed between them, for the plan of campaign had been laidout, and each one knew what lay before them. The firelight flickeredupon the side of the supply tent, and it was in this quarter mostlythat their gaze was fastened. In fact, Captain Lewis and his fellowofficer depended wholly on the wide-awake boys to let them know whenanything happened, for they themselves lay stretched out at full lengthupon the ground.

  One by one the men sitting by the fire began to vanish, some yawning,and others simply stretching themselves with the air of wearinessnatural after a strenuous day at the oars.

  Finally an atmosphere of desertion seemed to have come upon the camp.The fire died down slowly, and not a movement could be seen. Somewhere,near by, the appointed sentries stood guard, but their duty waswholly in the line of making sure that an enemy did not surprise theadventurous company from without. Those in the camp were supposed to beabove suspicion.

  Roger was beginning to grow impatient. The minutes were dragging along,so far as he was concerned, and he began to fear that, after all,the scheme, so cleverly planned by Captain Lewis, would fail to be asuccess.

  What if the fellow had become suspicious, and determined not to allowhimself to be attracted by the bait? They would have their long nightvigil for nothing, and be no nearer to learning the truth than before.Roger lacked the patience and perseverance of his chum, though he hadmany good qualities of his own.

  It must have been almost midnight when Dick caught sight of a shadowyfigure moving just beyond the supply tent. At first he thought it mightbe a wolf that had boldly crept into the camp, though such a thingseemed absurd; then he became satisfied that it must be a man on hishands and knees, crawling along slowly, and heading for the isolatedtent.

  When satisfied in this respect he whispered in the ear of Roger, andtouched both the recumbent captains on the arm. This had been a signalagreed on in case of necessity, and, as they were on the alert, theylost no time in making good use of their eyes.

  The creeper was now close to the tent. Every few feet he would sinkdown flat to the ground, and remain perfectly still for a time. Nodoubt at such intervals the man was listening intently to discover theslightest movement in the camp that might mean danger to him.

  Both boys fairly held their breath when they saw the shadowy figurereach the tent and hastily creep under the flap. Just how long it wouldtake him to find what he was after no one could say, but the time hadarrived for those who were watching the tent to make a forward move.

  Fortunately the breeze started up just then, and rustled the leaves ofthe trees overhead. It came from a quarter that also bore the soundsof the fretting river, where rocky reefs impeded the progress of thecurrent; so that a combination of sounds help
ed to deaden any littlerustling noise the four watchers might make in rising to their feet andmoving forward.

  Every detail had been arranged, and they made immediately for thedarker side of the tent. This was to avoid having their shadows appearon the canvas, and arousing the suspicions of the thief.

  Having taken up their positions here, they waited for what was tofollow, confident that the guilty one could not possibly escape them.

  He could be heard moving around inside the tent. Once he upset someobject that fell to the ground with a soft thud, and they even heardhis low muttered exclamation of annoyance. After that all was still foran interval, as doubtless he strained his hearing to learn whether thesound had aroused any curiosity in the mind of a sentry.

  Then the movements started again, proving that renewed confidence wasmaking the marauder bolder.

  Dick and Roger had their guns ready, according to orders. If the manattempted to escape after being ordered to surrender their duty wouldbe to shoot, although the endeavor would be to wound instead of to kill.

  The movements within the tent had now ceased, and it was probable thatthe man had secured all he sought to acquire. That meant his next actwould be to make his exit. Dick had not overlooked the chance of hiscreeping under the canvas at the rear of the tent, and, if they failedto see anything of him by the time another minute passed, he meant tocreep around and ascertain whether this had been attempted.

  Roger, giving a faint gasp, warned his chum that some one was coming.Then all of them caught sight of a dusky figure bending low as it creptout of the tent.

  "Stand still and surrender, or you are a dead man!" suddenly exclaimedCaptain Lewis, as, with his three companions, he stepped forward.

  The thief made no attempt to run, for he knew what the result must bewhen he saw those rifles in the hands of the two boys. So they pushedup until they could make sure of his identity; and somehow neitherRoger nor Dick felt any great surprise when they discovered that theman they had captured was Andrew Waller.