The Boy Scout Camera Club; Or, the Confession of a Photograph

by G. Harvey Ralphson

  CHAPTER XIII

  THREE DAYS TO MOVE IN

  Ned took the paper into his hand and read:

  "You boys are not wanted in the hills. We give you three days to getout. On the morning of the fourth day, if you are still here, weshall send you your friend's right hand. On the fifth day you willreceive his left hand. On the sixth day his right foot. On theseventh day his left foot. On the eighth day his head. If you obeythis command he will be restored to you, in good health, atCumberland."

  "Is it a joke?" asked Frank, white to the lips.

  "It must be!" cried Jack. "No one would mutilate Jimmie."

  "It is a coarse joke!" Teddy cut in.

  "I'm afraid it is no joke, boys," Ned said. "I'm afraid we'll have togo."

  "But we'll come back again!" shouted Oliver. "We'll come back with awhole company of Boy Scouts! There are enough Boy Scouts in New Yorkto tear these mountains up by the roots!"

  "But I don't understand how they got him," Teddy wailed. "He wentaway with you."

  "He went into a hidden passage to make a picturesque effect," Franksaid, "and did not return. We thought it one of his jokes, and paidlittle attention to his absence. We might have rescued him if we hadknown."

  "Of course he was seized in that passage," Dode said. "Did you getthe picture he was to be in?"

  "Sure we did!" cried Frank. "I'll see if he was there when the cameraopened."

  As he spoke the boy made a rush for his suitcase, took out hisdevelopment tank, printing frame and other tools, and set to work onhis film roll. He used two powders instead of one, and in ten minuteswas ready for the printing.

  In a few minutes more he was at work in the tent, with the boysgathered around him. The developer had worked perfectly,notwithstanding the haste, and the printing was well advanced in thesoft light of the tent. Directly he had the picture taken in the caveunder view--the snapshot of the wall showing the entrance to thesecret passage.

  "Quick work!" Ned declared. "What does it show?"

  They all gathered around the print, each trying to get the firstglance at it.

  "There's Jimmie!" Teddy shouted. "He was looking out of the door whenthe picture was taken! I can almost see his freckles!"

  "There he is, sure enough!" Frank cried. "The little monkey!"

  Ned took the print and examined it carefully, while the others waitedfor him to express any discoveries he might make.

  "Did you see anything back of Jimmie?" he asked of Frank.

  "Just the dark wall," was the reply.

  Ned passed the print to him and left the tent.

  "Yes," Frank said, with a threat in his voice, there's a face lookingover Jimmie's shoulder. "Oh, I wish we had known!"

  "Can you see the face plainly?" asked Teddy.

  "Quite plainly," was the reply. "The door was open, as you see, andJimmie stood with his hand on the edge of it, looking at the camera,his head in the room."

  "Yes; that makes the picture good," Teddy observed.

  "And there was a slant of light from the passage, and the head of theoutlaw shows in that. He's an ugly looking brute!"

  "Observe the alfalfa on his map!" exclaimed Teddy.

  "That picture may send him to prison!" Frank cried. "I hope so!"

  He put the tank, the printing frame, the print, and the otherarticles away in his suitcase and went out to where Ned was standing.

  "Did you see the face behind the boy?" asked Frank--"get a good lookat it?"

  "Yes," was the reply. "It shows that this is not a joke! Did younotice the face closely?"

  "I think so."

  "What about the beard?"

  "Quite a growth, I should say."

  "Anything else odd about it?" persisted Ned.

  "Not that I saw," was the wondering reply. "What about it?"

  "It was a false beard! The man was disguised!"

  Frank's face looked, for an instant, as if he had received a blow.

  "And I was counting on that beard," he said, "as a means ofidentification!"

  "Keep the print safe," Ned advised. "It may be useful in that wayyet."

  "Well," Frank declared, "we've got to go away! We can take no chanceson Jimmie being murdered. Isn't that your idea?"

  "We certainly will take no such chances," Ned responded. "Up to thistime we have been successful in getting out of trouble, though, andwe may be able to rescue the boy without giving up the search for theabducted lad."

  "Here's another question," Frank said, "was that note sent by thecounterfeiters, or are the men interested in the abduction of theprince resorting to such tactics?"

  "I have an idea that the abductors are the ones who are doing it,"Ned answered.

  "It may be moonshiners," suggested Frank.

  "I don't think there are any illicit stills in this district," Nedreplied.

  "Well, we're up against a desperate gang now, anyway," Frank said,"and it looks as if they held the high cards! If we had onlysuspected what was going on in that passage, we might have rescuedthe boy before they got him away!

  "I believe we'll do well to watch Bradley," he suggested.

  "But Bradley was at the cabin when we got there."

  "Oh, he had plenty of time to get Jimmie away and get back to thecabin!" Frank insisted. "We remained at the cave half an hour afterJimmie left us, and we took our time in getting to the cottage."

  "Also we took a great many snap-shots at the scenery," Ned went on."Now, I wish you would take all the films out of the cameras anddevelop and print a picture of each."

  "I'll go right at it," Frank replied, turning back to the tent.

  "And if any of the boys were taking pictures about the tent, or thecorral, have them developed. It may be that one of the snap-shotswill show the person who slipped the note into the tent."

  "I don't see how it was ever done without the man being seen," Frankexclaimed.

  "But it was done," Ned replied, "and we've got to find out when andhow if we can."

  When Frank left for the tent Ned started on toward the summit. He hadtraveled only a short distance when Frank came puffing after him.

  "Here's another print Jack and Teddy took," he said. "It showssomething in the cave we never noticed. See if you can tell what itis."

  Ned glanced at the print and returned it.

  "There is another opening in the wall at the east side," he said."The picture shows it. I noticed something there, but neglected toinvestigate."

  While the two talked Jack came up the slope, his camera over hisshoulder.

  "I think it is about time for me to be having an outing," he said."I've been in the camp most of the time since we've been here."

  "Come along, then," Ned replied. "I'm going back to the cave, and itmay be just as well to have some one with me."

  Frank went down the slope to the tent and Ned and Jack hastened downthe slope on the other side. They were busy with their thoughts andfor a long time neither spoke.

  "Of course it is the abductors?" Jack asked, presently.

  "I have no doubt of it," was the reply.

  "Do you connect the man Bradley with it?" was the next question.

  "There is no proof against him," Ned replied.

  "But you must have some idea about it," persisted Jack.

  "For all we know," Ned remarked, "he may be entirely innocent in theabduction matter. He may have brought the real grandchild here."

  "The grandchild!" repeated Jack. "Here's the old question once more:'Is it the prince, or is it Mike III.?'"

  "I have the answer to that question written down in my memorandumbook," Ned said. "I don't want to show it to you now, because I maybe mistaken. When the case is closed I will show you the entry. Thenyou may laugh at me if you feel like it."

  "I'd like to see it now," Jack coaxed.

  "I want all you boys to think for yourselves," Ned went on. "Don'tget a theory and pound away at it. If you do, you'll overlookeverything which doesn't agree with that theory. If I should show youwhat I have writte
n, you might look only for clues calculated toprove it to be correct, or you might look only for opposing clues."

  A second examination of the counterfeiters' cave revealed nothing ofimportance except that the broken wall on the east side showed asmall room into which Jimmie and his captor might have fled after theabduction. Still, there was no proof that they had done so, Nedexplained.

  "Why didn't the little fellow yell?" asked Jack.

  "I think he would have yelled if that had been possible!" Ned said.

  The boys left the cave in a short time and passed south, toward thevalley and the cabin. Instead of going directly to the cabin,however, Ned kept away to the west and came out south of it, in thesection where Bradley had walked with the child.

  After a time Jack wandered away to the east, so as to come up on thatside of the cabin. Although the boys had circled the building, nosign of life had been seen.

  While Ned was yet some distance away he saw Jack standing on theslope of the valley watching the front door. He walked back andlooked in at a small window in the rear wall. The child lay asleep ona bed in one corner of the room, and Mrs. Brady sat by his side.Bradley occupied a chair not far away.

  "Quite a domestic scene!" Ned muttered.

  While the boy watched through the window, the old woman arose andleft the cabin by the front door. Then Bradley arose, went to asuitcase in a corner by the hearth, took therefrom a small greenpaper parcel, and went to the cupboard, hanging on the north wall.

  After feeling about for a time he took out a cup, filled it with warmwater from a kettle on the fire and stirred the contents of the greenpackage into it with a brush which he took from a pocket. Ned couldnot see the contents of the cup, but when the man held the brush upto the light he saw that it was soaked in what seemed to be a blackdye. It appeared too thick to suit the taste of the man, and hepoured in more water out of the kettle.

  Then, with the brush wet in one hand and the cup in the other,Bradley drew closer to the bed where the child slept. Ned watched fora few seconds more, then the footsteps of the old lady were heardapproaching the door, ringing on the hard earth at the front of it.Ned made another entry in his memorandum book and turned away.