“I want nothing to do with them and nothing to do with war!” answered Herman Crouse. “I am only a hard-working man who wants to be left alone.” He paused for an instant. “Don’t imagine that I have forgotten what you did for me,” he continued, with a little smile. “You were my very good friends, and I shall never forget it. Now, if you please, I must hurry on, because I want to get back home before it gets too dark. I wish you all the best of luck with your hunting;” and he took up the reins again.
“Do you know anything about the hunting in that direction?” questioned Randy, pointing to where the old Parkingham house was located.
“I do not think it is very good up there,” was the quick reply. “And, anyway, if I were you gentlemen I would not go anywhere near the old house up there.”
“Why not?” demanded Jed Wallop.
“The people who are staying there are very queer. They do not like any strangers around.”
“Then you know them?” questioned Gif.
“Yes, I know them, but not very well. Some of them are German-Americans, like me, but they are not my friends. I would advise you to stay away from them. The hunting, anyway, is better elsewhere. Now good-bye and good luck.” And thus speaking, Herman Crouse urged forward his team and continued on his way.
“I’ll bet a new hat against a lemon that he is bound for the old Parkingham house!” exclaimed Randy, when the German was out of earshot.
“Let us follow him and make sure,” returned his twin.
“All right,” said Jack. “But we had better keep out of sight among the trees.”
With so much timber standing around, this was an easy matter. Following Crouse, they saw the man at last turn in at the old house and drive around to where the barn was located. Then he got out of the boxsled and walked to a back door of the residence.
“Now I guess we’ll find out if those Germans are back or not,” announced Gif.
They waited for several minutes, and then the door was again opened and Herman Crouse came out, followed by two of the men the boys had previously seen. All three hurried down to the barn and there began to unload the boxsled. Then the boys saw the unknown Germans give Crouse some money. The three talked together for a few minutes in German, and then the owner of the boxsled drove away and the other Germans returned to the house.
“This is getting interesting,” remarked Jack. “Of course, that hay was meant for the horses, but what do you suppose can be in those packing cases?”
“Come on around to the back of the barn, and maybe we can learn something further,” said Fred.
“It’s gettin’ purty late, boys,” announced Jed Wallop.
“If you want to go home, don’t let us keep you,” returned Gif, quickly.
“Well, I don’t want to see any of you lads git into trouble,” answered Wallop. “At the same time, I hate to leave my family alone after dark.”
“Well, you go on, then,” put in Jack quickly. “There are five of us, and I guess we can take care of ourselves, especially as we have our guns with us.”
“O’ course, everything may be perfectly reg’lar here,” continued Jed Wallop. “Although, like you, I have my doubts. But unless you want me to stay, I’ll git home.” And a little later he took his departure.
Left to themselves, the Rovers and Gif watched their chance, and, unobserved, entered the big barn. Here they found that all of the packing cases which had been brought in by Herman Crouse had been placed out of sight under the hay.
“One thing is certain—they don’t want any outsiders to know about these cases,” remarked Jack.
Suddenly Fred, who was looking out of the doorway toward the house, uttered a low cry of alarm.
“Get under cover, fellows, just as quick as you can!” he said. “Three of those Germans are coming down here!”
CHAPTER XXVII
THE COMING OF THE WOLVES
Fred’s announcement came as a surprise. The Germans were coming from the house so rapidly that there was no time to leave the barn, the back door being closed and having some packing cases and hay against it.
“Come on up in the loft!” cried Jack. “Be quick now!”
“Why not hide down here in the hay?” suggested Andy.
“Because they may try to get at those packing cases, and then they would probably discover us,” was the reply. “Quick! This way!”
Gif was already acting on the oldest Rover boy’s suggestion and going up a ladder nailed to one side of the barn. Randy and the others followed, Fred being the last.
At the top of the ladder was an opening to a large loft. Here there was more hay, and also some old farm implements which had evidently been hoisted there by means of a block and tackle.
“Hush now,” warned Gif, and the five cadets tiptoed their way toward the hay, bent upon secreting themselves should it become necessary to do so.
The Germans carried two lanterns, for it was now quite dark in the barn. They were talking volubly in their native tongue, so that the cadets could understand very little of what was said. One man, a tall, burly individual, who was evidently more prosperous than the others, was addressed as Herr Bauermann, and he was the man mentioned by the woman who had refused to open the door and let Jack and Gif in.
Herr Bauermann had come out to inspect the contents of the packing cases brought in by Herman Crouse. He had the two other men open the cases and take out layers of excelsior so that he might look at what was underneath. He gave a grunt of satisfaction and nodded his head approvingly, at the same time continuing to speak in German.
All of the cadets were anxious to see what the boxes contained, and looked cautiously down the ladder opening and through some cracks in the loft flooring. All they could make out was some machinery, apparently electrical and similar to that in the other cases. There was also a large round package covered with heavy bagging, and this was found to contain more coils of wire of various sizes.
While the men were looking around one of them suddenly stooped and picked up something from the floor. He passed this to the others, at the same time making some remark which, of course, the lads could not understand.
“He’s got a glove,” whispered Jack.
“It’s one of my gloves! I dropped it when we climbed the ladder,” returned Randy in sudden alarm.
The finding of the glove interested the Germans very much. They looked all around the barn, and for a few minutes the cadets were fearful that they would come up in the loft. But then they evidently concluded that the glove had been dropped by Herman Crouse, and placed it on a shelf.
It was a good half hour before the Germans left the barn and returned to the house, and by that time the five cadets in the loft were almost frozen. They had been unable to move around and thus keep warm, and with the coming of night the thermometer was going down steadily.
“Come on! let us get out of here,” said Fred, his teeth chattering. “If we don’t move soon I’ll be frozen stiff.”
The boys came cautiously out of the barn and looked toward the house. Every curtain was tightly drawn, and lights shown only from the kitchen and the dining room of the old dwelling.
“Those fellows are going to get supper,” said Randy, “and I move we go home and do likewise. We can’t learn anything more standing here, and if we went to the door and showed ourselves those men might get very suspicious.”
“All right! let’s go back to the Lodge then,” announced Jack. “Just the same, I’m going to investigate this matter further, and I’m not going to wait so very long either.”
“Oh, I guess we all want to investigate these Germans,” said Fred quickly. “Don’t you remember how we helped to round up those submarine rascals?” he added, referring to an affair which has been related in detail in the volume entitled, “The Rover Boys Under Canvas.”
Losing no more time, the five cadets
hurried down the rough mountain road, and then struck off through the woods on a bee line for Cedar Lodge. This time Gif took good care that they should not become lost. But it was a long wearisome journey, and before the Lodge was reached every one of the lads was almost ready to drop from exhaustion. They were bitterly cold, and some of them thought their ears or noses must be frozen.
“There’s the light!” cried Fred at last, and he pointed to a candle which Spouter had had Stowell place in one of the windows.
“Spouter must have done that to help us to find the way,” said Jack. “Very thoughtful of him.”
As soon as they were a little closer they set up a ringing shout, and at once Henry Stowell came to the door and flung it open. All were glad enough to troop in and throw themselves down in comfortable seats before the blazing fire.
“Me for a big hot supper!” announced Randy. “And I can’t get it inside of me any too quick!”
“Ditto right here,” added Fred.
“And don’t forget to pass me a large portion, please,” came from Andy.
Under Spouter’s directions, Stowell had already set a pot of water to boiling, and had likewise baked a large pan of pork and beans and made another pan of biscuits. Even though he had asked the sneak of Colby Hall to work, Spouter had spoken kindly to Stowell and given him some first-class advice, and this was evidently having its effect.
“I’ve got my skates, and I’m going to skate down to Henryville to-morrow,” said Stowell. “From there I can take the public sleigh to Timminsport, and go home that way. Wish I was there now!”
Soon supper was under way, and, while eating, the other cadets related to their chum what they had seen and heard around the old house in the woods.
“There sure is something wrong up there,” declared Spouter, whose sprained ankle was much better. “Those fellows are up to no good. I think, Jack, we ought to notify the authorities.”
“We talked that over, Spouter; and we have concluded that we will take another look around the place first,” was the reply.
The others questioned Stowell again, but could get little further information from the young cadet. He was satisfied, however, that Werner had been doing some queer things for Tony Duval, and that Bill Glutts had assisted his crony.
“There is something strange about the whole business,” said he. “Once or twice I asked Bill or Gabe about it, but I never could get any satisfaction. I sometimes think carrying that message was only a bluff, and that the Germans were merely trying to test out Bill and Gabe, to see if they could not get them to do something else.”
In the morning came a big surprise. It was snowing and blowing furiously, and to go hunting or to do anything else outside was practically out of the question. The windows were coated with ice.
“I guess I’ll have to stay with you fellows for awhile,” remarked Stowell dolefully. “I wouldn’t dare to try to get to Henryville in such a snowstorm as this.”
“You stay right where you are, Henry, and make yourself comfortable,” said Gif. “As long as you’re willing to do your share of the work around here, you shall have your share of whatever there is to eat.”
“It’s very nice of you fellows to treat me this way after all that has happened,” said the young cadet. “Of course I’ll do my full share of the work. When I was with Bill and Gabe they always wanted me to do everything.”
The storm continued all that day, the wind, if anything, increasing in violence. All the boys could do was to keep the fire going and make themselves as comfortable as possible inside the Lodge. They read, wrote letters, and played games, and also tried their hands at more candy-making, and also the baking of some pies and cookies.
“Gee! those pies are pretty good,” announced Spouter, after a piece of one of them had been passed to him.
“They ought to be good,” returned Fred. “My face was nearly burned off baking them.”
“And please don’t ask me to make any more doughnuts,” announced Randy. “If I had to run a bake shop, I’d charge about twice as much as the regular bakers do.”
“He’d charge for the hole in the doughnut,” came from his twin, with a grin.
During the day they had once or twice heard a sound outside that was new to them. They were not sure, but Jack thought it might be a wolf, and to this Gif agreed.
“There are wolves prowling around here,” said the latter. “But I never knew of any to come close to the Lodge.”
“More than likely he’s hungry and wants something to eat, and has smelled our stuff cooking,” ventured Fred.
They had an early supper, and then Gif said they would have to get in another supply of wood from the shed before retiring.
“And we might as well get in a good supply while we are at it,” he added. “If this snow keeps coming down we may not be able to get out at all to-morrow unless we do a lot of shoveling.”
It was no easy job to get to the woodshed, for the wind was still blowing furiously. When they opened the back door of the Lodge the snow came swirling in, almost blinding them.
“No use of you fellows trying it,” announced Jack to Fred and Stowell.
“That’s it,” said Gif. “Four of us going out will be more than enough. You fellows can push the snow away from the door if you want to.”
With their overcoats buttoned up tightly and their caps pulled well down over their ears, Gif, Jack and the twins sallied forth in the direction of the woodshed, which was about fifty yards away. They had all they could do to make any progress, and when the shed was gained they were almost winded.
“Say, we were foolish not to get this wood before,” panted Gif.
“Well, there is no use of finding fault now,” answered Jack. “Come on. Now we have packed down the path a little it won’t be quite so hard.”
The four boys made two trips to the woodshed, each time bringing all the logs they could carry. Then Randy wanted to call a halt.
“I’m about played out,” said he. “Let us get the rest in to-morrow.”
“That’s just what I say,” gasped his twin. “No use of killing ourselves.”
“I’m going to make one more trip,” said Gif.
“And so am I,” added Jack.
The pair stepped out of the house with the others watching them. In a minute more they disappeared from view in the storm and the darkness.
“Gee! but it’s going to be one awful night,” cried Fred.
“You’ve said it!” returned Randy. Then, of a sudden, he gave a start. “What’s that?” he ejaculated.
What he referred to was a long mournful howl which arose on the storm-laden air. This howl was followed by another, and then by a third.
“It’s wolves!” cried Fred.
“Look! Look!” ejaculated Andy. “Look out there, will you? A whole pack of wolves!”
“Yes, and they’re coming right for the house!” wailed Stowell. “Shut that door quick, or they’ll jump in on us!”
CHAPTER XXVIII
THE MAN IN THE GREY OVERCOAT
“Don’t shut the door!” cried Randy. “Remember, Gif and Jack are outside.”
“Hello out there!” yelled Spouter, hobbling to the door in the excitement. “Beware of the wolves!”
Whether his voice carried to Jack and Gif through the storm they could not tell. Then came another howl from the wolves, this time in concert, and suddenly two of the slinking forms appeared close to the open door. The eyes of the beasts appeared so baneful to the cadets that they quickly slammed the barrier shut and bolted it.
“But we can’t leave Jack and Gif out there!” cried Fred. “Remember! they are unarmed.”
“Get the guns!” ordered Spouter. “Hurry up! We’ll give those wolves all they are looking for.”
He hobbled across the floor to his own weapon, resting against the wall in a corner, a
nd looked to see if it was loaded. The others also made a wild dash to arm themselves.
In the meanwhile the howls of the wolves kept increasing. Two more of the beasts had come up close to the Lodge, so that the total number was now five.
“Oh, oh! do you think they’ll break into the house and eat us up?” wailed Stowell.
“If they break in they’ll get one mighty warm reception,” answered Andy. “Come on! let us open that door and go after them,” he continued boldly.
Now that they were armed the Rovers and Spouter felt much safer, and they lost no time in getting back to the door which they had just closed.
“Oh, dear! don’t open the door,” pleaded Stowell. “They’ll jump right in on top of us!”
“Not after we give ‘em a few doses of shot,” answered Spouter. “Here, Henry, you stand behind the door along with Fred. You, Andy and Randy, fire as soon as you catch sight of the wolves. I’ll reserve my shot for any beast that tries to enter.”
“Wait!” called out Randy suddenly. “When you shoot at the wolves be sure to aim low. Otherwise the shots may carry through the storm and hit Gif or Jack.”
The door was opened cautiously by Fred, Stowell being too frightened to assist. Those ready to fire saw several of the wolves in a bunch less than fifteen feet away. The beasts had found some scraps of food which had been thrown out of the bungalow and were pawing for more in the snow.
“Bang! bang!” went the shotguns in the hands of the twins. The wolves gave loud yelps of pain, and one leaped high in the air. Another uttered a fierce snarl, and then, seeing the young hunters, made a dash directly for them.
It was a moment of great peril, for the wolf had been wounded just enough to make it tremendously ugly. Its eyes gleamed wickedly, and it showed every tooth in its wide-open mouth.
But Spouter was on guard. He waited until the wolf was less than five feet from the door, and then blazed away. The charge of shot was so heavy that the beast fell back, its neck completely shattered.
“Now give ‘em a second barrel, boys!” cried Spouter, and a moment later three more reports rang out.
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