Chapter VIII: Alex Climbs a Tree

The boys looked into faces which had lost the ruddy tinge of health. For a second not a word was spoken.

Then Clay laughed. This seemed to set the pace for the men, for they all laughed in unison.

Then Case grew sober.

"I had a grumble at the end of my tongue," he said, "but Clay's laugh made me forget it. What's the next move?"

"Find the boat," contributed Buck. "As we don't know which way they went, we'll split the party, and go in both directions. They can't be very far away."

"They went upstream," said Alex. "I had a seat at the table from which the river was in sight, and I'm positive that no motor boat passed in the other direction."

"Still, one might have gone downstream when you were otherwise engaged," replied Buck. "I've noticed that boys have a habit of overlooking many things when the 'possum is cooked just right."

Alex grinned but made no comment.

"This is some of Mad Rowell's work," said Rube, as the party passed on upstream.

"You bet it is," Case added. "Twice I thought I saw him in the underbrush, but finally decided that it was my imagination working overtime. I wish now that I had investigated."

"If Mad Rowell knows how to operate a motor boat," said Buck, "the chances are against us. That boat can go some!"

The party advanced up the stream half a mile or more without seeing anything in the shape of a motor boat.

"Hopeless case, I reckon," suggested Rube. "It strikes me that we are only wasting time. We should have gone directly to the village and used the wire.

The man had hardly ceased speaking when an exclamation from Jule attracted the attention of all in the party.

"There she is!"

It was indeed true. The _Esmeralda_ lay rocking in the river some distance farther upstream. Mad Rowell was nowhere in view from where the party stood. The boat was, however, on the opposite bank of the river.

Buck appeared lost in a brown study for a moment, and then he said, speaking in his usual drawl:

"This may be an ambush."

"If they ever got one of us into the river, they could fill him so full of lead that he'd sink of his own weight," Clay went on. "The thing to do now is for all to take to the water at once. They can't kill all of us!"

"They might do even that," put in Rube, "but it seems that we have to risk it. I wish I had my two hands on the man who is responsible for this!"

"Well, what's the decision?" asked Case.

"Yes," answered Alex, "who's ready for a cold bath?"

"If there's anything I just love to do," laughed Jule, "it is to go swimming. This water is fine!"

"Suppose we all strip?" suggested Case, who did not care to get his new suit wet.

"Then we'll have to leave someone on this side to watch the clothes," said Jule. "That will be a good job for me."

"In a pig's wrist," Case said. "We'll draw lots to see who stays behind."

Fate decided in favor of Alex, much to the disgust of that young man, who was really anxious to try conclusions with the men who had stolen the boat. He tried his best to get a substitute, but did not succeed, and so was obliged to sit idly on the bank of the stream while the others took to the water.

"Come on in. The water's fine!" taunted Jule.

Notwithstanding the optimism of Jule, the water was wretchedly cold. At that time, however, the people in the stream were too much occupied with other matters to pay any attention to the temperature of the water.

They spread out in the shape of a fan and made for the opposite shore with no thought of the chill of the water. When at last their feet struck the shelving shore, they kept the old formation.

To their great surprise there was no one in or about the boat. They advanced cautiously, not knowing when they might be attacked.

They did not see the evil face of Mad Rowell peering out upon them from a clump of underbrush. As a matter of fact, the man had been caught off his guard.

He had gone back down the river looking for an old crony to keep him company in the journey he proposed to take. He had returned to the _Esmeralda_ just a minute too late.

This accounted for the boat being in such good condition. If Rowell had abandoned it, it is a sure thing that he would have broken the motor and done other damage which would have made its use impossible, for a time at least.

If Rowell had been possessed of a revolver, the chances are that he would have taken a shot at Buck, but, it will be remembered, his weapon had been taken from him at the store.

So, weaponless as he was, the tough was obliged to see the _Esmeralda_ taken away by its owner. He resolved, however, to "get even" at the first opportunity.

"Now, what do you know about this?" demanded Clay, looking over the boat critically. "The motor is in fine form, and I can't see a thing the matter anywhere."

Rube pointed to the place where the rowboat had been kept.

"The skiff is not here," he remarked, "and it looks like they had gone away in it."

By this time all the boys were shivering, so they made a hasty departure for the other shore. When only a few yards away they observed Captain Joe acting in a suspicious manner, and turned on more electricity.

"What's that fool dog up to?" asked Case.

There was quite a commotion on shore, and the boys did not wait to see that the _Esmeralda_ was anchored, but sprang into the river and swam ashore. When they reached solid ground neither Alex nor the dog was in sight. And neither were the clothes!

"Well, of all the----"

Clay stopped right there. All he could say did not half express the situation.

A few articles of clothing were scattered about, but they did not represent the five suits which had been left there only a short time before. In fact, a good share of the clothes had disappeared.

The shivering lads gathered on the river bank and pondered over the new turn of affairs until joined by Rube and Buck.

"Where's your boy who was watching the clothes?" asked Buck. "I don't seem to see him anywhere about!"

"And where's your dog?" demanded Rube.

"Blessed if I know what's been going on here!" exclaimed Case, his teeth rattling as with the ague.

"Oh, this is a bad dream," declared Jule. "Turn over and get off your back! You'll be dreaming of pie in a minute!"

"I wish I had any old thing to put on," grumbled Case.

"You know what Eve did when she found herself naked?" remarked Jule. "She made an apron of fig leaves."

"Bring on your fig leaves!" ordered Clay. "Here, waiter, one order of fig leaves."

"Something must be done at once," declared Rube. "I'm that cold that life in an ice house would be a pleasant recreation!"

A movement was now heard in the underbrush which lined the shore of the stream, and Captain Joe made his appearance.

The dog was greeted with exclamations of disgust.

"Come here, you mongrel cur!" shouted Case, at the same time making a rush for the canine. "What did you do with our clothes?"

Captain Joe wagged his quarter of a tail and said in his best dog talk that he would show them later.

"Where's Alex?" asked Case, talking to the dog as if he had the gift of speech.

Captain Joe climbed up on his questioner, much to the latter's annoyance, he being nearly naked, and made further demonstrations which said in plain dog talk that he knew what was being said, but considered it beneath his dignity to make reply.

"You're a naughty dog, and you shan't have a bit of supper," threatened Case.

Captain Joe got down from his elevated position and walked with great dignity toward the fringe of trees which grew along the east shore of the stream.

"He wants us to follow him," Clay declared, "but how are we going to do it? The wild men of Borneo have us beaten to a frazzle when it comes to clothes."

"It seems as if we might get one good suit out of this mess," Clay said. "Who'll be the man to try?"

"It seems to me that we all ought to be getting a move on," said Jule. "For all we know, Alex may be having all kinds of trouble. We appear to be children of fortune this trip! Everything comes our way--in a horn!"

It was finally agreed that Jule should remain at the _Esmeralda_, and that the others should follow the dog, who was still hanging around, in the hope that some of the boys might follow him.

When they reached the fringe of trees which stood along the shore of the river, Clay paused and doubled up with laughter.

Alex was in sight--up a tree.

There was a bear at the foot of the tree--a bear that evidently thought he had a cinch on the boy--a Colorado mountain bear, small but fierce. And Alex was playing a mouth organ with all the energy he possessed for the benefit of the bear!

The boys laughed until their sides ached before attempting any interference. Only for the fact that the wind was blowing from the east, while the place where the clothes had been deposited was to the west of that point, the noise of Alex's shouting for assistance and the music of the organ might have been heard from the first.

The bear moved away sullenly, taking an extra swipe at a pair of Buck's trousers as he did so. He had evidently scented the clothing during a temporary absence of Alex and began work on them.

"What you doing up that tree?" Clay called out, as he approached the spot, from which Alex was now descending. "We left you guarding the clothes."

"He had to entertain the bear, didn't he?" put in Case. "Bears just love music."

"Where was your automatic?" asked Rube, breaking into another fit of laughter at the general appearance of the party.

Buck had succeeded in finding a vest and a pair of drawers, Rube was dressed in an undershirt and a pair of trousers, Clay wore a ruined sweater and a pair of trousers, while Case sported about in a coat and trousers and a soft felt hat.

"The bear made new business for the merchant," laughed Clay. "How's your money holding out, Rube? Big contract you took when you set out to supply this bunch with clothes!"

"Don't you worry about the money," Rube answered. "I've got a roll that would choke a cow yet."

The man suddenly clapped his hand to his side with an anxious look and brought it away empty.

"Well, I'll be--"

He never completed the sentence, but dashed off in the direction of the place where the clothes had been.

Alex had remained silent under all the chaffing to which he had been subjected. Now, however, with an exclamation of dismay he started away after Rube.

"What's coming off?" asked Buck.

"Blessed if I know," answered Clay.

"I'll bet that Rube has lost his money!"

It was Clay who made the remark, and it served to set both boys and Buck in motion.

"This a fine trip, I don't think!" grumbled Case, as they ran for the spot where the clothing had been left.

When the party gained the spot they had so recently left, neither Jule nor the _Esmeralda_ was in sight!

"Where's the boat, and where's Jule?" demanded Buck. "We appear to be having the time of our lives!"

"Well," said Clay, "the boat got away, not being anchored, and Jule set out to catch it. The time of our lives, well, I should say so! Did you find the roll. Rube?"

Rube, who was down on the ground turning over everything in sight, looked up with a comical grin on his face.

"Say," he said, with a chuckle, "if we don't find that roll, we've got someone to lay it to. Eh? We can charge it to the bear!"

"You may charge our present plight to me!" Alex said. "If I hadn't laid my automatic aside for a minute, I might have killed the bear, and all these complications never would have happened."

"It was to be!" observed Clay.

"You bet it was!" Case added.

"You just say that to make me feel better," Alex replied, almost in tears. "I'm a blunderer, anyhow."

"We wouldn't know what to do without you!" responded Case, tapping the boy on the shoulder. "Now, brace up. Things have got to change for the better before long!"

At that instant they saw Jule walking dejectedly up the river.

"I don't see any boat with him," Case commented.