Chapter XIII: The Mystery Grows Deeper

“Why, it’s gone!” muttered Dick, immediately afterwards, for the object that he had seen so dimly had now vanished.

He stepped over to the red ashes and threw on some small stuff that, taking fire immediately, blazed up brightly and allowed him to see much better.

“I wonder if it slipped into those bushes, or went around another way?” he asked himself.

Was it one of the campers he had seen slipping along in a bent-over attitude, or could it have been a shadow moving? Dick’s heart was thumping against his ribs, for he was more or less excited over the occurrence, especially after what had happened on the preceding night.

“I’d like to see if anybody is missing from his blanket,” he continued to mutter, “but to do that I’d have to wake the whole bunch up, and there would be the mischief to pay. Perhaps I fooled myself after all, and just imagined I was seeing things.”

So concluding to let the matter rest until morning came, Dick proceeded to toss a couple of big pine-knots, that would burn for several hours, on the fire. Then he glanced dubiously around him once more, after which he returned to his blanket.

But not to sleep immediately, for his brain was too excited for that. Indeed, the boy lay there, turning from side to side, until the morning star had arisen above the horizon and shone in upon him, which fact announced that it was three o’clock.

After that his tired brain allowed him to forget his troubles for a time; and when he opened his eyes again the first peep of dawn had come.

Dick crawled softly out and proceeded to get into some clothes. There was no need of arousing everybody in the camp at such an early hour, and he knew very well that if he chanced to awaken some of the noisy ones there would be no further peace until the last sleeper had been dislodged.

He was building up the fire a little later when Leslie appeared in his pajamas, stretching himself, having evidently just awakened.

“Always the first to be on deck, Dick; there’s no getting ahead of you,” he said. And then he added: “But why are you looking over our cooking outfit that way? Peg made sure to hide the aluminum kettle he brought along, if that’s what you miss. He said it was bad enough to lose his frying-pan without having the kettle follow it.”

“I had forgotten,” remarked Dick, relieved, and it was evident that he had feared the unknown thief had paid the camp another of his nocturnal visits.

“Looks as if we might have another good day,” continued Leslie, as he began to change from his pajamas to his “work clothes,” as he called the old suit he had been wise enough to wear on this outing.

“I certainly hope we shall have a bright day,” Dick observed, “because Mr. Rowland has a programme laid out that fills in the whole of it for everybody.”

“I can see that they mean the boys sha’n’t rust out while we’re up here on Bass Island,” chuckled Leslie. “They believe with the ant that every shining hour ought to be improved, because there’s always lots to do.”

“Oh! it isn’t that alone,” he was told, calmly. “As Mr. Holwell says, boys have just got to be doing something all the time or they’ll think up mischief; so it’s policy to chain that restlessness to good works. Most of us seem to like it first-rate in the bargain.”

“Haven’t heard the first whine so far,” admitted Leslie. “Those boys from the mill are certainly doing great stunts. They never had a chance before really to camp out decently, with plenty to eat along. And then there’s Nat and his cronies behaving like human beings for once, though I shouldn’t be surprised if they did manage to break out before we get home again.”

“Let’s hope not,” said Dick.

Several other boys now made their appearance. They were not in the habit of getting out of bed at such an early hour at home; but in camp the surroundings were so entirely different that they could not get to sleep again, once they opened their eyes at daybreak and heard whispering going on outside. Besides, they expected the bugle to sound at any minute now.

Then again with some of them it was a case of hunger, for those terrible appetites had taken complete possession of them, and hardly had they disposed of one meal than they began to talk of what they would like to have for the next one.

Eddie Grant and Ban Jansen, being the assistant cooks for the morning, were soon helping Sunny Jim. Peg hovered near them, having first of all hastened to where he had secreted his aluminum kettle which he brought back to the kitchen department with considerable satisfaction, if the grin on his face meant anything.

“Gave us the go-by last night, it seems, Dick,” he observed, as he flourished the shiny article in which their rice had been cooked on the preceding night.

“I hope we won’t be troubled any more by having our things disappear,” was all Dick remarked, for somehow he did not feel altogether certain that the crisis had passed by.

Just then the loud notes of the bugle sounded, for Harry Bartlett had practised the various army calls and had them down to perfection, from the “reveille” to the “assembly” and “taps.”

Once again the boys went through the customary manual drill, while Mr. Holwell, ready for his morning bath, stood and watched the display with considerable interest.

“I can see that you mean your boys shall get the full benefit of their outing up here, Mr. Rowland,” he told the athletic trainer as all started down to the brim of the lake to enjoy a brief plunge. “I can easily understand now what wonderful benefit any lad is sure to get from a few weeks spent in one of the many Y. M. C. A. camps spread all over this broad land, especially if they are being conducted on the same principles you and Mr. Bartlett have instituted here.”

“Oh! this is only a very small edition, sir,” laughed the other, who had had considerable experience in Y. M. C. A. camps. “I’ve been in camps where there were as many as a hundred and fifty boys and young fellows coming and going all summer.”

“When you have time,” said the minister, eagerly, “I wish you would tell me more about how these wonderful camps are conducted. As you say our attempt is only a small beginning, but if all goes well next season we can have this camp running for two months. Mr. Nocker has become greatly interested in the matter, and offers to erect a few buildings up here, such as an ice-house, a dining hall, and the like, though tents would still be used for sleeping purposes.”

“I am delighted to hear that, sir,” said the athletic instructor, warmly. “From what I have seen I believe this to be one of the finest movements ever started to give boys the right kind of outdoor life under clean and religious surroundings. They can have all the fun necessary, and at the same time build up both their bodies and their minds in a healthy fashion. Now if you will watch I can show you some of the work of our life-saving corps. You will see that with such well-trained helpers there will be no danger of even the most timid or awkward bather incurring any risk of losing his life.”

Mr. Holwell was deeply interested.

“Tell me more about the life-saving crew, and what requirements they must be able to meet before they are fully qualified to serve as members in good standing,” he asked the athletic director, as they stood, after coming out of the water themselves, watching all that went on.

“I shall do so with pleasure,” replied the other, his eyes sparkling. Truth to tell, that was the very thing he took the keenest interest in. “You see the crew in one of the big Y. M. C. A. camps is really an auxiliary branch of the United States Volunteer Life-saving Corps. To become a member a boy must pass through a stiff test. This consists of swimming one hundred yards, using three different strokes; swimming on the back without the use of his hands; swimming one hundred yards, starting with his clothes on, and removing them while doing it; diving into water about eight feet deep for a ten-pound rock, and bringing it to shore; knowing how to handle a boat, and being familiar with its different parts, as well as tying various sailor knots.”

Mr. Holwell looked surprised.

“Quite an education in itself, I should say,” he remarked.

“Oh! that is only a beginning,” continued the other. “The candidate must show himself capable of rescuing a drowning person, and must actually carry him to safety. He must be able to break a ‘death-grip’ so as to be in a position to keep himself from being dragged down by a frantic victim of cramps. He must also know the best way to resuscitate a person who has apparently been drowned. When a young fellow can pass this strict examination with flying colors he receives a certificate from headquarters, and is entitled to wear the official badge.”

“And that whistle which you have just given three times, calling the boys up out of the water--does that stand for anything in particular?” asked the minister, as the entire party hurried to their tents to rub down and dress.

“Yes, indeed, sir,” he was told. “That is the emergency whistle when we are in camp. Whenever it is sounded every life-saver runs for the shore, ready for business. It is on this account that scores of big camps are held every summer without a single drowning. Parents may feel perfectly safe in allowing their boys to spend a term at such well protected camps.”

“I shall never hear three blasts from a whistle again,” said Mr. Holwell, “but that I shall think of this time up here.”

“Indeed, sir,” continued Mr. Rowland, “I understand that some of the young volunteer life-savers on returning to the city after a summer in the woods, confess to having a shock whenever they hear a whistle. When the emergency call sounds, no matter whether in the midst of the swimming hour or at dead of night, the rule is to drop everything and run.”

Dick had noticed that Asa Gardner seemed to be enjoying himself greatly when in the water. He was turning out to be a clever swimmer. Evidently, the boy had included this in his programme when he decided to take all the open air exercise he could. Dick mentioned the fact to Peg while they were dressing as fast as they could, urged on to speed by the odor of breakfast that was in the air.

“Why, yes,” the other boy remarked, immediately, “that fellow acts as if he had sprung from a fish family.”

“What makes you say that?” demanded Dick, smiling at the same time on account of the queer way Peg had of describing things.

“Oh! only that he seems to go fairly wild when he gets in the lake,” was the reply. “Eddie Grant says he really believes Asa can stay under water longer than any fellow he ever knew. And did you see him dive off that high tree stump overhanging the edge of the deep hole? He turned a complete somersault in the air, and struck the water as clean as a knife. Mr. Rowland complimented him on his feat, though he also cautioned Asa to be careful not to overdo it.”

“Yes, Asa is improving right along,” confessed Dick. At the same time he could not help wondering deep down in his mind whether the strange boy could be as successful in overcoming his one terrible fault as he seemed to be in regaining his health. For somehow Dick could not quite forget about the shadowy figure that had vanished from his sight on the preceding night, not far from the tent where he knew Asa had been quartered.

“I never thought he had it in him,” admitted Peg; “but I’m ready to say Asa is beginning to pick up considerably, and show the stuff he’s made of.”

It was kind of Peg to say that, for, truth to tell, as Dick well knew, the other had had good reasons in the past for looking on the lonely boy with anything but friendly feelings. But then Peg could never hold anything against another who showed signs of being sorry for faults. Peg believed in giving every one a second, yes, even a third, chance to make amends.

After finishing his dressing and coming outside again, Dick looked toward the tent which Mr. Holwell occupied. He knew the minister must be dressing, for he had seen him peer out once. Perhaps he was shaving, for he had laughingly said on the previous night that he hoped they did not have any iron-bound rules in the camp prohibiting brushing the hair, or using a razor during the whole stay, such as he had heard was the case with some outing parties.

Just then Dan came along, and stopped to exchange a few words with Dick.

“To-morrow being Sunday, I expect we’ll be pretty quiet up here,” he observed; “so we ought to do all we can to-day. The fellows who go fishing will have to try to get a double quantity, if we think to have a course dinner to-morrow. I’m one of the six selected by Mr. Bartlett to go over to that farm we heard about. If we can buy a few chickens or ducks or anything in that line, don’t you think we’d better go prepared to dicker?”

“Not a bad scheme, Dan,” Dick told him. “And don’t forget that while there are just twenty-one of us all told, besides Mr. Holwell, Mr. Bartlett and our physical director, we’ve got the storage capacity of twice that number.”

“Oh! we’ll take on all the supplies we can stagger under, make up your mind to that, Dick. But here comes Mr. Holwell straight this way, and, tell me, doesn’t he look kind of queer? I wonder if anything could have happened to _him_ in the night.”

Dick almost held his breath as the minister hurriedly drew near them.

“A ridiculous thing has happened to me, Dick,” remarked the minister, as he reached them. “The very first night I’m in camp I have been guilty of the fault of carelessness. To tell you the truth, I am unable to find my gold watch this morning, though Harry Bartlett thinks I wound it up as usual, and hung my vest upon a nail driven part way into the tent pole.”

Dick felt as though a cold hand had clutched his heart. He and Peg exchanged anxious looks, but before either of them could say a word Mr. Holwell went on.

“I wouldn’t care so much, you understand, boys, only it was presented to me years ago by my people in a church of which I formerly had charge, and consequently I value it many times over its intrinsic worth. But, of course, I have mislaid it. I’ll go back once more and turn things over. The chances are I’ll find it where I placed it. On account of my strange quarters and having no regular spot for it, I must have dropped it down at random and don’t know just where.”