Chapter X: At Camp No. 2

Professor Skeel might well have shrunk back at the sight which confronted him, for Jack stood poised, with raised weapon, as though he had it pointed at the former instructor. But Professor Skeel did not shrink back. He gazed at the boys, though there was evidence of surprise on his face.

“I--I beg your pardon,” said Jack, for he could not forget the time when the crabbed man had been in authority over him. “I--I--didn’t see you there,” Jack went on.

“Evidently not,” said the man, dryly. “You had better be careful what you do with a gun.”

“I am careful,” answered Jack, a trifle nettled at the words and manner of Mr. Skeel. “I wasn’t going to fire until I saw you.”

“Oh,” said Mr. Skeel.

“I--I didn’t mean just that,” Jack went on. “I meant I was going to see what it was before I shot.”

That was decidedly the better way of putting it.

“You--you are quite a ways from--from Elmwood Hall,” said Tom, changing from his first intention of saying “home,” for he recollected he did not know where Professor Skeel lived.

“Yes, I am up here on--business,” went on the unpopular man. “And I trust there aren’t any hills where you can roll down big snowballs,” he added significantly.

“You seem to forget that was an accident,” Tom said. He did not altogether like Professor Skeel’s tone.

“Well, I don’t want any accidents like that to happen up here,” went on the former teacher. “And now another matter. Are you boys following me? If you are, I warn you that I will not tolerate it. You must leave me alone. I have business to do up here, and----”

“We most decidedly are _not_ following you!” exclaimed Tom, with emphasis. “Besides, we are on private grounds, the use of which we were granted for this holiday season, and----”

“Is that a polite request for me to--get off?” asked Mr. Skeel.

“Well, no, not exactly,” Tom answered. “We are not the owners, but we have the privilege of hunting here. It is possible that the caretaker may order you off. But you have no right to say that we are following you. We have a right here.”

“I didn’t _say_ you were--I only _asked_ if you were,” said Mr. Skeel, who seemed to “come down off his high horse a bit,” as Jack said afterward.

“Then I’ll say that you are entirely mistaken,” went on Tom. “We were out hunting, and we came upon you unexpectedly. We were as much surprised as you were, though we guessed you were in the neighborhood.”

“You did?” cried Professor Skeel, with sudden energy. He seemed both startled and angry. “Who told you?” he demanded.

“Sam Wilson, the man who drove you over from the depot to Hounson’s place,” replied Tom, who had no reason for concealment, and who also wanted to show that he knew the whereabouts of Mr. Skeel.

“I never told him my name!” declared the former instructor.

Tom did not care to state that they had guessed the identity of the man by the description of his injured ear. The member was in plain sight as Tom looked--a ragged, torn lobe, of angry-red color, and it did look, as Sam had said, as though it had been “chawed by some critter.”

“You seem to know considerable of my affairs,” went on Mr. Skeel. “But I want to warn you that I will tolerate no spying on my movements, and if you try any of your foolish schoolboy tricks, I shall inform the authorities.” He glared at Tom as he said this, as though challenging him to make a threat. Doubtless the professor knew that any charges which might lie against him in New Jersey would be ineffective in the Adirondacks. But Tom did not care to press that matter now.

“You need not fear that we will spy on you,” said the leader of the young hunters. “And as for playing tricks, we have something else to do, Mr. Skeel.”

“Very well; see that you keep to it.”

He turned as though to go away, and, as he did so the boys saw two other men advancing up a woodland path toward the professor.

Mr. Skeel made a quick motion toward the men, exactly, as Bert said afterward, as though he wanted to warn them back. But either they did not see, or understand, the warning gestures, or else they chose to ignore them, for they came up the inclined snowy path, until they stood in full view of the four boys. At the sight of one of the men, Tom uttered an exclamation, that was echoed by his chums.

“Whalen!” he murmured, recognizing the discharged employee, for whose dismissal he was, in a great measure, responsible, since he had made a report of the man’s cruelty to a young student at Elmwood Hall.

“We were looking----” began Whalen, speaking to the professor, when he happened to recognize the four young hunters, whom he had evidently failed to notice, as they stood somewhat in the shadow of a big pine tree, and were well wrapped up from the cold.

“Never mind now,” said Mr. Skeel, quickly, as though to keep the man silent. “I was just going back to you. It seems we are on private grounds.”

“Well, what of that?” jeered the other man, who had not yet spoken. He had a brutal, evil face.

“Lots of it, if you’re not careful,” snapped Tom, who did not like the fellow’s tone, or manner.

“Oh, is that so, young feller? Well, I’d have you know----”

The man stopped suddenly, for Whalen had administered a quiet kick, and whispered something in his ear. What he said the boys could not hear, but they saw the warning and quieting chastisement.

“Oh,” and the other man, who had been addressed as Murker, seemed to swallow the rest of his words.

“Come on,” said Professor Skeel, and without a further look at the four chums he turned away, followed by the two men with evil faces.

“Whew! This is going some!” gasped Jack, when the trio was out of sight. “Who’d think of meeting Skeel and those two worthies up here in the wilderness?”

“Well, we practically knew Skeel was here,” said Bert, “though we aren’t any nearer than we were in guessing at what his object is. But it is a surprise to see Whalen and that other man, whoever he is. They must be trailing in with Skeel. What’s the game, Tom?”

Tom Fairfield did not answer for a moment. He was busy looking at some tracks in the snow.

“Yes, they are just the same,” he murmured, slowly.

“What is it? A bear?” asked George, eagerly.

“No, but look,” and Tom pointed to some footprints. In the middle of the sole of each one was a star made in hob nails.

“Why--why, that’s the same mark that was near our cabin,” cried Jack.

“Exactly,” Tom agreed coolly. “I thought it would prove so.”

“But what does it all mean?” asked Bert. “What are they doing up here, and around our cabin?”

“Give it up,” spoke Tom. “Maybe they’re hunting, as we are.”

“But they had no guns,” Jack said.

“No. Well, we’ll just have to wait and see what turns up,” Tom went on. “I think we gave ’em rather a surprise, though.”

“We sure did,” agreed George. “But that Whalen surprised me, too. I wonder how he got here?”

“Didn’t you say you told him where we were coming?” Tom asked.

“Yes, I did, after he pumped me with a lot of questions. I didn’t realize what I was doing. I say, Tom, I hope I haven’t done any harm!”

“Oh, no. There wasn’t any secret about where we were going to spend the Christmas holidays,” Tom said. “But it is rather odd to find those three so close after us. But maybe it will be all right. They know they are on private preserves--our private grounds--for the time being, and I guess they won’t trouble us.”

“Then it was those three, sneaking around the cabin?” asked Jack.

“Professor Skeel, at least,” Tom went on, “though it may have been only ordinary curiosity that took him there. We’ll take a little trip over to Hounson’s some day, and see what we can pick up there.”

It was getting late, so the young hunters made haste back to their cabin. They had supper, and then once more sat about the fire and talked through the long Winter evening. The next day they dressed their game and cooked it, finding it a welcome relief from the canned meats and bacon on which they had been living.

The rest of that week they remained in the vicinity of Cabin No. 1, having fair luck, but getting no big game. They saw one deer, but missed him. In this time they saw no more of Skeel or his cronies.

“What do you say we go over to Camp No. 2 for a change?” asked Tom, one night.

“We’re with you,” his chums agreed, and they made an early start, through the woods, locking up the place they left behind, for they might not be back for several days. They managed to bag several rabbits and squirrels on their march, but saw no signs of deer. Sam had told them they might not have much luck in this direction.

In due time, by following a copy of the blue print map they had made, they came to Camp No. 2. There had been a light fall of snow in the night, and as Tom approached the cabin, he cried out:

“Boys, they’ve been here ahead of us!” He pointed to footprints in the white blanket--footprints, one of which had a star in the middle of the sole.