CHAPTER IV.
THE UNKNOWN SHELL GATHERERS.
Steve was, as usual, the first to recover from the sudden shock.
"Whew! that sounds like a tough deal, fellows!" he remarked, with a grimace. "Here we are, thinking we've got the field all to ourselves; and expecting to spring a big surprise on the sleepy folks of Carson when we come marching home with a pocketful of valuable fresh-water pearls, that would give the Ranger Boys all the money they need to carry out their pet plans. And squash! almost as quick as you can wink, it's all knocked into a cocked hat. Yes, a tough deal, boys, and perhaps no more of these little beauties for us."
He picked up the lone pearl again, as if unable to wholly resist its attractions.
"Huh! and instead of having the field all to ourselves, it looks like we might be poaching on the preserves of some other fellow."
Bandy-legs gave voice to his bitter disappointment after this fashion.
"T-t-too bad," muttered Toby, who seemed to feel that upon an occasion like this every member of the club ought to allow himself to be heard.
"Say," broke out Steve, suddenly, "perhaps it's that little prowler Toby sighted spying on the camp?"
"I wonder!" exclaimed Bandy-legs, his face lighting up with new interest.
"Perhaps the boy may have some connection with the gathering of the shells," Owen went on, "but it was a man's big footprint we saw alongside the pile of empties when we struck a match."
"What do you think about it, Max?" suddenly asked Steve, turning around to stare at the one he addressed.
Max had apparently seemed quite content to let his cousin do the talking, for he had remained quiet during this discussion.
Upon being directly appealed to, however, he was not at all backward about replying.
"I've been doing a heap of thinking since Owen and myself examined that pile of shells," he started in to say, "and if you care to hear the conclusion I've come to, all right."
"You b-b-better b-b-believe we do, Max," was Toby's immediate explosion.
"Don't hold back a thing," observed Steve; "because we're all dyed-in-the-wool chums; and what concerns one concerns all."
"Cough it up, Max. We're holding our breath, you understand, wanting to know. And none of us come from Missouri, either," Bandy-legs observed, eagerly.
Max smiled at the expressive way his comrades had of urging him on. Nor could he fail to be deeply touched by their confidence in his ability to fathom the puzzle.
"I took occasion to examine some of those empty shells by the light of other matches," he continued; "and on many of them I was surprised to find plain marks of small teeth!"
"Wow! I'm g-g-getting on to what you're going to spring on us!" exclaimed
Toby, whose wits were not slow, if his speech had that affliction.
"I don't believe any of those mussels had been opened by human hands," Max went on to boldly declare. "Whoever is up here must be collecting them just for the sake of the mother of pearl. You know, I suppose, that these shells are used for making pearl buttons and such things?"
"Yes, they are worth so much a hundred pounds," remarked Owen. "The price is high enough to pay some men for collecting them when they can be found in any decent quantities."
"Then, Max, you don't think these parties are onto the pearl racket—is that it?" asked Steve.
"Honest Injun, boys, that's the conclusion I've reached after studying it out. They are just collecting the empty shells, and never dreaming how one little pearl like this would be worth perhaps a full ton of shells." And Max took the prize from Steve, who seemed a bit reluctant to let it go.
Max had apparently made up his mind as to what would be a safe hiding place for the little beauty.
All of them watched him wrap the pearl in a wad of pink cotton, deposit this in a small cardboard box about two inches long by one wide, and half as thick; which, in turn, was carefully thrust into a haversack hanging from the center pole of the tent.
That same haversack was used as a "ditty" bag. All sorts of small articles, likely to prove useful in camp, were deposited in its capacious depths. And when anything was wanted, the boys usually searched in this leather pocket before proceeding to any trouble.
"A snug nest for our first prize, eh?" Bandy-legs took occasion to remark, as he watched how carefully Max pushed the little packet down into the depths of this depository.
"It sure ought to be safe there," Steve declared, with a sigh as of genuine relief.
"Nothing could happen to it, with five fellows sleeping around. And Max is so ready to wake up that he'd even hear a cat moving," Owen remarked, with a laugh.
"Do you expect we'll have any trouble with these pearl-shell gatherers,
Max?" Steve demanded.
"I hope not," was the ready reply. "We don't expect to interfere with their business at all. Fact is, we'd just as lief turn over what shells we gather to these parties to pay for trespassing on their preserves."
"But not the pearls we find—if so be we're lucky enough to run across more?" flashed Steve.
"Surely not," Max answered, sturdily. "They don't own this country; and I'm sure they've got no lease on the waters of the Big Sunflower. So we have just as much right up here as they do. But we're a peaceable crowd, you know; that's one of the leading rules in the constitution of the Ranger Boys' Club."
"Yes," chuckled Bandy-legs, "we're set on having peace even if we have to fight for it."
"Well," put in Toby, aggressively, "all I c-c-can s-s-say is, they'd b-b-better think twice before t-t-trying to bother our crowd. We're only b-boys, but we've got rights."
"Hear! hear!" broke out Bandy-legs, clapping his hands as if to encourage the speaker.
"And we know how to s-s-stand up f-for 'em," wound up Toby, shutting his teeth hard on the last word, and looking very determined.
"You bet we will," remarked Steve. "I'd just like to see anybody have the nerve to try and steal that bully little gem we've captured first pop. My stars! don't I hope we'll have the mate to it in short order."
Presently the talk drifted to other things connected with their home life in Carson. The names of several boys were mentioned; and from the way Bandy-legs and Toby expressed opinions of those same school fellows, it appeared that they suspected the others of having watched their movements of late.
"Lucky we played that fine trick," the former declared, "and started on our up-river voyage before daybreak, while Ted Shafter, Amiel Toots, Shack Beggs, and the rest of the gang were tucked away in their little trundle beds fast asleep."
"S-s-say, don't you b-b-believe there was a high j-j-jinks of a time to-day when Ted f-f-found we'd slipped away, and nobody knew where?"
"But they know we had boats," remarked Max, "because we caught one of the crowd spying on us. That's why we had to keep our stuff under lock and key, with old Stump Griggs to watch it."
"Yes," complained Steve, bitterly, "because a fellow as mean as Ted is wouldn't stop a minute if he found a chance to upset our plans. Ten to one the prowler old Stump scared away night before last was Ted himself; and I wouldn't put it past that bad egg to burn the boathouse down, just to get even with our crowd."
"But the Outing Boys don't scare worth a cent," declared Bandy-legs, given to boasting a little more than any of his chums.
"Oh, well!" observed Max, cheerfully, "we expect to hide our boats in the morning, you know, and perhaps, even if Ted and his scrappers do work up along this way, they won't find us. If we're wading in the river searching for mussels we're apt to hear them coming in time to get away."
"Guess you're right there, Max," said Owen.
"Sure thing," remarked Bandy-legs. "There ain't a time but what some of Tad's crowd are snapping at each other to beat the band. Every little while a fight is on the carpet. Takes Tad half the time keeping peace in the family."
"Huh!" chuckled Steve. "I've seen him do it by knocking down both of the scrappers, just as neat as you please. Ted likes that way of keeping the peace. It gives him exercise, you see, and makes the fellow respect him more 'n more."
The supper tins were washed, and for quite a long time the five boys sat around the crackling fire, talking, writing in their note books, and amusing themselves in many ways.
It was no longer dark.
A moon, slightly past the full, had crept above the horizon before they finished supper; and while the trees prevented those in camp from getting all the benefit of this fine sky lantern, for the most part the shadows that lurked in the woods were banished.
Finally some of the boys began to show signs of sleepiness. Toby was yawning about every minute, while Bandy-legs rubbed his eyes and stretched himself, like a tired boy nearly always does.
"Guess it's about time we turned in, fellows," Max declared, himself feeling the effect of getting up at three o'clock in the morning in order to leave town before peep of dawn.
"That's what I say," agreed Bandy-legs. "I'm sore all over from poling that clumsy old boat up-river. And once I hit the straw you'll never hear a peep from me till morning."
"Move we adjourn!" sang out Toby, so suddenly that he actually neglected to stammer.
"All in favor say 'Aye'!" Max proceeded to observe; and immediately a chorus of approval was the signal to send them hurrying into the tent.
Ten minutes later and silence rested all over the camp on the Big Sunflower. A hungry raccoon came prowling around, eager to pick up what crumbs had fallen from their table. The big moon climbed higher and higher in the clear sky, and, mounting above the tops of the trees to the east, looked down, and smiled upon the peaceful scene.
Max was a light sleeper, just as one of his comrades had declared.
No matter how sound his slumber appeared to be, if there happened to be any unusual movement in the camp it was sure to arouse him.
He did not know just how long he had been dead to the world at the time something moving caused him to open his eyes.
The moon had climbed so high that he knew some hours must have passed.
Yes, there was certainly some one moving about in the tent. Max, of course, first of all thought of Ted Shafter and his cronies, and wondered if, after all, the rival Carson crowd could have found them out.
Next his thoughts flew to the unknown shell gatherers, and a suspicion that perhaps one of them had invaded the camp, bent on stealing the valuable pearl, filled his mind.
This caused Max to raise his head, and turn his eyes toward the tent pole where the haversack containing the precious pearl hung.
Sure enough, there was some one standing there, and actually fumbling with the bag.
To the intense surprise of Max he recognized the dimly seen figure.
It was Steve.