“A mouse is awful quiet,” Julie put in.
“Or a cat. They have cushions on their feet,” Gerald added.
“We’ll be as quiet as all of them,” Bob said, “and tomorrow, young ladies, we are going to bring home the box.”
When the boys returned from Crazy Creek Camp they were weary and disappointed, but not discouraged, or so Bob assured the girls. It was quite evident that they were much excited, however, but what had caused it they would not reveal. When Merry asked if their search had taken them close to the tomb of the old Ute Indian, Bob had looked over at Dan and had asked, “Shall we tell?”
The older boy nodded. “Why, yes, we might as well. Sooner or later they are likely to find it out.”
The young people were seated about the hearth in the living-room of the cabin resting and visiting before they retired for the night. Gerald’s eyes glowed with excitement. “Julie won’t sleep a wink if she knows about it. She’ll be skeered as anything, Julie will.”
The small girl nestled closer to Jane and looked up at her inquiringly. “What does Gerry mean, Janey?” she asked. “Are they trying to tease us?”
But Dan replied seriously, “No, it is the truth that something has occurred since we were last at the Crazy Creek Camp, and the discovery of it did startle us. Although we planned to give the tomb-cabin a wide berth, we at once went to a position where we could look at it. You girls can imagine our surprise, and I’ll confess it, horror, when we saw the front door standing wide open.”
“Oh-oo, how dreadful!” Jane shuddered. “What did it mean? Had someone opened the door out of curiosity, do you suppose, and what a shock it must have been when they found that dead Indian on the floor.”
Dan and Bob exchanged curious glances. Then the latter spoke up: “It is just possible that the old Ute was not really dead and that he revived and left the cabin.”