The Boy Scouts' Mountain Camp

Arriving here they spied the rope. In a flash they were over the edge and down it. Although they had bad tumbles when they reached the part where it had been cut off, they managed to make good their escape. It would have been folly to pursue them in the woods at night.

Black Bart’s capture deserves some mention. It was effected by Jumbo, who literally threw himself on the black-bearded man as he emerged. It was probably the noise of this scuffle that alarmed Hunt and his son.

“You looks like five hundred dollahs to muh,” grinned Jumbo, as Black Bart, sullen and defiant as a wild cat, was manacled.

The remainder of that night was spent in the cave, the prisoners being closely guarded. The next day Dale was induced to tell how they had stolen the explosive from the hut of an eccentric old character who did some experimental mining not far away.

“We figgered we’d find some use for it,” he said cheerfully.

That day was occupied in packing the precious articles, in bags brought for the purpose. By evening all was complete. If they had known how Hiram was faring they would have felt perfectly content. It was decided, if he did not reappear, to leave some of the party in camp to await his return, while the others pushed on to give the prisoners up to the proper authorities.

But at midnight that night they had a great surprise. Rob, who was on watch, heard a sudden hail out of the darkness:

“K-r-r-r-e-e-e-e!”

It was the cry of the Eagle Patrol.

“Who can be giving it, I wonder,” he exclaimed.

The next minute he knew. Hiram and the revenue officers, who had made a night march of it, burst in upon the camp. Hiram had, in his wanderings, retraced much of his way back toward the camp so that they had not had so very far to tramp. The officials were delighted to learn of the clever manner in which the moonshiners had been apprehended. They had been searching for Black Bart, when they sighted Hiram’s signal fires.

Jumbo was assured that his five hundred dollars would be awarded to him at the earliest opportunity.

Had we space, or opportunity, we would like to tell of the journey back to civilization, of the share that each Boy Scout, much against his inclination, was forced to accept of the treasure, and of Alice Dangerfield’s thanks to the Boy Scouts for the brave way in which they stood by her father in time of peril. They really valued this – like true Scouts – more than the monetary reward.

But further adventures impend in the Boy Scouts’ eventful lives, – exciting, as well as amusing, incidents “by flood and field.” If our readers care to follow further the careers of our young friends, they can find them set forth in detail in the next volume of this series:

THE BOY SCOUTS FOR UNCLE SAMTHE END