CHAPTER XXIV
MYSTERIES ARE CLEARED UP
The man who stood before them, seeking to open the door leading into the house was indeed the lone dweller from Hogs’ Hollow. He had heard the two approaching boys and had hidden himself in the cupola of the abandoned house, not dreaming for a moment that they would enter the place. He had heard the scratching made by them as they climbed the porch and their appearance at the open front of the little tower took him by surprise. For a single moment his little eyes gleamed with an impulse of violence, but Buck looked fairly husky and Drummer, though short, was stocky. The man spoke up in a high voice.
“What you fellers want? I ain’t done nothing to you!”
“You are Jerry Jackson, aren’t you?” Buck asked, striking a match and looking closely at the tall, stooped old man. Jackson was past middle age and his hair was a tangled gray mass which hung far below the line which would have been marked by a collar had he possessed one. His clothing was ragged beyond description.
“Yes, I’m Jerry Jackson, but you got nothing against me,” was the whining reply. The old man held something behind him all the time with his left hand and Buck had an uneasy feeling that it might be something in the nature of a weapon. He kept his eyes narrowly on the man as he continued to question him.
“You say we haven’t anything on you, eh? How about scaring us, cutting down our tents, posing on a rock with a horse, and setting fire to the woods!”
The man stirred indignantly. “I never did set on no horse or set the woods on fire!” he cried, vehemently. “I’ll tell you all I ever done to your camp. I walked through it with a lantern the first night you got there, and I blew that conch shell to scare you. I was the one who cut the ropes on your tents, because you had to go and chase me all over the mountain, durn yore hides! While you fellers was gettin’ a soakin’ I slipped down and cut the ropes. Then you chased me another night when I was hangin’ around yore camp, the night I tried to tote off one ’o you, and somebody pegged apples at me! But I never used no horse or set fire to anything.”
“You paid another visit to the camp, the time the ghost chased you,” reminded Buck.
“Yes, and if anybody set yore camp on fire, that feller must have done it, ’cause I didn’t.”
“Did you hang a skeleton in the woods?” Buck asked.
“Don’t know nothin’ about no skeleton,” was the dogged reply.
“All right, I guess I can see your part in it all,” replied Buck. “Now, Jerry Jackson, why did you do it? What was the idea of trying to scare us out of a camp that was our own?”
The man looked uneasy and cast about him with restless eyes. He shifted his foot and looked down.
“I dunno, I must have been crazy,” was the answer.
“That won’t do, my friend!” Buck cried, sharply. “You are going to speak up and tell the truth or we will hand you right over to the authorities! Out with it now!”
“Well, I didn’t want you boys around here because I was lookin’ for some money that was supposed to be hid in this house,” replied the man, fearing to keep the truth back. “A crazy feller named Bainbridge lived here and he died a short time ago. I heard that there was some money in the house and I been lookin’ for it. Just when I was goin’ good you boys had to come snoopin’ around. ‘I’ll get rid of ’em,’ I sez, ‘I’ll play ghost and scare ’em back to town.’ So I tried it, but you fellows wouldn’t go.”
“No, you are right there. Was that why you lowered a lantern down a chimney on a rope one night?”
“Yes. How’d you know——”
“My friend saw you. Is that where you found the money at the bottom of the chimney?”
“Yes, there it was—Here! Hold on! I didn’t find any money!”
Buck smiled grimly at the tone of alarm. He had observed in the semi-gloom the end of a tin box back of the man.
“Yes you did, Jackson. You are holding a tin box back of you and there is money in it. But you needn’t worry, we won’t touch it. All I want you to do is to go back to camp with us and tell your story to our camp leader.”
“If I do, you won’t take my money or have me arrested?” eagerly asked the old man.
Buck made the promise and the three of them left the house by the stairway and took up the journey to the camp. Both boys were on the alert lest the man give them the slip and remained close to his side, but he made no attempt to get away and they reached the camp after a silent trip. All of the other boys were in and anxiously awaiting them. Ted hurried forward.
“We were just beginning to worry about you two,” he said. “Your side won this time, Buck, and you two are the only squad that didn’t get your men. Who is this with you?”
“Jerry Jackson, the ghost—or one of the ghosts—of Black Riders’ Camp!” was the triumphant response.
His words produced a decided stir and the boys crowded around the unhappy mountaineer. At Buck’s command the man related all to Ted.
“Don’t take my money away from me, boys,” he whined, in conclusion. “I ain’t never had none, and I had to work pretty hard to find this. Bainbridge is dead and there ain’t much in the box.”
“We don’t want your money, Jerry,” replied Ted, feeling sorry for the grasping, miserable old wretch. “I just wanted to know why you kept us on the jump. If you were the one who set the woods on fire I wouldn’t be disposed to be nice about it, but the worst thing you did was to cut the tent ropes, and we had that coming, after a fashion, for chasing you all over the mountains. Just remember this: if you ever bother us again when we come here, we’ll turn you over to the police speedily, I promise you.”
Jackson promised never to come near the camp again, and then he melted away in the darkness, hugging the tin box to him. Late into the night the boys talked it over.
“That explains half of it,” remarked Ted. “But it doesn’t explain the skeleton, the Black Rider, the groans or the fire. Looks like we’ll never get the story of that.”
But the explanations came from an unexpected source. On the Sunday before Labor Day Mr. Calvert appeared in the camp, where he was joyfully welcomed by the boys. He had dinner with them and then unfolded some information that had them listening eagerly.
“You fellows are quite famous,” he smiled at them. “Did you know that you chased a notorious forger and counterfeiter out of this region?”
“No! How was that?” Ted asked.
“Did you ever hear of a Dr. Hemple?”
There was a swift exchange of looks. “The name on the skeleton!” was the general cry.
“Yes,” nodded the lawyer. “This Dr. Hemple is a very clever bank note engraver and some time ago he began to counterfeit money and he forged his name to checks in the bargain. While the police of several cities were looking for him he used to retreat up here to a log cabin he has somewhere around and only a few days ago he was captured. Among his confessions was a statement that he had hoped to make this region his headquarters, but that a camp of boys had refused to be scared out and he couldn’t have men coming and going with a boys’ camp near here. So he left the place and was later caught.”
“I remembered the troubles you had had at the camp and I went to see this Dr. Hemple. He told me of the skeleton and about groaning in the bushes and of setting the woods on fire. Oh, I know that you are wondering about the Black Rider part of it, too! He heard that Ted was going to tell the story and that gave him an idea. He muffled the feet of his horse and led him out on a rock—that one over there?—and then put some illuminating powder on the top of the rock, which he touched off. He hoped you’d think he was a dread spirit of the place, but you refused to be scared away. But what is his story of another ghost? He says he masked one night to try and scare you away as a ghost, but he claims that there was another ghost around.” The lawyer looked puzzled as the boys broke into peals of hearty laughter, and Ted told him the story.
The lawyer enjoyed it thoroughly. “Well, you certainly have had a wonderful summer of fun and adventure,” he remarked, and later he spoke privately to Ted and Buck. “You boys have done a fine piece of work here. All of these boys look in the pink of good health, and as for that little Clayton lad, his mother and father won’t know him. He has developed physically and he bears himself like a little man, in contrast to his former timid way. I am proud of the way you have handled these boys and the other trustees are going to be, too.”
“Thank you,” acknowledged Ted and Buck, pleased with Mr. Calvert’s praise.
On Labor Day they enjoyed their last few hours of camp life and as soon as the big truck arrived they pulled the supply truck up to the road and the boys took their places in the big vehicle. This time Drummer was in charge of the boys and Buck rode in the front seat with Ted. With a final cheer for the camp of the Black Riders the trucks started down the road and back toward the city.
“Well, I’m mighty sorry to leave the camp,” remarked Buck, as they rolled slowly along. “I’ve seldom had a better or more exciting time in my life.”
“Nor I,” agreed his chum, with enthusiasm. “Black Riders’ Camp will always have a soft place in my heart.”
The boys in the truck seemed to feel the same way. The country road rang with their cheer for the recent camping trip.
THE END
Transcriber’s Notes
pg 26 Changed: high up in the mountans to: high up in the mountains
pg 28 Changed: stood on camparatively level ground to: stood on comparatively level ground
pg 40 Changed: migh be very bad for Ted to: might be very bad for Ted
pg 79 Changed: Some farmer around her must have owned it to: Some farmer around here must have owned it
pg 84 Changed: something that excited their curiousity to: something that excited their curiosity
pg 86 Changed: blanching the faces of he boys to: blanching the faces of the boys
pg 116 Changed: At the sharp exlamation in his tone to: At the sharp exclamation in his tone
pg 116 Changed: Then lantern was coming toward them to: The lantern was coming toward them
pg 136 Changed: on the right or the lef side to: on the right or the left side
pg 158 Changed: who immmediately struck an attitude of defense to: who immediately struck an attitude of defense
pg 165 Changed: For a moment after Ted made his announce- to: For a moment after Ted made his announcement
pg 166 Changed: But as it so happend to: But as it so happened
pg 185 Changed: You bet is was to: You bet it was
pg 191 Changed: a distinct hinderance to their peace to: a distinct hindrance to their peace
pg 197 Changed: come from the opposit direction to: come from the opposite direction
pg 217 Changed: maybe he can use po-toes to: maybe he can use potatoes
pg 226 Changed: I’ll tell you what we’ll do know to: I’ll tell you what we do know