Chapter XXVI An Astonishing Discovery - The Rover Boys under Canvas by Edward Stratemeyer
"What does this mean, Captain Rover?" demanded Professor Brice, as he rushed up, lantern in hand and followed quickly by Major Ralph Mason and a dozen other cadets.
"I caught this rascal cutting the ropes to our tent," explained Jack.
"Gee, you'd better hold that tent down!" cried one of the cadets.
"There go three of the ropes now!" And what he said was true, the ropes in question being those that Werner had partly severed with his knife.
Fred had come out of the tent, and now he and a number of the other cadets held down the canvas so that the wind could not get under it.
It was blowing furiously, so that they had no easy job of it to keep the tent from going up.
"Do you mean to say he really cut the ropes here?" demanded Professor Brice sternly, as Werner gathered himself together on the wet ground and slowly arose to his feet.
"Yes, sir," said Jack. "And there is the knife he did it with," he added, pointing to the pocket piece which had fallen under the ex-lieutenant.
"It was--er--it was--er--only a bit of fun," stammered Werner, not knowing what else to say. "And Jack Rover had no right to pitch into me the way he did!"
"I had a perfect right to do so, Professor Brice," announced Jack. "If I wanted to say more--- But I won't do it now," he added. "I'll make a report to you in private."
By this time the camp was in an uproar, for down the line where Company C was located there had been another rumpus. Gif, going out on guard duty, had caught sight of Bill Glutts just as the latter had cut two of the ropes to the tent occupied by him and Spouter and the twins. Gif had treated the wholesale butcher's son rather roughly, and Glutts had finally yelled for mercy, bringing out a crowd of twenty or thirty, including the twins.
"This is a despicable piece of business, Werner," said Professor Brice sternly. "I will at once report the matter to Captain Dale, who, as you know, is in authority in this camp. Come along with me."
Captain Dale had been down to the shore of the bay, to make certain that there was no danger of the tents which were used for bath houses being blown away. He soon came up and looked closely at the ropes which Werner had partly severed.
"I don't like this sort of thing at all," he said to the ex-lieutenant. "If that tent had come down while those inside were asleep somebody might have been seriously injured. More than that, nobody would care to be without shelter on such a night as this, and with all their possessions getting wet. You will report to the corporal of the guard at once." Then Captain Dale passed on to where the others were having trouble with Glutts, and he was also ordered to report to the guard.
In the meanwhile, as the storm seemed to be increasing, Captain Dale gave orders that the fastenings of every tent should be inspected thoroughly and extra ropes and pegs should be put down wherever necessary. He did not want any of the school property damaged.
"Gee, we'll catch it for this!" growled Bill Glutts, when he and Werner had been placed in a small wooden shanty, designated a guardhouse. "I suppose they'll make us do all sorts of disagreeable things as a punishment."
"I won't stand for it!" stormed Werner, whose nose was still bleeding from the blow Jack had dealt. "They can't make me the laughingstock of this camp."
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going home," announced the ex-lieutenant.
And that is what he did, stealing away from the camp early in the morning just as the heavy storm of the night was passing away. He managed to get a few of his possessions, but the others had to be left behind. He wanted Glutts to go with him, but the son of the wholesale butcher was afraid to do so.
In the morning Jack and the others had to make a full report to Captain Dale of what had occurred. The young captain mentioned the fact that Werner had had his pocketknife in his hand.
"I'm not sure that he was going to use it," said Jack. "In fact, I would rather think that he wouldn't do so. But I wasn't going to take any chances, and so I hit him. Then he hit back, and--well, we mixed it up pretty freely. Finally I gave him a blow that knocked him flat, and then the others came up."
"Captain Rover, you know I do not approve of fighting, especially among officers," declared Captain Dale sternly. "However, the introduction of the pocketknife changes the situation somewhat. I will hear what Werner has to say."
Then it was discovered that Gabe Werner had left the camp. He had written a note saying that he was going home and that he guessed he would never come back to Colby Hall again. This being so, the matter was dropped so far as Jack was concerned. Nor was Gif punished for the way he had treated Bill Glutts. Captain Dale read a stern lecture to that unworthy, and for the remainder of the camp term Glutts was deprived of many liberties he might otherwise have enjoyed.
It must not be supposed that the boys had forgotten the strange noises they had heard while in the woods and in the cavern at the front of the cliff. They had reported to Captain Dale, and several investigations had been made, but without results. The captain had also communicated with the authorities at Rackville, and likewise with the Secret Service men stationed at Camp Huxwell.
"Well, I see they haven't made any progress in the matter of that explosion at the Hasley Shell Loading plant," remarked Spouter one day, after reading a copy of the Haven Point newspaper which had come in. "They are looking all over for those two Germans, but have been unable to spot 'em."
"I see the company is offering a reward of ten thousand dollars for the apprehension of the men," came from Fred, who had likewise read the sheet. "Gee, I'd like to get a chance at that reward!"
The next day the boys were treated to another surprise. As was their custom when the weather and their duties permitted, they went in bathing, and while diving Fred noticed a peculiar knocking sound under water. He called the attention of the others to this, and each cadet heard it quite plainly.
"It must come from the same place as those other noises we heard,"
declared Jack.
"I move we make a real investigation!" cried Andy. "Let's ask for a day off and scour the woods thoroughly."
"That's the talk," cried Fred.
The others were willing, and received permission to go out two days later, the party consisting of the four Rovers and Gif and Spouter.
They took their lunch with them, and also some canteens of water, expecting to be gone until nightfall.
There was quite a discussion as to how they should start the investigation. Some wanted to go along the base of the cliff at the water's edge, while others were for making their way through the forest. The latter suggestion prevailed, and they started near the point where Randy had first heard the strange noises.
The young cadets tramped hither and thither among the trees and over the rough rocks for four hours without coming upon anything unusual.
They stirred up a number of birds and small animals, but that was all.
"Looks like a wild-goose chase," remarked Jack, when they sat down to rest and to eat their lunch.
The climbing over the rocks had been very tiring, and all of the lads were glad after eating to take their ease for a while.
Randy was resting on his side, wondering whether it would be worth while to play a trick on Gif and Spouter, who were but a few feet away, when a movement among the trees at a distance attracted his attention. He sat up, and as he did so felt certain that he had seen a man moving along.
"Listen, boys!" he cried in a low voice. "There is some one now!"
"Where?" came from the others, and all aroused themselves on the instant.
Randy pointed out the direction, and, gathering up their things, the cadets hurried off to where he had pointed. There, sure enough, was a man plodding along with a bundle over his shoulder. He was a short, thick-set man, and wore a heavy mustache curled up at the ends.
"Let's see where he goes," said Jack. "Maybe he'll take us to that place where the noises come from."
They followed the man without his being aware of their presence. The fellow climbed over and around a number of rocks, and then pursued his way past a dense clump of bushes. Then, of a sudden, he disappeared from view.
The cadets were amazed, the more so after they had tramped around the spot without ascertaining what had become of the man.
"Looks as if the earth had opened and swallowed him up," remarked Randy.
The cadets had advanced with caution, but now they grew bolder, and made a closer examination. But it was all of no avail--the man had disappeared, and where he had gone to or how, there was no telling.
"One thing is sure," declared Jack. "He didn't walk away from here, and he didn't go up into the air. That being so, he must have gone down somewhere among the rocks and bushes. We had better hunt around for some sort of an opening to a cave, or something like that."
The others were willing enough, and spent the best part of an hour in the task. But no opening presented itself, although the rocks and rough places in that vicinity were numerous.
"Here is something else we can report to Captain Dale," was Fred's comment.
Not knowing what else to do, the boys marked the spot so that they could remember it, and then pushed onward through the forest. Two hours later they reached a sort of gully, with the rough rocks on one side and an overhanging cliff on the other.
"Fine place for snakes," remarked Spouter, as they walked along.
"We're not looking for snakes, so please don't mention them," answered Jack.
Why they did it, the boys could not explain afterwards, but they continued along the gully until they reached a point where there was something of a split in the face of the cliff.
"Here's another one of those caves just like that which we found over on the bay front," declared Fred. "Let's go in and see what it looks like."
With nothing in particular in view, the others were willing, and, turning on a flashlight which they had brought along, they climbed down into the cave-like opening. It was very irregular in shape, and they had to proceed with caution.
And then, while they were climbing down among the rocks, something happened which caused each of the cadets to start wildly. A strange rumbling sound filled the air, a blowing and hissing, and then came a pounding and a clanking, sounding with great clearness in that confined space.
"It's the same noises we heard before, and they are not very far off!"
cried Jack to the others. "There must be a workshop of some sort around here."
Hardly knowing what to expect, the boys continued to climb down into the opening they had discovered. Soon they reached a narrow passageway, where going was a little easier. Then they came to a spot where there was considerable wetness, showing that they had reached the level of the water in the bay beyond.
"Here is a regular underground waterway," declared Gif presently. "It looks to be pretty deep, too."
He was right. To the surprise of everybody they had come out upon what seemed to be an underground pond. On the side upon which they had emerged there was a small sandy slope. The other side, and the far end, were covered with jagged rocks.
The strange blowing, pounding, and clanking continued, and almost deafened the cadets. They felt that they were on the point of a great discovery, but could not imagine what it would be.
"It's a workshop, all right enough," declared Fred, a minute later.
"Jack, put out that light, quick!" And at this command the flashlight was turned off.
The cadets had rounded a bend of the underground waterway, and now at a distance they saw a number of electric lights shining brightly.
There was some machinery set up among the rocks, and several workmen were present, all seemingly busy.
"Look!" exclaimed Jack, his eyes almost starting out of his head at the sight. "What do you think of that, fellows?"
He pointed to a spot beyond where the strange men were working. There the waterway seemed to broaden and deepen, and in the water lay a strange-looking craft more than three-quarters submerged.
"It's a submarine!" breathed Fred excitedly. "A submarine! What do you know about that?"