Chapter 19 The Message in the Hollow Oak by Carolyn Keene
Mr. Drew’s Strategy
It was too late to overtake the guide. Bent upon redressing the wrong which had been done him by Tom Stripe, Pete Atkins had slipped away into the dense woods, all the while avoiding the well-worn trails.
“What a pity he didn’t wait,” Mr. Drew said regretfully. “Soon the authorities will be here.”
This was news to the others, since the attorney had neglected to mention the fact that he had called upon the sheriff that morning while in Wellington Lake. There he had received the assurance that men would be sent immediately to protect Nancy’s property.
“An expert surveyor will come along, too,” Mr. Drew told his daughter. “After he has gone over the land we’ll know exactly where we stand. Until we are absolutely certain that the property is the same as that deeded to you by the Velvet Company, we shall have to move slowly.”
“How many men will the sheriff bring along with him?” Norman Ranny inquired.
“Not very many, I am afraid. It would be a good idea if we could round up some others. Buck Sawtice and his men are likely to offer us armed resistance.”
“I think we could find a number of woodsmen who might be willing to join the possé,” the prospector said slowly.
“I’ll be glad to go,” Mr. Dawson spoke up. “And both of my sons are mighty handy when it comes to protectin’ property.”
“We hope there will be no necessity for a fight,” Mr. Drew returned, “though we shall have to be prepared for it.”
Norman Ranny knew of several families living in the immediate vicinity. While he rode in one direction to spread word of the gathering possé, Nancy and George with young Jake went the opposite way to ask for similar help. They returned to the Dawson cabin with several neighbors riding behind them.
“I feel like a modern Joan of Arc leading her warriors to battle,” Nancy confessed with a smile to George as they dismounted. “I shouldn’t want to miss this adventure for anything in the world.”
The girls discovered that during their absence the Wellington Lake sheriff and his deputies had arrived. The yard swarmed with horsemen. A few minutes later Norman Ranny returned with additional numbers.
As the group waited for orders to start off, Mr. Drew crossed over to the place where the girls were standing with Mrs. Dawson. Nancy surmised what his purpose was at once.
“Now, Father, don’t tell us we can’t go,” she forestalled him. “With all these men along to protect us, you surely can’t say it won’t be safe.”
“That’s just what I did intend to say, you young tease!”
“We’ll be very careful, if you’ll only permit us to go along.”
“The trip will be a hazardous one at best, Nancy. I’ll not be able to keep an eye on all of you. If there only could be some way whereby we might keep in close communication with one another, even though separated——”
“I know of a way!” Nancy cried, her eyes lighting up with inspiration.
“How?” Mr. Drew smiled.
“Why, the old hollow oak tree!”
“I don’t understand.”
“You couldn’t, because I’ve never told you about it. It happens that on the Chap property there stands an old hollow oak tree which would be an ideal place in which to leave a message. I propose that should any one of us get into trouble, that person will endeavor to drop a note in this famous tree.”
It was obvious, however, that Carson Drew was not particularly impressed with the idea.
“I’ve never even seen this tree,” he protested.
“We can have Mr. Ranny point it out so that everyone will be certain of its location,” Nancy went on, growing more enthusiastic as she spoke. “He told me only a few minutes ago that we would pass close to it on our way to visit my property.”
Mr. Drew conceded defeat.
“If I turn this idea down, I feel sure you’ll think up another,” he laughed. “I still am convinced that it is unwise to take you with me, though I suppose I must give in.”
“How can we leave any notes when we have neither paper nor pencil?” Bess questioned doubtfully.
Nancy ran to the house for the necessary articles, which she distributed among her friends.
“I know you think the plan won’t work,” she told her father a little later as he assisted her into the saddle, “but you never can tell.”
“Perhaps it isn’t as wild a scheme as I thought at first, Nancy. At least I’ll reserve judgment until after I’ve seen this mysterious old oak.”
The possé set off through the timber, and slowly began the steep, rocky ascent. Nancy, her father and her chums were mounted on spirited horses. Gradually they forged ahead until they eventually found themselves leading the cavalcade. Then presently the Drew girl moved ahead of the party eagerly. As she rounded a bend in the trail, she suddenly halted her horse, for through the trees she had caught a glimpse of a dark object lying prone upon the ground. She was almost certain it was a man. Her first thought had been that Buck Sawtice and some of his confederates were watching the trail.
“I must be careful not to lead the party into a trap,” she reasoned to herself.
Waiting motionless, she watched the figure in the bushes. It did not move.
“What do you see?” called her father.
Convinced that her fears were groundless, Nancy sprang from the saddle before answering. Tossing the reins over a small bush, she pushed aside the foliage. There she came upon Pete Atkins, who was lying face downward on the ground.
“Pete!” she cried fearfully.
The guide made no response as the girl attempted to turn him over. Then she noticed that his shirt was saturated with blood. Alarmed, Nancy ran back, calling for help.
“Come quickly, Father!” she cried. “Pete Atkins has been wounded!”
All the riders urged their horses on to a faster pace. Upon reaching the bend in the trail, they hastily dismounted.
“Careful, men,” the sheriff warned them. “This may be a trick.”
On the alert for any trouble, the men followed Nancy to the place where Pete Atkins lay.
“Pete’s been shot. Comb the woods and see if you can find the person who did it!” the sheriff ordered, bending down to examine the guide.
He had brought along a first-aid kit, and after probing about for the bullet, bandaged the wounded shoulder. As the officer worked, the guide opened his eyes and groaned with pain.
“Who did it, Pete?” the sheriff asked gently.
The man was too exhausted to answer him.
“It must have been an unprovoked attack,” Norman Ranny announced furiously. “I imagine Pete was shot from behind!”
The members of the possé were returning from their unsuccessful search of the surrounding woods. Not a living soul had been sighted.
“Will Pete live?” Nancy asked the sheriff anxiously, as they got out of hearing of the wounded man.
“Yes, I think his chances are very good,” she was told. “But he’s so weak from loss of blood that we won’t be able to take him with us.”
“Why can’t you assign one of the men to remain with him?”
“That’s probably the best thing to do,” the sheriff agreed.
One of the men from Wellington Lake was selected for that duty. After Pete had been carefully moved to a more comfortable place and laid upon an improvised bed of blankets, the party prepared to proceed onward again.
It was apparent to everyone that an entirely new feeling had come over the men. At first they had regarded the expedition as more or less of an adventure. Now, infuriated at the heartless treatment Pete had received, they were eager to avenge themselves upon his assailant. Their faces were grim and determined.
“I don’t like the looks of things,” Carson Drew said anxiously as he assisted Nancy to mount. “I fear that this shooting forebodes trouble. I only wish that you and your chums were back safe with Mrs. Dawson.”
“We’ll be careful,” Nancy promised. “Please don’t worry about us.”
“I can’t help it, for all the responsibility rests on me. However, I’ve been thinking over that idea of yours, and if it will work, maybe you’ll be all right.”
“You mean the one about the oak tree?”
“Yes. If anything should go wrong and we were to become separated, try to drop a message in the hollow trunk.”
“I most certainly will. But I doubt if anything serious is going to happen. We have so many guards to protect us.”
“I hope you’re right, Nancy.”
As they continued along the trail at a much swifter pace than before, the attorney rode close to the girls. At length the possé arrived at the knoll from which Nancy had previously viewed her property. Here the riders halted for orders.
Nancy, her father, and Norman Ranny all dismounted in order that the girl might obtain a more advantageous position from which to view the scene in the valley below. Several men were working feverishly near the cliff where Ranny had discovered gold.
“There’s Buck Sawtice directing the removal of the ore,” the prospector announced bitterly, training his powerful field glass upon one of the men.
He handed it over to Nancy.
“I take it that Sawtice will refuse to allow our man to survey the property,” Carson Drew remarked, thinking aloud.
“That’s to be expected,” the prospector agreed. “He’ll not give up the land if he can help it.”
“No. But if we take the camp by surprise, the chance of their resisting will be much less.”
“We can descend from the knoll without being seen from below,” Ranny stated. “The tall bushes make a perfect screen.”
So saying, he indicated a trail Nancy had not seen during her previous visit. The two men returned to the sheriff to give their orders.
Nancy was about to follow, when a slight sound in the bushes attracted her attention. She saw a man crawling rapidly on his hands and knees through the foliage and then scramble to his feet, to race madly toward the camp below.
“A lookout!” Nancy called in frantic warning. “Stop him before he gives an alarm!”