QUEER OPERATIONS
It was a few days after the arrival of the two strangers in town that Roger and Adrian were walking along the road that led to the village of Tully. There was nothing for them to do about the farm just then, and Adrian thought it would be a good plan to "prospect" a bit, as he called it, to see if he might come upon a deposit of old bones anywhere. For he had not forgotten his plan of selling them, or anything else he might happen upon, to raise all the money he could.
It was a fine, warm spring day, with the air full of sweet smells from the damp earth, with the tender green grass just showing above the brown soil and tiny leaves bursting from the trees. The two boys hurried on, for they too felt the sap running up in their veins, and they wanted to hop and skip and shout aloud in the very enjoyment of being alive. As for Roger, he never felt better in his life, and he knew that even his short stay in the country, though it had been during a severe and cold winter, had been of great benefit to him.
"I'll beat you down to the old button-ball tree," cried Adrian suddenly, pointing to a big sycamore about six hundred feet ahead of them on the road.
"I'll go you."
"One, two, three," counted Adrian, "Ready!" and the boys were off at the word.
For nearly three quarters of the distance Roger held his own with his cousin. Then the more sturdy legs of the country boy and his better wind told, and he drew gradually away, though Roger did not give up until the very end, when Adrian finished five feet in advance.
"You—did—better—than—I thought—you would," panted Adrian, as he flopped down on the grass under the tree to rest.
"I'm picking up," admitted Roger, modestly. "I didn't think I could keep up at all. I never could run as far as this without getting a pain in my side. But it don't seem to bother me a bit now."
"Keep at it, and when you get back home, you'll be able to challenge the best of 'em," said Adrian, as he jumped up to throw a stone at a tin can in the road, hitting the object with a resounding clang.
The boys resumed their walk, talking on topics of interest to them and keeping their eyes "peeled," as Adrian expressed it, for old bones, that they might know where to locate them when they came another day. They had gone about two miles, rambling slowly along, when, as they turned a bend in the road, they caught sight of two men carrying valises, hurrying on, just ahead of them.
"They look like book agents," ventured Adrian.
Roger glanced sharply at the receding figures.
"Why," he exclaimed, "they are the two men who are boarding at Crownheart's hotel, the ones who came in on the stage the other night. I guess they must be looking over the ground for the new railroad."
"Let's chase after them and see what they do," suggested Adrian, and then the boys, having some object in their walk, quickened their pace to catch up to Mr. Dudley and Mr. Ranquist. In a few minutes the men reached an open field on the left side of the road,—a pasture filled with big stones and bowlders that had fallen from a great ledge of rock two hundred feet high or more, which cropped out about seven hundred feet from the highway, and rose, almost abruptly, from the level of the field.
"Hold on a minute," cautioned Adrian, as he saw the men stop. "Don't let them catch us playing 'I spy'; they might not want us to follow them, even though we have a right to go where we please. We'll just wait by the tree until we see which way they turn."
The boys sat down in the shade of a big maple.
"What's that queer smell," asked Roger suddenly, sniffing the air.
"Sulphur spring," explained Adrian. "This is what they call 'Stony Farm.' Belongs to Jim Eaton, and about all it's good for is to pasture sheep. The sulphur spring comes out of that rocky ledge and runs across under the road. Some folks say the water's healthy, but it tastes too much like rotten eggs for me. The cattle won't drink it. But say, those men are going in," and he rose to peer at them.
Mr. Dudley could be seen pointing toward the big rocky hill, and he appeared to be urging his companion to advance toward it. The younger man seemed to be in favor of going farther on before turning off the road, and he indicated a place about half a mile distant. But in the end the older man prevailed, and the two, after a cautious glance on all sides, struck into the field and made their way to a path that led up on top of the out-cropping rock. After waiting until the men had well advanced, Roger and Adrian took after them.
Proceeding slowly along, the boys saw the men ascend to the top of the big ledge, and then turn to the left, going back in the direction they had come from. On top of the rocks was a sort of path, made by the sheep and cows that used it to pass into the woods during hot days. The men walked along this, for perhaps a mile, stopping every now and then to examine the ground closely. Once in a while the younger man would chip off a bit of rock, which he and his companion would look at carefully.
"I guess they're geologists getting specimens," ventured Roger.
"Maybe," admitted Adrian, who was beginning to lose interest in the men since they seemed to be doing nothing out of the ordinary. The boys followed along in silence, taking care to keep from observation.
Suddenly the two men stopped. The older one set his valise down and took something from it. This he seemed to be fitting together, and when he had finished he had a long, slender steel rod, which Mr. Ranquist, after carefully selecting a place on the surface, shoved into the soil. He twisted it about and then drew it up, after which he and Mr. Dudley carefully examined the end that had gone down into the earth.
"I have it!" exclaimed Roger. "They're prospecting for oil, that's what they are. They're not railroad surveyors at all."
"Perhaps they're after gold," suggested Adrian, all excited at the very thought. "Cracky! If there should be gold in Cardiff, wouldn't it be great? If there was only a little on dad's land, he wouldn't have to worry about that mortgage."
Adrian had started forward, forgetting the caution he previously used to prevent the men from observing him, and as he did so he dislodged a big stone, which crashed down the hillside with a clatter and bang. At the sound both men looked up suddenly and saw the startled and surprised boys. Mr. Dudley made a quick motion of closing the valise and seemed about to hurry on. But with a hasty gesture Mr. Ranquist detained him and spoke a few hurried words to his companion. Then, turning, the young engineer came slowly toward the boys, who did not know whether to go or stay.
"Live around here?" asked Mr. Ranquist, as he drew near Roger and Adrian.
"'Bout two miles—over to Cardiff," answered Adrian.
"Oh, yes. Um. Nice day, isn't it? Are you hunting?" the man asked, suddenly.
"Nope," from Adrian.
"Fishing?"
"Nope."
"What, then?"
"Prospecting."
"Prospecting?"
"Yep."
"What after?"
"Old bones."
"Old bones? Are you joking, my lad?"
"No, sir, not a bit. We're looking for old bones. They'll bring half a cent a pound, you know," and there was not the trace of a smile on Adrian's face.
"Oh, I see. Of course. Old bones. Humph! Well," and Mr. Ranquist did not seem to know whether to smile or frown. "Well, my friend and I were not exactly looking for old bones. Old stones are more in our line. You see we came out here on a visit and thought we'd take a walk out this way. We've found a fine lot of old stones," and Mr. Ranquist motioned rather vaguely toward his companion. "What are you boys after, anyhow?" he finished, suddenly.
"Nothing in particular," put in Roger, and at the sound of his voice, Mr. Ranquist turned quickly.
"Oh, it's our friend of the post-office," he exclaimed. "I remember you now. How are you?"
"Pretty well," replied Roger.
"Hum. Glad to hear it," responded Mr. Ranquist. "You're from New York, aren't you? Well, so are we, Mr. Dudley and I. Came here to sort of rest up and look around. Nice place, isn't it?"
"I think so," from Roger.
"Yes. Um. Well, Mr. Dudley and I had nothing to do so we sauntered out here."
"Is the railroad going through this place?" asked Adrian. "We heard you were railroad surveyors," he went on.
Mr. Ranquist glanced quickly at the two boys and seemed to be weighing something in his mind. Advancing toward Adrian, he said:
"Now you two young men appear to be smart and bright. If I tell you something can you keep it secret?"
"Yes, sir," chorused the two boys.
"Well, then, we are getting ready to lay out a line through here. But we don't want people to know it yet, because if they did they'd ask a good deal more for their land, which we might need, than it would be worth to us. We're willing, or that is the men who are putting the line through, are ready to pay a good price for the property, but not too much. So we came out here, without letting any one know, to look the ground over and see how it lays. Then if we like it we'll make an offer. But we don't want it talked about until we're ready to have it, that a railroad is likely to come through the valley. Do you understand?"
The boys nodded gravely.
"Now," went on Mr. Ranquist, "I like your looks, and as we need two bright, smart boys who know this part of the country well, we might like to engage you. How would you consider such a proposition?"
Adrian and Roger were silent a moment, thinking. They were wondering if they could properly accept the offer.
"It won't interfere with anything else you have to do," continued Mr. Ranquist. "We shall want you only once in a while to guide us around these parts. What do you say?"
"How much?" asked Adrian, always practical.
"Five dollars each," said Mr. Ranquist, quickly.
"For which we're to show you around when you want us and say nothing about a railroad line coming through," stipulated the boy.
"Exactly. I don't mind you telling your folks, but no one else."
"It's a go, if Roger agrees."
"Oh, I'll agree fast enough," put in Roger.
"Then here's your money," said Mr. Ranquist, as if he feared the boys might change their minds. He drew some bills from his pocket, stripped off two crisp bank notes, and passed five dollars each to Roger and Adrian. The boys took the cash as if they had been used to that sort of thing all their lives.
"Now," said Mr. Ranquist, "I guess we won't need you to-day, for as a matter of fact we're going back to the hotel. But can you come with us the day after to-morrow? We want to travel along this ridge, back into the hills, and we don't want to run the chance of getting lost. So can you meet us at the Cardiff Inn right after dinner?"
"I guess so," answered Adrian. "Yes, sir, we'll be there," and he slyly nudged Roger, warning him to make no answer.
Then the boys turned to go back down the hill, leaving Mr. Dudley and Mr. Ranquist to follow when they pleased. As Roger was about to go away he fancied he heard the older man remonstrating with Mr. Ranquist.
"We need those boys," he thought he heard the younger man say. "They'll come in handy, and I had to hire them. They were altogether too suspicious and knowing, and now I have thrown them off the track."
At which expression Roger wondered somewhat, and all the way home he was busy thinking of the mysterious operations of the new arrivals in Cardiff.