Part 23 (1/2)
”Check.”
”And not far from the same spot, Mr. Silverton or Dobbs come upon two dead birds. Check?”
”Sure,” admitted Red, ”but I still don't see-”
”We know someone has been using the old logging road. Well, maybe that log jam was put in the creek for a purpose.”
”To make a bridge across,” supplied Dan. ”Whoever did it, wanted the dam to look natural.”
”You think someone planned to flood the pheasant runs?” Chips asked.
”No,” Brad explained patiently, ”that part probably was an accident. The bridge was just a convenient means of getting into this section of the woodland.”
”Then you believe someone has been stealing pheasants from Mr.
Silverton?” Red said slowly.
”Ah, the bright boy is catching on!” declared Brad.
”Your theory may sound good to you, but I'd say it's full of holes like a sieve,” Red retorted.
”For instance?”
”Well, Saul Dobbs must have known about that log jam. And living on the place, how could he help but know if a strange car used the old road?”
”That's what I'm wondering myself.”
Hardly knowing what to do, Brad stood staring thoughtfully up the dark, mysterious looking path. It had not been used many times, he knew, for the gra.s.s was worn thin in only a few places. Elsewhere, it merely was heavily trampled.
Though tempted to see where the trail led, he hesitated to take time to explore it. Soon it would be quite dark, and none of the Cubs had brought a flashlight.
Furthermore, with night coming on, the air was becoming chilly. In their damp clothing, the boys already were thoroughly uncomfortable.
”What do you say, Brad?” Dan asked eagerly. ”Shall we find out where this path leads?”
The question stirred the Den Chief to decision.
”We might follow it a little ways,” he said. ”But someone ought to stay here, just in case Mack or Fred should come looking for us.”
”I don't want to stay-not alone,” announced Chips, as the Den Chief's gaze singled him out.
”Then you and Red wait here together,” Brad directed. ”Dan and I won't be gone long.”
”If you hear us whistle twice, come a-running,” Chips advised as the pair started off together. ”Mr. Hatfield may get back any minute and want us all in a hurry.”
With Dan leading the way, the two boys walked swiftly along the path. The ground sloped upward away from the general direction of the creek. All along the tunnel of bushes, Brad noticed broken branches, indicating to his observing eye that an object wider than the path itself had been carried along the trail.
”I hardly can see ahead,” Dan complained. ”It's sure getting dark fast.”
”Since we've come this far, let's keep on a little longer,” Brad urged.