Part 5 (1/2)
”I can't find it anywhere,” he lamented, ”and I'm dead sure I left it there on the pile of blankets. Hugh, somebody's been in the shack while we were away, and cribbed the plan for my aeroplane stability device!”
CHAPTER VI
A RED LETTER DAY IN THE WOODS
Both Hugh and Ralph looked serious when their comrade made this announcement.
”That's a tough deal on you, old fellow!” said the latter, feeling that it must mean considerable to Bud to have his idea stolen just when it was giving promise of being a signal success.
”Sure you left them there on the pile of blankets, are you?” asked ever practical Hugh.
”That's right, he did,” Ralph volunteered. ”I remember seeing some papers there when I went out, and I was the last to leave, you know.
And you say that they've clean disappeared, have they, Bud?”
”Come on in and see if either of you have sharper eyes than I seem to have,” the other scout demanded.
Accepting the invitation, Hugh and Ralph bustled about for several minutes, hunting all through the interior of the shack, but without any success.
”Nothing here, that's sure,” admitted the patrol leader. ”It was careless of you to leave your precious plan behind when you went to try the model out.”
Bud scratched his tousled head as though endeavoring to collect his wits.
”Let me see,” he started to say, slowly; ”don't blame me if I'm all mixed up over this business. I've waited so long for this time to come that I'm sure rattled, that's what's the matter. What did I lay down here? Some parts of the plans for the model, that goes without saying; but seems like I've got a paper in my pocket right now. Let's see, I honestly believe that it's the key to the invention. Just what it is, boys; and without this, n.o.body'd ever know what all those markings on the other papers were meant for.”
”Then it's all right, after all?” asked Hugh, smiling again when he saw that suggestive grin on his comrade's face.
”It seems that I can make an aeroplane fool proof, when all the time the fool killer ought to get hold of me,” Bud confessed contritely.
”It was certainly careless of me to leave any part of my precious papers floating around, and only good luck has saved me from being left high and dry. But perhaps those fellows will think they've got hold of some remarkable design. They might crack their brains trying to make it out, and then not learn a single thing. When a fellow laughs last, he's going to laugh best, believe me.”
”Well, next time be more careful, that's all,” advised Ralph. ”You can't always count on being so lucky. An inventor ought to keep his secrets locked up, and not let them lie around loose. You'll find that there are plenty of sly thieves ready to steal ideas, as well as money and jewels. An idea that's worth a fortune can be cribbed a heap easier than the coin itself.”
”Only a part of the morning's gone,” announced Hugh. ”How shall we put in the rest of the day?”
”Oh! I'll be pretty busy making repairs to my model,” Bud replied.
”You two fellows can find plenty to interest you both. Only don't roam too far afield in looking up interesting things. With that mysterious pair hanging out around here, I won't feel any too easy in my mind. My idea may be worth a cool million, you know.”
While Bud was working diligently, the other two amused themselves first of all by closely examining the ground just before the door of the cabin.
”Here you can see several imprints of that fine pair of shoes,” Ralph said almost immediately; ”and that makes it look as though the man who wore them really did slip inside while we were away. Chances are, he wonders what boys wearing khaki suits like the regular soldiers of the army are up here for. You agree with me, don't you, Hugh?”
”It looks that way,” admitted the other. ”Here you see one of the impressions has stopped short only a few inches from the door, as if the man stood here listening before stepping in, after carefully removing the piece of rope we fixed to hold the door shut from the outside.”
”But how do you know that that impression wasn't made twenty-four hours ago?” asked Bud, who was sitting cross-legged close by and listening to their talk, even while he worked at his broken wing tip.
”Nothing could be easier,” replied Hugh. ”Here's the foot mark I purposely made when I came out of the cabin last, and you can see that he stepped into the same place. That tells us he was here _afterward_. Get that, don't you, Bud?”
”I'd be a donkey if I didn't, and not worthy of being called a scout,”
the other boy remarked with scathing emphasis. ”Fact is, if my mind wasn't so much wrapped up with this aeroplane stability device, I couldn't have missed seeing that little trick myself if I'd looked the ground over; because that happens to be one of the first things I ever learned about tracking and trailing.”