Part 27 (2/2)

”I'll take the watch beginning about 1:30 o'clock,” said Bud ”If anything happens, it'll be between then and 2:30”

”Brave boy!” commented Cub sole your watch”

”Give me the one just before Bud's,” said Hal ”Therebetween now and then you know If anybody invades the cao to bed and let him repel the invaders”

”What a methodical bunch of boys!” Mr Perry exclai we've had under you, dad,” Cub explained

”I'll take the first watch, if it suits everybody,” Max announced

”Say, father, you ought to let us have your auto doing,” replied the cautious adult, shaking his head vigorously

”I'd rather run the risk of being wiped out by a band of bandits than to run the risk of your shooting one of us if we should happen to walk in our sleep If any of you boys see or hear anything suspicious, just call , if any is to be done You ood stout clubs if you wish to, however”

And so it was thus arranged, and while Max took his post on a caht rest on their cots under the canvas shelter

CHAPTER XXV

Bud Shoots

For nearly half an hour Bud had kept his eyes fixed almost continuously on a certain spot in the dark shadow at the edge of the thicket directly south of the tent, which faced west His attention had been drawn to this spot thirty or forty times after he relieved Max at 1:30 o'clock, and the cause of his interest was a slightof position by an anih enough to shed ht in the open area in which the tent was pitched The sky was clear, and because of the deep shadows in which this spot was ed, the heavens, to Bud's eyes, were studded with ht thus afforded, the boy sentinel was able to make out what appeared to be portions of the forhts varying froround Meanwhile he congratulated hienuity he had resorted to in order to prepare hi outlook

Soon after Mr Perry announced his intention not to allow any of the boys to have possession of his pistol while on guard, Bud's mind became busy on plans for the contrivance of a substitute In accord with Mr Perry's concession, each of the boys cut for himself a stout stick to be used as a weapon of defense if necessary, and to suppleather a few dozen stones about the size of a hen's egg in order that heobjects should appear to his view

Then he happened to ree rubber band in a small and little-used pocket of his coat He had put it there for no particular reason, perhaps merely to save it He had found it about three weeks before and the unusual size and strength of elasticity of the band was enough to interest any boy in the habit of seeing the adventurous possibilities of little things

With the aid of his searchlight, Bud found a se of the open area, iuard post, and cut it off Then he returned to his seat near the tent and began to whittle The purpose of this whittling must soon have been evident to an observer, for he held the object up frequently and viewed it, with the calculating eye of a ”dead shot,” until at last he was satisfied with the length and ”grip” of the handle and the sys of a fork

Bud was always veryhe made must be ”just so,” hence the results were usually effective, as well as artistic to a degree In this instance, even the notches that he cut around the extrerooved, in spite of the liret he had was the fact that he possessed no good strong cord, about the size of fishline, hich to attach two separate sections of the rubber band to the prongs at the grooves As substitute for such cord he had provided himself with some strands of the rope hich the hands of their prisoner, ”Captain” Howard, had been tied After all the other details of his mechanical labor had been completed, he took from one of his pockets an old and inexpensive pouch-like pocketbook, emptied the contents into a trouser pocket and proceeded to cut out a section of the pouch to a size and shape suited to his needs The rubber band he had cut into two equal lengths and in the leather section froes

The asse of the parts of his contrivance was now speedily acco in a very neat hand-catapult of a kind hich every boy is fath of the connections by stretching the rubbers several tith, Bud looked about hiathered a supply of sed when he first observed a movement in the shadow of the thicket to the south of his position Then, indeed, he congratulated himself on the preparation he had just ainst stealthy and hostile movements on the part of the enemy about the camp under cover of the darkness

Bud was not, by nature, a blood-thirsty boy All of these preparations for battle were ht of the actual effect of one of his missiles should it hit his mark His industry was inspired more by the ht result Hence, when the time came for him to make use of his weapon ”with deadly intent,” he found himself in a hesitant frame ofthe caine other than a hu capable of such interest

Bud finally came to the conclusion that the animal half hidden in the shadow of the bushes was a man, and that the latter's interest was centered in ”Captain” Howard, whom he doubtless believed to be held prisoner within the four canvas walls of the tent

”I bet he's one of those four men that took Hal and me and marooned us on that other island,” the boyfor a chance to set our prisoner free, but he's doooodness!”

Bud whirled around suddenly as a new possibility occurred to hiht noise like the cautious tread of a man's foot The next instant a cry of alarm almost escaped him as he saw a huoodness!” he repeated aloud, but in subdued tone, as he recognized the approaching youth ”You'd better announce yourself, Max, before you come onto an armed person under such circumstances as these”