The Boy Scout Treasure Hunters; Or, The Lost Treasure of Buffalo Hollow Read online

  Produced by Roger Frank and the Online DistributedProofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net

  A few rapid and accurate strokes with the pick loosenedthe hard earth. (Page 96) Frontispiece]

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  THE BOY SCOUT TREASURE HUNTERS

  orTHE LOST TREASURE OF BUFFALO HOLLOW

  byCHARLES HENRY LERRIGO

  Illustrated ByCHARLES L. WRENN

  Published With The Approval OfTHE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA

  PublishersBARSE & HOPKINSNew York, N. Y.--Newark, N. J.

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  Copyright 1917 by Barse & Hopkins

  The Boy Scout Treasure Hunters

  Printed in the United States of America

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  TO MY SONFRANK LERRIGOIN THE HOPE THAT IT MAYHELP HIM TO BE A"GOOD SCOUT"

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  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER PAGE I Glen Mason Runs Away 9 II A Friend and a Foe 22 III Jolly Bill Is Considerably Upset 34 IV How Mother Cares 46 V Treacherous Indians at Buffalo Lake 56 VI Getting Acquainted 68 VII Glen Is Initiated 79 VIII Matt Burton's Treasure Find 91 IX Glen Enlists 102 X J. Jervice and His Gang 112 XI Glen Follows a False Trail 120 XII The Bee Tree 133 XIII The Chase on the Motor-Bike 144 XIV Safe at Camp Buffalo 154 XV Strength and Loyalty 167 XVI Detective Matty 177 XVII The End of the Jervice Gang 189 XVIII Glen and Apple Find the Cave 203 XIX Buried in the Cave 214 XX The Treasure of Buffalo Lake 227 XXI What Became of Them 240

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  ILLUSTRATIONS

  PAGEA few rapid and accurate strokes with the pickloosened the hard earth Frontispiece

  "Brave Man!" sneered the leader. "Get me a littlerope an' I'll do him up scientific" 131

  Glen watched the three walk back up the road ata lock-step gait 198

  With the lighted lanterns they could get a betteridea of their surroundings 211

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  THE BOY SCOUT TREASURE HUNTERS

  CHAPTER I

  GLEN MASON RUNS AWAY

  It was the supper hour at the State Industrial School for Boys, known tothe general public as "The Reform School."

  Glen Mason sat on a long bench trying to hold the place next to himagainst the stealthy ravages of the boys who crowded him.

  "Where's Nixy?" he inquired angrily of his neighbor on the right. "Didhe go to town again?"

  "He's back," the boy replied. "Just got in an' had to go up and changehis clothes. Had the toothache again to-day, he told me. Here he comes,now."

  A lanky boy of fifteen or sixteen got into the vacant seat just as thechaplain rose to say grace. After grace no loud talking was permitted,but no objection was made to whispered conversations that did notbecome too noisy.

  "How's it come you go to town so often and I don't ever get to go,Nixy?" whispered Glen, the moment grace was ended.

  "One thing you don't have the toothache, another thing you get too manydemerits. The fellows that get to town have to go thirty days without ablack sign. You never could do it, Glen."

  "I could if I wanted. I'm twenty days now. Wouldn't hurt me to goanother ten. If I went to town alone I'd never come back."

  "It ain't so easy, Glen. You have to wear your uniform so everybodyknows what you are. If you aren't back by six o'clock they have thepolice after you. The old man made a great talk about his honor system,but as long as you have to wear your uniform there's plenty of people towatch you."

  "I could find a way to get around that," insisted Glen.

  "Well, so could I. I've got one all planned out that I'm going to worksome day. I'll get leave to go to the dentist late some afternoon. Thecar to come back leaves his office at five o'clock. He doesn't want tostay until five because he goes off to play golf. So he'll leave me inhis waiting-room when he goes. I'll have a suit of overalls rolled upunder my uniform. Soon as the doctor goes I'll change my clothes. Youcan't get out without being seen but I'll hide right there in thebuilding till it closes and then get down the fire-escape."

  "I guess somebody'd see you go down and a policeman would get you."

  "I guess they wouldn't. I wouldn't try till late at night when therewasn't anybody around. Then I'd pick a dark night, and that fire-escapeis in the back end of the building, so I guess there wouldn't nobody seeme."

  "Oh, mebbe there wouldn't. Supposin' you did get away. Where'd you go?"

  "I'd have that all fixed. I'd put on my other clothes and pitch myuniform away and that night would get me twenty-five miles wherenobody'd think of looking for me."

  "Oh, I dunno. I guess you'd be easy picked up. Anybody could tell you amile off. All to do is to look for a broom handle out walking all byitself."

  "Broom handle yourself, Glen Mason. I've got the makings of a big man ifever I'd get enough to eat."

  "You go high enough up to be a big man, but you've stretched too much.If you'd ever learn to be a contortionist and tie yourself into threeknots close together, you'd do better."

  "You're always saying something mean. I wish I hadn't told you my planat all."

  "I won't do anything to your old plan."

  "I ain't so sure. 'Twouldn't be above ye to steal it."

  "I s'pose you dare me to do it."

  "Yes, I dare ye to do it."

  "An' you think I'd steal a plan from a mate?"

  "I think you'd do anything."

  There were many who had just as poor an opinion of Glen. He himselffound it remarkably easy to do mean and low acts and had almost ceasedto wonder at himself. Every day seemed to find a lower level for hissetting. Nixon had correctly guessed his thoughts. Already he wasturning over in his mind the feasibility of Nixon's plan of escape andwondering if he could himself take advantage of it. He had been in thereform school over a year, but it had not reformed him. The newsuperintendent, with his kindness, had won the hearts of many of themost wayward boys, but no impression had he made on Glen. As a matter offact the boy rather laughed at his foolishness. To put boys on theirhonor, to trust the merit boys to go into town without guard, all wasnew policy, and the only interest Glen had in it was to take advantageof it. Let him get one single chance to go to town alone and the reformschool would see no more of him. Just what he would do he did not know.Sometimes a fleeting thought of going home to see the mother whose heartmust be almost broken by his waywardness and the young sister andbrother who were carefully guarded from knowle
dge of the disgrace he hadbrought upon them would come to him. But though he was supposed to bedead to impulses for reform there always crept into his mind the desirethat his return home should be only when he had enough money and enoughhonor so that he should not be welcomed as a penitent but as aconquering hero. Glen was much given to great thoughts of the mightythings he would do and the high stations he would occupy. Unfortunatelyhis pride of thought had never made him insist that his inclinationyield to right instead of to desire. Glen Mason's fault was easilysummed up--he desired always his own way and had so allowed thisinclination to fill his life that he was utterly regardless of others.Given his own way he was a pleasant chum, a good friend and a bravecomrade.

  When Glen wanted a thing very badly he would go to great lengths to getit. Having set for his goal the thirty days of good behavior marks hewas bound to win it, though greatly to the surprise of the officers whohad never known Glen to pass so long a time without fracturing a greatnumber of rules. No sooner was his time up than he asked leave to go totown to visit the dentist.

  The Superintendent was rather disturbed by the request. He had been bothpleased and surprised by Glen's good behavior. Now that the boy hadearned the privilege of going to town without guard he did not wish tospoil his good work by a refusal to trust him. Yet he was suspicious. Heasked that Glen be sent to the office.

  "Why do you want to go to the dentist, Glen?" he asked kindly. "Whatattention do your teeth need?"

  Glen was confused. So far as he knew his teeth were sound as bullets. Hehad not sunk to the place where lies were easy of expression.

  "I don't know just what, sir," he stammered, wishing that he could thinkof something. "The dentist will know what they need."

  This was as good an answer as he could have made, although stumbled onby chance.

  "You want the dentist to go over them to find what is the matter, doyou?" said the soft-hearted superintendent.

  "Yes, sir. I want the dentist to find what is the matter."

  "It isn't a bad idea," said the superintendent. "It won't be necessaryfor you to go to town, though, for the dentist is coming out here nextweek."

  "But I don't want to wait until next week," cried Glen. "I want to goto-day. I want him to pull one out."

  "Which one?" inquired the superintendent.

  It made little difference to Glen which tooth he denoted for thesacrifice. Now that he had told the lie he would stay by it. He pointedto a big double tooth and resolved that he would remember it.

  The superintendent looked at the tooth and at the boy.

  "Perhaps you don't know how much that tooth is worth?"

  "No, sir," agreed Glen.

  "A very conservative price is a hundred dollars, at your age. Youwouldn't throw a hundred dollars away."

  "No, sir; but I want it pulled."

  It was all very well to talk of a hundred dollars, but when Glen had hismind set on a matter he would make any sacrifice.

  "Well, you must not have it pulled. But have the dentist look at it. Iwill give you a pass for this afternoon. You will wear your uniform,walk to the car line and take the street car to the dentist's office.Let me ask you one thing, Glen. Don't forget to come back."

  It was as if the superintendent read his thoughts. Glen changed colorand looked foolish. He could think of only one thing to say. "At whattime, sir?"

  "You will be in by six o'clock. As you go to town and see the boys atliberty on the streets remember that if you keep up your good behavioryou may soon be paroled and be as free as they. All you have to do,Glen, is to keep it up."

  As he went to put on his uniform, the hated uniform that made it so hardfor him to lose himself in the crowd, Glen realized better how it wasthat Nixon and some of the others who had been given liberty in town hadnever violated their trust. It seemed abominably mean and small to goback on a man like this. He actually began to have his own doubts. Butit was very hard for Glen Mason to give up anything on which he had sethis heart.

  There were several things went wrong which were quite disturbing. In thefirst place he was obliged to change his clothing under the eye of thephysical director which utterly spoiled any scheme of hiding a suit ofoveralls under his uniform. The walk to the street car and the ride tothe doctor's office would have been very enjoyable had not every onestared at him and his uniform. More than once he heard some one say"There goes a reform school boy." Then the dentist did all manner ofthings in his efforts to find the nonexistent aching tooth. Finally hedid find an area of tenderness in an entirely different tooth to the onespecified.

  "Does this tooth hurt you more than the others!" he asked.

  "It does," Glen agreed, quite truthfully, an involuntary "Ouch"following his words.

  "I thought as much," the doctor observed. "It is often hard to locatethe pain definitely. The nerve reflexes are responsible for it. I willnow drill into this and see what we find."

  "Do you have to drill?" asked Glen.

  "Surely. Have to clean out all the old decayed tooth before I fill it. Ioften give the boys from the school a little sermon by telling them thebad has to be cleaned out before you get sound living."

  "Make it as easy as you can," Glen requested.

  "Yes, of course. But cleaning out decay often hurts."

  It did hurt but Glen would have fainted rather than make an outcry.

  The doctor stepped to the 'phone and called up the superintendent.

  "It's all right with the Mason boy," he said. "I've done all I canto-day for him. I'm leaving now. What shall he do until time for hiscar."

  He turned to Glen as he received a reply.

  "You are to wait until five o'clock in my reception room and then takethe inter-urban car," he said, locking the inner office when they passedout. "I am leaving a little early to-night."

  Before he left he stepped into a little closet which led out of thereception room and changed his office clothes. Glen's eyes sparkled. Hisproblem was solved.

  At five o'clock Glen Mason rode down in the elevator to the ground floorand asked the elevator man how he could identify the inter-urban car.But instead of leaving the building he dodged back to the stairway assoon as the elevator had started on its return trip and ran stealthilyup the stairs and again entered the dentist's reception room. It wasempty. Glen boldly entered the little closet and dressing himself in thedentist's office clothes made a bundle of his uniform. The closet wasboth deep and high. He climbed to the top shelf and shoved his bundlefar back over its wide surface against the wall. He dared not risk goingout in the doctor's clothing in daylight. He must stay until thebuilding was deserted and use the fire escape. His great fear was lestsome one should come to the reception room. The only safeguard wasconcealment in the hot, dark closet. He waited hours without anydisturbance. He felt sure that it must be almost midnight. Stealthily heopened the door of the closet and stepped to a window. It was stilldaylight, though the sun was setting. He returned to his closet.

  It must have been some hours afterward that he heard footsteps andvoices outside the door. In sudden desperation he climbed up and layflat on the wide shelf where he had hidden the uniform. Someone openedthe door of the closet, glanced inside and shut it again.

  "I tell you I took him down about five o'clock and showed him his car.He ain't here," said the voice of the elevator man.

  "I have to make sure," replied his companion.

  Glen knew the voice for that of one of the school officials. So alreadythey were seeking him!

  After all was quiet Glen ventured to open the closet door and peep out.It was dark now but there were lights in the hall. After a long timethey were extinguished and the building seemed deserted. The last lateworker departed. The elevator ceased its rhythmic motion.

  Glen waited yet longer for a time and then crept down the hall to thefire-escape, which he made out by a red light. It was a dark night, but,nerved to the act, he made no hesitation as he swung himself out on tothe iron bars. It was an old-fashioned escape, bars at wide int
ervals soclose to the wall as to leave hardly a toe hold. Down, down he went, notdaring to look to see where he was going but clinging fast and lettingone step follow another. Then suddenly the ladder stopped. Feel as hewould, in this direction or in that, there were no more steps. He hadknown of fire-escapes ending ten or twelve feet from the ground with anextension which might be lowered. But he found no extension. He lookeddown, but it was black night and he could see nothing but shadowyoutlines. Looking up, the ladder soon disappeared in the darkness. Therewas no sense in mounting again. He let down his legs as far as he couldreach, with his body balanced on his elbows, then he let himself hang byhis hands and kicked out in the hope of finding some landing. There wasnothing to be felt but the brick wall. His arms grew tired as he swung.His efforts to draw up again were ineffectual. In desperation he swungoff into space.

  Splash! He was choking and gasping in water!