Henry and Jessie did not say any more about the Indian boy, but they did not forget him. Once in awhile they both wondered where he came from and why he was there. They also wondered why he did not want to be seen.
There was plenty to think about while they were still climbing. In some places the path was almost blocked by the fallen rocks. They had to climb over them or walk around them.
Benny called back, “It’s lucky nobody was on this trail when these rocks came down!”
Grandfather said, “I was just going to say we should be ready to dodge if any more come down.”
“I think somebody is behind us,” said Henry. “We’d better be careful not to send any more down on top of him.”
“I hope somebody is behind us,” said Mr. Alden with a laugh. “Otherwise we’ll have no lunch. John Carter is supposed to bring up enough lunch for us and the workmen and Dr. Osgood.”
“Well, he’ll have a heavy load,” said Benny. “That will be lunch for nine people!”
“Don’t worry about John Carter,” said Grandfather. “He’ll manage.”
When they were quite near the top, they heard noises. It sounded like chopping and pounding, and that was exactly what it was. The two workmen were soon seen chopping down bushes and small trees to the left of the path. There were no trees or bushes near the top; there it was all rock.
The workmen had cleared a spot that looked like a good place to sit and watch what was going on.
There was some lumber, a strong ladder, and a long, flat plank. The plank had been placed near the opening to the cave and was held down with rocks.
Dr. Osgood was standing on the plank and bending over to look into the dark hole.
Benny said, “I guess Dr. Osgood couldn’t wait.”
The explorer held a bright light in his hand. His glasses were pulled down and he was too busy to notice the Aldens.
Grandfather sat down on the dry grass. He said, “I think Dr. Osgood wants to see first what kind of a hole it is. Just see whether it will be worth exploring or not.”
“Oh, dear!” cried Benny. “I hope it turns out to be worth exploring. Wouldn’t it be awful if we had to give up and go home?”
“I don’t think we will,” said Henry. “Look at him now.”
Dr. Osgood had both arms and his head in the hole. The Aldens could see only a pair of legs.
Just then Dr. Osgood looked up from the hole and turned half around. He called to the workmen, but the Aldens could not hear what he said. However, the workmen did and called back, “Very good, sir!” They were used to working with Dr. Osgood.
Then Dr. Osgood started to climb down to talk to Grandfather. He sat down beside him and pushed up his glasses again.
“Well, Percy, what’s the good word?” asked Grandfather.
“A very good word,” said Dr. Osgood, nodding. He wiped his face with a big red handkerchief. “Now, you know I never saw Old Flat Top before it was flattened.” He smiled at the young people. “But I have good reason to think the first cave was on the back of the mountain. Then something happened like a small earthquake. The back was pushed down and closed up that hole. But this front end of the cave was not squashed. So it is just the same as it has been for many years.”
Benny said, “Then this front hole is really the back of the cave.”
“Right,” said Dr. Osgood. “You’ll be a cave-digger some day.”
“Are you going to blast?” asked Benny.
“No, I don’t think so. We can drill as far as we need to. The other end is completely closed, they say. However, we’ll wait and see. Hello, here comes my help.”
“Oh, I thought it was my help,” said Grandfather, “with some lunch.”
“It’s both,” said Henry, who could see the trail. He looked down. Two more workmen were dragging a heavy load of lumber. John Carter was behind, a large knapsack on his back.
Henry said, “Dr. Osgood, what did you see when you put the light in the cave?”
“Well, I could see about ten feet with the light,” said Dr. Osgood. “The hole grows larger. I should say if we crawled in about fifteen feet we could stand up. It surely has not been touched by human hands for about two hundred years. Maybe a bit less; maybe a bit more. However, I saw no treasures. You must be willing to explore and find nothing. That’s why this job takes patience. Lots of my work goes for nothing. Wasted.”
“I wouldn’t like that,” said Benny.
“No, I can see that you wouldn’t,” said Dr. Osgood.
He got up quickly from the ground and climbed up to the workmen. He began to put blue chalk marks on many of the rocks.
When he had gone, Grandfather said quietly, “Did any of you notice an Indian boy in the crowd?”
“Yes!” they all cried.
Henry said, “We thought Lovan told us that she was the last Indian around here. That surprised us.”
“Maybe she doesn’t know about this boy,” said Mr. Alden.
John Carter sat down with the family. He said, “I did try to talk with the boy. But I had to order the lunch. I couldn’t take enough time. But I will.”
“Good!” said Mr. Alden. “Maybe he doesn’t live here anyway. Maybe he heard of this work on Flat Top.”
“He heard fast, then,” said Benny.
“Well, news travels fast,” said Grandfather thoughtfully.
“I hope he won’t bother Lovan,” said Violet.
“Well, after we get down we’ll see that he doesn’t,” said Mr. Alden. “Right now, we are trying to find Lovan’s treasure.”
“Wouldn’t it be awful if somebody stole it last night?” exclaimed Benny.
“Well, it is possible,” said John Carter. “They had all night, if they were good climbers and worked quietly.” |