“They’re starting the other way now,” Brad observed in relief. “They haven’t found the cave entrance yet, and they may miss it.”
“Think it’s safe to duck in there now?” Dan asked.
“Let’s wait a little longer,” Brad cautioned. “Until they get around that bend in the river, we’ll be exposed, once we come out of hiding.”
The Cubs waited, nervously aware of how fast time was passing. By now the sun was well up over the treetops, beating down mercilessly upon their backs.
“We won’t have too much time, you know,” Dan reminded his companions. “The pow-wow starts at eleven sharp. Mr. Hatfield will be chewing his fingernails if we don’t get back in plenty of time.”
Brad remained silent, his gaze on the canoe. Now that they were near the mouth of the cave, he wondered if he had been rash to propose entering it without Mr. Hatfield or Mr. Holloway along.
Even in broad daylight the cave looked forbidding, and this time the Cubs were not supplied with flashlights or candles.
“We can give it up and go back,” he suggested. “After all, White Nose and Eagle Feather haven’t found the entranceway. They may miss it entirely.”
“No chance of that, if they come back this way,” Dan said significantly.
“Yeah,” Dan agreed, “but look sharp and tell me what you see.”
Both Brad and Red peered intently toward the cave entrance. At first they noticed nothing unusual. Then they noted a thin wisp of black smoke issuing from the jagged mouth.
“Someone’s got a fire in there!” Red exclaimed.
“And that smoke can be seen out on the river,” Brad added in alarm. “This settles it! We’ll have to go in there and warn the guy. I’ve got a hunch Mr. Hatfield wouldn’t want us to get mixed up in this business, but what else can we do?”
Neither Red nor Dan were eager to enter the dark cave, yet they agreed with Brad that the occupant should be warned of his danger.
“Let’s get on with it,” Brad said briskly. “You two can wait here and I’ll go in alone.”
“Nothing doing,” Dan rejected the proposal. “We’ll stick with you. Won’t we, Red?”
“Sure,” the latter agreed, though without enthusiasm. “Lead on!”
By this time the canoe bearing White Nose and Eagle Feather had rounded the river bend and was out of sight.
Rolling up the trouser legs of their Cub uniforms, the boys removed shoes and socks, hiding the latter in the bushes.