Boy Scouts in the Coal Caverns | Page 2

boys may have money coming to them," the
caretaker replied. "There must be money back of it or the friends of the
lads wouldn't be giving me cash to spent in their interest."
"Where are these boys?" asked Will.
"I've heard the opinion expressed that the boys are somewhere in the
mine!" answered Canfield. "I can hardly believe that they are, but it has
been suggested that we may as well begin the search under ground."
"Where do these boys belong?" asked George.
"Anywhere and everywhere," was the reply. "Jimmie Maynard and
Dick Thompson came here as breaker boys six months ago. They were
ragged and dirty, and appeared to be as tough as two young bears. They
worked steadily until the day before the mine closed down and then
they disappeared."
"That's easy," declared Tommy. "They got tired of work!"
"That may be," answered the caretaker, "but they certainly didn't get
tired of drawing their pay. They went away leaving about eight dollars
the two of them in the care of the company."

"Then something must have happened to them!" Will suggested.
"Who's looking for these boys?" asked George.
"A New York lawyer," was the reply. "I know nothing whatever about
the man. In fact, I don't know why he wants to find out where the boys
are. He sends me money and tells me to continue my quest until the
boys are found, and then to send them to New York."
"So you have entire charge of the search," said Sandy, tentatively.
"Yes," was the reply, "except for Joe Ventner. He's a detective sent on
from New York by this Burlingame person, the lawyer to whom I
referred a short time ago."
"What part of the world is he searching?" asked Will.
"He seems to think that the boys ran away because of some childish
prank put on by them the night before. They broke some windows in a
couple of shanties down by the tracks, or, at least, the other boys say
they did, and Joe thinks they ran away because of that. He accounts in
that way for them not calling after their pay envelopes."
"So he thinks they've gone out of the country, does he."
"Yes," was the reply. "He comes back here every few days to ask if I
have heard anything regarding the youngsters, and then goes away
again. If you leave it to me, I don't think the fellow is working very
hard in the case. There's a half a dozen saloons in a little dump of a
place about ten miles away, and my idea is that he puts in a good deal
of his time there."
"You don't seem to take to this detective?" asked George.
"Oh, I don't know, as he's so much worse than the average private
detective," replied the caretaker. "He's out for his day's wages, and the
easier he can get them, the better it suits him."
"So you don't know who wants these boys, or what they're wanted for?"

asked Will. "Lawyer Burlingame never took you into his confidence so
far as to post you on the details of the case?"
"He never did!" answered the caretaker.
"Is he liberal with his money?" asked George.
"He pays all the bills I send in," was the answer. "And seems to keep
this bum detective pretty well supplied with ten dollar bills."
"We may have to investigate this investigator!" laughed Sandy.
"Did Mr. Horton say anything to you about your lodgings while here?"
asked the caretaker. "It's getting too cold here for me, and we may as
well be shifting to warmer quarters."
"You said a short time ago," Will began, "that you rather thought we
ought to begin this search in the mine itself."
"That's my idea!" answered the caretaker.
"Do you think the boys are hiding in the mine?"
"Well, there are some things connected with the case which point in
that direction," replied Canfield. "For instance, there's a lot of queer
things going on underground."
"Ghosts?" demanded Tommy.
"You're not steering us up against a haunted mine, are you?" asked
George with a wink at his chum. "That would be too good to be true!"
"I haven't said anything about ghosts or haunted mines," chuckled the
caretaker. "I'm only saying that there are queer things taking place in
the mine. Now there's Tunnel Six," he went on, "I have seen lights
there with my own eyes, when I know there wasn't a person within two
miles of the spot except myself. And I've heard noises, too! These
unaccountable noises which make a man think of graveyards and
ghosts."

"But why should two healthy, active boys want to seek such a hiding
place?" asked Will. "It certainly can't be very pleasant in the dark and
damp tunnels! Besides,