Dan peered inside the hogan. The sand painting remained in perfect condition. In fact, the entire camp looked in readiness for the pow-wow. Yet no one was around.
“It’s too early,” he said. “Mr. Holloway probably went into town and the others aren’t here yet. We’ll have to wait.”
Brad paced nervously in front of the hogan, trying to decide what to do. As Den Chief, the decision rested entirely upon him. The safe, conservative thing to do, of course, was just to wait for Mr. Holloway or Mr. Hatfield and let them take over.
On the other hand, he was afraid that any delay might be serious. Although White Nose and Eagle Feather didn’t know the exact location of the cave, it wouldn’t take them long to find it, now that they had a clue upon which to work. If the mysterious occupant of the cave were to be warned in time, it would have to be immediately.
“I’m going to try to get to the cavern ahead of White Nose and Eagle Feather,” he announced with sudden decision. “With luck, I may make it.”
“We’ll go with you,” Dan insisted. “It’s not safe alone.”
Not wasting a minute, the three started off through the woods. They were a considerable distance from camp before they remembered that they had not left a note for Mr. Holloway or Mr. Hatfield to explain their absence.
“We may get back before they show up,” Brad said. “I hope so, but there’s no telling what we may run into. I sure hope we aren’t making a mistake starting off this way.”
In an attempt to take a short route to the cave, Brad chose an inland route. There was no marked trail. Every inch of the distance was a battle against the underbrush. When finally the boys emerged on the beach, not more than a hundred yards from the cave, they were worn from their struggles.
Dan suddenly reached out and jerked Red back into the bushes.
Red ducked low and then demanded in a whisper:
Red and Brad both peered through a gap in the foliage. Some distance upstream, but well within their range of vision, White Nose and Eagle Feather could be seen paddling close to shore in a red canoe.
“They’re searching for the cave all right!” Brad observed. “If they see us now, it will be a dead give-away.”
The Cubs knew that their best bet was to lie low and wait. Accordingly, they flattened themselves on the earth, at intervals raising up briefly to survey the slowly moving canoe.