The air had grown chilly. Dan, Brad and Mr. Hatfield, whose clothing was soaked to above the knees, had begun to feel rather uncomfortable. Mr. Holloway proposed that they all hike back to camp as quickly as possible.
Brad and Dan, bringing up the rear of the procession, were more silent than the other Cubs as they scrambled over the rocks to the strip of beach.
Reflecting upon the many strange happenings of the past few days, they were convinced that Mr. Hatfield was right in assuming that the cave had an inhabitant.
It occurred to Dan that the man who had taken refuge there might indeed be the medicine man sought by White Nose and Eagle Feather.
“Do you suppose that bird, whoever he is, has Professor Sarazen’s blanket tucked away somewhere in the cave?” he mused aloud.
“I was asking myself the same thing,” replied Brad. “I sure hope we get another chance to explore before too long. We ought to get that blanket back before our Indian pow-wow.”
The camp near Mr. Holloway’s home was shrouded in evening shadow as the Cubs trudged in. Heavy clouds had overspread the sky, causing darkness to come on somewhat earlier than usual.
“I’m ashamed to have kept the Cubs so late,” Mr. Hatfield apologized. “I hope your parents won’t be sore, fellows.”
“I’ll take everyone to town in my car,” Mr. Holloway offered. “Special delivery service tonight.”
The Cubs quickly went about the camp, gathering up the few belongings they had left behind. Everyone was relieved that nothing seemed to be missing. None of the tools had been disturbed.
“All set?” Mr. Hatfield inquired, ready to leave.
“Just a minute,” called Dan. “I want to look at something.”
Brad was exasperated. “We’re late now,” he complained. “That Dan—he has to go kiss his sand painting goodnight. He watches over it as if it were a baby.”
“He’s done a fine job on it so far,” Mr. Holloway said warmly. “He’ll only be a minute.”
Dan, however, was gone so long that the Cubs began to grumble.
“What’s the matter with him anyhow?” Fred muttered. “He must be caressing every grain of sand! I’m going after him.”
Dan came quickly to the group. He plainly was very angry.
“My sand painting has been ruined! There was no wind to amount to anything either! This time I know it was done deliberately.”
