Solutions Manual to accompany Digital Signal Processing: A Computer Based Approach 3rd edition 9780073048376
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- 5. Solutions Manual to accompany Digital Signal Processing: A Computer Based Approach 3rd edition 9780073048376 Full chapters at: https://testbankbell.com/product/solutions-manual-to- accompany-digital-signal-processing-a-computer-based-approach-3rd-edition- 9780073048376/ Description: Digital Signal Processing: A Computer-Based Approach is intended for a two- semester course on digital signal processing for seniors or first-year graduate students. Based on user feedback, a number of new topics have been added to the third edition, while some excess topics from the second edition have been removed. The author has taken great care to organize the chapters more logically by reordering the sections within chapters. More worked-out examples have also been included. The book contains more than 500 problems and 150 MATLAB exercises. New topics in the third edition include: short-time characterization of discrete- time signals, expanded coverage of discrete-time Fourier transform and discrete Fourier transform, prime factor algorithm for DFT computation, sliding DFT, zoom FFT, chirp Fourier transform, expanded coverage of z-transform, group delay equalization of IIR digital filters, design of computationally efficient FIR digital filters, semi-symbolic analysis of digital filter structures, spline interpolation, spectral factorization, discrete wavelet transform. About the Author Sanjit Mitra, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley. Professor Mitra transferred to UCSB in July 1977 after 10 years at UC Davis. He obtained his B.Sc. with honors in Physics (1953) and the M.Sc. (Tech.) in Radio Physics and Electronics (1956) in India. He then obtained his M.S. (1960) and Ph.D. (1962) in electrical engineering from UC Berkeley. He has published over 600 papers in the areas of analog and digital signal processing, and image processing. He has also authored and co- authored twelve books, and holds five patents. Dr. Mitra has served IEEE in
- 6. various capacities including service as the President of the IEEE Circuits & Systems Society in 1986, and has held visiting appointments in Australia, Austria, Finland, India, Japan, Singapore and the United Kingdom. • ISBN-10 : 0073048372 • ISBN-13 : 978-0073048376 Table contents: 1 Signals and Signal Processing 1 1.1 Characterization and Classification of Signals 1 1.2 Typical Signal Processing Operations 3 1.3 Examples of Typical Signals 12 1.4 Typical Signal Processing Applications 22 1.5 Why Digital Signal Processing? 37 2 Discrete-Time Signals and Systems in the Time-Domain 41 2.1 Discrete-Time Signals 42 2.2 Typical Sequences and Sequence Representation 53 2.3 The Sampling Process 60 2.4 Discrete-Time Systems 63 2.5 Time-Domain Characterization of LTI Discrete-Time Systems 71 2.6 Finite-Dimensional LTI Discrete-Time Systems 80 2.7 Correlation of Signals 88 2.8 Random Signals 94 2.9 Summary 105 2.10 Problems 106 2.11 Matlab Exercises 115 3 Discrete-Time Signals in the Transform-Domain 117 3.1 The Discrete-Time Fourier Transform 117
- 7. 3.2 The Discrete Fourier Transform 131 3.3 Relation between the DTFT and the DFT, and Their Inverses 137 3.4 Discrete Fourier Transform Properties 140 3.5 Computation of the DFT of Real Sequences 146 3.6 Linear Convolution Using the DFT 149 3.7 The z-Transform 155 3.8 Region of Convergence of a Rational z-Transform 159 3.9 Inverse z-Transform 167 3.10 z-Transform Properties 173 3.11 Transform-Domain Representations of Random Signals 176 3.12 Summary 179 3.13 Problems 180 3.14 Matlab Exercises 199 4 LTI Discrete-Time Systems in the Transform-Domain 203 4.1 Finite-Dimensional Discrete-Time Systems 203 4.2 The Frequency Response 204 4.3 The Transfer Function 215 4.4 Types of Transfer Functions 222 4.5 Simple Digital Filters 234 4.6 Allpass Transfer Function 243 4.7 Minimum-Phase and Maximum-Phase Transfer Functions 246 4.8 Complementary Transfer Functions 248 4.9 Inverse Systems 253 4.10 System Identification 256
- 8. 4.11 Digital Two-Pairs 259 4.12 Algebraic Stability Test 261 4.13 Discrete-Time Processing of Random Signals 267 4.14 Matched Filter 272 4.15 Summary 275 4.16 Problems 277 4.17 Matlab Exercises 295 5 Digital Processing of Continuous-Time Signals 299 5.1 Introduction 299 5.2 Sampling of Continuous-Time Signals 300 5.3 Sampling of Bandpass Signals 310 5.4 Analog Lowpass Filter Design 313 5.5 Design of Analog Highpass, Bandpass, and Bandstop Filters 329 5.6 Anti-Aliasing Filter Design 335 5.7 Sample-and-Hold Circuit 337 5.8 Analog-to-Digital Converter 338 5.9 Digital-to-Analog Converter 344 5.10 Reconstruction Filter Design 348 5.11 Effect of Sample-and-Hold Operation 351 5.12 Summary 352 5.13 Problems 353 5.14 Matlab Exercises 356 6 Digital Filter Structures 359 6.1 Block Diagram Representation 359
- 9. 6.2 Equivalent Structures 363 6.3 Basic FIR Digital Filter Structures 364 6.4 Basic IIR Digital Filter Structures 368 6.5 Realization of Basic Structures Using Matlab 374 6.6 Allpass Filters 378 6.7 Tunable IIR Digital Filters 387 6.8 IIR Tapped Cascaded Lattice Structures 389 6.9 FIR Cascaded Lattice Structures 395 6.10 Parallel Allpass Realization of IIR Transfer Functions 401 6.11 Digital Sine-Cosine Generator 405 6.12 Computational Complexity of Digital Filter Structures 408 6.13 Summary 408 6.14 Problems 409 6.15 Matlab Exercises 421 7 Digital Filter Design 423 7.1 Preliminary Considerations 423 7.2 Bilinear Transformation Method of IIR Filter Design 430 7.3 Design of Lowpass IIR Digital Filters 435 7.4 Design of Highpass, Bandpass, and Bandstop IIR Digital Filters 437 7.5 Spectral Transformations of IIR Filters 441 7.6 FIR Filter Design Based onWindowed Fourier Series 446 7.7 Computer-Aided Design of Digital Filters 460 7.8 Design of FIR Digital Filters with Least-Mean-Square Error 468 7.9 Constrained Least-Square Design of FIR Digital Filters 469
- 10. 7.10 Digital Filter Design Using Matlab 472 7.11 Summary 497 7.12 Problems 498 7.13 Matlab Exercises 510 8 DSP Algorithm Implementation 515 8.1 Basic Issues 515 8.2 Structure Simulation and Verification Using Matlab 523 8.3 Computation of the Discrete Fourier Transform 535 8.4 Number Representation 552 8.5 Arithmetic Operations 556 8.6 Handling of Overflow 562 8.7 Tunable Digital Filters 562 8.8 Function Approximation 568 8.9 Summary 571 8.10 Problems 572 8.11 Matlab Exercises 581 9 Analysis of FiniteWordlength Effects 583 9.1 The Quantization Process and Errors 584 9.2 Quantization of Fixed-Point Numbers 585 9.3 Quantization of Floating-Point Numbers 587 9.4 Analysis of Coefficient Quantization Effects 588 9.5 A/D Conversion Noise Analysis 600 9.6 Analysis of Arithmetic Round-Off Errors 611 9.7 Dynamic Range Scaling 614
- 11. 9.8 Signal-to-Noise Ratio in Low-Order IIR Filters 625 9.9 Low-Sensitivity Digital Filters 629 9.10 Reduction of Product Round-Off Errors Using Error Feedback 635 9.11 Limit Cycles in IIR Digital Filters 639 9.12 Round-Off Errors in FFT Algorithms 646 9.13 Summary 649 9.14 Problems 650 9.15 Matlab Exercises 657 10 Multirate Digital Signal Processing 659 10.1 The Basic Sample Rate Alteration Devices 660 10.2 Filters in Sampling Rate Alteration Systems 671 10.3 Multistage Design of Decimator and Interpolator 680 10.4 The Polyphase Decomposition 684 10.5 Arbitrary-Rate Sampling Rate Converter 690 10.6 Digital Filter Banks 696 10.7 Nyquist Filters 700 10.8 Two-Channel Quadrature-Mirror Filter Bank 705 10.9 Perfect Reconstruction Two-Channel FIR Filter Banks 714 10.10 L-Channel QMF Banks 722 10.11 Cosine-Modulated L-Channel Filter Banks 730 10.12 Multilevel Filter Banks 734 10.13 Summary 738 10.14 Problems 739 10.15 Matlab Exercises 750
- 12. 11 Applications of Digital Signal Processing 753 11.1 Dual-Tone Multifrequency Signal Detection 753 11.2 Spectral Analysis of Sinusoidal Signals 758 11.3 Spectral Analysis of Nonstationary Signals 764 11.4 Spectral Analysis of Random Signals 771 11.5 Musical Sound Processing 780 11.6 Digital FM Stereo Generation 790 11.7 Discrete-Time Analytic Signal Generation 794 11.8 Subband Coding of Speech and Audio Signals 800 11.9 Transmultiplexers 803 11.10 Discrete Multitone Transmission of Digital Data 807 11.11 Digital Audio Sampling Rate Conversion 810 11.12 Oversampling A/D Converter 812 11.13 Oversampling D/A Converter 822 11.14 Sparse Antenna Array Design 826 11.15 Summary 829 11.16 Problems 830 11.17 Matlab Exercises 834 Bibliography 837 Index 855
- 13. Exploring the Variety of Random Documents with Different Content
- 14. “Those old rocks,” Jimmie commented, “are honeycombed with caves, and it’s a hundred to one that those hunters are obliged to keep things moving nights in order to drive away wild animals.” “From all accounts,” Carl agreed, “wild animals don’t stand much show with that bunch!” “Of course, they’ve seen us,” Jimmie observed as the aeroplane shot by the canyon and the tents were no longer in sight. “If they’re not asleep they know we’re here. Now, what’s the best thing to do?” “Walk right along just like we never noticed them!” replied Carl. “Perhaps,” Jimmie suggested, “they’re looking for an aeroplane to put in an appearance.” “Do you mean to say that they knew something of the machine that was wrecked over to the south last night?” “That’s what!” replied Jimmie. “I don’t believe it!” Carl answered. “That supposition connects the San Francisco hunters with the Kuro gang, and I can’t believe that to be a fact!” “How far do you suppose that canyon is from our camp?” asked Jimmie. “Probably twenty miles!” suggested Carl. “That’s a good guess,” Jimmie agreed. “Now, look here,” he went on, “if you think I’m going back to camp and leave the machine and then hike twenty miles to investigate that camp, you’ve got another think coming!” “That’s what you promised to do!” “Not on your life!” replied Jimmie. “That’s what Havens told me to do! But then, you know,” he added with a laugh, “Havens had no idea at the time he gave the advice that we’d find the camp so far away. He probably thought we’d run across it within easy walking distance of our own tents. Isn’t that the way you look at it?” “Sure!” replied Carl, glad of any excuse for landing. “Then, I’ll tell you what we’ll do!” Jimmie argued. “We’ll fly straight over the ridge under which the camp nestles, slow down gradually, so our motors will sound like they were getting farther away every moment, and then land. We ought to be able to climb
- 15. back to the top of the ridge in a few minutes and look down into the camp.” “Aw, what’s the good of just looking down into it?” demanded Carl. “We ought to get near enough so we can see and hear what’s going on!” “I don’t care how near we get to it!” grinned Jimmie. The plan suggested by the boy, reckless as it was, was carried out. The Louise found a resting-place to the west of the ridge and the boys sat down to consider future movements. “Honest, now,” Jimmie said, looking up at the fairly easy slope which led to the summit lying between the aeroplane and the camp, “one of us ought to stay by the machine!” “All right!” Carl agreed. “You remain here and I’ll hike down and see what I can find out. But, look here,” the lad continued, “you mustn’t go prowling around! You mustn’t leave the machine! I may come back on the jump, and want to get into the air in about a quarter of a second!” “Huh!” grinned Jimmie. “You went off and left the machine when you were on guard near the smugglers’ camp. I wouldn’t talk about prowling around, if I were you!” “This is different!” urged Carl. “When I left the machine then I didn’t know that there were a lot of mountain brigands ready to grab it.” “All right!” Jimmie acquiesced. “I’ll stay here by the machine for an hour. If you don’t come back by that time, I’ll come after you.” “Yes, you’ll come after me!” cried Carl. “You’d better stay where you are! How would you know where to look for me in that mess over on the other side?” “If you don’t come back in an hour,” repeated Jimmie, “I’ll come after you! In an hour it will be time to leave for home.” Carl went away up the slope, climbing swiftly, and soon disappeared from view. Jimmie threw himself down on the ground close to the framework of the Louise, in a measure protected from view by the planes. “Gee!” mused the boy. “It’s lonesome, waiting like this. Next time we go out on a scouting expedition, we’ll bring some one along to
- 16. stand guard. This waiting makes me tired.” But the period of waiting was destined to be a short one. Hardly had Carl disappeared over the summit of the ridge when three figures appeared there, sharply outlined against the sky. Jimmie crawled closer under the planes and lay perfectly still for some moments. He saw the men pointing toward the aeroplane, heard them shouting to some one on the other side. Then they came on down the slope, half-running, half-sliding in their haste. “Now, that’s a nice thing!” the boy mused. “They are probably wise to what we were up to, and stood ready to make a run as soon as we landed. I wish I knew whether Carl butted into them or whether he got away.” All doubt regarding the matter was settled the next moment, for Carl appeared on the summit, accompanied by three husky-looking men. The men beckoned to Jimmie and called out to those who were running down the slope. It was clear that they were inviting him to remain where he was until the others came up. Jimmie could not see the face of his chum, of course, the distance being too great. In fact, he only knew that it was Carl because of his being smaller than the others. He could, however, distinguish motions made by the boy, and these motions commanded him, as plainly as words could have done, to get the Louise away before the arrival of the men who were descending the slope. Unwilling to leave his chum without knowing more of the situation, Jimmie hesitated. As he did so, he saw Carl drawn violently over the ridge. The last movement he saw was made by the boy’s outstretched arms, commanding him to take the Louise into the air as soon as possible! He hesitated no longer but sprang to the seat and set the motors in motion. The machine lifted clumsily, for the landing had not been a smooth one, but finally got her into the air, not more than a score of feet distant from the men who were rushing down upon her. The boy anticipated a serious time in getting away, but, although the men below flourished revolvers threateningly, no bullets were fired. He brought the machine around to the east in a moment and
- 17. swept over the heads of the men below. The group remained at the summit as he passed over, swinging down over the camp. There was naturally great excitement below, and the boy would have enjoyed the situation immensely if he had been sure of the safety of his chum. The occupants of the camp rushed out of their tents and threw their hands and voices into the air as he moved along, only a few yards above their heads. Again weapons were displayed but no shots came. The boy circled the camp twice, but was unable to catch sight of Carl. Realizing that the boy had undoubtedly been taken to one of the tents, he turned the machine down the gorge to the valley and swept straight on toward the shelf of rock from which the red and green signals had been shown on the first night of their arrival in that vicinity. By keeping to this route he was not obliged to ascend to the summit in order to leave the valley where the hunters’ camp was situated. When he came closer to the shelf of rock where the signal fire had burned, he saw three men standing in plain view. “I reckon the whole population of British Columbia is centering in these hills,” the boy mused. “There must have been a dozen or more people in the hunters’ camp when I passed over it not long ago, and now here’s three more probably belonging to the same crowd.” When the boy came within a few paces of the rock he whirled away to the south, not caring to seek a landing on the other side of the snowy ridge. As the machine lifted he saw two more men in the gorge or canyon which led from the summit down to the shelf. “If the men who abducted Colleton and brought him into this country sought a location filled with peace and solitude, they will probably get out of it at the earliest moment,” Jimmie mused. As the boy turned on full speed in the direction of his camp he caught sight of an object which caused him to hesitate and then set out in a circling tour of the valley. What he saw was the plane of a flying machine lifting above the top of the ridge to the east.
- 18. CHAPTER XVIII. THE MYSTERIOUS SIGNALS. When Carl reached the top of the slope lying between the spot where the Louise had landed and the camp occupied by the hunters, he found himself confronted by two men who were climbing up from the tents below. The men addressed him civilly, asking about the aeroplane which had just passed over the camp, and suggesting that the two boys join them at dinner. They were well-dressed, pleasant-appearing fellows, evidently products of city life. “I don’t think we can accept of your hospitality to-night,” the boy answered, “because we can’t both leave the machine at the same time. And besides,” he went on, “it will soon be sundown, and we ought to be getting back to our friends.” “Why, we’ll send a man over to watch the machine,” one of the hunters argued. “Or, better still,” he continued, “you can bring the machine right into the camp. So far as I’m concerned, I wish your friends were with you. New faces are always welcome in a mountain camp.” Seeing how insistent the men were, Carl determined to bring the interview to a close immediately, and turned back up the westward slope which he had started to descend. “Just thought we’d call for a minute,” he said. “If you don’t mind, we’ll come over early in the day before long and have a good visit.” The two men who were now joined by a third followed the lad back to the summit arguing all the way that he ought not to take his departure so soon. When the Louise came into view they began
- 19. beckoning and calling to Jimmie, as the reader already knows, and also shouting to those in the camp below. “Tell your friend to come on up!” argued one of the men. “You may as well cross the ridge at this point as farther up. We’d like to have a look at your machine. Besides, you really must have a cup of coffee with us before you go away. We can’t lose our guests so soon.” During this conversation the men had been beckoning to Jimmie, inviting him by gestures to bring his machine to camp. Seeing that the men were not inclined to let him depart at that time, the boy began signaling to Jimmie to get away in the Louise before the men got to her. “Here, kid!” shouted the man who had been doing most of the talking, “don’t do that. He’ll think you want him to go away and leave you here.” “I want him to get the machine away all right!” Carl answered. “You’re an obstinate little rascal!” replied the man. “Here, Bob,” he added, turning to one of the others, “take this kid down to the camp and keep him there until I return.” It was at this point that the men came chasing down the slope and Jimmie got away in the machine. Carl saw the aeroplane gliding over the camp with a great deal of satisfaction. He had been forced into one of the tents near the great fire, but could see the airship distinctly through the opening in front. Directly the man he had talked with on the summit entered the tent and sat down by the boy’s side. “My name is Frank Harris,” he said abruptly, “what’s yours?” “Carl Nichols,” the boy replied, with a grin which brought a smile to the other’s face. “What do you want to know that for?” “Where are you from?” was the next question. “The Big Puddle,” replied Carl. “Meaning New York?” “Sure,” answered Carl, “there’s only one big puddle in the world.” “What became of the flying machine you boys were chasing the other night?” asked Harris after a moment’s reflection.
- 20. “She dropped into a hole in the air and the aviator was killed,” replied the boy gravely. Harris sprang to his feet with a muffled oath and paced up and down in front of the tent for some time without speaking. When he returned to the boy’s side his face wore an expression blended between suspicion and dismay. Carl remained silent until the man spoke again. “Is that right?” Harris asked. “Are you telling me the truth?” “Sure, I’m telling you the truth!” replied the boy. “The aviator fell into a hole in the air and didn’t know how to get out of it. We made a shallow grave and piled about a ton of rock on top of it. If you want to get the body we’ll show you where it is any time.” “Do you know,” Harris began rather angrily, “I hardly believe this story about the man falling into a hole in the air! Are you sure he didn’t come to his death as the result of a conflict with some member of your party?” “You don’t think we murdered him, do you?” demanded Carl. “Oh, I didn’t say that!” Harris hastened to say. “I only want you to understand that the matter isn’t yet settled in my mind. What about the machine which you say was wrecked?” “So far as I know,” answered the boy, “it still lies where it fell, and just as it fell, except that we removed some guy wires to strengthen our own machine. I don’t think the motors can be used again. We used the canvas of the planes for a winding sheet, and brought away the gasoline.” “We’ll get the poor fellow out to-morrow!” Harris promised, “and send the body east to his friends.” “You knew him, then?” asked Carl. Harris hesitated, colored a trifle, and began a busy pacing of the ground in front of the tent again. “I reckon he sees that he’s made a mistake in claiming any knowledge of that fellow!” the boy mused with a quiet chuckle. “What was it you asked?” inquired Harris, pausing in front of the tent. “Oh, I remember,” he went on, “you wanted to know if we knew this aviator who was killed in the race with you.”
- 21. “Why, yes,” Carl replied. “You seemed to know where he lived and who his friends were. I thought perhaps you might know all about him.” “We know nothing whatever about him!” replied Harris, rather angrily. “He landed at our camp the day before the accident and visited with us a long time. He seemed to be a very pleasant and intelligent man. So far as his friends are concerned, we know nothing about them. When I remarked that we would forward the body, I did so under the supposition that papers in his possession would inform us as to his name and residence.” “I see,” replied Carl with a knowing smile which the other was not slow in understanding. “How did you people come to know about the race?” “Why, one of our men was up on the summit when the race began and saw the aeroplanes flying south. We know nothing further than that!” “I’m sorry for what took place,” Carl said, “but the man was sailing over our camp in a suspicious manner, and we thought we’d find out what he wanted. As a matter of fact, he needn’t have run away when our machine took after him. There was no need of that.” The fact was, as the reader well understands, that the dead aviator had not been circling the boys’ camp at all. The race, as Carl well knew, had started in the vicinity of the smugglers’ cave where the Louise had taken up the chase. The boy made the above statement half expecting that Harris would contradict him, and so show some further knowledge of the race and the man who had been killed. Harris looked suspiciously at the boy for a moment, half-opening his lips to speak, but finally decided to remain silent. “There’s another thing I want to ask you about,” he went on after a moment. “You have a young Englishman named DuBois in your camp.” “How did you know that?” asked Carl. “Why,” was the rather embarrassed reply, “our boys are traveling over the country in search of game, and we naturally know what’s going on around us! Besides, we know something about that
- 22. Englishman. When he left us, we had a notion that he would go to some nearby camp.” “If he tells the truth,” Carl replied, “our camp hadn’t been pitched when he left yours.” “It is my impression,” Harris answered, “that DuBois reached your camp on the evening of the day he left ours. Did he have a valuable looking burro with him when he came to you?” “He was on foot,” replied Carl, “and we saw nothing of anything like a burro. He appeared to be completely exhausted with walking.” “That was a bit of acting on his part! When he left us he took with him a burro worth at least two hundred dollars. Large sums of money also disappeared from the tents that same morning. The boys learned to-day that he was at your camp and they’re going over to get him.” “Will they take him to prison?” asked Carl wonderingly. “I’m afraid not!” was the significant reply. “What then?” “Justice is mighty slow and terribly uncertain in this country,” Harris answered. “In fact,” he continued, “there’s only one judge who tries cases to the liking of the people.” “You mean Judge Lynch!” suggested Carl. “That’s his name,” laughed Harris heartlessly. “You don’t mean to say that they’d lynch DuBois without giving him a hearing?” demanded the boy. “I’m afraid they would!” was the reply. “You don’t approve of such outrages, do you?” “Certainly not!” “Then, why don’t you send some one over to the camp to warn DuBois? Or send an officer who might take him to Field and turn him over to the law? That would be the right thing to do!” “I’ve been thinking of doing that!” replied Harris. “I wish your friend had remained with the machine. Then we could have sent an officer over to-night.” “He might have remained if you people hadn’t made such a rush for him!” laughed Carl. “You frightened him away.”
- 23. “You’re a pair of bright boys!” laughed Harris. “I wish I could find a young fellow just like you to put into my Wall street office. If you showed the same courage and resourcefulness there that you do in the mountains, you’d be apt to make the money-kings sit up and take notice in a few years. Such young men are needed in New York!” “I don’t think I’d care to enter on a Wall street career,” Carl replied, not at all deceived by the gilded bait so cunningly extended. “Think it over,” continued Harris. “You may change your mind after you leave the mountains. It’s a fine opening for you!” The lad promised to consider the proposition seriously, and Harris went away. He returned in a few moments with a bountiful supper, which he shared with the boy. All through the meal he continued his questions regarding the race, the Englishman, and the purpose of the boys in visiting that section of British Columbia. Carl answered the questions truthfully whenever he could. He understood, however, that the attitude of the man who seemed to be so friendly was absolutely hostile. After supper Harris went away and Carl sat in the door of the tent watching for the return of the flying machine. He rather expected that Jimmie would return with one of the boys in order to find out the exact situation. The tent in which he had been placed faced the south and was directly in front of the fire. As darkness fell he saw members of the party gathering about the blaze with tin cans in their hands. “Now,” he mused, “I wonder what they’re going to do. Looks like they might about to warm up lobster or canned roast beef for supper.” When it became quite dark in the valley the boy was amazed at seeing one of the men pour a powder from one of the cans into a long-handled shovel and drop it from there into the fire. The blaze flared up as red as a police danger-signal. Carl came nearer to the flap of the tent and looked out to the north and east. Greatly to his astonishment he saw a green flame on the shelf of rock which cut the mountainside at the foot of the canyon in which lay the smugglers’ cave.
- 24. When the red light in front of his tent died down it was succeeded by a green flame. A glance at the distant shelf at that instant revealed a red one. The boy drew back into the tent with a soft chuckle. “I guess we didn’t dope it out correctly when we figured that the signals on the shelf were not intended entirely for whiskey smugglers,” he said. “It seems to me that these hunters who talked about Wall street and money-kings are pretty thick with the outlaws!”
- 25. CHAPTER XIX. A SURPRISE FOR JIMMIE. When Jimmie saw the planes of the flying machine on the east side of the summit he dodged away in order that the aviator still below the line of the ridge might not catch sight of the Louise until he was himself well in the air. The boy wanted to know, before coming to close quarters, whether this machine was a new one in that vicinity, and whether the man in charge was in sympathy with those on the shelf below. As soon as the aeroplane came into full view, however, the boy chuckled and swung close over. It was the Bertha, and Ben occupied the aviator’s seat. Jimmie pointed toward the men on the shelf, asking mutely whether he ought to land, and Ben shook his head warningly. Rather to the disappointment of Jimmie, Ben speeded the Bertha toward the valley instead of circling the gully and the shelf where the men stood. However, he was somewhat mollified when he saw Ben seeking a landing-place. In a very short time the two machines lay side by side on the grass, and the boys were conferring together. Twilight was falling fast, and the light of the fire on the shelf brought the scene there into distinct view. The boys were not so far away that they could not recognize one face and figure standing by the fire. At first Jimmie could hardly believe that he saw aright, but in a moment his impression was confirmed by his chum. “What’s DuBois doing with those men?” Jimmie asked. “He’s trying to get away!” was the reply.
- 26. “Who are the men?” asked Jimmie. “They’re from Neil Howell’s hunting camp.” “I thought so!” replied Jimmie. “But what do they want of DuBois?” “They’ve got him under arrest!” replied Ben. “That’s a nice thing, too! What have they got him under arrest for?” “They claim that he stole a horse or a mule or a burro and a lot of money from their tent.” “You don’t believe it, do you?” asked Jimmie. “I certainly do not!” “What are they going to do with him?” “They’re going to take him back to their camp. One of the men said they’d probably lynch him when they got him there.” “Did they get him out of our camp?” asked the boy. “No,” answered Ben, “I’m the one that’s to blame for his being in his present predicament. I set out in the Bertha to see what was going on at the smugglers’ camp, and let him go with me. When we landed those fellows came rushing out with guns in their hands and grabbed the Englishman. I had a gun with me, but of course I couldn’t do anything against three husky men like the hunters.” “And that leaves Mr. Havens alone, of course!” Jimmie said. “He thought we’d better go before dark,” Ben explained. “And now,” he continued, “what have you done with Carl?” Jimmie explained what had taken place at the hunters’ camp, and the two boys looked into each other’s faces with no little anxiety showing in their eyes. Ben was first to speak. “What did they geezle him for?” he asked. “I couldn’t imagine at the time,” Jimmie answered, “but I think I see through the scheme now. When DuBois left their camp and came to ours they naturally understood that he would tell us all he knew about what was going on at the place he had just left.” “There wasn’t much to tell,” suggested Ben. “We don’t know whether there was or not!” answered Jimmie. “That Englishman hasn’t told us all he knows about the doings there by any means! He probably knew about the signals. That is, if they
- 27. had been in action on previous nights, and he probably knew whether the aviator who was killed had made any visits to the hunters. You probably noticed how thoughtful DuBois looked when we told him that the aviator was dead and that there were no identifying marks or papers about him.” “Of course I noticed that!” Ben said. “I don’t believe the Englishman told us half he knows about that bunch,” Jimmie declared, “and it’s my private opinion that he never stole a thing at that camp! I guess when we know the truth about the matter, we’ll find that he knows too much about those fellows, and that’s why they want to get hold of him!” “You still believe in the Englishman, do you?” laughed Ben. “You bet I do!” answered Jimmie. “And I just believe they got him into the mountains because they suspected he knew what was going on in that Pullman stateroom. If you leave it to me, some of the hunters over there are mixed up in the abduction of Colleton!” “That would be too good to be true!” exclaimed Ben. “Why would it,” demanded Jimmie. “Because it’s a long step in the game we’re playing to find the men who actually took part in the plot against Colleton. If we have found them in that bunch over there, we’ve made mighty good progress!” “Well, when it all comes out at the end,” Jimmie insisted, “you’ll find that some of those fellows are in the deal, all right! And you’ll find that they got DuBois out into the mountains for the reasons I have already given. They doubtless expected they could keep him with them until the whole thing blew over. But he ran away for some reasons of his own and they’re afraid he’ll talk!” “You’re the wise little Sherlocko!” laughed Ben. Jimmie arose, seized his chum by the shoulders, whirled him around so that his face looked out toward the shelf of rock, and gave him a playful punch in the back. “I’m the wise little Sherlocko, am I?” he demanded. “If you think I’m not right, just look there.” “What does it mean?” asked Ben as red and green signals alternated from the blaze at the foot of the gully.
- 28. “It means that the hunters who have grabbed DuBois are communicating with the same sort of signals we saw before with the men in Neil Howell’s camp!” “Perhaps they are explaining that they’ve captured DuBois.” “I don’t care what they’re explaining,” Jimmie exclaimed impatiently. “What I’m trying to get through your thick head is the fact that they’re using the same kind of signals the smugglers used. They are also using the red and green fire the smugglers carried to their rendezvous.” “I understand!” Ben exclaimed. “That establishes the connection, all right! Now, what are we going to do about it?” “You got DuBois into that mess,” Jimmie grinned, “and it’s up to you to get him out. It’s a wonder they ever let you get away with your machine after grabbing him! They overlooked a bet, there.” “They didn’t want me to get away with it,” Ben answered modestly. “In fact,” he continued, “they placed a man down there to see that I didn’t get away with it. While they were busy putting DuBois through the third degree, I slipped down to the machine and caught the guard when he wasn’t looking. Then I got away with the Bertha.” “Caught him when he wasn’t looking, did you?” chuckled Jimmie. “What did you do to him?” “I bumped him on the coco with the butt of my automatic!” was the reply. “I guess probably he’s laying on the ground there yet!” “You’re the wise little sleuth, too!” laughed Jimmie. “And now,” he continued, “have you any idea how we’re going to wedge our way into that mess of pirates and cut out DuBois?” “I haven’t an idea in my head!” answered Ben. “And I think we’d better go back to camp and talk to Mr. Havens about it. Probably he’ll know what to do!” “He ought to be consulted in the matter anyway,” said Jimmie. “Yes, and by the time we get done talking with Mr. Havens those outlaws will have DuBois halfway over to their camp,” grumbled Ben. “Well, you proposed talking with Mr. Havens yourself!” “Yes, but I didn’t think that time was an important element in this case just now. Do you think you can climb that slope and get up to
- 29. the place where those fellows are without being seen?” “We can climb the slope all right!” Jimmie answered. “And we ought to do it without being seen,” Ben went on, “because it’s going to be darker than a stack of black cats.” “What’ll we do when we get there?” asked Jimmie. “We’ll have to settle that question on the ground!” answered Ben. “Look here!” cried Jimmie. “I’ve got a hunch!” “What’s the answer?” asked Ben. “When we sneak up the slope, we’ll make for the place where the whiskey is stored. If Crooked Terry is there at all he’ll be drunk, and we’ll talk immunity, and a lot of other stuff to him, until he thinks we’re there to save him from a life sentence in the penitentiary. That will give us the run of the cavern, and we ought to be able to sneak out at some time during the night and get DuBois away.” “If they leave him there all night!” Ben replied. “There’s no danger of their making a hike to the hunters’ camp in the darkness,” Jimmie replied. “Those fellows are not mountain men, and they’d break their necks before they had gone halfway down the slope.” “I guess you’re right,” Ben answered, “and I don’t think we’ll have much trouble making a sneak into the cavern. The only thing about the plan that doesn’t look good to me is the fact that we must leave our machines here alone in the valley. I don’t like that!” “Unless a grizzly bear or a wolverine should take a notion to go out on a midnight joy-ride,” Jimmie declared, “no one will disturb the machines. Of course it would be safer if we had some one here to watch them, but we haven’t, and we’ve got to do the next best thing. However, I think they’re safe enough.” Extinguishing all the lights and emptying the store boxes of automatics, cartridges, and searchlights, the boys pushed and pulled the machines into as secluded a place as they could find and started up the slope. It was very dark and they dare not use their electrics, so they were obliged to proceed slowly until they came to the smooth ascent which led directly to the shelf. Then, although the climbing was arduous, they proceeded more rapidly.
- 30. When they came close to the fire they saw three men standing by the blaze. DuBois was not there. The supposition, of course, was that they had stowed him away in some secure hole in the cavern from which it would not be possible for him to escape. “It’s dollars to dill pickles,” whispered Jimmie as they softly skirted the fire and crept up the gully, “that the Englishman has been left in the charge of that old crook. If that’s the case, we ought to be able to get him without much trouble if we don’t send an avalanche of stones down this gully before we get to the top.” The gully presented no avalanche of stones to send down. It was quite evident, even in the darkness, that the rough trail had been used enough recently to clear the way of anything which might go rolling and tumbling to the bottom. When the boys came to the mouth of the cavern they saw the crook sitting with his back against one of the walls, an automatic in his hand. He recognized them instantly as they came up, and seemed glad of their company. It will be remembered that he had been promised immunity by Dick Sherman, the mounted policeman, and that the boys had been associated with the officers. In fact, the fellow cast an inquiring glance down the gully as the boys appeared as if he expected to see the officers following along behind them. It did not take the lads long to convince the half-drunken crook that he ought to produce the Englishman. Believing that any favors shown the boys would be appreciated by the man whom he expected to save him from a long imprisonment, Terry retired into the cavern and soon returned with DuBois. “They’ll crack me crust when they find he’s gone!” Terry said as the boys and the Englishman started away together. “Then perhaps you’d better come with us,” suggested DuBois. “You’ll be safer at the boys’ camp than here, I’m sure!” The crook agreed to this and the four got away without any difficulty whatever. In an hour they were at the camp.
- 31. CHAPTER XX. THE SECRET HIDING-PLACE. When the two machines reached the camp they found Mr. Havens very anxious over the long delay. “I thought I had lost you all this time!” the aviator said. “I had company for a time, but he’s gone now.” “You came very near losing me, don’t you know!” DuBois exclaimed. “And I did lose Carl!” Jimmie confessed. “And I came near losing the Louise!” Ben added. “And Terry here,” Jimmie cried pushing the crook forward, “lost his stock of wet goods when he left the cave!” Terry, who had been very nervous during the ride through the air, and who now lay sprawled out on the ground as if he never intended to leave solid earth again, gravely took two pint bottles filled with brandy from his pockets and set them out on the grass at his side. Then he rolled over and took a bottle of whiskey from another pocket. This he ranged with the others standing them all in a row so that the firelight gave their contents deep ruby tints. “It’s a cold day when I get left for a drink!” he exclaimed, with a cunning leer, as he pointed to the three bottles. After the boys had related their adventures they proceeded to cook supper, and while this was being consumed they discussed the situation at the camp which DuBois had deserted. “What’s the idea of accusing you of stealing that burro?” asked Jimmie turning to the Englishman. “That’s a beastly shame, don’t you know!” exclaimed DuBois.
- 32. “You didn’t steal the burro, of course?” asked Mr. Havens. “Look here!” exclaimed the Englishman. “Do I look like a person who would be apt to steal a mountain burro?” “You certainly do not!” replied the aviator. “Of course, it’s a frame-up!” declared Jimmie. “What’s a frame-up?” asked DuBois innocently. “When a man’s jobbed,” answered Jimmie, “they call it a frame- up!” This explanation was no explanation at all to the Englishman, and so the boys explained that in their opinion, the hunters were, for reasons of their own, trying to send an innocent man to prison or cause him to be lynched. When at last DuBois understood he nodded his head vigorously. “That’s the idea, don’t you know!” he said. “It’s a frame-up, and they want to job me! I’ll remember those terms, don’t you know!” “Why?” asked Mr. Havens. “Why should they want to job you?” “They think I know too much!” “If you do,” cried Jimmie, “you haven’t told it to us!” “Besides,” DuBois continued, “this Neil Howell caught sight of me bag one day, don’t you know.” “Now, it’s all as clear as mud!” cried Jimmie. “I know all about it now! You ran away to escape being robbed of the bag!” “Something like that, don’t you know!” “I guess if you hadn’t run away,” Ben put in, “you would have been dropped down a precipice some dark night!” “Do you know,” asked DuBois innocently, “that that is just the way I figured it out?” “Well, you figured it out right,” Mr. Havens answered. “What will they be apt to do with Carl?” questioned Jimmie. “They won’t be apt to injure him,” DuBois replied. “They’ll get all the information they can from the lad and turn him loose just before they get ready to leave the country.” “You think they’ll leave the country right away?” asked Mr. Havens. “I think they will!” was the answer. “You remember the sick man in the stateroom?” asked Jimmie. “I never saw him, don’t you know.”
- 33. “You suspected there was something mysterious about the manner in which he was being carried across the continent, didn’t you?” “Indeed, I did!” was the reply. “Did you know at that time, or have you learned since, that a post-office inspector named Colleton had been abducted from the post-office building in Washington?” continued the boy. “I read about it in the papers at San Francisco.” “Did you see in the newspapers in San Francisco a description of the younger man who stood in the corridor at the door of Colleton’s room?” “I think I did!” answered DuBois. “When you found the sporty coat, the false beard, and the dickey with the wing collar and the red tie, and the hat in the valise you bought of the porter, did that remind you of anything?” The Englishman nodded and waited eagerly for the boy to go on. “You knew those things were in the valise you bought before you came to our camp, didn’t you?” asked Ben. “Indeed, I did,” was the reply, “although I tried to make you boys believe that I had then discovered them for the first time.” “I understand,” Jimmie said, “and I think,” he went on, “that I understand your motive in telling that little white lie at that time. You wanted to see what effect the production of the articles would have on us, didn’t you? You suspected that we were here on some mission connected with the disappearance of Colleton, but you weren’t sure!” “That’s exactly right, don’t you know.” “And you knew that if we were on such a mission, the appearance of the articles in our camp would create a sensation!” “Very cleverly stated, don’t you know!” “Isn’t Jimmie the cute little Sherlocko, though?” asked Ben winking at Mr. Havens. “I’m going to get that kid a job on the New York police force!” laughed the millionaire aviator. “Don’t you do it!” advised Ben. “Let the boy lead a respectable life as long as he can!”
- 34. “Before you came here,” Jimmie asked turning to the Englishman, “you doubtless understood the motive of this man Howell in getting you away on the hunting trip. You understood that he wanted to keep you out of sight for a while?” “Yes, I understood all that!” “And now here’s the big question!” grinned Jimmie. “As the attorney for the defense says in the criminal courts, I want you to consider well before you answer. Do you know whether Colleton was brought into this country or not?” “I haven’t the slightest idea, don’t you know!” “You believe with us that the man who was killed in the race was the man who left the post-office building with Colleton, and that Colleton was disguised in the articles you now have in your valise?” “I think that’s quite plain,” answered the Englishman. “But you don’t know whether Colleton was left in San Francisco, or sent out on a voyage across the Pacific, or brought into British Columbia.” “There has never been a hint of Colleton in the camp, so far as I know. In fact,” he went on, “the men in the camp, as a rule, are business men who know nothing about the abduction of Colleton or the motive of Howell in bringing me here. That is the reason why I say that your chum will not be injured in the camp.” “I’m glad to know that they’re not all crooks!” Mr. Havens declared. “At the time of the abduction of Colleton, don’t you know,” the Englishman went on, “according to the reports in the newspaper, several valuable documents were taken from his office.” “Some very important documents,” Mr. Havens commented. DuBois arose and walked swiftly to the tent to which he had been assigned. In a moment he reappeared with the bag in his hand. He took the articles it contained out one by one and laid them carefully on the grass. His own possessions made a small heap, but the sporty coat, the false beard, the hat, and the dickey with the wing collar and the red tie made quite a pile. “Did we miss something on the first search?” asked Jimmie.
- 35. “You didn’t make any search at all, don’t you know,” replied the Englishman. “You didn’t look through the bag.” The articles being all removed, he opened the mouth of the bag to its full width and drew out a false bottom. Under the bottom lay several folded papers which he proceeded to remove one by one. “I can smell iodoform now, can’t you?” asked Jimmie. “What do you mean by that?” demanded the Englishman. “Didn’t they use iodoform in the private stateroom where the sick man was?” “How did you come to know that?” asked the Englishman. “Smell of the papers!” advised Jimmie. “They used iodoform in the stateroom, and these papers were opened and examined there! Do you begin to see daylight?” “Do you know why they used iodoform in the stateroom?” asked Mr. Havens. “Is it possible that they wounded Colleton and found the use of the drug necessary?” “I don’t know about that,” DuBois answered, “but I do remember now that there was a smell of iodoform whenever the man in brown opened the stateroom door.” “Now, let’s see the papers,” Mr. Havens suggested. Jimmie got one look at the documents as they were being passed to the aviator and jumped about four feet into the air! “That’s pretty poor, I guess!” he shouted. “What is it?” asked Ben. “Looks to me like the papers stolen from Colleton’s office!” The aviator took the papers into his hand and examined them intently for a moment. Then he turned to Jimmie with a smile. “You’re right!” he said. “These are the papers described in my instructions! And they’re all here—every one!” “Look here!” chuckled Jimmie. “If some guy should come down to New York some day and steal the Singer building, and you should be sent out to find it, and should get into a submarine and dive down to the bottom of the China sea, you’d find the Singer building right there waiting for us to come and get it!” “That’s the kind of luck we’ve had in this case!” admitted Mr. Havens.
- 36. “Luck?” repeated Jimmie. “There ain’t any luck about it! We’ve just loafed around camp, and taken joy-rides in flying machines, and the other fellows have brought all the goods to us.” “It strikes me,” Mr. Havens suggested, “that we ought to get rid of Mr. DuBois and his hand-bag just about as soon as possible. I have no doubt that the fellows over in the other camp recognized the hand-bag lost by the man in brown.” “And that means that they’ll knock DuBois’ head off if they get a chance!” Jimmie cut in. “It means that they’ll murder every person in this camp,” Mr. Havens continued, “rather than permit the papers in the bottom of that bag to get back to Washington. Mr. DuBois ought not to remain here another hour!” “What’s the answer?” asked Jimmie. “How far is it to the nearest railway point?” asked the aviator. “Field is not more than a couple of hours’ ride away,” replied Ben. “Let me take him there to-night and dump him on board a train for the east, bag and all!” exclaimed Jimmie. “That’s what I was about to suggest,” Mr. Havens answered. “But, look here!” interrupted the Englishman. “I’d rather stay and see the bloody game to the finish, don’t you know!” “I don’t blame you for not wanting to run away,” Ben declared. “Think it over,” the aviator suggested. “At least the bag and its contents must be taken out of the camp to-night. Mr. DuBois can go out with it if he wants to.” It was decided that the Englishman should accompany Ben out to Field and make up his mind on the journey whether he would return to the camp. They started away immediately, Ben promising to be back before daylight. When he returned just before sunrise DuBois was with him and he bore an astonishing piece of information. “Here’s another extract from my dream-book!” exclaimed Jimmie.
- 37. CHAPTER XXI. THE BOY AND THE BEAR. Carl slept little that night. The man who had given his name as Frank Harris occupied the tent with him and the two talked until a very late hour. The boy saw from the first that his inquisitor was trying to obtain all the information in his possession regarding the purpose of the Flying Machine Boys in visiting British Columbia. It is needless to say that no mention was made of the Colleton case. Carl knew that the fellow was talking round and round the subject, but he did not see fit to swallow the bait and mention the name of the abducted post-office inspector. Harris talked a great deal about Wall street and the chances for young boys there, and repeatedly suggested that Carl and Jimmie join his office force. The boy understood what this all meant, and did not “fall for the fly,” as Jimmie might have expressed it. “I’d like to know how I’m ever going to get back to our camp,” Carl said, as Harris mentioned the possibility of his return the next day. “Why,” Harris replied, in apparent amazement at the remark, “one of your friends will come after you in a flying machine, I suppose!” “I don’t know whether they will or not!” answered Carl. “You fellows scared Jimmie away so he won’t be likely to return right off.” “He needn’t have been afraid,” Harris laughed. “We wanted to entertain the two of you, and, besides, some of the fellows wanted to take a look at the machine!” “And you wanted to know all about the Englishman, too, didn’t you?” chuckled Carl.
- 38. “Oh, we’ll capture the Englishman without much trouble,” Harris replied. “As I told you before, we have men out after him.” “I should think you fellows would be afraid of the smugglers!” Carl suggested. “I’ve heard stories about smugglers being in this country!” “What kind of smugglers?” asked Harris. “Whiskey smugglers!” “Oh, they’re a cheap lot!” declared Harris. “They wouldn’t dare molest a party of gentlemen out on a hunting trip!” “Had you heard anything about smugglers being here?” asked Carl. “Certainly not!” was the reply. Carl chuckled to himself softly in the darkness of the tent. The red and green signals had, of course, informed him that this party of alleged gentlemen was holding communication with some one on the shelf which had been occupied by the smugglers, and also holding communication with the same signals which had been used from the smugglers’ fire. Naturally the boy was anxious for the safety of Mr. Havens, temporarily unable to defend himself in case of attack, and his chums. When daylight came he moved out of the tent hoping to be able to get away on foot without attracting attention. In a moment he was undeceived as to this, for a burly fellow who was rebuilding the fire motioned him back to the tent with an oath. The attitude of the guard disclosed the hostility of the whole camp, notwithstanding the insincere conversation of Harris. After breakfast Harris beckoned to the boy and the two proceeded up the plateau to the steep ascent which led to the summit of the ridge. There Harris paused and drawing forth a field-glass looked intently in the direction of the shelf at the foot of the gully. “Friends over there?” asked Carl knowing very well what the man was looking for. “Why, some of our fellows who went out in search of the Englishman may have brought up over there!” Harris replied in a hesitating way.
- 39. “Can you see any of them?” asked the boy. “I see people moving about on the ledge over there!” “But you can’t tell who they are?” asked Carl. “Hardly,” was the reply. “The distance is too great.” Harris leveled his glass at the distant ledge once more, and seeing him thus occupied the boy crept down the incline to the west of the slope, and disappeared in a narrow and rather dismal-looking opening in the cliff. At first he passed only a yard or so into what appeared to be a rather deep cavern. He knew that his flight would be instantly discovered and had a curiosity to know which direction the pursuit would take. Directly he heard Harris calling out: “Hello, kid!” Carl crept farther into the crevice. “There’s no use in your hiding,” Carl heard the man say. “Even if you should get away now, you’d starve to death in the hills!” Directly Carl heard footsteps scrambling down the slope, and knew that Harris was not many feet away from his hiding-place. Had he been armed the fellow’s life might have been in danger at that time, but his automatic had been removed as soon as he had been taken to the tent. However, a small pocket electric searchlight had not been discovered when the careless search of his clothing had been made. Harris came on grumbling and swearing, and the boy thought best to move farther back into the cavern. The chamber into which he made his way grew wider as he advanced. It seemed to be one of the caverns formed by the action of water washing out soft strata of rock. Looking back he saw the figure of his pursuer darken the entrance, and so stumbled on blindly in the darkness, his hands brushing against one side of the cavern as he advanced. For all the boy knew there might be breaks in the fairly level floor of the cave. He well knew that subterranean streams often cut through the floors of such caverns. To fall into such a stream meant
- 40. death, but he dare not expose even the tiny light of his electric, so he kept on in the darkness, feeling his way as best he could. Directly he heard Harris calling from the entrance, using persuasive language at first, and declaring that the boy would be immediately returned to his own camp if he gave up his mad attempt to make his way back on foot. Carl crouched closer against the wall and remained silent. He knew from the sounds coming from the entrance that Harris was creeping into the cavern. He had just decided to press on farther in spite of the danger when a blood- curdling growl and a rattling of strong claws on rocks came to his ears. Carl declares to this day that his hair rose so swiftly at the sound of that growl that half of it was pulled out by the roots! He had no weapon with which to defend himself, and to flash his light into the eyes of the brute would be to betray his presence to his pursuer. Once possessed of the knowledge of his whereabouts, it would not be necessary for Harris to follow on into the cavern. He would only have to wait at the entrance for the boy to make his way out. In a moment the boy realized that the bear was passing the spot where he stood. He could hardly believe his senses when he heard the clatter of claws on the floor and saw the black bulk of the animal obstructing the narrow shaft of light creeping in from the slope. Before long he knew by the exclamations of alarm and the hasty pounding of feet that Harris was making his way out of the cavern. Remembering the long, narrow passage through which he had made his way before coming to the chamber, Carl followed the animal toward the entrance and, as soon as the sound of Harris’ flight had vanished, turned on his light. The bear was in the narrow passage. His great bulk almost shut out the daylight. He gave a great snarl as Carl approached from behind and turned his head to one side, but the passage was not wide enough for him to turn around. He must either pass out and come in head first or back up to where the subterranean place widened.
- 41. For a time the bear seemed undecided as to what he ought to do. He growled fiercely at the boy, but could not reach him. He moved toward the slope occasionally, but always hesitated before pushing his nose into the daylight. From this the boy argued that Harris stood near the entrance, and the bear was afraid to attack him. Carl took out his pocket-knife and stationed himself at the end of the narrow passage. “He can’t eat me with his hind legs!” he grinned, “and if he tries to back I’ll give him a few slashes that will send him out into the open.” The bear tried to back and didn’t like it. He rushed toward the entrance again snarling angrily, but, evidently sensing danger there, drew back once more. “Drive the brute out, kid!” advised Harris from the outside. “He’ll bite you if I do!” chuckled Carl. “No, he won’t; I’ve got a gun ready for him!” “You go on away,” Carl suggested, “and I’ll come out.” “The bear will escape if I go too far away.” “Aw, let him get away if he wants to!” “And let you get away, too, I suppose?” suggested Harris. “Why not?” asked Carl. “Because we want information which we believe to be in your possession!” replied Harris. “You pumped me dry last night!” insisted the boy. “Come, hurry up,” advised Harris. “Give the bear a couple of pokes and drive him out! I’ll take care of him, and you, too,” he added under his breath. The last part of the sentence was not intended to be overheard by the boy, but his quick ears caught the words. He knew that the present situation could not long continue, but was hoping all the time that some one would come to his assistance. Men from the camp below now began gathering about the entrance to the cavern, and many observations intended to be humorous were passed to and fro as they grouped about. “Are you coming out?” demanded Harris directly. “No,” answered Carl. “Then we’ll come in and get you!”
- 42. “The bear’ll bite you if you come in here!” answered Carl. The men stood talking outside for a long time. The bear did not back up against the boy again, and so received no more wounds. The beast was, however, evidently growing more savage every moment. It seemed to Carl that he must soon rush out of the cavern and attack the men in front. After a long time a succession of whines came from the rear, and Carl knew that the crisis was at hand. It was plain now that he had entered a bear home which was abundantly supplied with babies. When the cubs lifted their voices in protest against the absence of their mother, the animal in the narrow passage began to back again. The men outside apparently knew what was taking place, for the opening was darkened by a sturdy figure as the animal pressed back to where Carl stood. The boy hesitated for a long time trying to decide upon the best course to pursue. He did not relish the idea of wounding the mother bear with his knife, but still less did he like the notion of himself being wounded by the sharp teeth and claws of the animal. He knew that if he could keep the bear in the narrow passage his pursuers could not enter, but at the same time he understood that this situation could not long endure. “I wonder if the old lady would overlook me long enough to get to her babies if I should let her pass?” mused the boy. The lad was not called upon to answer that question, for while he hesitated a shout came from the outside, and the man who had been creeping in withdrew, his bulky body giving place to a slant of sunshine. “They’ve got the machine!” he heard some one saying. “I don’t believe it!” another voice declared. “If you see a machine it isn’t one of the three belonging to the boys.” “I don’t know who it belongs to,” the first speaker insisted, “but I know there’s a machine coming this way from the shelf of rock!” “Perhaps they have captured a machine and they are bringing that blasted Englishman over,” still another voice cut in. At that moment the desperate bear in the passage charged.
- 43. CHAPTER XXII. THE DOG IN THE CAVERN. When Ben returned with DuBois, Mr. Havens regarded the Englishman quizzically for a moment before speaking. “I didn’t expect you to return at this time,” he said. “I couldn’t have kept him away with a cannon,” Ben cut in. “You see,” the boy continued, “when we got to Field, I had to get a whole lot of folks out of bed. The clatter of the motors had already awakened about half the town, and I had to wake up the rest.” “I don’t see why!” said Mr. Havens. “Well,” Ben explained, “I had to wake up the express agent to get the hand-bag nailed up in a peach of a hard wood box, and locked up in his safe. Then I had to wake up a couple of men to induce the telegraph operator to come to his office. He said he wanted to sleep.” “Why didn’t you let him sleep?” asked Mr. Havens. “I did let him sleep, after I kicked his window in, until I got the two husky men from a miners’ camp to pull him out of bed.” “You must have made quite a sensation in that little burg.” “Don’t you know,” cut in the Englishman, “I never felt so conspicuous in all me life.” “We were conspicuous, all right!” laughed Ben. “Well,” he continued, “the operator bucked on working the wire after we got into the office, but after DuBois held a private conversation with him in the corner he set to work like he enjoyed being waked up nights.” “How much did you give him, Mr. DuBois?” asked Jimmie.
- 44. The Englishman made no reply, and Mr. Havens went on with his questions. “Why did you want to get him to the telegraph office?” “Well,” began Ben, “you remember when we were talking about the disguise, the dickey, the sporty coat and false beard and all that? This little Jimmie had the nerve to say that the abductor buffaloed Colleton into opening the safe and taking out the papers.” “And I’ll stick to that, too!” declared Jimmie. “And the rascal said, too,” Ben went on, “that when Colleton opened the safe, the brigand shut the discarded clothing into it!” “And I’ll stand by that, too!” declared Jimmie. “They searched the room, didn’t they? They didn’t find the articles of clothing, did they? Well, then, they must have been put in the safe!” “That’s a poor deduction!” declared Ben. “Well, you go on and tell what you telegraphed to Washington about,” Jimmie insisted. “Tell the truth, now!” “I didn’t say I telegraphed to Washington,” Ben insisted. “But you did, though, didn’t you?” “Look here,” Ben exclaimed. “If you’re going to tell this story, you just go right ahead and tell it. You’re always butting in!” “All right!” grinned Jimmie with a wink at Mr. Havens. “I can go ahead and tell it. I know what you telegraphed to Washington for, and I know what you found out!” “Go on and tell it, then!” “You telegraphed to Washington in Mr. Havens’ name, and asked if there were any new developments in the Colleton case.” “That’s right,” admitted Ben. “The people at Washington had to get some one out of bed, and the person they got out of bed had to find out whether you were alive or dead, and whether they had a right to tell you what you wanted to know, and unwind a lot of red tape, and then you got the information you sought!” “What’s the use of sparring for wind?” demanded Ben. “Why don’t you go on and tell about it?” “You just wait until I turn over another leaf of my dream-book and I’ll tell you all about it. That is, I could tell you all about it if I wanted
- 45. to, but I ain’t going to.” Ben was shaking with laughter and the sober-faced Englishman was actually smiling. “If I wanted to,” continued Jimmie, “I could tell you that the man at Washington wired that the safe in Colleton’s office had at last been opened by an expert. I could also tell you that he admitted that the coat and hat of the post-office inspector were found in the safe. I could also tell you that there began to be a faint suspicion in Washington that Colleton had walked out of his office with the man in brown and had been carried out of the city in the private stateroom of a Pullman-car. But look here,” the boy continued with a very annoying grin, “you’ve been making so much fun of my dream- book lately that I’m not going to tell you a thing about it!” “Is that the correct story, Mr. DuBois?” asked Havens. “That comes very near to being the correct story, don’t you know!” the Englishman replied. “Is it?” demanded Jimmie, fairly dancing up and down. “That’s the story they told,” Ben admitted. “Say,” Jimmie shouted, “when I get back to New York, I’m going to open an office for the purpose of disclosing the future, and I’m going to write a new dream-book, and guarantee all the dreams on an extra payment of five dollars per!” “Look here, kid,” demanded Ben, “how the dickens did you ever dream this all out?” “No dream about it!” argued Jimmie. “Colleton had to get out of his room, and he couldn’t go up through the ceiling or down through the floor. He had to pass out of the door. Anybody with the sense of geese ought to know that the two men seen in the corridor had just passed out of Colleton’s room. It’s the only solution there is to the mystery!” “Oh, it all looks easy now as soon as we get as far as the hindsight!” said Ben. “Well,” Jimmie laughed, “I’ve done a lot of guessing in this case, and I’m glad I guessed one proposition correctly. I was just certain that Colleton’s clothing would be found in the safe, but still I was a little leary when Ben came back with his story that he had been
- 46. using the wire. You see, I understood without his saying so that he’d been talking with Washington.” “Well,” Mr. Havens said after a moment’s thought, “we’ve got the papers, and we’ve got the disguise, but we haven’t got Colleton. In fact, we’re no nearer getting hold of him than we were the first day we took the case!” “Don’t you ever think that!” declared Jimmie. “We’ve connected Colleton with a number of people who might have had a hand in his abduction. If this work hasn’t brought us to the man himself, it has put us in position to find out where he is.” “But the man who actually took the inspector from his office is dead!” Mr. Havens argued. “We can’t bring the dead to life, and it may be that no other person on earth knew of the personality of the men back of the whole plot.” “What’s the matter with this Neil Howell?” asked Jimmie. “That is only a faint clue!” declared Mr. Havens. “Anyway,” insisted Jimmie, “we’re on the right track, and I’m tickled to think that we struck British Columbia!” “I wonder if Carl is?” asked Ben with a sudden drawing down of his face. “I hope the boy will soon show up!” “They won’t permit him to leave their camp, don’t you know,” the Englishman interposed, “until they find out more about the exact situation of affairs. The decent fellows in the camp won’t stand for his being abused, but he won’t be permitted to depart.” “Aw, what right have they got to go and tie a chum of ours up?” demanded Jimmie. “They’re a lot of fresh guys anyway, and they called me a lot of names just because they couldn’t get their hands on the machine. I wish I’d ’a’ had a hot water hose. I’d ’a’ cooked their skins good and plenty! They’re too fresh!” “Second the motion!” cried Ben. “Why ain’t we on our way to Carl instead of loafing before this fire?” “We’ll be on our way there quick enough if Carl doesn’t show up pretty soon!” declared Jimmie. Crooked Terry, who had been sleeping behind one of the tents, now came staggering up to the fire and stood weaving back and forth as if he had some unpleasant communication.
- 47. “Look here, you fellows,” he said in a moment, speaking in the husky tone common to tipplers, “I forgot something! I’ve got to go back to the cavern!” “You might have brought another bottle with you, then,” laughed Jimmie. Terry meandered deliberately to the rear of the tent and returned in a moment with two full bottles of liquor, which he held out to the boys with a sly wink. “I don’t want to go back after whiskey!” he said. “I’m stinting myself to a bottle a day for two days. I’m going to swear off! I never got into trouble when I was sober. The minute I get drunk I go and do the very thing I ought not to do. Therefore, I’m going to swear off!” “Going to keep sober, are you?” asked Jimmie. “You know it!” “I’ve got a picture of your keeping sober!” Ben laughed. “You don’t know what you’ve talking about, kid!” Terry continued. “It’s easy enough to keep sober if you can get sober to start with. It won’t be any trouble for me to keep on the water wagon after I get the booze out of my system!” “You haven’t told us what you’ve got to go back to the cavern for,” Mr. Havens reminded him. “Well,” Terry began, dropping his glance to the ground, “the fact of the matter is that I left a—a—a—dog fastened up in a hole in the wall back there, and he’ll starve to death if I don’t go back.” “What’d you go and do that for?” demanded Jimmie. “Why didn’t you let him out before you came away?” “When we came away,” Terry replied with a ferocious wink, “we wasn’t thinking about dogs packed away in holes in the walls! I was fuller than a goat, anyway, and I wouldn’t have thought of—of—this dog if I’d been walking away under a peaceful summer sky with no danger in sight.” “Perhaps the fellows we left on the shelf will find the dog and feed him,” suggested Mr. Havens. “No, they won’t find him!” declared Terry. “When I hide a dog, they don’t everybody come along and find him!”
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