When the rangers led the Indian boy into the store, Jessie was near the door. Quickly she put her hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Don’t be afraid,” she said. “We want to help you.”
The boy did not look up, but he pushed back his wet hair.
A ranger said, “This boy belongs in Maine. When he heard about Flat Top on a radio program he begged rides and got here in no time. He’s interested in the cave, but so far I don’t know why.”
They all sat down. The boy was on a wooden chair. His clothes dripped on the floor.
The chief ranger took off his raincoat and sat down at a desk. He said to the boy, “This is a very small village, son. We always notice any strangers. We want to know why you came here, what you expect to find, and also why you ran away. You will save time if you tell the exact truth. If you tell a lie, we will find it out. First, what is your name?”
The boy waited a minute. “David Walker,” he said.
“That’s not an Indian name,” said the ranger.
“No, my Indian name is David Walking-by-Night.”
“A nice name,” whispered Jessie to Henry. “But Lovan’s last name is Dixon.”
The ranger went on, “Why were you interested in Flat Top?”
David Walking-by-Night drew a long breath. He seemed very tired, but he seemed to be telling the truth.
“I was born in Maine,” he said. “But I don’t belong in Maine. My mother came from another tribe down here. She told me stories about Flat Top.”
“What stories?” shouted Benny.
David looked at Benny. He did not smile. He said, “The stories may not be true. But one story is about some treasure that belongs to my tribe. I thought I might get it sometime.”
The ranger said, “That treasure would belong to your mother’s people first, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes, but they are all dead long ago. I’m the only one left in that tribe. My mother is dead, too.”
Nobody spoke for a minute. It was not hard to guess that this boy without a family had no one to care about him.
The ranger said, “Did you ever go to school, son?”
“A little, not much. I went for a few weeks and then I’d go hunting. Then I’d go to school for awhile.”
“How did you live? Did you have a job?”
“Yes,” said David. “I had a lot of jobs. I didn’t like any of them. I chopped wood and shoveled snow and worked in a garden. I liked that the best.”
“How did you plan to live down here?” asked the ranger. “Have you any money?”
“No. I thought I could carry things up the mountain. I’m a good mountain climber. But everyone kept looking at me, so I was afraid and ran.”
Mr. Alden spoke for the first time. He said, “Now, David, I am beginning to make some guesses. If I am right, I think a new life is open to you if you want to take it. Right now I know you are tired. We have heard enough for tonight.”
David looked at Mr. Alden and no one needed to tell the boy that he had found a friend. He said, “Thank you, sir.”
Benny said, “I can guess as well as Grandfather. Can’t we take David to the motel and get him some food and dry clothes?”
“There is an extra bed in my room,” Mr. Carter said. “David can sleep there. How about it, David?”
The boy nodded, but Grandfather said, “Let’s be sure our plan checks with the ranger.” Then he said, “Is this plan all right with you, sir? I’ll take this boy with me and take good care of him. I’ll see that he comes to no harm.”
“Perfectly all right,” said the ranger. He had learned that John Carter was an ex-F.B.I. man. “The boy hasn’t done anything wrong.”
“We’d better go right along,” said Jessie. “David needs something to eat.”
Mr. Carter said, “I’ll take Dave and Benny and Jessie in my car. Henry, you take Mr. Alden and Dr. Osgood.”
The two cars soon arrived at the motel. Benny had chattered most of the way. Jessie and Mr. Carter had talked pleasantly. But the Indian boy had not said a word.
Henry said, “The first thing we’ll do is find dry clothes for you while you’re taking a shower.”
Henry went at once to his clothes drawer. He got out dry clothes for David. They were all too big, but they had to do. Benny’s shoes were just right for him.
When everyone was washed and dressed they met in the dining room.
“He’s a good looking boy,” thought Violet when she met him.
“Let’s all have hot soup,” said Mr. Alden. “I’m just as tired as David is.”
John Carter thought to himself, “That boy has not eaten anything for a good many hours. I hope he doesn’t faint.”
David looked first to see how Henry ate his soup, and then he did the same.
“He cares,” thought John Carter. “He wants to do things right.” He had a question to ask, but he waited until the soup was gone and a tiny bit of color came into the boy’s face.
Then he said, “You know, David, we hear there is a big leather bag in some cave, with treasures in it. It belonged to an Indian who died long ago. Have you heard this story?”
“Yes, sir!” said David eagerly. “I heard more than that. I heard that a foreign man had it first. He gave it to an Indian who was afraid somebody would follow him, so he got a big bundle of corn, and hid the bag under the corn.”
All this time Dr. Osgood had been eating soup and smiling to himself. He waited until the roast chicken dinner came. Then he cleared his throat and said, “Ahem!” just to be sure that everyone was looking at him.
“I just want to say,” he began, “that all this is very important and interesting. But nobody has said a single word about Old Flat Top!”
“Tell us!” they all shouted.
“Well, the staging is all done,” said Dr. Osgood. “And I crawled inside for twenty-five feet.”
“Any bag?” yelled Benny.
“Well, no,” said Dr. Osgood, smiling. “There are some things right on the floor of the cave that are very interesting to me. The walls seem to be just big smooth rocks.”
Benny said, “Oh, Dr. Osgood, there must be some place where something could be hidden.”
“You’ll have to see for yourself,” Dr. Osgood said. “Maybe your sharp young eyes will see something my old ones missed.” |