The Boy Scouts Under Fire in Mexico

CHAPTER IX.
FIGURING IT ALL OUT

"Just hold your horses a bit, Tubby; you're going so fast I'm afraid you'll break your neck," Rob told the fat boy. "Why, nobody ever saw you half so excited in all your life as you are now."

"Well, who wouldn't be, when everything is rooting for us to make that lovely trip down to the land of sunshine, where there is something doing every minute of the time right now?" Tubby declared. "And all I hope is, first, that this rumor about the school roof taking wings and blowing away doesn't turn out to be a fizzle; and, second, that you will make up your mind to go along with me, Rob. Because I'm banking on the rest falling all over themselves to sneeze if only you take snuff. That right, fellers?"

"You've got it down pretty pat, Tubby," chuckled Merritt.

"Yes," added Andy, "you know mighty well that if Rob and you say 'go,' the rest of us couldn't be held back with wild horses. That is, always providing our folks give us permission, and I think they will when they know how much the trip means to your poor uncle."

"There, Rob, see that?" cried Tubby eagerly. "What's doing now?"

"Before I say a word one way or the other," Rob told him, "there are heaps of questions I want answered. Perhaps you can tell us a part of the story; but we'd have to see Uncle Mark, and hear the rest. Get that, Tubby?"

"Sure I do, Rob, and you'll find me only too willing to accommodate all I can. Fire away, now, and I'll try and put you wise to the facts," and the fat boy threw himself into Rob's easy-chair, elevating one leg over an arm, and assuming the air of a witness in the box ready to be cross-questioned by the lawyer on the other side.

"Tell us something more about your uncle first of all," said Rob, just as if he might have a long list of questions on a slip of paper, which he meant to put to the other.

"About his life, do you mean, or just that part of it connected with Mexico?" demanded Tubby.

"We haven't the time to stand for it all," observed Rob; "because such a wonderful man as your uncle must have run across more queer things than we read about in Baron Munchausen or the Arabian Nights, he's been such a great traveler and explorer. So just strike in where he made up his mind to settle down on a Mexican ranch, and sent to England to import a fine breed of cattle to improve the native stock. That was how long ago, Tubby?"

"From what he told me I guess it might have been six or seven years back; but that doesn't matter so very much. He bought a big tract of good land, and put up his ranch buildings; after which he got his stock together and started raising the best brand of cattle ever known in Northern Mexico, shipping his beef, on the hoof, of course, over the border to the United States market."

"That was when Diaz was president of Mexico," Rob remarked. "Now, how did your uncle get along with the Government at that time? I want to know, because it's going to cut a big figure with us when we get down there – if we ever do."

"Why, to tell you the truth, I don't believe Uncle Mark cared much for President Diaz, because he had lots of trouble at times with the people in power. And later on, when Madero went into Mexico to turn things upside-down, I guess uncle helped him a whole lot. Anyway, I've heard him say he admired Madero a heap, and that they were good friends. Why, after Diaz lit out for Spain, Uncle Mark was so dead sure things would run smooth down there that he left his ranch in charge of a man he believed he could trust, and started on the trip to Africa that he'd been staving off for ever so long. And he says he must have just missed the news that Madero had been killed, and that another president was in the chair. If he'd known that, he would never have made his dive into the heart of Africa, but hurried back home."

"Then he looks on Huerta as anything but a friend; is that it?" asked Rob.

"He's afraid the present Government is following along the same paths Diaz made, and that everybody who was hand in glove with Madero must come under the ban," Tubby went on to say with considerable importance, as though he might be coining some of these phrases himself, when, truth to tell, he only repeated them, parrot-like, after his uncle.

"Now, that's something we would have to know," said Rob. "But tell us, has your uncle had any word from his ranch since he came back?"

"Not a whisper," Tubby assured him. "You see, things are in such a whirl down over the border right now that letters never get to their destinations; and as for a wire message being delivered, it isn't possible in a year."

"Then Uncle Mark doesn't know whether he has any cattle left on his ranch to-day, or if it's just a howling wilderness, with every beef run off, and the buildings burned to the ground. Is that the way it stands, Tubby?"

"Er – yes, I suppose it is," admitted the fat scout slowly. "And you see, it's to find out the truth, for one thing, that he wants somebody to go down there and cross over into Mexico. Then, if everything is lovely and the goose hangs high, that messenger will be given authority to dispose of every head of cattle so as to fetch as big a fistful of money back here as he can."

Rob shook his head, while the other three who were eagerly watching his face looked keenly disappointed. The signs seemed to point to an adverse decision in the matter by the patrol leader.

"It appears to be even worse than what I called it first – a wild goose chase," Rob presently pursued. "For months and months now there have been all kinds of fighting around that section of country, if half we see in the papers is true: first with the Government forces ahead, and then the rebels clearing out everything, so that a hostile army couldn't live off the land. It was just as Sheridan was ordered to do in the Valley of the Shenandoah, you remember. If the army of Huerta didn't carry off your uncle's prize stock, you can make sure the hungry rabble of that rebel general, Villa, must have gobbled it up long ago."

"Oh! but there is where uncle says he has his strongest hold!" exclaimed Tubby, his round face lighting up again with new hope.

"I'm glad to hear he's got a string out somewhere, then," Rob remarked. "Suppose you tell us what you mean by that?"

"Why, he knows General Villa real well," Tubby went on. "Fact is, he met him some years ago when he was only a bandit, fighting against the Diaz Government, because they'd gone and set a price on his head. It's too long a story to tell you now, Rob, but the fact is that my uncle, who used to be a pretty fine surgeon once on a time before he got this exploring bee in his head, saved the life of Villa!"

"He did, eh?" exclaimed the patrol leader, apparently beginning to take new interest in the matter. "That sounds as though there might be a slim chance for those herds to be left alone. Go on and tell us some more, Tubby."

"Villa was badly hurt, and uncle took him to his house and nursed him back to life again, knowing who he was all the while; because, as I said before, uncle didn't have any too much love for the party that was in power just then. And Villa told him he would never forget what uncle had done for him; that if he could do him a favor any time all uncle had to do was to speak. So that is what he's hoping will turn out in his favor; that General Villa, remembering how he was treated so well at the ranch, would put a guard over the place and keep his men from raiding it, under the belief that uncle must return home before long. Oh, Uncle Mark is building big hopes on the gratitude of the man whose life he saved long ago!"

"I must say it does look some hopeful," Rob mused, as though trying to convince himself along those lines; for a trip to the South did look mighty alluring to him, if only he could believe it was not a foolish errand that took them to the sorely troubled land of the Montezumas.

"And I forgot to tell you this," Tubby continued breathlessly. "Just as you read so often in stories of the old-time days, the bandit Villa gave my uncle a queer ring which he wears all the time, and told him that if that ring was ever brought to him he would go far out of his way to help the person who fetched it!"

When Tubby burst out with this new bombardment, Rob threw up his hands as if he must capitulate on the spot.

"That seems to clinch matters like a nail driven through a board, Tubby," he went on to say.

"Oh! then you mean you'll go; is that it, Rob?" exclaimed the fat boy, scrambling out of the easy-chair, and landing on his feet with his short legs spread out as though they were a letter A.

Rob smiled.

"It's too soon to settle the thing like that, Tubby; but I want to tell you that after hearing all you've had to say, I must admit there's a chance of my falling in with your scheme. It's a glorious outlook so far as the trip goes. The trouble will be to get in touch with General Villa with that country fairly swarming with guerillas and bandits of all kinds, not to speak of the rebels themselves."

"What will you do about it, Rob?" pleaded Tubby. "Because you know time is going to count for a whole lot with us. Just as soon as we know for sure that there will not be any school till long after Christmas, we ought to be starting. It's going to take some days to get down there, and across the Rio Grande."

"Well, first, you must take us all to see your uncle so he can give us more information. We shall need it all, depend on that," Rob told him, laying one finger on the palm of his left hand as he checked things off. "Then I want to talk it all over with dad, though somehow I don't seem to fear any serious opposition from that quarter, because he's so good to me, and has such a lot of faith in my being able to come out of any scrape right-side up. Last of all, I mean to put it up to our scout-master, Mr. Alec Sands, and get his advice."

Hampton Troop of Boy Scouts now had a regular scout master, as the rules of the organization demanded. He was a bright young man of about twenty-five, who, while not very well acquainted with the secrets of the Big Outdoors, as were some of the scouts, did know boys from the ground up; and he was deeply interested in everything that went for the betterment of the rising generation. Some time before, Rob had received his certificate from Headquarters in New York City, and was qualified to serve as assistant scout master in the absence of the real leader of the troop; for only a first-class scout may fill this position, and then only after he has been endorsed by the scout commissioner of the district, as well as the local council.

"Well," said Tubby, scratching his head dubiously, "I only hope, then, that our Mr. Sands don't put the kibosh on the whole fine game by saying there's too big a risk about it for us to undertake. I don't see why that should be, when every day you read about scouts doing all sorts of wonderful things, – rescuing folks from burning buildings, stopping runaway horses at the risk of their lives, and such brave deeds that get them medals from Headquarters. This means a whole lot to my uncle, and to my folks; for whatever he owns will come to us if he should die; and let me say this right now – if the rest of you back out, Tubby Hopkins will make the try all by himself. You hear me talking, don't you?"

"That sounds pretty strong, Tubby," remarked Rob, smiling, yet in secret admiring the undaunted spirit that caused the stout boy to make this positive declaration; "but suppose you take us right now to see your uncle; that may settle it once and for all!"

CHAPTER X.
HOW THE LAND LAY

Upon hearing Rob speak so favorably of the scheme, Tubby grinned, and gave both of the other scouts a sly wink, as much as to say: "See how you can get there by keeping everlastingly at it?" That was the fat boy's best quality: persistence. If he failed to reach his aim twenty times he was apt to proceed to try again and again until success rewarded him.

"Then come along over home with me and have a talk with Uncle Mark!" he told the patrol leader as he began to hunt all around for his hat, which he often mislaid. He was finally informed coolly by Andy that it was perched on his head, as he had forgotten to remove it when entering Rob's den!

So the four hurried out. Signs of the late storm's fury could be seen in every direction. Great limbs had been torn from some of Hampton's finest trees; chimneys had been demolished in several places; and it was not hard to believe that at the climax of the hurricane the new roof of the Academy had been carried off.

First of all, Rob said they should satisfy themselves that this report was true; so they joined the crowds that were heading for the school grounds. When the boys saw what a wreck the storm had made of the building, none of them doubted any longer that a vacation period was bound to result. And strange to say, while some of the town fathers walked around, viewing the damage with long faces, knowing how heavily it would cost to repair the school, nobody saw a single boy looking glum!

"That's one point settled, anyhow," Andy remarked gleefully, as they all turned away, heading for the Hopkins' home.

"And say, Mexico looks a whole lot closer to me, don't you know?" Tubby chirped, with such a happy look on his rosy face that any one might have thought he was on the eve of starting on a picnic instead of a serious undertaking. But, then, boys never see the dark side of things, such is the enthusiasm and optimism of youth.

"Too bad about one thing, Tubby, if so be you get away on this journey," remarked Andy, giving Merritt a wink as he spoke.

"What's that, Andy, you're hinting about?" asked the other.

"It's going to knock your fine plans silly; about searching every tool chest in town, you know, and finding the brace and nicked bit that chawed a hole through the bottom of Rob's sailboat," the bugler of the Eagles went on to say.

Tubby looked somewhat glum, and shrugged his plump shoulders ruefully.

"Say, that's a fact, fellers," he remarked dolefully; "and I'd sure set my heart on finding out the miscreant, and exposing him to his face. Such a smart idea of mine it was, too, finding that shaving with the tell-tale mark! But if I don't get a chance to spy around between now and the time we leave Hampton, I'll keep it in mind. And every time I look at that incriminating bit of evidence, I'll renew my vow to place the guilt on the shoulders where it belongs just as soon as I get back home after a successful trip."

Tubby, when he wanted to, could appear very eloquent, and use some of the longest words in the dictionary. Fortunately these periods did not crop up very often, or his chums would not have stood for such airs. Andy pretended to feel faint as it was, and begged Merritt to fan him.

"All I can say about the matter is that I'm sorry for the fellow who bored that hole through my boat," Rob remarked; "because when once Tubby sets his mind on anything it's bound to come, sooner or later. But here we are at your house; and now to meet Uncle Mark."

Three minutes later they were all sitting around a small, dark-featured gentleman, who wore a big pair of goggles and looked as though he might be pretty sick. This was Uncle Mark. The fever he had contracted in the hot depths of the African jungles had taken such a hold upon his system that he began to despair of ever being able to travel again; and he had sought his sister's home as a haven of refuge in his last days.

He seemed to guess about what the three scouts had come to see him; which would indicate that Tubby had done considerable talking, even to promising that he would coax the others to join him in making the trip to the country south of the Rio Grande.

As Rob went over pretty much the same ground as when he was questioning Tubby, it would hardly pay us to repeat what passed between Uncle Mark and the boys for the first half hour of the conference. Of course the old traveler was able to go further into details; and some of his descriptions of those warm times when he first met Villa, the bandit, thrilled his young hearers.

"Some people might think it a very unwise thing for me to try and induce a party of mere lads to start down into that sorely distressed and torn-up country just now on such a strange errand," Uncle Mark said after a while; "but I've considered everything carefully, and I actually believe you would have a far better chance for success than if I entrusted the mission to a man, who would be sure to get mixed up with some of the rival factions and lose out. Besides, I've become very much interested in the aims of Boy Scouts since I've come to Hampton; and some of the things you Eagles have done fairly made my heart go out to you. I believe that if anybody can make a success of this errand you can."

Naturally enough such words of warm praise made the scouts feel drawn toward the broken down old traveler and explorer more than ever. Uncle Mark had seen such a host of remarkable things during his roving life that this fact alone would endear him to all boys who had red blood in their veins. And scouts in particular, with their love for outdoors and the myriad secrets of the wilderness, might be expected to feel warmly toward one who had camped for months amidst the savage tribes of Africa, hunted through the tropical forests of South America in search of new orchids, and lived the free life of an explorer.

Still Rob went on asking questions, for he knew that they could not have too much information concerning the country they meant to visit, and the people they must meet there.

All of them examined the quaint ring that Uncle Mark passed around, which, as he said, General Villa had given him years ago. At that time the present leader of the rebel forces in Northern Mexico was looked on as a hunted bandit, with a price set on his head by President Diaz.

"Should you conclude to undertake this mission, Rob," the old gentleman went on to say, with an anxious, almost pleading look on his face, "which I earnestly hope may be the case, I mean to put this ring on your finger, because I suppose you are to be the leader. When you want to prove to General Villa that you come direct from his old friend, Doctor Matthews, all you have to do is to show him that; and if he is the man of his word that I firmly believe him to be, there is nothing he can do for you that he will refuse. But more than that, I expect to entrust you with a letter to him, written in Spanish, but also translated for your benefit. In it I shall ask him to dispose of all my cattle, if they are still safe, to the best advantage possible, and to send me the proceeds by you, as I am in a bad state and shall need the money. Is that plain, boys?"

"It couldn't be more so, sir," Rob assured him.

"And now, after you have heard all that I can tell you, what do you think about undertaking the expedition for me?" continued the other eagerly. Tubby gripped the sides of his chair and held his breath, waiting for Rob to settle the important question then and there.

Rob was too diplomatic to do so off-hand. He knew that several things had to be taken into consideration before they could think of assenting.

"All I can say just now is this, Dr. Matthews," he remarked. "I'm for going, now that I understand things better, and know that there is really some sort of chance that your cattle have been guarded, because of this friendship for you on the part of Villa; and you tell us that he is a man who never forgets a friend. But before we can say positively that we'll undertake the job, we shall have to see what the home folks have to say about it."

"Of course. I expected that, Rob," the gentleman went on; "and if any of you meet with opposition, please send the fathers or mothers over to see me, and I'll try my best to win them to your way of thinking. It means everything to me, because that ranch is all I've got left in the wide world; and I put over a hundred thousand dollars into it."

"Oh! so far as my father is concerned, sir," Rob assured him, "I'm pretty sure there'll be little talking needed to make him see it in the right light; because he's the finest dad on all Long Island, and he believes in me from the word go. Merritt, here, has a coaxing way about him that generally gets what he wants from his father, who is the jolliest big man you ever saw wield a sledge. About Andy I'm not so sure; but if there is going to be no school for two months, and his father learns that the rest of us are going, I have hopes that he will say yes."

"And I know he will!" exclaimed the bugler of the troop positively. "Because he believes that scouts can take care of themselves anywhere. Since I joined the Eagles I've shown so much improvement, he says, that there is really nothing he would refuse me that was in reason."

"Which shows that your father is a sensible man," remarked Uncle Mark; "and I hope to meet him before long. But how soon can all this be settled, Rob? Because every day counts terribly now. If my cattle have been spared all these months, it may be that General Villa, believing I never mean to return to Mexico, and needing money to buy supplies for his troops, may feel that he has done all that could be asked of him, and yield to the pressure. Yes, a day might turn the scales, and lose me all my valuable stock. Make it as short a delay as you can, please, Rob."

"Oh! we'll settle that this very night, sir," replied the patrol leader promptly. "It has always been a habit of mine not to let the grass grow under my feet. And if things turn out right, why, I can see no reason why we shouldn't make a start – by, say, to-morrow afternoon!"

"Hurray!" cried Tubby, dancing around the room; while his mother, who had come in to hear what was being said, hardly knew whether to look pleased or worried. To have her only boy leave home on such an errand was enough to cause any mother considerable anxiety.

Both Merritt and Andy grinned, as though the prospect pleased them greatly. What scout could help feeling delighted over such a chance for visiting a country about which they had been reading so much as they had of Mexico lately? That the unhappy republic was in the throes of civil war did not seem to appal them at all; for never having experienced any of the horrors of such a conflict, they could not realize what it meant.

Uncle Mark could understand all about it, though; but he was so anxious to find out about his ranch, and had such blind faith in the ability of these clever scouts to take care of themselves under any and all conditions, that he shut his eyes to the possibility of their coming to harm.

And that was about the last word; for presently Rob and his chums said good-bye to the sick man, who shook hands with each scout, and said he would continue to hope they might decide to undertake the mission of trying to save the last valuable possession he had in the wide world. After which they went out to talk it all over again, and lay plans as to what their program would be in case every obstacle were cleared away and they saw an open door beyond them.

"Well," said Rob finally; "if we do go we'll have our hands full getting ready to skip out to-morrow; so Merritt, you and Andy had better see how the land lies with your fathers; while I wait for mine to come home at noon. Here's hoping you'll have the best of luck!"