THE BOY SCOUT PATHFINDERS
They sent the message quickly, accurately.
CHAPTER I
THE IRON BOX
Two members of any staff, even though they are only boys, cannotdisappear as though the earth had swallowed them without a suspicionof foul play.
In the office above the chamber which had witnessed the stirringevents narrated in “The Boy Scout Firefighters,” in which both Beanyand Porky Potter had been actors, there had been great anxiety. WhenGeneral Pershing received the report, he at once sent couriers andscouts to every station where the boys might have gone. The sentriesone and all declared that the boys had not been seen outside of thebuilding. This resulted in a combing out of every cranny that couldpossibly hold a boy alive or dead.
The hours dragged on. There was a continual passing to and fro forhours until at last there seemed to be absolutely nothing more to dountil morning. The tired staff threw themselves into the officechairs, while the General, at the typewriter, commenced a letter.Out of respect to him, there was a complete silence in the room.
On and on clicked the typewriter while the waiting men dozed orsmoked or thought of home.
“What’s that?” said one of them suddenly, listening intently.
The General stopped writing and looked at the speaker.
“What’s what?” questioned a captain, frowning.
“That tapping,” said the first speaker. “Sounds like code.”
“You have been asleep,” said the captain, grinning.
“I hear it,” said the General.
There was a general gathering up of forces, as the whole room triedto place the faint, monotonous tapping.
“The call for help!” said the first speaker triumphantly. “I knewI heard it. The code is my native language almost. It sounds asthough some one was calling from below the floor.”
“Send an answer, Lieutenant Reed!” ordered the General.
The young officer obeyed,