New Adventures of the Mad Scientists' Club by Bertrand R. Brinley, Charles Geer

into the handset. "Can you hear me
in there?"
            "We
hear you loud and clear!" came Jeff's voice in reply.
           
"What about Harmon and his gang? Where are they?"
            "I
don't know where they are, but they're sure not in here! We've searched the
whole place."
           
"Scout's honor, Jeff?"
           
"Scout's honor, Henry!"
            "I
just don't understand it," said Henry helplessly. "We were talking to
them not more'n half an hour ago."
            Henry
was still standing there, scratching his head and looking crestfallen when the
Mayor and Chief Putney broke through the bushes.
           
"Well, Mulligan, what's this all about?" puffed the Mayor, all out of
breath.
           
"They're just not in there, Mr. Mayor," said Henry dejectedly.
"I don't understand it. They were there just half an hour ago."
           
"Why don't you tell 'em the truth, Mulligan?" came Harmon Muldoon's
voice from somewhere in the darkness above us. "You knew we weren't in
that cave." A chorus of raucous laughter almost drowned out the last
words. Henry's jaw dropped open as he stared upward through the darkness toward
the lip of the cliff that towered above us.
           
"Who's that up there?" Chief Putney demanded, as he flashed his
powerful light along the edge of the cliff.
           
"Pretty good show, Mulligan!" came the strident voice of Stony
Martin. "Whatta ya do for an encore?" And another wave of raucous
laughter followed.
            It was
obvious that Harmon's whole gang was sitting up on the cliff above our heads,
watching the proceedings with great relish. The glare from the floodlights on
the rescue van was too bright for us to see into the darkness, but finally
Chief Putney's flashlight picked out the white T-shirt of Stony Martin, perched
in a tree. Stony scrambled back into the shadow with a burst of mocking
laughter. A lot of raspberries and other uncouth sounds split the darkness.
           
"How did you get up there?" Henry shrilled, rather weakly.
            "We
walked up!" Harmon shouted back.
            "I
mean, how did you get out of the cavern?"
           
"That was simple! We weren't in the cavern."
           
"Aw, c'mon, Harmon. Somebody was in there."
           
"Yeah, we sent one man in to trip your alarm so we could raid your
clubhouse. We've been up in Crocker's barn all night."
           
"You mean you were in our clubhouse all the time when we were talking on
the intercom?"
           
"Yeah! After we tripped your alarm system all kinds of things began to
happen. It was rich!"
            Henry
just stood there, speechless. He didn't even hear Mayor Scragg and Chief Putney
arguing about whether they could arrest anybody, as they beat their way back
through the bushes to the rescue van.
            "By
the way, Henry," Stony Martin shouted. "How do you get that cashbox
of yours down off that rafter? We spent most of the night trying to figure it
out."
            Henry
didn't answer. He just threw the intercom set he was holding against the side
of the cliff and then kicked it into the bushes. It broke into a dozen pieces.
I had never seen Henry lose his temper before.
     
     
    Big Chief Rainmaker
    © 1968 by Bertrand R. Brinley
Illustrations by Charles Geer
    I T
WAS ONE of those hot August days in Mammoth
Falls when even the dogs won't go out on the street, and you don't dare open
your mouth for fear of getting your tongue sunburned. I was sitting in old Ned
Carver's barbershop, thumbing through a magazine and waiting for Mr. Carver to
finish cutting Charlie Brown's hair, when Jason Barnaby stumbled in through the
door and flopped down in a chair to fan himself.
           
"How's the apples look this year, Jason?" mumbled Charlie Brown
through the hot, wet towel wrapped around his face. Jason's apple orchard up on
Brake Hill is the biggest orchard in the county. It's a regular showpiece for
visitors.
           
"Ain't gonna be no apples if we