Ralph Victor

“ Dimly through the dawn Jack could make out a black mass lumbering slowly down through the meadow toward them. The dogs ran around it in circles, merely growling and offering no attack. At a word from the Indian, however, they ran in snarling on the animal, which stopped, and with a loud “woof” reared up on its haunches, showing an enormous height.
“Bear; shootum,” cried the Indian, who had 78 only an ax with him. Jack raised his rifle and fired, and as the bear dropped on all fours fired another shot. ”

“ During this time the boat had drifted away from the landing and now, as the wind filled the sail she glided out into the river, running free.
"See anything of them?" asked the colonel.
"Not yet," answered Rand, who was in the bow looking up the river.
"'Tis my opinion," said Donald, "that we'll be no likely to find them." "There they are!" cried Jack.
"Where away?" asked the colonel.
"Over there by the other shore," replied Jack. "You can just see them."
"They have such a long start," doubted Rand, "that we will never catch them."
"You can't most always tell until you try," observed Jack. ”

“ The acquaintance between the Boy Scouts and Swiftwater Jim, which had begun with Rand’s rescue of the old Klondiker, ripened before many days of the voyage had elapsed into something like warm friendship and the miner became a wellspring of joy to the young men in the wealth of adventure narrative that fell from his lips and the quiet humor of his views of life. ”

“ CHAPTER X LOOKING FOR A CLUE "Hello, Jack," called Rand, meeting the former on the street the following morning, hurrying along in his usual fashion, "what's the latest?"
"About what?" asked Jack in turn.
"About everything. Anything new about the robbing of Judge Taylor's office the other night?"
"Haven't heard much yet," replied Jack. "I was just going around there to see if they had found out anything more."
"Looking for clues?" questioned Rand.
"Not so much for clues as news," responded Jack. "Perhaps I can pick up some of both. You never can tell when they'll pop up. ”

“ Picking himself up, he ran after Rand down the landing.
There was a splash in the water, and the sound of rapidly receding oars, but there was no one at the landing.
"What has become of Gerald?" asked Rand, looking around.
"He can't be far off," replied Donald, "Give him a call."
"Hello-o-o, Gerald!" shouted Rand, but Gerald did not answer.
"Hello, there! What's ail the noise about?" demanded Colonel Snow, who had followed Pepper onto the landing. "Why, boys, what are you doing here?"
"We can't find Gerald," explained Donald, who was looking in ail kinds of impossible places. ”

“ Pepper, who always threw a good deal of enthusiasm into anything he attempted to do, was barely saved from going overboard several times, and when once left alone with the side oar, succeeded in dipping the blade under a piece of hidden rock and was thrown by the swift motion of the boat high in the air, alighting somewhat breathless on the mass of tarpaulined freight in front of him, luckily without serious injury. ”

“ Scout salute as he stepped forward.
"Cans't thou mend it, brave yeoman," replied Rand in the language of Robin Hood's day, in which the other had spoken, returning the salute.
"I doubt it much," returned the newcomer, taking the bow which Rand had offered and stretching it the length of his arm. "A good bow and worthy of your skill. With your permission I will essay a shot."
"Rather we crave the favor," answered Rand, extending his quiver to the stranger, who carefully selecting an arrow, fitted it to the bow. ”

“ At one place they visited a museum that contained three of the gigantic ivory tusks of the mammoth of which they had read a good deal since finding the narwhal’s horn.
“Gee,” said Gerald, “they must weigh nearly a hundred pounds apiece. If we ever find that cave with anything in it, it ought to be worth a good deal.”
“Do you suppose that the chief will show up at Seward?” asked Dick.
“Oh, yes; I think so,” said Rand. “I think he was very grateful for the way we treated him, and I understand these Indians are much like ours at home, and usually remember a favor.” ”

“ While talking Monkey had opened the window and started to crawl into the house. "If you're afraid to come in," he said scornfully to the other, "stay outside and keep watch. It won't take me more than a minute to crack this shell."
At this instant Rand, with a shrill, clear whistle, sprang out from his hiding place and in a moment all was confusion.
"Shure, the fat's in the fire now," chuckled Gerald to himself. ”

“ The horsemen were riding toward the struggling crowd crying out to them to halt. As they rode near, Dublin and Rae turned and deliberately fired at the men, whose carbines at once cracked in reply. The last of the Indians who had not yet gotten into the boat pitched forward on the bank, and jumping over him, Dublin and Rae gave the boat a push out into the middle of the stream, sprang aboard and dropped into the bottom of the craft, which at once began to drift down with the current. As nothing was in sight above the gunwale except the Indians the horsemen did not fire again. ”

“ The course, as agreed upon, was a straight-away three miles over a clear stretch of the river from off the Creston landing.
"What have you got there?" asked Dick, as Rand pulled a coin from his pocket and began rubbing it up on his sleeve.
"That's his mascot," laughed Jack. "It's the coin he found in the road, and he keeps it for luck."
"Well, I guess it has its work cut out for it, all right," went on Dick. "He will have his hands full—if it is a he—to keep us in the procession. Alton has a crew of blacksmiths." ”

“ Away in the distance, more than a hundred miles, could be seen the giant peaks of the Alaskan range—the backbone of Alaska—Foraker, Russell, Spurr and McKinley, snow clad and dazzling.
“I’d like a chance to climb one of those big mountains,” said Jack. “You know we didn’t get an opportunity in the Canadian Rockies, although they seemed to be very near.”
“I guess,” said Rand, “that we’ve got all we can do to climb the mountain we’re looking for. We’ll be lucky if we do that.”
“How did the Indians or whoever hid this ivory, if there’s any there, get it up to the cave, if it is a cave?” ”

“ The Scout was now so close to the smaller boat that the occupants could easily be distinguished.
"There is Monkey Rae," declared Pepper.
"And Sam and Red," added Jack, "but I don't know who the man is."
"Boat, ahoy!" shouted the colonel.
"What do you want?" snarled the man.
"You!" shouted the colonel. "Lay to until we come alongside!"
"Come on," responded the man, "and you will get more than you are looking for!" at the same time displaying a pistol, which he pointed toward the larger boat. ”

“ The army officer smiled indulgently upon the somewhat abashed Pepper.
“Don’t lose it, Pepper,” said he. “That appetite may prove one of the best of assets in this proposition of mine. How would you all like a trip to Alaska?” 16
The patrol came to “attention,” every member on his feet and for the moment speechless.
“What! the North Pole?” gasped Rand, whose former residence in the Sunny South inclined him to look upon all high latitudes with suspicion.
“Not exactly,” replied Colonel Snow, with a laugh, in which all joined as a kind of relief to their feelings. ”

“ Which way did he go?"
"On the upper road," answered Rand; "but we have been all along that."
"Well, we'll see if we can't pick up his trail," went on the colonel at once, leading off at a rapid pace. "Did any of you pick it up?"
"There are lots of tracks," replied Rand, "but I did not pick his out."
"Some who are expert, you know, can read tracks as readily as you read the paper. These look much alike, but we will follow them up and see if any diverge or break away from the road." ”

“ The boys were greatly interested in this first near view of Alaskan Indian life in the two villages which they visited, and in comparing the natives with the Indians with whom they had been associated in their trip to the Canadian Rockies. The Alaskan Indians were shorter in build, more squatty in figure and broader faced than the Crees and the other Southern red men. Jack, who had been poking about into the various corners of the first village, which were composed of huts and sod houses, came back with a look very like disgust in his face. ”

“ I suppose you all know the scout law."
"Not yet," replied Jack. "Rand read it to us, but we haven't learned it yet."
"Let me see," continued the colonel musingly, "how does number four go?"
"It says," read Rand, "a scout is a friend to all and a brother to every other scout, no matter to what social class the other belongs. A scout accepts the other man as he finds him, and makes the best of him."
The colonel made no comment, and the boys walked on in silence.
"I was wrong," acknowledged Rand after a little hesitation. "I have no objection to Gerald." ”

“ Skookum Joe, equipped with a dog tent and some provisions, had been left on the point of the junction of the Lewes River and Gold Creek, to await the arrival of the down-river steamer of the Yukon and White Pass Railroad Company to arrive that day, and he waved them a friendly farewell as the Indians slowly poled their boats out into the stream. The current of Gold Creek was by no means as swift as that of the Lewes, and, while Swiftwater Jim took command of one boat, Rand was made captain of the other. ”

“ CHAPTER IV UP THE RIVER "Are you all ready?" called Rand, who was stroke. "Pull!"
The boys bent to their work in earnest, and but few words were spoken while they sent the boat along, mile after mile, until they had gone some half dozen miles up the river.
"Phew!" exclaimed Pepper at length, "what is the matter with stopping here?"
"Tired?" asked Donald.
"Well, I feel as if I had been doing something," replied Pepper, resting on his oar.
"I suppose there isn't much choice in the matter," remarked Rand; "one place is probably as good as another."
"Only some of them are better," put in Jack. ”

“ Forty-mile is the only civilized place of habitation between Dawson and Eagle. It’s on the Yukon side of the river, and is a trading station for the Forty-mile mining district, the first real gold mining region opened up in this region. It was the scene of my early triumphs as a ‘sourdough’ after I left the whaling business, and I ‘mushed’ into it in the winter along with Dowling, the great mail carrier of this region, who carried the mail up the Yukon on the ice, with a 161 dog team, nine hundred miles between Dawson and Fort Gibbon once a month. ”

“ They had gone perhaps about halfway down the hill toward the boathouse when a big bay horse, drawing a light wagon in which were three boys, came quickly around a turn in the road. It bore down on them so suddenly that only by a rapid scramble up the bank by the side of the road did Rand and Donald save themselves from being bowled over.
The newcomers would have driven on with a jeering laugh only that Pepper, angry at what obedience, neatness and order are Scout virtues. Endurance, self-reliance, self-control and an effort to help some one else are Scout objectives. ”

“ Thus all had been prepared for the erection of the sod walls the next day.
Early the next morning Jack, who had determined to keep an eye on all the details of a sod 105 house in case he should ever want to erect one himself, was wandering around the newly laid foundation, when suddenly there came to his ear a muffled buzzing much like the drone of a distant grasshopper. “This sounds like real summer,” said Jack to himself, instinctively looking around for the insect. ”

“ CHAPTER XIV A DEFIANCE "Well," began Rand on the evening of the day on which the challenge had been received from the Highpoint Patrol, "what shall we do with this challenge?"
"Accept it, av coorse," cried Gerald. "Shure, they can't bate us more thin foor miles."
"But we only row three," put in Jack.
"Thin it's a safe bet," went on Gerald, "Aven Don might bet on that."
"What's that?" asked Donald.
"That they won't bate us more than foor miles," replied Gerald. ”

“ Two days after their arrival, the steamer from Seattle to Nome came along and they embarked and steamed the 112 miles across Norton’s Sound to Nome, the metropolis of that great northwestern section of Alaska that borders on the Arctic Ocean and extends within forty miles of Asia. There is no harbor at Nome, and the ships must lie about a mile off shore, while passengers and freight are taken in on flatboats, from which everything is raised on an elevator by a gigantic crane, and swung in shore. ”

“ I don't think Monkey could surprise us, except by trying to be good."
"And I don't believe he'll try that," laughed Pepper.
"What shall we do about it?" asked Gerald. "Tell the colonel?"
"I am no sure there is anything to it," said Donald. "And it may be possible we can take care of Monkey and Sam ourselves. In my opinion, it would no be a bad plan to go down to the boathouse and capture them if they come."
"That isn't a bad idea," agreed Rand. "We can slip away, one at a time, so if they see us they won't suspect anything. I will go first and the rest of you can join me later. ”

“ I want to ask the rest of you boys to drink, for a time at least, nothing but the water that our friend Pepper turns out; none from the creek. A man’s health in a new country depends a good deal on how the water hits him, and until you are acclimated it is the safest thing.” The Scouts readily promised to comply with the miner’s request, and Pepper feeling that the health of the camp was somehow in his charge felt not a little elated. He issued orders at once for a supply of firewood, agreeing to carry the water himself, which he did, filling the kettle which held about ten gallons. ”

“ The boys set out at once in pursuit of the thief, but he had too long a start, and perhaps, some knowledge of the locality, and after a vain hunt they straggled back to the boat without having found any trace of him.
"Well, that's the meanest thing yet," grumbled Pepper, looking at the overturned stove. "The oil has all run out and we can't cook any more," he went on, with so gloomy an expression that, in spite of their anger against Monkey Rae, the others could not help laughing. ”

“ At the same time he dropped the electric light, which promptly went out as the spring was released, and the hold was in darkness. Jack dared not move for fear of the hatchet, and all he could hear was the loud breathing of the terrified Monkey, who carefully began to grope for the lost lamp. The search was vain, and Jack was slowly backing away from the vicinity toward the ladder, intending to bar Monkey’s egress when he heard a movement that seemed to indicate that 42 Monkey was climbing up the piled-up freight. ”

“ Say, fellows, wouldn't it be great if we all had motor-cycles!"
"In my opinion," interjected Donald, "'tis just a waste of time wishing for what ye'll no get."
"Oh, there is no harm in wishing," returned Pepper. "You might just as well wish for a big thing as a little one."
"Just look at the wave following her," interrupted Jack. "It must be more than five feet higher than the level of the river. We will have to keep head on if we don't want to be swamped."
"See that canoe over there," broke in Pepper, and pointing to another boat. "They will be in trouble pretty soon if they don't watch out." ”

“ Already, a lifeboat had been dropped into the water and into this the half-drowned man was lifted, while Rand, himself already numbed by the icy water had to be assisted aboard. He was lifted to the deck amid the cheers of his chums, who rushed him to his stateroom for dry clothing.
“That was a great piece of work,” said Captain Huxley, commander of the “Queen.” “No professional life saver could have got on the job in quicker time. Those are fine boys of yours, Colonel Snow.”
“That’s part of their training as Scouts,” replied the Colonel, “and it’s meant to be practical. ”

“ It is necessary for the safety of all that we know as far as possible just who the people are who come into Yukon territory. Besides, this country is a refuge for hundreds of men who find life unpleasant in more civilized sections, and we must keep them under supervision. By the way, I have just received notification from the United States marshal at Ketchikan that three queer characters dropped off the steamer from Seattle there and were heading for the Klondike, and would probably pass through here, and he asks 66 us to keep an eye on them. ”

“ By this time they had reached the shore and, jumping out of the boat, dragged it up on the beach.
"Now," called Rand, when they had landed, "who wants to be cook?
Don't all speak at once."
"I'll do it," volunteered Jack, "but—"
"Say no more," interjected Rand, "we couldn't do worse and Don is almost as bad. I reckon, Pepper, it must be you or I."
"If we don't want to starve," agreed the boy.
"If you and Jack will clean the fish and Don will bring the water and wash the dishes I'll do the cooking," went on Rand. "Is that fair?" ”

“ It was killed by an arrow from one of those bows there."
"An arrow!" exclaimed Rand. "I didn't know that an elk could be killed with an arrow."
"An arrow is as deadly as a bullet at short range," replied the colonel. "You have read of the English archers and their famous long-bows, haven't you?"
"And Robin Hood," put in Pepper.
"Robin Hood, of course," continued the colonel. "The Indians were dangerous foes, too, even when they had nothing but their bows and arrows." ”

“ Of course if we had the time we could saw out lumber enough to make a ‘camp’ that would be weather proof, but the sod house is insured against fire, flood, lightning and wind and is as cosy as 103 a cave; besides, it takes a shorter time to build,” and with this the miner led the boys, with the exception of Gerald, who was to keep camp and oversee the four Indians left there, to the boats, one of which the other two Indians had unmoored, and when all were aboard, began to pole upstream. ”

“ Rand—Randolph in full, surname Peyton—who was slightly the eldest of the four, was the nephew of Mr. Scott, president of the Creston National Bank. He was a native of Virginia, having come to Creston after the death of his father some two years before this time, with his mother and sister. He was bright, but inclined to be indolent, except when aroused, when his energy knew no limit. He was slow in speech, having the soft Southern drawl with a tendency to slur his r's, and was a natural leader among his companions, both in their sports and their studies. ”

“ THE BOY SCOUTS
By RALPH VICTOR
The Boy Scout Movement has secured a hold on the American boy that is remarkable in its far-reaching effects. It is doing a great work in the development of manliness, self-confidence and physical perfection and is making better citizens out of the members of the organization.
This series will foster interest in the Boy Scout Organization. There is excitement such as every boy’s book should contain. There are many and varied experiences, and much worth-while information about out-door sports and camp life, in which the youths take part. ”

“ As the canoe had overturned the captain of the Dart, who was in the pilot house, seeing the accident, had rung for slow speed and, putting the yacht about, hurried back to the place. But, except for the fortunate presence of the boys, it is doubtful if he would have arrived in time to be of any assistance.
"Can we help you in any way?" called Mr. Whilden, the owner of the yacht, who was standing at the gangway as it ran down close to the boat. "I was afraid we wouldn't get here in time."
"There is an unconscious girl here that would be better on your boat," replied Rand. ”

“ It was 5 o'clock when they got back to Creston, searching on the way, and Pepper had not returned, or trace of him found.
"What shall we do next?" asked Jack, as they stood undecided in the road.
"What is it now?" asked Colonel Snow, who had come up unperceived.
"We can't find Pepper," answered the boys.
"What is it," went on the colonel, "a game of hide and seek?"
"No, sir," responded Rand; "he went over to Highpoint this morning with a message; I mean he started for Highpoint, but he hasn't been there and he hasn't come back. We are afraid he is lost."
"Lost!" exclaimed the colonel. ”