active 1909-1917 Herbert Carter

“ Give me your gun, Toby; I must have it, I tell you!"
And the guide, understanding, as well as sympathizing with, the spirit that caused the other to cry out in this fashion, did thrust his repeating rifle into the hands of Step Hen, after throwing the discharged shell out, and sending a fresh one into the firing chamber.
With a satisfaction that words could never paint, Step Hen followed the swinging form of the remaining eagle as it flew around so as to get in line for another swoop. And just as the great bird started to come down at them, the boy pulled the trigger. ”

“ All my life I have been told that I had no spirit, that I would never stand the test when it came to war; that the heart of a timid man dwelt under my uniform. So I too had come to believe it, even I, Jaques Leforge, who should have known better. I often told myself I was meant for only a poltroon, a coward; and when the war came I went to my place in my regiment believing that I should die of fright when the guns rang in my ears, and the shells, burst all around me. ”

“ The boat had arrived at a point within about eighty feet of the shore when there came to the ears of the three boys a sudden gurgling sound that sent the blood leaping through their veins much faster than ordinarily might be the case. Thad turned his head to see what Bumpus and Bob White might appear to think of that thrilling sound; for it was not repeated; and although plainly heard, Thad could not at the time make up his mind whether it was a husky voice calling aloud for help, or some bird uttering its discordant scream. ”

“ Sometimes it was a popular ballad of the day that Bumpus gave them; but more often a school chorus, or it might be some tender Scotch song like "Comin' Through the Rye," "Annie Laurie," or "Twickenham Ferry;" for boys can appreciate such sentiments more than most folks believe; and especially when in an open air camp, with the breeze sighing through the trees around them, or the waves murmuring as they wash the sandy shore of a lake, and the moonlight throwing a magical spell upon all their surroundings; for there is the seed of romance in the heart of nearly every healthy lad. ”

“ And, Giraffe, inside of ten seconds there was a boy running madly down the hill, fighting a thousand mad hornets that stung him everywhere, and set him to yelling as if he were half crazy. When he got home finally, and saw his swollen face in the glass, and felt Rover licking his hand as if the good fellow did not dream that his master had betrayed him so meanly, what do you suppose that boy said to himself, if he had any conscience at all? ”

“ Ready all the while, are you?"
"Yes, indeed I am, Thad. Now I think I can see what you said I would."
"Meaning her yellow eyes glistening with fierce madness; because there's nothing more ready to fight a hundred enemies than a mother wolf with whelps. Steady, forward we go, slow but sure!"
"All right, Thad; I'm as cool as anything now; all my excitement seems to have gone when there's real danger afoot," remarked Aleck, in an even voice that backed up his words.
"I knew that would be so, Aleck," replied the other, in a low tone. "But I can begin to see the figure of the wolf now; can you?" ”

“ And as Giraffe afterwards avowed, the noise that Bumpus created would have given his comrades the one grand scare of their lives, had they not known the origin of it all. Bumpus actually took that as a compliment, too, mind you.
“Keep still, Bumpus, or you’ll upset the boat!” shouted Thad, sternly; and he had to exert himself to be heard above all the row.
“You’re safe enough, silly; he won’t jump at you!” cried Davy Jones, who had all he could manage with the head of the fat scout in his lap, and those legs going like the arms of a windmill in a stiff gale. ”

“ This, then, was the situation on that September afternoon when Thad and his three chums stood on the low hill and watched the invading army coiling over the ridge like a never-ending nest of writhing serpents. The Germans had no other choice save to attack. Unless they could break through the cordon that Joffre had managed to stretch before the city they must continue their great cart-wheel sweep around toward the Marne, and with the French pushing them on, keep going back toward the border again, perhaps in what would be next door to a rout. ”

“ An old boot will do for a pillow; and he won't ever want to be rocked to sleep either. The breeze will be his lullaby, and the blue canopy of heaven his coverlet."
"Hurrah for you, Davy; that's as good a definition of what a Boy Scout should accustom himself to, as I ever heard. I didn't know you had it in you to talk like that," said Thad, warmly.
"Oh! I got that out of a book," declared Davy, frankly.
"And Thad, do I have to give up these nice clean sheets; and crawl in between the folds of a nasty, rough, tickly blanket?" asked Smithy, pleadingly. ”

“ Boys are human. What is denied them they most of all yearn to possess. Perhaps had Bumpus never been restrained from trying to run a car, his first little accident would have ended his vaulting ambition. As it was, this desire fed on the fact that it was a forbidden luxury for him.
When, therefore, Thad and the other two scouts were making their way toward the spring, with the intention of satisfying their thirst, he found himself tempted to clamber awkwardly over into the front seat, so as to sit there, and grasping the steering wheel try to imagine himself a bold chauffeur. ”

“ I reckon that’s an easy one to answer,” replied Step Hen, promptly. “Anybody c’n see at just a single look that the wind must have picked up a live coal from the fire, and carried it into a bunch of stuff to leeward. After that it was fanned, till it spread wider and wider. That was going on while Davy and me snoozed away like a pair of sillies. No use talking, boys, I’m ashamed of myself; and let me tell you, it’ll be a long time before I ever go to sleep on duty again–not if I have to keep jabbing a pin into my leg every minute or so, to make me jump.”
“Does that explanation go, Thad?” ”

“ Thad knew that these lawless men of the mountains, who snap their fingers at the authority of the courts, and feel safe in the security of their secret fastnesses, deep in the unknown regions back of the trodden trails, think very little of human life. They are usually engaged in some vendetta between rival factions, or families, and blood is frequently shed.
Understanding how thin was the ice upon which he and his comrades were skating, the patrol leader felt that he could not be too careful how he provoked this man of strong passions to violence. ”

“ It always gives a boy a sense of superiority to feel that he has come out first best in a battle with Nature.
Some of the scouts doubtless began to wonder how they were ever going to locate the man and the girl, deep in the gloomy recesses of Alligator Swamp; but those who kept their wits about them, and watched what Thad was doing, must have ere this come to the conclusion that he had not been wandering aimlessly about all this time, but on the contrary had some definite plan of campaign in view, which he kept constantly following. ”

“ Even as he sat there in that peaceful dining room of the monastery, with those earnest Brothers gathered about the long table, leaning on their elbows and listening to the answers he made to the many questions, Bumpus could hear an increasing uproar outside.
The heavy reverberation of great guns shook the massive walls of the building; those insistent sounds of cruel warfare invaded the peaceful dwelling, where strife was not supposed to ever come. Half a million men in uniform were about inaugurating another day of buffeting and killing in the struggle for the mastery. ”

“ There were four more bullets in the repeating rifle, and Thad had to make use of them all before he could really feel he had caused the last vital spark to flee from its abiding-place in the body of the shaggy monster.
But after the sixth and last shot had been fired, there was silence on the part of the terror of the mountain gulches. The grizzly’s last convulsive movement had taken place. No longer would his savage roar, echoing from cliff to cliff, cause all other wild animals to flee.
“Hurrah!” shouted Giraffe, as he dropped to the ground. ”

“ P'raps some day it'll be my turn to grin at him when he's in trouble."
"But you wouldn't do it, you know that, Giraffe," said Thad, smiling. "You don't forget that a true scout must return good for evil. And if the time ever comes when old Phin Dady needs help that you can give, I'm dead sure you wouldn't hold back."
Giraffe grumbled some more, but the scoutmaster knew that at heart he was not an ungenerous boy, though a little inclined to hold a grudge.
"What are you thinking about, Bob White; you look as sober as though you didn't just like the looks of things any too much?" ”

“ A scout never asks why he’s told to do a certain thing, when perhaps he’d like to be in another position. Whether he serves as the hub, the tire, or one of the spokes, he feels that he’s an important part of the whole wheel, and without him nothing can be done. There’s just as much honor in guarding the camp as in creeping through the tangle of vines and scrub bushes. And, Bumpus, I’m the one to judge who’s best fitted for that sort of work. ”

“ CHAPTER VII. SMITHY DID IT.
"Oh! would you look at him waltzing!" cried Giraffe.
"He's turning around and around, like a real dancing bear!" echoed Step-hen; and then, still feeling a little malicious toward poor Bumpus, whom he really believed was hiding his precious compass, just to annoy him, he could not help adding: "he feels so good, because he sees his dinner all ready for him under the flap of that tent there." ”

“ The sheriff’s posse, including Alligator Smith, the swamp guide, stood there and just watched to see what he would do. Somehow all of them seemed to have taken a strange liking for the patrol leader. Perhaps it was his manly bearing that made Thad friends so quickly; while the errand that had brought him down to Dixieland may have had more or less to do with it; for the hearts of these Southern boys and men are always tender toward one who has suffered; and chivalry toward women and girls still abounds in the South as it can be found nowhere else in this broad land of ours. ”

“ He was beginning to get back his breath now, and even moved a little further away from the edge of the precipice, as though it possessed only terrors for him. Nor could Thad blame him in the least; for it must have been frightful torture to be left all alone on a narrow shelf of rock, where he could not have any too good a foothold at the best, and might slip off if, overpowered by exhaustion, he dared allow himself to lose consciousness in sleep. ”

“ Giraffe felt better when he had picked up the camp hatchet, and waved it several times in the air, making vicious stabs at an imaginary enemy.
"Get ready for boarders, fellows!" remarked Step Hen, who had reached in and secured the long bread-knife, which would make a most formidable weapon, if only he had the nerve to wield the same.
"Not on your life!" snapped Giraffe; "we've got enough mouths to feed as it is, without taking, on any more. ”

“ Thad hoped as much; but then some persons have a queer way of showing that they are cool and collected. Step Hen was one, for instance; but if all of us could realize just how we look to our neighbors, we might not feel quite so proud.
Thad had his gun ready for quick work. He only waited until he could glimpse one of those skulking, shadowy forms on the outside border of the light cast by the fire circle. Then he glanced along the barrels of his gun, though instinct enabled him to cover the target better than all this aiming; after which his finger pressed the trigger. ”

“ Thad began to pull with all his strength, and others laid hold on the line, to add their mite to the work of rescue. Fortunately Bumpus had selected a splendid braided window-sash cord when he picked out his rope, capable of standing an enormous strain; and it held, despite the drag of the savage whirlpool, and the rush of the rapids.
Through the white foaming waters Davy was dragged in great style. One of them managed to get down the little bluff, and helped the almost drowned scout to clamber up. But hardly had Davy reached the camp than he fell in a faint, utterly exhausted. ”

“ It was simply amazing to see how splendidly those ranks kept their formation even after all manner of machine-guns, and those of larger bore, opened a hailstorm of lead and iron.
If men went down, as they undoubtedly must have done here, there and everywhere, like leaves falling from the trees with the Autumn wind, the slight gaps were not noticeable at that distance, for others simply closed in, and the solid mass kept charging on and on like a machine that, once set in motion, could not be stopped by any power on earth. ”

“ Boys can discover a ludicrous side to almost anything. Good health, absence of worry, and plenty of food are about all they require; and the world looks its brightest.
Sometimes, when Thad glanced toward the Southern boy, he wondered whether Bob had taken them wholly into his confidence on the last evening when he told them about his life amid the mountains and valleys of the Blue Ridge Range. It struck him that Bob frowned too often to indicate a clear conscience. ”

“ When poor Bumpus tried to escape in such a clumsy fashion that he tripped over the stretched guy rope of a tent, he had let go his beloved bugle. What was music to a fellow when his existence hung in the balance. He could get another horn, but never another life.
Thad had by chance discovered the shining bugle even while on his way to the friendly tree, and had snatched it up; mechanically perhaps, for he could not have entertained any fear lest the bear would swallow such a thing. ”

“ And as he walked along by the side of Alligator Smith the scout-master kept his fond gaze fastened, a part of the time, upon every fresh indentation of those heels belonging to the shoes of the girl who was in the company of the fugitive, Jasper.
What hopes and fears must be passing constantly through the mind of Thad as he contemplated those dainty footprints. Many and many a time had he yearned to be as well off as some of his chums, in the way of having some one near and dear to him, whom he could love and protect ”

“ Thad!" gasped the poor fellow, whose face was as white as chalk when he turned it appealingly upward; nevertheless Smithy had learned the quality of obedience, and particularly when he heard the acting scoutmaster speak; so that almost mechanically he groped around with his free hand until his fingers came in contact with the taut rope, when they closed upon it tenaciously; just as a drowning man will cling to the first thing he clutches that seems to hold out a single ray of hope. ”

“ Even Thad became worried, for it was impossible to guess what would happen next. Then again that impenetrable blackness with which they were enveloped on all sides must be anything but reassuring to even the bravest heart. If they could only see out, and prepare for each new and surprising shock, it might not be quite so bad.
Minutes dragged along until they seemed almost like hours to the scouts who, imprisoned in that small cabin, found themselves at the mercy and sport of the flood that was pouring down the Susquehanna. ”

“ We belong to an organization that stands for peace every time, and no scout can be permitted to do any violence, unless it is to actually save his own life, or that of a chum.”
“Oh! I understand all that, Thad; make your mind easy,” declared Step Hen, jauntily. “What I’d like to do in case those curs have kicked and pounded poor old Bumpus, would be to just give ’em each forty whacks on the bare back with that bull whip we use on Mike and Molly, our pack mules, when they get too stubborn for anything.” ”

“ You see, all the passengers have been pulled out of the carriages. Listen to them babble, will you? They are mostly French, and as excitable as wildfire. Everybody wants to get away from the border here in a hurry. Their dear old France lies just over yonder, and they’re bound to travel if it has to be on foot.”
“Oh, my stars!” ejaculated Bumpus, and then he stopped short, remembering that much as he disliked walking any great distance, he should be the last one of the quartette to complain now, for it was his errand that beckoned them on to Paris. ”

“ You all had the same chance to look around that Giraffe was given. If he was smart enough to notice that he could save time by filling his cup at the spring rather than run away over to the lake, so much the more to his credit. A first-class scout will always discover means for saving time. He will keep his eyes and wits about him to see and hear things that an ordinary person might pass right by. That's one of the first things he's got to learn. 'Be prepared' is the slogan of the Boy Scouts; but in order to get the best out of anything, a fellow has to keep awake all the time. ”

“ Bumpus looked at him pityingly.
“You do love to carry on a joke to the limit, Giraffe,” he said, simply.
“Joke?” burst out the other in a vociferous voice; “let me tell you, this is a mighty serious matter; and if it keeps along, some of us in desperation may be tempted to jump on you while you sleep, and make the change ourselves. We’re getting to a point where self-preservation is the first law of Nature.” ”

“ Lying there, resting the back of his head on both hands, and looking upward to where some buzzards were wheeling against the sky, Step Hen could hardly believe that he had actually descended all that distance in safety. He shuddered as he contemplated what an ugly tumble he must have experienced, if those fighting eagles had succeeded in knocking him off the ledge. ”

“ All the time the boys noticed that they were passing through heavy masses of troops eager for action. Temporary trenches had been thrown up, a mere shadow of an excuse when compared with the wonderful concrete creations that later on became such a part of warfare along the Aisne. Behind these ridges of earth the soldiers in blue lay, watching and waiting for the coming of their enemies, and ready to do their duty with gun and bayonet after the customary gallant French style. ”

“ It certainly did seem as though everything might be trying to assist Thad. Why, even the elements lent a helping hand; for the wind had only recently risen to such a busy degree that it was now sighing among the upper branches of all the trees, and rustling the leaves of oaks and pines and cypresses until there was raised such a commingling of various sounds that possibly one might speak in an ordinary tone without its being carried from the spring to where the concealed shack lay. ”

“ Immediately there sounded the stroke of the descending ax.
"Huh! went all the way through, that time," said Step-hen, who was watching the operation closely; "reckon the old tree must be as rotten as punk."
"Make a dandy blaze, all right," ventured Giraffe, whose mind was bent on fires, so that he never lost a chance for making one; and who loved to sit and watch it burn, much as the old fire worshippers might have done in long-ago times.
"Take care, Allan," remarked Thad; "don't strike so hard next time. Why, you'll knock a hole in that stump in a jiffy. It's only a shell." ”

“ Our chum Step Hen did, and I reckon he wasn't much impressed with him, from the way he talked. And as you belong to the scouts, our first duty is to stand by you through thick and thin."
"Only as long as you believe in my word, Thad," added the other.
"That's true," returned the other, quickly; "even a scout has no business sticking up for a comrade when he knows the other is in the wrong; but we believe in you, Aleck. And if only you could find that mine, I feel sure all of this funny business would stop. ”

“ Presently Giraffe again broke out. It was as if he could not restrain himself, and this way of telling his mates what he saw served as an escape valve for his surcharged feelings.
“Now you can see that the French have got busy and are sending every kind of missile right into the midst of the masses of Germans. Every time a shell breaks it leaves a horrible gap, but only for a second, because the living close it up like magic. Oh! what madness for them to charge in such mass formations in these days of machine guns and shrapnel and big shells. ”

“ As the twilight quickly deepened into night—for in the South there is not a very long interval between the going down of the sun, and the pinning of the curtains of darkness—the scene became quite an animated one, with eight lively lads moving around, each fulfilling some self-imposed duty that would add to the comfort and happiness of the patrol in camp. ”

“ Giraffe shrank back, looking crushed. He had been building high hopes on having unlimited chances for carrying out his favorite diversion, once away from the restraints of civilization. But he must learn by degrees, possibly through sad experience, that a fire is just as terrible in the wilderness, once it gets beyond control, as in a settled community. It is a good servant, but a very bad master.
"How far is the lake from here, would you say, Thad?" asked Davy Jones. ”

“ Giraffe laughed scornfully.
“Why, Bumpus,” he hastened to say in a patronizing way, “you must know that Paris is something more than an overgrown village. Next to our own New York, and then London, it’s called one of the biggest cities in the world. Of course, right now the people have flocked out of the same burg, thinking Von Kluck meant to break through and gobble up the same; but still there were plenty of folks on the avenues, I noticed, tens of thousands, in fact. No, Bumpus, I’m sorry to say I didn’t chance to run across your mother.” ”

“ Of course upon hearing this remarkable statement the sheriff no longer evinced a nervous desire to be on the go. He seemed to realize that his interests were bound up with those of the manly leader of the scouts, who had just thrilled him with so strange a story.
And as for his posse, they were crowding around so densely, anxious not to lose a single word of what was said, that, as Giraffe afterwards declared, they looked like “sardines packed in a can;” every face filled with eagerness, and many of them seeming hardly to breathe lest they lose some of the story. ”

“ Giraffe had gone on to remark, "always talking about that uncle of his who lives out somewhere in the wild and woolly west; he says he expects to pay him a visit some day, and brags about how he'll have a chance to bag his grizzly bear then; but excuse me, if a grizzly can eat any more than this tame one; I wouldn't bag him for a gift."
"Oh! you mistake his meaning," chuckled Thad, "When he speaks of bagging a bear he means shooting him and bringing him to bag, not capturing one. The man doesn't live who would try to capture such a monster, single-handed." ”

“ Hence every time the train slackened speed Bumpus would glue his eyes on the landscape as seen through the open window, just as if he more than half-expected to discover a horde of Uhlans, with their lances and pennons and prancing horses, waiting to take the fugitives into camp as prisoners.
Finally as the afternoon began to wear away they did come to a halt in a small town. Thad announced that he believed they must now be on the border between Belgium and France. Here, if anywhere, they ought to be able to learn what the immediate future held in store for them. ”

“ When the delicate boy started to scramble down out of his leafy bower the others tried to encourage him in various ways.
"Good boy, Smithy!" cooed Step-hen.
"You've certainly got more grit than any fellow in the bunch; and I take off my hat to you, suh!" cried the Southern boy, making a movement with his hand as if in salute.
"Try the quarter loaf, Smithy; you'll find it just where Step-hen said, inside the tent where Bumpus is hanging out," Giraffe called. ”

“ The French field battery had done its utmost to inflict more or less damage upon the advancing German hosts, but evidently the time had come for discretion to take the part of desperate valor.
They had no orders to stick it out until every gun was smashed or the enemy had come swarming up to bayonet each reckless gunner. “Those who fight and run away may live to fight another day”; and the policy of these clever Frenchmen was to pester and annoy the oncoming invaders as much as possible in order to delay their progress, since every hour counted in the gathering of a force to defend Paris. ”