Captain Alan Douglas

“ Elmer was the "boss," and his word was law while they were away from home; so, making a virtue of necessity, Rufus shrugged his shoulders and grinned.
"Just as you say, Elmer," he observed, a bit ungraciously, "but I never was lost in all my life."
"That's nothing to boast of, Rufus," remarked Lil Artha. "It only goes to prove how many splendid opportunities you've missed. On my part I was just as proud of my ability to look after myself as you are; and yet I used to get twisted in my bearings a heap until I got the hang of things. ”

“ He stared at the car and its occupants, as though he considered the boys to be mostly responsible for his recent ill-luck.
"Howdye, mister," sang out Lil Artha, not to be cowed by angry looks; "are we on the right road for Raccoon Bluff, would you mind telling us?"
Suspicion lay in the look which the man was now bending on them. He acted as if he imagined they might be more than they seemed; for a guilty conscience can discover a game warden in every inoffensive traveler, especially when the culprit is suddenly caught in the very act of trying to kill a deer out of season. ”

“ He felt doubly convinced that all this lad needed to develop into one of the greatest players the world had ever known was the directing hand of a master, who could guide him past the rocks on which his young talent might be wrecked if not taken in time.
"Now, that is enough for today," said Conrad, suddenly allowing his hand holding the bow to drop; "I never try to play when something inside tells me to stop. And I'm eager to tell you something good. My mother wants to meet you, Elmer."
This intelligence caused the scout-master to smile with pleasure. ”

“ The fire was soon burning cheerily. Somehow it seemed a great source of joy to everyone, especially Elmer, Lil Artha and George. As veteran scouts the crackle of a blaze instantly called up fond memories of numerous former occasions when in the woods, and camping amidst the solitudes they had met with all sorts of interesting and even thrilling adventures, never to be utterly forgotten, even when they had grown to manhood, and gone forth into the world upon their appointed life missions.
Next in order came the preparations for cooking the camp supper. ”

“ I know people all say he is a terribly bad man, that he gets drunk, and beats us; but it's a whole pack of lies, that's what it is. He never drinks a drop. He seems to hold a grudge against the whole world for something that happened a while ago, but he is good to my mother, and he loves me, he says, like the apple of his eye."
"I'm mighty glad to hear that, Conrad, sure I am!" exclaimed Elmer. "Lots of times people are given bad names when they don't deserve them one whit. I made up my mind that I wanted to know your father, and some day I mean to drop in at your cabin and introduce myself. ”

“ But then it would not be so bad on the next occasion; and before many nights passed they, too, would be "dead to the world a short time after hitting the hay," as Lil Artha expressed it. Every fellow has to be broken in before he can sleep, when camping out for the first time; the great wilderness around seems peopled with countless unseen, but nevertheless present, creatures, which his lively imagination pictures as seeking to steal a march upon the camp, and either to purloin all their possessions or else eat them alive. ”

“ Then again the boy had taken that accusation on the part of the poacher quite to heart. It could be easily seen that he had a great affection for his father, even though it was his fond mother who had always given in to his whims, and come near utterly spoiling Rufus by her favors.
"It galls him to have heard any one accuse his father of being a trickster," was what Elmer told himself, as he noticed the soberness of Rufus, while the others in the circle about the fire chattered away, and seemed to be enjoying themselves hugely. ”

“ Elmer insisted, earnestly. "It could be done on strictly business principles, a bargain being made in black and white, so that a record of the expense might be kept; and after Conrad began to earn big money, he could gradually return the loan to those kind friends who had been so deeply interested in his fortunes. Don't shut him out from his only chance, Jem, just because one man may have injured you. There are other kinds of people in this world, kind-hearted people who are always looking for an opportunity to help struggling genius. ”

“ Elmer laughed, and clapped his hands as though in keen appreciation for her cleverness.
"The same old trick birds and small animals always play when they want to lure a trespasser away from their nest," he told himself; "by endangering themselves in the desire to save their young. She coaxes me to rush after her, so as to wean me away from her brood. If I started she'd go off a little farther, and then stop once more to coax me on again. I've seen a hen partridge do the same thing, fluttering along the ground as if with a broken wing. ”

“ Elmer's mind was of course made up on the instant. [150] Indeed, such an appeal never came to a scout camp without being immediately accepted; for every fellow who so proudly wears the khaki has it implanted in his heart that he must eagerly grasp such golden opportunities to prove his worth, and be of assistance to those who are in distress.
Elmer knew, too, that he could depend on his comrades to back him up. Lil Artha, of course, must go along, for the tall scout's excellence as a tracker was well known, and this might come in very handy before their end was accomplished. ”

“ They had some hours of sleep before morning found them stirring. There was more or less disinclination to be the first out, but Lil Artha proved to be the martyr and presently the crackle of a fire tempted Rufus and Alec forth; while even that sly old fox, George, opened one eye, and began to sniff the air, as though he fancied he had gotten the first whiff of sweet bacon frying in the pan.
Elmer had been close upon the heels of Lil Artha, of course, and between the two of them some of the ravages of the storm in the camp had been repaired long before the rest put in an appearance. ”

“ Snodgrass during his stay, the others were inclined to believe Rufus knew what he was talking about when he so boldly told Jem Shock that his father was as "honest as the day was long," and "the best man that ever lived." Elmer concluded that any father who had so lived that his boy believes this of him has a right to be proud, and feel that "example is much better than precept." Too many fathers, Elmer realized, act upon the theory that a boy can maintain his respect for his parent who advises him to "do as I say, not as I do." ”

“ And the thirst for knowledge had gripped them so that never again would either Rufus or Alec be content to plod along as before, "seeing things as through a glass darkly," and not more than half comprehending what wonders surround boys of today on every side, if only they have the vision to notice and comprehend.
There is really no need for us to accompany [185] Elmer, George, Lil Artha and the tenderfoot squad home again. But the story of their achievements while up there in camp at Raccoon Bluff will always make a bright page in the annals of the Hickory Ridge Boy Scouts. ”

“ For Elmer had himself heard that name of Ovid Anderson. He remembered that the player, long since dead, had been a Swedish violinist of international reputation. How it came that his daughter should ever mate with a man like Jem Shock, and be lost to the world in this wilderness, was a puzzle too much for Elmer to understand. ”

“ It'll all come to you by degrees, if you really want to learn."
"Well, what am I to do this morning, Elmer?" asked George.
"That's an easy one," chuckled the leader. "As you're such a stickler for having everything so neat about the camp, George, with things handy to the reach, I'll appoint you camp warden for [58] today. You can fuss around all you please, and by night I expect we'll find that Camp Comfort well deserves its name."
George looked pleased. His good qualities often more than counterbalanced his poor ones; and being neat is something no scout should ever feel ashamed of. ”

“ But I tell you the thousand-and-one lessons that a fellow can learn from Nature's big book ought to be enough to make every boy want to become a scout, and take up the study of outdoor life. There's something fresh and new every day one lives."
By then the devoted mother rabbit had vanished, doubtless filled with consternation over the dispersal of her brood, which she would have to call together in some fashion of her own. So Elmer walked on, observing many other interesting things as he proceeded, for his eyes were ever on the alert when he went into the woods and cruised on the waters. ”

“ We can lie around camp here, until it's fit to go abroad."
"Spoken like a true scout, Rufus," Elmer told him, encouragingly. "That's what a fellow ought to learn the first thing after he dons the khaki—that things are never so bad but what they might be worse. George here never did learn his lesson in the right way, more's the pity. If you keep on, Rufus, you'll be a better specimen of a true scout than George is today, with all his experience." ”

“ Make your mind up you'll hear from him before long, Jem. He'll never rest easy until he's investigated the thing to the bottom, and found out the whole truth. If some men bamboozled you, and let you believe he was in the bunch, my father'll fix them, all right. They'll do the right thing by you when he gets after them with a sharp stick, or I'll eat my head. I guess I ought to know my dad better than anybody else could, and he's straight as a die, even if he is a real estate speculator."
Elmer was visibly impressed with the splendid way in which Rufus stood up for his father. ”

“ A scout may find scores of ways for learning useful things, if only he cares to bother about doing it.
Later on they approached the camp.
George, who had managed to get through with his numerous odd jobs and was resting, seemed surprised, to have them come back so soon.
"Huh! guess you got tired of the job quicker'n you expected, Rufus!" he called out lazily from his seat on the soft moss under a tree. "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, they say. But what in the dickens is that you're dragging along after you, Alec? Great Scott! a rattler!" ”

“ No one of them unites all the virtues in his single person; but while owning up to certain faults, at the same time he will be found to possess a number of splendid qualities that add to the comfort and health of his comrades. George could make himself one of the most disagreeable chaps going, when his argumentative and unbelieving mood was upon him; then again, he would suddenly blossom out in another phase, and cause all his chums to bless him as a real public benefactor. ”

“ CHAPTER III
"HIT THE KNOT AND HIT IT HARD!"
"How are you coming on, Rufus?" asked Elmer, pleasantly, as he dropped down on the log alongside the perspiring chopper.
Rufus laughed, a little unpleasantly, Elmer thought.
"Oh! I guess I was never cut out for a hewer of firewood, Elmer," he remarked indifferently. "Some fellows may take to that sort of thing, but I incline in the direction of less strenuous employment. I can fiddle with a surveyor's outfit all day long, tramp through the woods and the brush, cut a path, and enjoy it all; but swinging an ax doesn't seem to be my forte." ”

“ Well, all I can hope is that no bad trapper covets your sleek coat, and lies in wait for you next winter with his sharp-edged steel trap."
Next he discovered another track quite different in design.
"Why, how do you do, Brother Fox?" Elmer chattered, amusing himself by this manner of monologue, just as though the animal might be within sound of his voice. "You were also abroad during the night, I see, and carrying home some sort of game in the bargain, for the little foxes in the den, judging from the scratches alongside your own tracks. ”

“ Elmer told him, slowly and with a friendly slap on the shoulder. "Deep down in your heart, Rufus, you just know that you can master such a little job as learning how to handle an ax, if only you keep persistently at it, and never give up. A scout on being baffled once or twice just sets his teeth together, takes a fresh grip on himself, and says he's going to do that thing, no matter if it means trying sixty-seven times. ”

“ Now tell us what he said, and how he looked, George."
"Oh! he carried that gun of his just as we saw him before," the other explained. "And he certainly looked pretty savage, in the bargain."
"Savage?" echoed Rufus, "why should he act that way? Possibly because my father owns about all this property up here. Perhaps Jem believes he may be dispossessed of his cabin. I've heard that squatters always do get to thinking they own the land they build on, as if possession gave them a quit claim deed." ”

“ Now the notes of the weird music came floating to him on the soft air, more and more distinctly. It seemed to the boy as though the violin fairly sobbed with the spirit of the one whose fingers trailed the bow across those taut strings.
"It's wonderful, that's what!" Elmer was telling himself for the tenth time as he kept on walking, and straining his hearing more and more. "Why, I've heard some pretty fine players, but never anything like that! Whoever can it be! I'd wager a heap that the gift of inherited genius is back of that playing. I can see that he isn't an educated violinist at all ”