Carl Saxon

“ Still lost in these happy visions, he crossed a sunny meadow and picked his way over the dusty, rutted country road that led to camp. Here he plunged into thick woods, making straight up the mountainside. It was cool in the leafy forest, and he would have been very well contented save that a swarm of gnats hovered over his hatless head in a buzzing cloud, following wherever he went. His coat was too warm, but he did not want to carry it as his hands were already full, and he wished to be free in case he located the desired covey of partridge. ”

“ Tired hikers ate like wolves, assuring each other between mouthfuls that it had been a swell day.
Dishes had to be washed. At Tent One table, Lefty and Eddie Scolter were due for this detail. The latter, however, could hardly keep his eyes open—the long hike, the swim in Iron Lake, and the excitements of the day’s visit at Shawnee had been almost too much for the small lad. He nodded gratefully when Dirk Van Horn offered to take his place. Sax McNulty raised his eyebrows at this generosity, but made no remark. ”

“ If you’re a nice baby, and do what we tell you, maybe we’ll let you off easy—maybe!”
Dirk choked, and found his voice. “You are a coward, Ryan! A coward and a bully!”
“Shut up!” came the savage answer. “Do you want to wake up the whole camp?” A sharp point of metal prodded the flesh of Dirk’s leg. “Feel that? Any more hot air and you’ll get a touch of this! Now, march!”
Biting his lip to keep back the cry that rose to his tongue, Dirk Van Horn was dragged through the woods. His blindfold was still knotted tightly over his eyes, and he was helpless in the hands of his captors. ”

“ The Chief stared through the little window over his desk, a tiny square through which came a glimpse of the pines and the rippling waters of Lake Lenape.
“The boys that Mr. Carrigan has chosen are all picked campers,” he said at last. “Most of them have spent three seasons here, and in that time have learned the many things they must know to take care of themselves on a long trip that would test the endurance of many grown men. ”

“ He had that friendship now, but he had won it as a man should.
He drifted off to sleep clutching his new honor, and when he awoke at dawn, rose and sewed it carefully on the front of the sweater that he would wear on the trail. Brick Ryan was astir too, dressing in his worn hiking clothes and rolling his blankets into a neat pack to be strapped over his shoulders. He winked over at Dirk and whispered: “The pennant is still safe, by gollies! I pinned it to my pajama shirt with a big blanket-pin!” ”

“ Within a few minutes after the meal was over, Dirk had seen disappear into the woods all his tent-mates with the exception of Lefty and Brick, who, with the rest of the Lenape nine, were to ride to Shawnee and thus keep fresh for the big contest of the afternoon.
Dirk fingered his glove nervously, and wondered what sort of ball field the Shawnee campus would provide. Somebody slapped him on the back. It was Spaghetti Megaro, second baseman, and a gay light shone in the Italian boy’s eyes.
“You’re worried, huh? Well, forget it! If we don’t win, we lose. But I think we win! ”

“ He should not be the one to lose hope; now, if ever, he must show the manhood that was in him.
He clapped Brick Ryan on the back, and tried to summon a smile. “There, old man, it’s all right. This whole mess is really my fault—I was dumb enough to let myself get kidnaped in the first place. If you think that crutch of yours will work, take a good drink and let’s hike.”
Brick set off eagerly, stumping across the creek and manfully following Dirk’s leadership through the forest, trying not to drag his tightly-bound foot or to knock it against the stumps and boulders that littered the earth. ”

“ Every fortnight during the season was moving day for Lenape; then some of the boys who could not stay the entire summer would leave, and other boys would come up from the city to take their places. At this time, too, the tent assignments were shifted about so that each camper could get to know, and live as tent-mates with, a wide variety of other boys. Brick, who had that morning been given a bunk in the tent nearest the lodge, presided over by “Sax” McNulty, the comical leader who directed camp dramatics, wondered idly what sort of gang his new tent-mates would turn out to be. ”

“ Lost! Dirk began to run unsteadily through the thick brush. His eyes were wild, and the little hammers of panic were beating in his brain.
Brick Ryan was slipping into his swimming suit in Tent One when Sax McNulty, followed by a racing pack of boys, appeared at the lower end of the campus. The new recruits had hit camp just in time for afternoon swim period.
“Hi, Sax!” the red-headed boy greeted his leader. “You look hot. Just in time for a dip.”
The long-faced young man gave him a mournful look. Sax always looked gloomy, even when he was saying his funniest things. ”

“ Lefty shouted. “I went last year, and it was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. Talk about fun! And we had some exciting adventures, too. Boy, when you’re tenting by Lake Moosehorn and catching a mess of bass for your supper, think of poor Lefty back at Lenape, wishing he was along again this season!”
Sax McNulty stared into the distance. “I scaled Kinnecut five—no, six—years ago, it was,” he said softly. “I’ll never have such a great time if I live to be a hundred and fifty! Tiny Krouse, my canoe-mate, was chased two miles by a mama-bear who thought he was trying to kidnap her cubs! ”

“ Brick Ryan, after tipping two fouls, was allowed to walk. Ken Haviland stalled, taking two strikes while Brick stole second, and outguessed on a fast inshoot, dropped his bat as the umpire called him out.
“Wake up, you fielder!” Lefty was calling. Dirk realized that he was next.
A little chill chased itself up his spine as he grabbed his own bat and hurried to the plate. But as he stepped up and faced Bollard’s wind-up, all his nervousness left him. He’d show these kids—and Lefty Reardon in particular—that he could save their old ball-game yet. He knew he was good. He knew he was going to hit. ”

“ The chauffeur went around to the heaped luggage-rack of the car, and began unloading its bulky contents. Several shiny suitcases landed on the ground, followed by a leather hat-box, a bag of golf-clubs, two tennis racquets, a gun-case, fishing rods, and finally a large wardrobe trunk, which the man handled with difficulty. Shouldering the latter, the man also disappeared down the hill. Brick scratched his head, stared at the pile of baggage that still remained, and hung a patched pair of khaki pants on the line to dry in the fresh morning air. ”

“ Brick Ryan, whose sole possessions had come to Lenape with him in a canvas dunnage-bag, pretended to read, but he kept one eye on the proceedings. Languidly Dirk, aided by the awed Joey, began to unpack his multitude of belongings. First he unrolled a thick mattress—the only mattress in camp aside from those in the hospital tent—and spread it on the lower bunk nearest the lodge. Brick felt called upon to interfere.
“Say,” he began, “that bunk belongs to Sax McNulty, our leader. All the other lower bunks are already taken. You’ll have to take one of the uppers.” ”

“ Dirk, paddling doggedly with his arms thrust through the slits in his rubber poncho, felt the muscles of his shoulders stiffening with the unwonted labor; and he was happy when, in the middle of the morning, the little fleet came into sight of the white houses of the small river town of Port Jermyn. They tied up at the wharf where the main street of the town ended, and strolled about through the rain-swept village while the councilor, assisted by Steve Link, purchased the supplies that would be their sole provisions until their return from the wilds into which they were about to plunge. ”

“ Today I am being the tent aide. That is a rather important job, as you see it means you have to be a sort of assistant to the leader and keep all the fellows on their toes doing the right things, and yet do it without being bossy or mean. Lefty is the regular aide, but he let me do it to try for one part of my honor emblem. I still have lots of tests to pass for it yet. ‘Gollies,’ as my friend Brick Ryan would say, I sure hope that I don’t miss out and can’t finish it all by Sunday, for then I wouldn’t dare ask the Chief to let me go on the Long Trail. ”

“ You and all your pretty junk may go over big with kids like Joey that don’t know any better, but Brick Ryan’s not for sale!”
Dirk’s mouth fell open, and he backed off hastily. “Why—Why, I’m sorry—I didn’t think you’d take it that way! Of course, if you don’t care to accept it——”
“Yah!” cried the Irish boy. With sudden fury he flung the offending tennis racquet in a wide curve. It fell out of sight into a clump of bushes some yards away; and Brick Ryan, with clenched fists, turned on his heel and stalked from the tent. ”

“ The red-headed boy playfully prodded his canoe-mate in the ribs. “Stir your stumps. Look, the other guys are almost out of sight around Flint Island. Old Wise-Tongue is wavin’ for us to come on.”
The two foremost canoes vanished behind the bulk of the little island as the Sachem pushed out.
“Steer over along the shore of the island, will you?” asked Dirk, after a moment. “I thought I saw something moving in the bushes. It looked like——See it? Why, it’s a man! And he’s waving to us! What do you suppose he wants?” ”

“ Dirk Van Horn wondered if he were going to like Camp Lenape. There seemed to be far too many uncomfortable rules that got in the way when a fellow wanted to have some fun. Then, too, outside of little Joey Fellowes, nobody had seemed duly impressed with his father’s wealth and his luxurious camping outfit. ”

“ Dirk went back to his gloomy thoughts, which were now turned toward his companions, who had set out so blithely with him on the Long Trail. Were they even now mourning his death and Brick’s, as victims of a canoe accident? He recalled his clumsiness the first time the Sachem was launched—no doubt they thought him still a lubber who would upset his craft and drag his friend with him to the watery depths. But Mr. Carrigan was wise; and though their captors were cunning, they had left several clues that might be read. For instance, the provision-sack had been tightly lashed within the canoe ”

“ Dirk, searching his chief’s face for some sign, breathed a heavy sigh of disappointment, and rose to go.
“Sit down, Dirk! The Long Trail, eh? I suppose you know what you’re asking?”
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Dirk, with new eagerness in his eyes, sank again into his chair. “Mr. McNulty and some of the chaps have been talking about it, and Ryan, in our tent, is going. It must be a splendid experience, sir, and I—I—— Yes, I know I’m not much as a woodsman—why, I got lost within a little way from the camp!—and I guess I’d be a drag on the rest of the fellows on a long trip like that. But, oh, sir, give me a chance!” ”

“ Why, before you have the right to wear an honor emblem, you have to pass a lot of tests—you have to know a bunch of trees and birds and flowers and rocks and stars, and how to swim and handle a boat, and hike and cook and build woodcraft objects, and—oh, lots of things! Here, I’ll get you a card with all the requirements printed on it, and when you pass a test, the leader who passes you will put his initials down. Campers have a chance to pass the tests all the time. ”

“ The councilor scratched his head, and turned to the other boys. “Isn’t there anybody here who has any sense? Here a new boy comes down without a leader, and without knowing how to swim, puts a canoe in the water and sinks it under him! Suppose you had launched it from the end of the dock, Van Horn, where the deep water is—what would you have done if you had gone over then? That’s the reason we have canoe tests—so a boy won’t go out unless he can take care of himself in the water, no matter what happens. Now, lift that canoe on the dock, drain the water out, and leave it to dry. ”

“ On Saturday afternoon Dirk, after helping Jim Avery after lunch at the store, raced to the boat dock and took his final swimming test, diving into the water head-first as Brick Ryan had taught him, and rounding a life-boat stationed fifty yards out, in all handling himself so neatly that he won a nod from Wally Rawn and a promise to be allowed to help keep the score in the inter-tent Boat Regatta that afternoon. ”

“ Dirk replied, watching Brick sink down upon a moss-covered ledge of rock. “But that Indian will be following us as soon as he can, if he knows we’ve gone this way. Maybe we should go in another direction.”
A few moments passed in silence.
“I wish I knew where the lake was,” said Dirk finally.
“Well, this creek here probably runs down into it.”
“That’s true—but as near as I can see, this is the same one that goes right by the cabin. We’d only run right back into Mink’s arms. Guess we’ve got to make for the hills. Then if one of us climbs a tree, we can get our bearings.” ”

“ Out of the hundred boys here each summer, only six are ever chosen to take this trail for the honor of Lenape. Now, knowing all this, do you still want to go?”
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Dirk nodded dully. “But I’m bigger and stronger than Ugly Brown, and he’s going! And I’d do my best to learn everything, and try to keep up with the rest of the party——”
“Brown is one of the best young campers we have,” observed the Chief, “even if he is small. If you knew a tenth as much as he does about the woods and the water, you might stand a chance. Come, now, Dirk, I know how you feel. ”

“ Since then, every year, six boys under a leader make the same trip, and now there are nine Camp Lenape pennants nailed to the tallest tree on the very top of old Kinnecut, to show that the chosen campers can come through a long endurance test with flying colors. ”

“ Brick Ryan stirred among his blankets and tried to sit up. “Mount Kinnecut?” he mumbled. “Gollies, that’s the place we got to find. Dirk will help me get there, won’t you, Dirk, my boy? Dirk’s the best guy that ever hit the trail, and I’ll lick the bird that says he’s not!” ”

“ He’s got what they call a Lenape honor emblem, which you can get for your jersey if you know a lot of camp things.
“We have to work hard here to keep the tent clean and get merit points to win a pennant every day to show which is the best tent. The first day I didn’t clean up enough and we got the ‘booby can’ that we had to hang up with ‘booby’ written on it. Each of us has to be waiter and wash dishes, but that’s fun too, like seeing if you can get ‘seconds’ on meat and potatoes when you’re the waiter. ”

“ It’s not an easy trail, and so only the fellows who are best fitted for it can go. Once you’ve made the trip, you can’t go again—only Mr. Carrigan, who is in command, has been over it before. I want to tell you youngsters that it’s the one big thing at Lenape that you can never forget! Brick, I say it again, you’re a lucky bum!”
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Dirk was still puzzled. “How do they pick the fellows to go?”
“Well, they have to be in first-class shape all around—healthy, full of pep and camp spirit, and they have to know their way around on the water and in the woods,” said McNulty. ”