John Henry Goldfrap

“ When retiring for the night, at about ten o’clock, amidst sundry yawns, and more or less stretching of arms, the quartette from Hampton seemed to agree on one particular thing. This was to the effect that their stay in the mountains promised to be one of the most interesting and entertaining of all their experiences. There were so many new things for them to see, and the environments seemed so particularly home-like-with royal fare thrown in, Tubby wanted them to remember as they gave thanks—that a feast awaited them. ”

“ No doubt the fire department would do everything possible to save the town, but, after all, they were a feeble force to try and stand in the way of that leaping blaze when fanned and whipped by a furious wind.
The five boys had come in to attend an entertainment, but it began to look as if they might be on hand to witness a most distressing catastrophe. ”

“ Now tell us, Rob, what it’s all about?”
“We must get the car out, you and I, Ralph, and make for your place like the wind. Don’t you understand, it’s that dynamite your father’s got stored there, together with the battery for exploding the same, that we’ve got to have.”
“What, dynamite? Haven’t we got fire enough as it is without trying to blow up the poor old town?” cried the amazed Andy. ”

“ Rob replied, looking grave. “While there’s a chance that it might be so, I don’t believe it, Ralph. I think you gave him a severe test, and that the boy came out of it without being scorched a whit. Still, if you have the least doubt left, and I can’t blame you for it, either, keep tabs of Peleg, and prove the case, one way or the other.”
“Oh! I mean to, Rob. I don’t consider it’s quite fair to keep suspecting a fellow and never openly accuse him. I own up this affair has upset some of my opinions. I’m more inclined than ever to believe I was mistaken.” ”

“ It was plain that Ralph was disheartened by the prospect confronting the enterprising little town. He took a great interest in Wyoming, and the impending catastrophe appalled him.
“Isn’t there something we could do to help these poor people get their stuff out of reach of the flames, even if we can’t stop the fire raging?” asked Tubby, whose tender heart was always ready to bleed for any sufferer, no matter what his race, color or condition. ”

“ Wherever they found a chance to lend a hand they pitched in with their accustomed vim; more than a few poor families had occasion to remember those sturdy and accommodating young fellows wearing the khaki uniforms, who assisted them to load the wagons, and then get a flying start for a point of safety.
Rob was beginning to feel a sense of despair as he wrestled in vain with the perplexing problem of how to successfully fight that volume of flame eating its way remorselessly toward the section of the town where so much of the community’s prosperity was laid up. ”

“ As the river ran not more than a quarter of a mile away from the Holcomb home, there were grave fears lest the child might have wandered that way. Some were even looking along the bank with the idea that the body would be cast ashore; others, including the now frenzied father, were engaged in scouring the woods, calling out the name of the little fellow from time to time, and then stopping to learn if a feeble answer came in reply to their hails.
Rob knew that it might mean a long and difficult hunt. ”

“ After supper that night Ralph and Rob went off to set the flashlight trap in the mink enclosure. A fresh fish would be the bait to attract one of the timid little fur-bearing animals to the place; and the arrangement was such that when he attempted to possess himself of the tempting morsel, the pull upon a cord would cause the flashlight to snap off his picture before he could move. ”

“ I like a little variety in my sport. Besides, the poor greenbacks haven’t a ghost of a chance before that little Flobert of yours, Ralph, which shoots so straight you only have to take aim, pull the trigger, and that ends it. Now a bass on a light rod makes some excitement; and there’s always a chance for him to give you the merry ha-ha by breaking away. ”

“ Finally a shout from Sim announced that the door had been beaten open, and that the way into the building no longer held any obstacle to the advance of the trio.
They vanished from view, Fire Chief, Rob and Ralph. The three boys, together with Ralph’s father, had to possess their souls in patience while waiting for the reappearance of the bold invaders. At any moment now they fully expected the building to burst into flames, so overheated must the dry woodwork have become. It was an anxious time for Mr. Jeffords, who had seen his son disappear beyond that broken door. ”

“ This was a sport which Rob and his two chums always enjoyed very much. Perhaps they might not meet with such good luck as if they had come early in the morning; but, then, no one can tell when the bass will take hold. It often happens that on a hot and still day nothing may be done until along about four in the afternoon when a breeze arises, with a spatter of rain in the bargain. Somehow, every fish in the lake seems to get ravenously hungry all at once, judging from the way in which they snap at any kind of bait. ”

“ If you watch carefully you’ll learn that the blaze keeps on getting weaker right along. It’s burning itself out, I tell you, Tubby. We win, and most of the glory goes to Rob here for thinking up such a grand scheme.”
“Don’t you believe that!” exclaimed the scout leader, energetically. “Nine-tenths of it ought to go to Ralph, you’d better say. Didn’t he get the apparatus for blowing up that factory, and wasn’t it Ralph who piloted the car back home and here again, going like mad? But perhaps you had better not say anything more about that business, boys; neither of us want to pose as heroes. ”

“ Ralph was at the wheel, and he knew his road, so that before a great while they drew near the place where the Holcombs lived. The woman had driven over in a buggy, but her rig could be recovered later on. Time was too valuable to allow her to return home in the same tedious manner as she had come.
“Looky yonder, will you?” burst out Tubby. “What are those lights glimmering in the woods over yonder? Seem like a pack of giant fireflies to me. ”

“ As singers they’re a miserable failure, and all their lives, from the time they’re tadpoles up to when they weigh two solid pounds, they never do any particular good till they are served on the table, browned to a crisp, and making honest boys’ hearts send up their thanksgiving.”
“No use trying to convince Tubby about the sin of sacrificing things to satisfy his appetite,” laughed Rob. “He’s committed to the idea that everything was put on this earth for one great purpose, which was to cater to the wants of man.” ”

“ Now show us your mink and otter, won’t you, Ralph?”
“I can show you where I keep them, and what I’ve done to induce them to feel at home and multiply,” replied the other, “but I doubt whether we catch sight of a single member of the community. They are that shy they seldom come out in the daytime. As to feeding them, all we have to do is to see that there are plenty of fish in the brook that runs through the lot.” ”

“ On the other hand, Rob thought he might be waiting for a chance to ride with some farmer returning home, and that the opportunity may not as yet have come along.
“What, no frogs’ legs today?” remarked Tubby, when the meal had progressed far enough to show this lack of his favorite delicacy.
“Oh! we’ve decided to leave all that to you, Tubby,” laughed Ralph. “It seems that the rest of us have had all we want of that fish-chicken combination. There’s the pond, and whenever you feel like having a mess take my Flobert and get busy. The rest of us have other fish to fry.” ”

“ They naturally talked more or less of the chances of such an enterprise succeeding, and Ralph learned that Rob Blake was pretty well posted about all such things.
“We are taking a chance, you understand,” he remarked, after Rob had asked several questions, “but we think we are on the way to making the venture a profitable one. Like everything else that deserves success, you have to work like a beaver, and put your whole soul into it, day and night. It’s eternal vigilance in raising fur, because we have all sorts of enemies to fight against.”
“Enemies?” repeated Tubby. ”

“ In fact,” continued Rob, “I rather like the sparkle in his eyes.”
“Yes, he fooled me right along, too,” said Ralph, with a trace of a sneer in his tone. “He does his work so you couldn’t really find any fault; but then it’s hard to shake off a bad name, and the Pinders always were shiftless and deceitful, Wyoming folks believe.”
Rob was interested at once, and for a reason. He hated to see any one “picked on” simply because “people” chose to believe no good could come out of a family that had a shirker for a father. ”

“ Tubby went on to say, with apparent delight, “today has been a red-letter day for hauling in a mess of food of all sorts from the water. Just to think, we’ve got fresh fish, frogs’ legs, and turtle to choose from.”
“Better jot it down in your diary as Marine Day,” laughed Andy.
“We’ll leave the turtle for tomorrow,” suggested Ralph. “Two kinds of fish ought to be enough for one meal. I’ll take the bass every time. But here’s Peleg, ready to do the job of getting them fixed for the pan,” as the half-grown farm boy made his appearance. ”

“ He knew Ralph was hinting to him that the farm boy may have held back from joining them because he began to feel ashamed of what he had done, and could not bear to face the owner of the stolen stamps so soon after selling the packets to the curio dealer.
Even that failed wholly to convince Rob. When he believed in any one it was hard to make him change his opinion. Why should Peleg seem so well satisfied with himself? Surely, the getting of a few dollars, more or less, in a shady transaction too, of which he must later on feel ashamed, would hardly cause him to appear so happy. ”

“ As a rule Rob Blake was very quick in his movements, but by the time he had succeeded in getting his feet free from the various impediments not yet properly stowed away, and jumped to the ground, the lively country boy had actually sprung forward, seized the horse’s bridle, and by throwing his whole weight on the lines dragged him to a standstill.
It was splendidly done, and Rob felt that had Ralph only been a wearer of the khaki he would, because of that act, have been a candidate for a medal such as is given to scouts for saving human life. ”

“ Rob directed operations, and even Ralph seemed only too willing to do whatever he was told. Strange, how in emergencies, it is always the strong mind that seizes the reins, and all others readily acquiesce, no matter in whatever shape the orders come. How many a desperate enterprise has been carried to a glorious success simply because a fit leader has developed when the conditions demanded; while others that promised well in the beginning have fallen flat through lack of the initiative on the part of the actors. ”

“ I never expect to raise such expensive stock. I’m counting on five hundred as the basis of my calculations; and if you’re fairly successful in raising your litters, there’s good money in the business at that. Besides, it’s great sport in the bargain to one who really loves animals, and knows more or less of their cute ways.”
“Five hundred dollars for just one little skin!” Tubby was heard to mutter, as though that struck him as most remarkable. “Well, if you keep along as you’re going, Ralph, I can see you getting to be a second Rockefeller before you’re fifty. ”

“ Peleg looked proudly around as he said this, just as though he felt it a triumph, after all, to carry the name he did; though possibly on more than one occasion he had ardently wished it might have been plain Bill or Tom.
“This is splendid news you’re telling us, Peleg,” said Mr. Jeffords, still shaking hands with his former help. “What about the farm—is it one your uncle owned out there in Colorado?”
“Shucks! no, sir, it’s the Widow Hawkins’ place, you see, just twenty acres of fine ground that her husband made his pile out o’ before he died. ”

“ Sparks fell all around them, endangering their eyes if they ventured to look upward.
“Better turn your coat collars up, fellows,” advised Rob. “If you got one of these flying sparks down your back you wouldn’t like it much.”
“That’s right,” commented Andy, “an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. Whew! just look at that cloud of sparks rise up! Must have been a building collapsed then to make the shower.”
“But I don’t see Ralph coming along yet,” complained Tubby, as he strained his eyes to stare down the street where the other must appear if he came at all. ”

“ Rob knew that it was not so much the value of the missing packets that bothered Ralph Jeffords as the fact that a boy to whom his father had been so kind had apparently betrayed a trust, and stolen from the son of his benefactor.
“And you think Peleg has been pretty keen on making money, do you?” continued the scout leader.
“Yes, that’s a fact,” he was told, moodily. “I never knew a fellow more eager to scrape cents and dollars together. He would do any kind of extra work after hours if only he could make ten cents by it.” ”

“ There, fastened upon the door of the cabin, was a fresh skin, evidently taken lately, since it had not been there on their previous visit.
“That ferocious wildcat, as sure as you live!” ejaculated Sim, in evident delight.
“Yes, Pete got him, for a fact,” said Ralph. “I knew he would if anybody could do the job. Now my fur farm is safe again from danger. One such cat can play hob with things; once they get a taste they’ll come back again and again until they clean you out.” ”

“ Poor Peleg has been dreaming of doing great things, you know, Ralph.”
“You are certainly the grandest fellow to stand by any one who is down I ever met!”
“Oh! I don’t know that I’m different from any scout who wears the khaki, and has taken the scout oath to try and be useful to others. You’d do just as much if you had the chance, and I know it, Ralph. But suppose we drop Peleg for the time being, and speak of something else? The other fellows must be wondering why we keep our heads together so long, and talk in undertones.”
“I’m agreeable, Rob. Notice how the wind has commenced to rise. ”

“ All of them stared down into the aperture, but even the light from the hand torch failed to show them what lay below. They could catch glimpses of a rough, rocky wall, projecting roots of trees, and some sort of growing bushes, but if the child were down there they failed to discover anything of him.
“Well, who’s going down?” demanded Tubby, as though it were a foregone conclusion in his mind that such a course must follow. “I’d offer in a minute, only I’m sure Rob wouldn’t let me try it, while there are so many others present better fitted for the job than I am. ”