Robert Maitland

“ Dick stood perfectly still and listened with all his might, but not a human sound could he hear. Other sounds there were in plenty. The soft gurgling of the little brook that wound down the mountain side, and at its deepest part the quick splash of an otter, as, his small head glistening in the light, he swam rapidly across. There was the low murmuring of countless insects, the soft rustle of leaves as a frightened jack-rabbit scurried to his burrow. ”

“ He gave himself an extra hour and a half, however, to allow for any possible hindrance and left camp at about seven o’clock.
[141]
It was a splendid morning. A slight haze tempered the heat of the sun and made walking a delight. As Jack swung into his stride, the charm of the morning took possession of him. The full tide of youth and strength ran through his brain. The balsam of the woods filled his nostrils. The woods were full of life. Birds sang in the trees overhead. He caught glimpses of chipmunks and squirrels gliding through the bushes and occasionally crossing the path. ”

“ Strong man as he was, Mr. Durland felt the tears rush to his eyes, and he could not speak for a moment for the choking in his throat. Then he said, “Well, Scouts, I’m proud of every one of you, but you see you cannot all go.” Then glancing keenly about, he continued: “I will let you choose your own man. Whom do you think best fitted, not by courage, for you are all that, but by physical strength and steadiness of head to undertake this task?”
And there was but one word spoken, as with but one voice, “Jack!” ”

“ Durland in a resolute voice, “here is an emergency that will test all your training. We must act quickly, or it will be too late.”
As he spoke a new thought flashed into his mind and now, looking into the earnest faces of the Scouts, he saw the thought that was in his own mind grow in theirs.
The trestle! But to run along that trestle over the mass of seething, angry water, when the slightest misstep meant death, to warn the on-coming train—could he ask or expect such a heroic deed from these Scouts, the oldest of whom was scarcely more than a boy? He must consider. ”

“ THE BOG
“‘Where are you going, my pretty maid?’
“‘I’m going a-milking, sir, she said,’” chanted Pete as Ben Hoover emerged from the mess tent with the largest tin pail the camp boasted swinging from one hand, and the next largest one from the other.
“Gentlemen,” said Ben, with mock dignity, “I’m not in the humor even to resent the insult your words imply further than to say that you will be sorry for those cruel words when you learn my mission.
“I am about to sacrifice myself on the altar of friendship! I am about to separate myself from human society for the space of two endless hours! ”

“ Do you suppose I fell on purpose?”
“Come, come, boys!” said Mr. Durland. “We all know it was an accident and nobody is more sorry than Tom himself. But I guess there is no use waiting here any longer. You can be perfectly sure that there will be nothing doing now for the rest of the day.”
He rose to his feet and the others followed toward the camp, so full of wonder and excitement at what they had seen that it completely overshadowed their chagrin at Tom’s carelessness, and he got off more easily than he had expected. ”

“ The boys—Jack, Tom and Bob—set off one morning at the Scout-Master’s direction for the bluestone quarries situated about a mile from the lodge. Don rushed joyfully ahead, barking at squirrels, who looked at him tantalizingly from safe retreats in the trees, chasing rabbits into their burrows, and making himself altogether disagreeable to the astonished inhabitants of the forest. ”

“ Running, slipping, sliding and stumbling, they made their way down the steep ravine, dodged behind a boulder and came in sight of the bushes that hid the entrance to the cave.
“Quick!” Jack hissed, pulling aside the bushes. “I don’t think there’s anything in there, but if there is, we’ll have to take our chance!”
In less time than it takes to tell, the boys were inside and the bushes were once more in place. With hearts threatening to jump out of their mouths, they listened for the sound of footsteps outside the cave. Pretty soon they came. ”

“ Don came up willingly and held up his paw to be examined. Impatiently he waited while Dick, with many expressions of sympathy, took out the long thorn and gently bound up the injured paw.
“Poor old boy!” one of the Scouts said, as he patted the dog’s shaggy head, “it must have pained you terribly! But where are Jack and Tom? It’s not like Jack to leave Don to come on alone especially when he knew he was hurt,” he added, turning to the boys. ”

“ There around the bend, about a fourth of a mile away, appeared the express, ten minutes behindhand, and in consequence putting on extra speed.
Jack planted himself firmly in the middle of the track and waved the red danger signal to and fro, his heart singing with joy. He expected to see the express slow down, but to his amazement it did nothing of the kind. They did not seem to see him!
What should he do? The train, with the broken trestle ahead of it, must not be allowed to take that awful plunge. He must stop it! ”

“ After a little more than an hour’s tramp Jack held up his hand in caution.
“You’ve got to be careful now, Scouts,” he said. “They’re wary old fellows and the least thing disturbs them. If they once suspect that we are anywhere near, it’s good-night with us. Those big, bright eyes will see us all right but we won’t catch a glimpse of them. Now’s the time for you Scouts to show what you know of [93] woodcraft and follow me as silently as a band of Indians.”
Thus cautioned, the boys fell in behind Jack and, carefully avoiding stepping upon twigs or speaking above a whisper, soon reached the dam. ”

“ THE LOGGING CAMP
The Scouts arose early the next day, in order to be able to march during the cool morning hours, and so escape the torrid middle part of the day, which is especially hot during the short northern summer.
But although hot after the sun is up, the nights seem all the colder by contrast. Fortunately, the Scout-Master had foreseen this and had provided for it by insisting that each Scout carry a warm woolen blanket. To many of the boys this had seemed a waste of energy at the time. Who on earth could want a blanket at that time of the year, they argued. ”

“ The Scouts, who all this time had been standing motionless, their hearts beating faster and faster as the details of the plot were made plain to them, and with faces on which horror was clearly written, were filled with consternation at this unexpected move of the dog. They now quickly skirted the bushes and, slipping among [55] some thickly growing trees, found a little bypath and ran rapidly along it, on their way back to camp.
As the big dog bounded after the rabbit and into the bushes, within ten feet of them, the plotters sprang to their feet, filled with alarm. ”

“ Durland had suggested making the work the object of the Boy Scouts’ summer camp. Mr. Scott, a firm believer and warm advocate of the Boy Scout movement, had readily consented.
Because there was more or less danger in this region of encountering a bear, or even a wildcat, and as a rattlesnake was not altogether an impossibility, it was thought advisable to use the lodge as sleeping quarters instead of the usual tents or lean-tos. A large shack would have to be built for a mess tent, and a place to store provisions. ”

“ These are webbed like those of a duck up to the root of the nails, and it’s one of the prettiest things you ever saw to see a beaver swim. There is scarcely a ripple. The front feet are perfectly motionless, pressed close up against its side, while its head, with its shining fur and its keen, bright eyes that seem to look in every direction at once, moves in a perfectly straight line toward the front door of his house. ”

“ Durland, who had overheard the last part of his remark. “If every man had as good and upright instincts as that dog, the world would be a better place than it is now.”
Jack saluted, and said respectfully, “Yes, sir, I guess it would.”
It seemed no time after that until they were surprised to come suddenly upon an opening in the woods, and Mr. Durland said, smiling, “Well, Scouts, we have arrived! While you are here, I want you to keep your eyes and ears open, and learn all you can about logging. Everything you see will be interesting, so I have no doubt you will have a good time. ”

“ Bob wanted to go at once for the desperately needed help, but Ben, terrified at the thought of being left alone, begged him to wait a few minutes until they were sure the board would hold him up until Bob could go and return.
“Keep up your courage, old man,” said Bob. “If that board holds—and I feel sure it will—we’ll be all right. I’ll do a regular Marathon up to camp. Harry and Pete are cooks this week, you know. They will come back with me, and we’ll bring everything we can lay our hands on to help. It will be mighty strange if we three husky fellows can’t get one boy out of a fix! ”

“ And another thing, Harry, why on earth don’t you join the Boy Scouts? You’d have no end of fun, and we’d all be glad to have you.”
“Dick, all you fellers are bricks fur askin’ me, but how can I? There ain’t anything I want as much as to be a Scout, but I have no chance to do what you fellers do. I got to work here from the first streak of daylight, and quit when my [81] work’s done, which is about ten o’clock every night of the week. I am what you call a ‘kin and can’t’ worker; I work as soon as I can see and quit when it is so dark I can’t see.” ”

“ All turned, and at that moment saw the little fellow run out from a clump of low bushes and fairly flying toward them, call out bravely—not “Help me!” but “Run, boys, run, run! There is a bear coming!” and from the bushes lumbered a bear, really of medium size, but looking to the startled boys at that moment as big as an elephant, and loped along only a few rods behind Tom.
“The nearest tree and up it!” was their first instinct, and Bob Hart and Harry French, who were nearest to Tom, seized him by an arm on either side and pushed and pulled him up with them into the tree. ”

“ Everything being in first-class order at last, and ready for the night, a tired, hungry lot of boys gathered around the supper table. As they ate they talked of their impressions of the new camp site, eagerly discussed the probable adventures they would have, and then someone asked Scout-Master Durland what kind of animals they would be likely to find here. ”

“ If the dog won, the murderer of Aubrey stood revealed. If, on the other hand, Macaire came out victor, he was to be adjudged innocent.
[137]
“A duel between a man and a dog!” exclaimed Ben who, with the other boys, had listened breathlessly to Dick’s story. “That doesn’t seem fair. How could they fix it so that each would have an even show?”
“Well,” said Dick, “perhaps it wouldn’t be possible to make a thing of that kind exactly fair and even between a man and a dog, but they figured it out and made it as fair as they could. ”

“ When Tom came to himself, he added his shouts to Jack’s and they finally succeeded in making [75] themselves heard by the straining workers outside. With glad cries of encouragement, the Scouts went to work once more with redoubled energy. In five minutes, that seemed like five ages to the gasping boys inside, a tiny place was cleared before the entrance of the cave, letting in a breath of cool, fresh air. In another half hour the cave mouth was entirely free and the two half-smothered boys were helped out by their anxious friends. ”

“ There isn’t a thing about carpentering or mason work that he doesn’t know. And he has to make his house strong, too, because he has a good many enemies. The wolves and wolverines are after him all the time and unless he had something that they could not bite through or claw through, it would be all up with Mr. Beaver.”
By this time all the boys had become interested in Jack’s description and had gathered around him.
“You’re a lucky dog, Jack,” said Bob. “You’ve seen a whole lot of things that us city fellows don’t know anything about.” ”

“ Not a living thing was to be seen, for every wild creature had taken refuge from the fury of the storm in its deepest woodland shelter and nestled there quivering, while still the thunder rolled, the lightning flashed and the rain came down in torrents. ”

“ Scott is with him too,” he said. “That was him as got off the train and drove off with Flannigan. He has come up to look over affairs at the logging camp. He ain’t very husky, and I don’t know what would happen to him if it came to a scrap. Flannigan’s all right, but ’tain’t at all likely he can beat off two men if they take him by surprise. There ain’t no telegraph station down here and there ain’t no telephone, either, in these woods. What on earth are we going to do?”
Jack thought quickly. His brain never worked more swiftly than when in the midst of danger. ”

“ In places it was only three or four feet deep, but toward the southern end there was a depth of eight or ten feet that made it suitable for diving. The younger boys and those whose skill as swimmers was not very great, chose the upper part where, under the direction of Dick Crawford, the Assistant Scout-Master, those unable to swim rapidly learned, while those who simply knew the breast stroke were taught one by one the more scientific crawl and over-hand stroke that are the envy and despair of the small boy when he sees them put in practice by his larger companions. ”