active 1909-1917 Herbert Carter

“ 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. ”

“ But after all he came very near spoiling it; for just at that very second there was a loud howl, so close at hand that Step Hen was impelled to look over his shoulder, under the impression that the wolf pack was even then about to overwhelm him while he bent down, almost defenseless, above the pile of dry stuff.
“It’s all right; don’t worry!” exclaimed Thad, who was standing guard, with his faithful Marlin gripped tight in his hands; and any wolf that attempted to try conclusions with that reliable little gun would surely regret his temerity. ”

“ Even such a fire-eater as Si Kedge “threw up the sponge,” as Bumpus put it, and knuckled down to the half grown tyrant. Perhaps he realized that in his half boozy condition he was in no shape to grapple with the dilemma by which he and his companion found themselves faced. What with their hands tied by the fact of their guns having been taken by Cale Martin, they were perfectly helpless. And two firearms held in the hands of a couple of determined boys can be just as dangerous as if grown men had them. ”

“ Such men become used to what would seem hardships to the city bred person, and in truth think very little of enduring them. And it was by no means cold enough as yet, to drive them into taking shelter under the canvas.
Giraffe had been working away at his fire-making business pretty much all of the evening, and Bumpus had watched him for a while; but growing tired of seeing the other sawing away as if for dear life, he had finally laughed, and turned away. ”

“ Gauging the direction of the wind, Thad saw that they would in a measure be running a race with the fire, to see which could get to the cabin of Old Cale first. He knew Jim was figuring things out closely. A mistake in calculations might cost them dear. Even a change in wind, which was liable to occur at any time now, would bring them face to face with new difficulties, and make them grapple with problems of a serious character. ”

“ Giraffe says he can start a fire with that bunty little bow of his, and the twirling stick that heats things up, and makes the fine tinder take fire–when you’ve got the hang of things. He’s got to do it before we wind up this particular trip; and at a time when one or more of us are on deck to act as witnesses. ”

“ He hugged the little blaze with his body and hands while Bumpus, dropping the now useless 193 gun, eagerly gathered a lot of dry pine needles, and made a pile of them close to his chum.
“Oh! glory! Bully for you, Giraffe! You’re the scout who can stick to a thing like a plaster. Don’t it look good, though?” cried the shorter lad; but the fire-maker would not let him loiter.
Presently there was no longer any dread of the fire burning out; and both of the scouts could get busy collecting fuel. ”

“ BROUGHT TO BAY BY WOLVES.
“Ooh! how awfully queer them howls seem, Thad!” remarked Step Hen, presently, just as the patrol leader expected he would; for he had a pretty good idea as to what was just passing in the mind of the tenderfoot.
“Well, they do sound different somehow, from what they did when we were sitting around the cheery camp-fire, listening to stories told by the guides,” Thad admitted. “But then, wolves as a rule are cowardly brutes. They may do a heap of howling, but they seldom show any bravery. ”

“ Bending low, Thad could easily see the marks. Some one had been crouching there in the bushes, and spying on the camp. That he could not be an honest woodsman it was easy to guess, for as such he would have stalked straight into camp, sure of the warm welcome that is always extended to a stranger who looks good.
Eli pointed to the impression close to the footprints.
“Thar’s whar he rested the butt o’ his rifle,” he said, positively, and Thad knew it was exactly as Eli declared, just as though he could himself see the actions of the hidden man. ”

“ When I get a little tired, we’ll stop to eat our snack of grub, when I can rest up, and be ready for another hour or two. But I’m afraid my luck has turned, and we won’t sight another deer this blessed day; do you, Thad?”
“We’ll hope to, at any rate,” replied the other, as he started off again; “and it’s that constant expectation of starting up game that makes hunting all it’s cracked up to be. So come along, Step Hen; and if we fail to bring in our share of venison it won’t be because we lay down too easy. Now for quiet again, remember, and keep a constant lookout ahead.” ”

“ Of course, what Step Hen referred to was the well-known rule by which the great body of members composing the Boy Scouts’ organization of America has been governed, in order to teach the units of each patrol and troop the benefits to be derived from making themselves useful to others.
In the morning every scout is supposed to pin his badge upside-down, on the lapel of his coat; and is not allowed to change its position until he has found an opportunity for helping some one, either by act, or advice that is really useful. ”

“ A scout never wants to waste the good things of life like that, does he, Thad?”
But the scoutmaster shook his head.
“I guess there’s no chance of that happening, Bumpus,” he remarked. “By now your bear is a quarter of a mile away from here, and running yet.”
“Don’t blame him,” said Step Hen. “That new gun makes enough noise to burst your ear drums, 15 Bumpus. And let’s hope you won’t ever pull both triggers again. Just practice putting one finger at a time in action. After you’ve shot the first barrel, let it just slip back to catch the second trigger. It’s as easy as tumbling off a log.” ”

“ When out looking for deer, a muffler on speech is of paramount importance; and knowing all about this, Thad soon relapsed into silence.
“Tell you more some other time, Step Hen,” he remarked as a wind-up; “that is, if you care to hear more about snakes. No matter how you dislike the breed, you really ought to know more than you seem to, about their habits. It might be the means of saving you from trouble some fine day, when, by accident, you happen to run across some reptile in the woods. ”

“ What chance did they have of securing the much desired fire, if all depended on Giraffe succeeding in inducing that twirling stick to generate enough heat to throw off a spark that would catch in the dry tinder? None at all. It was only a hollow mockery. Some smart scouts might be able to do the little trick; but up to now it had baffled the skill of Giraffe. Why, even Thad had lost pretty much all hope of his ever succeeding, Bumpus suspected; and believed that the only good thing about the tall scout’s labors was his persistence. ”

“ He was inclined to be nervous; and some sudden whirr of wings, as a partridge flew out of a nearby thicket, might cause his finger to press on the trigger of his gun a little harder than he intended. Thad believed in being on the safe side, every time.
Step Hen carried a lovely little repeating rifle of the thirty-thirty type; and his ammunition was of the soft-nosed kind, which, as it “mushrooms” on 88 striking, is just as serviceable as a ball three times as large; while Thad had his double-barrel Marlin shotgun, a twelve bore, with buckshot shells meant for big game. ”

“ Thad went on, keeping a bright lookout while he talked. “Well, watch that place where I got my fellow, and I think you’ll soon see something moving.”
“You must mean the rest will be wanting to make a supper off the critter you killed; is that it, Thad? Are they such cannibals as all that?” asked Step Hen.
“Always said to be,” the patrol leader returned, and then quickly added. “Keep on the lookout, and if you see anything moving, tell me. Above all don’t waste ammunition by firing recklessly. We’re not trying to scare ’em off by noise; every shot ought to count for a wolf.” ”

“ I was looking back the other day, at the diary I kept while we were gone; and I find that a heap of things came out of that same hunt up among the pines of Maine. All of us felt better for the outing; more than one learned a lesson in perseverance that will follow him all his life; we did a good thing in capturing those hobo thieves, Charley Barnes and his crowd; then we made something of a record in hunting, you with your first moose, and Bumpus with that honey thief of a black bear; after that we helped wind up the poaching careers of Si Kedge and Ed Harkness ”

“ Giraffe replied. “That’s always the way, I’ve been told. When there ain’t no water, a feller feels as if his tongue was stickin’ to the roof of his mouth. And Bumpus, bein’ hungry ain’t the very worst of it, either!” ”

“ Step Hen forgot all his weariness as he found himself being shaken by the hand again and again, while he and Thad told the tale of their day’s outing. It was nice to play the hero part once in a while, and more than ever did Step Hen feel that life had become more worth living than ever, since he joined the Cranford troop of Boy Scouts. ”

“ As Step Hen so often declared, they did not want to be called “game hogs,” a term often used to describe the man who flings his catch of bass or trout up on the shore to die, no matter if he is taking ten times 74 what he can use; or who shoots his deer in or out of season, and allows it to lie there, wasted, on the ground, food for the foxes or wolves.
“This country seems to be rather sparsely settled up here?” remarked Thad, after they had been moving along the shore of Lake Winthrop for some time, looking up a desirable camp site. ”

“ If only Giraffe were with us now, wouldn’t he be in his glory, though?”
“Well,” said Step Hen, slowly; “he might; and again, perhaps Giraffe don’t like wolves any better than I do. And he gets so rattled too, whenever he’s nervous. I try to take things as cool as anything. What’s the use getting excited, when it ain’t agoin’ to help a single bit. And I know you’ll say the same, eh, Thad?” ”

“ When you’re out hunting, try and keep the location of any stream you happen to pass, in your mind. Then in case of being beset by fire, make your way there, and get in, up to your neck. You’re going to be safe there, every time. If it gets hot, duck under, and cool off. I’ll sure never forget the time I had; but then I hope none of you will ever have to hunt for a stream, or that you’ll even see a forest fire when up here, no matter how much Giraffe wants to look on one. ”

“ Here you’ve been trying for these three days past, with your silly old bow and stick, twirling away like an organ grinder; and never so much as struck a single spark of fire yet.”
“Well, you see, there are a whole lot of things about the thing I don’t know.”
“Sure there are. You can do everything but the right thing. You spin that stick with the point that fits in the hole you made in that block of wood, like fun; but your fine tinder don’t even smoke, as far as I can see.”
“Huh! you’ll see it do more than that, and before 4 the end of this Maine trip, I’ll give you to understand, Bumpus.” ”

“ But then, it had been arranged that Giraffe and Bumpus were to go out on a hunt on the following day, all by themselves, and without even a guide along. Giraffe had boasted so often now, that he felt himself fully competent to look after himself when adrift in the woods, that Thad thought it might be a good thing to give him the chance. And there was Bumpus, eager to make use of his new gun; nothing would please him better than to accompany the tall scout. ”

“ When he saw a sudden grin come upon that 179 broad countenance Giraffe felt like bursting out into a yell of joy.
“Got one, haven’t you Bumpus?” he exclaimed, eagerly. “That was a bully good idea of mine after all, you see, having you look again. Say, won’t we be careful of that one precious match, though? And won’t we have the fine dry stuff all ready to kindle, as soon as I strike it. You must let me handle things, Bumpus, because, you know, I’m more used to–what’s the matter with you? Don’t tell me it ain’t a match after all? Oh! thunder!” ”

“ Bumpus looked like a well-laden, led animal as he trotted along at the heels of the tall scout, who was to do the piloting of the expedition.
“Don’t keep supper for us if we’re late,” airily called back Bumpus. “We may get further away than we can manage in one day, and have to camp 171 alone, like Thad and Step Hen did. And if some of them old wolves pay us a visit, they’ll wish they hadn’t. Giraffe is toting his old heavy weight rifle; and here I am with my new double-barreled gun, and fifty shells. Ketch me gettin’ caught like Step Hen did, with a few charges for my trusty weapon. ”

“ The light from the flickering blaze of the camp-fire reached the spot, but faintly; and Jim did not even show any signs of nervousness when Thad drew near, which was one indication that he had half expected his coming.
Perhaps Jim even invited a chance to bestow his confidence on the young scoutmaster. He must have seen before now that Thad Brewster was no ordinary boy; and when a man has been brooding over something a long time, he often feels like having a friend to whom he may pour out the troubles 56 of his soul, and from whom perhaps he may look for advice. ”

“ It makes his boyish heart thrill with a satisfaction that develops the trait of generosity; and gives every lad a more manly sensation; for he realizes that small though he may seem, he is of some value to the world.
“Oh!” said Bumpus, blushing, “I guess I hadn’t ought to take advantage of such a little thing as 85 that, so’s to get my badge turned. I’ll find a chance to do something that’s more worth while, before the morning’s an hour old. And Step Hen, if you bring home the bacon in the shape of a noble six-pronged buck, you must let me take your picture, with your foot on the prize. ”