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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/17227.txt b/17227.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e061dc3 --- /dev/null +++ b/17227.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9363 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Rod of the Lone Patrol, by H. A. Cody + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Rod of the Lone Patrol + + +Author: H. A. Cody + + + +Release Date: December 5, 2005 [eBook #17227] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROD OF THE LONE PATROL*** + + +E-text prepared by Al Haines + + + +ROD OF THE LONE PATROL + +by + +H. A. CODY + +Author of "If Any Man Sin," "The Chief of the Ranges," +"The Long Patrol," "The Frontiersman," Etc., Etc. + + + + + + + + "_A boy's will is the wind's will, + And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts._" + --LONGFELLOW. + + + + + +McClelland and Stewart +Publishers ------ Toronto +Copyright, 1916, +George H. Doran Company +Made in U. S. A. + + + + + +To My + +Three Little Boys + +DOUGLAS, KENNETH AND NORMAN, + +Who are anxious to become Boy Scouts, + +This Book is + +Affectionately Dedicated + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER + + I. A WAIF OF THE NIGHT + II. GIVING AND RECEIVING + III. THE WIDOW'S VISIT + IV. RODNEY DEVELOPS + V. CAPTAIN JOSH TAKES A HAND + VI. A NEW FRIEND + VII. CHUMS + VIII. THE CHUMS TO THE RESCUE + IX. WHYN + X. HIS FIRST "GOOD TURN" + XI. MISS ARABELLA'S "AFFAIR" + XII. SCOUT WORK + XIII. THE VISIT + XIV. UNEXPECTED ASSISTANCE + XV. IN THE CITY + XVI. WHYN DECIDES + XVII. ANNA ROYANNA + XVIII. THE WAY OF THE HEART + XIX. THE SURPRISE + XX. THE ISLAND ADVENTURE + XXI. THE ROUNDING UP + XXII. A NEW ADVENTURE + XXIII. FIRST AID + XXIV. THE PRODIGAL SON + XXV. DRIFT-LOGS + XXVI. THE BEST "GOOD-TURN" + XXVII. JIMMY + XXVIII. EXCITEMENT AT THE ANCHORAGE + XXIX. THE TROOPS DECIDE + XXX. THE NIGHT RUN + XXXI. BETTER THAN A FAIRY TALE + + + + +ROD OF THE LONE PATROL + + +CHAPTER I + +A WAIF OF THE NIGHT + +Parson Dan chuckled several times as he sipped his hot cocoa before the +fire. It was an open fire, and the flames licked around an old dry +root which had been brought with other driftwood up from the shore. +This brightly-lighted room was a pleasing contrast to the roughness of +the night outside, for a strong late October wind was careening over +the land. It swirled about the snug Hillcrest rectory, rattling any +window which happened to be a little loose, and drawing the +forked-tongued flames writhing up the large commodious chimney. + +When the third chuckle had been emitted, Mrs. Royal laid aside the +paper she had been reading and looked somewhat curiously at her husband. + +"The missionary meeting must have been very amusing to-night, Daniel," +she remarked. "It is too bad that I didn't go." + +"Oh, no, it wasn't the meeting which was amusing," was the reply. "But +I must say it was the best one I ever attended. That missionary had a +great story to tell and he told it well. There was a good attendance, +too, especially for such a cold night. But you can't guess, my dear, +who was there." + +"The Bishop?" + +"No, no," and the parson rubbed his hands in glee and gave another +boyish chuckle. "Give it up, eh?" and his eyes sparkled as he turned +them upon his wife's puzzled face. + +"Yes." + +"I thought so. You could never guess, for you would never think of +Captain Josh." + +"No, surely not, Daniel!" and Mrs. Royal, now all attention, drew her +chair a little closer to the fire. "What in the world took him there +to-night? I never knew him to go to church, let alone to a missionary +meeting." + +"Oh, that is easily explained, dear. His only son, you know, is in the +Yukon, and he was anxious to hear about that country. He was certainly +the most interested person there, and after the meeting was over, he +walked right up to Mr. Dicer and asked him if he had met his son." + +"And had he?" Mrs. Royal inquired. + +"Yes; knew him well. Now, the way those two men did talk would have +done your heart good. To think of Captain Josh chatting with a +missionary, when for years he has been so much down on missions and +missionaries. That is one on the old captain, and I shall not forget +it when I see him again, ho, ho," and Parson Dan leaned back in his +comfortable chair and fairly shook with merriment. + +"I hope that his interest will keep up," was Mrs. Royal's comment, as +she picked up the paper she had laid aside. "Perhaps he will learn +that missionaries are of some use in the world after all." + +"I am afraid not, Martha," the parson returned, as he reached for his +pipe and tobacco lying on a little stand by his side. "It is only his +son which made him interested to-night, and that is as far as it goes." + +"It might be the beginning, though, Daniel, who can tell? I always +liked Jimmy. He and Alec got on so well together. Do you know what +day this is?" + +"Ay, ay, Martha," and the clergyman's face grew grave, and a slight +mistiness dimmed his eyes. "I haven't forgotten it." + +"He would have been twenty-five to-day, Daniel." + +"I know it, and it seems only yesterday that I went for old Doctor +Paddock. It was a night something like this, and I was so afraid that +we would not get back in time." + +The fire danced cheerily before them, and the clock on the mantel +ticked steadily as the two sat for some time in silence, gazing +thoughtfully upon the blazing sticks. + +"I dreamed last night that I saw him," Mrs. Royal at length remarked. +"He was a baby, and had on his little white dress. He looked up into +my face and smiled, just like he used to do. I gave a cry of joy and +put out my arms to take him. At that I awoke, and he disappeared. Oh, +Daniel, we didn't value him enough when we had him--and now he's gone." + +"And do you remember, Martha, what plans we made for his future? Our +hopes have been sadly shattered." + +"We have only his memory with us now, Daniel," was the quiet reply. "I +always think of him as a baby, or as a strong manly boy coming home +from school. But for that precious recollection I hardly know how I +could bear up at all." + +Scarcely had she finished speaking, when a faint knock sounded upon the +front door. They both started and listened attentively, thinking that +perhaps it was only the wind. But when the knock was repeated, Parson +Dan rose quickly to his feet, crossed the room and entered the outer +hall. As he unlocked and opened the front door, a shaving of cold wind +whipped into the room, while the inky night rose suddenly before him +like a great perpendicular wall. For a few seconds he could see +nothing, but as his eyes became accustomed to the blackness, he beheld +a dim form standing before him. Then a large bundle was thrust +suddenly into his arms, and the figure disappeared. He thought he +heard a sob borne on the night air as he stood in the door-way +clutching the burden imposed upon him. But perhaps it was only the +wailing of the wind he heard. He was too dazed to be sure of himself +as he stood there peering forth into the night, expecting some one to +enter, or at least to speak and explain the meaning of this strange +behaviour. But none of these things happened, so, still bewildered, he +closed the door with his foot and made his way back into the +living-room. + +"Daniel, Daniel! what are you standing there in the draught for?" his +wife remonstrated. "You will get your death of cold." + +She ceased abruptly, however, when she saw her husband enter with the +strange bundle in his arms. + +"What is it?" she gasped, rising quickly to her feet. + +"Don't know," was the reply. "It's alive, anyway, whatever it is, for +it's beginning to wriggle. Here, take it." + +But Mrs. Royal shrank back, and raised her hands as if to protect +herself. + +"It won't hurt you, dear. What are you afraid of?" + +"But it's alive, you say. It might not be safe to have it in the +house. Where did it come from?" + +Before a reply could be given, the bundle gave a vigorous twist, while +a muffled squeal came from beneath the clothes, which almost caused the +parson to drop his burden upon the floor. But that sound stirred Mrs. +Royal to immediate action. No longer did she hesitate, but stepping +forward relieved her husband of his charge. + +"It is a baby!" she cried, at the same time drawing aside the shawl and +exposing the chubby face of a child nestling within. A pair of bright +blue eyes looked up into hers, and a queer little chuckle of delight +came from the small rose-bud of a mouth. So pleased was it to have its +face uncovered, that it performed the rest of the job itself, and by +means of a few strenuous kicks disengaged its feet from their covering +and stuck them straight up into the air. + +"Bless its little heart!" was Mrs. Royal's motherly comment. "It is +going to make itself at home, anyway." + +Seating herself before the fire, she laid aside the shawl and +straightened out the baby's mussed garments. They were clothes of the +plainest, but spotlessly clean. + +Parson Dan stood watching his wife with much interest. This little +waif of the night appealed to him in a remarkable manner. + +"Who do you suppose left it here?" he at last asked. "It is no child +of this parish, I feel quite sure of that." + +"Perhaps it was an angel who did it," Mrs. Royal replied. "It may be +that the good Lord has taken compassion upon our loneliness since we +lost Alec and has given us this in his stead." + +"No, I cannot believe that, Martha. I do not for a moment doubt that +such a thing is possible, oh, no. But that old shawl and those plain +clothes do not look much like heavenly robes, do they? I think that +the hands which made that little white dress were human hands such as +ours, and the sob which I heard to-night was not the sob of an angel +but of a heart-broken mother." + +"Well, she is the angel, then, whoever she is," Mrs. Royal insisted, +"and perhaps she will come for the baby to-morrow." + +"Oh, do you think so, Martha?" and there was a note of anxiety in the +parson's voice. "How nice it would be to keep it." + +"Why do you say 'it,' Daniel? Why don't you say 'her'?" + +"I never knew before that it was a 'her,'" and the parson chuckled as +he stroked his clean-shaven chin with the fingers of his right hand. + +"You didn't?" and his wife looked her surprise. "Why, any one who has +the least knowledge of babies can tell a boy from a girl at the first +glance. There is always a marked difference in the way they behave." + +"Ah, is that so, dear?" + +"Certainly. A boy as a rule is cranky when he wakes. But do you +notice how good natured this baby is? and how she lies so quietly in my +lap, looking wonderingly into the fire? And notice how delicately she +is formed; how perfect her face; how slight her neck, and how tiny her +arms and hands. Oh, it is always easy for a woman to tell which is +which." + +"What shall we call her, Martha?" and Parson Dan drew up his chair and +sat down. + +"I have been thinking of that, Daniel, but have not decided yet. I +always liked Deborah; it is such a good strong name." + +"It is a good old name, anyway," was the somewhat reluctant assent. +"But she is sure to get 'Debbie,' or 'Deb,' which I dislike very much." + +"Oh, that all depends upon what a child is called at home, Daniel. If +we begin at once to call her Deborah, people will do the same." + +"Very well, Martha, if you wish to call her Deborah, I have no +objection. But----" + +Here the parson paused, leaned over and picked up a small piece of +white paper lying upon the floor. He glanced carelessly at it at +first, but as he read the words written thereon his eyes opened wide. +He looked at his wife, who was intently watching the baby, and an +amused expression broke over his face. Then came the inevitable +chuckle. + +"What is it now, Daniel?" his wife questioned. "That is the fourth +time you've chuckled already to-night. It seems to take very little to +amuse you." + +"Suppose the baby isn't a girl after all, dear?" the parson replied, +ignoring his wife's sarcastic remark. + +"Not a girl! What do you mean?" + +"Suppose she should be a boy, after all?" + +"The idea is ridiculous, Daniel. Don't you suppose I know a girl from +a boy?" + +"Very well, then, read that," and the clergyman handed her the slip of +paper. + + +"Please take care of Rodney. I will come for him some day. The Lord +will reward you even if I can't. + +"HIS MOTHER." + + +As Mrs. Royal read this brief note, a peculiar expression overspread +her face. She uttered no word, but her head drooped lower over the +baby and she remained very still. Her husband at once realising how +she felt, laid his hand upon hers. + +"There, there, dear," he soothed. "I didn't mean to make you feel +badly. It was only a little mistake after all, and I am really glad it +is a boy, for if will make us think that we have Alec with us again." + +Mrs. Royal looked up and brushed away a tear. At that instant the baby +gave a vigorous kick, accompanied by a peculiar gurgle of delight, at +which the two attendants laughed heartily. + +"That's right, little man," and the parson nodded his head approvingly. +"You're pleased, too, are you, to know that we've found out that you +are a boy? You didn't want to be called Deborah, Debbie, or Deb, did +you? Rodney suits you better, eh? How do you like the name, Martha?" + +"Very well, indeed," and Mrs. Royal gave a sigh of relief. "It removes +quite a load from my mind. But, there," she added, "I must put him to +bed. It isn't good for a baby to be up so late. Come, Rodney," and +she lifted the little one in her arms, "kiss your----" + +"Grandad," the parson assisted as his wife paused. "We shall teach him +to call me that, eh? It will be better than 'daddy.'" + +"You look after him, Daniel, while I make his bed ready. Don't let him +fall. There, that's good," and Mrs. Royal stepped back to view the +baby lying in her husband's arms. + +Lighting a candle which was standing on tin mantel over the fire-place, +she went upstairs and stopped before a door on the left of the hall-way +This she opened and softly entered. The room was small, but neat and +cosy. Every piece of furniture was in its proper place, and the bed +looked as if it had been recently made. The walls were adorned with +various articles, from a number of shelves, filled with books for boys, +to snow-shoes, fishing-rods, a rifle, and college colours. It had been +several years since any one had slept in that room, but not a day had +passed during that period that Mrs. Royal had not entered and sat for a +while in the big easy chair by the side of the bed. Everything was +there just as Alec had left it, though a few things had been added +since. + +One of these was a crib which had been his. This was standing in a +corner of the room with the little pillow and white spread in perfect +order. For a few moments Mrs. Royal stood looking down upon the small +cot associated with such sweet memories. Then she placed the candle +upon a small table and set earnestly to work. First she removed the +clothes and mattress and carried the crib into her own room across the +hall. Going back for the clothes, she carried them downstairs, and +spread them upon the backs of several chairs for them to warm before +the fire. + +Parson Dan watched her intently, but made no comment. He fully +realised how risky it was to speak just then. He knew how much it +meant for his wife to disturb that little cot and make it ready for a +strange child. Neither did he wish to say anything, for he himself was +deeply stirred as memories of other days rushed upon him. When at last +Rodney was carefully covered and sound asleep in the crib upstairs, +they both stood looking down upon his sweet round face. + +"Poor little waif," Mrs. Royal remarked. "He is somebody's child, and +perhaps his mother is longing for him at this very moment." + +"There is no doubt about it," her husband replied. "That sob which I +heard to-night is still ringing in my ears, and I know it was the sob +of a heart-broken mother." + + + + +CHAPTER II + +GIVING AND RECEIVING + +The baby awoke bright and early the next morning, in fact too early for +Mr. and Mrs. Royal. The former, especially, enjoyed the hour from six +to seven, when, as he once said, he obtained his "beauty sleep." But +the little stranger of the night was no respecter of persons. He +lifted up his voice at the unnatural hour of five, and by means of a +series of gurgles, whoops, and complaints, drove all sleep from drowsy +eyes. He was not in the least abashed in the presence of strangers, +but standing in his crib, he rattled the side, and yelled shouts of +baby defiance at the other occupants of the room. + +"I didn't know that he could stand alone," the parson remarked as he +first saw Rodney scramble to his feet. "How old do you suppose he is?" + +"About fourteen months, I should judge, Daniel," his wife replied. "He +may be older, though. One can't always tell." + +"He's a stirring lad, anyway, Martha, and we shall have our hands full. +Won't you need some help, dear? How would it do to get a woman in +occasionally to assist with the work, as the baby will take so much of +your time?" + +"That will not be necessary, Daniel. By the look of things now we +shall be up earlier each morning, and one hour then is worth two later +in the day." + +After the parson had lighted the fire in the cooking-stove, and also +the one in the living-room, he went to the barn to milk. He kept one +Jersey cow which supplied enough milk for the house. This was a fine +animal, and the pride of the neighbourhood, as it had taken the first +prize at the large Exhibition held that very fall in the city. + +The rectory was situated upon land known as "The Glebe," about fifty +acres in extent, which had been granted to the Church by the Crown in +Loyalist days. About one-third of this was under cultivation, +producing hay and oats for the horse and cow, as well as all the +vegetables needed for the table. Several acres were given up to +pasturage, while the remainder was wooded. The Royals were, therefore, +most comfortably situated, and quite independent. A small orchard +provided them with apples, the taste of which was well known to every +person in the parish, especially the children, for Parson Dan seldom +started forth without his pockets filled with Russets, Pippins, or +Fameuse. Mrs. Royal had her hens, and no eggs seemed as large and +fresh as the ones she often sent to some sick or aged person, in the +parish. + +While Mrs. Royal was looking after the baby, the parson fed his horse, +"Sweepstakes," and milked "Brindle," the cow. He then turned the +latter loose, and drove her down the lane to the feeding-ground beyond. + +"There is a stray cow out in the pasture," the clergyman informed his +wife as he sipped his coffee. + +"Whose is it?" was the somewhat absent-minded reply, for Mrs. Royal's +attention was upon Rodney, who was creeping gaily about the floor, +examining every nook, and making himself perfectly at home. + +"I don't know whose it is," the parson retorted, a little nettled at +his wife's question. "I can tell you about every man, woman, and child +in this parish; I know all the horses and dogs, and can give you their +pedigrees. But I draw a line at cows, pigs, hens, and cats. I am fond +enough of them, but there is a limit to the things I can remember. I +forget too much as it is. And, by the way, that reminds me that I must +go to Hazlewood to-day. Joe Bradley told me last night that his mother +is ill, and wishes to see me. He came all the way to the meeting on +purpose to tell me, and to think that I nearly forgot all about it! It +was that young rascal, though, who did it," and the parson turned his +eyes upon the baby. "Do you think that you can make out alone with +him, Martha? I fear that I shall be away all day, as there are several +other calls I must make at Hazlewood." + +"Oh, I shall make out all right," was the reply. "But there are +several things you might bring me from the store on your way home. I +will make out a list for you, as you would be sure to forget them." + +It was almost dusk when Parson Dan returned from his long journey, +tired and hungry. + +"How is the boy?" he asked as he entered the house, after having +stabled Sweepstakes. + +"He's as good as gold, Daniel," Mrs. Royal replied. "But I am worried +about Brindle. She hasn't come in yet, and I cannot see her anywhere +in the pasture." + +"She's with that strange cow, no doubt, Martha, and I shall go after +her at once. It will be too dark if I wait until supper is over." + +Parson Dan was absent for about an hour, and it was dark when he +returned to the rectory. He looked disappointed. + +"Brindle is gone," was the news he imparted to his wife. "I found +where the fence was broken down. That strange cow must have done it, +for I never knew Brindle to do such a thing. I wonder how that cow got +in there, anyway. It is a complete mystery to me. I tried to follow +the cows through the woods, but it got so dark that I was forced to +give up the search. I must be off early in the morning or there will +be no milk for the wee lad's breakfast." + +"And none for our coffee, Daniel," was his wife's reminder. "Milk will +be a very poor substitute for cream, but it will be better than +nothing." + +"That's quite true, Martha. It's been a long time since we've been +without milk or cream in the house. But we can stand it better than +the baby. Poor little chap, he must not starve, even if we have to +borrow some from our neighbours. I hope Rodney has not tired you too +much to-day, dear. It has been years since you had the care of a baby." + +"It has been a great joy, Daniel, to have the laddie with me. He slept +several hours, and when he woke he was so good and full of fun. At +times I imagined he was Alec playing on the floor with his blocks. He +was very sweet when I put him to bed to-night. He never misses his +mother. How soon a baby forgets." + +"But I venture to say that his mother hasn't forgotten him," and the +parson's face grew serious as he recalled that sob of the night before. +"I have been thinking of her all through the day, and wondering who she +is, and why she left her baby at our door." + +"And so have I, Daniel. I had the idea that she would return, and +several times I started at the least noise, expecting to see her at the +door." + +"I do not wish to deprive the mother of her baby," the parson +thoughtfully mused, "but how I should like to keep him! He seems to +belong to us. In fact, he has made himself perfectly at home already." + +Parson Dan was astir unusually early the next morning. He stood before +the rectory looking up and down the road, uncertain which course to +take in search of the missing Brindle. + +"Let me see," he considered, "that fence is down on the upper side, and +most likely those cows have made their way up the road. I guess I had +better hunt there first." + +As he stood there his eyes roamed over the scene before him. The +rectory was situated upon a gentle elevation, surrounded by tall, +graceful elms, and large branching maples. Below the road was the +parish church, standing where it had stood for almost one hundred +years, amid its setting of elms, maples, and oaks. Nearby was the +cemetery, where the numerous shafts of marble and granite could be +plainly seen from the road. To the right and left were pretty +cottages, for the most part closed, as they belonged to people from the +city, who, like the swallows, having spent their summer in this +beautiful spot, had flitted at the approach of winter. Beyond +stretched the St. John River, one of the finest sheets of water in the +province, or even in Eastern Canada. This morning it appeared like a +magic mirror, with not a breath of wind ruffling its placid surface. + +Parson Dan's heart filled with pride and peace as he gazed upon the +entrancing scene. Seldom had it looked so beautiful, and he believed +that the early morning hour had much to do with its attractiveness. + +"Glorious, glorious!" he murmured, "and so few abroad to see it. How +the spirit of peace is brooding over river and land! Marvellous are +Thy works, O Lord, and Thy mercies are renewed every morning." + +He was aroused from his meditation by the sound of foot-steps upon the +road. Glancing quickly around, he saw a tall, powerfully-built man +approaching, carrying in his right hand a large stick, which he brought +down upon the ground with a resounding thump. His clothes were rough; +a heavy pair of boots encased his feet, while an old soft felt hat +covered a head crowned with a wealth of iron-grey hair. He seemed like +a veritable patriarch of ancient Hebrew days, and this likeness was +intensified by his aquiline nose, keen eagle-like eyes, and a long +beard sweeping his expansive chest. A smile lightened his face as he +approached. + +"Good mornin', parson," was his cheery greeting. "Ye're abroad early." + +"Oh, good morning, captain," was the hearty reply. "We seem to be the +only persons astir, eh?" + +"More's the pity, parson. Don't see the like of that every day," and +the captain waved his stick through the air. "Fine sight, that." + +"It certainly is," the clergyman assented, "and how few are abroad to +see it. But say, captain, you haven't seen anything of my cow, have +you?" + +"Ho, ho, that's a sudden jump, isn't it, parson?" + +"A sudden what?" + +"A sudden jump from the sublime to the ridiculous; from a scene like +that to a cow." + +"Not when you have no milk or cream, captain. Brindle has broken out +of the pasture, and I have no idea where she can be." + +"Did ye pray this mornin' that ye might find her, parson?" + +"No, I can't say that I did," was the somewhat reluctant reply, for +Parson Dan was well accustomed to Captain Josh's thrusts. + +"Ah, that's too bad. The missionary said night before last that we +must pray if we expect to receive, didn't he?" + +"Yes, captain, he did." + +"And he told us more'n that, parson. He said that we couldn't expect +to receive unless we gave." + +"Yes, he said that also." + +"And by jingo, he was right, too," and the captain brought his stick +down upon the road with a bang. "I've tried it, and it has turned out +just as the missionary said it would." + +"You have!" and the clergyman looked his astonishment. "I am so glad, +captain, to know that you have come to view things in a different +light. I was pleased to see you at the missionary meeting, and I am so +thankful that you were benefited by what you heard. Won't you tell me +how you proved Mr. Dicer's words to be true?" + +"Would ye like to know, parson?" and a sly twinkle shone in the +captain's eyes as he asked the question. + +"Certainly. Go ahead." + +"And ye won't feel hurt?" + +"Feel hurt! Why should I?" + +"Well, ye see, it concerns yer cow, and no matter how a man might feel +about the welfare of others, when it comes to himself and his own +personal property, it makes a great difference." + +"I do not understand your meaning, captain," and the clergyman's voice +had a note of sharpness. "What has the missionary meeting to do with +my cow?" + +"Considerable, parson, considerable. When I went home from that +meetin', sez I to my wife, 'Betsey, I have learned a new wrinkle +to-night, which may be of much use to us.' She asked me what I meant, +so I up and told her what the missionary had said about givin' and +receivin'. He laid it down very plain that unless a man gave to the +Lord's work, he couldn't expect to prosper. Now, didn't he?" + +"That's what he said," and the clergyman nodded his assent. + +"Well, then, sez I to Betsey, 'Betsey, we've never prospered, because +we've never given anything.' + +"'But what have we to give?' sez she. + +"'Nothin' much,' sez I, 'except our old cow Bess.' + +"'Oh, we can't give her,' sez she. 'We'll have no milk if we do.' + +"'But we'll get more in return,' sez I. 'The missionary said so, and I +want to prove his words.' Well, the long and short of it is, that I +took Bess early the next mornin' and turned her into your pasture afore +you were up. Betsey was lookin' pretty glum when I got back home, but +I told her to cheer up, fer the Lord would prosper us as we had given +Him our cow." + +"Captain Josh Britt!" the parson exclaimed. "I am astonished at you! +How could you think of doing such a thing?" + +"Why, what's wrong with that?" and the captain tried to look surprised. +"Isn't it scriptural? I thought by givin' Bess to you, I was givin' +her to the Church, and in that way she could be used fer the Lord's +work." + +"Oh, I see," and the clergyman stroked his chin in a thoughtful manner. + +"Yes, and I tell ye it succeeded like a charm," the captain continued. +"I gave up Bess, and, lo and behold, she came back last sight bringin' +another cow with her." + +"My cow, eh?" the parson queried. + +"Sure. But didn't it prove the missionary's words to be true: 'Give, +and ye'll receive more in return?' We gave up our only cow and now we +have two." + +Parson Dan made no immediate reply, for he was too deeply grieved to +speak. His faint hope that a change had come over Captain Josh was now +dispelled. For years he had mocked at church-going, and all things +connected with religion. And so this was but another of his many +tricks. But he must not let this scoffer off without a word of rebuke. + +"Captain Josh," and the parson's voice was stern, "when you put your +cow into my pasture you knew that she would come back, didn't you?" + +"Why, what makes ye think so, parson?" + +"Didn't you know that she would break down almost any fence?" + +"Yes, I suppose I did." + +"And that she would naturally take my cow with her?" + +As the captain did not answer, the parson continued. + +"You did it merely to make a scoff at religion, and have a joke to tell +at the store for others to laugh at. Oh, I know your tricks well +enough. I have striven to live peaceably with all men, but you have +sorely tried me on various occasions. Whatever good I have done in +this parish, you have endeavoured to undo it by your scoffs and +actions. I often wonder why you do such things to oppose me." + +Into the captain's face came an expression of surprise mingled with +anger. He had never heard the clergyman speak to him so plainly +before, and he resented it. + +"You have had your say, parson, and I have the cow," he retorted, "so +we are quits. Come and take her out of my yard if ye dare." + +"I don't intend to try, captain. If you wish to injure your own soul +by stealing Brindle you may do so. I can get another, only it will be +hard on the little chap not to get his milk. I see it is no use for us +to continue this conversation any further," and the clergyman turned to +go. + +"Hold on, parson," the captain cried, as he took a quick step forward. +"D'ye mean the wee lad which was left at yer door t'other night?" + +"Why, yes," the clergyman replied, in surprise, as he turned around. +"How did you hear about him?" + +"H'm, ye can't keep anything in this place a secret fer twenty-four +hours. Trust the women to find out, especially about a baby, ha, ha!" + +"Well, what of it?" and the parson looked keenly into the captain's +eyes. + +"Ob, nothin', except that if the wee chap has to go without his milk +because I have Brindle, it makes all the difference in the world, see?" + +"And you will let me have the cow without any fuss?" + +"Sure. I'll bring her right over, and milk her fer ye, too. And, see +here, parson, I didn't mean to offend ye. I know that I am a queer +cranky cuss, but I never meant to keep Brindle. I only wanted to have +a little fun, that's all. You've gone up a peg in my estimation since +I heard that ye'd taken in that poor little waif. Shake on it, and let +bygones be bygones." + +So there in the middle of the road on this peaceful morning, the two +neighbours clasped hands, and as Parson Dan walked slowly back to his +house there was a sweet peace in his heart, and his eyes were a little +misty as he opened the door. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE WIDOW'S VISIT + +Parson Dan spent most of the day in visiting his people in the parish, +and accordingly had little time to give to Rodney. But after supper he +began to romp with the wee man much to Mrs. Royal's amusement. There +was considerable excitement for a while as the clergyman, on all-fours, +carried the baby through the kitchen, into the dining-room, and back +again. The boy shivered with delight as he sat perched upon the broad +back. Forgotten were all parish cares as the venerable man gave +himself up to the little waif. He had become a child again, and had +entered that kingdom where children are the uncrowned monarchs, and the +strong and the aged are willing subjects, yea, even most abject slaves. + +In the midst of this hilarious frolic, the door of the dining-room, +leading into the hall, was suddenly opened, and a woman entered. She +was dressed all in black which costume was well in keeping with her +face, which bore the same expression it did the day she buried her +husband two years before. Her sober face grew a shade more sober as +her eyes rested upon the undignified scene before her, and she was +about to turn and hurry back out of doors, when the parson caught sight +of her. His face, flushed with the excitement of the romp, took a +deeper hue when he saw Mrs. Marden standing before him. He scrambled +to his feet, and plunked Rodney down upon the floor, much to that young +gentleman's disgust. He at once set up a dismal howl, which took Mrs. +Royal some time to silence when she had him alone in the kitchen. + +"I didn't see you, Mrs. Marden," the parson gasped, as he tried to +recover his breath as well as his composure. + +"So I observe," was the somewhat sarcastic reply, as the visitor +surveyed her rector. "I knocked long and loud, but as there was no +response, I took the liberty to enter. I am sorry that I have +intruded. Perhaps I had better go." + +"No, no, you must not think of such a thing," the parson replied, as he +handed her a chair, and then struggled quickly into his coat, which he +had cast aside at the beginning of the frolic. He was annoyed at Mrs. +Marden's intrusion into the privacy of his family life, especially when +he was off guard. He knew that she had come on some important +business, as she otherwise never darkened the rectory door. + +"You've become quite a family man, so I understand," she began. "It's +the first time that I've seen the baby. I suppose you'll put him in +the Orphan Home in the city." + +"No, I shall do nothing of the sort," was the emphatic reply. "He +shall stay here until his mother comes for him." + +"H'm," and the widow tossed her head in a knowing manner, "then you'll +have him on your hands for a long time. Do you for a moment imagine +that a mother who is heartless enough to leave her baby with total +strangers, will come for him? Not a bit of it. Mark my word, she's +only too glad to be rid of it, and is off somewhere now having a good +time. I should be very careful, if I were you, about bringing up such +a child. You can't tell who his parents are, and he may inherit all +their bad qualities." + +The clergyman made no reply. He merely stroked his chin, and thought +of the sob he had heard at the door that dark night. + +"Such a child," Mrs. Marden continued, in her most doleful voice, "is +sure to bring trouble upon you sooner or later. But, then, we all have +our troubles, and must expect them. Ever since poor Abner was taken +from me my life has been full of trials and tribulations. He was very +good to me, and we were so happy." + +At this point the widow produced her handkerchief, and wiped away the +tears which were flowing down her cheeks. Parson Dan knew, and all the +neighbours knew, that if Mrs. Marden's life was "full of trials and +tribulations" after her husband's death, Mr. Marden had more than his +share of them before he died, due directly to his wife's incessant +nagging. + +"Yes, I have my troubles," and the widow resumed her tale of woe. +"They never cease, for just as soon as one is removed another springs +up." + +"Why, what's wrong now?" the parson queried. + +"What! haven't you heard?" and the visitor looked sharply at the +clergyman. + +"No, I can't say that I have, especially of late." + +"Dear me, and it's the talk of the whole parish. But, then, I suppose +you've been so taken up with this new addition to your family that you +have had no time to give to the cares of the widow and the fatherless." + +A perceptible shade of annoyance passed over Parson Dan's face, and a +sharp word of retort sprang to his lips. He repressed this, however, +and answered as gently as possible. + +"You know, Mrs. Marden," he began, "that often I am the last person to +hear what is being said throughout the parish. I try not to listen to +all the gossip which takes place, as I have more important things to +occupy my mind. So----" + +"And you don't consider my troubles important enough to listen to, eh?" +Mrs. Marden interrupted. "Well, I declare. I never heard the like of +that, and you my clergyman, too." + +"Let me explain, please," the parson continued. "As I said, I seldom +listen to gossip, because so much of it is of such a frivolous nature. +Therefore, when anything of real importance is talked about, as a rule +I do not hear that, either. In that way I have missed your story, Mrs. +Marden. But when you come yourself to tell me, that makes all the +difference, and I am ever ready to listen." + +While Parson Dan was thus enduring with considerable patience his +wearisome visitor, Rodney was creeping about the kitchen floor in a +most lively manner. The dining-room door was ajar, and at last when +Mrs. Royal's back was turned, he reached forth a small chubby hand, +opened the door and entered. The parson saw him, but paid no attention +to his movements. Mrs. Marden, however, who was sitting with her back +to the door, was so occupied with her load of troubles that she neither +saw nor heard the baby's entrance. On all-fours Rodney glided behind +the widow's chair. Here against the wall stood a tall, slender +cabinet, the lower shelves of which were filled with books, while above +were various knick-knacks, all neatly arranged. It took Rodney but a +second to scramble to his feet, and balance himself by clutching firmly +at the cabinet which was not fastened to the wall. Then the inevitable +happened. The cabinet at first trembled, and then began to fall. +Parson Dan saw it coming, and with a cry he leaped to his feet, and +caught it as it was about to crash upon Mrs. Marden's head. He could +not, however, stop the knick-knacks, and so tea-cups, saucers, +work-basket, a china dog, and numerous other articles were showered +upon the widow, thus adding to her woes. + +With a startled cry Mrs. Marden sprang to her feet, certain that the +ceiling had fallen upon her. Hearing the confusion, Mrs. Royal rushed +into the room, rescued Rodney unhurt from the ruins, and carried him +back into the kitchen. The clergyman at once turned his attention to +his visitor. + +"I trust that you are not hurt," he remarked. "I am so sorry that this +accident happened." + +"I'm not hurt," was the feeble response, "but I feel very faint," and +the widow sank into a chair, and closed her eyes. "There, I feel +better now," she continued, breathing heavily. "Oh, what a shock that +gave me! My troubles never cease. Just think, I might have been +killed if the good Lord had not stopped that thing from falling." + +The clergyman repressed a smile as he well knew that the Lord had +nothing to do with it. He kept his thoughts to himself, however, and +busied himself with picking up the various articles and broken +fragments which strewed the floor. + +"What an awful baby he is," Mrs. Marden at length, exclaimed. "If he +can do such a terrible thing now, what will he do when he grows up? It +is not safe to have such a child in your house." + +"Why, any child would have done the same," the parson replied. "He +didn't mean any harm." + +"He didn't! Why, what else did he mean, then? Children should be +taught to behave themselves. I never allowed a child of mine to climb +up and pull things over. Poor dear Abner often said that I was the one +woman in the whole parish who knew how to bring up children. But, +there, I must go. My head is aching badly, and I know that I shall get +no rest to-night. Oh, what troubles we poor mortals are heir to in +this mundane sphere." + +"You must not walk, Mrs. Marden," Parson Dan insisted. "I shall drive +you home. It will take me only a few minutes to harness Sweepstakes." + +"But I'm afraid it will be too much trouble," was the reply. + +"Not at all, not at all, Mrs. Marden, I shall be only too glad to do +it." In fact the rector was most anxious to get his visitor out of the +house before she began to pour forth her tale of woe, which he believed +she had forgotten. But in this he was doomed to disappointment. + +"Just a minute, parson," the widow began. "I haven't told you yet the +object of my visit here to-night." + +"Doesn't your head trouble you too much to bother with it now?" the +clergyman asked, trying to look as sympathetic as possible. "Suppose +you wait until you feel better." + +"No, I can't do that, for it might be too late. Just think what might +become of me and my poor fatherless children if I put it off until +to-morrow." + +"Oh, is it as serious as that, Mrs. Marden?" + +"Indeed it is, and it is but another example of how the widow is +oppressed. If poor Abner was only alive! But now that he is gone, +people think that they can do what they like with a lonely widow." + +"What, has any one been trying to injure you, Mrs. Marden?" + +"Yes, that's just it. Tom Dunker is the one, and he's trying to get +the lighthouse from me." + +"Ah, so that's it?" and the parson gave a deep sigh. + +"Yes. He's had the promise of it, so I understand. I've looked after +that lighthouse ever since Abner died, and I have never failed in my +duty once. But Tom Dunker, the sneak, wants it. He's a Government +supporter, and thinks he ought to have it for what he did at the last +election. Abner voted opposition, and though they let me keep it ever +since he died, the Dunkers have been making such a fuss about it that +something has to be done to pacify them." + +"I am very sorry to hear this, Mrs. Marden," and Parson Dan placed his +hand to his forehead. This news troubled him, for he saw breakers +ahead. + +"I knew that you would be sorry," the widow replied, "and so I have +come to ask you to write to headquarters. A letter from you explaining +the whole matter will have much effect." + +The Bunkers were members of his flock, and Parson Dan was well aware +how troublesome they could become if things did not go their way. But +when his duty was clear he never hesitated, and as this was a case +where it was necessary to protect the weak against the strong, he +promised the widow that he would write at once on her behalf. + +So at last the clergyman was free from the woman of many troubles, and +with a deep sigh of relief he sought the kitchen where Mrs. Royal had +Rodney all ready for bed. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +RODNEY DEVELOPS + +The entire parish of Hillcrest soon took much interest in Rodney the +waif. Tongues became loosened and people freely expressed their +opinion about Parson Dan's action in taking the child into his house. +Some were most harsh in their criticism, especially Tom Dunker, who had +been defeated in the lighthouse affair owing to the letter the parson +had written on behalf of Widow Marden. He was very angry, and nursed +his wrath against the day when he could get even with the clergyman. + +"We don't want a boy like that at the rectory," he complained. "He +should have been sent to the Orphanage or the Poor House. We pay the +parson's salary, an' we have a right to say who is to live by means of +the money we give." + +Now, Tom Dunker contributed only one dollar a year to the support of +the Church, and he always gave that in a most begrudging manner. He +even refused to give this small amount after the parson sided with the +widow. + +There were others, however, who stood loyally by their rector. They +praised him for what he had done, and did all they could to assist him. + +Thus this discussion was general throughout the parish for several +weeks. Some were sure that they saw the woman who had left the child +at the rectory. She had taken the early steamer the next morning for +the city, so they said. Though the stories were somewhat different yet +all agreed that the woman was beautiful, though her face was very sad, +as if she had been weeping bitterly, and had not slept at all during +the night. + +Although the Royals heard faint rumours at times of what was being +said, they went on their way undisturbed, happy in the feeling that +they had done their duty, and pouring out their affection upon the +little lad who had become so dear to their lonely hearts. + +At Christmas they were greatly surprised when a letter from Boston +reached them, with a post-office order enclosed for one dollar. + + +"I am hungry for news of my baby," so the letter ran, "and will you +please drop me a line to let me know how he is. I hope to send more +money when I can. The above address will find me. + +"ANNA LAYOR." + + +Parson Dan held the post-office order in his hand for some time after +he had read the letter. His eyes stared straight before him into the +fire, though he saw nothing there. + +"That money goes into the bank, Martha," he at length remarked. "I +shall open an account in Rodney's name. I could not use that money as +it would weigh too heavily upon my conscience. A sacrifice has been +made, there is no doubt of that. It is the price of blood, as truly as +was the water brought to David from the well of Bethlehem." + +"You are quite right, Daniel," his wife replied. "Something tells me +that she is a good true woman, and that Rodney need never be ashamed of +her. But do you notice her name, 'Anna Layor'?" + +"Don't let that worry you, dear. I have the feeling that it is not her +real name. Anyway, until we are sure let the boy keep ours." + +That night Parson Dan wrote a long letter in answer to the brief one he +had received that day. It was all about Rodney--in fact, a complete +life history of the lad from the cold night he had been left at the +rectory. Far away in the big American city a few days later, in a +scantily furnished room, it was read by a woman whose tears fell upon +the pages as she eagerly drank in every word which told her of the +welfare of her darling child. + +The next year Rodney's mother wrote every month, enclosing one dollar +each time. This amount was duly deposited in the bank to the child's +account. This was kept up with great regularity for several years, and +during that time numerous letters were exchanged. The ones from the +mother were always very brief, and never once did she mention anything +about herself. It was all of Rodney she wrote, for her heart seemed +full of love and longing for the child. + + +"Your letters are all too short," she once wrote. "I read them over +and over again, and as you describe my little darling, how I long to +see him and clasp him in my arms. God grant I may ere long have that +blessed privilege. He is enshrined in my heart, and his sweet face is +ever before me. I console myself with the thought that he is safe and +well provided for. Some day, I feel sure, I shall to a certain extent +repay you for all that you have done for him and me." + + +When Rodney was five years old, the money from his mother began to +increase. At first it was two dollars a month, then three, and at last +five. This somewhat worried the Royals, for they believed that +Rodney's mother was in better circumstances, and would soon return for +her boy. Their faces always grew very grave and their hearts heavy as +they discussed this with each other. They dreaded the thought of +parting with the little lad who had so completely won their affection. + +Rodney was rapidly developing into a strong sturdy lad. He was the joy +of the house, and though of a most loveable disposition, he was like a +will-o'-the-wisp, full of fun and life. He spent most of the time out +of doors in summer among the birds and flowers. There was hardly a +creature in the vicinity of the rectory which he did not know. He +found birds' nests in the most unlikely places, and he often caused +Parson Dan many a tramp, as he eagerly pointed out his numerous +treasures in tree, field, or vine-covered fence. It was often hard for +the clergyman to keep up with his young guide, who sped on before, his +bare, curly hair gleaming like gold in the sun. Then, when he had +parted several small bushes and exposed the nest of a grey-bird or a +robin, his cheeks would glow with animation, and his eyes sparkle with +delight. Parson Dan found more pleasure in watching this joy-thrilled +lad than in the tiny eggs which were exhibited for his benefit. + +This was an almost daily occurrence through the summer. Then at night, +when tired with his day's rambles, Rodney would rest his head upon the +soft pillow while Mrs. Royal read him to sleep. Stories he loved, and +never wearied of them. One by one the books were brought from the Room +of Sacred Memories until the boy knew them all. + +"Did you read all of those books when you were little, Grandma?" Rodney +once asked. + +"Not when I was little, dear," was the quiet reply. "But I read them +to a little boy, though, who was as fond of them then as you are now." + +"Whose little boy was he, Grandma?" + +"He was my little boy, Rodney." + +"Was he? Isn't that funny? I didn't know that. What was his name?" + +"It was Alec." + +"And where is he now?" + +"He grew to be a big man, and one day he went away from home, and--and +I never saw him again." + +"What are you crying for, Grandma?" the boy, asked, suddenly noticing +that tears were streaming down Mrs. Royal's cheeks. + +"I was thinking of my boy Alec, dear. He went away and never came +back." + +"Why didn't he?" + +"Because he was killed." + +"Oh!" and Rodney clasped his hands together, + +"How was he killed, Grandma?" + +"He was on a train which ran off the track. Many people were killed, +and Alec was one of them." + +"And that was his room, was it?" Rodney asked. "And those were his +books which he had when he was a little boy?" + +"Yes, dear. But go to sleep now, and I shall tell you more about Alec +some other time." + +So free was the life which Rodney led, that some of the neighbours +often shook their heads, and prophesied trouble. + +"If that boy Rod Royal isn't looked after more'n he is he will come to +a bad end, mark my word," Tom Dunker ponderously remarked to his wife +one evening. "He's runnin' wild, that's what he is." + +"Well, what can you expect of a pauper child?" his wife replied. + +"Oh, I know that, Jane. I'm not blamin' him; he can't help it. But +them who has the bringin' up of him are at fault. What do the Royals +know about the trainin' of a child? Didn't the only chick they ever +had go wild, an' him a parson's son, too? I went to school with Alec, +an' I tell ye they kept a tight rein on him. I was sure that he'd be a +parson like his dad. But, no, sirree, jist as soon as he got his +freedom, he kicked over the traces like a young colt, an' went away." + +Rodney gave the neighbours numerous causes for criticism. +Unconsciously and boy-like, he did things which were often misconstrued +as downright badness, whereas the boy had not the slightest intention +of doing anything wrong. He was simply natural, while many of his +critical elders were most unnatural. They had their own hide-bound +rules of what was proper, so they found it impossible to enter into the +child's world, and look at things from his point of view. + +One Sunday Rodney took a kitten with him to church. The little pet was +smuggled in beneath his coat. So dearly did he love it that he could +not bear to be parted with it during church time for fear that +something would happen to it. And, besides, he liked to have it with +him, that he might cuddle it during the service, which to him was long +and uninteresting. There would have been no trouble if the kitten had +been content to remain beneath its master's coat. But, alas, when the +organ struck up for the first hymn, it began to wriggle vehemently in +an effort to get its head out to see where the peculiar noise came +from. Rodney tried to keep it back and soothe its fears. But all in +vain, for the kitten suddenly slipped from his grasp, and sprang out +into the aisle. Rodney instantly darted after his pet, and seized it +just as it was about to disappear beneath the pulpit steps. +Triumphantly he carried it back to the seat where Mrs. Royal was +sitting. + +To the latter it was only an amusing incident, as she understood the +spirit in which it was done. But to many in the church it was a most +disgraceful thing, and formed a choice topic of conversation for the +rest of the day in various households. They could not, and in truth +did not wish to remember the excellent sermon Parson Dan delivered that +morning. The picture of a little curly-headed boy speeding up the +aisle after the kitten obscured everything else. + +It was that very week when Rodney made his next break, which branded +him as a red-handed criminal to several in the parish. The Ladies' Aid +Society was meeting at the rectory on a beautiful afternoon. There was +a good attendance, and the members freely discussed many questions of +vital interest. + +The conversation at last drifted off to the training of children. This +was brought about most deftly by Mrs. Harmon, solely for Mrs. Royal's +benefit. Mrs. Harmon had no children, and, as is generally the case, +she considered herself a great authority as to how children should be +managed. There was no half-way measure in her system of training. She +knew, and that ended it. + +Mrs. Harmon was ably supported by Miss Arabella Simpkins, a woman of +uncertain age, exceedingly precise, and subject to severe attacks of +"nerves." Her thin lips remained tightly compressed as she listened +for some time to the conversation. As mothers who had brought up +children told how difficult a problem it was, Miss Arabella's eyes +gleamed with a scornful pity, and her nose tilted higher in the air +than ever. Then when at last she did open her lips, she uttered words +laden with great wisdom. It was disgraceful, so she said, the way +children were indulged at the present day. It was seldom that you +could find parents who had any real control over their offspring. Oh, +yes, she knew. + +Scarcely had she finished speaking ere Rodney appeared at the door, +barefooted, hatless, his blouse dirty, his cheeks aglow, and his eyes +blazing with excitement. In his grimy hands he clasped some precious +treasure. He hesitated for an instant when he saw so many women in the +room. But nothing could restrain him. He had made a marvellous +discovery, and wished to show it to others. + +Miss Arabella was right before him, a few feet away. For her he +darted, and dropped suddenly into her lap a big-eyed, hump-back toad. +Instantly there followed a wild shriek of terror, as the spinster +leaped from her chair, sending the innocent toad sprawling upon the +floor. The strain was too much for Miss Arabella, and she properly +collapsed, much to the consternation of the assembled women. + +By the time she was revived, Rodney, the culprit, was nowhere in sight. +He had rescued his precious toad, and had fled from the house, greatly +puzzled over the confusion which had been made over his simple action. +Little did he know, much less care, that for years to come he would be +considered a "bad boy" by many of the leading people of Hillcrest, and +totally unfit to associate with other children of the parish. + +But Parson Dan and Mrs. Royal understood, and as they kissed him that +night as he stood before them in his little nightgown, they knew that +there was nothing bad about him. In truth they were somewhat pleased +that Miss Arabella had at last been jarred out of her rigid +self-complacency. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +CAPTAIN JOSH TAKES A HAND + +Rodney did not attend the country school until he was over seven years +of age. It was more than a mile away, and the Royals could not bear +the thought of the little lad walking the whole of that distance when +he was but six. He had lost nothing, however, by not attending before. +In fact he had gained much, for both Parson Dan and Mrs. Royal had +carefully instructed him so that when he did go to school he was far +ahead of boys and girls of his own age. + +Rodney got on well with all the scholars except Sammie Dunker, who was +eight years old, and a bully to all younger children. When boys of his +own age and older were around, Sammie was very quiet. But when they +were not present he tyrannised over the little ones to such an extent +that existence, especially during the dinner hour, became almost +unbearable. He had knocked out several boys younger and smaller than +himself, until at last there was no one left to dispute his authority. + +Rodney Royal, accordingly, was a new and choice victim. Sammie knew +all about him, as he had been freely and severely discussed at his home +almost every day as far back as he could remember. Here, then, was a +lawful prey, and he gloated over the stories he would have to tell to +his father of what he had done to the waif. + +At noon-hour, the first day, Sammie made himself very objectionable. +He centred his attention upon Rod, for thus his name had now become +shortened by every one except the Royals. Rod bore these attacks and +insulting remarks as well as he could, and refrained from open +hostility. But what Sammie had done and said rankled in his heart and +mind for the rest of the day, causing him to lie awake for some time +that night thinking it all over. + +He confided his thoughts to no one, however, but the next morning as he +left for school, there was a new look of determination in his eyes, and +he trudged along the road with head held high, and his shoulders thrown +back, while occasionally his hands clenched hard together. + +For the first half of the noon-hour nothing happened. Whether Sammie +divined Rod's purpose is hard to say. Anyway, he devoted his attention +to others, especially the little girls, whom he teased unmercifully. + +Rod watched this performance with interest, mingled with indignation. +Twice he was tempted to interfere, but each time he hesitated and went +on with his play. But when at length one little girl began to scream +with pain, he could control himself no longer. With flashing eyes he +sprang toward the tormentor, and demanded that he should leave Nancy +alone. + +For an instant only Sammie stared, amazed to think that any one would +dare to be so bold with him. He then gave a laugh of contempt, and hit +Rod full in the face. + +"That's what ye git fer meddlin'," he cried. "Want some more, eh?" + +Rod staggered back at the blow, but immediately regaining himself, he +sprang swiftly upon his antagonist. So unexpected was the attack, that +Sammie was caught off guard, and ere he could raise a hand he received +two black eyes, while his nose began to bleed profusely. With a howl +of pain and rage, he tried to defend himself, but he could do nothing +against that whirlwind of fists which was swirling against him. He +endeavoured to dodge and run away, but, catching his foot in the leg of +a desk, he fell sprawling to the floor. + +By this time some of the older boys had arrived, who cheered lustily as +they saw Sammie go down before his young opponent. They looked upon +Rod with much interest, and worthy of their attention. In fact, he +became quite a hero for the remainder of the day, while the defeated +bully, with black eyes, and swollen nose, sat sullenly in his seat, +keeping his head bent over his desk, and not daring to look any one in +the face. When school was out he did not wait for his usual pranks, +but hurried away home as speedily as possible. + +Rod said nothing at home about the incident at the school. He was +afraid that Parson Dan and Mrs. Royal would be angry if they learned +that he had been fighting, especially with Sammie Dunker. And, +besides, if he told he would have to explain what had led him into the +affray, and he did not wish to tell that he had taken Nancy's part. It +would seem too much like boasting, and he had always disliked boasters +who figured in some stories Mrs. Royal had read to him. + +Next morning as he walked along the road to school carrying his +lunch-basket, he was in a different mood from the previous day. Then +he had the feeling of a soldier, with nerves high strung going into +battle; now he was the victor, with the danger past and trouble over. +He believed that Sammie would not bother him again, and that the little +girls would look up to him as their natural protector. + +He was thinking of these things as he drew near the store. Behind him +lumbered a large wagon, drawn by two horses. Tom Dunker, big and +burly, held the reins, and as he caught sight of the little boy ahead, +a scowl overspread his heavy face. Sammie had given his version of the +fight in which Rod was entirely in the wrong. This his parents +believed, and, accordingly, were very angry. So as Tom now beheld Rod, +he thought it would be a smart thing to give him a great scare. + +Rod was walking at one side of the road, and just as the horses' heads +were abreast of him, Tom drew them sharply to the left, at the same +time yelling at the boy to get out of the way. + +Taken by surprise, Rod sprang into the ditch for safety, dropping his +basket in his fright, which rolled beneath the horses' feet. This so +startled the nervous animals that they leaped quickly forward, and +swerved to the right, thus bringing the hind wheel of the wagon against +the sharp ends of a pile of cordwood near the road. There was a crash +as two of the spokes were ripped from the hub by the impact, while the +wood came tumbling down into the road. + +With much difficulty Tom checked the horses, and then wild with rage, +he turned upon the innocent lad, charging him with having frightened +his team. + +"I didn't," Rod sturdily replied, coming close to the wagon, his eyes +flaming with indignation. "You tried to drive over me, that's what you +did." + +"How dare ye answer me!" Tom cried, white with wrath. "Ye young +villain, ye're nothin' but a pauper, an' should be in the Poor House, +instead of livin' with decent people. Ye don't know who yer father an' +mother are, do ye? An' no one else does, fer that matter. Ye wouldn't +own 'em if ye did." + +Rod stood for an instant as if turned to stone. The flush left his +cheeks, and his face grew very white. Then his small brown hands +clenched hard, and he took a step closer to the wagon. + +"You lie!" he shouted. "How dare you say that!" + +With a roar Tom clutched the handle of his whip, and the lash suddenly +cut the air with a swish. It circled Rod's shoulders, sharply flicking +his face, leaving a crimson streak upon the white left cheek. + +The lash had scarcely fallen ere a big form hurled itself from the +store platform, and bounded along the road. It was Captain Josh who +had been an interested spectator of all that had taken place. His eyes +gleamed with a dangerous light, and the heavy stick in his right hand +struck the ground harder than usual as he strode up to the wagon. + +"Ye coward!" he roared, coming between Rod and the irate teamster. +"How dare ye strike a little lad like that!" + +"He scared me horses on purpose, an' then sassed me," was the surly +answer. + +"None of yer lyin', Tom Dunker," said the captain laid his left hand +upon the top of the side-board, and shook it vehemently. "I saw the +whole affair, and don't ye try any of yer lies on me." + +"What business is it of yourn, anyway, Josh Britt? It ain't your +funeral, is it? You git out of this, an' leave me alone!" + +"Not my funeral, eh? It might have been one fer the lad here, though, +if you had yer way. I saw ye pull yer horses over to scare him, and +when he spoke up to ye like a man, ye slashed him with yer whip. He +didn't sass ye, not a bit of it." + +"Well, you'll git the same, then, ye old fool," and once more Tom +raised his whip to strike. + +He was not dealing with a boy now, however, but with the strongest man +in Hillcrest. Tom knew this, but in his rage he had thrown reason to +the wind. With lightning rapidity Captain Josh reached up, caught Tom +by the arm, and in a twinkling brought him sprawling upon the side of +the road. With an ugly oath, the teamster tried to regain his feet, +but he was helpless in the grip of the captain's powerful arm. He +writhed and cursed, but all in vain, and at length was forced to give +up the struggle, and sat panting upon the road completely cowed. + +By this time several men from the store surrounded the contestants, who +watched with much interest the subjection of Tom Dunker. To them +Captain Josh paid no heed, but stood glowering over his victim. When +he saw that he was subdued he let go his grip, and stepped back a +couple of paces. + +"Now, git up!" he demanded. + +As Tom made no effort to obey, the captain leaned forward, caught him +once more in his mighty grip, and lifted him to his feet. + +"Stand there, ye wobbly-kneed cur!" he cried. + +"I'll have the law of ye," Tom wailed. "If there's B-b-british +justice, you'll git it!" + +"H'm," the captain snorted. "Ye talk about British justice. Ye may +thank yer stars at this very minute that the law hasn't its grip upon +ye fer tryin' to kill a harmless boy. But I'll do it instead. I'll be +the British justice, judge, lawyers, jury, and the whole dang concern +combined. Now, look here, Tom Bunker, you apologise to that youngster +fer what ye did to him this mornin'." + +Tom's face, livid with rage, took a darker tinge at this command. More +on-lookers had now arrived, who jeered and hooted the unfortunate man. +It was a great joke to see the boaster at length brought low by quaint +old Captain Josh. Such a thing didn't happen every day, and they could +well afford to lose any amount of time to see the fun. But it was far +from fun for the victim of their sport. He made one more effort to +assert himself, and turned furiously upon his captor with words and +fists. But two hands gripped him now instead of one, and he was +brought down upon the road with such a bang that he yelled with pain, +and pleaded for mercy. + +"Mercy, d'ye ask?" the captain growled. "There'll be no mercy shown to +the like of you till ye do what I say. Yer son got settled yesterday +fer actin' the bully, and you'll git far worse to-day if ye don't hurry +and do as I tell ye." + +"What d'ye want me to say?" Tom moaned. + +"Say? Say what ye like, only let it be a decent apology. Tell the boy +that ye're sorry, and that sich a thing won't happen again, that's all." + +Rod had been a silent and interested spectator of all that had taken +place. At first he could not understand the meaning of the captain's +words. But when it suddenly dawned upon his mind, he sprang quickly +forward. + +"I don't want him to do it!" he cried. + +"Don't want him to do what?" exclaimed the astonished captain. + +"'Pologise. I don't want him to say he's sorry." + +"Why not, lad?" + +"'Cause he isn't." + +"How d'ye know that?" + +"His face and eyes say he isn't. If I was sorry for anything, you +wouldn't have to make me 'pologise. I'd be only too glad to do it." + +There was a dead silence when Rod finished speaking, for all were now +anxiously waiting to see what would follow. Even Captain Josh, always +so ready with his tongue, was at a loss for words. He stared first at +Rod and then at Tom. + +"Well, I never!" he at length ejaculated. "What d'ye want me to do +with him, then?" and he pointed to the man upon the ground. + +"Let him go," Rod quickly replied, "He doesn't want to 'pologise, and +I don't want him to do it, so there." + +"All right, then," the captain assented, "I'll do as ye say. Git up, +Tom Bunker, and git out of this. When ye say yer prayers +to-night--that is, if ye say them, which I doubt--thank the Lord that +ye got out of this scrape without any bones broken." + +With that, Captain Josh picked up his stick, and started for home, +while the on-lookers went back to the store to discuss Tom Bunker's +defeat. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +A NEW FRIEND + +Rod was late for school, and received a tardy mark. The teacher also +spoke quite sharply, and told him that school opened at nine instead of +a quarter after. At any other time Rod would have felt keenly this +reprimand. But now it did not trouble him, as he had other things to +think about. He was very quiet during the morning, and joined in none +of the games. Sammie Dunker left him alone, and for once the small +girls and boys had peace. + +Rod gave hardly a thought to Tom Dunker's action in frightening him. +It was what he had said about the Poor House, and his father and mother +which worried him. "What did he mean?" he asked himself over and over +again. Why did he say that I should go to the Poor House instead of +living with decent people, and that I wouldn't own my parents if I knew +them? His brain grew hot as he brooded over these words. Other +children had their fathers and mothers with them, and why was it that +he had never seen his, and knew nothing about them? Mrs. Royal had +told him that his mother was living, and several times she had read her +letters to him. But she was a vague person, one he had never seen, and +in whom he had no special interest. The Royals, and the people he knew +in Hillcrest were of more importance to him than his own mother. But +now a desire entered his soul to know something about his parents. +Were they bad people? he asked himself. Why did they not come to see +him? Were they ashamed to do so? he wondered, and was that what Tom +meant? + +As noon approached, Rod began to feel hungry. He had eaten very little +breakfast, as he had been too much interested in a new family of +kittens which had been discovered in the barn. The other scholars who +had come some distance would have their dinner, and he could not bear +the thought of seeing them eating when he was so hungry. He, +therefore, planned to spend the hour by himself down by the river. + +As the children flocked out of school, Rod moved with them. But the +teacher stopped him, and handed to him a small parcel, neatly tied. + +"What's that?" Rod asked, much surprised. + +"I do not know," was the reply. "Some one left it here this morning." + +Then Rod remembered that he had heard a knock, and the teacher had gone +to the door, returning shortly with something in her hand. He had not +seen the visitor, and so had soon forgotten all about the incident. + +Going back to his scat, he untied the string, and unwrapped the brown +paper. Then great was his surprise to find a dainty lunch lying +within. There were several slices of choice home-made bread, two +pieces of cake, a large wedge of pumpkin-pie, and a fine rosy apple. + +For a few moments Rod sat staring at the feast before him. Who could +have sent it? he wondered, Then all at once he remembered. It was the +apple which solved the problem, and he knew that there was only one +tree in the neighbourhood which produced such fruit as that. He had +often seen the tree from the road, but had never dared to venture near, +as it was too close to Captain Josh's house. He knew now where the +lunch had come from, and it made him so excited that for awhile he +forgot to eat as he sat there thinking it all over. + +When Rod went home from school, Mrs. Royal noticed the crimson mark +upon his cheek where the whip had struck him. She asked no questions, +however, for she wanted Rod to tell of his own free will how it +happened. It was after he was in bed, that the boy looked up +inquiringly into Mrs. Royal's face, as she stood by his side before +bidding him good-night. + +"Grandma," he began, "what is a pauper?" + +"Oh, it is a person who has no home, and no money, and has to live upon +others," was the reply. + +"Am I a pauper, grandma?" and the boy's face flushed. + +"You a pauper!" Mrs. Royal exclaimed, as she sat down upon a chair by +the side of the bed. "What makes you ask such a question, dear? +Whoever put such an idea into your head?" + +"Tom Dunker said that I am a pauper." + +"He did! When did he tell you that?" + +"To-day, just before he hit me with his whip and made the mark upon my +cheek." + +"Oh!" + +It was all that Mrs. Royal could say. She had become suddenly aroused, +feeling sure that something of a serious nature had happened that day. + +"Why did he call you a pauper, dear?" she at length asked as calmly as +possible. + +"'Cause I told him I didn't scare his horses, and make them jump. He +got mad, and said I was a pauper, and should be in the Poor House +instead of living with decent people. And he said that I didn't know +who my father and mother are, and that I would be ashamed of them if I +did, that's what he said." + +Into Mrs. Royal's eyes came an expression of deep concern, mingled with +indignation. + +"You poor boy," she soothed, taking his little left hand in hers. "You +have had great troubles to-day, have you not?" + +"But am I a pauper, grandma?" the boy insisted. + +"No, you certainly are not, dear." + +"And I shouldn't be in the Poor House?" + +"No, no. You are just where you should be, with grandad and me." + +"And my father and mother are not bad, and I wouldn't be ashamed of +them if I saw them?" + +"No, not at all. I never heard of your father, so I think he must be +dead. But I believe that your mother is a good, noble woman." + +"Why doesn't she come to see me, then?" + +"I do not know, dear. But she says that she will come some day. She +longs to see you, and in every letter she writes she asks so many +questions about you. I have read some of them to you. She wrote many +when you were very little, and I have kept every one." + +"Have you, grandma? I am so glad. Will you read them to me sometimes?" + +"Yes, dear, I shall read you one or two every night." + +"Oh, that will be so nice. And I am glad that Tom Dunker was wrong. +He didn't know about my mother, did he?" + +"No, dear." + +"Do you think Captain Josh knows, grandma?" + +"Why, what makes you think that, Rodney?" + +"'Cause he was so kind to me to-day. He took my part, and then brought +me such a nice lunch." + +"Brought you a lunch!" Mrs. Royal exclaimed, in surprise. "What do you +mean?" + +"Well, you see, when the horses ran over the dinner you gave me this +morning it was all knocked out in the road, and I had nothing to eat, +so Captain Josh brought me such a nice lunch." + +"Did you see him?" + +"No, I didn't. But there was a big rosy apple, and I know where it +came from. It grew on that tree right by the captain's house." + +Mrs. Royal sat very still for some time. She was thinking over what +Rod had just told her. Tom Dunker's action troubled her, and she +thought how mean it was for him to take revenge on a little child for +what her husband had done. But there was compensation, for Captain +Josh's kindness interested her greatly. No one had been able to +understand the old man, and every one dreaded him. That he had +defended Rodney, and then had taken a lunch for him all the way to the +schoolhouse was something unusual. + +For some time she sat there, and when she at last rose to go downstairs +to meet her husband, who had just returned home, Rod was fast asleep. +His cares for the present were over, and as Mrs. Royal watched the +little curly head lying upon the pillow, she gave a deep sigh as she +bent over and kissed him. Must he go through life handicapped? she +asked herself, for no fault of his own? Would he always be looked upon +as a waif, an ill-starred child, and in the eyes of the world, a pauper? + +Parson Dan had come in from a long drive from the outmost portion of +his large parish. He was tired and hungry, and enjoyed the supper +which was awaiting him. It was then that his wife told him about Rod's +experience during the day. The clergyman was deeply interested, and +when supper was over, he rose from the table, and instead of taking his +pipe, as was his usual habit, he reached for his coat and hat. + +"Why, where are you going, Daniel?" his wife asked, in surprise. + +"I must see Captain Josh," was the reply. "I want to hear the whole +story of to-day's transactions, and to thank him for what he did for +our boy. I have never known Rodney to deceive us. But this is such a +serious affair, that I must hear the story from some one else who +knows." + +He was about to open the door when a loud knock sounded on the outside. +When it was opened, great was his astonishment to see the very person +they had been talking about standing before him. + +"Captain Josh! This is a surprise," and the clergyman held out his +hand. + +"Evenin', parson," was the gruff reply. "Thought I'd make a little +call on you and the missus," and he thumped his stick heavily upon the +floor as he entered. + +Mrs. Royal came quickly forward, shook hands, and offered the visitor a +big comfortable chair. + +"My, that feels good," the captain exclaimed. "I ain't as young as I +used to be, and that walk has puffed me a good deal." + +"How would a smoke suit you?" the parson suggested, knowing the +captain's fondness for his pipe. "I have some good tobacco here, sent +from the city by an old friend of mine." + +"He certainly is a good judge of baccy," the captain remarked, after he +had filled and lighted his pipe. "A friend like that is worth knowin', +eh?" and he slyly winked at Mrs. Royal. + +"We have many such friends, I am thankful to say," Mrs. Royal replied, +"and we don't have to go to the city for them, either." + +"No? Well, I'm real glad to hear that," and the captain blew a big +cloud of smoke into the air. "I never made many friends in my life. +Guess I was too cranky; at any rate, that's what Betsey says, and I +guess she must understand me by this time, ha, ha!" + +"You must not judge yourself too harshly, captain," Parson Dan replied. +"Anyway, if you don't make many friends, you are able at times to be a +friend to others. I wish to thank you for what you did for our little +boy to-day." + +"So ye've heard all about it, eh?" and the captain fixed his keen eyes +upon the parson's face. + +"Only partly, captain. Rodney told Mrs. Royal some of the story this +evening, and I was just going over to hear it all from you as you +entered." + +"It was a mean trick that Tom Dunker tried on him to-day," the visitor +returned, "and I'm sorry that I didn't give the coward a bigger dose +than I did. Oh, how he did squawk when I got both of my hands upon his +measly carcass. I guess him and that boy Sammie of his will learn to +leave decent people alone after this." + +"Why, what about Sammie?" the Royals asked. + +"What! haven't ye heard?" + +"No, not a word." + +"Well, if that doesn't beat all! And Rod never told ye?" + +"He said nothing to us about Sammie." + +Captain Josh looked first at the clergyman and then at Mrs. Royal with +an expression of doubt in his eyes. + +"And so ye say he didn't tell ye anything?" he finally blurted out, +while his stick came down with a bang upon the carpet. "If any one +else had said that I wouldn't believe him. To think of a boy doin' +what he did and not rushin' home all excited, and blattin' out his +yarn. But, then, I always knew there was extra stuff in that lad. I +have had my eyes on him ever since the mornin' I gave him a cow, ho, +ho!" and the captain leaned back and laughed heartily as the +recollection of the "cow incident" came back to him. "That was my +first present," he continued, "but it isn't my last, not by a long +jugful, no, sir-ree." + +"But what did Rodney do, captain?" the parson enquired. "We are very +anxious to hear." + +"Do! What did he do, eh? Why, he walked right over Sammie Dunker, +that's what he did. Oh, I heard all about it at the store that very +night. Sammie has been a regular chip of the old Dunker block ever +since he started fer school. He bullied all the little chaps, and had +them all scared to a shadder. But when he butted up aginst Rod it was +a different proposition, ho, ho! I'd like to have been there." + +"Do you mean that Rodney was fighting Sammie Dunker?" the clergyman +asked, with a note of severity in his voice. "I am astonished." + +"Oh, no, there was no fightin', parson. Sammie didn't fight; that's +not the Dunker way. But he hurt little Nancy Garvan, and when Rod told +him to stop, he slapped him in the face. Rod then walked into him and +gave him two black eyes, a bloody nose, and left him sprawlin' upon the +floor. That was all there was about it. Oh, no, there was no +fightin'." + +"H'm, I see," Parson Dan quietly remarked, while a slight gleam of +pride shone in his eyes. He glanced toward his wife, but her head was +bent over some sewing she had picked up from the table. + +"I've been watchin' that boy of yours fer some time," the captain +continued, "and he's the right stuff. I know more about him than ye +think. I'd 'a' given my cow to have seen him put that toad into Bella +Simpkins' lap, ho, ho, ho! That was the best thing I ever heard, ha, +ha, ha!" + +"But some of the neighbours think it was sheer badness which made him +do it," Mrs. Royal replied. + +"I know they do, confound their skins!" the captain roared, springing +to his feet in his excitement. "Haven't I heard it on all sides? They +twist every blessed thing he does into badness, and then account fer it +all by sayin' that he is a pauper. But, by jinks! there isn't an ounce +of badness about that boy. I've taken an interest in him simply +because--well, mebbe I'm a cranky cuss--and when I see people down on a +lad, I like to take his part. And look here, parson, I'm givin' +warnin'." + +"What warning?" questioned the clergyman, shrinking back from the huge +fist which was suddenly thrust toward his face. + +"Warnin' to you, parson, not to bury any one I knock out who interferes +with that lad of yours. It'll be sich a clear case of suicide that ye +won't dare to read the Burial Service over him. Everybody knows now +that I've taken that boy under my care, and if any one runs aginst my +fists it won't be an accident, but a clear case of self-destruction, +and it won't be necessary to hold an inquest." + +Both Mr. and Mrs. Royal smiled at the captain's quaint expression of +loyalty to Rodney. + +"I trust there'll be no more trouble," the clergyman replied. "Come, +fill up your pipe again. My city friend would be delighted to know +that Rodney's able champion enjoyed the tobacco he sent." + +"Well, I don't care if I do," and the captain knocked the cold ashes +out of his pipe. "I'll fill up, and then git home. But there is one +thing I want to ask ye, and that's what brought me over here to-night. +Me and Betsey are pretty lonely at times. We never see a child around +the house, and we'd both consider it a special favour if ye'd let yer +boy come to see us once in awhile." + +"Why, certainly," the parson replied. "I give my consent, and I feel +sure that you will, won't you?" and he turned to his wife. + +"Yes, captain, I am quite willing for Rodney to go, and it is very +thoughtful of you to want him. I hope that he will behave himself." + +"No fear of that," the captain eagerly returned. "I've got some fine +apples jist waitin' fer him, and several other things to surprise him +when he comes. So, good-night, I must be gittin' along." + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +CHUMS + +It was a beautiful Saturday morning, and Captain Josh was busy in his +little work-shop at the side of his house. He was in a hurry, and his +big hands moved swiftly and deftly as he cut the cotton or tied a piece +of string. Once or twice he stepped back to view his work, and then a +pleased expression appeared upon his face. Occasionally his eyes +turned toward the little window above the work-bench until they rested +upon the road, leading from the main highway to his house. The captain +was expecting company, and this was something remarkable at "The +Anchorage," the name of the snug cottage by the riverside. + +Within the house Mrs. Britt, too, was busy, and as she moved about the +kitchen, her step was lighter than it had been for years. She had just +finished making a batch of doughnuts, not the lean kind, mostly holes, +but big fat ones, coated with sugar, like thick frost upon the window +pane in winter. She was now making apple pies, the kind where the +juice runs out into the oven, and some of it sticks to the plate. + +Mrs. Britt was known throughout the parish as an excellent cook, though +of late years few people were ever allowed the privilege of tasting her +dainties. This was her husband's fault, and not hers. She was +naturally of a sociable disposition, and fond of company. But Captain +Josh's crankiness had antagonised every person in Hillcrest, and it was +Mrs. Britt who suffered the most. But she was loyal to her husband, +and if people would not come to her home, she would not go to theirs. + +At one time Captain Josh had been the most agreeable of companions, and +his return from a voyage was always a red-letter day in the parish. +His ringing laugh was heard at the store, and every evening his house +was filled with neighbours, who dropped in to have a smoke, and listen +to the yarns of the old seaman. + +But two events coming close together produced a great change in the +captain. One was the absence of his only son, Jimmy, who had gone far +away to the northland, and never wrote home to his parents. The other, +was the loss of his vessel, the _Flying Queen_, a three-masted +schooner, which, loaded with a valuable cargo, lost her bearings, and +went ashore in a heavy fog. Owing to Captain Josh's excellent past +record, the shipping company was most lenient. He was permitted to +retire with a moderate allowance. This amount, together with what he +obtained from his few acres of land, and the fish and the fur he took, +was quite sufficient to keep him and his wife in moderate comfort. + +The loss of his vessel, followed by his retirement, was a severe blow +to the captain. He was too old to take command of another ship for new +owners, and he chafed at his enforced stay on land. He longed for the +sea, for nowhere else did he feel so much at home. His pride was hurt +as well. He felt keenly the humiliation, and he believed that his +neighbours laughed at him behind his back. Thus for years he brooded +over his troubles until they became a vital part of his very being, and +soured his former jolly disposition. + +There was one redeeming feature, however, to Captain Josh, and that was +his intense sympathy for any unfortunate creature, whether man or +beast. Let any dumb brute be abused, and it aroused the captain to +intense indignation. And so when he found that most of the people in +Hillcrest were turned against Parson Dan's lad, simply because he was a +waif, he naturally took an interest in the boy, which increased the +more people talked. The climax to his interest was reached the day he +took Rod's part against Tom Dunker. + +On this Saturday morning Captain Josh had tied the last string, and cut +off the ends close to the knot. He then glanced once more through the +window, and his eyes brightened as he saw the little lad he was +expecting not far from the house. + +Rod was not walking very fast, for he was on new, and hitherto +forbidden ground, and, notwithstanding the invitation, he was not +altogether sure of the reception he would receive. He was a trim, +looking lad in his well-fitting suit, as clean and neat as Mrs. Royal's +hands could make it, while a large straw hat covered his curly hair. +He wore neither shoes nor stockings, and his feet and legs were as +brown as the sun could make them. + +Captain Josh was at the shop door to receive him. + +"Ye're late, lad," was his only greeting. + +"I'm sorry, captain," was the reply, "but I had to go to the store for +grandma. Oh!" and he stopped short as his eyes rested upon the fine +full-rigged schooner sitting upon the work-bench. + +"How d'ye like it?" the captain asked, delighted at Rod's interest. + +"Great!" and the boy stepped cautiously forward, as if afraid that the +white sails were wings; to bear the wonderful thing away. "Who made +it?" he whispered. + +"Oh, some fool." + +"You?" + +"What! d'ye call me a fool?" the captain roared, looking so fierce that +Rod shrank back a step. + +"No, no, no. I didn't mean that. I only, I only----" + +"I know, lad, I know," and the captain laughed heartily. "Ye didn't +mean any harm. Yes, I made her years ago fer another boy. She's been +lyin' here a long time, and so t'other day I got her down, cleaned her +up, and put on new sails, thinkin' that perhaps ye might like her." + +"What! For me?" Rod asked in surprise. + +"Sure, if ye'd like to have her." + +Would Rod like to have her? His eyes sparkled, and his hands trembled +with excitement as he examined his treasure. What a wonder it was. + +"What's her name?" he asked. + +"The _Flyin' Queen_, after the schooner I lost." + +"Will she sail?" + +"Y'bet. Let's launch her." + +From the window Mrs. Britt watched the two as they walked down to the +shore. She recalled the day, over twenty years ago, when another +little lad had trotted as eagerly as Rod by the captain's side, and it +was to sail a small boat, too. Her eyes grew misty as her thoughts +went back to that scene. But mingled with this sadness was a feeling +of thankfulness that her husband had taken such a strong liking to Rod. +Not since Jimmy left had he done such a thing, and she was hopeful that +this child would unconsciously change him back to the genial +big-hearted man he was when she married him. + +Rod was delighted with the _Flying Queen_, and wading in the water to +his knees, he sailed her along the shore. The captain had a pickerel +net to look after, which kept him busy for some time. But he missed +scarcely anything that Rod was doing, and he was greatly pleased at the +boy's delight. + +"Pull her ashore now, lad," he at length ordered, "and let's go fer a +sail." + +"What, in the _Roaring Bess_?" Rod eagerly asked, as he glanced toward +the yacht fretting gently at her anchor a short distance away. + +"Sure thing. Dinner won't be ready fer an hour, so we'll take a spin +around fer awhile." + +Rod could hardly believe his senses. How often he had looked upon the +_Roaring Bess_ from the respectable distance of the main road. To have +a sail in her had been his one great ambition. While lying in bed he +had often imagined himself skimming over the water, with the sail, big +and white, bending above him. Now his dream had really come true, and +here he was at last sitting by Captain Josh's side, watching him as he +headed the boat upstream. A gentle breeze was drifting in from +westward, sufficient to fill the sail and send the _Roaring Bess_ +speeding over the water. A deep sigh escaped Rod's lips. + +"Hey, what's wrong?" the captain cried. "Gittin' tired, and want to go +home?" + +"Oh, no, no," was the emphatic reply. "I sighed because I am so happy." + +"H'm. That's it, eh? I thought people generally whistled or laughed +when they are happy." + +"Is that what you do, Captain Josh, when you're happy?" + +"Me? I'm never happy." + +"Why, I'd be happy all the time if I had a boat like this." + +"Ye would? Well, take the tiller, then, while I fill me pipe." + +A new thrill of joy swept through Rod's entire being as he clutched the +wooden handle and moved it to left or right as the captain ordered. +Never did any commander in charge of the largest vessel feel greater +pride than did the young helmsman. His face glowed, and his eyes +sparkled with excitement, while the breeze tossed his wavy hair. + +Captain Josh watched him out of the corner of his eye as he puffed away +at his short-stemmed pipe. + +"Ye'll make a good sailor some day, lad," he remarked. "Ye've got the +eye fer sich business." + +"That's what I'm going to be," was the reply. "I'll be a captain, and +have a big ship of my own. I'm going to call her the _Roaring Bess_, +and I'll take you along with me." + +"I'd like to go well enough," and the old man's gaze wandered off into +space, "but I guess my sailin' days'll be over by that time. But here +we are back home again. Betsey'll be waitin' dinner fer us." + +And what a dinner that was! Rod remembered it long afterwards, and how +Mrs. Britt sat there smiling upon him, and urging him to have "just one +more piece of pie, and another cruller." Never before had he felt so +important. He was the guest being treated with such respect. When +holding the tiller that morning he had longed for Sammie Dunker and the +rest of the boys to see him. So now, sitting near the bluff old +captain and his wife, he desired the same thing. He felt quite sure +that no other boy in the whole parish had been so honoured, and if his +schoolmates ever heard of it, they would be sure to look upon him as a +person of great importance. + +When dinner was over, Captain Josh pushed back his chair, filled and +lighted his pipe. Rod was surprised that he did not return thanks when +they were through, as was the custom at the rectory. + +"I'm very thankful for that dinner, Mrs. Josh," he remarked. + +"I'm glad you enjoyed it, dear," was the reply. + +"Yes, I did. It was so good that I want to thank God for it. Do you +mind?" + +"No, certainly not," and Mrs. Britt glanced anxiously toward her +husband. But when she saw the captain take his pipe out of his mouth, +and bow his shaggy head while the boy repeated the few words of thanks +he had been taught, a feeling of gratitude came into her heart, and her +eyes became moist. + +There was silence for a few minutes when Rod finished. The captain +puffed at his pipe, while Mrs. Britt began to clear away the dishes. + +"Kin ye swim, lad?" Captain Josh suddenly asked, in his deep gruff +voice. + +"No, I can't," was the somewhat nervous reply. + +"Ever been in the water?" + +"Oh, yes. Lots of times." + +"And ye can't swim. Well, ye'll have to git over that if ye're round +where I am." + +"Can you swim, Captain Josh?" Rod asked. + +"Ho, ho," and the old man leaned back in his chair and shook with +laughter. "Kin I swim? Why, boy, I could swim before I was as old as +you. When I was fifteen I could swim across the river." + +"You could!" and Rod's eyes shone with admiration. "Did you ever swim +across the ocean, captain?" + +"Not quite, lad. Not quite that far." + +"Well, then, I will some day, Captain Josh," Rod cried, as he rose to +his feet, and stood erect. "When I'm a man, I'll swim across the ocean +and back again before breakfast, see if I don't." + +"That'll be quite an undertakin', lad," and the captain's eyes +twinkled. "I hope I'll be standin' on the shore when ye git back. I +guess ye'll have more cause fer thankfulness then than ye did after +eatin' yer dinner to-day. But come," and he rose suddenly to his feet; +"I want ye to help me put out my net. Ye must take a nice fresh +pickerel home with ye when ye go." + +What a wonderful afternoon that was to Rod! Most of the time was spent +upon the water, and he received his first real instructions about the +handling of the _Roaring Bess_, the ropes, sail, port and starboard, to +say nothing of his lesson in splicing. There was also the swim in the +little secluded cove, with the captain as an excellent teacher. Rod +little realised that he was being thoroughly sounded as to his +qualities and capabilities. + +"Ye'll do, lad," was the captain's comment, when at last they came +ashore. "Ye're worth botherin' with, I kin see that all right. If ye +don't know more'n yer master in a few months, I'll be much surprised. +So, there now, take this pickerel to yer grandma, and tell her that ye +took it out of the net yerself, and don't ferget to give her my +compliments." + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE CHUMS TO THE RESCUE + +Parson Dan and Mrs. Royal were greatly interested in the story Rod had +to tell them that evening of his experiences during the day. It seemed +hardly possible that cranky Captain Josh could become such an +interesting companion to a little boy. They discussed it for some time +after Rod had gone to bed. + +"It is quite evident that the captain has taken a great fancy to +Rodney," Mrs. Royal remarked, as she bent her head over some needlework +she had in her hands. "But are you not a little anxious, Daniel?" + +"Anxious! About what?" the parson inquired, as he took his pipe from +his mouth and looked questioningly at his wife. + +"Oh, about the influence he might exert upon our boy. Will it be for +his good, do you think?" + +"Umph!" and the clergyman blew a cloud of smoke into the air. "Don't +let that worry you, Martha. No harm will come to Rodney from this +friendship. It will be just the opposite, I believe, and he will +influence the captain for good." + +"But Captain Josh never comes to church, Daniel, so what will people +say?" + +"Let them say, Martha. They will talk, anyway, and they might as well +have something to talk about. It will create a little diversion. No +doubt Miss Arabella Simpkins will consider it her bounden duty to come +right here, and express her views. And suppose the captain doesn't +come to church, is that any reason why a little boy should shun him? +It may be the means of making Captain Josh see things in a different +light. Perhaps the Lord has a hand in this, and who am I to interfere +with His plans? He has often used children to lead men back to Him, +and it may be that he is using Rodney now." + +As the weeks and months passed, Captain Josh and Rod became firmer +friends than ever, and scarcely a day passed that they were not +together for a while. There were so many things for the boy to see and +learn that his interest never waned. He was so happy when out on the +river in the _Roaring Bess_, and ere long he knew all about the boat, +and could steer her almost as well as the captain himself. + +When the fall settled in, and the weather became cold, the water was +abandoned, and so the yacht was pulled out upon the stocks by means of +a rude windlass. Here, covered with a large canvas, she remained +during the long winter months, safe from the driving storms which often +raged over the land. + +Then it was that the captain turned his attention to trapping, which he +had followed for several years. There were several big brooks flowing +into the river, draining a large area of country, principally wooded, +and these abounded with mink, raccoon, and other fur-bearing animals. +The captain was an expert, and knew the most likely places where game +could be best taken. Rod at times went with him on his regular rounds +to visit the traps, and it was always a great joy to the boy when he +was allowed to carry back some furry prize which had been secured. + +Next to these trips, Rod's chief delight was to sit before the big open +fire on a cold or stormy Saturday afternoon, and listen to the captain +as he told stories of his sea life, while he worked fixing up his +traps, making stretchers for the pelts, or doing other odd jobs. How +the boy's heart would thrill, and his eyes sparkle with animation as +Captain Josh told of furious seas he had encountered, the dangers he +had escaped, and the races he had made with other sailing-vessels. +Sometimes he would tell an amusing tale, at which the boy would laugh +in high glee. Often Rod would ask questions about the sailors, the +sea-monsters, and the various ports the captain had visited. Sometimes +they would pore over an old geography, while the captain pointed out +with his big fore-finger the countries he had visited, and the routes +he had taken. Rod was thus so well acquainted with certain countries +that his teacher was much surprised at his knowledge. + +It was only natural that people should talk about this strange +friendship between the rough old sea-captain and the little boy. How +their tongues did wag, and many were the visits of protest paid to the +rectory. The principal discussion, however, always took place at the +regular meetings of the Ladies' Aid Society. This was done most of all +for Mrs. Royal's benefit. She knew this, and with much self-restraint +she resisted making any reply for some time. But at one meeting, when +the criticism became extremely severe, she could stand it no longer. +Mrs. Harmon had just been indulging in one of her long dissertations, +and finished by asking the rector's wife if she did not consider it +very unbecoming for a small boy, and a waif at that, with no doubt bad +blood in his veins, to be so much in the company of a rough creature +like Captain Josh. He should be at home, studying his lessons and +learning the Catechism. + +"Mrs. Harmon," Mrs. Royal replied as calmly as possible, "I have +listened for some time to the criticisms which you and others have made +about our allowing Rodney to associate with Captain Josh, and I think +it is about time for me to say a word. Mr. Royal and I have talked +over the matter very carefully, and we can see no harm in what is +taking place. The captain has taken a remarkable fancy to the boy, and +I know for certain that Rodney has received no harm from him. On the +contrary, he has been benefited, for the captain has taught him many +useful things. + +"As for his lessons, I wish to inform you all that Rodney has never +neglected them, and you know as well as I do that he stands at the head +of his class. He studies his Catechism, as well, which is more than I +can say of most of the boys in this parish. I ought to know, as I have +taught a class in the Sunday school for years. We had one boy of our +own, remember," here her voice became low, "and in our mistaken zeal +for his welfare we intended to make him a model of perfection. Instead +of studying him, we studied ourselves. We never considered the nature +of the child at all. We looked upon him as mere clay in our hands, and +we tried to mould him in our own way. When, alas, it was too late we +found that he had a will of his own, and when he became old enough he +rebelled at our restrictions, and, oh, well, you know the rest. Now, +we do not intend to make the same mistake with Rodney. He is a boy, +with all the strange impulses of a boy's restless nature. What you +have called evil in him, is merely childish enthusiasm. He is bubbling +over with energy. It is our earnest desire to guide him along right +channels, and not to break his will. Whether we shall do that or not, +remains to be seen. Most of you women here are mothers, and know the +responsibility of bringing up children. I do not interfere with you, +and I now ask you to be as considerate toward us. I trust that +henceforth all criticism will cease, especially at these meetings, +where we are gathered together to carry on the Lord's work." + +When Mrs. Royal finished there was intense silence, and for once +garrulous tongues were still. All felt that the rebuke was just, +though it made them very angry. They were greatly surprised at Mrs. +Royal's boldness, as they had never heard her speak in such a decided +way before. When at last they did find their voices, they talked of +other things, and during the rest of the afternoon they never alluded +to what the rector's wife had said. But when once away from the +meeting some of the women gave their tongues free scope, especially +Mrs. Harmon, who felt keenly what Mrs. Royal had said. + +"I was never so mortified and offended in all my life," she confided to +Miss Arabella, as they walked along the road together. "Just think of +her talking that way, and she a clergyman's wife, too." + +"Umph!" and Miss Arabella tilted her nose higher than ever, "she talked +mighty big to-day, but she'll find out her mistake sooner than she +expects. Just think what she said about that horrid old captain, who +can't speak a civil word to any one. Why, he swears awful. I heard +him say 'dang hang it' one time, and a man who uses such language as +that is not a fit companion for a little boy." + +Little did Captain Josh and Rod care what people said. Though months +had now passed into years, their friendship was as firm as ever. Happy +were they in each other's company, and many were the trips they made up +and down the river in the _Roaring Bess_. The captain had sturgeon +nets in a cove five miles away from his own shore. Twice a day he +visited these, and when Rod was on hand he went with him. The boy was +always interested in the big fish which were often caught, and when +they were sometimes tethered in the shallow water near the Anchorage he +felt sorry for the poor creatures. + +"I wonder if they mind it," he once remarked to the captain. "Do you +suppose they think of their little baby sturgeons, and how they are +getting along?" + +"Guess they don't bother much about it, lad," was the reply. "They +haven't enough sense fer that. They are like a lot of people who are +willin' to be led around by the nose jist like that big feller out +there. He is always swimmin' around, but he gits nowhere. He soon +comes to the end of his rope, and yet he keeps on swimmin' the same as +before." + +The day this conversation took place, the wind was blowing in strong +from the northwest, and the captain was making ready for a trip to his +nets. Soon the boat was speeding up the river, with her sail full +spread to the stiff breeze. Having reached the cove and taken a number +of fish from the nets, they began to beat homeward. By this time the +wind had increased in strength, and as they ran backwards and forwards +across the river, they were continually washed by the waves which raced +to meet them. + +"Isn't this great!" Rod exclaimed, as he nestled in the cock-pit, and +held on firmly lest he should be swept overboard. "I was never out in +such a breeze as this before." + +The captain made no reply, though he gave a quick glance at the boy's +animated face. If Rod had been frightened, the old seaman would have +been terribly disappointed. As for himself he was in his element, and +he was reminded of the many times he had faced rough weather out on the +mighty deep. The howling of the wind, and the dashing waves made the +sweetest of music in his ears, and he was delighted that the boy, on +whom he had set his affections, should feel as he did. + +They had just tacked and begun beating to the left, when the captain, +glancing down the river, gave a start of surprise, and pointed with his +finger to a small yacht in mid-stream, which was having a hard time in +the wind. + +"She's got too much sail fer a breeze like this," he remarked. "If she +isn't well managed, she'll go over. Now, look at that!" he cried, +grasping the tiller with a firmer grip, so as to be ready for any +sudden emergency. "My, that was a close call. A little more and she'd +a been on her beam ends." + +Hardly had he finished speaking, when a furious squall struck the +staggering yacht, and like a wounded eagle she reeled, and flopped her +big sail into the rough water. With a roar which might have been heard +a long distance off, the captain brought the _Roaring Bess_ almost up +to the teeth of the wind, and headed her for the wreck. How her sharp +prow did tear through the waves, and at times she was almost smothered +by the leaping water. But this course would not bring them to the +overturned boat. It was necessary for them to tack once more, and as +they drew near they could see people clinging frantically to the +half-submerged yacht. The captain gave a loud shout of encouragement +when he came within speaking distance. With much skill he handled his +boat, and told Rod to be ready to give a hand when needed. With the +_Roaring Bess_ brought right up to the wind, she soon drifted alongside +of the overturned yacht. There were five persons in the water, three +men and two women. With much difficulty the latter were dragged on +board, and then the men followed. This accomplished, without a word +the captain headed his boat for the shore, while the drenched persons +huddled in the cock-pit close to Rod. + +The latter had not been idle during this exciting rescue. He had taken +a prominent part in helping the women on board, as the captain had been +busy managing the yacht. But now he crouched back in his corner, +somewhat abashed in the presence of the strangers. He watched them, +nevertheless, especially the younger of the two women, a girl with a +very beautiful face. Her long golden hair was tossed wildly about, and +at times a shiver shook her body. But her eyes attracted him more than +anything else. They were dark eyes, filled with an expression of +tenderness and sympathy. When she turned them upon Rod his heart gave +a bound such as he had never experienced before. At that moment there +was nothing he would not have done for her sake. He longed for +something to happen that he might show her how brave he was, and that +he might seem a hero in her eyes. + +Nothing unusual happened, however, for Captain Josh steered the boat +through all dangers, and drew up at last near the shore in front of his +own house. Then to Rod's surprise the strange men lifted the girl +carefully out of the yacht into the tender, and when they had reached +the shore, one of the men carried her in his arms up to the Anchorage. + +"Too bad she got hurt," Rod mused, as he walked home, for it was +getting late. "I wonder what happened to her." + +That evening he told Parson Dan and Mrs. Royal all about his experience +that afternoon, the wreck, and the girl who had been carried into the +house. + +"I must go over in the morning and learn all about it," the clergyman +remarked when he had heard the story. "There may be something that I +can do to help." + +Rod lay awake for a long time that night. He could not get the girl +with the golden hair and wonderful eyes out of his mind. When at last +he did go to sleep, he dreamed that she was struggling in the water, +and that he had jumped off the _Roaring Bess_ to save her. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +WHYN + +Next morning Parson Dan and Rod started for the Anchorage. Rod was +more quiet than usual, and walked along the road without any of his +ordinary capers. His cheeks were flushed, and his eyes shone with +excitement. His steps, too, were quick, and his companion found it +difficult to keep pace with him. It was quite evident that he was in a +hurry to see the girl who had been rescued from the river the previous +day. + +Nearing the house, they heard some one hammering in the workshop. +There they found the captain busily engaged upon something which looked +like a chair. + +"Good morning, captain," was the parson's cheery greeting. "You've +turned carpenter, so I see." + +"Poof!" and the captain, gave a vigorous rap upon a nail he was driving +into place, "it's necessary to be every dang thing these days, with the +world so full of idiots. It's good there's somebody who kin turn his +hand to anything. It's the fools who make so much work fer honest +folks." + +"Why, what's up now?" the parson queried. + +"Ye'd better ask 'what's down?' It's that little lass in yon, down in +bed, because some numb-skulls thought they could sail a boat. I told +'em this mornin' what I thought of 'em fer takin' a gal like that out +on the water, an' they went off in a huff." + +"How is she this morning, captain? Rodney told me all about the +accident, and so we have come to make inquiries." + +"Oh, she's all right, considerin' what she went through. She's all +clewed down now and ridin' easy. Guess she'll be there fer some time. +Want to see her?" + +"Yes, if she's able to be seen." + +"Able! Why, she's the fittest one of the bunch as fer as her mind is +concerned. I want to git this chair fixed up fer her as soon as +possible. Go right in. I guess ye'll find Betsey in the kitchen." + +Mrs. Britt pleasantly received her visitors, and introduced the +clergyman to Mrs. Sinclair. The latter was a woman of striking +appearance. Her face, of considerable strength and refinement, was +marked by lines of care. But it was her eyes which attracted Parson +Dan's special attention as he shook hands with her, and inquired after +her daughter. + +"Oh, Whyn came out of the affair the best of all," and a smile +illumined Mrs. Sinclair's face. "I was greatly worried about her last +night, but she seems none the worse for her experience. Would you like +to see her? I am afraid you will find her a regular little +chatter-box." + +Mrs. Sinclair said not a word to Rod, in fact she had hardly noticed +him. He remained standing in the middle of the room after the others +had left, twirling his cap in his nervous hands. He wanted to see the +girl, too, but he had not been invited, and he felt indignant. He had +the first right to go, so he told himself, for he had helped to rescue +her. He thought of going out to the workshop and talking it all over +with the captain. He dismissed the idea, however, and perching himself +upon a chair, waited to see what would happen. + +It seemed a long time to him before the others came out of the girl's +room, but in reality it was only a few minutes. There was a smile upon +the clergyman's face as he turned to the boy. + +"You're the favoured one this morning, Rodney," he said. "The princess +wants to see you. She hasn't much use for us older people." + +This was astonishing news to Rod, and his knees felt weak as he walked +across the floor, and entered the room. He paused when just inside, +and stared in amazement at the vision before him. There, lying upon a +little cot, was the most wonderful person he had ever beheld. Could it +be possible that this was the same girl he had seen all drenched with +water the day before? Her hair was flowing over the white pillow like +a shining stream of gold. At this moment it was touched by the sun +from the southeast window, which added much to the entrancing effect. +And then those eyes! They seemed to read him through and through. But +they were laughing eyes now, sparkling with interest and amusement. + +Rod stood very still, uncertain what to do. So this wonderful girl was +a princess, he said to himself. He never dreamed of such a thing when +he first saw her the day before. He knew something about princes and +princesses, for Mrs. Royal had often read to him stories about such +people. So this girl was one of them. He had no doubt about it, for +Parson Dan had called her a princess. What should he do? The books +told how people got down on their knees to princesses, and kissed their +hands. Ah, that was the right thing for him to do now. + +Stepping quickly forward, he knelt by the side of the bed, and seizing +the girl's right hand which was lying upon the counterpane, he pressed +it to his lips. A merry ringing laugh followed this action, which +caused Rod to start and lift his head. Was the princess laughing at +him? Perhaps he had made some foolish blunder, and she was making fun +of him. + +"Oh, you queer boy, what did you do that for?" and again the girl +laughed. + +"Didn't I do it right?" Rod asked, as he sprang to his feet and stood +straight before her. + +"Do what right?" and the girl looked her surprise. + +"Kneel, and kiss your hand. They all do that." + +"All who?" + +"The people in the stories. They always kiss the hand of a princess +when they meet her." + +"But I'm not a princess." + +"You're not! Grandad said you are, and I guess he knows." + +"Ho, ho, isn't that funny?" and the girl's hearty laugh again rang out. +"I'm no princess; I'm just plain Whyn Sinclair. Your grandfather must +have been joking. It must be nice to have a grandfather like that. +His eyes are just full of fun. Sit down, and tell me about him." + +"He isn't my grandfather," Rod replied, as he took his position upon +the edge of a chair close to the bed. He was feeling more at home now +in the presence of this beautiful girl, since she was not a princess. + +"He isn't your grandfather!" + +"No. I haven't any real grandfather, and I never saw my father or +mother." + +"You didn't! Oh, you poor boy." + +"No. I'm only a waif, that's what they call me. I was left at the +door of the rectory one night a long time ago when I was a little baby, +and Mr. and Mrs. Royal have taken care of me ever since." + +"How lovely!" and Whyn clasped her thin white hands together. + +"Lovely! What do you mean?" + +"Oh, it's so romantic." + +"What's that?" + +"Just like you read about in stories. Maybe your father and mother are +a real prince and princess, or some other great persons, and you were +stolen away from them when you were a baby by cruel people. What a +story that will make. I shall write about it at once." + +"A story!" and Rod's eyes opened wide in surprise. "What are you going +to write?" + +"You see, I'm an authoress, or rather, I'm going to be one some day. I +lie in bed and think out such lovely stories. But this is something +real, not a bit like the others. I am going to make so much money, +that I shall be able to help mamma, and she won't have to worry as she +does." + +"What makes her worry?" Rod queried. + +"She worries about me. I can't walk, and have to lie in bed all the +time. It costs so much for doctors' bills, and though mamma never says +a word to me, I can tell what's troubling her. Now, I have a secret, +and I am going to tell it to you, if you promise that you won't say a +word to any one about it." + +"What is it?" + +"You won't tell?" + +"Don't know until I hear what it is." + +"Oh, well, I'll have to keep it to myself, then," and the girl gave a +sigh of disappointment. "I was hoping that you would promise, for it +would be so nice to relieve my mind by telling some one." + +"Maybe I'll promise afterwards," Rod replied. + +"That might do," Whyn mused, as she lay very still and looked far off +through the window. "Yes, I guess that will do. You see, I once heard +the doctor in the city say that I must go to a specialist, and maybe he +could cure me." + +"What's a specialist?" Rod questioned. "I never heard of it before." + +"It's a doctor in some big city like New York, who knows so much. He +might be able to make me better, if I could only go to see him." + +"Why don't you go, then?" + +"I can't," and a slight shade passed over the girl's sunny face. "It +takes a lot of money, and we are poor. Mamma plays the organ in St. +Barnabas Church on Sundays, and gives music lessons through the week. +But it takes so much to pay doctor bills." + +"Where's your father?" Rod asked. + +"He's dead. He died when I was a little baby." + +"Oh!" Rod was all sympathy now. So this girl was an orphan, something +like himself, with a mother but no father. + +"I have one brother," Whyn explained. "He is older than I am. He is +at Ottawa now, working for the Government. He helps us all he can, but +he has been there such a short time that he can't do much yet. He will +after awhile, though, for Douglas is so good." + +"Is that your brother's name?" + +"Yes. I miss him so much, for we always played together, and he used +to read to me, and wheel me about the house." + +"Have you told him your secret?" Rod inquired. + +"Not yet. I want to surprise him. You see," here she lowered her +voice, and glanced toward the door, "I am going to write a story." + +"Oh!" Rod's eyes grew suddenly big. + +"Yes, a real story, which has been in my mind for some time. I am +going to change it now and bring you into it. There were some parts I +could not work out, but now I know. I shall make you a boy scout, a +patrol leader, who rescues a cripple girl from the river." + +"What's a boy scout?" Rod queried. + +"Didn't you ever hear of the scouts?" and Whyn looked her surprise. + +"No. Never heard of them before." + +"Well, isn't that funny, and you a boy, too." + +"Guess they can't be much," Rod replied, somewhat nettled. "Grandad +and Captain Josh know about most everything, and if they haven't heard +of them they can't be of much account." + +"But they are," Whyn insisted. "Douglas was a patrol leader, and he +told me what they did. They met in the school-room of our church, and +had such a great time. They had a supper, too; every month, and when +that was over they sang songs and played games." + +"Is that all they did?" + +"Oh, no. They had to work hard, for they had to learn so many things. +To get the tenderfoot badge, they had to know the scout law, how to tie +knots, and a whole lot about the flag." + +"H'm, I guess I know about knots," and Rod gave his head a superior +toss. "Captain Josh taught me about them." + +"But did he teach you how to help people who cut themselves, or break +their arms, or if some one falls into the water, how to bring him back +to life?" + +"Why, no! Can the scouts do that?" + +"Sure they can. I know of a scout who jumped off a wharf, and rescued +a little girl. When he had her out of the water he brought her back to +life, when everybody else thought that she was dead." + +"Gee!" It was all that Rod could say, for he was becoming deeply +interested now. + +"And they learn more than that," Whyn continued. "They talk with +flags." + +"Talk with flags! I never heard of flags talking, and I don't believe +it." + +"Oh, I don't mean that flags talk," and Whyn laughed outright. "The +scouts use flags for talking to one another when they are some distance +apart; it is called 'signalling.'" + +"How do they do it?" + +"Well, one boy will stand, say on a hill, while another is somewhere +else, and each has two little flags. They wave these and whichever way +a flag is waved it means a letter. I did know all the letters myself +once, for Douglas taught me. In that way the scouts can talk with one +another as far as they can see. Soldiers send messages that way, so I +understand, and they can warn one another when an enemy is near." + +"My, I would like to know that," and Rod gave a deep sigh. "I wonder +if Captain Josh knows anything about it. I am going to ask him, +anyway." + +"There are many other things the scouts have to learn," Whyn explained, +"and they are very important." + +"What are they?" + +"I don't exactly know. But there is a book which tells all about them. +Douglas told me that a scout must do a good turn every day." + +"What's that?" + +"It is to do a kind act of some kind. I know of one boy who looked +after the baby so that his mother could go out for awhile. Another +rescued a poor little kitten from some cruel boys who were teasing it. +When I write my story with you in it, your good turn will be the +rescuing a girl from the water just like you did yesterday. I hope to +sell the story and make so much money that I shall be able to go to the +specialist in New York." + +"What are you going to call the boy?" Rod asked. + +"I haven't decided yet. Maybe I shall call him Rod; wouldn't that be +nice?" + +"How did you know that was my name?" + +"Mrs. Britt told me this morning before you came." + +"Did you ask her?" + +"Yes." + +Rod's heart gave a little flutter of pleasure. So this beautiful girl +had been thinking of him, and had even asked about his name. It made +him feel happy all over. + +Just then Parson Dan appeared in the doorway. + +"My, what a great talking time you young people have had," he +exclaimed. "Here I have been waiting for you, sir, ever so long," and +he laid his hand affectionately upon the boy's shoulder. "I hope he +hasn't tired you, dear," he continued, turning toward Whyn. + +"Oh, no," was the eager reply. "We have had such a lovely time. May +be come again soon?" + +"Certainly. I know it will give him great pleasure." + +As they were leaving, Rod went close to Whyn and whispered: + +"I'm going to be a scout, and get Captain Josh to help." + +"How nice," and the girl's smile of encouragement followed him as he +left the room. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +HIS FIRST "GOOD TURN" + +Rod was greatly excited over what Whyn had told him about the boy +scouts, and on the way home he plied Parson Dan with numerous questions. + +"Didn't you ever hear of them before, grandad?" he asked. + +"Yes, Rodney, I did," was the reply. "But there are so many things +taking place in the cities these days that it is hard for an old man +like me to keep run of them all. If I were younger I might be able to +do something. But in the country where the boys are so scattered, I am +afraid that it would be a difficult undertaking to form a band of +scouts." + +"Well, I am going to be a scout, anyway," Rod declared. "I want to +learn how to bring a drowned man back to life, and to talk with flags. +Oh, it must be great to do that! How can I learn, grandad?" + +"There must be books which explain such things," the clergyman replied. +"Shall I write to the city to find out?" + +"Oh, will you, grandad?" and Rod fairly danced with joy, and his eyes +sparkled with excitement. "Will you write at once?" + +"Yes, dear. I shall write the letter this evening, and it will go down +on Monday." + +"When will the book come?" + +"It should be here by Wednesday." + +"Oh!" + +"But, remember, Rodney, you must not let this scout idea interfere with +your school lessons." + +"No, grandad, I won't. I will study hard and fast so that I can read +my scout book." + +Parson Dan smiled as he watched the lad's enthusiasm. He thought, too, +of another boy, who also had been full of life and fun, but who had +been unnaturally checked when he should have been directed and led +aright. He now realised only too well what a mistake had been made +with Alec, and he was determined that the same should not be the case +with Rodney. + +The following days were very long ones to Rod. It seemed as if +Wednesday would never come. He thought over everything Whyn had told +him about the scouts, and wearied Mrs. Royal by telling her over and +over again what he intended to do when the book arrived. He had not +seen Whyn since Saturday, but was looking eagerly forward to seeing her +as soon as he had his precious book. + +Rod hurried home from school on Wednesday, certain that his treasure +would be awaiting him. He did not dally along the road looking for +birds' nests as was his usual custom. Neither did the butterflies +interest him. He had something more important on hand, which absorbed +all of his attention. + +He had almost reached the rectory gate, when an automobile whizzed +past, half-smothering him in a cloud of dust. This was a common +occurrence during the summer months, and he paid little attention to +the annoyance. The car had gone but a short distance, however, when a +horse, driven by Miss Arabella Simpkins, took fright, reared, wheeled, +upset the carriage, and threw the driver into the ditch. The terrified +animal then bolted down the road dragging the overturned carriage after +it. + +The men in the car were greatly concerned over the accident. They +picked up the apparently unconscious woman, and found that blood was +streaming from her nose. Seeing Rod standing near, they asked him who +the woman was, and where she lived. + +"She's Miss Arabella," was the reply. "Guess her nose is hurt. +Captain Josh said if ever she got into an accident it would be the +first thing that would get smashed, 'cos it's so long, and is always +poking into other people's affairs." + +The three men looked keenly at the boy, and then at one another, while +the faint semblance of a smile lurked about the corners of their mouths. + +"We must get her home at once," one of them remarked. "Is there a +doctor anywhere near, boy?" + +"The doctor lives five miles down the road," Rod replied. "But I guess +we don't need him. Just wait a minute. I know what will stop that +bleeding." + +With that, he sprang across the ditch, hurried through the garden, and +entered the rectory. Presently he reappeared, carrying something in +his hand, which proved to be a key. Going at once to the prostrate +woman, who was lying upon the grass, he told the men to lift her up. +When this was done, he quickly slipped the key down the back of her +neck. + +"There, I guess that'll stop the bleeding," he panted. + +Hardly were the words out of his mouth, when Miss Arabella leaped to +her feet. + +"A snake! A snake!" she yelled. "It's gone down my neck!" + +With much difficulty the men soothed her excitement, telling her that +there was nothing the matter. At last they induced her to enter the +auto, and soon she was being borne rapidly to her home. + +Rod remained for a few seconds staring after them, while an amused +twinkle shone in his eyes. + +"She thought it was a snake, ho, ho. Won't Captain Josh laugh when I +tell him that? I didn't mean any harm, though. I just wanted to do a +good turn. Guess that was something that a scout would do." + +About half an hour after this incident, Parson Dan arrived home, +stabled his horse, and went into the rectory. He found Mrs. Royal in +her little sewing-room on the north side of the house, busily engaged +upon some of the Ladies' Aid work. She smiled as her husband entered. + +"I was afraid you would be late, Daniel," she remarked. + +"I drove hard," was the reply, "for I never like to keep a wedding +waiting. I believe that I have ten minutes to spare, so I shall take a +glance at the Marriage Service. It is so seldom we have a wedding that +I am a little rusty." + +"Won't you have a cup of tea, Daniel?" his wife asked. "It might +freshen you up a bit." + +"No, dear, not now. Just as soon as I look over the Service, I shall +go into the church to have everything ready." + +He was gone but a few minutes when he returned, with an anxious +expression upon his face. + +"Have you seen the key of the church, Martha?" he asked. "I cannot +find it anywhere." + +"It must be in its usual place, Daniel. It always hangs there, and no +one ever thinks of touching it but yourself." + +"Well, it's not there now, and I have hunted all through the study." + +Mrs. Royal at once arose, and began to assist her husband in his search +for the missing key. All their efforts were in vain, however, and +before they were through the wedding party arrived. This was most +embarrassing, for the ones who had come to be married were very +particular, and would resent any delay. If they could not get into the +church they were sure to be angry, for it would make them the +laughing-stock of the entire parish. + +"What shall we do!" Mrs. Royal gasped, as she glanced out of the window +at the teams drawn up before the church. "Can't you force the door, +Daniel?" + +"No. It would take a blacksmith to do that. And, besides, I wouldn't +allow it for any consideration. It would be terrible." + +"Why not hold the wedding in the rectory, then?" Mrs. Royal suggested. +"Perhaps they wouldn't mind under the circumstances." + +"Wouldn't mind! Don't you know the Sanders well enough to realise what +they would do and say? Haven't they been planning for a 'church +wedding' for months? Here come more teams. What in the world shall we +do!" and the parson drew forth his handkerchief, and mopped his +perspiring brow. + +"There must be only one person who knows where that key is," Mrs. Royal +thoughtfully remarked. + +"And who is that?" + +"Rodney. If you didn't remove it, he must have done so." + +"Where is he?" and the clergyman looked around as if expecting to see +him appear. + +"I do not know, Daniel. He always comes to see me when he returns from +school, but I have not seen him this afternoon. That scout book came +this morning, and he may be lost in that." + +"But he is not in the house, Martha. I have boon all over the place +and have not seen him." + +"Is the book there?" his wife asked. "I left it on the dining-room +table." + +"I didn't see any book. But, hark, there is some one at the door. +They're after me to attend the wedding, and what shall I say! How can +I explain!" and the parson started to go to the door. + +"Wait, Daniel," his wife called. "If the book is gone, Rodney must +have taken it over to show it to Captain Josh, for he said he was going +to do that just as soon as it came." + +"But why should he take the key, Martha?" and the parson turned his +despairing face upon hers. + +"I do not know, Daniel. But you had better send some one after him at +once. He may know something about it." + +In the meantime the doorbell had been ringing furiously, and when +Parson Dan at last opened it, he was confronted by several excited men, +among whom was the bridegroom. + +"What's wrong, parson?" Ned Percher cried. "We've been waitin' out +here fer some time. The church is locked, and the people are gettin' +impatient." + +"I can't find the key, Ned, that's what's the trouble," the parson +explained. + +"Can't find the key!" came in a chorus from all. + +"No. It's gone, and the only person who must know about it is Rodney, +and I believe he's over at Captain Josh's." + +The groom, a thick-set, red-faced man, now stepped forward. + +"D'ye think this is the right way to treat me, parson?" he demanded. +"Haven't I been always one of your best church members, and now when +I'm to be married, ye lock the church against me, and say that the key +is lost. What will Susie think? I'd like to know. She'll never get +over the disgrace." + +"You are not half as sorry as I am," Parson Dan replied as calmly as +possible. "I am deeply mortified that such a thing should have +happened. But talking will not mend matters now. The key must be +found, so if one of you will hurry over to the Anchorage, and bring +Rodney back, I shall be greatly obliged." + +Ned Percher at once volunteered to go, and soon he was speeding for the +captain's house by a short-cut through the field. There was nothing +else for the rest to do but to wait in front of the rectory until the +messenger should return with the boy. + +The bride was greatly disturbed over the delay. So overcome was she +with the excitement that she had to be carried into the house, where +she lay upon the sitting-room sofa, quite hysterical. The women who +gathered around her by no means restrained their tongues, thus making +the young bride feel as badly as possible. Several expressed their +opinion of the clergyman for allowing such a thing to happen. It was +another example, so they said, of the mistake he had made in bringing +up a child of whose parents he knew nothing. They had said so before, +and were now more firmly convinced than ever. Others told what it +meant for a wedding to be delayed right at the church door, and related +a number of cases where ill luck had followed such weddings. Thus, by +the time Ned Percher arrived, with Rod close at his heels, the bride +was almost in a state of nervous collapse. + +During this time of waiting Parson Dan spoke to no one. He knew that +the less he now said the better it would be. His face had lost its +usual genial expression, and his eyes no longer twinkled with humour. +He was feeling very keenly the whole unfortunate affair. Never before +during the whole course of his entire ministry had such a thing +occurred. He had often boasted that he had never once been late for a +service, nor had he kept people waiting at either a funeral or a +wedding. He stood with his face turned up the road, and a sigh of +relief at last escaped his lips when he saw Rod coming toward him. + +The boy was greatly surprised to see so many teams and people in front +of the rectory, for Ned would tell him nothing of what was taking +place. He was astonished, as well, when he observed the worried look +upon the parson's face. But he had no time for questions just then, +for the clergyman laid a heavy hand upon the lad's shoulder, and +demanded if he knew what had become of the key of the church. + +Instantly the cause of the excitement flashed upon Rod's mind. His +face became pale, and he glanced nervously around upon the men who had +gathered near. + +"Do you hear me?" the parson again demanded. "Do you know anything +about that key?" + +"Yes, grandad, I do," was the trembling reply. + +"Where is it, then?" + +"It's down Miss Arabella's neck." + +"Down Miss Arabella's neck!" the clergyman repeated in profound +astonishment. "What do you mean?" + +"She got hurt, grandad, and her nose was bleeding, so I dropped the key +down her neck. Captain Josh said that was the best thing to stop a +bleeding nose." + +For an instant Parson Dan glared at the little lad before him. Then +his face softened, and as amused light shone in his eyes as the +humorous side of the situation dawned upon him. He longed to laugh +outright, and give the culprit before him a big hug. But he had to +control his feelings in the presence of all the people, who saw nothing +funny about the matter. + +"Look here, Rodney," he said, "you go after that key as fast as your +legs will carry you." + +"Yes, grandad, I will," and Rod was off like a shot, glad to be free +from the staring crowd. + +So once more the wedding was delayed, and the murmurs of the waiting +people increased. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +MISS ARABELLA'S "AFFAIR" + +It was the lot of Miss Arabella Simpkins to have lived for over forty +years without one real affair of the heart. There were reasons for +this, well known to all the people of Hillcrest. Not only had her +father, a lumberman of considerable repute in his day, been very +particular as to the young men who visited the house, but Miss Arabella +herself was the chief objection. She was by no means handsome, and in +addition she was possessed of a sharp tongue, and, as Captain Josh +truly said, "a long nose which was always prying into other people's +business." These frailties naturally increased as she grew older until +she became a dread not only to her brother, Tom, but to all her +neighbours, especially the children. + +She had two redeeming features, however: a generous heart for those she +liked, and considerable money. This latter had its influence, and made +her tolerated in the company of others, where she was indulged with a +certain amount of good humour. + +But a real romance had never come into Miss Arabella's life, and this +was her great trial. No suitor had ever sought her out, and with +languishing eyes had watched her as she moved among the other maidens +of the parish. Friends of her girlhood days had been more fortunate. +They were married, and had families around them, while she alone had +been left "like the last rose of summer," as she often told herself. + +But Miss Arabella never let people know about her trial. On the +contrary, she wished them to believe that her heart had once been won +by a handsome and gallant young man. Just what had become of him, or +what had occurred to cause the separation, she would never tell, and +only hinted mysteriously with a deep sigh whenever the subject of +matrimony was discussed. People knowing her, always smiled, and among +themselves often spoke of Miss Arabella's "affair." + +The Simpkins' house was close to the river, and about a quarter of a +mile from the rectory by means of a short-cut through the field, though +much longer by the main highway. Rod took the short route, and in a +few minutes reached the place. His heart beat fast as he drew near, +for he dreaded meeting Miss Arabella, whose sharp tongue he had good +reason to fear. + +Tom Simpkins met him at the door, and ushered him into the sitting-room +where Miss Arabella was lying upon a sofa near the window. She was +somewhat paler than usual, and very weak. A look of disappointment +appeared upon her face as the door opened and Rod entered. + +"Oh, it's only you," she complained. "What brought you here?" + +"I came for the key, Miss Arabella," Rod pantingly explained, keeping +as close to the door as possible. + +"H'm, I should think you would not only be afraid but ashamed to come +near me after doing such a mean thing as you did this afternoon," and +the invalid fixed her piercing eyes upon the boy. + +"W-what did I do?" Rod stammered. + +"Do! Didn't you put that key down my neck, which gave me such a +terrible shock?" + +"But it brought you back to life, Miss Arabella, and it stopped your +nose bleeding. Captain Josh said that was the best thing to do, and I +guess he was right." + +"Oh, that was what you did it for, was it?" + +"Sure. I never thought of scaring you. I only wanted to do a good +turn, that's all." + +"But what did you say such things about my nose for, tell me that?" + +"Why, did you hear me? I thought you didn't know anything." + +"Then you were mistaken. I heard and knew more than you imagined." + +"The men thought that you were almost dead, Miss Arabella, and they +felt very bad." + +"Did they?" the woman questioned, and her voice was softer than usual. +Then she remained silent for a few seconds, looking absently before +her. "See here, Rod," and she smiled upon the boy for the first time +in her life, "I will forgive you for what you said about my nose if you +will tell me something." + +"What is it?" + +"You remember that fine looking man, with the blue eyes, and hair +streaked with grey." + +"Can't say that I do, Miss Arabella." + +"He was the one who held me in his arms while you dropped that horrid +key down my neck." + +"Oh, yes, I know now." + +"Well, Rod, do you think he cared much that I was hurt?" + +"Yes, I think he did." + +"Are you sure?" + +"Yes. He looked awful scared when you tumbled into the ditch." + +"Ah, I knew it," and the invalid closed her eyes, while a smile +overspread her face. "I felt from the first that he cared," she +murmured. + +Then she lay so perfectly still that Rod thought she had fainted. He +stepped to her side, and touched her hand. + +"Miss Arabella," he began, "have you fainted?" + +"Oh, I thought that he was standing by my side," she simpered. "I must +have been dreaming." + +"No, it's only me, and I would like to have the key. They can't have +the wedding till I get back." + +"What wedding?" and the invalid sat suddenly bolt upright. + +"Why, Bill Stebbins and Susie Sanders want to get married, and they +can't get into the church 'cos you have the key down your neck." + +"A wedding! What thoughts of bliss come to my mind at that word," and +Miss Arabella clasped her hands, while her eyes rolled up to the +ceiling. + +Rod was now becoming very impatient. He thought of the crowd waiting +before the rectory, and Parson Dan's anxiety. + +"The key, Miss Arabella," he insisted. "Will you please----" + +"And you think he cared?" the woman interrupted. + +"Yes. But, Miss----" + +"And did he look at me much with those splendid blue eyes?" + +"I think he did, Miss Arabella. But will you please give me the key. +They are waiting----" + +"And do you think he will come back, Rod? He said that he would return +soon. But men are so fickle." + +A new idea suddenly shot into Rod's mind. + +"Give me the key, Miss Arabella, and I will go after that man. It will +be my good turn." + +"Oh, will you?" and the woman's face lighted up with joy. "Don't tell +him that I sent you." + +"No, I won't. But the key, where is it? If it's down your neck, I'll +go out of the room until you find it." + +"And you will hurry, Rod?" + +"Yes, yes, but----" + +"And you think you can find him?" + +"I'll try if you'll give me the key, Miss Arabella. But if you keep me +waiting any longer I won't go one step." + +"Well, it's on that shelf over there. Take it, and hurry." + +Rod wasted no time. He sprang for the key, seized it, and darted out +of the room. Over the field he sped as fast as his nimble feet would +carry him, and never paused until he had handed it to the anxiously +waiting clergyman. + +Having performed this task, Rod turned his attention to Miss Arabella's +"man." The wedding was of little interest to him, so he strolled down +the road with not the least idea how he was going to bring back that +man with the "splendid blue eyes." With hands thrust deep into his +pockets he walked along whistling a merry tune. His mind was really +upon Whyn, and the book he had left at the Anchorage. He would much +rather have gone back there, but he knew that he must do his duty to +the love-sick woman first. + +He had not gone very far ere he saw a man coming toward him, leading a +horse, which he knew to be the one which had run away. He recognised +the man, and he was overjoyed at seeing him. + +"Hello! Have you come to give a hand?" the man accosted as he drew +near. + +"Yes, sir. I was looking for you," Rod replied, as he walked along by +the man's side. + +"Thought I had run away with the horse, did you? Well, we had a hard +chase, but found her at last, with the wagon all smashed to bits. We +tried to lead the horse behind the car, but couldn't get her anywhere +near it, so I had to foot it the whole way." + +"Miss Arabella will be glad to see you, sir." + +"Will she, eh? I suppose there'll be the Old Harry to pay. You said +something about her tongue, didn't you? I expect to know more of it +shortly." + +"Oh, she won't scold you, sir. She thinks a lot of you." + +"Of me?" + +"Yes, sir. She thinks you are great. I really believe she is in love +with you, that's all." + +"Whew!" and the man whistled softly, while an amused light shone in his +eyes. "Did she send you after me?" he inquired. + +"I promised, sir, that I wouldn't tell." + +"Oh, I see," and the man relapsed into silence. A picture of Miss +Arabella's angular figure, thin face, and long sharp nose rose before +him. And to think that she was in love with him! It was almost too +good to be true, and he longed to laugh outright. What a story he +would have to relate when he got home. + +Miss Arabella was lying just where Rod had left her when John Markham +and the boy entered. She gave a little squeak of joy when the stranger +stepped to her side. + +"I knew you would come back," she murmured. "I was certain that you +would not forsake me." + +"Not until I had found the horse, madam," was the reply. "I regret +very much that the wagon is broken, but I shall make good your loss." + +"Don't mention such a thing," and the invalid feebly waved her thin +hands. "Such material matters don't count for anything to a heart +over-flowing with gratitude." + +"Yes, you were most fortunate to escape as you did, madam. You might +have been seriously injured, nay, you might have been killed, and so I +can understand how grateful you must feel." + +"Oh, I don't mean that," and Miss Arabella raised her soulful eyes to +the man's face. "I am so thankful that you have come back." + +"You didn't imagine that I would run away with your horse, did you, +madam? She is certainly a fine beast, and it is lucky that she did not +receive any serious damage. I am much pleased that I have been able to +deliver her to you with so few scratches upon her. A little treatment +will make her all right. You will find Bickmore's Gall Cure very good." + +"It's not that, not that, I assure you," and again Miss Arabella +flapped her hands in agony of soul. "What does a horse amount to when +the heart is affected?" + +"Oh, is that what's the matter?" and Mr. Markham assumed an expression +of great solicitude. "It was the fall, no doubt, which did it. Have +you had trouble there before?" + +"It wasn't the fall that caused it," and Miss Arabella covered her face +with her hand. "It goes deeper than that." + +"Dear me, madam, you must certainly see the doctor. It is very +serious, and you must not delay any longer. I believe the doctor lives +down the road. Shall I call on him on my way home, and tell him to +come at once?" + +Before Miss Arabella could reply, a raucous honk outside arrested their +attention. + +"It's merely the car," Mr. Markham explained. "I must be going now." + +"What, so soon? Must you leave me again?" and the invalid raised her +eyes appealingly to the man's face. + +"Yes, I must be off. My wife will be wondering what----" + +"Your wife!" Miss Arabella shrieked, sitting bolt upright. "Do you +tell me that you have a wife!" + +"Certainly. She is waiting for me with some friends down the road. +Several of us men took a spin this afternoon so that the women could +have a little chat together. It is getting late now, and we must hurry +back to the city. This accident has delayed us. So, good-bye, madam. +I trust you soon will be well. I shall see about the carriage at once." + +With that, he left the house, closely followed by Rod, leaving Miss +Arabella speechless upon the sofa. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +SCOUT WORK + +Two weeks after the scout book arrived the Hillcrest troop of boy +scouts was formed, with Captain Josh as scoutmaster, and Rod as patrol +leader. Whyn had much to do with this, and her enthusiasm inspired and +encouraged the others. News soon spread among the rest of the boys in +the parish of what was taking place, and it was not long before several +more asked to become members. The Scout Commissioner and the Secretary +of the Province visited Hillcrest, explained many things, and started +the work along proper lines. + +Deep in his heart Captain Josh was delighted with the boys. They no +longer feared him, though he was as gruff as ever. But they soon found +that this gruffness was only on the surface, and that in reality he was +deeply interested in their welfare. He studied the scout book +thoroughly until he knew it from cover to cover. He was determined +that his troop, even though it was known as the "Lone Patrol," was to +be well trained, and a credit to the parish. He did not wish to have +too many boys at first, but to drill the ones he had chosen until they +were proficient in every part of the scout work. + +Whenever the captain was in doubt as to what he should do, he always +consulted with Whyn, for he found that she had excellent ideas, and +remembered so much of what her brother Douglas had told her. Her joy +was even greater than the captain's when she learned that a troop was +to be formed, and she planned all sorts of things for the boys to do. + +Just as the work was well under way, Mrs. Sinclair informed the Britts +that she and Whyn must leave for the city. She had her work to do +there without which they could not live. Then it was that the captain +showed his hand. He had been thinking over this very matter for some +time, and had discussed it with his wife. + +"Let Whyn stay with us, Mrs. Sinclair," he suggested. "I do not see +how we can get along without her." + +"But I cannot afford that, captain," the widow replied. + +"Can't afford what?" + +"To pay her board." + +"Who said anything about paying?" the captain demanded. "She's worth +more than her board any day. We don't want any money. If ye'll let +her stay with us we'll be quite willin' to pay you something fer her. +We need her, and so do the scouts. It'll be a shame to take her back +to that stuffy city at this time of the year." + +"But what shall I do without her?" Mrs. Sinclair asked. "She is all I +have near me, and I shall miss her so much if she remains with you." + +"You can come and see her as often as you like," Mrs. Britt replied. +"We shall be so glad to have you." + +And so it was arranged that Whyn was to stay for several weeks at +least, and the girl was delighted when she heard the news. + +"You are the dearest and best people in the world, excepting mamma," +she told the captain and Mrs. Britt. "It is so nice to be here, and +when I know that mamma can come to see me often I do not mind staying." + +"But ye'll have to behave yerself, young woman," the captain replied. +"No more lyin' awake at night, remember, worryin' about the scouts. +And ye've got to eat more than ye have in the past." + +"Oh, no fear of that," and Whyn laughed merrily. "I am going to eat so +much that you will be glad to send me away." + +It did not take the captain long to get the scouts down to steady work. +As the holidays were now on they often met during the afternoons, when +the captain drilled them in marching, instructed them about the flag, +and taught them how to tie a number of knots. It was necessary for +them to know such things before they could obtain the tenderfoot +badges. They had to learn the Scout Law as well. It was not all work, +however, for the captain often took the boys for delightful spins upon +the river in the _Roaring Bess_, and soon all the scouts were able to +handle the yacht in a creditable manner. + +It soon became evident that they must have a building of their own +where they could meet on wet days. The Commissioner had told them that +there was nothing like a club-room for their meetings. The captain had +been thinking this over for some time, and at last offered the use of +an old rafting shanty near the shore, and which could be easily seen +from Whyn's window. This building was fairly large, made of boards, +and the roof covered with tarred paper. It was well lighted by four +windows, which showed up the dirty condition of the room in an alarming +manner when the captain and the boys first inspected the place. There +were remnants of old bunks, tables and chairs, while broken boxes were +scattered about. But after two days of steady work a great change took +place. The boys were willing and eager, and inspired by the captain +they toiled until their backs ached. Holes in the roof were patched, +the broken door mended, several chairs were brought from the boys' +homes, and when all was done they were delighted at what they had +accomplished. They now no longer dreaded wet days, for they had a +place to meet where they could carry on their work to their hearts' +content. The captain had two good flags, which he placed upon the +wall, and the boys brought magazine pictures, and tacked them around +the room. In this way the place was made very cosy. + +Whyn was delighted with the progress which the scouts made upon their +club-room, which she called "Headquarters." She could see it from her +window, and often she would sit and watch as the boys worked around the +building, cutting down some of the underbrush, and cleaning up the +ground. When their work was done they always came to her room, and +talked over everything with her. + +At first some of the boys had been quite shy and diffident in Whyn's +presence. But this soon wore away, and they all became the firmest of +friends. There was nothing the scouts would not do for the invalid +girl, and when they were in doubt about anything it was always to her +they turned to help them out of their difficulty. She knew more about +the scout work than they did, and many were the helpful suggestions she +made. + +"You must have scout suits," she told them one day, "and each of you +must earn the money to buy his own. All the scouts do it, and it is +really expected of them. Douglas sold newspapers to buy his, and I +remember the day he brought his suit home. He looked so fine when he +wore it, and we were proud of him." + +The scouts liked this idea, and they spent over an hour discussing it, +and how they were to earn the money. Whyn was able to tell the price +of the entire suit, and where it could be bought in the city. + +Rod listened to this conversation, but said little. He walked home in +a very thoughtful mood, and the Royals noticed that he was more silent +than usual as he ate his supper. Generally he was bubbling over with +news about the scouts. But now he had nothing to say of what had taken +place that afternoon. Rod was worried over the suit question, as he +had not the slightest idea how he was going to earn the money to buy +his. He could not think of any way out of his difficulty. The other +scouts had plans which would not do for him, as they were farmers' +sons, and could earn money right at home. He thought of this the last +thing before he went to sleep that night, and the moment he awoke it +came into his mind. + +"I want you to take something for me over for Miss Arabella this +morning," Mrs. Royal told him after breakfast. "The poor soul has not +been well for some time, and I heard last night that she is worse. I +have made up a few dainties for her as her appetite is almost gone, so +I understand." + +Rod did not fancy this errand, for he remembered only too well the last +time he had seen Miss Arabella lying so still upon the sofa after her +affair of the heart. It was, therefore, with lagging steps that he +made his way across the field, carrying in his hand the little basket +filled with the good things Mrs. Royal had sent for the invalid. + +Miss Arabella was in bed looking paler than ever, so Rod thought her +nose seemed longer than he had ever seen it. She was propped up with +several pillows, and her hair was done up in papers. She looked to the +boy like pictures he had seen of natives with funny head-dresses out in +the islands of the Pacific Ocean. + +"So Mrs. Royal sent those things, did she!" she whined. "She might +have come herself. She has been here only three times this week, while +you haven't been near me for a long time. I might die here, and no one +would care. This is what people call a Christian land, is it?" + +"What's the matter with you, Miss Arabella?"' Rod asked in surprise. +"I didn't know you were sick. I have been so busy with the scouts that +I haven't had time for anything else." + +"Who are the scouts?" the invalid questioned. There was evidently +something taking place in the parish of which she had heard nothing, +and her curiosity was aroused. + +Then Rod told her about the troop which had been formed, the club-room, +and the wonderful girl, to all of which Miss Arabella listened with +much interest. + +"And do you mean to tell me that cranky old Captain Josh is looking +after the scouts?" she demanded. + +"Sure. He's great," was the reply. + +"Well, I declare!" and Miss Arabella leaned back against the pillow as +if exhausted by the idea. + +"I wish you could see Whyn," and Rod gave a little sigh. "She'd do you +a whole lot of good." + +"Do me good! In what way, I'd like to know? I guess it would take +more than her to make me better." + +"But she is so jolly," Rod explained. "Her eyes are laughing all the +time, and she is never cross." + +"Humph!" and the invalid gave her head a toss. "If she had to put up +with what I have to she would not feel that way." + +"Oh, but she does, Miss Arabella. She has pains all the time, and she +can't walk a step. She hasn't walked for a long time." + +"She hasn't! Well, how can she laugh and not be cross?" + +"I don't know for sure. But I guess she is trying to be a scout." + +"What has that to do with it?" + +"Quite a bit. You see, a scout has to smile and whistle no matter what +happens. If he jams his finger or stubs his toe, he must smile and go +on whistling just as if nothing had happened. It's hard at first, but +after you learn how to do it you feel good all the time." + +"And so you think I should do the same, eh?" and the woman fixed her +eyes upon the boy's face. + +"Not exactly, Miss Arabella," and Rod gave a little chuckle. "You +might smile more than you do, but I don't think you could whistle. But +maybe you can. Did you ever try?" + +"No, I never did," was the snapping reply, "and I detest girls and +women who can." + +"But Whyn whistles," Rod explained, "and I'm sure you'd like her if you +saw her. You ought to see her, Miss Arabella. I believe she'd make +you better. And, besides, you'd do a good turn if you went to the +Anchorage. Whyn doesn't see many women and she'd be so pleased to see +you." + +"What do you mean by a 'good turn'?" the invalid asked. "Is it +something else the scouts have to do?" + +"Sure. You see, a scout is supposed to do a good turn each day. That +is, he must try to help somebody or something. When I put that key +down your neck, Miss Arabella, it was only my good turn which I was +doing. Captain Josh said it was the best thing to do to stop nose +bleeding. Now, if you'd go to see Whyn that would be your good turn, +see?" + +"H'm, I guess I've got all I can do to look after myself without trying +to do good turns to others," the woman sniffed. Nevertheless, when Rod +had gone she thought over everything he had said, and for once forgot +all about her own troubles. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE VISIT + +The morning after Rod's visit to Miss Arabella's, Mrs. Britt was busy +in the kitchen making doughnuts. The scouts were coming that +afternoon, and once a week, at least, she had some treat for them, and +she knew what they liked. Mrs. Britt's interest in the boys was as +keen as her husband's, and it gave her great pleasure to have them +about the house. Her home life had been very lonely since Jimmy went +away, so the shouting of the scouts and their merry laughter brought +back other days. + +She had just completed frosting a number of doughnuts, and had them all +heaped upon a large plate, when the kitchen door was suddenly thrust +open, and Miss Arabella burst into the room. Though the morning was +very warm, a thick shawl enwrapped her shoulders, and she wore a heavy +winter dress. Her eyes were wide with fright, and she was trembling so +violently that she was forced to sink into the nearest chair. + +"Why, Miss Arabella!" Mrs. Britt exclaimed, "are you sick? You must +lie down at once." + +"No, no, I'm not sick," and the visitor flapped her hands in despair. +"But your husband, Mrs. Britt, your husband, oh, oh!" + +"What's the matter with him?" Mrs. Britt enquired, while her face +turned suddenly pale. "Has anything happened to him? Tell me quick." + +"Yes, I'm afraid so. It's awful. I didn't know he was that way. Has +he been troubled long? You should take him away at once. I always +knew he was queer, but I had no idea he was so bad." + +"Will you please tell me what is the matter?" Mrs. Britt demanded. "I +don't understand you. Joshua was all right a few minutes ago." + +"Was he?" and Miss Arabella looked her surprise. "But you should see +him now. He's out there in front of the house waving his arms up and +down just like this," and the visitor, forgetting her weakness, leaped +to her feet and imitated what she had seen the captain doing. "He was +looking up at the window," she continued, "and saying things I could +not understand. It sounded as if he was going over his letters, and +every once in awhile he would clasp his hands before him like this, and +cry 'brute.' Oh, it is terrible!" + +Mrs. Britt gave a deep sigh of relief, while an amused twinkle shone in +her eyes. + +"Sit down, Miss Arabella," she ordered. "There is nothing wrong with +Joshua. He is practising signalling, that's all. Whyn is helping him +from her window. He has to teach the scouts this afternoon, and is +brushing up a little. You see, every time he moves his arms he makes a +letter. The alphabet is divided into groups, and at the end of each +group he stops swinging his arms, and clasps his hands before him +before making the next group. That is what Joshua must have been doing +which frightened you so much." + +"Oh, dear me!" and Miss Arabella began to fan herself with an old +newspaper she picked up from off the table. "I never got such a shock +in all my life. I don't know what people are coming to these days when +an old man like your husband will act in such a way. I came over on +purpose to see that girl you have here, and it has nearly cost me my +life." + +"Have one of these doughnuts, dear," Mrs. Britt soothed. "I shall get +you some of my home-made wine, which will make you feel better." And +the good woman bustled off to the pantry, from which she shortly +emerged with a well-filled glass. + +"That does make me feel better," Miss Arabella remarked, after she had +drunk the wine and eaten two doughnuts. "That walk has certainly given +me an appetite." + +"And I guess you'll feel better still when you see Whyn," Mrs. Britt +replied, as she led her visitor into the front bedroom. + +The invalid girl was sitting by the open window in the big chair the +captain had fitted up for her. Her cheeks were flushed with +excitement, and her eyes were sparkling with animation. She was +holding a small signalling chart in her hands, at the same time giving +instructions to the captain outside. + +"Try that again," she was saying. "Don't hold your arms so stiff. +There, that's better." + +Hearing the sound of footsteps, she turned suddenly and her eyes fell +upon Miss Arabella's lank form and thin face. For an instant only she +hesitated before reaching out her delicate white hand. + +"Oh, you're Miss Arabella," she exclaimed. "I'm very glad to see you, +and it's so good of you to come. Sit down, please." + +"For pity's sake, how do you know who I am?" was the astonished reply. + +"A little bird told me," and Whyn gave a merry laugh. + +"H'm. I guess it was a bird without any feathers, and a little red +head." + +"Yes, that's who it was. You see, I know most of the people in this +place, though I have met only a few. Rod told me that you were sick, +and what you look like." + +"He did, did he? And I suppose he told you that I had a long nose +which was always poking into other people's business." + +"Why, no!" and Whyn's face grew suddenly sober. "He never told me +anything like that. He only said that you were thin, with a sad face, +and that you were very lonely, with no one to love you." + +"So he said that, did he?" and a softer expression came into the +woman's grey eyes. "But I suppose he told you a whole lot more, +though?" + +"Only about how he put the key down your neck," and again Whyn smiled. +"Wasn't it a funny way to do a good turn?" + +"Not very funny for me, Miss," and the visitor tossed her head. "But +tell me, how old are you?" + +"Just sixteen," was the reply. + +"What's wrong with you, anyway? You don't look very sick." + +"It's my back. I am not able to walk, and can sit up only for a little +while each day." + +"My, it must be hard for you to be that way. I know something about it +myself," and Miss Arabella gave a deep sigh. + +"I try to forget my troubles, though, by thinking of bright things," +Whyn explained. "And now that I have so much to do with the scouts I +have scarcely any time left to think about myself. Every night my back +aches so much that I cannot sleep for several hours. But last night I +was thinking about Rod, and didn't mind the pain hardly at all." + +"Why, what's wrong with Rod?" the visitor inquired. "I don't see why +you should lie awake thinking about him." + +"No, perhaps you don't, and maybe it was foolish of me, but I couldn't +help it. You see, it had to do with his scout suit. Each boy must +earn the money to buy his own suit, and when the scouts were talking +about it, they all told how they were going to raise the money except +Rod. He didn't say anything, and I knew by the look on his face that +he hadn't the least idea where he was going to get the money for his +suit. I felt so sorry for him. When Rod is thinking hard he is very +quiet. He was just like that yesterday, and he didn't even say a word +to me when he left. Oh, I wish that I could think of some way to help +him." + +"Who are the other scouts?" Miss Arabella asked. + +"Well, there's Jimmy Perkins. He's corporal, and----" + +"Old Ezry Perkins' son, eh? I guess I know his pa, a mean old +skinflint, if ever there was one. But he dotes on that boy of his, and +he'll get him the suit all right. Who else?" + +"Then, there's Tommy Bunker, the boy with a face like the full moon." + +"Yes, I know the Bunkers only too well. Stuck up people, they are, who +think they own the whole parish. You ought to see Mrs. Bunker come +into church. She holds her head so high, and steps so big and mighty, +that she thinks she's doing the Lord a great service by coming. +Tommy'll get his suit, never fear. Mrs. Bunker will see to that." + +"Billy Potter comes next," Whyn hastened to explain, "and Joe Martin, +and Phil Dexter, and----" + +"There, that will do," and Miss Arabella sniffed in a most significant +manner. "I know the whole tribe. Nothing but trash, every one of +them. Queer scouts, I call them. Yes, they'll all have suits, and my, +how they'll strut around." + +"I'm afraid Rod will not get his for some time," and Whyn sighed. +"He's patrol leader, too, and I am sure he will feel very badly." + +"No doubt he will. But, there, I must be off," and Miss Arabella rose +suddenly to her feet. "Good-bye. I'll be over to see you again soon," +and with that, she whisked out of the room. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +UNEXPECTED ASSISTANCE + +When Miss Arabella left the Anchorage she seemed like a different +person from the one who had entered it but a short time before. Her +step was quick and decisive, as if she had something important on hand. + +"It was wonderful," Mrs. Britt told her husband, "the way Miss Arabella +went out of that door. She had hardly time to say 'good-bye.' I +wonder what has come over her." + +"H'm," the captain grunted contemptuously, "most likely the hawk has +been worryin' that poor little bird in there, and it was that which +made her so happy. I don't know of anything on earth that would please +that skinny creature as much as naggin' at some poor little innocent +thing like Whyn, fer instance. Her long nose is gettin' more hooked +every day." + +"Hush, hush, Joshua," his wife remonstrated, "you mustn't say such +things about a woman. Remember, Miss Arabella was greatly concerned +about you this morning. She thought you had gone out of your mind when +she saw you signalling in front of the house." + +"She did, eh? Ho, ho! And I suppose she wished that I was crazy +enough to be sent to the 'sylum. That's a good one, and I must go and +tell Whyn." + +Miss Arabella had almost reached her house when she met Rod walking +slowly along, with his eyes fixed upon the ground. He was thinking +deeply, and wondering how he was to earn the money to buy his scout +suit. So far he could see no way out of his difficulty. He knew that +if he spoke to Parson Dan and Mrs. Royal they would gladly give him the +money. But he must earn it himself, for that was the scout rule. + +"Well, what are you after now?" was Miss Arabella's sharp greeting. + +"Grandmother sent me after the basket," Rod explained. "I couldn't get +into the house, and so I thought maybe you were dead." + +"Do I look like a dead person?" the woman asked, while a grim smile +lurked about the corners of her mouth. + +"No, not now, Miss Arabella. But yesterday you looked as if you might +die at any moment." + +"Well, yesterday is not to-day," she snapped. "I'm much better, so if +you'll come back, I'll give you the basket you left here." + +When they had reached the house and entered the kitchen, Miss Arabella, +instead of getting the basket, sat down upon a splint-bottom chair, and +began to take off her wraps. Rod stood in the middle of the room and +watched her without saying a word. When the hat and shawl had been +removed and laid carefully upon the table, the woman turned to the boy. + +"You told me yesterday," she began, "that you are a scout. Is that so?" + +"Yes, Miss Arabella." + +"But where is your scout suit?" + +"I haven't it yet, and I can't get it until I have the money." + +"Well, that's just what I want to speak about. Look here, Rod, you're +not such a bad boy after all, even though you did put a toad in my lap, +and drop that key down my neck. Now, I've made up my mind to help you. +I'm going to give you your suit, see?" + +Rod started, while, an expression of joy leaped into his eyes. He was +about to speak, when he suddenly hesitated, and his face grew grave. + +"What's the matter?" Miss Arabella demanded, noticing his embarrassed +manner. + +"I--I can't take it," he stammered. + +"And why not? I'd like to know." + +"'Cos I have to earn the money myself, and if you give me the suit it +won't be fair." + +"Oh, rubbish! What's the difference?" was the disgusted reply. "The +other scouts will have their suits given to them, and why shouldn't +you? I don't want them to get ahead of you." + +"But they've got to earn their own money, Miss Arabella, and they'll +have to tell how they earned it, too. Captain Josh won't let them wear +their suits unless they do." + +"H'm, is that so? Well, I call it a queer arrangement. How do you +expect to earn yours?" and the woman looked keenly at the boy. + +"I don't know. I've been thinking over it a lot. If I only knew some +way, I would work so hard. Haven't you anything for me to do, Miss +Arabella? I would run errands, carry in wood and water, or do anything +else." + +"No, there's nothing like that you could do around here. Tom is +supposed to look after such things, and I don't want to take his jobs +from him. He does little enough as it is, dear knows. He spends so +much of his time at the store that he won't look after the garden. The +strawberries are getting ripe, and I expect they'll rot before he'll +touch them. I never saw such a man. I wish to goodness he had to work +for his living instead, of depending upon what his father left him." + +"Let me pick the berries, Miss Arabella," and Rod stepped quickly +forward. "I'll do it for a cent a box, or less if you want me to. I +know a boy who did that and he earned three dollars." + +Miss Arabella did not at once reply, and Rod was afraid that she did +not agree to his proposal. She remained silent for a while, plucking +at her dress in a thoughtful manner. + +"Rod," she at last began, and her voice was softer than he had ever +heard it, "I am going to give you that patch of berries. It will be +your very own, and you can do what you like with it." + +"Oh, Miss Arabella! Surely----" + +"There, that will do, now," she snapped. "None of your thanks for me. +You'd better go and get ready to go to work. I saw a good many ripe +berries out there this morning, and you can't afford to waste any time." + +Rod didn't walk across the field. There was no slow sauntering home +when he was once out of the house. He burst into the rectory like a +whirlwind, just as the Royals were sitting down to dinner. Breathless +and excited, he blurted out his story, and when he was through Mrs. +Royal told him to get ready for dinner. + +Rod could eat but little, as his mind was so taken up with the good +fortune which had come his way. He was anxious to be off to the store +to get some berry-boxes. + +"Where are you going to send your berries, Rodney?" Parson Dan inquired +when they were through with their dinner. + +"To the city, I suppose," was the reply. "I can't sell them here very +well. Nearly all of the summer people raise their own." + +"You should have some one place in the city to send them, Rodney. I +have heard that Peter McDuff gives good prices. You might try him." + +"Will you write him a letter, grandad?" + +"I think you had better do it yourself. This is your business, and you +must carry it through from beginning to the end." + +It took Rod some time to write that letter. It was the first business +one he had ever written, and he did not know just what to say. At +last, after numerous efforts, he decided that this would be +satisfactory: + + +HILLCREST, N. B. + July 12th, 1911. + +"MR. PETER McDUFF, + St. John. + +"Dear Sir: I have some strawberries which I am going to pick myself. I +want to buy a scout suit, and Miss Arabella has given me her berries. +What will you give me for them? I will send them down on the boat when +I hear from you. + +"Yours very truly, + +"ROD ROYAL." + + +Rod carried this letter to the office, mailed it, and brought back a +number of berry-boxes from the store in his little hand-waggon. The +rest of the afternoon he spent in making a crate to hold the boxes. +Long and patiently he toiled, and at times Mrs. Royal went into the +workshop to see how he was getting along. When supper time came it was +a queer ramshackle affair he had constructed, which would hardly hold +together long enough to reach the wharf, let alone the rough handling +it would receive on the steamer. + +That evening after Rod was in bed, Parson Dan took a lamp and went out +to the workshop. His heart was strangely moved as he looked upon the +pathetic efforts of the little lad. Casting aside his coat, he started +to work, and in about half an hour he had fashioned a neat strong +crate, capable of standing the strain of travel. Into this he put the +berry-boxes, placed upon it a good strong cover, and went back into the +house. + +Rod was surprised and delighted next morning when he went into the +workshop. He had his misgivings, however, and asked the parson whether +it was right for him to receive any help. + +"That's all right, Rodney," the clergyman explained. "You can hardly +be expected to make the berry-boxes any more than you can make the +large crate. There are some things others must do for us. You will +need two or three more crates, so the one I made last night will show +you just how the work is to be done. You did remarkably well yesterday +with nothing to guide you, but to-day I expect you to do better." + +Thus encouraged, Rod once more set to work, and by night he had +finished two crates which greatly pleased Mr. and Mrs. Royal. They +were overjoyed at the boy's enthusiasm, his skill and his work, as well +as his willingness to be taught. + +The next day a reply was received from Peter McDuff. Rod was greatly +excited as he tore open the envelope. + + +"MR. ROD ROYAL," so the letter began, + +"Dear Sir: Your favor of the 12th received, and its contents noted. I +shall be pleased to receive as many berries as you can send, and will +give you market prices for the same. + +"Yours respectfully, + +"PETER McDUFF." + + +This was the first business letter Rod had ever received and he was +delighted. After showing it to Mr. and Mrs. Royal, he rushed over to +tell the good news to Captain Josh and Whyn. The latter was much +pleased, and she gave him some sound advice. + +"You must keep that letter," she told him, "for you cannot always trust +people. I have heard some queer stories of mean tricks which have been +done. Then, you had better read the market prices every day in the +paper, and cut the piece out, so you will know just exactly how much +your berries are bringing. How I wish I could help you pick them." + +Monday morning Rod began to pick his first berries. The patch was not +a large one, but it seemed big to him. Hour after hour he worked, and +at times his back ached. The day was hot, and the perspiration poured +down his face. But he kept faithfully at his task, stopping only long +enough to eat his dinner. When supper time came he had twenty boxes of +nice ripe berries lying side by side upon the kitchen table. He could +not eat a bite until all had been placed safely in the crate, and then +he stood back and gazed upon them with admiration. In fact, he had to +come out several times before he went to bed to view his treasures. +But at last the cover was placed on, nailed down, and the ticket tacked +upon the top. + +Early the next morning Parson Dan and Rod took the berries to the wharf +in the carriage, in time to catch the first steamer of the day. Thus +at last his precious berries were off on their way to the city, and as +Rod watched the _Heather Bell_ as she glided away from the wharf he +tried to catch a glimpse of his box where it was lying among the rest +of the freight. He pictured Mr. McDuff's delight when he saw what fine +berries he had received. + +That day Rod picked twenty more boxes, fifteen in the morning, and five +during the afternoon. They were becoming scarcer now, and it would be +necessary for him to let them ripen for a day before he could expect to +fill a third crate. The rest of the afternoon he spent with the +scouts. It was their regular meeting, at which they were to tell how +they were getting along with the raising of money for their suits. The +reports were by no means encouraging from most of the boys, as they had +accomplished nothing. Rod alone told what he had done, and how much he +hoped to make out of his berries. + +"I am going to earn every cent myself," he said in conclusion, "and I +am not going to get my suit until I can pay for it." + +"Good fer you!" the captain exclaimed. "That's the kind of talk I like +to hear. And look here, you fellows," he continued, turning to the +rest of the scouts, "if ye want to remain in this troop ye've got to +git a hustle on. I've got letters in my pocket from several boys who +want to join. Some are willin' to walk quite a distance, and if ye +don't want to obey orders, out ye go. A troop can't be run right, any +more than a ship, unless orders are obeyed. I'll let yez off this +time, but, remember, a week from to-day ye'll report again, and then +I'll give my decision. That'll do now, so let's go fer a sail." + +Every day Rod studied the price of berries in the newspaper, and cut +out the list. He also kept his account in his little note-book. At +the end of the first week he had made the following entries: + + "July 17th--20 boxes at 7 cents . . . . $1.40 + July 18th--20 boxes at 8 cents . . . . 1.60 + July 20th--15 boxes at 7 cents . . . . 1.05 + July 21st--10 boxes at 9 cents . . . . .90 + ----- + "$4.95" + +The next week he sent off several more boxes which amounted to three +dollars according to his reckoning. He knew that the freight would +have to come out of this, which he believed would not be over one +dollar at the most. Thus he would have about seven dollars to spend +upon his suit, billy-can, axe, haversack, knife, and several other +things he saw in the scout list which had been sent from the store in +the city where the supplies were kept. + +Rod showed his account to Captain Josh, and the latter believed that +the figures were about right, as he had each day found out from the +farmers what they had received for their berries. He was somewhat +surprised that Peter McDuff had sent no regular statements to Rod. He, +accordingly, made careful inquiries from several people who knew +McDuff, and what he learned gave him considerable uneasiness. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +IN THE CITY + +Rod was now very anxious to buy his scout suit. He thought of the +money waiting for him in the city, and he spoke about it to Captain +Josh. + +"I want to examine all the boys in the tenderfoot tests," the captain +replied. "The ones who are able to pass, and have earned the money for +their suits will go with me to the city. The rest will have to stay at +home." + +The very next day the captain examined each scout separately. Rod was +the only one who was able to pass all the tests, and had earned the +money. The others felt somewhat sore because they could not ask their +parents for the money, and thus go to the city with the captain. +Several, in fact, were quite sulky. + +"Yez needn't look like that," the captain told them. "Ye've got only +yerselves to blame that ye're not ready. Ye're like too many people +today who expect to get things without workin' for them. But this +troop is not run on sich lines. Some day ye'll come bang up aginst +another troop, and how'll ye feel if ye git licked. Why, when I asked +some of you boys to tie a clove-hitch ye handed me out a reef-knot, +which is nothin' more than a 'granny' knot, which any one could tie. I +want yez to do more than other people kin, or what's the use of havin' +a troop? So git away home now, fer we'll have no more fun until yez +git through with yer work." + +Rod was delighted at the idea of going to the city with the captain. + +"I'll look after the boy," the latter told Mr. and Mrs. Royal, "and +I'll see that he gits fair play, too. Ye'll certainly be proud of him +when he comes back wearin' his scout suit." + +The Royals were most thankful at the change which had come over the +bluff old captain. It seemed almost incredible that such a +transformation should take place in him in such a short time. It was +the influence of their little boy, they were well aware, which had done +it, and they often talked about the way they had been criticised for +having taken the lad into their home and hearts. They thought, too, of +his mother, and the mystery concerning her instead of lessening, +deepened as the months rolled by. She never failed to send her weekly +letter, and the money each month. Rod's bank account was steadily +growing, for the Royals had not spent one cent of it, even though at +times they felt the need of some of it when the money due from the +parish was much in arrears. + +They were greatly puzzled that Rod's mother did not come to see him. +In every letter she wrote of her longing for her boy, and how she hoped +to come some day. She had said the same thing for years until it had +become an old story now. To Rod his real mother was a visionary +person, who wrote to him every week and sent him money. But apart from +these things she was of little interest to him. His world was in +Hillcrest, and not far away in some big city. + +The next day Captain Josh and his charge reached the city, when they +went at once to Peter McDuff's store. They were kept waiting for some +time, as the owner was not in. When he returned the captain stated the +object of their visit, and how the boy wished to get his money in order +to buy his scout suit. + +Going into his little office, McDuff remained there for about ten +minutes, which seemed much longer to those waiting outside. When he +did come out he handed the captain the account he had made up, and then +proceeded to thumb over several bills. + +Captain Josh examined the paper carefully, and then handed it to Rod +without a word of comment. The latter gave one quick glance, and his +face became pale, while his eyes grew big with astonishment. + +"What is it, lad?" the captain queried. "Find somethin' queer there, +eh?" + +"Yes, sir," was the reply; "I don't understand it at all. I sent down +one hundred boxes, and this paper gives only eighty. And, oh, look, he +pays only six cents a box," and Rod held up the account for the captain +to see. + +"What's the meaning of this?" and Captain Josh turned suddenly upon +McDuff, who was keenly watching the two. "This boy sent you down one +hundred boxes of strawberries. I was at the wharf myself when each +crate was shipped, and I counted them, though Rod didn't know it. Then +you give him here only six cents a box when they were bringing from +seven to nine. Surely there has been some mistake." + +"There has been no mistake," McDuff angrily returned. "I never make +mistakes. Only eighty boxes were sent to me, and six cents is all they +were worth. You can take that or nothing. I am too busy to waste all +the morning talking. Here's your money," and he held out four dollars +and eighty cents to Rod. + +"Don't take it, lad," and the captain reached out a restraining hand. +"The full amount or nothin'. Is that all ye'll give?" he asked, +turning to McDuff. + +"Not a cent more. It's all I got, and it's all they were worth." + +For an instant the captain looked the storekeeper full in the face. +Then glancing quickly around the store, and seeing a telephone, he +moved toward it. + +"You can't use my phone," McDuff cried, feeling sure that the captain +had some special object in view. + +"I can't, eh? Well, if you say so, that settles it. I kin git one +next door. I only want to call up my lawyer, that's all. He knows me +pretty well. I'd like to use other means to settle this matter, but I +guess Lawyer Allen's advice might be the better way." + +"What! you don't mean to go to law over this little matter, do you?" +McDuff anxiously enquired. + +"Certainly I do. It isn't the amount so much as the principle. Ye're +tryin' to cheat a little boy, and I'm goin' to stand by him, I don't +care how much it costs. I'm scoutmaster, and he's patrol leader of the +Hillcrest troop, and if ye think ye kin do him a mean trick, then ye're +mighty much mistaken." + +"But look here," McDuff angrily replied. "You seem to be making a big +fuss over nothing. And, besides, you've charged me with cheating that +boy, and I'll make you take back your words. Two can play at this +game." + +"No doubt they kin," the captain reflectively answered as he moved +toward the door. "But look, Peter McDuff, it makes a great difference +who's in the right, and who kin back up his statements. It's no use +fer us to argue any longer. Come on, Rod." + +"Wait a minute," the storekeeper called out, when he saw that the +captain meant business, "maybe we can arrange this affair without going +to law. I'm willing to come to some reasonable terms. What will you +take to settle? Split the difference, eh?" + +"No. Not one cent less than what's comin' to the boy. That or +nothin'. I'll give ye five minutes to think it over," and the captain, +coming back into the store, seated himself upon a barrel of flour. + +McDuff was angry, there was no doubt about that. Customers who came +into the store, and were waited upon by the clerk, were astonished at +the conversation which was going on between the two men. But McDuff +paid no heed to them. He wanted to get clear of this troublesome +countryman. He little realised that a few boxes of berries less would +cause such a fuss. He had done the same thing before, and had bluffed +out of paying. But now it was different. He stood in the centre of +the floor for a few seconds, frowning, and longing to express himself +in violent words. Presently he turned and went again into his office. +When he came out he handed the captain a new account. + +"There, will that suit you?" he demanded. "Rather than have you say +that I cheated the boy, I am willing to pay him for more berries than +he ever sent me, and to give a higher price than they were bringing at +the time." + +Captain Josh took the account and studied it carefully. + +"That looks better," he remarked. "Eight dollars in all, and with the +freight deducted leaves just seven dollars. Yes, that will do, I +guess. Now fer the money." + +When several crisp bills had been handed over, and the account +receipted, Captain Josh turned to the storekeeper. + +"Jist a word before we go, Peter McDuff," he began. "It is well fer +you that ye've settled up this business at once. I advise ye not to +try any more of yer tricks upon people after this, especially upon a +boy scout. If ye'd held out, and had not paid that money, I'd a fixed +ye so ye'd been no longer in a position to cheat any one. I have +enough evidence to knock ye sky-high. Ye may thank yer stars that ye +have a little sense left, even if ye haven't any honour." + +The storekeeper made no reply, but turning on his heel, left them. + +After Captain Josh and Rod had eaten their dinner at a restaurant, they +started off to buy the scout suit. The boy was greatly excited over +this, and his eyes bulged with astonishment when he saw so many suits +and other supplies for the scouts. + +"Ye must do a big business here," the captain remarked to the clerk. + +"We certainly do," was the reply. "There are over six hundred scouts +in the city, and most of them get their outfits here. I suppose you'll +be at the big parade this evening?" + +"What parade?" + +"The scouts are to turn out in a body, when they will be inspected by +the Lieutenant-Governor. He is to give them an address, so I +understand, on the Y. M. C. A. grounds. It will be a big affair, and +well worth attending." + +This was too good an opportunity to miss, so the captain and Rod went +early to the place of meeting. The former wished to see what other +scouts did, and he had planned to come to the city on purpose to visit +several of the troops in their own rooms. But now he could view them +all together, which would be far better. + +At half past seven the mayor, with several of the city officials, +accompanied the Lieutenant-Governor as he rode up in a big auto. They +all dismounted and took their seats upon the temporary grand-stand +which had been erected. They had not long to wait ere the sound of +music was heard, and presently down the street the head of the big +procession appeared in view. As the scouts swung up, Rod's heart beat +fast, and even the captain stood straighter than usual. There was +something inspiring about the way those boys, six hundred strong, +advanced, in full uniform, with sloping staves. They marched well, +with bodies erect, and as they moved by the stand they gave the full +salute. Then they swung around and lined up before the +Lieutenant-Governor. + +By this time a large crowd had gathered, and a cheer went up at the +splendid conduct of the scouts. When this had died down, the mayor +spoke a few words of encouragement, and then introduced the chief +official of the province. + +Captain Josh and Rod were quite near and could hear every word the +Lieutenant-Governor uttered. He was proud of them, so he said, and his +heart had been greatly stirred by what he had witnessed. He was glad +to know that there were so many scouts in the city, and he wished that +all the scouts in the province were present on this occasion. + +After speaking for awhile, and giving them some words of advice, he +outlined a plan over which he said he had given considerable thought. +He wanted the scouts to be thrifty, and to open up bank accounts. He +hoped to meet them again in a year's time, and that troop, whether in +the city or any other part of the province, showing the biggest bank +account in proportion to its size, would receive a prize. A friend of +his, who wished to remain unknown, had made this suggestion, and +offered to present a bugle-band to the winning troop. Each bank-book +had to be handed in to the Provincial Secretary, together with a +detailed account as to how the money had been raised, and signed by the +scoutmaster. Further instructions would be given later. All other +troops which had competed would each receive a troop-flag. + +When he was through the scouts gave him three rousing cheers and a +"tiger." After the National Anthem had been sung, the band once more +struck up, the scouts formed into line, and were soon swinging on their +way back to their various headquarters. + +Captain Josh and Rod said very little as they walked along the street +toward the hotel where they were to spend the night. But when once +within the room which had been assigned to them, the captain laid his +right hand upon his companion's shoulder. + +"Hillcrest troop must win that prize, lad," he remarked. + +"Can we do it, captain?" was the reply. + +"Do it? Sure we kin. We may be the smallest troop in the province, +but we'll show them a thing or two." + +In his dreams that night Rod saw once again the six hundred scouts. +But they seemed different now, for among them was the Hillcrest troop +receiving from the Lieutenant-Governor the coveted bugle-band, amidst +the wild cheers of the other troops. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +WHYN DECIDES + +There was considerable excitement among the Hillcrest troop when +Captain Josh and Rod returned home. The rest of the scouts were at the +wharf to meet them, and marched with them at once to Whyn's room. The +new scout suit was greatly admired, and the jealous ones had enough +sense to keep quiet. In fact, they were too much ashamed to say +anything, so they sat and listened to what was going on. Whyn was +delighted, and made Rod stand before her while she examined him with +critical eyes. + +"My, I wish you all had suits like that," she sighed, "then you would +look something like a troop. Soldiers never seem of much account until +they get their uniforms on." + +Captain Josh then told of the trouble they had had with Peter McDuff, +and how at last he had been compelled to pay what was right. + +"Good for you!" Whyn exclaimed. "You're the right kind of a +scoutmaster to have. I shall tell that to Douglas when I write again." + +When the captain told about the parade of the six hundred scouts, and +what the Lieutenant-Governor had said, the enthusiasm became very keen. +The scouts' eyes sparkled with interest, and all began to talk at once. +Yes, they would win the prize, they declared, and they would buy a +motorboat with the money they earned. Though they had spoken about +such a boat before, the captain had scoffed at the idea, saying that +the _Roaring Bess_ was good enough for him. But deep in his heart he +longed for a motor-boat even more than the boys. The yacht was all +right for pleasure, but it was hardly suited for business, such as +fishing, and carrying passengers over the river. If the scouts could +earn enough money to buy a motor-boat he could have the use of it. + +How to earn the money was the important question, and many were the +ideas suggested. One boy thought they might catch rabbits next winter; +another wished to go over to the big island and dig for gold which +Captain Kidd was supposed to have buried there. All expressed their +views except Rod. He waited until the rest were through before +speaking. + +"Let us leave it to Whyn," he at last suggested. "She always has some +plan, and will know what we might do first." + +"That's good," the captain agreed. "We can't do better than that." + +"Oh, I don't know," the girl laughingly replied. "You might make a +mistake if you let me choose." + +"No, no," came in chorus. "You'll do all right." + +"Very well, then, I'll do the best I can, though you'll have to give +until to-morrow to decide. I want to sleep on it to-night." + +"But no lyin' awake, remember," the captain warned. "Ye're not to stay +awake thinkin' it all over. If ye do, I'll wash my hands of the whole +affair." + +"No fear of that, captain," and Whyn smiled up into his face. Such a +smile as that was worth a great deal to the old man, though he never +spoke of it to any one. "There is one thing, however," the girl +continued, "which must be done before we begin to earn that money." + +"And what's that?" the captain inquired. + +"All the scouts must have their suits. It will be necessary if the +plan which has just come into my mind can be worked out." + +"Hey, d'ye hear that?" the captain roared, as if he were giving orders +to a rebellious crew. "Ye must have yer suits, and then we'll git down +to work in dead earnest." + +Rod was anxious to get home to show Mr. and Mrs. Royal his new suit. +They had been waiting for him for some time, and were quite anxious, as +the steamer had been up for over an hour. When he entered the +dining-room they thought that they had never beheld such a fine-looking +boy. Their hearts swelled with pride, and Mrs. Royal secretly brushed +away a tear with the corner of her apron. + +Rod told them all about what they had done in the city, about Peter +McDuff, the parade, and how the Hillcrest troop was going to enter the +contest for the prize. This was of much interest to the Royals, and +they sat at the table later than usual discussing the whole matter. + +"I have important news for you this evening, Rodney," Parson Dan after +a while informed him. "I had a letter from your mother to-day, and she +says that she hopes to pay us a visit sometime this summer." + +"Oh!" It was all that the boy could say, but several anxious thoughts +surged through his mind. Was his mother coming to take him away? he +wondered. He did not wish to go, as all of his interests were centred +in Hillcrest. + +Mr. and Mrs. Royal, too, looked grave. They had thought of the same +idea. Would Rod's mother ask them to give up the boy? How could they +part with him? they asked themselves. + +"When is she coming, grandad?" Rod at last asked. + +"She doesn't say, so we may expect her at almost anytime." + +"I don't want to see her," the boy cried, while tears started in his +eyes. + +"Don't want to see your mother, Rodney!" the clergyman exclaimed in +surprise. + +"Yes, in a way I want to see her," was the faltering reply. "But if +she wants to take me away, I don't want her to come. Oh, don't let her +take me, grandad," and Rod sprang to his feet, and stood beseechingly +before the parson. "Why should she come for me now? If she wanted me +very much, why didn't she come before?" + +"There, there, dear, don't worry," Mrs. Royal soothed. "It is hardly +likely that your mother will wish to take you away from us. It is only +natural that she should long to see you. There must be some good +reason why she could not come before. You had better go to bed now, +for you must be tired after your busy day." + +The scouts were anxious to know what plan Whyn would suggest for +raising money, and so they were earlier than usual at her room on the +following afternoon. It was a beautiful day, and through the open +window drifted the scent of flowers, and new-mown hay. It was a cool +refreshing spot, this little room, where the bright-faced girl received +her visitors. Captain Josh was not present, as he had work to do in +his garden. + +Whyn greeted the boys with a smile, and after they had seated +themselves upon chairs and the floor, she plunged at once into the +subject of special interest. + +"Let's give a concert," she abruptly began. + +"A what?" the boys exclaimed. + +"A concert and a tea. Don't you understand? I have been talking it +over with the captain and Mrs. Britt, and they think it a good idea. +The plan is this: We shall invite all the people in the place to come +early before it gets dark. They can gather in front of the house so I +can see what is going on. We will ask Parson Dan to give a speech, and +then you scouts will show what you can do. You will give a talk on the +flag, tie the knots, say the scout law, and do some signalling. After +that the captain will march you up and down before the people, and you +will do the staff-drill which he is going to teach you. Then you will +sell ice-cream and candy. Each scout is to bring something, and Mrs. +Britt will make the candy. Perhaps other people will assist, too. Oh, +it will be grand!" + +"How much do you think we will make, Whyn?" one of the boys asked. +"Can't we have something bigger than that? It will take a long time to +earn much money that way." + +"It will be a beginning, though," was the quiet reply. "We must not +expect to raise all the money at once. After we are through with this +we can try something else. We might get fifty people to come, and if +we sell tickets at ten cents each that will bring us in five dollars. +I am sure the summer people will come, and we may have more than fifty. +Then, we should make five dollars from the refreshments, and that will +be ten dollars in all, which will not be too bad for a start." + +The scouts finally agreed to what Whyn said, and they spent +considerable time talking over the whole affair, and arranging their +plans. The interest now became very keen, and when the tickets had +been made each boy undertook to sell as many as he could. In a week's +time all the tickets were sold, and more had to be made by Mrs. Britt +and Whyn. + +The scouts practised hard for the important event, and Captain Josh +spared no pains in his efforts to drill them as thoroughly as possible. +Each one had now passed the tenderfoot tests, and were ready for their +badges. They had also earned the money for their suits, and it was a +great day when all appeared before Whyn dressed in their complete +uniforms. The girl was delighted, and her eyes sparkled with joy as +the captain marched them up and down outside her window. + +The big affair was to take place Thursday evening, and when the scouts +visited Whyn on Monday afternoon they were in fine spirits. Everything +had been arranged, many tickets had been sold, and it looked as if the +concert would be a great success. They found the invalid girl quieter +than they had ever seen her before, though she greeted them with her +usual smile and listened to them for several minutes as they talked +about scout matters. + +"There is something which troubles me," Whyn at length remarked. +"Every concert should have singing, or music of some kind. Now, we +have not arranged for one song, and I am sure the people who come will +be disappointed. I am so fond of singing myself that I know how much +it will be missed. But I suppose it can't be helped. I wish you boys +could sing." + +"Maybe some of the choir members would come," Rod suggested. + +"Oh, do you think they would?" Whyn eagerly asked. + +"I am not quite sure that they will. But I will speak to grandad about +it. I know he will do all he can to help." + +"I hope they will come," and Whyn gave a tired sigh. "I haven't heard +any singing for such a long time, that I am hungry for it. I had such +a wonderful letter from Douglas to-day," she continued, after a slight +pause. "He says that Anna Royanna, the great new American singer, has +been in Ottawa, and he heard her one night. She is quite young, so he +writes, very beautiful, and with such a sad sweet face. The people +went fairly wild over her voice, and she had to sing one piece twice +before they would let her stop. And do you know, she is coming to St. +John, and will be at the Opera House on Wednesday night. Just think of +it!" and Whyn's eyes glowed with enthusiasm, while she clasped her thin +white hands together. "She will be there, so near, and yet I won't be +able to hear her. But mamma will tell me about it, and that will be +something." + +The scouts did not remain long in Whyn's room that afternoon. They +knew that she was tired, and so when they left her they made their way +to the shore, and sat down upon the sand under the shade of a large +willow tree. They were unusually silent now, for all were thinking of +what Whyn had told them about the wonderful singer. + +"Isn't it too bad," Rod suddenly began, "that Whyn can't hear her sing?" + +"She can't go to the city, that's sure," Phil Dexter replied, giving +the stick he was holding a savage thrust into the yielding sand. + +"Maybe she'd come here," Billy Potter suggested. + +This was a brilliant idea, and the scouts looked at one another, while +the light of hope brightened their faces. + +"Would she come?" that was the question each asked himself. These boys +knew nothing about the ways of the great world beyond their own parish. +If they did they would have known how utterly ridiculous was the +thought of a famous singer coming all the way to such an unknown place +as Hillcrest to sing to an invalid girl. But to them their little +circle was everything, and the idea of such a noted person coming was +nothing out of the ordinary. + +"How much do you think she'd want?" Tommy Bunker queried. + +"Let's give her half what we make," Rod suggested. "And look," he +continued, "we mustn't say a word to Captain Josh or Whyn, or to +anybody else. Let it be a big surprise to all. If she comes we can +keep her hid until the very last, and then she can come out and sing +just like people do in story-books. Wouldn't Whyn be surprised and +delighted?" + +"But who's going to ask her?" Phil enquired. "Father's going to the +city on Wednesday, for I heard him say so this morning. Maybe he would +see her." + +"But we mustn't let him know anything about it," Rod warned. "Why +couldn't you go with him, Phil?" + +"I wouldn't like to go alone," was the reply. "She'd scare me, and I +wouldn't know what to say. I'll go, for one, if dad'll let me, and I +guess he will. Then, if you'll come, too, Rod, I'll go with you to see +her. You can do the talking, and I'll back you up." + +"Mighty poor backing, I should say," Joe Martin retorted, with a grin. +"Better take some one with more spunk, Rod. I think you should go, +though, as patrol-leader." + +"I guess Phil will do all right," Rod replied. "We could go to hear +her sing, that's if I can go. I will find out about it and let you +know." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +ANNA ROYANNA + +Rod had no opportunity that evening of speaking to Parson Dan or Mrs. +Royal about the wonderful singer. There were visitors at the rectory +for tea, and he was in bed before they left. He thought very much +about it, nevertheless, and in his sleep he dreamed that he was +listening to Miss Royanna. He could see her quite plainly, just as +Whyn had described her, and he was so disappointed when he awoke and +found himself in his own little room, and not in the Opera House with +the singer before him. + +"I was reading in the paper last night," Parson Dan remarked, just +after they had sat down to breakfast, "that a famous singer is coming +to the city. Her name is Anna Royanna, and she will be at the Opera +House Wednesday night. Wouldn't you like to go, dear?" and he looked +across the table at his wife. + +"I'm afraid not," was the reply. "The Ladies' Aid will meet here on +that day, and so I could not possibly leave. Why don't you go, Daniel? +You are fond of good singing, and it is so seldom that you get away +from the parish." + +"It is utterly out of the question, Martha," the clergyman sadly +returned. "I have to bury old Mrs. Fisk at Stony Creek to-morrow +afternoon." + +"Oh, I had forgotten about that, Daniel. Isn't it always the way when +anything of special importance comes to the city? You have never been +able to attend." + +"It seems so. But never mind, dear, we are going to take a long +holiday next summer, and that will make up for much we have lost." + +"May I go, grandad?" Rod suddenly asked. + +"Go where, Rodney? With us next summer?" + +"No, but to hear Miss Royanna." + +"You!" and the parson straightened himself up. "Why, I didn't know +that you would care to go." + +"But I do, grandad. Phil Dexter is going with his father to the city +to-morrow, and why couldn't I go along with them? Phil and I could go +to hear Miss Royanna ourselves if Mr. Dexter doesn't want to go. Oh, +may I?" + +"Well, we shall think it over," the parson replied, "and let you know +later." + +That afternoon Mrs. Royal told Rod that he could go to the city. It +might do him good, so she said, to hear such a famous singer. She knew +that she could trust him to behave himself, no matter where he was. + +Rod was delighted, and hurried over at once to inform the rest of the +scouts, who were already gathered at Headquarters. In the paper which +came that day from the city there was a long piece about Anna Royanna, +and Parson Dan read it aloud that evening. It told how this wonderful +singer had sprung suddenly into fame during the last year. She had +been singing before but had attracted little attention until one night +a noted foreign singer heard her voice at a party given in a private +house. It was through him that such success had come to her. + +Rod and Phil were fortunate in obtaining seats in the Opera House, the +only two which were left. As they looked around upon the crowded place +they were for a time somewhat bewildered. They were not accustomed to +seeing so many people together, and they felt very small and +insignificant. Several people watched with interest the two boys who +stared at everything and everybody in such undisguised wonder. But Rod +and Phil did not care. They wanted to see and hear Miss Royanna and it +did not matter to them what people thought. + +The curtain at last slowly rose, and a deep hush passed throughout the +building. Then a woman moved quietly to the centre of the stage. Rod +sat bolt upright when he saw her. He paid no attention to the storm of +applause which greeted her appearance. He saw her bend her head +slightly in acknowledgment of the reception she received. Never before +had he seen such a beautiful woman, and his heart went out to her at +once. What would Whyn say when she saw her? he asked himself. Then a +doubt flashed into his mind. Would this marvellous woman listen to +him? Would she be willing to go all the way to Hillcrest to sing to a +helpless girl? He felt his courage slowly oozing away and he almost +wished that he did not have to speak to her. Would she have anything +to say to him? he wondered. He noted her dress; how beautiful it was! +And her face, he could see it quite plainly, was sweet, and yet sad, +just as Whyn had described it from her brother's letter. + +Rod was presently aroused from his meditation by the sweetest sound he +ever heard. He thought there must be a bird singing somewhere on the +stage. He rubbed his eyes, thinking he was dreaming. But, no, it was +only the woman standing before him, and she was singing. As he +listened to her he could not help thinking of the fields in Hillcrest, +of the birds and flowers, which he knew and loved. And thus his +thoughts would wander every time she sang. It was so strange that he +could not account for it, and he wondered if Phil felt the same way. +Now he was tucked in his little bed at home, with the wind sobbing +around the house, and the rain beating against the window. Then, he +saw soldiers marching, and horses galloping, such as he had seen in +pictures. Once he was sure that he was lying on the grass beneath the +shade of an old tree with the bees humming around him, and the +grasshoppers playing upon their funny musical saws. He felt angry +whenever the people made a noise, and drove the pictures away. He +didn't think of the singer now, of how she was dressed, or what she +looked like, and he didn't remember even one word she had uttered. He +hardly realised that he was in the big Opera House with the crowd of +people about him. + +But there was one piece, and the last, which he did remember. It was +the way the woman sang it which had such an effect. He was sure that +there were tears in her eyes. His own were misty, anyway. She said +that she always closed with it, and it was called, "My Little Lad, God +Bless Him." That appealed to Rod. So this woman, then, had a little +boy, and he wanted to hear what she had to say about him. The very +first words arrested his attention. + + + "There's a little lad, God bless him! + And he's all the world to me; + Guide him, Lord, through life's long journey, + Guard him, keep him safe to Thee. + + REFRAIN: + + "You're my only little laddie, + Golden hair, and eyes of blue; + God, who made the birds and flowers, + Chose the best when He made you. + + "Streams may ripple, birds may carol, + Twinkling-stars may dance and shine, + But life's sweetest joy and rapture + Is to know that you are mine. + + REFRAIN: + + "You're my only little laddie, etc. + + "Parted, though, by time and distance, + Hearts can never sundered be. + Love Divine, oh, still unite us, + Strong to each, and strong in Thee. + + REFRAIN: + + "You're my only little laddie, + Golden hair, and eyes of blue; + God, who made the birds and flowers, + Chose the best when He made you." + + +Rod paid little heed to the storm of applause which greeted this song, +and when it was repeated he did not follow the words as closely as +before. He was thinking about that boy, and wondering where he was. +He was sure that the woman was almost crying when she got through. +What made her feel so badly? Was her boy away from her somewhere, and +if she wanted him so much, why didn't she go to see him? + +At last the curtain dropped, and the concert was over. As the people +began to go out, Rod overheard what those nearest to him were saying. +They were loud in their praise of the singer. + +"It was that last piece which caught me," he heard one man say. "It +wasn't the words so much as the way she sang it." + +"I was crying when she got through," his companion, a woman, replied. +"I just couldn't help it. She's had trouble in her life, mark my word." + +Rod and Phil now were uncertain what to do. They remained where they +were until the people in front of them had all passed out. They felt +very helpless and forlorn there in that big place. The curtain was +down, and the singer had disappeared. But they must find her, and she +was somewhere on the stage in the background. They knew nothing about +the regular way of entrance, and, so, after a moment's consultation, +they hurried forward down the long central aisle. Coming to the stage, +they clambered upon this, made their way along the edge, and slipped +quickly about the left-hand corner of the curtain. Behind this no one +was to be seen, but observing a door to the right, they made straight +toward it. They had scarcely reached it, when they were met by a +pompous little man, who demanded what they were doing there. + +"We want to see Miss Royanna," Rod replied, shrinking back somewhat +from the man's fierce look. + +"See Miss Royanna!" the man shouted in surprise. "If that isn't the +limit! Well, she can't be seen, that's all there is about it." + +"But we have come all the way to see her," Rod insisted. + +"All the way from where?" + +"From Hillcrest." + +"Ho, ho! that's a good one. D'ye think she'd gee such bushies as you? +Get out of this, or I'll chuck you." + +"But we must see her," and Rod stepped boldly forward. "It's very +important." + +"Get out of this, I say," and the man caught him roughly by the +shoulders, wheeled him around, and was about to send him headlong out +upon the stage, when a stern voice arrested him. + +"What's all this about, Ben?" + +"I'm kicking these two bushies out, sir, for their impudence in coming +here," the little man replied, letting go of his grip upon the boy. + +As Rod turned, his heart gave a great leap, for there before him stood +the very man with "the splendid eyes and grey hair," who had so won +Miss Arabella's heart. + +For a few seconds John Markham eyed the two boys. Rod's face looked +familiar, but he could not recall where he had seen it before. He was +always meeting so many people that it was hard for him to remember them +all. Perhaps this was one of the newsboys, and that was the reason why +he recognised his face. + +"What do you want, my lad?" he kindly enquired. + +"We want to see Miss Royanna," was the reply. + +A smile passed over the manager's face at the idea of the famous singer +entertaining such company. + +"I am afraid that Miss Royanna is too tired to see you to-night," he +replied. "She gave strict instructions that no one was to be admitted." + +"But we have come all the way from Hillcrest to see her," and Rod +lilted his blue eyes appealingly to the man's face. "It's very +important, sir." + +"From Hillcrest, did you say," and light now began to dawn upon Mr. +Markham's mind. "And how is Miss Arabella?" he asked, while an amused +twinkle shone in his eyes. + +"Oh, she's well, I guess. But may we see Miss Royanna? It's so +important, and we won't tire her very much." + +John Markham remained silent for a while. He did not wish to turn +these little lads away now, but he wondered whether the singer would +mind if he should take them in. He had a great respect for Miss +Royanna, for it was seldom that he was able to obtain such a notable +person, and from the time that she had accepted his invitation to come +he had been greatly puzzled. Why should she have been so willing to +come to St. John, when cities four to five times the size were +clamouring for her? But she had written, accepting at once, and had +seemed really glad to come. + +"Wait here," he at last ordered, as he turned on his heel, "and I shall +see what I can do with Miss Royanna." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +THE WAY OF THE HEART + +Anna Royanna was very tired, and she was sitting in an old easy chair +waiting for the manager to come to take her to the hotel. She leaned +back in a listless manner, with her inclined head leaning upon her +right hand. It was a small hand, and very white. Her dark hair partly +shrouded her face of singular beauty and sweetness. But lines of care +were plainly visible, and as she waited there this night those lines +deepened. She was much depressed, notwithstanding the reception she +had received from the crowded house. She had been told that she was +expected to sing at the matinee on the morrow, and this was not at all +to her liking. She had been planning something of a far different +nature. She had engagements for weeks ahead, and she had only come to +St. John when asked to do so that she might carry out an idea which had +long been in her mind. But now this must be abandoned for the present +if she consented to sing at the matinee, as she must leave the city +early the next morning. + +While she was thinking over these things, the door softly opened, and +John Markham entered. + +"Are you ready to go?" she enquired. + +"You are very tired," was the reply, "and it is no wonder. But you +made a great hit to-night, and I have been almost swamped with requests +from visitors who wish to see you. Some were determined to enter, +especially women, and I had to be very firm, in fact almost rude." + +"You were quite right, Mr. Markham," and the woman lifted her eyes to +his face. "I have no desire to see such people. I know them only too +well. They are quite willing to fawn upon me now when I have met with +some success. But one time when I was poor and struggling they treated +me like a dog. I suppose Mrs. Featson, Mrs. Juatty, Mrs. Merden, and +other women of their set were there." + +"Oh, yes, and they were most insistent. But how do you know of them?" +and the manager looked astonished. "I thought that you were an entire +stranger here." + +"So I am, in a way," and a slight smile overspread the woman's face. +"But I know those women to my sorrow. Some day, perhaps, I may be able +to tell you more, but not to-night. Are you ready to go now?" + +"Just a moment, Miss Royanna," and the manager motioned her not to +rise. "There are two little boys outside, who are very anxious to see +you." + +"Boys! to see me?" + +"Yes. They came from the country, and will not leave, so they say, +until they see you." + +"What do they want?" + +"I do not know. But I am acquainted with one of the little chaps, as I +met him this summer. I have a good story to tell you when you get +rested. Shall I bring them in? They will not keep you long." + +"Yes, let them come," was the reply. "I love boys; there is no +pretence about them." + +Rod's heart beat fast as he followed Mr. Markham into the presence of +the great singer. What should he say? he asked himself. Would the +woman be willing to go? Phil crept close at his heels, of no more use +than a kitten. + +As Rod approached, Miss Royanna held out her hand. + +"So you want to see me?" she began. "I am not very often favoured with +a visit from boys." + +Rod felt more at home now. These words had put him at ease. He looked +keenly into the woman's eyes, and what he saw there gave him great +encouragement. In truth, Miss Royanna was much impressed with his +manly bearing. He stood so erect, with his blue eyes looking straight +into hers. For an instant there flashed into her mind the idea that +she had seen those eyes before. Some chord of memory was stirred, +which affected her in a remarkable manner. She tried to recall +something, but in vain. + +"You wish to speak to me, so I understand," she encouraged, noting +Rod's embarrassment. + +"Yes, please, if I may. But I'm afraid now that you won't do it." + +"Do what?" + +"Come to our concert." + +"Your concert! Where is it to be held?" + +"At Captain Josh's, and Whyn would like to hear you sing so much. You +see, the scouts are getting up a concert to raise money, and we want +some one to sing. Whyn is sick, and can't walk. She heard about you +from her brother, Douglas. She couldn't come herself to hear you, so +we have come to ask you to help us out, and sing for Whyn. It would be +a great surprise for Whyn, as she knows nothing about what we are +doing. We will give you half what we make at the concert." + +John Markham turned suddenly around, so that the boys could not see the +amusement upon his face. He wanted to laugh outright, so funny did it +all seem. He longed to rush out and tell some of his friends the whole +story. The thought of the famous woman being asked to go to sing in an +out-of-the-way country place, and to receive half the proceeds, tickled +him immensely. + +Miss Royanna was also amused, and her eyes twinkled as Rod blurted out +his request. And yet there was something about his straightforward +manner which appealed to her. She thought, too, of the sick girl, and +the spirit of true chivalry which had caused these two boys to come all +the way to the city for her sake. How disappointed they would be when +she told them how utterly impossible it would be for her to go. + +"Where is this concert to take place?" she at length enquired. + +"At Headquarters, just in front of Whyn's window, so she can see and +hear," was the reply. + +"Yes, but where? How far is it from the city?" + +"Oh, I forgot that," and Rod smiled. "I thought everybody knew that +Captain Josh lived at Hillcrest." + +"Hillcrest, did you say?" the woman demanded, while a new interest +shone in her eyes. + +"Yes. It's on the river, about twenty-five miles from here. You could +go up in the afternoon boat, and get there in plenty of time." + +The woman sat up suddenly in her chair now, for an idea had stabbed her +mind with a startling intensity. Could it be possible, she asked +herself, that this is he? Those eyes recalled one whose memory was +very dear, and that erect poise of the head, crowned with such golden +curls, could belong to no one else. And he was from Hillcrest as well, +the very place. + +"Tell me," she said in a low voice, controlling herself as much as +possible, "your name, my little man." + +"Rod Royal," was the reply. + +There was no doubt about it now, and involuntarily the woman reached +out her arms toward him. She drew them back, however, and placed her +hand to her forehead. + +"Are you ill, Miss Royanna?" Mr. Markham enquired. "I am afraid that +these boys are tiring you. They must leave at once." + +"Yes, I do feel tired, and wish to get back to the hotel." + +"And you won't go to the concert?" Rod questioned anxiously. "Whyn +will be so disappointed." + +The woman's eyes were now fixed full upon the boy's face. She saw his +lips quiver, and her heart went out to him with one mighty rush. How +she longed to clasp him in her arms, shower kisses upon his little +tanned face, and tell him all. But, no, she must not do it yet. There +was a reason why she should delay. With an effort, therefore, she +restrained herself. + +"Will you come with me to the hotel?" she asked. "We can talk it over +there." + +"But, Miss Royanna," the manager warned, who saw that she was much +drawn toward the boys, "you must not make any rash promises, You are in +great demand, and it will be a bitter disappointment to many if you do +not sing tomorrow afternoon." + +"Leave that to me, Mr. Markham. I shall not disappoint any one, not +even these boys." + +"And so you intend to go to the concert," the manager remarked, as they +were being bowled swiftly along in the car to the hotel. + +"Yes. Why should I not? There will be plenty of time after the +matinee. I can hire a car to take me there, and bring me back in the +evening. I shall enjoy the trip out into the country, for I am so +tired of cities." + +"But what will people think of your going to such a place to sing for a +few country people?" + +"I don't care what they think," and the woman's voice was severer than +usual. "I know that I shall not be able to meet a number of society +lights, for which I shall be most thankful." + +Rod and Phil had never been in a large hotel before, and they gazed +with wonder upon everything they saw. The elevator, which moved so +easily upwards, was a great mystery. Then the large carpeted hallway +through which they passed, where their footsteps could not be heard, +and last of all the spacious room into which they were admitted, caused +their eyes to bulge with astonishment. When they were comfortably +seated in big chairs, with the singer sitting close to Rod, so she +could watch his every movement, the talk naturally drifted off to +Hillcrest. Rod told about the scouts, Whyn, the Britts, Miss Arabella, +and his own life at the rectory. Miss Royanna led him deftly along to +tell about these various people, especially Mr. and Mrs. Royal. Soon +she learned much about Rod's daily work, what he was fond of most of +all, and numerous other things concerning his life. + +"Have you lived long with your grandparents?" she asked. + +"Ever since I was a baby. I was left there one dark, wild night by my +mother." + +"And so you have never seen her?" + +"No. But I have had letters from her, though. She's coming to see me +sometime this summer." + +"How nice that will be. Won't you be glad to see her?" + +"In a way I will," was the slow, doubtful reply. "But I'm afraid that +she'll want to take me away." + +"Wouldn't you like to go with your mother? She must long for you so +much." + +"But I don't know her, you see. She's a stranger to me. I know that I +ought to love my mother, but somehow I can't." + +"Oh!" The exclamation came suddenly from the woman's lips. She +clasped her hands before her, and stared hard into space. So this was +the outcome of it all? she said to herself. This was all that she had +gained by her years of struggle and self-denial. She had won fame and +money, but what did they amount to when her only boy was a stranger to +her, and knew not what it was to love his mother? + +"You write to her, I suppose," she at last remarked. + +"Oh, yes. Every week I get a letter, and I always answer it. She +sends me money, too." + +"Does she? Isn't that nice. You must have plenty of spending money, +then." + +"No," and Rod shook his head. "Grandad puts it all into the bank for +me. It is to stay there, so he says, until I grow up, and it will be +enough then to send me to college." + +"And your grandfather never used any of the money your mother sent to +pay for your board and clothing?" + +"Not a cent of it. He said it wouldn't be right, because he loves me +so much." + +The woman remained silent for some time, and Rod thought that her face +seemed very sad. Perhaps she was tired. + +"Guess we'd better go now, Phil," and he turned to his companion who +had not opened his lips once. + +"What, so soon?" the singer enquired, rousing from her reverie. + +"Yes. Mr. Dexter, he's Phil's father, will be waiting for us, and +he'll think we are lost." + +"Just a minute, Rod," and the woman laid her hand lightly on his +shoulder, "how would you like to go with me in the car to Hillcrest +tomorrow?" + +Rod's eyes sparkled for an instant with pleasure. How he had often +longed to ride along the road in a big car such as he had seen buzzing +by. Suddenly his face grew grave. + +"I'm afraid I can't," he slowly replied. "It will be late when you get +there, and I must be at the concert to take my part. Captain Josh and +the boys couldn't get along very well without me. I'm patrol leader, +you know, and so must be there." + +The woman noted the brief struggle between pleasure and duty, and the +decision pleased her. She was disappointed, nevertheless, as she was +hoping to have his company next day. She concealed her feelings, +however, and smiled upon the boys as she bade them good night as they +stepped out of the elevator. Then she turned back to the silence and +solitude of her own room. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +THE SURPRISE + +It was somewhat late as Rod and Phil hurried along the street toward +the hotel where they and Mr. Dexter were to spend the night. This +place was near the steamer, and it would not be far for them to catch +the early boat next morning. It was a comfortable house, where +countrymen generally stayed. + +Only a few people did the boys meet as they moved on their way. +Presently they encountered a policeman, who looked at them very +closely, and enquired where they were going. Rod informed him, so with +a warning that they should not be out so late, the official passed on. +This was a new experience for the boys, and they were now fearful lest +they should meet other policemen who might not be so lenient. + +They had just reached a dark place when they heard some one walking +with a heavy tread on the opposite side of the street. Thinking that +it might be another policeman, the boys kept close together, and glided +on as swiftly as possible. They did not run lest they should be heard. +Their hearts beat fast, and they glanced nervously from side to side. +The ways of the city, especially at night, were strange and mysterious +to them, and all kinds of dangers seemed to be lurking around. Had +they been on a country road they would have felt perfectly at ease. +But here it was different. + +They had almost gained a part of the street where an electric light +flooded the pavement, when they heard a cry behind them, and then a +thud as of some one falling. They stopped and looked back, but all was +shrouded in darkness. On the opposite side of the street they could +hear sounds of struggling, while an occasional gasping cry fell upon +their ears. + +"There's something wrong," Rod whispered to his companion. + +"W-what d'ye s'pose it is?" was the frightened reply. + +"Somebody is hurt, I guess. Maybe that man we heard has been knocked +down. It often happens in cities." + +"Let's run," Phil suggested, now trembling violently. + +"Run where?" Rod enquired. + +"To the hotel." + +"And leave that man to be killed! Scouts don't do that," and Rod +straightened himself up with a jerk. + +"But what are we going to do?" + +"Go after that policeman, see? He can't be far away. Come!" + +The next instant the boys were bounding along the street after the +policeman they had met but a few minutes before. Fortunately they ran +across him sooner than they had expected, for hearing the sound of +hurrying footsteps, the official blocked the way, caught the lads by +the shoulders, and demanded what they were running for. Rod pantingly +explained, and soon the three were hastening back to where the struggle +had taken place. + +At first the policeman had been doubtful as to the truth of the story, +but when he flashed his light upon the prostrate form of a man lying in +the gutter, he gave vent to an exclamation of astonishment. The man +was unconscious, and he was bleeding from a wound in the head. Rod +never forgot the look of that face lying there so white beneath the +light of the lantern. It was the face of a man about thirty years of +age, with a dark moustache, and a slight scar upon the right cheek. +The policeman felt the man's pulse, and found that he was alive. He +then placed a whistle to his lips and gave several long shrill blasts. +He next enquired the names of the two boys, where they were from, and +what they were doing out at that time of the night. To these questions +Rod answered in such a straightforward manner that the policeman was +satisfied. + +"You had better get on now," he ordered, "But, remember, we'll want you +in the morning to give evidence. Don't leave the city until you get +permission." + +Though both the boys would like to have stayed to see what would be +done with the unconscious man, they did not dare to disobey the +policeman, so they hurried off, and at last reached the hotel. They +found Mr. Dexter anxiously waiting their return, and to him they +related what had happened on the street. + +"This is what comes of your galavanting around at such hours of the +night," he growled. "You should have been in your beds long ago. And +so we've got to wait, have we? This is a pretty state of affairs. I +can't afford to stay here all day to-morrow. Get away to bed now. +You've done enough mischief for one night." + +Rod went to bed, but he found it hard to sleep. His thoughts turned +not only to the wounded man, but to the concert to be held the next +day. Suppose he could not get home in time to take his part, what +would Whyn and Captain Josh think, and how could they get along without +him? + +Early the next morning a message came summoning Rod and Phil to appear +at the court room at ten o'clock. Mr. Dexter went with them, which was +a great relief. Everything was strange to the boys, and they were very +nervous as they were examined and cross-questioned. But they both told +what they knew in such a manner as to give much satisfaction. At last +the Police Magistrate told them that they could go home, but must +appear before him whenever they were needed. + +The newspapers that morning gave considerable space to the assault of +the previous night. They told of the cowardly attack, and the +assistance the two country boys had given, mentioning their names, and +where they were from. The injured man was unknown, and though careful +search was made, there was nothing found upon his person to identify +him. He had no money, and it was believed that his pockets had been +gone through by his assailants. He was taken to the hospital where he +was lying unconscious, and in a serious condition. + +Mr. Dexter bought copies of both morning papers, which was a great +extravagance for him. He was quite proud of the part his son had taken +in the affair, and the notoriety which had come to his family. Rod and +Phil read every word on their trip up the river that afternoon. It was +the first time they had ever seen their names in print, and they felt +very important. This was increased when they saw people looking at +them, and pointing them out as the boys who had figured in the affair +of the night before. + +Parson Dan's eyes opened wide with astonishment when he opened his +paper, which arrived just before dinner, and read to his wife the story +of the assault in the city. + +"Well done for the boys!" he exclaimed, as he laid the paper aside, and +began his meal. "I wish they had caught the rascals who did that deed." + +"The boys might have got badly hurt," Mrs. Royal replied. "I am very +thankful that they escaped without any harm. What terrible things take +place in cities. We live such quiet lives here that we little realise +what is going on elsewhere." + +"I do hope that the police will get those fellows," the parson mused. +"The paper says that there have been several hold-ups lately, and it is +believed that they have been done by the same ones who made the assault +last night. I am anxious to see Rod to hear what he has to say." + +"Perhaps the boys will have to stay as witnesses, Daniel." + +"Sure enough!" and the clergyman put down his cup he was about to raise +to his lips. "I never thought of that. And this is the night of the +concert, too. What will Captain Josh do without the boys? I must go +over and tell him the news. It will certainly upset his plans, for he +depended so much upon Rod." + +That same morning Anna Royanna, while at breakfast, read the +description of herself and her singing in the Opera House. This did +not greatly interest her, for she was beginning to weigh such articles +at their true value. It was the custom now for papers to say pleasant +things about her. It was the same wherever she went. She recalled the +time, several years before, when the same newspapers had so +begrudgingly given her a few lines concerning a certain performance of +hers. She had to plead with the editors then. She was not famous, and +how a sympathetic article would not only have encouraged but assisted +her as well. Now she was Anna Royanna, the noted singer, and a slight +smile of contempt hovered about the corners of her mouth as she began +to fold up the paper. + +Just then something caught her eye, which caused her to pause, and look +more closely. "Rod Royal" were the words she first saw, but they were +enough to make her devour eagerly the whole story of the adventure of +the previous night. She studied the two words which had first arrested +her attention, paying no heed to her breakfast which was getting cold. +Neither did she notice the number of eyes turned upon her by various +people in the room, for all were greatly interested in the famous +singer, who had made such a remarkable hit the night before. There +came to her again the picture of a sturdy little lad standing before +her, with tousled auburn hair, pleading on behalf of an invalid girl +away up in the country. Then her mind went back to that terrible night +when she had carried him to the door of the rectory, and left him to +the mercy of those within. And now she was looking upon his name in +the paper. He was hers, and yet he did not know her. + +It seemed to Rod that the steamer would never reach Hillcrest wharf. +There were so many stops to make for passengers to disembark, and +freight to be unloaded, that the boat was later than usual. He was +almost certain that the concert would be over before they arrived. At +last they were there, and the steamer's guard had scarcely touched the +wharf, as he and Phil leaped ashore. Then they scurried down the road, +leaving Mr. Dexter far behind. They were well aware that they had no +time to go home for their scout suits, and this was a great +disappointment. As they came in sight of the Anchorage they saw many +people moving about the grounds. Rod waited to speak to no one, but +hurried at once into Whyn's room. The girl greeted him with a cry of +joy. + +"Oh, Rod!" she exclaimed; "I am so glad you are back. Captain Josh is +in a terrible state of worry." + +She was sitting by the open window where she could see all that was +going on outside. It was a beautiful evening, and the sun of the long +summer day was still high above the horizon. + +"How is everything going, Whyn?" Rod breathlessly enquired, as he wiped +his hot face with his small handkerchief. + +"Great," was the reply. "That is, so far. And only think, Rod, Miss +Arabella has been here all day helping Mrs. Britt. She is a wonder. +She is selling refreshments now." + +"Is grandad here?" Rod asked. + +"Yes, and everybody else, I guess. The summer people have turned out +splendidly. There are several autos here, and so many strange people. +I don't know any of them." + +As Whyn mentioned the autos an expression of anxiety came into Rod's +eyes. He wondered if Miss Royanna had arrived. Perhaps she was +waiting for him. He must go and find out at once. + +Left once more alone, Whyn sat and watched all that was going on. Her +face was flushed with excitement, and her eyes sparkled with animation. +But she was disappointed, nevertheless. The choir could not come, and +so there would be no singing. Several of the members were away, so +Parson Dan had told her, and the others would not come without them. +The people will think it so strange, she said to herself, and the +scouts will feel badly. Whoever heard of a concert without singing and +music of some kind. + +Ere long the crowd began to gather about the large platform which +Captain Josh and the scouts had built in front of their club-room. +Then it was that the performance began. First came a staff-drill by +all the boys. They did it well, and were called upon to repeat it. +This was followed by signalling. The scouts were lined up, each +holding two small flags in his hands. The captain in a deep voice +called out the letters from A to Z, and not one boy made a mistake. He +next picked out letters at random, and closed by an exhibition of +sending and receiving a short message. One boy stood about fifty yards +away, and sent words which were received by another at Headquarters. +This won the hearty approval of the spectators, which rejoiced the +hearts of the scouts. After this came military drill, and here the +captain was in his element. One would have thought that he was on +board of the _Roaring Bess_, giving orders to his crew. He paced up +and down, shouting out in a tremendous voice, "Right--turn!" +"Form--fours!" "Quick--march!" "Mark--time!" and so on. It was really +excellent the way the boys rose to the occasion, showing to all what +training and discipline could accomplish. + +They had barely finished their marching ere Rod darted suddenly away +toward the front of the Anchorage, and as Whyn followed him with her +eyes she saw that he was hurrying to meet a large auto which had just +arrived. Several people were in the car, and soon they were +accompanying Rod to Headquarters, which they entered. + +The watching girl was puzzled over this, and wondered who they could +be. They must be people Rod knew, and was expecting, she reasoned. +But why did they go into the club-house instead of staying outside? + +Presently she saw Rod reappear and go straight to Parson Dan, who was +sitting near a large willow tree. A short whispered conversation +ensued, and then the clergyman followed the boy into the building. It +seemed a long time to Whyn before the former came out again, and when +he did, he at once mounted the platform, and motioned the people to be +quiet. This latter was hardly necessary, as all on the grounds had +noticed the arrival of the strangers, and were naturally curious about +them, especially as Rod seemed so excited and delighted. + +"I have a great announcement to make," the clergyman began, "and I +myself can hardly believe it is true. It seems that the scouts have +sprung a complete surprise upon us of a most enjoyable nature, and I am +almost overcome by their audacity. In order to make this affair an +unbounded success, they invited the noted singer, Miss Anna Royanna, to +come here and sing. She complied with the request, and is now here." + +What more the clergyman said Whyn did not know. With a half-smothered +cry of delight, she leaned as far as she could toward the window in +order to catch the first glimpse of the wonderful woman. Tears came +suddenly into her eyes as the meaning of what the scouts had done +flashed into her mind. It was for her sake, she very well knew, that +they had asked Miss Royanna to come. That was the reason why Rod and +Phil had gone to the city. She understood it all just as plainly as if +they had told her. And so she was to hear Anna Royanna after all! It +seemed too good to be true. Surely it must be only a beautiful dream. +But, no, it was real, for there were the people before her, and the +singer, too, now standing upon the platform by the clergyman's side. +She heard the loud and excited cheers of the people, and saw the woman +bowing in acknowledgment of the reception. What was that she was +saying? That she was delighted to come to the entertainment; that she +was very fond of boys, and when they had asked her to come she had not +the heart to refuse. How soft and pleasing was her voice, so Whyn +thought. How nice she must be, and she longed to speak to her, and to +look into her eyes. And to think that such a person had come all the +way to Hillcrest to sing for her benefit! + +But when Miss Royanna began to sing, Whyn forgot everything else. +There were various kinds of songs, both humorous and pathetic, but all +simple and familiar, which appealed to the hearts of the listeners. +Last of all she sang "My Little Lad, God Bless Him!" and then went back +into the building, followed by the clapping and cheering of the +assembled people. + +Whyn paid little attention to the excitement outside. She leaned back +in her chair, closed her eyes, and listened once again to the sweet +singer. How distinctly she could hear that voice, and the words of the +last song. What a treat this would be to her for months to come. She +must write at once to her mother and Douglas and tell them of the great +joy which had come into her life. + +She was aroused by voices outside the door. Opening her eyes, great +was her surprise to see the famous singer standing before her. Parson +Dan was there, too, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Markham, while Rod brought +up in the rear as bodyguard. But Whyn had eyes only for one person, +and her glad look of welcome went at once to Miss Royanna's heart. +Stepping quickly forward, she stooped and kissed the invalid girl. + +"We do not need any introduction," she said. "We are old friends, are +we not? Rod has told me about you." + +For once in her life Whyn found it impossible to reply. Her eyes were +moist as she lifted them to the singer's face in mute admiration. + +"What a lovely room," the woman continued, noting Whyn's embarrassment. +"And you were able to see everything from the window. How nice." + +"And I heard you sing, too," Whyn replied. "Oh, it was great, and so +good of you to come. I can never thank you enough." + +"Don't try," and the woman smiled. "The enjoyment has been all on my +side. It is the best time I have had in years." + +For about half an hour Miss Royanna stayed, but it seemed only a few +minutes to the invalid girl. The rest went out and left them alone. +It appeared to Whyn as if heaven had suddenly opened, and an angel in +the form of this singer had come down. She felt perfectly at ease now, +and talked freely, telling about herself and her mother. It was only +natural, however, that Rod should form the principal object of +conversation. In fact, Miss Royanna led the girl on to talk about him, +and the mother's heart was made happy as Whyn told how kind Rod was to +her, and what a fine boy he really was. + +"Will you write to me, dear?" the singer asked, as she bade the girl +good-bye. + +"Oh, may I?" and Whyn's face glowed with pleasure. "But you will not +care to hear about our uninteresting affairs in Hillcrest." + +"Indeed I shall. Tell me everything, and especially about Rod. You +see, I know him better than the rest." + +"Will you come to see me again?" Whyn enquired. + +"Yes, just as soon as I can. I want to spend several weeks here in +this lovely place. Then I shall be right near you, and find out all +about the scouts." + +"Oh, how nice!" and Whyn clasped her hands together. "I shall look +forward to your coming. It will be something more to live for now." + +All the people on the grounds crowded around the car as the singer +stepped on board. Rod was standing right by the door, watching her +face with great interest. How she longed to stoop, fold him in her +arms, kiss mm, and proclaim that he was her own boy. But, no, not now. +She must wait. Waving her hand to the crowd, she was borne swiftly +away, leaving the people with a great and new topic of conversation, +which would last them for many a day. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +THE ISLAND ADVENTURE + +Next morning the scouts met at the Anchorage to find out how much money +they had made. Great was their delight to learn that they had taken in +fifty dollars and seventy cents. It seemed too good to be true, and +the only way they could account for the large sum was the money +contributed by several men who had come in autos. They had paid a +dollar apiece for their tickets, and had spent money liberally upon +ice-cream, cake, and candy. No refreshments were left over, and but +for the timely assistance of Miss Arabella there would not have been +enough. + +It was in Whyn's room where this meeting took place. Captain Josh said +very little at first, for he was satisfied to let the rest do the +talking. He was happy at the way the affair had turned out, and he +wished to do something to celebrate the occasion. + +"Boys," he at last began, after they had thoroughly discussed the +entertainment and the singer, "we've had a great success, more than we +ever expected, I feel now like doin' something desperate jist to +relieve my feelings. Suppose we make a trip to the island, and camp +there all night. We've been talkin' about this fer some time, and as I +have to go over to look after some nets I left there, it might as well +be now as at any time. You boys have never spent a night in the open, +and it'll do yez good to learn how to camp and cook. All scouts must +know something about sich things." + +"Shall we go to-day?" Rod eagerly enquired. The big island had always +been a fascinating place to him, and he longed to go there. He had +heard many stories about it, and how much treasure had been buried +there long ago by Captain Kidd. + +"Yes, this afternoon," the captain replied. "We'll go in the _Roarin' +Bess_, and tow the tender to take us ashore. You boys had better +hustle away home now, and find out if yer parents will let yez go. Ye +must bring along a blanket or two each, and enough grub to last yez fer +supper and breakfast. I'll look out fer the tea, milk, and the cookin' +utensils. The ones who are goin' must be here by three o'clock sharp." + +Rod hurried home and found Parson Dan reading the morning paper which +had just arrived. + +"Look here, Rodney," and the clergyman pointed to the headlines of an +article a column long. "See what the newspaper says about Miss +Royanna, and how she came all the way to Hillcrest to sing for the +scouts." + +"What, is it all there, grandad?" and the boy eagerly scanned the page. +"Read it, please," and he perched himself upon a chair nearby. + +To him it was wonderful that the paper should make so much of what the +singer had done. It told about the scouts, their entertainment, and +how two of the boys had gone all the way to the city to ask Miss +Royanna to go to Hillcrest. + +"Isn't it great!" and Rod gave a deep sigh when the clergyman had +finished. "How I wish Miss Royanna could live here all the time." + +"She took a great fancy to you, Rodney," and the parson smiled upon the +boy. + +"I like her," was the brief comment. + +During dinner Rod asked permission to go to the island with Captain +Josh and the rest of the scouts. After some discussion he was told +that he could go, and when the meal was over Mrs. Royal began to +prepare some food for him to take with him. + +"It will do the boy good," the parson told her. "The captain is most +trustworthy, and camping out in the open for one night will do the boy +no harm." + +Parson Dan had thought much about Anna Royanna's visit to Hillcrest. +He and Mrs. Royal had talked long and earnestly about the whole affair +the night before. They tried to discover some reason why she should +come all the way from the city to sing for a few country people, when +she was in such great demand elsewhere. That it was for Whyn's sake +did not altogether satisfy them. They recalled the special interest +she had taken in Rod, and they felt proud that their boy should have +received so much attention from such a woman. + +While driving along the road that afternoon, a new idea suddenly +flashed into the parson's mind. "Can it be possible?" he asked +himself. So foolish did the notion seem that he tried to banish it +from his thoughts. But this he found to be most difficult. Why should +she come all the way to Hillcrest? And what about her great interest +in Rod, and that closing piece which she had sung in such a pathetic +manner? Stranger things had happened before, he mused. But they +generally occurred in stories, and not in real life. Anyway, it was +interesting, though he decided to keep the idea to himself for awhile, +to see if anything else would take place. + +Captain Josh and the boys had a great time that afternoon. The island +was about one hundred acres in size, and for the most part wooded. +They tramped all over it, and their excitement was intense when they +saw the holes which had been dug there by gold-seekers. The boys +longed for picks and shovels, that they, too, might dig. But the +captain laughed at them. + +"There's no gold here, lads," he told them, "and ye'd be only fooled +like others." + +"But did anybody ever find gold here, captain?" Rod enquired. + +"Not that I know of. But there have been some good jokes played upon +people here, though," and the captain chuckled as some funny incident +came into his mind. + +After supper was over that night, the scouts gathered around the bright +camp-fire, and asked Captain Josh to tell them a story about +gold-seeking on the island. The boys were stretched upon the ground, +watching the fiery-tongued flames and the countless sparks as they +soared up into the darkness. This was a new experience for them, and +they were delighted. + +"What kind of a story d'yez want?" the captain asked. + +"A funny one," was the reply from all. + +"A funny one, eh?" and the old man scratched his head. + +"Yes, the one which made you chuckle this afternoon," Rod suggested. + +"Oh, that one, ha, ha! Sure I know all about it, fer I was there +myself. I was younger then than I am now, and fond of an occasional +joke. I heard that two men were goin' to hunt fer gold right over +there by the shore near that big rock I showed yez to-day. They had +been stuffed about buried gold, and so they were goin' to hunt fer it. +I saw Jim Gibson, and asked him to join me in a little fun. We came +over ahead, got things fixed up, and then waited jist behind that rock. +It was dark as pitch when the men came, and from where we were hidden +we could see them with their lanterns diggin' fer all they were worth +right near that rock. We let them work away fer a spell, as we didn't +want to spoil their fun too soon. But at last we began to groan and +make queer noises. Say, ye should have seen them men. They were +almost scared out of their boots, fer they thought sure that ghosts +were around. Then, when they were shakin' all over, I pulled a string, +and off came a black cloth we had put over a word which we had printed +on the face of that rock." + +"What was the word?" Rod eagerly enquired, as the captain paused for an +instant. + +"It was the word 'Death,' in big letters. I tell yez it must have +glared out pretty ghastly in the night, fer the way them men yelled, +and made fer their boat was something wonderful. Ho, ho' I kin never +think of them fellers, and the scare they got, without havin' a good +laugh." + +"Did they ever find out who did the trick?" Phil asked. + +"Not that I know of. But, somehow, word got around, and the lives of +them men were made miserable by the questions they were asked about the +gold on the island, and when they intended to go over and dig fer it." + +For some time the captain told other stories to the boys. Most of +these were about his experiences at sea, the gales he had encountered, +and his numerous narrow escapes from death. It was a novel experience +for the scouts to be lying there listening to these yarns, with the +stars twinkling overhead. At last, however, their eyes became heavy +and, wrapped in their blankets, they were soon sound asleep upon the +hard ground. The captain sat for awhile before the dying embers, +smoking his clay pipe. At length, knocking the ashes out of the bowl, +he, too, stretched himself out full length near the scouts. + +Rod was the last of the boys to go to sleep. His mind was busy with +the joke the captain had told, and his experiences at sea. He thought, +too, of the sweet singer, and wondered if he should ever see her again. +When he did go to sleep he had a dream of a great crowd of men landing +on the island, attacking the scouts, and carrying off a large chest of +gold. + +From this dream he woke with a start, and sat up. For a moment he was +dazed, and could not imagine where he was. Then he remembered, and he +was about to lie down again when the sound of a motor-boat fell upon +his ears. He listened intently, wondering what people could be doing +on the water at that time of the night. He could hear the regular +breathing of his companions, and as his eyes became accustomed to the +darkness, he could make out the form of the captain lying not far off. + +The sound of the boat was more distinct now, and it appeared to be +approaching the island. Was his dream really coming true? Rising, he +groped his way to the captain's side, and touched his arm. Light +though it was, the captain suddenly woke, and asked who was there. In +a few whispered words Rod told him what he had heard. At this, the +captain sat up, and listened. + +"Sure enough," he remarked. "Somebody's astir at a queer hour. Guess +we might as well look into this. Come on, let's go and find out. But +we must be very careful, and not talk out loud." + +Together they made their way cautiously along the shore, keeping as +close as possible to the edge of the forest. They had not gone far, +however, before the motor-boat drew into the island on their right. +Then the engine slowed down and at last stopped, showing that those on +board were about to land. + +"Quick, let's get behind this rock," Captain Josh whispered. "They +must not know that anybody is here." + +Thus safely concealed, the two watchers waited and listened to find out +what would take place. They soon heard the boat grate upon the gravel, +then a lantern flashed, and two men were seen walking up the beach. + +"We might as well stay here," one of them said. "I'm dead beat. Let's +build a fire and get warm." + +"Where's the stuff?" the other asked. "That'll warm ye better'n +anything else. We can't afford to light a fire. It will be seen from +the mainland, and we can't tell who might be prowlin' around." + +With an oath, the first speaker brought forth a bottle, and took a long +deep drink, and then handed it to his companion. After this, they both +went to the boat, got several blankets, carried them a short distance +from the water, and spread them out upon the sand. + +"My, this is a better place than we spent last night," one of the men +remarked. + +"Should say so," replied the other. "But didn't we give the cops a +slip, though? I thought fer sure they had us one time, when they were +pokin' around that old ware-house. Lucky fer us we were able to swipe +that boat. Suppose we divvy up now. You've got all the swag." + +With the lantern between them, the two men bent their heads, while one +of them brought forth a pocket-book, and began to count out a number of +bills. His voice was so low that the concealed watchers could not hear +the amount. + +"There, that's better," the other at length ejaculated, thrusting the +money into his pocket. "Didn't we do that chap up fine? He put up +quite a fight, though. But we landed him and his wad all right. I'd +like to have got a rap at them kids at the same time. They nearly +queered our job. Now fer another drink, and then fer a good sleep. We +must be out of this before daylight." + +For a few moments there was silence, as each man took his turn at the +bottle. When they again spoke their voices were thick, which plainly +told that the whiskey was having its effect. It was impossible to +understand what they were saying. For awhile they conversed in a +maudlin, complaining manner, and then knocked over their lantern, which +went out. + +Waiting for awhile, to be sure that the men were asleep, Captain Josh +and Rod slipped quietly away, and went back to their companions. It +was with considerable difficulty that the boys were aroused and ordered +not to make the least noise. Captain Josh explained what had taken +place, and the conversation of the two men. + +"I believe they are the very ones who knocked that man down in the +city, and stole his money," he said in a low voice. "Now, they must +not leave this island until the police take them away, and it's up to +us to keep them here." + +"But what are we to do?" Phil Dexter enquired, his teeth chattering +with fear. + +"Leave that to me, lads," was the reply. "All I want yez to do is to +get on board the _Roarin' Bess_ as quickly as possible. There mustn't +be any talkin' or noise if we're goin' to carry this thing through, +see?" + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +THE ROUNDING UP + +Quietly and as speedily as possible the scouts boarded the tender, and +soon reached the _Roaring Bess_. They shivered as they stood upon the +yacht, and longed to be home in their own warm beds. A heavy fog was +drifting up the river, which made the air very chilly. To most of the +boys this meant greater discomfort, but to the captain it brought +considerable satisfaction. It was just what he needed to aid him in +his undertaking. In a few low words he outlined his plan to the +scouts, and told those who remained behind to be perfectly still. +There were several blankets he had stored away in a locker, which they +could use to make them comfortable. + +Taking with him only Rod and Phil, as they were the oldest boys, the +captain entered the tender, seized the oars, and began to pull away +straight for the motor-boat. The fact that this latter had been run +ashore made him certain that it was a small boat, and could, therefore, +be easily drawn off the beach. The tide had risen somewhat since the +robbers had landed, which would make the task much easier. + +The fog was now thicker than ever, which made it necessary to advance +very cautiously. Rod crouched in the bow, with his eyes fixed intently +ahead. For a time he could see nothing, as everything was blotted out +by the fog. The heavy moisture dampened his clothes, and drifted into +his face. Phil was seated astern, shivering with cold and fear. He +had no liking for this adventure, and would rather be back on the yacht. + +Presently Rod caught sight of the motor-boat, and whispered to the +captain to go slow. Soon they were near the shore, and as they drew up +close to the strange craft they found that she was floating on the +rising tide, and was almost adrift. With difficulty the captain +suppressed a chuckle of satisfaction, as he quickly made a rope fast to +the motor-boat, gave it to Rod, seized once more his oars, and swung +the tender about, and drew away from the shore. When at a safe +distance from land he fastened the rope to the bow of the motor-boat, +tied it to the seat of the tender, and then with a sigh of relief +settled down to long steady strokes. Not a word was spoken now, but +the three night adventurers thrilled with excitement. The boys felt no +longer cold, as they were so excited over what they had accomplished. + +After some hard pulling, the captain drew up alongside of the yacht. +The rest of the scouts were eagerly awaiting his return. + +"There's no wind," the captain remarked, "so that thing's got to tow us +out of this. I guess I know enough about an engine to handle that one +all right. Rod, you steer the yacht, while I manage that old tub." + +Though the fog was still thick, the light of early morn was making +itself felt which was of much assistance as the captain scrambled on +board the motor-boat. It took him but a few moments to examine the +engine, start it, and head the boat out into the middle of the river, +with the _Roaring Bess_ and tender trailing behind. When everything +was going to his complete satisfaction, he leaned back and fairly shook +with suppressed laughter. He knew now that he had those rascals +prisoners for a few hours at least, and in that time much could be done. + +The engine was of six horse-power, and the craft an ordinary +rafting-boat, built especially for towing. It accordingly made good +progress up the river, and in about an hour's time the captain was able +to pull up at Hillcrest wharf. He came here instead of going to his +own shore on purpose to send a telephone message to the city. He had +thought all this out, and knew that there was no time to be lost. + +Near the wharf lived the storekeeper, who had charge of the telephone, +and with some difficulty he was awakened by heavy thumps upon the door +of his house. He was astonished to see Captain Josh standing outside, +and it was several minutes before he realised what was wanted. + +"Want to telephone, eh?" he at last queried. + +"Sure. Haven't I been tryin' to tell ye that fer the last five +minutes?" + +"Very important?" + +"Should say so. D'ye s'pose I'd be prowlin' around at this time of the +mornin' if it wasn't?" + +It took the storekeeper some time to get Central in the city, and to +become connected with the Police Station. Then the captain stepped to +the 'phone and gave his message. "They're on the island now," he said +in conclusion, "and I'll keep a good watch out. Ye'd better send some +men up at once. + +"They're a stupid lot of blockheads down there," he growled, as he hung +up the receiver. "They didn't know where Kidd's Island is--jist think +of that. And they wanted to know how long it would take a motor-boat +to reach the place." + +"I guess they'll get a hustle on, though," the storekeeper replied. "I +see there's a reward of one hundred dollars offered for the capture of +those robbers." + +"There is!" the captain exclaimed. "How did ye hear that?" + +"Why, it was in yesterday morning's paper. Here it is; you can read it +for yourself." + +"Well, I declare!" and the captain scratched his head. "I didn't see +that. H'm, 'for the capture of the men who assaulted and robbed an +unknown man at Sheer's Alley,'" he read. "Guess we'll come in fer that +money, or I'm much mistaken." + +"But you haven't captured them yet," the store-keeper reminded him. + +"We've got them over there, though," the captain retorted. + +"But they're not captured yet, remember. You haven't got your hands on +them. I don't believe you can claim that money unless you give those +chaps up to the police." + +The captain went back to the boat in a very thoughtful mood. The offer +of the reward placed the whole affair in a new light now. One hundred +dollars! It was just what the scouts needed to help them, and it would +be money well earned, at that. What a pity to let others win the +reward after what he and the boys had done. + +All the scouts except Rod had gone home, and this was for the best. +The captain did not want too many around lest they should spoil the +plan he had in his mind. Making the _Roaring Bess_ fast to the wharf, +he and Rod boarded the motorboat and started for home. It took them +only a few minutes to reach the shore, and they surprised Mrs. Britt as +she was lighting the kitchen fire. + +"Stay and have breakfast with us, Rodney," was her friendly invitation, +after the captain had briefly related their experience on the island. +"You must be hungry after such an adventure." + +Rod was only too willing to remain, and during the meal they discussed +all that had taken place during the night. + +"We must take those rascals ourselves," the captain remarked. "It +would never do to allow the police to come here and land them after we +have done the rounding up." + +"But how will we do it?" Rod enquired. "Maybe they carry revolvers. +Won't they shoot us down if we go near them?" + +"Leave that to me, lad," and the captain smiled as his eyes roved to a +rifle standing in a corner of the room. "But come, we haven't any time +to lose. I imagine the police are on their way now. It will take them +from one and a half to two hours to run up from the city. It all +depends upon what kind of a boat they've got. I expect it will be a +fast one, though, fer they can't afford to dilly-dally." + +With nothing to tow now, it did not take them long to reach the island. +They landed near where the scouts had camped during the night, and +pulling the boat well up on the shore, they made their way to the place +where they had left the robbers. The captain went ahead, while Rod +followed close at his heels. The boy's heart was beating fast now, for +he knew that a great adventure was soon to take place. He felt proud +that the captain had chosen him for this important undertaking, and he +was determined not to show the least sign of fear no matter what +happened. + +As they approached the place they advanced most cautiously, bending +low, and stepping softly so as not to make the slightest noise. +Reaching the big rock, they crouched behind it for a few seconds, and +listened. Hearing nothing, the captain peered carefully over the edge. +Drawing quickly back, he motioned to Rod not to make the least sound. + +"They're jist wakin' up," he whispered, "and there's bound to be +trouble when they find their boat gone." + +This was exactly what happened. Soon the voices of the men were heard +in an excited conversation. The captain again looked upon them from +his concealed position and saw them straining their eyes in an effort +to locate their boat. + +"She's gone adrift," one of them exclaimed. "Why didn't ye tie her?" +and he turned angrily upon his companion. + +"It was as much your business as mine," was the retort. "Ye always +blame me fer everything. But it's no use wranglin' over it now. We've +overslept ourselves, and a pretty mess we're in. If we don't get that +boat we're stuck on this island." + +"Maybe she's drifted along the shore somewhere," the other suggested. +"There's been no wind, so she can't be far away." + +"There's a tide, though, which is just as bad. This is a mess, sure." + +"Well, talkin' won't do any good," his companion replied. "I'm goin' +to hunt along the shore." + +He had taken but a step when a deep voice from above startled him, +causing him to pause and look quickly up. As he did so, his face +underwent a marvellous change of fear and rage, for there was the +captain, looking calmly along the barrel of his rifle. + +"Stay jist where ye are," was the imperative order. "If one of yez +move, I'll shoot quicker'n blazes. Yer boat's all right, so don't +worry about her." + +A stream of angry oaths now leaped from the robbers' lips, as they +realised the helplessness of their position. They did not dare to +move, as they were too close to the frowning muzzle of the +over-shadowing rifle. + +"It's no use to talk that way," the captain warned, "so jist shet yer +dirty mouths. I've heard sich gab before, and it doesn't jar me in the +least." + +"Who are you, anyway?" one of the men demanded, "and how dare ye hold +us up? Ye'll pay dear fer this." + +"Is that so? It doesn't matter who I am; ye'll find that out soon +enough." + +"What d'ye mean?" was the reply. + +"Never mind. I'm not here to argue with the like of you. There'll be +others who kin do that better. All that I want yez to do now is to +behave yerselves, and do as I order." + +"Well, what d'ye want us to do? Spit it out, and don't be long about +it either." + +"Don't git on yer high-horse," the captain warned. "I'm not used to be +talked to in that manner. I never allowed it when I was aboard the +_Flyin' Queen_, and I guess I'm too old to change now. What I want yez +to do is to strip off yer duds, that is, yer pants and jackets." + +"Do what?" + +"Didn't ye hear me? Git out of yer duds, but keep yer faces this way. +Don't lower yer eyes, or I'll shoot." + +At this strange order the foiled men stared in amazement, and for once +their tongues were silent. + +"D'ye hear me?" the captain roared. "Strip at once, or I'll blow yer +measly carcasses to pieces. Never mind the reason; I'll keep that to +myself." + +Seeing that their captor was not to be fooled with any longer, the +prisoners did as they were commanded, and soon they were standing in +nothing but their underclothes. They suspected now the purpose of this +move, and their hearts filled with rage. + +"There, that's better," the captain commented. "I'm glad to see that +ye're so obedient. It has saved yez from a great deal of trouble at +present. But before we go on with our interestin' proceedin's, I want +yez to go down there by the water. Git along with yez," he continued, +as the men hesitated. "Don't worry about yer clothes; they'll be all +right. My, yez do look fine. Too bad there isn't a picnic of some +kind here this mornin'. But, then, I guess that'll come later." + +When the men had obeyed his orders, and were standing close to the edge +of the water, the captain moved about the edge of the rock, closely +followed by Rod. He kept his eyes fixed upon the robbers, and then +ordered the boy to gather up the clothes and carry them up among the +trees. Seeing what was being done, the cornered men once more gave +vent to their feelings. + +"Talk all yez like now," the captain remarked, as he sat down upon a +drift-log. "It'd be a pity to spoil yer enjoyment, seein' that soon ye +won't be able to talk so free." + +By this time Rod had placed the clothes in a safe place and, coming +back, sat down by the captain's side. + +"Did ye bring the guns with ye?" the latter asked. + +"Yes, here they are," and Rod held up two revolvers. "I found them in +the pockets, and thought it best to bring them with me." + +"Ye did right, lad," and the captain took one in his hand. "Fine +weapon, that, and loaded up to the muzzle. Wouldn't yez like to have +it, eh?" and he held it out to the captives. "Too bad, isn't it, that +I've got to keep it? But this toy isn't safe fer every one to handle, +so I'll look after both myself." + +By this time the fog had begun to lift from the face of the water, and +in the distance the outline of the shore of the mainland could be +faintly discerned. Then houses and hills came into view. The sun had +already started forth on its daily course, and was now swinging over +the tops of the pointed pines which lined the upper end of the island. +The fog gradually disappeared, fading away in soft filmy wreaths. Not +a breath of wind stirred the surface of the water. The captain often +turned his eyes down stream for some sign of the boat from the city. +Why were the police so long in coming? he asked himself. He had +expected them at the island in two hours at the most, and still they +were nowhere in sight. He was getting very impatient sitting there, +keeping the captives under such strict guard. He determined to have +something to say later about the slowness of the police. He would +write an article for the paper, that was what he would do. If that was +the way they always acted, was it any wonder that crimes were so +frequent? + +Another hour passed, and when the captain's patience was strained to +the utmost, a large motor-boat suddenly rounded the lower end of the +island, and slowed up right in front of where the capture had taken +place. A number of men were on board, who looked curiously upon the +strange scene before them. + +An officer, with several of his men, came ashore, when the two robbers +were at once hand-cuffed, and hustled on board the boat. Rod now +brought down their clothes, which were thoroughly searched, and +everything taken from the pockets. + +"It took yez a mighty long time to come from the city," Captain Josh at +length blurted out. + +"It was the fog which delayed us," the officer explained. "We couldn't +see a foot ahead of us." + +"H'm, so that was the trouble," and the captain gave a grunt of +disgust. "Why didn't ye bring some one along who knows the river? +I've been holdin' them chaps down fer three solid hours. I guess the +lad here and me have earned our money this time all right." + +"What money?" the officer sharply asked. + +"The reward, of course; the hundred dollars offered fer the capture of +them chaps." + +"Oh, we'll look after that," was the nettled reply. + +"Ye will, will ye? I guess ye'll git up earlier than ye did this +mornin' if ye do. I'll stand by my scouts, and don't let me catch ye +tryin' any tricks on me. There, ye'd better git off now, fer I want to +go home. Take good care that them chaps don't git away. Come, Rod, +let's be off." + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +A NEW ADVENTURE + +There was considerable excitement in Hillcrest over the capture of the +two robbers. Never before had such a thing happened in their quiet +community, and it formed a choice subject of conversation for many +weeks. The city papers made much of it, and commended Captain Josh and +the scouts upon what they had done. One morning paper which was very +favourable to the Scout movement, had a special editorial on the +subject, under the heading of "The Lone Patrol." It pointed out how +much good a few boys in outlying districts could accomplish when +properly organised and trained. It told also of the visit of Anna +Royanna to this patrol, and how she had sung at their entertainment. + +All this was very pleasant reading to the people of Hillcrest, and the +ones who had looked with disfavour upon the movement were now anxious +to assist. A number of parents who had formerly refused to allow their +boys to join came to the captain, and asked him to undertake the +training of their sons. + +"Not jist now," the captain told them. "I have all that I kin handle +at present. I must git the ones I have licked into shape before tryin' +my hand upon any more." + +These requests were most gratifying to Captain Josh, and he smiled +grimly at the thought of the change which had come over the people. It +was sweet revenge, as well, to be able to refuse the very ones who had +talked most against the scouts when they were first organised. But +this had nothing to do with his not taking the boys, for the captain +was too big a man for that. He really desired first of all to train +the few scouts he had to the best of his ability. It was not quantity +he wanted, but quality, and he was determined that his one patrol +should be looked upon with pride by all in Hillcrest, and to belong to +it would be considered a great honour by any boy. + +Parson Dan and Mrs. Royal were much pleased at the part Rod had taken +in the capture of the robbers. They talked it all over with the +captain when he came over to see them the very next day. + +"The boys did fine," the old man proudly remarked. "They know how to +hold their tongues and obey orders, which is more than many older +people kin do." + +Rod fairly walked on air, and held his head very high. The thrill of +adventure now filled his soul, and he longed for something more to +happen. It was a long quaint letter he wrote to Anna Royanna in reply +to the one she had sent him. He told all about the adventure on the +island, the capture of the robbers, and how he and Phil had gone to the +city with the captain as witnesses. He mentioned, also, that they had +received the one hundred dollars' reward, and had put it in the bank +with the rest of the scout money. It seemed so easy and natural for +him to write to this woman. He was sure that she was interested in +everything that went on at Hillcrest. "I hope you will come to see us +again," he wrote in conclusion. "Whyn speaks about you every day, and +so do all the rest of the scouts." Mrs. Royal smiled at these words +when Rod showed her the letter he had written. It was true in a way +that Whyn was really a scout, in fact, a very vital part of the patrol. + +The letter which Rod wrote to his mother was very different from that +to the singer. It was brief, and not bubbling over with information as +was the other. He found it hard to tell her about the things which +interested him, and he did not ask her to come soon. He was too much +afraid that she would arrive and take him away. + +A woman far away smiled sadly as she read these two letters, with +different addresses on the envelopes. She could see at a glance the +boy's interest in the singer, and what a pleasure it was for him to +write that letter. But the other, to his mother, was a task, a mere +duty, the sooner done, the better. But then, she knew that it was only +natural, and she longed for the time to come when letters would not be +needed, and Rod would know the truth. + +No one in the whole parish of Hillcrest was more interested in what had +taken place than Whyn. She was never tired of talking about the +capture, and the winning the reward. It was a great letter which she +wrote to Douglas, telling him all that had recently happened in the +little Hillcrest world. Whenever the scouts gathered in her room, she +discussed plans with them, and listened to their various experiences. +These latter were now confined to drill, studying for the new badges, +and sailing with the captain on the river. + +By this time the scouts had one hundred and fifty dollars in the bank, +which to them seemed a great sum. Several were quite satisfied with +the amount. But Whyn was of a different opinion. "We must make it two +hundred, at least," she told them. "It is time to get to work and +raise that other fifty, for it will not do to stop when we have made +such a good start." + +Summer passed, and fall came in with the long evenings, and still the +scouts had not hit upon any plan of increasing their bank account. +They had all kinds of suggestions, but after they had been thoroughly +discussed, they were found to be of little value. Some were too +foolish, while others were beyond their power. + +It was Whyn who at last solved the problem. In reality, it was her +mother who made the suggestion to her during her recent visit. The +invalid was delighted, and could hardly wait for the scouts to come to +see her. + +"I know what you can do," she told them, when they had settled +themselves about the room in their usual manner. "You can make wreaths +for the churches in the city. They will need them for Christmas +decorations." + +"Make wreaths!" was the surprised exclamation of all. + +"Yes. Don't you understand? You have them in the church here every +Christmas, don't you?" + +"Certainly," Rod replied. "We make them out of hemlock, and club-moss. +But I didn't know you could sell them." + +"You can in the city," Whyn explained, "for mamma told me so. They +will bring from four to five cents a yard. Wouldn't it be great for us +to make up a whole lot, say five hundred yards? Let me see, that would +be twenty or twenty-five dollars. Just think of that!" and the girl's +eyes danced with excitement. + +Then followed an animated discussion as to the kind of wreaths they +should make, and the best time to do the work. All this was settled by +the entrance of Captain Josh. He entered heartily into the plan, much +pleased at the interest of the scouts in raising more money. + +"Guess we'd better begin upon the club-moss first," was his decision. +"The snow'll be here soon, so while the ground is bare we kin gather as +much as we'll need. We kin git the hemlock any old time. We kin work +at nights, and on Saturday afternoons, and Betsey'll be glad to give a +hand. I'm afraid I don't know much about sich things. If there is any +splicin' to do, or special knots to tie, jist call on me. If it had +anything to do with sailin' vessels I could help considerable. But +riggin' up churches is not in my line. Howsomever, I'll help all I +kin." + +The very next Saturday Captain Josh led his scouts into the woods to +gather their first supply of club-moss. He carried his rifle with him. +There was a black fox in the neighbourhood, which had been seen by +several, and the captain longed to get sight on it "jist fer one little +instant," as he had remarked. + +Phil had his small dog with him, which annoyed the captain. + +"I wish ye'd left that critter home," he growled. "It'll scare away +everything fer miles around. What's the use of bringin' my gun when +that thing's along?" + +"Gyp wouldn't stay," Phil explained. "I tied him up, but he chewed +through the rope." + +"H'm," the captain grunted, "I guess he'd eat through a chain by the +looks of him. He's about the toughest brute I ever set my eyes on. +Does he ever eat people?" + +A hearty laugh from the boys was the only reply to the captain's +sarcastic remark. They were in great spirits, and the tramp through +the woods filled them with joy. It was merely a winter-road they +followed, used by farmers for bringing out their logs and fire-wood. +It was very crooked, too, and rough, but in a short time the deep snow +would cover up the latter defect, and the jingle of bells would echo +among the trees. Now it was the talk and laughter of the boys which +alone disturbed the peaceful silence. + +After having walked a little over half an hour, they came to a place, +somewhat open, and here they found club-moss in abundance lining the +ground. To their left, the rippling of the brook could be heard +flowing on its way to the river. Ahead of them stood the thick forest +of pine, fir, and spruce. It was a cool November day, and when the +boys started from home their warm mittens had felt good. But the brisk +tramp had set their blood in rapid circulation, and with bare hands +they now gathered the moss and stuffed it into bags which they had +brought with them. They worked with a hearty good-will, vying with one +another, each striving to have his bag full first. + +Their task was almost finished, when Gyp's savage barking up among the +thick trees arrested their attention. + +"Let's go and see what he's got," Rod suggested. + +"Oh, it's only a squirrel he's treed," the captain contemptuously +replied, straightening himself up for an instant from his bent +position. "It's all that critter's good fer. If he'd something big +it'd be worth while." + +For a few moments longer the boys worked in silence. But they could +not keep their attention away from Gyp, whose barks were now becoming +more savage and insistent than ever. That he was in a great state of +excitement was quite evident. Even the captain was at last forced to +take notice. + +"It does seem that he has something more'n a squirrel," he remarked. +"Maybe it's a coon he's got up a tree. They're thick over there along +that bank. Guess we might as well go and see what's up, anyway." + +At this the boys were delighted. They wanted to explore the deep +recesses of that forest, and now that there was some excitement there +made the longing all the greater. They followed in Indian fashion +after the captain, who strode rapidly forward, with his rifle in his +right hand. + +Gyp's barking sounded louder the nearer they approached. The boys as +well as the captain strained their eyes ahead, anxious to find out what +was the matter with the dog. For awhile they could see nothing through +the net-work of trees and branches. But as they came close to the high +steep bank overhanging the brook, they peered forward and caught their +first glimpse of the excited dog. In front of him was a huge fallen +spruce tree, with its roots projecting outward, like spokes in a great +wheel. This tree had been lying there for years, and across it had +fallen numerous small saplings and dead branches, until from a distance +it assumed the appearance of a native African hut. + +The roots of this tree were only a few feet from the edge of the steep +gravelly bank, and this, together with a furious gale, had been the +cause of the spruce's fall. Between two of the perpendicular roots, +which were partly embedded in the ground, was a large hole, before +which Gyp was making all the fuss. The stiff hairs on his back stood +straight on end, and he kept leaping constantly forward and backward, +wild with excitement. + +With considerable difficulty the captain thrust the dog aside, and with +the rifle firmly clutched in his hands, he stooped in order to obtain a +view of what was within. Scarcely had he done so, ere a deep growl and +roar startled him, while at the same time a large black bear hurled +itself like a catapult from among the roots. + +Taken by complete surprise, the captain reeled backward, dropping the +rifle as he did so in an effort to maintain his balance. Before he +could do this, however, he had gone over the edge of the bank, and +after him went the bear. Down that steep incline man and beast rapidly +ploughed their way, taking with them a small avalanche of stones and +gravel. At the bottom of the bank was a pool of water about two feet +deep, and into this they plunged, the captain in a sitting position, +and the bear upon its back. Then followed a wild scramble as each +endeavoured to get out first. The bear succeeded better than the man, +for the captain had injured his knee, which made it difficult for him +to move quickly. + +Had this been a young bear he would have taken to his heels at once, +and disappeared among the trees. But being an old-timer, and not a bit +cowardly, he had no intention of running away. He was very angry at +being disturbed when he had his house all ready for his long winter +sleep. Then that tumble down the bank into the water was more than his +bearish nature could stand, and he was ready for fight. He scrambled +out of the water, and rushed toward the captain. The latter had no +chance at all with his injured knee, and with nothing to defend +himself. It was a critical moment, but he braced himself up, fumbled +in his pocket for his clasp-knife, and then faced Bruin, who was now +standing, on his hind legs ready for the attack. + +When Captain Josh and the bear disappeared over the bank the boys +stared in amazement, which soon changed to fear when they saw what the +animal really was. They crowded together, and it needed but a word to +cause most of them to rush panic-stricken from the place. + +It was Rod who saved the situation. No sooner had the captain and the +bear reached the water, than he sprang forward, seized the rifle, and +leaped down the bank. He had much difficulty in keeping his feet, and +several times he thought that he would lose his balance and tumble +head-long into the pool below. He managed, however, to keep from +falling by digging his feet into the gravel, and thus step by step +moved quickly downward. + +Rod knew something about the captain's rifle, as on several occasions +he had been shown how it worked, and once, which was a red-letter day +to him, he had been allowed to fire it off. It was quite fortunate +that the boy had this slight knowledge, which now served him in good +stead. Rod saw the bear rise on its hind legs, and he knew from +stories he had read that this was the ordinary method of attack. He +could not afford to lose a moment, he was well aware, if the captain +was to be saved. + +Creeping close to where the bear was standing, he drew back the hammer, +took steady aim at the brute's body, and pulled the trigger. At once +there was a loud report, and Rod was sent reeling backward as if hit on +the shoulder by a huge rock. For an instant he imagined that the bear +had struck him with its paw, but a shout from the captain caused him to +scramble to his feet. Then his eyes rested upon the black form of the +bear lying upon the ground but a short distance away. + +"Is it dead?" he asked, hurrying over to where the captain was standing. + +"Dead! Doesn't he look like it?" was the reply, as the old man laid a +heavy hand affectionately upon the boy's shoulder. "That was a great +shot, lad, and jist in the nick of time. My! I was sure he was goin' +to have me fer dinner. That would have been a slower and more painful +death fer the brute, ha, ha!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +FIRST AID + +By this time the rest of the scouts had scrambled down the bank, much +ashamed of themselves for their recent fear. They were now most +anxious to do all they could to assist the captain. They soon learned +that he was unable to walk, for in addition to his injured knee he had +sprained his ankle. He tried to take a few steps in order to show the +boys that he was not much hurt. But this was more than he could +endure, and he gave a deep groan of pain as he sank down upon the +ground. + +"It's nothin', lads," he growled, somewhat annoyed at the accident. +"Yez better go home and git a team to take the bear out. I'll stay and +keep him company till yez come back. He might be jist fooling and will +sneak off into the woods. We can't afford to run any risk." + +"We'll not leave you, captain," Rod stoutly protested. "You're soaked +with water, and you'll get a bad cold if you stay here. We'll carry +you home." + +"Carry me!" the captain exclaimed in surprise. "Yez couldn't tote a +heavy log like me all that distance." + +"We're going to try, anyway. We're scouts, remember, and you have +often told us what to do in a case like this. I guess the bear will be +all right. He looks quiet enough now." + +There was nothing for the captain to do but to submit, and though he +growled somewhat at what he called their foolishness, yet he was +pleased at their interest on his behalf. + +The boys at once set to work to prepare a stretcher for their wounded +scoutmaster. With a scout axe, Rod cut down several small maples, +trimmed off the leaves, and cut them the necessary length. He then +asked the captain for his coat, as it was the largest they could get. +Through the sleeves of this they ran two of the poles, which thus +formed one end of the stretcher. Then taking off their own coats they +did the same to the other end. It took five of theirs to equal the +captain's, and even then they were afraid that all combined would not +bear the man's weight. In addition to the coats, the scouts fastened +their leather belts together, and stretched these between the poles for +greater support. + +The captain was greatly pleased at the speedy way in which the boys did +this work. But he had his doubts about their being able to carry him +home. He weighed about one hundred and seventy pounds, which would +mean over forty pounds to each of the four scouts who would take their +turn at the stretcher. Rod thought of this and a new idea came +suddenly into his mind. Picking up two of the other maple saplings he +had cut, he placed them crosswise beneath the stretcher, and stationed +a scout at each end. When all was ready, the captain rolled himself +upon the rude contrivance which had been made, and told the boys to go +ahead. At once the eight scouts stooped and without any difficulty +lifted him from the ground. They were delighted to find that not a +sleeve ripped, and not a belt gave way. + +It was decided that they should follow the brook down-stream for a +distance until they came to the old winter-road. By doing this they +would escape the thick woods, as well as the climb up the steep bank. +It was a rough trip, and the captain was jolted a great deal. + +"Don't make me sea-sick," he warned, when he swayed more than usual. +"Ugh!" he groaned, as one of the boys slipped upon a rock, and dropped +the end of his pole. "I've been over many rough seas in my life, but +nothin' to equal this. Steady, there," he cried, as the swaying motion +increased. "Ah, that's better," he encouraged, when they at length +reached the winter-road. + +The scouts enjoyed the captain's remarks. He cheered them when they +did well, and made them rest occasionally. But it was a heavy load +they were bearing, and right glad were they when at last they reached +the Anchorage, and handed over their charge to Mrs. Britt. + +That afternoon Phil's father took his horses and went with the scouts +to bring in the bear. Several able-bodied men accompanied them, for +news had spread from house to house of what had taken place up the +brook. It was almost sundown, when they returned, and quite a crowd of +neighbours were gathered around the captain's house to see the bear +which Rod had shot. + +The scouts were delighted with their adventure, and each considered +himself a hero when he met other boys in the parish. Whyn was greatly +excited over the whole affair, and had to hear every detail from the +captain himself. Her eyes sparkled with pleasure when she learned of +the brave part Rod had taken. She was wise enough, however, not to +praise Rod when the rest of the scouts were present, for she knew that +they would be jealous. But when he was alone with her one afternoon, +she told him just what she thought. + +"I think you did great," she exclaimed, after they had talked for +awhile about the bear. + +"Oh, I didn't do much," was the reply. + +"Yes, you did. If it hadn't been for you, the bear would have killed +the captain. He told me so himself." + +"Well, I'm glad I was there to save him. It was my good turn, that's +all, and one must never expect praise for that. But, say, Whyn, have +you seen the bear's skin? It's a beauty. The neighbours skinned it, +and Phil's father is going to take it to the city. He thinks that he +can sell the meat as well, for some people like it to eat." + +"What a letter I shall write to Douglas," the girl replied, as she +clasped her hands together. "Isn't it great, the many wonderful things +I have to write about!" + +"And I shall write to Miss Royanna," Rod declared. "I know she will +like to hear about that bear, though she will be so sorry that the +captain got hurt." + +"And will you write to your mother?" Whyn asked. + +"Yes, I suppose so. But I don't know whether she's interested in bears +or not. But I know that Miss Royanna is, for she's interested in +everything. Say, Whyn," and Rod lowered his voice, "I wish she was my +mother; wouldn't it be great?" + +"Oh, Rod!" and the girl looked her astonishment. + +"There, I knew you'd say that. But I can't help it. I don't know my +mother, and how can I love some one I have never seen? I suppose +she'll land here some day and take me away. She said that she was +coming last summer, but she put it off, lucky for me." + +After the excitement over the bear had somewhat subsided, the scouts +settled down to the work of making wreaths. For awhile this was +carried on in the kitchen of the Anchorage, as the captain wished to be +on hand, and to give what assistance he could. It was several weeks +before he was able to bear his foot to the ground, and this was a most +trying time to him. Such an active life had he always led that to be +confined to the house was hard for him to endure. Whyn was also able +to be present, and sat in the big chair the captain had made, and +watched with interest all that took place. She made a few wreaths +herself, though she was not able to do much, as she tired very quickly. +The scouts liked to have her with them, and she was often able to +instruct them, and to pass judgment upon their work. + +Another valuable helper was Miss Arabella. It was quite remarkable the +way she "happened along," as she expressed it, whenever the boys met +for wreath-making. In fact, she and the captain became quite friendly, +which was a great surprise to all. + +"Guess ye'll have to be scoutmaster, Miss Bella," he told her one +evening. + +"Goodness me!" was the startled reply. "I couldn't handle a bunch of +boys." + +"And why not, Miss Bella?" + +"They're too much like men; always wanting something, and never +satisfied when they get it." + +"So that's the reason ye never got a man, eh? Ho, ho!" and the captain +gave a gruff laugh. + +"Yes," Miss Arabella snapped. "I was afraid he might be just like you, +Captain Josh," at which retort the boys shouted with delight, while the +captain, too, was highly amused at the fun which had been caused at his +own expense. + +Thus on the nights when the work of making the wreaths was carried on +an excellent spirit of friendship prevailed. Neighbours, hearing of +the good times at the Anchorage, often dropped in to assist the scouts. +On several occasions they brought refreshments, such as sandwiches, +cakes, and doughnuts, which added very much to the enjoyment of the +evenings. + +The neighbours were so pleased with these social gatherings that they +were very sorry when the wreaths were all made and sent to the city. +They had experienced the pleasure of meeting together during the long +winter evenings, and there was now a serious blank in their lives. +They accordingly decided that something must be done, with the result +that a small club was formed, which met once a week at the scouts' +Headquarters. The women brought their knitting or sewing, while the +men were allowed their pipes. There was a programme arranged for each +night, consisting of songs, recitations, and at times a debate on some +familiar subject. + +The scouts were only too glad that their elders were so interested in +thus gathering together, and they did all they could to keep the room +clean, and make it as bright as possible. They themselves met twice a +week, and when the captain was able to get around, the regular scout +work was continued. + +Captain Josh had studied hard to keep ahead of the boys, and in this he +did remarkably well. But when it came to giving addresses on First Aid +to the Injured, he candidly confessed his ignorance. + +"Give me a broken rope," he said, "and I'll splice it in no time. But +a broken bone is too much fer me. As fer veins, arteries, bandaging, +and sich things, ye can't expect an old man like me to understand about +them. No, we've got to leave that to some one else." + +And that some one proved to be Doctor Travis, a young man who had +recently settled in the parish. He was much interested in the scouts, +and hearing of their need through Parson Dan, he offered his services +free, which were gratefully accepted by the scouts. + +It was a raw winter night when the doctor gave his first lecture to the +boys. A stiff wind was swinging in from the northeast, plainly telling +that a heavy storm was near at hand. But safe within their warm room, +the scouts gave no heed to what was taking place outside. They +listened with intense interest as the doctor explained to them what a +wonderful machine the human body really is, the difference between +veins and arteries, the various kinds of fractures, and other things +necessary for a second-class scout to know. + +The lecture was as interesting as a story, and the doctor was delighted +at the attention of the scouts. The large chart made everything so +clear, and impressed firmly upon the minds of the boys the things they +had heard. It was half-past nine when they were through, and when the +door was opened, all were surprised to find such a furious storm raging +over the land. It had been snowing for some time, and drifts were +already piling up around Headquarters. + +"Ye must stay with me to-night," Captain Josh told the doctor. "We kin +put ye up all right, and in the mornin' ye'll have a chance to see +Whyn. I want ye to have a look at her, anyway, fer she's not been up +to the mark of late." + +Thus the doctor made up his mind to remain, and he bade good night to +the boys as they left the room, and plunged out into the storm. + +"Take care of yerselves, boys," the captain shouted, "and don't git +lost." + +Such a warning was needed, for no sooner had the scouts left the +building than the storm struck them in all its fury. The night was so +dark that they could not see a yard ahead of them. But the road to the +main highway was fenced in, and so they were kept from going astray. + +Rod led, and with bent heads the rest followed. Step by step they +pressed onward, with the snow driving full into their faces. It was +cold, too, and the wind, piercing their clothes, chilled them. It was +fortunate that they had not far to go, else they would have found it +almost impossible to reach their homes on such a night. + +They had gained the highway, and Rod had just turned to leave his +companions, who lived in the opposite direction, when he stumbled and +fell over something lying in the snow. His cry of surprise soon +brought the rest of the scouts to his side. Regaining his feet, Rod +felt with his hands to see what the object was over which he had +tumbled. + +"It's a man!" he shouted, straightening himself suddenly up. "Maybe +he's frozen. Come and let's carry him back to the house." + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +THE PRODIGAL SON + +Captain Josh and the doctor were enjoying the tea which Mrs. Britt had +ready for them, when the scouts arrived bringing the man they had found +in the snow. He was a heavy load, and the boys were almost exhausted +by the time they reached the house. In a few brief words Rod explained +how they had discovered him, and then the doctor at once examined the +unfortunate man. Soon all was in a bustle about the place, and not +until the unconscious man was attended to and in bed, did the boys +leave to begin once more their battle against the storm. + +The stranger was a man of about thirty years of age, heavily bearded. +His face had the appearance of one who had experienced much suffering, +and his staring eyes were deep-sunken in their sockets. Mrs. Britt had +given him only a brief glance, but that was sufficient to remind her of +one who was constantly in her mind. When the captain and the doctor +were again back in the kitchen discussing the stranger, she stole to +his side, and looked intently upon his face. She held the light close, +and as she did so she trembled so violently that she almost let the +lamp fall from her hand. Recovering herself, she went immediately to +her husband's side and touched his shoulder. + +"It's Jimmy!" she cried, clasping her hands before her. "It's our own +boy!" + +With a startled exclamation, the captain sprang to his feet, and looked +questioningly at his wife. + +"Jimmy, did you say? In there?" + +"Yes, I am sure of it. Come, see for yourself," and Mrs. Britt led her +half-dazed husband into the little bed-room. + +The doctor remained behind in the kitchen. His thoughts, however, were +not upon his pipe, which was sending wreaths of blue smoke into the +air. He was thinking of far deeper things. His brief career as a +medical man had already brought him into close touch with many strange +circumstances. He liked to ponder them over very carefully. But this +was altogether different, and as he sat there, he endeavoured to +imagine the life of the son who had gone from home years before, and +had returned in such a sad condition. + +He was aroused by the captain's hand laid heavily upon his shoulder. + +"It's him, doc! My God, it's Jimmy!" It was all the old man could +say. He shook like a leaf, and sitting suddenly down upon a +splint-bottom chair, he buried his face in his hands. + +"Are you sure?" the doctor asked, not knowing what else to say. + +"Sure," was the low reply. "Strange I didn't know him at first. But +it's him all right. And, say, doc, ye'll bring him around, won't ye?" +and the captain raised his eyes appealingly to his companion's face. + +"I shall do all I can, captain, never fear." + +"May the Lord bless ye, doc, fer them words. Isn't it lucky that ye're +here to-night? Jist think what the scouts have done. But fer them my +Jimmy would be lyin' out there in the storm. And, say, d'ye believe in +God?" + +"Y-yes, I suppose so," was the somewhat doubtful response. + +"But ye'll be sure now, dead certain, won't ye, doc?" + +"Why? I don't catch the drift of your meaning." + +"Ye don't? Why, that's queer, after what He's done fer my Jimmy. Who +else sent them scouts out there to bring my boy in but Him? And to +think that all of these years I've been scoffin' at Him and religion, +and then fer Him to do so much fer me and my Jimmy!" + +The doctor knew not how to reply, and so continued his smoke, while the +captain sat nearby with bent head, deep in thought. The storm still +raged without, but there was silence in the kitchen, save for the +kettle which sang upon the stove. But a more intense silence reigned +within the little bed-room adjoining, where a mother knelt by the side +of her only child, holding his cold right hand in hers, and offering up +wordless prayers that he might be spared. + +News of Jimmy Britt's return soon spread throughout the parish, and +everywhere there was the buzz of gossip as to the strange way he had +come home. Some thought he must have been drunk, which caused him to +fall upon the road. Others believed that he was so poor that he could +not afford to be driven from the train. But all were of one mind that +his not writing to his parents for years was most mysterious. + +While all this talking was going on, Jimmy was being slowly restored to +life through the doctor's skill, and the mother's careful nursing. +Mrs. Britt now found the work of looking after two patients almost +beyond her power of endurance. It was then that Miss Arabella offered +her assistance, and proved a veritable angel of mercy in her attention +to Whyn, and doing what she could about the house. + +During the weeks which followed the night of the great storm the scouts +did not meet at Headquarters. They knew that the captain had little or +no heart for anything now but the care of his son. They accordingly +met from house to house, but most often at the rectory, where Mrs. +Royal always made them welcome. They were all greatly interested in +the captain's son, of whom they had heard so much, and they longed to +see him. Nearly every day Rod went to the Anchorage to see Whyn, and +they talked very much about Jimmy. The latter, however, he never saw, +as no visitor was allowed in his room. + +To the scouts the winter seemed very long, and delighted were they when +spring at last set in. The days lengthened rapidly, the snow +disappeared, and the ice was fast weakening in the river. It was a +fine afternoon when Rod was making his regular visit to Whyn that he +saw Jimmy. He was sitting in a sunny spot right in front of the house. +His thick beard had been removed, and his face was very pale after his +illness. Rod recognised him in an instant, and it was with difficulty +that he kept back a cry of astonishment. With fast-beating heart he +rushed into Whyn's room, much to the girl's surprise, for he was in the +habit of entering quietly. + +"Why, Rod, what's the matter?" she inquired. + +"You look half frightened to death." + +"It's him, Whyn!" he exclaimed. "I'm sure of it." + +"Who is it? What do you mean?" the girl asked. "Sit down, and be +sensible." + +"He's the very man who was knocked down and robbed in the city, Whyn." + +"What man?" + +"Jimmy. He's out there. His whiskers are all off, and I knew him the +instant I got my eyes on him." + +"Does the captain know that?" Whyn questioned, after a moment's +thought. "Isn't it strange that Jimmy should have been helped twice by +our troop? How delighted Captain Josh will be." + +"You tell him, Whyn," Rod suggested. "He ought to know, but if I say +anything it will seem like boasting. It was only our good turn, and we +are not supposed to say anything about what we do." + +Whyn had no scruples, however, and that very afternoon she spoke to the +captain. She told him all that Rod had said, how that he was sure that +Jimmy was the very man who had been attacked and robbed. The captain +said very little, but later he had a long talk with his son, who, up to +the present, had been very reticent about the past few years of his +life. Jimmy was sitting on a log near the shore when the captain spoke +to him about the matter. For a few moments the younger man remained +very silent, as he whittled a piece of cedar wood with his sharp knife. + +"What's wrong with ye, lad?" the captain asked. "Why can't ye answer a +straight question?" + +"Sit down, dad, and don't get excited," was the reply. "There, that's +better. There's something I want to tell you, and it's been on my mind +for weeks past, so it might as well be now as any other time. When I +left home I wrote to you quite often. But when I got away north, and +mixed up with a rough crowd, I somehow got out of the way of writing. +I was a long way from the post-office, and mails were very irregular, +which perhaps had something to do with my neglect. I struck it rich +there, dad, and made my pile, which, thank God, is now safe in the +bank. When I came 'outside,' it was to have, as I thought, a good +time. I did several of the big cities on the Pacific coast, and then +drifted to New York. I need not tell you of my life there, as it +wouldn't do any good. I had the money, and so there was no trouble +about seeing the seamy side of life. But one night, I don't know yet +how it happened, I drifted into a place to hear a famous singer. She +was great, and her voice, oh, dad, I wish you could have heard it. But +what got me was the closing piece. It was called, 'My Little Lad, God +Bless Him.' I can't begin to tell how that song affected me. It +seemed like the cry of a broken-hearted mother for her only boy, who +was away from her. In an instant I thought of mother and you, and when +I left the place that night I was all broken up. I tried to shake the +feeling off, but every night it came upon me stronger than ever. + +"As the weeks went by I became very wretched. I saw what a brute I had +been, and how you at home must have suffered. The upshot of it was, +that I left New York, landed in St. John, got waylaid, was in the +hospital unconscious for a long time, unknown to all. When I got out, +I took the evening train, intending to hire a team at Greenside to +drive me home. I couldn't get any one to bring me at that time of the +night, and so I began to foot it. When the storm overtook me I fought +hard, but I was very weak, and--oh, well, you know the rest." + +When Jimmy was through, the captain sat for some time without saying a +word. He looked straight before him, as if watching the ice, and +wondering when it would go out. But he saw nothing there, for his mind +was upon more important things. + +"Jimmy," he at last remarked, "this is all His doin's. I kin see that +now. He has protected you, and brought ye back to us." + +"Who?" Jimmy asked in surprise. "It was that song which did it." + +"Ah, yes, Jimmy. But back of that was Another, the very One I've been +neglectin' fer years. It's wonderful, lad! it's wonderful, and don't +ye fergit it." + +The very next Sunday morning, Parson Dan, and all those at church, were +astonished to see the scouts march in, accompanied by their +scout-master. It was the first time in years that the captain had been +there, and all noted how thoughtful and reverent he was. He had +ordered the scouts to attend Headquarters that morning, without telling +them of his plans. From there he had marched them straight to church, +with orders to behave themselves, and do credit to the troop. + +That day there was no one in all the parish as pleased as Parson Dan at +the great change which had come over the careless and indifferent +captain. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +DRIFT-LOGS + +The following week was very stormy. The rain drove up from the south, +and the river rose rapidly. The ice, now greatly weakened, slowly +stirred before its final rush to the sea. Then the moment arrived when +it started forward, impelled by the gathering mass up-stream. All day +long it surged onward, and far on into the night, carrying along trees, +and stones, ripping and grinding, demolishing a wharf here, or +up-rooting a tree there. No power of man could stop it. People stood +on the shore watching the sight, familiar, and yet always new. The +last sign of winter had now departed, and all knew that in a few hours +the first steamer of the season would be on her way up-river. + +With the ice, and following it, came the drift-logs. In a number of +cases booms had been broken, and the work of months ruined in an +instant. For a hundred miles or more these logs were scattered along +the river, drifting with the tide, caught in coves, and mouths of +creeks, or stranded upon the shore. To collect as many of these as +possible was a big task. Yet it was important, for these logs +represented much money, and their entire loss would spell ruin to some +lumbermen. + +In less than two days after the ice had gone out, a notice was posted +at the store. It told of the offer of ten cents for each drift-log. +There were men who made a regular business of this every spring. They +bought all the logs which had been collected by the inhabitants along +the river, took them to the city, where they were sorted out according +to private marks, and sold to their respective owners at an excellent +profit. + +Formerly, Captain Josh had paid no attention to such posted notices. +The work of gathering drift-logs he considered beneath the dignity of +an old sea-captain. "I'm not a scavenger," he had often told people, +when they had asked him why he didn't collect the logs which always +floated near his shore, and into the little cove just below his house. +"If I can't make a livin' without doin' sich work, then I'll give up." + +But this spring the captain studied the notice most carefully, and he +walked back to the Anchorage in a very thoughtful mood. He was +thinking of the scouts. He was anxious that they should make more +money, and here was a fine opportunity. They had already two hundred +dollars in the bank, for the bear and the wreaths had added another +fifty to the account. But the captain was not satisfied. He longed to +have three hundred dollars there, for with that amount there was hardly +a possible chance of the Hillcrest troop being beaten in the struggle +for the prize. He disliked the idea of now turning scavenger after he +had talked so much against the work. But he was not thinking of +himself, so that made a vast difference. + +He found the scouts at Headquarters, for school was out, and this was +their regular afternoon of meeting. They were awaiting his coming with +eagerness, as they, too, had seen the notice in the store. But they +knew the captain's views on the matter, and, therefore, had serious +doubts about speaking to him in reference to the drift-logs. + +"Hello, boys," was his cheery greeting, as he seated himself upon a +block of wood before the door. "How's business?" + +"Not very good," Rod replied. "But we have a plan for making more +money." + +"Yez have, eh? Well, that's interestin'. What is it?" + +"But we're afraid you won't like it," Rod declared. + +"H'm, is that so? Must be pretty bad, then. Not goin' to steal +chickens, are yez? I can't agree to that." + +The boys gave a hearty laugh, and the captain smiled grimly. He was +quite certain what the plan was which the scouts had in view. + +"Oh, no, we wouldn't steal anything," Rod hastened to explain. "We +want only honest money. This will be honest, but you don't like the +way of earning it." + +"How d'ye know that, young man? What makes ye wise so mighty sudden?" + +"You have often said so yourself, sir. Haven't you told us that you +didn't like collecting drift-logs? You always said it was beneath your +dignity, didn't you?" + +"Ho, ho, that's it," the captain roared. "Suppose I did say that, +what's wrong about it?" + +"Nothing, sir, nothing, only----" + +"Only what?" + +"That you wouldn't care for us to gather drift-logs, and sell them." + +"Did I ever say anything about you?" the captain demanded. + +"No, sir. But we thought----" + +"Oh, so yez thought, eh? Well, then stop sich thinking and git to +work. It's beneath my dignity to be pokin' around after logs, because +I'm a sea-captain. But that has nothin' to do with you. It's beneath +my dignity to go bare-footed, but it's all right fer you. It's beneath +my dignity to go to school, but not fer you, see?" + +"And you're quite willing to let us collect the logs?" Rod enquired. +He was all alert now and excited, as were also the rest of the scouts. + +"Sure. Go ahead, and I'll keep an eye over yez." + +"And may we have the tender?" + +"Certainly. Yez couldn't do much without that. But be very careful, +and don't git a duckin'. I don't want any accidents. Yer parents look +to me to take care of yez, and I don't want to have any bad news to +carry to yer homes." + +Thus it came about that the boys began to gather logs that very +afternoon. The captain sat upon the shore watching and giving advice. +Four of the scouts manned the tender. Two rowed, while Rod and Phil +herded the logs together, which were then towed to the little cove and +fastened to the shore. The rest of the boys rolled the stranded logs +into the water, and then by means of poles floated them also into the +cove. It was very exciting work, and the time came all too soon for +them to go home. But before they left they counted how many they had, +and found that there were one hundred and forty-five safely rounded up. +This was most encouraging, and their hearts were filled with joy at the +success of their undertaking. + +The captain had watched the boys with great interest. He was proud of +the speedy and skilful manner in which they had performed the work. He +knew that if he had assisted there would now be many more logs in the +cove. But he could not afford to lose his dignity, oh, no, and he +chuckled as he sat there for a few minutes after the scouts had gone +home. + +That evening when supper was over, the captain started out alone in the +tender. He told his wife that it might be late before he got home, and +for her not to worry. He knew where many logs were lying in coves and +creeks unknown to the scouts. Hour after hour he patiently toiled, +collecting these, and lashing them together with timber-dogs and ropes +he had brought with him. It was long after dark when he at last took +his raft in tow, and began to row for his own shore. The tide was +favourable, so after a pull of over an hour he had the satisfaction of +making them fast to a tree in front of the Anchorage. + +Next morning the captain was in great spirits, and he chuckled so often +over his breakfast that his wife's curiosity was aroused. + +"What is it, Joshua?" she asked. "You seem to be greatly amused over +something." + +"Oh, it's only a little surprise fer the scouts," was the reply. +"Don't say a word, and I'll tell ye." + +"But what about your dignity, Joshua?" Mrs. Britt laughingly enquired, +when she had heard the story. "May I tell Whyn? She would be so +pleased, poor girl." + +"Sure, Betsey. But how is she this mornin'?" + +"No better, I'm afraid. She is failing fast. She hasn't been able to +see the scouts for some time, and you know what that means. She just +lies there all day without saying hardly anything. She is so different +from what she was when she first came here." + +"But she still takes an interest in what the scouts are doin', does she +not?" + +"Oh, yes, in a way. But she cannot get up her old enthusiasm. The +least excitement tires her. She is an angel, if ever there was one. +Mrs. Sinclair is coming this morning, so she wrote. She will be +terribly disappointed in Whyn." + +Often during the day the captain went to see if the logs he had +gathered during the night were safe. Then before school was out, he +took off all the tacklings, and scattered the logs along the shore, so +that they had the appearance of having drifted there in the night. He +kept a strict watch over them now lest they should get too far from the +shore, and very glad was he when at last the scouts arrived. + +They were surprised and delighted to find so many logs near at hand, +and never for a moment did they suspect what the captain had done. It +took them the rest of the afternoon getting the logs into the cove, and +when this was accomplished, they stood upon the shore and gazed proudly +upon their haul, as the captain termed it. + +"Ye've done well, lads," he remarked, "fer ye must have nigh onto three +hundred now. But yez should have a boom around them. If a gale +springs up, there'll be trouble." + +Acting upon this suggestion, and directed by the captain, the scouts +spent another hour in encircling their logs with a stout boom, which +they made secure to the shore. + +"There, that's better," was the captain's comment, when this had been +completed. "Yez'd better hurry home now, fer it's gittin' rather late." + +As the boys were about to leave, a small tug came up the river, and +swerved somewhat to the left. A man was standing in the wheel-house, +watching those on shore. No word was spoken as the boat sped by, but a +thoughtful expression appeared in Captain Josh's eyes as he stood and +studied the tug for several minutes. + +"I wonder what she's after," he mused, half aloud. + +"Perhaps she's going up-river for logs," Rod suggested. + +"Maybe she is, lad. But I was jist wondering whose logs she's after, +that's all. I know that craft, so that's what makes me uneasy. If +it's your logs she's after it'll be well to keep a sharp lookout +to-night. Last spring quite a number of logs disappeared, and I know +yez don't want to run any risk with yours." + +The scouts were much excited now, and the idea of keeping watch +appealed to their fancy. They all wanted to stay, but the captain told +them to go home first and get permission from their parents. + +"I'll keep a eye out," he told them, "until some of yez come back. +Ye'd better bring yer blankets along, so that the ones who are not on +duty kin sleep. I guess ye'll find the floor of Headquarters quite +soft before mornin'." + +By the time the scouts returned it was nine o'clock. They found the +captain on guard near the shore. + +"Nothin' doin' yit," was his greeting. "But, then, it's too early. +The best thing fer yez to do is to take an hour each on watch. Put the +youngest on first, and the older ones kin take from midnight. If +anything of special interest turns up, let me know. I'll sleep with +one ear open." + +And thus the watch began. It was a novel experience for the scouts, +and all were anxious for their turn to arrive. Every time the door +opened and guard was relieved, all awoke, for they slept lightly, as +the floor was not as soft as their own beds at home. + +Phil had taken from twelve to one, and he was followed by Rod. It was +a beautiful night, with the stars twinkling overhead. Not a ripple +disturbed the surface of the river. Frogs croaked in the distance, and +peculiar night sounds fell upon his ears. He sincerely hoped that +something would happen during his watch, and as he sat upon a log among +the bushes his eyes and ears were keenly alert. + +Never before did an hour appear so tedious to Rod. When it seemed that +he had been there long enough he pulled out the watch the captain had +let the boys have for the night and, striking a match, saw that he had +been on guard only half an hour. At times a drowsy feeling came over +him, and he was forced to move about to keep from going to sleep at his +post. He wondered if the other scouts had felt the same way. + +He had just seated himself after a short walk, when a sound out on the +river arrested his attention. At first he thought that he must be +mistaken. But, no, he was sure now that he could hear the noise of a +boat cutting through the water. This brought him to his feet, and he +strained his eyes in an effort to see what it could be. And as he +looked he beheld a dim object in the distance, which was growing more +distinct. It was moving when he first saw it. Then it slowed down and +seemed to be drifting. There was hardly a sound made now, and the +watcher on the shore could tell that the boat was drawing closer to +where the logs were lying. This looked serious, and he believed that +it was there for no good purpose. He waited a few moments, however, to +be sure. He did not wish to give a false alarm, and thus bring upon +himself the ridicule of the other scouts. + +The boat was now near enough for him to discern it quite plainly. +Presently it stopped and a small boat put off, and made straight for +the logs. Rod hesitated no longer, but turning, sped swiftly along the +shore and then up the path leading to the Anchorage. Reaching the +house, he pounded upon the door, which was opened almost immediately by +the captain. + +"They're there!" Rod gasped. + +"After the logs?" the captain enquired. "Are you sure?" + +"Yes. Come quick, or it will be too late!" + +Stepping to one corner of the kitchen, the captain picked up his rifle, +and swiftly followed Rod to the shore. There they paused and listened. + +"Ye're right, by gum!" the captain whispered. "The skunks! But I'll +stop their fun. Into the tender now, and make no noise." + +With Rod seated astern, and the captain at the oars, it took but a few +minutes to come close to the tug. A long line had already been made +fast to the raft, and the small boat with two men on board was +returning from fastening the warp. Captain Josh ceased rowing and +waited. Then he caught up his rifle, and held it in readiness. + +"Hold on there!" he roared. "What's the meanin' of all this?" + +"None of your business," was the gruff and somewhat startled reply. +"Get out of the way or we'll run ye down!" + +"Is that so?" and the captain drew back the hammer of his rifle. +"Bluff all ye like, but I've something here which does more'n bluff. +Stop rowin', I tell ye, or I'll blow yer heads off!" + +It was remarkable what an effect these words had upon the +night-prowlers. They could see, as well, the levelled rifle, and they +believed that the man holding it meant business. They stopped rowing, +but the boat still glided onward. + +"Back water, and keep away from the tug!" the captain commanded. + +The men obeyed, and soon the boat was lying but a few yards off. + +"There, that's better," the captain commented. "Now, what have yez to +say about yer actions here?" + +"We're only obeyin' orders," was the surly reply. "We were told to +come fer these logs." + +"Who told ye?" + +"Nick Taftie. We're workin' fer him." + +"H'm, I thought so. Worked fer him last year at the same job, eh?" + +"Yes." + +"How many of yez are there?" the captain enquired. + +"Three. Pete Simons, the engineer, is on board." + +"Well, then, ye jist tell Pete to drop anchor, and tumble in there with +yez. If yez try any foolin', I'll shoot." + +"But what are ye going to do?" one of the men demanded. "We can't stay +here." + +"Never mind what I'm goin' to do; ye'll find that out in plenty of +time. It's not a bad place to stay, after all. Yez won't starve, and +I shan't shoot so long as yez behave yerselves. Hurry up, and give +Pete his orders!" + +The engineer had heard every word which had been spoken. At first he +was tempted to steam away, and leave his companions to their fate. But +he knew that he could not very well steer the tug and handle the engine +at the same time. He, therefore, decided to remain. It took him only +a few minutes to run out the anchor, and join his companions, as they +backed their boat to the stern of the tug. + +"Now pull fer the shore," the captain ordered. "Don't try to git away +from me. At the first sign I'll shoot." + +Rod rowed the tender, while the captain with his rifle across his knees +kept his eyes fixed upon the three men in the other boat. When a short +distance from the shore, the captain commanded them to stop, and hand +over their oars. This they reluctantly did, and waited to see what +would happen next. + +"Got an anchor on board?" the captain asked. + +"Yes, a small one," was the reply. + +"Well, out with it then, and don't pull it up till yez receive orders." + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +THE BEST "GOOD TURN" + +There was great excitement throughout Hillcrest over the capture of the +log-stealers. In a short time everybody knew how the scouts had kept +watch during the night, and how the three tug-boatmen were forced to +remain in their anchored boat, with the captain guarding them while the +scouts went for the magistrate and constable. There was a feeling of +satisfaction that this had been so successfully accomplished, as it would +no doubt put an end to such contemptible business in the future. + +It was only natural that the trial should arouse unusual interest. It +was held in the large public hall, and the building was packed with eager +and curious spectators. Nick Taftie, the unscrupulous business man, was +present. He had tried to get away across the border into the United +States, but had been caught and forced to attend the trial. Everything +was against him. The three boatmen told of the many logs they had stolen +for him during other years. Taftie's lawyer fought hard and long, but +all in vain. The evidence was too strong against him, and he was +convicted. He was condemned to a term in Dorchester Penitentiary, and in +addition, he had to settle for all the logs he had stolen from people +along the river. The three boatmen were let off with a fine and a +warning. + +The city papers made the most of this affair, and the day after the +arrest they had long columns telling of what the Hillcrest troop had +done. They mentioned, also, how these same scouts had captured the +robbers on Kidd's Island, and how the famous singer, Anna Royanna, had +visited the troop and had sung at their entertainment. Great credit was +given to the scouts for having rounded up the gang of river-thieves. It +was explained further that the boys had collected drift-logs for the +purpose of earning money to win the Lieutenant-Governor's prize. + +All this so impressed three lumber-merchants in the city that they +united, and sent a cheque of one hundred and fifty dollars to the +Hillcrest troop. This caused intense excitement among the scouts when +they met at Headquarters, and the captain read to them the letter he had +received. With whoops, worthy of a band of painted Indians on the +warpath, the boys charged upon their scoutmaster in order to see the +wonderful cheque. Then a babel of voices ensued as they discussed how +much money they had, and what kind of a motor-boat they should buy. It +was their opinion that they must get it at once. But the captain shook +his head. + +"Don't be in too big a hurry, lads," was his reminder. "That money must +stay in the bank till the Governor gives his judgment. He'll want to see +the bank-book, and he'll have to receive a full report as to how the +money was raised. We must capture that prize, remember." + +"How much money will we have when the logs are sold?" Rod enquired. + +"Let me see," and the captain scratched his head. "We have two hundred +in the bank. This cheque will make three hundred and fifty, and them +logs should bring us twenty-five more. That's quite a sum, boys, and I +think we're pretty lucky. I doubt if any other troop'll have that much." + +In their excitement the scouts longed to rush into Whyn's room, and tell +her the great news. But this they could not do, and the thought that she +could not share their joy somewhat dampened their enthusiasm. The +captain told them that two doctors were to hold a consultation over her +that very day. His voice was lower and softer than the scouts had ever +heard it as he mentioned this, and they knew that he was deeply grieved +over the girl's condition. Their interest at winning so much money was +now lessened. Their hearts were touched at the news about Whyn, and they +left Headquarters in a quieter manner than they had done in many a day. + +Rod was more deeply moved than the rest of the scouts. That Whyn could +not get better had never before entered his mind. But for two doctors to +hold a consultation over her brought a great sinking feeling to his +heart. Would she never be able to see the scouts again? he asked +himself, as he walked slowly homeward. He had no appetite for his +supper, and went to bed earlier than usual. But he found it hard to get +to sleep. Whyn was ever before him, and he thought of her lying there in +her little room. Why should she die? he reasoned. The scouts wanted +her, and so did her mother. He tossed for a long time upon his pillow, +and when he did at last fall into a fitful slumber, he dreamed of Whyn, +and the money the scouts had earned. They seemed to be mixed up in some +funny way. He saw the girl holding out her hands to the scouts while +they were counting over a large roll of crisp bills. + +He could not get clear of this dream when he awoke in the morning, and he +thought much of it during breakfast. Both Mr. and Mrs. Royal had noticed +something unusual about Rod's manner. At first they thought that he was +not well, and they watched him carefully as they now sat at the table. +They were naturally proud of the part he had taken in the capturing of +the river-thieves, as well as the way he was developing into such a +strong manly boy. + +"I saw Doctor Travis last night," the clergyman at length began. "He and +Doctor Sturgis from the city held a consultation over Whyn yesterday +afternoon. I am afraid that her case is very serious." + +"I expected as much," Mrs. Royal replied, with a deep sigh. "The poor +girl has been failing rapidly of late, so I understand." + +Rod laid down the knife with which he was spreading his bread, and fixed +his eyes full upon the clergyman's face. His heart beat fast, and he was +very pale. + +"She has one chance, however, so the doctor said," the parson continued, +"but I fear that is almost out of the question." + +"And what is that?" Mrs. Royal enquired, as her husband paused, and began +to toy thoughtfully with his napkin-ring. + +"To send her to some great specialist in New York. An operation of a +most serious nature is necessary, but it will take so much money that it +seems almost ridiculous even to think of such a thing. It is about all +that Mrs. Sinclair can do to make a living as it is." + +"But surely there is some one who would be willing to advance the money," +Mrs. Royal replied. "Is it right that the girl should die without an +effort being made to save her life?" + +"It would take a large sum, Martha, and I am afraid that there is no one +sufficiently interested in the girl who is able to do much. The +specialist's fees alone would be great, to say nothing of other expenses. +I know where some of the money could be obtained, but I should be most +loath to use it." + +As Rod sat and listened, with flushed face and sparkling eyes, the dream +of the past night once more came into his mind. He saw Whyn holding out +her hands to the scouts while they were busy counting over their money. +Then an idea came to him which caused him to give vent to a slight +expression of delight. + +"What is it, dear?" Mrs. Royal enquired. "You seem to be amused over +something." + +"I was only thinking, grandma, and could not help it." He wished to +unburden his mind, but thought it best to wait until he had seen either +Captain Josh or the rest of the scouts. + +Rod could hardly wait now until breakfast was over, so anxious was he to +rush over before school to speak to the captain about his new plan. He +finished the few chores he was in the habit of doing, and then sped +across the field as fast as his legs would carry him. + +The captain was in his shop near the house, but he was not working as Rod +opened the door and entered. He was sitting on a bench, with his face +buried in his hands. He looked quickly up as the boy walked in, as if +ashamed to fee caught in such a manner. + +"What's up now?" was his gruff greeting. "Ye needn't startle one out of +his senses. Why can't ye knock in a proper manner?" + +"Oh, captain," Rod panted, paying no attention to the rebuke, "I want to +talk to you about something." + +"Go ahead, then. It must be mighty important to bring ye here this +mornin' in sich a hurry." + +"It is, captain, and it's about Whyn." + +"About Whyn, eh? What d'ye want to tell me about her?" + +"That she can't get better, unless she goes to a specialist. Doctor +Travis told grandad all about it last night." + +For an instant the old man looked keenly into the clear eyes of the boy +standing before him, and a deep love for this manly chap entered his +heart. + +"Sit down," he ordered, and his voice was husky. "So ye're interested in +Whyn, eh?" + +"Oh, yes. I don't want her to die." + +"Neither do I, lad. Neither do I. But what are we goin' to do? Tell me +that." + +"Help her, captain. The scouts can do it. We've got money, and why +shouldn't we give it for Whyn's sake?" + +"What, take the money we've earned?" + +"Yes. We've nearly four hundred dollars." + +"But what about the prize, Rod?" + +"Oh, we can get along without that, but we can't do without Whyn." + +"Ye're right there, lad," and a mistiness came into the captain's eyes. +"But it'll take a lot of money to send her to that specialist. Four +hundred dollars won't go very far." + +"But it will help," Rod urged. "It will be our good turn, anyway. And +say, captain, wouldn't you do a great deal for Whyn?" + +"Sure, lad, indeed I would. Do almost anything, in fact." + +"Well, then, suppose you sell the _Roaring Bess_." + +"Sell my boat!" This was almost too much for the captain. + +"Yes, why not? You can get another, can't you?" + +"I suppose so," was the slow response. + +"And if that isn't enough, you can sell your place. You would do it for +Whyn's sake, wouldn't you?" + +This was more than the captain had expected. He crushed back a naughty +exclamation, and rose slowly to his feet. + +"Look here, Rod, what d'ye think I am? A saint? Git away to school now, +or ye'll be late. I'll think over what ye've said, and discuss it with +the troop this afternoon. Ye'll see the boys at school, so tell them to +meet here as soon as they git out. Ye'd better not tell them anything +about yer plan until I've had time to think it over fer awhile." + +Rod found it very hard to keep his mind down to his lessons that day. He +was too much excited over the idea of helping Whyn. He wanted to speak +to the other scouts about it, and thus relieve his feelings. But he had +received the captain's order, and so must obey. + +The rest of the scouts were most anxious to know what the special summons +meant, so it did not take them long to reach Headquarters as soon as +school was out. Their scoutmaster was there before them, who explained +in a few words why he had called them together. + +"I want yez to decide this matter fer yerselves," he told them in +closing, "and I'll tell yez what I think about it when yez have made up +yer minds." + +"Certainly we must give the money," Rod cried, as soon as the captain was +through. "It's for Whyn, and who wouldn't do anything for her? He has +no right to belong to this troop if he wouldn't." + +"Let's give it," the rest shouted in unison; "every cent of it." + +"But what about the prize?" the captain asked. + +"Let it go," was the general response. + +"And the motor-boat?" + +"We can do without that, eh, boys?" This from Rod. + +"Yes, yes. Hurrah for Whyn!" and the scouts in their loyal enthusiasm +threw their caps into the air, and shouted at the top of their voices. + +Into the captain's eyes gleamed a light of joy and triumph. He felt at +that moment like a general whose men had consented to make a mighty +sacrifice for a great cause. He tried to say something, but the words +would not come. Instead, he stepped up to each scout, and reached out +his big right hand. This action on the part of their leader had more +effect in filling their hearts with pride than an outburst of eloquence. +They understood something of what the captain felt, and how pleased he +was at their decision. + +"But remember, lads," he reminded them, "our money'll go only a little +way, and we mustn't git too excited jist yit." + +"How much will it take?" one of the boys asked. + +"I can't say fer sure. But I wouldn't be a bit surprised if it should +take two thousand dollars." + +"Oh!" was the astonished exclamation from all. "Why will it take that +much?" they enquired. + +"Specialists are expensive people," the captain explained. "I knew a man +years ago who went to one, and it cost him more'n that." + +"But maybe he won't charge as much for a girl, especially when it's +Whyn?" Rod suggested. + +"H'm, I guess that won't make any difference. Anyway, we must be +prepared, as our motto says. We've got to git more money, that's +certain, and how are we to do it?" + +There was silence for a few minutes, as the scouts well knew from past +experience how hard it was to think of any plan to raise money quickly. +They realised that they could not expect to have such good fortune as +they had during the past year. It was Rod who broke the silence. + +"I know what we can do," he began. "We can go through the parish, and +ask every person to give something. That's what the Ladies' Aid did when +they wanted to build that shed for the horses near the church." + +"But how would Whyn like that?" the captain asked. "Wouldn't, it seem +too, much like beggin'?" + +"It would be better, though, than letting her die," Rod insisted. + +"Sure, sure," the captain agreed. "But I don't like the idea, fer all +that. Let's go home now and think of some other plan. If it comes to +the worst, we might have to beg, but not if we kin help it." + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +JIMMY + +It took Jimmy Britt many weeks to regain his strength after his serious +illness. For a long time he manifested very little interest in what +was going on around him. His father and mother wore greatly +disappointed and discouraged. He only spoke when spoken to, and spent +hours wandering alone along the shore or out in the woods. The scouts +annoyed him, and they kept as far from him as possible and he from +them. The only conversation he had with his father concerning his past +life was the day he spoke about Anna Royanna, and the influence her +song had upon him. The captain and Mrs. Britt were afraid that the +blow he had received upon his head had somewhat affected his brain, and +this caused them considerable worry. The neighbours had already +whispered this among themselves, for they had been quick to notice the +change which had come over the returned son. + +"Look here, Jimmy," his father said that evening after the scouts had +left, "I want ye to write a letter fer me. My old hand is so cramped +that I kin hardly hold a pen. Ye used to be good at sich work." + +"All right," Jimmy replied, rising slowly and bringing down the writing +materials from an upper shelf. "Now, fire away; I'm ready." + +But the captain hesitated, and was at a loss how to begin. He +scratched his head in perplexity. + +"Dang it all!" he muttered. "Oh, jist tell him that we have a little +sick girl here, who will die if she doesn't git to a specialist in New +York, and that I'd like fer him to help out with the expense." + +"What are you talking about, dad?" Jimmy asked. "I can't write the +letter until you give me the name of the person you want it sent to." + +"Oh, didn't I tell ye? Well, that's queer. It's fer my old master, +Benjamin Dodge, in the city. He's got the money, and he told me that +if I ever needed any help to go to him. I have never bothered him +before, and never intended to do so, but this is different. Whyn's +life's at stake, and that's reason enough. The scouts are to give all +the money they earned fer that prize, but it won't go very far. We +need a great deal more, and at once." + +"And did the scouts give that money of their own free will?" Jimmy +asked. "Did you suggest it to them?" + +"No. I never thought about it until Rod came over this mornin' and put +the notion into my head." + +For some time Jimmy sat toying with the pen he was holding in his hand. + +"Why don't ye write that letter?" his father demanded. + +"So you say that the girl can't get better unless she goes to a +specialist?" his son enquired. + +"It's what the doctors say; that's all I know about it. But git on +with that letter, will ye?" + +"Look here, dad," and Jimmy laid aside the pen. "I'm going to the city +in the morning, and suppose I see old Dodge about the matter. It will +be much better than writing a letter. I can explain things which I +couldn't write." + +"Maybe that would be the best way," the captain agreed. "But put it up +to him straight, Jimmy. He's a gruff cur at times, but he's got a big +heart." + +"I'll attend to that, dad. Just leave it to me." + +The captain was very restless the next day. He thought that the time +for the arrival of the evening boat would never come. Jimmy was to +return on her, and suppose Dodge was unwilling to assist! What would +he do? His eyes often turned toward the _Roaring Bess_ riding at +anchor before the house. Several times he stood in front of the door +and looked out over his few acres of land. What his thoughts were he +kept to himself, but the expression, of determination in his eyes told +of a man who would not easily be balked in the object upon which he had +set his heart and mind. + +Captain Josh met Jimmy at the wharf, and the two walked down the road +together. + +"Well, did ye see Dodge?" the captain eagerly enquired. + +"No," was the brief reply. + +"No?" the old man repeated, while his heart sank low. + +"I didn't see him, and I didn't intend to." + +"But what about Whyn, Jimmy? Didn't ye promise me that----" + +"Oh, that's all right," and the son gave a short laugh. "I have the +money, and isn't that enough?" + +"Ye've got the money, ye say?" the captain asked in astonishment, +stopping abruptly, and looking keenly into the young man's face. +"Where did ye git it?" + +"Don't worry about that, dad. It's honest money, and I'm glad it's to +be spent for a good purpose. But for that little song I heard in New +York, it would have been all blown in by this time." + +"Jimmy, d'ye tell me that it's yer own money?" the captain demanded. +"Or are ye only foolin' me?" + +"It was mine, dad, but now it's yours, so here it is," and the son +brought forth a big roll of bills from his pocket, and handed it to his +father. "Sit down, dad, and see how much is there." + +Seating himself upon a stone, the captain spread out the bills upon his +knee, by fifties and hundreds. + +"A thousand dollars!" he gasped, when he had finished. His hands +trembled, and his body shook from the vehemence of his emotion. +"Jimmy----" It was all he could say. + +"There, there, dad, that will do," and the son laid his right hand +affectionately upon his father's shoulder. "When you want any more, +let me know. But don't give that girl a hint where that money came +from. Tell her a friend gave it, see? Come, now, let's get home. +Mother will be waiting tea for us." + +The captain said very little during supper, and when the meal was over, +he sat smoking for some time in deep thought. Then he laid aside his +pipe, and went to Whyn's room. He knocked gently upon the door before +entering. The girl gave him a wan smile of greeting, and reached out +her thin hand. The captain held it for awhile, and Whyn was content to +let it remain there. + +"How are ye feelin', little one?" he asked. + +"Tired," was the reply. "But mamma is coming to-morrow, and I must be +better when she is here." + +"Sure, sure. But we're goin' to have ye better all the time soon, so +keep up courage." + +"I'm afraid not," and Whyn gazed sadly and thoughtfully toward the +window where the westering sun was casting its beams. "I shall never +be better, captain." + +"Tut, tut. Don't say sich a thing." + +"But I know it, so what's the use of pretending? Didn't the doctors +say that I can't get better unless I go to a specialist?" + +"Well, why can't ye go?" the captain queried. "What's to hinder ye?" + +"It's the want of money," was the slow reply. "It would cost so much, +and we are poor. I know that Douglas would help if he could, but he +can't do much now." + +"But suppose ye had the money, and could go, would it make ye happy?" + +"Don't tease me, captain," and the girl gave the hard hand which was +holding hers an affectionate little squeeze. + +"I'm not, Whyn, really I'm not. The scouts are goin' to send ye." + +"Captain Josh!" + +"There now, never mind any of yer exclaimin'. I knew it would surprise +ye. Yes, the scouts have decided to send ye to a specialist. +Everything is all arranged." + +"But I can't allow it, captain," Whyn protested. "Do they mean to take +their money and use it upon me?" + +"Yes, that's jist what they're goin' to do." + +"But what about the prize, and the motorboat?" + +"Don't ye worry about sich things. That + matter is all settled. The boys love ye so much that +they're willin' to do anything." + +Whyn lay very still for awhile, her eyes moist with tears. The +captain, sitting by her side, watched her in silence. + +"It is too much for them to do," the girl at last murmured. + +"Oh, not at all," the captain replied. "They are only lendin' ye the +money, and ye kin pay them back when ye git well and write that book of +yours." + +"How lovely that will be!" and Whyn clasped her hands before her in +delight, something like her old manner. "It will take some time, +though. But I shall do it, and the first money I get shall go to the +scouts." + +Suddenly an expression of anxiety came into her eyes as she fixed them +full upon the captain's face. + +"What is it, little one?" he asked. + +"But the scouts won't have enough money, will they?" she enquired. + +"Hardly enough, Whyn. But a kind friend has given some to help out. +He doesn't want ye to know his name, and will it worry ye much if I +don't tell ye?" + +"No, not at all. You have been so good to me that I have no right to +ask. Oh, I am so happy, and won't mamma be delighted when she hears +the news." + +The day after Mrs. Sinclair's arrival, preparations were made for the +removal of the invalid girl. All knew that the trip would be a serious +undertaking, but they said nothing about this to Whyn. Her mother was +going with her, and Captain Josh and Mrs. Britt were to go as far as +St. John. But before leaving, Whyn had one special request to make. +She wanted to see the scouts, to thank them and to bid them good-bye. + +They came the evening before she left, and filed silently into her +room. It had been months since they had seen her, and all were shocked +to see how she had failed. Whyn greeted them with a bright smile, and +held out her hand to each one in turn. + +"I can't talk much, boys," she began, "for I am very tired now. But I +want to thank you all for what you have done for me. Be sure and keep +the troop together. I want each one of you to write to me, and tell me +all the news." + +How the scouts got out of her room they could hardly remember, but at +last they found themselves standing before the house looking out over +the river. All wanted to say or do something to hide their real +feelings. It was Rod who rose to the occasion. + +"Come, boys," and his voice was low as he spoke, "let's have a swim. +The water's fine." + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +EXCITEMENT AT THE ANCHORAGE + +A deep gloom settled suddenly over the scouts after Whyn left. The +enthusiasm and excitement of the last few days had departed, leaving +them much depressed. They had little to work for now, as all hope of +winning the prize was gone. Their logs had been sold, and the money +placed in the bank where it would remain until needed for the sick +girl. The boys never for a moment regretted the step they had fallen. +There was something lacking, however, and they found it difficult to +take up their regular scout work where they had left it off. They met +at Headquarters as usual, and spent much time with the captain out on +the water, but whenever they came ashore and looked up at the window +where Whyn had so often greeted them, their hearts became heavy. They +wrote long letters to her and upon the arrival of the mail each day +they expected letters from her. But none came. Only to the captain +did Mrs. Sinclair write, telling him of their safe arrival in New York. + +Mrs. Britt received a letter about the same time, which caused her to +set to work house-cleaning in a most energetic manner. Every room was +turned upside down, swept, and dusted, while the captain beat carpets +and mats until his back and arms ached. Miss Arabella was taken into +the secret, and she came to the Anchorage every day to give a helping +hand. + +It was Whyn's room which received special attention. A carpet was +ordered from the city to take the place of the old hooked-mat, and new +curtains were put up to the window. + +"My, that looks fine," Miss Arabella exclaimed, when the last finishing +touches had been given to the room. "It will certainly be a surprise." + +The captain chuckled when he was brought in to give his opinion. In +fact, he had been chuckling ever since Mrs. Britt had received the +letter which started her upon the special cleaning of her already neat +house. The scouts felt that something out of the ordinary was pleasing +the captain by his jolly manner. They often discussed it among +themselves, but the more they talked, the more puzzled they became. +They all knew about the house-cleaning, the new carpet, and curtains +for Whyn's room, and that Miss Arabella was at the Anchorage most of +the time. + +"I guess I know what it's all about," Tommy Bunker confided one +afternoon, when the scouts were discussing the matter. + +"What do you know?" Rod asked. + +"Jimmy's going to get married." + +"Married!" was the surprised shout from all. + +"Yes. He's going to marry Miss Arabella. Pa said last night that +she's been looking for a man ever since he knew her, and if it wasn't +to be her wedding, he was mighty sure she wouldn't be so mighty chummy +with the captain and his wife." + +"But they wouldn't live at the Anchorage," Phil replied. "Miss +Arabella's got a home of her own, hasn't she?" + +"Pa says that Jimmy and Tom Simpkins don't agree, and so they couldn't +live in the same house," Tommy explained. + +The scouts no longer scoffed at this idea. It did seem to them that +something like a wedding was about to take place. The captain was so +mysterious and full of fun, while Miss Arabella beamed upon the boys +whenever she met them. It must surely be her wedding, they agreed. + +At the close of the second week of all this excitement, the scouts +received orders from the captain to meet him at the wharf in full +uniform upon the arrival of the evening boat. They were all there half +an hour ahead of time, wondering what was going to happen. Maybe Jimmy +and Miss Arabella had gone to the city that day, had been married, and +were coming up on the steamer. What else could it be? + +When at last the steamer did arrive, and the gang-planks had been run +out, the scouts strained their eyes in an effort to find out who were +coming ashore. Several landed, and then to their astonishment, who +should step out but Anna Royanna! + +When Rod first saw her he could hardly believe his eyes. Instantly the +meaning of all the excitement of the past few days flashed upon his +mind. It was for her that the Britts had been getting ready. He +seemed almost dazed as he stood there watching the wonderful woman +coming forward. He joined the others in the cheer of welcome which the +captain ordered to be given; he felt her hand grasping his, and saw the +smile of pleasure upon her face. But it all appeared like a marvellous +dream, too good to be true. He walked by her side with the rest of the +scouts, and listened to her conversation with the captain. But he said +nothing, unless directly spoken to. He was too happy for speech, and +he preferred to remain silent that he might think over the joy which +had so suddenly come into his life. The singer held his hand that +evening as he was about to leave the Anchorage. He promised that he +would come to see her every day, and then sped home to impart the great +news to Parson Dan and Mrs. Royal. + +There was considerable excitement throughout Hillcrest when it was +learned that the famous Anna Royanna had come to the Anchorage to stay +for several weeks. It caused the greatest stir among the people from +the city, especially the ones of the fashionable set. They could not +understand why such a woman should wish to take up her abode at the +Anchorage, of all places. To them, the Britts were very inferior +people. They knew the captain by sight and reputation, but his wife +they had never met. + +After a week's hesitation and consideration, several women called upon +Miss Royanna one fine afternoon. But she was not in. She spent most +of her time with the scouts, so Mrs. Britt informed them. She lived +out of doors during the day, and in the evening was generally at the +rectory. + +The Royals were charmed with the singer. She was so quiet and gentle, +and made herself perfectly at home. How her presence brightened up the +house. At times she played on the little piano, and sang several of +her sweetest songs. + +One evening when she was about to return to the Anchorage, a furious +thunder-storm burst upon the land, accompanied by a torrent of rain. +It continued so long that the Royals were able to induce their visitor +to remain all night. + +"I am afraid that I shall give you too much trouble," Miss Royanna told +them. + +"Oh, no," Mrs. Royal hastened to assure her. "It will be a great +pleasure to have you. There is one room which is always ready, and," +here her voice became low, "no one has slept in it for over thirteen +years. It was my son's room," she explained, seeing the look of +surprise in her guest's eyes. + +As Mrs. Royal uttered these words, she turned and lighted a lamp, and, +therefore, did not notice the strange expression which overspread Miss +Royanna's face. Together the two went upstairs and entered the sacred +chamber. + +"It was Alec's room," Mrs. Royal remarked, as she placed the lamp upon +the dressing-table. "He was fond of all those things," and she +motioned to the walls lined with books, fishing-rods, rifle, banners, +snow-shoes, and pictures. "I have aired the bed, and made it up every +week since he went away. I know it will seem childish and foolish to +you. But, oh----" she suddenly paused and sat down upon a chair by the +side of the bed. "You little realise how much he meant to us. He was +our only child, and his memory is very dear." + +"I know it," Miss Royanna replied, dropping upon her knees, and +throwing her arms around Mrs. Royal's neck. "I think I understand how +much you have suffered during all of these years. But is it right for +a stranger to occupy this room? Could I not sleep on the sofa +downstairs? I would be quite comfortable there." + +"No, no. You must stay here. I could never before bear the thought of +any one sleeping in this room. But with you it is so different. You +seem to me like my own daughter, and that you have a right here which +no one else ever had. I cannot understand the feeling." + +"May I be your daughter, then?" the younger woman eagerly asked, as she +caught Mrs. Royal's hands in her own hot ones. "It will make my heart +so happy to be able to call you mother, and to feel that this is my +home." + +In reply, Mrs. Royal kissed the fair face so close to hers, and gave a +loving pressure to the firm white hands. For some time they remained +in this position, unheeding the storm which was still raging outside. +Tears were in their eyes, but a new-found joy had entered their hearts, +which made that chamber of sacred memories a more hallowed spot than +ever. + +When at last alone, and with the door closed, the singer stood as if +spellbound. Could it be possible, she asked herself, that this was his +room, just as he had left it years before? The memory of the past rose +suddenly and vividly to her mind. She saw again his straight manly +figure, with the light of love in his eyes, as he kissed her and bade +her good-bye on the morning of that fateful day years ago. She +recalled his words of cheer and comfort as he told her how he would win +in the battle of life, and make a home for her and their little one. +Then came the terrible news, followed by the fearful days and weeks of +struggle in her effort to earn a living as she carried her boy from +place to place. The memory was more than she could endure. Sinking +upon a chair, she buried her face in her hands and wept as she had not +wept in years. Outside the storm rolled away, and the moon rose big +and bright. The house was very still, but within her room Anna Royanna +sat alone through the long watches of the night. How could she sleep +in such a place, with so many conflicting emotions agitating her heart +and mind? + +Mr. and Mrs. Royal both noticed that their guest was very pale when she +came down to breakfast. + +"I am afraid you did not sleep well last night, dear," Mrs. Royal +remarked, as she gave her an affectionate kiss. "It must have been the +storm which disturbed you." + +"I did not mind it," was the reply. "I have restless nights sometimes, +and last night was one of them. But I shall be all right presently." + +Parson Dan said nothing to any one about the idea which had come to him +concerning the noted singer. But the more he thought about it, the +more convinced he became that his suspicion was well grounded. He +watched her very carefully, and noted her special interest in Rod. +Another thing which confirmed his belief was the stopping of all +letters from Rod's mother as soon as Miss Royanna arrived at Hillcrest. +In her last one she had stated that she expected to be away for a +number of weeks, and would be unable to write until her return. The +parson's mind was greatly puzzled over the whole matter. If the famous +singer was really the boy's mother, why did she not say so? Was there +something which she wished to keep hidden? + +He also watched the two when they were together, and as he studied +their faces, he was sure that he could see a remarkable resemblance. +No one else noticed it, so he believed, and not likely he would have +done so but for the idea which had come to him that day he was driving +along the road. Several times he was tempted to discuss the whole +affair with his wife in order to find out if she had suspected +anything. He always delayed, however, hoping that something of a more +definite nature would turn up to set his doubts at rest. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +THE TROOPS DECIDE + +A few days after the big thunder-storm, Captain Josh received an +official letter from the Provincial Secretary of the Boy Scouts. It +was so important that he at once called his own scouts to Headquarters +that he might place the whole matter before them. The boys were +naturally curious to know why they had been so hurriedly summoned, and +they accordingly lost no time in getting together. + +The captain, seated at a little table, with the open letter before him, +seemed much puzzled, and all waited anxiously for him to speak. + +"Boys," he began, looking keenly into their faces, "I've got a strange +letter here from the Provincial Secretary. He tells me that in two +weeks' time the Lieutenant-Governor wants to meet all the troops in the +province, review them, and give the prize which was offered last year. +Now, we all know about that, and so are not surprised. But the +Governor wants to come to Hillcrest to hold the Review, and so the +secretary asks me to make arrangements, that is, if I agree to the +plan. They will all come from the city on the mornin' boat, bring +their lunches with them, and, hold the Review near the wharf. Now, +what d'yez think about that?" + +This was certainly astonishing news to the scouts. Several weeks ago +they would have given shouts of delight at the suggestion. But it was +different then. At that time they were almost sure of winning the +prize, and had often thought of the day when it would be presented to +them amid the cheers of the other scouts. But now such a thing was +impossible. Every cent of their savings had already been withdrawn +from the bank to help Whyn, and they had nothing to show at the Review +for all their efforts. They were, therefore, silent when the captain +finished speaking. The latter noted this, and surmised the reason. + +"I know jist what ye're thinkin' about, lads," he continued. "We'll go +to that meetin' empty-handed, so to speak. But that needn't matter. +We know that we've done right, and I think we should fall in line with +the Governor's idea, and try to give the visitin' troops a good time." + +"So do I," Rod replied. "Though we can't get the prize, it will be +nice to meet the other scouts, see how they march, and what they look +like. I think it will be great to have them come to Hillcrest." + +"I wonder what made them think of coming here," Phil remarked. "They +never did it before." + +"It is to give the scouts an outin', so the letter says," the captain +replied. "It is the Governor's treat, and he thought it would be so +nice to visit a place on the river where there is a troop. The +secretary wants to know why we have sent no account of what we have +done during the past year in connection with the prize-contest. He +says that all the other troops have done so, and he is surprised that +we have done nothin'." + +"I guess there won't be anything to report now," Rod replied. "Don't +say anything about what we have done, captain, when you write." + +"I don't intend to," and the old man glared upon the boys as if he had +been charged with some serious offence. "De' yez think that I'm goin' +to blab all about our good-turn? Not a bit of it. Let's git down to +business now, and arrange about that Review." + +The following days passed very quickly. There were many things the +scouts had to do for the great event. The large field below the wharf +was obtained, and here boards were brought for the grand-stand, which +the captain was bound to have erected for the noted men who were +coming. Stately elm, beech, and birch trees stood at the back and +along the edge of the field, which would afford excellent shade should +the day be hot. Flags, too, were gathered, and these were to be hung +upon the grand-stand, while one big Union Jack was to surmount a pole +from the top of the tallest tree. + +There was other work for the boys as well. They were not yet +second-class scouts, and the captain was most anxious that all should +pass the examination before the Review took place. He accordingly kept +the troop busy, and Doctor Travis was most helpful in his lectures and +in examining the boys. It was the day before the meeting when the +captain proudly presented each scout with his second-class badge. + +"There, I'm thankful that's over," and he gave a deep sigh of relief. +"Yez kin hold up yer heads now among the rest. I wish it was the +first-class badge, though. Yez should have it by this time, and I +guess ye would if we hadn't spent so much time in earnin' money." + +The morning of the Review was clear and warm, and the scouts in full +uniform were early on the grounds. The flags were all arranged, and +everything was in readiness for the meeting. Word had passed +throughout the parish that the Lieutenant-Governor was to be present, +and all during the morning people kept coming, some by motor-boats, and +others by teams. They brought their dinners with them, intending to +make a holiday of it. Even Tom Dunker was there with his family. He +had no use for Captain Josh or the scouts, but he did want to see the +Lieutenant-Governor, and hear what he had to say. + +When the _River Queen_ at last appeared in sight, the wharf was black +with people. As the steamer drew near and gave forth two raucous +blasts, a band on board began to play the National Anthem. When this +was ended, the scouts, crowding the bow, gave three cheers and a +"tiger." Flags were flying fore and aft, and as the river was like a +mirror, the _River Queen_ presented a perfect picture of majestic +gracefulness as if proud of the load she was carrying. + +Captain Josh with his scouts kept guard at the outer edge of the wharf, +and stood at attention as the various troops filed ashore. When at +last the Lieutenant-Governor and several noted men came out, the boys +gave the full salute, and then preceded them to the main highway where +the other scouts were already lined up. Then down the road they all +marched, the band going before, playing a lively air, the Governor, and +others in carriages, followed by a long line of scouts, with the +Hillcrest troop leading. It was a proud moment for Captain Josh, as he +marched ahead of the procession. Drawn to his full height, and with +his long beard sweeping his breast, he might have been taken for a +great warrior of olden days leading his men into action. + +After the troops had reached the grounds they disbanded, and then +various games were begun. Baseball came first between two crack teams. +Those not interested in this made for the shore, where, protected by +thick trees, they were able to enjoy a good swim. + +When the baseball match was over it was time for dinner. Soon the +smoke of numerous fires rose above the trees near the shore where the +scouts boiled water, cooked eggs and meat like old veterans. It was a +scene of gay festivity, mingled with much laughter and fun. All kinds +of mistakes were made, due to ignorance of cooking or the excitement of +the moment. One patrol put their tea into their can with the cold +water, and boiled all together. Some boys mixed their coffee with salt +instead of sugar. But all mistakes and the bantering which followed, +were taken in good part, for no one felt like getting angry, no matter +what happened. + +The Hillcrest troop took no part in the games. They were content to +stand by and watch. They knew nothing about baseball such as is played +in the city, and were accordingly greatly interested, noting +everything, and determined that they, too, would learn to play in the +proper manner. But when it came to making a fire and preparing dinner, +they easily led all the rest. Here they felt more at home, and were +able to give considerable assistance to the less fortunate. + +During the morning the Lieutenant-Governor, and the three who +accompanied him, enjoyed themselves in their own way. They viewed the +baseball game with much interest in the cool shade of a large tree, and +then strolled to the shore to watch the scouts as they prepared their +dinners. As they were seated upon a log, thinking it about time to go +back to the steamer lying at the wharf where they were to have dinner, +Captain Josh approached, and lifted his hat. He had disappeared +shortly after the steamer's arrival, and no one knew what had become of +him. The Governor at once rose to his feet, and held out his hand. + +"You are Captain Britt, I believe," he began. "I have heard of you, +and am very glad to meet you. We have been enquiring for you." + +"Had other business on hand, sir," the captain replied, giving the +Governor's hand a vigorous shake. "But I'm mighty glad to meet you." + +"Allow me to introduce my friends," and the Governor turned to his +three companions, "Senator Knobbs, Judge Sterling, and our Provincial +Secretary, Mr. Laird." + +"Glad to meet yez all," the captain exclaimed, as he gave the hand of +each a hearty grip. "It isn't every day our parish is so honoured. +Now, what about dinner? Yez must be hungry by this time." + +"We are about to go back to the steamer," the secretary replied. "They +have made ready for us there." + +"Dinner on the steamer!" the captain cried in surprise. "Whoever heard +of sich a thing at an outin' like this. Now, look here, I want yez to +be my guests to-day, at a real out-of-doors meal. Yez kin eat on a +steamer at any time. Will yez come? Everything is ready." + +"But what about the dinner on the boat?" the Governor enquired. + +"Oh, I'll send one of the scouts to tell them that ye're invited +elsewhere. Will that do?" + +"I shall be delighted to go with you, and I know that my friends will, +too. It is very kind of you to ask us." + +Calling to Rod, who was not far off, the captain sent him at once to +the steamer. Then bidding the men to follow him, he left the shore, +crossed the field, and entered the forest at the back of the +grand-stand. Here a trail led off to the left, and after a few +minutes' walk they came to a little brook gurgling down through the +forest. Tall trees formed an arch over the water, birds twittered and +sang, while a squirrel high up on a branch scolded noisily at the +intruders. A few rods along the brook brought into view a grassy spot +under the shade of a large maple tree. As the three strangers looked, +their eyes opened wide with surprise, for there before them was a +tempting repast spread upon a fair white linen cloth. + +"Sit down, gentlemen," the captain ordered, "while I make tea." + +"This is great!" the Governor exclaimed, as he seated himself upon the +ground, and leaned back against the bole of the tree. + +"It certainly is," the Judge assented. "It reminds me of my boyhood +days. This is good of you," and he turned to the captain, "to take all +this trouble for us." + +"It's only a pleasure, I assure yez," the captain returned. "Much +nicer than the steamer, eh? Fall to, now. Ye'll find them trout +rather good. Caught them myself in the brook. Betsey'll be right +pleased if ye'll try her biscuit and pie. She was afraid they wouldn't +be good. Have some tea, sir?" and he held the tea-pot over the +Governor's cup. "Not too strong, eh? That's good. Ye'll find cream +and sugar right there. Help yerselves, now, and don't be backward." + +"Well, that's the best meal I've had in a long time," the Senator +remarked, as he finished, and drew forth his cigar case and passed it +around. "You didn't do all this yourself, did you, captain?" + +"Should say not," was the reply. "Betsey, that's my woman, did the +cookin', but Miss Royanna helped me fix things up here. It was her +idea, not mine." + +"Miss Royanna, did you say?" the Governor queried. "It seems to me +I've heard that name before." + +"Sure ye have. She's the great singer. Anna Royanna, she's generally +called. She's livin' with us fer awhile. Greatest woman out." + +"Strange," the Governor mused. Then he shot a swift glance toward the +secretary, but that young man was staring hard at the captain. + +"There is certainly some tone to all this," and the Judge gave a hearty +laugh. "We little expected to have our dinner served by such a noted +person, and to be waited upon by a worthy sea-captain, did we, sir?" +and he turned toward the Governor. + +But the latter had risen to his feet, as if suddenly aroused by some +pressing engagement. + +"Come," he ordered, "let's get back. It's time for the Review to +begin. The scouts will be getting impatient." + +It took them but a few minutes to return to the grand-stand where +Parson Dan was waiting to receive them. He and the Governor were old +friends, and hearty was the greeting between the two. Then the call +was sounded, summoning the scouts. Soon they were lined up according +to troops before the stand, where the officials were already seated, +with the clergyman by their side. They invited Captain Josh to a seat +on the platform, but he refused, saying that he preferred to remain +with his boys. + +After the band had played a couple of inspiring national airs, the +speeches began. They were not long, but full of interest, dealing with +the scout movement. The Senator spoke first, and was followed by the +Judge. Parson Dan was asked to say a few words, but he declined, +saying that the boys wanted to hear the Governor, and not a prosy old +parson. + +When the Governor at last arose, he was greeted with great cheers. All +the people had crowded as close as possible, so as not to miss a word +of the address of the prominent man who had come into their midst. +Near the platform stood Anna Royanna. The speeches mattered very +little to her, for it was Rod's face she was watching. She noted the +eager interested look in his eyes, and his erect bearing as he stood at +attention at the head of his patrol. How few the Hillcrest scouts were +compared with the others, and a slight smile lightened the woman's face +as she thought of the surprise which perhaps was in store for them. + +The Governor at first complimented the scouts upon their neat smart +appearance, and what an excellent thing the movement was. He then +referred to the prize which had been offered a year before, and that +the time had at last arrived when it was to be awarded. At these words +the assembled troops stood straighter than ever, eager and intense to +hear the name of the successful troop. + +"I have the list before me," the Governor continued, as he arranged his +eye-glasses, "and I consider it a very creditable one indeed, showing +most plainly how active the scouts have been. The committee has gone +most carefully over the reports received, and has examined the +bank-books accompanying them. I wish that I had time to read to you +the many and ingenious ways in which the different troops have raised +their money, and I sincerely wish that all could win the prize. +According to this list there is one troop which leads all the others, +having earned the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars. The account of +how this was raised is splendid, and by the rules laid down, that troop +has won the prize." + +Here the Governor paused, and a breathless stillness reigned as all +waited to hear the name of the fortunate troop. + +"I understand, however," the speaker slowly continued, "that there is +only one troop present which did not send in a report of its doings +during the last year. This, perhaps, seems strange to you, and I have +good reason to ask the scout-master of that troop to step forward and +give some explanation. I would really do so if I did not have the full +information myself, and before presenting the prize, I am going to tell +you something about that troop." + +Then in a few words he told what the delinquent troop had done; how +they had raised almost four hundred dollars, and how they had done it. +He next told about the sick girl, and that the scouts of this troop had +freely given every cent of the money they had earned to send her to a +specialist in New York. There was a strong note of pathos in the +Governor's voice as he mentioned the sick girl and the act of loving +sacrifice on the part of the troop. He was a master of speech, and his +words thrilled the hearts of his listeners. + +"You now know," he said in conclusion, "why that troop has made no +report. The prize was within their grasp. They had to decide between +it and the life of a sick girl. They chose the nobler course, and so +they are not the winners to-day. I wanted you to know this before we +go any further. I shall now proceed to present the flag, and I ask +troop number seven to step forward." + +At once thirty scouts advanced, gave the full salute, and stood at +attention. When the Governor stepped to the front of the platform and +held forth the written order for the bugle band, the scoutmaster +refused to take it. + +"We cannot accept it, sir," he simply said. "It doesn't belong to us, +but to that troop which did so much for the sick girl." + +The Governor was about to reply, when he was checked by an outburst of +wild enthusiastic cheers. The scouts could restrain themselves no +longer. With the greatest difficulty they had remained silent as the +Governor told about what had been done for an invalid girl. But now +this generous act on the part of troop seven following immediately +after, was more than they could stand. They cheered at the top of +their voices, and threw their hats high into the air. It was some time +before order could be restored, for all were talking at once, +notwithstanding the frantic efforts of the scoutmasters to restrain +them. + +"Do you really wish to give up all claim to the prize?" the Governor +asked troop seven, as soon as he could get a hearing. + +"We do," came as one from the thirty boys. "We cannot accept it." + +"Is that the wish of the other troops?" the Governor asked. + +The only answer was another outburst of cheering, if anything, more +vehement than before. Scarcely had they finished, when Captain Josh +strode rapidly forward, and confronted the Governor. + +"We can't allow it," he shouted. "It's not right." He could say no +more, for another deafening uproar forbade further speech. + +"It is no use for you to refuse, captain," the Governor told him, when +peace was once more restored. "The troops won't let you speak. Bring +your scouts up here." + +For a few seconds the captain hesitated. Then he wheeled, and ordered +his troop to advance. Reaching the platform, the men there shook hands +with each one of them. No one could say a word, for again the troops +had let loose. The band struck up the air of "For They Are Jolly Good +Fellows," and soon the assembled troops were singing the words for all +they were worth. + +To Rod the whole thing seemed like some wonderful dream. He could not +remember anything the Governor said after that. He only heard the +captain giving the order for them to leave the stand. When they were +dismissed, they were surrounded by such a crowd anxious to shake hands +with them that the boys, and even the captain, were more bewildered +than ever. Rod was finally rescued by Anna Royanna, who placed her arm +about his shoulder and led him away. This loving act, and the look of +pride in her eyes, spoke louder than many words. That she was pleased +was to him a greater reward than all the wild cheering of the scouts. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX + +THE NIGHT RUN + +It took the Hillcrest troop a long time to get settled down after the +excitement of the Review. Whenever they met at Headquarters they could +do nothing but discuss everything that had taken place. For awhile +they were greatly puzzled as to how the Lieutenant-Governor had learned +so much about them. At last it leaked out that Anna Royanna had +supplied the information. + +"I hope you do not mind," she said to the captain, when he asked her +point blank if the rumour was true. + +"No, not at all," was the reply. "But I wish to goodness ye'd given us +a little warnin'. It was as great a surprise as when that bear charged +me up the brook. I wasn't expectin' it." + +"Oh, I hope it was not as bad as that," was the laughing response, for +the singer had heard all about the adventure with the bear. + +"Not hardly as bad, Miss. But the scouts are all upset. When not +playin' baseball, they are talkin' about what happened at the Review, +till I'm almost discouraged." + +"It's only natural, captain. They'll get over their excitement in +time. I could not resist the temptation of writing to the +Lieutenant-Governor. It would have been a shame for your boys not to +have received credit for what they did, and I feel sure that all the +other scouts present at the Review were helped by the story of their +noble deed. I have just had a nice long letter from Whyn, and she is +delighted with what the scouts have accomplished. She sends her good +wishes to the boys, and thanks them over and over again for their +kindness to her." + +"How's she gittin' along?" the captain enquired. "It's been a week +since we've had a letter from her." + +"She is doing nicely, so she says, and the doctor thinks she will be +able to come home for Christmas." + +"Will she be well then?" + +"It seems so. The operation was pronounced a decided success, though +it will take some time yet for her to get strong." + +"She's the finest girl that ever drew breath," and the captain turned +away his face so as not to show the mistiness which had suddenly dimmed +his eyes. "She's a plucky one, sure." + +Three weeks after the Review Anna Royanna left Hillcrest. This was a +great grief not only to the scouts but to the Royals as well. But the +promise that she would visit them at Christmas if she could possibly +arrange it, gave them some comfort. This bright sympathetic woman had +entered so much into their lives, and had shared their joys and sorrows +as one of themselves, that when she was gone they felt depressed for +days. + +With the passing of summer came the fall, with long cold nights, and +heavy winds. The scouts found it pleasant to meet in their snug room +around the genial fire. Gradually they began to settle down to the +work for the first-class tests, and also to review what they had +already learned. + +"Yez must never imagine that ye know a thing thoroughly," the captain +reminded them. "Fer instance, there is yer signallin'. Ye should be +able to make each letter without thinkin' how it is to be made. And I +want yez to practise up the Morse system, as well as the Semaphore. +It'll come in mighty handy at night, when ye can't use the flags. Yez +kin never know too much." + +The scouts found great pleasure in carrying out the captain's +suggestion. By means of bull's-eye lanterns they were soon able to +send and receive messages at night in a most creditable manner. For a +while the neighbours were startled by this performance until they +learned the cause of the flashes through the darkness. + +The scouts had been at their room one bleak raw night, and had just +left, except Rod, who had gone with the captain into the Anchorage for +a parcel Mrs. Britt wished to send to the rectory. He had been there +only a few minutes when several loud thumps sounded upon the door. +Quickly opening it, the captain was surprised to see Tom Dunker +standing before him. This was something most unusual, for since his +defeat several years ago Tom had shunned both the captain and the +Anchorage as if they were plague-infested. + +Stepping quickly into the kitchen, the visitor stood there with face +white and haggard, and his whole body trembling. + +"What's wrong, Tom?" the captain asked. "Ye look most scared to death." + +"S-S-Sammy's hurt," was the gasping reply. "He f-fell and broke his +l-leg, and I'm afraid his n-neck, too." + +"Why don't ye go fer the doctor, then?" the captain queried. + +"I c-can't. He's over the r-river, down at Marshal's. He was sent fer +to-day. Oh, my poor Sammy!" and the distressed man gave a loud wail of +despair. + +"What d'ye want me to do, man?" the captain demanded. + +"Go fer the doctor. I c-can't git anybody else." + +"H'm, is that so? I thought it must be something pretty desperate +which would send ye to me." + +"So ye won't go?" and Tom raised his eyes appealingly to the captain's +face. "Fer God's sake, do, or my Sammy'll die." + +"Certainly I'll go, Tom, jist as soon as I git ready. You call at the +rectory on yer way back, and tell the Royals that Rod won't be home +to-night, fer I must have him with me. It'll take two to handle the +_Roarin' Bess_. I know they won't mind so long's the boy's with me." + +"It's good of ye, and I shan't soon----" + +"There, keep that fer some other time, Tom Dunker," the captain +interrupted. "I can't be bothered with sich nonsense now. Where's my +oil-skins, Betsey?" and he turned to his wife. "Better let Rod have +that old suit of mine; he might need it before we git back." + +Rod was delighted with the idea of a run on the river on such a night. +He had often imagined what it would be like to be out there in the +_Roaring Bess_ with a strong wind blowing. To him, fear was unknown +when on the water, especially when the captain was along. And so as +the yacht left her mooring, and headed down-stream, he sat in the +cock-pit and peered ahead into the darkness, pleased that he was on +watch to give warning of any approaching vessel. + +A strong wind was racing in from the east, giving the captain a busy +time in handling the boat. This was still more difficult when they +reached the channel, and the _Roaring Bess_ drove into the rougher +water which is always found there. The white-caps leaped high, and +drenched both man and boy. + +"Lucky we brought our oil-skins," the captain remarked. "We'll have to +beat back, and then there'll be some fun. I wonder if the doctor is a +good sailor. My, that was a whopper!" he exclaimed, as a larger wave +than usual struck the yacht. "Guess it'll be rougher before mornin'." + +"This is great!" Rod cried, as another wave leaped upon them. + +"Tut, that's nothin'," the captain replied. "If ye'd been with me +aboard the _Flyin' Queen_ when we struck a gale, ye'd know something +about big seas then. Why, this is only a mill-pond." + +"I'm going to see a gale some day, captain. I want to go out on the +ocean in a storm." + +"Ye do, eh? If ye go, I guess it'll be aboard a liner, where ye'll be +penned up like a rat in a trap. That's the way people travel these +days, 'in luxury,' they call it. But give me my old _Flyin' Queen_, a +strong breeze abeam, and ye kin have all yer iron or steel tubs as fer +as I'm concerned." + +The _Roaring Bess_ had made good time down the river, lifting and +swinging forward with long plunging leaps as if glad of the freedom she +was enjoying. Ere long the wharf was reached for which the captain had +been heading, and in a few moments she was lying in smooth water on the +lower side, safe from the wind. + +"You stay here, lad," the captain ordered, as he sprang ashore, and +made a line fast to the nearest post. "I'll run up fer the doctor." + +It took him but a short time to cross the field to Marshall house. +Here he found Doctor Travis, and briefly stated the object of his visit. + +"It's a terrible night, isn't it?" the doctor enquired. + +"Oh, no. Jist a gentle breeze." + +"But look at your oil-skins. You've been drenched from head to foot." + +"Well, what of it? A little water won't hurt anybody. The more the +better, is my motto." + +"Very well, then, I'll go," and the doctor reached for his big coat and +hat. Then he seized his grip, and followed the captain down to the +wharf. + +"You sit there in the middle," the captain ordered, as they reached the +boat, "and keep yer head low in case the boom should take a sudden yank +over. Ye won't git so wet there, either." + +The wind on the homeward run was almost dead ahead, and it was +necessary to beat from side to side of the channel. But the captain +knew every inch of the way, and he was almost as much at home here at +night as in the day. Up and up they steadily crept, while the _Roaring +Bess_ raced from side to side, tossing volumes of water at every +plunge. Rod was alert and active as a cat now, crouching close to the +captain, ready to obey his slightest command. How the boy did enjoy +it, and his whole body thrilled with the excitement of the wild run. +The more the yacht reeled, the greater his pleasure. But the doctor +had far different feelings. He liked the water, but not on such a +night as this. He was sure that the boat was going over every time a +furious gust struck her close-hauled sail, and he always gave a sigh of +relief when she righted herself again, with no more damage than some +extra water tossed on board. + +They were opposite the head of the island now, and had just tacked for +their "short-leg" run, when, without the slightest sign of warning, +something struck the mast a terrific blow. The yacht reeled wildly, +the mast snapped like a pipe-stem, and fell with a splash into the +water, carrying sail and all with it. + +The instant the blow came Rod sprang to his feet, and as he did so a +part of the rigging caught him, and swept him overboard. With a wild +cry for help, he tried to grasp something, but he could find nothing +upon which to place his fingers. The cold waters closed around him. +He tried to swim, to keep afloat, but the oil-skin suit hindered him. +He battled with the desperation of despair. It was a terrible fight he +made for life there in that inky blackness, with the water surging +about him, and trying to win him for its victim. It seemed that he had +been struggling for a long time, and could resist no longer. His +strength was going, and he had little power for any further effort. + +Just at this critical moment a firm strong hand clutched him like a +vise, and he knew that the captain had come to his rescue. This roused +him to new hope and energy. + +"Keep cool, now," the captain cried. "I've got hold of the riggin' +here." + +All this had happened so suddenly that for a few seconds the doctor was +dazed. He could see nothing, but he knew by the cry of the boy, and +the startled roar from the captain, that something was seriously wrong. +Then he heard the splash as the latter went over the side. In dismay, +he waited, peering through the darkness in an effort to find out what +had become of his companions. It seemed like an age that he stood +there until he heard the captain's voice bidding him to give a hand, +and pull him in. He sprang at once to the side of the yacht, leaned +far over, and stretched out his right arm. But he could touch nothing. + +"Where are you?" he shouted. "I can't reach you." + +"Out here," was the reply. "Try ag'in." + +Leaning farther out now upon the overturned mast, he tried once more, +and had the satisfaction of feeling the sudden grip of the captain's +fingers as they closed upon his own. Carefully and with much +difficulty, for the strain was heavy, he was able to draw the submerged +man toward him. + +"Here, take the boy," the captain gasped. "Never mind me." + +With his left hand the doctor clutched Rod's oil-skins, and was soon +able to drag him into the yacht. This had scarcely been accomplished +before the captain pulled himself aboard, and stood by his side. +Forgotten was everything else as the old seaman bent over Rod as he lay +in the bottom of the cock-pit. + +"I believe he's unconscious, Doc," he cried. "Is there anything ye kin +do fer him?" + +"We must get his wet clothes off at once," was the reply. "I'll wrap +him up in my great-coat." + +"I've a couple of blankets in the locker there," and the captain turned +around, and began to fumble with his hands for the latch of the little +door. "Ye'd better strip him, Doc." + +It took the latter only a few minutes to get the soaked clothes off the +unconscious boy. He then wrapped him up securely in the two blankets, +and laid him in a sheltered place in the cock-pit. + +"Good Lord, what will the Royals say!" the captain groaned. "Here we +are adrift and can't lift a hand to help ourselves. I wonder what +struck us, anyway." + +"It was something big," the doctor replied. "I heard the water +striking against it as we drifted off. It is over in that direction," +and he pointed to the right. "Listen, you can hear it now. It's +adrift, and following us." + +"I wonder what it kin be," the captain mused. "I can't imagine what +would rip away the mast before strikin' the yacht. It is certainly +very queer." + +"Is there any chance of our drifting ashore, do you think?" the doctor +asked. "It will be hard on that boy if we are forced to stay here all +night." + +"There's a strong current runnin'," the captain returned, "and it's +likely to hold us in its clutch fer some time. The tide won't change +fer over an hour, and it's hard to tell where we'll be by that time. +Hello, what light's that up yonder?" + +As the doctor looked he saw a bright glare in the distance, which was +becoming brighter every minute. + +"It's coming toward us, anyway," was his comment. "What can it be!" + +The captain made no reply for awhile, but stood very still, with his +eyes fixed upon the approaching light. + +"I've got it!" he exclaimed. "It's that big tug which went up this +afternoon. She's lost one of her scows in this gale, and is now +lookin' fer it with her search-light out. It was the scow we struck. +I understand it all now. We ran right in front of it, and its big +flare of a bow caught our mast. Confound Bill Tobin! Why didn't he +take care of his scow?" + +Tide, wind, and steam soon brought the tug near. Her search-light +swept the water in every direction, at times dazzling the eyes of the +two men in the yacht. At last it remained fixed full upon them, +showing that they were observed. In a few minutes the tug was +alongside. + +"Hello, what's wrong?" came a deep gruff voice from the wheel-house. + +"What's wrong with you, Bill Tobin?" Captain Josh asked in reply. +"Ye've got us in a nice fix to-night. Why didn't ye take care of yer +old scow? She's smashed us, that's what's wrong." + +"Oh, is that you, Josh Britt?" and Captain Tobin's voice suddenly +changed. "Climb on board, and we'll try to straighten matters out." + +Without more words, Captain Josh lifted Rod tenderly in his arms and +scrambled up into the tug. + +"For heaven's sake! what have ye got there?" Captain Tobin exclaimed. + +"Parson Dan's son, that's who it is. Got a bed ready?" + +"Bring him here," and Captain Tobin turned to his right. "Put him in +my bed; he'll be all right there." + +By this time the tug-boatmen had made fast to the _Roaring Bess_ with a +long rope, and kept her in tow as the tug was swung around and headed +for the drifting scow. + +"We'll just run that confounded scow into the lee of the island," +Captain Tobin told the ship-wrecked men, "and then we'll put you ashore +as fast as this old tub can travel. Will that do?" + +"I s'pose so," Captain Josh replied. "But git a big hustle on. Ye've +got something more important than a scow to save to-night." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI + +BETTER THAN A FAIRY TALE + +News of the accident on the river soon spread throughout the parish. +For a time various kinds of reports were in circulation, until it was +learned that Rod was the only one who had received any injury. It was +told how Captain Josh had carried him up to the rectory, while the +doctor went ahead to tell the Royals what had happened. + +While the neighbours talked, Rod was lying in his little bed in the +grip of a raging fever. He knew nothing of what was going on around +him, nor how anxious ones watched him night and day. It was Miss +Arabella who came to Mrs. Royal's assistance in this time of need to +help with the household affairs. Her tongue had lost none of its +sharpness for those she disliked, but for her friends she was most +loyal. She would have done almost anything for Rod, and she was not +slow in expressing her opinion of Tom Dunker and "his whole tribe" for +causing so much trouble. + +Captain Josh almost camped in the rectory kitchen. When not there, he +was wandering about the door-yard right in front of Rod's window. He +ate and slept at the Anchorage, but that was about all. + +"It's my fault that the boy is sick," he told his wife, "and it's up to +me to be on hand in case of need. Jimmy kin look after things around +here while I'm away." + +Numerous were the visitors who came to the rectory to enquire about the +sick boy. Tom Dunker was one of them, and he found the captain on +guard at the back-door. + +"How's Rod to-day, cap'n?" he asked. + +"No better," was the gruff reply. "Had a bad night." + +"I'm real sorry, cap'n, I surely am," Tom blubbered. "To think that he +did it all fer my Sammy." + +"How is yer kid?" the captain questioned. + +"He's better, thank the Lord. The doctor got there jist in time. But +fer you and Rod he'd be dead now." + +"Cut that out, Tom. I'm not used to sich stuff." + +"But I can't help it, cap'n," the visitor sniffled. "I can't sleep at +nights fer thinkin' of it all. I shan't fergit it in a hurry, oh, no." + +"Big fool," the captain muttered to himself as he watched Tom shuffle +away. "It takes a mighty hard blow to knock any sense into a head sich +as his." + +As the days passed, Rod became more restless, and kept calling for Anna +Royanna. It was hard for the anxious watchers to listen to his piteous +pleadings. The doctor's face grew grave during one of his frequent +visits as he watched the raving boy. + +"Do you suppose she'd come?" he asked Parson Dan, who had followed him +into the room. + +"Would it do any good, doctor?" + +"It might. One can never tell. Anyway, I think that Miss Royanna +should be told how sick he is. She is very fond of the boy. You +should send word to his mother as well." + +"You're right, doctor," the clergyman replied. + +"I shall send two messages at once." + +In less than two days Anna Royanna entered the room where Rod was +lying. She had been driven from the station by a fast team. Her face +was pale and worn, clearly showing that little or no sleep had come to +her eyes the night before. In fact, she had not slept since she had +received Parson Dan's message. Everything else was forgotten. Only +one thing mattered to her, and that was the boy lying sick unto death +in far-off Hillcrest. + +Rod had been more restless than ever during the night, and the fever +was at its highest. All realised that this was the crisis, and that a +short time would decide everything. He was still calling and raving as +the singer entered the room. Stepping quickly to his side, she placed +her hand upon his hot forehead. + +"Hush," she soothed. "I am here. It is Anna Royanna." + +That touch, more than the words, seemed to have a magic effect. The +parched burning lips ceased to move, the staring eyes closed, and with +a deep sigh Rod turned his head on the pillow, and sank into a peaceful +sleep. Lovingly, and with eyes brimming with tears, the woman stood +for some time and watched the boy. Then a light step aroused her. It +was the doctor. + +"The turn has come," he whispered. "You were just in time." + +Rod rapidly recovered, and there was joy not only at the rectory but +throughout the entire parish. Captain Josh was almost beside himself +with joy, while the scouts plucked up sufficient courage to meet at +Headquarters to talk about the accident, and their patrol-leader's +illness. + +It was a great day for Rod when he was able to sit up and receive +visitors. Captain Josh had been often in the room, but so far the +scouts had not been allowed to come. When at last they were given +permission to visit the invalid, they could not get to the rectory fast +enough. They were surprised to see Rod so thin and white, and when +they left after their brief visit, they hurried back to Headquarters +for another long talk. + +Rod was never so happy as when Anna Royanna was with him. Many were +the stories she told, and she would often read to him. She seemed to +be in no hurry about going away, and this pleased the boy, as he wanted +her to stay until after Christmas. They were to have a big time on +Christmas Day, so he told her. Captain Josh and the scouts were coming +for dinner, and perhaps Whyn would be home. + +One day Rod noticed that Mr. and Mrs. Royal seemed happier than usual +when they came into his room. Though no parents could have been kinder +than they ever were to him, yet now there appeared a marked difference. +He could not explain what it was, but at times he found them both +watching him with a new expression in their eyes. He even caught Mrs. +Royal brushing away a tear, which surprised him. + +"What makes you cry, grandma?" he asked. + +"Oh, several things, dear," was the reply. "People sometimes cry when +they are very happy, you know." + +"I understand, grandma. You are happy because I am getting well." + +That evening after Rod was snugly tucked in bed, Miss Royanna came and +sat down by his side. She had a book in her hand and she was going to +read to him as was her custom now. + +"Tell me a story, please," Rod begged. "I like that better, and your +stories are so interesting." + +"What kind do you want to-night?" the woman asked, as she looked into +the bright eyes before her. + +"Oh, anything. You always know best." + +For awhile Anna Royanna remained silent, to all outward appearance very +calm. But she was greatly agitated. She knew that the moment had +arrived of which she had dreamed for years. Would it make any change +in him? she wondered. Would he feel the same toward her? + +"What are you thinking about?" Rod questioned. + +"About what I am going to tell you," and the woman gave a slight laugh. +"It's the most wonderful story you ever heard." + +"Better than a fairy tale?" + +"You can judge that for yourself when you hear it." + +"All right, then. Go ahead." + +"The beginning of this story goes back quite a number of years," the +woman began. "There was a young man who went away from home, and left +his father and mother alone. They missed him very much, for he was +their only child. He was a handsome man, and all who saw him admired +him. After awhile he met a woman who loved him dearly. They were +married, and lived so happily together in a little cottage with trees +all around it. They didn't have much money, but they had each other, +and that meant so much to them. At last a little stranger came to +their home, a dear baby boy, and then their cup of joy was full. He +was so sweet and cunning, and they were never tired of watching him +grow. Then something terrible happened. The father of the baby was +suddenly killed." + +"Oh!" It was all Rod could say, as with eyes full of sorrow he fixed +them upon the face of the story-teller. + +"Yes, he was killed," the woman continued in a low voice, while with a +great effort she restrained her feelings. "It was in a railway +accident. His wife was thus left alone. She was a stranger and +without money, and for days she wandered about trying to get work. But +no one wanted a woman with a baby. She was told to put it either in +the Poor-House, or the Orphan Home, or let somebody adopt it. If she +did this, she knew that she would have to give up her darling forever, +and this she could not do. + +"At last, in despair, she worked her way back to her husband's old +home. It was a dark cold night when she reached the house, and there +she left the baby, and hurried away as fast as she could." + +"Why didn't she stay there?" Rod enquired. "Wouldn't they have been +glad to take her in? I know I should." + +"Yes, dear, they certainly would. But this woman did not know them +then, and she was very independent. She made up her mind that she +would work hard, and when she had enough money she would go to see her +boy." + +"And did she?" was the eager enquiry. + +"Not for years did she see him again. She worked so hard, and at times +people treated her most cruelly. But her little boy was ever in her +mind. For him she toiled, and for his sake she was willing to put up +with almost anything. She sent what money she could for his support, +but that was very little at first. Then one night she saw her boy! It +was in a city, and she knew who he was, though he didn't know her. Oh, +how she wanted to put her arms around him, and kiss him." + +"Why didn't she do it?" Rod asked. "What stopped her?" + +"She was afraid that he wouldn't love her as a boy should love his +mother. So she made up her mind that she would win his love first, and +when she was certain, then she would tell him who she was." + +"And did she?" + +"Not for some time. You see, she went under a name different from her +real one. She saw her husband's father and mother, and became well +acquainted with them. But she did not tell them who she was, as she +wanted them to love her too. Then, there was something else which kept +her from telling people who she really was. She made her living----" +Here she paused, as if uncertain how to proceed. + +"How?" Rod enquired. + +"By going on the stage." + +"Oh, she was an actress, then," the boy exclaimed. "I have read about +such people." + +"No, not exactly that. But she sang on the stage." + +"Oh!" + +"What's the matter, dear?" the woman enquired. + +"Nothing much. Only something funny came into my mind. That's all." + +"Yes, she sang in public," the story-teller continued, "and she had +made an agreement to sing for three years. She was afraid that if +people knew that she was going under a wrong name it might make +trouble. Anyway, she was sure it would make a whole lot of talk, and +she didn't want that to happen for awhile. It was one night after she +was through singing that she met her little boy. He came with another +boy to see her, and asked her to go and sing for a sick girl at +Hillcrest." + +With a startled cry of joy, Rod sat up suddenly in bed. His eyes +fairly blazed with excitement, and his body trembled. + +"Are you the woman?" he cried. "Am I the boy? Are you my mother? Oh, +tell me quick. Is it really true?" + +"Yes, dear," and the woman caught both of his hands in hers, "every +word is true. You are my own boy, and I am your mother. Are you glad?" + +The expression upon Rod's face, as with a deep sigh of relief he lay +back once more upon the pillow, was answer enough. All the old dread +that the other mother would come back and carry him off suddenly +disappeared. And yet he wondered about the letters she used to write. +A puzzled look came into his eyes. + +"What is it?" his mother asked. "Are you sorry?" + +"Oh, no. But I was wondering about that other woman who used to write +to me, who said she was my mother." + +"It was I who wrote those letters, dear. I had to, you see." + +"And you are not Anna Royanna, after all?" + +"No. My real name is Anna Royal. I only changed part of the last name +to Royanna." + +"Why, it's just like a fairy tale," Rod exclaimed. "But, no, it isn't, +either," he mused. "A fairy tale is only a make-believe, while this is +really true. It's better than a fairy tale. Isn't it great!" and his +eyes sparkled. "But, say, do grandad and grandma know about it?" + +"Yes, dear. I told them last night." + +"And I bet they were pleased." + +"Indeed they were. I wish you could have seen their faces when I told +them that you are Alec's boy, and their own real grandson." + +For a few minutes there was silence, Rod thinking of all that he had +heard, and his mother recalling the night before, when she had revealed +to Mr. and Mrs. Royal the story of her life. Never should she forget +the look of intense joy which came into their eyes, nor the sweet peace +which possessed her heart as they enfolded her in their arms, kissed +her, and called her "daughter." It had seemed almost too good to be +true. She was roused by Rod's voice. + +"May I tell Captain Josh?" he asked. "It would be great for him to +know." + +"We talked that over last night, dear," was the reply. "Christmas will +soon be here, and you are to have a party on that day. How would it do +to wait until then?" + +"Oh, that'll be great! Captain Josh, and the scouts will be here." + +"Yes, and Whyn will be back by that time, so I understand, and we can +arrange for her and her mother to come up from the city. Will that do?" + +"Won't it be great!" and Rod fairly shook with delight. + +"It certainly will. We shall all go to the service on Christmas +morning, and your grandfather wants to offer up special thanks for all +the blessings we have received. We shall then come home for dinner, +and have all the afternoon and evening for games." + +When Captain Josh came to see Rod the next day, he noticed the happy +expression upon the boy's face. + +"What's up, lad?" he asked. + +"What do you mean, captain?" + +"Oh, I hardly know," and the old man scratched his head in perplexity. +"But everybody in this house seems about ready to explode with +excitement. I never saw sich a happy bunch in all my life. Ye'd think +that summer had been suddenly dumped down here, with all the birds +singin', the bees hummin', and the flowers bloomin'. That's the only +way I kin describe it." + +"I guess you're about right, captain," was Rod's brief reply, for he +was determined not to give away the wonderful secret. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROD OF THE LONE PATROL*** + + +******* This file should be named 17227.txt or 17227.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/7/2/2/17227 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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