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diff --git a/old/55730-0.txt b/old/55730-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 2dc79fa..0000000 --- a/old/55730-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8491 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Joe Wayring at Home, by Harry Castlemon - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Joe Wayring at Home - or The Adventures of a Fly-Rod - -Author: Harry Castlemon - -Release Date: October 11, 2017 [EBook #55730] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JOE WAYRING AT HOME *** - - - - -Produced by David Edwards, Elizabeth Oscanyan and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -[Illustration: THE BATTLE WITH THE SQUATTERS.] - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - _FOREST AND STREAM SERIES._ - - --------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - JOE WAYRING AT HOME; - - - OR THE - - ADVENTURES OF A FLY-ROD. - - BY HARRY CASTLEMON, - - AUTHOR OF “GUNBOAT SERIES,” “ROCKY MOUNTAIN SERIES,” - “SPORTSMAN CLUB SERIES,” ETC. - - - - - THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO., - - PHILADELPHIA, - - CHICAGO, TORONTO. - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - FAMOUS CASTLEMON BOOKS. - - -=GUNBOAT SERIES.= By HARRY CASTLEMON. 6 vols. 12mo. - - FRANK THE YOUNG NATURALIST. - FRANK IN THE WOODS. - FRANK ON THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI. - FRANK ON A GUNBOAT. - FRANK BEFORE VICKSBURG. - FRANK ON THE PRAIRIE. - -=ROCKY MOUNTAIN SERIES.= By HARRY CASTLEMON. 3 vols. 12mo. Cloth. - - FRANK AMONG THE RANCHEROS. - FRANK IN THE MOUNTAINS. - FRANK AT DON CARLOS’ RANCH. - -=SPORTSMAN’S CLUB SERIES.= By HARRY CASTLEMON. 3 vols. 12mo. Cloth. - - THE SPORTSMAN’S CLUB IN THE SADDLE. - THE SPORTSMAN’S CLUB AFLOAT. - THE SPORTSMAN’S CLUB AMONG THE TRAPPERS. - -=FRANK NELSON SERIES.= By HARRY CASTLEMON. 3 vols. 12mo. Cloth. - - SNOWED UP. - FRANK IN THE FORECASTLE. - THE BOY TRADERS. - -=BOY TRAPPER SERIES.= By HARRY CASTLEMON. 3 vols. 12mo. Cloth. - - THE BURIED TREASURE. - THE BOY TRAPPER. - THE MAIL-CARRIER. - -=ROUGHING IT SERIES.= By HARRY CASTLEMON. 3 vols. 12mo. Cloth. - - GEORGE IN CAMP. - GEORGE AT THE WHEEL. - GEORGE AT THE FORT. - -=ROD AND GUN SERIES.= By HARRY CASTLEMON. 3 vols. 12mo. Cloth. - - DON GORDON’S SHOOTING BOX. - THE YOUNG WILD FOWLERS. - ROD AND GUN CLUB. - -=GO-AHEAD SERIES.= By HARRY CASTLEMON. 3 vols. 12mo. Cloth. - - TOM NEWCOMBE. - GO-AHEAD. - NO MOSS. - -=FOREST AND STREAM SERIES.= By HARRY CASTLEMON. 3 vols. 12mo. Cloth. - - JOE WAYRING. - SNAGGED AND SUNK. - STEEL HORSE. - -=WAR SERIES.= By HARRY CASTLEMON. 5 vols. 12mo. Cloth. - - TRUE TO HIS COLORS. - RODNEY THE OVERSEER. - MARCY THE REFUGEE. - RODNEY THE PARTISAN. - MARCY THE BLOCKADE-RUNNER. - - _Other Volumes in Preparation._ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - COPYRIGHT, 1886, BY PORTER & COATES. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - JOE WAYRING AT HOME - - OR - - THE STORY OF A FLY-ROD. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - IN WHICH I INTRODUCE MYSELF. - - -I AM called “Old Durability”; but for fear my name may prove misleading, -and cause those of my readers who are not acquainted with me to fall -into the error of supposing that I am a very aged article, I desire to -say, at the outset, that I am only four years old, and that I have been -in active service just sixteen months. During that time I have seen a -world of excitement and adventure, and have performed some exploits of -which any fly-rod might be justly proud. I have hooked, at one cast, and -successfully landed, two black bass, weighing together eight and a -quarter pounds; I have so often been dumped in the cold waters of -mountain lakes and streams that it is a wonder my ferrules were not -rusted out long ago; I have been dragged about among snags and -lily-pads, by enraged trout, pickerel and bass; I have been stolen from -my lawful owner, been kept a prisoner by boys and tramps who either -could not or would not take care of me, and one of my joints has been -broken. Of course, I was skillfully patched up, but, like the man whose -arm has been fractured, I am not quite as good as I used to be, and am -reluctant to exert all my strength for fear that I shall break again in -the same place. I can’t throw a fly as far as I could when I took my -finest string of trout in front of the “sportsmen’s home” at Indian -Lake, and when I am called upon to make the attempt, my ferrules groan -and creak as if they were about to give away and let me fall to pieces. -For this my master laid me up in ordinary (that is what sailors say of a -war vessel when she goes out of commission, and is laid up in port to -remain idle there until her services are needed again), saying, as he -did so, that my days of usefulness were over, but that he would keep me -for the good I had done. - -After having led an active life among the hills, lakes and forest -streams almost ever since I could remember, you may be sure that I did -not relish treatment of this sort. After doing my level best for my -master, and landing more than one fish for him that he ought to have -lost because he handled me so awkwardly—after going with him through -some of the most exciting scenes of his life, and submitting to -treatment that would have used up almost any other rod, must I be laid -upon the shelf in a dark closet and left to my gloomy reflections, while -a new favorite accompanied my master to the woods, caught the trout for -his dinner, slept under his blanket, and listened to the thrilling and -amusing stories that were told around the camp-fire? I resolved to -prevent it, if I could; so when my master took me out of my case one day -to assist him in catching a muskalonge he had seen in the lake back of -his father’s house, I nerved myself to do valiant battle, hoping to show -him that there was plenty of good hard work left in me, if he only knew -how to bring it out. - -The muskalonge, which was lurking in the edge of the lily-pads ready to -pounce upon the first unwary fish that approached his lair, took the -frog that was on the hook at the very first cast, and then began the -hardest struggle of my life. My rheumatic joints complained loudly as -the heavy fish darted up and down the lake, and then dove to the bottom -in his mad efforts to escape, but I held on the best I knew how until he -leaped full length out of the water, and tried to shake the hook from -his mouth; then I was ready to give up the contest. He was the largest -fish I ever saw. - -“Scotland’s a burning!” exclaimed Joe. “Isn’t he a beauty? If this old -rod was as good as he used to be, wouldn’t I have a prize in a few -minutes from now?” - -I ought to have told you before that my master’s name is Joe Wayring; -and a right good boy he is, too, as you will find before my story is -ended. Nearly all the young fellows of my acquaintance, and I know some -of the best there are in the country, have some favorite word or -expression which always rises to their lips whenever they are surprised, -excited or angry, and the words I have just quoted are the ones Joe -always used under such circumstances. No matter how exasperated he was -you never could get any thing stronger out of him. - -I will not dwell upon the particulars of that fight (my joints ache yet -whenever I think of it), for I set out to talk about other matters. It -will be enough to say that I held fast to the fish until he became -exhausted and was drawn through the lily-pads to the bank; then the -gaff-hook came to my assistance, and he was safely landed. He was a -monster. I afterward learned that he weighed a trifle over nineteen -pounds. Wasn’t that something of an exploit for an eight ounce rod who -had been threatened with the retired list on account of supposed -disability? I was so nearly doubled up by the long-continued strain that -had been brought to bear upon me, that when my master threw me down on -the ground while he gave his prize his quietus with the heavy handle of -the gaff-hook, I could not immediately straighten out again, as every -well-conditioned rod is expected to do under similar circumstances. - -“Why, what in the world have you got there?” cried Joe’s mother, as the -boy entered the kitchen, carrying me in one hand and dragging the fish -after him with the other. She seemed to be a little afraid of the young -fisherman’s prize, and that was hardly to be wondered at, for his mouth -was open, and it was full of long, sharp teeth. - -“It’s the biggest muskalonge that was ever caught in this lake,” replied -Joe, as he laid me down upon a chair and took both hands to deposit his -fish upon the table. “Didn’t he fight, though? I say, Uncle Joe,” he -added, addressing himself to a dignified gentleman in spectacles, who -just then came into the room with the morning’s paper in his hand, “I -shall not need that new split bamboo you promised me for my birthday, -though I thank you for your kind offer, all the same. This old rod is -good for at least one more summer on Indian Lake. There is plenty of -back-bone left in him yet.” - -Uncle Joe was a rich old bachelor and very fond of his namesake, Joe -Wayring, on whom he lavished all the affection he would have given to -his own children, if he had had any. He was an enthusiastic angler, a -skillful and untiring bear and deer hunter, and he generally timed his -trips to the woods and mountains so that Joe and some of his particular -friends could go with him. - -“He is the most durable rod I ever saw,” added my master. - -“Well, then, call him ‘Old Durability’,” suggested Uncle Joe. - -The boy said he thought that name would just suit me, and from that day -to this I have been known by every one who is acquainted with me as “Old -Durability”. - -Having introduced myself, because there was no one to perform the -ceremony for me, and told you how I came by my cognomen, I will now go -back and relate how I made the acquaintance of my master, Joe Wayring. - -If you will review your own life, boy reader, you may be able to find in -it some incident, which happened, perhaps, long before you were out of -pinafores, and which you remember perfectly, while all your life -previous to the occurrence of that particular incident is a blank to -you. Just so it was in my own experience. When I first came to my -senses, I found myself snugly tied up in my case and standing in a -corner, looking through a glass door into a large store in which guns of -all makes and fishing tackle of all kinds were kept for sale. At first I -was greatly bewildered. I felt, if I may judge from what I have seen -during my trips to the woods, like a boy who has just awakened from a -sound sleep; but after a while my wits came to me, and then I found that -I was not alone in the show-case. There were a dozen or two fly and bait -rods standing in the corner beside me, and a little further down, -looking toward the back end of the store, were single and -double-barreled shot-guns, muzzle and breech-loading rifles, game-bags, -creels, hunting knives, dog-whips, and almost every thing else that a -sportsman is supposed to need. In the show-case, which rested on the -long counter in front of me, were revolvers, pen-knives, lines, leaders, -flies and ordinary fish-hooks without number; and on the opposite side -of the store was an array of barrels containing glass balls, traps for -throwing those balls, bicycles, tricycles, rowing and lifting -machines—in fact, I saw so many things that I did not then know the name -or use of, that I became confused while I looked at them. - -“Hallo, there! Have you waked up at last?” cried a voice, breaking in -upon my meditations. - -A short investigation showed that the voice came from the case that -stood next on my right. I did not know, of course, what sort of a rod he -was, or whether or not he would prove to be an agreeable acquaintance; -but wishing to be civil, I replied that I _had_ waked up, and that, if -he could tell me, I should be glad to know where I was and how I came -there. - -“Why, you are in a one-horse country town, a thousand miles from -nowhere, and you have always been here,” was the answer, given as I -thought in a tone of contempt. “I have traveled. I came all the way from -New York.” - -“Who are you?” I ventured to ask; for my new acquaintance spoke in so -dignified and lofty a tone, that I stood somewhat in awe of him. - -“I am a split bamboo,” said he; and then I saw very clearly that he was -disposed to throw on airs, and to lord it over those who were not as -fortunate as himself. “I am a gentleman’s rod, and it takes the ducats -to buy me. I am worth forty-five dollars; while I see by the card tied -to your case, that you are valued at only six and a half.” - -Not being quick at figures at this early period of my life, I could not -tell just how much difference there was between forty-five dollars and -six and a half, but I knew by the way the bamboo spoke, that the gulf -that separated him from me was a wide one. I have learned some things -since then. I know now that the qualities of a fly-rod do not depend -upon the varnish that is put on the outside of him, any more than a -boy’s qualities of mind and heart depend upon the clothes he wears. The -stuff he is made of and the company he keeps have much to do with the -record he makes in the world. While I was turning the matter over in my -mind, somebody who had been listening to our conversation, suddenly -broke in with: - -“You are neither one of you worth the money you cost.” - -I looked around to see who the new speaker was, and presently discovered -him in the person of a handsome bird gun, who rested upon a pair of -deer’s antlers a short distance away. - -“You can’t bring a squirrel out of the top of the tallest hickory in the -woods, or stop a woodcock or a grouse on the wing, but I can,” continued -the double-barrel. - -“I can catch a trout, if I have some one to back me who understands his -business, and that’s more than you can do,” retorted the bamboo, -spitefully. “I can throw a line sixty or seventy feet; I heard the -proprietor of this store say so.” - -“And I can throw shot sixty or seventy yards, which is three times as -far as you can throw a line,” shouted the double-barrel. “You seem to -think yourself of some consequence because you came from New York. I -came all the way from England, and that is on the other side of the -ocean.” - -“So you are an assisted immigrant, are you?” cried the bamboo, in tones -indicative of the greatest contempt. “Well, that’s all I care to know -about you.” - -The disputants grew more and more in earnest the longer they talked, and -pretty soon there were some hard words used. I took no part in the -controversy, for I felt rather bashful in the presence of those who had -seen so much more of the world than I had, and who were worth so much -more money, and besides I could not see what there was to quarrel about. -My sympathies were with the bamboo, arrogant as he had showed himself to -be, because he was an American like myself; but still the English -fowling-piece, “assisted immigrant” though he was, had a right to live -in this country so long as he behaved himself, and as he was a showy -fellow, I had no doubt that he would get out of the store before either -the bamboo or myself. And so he did. While the dispute was at its height -the door opened and a young man came in—a tall young man, with very thin -legs, peaked shoes, gold eye-glasses and a downy upper lip. He walked -with a mincing step and drawled out his words when he talked. - -“A dude!” whispered the bamboo. - -Before I could ask what a “dude” was, the proprietor came up, and the -talking was for a moment hushed. Being impatient to be released from the -show-case so that we could see what was going on in the great world -outside, each one of us cherished the secret hope that we might find -favor in the eyes of the prospective purchaser. We were so inexperienced -and foolish that we didn’t care much who bought us, so long as we got -out. - -“I—aw! I want to look at a nice light bird gun,” said the young man; -“something you can recommend for woodcock and the like, don’t yer know?” - -“Why, that’s a countryman of mine,” exclaimed the double-barrel, who -seemed to be highly excited by the discovery. - -The bamboo hastened to assure me that he wasn’t—that he was an American -trying to ape English ways. - -“Do you want a hammerless?” asked the proprietor. - -“I—aw! They come pretty ’igh, don’t they?” - -“Not necessarily. Here’s one worth a hundred and twenty-five dollars,” -replied the storekeeper; and as he spoke, he opened the show-case and -took from it a double-barrel who was so very plain in appearance, that I -had not before taken more than a passing glance at him. “I judge from -your speech that you are an Englishman, and if you are, you of course -know more about this make of guns than I can tell you. It is a Greener.” - -The young man seemed pleased to know that he had succeeded in making the -proprietor believe that he was not an American, but he did not seem to -appreciate the gun, nor did he handle it as if he were accustomed to the -use of fire-arms. He hardly knew how to bring it to his face properly. - -“I—aw! Hit’s wery fine, no doubt,” said he, after he had made an awkward -pretense of examining the gun, “but I—aw! I want something a little more -showy and not quite so ’igh-priced, don’t yer know? Something that I can -take pride in exhibiting to my ’unting friends, don’t yer know?” - -“We have guns that are more showy than this, but they are cheap affairs, -and we don’t recommend them. How would this one suit you?” said the -proprietor; and as he spoke, he opened another door in the show-case, -and took my bragging friend down from his place on the antlers. - -It may have been all imagination on my part, but I would have been -willing to affirm that his nickel-plated ornaments grew a shade dimmer -as he was taken out of the case, and I am of the same opinion still. By -his boasting he had led us all to believe that he was worth at least two -or three hundred dollars; and you can imagine how surprised we were when -we learned that he was valued at a very small fraction of that sum. - -“Aw! That looks more like a gun,” said the customer. “That’s a piece, -don’t yer know, that a fellah can show to his friends. Hit’ll shoot, I -suppose?” - -“Oh, yes, it will shoot, but it will not do as clean work as the one I -just showed you.” - -“Hi’ll take the risk. ’Ow much for ’im?” - -“Twenty-five dollars; and that includes a trunk-shaped case, -loading-tools, wiping-rod and fifty brass-shells.” - -The young man handed over the money and went out, after requesting that -his purchase might be sent up to the Lambert House at once, as he wished -to start for the woods on the following day. As soon as the door was -closed behind him, the proprietor called out to the porter: - -“Oh, Rube! Come here and take this Brummagem shooting-iron up to the -hotel. Thank goodness it is the last one we have in stock, and I’ll -never buy another.” - -“I wonder how that boastful bird gun feels now,” whispered the bamboo. -“His pride had to take a tumble, didn’t it? There’s no Brummagem about -me, I can tell you.” - -“What do you mean by—by—” The word was too hard for me, and I stumbled -over it. - -“By Brummagem?” said the bamboo, who felt so good over the discomfiture -of the English fowling-piece that he was disposed to be friendly as well -as civil. “Why, it’s something that is fine and showy, but which is not -in reality worth any thing. A Yankee would say that that double-barrel -was a ‘shoddy’ article.” - -“I feel guilty every time I sell one of those guns,” continued the -proprietor. “They are made in Birmingham, England, at the cost of nine -dollars apiece by the dozen.” - -“That dude will never hurt any thing with it,” observed the porter, who -had taken a good look at the customer and heard all that passed between -him and his employer. - -“I hope he will not hurt himself with it,” answered the latter. “What -does he want to go into the woods for? He doesn’t know a woodcock from -an ostrich.” - -“He goes because it is fashionable, I suppose,” said Rube; and I -afterward found out that that was just the reason. I saw him in the -wilderness a few weeks later, and had an opportunity to exchange a word -or two with the Brummagem breech-loader. The latter looked decidedly -seedy. He was covered with rust, his locks were out of order, and he had -been put to such hard service that every joint in his make-up was loose. -The second time I met him he could scarcely talk to me, because there -was not much left of him except his stock. His ignorant owner—but we’ll -wait until we come to that, won’t we? - -The next customers who came into the store were an elderly gentleman and -a young lady. I certainly thought my chance for freedom had come, for -when the gentleman said that his daughter wanted to look at a fly-rod, -something light enough to be managed with one hand, and strong enough to -land a perch or rock-bass, the proprietor pushed open the door in front -of me and took me out. - -“Aha!” exclaimed the bamboo. “Your fate is to be the companion and -plaything of a little girl, who will probably set you to catching -sunfish and minnows, and throw you down in the mud when she gets through -with you. I know that I am destined for the trout streams, and I have an -idea that I shall be taken to Canada to have a shy at the lordly salmon. -Good-by; but I am sorry for you.” - -I did not thank the bamboo for his words of sympathy, because I did not -believe they were sincere. I thought I could detect a hypocritical twang -in them; but before I could tell him so, I was taken out of my case, and -for the first time given an opportunity to see how I looked. - -“There is a rod I can recommend. Lancewood throughout, nickel-plated -ferrules and reel-seat and artistically wound with cane and silk,” said -the proprietor, glibly. “I will warrant him to do good work, and if the -lady breaks him she will not be much out of pocket—only six dollars and -a half.” - -“Oh, I don’t want a cheap thing like that,” exclaimed the young lady, -who would not take a second look at me after she heard that I was worth -so little money. “I want a nice rod.” - -The storekeeper laid me on the show-case, and brought my friend the -split bamboo out for exhibition. He was a splendid looking fellow, and I -did not wonder that the young lady went into ecstasies over him, and -declared at once that he was just the rod she had long been wishing for. -Neither could I resist the temptation to say to him, as he was put back -into his case: - -“What do you think now of your chances of going among the trout streams -and of taking a shy at the lordly salmon! Good-by; but I am sorry for -you.” - -The bamboo was so crest-fallen that he could make no response. He was -carried away by his new owner, and I did not see him again until I was -almost ready to be laid upon the shelf in my master’s closet, to enjoy a -long winter’s rest after a season of the hardest kind of work. The pride -and arrogance were all gone out of him, and he did not look much as he -did when he left the store. If he had been a man, folks would have -called him a tramp. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - THE HISTORIAN OF THE WAYRING FAMILY. - - -THE bamboo having been disposed of I was returned to the show-case, -where I spent two very lonely days. The rods around me were worth more -money than I was, and feeling their importance they would scarcely speak -to me, even to answer a civil question; so all I could do was to hold my -peace and listen to their conversation. But fate had decreed that I -should not long remain a captive. One afternoon there came into the -store a gentleman in gold spectacles, accompanied by two bright boys -about fifteen years of age. They must have been well known to the -proprietor, for he shook their hands with all the cordiality which -shopkeepers know how to assume toward their rich patrons, and greeted -them with: - -“Ah, colonel, I am glad to see you. Well, Joseph, have you come after -that rod?” - -“Yes, sir,” answered one of the boys, a curly-headed, blue-eyed lad, who -looked so good-natured and jolly that I took a great fancy to him at -once. “You remember what I told you the last time I was here, Mr. -Brown—that I want something light and strong and inexpensive. I can’t -afford to pay a high price for a rod that I may break at the very first -cast. You know I never threw a fly in my life.” - -“Yes, I know that,” said Mr. Brown, “and I know, too, that as a bait -fisher you have few equals and no superiors among boys of your age.” - -“I thank you for the compliment, but I am afraid I don’t deserve it,” -said the blue-eyed boy, modestly. - -“Oh, yes, you do. Now here’s a rod that will suit you exactly,” answered -the proprietor, pushing open the show-case and laying hold of me. “He -weighs only eight ounces, hangs beautifully, and will answer your -purpose as well as one worth five times the money. Only six and a half, -and that’s cheaper than you could steal him, if you were in that line of -business.” - -“What do you say, Uncle Joe?” asked the boy after he and his companion, -whom he addressed as Roy Sheldon, had shaken me up and down in the air -until it was a wonder to me that they did not break my back. - -“Since Mr. Brown has recommended him, I say that you can’t do better -than to take him,” was the reply, and that settled the matter. I had a -master at last, and a good one, too, if there were any faith to be put -in appearances. I took him for a restless, uneasy fellow who would not -let me rust for want of use, and I found that I had not been mistaken in -my opinion of him. - -Joe, as I shall hereafter call him, next purchased, under his uncle’s -supervision, three long water-proof lines, a Loomis automatic reel, a -dozen cream-colored leaders of different lengths, a creel who afterward -became my constant companion, and a fly-book filled with all the most -tempting lures known to anglers, such as coachmen, white millers, red -and brown hackles, and many other things whose names I did not know. -With these under his arm and me on his shoulder he set out for home -accompanied by Roy Sheldon, Uncle Joe taking leave of them at the door, -saying that he was going to the post-office. - -“I wish every fellow in the world had an uncle like that,” said Joe, as -he turned about and waved his hand to the gentleman with the gold -spectacles. - -“So do I,” answered Roy, “excepting, of course, Tom Bigden and his -crowd.” - -“I don’t except even them,” said Joe. “Tom pulls a lovely oar, and I -never saw a fellow who could play short stop or train a spaniel like -him. I have nothing against any of them, and should be glad to be -friends with them if they would let me.” - -“But haven’t you seen to your satisfaction that they won’t let you?” -demanded Roy, rather sharply. “They’ve got something against you, and -they’ll continue to make you suffer for it; see if they don’t.” - -I wondered what it was that any one could have against so fine a young -fellow as my new master appeared to be, and it was not many days before -I found out. Tom Bigden and his followers _did_ make Joe suffer, but it -was principally through his friends, that is, through his sail-boat, his -shell in which he used to train for his races, his canvas canoe that had -carried him safely down the most difficult rapids in Indian River, and -finally through me. In fact, I became a regular shuttle-cock of fortune, -and was so roughly knocked about from pillar to post, that it is a -wonder to me that I am as good a rod as I am. - -After a few minutes’ walk along a quiet street shaded on each side by -grand old trees, Joe and his companion turned into a wide carriage-way -which led them by a circuitous route through a little grove of -evergreens to the house in which Joe lived—a fine brick mansion, with -stone facings, a carriage-porch at the side door, and a croquet ground -and lawn tennis court in front. Behind the house the grounds sloped -gently down to the shore of a beautiful lake, with an island near the -center, and with banks on each side that were thickly wooded, save where -the trees and undergrowth had been cleared away to make room for the -cozy summer residences of the visitors who came there every year. For -Mount Airy, that was the name of the village in which Joe Wayring lived, -was acquiring some fame as a watering place. There were four springs in -the vicinity, whose waters were supposed to possess some medicinal -virtues, the scenery was grand, the drives numerous and pleasant, and -the fishing (and the shooting, too, in the proper season), could not be -surpassed. - -At the foot of the path that led from the carriage-porch to the lake, -was a boat-house which afforded shelter to some of Joe’s friends whose -acquaintance I was soon to make, and a short distance from its door his -sail boat, the _Young Republic_, rode at her moorings. It was indeed a -pleasant scene that was spread out before me; but before I had time to -admire it sufficiently, Joe and his companion went up the stone steps -three at a jump, rushed into the hall, fired their caps at the hat-rack, -and without waiting to see whether or not they caught on the pegs at -which they were aimed, ran up the wide stairs that led to the floor -above. I held my breath in suspense and wondered what in the world was -the matter now; but I afterward learned that I had no cause for -uneasiness, and that that is the way boys generally conduct themselves -when they go into a house. It saves them the trouble of hunting up their -father and mother and telling them that they have got home without being -run over by the cars, or knocked down by a runaway horse, or drowned in -the lake. - -The room into which Joe conducted his friend was like the private -sanctum of every other boy who delights in the sports of the woods and -fields, with this exception: It was in perfect order, and as neat as a -new pin. Joe’s mother wouldn’t have it any other way, and neither would -Joe. Indeed it was a favorite saying of his that if folks would keep -away and let his things alone (by “folks” he meant to designate old -Betty, the housekeeper, who, according to Joe’s way of thinking, was -“awful fussy”), he could find any thing he wanted, from a postage-stamp -to a spoon-oar, on the darkest of nights, and without a lamp to aid him -in the search. - -The room looked a good deal like a museum I afterward saw, only it was -on a much smaller scale, of course, and it contained so many rare and -curious things that Joe’s friends were always glad of an invitation “to -step up for a few minutes.” Uncle Joe’s love for the rod and gun had led -him to roam all over his own country, as well as to some remote corners -of foreign lands, and during these rambles he never forgot the boy at -home who thought so much of relics and souvenirs of all kinds, and took -such good care of them. He gave Joe the Alpine stock which had assisted -him in his ascent of Mount Blanc; the Indian saddle and bridle he had -used when fleeing from the agency at the time the Utes rose in rebellion -and killed Meeker and all the other whites who did not succeed in making -good their escape; the head of the first bison he had ever shot, and -which, having been mounted by an expert taxidermist, had been hung above -the looking-glass over the mantle to serve as a resting place for the -sword and pistols Uncle Joe carried during the war, the elk-horn bow, -quiver of arrows, scalping knife and moccasins presented to him by a -Sioux chief; and for the prize lancewood bow won by my master at a -shooting match; for Joe was an archer, as well as an angler and wing -shot, and he had been Master Bowman of the Mount Airy Toxophilites until -he became tired of the office and gave it up. These articles, and a good -many others which I did not have time to look at, were so neatly and -artistically arranged that it did not seem to me that a single one of -them could be moved without spoiling the effect of the whole. Nothing -looked out of place, not even the black, uncouth object that lay in a -little recess on the opposite side of the room. Having never seen any -thing just like him before, I could not make out what he was, and I -waited rather impatiently for his master to go out of the room so that I -could speak to him; but Joe did not seem to be in any hurry to leave. He -stood me up in a corner, and then he and Roy seated themselves at a -table in the middle of the room, and proceeded to “fix up” a debate that -was to be held at the High School on the afternoon of the coming Friday. -The question was: “Ought corporal punishment in schools to be -abolished?” No doubt it was a matter in which both Joe and Roy had been -deeply interested in their younger days, but it did not affect me one -way or the other, and consequently I paid very little attention to what -they said. My time was fully taken up with the strange things I saw -around me. - -At last, to my great satisfaction, the boys concluded that they could -“fix up” the matter while sailing about the lake in the _Young -Republic_, better than they could while sitting by the table, especially -if they could find some boat to race with, so they bolted out of the -room with much noise and racket, and left the house, banging the hall -door loudly behind them. Then I turned to speak to the object that -occupied the recess on the other side of the room, and found that he was -quite as willing to make my acquaintance as I was to make his. - -“Hallo!” said he; and I afterward learned that that is the way in which -school boys and telephones always greet each other. - -“Hallo!” said I, in reply. “Who are you? if I may be so bold as to -inquire.” - -“Oh, that’s all right,” answered my new acquaintance, cheerfully. -“Everybody who sees me for the first time wants to know all about me. I -don’t suppose I am much to look at—indeed, I know I am not, because I -can see my reflection in the mirror over the mantle—but I am the boss -boat on the rapids, and am worth more on a ‘carry’ than all the cedar -and birch-bark canoes in America. I am the historian of the Wayring -family, or, rather, of the youngest branch of it,” he added, with no -little pride in his tones. “I carry secrets enough to sink any ordinary -craft, and if I only had the power to communicate some of them to my -master, perhaps he wouldn’t open his eyes! I am a canvas canoe, at your -service.” - -“Oh!” said I. - -“Yes,” said he. “And unless my judgment is at fault, you are a fly-rod. -I heard Joe say that his uncle was going to get one for him.” - -“That is just what I am,” I made answer. “Nickel-plated ferrules and -reel-seat, artistically wound with cane and silk, and lancewood -throughout.” - -My lofty speech did not have the effect I thought it would. The canvas -canoe seemed to have rather an exalted opinion of himself, and I did not -see why I should stay in the background for want of somebody to praise -me, and so I praised myself; and that’s a bad thing to do. I only -succeeded in exciting the merriment of every occupant of the room, for I -heard derisive laughter on all sides of me. - -“Don’t throw on airs, young fellow,” said the canvas canoe, as soon as -he could speak. “You have come to the wrong shop for that sort of work. -I wouldn’t boast until I had done something, if I were in your place. If -there is any good in you, you will fare well in Joe’s hands, and he will -do your bragging for you; but if you fail him when the pinch comes, you -will most likely be chucked into the lake, or given away to the first -little ragamuffin he can find who wants a rod that is good for nothing. -So take a friend’s advice and hold your tongue until you have seen -service.” - -I felt somewhat abashed by this rebuke, for, of course, I was desirous -of making a favorable impression upon those with whom I was to be -associated all the days of my life. I thought I had made them despise -me; but the next words uttered by the canvas canoe showed me that I need -have no fears on that score. - -“A boat and a rod generally go together, you know,” said he; “so I -suppose that you and I will see much of each other hereafter.” - -“And how about me?” piped a shrill voice close beside me. - -I looked down, and there was the creel. I had not thought of him before, -and it was plain that the canoe hadn’t either, for he exclaimed, in a -tone of surprise: - -“Who spoke? Oh, it was you, was it? Well, I don’t know just what Joe -will do with you, for he never owned a creel before. He has always -carried his dinner in his pocket when he went trouting, or in a basket -if he went out on the lake after bass, and brought his fish home on a -string; but he will find use for you, you may depend upon that. He is a -busy boy, is Joe, and he keeps every body around him busy, too.” - -“I understood you to say that you are the historian of the Wayring -family,” I ventured to remark, when the canoe ceased speaking. - -“Of the youngest branch of it—yes. I have been a member of this -household for a long time. Can’t you see that I am a veteran? Don’t you -notice my wounds? I have been snagged more times than I can remember, I -have had holes punched in me by rocks, and some of my ribs have been -fractured; but I am a pretty good boat yet. At least Joe thinks so, for -he is going to take me somewhere this coming summer, probably up into -Michigan to run the rapids of the Menominee; and, to tell you the honest -truth, I am looking forward to that trip with fear and trembling. I have -heard Uncle Joe say that those rapids were something to make a man’s -hair stand on end; but if my master says ‘go’, I shall take him through -if I can. I have carried him through some dangerous places, and whenever -I have got him into trouble, it has been owing to his own carelessness -or mismanagement.” - -“I suppose he thinks a great deal of you?” said I. - -“Well, he ought to,” replied the canoe, with a self-satisfied air. “I -have stuck to him through thick and thin for a good many years. I was -the very first plaything he owned, after he took it into his head that -he was getting too big to ride a rocking-horse. He used to paddle me -around on a duck pond, where the water wasn’t more than a foot deep, -long before it was thought safe to trust him with a rod or gun. But Joe -does not seem to care much for a gun. He is fairly carried away by his -love of archery, and a long bow is his favorite weapon.” - -“Do you know who Tom Bigden is, and what Joe has done to incur his -ill-will?” I inquired. - -“I have some slight acquaintance with that young gentleman,” answered -the canoe, with a laugh. “It was through him that I was snagged and sunk -in the Indian Lake country. I don’t know how the fuss started, and -neither does any body except Tom Bigden himself; but I suppose that -fellow over there and a few others like him, are wholly to blame for -it.” - -“What fellow? Over where?” I asked; for of course the canvas canoe could -not point his finger or nod his head to tell me which way to look. - -“This fellow up here,” said a new voice, which came from over the -bookcase. - -I looked up, and there was another lancewood bow, resting on a pair of -deer’s antlers. He was not quite as fancy as the prize bow of whom I -have already spoken. His green plush handle was beginning to look -threadbare, and that, to my mind, indicated that he had seen service. - -“You wouldn’t think that a few insignificant things like that could be -the means of setting a whole village together by the ears, would you?” -continued the canoe. - -“Insignificant yourself,” retorted the long bow; but I was glad to -notice that he did not speak as if he were angry. The various articles I -saw about me all cherished the most friendly feelings for one another, -but when they had nothing to do, they were like a lot of idle -boys—always trying to “get a joke” upon some of their number. “You never -won a prize for Joe, did you? Well, I have. Go and win a race before you -brag. You can’t; you’re much too clumsy. One of those Shadow or Rob Roy -canoes out there on the lake would beat you out of sight in going a -mile.” - -I cared nothing at all for this side sparring. I knew that I would have -plenty of time in which to listen to it during the long winter months, -when canoe, long bow and fly-rod would be laid up in ordinary, while -skates, snow-shoes and toboggans took our places in the affections of -our master for the time being. For I saw snow-shoes and a toboggan -there, and I knew what they were, because I had seen some like them in -Mr. Brown’s store. They came from Canada, and were almost as full of -stories as the canoe was. Joe had worn the snow-shoes while hunting -caribou in Newfoundland in company with his uncle, and the toboggan had -carried his master with lightning speed over the ice bridge at Niagara -Falls. Many an hour that would otherwise have dragged by on leaden wings -did they brighten for us by relating scraps of their personal history, -and at some future time I may induce them to put those same narratives -into print for your benefit; but just now we are interested in Tom -Bigden. We want to know why he disliked Joe Wayring, and what made him -take every opportunity he could find to annoy him. - -“When you talk about racing you don’t want to leave me out,” observed -the toboggan, “for I am the lad to show speed. Give me a fair field, and -I would not be much afraid to try conclusions with an express train. And -it takes as much, if not more, skill to manage me than it does to handle -an awkward canvas canoe, who is always bobbing about, turning first one -way and then another as if he were too contrary to hold a straight -course.” - -“I wasn’t intended for a racing boat, and I know I can’t compete with -such flyers as you and a Rob Roy,” said the canvas canoe, modestly; and -I afterward found that none of my new acquaintances were half as -conceited as they pretended to be. They boasted just to hear themselves -talk, and because they had no other way of passing the time when they -were unemployed; but each was perfectly willing to acknowledge the -superiority of the other in his own particular line of business. “I was -intended for a portable craft—something that can be folded into a small -compass and carried over a portage without much trouble; and in that -respect I am far ahead of a stiff-necked Canuck, who, having made up his -mind just how much space he ought to occupy in the world, would rather -break than bend to give elbow-room to his betters.” “You wanted me to -tell you something about Tom Bigden, I believe,” added the canoe, -addressing himself to me. “Well, it is a long story, but you will have -plenty of time to listen to it; for if Joe and Roy have gone out on the -lake, they will not return much before dark. You ought to know the full -history of Tom’s dealings with Joe, for you may become the victim of -persecution as the rest of us are and have been ever since Tom came -here; and if you were not posted, you would not know how to account for -it. A long time ago—” - -But there! I never could learn to tell a story in the words of another, -so I will, for a time, drop the personal pronoun, which I don’t like to -use if I can help it, and give you in my own homely way the substance of -the narrative to which I listened that afternoon. But please understand -one thing before I begin: The historian was not a personal witness of -all the incidents I am about to describe. He couldn’t have been, unless -he possessed the power of being in half a dozen different places at the -same time. He saw and heard some things, of course, but much of his -information had been obtained from the long bow, and from Joe and his -friends, who had freely discussed matters in his presence; and by -putting all these different incidents together, he was able to make up a -story which, to me, was very interesting. I hope it may prove so to you. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - SOMETHING ABOUT TOM BIGDEN AND HIS COUSINS. - - -MOUNT AIRY, the village in which Joe Wayring and Roy Sheldon lived, was -situated a few miles away from a large city which, for want of a better -name, we will call New London. It was so far distant from the city that -it could not properly be spoken of as one of its suburbs, and yet the -railroad brought the village so near to it that a good many men who did -business in New London, Joe’s father and Roy’s among the number, had -their homes there. It was a veritable “hide and seek town”. Sometimes, -as you were approaching it on the cars, you would see it very plainly, -and then again you wouldn’t. It was nestled in among high mountains, and -in the woods which covered them from base to summit could be found an -abundance of small game, such as hares, squirrels and grouse, that -afforded sport to the local Nimrods, and even received attention from -the New London gunners. It was surrounded by a perfect network of -babbling trout brooks, and there were several lakes and ponds in the -vicinity in which some of the finest fish in the world awaited the lure -of the skillful angler. And it required skill to take them, too. They -were shy of strangers, and it wasn’t every body who could go out in the -morning and come back at night with a full creel. - -Nor was larger game wanting to tempt the hunter who plumed himself on -being a good shot with the rifle. Visitors standing upon the veranda of -the principal hotel in the village had often heard wolves howling in the -mountains, and on more than one occasion a deer had been seen standing -on the opposite shore of Mirror Lake (it was generally called Wayring’s -Lake, because Joe’s father owned the land on all sides of it), regarding -with much curiosity the evidences of civilization that had sprung up on -the other side. More than that, a bear was expected to make his -appearance at least once every season; and when word was passed that he -was in sight, what a hubbub it created among the visiting sportsmen! How -prompt they were to seize their guns and run out after him, and how sure -they were to come back empty-handed! Uncle Joe used to say that he -believed the managers of the hotels would close their doors against the -man who was lucky enough to shoot that bear, for unless Bruin had a -companion to take his place, his death would spoil their advertisements. -For years the proprietor of the Mount Airy House had been accustomed to -tell the public, through the New London papers, that bear could be seen -from the piazza of his hotel, and the announcement had brought him many -a dollar from sportsmen who came from all parts of the country to shoot -that bear. Why didn’t Uncle Joe shoot him? He owned the hotel. - -We have said that Mount Airy was acquiring some fame as a -watering-place; but that must not lead you to infer that it was like -other places of resort—lively enough in summer, but very dull in winter, -for such was by no means the case. The village was lively at all seasons -of the year. Of course there were many more people there in summer than -there were in winter, for during warm weather the hotels and all the -boarding houses were crowded with visitors, and so were the cottages on -the other side of the lake; but when these visitors went away, the -citizens did not hibernate like so many woodchucks and wait for them to -come back, because they were not dependent upon tourists either for -their livelihood or for means of entertainment. Strangers were -astonished when they found what a driving, go-ahead sort of people they -were. They were proud of their village, of its churches, its hotels, its -fine private residences, and its high-school was so well and favorably -known that it attracted students from all parts of the country. It could -boast of an efficient fire department, composed of all the leading men -in town (the ministers and teachers, to a man, belonged to it), a -military company which formed a part of the National Guard of the State, -and a band of archers known as the Mount Airy Toxophilites. We ought, -rather, to say that there were _two_ bands of archers, one being -composed of boys and girls, and the other of their fathers, mothers and -older brothers and sisters. They were both uniformed, but the boy -members of the Toxophilites were the only ones who ever paraded. - -It was worth a long journey to see these forty young archers turn out -and march through the streets to the music of the band. They looked as -neat in their green and white suits, with short top boots, and black -hats turned up at one side and fastened with a black feather, as the -military company did in their blue uniforms and white helmets: and as -for their marching, it was nearly perfect. They had a manual of arms -which originated with Uncle Joe, who, for more than a year, acted as -their instructor and drill-master. They were governed by a constitution -and by-laws, and fines were imposed upon those who did not turn out -regularly to the drills and parades. They had shooting matches at which -prizes were distributed, also a grand annual hunt, followed by a dinner -that was equally grand; and every year some of the boys spent a week or -two camping in the mountains, taking bows and arrows with them instead -of guns. A good many of the young archers were very fine shots with -these novel weapons, and there were about half a dozen of them, of whom -Joe and Roy made two, who stood ready at any time to meet an equal -number of riflemen at the trap, the archers shooting at twelve yards -rise and the riflemen at twenty. - -On the morning of July 4, 18—, a large party of newly-arrived visitors -were seated on the wide veranda of the Mount Airy House, enjoying the -refreshing breeze that came to them from over the lake, and -congratulating themselves on having left the city, with all its dust, -heat and noise, behind them for one good long month at least. Some of -these visitors had never been there before, and consequently they knew -little or nothing about the village and its inhabitants. Among these -were Tom Bigden and his two cousins, Ralph and Loren Farnsworth, who -were leaning over the railing, fanning their flushed faces with their -hats, and wondering how in the world they were going to put in four -weeks’ time in that desolate town. They were city boys, any body could -see that, and they were disappointed, and angry as well, because their -parents had not decided to spend a portion of the summer at some place -convenient to salt water, so that they could enjoy a dip in the surf now -and then. - -“I see a boat down there,” observed Loren. “I wonder if we could hire it -for an hour or two? I think I should like to take a sail on that lake, -it looks so cool and inviting.” - -“Humph!” exclaimed Tom. “I’d much rather take a run up to Newport or -over to Greenbush in my father’s yacht.” - -“I wouldn’t,” answered Loren. “I can go down to the Sound any day, but a -gem of a lake like this is something I haven’t feasted my eyes upon in a -long time. I am going to see if I can hire a boat; and after I get tired -of sailing around in her, I’m going to lie to under the shade of some -tree that hangs over the water, and be as lazy as I know how. That’s -what I came up here for.” - -“Boom!” said a field-piece, from some distant part of the village. - -“What was that?” exclaimed Ralph. “A cannon?” - -“Naw,” replied Tom, in a tone which implied that he had no patience with -any one who could ask such a question. “What would a cannon be doing up -here in the woods? Do you think these greenhorns are going to try to get -up a celebration for our benefit?” - -“No, I don’t; but they’ve got up one for their own. Do you hear that?” -answered Ralph, as the warning roll of a drum, followed by the music of -a band, rang out on the air. “The procession, or whatever it is, is -coming this way, too. Now I shall expect to see something that will -eclipse any thing New London ever thought of getting up.” - -It wasn’t a celebration; it was only the annual review of the Mount Airy -fire department, which was always held on the Fourth of July. Ralph and -his cousins were fully prepared to make all sorts of fun of it, but when -the head of the procession came into view around the corner of the -street below, they were so surprised at the size of it that they had not -a word to say. It took up the whole width of the street, and that it was -determined to have all the room it wanted, was made plain by the actions -of a couple of mounted policemen who rode in front to clear the way. - -“That’s good marching, boys,” said Loren, who had seen so much of it in -New London that he thought himself qualified to judge. “It is a very -creditable display for so small a place as this.” - -“Every body seems to think it’s going to be something grand,” sneered -Tom, who was really amazed at the rapidity with which the spacious -veranda was filled by the guests, who came pouring out of the wide doors -in a steady stream. - -“Why, there’s a military company in line with the firemen—two of them,” -exclaimed Ralph. - -“Visiting companies, no doubt,” said Tom, “and that’s what makes every -one so anxious to see them.” - -“There’s where you are wrong, Tom,” said Mr. Farnsworth, who, -approaching them unobserved, had heard every word of their conversation. -“You never saw a parade just like this, and I don’t believe you will -ever see another unless your father and I carry out some plans we have -been talking about, and come up here to live.” - -“To live?” echoed Tom. - -“Up here in the woods?” cried Ralph. - -“Among all these country greenhorns!” chimed in Loren. - -“You will find very few country greenhorns in Mount Airy,” said Mr. -Farnsworth, with a laugh. “Why, boys, those fire companies represent -millions of New London’s business capital.” - -“Oh!” said Tom. - -“Ah!” said Ralph. - -“That makes the thing look different,” added Loren. “I supposed that -they were made up of the same material we used to find in the old -volunteer organizations.” - -“By no means. They are all rich and intelligent men. They own valuable -property here, and by taking an interest in their fire department, they -get their insurance at much lower rates than we do in the city.” - -The near approach of the column put a stop to the conversation. First -came the drum-major, a big six-footer, with a high bear-skin cap, which -made him look a great deal taller than he really was, and behind him the -band, which discoursed as fine music as any body wanted to hear. Then -came the hook and ladder company, two hundred strong, marching four -abreast and drawing their heavy truck after them without the least -apparent exertion. Next came a steam fire engine, drawn by men instead -of horses, after that a hose cart, followed by a small company of about -twenty young fellows in black dress-coats and white trowsers and caps, -who pulled along something that looked like a skeleton road wagon, -loaded with Babcock fire extinguishers. - -“That’s a little the queerest looking turn-out I ever saw,” Tom -remarked. “_They_ couldn’t do any thing toward putting out a fire. I -suppose they are more for show than any thing else.” - -“Wrong again,” said Mr. Farnsworth. “They have done good work, and the -citizens, in recognition of their services, presented them with money -enough to build an engine house for themselves, and furnish it in fine -style.” - -Next came the soldiers, veterans, every one of them, and behind them a -company of oddly uniformed youngsters, whose movements were governed by -the blast of a bugle instead of the word of command. They must have been -the ones the guests were waiting for, for when they came in sight, and, -following the movements of the military company, executed the maneuver: -“Platoons right front into line,” which they did with as much -soldier-like precision as the veterans themselves, the gentlemen on the -veranda cheered them lustily, while the ladies waved their handkerchiefs -and bombarded the ranks with bouquets, which were deftly caught by the -boys, and impaled upon the ends of their long bows. - -“Now, then, can any body tell me who and what those fellows are?” -exclaimed Ralph. - -“They are the Mount Airy Toxophilites,” replied Mr. Farnsworth. - -“Lovers of a bow or arrow,” said Ralph, who was well up in his Greek. -“What do they do?” - -“Oh, they have regular shooting-matches, drills and parades, and now and -then a hunt and a camp in the woods.” - -“They can’t hit any thing with those bows, of course.” - -“Yes, I believe they can,” replied Mr. Farnsworth. “I am told that when -they go on a hunt, they are as sure of coming back full-handed as those -who use guns. After passing in review before the trustees, they are to -have a drill in the park. I see that a good many of the guests are -getting ready to go down, and if you would like to see it, we will go -also.” - -Tom and his cousins had found reason to change some of their opinions -during the last few minutes, and that was just what Mr. Farnsworth -desired. He had talked with that very end in view—to make them see that -New London was not the only place in the world in which boys could enjoy -themselves, and to prepare them for the change which he and his -brother-in-law, Tom’s father, intended to make that very summer. They -were anxious to get their boys away from New London, for it was full of -temptations which Tom and his cousins found it hard to resist. They were -learning to think more of billiards than they did of their books, and -they had even been known to roll ten-pins for soda water. Soda water -wasn’t hurtful, and neither were ten-pins nor billiards; but the -conditions under which the one was imbibed and the others played -certainly were. In Mount Airy there was none of that sort of thing. Of -course there were billiard rooms and ten-pin alleys there, but they -belonged to the hotels, and were kept for the exclusive use of the -guests. The men who had just marched up the street owned all the land -for miles around, and they would not sell a foot of it. They were -willing to lease it for a term of years, but before they did so, they -wanted to know all about the man who applied for the lease, and the -business he intended to follow while he remained in town. In that way -they made the society of the village just what they wanted it to be. It -is true that some objectionable characters now and then secured a -temporary foothold there, but as soon as they were detected, they were -“bounced” without ceremony. - -Mr. Farnsworth and Mr. Bigden thought Mount Airy would be just the place -for their boys, but the latter would have raised the most decided -objections if the subject of a change of residence had been broached to -them before they witnessed that parade, and learned something about the -men and boys who composed it. - -“I’ll tell you what’s a fact!” said Tom, as he and his cousins walked -with Mr. Farnsworth toward the park where the drill was to be held. -“Uncle Alfred was right when he said that we would not find many country -bumpkins here. Those bowmen must have lots of fun. Do you and father -really intend to come here to live?” he added, turning to Mr. -Farnsworth. - -“We have been thinking and talking about it for a long time,” was the -answer. - -“All right. I am in favor of it,” said Tom. “I wonder if we could get -into that company of archers!” - -“Of course we could,” said Loren. - -“There’s no ‘of course’ about it,” answered his father. “You would be -balloted for the same as the rest; and I have been told that one -black-ball would keep you out for a year.” - -“Humph!” exclaimed Tom. “They wouldn’t black-ball _us_. I guess our -folks have just as much money as any body here.” - -“No, they haven’t; and even if they had, it would make no sort of -difference. Money doesn’t rule the world up here as it does down in New -London. I am informed that some of the boys in that company are so poor -that the others had to help them buy their uniforms.” - -“Humph!” said Tom. “Well, if that’s the sort of trash they take into -their company, I don’t know that I care to belong to it, do you, boys? -We don’t have any thing to do with such fellows in the city.” - -“Couldn’t we gradually weed them out?” asked Loren. “That’s the way we -did with our ball club, you know.” - -“Yes, and what was the consequence?” demanded his father. “You ‘weeded -out’ your very best players, and you have been beaten by every club you -have met since. Served you right, too.” - -“Well, I would rather be beaten than be chums with fellows who were too -mean to chip in two or three dollars when we wanted to get up a dinner,” -observed Loren. - -“They were not too mean; they couldn’t do it. The two or three dollars -that you speak of so lightly, were a large sum in the eyes of boys whose -fathers gain a livelihood by working by the day, and you ought to have -exercised a little common sense in your dealings with them. If it were -necessary that you should have the dinner or starve, why did you not pay -for it yourselves, and not ask those poor boys to ‘chip in’, as you term -it? There’s the high school,” said Mr. Farnsworth, pointing with his -cane to an imposing building, standing in the midst of extensive and -well-kept grounds which occupied one whole block of the village -property. - -“That’s my great objection to Mount Airy,” said Ralph, shaking his fist -at the school house. “Our teacher told us one day last term that the -binomial theorem is just the same in China and Brazil that it is in New -London, so I suppose it must be the same up here. Fine scenery around a -school house doesn’t make the lessons inside any easier.” - -“You’re right there,” growled Tom, who was thinking of those Orations of -Cicero to which he would have to devote his attention next term, “I’d -much rather go fishing.” - -The boys reached the park long before the procession did, and took up a -position near the pagoda in which the president of the village and the -trustees were to stand while the line passed in review. When it arrived, -the band led the way around the park until it met the advancing column; -then it turned inside of it and went around again, and thus the whole -line, with the exception of the Toxophilites, was wound up like a coil. -The archers kept straight ahead, the boys in the ranks carrying arms, -and the captain saluting by bringing his bow to a position that somewhat -resembled the “secure arms” of the tactics, until they reached a clear -space at the other end of the park which had been reserved on purpose -for them. There they halted, and, when the firemen had broken ranks, and -the soldiers had been brought to parade rest, their commanding officer -put them through the manual of arms and some intricate evolutions in the -school of the company, giving his orders to the bugler who stood beside -him, and not to the company itself. Ralph and Loren were delighted with -every thing they saw, and had many words of praise to bestow upon the -young bowmen; but Tom was silent and sullen. He didn’t like to hear so -much cheering when none of it was intended for him. When he was engaged -in a game of ball he always flew into a passion if he made an error, or -if any of the other side made a play that called forth applause from the -spectators. He was angry now; but it would have puzzled a sensible boy -to tell what reason he had for it. - -“That captain, or whatever you call him—” began Loren. - -“Master bowman,” said his father. - -“Well, he is a nobby fellow, and that bugler looks gorgeous in his green -uniform with its white facings,” continued Loren. “I wonder who they -are, any way?” - -“Why don’t you go and inquire?” asked Mr. Farnsworth. - -“They wouldn’t speak to you,” snarled Tom. “They’re little upstarts; I -can tell that from here by the frills they throw on.” - -Loren and his brother didn’t care if they were. The signs seemed to -indicate that they were coming to Mount Airy to live, and if that was -the case, they wanted to know something about the boys they would have -for their associates. So as soon as the drill was brought to an end and -the ranks were broken, they set out to scrape an acquaintance with the -master bowman and bugler, Tom following them with rather a listless, -indifferent air. But in reality he was as eager as his cousins were. -Would he not be willing to give something handsome if he could make -himself the leader of a select band like that? - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - THE MOUNT AIRY TOXOPHILITES. - - -LOREN and Ralph Farnsworth, in spite of Tom’s predictions to the -contrary, had no trouble in scraping an acquaintance with the first -bowman they met. It was Arthur Hastings, the secretary of the company -and one of the best shots in it. They drew his attention by touching -their hats to him as he passed (that is, the brothers did, Tom being in -too bad humor to be civil), and Arthur seeing that they desired to speak -to him, stopped and opened the conversation himself. - -“I know almost every stranger here this summer, but I don’t remember to -have seen you two before,” said he, pulling off his white gloves and -extending a hand to each of them. - -“We came on the early morning train,” replied Ralph. “We were just in -time to witness your parade, which I assure you was something we did not -expect to see up here in the woods. You bowmen are bully soldiers.” - -“Thank you,” said Arthur, raising his hand to his hat in response to -Tom’s very slight nod. “There must be something in what you say, for -every one who comes up here tells us the same. The truth is, we ought to -be proficient. We have been under the strictest kind of a drill-master, -and have done plenty of hard work since our organization two years ago.” - -“What first put the idea into your heads?” inquired Loren. “You got it -out of your history, didn’t you?” - -“And if you did, why don’t you dress up like Indians and adopt their -system of tactics?” chimed in Tom, who for the moment forgot that he had -resolved that he would not have a word to say to any of the bowmen. “I -have read that the Sioux have a drill of their own which is so very -bewildering that our best troops can’t stand against it. It seems to me -that you make hard work of something that might, under different -management, be made to yield you any amount of pleasure.” - -“We are very well satisfied with the way our affairs are managed,” -answered Arthur, who did not quite like the tone in which Tom uttered -these words. “You must know that we are not copying the aborigines, but -the Merry Bowmen of Robin Hood’s time. Of course we have to work, for if -we didn’t we couldn’t give exhibition drills; but somehow we see plenty -of fun with it all. The idea was suggested to us, not by our histories, -but by an old man who lives up here in the woods,” added Arthur, turning -to Loren, at the same time jerking his thumb over his shoulder and -nodding his head toward an indefinite point of the compass. If he -intended by these motions to give his auditors an idea of the direction -in which the old man referred to lived, he failed completely. “He has -seen better days. He used to belong to an archery club in his own -country—that’s England, you know—and I tell you he is a boss shot. He -makes a very good living with his bow now; but he is so much ashamed of -the accomplishment—” - -“Excuse me,” interrupted Loren. “I don’t see why he should be ashamed of -it.” - -“Neither do I,” said Arthur. “But you see, there are very few people in -this country who take any interest in archery, and sportsmen, as a -general thing, look upon the long bow as a toy; but they always change -their minds when they see what it can be made to do in the hands of an -expert. Now take those two boys, for example,” added Arthur, directing -Loren’s attention to the master bowman and his bugler. “It isn’t every -rifle shot who can break as many glass balls in the air as they can.” - -“Who are they?” inquired Tom. “We noticed them particularly during the -drill.” - -“They are Wayring and Sheldon. Would you like to know them? They’re good -fellows.” - -Arthur looked at Tom as he said this, but Tom didn’t act as though he -heard him. He wasn’t anxious to make the acquaintance of boys who could -beat him at any thing, but his cousins were not so mean spirited. - -“Certainly we would,” replied Ralph. “It looks now as though we were -coming here to live; and if we do, we should like to know something -about the boys into whose company we shall be thrown.” - -It would seem from this that Ralph took it for granted that he and his -brother and cousin would get into the company without the least trouble, -and he was somewhat surprised because Arthur did not offer to take in -their names at the very next meeting; but he did not even ask them what -their names were. He led them to the place where the master bowman and -his bugler were standing in the midst of a party of their friends, and, -as soon as the opportunity was presented, introduced them as visitors -who thought it possible that they might one day become permanent -residents of the village. Then he excused himself and went off to hunt -up one of the girls with green and white badges, who were carrying -little buckets of lemonade around among the thirsty firemen and -soldiers. - -Tom and his cousins found the young archers to be very pleasant and -agreeable fellows, but a trifle too independent to suit them. They did -not seem to think that Tom was better than any other boy because his -father was a banker, and owned a yacht in which he talked of going to -Florida during the coming winter, and neither did they ask him and his -cousins to step up to the armory when they fell into ranks and marched -up to put away their bows and quivers. They left them standing in the -park, as they did scores of others who had been talking to them, and -that was a slight that Tom said he would not soon forget. - -“You are altogether too touchy,” said Loren, with some impatience in his -tones. “You appear to think that every boy who lives outside the city -limits must, of necessity, be a greenhorn. These fellows know as much -about New London as we do.” - -“When I become a member of that company, I shall use my best endeavors -to bring about a different state of affairs,” said Tom, decidedly. “If -they are taking pattern after Robin Hood, why don’t they pass their time -as he and his men did, lounging about in the greenwood under the shade -of the trees, instead of parading through the streets on a hot day like -this? I don’t see any fun in that.” - -Nevertheless, before he had passed a week in Mount Airy, Tom Bigden -decided that it was just such a place as he had always thought he should -like to live in, and his cousins came to the same conclusion. So did -their fathers and mothers; and so it came about that a couple of Mr. -Wayring’s handsome cottages, on the other side of the lake, were rented -until such time as Mr. Farnsworth and his brother-in-law could erect -houses on the grounds they had leased in the village. - -Tom and his cousins lost no time in getting ready to enjoy themselves. -Before another week had passed away, they had the finest sail and row -boats, and the most expensive canoes on the lake; and in anticipation of -their immediate admittance to the ranks of the Toxophilites, they sent -for a supply of bows and arrows and ordered uniforms of their tailor. -But the old saying, that there’s many a slip, held good in their case; -and this was the way they found it out: - -One afternoon they and their parents were invited to a lawn party, at -which the Toxophilites, girls as well as boys, appeared in force and in -uniform, the girls wearing white dresses, green sashes and badges, and -light straw hats, turned up at the side and fastened by a tiny silver -arrow, which, at the same time, held in place the long black plume of -the company. Tom declared that they looked stunning; and when he saw how -they sent their arrows into the target, hitting the gold almost as often -as they missed it, and played croquet and skipped about the lawn tennis -ground, he added that he had never been to such a party before, nor seen -handsomer girls. He was going to apply for admission to the club, and he -wasn’t going to waste any time in doing it, either. With this object in -view, he hurried off to find Arthur Hastings. - -“I don’t wonder that you fellows are happy here,” was the way in which -he began the conversation. - -“Yes, I suppose we see as much pleasure as falls to the lot of most -people,” answered Arthur, “but we have any amount of hard work as well.” - -“I never see you do any,” said Tom. - -“That’s because you are not acquainted with us or our ways. I drilled -until after ten o’clock last night, and spent this forenoon in working -in the garden and wrestling with my geometry; getting ready for next -term you know.” - -“Do you study and work during vacation?” exclaimed Tom, who had never -heard of such a piece of foolishness before. - -“Of course I do; we all do.” - -“I’m glad that I haven’t such parents as you seem to have,” said Tom, -rudely. - -“Our parents have nothing whatever to do with it. It’s the rule of the -company.” - -“That you shall work during vacation?” cried Tom. - -“That we shall keep busy at something—yes. We are told that an idle -brain is the workshop of a certain old chap who shall be nameless, but -we go further, and hold that there is no such thing as an idle brain. It -is at work all the time during our waking hours, and sometimes when we -are asleep—dreams, you know—and if it is not busy with good things, it -is ready to take in bad ones. Have you seen any boys loafing around the -corners since you have been here? Then you can bet your bottom dollar -that they didn’t belong to us.” - -“Well, when I get to be a member of the company, I shall vote down all -such rules as that,” said Tom to himself. “A fellow needs a little time -to be lazy, and I shall take it, too, without asking any body’s -consent.” Then aloud he asked, as if the thought had just occurred to -him: “By the way, when do you hold your next meeting?” - -“Thursday night.” - -“Well, take in our names, will you? Mine and my cousins’.” - -“I should be glad to oblige you, but I can’t do it.” - -“You can’t do it?” said Tom, who was angry in an instant. “Why not, I’d -like to know?” - -“There are two reasons. In the first place, you have not been here long -enough—we don’t know any thing about you.” - -“If that isn’t a little ahead of any thing I ever heard of I wouldn’t -say so!” exclaimed Tom, as soon as his rage would permit him to speak. -“My father is—” - -“We don’t care who or what your father is; we must know what _you_ are. -In the second place, our membership is limited, and the boys’ roster is -full.” - -“Couldn’t you suspend the rules for once?” - -“That’s no rule. It is a part of the constitution.” - -“Well, couldn’t you amend it?” - -“No, we couldn’t. It has been tried in the case of one of the best -fellows in town—or, rather, he was one of the best until he found that -he couldn’t wind eighty boys and girls around his finger, and then he -turned against us and stands ready to-day to do us all the harm he can.” - -“And you will find, to your cost, that my cousins and I will do the same -thing,” thought Tom, and it was all he could do to keep from uttering -the words aloud. “Things have come to a pretty pass when a lot of Yahoos -can make gentlemen knuckle to them. Who is this boy?” - -“His name is Prime; but I tell you, as a friend, that you must not have -any thing to do with him if you want to get into the company. There are -half a dozen of our fellows going away this fall, and then, if you feel -like it, you can make a try for membership. Perhaps I shall be able to -help you to the extent of one vote, though I can’t promise to do so.” - -“How about the yacht and canoe clubs?” said Tom, with something like a -sneer in his tones. “No doubt they are full, too.” - -“Oh, no, they’re not. Any good fellow who owns a boat or who intends to -get one, can come in there. Are you and your cousins good swimmers? Then -why don’t you join us and enter for the up-set race that will come off -next month.” - -“I don’t know what kind of a race that is.” - -“It’ll not take long to tell you. You see the contestants come out clad -in some light stuff that won’t hold much water, and when they are well -started in the race, a signal is given, generally the blast of a bugle, -whereupon each fellow must overturn his boat, climb into her again and -go ahead as if nothing had happened. The one who crosses the line first, -is of course the winner.” - -“Who among you is the best at that kind of a race?” - -“Well,” replied Arthur, with some hesitation, “it is nip and tuck -between Wayring, Sheldon and me.” - -“I expected as much,” said Tom, to himself. “Wayring, Sheldon and -Hastings are better than the rest at every thing. I shall enter for that -or some other race, and if I don’t take the conceit out of all of you, I -shall never forgive myself. Then it would not be of any use for me to -try to get into the Toxophilites?” he said, aloud. - -“Not the slightest. I’ll tip you the wink when there is an opening, and -you can apply or not, just as you think best. We never ask any body to -join us.” - -“But you asked me to join the canoe and yacht clubs.” - -“I know it, and I had a right to. The three organizations are governed -by entirely different rules. There’s the bugle,” said Arthur, catching -up his bow which lay on the rustic bench on which he and Tom had been -sitting during this conversation. “I must go and shoot as soon as I can -find my girl. Come on, and see us punch the gold three times out of -five.” - -“I can’t,” replied Tom. “I must hunt up the hostess, tell her I have had -a very pleasant time and all that, and bid her good-by. I have another -engagement.” - -This was not quite in accordance with the facts of the case. Tom had no -other engagement, but he wanted to go off by himself, or in company with -Loren and Ralph, and give full vent to his feelings of disappointment -and rage. He shook his fist at Arthur when the latter turned his back -and hurried away, and it would have afforded him infinite satisfaction -if he could have followed him up and knocked him down. He found his -cousins after a while, and although they stood in the midst of a jolly -group and were laughing gaily, and appeared to be enjoying themselves, -Tom was well enough acquainted with them to tell at a glance that they -were as angry as he was. - -“Sorry to break in upon so pleasant a gathering as this one seems to -be,” said Tom, approaching the group, one of whom was the young lady in -whose honor the party was given, “but our time is up.” - -“Why, Mr. Bigden, you don’t mean to say that you are going away so soon, -and before supper, too?” exclaimed the young lady, who looked so -charming in her neat uniform that Tom had half a mind to go back and -pound Arthur Hastings for telling him that he couldn’t become a -Toxophilite at once. - -“Must—can’t be helped,” answered Tom, giving his cousins a look which -they understood. “We are indebted to you for a very pleasant afternoon, -Miss Arden.” - -“I don’t believe you have enjoyed yourselves one bit,” exclaimed the -fair archer. “If you have, why do you go away so early? The next time -you attend one of our lawn parties, be sure and arrange your business so -that your other engagements can wait.” - -After a little more badinage of this sort, Tom and his cousins lifted -their hats and walked off. As soon as the front gate had closed behind -them, the expression on their faces changed as if by magic, and the -three boys turned toward one another with clenched fists and flashing -eyes. After each one had glared savagely at his neighbor as if he were -going to strike him, they all put their hands in their pockets and moved -away. Tom was the first to speak. - -“Now that I look back at it, I don’t see how I kept my hands off that -Hastings boy while he was talking so insolently to me,” said Tom. “He -told me that he didn’t care who or what my father was, but I couldn’t -get into the archery club, and that was all there was about it. They -must stick to their constitution, no matter if the world goes to pieces -on account of their obstinacy. He asked me to join the canoe and yacht -clubs, but said they never asked any body to apply for admission to the -Toxophilites.” - -“I guess Ralph and I know just what he said to you first and last,” -remarked Loren, “for Sheldon talked to us in about the same way. We are -going to enter for the upset race.” - -“I thought you would,” answered Tom, “and so I made up my mind to go in -too. We’ll make it our business to see that neither Sheldon nor Wayring -wins that or any other race. If we find that we can’t beat them by fair -means, and I have an idea that I can paddle a boat about as fast as the -next boy, although I never got into one until last week, we’ll foul -them, and sink their boats so deep that they will never come up again.” - -“Loren and I talked that matter over, and resolved upon the same thing,” -said Ralph. “Did Hastings tell you any thing about a George Prime who is -down on them because they would not take his name before the -Toxophilites? Sheldon told us to give him a wide berth, but Loren and I -thought we would do as we pleased about that.” - -“That’s just what I thought,” answered Tom. “I think it would be a good -plan to hunt him up the very first thing we do. If he has reason to -dislike Wayring and his friends, we might induce him to strike hands -with us.” - -“That was our idea,” said Ralph. “It can’t be possible that Prime is the -only boy in this village who does not like Wayring and the rest, and if -we find them to be the right sort, and can raise enough of them, what’s -the reason we can’t get up a club of our own?” - -“That’s another idea,” said Tom, who was delighted with it. “I wish I -had thought to ask Hastings where Prime lives.” - -“I know where his father’s drug-store is, for I saw the sign over the -door,” said Loren. “Let’s go down there and get a cigar, and trust to -our wits to learn something about him.” - -The others agreeing to this proposition, Loren led the way to the -drug-store, and the three stopped in front of the show-case near the -door in which the cigars were kept. - -“That’s Prime, and I know it,” whispered Tom, as a dashing young fellow, -who was seated at the further end of the store reading a paper, came up -to attend to their wants. “He looks to me like a chap who isn’t in the -habit of allowing himself to be imposed upon, and that’s the sort we -want to run with.” - -“See-gahs? Yes, sir,” said the clerk. “Being from the city, you want the -best, of course. There you are, sir. Genuine imported.” - -“How do you know that we are from the city?” inquired Loren, as he made -a selection from the box that was placed on the show-case. - -“Because I was a city boy myself, until father took it into his head -that he wanted to spend a summer at Mount Airy,” replied the clerk. -“That was a bad move for me, for we have been here ever since. Besides, -in a little place like this, every body knows more about your business -than you do yourself. I know who you are, and where you came from, and -all about it.” - -“Then it was a bad change for you, was it?” said Ralph. “You don’t like -to live here? Neither do we.” - -“I don’t blame you,” said the clerk. “Wait until you get acquainted with -some of these old-timers and find out what an exclusive lot they are, -and you will dislike it worse than you do now. There are a few of them, -especially the Toxophilites, as they call themselves, who try to -monopolize all the fun there is going.” - -“Why don’t you join them?” asked Tom. - -“Because they won’t let me—that’s why.” - -“Then you must be George Prime.” - -“That’s my name, and you are Tom Bigden, and you two are Loren and Ralph -Farnsworth.” - -“You’ve hit it,” answered Tom. “They wouldn’t take us in either. They -told us so not more than an hour ago. Why didn’t you go to the party?” - -“Because they didn’t invite me,” said Prime, angrily. “I don’t get -invitations to any thing any more. I showed rather too much spirit to -suit them, and so they dropped me.” - -“Probably they will do the same by us,” said Loren. “We have always been -in the habit of doing as we pleased, and we don’t intend to change our -mode of life for the sake of getting into an archery club that makes its -members drill until ten o’clock when they might see more fun in playing -billiards. There will be some vacancies this fall, and then we shall -make another attempt to get in.” - -“Is that what you have made up your minds to? Well, now, look here.” As -Prime said this, he came out from behind the counter and stood in the -open door, looking up and down the street. “You must begin by doing your -smoking in secret,” he continued, as he came back and motioned to the -boys to follow him toward the rear of the store. - -“Do you mean to say that the Toxophilites look with disfavor upon a good -cigar?” demanded Tom. - -“I do, indeed. You mustn’t use tobacco in any form, and you must be -temperate in all things—in eating, drinking and talking. They’ll fine -you if you use any language while you are out with your companions, that -you wouldn’t use if your mother or sister was present. Now sit down -here, and if you see any body coming, you can put your cigars out of -sight.” - -“But we don’t know all the members of the club,” said Loren. - -“No difference. Don’t let any one see you with a weed in your mouth. If -you do, good-by to all your chances of being a Toxophilite.” - -“Why, it’s the meanest little town I ever heard of!” exclaimed Ralph, -who was greatly surprised as well as disgusted. “I didn’t suppose that -there were any such boys in this wicked world. I thought they all lived -in Utopia.” - -“So did I, until I found some of them right here in Mount Airy,” -answered Prime. “The girls are at the bottom of it—you know that they -are never easy unless they are kicking up a row of some kind—and if I -had been a member of the club when it was organized, wouldn’t I have -worked hard to keep them out? I was very anxious to get into it once, -but I don’t believe I care to be one of them now.” - -Tom and his cousins began to feel the same way. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - TOM INTERVIEWS THE SQUATTER. - - -“I DON’T believe I care to be one of them now,” repeated Prime, who, -being a pretty good judge of character, knew that he ran no risk in -speaking freely in the presence of the three boys before him. “I wish I -could see their old organization knocked higher than the moon; or else I -wish that a few more new fellows of the right sort would come in, so -that we could have a club of our own.” - -“I was about to suggest that very thing,” said Tom. “It can’t be -possible that Wayring and his cronies have got every boy in town under -their thumbs.” - -“Not by a long shot!” exclaimed Prime. “There are ten or a dozen besides -myself who do not bow to them.” - -“And my cousins and I add three to the number,” replied Tom. “That’s -enough for a hunting club. But we will talk about that at some future -time. Do you belong to the other clubs?” - -Prime replied that he did, adding that any body could get into them, for -there was no limit to the membership. - -“The canoe and yacht clubs are getting large enough to be unwieldy,” -said he. “I know of a good many boys who are not satisfied with the way -things are managed, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if there should -be a split some day. There are a few of us who are talking it up as fast -as we can. We are getting tired of seeing the same old tickets elected -every year, and think it high time we had a change.” - -“Is Wayring much of a canoeist?” asked Tom. - -“Indeed, he is. He can walk away from any one around here, I am sorry to -say, and in fact, there’s hardly any thing that boy can’t do. I would -give almost any thing to see him beaten, and I—say!” exclaimed Prime, a -bright idea striking him. “Are you fellows canoeists?” - -“My cousins are; but I can’t say as much for myself,” answered Tom. “I -have always been called a very fair sculler, and after I learn how to -balance a canoe, I know I have muscle enough to make her get through the -water. Hastings led me to believe that it was a tight squeak between -Wayring, Sheldon and himself.” - -“Aw!” said Prime, in a tone of disgust. “You let Hastings alone for -shoving in a good word for himself as often as the opportunity offers. -He never won the first prize in his life. Joe Wayring walks away with it -every time. Suppose you fellows come in and see if you can’t make Joe -lower his broad pennant for a while. If you find that you can’t beat -him—and, although I am no friend of his, I tell you plainly that it will -be the hardest piece of work you ever undertook—you might get in his way -and let him foul you, you know. I tried my level best to do it last -year, but he was too smart for me.” - -By this time it was plain to all the boys that they understood one -another perfectly. The truth of the matter was, that Joe Wayring and -some of his particular friends had won too many honors, and made -themselves altogether too popular in the community. These boys were -angry about it, because they wanted to be first in every thing -themselves. Tom Bigden and his cousins had fully intended to take Mount -Airy by storm, and to establish themselves at once as leaders among -their new acquaintances; and their failure to accomplish their object -bewildered as well as enraged them. If they had known how to go about -it, they would have disgraced Joe Wayring before he saw the sun rise -again. So would George Prime. Of course they did not say it in so many -words, but that was what each boy told himself. - -Before Tom and his cousins left the store they entered into an alliance -with Prime, both offensive and defensive, and talked over various plans -for annoying the boys who had unwittingly incurred their displeasure. If -they could not injure Joe and his friends in any other way, they could -put them to some trouble and expense, and this they resolved to do the -very first good chance they got. They did not decide upon any particular -course of action, but Prime said that if Tom and his cousins would come -to the store the next day, he would introduce them to a lot of good -fellows who did not like Joe and his “clique” any too well, and who -would be glad to be revenged upon them for some real or imaginary -grievance. - -“I see very clearly that there is a good deal of feeling against Wayring -and his followers, and if we handle it rightly we can make it work to -our advantage,” remarked Tom, as he and his cousins walked slowly -homeward. “It is a wonder to me that something hasn’t been done to him -before this time. What they lack is a leader—some one to propose a plan -and go ahead with it.” - -“Well, they have found him at last—three of him,” said Loren. “I always -was opposed to living in a little country town, because you invariably -find fellows there who think they know more than any body else—” - -“And plenty of others who are willing to uphold them in that belief,” -chimed in Ralph. “I say, don’t let’s have any thing to do with the -Toxophilites. Let’s get up a club of our own and manage it as we see -proper.” - -“I am in favor of that,” replied Tom. “We’ll have no fines and drills, -for one thing, and neither will we admit any girls who stick up their -noses at a good cigar. But there is one thing we must not forget to do -when we meet those fellows at the store to-morrow. If we decide upon any -thing, we must be careful how we carry it out. If we are foolish enough -to let Joe and the rest know that we are down on them, and that we -intend to do them all the injury we can, they will make things very -unpleasant for us. We don’t want them to serve us as they have served -Prime, and read us entirely out of their good books—” - -“And that is just what they will do if they see us in Prime’s company,” -interrupted Loren. “Sheldon said so.” - -“There is no need that they should ever see us in his company,” replied -Tom. “Our best plan would be to hold all our meetings in secret—” - -“And keep our organization, if we have any, a secret,” chimed in Ralph. - -“That’s the idea,” said Tom. “Then we can do as much damage as we please -in the way of setting boats adrift, and so on, and Joe and his followers -will be at loss to know where the annoyance comes from. We mustn’t -forget to speak to the fellows about that to-morrow.” - -Unfortunately an incident happened that very afternoon which made it -comparatively easy for the three schemers to carry out the plans they -proposed. It was, in fact, a fight between a squatter and the Mount Airy -authorities, to whom he had made himself obnoxious. Tom and his cousins -were witnesses of the preliminary skirmish, that is, the serving of the -notice of ejectment, and when they heard a full report of the matter -from one of the boys to whom Prime introduced them, their delight was -almost unbounded. Tom danced a horn-pipe in the excess of his joy, and -repeatedly declared that nothing could have happened that was so well -calculated to further their designs. It came about in this way: - -Mr. Wayring’s summer cottages were all located on the opposite shore of -the lake. The road that led to them ran down the hill, around the foot -of the lake, and through a little settlement which bore the euphonious -name of “Stumptown.” Why this name had been given to it no one seemed to -know. It certainly was not appropriate, for there was not a stump to be -seen in any of its well-cultivated gardens, from which the Mount Airy -and Lambert Houses drew their supplies of vegetables and small fruits. - -The male members of this little community were licensed guides and -boatmen—the only ones, in fact, who had the right to serve the guests of -the hotels in that capacity. They lived on Mr. Wayring’s land, and in -neat little cottages which the liberal owner had erected for their -especial benefit. When the season was over and the guests returned to -their homes in the city, these men hunted and trapped in the mountains, -and entertained the village boys, with whom they were great favorites, -and who often invaded their humble abodes during the long winter -evenings, with thrilling and amusing tales of life in the wilderness. -They taught the boys woodcraft, and made themselves so useful in other -ways, that the young Nimrods of the village had never been able to -decide how they could manage to get on without them. - -Into this settlement there came one day an unkempt man, with a red nose -and a very forbidding face, who brought with him a large punt, into -which he had crowded all his worldly treasures, including his wife and -two stalwart sons, not one of whom was one whit more prepossessing than -the husband and father. Without saying a word to any body the red-nosed -man, who answered to the name of Matt Coyle, took possession of a piece -of ground that had been cleared but not fenced in, and began the -erection of a shanty with boards which formed a part of the punt’s -cargo. While he and his sons were at work Mr. Hastings, who was one of -the village trustees, rode by. He did not at all like the appearance of -the new-comers, but he had nothing to say to them. There was room for -more guides and boatmen, and Matt and his family might turn out better -than they looked. If they proved to be honest, industrious people who -were willing to work for a living, Mr. Hastings was perfectly willing -that they should stay, and he knew that Mr. Wayring would provide a -house and garden for them. If they proved to be objectionable in any -way, it would be an easy matter to get rid of them. - -Shortly after Mr. Hastings passed out of sight Matt Coyle wanted a -drink; and he found it—not in the lake, or in the ice-cold spring from -which the guides obtained their supply of water, but in a jug which he -fished out from a lot of miscellaneous rubbish in the punt. After he had -quenched his thirst he passed the jug over to his wife and boys, the -whole proceeding being witnessed by Nat Clark, the oldest man and best -guide and boatman in the settlement, who was getting his skiff ready to -take out a fishing party from one of the hotels. - -“Look a yer, friend,” said Nat. “What you got into that there jug o’ -your’n?” - -“The best kind o’ whisky,” answered Matt Coyle, cheerfully. “An’ I’ve -got as much as half a bar’l more in the punt. Want a drop?” - -“Not much,” replied Nat, emphatically. “An’ if you’re goin’ to stay -about yer, you’d best knock in the head of that there bar’l an’ smash -that there jug without wastin’ no time.” - -“What fur?” demanded the red-nosed man, who was very much surprised. - -“’Cause why, it’s agin the law fur stuff of that kind to be brung into -these yer grounds.” - -“Who made that there law?” - -“The trustees. You’d best do as I tell you, ’cause if they find out that -you’ve got it, they’ll spill the last drop of it fur you.” - -“They will, eh?” exclaimed Matt. “I’d like to see ’em try it on. They’d -better not try to boss me, ’cause me an’ my boys have got rifles into -the punt, an’ we know how to use ’em too. Them there trustees ain’t got -no more right to say what I shall drink than they have to say what I -shall eat. Besides, how are they goin’ to find out that I have got it?” - -“_I_ shan’t tell ’em, ’cause I’ve got enough to do without botherin’ my -head with other folks’s business,” answered the guide, who knew by the -tone in which they were uttered that there was a threat hidden under -Matt Coyle’s last words. “But you can’t keep it hid from ’em, an’ -they’re bound to find it out.” - -And sure enough they did. - -Having built his shanty and moved his household goods into it, Matt -Coyle and his boys presented themselves before the manager of the -Lambert House and demanded employment as guides and boatmen. That -functionary, who did not know that there were any such disreputable -looking people in town, gazed at them in surprise, and told them rather -bluntly that he had nothing for them to do. The manager of the Mount -Airy House told them the same thing. The hotel guides were neat in -person and respectful in demeanor, and Matt and his boys were just the -reverse. The managers would not insult their guests by giving them boats -manned by such persons as they were. Matt and his boys were angry, of -course, and after wasting the best portion of the day grumbling over -their hard luck, they put the jug into the punt and started out on a -fishing excursion. They came back with a good string, but the hotels and -boarding-houses refused to purchase, because their guests, with the -assistance of the guides, kept the tables well supplied. - -Things went on in this way for a month, during which Matt and his boys -had twice been thrust into the calaboose for attempting to “run the -town” to suit themselves, and at the end of that time the trustees -decided that he and his family were of no use in Mount Airy, and that -they had better go somewhere else. On the day the lawn tennis party was -held, a notice to Matt Coyle to pull down his shanty and vacate the -ground of which he had taken unauthorized possession, was given to a -constable, and Tom Bigden and his cousins happened along just as the -officer had begun to read it to him. The boys knew that there was -something going on in the settlement before they came within sight of -it, for when the officer took the notice from his pocket the squatter -declared that he would not have any papers served on him: and then -followed a loud and angry altercation in which Matt Coyle and his -family, the constable and half a dozen guides took part. Tom and his -companions quickened their pace to a run, and arrived upon the scene -just in time to hear the squatter say, in savage tones: - -“I know what’s into that there paper, an’ I tell you agin that I won’t -listen to it. Some of them rich fellers up there on the hill want me to -go away from here, but I tell you I won’t do it. I’ve got just as much -right—” - -“Keep still, can’t you?” shouted the officer. He had to shout in order -to make himself heard, for Matt Coyle’s voice was almost as loud as a -fog whistle. “I am going to read this notice whether you listen or not.” - -“No, I won’t listen,” roared the squatter, swinging his arms around his -head. “I’ve got just as much right on this here ’arth as them rich folks -up on the hill have. Where shall I go if I leave here?” - -“I am sure I don’t care where you go,” replied the officer. “But you are -not wanted in Mount Airy and you can’t stay.” - -“But I tell you I will stay, too,” shouted Matt, who was so nearly -beside himself that Tom and his companions looked for nothing but to see -him assault the officer. Probably he would have laid violent hands upon -him had it not been for the presence of the stalwart guides, who stood -close behind him. “I came here ’cause I heared that there was plenty -that an honest, hard-workin’ man could do.” - -“And so there is,” answered the constable, “but you are neither honest -nor hard-working.” - -“They wouldn’t have me an’ my boys fur guides, ’cause we didn’t have no -fine clothes to wear,” continued Matt. “An’ nuther would they buy the -fish we ketched, ’cause—look a yer. You needn’t try to read that there -paper to me, ’cause I won’t listen to it, I tell you.” - -But the constable, who had grown tired of talking, paid no attention to -him. He read the notice, raising his voice as often as the squatter -raised his; then Matt’s boys, and finally his wife came to his -assistance, and this started the guides, who flourished their fists in -the air and shouted until they were red in the face. Among them all they -raised a fearful hubbub, and, of course, the officer’s voice was -entirely inaudible; but he read calmly on, and when he had finished the -document he walked away, followed by the guides, and leaving the -squatter and his family in a towering rage. Ralph and Loren were afraid -of them now that the constable and his broad-shouldered backers were -gone, but Tom looked serenely on, and could hardly resist the impulse to -laugh outright when he saw Matt and his family stamping about, shaking -their clenched hands in the air, and acting altogether as though they -had taken leave of their senses. - -“Let’s get away from here,” whispered Loren, when Matt made a sudden and -furious rush toward the shanty, and began trying to kick the side of it -in with his heavy boots, just to show how mad he was, and to give his -wife and boys some idea of the damage he would do if he only possessed -the power. - -“What’s your hurry?” asked Tom, indifferently. “Can’t you see how we can -turn this to our advantage?” - -“I can see that those people are in a terrible rage,” replied Loren, who -was really alarmed, “and I am afraid they will turn on us next.” - -“There’s no danger of that,” answered Tom, confidently. “When men rant -and rave in that way they are not to be feared for any thing they may do -openly. They are the ones who work in secret.” - -At this moment Matt Coyle became aware that he and his family were not -alone—that there were three interested spectators close at hand; and as -if to show Tom that he was mistaken in the opinions to which he had just -given expression, Matt rushed toward him as if he meant to annihilate -him, followed by all the members of his family, who shook their fists -and shouted as if they were very angry indeed. Ralph and Loren shrank -back, but Tom, who was nobody’s coward, stood his ground, looked -squarely into Matt’s eyes, and coolly put his hands into his pockets. - -“What you standin’ here gapin’ at?” demanded the squatter, fiercely. He -had drawn back his fist with the full intention of striking Tom; but -when he saw that the boy did not appear to be at all afraid of him, he -thought better of it. - -“Why do you come at us in that savage way?” demanded Tom. “We don’t -scare worth a cent. If you want to get even with any one for the -shameful manner in which you have been treated, there’s the man you must -go for,” he added, pointing toward the grove which concealed Mr. -Wayring’s house from view. “He is entirely to blame for all the trouble -you have had. Your cabin is on his land, and the trustees never would -have thought of ordering you off if he had not complained of you.” - -Matt and his family were greatly astonished. They thought that every one -in town looked down on them because they were poor, but here was -somebody who sympathized with them. Tom, quick to see that he had made -an impression upon the angry squatter, went on to say— - -“If the people of this village should treat me as they have treated you, -it would make a regular Ishmaelite of me.” - -“What sort of a feller is that?” asked Matt. - -“Why, Ishmael was a hunter who lived a good many years ago,” answered -Tom. “His hand was against every man, and every man’s hand was against -him. He didn’t have a friend in the world.” - -“That’s me,” exclaimed Matt, who seemed pleased to know that there was, -or had been, at least one other man in existence who knew what trouble -was. “I ain’t got no friends nuther. These rich folks have tried to -starve me since I came here, but they didn’t do it—not by a long shot.” - -“Now, if I were situated as you are,” continued Tom, “I would draw a -bee-line for Sherwin’s pond—” - -“Where’s that?” inquired Matt. - -“It lies off that way, fifteen miles from the head of this lake,” -replied Tom, indicating the direction with his finger, and wondering at -the same time how Matt could have expected to render acceptable service -as guide to the guests of the hotels, when he was not acquainted with -the surrounding country. “There are about twelve miles of rapids in the -stream that connects the lake with Sherwin’s pond, but your punt will go -through easy enough if you can keep her clear of the rocks. As I was -saying, I would go down there, put up my cabin and live in peace. I’d -make more money, too, than I could by acting as guide and boatman.” - -“How would you do it?” asked the squatter, whose anger was all gone now. - -“Simply by keeping my eyes open. You see those sail-boats anchored out -there? Well, if one of them should happen to get adrift some stormy -night, and come safely through the rapids into the pond and I should -catch it, I wouldn’t give it up until I got a big reward for saving it, -would I? Then again, the pointers, setters and hounds that hunt in these -fields and woods very often get lost, and their owners are willing to -give almost any price to get them back. I tell you,” exclaimed Tom, who -knew by the gleam of intelligence that appeared on the swarthy faces -before him that Matt and his family understood him perfectly, “I could -make plenty of money by taking up my abode down there on the shore of -that pond. If the things I have been talking about didn’t happen of -themselves, I’d _make_ them happen—do you see? Well, good-by, and -remember that we three boys had no hand in driving you out of Mount -Airy.” - -So saying Tom walked off followed by his companions, while Matt and his -family faced about and went toward their shanty. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - TOM’S PLANS ARE UPSET. - - -FOR a while the three boys walked along in silence, Loren and Ralph -being too amazed to speak, and Tom pluming himself on having done -something that would, in the end, bring Joe Wayring and some of the -other boys he disliked no end of trouble. The fact that it might bring -trouble to himself as well, never once entered his mind. Ralph was the -first to speak. - -“I wouldn’t have had that thing happen for any thing,” said he. - -“What thing?” demanded Tom. - -“Why, that interview with the squatter. I could see, by the expression -on his face, that you put the very mischief into his head.” - -“And that was just what I meant to do,” replied Tom, who laughed -heartily when he saw how troubled his cousins were over what he had said -to Matt Coyle. “I saw he was thick-headed and needed help, and so I gave -it to him.” - -“But don’t you know that it is dangerous to trust a man like that? If he -gets into trouble through the suggestions you made to him—and he will -just as surely as he attempts to act upon them—he’ll blow the whole -thing.” - -“What in the world has he got to blow, and how have I trusted him?” -asked Tom, rather sharply. “I didn’t tell him to turn the sail-boats -adrift or to steal the guests’ hunting-dogs, did I? I simply told him -what I should do if I were in his place.” - -“But you intended it for a suggestion, and hoped he would act upon it, -didn’t you?” - -“Well, _that’s_ a different matter,” answered Tom. “If he tries to -revenge himself upon the citizens of Mount Airy for refusing to employ -him or to buy his fish, and his efforts in that direction bring him into -trouble, it will be his own fault. You and I want to see some of these -conceited fellows, who think they know more and are better than any body -else, brought down a peg or two, and if that squatter is accommodating -enough to do the work for us—why, I say let him do it.” - -Tom continued to talk in this way for a long time, and to such good -purpose that when they reached home his cousins had forgotten their -fears, and even expressed much interest and curiosity regarding the -course of action that Matt Coyle might see fit to pursue. If he followed -Tom’s suggestion and built his shanty on the shore of Sherwin’s pond, -they might expect to hear from him before many days more had passed -away. - -“I hope that if Matt does take it into his head to do any thing, he’ll -run off Wayring’s sail-boat,” said Loren, gazing proudly at his own -beautiful little sloop, which rode at her moorings in front of the -boat-house. He had brought her up there on purpose to beat the _Young -Republic_, which was said to be one of the swiftest boats on the lake; -but the first time they came together under sail, the _Republic_ had run -away from her would-be rival with all ease, and it began to look as -though the “Challenge Cup” would become Joe’s own property. He had won -it twice, and if he won it again it would be his to keep. There were -those in the village who didn’t want to see him get it. They had -expected great things of the _Uncle Sam_—that was the name of Loren’s -boat—and indeed she did look like a “flyer”; but when they witnessed the -short race, which Joe Wayring purposely brought about one afternoon to -test the _Uncle Sam’s_ speed, they were much disappointed, and told one -another that the cup was Joe’s for a certainty. - -“If Matt will only take that boat, I’ll win the next regatta,” continued -Loren. “If he does take her, Joe will never see her again, for she will -be smashed to pieces in the rapids.” - -“If I could have my way, I should prefer to have Matt run off Joe’s Rob -Roy, for then you and Ralph would stand a chance of winning some of the -canoe races,” observed Tom. “But, of course, he couldn’t steal the canoe -without breaking into the boat-house, and that would send him up for -burglary.” - -“Oh, no; he won’t do that,” exclaimed Loren. - -Tom made no audible reply, but to himself he said: - -“I don’t suppose he will; but _I_ might do it, and let Joe and the rest -blame Matt Coyle for it.” - -There were still several hours of daylight left, and for want of some -better way of passing the time, as well as to put themselves in trim for -the coming canoe meet, Tom and his cousins decided that they would spend -the rest of the afternoon on the water. Ever since their canoes came -into their possession they had been assiduously practicing with their -double paddles, and Tom, who was quick to learn any thing that required -strength and skill for its execution, was fast becoming an expert -canoeist. In a hurry-scurry or portage race he could beat either of his -cousins, and on this particular afternoon he wanted to try an upset -race, of which he had that day heard for the first time. - -“I saw an upset race rowed, or rather paddled, during the meet of the -American Canoe Association at Lake George last summer, and I wonder that -I didn’t think to speak of it,” said Ralph. “Well, better late than -never. We will go up to the head of the lake, where no one will be -likely to see us, and make our first trial. We are all good swimmers, -and it seems to me that we ought to make good time. The secret lies in -getting back into our canoes after we have upset them. If we can learn -to do that easily and quickly, we will stand a chance of putting Joe -Wayring to his mettle, even if we don’t beat him in the race.” - -The boys went into the boat-house by a side door, and about ten minutes -afterward the front door swung open, and two Shadow canoes and one Rob -Roy were pushed into the water, and as many young fellows, dressed in -light gymnastic suits, sprang into them and paddled up the lake. They -met a few sailing parties, who waved their handkerchiefs and hats to -them as they shot by, and at the end of half an hour reached a wide and -deep cove near the head of the lake. This was their practice ground. -They had chosen it for that purpose because it was a retired spot, and -so effectually concealed by the long, wooded point at the entrance, that -a fleet of boats might have sailed by without knowing that there was any -one in the cove. - -“We’ll start from this side and go across and back, as we have done -heretofore,” said Ralph, who led the way in his Rob Roy. “We’ll upset -twice—once while we are going, and once while we are coming.” - -“But how does a fellow get into his canoe after he gets out of it?” -inquired Tom. - -“The rule is to climb in over the stern and work your way to your seat,” -replied Ralph. “But at Lake George I saw some of the contestants throw -themselves across the cock-pit and get in that way. We’ll try both -plans, and each fellow can adopt the one that suits him best.” - -When the boys had taken up their positions at safe distances from one -another, Ralph gave a shrill whistle and away they started, the light -Rob Roy taking the lead with Tom close behind. A few minutes’ work with -the double paddles brought them to the middle of the cove, and then -Ralph uttered another whistle. An instant later the three canoeists were -in the water. The Rob Roy turned completely over and came right side up -in a twinkling; and at the same moment Ralph’s head bobbed up close -alongside. He threw himself across the cock-pit and climbed in with the -greatest ease; and while bailing out the water with a tin basin that was -tied to one of the timbers of the canoe so that it could not float away -or fill and sink, he looked complacently at his companions, who were -making desperate efforts to regain their seats by climbing over the -sterns of their respective crafts. - -“Grab hold of the side of your canoe, draw yourself as far as you can -out of the water, turn a hand-spring and land on your feet in the -cock-pit,” shouted Ralph, addressing himself to no one in particular. “I -saw that done at Lake George last summer by two or three different men.” - -“Suppose you do it yourself and show us how,” answered Tom, who having -at last succeeded in gaining the deck, was slowly working his way toward -his seat; but instead of sitting astride of his canoe, as he ought to -have done, he tried to make headway on his hands and knees in order to -beat Loren, who was making all haste to reach the cock-pit of his own -craft. In his eagerness Tom forgot how cranky his canoe was, and, -neglecting to trim her properly, she turned over and let him down into -the water again. - -Ralph, of course, could have won the race very easily, but he lingered -to watch the others, so that they all reached the turning point at the -same moment. On the home stretch another upset occurred, and this time -Tom and Loren did not waste as many minutes in getting back as they did -before. They learned rapidly, and when half a dozen more races had been -tried they became so expert that Ralph had little the advantage of them. -By this time they began to think they had had enough of the water for -one afternoon, so they pulled away for the boat house, Tom easily -distancing his cousins, who tried in vain to keep up with him. - -“This afternoon’s work has opened my eyes to a thing or two,” said -Ralph, after they had changed their clothes and sponged out their -canoes. - -“So it has mine,” exclaimed Tom. “Let me talk first, and see how far my -conclusions agree with yours. In the first place, you ought to win the -upset race.” - -“That’s my opinion,” said Loren. “He shall win it, too, if strategy is -of any use.” - -“You are no sooner out of your canoe than you are back into it again,” -continued Tom. “I am sure that neither Wayring, Hastings nor Sheldon can -do better than that. I only wish you had a little more muscle.” - -“But I haven’t got it and can’t get it between this time and the race, -and so you fellows will have to help me.” - -“Trust us for that,” answered Tom. “Then we’ll turn to and foul the best -contestant in the hurry-scurry race, so that Loren can win that; and if -you will lend me your Rob Roy, I’ll take my chances on carrying off the -honors in the portage race.” - -“That is just the way I had planned it,” exclaimed Ralph. “We’ll show -these fellows who think themselves so smart, that there are others in -the world who are quite as smart as they are.” - -It was a very pretty programme, no doubt, but it never occurred to Tom -and his cousins that possibly the boys to whom Prime was to introduce -them the next day, might not think favorably of it. There were those -among them who had never been first in any race, although they were very -expert canoeists; and it was not at all likely that they would consent -to see these new-comers carry off the prizes for which they had -contended ever since the club was organized. - -Tom and his cousins were tired enough to rest now, and they found it -lounging in their hammocks under the trees, and watching the boats that -passed up and down the lake. They took another short run in their canoes -by moonlight, spent the next forenoon sailing about in Loren’s sloop, -and at one o’clock bent their steps toward the store where they were to -meet George Prime and his friends. When they arrived at the place where -Matt Coyle’s shanty stood the day before, they were surprised as well as -delighted to find that it wasn’t there. - -“He’s gone, as sure as the world,” cried Ralph. “Now we shall very soon -know whether or not he has the pluck to do any thing to the men who -would not give him a chance to earn an honest living.” - -Tom laughed loudly. - -“Did you really think I was in earnest when I told Matt yesterday that I -thought he had been shamefully treated?” said he, as soon as he could -speak. “Why, Ralph, I thought you had more sense. I said that just to -make him mad. If I succeeded, he will do the work that we would -otherwise have been obliged to do ourselves.” - -When they reached the drug-store they found Prime waiting for them. -After he had treated them to a cigar apiece, he led them through a rear -door into a store-room, where they discovered a dozen or more fellows -perched upon boxes and barrels, each one puffing vigorously at a cigar -or pipe. They were engaged in a very earnest conversation which they -brought to a sudden close when the door opened. - -“Here they are,” exclaimed Prime, as the boys arose to their feet and -took their pipes and cigars out of their mouths. “Tom Bigden, and his -cousins Ralph and Loren Farnsworth, gentlemen. I believe you have met -some of my friends before at lawn parties, ball matches and the like,” -added Prime, addressing himself to the new-comers. - -“I had the good fortune to meet them yesterday at Miss Arden’s,” said -one of the boys, Frank Noble by name, advancing and shaking Tom and his -cousins by the hand. “And I also had the pleasure of putting them to -their speed one day last week, when I happened to catch them out on the -lake with their canoes. You ought to make a good one,” he added, turning -to Tom. “I could see by the way you made that Shadow spin through the -water that you’ve got the muscle. All you want is practice. If you keep -it up, you can go in next year with some hope of winning.” - -Tom was somewhat disconcerted by these words, and so were Ralph and -Loren, if one might judge by the blank look on their faces. It was clear -to them that there were others besides themselves who wanted prizes, and -who looked to their friends to assist them in winning those prizes. - -“I thank you for your compliment and for your words of encouragement,” -replied Tom, concealing his disappointment as well as he could, and -turning to shake hands with another boy he had met at the lawn party on -the previous day, “but I am going to win the portage race this year.” - -“And if I don’t come in first in the paddle race, it will not be because -I do not try my level best,” added Loren. - -“And I’m going to give somebody a pull for the upset race,” chimed in -Ralph. - -It was now Noble’s turn to be astonished. He looked inquiringly at -Prime, and Prime looked at Tom and his cousins. The latter saw very -plainly that while they were laying their plans they had interfered with -arrangements that had already been made by the boys by whom they were -surrounded, but they were none the less determined to have their own way -in the matter. Tom, who could hardly conceal the rage that had taken -possession of him, resolved then and there that he would stick to his -programme, no matter what promises he might be obliged to make to the -contrary. He was like an Indian, in one respect: When he wanted a thing -he wanted it with his whole heart, and he wanted it immediately. He -wanted a prize to show to his city friends when they came to visit him, -and he wanted the honors that prize would bring him. - -“Well—yes,” said Prime, who knew that Noble and the rest expected him to -say something. “We’d like to have you win under different circumstances, -but as it is, I think—you see—look here; I suppose you are with us -against Wayring and the other fellows who have been walking off with the -prizes every year since the club had an existence!” - -“Certainly I am,” answered Tom. “We all are, and we’re going to do the -best we can to beat them, too. Didn’t you tell us no longer ago than -yesterday that you wished we would come into the club and make Joe -Wayring lower his broad pennant for a while?” he added, turning to -Prime. - -“I did; but I have had opportunity to talk the matter over with my -friends since then, and we have decided that those who have worked so -long and so hard for the prizes, ought to have them in preference to any -new-comers.” - -“All right,” said Tom, silencing by a look the words of indignant -protest that arose to Ralph’s lips and Loren’s. “Who comes in for the -paddle race?” - -“I do,” said Noble. - -“And who is put down for the upset race?” continued Tom. - -Bob Lord said that he was; and a young fellow named Scott volunteered -the information that his friends had decided that he ought to be allowed -to win the portage race, because he came so near winning it fairly the -year before. - -“Then it seems that my cousins and I are to be left out in the cold,” -observed Tom, who was mad enough to break things. - -“By no means,” some of the boys hastened to explain. “There are some -handsome prizes offered for the sailing races, and we intend that you -shall win them if we can make you do it.” - -“Don’t want ’em,” said Tom, gruffly. “Couldn’t enter for them if we -did.” - -“Why not?” - -“Because we bought our canoes for exploring purposes, and not for -sailing. We received such contradictory advice from those to whom we -applied for information, that it was all we could do to make up our -minds what kind of canoes to get; and when it came to the sails, we -thought we would let them go until we could decide upon the style of rig -we needed without asking any one’s advice. We may make up our minds that -we don’t want any sails at all.” - -“Oh, you mustn’t do that,” exclaimed Noble, “for if you do you will lose -half the sport of canoeing. By the way, the club meets Saturday evening, -and if you say so, I will take in your names.” - -“I am obliged to you,” replied Tom. “But we had about half agreed with -Wayring and Hastings to propose us for membership.” - -Ralph and Loren were greatly astonished, and Prime and his friends saw -that they were. - -“I am sorry you did that,” said Noble. “Every one of us here present has -pledged himself not to vote for any thing brought forward by Wayring and -his crowd.” - -“I did it before I knew what sort of boys they were,” said Tom, -apologetically, “and I don’t like to go back from my word. Are you going -to black-ball us for it?” - -“By no means,” exclaimed all the boys, in a breath. - -“We want you to help us carry out our programme,” added George Prime. - -“Well, all the help you will get from me won’t amount to much, you may -be sure of that,” said Tom, to himself; and his cousins were so well -acquainted with him that they could tell pretty nearly what he was -thinking about. - -“Have you spoken to Wayring about proposing you for the yacht club?” -asked Scott. - -Tom, with unblushing mendacity, replied that he had. - -“I don’t believe the regatta will amount to much this year,” remarked -one of the boys who had not spoken before. “If Matt Coyle carries out -the threats he made yesterday, there won’t be any yachts to contend for -the prizes. You heard about that, I suppose?” he added, turning to Tom -and his cousins. - -“We were present when a legal process of some kind was served on him -yesterday, and we heard Matt say that he wouldn’t go away,” answered -Loren. “But when we came around the foot of the lake a little while ago, -we found that he had cleared out, taking his shanty with him.” - -“You saw the constable serve him with a notice to quit, did you!” -exclaimed Noble. “Well, you missed the best part of it. You ought to -have been there about three hours later, and witnessed the fight that -took place between Matt and his family, and the officer and his posse. -The old woman proved herself to be the best man in the lot. Matt -evidently knew that an effort would be made to eject him by force, and -his wife prepared for it by boiling a big kettle of water. When the -constable, with a crowd of guides at his back, presented himself at the -door, she opened on him with that hot water; and if you could have seen -the stampede that followed, you would have laughed until your sides -ached, as I did.” - -“You didn’t laugh much when it happened,” Prime remarked. “I was there, -and I know there wasn’t a man or boy in the party who showed a neater -pair of heels than one Frank Noble.” - -When the burst of merriment that followed these words, and in which -Frank joined as heartily as any of his companions, had somewhat -subsided, the narrator continued: - -“I am free to confess that I didn’t see any thing funny in the way the -old woman jammed that long-handled dipper into the kettle and sent its -boiling contents flying toward us, but it was very amusing after it was -all over, and I woke up in the night and laughed about it. Of course the -defiant squatters were over-powered after a while, but not until Matt -and both his boys had been knocked flat, and one of the guides had -disarmed the old woman by running in and kicking over her kettle of -water. The officer was determined to arrest the last one of them for -resisting his authority; but Mr. Hastings, who happened along just then, -and who thought that neighbors so undesirable could not be got rid of -any too quick, told the constable to chuck the squatter and all his -belongings into the punt and shove them out into the lake, after giving -them fair warning that they would be sent up as vagrants if they stopped -this side of Sherwin’s pond.” - -“Did he do it?” asked Ralph. - -“Of course he did. But before Matt put his oars into the water he made -us a speech containing threats which I, for one, hope he will have the -courage to carry out.” - -Here Noble stopped to light his cigar which had gone out while he was -talking. - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - - A DOG WITH A HISTORY. - - -“YOU don’t want to say that out loud, Frank,” observed Scott. - -“Say what out loud?” demanded Noble, after he had taken a few long pulls -at his cigar to make sure that it was going again. - -“That you hope Matt Coyle will have the courage to carry out the threats -he made yesterday.” - -“Of course not. But I can express my honest sentiments here, for we are -all friends, I take it. Matt’s speech was a short one,” said Noble, once -more addressing himself to Tom Bigden and his cousins, “but it was to -the point. ‘You see all them there sail-boats ridin’ at anchor, an’ all -them fine houses up there on the hill?’ said Matt. ‘Wal, the boats’ll -sink if there’s holes knocked into ’em, an’ the houses’ll burn if -there’s a match set to ’em, I reckon. Good-by till you hear from me -agin.’ He hasn’t got a very handsome face at any time, Matt hasn’t, and -his intense rage, and the black and blue lump as big as a hen’s egg, -which had been raised on one of his cheeks by a whack from a guide’s -fist, made him look like a savage in his war-paint. He was in dead -earnest when he uttered the words, and if the Mount Airy boys, and men -too, who have incurred his enmity don’t hear from him again, I shall be -surprised.” - -“And disappointed as well,” added Prime. - -“I didn’t say that,” replied Noble. - -“Of course you didn’t. Nobody said it, but I think we understand one -another.” - -Ralph and Loren looked frightened, while Tom drew admiring applause from -the boys and gave expression to his feelings at the same time by dancing -a few steps of a hornpipe. - -“Well, we must be off,” said he, suddenly. “Another engagement, you -know.” - -“What’s your hurry,” exclaimed Prime. “Stay and smoke another cigar.” - -“Can’t,” replied Tom, turning a significant look upon Loren and Ralph, -who wondered what new idea he had got into his head. “We’ll go and see -Wayring according to promise, and then start for home.” - -“But we haven’t said a word about organizing that new archery club,” -interposed Noble. “Prime told us that you three fellows were strongly in -favor of it.” - -“So we are,” was Tom’s reply; “and some day, when we have plenty of -leisure, we’ll talk it over. We are happy to have met you, and will now -say good-by until we see you again.” - -So saying, Tom bowed himself out of the store-room followed by his -cousins, who could hardly hold their tongues until they reached the -street, so impatient were they to know what he was going to do now. They -were certain of one thing, and that was, that Tom did not think as much -of George Prime and his friends as he thought he was going to. - -“I am disgusted,” declared Loren, as soon as they were safely out of -hearing. - -“Not with me, I hope,” said his cousin. - -“Yes, with you and with the fellows we have just left.” - -Tom thrust his hands deep into his pockets, looked up at the clouds and -laughed heartily. - -“I expected it,” said he; then he stopped laughing and scowled fiercely. -His merriment was forced, and he was as angry as he ever got to be. - -“Are you willing that Prime and his crowd should lay out a programme for -the races without saying a word to us about it?” demanded Ralph, who -forgot that that was just the way in which he and his two companions had -treated Prime. - -“And did you really ask Wayring to propose our names at the club’s next -meeting?” chimed in Loren. - -“No, to both your questions,” replied Tom, emphatically. “They must be a -bright set of boys if they think we are going to let them rule us. Why, -that was the reason we decided that we did not want any thing to do with -Wayring and his followers. But I have thought better of that resolution, -and I’m going to make friends with Joe if I can.” - -“And cut Prime and the rest?” exclaimed Ralph. - -“Not directly. Look here,” said Tom, suddenly stopping in the middle of -the sidewalk and facing his cousins. “We’ve got our choice between two -cliques, both of which have showed a disposition to make us do as they -say. Now which one shall we take up with? I prefer Joe’s. He and his -friends are in the majority, and they are not one bit more overbearing -than Prime and _his_ friends. Besides, they will let us win a race if we -can do it fairly, but the crowd we have just left want all the honors -themselves.” - -“If you try to carry water on both shoulders you will be sure to spill -some of it,” observed Loren. - -“I’ll risk that,” replied Tom, confidently. “I didn’t ask Joe to take -our names in to the club, but I’m going to before I am ten minutes -older.” - -“Why didn’t you ask Prime or Noble to take them in?” inquired Ralph. - -“Because I didn’t want Joe to know that we had become intimate enough -with those two boys to ask favors of them. Now, then, here we are. You -know Joe invited us to call as often as we could, so we are sure of a -welcome if he is at home. Stand ready to back me, if you think -circumstances require it, but don’t be surprised at any thing I say.” - -As Tom uttered these words he opened one of the wide gates that gave -entrance into Mr. Wayring’s grounds, and the three walked up the -carriage way toward the house, until their progress was stopped by the -sudden appearance of one of Joe’s pets—a Newfoundland dog, which came -out from among the evergreens and stood in their path. He was a -noble-looking fellow, and although he was gray with age, the attitude of -defiance he assumed seemed to say that he considered himself quite as -able to keep intruders off those premises as he had been during his -younger days. - -“Come on,” shouted a familiar voice. “Mars won’t trouble you. He don’t -like tramps,” added Joe Wayring, leaning his double paddle against the -side of the house, and coming forward to greet his visitors. “But -fellows like you could go all over the place; and so long as you did not -pick up any thing, Mars would not say a word to you. How are you, any -way; and where are you going on foot? Why didn’t you come over in your -canoes, so that we could have a little race all by ourselves? Come on. -Sheldon and Hastings are down to the boat-house waiting for me.” - -“We came over to ask a favor of you,” replied Tom, as soon as Joe gave -him a chance to speak. “Would you mind taking in our names at the next -meeting of the canoe club?” - -“On the contrary, I shall be pleased to do it,” answered Joe, readily. -“You have been pretty sly since your canoes came to hand, but we know -more about you than you think we do,” he added, as he led the way -through the carriage-porch and down the terraced bank toward the -boat-house. - -“I don’t quite understand you,” said Tom. - -“I mean that we have watched you while you were taking your morning and -evening spins up and down the lake, and we have come to the conclusion -that some of us are going to get beaten. I’ll say this much for you, -Bigden: I never saw a Shadow canoe get through the water, until I saw -yours going down the lake yesterday afternoon.” - -“Thank you,” said Tom. “Do you know who are booked for winners this -year?” - -“Booked!” repeated Joe. “There’s nobody booked. The best men will win, -as they always have done.” - -“I am afraid you are mistaken.” - -“Oh, no; I guess not. We don’t have any jockeying here, and if any -member of the club should so far forget himself as to interfere with one -of the contestants, he would never row another race on this lake.” - -“I know some boys who are going to take their chances on it,” said Tom, -quietly. - -“On fouling the head man so that somebody else can win?” cried Joe. - -“That’s just what I mean.” - -Joe could hardly believe his ears, and neither could Loren and Ralph -believe theirs. This, then, was what Tom meant when he cautioned them -against being surprised at any thing he might say! They _were_ -surprised—they couldn’t help it; and in order that Joe might not see -their faces they fell behind, and allowed him and Tom to go on ahead. - -“You know boys who are going to try to win by foul means!” repeated Joe. -“I didn’t suppose that there was any one in the club who would be so -mean. It is true that last year a certain canoeist persisted in keeping -as close to me as he could, and drove the bow of his craft toward the -stern of my own as often as he got the chance; but I thought it was -accident, while some of my friends on shore declared that it was his -intention to run into me, and claim the race because I got in his way. -But, as luck would have it, I was able to paddle fast enough to keep out -of his road. It seems to me that if I couldn’t win a prize fairly, I -shouldn’t want to win it at all.” - -“I know who that fellow was,” said Tom, “and I know, also, that he tried -his very best to foul you. It was Prime. I heard all about it.” - -Tom and his cousins supposed that Joe’s next question would be: Who told -you about this plot, and what are the names of the boys who are “booked” -to win by fair means or foul? But greatly to their surprise Joe -propounded no such inquiry. The latter knew very well that if some one -had not reposed confidence in him, Tom never would have heard of any -plot; and Joe was too much of a gentleman to ask him to violate that -confidence. He wanted to turn the conversation into another channel, and -so he began talking about Mars, who was walking along the path before -them. - -“That fellow is the only foreigner in the party,” said Joe. “He was born -and received the rudiments of his education on the bleak shores of -Newfoundland.” - -“Then how did you come to get hold of him?” inquired Tom. - -“I was up there two winters ago with my uncle, hunting caribou.” - -“What sort of an animal is that?” asked Tom. He spoke before he thought, -and was provoked at himself for it. He did not want to be constantly -asking information of a boy who never came to him for any. As Tom would -have expressed it: “He didn’t care to make Joe and his friends any more -conceited than they were already.” Joe, however, was not at all -conceited; but if Tom Bigden had known as much as he did, and been as -expert in all sorts of athletic sports, he would have thought himself -too grand to associate with common fellows. - -“The caribou is the American reindeer, but it is not broken to harness -like the European animal of the same species,” replied Joe. “It is -hunted as game, and Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland are the -best places to go to find it. Uncle Joe went up there two years ago, -taking Hastings, Sheldon and myself with him. We went in a little -fishing schooner that was bound from Gloucester to the Bay of Fundy for -swordfish.” - -Tom would have been glad to know where the Bay of Fundy was, and what -the schooner’s crew intended to do with the swordfish after they caught -them, but his pride would not let him ask. The sequel proved that it was -not necessary, for Joe went on to explain. - -“The Bay of Fundy runs up between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, as you -of course know as well as I do, and the fish are used for food. When -they are put on the market they are sliced up like halibut. They are -caught with harpoons. They are ugly, I tell you, and when one of them -weighing four hundred pounds comes flopping over the rail and begins to -swing that sword of his around like lightning, you may be sure that he -gets all the room he wants.” - -“What do you do with the swords after they are taken off?” - -“Keep them as curiosities or sell them, just as you please. There is -great demand for them. I have one that I should not like to part with. -It belonged to a two hundred pounder. The sailors thought they had -killed him before they hauled him aboard; but he gave one expiring flop -after he reached the deck, and the point of his sword cut a big hole in -the leg of my trowsers. If I had been a little closer to him, he might -have injured me very badly. If a man had his only weapon of offense and -defense made fast to his nose, he wouldn’t do much with it, would he? -But it just suits the swordfish, which, according to Captain Davis, -delivers his blows so rapidly that he will kill half a dozen out of a -school of albicore before they can get out of his reach.” - -“But what has all this got to do with Mars?” inquired Tom. - -“I came pretty near forgetting about him, didn’t I?” said Joe, with a -laugh. “Well, we went back to Gloucester with Captain Davis, who, as -soon as he had disposed of his swordfish, fitted out for the banks—for -codfish, you know—and went with him. He was to land us at some little -fishing hamlet, whose name I have forgotten, where we were to obtain -guides and go back into the interior after caribou; but he managed to -run the schooner ashore in a thick fog, and there we stuck until Mars -brought off a line to us. That was all that saved us. The sailors hauled -in on it, and finally brought aboard a larger and stronger line to which -a hawser was made fast. We took a turn with that around the capstan, and -after a good deal of hard work, succeeded in pulling the schooner over -the bar into deeper water nearer the shore. We got off just in the nick -of time, too; for that night a storm came up, and raised a sea that -would have made short work with us if we had been exposed to its fury.” - -“Were there men on shore opposite the place you struck?” inquired Tom. - -“Certainly. If there hadn’t been, who would have tied the line to the -dog’s collar and told him to take it out to us?” - -“I should think they would have gone to your assistance in their boats,” -replied Tom. - -“So they would, under ordinary circumstances; but no boat that was ever -built could have lived a moment in the surf that was breaking over the -bar when we ran on to it. I don’t understand to this day how Mars -managed to get through it. I have seen him swim a good many times since -that day, and in smooth water he doesn’t seem to be any better than any -other dog. It is when the wind is blowing and the white caps are running -that he shows what he can do. Uncle Joe was so well pleased with the -dog’s performance that as soon as he could find his owner, he offered to -buy him. Of course the man didn’t want to sell, but he was poor, and -when he thought of the comforts that the hundred dollars which uncle -counted out before him would buy for his wife and children, he came to -the conclusion that we could have the dog. He’s mine now, for Uncle Joe -gave him to me as soon as the bargain was struck.” - -“Did you get any caribou?” - -“Plenty of them, and, would you believe it? we had to take along a -supply of food for that dog the same as we did for ourselves. He -wouldn’t look at any thing except salt meat or codfish. I really believe -he would have starved with a meal before him that would have made any -other dog’s mouth water. But he is civilized now, and takes his rations -like other white folks. He’s got a history, Mars has, and if his -adventures and exploits were written out, they would make a good-sized -book.” - -A loud and hearty greeting from the two boys who were standing on the -dock in front of the boat-house, put a stop to the conversation. Tom and -his cousins expected that the first thing Joe Wayring did would be to -acquaint his two friends with the fact that a plot had been formed to -keep the best man from winning at the next canoe meet, and to throw the -different races to those who could not by any possibility win them -fairly; but again they were disappointed. Joe did not say a word on the -subject, and the reason was because it was too serious a matter to be -discussed in the presence of boys with whom he was so little acquainted. - -“A dog that will fetch a bone will carry one,” was Joe’s mental comment. -“Tom and his cousins may be friendly to us, and then again, if there is -any truth in this report, they may have brought it to me on account of -some spite they have against those from whom they got it. It’s best to -keep on the safe side, and so I will hold my tongue until I have a -chance to speak to Hastings and Sheldon in private. We have received -warning, and if they beat us, it will be our own fault.” - -“We were just going over to ask you three fellows to come out and take a -spin with us,” exclaimed Hastings. “We have had our eyes on you, and to -tell you the truth, we don’t quite like the way you handle those paddles -of yours.” - -“Of course we don’t ask you to do your best—indeed we would be foolish -to expect it,” chimed in Sheldon. “But still we should like to try a few -short races with you, if you don’t mind.” - -“We shall be glad of the chance to see how much we lack of being good -canoeists,” said Loren, readily. “We’ll walk back and go around the foot -of the lake—” - -“Oh, no,” interrupted Joe. “That’s too hard work, and besides it would -take up too much time. There’s my skiff. We can put her into the water -and step the mast in a minute, and she’ll take you over flying. Come in -here; I want to show you something. We three belong to the committee -which was appointed to draw up a programme for the meet,” added Joe, -taking a folded paper from a little writing desk that stood in one -corner of the boat-house, “and here’s what we shall submit to the club -at the next meeting.” - -Tom Bigden and the Farnsworth boys ran their eyes over the paper, and -the only things they found in it that possessed any particular interest -for them were the following: - -“_Portage race._—Paddle a quarter of a mile, carry canoe twenty-five -yards over a stony point, re-embark and paddle back to starting point. - -“_Single paddling race._—Half a mile and return. - -“_Hurry-Skurry race._—Run ten yards, swim twenty-five yards, paddle -three hundred yards.” - -These were the ones, as we know, which Tom and his cousins had “booked” -themselves to win. Then there were sailing races, tandem races, and boys -and girls’ races; and the meet was to wind up with a greasy pole walk. - -“You fellows must certainly enter for that,” said Sheldon. “You have no -idea how much sport there is in it. Some of the Mount Airy people say -that it is the best part of the performance.” - -Tom replied that he did not know just what a greasy pole walk was, and -reminded Sheldon that he and his cousins were not yet members of the -club. - -“But you will be members before the day set for the races, you may be -sure of that,” said Joe. “I’ll propose you at the next meeting, and I -know there will not be a dissenting vote.” - -“I wish you could give us the same assurance in regard to the archery -club,” said Tom. - -“So do I, but I can’t,” answered Joe; and then, as if that were a -subject that he could not talk about just at that time, he hastened to -add: “I can soon tell you what a greasy pole walk is. Did you notice -that high derrick built on the end of our pier? Well, a long, stout spar -is run out from that derrick, and after being braced and guyed so -securely that it will not sway about under any reasonable weight, it is -thickly covered with slush to make it slippery. There is a prize of some -sort at the outer end of it, and the boy who can walk along the pole and -capture that prize before he falls off into the water, is the best -fellow.” - -“What is the prize?” inquired Ralph. - -“Last year there were so many lucky fellows that we had to provide -several of them,” was the reply. “The one that created the most fun was -a pig in a bag. Noble captured that, and I tell you he had a time of it. -You see, the pig was greased as well as the pole, and the bag was tied -in such a way that when Noble dived for it—that was the only way he -could get hold of it, you know—the mouth of the bag opened and the pig -slipped out. Then the uproar began. Noble, who is a plucky fellow and a -splendid swimmer, didn’t know that the pig was greased, and he tried for -a long time to tow him ashore by one of his hind legs, but, of course, -he couldn’t do it. At last he began to suspect something, and the way he -larruped that pig over the head with the bag to make him turn toward the -shore, was a caution. He finally succeeded in his object, and the -instant the pig’s feet touched the beach, Noble sprung up, threw the bag -over his head and secured him easy enough. Whatever you do, you mustn’t -miss the greasy pole walk.” - -“I suppose we shall be laughed at if we tumble off the pole into the -water?” - -“Certainly. That isn’t down in the programme, but it is a part of it, -all the same.” - -“How many trials does each contestant have?” - -“Only two. You see, there are so many of us and so much fun in trying to -secure the prize, that if we didn’t set some limit to the number of -trials, the boys would keep on trying for an indefinite length of time.” - -While the boys were talking in this way they had pushed Joe’s skiff out -of the boat-house into the water, stepped the mast and unfurled the sail -that was wrapped around it. Every thing being ready for the start, the -little fleet set out for the opposite side of the lake, Tom and his -cousins in the skiff, and Joe and his companions in their canoes. The -skiff was made fast to Mr. Bigden’s pier, and a quarter of an hour later -three more canoes shot out of the boat-house, and the trials of speed -began. They continued nearly all the afternoon, and when the rival -factions bade each other good-night and paddled off toward their -respective boat-houses, there was a decided feeling of uneasiness among -some of them, while the others were correspondingly confident and happy. - -“It doesn’t seem possible that this is Bigden’s first season in a -canoe,” said Sheldon, as soon as Tom and his cousins were out of -hearing. “He is going to crowd the best of us this year, and if he keeps -up his practice until the next meet, there won’t be a boy in the club -who can touch him with a ten-foot pole. He’s going to make an expert.” - -“I’ll just tell you what’s a fact,” said Loren, after the canoes had -been wiped out and hoisted in their slings, “I am not so much afraid of -Joe and his crowd as I was. I don’t think there will be any need of the -fouling business. I kept pace with Hastings in spite of all he could do -to shake me off, and could have passed him if I had let out a little -more strength.” - -“That shows how much you know about these things,” said Tom, in reply. -“Do you suppose that Hastings did the best he could? I kept up with Joe -without any very great exertion, but I don’t crow over it. They had -plenty of speed in reserve, but you will have to wait till the day of -the races if you want to see what they are capable of.” - -The sequel proved that Tom was right. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - RUNNING THE RAPIDS. - - -“NOW that we are here by ourselves,” continued Ralph, “I’d like to ask -you why you told Joe that the best man was not to be allowed to win at -the next meet. I never heard of such a thing before in my life. What do -you suppose Prime and his crowd would say to you if they should find it -out?” - -“I don’t believe they will ever find it out,” replied Tom, who did not -seem to think that he had been guilty of any thing mean. “If I have -formed a correct estimate of Joe Wayring’s disposition and character, he -is a boy who knows how to hold his tongue. I posted him simply to -off-set the coolness and impudence displayed by Prime and his friends in -shutting us out of all the races, without so much as saying by your -leave. Since they would not give us a chance to win some of the prizes, -I say that _they_ shall not win _any_ of them. We are not going to play -into the hands of boys who work against us.” - -“That’s what I say,” exclaimed Loren. “But I thought Joe acted very -indifferently.” - -“Because he did not ask me to go into the particulars of the scheme, and -give him the names of the fellows who were in it?” said Tom. “I thought -so myself at first, but after turning the matter over in my mind, I came -to the conclusion that his indifference was put on; and that the reason -he did not ask me to go into details was because he was afraid I would -say to him that I was taught not to tell names and tales too.” - -“It seems to me that that is about the size of it,” Loren remarked. “But -look here, Tom. You have undertaken a pretty big contract if you expect -to keep on the right side of both those crowds. One or the other of them -will very soon have reason to suspect you, and then down you will go. -What are you going to do about the races?” - -“My proposition is, that we keep up our regular exercise and training, -and do the best we can to carry out our own programme, leaving Prime’s -clique and Joe’s to carry out theirs, if they are able to do it. If we -find that we stand no show, I would much rather see Joe and his friends -win than Prime and _his_ friends.” - -“So would I,” said Ralph. “Now I should like to have some one tell me -what excuse we have for being down on those boys. We got mad at them -simply because they would not break their rules and take us into their -archery club.” - -“And wasn’t that reason enough?” cried Tom, hotly. “I wasn’t used to -such treatment while I lived in the city, and I won’t submit to it now. -I don’t think any more of Hastings than I did on the day he so coolly -told me that he would not help me get into their club. I don’t care -whether he wins or not. What I mean to say is, that Prime and the rest -shall not carry off any of the prizes if I can help it. I intend to show -them that the next time they want any help from me, they had better let -me have a voice in making up the programme; and I shall do it in such a -way that they can not possibly misunderstand me. You two can do as you -please, of course; but if you are going to weaken, I wish you would say -so at once, so that I may make my arrangements accordingly.” - -Ralph and Loren hastened to assure their cousin that they had not the -slightest intention of going back from their original agreement, and -that they would stick to him through thick and thin, no matter what -happened; but still they wished that Tom would learn to like Joe -Wayring, and give up his idea of being revenged upon him for slights -which were wholly imaginary. Joe had a much larger following than Prime -and Noble, through him they could get more invitations to parties, -picnics and hunting and fishing excursions than they could in any other -way, and his influence might eventually gain for them an honor which -they craved above all others—a membership in the Toxophilites; for those -young ladies they met at Miss Arden’s lawn party were handsome and -stylish, that was a fact, and Ralph and Loren had more than once told -themselves that they would even be willing to give up their cigars, if -by so doing they could win the privilege of shooting with those same -young ladies twice a week. If they became intimate with George Prime, -and were often seen in his company, the Toxophilites would drop them -like so many hot potatoes; and then, when invitations for any social -gathering were issued, they would be left out in the cold, the same as -George was. But whatever they decided to do they must keep on the right -side of Tom, for if they did not, he would be sure to make things -unpleasant for them. It looked as though Ralph and Loren would have to -do the very thing against which they had cautioned their vindictive -relative, that is, try to carry water on both shoulders and take their -chances of spilling some of it. - -“Now we’ll take Joe’s skiff back and put it where we found it, provided -the boat-house is open,” said Tom. “If there is any boy in the world who -ought to be supremely happy, he is the fellow. He has every thing he can -ask for, including a rich and good-natured uncle, who takes him off on -hunting and fishing trips nearly every year. Why that boy, young as he -is, has shot caribou and moose and caught salmon.” - -Yes, Joe Wayring was happy, but it was not wholly on account of his -pleasant surroundings. His source of happiness was within himself, and -he knew it. He had been taught that lesson at the same time that he was -being instructed in athletics and field-sports. He thought more of -others than he did of Joe Wayring, and he would go into the dumps in a -minute if he saw any of his friends in a disconsolate mood. If things -didn’t go right with him—and they went wrong sometimes, as they do with -every body—it made no sort of difference with Joe’s good-nature. He kept -his troubles to himself; but Tom would get angry and go into the sulks -and make all around him miserable. While going on the principle that -whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well, Joe was nevertheless -perfectly willing to be beaten by any one who could do it fairly; but -Tom wanted to be first at any cost. This was the principal difference -between the two boys. - -Tom cast off the skiff’s painter while Loren and Ralph stepped the mast -and shook out the sail, and in twenty minutes more they found themselves -in the boat-house, where Joe and his two friends were waiting for them. - -“I saw you coming and took the cover off one of my pets so that you -could take a look at her,” said the former, directing the attention of -his visitors to a neat cedar shell in which he had been wont to win -honors before he became a convert to canoeing. “She has taken me first -by the judges’ boat in more than one hotly-contested race while I was -going to school at Dartmouth Academy. Handsome, isn’t she? No doubt you -will be surprised to hear me say it, but _there_ is something that I -think more of than I do of her.” - -As Joe said this, he pointed toward an ungainly looking object which lay -on the floor at the further end of the boat-house. It was a canvas -canoe, whose battered sides bore evidence to numerous encounters with -sharp-pointed rocks and snags. - -“It must be on account of its associations,” replied Loren, looking -first at the clumsy canoe and then at the clear-cut lines of the shell. -“If I had my choice between the two, it would not take me long to make -up my mind which one I wanted.” - -“Of course not. There is as much difference between them as there is -between a trotter and a plow-horse; but each one has served the purpose -for which it was intended, and served it well, too. I like the canoe -better, because she was the first thing in the shape of a boat I ever -owned. She has carried me a good many hundred miles, first and last, and -although she has often got contrary and spilled me out into the water -when I wasn’t expecting it, I have had any amount of fun with her -exploring creeks and ponds that I could not otherwise have reached. She -is fourteen feet long, weighs fifty pounds fully equipped, and packs in -that little chest you see there. I know she isn’t very good-looking, but -when it comes to running the rapids she is there, every time. That’s the -reason I took her out of the chest. We are going down to Sherwin’s Pond -to-morrow after bass; will you join us?” - -Tom and his cousins replied that they would be glad to do so, and Joe -went on to say: - -“You see, the fishing in the pond is better than it is in the lake. The -people who come here to spend the summer do not often go down there, -because there is no wagon road through the woods, and they are afraid to -trust themselves to the rapids. Well, they are frightful to look at, -that’s a fact, but—” - -“We know that very well,” interrupted Ralph. “We have gone down there a -dozen times with our minds fully made up that we would run those rapids, -or smash our canoes in trying, and we have as often come back without -making the attempt. When we reached the place where the water leaves the -lake, and goes foaming and boiling over the rocks in the gorge below, -our arms always went back on us.” - -“Your arms?” repeated Sheldon. - -“Yes. Our hearts were brave enough for any thing, but our cowardly arms -wouldn’t pull the canoes into the rapids.” - -“Oh!” said Sheldon. “Well, your cowardly arms were the wisest part of -you, for you certainly ought not to try to go through until you know -where the channel is. Those rapids have been run hundreds of times, -though not always without accident to be sure, and if you will follow -close in our wake to-morrow, we’ll take you safely to the bottom.” - -“We must make an early start,” said Hastings, “for we want to reach the -pond just about the time the first rays of the sun strike the water. Can -you be ready at four o’clock? All right. Catch a good supply of minnows -to-night, and then you won’t have to waste valuable time over it in the -morning.” - -“And take the strongest and stiffest bait-rod you have,” added Joe. -“Leave your fly-rods, if you have any, at home, for you will have no use -for them. About June 1st, when the bass season opens, those who know how -to throw a fly have very fine fishing among the rocks close to the -shore; but as the weather grows warmer the fish gradually draw off into -deep water, and all the bass we shall catch to-morrow will be near the -middle of the pond where the springs boil up.” - -“And don’t forget your gun,” said Sheldon. - -“Nor your rubber blankets,” chimed in Hastings. - -“Do you think it will rain?” asked Ralph. - -“We hope not, and indeed there are no signs of it. When we reach the -head of the rapids we will pull off our heaviest clothing, so that we -will be ready for a swim in case we are unlucky enough to capsize, and -the things we don’t wear we will wrap up in our rubber blankets so that -they won’t get wet.” - -“Suppose we get down all right,” said Loren. “How are we going to get -back?” - -“We’ll shoulder our canoes and come up the portage road which has been -cut through the woods around the rapids. For that reason we don’t want -to take any thing with us that we can possibly dispense with.” - -After listening to a few more hints like these, Tom and his cousins set -out for the post-office; and having secured their mail they went home by -the road that led around the foot of the lake, running at the top of -their speed all the way through the woods to improve their wind. Their -skiff, patent minnow buckets and dip nets were at once brought into -requisition, and by the time the supper bell rang, they had caught bait -enough to last them through a long day’s successful angling. - -Promptly at four o’clock the next morning Tom Bigden opened the front -door of the boat-house, and waved his hat in response to a similar -signal of greeting which came to him from over the lake. Joe Wayring and -his friends were just putting their canoes into the water. - -“Splendid day,” said the former, when the two little fleets came -together near the middle of the lake. “There’s going to be just wind -enough to ripple the water, but not enough to raise a sea, and I -wouldn’t take a dollar for my chance of catching the finest string of -bass that has been seen in Mount Airy this year.” - -“So say we all of us,” exclaimed Sheldon; and this suggested the song -which every school-boy knows, but to Tom Bigden’s ill-concealed disgust, -it was sung to the words: “Joe Wayring is a jolly good fellow,” and that -was a sentiment in which Tom did not fully concur. It put him in bad -humor for the whole of the day, or, rather, until circumstances threw in -his way an opportunity to make that jolly good fellow as miserable as he -was himself. After that he felt better. - -Under the steady motion of the sinewy arms which swung the long double -paddles, the light canoes made quick work with the three miles that lay -between the boat-houses and the lower end of the lake, and presently -Arthur Hastings turned toward the nearest shore, looking over his -shoulder as he did so to call out to the canoeists behind him: - -“Let’s make believe this is a hurry-skurry race, and that there is a -prize in the pond waiting for the man who reaches the bottom of the -rapids first.” - -The challenge was promptly accepted. In a twinkling the little crafts -were going toward the beach with greatly increased speed, and in a -remarkably short space of time six young athletes, clad only in -flesh-colored tights, were prancing around their canoes, busily engaged -in wrapping their clothing in their water-proof blankets, and lashing -their rods and minnow buckets fast so that they would not be thrown out -into the water by a heavy lurch, or even by a capsize. Tom Bigden was -the first to shove his canoe away from the shore, but there he had to -stop. He was not acquainted with the channel, and needed a guide to show -him the way through; but he won the second place, and was prompt to fall -into it when Arthur Hastings caught up his paddle and pulled away from -the beach. - -Tom and his cousins had often viewed the rapids from the bank while -trying in vain to screw up courage enough to attempt their passage, and -if they looked dangerous to them then, they looked ten times more -frightful when they surveyed them from their canoes on this particular -morning. The sight of them was enough to make any body’s nerves quiver. -They looked as steep as the roof of a house, and the bottom of the gorge -through which they ran, seemed to be literally covered with bowlders. -Tom could not see a single place which looked wide enough to admit of -the passage of a canoe. - -“What do you think of them?” asked Arthur, as he and Tom backed water -with their paddles to keep their canoes from taking the plunge before -they were ready. - -“Who was the first man who went down here?” said Tom, in reply. - -“One of the hotel guides.” - -“Was he a graduate of a lunatic asylum, or did he go there afterward?” -inquired Tom. - -Arthur laughed until the woods echoed. - -“Neither,” he answered, as soon as he could speak. “He’s got a level -head on his shoulders yet, if one may judge by the constant demands that -are made upon his time. Some of the people who come here every summer -like him so well that they begin to make bargains with him before the -ice is out of the lake. They wouldn’t do that if they had any reason to -believe he was crazy, would they? Well, what do you say?” - -“I say, go ahead whenever you get ready,” was the response. - -“All right,” said Arthur, who saw by the expression on Tom’s face that -he had no intention of backing out. “Now, watch every move I make, and -let me get at least twenty or thirty feet ahead of you before you start. -Look out for both ends of your boat. You won’t run on to an isolated -rock unless you try, because the water runs away from it. That has a -tendency to throw the bow from the obstruction, and the stern toward it; -so the minute the bow is out of harm’s way, drop your paddle into the -water on the side opposite the rock, and use it the best you know how.” - -“Why, that will throw me square upon the rock,” cried Tom. - -“No, it won’t,” insisted Arthur. “It will throw you away from danger, -and the current rushing around the rock will carry you still further -away. But if you use the paddle on the other side, you will come up -against the rock ker-chunk; and then you will have to swim the rest of -the way down, because the stern of your canoe will, most likely, be -smashed in. Understand?” - -Tom replied that he did; whereupon Arthur settled his cap more firmly on -his head, took his paddle in both hands and with one bold stroke sent -his frail craft into the rapids. The moment the current caught him in -its grasp, he began to shoot ahead like a boy coasting down hill. Tom -shut his teeth hard and gripped his paddle until the muscles on his bare -arms stood out like a gold-beater’s; and so intent was he upon watching -every move his guide made, that he forgot to look out for himself, until -he was called to his senses by a warning shout from his friends behind. - -“Look out, there,” yelled Joe and Roy, in concert. “You’ll be over the -brink the first thing you know.” - -Tom heard the warning, but it came too late. He dropped his paddle into -the water and made desperate efforts to check his canoe, which had -already gained rapid headway; but the swift current had taken firm hold -of him, and finding that it was much stronger than he was, he resolved -to go ahead and trust to luck to keep from running into Arthur Hastings, -in case the latter met with an accident. - -[Illustration: SHOOTING THE RAPIDS.] - -Tom afterward said that he did not remember much about that wild ride. -He was lost in admiration of Arthur Hastings’s skill as a canoeist, and -followed in his wake through all the turns he made, which were so -numerous and bewildering that Tom did not see how one boy’s head could -contain them all. It was a lucky thing for him and his cousins that they -did not attempt to go through there without a guide. He did not hear the -waters foaming and roaring around him, nor did he see a single one of -the rocks past which he went with such speed that the wind whistled -through his hair; but he did see the smooth surface of the pond the -instant he came within sight of it, and when he shot into it, propelled -by the momentum he had acquired during his descent of the rapids, he -called out gleefully that he had not touched a solitary obstruction on -the way. - -“Of course not,” answered Arthur. “If you had, you would not be as dry -as you are now. There is a clearly defined channel all the way through -the gorge, and you won’t touch any thing if you keep in it. What would -happen to you if you should get out of it, I don’t know; but I think you -would be fortunate if you came off with a simple capsize.” - -It was a thrilling sight that was presented to their gaze as they sat -there in their canoes at the bottom of the rapids and watched the others -as they came down. First Joe Wayring dashed into view around the bend, -closely followed by Ralph Farnsworth, who seemed to be quite as much at -his ease as his guide was, and handled his paddle and managed his canoe -quite as skillfully. By the time they reached the smooth water at the -foot Roy and Loren came in sight, and in five minutes more the little -fleet was reunited. The hearts of three of the canoeists beat a trifle -faster than usual, but they had accomplished the run in perfect safety, -and without a wetting, and they were ready to try it again at the very -first opportunity. - -“Take time to learn the channel before attempting any thing reckless,” -cautioned Joe. “After that you can come down by yourselves as often as -you feel equal to the task of carrying your boats back over the -portage.” - -The boys went ashore long enough to put on their clothes, untie their -rods, and put fresh water on their minnows, and then they were ready for -the bass. - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - - THE SQUATTER TURNS UP AGAIN. - - -ONE fishing excursion is much like another, and any boy who has handled -a nicely-balanced bait-rod when the black bass, perch, and yellow pike -were hungry and full of fight, as they were on the morning of which we -write, will have a clearer idea of the sport Tom Bigden and the rest -enjoyed there on the pond than we could possibly give him. We did not -follow them through the rapids to tell how they played their fish and -how many they caught, and so we shall have but little to say about it. -Joe Wayring affirmed that the twenty minutes’ fight he had with a nine -pound pike, which began in less than half a second after he dropped his -hook into the water, gave him solid comfort and enjoyment for a week -afterward; but whether or not he found any comfort in something that -happened when they went ashore to eat their lunch, is another matter -altogether. - -About eight o’clock the fish gave notice that they had quit business for -the day by refusing to notice any of the lures that were dropped among -them, and then the boys discovered that their long pull before breakfast -had made them hungry. - -“Did you ever eat a fish that had been baked in the ashes?” inquired -Joe, addressing himself to Tom and his cousins. “Then you have yet one -enjoyment in store for you. You won’t think much of house-cooking after -you have eaten one of Roy’s dinners. We know a nice place on the point -above, with an ice-cold spring handy, and we’ll—” - -“Excuse me for interrupting,” said Loren, suddenly. “But did you ever -see a dog like that before?” - -The speaker was not a little surprised by the effect his words produced -upon some of his companions. They all looked in the direction indicated -by his finger, and then Joe began pulling up his anchor with almost -frantic haste, while Arthur and Roy reached rather hurriedly for their -guns. - -“You can’t do any thing with him from here,” said Joe. - -“And if we paddle for the shore he will see us and take to his heels,” -added Roy. - -“Why who—what are you going to do to him?” stammered Ralph. - -“We’d be glad to shoot him if we could,” replied Joe. “He’s no dog. He’s -a half-grown bear.” - -Tom and his cousins, of course, asked a good many questions with their -lips and more with their eyes, but Joe and his two friends were too busy -to answer them. They made all haste to raise their anchors, and then -pulled rapidly but silently toward the shore, all the while keeping a -close watch over the movements of the bear, which was wandering -listlessly about, now and then stopping to look into the water or to -sniff at a log, as if he were hunting for something he had lost. Tom and -his cousins thought he looked too small for a bear, but as he did not -walk or act like a dog or any other animal they had ever seen at large, -they were forced to conclude that he really was a bear, and that he was -in search of his breakfast. They didn’t know whether to be afraid of him -or not; but when they saw how anxious Joe and his two friends were to -bring themselves within shooting distance of him, they lost no time in -pulling up their own anchors and falling in behind them. The bear, -however, was not to be taken unawares. He did not appear to notice their -approach, but he had his eyes on them nevertheless, and when he thought -they had come close enough, he left the beach and lumbered off into the -bushes. - -“There!” said Tom, who was glad to see the last of him. “He has taken -himself safely off.” - -“We expected it,” said Roy, redoubling his exertions at the paddle. “If -we only had Mars with us we could see more fun with him in half an hour -than we could in a week’s fishing. He begged hard to be allowed to come, -but Joe made him stay behind. You see, he won’t sit anywhere but in the -bow, and he is so heavy that he makes a canoe hard to manage in rough -water.” - -“He wouldn’t trail the bear, would he?” - -“Of course he would, and be glad of the chance. If he found him, he -would set up such a yelping that you would think there were a dozen dogs -in the woods.” - -“What are you going to do now?” inquired Ralph, as the six canoes ran -their bows upon the beach, one after the other. - -“We are going to stretch our legs, and that will be a comfort after -sitting in such cramped positions for four long hours,” replied Joe, at -the same time catching up his double-barrel and springing ashore with -it. “We’ll follow up his trail, which we can easily do for a mile or -more, because all the ground about here is swampy, and when we lose it, -we’ll knock over a few squirrels and go up to the point and eat our -breakfast. Keep close to us, or else stay within sight of the beach. The -woods are thick, and you could get lost without half trying.” - -Led by Arthur Hastings, the boys ran up the shore of the pond until they -reached the place where the bear had turned off into the bushes, and -then the pursuit began in earnest. Whether or not Loren and Ralph were -as anxious to get a shot at the game as they pretended to be, it is hard -to tell; but they made a great show of eagerness and enthusiasm, and -Tom, not wishing to be out-done, floundered along the trail behind them. -But he did not keep his companions in sight for more than five -minutes—in fact, he didn’t mean to. He gradually fell to the rear, and -when the bushes closed up behind Roy Sheldon, who was the last boy on -the trail, Tom sat down on a log and thought about it. - -“That bear doesn’t belong to me, and I don’t know that it is any concern -of mine whether they find him or not,” said he to himself. “It is easier -to sit here in the shade, even if one does have to fight musquitoes, -than it is to go prancing about through a swamp where the water, in some -places, is up to the tops of a fellow’s boots.” - -Tom suddenly brought his soliloquy to a close and jumped to his feet. -There was a frightened expression on his face, but the determined manner -in which he gripped his gun showed that he had no intention of running -away until he had had at least one shot at the bear; for that it _was_ -the bear which occasioned the slight rustling in the thicket a short -distance away, Tom had not the slightest doubt. Probably the animal had -made a short circuit through the woods, and was now coming back to the -pond to finish his breakfast. While these thoughts were passing through -Tom’s mind, the bushes toward which he was gazing parted right and left, -and a big red nose, with a shock of uncombed hair above and a mass of -tangled brown whiskers below it, was cautiously thrust into view, being -followed a moment later by the burly form of Matt Coyle, the squatter. -He was as ragged and dirty as ever, and carried a heavy rifle on his -shoulder. - -The meeting, which was entirely unexpected, was a surprise to both of -them. To tell the truth, Tom was more alarmed when the squatter emerged -from the thicket than he would have been if the bear had made his -appearance. Matt Coyle was very angry at the Mount Airy people on -account of the indignities they had put upon him, and who could tell but -that Tom Bigden himself was included in the list of those against whom -he had threatened vengeance? The squatter seemed to read the thoughts -that were passing in the boy’s mind, for as soon as he could speak he -hastened to say: - -“You needn’t be no ways skeary about meetin’ us. We ain’t forgot that -you was the only one who said a kind word to us while we was down -there”—here Matt gave his head a backward jerk intending, no doubt, to -indicate the village of Mount Airy—“an’ of course we ain’t got nothing -agin you.” - -Tom drew a long breath of relief as he listened to these words. Matt -wouldn’t do any thing to him, and neither would he injure any of his -property. - -“But as fur the rest of ’em, they had better watch out,” continued the -man, in savage tones. “I shan’t forget ’em, an’ I’ll even up with them -some day. It may be five year, an’ it may be ten; but I’ll even up with -’em.” - -“What are you and your boys doing now?” inquired Tom. He did not like -the way the squatter glared around him when he spoke of the village -people, and he wanted to turn the conversation into another channel if -he could. - -[Illustration: TOM UNEXPECTEDLY MEETS MATT COYLE.] - -“We ain’t doin’ nothin’,” was the surly reply, “’cause why, we ain’t got -nothin’ to do with. We ain’t got a bite of meat in the house, an’ I was -after that there b’ar when you fellers come up an’ skeared him away. So -thinks I to myself, I’ll jest go down to the pond where their boats is, -an’ I’ll take the best one of ’em an’ cl’ar out afore they gets back. -Then I’d have somethin’ to do with.” - -“Where would you go?” - -“Up to Injun Lake. I’m the bulliest kind of a guide fur that neck of the -woods, an’ so’s my two boys; but you see we ain’t got no boats, an’ -we’re too poor to buy ’em.” - -“Why don’t you go to the hotels and hire out to them?” demanded Tom; and -then he wondered if there were a landlord in the world who would trust a -boat-load of passengers, ladies and children for instance, to the care -of the walking whisky barrel he saw before him. - -“Didn’t I try that very thing down there”—another backward jerk of the -head—“an’ didn’t they tell me that they didn’t have no use fur sich -lookin’ fellers as me an’ my boys was?” exclaimed Matt Coyle, fiercely. -“They did fur a fact. But if I had a boat of my own I could go up to -Injun Lake where they ain’t so perticular about the clothes a man wears, -so long as he understands his business, an’ I’d make piles of money, -too; ’cause why—I’d work fur less’n the reg’lar hotel guides. See?” - -“Yes, I see; but how long would it be before the regular guides would -run you out, the same as the Mount Airy people did? They would make the -country so hot for you that you couldn’t stay there.” - -“Suppos’n they tried that little game on?” answered Matt, laying down -his rifle long enough to shake both his huge fists in the air. “Ain’t -that somethin’ that two can play at? I’d break up the business of -guidin’ in less’n two seasons.” - -“How would you do it?” - -“Yes, I would,” Matt went on. “If I only had a boat that was easy to -slip around in an’ light to tote over the carries, I’d make the folks -who come there fur fun so sick of them woods that they wouldn’t never -come there no more; then what would become of them two big hotels when -there wasn’t no custom to run ’em?” - -“How would you go about it?” repeated Tom. - -“Oh, there’s plenty of ways,” answered the squatter, shaking his head -knowingly. - -“Give us one of them.” - -“Wal, s’pos’n I should see a big party, with childern among ’em, start -out from one of them hotels as big as life, an’ I should foller along -after ’em, easy like, an’ some day, when there wasn’t no men folks -about, I should slip up, grab one of them childern an’ run him off to -the mountains? An’ s’pos’n one of my boys should happen to be loafin’ -around that hotel when the party come back without the child, an’ should -hear that a reward of a hunderd, mebbe two hunderd dollars had been -offered fur his safe return? Couldn’t my boy easy hunt me up, an’ -couldn’t I tote that young un back to his pap an’ claim them dollars? -Eh?” - -Tom was so astounded that he could say nothing in reply. Matt Coyle was -a great deal worse than he thought he was. The squatter saw that his -solitary auditor was interested, and went on to tell of another way in -which he could break up the business of guiding in the wilderness about -Indian Lake, in case the people living there didn’t treat him and his -family as well as Matt thought they ought to be treated. - -“Or s’pos’n there wasn’t no childern into the party,” said he. “There’d -be fine guns an’ fish poles an’ lots of nice grub, in course; an’ -couldn’t I slip up to their camp when there wasn’t no body there to -watch it, an’ tote some of them guns an’ things off into the bresh an’ -hide ’em? Oh, there’s plenty of ways to bust up guidin’ an’ them big -hotels along with it. They would think twice before bein’ too rough on -me, ’cause they know me up there to Injun Lake.” - -And the man might have added that that was the very reason they drove -him away from there—because they knew him. - -“But the trouble is, I ain’t got no boat of my own to run about with. -The punt, she’s too heavy, an’ I ain’t got no other,” continued Matt -Coyle; and then he stopped and looked hard at Tom, and Tom, in return, -looked hard at Matt. An idea came into his head; or, to speak more in -accordance with the facts, Tom suddenly recalled some words which the -squatter had let fall at the beginning of their interview. - -“You said you were on your way to the pond to pick out a boat when you -met me,” said Tom. “Well, why don’t you go ahead and get it? There is -one among them that will just suit your purpose. It is a canvas canoe. -It is very light, and you can pack it across a four mile portage without -any trouble at all. If you don’t want to do that, you can take it to -pieces and carry it in your hand as you would a grip-sack. It will hold -up eight hundred pounds, and you can’t over-turn it by rocking it from -side to side.” - -“Who belongs to it?” inquired Matt, who had never heard of such a craft -before. - -“Joe Wayring; and his father is one of the Mount Airy trustees. Your -house was on his land, and if Mr. Wayring had said the word, you might -have been living happily there now, with plenty to do in the way of -boating and guiding and with money in your pocket,” said Tom, hoping -that this reference to Mr. Wayring and the influence he might have -exerted in Matt’s behalf, if he had seen fit to do so, would make the -squatter angry, and awaken in him a desire to be revenged on the son -since he could not harm the father in any way. The plan succeeded -admirably. Matt laid his rifle on the ground so that he could shake both -his fists, and the oaths and threats he uttered when he had thus -relieved himself of all incumbrance, were frightful to hear. He did not -yell, as he would like to have done, for he knew that the boys who had -gone in pursuit of the bear were not far away; but he hissed out the -words between his clenched teeth, and kicked and trampled down the -bushes in his rage. - -“I’d take the boat now, even if I knowed it wouldn’t be of no use to -me,” said he, as soon as he could speak. “It’ll cost ole man Wayring -five an’ mebbe twenty dollars to buy him another—” - -“More than that,” said Tom. “A good deal more.” - -“Wal, it’ll be jest that much out of his pocket whatever it is,” -answered Matt Coyle. “Where did you say them boats was?” - -“Right down there on the beach,” replied Tom, indicating the direction -with his finger. “You know which one I mean, don’t you? You’re sure you -can tell a canvas canoe from a Shadow or a Rob Roy?” - -“Am I sure that I can tell a pipe from a shot gun?” retorted Matt. - -“Yes, I suppose you can do that, but I am not so positive that you can -tell one canoe from another,” answered Tom. “Of course it wouldn’t be -safe for me to go down to the beach with you, for if Joe should happen -to be anywhere within sight, I’d be in a pretty fix. You may be sure I -shall not so much as hint that I saw you here in the woods, and you -mustn’t lisp it to a living person.” - -“Course not,” said Matt. “Mum’s the word between gentlemen.” - -Tom could scarcely restrain an exclamation of disgust. It looked as -though this blear-eyed ragamuffin considered himself quite as good as -the boy he was talking to. - -“Take the canoe just as it stands,” continued Tom, “and you will find a -good lunch as well as a fine fishing-rod in it. Be lively now, for Joe -may come back at any moment. I’ll keep out of sight, for of course I -don’t want to know any thing about it.” - -“I don’t care fur them new-fangled poles what’s got a silver windlass -onto the ends of ’em, an’ I wouldn’t tech it if I didn’t think I could -sell it to somebody; but I’ll go fur the grub, I tell you.” - -So saying Matt Coyle went through with some contortions with the left -side of his face which were, no doubt, intended for a friendly farewell -wink, and stole off toward the beach; while Tom turned and walked away -in the opposite direction. When he thought he had put a safe distance -between himself and the pond, he sat down to await developments. Nor was -he obliged to wait long. A rifle cracked away off to the left of his -place of concealment, then a shot gun roared, and presently voices came -to him from the depths of the forest. Joe and his companions had given -up the chase, and were now on their way back to the pond, shooting -squirrels as they came. Tom knew when they passed by within less than a -hundred yards of him, and he knew, too, that they were surprised because -they did not meet him in the woods or find him on the beach, for they -set up a series of dismal whoops as soon as they reached the water’s -edge. - -“Now for it,” thought Tom, drawing his hand over his face and looking as -innocent as though he had never been guilty of a mean act in his life. -“I’ve got to meet them some time, and it might as well be now as an hour -later. Whoop-pee!” he yelled in answer to the shouts that were sent up -from the shore of the pond. - -Tom’s ears also told him when Joe Wayring first discovered that his -canvas canoe was missing. The yells suddenly ceased, and Tom heard no -more from Joe and his companions until he came out of the woods and -halted on the beach a short distance from the place where they were -standing. They were gathered in a group around Roy Sheldon, who was bent -over with his hands on his knees, and his eyes fastened upon a -foot-print in the mud. They were listening so eagerly to something Roy -was saying, that Tom walked up within reach of them before any of the -group knew that he was about. - -“What have you found that is so very interesting?” inquired Tom, who -knew that he ought to open the conversation in some way. - -“Oh, here you are,” exclaimed Hastings. “We could not imagine what had -become of you. Until we heard you call out there in the woods, we -supposed that the bear had come back, and that you had gone after him in -Joe’s boat.” - -“Not by a long shot!” cried Tom, who saw very plainly what Arthur was -driving at. “I haven’t seen the bear since I lost sight of you, and if I -had, I should have gone away from him and not toward him. I have no -ambition to shine as a bear hunter, and consequently I am here safe and -sound.” - -“But Joe’s canoe isn’t,” said Roy. - -Tom looked, and sure enough the place where Joe had left his boat when -he went into the woods was vacant. With much apparent anxiety and -uneasiness he turned toward his canoe as if to satisfy himself that his -own treasures were safe, when Roy broke out with— - -“Oh, you’re a sufferer the same as the rest of us. Your lunch and your -fine bait-rod have gone off to keep Joe’s canoe company. He took all our -rods and his pick of the fish, too, and it is a great wonder to me that -he was good enough to leave us our paddles.” - -Tom was really surprised now, and he was deeply in earnest when he said: - -“If I ever meet the man who did that I’ll have him arrested if I can -find any one to make out a warrant for him.” Then suddenly recollecting -that he was not supposed to know who the thief was, he added: “Do you -suspect any body?” - -“No, we don’t suspect; we know,” answered Joe. “Look at that!” - -“Can you tell a man’s name by looking at the print of his foot in the -mud?” asked Tom. - -“I can tell that man’s name, for I know how he was shod the last time I -saw him,” replied Joe. “It was Matt Coyle. He made a good many threats -before he left the village, and he has begun to carry them out already. -He has put up his shanty somewhere in the vicinity of this pond, and -will make it his business to do some damage to every hunting and fishing -party that comes here.” - -“Well, what are we standing here for?” exclaimed Tom, who had expected -before this time to hear somebody propose an immediate pursuit of the -robber. - -“We might as well stay here and take it easy, as to get wild and rush -around through the woods for nothing,” replied Joe; and Tom was -surprised to see how ready he was to give his boat up for lost. “In the -first place, we couldn’t overtake the robber, and in the second, we -couldn’t recover our property if we did. The day of reckoning will -surely come, but we can’t do any thing to hasten it.” - -The idea that the squatter would disturb any of the things in the other -canoes had never entered into Tom’s mind. Matt seemed to remember, with -as much gratitude as such a man was capable of, that Tom was one of the -few who sympathized with him when he was ordered out of Mount Airy, and -yet he had made little distinction between his property and that -belonging to the sons of the trustees who ordered him away. There was no -sham about his rage. He was angry because his elegant rod and German -silver bass reel had disappeared, and because he knew that he would -never dare have Matt Coyle arrested for the theft. If the latter should -go before a magistrate and repeat the words that had passed between Tom -and himself not more than half an hour ago, wouldn’t he be in a pretty -scrape? He was in one already, for the squatter had a hold upon him, and -subsequent events proved that Matt knew how to use it to his own -advantage. - - - - - CHAPTER X. - - FOREST COOKERY. - - -“HOW in the world did you manage to get separated from us so quickly?” -asked Roy, addressing himself to Tom Bigden. “The last time I saw you, -you were bringing up the rear all right, but when we lost the trail and -stopped to hold a consultation, you were not to be seen.” - -Tom had been expecting this, and he was ready with his answer. Pointing -to his boots, which he had purposely stuck into a mud-hole, shortly -after his companions left him, he said: - -“I got mired in the swamp, and by the time I could crawl out and pour -the water from my boots, you had left me so far behind that I could -neither see nor hear any thing of you. If I had come directly back to -the pond instead of wasting time in looking for you, I might have been -able to stop Matt Coyle’s raid on our canoes.” - -“I doubt it very much,” replied Joe Wayring. “No doubt Matt has been -watching us all the morning and waiting for us to come ashore so that he -could steal something, and I believe he would have made his ‘raid’ if we -had all been here to oppose him. As it was, he had full swing, and there -are none of us hurt.” - -“That’s my idea,” said Arthur. “Judging by his countenance Matt is a bad -man and a desperate one. Well, we have lost our rods and reels, which -must be worth considerably more than a hundred dollars, but we have -learned one thing, that we ought to profit by, and another that we can -use to our advantage. To begin with, so long as Matt Coyle is allowed to -stay about in this neck of the woods—” - -“And I guess he’ll stay here as long as he has a mind to,” observed Roy. - -“Well, I guess he won’t,” retorted Arthur. - -“I know what you mean,” said Roy. “You mean that the arm of the law is -strong enough to snatch him out of the swamp. I don’t dispute it. The -trouble is going to be to get hold of him. If he finds the low lands -getting too warm for him, he will take to the mountains; and you know -that there are a good many places among them where a white man has never -yet set his foot.” - -“He’ll come out, all the same,” answered Arthur; “but as long as he -stays around, Sherwin’s Pond is no place for hunting and fishing -parties, unless they bring some one with them to watch the camp while -they are rambling about in the woods. We must warn the hotel people as -soon as we get back to town.” - -“You said there was something we could use to our advantage,” suggested -Joe. - -“Yes. We can see any amount of sport here this fall with the grouse. We -flushed a lot of them while we were gone,” he added, turning to Tom, -“but of course we didn’t shoot at them.” - -“Why not?” inquired the latter. - -“Why, because the close season isn’t over yet, and the birds are -protected by law.” - -Tom and his cousins had nothing to say, but they wondered if Arthur -Hastings always obeyed the game laws when he was alone in the woods. -They had not much respect for him if he did. They could not lay claim to -any great skill themselves. An October grouse on the wing would have -been as safe from harm a dozen yards away from the muzzles of their -double-barrels, as though he had been on the other side of the globe. -They always killed their game sitting; and they would shoot at a robin -as soon as they would shoot at a wild turkey. - -“We didn’t come down here to go home hungry,” said Joe, pointing to a -bunch of squirrels that lay at the foot of the nearest tree. “We’ll have -two courses to our dinner or breakfast, or whatever you call a meal -eaten at this time of day, and there’s plenty of water in the spring to -wash it down with.” - -The boys were all hungry, and there was nothing appetizing in looking -forward to a breakfast of meat and fish. Joe Wayring and his friends did -not mind it, for they had eaten many such meals during their vacation -wanderings in the woods; but Tom Bigden was not much accustomed to -roughing it, and he condemned the squatter almost as bitterly for -walking off with the hard-boiled eggs, sardines, canned fruit and bottle -of cold coffee, which he had provided as his share of the common dinner, -as he did for stealing his fishing-rod. - -“When Matt opens my bundle and finds all that buttered tissue paper in -it I guess he’ll wonder,” said Joe, as he stepped into Roy’s canoe and -picked up one of the joints of the double paddle. “He won’t know what I -intended to do with it; do you, Bigden?” - -After a little reflection Tom concluded that he couldn’t tell what use -the buttered tissue paper could be put to, unless Joe intended to start -a fire with it, and the latter went on to explain. - -“We always take a supply with us as a substitute for a frying-pan,” said -he. “After cleaning the fish in good shape, we wrap him up in this -tissue paper, and then add three or four thicknesses of wet brown paper. -In the meantime, the fellow whose business it is to see to the fire has -taken care to have a nice bed of coals ready. We rake these coals apart, -put in the fish, and cover him up so quickly that the paper around him -has no time to get afire, and there he stays until he is done. Then we -poke him out, and when the paper is taken off the skin and scales come -with it; and if you relish a well-cooked fish, there he is.” - -“But how do you know when the fish is done?” asked Ralph. - -“A potato is as good a clock as you want to go by,” answered Joe. - -“A potato?” repeated Ralph. - -“Yes. I brought several with me, intending to put them on the table -after they had done duty as clocks, but they have gone off with the -sugar, lemons and other good things I had in my bundle. As soon as your -fish is covered up in the coals,” continued Joe, “put your potatoes in -alongside of him and cover them up also. You can test them with a sharp -stick at any time, and when they are done, which will be at the end of -half an hour, if your fire is just right, poke them out, break them open -and place them on a flat stone which you have previously washed, to -cool. Then poke out your fish, take off the wrappings and fall to work. -But we shall have to use boards this trip—there are plenty of them lying -around loose on the point, unless Matt Coyle has carried them off to -patch up his shanty—and make our noses do duty as clocks.” - -Tom did not understand this, either; but believing that he had made a -sufficient airing of his ignorance of woodcraft for one day, at least, -he asked no more questions. - -Half an hour’s steady paddling brought the boys to the point, on which -they landed to prepare their meager breakfast. That it was a favorite -resort for parties like their own was evident. Beds of ashes surrounding -the mossy bowlder from beneath which the spring bubbled up, marked the -places where roaring camp-fires had once been built, and the empty fruit -and meat cans that had been tossed into the bushes told what good -dinners had been eaten there. - -Joe Wayring at once set off to hunt up a couple of suitable boards, -another started a fire, two more fell to work upon the fish and -squirrels, and the rest found employment in gathering a supply of fuel, -and providing birch-bark plates and platters. Although Tom and his -cousins did their full share of the work, they did not neglect to keep -an eye on their more experienced companions; and they were astonished to -see how easily one can get on without a good many things which the -majority of people seem to think necessary to their very existence. When -the fish had been cleaned and washed in the pond, they were spread out -flat and fastened with wooden pins to the boards, which were propped up -in front of the fire; while the squirrels were impaled upon forked -sticks and held over the coals by Arthur Hastings and Roy, who turned -first one side and then the other to the heat, until they were done to a -delicious brown. - -“If Matt Coyle had only been good enough to leave us the bacon, which I -was careful to have put up with my lunch, these squirrels would be much -better than they are going to be,” said Arthur, addressing himself to -Ralph, who manifested the greatest interest in this rude forest cookery. -“Their meat is rather dry, you know, and a strip of nice fat bacon -pinned to each side of them would furnish the necessary grease—that -isn’t a very elegant word, I know, but it expresses my meaning all the -same—and give them a flavor also. It would make the fish more palatable, -too. My advice to you is, always take a chunk of bacon with you if you -are going to cook your dinner in the woods.” - -“What’s he doing?” inquired Ralph, nodding toward Joe Wayring, who stood -around with his hands in his pockets, now and then elevating his chin -and sniffing the air like a pointer that had struck a fresh scent. - -Arthur laughed heartily. - -“Joe’s timing the fish,” was his reply. “When they smell so good that he -can’t wait any longer, he will know they are done; and then dinner will -be ready. It’s rather a novel way, I confess, but Joe hits it every -pop.” - -This was the first time that Tom and his cousins had ever sat down to a -meal that was composed of nothing but fish and meat, but it tasted much -better than they thought it would. Perhaps the reason was because they -were hungry. At any rate they disposed of all that was placed before -them, and would have asked for another piece of squirrel if there had -been any more on the big slice of bark that did duty as a platter. - -“This meal will give you an idea of what we could have done if that -squatter had not stumbled on our canoes while we were after that bear,” -said Roy, who stood holding the empty platter in one hand and his light -bird gun in the other. As he spoke, he sent the platter flying over the -pond, and broke it into inch pieces by the two charges of shot he put -into it before it struck the water. “What’s the next thing on the -programme?” he continued. “I don’t much like the idea of undertaking -that long carry during the heat of the day, but I don’t see what else we -can do unless we are willing to stay here and be idle for hours to come. -We can’t fish any more, that’s certain. We haven’t brought our long bows -with us, and who wants to shoot squirrels with a shot gun? Not I, for -one.” - -There was no debate upon the question Roy had raised. They had their -choice between going home, and staying where they were until the sun -sank out of sight behind the mountains; and they were not long in making -up their minds what they would do. When Joe Wayring picked up his gun -and stepped into Roy’s canoe (it was a Rice Laker, and not being decked -over, it could easily accommodate him and its owner), the others got -into theirs, and the fleet started toward the upper end of the pond. - -We have said that Mirror Lake and Sherwin’s Pond were fifteen miles -apart, and that there were about twelve miles of rapids in the stream by -which they were connected. This, of course, would leave three miles of -still water; but the trouble was, it could not be made use of by any one -going from the pond to the lake. At every one of the points at which the -rapids ceased and the stretches of still water began, the banks were -high and steep, and so densely covered with briers and bushes that the -most active boy would have found it a difficult task to work his way to -the water’s edge, and an impossible one if he had a canoe on his back. -This being the case our six friends had a long portage (they generally -called it a “carry”) to look forward to; but three of them, at least, -went at it as they went at every thing else that was hard—with the -determination to do it at once and have it over with. Arthur Hastings -went first with his little Rob Roy on his back, Joe Wayring followed -close behind him with all the guns and paddles he could carry (the rest -of them were lashed fast in the cock-pits so that they would not fall -out when the canoes were turned bottom up), and they led their -companions nearly a third of the distance before they put down their -loads and leaned up against a tree to rest. - -“This is my last visit to Sherwin’s pond this season,” panted Arthur, as -he drew his handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the big drops of -perspiration from his forehead. “It’s too much sugar for a -cent—altogether too much.” - -“Every time you come through here on a hot day you say the same thing,” -observed Joe. - -“I know it; but I am in dead earnest now. The game isn’t worth the -candle.” - -“What’s the matter? Are you sorry that you didn’t smash your canoe in -the rapids?” asked Roy. - -“Or didn’t you catch fish enough to suit you?” chimed in Ralph. - -“Perhaps he is disgusted because he didn’t shoot that bear,” said Joe. - -“It’s hard work,” repeated Arthur. “The fun of running the rapids, -catching a nice string of bass and seeing a bear, does not repay one for -the horrors of this fifteen mile carry. It is worse for me to-day than -it ever was before, because we have been so very unlucky. We have used -our rods for the last time, and Joe will never see his canvas canoe -again.” - -This was the way in which Arthur and his two friends referred to their -losses whenever they referred to them at all. There was no unreasonable -exhibition of rage, such as Tom Bigden would have been glad to indulge -in, if he could have found the least excuse for so doing. - -If Tom had possessed even the semblance of a heart, it would have smote -him when he saw how patiently Joe and his chums bore up under their -misfortunes. If Matt Coyle had turned the matter over in his mind for a -whole month, he could not have hit upon anything that was so well -calculated to render these three boys miserable, as was the piece of -villainy which he had that day carried out at the suggestion of Tom -Bigden. Tom was glad of one thing: His companions did not ask him any -questions, and consequently he was not obliged to tell them any lies. - -The boys rested a good many times while they were on the carry, and when -at last they launched their canoes on the broad bosom of the lake they -were so weary and devoid of ambition, that it was a task for them to -paddle down to the boat-houses; but, like their arduous journey across -the portage, it was accomplished at last by steady and persevering -effort, and when they separated near the middle of the lake and pulled -away toward their respective homes, they told one another that the next -time they went down to the pond they would see to it that Matt Coyle had -no chance to spoil their day’s sport. - -“There’s something about that business that don’t look just right to -me,” said Ralph Farnsworth, as soon as Joe and his friends were out of -hearing. “I don’t mind my own loss, but I am really sorry for Joe -Wayring.” - -“So am I,” said Loren. “He prized that canoe very highly. I believe he -would rather have lost his handsome breech-loader. I tell you we made a -mistake in having any thing to do with George Prime. Wayring and his -crowd are much the better lot of fellows.” - -These remarks settled one thing to Tom Bigden’s satisfaction. Ever since -his interview with the squatter he had been asking himself whether or -not he ought to take his cousins into his confidence, and now he knew -that he had better not. He was afraid, as well as ashamed, to show them -how far his unreasonable enmity toward Joe Wayring had led him, and so -he said nothing. - -Great was the indignation among some of the Mount Airy people when it -became known that Matt Coyle had turned up again when he was least -expected, and that he had walked off with a hundred and fifty dollars -worth of property that did not belong to him. But Mount Airy, as we have -seen, was like other places in that it numbered among its inhabitants -certain evil-minded and envious persons, who were never so happy as when -they were listening to the story of some one’s bad luck. George Prime -and the boys who made their head-quarters in his father’s store were -delighted to hear that the squatter had begun operations against Joe and -his chums, and hoped he would “keep it up” until he had stolen or -destroyed every thing they possessed. They declared that they were sorry -for Tom and his cousins, but when they came to say that much to them by -word of mouth, as they did the next afternoon when Tom, Ralph and Loren -dropped into the drug-store on their way to the post-office, they did it -in such a way that Tom became disgusted, and left without buying the -cigar he had intended to ask for. - -“The more I see of those fellows, the less I like them,” said Tom; and -then he was about to open his battery of abuse upon Prime and his -friends, when he discovered several of the Toxophilites coming down the -side-walk. “I’ll tell you what’s a fact, boys,” Tom added in a lower -tone. “It’s a lucky thing for us that we didn’t buy those cigars. Here -comes Miss Arden with a whole crowd of girls, and there isn’t a street -or alley that we could slink into if we had a weed in our hands.” - -The boys lifted their hats as the girls came up, and passed on rejoicing -over their escape. If they had been caught in the act of smoking they -might have said good-by to all their hopes of getting into the archery -club. A little further on they stopped in front of the window of a -jewelry store, where some of the prizes that were to be distributed at -the canoe meet had been placed for exhibition. Their three companions of -the previous day were there, and their attention was concentrated upon a -beautiful blue silk flag, trimmed with gold fringe and bearing in its -center the monogram of the Mount Airy canoe club, which occupied a -conspicuous position among the prizes. - -“That’s some of Miss Arden’s handiwork,” said Joe Wayring, after he had -cordially greeted Tom and his cousins. “It is to go to the first one who -walks the greasy pole.” - -“Great Moses!” ejaculated Tom. “To what base uses—” - -“That’s just what I said,” interrupted Arthur Hastings. “I told her, -too, that it wouldn’t make half the fun the greasy pig did, and you -ought to have seen her stick up her nose. Another thing, now that I -think of it: Unless the wind is just right, the flag will wallop itself -over and around the pole until it is all covered with grease.” - -“And the boy who is lucky enough to capture it will have to take it into -the water with him, and there is her elegant prize ruined at the start,” -chimed in Joe Wayring. - -“Don’t you think Miss Arden had wit enough to provide for that?” -exclaimed Mr. Yale, the jeweler, who happened to overhear this remark. -“Do you see that little flag beside the blue one? Well, that is intended -to represent the prize. If you are fortunate enough to capture that, you -can fly the blue pennant at your masthead.” - -Miss Arden was right when she told her friends that she was sure that -the gallant fellows who belonged to the canoe club would work harder for -her flag than they would for a greasy pig. Every one of the boys who -stopped in front of Mr. Yale’s window that afternoon to look at the -prizes, told himself that if he did not win that flag it would be -because some lucky member walked off with it before he had a chance to -try for it. - -During the next two weeks little or nothing happened in or about Mount -Airy that is worthy of note. A deputy sheriff and constable went down to -Sherwin’s Pond to arrest Matt Coyle, and, after a three days’ search -returned empty-handed. They found the place where the squatter had built -his shanty, but it was gone when they got there, and so were Matt and -his family. The authorities at Indian Lake were requested to keep a -look-out for him, but Matt was too old a criminal to be easily caught. -He and his boys offered themselves as guides to the guests of the -hotels, but when they were told that they were not wanted, they set -themselves to work to carry out the programme of which Matt had spoken -to Tom Bigden on the day he stole Joe Wayring’s canoe—that is, to break -up the business of guiding in the region about Indian Lake, and to make -the people who came there for recreation so sick of the woods that they -would never come there again. Whether or not they succeeded in their -object shall be told further on. - -Tom Bigden and his cousins never knew how near they came to being -black-balled when their names were brought before the canoe club at its -next meeting. Prime and his friends were suspicious of Tom. The latter -kept away from the drug-store altogether; he and his cousins were often -seen in Joe Wayring’s company, and Prime said that looked as though Tom -wasn’t in earnest when he promised to assist in carrying out the -arrangements that had been made for defeating Joe and Arthur at the -coming canoe meet. - -“I’ll vote for him,” said Prime, after Noble, Scott, and one or two -others had labored with him for a long time, “but if he plays us false, -as I really think he means to do, he can just hang up his fiddle, so far -as the Toxophilites are concerned. I’ll take pains to let Miss Arden and -the rest of the girls know that he and his cousins smoke and play -billiards and cards on the sly, and they’ll make dough of his cake in -short order.” - -“The agony is over at last,” said Tom, after Joe Wayring and his -inseparable companions Arthur and Roy, who came over in the _Young -Republic_ the next morning to announce the result of the ballot, had -gone home again. “Bear in mind, now, that we are to stick to our -original programme and win if we can. If we find that we have no show, -and that the prizes must go to Wayring and his friends, or to Prime and -his followers, we’ll stand by Wayring every time. We’ll teach that -drug-store crowd that the next time they make up a slate they had better -put our names on it if they expect us to help them.” - -It never occurred to Tom and his cousins that possibly Joe Wayring, and -all the other boys who believed that friendly trials of strength and -skill, like those that were to come off during the canoe meet, should be -fairly conducted, would not thank them for their interference. Joe had -warned all his friends that there were boys in the club who had been -“booked” to win by fair means or foul (of course he did not tell them -where he got his information), and they made some pretty shrewd guesses -as to who those boys were. Being forewarned they were forearmed, and -they did not want any help. Tom found it out on the day the races came -off. - - - - - CHAPTER XI. - - THE CANOE MEET. - - -THE first thing the members of the canoe club did when they sprang out -of bed on the morning of the second day of August, was to run to the -window, draw aside the curtain and take a look at the sky and the lake. -The one was cloudless, and the surface of the other was rippled by a -little breeze which promised, by the time the sun was an hour high, to -freshen into a capital sailing wind. For all the members of the club -were not so deeply interested in the paddle, portage and hurry-skurry -races as Joe Wayring and Tom Bigden were. A few of them were expert -sailors, and anxious to show the spectators (there would be more -strangers among them this year than ever before), how skillfully they -could manage their cranky little boats when they were under canvas. - -The young athletes were all in excellent training, and there was not one -among them who did not expect to win a prize of more or less value -during the day. Some of the canoeists had discovered a couple of Yale -college students among the guests at the Mount Airy House, and after a -little urging they had consented to assume the management of affairs, -one as judge and the other as referee. They knew all about the rules of -boating, and Joe Wayring told himself, that Prime and his friends would -have to be smarter than he thought they were if they could play any -tricks under the watchful eyes of those two college men without being -caught in the act. - -At an early hour Mr. Wayring’s spacious boat-house, which was to be used -as head-quarters and had been handsomely decorated for the occasion, was -thrown open, and shortly afterward the members of the club began to -arrive. They drew their canoes upon the beach at the side of the -boat-house and disappeared in the dressing-room, where they remained -until the warning blast of a bugle notified them that it was time to -begin operations. Now and then one of them would take a cautious peep -out at the back door and turn around to inform his companions that all -New London had come up to attend the meet; and although they knew that -there were a good many people assembled to witness the sports, they were -all surprised, and not a few of them were made nervous by the scene that -was presented to their gaze when they sprang off the wharf, and ran to -push their canoes into the water. Mr. Wayring’s grounds were crowded -with gayly dressed spectators, who where lounging on the grass or -sitting comfortably under the tents that had been provided for them, and -the lake was covered with sail and row boats, all of which were flying -as many flags as they could find places for. - -A mile up the lake the stake-boat was anchored. In it was one of the -judges, who reclined at his ease on a couch of cushions with an awning -over him to keep off the sun. The other judge was Mr. Hastings, who -stood on the wharf to act as starter. The referee’s barge, propelled by -six of the best oarsmen that could be found among the guides, lay off -the wharf, and the police-boats had already cleared the course. - -“All you young gentlemen who are to compete in this race draw a number -as you pass, and station yourselves accordingly,” said Mr. Hastings, who -held a small tin box above his head so that the contestants could not -look into it and pick a number instead of taking it at random. “Go down -as far as the leaning tree so as to get a good start, and fill away at -the sound of the bugle, No. 1 taking the outside.” - -The first event was a sailing race—two miles with a turn. Those who had -entered for it drew a number from the box, lingered a moment to look at -the swinging silver pitcher and gold-lined goblets, which, with a tray -to hold them, were to go to the boy who sent his canoe first across the -line on the home stretch, and then ran out to launch their canoes and -hoist their sails. There were ten starters, and they made a pretty -picture as they came up the lake before the fresh breeze that was then -blowing, and dashed across the imaginary line that marked the beginning -of the course. Another blast from the bugle warned them that it was a -“go,” and the race was begun. - -The sound of the bugle seemed to excite every body—the people on shore -as well as the boys in the boats, who crowded their cranky little crafts -until it looked as if some of them must certainly go over. There were -several of Prime’s friends among the contestants, and Joe and his two -chums wondered if any one of them had been “booked” to come out ahead in -this particular race. They saw nothing to indicate it. There was no -attempt to foul the boy who seemed likely to win, and indeed there was -no chance for any such proceeding. The referee’s barge easily kept -abreast of the racers, and the man in the stake-boat kept his glass -directed toward them from the start. There was some crowding and -confusion at the turn, and some of the little vessels came dangerously -near to one another; but their crews made desperate efforts to clear -themselves, some because they knew they were closely watched, and others -because they were determined to win fairly or not at all, and the race -was not interrupted. It was a close and exciting struggle, and the boy -who brought his Rice Laker first across the line was fairly entitled to -the silver pitcher. - -“That was a splendid race,” exclaimed Joe Wayring, as the contestants, -after beaching their canoes, came into the boat-house to listen to the -congratulations, or to receive the sympathy of their friends. “The -paddle race comes off now, and I hope that those of us who take part in -it will make as good a showing as you did.” - -While Joe was talking in this way, Ned Stewart, one of the boys who had -just been defeated, drew a few of his friends around him in a remote -corner of the boat-house by intimating to them in a mysterious way that -he had something of importance to say to them. - -“Look here, Bigden,” said Ned, in an excited whisper. “I believe it is -understood that some of us are to foul Wayring or any fellow in his -crowd who stands a chance of winning, and give Noble a chance to carry -off the honors of the paddle race?” - -“I believe you did make some such arrangement as that,” replied Tom, -indifferently. “But if my memory serves me, you did not consult me in -regard to it.” - -These words produced the utmost consternation among the boys in the -corner. - -“Are you going back from your word?” cried Noble, as soon as he could -speak. - -“What do you mean by that?” demanded Tom. - -“You know very well what he means,” exclaimed Bob Lord, who, it will be -remembered, had been “booked” to win the upset race. “Now, look here, -Bigden: You have been running with Wayring a good deal, of late, and we -might have expected this of you. You want Wayring to win because you -think he can do more to get you into the archery club than we can; but I -assure you that you are mistaken there. You can’t get in without our -votes, and if you go back on us we shan’t give them to you.” - -“I don’t want Wayring to win,” said Tom, emphatically. “My Cousin Loren -is going to come out at the top of the heap in this race.” - -“Well, I’ll bet you a dollar he isn’t,” exclaimed Noble, whose flashing -eyes showed how angry he was. “If I don’t win this race nobody shall.” - -“Well, I’ll bet you two dollars that I shall keep pretty close to Loren, -and that the boy who interferes with him purposely will go out of his -canoe in less time than he can say ‘General Jackson’ with his mouth -open. Not only that, but I’ll thrash him the very first time I can catch -him ashore,” replied Tom, returning Noble’s angry scowl with interest, -and doubling up his fists as if he were ready and willing to put his -threat into execution then and there. - -“Look here! Look here, boys,” whispered Prime, who was really afraid the -two would come to blows. “Such work as this will never do. If we quarrel -among ourselves, Wayring and his crowd will walk off with all the prizes -as they have always done.” - -“I have no intention of quarreling,” said Noble, who did not like the -way Tom glared at him. “I only want Bigden to keep his promise.” - -“What promise?” demanded Tom. - -“Why, didn’t you say that you were down on Wayring and Hastings, and -that you did not want to see them win any of the races?” inquired Scott. - -“I did.” - -“And didn’t you promise that you would help _us_ win?” chimed in Frank -Noble. - -“No, I didn’t. When you told me what your programme was, I simply said: -‘All right.’ By that I meant that you could do as you pleased, and my -cousins and I would do as _we_ pleased. You were very good to yourselves -when you picked out all the best races for your own men, and left us out -in the cold, were you not? We do not consider that we are under -obligations to abide by any such arrangement, and we shan’t do it. We’ve -got a programme of our own that we mean to carry out if we can, and the -fellow who interferes with us in any way may make up his mind to take -the consequences.” - -So saying Tom walked off followed by his cousins, leaving Prime and his -companions lost in wonder. - -“Serves us just right for having any thing to do with such upstarts,” -said Noble, who was the first to speak. “They have gone back on us fair -and square; that’s easy enough to be seen.” - -“Who ever heard of such impudence?” exclaimed Prime. “They came to Mount -Airy with the idea that they could run the town to suit themselves, and -because they can’t do it, they are mad about it. They must not be -allowed to win a race. I would much rather see Wayring or Hastings come -in first.” - -“That brings me to what I wanted to say to you,” said Ned Stewart. “I -don’t know whether or not that college man in the stake-boat suspects -any thing, but he certainly acted like it. He kept his eyes on us from -the time we crossed the line until we got home. If you try to foul any -body you must be very sly about it, or else you will be caught and ruled -out.” - -If Stewart had any thing else to say he did not have time to say it, for -just then the bugle sounded another warning, and that put a stop to the -conversation. It was a call to the boys who were to take part in the -paddle race. A few seconds later thirteen active young fellows in showy -uniforms sprang off the wharf one after the other, shoved their canoes -into the water, and paddled away to take the positions assigned them by -the numbers they had drawn from the tin box. As luck would have it, Tom -Bigden found himself near the center of the line, with his Cousin Loren -on one side of him and Frank Noble on the other. Joe Wayring was on the -right, nearest the shore, and Arthur Hastings on the extreme left, near -the middle of the lake. - -“It’s a bad outlook for us,” whispered Loren, after he had run his eye -up and down the line. “Joe and Arthur are so far away that you can’t -touch them.” - -“Never mind,” replied Tom, in the same cautious whisper. “They will have -to come closer together when we get to the stake-boat, and then, -perhaps, we can do something. Keep your weather eye peeled for Noble. -He’ll spoil your chances if he can. He’s bound to win or kick up a row.” - -“Are you all ready?” shouted Mr. Hastings, from his place on the wharf. - -There was no response in words, but each boy grasped his double paddle -with a firmer hold, dipped one blade of it into the water and leaned -forward so that he could put all his strength into the first stroke, -which was given before the notes of the bugle had fairly died away. - -The thirteen contestants got off well together, and for a while it was -any body’s race; but by the time a quarter of a mile had been passed -over, Arthur Hastings and Roy Sheldon, who “made the pace”, began to -draw to the front, while others fell behind, and when they rounded the -stake-boat the line was very much broken. Tom Bigden did not try to win. -According to the agreement this was not his race. He simply kept close -beside his cousin—he had harder work to do it than he expected to have, -for Loren sent his canoe through the water at an astonishing rate of -speed—holding himself in readiness to frustrate any attempt at trickery -on Frank Noble’s part, or to foul Frank if he showed speed enough to -beat Loren fairly. - -How the struggle would have ended, had each boy been as determined to -win or lose on his merits as the majority of them were, it is hard to -tell. Arthur and Roy paddled much faster now than they did on the day -they had those friendly trials with Tom and his cousin, and so did -Loren. Frank Noble, who was by no means an antagonist to be despised, -kept close company with them, while Joe Wayring seemed content to linger -behind and save his wind so that he could force the pace on the way -home; consequently he was an eye-witness to a piece of deliberate -rascality on the part of Tom Bigden, which was so neatly executed that -it might have passed for an accident, if Joe, when questioned by the -judge, had not told the truth concerning it. It came about in this way: - -Arthur and Roy rounded the stake-boat together, keeping far enough away -from each other to avoid all danger of a collision. Frank Noble followed -in their wake, and close behind him came Loren Farnsworth, who having -got his “second wind”, was plying his paddle with so much strength and -skill that he was rapidly closing up the gap between himself and his -leaders. Noble saw defeat staring him in the face, and believing that he -could gain a few feet on Hastings and his companion, and throw Loren out -of the race at the same time, he resorted to an expedient which drew a -warning shout from Joe Wayring, who was contentedly following in Tom’s -rear. - -“Look out there, Frank!” cried Joe. “You’ll be foul of somebody in a -minute more.” - -“I told Tom that Loren Farnsworth should never come out at the top of -the heap in this race, and I meant every word of it,” said Frank, to -himself; and paying no attention to Joe’s warning, he shot his canoe -across Loren’s bow, passing so close to him that the latter was obliged -to stop paddling and back water in order to escape the collision which -for a second or two seemed inevitable. - -This was Tom Bigden’s opportunity and he was prompt to improve it. With -a movement so quick and dextrous that it looked like an accident to the -people on shore who witnessed it, Tom unjointed his paddle, dropped one -blade of it overboard, and laying out all his strength on the other, he -swung the bow of his canoe around and sent it crashing into the side of -Noble’s boat, overturning it in an instant and throwing its occupant out -into the water. Then, quick as a flash, Tom backed his canoe out of -Loren’s way and sent it directly in the path of the other boys, who were -thus given their choice between two courses of action: One was to make a -wide detour in order to clear the three boats that lay in their way, and -the other was to give up the race, which was now virtually left to -Hastings, Sheldon and Loren Farnsworth. The most of them preferred to -draw out of a contest in which they had no show of winning, and with -many exclamations of anger and disgust turned about and paddled back to -the starting point; while the others crowded up around the stake-boat to -hear what the judge and referee would have to say about it. - -“I claim foul on that!” shouted Tom; and the words and the speaker’s -easy assurance so astonished Joe Wayring, that he sat in his canoe with -his paddle suspended in the air as if he did not know what to do with -it. - -“I claim foul!” sputtered Noble, as soon as his head appeared above the -surface of the water. “Bigden capsized me on purpose.” - -“I say I didn’t!” cried Tom, looking very surprised and innocent indeed. -“What business had you to try to cross my bows, when any body with half -an eye could see that you had no chance to do it? You declared that if -you didn’t win this race no one else should, and that’s why you got in -my way.” - -“And you said that your Cousin Loren was booked to win, if you could -make him do it,” retorted Noble, who had climbed into his canoe and was -rapidly throwing out the water it had shipped in righting. “That’s why -you capsized me. It is a lucky thing for you that you didn’t smash in -the side of my boat as you tried to do. I would have made you pay -roundly for it, if there is law enough in Mount Airy to—” - -“That will do,” said the judge, in a tone of authority. “This is not the -place to settle quarrels, and neither am I the one to do it.” - -“My paddle got unjointed, and I couldn’t shift from one side to the -other quick enough to keep clear of you,” said Tom. - -Meanwhile Hastings, Sheldon and Loren Farnsworth were making fast time -down the home stretch toward the starting point. To the surprise of -every body, and to the no small annoyance of Arthur Hastings, who had -never before been so closely followed by any one except Sheldon and -Wayring, Loren was not only holding his own, but he was gaining at every -stroke. There is no telling which one of the three would have come out -ahead at the finish, had they been permitted to continue the struggle; -but the referee, seeing the commotion among the rest of the fleet, -called out: “No race!” and pulled up to the stake-boat to see what was -the matter. The judge gave him his version of the affair, Noble and Tom -Bigden gave theirs, and each of the two boys would have expressed his -opinion of the other in no very complimentary terms, had not the referee -interrupted them by saying— - -“Hard words can’t settle disputes of this kind. The race will have to be -tried over again, and Noble, I don’t think you will be allowed to take -any part in it. You made a mistake in trying to cross Bigden’s bows when -you did, because you had no room to do it without interfering with him. -You threw him out of the contest, and came very near throwing Farnsworth -out, too; consequently it will be my duty to bar you. I am sorry—” - -“You needn’t be, for I am sure I don’t care,” replied Noble, rudely. He -tried hard to control himself so that the boys around him should not see -how very angry he was, but his efforts met with little success. To be -ruled out of one contest was to be ruled out of all; and that was a -severe blow to a boy who had confidently expected to carry off some of -the best prizes. “What are you going to do with Bigden?” he asked, or -rather demanded of the referee. - -“That depends,” answered the latter, somewhat sharply. - -“He can’t do any thing with me because I have violated no rule,” said -Tom, defiantly. “You ran across my path when you had no business to do -it, and an accident to my paddle made me run into you. That’s all there -is of it.” - -But the referee and judge seemed to hold a different opinion. They -conversed for a few minutes in tones so low that no one but the guides -could hear what they said, and presently the judge appealed to Joe -Wayring. - -“You were close behind Bigden when this happened,” said he. “Do you -think it was an accident?” - -“What does he know about it?” cried Tom, fiercely. “I don’t care what he -or anybody else says; I know—” - -“One moment, please,” interrupted the referee. “You have had your say, -and you don’t help your side of the case any by showing so much -excitement over it.” - -“Do you think Bigden unjointed his paddle purposely?” continued the -judge, addressing himself to Joe. - -“Yes, sir,” answered the latter, promptly. - -“Do you think he could have kept clear of Noble if he had made use of -ordinary skill and caution?” - -“I am sure of it.” - -“How could he have done it?” - -“By working his paddle on the port side of his canoe. That would have -thrown him around the stake-boat very neatly and given him a winning -place in the race; but instead of that he used his paddle on the -starboard side, and of course that threw the bow of his canoe plump into -Noble’s side.” - -Frank and the judge nodded as if to say that that was about the way the -thing stood, and after a few minutes’ reflection the referee said— - -“I am perfectly satisfied and will announce my decision where all the -members of the club can hear it. As we are wasting time and delaying the -other sports by staying here, we will go back to head-quarters.” - -It was not a very sociable company of boys who turned about at this -command and paddled slowly back to the starting point, and neither were -Noble and Tom Bigden the only ones among them who were mad enough to -fight. Two of their number were so jealous of each other and so anxious -to win prizes, that they had deliberately disgraced the club in the -presence of hundreds of strangers; and it is hard to see how any lover -of fair play could help being annoyed over it. Joe Wayring felt it very -keenly; and consequently when Tom Bigden paddled up alongside and told -him that he intended to get even with him some way for the stand he had -taken, Joe was in just the right humor to give him as good as he sent. - -“Joe Wayring, you have made an enemy of me by this day’s work,” said -Tom, in a threatening tone. - -“By telling the truth in regard to your fouling of Frank Noble?” -exclaimed Joe. “I don’t care if I have. I saw the whole proceeding, and -I know that you meant to do it. I warned you that any boy who could so -far forget himself as to deliberately interfere with another, would be -forever ruled out of the club’s races, and you will find that I knew -what I was talking about.” - -“You might as well expel me and be done with it?” exclaimed Tom, -angrily. “What’s the use of my belonging to the club if I am not allowed -to take part in its contests? Joe Wayring, there’s no honor about you. -You have led me to believe that you were my friend, and then you went -back on me the very first chance you got.” - -“Do you mean that I have been sailing under false colors?” cried Joe, -indignantly. “If you throw out any more insinuations of that sort before -we reach the boat-house I’ll dump you in the lake. When the judge -questioned me I told him the truth; and I wouldn’t have done otherwise -to please any body.” - -Something must have warned Tom that Joe would be as good as his word, -for he had nothing more to say to him. He gradually fell behind and -allowed him to paddle down to the boat-house in peace. - - - - - CHAPTER XII. - - OFF FOR INDIAN LAKE. - - -WHEN Joe Wayring beached his canoe below the boat-house, he was -immediately surrounded by his friends who were impatient to hear all -about it. They knew there had been a foul, for some of the laggards in -the race had seen it; but they could not tell how it had been brought -about, or who was to blame for it. - -“It was Noble’s fault in the first place, and Tom Bigden’s in the -second,” said Joe, in response to their hurried inquiries. “It seems -that there are three ‘cliques’ in the club, one of which believes in -doing things fairly, while the other two do not. Loren Farnsworth was -‘booked’ by one of the cliques to win the paddle race, while Frank Noble -was the choice of the other. Each was determined that his opponent -should not win, and the result was most disgraceful—a deliberate -collision at the stake-boat in the presence of all these strangers. What -sort of a story will they carry back to the city about the Mount Airy -canoe club? Noble began the row by putting himself in Loren’s way and -Tom retaliated by capsizing Frank’s canoe and throwing him out into the -water.” - -“Do you think he meant to do it?” inquired Hastings, who was far in the -lead at the time, and could not of course see what was going on behind -him. - -“I know he did,” replied Joe, who then went on to give a circumstantial -account of the manner in which the fouling was done. The boys all -declared that it was a very neat trick, and one of them added— - -“That Tom Bigden’s cheek is something wonderful. As soon as he had -backed out of Loren’s way and laid himself across the course so that we -couldn’t get by him without losing more ground than we could possibly -make up, he called out that he claimed foul on that. Did you ever hear -of such impudence?” - -“Please give me your attention for one moment, gentlemen,” shouted the -president of the club; and Joe and his friends turned about to see the -referee perched upon a dry-goods box. - -“Young gentlemen,” said he, as the boys gathered around him, “the -contestants in the paddle race will go over the course again this -afternoon, one hour after lunch. They will be the same as before, with -the exception of Frank Noble and Thomas Bigden, whom I am compelled to -bar out. It is exceedingly unpleasant to me to be obliged to render this -decision, but the rules under which your sports are conducted leave me -no alternative.” - -“What do you think of that, fellows?” said Arthur Hastings. “If Bigden -isn’t satisfied now that he can’t run this club to suit his own ideas, I -shall always think he ought to be.” - -“Well, Noble,” said Prime. “You’re done for at last. You are ruled out -of every thing. What are you going to do?” - -“What are _you_ going to do?” asked Frank in reply. - -“I? Nothing at all. What can I do?” - -“You can go home with me, can’t you?” - -“Eh? Well—yes; I suppose I could, but I don’t want to. The fun is only -just beginning.” - -“And are you going to stay here and enjoy yourself and assist in making -the meet a success when one of your friends is barred out?” exclaimed -Noble, indignantly. “I didn’t think that of you, Prime. Why didn’t you -stay close to me so that you could put in a word to help me? You knew -what I was going to do.” - -“I couldn’t stay close to you. Those fellows in the lead made the pace -so hot that I had to fall behind, and I didn’t see the foul when it -occurred.” - -“No matter for that. You could have said something in my defense if you -had wanted to; but instead of standing by me, you left me to fight Joe -Wayring and the judge alone. Look there! Bigden’s cousins are not going -back on him as you are going back on me. Tom is preparing to go home, -and they are going with him.” - -But Noble did not know what a stormy time Tom had with Loren and Ralph -before he could induce them to forego all the sports and pleasures of -the meet. Loren was particularly obstinate. He was satisfied now that he -was a pretty good hand with a double paddle, and confident that if any -of the three recognized champions beat him when the afternoon race came -off, they would have to make their canoes get through the water faster -than they ever did before. Then there was the upset race, which Ralph -was almost sure he could win, and the greasy pole walk, with Miss -Arden’s silk flag to go to the best man—must they give up all these -things just because Tom had been ruled out? - -“What’s the reason I am ruled out?” exclaimed Tom, who was as mad as a -boy ever gets to be. “Isn’t it because I tried my best to help Loren win -the paddle race? I tell you that you don’t stand the least show of -winning any thing; but stay if you want to.” - -Ralph and Loren were well enough acquainted with Tom to know that there -was a volume of meaning in his last words. If they braved his anger they -would be sure to suffer for it in the end, and if Tom turned against -them, where could they look for friends and associates? Prime and his -followers would not have any thing more to do with them; Joe Wayring, -unless he was as blind as a bat, had seen quite enough to make him -suspicious of them; and when they came to look at it, they found that -they were in a very unenviable situation. - -“I’d give almost any thing if I could live the last half hour over -again,” declared Loren, after he had taken a few minutes in which to -consider the matter. “We’ve made Noble and his crowd so mad that they’ll -never look at us again, Tom is just as good as expelled from the club, -and we may as well give up all hope of being admitted to the -Toxophilites. We’re at outs with every body, and the only thing we can -do is to stand by one another.” - -Ralph thought so, too. Without wasting any more time in argument they -put on their long coats to cover up the uniforms they would probably -never wear again, shoved off their canoes, and set out for home; and no -one except Frank Noble saw them go. The other members of the club were -too much interested in their own affairs to pay any attention to the -movements of a boy who had gone deliberately to work to mar their day’s -enjoyment. - -“Tom’s got two fellows to stand by him, but I am left alone,” thought -Noble, with no little bitterness in his heart. “Prime and the rest of -them pretend to hate Wayring and his crowd, and yet they are willing to -stay and help on the sports after I have been kicked out of the lists. -For two cents I’d hunt up Wayring and tell him to look out for Scott and -Lord.” - -But he didn’t do it. He knew that such a proceeding would turn every -body against him, and he had made enemies enough already. Without -attracting attention he got into his canoe and paddled down to his -boat-house. - -The unfortunate ending of the paddle race had a most depressing effect -upon the members of the canoe club, some of whom declared that their -organization was on the eve of falling to pieces. After that every thing -“dragged”. The whole programme was duly carried out, but the contestants -did not enter into the sports with their usual spirit and energy. Scott -and Lord, who were “booked” for the sailing and upset races, -respectively, won nothing at all. They could not win fairly, and the -promptness with which Tom and Frank had been ruled out deterred them -from attempting any tricks. Arthur Hastings won the paddle race after a -hard struggle; Joe Wayring, being the first to walk the greasy pole, -carried off Miss Arden’s silk flag; and Roy for once went home as empty -handed as he came, the sailing and upset races being won by other boys. -But Roy wasn’t mad about it, as some of the unsuccessful ones were. He -had come there for a “good time”, and he had it; and his failure to win -a prize did not spoil his day’s sport. - -After the spectators had gone back to their hotels and all the members -of the club had set out for home, the three chums sat down in the -boat-house to compare notes. - -“I am glad it’s over,” said Roy, giving expression to the thoughts that -were passing through the minds of his companions. “It was the meanest -meet I ever heard of. I wouldn’t have had that affair at the stake-boat -happen for any thing. Those visitors from New London will say that we -are as bad as the professional oarsmen who saw their boats, and capsize -themselves on purpose.” - -“Well, you expected something of the kind, didn’t you?” said Joe. “I -did. When Bigden told me that there were certain boys in the club who -had been ‘booked’ to win certain races, I was sure that Prime had a -finger in the pie, and that the reason Tom told me about it was because -he had got mad at him or some member of his party. The events of the day -have proved that I was right. In making up the slate, Prime and his -friends either forgot or refused to give any of the races to Tom and his -cousins, and that was what caused the trouble.” - -“Well, it’s some satisfaction to know that they will never have a chance -to cause us any more trouble,” said Arthur. “They will withdraw from the -club, of course.” - -“I think there’s no doubt about that,” said Joe. “I know that that is -what I should do if I were in their place. As Tom Bigden said: ‘What’s -the use of belonging to a club if you are not allowed to take part in -the contests?’ I am of the opinion that they will band together and get -up a club of their own. Now let’s talk about something else. To-morrow -we start for Indian Lake.” - -This was a much more agreeable topic of conversation than the canoe -meet, and they talked about it until the lengthening shadows admonished -Arthur and Roy that it was time for them to set out for their homes. - -Indian Lake was a favorite place of resort for the Mount Airy sportsmen, -and for these three boys in particular. They went there regularly every -summer. The country about the village was not wild enough to suit them, -and besides the trout streams were so constantly fished by the New -London anglers, that they were beginning to show signs of giving out. -Joe and his friends were so well acquainted with the lake that they -never thought of taking a guide when they went there for recreation. -They went everywhere that a guide could take them, and with no fear of -being lost. They were joint partners in a skiff, which they had fitted -up with special reference to these annual trips—a strong, easy running -craft, so light that it could be carried over the portages without any -great outlay of strength, and so roomy that the boys could sleep in it -without being crowded. It was provided with lockers fore and aft, in -which the owners carried their extra clothing, provisions and camp -equipage, an awning to keep off the sun and a water-proof tent which -would keep them dry, no matter how hard the rain came down. With this -boat a journey of a hundred miles—that was the distance between Mount -Airy and Indian Lake, and there was a navigable water-course almost all -the way—was looked upon as a pleasure trip. The boys would have been -astonished if they had known what was to be the result of this -particular visit to the lake. - -That night there were three busy young fellows in Mount Airy, who were -packing up and getting ready for an early start on the following -morning. If you could have seen their things after they got them -together, you might have been surprised to see that there was not a -single fowling-piece among them. What was the use of taking guns into -the woods during the “close” season—that is, while the game was -protected by law? But each boy took with him a weapon which, in his -hands, was almost as deadly as a shot gun is in the hands of an ordinary -marksman—a long bow with its accompanying quiver full of arrows. The law -permitted them to shoot loons—if they could. At any rate it was sport to -try, and to see the lightning-like movements of the bird as it went -under water at the twang of the bow-string. - -“There’s one thing about your outfit that doesn’t look just right,” said -Uncle Joe, pointing to the heavy bait-rod which his nephew placed in the -corner beside his long bow. “The idea of catching trout with a thing -like that, and worms for bait! Before you go into the woods again I will -see that you have a nice light fly-rod.” - -“But I can’t throw a fly,” said Joe. - -“Well, you can learn, can’t you?” - -Joe said he thought he could, and there the matter rested for a whole -year. - -The next morning at four o’clock Joe Wayring was sitting on the wharf in -front of the boat-house, watching Arthur Hastings, who was coming up the -lake in the skiff. When he arrived Joe passed down to him two cases, one -containing his long bow and quiver, the other his bait-rod and dip-net, -a bundle of blankets, a soldier’s knapsack with a change of clothing in -it, and the contents of a big market basket. The basket itself was left -on the wharf, because it would have taken up too much valuable space in -the lockers. Mars, the Newfoundlander, begged to go, too, and growled -spitefully at Arthur’s little cocker spaniel, which growled defiantly -back at him from his safe perch on the stern locker. Jim (that was the -spaniel’s name), always went on these expeditions as body-guard and -sentinel. He seemed to have a deep sense of the responsibility that -rested upon him, and the arrogant and overbearing manner in which he -conducted himself toward strangers, proved that he considered himself to -be of some consequence in the world. He was a featherweight and took up -but little room; while the Newfoundlander’s huge bulk would have been -sadly in their way. They might as well have added another boy to the -party. - -Having stowed his supplies and equipments away in the lockers, Joe -picked up an oar and assisted Arthur to pull the skiff up to Mr. -Sheldon’s boat-house, where they found Roy waiting for them. He soon -transferred himself and his belongings from the wharf to the cock-pit, -and then the skiff went at a rapid rate across the lake toward the -river, the boys chanting a boat song as they steadily plied the oars. -They paused a moment at the head of the rapids, and as they gazed at -them, Arthur said— - -“How do you suppose Matt Coyle ever succeeded in getting that big heavy -punt of his down there? I wouldn’t make the passage in her for all the -money there is in Mount Airy.” - -“It’s a wonder to me that he didn’t smash her all to pieces,” said Joe. -“She’s in Sherwin’s Pond now, I suppose, and there she will have to -stay, for there is no way to get her out. I wonder what Matt has done -with my canoe?” - -“Oh, he has snagged and sunk her before this time,” replied Roy, -consolingly. “I wonder what he has done with the rod he stole from me?” - -“Some black bass has smashed it for him most likely,” said Arthur. “At -any rate you will never handle it again.” - -The boys had from the first given up all hope of ever recovering their -lost property. The deputy sheriff and constable, stimulated to extra -exertion by the offer of a large reward by the Mount Airy authorities, -had scoured the woods in every direction in search of the thief, but -their efforts had met with no success. They found the site of Matt’s -shanty, as we have said, but the shanty itself had disappeared. So had -Matt and his family, and the officers could not get upon their trail. -Perhaps if we go back to the day on which Matt stole Joe Wayring’s canoe -and follow his fortunes for a short time, we shall see what the reason -was. - -When the squatter picked up Joe’s double paddle and shoved away from the -shore, after taking possession of all the fishing rods and bundles that -he could lay his hand on, he told himself that he had done something -toward paying off the Mount Airy people for the shameful manner in which -they had treated him and his family. - -“They wouldn’t let us stay up there to the village an’ earn an honest -livin’, like we wanted to do,” said Matt, with a chuckle, “an’ now I’ll -show ’em how much they made by it. Them things must be wuth a power of -money,” he went on, looking down at the elegant rods which he had -unjointed and laid on the bottom of the canoe, “an’ I reckon mebbe we’ve -got grub enough to last us fur a day or two—good grub, too, sich as -don’t often come into our house less’n we hooks it. This is a powerful -nice little boat, this canoe is, an’ now we’ll go up to Injun Lake, an’ -me an’ the boys will set up fur independent guides. If they won’t have -us there, we’ll bust up the business.” - -While communing thus with himself the squatter did not neglect to ply -his paddle vigorously, nor to look over his shoulder now and then to -satisfy himself that his rascality had not yet been discovered. But Joe -and his companions spent fully half an hour in roaming about through the -woods, looking for the bear and shooting squirrels for their dinner, and -when they came out, Matt was nowhere in sight. He had crossed the pond, -and was urging the canoe up a narrow winding creek toward his -habitation. With a caution which had become a part of his nature, he had -concealed his place of abode so effectually that a fleet of canoeists -might have passed up the creek without knowing that there was a shanty -within less than a stone’s throw of them. The only visible sign that any -body had ever been in the creek was a disreputable looking punt, with a -stove and battered bow, which was drawn out upon the bank. She had had a -hard time of it in getting through the rapids, and it was a mystery how -Matt had saved himself from a capsize, and kept his miserable old craft -afloat until he could get her up the creek. She had carried the squatter -and all his worldly possessions for many a long mile on Indian Lake and -its tributary streams, but her days of usefulness were over now. Her -trip down the rapids was the last she ever made. She was in Sherwin’s -Pond and there she must stay. - -“Hi, there!” yelled Matt, as he ran the bow of the canvas canoe upon the -bank. - -An answering yelp came from the bushes, and presently Matt’s wife and -boys came hurrying out. They would not have expressed the least surprise -if the squatter had come back with as many turkeys or chickens as he -could conveniently carry, because they were accustomed to such things; -but to see him in possession of a nice little canoe, five silver mounted -fishing rods and as many big bundles, excited their astonishment. - -“Where did you get ’em, old man, an’ what’s into them there bundles?” -was the woman’s whispered inquiry. - -“I got ’em up there in the pond clost to the foot of the rapids,” -answered Matt, gleefully. “I’ll learn them rich fellers up to Mount Airy -to treat a gentleman right the next time they see one. We’re jest as -good as they be if we are poor.” - -“Course we be,” said Jake, Matt’s oldest boy. “What’s them there -things—fish poles? I want one of ’em.” - -“All right. You an’ Sam take your pick, an’ we’ll sell the rest. If you -see a feller that is needin’ a pole, you can tell him that you know -where he can get one worth the money.” - -“About how much?” queried Jake. - -“Wal,” said Matt, reflectively, “them poles must have cost nigh onto -five dollars; but seein’ that they’re second hand we will have to take a -leetle less fur ’em—say two an’ a half.” - -“An’ how much be them there things with the cranks onto ’em wuth?” asked -Sam. - -“’Bout the same. You tell the feller, when you find him, that he can -have a pole an’ a windlass fur five dollars.” - -This showed how much the squatter knew about some things. There wasn’t a -rod in the lot that cost less than twenty dollars, or a reel that was -worth less than thirteen. Matt would have thought himself rich if he had -known the real value of the property he had in his possession. - -“What’s into them there bundles?” demanded the old woman. - -“Grub,” answered Matt. “Good grub, too.” - -In less time than it takes to tell it, the bundles had been jerked out -of the canoe and torn open. Matt’s family was always hungry, and his -wife and boys fairly gloated over the hard boiled eggs, bacon, sardines, -sandwiches and other nice things which the boys’ thoughtful mothers had -put up for their dinner. - -“Rich folks has nice grub to eat, don’t they?” said Jake, speaking as -plainly as a mouthful of bread and meat would permit. - -“Yes; an’ we’ll soon be in a fix to have nice things, too,” said Matt, -confidently. “I’ve got a boat of my own now, an’ I’m goin’ to Injun Lake -an’ set myself up fur a guide.” - -“But, pap, they drove us away from there once,” exclaimed Jake. “They -was jest like the Mount Airy folks—they didn’t want us around.” - -“Don’t I know it?” cried Matt, laying down his sandwich long enough to -shake both his fists in the air. “But they won’t drive us away again, I -bet you, ’cause it’ll be wuss for ’em if they try it. I’ll kick up sich -a rumpus in them woods that every body will steer cl’ar of ’em; then -what’ll become of them big hotels when they ain’t got no custom to -support ’em? I reckon we’d best be gettin’ away from here this very -night. I’m in a hurry to get to guidin’ so’t I can make some money -before the season’s over, an’ besides I kinder want to get outen the way -of that there constable. He’ll be along directly, lookin’ fur these -things, an’ I don’t care to see him.” - -“What’ll we do with the house?” asked the old woman. “We can’t tote it -cl’ar to the lake on our backs.” - -“Course not. We’ll burn it an’ the punt, too. They won’t never be of no -more use, ’cause ’taint no ways likely that we shall ever come here -agin’, an’ we ain’t goin’ to leave ’em fur them Mount Airy fellers to -use when they come to the pond huntin’ an’ fishin’.” - -The squatter need not have borrowed trouble on this score. There was not -a hunter or a fisherman in the village who could have been induced to -occupy his shanty or use his punt, for, like their owners, they were -things to be avoided. But Matt and his family seemed to think that they -would be accommodating somebody if they left them there, and the order -to destroy them by fire was carried out as soon as they had eaten the -last of the stolen provisions. - -While his wife was engaged in removing the bedding and cooking utensils, -and tying them in small bundles so that they could be easily carried, -and the boys were at work hauling the punt out of the water and turning -it up against the house so that the two would burn together, Matt busied -himself in putting the rods into their cases; after which he walked -around the canvas canoe and gave it a good looking over. Tom Bigden had -told him that if he didn’t want to carry the canoe on his back, he could -take it to pieces and carry it in his hand as he would a gripsack; but -the trouble was, Matt did not know how to go to work to take it apart. -Every thing fitted snugly, and he could not find any place to begin. The -only parts of it that he could move were the bottom boards; and when he -had taken them out, the frame-work of the canoe was as solid as ever. He -spent a quarter of a hour in unavailing efforts to start something, and -then giving it up as a task beyond his powers, he decided that the only -thing he could do was to carry it as he would carry any other canoe. A -less experienced man would have shrunk from the undertaking. It was -fully twenty miles to the river which connected the two lakes, and the -course lay through a dense forest where there was not even the semblance -of a path. But there was no other way to get the canoe to Indian Lake. - -Meanwhile, Matt’s wife and boys had worked to such good purpose that -every thing was ready for the start. Each one had a bundle to carry, and -the boys had set fire to a quantity of light wood which they had piled -in the middle of the shanty. They lingered long enough to see the fire -fairly started, and then turned their faces hopefully toward Indian -Lake, the old woman leading the way, and Matt bringing up the rear with -the canvas canoe on his back. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII. - - SNAGGED AND SUNK. - - -HAVING plenty of time at their disposal, Joe Wayring and his friends -were in no particular hurry to reach Indian Lake. After they entered the -river they kept the skiff moving rapidly, but at the same time they did -not neglect to keep their eyes open for “rovers”—that is, any objects, -animate or inanimate, that would give them an opportunity to try their -skill with their long bows. If a thieving crow, a murderous blue jay, or -a piratical kingfisher showed himself within range, the sharp hiss of an -arrow admonished him that there were enemies close at hand. Kingfishers -were objects of especial dislike. The boys were fish culturists in a -small way, and had stocked a pond on Mr. Sheldon’s grounds. On the very -day that the “fry” were put into it, the kingfishers and minks made -their appearance, and then began a contest which had been kept up ever -since. By the aid of traps and breech-loaders the boys waged an -incessant warfare upon the interlopers, and finally succeeded in -thinning them out so that the trout were allowed to rest in comparative -peace. - -The boys did not stop at noon, but ate their lunch as they floated along -with the current. The monotony of the afternoon’s run was broken by an -hour’s chase after an eagle, which they did not succeed in shooting, -although one of Roy’s arrows ruffled the feathers on his back, and by a -long search for an otter which swam across the river in advance of them. -About four o’clock in the afternoon they reached a favorite camping, or -rather, anchoring ground, a deep pool noted for its fine yellow perch, -and there they decided to stop for the night. The anchor was dropped -overboard just above the pool, and when the skiff swung to the current, -the bait-rods they had purchased to replace those that Matt Coyle had -stolen from them, were taken out of the lockers, floats were rigged, a -box of worms which they had been thoughtful enough to bring with them -was opened, and the sport commenced. - -The fish in that pool were always hungry, and the floats disappeared as -fast as they were dropped into the water. A few “fingerlings” were put -back to be caught again after they had had time to grow larger, but the -most of those they captured were fine fellows, and heavy enough to make -a stubborn resistance. In less than half an hour they had taken all they -wanted for supper, and then the anchor was pulled up and the skiff drawn -alongside the bank. Roy and Joe went ashore to clean the fish, and -Arthur staid in the boat to put up the tent. This done, he brought out a -pocket cooking stove which he placed on the forward locker, and by the -time the fish were ready, he had an omelet browning in the frying pan. -That, together with an ample supply of fried perch, bread and butter and -a cup of weak tea, made up a supper to which they did full justice. - -There were still a few hours of daylight left, and as soon as the dishes -had been washed and packed away in the locker, the boys took their bows -and went ashore to stretch their legs and shoot at “rovers”. Arthur -succeeded in bringing down a kingfisher after half an hour’s hard -stalking, and his companions shot a squirrel apiece for breakfast. Just -at dusk they met at the boat, which was hauled out into the stream and -anchored. The jack-lamp was lighted and hung upon one of the poles that -supported the tent, the rubber mattress was inflated, and the three -friends lounged around and talked until they began to grow sleepy. Then -the blankets and pillows were brought to light, one side of the tent was -buttoned down to the gunwale, the other being left up to admit the air, -and the boys laid down to sleep, trusting to Jim to give them notice of -the approach of danger. He gave them notice before three hours had -passed away. - -About midnight the spaniel, which for half an hour or more had been very -restless, suddenly jumped to his feet and set up a frightful yelping. If -some one had been pounding him he could not have been in greater -distress. The boys started up in alarm to find the sky overcast with -black clouds, the wind coming down the river in strong and fitful gusts -and the anchor dragging. There was a storm coming up, it promised to be -a severe one, too, but it did not find the young voyagers unprepared to -meet it. The forward end of the tent was promptly rolled up, a spare -anchor dropped into the water, and the skiff was again brought to a -stand-still. By that time the rain was falling in sheets, but the boys -paid no sort of attention to it. They buttoned the tent down all around -and went to sleep again, fully satisfied with the precautions they had -taken. Jim was satisfied too, although he thought it necessary to -slumber lightly. Whenever a strong gust of wind came roaring down the -river, he would turn his head on one side and look critically at the -anchor ropes, which led through ring-bolts in the bow, and were made -fast to cleats on the forward locker; and having made sure that the -ground tackle was doing its full duty, he would go to sleep again. - -The night passed without further incident, the morning dawned clear and -bright, and after a breakfast of fried perch and broiled squirrel, the -boys resumed their journey toward Indian Lake. On the evening of the -fifth day after leaving Mount Airy, they found themselves within a short -distance of their destination; but instead of going on to the lake they -turned into a creek which connected the river with a lonely pond that -lay deep in the forest. They did not intend to go to Indian Lake until -they stood in need of supplies. There were big hotels and a crowd of -guests there, and they saw enough of them at home. To quote from Joe -Wayring, their object was to get away from every body and be lazy. - -The sun went down long before they turned into the creek, and night was -coming on; but they pushed ahead in order to reach a favorite anchorage -in the mouth of a little brook, whose waters could be relied on to -furnish them with a breakfast of trout. They laid out all their strength -on the oars and the skiff flew swiftly and noiselessly up the stream, -its movements being governed by Arthur Hastings, who looked over his -shoulder now and then to take his bearings. After they had been speeding -along for half an hour, he began keeping a sharp lookout for the brook; -and once when he turned around he thought he saw a moving object in the -creek a short distance away. He looked again, and a thrill of exultation -and excitement ran all through him. - -“Joe,” said he, in a scarcely audible whisper, “there’s your canvas -canoe, as sure as I’m a foot high.” - -“Where?” exclaimed Joe and Roy, turning quickly about on their seats. - -In reply Arthur pointed silently up the creek. His companions looked, -and then they too became excited. There was a canoe in advance of them -sure enough, and dark as it was, they instantly recognized it as the one -Matt Coyle had stolen from Joe Wayring. - -There was somebody in it, and he was plying his double paddle as if he -were in a great hurry. He did not appear to know that there was any one -besides himself in the creek, for he never once looked behind him. - -“It isn’t big enough for Matt, and so it must be one of his boys,” -whispered Roy. - -“Boy or man, he shall not go much further with that canoe.” said Joe in -a resolute tone. “That’s my boat and I’m going to have it, if you -fellows will stand by me.” - -“Now Joe!” exclaimed Roy, reproachfully. - -“I didn’t mean that. Of course I know that you can be depended on,” said -Joe, hastily. “Let’s take after him. If we find that we can’t take the -canoe away from him, we’ll sink her. Matt Coyle shan’t have her any -longer.” - -The three oars fell into the water simultaneously, and the skiff shot -silently up the creek in pursuit of the canoe, whose occupant was making -his double paddle whirl through the air like the shafts of a windmill. -An oar rattled behind him and aroused him from his reverie. He faced -about to see the skiff close upon him. The night had grown so dark that -he could not tell who the crew were, but he knew that they would not -come at him in that fashion unless they had some object in view. Matt -and his boys always had the fear of the law before their eyes, and Jake, -believing that a constable or deputy sheriff was in pursuit of him, -turned about and churned the water into foam in his desperate attempt to -outrun the skiff. He succeeded in getting a good deal of speed out of -his clumsy craft, but fast as he went the pursuers gained at every -stroke. - -“Hold on with that boat!” shouted Arthur. “We’ve got you and you might -as well give in.” - -But Jake wasn’t that sort. He redoubled his exertions with the paddle, -but all of a sudden his progress was stopped so quickly that Jake left -his seat and pitched headlong into the bow of the canoe. Speaking in -western parlance he had “picked up a snag” whose sharp, gnarled end -penetrated the canvas covering of the canoe, tearing a hole in it that -was as big as Jake’s head. It did not hang there but floated off with -the current, and began filling rapidly. In a few seconds she was out of -sight, and Jake was making all haste to reach the shore. A moment later -the skiff dashed up, and Roy Sheldon struck a vicious blow at the -swimmer with his oar; but he was just out of reach. A few long strokes -brought him to shallow water, two jumps took him to dry land, and in an -instant more he was out of sight in the bushes. - -“What tumbled him out so suddenly?” exclaimed Joe. - -“Look out, boys! There’s a snag right under us,” said Roy. - -“Where in the world is the boat?” inquired Arthur. - -“There she is,” answered Joe, pointing to a swirl in the water which -marked the spot where the canvas canoe was quietly settling down on the -bottom of the creek. - -“Sunk!” cried Roy. “So she is. She must have a cargo of some sort -aboard, or she would not have gone down like that. Now, what’s to be -done?” - -“We can’t do any thing to-night,” replied Joe. “I propose that we anchor -here and wait until morning comes to show us how she lies. If the water -isn’t over thirty feet deep we can raise her.” - -The others agreeing to this proposition, the ground tackle was got -overboard, and Roy, who handled the rope, encouraged Joe by assuring him -that the water was not an inch over twelve feet deep. - -“If that is the case,” said the latter, hopefully, “I shall soon have my -boat back again. It will be no trouble at all to take a line down twelve -feet. I’d give something to know what she is loaded with.” - -“Contraband goods, I’ll be bound,” said Arthur. “The fruits of a raid on -somebody’s smoke-house or hen-roost. I am sorry to know that Matt Coyle -is in the neighborhood, for we don’t know at what moment he may jump -down on us and steal something.” - -“We mustn’t let him catch us off our guard,” said Roy. “It won’t be safe -to leave the skiff alone for a minute.” - -The boys’ hands were as busy as their tongues, and in a short time the -tent was up, a light from the jack-lamp was streaming out over the -water, and the appetizing odor of fried bacon filled the air. The -knowledge that the thieving squatter was no great distance away, and -that he might make his appearance at any moment, did not cause them to -eat lighter suppers than usual, nor did it interfere with their -customary sound and refreshing sleep. They felt safe from attack. They -did not believe that Matt Coyle had a boat (they knew very well that he -could not have brought the punt with him), and consequently there was no -way for him to reach them unless he resorted to swimming; and they did -not think he would be foolish enough to try that. - -The boys slept soundly that night, but the next morning’s sun found them -astir. Arthur made a cup of coffee over the pocket cooking stove, after -which the tent was taken down, and Joe Wayring made ready for business -by divesting himself of his clothing. - -The first thing was to find out just where the canoe lay, and that did -not take them as long as they thought it would. The water was as clear -as crystal, and every thing on the bottom could be plainly seen by Joe -and Roy, who leaned as far as they could over opposite sides of the -skiff, while Arthur rowed them back and forth in the vicinity of the -snag. - -“There she is!” cried Roy, suddenly; and as he spoke he caught up the -anchor and dropped it overboard. “We’re right over her, and there isn’t -a snag or any other obstruction in the way.” - -Joe Wayring stepped upon the forward locker, holding in his hand one end -of a rope which he had coiled down on the bottom of the skiff so that it -would run out easily, and as soon as the boat stopped swinging he dived -out of sight. When the commotion in the water occasioned by his descent -had ceased, his companions could observe every move he made as he -scrambled about over the sunken canoe, and presently they saw him coming -up. - -“Haul away,” said Joe, as he shook the water from his face and climbed -back into the skiff. - -“What’s it fast to?” asked Roy. - -“A bag of potatoes.” - -“What did I tell you?” exclaimed Arthur Hastings. “I knew that fellow -had been on a plundering expedition.” - -“But you thought he had been robbing somebody’s hen-roost or -smoke-house,” Roy reminded him. - -“And so he has,” said Joe. “There’s a whole side of bacon down there.” - -The boys pulled gently on the line, and presently the bag of potatoes -came to the surface. It was seized and hauled into the skiff, the line -was unfastened and passed over to Joe, who was about to go down again, -when his movements were arrested by the snapping of twigs and the sound -of voices which came from the depths of the woods. They were angry -voices, too, and rendered somewhat indistinct by distance and -intervening bushes, but the boys recognized them at once. - -“There comes Matt Coyle, his wife and both their boys,” said Joe. “Now -we shall hear something.” - -“I wonder what they think they are going to do,” said Roy. “Just listen -to the noise they make in crashing through the brush. One would think -there were a lot of wild cattle in there.” - -Joe Wayring did not await their appearance, but went down to reeve the -line through a ring-bolt in the stern-post of the sunken canoe, and to -bring up her painter and the side of bacon. When he arose to the surface -Matt Coyle and his family were striding up and down the bank, shaking -their fists and swearing lustily. - -“That there is my hog-meat, too,” roared the squatter, as Joe tossed the -bacon into the skiff. “I want it an’ I’m goin’ to have it, I tell you.” - -“We don’t know that these provisions rightfully belong to you,” said -Roy. “We have an idea that you stole them last night or, rather,—” - -“No, I didn’t steel ’em nuther,” shouted Matt. - -“Or, rather, that one of your boys did,” continued Roy, while Joe hung -on to the side of the skiff and looked over it at the angry party on the -shore. “I am sure we don’t want them.” - -“Then bring ’em ashore like we told you,” screamed the old woman. -“You’re thieves yourselves if you keep ’em.” - -“Do you see any thing green about us?” demanded Arthur. “I’ll tell you -what we will do: If you will stay there on the bank in plain sight until -we get our boat raised, we will go up the creek and leave the potatoes -and bacon opposite the mouth of the trout brook, so that you can get -them after we have gone away. What are you going to do with those -sticks?” he added, addressing himself to the two boys who just then came -out of the bushes with a heavy club in each hand. - -“We’re goin’ to knock you out o’ that boat if you don’t fetch that there -grub of our’n ashore without no more foolin’,” answered Jake, in -threatening tones. “It’s our’n an’ we’re goin’ to have it back.” - -“That’s the idee, Jakey,” exclaimed the old woman, approvingly. “Knock -the young ’ristocrats out o’ their boat. I reckon that’ll bring ’em to -time.” - -“If you try that, I’ll lay some of you out flatter than so many -pancakes,” returned Roy, defiantly; and as he spoke he tore open the bag -containing the potatoes. Catching up one in each hand, his example being -promptly followed by Arthur Hastings, he arose to his feet just in time -to dodge one of Jake’s clubs, which came whirling through the air -straight for his head. Before the missile had struck the water on the -other side of the skiff, Roy launched one of his potatoes at the -aggressor. Like most left-handed fellows Roy could throw like lightning; -and the potato, flying true to its aim and with terrific force, struck -Jake fairly in the pit of the stomach, and doubled him up like a -jack-knife. - -“That’s the idee, Jakey,” yelled Joe Wayring, who was delighted with the -accuracy of his chum’s shot. “Knock them young ’ristocrats out o’ their -boat. I reckon that’ll bring ’em to time. Throw another, Jakey.” - -But Jake was in no condition to throw another. It was a long time before -he could get his breath; and when he did get it, the howls with which he -awoke the echoes of the surrounding woods were wonderful to hear. The -squatter’s family, believing that Jake had been mortally wounded, -gathered about him with expressions of sympathy, and Joe Wayring took -advantage of the confusion to climb into the skiff and put on his -clothes. If there was going to be a fight he wanted to take a hand in -it. - -“Whoop!” shrieked the old woman, rolling up her sleeves and shaking a -pair of huge, tan-colored fists at the object of her wrath. “If I was a -man I’d swim off to that there boat an’ maul the last one of you. Matt, -why don’t you do it? Seems like you was afeard of them fellers.” - -“Yes, Matt, why don’t you do it?” said Arthur, encouragingly. - -“Yes, Matt, show a little pluck,” chimed in Roy. “Come on. Swim off to -us; and if I don’t sink you before you have got ten feet from the shore, -I’m a Dutchman.” - -“I don’t think we have any thing more to fear from them,” said Joe, in a -low tone. “It’s a lucky thing for us that Roy thought of using those -potatoes. If we had nothing to defend ourselves with they could drive us -away from here very easily. Now let’s raise the canoe, and go up to the -brook and catch our breakfast. I’m getting hungry.” - -It was scarcely two minutes’ work to bring the wreck to the surface. It -readily yielded to the strain that Joe and Arthur brought to bear upon -the lines, and as soon as they could get hold of it, they drew it into -the skiff stern foremost, thus compelling the water with which it was -filled to run out at the hole in the bow. After that it was turned -bottom upward over the stern locker and lashed fast. Of course Matt -Coyle and his family had not been silent all this while. They had kept -up a constant storm of threats and abuse, and the squatter fairly danced -with rage when he saw the boat, with which he had expected to accomplish -so much in the way of “independent guidin’” was lost to him forever. But -they did not attempt any more violence, for Roy stood guard over his -companions with a potato in each hand, and ready to open fire on them at -any moment. - -“Now, then!” exclaimed Joe, as he pulled up the anchor while the other -boys shipped their oars, “do you want these provisions, or don’t you?” - -“Course I want ’em,” growled Matt, in reply. “They’re mine, an’ we ain’t -got no grub to eat.” - -“All right. I don’t suppose that you have the shadow of a right to them, -but we will give them up to you if you will do as we say.” - -“Wal, I won’t do as you say, nuther,” declared Matt. “I ain’t goin’ to -let myself be bossed around by no ’ristocrats, I bet you.” - -“Then you shan’t have the potatoes,” said Joe, decidedly. “Give way, -boys.” - -“Say! Hold on, there,” exclaimed Matt, whose larder was empty and had -been for some time. “What do you want me to do?” - -“We want you to stay right there on the bank until we can go up and land -your provisions on the point opposite the mouth of the brook,” replied -Joe. “You must keep out in plain sight, mind you, for if you go back -into the woods we shall think you are up to something, and then you can -whistle for your grub.” - -As Joe said this he shipped an oar, and the skiff moved up the creek -toward the point. The boys kept a close watch over Matt Coyle, but he -never left the bank. He was biding his time, so he told his wife and -boys. Joe and his friends had the advantage of him now, but there might -come a day when he could catch them off their guard, and then they had -better look out. If he couldn’t take vengeance on them this summer, he -would do it next summer. He would follow them wherever they went; and if -he couldn’t get a chance to steal every thing they had, he would make -the country about Indian Lake so warm for them that they would be glad -to go somewhere else to spend their vacations. - -As Matt remained on the bank in plain sight and did not attempt to -approach them under cover of the bushes, the boys landed the provisions, -according to promise—that is, they put some of them on the point; but -Roy was sharp enough to keep out about half a peck of the potatoes to be -used in case of emergency. This being done, they pulled across the creek -into the mouth of the brook to catch a mess of trout, which they decided -to cook over a fire on the bank. The breeze was so strong that the lamp -in their little stove would not burn in the open air, and they knew that -if they put up their tent, Matt and his boys would have the advantage if -they opened a fire of clubs upon them when they came after their -potatoes and bacon. - -It was well that they took these precautions, for when the squatter -appeared on the opposite bank he was fierce for a fight. He and his -backers were all armed with clubs, one of which was sent sailing through -the air toward the skiff. Jim was sitting on one of the lockers, -impatiently waiting to be called to breakfast, and the club, after -glancing from the side of the boat, struck him in the ribs and tumbled -him off into the creek. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV. - - THE HISTORIAN CONCLUDES HIS NARRATIVE. - - -“WHOOP-EE!” yelled Matt Coyle, dancing about on the bank in high glee. -“That was a good shot. Lookout! Here comes another that’s goin’ to send -some of you to keep company with the purp. I reckon we’ve got you whar -we want you this time, cause the taters is all on our side the creek.” - -As the squatter spoke a second club left his hand, being thrown with so -much force and accuracy that if the boys had not been on the alert, some -and perhaps all of them would have been knocked overboard, for the -missile was almost as long as the cock-pit, and as it came through the -air with a rotary motion, it covered space enough to hit all their heads -at once. This was the signal for a perfect shower of clubs. Every one of -the family had two or more, which were thrown as rapidly as they could -be changed from one hand to the other, and Joe and his chums were kept -so busy dodging them, that they could not find opportunity to return the -fire. But when the squatter and his allies had thrown all their clubs -without effect, and thus disarmed themselves, the boys sprang to their -feet and opened their battery. The first potato Roy threw took Jake -square in the mouth, bringing forth another series of doleful yells from -that unlucky young ruffian, and the second put the old woman’s right arm -in a sling for a week. At the same moment Arthur wiped out the insult -that had been put upon Jim by taking Matt a whack under the eye that -raised a lump as large as a hen’s egg. - -“Whoop-ee!” shouted Joe Wayring, as a potato from his own hand struck -Sam’s tattered cap from his head. “That was a bully shot. Look out! Here -comes another. We ain’t got no taters on this side of the creek, I -reckon.” - -The fusillade that followed was a hot one, and the squatter and his -family, finding that they could not stand against it, beat a hasty -retreat into the bushes. Then Arthur turned to assist Jim, who had been -making desperate but unavailing efforts to climb into the skiff. He -wasn’t hurt at all, but he was very mad. - -The plucky boys were not called upon to defend themselves. Matt Coyle -made an attempt to secure the provisions, but went back with an aching -head and a bloody nose, and the three chums saw no more of him that -summer. But they heard him. From his place of concealment in the bushes -the squatter and his wife abused them roundly, and shouted at them -threats that were enough to frighten almost any body. - -The boys caught a fine string of trout, cooked and ate breakfast in -peace, and then kept on up the creek toward the pond. As soon as they -were out of range, Matt and his family came from their hiding-places -after the potatoes and bacon; but they made no demonstration beyond -showing the boys their fists and swearing at them. - -After that things went smoothly with Joe and his companions. They -thoroughly enjoyed their outing, and when it was ended they went home -with a new lease of life, and with brains invigorated to such degrees -that they were ready to grapple with any thing that might come before -them during the school term, which was to begin on the following Monday. - -During the year affairs in Mount Airy moved along in much the same way -that they do in every little village which can boast of a popular high -school and rival organizations of almost every kind. After the canoe -meet, the line was sharply drawn between the two opposing factions. They -did not come to open warfare, but they were intensely hostile, and a -very little thing would have precipitated a fight between Joe Wayring -and his friends on one side, and Noble, Scott, Prime and Tom Bigden and -his cousins on the other; for the latter did not long remain at swords’ -points with the boys who made their head-quarters at the drug-store. -They had a stormy time when they first came together, and Tom announced -his readiness to thrash all the boys who had interfered with Loren -during the paddle race, provided they would come one at a time; but -Prime and a few others exerted themselves to bring order out of the -confusion, and through their efforts Tom was elected president of the -new canoe club which was organized at once. But that did not satisfy -him. If he could have had his own way in the matter, he would have -preferred to be a respected member of the other club without any office -at all. Besides, Prime and his friends could not forget that Tom, a -new-comer, had deliberately “booked” himself and his cousins for all the -best races, in utter disregard of the rights of those who ought to have -been allowed to win. They never quite forgave him for that, and there -was not that harmony in the new club that there ought to have been in -order to insure its prosperity. Tom was also elected short-stop in -Prime’s ball-club, and in the first match game that was played, had the -gratification of putting out Joe Wayring and Arthur Hastings every time -they went to the bat. That did Tom more good than any thing he had -accomplished since he came to Mount Airy, although he did feel rather -mean when Joe and Arthur complimented him on his swift and accurate -throwing. - -At the next meeting of the Toxophilites many vacancies were made by the -resignation of boys who knew that they stood a fine chance of being -expelled for what they had done at the canoe meet, and by the voluntary -withdrawal of a number of others, who preferred Prime’s company and -Noble’s to the companionship of fellows who were willing to be ruled by -a lot of girls. - -In the new club, of which Loren Farnsworth was chosen secretary, there -were no restrictions laid upon cribbage, cigars and billiards, and so -very good-natured was the master bowman, that he did not even object to -pipes when his men were drilling in the ranks. But he insisted on prompt -and regular attendance at all the meetings, because he wanted his -company to march in the procession on the next 4th of July. - -“Say, captain,” exclaimed Tom Bigden one night after the long, fatiguing -drill was over. “We had forty men in line to-night, and I think we went -through the school of the company in a very creditable way, if some of -us are green. Couldn’t we get up a street parade just to show the -Toxophilites that some folks can do things as well as others?” - -The captain was Frank Noble, and a very good drill-master he had proved -himself to be; although he was hardly strict enough to suit a veteran, -seeing that he permitted his men to smoke in the ranks. - -“I have been thinking about that,” replied the captain, as the young -archers gathered about him after putting their long bows away in the -lockers. “But I think it would be better to wait awhile. It will not be -long before the lake will be frozen over, and then we will give an -exhibition drill on the ice. What’s the matter with that?” - -“Nothing,” shouted all the boys. “It’s the very thing.” - -“Well, then, in order to accustom ourselves to the movements and -evolutions, let every fellow bring his rollers next Thursday night, and -we will see what we can do with them.” - -The boys thought it the best thing they had ever heard of, but Scott had -a suggestion to make. - -“Why can’t we rent the rink for a few nights?” said he. “This armory is -hardly large enough, and besides, the floor isn’t as smooth as it might -be.” - -“We could engage the rink, of course,” replied the captain. “But if we -do, the Toxophilites will find out what is going on, and we don’t want -them to know any thing about it.” - -“Why, as to that, they are bound to know about it,” said Tom. “We can’t -keep it from them. You know what a fearful noise rollers make, don’t -you?” - -“Well, we can’t help that,” answered Frank. “If we do our drilling here, -they can’t look through the windows and see what we are about, as they -could if we drilled at the rink. Now, if you want to go into this, you -must be on hand every night. I will promise to get you in fine trim by -the time the ice is in condition, if you will only attend to business.” - -“I wonder if we couldn’t get up a competitive drill with the -Toxophilites?” said Loren. - -“Not much,” replied Prime, with a laugh. “There are too many raw -recruits among us.” - -“We’ll wait and give them a pull for something at the next canoe meet,” -said Tom. - -“You don’t expect to enter for any of the prizes next summer, do you?” - -“Of course I do,” replied Tom, “and so do my cousins. We have sent to -New London for a rowing machine, and intend to keep up our practice all -winter.” - -“You might as well make kindling wood of that rowing machine when it -comes to hand, for it will not do you any good as far as winning a prize -from Joe Wayring is concerned,” said Scott. “You can’t race with him.” - -“I’ll see how that is,” answered Tom, who was thinking about one thing -while Scott was thinking about another. “I was under the impression that -when our new club was organized, it was the sentiment of the members -that we were to challenge their best men for every thing. Before we can -do that, it will be necessary to have a series of trial races among -ourselves in order to determine who stand the best chance of winning, -and I calculate to be one of the select few.” - -“I believe some of the fellows did speak about that, but it was all -talk,” said Captain Noble. “You see, Tom, you and I have been ruled out -of every thing by the referee’s decision on the day of the meet, and you -don’t suppose that our friends here are going to take part in sports -that we can’t have a hand in, do you? Haven’t we promised to stand by -one another?” - -“Oh,” said Tom, “I didn’t know what Scott meant, but I understand the -matter now. The others won’t compete because you and I can’t. I am glad -to hear it.” - -“Of course we are not barred out of any thing except the sports that -take place during the canoe meet,” added Prime. “We can play ball or -lawn tennis or polo with them. We can send a team to beat them at target -shooting, and we can enter our sail-boats for prizes in the regatta; but -I, for one, don’t care to. I’ve had quite enough of that crowd, and -think we can see all the fun we want among ourselves.” - -“I think so, too,” said Tom. “I don’t care for their old canoe club, but -I should really like to see the Toxophilites go to pieces. I’d see Joe -Wayring happy before he should come into this club with my vote.” - -If Tom Bigden could have stepped across the street and up the stairs -that led to the neatly furnished armory and drill-room in which the -Toxophilites were at that moment sitting down to an oyster supper that -some of the new members had provided for them, he would, perhaps, have -been very much disappointed to discover that the organization he hated -so cordially because he could not get into it, was not only in no danger -of falling to pieces, but that it was stronger than it had ever been -before. The vacancies occasioned by the resignation of Frank Noble and -his friends, had been promptly filled by good fellows, who had waited -long and patiently for an opportunity to send in their names. More than -that (and this was something that made Tom and his cousins very angry -when they found it out), the constitution had been amended so that the -membership could be increased to a hundred. The Toxophilites were -determined that the Mount Airy Scouts (that was the name of the new -club), should not beat them if they could help it; but still they did -not take in every one who applied for admission, as the Scouts did. - -During the winter Tom Bigden and his cousins, who grew more vindictive -and unreasonable in their hatred as time progressed, waged a secret but -incessant warfare upon Joe Wayring and his two chums. They coaxed Mars -from the post-office to the drug-store, and sent him home with a tin can -tied to his tail. They practiced with their long bows at Roy Sheldon’s -fan-tail and tumbler pigeons as often as the birds ventured over to -their side of the lake. They went across on their skates one night, and -overturned the _Young Republic_, which Joe had hauled out on the beach -and housed for the winter; and they even thought seriously of setting -fire to his boat-house, believing that the blame would be laid upon Matt -Coyle, who was known to be trapping somewhere in the mountains. Joe knew -who it was that insulted Mars and shot at the pigeons and disturbed his -sail-boat; but when he saw by the marks on the door of the boat-house -that somebody had been trying to pull out the staple that held the hasp, -he told his chums that he had wronged Tom and his cousins by his -suspicions, and that the squatter was the culprit after all. Beyond a -doubt Matt wanted to regain possession of the canvas canoe; and in order -to save his property, Joe shouldered it one morning and took it up to -his room. - -The attentive reader, if I am so fortunate as to have one, will bear in -mind that all I have thus far written is but a repetition of the story -the canvas canoe told me on that bright afternoon when I was first -introduced to him and to the other merry fellows—the long bows, the -snow-shoes and the toboggan—who found a home in Joe Wayring’s room. In -concluding his interesting narrative the canoe said: - -“Now, Fly-rod, you know every thing of importance that has happened -since Tom Bigden and his cousins first stuck their quarrelsome noses -inside Mount Airy. As I said at the start, it was necessary that you -should hear the story, or else you would be at a loss to account for a -good many things that may happen to you sooner or later. I have an idea -that you are a good sort, and hope we shall pass many pleasant hours in -each other’s company.” - -I thanked the canoe for his kind wishes and for the story he had taken -so much pains to tell me, and inquired how he had managed to live -through the long winter that had just passed. - -“Oh, I did well enough,” was his reply. “In the first place, the long -bows and I had much to talk about, and in the next, Joe often brings Roy -and Arthur up here to spend an evening; and as they have traveled a good -deal, they are never at a loss for some interesting topic of -conversation. More than that, Joe and his uncle went off hunting last -December, and when they returned, they brought with them those conceited -things over there—the snow-shoes and toboggan—who being from another -country, think they are a trifle better than any body else. But, after -all, I have found them to be very companionable fellows, and if you can -only get them started (like all Englishmen, they are inclined to be -surly at first), they can tell you some things about shooting and -trapping that are well worth listening to.” - -“Do you know what the programme is for the summer?” I asked, being -somewhat anxious to learn what I had to look forward to. “Where are we -going and what are we going to do?” - -“Well, seeing that this is April, it will not be summer for three months -to come,” replied the canoe. “But you need not expect to remain idle any -longer than next Saturday. You and I will probably be employed in making -short trips about the village until school closes for the long vacation. -Immediately after the canoe meet, which in future will be held on the -3rd of July, so that the members of the club can have the whole of the -vacation to themselves, you and Joe will go up to Indian Lake—” - -“But Matt Coyle is up there,” I interrupted. - -“Suppose he is!” retorted the canvas canoe. “Do you think that Joe -Wayring is going to be kept away from his favorite fishing grounds just -because that outlaw has chosen to take up his abode there! You don’t -know Joe. He’ll go, you may be sure, and after he gets there, he’ll give -you a chance to show what you can do with a five pound trout.” - -“Why can’t you go?” I inquired. I had already learned to like my new -friend, who had shown himself to be so good-natured and so ready to tell -me any thing I wanted to know, and I thought I would rather have him for -company than any body else. - -“It is possible that I may go, but I haven’t heard any thing said about -it. I should think I might be of some use to Joe and I would not be at -all in his way.” - -“But what if that squatter should steal you again? I suppose you didn’t -fare very well while you were in his hands.” - -“Oh, I fared well enough,” replied the canoe, who seemed to have a happy -faculty of accommodating himself to circumstances. “But I didn’t like -the company I was obliged to keep, I tell you. Whenever Matt Coyle or -his boys took me out on the water, I would have been only too glad to -spill them out if I could have done it. I felt particularly savage on -the night Jake used me in making his raid on that old guide’s -potato-patch and smoke-house. When I saw the skiff coming after me, -wouldn’t I have laughed if I had possessed the power? I knew that Jake -was going to run me on to that snag, and when I was settling to the -bottom, I told myself that Joe would never leave me there. I wasn’t hurt -at all. I was easily mended with rosin and tallow and a piece of canvas, -and am just as good as I ever was; although I confess that I look like a -boy who has been in a fight and has to wear a patch over his eye.” - -“How did the squatter make the journey from his shanty to the creek in -which Joe found you?” - -“Well, he carried me on his back from the pond to the river. It took him -two days to do it, for I hindered him all I could by catching hold of -every limb and bush that came within my reach. When we got to the river, -Matt loaded me to the water’s edge with his household goods (you will -know how I shrank from contact with them when I tell you that the -blankets and quilts were so begrimed with smoke and dirt that Mars could -not be hired to sleep on them), and then one of the boys got in and -paddled me down the stream while the squatter and the rest of his family -stumbled along the bank. Matt was afraid to make his camp anywhere near -Indian Lake, because he knew that the guides would be very likely to -burn or otherwise destroy every thing he had, as they did once before; -so he turned up the creek, and hunted around until he found a place that -suited him. It was in a secluded glen, about a quarter of a mile from -the creek. He set his boys to work to build a lean-to, which would -afford them some sort of shelter until they could provide a better -covering for their heads, and started out with his rifle to get -something to eat. During his rambles he found a smoke-house and -potato-patch which he thought could be easily robbed, and as soon as he -came home, he sent Jake out on that thieving expedition which resulted -disastrously to him, for he lost his plunder and me into the bargain. I -assure you I was glad to find myself among friends once more. Why, have -you any idea what that villain meant to do? He was going to make a -pirate of me. He intended, first, to offer himself as guide for the -hotels, and if they wouldn’t take him, he intended to follow the guests -and their guides along the water courses, and rob every camp that he -found unprotected. That’s the kind of fellow Matt Coyle is. He ought to -be abolished.” - -“What became of the fishing-rods he stole at the time he ran off with -you?” - -“Well, they had worse treatment than I did, because they were not as -useful as I was. They have been left out in the rain and abused in -various ways, until they don’t look much as they did when the squatter -first got his ugly hands upon them. I doubt very much if their owners -would have recognized them if they could have seen them the last time I -did.” - -“Will our trip to Indian Lake last all summer?” I asked. - -“Oh, no; only about two weeks. After that, we shall be packed off on a -long journey, either East or West, I don’t know which, and neither did -Joe the last time I heard him say any thing about it. You see, Uncle Joe -Wayring owns large tracks of timber land in Maine and Michigan. He wants -to see them both, for he has learned that thieves are at work in both -places; but he hasn’t yet made up his mind which he wants to see the -more. When he does he will tell Joe, and then we shall find out where we -are going.” - -There were a good many other questions that I wanted to ask my -communicative friend, but before I could speak again a merry whistle -sounded in the hall below, and somebody ascended the stairs three at a -time. Then I knew that my master had finished his sail on the lake, and -was coming up to his room to get ready for supper. He threw the door -open with a bang, school-boy fashion, and walking straight up to me took -me from my case and gave me a good looking over. He seemed as delighted -as a youngster with his first pair of red top boots; but I was somewhat -chagrined to learn that he did not have a very exalted opinion of my -capabilities. - -“That’s a very fine rod, no doubt; but I expect to break him into a -dozen pieces before I have had him a month. A two pound trout will give -him more than he wants to do.” - -What else Joe was going to say about me I never knew; for just then the -supper bell rang, and he made all haste to put me back in my case. After -a hasty toilet he bolted out of the room with the same noise and racket -he made when he came in, and I was at liberty to continue my -conversation with the canvas canoe. As usual, that useful and talkative -individual spoke first. - -“What is your opinion of a boy who can deliberately persecute a fellow -like that?” said he. - -“He ought to receive the same punishment you want meted out to Matt -Coyle; he ought to be abolished,” I replied. “But Joe doesn’t appear to -think much of me.” - -“Don’t you worry about that,” said the canoe, encouragingly. “You will -not wonder at it when you have made the acquaintance of his bait-rod—if -you ever do; I mean the one that was stolen from him. He’s a big heavy -fellow, and strong enough to jerk a four pound black bass from the water -without any nonsense. You can’t do that, and Joe isn’t certain that he -can handle you. He doesn’t distrust you any more than he distrusts -himself. There’s one thing I forgot to tell you,” added the canoe, “and -that is, if any misfortune befalls you, you can lay it to Tom Bigden. I -heard enough during my short captivity to satisfy me that he was the -chap who put it into Matt’s head to steal Joe’s property. Matt is bad -enough, goodness knows; but the advice Tom Bigden gave him made him -worse. That is one of the secrets of which I spoke at the beginning of -my story, and it troubles me all the time. I am sure that if I could -talk to Joe about five minutes, I should feel easier; but that’s -something I can’t do.” - -At my request the historian then went on to tell of other interesting -and exciting incidents in Joe Wayring’s life, but as they have no -bearing with my own exploits and adventures I omit them now, although -they may appear at some future period. By the time he grew weary of -talking it was ten o’clock, and darkness had settled down over the room; -but just as I was composing myself for the night, the door opened and -Joe Wayring came in. Making good his boast, that if folks would let his -property alone, he could find any thing he wanted on the darkest of -nights and without the aid of a lamp, Joe caught up the creel with one -hand, seized me with the other, and carrying us both down-stairs, -deposited us on the kitchen table beside something that was covered with -a snow-white cloth. Then he busied himself for a few minutes about the -stove, getting kindling and light wood together so that a fire could be -readily started; and after I had watched his movements for a while, I -made up my mind that a campaign of some sort was in prospect. When he -took the light and went out I said to the creel: - -“Do you happen to know what day this is?” - -“It’s Friday,” he replied. “To-morrow will be Saturday, and I should -judge by the looks of things, that we are going to make our first trip -after trout.” - -Do you know by experience how a youngster feels when he is about to be -called up before a hundred or more critical school mates to recite his -little piece beginning— - - “You’d scarce expect a boy like me - To get up here where all can see, - And make a speech as well as those - Who wear the largest kind of clothes.” - -Do you know how he feels? Well, that’s way I felt. - - - - - CHAPTER XV. - - MY FIRST TRIP TO INDIAN LAKE. - - -THE next morning, just as the clock was striking the hour of four, I was -aroused from a reverie into which I had fallen by a hasty step, followed -by a blinding glare of light, and Joe Wayring came hurrying into the -kitchen. He didn’t look much as he did the last time I saw him, and if -it hadn’t been for his curly head and blue eyes, I don’t think I should -have recognized him. But he was a nobby looking fellow, all the same, -dressed as he was in a neat suit of duck, dyed to a dead grass shade, a -light helmet with a peak before and behind, and leggings and gaiters -instead of boots. Joe was not the boy to make himself uncomfortable, or -to go about in a ragged coat and with his hair sticking out of the top -of his cap, just because he intended to spend the day in the woods out -of sight of every body. He knew of anglers and hunters who affected that -style, and they could follow it, if they wanted to, but he wouldn’t. -Leggings and gaiters were easier to walk in than heavy boots, and whole -clothes looked better than shabby ones. - -Placing the lamp on the table Joe began bustling about the kitchen, and -in a very few minutes the fire was started and the tea-kettle filled. -Then he threw back the cloth before spoken of, revealing a substantial -lunch, a liberal portion of which he proceeded to pack away in the -creel. - -About the time the coffee was ready, the door opened again, and Uncle -Joe came in. He, too, was dressed for the woods, and carried a rod of -some sort in one hand and a creel in the other. The latter must have -been a fine looking article in his day, but now he was as weather-beaten -as any old sailor. And that was not to be wondered at, for he had -traveled much, and had seen many hardships. He had accompanied his -master from one end of the country to the other. He had held captive for -him many a nice breakfast of grayling captured in Michigan waters, and -carried his dinner while he was fighting with the big trout in Rangeley -Lakes. He went with him on one of his Western tours, and would certainly -have fallen into the hands of the Utes when they arose in rebellion and -massacred all the whites they could find, had it not been for the fact -that he was slung over his master’s shoulder, and the latter was in too -great a hurry to stop and throw him off. He had many thrilling -recollections of the Indian Lake country, for he had been capsized on -the rapids more times than he could remember. He was a good talker, and -as full of stories as the canvas canoe. - -“Well, sir,” said Uncle Joe, as he deposited his rod and creel on the -table, “what are the prospects?” - -“Couldn’t be better,” replied the boy. “It’s cloudy, and there is every -sign of rain before noon.” - -“I hope it will stay cloudy, but I can’t say that I want to see it -rain,” said Uncle Joe, as he drew a chair up to the table and took the -cup of coffee his nephew poured out for him. “The bushes around the old -spring hole are pretty thick, and I long ago ceased to see any fun in -getting drenched for the sake of catching a mess of half-pound trout. If -they were salmon, now, the case would be different.” - -Nevertheless Uncle Joe seemed to be in just as great a hurry to eat his -breakfast and be off as his nephew was. Ten minutes sufficed to satisfy -their appetites, and in ten minutes more we were on the outskirts of the -village, and moving up an old log road toward the spring hole, where I -was to make my first attempt to take a fish. I dreaded the ordeal, for I -did not have as much confidence in myself as I would have had if my -master had not spoken so slightingly of me. - -How far it was from the village to the spring hole, I am sure I don’t -know. It seemed like a long journey to me, although it was enlivened by -stories of travel and adventure from Uncle Joe, in which I became deeply -interested. Presently Joe, who was leading the way, pushed aside the -bushes in front of him, disclosing to view a small body of water fringed -with lily-pads and surrounded on all sides by high and thickly wooded -hills; and I knew instinctively that we had reached the end of our -tramp, and that the time had come for me to show what I could do. There -seemed to be abundant opportunity for me to do good work if I was -capable of it. While I was being taken out of my case, I noticed that -now and then there was a slight commotion in the water, just outside the -lilies, and I knew it was occasioned by trout jumping from the water, -even before Joe Wayring said so. - -“Just look at them!” he exclaimed, in great excitement. “They are having -a high old time among themselves. I wouldn’t take a dollar for my chance -of going home with a full creel. There! Did you see that whopper?” - -“Put on a white miller and a brown hackle, and give me your rod as quick -as you can,” answered his uncle. “I saw him, and if he comes up again -within seventy or eighty feet of us, I will make an effort to take him.” - -“Do you mean to say that you can throw a fly as far as that?” inquired -Joe. - -“That depends upon the rod. I’d like to have the first try with it, if -you have no objection, for I want to see whether or not you’ve got a -good bargain.” - -Of course Joe had no objection. As soon as I was ready for business he -passed me over to his uncle, and when I felt his strong fingers close -around me, I knew that I was in the hands of one who would make me show -off to the best possible advantage. - -“There he is again! Give him the flies, quick!” cried Joe, suddenly. - -Uncle Joe’s movements were characterized by what sportsmen are wont to -call “deliberate quickness”. He was so very deliberate, in fact, that -his nephew began to show unmistakable signs of impatience; but still he -did not waste a single second of valuable time. Reeling off as much line -as the close proximity of the bushes behind would permit him to use, -Uncle Joe gave me a smart upward and backward fling and then struck down -toward the water. This movement caused the line to fly through the air -like a whip lash, only it grew in length all the while; and when the -flies were directly over the swirl the trout had made when he went down, -the motion of the reel was stopped by a slight pressure of the angler’s -thumb, and the tempting lures settled upon the water as lightly as a -couple of feathers. - -“I never can learn to do that,” said Joe, despondingly. “It requires -altogether too much skill for my clumsy—Well, sir, you’ve got him as -sure as the world.” - -The hook was fast to something, that was plain; but I thought at first -that Uncle Joe had caught a snag or a lily-pad. There was a jerk that -made me wonder, and in an instant more I was bent almost half double; -but with all the strain that was brought to bear upon me, the thing at -the other end of the line, whatever it was, did not give an inch. On the -contrary, it started and ran off toward the middle of the spring hole; -and then I began to realize that I was doing battle with a trout of the -largest size. Now was the time to show my master that he had been much -mistaken in me. - -I need not stop to go into the particulars of the fight, for every boy -who has caught a heavy trout on a light rod will know just what -happened; and besides, to be frank with you, I don’t remember much about -it. Neither does Joe Wayring, who was so highly excited that he could -not stand still. I recollect he afterward told his chums that the fish -jumped clear out of the water two or three times, and then started from -the middle of the spring hole and ran toward the angler at the top of -his speed, trying to loosen the line so that the hook would drop out of -his mouth; but the automatic reel took up the slack as fast as he made -it, and his mad rushes about the spring hole had no other result than to -tire him out, so that he could offer but feeble resistance when he was -reeled in to the bank. The moment he was brought within reach Joe -slipped a landing net under him and lifted him out. - -“Two pounds and three ounces,” he almost shouted, after he had weighed -him on his pocket scales. “Now, Uncle Joe, what’s your opinion of that -rod?” - -“A fair sized fish for these waters,” said Uncle Joe, as he stepped to -the edge of the spring hole for another cast. “As for the rod—it’s as -good a one as you need wish for. If you will take care of him, he will -last as long as you will, barring accident.” - -I will not dwell upon the incidents of the day, for I must hasten on to -tell you what happened to me during my first visit to Indian Lake. It -will be enough to say that Joe and his uncle enjoyed themselves, as they -always did whenever they went anywhere together, and that my master -after an hour or two of assiduous practice, learned to make short casts -with tolerable accuracy, and to show considerable skill in handling the -fish he hooked. When the two went home a little before dark Joe’s creel -was not as full as his uncle’s, but the few trout he captured with his -light tackle, afforded him more genuine sport than twice the number of -bass taken on a heavy bait-rod. - -That day was the beginning of a busy season for me. Every Saturday, rain -or shine, found me at the spring hole or wandering along the banks of -some of the numerous streams that ran into Mirror Lake. I caught a good -many fish, soon got over my nervousness, and looked forward to the long -summer vacation with as much impatience as Joe himself. It came at last, -being ushered in by a canoe meet on the 3rd of July, and a grand parade -on the 4th, in which the Toxophilites and Scouts both took part. There -was a good deal of rivalry between these two organizations—so much, -indeed, that the usual exhibition drill at the park was given by the -military company, thus putting it out of the power of either club to -crow over the other. But still there was considerable crowing done, -especially by Tom Bigden and a few envious fellows like him. - -“Don’t you remember what vociferous applause the Toxophilites received -last 4th?” said he, to his cousins. - -“Yes; and I remember how mad you were about it, too,” replied Loren. - -“I know it. I couldn’t bear to see them throw on so many airs, but I -little thought that I should aid in making them take back seats at their -next parade. I have yet to see any one who will say that the Scouts -didn’t do just as fine marching in the procession as the Toxophilites -did.” - -Of course I did not see the parade, and neither did I witness the sports -that were held during the canoe meet, for I was shut up in Joe’s room so -far from a window that I could not tell what was going on out-doors. But -I heard the music of the band, and the cheers that arose whenever some -lucky fellow carried off a prize, and the exciting and amusing incidents -that happened during those two days of festivity, were so often talked -of in my hearing, that I was pretty well posted after all. I was glad to -learn that my master won the paddle race very easily, and that he pushed -Roy and Arthur so closely in the hurry-skurry race that the referee had -half a mind to order another contest. But Joe and Arthur said that Roy -was ahead, and as the other boys backed them up, Roy was awarded the -prize. There was no attempt at fouling this time. Every thing was -conducted fairly, as it always had been previous to Tom Bigden’s arrival -in the village, and every member of the club won or lost on his merits. - -The parade being over, there was nothing to keep Joe and his two chums -at home, and on the evening of the 4th they began making preparations -for their annual trip to Indian Lake. Shortly after supper Joe Wayring -came into the room, and having exchanged his uniform for a suit of -working clothes, he shouldered my friend, the canvas canoe, and carried -him down stairs. Half an hour later he came back after the creel and me. -He took us down to the boat-house and there we found the canoe, snugly -tucked away in his chest like a tired boy in his little bed. - -“Hurrah for me!” exclaimed the canoe, after Joe had gone out locking the -door behind him. “I am going to Indian Lake, too. Now, if Joe can only -keep clear of Matt Coyle, we’ll see some fun before we get back. You -think you know something about fishing; but wait until you get hold of -one of those big lake trout, and then tell me what you think about it.” - -That was just what I wanted to do, but I didn’t say so, for fear that -when the time came I might discover that I was not quite so good a rod -as I thought I was. - -We were so very impatient to be off that the night was a very long one -to us; but at the first peep of day we heard Joe’s step as he came down -the walk toward the boat-house. He placed a basket of provisions on the -wharf, mildly scolded Mars for making such a fuss over the coming -separation, and then came in after us. Arthur Hastings, Jim and the -skiff were on time, as they always were, and in half an hour more we had -taken Roy Sheldon on board and were moving gayly down the river. We -camped for the night at the old perch hole, where the skiff had ridden -out that furious storm a year before, and the boys had fish for supper. -Joe had been told that perch would rise to a red ibis, but he and I -could not prove the truth of the assertion. Although Arthur and Roy -pulled out the fish as fast as they could bait their hooks, Joe never -got a bite. The reason was, the water was too deep. His uncle afterward -told him that six feet is about as far as any fish can be relied upon to -rise to a fly; and sometimes they are too lazy to come from that depth. - -On the afternoon on the fourth day we left the river and turned into a -little creek, whose current was so swift that the boys were obliged to -use extra exertion in order to make headway against it. About an hour -after the sun went down we came to anchor in the mouth of a brook, and -there I made amends for my failure at the perch hole. I captured more -trout than both the other rods, and if I had felt so inclined, could -have returned some of the left-handed compliments they paid me when it -was found that I could not catch a perch in twenty feet of water; but -being peaceably disposed I said nothing. While the tent was being put -up, a muffled voice came from the chest in which the canvas canoe was -packed away. The cover being shut down, I had to listen intently in -order to catch what he said to me. - -“Didn’t I hear some one say something about trout?” asked the canoe. - -“I think it very likely,” was my reply. “There are lots of them in the -brook; almost as many as there in the spring hole at Mount Airy.” - -“Then I know where we are,” said my imprisoned friend. “Did you see an -ugly looking snag about a mile below? Well, there’s one there, and it’s -the one Jake Coyle ran into the night I was sunk in the creek. The fight -I told you about took place right here. Have you seen or heard any thing -of the squatter?” - -“No, I haven’t; but I know that Joe and his friends are keeping a bright -lookout for him.” - -“I am glad to hear it, and I hope they will not relax their vigilance -just because Matt keeps himself out of sight. His shanty is over there -in the woods on the right hand side of the creek. I’ll bet he is there -now, and that he has had his eye on the skiff ever since she came into -this part of the country. Mark my words: Joe will hear from him before -he sees Mount Airy again.” - -“Oh, I hope not,” said I. - -“So do I,” answered the canoe. “But I became well enough acquainted with -Matt and his family during the short time I lived with them, to know -that they do not intend to leave here unless they are driven away, as -they were last year when they came to our village. Why, this is the best -place in the world for a man who is too lazy to work, and who is not -above taking things without leave. Game and fish are abundant. All the -guides cultivate little patches of ground, and keep a few pigs and -chickens, and as they are away from home a good part of the time, their -property is left to the care of their wives and children. They can’t -stand guard day and night, and consequently it is no trouble at all for -Matt to steal all he wants. He has a fine hiding-place now, and as he -and his family make it a point to travel different routes every time -they go away from the shanty or return to it, they don’t leave much of a -trail for the guides to follow, if they should make up their minds to -hunt them up. Another thing,” added the canoe, in a tone of anxiety, -“Matt hates Joe and his chums for two reasons: First, because their -fathers turned him out of Mount Airy, and second, because they gave him -such a pelting with potatoes the last time they were up here. If he is -here, he will try to have revenge for that; now you see if he doesn’t.” - -The canvas canoe spoke confidently, and his words occasioned me no -little uneasiness; but I was greatly relieved to learn from the -conversation, to which I listened while the boys were eating supper, -that they were fully alive to the dangers of the situation, and that -they did not mean to let the squatter take them off their guard. They -were happy in the belief that Matt could not attack them, except at long -range, because he had no boat to bring him alongside the skiff. It never -occurred to them that he had had plenty of time to steal or build one, -and that was where they made their mistake. - -Up to this time we had had pleasant weather; but this particular night -was a rainy one. The big drops began coming down just after the tent was -put up. Then I realized for the first time what a comfortable home it -was that the boys had provided for themselves. The canvas canoe and I -lay on the forward locker, with the two bait-rods, the dip-net and the -cocker spaniel to keep us company. On the bottom of the boat in the -cock-pit sat the three chums, on either side of a table which they had -made by pushing the movable thwarts close together. On the table, which -was covered with a white napkin, was an array of dishes, plates and -cups, all of tin, which were filled to over-flowing with ham sandwiches, -bread and butter, cake, ripe fruit of various kinds and trout, done to a -turn. On the stern locker stood the little stove over which Arthur had -cooked the fish and made the tea, and above it hung the jack-lamp that -was kept burning all night. If any thing happened—if the wind arose and -the anchor dragged, or prowlers of any sort came about—the boys wanted a -light to work by. Over all was the tent, with the rain coming gently -down on the top of it. One side curtain was rolled up to admit the air, -but the other was buttoned securely to the gunwale. Joe wasn’t going to -have the squatter slip up and send a club into the cock-pit before he -knew it. Taken altogether it was a cozy, home-like scene, and I no -longer wondered why it was that Joe and his friends looked forward to -the summer vacation with such lively anticipations of pleasure. - -The boys slept soundly that night, lulled by the pattering of the rain -on the roof over their heads, but the sun did not find them in bed. I -caught more than my share of the trout they ate for breakfast, and that -afternoon was given an opportunity to try my skill on larger game, to -wit, a four pound black bass. I may add, too, that I got my first -ducking, and witnessed the liveliest kind of a foot race. But I can’t -say that I enjoyed it; there was too much depending on it. - -“Do you remember the last time we ate breakfast here?” said Joe, as he -drew up the anchor while his companions shipped the oars and pulled up -the creek toward the pond. “If my memory serves me, Matt Coyle made the -mouth of this brook uncomfortably warm for us for a few minutes. What -would we have done if Roy hadn’t been smart enough to keep some of the -potatoes out of that bag? I wonder where the old chap is now?” - -“Probably he is a hundred miles away,” answered Arthur. “You don’t -suppose that the people who live around the lake are going to let him -stay here and steal them out of house and home, do you?” - -“I am of the opinion that he and his worthless family were driven away -from here long ago,” said Roy. “But still I don’t believe in trusting -any thing to luck. We needn’t go ashore unless we want to, and Matt -can’t bother us while we are lying at anchor. He’s got no boat, and he -isn’t foolish enough to swim off to us, for we gave him a lesson the -last time we were here that he will remember as long as he lives.” - -We left the mouth of the brook at an early hour, and about four in the -afternoon entered the pond, where I heard Joe say we would remain until -the bread and bacon gave out, when we would go over to Indian Lake and -lay in a fresh supply. Now Joe was sorry that he had left his bait-rod -behind. The pond was noted for the number and fighting qualities of its -bass, and Joe had nothing to catch them with; at least that was what he -told his friends, adding that he was afraid to trust so heavy work to -me. - -“You’d better be afraid,” assented Roy. “If you don’t want that fine rod -of yours smashed into a thousand pieces, you had better not try to catch -a bass with it. But I’ll tell you what you might do, if you don’t care -to sit idly here while Art and I catch all the fish and see all the fun. -You might go up to the little perch hole and throw a fly there. Perhaps -you will find the perch in the pond more accommodating than they were -back there in the river.” - -“How about our esteemed friend, the squatter?” said Arthur. - -“Oh, he can’t trouble me,” answered Joe, who was already preparing to -act upon Roy’s suggestion. “His shanty is away off there somewhere, -while the perch hole lies a mile or more in the opposite direction. -There is a wide and deep river between the two, and how is Matt going to -cross it without a boat? I am of Roy’s opinion that he was driven away -from here long ago.” - -While Joe was talking in this way he had taken the canvas canoe from his -chest, and now under his skillful hands my old friend was fast assuming -his usual symmetrical proportions. In less than ten minutes he was -floating gracefully alongside the skiff. - -“Come on, Fly-rod,” said he, “and I will show you what a canvas canoe -can do when he is managed by some one who understands his business. You -never took a ride with me, did you?” - -No, I never had, and if the truth must be told, I never wanted to take a -second ride with him. He may have been “the boss boat” on the rapids, as -he often boasted, but he was a very unfortunate craft all the same, and -before the day was over I had reason to believe that Joe would have seen -more sport during his two weeks’ outing if he had left the canoe safe in -his room at Mount Airy. I came back to the skiff, but he didn’t. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI. - - AN EXPLOIT AND A SURPRISE. - - -AS I could not comply with my friend’s invitation to “come on”, I was -obliged to wait until Joe had exchanged his heavy boots for the buckskin -moccasins he always wore whenever he went anywhere with the canoe. This -being done, we pushed away from the skiff, and moved leisurely up the -pond toward the perch hole, Joe whistling merrily as he plied the -paddle. I do not think he was quite so light-hearted when he came back. - -Half an hour’s paddling sufficed to bring us to our destination. If I -hadn’t heard Joe say that the perch hole was located in the mouth of a -creek, I should not have known it, for it looked to me more like an arm -of the pond which set back into the land. When I was taken from my case, -after the anchor had been dropped overboard, I took note of the fact -that one could not see more than twenty or thirty feet up the creek, a -high wooded point limiting the range of vision in that direction. I -didn’t know at the time why I observed this, but I thought of it -afterward. - -Joe made his first cast with a scarlet ibis, and the result was -surprising to both of us. The fish that took the lure did not give much -of a bite—I have known a half-pound trout to seize the bait with more -vim than he did—but when Joe fastened the hook with a scientific twist -of his wrist, I couldn’t have doubled up quicker if he had caught a log. - -“Scotland’s a burning! what’s that?” exclaimed Joe, speaking so rapidly -that the words seemed to come out all at once. “I declare, it’s a bass,” -he added a moment later, as the green and bronze side of the beautiful -captive could be seen for an instant just under the surface of the -water. “I wish he was at the bottom of the pond, for he’ll break my rod -and I’ll have no more fishing this trip.” - -But Joe did not give up because he thought he was going to be worsted in -the fight. He brought into play all the skill of which he was master, -and after an exciting struggle of fully half an hour’s duration, caught -up the landing net and hauled into the canoe the largest thing in the -shape of a fish I had seen up to that time. He was killed at once, the -pocket scales were brought into use, and the weight of the “catch” was -written down in Joe’s note-book. - -“Whew?” panted the boy, pulling out his handkerchief and wiping the big -drops of perspiration from his forehead. “If that wasn’t a tough battle -I wouldn’t say so. I never supposed that little rod could catch a fish -like this. Hello, here! It’s getting dark already. I know the fellows -will laugh at me for coming back with a single fish, but I don’t believe -they will be able to show one that will weigh more.” - -Joe jumped to his feet as he spoke, and made all haste to put me away in -my case. He stood with his face to the pond while he worked, and -consequently he did not see what I did. My attention was first called to -it by an exclamation from the canvas canoe who said in a suppressed and -excited whisper: - -“Upon my word, there’s that everlasting Matt Coyle again. He’ll gobble -the whole of us this time.” - -I looked over Joe’s shoulder, and there in the bight of the bend, with -its ugly nose just sticking around the high wooded point of which I have -spoken, was a clumsy scow built of rough boards that had doubtless been -stolen from some saw-mill. In the scow sat Matt Coyle and his two boys. -I had heard them described so often that I should have recognized them -at once, even if the canoe had not told me who they were. They held -their paddles poised in the air, and Matt who sat in the bow, having -raised his hand to attract the attention of his boys, was now pointing -silently toward my master, and going through a series of contortions -with his head and eyes that must have had a volume of meaning in them. -At any rate Jake and Sam understood them, for they dipped their paddles -into the water, and the scow moved around the point and turned directly -toward us, while the squatter prepared himself for business by taking -off his hat and pushing back his sleeves. I trembled all over with -excitement and alarm, and so did the canoe. - -“Oh, why don’t Joe turn around?” cried the latter. “Matt intends to take -him by surprise, and he’ll be alongside in half a minute more.” - -Just then one of the boys allowed his paddle to rub against the side of -the scow. The noise he made was very slight, but it was loud enough to -attract the attention of Joe Wayring, who faced about to find his -enemies within less than twenty feet of him. He was so astonished to see -them there, that for a few seconds he could neither move nor speak. He -stood as motionless and silent as a wooden boy; while Matt, seeing that -he was discovered, snatched up his paddle and raised a yell of triumph. - -“Now I reckon I’ll have my boat back an’ you into the bargain,” he -shouted, swinging his paddle around his head and then shaking it -savagely at Joe. “When I get my hands onto you, the way I’ll wear the -hickories out on your back will extonish you wuss nor any thing you ever -see.” - -“An’ won’t I punch your head though, to pay you fur hittin’ me with that -there tater up there in the creek last summer?” chimed in Jake. “I guess -yes.” - -These threatening words called Joe to his senses. He knew that he would -not have time to pull up the anchor and escape in his canoe, for he had -paid out a good deal of rope in order to place himself in the best -possible position for casting, and before he could haul it in, his -enemies would be upon him. There was but one way to elude them, and that -was to take to the water and to trust to his powers as a swimmer. It -looked like a slim chance, but the odds of three against one were too -heavy to be successfully resisted, and what else could he do? As quick -as a flash he turned again, and without releasing his hold upon me, took -a header from the stern of the canoe. - -“So that there’s your game, is it?” yelled the squatter. “Wal, it suits -us, I reckon. Never mind the boat, Jakey. She’s fast anchored, and will -stay there till we want her. Take after the ’ristocrat whose dad won’t -let honest folks live onto his land less’n they’ve got a pocketful of -money to pay him fur it. Jest let me get a good whack at him with my -paddle an’ he’ll stop, I bet you. Hold on, there, ’cause it’ll be wuss -fur you if you don’t.” - -In obedience to Matt’s instructions the scow was turned toward the -swimmer; but although Jake and Sam exerted themselves to the utmost, -they could not cut him off from the shore. Joe made astonishing headway. -There were but few boys, or men either, in Mount Airy who could swim as -fast as he could, and he afterward said that he never made better time -than he did when he was trying to get away from Matt and his boys. He -was afraid of the lily-pads which lined the banks of the creek on both -sides, so he swam down the stream until he was clear of them before he -attempted to make a landing; but Matt, believing that he could do better -on shore, dropped his own paddle into the water, turned into the lilies -and tried to force the scow through them. That was a lucky thing for Joe -Wayring. The strong stems of the lilies were entwined about one another -in all sorts of ways, and the squatter stuck fast in them before he had -made half a dozen strokes. - -“Back out! Back out!” shouted Matt, who was quickly made aware that he -had committed a blunder. “Be in a hurry, or he’ll get sich a start on us -that we can’t never ketch him. Hold up, there!” he went on, jumping to -his feet and swinging his paddle around his head as if he were on the -point of launching it at the object of his wrath. “Come back, or it’ll -be wuss fur you. You hear me, I reckon.” - -In the meantime Joe made good his landing, and looked over his shoulder -to see the heavy paddle coming toward him, end over end. It struck the -ground near him, and was immediately sent back where it came from with -all the force that the boy’s sinewy arm could give it. Flying wide of -the mark for which it was intended, the broad blade hit Jake fairly in -the face, giving him such a splitting headache that he could not take -part in the pursuit that followed. This was another lucky thing for Joe. -Jake was the best runner in the squatter’s family, and although there is -not the slightest doubt that he would have been soundly thrashed if he -had succeeded in overtaking Joe, he might have been able to detain him -until his father and brother could come to his assistance, and then Joe -would have had more on his hands than he could attend to. - -[Illustration: JOE IN AN AWKWARD FIX.] - -“That’s another thing we’ve got to pay you fur when we get our hands on -you,” yelled Matt, who was almost beside himself. “Work lively in -backin’ out, or he’ll have a mile the start of us before we tech the -shore.” - -Jake, who had dropped his paddle and sat holding his chin in his hands, -paid no attention to the order; but Matt and Sam worked to such good -purpose that they finally succeeded in backing the scow out of the -lilies into clear water. When they reached the bank, Joe Wayring was out -of sight; but they knew which way he had gone, and at once set out in -pursuit; while Jake stayed in the scow and howled dismally. - -Joe ran like a deer, and made surprising progress in spite of the logs -and bushes that obstructed his way. He was very quiet in his movements, -but Matt and his boy made so much noise that it was an easy matter to -keep track of them and tell just how far they were behind. At last the -squatter, seeing that he was not going to capture my master by following -him on foot, thought it best to change his tactics. - -“Sam,” he shouted, in stentorian tones, “go back to the creek, and you -an’ Jakey take the canoe an’ paddle down the pond so’s to cut him off -when he tries to swim off to the skiff. You understand what I say to -you, I reckon.” - -Joe understood it, whether Sam did or not and it put new speed into him. -He ran so swiftly that he very soon left his single pursuer out of -hearing, but he exhausted himself in the effort, and when he dashed out -of the bushes and stopped on the bank in plain sight of the skiff, he -was so nearly out of breath that he could not raise a shout to draw the -attention of his chums, who were hard at work putting up the tent. But -Jim saw him, and announced the fact by a joyful bark, followed by a -vigorous wagging of his tail. Arthur and Roy looked toward the bank, and -there stood Joe, swinging his arms wildly about his head. When he saw -that he had attracted their notice, he pointed to the woods, and then up -the pond toward the canvas canoe which was coming down with all the -speed that Jake and Sam could give it. The boys in the skiff saw and -understood. The anchor came up quicker than it ever did before, the oars -were shipped, and the skiff came toward the bank with a heavy bone in -her teeth. By this time Matt Coyle arrived within hearing again, and -Joe, fearing that he might make his appearance before his friends could -rescue him, stepped into the water and struck out to meet the skiff. -Jake and Sam yelled savagely at him, and redoubled their efforts to -place themselves between him and his friends; but they might as well -have saved their breath and strength. The skiff came up rapidly, and Joe -knew that he was saved. Suddenly a bright idea suggested itself to -him—one that would have enabled him to turn the tables upon the squatter -very neatly, if his friends had only been prompt to act upon it. Raising -himself as far out of the water as he could, he called out: - -“Boys, never mind me. I’ve got my second wind now, and can swim for an -hour. Go up there and capture my canoe, or else run over her and send -her to the bottom. Don’t let those villains take her away from me -again.” - -“All right,” replied Roy, still giving away strong on his oar. “We’ll -get your canoe back for you, but we will take care of you first.” - -“No, no!” insisted Joe. “Capture or sink the canoe first, and attend to -me afterward. I am all right, I tell you. I can easily keep afloat until -you come back.” - -“Why, boy, you haven’t got a breath to spare,” said Arthur. “I know it -by the way you talk. Come in out of the wet.” - -“You held fast to your fly-rod through it all, didn’t you?” said Roy, as -he took me from Joe’s hand. - -“Yes. I didn’t know whether or not I could outrun them, and I wanted -something to defend myself with in case they came up with me.” - -When Joe tried to climb into the skiff, he found that he was by no means -in as good condition as he thought he was. He could scarcely help -himself at all, and his chums were obliged to pull him in by main -strength. The moment they let go of him he sank down against the stern -locker and panted loudly; but he was as full of determination as ever. - -“Now go up and sink the canoe,” he almost gasped. - -But a single glance was enough to show Arthur and Roy that it was too -late to do any thing with the canoe. Jake and his brother heard the -order that Joe shouted at his friends while he was in the water, and -made all haste to put themselves out of harm’s way. When Joe was hauled -into the skiff they were so close to the shore that all attempts to -intercept them would have been unavailing. - -“It’s no use, Joe,” said Arthur. “They’re too far off, and there’s Matt -Coyle standing on the bank.” - -“But for Joe’s sake we will see what we can do,” exclaimed Roy. - -As he spoke, he opened the forward locker and took from it a stout paper -bag. When he first put it there, Arthur and Joe supposed that it -contained lemons; but when Roy opened it, they saw that it was filled -with potatoes. - -“They helped us out of a scrape once, and why shouldn’t they do so -again?” said Roy. “My plan is to pull into shore, drive Matt and his -boys into the bushes, clap onto the canoe with the boat-hook and tow her -out into the pond.” - -Arthur declared that that was the way to do it, but subsequent events -proved that it wasn’t. They laid hold of their oars again, but before -the skiff had gone far toward the shore, Joe Wayring, who had by this -time recovered his power of speech and motion, announced that Roy’s plan -wouldn’t work at all, and that it was useless to make any effort to sink -or capture the canoe. And the rowers found it so when they faced about -and looked toward the shore. - -The squatter and his boys had dragged the canoe from the water, and were -now carrying her back into the bushes where they knew the boys would not -dare go after it. - -Matt had not yet forgotten the tactics they used when he and his boys -tried to club them out of their boat the year before. He was very much -afraid of Roy, and when the latter ceased rowing and got upon his feet -to see what had been done with the canoe, Matt and his allies ran into -the woods like so many frightened turkeys. - -“I’m onto your little game,” said the squatter in a triumphant tone, as -he looked out from behind the tree that sheltered him. “You don’t fire -no more taters at me if I know it. Your boat is here, an’ if you want it -wusser’n we do, come an’ get it. ’Tain’t much account nohow.” - -“I’m going to bust it into a million pieces to pay you fur that there -whack you gin me with pap’s paddle a while ago,” shouted the invisible -Jake, who would not show so much as the top of his cap to the boys in -the skiff. “I’ve stood jest about all the poundin’ I’m goin’ to.” - -“What did you do to him, Joe?” inquired Arthur, as he and Roy turned the -skiff around and pulled back toward their anchorage. - -“Matt threw his paddle at me when he saw that I was about to slip -through his fingers, and I threw it back,” answered Joe. “It didn’t hit -Matt, as I meant it should, but it came pretty near knocking Jake out of -the scow.” - -“The scow?” repeated Roy. “Have they got a boat of their own, I’d like -to know.” - -Joe replied that they had a boat in their possession (of course he -didn’t know where they got it, or whether or not they had any right to -call it their own), and then went on to tell of the exploit I had -performed at the perch hole, and of the surprise that followed close -upon the heels of it. He wound up his story by saying— - -“I didn’t have time to draw up my anchor, so I had to go overboard. I -swam the best I knew how in order to reach the bank before Matt did; -then I raced a mile or more through the woods in my wet clothes, and -that was what tired me out.” - -“I wonder if we are to find that fellow hanging around every time we -come into the woods?” said Roy, angrily. “Hallo, here!” - -A slight splashing in the water drew their attention at the moment, and -Joe and Arthur started up in alarm, expecting to find that the squatter -and his boys had stolen a march upon them. There was a canoe close -alongside of them, but the broad-shouldered, brown-whiskered man who -handled the paddle was not Matt Coyle or any body like him. He was one -of the hotel guides who had assisted in driving the squatter out of the -Indian Lake country, and he was looking for him now. - -“Hallo yourself,” he replied, good-naturedly. “Well, I swan to man, if -there ain’t Roy Sheldon and—Why, you’re all here, ain’t you? Say! seen -any thing of Matt Coyle since you have been hanging around?” - -“Mr. Swan, how are you?” exclaimed all the boys, in a breath. They knew -the guide, and liked him, too. - -“You have come to the right place to learn a good deal concerning Matt -and his doings,” continued Roy. “What has he been up to now?” - -“Well, you see,” answered the guide, speaking with so much deliberation -that the impatient boys wanted to hurry him, “he came here last year -from somewhere, and wanted to set in for a guide; but the hotels down to -the lake wouldn’t have him, ’cause they didn’t think he was a safe man -to trust with a boat, and Matt, he allowed that he’d fix things so’t -there wouldn’t be no guidin’ for none of us to do. So he’s took to the -woods, and he robs every camp he can find, if there don’t happen to be -any body around to watch it. Leastwise we lay it to him, ’cause we know -he’s around here, and some of us thought that we’d like to take a peep -at his shanty, if he’s got one.” - -“We can’t tell you where his shanty is,” said Joe, “but we can show you -where Matt and his boys were not ten minutes ago. He stole my canvas -canoe and gave me a long chase through the woods. He promised that if he -could get hold of me, he would wear a hickory out over my back.” - -“Sho!” exclaimed the guide. “What for?” - -Joe’s story was a long one, for in order to make the guide understand -how he and his companions had incurred the enmity of the vindictive -squatter, it was necessary that he should go back to the time when Matt -and his family first made their appearance in Mount Airy. He described -the fight between them and the constable and his posse, the particulars -of which he received from eye-witnesses; told how Matt had stolen the -canoe and six fine fishing-rods and reels, while he and his companions -were looking for the bear they saw on the shore of Sherwin’s Pond; and -gave a glowing account of the fight in the creek, at which the guide -laughed heartily. - -“I’ll jest bet that them was my taters that you pelted him with,” said -he; “’cause while I was out in the woods with a guest from Boston, my -wife said that my garden and smoke-house were both robbed in one night. -As for them fish poles—I think I can tell you where to find them.” - -“Good for you, Mr. Swan,” cried Arthur. “Where are they?” - -“Of course, I don’t know that they belong to you; I only suspect it,” -continued the guide. “You see, one day last summer, Jake Coyle brung six -as purty poles as you would want to look at up to the Sportsman’s Home, -and told Mr. Hanson, the new landlord, that he got ’em in a boat trade. -He couldn’t use ’em, fur they wasn’t the kind that he’d been in the -habit of handlin’, and so he wanted to sell ’em. I told Hanson that I -was as sure as any thing could be that they had been stole, and that -mebbe the owner would come along some day looking for them; so Hanson, -he buys ’em, reels and all, for four dollars apiece—all except one that -Jake said had been broke by a bass, and for that he give two dollars. -They were covered with mud and rust, but I cleaned ’em up, and now they -look as good as new.” - -“They are our rods, and I know it,” exclaimed Roy. “If mine is the one -that’s broken, I shall have the satisfaction of knowing that I paid Jake -for it in advance by hitting him in the mouth with that potato.” - -“And if it’s mine, I settled with him this afternoon by slapping him in -the face with his father’s paddle,” chimed in Joe Wayring. - -The guide laughed again. “You’re as plucky a lot of youngsters as I ever -see,” said he, “and you may rest assured that them folks won’t bother -you or any body else much longer. We are going to put ’em in jail for -thieves when we catch ’em.” - -“Ah! Yes,” said Arthur; “but that’s right where you are going to see -trouble. Our deputy sheriff and constable searched every inch of the -ground around Sherwin’s Pond, and all they found was the place where -Matt’s shanty once stood. He set fire to it before he left for Indian -Lake.” - -“I know that the woods about here are tolerable thick, and that Matt is -a boss hand at hiding,” replied the guide; “but he will find that -there’s a heap of difference between dodging a couple of townies, and in -getting away from a lot of men who have lived in the woods ever since -they were knee high to so many ducks. Go on, Joe. What else do you know -about Matt Coyle?” - -The rest of Joe’s story related solely to the events of the evening, and -it did not take him long to describe them. When he concluded the guide -was almost as angry as he and his chums were. The idea that that -worthless vagabond should threaten to beat such a boy as Joe Wayring, -simply because he had showed the courage to defend himself when he was -assaulted! The guide made no remark, but there was a look in his eye -that would have made the squatter uneasy if he had been there to see it. - -“It’s too late to do any thing to-night,” said he, at length. “I reckon -you boys have got something good to eat in them lockers? I thought so. -Well, suppose we go ashore and camp.” - -Joe and his friends readily agreed to this proposition. They had spent -five days and nights in their boat, and they longed for a good, sound -sleep on a bed of balsam-boughs, with the spreading branches of some -friendly pine for shelter instead of their water-proof tent. They were -not afraid to go into camp on shore now that they had the stalwart guide -for company. Matt and his boys would not be likely to show themselves as -long as they knew that he was with them; but the trouble was, they -didn’t know it, although they were in plain sight when the boys built -their fire on the bank, and laid their plans to pay them a visit before -morning. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII. - - A BATTLE IN THE DARK. - - -AS OUR three friends and their backwoods companion were old campaigners, -they did not spend much time in getting ready for the night. A roaring -fire was started, the jack-lamp hung upon a neighboring tree, and by the -aid of the light thus afforded them, Joe Wayring, who had by this time -got into a suit of dry clothes, cleaned the fish which Arthur and Roy -had captured during his absence; Arthur Hastings fried them and made the -tea; Mr. Swan prepared the bacon and pancakes; and Roy cut the balsam -boughs and arranged the beds. In less than three quarters of an hour -after they drew their boats upon the beach, they sat down to a supper -that would have tempted any healthy boy to eat, no matter whether he was -hungry or not. - -“Now, Mr. Swan,” said Joe, when the dishes had been washed in the clear -waters of the pond, and the tin bucket, which contained the supply of -fish for breakfast, had been hung up by a string so that the minks that -were sure to come around during the night could not steal them, “tell us -a story, please.” - -“About what?” inquired the guide, as he filled his pipe. - -“Oh, about the first panther you ever shot.” - -“Or about the bear you killed with a club while he was running off with -one of your pigs,” suggested Roy. - -Mr. Swan was always ready. After he had taken a few pulls at his -brier-root to make sure that it was well-started he began and told not -one story, but a dozen or more. He kept his little audience interested -until ten o’clock, then the lamp was turned out, the fire replenished, -and the campers sought their beds of balsam-boughs. Lulled by the -rippling of the waves upon the beach at their feet, and by the low music -of the breeze as it toyed with the branches over their heads, their -slumber was deep and dreamless. Even the usually watchful Jim seemed to -think that there was no responsibility resting upon him for this -particular night, and that the mere presence of the guide was all the -protection the camp needed, for he too slept soundly, and snored while -he slept. Consequently he did not see the uncouth object which drew out -of the darkness that covered the surface of the pond, and slowly and -cautiously approached the camp. The object was Matt Coyle’s scow, and in -it were the squatter and both his boys. The latter were plying their -paddles with noiseless motion, and Matt was kneeling in the bow, waving -first one hand and then the other to show them what course to take. - -It must have been long after midnight, for there was nothing left of the -fire but a glowing bed of coals; but still there was light enough to -enable the robber to see the outlines of the skiff, but not sufficient -to show him the trim little canoe that had been hauled out on the bank -and turned bottom side up. If he had seen that, he would have lost no -time in getting away from so dangerous a neighborhood; but believing -that the boys were alone, and that they had forgotten their usual -caution in spite of the warning events of the afternoon, he kept on -until he was close enough to the skiff to take hold of it. I saw the -whole proceeding, but of course could do nothing to arouse the -slumbering campers. - -“Now, turn about on your seats and give way the best you know how,” I -heard Matt whisper to his boys. “We must pull her off into deep water -before them fellers can wake up an’ get a holt on her.” - -“Say, pap,” whispered Jake, in reply. “Ain’t we goin’ ashore to give -them a good larrupin’ before they make up?” - -If the guide had not been there, these words would have horrified me; -but as it was, I did not feel at all uneasy. I knew very well that Matt -and his boys were no match for our party, and that they would all be -captured as surely as they put their feet on shore; but I did not want -to see them steal that skiff. Oh, why didn’t Jim wake up and alarm his -master! - -“We’ll ’tend to them after we get the skiff an’ all the nice grub an’ -things that’s into it,” said the squatter, as he tightened his grasp. -“Now be you all ready? Then give way.” - -Jake and Sam laid out all their strength upon their paddles, and the bow -of the skiff grated harshly as it moved over the sand. The noise, slight -as it was, awoke Jim, who was on his feet in a twinkling. He took just -one glance at the marauders, and then danced about the camp in a perfect -ecstasy of rage, barking and yelping with all his might. - -His first note of angry remonstrance alarmed the boys, who were off -their fragrant couches in less time than it takes to tell it. The moment -they arose to a perpendicular, they were wide awake and ready to act. -They made a simultaneous rush for the beach, and while Arthur and Joe -seized the skiff and pulled her back where she belonged, in spite of all -that Jake and his brother could do to prevent it, Roy caught up the -painter and deftly took a turn with it around a convenient sapling. - -“Now, haul away and see how much you will make by it,” he exclaimed. -“That’s once you got fooled.” - -“Wal, I’ll bet a hoss that I ain’t fooled yet,” said the squatter, in -savage tones. “Pull ashore, Jakey, an’ we’ll get out an’ lambast them -fellers till their own mammies won’t know ’em when they go hum. Human -natur!” he ejaculated a moment later, as the tall form of the guide came -between him and the smoldering fire. “Who’s that? If it ain’t Swan, I’m -a Dutchman.” - -“Come on, you miserable scoundrel,” cried the guide, shaking his huge -fist at the astonished and thoroughly frightened robber. “I have been -looking for you, and now that I have found you, I am going to take you -back to Indian Lake with me.” - -But Matt and his boys were not as anxious to go ashore now as they had -been. Without saying a word in reply they bent to their paddles, and -made all haste to get out of sight in the darkness. - -“Now, Joe,” said Mr. Swan, who never got excited even under the most -trying circumstances, “shove off and take after them. You can go faster -than they can, so if you will get ahead of them and keep them from -reaching the opposite shore, I will come up on this side, and we will -have them between two fires.” - -Joe and his companions were prompt to act upon this suggestion. He and -Roy pushed the skiff into the water, and when she was fairly afloat -Arthur sprang aboard with the jack-lamp in his hand. A moment later its -strong light flashed out over the pond, telling the fleeing squatter in -language as plain as words that the darkness could not conceal his -movements. - -“There they are, not more than forty yards,” said Arthur, who stood -erect on the stern locker, steadying himself with the boathook. “Roy, -let me have that oar, and you stand here with the lamp and open fire on -them with your potatoes.” - -“I can’t,” was the answer. “I took the potatoes ashore to-night and -washed some for breakfast; and the bag is in camp at this moment.” - -“Then we shall have to come to close quarters with them,” said Arthur, -“for I have no idea that they will give up when they find themselves cut -off from shore.” - -“If we can only manage to detain them for two minutes, we shall have all -the help we want,” Joe remarked. “Look behind you.” - -Arthur glanced over his shoulder, and was surprised to see the guide in -less than a stone’s throw of the skiff. How he had managed to put his -canoe into the water and get her under way with so little loss of time, -was a mystery. - -“A fellow would have to look out for Mr. Swan in a hurry-skurry race, -wouldn’t he?” said Arthur. “Just see how he makes that little craft of -his get through the water! If you two don’t let out a section or so of -your muscle, he will overtake the scow before we do.” - -Just then Matt Coyle’s hoarse voice was heard calling warningly to them. -“Don’t come no nigher,” it said. “If you think that we are sich fules as -to go down to Injun Lake when we want to stay here, you are the biggest -kind of fules yourselves. I’ll break the head of the fust one of you -that comes within reach.” - -“Matt has crawled back to the stern of his scow, and is standing there -with his paddle in his hand,” said Arthur, who could see every move the -robber made. “I wonder if he thinks that we are ‘fules’ enough to give -him battle before Mr. Swan comes up to help us.” - -That was just what Matt was looking for, and he did not know what to -make of it when the skiff dashed by his scow, keeping so far beyond -reach that he could not have touched any of her crew with his paddle if -he had tried, and deliberately placed herself across his path. Then his -eyes were opened to the details of the plan that had been laid to entrap -him, and the promptness with which he went to work to extricate himself -was surprising. He said a few words in a low tone to his boys, then put -his own paddle into the water, and the scow shot ahead with greatly -increased speed, never swerving from her original course by so much as a -hair’s breadth. - -“Does the old villain mean to run us down, or does he intend to come -alongside and capture us and the skiff?” said Roy, who was alarmed as -well as amazed by the squatter’s offensive tactics. “Back water, Joe, -while I give way. It looks as though _we_ had got to run now.” - -The scow was so close to them that they had no time to get out of her -way. They saw at a glance that all they could reasonably hope to -accomplish was to turn their boat slightly, so that if the scow struck -her at all, it would be a glancing blow. But they had miscalculated the -speed of Matt’s clumsy looking craft. She seemed to glide over the top -of the water instead of passing through it, as other boats do. On she -came with terrific force, and although Joe and Roy worked hard to slip -out of her way, she struck the skiff fairly in the side, ripping off two -of her planks, smashing in as many more, and making a hole that Mars -could have crawled through with all ease. At the same instant darkness -settled down over the scene as if by magic. Arthur Hastings had been -knocked off his perch on the stern locker, and he and the jack-lamp went -into the pond together. - -“Whoop-ee!” yelled Matt, triumphantly. “Will you git outen our road the -next time you see us comin’? Take that fur your imperdence in gittin’ -before your betters,” he added, making a vicious blow with his paddle at -the place where he had last seen Joe Wayring’s head. - -Joe’s head was not there now, however, for he had been sharp enough to -put it somewhere else; but Matt was speedily made aware that the boy was -not far away, for as the blade of his paddle whistled harmlessly through -the air, he received a punch in the ribs with an oar that brought from -him a yell of pain, and came very near sending him into the water. At -the same moment, a howl of agony from the unlucky Jake announced that -Roy was taking a hand in the rumpus. - -The fight that followed was a very short one, but it was warm while it -lasted, and gave Matt and his boys some idea of what a couple of brave -young fellows could do when they were cornered. Joe, while defending -himself against the muscular squatter, managed to get in several good -blows; Roy pounded Sam to his heart’s content, Jake having dropped out -of the contest at the very beginning of it; and Arthur clung to the side -of the skiff and called lustily for Mr. Swan. - -“I’m coming,” replied the guide, who was doing all he could to bring -himself alongside the scow. “Keep them there just a minute longer.” - -Roy and Joe would have obeyed if they could; but when Matt heard Mr. -Swan’s voice sounding so close to him, he pushed his piratical craft -away from the skiff, and the darkness shut him out from view. When the -guide arrived a few minutes later, he found the boys supporting -themselves by holding fast to the sides of their boat, which was full of -water. They had relieved her of their weight just in time to keep her -from going to the bottom of the pond. She would not sink now, for she -had no cargo aboard to speak of, and besides, the air that was -imprisoned in the lockers assisted in keeping her afloat. - -“Well, if this don’t beat the world!” exclaimed Mr. Swan, as soon as he -had taken in the situation. “Somehow or other those villains always -manage to come out at the top of the heap, don’t they? Did you have a -fight with them? I heard sticks a clashing and somebody yelling. I hope -none of you ain’t hurt.” - -“Don’t be uneasy on that score,” replied Roy. “Joe and I had a scrimmage -with them, but you didn’t hear either one of us yell. It was Matt and -Jake. Sam was good grit. He never said a word, although I punched him -with the blade of my oar the best I knew how. Arthur was standing on one -of the lockers when the scow struck us, and he and the lamp made a -plunge of ten feet in the clear before they touched the water.” - -“Do you mean to say that they ran into you a purpose?” exclaimed the -guide. - -“Of course they did. We cut them off from the shore, as you directed, -and that old scow of theirs came at us like a battering-ram. Matt heard -Joe tell us to-night to sink the canoe, and that was what put it into -his head to run into us.” - -Meanwhile Arthur Hastings had worked his way around to the bow of the -skiff and secured the painter, one end of which he made fast to a ring -in the stern of the canoe. The chase was over, of course. They could not -continue the pursuit in the dark, for the squatter could easily elude -them in a hundred different ways, and neither would it be prudent to -follow him in the canoe. The little craft was intended to carry only one -person, with a very limited allowance of camp equipage, and the added -weight of one of the boys would have sunk her so deep in the water that -no speed could be got out of her. The only thing they could do was to go -back to camp and finish their sleep. - -“But what shall we do to-morrow?” was the question that Joe and his -comrades asked themselves and one another. “Our boat is badly stove, and -if we can’t patch her up, how are we going to get back to Mount Airy?” - -Mr. Swan towed the disabled skiff to the shore, her crew swimming -alongside or trying to assist him by pushing behind, and the fire was -started up again to aid them in making an examination of the injuries -she had received. They were fully as severe as the boys expected to find -them, and it was a wonder to them that she was so long in filling. - -“There’s plenty of guides down to the lake that can fix her up for you -in good shape,” said Mr. Swan. - -“Of course,” replied Roy. “But the lake is twenty-five miles from here, -and there’s no way to get her down there.” - -“Mebbe there is,” answered the guide. “For a shilling I’ll agree that -she shall go down there, and carry you into the bargain. But we can’t do -nothing with her to-night. You boys get on some dry clothes and go to -bed again.” - -Joe and his companions were quite willing to act upon this suggestion, -but they were in no hurry to go to sleep. Neither was Mr. Swan. They sat -around the fire for a long time, talking over the incidents of their -battle in the dark, and as I listened closely, I have been able to give -you the story in the same way that it was told to Mr. Swan. The -squatter’s extraordinary luck and the skill he exhibited in eluding -arrest seemed to astonish them all. How I longed for the power of speech -so that I could tell them that robbing camps and smoke-houses was not -the only business to which Matt Coyle intended to devote himself, now -that the offer of his service as guide and boatman had been declined by -the managers of the Indian Lake hotels. But they found it out for -themselves, and before long, too. - -It was three o’clock before the campers again sought their blankets. The -boys slept much later than usual, but the guide was stirring at the -first peep of day. He piled fresh fuel on the fire, put Roy’s potatoes -into the ashes to roast, made the coffee and pancakes, and took time -while the fish were frying to give the skiff another good looking over. -Then he picked up Joe’s camp ax, and disappeared among the trees, -returning a few minutes later with several large slabs of birch bark. By -this time the fish were done, and the guide announced the fact by -calling out— - -“Tumble up, you sleepy heads. You’ve just two seconds in which to take a -dip in the pond and get ready for breakfast.” - -Having had as many “dips” as they wanted already, the boys contented -themselves with washing their hands and faces; after which they sat down -to their homely breakfast with appetites to which the dwellers in towns -and cities are, for the most part, strangers. Of course the squatter was -still uppermost in their minds, and he and his exploits formed the -principal topic of their conversation. - -“By the way, Mr. Swan, you forgot to tell us what Matt stole at those -camps,” said Arthur, suddenly. - -“Did I? Well, in my camp he took a Lefever hammerless that cost the -owner three hundred dollars; and from a gentleman who had Bob Martin for -a guide, he stole a Winchester worth fifty dollars. Not satisfied with -that, he took every thing in the shape of grub that he could lay his -hands on, and me and my employer had to live on trout while we were -making a journey of more than a hundred and fifty miles. Trout’s good -enough once in a while; but I swan to man, if I want it for a steady -diet. Bob Martin said he eat so much of that kind of food that he wanted -to snap at every fly that came near him.” - -“Matt and his family are always on the look-out for grub, and I should -think that the sharp edge would be taken off their appetites after a -while,” Arthur remarked. “Did you try to follow his trail?” - -“Bless you, no. There ain’t a country in Ameriky that is so well -provided with water courses as this Indian Lake country is, and what’s -the use of trying to follow the trail of a boat? You might as well think -of tracking a bird through the air.” - -“What do you suppose Matt intends to do with those guns?” inquired Roy. -“Of course he wouldn’t be so foolish as to offer them for sale around -here, and they certainly will be of no use to him unless he took a big -supply of cartridges at the same time he took the weapons.” - -“I’ve got my own idea about that,” replied the guide. “It’s only an -idea, mind you, but I have good reason for holding to it. A year ago -last spring, Matt got to acting just as he’s acting now, because the -hotels wouldn’t send him out with their guests, and me and the rest of -the guides tracked him down, and told him that he’d got to clear -himself. He allowed he wouldn’t do it, and that he’d make it hot for the -fellers that tried to make him go, so we went to work and burned up -everything he had, except his clothes and we’pons. Then he had to dig -out; but before he went, he sent us word that if he couldn’t do guiding -for the hotels none of us should, for the reason that there wouldn’t be -nobody to hire us.” - -“What did he mean by that?” exclaimed Joe. - -“You’re pretty sharp fellows,” said the guide, in reply. “What’s your -opinion of his meaning?” - -“He doesn’t intend to kill off the guests as fast as they arrive, does -he?” said Arthur. - -“Probably not,” said Joe. “But he means to steal them poor, and bother -them in every way he can, so that they won’t come here to spend their -summer vacations.” - -“That’s the very idea,” said the guide, approvingly. “That’s what he was -up to, and that’s what he is trying to do now; but we ain’t going to let -him stay. Now, then,” he added, as he arose to his feet and produced his -ancient brier-root, “if one of you will help me while the others tend to -things about the camp, we’ll be on our way to the lake in less’n half an -hour by Joe’s Waterbury.” - -“Are you going with us?” asked Arthur, who was delighted at the prospect -of spending the day, and perhaps another night in the company of so -famous a story teller. - -“I reckon I might as well,” replied the guide. “I know where to find -Matt’s trail now, but I can’t do nothing with him and his family all by -myself, so I will go back and get some of the boys to help me.” - -“Well, see here, Mr. Swan,” said Joe. “If you have to burn him out -again, don’t forget to save my canoe from the general destruction. I -know it isn’t a very valuable thing, having seen its best days long ago, -but still I shouldn’t like to think that I had lost it for good.” - -“I’ll bear it in mind,” said the guide. “Now, don’t let the fire go out. -We shall need it to toast the bark.” - -“What do you want to toast the bark for?” - -“Why, to make it straighten out and stay somewhere. Don’t you see how it -curls up in all sorts of ways? Summer bark isn’t as good as winter bark -for this sort of work, but I reckon we can make it keep the water out of -the skiff till we get to the lake.” - -Arthur and Joe made all haste to wash the breakfast dishes and collect -their “duffle”, so that there would be no delay in loading the skiff -when the repairs were completed, and then sat down to keep the fire -going, and to watch the guide, in whose proceedings they were much -interested. They wanted to learn how it was done, so that they might -know what to do in case a similar misfortune befell them when there was -no accommodating backwoodsman near to help them. Fortunately they never -went into the woods without taking with them some strips of canvas, a -supply of tallow and rosin, and a paper of copper tacks. By the aid of -the tacks, the birch bark, after it had been toasted over the fire so -that it would “stay somewhere”, was fastened upon the gaping wound which -the sharp corner of Matt’s scow had made in her side, the seams were -thickly coated with melted rosin and tallow, then the canvas was tacked -on, and Mr. Swan declared that his task was finished. - -“She’ll leak a little water, of course,” said he, as he filled up for -another smoke, “but not much after the bark has a chance to swell a -trifle. Now I reckon we are ready to be off.” - -It was the work of but a few minutes to pack the provisions and cooking -utensils away in the lockers, and as soon as that had been done, the -boys shoved the skiff into the water and followed Mr. Swan, whose canoe -was moving toward the creek which connected the pond with Indian Lake. -The boat didn’t leak as much as they thought it would. Five minutes’ -bailing every half hour kept her comparatively dry. - -The boys camped that night within less than five miles of the lake, and -of course had the pleasure of listening to more of the guide’s stories. -They made an early start the next morning, Mr. Swan being impatient to -obtain assistance and resume the pursuit of the man who had despoiled -the camp of his employer, and at seven o’clock the two boats were run up -on the beach in front of the Sportsman’s Home. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - - AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. - - -MR. SWAN and his young friends at once went ashore and set out for the -hotel, the former to tell “the boys” that he had struck the trail of the -man they most wanted to see, and Joe and his companions to examine the -rods the landlord had in his possession, and to engage some one who was -handy with tools to repair the skiff. They left me lying in my usual -place on the stern locker, with Jim and the two bait-rods for company. - -I had heard so much about Indian Lake and its hotels that I had pictured -them out to myself, and thought I could tell pretty near how they -looked; but nevertheless I was greatly surprised by what I saw around -me. I told myself that the boy who could not find there what he wanted -in the way of recreation, must be hard to suit. If he was fond of gay -company and liked such places as Saratoga and Long Branch, he would -probably stop at the “American” on the further side of the lake; but if -he were an angler and a lover of nature, or if he desired to get away -somewhere and rest, he would choose the “Sportsman’s Home” every time. - -The house itself looked like a hunter’s camp on a grand scale, or like -the cabins of the loggers I afterward saw in the wilds of Maine, only it -had two stories instead of one. It was built entirely of logs, which had -been painted with some substance that I don’t know the name of, but it -sparkled in the bright sunlight like a covering of ice. In the groves -that surrounded the hotel on all sides, were log houses, tents and -shanties without number. Noisy children were running in and out among -the trees, the clashing of croquet balls was almost incessant, sportsmen -in dogskin jackets, leather helmets and leggings, and guides in blue -shirts and cowhide boots were constantly going and coming, and every one -that I saw seemed to be enjoying himself. This was one of the happy -parties that Matt Coyle was determined to break up because the landlords -refused to trust their guests to his care! It was no wonder Mr. Swan and -his brother guides were anxious to rid the country of the presence of -such a villain. While I was thinking about it I heard myself addressed -in a faint voice; and upon looking in the direction from which it came, -I discovered a seedy breech-loader resting against the thwart of the -neighboring canoe. - -“You don’t seem to remember me,” said he, reproachfully. - -“I can’t say that I do,” was my reply. “I think you have made a mistake -in the fly-rod.” - -“No, I haven’t,” said he, confidently. “I knew you before you left Mr. -Brown’s store. Don’t you remember the English fowling-piece that had the -dispute with that conceited bamboo?” - -So this was my old acquaintance, the “Brummagem shooting-iron,” was it? -It was right on the point of my tongue to remind him that the bamboo had -not showed himself to be any more conceited than he was; but I didn’t -say it. I judged by his appearance that he had seen pretty hard times -since he left Mr. Brown’s protecting care. He had sneeringly told me -that I was not worth the modest price that had been set upon me, but, -here I was, as bright as ever, while he looked as though he had been -through half a dozen wars. - -“I remember you now,” said I, “but you have changed so much that I did -not recognize you at first. Where have you been, and what have you done -since that countryman of yours ordered you to be sent up to the Lambert -House?” - -“He was no countryman of mine,” replied the double barrel, sadly. “He -was a full-fledged Yankee who tried to pass himself off for something -better than he really was. But he’s got all over that; the guides -laughed him out of it.” - -“Did they laugh you into your present condition?” I asked, remembering -that the double barrel had also tried to pass himself off for something -better than he really was. - -“Eh? No,” he replied, indignantly. “It’s the result of abuse and -hardship. Last year I was stolen out of camp—” - -“By whom?” I interrupted, excitedly. - -“By a vagabond who calls himself Matt Coyle,” was the reply. “His old -shanty leaked like a sieve, and I got wet and rusty. That’s what makes -me look so bad.” - -“How did your master get you back?” - -“I heard the story about in this way: In less than an hour after I was -stolen, a dirty, unkempt boy made his appearance in my master’s camp, -and told him that he had been fishing on the pond all the afternoon, -that he knew the man who took me, and for a reward of ten dollars he -would follow me up and steal me back again.” - -“Of course your master wasn’t deceived by any such shallow trick as -that!” I exclaimed. - -“Well, he was. You see, he and the two young fellows who come up here -with him every summer, never hire a guide. As they seldom venture more -than twenty or thirty miles away from the lake, and never leave the -water courses, there’s really no need of a guide; but if they had had -one when that boy came into camp, he would have saved my master from -imposition. As it was, he promised to give him the ten dollars, and -before sunset I was brought back. But it had rained buckets during my -absence, I was wet inside and out, my master did not know enough to take -care of me, and that’s how I came to be in this fix. They’re coming now, -and we are off again, I suppose.” - -I looked toward the hotel, and there was the young man with the gold -eye-glasses, peaked shoes and downy upper lip—the same knowing fellow, -who had been foolish enough to take a cheap gun that wasn’t warranted, -with the expectation that it would do as good work as a Greener. - -“We’re going up to the pond, and I shall be called upon to fire heavier -charges than I can stand at every thing in the shape of a partridge or -squirrel that comes in my way,” added the double barrel. - -“You ought not to be required to shoot those birds at this time of -year,” said I. “It’s against the law.” - -“Oh, I don’t hurt them any. I only shoot at them. I never killed any -thing.” - -“That’s just what Mr. Brown said when he sold you,” thought I. “Have you -a dog to guard your camp? Well, you ought to have. Matt Coyle lives up -there, and night before last he made a daring attempt to steal this -skiff, and then he tried to sink her. Don’t you see the hole in her -side?” - -I was going on to tell the double barrel that if his master did not keep -his eyes open he might expect another visit from the squatter, but just -then I saw Joe Wayring and his friends coming down the bank; and as I -was more interested in them and the rods they carried on their -shoulders, than I was in the fortunes of the seedy-looking fowling -piece, I had nothing more to say to him. I saw him once afterward, and -then he was a perfect wreck of a gun. There wasn’t enough of him left to -sell for old iron. - -“Haw! haw!” said Roy, as he jumped into the skiff. “We’ve got them back -again, and only one of them is the worse for being stolen by that -squatter.” - -I wondered which one that was, and found out when Arthur Hastings began -taking his rod from its case. It was a beautiful rod, and looked strong -enough to handle any fish that was likely to be encountered in that -country; but the second joint was broken close to the ferrule. I looked -pityingly at him, little dreaming that I was destined to go home in the -same crippled condition. - -“I don’t believe that any bass that ever wiggled a fin could break that -rod,” said Arthur, dolefully. “Matt or some of his vagabond band must -have caught the hook into a log or the stem of a lily-pad. Well, it -isn’t as bad as it might be, but I hate to think that that squatter has -made some money out of me.” - -While the boys were waiting for the guide who had promised to come down -and look at the skiff, they talked of their interview with the landlord -of the Sportsman’s Home, and in that way I came to know just what -happened when they went up to see the rods he had purchased of Jake -Coyle. Of course they recognized them at once, and promptly handed over -the money that Mr. Hanson had paid for their property, but said nothing -about paying for the rods that belonged to Tom Bigden and his cousins. - -“Hadn’t you better take them all?” asked the landlord. “You say that the -boys from whom these rods were stolen live in Mount Airy, and perhaps -they would be grateful to you for returning them.” - -“I think we’d better not have any thing to do with them,” said Arthur. -“But we’ll forward them a dispatch and let them send or come after the -rods. They’ve nothing else to do.” - -There was telegraphic communication between Indian Lake and Mount Airy, -by the way of New London, and Arthur wrote and sent off the dispatch -before he left the hotel. If he and his chums had been able to look far -enough into the future to see every thing that was to result from this -simple act, they would have been greatly astonished. I know I was when I -heard the full particulars. - -In a few minutes the expected guide came down to the beach and gave the -skiff a careful examination. After he had stripped off the canvas and -bark, so that he could see the full extent of her injuries, he remarked -that Matt’s scow must have hit her a middling heavy crack. - -“I should say she did,” replied Joe, with a laugh. “When three strong -fellows do their level best with paddles, they can make a small boat get -through the water with considerable speed. They hit us hard enough to -knock Arthur overboard. Who are those men, and where are they going in -such haste?” he continued, directing the guide’s attention to a company -of guests and boatmen who were walking rapidly toward the beach. - -“Two of them are the gentlemen whose camps were robbed the other day,” -replied the guide, after he had taken a glance at the party. “They’ve -got some friends to help them, and are going out to see if they can -track down them varmints who have been kicking up so much fuss about -here of late. There comes Swan. He’s going with them, but they might as -well stay at home, the whole of them. That Matt Coyle can cover up his -trail like an Injun. It took every guide in the country to hunt him down -the last time we drove him away from here.” - -“You missed it by not putting him in jail,” said Roy. - -“That’s just what we wanted to do,” answered the guide. “But when we -come to talk to some of the guests about it—there was lawyers among -them, you know—we found that we didn’t have any evidence that would -convict him. We suspected him, but we could not prove any thing.” - -“You’ll not be troubled in that way this time,” Arthur remarked. “You’ll -have the guns for evidence.” - -“Don’t fool yourself,” said the guide. “Do you suppose that they will -find that three hundred dollar scatter-gun and that fifty dollar rifle -when they find Matt Coyle—that is, if they do find him? Not by a great -sight. Them things is safe hid in the woods. Matt’ll sw’ar that he -didn’t hook ’em, and there ain’t a living man that can sw’ar that he -did. The only thing they can do is to burn him out of house and home, -like we did last time, and force him to go off somewhere and steal a new -outfit.” - -“What’s the reason we can’t go with them?” said Joe, suddenly. - -“I reckon you can. You know more about the woods than some of that party -do, and you might be of some use to them.” - -“Well, look here, Mr. Morris: Will you fix up our boat in good shape, -give her a coat or two of paint and take care of the things that we -shall be obliged to leave behind us?” - -“I will, sartain,” answered the guide, readily. - -In an instant both the lockers were opened, and Joe Wayring, snatching -up a camp basket, started post-haste for the hotel to hire a skiff and -purchase a small supply of provisions for the trip, leaving Roy and -Arthur to select the outfit. The tent and the most of their heavy -cooking-utensils were to be left behind. They were very useful articles, -of course, but they were not absolutely necessary to their existence, or -even to their comfort. Besides, the skiff that would be provided for -them would not carry as much “duffle” as the roomy boat they were going -to leave in the guide’s keeping. Their bows and arrows, blankets, the -knapsacks that contained their extra clothing, and the frying pan must -go, of course; but every thing else was left behind. - -While they were awaiting Joe’s return, Mr. Swan and his party came up, -got into their boats and pushed away from the beach. Mr. Morris pointed -out two stalwart gentlemen in shooting costume, who, he said, were the -owners of the stolen guns. They seemed to be in very bad humor, and the -boys did not wonder at it. - -“I shouldn’t like to be in Matt’s place if those men get their hands on -him,” said Roy, in a low tone. - -“Nor I,” answered the guide. “They sw’ar they’ll pound him before he -goes to jail, and they look to me like fellers that will keep their -word.” - -“Say, boys,” exclaimed Mr. Swan, as he backed water with his oars and -brought his boat to a stand-still at the stern of the skiff, “can’t you -stay here till we come back? We want your evidence.” - -“We’ll be around, you may depend upon that,” returned Roy. “But we’re -not going to stay here, if you will let us take part in the hunt. Joe -has gone up to the hotel after a boat.” - -“Oh! All right,” said Mr. Swan. “Them’s two of the lads that had the -battle in the dark that I was telling you about,” he added, addressing -himself to the owner of the lost “scatter-gun”, who was his employer. - -“Well, I must say that they are plucky fellows, and that they deserve -better luck,” said the gentleman, returning the military salute which -the boys gave him from sheer force of habit. “I hope their skiff can be -easily repaired, Mr. Morris?” - -“No trouble about that, sir,” answered the guide. “She’ll be right and -tight before sundown—all except the paint.” - -After telling Roy and his companion that if they did not overtake him -before, they would find him encamped somewhere on the bank of the creek -near the pond, Mr. Swan applied himself to his oars, and a fleet of -seven boats, manned by fourteen angry and determined guides and guests, -set out in pursuit of Matt Coyle and his thieving crew. Ten minutes -later Joe Wayring returned, accompanied by a guide and a small party of -ladies and gentlemen. The former was to show him what boat he could -take, and the latter were listening with much interest to Joe’s graphic -account of his adventures with the squatter. Joe was surprised to learn -that Matt’s way of creeping up through the bushes and robbing unguarded -camps, had frightened the women and children so badly that they refused -to go into the woods until the thief had been captured and safely lodged -in jail. That depended upon the evidence Joe could give to put him -there. - -“That’s all mighty fine,” said Mr. Morris, after listening to what Joe -had to say of his conversation with the stranger, “but they don’t give a -thought to the hardest part of the business. Matt ain’t caught yet, and -there’ll have to be a heap of hard work done before he is shut up so’t -he can’t steal no more scatter-guns; you see if there ain’t. I’d like to -take a hand in the hunt myself, but I’ve got to go out with the same man -I guided for last year, and he’s liable to come along any day.” - -Their boat having been pointed out to them, Joe and his companions lost -no time in putting their effects aboard of it. Then they bade Mr. Morris -good-by, lifted their caps to the party on shore, and rowed down the -lake and up the creek in pursuit of the fleet. They overtook Mr. Swan -and his party just before they landed to eat their lunch, traveled in -company with them during the rest of the day, and went into camp with -them at night. I had abundant opportunity to compare notes with the -three recovered bait-rods, who corroborated the story that was told me -by the canvas canoe, and which I have already given to the reader in my -own words. The squatter was fully resolved, they said, that if he -couldn’t act as guide in those woods, nobody should; and the worst of it -was, he seemed to be in a fair way to accomplish his object. The -sportsmen who patronized the hotels came there for fun and recreation; -and it wasn’t likely that they could see much of it if their wives and -children were to be prevented from accompanying them on their fishing -excursions through fear of this man, Matt Coyle. The owners of the -Lefever hammerless and Winchester rifle didn’t see much fun in having -their fine weapons stolen, and if these depredations were not stopped, -and that speedily, it would not be long before the guests would be -looking for some place of resort where thieves were not quite so plenty. - -“But even that isn’t the worst of it,” continued Joe’s bait-rod, who did -the most of the talking. “Every thing seems to indicate that the -squatter is going to have a bigger following now than he has been able -to boast of in the past. He isn’t the only worthless scamp there is in -the woods, by any means. You know, I suppose, that the State fish -commissioners have established a hatchery at the outlet of Deer Lake, a -few miles from here?” - -I replied that I had not heard of it. - -“Well, they have, and the superintendent wants to prohibit fishing -there, so that he can get a supply of eggs large enough to stock all -these waters, which will soon be stripped of trout unless there are some -put in to take the place of the multitudes that are caught every year. -The superintendent sets traps in the outlet to catch the fish so that he -can get their eggs, and three or four fellows who live right there, and -who look enough like Matt Coyle to be his brothers, go to the outlet -every night and cut the nets. The superintendent threatened to have them -arrested if they didn’t quit it, and they told him that they had always -fished in that outlet, and if he wanted the hatchery buildings to stay -there, he hadn’t better try to stop them. I heard the whole -conversation. I was down there when old Dead Shot was broken.” - -“Who’s Dead Shot?” I inquired. - -“I am,” faintly replied Arthur Hastings’s crippled rod. - -“Why, that’s a queer name for you to bear,” said I. “I think it would be -more appropriate for a shot-gun or rifle.” - -“Perhaps it would; but Arthur has always called me that since I caught -his first string of yellow pike for him, and it is the name I go by. I -never let a fish get away when I get a good grip on him—that is, when I -have some one to handle me who knows what he is about. But Jake don’t -know any thing about a rod, for he has always fished with a pole he cut -in the bushes. On the day the superintendent talked so plainly to the -vagabonds who cut his nets, Jake was fishing in the outlet, and Matt was -hiding in one of the cabins. A little fish—I should not think he weighed -more than a pound, judging by the bite he gave—took the hook, which was -baited with worms, and Jake tried to yank him out by main strength, as -he had always been in the habit of doing; but the line caught between -two rocks, and as Jake threw back his head and surged on me with all the -muscle he had, I broke. That’s all there was of it.” - -“And do you think that Matt Coyle will strike hands with those fellows -at the outlet?” I asked, when Dead Shot had ended his story. - -“He has done it already, and our friends here have undertaken a bigger -job than they bargained for,” answered the bait-rod. “Those vagabonds -are all tarred with the same stick. They sympathize with Matt, and will -hide him in their houses and help him in every way they can.” - -“Haven’t we got force enough to go into the houses and take him out?” - -“We’ve got the force, but not the authority. There’s not an officer or a -search-warrant in our party.” - -Not being posted in law, I did not quite understand the situation, but I -didn’t like to ask any more questions. It was enough for me to know that -Matt Coyle seemed to have the best of the game. Indeed, he always seemed -to have it. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX. - - CONCLUSION. - - -THE boats made an early start the next morning, and reached the pond at -nine o’clock. Half an hour later they had crossed it, and were moving up -the creek where I performed my first exploit, and Joe Wayring so -narrowly escaped capture by Matt Coyle and his boys. It annoyed me to -think that the squatter and his family had enjoyed so good a supper, and -that I had unwittingly provided it for them. It would not have soothed -my feelings much if some one had told me that, although that was the -first meal I had caught for them, it would not be the last. - -“Now, then,” said Mr. Swan, after he and his party had listened to Joe’s -description of the exciting incidents that happened in the creek on the -evening of the previous day, “we will divide ourselves into two fleets -and take opposite sides of the stream. As we go up, let every one of us -keep a bright lookout for a sign. Those robbers could not have got into -their scow or landed from it without leaving a trail, and that is what -we want to find.” - -In obedience to these instructions four of the boats kept to one side of -the creek, the remaining four pulled over to the other bank, and the -hunt began in earnest. Every inch of the shore on both sides was closely -scrutinized, but up to three o’clock in the afternoon nothing suspicious -had been discovered. Mr. Swan began to believe that they had passed the -trail long ago without seeing it, and said as much to his employer, -adding— - -“That villain is sharper than two or three men have any business to be. -He and his family, the old woman included, can go through the woods -without leaving trail enough for a hound to follow. They never forget to -be as careful as they know how, for they have so long lived in constant -fear of arrest that—” - -The guide suddenly paused, and looked earnestly at Joe and his -companions, whose actions seemed to indicate that they had found -something that would bear looking into. Their boat was loitering along -two or three rods behind the others, Roy and Arthur doing the rowing, -while Joe was stretched out flat on the knapsacks, his chin resting on -his arms which were supported by the gunwale, and his eyes fastened upon -the bank. All at once he started up and said, in a low tone: - -“Cease rowing. Look at that.” - -“Look at what?” demanded Roy, after he and Arthur had run their eyes up -and down the bank without seeing any thing that was calculated to excite -astonishment. “At those bushes growing in the water? That’s nothing, for -we’ve seen bushes growing in the water ever since we came into the -creek.” - -“I am aware of it; but if you will look closely at these particular -bushes, you will see that the bark is scraped off some of them, and that -they all lean away from the creek as if some heavy body had been dragged -over them,” answered Joe. “Back port and give way starboard. Let’s turn -in here; and if we don’t find something or other on the opposite side, I -shall wonder.” - -The rowers obeyed, without much confidence as to the result, it must be -confessed, and when Mr. Swan and his party arrived, having all turned -back to see what it was that had attracted the attention of the boys, -neither they nor their boat were in sight. There was something on the -bank, however, that instantly caught the sharp eye of one of the guides, -who at once proceeded to take himself to task in a way that would have -excited his ire if any one else had done it. - -“Hit me over the head with a paddle, somebody,” said he. “I’m going to -throw up my position when I get back to the lake, and quit guiding. I -ain’t no good any more. I come along here not ten minutes ago, and -didn’t see what them boys saw at once. Look at them bushes, and then -look at that,” he added, pulling his boat closer to the bank, and -placing the blade of his oar in a little depression in the edge of the -water. “Matt Coyle shoved that scow of his’n over them bushes, and -that’s what barked them and made them bend over that way. He suspicioned -that some of us would see it, so he come back and stood right there -where my oar is, and tried to straighten the bushes up with a pole or -something.” - -“That’s so,” said Mr. Swan, to his employer, “Didn’t I tell you that he -was a sharp one? The tricks that that fellow don’t know ain’t worth -knowing.” - -Just then a twig snapped on the bank and Joe Wayring came into view. -“Don’t talk so loud,” he whispered, as he held up his finger warningly. -“Matt’s scow isn’t twenty feet from here, and that’s all the proof I -want that his camp is close at land.” - -Instantly seven pairs of oars were dropped into the water, and as many -boats were forced through the bushes and into the little bay on the -other side. There lay the piratical craft which had done her best to -send the skiff to the bottom of the pond, but nothing was to be seen or -heard of her crew. - -“Keep still, every body,” cautioned Mr. Swan, in the lowest possible -whisper. “They’re out there in the woods, but remember that they ain’t -caught yet, and that they won’t be if their ears tell them that we’re -coming.” - -Joe afterward said that the trail that led from the scow into the bushes -was so plain that a blind man could have followed it; so it seemed that, -for once, Matt had forgotten to be careful. No doubt he thought that the -bay in which his scow found a resting-place, was so effectually hidden -by the bushes in front of it, that it would never be discovered by a -pursuing party. We have seen that he had good reason for this belief. If -Joe and his chums had decided to remain at the lake and enjoy themselves -there while their skiff was being repaired, instead of joining their -forces with Mr. Swan’s hunting party, it is probable that the squatter’s -retreat never would have been discovered; and neither would the -pursuers—well, I’ll wait until I get to that before I tell about it. - -Mr. Swan, who was the acknowledged leader of the party, at once -shouldered his rifle and began following up the trail, the others -falling in in single file behind him. They moved so silently that I -could not hear a leaf rustle; and I told myself that the surprise and -capture of the squatter and his whole shiftless tribe was a foregone -conclusion. I afterward learned that Mr. Swan and the guides who were -with him thought so too. Before they had gone fifty yards, the former -suddenly stopped and whispered to the man next behind him— - -“We are close upon them. I smell smoke.” - -“And I smell coffee,” replied the man to whom the words were addressed, -and who sniffed the air as if he were trying to locate the camp by the -aid of his nose instead of his eyes, “and bacon.” - -Shaking his hand warningly at the men behind him, the guide moved -forward again with long, noiseless strides. Presently he discovered a -thin blue cloud of smoke rising above the bushes close in front of him. -He looked at it a moment, and then dashed ahead at the top of his speed, -his eager companions following at his heels. - -A few hasty steps brought them to the little cleared spot in a thicket -of evergreens in which Matt Coyle had made his camp. On one side of it -was a lean-to with a roof of boughs, and on the other was the fire, with -a battered coffee pot simmering and sputtering beside it. Scattered -about over the ground were several slices of half-fried bacon, which had -been hurriedly dumped from the pan. A few broken plates and dishes that -stood on a log close at hand, bore silent testimony to the fact that the -squatter’s wife was just getting ready to lay the table, when news was -brought to the camp that Mr. Swan and his party were coming. Under the -lean-to were some worthless articles in the way of wearing apparel and -bed-clothes, but every thing of value had disappeared. There was nothing -like a hammerless shot gun or a Winchester rifle to be found. - -“The nest is warm, but where are the birds?” exclaimed Mr. Swan’s -employer, who had jumped into the clearing with his coat off and his -fists doubled up, all ready to carry out his threat of pounding Matt -Coyle before he was sent to jail. - -“Didn’t I say that they were sharp?” replied the guide. “The birds have -took wing.” - -“Then take to your heels and catch them,” exclaimed his employer. “Can’t -you follow a trail? They can’t have been gone more than five minutes. A -hundred dollars to the man that will capture that villain for me.” - -“And I will add a hundred to it,” cried the owner of the stolen -Winchester. - -The guides did not need these extra inducements, for they had more at -stake than these two strangers who spent two months out of every twelve -in the woods, and the rest of the year in the city, following some -lucrative business or profession. The guides’ bread and butter depended -upon their exertions, and they were no whit more anxious to effect -Matt’s capture now, than they were before the two hundred dollars reward -had been offered them. At a word from Mr. Swan they separated and began -circling around the lean-to to find the trail; but this did not take up -two minutes of their time. They found five trails; and a short -examination of them showed that they all led away in different -directions. - -“That trick is borrowed from the plains Indians,” said Joe, when Mr. -Swan announced this fact to his employer. “Whenever the hostiles find -themselves hard pressed by the troops, they break up into little bands, -and start off toward different points of the compass; but before they -separate, they take care to have it understood where they shall come -together again.” - -“That’s a fact,” assented the owner of the Winchester. “I have been -among those copper-colored gentlemen, when I had nothing to depend on -except the speed of my pony; but how does it come that you are so well -posted? Have you ever hunted on the plains?” - -“No, sir; but I have the promise that I shall some day enjoy that -pleasure,” answered Joe. “My uncle told me about it. He’s been there -often. Now the question in my mind is: Did Matt, before his family -scattered like so many quails, appoint a place of meeting? If he did, -that’s where we ought to go.” - -“Young man, you are a sharp one,” said the gentleman, admiringly. “What -do you say, Swan?” - -The guide appealed to could not say any thing, and neither could the -others. Unfortunately they did not know that the squatter had made -friends with the vagabonds living in the vicinity of the State hatchery. -If they had known it, that was the place they would have started for -without loss of time, but they wouldn’t have caught him if they had gone -there. - -“There’s a good deal of hard sense in Joe’s head,” said Mr. Swan, after -a short pause. “Of course, Matt and his family will come together again -somewhere, but you see the trouble is, we don’t know what point they are -striking for.” - -“Can’t you follow the trails and find out?” - -“Take the plainest one of them trails, and I’ll bet every thing I’ve got -that you can’t follow it a hundred yards,” said Mr. Swan. “It is going -to take us a good long month to hunt them down, and we’ll be lucky if we -do it in that time.” - -“But we can’t wait so long,” protested one of the guests. “We must -return to the city to-morrow. Our business demands our attention.” - -The guides consulted in low tones, and so did their employers. Finally -one of the latter wrote something on a card and handed it to Mr. Swan, -saying: - -“If we have done all we can, we might as well go back to the hotel; but -before we start, we make you this offer: We will give a hundred dollars -apiece to the man who will find our weapons, capture the thief and hold -him so that we can come and testify against him. Or, we will give fifty -dollars apiece for the guns without the thief, and the same amounts for -the thief without the guns. Boys, you are included in that offer.” - -“Thank you, sir,” said Arthur. “It would afford us great satisfaction if -we could be the means of restoring your property to you.” - -“Before we leave here we’ll fix things so that Matt won’t find much to -comfort him if he should accidentally circle around this way after we -are gone,” said Mr. Swan. “Pile on every thing, boys.” - -The “boys” understood him and went to work with a will. In less time -than it takes to tell it, the lean-to was pulled down and thrown upon -the fire, the bed-clothes and dishes were piled on top, the bacon was -driven so deeply into the ground by the heels of heavy boots that a -hungry hound could hardly have scented it—in short, every thing that -Matt and his family had left behind in their hurried flight, was utterly -destroyed. His scow was not forgotten. They would knock it out of all -semblance to a boat when they went back to the creek. - -Having started a roaring fire, they were obliged to stay and see it burn -itself out, for they dared not leave it for fear that it might set the -woods aflame. So they stood around and saw it blaze, grumbling the while -over the ill luck that had attended their efforts to capture the cunning -squatter, and it was fully three-quarters of an hour before Mr. Swan -thought it safe to return to the boats. This delay gave Matt Coyle -plenty of time in which to carry out a very neat piece of villainy, some -of which I saw, and all of which I heard. - -While the scenes I have just described were being enacted in the -clearing, there were lively times in the little bay of which I have -spoken. You know we were left in company with Matt’s scow, the boat in -which I rode being drawn up on the bank on one side of him and Mr. -Swan’s on the other; and no sooner had the hunting party disappeared in -the bushes, than we began reviling him the best we knew how. The only -reason we didn’t break him into kindling wood at once, was because we -couldn’t. Our will was good enough. - -“Get away from here,” said _Wanderer_. (That was the name of Mr. Swan’s -boat. He had always lived and worked in the company of gentlemen, and he -did not like to occupy close quarters with so disreputable a fellow as -the scow.) - -“Get away from here yourself,” was the report. “I was here first, an’ -I’m going to stay.” - -“I’ll bet you will,” said _Bushboy_. (That was the name of the boat Joe -and his chums hired at Indian Lake.) “But you may be sure of one thing: -You will stay a wreck.” - -“That’s so,” said I. “Joe Wayring will never go away leaving him above -the water. He’ll break him up so completely that his thief of a master -won’t know him if he should happen along this way again.” - -“He will never come this way again until he is on his road to jail,” -said _Wanderer_. “Mr. Swan is after him, and he’s going to catch him, -too.” - -“Wal, Matt’ll go to jail knowin’ that he’s done a right smart of damage -sence he’s been layin’ around loose in the woods, an’ if I am busted up, -I shall have the same comfortin’ knowledge. Fly-rod has seed me afore. I -captured his friend, the canvas canoe—” - -“Where is he now?” I interrupted. - -“Out there in the bresh, hid away so snug that nobody won’t ever find -him,” was the taunting reply. “Them guns is hid out there too, but not -in the same place. Matt come purty near gettin’ you as well as the -canoe. I heard him say that he almost overtook Joe while he was a -runnin’ through the woods with you in his hand.” - -“Yes; and Matt would have got me over the head if he had been able to -run a little faster.” - -“An’ Joe would have got a hickory over the back, I tell you,” said the -old scow. “How do you reckon that that skiff I sent to the bottom of the -pond feels by this time?” - -“You didn’t send him to the bottom of the pond,” said I, angrily. “You -tried hard enough, but you didn’t make it.” - -The bait-rods and the boats took up the quarrel, and while I listened, I -waited impatiently for the return of the hunting party. Presently I -heard a slight rustling in the thicket at the head of the bay, but it -was not made by the persons I wanted to see. It was Matt Coyle that -stuck his ugly face out of the bushes, and his bleared and blood-shot -eyes that traveled from one to another of the boats that lay before him. -Then he turned and whispered to some one behind him and the whole family -came and stood upon the bank. Their sudden appearance made it plain to -all of us that the squatter and his backers, after “scattering like so -many quails,” had run just far enough in different directions to -bewilder their pursuers, after which they “circled around” and came back -to the bay, intending to continue their flight in the scow, which would -leave no trail that could be followed. It was evident, too, that there -had been an understanding among them before they separated; otherwise -they would not all have been there. When Matt’s gaze rested upon the -trim little boats before him, he said in a low but distinct voice— - -“Whoop-ee! Jest look at all them nice skiffs, will you? Ain’t we in luck -though? Never mind the scow. She’s done good work fur us, but we’ll -leave her behind now an’ travel like other white folks do. Old woman, -you go round to all them boats an’ pick up the grub what’s into ’em; -Jakey, you an’ Sam ketch up the poles an’ cookin’ things an’ every other -article you can get your two hands onto. Dump them that’ll sink into the -water an’ chuck them that won’t sink as fur into the bresh as you can, -so’t they won’t never find’ em no more. While you are doin’ that, I’ll -pick out two of the best boats fur our own.” - -“Say, pap, what’s the reason we don’t carry off the things in place of -throwin’ on ’em away or sinkin’ ’em?” asked Jake. - -“’Cause we can’t sell ’em, an’ we don’t want to be bothered with totin’ -’em. You will save time if you do jest as I told you. We want to get -away from here as sudden as we can.” - -“An’ what’ll we do with the boats that we don’t take with us?” continued -Jake. “Will we bust ’em up?” - -“Now, jest listen at the fule!” exclaimed Matt, angrily. “The noise we -would make in bustin’ on ’em up would bring ole Swan back here a -runnin’; an’ I don’t care to see him with all them other fellers at his -back.” - -The vagabonds worked with surprising celerity, and in a very short space -of time two of the finest boats in the lot had been pushed into the -water, and the old woman was piling provisions into them by the armful, -while Jake and Sam busied themselves in disposing of the other things as -their sire had directed. I was sent whirling through the air toward the -opposite side of the bay, and sad to relate, was stopped in my headlong -flight by a tree, against which I struck with a sounding whack. There -was a loud snap, and I fell to the ground helpless. My second joint was -broken close to the ferrule. - -I lay for a long time where I had fallen—so long that I began to wonder -if I was to remain there until my ferrules were all rusted to pieces and -I became like the mold beneath me. I heard Matt and his family leave the -bay in the stolen boats. I knew when they forced their way through the -bushes into the creek, and was greatly astonished to know that they -turned down stream toward the pond, the direction in which their -pursuers would have to go when they returned to the hotel. But Matt, the -sly old fox, had reasoned with himself on this point before he adopted -these extraordinary tactics. It lacked only about half an hour of -night-fall, and Mr. Swan and his party would soon be obliged to go into -camp; while Matt knowing every crook and turn in the creek, could travel -as well in the dark as he could by daylight. Before the sun arose, he -would be miles away and among friends. If Mr. Swan took it for granted -that he had gone up instead of down stream, and went that way himself in -hope of being able to overtake him, it would give the squatter just so -much more time in which to make good his escape. It was a very neat -trick on Matt’s part. - -At last, after a long interval of waiting, I heard voices and footsteps -on the other side of the bay. The birds having flown there was no need -of caution, and some of the returning party were talking in their -ordinary tones, while others were shouting back at their friends in the -rear. My acute sense of hearing told me when they came out of the -bushes, and I also caught the exclamations of rage and astonishment that -fell from their lips when they saw what had been done in the bay during -their brief absence. The guides were almost beside themselves with fury, -but the two city sportsmen laughed uproariously. - -“We’re a pretty set, I must say,” I heard one of them exclaim. “If I -hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I never should have believed that any -man living could play a trick like this upon us. Two of the best boats, -all the rods, provisions and dishes, as well as the frying-pans are -gone. I think we had better camp right where we are, start for home at -the first peep of day and never show our faces in the woods again.” - -“Hallo! What’s this here?” cried one of the guides, who, for want of -something better to do, had stepped into the skiff and shoved out into -the bay. He looked down into the clear waters as he spoke, then seized -the boathook, and after a little maneuvering with it, brought one of the -frying-pans to light. - -“And what’s that over there on the other side?” exclaimed the familiar -voice of Mr. Swan. - -“Why, it’s my unlucky bait-rod, as sure as the world,” said Arthur -Hastings. “But he was lucky this time, wasn’t he? If he hadn’t lodged in -the friendly branches of that evergreen, I should have thought that Matt -Coyle had carried him off again.” - -These unexpected discoveries led to a thorough examination of the bay -and of the bushes surrounding it, and the result was most satisfactory. -Before dark every single article that Jake and Sam had thrown away, had -been recovered. There was nothing missing now except the boats and the -provisions; but the loss of these things did not put the party to any -great inconvenience. There was an abundance of game in the woods, plenty -of fish to be had for the catching, and Matt’s scow could easily carry -the four men who had lost their skiffs. - -But little more remains to be told. Mr. Swan and his party camped “right -where they were” that night, made an early start the next morning, and -reached Indian Lake on the afternoon of the following day. The chums -found their skiff in the best possible condition, and looking very nobby -in her new dress, by which I mean a fresh coat of paint. They gave it -another day in which to dry, then laid in a supply of provisions and -fearlessly turned their faces toward the wilderness; while the two city -sportsmen, thoroughly disgusted with their failure, and by the trick -that Matt had so neatly played upon them, set out for home declaring -that they would never visit Indian Lake again until their guns had been -restored to them, and the man who stole them was safely lodged in jail. - -During the next few days I had nothing to do but make myself miserable -while the other rods caught the fish that were served up three times a -day until the boys grew tired of them. I was glad when Joe said that it -was time to start for home, but sorry for the disappointment he met when -he got there. Uncle Joe, who was to have taken them upon an extended -tour, “either East or West, they didn’t know which,” had suddenly been -called away on important business, and the probabilities were that if -they took their contemplated trip at all it would not be until near the -end of the vacation; and then it would have to be a very short one. But -Joe didn’t get sulky, as some boys would have done under like -circumstances. He wrote to his uncle, found out when he was coming home, -and suggested an immediate return to Indian Lake. Arthur and Roy were -delighted with the proposal, and I was at once given into the hands of a -skilled mechanic, who in two days’ time mended my broken joint so neatly -that no one could tell, even with the closest scrutiny, that there had -ever been any thing the matter with it. Joe came after me on the -afternoon of the second day, and when he carried me to his room and -stood me in the corner where I was to stay until something that he -called “ferrule cement” had had time to harden, whom should I see but my -old friend, the canvas canoe, occupying his usual place in the recess, -and looking none the worse for his forced sojourn among the Indian Lake -vagabonds. - -“Well, I swan to man!” I exclaimed, unconsciously making use of an -expression which I had heard so often that I had become quite familiar -with it. “How in the name of all that’s wonderful did you get back?” - -“Glad to see you, old fellow,” replied the canoe, in his jolly, hearty -fashion, “but sorry to hear that you got crippled. Where have you been?” - -“Just got back from the doctor’s shop. I am all right again, or shall be -in a few days. When and how did you return?” - -“Came yesterday. Mr. Swan brought me. Found me hidden under a pile of -brush, not more than twenty feet from the place where he and his party -stood when they burned the squatter’s shanty. I saw and heard every -thing that happened there.” - -“Well, tell us all about it. I know you must have had some adventures -during your absence.” - -“Indeed I have; and I have brought a heavy load of anxiety back with me. -How I wish I could warn Joe and his chums! The threats I heard made -against them were enough to make even a canvas canoe shudder.” - -With these preliminary remarks the canoe settled himself for an -all-night’s task. I have not space enough in this book to repeat what he -said, and besides, the narrative of my exploits, which so far are -neither many nor brilliant I confess, is ended for the time being; so I -will gladly step aside and give place to my accommodating friend, who is -a more experienced story-teller than myself, and who, in the second -volume of this series, will describe many interesting and some exciting -incidents which happened during his captivity. His story will be -entitled: THE ADVENTURES OF A CANVAS CANOE. - - - THE END. - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - J. T. TROWBRIDGE. - - -Neither as a writer does he stand apart from the great currents of life -and select some exceptional phase or odd combination of circumstances. -He stands on the common level and appeals to the universal heart, and -all that he suggests or achieves is on the plane and in the line of -march of the great body of humanity. - -The Jack Hazard series of stories, published in the late _Our Young -Folks_, and continued in the first volume of _St. Nicholas_, under the -title of “Fast Friends,” is no doubt destined to hold a high place in -this class of literature. The delight of the boys in them (and of their -seniors, too) is well founded. They go to the right spot every time. -Trowbridge knows the heart of a boy like a book, and the heart of a man, -too, and he has laid them both open in these books in a most successful -manner. Apart from the qualities that render the series so attractive to -all young readers, they have great value on account of their -portraitures of American country life and character. The drawing is -wonderfully accurate, and as spirited as it is true. The constable, -Sellick, is an original character, and as minor figures where will we -find anything better than Miss Wansey, and Mr. P. Pipkin, Esq. The -picture of Mr. Dink’s school, too, is capital, and where else in fiction -is there a better nick-name than that the boys gave to poor little -Stephen Treadwell, “Step Hen,” as he himself pronounced his name in an -unfortunate moment when he saw it in print for the first time in his -lesson in school. - -On the whole, these books are very satisfactory, and afford the critical -reader the rare pleasure of the works that are just adequate, that -easily fulfill themselves and accomplish all they set out to -do.—_Scribner’s Monthly._ - - - JACK HAZARD SERIES - - 6 vols. BY J. T. TROWBRIDGE. $7.25 - - Jack Hazard and His Fortunes. - The Young Surveyor. - Fast Friends. - Doing His Best. - A Chance for Himself. - Lawrence’s Adventures. - - --------------------- - - - - - =International Bibles= - -Are known the world over for their clear print, scholarly Helps and -absolutely flexible bindings. They comprise every variety of readable -type in every style of binding and include Text Bibles, Reference -Bibles, Teachers’ Bibles, Testaments, Psalms, Illustrated Bibles; also -the “International” Red Letter Testaments and Red Letter Bibles with the -prophetic types and prophecies relating to Christ in the Old Testament -printed in red, and the words of Christ in the New Testament printed in -red; also Christian Workers’ Testament and Christian Workers’ Bible in -which all subjects or the Theme of Salvation are indexed and marked in -red. - -For sale by all booksellers. 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WINSTON CO.= - Winston Building - PHILADELPHIA, PA. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes - -Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_); text in bold by -“equal” signs (=bold=). - -Printer, punctuation and spelling inaccuracies were silently corrected. - -Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved. - -Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved. - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Joe Wayring at Home, by Harry Castlemon - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JOE WAYRING AT HOME *** - -***** This file should be named 55730-0.txt or 55730-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/5/7/3/55730/ - -Produced by David Edwards, Elizabeth Oscanyan and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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