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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3454463 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #68508 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/68508) diff --git a/old/68508-0.txt b/old/68508-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 8586900..0000000 --- a/old/68508-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6913 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Boy Scouts' badge of courage, by -Howard Payson - -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 -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The Boy Scouts' badge of courage - -Author: Howard Payson - -Illustrator: Arthur O. Scott - -Release Date: July 12, 2022 [eBook #68508] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Roger Frank, Al Haines and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOY SCOUTS' BADGE OF COURAGE *** - - - The Boy Scouts’ Badge of Courage - - - - -[Illustration: “Careful how you step on that dynamite!” warned Rob.] - - - - - THE BOY SCOUTS’ BADGE OF COURAGE - - BY - - LIEUT. HOWARD PAYSON - - AUTHOR OF “THE MOTORCYCLE SERIES,” “THE BOY SCOUTS OF THE - EAGLE PATROL,” “THE BOY SCOUTS AND THE ARMY AIRSHIP,” - “THE BOY SCOUTS WITH THE ALLIES IN FRANCE,” - “THE BOY SCOUTS ON BELGIAN BATTLEFIELDS,” - “THE BOY SCOUTS’ CAMPAIGN - FOR PREPAREDNESS,” - ETC., ETC. - - With Illustrations by - ARTHUR O. SCOTT - - NEW YORK - HURST & COMPANY, Inc. - PUBLISHERS - - - - - Copyright, 1917, - BY - HURST & COMPANY - - - - - CONTENTS - - I. Four Chums in Khaki - II. First Aid Arouses Ralph’s Curiosity - III. The Young Fur Farmer - IV. The Black Fox Pen - V. An Uninvited Visitor - VI. Peleg Pinder’s Heavy Load - VII. Turning It Over to Rob - VIII. A Great Day for Water Sport - IX. The Scout Law - X. A Wild Grapevine Rope - XI. The Rescue of Little Caleb - XII. How the Test Panned Out - XIII. When the Circus Came to Town - XIV. The Rising Wind - XV. The Clang of the Fire Bell - XVI. Fighting the Flames - XVII. A Wild Race Against Time - XVIII. Back to the Burning Town - XIX. Behind the Broken Door - XX. The Struggle to Save the Town - XXI. After It Was All Over - XXII. Laying Plans - XXIII. Just Between Boys - XXIV. The Answer to the Puzzle - XXV. Lucky Peleg! - XXVI. Headed for Home - - - - - Chapter I - - Four Chums in Khaki - - -“We’re nearly there, fellows!” - -“Glad to know it, Sim. For one, I’m tired of this stuffy railroad -car.” - -“That isn’t all our trouble by a long shot, Andy Bowles. You must -remember that two shavings of railway lunch-counter sandwiches don’t -go _very_ far toward satisfying a growing boy’s appetite.” - -“I thought we would soon hear that cry for help from Tubby. His mind -seems to run along the eating groove most of the time. A _growing_ -boy, eh? If he keeps on expanding much more, he’ll be as big as a -hogshead, I reckon.” - -“Oh! well, one consolation is you’ll all have to quit calling me -Tubby, then. Say, we must be getting somewhere near that town of -Wyoming,--how about it, Rob?” - -There were four of them occupying seats that faced each other,--all -wearing the well-known khaki suits that mark scouts pretty much the -whole world over these modern days. - -The very stout chap with the freckled, good-natured face was Tubby -Hopkins. Sim Jeffords was of rather lean build, with a shrewd look -in his keen eyes; Andy Bowles was the one whose cheeks every now and -then expanded as though in imagination he might be practicing some -new bugle call, for Andy had long been recognized as the official -“reveille” and “taps” manipulator of the troop; and last, but far -from least, was Rob Blake, the determined leader of the Eagle -Patrol, who sometimes acted also as assistant master to the Hampton -Troop. - -These four comrades, tried and true, came from Long Island, and they -had been riding for some hours on a train heading up into the -interior of New York State. Part of the Eagle Patrol had passed -through rather remarkable adventures in various parts of our own -country and abroad as well. Those who are making their acquaintance -for the first time in these pages, and who would like to know more -concerning their aims and ambitions, as well as some of the stirring -things that came their way, are advised to secure recent volumes of -this series, where they will find tales of many lively happenings -well calculated to please them. - -Lately, the boys of the Eagle Patrol had been concerned in the -question of national preparedness, and in their role of scouts -proved considerable help to Government officials who were wrestling -with a number of serious problems. - -The vacation season was wearing on after their return home from New -Jersey, and things around Hampton had begun to assume their habitual -mid-summer stagnation when Sim Jeffords broached an idea to the -patrol leader that rather fascinated Rob. - -It seemed that Sim had a Cousin Ralph who lived up in the State not -far from the heart of the famous Adirondack region, where his father -owned a large farm of hundreds of acres a few miles from the -bustling manufacturing town of--well, let us call it Wyoming, because -for certain reasons it might not be wholly advisable to locate it -positively. - -This cousin appeared to have a “grouch,” as Sim called it, -concerning the subject of Boy Scouts. He believed they were an -overrated lot of boys who somehow managed to advertise themselves in -the newspapers, but who, after all, could not begin to “hold a -candle” to some outside fellows of practical experience. - -Some of the correspondence between the cousins when shown to Rob -amused him; and at the same time he could not help feeling just a -little annoyed at the “jabs” which the said Ralph continued to give -the movement. - -More than once he had said he would like to know the Adirondack boy, -because he believed he could manage to convert him and influence him -to join a scout troop. - -The more Rob heard about several activities on the part of Ralph -Jeffords, the greater his interest grew. If the farm boy could show -such surprising aptitude in Nature study and so wide a knowledge of -the habits of wild animals as his interesting letters indicated, Rob -felt sure he would make a most valuable addition to the ranks of the -khaki-clad scouts. - -Hence, when Sim came and read how his cousin had actually invited -him to fetch several of his chums along up to the farm and see what -a fellow who made no pretense to publicity could accomplish in -several lines of outdoor work, Rob “fell” for the scheme instantly. -This expedition was the result of his growing desire to meet Ralph -Jeffords on his own heath and convince him that scouts were not at -all overrated, as he seemed to believe. - -With this short but necessary digression, we can go back again to -the four boys whose lively talk will doubtless explain many other -things connected with their enterprise. - -“Well,” Rob Blake observed in answer to Tubby’s question, “according -to this railroad folder which I got hold of before leaving New York -City, we are right now at a little way-station called Jupiter, and I -figure that Wyoming lies just seven miles further along the line. At -the rate we are going we should be there in ten or twelve minutes.” - -“It ought to be a paying trip for us, I should say,” observed Andy, -thoughtfully. “First of all there’s that stump-blowing business by -the use of dynamite, which I’ve always wanted to see done. Ralph -says they have cleared many acres in that way; and, besides, his -father, being an advanced scientific farmer, is meaning to make use -of dynamite to break up the soil. They say pulverizing it many feet -down has resulted in wonderful crops of grain and garden sass.” - -“For my part,” added Sim, “and I think I speak for Rob, I’m -interested in what my cousin has been doing with his fur farm. You -know, his father fenced in a hundred acres of his wildest land, and -for a year or two now Ralph has been experimenting in raising black -foxes for the market. He hasn’t told me a great deal about it, but -what little I know has excited me a heap.” - -“Then he’s actually succeeded in raising litters of pups, has he?” -asked Tubby. - -“I understand he has succeeded more than fairly well,” answered Sim, -proudly, for it was his own cousin of whom they were speaking, -bearing the family name of Jeffords, too, which counted for a lot -with a boy. “Lately he’s branched out some, and I believe he’s not -only started a skunk farm in a fenced-in corner of his ‘preserves,’ -but is going to try raising mink and otter, something that has -really never been done before.” - -“My stars! but that cousin of yours is ambitious!” gasped Tubby, -though, not much given to energetic movements himself, could at -least admire any one who showed a disposition that way. “The only -thing I ever thought I’d like to raise in that fashion was frogs, -because frogs, you know, have dandy shanks that taste just like -spring chicken. I never could get enough of ’em when we camped out.” - -“Oh! maybe you will up at my cousin’s place,” said Sim, -indifferently, “for he used to have a pond just _swarming_ with -husky bull-frogs as big as your hat. You’ll have a jolly old time -knocking ’em over and fixing ’em for all of us, Tubby.” - -“I agree to handle the job, and would like nothing better,” snapped -the stout boy, his face one broad grin of expectancy, as though an -ambition he had cherished for many a moon was in a fair way of being -realized at last; they could also see Tubby work his jaws as though -his mouth fairly watered at the anticipation of the feasts in store. - -A short time afterward the train was drawing close to Wyoming. -Clouds of smoke told that there was considerable manufacturing done; -and when finally they found themselves going into the station, Rob -made up his mind that the mountain town was a pretty lively place. -He wondered how it ever came that it had never had a scout troop -started; and began to suspect there must be something of the feeling -Ralph Jeffords had voiced impregnating the entire community. - -To himself Rob was saying that it certainly looked as though these -benighted people needed some sort of practical demonstration of the -value to any community an efficient scout troop was always bound to -be. He secretly hoped that before he and his comrades of the Eagle -Patrol left that region an opportunity might arise whereby they -could give these folks an object lesson calculated to bear fruit an -hundred fold. - -Nevertheless, little did Rob Blake suspect just then what a -wonderful chance to prove their worth was destined to be offered to -himself and three chums; but in good time all that will be set -before the reader. - -“There’s Ralph!” suddenly ejaculated Sim, as with their luggage in -hand they prepared to leave the car platform, for the train had now -stopped at the station. - -A sturdily built young chap, whom Rob instantly liked at first -sight, advanced toward them. If Ralph was a farmer’s son, he did not -look very countrified; but, then, the fact of his father being -well-to-do had enabled the boy to attend high school, and secure all -the advantages that go with an education. - -Sim grasped him by the hand, though immediately wincing under the -pressure Ralph unconsciously put into his warm welcoming grip. In -turn Sim introduced each of his three chums, who were also given a -sample of country cordiality, Tubby rubbing his fat hand for several -minutes afterwards. - -“I’ve got the old one-horse shay handy here to carry you all up in, -and your duffle ditto,” laughed Ralph, pointing to a rambling car -that looked capable of holding half a dozen passengers, and a -quantity of stuff besides. “She isn’t to be wholly relied on for -stability, because she rocks like a ship in a storm; but that engine -is all right, for I look after it myself.” - -So Rob understood that besides his many other good qualities Ralph -Jeffords must be something of a mechanic, which added to his -interest in the tall country lad. He made up his mind on the spot -that he was going to like Ralph; and more than ever determined he -would win him around to have a much higher opinion of scouts in -general, and those of the Eagle Patrol in particular, before he left -Wyoming for Long Island again. - -They had managed to stow away their suitcases and overcoats, as well -as what fishing tackle they had thought to fetch along in hopes of -having some sport while up there in the mountains, when something -came to pass that for the moment made them forget all their various -plans. - -Tubby was just settling down in a corner of the rear seat, and -trying to get his feet clear of the traps that littered the bottom, -when he suddenly threw out one of his hands and pointed excitedly, -as he cried shrilly: - -“Oh! look, boys, look there at that horse acting crazy! One of the -cinders from the engine must have fallen on his back and burned him. -There, he’s broke loose and is coming this way like a house afire! -Somebody get hold of the reins and stop him!” - - - - - Chapter II - - “First Aid” Arouses Ralph’s Curiosity - - -It chanced that Ralph was the only one not already in the car, for -he had stepped around to give the crank a toss, and turn over the -engine for making a start. - -As a rule Rob Blake was very quick in his movements, but by the time -he had succeeded in getting his feet free from the various -impediments not yet properly stowed away, and jumped to the ground, -the lively country boy had actually sprung forward, seized the -horse’s bridle, and by throwing his whole weight on the lines -dragged him to a standstill. - -It was splendidly done, and Rob felt that had Ralph only been a -wearer of the khaki he would, because of that act, have been a -candidate for a medal such as is given to scouts for saving human -life. - -The boy who was in the vehicle had unfortunately stood up the better -to pull at the reins, as he shrieked to the runaway animal to stop; -when the sudden halt came he therefore lost his footing, and took a -severe header, landing on one shoulder, with his arm under him. - -Rob shivered as he heard the crash, for he felt certain the poor -chap would suffer some serious injury. Since Ralph seemed capable of -mastering the excited horse, Rob turned toward the writhing boy on -the ground. - -“Give Ralph a hand, Andy!” he called out energetically, accustomed -to handling sudden emergencies, and never for an instant losing his -head. “You come with me, Sim. This boy has been badly hurt, I’m -afraid.” - -The little fellow was groaning terribly as they reached his side, -and trying unsuccessfully to move himself. - -“Oh! it’s broken! it’s broken! What will daddy say?” he kept -moaning. - -Sim saw that his face was ashen white, showing that he must be -suffering great anguish. Rob immediately but gently turned him over. -His right arm sagged in a suspicious manner and told the story. - -“Is it as bad as that, Rob?” asked Sim, in genuine pity for the poor -fellow. - -Already the patrol leader was hastily examining, but it did not take -him long to understand what had happened. - -[Illustration: The patrol leader was hastily examining the little -fellow’s arm.] - -“Yes, he’s fractured both bones in the lower arm; but in a fairly -decent place between the elbow and wrist. Some one must run for a -doctor in a hurry.” - -“I’ll go,” said Ralph who had by now joined them, leaving Andy to -fasten the still quivering horse to a hitching post; “because I know -just where to find Doc Slimmons. Besides, I can get there quicker by -using the car.” - -He jumped over and quickly had the engine humming like mad. -Meanwhile, Tubby had managed to land, and when the car shot away -Ralph was the only occupant. - -Luckily enough, he actually met the doctor in his own little touring -car, so that he was back again before five minutes had passed. By -that time quite a crowd had gathered. Sim and Andy and Tubby were -employed in forcing the people to keep back, and this they did all -the better because they had long been accustomed to handling excited -crowds consumed either by a morbid curiosity, or by fear as in the -case of a panic. - -Doctor Slimmons asked a few questions. He seemed to be impressed -with the fact that Rob had known just how to act. - -“You say that his left shoulder was also out of place, and that you -pulled the bone into the socket again, my boy? Good for you. That -was the wisest thing to be done under the circumstances. I believe -now that if there was no doctor within reach you would have known -just how to go about handling this broken arm. You see, I happen to -be acquainted with some of the doings of you scouts, because I -served as scout master to a troop in Albany before coming up here to -take a practice.” - -“We have done such things before, Doctor,” said Rob, modestly, “and -with a fair measure of success. This poor boy is suffering terribly, -and I hope you get him home soon.” - -“Would you like to use my car for the job, Doctor?” asked Ralph, who -had listened to what was said with a question in his eyes, though he -knew that was no time to ask what was in his mind. - -“No, if you will assist me in getting him in my car, I can manage -very well; thank you just the same, Ralph. So you stopped the -runaway horse, did you; well, it was just what I would have expected -from you. Let me say it would give me a great deal of satisfaction -personally if khaki suits were more commonly seen on the streets of -Wyoming, where there seems to be a queer feeling against the -movement. There, lift gently, boys; now hold him until I can get in -and fix him comfortably. I’ve given him something to keep him from -fainting, and to deaden the pain as well. Before a great while I’ll -have the arm set in plaster. Thank you all for your assistance,” and -with that he started off, not with a rush, but in a way calculated -to save his young patient as much shock as possible. - -“Well, that was a sudden affair, all told,” remarked Tubby, who had -been greatly exercised because of the white face of the injured boy, -since he could understand what agony of mind and body the victim -must be suffering. “Shall we leave the horse and vehicle here, -Ralph?” - -“Oh! sure,” the other replied; “the boy’s father will come and claim -his property. I only hope he doesn’t blame the kid, because it -really wasn’t his fault. I reckon a red-hot cinder must have fallen -on his back, and stuck there. What was that I heard the Doctor say -about you setting the cub’s left arm that had been dislocated--was -that a fact?” - -“Oh! yes, but that was a simple job,” remarked Rob, smiling at the -decided interest the other seemed to show in the incident. - -“We’ve got a heap more important things to our credit than that, let -me tell you, Ralph,” Sim hastened to boast, when he saw the scout -leader shaking his head at him, as though to beg him not to “blow -his own horn,” but to leave the other find out these interesting -things for himself. - -“Well, suppose we try for a start again,” suggested the chauffeur; -“get settled in your places, boys, while I give the crank a turn.” - -“I wonder,” whispered Tubby to Rob, who chanced to sit next him, -with Andy filling the back seat, and Sim in front alongside the -driver, “I wonder if he begins to think scouts _can_ be worth a -pinch of salt, after all, Rob? You know that was one thing he wrote -in a letter?” - -“Keep quiet,” advised the other, also in a whisper, “and perhaps a -chance will crop up to show him the value of scout education. I’ve -got a hunch we’re due to open some people’s eyes up here. I hope it -turns out that way. Even that young doctor said they were a -narrow-minded lot, you remember, who had a queer antipathy against -scouts and their doings.” - -“Huh! given half a chance and we’ll soon show ’em,” grunted Tubby, -belligerently; and when the fat boy screwed up his features into -what he was pleased to term his “fighting face” he certainly did -look awe-inspiring, indeed. - -They were soon on their way, passing out of the town, and striking a -fair road that took them into the country. Ralph, as they went -along, pointed out a number of interesting features connected with -the landscape, chief of which was the high peak in the distance that -he called Thundertop. - -“They still get bear up in that country,” he remarked, with kindling -eyes that told of the sportsman spirit possessing him, “and deer are -often seen. Fact is, at this season of the year they seem tame, and -do heaps of damage to some of our crops. But since getting -interested in my fur farm I’ve given up hunting.” - -“Same way with us,” Sim hastened to say; “only now we do our hunting -with a camera instead of a gun. I know fellows who used to be just -savage to kill game, but who, nowadays, would ten times rather aim -to snap off pictures, showing all sorts of wild animals in their -native haunts.” - -“I’ve heard about that stunt,” admitted Ralph, “but never met any -one who had done much at it. I hope you’ve thought to fetch some -pictures along with you, Sim; it would sure please me a heap to look -them over.” - -“I’m glad to say I have a pack with me, some of which I captured -myself, while other scouts grabbed the rest. I’ll take great -pleasure in exhibiting the set to you tonight, Cousin Ralph,” and -the speaker gave Rob a wicked little wink as he partly turned his -head, as though to call the attention of the patrol leader to the -interest the other was already showing in regard to some of their -activities. - -Indeed, Rob was growing more deeply in earnest continually with -regard to winning the good opinion of this fine fellow, who it -seemed had for so long been laboring under such a misapprehension -with regard to the value of scout organization. - -Later on he learned that a troop had once been started in Wyoming, -but, unfortunately, the fellows who tried to play the part were not -qualified to serve with credit, nor could they find the right kind -of a scout master who would take an interest in his charges. The -consequence was that the troop went from bad to worse, and committed -such depredations that in the end they had been dismissed from the -service, the wise men at Headquarters declining to have the name of -the organization brought into disrepute in such a scandalous -fashion. - -“Our place is only about eight miles out of town,” Ralph proceeded -to explain, as they continued to glide along at a rapid pace, though -the big roomy car certainly did “wobble” furiously, and the lurches -occasionally made on bad pieces of the roadway tried Tubby’s -patience severely, for his breath was knocked out of his body by the -“jouncing.” - -“Oh! I’m glad of that!” Tubby was heard to say. Tubby may have had -the supper hour in view when he uttered those words, rather than the -rough bouncing he was experiencing. - -“You’ve come in time to see how we knock out some of the stumps in a -piece of former woodland,” remarked the farm boy. “Dad’s doing some -of his plowing with dynamite, just to get in practice for the fall, -when he expects to turn over ten acres that way for an experiment -patch. Yes, and I’ve got heaps and heaps to show you up at my -hatchery and fur farm. I’m already glad you brought your friends -along, Sim. I’ve been hoping to meet some scouts for quite a while; -because, you see, I want to find out in what way they’re different -from other fellows.” - -“Oh! get that idea out of your head in the start, Ralph,” Rob told -him, seriously! “Scouts are always boys, just the same, and with a -pretty good dose of fun in them, as you’ll find. If we do have some -ways that are different from the fellows you happen to know around -Wyoming, I want you to find them out for yourself, because a scout -should never boast of anything he’s done.” - -“Every one of my chums,” chimed in Sim, proudly, “was just wild to -come along with me when they heard of the stunts you were doing up -here. They’re interested a heap in fur farming. I’ve heard Rob here -talking about it for two years back. You’ll be able to give us lots -of valuable pointers, Ralph; not that any of us consider going into -the business as possible rivals.” - -“Shucks! you’re welcome to, if you see fit,” declared the other, -indifferently. “The chances are ten to one against success, unless -you’ve got the right sort of temperament for the job, and, besides, -know all about foxes, and mink, and otter, and skunks. Fortunes can -be made, and fortunes lost in fur farming. It all depends on the way -you go about it. So far I’ve been pretty lucky, if I do say it -myself. Wait a bit until I can show you my plant, that’s all. Here -we are, now, at the entrance of the Jefford Farm.” - - - - - Chapter III - - The Young Fur Farmer - - -“Skunks!” repeated Tubby, with a gasp of surprise, “do you really -mean to tell me you’re raising a colony of those horrible critters -around here, Ralph,” and at that he commenced to sniff the pure -atmosphere most suspiciously, in a manner to make some of the others -laugh uproarously. - -“Wait and see later on,” was all the information Ralph Jeffords -would offer, as they turned in through an open gateway, and motored -up a winding drive that led to the rambling farmhouse. - -The boys were immediately impressed with the air of neatness that -seemed to be a leading feature at the Jeffords farm. Evidently, the -farmer was not only a man of considerable means, but he also liked -to surround himself with conveniences such as few dwellers in this -Adirondack wilderness could afford to possess. Running water, -electricity generated by his own plant, gas made at home, and a -dozen other like comforts attested to his good sense. - -“You see, my father had to come up here to live long ago,” explained -Ralph, when he heard the others express their surprise concerning -these things so unusual in a district removed from town, “and as he -grew to love the place more and more, he kept installing these -conveniences, until now we are fairly comfortable.” - -Tubby felt sure he would like the whole outing first-rate. He even -sniffed the air again vigorously, this time because of a delightful -aroma of cooking that was borne from the kitchen end of the big -farmhouse; for as everybody knew Tubby Hopkins was--well he himself -called it a “connoisseur” when it came to the subject of providing -for the wants of boyish appetites. - -At the door a tall gentleman was waiting to receive them. He, of -course, was the father of Ralph, a sunburned man of rugged build, -who looked as though he enjoyed the best of health, thanks to his -outdoor life; and yet many years before he had come up to this -region expecting to make a last fight against insidious disease. - -“Glad to know you all, boys,” he told them, shaking hands cordially, -while his eyes glistened with pleasure, for it was not often Ralph -had friends visit him, he being a rather peculiar boy and much given -to keeping his own company. - -Supper was soon ready, and although the boys had felt a bit tired -after a day on the train, they were speedily revived once they sat -down to a table that seemed fairly to _groan_ under the weight of -good things. - -Tubby actually slyly pinched himself once or twice as he looked at -the wonderful spread, for he feared he was dreaming. Tubby was -already certain he would like the Jeffords farm very much--all but -those skunks, and somehow that worried him. He had had a former -experience with similar little animals that had given him great -trouble, and caused him to be shunned by every boy in camp during -the rest of their stay in the woods. - -“Huh! once stung, twice shy,” was the way Tubby put it when he -allowed his mind to travel back again to those sorrowful days of the -past. - -Afterwards they gathered in the big living-room, where the -conversation became general. Rob had warned his chums not to attempt -to boast of anything they had seen or done in their capacity as -scouts; but when actually questioned they were at liberty to reply -at length. - -Thus a number of events came to be mentioned, and it could be seen -that both Ralph and his father had their interest aroused. In good -time, just as Sim anticipated, the subject of photography was -brought forward. - -“Oh! yes, Sim!” exclaimed Ralph, suddenly, “you promised to let me -take a look at a bunch of pictures you and some of the other fellows -took--I think you said they were of wild animals you had met in the -woods. Would you mind getting them now, while we have time?” - -“I’ll be only too glad to do it, Ralph,” came the ready reply. -“While I’m about it, Rob, I might as well fetch the little package -of war scenes you fellows managed to snap off over in Belgium and -France when you were there; also of the Panama-Pacific Exposition at -San Francisco.” - -Ralph looked doubly eager on hearing this. - -“Do you mean to tell me, Rob, that you’ve been across the sea, and -actually in the fighting zone where the Germans and the French and -British are scrapping to beat the band?” was what he flashed out. - -“We had that great good fortune,” replied the leader of the Eagle -Patrol, modestly; “and saw a lot of things we’ll never forget to our -dying day. I’ll tell you more about them while you’re looking over -our little collection. They’re not the best pictures we’ve ever -taken, because you know we had only a tiny vest pocket edition of a -camera, and had to snap most of them off on the sly, for we would -have been arrested if caught doing it openly. I see you have a fine -reading glass here on the table, and with that you can get a lot of -good detail work.” - -“Well, I begin to see that I’m going to get real enjoyment out of -this visit you and your chums are paying me, Sim,” acknowledged -Ralph, frankly. - -When later on the pictures were being examined in detail, and there -was always some story connected with every one, he repeated this -expression a dozen times. Sim or one of the others had a lively yarn -to tell of many of the animal pictures--how Mr. Coon, for instance, -was induced to snap off his own likeness while in the act of -stealing a tempting bait, a cord causing the trap to spring, and the -flashlight to flame up, considerably astonishing the invader; also -little adventures of their own while stumbling along through the -darkness to set a snare for some wary old fox that would never come -near the camp. - -Ralph enjoyed these reminiscences hugely. They were quite in line -with his own fads, and more than once he exchanged glances with his -father as though to admit that possibly more enjoyment could be had -in hunting with a camera than while “toting” a murderous shotgun -through the woods in order to kill off the innocent little beasts -and birds that dwelt there. - -Then, when the war pictures were being shown, how eagerly did he ask -dozens of questions, for every boy has it in him to yearn to see -military manœuvres, perhaps a battle royal; though after passing -through one such experience his ideas are apt to change radically. - -Rob was able to give quite graphic descriptions of numerous -thrilling things he and his chums had witnessed, yes, and even -participated in. He told these modestly enough, as though it was -only a matter of course that scouts should lend a helping hand, and -to assist field hospital surgeons take care of desperately wounded -men of both sides who were being brought in by streams. - -At another time Ralph might have felt considerable doubt regarding -the authenticity of these accounts. Somehow, after witnessing the -prompt manner in which Rob had taken care of that unlucky boy thrown -from the vehicle, and suffering not only a broken arm but a -dislocated shoulder as well, it seemed only natural that a wideawake -young chap, such as he realized the scout leader to be, should prove -equal to even greater emergencies. - -Long and earnestly did he scan those small pictures that in many -ways revealed the fact that Rob had indeed been in the war zone, -close to where terrible battles were being daily fought to prove -whether the ideals of the Teuton or those of the Allies were to -prevail from that time forth in the world. - -Finally, Rob grew tired of talking. He turned the tables by starting -Ralph into telling some things connected with his unique enterprise -of fur farming. Once this subject came to the front and the farm boy -was all animation, for it could be easily seen that his heart was in -his peculiar profession. - -“I’d always had ideas on the subject,” he went on to say, “but only -a couple of years ago commenced to put them into practical -operation. Dad gave me a hundred of his wildest acres that could -never be used for anything else, and we had the tract fenced in, -even going down several feet so as to keep my foxes from ever -digging a burrow, and escaping in that way.” - -“Did you catch or buy your first pair of blacks?” asked Rob. - -“Well, as there hasn’t been a wild black fox seen around this -neighborhood for twenty years and more, though plenty of common red -ones,” Ralph explained, “we had to invest some big money for the -first pair. But they had a litter of pups, and it happened that the -little chaps came true to color, all right, though they sometimes -revert back to the old stock, you know. So we got started, and by -trading, selling, and buying I now have just sixteen foxes in my -pen, some young, and others ready to donate their pelts this Fall, -if the market quotations hold up.” - -“About what price do you call a good one?” asked Sim. - -“Oh! all the way from five hundred up to fifteen hundred dollars,” -said Ralph in the most unconcerned way possible; at which Tubby’s -eyes widened, and he exclaimed: - -“Gingersnaps and popguns! but you surely don’t mean that amount of -money for just one little black fox skin, Ralph?” - -“Why, certainly,” the other assured him, smiling at Tubby’s -amazement. “There have been extra fine ones that brought as much as -three thousand dollars. I never expect to raise such expensive -stock. I’m counting on five hundred as the basis of my calculations; -and if you’re fairly successful in raising your litters, there’s -good money in the business at that. Besides, it’s great sport in the -bargain to one who really loves animals, and knows more or less of -their cute ways.” - -“Five hundred dollars for just one little skin!” Tubby was heard to -mutter, as though that struck him as most remarkable. “Well, if you -keep along as you’re going, Ralph, I can see you getting to be a -second Rockefeller before you’re fifty. Now, I don’t suppose a skunk -is quite as valuable an article, though the fellow brave enough to -handle him deserves a fortune, according to my notion.” - -“Oh!” laughed the other, “we’re glad to get from one to three -dollars for a skunk pelt, according to whether it’s jet black, or -striped. Most of them are striped, you know. But wait and you’ll -learn more about these things later on.” - -“Then it’ll have to be at considerable distance for me, I guess,” -affirmed Tubby, with a look of resolution on his broad face, and a -determined shake of his head. - -Upon being encouraged to narrate some of his interesting experiences -while engaged in his odd calling, Ralph gladly complied. The scouts -showed deep curiosity as they plied him with questions. Evidently -there was a good chance for a fair exchange of notes, and it looked -as though both sides would be all the richer for this barter. - -It was found that an extra large room had been set aside for the -boys, with two generous double beds in it. There were four windows, -so they were sure to have an abundance of fresh air while up at the -farm. - -When retiring for the night, at about ten o’clock, amidst sundry -yawns, and more or less stretching of arms, the quartette from -Hampton seemed to agree on one particular thing. This was to the -effect that their stay in the mountains promised to be one of the -most interesting and entertaining of all their experiences. There -were so many new things for them to see, and the environments seemed -so particularly home-like-with royal fare thrown in, Tubby wanted -them to remember as they gave thanks--that a feast awaited them. - -Some of them wished they had come for a month instead of just one -week. But the vacation season was nearing an end, and they had -certain duties and engagements around Hampton that could not be -longer deferred. - -So they finally climbed aboard their several big beds, and Tubby -tried to get the wonderful things he had been hearing out of his -mind, so he could go to sleep. - - - - - Chapter IV - - The Black Fox Pen - - -A grand morning awaited the four boys as they hurriedly dressed, and -then stepped outdoors. Ralph was already afoot, as he had a few -chores to be attended to at the nearby barns, where the grunting of -fat hogs and squealing of smaller pigs, the lowing of fancy cattle -that gave the rich cream they had enjoyed the night before at -supper, as well as horses, sheep, and even some high-priced goats -told how Mr. Jeffords took his country pleasures. - -Then there was a series of houses and yards devoted to poultry, -mostly of the Rhode Island Red and White Leghorn varieties. Just -beyond the boys were delighted to find a pen of beautiful imported -pheasants with magnificent plumage of almost every color of the -rainbow. - -“But try as we would,” confessed Ralph, “we’ve never been very -successful in raising many of those birds. Father thinks they are -not suited to the climate, even up here in the mountains, where it -never gets as hot as down your way. You see, they flourish best in a -country like England, where the winters are mild, and summers fairly -decent. So we just keep that stock for show purposes. Father lost -money in his investment; but it taught us both a lesson. We go in -now for the best native stock of all sorts.” - -Breakfast even raised the good opinion Tubby already entertained -toward the woman who did the cooking. When he found that she was a -genuine Southern “mammy,” for the Jeffords originally used to be -slave-owners down in South Carolina, he could understand how she -made such jolly cornbread, and why they had hominy on the table -every morning of their stay. - -Now they had the first day before them, and there would be much to -interest them. - -“First thing you want to watch,” Ralph went on to say as they still -sat around the table, though no one could eat another mouthful of -food, “is the way we smash our big stumps up here. It’s always well -worth seeing to a novice, though long ago we became so accustomed of -harnessing dynamite, and making it do our work for us, that we take -things as a matter of course.” - -“I suppose,” said Andy Bowles, reflectively, “it’s just like folks -who have electricity, and use it for cooking, ironing, making toast, -heating water in a hurry, and a thousand-and-one other things; so -before long they look on it as a servant in the house, always to be -started working by the touch of a button.” - -Once outside and the boys were led to a distant part of the farm, -where the wood lot still remained. Here several men were busily -engaged in blasting out stumps of trees that had previously been cut -down, and carted away in one shape or other. - -The dynamite cartridge was placed properly, being connected by a -wire with a battery at some little distance away. Then at a signal -the operator made his connection, there would follow a sharp report -quite different from a powder explosion or the roar of big guns over -on the battle lines in Europe. After that the stump would be lifted -bodily from its lodgings and could be carted away, either whole or, -as usually happened, in fragments. - -Rob was particularly interested in the operation. He examined -everything connected with the simple apparatus, and asked a number -of questions concerning the outfit. No one dreamed how valuable the -information he thus received was going to prove before a great time -had elapsed. - -“Of course, if you are doing all these stunts with dynamite, Ralph,” -he finally remarked, “you must keep quite a stock of the explosive -on hand all the time?” - -“We have to,” he was told, without hesitation. “It is kept locked up -in that little stone house we passed coming up here, and father -himself doles out the day’s supply. The stuff is a little too -dangerous, and costly, too, to be left around loose.” - -“I should say so,” admitted Tubby, who had listened to all this talk -with interest, though never for a minute dreaming that it would -enter into any affair in which they would be connected. - -“You see,” continued Ralph, always willing to supply information, -“we have it so arranged that we can carry several cartridges, as -well as the coil of wire and the battery, on this little hand-cart -that one man can push. So we can go to any part of the farm. Once we -drove twenty miles with the outfit to clear up a tract for a -gentleman who had never seen stumps blown to pieces in this way.” - -Rob thought that was a clever idea. He impressed it upon his mind, -though had he been asked why he did this he might have found it -difficult to answer, except to say that he always liked to store -such interesting facts away for future reference. - -“How about that plowing with dynamite?” asked Sim. “Will Uncle Simon -be doing any of that today, do you expect, Ralph?” - -“I hardly think so,” the other replied. “It was laid out for -tomorrow, and one gang working along those lines is enough at a -time. The next thing on the morning’s programme is a visit to my fur -farm. Are you feeling fit for a little walk?” - -“We’re crazy to be on the jump,” affirmed Sim. “You must know that -scouts hike a great deal, which is one thing that makes for their -good health. Even Tubby here is pretty good at tramping, though you -wouldn’t think it to look at his build. He has plenty of grit, and -will stick everlastingly to anything he attempts, even if laboring -under a handicap that none of the rest of us have to stand.” - -Tubby had to bow to Sim after this compliment. - -“Oh! I’ve got plenty of grit,” he admitted, “but there are times -when I puff and blow terribly. That can’t be helped, you know. I’m -built on such a generous order that I have to carry a heap more -weight than most fellows.” - -Presently they started forth, chattering like magpies as they walked -along. The section of the big farm given over to Ralph’s experiment -in fur raising was quite some distance from the house, being an -angle where the primeval woods covered most of the “soil,” which, by -the way, happened to be pretty much rock. - -On the road they came across a pond where there were rushes, and -plenty of frog-spawn floating on the water. Tubby became interested -at once. - -“Oh! listen to the bass chorus, will you?” he ejaculated. “Why, -there must be a dozen huskies keeping time if there’s one. Oh! see -that monster on the bank! Say, I can count three more big greenbacks -sunning themselves on the mud near the edge of the water. Whew! but -it makes my mouth water just to think of the _delicious_ messes a -fellow can pick up here any old day.” - -Ralph laughed good-naturedly. - -“Then consider yourself appointed official frog hunter for the -crowd,” he told Tubby, whose eyes glistened at hearing the joyous -news. “You can have just as many as you want to eat while up here. -Somehow, I don’t seem to care much for frogs’ legs myself, nor does -dad. When we hanker after chicken we get chicken, and if it’s fish -we want, we go out for trout or bass; but the combination doesn’t -appeal to us.” - -“Thank you a dozen times, Ralph, for giving me the promise of a -smashing good feast. I’m abnormally fond of them. When you ship a -batch of frogs’ legs down to New York markets, how do you go after -them? They jump so swift that it’s always hard for me to corral any. -At home I use a short pole with two feet of line, and a red fly at -the end, pushing close enough to dangle the said fly before the nose -of Mr. Frog, who grabs it in a hurry.” - -“Oh! we don’t bother with all that fuss up here,” explained Ralph. -“I have a little Flobert rifle that I knock ’em over with. You could -get a hundred in a morning without much trouble. I’ll lend it to you -any time you want, Tubby.” - -That completed the delight of the fat boy, who, in imagination, -already saw himself feasting on his favorite dish to his heart’s -content. - -“It’s going to be lots of fun for Tubby,” remarked Andy, -quizzically, “but all the same it’s bound to be death to the frogs.” - -“Well, what good are the slippery things, except to serve as food -for people, I’d like to know? As singers they’re a miserable -failure, and all their lives, from the time they’re tadpoles up to -when they weigh two solid pounds, they never do any particular good -till they are served on the table, browned to a crisp, and making -honest boys’ hearts send up their thanksgiving.” - -“No use trying to convince Tubby about the sin of sacrificing things -to satisfy his appetite,” laughed Rob. “He’s committed to the idea -that everything was put on this earth for one great purpose, which -was to cater to the wants of man.” - -“Well, isn’t getting good and hungry one of man’s greatest -troubles?” Tubby immediately demanded, triumphantly. “Hasn’t he been -given dominion over all the fowls of the air, the fishes of the -waters, and the animals that populate the woods in order to sustain -his life? That’s my way of looking at it, so there you are.” - -As usual, Tubby’s argument was unanswerable, and as they left the -noisy frog pond in the rear, the fat boy cast a happy glance back at -the watery stretch, as though anticipating royal good times around -that vicinity later on. - -After a while they came to a wilder stretch of country. Rob knew -then that the fur farm was close at hand, and presently they caught -glimpses of the high fence surrounding the tract given over to this -unique enterprise. - -“I wanted to ask if you ever had any of your foxes stolen, Ralph?” -Sim was inquiring as they pushed on. “When a single black fox pelt -is worth hundreds of dollars, it strikes me that some unscrupulous -men might scheme to sneak in on you and try to clean out your farm.” - -“Well, they couldn’t do that, because the foxes are mighty cunning,” -the proprietor explained. “They would have to set traps, and come -and go. I’ve figured all that out, and taken proper precautions -against losing any of my prizes. One of the men stays up here day -and night, and I often join him. He has a cabin inside the -enclosure; and, besides, we have a way of detecting it if any -intruder should try to climb the fence. Electricity is a great -agent, you know, Sim.” - -He did not take the trouble to explain further, so the boys could -only guess what he meant. Rob believed that there must be a wire -running along the top of the fence, and that every night an electric -current was turned on, after the manner in which empty dwelling -houses are protected in big cities by a firm that guarantees against -their being entered and robbed during the absence of the owners. - -If this were so, it would mean that Ralph was clever, and -up-to-date. Rob found himself admiring the other more than ever. He -also meant to win Ralph over to a new way of looking at scout -activities before they departed from that region. Such a wideawake -and enterprising boy certainly should be enrolled in the ranks where -his influence would be for the upbuilding of other fellows’ -character. - -In other words, Rob believed that Wyoming was horribly behind the -times in not encouraging a regular scout troop; and he hoped that -this fault could be remedied before a great while, to the betterment -of the community and every growing lad around Wyoming. Because an -irresponsible group of fellows had once organized and tried to carry -out the ideas of the Boy Scouts without any real authorization from -Headquarters was no reason the experiment should not be tried again, -this time starting from the right base. - -Once inside the enclosure, they found many things to interest them. -Tubby expressed himself wild to set eyes on a genuine black fox. He -had often seen the common red variety, but something that was -especially valuable appealed to his curiosity. - -So, to oblige him, Ralph uttered a little call that, after being -repeated several times, brought a response. They could see a -dark-colored object creeping toward them, but it would not come very -close. - -“Usually Timmy will come up and eat food out of my hand,” said -Ralph; “but, like all his breed, he’s a timid little duck, and -doesn’t take to strangers. So that’s about all you’ll see of him -today.” - -At the first movement one of them made the fox vanished like a -streak. - -“He’s lit out,” said Tubby, in a disappointed tone. “I’m sorry, too, -because I’d like to say I’d petted a black fox. But, Ralph, between -us, he looked sort of silver-colored, you know?” - -“Some people call them silver foxes,” the grower of fine fur -explained. “In some lights they do look silver gray, and then again -dense black. But their fur is the silkiest known, which is one -reason it commands such a big price; it isn’t coarse like that of -other foxes. You know the difference between a common cart animal -and a thoroughbred Kentucky race horse; well, and black fox is of -that racer breed.” - -They naturally talked more or less of the chances of such an -enterprise succeeding, and Ralph learned that Rob Blake was pretty -well posted about all such things. - -“We are taking a chance, you understand,” he remarked, after Rob had -asked several questions, “but we think we are on the way to making -the venture a profitable one. Like everything else that deserves -success, you have to work like a beaver, and put your whole soul -into it, day and night. It’s eternal vigilance in raising fur, -because we have all sorts of enemies to fight against.” - -“Enemies?” repeated Tubby. “What do you mean by that, Ralph?” - -“Oh! some disease may get into your pen, just as sometimes happens -to chicken fanciers, and cleans them out. Foxes are liable to -disease, and also to insect pests that make the fur less valuable. -Then eagles and hawks are always ready to pick up a fat young fox if -they get a chance, not to speak of raiding wildcats. My man always -carried a gun with him when making his rounds.” - -“And has he often had to use it to protect your fox litters?” asked -Tubby. - -“We’ve killed quite a few birds that meant to rob me of the profits -of my labor,” Ralph answered, “and one wildcat was shot close to -this place; but so far as I know up to now I haven’t lost a single -pelt. We count our animals every day at feeding time. I’ll fix it -later on so you can see the whole pen at once by staying hidden in a -tree while we call them around. Now let’s move along, because you -will want to see my other pens containing the mink, otter, and -skunks.” - - - - - Chapter V - - An Uninvited Visitor - - -“You’ll excuse me, boys,” observed Tubby, naively, “if I stop to tie -my shoe lace. I’ll catch up with you right away, or hang on to your -wake, which will answer just as well.” - -Sim chuckled as though amused. - -“Bless his heart,” he remarked to Ralph, who had not exactly -understood, “Tubby has a natural prejudice against skunks. It was -honestly earned, too.” - -Then he rapidly went on to sketch the adventure that had taken place -once upon a time when Tubby was green to the woods, telling how the -other upon running across a skunk for the first time thought it a -“cute” little animal just such as he wanted for a camp pet; and -after trying to get it in a corner so as to pounce on it, Tubby -wished he hadn’t--also how he was banished from active participation -in the delightful times they had later on simply because the other -fellows refused to associate with him. - -All this amused Ralph greatly. - -“Well, I admit that it’s mighty dangerous for any one to bother with -skunks, for they are timid animals, and mistrust every one they -don’t know,” he stated. “I move around among them without any -trouble. They feed from my hand, and I’ve taken up several of them -just as you would a tabby at home. I admit that eternal vigilance is -the price of safety when near them. You must be on the alert -continually, and never do anything to startle them.” - -“Well, a bee man near our town told me bees were handled along the -same lines,” Andy Bowles added. “Those who handle the frames full of -honeycomb, and swarming with bees must be cool chaps. Smoking helps -some, for bees seem to think the hive is in danger, and begin to -load up with honey right away. It seems that when a bee is carrying -all the honey it can stagger under it isn’t liable to get busy with -its sting.” - -They now arrived at the part of the big enclosure given over to the -striped animals with the bushy tails and the small heads. Tubby -stayed far back, and kept on the anxious seat all the time. No -inducement could tempt him to join the others. - -“I’m not immune, if you fellows are,” he called out, when they tried -to coax him along. “I know when I’m well enough off, too, and some -people don’t seem to understand that fine point. Don’t bother with -me, boys; go ahead and investigate; but I hope you’ll be wise enough -to let Ralph do all the handling of his pets. Ugh!” - -So they left Tubby there to await their return. Ralph showed them -through the skunk preserve, explaining many things connected with -the curing of skins so that they would have a marketable value. - -“You see, there’s getting to be a shorter crop of the best skins -every year to meet a growing demand,” he proceeded, after the manner -of one who had the points at his fingers’ ends from constant study. -“That means commoner pelts have to take the place of those that are -falling off. Many of these are muskrat and skunk skins, and even the -common house tabby is called on to help tide over the shortage. What -with a skillful use of dyes, and even the sewing of white hairs in -black skins, they manage to deceive the public.” - -He showed them how he could feed some of his queer pets. Tubby at a -distance was holding his hands together, and looking very much -distressed when he saw a dozen of the striped animals all around -Ralph, and acting like chickens on the farm when grain was being -thrown to them. - -Later on, when the boys were thinking of turning away and continuing -their investigations further, they heard a great outcry from near at -hand. - -“Hey! Ralph, everybody come quick, and chase this skunk away! He’s -bent on making up to me, and I can see from the way he looks that he -just knows I’m a hater of his species. Oh! please hurry and save -me!” - -Laughing at the frantic appeal in Tubby’s voice, they hastened -toward him, to find that the fat boy in desperation had actually -climbed a tree, while a very small specimen of the inmates of the -corral was moving about below, now and then looking upward, as if -wondering why he was not given something to eat, as usual. - -They rescued Tubby by Ralph coaxing the “terrible beast” to move -away. Tubby looked red in the face, and also seemed to be a little -ashamed at having shown the white feather. - -“Well, I admit it was a bad case of rattles with me,” he said, with -a grimace; “but, then, there’s a reason. I’ve been there before, and -I know that the smaller they are the more likely you may be to get -them angry. But all’s well that ends well. I’m glad you’re done with -this particular pen. Now show us your mink and otter, won’t you, -Ralph?” - -“I can show you where I keep them, and what I’ve done to induce them -to feel at home and multiply,” replied the other, “but I doubt -whether we catch sight of a single member of the community. They are -that shy they seldom come out in the daytime. As to feeding them, -all we have to do is to see that there are plenty of fish in the -brook that runs through the lot.” - -“But if that brook comes and goes, what’s to prevent your -high-priced mink and otter from following it out?” inquired Andy, -who never liked to puzzle over anything unnecessarily when the -answer could be obtained simply by asking. - -“Oh! we’ve fixed that by a regular barred gate at either end,” -explained Ralph. “The water can escape, ditto very small fish; but -we keep larger ones stocked in the stream; and those fur-coated -fishers can always get a mess.” - -“And I suppose,” suggested Rob, deeply interested, “that if you ever -do think they’ve increased in number, and you feel like taking your -toll of the bunch, you’ll have to set regular mink and otter traps -in the water to catch them with?” - -“That’s what it’ll amount to,” admitted the other, “but understand -that I’m not building any great hopes of more than getting my money -back on this mink and otter venture. I don’t believe any one has, so -far, been very successful raising them artificially. Some animals, -you know, will not breed in captivity. But I’m making the -experiment, and later on will let you know how it turns out.” - -“Show us how that water gate works, will you, Ralph?” suggested his -cousin, who always liked to examine anything that excited his -interest--Tubby had also been that way once, but since a bitter -experience he had shown more commendable caution, and was ready to -take some things for granted. - -“Certainly, if you come this way with me,” the fur farmer replied. -“Here’s the creek, you see, and in some of these little burrows -among the rocks and in the earth the mink and otter lie in safety. -Right now I warrant you more than one pair of bright eyes watches -every move we make, though you couldn’t discover the animal if you -had a field-glass along.” - -In this fashion he continued to tell them many interesting things -connected with his study of wild animal life; some of which were new -even to Rob, who had had an extended acquaintance with such subjects -ranging over a long experience. The subject was very fascinating to -all of the scouts, even Tubby declaring that he was beginning to -take quite some stock in the study of small game animals, “all but -one kind that somehow don’t seem to appeal to me,” he went on to -say, whereupon, of course, Sim had to hastily remark: - -“Huh! some of the boys are still of the opinion that they _do_ -appeal to you pretty strongly, Tubby; but there, let it pass. I just -couldn’t help saying it, you know.” - -They saw the tracks of the timid mink and otter along the edge of -the stream where they fished for their dinners daily, but did not -catch even a fleeting view of a member of the little fur colony. - -Coming to the high fence among the trees, they found where the brook -passed out. The “gate” mentioned by Ralph was a well-built one, made -of stout lumber, and with iron bars close together, between which -the water could always pass, but no animal find either an exit or -entrance. - -“Sometimes, after a storm, we have to clear this grating,” Ralph -told them, “for it catches and holds all sorts of floating stuff, -such as dead wood and the like. So far it seems to answer our -purpose. Our last census of the inmates showed that they were all -here, and that there was a pair of whelps with one set of the -mink--if that is what you call them, perhaps cubs, eh, Rob?” - -“Well, I hardly know how to answer that,” confessed the other. “If I -wanted to speak of them, I’d likely say baby mink, or youngsters. It -would be a feather in your cap, Ralph, if you did succeed where so -many others have fallen down. I’m sure we all wish you the best luck -going.” - -“That’s right!” declared Tubby, emphatically. “I admire pluck -wherever I see it; and somebody has always got to be a pioneer in -every movement that succeeds over many failures.” - -“You see, the woods are pretty dense over in this section,” -explained the fur farmer, “and there’s always danger that some wild -beast may slip in here when Pete and myself are away, to make a haul -of my property. It would be a hard blow if I came along here some -day and found that my mink colony had been cleaned out.” - -As though his words had been carried to hostile ears and aroused a -storm of protest, at that very moment there came a growl so savage -that it made Tubby tremble. He stared straight up into the tree from -which the sound seemed to proceed, pointed a quivering finger, and -gasped the one word: - -“Wildcat!” - - - - - Chapter VI - - Peleg Pinder’s Heavy Load - - -“Don’t move!” - -Tubby knew that when Rob Blake spoke in that tense way he meant what -he said; so, although he felt an inclination to shrink back from -that terrible vision of an enraged bobcat, he managed to grit his -teeth together and hold his ground. - -Ralph, Sim and Andy took the admonition to heart as well as did the -fat boy, for they seemed rooted to their tracks, all staring as hard -as they could up into the lower branches of the tree just in front. - -The cat could be plainly seen crouching there, with its ears -flattened against its head, after the manner of all enraged felines. -It was a pretty “hefty” specimen of its kind, too, Rob saw, much -larger and more powerful than the ordinary cat. - -Undoubtedly, it “sensed” a feast beyond the boundary fence, and had -started to pay a neighborly visit with dinner in mind when -interrupted by the approach of the five boys. Being accustomed to -lording it over other animals in its native forests, the wildcat did -not fancy beating a retreat simply because some of those two-legged -creatures chose to cross its path. - -That ominous growl was meant as a warning to them to beware how they -incurred its animosity. From the way in which its haunches had -settled upon the limb, it appeared as though the beast might be in -readiness to make a leap; and it was because of this that Rob had -instantly hissed those words. - -At the time it chanced he was just a little in the advance; hence -his position was more inclined to be a perilous one than could be -said of his companions. None of them had any weapon handy with which -to defend themselves in case the animal really attacked them; though -Sim and Andy immediately began to use their eyes to advantage in the -hope of being able to see a club of some sort, always the first -resort of a boy in trouble. - -“Tell us what to do, Rob!” urged Sim, who had actually discovered -the cudgel he wanted to possess, yet did not dare make a move toward -getting it in his grip lest by so doing he tempt the savage beast to -spring. - -“Stand perfectly still!” ordered the patrol leader. “You can do more -good that way than by moving. If we all just stare at him, he’ll -soon get uneasy, not knowing what to make of such a mysterious -crowd. Animals hate to look into human eyes, they say. I’ve stared a -dog out of countenance that way myself.” - -“Huh!” grunted Tubby, remembering how he had once tried that same -game himself with a barking puppy, getting down on his hands and -knees to manage better, only to have the little varmint instantly -seize hold of his nose and hang on. - -“How would it do for all to give a big yell together?” suggested -Ralph. - -“That might make him jump, I take it,” replied Andy Bowles, wishing -he had his bugle handy, for with it he could sound a shrill blast -that would surely cause the impudent cat to retreat in haste. - -“Yes, it would startle him, all right,” admitted Rob, “but he might -jump the wrong way, and at us. Better try my scheme; it can do no -harm, and I don’t think he’ll attack us unless we begin the fight.” - -“I see a bully club close by my feet, Rob.” - -“Well, don’t bother trying to get hold of it just yet,” urged the -other. “But if he should leap at me, see to it you grab that club in -a big hurry, and let him have it with a smack. Steady, now, you can -see the beast’s beginning to get uneasy right along.” - -“Yes, you’re right, he is, Rob,” admitted Ralph, with a vein of -relief in his voice, for no fellow can entertain the idea of -battling bare-handed with a fierce four-footed adversary without -shivering; and Ralph knew only too well how even a scratch from the -claws of a carnivorous animal may cause blood poisoning if not -properly treated in time. - -So they all continued to stand there as nearly like statues as their -various dispositions would allow, keeping up a battery of staring -looks that must have more or less bewildered the intruder. - -Tubby heaved a great sigh. It was additionally hard on him, this -trying to keep absolutely still, lest by moving an attack be -precipitated, the end of which none of them could see. - -“Gee whiz! isn’t he ever going to skip out?” he groaned, feeling the -drops of perspiration gathering on his forehead, and running down -his stubby nose, yet being deprived of the satisfaction of taking -out his red bandanna and wiping his streaming face as he would have -liked. - -“Have a little more patience, Tubby,” pleaded Sim. “He’s getting -ready to vamoose the ranch, I tell you. There, didn’t you see how he -took a quick peek behind him? They say that in a fight the man who -looks back is the one who is getting whipped, because he’s thinking -of beating it. Watch, now, and be ready to give him a parting whoop -if he does jump over the fence again.” - -The strange bobcat somehow found it unpleasant to remain there on -private grounds, and with those five queer creatures facing him so -mutely. They meant him harm, of that he must have concluded, and -perhaps he had better postpone his intended feast on plump fox cubs -or young mink. Night would be a better time for his hunting; and a -retreat could not be called dishonorable when the enemy counted five -against one. - -So, finally, he made a quick backward jump that allowed of a new -perch just over the dividing fence. This movement was the signal for -a sudden change of policy on the part of the boys, for they burst -into a series of loud shouts, and Sim instantly darted forward to -secure the coveted club. - -The wildcat, having concluded to pull out and evidently not liking -those aggressive sounds, continued its flight, growling savagely as -it went, and looking back once before finally disappearing amidst -the foliage of the trees beyond the high fence. - -“That was an adventure, sure enough!” exclaimed Sim, breathing hard -after his recent exertions. “Just to think of our running across -such a tough customer when Ralph here was speaking about troublesome -pests. Do you reckon this was his first visit to your pens, Ralph?” - -“I hope and believe so,” the other replied, frowning at the same -time. “I would hate to learn that it had become a habit with him. -Besides, we have seen no signs around to indicate that he’d ever -been here before. But the rascal has scented my pets, and will give -us no peace until he’s done for.” - -“I should say the same thing!” declared Rob. “It’s just like a wolf -that threatens a sheep-fold, there can be no safety until he’s been -potted.” - -“I’ll see Pete at once,” continued the other, with a look of -determination on his strong face, “and start him out with the dogs. -If they’re lucky they’ll get on the track of the beast before -sundown and, I hope, knock him over.” - -The conversation then was mostly of the woods, and Ralph as well as -some of the others mentioned a number of curious circumstances that -had come under their observation while camping out. Ralph had -formerly been quite a hunter and trapper whenever he had an -opportunity, though, as he confessed, latterly the sport seemed to -be palling upon him somewhat. - -“To tell the truth, Sim,” he said, as they strolled back toward the -distant farmhouse, after seeing Pete and starting him off with the -dogs to look for traces of the feline thief, “I’m getting to be -interested in that scheme of hunting with a camera, and I think I’ll -take it up soon. There are plenty of good chances for doing -something of that sort around here, you know. I want you to put me -wise to all the wrinkles of the game before you say goodbye, which I -hope won’t be for quite some time yet.” - -“What are we going to do this afternoon, boys?” asked Andy. - -“Well, if that question is aimed at me,” ventured Tubby, quickly, “I -know what I’d like to do, that is if Ralph happens to have plenty of -ammunition for that bully little Flobert rifle of his. Frogs for -mine, thank you. One thing I like about this scheme of shooting the -jumpers is it doesn’t seem half as cruel as catching them with a -hook, even if you do intend to put them out of their misery soon -afterwards.” - -Tubby was known to have a tender heart, and would not hurt anything -if he could possibly help it. - -Ralph proposed that if the others felt inclined, they might make a -run out to a certain lake he knew, where they would likely have a -pleasant time. - -“Whether we get any bass or not we’ll certainly enjoy the run with -you, Ralph,” Rob told him. “As we’ve gone to the trouble to fetch -some rods and fishing tackle along, it would be a pity not to wet -the lines just once. So far as I’m concerned, I only too gladly say -‘yes’ to your proposition.” - -Sim and Andy immediately voiced their sentiments in the same way, -and so it was settled. Tubby would be fixed out with the small -Flobert rifle and a supply of ammunition, also rubber boots, for he -might have to do some wading in order to retrieve his game after -shooting it. He promised to have a mess of frogs’ legs ready for the -evening meal when the boys came back. - -“See to it that you fellows do your duty with the gamey bass!” he -called out as the other four piled into the big car, ready to start -forth. - -“I heard you call that young chap, who was filling the gas tank, -Peleg; is he one of the workmen on the farm, Ralph?” Rob asked after -they had gotten fairly started, for he chanced to be sitting -alongside the driver at the time, the other boys occupying the rear -seat. - -He saw that Ralph had a slight frown on his face, as though -something unpleasant had come into his mind just then, possibly -induced by mention of the name. - -“Yes, his name is Peleg Pinder,” he replied in jerky sentences. “His -father was a sort of hard case in Wyoming, and the family seemed to -be always in a peck of trouble. Some folks said the children’d all -be worthless, just like their good-for-nothing dad. Then there was a -fire, and Peleg’s father was burned trying to save an old crippled -woman. Somehow people thought better of him after he died. The -children scattered. One girl is working for a farmer seven miles -away. My father took Peleg in, and gave him a home. Been with us six -months or so now.” - -“How about his work--he seems lively enough, and good-natured. In -fact,” continued Rob, “I rather like the sparkle in his eyes.” - -“Yes, he fooled me right along, too,” said Ralph, with a trace of a -sneer in his tone. “He does his work so you couldn’t really find any -fault; but then it’s hard to shake off a bad name, and the Pinders -always were shiftless and deceitful, Wyoming folks believe.” - -Rob was interested at once, and for a reason. He hated to see any -one “picked on” simply because “people” chose to believe no good -could come out of a family that had a shirker for a father. Why, the -very fact that poor Pinder had died while performing an act of -heroism ought to be enough to prove that such a wholesale -condemnation was utterly wrong. - -“You’ve got some sort of reason for saying that, I imagine, Ralph?” -he continued, bent on discovering the truth now that he was at it. - -“Well, I have, though I didn’t mean to mention it to any of you, -because for one thing I wanted you to have a jolly time of it here, -and without bothering about any of my troubles. Then, again, I hate -to speak ill of anybody, even Peleg Pinder.” - -“What has he been doing, then, to make you suspect him?” demanded -Rob. - -After hesitating for a brief interval, as though he hardly knew just -how much to say, Ralph went on to explain. - -“Hang it all,” he commenced, “I hate to say a word about it, because -it makes me feel mean, just as if I might be picking on a poor chap -who hadn’t any other friends but my folks, and who’s got a heavy -enough load as it is. Believe me, I haven’t so much as breathed a -word of this to dad. He’d fire Peleg if he knew, and then I might be -sorry. But I’m honestly up a stump trying to decide what I ought to -do.” - -“Tell me about it then, Ralph; perhaps I might be able to help you -out?” suggested the other. - -“All right, then, I will!” declared the driver, as he skillfully -avoided a hole in the road ahead. “About three days ago I made a -little discovery that bothered me. It seemed that some one was -helping themselves to some things I kept in that room out in the -barn, a place I had fitted up a long while ago as a sort of boy’s -den, you know, where I kept all my treasures, books, games, stamp -collection and coins, as well as a lot of other things.” - -“Yes, I remember you showing us, though you didn’t stay in there -long, I noticed,” Rob went on to remark, significantly. - -“That was because I felt bad about something,” explained Ralph. -“Fact is, I had just made an unpleasant discovery, which was to the -effect that some one had for the second time been poking around -among my things, and carried off a number of packets of valuable -stamps that I knew positively I had left there on the desk, meaning -to return them to the dealer.” - -“But if this happened once before,” said Rob, “how did it come you -neglected to put a padlock on the door?” - -“I had my reasons,” answered Ralph stoutly, and with a flash of fire -in his eyes. “First, because I hated to think that anything had to -be locked up so as to keep employees about the place from helping -themselves. Second, I wasn’t quite sure that my first loss was a -certainty. Then again, Rob, I was figuring on laying some sort of -trap so as to catch the rascal in the act, and settle the business.” - -“But now you are sure a light-handed fellow has taken your things, -what do you expect to do about it?” queried Rob. - -“I ought to warn my father,” said the other, regretfully. “He hates -a thief above all things. I’m sure he would discharge Peleg in a -hurry. You see, Peleg has always been allowed to enter my den as he -pleased; in fact, anybody could, because I trust the men who work -for us.” - -“Well,” Rob continued, significantly, “I hope before you tell your -father you let me try to identify the thief, because I don’t believe -it can be Peleg Pinder.” - - - - - Chapter VII - - Turning It Over to Rob - - -Ralph turned hastily and gave Rob a strange look. Unconsciously he -was already beginning to realize that Rob Blake could always be -depended on to do the right thing when it came to a question of -action. - -“You’ve got a reason for talking like that, I’m sure, Rob?” he -observed. - -“I admit it,” came the answer, without the slightest hesitation. -“Tell me first if you positively know that Peleg took your things?” - -“Well, the evidence is only what you might call circumstantial,” -admitted the other. “I remembered seeing him going hurriedly out of -the barn an hour before I showed you and the rest of the fellows -through there. He acted a bit guilty. I thought he avoided us; but -the poor fellow has always been somewhat shy about meeting -strangers, because he must know some mention will be made of his -history, and that of his family. No, I can’t say I’ve got any -positive proof he is the guilty one, if that’s what you mean.” - -“I’ll tell you something, Ralph,” said the patrol leader, quietly. -“Perhaps it may not mean much to you; but when a fellow becomes a -scout, you see, he begins to study character, and notices a good -many little things that show which way the wind blows, just as -straws are said to do.” - -“Go on, then, please; I’ll be glad to hear what you have to say, -Rob.” - -“It happened that when I was alone this morning I took a little -stroll back of the barns, just to amuse myself by looking at the -pigs, for they’re always amusing, in my mind. There I ran across -Peleg, though at the time I didn’t know that was his name, or -anything about him. What do you suppose the boy was doing?” - -“Oh! I couldn’t guess in a year,” replied the other. - -“Well, he had managed to pick up a young crow that had in some way -broken its wing and couldn’t fly,” continued Rob, with a smile. “I -suppose it would have been put out of its misery in a hurry by any -ordinary farm hand; and perhaps Peleg himself might have fired at -the black thieves if he found them getting at the corn in the field. -But a wounded bird, and one in pain, distressed him. He was trying -to mend that broken wing, and I found myself interested in watching -how he succeeded.” - -“That’s sure a queer thing for a farm boy to do,” admitted Ralph. -“What could have been his idea, do you think?” - -“I imagine he had more than one,” Rob replied, soberly enough. “In -the first place, he was sorry for the poor thing, for he handled it -as tenderly as if it had been a human being. Then I actually suspect -that the boy has, deep down in his heart, a vague desire to do -surgical work, though you might find it hard to believe.” - -Ralph whistled. - -“You don’t say?” he ejaculated, looking as though he hardly knew -whether to laugh at the idea, or take what Rob was explaining -seriously. - -“I told you I was interested,” the other went on, “and I asked him a -number of questions as to who had showed him how to go about mending -a bird’s broken wing in that way. He said no one had, but it just -seemed to be the natural thing for him to do. Honestly, Ralph, when -I saw what a clever job he made of it I knew that boy had the making -of a grand surgeon in him, if ever he found a chance to do the -proper studying. It’s a gift, you know, with some people, and money -can never purchase it. Clever surgeons are born, not made.” - -Again Ralph puckered up his lips, and gave vent to a whistle, which -seemed to be his pet way of expressing surprise. - -“All that is mighty interesting, I own up, Rob,” he said, presently, -after he had taken a little time to think matters over. “If it -hadn’t been for this unfortunate happening, I’d be tickled half to -death to try and encourage Peleg if he had secret ambitions that -way. But why do you think, because he bothered mending a broken wing -for a young crow, that he couldn’t have robbed me?” - -“For this reason,” replied Rob. “Remember, I may turn out wrong, but -I’m going on general principles when I say that I never yet have -found that a fellow with such a tender heart could really be a bad -case. So, on the strength of my observations, I want you to promise -me that you’ll suspend sentence on Peleg until you have more -positive proof.” - -“I agree, and only too willingly,” said Ralph. “In fact, I’ll be -glad to turn the whole case over into your hands for settlement. Do -just whatever you think best about it. If you need any help, call on -me. I’d be mighty glad to learn I was doing Peleg an injustice; for -I’d try and make it up to him in every way I could. Shake hands on -that, Rob, will you?” - -So the agreement was ratified, and the other boys in the back seat -did not even know what their chums had been discussing. It happened -that Sim and Andy were engaged in a heated argument concerning -something that they did not think the same about. - -Shortly afterwards they arrived at the lake where they expected to -do their fishing. A boat was procured, and after they had purchased -some live bait from a man who lived near the water they started -forth. - -This was a sport which Rob and his two chums always enjoyed very -much. Perhaps they might not meet with such good luck as if they had -come early in the morning; but, then, no one can tell when the bass -will take hold. It often happens that on a hot and still day nothing -may be done until along about four in the afternoon when a breeze -arises, with a spatter of rain in the bargain. Somehow, every fish -in the lake seems to get ravenously hungry all at once, judging from -the way in which they snap at any kind of bait. - -“Let’s hope some such good luck comes our way, then,” remarked Sim, -when Ralph had mentioned this peculiarity in connection with the -gamiest fish that swims in fresh water, barring none. “The day has -been warm and still enough, for that matter. There are signs of a -shower later on, if those clouds mean anything over in the -southwest. I guess we’d better not go too far away, Ralph, because -for one I’d hate to get soaked through and through.” - -“I’m taking the waterproof coverings from the car along, so that in -case it does rain we can keep fairly dry,” explained Ralph, as they -started forth. - -For an hour they had very little luck. Then the conditions mentioned -by Ralph seemed to suddenly come about, for the clouds covered the -heavens, a breeze sprang up, and drops of rain began to fall. - -“I’ve got one, and a hard fighter!” shouted Sim, as he bent his -energies to the task of successfully playing his victim in order to -tire the fish out, so a landing net might be successfully used. - -“Here’s another, and just as big as yours, Sim!” ejaculated Andy -from the bow. - -By the time Sim managed to boat his catch, Rob was busily engaged; -and, in turn, Ralph found plenty to do in handling an even more -vicious fighter. - -“Say, this is the best fishing I ever struck!” admitted Sim, some -time later, as he cracked another capture on the head with a billet -of wood in order to put it out of suffering, and then deposited the -victim with a dozen others lying in the bottom of the boat. - -The fun kept up furiously for half an hour more. Then the bass -ceased biting almost as suddenly as they had commenced. Perhaps the -fact that the clouds had broken, allowing the sun to shine again, -had something to do with this change. - -“We ought to be satisfied!” declared Andy, “after all that fun. I -reckon we must have as many as twenty bass in the boat, running as -high as three pounds, and enough to make a meal for two families.” - -“Dandy fighters every one of ’em!” added Sim, “and I’ll remember -this afternoon, I tell you, Ralph. This is a great little lake, and -doesn’t seem to be fished to death, either.” - -“No, the people down at Wyoming seem to prefer going to several -other lakes and streams nearer at home,” the other explained. -“Besides that, most of them are born trout fishermen. You know, some -fellows pretend to look down on black bass as game fish.” - -“Well, they don’t know what a fighter is, then, that’s all,” -asserted Andy. “My stout rod bent nearly double many a time when -they bore down. ’Course a bass doesn’t jump for a fly like a trout, -just sucks it in; but once hooked I’ll match him against anything -that wears fins and scales.” - -They were now ready to quit and start for home. Ralph wanted to stop -on the way and leave a portion of the catch with a poor widow who -had a brood of children. - -“We couldn’t begin to eat them all, you know,” he told the others. -“I’m sportsman enough to stop taking fish when some one can’t use -them. Mrs. Murphy has a hard time getting on with her family. We all -like to give her a hand when we can. Many’s the string of fish I’ve -left at her door, even when I had to go home without any myself. -But, then, I’m not very fond of bass for eating, much as I love to -feel them pull at the end of my line.” - -“What was that you were saying about our going in to town tomorrow, -Ralph?” asked Sim, when they were well on their way home. - -“Why, there’s going to be a pretty fine entertainment, and I thought -you’d like to hear that girl sing dad was telling you about. We -believe she’s going to make her mark on the opera stage some of -these days. So, if you’re agreeable, we’ll run in.” - -It was decided that way, and not one of them dreamed how a strange -Destiny was shaping her ends in beckoning them toward the town of -Wyoming after nightfall, yet such really proved to be the case. - - - - - Chapter VIII - - A Great Day for Water Sport - - -“I guess you’re taking us home by another road, eh, Ralph?” remarked -Sim. - -“Noticed where I cut loose from the main line, did you?” laughed the -pilot. “Well, we can strike it again further on.” - -“Want us to see more of the country; or is there something special -up this way?” queried the visiting Jeffords boy. - -“Well, partly that. Mrs. Murphy lives on this dirt road, you see; -and I’ve got that nice string of fish to leave at her house. There, -you can see the cottage over yonder. She’s always so glad to have a -batch of bass. As I said before, she has a big family, and not much -money to run it on.” - -Soon afterwards they stopped in front of a modest cottage, where -several half-grown children were playing in the yard. Immediately -loud shouts attested to the fact that they had recognized Ralph. -Accordingly, there was a rush for the road, so that when the widow -came out, attracted by their cries, the entire family surrounded the -car. - -The fish were duly delivered, and Mrs. Murphy, as usual, was lavish -with her sincere thanks. Rob and his chums were interested. This -sort of thing happened to be along the lines of their own doings; -since nothing pleased them more than to do something for those who -were in need of assistance. - -Besides, it raised Ralph higher in their esteem than before. Rob -privately made up his mind that a fellow who could be thinking of -others so much of the time as Ralph did, and who delighted to be of -help to those in need, would make the finest sort of a scout leader. -He was more determined than ever that before leaving the Jeffords -farm he must convert Ralph, and start him on the road to organize a -troop of scouts in Wyoming, this time along true lines, so that the -town would be proud to acknowledge them as representing the best -that was in American boys. - -Just as the pilot had said, they soon came out again on the main -road, and in due time arrived home. The first thing they saw was -Tubby, sitting there on the front steps leading to the long porch, -where he might just as well have occupied a comfortable chair, but, -being a boy, he chose to camp out on the steps. - -He waved a hand at them, and seemed to be smiling broadly, from -which those who knew Tubby so well were able to draw certain -conclusions. - -“I wager Tubby’s had a fine afternoon’s sport,” remarked Andy -Bowles. - -“Oh! it doesn’t take so very much to make him grin from ear to ear; -and it’s some stretch, at that,” chuckled Sim. - -“I think he’s a mighty fine fellow, if you asked my opinion,” -remarked Ralph. - -“You wouldn’t be a bit off the road there, either,” Rob told him. -“Tubby has the best disposition of any boy I know. There isn’t -anything he wouldn’t do for another fellow; and the best of it is he -never stops to consider whether it’s a friend or an enemy he’s -trying to help; though, for that matter, Tubby has so few enemies -they hardly count.” - -The object of this side talk now sauntered up. He looked rather the -worse for wear, his trousers being muddy, and his face still rosy -from exertion. - -“Got a pretty nice mess of bass, didn’t you, fellows?” he remarked, -as Sim lifted the string, and tossed the catch out of the car. - -“Oh! that’s just half of all we took,” Andy hastened to explain. -“You see, there were too many for our own use, and Ralph here had an -old lady friend with a big family on her hands, who looks to him to -keep her supplied with fresh fish; so we dropped the other string at -her house on the way home. How did you come out with your frog -hunting, Tubby?” - -“I had just a glorious time of it, Andy,” the other replied. “Come -over to the ice-house and see, for they’re keeping cool until it’s -time to cook them for our supper. Better fetch the fish along with -you, too, while about it.” - -All of them followed him across the yard to the ice-house. This was -so built that it could be used to take the place of a refrigerator; -and fresh meat, butter and such things were kept there nice and -sweet. - -Tubby swooped down and lifted a platter that was covered with green -leaves. As he removed these there were revealed several rows of -“saddles,” as the long hindlegs of bullfrogs are called in the -market, where they bring as much as eighty cents a pound, sometimes -even more, according to supply and demand, and are considered a -great delicacy by epicures. - -“They look pretty fine to me, Tubby,” said Rob, admiringly. “How -many did you knock over with the little Flobert rifle?” - -“Well, you know, I’m kind of systematic in my ways, boys,” Tubby -explained. “So in the beginning I set a limit, and when I got to the -twenty-five mark I quit business. Jiminy crickets! I could have had -a hundred as well as not, if I had been greedy; but you know that -isn’t in my line. They are such busters, too; why, a fellow couldn’t -get away with more than four such monster saddles unless he turned -out to be a hog.” - -“Only four apiece,” said Sim, pretending to look sad. - -“But some people don’t care for frogs’ legs, I’m told,” Tubby -admonished him, as he shot a look toward Ralph, who not long before -had said something to that effect, it may be remembered. - -“You’ve got something else on your mind,” suggested Andy, who knew -the signs; “better open up and tell us what’s happened while we were -gone. You never were built to keep a secret; it shows in your face -right away.” - -“Oh! well, I meant to tell you about it, boys. Look here, what do -you think of this?” and as he spoke Tubby turned around, pushed a -piece of burlap aside, and showed them an object hanging by a piece -of rope, a rather ghastly object, too. - -“Wow! a turtle, with its throat cut!” exclaimed Andy, staring as -though he could hardly believe his eyes. - -“Did you shoot that big snapper?” demanded Ralph. “Why, he would -have taken a piece out of your leg if ever he managed to get a hold. -A fellow has to be pretty careful how he handles a snapping turtle.” - -“Well, he just missed me by an inch,” said Tubby, proudly. “After -that I was fighting shy of that head when it darted at you like -lightning. You see, I came on this whopper while I was moving around -the pond, trying to see some of the frogs squatting among the grass -and reeds and moss. I don’t know why a turtle should be out of the -water and up on the bank, except it comes out to lay its eggs, they -say, and then in the Spring; but there it was, and when I almost -stepped on it, it gave a wicked lunge at me.” - -“Quite exciting, wasn’t it, Tubby?” laughed Andy. - -“To me it was,” admitted the fat boy, unconcernedly. “I made up my -mind I ought to capture that fellow. They say snappers are death to -frogs, and ducks, and even fish; but as I didn’t dare touch the -crawler, I hunted up a stout stick and tried to turn him over. My -stars! he struck it hard, and held on like a bulldog, but I managed -to drag him further up on the bank. I was wondering what I should do -with him when Peleg came along, and saw what I had found. He told me -you could eat snappers; and while I drew his head as far out as I -could,--I mean the turtle’s, of course,--him holding on to the stick -like grim death, why, Peleg used his knife to end his troubles. So -here he is or she is, I don’t know which; and if Ralph says the same -as Peleg did, and that snappers can be eaten, why we stand to have -turtle steak and turtle soup.” - -[Illustration: “He held on like a bull-dog.”] - -Ralph admitted that he had partaken of snapping turtle diet on more -than one occasion, and found it fairly to his liking, though he did -not really “hanker” after the dish any more than he did frogs’ legs. - -“These other red-marked paddlers are better,” he told them. “Though -I guess none of them come up to the green turtle found in the -Southern waters near the coast, or the diamond-back terrapin of -Maryland and Virginia. But I’m glad you got this one, Tubby, because -these snappers do a heap of damage, and are of no earthly good. I’ve -lost dozens of young goslings and ducks through this fellow and his -kind.” - -“One thing sure,” Tubby went on to say, with apparent delight, -“today has been a red-letter day for hauling in a mess of food of -all sorts from the water. Just to think, we’ve got fresh fish, -frogs’ legs, and turtle to choose from.” - -“Better jot it down in your diary as Marine Day,” laughed Andy. - -“We’ll leave the turtle for tomorrow,” suggested Ralph. “Two kinds -of fish ought to be enough for one meal. I’ll take the bass every -time. But here’s Peleg, ready to do the job of getting them fixed -for the pan,” as the half-grown farm boy made his appearance. - -“’Tain’t fair, let me tell you,” complained Tubby. “Here I went and -prepared _my_ catch, all but the turtle, so they could be dipped in -cracker crumbs, and dropped in sizzling hot lard, or else fried -alongside salt port. You fellows get off too easy by having Peleg do -the work.” - -He forgot all about this, however, in asking after the particulars -of the fishing trip; and, upon learning how the bass bit so -fiercely, Tubby declared he would like to make one of the next party -that visited the lake. - -“Frog hunting is all very fine,” he admitted without a bit of shame; -“but it gets monotonous after a while. I like a little variety in my -sport. Besides, the poor greenbacks haven’t a ghost of a chance -before that little Flobert of yours, Ralph, which shoots so straight -you only have to take aim, pull the trigger, and that ends it. Now a -bass on a light rod makes some excitement; and there’s always a -chance for him to give you the merry ha-ha by breaking away. Yes, -next time count me with you, please.” - -They took things easy the rest of the afternoon, having enjoyed the -day very much. All sorts of plans were suggested for the future, -some of which were never to be carried out, for the simple reason -that events, which none of the boys could foresee, were on the eve -of coming to pass. - -So the night came on. Supper was somewhat later than usual on -account of Mr. Jeffords having been away on a business trip to town, -and coming home along toward twilight, long after the sun had set in -a blaze of glory. - -The feast of frogs’ legs proved quite satisfactory to those who were -fond of such a diet. Besides, there was a fine mess of bass, done to -a turn by the colored mammy in the kitchen, who certainly knew the -secret of making various dishes appear very tempting and appetizing; -as well as roast chicken, corn, new potatoes, and last, but far from -least, two kinds of pies that equalled the product of any New -England kitchen. - -All of the boys were hungry when they sat down to the table, but by -the time half an hour had gone by Tubby was seen to hardly shake his -head when asked to have another helping. Andy Bowles undid his belt -when he thought no one was looking his way, both of which incidents -went to tell the story of “enough being as good as a feast.” - -They had just about made up their minds to leave the table when -excited voices reached them. Then Peleg came hurrying in, looking -anxious. He said something to Mr. Jeffords in a low voice, at which -the farmer seemed shocked. - -“What is it, Father?” demanded Ralph. - -“It’s Mrs. Holcomb come over to tell us that one of her children has -been lost in the woods since early this morning,” said Mr. Jeffords. -“Her husband has been searching everywhere, and now they call on us -to help them find the poor lost darling. Ralph, get the car, and -we’ll take her back with us.” - - - - - Chapter IX - - The Scout Law - - -Rob and his three chums were immediately interested in this new and -peculiar happening. They had had more or less experience along -somewhat similar lines on a former occasion, and knew the value of -enlisting scouts, with their knowledge of woodcraft, when any one -chanced to be missing. - -The woman came into the room just then. She looked greatly -distressed, though evidently trying hard to control her feelings. - -Questions that met with ready replies soon put them in possession of -such facts as were at her disposal. The child was a small boy named -Caleb, not over six years of age, though hardy enough. He had never -wandered off before, so that they suspected something unusual must -have tempted him on this occasion. - -It had not been until ten o’clock that he was missed. Then the -mother and the other children looked high and low for him without -avail. Finally, becoming anxious, she had sent out into the fields -where her husband was working, and soon everybody around the region -had enlisted in the hunt. - -As the river ran not more than a quarter of a mile away from the -Holcomb home, there were grave fears lest the child might have -wandered that way. Some were even looking along the bank with the -idea that the body would be cast ashore; others, including the now -frenzied father, were engaged in scouring the woods, calling out the -name of the little fellow from time to time, and then stopping to -learn if a feeble answer came in reply to their hails. - -Rob knew that it might mean a long and difficult hunt. He also -understood what an advantage it always was to be prepared for such -things. - -“I saw one of those hand electric torches in your den, Ralph,” he -went on to say in his energetic fashion. “Do you know whether it has -a working battery in it?” - -“To be sure it has,” he was told. “I only brought it home with me -last week when I was down in the town, and haven’t used it an hour -since.” - -“I’m glad to know it. Please fetch it along,” Rob told him. “Torches -may be all very well as a makeshift, but give me such a light as -yours when you want to look into out of the way places. Besides, in -trailing on a dark night they can’t be equaled. I’ve used one many a -time.” - -Ralph instantly realized that perhaps these scout visitors of his -might come in very handy in an emergency like this. That mention of -“trailing” gave him an insight into the probable plan of campaign -which Rob was likely to institute; and so Ralph made up his mind -that it would be a good thing to hand the manipulation of affairs -over to the boy in khaki who seemed to know just what to do, as well -as how to do it. - -They lost little time in getting ready. Ralph soon had the car at -the door, and they commenced to pile in, after Mrs. Holcomb had been -tucked away in the capacious rear seat. Rob noticed with more or -less interest that Peleg insisted on joining the party, as though -just as eager to have a hand in finding the lost boy as any of them. - -From time to time some one would ask more questions. Rob in -particular seemed to want to find out all he could before arriving -on the ground. These queries as a rule turned on such points as the -last that had been seen of little Caleb, and whether he had any -friends living near by whom he would be likely to want to visit, -though possibly getting lost while on the way there. - -In this way Rob picked up more or less information that might come -in useful later, when on the ground. Ralph heard how he managed to -draw these more or less important facts from the now sobbing mother. -He also admired the way in which Rob told her not to worry, for they -were almost certain to find her boy before morning. - -About this time Tubby thought he ought to say a few words in order -to help comfort the sorely stricken woman. - -“You know, ma’m,” he told her, for he chanced to be sitting -alongside Mrs. Holcomb at the time, “we scouts are trained in the -art of tracking people as well as animals. Why, several times we’ve -proved that we could find a lost party when no one else knew how to -go about it. It is scout law to respond to any call for help, and -we’re just bound to do all we can. Yes, ma’m, there was a poor -half-demented man lived down in Hampton who used to be watched by -his folks very close; but, in spite of it all, one time he managed -to give ’em the slip, and went into the scrub, which, down on Long -Island, is like a wilderness, and easy to get lost in.” - -Tubby waited a few seconds so as to get his second breath, and then -went on with his story, which he meant to be comforting to the poor -mother. - -“After they had searched and searched for two days they came to the -scouts and begged us to please lend a hand. By that time the trail -had grown pretty cold, you see, but Rob here went at it like he -always does, with a vim, and I give you my word for it, ma’m, before -three hours had passed we found the man, though he was----” - -“That’ll do, Tubby, don’t bother with the particulars!” interrupted -Rob, fearing that the benefit which the recital was intended to have -upon the overwrought nerves of the poor woman might lose something -of its value if Tubby told that the demented man was really dead -when they finally found him in the scrub oak wilderness a mile or -two back from the beach. - -Ralph was at the wheel, and he knew his road, so that before a great -while they drew near the place where the Holcombs lived. The woman -had driven over in a buggy, but her rig could be recovered later on. -Time was too valuable to allow her to return home in the same -tedious manner as she had come. - -“Looky yonder, will you?” burst out Tubby. “What are those lights -glimmering in the woods over yonder? Seem like a pack of giant -fireflies to me. Rob, do you reckon they can be lanterns carried by -some of the people who are searching everywhere, helter-skelter -like, for little Caleb?” - -“Just what they are, Tubby,” replied the scout leader; “and, as you -say, they are likely enough running this way and that without a bit -of reason. Why, they would go over the same ground a dozen times, -and skip lots of places that ought to be looked into. We’ll try to -lay out a concerted plan of action--that is, in case there isn’t any -trail to be found.” - -“I’m a bit afraid we won’t have much luck in that quarter, Rob,” -said Sim. “When you come to think of it, a little fellow like a -six-year-old doesn’t make much of a dent when he steps out, like a -heavy man would, or Tubby here.” - -“Still, there are ways of following a trail besides always seeing -the impression of feet,” hinted Rob. “But wait and see how we fare. -The ground must be in pretty good condition for tracking, under the -trees. Even a small chap like him could turn over the pine needles -as he tramped along, and you can always tell that by the freshness -of those that are disturbed--those on top, you know, look faded in -the sun and air and rain.” - -Ralph listened and nodded his head in approval. Such confident talk -aroused his sincere admiration. He felt more than ever that Rob must -be a remarkable boy; and if the mere fact of being a scout could -account for any degree of his cleverness, then perhaps this -education they spoke of, running along the lines of a knowledge of -woodcraft, first aid to the injured, preparedness, lending a helping -hand, and all that sort of thing might not be such a bad subject, -after all, to study. Somehow, his opinion of scouts in general was -undergoing a steady change. He meant to keep tabs on every action of -these four fellows, now that they were face to face with another -emergency. If they could come out of this difficulty as successfully -as Rob had done when that boy with the dislocated shoulder fell into -his charge, Ralph would be almost ready to surrender and admit he -had been badly mistaken. - -When they arrived at the house it was to find quite a gathering of -neighboring women present. Rob knew nothing was to be gained by -coming in contact with these people, for while their intentions -might be commendable, they were only apt to hinder the work with -their questions, and by advancing impossible theories. - -He asked Mrs. Holcomb to please let him speak with her oldest girl, -who, it appeared, had been the last one to notice little Caleb -before the fact of his vanishing had become known. - -All Rob wanted to learn was about the time of day this happened, and -in which quarter the child had been at the time. To his mind that -would mark the beginning of the trail, and he did not mean to have -any of the women around when starting to search for the tiny tracks. - -Just as he expected, no one had as yet thought to search the ground -for signs of the wanderer’s shoe prints; instead of that, they had -scattered through the woods, or rushed madly away toward the river, -hoping to find the boy before anything serious happened to him. - -Rob soon learned the few things the half-grown girl could tell him -between her violent sobs. - -“Now come with me, fellows, and we’ll start off,” he told the others -as they gathered eagerly around him. - -Mr. Jeffords continued with them. Something seemed to tell him that -these wide-awake and up-to-date scouts would have a much better -chance of getting results than all those husky men who were roaming -the woods at random, shouting to one another, or else calling out -the name of the child. - -Arriving at the spot where the girl said the small boy had last been -seen, Rob asked the others to stay at a certain place while he and -Sim used the electric torch in the endeavor to find the first trace -of those tiny footprints. - -The night had set in quite dark by now, so that only for the glow of -that useful little torch they would have had to depend wholly on the -lanterns Peleg and Ralph carried. - -Shooting the strong white light downward, the two boys proceeded to -look thoroughly about them, scanning every object that fell in their -way, and utilizing their utmost stock of woodcraft in the work. - -When possibly five minutes had elapsed, though it certainly seemed -much longer than that to the waiting group close by, Sim gave -utterance to a cry of exultation that thrilled the others. - -“Found the trail, have you, fellows?” called out Ralph, excitedly. - -“Come over here and see,” Rob told him. - -He made them act cautiously, so that they might not blot the “signs” -out by their own footprints. He pointed to the plain impression of a -tiny shoe in the soft earth. There could be no doubt but that the -mark had been made by Caleb; and, it was agreed, if only they could -successfully follow where that trail led, they would sooner or later -know where the child had gone. - -“Try and see if you can follow it, Rob,” urged Tubby, impatiently, -though there was also a confident ring to his voice, as well as a -suspicion of pride about his manner, for he fully believed that the -ability of the scouts in a case of this kind was about to be -vindicated. - -They watched with an eagerness words could hardly paint, while Rob, -accompanied by Sim, began to slowly move along. There was a growing -confidence in the way the trackers took up their task that promised -well for the success of the enterprise. Ralph felt his heart beating -tumultuously in his breast as he mentally pictured the ecstatic joy -of restoring the lost child to his distracted mother’s arms. - -They were moving steadily along. Now and then Rob would pause for a -brief period of time, perhaps to make sure that he was on the right -track, or it might be to show the others something that caused them -increasing satisfaction. - -Forgotten were all the other searchers in the Adirondack woods; let -them rush this way and that in their hunt without a method; but the -scouts were on the right track, and if fortune were kind, they meant -to follow it to success. - - - - - Chapter X - - A Wild Grapevine Rope - - -Their progress was of necessity tedious, but what did that matter, -so long as it was sure? A tender little fellow like Caleb could not -cover a very great distance before giving out, when he would be -forced to drop to the ground, perhaps yielding to a desire to go to -sleep. - -Tubby and Andy were discussing this very thing, as they came along -after the two leaders. Occasionally Ralph joined in the -conversation. - -“How far do you think a little chap like that could cover from -morning up to now?” Tubby asked. - -“Oh! not over a couple of miles, I should say, but at the most twice -that far,” Andy replied, after giving the matter a little thought. -“Even at that he’d be apt to repeat, that is, wander around in a -circle, so at the end of the day he mightn’t be over a full mile -from where he started.” - -“But they said the river was only a quarter of a mile off,” -suggested Tubby, darkly. - -“Get that notion out of your head to begin with, please,” -interrupted Ralph. “I’m glad to tell you that we’ve been going in a -course that would never fetch out at the river; fact is, it lies -almost directly the other way.” - -“Oh! I’m glad of that, Ralph, and thank you for telling us about -it!” ejaculated Tubby, with a heavy sigh of relief. “Because right -along I’ve been picturing little Caleb falling in, and no one near -to hear his cries for help. Then, if he isn’t drowned, we’re just -bound to find him.” - -The same confidence seemed to possess Andy Bowles after hearing -Ralph say there was no danger of running across the swift river in -this direction. Meanwhile, those in the van were making steady -progress. Their little difficulties did not seem to daunt them in -the least, for after a brief pause now and then they would always -proceed with the same assurance, as though positive of their -movements. - -Ralph presently drew a little closer to the leaders. He knew that -they consulted from time to time, and he wished to be near enough to -catch what was said, for by degrees Ralph was finding himself -becoming more and more interested in all that pertained to the -education of a scout. He knew no better way in which to pick up -sterling points than by listening. - -Later on, after they had been progressing in this fashion for -upwards of a whole hour, he heard Rob saying something that -interested him very much. - -“See how he wobbles from side to side as he goes on, will you, Sim? -That shows he must have been getting pretty tired about the time he -reached here.” - -“That’s a fact, Rob,” added the other scout, anxiously. “It wouldn’t -surprise me a whit if we ran across the poor little chap somewhere -about here fast asleep. I don’t believe there’s any wild animal -around that would hurt him, do you?” - -“Hardly, unless that savage old cat we saw up at Ralph’s pens had -wandered over this way, which isn’t likely. I’m throwing the light -on either side now, you notice, as we go along. Little Caleb may -have come part way back again before dropping.” - -“How would it do for the rest of us to spread out with the lanterns, -and keep on the watch, Rob?” asked Ralph just then. - -“Such a move would do no harm, anyhow,” the other replied, knowing -very well how anxious all of them must be to feel that they were -having a share in the work. - -After that they continued on for some time. Rob was more than ever -convinced the lost child had reached a point bordering on -exhaustion, and that on no account could such a weak little chap -keep on his feet much longer. - -Several times they had seen moving lights, showing that some of the -searching party must be close by; indeed, they heard their shouts at -stated intervals, though not replying to them. - -“It seems queer to me,” Tubby was saying to Andy and Mr. Jeffords -and Peleg, all of whom were near him at the time, “how none of these -men with lanterns have run across the boy if, as we believe, he’s -close by here. I should think he’d have heard their calls and tried -to answer them; that is, unless he’s sleeping like a dog, being -tired to death.” - -“Chances are that’s what’s the matter with him,” Andy agreed; -whereupon both boys settled down to anticipating a cry of joy from -those in the advance as they suddenly came upon the object of their -search, lying asleep amidst the dead leaves just as the famous -“Babes in the Woods” had done in the story. - -So vastly superior was their method of search over that resorted to -by the frenzied father, and the equally unreliable neighboring -farmers, that Ralph was ready to give the scouts all the credit they -so fully deserved. He only awaited the final stroke before -confessing as to the great change in his belief. - -Then Sim was heard to give vent to a cry. Somehow, it pierced the -heart of Tubby just as a dart might have done, because he failed to -detect the note of conscious triumph that he had so firmly -anticipated. Instead, the cry seemed of surprise and consternation. - -“Oh! what is it, boys?” Tubby called out, with his voice all -unstrung. “I hope now you haven’t found him as we did that poor -demented man, you know?” - -“We haven’t found him at all, yet,” answered Sim, after drawing a -long breath, like one who was trying to steel his faint heart -against a shock; “but come here, all of you, and see what we _have_ -struck.” - -At that the others hastened to advance, and were speedily alongside -Rob and Sim and Ralph, for the last-named had gained their side -almost immediately after the first alarm had sounded. - -“Great governor! what’s this?” cried Andy. - -“Why, it’s a gaping hole in the ground, I do believe!” gasped Tubby. -“Oh! do you think the poor darling has fallen in there, Rob?” and -his usually florid face seemed almost pallid with the horror that -seized upon him as he turned a beseeching look upon the scout -leader. - -Rob once more threw the light from the torch upon the ground close -to the edge of that yawning aperture. - -“It looks that way, I must own,” he told them. “See, here are plain -prints of his little shoes close to the brink. Yes, and you can see -where some slender bush was dragged, roots and all, from here--the -chances are he unconsciously clutched them when he felt himself -slipping, and pulled it in with him. Poor little chap, what a -terrible shock he must have had.” - -All of them stared down into the aperture, but even the light from -the hand torch failed to show them what lay below. They could catch -glimpses of a rough, rocky wall, projecting roots of trees, and some -sort of growing bushes, but if the child were down there they failed -to discover anything of him. - -“Well, who’s going down?” demanded Tubby, as though it were a -foregone conclusion in his mind that such a course must follow. “I’d -offer in a minute, only I’m sure Rob wouldn’t let me try it, while -there are so many others present better fitted for the job than I -am. But somebody must go down, and how can it be done when we -haven’t got a sign of a rope with us?” - -“Do you think I could risk dropping down by holding to the face of -the wall, Rob?” asked Sim, quickly. If the other had answered in the -affirmative, there was no question but that he stood ready to make -the attempt without delay. - -“Wait a bit and we’ll see,” the scout leader told him. “No need of -doing anything in such a hurry. If Caleb’s down there, a few minutes -more or less won’t hurt much; and it may mean a broken leg for you, -Sim, if you slipped. I’ve got an idea that may pan out, and make up -for the lack of a rope. Just back there I noticed a wild grapevine -hanging from a tree. If we could cut that free, we might have a -pretty good substitute for a rope, something like twenty feet long.” - -“Fine for you, Rob!” cried Ralph, overcome with admiration. “How -lucky you asked me for my little camp hatchet before we started out. -Perhaps now you even anticipated having just such a need for the -same! I’m beginning to believe you can see further ahead than any -fellow I ever met.” - -Rob made no response, although naturally enough this sort of genuine -praise must have been pleasant to him; especially when coming from a -fellow like the Adirondack boy, whom he was aching to convert to a -new belief regarding the value scouts may have in a community. - -Rob was already hacking away with a vim at the wild grapevine -mentioned, having given the hand torch into the charge of Sim. It -did not require many blows to sever the vine near its base, for -Ralph apparently believed in keeping a fine cutting edge on his pet -tool. - -Once it was free, they seized hold and commenced to heave, but, of -course, this was an effort without any response; the vine was too -safely anchored to the branches of the tree to be dragged loose as -easily as all that. - -“Let me shin up, and cut it free, Rob,” suggested Sim, who was a -great climber in his way, and never so happy as when sporting amidst -the foliage of some great oak or beechnut tree. - -“All right, if you say so, Sim,” the scout leader told him. “Be sure -and get all the length you can, because we may need it. There’s no -telling just how deep that hole will turn out to be.” - -“The poor little thing, to think of him falling all the way down -there!” Tubby was heard to say in sympathetic tones. - -Agile Sim had already tucked the camp hatchet safely in his belt, -and taking a good hold of the swaying vine started his ascent. Some -of the others clutched it below so as to give him a steady support. -Sim proved his ability as a climber by the rapid way in which he -passed up among the lower branches of the tree to which the wild -grapevine was attached. - -Turning the light upward, Rob could follow the progress of the -climber, and found it convenient to call out occasionally in order -to advise Sim. - -“Not less than twenty feet, and five more if you can make it, Sim!” -he told the other. “I should think it would be thick enough to hold -a ton if it’s only an inch through; these grapevines are tougher -than any rope ever made. There, try and do your cutting where you -are. Once you get it through, we’ll start to drag again, and I -reckon it’s bound to come next time.” - -A minute later Sim announced that his part of the work had been -completed, upon which Rob and Ralph and the others laid hold with -such a will that they soon had the severed vine on the ground. - -After that Sim joined them, coming sliding down the trunk of the -tree with the agility of a monkey. - -The vine was carried over to where they had discovered that gaping -aperture into which it seemed likely little Caleb had fallen. None -of the boys seemed in any humor for joking just then; indeed, they -were unusually grave, as though the shadow of some impending tragedy -hung over their heads. - -Rob directed operations, and even Ralph seemed only too willing to -do whatever he was told. Strange, how in emergencies, it is always -the strong mind that seizes the reins, and all others readily -acquiesce, no matter in whatever shape the orders come. How many a -desperate enterprise has been carried to a glorious success simply -because a fit leader has developed when the conditions demanded; -while others that promised well in the beginning have fallen flat -through lack of the initiative on the part of the actors. - -The vine was allowed to drop into the aperture, with the thick end -down. When it seemed as though it rested firmly on something below, -Rob judged that the hole must be all of twenty-three feet deep. That -was a startling fact when they remembered that a child had stepped -into that break and must have gone headlong down through space. - - - - - Chapter XI - - The Rescue of Little Caleb - - -“Who’s going down?” asked Sim, with a vein of entreaty in his voice, -for, being such a good climber, Sim would have gladly assumed that -role. - -“I intend to,” replied Rob, calmly, and no one disputed his right, -since he occupied the position of scout leader, and could do as he -pleased. - -He took the torch with him, but as he would probably find a good use -for both hands during the descent, Rob managed to secure the light -about his person. Then, as he found occasion to make use of it, he -could easily do so. - -“Hold fast to the old vine, boys, whatever you do,” was his last -remark as he started to slide over the brink. - -Rob seemed perfectly cool. If he felt nervous at all, it was in -connection with the possibility of finding poor little Caleb lying -bruised and insensible far below. - -The others waited impatiently. Peering over the edge, even as they -gripped the end of the wild grapevine, they could follow the descent -of their comrade by the aid of the light, for Rob had the battery -turned on purposely. - -He did not make undue haste, for Rob knew the folly of being too -eager. Better consume a little more time, and make sure of results. -It was bad enough to have one accident without risking another on -top of it. - -“There, he’s stopping to take a look below!” exclaimed Tubby, -breathlessly. - -Rob, while holding on with one hand, having found a brace for his -feet, had indeed taken out the torch from his upper coat pocket, and -was using it to pierce the darkness beneath him. - -“Now he acts like he sees something!” cried Sim. “Look at him wave -his hand up at us, boys! Anyway, we’ll soon know the worst. I’m -hoping the little chap may not be so badly hurt.” - -“Oh! I thought I heard a child give a whimper just then!” gasped -Tubby. - -All of them fell silent at that, for the same impression occurred to -Tubby’s companions. They continued to watch Rob with anxious eyes. -Yes, he had again started to let himself down, and even as they -stared they saw him come to a stop. Apparently, he had found some -sort of ledge, though it was covered with a species of growing bush -that disguised it effectually. One thing sure, the descent continued -even beyond the point where Rob had halted. - -“He’s found him, as sure as anything, he has!” ejaculated Andy, his -voice filled with a strange mixture of satisfaction and awe, for it -yet remained to be discovered what the condition of the little -fellow might turn out to be. - -“Hello! up there!” called Rob, and they believed he was looking -upwards at them, though none of them could be sure about this. - -“Yes, what is it, Rob? Have you found him?” cried Tubby. - -“Yes, I’ve got him safe,” came the reply that thrilled him. “He -landed on this ledge, and was saved the balance of the drop. Luckily -he dropped on a lot of stuff here that helped to break his fall. I -don’t know for sure, but I believe he’s not badly hurt, only cut a -little. He must have been stunned, though, for he’s only now -beginning to wake up. Listen, fellows; do you think you could pull -the grapevine up, and me too?” - -“Easy thing, Rob,” replied Sim, promptly. - -“Then take it slow, and don’t hurry, or you may brush us off,” came -from the boy below. “I’ve got to use one arm holding him, you see, -and that handicaps me a bit. Get busy now, boys, heave-o!” - -As many as could get hold proceeded to lend a hand, even Peleg -exerting himself manfully. The vine began to shorten as they tugged. -Every now and then Rob would call out to them, giving further -directions. Once he told them to stop, for he had a fine chance to -set both feet on another small ledge, and in some fashion could -change his burden to the other arm. - -Presently his head appeared above the brink. Mr. Jeffords was only -waiting for this. - -[Illustration: Presently his head appeared above the brink.] - -“Let me take the child from you, Rob,” he said, leaning over -solicitously. - -When the transfer had been safely made it was no trouble to help Rob -over the edge of the precipice, for such the wall of the aperture -appeared to them. - -“Mighty well done, I want to tell you, Rob!” said Ralph, earnestly, -as he squeezed the hand of the still trembling scout leader, for the -recent effort had naturally been quite a strain on the boy’s nervous -system. - -Rob was laughing. After it was all over he effected to make light of -his achievement, as that class of boys always do, never liking to -hear themselves praised. - -“Oh! it was a mere trifle, Ralph, and I’m only sorry I monopolized -the fun. But take the light, will you, and turn it on the boy. I -want to look him over, and see what the worst is we must expect.” - -The little fellow presented rather a pitiable aspect. He had -received several scratches, and his face was quite bloody; besides -that, his clothing was badly torn, possibly brought about through -making a passage amidst thorns while lost in the woods. - -“Say, he does look pretty bad, now,” admitted Tubby, seriously. - -“Looks don’t count for much, Tubby,” Rob soon told him. “We can wash -his face and hands, and improve his appearance a hundred per cent; -if only he hasn’t any broken bones; and, so far, I don’t find -anything of that kind. It’s strange how a child may fall from a -fourth-story window and never seem to be hurt. Caleb hit his head, -and has lain in something of a swoon for hours. Perhaps it was just -as well, for if he had moved, he might have fallen the rest of the -way down to the bottom of that hole. He’s just beginning to get his -senses now, after all this time.” - -Indeed, they could see the boy’s eyes were open, and that he seemed -to be trying to understand where he was, what had happened, and who -these people around him might be. - -“It’s all right, Caleb,” Ralph hastened to say, soothingly. “You got -lost in the woods, you remember; and then you had a nasty tumble; -but we’ve found you, and mean to take you straight home to your -mother and father. I’m Ralph Jeffords, you know; I’ve often talked -with you at your house. So don’t worry any about it. How do you come -out, Rob; is he hurt badly?” - -“I’m glad to tell you that there’s really nothing serious the -matter,” said the other, quickly, much to the delight of Tubby and -the others. “Now that he’s come-to in earnest, I think he’ll soon be -himself again. We’ll take turns carrying him; and on the way we can -stop a bit at that spring we passed, for we ought to make him look -more presentable before handing him over to his mother. She’d nearly -have a fit if she saw his face all covered with dried blood like -that.” - -Mr. Jeffords insisted on carrying the child for the first stretch, -but the boys would only consent on condition that he agreed to let -them take turns about. In fact, even Tubby declared it would not be -fair to leave him out; and that he meant to have his share of the -work. - -When they reached the spring mentioned by Rob they halted for a -brief time. The child had by that time recovered from his stupor. He -whimpered a little when Rob with a wet handkerchief started to wash -his face and hands, for some of the scratches and bumps were -evidently quite painful; but this task was soon finished, and the -result justified the scout leader’s judgment. - -“Oh! he looks all right now, for a fact,” said Sim. “I consider that -we were a lucky bunch all around to find him as neatly as we did. -But, then, where there’s a will there’s a way; and scouts have to -learn early in their career never to give up a thing they start on.” - -Ralph made no comment on hearing his cousin say this; but there was -a gleam in his eye that pleased the observing Rob. The latter felt -pretty certain that his task of converting the unbeliever was going -to be made much easier because of the strange event of that night. - -As they drew nearer the home of Caleb, the boys felt a pleasurable -anticipation. Remembering the anguish of the poor mother, they could -realize how she must suffer, and the thought of being able to bring -her speedy relief gave them more or less satisfaction. - -When they appeared at the house some of the women discovered them, -and must have called out the good news; for immediately a figure -came flying out of the building and straight toward the returning -company. It was the frantic mother, wild to know if they had found -her child, as well as the condition the little fellow was in. - -Great must have been her joy when she heard Caleb calling to her, -and she saw him reaching out toward her, even as he was held at the -time in Tubby’s arms. Well, each one of them felt that it was worth -many times the trouble they had taken, just to see the way Caleb’s -mother hugged him to her heart. About that time it seemed as though -Tubby, yes, and all the other fellows as well, had to turn their -heads away for some reason or other, and when they came together -again most of them were still violently winking. - -How she tried to thank them all! When words failed her she actually -kissed each one of the five boys. They would never forget that -occasion; and as Rob afterwards said, it had been a great privilege -to be able to bring such joy to a mother’s heart. - -Not wishing to wait after they had seen the father recalled from the -search by means of a messenger sent out with the glad tidings, the -boys entered their car, and with Mr. Jeffords started on the -homeward trip. - -It seemed hard to believe that so much had been accomplished in such -a short interval. Why, only two hours before they had been laughing -unconcernedly over the supper table, never dreaming that a sudden -emergency would arise to claim their attention. Since then they had -been through an experience few fellows ever have come their way. - -Rob had spoken to Peleg more than once, but he noticed that Ralph -paid no attention to the farm hand. It seemed that the other could -not dissuade himself from believing that Peleg must be guilty of -pilfering, and on this account he would not have anything more to do -with him than he could help; at least, until the mystery was cleared -up. - -Nevertheless, Rob was feeling more confident than ever that when the -truth became known Peleg would be cleared of all suspicion; though -just then he could not even guess how the other’s innocence was -going to be made clear. - -The boys sat down in the big sitting-room for an hour or so before -thinking of going to bed. Mrs. Jeffords and the old aunty as well -had to hear all the thrilling particulars of the search, and its -ultimate conclusion. They also congratulated the scouts on their -clever work, Mr. Jeffords describing how wonderfully Rob had -followed the faint trail for several miles through the woods. - -“I want to say to you, boys,” the gentleman wound up with, “that my -opinion of this scout business is undergoing a remarkable change. -I’ve learned some wonderful things since you’ve come among us that -have opened my eyes considerably. I’m not saying anything more about -it yet, but unless I miss my guess there will be another attempt at -starting a scout troop in Wyoming, and this time founded on the -right principles.” - -Those words gave Rob great cheer. He never felt more pride in his -khaki uniform and his scout badge than when Mr. Jeffords thus -frankly acknowledged that he had been laboring under a false -impression concerning the benefit in a community a well drilled -scout troop might prove to be. - -When upstairs in the big room, as Ralph was saying good-night to his -four guests, he allowed his hand to pass, affectionately, though -perhaps unconsciously, along Rob’s khaki coat-sleeve, the -significance of the action caused the wearer to smile with genuine -pleasure. - - - - - Chapter XII - - How the Test Panned Out - - -Another day dawned. - -The boys had laid out a number of plans for their enjoyment between -sunrise and the coming of night. Ralph several times told them not -to forget that they were booked for that run in to town after -supper, for he was bound to have them hear the “budding nightingale” -that Wyoming was so proud of, and who might some day make the name -of the town famous. - -Tubby coaxed Ralph to get up another fishing party. He wanted to -have one shy at those lively bass up in the lake. Andy Bowles, on -the other hand, took a notion to spend a little time with the frogs. -He admitted that he had grown suddenly fond of the delicacy, and, -besides, believed he would enjoy using that fine little Flobert gun. - -“Well, don’t lay in too big a stock, Andy,” Tubby warned him, as -they were setting off, “because you mustn’t forget we’re going to -have turtle steak and soup today. That ought to be feast enough for -once, I should think. Still, if you do get a mess of jumpers I’ll -help you dispose of them.” - -The fishing trip turned out very well, though possibly they did not -get quite as many as on the previous day. Still, Tubby had the fun -of actually taking the biggest prize of the day, a monster who -nearly pulled him out of the boat by his sudden and vicious run -after snatching the live bait. - -Back again at the house they faced an afternoon to fill in with some -other sort of “doings.” Ralph said he would have a few things to do -up at his fur farm, and so Rob accompanied him, as did also Sim, the -other two begging off as they claimed to be a bit tired. - -“I see Pete has been busy since our last visit!” remarked Ralph, as -they drew near the high board-fence, and came in sight of the cabin -where the hired man lived while guarding the fur farm. - -Following his outstretched hand, they made a discovery. There, -fastened upon the door of the cabin, was a fresh skin, evidently -taken lately, since it had not been there on their previous visit. - -“That ferocious wildcat, as sure as you live!” ejaculated Sim, in -evident delight. - -“Yes, Pete got him, for a fact,” said Ralph. “I knew he would if -anybody could do the job. Now my fur farm is safe again from danger. -One such cat can play hob with things; once they get a taste they’ll -come back again and again until they clean you out.” - -The boys examined the skin of the wildcat. It was easy to see where -Pete had sent his bullet, for they found a ragged hole back of the -right foreleg, showing that the hunter’s aim had been perfect. Pete, -coming up just then, was warmly congratulated by all of them over -his good luck. Ralph made him a present of five dollars on the spot. - -“Why, it was worth many times that to have this thief put out of the -running!” he declared when the man showed an unwillingness to accept -the gift. - -Some further interesting information was gleaned while once more -looking over the big enclosure. This time they were fortunate enough -to catch sight of a shy mink, though the animal quickly vanished -under a rock at their approach. - -“We’ll probably never know what sort of success we’re meeting with,” -explained the owner of the fur farm, “especially with regard to the -mink and otter, until we decide to thin the animals out some day -toward Spring. Then by trapping a certain number, and leaving others -to breed, we can tell whether the experiment pays or not. I’m not -very strong for it yet, but nothing ventured nothing gained, they -say; and I’m having lots of experience, anyway.” - -Once more back home, they concluded to just “knock around,” as Tubby -called it, until supper time. Ralph again reminded them that they -were billed for town later on, and would not return until well on -toward midnight, it might prove. - -“Step aside with me, will you, Rob?” he said in the ear of the scout -leader. - -It was about the middle of the afternoon. Tubby had gone with Andy -over to the pond in order to settle some sort of dispute that had -arisen between them concerning the distance at which they had made -successful shots; while Sim chanced to be upstairs getting a letter -written which he wished to mail that evening--some of them declared -it was to his “best girl,” at which Sim had only smiled and winked, -though later on it proved to be addressed to his mother. - -Wondering what Ralph had on foot to make him act so mysteriously, -Rob readily followed him, and presently they were out near the big -barns. - -“Now I’ve got you guessing on account of my being so mysterious, -Rob,” began the other, with a short laugh; “but the fact of the -matter is I just can’t get that affair out of my mind.” - -“Are you referring to Peleg’s case?” asked Rob. - -“Yes!” came the reply. “You see, I used to think highly of Peleg, -and it hurts me to be keeping this suspicion against him. Rob, I -kind of made up my mind to try him out, test him, as you might say.” - -“Well, that mightn’t be a bad idea, though pretty hard on Peleg,” -admitted Rob. “Still, it’s better to know the truth and have done -with it. What have you thought of trying so as to find out whether -he would be guilty of stealing or not?” - -“I feel a bit ashamed of doing such a thing, too,” confessed Ralph, -a red spot showing in his cheeks, “but let’s hope it turns out a -good thing for him. Listen, Rob. Here’s my pocketbook, you see? -Well, it contains just eleven dollars, which I’m going to count -before you, and mostly in small bills, at that. Now, I mean to drop -this where Peleg is bound to come across it, while we watch and see -what he does. Are you game for that?” - -Rob scratched his head, and made a grimace. - -“It does seem sort of cruel, to tell you the truth,” he said, -presently; “but, after all, good may come of it. As I said before, -better know the worst at once, and then either get rid of Peleg, or -else beg his pardon for suspecting him of being a thief. Yes, I’ll -go you in the game, Ralph. I know your intentions are of the right -sort.” - -They shook hands on that. Then Ralph proceeded to bait the trap by -dropping the pocketbook in plain sight, where he said he knew Peleg -Pinder would soon be passing while carrying out his usual duties, -which had to be attended to with clock-like fidelity on that farm -where everything was run on schedule plans. - -“I’ve baited many a trap for wild animals before this,” Ralph -further remarked, with a shrug of his shoulders that told of the -dislike he had for the job, “but this is the first time I ever set -one for a human being. I hope it’ll be the last one. I don’t fancy -doing it at all.” - -So they concealed themselves in a convenient place nearby, where -their presence would never be suspected, and then waited to see what -would happen. Just as Ralph had figured, Peleg hove in sight within -ten minutes. He was carrying two buckets of something for the young -pigs that had to be fed so many times a day in order to cause them -to grow fast. - -He came to a sudden pause, and the buckets were set down violently. -Another second and Ralph gripped Rob’s shoulder as they saw the -hired boy pounce upon the pocketbook with just the eagerness any one -might have shown. - -It was a tense moment. Even Rob admitted that he held his breath -while wondering what Peleg would do with his find. They saw him look -around, as though wondering whether any one had noticed him pick it -up. Rob almost feared that the boy would hasten to conceal the -pocketbook in his shirt, which would be pretty positive evidence -that he was tempted to keep it. - -Then he saw Peleg draw a long breath. Leaving the two buckets -standing there, the boy started on a run for the barns. - -“Now what’s he up to?” ventured Ralph, staring after the runner in -dismay. - -“Isn’t your father out there doing something?” asked Rob, giving -Peleg the benefit of the doubt. - -“That’s a fact, he is,” admitted the other. “I wonder if Peleg means -to hand him over my pocketbook. I forgot to tell you that he must -know I’m the owner, because it’s of a peculiar pattern, and he has -seen me handle it many times.” - -“We’ll stay here a bit until the coast is clear, and then -investigate, if that suits you, Ralph.” - -After a brief interval Peleg came back again and carried off the two -buckets of swill for the pigs. He did not look at all ruffled, or -act as if he had any weighty secret on his mind, from which Rob took -heart, and believed the boy had done the square thing. - -“Shall we look your father up now?” asked Rob, presently, when -things had settled down again to their accustomed calm. - -“I suppose so,” his companion replied, “but I’m feeling a little -shaky, to tell you the truth, Rob.” - -“Well, I’m not,” said the scout leader. “One thing about it, Ralph, -you don’t want your father to know you had deliberately dropped your -pocketbook so as to test Peleg, do you?” - -“By no means,” answered Ralph, hastily. “I understand what you’re -aiming at, too. So I’ll make out that I’ve missed my pocketbook and -have come out to see if I dropped it about the barns this morning. -Kind of mean to act that way; but you understand that I want to keep -it from dad. If I’ve made a mistake about Peleg, it would be too bad -to get him down on the boy.” - -Sauntering around the big barns, they presently found Mr. Jeffords -busily engaged in mending some harness, a task he always took upon -himself, as he was quite expert along those lines. He glanced up and -smiled at their approach. Ralph forced a halfway anxious look upon -his face. - -“Seen anything of my pocketbook, dad?” he asked. - -For answer the other took it out of a rack above his head. - -“Peleg brought it to me a short time ago; said he had come upon it -on the path, and guessed it was yours, because no one else had a -pocketbook just like it. Better be a little more careful, son, of -your money; it doesn’t grow on bushes, you know,” and, having thus -duly admonished his boy after the manner of parents generally, Mr. -Jeffords forgot all about the circumstance and commenced speaking of -something else. - -Rob was satisfied that the little scheme was turning out just as he -hoped, and that Peleg had not even been tempted to keep his find. He -still felt a little anxiety in connection with the outcome, and soon -gave Ralph a signal that they had better withdraw to a spot where -the contents of the pocketbook could be examined. - -This was easily managed, and soon afterwards the two boys entered -Ralph’s den at the barn, where they could have all the privacy they -wished. It was with considerable interest that Rob saw the other -take out his pocketbook, and his fingers, trembling with eagerness, -commence to handle the wad of bills. - -“Well, how about it?” asked the scout leader, as Ralph looked up; -but really he need hardly have plied the question, for a burning -color had rushed across the other’s face, as though he felt -conscious of having wronged the one who was under suspicion. - -“It was just eleven dollars, I said, didn’t I, Rob? That amount is -here to a fraction, and I guess Peleg never even opened the -pocketbook, after all, but hurried as fast as he could to hand it -over to dad. Well, I’m glad, and at the same time sorry that I did -it.” - - - - - Chapter XIII - - When the Circus Came to Town - - -Rob felt something like relief, for although still strong in his -belief that Peleg was innocent of the charge hovering over his head, -he had felt a little anxious. - -“I’m glad to hear you say that, Ralph,” he remarked. “A thing like -this makes a good impression. Peleg has acted like any honest boy -would.” - -“Y--es, it would seem so,” the other went on to say, with a touch of -hesitation in his speech. “I was just wondering if there could be a -method in his madness. You see, for anything we know, he may have -suspected that the pocketbook had been purposely dropped as a trap; -or even seen us hiding where we did, and on that account guessed -what was doing.” - -“That thought never came to me,” Rob replied, looking grave. “While -there’s a chance that it might be so, I don’t believe it, Ralph. I -think you gave him a severe test, and that the boy came out of it -without being scorched a whit. Still, if you have the least doubt -left, and I can’t blame you for it, either, keep tabs of Peleg, and -prove the case, one way or the other.” - -“Oh! I mean to, Rob. I don’t consider it’s quite fair to keep -suspecting a fellow and never openly accuse him. I own up this -affair has upset some of my opinions. I’m more inclined than ever to -believe I was mistaken.” - -“Let’s forget it for the present,” suggested Rob. - -To this the other only too readily agreed, for Ralph was evidently a -fair minded fellow, who believed in the good old motto of “live, and -let live.” - -Supper was to be at an unusually early hour because they meant to -start to town afterwards. The Southern “mammy” who served as cook -evidently knew how to serve up “turtle fries” to equal anything a -Delmonico could boast; at least, that was the verdict of the boys -after they had tasted the dish set before them. - -It was noticed, however, that Tubby, the provider of the leading -article on the bill of fare, did not seem to care particularly for -turtle; which seemed strange to some of the others, knowing his -customary tastes as they did. - -“What ails you, Tubby?” demanded Sim. “Seems to me you only toy with -that helping on your plate. If you love frogs’ legs, and such things -as spring chicken, you ought to just smack your lips over such a -dish as this, fit for a crowned head.” - -Tubby grinned as he went on to reply. - -“Oh! I don’t know, Sim, why it doesn’t seem to strike me just right. -Somehow, I seem to don’t care for it as much as I thought I would.” - -“Why, it is the finest thing going,” urged Sim, “and here you act as -if you thought it would jump right out of your plate at you!” - -“Please don’t say anything more, Sim,” requested Tubby, looking a -bit pale. So the subject was dropped, though Tubby failed to take -another bite of his portion of “turtle fry.” - -Rob had noticed how white the fat boy had suddenly turned while Sim -was teasing him. He immediately guessed what was the matter. He -afterwards found out, just as he suspected, that Tubby, wanting to -see how everything was done, had stood around on the previous -evening when Peleg carved the turtle into bits, after first removing -the double shell, always a difficult task. - -As Rob well knew, there is often a strange species of muscle -contraction observed in the severed portions of a turtle or tortoise -when recently killed, so that even pieces of the meat on the block -will jump in a most peculiar way. Tubby, doubtless, witnessed with -amazement this phenomenon as it was pointed out to him by Peleg, and -somehow the remembrance had taken away his desire to feast upon the -unlucky owner of the shell. - -However, his normal appetite seemed to come back when the heaping -plate of well-browned bass came on, for, taken in all, Tubby kept up -with the others in disposing of the second course. - -It was just after supper, while the boys were sitting around on the -big porch resting a while before thinking of starting for town, that -Peleg appeared. He approached the spot where it happened Ralph and -Rob were idly moving back and forth in one of those wide porch -swings. - -“I wanted to ask you, Ralph, if you had any room in the car tonight -to let me squeeze in, ’cause I happen to have some business to look -after in town that ought to be ’tended to. You see, I got a letter -when the delivery man went through this mornin’ that says I had -ought to see a lawyer in Wyoming right away concerning somethin’ -that I’ll tell you ’bout later on.” - -Ralph nodded his head as though it would be quite agreeable to him. - -“Sure, Peleg, plenty of room,” he replied. “Car will hold seven -without crowding, and with you there will be only six. We’ll be -starting in about fifteen minutes, so if you haven’t had supper, -better be getting busy.” - -Afterwards he turned toward Rob and remarked: - -“Queer thing for Peleg to want to go into town at night; but then -he’s a pretty busy fellow all day long. I wonder if he did get a -letter this afternoon when the rural delivery mail man came along in -his buggy?” - -“I saw him reading some sort of letter half an hour ago, so I -imagine he did,” Rob told him, and the subject was dropped. - -The patrol leader had noticed, however, that Peleg looked flushed -more than ordinarily at the time he asked permission to accompany -them to town. From this fact he imagined the boy had something on -his mind. Perhaps that letter had been from the sister who was -living in service some seven miles away in an opposite direction -from Wyoming, and whom he did not often see. However, it was no -business of his who Peleg corresponded with, and so Rob put the -matter out of his mind. - -Later on the four boys jumped into the big old car as Ralph drew up -in front of the farmhouse. Peleg, too, was ready, and found a place -on one of the extra movable seats. Rob again noticed that the boy -seemed to be excited, though never speaking unless addressed. -Several times he believed Peleg was chuckling to himself as if -secretly pleased; but, then, a trip to town after nightfall might be -a treat that excited his delight. - -When they finally had covered the distance separating the Jeffords’ -farm from Wyoming, and put the car up at a convenient garage where -it could be called for at any hour of the night, Peleg said he -guessed he would move along. - -“We don’t know just when we’ll be starting back, Peleg,” Ralph -called after him; “but better show up here by eleven at the latest, -or you might get left.” - -“Oh! I’ll be along before that,” confidently replied the other, as -he hurried away down the street. - -Sim was chuckling as though secretly amused. - -“Now what has got hold of you, Sim, to keep making all those queer -sounds like you do?” demanded Andy Bowles. - -“Oh! nothing much,” answered the disturber of the peace, “only I -think I can see through a mill-stone when there’s a hole in it. I -was thinking about Peleg’s asking to come with us. That letter -business may have only been a blind. The real cause you can hear, if -you listen right now.” - -“Why, it’s a band playing, as you live!” ejaculated Tubby. - -“To be sure,” laughed Ralph. “I forgot that this was the night the -circus was billed to strike Wyoming. It’s located on a vacant lot we -have to pass going toward the centre of the town. Come along, let’s -stand around for a bit and see the sights. I always like to watch -the shouters get busy, and see the crowd of country yahoos gathering -around. We’ve got a whole hour yet before the concert begins, boys.” - -What wideawake boy could ever resist the alluring attraction of a -circus band, with the added pleasure of listening to the various -glib-tongued orators who so loudly describe the wonders to be seen -in the side shows? Even Rob was perfectly willing to move along and -join the crowd surging in front of the round-top that occupied the -big vacant lot. - -Many lights abounded, strange sounds came from beyond the canvas -walls, and everything combined to throw an air of romantic interest -about the one-night stand of the Great Aggregation that had honored -Wyoming with its presence. - -So the five boys stood and listened and laughed while the -loud-voiced fakirs on the platforms bellowed their invitations to -“step in and see the seven wonders of the world,” as shown in their -side shows; while the busy ticket-taker in the circus wagon -continued to sell pasteboard admissions to the big event, and people -gradually sifted into the round-top for the evening performance. - -“There’s Peleg!” announced Sim, later on. “What did I tell you, -fellows?” - -Sure enough, Peleg was to be seen standing there, with a look of -intense interest on his face, as though greatly amused by all this -glitter and talk. The woman in spangles who handled an enormous -snake so fearlessly had the crowd gaping with awe; the pigmies from -the heart of Africa who sang such a quaint song and exhibited their -war trophies excited great interest; and the giant and dwarf -appearing side by side on another platform caused quite a stampede -in that direction when they pretended to engage in a boxing match. - -No wonder then that Peleg could not resist stopping on his way, and -staring at those wonderful sights. It would be hard, indeed, to find -any boy capable of passing by on the other side of the street, no -matter what his errand, without halting for at least a few minutes’ -survey and treat. - -“But you notice that he isn’t showing any signs of going inside, -don’t you?” Tubby was saying, turning to Sim. “Perhaps Peleg did -have some other sort of errand in town, just as he said. Stopping on -his way doesn’t signify anything, for we’re doing the same thing.” - -Still, Peleg was standing there when they once more resumed their -stroll, that same entranced look on his freckled face; as though he -may have utterly forgotten the passage of time, and the fact of his -having business to attend to in this unexpected treat of being -brought in touch with a traveling circus. - -Ralph had several things he wanted his friends to see while in town. -Of course, they might be trivial sights to these scouts, some of -whom had actually been across the ocean; traveled to Mexico, and -visited at the great Panama-Pacific Exposition on the Coast; but, -then, like most boys, he felt that it was up to him to do the honors -to the best of his ability. - -So Rob and the others looked upon the high school with its campus; -heard about the doings of the football team, and the baseball nine -that represented Wyoming in the league; were shown the various mills -and factories upon which the stability of Wyoming rested; and, -finally, along toward half-past seven, they started for the hall -where the concert was to be given, and which happened to be in the -centre of the town. - -Rob noticed that quite a lively wind had arisen. Some of the boys -remarked that they were glad they had thought to “chuck” their -sweaters in the car, for with such a high breeze in their faces they -would need them going home at a late hour. Mention is made of this -because it afterwards turned out that this same strong wind had much -to do with the fortunes of Wyoming before another day dawned. - -As they passed along the main street of the town Rob saw Ralph -pointing to what seemed to be an abandoned frame building that had -once been a bustling hive of industry, though now deserted. It stood -as a connecting link between the old part of the town and the newer -section where all those factories and mills lay. - -“Going to be pulled down soon, and another big mill built there,” -Ralph remarked, and then he added, turning to Rob: “Look, Rob, -there’s Peleg now, and going in that place!” - - - - - Chapter XIV - - The Rising Wind - - -“Then he didn’t go to the circus, after all,” remarked Tubby, as -though that one thought occupied his mind; truth to tell, had the -stout scout been given his own choice in the matter, he might have -preferred seeing the acrobats and the tightrope walkers under the -big round-top, rather than listen to the warblings of those who were -to take part in the concert. - -“He seems to hesitate and look around him,” said Rob, meaningly, to -Ralph Jeffords. “What sort of a building is that, anyhow? It looks -as though it might be given up to offices and shops.” - -“Just what the Handy Building is,” explained Ralph. “There are a lot -of different business people represented there. Some people call it -the Arcade Building. You can see plenty of lights there, for most of -the offices keep open till ten o’clock at night. Among others I -might mention who occupy space in there, Rob, is one Hardman, a -curio dealer. I’ve been in his rooms lots of times when I had some -money I felt like investing in old coins and foreign postage stamps -for my collection.” - -“Stamps!” - -Rob only repeated the word after the other, but there was a world of -meaning connected with the way he did it. Like a flash there came to -him the remembrance of the loss Ralph had claimed to have suffered, -when he failed to discover the several packets of valuable stamps -where he believed he had left them, ready for mailing back to a city -dealer from whom he had received them for making selections. - -Could it be possible that Peleg had yielded to some sudden -temptation, and purloined those packets? Was his errand to Wyoming -really to dispose of the stamps, after he had taken them from the -sheets to which they had been slenderly attached? - -Rob was conscious of a chilly feeling around the region of his heart -as he continued to watch the boy standing there. It was not -difficult to imagine Peleg battling with the strong temptation. That -might account for his looking dubiously up at the building, and -hesitating before taking a fatal step in wrong-doing. - -“Well, he’s gone in!” said Sim, presently. “I guess Peleg really had -some business in town, and didn’t mean to go to the show. I c’n see -that all sorts of people have offices in that building, lawyers, -doctors and even a curio dealer. Do we go on now, Ralph, or are you -meaning to wait for Peleg?” - -“Oh! we’re going on, all right, Sim; Peleg said nothing about -wanting to attend the entertainment. Perhaps, after he’s through -with his _important business_ here he may drift back to the circus -lot. That would be more in his line, I guess. Come on.” - -“What were those packets of stamps worth, Ralph?” Rob managed to ask -without being overheard by any of the others, for Tubby and Andy -chanced to be engaged in a little dispute concerning something that -had arisen, as with Sim they trudged along ten feet or so in the -rear. - -“Something like fifteen dollars, I should say,” replied the other, -gloomily. - -Rob knew that it was not so much the value of the missing packets -that bothered Ralph Jeffords as the fact that a boy to whom his -father had been so kind had apparently betrayed a trust, and stolen -from the son of his benefactor. - -“And you think Peleg has been pretty keen on making money, do you?” -continued the scout leader. - -“Yes, that’s a fact,” he was told, moodily. “I never knew a fellow -more eager to scrape cents and dollars together. He would do any -kind of extra work after hours if only he could make ten cents by -it.” - -“But you wouldn’t call him a money-lover, or a miser, would you?” -queried Rob. - -“That was what I thought at first, and I didn’t like it one bit,” -Ralph explained, frankly. “So I mentioned the matter to Peleg one -time. He told me that he was the oldest of the children left by his -father when he died. One sister just younger than Peleg works for a -family not a great many miles away from here. The others, three of -them, are in an orphan asylum, you know. Well, would you believe it, -Peleg told me he had an ambition to get enough money together, -somehow, to sooner or later have an humble home, where all the -Pinder children might live together!” - -Rob caught his breath. - -“That was a noble resolution for Peleg, wasn’t it?” he exclaimed. - -“I believed so,” replied Ralph, disconsolately. “It made me think a -heap of the boy, and I tried every way I could to encourage him. -That’s what makes it cut me so hard now, to suspect that he could -steal from me.” - -Somehow, what he had heard seemed to encourage Rob more than ever in -his belief that Peleg must be innocent. The circumstances all seemed -to point strongly toward his being guilty; but Rob plucked up fresh -hope after learning what a splendid excuse the boy had given for -scrimping, and saving every cent he could gather together. - -In imagination Rob could even see the happy faces of the little -Pinders when they eventually found themselves under a roof of their -own, if such happiness was indeed ever going to come their way. -Brave, loyal, brotherly Peleg, how few boys would have dreamed such -dreams as came to him at night, and visions by day? - -“Oh! it doesn’t seem possible that he could be guilty of doing such -a mean thing as taking your stamps, Ralph,” he told the other. - -Somehow, even the confidence Rob had in the boy who was under -suspicion seemed to make Ralph Jeffords feel better. - -“Your saying that does you credit, Rob,” he told his new friend; -“and because of the faith you seem to feel in him, I’m going to try -again and believe Peleg innocent. But, all the same, that won’t -prevent me from finding out the truth.” - -“No, you owe that much to Peleg,” admitted Rob. “One way or the -other, you’ve got to learn the answer to this puzzle. How will you -go about it?” - -“There’s one way that might tell the story,” confided Ralph. “I can -come down to town tomorrow morning on some errand, and take occasion -to drop in at the Arcade.” - -“You mean to see the curio dealer, and put a few questions to him; -is that the programme, Ralph?” - -“Yes. He knows me very well, and would keep my secret,” continued -the other, as he sighed heavily, evidently anticipating the worst. -“I’d have the money with me to buy them back if Peleg did sell them, -because I wouldn’t want Mr. Hardman to have the boy arrested as a -thief. That would leave it all in my hands. I’d have to consult my -father before I decided what I finally ought to do in the matter.” - -“Well, something may happen between now and tomorrow to change your -plans. For instance, you may even possibly discover the stamps -somewhere. I’ve hidden things myself, and for a short time forgotten -where I put them. Then somebody else may have taken them, not to -steal them, it might be. Oh! there are lots of loopholes through -which they could have passed. And after you’ve learned the truth -you’re surprised to find how easy it was to misjudge any one.” - -“But what else would take Peleg in there?” - -“I confess I couldn’t give even a guess,” admitted the scout leader; -“but he said there was some news in that letter he received that -made him want to come to town. For all we know, it might have -something to do with the sister who is in service, or even the three -smaller children in the asylum. Poor Peleg has been dreaming of -doing great things, you know, Ralph.” - -“You are certainly the grandest fellow to stand by any one who is -down I ever met!” - -“Oh! I don’t know that I’m different from any scout who wears the -khaki, and has taken the scout oath to try and be useful to others. -You’d do just as much if you had the chance, and I know it, Ralph. -But suppose we drop Peleg for the time being, and speak of something -else? The other fellows must be wondering why we keep our heads -together so long, and talk in undertones.” - -“I’m agreeable, Rob. Notice how the wind has commenced to rise. It -was quiet when we left home, and now you can hear it rustling -through the trees at a great rate. Do you think it’s going to -storm?” - -“I don’t happen to be the weather sharp of the troop,” laughed Rob, -“so you mustn’t depend too much on my prediction.” - -He looked up at the sky, and then around him, after which he -ventured to say: - -“I think there will be quite a blow during the night, for those -clouds are passing over in a hurry; but it isn’t likely we’ll have -to go home in a rainstorm.” - -Apparently, the other trio must have also been paying attention to -the rising wind, for just then Tubby called out: - -“Hope you’ve got a gilt-edged fire department in your town, Ralph. -If a fire _did_ happen to break out tonight, with this breeze going, -it would likely eat up a few of your buildings. How about it?” - -“Why, we’ve got a pretty good fire department, such as you are apt -to find in towns of this size,” replied the other, seriously. “It’s -partly a volunteer one, of course, and they’ve got quite a few -medals won in State rivalries, competing with other companies. Fact -is, we’re a bit proud of the Wyoming Fire Department. They can smash -windows faster, and get a hose up to a burning house five seconds -quicker than the best of them.” - -All of the boys laughed at hearing Ralph say this. - -“Whee!” exclaimed Tubby, “I wouldn’t like to be under that old -circus tent if a big storm did come swooping along. I guess it’d go -flying over the mountain-tops like a kite.” - -“I was in a circus once when we had a terrific storm,” admitted -Ralph. “I’ll never forget the way the frightened people behaved. The -canvas flapped wildly, and made the most terrifying noises going. We -expected to have the whole business come down about our ears any -minute, but fortunately the wind passed over, and the animals quit -howling so that the people could quiet the youngsters. It was -something awful while it lasted.” - -“Are we going inside the hall now?” asked Andy, who had grown tired -of walking around the town seeing the “sights”; for while these may -have amounted to something in Ralph’s estimation, they were very -common in the eyes of fellows who had done so much traveling, and -had even seen considerable of the war in Europe, as well as the -wonders of New York City. - -“We might as well, because it’s getting close to the time for the -performance to begin,” the guide replied. - -There seemed to be a good many people all moving in the same general -direction as themselves. These were, doubtless, the holders of -tickets to the entertainment that had been the magnet drawing them -to town on this particular night fated to be set down with a red -mark in the history of Wyoming. - -Presently they joined the line before the door of the hall in which -the concert was to be held. Apparently it was bound to be a popular -affair. Ralph privately informed his mates that most of the people -were coming just to hear the little girl with the Patti-like voice. -In this way he aroused their curiosity to a high pitch; though none -of them claimed to be fine judges of operatic music, or able to -decide the exact quality of a wonderful voice, still they knew good -singing, and were considerably interested in what Ralph had told -them of the girl who was leading the printed programme as Anna -Burgoyne. - -“Her father was connected with the opera over across the water years -ago,” explained Ralph. “Her mother, too, used to sing in public, so -you see Anna comes by her wonderful voice honestly. But just you -wait and see, that’s all.” - -They found the hall already well filled with an audience that -counted as most of the people worth while in and around Wyoming; -though the circus doubtless served to attract quite a crowd, as it -always does. - - - - - Chapter XV - - The Clang of the Fire Bell - - -The hall continued to fill up, until there was standing room only by -the time the performance began. The boys were interested in the -people around them, for Ralph was able to relate certain things of -interest connected with some of those he pointed out. - -All at once Tubby exclaimed: - -“Well, we made a big mistake, after all, about him!” - -“Who are you referring to, Tubby?” asked Sim, who sat next the fat -scout. - -“Why, just turn your head this way, and glance over yonder near the -door among the latecomers. Strike you that you know anybody in that -bunch?” chuckled Tubby. - -“Say, it is Peleg, after all!” admitted Sim. “I was dead sure the -circus would do for him, and here he bobs up at the concert. Do you -suppose it’s because we just happened to be coming here, and he knew -it, Ralph?” - -Ralph and Rob had discovered the farm boy by then. - -“Oh! I don’t know about that,” said the former, looking both -surprised and puzzled. “I believe I’ve heard Peleg say more than -once he liked music, and singing especially. That was when he told -me one of his little sisters could warble like a bird, and some day -she might show people the Pinders weren’t such good-for-nothing -trash, after all. That’s what has been worrying Peleg all along, the -way folks looked down on his father and the children after the -mother died, years ago.” - -“Well, he looks as if he was glad to even find standing room -tonight,” suggested Andy. “You can see a regular grin on his face -away from over here. Peleg certainly seems happier than I’ve known -him to be since we first met him. It doesn’t require much to please -some fellows, I take it.” - -Rob looked at Ralph, and found the other observing him intently. -Both of them were wondering whether the visit Peleg had made to the -old curio dealer could account for that broad smile on his face. -Indeed, an observer, if he had been a boy, would have said that -Peleg every once in so often looked as though he wanted to “shake -hands with himself,” he felt so happy. - -The announcement that the entertainment was about to commence drew -the attention of the five lads from Peleg Pinder. When Tubby -happened to glance in that quarter again later on, he could not -place the other, for, the rear of the hall being densely packed with -the late-comers, it was difficult to make out any individual person. - -There were some ordinary numbers at first, a fair quartette that -provoked a certain amount of applause, then a banjo solo that quite -excited Tubby, who secretly aspired to some day to play such a -splendid instrument. - -After that some other exercises came along, but it was evident that -the audience as a whole was waiting for the crowning event of the -evening. - -“Now she’s coming, so get ready, fellows!” said Andy Bowles, -referring to his programme. - -There was a little wait. Ralph craned his neck, looking around to -nod to a number of people he knew; but Rob really believed the other -was thinking of Peleg more than anything else just then. To prove -this he whispered: - -“Don’t see anything of him, do you, Ralph?” - -“That’s a fact,” came the ready reply; “he’s lost in the shuffle, -for there’s a big mob back there, pushing to get inside the hall in -time to hear Anna Burgoyne. I tell you she’s getting folks up in -this neck of the woods excited a heap. But you just wait and see, -that’s all.” - -Then there broke out a wild hand-clapping and stamping of feet. Rob -saw a demure little girl standing there, blushing and bowing as she -faced the big audience. - -“Why, she’s hardly more than a child!” gasped Tubby, as the noise -gradually died away, with the singer standing there wholly at her -ease. - -“Well, she isn’t thirteen yet,” admitted Ralph, “which makes it all -the more wonderful. Oh! she’s a nightingale, all right, believe me. -I think she’s got the sweetest and strongest voice of any one I ever -heard, and, let me tell you, I’ve been down to New York and attended -more than a few first class concerts, too.” - -Silence fell upon the crowd. Every eye was fastened on the demure -little figure of Anna Burgoyne. Every one almost in that big hall -had heard her sing time and again, but it seemed as though they -could never get enough of her wonderful voice. Most of them believed -like Ralph, that some fine day little Anna was bound to put Wyoming -on the map through the marvelous voice Nature had given her. Already -some of the rich men of the town had settled it among themselves -that later on she must be sent to Europe, when the dreadful war was -over, in order to have the highest artists of the Old World train -her voice. Nothing was to be too good for Anna Burgoyne. Already -they could in imagination see her charming the world of music -lovers, and incidentally making the little Adirondack town of -Wyoming known far and wide. - -Rob understood that the child did have a most wonderful voice as -soon as he heard her commence to sing. He, too, was thrilled with -the purity of her tones as well as by their sweetness and power. Of -course, he knew that she was almost wholly untrained, but in time, -unless something happened to injure her vocal chords, she would very -likely fulfill all the predictions of her admiring Wyoming friends. - -A storm of applause followed the completion of her selection, in -which all of the boys heartily joined. Then came another song, and -still a third. It seemed as if the audience had gone crazy over that -mite of a girl, and would insist on her complying with their demands -until she could no longer sing a note. - -Finally, as the only way to still the tempest, the manager of the -entertainment appeared on the stage to tell the cheering people that -Anna Burgoyne would oblige them once more later on in the evening, -since they would find her name there for further efforts. - -“Well, what do you think now?” asked Ralph, glowing with pride over -the achievement of the town pet. - -“She’s bound to make a name for herself, all right,” admitted Rob. - -“I never heard anything like it,” said Tubby, looking so pleased -that his cheeks stuck out like twin rosy apples. “Why, I could sit -for hours and hear that girl sing. She’s certainly a wonder, Ralph.” - -“I don’t see how they can bear to let her go away to Europe,” -observed Andy, whom Rob had actually seen slily wipe his eyes with -the back of his hand while the singer was in the midst of a pathetic -little ballad. - -“Say, just listen to that wind making things hum outside, will you?” -practical Sim was saying about that time. “I do believe it’s growing -worse right along. I hope it doesn’t blow us into a ditch when we’re -heading for home. That old carryall of yours is big enough to catch -the wind full smack, Ralph.” - -“Don’t worry about that, Sim,” retorted the other. “I’ve been in all -sorts of weather with that auto, and she stands up before it like -everything. Chances are five to one we’ll get back home safe and -sound. I only hope you will all feel that it’s paid you to come in -with me.” - -“Oh! that goes without saying, Ralph. We’ve had a bully time -already; and there’s going to be more of that singing, you know,” -Tubby assured him. “There’s Peleg now, sitting up on that railing -back of the hall, along with some other fellows. Not a bad place to -be in, because no tall woman with a head of hair as big as a bushel -basket can intercept your view of the stage.” - -Tubby had the wisdom to lower his voice to a whisper while saying -the latter part of this, because the lady to whom he evidently -referred was apt to hear him unless he exercised great care; and one -glimpse Tubby had had of her determined face had made him decide -that he had better not excite her ire if he knew what was good for -his health. - -Rob looked and could also see Peleg. The Pinder boy seemed to be -enjoying his evening at the entertainment hugely, for his face was -still wreathed in smiles. Apparently his trip to town had been of a -satisfactory nature, Rob thought. - -The second half of the affair now started in, and once more the -audience listened to what the programme provided. Though they -applauded everything, it could easily be seen that they knew just -when to stop in order not to induce any of the other local -performers to believe the hand-clapping was meant as an encore. - -Finally there was Anna Burgoyne again, bowing, while a storm of -sounds arose so that for several minutes she was utterly unable to -proceed. When this had gone on long enough, according to the -manager, he must have made some motion which the girl had been -awaiting. - -The lady at the piano struck a chord, and as if by magic all that -hand-clapping and stamping ceased. The change was simply marvelous, -and, save for the clear notes of the instrument, and perhaps the -rattling of a few windows under the influence of the unruly wind, -silence had fallen upon the big hall. - -Then the girl commenced to sing again. Rob liked her voice better -than ever, now that he heard it under different conditions. He was -glad he had been asked to come to town by Ralph; glad of the -opportunity to hear such splendid music, and find himself face to -face with such a little song witch. - -Hardly had the last note died away than they gave her a whirlwind of -approbation. Why, the very floor seemed to quiver under the thunder -of sound; and all intended to inform that slender slip of a girl how -much they thought of her vocal efforts. Surely there was only one -Anna Burgoyne, and she belonged to Wyoming in the Adirondacks. - -Then, in time, they allowed her to sing to them again. If anything, -this last song won their hearts more than all that had gone before. -A third time she had to come from behind the scenes, for they would -not allow the programme to proceed. This time she bowed, and smiled, -and shook her head; but the same tumult broke out after she had -gone. - -“They act as though they could almost eat her up!” Tubby was saying, -laughingly, all the while pounding his fat palms together, and -making considerable addition to the general din. - -After this had gone on for some time without any apparent sign of a -break, once more the girl appeared, looking flushed and happy. She -shook her head, and held up her hands as if to beg them to have -mercy on her. In spite of all, Rob believed she would be obliged to -sing just once more, though he knew she must be tired from her -exertions. - -Something came about that changed things almost in a breath, -something that caused the crowd gathered there to think of other -things besides music and promising girl singer with a grand future -before her. - -Rob felt a sudden thrill pass through him as he caught a brazen note -just when the tumult in the hall had died away, and the lady at the -piano was beginning to strike up an accompaniment. - -“Is that the fire alarm bell?” he asked Ralph, hastily. - -“Yes, that’s what!” exclaimed the other. - -The sound must have struck a note of alarm at many hearts in that -gathering, for they could easily guess how a fire, with such a gale -blowing, might imperil the whole town. Men could be seen jumping -hastily from their seats, possibly some of them volunteer firemen, -whose duty called them to leave their beds or the banquet hall when -the call came, regardless of conditions or circumstances. - -Their pushing through the crowd at the door was the signal for a -rush; and in the excitement of that moment even the popular little -Anna Burgoyne was temporarily forgotten in the desire to get outside -the hall. - - - - - Chapter XVI - - Fighting the Flames - - -“Hadn’t we better follow the crowd, and get out of here, Ralph?” -asked Rob, when he found the sudden alarm of fire had broken up the -entertainment, and that even little Anna Burgoyne had taken -advantage of the diversion to slip back off the stage again. - -“I suppose we might as well,” grumbled Ralph, “because she’s gone, -and there won’t be any more singing tonight.” - -The five boys started toward the door, where quite a jam had -occurred, as many of the excited audience tried to push through at -the same time. In consequence there was a blockade, and it would -take a long time for those in the rear to emerge from the hall. - -“Too slow for me,” ventured Andy. “Say, Ralph, couldn’t we get out -by way of one of these windows?” - -“Let’s look and see,” added Sim. - -Investigation proved the plan feasible. The ground was fourteen feet -or so below them, but there was a shed of some sort, on to which -roof they could readily pass from the window of the second-story -hall. - -Ralph led the way, because he belonged to Wyoming, and really the -pilot of the party, chauffeur and all that. After him came Rob, -while the other three followed in turn, Tubby, as usual, bringing up -the rear with credit, and a super-abundance of material. - -“Careful you don’t slip and slide off this shed roof,” advised Ralph -as he cautiously moved along, intending to hang from the lower end -and drop to the ground. - -Tubby came near having trouble when his feet slipped; but Andy -managed to catch hold of the one in danger, and steadied him until -he could get another footing. Then one by one they lowered -themselves and dropped. Even Tubby succeeded in making a safe -retreat from the building. People were still emerging by twos and -threes from the exit of the hall as they hurried past. Evidently -they might have been kept shut up there for half an hour, losing -much worth seeing, had they been content to accept things as they -came, and never trying to escape by way of that window. - -“Which way now?” bellowed Andy. - -“Leave that to Ralph; he knows how the land lies!” Rob suggested. - -“Yes, follow me, everybody!” the party indicated called over his -shoulder. - -Away they hastened along the street, where people were already -hurrying in squads and singly, all heading in a certain direction as -though word had been passed along the line concerning the location -of the fire. - -“You see, it’s in the poorer section of the town,” Ralph was telling -Rob, as they ran along side by side. “There goes another fire -engine; and I suppose the chemical crowd have already started work -on the fire, because they can get going so much faster than the -others. Listen to the shouting, will you? That sounds as if Wyoming -had been waked up, I guess.” - -Rob was already alarmed, and with reason. He could see from the -glare in the heavens that the fire was dead ahead of them; indeed, -several times they had glimpsed flames shooting madly upwards. Rob -remembered that they were facing the wind almost head on, which -would mean that the conflagration must be swept on its breath -directly toward the mill and factory part of the town. - -Great excitement reigned all around them, and this was growing more -intense as each dozen seconds flitted past. People began to realize -that an awful calamity actually threatened their fine little town, -and that unless the firemen were unusually successful in confining -the blaze to a few houses, there was a chance of a catastrophe that -would wipe out the better part of the entire community, and render -many families homeless, as well as depriving hundreds of their daily -tasks if the mills and factories went up in smoke. - -No doubt the fire department would do everything possible to save -the town, but, after all, they were a feeble force to try and stand -in the way of that leaping blaze when fanned and whipped by a -furious wind. - -The five boys had come in to attend an entertainment, but it began -to look as if they might be on hand to witness a most distressing -catastrophe. Rob was trying to think what they could do to help save -the town, should the fire actually get beyond the frantic efforts of -the few firemen with their feeble apparatus. He was only too willing -to do anything that lay in his power to render assistance; but just -then, despite his utmost efforts, no scheme appealed to him. - -Many there were who would be glad to help as best they could; but it -is disheartening to find how little can be done under such -conditions. The fire had already taken such a fierce hold that the -chances of successfully fighting it and saving the rest of the town -seemed slim, indeed. - -“There, they’ve got the water started on it!” called out Andy, who -had sight that enabled him to see things others were less able to -catch. “Two streams are getting busy, it seems. Good for those -firemen; they know their business, all right. But, say, the flames -just seem to laugh at all they can do. Look there the way they keep -on shooting up like they were trying to lick the clouds!” - -It was indeed an impressive sight. The fire demon was hard at work -trying to defy all efforts at putting the flames down. By the red -light of the conflagration the crowd that was quickly gathering, -running this way and that in excitement, had a peculiar look to Rob, -who likened them to Indians minus their feathers and other war -paraphernalia. - -“There, it’s gone and done it now!” shrilled a boy nearby; “see, the -lumber yard has caught fire. Gee! look at it going like soap, will -you?” - -It was only too true. Instead of the fire being stemmed, it appeared -to be making giant strides, and extending right and left, as well as -sweeping onward with that furious wind. - -Already cries of terror were arising. Some of the people who chanced -to live at the further end of the town beyond the mills and -factories started on a run for their homes, doubtless with the one -thought of getting as much of their household possessions to a place -of safety as possible before the greedy flames swept a swathe of -destruction across that region. - -Rob had seen pictures representing a panic, but here was the real -thing. While some of the mob stood there and stared as though they -did not mean to miss a single feature of the burning up of the town, -others were wringing their hands and shrieking in terror as they ran -this way and that, hardly knowing what they were about. - -It was really difficult to talk while all these noises were going -on. Rob had to place his lips quite close to the ear of Ralph when -he spoke. - -“The wind is carrying things before it, you see, Ralph!” he called -out. “Unless I miss my guess, it’s heading straight toward the -mills.” - -“Just what it is,” admitted the other, looking completely unnerved. -“If there comes a sudden and lucky shift to that breeze it’s -good-bye to all of Wyoming--mills, dwelling houses and everything. -You see, it’s got something to feed on right along, from the -cottages where it’s working now, to the factories. It’s eating its -way just like a train of wet powder will do when you touch a match -to the same, sizzling along until it reaches the end. And the worst -of it is nothing can be done to halt its triumphant march, nothing -that I can see.” - -It was plain that Ralph was disheartened by the prospect confronting -the enterprising little town. He took a great interest in Wyoming, -and the impending catastrophe appalled him. - -“Isn’t there something we could do to help these poor people get -their stuff out of reach of the flames, even if we can’t stop the -fire raging?” asked Tubby, whose tender heart was always ready to -bleed for any sufferer, no matter what his race, color or condition. - -There were wagons backing up to the pavements, and people hurriedly -making trips back and forth between the houses and the curb, -carrying what they treasured most in their limited possessions. It -was a most pitiable sight, and one those boys were not likely to -forget for a long time. - -The idea took hold of them, and they started to work, lending a -helping hand to a number of the panic-stricken families along the -street. Meanwhile the fire was eating its way gradually along. Rob -tried to figure how long at this rate of progress it would take for -it to jump across to the other side of the town, and start devouring -those splendid mills, and the machine shops, where scores and -hundreds of people were accustomed to earn their daily wage. - -“An hour at the most, and it will be good-night to the place, -perhaps in a whole not less time than that,” he told himself; and -there was something akin to awe in the thought that man appeared to -be so utterly helpless to engage in a combat with the allied -elements of wind and fire, once they took the bits in their teeth, -and started to destroy all in their path. - -Even where the boys were working so like beavers they could hear the -angry snap and crackle of the leaping flames. To Rob it seemed as -though they were actually laughing in derision at the futility of -the crafty brain of man to stay their onward progress. - -If he could only devise some way to beat them at their own game--how -Rob cudgeled his wits to try and think of some such scheme, but -somehow the things that appealed to him seemed so silly and foolish -when pitted against such a roaring windswept mass of raging fire. - -Rob had seen a forest ablaze, and knew more or less how the men who -watch the Government-owned lands are taught to act when face to face -with such a calamity. But the tactics that might be successful under -such conditions were useless here in town. It was folly to dream of -digging a trench over which the fire could not pass; and equally -useless to think of starting a small fire ahead that could be -controlled, so that when the main conflagration came to such a point -it would find nothing to feed upon. - -All this went on while the boys were working as hard as they could. -Wherever they found a chance to lend a hand they pitched in with -their accustomed vim; more than a few poor families had occasion to -remember those sturdy and accommodating young fellows wearing the -khaki uniforms, who assisted them to load the wagons, and then get a -flying start for a point of safety. - -Rob was beginning to feel a sense of despair as he wrestled in vain -with the perplexing problem of how to successfully fight that volume -of flame eating its way remorselessly toward the section of the town -where so much of the community’s prosperity was laid up. - -Then, like an inspiration, something came to him. It almost took his -breath away, such was the wonderful nature of the idea. It was no -new invention of his, but something he remembered reading when a -city had been threatened with destruction, and the resourceful fire -fighters were compelled to take stern measures in order to check the -onrushing flames. - -He looked around. Ralph fortunately was not far away, staggering -under a trunk belonging to some poor woman who had been given a -chance to place it upon a partly loaded wagon. Rob ran in that -direction. His appearance before Ralph gave the other a new thrill, -for he immediately saw from the excited look on the scout leader’s -earnest face that Rob had struck a feasible idea at last. - -“I’ve got it!” cried Rob, as he seized upon the other; “come with me -as fast as you can, and as we run I’ll tell you my plan. It’s a -desperate chance, but with the help of Heaven we may save the town -yet,” and so they started off as fast as their already tired -condition would allow. - - - - - Chapter XVII - - A Wild Race Against Time - - -The two boys had hardly made a start when they found Sim, Andy, and -even Tubby trotting along at their side, and naturally overwhelmed -with astonishment at the singular action of the pair. - -“Hey! what’s all this mean?” cried Sim. - -“Where are you heading for?” exclaimed Andy; while Tubby was -gasping: - -“My stars! is it as bad as _this_, and do we have to run for our -lives? Will the mills blow up like magazines, Rob, and send -everything sky-high?” - -“Listen!” snapped Ralph. “Rob here’s got a scheme. He’s asked me to -go along with him and help out. Now tell us, Rob, what it’s all -about?” - -“We must get the car out, you and I, Ralph, and make for your place -like the wind. Don’t you understand, it’s that dynamite your -father’s got stored there, together with the battery for exploding -the same, that we’ve got to have.” - -“What, dynamite? Haven’t we got fire enough as it is without trying -to blow up the poor old town?” cried the amazed Andy. - -“You don’t get on to my meaning,” pursued Rob, feverishly. “If we -only get back in time to make use of the stuff, we could shut off -the fire from the other section of the town, where all the mills and -workshops are.” - -Ralph gave a whoop. Evidently something like the truth must have -flashed athwart his active mind. - -“Oh! Rob, you’ve got that old abandoned building in mind, haven’t -you?” he demanded in turn, with a note of exultation in his voice. - -“Nothing else,” came the incisive reply, as all of them continued to -run on. - -“To blow it up would leave a gap, wouldn’t it?” continued Ralph. - -“Just what I’d expect to make by destroying that long rambling -building,” Rob explained. “If any fire jumped across after that, we -could take care of it; but the main lot would be held in check at -the gap. That’s what they sometimes do when a great fire is raging -in a big city. It is the last resort of desperation.” - -“I like the scheme!” declared Sim, instantly. - -“It sounds good to me!” added Andy. - -Tubby, too, may have had an opinion, but he was not given a chance -to express it, for just then they arrived at the garage where the -big car had been left. - -“Don’t lose a second if you can help it, Ralph!” called out Rob. - -“You bet I won’t, Rob!” snapped the other, as he made a rush in the -quarter where he could see the car standing waiting for them. - -“Have the headlights on, too, because we want to make fast time, and -can’t take chances of an accident!” called out the scout leader. - -“How about us, Rob?” asked Sim. - -“You three fellows will have to stay here and wait for us,” came the -order, and Sim, knowing that Rob always meant what he said, and was -moreover the head of the Eagle Patrol, did not attempt to dispute -his word. - -They were keenly disappointed, for nothing would have pleased Sim -and Andy more than to accompany the others in their mad flight out -to the distant farmhouse, some ten miles away, to fetch back the -explosives that might yet save the better part of the apparently -doomed town. - -Again Tubby said nothing. He would have gone had it appeared to be a -part of his duty. Tubby was not “hankering” after such a furious -race against time. Besides, what would be the need of five trying to -do what two could just as well accomplish? Tubby could show a streak -of discretion occasionally, it seemed. Then, again, it would be hard -to tear away from that scene of tremendous excitement, the like of -which none of them had ever seen before. - -Ralph was very much excited, and this may have interfered a little -with his efforts to get the car out of the garage in the least -possible time. Still, he managed fairly well, though Rob was -counting the seconds as never before, with all that riotous noise -ringing in his ears, and calling for speedy action. - -Presently the car came swinging into sight, with Ralph at the wheel. -Rob made a flying leap and was quickly alongside the driver. - -“Now hit it up for home, licketty-split, Ralph!” he called out as he -fell back upon his seat in front. - -“Good-bye, and good luck, fellows!” cried Tubby, warmly. - -“Don’t meet with any accident, whatever you do!” added Sim, for the -loss of the whole town did not count one-quarter so much in his -estimation as would an injury to his beloved chum, Rob. - -Then, with a series of loud snorts, very much after the style of a -horse under whip and spurs, the big car darted away. - -At first Ralph had to go comparatively slow, because of the fact -that there were many people on the roads, scurrying this way and -that, some of them bearing treasures in their arms snatched from -household effects, under the impetus of their lively fears. Wagons -and other vehicles too were encountered, but Ralph, being a clever -driver, managed to swing around these. - -He also kept punching the siren and making a series of staccato -sounds such as you can hear whenever an ambulance, or the vehicle of -a fire-chief dashes through the streets of your city or town in a -sudden emergency. - -So as a rule they were given a pretty decent right of way. People -brushed aside even while not able to understand what right this car -had to the road. Possibly it was accepted as an explanation that -perhaps they were speeding for the next town to engage the fire -department in the effort to save poor Wyoming. - -Behind them lay the burning town. Rob looked back once and shuddered -at what he saw, nor could he ever dismiss it wholly from his mind. -Often in future nights, as he sat looking into a sparkling campfire, -he would again see in imagination Wyoming burning, with the flames -shooting high in the air, and myriads of flying sparks making it -seem like a grand Fourth of July fireworks. - -He bent all his energies to the task of peering ahead, and assisting -the chauffeur keep track of the road, in which they were likely to -meet some sort of obstacle at almost any moment. - -“Seems pretty clear just now!” Rob ventured to say as they fairly -flew along at the rate of almost a mile a minute, the old car doing -nobly when Ralph turned on every particle of power. - -“Yes, it is, but we’re apt to meet a wagon coming to market any old -time!” the other shot back at him, never taking his eyes from the -road ahead even for a second. - -Rob understood. He knew that farmers coming to sell their produce or -hay in the local markets were likely to start away from home during -the night so as to be in the square before peep of dawn. Yes, there -was always a chance that they would meet one or more of these -“hayseeds,” as Sim always called the honest tillers of the soil, -perhaps asleep on his load; though such a thing was hardly possible -with all that brilliant illumination in the sky, as though the world -were coming to an end; and, besides, the muttering roar that sounded -like a battle, Rob thought. - -The headlights were none too brilliant, though answering ordinary -purposes. Rob could have wished they were twice as strong, since -that would have given a longer range, and they could distinguish any -vehicle on the road much further away. - -Around certain bends in the road they swung with a vehemence that -almost took Rob’s breath away. He had told Ralph to make the utmost -speed, and the other was taking his words literally. Several times -Rob almost thought they would skid, and bring up in a heap; but -owing partly to good luck as well as Ralph’s superior knowledge of -the pilot’s duties, they always managed to avoid this particular -disaster. - -It was utterly impossible for Rob to count the passage of time. He -was aware of the fact that it would take them at least twelve -minutes, perhaps more, to make the trip, even when going at this mad -pace. Counting the same back, and a short delay while securing the -dynamite and the battery, it must be something like half an hour -that they would be away from town. - -He wondered whether that would seal the doom of Wyoming. The fire -was being urged on with feverish haste by that compelling wind, and -it was only a question of so much time before it reached the -connecting link between the mill part of the town and that section -where the conflagration already raged. - -Well, they would do all in their power to carry out their plan; if -they failed, in spite of everything, no blame could be attached to -them. A scout need not reproach himself if he has conscientiously -done his duty; the rest has to be left to a higher power than his -will. - -“Look out! I see something ahead!” suddenly snapped Rob, as they -turned a bend, mostly on two wheels. - -Ralph slowed down instantly. At the same time he sounded the Klaxon, -and veered more or less to one side of the road. - -It turned out to be a market wagon belonging to some “trucker” who -was making for town in order to dispose of his vegetables, fresh -eggs, and fowls. He gave them at least half of the road, and they -whirled past. Before they reached him they heard his voice raised to -a bellow in which wonder and alarm predominated. - -“Hey! what’s that red light in the sky mean, Mister?” - -“Wyoming is all afire!” Rob shouted back; and no doubt his words -caused the man to experience a sensation akin to fright. - -So they kept flying along. It was a weird ride, as remarkable as any -one could possibly experience, and the attending conditions added to -its strangeness. - -The next obstacle happened to be a load of hay. Here they were -delayed for as much as half a precious minute of time in getting -safely by, since the wagon took up so much of the road. Ralph again -proved himself to be the right party at the wheel, for he finally -managed to negotiate the passage without an upset. - -Where there were straight stretches Ralph made fearful time. No -contestant in the Vanderbilt Cup Race could have done much better, -Rob thought, as he held his hat with one hand, and strove to see -ahead. - -All the while he knew what desperate chances they were taking, since -this old car was not built for a racing machine. At any moment some -weak part might give way, and--well, Rob did not like to even think -what the result was bound to be if such a thing came to pass. At -least, they would never know what hit them, and there was a little -grim consolation about that. - -The road was unfamiliar to the visitor, but Ralph knew it like a -book; and while he had to keep his eyes fixed ahead, at the same -time familiar turns continually told him just what section they had -reached. - -“Halfway there!” he called out at one time, and Rob drew a long -breath of satisfaction, for it meant that they had done a fair -portion of the course without meeting with any accident. - -“Three-quarters there!” Ralph again told him shortly afterwards; -indeed, to Rob, it seemed as though two minutes had hardly elapsed, -and yet more than a brace of miles must have been covered during the -interval. - -“I can see lights ahead that look as if they came from a house, -Ralph!” he suddenly burst out with. - -“Sure thing! That’s our place!” the other announced. - -Still, on they rushed, and presently Ralph cut down the speed. - -“Here we are, safe and sound, Rob!” he exclaimed, as he turned in at -the lane. - - - - - Chapter XVIII - - Back to the Burning Town - - -Ralph was now on very familiar ground. Every foot of territory was -so well known to him that he could perhaps have gone over it with -his eyes blindfolded. - -Some one came out with a lantern. It was Mr. Jeffords, who must have -been considerably exercised after discovering that amazing glow in -the heavens above Wyoming. - -“What’s happened?” he called out, as he ran toward the spot where -the two boys were springing from the car, “and where is the rest of -your crowd?” - -“You tell him, Rob, while I run off to get some of that dynamite. -Fortunately, I have a key to the little house where we keep it in -stock. Give me my electric light from under the front seat, where I -always carry it. All right, Rob, I’ll be back in a rush!” - -With that Ralph dashed madly away. Judge of the amazement of his -father, who must by this time have begun to fear the world was awry, -and that even his own boy had lost his mind in the mad turmoil. - -“Tell me, what does it all mean, Rob?” he demanded, with quivering -voice. - -“The town’s all afire, sir, and this wind is whipping the flames so -that it begins to look as if everything would go,” the boy told him, -as he proceeded to get in the car. “I’m only going to turn around so -as to save a minute of time. We must speed back there again as fast -as we can make it.” - -“But why did you come out here?” questioned the puzzled farmer. - -“To get some of your dynamite,” Rob explained. “Don’t you see, sir, -there is a chance, by blowing up that old building standing between -the mill section of Wyoming and the rest of the place, we can make a -breach, and keep the fire from getting across to the factories and -mills.” - -“A clever scheme, and I warrant that it came out of your head, Rob -Blake!” exclaimed the other, in admiration. - -“Never mind about that, sir. It is the last desperate resort in a -city fire that is being spread by a high wind. If only we can get -back in time, I believe it may work.” - -“I’ll go with you, Rob!” said the farmer, seized with the -fascination of the thing. He immediately rushed toward the house to -get a hat and coat. - -Rob was sorry he had taken this stand. He hoped the old gentleman -would not delay them in any way. Then, again, if an accident -happened, it would be too bad to have him in the car. - -Rob had taken the time before they left town, and he again consulted -his little nickel watch. He could hardly believe his eyes when he -found that twelve minutes only had elapsed since they said good-bye -to Tubby and the other fellows. This meant that Ralph must have made -tremendous time of it while racing madly along that country road. No -wonder they had been jumped up and down continually, as they struck -uneven places in the turnpike. - -He kept looking off toward the spot where Ralph would be likely to -come from. Could the other carry both the sticks of dynamite and the -battery as well? Rob almost wished he had gone with him, and was -thinking whether it was yet too late, when he heard a hail. Then -came a flash of light, which he knew must be from that little hand -electric torch they had found so useful when hunting the woods for -the lost child, Caleb. - -Just then Mr. Jeffords came along, much to Rob’s relief. At least he -would not delay them, which was one comfort. - -“Please get in, sir, so we can be off in a hurry!” the scout leader -remarked. As Mr. Jeffords realized the necessity for conserving -every second of time in a great emergency such as now confronted -them, he showed no evidence of being offended by this urging, but -hastened to take his seat in the rear. - -Rob was already in place, and Ralph came hurrying up. In his arms he -carried quite a staggering amount of stuff, and was breathing hard -from his exertions. - -The battery and other things he stowed hastily in the back of the -car, where there was plenty of room. Then, getting aboard himself, -for the engine was throbbing as though impatient to be given its -head, Ralph made a quick start. - -Presently they were again on the road, and heading toward town. The -fiery heavens, now spread before them, added to the dreadful -picture. It surely looked as though the last day had indeed arrived, -when the world was about to go up in flames and smoke. - -Mr. Jeffords would have liked to ask further questions, for his -curiosity had been raised to the last notch; but the conditions -hardly favored such a thing. They were speeding faster than he had -ever gone in all his life. He had some difficulty in keeping his hat -on. Moreover, every time he started to open his mouth the wind -rushed down his throat and nearly choked him; so on the whole he -wisely concluded to repress his desire to know more about the -catastrophe that had befallen Wyoming. - -As they drew nearer the town the wind brought to their ears some of -the clamorous noises that were arising; and this in spite of the -racket their own fast speed created. With each wild swing around a -bend the old gentleman doubtless imagined the end had come; but he -was certainly game, and gave no evidence of any craven fear. - -Rob was keeping a bright lookout for that hay-wagon again. He hoped -the man upon learning that the town was afire would have switched -off the main road, and started back home by another roundabout -course. As they continued to fail to overtake the cumbersome object -that almost filled the road, Rob’s hope kept rising, and he finally -decided that this was just what had happened. - -Luck was with them in other ways. They not only negotiated the turns -successfully, but, meeting several wagons coming out of Wyoming, -they found that they were given the right of way, and more than half -the road, thanks, no doubt, to the vigorous fashion in which Ralph -tooted his shrill Klaxon almost constantly. - -Drawing nearer town and the sounds began to be appalling. Mr. -Jeffords must have been thrilled through and through by what he saw -and heard. The flames could now be seen leaping up as though -exulting over their complete mastery of the works of man’s hands. -Rob was wondering and hoping and even praying in connection with -their having drawn perilously close to that connecting link. Would -they arrive in time, or had the fatal leap across already taken -place? - -With other sounds they could hear the roar of many voices. -Doubtless, citizens had joined with the firemen in order to fight -the flames, knowing that their fair town would be in complete ruins -before morning if they did not manage in some fashion to get the -mastery over the raging fire. Then, again, women and children must -be shrieking, dogs barking, horses neighing, and every imaginable -sound mingling to make that furious chorus. - -It was hard now for Ralph to get along, because of the congestion. -Thus, in spite of the warning Klaxon, they were detained several -precious seconds while waiting for some wretched vehicle to get out -of the way. Besides this there were children to be avoided, and all -sorts of vexatious delays. - -In spite of all, however, Rob felt sure they had come back in record -time. Unless his calculations were all awry, he believed they would -not be too late to try out his suddenly conceived scheme to save -Wyoming. - -At one spot, as they were held up for a brief space of time, judge -of Rob’s surprise when Sim clambered into the car. - -“Careful how you step on that dynamite!” warned Rob, at the same -time hoping that Tubby and Andy might not also show up, and cause a -threat of trouble. - -It seemed, however, that Sim had been the only one able to break -away from the entrancing scene of destruction and excitement. He had -suddenly realized that the car would of necessity be compelled to -come back the same way it went, and accordingly Sim had waylaid it -on the border of the town. - -When it was really unsafe to go any further, Ralph brought the car -to a stop. - -“We’d better get out here,” he said, huskily, for somehow he seemed -to still be out of breath from his exertions out at the farm. - -“First thing,” said Ralph, “I must find Mr. Megrue, the Fire Chief. -He’d be the only one to authorize the use of this stuff. Rob, you -and Sim carry it with you over near the old factory building. I’ll -look for you there.” - -They had already discovered one thing that pleased them, which was -that the fire had not as yet reached that connecting link. It was -fearfully close, though, and if they hoped to try out Rob’s -brilliant scheme there must evidently be no time wasted. - -Mr. Jeffords stuck by the pair. Apparently, he meant to see the -thing through, and also that the boys got a square deal. - -“Let me help carry something.” - -Ralph had had little time to gather a bunch of the terrible dynamite -cartridges used for tearing stumps from the soil, and racking the -earth ten feet deep in the new method of farming. They were in a -little canvas bag just as he had apparently snatched them up in his -haste. - -“You can carry these, sir, if you will,” said Rob, thrusting the -small sack of explosives into the farmer’s hands; “it’s the -dynamite, sir, you know.” - -“I’ll make sure not to stumble, Rob, if that’s what you’re hinting -at,” replied the old gentleman farmer, as he carefully gathered his -load in his arms, shielding it against all possible knocks and -collisions. - -They left the old car where it stood, though Rob had taken the -trouble to shut off the engine before deserting it. For the present -their whole attention must be concentrated upon something else. If -their plans were successful, no doubt they would find the car again -where they had abandoned it; and if the fire jumped the gap, in -spite of all their efforts, why, then, it would be time enough to -get the car out of danger. - -Such sights as surrounded them they had never looked on before. -People by this time had reached the border of a panic. Many were mad -with fright, and their cries added to the confusion. Women and men -were dragging children after them, sometimes also loaded down with -stuff they wished to save, though often it seemed to be mere trash, -such as a metal washtub filled with cheap kitchen utensils. - -Rob was reminded of a comical description he had once read of a -fire, and what absurd things some people do under the stress of -excitement, throwing glass and delicate things out of the window, -and trotting down the stairs with a mattress. Still, none of them -“cracked a smile” at the queer sights. Tragedy surrounded them, -which would not allow of an expression of humor. There was nothing -funny about a town burning down. - -Just as Rob had anticipated, they found the other fellows in the -vicinity of the deserted building that they meant to destroy, in -hopes of staying the onward sweep of the flames. Andy and Tubby, -remembering what their chums meant to do, had taken up their post -close by, and anxiously counted the passing minutes, even while also -observing the many strange sights that continually cropped up around -them. - -Tubby had read about Bedlam, and he wondered if it could “hold a -candle” to the mingled noises surrounding them. He had listened to -the crackling of flames before now, for Tubby had seen some pretty -big fires both in the city and in the woods; but those in the past -were not to be compared with what he now experienced. While Tubby -was standing there, now resting on one foot, and again on the other, -he heard Andy give a whoop of delight, and, on turning, beheld the -welcome face of Rob Blake, as well as that of Sim, and back of them -the tall figure of Mr. Jeffords, all of them carrying something in -their arms. - - - - - Chapter XIX - - Behind the Broken Door - - -“You got what you went after, then, didn’t you, Rob?” asked Tubby, -delighted to see the scout leader again. - -They had gone off at such a furious pace that ever since Tubby had -been anxious concerning their safety. While watching the advance of -the devouring element, and the desperate efforts of the gallant -firemen to try and throw some obstacles in the path of the flames, -Tubby’s thoughts would constantly go out toward the absent chums, -with whose well being he was so greatly concerned. - -“Yes, it’s here along with us,” Rob told him. - -“But, say, what about Ralph?” demanded Andy, suddenly noticing that -the party he mentioned was absent. - -“He came back with us, all right,” the scout leader replied. “Just -now he’s trying to find the Chief of the Fire Department. You see, -we couldn’t start trying to blow up this building here without his -consent.” - -“Land’s sake alive! I hope they get here pretty quick, then!” -ejaculated Tubby. “It’s coming closer and closer right along. Andy -and myself were getting ready to clear out of here when you showed -up.” - -Rob had already noticed this for himself. His nervousness came back, -only instead of a fear lest some accident happen to the speeding -car, he now had something else to bother him. - -They could feel the intense heat where they stood. Sparks fell all -around them, endangering their eyes if they ventured to look upward. - -“Better turn your coat collars up, fellows,” advised Rob. “If you -got one of these flying sparks down your back you wouldn’t like it -much.” - -“That’s right,” commented Andy, “an ounce of prevention is better -than a pound of cure. Whew! just look at that cloud of sparks rise -up! Must have been a building collapsed then to make the shower.” - -“But I don’t see Ralph coming along yet,” complained Tubby, as he -strained his eyes to stare down the street where the other must -appear if he came at all. - -There were plenty of people in sight, most of them onlookers who -were fascinated by the dreadful picture presented by the roaring -abyss of flames, though others were hard pressed firemen dragging -their hose about in the endeavor to find some place where they might -throw a stream into that old building just in the path of the -oncoming flames. - -Precious seconds were passing, Rob knew. He wondered whether he -dared attempt to carry out his bold plan even without the consent of -the Fire Chief. One thing certain, unless Mr. Megrue came along -shortly, the last chance to attempt saving the mills would be lost. -The fire was already close to the ruined building, and at any moment -they might expect to see it burst into flames, for it must by now be -getting frightfully hot. - -Tubby gave a sudden cry, and was seen hurrying toward a wagon that, -loaded with household goods, and drawn by a man and woman, both -foreigners, in place of a horse, had just passed them by. Something -had fallen off the load; it sprawled there in the street, and lusty -yells announced that it must be a fat baby. - -Tubby picked it up and hastened to overtake the man and woman who -were tugging so lustily between the shafts. Then, having given over -the child into the charge of its mother, Tubby gallantly took hold -himself, and started to assist the man to draw his possessions -further away from the grip of the fire demon. - -That was just like Tubby, whose heart always beat in sympathy with -any one in trouble. He would do without a meal in order to enjoy -seeing a hungry dog devour what had been intended for his own -consumption. - -He did not intend going any great distance. After tugging for half a -block at the load, he felt that he had done his duty. Besides, if -Rob’s plan worked as they hoped, this section of the town would be -spared, and there was no absolute necessity for any one fleeing to a -great distance. - -So Tubby came back again, blowing like a porpoise from his -exertions. Ralph had not shown up yet, but Rob placed a hand -affectionately on his shoulder and it needed nothing more to tell -Tubby that his act had both been seen and appreciated at its true -worth by the one whose good opinion he chiefly cared for. - -“I believe they’re coming, Rob!” Andy announced, greatly to the -satisfaction of everybody. - -It turned out that way, and almost immediately the others also -discovered the figure of their companion hurrying towards them. At -Ralph’s side strode the tall form of a man wearing a glazed fire -hat, and a coat that was supposed to be immune to sparks and flames. - -“I guess that’s Chief Megrue,” remarked Mr. Jeffords, eagerly, -“though his face is so black with the smoke and dirt his own wife -wouldn’t recognize him. Yes, I know his walk. Now we may see -something done that will bring results. I was just about to suggest -that you go ahead on your own hook, Rob, and I would stand for the -consequences. Desperate cases require desperate remedies, you know. -But there’s no need of our doing that now, fortunately.” - -Ralph piloted his companion to the spot where the others awaited -them. Undoubtedly he must have already found occasion to explain -Rob’s scheme to the head man of the local fire department. Mr. -Megrue had been instantly seized with a conviction that it was -indeed the only thing left to them, since all the puny efforts they -had made to try and drown the fire out had been without avail. - -Every fireman must know that such things are resorted to in all big -city fires when the violence of the wind makes it impossible to head -the flames off in any other way. Sometimes it turns out -successfully; and then, again, there may be no tangible result, -owing to circumstances over which even the use of explosives will -have no control. - -Rob saw with more or less pleasure that the Chief was a man of -action, and not one of those old fogies sometimes connected with -local companies, all “fuss and feathers,” but lacking in the dash -and valor that should distinguish every firefighter. - -Perhaps had he known where he could put his hand on a store of -explosives, the Chief might before this have considered the -possibility of blocking the flames by destroying that old connecting -link of a building. - -“He says it’s the finest thing going!” called out Ralph, as he drew -near where his father and the boys were waiting for him. “As I know -how to handle the stuff, as well as the battery, he asks us to do -the job. Rob, I want your help only. Come with me. The Chief will -smash in the door for us, and we can plant the charge in a hurry. -Then it only means running the wires out to some place here, and -afterwards you can touch her off. That ought to be your privilege, -Rob, because you thought up the scheme. Right along this way, Rob, -please!” - -Perhaps Sim and Andy, not to mention Tubby, might have liked very -much to be given a part to play in the game; but their common sense -told them there was no necessity for more entering the building than -just those two, unless Chief Megrue chose to accompany the boys. At -least, they could have the satisfaction of being present when the -big affair came off, and watching that ramshackle building collapse -into kindling wood after the charge was fired. - -The Chief fortunately had a fire ax with him. It may have been used -to batter in the doors of many a building that had commenced to -smoke, and give other positive signs of being about to burst into -flames. Besides, it is always a useful tool in the hands of your -country-town fireman, with which he loves to smash windows, and to -make a grand show of accomplishing things. - -Straight up to the door of the unused building the three of them -hurried, the boys bearing the battery, the little cask containing -the dynamite cartridges, and the coil of wire necessary to complete -the outfit. - -“The door is locked or barred!” shouted Sim, which remark told that -he had, during the absence of Ralph and Rob, made a little private -investigation on his own account, for it happened that Sim Jeffords -was of a very inquiring nature. - -This information saved the others from wasting any time trying to -open the barrier. It also gave Mr. Megrue his clue, for, rushing -directly up, he commenced to wield that ax of his in a way that -proved him to be a born fire-fighter. - -With every blow Tubby and Andy and Sim gave vent to a whoop; which -helped get rid of their extra enthusiasm, and also showed how they -appreciated the work of the axman. - -“Go to it, Chief!” shrilled Sim, excitedly. “That time the chips -flew, I’m telling you! Give it another smash like that, and you’ll -see it go down. Wow! look at that crackerjack hit, will you, -fellows? It’s an extra stout door, all right, but just the same it’s -got to go! Once more to the breach everybody. So, there!” - -The ax sank into the door, and ripped the panels up. Again did Mr. -Megrue swing it back of him, and once more was that smashing sound -heard, so pleasing to the ear of the listening and watching boys, -who kept one eye on the little drama being played before them, and -at the same time managed to observe the close approach of the sea of -fire menacing the deserted factory. - -Finally a shout from Sim announced that the door had been beaten -open, and that the way into the building no longer held any obstacle -to the advance of the trio. - -They vanished from view, Fire Chief, Rob and Ralph. The three boys, -together with Ralph’s father, had to possess their souls in patience -while waiting for the reappearance of the bold invaders. At any -moment now they fully expected the building to burst into flames, so -overheated must the dry woodwork have become. It was an anxious time -for Mr. Jeffords, who had seen his son disappear beyond that broken -door. At the same time he knew that Ralph was capable of thinking -for himself, and also that he and Rob would not attempt any -foolhardy feat just for the sake of “showing off.” - -There was a method in their madness in the present case. The welfare -of the whole community hung in the balance, for if the fire could -not be stayed by this master stroke of genius, then was Wyoming -doomed; and the morrow’s sun would rise upon the smoking ruins of -the entire town. - -Seconds passed, and changed into minutes. When it seemed as though -something like two of these had drifted along, every one was growing -weak with apprehension. They had terrible visions of some evil -having overtaken those who had gone into the building. It was old, -and the floors almost in ruins, so that there was even a possibility -that the venturesome ones had fallen through some unnoticed gap. -Then, again, how were they to tell if some sort of insidious gas had -gripped their chums, and rendered them helpless? - -These were the kind of strange fancies that took possession of Sim -Jeffords, always gifted with a lively imagination. He pictured Rob -and his cousin lying there inside the old wreck of a factory, -victims of a treacherous gas, and soon to be devoured by the -oncoming flames. - -Sim could stand it no longer. He must ascertain the truth, for it -was always better to know the worst, according to his policy. He -would rush forward and cautiously enter the building, groping his -way through the smoke-filled interior, and calling out the names of -his cousin and Rob. - -Filled with this resolution, Sim had even commenced to approach the -open door, paying no attention to the calls of his uncle from the -rear, when, to his great relief, he saw figures bursting out of the -structure. They were Chief Megrue, Rob, the scout leader, and Ralph -Jeffords. - - - - - Chapter XX - - The Struggle to Save the Town - - -Sim counted the figures that came trooping out through the opening -where the smashed door lay a wreck. When he found that none were -missing, a great load seemed lifted from his heart. - -“Hurrah! it’s all working out as it should, and now we’ll see what -Rob Blake’s plan is going to do for Wyoming!” he found himself -shouting; although Sim was so greatly excited, he hardly knew -himself what he said. - -Ralph could be seen with the reel of wire in his possession. He was -plainly unwinding it as he went, while Rob undertook to see that -there were no kinks in the strands as they came off the barrel of -the reel. Soon they were alongside Sim, who fell in step with the -others. - -The Fire Chief looked additionally anxious. He undoubtedly knew what -tremendous issues were involved in this last effort to save the -town. Gallantly had he and his followers battled with the destroying -foe, but so long as that furious breeze held out, all their efforts -would have been in vain. He knew that unless some such desperate -remedy as this explosion came to the relief of the outclassed fire -department, the fate of Wyoming was sealed. - -He devoted himself just now to seeing that there were no stragglers -close enough to the doomed building to be injured when the dynamite -was exploded. Several men belonging to one of the fire companies -could be seen nearby, trying to turn the nozzle of the hose they -wielded so that a stream of water would fall upon the old building; -for it was recognized that unless the conflagration could be halted -at this particular spot all work was useless. - -Chief Megrue shouted to them, and when he had by this means caught -their attention, he beckoned wildly. Although they might not quite -understand what his motions meant, at least they were accustomed to -obeying orders without questioning. - -Dragging their hose after them with an effort, they commenced to -head toward the spot where the Chief stood. This promised to take -time, for their load was heavy; and seconds just then counted -considerably more than a new supply of hose meant to the imperiled -town. - -“Drop it, and come here as fast as you can run!” bellowed Chief -Megrue, using his hands in lieu of a megaphone; for it seemed that -he had lost his trumpet while hard pushed to escape from a fiery -trap when caught in a building that suddenly burst into flames, -giving him scant time to dash out again to safety. - -The men looked as though they could not understand what he meant. -They evidently disliked abandoning a length of perfectly sound hose -when there seemed no absolute necessity for it. Again did the Chief -shout at them, continuing his wild beckoning at the same time. - -“Hurry this way! Drop that hose, and come as fast as you can! We are -going to dynamite that building, don’t you understand, you fools?” - -Perhaps that one word “dynamite” gave them their cue, for without -any further hesitation the three men dropped the hose, which -commenced to writhe like a snake as the force of the water passing -through the brass nozzle turned it this way and that. So they -started to run toward the Chief. - -Meanwhile Ralph, assisted by Rob, had continued to move steadily -away. The wire would allow of their proceeding to a safe distance, -when the battery could be quickly attached, and a connection made. - -Sim had now been joined by both Tubby and Andy. All of them felt -their hearts beating tumultuously, for no one could do more than -guess at the result of the bold plan. - -One thing sure, they had not left the old building a minute too -soon. Why, it was on fire even then, for Sim could see flames -creeping along the roof. He wondered whether there would be any -break in the wire sufficient to prevent the full current of -electricity from passing along it when Ralph came to making the -contact. If such a thing did happen, it would be much too late to -try and remedy the defect, because after that time it must be sheer -madness for any one to dream of entering the deserted factory again. - -Surely Ralph and Rob must by now have gained a sufficient distance -to be safe from any debris that might be thrown up into the air when -the explosion came. Still, Ralph was the doctor in this instance, -for he had had the experience in blasting out stumps and dislodging -great rocks by the use of the dynamite. - -Mr. Jeffords was there, too, watching his boy with eagerness. Then, -besides, there were the trio of bedraggled firemen who had joined -their chief at his command, all of them deeply interested in the -success or failure of the scheme that meant so much for Wyoming. - -The clamor all around them was just as boisterous as ever, for -certainly nothing had occurred to tone it down. The citizens, facing -complete destruction for their town, were hoarse with shouting; but -their main thought now was to make sure of the safety of the women -and children, who could be seen fleeing through most of the streets, -awed by the terrible nature of the calamity. - -Nevertheless, none of those who watched Ralph and Rob paid the least -attention to these outside occurrences. The fire might roar, and the -populace shriek in terror, but just then their undivided attention -was given to the little drama being unfolded before their eyes. - -Ah! Ralph no longer pushed on. Whether he had reached the end of his -wire coil, or believed that it was useless to cover more ground did -not matter. What did count was the fact that he and Rob were -feverishly attaching the battery and switch to the wires, showing -that they intended to test their hastily arranged programme without -further delay. - -“Oh! hurry, hurry, please!” groaned Tubby, speaking to himself, of -course, but in so doing voicing the feeling that held sway in every -heart; for the building was rapidly being clutched in the ever -extending fingers of the fire, and would soon be such a mass of -flames that to wreck it might do more harm than good. - -“It’s all ready!” whooped Sim, as he saw by the actions of the two -boys that they had succeeded in making the attachments. - -Then Ralph pushed Rob forward. It could be seen that he meant to -force the scout leader to press the button that would complete the -work. Even in that dreadful moment Ralph did not forget that it had -been Rob’s brilliant idea, after all, and to his chivalrous mind it -seemed only right and proper that Rob’s hand should be the one by -means of which Wyoming might be saved. - -Rob did not hesitate. This was no time for expostulation. He -proceeded to do as the other urged him. Those who stood by held -their breath with awe, watching the old deserted factory the while, -as though everything depended on the result of Ralph’s efforts. - -They saw the building give a distinct shiver. Then the very earth -under them actually rocked as if an earthquake had taken place. -Tubby was thrown down, and the rest had more or less difficulty in -keeping on their feet, such was the concussion of air as the -dynamite went off. - -They also heard a heavy roar, and then, wonder of wonders, the old -building seemed to collapse, to fall down like a house made of -cards. There was a horrible series of crashing sounds; some remnants -even fell close by the boys, though luckily none of them received -the slightest injury. Then, as the smoke shifted and the dust clouds -settled, they saw a great gap where the deserted factory had stood. - -The Fire Chief was awake to the possibility of the debris presenting -a new peril. He immediately gave orders to the three men to make -their way forward, and if the hose were still in condition for use -to turn the nozzle toward the wreck. - -Then he hastened away to fetch up others, so that all efforts might -be concentrated on that one section. The fight for the rest of the -town must be made then and there. Already a heavy blow had been -struck to beat back the fire; and if only it could be held to the -other side, the valuable plants might yet be saved. - -Soon men came rushing along. An engine turned a corner and stopped -before a hydrant, with men jumping this way and that in the endeavor -to get connections with the least possible waste of time. - -The explosion must have terrified most people who heard it, since -they could not but believe it meant the destruction of some mill. It -is wonderful, however, how news is flashed along from mouth to mouth -during such scenes of excitement as this; and, doubtless, when -people learned that the shock came from a desperate effort to -confine the fire to the side of the town where it had started, their -hopes would take a new bound upward. - -“Will it force its way across in spite of everything, do you think, -Rob?” asked Tubby, solicitously, as he stood beside the patrol -leader, and watched the working fire-fighters battling so manfully. - -“I hope not,” he was told, in a reassuring tone. “You can see how -they’re trying to soak the wall of that nearest factory so it can -hold out against the heat when the test comes. Besides that they are -getting more water on right along. Here comes another company, and -from the way the people keep cheering them I reckon they must belong -in another town, and have been rushed here by special train.” - -It afterwards turned out that Rob had actually hit the truth when he -made this guess. Word of the dreadful imperiling catastrophe that -had come upon Wyoming must have been flashed to neighboring towns by -telegraph, as well as an appeal for assistance. Such a call is never -allowed to pass unheeded in American communities, and just as soon -as they could get the right of way a special train with the engine -and firefighters aboard had been dispatched, with the order to “burn -the rails” in making speed. - -There was need of every available man and machine. The wall of fire -had by now arrived at the gap, and gave positive signs of being -disposed to leap across in order to complete its work of -destruction. Men fought madly to restrain it. Those who held the -various lines of hose pushed forward until their faces were scorched -by the heat, but in spite of all this they persisted, and would not -be denied. - -“They’re holding it there, mark you!” shrilled Ralph in the ear of -Rob Blake, as all of them stood watching these exciting happenings, -their hearts almost in their throats, so to speak, such was the -weight of their anxiety. - -Rob was encouraged. He began to believe that after all the devoted -firemen were going to come out victors in their fierce battle with -the element that had started in to ravage the whole town of Wyoming. - -He bent most of his attention on the buildings close by, for if one -of them suddenly burst into flames it would mean that the worst that -could happen was about to commence. - -Vainly did the flames dart forth, fanned by that still raging wind, -and endeavor to reach the buildings that had been cut off from their -grasp by the destruction of the old factory. The more they tried, -the greater the efforts of those who held the water nozzles -continued. Wherever a certain point was threatened there would be a -concentration of splashing fluid, and the enemy retreated, baffled -again and again. - -Rob noticed presently that each time the fire made this attempt to -cross the divide it seemed to grow just a little weaker. He knew -that the fuel by means of which it was maintained was being devoured -at such a rate that, given time, the efforts of the Department would -prove successful. Even now matters had reached such a stage he -believed the worst to be over; and that victory was in the air. - - - - - Chapter XXI - - After It Was All Over - - -“I guess it’s all over but the shouting!” exclaimed Sim, which -remark proved that he too must have noticed some of the same signs -detected by Rob. - -“Oh! do you really believe that?” cried Tubby, a little look of -relief appearing on his face, which lately had been screwed up in -all sorts of lines denoting his strained feelings. - -“Well,” explained Sim, with alacrity, “you can see for yourself that -so far none of the sparks have set fire to the roofs of the mills -and factories, thanks to the men who are guarding the same, armed -with buckets of water. If you watch carefully you’ll learn that the -blaze keeps on getting weaker right along. It’s burning itself out, -I tell you, Tubby. We win, and most of the glory goes to Rob here -for thinking up such a grand scheme.” - -“Don’t you believe that!” exclaimed the scout leader, energetically. -“Nine-tenths of it ought to go to Ralph, you’d better say. Didn’t he -get the apparatus for blowing up that factory, and wasn’t it Ralph -who piloted the car back home and here again, going like mad? But -perhaps you had better not say anything more about that business, -boys; neither of us want to pose as heroes. After all, what we did -was only the most natural thing in the world.” - -“Just what it was, and we’re fishing for no bouquets, either, -remember,” said Ralph, who was close enough to hear all this talk. - -It was now close on midnight, but no one in all Wyoming would dream -of such a thing as going to bed. Some had been burned out of house -and home, while all the remainder had suffered such a shock to their -nerves that sleep was quite out of the question for them. - -The danger was past, and every one could take a good long breath of -relief. Why, even the wind had commenced to die down now, as though -conscious of its defeat in trying to aid its companion element in -destroying the bustling town. - -There would be plenty of work for all the firemen until dawn, -pouring a continuous stream of water on the ruins of houses, and the -lumberyard as well, that had been destroyed. Even when additional -companies reached town, coming from more distant places, they were -set to work rendering assistance to the stricken community; for -those gallant fellows would have been sorely chagrined if compelled -to return home without a chance to even wet their hose for -neighborly accommodation. - -The boys knew that presently they ought to pull out and head for the -farm; but as long as Mr. Jeffords did not insist on going, it was -not their business to say the word. They felt that they would -willingly remain there for an hour and more, with so much going on -to see and to hear. - -It was Rob who began to exhibit signs of impatience, for, to tell -the truth, the scout leader noticed that the crowd around them had -been growing of late; and he also discovered that a number of the -more prominent men of the town seemed to be talking very earnestly -with Mr. Jeffords. - -Now, Rob began to take the alarm. He fancied that these people were -talking about himself and comrades, because often he could see them -look their way, and once a stout gentleman whom Ralph had told him -was the mayor of Wyoming actually pointed in their direction. - -“Don’t you think we’d better be starting home, Ralph?” Rob went on -to say. - -The other chuckled as though he could give a guess as to what was -bothering his friend. At the same time he shook his head in the -negative. - -“We’ve just got to wait till dad gives the word, you know,” he -explained. “Now he seems to be pretty busily engaged. Just hold your -horses, Rob. The fire has been gotten fully under control, and -there’s nothing more to be feared from that source. Unless I miss my -guess, the business men of this town have a duty, and a pleasant -duty to perform. I don’t mean to spoil it all by running away, not -on your life.” - -Rob looked uneasy, but he was powerless to do anything. - -“Oh! well, I suppose we’ll have to stand for it, then,” he muttered, -as if making up his mind to take some punishment. - -Ralph actually stared hard at him. Really, he had never before run -across a boy just like Rob Blake. Most of the fellows he knew would -have been only too delighted to find themselves in the limelight, -and called a hero. Nevertheless, Ralph was determined that Rob -should not escape by running away. - -“They’re coming this way,” announced Tubby, who with Sim and Andy -doubtless had already “sensed” what was in the air, for all of them -were smiling broadly, and casting significant looks toward the -plainly annoyed Rob. - -Mr. Jeffords led the dozen citizens straight up to where the little -group of boys stood, while a crowd pressed close around to hear what -was said. - -“This gentleman,” began Mr. Jeffords, “is Mr. Perkins, our worthy -mayor, and these others are business men of Wyoming, some of them -owners of the costly mills and factories that have been saved from -destruction through a brilliant and bold scheme. I have explained to -them that though the dynamite that saved the town belonged to me, -and while it was my son Ralph who drove the car to the farm to -secure it, still the conception of the grand idea was wholly Rob -Blake’s. They want to congratulate you, my boy, on your bright -thought, and to thank you publicly for having been so instrumental -in saving our town from utter destruction.” - -Rob opened his mouth to protest, but the stout mayor waved to him -that he had a few words to say; so the boy shrugged his shoulders -and held his breath. If they were so insistent, how was he to help -himself? Nevertheless, he could not think it fair that more of the -credit should be placed at his door than was given to resourceful -Ralph, who, once given the hint, had engineered the whole thing. - -“I want to thank you, Rob Blake,” said the mayor, squeezing the -boy’s hand in his chubby palm, “in the name of all our people. Only -for your quick wit and ready brain we might at this minute be -witnessing the destruction of all our thriving industries, and -Wyoming would have been as thoroughly blotted out as some of those -poor Belgian and French communities have been before the vandal guns -of the warring Nations. And while I am about it I mean also to thank -Ralph Jeffords because of the valuable aid he gave once you -conceived the scheme of blowing up that building. Yes, let me also -shake hands with these other three lads here who wear the khaki, for -I feel sure that had you not been present, one of them would have -discovered some way to accomplish the same purpose you had in view.” - -Even Tubby blushed at the compliment. Plainly, then, these good -people of Wyoming were of an entirely different mind concerning -those who wore the khaki. Not so very long since, according to -Ralph, and they had settled in their minds that scouts were an -undesirable organization in a community, just because the first -attempt to raise a troop had been a failure, owing to the wrong sort -of leadership, and the poor class of lads enlisted under the colors. - -“It may be that you boys have heard about the failure that overtook -a troop of scouts started in our town some time back,” continued the -mayor, and at that Rob began to show much more interest than when he -himself had been the object of attention. “But some of us are now of -the opinion that we were wrong in condemning all wearers of the -khaki because our own lads failed to equal our ambitions. I am sure -I voice the sentiments of this entire community when I say that -after having this lesson brought home to us we realize that we have -made a great mistake. For one, I am in favor of urging that a troop -of scouts be started here in Wyoming without delay, founded on the -broad and noble principles of your order; and here and now I pledge -you that my two boys shall become charter members. And I also hope -very much that Ralph Jeffords will consent to take this enterprise -in hand. All in favor of this say aye!” - -There came a unanimous shout from the assembled crowd, who had been -listening in absorbed attention while the mayor was talking. - -After that other gentlemen came up, desirous of shaking hands with -the boys who chanced to be visiting at the Jeffords’ farm. Evidently -the story of how the scouts had been instrumental in tracking the -lost child, and restoring little Caleb to his nearly distracted -mother may have been brought to the town, for several of the men -mentioned something about it as they warmly greeted Rob and Sim and -Andy and Tubby. - -With such a wonderful background as that still burning section of -the town the picture was a striking one, which Tubby felt sure he -would never, never forget. He was particularly pleased that they had -cornered Rob, because on more than one former occasion Tubby had -known the patrol leader to slip away after having been instrumental -in accomplishing things worth while, just because he could not bear -to hear people making him out to be more than an ordinary boy. - -On his part, Rob was delighted to learn of the change that had come -over the good people of Wyoming with regard to their opinion of -scouts in general. They had seen a light, evidently, and would know -from this time on that those who wear the honored khaki, if they are -true scouts, are bound to be a credit to the community in which they -dwell. - -Ralph, too, looked pleased. To tell the truth, ever since the coming -of his cousin Sim, and his acquaintance with such a fine fellow as -Rob Blake, Ralph had been wondering whether it would not be worth -while to make another attempt to organize a troop in Wyoming, if -sufficient encouragement could be received from leading citizens, -and the men at Scout Headquarters were also willing. - -Now it seemed that matters had been taken out of his hands by this -strange happening, and the peril that had threatened the town. -Instead of it being Ralph who spent his time in going around and -beseeching citizens to allow their boys to join in with him so as to -form a new organization, it was the mayor himself who gave the word, -and even promised that his two sons should enroll their names among -the very first candidates. - -Plainly, then, Rob and his chums had been able to show what scouts -are worth to any community and had made a deep and lasting -impression on these people; it would not be long before their visit -must begin to bear fruit to the honor of the whole organization. - -Now that this ceremony had been carried through, perhaps Mr. -Jeffords would be willing that they start for home. Rob was -beginning to feel that a bed would not be unpleasant, for all of -them had been up very early on the preceding day, and so much had -taken place since then that they were tired. - -Tubby, too, was commencing to yawn, which was a pretty good sign -that he could not hold out much longer. All of them, in fact, were -glad when Ralph’s father came back and announced that they had -better start out to find the car, which it was to be hoped had not -been taken by any of the fleeing people. - -This worried Tubby somewhat, for he wondered whether they would be -able to hire a rig, or another car in case their own had been taken. -All anxiety on this score, however, was soon set at rest, for as -they drew near the spot where Ralph had abandoned the auto they -discovered it still there near the curb. - -They quickly found seats, Sim occupying one of the extra ones. So -they started forth, and many times did Andy, Tubby and Sim crane -their necks to look back toward Wyoming; but the angry glow had -faded from the heavens by now, and stars were beginning to show -themselves here and there through the clouds. - -“Well, after all, we’ve gone and forgotten Peleg!” announced Tubby, -presently. “Too bad, and I hope he doesn’t have to tramp all of -those ten miles out to the farm.” But Rob somehow found himself -believing that Peleg had purposely kept away from them. - - - - - Chapter XXII - - Laying Plans - - -“Did anybody happen to see Peleg after the fire broke out?” called -Ralph, over his shoulder, as he continued to pilot the big car, the -headlights showing him all inequalities in the road, so that he -could avoid most of the “bumps.” - -“I did,” spoke up Andy, immediately. “Let’s see, I think it was just -about the time that fat mayor was going around shaking hands with -us, and giving us that taffy about his change of heart regarding the -scouts.” - -“Then Peleg should have known we meant to clear out pretty soon,” -interrupted Tubby, slowly, “so if he had a particle of sense, and -really wanted to come back home in the car with the crowd, why, -seems to me he’d have hung around.” - -“Well, he didn’t,” added Andy. “I saw him grinning as though tickled -half to death about something. Perhaps now it pleased him to see -that mayor grabbing our hands so,--well,--I might say effusively. How -about that, Ralph; would Peleg care if he saw you being patted on -the back, and made a hero of?” - -“He might, and then again perhaps it was something else that made -him seem so happy,” replied Ralph. - -The other boys may not have understood the real meaning of those -words, but Rob did. He knew Ralph was hinting to him that the farm -boy may have held back from joining them because he began to feel -ashamed of what he had done, and could not bear to face the owner of -the stolen stamps so soon after selling the packets to the curio -dealer. - -Even that failed wholly to convince Rob. When he believed in any one -it was hard to make him change his opinion. Why should Peleg seem so -well satisfied with himself? Surely, the getting of a few dollars, -more or less, in a shady transaction too, of which he must later on -feel ashamed, would hardly cause him to appear so happy. - -Rob confessed that he could not make it out at all. He was really -too tired to continue bothering his brains over the puzzle. - -“Perhaps tomorrow, when Peleg comes home again, we may find out what -it all means,” he told himself. “There’s no way of finding out right -now; and so what’s the use fussing with it?” - -Accordingly, Rob put the affair out of his mind. If it came to the -worst there was a speedy way of learning the truth, just as Ralph -had mentioned; by going to town again, with the excuse that he -wanted to see what Wyoming looked like after the great -conflagration, Ralph could drop in and see the curio dealer. Being -ready to buy back the stamps, if Peleg had really sold them, he -could influence Mr. Hardman to return the stolen property. - -They made the little journey back to the farm without incident. -Ralph did not attempt anything like speed in covering the ten or -more miles. Twice that same night he had raced like mad over that -course, escaping disaster several times only by a narrow margin. -Ralph did not care to accept the same risks again when there was no -sense in it. - -Rob, however, would not soon forget both of those hurried trips, -with that ominous glare in the heavens to spur the driver on. - -Arriving home, they soon sought their beds, for it was a pretty -tired lot of fellows who came back after such a tempestuous -experience. - -Little talking was indulged in, at Rob’s suggestion. They could -leave that for the morning, when they would be refreshed, and able -to discuss all details connected with the night of terror. - -When morning came it proved to be a fine opening, for the sun arose -in a clear sky, despite the threat of rain during the earlier part -of the preceding night. - -They had hardly finished breakfast, and were trying to lay out a -programme for the day, when the man Pete, who was in charge of -Ralph’s queer fur farm showed up. Rob understood from his manner -that something unusual must have caused him to pay this early -morning visit to the farmhouse, for as a rule he cooked his own -meals up at the other station, sleeping there as well. - -When Ralph had had a little talk with him he came over to where the -rest of the boys were sitting on the porch. - -“Well, more trouble in prospect up at my fox farm,” Ralph remarked. - -“Another cat bobbed up, Ralph?” asked Rob, immediately. “I mention -that because I happen to know as a rule where you run across one -you’ll also find its mate, for they generally hunt in couples.” - -Ralph nodded his head, and made a wry face. - -“You’re on, Rob,” he replied. “Pete heard the critter screeching -over in the woods last night. Then this morning he found where it -had entered my preserves, and he thinks it must have got away with -one of my fox pups, for he saw signs of blood and fur on the ground. -But, anyhow, whether that’s so or not, we’ve got to get after Mr. -Cat, and keep it up till we bag him. There’ll be no peace as long as -he hangs out around my fur farm.” - -“Will Pete go out and try to shoot this one like he did the last?” -asked Tubby, remembering the fresh skin that had been fastened to a -stretching board, and hung on the shady side of the cottage to dry -in the air away from the sun. - -“He’ll keep on the move right along, with his gun on his shoulder,” -explained Ralph. “But his running across the first rascal was a big -piece of luck. This time I’ll have to try and fix a trap for the -beast. Since there’s no time like the present, I think I’ll get busy -now. Who wants to go up with me?” - -There was a unanimous assent, showing that all of them felt a deep -interest in this part of the proceedings. So, leaving the farmhouse, -they strolled along in the direction of the fur farm, away off at -the upper part of Mr. Jeffords’ extensive property holdings. - -Pete went with them, and on the way detailed once more, for the -benefit of the scouts, how he had heard the screech of the cat not -far from break of day. He had known that something far out of the -common was taking place down at Wyoming, for he had seen the flame -in the sky, and even caught something of the clamor that accompanied -the fire; but his duty was to stay and guard Ralph’s valuable -property, so Pete had resisted the temptation to start toward town. - -In return, the boys described some of the wonderful sights that had -come their way while watching the town burning. Pete was also -informed concerning the fortunate inspiration that had come to Rob, -following out which the dynamite had been used to baffle the fire -fiend. Ralph it was who told most of this, apparently much to the -confusion of Rob, who several times tried to throw the praise on the -shoulders of the one who had piloted the car back and forth, laid -the explosives without a hitch, and certainly merited a big share of -the successful outcome. - -Once they were at the cottage where Pete held forth, Ralph began to -overhaul a number of rusty traps which he apparently had not touched -for some time. - -“Three winters ago,” he told them, “I used to do quite a good deal -of trapping, and learned a whole lot about the habits of such wild -animals as we have around this section of the Adirondacks. Then I -got that fur-farm fever, and read up all the articles I could find -about the raising of black foxes, and such things. Well, after that -I didn’t care to trap common stock, and so I haven’t done a thing at -it since. So my traps look pretty seedy; but they’ll work, all -right. Pete, the first chance you get, give these things a good -oiling. No use having them go to the scrap heap for nothing.” - -He picked out a certain trap, and said it would answer their -purpose. - -“It must be set outside the boundaries of my enclosure,” Ralph -continued, when Tubby had suggested that one of the foxes or mink -might be caught, “and I’m depending a whole lot on Pete to show me -the right place. The cat will likely come back again tonight, and -follow the same path to the high fence. We’ll set the trap now, -because even in the daytime a hungry cat often starts out to get a -meal.” - -“Oh! I’ve met them in the woods when the sun was shining brightly,” -said Rob. “Hunger causes even animals who see best in the dark to -roam around during daylight. But I agree with you, Ralph, when you -figure that your trap is more apt to wind up the cat’s career than -Pete’s gun.” - -All of them went forth to see the trap set, Pete leading them to -where he had reason to believe the animal had crossed the boundary -line of the preserves. Tubby in particular watched every move Ralph -made when setting the trap; for Tubby knew next to nothing about -such things, never having had an opportunity to visit the woods -during fur season. - -After this had been duly attended to, they once more took a look -around the fur farm, and then sauntered back to the house. Rob was -wondering what Ralph intended doing with regard to finding an answer -connected with the stamp disappearance mystery. He fully anticipated -that the other would announce his intended departure for the town, -and asking whether any of them would care to go along. But the -morning passed away, and nothing was said or done. - -In fact, Andy and Tubby went fishing, the stout scout seeming to -have taken a great liking for the sport. Considering the fact that -he was “high notch” so far, having captured the largest bass yet -taken, this was not to be wondered at. - -“I’m going to ask you to do me a favor, Rob,” remarked Ralph as they -sat there on the porch, Sim being at some other part of the premises -just then, having accompanied his uncle to see a new patent churn -that he had installed in the milk cellar. - -“Now he’s going to bring up the subject of Peleg again,” thought -Rob; but for once he was mistaken, since Ralph did nothing of the -sort. - -“I’m getting to be a whole lot interested in that flashlight picture -game,” he went on to say; “and I’d like to see how you work it, if -you don’t object.” - -“Why, that would be easy enough,” the scout leader told him, much -gratified, “for I happen to have the apparatus in my bag. You see, -at the last minute I got an idea we might want to take a few -pictures of that sort, and so I chucked it in. What kind of animal -have you in mind, Ralph?” - -“Well, my mink interest me more than anything else,” came the reply; -“partly because they are so shy that you can hardly ever get a -glimpse of the little rascals. I don’t know near as much about their -habits as I’d like, though as a trapper I understood where to set my -traps in order to catch them visiting in and out of the holes along -the banks of a creek.” - -“All right, then, if you say the word we can set a snare tonight -that may bring results,” Rob continued. “I don’t know that I ever -got a good picture of a mink, and it would please me to manage it -that way.” - -Still nothing was said about Peleg, although Rob had incidentally -asked some time before if the boy had shown up at the farm, to learn -that nothing had as yet been seen of him. - -Apparently Ralph had not as yet made up his mind concerning a visit -to town. It might be that the strenuous events of the preceding -night were still too vivid in his mind for him to desire to see how -Wyoming looked after the fire. Rob, on his part, had no intention of -influencing the other to take a run in, knowing as he did that this -would mean a trip to the curio dealer, and possibly finding out -certain unpleasant truths concerning Peleg. - -The two fishermen came back in the car, which Andy had been able to -run, just as the lunch bell sounded. Rob knew as soon as he saw them -that something out of the usual run must have happened, for both -looked mysterious and excited. - - - - - Chapter XXIII - - Just Between Boys - - -“Why, they’re all wet, boys, if you’ll believe me!” exclaimed Sim, -as soon as Tubby and Andy arrived in the car. - -Tubby got out, laboriously, and then proceeded to exhibit as fine a -string of bass as the heart of any enthusiastic angler could wish. - -“But the biggest got away from us, I’m sorry to say,” he remarked. -“’Course I know well enough that that’s an _awful_ old excuse, but -in this case it’s a fact. Our condition proves it, too. I held on -like grim death, even after he upset the boat, and, say, he dragged -me under twice, and then--shucks! the line broke. I guess he snagged -it on a sharp rock. These bass are mighty smart fish, I’m finding -out.” - -Andy was grinning, as though it may have been something of a -“circus” to him even if he had also been thrown into the water by -the capsizing of their cranky boat when the clumsy Tubby became -excited with such a large fish on his hook. - -“Believe me, it was a lively time,” he admitted. “Tubby was -swimming, and spouting the water out of his mouth like a whale, all -the while holding on to his rod, and trying to yell. I think he -would have landed that monster bass if only the line hadn’t gone -back on him. He was the most disappointed fellow you ever saw when -he found his prize had skipped out.” - -“Were you far from the shore, and what did you do?” asked Rob. - -“It happened that we were fishing past that big rock where Tubby -caught his other noble bass,” explained Andy. “So we didn’t have far -to swim, pushing the boat between us. I knew that was the easiest -way to manage, because Tubby would have had a tough job climbing -over the stern.” - -“Huh! must have weighed nearly a ton with my soaked clothes,” the -fat boy agreed. “But we didn’t lose anything, except a hook, and -that monster bass. It wasn’t such a terrible experience, either. If -the day had been chilly at all we’d have started a fire, and dried -out; but neither of us cared to bother going to all that trouble; so -we baled out the boat, and just commenced fishing again; but I never -got another bully strike like that one.” - -They were not feeling uncomfortable in the least; as their clothes -had by this time pretty well dried out upon their backs, neither of -the boys took the trouble to make any change. - -“I’m too hungry to wait a minute,” announced Tubby, showing that he -had heard the summons to lunch as the car approached the farmhouse. - -It was high noon, and still no Peleg. Rob continued to wonder what -could be keeping the farm boy in town. Still, it was a good ten mile -tramp in case he thought to make it afoot. On the other hand, Rob -thought he might be waiting for a chance to ride with some farmer -returning home, and that the opportunity may not as yet have come -along. - -“What, no frogs’ legs today?” remarked Tubby, when the meal had -progressed far enough to show this lack of his favorite delicacy. - -“Oh! we’ve decided to leave all that to you, Tubby,” laughed Ralph. -“It seems that the rest of us have had all we want of that -fish-chicken combination. There’s the pond, and whenever you feel -like having a mess take my Flobert and get busy. The rest of us have -other fish to fry.” - -“What’s the programme for this afternoon?” asked Sim. - -Rob looked toward Ralph, fully expecting to hear the other suggest -that they go to town. Again he was mistaken, for nothing of the kind -came about. - -“Why,” Ralph started to say, “father has asked me to take the car -and run over to Flemington to attend to some business that needs -looking after. If any or all of you feel like going along, now’s -your chance to say the word. There’ll be room for you, and it’s -worth going thirty miles uphill and down, for you’ll get some mighty -fine views. How about you, Rob?” - -“I’m game if the rest are,” came the ready reply. - -In rapid succession Tubby, Sim and Andy announced themselves willing -to take part in the excursion. It would show them a section of -country that was new; and promised to be quite an enjoyable -diversion. Evidently, then, Rob concluded, Ralph did not mean to -look that curio dealer up in a hurry, so as to settle the question -of Peleg’s innocence or guilt. - -“I wouldn’t be much surprised,” Rob told himself, “if Ralph sort of -shrinks at doing that. He would like to get his stamps back, but -while the case is open and unsettled he can try and convince himself -that the boy isn’t guilty. Once he has the proof dead to rights and -Peleg must go. It does Ralph a whole lot of credit, this trying to -give the boy all the chance he can.” - -They certainly had a glorious run of it on the way to Flemington, -and the scenery was all that the enthusiastic Ralph had promised. He -also managed to return by another roundabout road, so that they -could see still another section of country. - -“Ralph, slow up, won’t you?” suddenly called out Sim, who was -sitting on the back seat. “I want to get a better look at something -through the trees over here on the right. There, I saw him again, -and now I’m dead sure of it.” - -“Why, it certainly does look mighty much like our Peleg,” agreed -Tubby, who had also managed to crane his fat neck so as to obtain a -passing view; “but whatever would he be doing away over here, a long -way from your place; and he seemed to be driving a horse and buggy, -too. Ralph, what do you know about this?” - -Ralph stopped the car, and also glanced back, for as he had to keep -his eyes on the road most of the time, it was not easy for him to -turn around, lest by so doing he land them in a ditch. - -“Yes, that’s Peleg,” he announced, presently, and Rob could see that -the altogether strange appearance of the farm boy over in this -section when he should have turned up at the Jeffords’ place -surprised Ralph. - -“What do you reckon he’s doing over here?” continued Tubby, bound to -“pump” the other until Ralph yielded up all the information at his -disposal. - -“Well, I can explain that part of it,” was the reply. “You see, -Peleg’s sister is working out at that house where he’s going right -now. Evidently Peleg has hired that rig in town for the purpose of -paying his sister a visit.” - -“Oh! seeing that he was off work, he must have just made up his mind -he might as well be killed for a sheep as a lamb; is that it, -Ralph?” demanded Tubby. - -“Something like it, I guess,” answered the other, at the same time -giving Rob at his side a queer look, together with a frown. - -Rob could easily guess what was passing through the mind of the boy -at the wheel of the car; he believed that Peleg must be spending the -money he had received for those packets of foreign stamps in paying -for the horse and buggy with which he was driving over to see his -sister. - -It was not a pleasant thought to Rob. He wished the whole affair -would make haste to reach a settlement; if Peleg were guilty, the -sooner the fact became known to Ralph the better; if, on the other -hand, he could prove his innocence, it was too bad to keep up this -feeling of suspicion. - -They started on again. So far as they knew, Peleg had not once -looked toward the road as he drove up along the lane leading to the -farmhouse just beyond the brow of the rise. Apparently he was at the -time so excited over the thought of seeing his sister again that he -had eyes and ears for nothing else; and the mere passing of a car -held no attraction for him. Rob thought it was just as well, for -Peleg might have signalled to them; and in some way Ralph was likely -to burst forth, perhaps openly accusing the boy in the presence of -the others. - -So they went on. Ralph kept his thoughts to himself, not even -speaking of Peleg to Rob at his side. The others, very naturally, -continued to exchange remarks that Ralph could not help hearing -above the purr of the engine. - -“Well, anyhow,” Tubby was saying, with his accustomed zeal, “I’m -glad to know he wasn’t hurt any in the fire. When he failed to show -up at the time we were leaving I felt worried. Lots of people got -injured, I’m sure, for the crowd acted like it was crazy, running -back and forth, and knocking everybody over who got in the way.” - -“Peleg is all right, we know now,” interjected Andy. “He’s wanted to -see this sister of his for some time, I reckon, and took this chance -to get around. Oh! look at that bull chasing after that dog in the -field, will you? The little barker is too smart for the clumsy -beast; but if ever he gets those horns underneath him, I give you my -word for it he’ll clear thirty feet in the air if he does one.” - -Little escaped their eyes as they rode along. First one and then -another would call attention to something of interest that was seen, -now on the right and again on the left. Tubby even declared that he -was beginning to believe he had a regular “rubber-neck,” they kept -him looking so much. - -Back at the farm again, they lounged around the balance of the -afternoon. Ralph often looked along the road they had so recently -driven over, and Rob made up his mind that the other was hoping to -see Peleg coming. To his mind this proved that while Ralph had kept -unusually quiet on the subject, he was still worrying about the -status of the farm boy. - -It was getting along toward sunset when finally Ralph, as if unable -to longer hold in, introduced the subject himself. - -Perhaps the fact that he and Rob chanced to be alone at the time had -something to do with it. They were looking over the flashlight -apparatus, which the owner had been explaining to Ralph, who agreed -that the manipulation of the little “trick” was simplicity itself, -and could be easily managed by any one with a fair degree of -intelligence. - -“It begins to look to me as though Peleg knows he must be under -suspicion, and doesn’t mean to come back to work here, much as I -hate to believe that, Rob,” was what he said, watching the face of -his companion so as to read his opinion even before the other made -any sort of reply. - -“Oh! I wouldn’t say that until you know more about his actions,” Rob -told him. “You yourself said he had a queer and powerful affection -for his brothers and sisters. His going out there today proves that, -too. Now as a scout I’ve been taught never to believe wrong of any -one unless the proof is overwhelming; and even then to try and think -the best you can of him, perhaps by your influence causing him to -repent and make restitution.” - -“I understand what you mean, Rob,” muttered the other, “and if Peleg -really showed any sign of being sorry for what he has done, I’d -forgive him, and keep his secret. I’m not one of the hard kind to -hold a thing against any chap, because I know we’re not all alike. -Peleg, being tempted, would mean ten times the strain on his honesty -that the same thing would to me. Yes, I’ve already made up my mind -to go easy with him.” - -Rob was glad to hear this. At the same time he still hoped there -would be no occasion to exercise this clemency on the part of his -friend. It was pleasant for him to know Ralph was that sort of boy; -and he believed the other would make a model member of the new scout -troop, when it was organized in Wyoming. - -“There’s just one more thing I want to say, Rob,” the other remarked -when they were about to pass out again to the open air, and join the -rest of the fellows on the shady porch. “Meeting you has been a -revelation to me, and given me a lot of new ideas. And let me tell -you I’ve never known any one who had such faith in finding a streak -of good in every boy that lives!” - -“Oh!” said Rob with a laugh, “that’s easy enough when you figure out -your own struggles between right and wrong. All boys pass through -the same, more or less.” - - - - - Chapter XXIV - - The Answer to the Puzzle - - -After supper that night Ralph and Rob went off to set the flashlight -trap in the mink enclosure. A fresh fish would be the bait to -attract one of the timid little fur-bearing animals to the place; -and the arrangement was such that when he attempted to possess -himself of the tempting morsel, the pull upon a cord would cause the -flashlight to snap off his picture before he could move. - -Ralph was very much interested in the venture, and asked enough -questions to give him all necessary information. Apparently he had -taken a great fancy for this new method of “hunting with a camera,” -and would possibly amuse himself frequently later on in securing -various pictures that could not otherwise be obtained. - -When they got back, somewhere around nine o’clock, Tubby “wanted to -know,” as he usually did. - -“How about that old bobcat, Ralph? Signs of him taking the bait you -left out there for him?” he went on to inquire. - -“We didn’t bother going to see,” he was told. “He’s got the whole -night before him to come around. So I’m just living off hope until -Pete makes his report in the morning. I’d hate to have my plans all -knocked silly by the accidental coming of a pair of cats.” - -“You’ve got to remember,” Rob warned him, “to set your alarm clock -so you can wake up at three o’clock. You must be on hand before the -first streak of dawn, because if the light strikes in before you get -there the flashlight picture will be ruined.” - -“Seems to me,” observed Tubby, thoughtfully, “there ought to be some -little mechanical invention calculated to close the opening of a -camera after just so many seconds have elapsed.” - -“Perhaps there is,” Rob went on to say, “but if so I haven’t got the -attachment on my camera. Better get up one yourself, Tubby; there -would be money in it.” - -“I’ll think it over,” the stout boy told them. “Sometimes I suspect -that I might make something of a success as an inventor; but so far -things I’ve tried to do just don’t seem to work a little bit. I even -experimented on a flying machine that was going to beat all these -common aeroplanes, and leave them at the stake. But I own up that it -wouldn’t budge me off the ground.” - -“Which I should say was the most fortunate thing that ever happened -to you, Tubby,” chuckled Andy. “Falling overboard in the lake is bad -enough, but then you can swim or float; but just think what would -follow if that flying machine ever gave out while you were away up -in the air. Some of the fellows used to call you Punkin once in a -while, but believe me your name would be Squash then.” - -Once again it was morning, after another pleasant experience in -which the boys managed to secure enough sleep to make up for the -loss of the preceding night. - -Rob, after getting out, wandered around to the barns to see the cows -being milked, and the pigs fed, as well as the chickens and turkeys -and ducks. He loved to watch the big bronze gobbler strut around, -and make all those strange sounds as his wings scraped the ground. -Then the lordly peacocks on the ridge-pole of the big barn emitted a -series of shrill cries as they preened their glorious plumage. When -one of them chose to strut in all his glory on the ground, Rob -thought it was a most astonishing sight. - -“Did Peleg happen to come back last night?” he asked one of the men -who was drawing the milk from a fine Jersey cow; Mr. Jeffords wanted -richness rather than quantity, which was the reason he preferred -that strain to the banded Holsteins. - -“I guess not,” came the answer--“leastways, I ain’t seen anything ov -him around since the boy rode into town with the lot ov you t’other -evenin’.” - -All of which only added to the mystery. Still, another day had come, -and perhaps they would see something of Peleg before nightfall. -Since it was known that he had been within seven miles of the farm -on the preceding day, while visiting his sister, there was a -likelihood of his turning up. Rob was beginning to feel that he -wanted to see the end of this little mystery. Innocent or guilty, he -certainly hoped Peleg would come along before the time set for their -departure arrived. - -Just then he sighted Ralph returning. He held the camera safely -under his arm, and if the smile on his face stood for anything, Rob -felt justified in believing that the little venture must have met -with success. - -“You got there before the light did, I hope?” - -“Oh! yes, just the first peep was coming over in the east when I -arrived and took up the camera. Your scheme worked, too, Rob, -because the bait was gone, and the flashlight cartridge had been -fired in the pan.” - -“We’ll find out after breakfast whether the snapshot is any good,” -the scout leader suggested. “If this one proves to be poor, we can -try again tonight, if no signs of rain warn us off. You never can -tell what you get until you develop your film or plate. Some of the -finest exposures I ever took were desperate chances, and that made -the surprise all the more agreeable.” - -Later on Rob developed the plate in his daylight tank, and soon -assured the anxious Ralph, who, strange to say, had up to then never -cared for photography, that they had secured a splendid negative. It -showed the cautious mink clearly in the act of taking the fish bait. - -“I do believe it’s my old Jinks, as I named the first mature mink I -managed to get hold of!” exclaimed Ralph, minutely examining the -bright negative. “Why, you can see the hair on his back, the detail -work is so perfect. Rob, I’m going to like this thing more than I -can tell you. It opens up a new field for me, and one that seems to -be just to my taste.” - -“Best of all,” added the patrol leader, “it doesn’t make any inroads -on the harmless little animals of the woods and swamps. You can get -them at home, and learn more about their nocturnal habits than by -any other known means.” - -After the negative had been dried later on in the day, Rob printed -several copies, and passed them around. Even Mr. Jeffords declared -they were very fine, and when he learned how his boy had begun to -take a great interest in the modern way of making the acquaintance -of the timid woods folks, he encouraged Ralph in every way possible -to enlist in the cause. - -“Things like this always go to make boys more humane,” the farmer -remarked. “That counts a whole lot. As a rule, they are apt to have -cruel instincts, handed down from their ancestors, who used to have -to depend on killing game to keep themselves alive. It’s about time -something were done to soften some of those savage traits; and I -believe your organization of scouts will do this without making boys -soft, or sissies at the same time.” - -Plainly, the seed had fallen on good ground these days around -Wyoming. It seemed to be a foregone conclusion that before a great -while there would spring up an enthusiastic troop of scouts bound to -be a credit to the community. - -That whole day passed and still there was no sign of the absent one. -Some of the fellows spoke of it as a strange thing, and also went so -far as to hint to Ralph that it looked as though Peleg may have -concluded he didn’t care to work on the Jeffords’ farm any longer. - -Rob noticed that Ralph declined to be drawn into any discussion that -had for its subject the doings of Peleg Pinder. He just shut his -teeth together, and made no comment when Tubby and Andy started -discussing this matter. At the same time Rob was quite positive -Ralph had not forgotten; and he imagined that when another day came -he might make up his mind to start toward Wyoming, bent on settling -the bothersome question once and for all. - -During the day no word had come from Pete, so it could be set down -as pretty certain that the second wildcat had not been hovering -around the preserves where Ralph was trying to raise fancy-priced -fur. - -“If anything had happened we would have heard,” the owner of the fox -farm told the rest of the boys. “Pete had orders to drop down and -let me know. I’m just about fixing a little telephone service -between my cabin up there and the home place here, so we can talk -without all this running back and forth.” - -“Queer how you didn’t think of that long ago,” said Sim. “I’d have -done it in the start.” - -“Well, the fact of the matter is,” laughed Ralph, “I put every -dollar I could scrape together or borrow from dad into my first -blacks; and the fencing of that big tract cost a whopping sum -besides. But now I begin to see an outlook ahead; and I’ve also -convinced father that there’s money in the project, so he’s loaning -me another bunch of money.” - -“When do you expect to realize something from the sale of skins?” -asked Tubby. - -“This winter,” he was told. “I think I shall put over half a dozen -black pelts by that time, some of which ought to fetch nearly top -prices, because the animals are beauts. Then I’ve got a lot of -skunks to get rid of, for they’ve increased rapidly. Needn’t turn -pale, Tubby, because I won’t be raiding their den while you’re -within hundreds of miles of here, so you’re safe. The mink and otter -have yet to prove their value as producers of their species. If all -turns out well there, in another year or so I’ll be on the high-road -to success, and a big one in the bargain.” - -All this was very interesting to the other boys. And from time to -time that evening as they sat around they asked additional questions -connected with the unique enterprise that Ralph was engineering, -surely one of the most remarkable that any wideawake American lad -had ever engaged in. - -Ralph and Rob had been up again to see that the trap for the wildcat -was properly set. They also had a short chat with Pete, who did not -seem to be at all discouraged because of the failure to secure a -victim on the first trial. - -“I’m banking on gettin’ the critter tonight, though,” he announced, -and they knew that he must have some good reason for his belief. - -Sure enough, in the morning, when they once more paid a visit to the -fur farm, with Tubby, Sim and Andy tagging along, Pete took them out -to where the trap had been set. He did not say anything, but Rob -could see from the look on his face that he had a surprise in store -for them. - -The big cat had been caught, and Pete, coming along at peep of day, -had killed it with a single shot, not wishing the wretched thing to -suffer any more than was necessary. If anything, it was larger than -its mate. - -Ralph was feeling quite contented as they came back again to the -house. - -“Now there’s only one more thing on my mind,” he remarked to Rob, -and the latter did not have to ask him what that was, for he knew. - -He imagined that the invitation to visit Wyoming would be -forthcoming around the lunch hour, for undoubtedly Ralph was growing -tired of waiting for Peleg to show up, and meant to put the whole -thing to a deciding test in the office of that curio dealer. - -If such were Ralph’s plans, they were fated never to be carried out. -Rob was swinging idly on the porch seat, all by himself, the other -three being back in the milk room watching the process of -cheese-making under the supervision of Mr. Jeffords, when he saw -Ralph come hastily toward him. Rob had reason to believe that the -other must have been in his den at the barn, since he came from that -direction. - -When he saw the strange look on the other’s face, Rob stopped -swinging and awaited his arrival. No sooner had he come up than he -tossed something in Rob’s lap. - -“I want somebody to kick me,” said Ralph bitterly, “for I sure -deserve it. Those packets are the missing stamps, and where do you -think I found them but behind my trunk, where they must have been -blown by a passing gust of wind!” - - - - - Chapter XXV - - Lucky Peleg - - -Although thrilled by the announcement, the scout leader’s first -sensation was rather one of great joy. He seemed to see the pale -earnest face of poor Peleg Pinder rise up again before him; and how -glad he felt that through it all, even when the clouds seemed -darkest for Peleg, he had continued to firmly believe in the other’s -innocence. - -Ralph was showing signs of remorse. He realized now that what Rob -had said to him about not depending on circumstantial evidence, when -charging a companion with an evil deed, was true, since at best it -must be an unreliable staff upon which to lean. - -Still, there was one delightful thing about it, besides the -discovery of Peleg’s innocence; and this was the frank way in which -Ralph took himself to task. Such action spoke well for his bigness -of heart. Rob felt sure that the young fur farmer would never again -allow himself to believe wrong of a comrade without more tangible -evidence than mere suspicion. - -“So these are the stamps that kicked up such a tempest in a teapot, -are they?” remarked Rob, shuffling the various packets between his -hands. “The old curio dealer didn’t see them, after all. That’s -going to save you a visit to town, I reckon, Ralph. The chances were -you had figured on putting your threat into execution.” - -“Yes,” replied the other, contritely, “I might as well own that I -had made my mind up to run in this very day and learn the truth. I -couldn’t stand it any longer, you see, thinking all those mean -things about Peleg. Right now I’m wondering how I’ll ever look him -straight in the eye again.” - -“Oh! don’t let that worry you, Ralph. There’s no need of his ever -knowing that he was under suspicion. Where ignorance is bliss, you -know, they say it’s folly to be wise. Let things go as they were -before.” - -Ralph shook his head dubiously. - -“I’m inclined to believe there’s going to be a change of some sort -in our relations,” he hastened to say, “because of this queer -absence on the part of Peleg. He isn’t the fellow to shirk work, and -you know we saw him the other day over at the farmhouse where his -sister works out. Then there was that talk about him receiving a -mysterious letter; besides, we all noticed that he looked excited -when we saw him in town; yes, and he even went into the Harris -Arcade, where several lawyers have their offices, though I never -knew they stayed there after nightfall. But perhaps Peleg had an -appointment with one of them.” - -By this time he had Rob deeply interested. - -“It begins to look as if there might be another mystery connected -with Peleg’s fortunes,” he observed, laughingly. “This time we can -wait for the developments without being worried. I suppose in good -time you’ll see the boy again, or at least have word from him?” - -“That goes without saying,” Ralph agreed. “I’ve always found him -honest and straightforward. Something he didn’t calculate on is -holding him back; but he will show up in good time, believe me.” - -It was strange how much brighter the day seemed to Rob after -discovering that Peleg was indeed innocent of peculation, and had -done nothing that was wrong. Why, the very birds appeared to sing -with sweeter notes than before, while the sunshine filled the boy -with a joy he had not fully known since Ralph first communicated his -doleful suspicions. That is always the way with a scout who has -learned the greatest lesson on the books of the organization--to care -for his fellows even as he does for himself, because that is the -greatest of all commandments. Somehow nobody seemed very ambitious -to be doing strenuous things on that particular day. It was pretty -hot, for the mountains, and the shade under the long porch appeared -to strike them as just right. So they lolled there in easy-chairs, -hammocks, and the broad swing as the minutes went past, chatting, -telling stories of past experiences, and in this way exchanging -views after the manner of boys in general. - -Ralph wanted to know many things connected with the adventures which -had fallen to the scout leader and some of his chums, not only -around their home town down on Long Island, but under other -skies--away across the water where the great nations of Europe were -fighting the most terrible war of all history; upon the desert sands -of northern Mexico; and even amidst the glories of the wonderful -Panama-Pacific Exposition out in California. - -This giving out of information was not wholly one-sided, either. -Ralph had been around considerable, and was able to talk of strange -things he had run across down in the Land of Dixie, where he had -lived the better part of his young life, exploring the swamps where -the weird Spanish moss festooned the trees, and gave such a funereal -aspect to the picture; and Ralph could relate numerous amusing -stories of the former slaves whom he had known. - -So the morning passed away. The big bullfrogs over in the pond piped -in chorus, undisturbed by any pot-hunter with deadly Flobert; -doubtless, those bass still left in the pretty lake back of the -hills rejoiced to know they would not be tempted to take an -attractive lure that was apt to have a sharp barb concealed within -its midst. For the five boys spent the entire morning in sweet -idleness, content to let the hours drift past without exerting -themselves. - -Tubby, Andy and Sim had heard enough to know that there was -something queer connected with Peleg’s actions. Ralph concluded to -take them into his confidence with regard to the serious mistake he -had come so near making. Consequently the packets of stamps were -exhibited, and the sad story told of how a frivolous gust of wind -had almost caused Ralph to accuse the farm boy of being a thief. - -They promised never to breathe a word of the story. Secretly they -thought all the more of Ralph for his genuine self-condemnation. No -doubt, it would be a good lesson to all of them; which was really -one reason why Ralph, at Rob’s suggestion, had mentioned the facts; -for they could see how easy it must always be to think evil of one’s -best friend when circumstances arise that seem convincing, although -an explanation, if sought, may brush them away as though they were -mere cobwebs. - -During that morning there must have been dozens of times when one or -another of the boys walked to the end of the porch as if to stretch -their legs, when in reality it was to look along the road in the -direction that a traveler must take if coming from that farmhouse -where they had seen Peleg driving up in what appeared to be a hired -buggy. - -“Here he comes!” suddenly called out Tubby all of a sudden, as he -stood at that particular end of the porch. - -No one demanded to know who was meant, because the same thought was -in every fellow’s brain. They scrambled to their feet from hammock, -swing, and easychairs to twist their heads around, and stare in the -quarter in which Tubby was looking. - -Yes, a vehicle could be seen approaching, with the dust rising -behind the lazy shuffling motion of the horse’s hoofs. Apparently, -whoever drove was in no particular hurry to get on. - -“Why, there seem to be two persons in the buggy!” ejaculated -keen-eyed Sim. - -“But one’s Peleg, all right,” added Tubby, stubbornly, not wishing -to be shorn of his right as first discoverer. - -“Just who it is,” Ralph assured them, and he ought to know. “The -other person seems to be a girl, and it wouldn’t surprise me now if -she turned out to be Hetty Pinder.” - -“You mean Peleg’s sister, the one who was working in service on that -other farm?” asked Andy, more than a little excited as he seemed to -scent something interesting in the coming back of Peleg under such -odd conditions. - -Mr. Jeffords came out on the porch. Possibly he had noticed the -coming of Peleg up the lane that led from the main road; and felt a -mild curiosity to know why he had remained away so long; also what -possessed him to fetch his sister over from the farm where she had -engaged to work. - -Rob knew something good was going to come about. He gauged the broad -grin on Peleg’s face to mean that he had news for them. The girl was -smiling happily, it seemed. Yes, Fortune must have finally consented -to beam upon the Pinder family, so long down and out. - -“Good-morning, Mr. Jeffords! Good-morning, Ralph, and all the rest -o’ you,” said Peleg as he came up the steps, holding his sister by -the arm. “I just dropped over to let you know I ain’t agoin’ to work -no more with you. Sorry to say it, too, sure I am, ’cause you’ve -been mighty kind to me, and I never ain’t meanin’ to forget it, -neither. I got a farm o’ my own now, you see, Mr. Jeffords; and -we’re meanin’ to have them other three Pinders come out o’ the -’sylum and live to home.” - -“Well, this is great news, Peleg,” said Mr. Jeffords, holding out -both hands to the boy, and his shy sister, who looked so rosy and -happy now. “Tell us all about it, won’t you?” - -“Just what I was meanin’ to do, sir,” said the accommodating Peleg, -his eyes fairly dancing with excitement and joy. “You see, it came -to me ’bout like one o’ them bombshells I heard Rob here tellin’ -he’d seen explode over in Europe. That letter I got some days back -was from Mr. Green, the lawyer man down in Wyoming. It told me to -come and see him that evening, ’cause he had some right good news to -tell me. So I goes in, and he shows me a letter he had from another -lawyer away out in Colorado. This says that my uncle, Peleg Pipps, -had just died there, and in his will he leaves what he’d scraped -together to me as his--er, namesake the lawyer calls it.” - -Peleg looked proudly around as he said this, just as though he felt -it a triumph, after all, to carry the name he did; though possibly -on more than one occasion he had ardently wished it might have been -plain Bill or Tom. - -“This is splendid news you’re telling us, Peleg,” said Mr. Jeffords, -still shaking hands with his former help. “What about the farm--is it -one your uncle owned out there in Colorado?” - -“Shucks! no, sir, it’s the Widow Hawkins’ place, you see, just -twenty acres of fine ground that her husband made his pile out o’ -before he died. I used to work there once, and always liked the -house, it seemed so much like a home. Mr. Green, he fixed it so that -half the money that comes to me is agoin’ to pay cash for the -Hawkins farm; and the widow, she’s sent word we c’n get in right -away. You see, she sold me the furniture and everythin’ as it -stands. And, oh! Mr. Jeffords, just to think I got a home now, after -all, where we c’n all live as long as we want; and there ain’t ever -agoin’ to be no poorhouse in our dreams, either.” - -Tubby, and perhaps some of the other boys as well, might have been -observed to wink violently about that time, as though their vision -had become more or less obscured. Rob was more rejoiced than he -could have told, for it all seemed to be coming out like a fairy -story, with this almost forgotten old uncle away out in Colorado -dying just at a time when the little Pinders, scattered and -homesick, were so much in need of succor. - -They insisted on shaking hands with Peleg, each one in turn, and -congratulating him most heartily on his great good fortune. Then -they were also introduced to Hetty, his sister, a rather buxom girl -of about fourteen, and large for her age, who gave promise of being -well able to act the part of homekeeper when once Peleg had gathered -his little brood under the roof of the Hawkins’ farmhouse. - - - - - Chapter XXVI - - Headed for Home - - -Peleg and his sister were warmly invited to remain and take lunch -with his former employer, which they consented to do. They meant to -continue on afterwards to the Hawkins place, and start housekeeping -immediately. Mr. Green had supplied the boy with sufficient funds -for the time being, and promised to turn over the balance as soon as -the estate of Uncle Peleg had been fully settled up, which would be -in the course of a few weeks. - -“What sort of a farm is this that Peleg has come into?” Rob asked -Ralph, and the other three fellows bent their heads to hear, being -deeply interested. - -“It is one of the best around this whole section,” explained Ralph, -warmly. “Peleg shows great good sense in choosing to get hold of it -at a bargain, for the widow has been wanting to leave this country -since she lost her husband, going to relatives out in Cleveland, -Ohio. The house is roomy, and has some modern conveniences. The -ground produces fair crops; there is considerable fruit, and a fine -kitchen garden, always the pride of Mrs. Hawkins’ heart. Besides, -there are big barns, quite some stock, and poultry, as well as bees -and such things. Oh! Peleg is the happiest boy in the whole State of -New York just now, I can tell you.” - -“The best of it is,” added Rob, soberly, “he deserves everything -that has come to him. You told me how his one longing was to be able -to earn a home, no matter how humble, where he could gather his -brothers and sisters together under one roof. I never was so glad of -anything in my whole life as to know that luck has at last smiled on -the Pinders.” - -“Yes,” remarked Tubby, wisely, “it’s a long lane that has no turn. -All you’re got to do is to wait, and have patience, and dig away -with might and main, leaving the rest.” - -“That’s a long head of yours, Tubby,” laughed Ralph. “It’s a pity -fellows don’t always practice what they preach. But I know how all -of you feel about Peleg, and I want to say right here that it does -you credit.” - -Indeed, Peleg looked very proud and contented as he and his sister -sat there at the table with the rest, and answered the many -questions that were asked concerning their plans for the future. - -Later on they drove away again, after the horse had been “baited” at -the barn; and all sorts of good wishes were wafted after them. Ralph -looked at Rob and nodded his head. - -“It all came out splendidly, didn’t it?” he went on to say. “I’m -mighty glad now I didn’t give way to that feeling when I came near -accusing the poor boy. He would never have gotten over it. I’ve -always thought so much of Peleg, too. Now I can run over and see how -they’re getting along whenever I feel like it. From what I know of -his ways, I’m certain he’ll make that old Hawkins’ farm pay well.” - -They were still sitting there on the porch about the middle of the -afternoon, feeling that they might as well finish that day by doing -next to nothing, when a cloud of dust down the road caught their -attention. Soon afterwards they made out several cars heading their -way. To the surprise of the boys these turned in at the lane leading -up to the Jeffords’ farmhouse. - -“Why, it is the mayor of Wyoming, as sure as you live!” exclaimed -Tubby, beginning to look “flustered.” - -“And those other people are some of the leading citizens of the -town,” added Ralph, with a chuckle, as though he half suspected what -it all meant. “Yes, I can see several gentlemen who are owners of -those mills and factories. I wouldn’t be much surprised now if they -thought they hadn’t thanked us enough for doing that little job, and -have come out to repeat.” - -Rob jumped up, but Sim and Andy caught hold of him. - -“No, you don’t skip out of here,” they told him in concert. “If -there’s going to be any sort of bouquet throwing, you’ve got to stay -around and take your share of it. A scout never runs away from the -firing line, you ought to know, Rob. So just grin and bear it.” - -Accordingly, Rob had to remain, though he looked uncomfortable. - -There were fully a dozen gentlemen in the party accompanying the fat -mayor of the town, and all of them seemed to be in a most agreeable -humor, judging from the smiles that wreathed their faces. - -Mr. Jeffords greeted each one in turn, shaking hands. No doubt, he -was able to give a pretty good guess as to what had caused this -exodus from Wyoming on such a warm afternoon; and it could be put -down as certain that this was not intended to be merely a social -call. Those men meant business as well as sentiment. - -When they lined up, and the mayor turned toward Rob and the rest of -the boys, it was plainly apparent that he had a little speech ready. - -“I’ve got a few words to say to you, Ralph, Rob, and the rest,” he -commenced, “after which I have a very pleasant mission to carry out. -We have been holding a meeting since the great fire that threatened -to wipe out our town, and when all of Wyoming’s influential citizens -learned what a narrow escape our beloved homes and business blocks -had from destruction, they decided that they had not been able to -express the feelings they experienced toward you boys who so nobly -fought to hold the fire fiend in check. So we have come up here -today, sent by the women of Wyoming, to tell you again how much they -appreciate those efforts in our behalf. - -“We know that it is against the rules of your organization, Mr. -Scout Master, to accept payment for services freely rendered to -others in times of trouble; but the grateful hearts of our women -hope that each of you will not disdain to wear these modest little -badges which they have had made by our town jeweler, and which are -emblematic of the feeling they entertain for you. - -“With your consent I shall take great pleasure in pinning these upon -the lapels of your khaki coats where I see you already wear the -honored insignia of your order. And I am instructed to say to you, -one and all, that we citizens of Wyoming look upon each of these -little medals as a true badge of courage, for it symbolizes the -bravery and ready wit not only to conceive that grand scheme of -blowing up a building to stay the spread of the fire, but to -actually carry it into execution. Rob, will you oblige me by -stepping up, first of all, and letting me do you this honor.” - -So Rob had to obey, though painfully embarrassed, if his flushed -face stood for anything. Ralph, too, was not forgotten, even though -as yet he did not wear the khaki of the scout service; but events -were moving rapidly now, and it would not be long before Wyoming -would take her place in the ranks of those towns able to boast of a -growing organization founded on the principle of “doing a good turn -every day.” - -Afterwards, those boys had reason to feel very proud of the -beautiful little gold medals that had been presented to them; and -which they later on received permission to wear from Scout -Headquarters, after the story of their labors in fighting the flames -when Wyoming was threatened with destruction had been sent on by the -interested people of that grateful community. - -The rest of their stay up in the mountainous country of the -Adirondacks was replete with lively happenings, but there is no time -to relate their further adventures just now. They enjoyed every -minute of the time, and more than one noble string of fish was -carried home from that teeming lake as a reward for merit and -perseverance. Tubby, too, took toll from the pond where those -monster “greenbacks” sang their nightly chorus. Before the boys -finally left for home it was noticable what a difference there was -in the volume of sound emanating from that pond on a still night. - -At the time they said good-bye regretfully to Ralph, whom they had -come to care for immensely, as though he were a brother to them all, -the fur farm was progressing favorably. No more wildcats or other -“vermin” had put in an appearance; and the proud proprietor -announced on the last day of their stay that he had reason to -believe his minks now had a family of their own, which would be a -tremendous feather in his cap as a grower of fine furs. - -They had had one opportunity to run over and visit Peleg in his new -home, and everybody seemed delighted with what he showed them. There -could not be any doubt about Peleg and his sister being as happy as -the day was long; and Rob felt sure they would make a fair success -of farming, and keeping house, judging from what he saw while there. - -The other little Pinders had not arrived as yet, because it would be -a matter of some time before they could be formally released from -the public institution to which they had been committed at the death -of their father; but Peleg said he expected they would be home in -about another week or so. How proudly he showed them the rooms -fitted up for the youngsters, as well as the little chickens that -were to be their especial pets. - -So, in due time, Rob, Sim, Tubby and Andy once more turned their -faces homeward. They felt that they had had a glorious vacation, as -they sat in the train headed south; and every time any of them -chanced to glance down at the “badge of courage” fastened to their -coat lapels, doubtless their thoughts again carried them back to -that fearful night when only for the inspiration that came to Rob -Blake the whole town of Wyoming would have gone up in smoke and -ashes. - - THE END - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ - - - HURST & COMPANY’S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE - - A Volume of Cheerfulness in Rhyme and Picture - - KINDERGARTEN LIMERICKS - - By FLORENCE E. SCOTT - - Pictures by Arthur O. Scott with a Foreword by Lucy Wheelock - - The book contains a rhyme for every letter of the - alphabet, each illustrated by a full page picture in - colors. The verses appeal to the child’s sense of humor - without being foolish or sensational, and will be - welcomed by kindergartners for teaching rhythm in a most - entertaining manner. - - Beautifully printed and bound. In attractive box. - Price, Postpaid One Dollar. - - HURST & COMPANY, Publishers, New York - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ - - - FRANK ARMSTRONG SERIES - - By MATTHEW M. COLTON - - Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 60c. per vol., postpaid - - -Frank Armstrong’s Vacation - -How Frank’s summer experiences with his boy friends make him into a -sturdy young athlete through swimming, boating and baseball -contests, and a tramp through the Everglades, is the subject of this -splendid story. - - -Frank Armstrong at Queens - -We find among the jolly boys at Queen’s School, Frank, the -student-athlete, Jimmy, the baseball enthusiast, and Lewis, the -unconsciously-funny youth who furnishes comedy for every page that -bears his name. Fall and winter sports between intensely rival -school teams are expertly described. - - -Frank Armstrong’s Second Term - -The gymnasium, the track and the field make the background for the -stirring events of this volume, in which David, Jimmy, Lewis, the -“Wee One” and the “Codfish” figure, while Frank “saves the day.” - - -Frank Armstrong, Drop Kicker - -With the same persistent determination that won him success in -swimming, running and baseball playing, Frank Armstrong acquired the -art of “drop-kicking,” and the Queen’s football team profits -thereby. - - -Frank Armstrong, Captain of the Nine - -Exciting contests, unexpected emergencies, interesting incidents by -land and water make this story of Frank Armstrong a strong tale of -school-life, athletic success, and loyal friendships. - - -Frank Armstrong at College - -With the development of this series, the boy characters have -developed until in this, the best story of all, they appear as -typical college students, giving to each page the life and vigor of -the true college spirit. - - -Six of the best books of College Life Stories published. They -accurately describe athletics from start to finish. - - Any book sent postpaid upon receipt of 60 cents, or we - will send the six for $3.50. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ - - - Log Cabin to White House Series - - LIVES OF CELEBRATED AMERICANS - - Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 60c., per vol., postpaid - - - FROM BOYHOOD TO MANHOOD - (The Life of Benjamin Franklin). - By Wm. M. Thayer. - -Benjamin Franklin was known in the scientific world for his -inventions and discoveries, in the diplomatic world because of his -statemanship, and everywhere, because of his sound judgment, plain -speaking, and consistent living. - - FROM FARM HOUSE TO WHITE HOUSE - (The Life of George Washington). - By Wm. M. Thayer. - -The story of the hatchet and other familiar incidents of the boyhood -and young manhood of Washington are included in this book, as well -as many less well-known accounts of his experiences as surveyor, -soldier, emissary, leader, and first president of the United States. - - FROM LOG CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE - (The Life of James A. Garfield). - By Wm. M. Thayer. - -It was a long step from pioneer home in Ohio where James A. Garfield -was born, to the White House in Washington, and that it was an -interesting life-journey one cannot doubt who reads Mr. Thayer’s -account of it. - - FROM PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE - (The Life of Abraham Lincoln). - By Wm. M. Thayer. - -No President was ever dearer to the hearts of his people than was -homely, humorous “Honest Abe.” - -To read of his mother, his early home, his efforts for an education, -and his rise to prominence is to understand better his rare nature -and practical wisdom. - - FROM RANCH TO WHITE HOUSE - (The Life of Theodore Roosevelt). - By Edward S. Ellis, A. M. - -Every boy and girl is more or less familiar with the experiences of -Mr. Roosevelt as Colonel and President, but few of them know him as -the boy and man of family and school circles and private citzenship. - -Mr. Ellis describes Theodore Roosevelt as a writer, a hunter, a -fighter of “graft” at home and of Spaniards in Cuba, and a just and -vigorous defender of right. - - FROM TANNERY TO WHITE HOUSE - (The Life of Ulysses S. Grant). - By Wm. M. 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The story is the answer. - - Rex Kingdon in the North Woods - -Rex and some of his Ridgewood friends establish a camp fire in the -North Woods, and there mystery, jealousy, and rivalry enter to -menace their safety, fire their interest and finally cement their -friendship. - - Rex Kingdon at Walcott Hall - -Lively boarding school experiences make this the “best yet” of the -Rex Kingdon series. - - Rex Kingdon Behind the Bat - -The title tells you what this story is; it is a rattling good story -about baseball. Boys will like it. - -Gordon Braddock knows what Boys want and how to write it. 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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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Boy Scouts' badge of courage</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Howard Payson</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Illustrator: Arthur O. Scott</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: July 12, 2022 [eBook #68508]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Roger Frank, Al Haines and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOY SCOUTS' BADGE OF COURAGE ***</div> -<div class='ce'> -<h1>The Boy Scouts’ Badge of Courage </h1> -</div> -<div class='section'> -<div id='ifpc' class='mt01 mb01 wifpc'> - <img src='images/illus-fpc.jpg' alt='' style='width:100%' /> - <p class='caption'>“Careful how you step on that dynamite!” warned Rob.</p> -</div> -</div> -<div class='section'> -<div class='ce'> -<div style='font-size:1.4em;margin-top:2em;'>THE BOY SCOUTS’ BADGE OF COURAGE </div> -<div>BY </div> -<div style='font-size:1.2em;margin-bottom:0.5em;'>LIEUT. HOWARD PAYSON </div> -</div> -<div style='font-size:0.8em;'> -<div class='ce'> -<div>AUTHOR OF “THE MOTORCYCLE SERIES,” “THE BOY SCOUTS OF THE</div> -<div>EAGLE PATROL,” “THE BOY SCOUTS AND THE ARMY AIRSHIP,”</div> -<div>“THE BOY SCOUTS WITH THE ALLIES IN FRANCE,”</div> -<div>“THE BOY SCOUTS ON BELGIAN BATTLEFIELDS,”</div> -<div>“THE BOY SCOUTS’ CAMPAIGN</div> -<div>FOR PREPAREDNESS,”</div> -<div>ETC., ETC.</div> -</div> -</div> -<div class='ce'> -<div style='margin-top:1em;font-style:italic;'>With Illustrations by </div> -<div style='font-size:1.2em;'>ARTHUR O. SCOTT </div> -<div style='margin-top:1em;'>NEW YORK </div> -<div>HURST & COMPANY, <span style='font-variant:small-caps'>Inc.</span></div> -<div>PUBLISHERS </div> -</div> -</div> -<div class='section'> -<p style='line-height: 3em'>​</p> -<div class='ce'> -<div><span style='font-variant:small-caps'>Copyright, 1917</span>,</div> -<div>BY</div> -<div>HURST & COMPANY </div> -</div> -</div> -<div class='section'> -<p style='line-height: 3em'>​</p> -<div style='text-align:center'>CONTENTS</div> -<table class='toc tcenter' style='margin-bottom:3em'> -<tbody> - <tr><td class='c1'>I.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chI'>Four Chums in Khaki</a></td></tr> - <tr><td class='c1'>II.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chII'>First Aid Arouses Ralph’s Curiosity</a></td></tr> - <tr><td class='c1'>III.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chIII'>The Young Fur Farmer</a></td></tr> - <tr><td class='c1'>IV.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chIV'>The Black Fox Pen</a></td></tr> - <tr><td class='c1'>V.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chV'>An Uninvited Visitor</a></td></tr> - <tr><td class='c1'>VI.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chVI'>Peleg Pinder’s Heavy Load</a></td></tr> - <tr><td class='c1'>VII.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chVII'>Turning It Over to Rob</a></td></tr> - <tr><td class='c1'>VIII.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chVIII'>A Great Day for Water Sport</a></td></tr> - <tr><td class='c1'>IX.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chIX'>The Scout Law</a></td></tr> - <tr><td class='c1'>X.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chX'>A Wild Grapevine Rope</a></td></tr> - <tr><td class='c1'>XI.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXI'>The Rescue of Little Caleb</a></td></tr> - <tr><td class='c1'>XII.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXII'>How the Test Panned Out</a></td></tr> - <tr><td class='c1'>XIII.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXIII'>When the Circus Came to Town</a></td></tr> - <tr><td class='c1'>XIV.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXIV'>The Rising Wind</a></td></tr> - <tr><td class='c1'>XV.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXV'>The Clang of the Fire Bell</a></td></tr> - <tr><td class='c1'>XVI.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXVI'>Fighting the Flames</a></td></tr> - <tr><td class='c1'>XVII.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXVII'>A Wild Race Against Time</a></td></tr> - <tr><td class='c1'>XVIII.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXVIII'>Back to the Burning Town</a></td></tr> - <tr><td class='c1'>XIX.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXIX'>Behind the Broken Door</a></td></tr> - <tr><td class='c1'>XX.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXX'>The Struggle to Save the Town</a></td></tr> - <tr><td class='c1'>XXI.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXXI'>After It Was All Over</a></td></tr> - <tr><td class='c1'>XXII.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXXII'>Laying Plans</a></td></tr> - <tr><td class='c1'>XXIII.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXXIII'>Just Between Boys</a></td></tr> - <tr><td class='c1'>XXIV.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXXIV'>The Answer to the Puzzle</a></td></tr> - <tr><td class='c1'>XXV.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXXV'>Lucky Peleg!</a></td></tr> - <tr><td class='c1'>XXVI.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXXVI'>Headed for Home</a></td></tr> -</tbody> -</table> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chI' title='I: Four Chums in Khaki'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>Chapter I</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.1em'>Four Chums in Khaki</span> -</h2> -<p>“We’re nearly there, fellows!”</p> - -<p>“Glad to know it, Sim. For one, I’m tired of this stuffy railroad -car.”</p> - -<p>“That isn’t all our trouble by a long shot, Andy Bowles. You must -remember that two shavings of railway lunch-counter sandwiches don’t -go <i>very</i> far toward satisfying a growing boy’s appetite.”</p> - -<p>“I thought we would soon hear that cry for help from Tubby. His mind -seems to run along the eating groove most of the time. A <i>growing</i> -boy, eh? If he keeps on expanding much more, he’ll be as big as a -hogshead, I reckon.”</p> - -<p>“Oh! well, one consolation is you’ll all have to quit calling me -Tubby, then. Say, we must be getting somewhere near that town of -Wyoming,—how about it, Rob?”</p> - -<p>There were four of them occupying seats that faced each other,—all -wearing the well-known khaki suits that mark scouts pretty much the -whole world over these modern days.</p> - -<p>The very stout chap with the freckled, good-natured face was Tubby -Hopkins. Sim Jeffords was of rather lean build, with a shrewd look -in his keen eyes; Andy Bowles was the one whose cheeks every now and -then expanded as though in imagination he might be practicing some -new bugle call, for Andy had long been recognized as the official -“reveille” and “taps” manipulator of the troop; and last, but far -from least, was Rob Blake, the determined leader of the Eagle -Patrol, who sometimes acted also as assistant master to the Hampton -Troop.</p> - -<p>These four comrades, tried and true, came from Long Island, and they -had been riding for some hours on a train heading up into the -interior of New York State. Part of the Eagle Patrol had passed -through rather remarkable adventures in various parts of our own -country and abroad as well. Those who are making their acquaintance -for the first time in these pages, and who would like to know more -concerning their aims and ambitions, as well as some of the stirring -things that came their way, are advised to secure recent volumes of -this series, where they will find tales of many lively happenings -well calculated to please them.</p> - -<p>Lately, the boys of the Eagle Patrol had been concerned in the -question of national preparedness, and in their role of scouts -proved considerable help to Government officials who were wrestling -with a number of serious problems.</p> - -<p>The vacation season was wearing on after their return home from New -Jersey, and things around Hampton had begun to assume their habitual -mid-summer stagnation when Sim Jeffords broached an idea to the -patrol leader that rather fascinated Rob.</p> - -<p>It seemed that Sim had a Cousin Ralph who lived up in the State not -far from the heart of the famous Adirondack region, where his father -owned a large farm of hundreds of acres a few miles from the -bustling manufacturing town of—well, let us call it Wyoming, because -for certain reasons it might not be wholly advisable to locate it -positively.</p> - -<p>This cousin appeared to have a “grouch,” as Sim called it, -concerning the subject of Boy Scouts. He believed they were an -overrated lot of boys who somehow managed to advertise themselves in -the newspapers, but who, after all, could not begin to “hold a -candle” to some outside fellows of practical experience.</p> - -<p>Some of the correspondence between the cousins when shown to Rob -amused him; and at the same time he could not help feeling just a -little annoyed at the “jabs” which the said Ralph continued to give -the movement.</p> - -<p>More than once he had said he would like to know the Adirondack boy, -because he believed he could manage to convert him and influence him -to join a scout troop.</p> - -<p>The more Rob heard about several activities on the part of Ralph -Jeffords, the greater his interest grew. If the farm boy could show -such surprising aptitude in Nature study and so wide a knowledge of -the habits of wild animals as his interesting letters indicated, Rob -felt sure he would make a most valuable addition to the ranks of the -khaki-clad scouts.</p> - -<p>Hence, when Sim came and read how his cousin had actually invited -him to fetch several of his chums along up to the farm and see what -a fellow who made no pretense to publicity could accomplish in -several lines of outdoor work, Rob “fell” for the scheme instantly. -This expedition was the result of his growing desire to meet Ralph -Jeffords on his own heath and convince him that scouts were not at -all overrated, as he seemed to believe.</p> - -<p>With this short but necessary digression, we can go back again to -the four boys whose lively talk will doubtless explain many other -things connected with their enterprise.</p> - -<p>“Well,” Rob Blake observed in answer to Tubby’s question, “according -to this railroad folder which I got hold of before leaving New York -City, we are right now at a little way-station called Jupiter, and I -figure that Wyoming lies just seven miles further along the line. At -the rate we are going we should be there in ten or twelve minutes.”</p> - -<p>“It ought to be a paying trip for us, I should say,” observed Andy, -thoughtfully. “First of all there’s that stump-blowing business by -the use of dynamite, which I’ve always wanted to see done. Ralph -says they have cleared many acres in that way; and, besides, his -father, being an advanced scientific farmer, is meaning to make use -of dynamite to break up the soil. They say pulverizing it many feet -down has resulted in wonderful crops of grain and garden sass.”</p> - -<p>“For my part,” added Sim, “and I think I speak for Rob, I’m -interested in what my cousin has been doing with his fur farm. You -know, his father fenced in a hundred acres of his wildest land, and -for a year or two now Ralph has been experimenting in raising black -foxes for the market. He hasn’t told me a great deal about it, but -what little I know has excited me a heap.”</p> - -<p>“Then he’s actually succeeded in raising litters of pups, has he?” -asked Tubby.</p> - -<p>“I understand he has succeeded more than fairly well,” answered Sim, -proudly, for it was his own cousin of whom they were speaking, -bearing the family name of Jeffords, too, which counted for a lot -with a boy. “Lately he’s branched out some, and I believe he’s not -only started a skunk farm in a fenced-in corner of his ‘preserves,’ -but is going to try raising mink and otter, something that has -really never been done before.”</p> - -<p>“My stars! but that cousin of yours is ambitious!” gasped Tubby, -though, not much given to energetic movements himself, could at -least admire any one who showed a disposition that way. “The only -thing I ever thought I’d like to raise in that fashion was frogs, -because frogs, you know, have dandy shanks that taste just like -spring chicken. I never could get enough of ’em when we camped out.”</p> - -<p>“Oh! maybe you will up at my cousin’s place,” said Sim, -indifferently, “for he used to have a pond just <i>swarming</i> with -husky bull-frogs as big as your hat. You’ll have a jolly old time -knocking ’em over and fixing ’em for all of us, Tubby.”</p> - -<p>“I agree to handle the job, and would like nothing better,” snapped -the stout boy, his face one broad grin of expectancy, as though an -ambition he had cherished for many a moon was in a fair way of being -realized at last; they could also see Tubby work his jaws as though -his mouth fairly watered at the anticipation of the feasts in store.</p> - -<p>A short time afterward the train was drawing close to Wyoming. -Clouds of smoke told that there was considerable manufacturing done; -and when finally they found themselves going into the station, Rob -made up his mind that the mountain town was a pretty lively place. -He wondered how it ever came that it had never had a scout troop -started; and began to suspect there must be something of the feeling -Ralph Jeffords had voiced impregnating the entire community.</p> - -<p>To himself Rob was saying that it certainly looked as though these -benighted people needed some sort of practical demonstration of the -value to any community an efficient scout troop was always bound to -be. He secretly hoped that before he and his comrades of the Eagle -Patrol left that region an opportunity might arise whereby they -could give these folks an object lesson calculated to bear fruit an -hundred fold.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, little did Rob Blake suspect just then what a -wonderful chance to prove their worth was destined to be offered to -himself and three chums; but in good time all that will be set -before the reader.</p> - -<p>“There’s Ralph!” suddenly ejaculated Sim, as with their luggage in -hand they prepared to leave the car platform, for the train had now -stopped at the station.</p> - -<p>A sturdily built young chap, whom Rob instantly liked at first -sight, advanced toward them. If Ralph was a farmer’s son, he did not -look very countrified; but, then, the fact of his father being -well-to-do had enabled the boy to attend high school, and secure all -the advantages that go with an education.</p> - -<p>Sim grasped him by the hand, though immediately wincing under the -pressure Ralph unconsciously put into his warm welcoming grip. In -turn Sim introduced each of his three chums, who were also given a -sample of country cordiality, Tubby rubbing his fat hand for several -minutes afterwards.</p> - -<p>“I’ve got the old one-horse shay handy here to carry you all up in, -and your duffle ditto,” laughed Ralph, pointing to a rambling car -that looked capable of holding half a dozen passengers, and a -quantity of stuff besides. “She isn’t to be wholly relied on for -stability, because she rocks like a ship in a storm; but that engine -is all right, for I look after it myself.”</p> - -<p>So Rob understood that besides his many other good qualities Ralph -Jeffords must be something of a mechanic, which added to his -interest in the tall country lad. He made up his mind on the spot -that he was going to like Ralph; and more than ever determined he -would win him around to have a much higher opinion of scouts in -general, and those of the Eagle Patrol in particular, before he left -Wyoming for Long Island again.</p> - -<p>They had managed to stow away their suitcases and overcoats, as well -as what fishing tackle they had thought to fetch along in hopes of -having some sport while up there in the mountains, when something -came to pass that for the moment made them forget all their various -plans.</p> - -<p>Tubby was just settling down in a corner of the rear seat, and -trying to get his feet clear of the traps that littered the bottom, -when he suddenly threw out one of his hands and pointed excitedly, -as he cried shrilly:</p> - -<p>“Oh! look, boys, look there at that horse acting crazy! One of the -cinders from the engine must have fallen on his back and burned him. -There, he’s broke loose and is coming this way like a house afire! -Somebody get hold of the reins and stop him!”</p> - -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chII' title='II: “First Aid” Arouses Ralph’s Curiosity'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>Chapter II</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.1em'>“First Aid” Arouses Ralph’s Curiosity</span> -</h2> -<p>It chanced that Ralph was the only one not already in the car, for -he had stepped around to give the crank a toss, and turn over the -engine for making a start.</p> - -<p>As a rule Rob Blake was very quick in his movements, but by the time -he had succeeded in getting his feet free from the various -impediments not yet properly stowed away, and jumped to the ground, -the lively country boy had actually sprung forward, seized the -horse’s bridle, and by throwing his whole weight on the lines -dragged him to a standstill.</p> - -<p>It was splendidly done, and Rob felt that had Ralph only been a -wearer of the khaki he would, because of that act, have been a -candidate for a medal such as is given to scouts for saving human -life.</p> - -<p>The boy who was in the vehicle had unfortunately stood up the better -to pull at the reins, as he shrieked to the runaway animal to stop; -when the sudden halt came he therefore lost his footing, and took a -severe header, landing on one shoulder, with his arm under him.</p> - -<p>Rob shivered as he heard the crash, for he felt certain the poor -chap would suffer some serious injury. Since Ralph seemed capable of -mastering the excited horse, Rob turned toward the writhing boy on -the ground.</p> - -<p>“Give Ralph a hand, Andy!” he called out energetically, accustomed -to handling sudden emergencies, and never for an instant losing his -head. “You come with me, Sim. This boy has been badly hurt, I’m -afraid.”</p> - -<p>The little fellow was groaning terribly as they reached his side, -and trying unsuccessfully to move himself.</p> - -<p>“Oh! it’s broken! it’s broken! What will daddy say?” he kept -moaning.</p> - -<p>Sim saw that his face was ashen white, showing that he must be -suffering great anguish. Rob immediately but gently turned him over. -His right arm sagged in a suspicious manner and told the story.</p> - -<p>“Is it as bad as that, Rob?” asked Sim, in genuine pity for the poor -fellow.</p> - -<p>Already the patrol leader was hastily examining, but it did not take -him long to understand what had happened.</p> - -<div id='i001' class='mt01 mb01 wi001'> - <img src='images/illus-001.jpg' alt='' style='width:100%' /> - <p class='caption'>The patrol leader was hastily examining the little fellow’s arm.</p> -</div> -<p>“Yes, he’s fractured both bones in the lower arm; but in a fairly -decent place between the elbow and wrist. Some one must run for a -doctor in a hurry.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll go,” said Ralph who had by now joined them, leaving Andy to -fasten the still quivering horse to a hitching post; “because I know -just where to find Doc Slimmons. Besides, I can get there quicker by -using the car.”</p> - -<p>He jumped over and quickly had the engine humming like mad. -Meanwhile, Tubby had managed to land, and when the car shot away -Ralph was the only occupant.</p> - -<p>Luckily enough, he actually met the doctor in his own little touring -car, so that he was back again before five minutes had passed. By -that time quite a crowd had gathered. Sim and Andy and Tubby were -employed in forcing the people to keep back, and this they did all -the better because they had long been accustomed to handling excited -crowds consumed either by a morbid curiosity, or by fear as in the -case of a panic.</p> - -<p>Doctor Slimmons asked a few questions. He seemed to be impressed -with the fact that Rob had known just how to act.</p> - -<p>“You say that his left shoulder was also out of place, and that you -pulled the bone into the socket again, my boy? Good for you. That -was the wisest thing to be done under the circumstances. I believe -now that if there was no doctor within reach you would have known -just how to go about handling this broken arm. You see, I happen to -be acquainted with some of the doings of you scouts, because I -served as scout master to a troop in Albany before coming up here to -take a practice.”</p> - -<p>“We have done such things before, Doctor,” said Rob, modestly, “and -with a fair measure of success. This poor boy is suffering terribly, -and I hope you get him home soon.”</p> - -<p>“Would you like to use my car for the job, Doctor?” asked Ralph, who -had listened to what was said with a question in his eyes, though he -knew that was no time to ask what was in his mind.</p> - -<p>“No, if you will assist me in getting him in my car, I can manage -very well; thank you just the same, Ralph. So you stopped the -runaway horse, did you; well, it was just what I would have expected -from you. Let me say it would give me a great deal of satisfaction -personally if khaki suits were more commonly seen on the streets of -Wyoming, where there seems to be a queer feeling against the -movement. There, lift gently, boys; now hold him until I can get in -and fix him comfortably. I’ve given him something to keep him from -fainting, and to deaden the pain as well. Before a great while I’ll -have the arm set in plaster. Thank you all for your assistance,” and -with that he started off, not with a rush, but in a way calculated -to save his young patient as much shock as possible.</p> - -<p>“Well, that was a sudden affair, all told,” remarked Tubby, who had -been greatly exercised because of the white face of the injured boy, -since he could understand what agony of mind and body the victim -must be suffering. “Shall we leave the horse and vehicle here, -Ralph?”</p> - -<p>“Oh! sure,” the other replied; “the boy’s father will come and claim -his property. I only hope he doesn’t blame the kid, because it -really wasn’t his fault. I reckon a red-hot cinder must have fallen -on his back, and stuck there. What was that I heard the Doctor say -about you setting the cub’s left arm that had been dislocated—was -that a fact?”</p> - -<p>“Oh! yes, but that was a simple job,” remarked Rob, smiling at the -decided interest the other seemed to show in the incident.</p> - -<p>“We’ve got a heap more important things to our credit than that, let -me tell you, Ralph,” Sim hastened to boast, when he saw the scout -leader shaking his head at him, as though to beg him not to “blow -his own horn,” but to leave the other find out these interesting -things for himself.</p> - -<p>“Well, suppose we try for a start again,” suggested the chauffeur; -“get settled in your places, boys, while I give the crank a turn.”</p> - -<p>“I wonder,” whispered Tubby to Rob, who chanced to sit next him, -with Andy filling the back seat, and Sim in front alongside the -driver, “I wonder if he begins to think scouts <i>can</i> be worth a -pinch of salt, after all, Rob? You know that was one thing he wrote -in a letter?”</p> - -<p>“Keep quiet,” advised the other, also in a whisper, “and perhaps a -chance will crop up to show him the value of scout education. I’ve -got a hunch we’re due to open some people’s eyes up here. I hope it -turns out that way. Even that young doctor said they were a -narrow-minded lot, you remember, who had a queer antipathy against -scouts and their doings.”</p> - -<p>“Huh! given half a chance and we’ll soon show ’em,” grunted Tubby, -belligerently; and when the fat boy screwed up his features into -what he was pleased to term his “fighting face” he certainly did -look awe-inspiring, indeed.</p> - -<p>They were soon on their way, passing out of the town, and striking a -fair road that took them into the country. Ralph, as they went -along, pointed out a number of interesting features connected with -the landscape, chief of which was the high peak in the distance that -he called Thundertop.</p> - -<p>“They still get bear up in that country,” he remarked, with kindling -eyes that told of the sportsman spirit possessing him, “and deer are -often seen. Fact is, at this season of the year they seem tame, and -do heaps of damage to some of our crops. But since getting -interested in my fur farm I’ve given up hunting.”</p> - -<p>“Same way with us,” Sim hastened to say; “only now we do our hunting -with a camera instead of a gun. I know fellows who used to be just -savage to kill game, but who, nowadays, would ten times rather aim -to snap off pictures, showing all sorts of wild animals in their -native haunts.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve heard about that stunt,” admitted Ralph, “but never met any -one who had done much at it. I hope you’ve thought to fetch some -pictures along with you, Sim; it would sure please me a heap to look -them over.”</p> - -<p>“I’m glad to say I have a pack with me, some of which I captured -myself, while other scouts grabbed the rest. I’ll take great -pleasure in exhibiting the set to you tonight, Cousin Ralph,” and -the speaker gave Rob a wicked little wink as he partly turned his -head, as though to call the attention of the patrol leader to the -interest the other was already showing in regard to some of their -activities.</p> - -<p>Indeed, Rob was growing more deeply in earnest continually with -regard to winning the good opinion of this fine fellow, who it -seemed had for so long been laboring under such a misapprehension -with regard to the value of scout organization.</p> - -<p>Later on he learned that a troop had once been started in Wyoming, -but, unfortunately, the fellows who tried to play the part were not -qualified to serve with credit, nor could they find the right kind -of a scout master who would take an interest in his charges. The -consequence was that the troop went from bad to worse, and committed -such depredations that in the end they had been dismissed from the -service, the wise men at Headquarters declining to have the name of -the organization brought into disrepute in such a scandalous -fashion.</p> - -<p>“Our place is only about eight miles out of town,” Ralph proceeded -to explain, as they continued to glide along at a rapid pace, though -the big roomy car certainly did “wobble” furiously, and the lurches -occasionally made on bad pieces of the roadway tried Tubby’s -patience severely, for his breath was knocked out of his body by the -“jouncing.”</p> - -<p>“Oh! I’m glad of that!” Tubby was heard to say. Tubby may have had -the supper hour in view when he uttered those words, rather than the -rough bouncing he was experiencing.</p> - -<p>“You’ve come in time to see how we knock out some of the stumps in a -piece of former woodland,” remarked the farm boy. “Dad’s doing some -of his plowing with dynamite, just to get in practice for the fall, -when he expects to turn over ten acres that way for an experiment -patch. Yes, and I’ve got heaps and heaps to show you up at my -hatchery and fur farm. I’m already glad you brought your friends -along, Sim. I’ve been hoping to meet some scouts for quite a while; -because, you see, I want to find out in what way they’re different -from other fellows.”</p> - -<p>“Oh! get that idea out of your head in the start, Ralph,” Rob told -him, seriously! “Scouts are always boys, just the same, and with a -pretty good dose of fun in them, as you’ll find. If we do have some -ways that are different from the fellows you happen to know around -Wyoming, I want you to find them out for yourself, because a scout -should never boast of anything he’s done.”</p> - -<p>“Every one of my chums,” chimed in Sim, proudly, “was just wild to -come along with me when they heard of the stunts you were doing up -here. They’re interested a heap in fur farming. I’ve heard Rob here -talking about it for two years back. You’ll be able to give us lots -of valuable pointers, Ralph; not that any of us consider going into -the business as possible rivals.”</p> - -<p>“Shucks! you’re welcome to, if you see fit,” declared the other, -indifferently. “The chances are ten to one against success, unless -you’ve got the right sort of temperament for the job, and, besides, -know all about foxes, and mink, and otter, and skunks. Fortunes can -be made, and fortunes lost in fur farming. It all depends on the way -you go about it. So far I’ve been pretty lucky, if I do say it -myself. Wait a bit until I can show you my plant, that’s all. Here -we are, now, at the entrance of the Jefford Farm.”</p> - -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chIII' title='III: The Young Fur Farmer'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>Chapter III</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.1em'>The Young Fur Farmer</span> -</h2> -<p>“Skunks!” repeated Tubby, with a gasp of surprise, “do you really -mean to tell me you’re raising a colony of those horrible critters -around here, Ralph,” and at that he commenced to sniff the pure -atmosphere most suspiciously, in a manner to make some of the others -laugh uproarously.</p> - -<p>“Wait and see later on,” was all the information Ralph Jeffords -would offer, as they turned in through an open gateway, and motored -up a winding drive that led to the rambling farmhouse.</p> - -<p>The boys were immediately impressed with the air of neatness that -seemed to be a leading feature at the Jeffords farm. Evidently, the -farmer was not only a man of considerable means, but he also liked -to surround himself with conveniences such as few dwellers in this -Adirondack wilderness could afford to possess. Running water, -electricity generated by his own plant, gas made at home, and a -dozen other like comforts attested to his good sense.</p> - -<p>“You see, my father had to come up here to live long ago,” explained -Ralph, when he heard the others express their surprise concerning -these things so unusual in a district removed from town, “and as he -grew to love the place more and more, he kept installing these -conveniences, until now we are fairly comfortable.”</p> - -<p>Tubby felt sure he would like the whole outing first-rate. He even -sniffed the air again vigorously, this time because of a delightful -aroma of cooking that was borne from the kitchen end of the big -farmhouse; for as everybody knew Tubby Hopkins was—well he himself -called it a “connoisseur” when it came to the subject of providing -for the wants of boyish appetites.</p> - -<p>At the door a tall gentleman was waiting to receive them. He, of -course, was the father of Ralph, a sunburned man of rugged build, -who looked as though he enjoyed the best of health, thanks to his -outdoor life; and yet many years before he had come up to this -region expecting to make a last fight against insidious disease.</p> - -<p>“Glad to know you all, boys,” he told them, shaking hands cordially, -while his eyes glistened with pleasure, for it was not often Ralph -had friends visit him, he being a rather peculiar boy and much given -to keeping his own company.</p> - -<p>Supper was soon ready, and although the boys had felt a bit tired -after a day on the train, they were speedily revived once they sat -down to a table that seemed fairly to <i>groan</i> under the weight of -good things.</p> - -<p>Tubby actually slyly pinched himself once or twice as he looked at -the wonderful spread, for he feared he was dreaming. Tubby was -already certain he would like the Jeffords farm very much—all but -those skunks, and somehow that worried him. He had had a former -experience with similar little animals that had given him great -trouble, and caused him to be shunned by every boy in camp during -the rest of their stay in the woods.</p> - -<p>“Huh! once stung, twice shy,” was the way Tubby put it when he -allowed his mind to travel back again to those sorrowful days of the -past.</p> - -<p>Afterwards they gathered in the big living-room, where the -conversation became general. Rob had warned his chums not to attempt -to boast of anything they had seen or done in their capacity as -scouts; but when actually questioned they were at liberty to reply -at length.</p> - -<p>Thus a number of events came to be mentioned, and it could be seen -that both Ralph and his father had their interest aroused. In good -time, just as Sim anticipated, the subject of photography was -brought forward.</p> - -<p>“Oh! yes, Sim!” exclaimed Ralph, suddenly, “you promised to let me -take a look at a bunch of pictures you and some of the other fellows -took—I think you said they were of wild animals you had met in the -woods. Would you mind getting them now, while we have time?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll be only too glad to do it, Ralph,” came the ready reply. -“While I’m about it, Rob, I might as well fetch the little package -of war scenes you fellows managed to snap off over in Belgium and -France when you were there; also of the Panama-Pacific Exposition at -San Francisco.”</p> - -<p>Ralph looked doubly eager on hearing this.</p> - -<p>“Do you mean to tell me, Rob, that you’ve been across the sea, and -actually in the fighting zone where the Germans and the French and -British are scrapping to beat the band?” was what he flashed out.</p> - -<p>“We had that great good fortune,” replied the leader of the Eagle -Patrol, modestly; “and saw a lot of things we’ll never forget to our -dying day. I’ll tell you more about them while you’re looking over -our little collection. They’re not the best pictures we’ve ever -taken, because you know we had only a tiny vest pocket edition of a -camera, and had to snap most of them off on the sly, for we would -have been arrested if caught doing it openly. I see you have a fine -reading glass here on the table, and with that you can get a lot of -good detail work.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I begin to see that I’m going to get real enjoyment out of -this visit you and your chums are paying me, Sim,” acknowledged -Ralph, frankly.</p> - -<p>When later on the pictures were being examined in detail, and there -was always some story connected with every one, he repeated this -expression a dozen times. Sim or one of the others had a lively yarn -to tell of many of the animal pictures—how Mr. Coon, for instance, -was induced to snap off his own likeness while in the act of -stealing a tempting bait, a cord causing the trap to spring, and the -flashlight to flame up, considerably astonishing the invader; also -little adventures of their own while stumbling along through the -darkness to set a snare for some wary old fox that would never come -near the camp.</p> - -<p>Ralph enjoyed these reminiscences hugely. They were quite in line -with his own fads, and more than once he exchanged glances with his -father as though to admit that possibly more enjoyment could be had -in hunting with a camera than while “toting” a murderous shotgun -through the woods in order to kill off the innocent little beasts -and birds that dwelt there.</p> - -<p>Then, when the war pictures were being shown, how eagerly did he ask -dozens of questions, for every boy has it in him to yearn to see -military manœuvres, perhaps a battle royal; though after passing -through one such experience his ideas are apt to change radically.</p> - -<p>Rob was able to give quite graphic descriptions of numerous -thrilling things he and his chums had witnessed, yes, and even -participated in. He told these modestly enough, as though it was -only a matter of course that scouts should lend a helping hand, and -to assist field hospital surgeons take care of desperately wounded -men of both sides who were being brought in by streams.</p> - -<p>At another time Ralph might have felt considerable doubt regarding -the authenticity of these accounts. Somehow, after witnessing the -prompt manner in which Rob had taken care of that unlucky boy thrown -from the vehicle, and suffering not only a broken arm but a -dislocated shoulder as well, it seemed only natural that a wideawake -young chap, such as he realized the scout leader to be, should prove -equal to even greater emergencies.</p> - -<p>Long and earnestly did he scan those small pictures that in many -ways revealed the fact that Rob had indeed been in the war zone, -close to where terrible battles were being daily fought to prove -whether the ideals of the Teuton or those of the Allies were to -prevail from that time forth in the world.</p> - -<p>Finally, Rob grew tired of talking. He turned the tables by starting -Ralph into telling some things connected with his unique enterprise -of fur farming. Once this subject came to the front and the farm boy -was all animation, for it could be easily seen that his heart was in -his peculiar profession.</p> - -<p>“I’d always had ideas on the subject,” he went on to say, “but only -a couple of years ago commenced to put them into practical -operation. Dad gave me a hundred of his wildest acres that could -never be used for anything else, and we had the tract fenced in, -even going down several feet so as to keep my foxes from ever -digging a burrow, and escaping in that way.”</p> - -<p>“Did you catch or buy your first pair of blacks?” asked Rob.</p> - -<p>“Well, as there hasn’t been a wild black fox seen around this -neighborhood for twenty years and more, though plenty of common red -ones,” Ralph explained, “we had to invest some big money for the -first pair. But they had a litter of pups, and it happened that the -little chaps came true to color, all right, though they sometimes -revert back to the old stock, you know. So we got started, and by -trading, selling, and buying I now have just sixteen foxes in my -pen, some young, and others ready to donate their pelts this Fall, -if the market quotations hold up.”</p> - -<p>“About what price do you call a good one?” asked Sim.</p> - -<p>“Oh! all the way from five hundred up to fifteen hundred dollars,” -said Ralph in the most unconcerned way possible; at which Tubby’s -eyes widened, and he exclaimed:</p> - -<p>“Gingersnaps and popguns! but you surely don’t mean that amount of -money for just one little black fox skin, Ralph?”</p> - -<p>“Why, certainly,” the other assured him, smiling at Tubby’s -amazement. “There have been extra fine ones that brought as much as -three thousand dollars. I never expect to raise such expensive -stock. I’m counting on five hundred as the basis of my calculations; -and if you’re fairly successful in raising your litters, there’s -good money in the business at that. Besides, it’s great sport in the -bargain to one who really loves animals, and knows more or less of -their cute ways.”</p> - -<p>“Five hundred dollars for just one little skin!” Tubby was heard to -mutter, as though that struck him as most remarkable. “Well, if you -keep along as you’re going, Ralph, I can see you getting to be a -second Rockefeller before you’re fifty. Now, I don’t suppose a skunk -is quite as valuable an article, though the fellow brave enough to -handle him deserves a fortune, according to my notion.”</p> - -<p>“Oh!” laughed the other, “we’re glad to get from one to three -dollars for a skunk pelt, according to whether it’s jet black, or -striped. Most of them are striped, you know. But wait and you’ll -learn more about these things later on.”</p> - -<p>“Then it’ll have to be at considerable distance for me, I guess,” -affirmed Tubby, with a look of resolution on his broad face, and a -determined shake of his head.</p> - -<p>Upon being encouraged to narrate some of his interesting experiences -while engaged in his odd calling, Ralph gladly complied. The scouts -showed deep curiosity as they plied him with questions. Evidently -there was a good chance for a fair exchange of notes, and it looked -as though both sides would be all the richer for this barter.</p> - -<p>It was found that an extra large room had been set aside for the -boys, with two generous double beds in it. There were four windows, -so they were sure to have an abundance of fresh air while up at the -farm.</p> - -<p>When retiring for the night, at about ten o’clock, amidst sundry -yawns, and more or less stretching of arms, the quartette from -Hampton seemed to agree on one particular thing. This was to the -effect that their stay in the mountains promised to be one of the -most interesting and entertaining of all their experiences. There -were so many new things for them to see, and the environments seemed -so particularly home-like-with royal fare thrown in, Tubby wanted -them to remember as they gave thanks—that a feast awaited them.</p> - -<p>Some of them wished they had come for a month instead of just one -week. But the vacation season was nearing an end, and they had -certain duties and engagements around Hampton that could not be -longer deferred.</p> - -<p>So they finally climbed aboard their several big beds, and Tubby -tried to get the wonderful things he had been hearing out of his -mind, so he could go to sleep.</p> - -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chIV' title='IV: The Black Fox Pen'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>Chapter IV</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.1em'>The Black Fox Pen</span> -</h2> -<p>A grand morning awaited the four boys as they hurriedly dressed, and -then stepped outdoors. Ralph was already afoot, as he had a few -chores to be attended to at the nearby barns, where the grunting of -fat hogs and squealing of smaller pigs, the lowing of fancy cattle -that gave the rich cream they had enjoyed the night before at -supper, as well as horses, sheep, and even some high-priced goats -told how Mr. Jeffords took his country pleasures.</p> - -<p>Then there was a series of houses and yards devoted to poultry, -mostly of the Rhode Island Red and White Leghorn varieties. Just -beyond the boys were delighted to find a pen of beautiful imported -pheasants with magnificent plumage of almost every color of the -rainbow.</p> - -<p>“But try as we would,” confessed Ralph, “we’ve never been very -successful in raising many of those birds. Father thinks they are -not suited to the climate, even up here in the mountains, where it -never gets as hot as down your way. You see, they flourish best in a -country like England, where the winters are mild, and summers fairly -decent. So we just keep that stock for show purposes. Father lost -money in his investment; but it taught us both a lesson. We go in -now for the best native stock of all sorts.”</p> - -<p>Breakfast even raised the good opinion Tubby already entertained -toward the woman who did the cooking. When he found that she was a -genuine Southern “mammy,” for the Jeffords originally used to be -slave-owners down in South Carolina, he could understand how she -made such jolly cornbread, and why they had hominy on the table -every morning of their stay.</p> - -<p>Now they had the first day before them, and there would be much to -interest them.</p> - -<p>“First thing you want to watch,” Ralph went on to say as they still -sat around the table, though no one could eat another mouthful of -food, “is the way we smash our big stumps up here. It’s always well -worth seeing to a novice, though long ago we became so accustomed of -harnessing dynamite, and making it do our work for us, that we take -things as a matter of course.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose,” said Andy Bowles, reflectively, “it’s just like folks -who have electricity, and use it for cooking, ironing, making toast, -heating water in a hurry, and a thousand-and-one other things; so -before long they look on it as a servant in the house, always to be -started working by the touch of a button.”</p> - -<p>Once outside and the boys were led to a distant part of the farm, -where the wood lot still remained. Here several men were busily -engaged in blasting out stumps of trees that had previously been cut -down, and carted away in one shape or other.</p> - -<p>The dynamite cartridge was placed properly, being connected by a -wire with a battery at some little distance away. Then at a signal -the operator made his connection, there would follow a sharp report -quite different from a powder explosion or the roar of big guns over -on the battle lines in Europe. After that the stump would be lifted -bodily from its lodgings and could be carted away, either whole or, -as usually happened, in fragments.</p> - -<p>Rob was particularly interested in the operation. He examined -everything connected with the simple apparatus, and asked a number -of questions concerning the outfit. No one dreamed how valuable the -information he thus received was going to prove before a great time -had elapsed.</p> - -<p>“Of course, if you are doing all these stunts with dynamite, Ralph,” -he finally remarked, “you must keep quite a stock of the explosive -on hand all the time?”</p> - -<p>“We have to,” he was told, without hesitation. “It is kept locked up -in that little stone house we passed coming up here, and father -himself doles out the day’s supply. The stuff is a little too -dangerous, and costly, too, to be left around loose.”</p> - -<p>“I should say so,” admitted Tubby, who had listened to all this talk -with interest, though never for a minute dreaming that it would -enter into any affair in which they would be connected.</p> - -<p>“You see,” continued Ralph, always willing to supply information, -“we have it so arranged that we can carry several cartridges, as -well as the coil of wire and the battery, on this little hand-cart -that one man can push. So we can go to any part of the farm. Once we -drove twenty miles with the outfit to clear up a tract for a -gentleman who had never seen stumps blown to pieces in this way.”</p> - -<p>Rob thought that was a clever idea. He impressed it upon his mind, -though had he been asked why he did this he might have found it -difficult to answer, except to say that he always liked to store -such interesting facts away for future reference.</p> - -<p>“How about that plowing with dynamite?” asked Sim. “Will Uncle Simon -be doing any of that today, do you expect, Ralph?”</p> - -<p>“I hardly think so,” the other replied. “It was laid out for -tomorrow, and one gang working along those lines is enough at a -time. The next thing on the morning’s programme is a visit to my fur -farm. Are you feeling fit for a little walk?”</p> - -<p>“We’re crazy to be on the jump,” affirmed Sim. “You must know that -scouts hike a great deal, which is one thing that makes for their -good health. Even Tubby here is pretty good at tramping, though you -wouldn’t think it to look at his build. He has plenty of grit, and -will stick everlastingly to anything he attempts, even if laboring -under a handicap that none of the rest of us have to stand.”</p> - -<p>Tubby had to bow to Sim after this compliment.</p> - -<p>“Oh! I’ve got plenty of grit,” he admitted, “but there are times -when I puff and blow terribly. That can’t be helped, you know. I’m -built on such a generous order that I have to carry a heap more -weight than most fellows.”</p> - -<p>Presently they started forth, chattering like magpies as they walked -along. The section of the big farm given over to Ralph’s experiment -in fur raising was quite some distance from the house, being an -angle where the primeval woods covered most of the “soil,” which, by -the way, happened to be pretty much rock.</p> - -<p>On the road they came across a pond where there were rushes, and -plenty of frog-spawn floating on the water. Tubby became interested -at once.</p> - -<p>“Oh! listen to the bass chorus, will you?” he ejaculated. “Why, -there must be a dozen huskies keeping time if there’s one. Oh! see -that monster on the bank! Say, I can count three more big greenbacks -sunning themselves on the mud near the edge of the water. Whew! but -it makes my mouth water just to think of the <i>delicious</i> messes a -fellow can pick up here any old day.”</p> - -<p>Ralph laughed good-naturedly.</p> - -<p>“Then consider yourself appointed official frog hunter for the -crowd,” he told Tubby, whose eyes glistened at hearing the joyous -news. “You can have just as many as you want to eat while up here. -Somehow, I don’t seem to care much for frogs’ legs myself, nor does -dad. When we hanker after chicken we get chicken, and if it’s fish -we want, we go out for trout or bass; but the combination doesn’t -appeal to us.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you a dozen times, Ralph, for giving me the promise of a -smashing good feast. I’m abnormally fond of them. When you ship a -batch of frogs’ legs down to New York markets, how do you go after -them? They jump so swift that it’s always hard for me to corral any. -At home I use a short pole with two feet of line, and a red fly at -the end, pushing close enough to dangle the said fly before the nose -of Mr. Frog, who grabs it in a hurry.”</p> - -<p>“Oh! we don’t bother with all that fuss up here,” explained Ralph. -“I have a little Flobert rifle that I knock ’em over with. You could -get a hundred in a morning without much trouble. I’ll lend it to you -any time you want, Tubby.”</p> - -<p>That completed the delight of the fat boy, who, in imagination, -already saw himself feasting on his favorite dish to his heart’s -content.</p> - -<p>“It’s going to be lots of fun for Tubby,” remarked Andy, -quizzically, “but all the same it’s bound to be death to the frogs.”</p> - -<p>“Well, what good are the slippery things, except to serve as food -for people, I’d like to know? As singers they’re a miserable -failure, and all their lives, from the time they’re tadpoles up to -when they weigh two solid pounds, they never do any particular good -till they are served on the table, browned to a crisp, and making -honest boys’ hearts send up their thanksgiving.”</p> - -<p>“No use trying to convince Tubby about the sin of sacrificing things -to satisfy his appetite,” laughed Rob. “He’s committed to the idea -that everything was put on this earth for one great purpose, which -was to cater to the wants of man.”</p> - -<p>“Well, isn’t getting good and hungry one of man’s greatest -troubles?” Tubby immediately demanded, triumphantly. “Hasn’t he been -given dominion over all the fowls of the air, the fishes of the -waters, and the animals that populate the woods in order to sustain -his life? That’s my way of looking at it, so there you are.”</p> - -<p>As usual, Tubby’s argument was unanswerable, and as they left the -noisy frog pond in the rear, the fat boy cast a happy glance back at -the watery stretch, as though anticipating royal good times around -that vicinity later on.</p> - -<p>After a while they came to a wilder stretch of country. Rob knew -then that the fur farm was close at hand, and presently they caught -glimpses of the high fence surrounding the tract given over to this -unique enterprise.</p> - -<p>“I wanted to ask if you ever had any of your foxes stolen, Ralph?” -Sim was inquiring as they pushed on. “When a single black fox pelt -is worth hundreds of dollars, it strikes me that some unscrupulous -men might scheme to sneak in on you and try to clean out your farm.”</p> - -<p>“Well, they couldn’t do that, because the foxes are mighty cunning,” -the proprietor explained. “They would have to set traps, and come -and go. I’ve figured all that out, and taken proper precautions -against losing any of my prizes. One of the men stays up here day -and night, and I often join him. He has a cabin inside the -enclosure; and, besides, we have a way of detecting it if any -intruder should try to climb the fence. Electricity is a great -agent, you know, Sim.”</p> - -<p>He did not take the trouble to explain further, so the boys could -only guess what he meant. Rob believed that there must be a wire -running along the top of the fence, and that every night an electric -current was turned on, after the manner in which empty dwelling -houses are protected in big cities by a firm that guarantees against -their being entered and robbed during the absence of the owners.</p> - -<p>If this were so, it would mean that Ralph was clever, and -up-to-date. Rob found himself admiring the other more than ever. He -also meant to win Ralph over to a new way of looking at scout -activities before they departed from that region. Such a wideawake -and enterprising boy certainly should be enrolled in the ranks where -his influence would be for the upbuilding of other fellows’ -character.</p> - -<p>In other words, Rob believed that Wyoming was horribly behind the -times in not encouraging a regular scout troop; and he hoped that -this fault could be remedied before a great while, to the betterment -of the community and every growing lad around Wyoming. Because an -irresponsible group of fellows had once organized and tried to carry -out the ideas of the Boy Scouts without any real authorization from -Headquarters was no reason the experiment should not be tried again, -this time starting from the right base.</p> - -<p>Once inside the enclosure, they found many things to interest them. -Tubby expressed himself wild to set eyes on a genuine black fox. He -had often seen the common red variety, but something that was -especially valuable appealed to his curiosity.</p> - -<p>So, to oblige him, Ralph uttered a little call that, after being -repeated several times, brought a response. They could see a -dark-colored object creeping toward them, but it would not come very -close.</p> - -<p>“Usually Timmy will come up and eat food out of my hand,” said -Ralph; “but, like all his breed, he’s a timid little duck, and -doesn’t take to strangers. So that’s about all you’ll see of him -today.”</p> - -<p>At the first movement one of them made the fox vanished like a -streak.</p> - -<p>“He’s lit out,” said Tubby, in a disappointed tone. “I’m sorry, too, -because I’d like to say I’d petted a black fox. But, Ralph, between -us, he looked sort of silver-colored, you know?”</p> - -<p>“Some people call them silver foxes,” the grower of fine fur -explained. “In some lights they do look silver gray, and then again -dense black. But their fur is the silkiest known, which is one -reason it commands such a big price; it isn’t coarse like that of -other foxes. You know the difference between a common cart animal -and a thoroughbred Kentucky race horse; well, and black fox is of -that racer breed.”</p> - -<p>They naturally talked more or less of the chances of such an -enterprise succeeding, and Ralph learned that Rob Blake was pretty -well posted about all such things.</p> - -<p>“We are taking a chance, you understand,” he remarked, after Rob had -asked several questions, “but we think we are on the way to making -the venture a profitable one. Like everything else that deserves -success, you have to work like a beaver, and put your whole soul -into it, day and night. It’s eternal vigilance in raising fur, -because we have all sorts of enemies to fight against.”</p> - -<p>“Enemies?” repeated Tubby. “What do you mean by that, Ralph?”</p> - -<p>“Oh! some disease may get into your pen, just as sometimes happens -to chicken fanciers, and cleans them out. Foxes are liable to -disease, and also to insect pests that make the fur less valuable. -Then eagles and hawks are always ready to pick up a fat young fox if -they get a chance, not to speak of raiding wildcats. My man always -carried a gun with him when making his rounds.”</p> - -<p>“And has he often had to use it to protect your fox litters?” asked -Tubby.</p> - -<p>“We’ve killed quite a few birds that meant to rob me of the profits -of my labor,” Ralph answered, “and one wildcat was shot close to -this place; but so far as I know up to now I haven’t lost a single -pelt. We count our animals every day at feeding time. I’ll fix it -later on so you can see the whole pen at once by staying hidden in a -tree while we call them around. Now let’s move along, because you -will want to see my other pens containing the mink, otter, and -skunks.”</p> - -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chV' title='V: An Uninvited Visitor'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>Chapter V</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.1em'>An Uninvited Visitor</span> -</h2> -<p>“You’ll excuse me, boys,” observed Tubby, naively, “if I stop to tie -my shoe lace. I’ll catch up with you right away, or hang on to your -wake, which will answer just as well.”</p> - -<p>Sim chuckled as though amused.</p> - -<p>“Bless his heart,” he remarked to Ralph, who had not exactly -understood, “Tubby has a natural prejudice against skunks. It was -honestly earned, too.”</p> - -<p>Then he rapidly went on to sketch the adventure that had taken place -once upon a time when Tubby was green to the woods, telling how the -other upon running across a skunk for the first time thought it a -“cute” little animal just such as he wanted for a camp pet; and -after trying to get it in a corner so as to pounce on it, Tubby -wished he hadn’t—also how he was banished from active participation -in the delightful times they had later on simply because the other -fellows refused to associate with him.</p> - -<p>All this amused Ralph greatly.</p> - -<p>“Well, I admit that it’s mighty dangerous for any one to bother with -skunks, for they are timid animals, and mistrust every one they -don’t know,” he stated. “I move around among them without any -trouble. They feed from my hand, and I’ve taken up several of them -just as you would a tabby at home. I admit that eternal vigilance is -the price of safety when near them. You must be on the alert -continually, and never do anything to startle them.”</p> - -<p>“Well, a bee man near our town told me bees were handled along the -same lines,” Andy Bowles added. “Those who handle the frames full of -honeycomb, and swarming with bees must be cool chaps. Smoking helps -some, for bees seem to think the hive is in danger, and begin to -load up with honey right away. It seems that when a bee is carrying -all the honey it can stagger under it isn’t liable to get busy with -its sting.”</p> - -<p>They now arrived at the part of the big enclosure given over to the -striped animals with the bushy tails and the small heads. Tubby -stayed far back, and kept on the anxious seat all the time. No -inducement could tempt him to join the others.</p> - -<p>“I’m not immune, if you fellows are,” he called out, when they tried -to coax him along. “I know when I’m well enough off, too, and some -people don’t seem to understand that fine point. Don’t bother with -me, boys; go ahead and investigate; but I hope you’ll be wise enough -to let Ralph do all the handling of his pets. Ugh!”</p> - -<p>So they left Tubby there to await their return. Ralph showed them -through the skunk preserve, explaining many things connected with -the curing of skins so that they would have a marketable value.</p> - -<p>“You see, there’s getting to be a shorter crop of the best skins -every year to meet a growing demand,” he proceeded, after the manner -of one who had the points at his fingers’ ends from constant study. -“That means commoner pelts have to take the place of those that are -falling off. Many of these are muskrat and skunk skins, and even the -common house tabby is called on to help tide over the shortage. What -with a skillful use of dyes, and even the sewing of white hairs in -black skins, they manage to deceive the public.”</p> - -<p>He showed them how he could feed some of his queer pets. Tubby at a -distance was holding his hands together, and looking very much -distressed when he saw a dozen of the striped animals all around -Ralph, and acting like chickens on the farm when grain was being -thrown to them.</p> - -<p>Later on, when the boys were thinking of turning away and continuing -their investigations further, they heard a great outcry from near at -hand.</p> - -<p>“Hey! Ralph, everybody come quick, and chase this skunk away! He’s -bent on making up to me, and I can see from the way he looks that he -just knows I’m a hater of his species. Oh! please hurry and save -me!”</p> - -<p>Laughing at the frantic appeal in Tubby’s voice, they hastened -toward him, to find that the fat boy in desperation had actually -climbed a tree, while a very small specimen of the inmates of the -corral was moving about below, now and then looking upward, as if -wondering why he was not given something to eat, as usual.</p> - -<p>They rescued Tubby by Ralph coaxing the “terrible beast” to move -away. Tubby looked red in the face, and also seemed to be a little -ashamed at having shown the white feather.</p> - -<p>“Well, I admit it was a bad case of rattles with me,” he said, with -a grimace; “but, then, there’s a reason. I’ve been there before, and -I know that the smaller they are the more likely you may be to get -them angry. But all’s well that ends well. I’m glad you’re done with -this particular pen. Now show us your mink and otter, won’t you, -Ralph?”</p> - -<p>“I can show you where I keep them, and what I’ve done to induce them -to feel at home and multiply,” replied the other, “but I doubt -whether we catch sight of a single member of the community. They are -that shy they seldom come out in the daytime. As to feeding them, -all we have to do is to see that there are plenty of fish in the -brook that runs through the lot.”</p> - -<p>“But if that brook comes and goes, what’s to prevent your -high-priced mink and otter from following it out?” inquired Andy, -who never liked to puzzle over anything unnecessarily when the -answer could be obtained simply by asking.</p> - -<p>“Oh! we’ve fixed that by a regular barred gate at either end,” -explained Ralph. “The water can escape, ditto very small fish; but -we keep larger ones stocked in the stream; and those fur-coated -fishers can always get a mess.”</p> - -<p>“And I suppose,” suggested Rob, deeply interested, “that if you ever -do think they’ve increased in number, and you feel like taking your -toll of the bunch, you’ll have to set regular mink and otter traps -in the water to catch them with?”</p> - -<p>“That’s what it’ll amount to,” admitted the other, “but understand -that I’m not building any great hopes of more than getting my money -back on this mink and otter venture. I don’t believe any one has, so -far, been very successful raising them artificially. Some animals, -you know, will not breed in captivity. But I’m making the -experiment, and later on will let you know how it turns out.”</p> - -<p>“Show us how that water gate works, will you, Ralph?” suggested his -cousin, who always liked to examine anything that excited his -interest—Tubby had also been that way once, but since a bitter -experience he had shown more commendable caution, and was ready to -take some things for granted.</p> - -<p>“Certainly, if you come this way with me,” the fur farmer replied. -“Here’s the creek, you see, and in some of these little burrows -among the rocks and in the earth the mink and otter lie in safety. -Right now I warrant you more than one pair of bright eyes watches -every move we make, though you couldn’t discover the animal if you -had a field-glass along.”</p> - -<p>In this fashion he continued to tell them many interesting things -connected with his study of wild animal life; some of which were new -even to Rob, who had had an extended acquaintance with such subjects -ranging over a long experience. The subject was very fascinating to -all of the scouts, even Tubby declaring that he was beginning to -take quite some stock in the study of small game animals, “all but -one kind that somehow don’t seem to appeal to me,” he went on to -say, whereupon, of course, Sim had to hastily remark:</p> - -<p>“Huh! some of the boys are still of the opinion that they <i>do</i> -appeal to you pretty strongly, Tubby; but there, let it pass. I just -couldn’t help saying it, you know.”</p> - -<p>They saw the tracks of the timid mink and otter along the edge of -the stream where they fished for their dinners daily, but did not -catch even a fleeting view of a member of the little fur colony.</p> - -<p>Coming to the high fence among the trees, they found where the brook -passed out. The “gate” mentioned by Ralph was a well-built one, made -of stout lumber, and with iron bars close together, between which -the water could always pass, but no animal find either an exit or -entrance.</p> - -<p>“Sometimes, after a storm, we have to clear this grating,” Ralph -told them, “for it catches and holds all sorts of floating stuff, -such as dead wood and the like. So far it seems to answer our -purpose. Our last census of the inmates showed that they were all -here, and that there was a pair of whelps with one set of the -mink—if that is what you call them, perhaps cubs, eh, Rob?”</p> - -<p>“Well, I hardly know how to answer that,” confessed the other. “If I -wanted to speak of them, I’d likely say baby mink, or youngsters. It -would be a feather in your cap, Ralph, if you did succeed where so -many others have fallen down. I’m sure we all wish you the best luck -going.”</p> - -<p>“That’s right!” declared Tubby, emphatically. “I admire pluck -wherever I see it; and somebody has always got to be a pioneer in -every movement that succeeds over many failures.”</p> - -<p>“You see, the woods are pretty dense over in this section,” -explained the fur farmer, “and there’s always danger that some wild -beast may slip in here when Pete and myself are away, to make a haul -of my property. It would be a hard blow if I came along here some -day and found that my mink colony had been cleaned out.”</p> - -<p>As though his words had been carried to hostile ears and aroused a -storm of protest, at that very moment there came a growl so savage -that it made Tubby tremble. He stared straight up into the tree from -which the sound seemed to proceed, pointed a quivering finger, and -gasped the one word:</p> - -<p>“Wildcat!”</p> - -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chVI' title='VI: Peleg Pinder’s Heavy Load'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>Chapter VI</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.1em'>Peleg Pinder’s Heavy Load</span> -</h2> -<p>“Don’t move!”</p> - -<p>Tubby knew that when Rob Blake spoke in that tense way he meant what -he said; so, although he felt an inclination to shrink back from -that terrible vision of an enraged bobcat, he managed to grit his -teeth together and hold his ground.</p> - -<p>Ralph, Sim and Andy took the admonition to heart as well as did the -fat boy, for they seemed rooted to their tracks, all staring as hard -as they could up into the lower branches of the tree just in front.</p> - -<p>The cat could be plainly seen crouching there, with its ears -flattened against its head, after the manner of all enraged felines. -It was a pretty “hefty” specimen of its kind, too, Rob saw, much -larger and more powerful than the ordinary cat.</p> - -<p>Undoubtedly, it “sensed” a feast beyond the boundary fence, and had -started to pay a neighborly visit with dinner in mind when -interrupted by the approach of the five boys. Being accustomed to -lording it over other animals in its native forests, the wildcat did -not fancy beating a retreat simply because some of those two-legged -creatures chose to cross its path.</p> - -<p>That ominous growl was meant as a warning to them to beware how they -incurred its animosity. From the way in which its haunches had -settled upon the limb, it appeared as though the beast might be in -readiness to make a leap; and it was because of this that Rob had -instantly hissed those words.</p> - -<p>At the time it chanced he was just a little in the advance; hence -his position was more inclined to be a perilous one than could be -said of his companions. None of them had any weapon handy with which -to defend themselves in case the animal really attacked them; though -Sim and Andy immediately began to use their eyes to advantage in the -hope of being able to see a club of some sort, always the first -resort of a boy in trouble.</p> - -<p>“Tell us what to do, Rob!” urged Sim, who had actually discovered -the cudgel he wanted to possess, yet did not dare make a move toward -getting it in his grip lest by so doing he tempt the savage beast to -spring.</p> - -<p>“Stand perfectly still!” ordered the patrol leader. “You can do more -good that way than by moving. If we all just stare at him, he’ll -soon get uneasy, not knowing what to make of such a mysterious -crowd. Animals hate to look into human eyes, they say. I’ve stared a -dog out of countenance that way myself.”</p> - -<p>“Huh!” grunted Tubby, remembering how he had once tried that same -game himself with a barking puppy, getting down on his hands and -knees to manage better, only to have the little varmint instantly -seize hold of his nose and hang on.</p> - -<p>“How would it do for all to give a big yell together?” suggested -Ralph.</p> - -<p>“That might make him jump, I take it,” replied Andy Bowles, wishing -he had his bugle handy, for with it he could sound a shrill blast -that would surely cause the impudent cat to retreat in haste.</p> - -<p>“Yes, it would startle him, all right,” admitted Rob, “but he might -jump the wrong way, and at us. Better try my scheme; it can do no -harm, and I don’t think he’ll attack us unless we begin the fight.”</p> - -<p>“I see a bully club close by my feet, Rob.”</p> - -<p>“Well, don’t bother trying to get hold of it just yet,” urged the -other. “But if he should leap at me, see to it you grab that club in -a big hurry, and let him have it with a smack. Steady, now, you can -see the beast’s beginning to get uneasy right along.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, you’re right, he is, Rob,” admitted Ralph, with a vein of -relief in his voice, for no fellow can entertain the idea of -battling bare-handed with a fierce four-footed adversary without -shivering; and Ralph knew only too well how even a scratch from the -claws of a carnivorous animal may cause blood poisoning if not -properly treated in time.</p> - -<p>So they all continued to stand there as nearly like statues as their -various dispositions would allow, keeping up a battery of staring -looks that must have more or less bewildered the intruder.</p> - -<p>Tubby heaved a great sigh. It was additionally hard on him, this -trying to keep absolutely still, lest by moving an attack be -precipitated, the end of which none of them could see.</p> - -<p>“Gee whiz! isn’t he ever going to skip out?” he groaned, feeling the -drops of perspiration gathering on his forehead, and running down -his stubby nose, yet being deprived of the satisfaction of taking -out his red bandanna and wiping his streaming face as he would have -liked.</p> - -<p>“Have a little more patience, Tubby,” pleaded Sim. “He’s getting -ready to vamoose the ranch, I tell you. There, didn’t you see how he -took a quick peek behind him? They say that in a fight the man who -looks back is the one who is getting whipped, because he’s thinking -of beating it. Watch, now, and be ready to give him a parting whoop -if he does jump over the fence again.”</p> - -<p>The strange bobcat somehow found it unpleasant to remain there on -private grounds, and with those five queer creatures facing him so -mutely. They meant him harm, of that he must have concluded, and -perhaps he had better postpone his intended feast on plump fox cubs -or young mink. Night would be a better time for his hunting; and a -retreat could not be called dishonorable when the enemy counted five -against one.</p> - -<p>So, finally, he made a quick backward jump that allowed of a new -perch just over the dividing fence. This movement was the signal for -a sudden change of policy on the part of the boys, for they burst -into a series of loud shouts, and Sim instantly darted forward to -secure the coveted club.</p> - -<p>The wildcat, having concluded to pull out and evidently not liking -those aggressive sounds, continued its flight, growling savagely as -it went, and looking back once before finally disappearing amidst -the foliage of the trees beyond the high fence.</p> - -<p>“That was an adventure, sure enough!” exclaimed Sim, breathing hard -after his recent exertions. “Just to think of our running across -such a tough customer when Ralph here was speaking about troublesome -pests. Do you reckon this was his first visit to your pens, Ralph?”</p> - -<p>“I hope and believe so,” the other replied, frowning at the same -time. “I would hate to learn that it had become a habit with him. -Besides, we have seen no signs around to indicate that he’d ever -been here before. But the rascal has scented my pets, and will give -us no peace until he’s done for.”</p> - -<p>“I should say the same thing!” declared Rob. “It’s just like a wolf -that threatens a sheep-fold, there can be no safety until he’s been -potted.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll see Pete at once,” continued the other, with a look of -determination on his strong face, “and start him out with the dogs. -If they’re lucky they’ll get on the track of the beast before -sundown and, I hope, knock him over.”</p> - -<p>The conversation then was mostly of the woods, and Ralph as well as -some of the others mentioned a number of curious circumstances that -had come under their observation while camping out. Ralph had -formerly been quite a hunter and trapper whenever he had an -opportunity, though, as he confessed, latterly the sport seemed to -be palling upon him somewhat.</p> - -<p>“To tell the truth, Sim,” he said, as they strolled back toward the -distant farmhouse, after seeing Pete and starting him off with the -dogs to look for traces of the feline thief, “I’m getting to be -interested in that scheme of hunting with a camera, and I think I’ll -take it up soon. There are plenty of good chances for doing -something of that sort around here, you know. I want you to put me -wise to all the wrinkles of the game before you say goodbye, which I -hope won’t be for quite some time yet.”</p> - -<p>“What are we going to do this afternoon, boys?” asked Andy.</p> - -<p>“Well, if that question is aimed at me,” ventured Tubby, quickly, “I -know what I’d like to do, that is if Ralph happens to have plenty of -ammunition for that bully little Flobert rifle of his. Frogs for -mine, thank you. One thing I like about this scheme of shooting the -jumpers is it doesn’t seem half as cruel as catching them with a -hook, even if you do intend to put them out of their misery soon -afterwards.”</p> - -<p>Tubby was known to have a tender heart, and would not hurt anything -if he could possibly help it.</p> - -<p>Ralph proposed that if the others felt inclined, they might make a -run out to a certain lake he knew, where they would likely have a -pleasant time.</p> - -<p>“Whether we get any bass or not we’ll certainly enjoy the run with -you, Ralph,” Rob told him. “As we’ve gone to the trouble to fetch -some rods and fishing tackle along, it would be a pity not to wet -the lines just once. So far as I’m concerned, I only too gladly say -‘yes’ to your proposition.”</p> - -<p>Sim and Andy immediately voiced their sentiments in the same way, -and so it was settled. Tubby would be fixed out with the small -Flobert rifle and a supply of ammunition, also rubber boots, for he -might have to do some wading in order to retrieve his game after -shooting it. He promised to have a mess of frogs’ legs ready for the -evening meal when the boys came back.</p> - -<p>“See to it that you fellows do your duty with the gamey bass!” he -called out as the other four piled into the big car, ready to start -forth.</p> - -<p>“I heard you call that young chap, who was filling the gas tank, -Peleg; is he one of the workmen on the farm, Ralph?” Rob asked after -they had gotten fairly started, for he chanced to be sitting -alongside the driver at the time, the other boys occupying the rear -seat.</p> - -<p>He saw that Ralph had a slight frown on his face, as though -something unpleasant had come into his mind just then, possibly -induced by mention of the name.</p> - -<p>“Yes, his name is Peleg Pinder,” he replied in jerky sentences. “His -father was a sort of hard case in Wyoming, and the family seemed to -be always in a peck of trouble. Some folks said the children’d all -be worthless, just like their good-for-nothing dad. Then there was a -fire, and Peleg’s father was burned trying to save an old crippled -woman. Somehow people thought better of him after he died. The -children scattered. One girl is working for a farmer seven miles -away. My father took Peleg in, and gave him a home. Been with us six -months or so now.”</p> - -<p>“How about his work—he seems lively enough, and good-natured. In -fact,” continued Rob, “I rather like the sparkle in his eyes.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, he fooled me right along, too,” said Ralph, with a trace of a -sneer in his tone. “He does his work so you couldn’t really find any -fault; but then it’s hard to shake off a bad name, and the Pinders -always were shiftless and deceitful, Wyoming folks believe.”</p> - -<p>Rob was interested at once, and for a reason. He hated to see any -one “picked on” simply because “people” chose to believe no good -could come out of a family that had a shirker for a father. Why, the -very fact that poor Pinder had died while performing an act of -heroism ought to be enough to prove that such a wholesale -condemnation was utterly wrong.</p> - -<p>“You’ve got some sort of reason for saying that, I imagine, Ralph?” -he continued, bent on discovering the truth now that he was at it.</p> - -<p>“Well, I have, though I didn’t mean to mention it to any of you, -because for one thing I wanted you to have a jolly time of it here, -and without bothering about any of my troubles. Then, again, I hate -to speak ill of anybody, even Peleg Pinder.”</p> - -<p>“What has he been doing, then, to make you suspect him?” demanded -Rob.</p> - -<p>After hesitating for a brief interval, as though he hardly knew just -how much to say, Ralph went on to explain.</p> - -<p>“Hang it all,” he commenced, “I hate to say a word about it, because -it makes me feel mean, just as if I might be picking on a poor chap -who hadn’t any other friends but my folks, and who’s got a heavy -enough load as it is. Believe me, I haven’t so much as breathed a -word of this to dad. He’d fire Peleg if he knew, and then I might be -sorry. But I’m honestly up a stump trying to decide what I ought to -do.”</p> - -<p>“Tell me about it then, Ralph; perhaps I might be able to help you -out?” suggested the other.</p> - -<p>“All right, then, I will!” declared the driver, as he skillfully -avoided a hole in the road ahead. “About three days ago I made a -little discovery that bothered me. It seemed that some one was -helping themselves to some things I kept in that room out in the -barn, a place I had fitted up a long while ago as a sort of boy’s -den, you know, where I kept all my treasures, books, games, stamp -collection and coins, as well as a lot of other things.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I remember you showing us, though you didn’t stay in there -long, I noticed,” Rob went on to remark, significantly.</p> - -<p>“That was because I felt bad about something,” explained Ralph. -“Fact is, I had just made an unpleasant discovery, which was to the -effect that some one had for the second time been poking around -among my things, and carried off a number of packets of valuable -stamps that I knew positively I had left there on the desk, meaning -to return them to the dealer.”</p> - -<p>“But if this happened once before,” said Rob, “how did it come you -neglected to put a padlock on the door?”</p> - -<p>“I had my reasons,” answered Ralph stoutly, and with a flash of fire -in his eyes. “First, because I hated to think that anything had to -be locked up so as to keep employees about the place from helping -themselves. Second, I wasn’t quite sure that my first loss was a -certainty. Then again, Rob, I was figuring on laying some sort of -trap so as to catch the rascal in the act, and settle the business.”</p> - -<p>“But now you are sure a light-handed fellow has taken your things, -what do you expect to do about it?” queried Rob.</p> - -<p>“I ought to warn my father,” said the other, regretfully. “He hates -a thief above all things. I’m sure he would discharge Peleg in a -hurry. You see, Peleg has always been allowed to enter my den as he -pleased; in fact, anybody could, because I trust the men who work -for us.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” Rob continued, significantly, “I hope before you tell your -father you let me try to identify the thief, because I don’t believe -it can be Peleg Pinder.”</p> - -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chVII' title='VII: Turning It Over to Rob'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>Chapter VII</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.1em'>Turning It Over to Rob</span> -</h2> -<p>Ralph turned hastily and gave Rob a strange look. Unconsciously he -was already beginning to realize that Rob Blake could always be -depended on to do the right thing when it came to a question of -action.</p> - -<p>“You’ve got a reason for talking like that, I’m sure, Rob?” he -observed.</p> - -<p>“I admit it,” came the answer, without the slightest hesitation. -“Tell me first if you positively know that Peleg took your things?”</p> - -<p>“Well, the evidence is only what you might call circumstantial,” -admitted the other. “I remembered seeing him going hurriedly out of -the barn an hour before I showed you and the rest of the fellows -through there. He acted a bit guilty. I thought he avoided us; but -the poor fellow has always been somewhat shy about meeting -strangers, because he must know some mention will be made of his -history, and that of his family. No, I can’t say I’ve got any -positive proof he is the guilty one, if that’s what you mean.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell you something, Ralph,” said the patrol leader, quietly. -“Perhaps it may not mean much to you; but when a fellow becomes a -scout, you see, he begins to study character, and notices a good -many little things that show which way the wind blows, just as -straws are said to do.”</p> - -<p>“Go on, then, please; I’ll be glad to hear what you have to say, -Rob.”</p> - -<p>“It happened that when I was alone this morning I took a little -stroll back of the barns, just to amuse myself by looking at the -pigs, for they’re always amusing, in my mind. There I ran across -Peleg, though at the time I didn’t know that was his name, or -anything about him. What do you suppose the boy was doing?”</p> - -<p>“Oh! I couldn’t guess in a year,” replied the other.</p> - -<p>“Well, he had managed to pick up a young crow that had in some way -broken its wing and couldn’t fly,” continued Rob, with a smile. “I -suppose it would have been put out of its misery in a hurry by any -ordinary farm hand; and perhaps Peleg himself might have fired at -the black thieves if he found them getting at the corn in the field. -But a wounded bird, and one in pain, distressed him. He was trying -to mend that broken wing, and I found myself interested in watching -how he succeeded.”</p> - -<p>“That’s sure a queer thing for a farm boy to do,” admitted Ralph. -“What could have been his idea, do you think?”</p> - -<p>“I imagine he had more than one,” Rob replied, soberly enough. “In -the first place, he was sorry for the poor thing, for he handled it -as tenderly as if it had been a human being. Then I actually suspect -that the boy has, deep down in his heart, a vague desire to do -surgical work, though you might find it hard to believe.”</p> - -<p>Ralph whistled.</p> - -<p>“You don’t say?” he ejaculated, looking as though he hardly knew -whether to laugh at the idea, or take what Rob was explaining -seriously.</p> - -<p>“I told you I was interested,” the other went on, “and I asked him a -number of questions as to who had showed him how to go about mending -a bird’s broken wing in that way. He said no one had, but it just -seemed to be the natural thing for him to do. Honestly, Ralph, when -I saw what a clever job he made of it I knew that boy had the making -of a grand surgeon in him, if ever he found a chance to do the -proper studying. It’s a gift, you know, with some people, and money -can never purchase it. Clever surgeons are born, not made.”</p> - -<p>Again Ralph puckered up his lips, and gave vent to a whistle, which -seemed to be his pet way of expressing surprise.</p> - -<p>“All that is mighty interesting, I own up, Rob,” he said, presently, -after he had taken a little time to think matters over. “If it -hadn’t been for this unfortunate happening, I’d be tickled half to -death to try and encourage Peleg if he had secret ambitions that -way. But why do you think, because he bothered mending a broken wing -for a young crow, that he couldn’t have robbed me?”</p> - -<p>“For this reason,” replied Rob. “Remember, I may turn out wrong, but -I’m going on general principles when I say that I never yet have -found that a fellow with such a tender heart could really be a bad -case. So, on the strength of my observations, I want you to promise -me that you’ll suspend sentence on Peleg until you have more -positive proof.”</p> - -<p>“I agree, and only too willingly,” said Ralph. “In fact, I’ll be -glad to turn the whole case over into your hands for settlement. Do -just whatever you think best about it. If you need any help, call on -me. I’d be mighty glad to learn I was doing Peleg an injustice; for -I’d try and make it up to him in every way I could. Shake hands on -that, Rob, will you?”</p> - -<p>So the agreement was ratified, and the other boys in the back seat -did not even know what their chums had been discussing. It happened -that Sim and Andy were engaged in a heated argument concerning -something that they did not think the same about.</p> - -<p>Shortly afterwards they arrived at the lake where they expected to -do their fishing. A boat was procured, and after they had purchased -some live bait from a man who lived near the water they started -forth.</p> - -<p>This was a sport which Rob and his two chums always enjoyed very -much. Perhaps they might not meet with such good luck as if they had -come early in the morning; but, then, no one can tell when the bass -will take hold. It often happens that on a hot and still day nothing -may be done until along about four in the afternoon when a breeze -arises, with a spatter of rain in the bargain. Somehow, every fish -in the lake seems to get ravenously hungry all at once, judging from -the way in which they snap at any kind of bait.</p> - -<p>“Let’s hope some such good luck comes our way, then,” remarked Sim, -when Ralph had mentioned this peculiarity in connection with the -gamiest fish that swims in fresh water, barring none. “The day has -been warm and still enough, for that matter. There are signs of a -shower later on, if those clouds mean anything over in the -southwest. I guess we’d better not go too far away, Ralph, because -for one I’d hate to get soaked through and through.”</p> - -<p>“I’m taking the waterproof coverings from the car along, so that in -case it does rain we can keep fairly dry,” explained Ralph, as they -started forth.</p> - -<p>For an hour they had very little luck. Then the conditions mentioned -by Ralph seemed to suddenly come about, for the clouds covered the -heavens, a breeze sprang up, and drops of rain began to fall.</p> - -<p>“I’ve got one, and a hard fighter!” shouted Sim, as he bent his -energies to the task of successfully playing his victim in order to -tire the fish out, so a landing net might be successfully used.</p> - -<p>“Here’s another, and just as big as yours, Sim!” ejaculated Andy -from the bow.</p> - -<p>By the time Sim managed to boat his catch, Rob was busily engaged; -and, in turn, Ralph found plenty to do in handling an even more -vicious fighter.</p> - -<p>“Say, this is the best fishing I ever struck!” admitted Sim, some -time later, as he cracked another capture on the head with a billet -of wood in order to put it out of suffering, and then deposited the -victim with a dozen others lying in the bottom of the boat.</p> - -<p>The fun kept up furiously for half an hour more. Then the bass -ceased biting almost as suddenly as they had commenced. Perhaps the -fact that the clouds had broken, allowing the sun to shine again, -had something to do with this change.</p> - -<p>“We ought to be satisfied!” declared Andy, “after all that fun. I -reckon we must have as many as twenty bass in the boat, running as -high as three pounds, and enough to make a meal for two families.”</p> - -<p>“Dandy fighters every one of ’em!” added Sim, “and I’ll remember -this afternoon, I tell you, Ralph. This is a great little lake, and -doesn’t seem to be fished to death, either.”</p> - -<p>“No, the people down at Wyoming seem to prefer going to several -other lakes and streams nearer at home,” the other explained. -“Besides that, most of them are born trout fishermen. You know, some -fellows pretend to look down on black bass as game fish.”</p> - -<p>“Well, they don’t know what a fighter is, then, that’s all,” -asserted Andy. “My stout rod bent nearly double many a time when -they bore down. ’Course a bass doesn’t jump for a fly like a trout, -just sucks it in; but once hooked I’ll match him against anything -that wears fins and scales.”</p> - -<p>They were now ready to quit and start for home. Ralph wanted to stop -on the way and leave a portion of the catch with a poor widow who -had a brood of children.</p> - -<p>“We couldn’t begin to eat them all, you know,” he told the others. -“I’m sportsman enough to stop taking fish when some one can’t use -them. Mrs. Murphy has a hard time getting on with her family. We all -like to give her a hand when we can. Many’s the string of fish I’ve -left at her door, even when I had to go home without any myself. -But, then, I’m not very fond of bass for eating, much as I love to -feel them pull at the end of my line.”</p> - -<p>“What was that you were saying about our going in to town tomorrow, -Ralph?” asked Sim, when they were well on their way home.</p> - -<p>“Why, there’s going to be a pretty fine entertainment, and I thought -you’d like to hear that girl sing dad was telling you about. We -believe she’s going to make her mark on the opera stage some of -these days. So, if you’re agreeable, we’ll run in.”</p> - -<p>It was decided that way, and not one of them dreamed how a strange -Destiny was shaping her ends in beckoning them toward the town of -Wyoming after nightfall, yet such really proved to be the case.</p> - -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chVIII' title='VIII: A Great Day for Water Sport'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>Chapter VIII</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.1em'>A Great Day for Water Sport</span> -</h2> -<p>“I guess you’re taking us home by another road, eh, Ralph?” remarked -Sim.</p> - -<p>“Noticed where I cut loose from the main line, did you?” laughed the -pilot. “Well, we can strike it again further on.”</p> - -<p>“Want us to see more of the country; or is there something special -up this way?” queried the visiting Jeffords boy.</p> - -<p>“Well, partly that. Mrs. Murphy lives on this dirt road, you see; -and I’ve got that nice string of fish to leave at her house. There, -you can see the cottage over yonder. She’s always so glad to have a -batch of bass. As I said before, she has a big family, and not much -money to run it on.”</p> - -<p>Soon afterwards they stopped in front of a modest cottage, where -several half-grown children were playing in the yard. Immediately -loud shouts attested to the fact that they had recognized Ralph. -Accordingly, there was a rush for the road, so that when the widow -came out, attracted by their cries, the entire family surrounded the -car.</p> - -<p>The fish were duly delivered, and Mrs. Murphy, as usual, was lavish -with her sincere thanks. Rob and his chums were interested. This -sort of thing happened to be along the lines of their own doings; -since nothing pleased them more than to do something for those who -were in need of assistance.</p> - -<p>Besides, it raised Ralph higher in their esteem than before. Rob -privately made up his mind that a fellow who could be thinking of -others so much of the time as Ralph did, and who delighted to be of -help to those in need, would make the finest sort of a scout leader. -He was more determined than ever that before leaving the Jeffords -farm he must convert Ralph, and start him on the road to organize a -troop of scouts in Wyoming, this time along true lines, so that the -town would be proud to acknowledge them as representing the best -that was in American boys.</p> - -<p>Just as the pilot had said, they soon came out again on the main -road, and in due time arrived home. The first thing they saw was -Tubby, sitting there on the front steps leading to the long porch, -where he might just as well have occupied a comfortable chair, but, -being a boy, he chose to camp out on the steps.</p> - -<p>He waved a hand at them, and seemed to be smiling broadly, from -which those who knew Tubby so well were able to draw certain -conclusions.</p> - -<p>“I wager Tubby’s had a fine afternoon’s sport,” remarked Andy -Bowles.</p> - -<p>“Oh! it doesn’t take so very much to make him grin from ear to ear; -and it’s some stretch, at that,” chuckled Sim.</p> - -<p>“I think he’s a mighty fine fellow, if you asked my opinion,” -remarked Ralph.</p> - -<p>“You wouldn’t be a bit off the road there, either,” Rob told him. -“Tubby has the best disposition of any boy I know. There isn’t -anything he wouldn’t do for another fellow; and the best of it is he -never stops to consider whether it’s a friend or an enemy he’s -trying to help; though, for that matter, Tubby has so few enemies -they hardly count.”</p> - -<p>The object of this side talk now sauntered up. He looked rather the -worse for wear, his trousers being muddy, and his face still rosy -from exertion.</p> - -<p>“Got a pretty nice mess of bass, didn’t you, fellows?” he remarked, -as Sim lifted the string, and tossed the catch out of the car.</p> - -<p>“Oh! that’s just half of all we took,” Andy hastened to explain. -“You see, there were too many for our own use, and Ralph here had an -old lady friend with a big family on her hands, who looks to him to -keep her supplied with fresh fish; so we dropped the other string at -her house on the way home. How did you come out with your frog -hunting, Tubby?”</p> - -<p>“I had just a glorious time of it, Andy,” the other replied. “Come -over to the ice-house and see, for they’re keeping cool until it’s -time to cook them for our supper. Better fetch the fish along with -you, too, while about it.”</p> - -<p>All of them followed him across the yard to the ice-house. This was -so built that it could be used to take the place of a refrigerator; -and fresh meat, butter and such things were kept there nice and -sweet.</p> - -<p>Tubby swooped down and lifted a platter that was covered with green -leaves. As he removed these there were revealed several rows of -“saddles,” as the long hindlegs of bullfrogs are called in the -market, where they bring as much as eighty cents a pound, sometimes -even more, according to supply and demand, and are considered a -great delicacy by epicures.</p> - -<p>“They look pretty fine to me, Tubby,” said Rob, admiringly. “How -many did you knock over with the little Flobert rifle?”</p> - -<p>“Well, you know, I’m kind of systematic in my ways, boys,” Tubby -explained. “So in the beginning I set a limit, and when I got to the -twenty-five mark I quit business. Jiminy crickets! I could have had -a hundred as well as not, if I had been greedy; but you know that -isn’t in my line. They are such busters, too; why, a fellow couldn’t -get away with more than four such monster saddles unless he turned -out to be a hog.”</p> - -<p>“Only four apiece,” said Sim, pretending to look sad.</p> - -<p>“But some people don’t care for frogs’ legs, I’m told,” Tubby -admonished him, as he shot a look toward Ralph, who not long before -had said something to that effect, it may be remembered.</p> - -<p>“You’ve got something else on your mind,” suggested Andy, who knew -the signs; “better open up and tell us what’s happened while we were -gone. You never were built to keep a secret; it shows in your face -right away.”</p> - -<p>“Oh! well, I meant to tell you about it, boys. Look here, what do -you think of this?” and as he spoke Tubby turned around, pushed a -piece of burlap aside, and showed them an object hanging by a piece -of rope, a rather ghastly object, too.</p> - -<p>“Wow! a turtle, with its throat cut!” exclaimed Andy, staring as -though he could hardly believe his eyes.</p> - -<p>“Did you shoot that big snapper?” demanded Ralph. “Why, he would -have taken a piece out of your leg if ever he managed to get a hold. -A fellow has to be pretty careful how he handles a snapping turtle.”</p> - -<p>“Well, he just missed me by an inch,” said Tubby, proudly. “After -that I was fighting shy of that head when it darted at you like -lightning. You see, I came on this whopper while I was moving around -the pond, trying to see some of the frogs squatting among the grass -and reeds and moss. I don’t know why a turtle should be out of the -water and up on the bank, except it comes out to lay its eggs, they -say, and then in the Spring; but there it was, and when I almost -stepped on it, it gave a wicked lunge at me.”</p> - -<p>“Quite exciting, wasn’t it, Tubby?” laughed Andy.</p> - -<p>“To me it was,” admitted the fat boy, unconcernedly. “I made up my -mind I ought to capture that fellow. They say snappers are death to -frogs, and ducks, and even fish; but as I didn’t dare touch the -crawler, I hunted up a stout stick and tried to turn him over. My -stars! he struck it hard, and held on like a bulldog, but I managed -to drag him further up on the bank. I was wondering what I should do -with him when Peleg came along, and saw what I had found. He told me -you could eat snappers; and while I drew his head as far out as I -could,—I mean the turtle’s, of course,—him holding on to the stick -like grim death, why, Peleg used his knife to end his troubles. So -here he is or she is, I don’t know which; and if Ralph says the same -as Peleg did, and that snappers can be eaten, why we stand to have -turtle steak and turtle soup.”</p> - -<div id='i002' class='mt01 mb01 wi002'> - <img src='images/illus-002.jpg' alt='' style='width:100%' /> - <p class='caption'>“He held on like a bull-dog.”</p> -</div> -<p>Ralph admitted that he had partaken of snapping turtle diet on more -than one occasion, and found it fairly to his liking, though he did -not really “hanker” after the dish any more than he did frogs’ legs.</p> - -<p>“These other red-marked paddlers are better,” he told them. “Though -I guess none of them come up to the green turtle found in the -Southern waters near the coast, or the diamond-back terrapin of -Maryland and Virginia. But I’m glad you got this one, Tubby, because -these snappers do a heap of damage, and are of no earthly good. I’ve -lost dozens of young goslings and ducks through this fellow and his -kind.”</p> - -<p>“One thing sure,” Tubby went on to say, with apparent delight, -“today has been a red-letter day for hauling in a mess of food of -all sorts from the water. Just to think, we’ve got fresh fish, -frogs’ legs, and turtle to choose from.”</p> - -<p>“Better jot it down in your diary as Marine Day,” laughed Andy.</p> - -<p>“We’ll leave the turtle for tomorrow,” suggested Ralph. “Two kinds -of fish ought to be enough for one meal. I’ll take the bass every -time. But here’s Peleg, ready to do the job of getting them fixed -for the pan,” as the half-grown farm boy made his appearance.</p> - -<p>“’Tain’t fair, let me tell you,” complained Tubby. “Here I went and -prepared <i>my</i> catch, all but the turtle, so they could be dipped in -cracker crumbs, and dropped in sizzling hot lard, or else fried -alongside salt port. You fellows get off too easy by having Peleg do -the work.”</p> - -<p>He forgot all about this, however, in asking after the particulars -of the fishing trip; and, upon learning how the bass bit so -fiercely, Tubby declared he would like to make one of the next party -that visited the lake.</p> - -<p>“Frog hunting is all very fine,” he admitted without a bit of shame; -“but it gets monotonous after a while. I like a little variety in my -sport. Besides, the poor greenbacks haven’t a ghost of a chance -before that little Flobert of yours, Ralph, which shoots so straight -you only have to take aim, pull the trigger, and that ends it. Now a -bass on a light rod makes some excitement; and there’s always a -chance for him to give you the merry ha-ha by breaking away. Yes, -next time count me with you, please.”</p> - -<p>They took things easy the rest of the afternoon, having enjoyed the -day very much. All sorts of plans were suggested for the future, -some of which were never to be carried out, for the simple reason -that events, which none of the boys could foresee, were on the eve -of coming to pass.</p> - -<p>So the night came on. Supper was somewhat later than usual on -account of Mr. Jeffords having been away on a business trip to town, -and coming home along toward twilight, long after the sun had set in -a blaze of glory.</p> - -<p>The feast of frogs’ legs proved quite satisfactory to those who were -fond of such a diet. Besides, there was a fine mess of bass, done to -a turn by the colored mammy in the kitchen, who certainly knew the -secret of making various dishes appear very tempting and appetizing; -as well as roast chicken, corn, new potatoes, and last, but far from -least, two kinds of pies that equalled the product of any New -England kitchen.</p> - -<p>All of the boys were hungry when they sat down to the table, but by -the time half an hour had gone by Tubby was seen to hardly shake his -head when asked to have another helping. Andy Bowles undid his belt -when he thought no one was looking his way, both of which incidents -went to tell the story of “enough being as good as a feast.”</p> - -<p>They had just about made up their minds to leave the table when -excited voices reached them. Then Peleg came hurrying in, looking -anxious. He said something to Mr. Jeffords in a low voice, at which -the farmer seemed shocked.</p> - -<p>“What is it, Father?” demanded Ralph.</p> - -<p>“It’s Mrs. Holcomb come over to tell us that one of her children has -been lost in the woods since early this morning,” said Mr. Jeffords. -“Her husband has been searching everywhere, and now they call on us -to help them find the poor lost darling. Ralph, get the car, and -we’ll take her back with us.”</p> - -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chIX' title='IX: The Scout Law'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>Chapter IX</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.1em'>The Scout Law</span> -</h2> -<p>Rob and his three chums were immediately interested in this new and -peculiar happening. They had had more or less experience along -somewhat similar lines on a former occasion, and knew the value of -enlisting scouts, with their knowledge of woodcraft, when any one -chanced to be missing.</p> - -<p>The woman came into the room just then. She looked greatly -distressed, though evidently trying hard to control her feelings.</p> - -<p>Questions that met with ready replies soon put them in possession of -such facts as were at her disposal. The child was a small boy named -Caleb, not over six years of age, though hardy enough. He had never -wandered off before, so that they suspected something unusual must -have tempted him on this occasion.</p> - -<p>It had not been until ten o’clock that he was missed. Then the -mother and the other children looked high and low for him without -avail. Finally, becoming anxious, she had sent out into the fields -where her husband was working, and soon everybody around the region -had enlisted in the hunt.</p> - -<p>As the river ran not more than a quarter of a mile away from the -Holcomb home, there were grave fears lest the child might have -wandered that way. Some were even looking along the bank with the -idea that the body would be cast ashore; others, including the now -frenzied father, were engaged in scouring the woods, calling out the -name of the little fellow from time to time, and then stopping to -learn if a feeble answer came in reply to their hails.</p> - -<p>Rob knew that it might mean a long and difficult hunt. He also -understood what an advantage it always was to be prepared for such -things.</p> - -<p>“I saw one of those hand electric torches in your den, Ralph,” he -went on to say in his energetic fashion. “Do you know whether it has -a working battery in it?”</p> - -<p>“To be sure it has,” he was told. “I only brought it home with me -last week when I was down in the town, and haven’t used it an hour -since.”</p> - -<p>“I’m glad to know it. Please fetch it along,” Rob told him. “Torches -may be all very well as a makeshift, but give me such a light as -yours when you want to look into out of the way places. Besides, in -trailing on a dark night they can’t be equaled. I’ve used one many a -time.”</p> - -<p>Ralph instantly realized that perhaps these scout visitors of his -might come in very handy in an emergency like this. That mention of -“trailing” gave him an insight into the probable plan of campaign -which Rob was likely to institute; and so Ralph made up his mind -that it would be a good thing to hand the manipulation of affairs -over to the boy in khaki who seemed to know just what to do, as well -as how to do it.</p> - -<p>They lost little time in getting ready. Ralph soon had the car at -the door, and they commenced to pile in, after Mrs. Holcomb had been -tucked away in the capacious rear seat. Rob noticed with more or -less interest that Peleg insisted on joining the party, as though -just as eager to have a hand in finding the lost boy as any of them.</p> - -<p>From time to time some one would ask more questions. Rob in -particular seemed to want to find out all he could before arriving -on the ground. These queries as a rule turned on such points as the -last that had been seen of little Caleb, and whether he had any -friends living near by whom he would be likely to want to visit, -though possibly getting lost while on the way there.</p> - -<p>In this way Rob picked up more or less information that might come -in useful later, when on the ground. Ralph heard how he managed to -draw these more or less important facts from the now sobbing mother. -He also admired the way in which Rob told her not to worry, for they -were almost certain to find her boy before morning.</p> - -<p>About this time Tubby thought he ought to say a few words in order -to help comfort the sorely stricken woman.</p> - -<p>“You know, ma’m,” he told her, for he chanced to be sitting -alongside Mrs. Holcomb at the time, “we scouts are trained in the -art of tracking people as well as animals. Why, several times we’ve -proved that we could find a lost party when no one else knew how to -go about it. It is scout law to respond to any call for help, and -we’re just bound to do all we can. Yes, ma’m, there was a poor -half-demented man lived down in Hampton who used to be watched by -his folks very close; but, in spite of it all, one time he managed -to give ’em the slip, and went into the scrub, which, down on Long -Island, is like a wilderness, and easy to get lost in.”</p> - -<p>Tubby waited a few seconds so as to get his second breath, and then -went on with his story, which he meant to be comforting to the poor -mother.</p> - -<p>“After they had searched and searched for two days they came to the -scouts and begged us to please lend a hand. By that time the trail -had grown pretty cold, you see, but Rob here went at it like he -always does, with a vim, and I give you my word for it, ma’m, before -three hours had passed we found the man, though he was——”</p> - -<p>“That’ll do, Tubby, don’t bother with the particulars!” interrupted -Rob, fearing that the benefit which the recital was intended to have -upon the overwrought nerves of the poor woman might lose something -of its value if Tubby told that the demented man was really dead -when they finally found him in the scrub oak wilderness a mile or -two back from the beach.</p> - -<p>Ralph was at the wheel, and he knew his road, so that before a great -while they drew near the place where the Holcombs lived. The woman -had driven over in a buggy, but her rig could be recovered later on. -Time was too valuable to allow her to return home in the same -tedious manner as she had come.</p> - -<p>“Looky yonder, will you?” burst out Tubby. “What are those lights -glimmering in the woods over yonder? Seem like a pack of giant -fireflies to me. Rob, do you reckon they can be lanterns carried by -some of the people who are searching everywhere, helter-skelter -like, for little Caleb?”</p> - -<p>“Just what they are, Tubby,” replied the scout leader; “and, as you -say, they are likely enough running this way and that without a bit -of reason. Why, they would go over the same ground a dozen times, -and skip lots of places that ought to be looked into. We’ll try to -lay out a concerted plan of action—that is, in case there isn’t any -trail to be found.”</p> - -<p>“I’m a bit afraid we won’t have much luck in that quarter, Rob,” -said Sim. “When you come to think of it, a little fellow like a -six-year-old doesn’t make much of a dent when he steps out, like a -heavy man would, or Tubby here.”</p> - -<p>“Still, there are ways of following a trail besides always seeing -the impression of feet,” hinted Rob. “But wait and see how we fare. -The ground must be in pretty good condition for tracking, under the -trees. Even a small chap like him could turn over the pine needles -as he tramped along, and you can always tell that by the freshness -of those that are disturbed—those on top, you know, look faded in -the sun and air and rain.”</p> - -<p>Ralph listened and nodded his head in approval. Such confident talk -aroused his sincere admiration. He felt more than ever that Rob must -be a remarkable boy; and if the mere fact of being a scout could -account for any degree of his cleverness, then perhaps this -education they spoke of, running along the lines of a knowledge of -woodcraft, first aid to the injured, preparedness, lending a helping -hand, and all that sort of thing might not be such a bad subject, -after all, to study. Somehow, his opinion of scouts in general was -undergoing a steady change. He meant to keep tabs on every action of -these four fellows, now that they were face to face with another -emergency. If they could come out of this difficulty as successfully -as Rob had done when that boy with the dislocated shoulder fell into -his charge, Ralph would be almost ready to surrender and admit he -had been badly mistaken.</p> - -<p>When they arrived at the house it was to find quite a gathering of -neighboring women present. Rob knew nothing was to be gained by -coming in contact with these people, for while their intentions -might be commendable, they were only apt to hinder the work with -their questions, and by advancing impossible theories.</p> - -<p>He asked Mrs. Holcomb to please let him speak with her oldest girl, -who, it appeared, had been the last one to notice little Caleb -before the fact of his vanishing had become known.</p> - -<p>All Rob wanted to learn was about the time of day this happened, and -in which quarter the child had been at the time. To his mind that -would mark the beginning of the trail, and he did not mean to have -any of the women around when starting to search for the tiny tracks.</p> - -<p>Just as he expected, no one had as yet thought to search the ground -for signs of the wanderer’s shoe prints; instead of that, they had -scattered through the woods, or rushed madly away toward the river, -hoping to find the boy before anything serious happened to him.</p> - -<p>Rob soon learned the few things the half-grown girl could tell him -between her violent sobs.</p> - -<p>“Now come with me, fellows, and we’ll start off,” he told the others -as they gathered eagerly around him.</p> - -<p>Mr. Jeffords continued with them. Something seemed to tell him that -these wide-awake and up-to-date scouts would have a much better -chance of getting results than all those husky men who were roaming -the woods at random, shouting to one another, or else calling out -the name of the child.</p> - -<p>Arriving at the spot where the girl said the small boy had last been -seen, Rob asked the others to stay at a certain place while he and -Sim used the electric torch in the endeavor to find the first trace -of those tiny footprints.</p> - -<p>The night had set in quite dark by now, so that only for the glow of -that useful little torch they would have had to depend wholly on the -lanterns Peleg and Ralph carried.</p> - -<p>Shooting the strong white light downward, the two boys proceeded to -look thoroughly about them, scanning every object that fell in their -way, and utilizing their utmost stock of woodcraft in the work.</p> - -<p>When possibly five minutes had elapsed, though it certainly seemed -much longer than that to the waiting group close by, Sim gave -utterance to a cry of exultation that thrilled the others.</p> - -<p>“Found the trail, have you, fellows?” called out Ralph, excitedly.</p> - -<p>“Come over here and see,” Rob told him.</p> - -<p>He made them act cautiously, so that they might not blot the “signs” -out by their own footprints. He pointed to the plain impression of a -tiny shoe in the soft earth. There could be no doubt but that the -mark had been made by Caleb; and, it was agreed, if only they could -successfully follow where that trail led, they would sooner or later -know where the child had gone.</p> - -<p>“Try and see if you can follow it, Rob,” urged Tubby, impatiently, -though there was also a confident ring to his voice, as well as a -suspicion of pride about his manner, for he fully believed that the -ability of the scouts in a case of this kind was about to be -vindicated.</p> - -<p>They watched with an eagerness words could hardly paint, while Rob, -accompanied by Sim, began to slowly move along. There was a growing -confidence in the way the trackers took up their task that promised -well for the success of the enterprise. Ralph felt his heart beating -tumultuously in his breast as he mentally pictured the ecstatic joy -of restoring the lost child to his distracted mother’s arms.</p> - -<p>They were moving steadily along. Now and then Rob would pause for a -brief period of time, perhaps to make sure that he was on the right -track, or it might be to show the others something that caused them -increasing satisfaction.</p> - -<p>Forgotten were all the other searchers in the Adirondack woods; let -them rush this way and that in their hunt without a method; but the -scouts were on the right track, and if fortune were kind, they meant -to follow it to success.</p> - -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chX' title='X: A Wild Grapevine Rope'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>Chapter X</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.1em'>A Wild Grapevine Rope</span> -</h2> -<p>Their progress was of necessity tedious, but what did that matter, -so long as it was sure? A tender little fellow like Caleb could not -cover a very great distance before giving out, when he would be -forced to drop to the ground, perhaps yielding to a desire to go to -sleep.</p> - -<p>Tubby and Andy were discussing this very thing, as they came along -after the two leaders. Occasionally Ralph joined in the -conversation.</p> - -<p>“How far do you think a little chap like that could cover from -morning up to now?” Tubby asked.</p> - -<p>“Oh! not over a couple of miles, I should say, but at the most twice -that far,” Andy replied, after giving the matter a little thought. -“Even at that he’d be apt to repeat, that is, wander around in a -circle, so at the end of the day he mightn’t be over a full mile -from where he started.”</p> - -<p>“But they said the river was only a quarter of a mile off,” -suggested Tubby, darkly.</p> - -<p>“Get that notion out of your head to begin with, please,” -interrupted Ralph. “I’m glad to tell you that we’ve been going in a -course that would never fetch out at the river; fact is, it lies -almost directly the other way.”</p> - -<p>“Oh! I’m glad of that, Ralph, and thank you for telling us about -it!” ejaculated Tubby, with a heavy sigh of relief. “Because right -along I’ve been picturing little Caleb falling in, and no one near -to hear his cries for help. Then, if he isn’t drowned, we’re just -bound to find him.”</p> - -<p>The same confidence seemed to possess Andy Bowles after hearing -Ralph say there was no danger of running across the swift river in -this direction. Meanwhile, those in the van were making steady -progress. Their little difficulties did not seem to daunt them in -the least, for after a brief pause now and then they would always -proceed with the same assurance, as though positive of their -movements.</p> - -<p>Ralph presently drew a little closer to the leaders. He knew that -they consulted from time to time, and he wished to be near enough to -catch what was said, for by degrees Ralph was finding himself -becoming more and more interested in all that pertained to the -education of a scout. He knew no better way in which to pick up -sterling points than by listening.</p> - -<p>Later on, after they had been progressing in this fashion for -upwards of a whole hour, he heard Rob saying something that -interested him very much.</p> - -<p>“See how he wobbles from side to side as he goes on, will you, Sim? -That shows he must have been getting pretty tired about the time he -reached here.”</p> - -<p>“That’s a fact, Rob,” added the other scout, anxiously. “It wouldn’t -surprise me a whit if we ran across the poor little chap somewhere -about here fast asleep. I don’t believe there’s any wild animal -around that would hurt him, do you?”</p> - -<p>“Hardly, unless that savage old cat we saw up at Ralph’s pens had -wandered over this way, which isn’t likely. I’m throwing the light -on either side now, you notice, as we go along. Little Caleb may -have come part way back again before dropping.”</p> - -<p>“How would it do for the rest of us to spread out with the lanterns, -and keep on the watch, Rob?” asked Ralph just then.</p> - -<p>“Such a move would do no harm, anyhow,” the other replied, knowing -very well how anxious all of them must be to feel that they were -having a share in the work.</p> - -<p>After that they continued on for some time. Rob was more than ever -convinced the lost child had reached a point bordering on -exhaustion, and that on no account could such a weak little chap -keep on his feet much longer.</p> - -<p>Several times they had seen moving lights, showing that some of the -searching party must be close by; indeed, they heard their shouts at -stated intervals, though not replying to them.</p> - -<p>“It seems queer to me,” Tubby was saying to Andy and Mr. Jeffords -and Peleg, all of whom were near him at the time, “how none of these -men with lanterns have run across the boy if, as we believe, he’s -close by here. I should think he’d have heard their calls and tried -to answer them; that is, unless he’s sleeping like a dog, being -tired to death.”</p> - -<p>“Chances are that’s what’s the matter with him,” Andy agreed; -whereupon both boys settled down to anticipating a cry of joy from -those in the advance as they suddenly came upon the object of their -search, lying asleep amidst the dead leaves just as the famous -“Babes in the Woods” had done in the story.</p> - -<p>So vastly superior was their method of search over that resorted to -by the frenzied father, and the equally unreliable neighboring -farmers, that Ralph was ready to give the scouts all the credit they -so fully deserved. He only awaited the final stroke before -confessing as to the great change in his belief.</p> - -<p>Then Sim was heard to give vent to a cry. Somehow, it pierced the -heart of Tubby just as a dart might have done, because he failed to -detect the note of conscious triumph that he had so firmly -anticipated. Instead, the cry seemed of surprise and consternation.</p> - -<p>“Oh! what is it, boys?” Tubby called out, with his voice all -unstrung. “I hope now you haven’t found him as we did that poor -demented man, you know?”</p> - -<p>“We haven’t found him at all, yet,” answered Sim, after drawing a -long breath, like one who was trying to steel his faint heart -against a shock; “but come here, all of you, and see what we <i>have</i> -struck.”</p> - -<p>At that the others hastened to advance, and were speedily alongside -Rob and Sim and Ralph, for the last-named had gained their side -almost immediately after the first alarm had sounded.</p> - -<p>“Great governor! what’s this?” cried Andy.</p> - -<p>“Why, it’s a gaping hole in the ground, I do believe!” gasped Tubby. -“Oh! do you think the poor darling has fallen in there, Rob?” and -his usually florid face seemed almost pallid with the horror that -seized upon him as he turned a beseeching look upon the scout -leader.</p> - -<p>Rob once more threw the light from the torch upon the ground close -to the edge of that yawning aperture.</p> - -<p>“It looks that way, I must own,” he told them. “See, here are plain -prints of his little shoes close to the brink. Yes, and you can see -where some slender bush was dragged, roots and all, from here—the -chances are he unconsciously clutched them when he felt himself -slipping, and pulled it in with him. Poor little chap, what a -terrible shock he must have had.”</p> - -<p>All of them stared down into the aperture, but even the light from -the hand torch failed to show them what lay below. They could catch -glimpses of a rough, rocky wall, projecting roots of trees, and some -sort of growing bushes, but if the child were down there they failed -to discover anything of him.</p> - -<p>“Well, who’s going down?” demanded Tubby, as though it were a -foregone conclusion in his mind that such a course must follow. “I’d -offer in a minute, only I’m sure Rob wouldn’t let me try it, while -there are so many others present better fitted for the job than I -am. But somebody must go down, and how can it be done when we -haven’t got a sign of a rope with us?”</p> - -<p>“Do you think I could risk dropping down by holding to the face of -the wall, Rob?” asked Sim, quickly. If the other had answered in the -affirmative, there was no question but that he stood ready to make -the attempt without delay.</p> - -<p>“Wait a bit and we’ll see,” the scout leader told him. “No need of -doing anything in such a hurry. If Caleb’s down there, a few minutes -more or less won’t hurt much; and it may mean a broken leg for you, -Sim, if you slipped. I’ve got an idea that may pan out, and make up -for the lack of a rope. Just back there I noticed a wild grapevine -hanging from a tree. If we could cut that free, we might have a -pretty good substitute for a rope, something like twenty feet long.”</p> - -<p>“Fine for you, Rob!” cried Ralph, overcome with admiration. “How -lucky you asked me for my little camp hatchet before we started out. -Perhaps now you even anticipated having just such a need for the -same! I’m beginning to believe you can see further ahead than any -fellow I ever met.”</p> - -<p>Rob made no response, although naturally enough this sort of genuine -praise must have been pleasant to him; especially when coming from a -fellow like the Adirondack boy, whom he was aching to convert to a -new belief regarding the value scouts may have in a community.</p> - -<p>Rob was already hacking away with a vim at the wild grapevine -mentioned, having given the hand torch into the charge of Sim. It -did not require many blows to sever the vine near its base, for -Ralph apparently believed in keeping a fine cutting edge on his pet -tool.</p> - -<p>Once it was free, they seized hold and commenced to heave, but, of -course, this was an effort without any response; the vine was too -safely anchored to the branches of the tree to be dragged loose as -easily as all that.</p> - -<p>“Let me shin up, and cut it free, Rob,” suggested Sim, who was a -great climber in his way, and never so happy as when sporting amidst -the foliage of some great oak or beechnut tree.</p> - -<p>“All right, if you say so, Sim,” the scout leader told him. “Be sure -and get all the length you can, because we may need it. There’s no -telling just how deep that hole will turn out to be.”</p> - -<p>“The poor little thing, to think of him falling all the way down -there!” Tubby was heard to say in sympathetic tones.</p> - -<p>Agile Sim had already tucked the camp hatchet safely in his belt, -and taking a good hold of the swaying vine started his ascent. Some -of the others clutched it below so as to give him a steady support. -Sim proved his ability as a climber by the rapid way in which he -passed up among the lower branches of the tree to which the wild -grapevine was attached.</p> - -<p>Turning the light upward, Rob could follow the progress of the -climber, and found it convenient to call out occasionally in order -to advise Sim.</p> - -<p>“Not less than twenty feet, and five more if you can make it, Sim!” -he told the other. “I should think it would be thick enough to hold -a ton if it’s only an inch through; these grapevines are tougher -than any rope ever made. There, try and do your cutting where you -are. Once you get it through, we’ll start to drag again, and I -reckon it’s bound to come next time.”</p> - -<p>A minute later Sim announced that his part of the work had been -completed, upon which Rob and Ralph and the others laid hold with -such a will that they soon had the severed vine on the ground.</p> - -<p>After that Sim joined them, coming sliding down the trunk of the -tree with the agility of a monkey.</p> - -<p>The vine was carried over to where they had discovered that gaping -aperture into which it seemed likely little Caleb had fallen. None -of the boys seemed in any humor for joking just then; indeed, they -were unusually grave, as though the shadow of some impending tragedy -hung over their heads.</p> - -<p>Rob directed operations, and even Ralph seemed only too willing to -do whatever he was told. Strange, how in emergencies, it is always -the strong mind that seizes the reins, and all others readily -acquiesce, no matter in whatever shape the orders come. How many a -desperate enterprise has been carried to a glorious success simply -because a fit leader has developed when the conditions demanded; -while others that promised well in the beginning have fallen flat -through lack of the initiative on the part of the actors.</p> - -<p>The vine was allowed to drop into the aperture, with the thick end -down. When it seemed as though it rested firmly on something below, -Rob judged that the hole must be all of twenty-three feet deep. That -was a startling fact when they remembered that a child had stepped -into that break and must have gone headlong down through space.</p> - -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXI' title='XI: The Rescue of Little Caleb'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>Chapter XI</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.1em'>The Rescue of Little Caleb</span> -</h2> -<p>“Who’s going down?” asked Sim, with a vein of entreaty in his voice, -for, being such a good climber, Sim would have gladly assumed that -role.</p> - -<p>“I intend to,” replied Rob, calmly, and no one disputed his right, -since he occupied the position of scout leader, and could do as he -pleased.</p> - -<p>He took the torch with him, but as he would probably find a good use -for both hands during the descent, Rob managed to secure the light -about his person. Then, as he found occasion to make use of it, he -could easily do so.</p> - -<p>“Hold fast to the old vine, boys, whatever you do,” was his last -remark as he started to slide over the brink.</p> - -<p>Rob seemed perfectly cool. If he felt nervous at all, it was in -connection with the possibility of finding poor little Caleb lying -bruised and insensible far below.</p> - -<p>The others waited impatiently. Peering over the edge, even as they -gripped the end of the wild grapevine, they could follow the descent -of their comrade by the aid of the light, for Rob had the battery -turned on purposely.</p> - -<p>He did not make undue haste, for Rob knew the folly of being too -eager. Better consume a little more time, and make sure of results. -It was bad enough to have one accident without risking another on -top of it.</p> - -<p>“There, he’s stopping to take a look below!” exclaimed Tubby, -breathlessly.</p> - -<p>Rob, while holding on with one hand, having found a brace for his -feet, had indeed taken out the torch from his upper coat pocket, and -was using it to pierce the darkness beneath him.</p> - -<p>“Now he acts like he sees something!” cried Sim. “Look at him wave -his hand up at us, boys! Anyway, we’ll soon know the worst. I’m -hoping the little chap may not be so badly hurt.”</p> - -<p>“Oh! I thought I heard a child give a whimper just then!” gasped -Tubby.</p> - -<p>All of them fell silent at that, for the same impression occurred to -Tubby’s companions. They continued to watch Rob with anxious eyes. -Yes, he had again started to let himself down, and even as they -stared they saw him come to a stop. Apparently, he had found some -sort of ledge, though it was covered with a species of growing bush -that disguised it effectually. One thing sure, the descent continued -even beyond the point where Rob had halted.</p> - -<p>“He’s found him, as sure as anything, he has!” ejaculated Andy, his -voice filled with a strange mixture of satisfaction and awe, for it -yet remained to be discovered what the condition of the little -fellow might turn out to be.</p> - -<p>“Hello! up there!” called Rob, and they believed he was looking -upwards at them, though none of them could be sure about this.</p> - -<p>“Yes, what is it, Rob? Have you found him?” cried Tubby.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I’ve got him safe,” came the reply that thrilled him. “He -landed on this ledge, and was saved the balance of the drop. Luckily -he dropped on a lot of stuff here that helped to break his fall. I -don’t know for sure, but I believe he’s not badly hurt, only cut a -little. He must have been stunned, though, for he’s only now -beginning to wake up. Listen, fellows; do you think you could pull -the grapevine up, and me too?”</p> - -<p>“Easy thing, Rob,” replied Sim, promptly.</p> - -<p>“Then take it slow, and don’t hurry, or you may brush us off,” came -from the boy below. “I’ve got to use one arm holding him, you see, -and that handicaps me a bit. Get busy now, boys, heave-o!”</p> - -<p>As many as could get hold proceeded to lend a hand, even Peleg -exerting himself manfully. The vine began to shorten as they tugged. -Every now and then Rob would call out to them, giving further -directions. Once he told them to stop, for he had a fine chance to -set both feet on another small ledge, and in some fashion could -change his burden to the other arm.</p> - -<p>Presently his head appeared above the brink. Mr. Jeffords was only -waiting for this.</p> - -<div id='i003' class='mt01 mb01 wi003'> - <img src='images/illus-003.jpg' alt='' style='width:100%' /> - <p class='caption'>Presently his head appeared above the brink.</p> -</div> -<p>“Let me take the child from you, Rob,” he said, leaning over -solicitously.</p> - -<p>When the transfer had been safely made it was no trouble to help Rob -over the edge of the precipice, for such the wall of the aperture -appeared to them.</p> - -<p>“Mighty well done, I want to tell you, Rob!” said Ralph, earnestly, -as he squeezed the hand of the still trembling scout leader, for the -recent effort had naturally been quite a strain on the boy’s nervous -system.</p> - -<p>Rob was laughing. After it was all over he effected to make light of -his achievement, as that class of boys always do, never liking to -hear themselves praised.</p> - -<p>“Oh! it was a mere trifle, Ralph, and I’m only sorry I monopolized -the fun. But take the light, will you, and turn it on the boy. I -want to look him over, and see what the worst is we must expect.”</p> - -<p>The little fellow presented rather a pitiable aspect. He had -received several scratches, and his face was quite bloody; besides -that, his clothing was badly torn, possibly brought about through -making a passage amidst thorns while lost in the woods.</p> - -<p>“Say, he does look pretty bad, now,” admitted Tubby, seriously.</p> - -<p>“Looks don’t count for much, Tubby,” Rob soon told him. “We can wash -his face and hands, and improve his appearance a hundred per cent; -if only he hasn’t any broken bones; and, so far, I don’t find -anything of that kind. It’s strange how a child may fall from a -fourth-story window and never seem to be hurt. Caleb hit his head, -and has lain in something of a swoon for hours. Perhaps it was just -as well, for if he had moved, he might have fallen the rest of the -way down to the bottom of that hole. He’s just beginning to get his -senses now, after all this time.”</p> - -<p>Indeed, they could see the boy’s eyes were open, and that he seemed -to be trying to understand where he was, what had happened, and who -these people around him might be.</p> - -<p>“It’s all right, Caleb,” Ralph hastened to say, soothingly. “You got -lost in the woods, you remember; and then you had a nasty tumble; -but we’ve found you, and mean to take you straight home to your -mother and father. I’m Ralph Jeffords, you know; I’ve often talked -with you at your house. So don’t worry any about it. How do you come -out, Rob; is he hurt badly?”</p> - -<p>“I’m glad to tell you that there’s really nothing serious the -matter,” said the other, quickly, much to the delight of Tubby and -the others. “Now that he’s come-to in earnest, I think he’ll soon be -himself again. We’ll take turns carrying him; and on the way we can -stop a bit at that spring we passed, for we ought to make him look -more presentable before handing him over to his mother. She’d nearly -have a fit if she saw his face all covered with dried blood like -that.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Jeffords insisted on carrying the child for the first stretch, -but the boys would only consent on condition that he agreed to let -them take turns about. In fact, even Tubby declared it would not be -fair to leave him out; and that he meant to have his share of the -work.</p> - -<p>When they reached the spring mentioned by Rob they halted for a -brief time. The child had by that time recovered from his stupor. He -whimpered a little when Rob with a wet handkerchief started to wash -his face and hands, for some of the scratches and bumps were -evidently quite painful; but this task was soon finished, and the -result justified the scout leader’s judgment.</p> - -<p>“Oh! he looks all right now, for a fact,” said Sim. “I consider that -we were a lucky bunch all around to find him as neatly as we did. -But, then, where there’s a will there’s a way; and scouts have to -learn early in their career never to give up a thing they start on.”</p> - -<p>Ralph made no comment on hearing his cousin say this; but there was -a gleam in his eye that pleased the observing Rob. The latter felt -pretty certain that his task of converting the unbeliever was going -to be made much easier because of the strange event of that night.</p> - -<p>As they drew nearer the home of Caleb, the boys felt a pleasurable -anticipation. Remembering the anguish of the poor mother, they could -realize how she must suffer, and the thought of being able to bring -her speedy relief gave them more or less satisfaction.</p> - -<p>When they appeared at the house some of the women discovered them, -and must have called out the good news; for immediately a figure -came flying out of the building and straight toward the returning -company. It was the frantic mother, wild to know if they had found -her child, as well as the condition the little fellow was in.</p> - -<p>Great must have been her joy when she heard Caleb calling to her, -and she saw him reaching out toward her, even as he was held at the -time in Tubby’s arms. Well, each one of them felt that it was worth -many times the trouble they had taken, just to see the way Caleb’s -mother hugged him to her heart. About that time it seemed as though -Tubby, yes, and all the other fellows as well, had to turn their -heads away for some reason or other, and when they came together -again most of them were still violently winking.</p> - -<p>How she tried to thank them all! When words failed her she actually -kissed each one of the five boys. They would never forget that -occasion; and as Rob afterwards said, it had been a great privilege -to be able to bring such joy to a mother’s heart.</p> - -<p>Not wishing to wait after they had seen the father recalled from the -search by means of a messenger sent out with the glad tidings, the -boys entered their car, and with Mr. Jeffords started on the -homeward trip.</p> - -<p>It seemed hard to believe that so much had been accomplished in such -a short interval. Why, only two hours before they had been laughing -unconcernedly over the supper table, never dreaming that a sudden -emergency would arise to claim their attention. Since then they had -been through an experience few fellows ever have come their way.</p> - -<p>Rob had spoken to Peleg more than once, but he noticed that Ralph -paid no attention to the farm hand. It seemed that the other could -not dissuade himself from believing that Peleg must be guilty of -pilfering, and on this account he would not have anything more to do -with him than he could help; at least, until the mystery was cleared -up.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, Rob was feeling more confident than ever that when the -truth became known Peleg would be cleared of all suspicion; though -just then he could not even guess how the other’s innocence was -going to be made clear.</p> - -<p>The boys sat down in the big sitting-room for an hour or so before -thinking of going to bed. Mrs. Jeffords and the old aunty as well -had to hear all the thrilling particulars of the search, and its -ultimate conclusion. They also congratulated the scouts on their -clever work, Mr. Jeffords describing how wonderfully Rob had -followed the faint trail for several miles through the woods.</p> - -<p>“I want to say to you, boys,” the gentleman wound up with, “that my -opinion of this scout business is undergoing a remarkable change. -I’ve learned some wonderful things since you’ve come among us that -have opened my eyes considerably. I’m not saying anything more about -it yet, but unless I miss my guess there will be another attempt at -starting a scout troop in Wyoming, and this time founded on the -right principles.”</p> - -<p>Those words gave Rob great cheer. He never felt more pride in his -khaki uniform and his scout badge than when Mr. Jeffords thus -frankly acknowledged that he had been laboring under a false -impression concerning the benefit in a community a well drilled -scout troop might prove to be.</p> - -<p>When upstairs in the big room, as Ralph was saying good-night to his -four guests, he allowed his hand to pass, affectionately, though -perhaps unconsciously, along Rob’s khaki coat-sleeve, the -significance of the action caused the wearer to smile with genuine -pleasure.</p> - -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXII' title='XII: How the Test Panned Out'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>Chapter XII</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.1em'>How the Test Panned Out</span> -</h2> -<p>Another day dawned.</p> - -<p>The boys had laid out a number of plans for their enjoyment between -sunrise and the coming of night. Ralph several times told them not -to forget that they were booked for that run in to town after -supper, for he was bound to have them hear the “budding nightingale” -that Wyoming was so proud of, and who might some day make the name -of the town famous.</p> - -<p>Tubby coaxed Ralph to get up another fishing party. He wanted to -have one shy at those lively bass up in the lake. Andy Bowles, on -the other hand, took a notion to spend a little time with the frogs. -He admitted that he had grown suddenly fond of the delicacy, and, -besides, believed he would enjoy using that fine little Flobert gun.</p> - -<p>“Well, don’t lay in too big a stock, Andy,” Tubby warned him, as -they were setting off, “because you mustn’t forget we’re going to -have turtle steak and soup today. That ought to be feast enough for -once, I should think. Still, if you do get a mess of jumpers I’ll -help you dispose of them.”</p> - -<p>The fishing trip turned out very well, though possibly they did not -get quite as many as on the previous day. Still, Tubby had the fun -of actually taking the biggest prize of the day, a monster who -nearly pulled him out of the boat by his sudden and vicious run -after snatching the live bait.</p> - -<p>Back again at the house they faced an afternoon to fill in with some -other sort of “doings.” Ralph said he would have a few things to do -up at his fur farm, and so Rob accompanied him, as did also Sim, the -other two begging off as they claimed to be a bit tired.</p> - -<p>“I see Pete has been busy since our last visit!” remarked Ralph, as -they drew near the high board-fence, and came in sight of the cabin -where the hired man lived while guarding the fur farm.</p> - -<p>Following his outstretched hand, they made a discovery. There, -fastened upon the door of the cabin, was a fresh skin, evidently -taken lately, since it had not been there on their previous visit.</p> - -<p>“That ferocious wildcat, as sure as you live!” ejaculated Sim, in -evident delight.</p> - -<p>“Yes, Pete got him, for a fact,” said Ralph. “I knew he would if -anybody could do the job. Now my fur farm is safe again from danger. -One such cat can play hob with things; once they get a taste they’ll -come back again and again until they clean you out.”</p> - -<p>The boys examined the skin of the wildcat. It was easy to see where -Pete had sent his bullet, for they found a ragged hole back of the -right foreleg, showing that the hunter’s aim had been perfect. Pete, -coming up just then, was warmly congratulated by all of them over -his good luck. Ralph made him a present of five dollars on the spot.</p> - -<p>“Why, it was worth many times that to have this thief put out of the -running!” he declared when the man showed an unwillingness to accept -the gift.</p> - -<p>Some further interesting information was gleaned while once more -looking over the big enclosure. This time they were fortunate enough -to catch sight of a shy mink, though the animal quickly vanished -under a rock at their approach.</p> - -<p>“We’ll probably never know what sort of success we’re meeting with,” -explained the owner of the fur farm, “especially with regard to the -mink and otter, until we decide to thin the animals out some day -toward Spring. Then by trapping a certain number, and leaving others -to breed, we can tell whether the experiment pays or not. I’m not -very strong for it yet, but nothing ventured nothing gained, they -say; and I’m having lots of experience, anyway.”</p> - -<p>Once more back home, they concluded to just “knock around,” as Tubby -called it, until supper time. Ralph again reminded them that they -were billed for town later on, and would not return until well on -toward midnight, it might prove.</p> - -<p>“Step aside with me, will you, Rob?” he said in the ear of the scout -leader.</p> - -<p>It was about the middle of the afternoon. Tubby had gone with Andy -over to the pond in order to settle some sort of dispute that had -arisen between them concerning the distance at which they had made -successful shots; while Sim chanced to be upstairs getting a letter -written which he wished to mail that evening—some of them declared -it was to his “best girl,” at which Sim had only smiled and winked, -though later on it proved to be addressed to his mother.</p> - -<p>Wondering what Ralph had on foot to make him act so mysteriously, -Rob readily followed him, and presently they were out near the big -barns.</p> - -<p>“Now I’ve got you guessing on account of my being so mysterious, -Rob,” began the other, with a short laugh; “but the fact of the -matter is I just can’t get that affair out of my mind.”</p> - -<p>“Are you referring to Peleg’s case?” asked Rob.</p> - -<p>“Yes!” came the reply. “You see, I used to think highly of Peleg, -and it hurts me to be keeping this suspicion against him. Rob, I -kind of made up my mind to try him out, test him, as you might say.”</p> - -<p>“Well, that mightn’t be a bad idea, though pretty hard on Peleg,” -admitted Rob. “Still, it’s better to know the truth and have done -with it. What have you thought of trying so as to find out whether -he would be guilty of stealing or not?”</p> - -<p>“I feel a bit ashamed of doing such a thing, too,” confessed Ralph, -a red spot showing in his cheeks, “but let’s hope it turns out a -good thing for him. Listen, Rob. Here’s my pocketbook, you see? -Well, it contains just eleven dollars, which I’m going to count -before you, and mostly in small bills, at that. Now, I mean to drop -this where Peleg is bound to come across it, while we watch and see -what he does. Are you game for that?”</p> - -<p>Rob scratched his head, and made a grimace.</p> - -<p>“It does seem sort of cruel, to tell you the truth,” he said, -presently; “but, after all, good may come of it. As I said before, -better know the worst at once, and then either get rid of Peleg, or -else beg his pardon for suspecting him of being a thief. Yes, I’ll -go you in the game, Ralph. I know your intentions are of the right -sort.”</p> - -<p>They shook hands on that. Then Ralph proceeded to bait the trap by -dropping the pocketbook in plain sight, where he said he knew Peleg -Pinder would soon be passing while carrying out his usual duties, -which had to be attended to with clock-like fidelity on that farm -where everything was run on schedule plans.</p> - -<p>“I’ve baited many a trap for wild animals before this,” Ralph -further remarked, with a shrug of his shoulders that told of the -dislike he had for the job, “but this is the first time I ever set -one for a human being. I hope it’ll be the last one. I don’t fancy -doing it at all.”</p> - -<p>So they concealed themselves in a convenient place nearby, where -their presence would never be suspected, and then waited to see what -would happen. Just as Ralph had figured, Peleg hove in sight within -ten minutes. He was carrying two buckets of something for the young -pigs that had to be fed so many times a day in order to cause them -to grow fast.</p> - -<p>He came to a sudden pause, and the buckets were set down violently. -Another second and Ralph gripped Rob’s shoulder as they saw the -hired boy pounce upon the pocketbook with just the eagerness any one -might have shown.</p> - -<p>It was a tense moment. Even Rob admitted that he held his breath -while wondering what Peleg would do with his find. They saw him look -around, as though wondering whether any one had noticed him pick it -up. Rob almost feared that the boy would hasten to conceal the -pocketbook in his shirt, which would be pretty positive evidence -that he was tempted to keep it.</p> - -<p>Then he saw Peleg draw a long breath. Leaving the two buckets -standing there, the boy started on a run for the barns.</p> - -<p>“Now what’s he up to?” ventured Ralph, staring after the runner in -dismay.</p> - -<p>“Isn’t your father out there doing something?” asked Rob, giving -Peleg the benefit of the doubt.</p> - -<p>“That’s a fact, he is,” admitted the other. “I wonder if Peleg means -to hand him over my pocketbook. I forgot to tell you that he must -know I’m the owner, because it’s of a peculiar pattern, and he has -seen me handle it many times.”</p> - -<p>“We’ll stay here a bit until the coast is clear, and then -investigate, if that suits you, Ralph.”</p> - -<p>After a brief interval Peleg came back again and carried off the two -buckets of swill for the pigs. He did not look at all ruffled, or -act as if he had any weighty secret on his mind, from which Rob took -heart, and believed the boy had done the square thing.</p> - -<p>“Shall we look your father up now?” asked Rob, presently, when -things had settled down again to their accustomed calm.</p> - -<p>“I suppose so,” his companion replied, “but I’m feeling a little -shaky, to tell you the truth, Rob.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I’m not,” said the scout leader. “One thing about it, Ralph, -you don’t want your father to know you had deliberately dropped your -pocketbook so as to test Peleg, do you?”</p> - -<p>“By no means,” answered Ralph, hastily. “I understand what you’re -aiming at, too. So I’ll make out that I’ve missed my pocketbook and -have come out to see if I dropped it about the barns this morning. -Kind of mean to act that way; but you understand that I want to keep -it from dad. If I’ve made a mistake about Peleg, it would be too bad -to get him down on the boy.”</p> - -<p>Sauntering around the big barns, they presently found Mr. Jeffords -busily engaged in mending some harness, a task he always took upon -himself, as he was quite expert along those lines. He glanced up and -smiled at their approach. Ralph forced a halfway anxious look upon -his face.</p> - -<p>“Seen anything of my pocketbook, dad?” he asked.</p> - -<p>For answer the other took it out of a rack above his head.</p> - -<p>“Peleg brought it to me a short time ago; said he had come upon it -on the path, and guessed it was yours, because no one else had a -pocketbook just like it. Better be a little more careful, son, of -your money; it doesn’t grow on bushes, you know,” and, having thus -duly admonished his boy after the manner of parents generally, Mr. -Jeffords forgot all about the circumstance and commenced speaking of -something else.</p> - -<p>Rob was satisfied that the little scheme was turning out just as he -hoped, and that Peleg had not even been tempted to keep his find. He -still felt a little anxiety in connection with the outcome, and soon -gave Ralph a signal that they had better withdraw to a spot where -the contents of the pocketbook could be examined.</p> - -<p>This was easily managed, and soon afterwards the two boys entered -Ralph’s den at the barn, where they could have all the privacy they -wished. It was with considerable interest that Rob saw the other -take out his pocketbook, and his fingers, trembling with eagerness, -commence to handle the wad of bills.</p> - -<p>“Well, how about it?” asked the scout leader, as Ralph looked up; -but really he need hardly have plied the question, for a burning -color had rushed across the other’s face, as though he felt -conscious of having wronged the one who was under suspicion.</p> - -<p>“It was just eleven dollars, I said, didn’t I, Rob? That amount is -here to a fraction, and I guess Peleg never even opened the -pocketbook, after all, but hurried as fast as he could to hand it -over to dad. Well, I’m glad, and at the same time sorry that I did -it.”</p> - -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXIII' title='XIII: When the Circus Came to Town'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>Chapter XIII</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.1em'>When the Circus Came to Town</span> -</h2> -<p>Rob felt something like relief, for although still strong in his -belief that Peleg was innocent of the charge hovering over his head, -he had felt a little anxious.</p> - -<p>“I’m glad to hear you say that, Ralph,” he remarked. “A thing like -this makes a good impression. Peleg has acted like any honest boy -would.”</p> - -<p>“Y—es, it would seem so,” the other went on to say, with a touch of -hesitation in his speech. “I was just wondering if there could be a -method in his madness. You see, for anything we know, he may have -suspected that the pocketbook had been purposely dropped as a trap; -or even seen us hiding where we did, and on that account guessed -what was doing.”</p> - -<p>“That thought never came to me,” Rob replied, looking grave. “While -there’s a chance that it might be so, I don’t believe it, Ralph. I -think you gave him a severe test, and that the boy came out of it -without being scorched a whit. Still, if you have the least doubt -left, and I can’t blame you for it, either, keep tabs of Peleg, and -prove the case, one way or the other.”</p> - -<p>“Oh! I mean to, Rob. I don’t consider it’s quite fair to keep -suspecting a fellow and never openly accuse him. I own up this -affair has upset some of my opinions. I’m more inclined than ever to -believe I was mistaken.”</p> - -<p>“Let’s forget it for the present,” suggested Rob.</p> - -<p>To this the other only too readily agreed, for Ralph was evidently a -fair minded fellow, who believed in the good old motto of “live, and -let live.”</p> - -<p>Supper was to be at an unusually early hour because they meant to -start to town afterwards. The Southern “mammy” who served as cook -evidently knew how to serve up “turtle fries” to equal anything a -Delmonico could boast; at least, that was the verdict of the boys -after they had tasted the dish set before them.</p> - -<p>It was noticed, however, that Tubby, the provider of the leading -article on the bill of fare, did not seem to care particularly for -turtle; which seemed strange to some of the others, knowing his -customary tastes as they did.</p> - -<p>“What ails you, Tubby?” demanded Sim. “Seems to me you only toy with -that helping on your plate. If you love frogs’ legs, and such things -as spring chicken, you ought to just smack your lips over such a -dish as this, fit for a crowned head.”</p> - -<p>Tubby grinned as he went on to reply.</p> - -<p>“Oh! I don’t know, Sim, why it doesn’t seem to strike me just right. -Somehow, I seem to don’t care for it as much as I thought I would.”</p> - -<p>“Why, it is the finest thing going,” urged Sim, “and here you act as -if you thought it would jump right out of your plate at you!”</p> - -<p>“Please don’t say anything more, Sim,” requested Tubby, looking a -bit pale. So the subject was dropped, though Tubby failed to take -another bite of his portion of “turtle fry.”</p> - -<p>Rob had noticed how white the fat boy had suddenly turned while Sim -was teasing him. He immediately guessed what was the matter. He -afterwards found out, just as he suspected, that Tubby, wanting to -see how everything was done, had stood around on the previous -evening when Peleg carved the turtle into bits, after first removing -the double shell, always a difficult task.</p> - -<p>As Rob well knew, there is often a strange species of muscle -contraction observed in the severed portions of a turtle or tortoise -when recently killed, so that even pieces of the meat on the block -will jump in a most peculiar way. Tubby, doubtless, witnessed with -amazement this phenomenon as it was pointed out to him by Peleg, and -somehow the remembrance had taken away his desire to feast upon the -unlucky owner of the shell.</p> - -<p>However, his normal appetite seemed to come back when the heaping -plate of well-browned bass came on, for, taken in all, Tubby kept up -with the others in disposing of the second course.</p> - -<p>It was just after supper, while the boys were sitting around on the -big porch resting a while before thinking of starting for town, that -Peleg appeared. He approached the spot where it happened Ralph and -Rob were idly moving back and forth in one of those wide porch -swings.</p> - -<p>“I wanted to ask you, Ralph, if you had any room in the car tonight -to let me squeeze in, ’cause I happen to have some business to look -after in town that ought to be ’tended to. You see, I got a letter -when the delivery man went through this mornin’ that says I had -ought to see a lawyer in Wyoming right away concerning somethin’ -that I’ll tell you ’bout later on.”</p> - -<p>Ralph nodded his head as though it would be quite agreeable to him.</p> - -<p>“Sure, Peleg, plenty of room,” he replied. “Car will hold seven -without crowding, and with you there will be only six. We’ll be -starting in about fifteen minutes, so if you haven’t had supper, -better be getting busy.”</p> - -<p>Afterwards he turned toward Rob and remarked:</p> - -<p>“Queer thing for Peleg to want to go into town at night; but then -he’s a pretty busy fellow all day long. I wonder if he did get a -letter this afternoon when the rural delivery mail man came along in -his buggy?”</p> - -<p>“I saw him reading some sort of letter half an hour ago, so I -imagine he did,” Rob told him, and the subject was dropped.</p> - -<p>The patrol leader had noticed, however, that Peleg looked flushed -more than ordinarily at the time he asked permission to accompany -them to town. From this fact he imagined the boy had something on -his mind. Perhaps that letter had been from the sister who was -living in service some seven miles away in an opposite direction -from Wyoming, and whom he did not often see. However, it was no -business of his who Peleg corresponded with, and so Rob put the -matter out of his mind.</p> - -<p>Later on the four boys jumped into the big old car as Ralph drew up -in front of the farmhouse. Peleg, too, was ready, and found a place -on one of the extra movable seats. Rob again noticed that the boy -seemed to be excited, though never speaking unless addressed. -Several times he believed Peleg was chuckling to himself as if -secretly pleased; but, then, a trip to town after nightfall might be -a treat that excited his delight.</p> - -<p>When they finally had covered the distance separating the Jeffords’ -farm from Wyoming, and put the car up at a convenient garage where -it could be called for at any hour of the night, Peleg said he -guessed he would move along.</p> - -<p>“We don’t know just when we’ll be starting back, Peleg,” Ralph -called after him; “but better show up here by eleven at the latest, -or you might get left.”</p> - -<p>“Oh! I’ll be along before that,” confidently replied the other, as -he hurried away down the street.</p> - -<p>Sim was chuckling as though secretly amused.</p> - -<p>“Now what has got hold of you, Sim, to keep making all those queer -sounds like you do?” demanded Andy Bowles.</p> - -<p>“Oh! nothing much,” answered the disturber of the peace, “only I -think I can see through a mill-stone when there’s a hole in it. I -was thinking about Peleg’s asking to come with us. That letter -business may have only been a blind. The real cause you can hear, if -you listen right now.”</p> - -<p>“Why, it’s a band playing, as you live!” ejaculated Tubby.</p> - -<p>“To be sure,” laughed Ralph. “I forgot that this was the night the -circus was billed to strike Wyoming. It’s located on a vacant lot we -have to pass going toward the centre of the town. Come along, let’s -stand around for a bit and see the sights. I always like to watch -the shouters get busy, and see the crowd of country yahoos gathering -around. We’ve got a whole hour yet before the concert begins, boys.”</p> - -<p>What wideawake boy could ever resist the alluring attraction of a -circus band, with the added pleasure of listening to the various -glib-tongued orators who so loudly describe the wonders to be seen -in the side shows? Even Rob was perfectly willing to move along and -join the crowd surging in front of the round-top that occupied the -big vacant lot.</p> - -<p>Many lights abounded, strange sounds came from beyond the canvas -walls, and everything combined to throw an air of romantic interest -about the one-night stand of the Great Aggregation that had honored -Wyoming with its presence.</p> - -<p>So the five boys stood and listened and laughed while the -loud-voiced fakirs on the platforms bellowed their invitations to -“step in and see the seven wonders of the world,” as shown in their -side shows; while the busy ticket-taker in the circus wagon -continued to sell pasteboard admissions to the big event, and people -gradually sifted into the round-top for the evening performance.</p> - -<p>“There’s Peleg!” announced Sim, later on. “What did I tell you, -fellows?”</p> - -<p>Sure enough, Peleg was to be seen standing there, with a look of -intense interest on his face, as though greatly amused by all this -glitter and talk. The woman in spangles who handled an enormous -snake so fearlessly had the crowd gaping with awe; the pigmies from -the heart of Africa who sang such a quaint song and exhibited their -war trophies excited great interest; and the giant and dwarf -appearing side by side on another platform caused quite a stampede -in that direction when they pretended to engage in a boxing match.</p> - -<p>No wonder then that Peleg could not resist stopping on his way, and -staring at those wonderful sights. It would be hard, indeed, to find -any boy capable of passing by on the other side of the street, no -matter what his errand, without halting for at least a few minutes’ -survey and treat.</p> - -<p>“But you notice that he isn’t showing any signs of going inside, -don’t you?” Tubby was saying, turning to Sim. “Perhaps Peleg did -have some other sort of errand in town, just as he said. Stopping on -his way doesn’t signify anything, for we’re doing the same thing.”</p> - -<p>Still, Peleg was standing there when they once more resumed their -stroll, that same entranced look on his freckled face; as though he -may have utterly forgotten the passage of time, and the fact of his -having business to attend to in this unexpected treat of being -brought in touch with a traveling circus.</p> - -<p>Ralph had several things he wanted his friends to see while in town. -Of course, they might be trivial sights to these scouts, some of -whom had actually been across the ocean; traveled to Mexico, and -visited at the great Panama-Pacific Exposition on the Coast; but, -then, like most boys, he felt that it was up to him to do the honors -to the best of his ability.</p> - -<p>So Rob and the others looked upon the high school with its campus; -heard about the doings of the football team, and the baseball nine -that represented Wyoming in the league; were shown the various mills -and factories upon which the stability of Wyoming rested; and, -finally, along toward half-past seven, they started for the hall -where the concert was to be given, and which happened to be in the -centre of the town.</p> - -<p>Rob noticed that quite a lively wind had arisen. Some of the boys -remarked that they were glad they had thought to “chuck” their -sweaters in the car, for with such a high breeze in their faces they -would need them going home at a late hour. Mention is made of this -because it afterwards turned out that this same strong wind had much -to do with the fortunes of Wyoming before another day dawned.</p> - -<p>As they passed along the main street of the town Rob saw Ralph -pointing to what seemed to be an abandoned frame building that had -once been a bustling hive of industry, though now deserted. It stood -as a connecting link between the old part of the town and the newer -section where all those factories and mills lay.</p> - -<p>“Going to be pulled down soon, and another big mill built there,” -Ralph remarked, and then he added, turning to Rob: “Look, Rob, -there’s Peleg now, and going in that place!”</p> - -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXIV' title='XIV: The Rising Wind'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>Chapter XIV</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.1em'>The Rising Wind</span> -</h2> -<p>“Then he didn’t go to the circus, after all,” remarked Tubby, as -though that one thought occupied his mind; truth to tell, had the -stout scout been given his own choice in the matter, he might have -preferred seeing the acrobats and the tightrope walkers under the -big round-top, rather than listen to the warblings of those who were -to take part in the concert.</p> - -<p>“He seems to hesitate and look around him,” said Rob, meaningly, to -Ralph Jeffords. “What sort of a building is that, anyhow? It looks -as though it might be given up to offices and shops.”</p> - -<p>“Just what the Handy Building is,” explained Ralph. “There are a lot -of different business people represented there. Some people call it -the Arcade Building. You can see plenty of lights there, for most of -the offices keep open till ten o’clock at night. Among others I -might mention who occupy space in there, Rob, is one Hardman, a -curio dealer. I’ve been in his rooms lots of times when I had some -money I felt like investing in old coins and foreign postage stamps -for my collection.”</p> - -<p>“Stamps!”</p> - -<p>Rob only repeated the word after the other, but there was a world of -meaning connected with the way he did it. Like a flash there came to -him the remembrance of the loss Ralph had claimed to have suffered, -when he failed to discover the several packets of valuable stamps -where he believed he had left them, ready for mailing back to a city -dealer from whom he had received them for making selections.</p> - -<p>Could it be possible that Peleg had yielded to some sudden -temptation, and purloined those packets? Was his errand to Wyoming -really to dispose of the stamps, after he had taken them from the -sheets to which they had been slenderly attached?</p> - -<p>Rob was conscious of a chilly feeling around the region of his heart -as he continued to watch the boy standing there. It was not -difficult to imagine Peleg battling with the strong temptation. That -might account for his looking dubiously up at the building, and -hesitating before taking a fatal step in wrong-doing.</p> - -<p>“Well, he’s gone in!” said Sim, presently. “I guess Peleg really had -some business in town, and didn’t mean to go to the show. I c’n see -that all sorts of people have offices in that building, lawyers, -doctors and even a curio dealer. Do we go on now, Ralph, or are you -meaning to wait for Peleg?”</p> - -<p>“Oh! we’re going on, all right, Sim; Peleg said nothing about -wanting to attend the entertainment. Perhaps, after he’s through -with his <i>important business</i> here he may drift back to the circus -lot. That would be more in his line, I guess. Come on.”</p> - -<p>“What were those packets of stamps worth, Ralph?” Rob managed to ask -without being overheard by any of the others, for Tubby and Andy -chanced to be engaged in a little dispute concerning something that -had arisen, as with Sim they trudged along ten feet or so in the -rear.</p> - -<p>“Something like fifteen dollars, I should say,” replied the other, -gloomily.</p> - -<p>Rob knew that it was not so much the value of the missing packets -that bothered Ralph Jeffords as the fact that a boy to whom his -father had been so kind had apparently betrayed a trust, and stolen -from the son of his benefactor.</p> - -<p>“And you think Peleg has been pretty keen on making money, do you?” -continued the scout leader.</p> - -<p>“Yes, that’s a fact,” he was told, moodily. “I never knew a fellow -more eager to scrape cents and dollars together. He would do any -kind of extra work after hours if only he could make ten cents by -it.”</p> - -<p>“But you wouldn’t call him a money-lover, or a miser, would you?” -queried Rob.</p> - -<p>“That was what I thought at first, and I didn’t like it one bit,” -Ralph explained, frankly. “So I mentioned the matter to Peleg one -time. He told me that he was the oldest of the children left by his -father when he died. One sister just younger than Peleg works for a -family not a great many miles away from here. The others, three of -them, are in an orphan asylum, you know. Well, would you believe it, -Peleg told me he had an ambition to get enough money together, -somehow, to sooner or later have an humble home, where all the -Pinder children might live together!”</p> - -<p>Rob caught his breath.</p> - -<p>“That was a noble resolution for Peleg, wasn’t it?” he exclaimed.</p> - -<p>“I believed so,” replied Ralph, disconsolately. “It made me think a -heap of the boy, and I tried every way I could to encourage him. -That’s what makes it cut me so hard now, to suspect that he could -steal from me.”</p> - -<p>Somehow, what he had heard seemed to encourage Rob more than ever in -his belief that Peleg must be innocent. The circumstances all seemed -to point strongly toward his being guilty; but Rob plucked up fresh -hope after learning what a splendid excuse the boy had given for -scrimping, and saving every cent he could gather together.</p> - -<p>In imagination Rob could even see the happy faces of the little -Pinders when they eventually found themselves under a roof of their -own, if such happiness was indeed ever going to come their way. -Brave, loyal, brotherly Peleg, how few boys would have dreamed such -dreams as came to him at night, and visions by day?</p> - -<p>“Oh! it doesn’t seem possible that he could be guilty of doing such -a mean thing as taking your stamps, Ralph,” he told the other.</p> - -<p>Somehow, even the confidence Rob had in the boy who was under -suspicion seemed to make Ralph Jeffords feel better.</p> - -<p>“Your saying that does you credit, Rob,” he told his new friend; -“and because of the faith you seem to feel in him, I’m going to try -again and believe Peleg innocent. But, all the same, that won’t -prevent me from finding out the truth.”</p> - -<p>“No, you owe that much to Peleg,” admitted Rob. “One way or the -other, you’ve got to learn the answer to this puzzle. How will you -go about it?”</p> - -<p>“There’s one way that might tell the story,” confided Ralph. “I can -come down to town tomorrow morning on some errand, and take occasion -to drop in at the Arcade.”</p> - -<p>“You mean to see the curio dealer, and put a few questions to him; -is that the programme, Ralph?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. He knows me very well, and would keep my secret,” continued -the other, as he sighed heavily, evidently anticipating the worst. -“I’d have the money with me to buy them back if Peleg did sell them, -because I wouldn’t want Mr. Hardman to have the boy arrested as a -thief. That would leave it all in my hands. I’d have to consult my -father before I decided what I finally ought to do in the matter.”</p> - -<p>“Well, something may happen between now and tomorrow to change your -plans. For instance, you may even possibly discover the stamps -somewhere. I’ve hidden things myself, and for a short time forgotten -where I put them. Then somebody else may have taken them, not to -steal them, it might be. Oh! there are lots of loopholes through -which they could have passed. And after you’ve learned the truth -you’re surprised to find how easy it was to misjudge any one.”</p> - -<p>“But what else would take Peleg in there?”</p> - -<p>“I confess I couldn’t give even a guess,” admitted the scout leader; -“but he said there was some news in that letter he received that -made him want to come to town. For all we know, it might have -something to do with the sister who is in service, or even the three -smaller children in the asylum. Poor Peleg has been dreaming of -doing great things, you know, Ralph.”</p> - -<p>“You are certainly the grandest fellow to stand by any one who is -down I ever met!”</p> - -<p>“Oh! I don’t know that I’m different from any scout who wears the -khaki, and has taken the scout oath to try and be useful to others. -You’d do just as much if you had the chance, and I know it, Ralph. -But suppose we drop Peleg for the time being, and speak of something -else? The other fellows must be wondering why we keep our heads -together so long, and talk in undertones.”</p> - -<p>“I’m agreeable, Rob. Notice how the wind has commenced to rise. It -was quiet when we left home, and now you can hear it rustling -through the trees at a great rate. Do you think it’s going to -storm?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t happen to be the weather sharp of the troop,” laughed Rob, -“so you mustn’t depend too much on my prediction.”</p> - -<p>He looked up at the sky, and then around him, after which he -ventured to say:</p> - -<p>“I think there will be quite a blow during the night, for those -clouds are passing over in a hurry; but it isn’t likely we’ll have -to go home in a rainstorm.”</p> - -<p>Apparently, the other trio must have also been paying attention to -the rising wind, for just then Tubby called out:</p> - -<p>“Hope you’ve got a gilt-edged fire department in your town, Ralph. -If a fire <i>did</i> happen to break out tonight, with this breeze going, -it would likely eat up a few of your buildings. How about it?”</p> - -<p>“Why, we’ve got a pretty good fire department, such as you are apt -to find in towns of this size,” replied the other, seriously. “It’s -partly a volunteer one, of course, and they’ve got quite a few -medals won in State rivalries, competing with other companies. Fact -is, we’re a bit proud of the Wyoming Fire Department. They can smash -windows faster, and get a hose up to a burning house five seconds -quicker than the best of them.”</p> - -<p>All of the boys laughed at hearing Ralph say this.</p> - -<p>“Whee!” exclaimed Tubby, “I wouldn’t like to be under that old -circus tent if a big storm did come swooping along. I guess it’d go -flying over the mountain-tops like a kite.”</p> - -<p>“I was in a circus once when we had a terrific storm,” admitted -Ralph. “I’ll never forget the way the frightened people behaved. The -canvas flapped wildly, and made the most terrifying noises going. We -expected to have the whole business come down about our ears any -minute, but fortunately the wind passed over, and the animals quit -howling so that the people could quiet the youngsters. It was -something awful while it lasted.”</p> - -<p>“Are we going inside the hall now?” asked Andy, who had grown tired -of walking around the town seeing the “sights”; for while these may -have amounted to something in Ralph’s estimation, they were very -common in the eyes of fellows who had done so much traveling, and -had even seen considerable of the war in Europe, as well as the -wonders of New York City.</p> - -<p>“We might as well, because it’s getting close to the time for the -performance to begin,” the guide replied.</p> - -<p>There seemed to be a good many people all moving in the same general -direction as themselves. These were, doubtless, the holders of -tickets to the entertainment that had been the magnet drawing them -to town on this particular night fated to be set down with a red -mark in the history of Wyoming.</p> - -<p>Presently they joined the line before the door of the hall in which -the concert was to be held. Apparently it was bound to be a popular -affair. Ralph privately informed his mates that most of the people -were coming just to hear the little girl with the Patti-like voice. -In this way he aroused their curiosity to a high pitch; though none -of them claimed to be fine judges of operatic music, or able to -decide the exact quality of a wonderful voice, still they knew good -singing, and were considerably interested in what Ralph had told -them of the girl who was leading the printed programme as Anna -Burgoyne.</p> - -<p>“Her father was connected with the opera over across the water years -ago,” explained Ralph. “Her mother, too, used to sing in public, so -you see Anna comes by her wonderful voice honestly. But just you -wait and see, that’s all.”</p> - -<p>They found the hall already well filled with an audience that -counted as most of the people worth while in and around Wyoming; -though the circus doubtless served to attract quite a crowd, as it -always does.</p> - -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXV' title='XV: The Clang of the Fire Bell'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>Chapter XV</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.1em'>The Clang of the Fire Bell</span> -</h2> -<p>The hall continued to fill up, until there was standing room only by -the time the performance began. The boys were interested in the -people around them, for Ralph was able to relate certain things of -interest connected with some of those he pointed out.</p> - -<p>All at once Tubby exclaimed:</p> - -<p>“Well, we made a big mistake, after all, about him!”</p> - -<p>“Who are you referring to, Tubby?” asked Sim, who sat next the fat -scout.</p> - -<p>“Why, just turn your head this way, and glance over yonder near the -door among the latecomers. Strike you that you know anybody in that -bunch?” chuckled Tubby.</p> - -<p>“Say, it is Peleg, after all!” admitted Sim. “I was dead sure the -circus would do for him, and here he bobs up at the concert. Do you -suppose it’s because we just happened to be coming here, and he knew -it, Ralph?”</p> - -<p>Ralph and Rob had discovered the farm boy by then.</p> - -<p>“Oh! I don’t know about that,” said the former, looking both -surprised and puzzled. “I believe I’ve heard Peleg say more than -once he liked music, and singing especially. That was when he told -me one of his little sisters could warble like a bird, and some day -she might show people the Pinders weren’t such good-for-nothing -trash, after all. That’s what has been worrying Peleg all along, the -way folks looked down on his father and the children after the -mother died, years ago.”</p> - -<p>“Well, he looks as if he was glad to even find standing room -tonight,” suggested Andy. “You can see a regular grin on his face -away from over here. Peleg certainly seems happier than I’ve known -him to be since we first met him. It doesn’t require much to please -some fellows, I take it.”</p> - -<p>Rob looked at Ralph, and found the other observing him intently. -Both of them were wondering whether the visit Peleg had made to the -old curio dealer could account for that broad smile on his face. -Indeed, an observer, if he had been a boy, would have said that -Peleg every once in so often looked as though he wanted to “shake -hands with himself,” he felt so happy.</p> - -<p>The announcement that the entertainment was about to commence drew -the attention of the five lads from Peleg Pinder. When Tubby -happened to glance in that quarter again later on, he could not -place the other, for, the rear of the hall being densely packed with -the late-comers, it was difficult to make out any individual person.</p> - -<p>There were some ordinary numbers at first, a fair quartette that -provoked a certain amount of applause, then a banjo solo that quite -excited Tubby, who secretly aspired to some day to play such a -splendid instrument.</p> - -<p>After that some other exercises came along, but it was evident that -the audience as a whole was waiting for the crowning event of the -evening.</p> - -<p>“Now she’s coming, so get ready, fellows!” said Andy Bowles, -referring to his programme.</p> - -<p>There was a little wait. Ralph craned his neck, looking around to -nod to a number of people he knew; but Rob really believed the other -was thinking of Peleg more than anything else just then. To prove -this he whispered:</p> - -<p>“Don’t see anything of him, do you, Ralph?”</p> - -<p>“That’s a fact,” came the ready reply; “he’s lost in the shuffle, -for there’s a big mob back there, pushing to get inside the hall in -time to hear Anna Burgoyne. I tell you she’s getting folks up in -this neck of the woods excited a heap. But you just wait and see, -that’s all.”</p> - -<p>Then there broke out a wild hand-clapping and stamping of feet. Rob -saw a demure little girl standing there, blushing and bowing as she -faced the big audience.</p> - -<p>“Why, she’s hardly more than a child!” gasped Tubby, as the noise -gradually died away, with the singer standing there wholly at her -ease.</p> - -<p>“Well, she isn’t thirteen yet,” admitted Ralph, “which makes it all -the more wonderful. Oh! she’s a nightingale, all right, believe me. -I think she’s got the sweetest and strongest voice of any one I ever -heard, and, let me tell you, I’ve been down to New York and attended -more than a few first class concerts, too.”</p> - -<p>Silence fell upon the crowd. Every eye was fastened on the demure -little figure of Anna Burgoyne. Every one almost in that big hall -had heard her sing time and again, but it seemed as though they -could never get enough of her wonderful voice. Most of them believed -like Ralph, that some fine day little Anna was bound to put Wyoming -on the map through the marvelous voice Nature had given her. Already -some of the rich men of the town had settled it among themselves -that later on she must be sent to Europe, when the dreadful war was -over, in order to have the highest artists of the Old World train -her voice. Nothing was to be too good for Anna Burgoyne. Already -they could in imagination see her charming the world of music -lovers, and incidentally making the little Adirondack town of -Wyoming known far and wide.</p> - -<p>Rob understood that the child did have a most wonderful voice as -soon as he heard her commence to sing. He, too, was thrilled with -the purity of her tones as well as by their sweetness and power. Of -course, he knew that she was almost wholly untrained, but in time, -unless something happened to injure her vocal chords, she would very -likely fulfill all the predictions of her admiring Wyoming friends.</p> - -<p>A storm of applause followed the completion of her selection, in -which all of the boys heartily joined. Then came another song, and -still a third. It seemed as if the audience had gone crazy over that -mite of a girl, and would insist on her complying with their demands -until she could no longer sing a note.</p> - -<p>Finally, as the only way to still the tempest, the manager of the -entertainment appeared on the stage to tell the cheering people that -Anna Burgoyne would oblige them once more later on in the evening, -since they would find her name there for further efforts.</p> - -<p>“Well, what do you think now?” asked Ralph, glowing with pride over -the achievement of the town pet.</p> - -<p>“She’s bound to make a name for herself, all right,” admitted Rob.</p> - -<p>“I never heard anything like it,” said Tubby, looking so pleased -that his cheeks stuck out like twin rosy apples. “Why, I could sit -for hours and hear that girl sing. She’s certainly a wonder, Ralph.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t see how they can bear to let her go away to Europe,” -observed Andy, whom Rob had actually seen slily wipe his eyes with -the back of his hand while the singer was in the midst of a pathetic -little ballad.</p> - -<p>“Say, just listen to that wind making things hum outside, will you?” -practical Sim was saying about that time. “I do believe it’s growing -worse right along. I hope it doesn’t blow us into a ditch when we’re -heading for home. That old carryall of yours is big enough to catch -the wind full smack, Ralph.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t worry about that, Sim,” retorted the other. “I’ve been in all -sorts of weather with that auto, and she stands up before it like -everything. Chances are five to one we’ll get back home safe and -sound. I only hope you will all feel that it’s paid you to come in -with me.”</p> - -<p>“Oh! that goes without saying, Ralph. We’ve had a bully time -already; and there’s going to be more of that singing, you know,” -Tubby assured him. “There’s Peleg now, sitting up on that railing -back of the hall, along with some other fellows. Not a bad place to -be in, because no tall woman with a head of hair as big as a bushel -basket can intercept your view of the stage.”</p> - -<p>Tubby had the wisdom to lower his voice to a whisper while saying -the latter part of this, because the lady to whom he evidently -referred was apt to hear him unless he exercised great care; and one -glimpse Tubby had had of her determined face had made him decide -that he had better not excite her ire if he knew what was good for -his health.</p> - -<p>Rob looked and could also see Peleg. The Pinder boy seemed to be -enjoying his evening at the entertainment hugely, for his face was -still wreathed in smiles. Apparently his trip to town had been of a -satisfactory nature, Rob thought.</p> - -<p>The second half of the affair now started in, and once more the -audience listened to what the programme provided. Though they -applauded everything, it could easily be seen that they knew just -when to stop in order not to induce any of the other local -performers to believe the hand-clapping was meant as an encore.</p> - -<p>Finally there was Anna Burgoyne again, bowing, while a storm of -sounds arose so that for several minutes she was utterly unable to -proceed. When this had gone on long enough, according to the -manager, he must have made some motion which the girl had been -awaiting.</p> - -<p>The lady at the piano struck a chord, and as if by magic all that -hand-clapping and stamping ceased. The change was simply marvelous, -and, save for the clear notes of the instrument, and perhaps the -rattling of a few windows under the influence of the unruly wind, -silence had fallen upon the big hall.</p> - -<p>Then the girl commenced to sing again. Rob liked her voice better -than ever, now that he heard it under different conditions. He was -glad he had been asked to come to town by Ralph; glad of the -opportunity to hear such splendid music, and find himself face to -face with such a little song witch.</p> - -<p>Hardly had the last note died away than they gave her a whirlwind of -approbation. Why, the very floor seemed to quiver under the thunder -of sound; and all intended to inform that slender slip of a girl how -much they thought of her vocal efforts. Surely there was only one -Anna Burgoyne, and she belonged to Wyoming in the Adirondacks.</p> - -<p>Then, in time, they allowed her to sing to them again. If anything, -this last song won their hearts more than all that had gone before. -A third time she had to come from behind the scenes, for they would -not allow the programme to proceed. This time she bowed, and smiled, -and shook her head; but the same tumult broke out after she had -gone.</p> - -<p>“They act as though they could almost eat her up!” Tubby was saying, -laughingly, all the while pounding his fat palms together, and -making considerable addition to the general din.</p> - -<p>After this had gone on for some time without any apparent sign of a -break, once more the girl appeared, looking flushed and happy. She -shook her head, and held up her hands as if to beg them to have -mercy on her. In spite of all, Rob believed she would be obliged to -sing just once more, though he knew she must be tired from her -exertions.</p> - -<p>Something came about that changed things almost in a breath, -something that caused the crowd gathered there to think of other -things besides music and promising girl singer with a grand future -before her.</p> - -<p>Rob felt a sudden thrill pass through him as he caught a brazen note -just when the tumult in the hall had died away, and the lady at the -piano was beginning to strike up an accompaniment.</p> - -<p>“Is that the fire alarm bell?” he asked Ralph, hastily.</p> - -<p>“Yes, that’s what!” exclaimed the other.</p> - -<p>The sound must have struck a note of alarm at many hearts in that -gathering, for they could easily guess how a fire, with such a gale -blowing, might imperil the whole town. Men could be seen jumping -hastily from their seats, possibly some of them volunteer firemen, -whose duty called them to leave their beds or the banquet hall when -the call came, regardless of conditions or circumstances.</p> - -<p>Their pushing through the crowd at the door was the signal for a -rush; and in the excitement of that moment even the popular little -Anna Burgoyne was temporarily forgotten in the desire to get outside -the hall.</p> - -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXVI' title='XVI: Fighting the Flames'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>Chapter XVI</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.1em'>Fighting the Flames</span> -</h2> -<p>“Hadn’t we better follow the crowd, and get out of here, Ralph?” -asked Rob, when he found the sudden alarm of fire had broken up the -entertainment, and that even little Anna Burgoyne had taken -advantage of the diversion to slip back off the stage again.</p> - -<p>“I suppose we might as well,” grumbled Ralph, “because she’s gone, -and there won’t be any more singing tonight.”</p> - -<p>The five boys started toward the door, where quite a jam had -occurred, as many of the excited audience tried to push through at -the same time. In consequence there was a blockade, and it would -take a long time for those in the rear to emerge from the hall.</p> - -<p>“Too slow for me,” ventured Andy. “Say, Ralph, couldn’t we get out -by way of one of these windows?”</p> - -<p>“Let’s look and see,” added Sim.</p> - -<p>Investigation proved the plan feasible. The ground was fourteen feet -or so below them, but there was a shed of some sort, on to which -roof they could readily pass from the window of the second-story -hall.</p> - -<p>Ralph led the way, because he belonged to Wyoming, and really the -pilot of the party, chauffeur and all that. After him came Rob, -while the other three followed in turn, Tubby, as usual, bringing up -the rear with credit, and a super-abundance of material.</p> - -<p>“Careful you don’t slip and slide off this shed roof,” advised Ralph -as he cautiously moved along, intending to hang from the lower end -and drop to the ground.</p> - -<p>Tubby came near having trouble when his feet slipped; but Andy -managed to catch hold of the one in danger, and steadied him until -he could get another footing. Then one by one they lowered -themselves and dropped. Even Tubby succeeded in making a safe -retreat from the building. People were still emerging by twos and -threes from the exit of the hall as they hurried past. Evidently -they might have been kept shut up there for half an hour, losing -much worth seeing, had they been content to accept things as they -came, and never trying to escape by way of that window.</p> - -<p>“Which way now?” bellowed Andy.</p> - -<p>“Leave that to Ralph; he knows how the land lies!” Rob suggested.</p> - -<p>“Yes, follow me, everybody!” the party indicated called over his -shoulder.</p> - -<p>Away they hastened along the street, where people were already -hurrying in squads and singly, all heading in a certain direction as -though word had been passed along the line concerning the location -of the fire.</p> - -<p>“You see, it’s in the poorer section of the town,” Ralph was telling -Rob, as they ran along side by side. “There goes another fire -engine; and I suppose the chemical crowd have already started work -on the fire, because they can get going so much faster than the -others. Listen to the shouting, will you? That sounds as if Wyoming -had been waked up, I guess.”</p> - -<p>Rob was already alarmed, and with reason. He could see from the -glare in the heavens that the fire was dead ahead of them; indeed, -several times they had glimpsed flames shooting madly upwards. Rob -remembered that they were facing the wind almost head on, which -would mean that the conflagration must be swept on its breath -directly toward the mill and factory part of the town.</p> - -<p>Great excitement reigned all around them, and this was growing more -intense as each dozen seconds flitted past. People began to realize -that an awful calamity actually threatened their fine little town, -and that unless the firemen were unusually successful in confining -the blaze to a few houses, there was a chance of a catastrophe that -would wipe out the better part of the entire community, and render -many families homeless, as well as depriving hundreds of their daily -tasks if the mills and factories went up in smoke.</p> - -<p>No doubt the fire department would do everything possible to save -the town, but, after all, they were a feeble force to try and stand -in the way of that leaping blaze when fanned and whipped by a -furious wind.</p> - -<p>The five boys had come in to attend an entertainment, but it began -to look as if they might be on hand to witness a most distressing -catastrophe. Rob was trying to think what they could do to help save -the town, should the fire actually get beyond the frantic efforts of -the few firemen with their feeble apparatus. He was only too willing -to do anything that lay in his power to render assistance; but just -then, despite his utmost efforts, no scheme appealed to him.</p> - -<p>Many there were who would be glad to help as best they could; but it -is disheartening to find how little can be done under such -conditions. The fire had already taken such a fierce hold that the -chances of successfully fighting it and saving the rest of the town -seemed slim, indeed.</p> - -<p>“There, they’ve got the water started on it!” called out Andy, who -had sight that enabled him to see things others were less able to -catch. “Two streams are getting busy, it seems. Good for those -firemen; they know their business, all right. But, say, the flames -just seem to laugh at all they can do. Look there the way they keep -on shooting up like they were trying to lick the clouds!”</p> - -<p>It was indeed an impressive sight. The fire demon was hard at work -trying to defy all efforts at putting the flames down. By the red -light of the conflagration the crowd that was quickly gathering, -running this way and that in excitement, had a peculiar look to Rob, -who likened them to Indians minus their feathers and other war -paraphernalia.</p> - -<p>“There, it’s gone and done it now!” shrilled a boy nearby; “see, the -lumber yard has caught fire. Gee! look at it going like soap, will -you?”</p> - -<p>It was only too true. Instead of the fire being stemmed, it appeared -to be making giant strides, and extending right and left, as well as -sweeping onward with that furious wind.</p> - -<p>Already cries of terror were arising. Some of the people who chanced -to live at the further end of the town beyond the mills and -factories started on a run for their homes, doubtless with the one -thought of getting as much of their household possessions to a place -of safety as possible before the greedy flames swept a swathe of -destruction across that region.</p> - -<p>Rob had seen pictures representing a panic, but here was the real -thing. While some of the mob stood there and stared as though they -did not mean to miss a single feature of the burning up of the town, -others were wringing their hands and shrieking in terror as they ran -this way and that, hardly knowing what they were about.</p> - -<p>It was really difficult to talk while all these noises were going -on. Rob had to place his lips quite close to the ear of Ralph when -he spoke.</p> - -<p>“The wind is carrying things before it, you see, Ralph!” he called -out. “Unless I miss my guess, it’s heading straight toward the -mills.”</p> - -<p>“Just what it is,” admitted the other, looking completely unnerved. -“If there comes a sudden and lucky shift to that breeze it’s -good-bye to all of Wyoming—mills, dwelling houses and everything. -You see, it’s got something to feed on right along, from the -cottages where it’s working now, to the factories. It’s eating its -way just like a train of wet powder will do when you touch a match -to the same, sizzling along until it reaches the end. And the worst -of it is nothing can be done to halt its triumphant march, nothing -that I can see.”</p> - -<p>It was plain that Ralph was disheartened by the prospect confronting -the enterprising little town. He took a great interest in Wyoming, -and the impending catastrophe appalled him.</p> - -<p>“Isn’t there something we could do to help these poor people get -their stuff out of reach of the flames, even if we can’t stop the -fire raging?” asked Tubby, whose tender heart was always ready to -bleed for any sufferer, no matter what his race, color or condition.</p> - -<p>There were wagons backing up to the pavements, and people hurriedly -making trips back and forth between the houses and the curb, -carrying what they treasured most in their limited possessions. It -was a most pitiable sight, and one those boys were not likely to -forget for a long time.</p> - -<p>The idea took hold of them, and they started to work, lending a -helping hand to a number of the panic-stricken families along the -street. Meanwhile the fire was eating its way gradually along. Rob -tried to figure how long at this rate of progress it would take for -it to jump across to the other side of the town, and start devouring -those splendid mills, and the machine shops, where scores and -hundreds of people were accustomed to earn their daily wage.</p> - -<p>“An hour at the most, and it will be good-night to the place, -perhaps in a whole not less time than that,” he told himself; and -there was something akin to awe in the thought that man appeared to -be so utterly helpless to engage in a combat with the allied -elements of wind and fire, once they took the bits in their teeth, -and started to destroy all in their path.</p> - -<p>Even where the boys were working so like beavers they could hear the -angry snap and crackle of the leaping flames. To Rob it seemed as -though they were actually laughing in derision at the futility of -the crafty brain of man to stay their onward progress.</p> - -<p>If he could only devise some way to beat them at their own game—how -Rob cudgeled his wits to try and think of some such scheme, but -somehow the things that appealed to him seemed so silly and foolish -when pitted against such a roaring windswept mass of raging fire.</p> - -<p>Rob had seen a forest ablaze, and knew more or less how the men who -watch the Government-owned lands are taught to act when face to face -with such a calamity. But the tactics that might be successful under -such conditions were useless here in town. It was folly to dream of -digging a trench over which the fire could not pass; and equally -useless to think of starting a small fire ahead that could be -controlled, so that when the main conflagration came to such a point -it would find nothing to feed upon.</p> - -<p>All this went on while the boys were working as hard as they could. -Wherever they found a chance to lend a hand they pitched in with -their accustomed vim; more than a few poor families had occasion to -remember those sturdy and accommodating young fellows wearing the -khaki uniforms, who assisted them to load the wagons, and then get a -flying start for a point of safety.</p> - -<p>Rob was beginning to feel a sense of despair as he wrestled in vain -with the perplexing problem of how to successfully fight that volume -of flame eating its way remorselessly toward the section of the town -where so much of the community’s prosperity was laid up.</p> - -<p>Then, like an inspiration, something came to him. It almost took his -breath away, such was the wonderful nature of the idea. It was no -new invention of his, but something he remembered reading when a -city had been threatened with destruction, and the resourceful fire -fighters were compelled to take stern measures in order to check the -onrushing flames.</p> - -<p>He looked around. Ralph fortunately was not far away, staggering -under a trunk belonging to some poor woman who had been given a -chance to place it upon a partly loaded wagon. Rob ran in that -direction. His appearance before Ralph gave the other a new thrill, -for he immediately saw from the excited look on the scout leader’s -earnest face that Rob had struck a feasible idea at last.</p> - -<p>“I’ve got it!” cried Rob, as he seized upon the other; “come with me -as fast as you can, and as we run I’ll tell you my plan. It’s a -desperate chance, but with the help of Heaven we may save the town -yet,” and so they started off as fast as their already tired -condition would allow.</p> - -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXVII' title='XVII: A Wild Race Against Time'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>Chapter XVII</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.1em'>A Wild Race Against Time</span> -</h2> -<p>The two boys had hardly made a start when they found Sim, Andy, and -even Tubby trotting along at their side, and naturally overwhelmed -with astonishment at the singular action of the pair.</p> - -<p>“Hey! what’s all this mean?” cried Sim.</p> - -<p>“Where are you heading for?” exclaimed Andy; while Tubby was -gasping:</p> - -<p>“My stars! is it as bad as <i>this</i>, and do we have to run for our -lives? Will the mills blow up like magazines, Rob, and send -everything sky-high?”</p> - -<p>“Listen!” snapped Ralph. “Rob here’s got a scheme. He’s asked me to -go along with him and help out. Now tell us, Rob, what it’s all -about?”</p> - -<p>“We must get the car out, you and I, Ralph, and make for your place -like the wind. Don’t you understand, it’s that dynamite your -father’s got stored there, together with the battery for exploding -the same, that we’ve got to have.”</p> - -<p>“What, dynamite? Haven’t we got fire enough as it is without trying -to blow up the poor old town?” cried the amazed Andy.</p> - -<p>“You don’t get on to my meaning,” pursued Rob, feverishly. “If we -only get back in time to make use of the stuff, we could shut off -the fire from the other section of the town, where all the mills and -workshops are.”</p> - -<p>Ralph gave a whoop. Evidently something like the truth must have -flashed athwart his active mind.</p> - -<p>“Oh! Rob, you’ve got that old abandoned building in mind, haven’t -you?” he demanded in turn, with a note of exultation in his voice.</p> - -<p>“Nothing else,” came the incisive reply, as all of them continued to -run on.</p> - -<p>“To blow it up would leave a gap, wouldn’t it?” continued Ralph.</p> - -<p>“Just what I’d expect to make by destroying that long rambling -building,” Rob explained. “If any fire jumped across after that, we -could take care of it; but the main lot would be held in check at -the gap. That’s what they sometimes do when a great fire is raging -in a big city. It is the last resort of desperation.”</p> - -<p>“I like the scheme!” declared Sim, instantly.</p> - -<p>“It sounds good to me!” added Andy.</p> - -<p>Tubby, too, may have had an opinion, but he was not given a chance -to express it, for just then they arrived at the garage where the -big car had been left.</p> - -<p>“Don’t lose a second if you can help it, Ralph!” called out Rob.</p> - -<p>“You bet I won’t, Rob!” snapped the other, as he made a rush in the -quarter where he could see the car standing waiting for them.</p> - -<p>“Have the headlights on, too, because we want to make fast time, and -can’t take chances of an accident!” called out the scout leader.</p> - -<p>“How about us, Rob?” asked Sim.</p> - -<p>“You three fellows will have to stay here and wait for us,” came the -order, and Sim, knowing that Rob always meant what he said, and was -moreover the head of the Eagle Patrol, did not attempt to dispute -his word.</p> - -<p>They were keenly disappointed, for nothing would have pleased Sim -and Andy more than to accompany the others in their mad flight out -to the distant farmhouse, some ten miles away, to fetch back the -explosives that might yet save the better part of the apparently -doomed town.</p> - -<p>Again Tubby said nothing. He would have gone had it appeared to be a -part of his duty. Tubby was not “hankering” after such a furious -race against time. Besides, what would be the need of five trying to -do what two could just as well accomplish? Tubby could show a streak -of discretion occasionally, it seemed. Then, again, it would be hard -to tear away from that scene of tremendous excitement, the like of -which none of them had ever seen before.</p> - -<p>Ralph was very much excited, and this may have interfered a little -with his efforts to get the car out of the garage in the least -possible time. Still, he managed fairly well, though Rob was -counting the seconds as never before, with all that riotous noise -ringing in his ears, and calling for speedy action.</p> - -<p>Presently the car came swinging into sight, with Ralph at the wheel. -Rob made a flying leap and was quickly alongside the driver.</p> - -<p>“Now hit it up for home, licketty-split, Ralph!” he called out as he -fell back upon his seat in front.</p> - -<p>“Good-bye, and good luck, fellows!” cried Tubby, warmly.</p> - -<p>“Don’t meet with any accident, whatever you do!” added Sim, for the -loss of the whole town did not count one-quarter so much in his -estimation as would an injury to his beloved chum, Rob.</p> - -<p>Then, with a series of loud snorts, very much after the style of a -horse under whip and spurs, the big car darted away.</p> - -<p>At first Ralph had to go comparatively slow, because of the fact -that there were many people on the roads, scurrying this way and -that, some of them bearing treasures in their arms snatched from -household effects, under the impetus of their lively fears. Wagons -and other vehicles too were encountered, but Ralph, being a clever -driver, managed to swing around these.</p> - -<p>He also kept punching the siren and making a series of staccato -sounds such as you can hear whenever an ambulance, or the vehicle of -a fire-chief dashes through the streets of your city or town in a -sudden emergency.</p> - -<p>So as a rule they were given a pretty decent right of way. People -brushed aside even while not able to understand what right this car -had to the road. Possibly it was accepted as an explanation that -perhaps they were speeding for the next town to engage the fire -department in the effort to save poor Wyoming.</p> - -<p>Behind them lay the burning town. Rob looked back once and shuddered -at what he saw, nor could he ever dismiss it wholly from his mind. -Often in future nights, as he sat looking into a sparkling campfire, -he would again see in imagination Wyoming burning, with the flames -shooting high in the air, and myriads of flying sparks making it -seem like a grand Fourth of July fireworks.</p> - -<p>He bent all his energies to the task of peering ahead, and assisting -the chauffeur keep track of the road, in which they were likely to -meet some sort of obstacle at almost any moment.</p> - -<p>“Seems pretty clear just now!” Rob ventured to say as they fairly -flew along at the rate of almost a mile a minute, the old car doing -nobly when Ralph turned on every particle of power.</p> - -<p>“Yes, it is, but we’re apt to meet a wagon coming to market any old -time!” the other shot back at him, never taking his eyes from the -road ahead even for a second.</p> - -<p>Rob understood. He knew that farmers coming to sell their produce or -hay in the local markets were likely to start away from home during -the night so as to be in the square before peep of dawn. Yes, there -was always a chance that they would meet one or more of these -“hayseeds,” as Sim always called the honest tillers of the soil, -perhaps asleep on his load; though such a thing was hardly possible -with all that brilliant illumination in the sky, as though the world -were coming to an end; and, besides, the muttering roar that sounded -like a battle, Rob thought.</p> - -<p>The headlights were none too brilliant, though answering ordinary -purposes. Rob could have wished they were twice as strong, since -that would have given a longer range, and they could distinguish any -vehicle on the road much further away.</p> - -<p>Around certain bends in the road they swung with a vehemence that -almost took Rob’s breath away. He had told Ralph to make the utmost -speed, and the other was taking his words literally. Several times -Rob almost thought they would skid, and bring up in a heap; but -owing partly to good luck as well as Ralph’s superior knowledge of -the pilot’s duties, they always managed to avoid this particular -disaster.</p> - -<p>It was utterly impossible for Rob to count the passage of time. He -was aware of the fact that it would take them at least twelve -minutes, perhaps more, to make the trip, even when going at this mad -pace. Counting the same back, and a short delay while securing the -dynamite and the battery, it must be something like half an hour -that they would be away from town.</p> - -<p>He wondered whether that would seal the doom of Wyoming. The fire -was being urged on with feverish haste by that compelling wind, and -it was only a question of so much time before it reached the -connecting link between the mill part of the town and that section -where the conflagration already raged.</p> - -<p>Well, they would do all in their power to carry out their plan; if -they failed, in spite of everything, no blame could be attached to -them. A scout need not reproach himself if he has conscientiously -done his duty; the rest has to be left to a higher power than his -will.</p> - -<p>“Look out! I see something ahead!” suddenly snapped Rob, as they -turned a bend, mostly on two wheels.</p> - -<p>Ralph slowed down instantly. At the same time he sounded the Klaxon, -and veered more or less to one side of the road.</p> - -<p>It turned out to be a market wagon belonging to some “trucker” who -was making for town in order to dispose of his vegetables, fresh -eggs, and fowls. He gave them at least half of the road, and they -whirled past. Before they reached him they heard his voice raised to -a bellow in which wonder and alarm predominated.</p> - -<p>“Hey! what’s that red light in the sky mean, Mister?”</p> - -<p>“Wyoming is all afire!” Rob shouted back; and no doubt his words -caused the man to experience a sensation akin to fright.</p> - -<p>So they kept flying along. It was a weird ride, as remarkable as any -one could possibly experience, and the attending conditions added to -its strangeness.</p> - -<p>The next obstacle happened to be a load of hay. Here they were -delayed for as much as half a precious minute of time in getting -safely by, since the wagon took up so much of the road. Ralph again -proved himself to be the right party at the wheel, for he finally -managed to negotiate the passage without an upset.</p> - -<p>Where there were straight stretches Ralph made fearful time. No -contestant in the Vanderbilt Cup Race could have done much better, -Rob thought, as he held his hat with one hand, and strove to see -ahead.</p> - -<p>All the while he knew what desperate chances they were taking, since -this old car was not built for a racing machine. At any moment some -weak part might give way, and—well, Rob did not like to even think -what the result was bound to be if such a thing came to pass. At -least, they would never know what hit them, and there was a little -grim consolation about that.</p> - -<p>The road was unfamiliar to the visitor, but Ralph knew it like a -book; and while he had to keep his eyes fixed ahead, at the same -time familiar turns continually told him just what section they had -reached.</p> - -<p>“Halfway there!” he called out at one time, and Rob drew a long -breath of satisfaction, for it meant that they had done a fair -portion of the course without meeting with any accident.</p> - -<p>“Three-quarters there!” Ralph again told him shortly afterwards; -indeed, to Rob, it seemed as though two minutes had hardly elapsed, -and yet more than a brace of miles must have been covered during the -interval.</p> - -<p>“I can see lights ahead that look as if they came from a house, -Ralph!” he suddenly burst out with.</p> - -<p>“Sure thing! That’s our place!” the other announced.</p> - -<p>Still, on they rushed, and presently Ralph cut down the speed.</p> - -<p>“Here we are, safe and sound, Rob!” he exclaimed, as he turned in at -the lane.</p> - -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXVIII' title='XVIII: Back to the Burning Town'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>Chapter XVIII</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.1em'>Back to the Burning Town</span> -</h2> -<p>Ralph was now on very familiar ground. Every foot of territory was -so well known to him that he could perhaps have gone over it with -his eyes blindfolded.</p> - -<p>Some one came out with a lantern. It was Mr. Jeffords, who must have -been considerably exercised after discovering that amazing glow in -the heavens above Wyoming.</p> - -<p>“What’s happened?” he called out, as he ran toward the spot where -the two boys were springing from the car, “and where is the rest of -your crowd?”</p> - -<p>“You tell him, Rob, while I run off to get some of that dynamite. -Fortunately, I have a key to the little house where we keep it in -stock. Give me my electric light from under the front seat, where I -always carry it. All right, Rob, I’ll be back in a rush!”</p> - -<p>With that Ralph dashed madly away. Judge of the amazement of his -father, who must by this time have begun to fear the world was awry, -and that even his own boy had lost his mind in the mad turmoil.</p> - -<p>“Tell me, what does it all mean, Rob?” he demanded, with quivering -voice.</p> - -<p>“The town’s all afire, sir, and this wind is whipping the flames so -that it begins to look as if everything would go,” the boy told him, -as he proceeded to get in the car. “I’m only going to turn around so -as to save a minute of time. We must speed back there again as fast -as we can make it.”</p> - -<p>“But why did you come out here?” questioned the puzzled farmer.</p> - -<p>“To get some of your dynamite,” Rob explained. “Don’t you see, sir, -there is a chance, by blowing up that old building standing between -the mill section of Wyoming and the rest of the place, we can make a -breach, and keep the fire from getting across to the factories and -mills.”</p> - -<p>“A clever scheme, and I warrant that it came out of your head, Rob -Blake!” exclaimed the other, in admiration.</p> - -<p>“Never mind about that, sir. It is the last desperate resort in a -city fire that is being spread by a high wind. If only we can get -back in time, I believe it may work.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll go with you, Rob!” said the farmer, seized with the -fascination of the thing. He immediately rushed toward the house to -get a hat and coat.</p> - -<p>Rob was sorry he had taken this stand. He hoped the old gentleman -would not delay them in any way. Then, again, if an accident -happened, it would be too bad to have him in the car.</p> - -<p>Rob had taken the time before they left town, and he again consulted -his little nickel watch. He could hardly believe his eyes when he -found that twelve minutes only had elapsed since they said good-bye -to Tubby and the other fellows. This meant that Ralph must have made -tremendous time of it while racing madly along that country road. No -wonder they had been jumped up and down continually, as they struck -uneven places in the turnpike.</p> - -<p>He kept looking off toward the spot where Ralph would be likely to -come from. Could the other carry both the sticks of dynamite and the -battery as well? Rob almost wished he had gone with him, and was -thinking whether it was yet too late, when he heard a hail. Then -came a flash of light, which he knew must be from that little hand -electric torch they had found so useful when hunting the woods for -the lost child, Caleb.</p> - -<p>Just then Mr. Jeffords came along, much to Rob’s relief. At least he -would not delay them, which was one comfort.</p> - -<p>“Please get in, sir, so we can be off in a hurry!” the scout leader -remarked. As Mr. Jeffords realized the necessity for conserving -every second of time in a great emergency such as now confronted -them, he showed no evidence of being offended by this urging, but -hastened to take his seat in the rear.</p> - -<p>Rob was already in place, and Ralph came hurrying up. In his arms he -carried quite a staggering amount of stuff, and was breathing hard -from his exertions.</p> - -<p>The battery and other things he stowed hastily in the back of the -car, where there was plenty of room. Then, getting aboard himself, -for the engine was throbbing as though impatient to be given its -head, Ralph made a quick start.</p> - -<p>Presently they were again on the road, and heading toward town. The -fiery heavens, now spread before them, added to the dreadful -picture. It surely looked as though the last day had indeed arrived, -when the world was about to go up in flames and smoke.</p> - -<p>Mr. Jeffords would have liked to ask further questions, for his -curiosity had been raised to the last notch; but the conditions -hardly favored such a thing. They were speeding faster than he had -ever gone in all his life. He had some difficulty in keeping his hat -on. Moreover, every time he started to open his mouth the wind -rushed down his throat and nearly choked him; so on the whole he -wisely concluded to repress his desire to know more about the -catastrophe that had befallen Wyoming.</p> - -<p>As they drew nearer the town the wind brought to their ears some of -the clamorous noises that were arising; and this in spite of the -racket their own fast speed created. With each wild swing around a -bend the old gentleman doubtless imagined the end had come; but he -was certainly game, and gave no evidence of any craven fear.</p> - -<p>Rob was keeping a bright lookout for that hay-wagon again. He hoped -the man upon learning that the town was afire would have switched -off the main road, and started back home by another roundabout -course. As they continued to fail to overtake the cumbersome object -that almost filled the road, Rob’s hope kept rising, and he finally -decided that this was just what had happened.</p> - -<p>Luck was with them in other ways. They not only negotiated the turns -successfully, but, meeting several wagons coming out of Wyoming, -they found that they were given the right of way, and more than half -the road, thanks, no doubt, to the vigorous fashion in which Ralph -tooted his shrill Klaxon almost constantly.</p> - -<p>Drawing nearer town and the sounds began to be appalling. Mr. -Jeffords must have been thrilled through and through by what he saw -and heard. The flames could now be seen leaping up as though -exulting over their complete mastery of the works of man’s hands. -Rob was wondering and hoping and even praying in connection with -their having drawn perilously close to that connecting link. Would -they arrive in time, or had the fatal leap across already taken -place?</p> - -<p>With other sounds they could hear the roar of many voices. -Doubtless, citizens had joined with the firemen in order to fight -the flames, knowing that their fair town would be in complete ruins -before morning if they did not manage in some fashion to get the -mastery over the raging fire. Then, again, women and children must -be shrieking, dogs barking, horses neighing, and every imaginable -sound mingling to make that furious chorus.</p> - -<p>It was hard now for Ralph to get along, because of the congestion. -Thus, in spite of the warning Klaxon, they were detained several -precious seconds while waiting for some wretched vehicle to get out -of the way. Besides this there were children to be avoided, and all -sorts of vexatious delays.</p> - -<p>In spite of all, however, Rob felt sure they had come back in record -time. Unless his calculations were all awry, he believed they would -not be too late to try out his suddenly conceived scheme to save -Wyoming.</p> - -<p>At one spot, as they were held up for a brief space of time, judge -of Rob’s surprise when Sim clambered into the car.</p> - -<p>“Careful how you step on that dynamite!” warned Rob, at the same -time hoping that Tubby and Andy might not also show up, and cause a -threat of trouble.</p> - -<p>It seemed, however, that Sim had been the only one able to break -away from the entrancing scene of destruction and excitement. He had -suddenly realized that the car would of necessity be compelled to -come back the same way it went, and accordingly Sim had waylaid it -on the border of the town.</p> - -<p>When it was really unsafe to go any further, Ralph brought the car -to a stop.</p> - -<p>“We’d better get out here,” he said, huskily, for somehow he seemed -to still be out of breath from his exertions out at the farm.</p> - -<p>“First thing,” said Ralph, “I must find Mr. Megrue, the Fire Chief. -He’d be the only one to authorize the use of this stuff. Rob, you -and Sim carry it with you over near the old factory building. I’ll -look for you there.”</p> - -<p>They had already discovered one thing that pleased them, which was -that the fire had not as yet reached that connecting link. It was -fearfully close, though, and if they hoped to try out Rob’s -brilliant scheme there must evidently be no time wasted.</p> - -<p>Mr. Jeffords stuck by the pair. Apparently, he meant to see the -thing through, and also that the boys got a square deal.</p> - -<p>“Let me help carry something.”</p> - -<p>Ralph had had little time to gather a bunch of the terrible dynamite -cartridges used for tearing stumps from the soil, and racking the -earth ten feet deep in the new method of farming. They were in a -little canvas bag just as he had apparently snatched them up in his -haste.</p> - -<p>“You can carry these, sir, if you will,” said Rob, thrusting the -small sack of explosives into the farmer’s hands; “it’s the -dynamite, sir, you know.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll make sure not to stumble, Rob, if that’s what you’re hinting -at,” replied the old gentleman farmer, as he carefully gathered his -load in his arms, shielding it against all possible knocks and -collisions.</p> - -<p>They left the old car where it stood, though Rob had taken the -trouble to shut off the engine before deserting it. For the present -their whole attention must be concentrated upon something else. If -their plans were successful, no doubt they would find the car again -where they had abandoned it; and if the fire jumped the gap, in -spite of all their efforts, why, then, it would be time enough to -get the car out of danger.</p> - -<p>Such sights as surrounded them they had never looked on before. -People by this time had reached the border of a panic. Many were mad -with fright, and their cries added to the confusion. Women and men -were dragging children after them, sometimes also loaded down with -stuff they wished to save, though often it seemed to be mere trash, -such as a metal washtub filled with cheap kitchen utensils.</p> - -<p>Rob was reminded of a comical description he had once read of a -fire, and what absurd things some people do under the stress of -excitement, throwing glass and delicate things out of the window, -and trotting down the stairs with a mattress. Still, none of them -“cracked a smile” at the queer sights. Tragedy surrounded them, -which would not allow of an expression of humor. There was nothing -funny about a town burning down.</p> - -<p>Just as Rob had anticipated, they found the other fellows in the -vicinity of the deserted building that they meant to destroy, in -hopes of staying the onward sweep of the flames. Andy and Tubby, -remembering what their chums meant to do, had taken up their post -close by, and anxiously counted the passing minutes, even while also -observing the many strange sights that continually cropped up around -them.</p> - -<p>Tubby had read about Bedlam, and he wondered if it could “hold a -candle” to the mingled noises surrounding them. He had listened to -the crackling of flames before now, for Tubby had seen some pretty -big fires both in the city and in the woods; but those in the past -were not to be compared with what he now experienced. While Tubby -was standing there, now resting on one foot, and again on the other, -he heard Andy give a whoop of delight, and, on turning, beheld the -welcome face of Rob Blake, as well as that of Sim, and back of them -the tall figure of Mr. Jeffords, all of them carrying something in -their arms.</p> - -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXIX' title='XIX: Behind the Broken Door'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>Chapter XIX</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.1em'>Behind the Broken Door</span> -</h2> -<p>“You got what you went after, then, didn’t you, Rob?” asked Tubby, -delighted to see the scout leader again.</p> - -<p>They had gone off at such a furious pace that ever since Tubby had -been anxious concerning their safety. While watching the advance of -the devouring element, and the desperate efforts of the gallant -firemen to try and throw some obstacles in the path of the flames, -Tubby’s thoughts would constantly go out toward the absent chums, -with whose well being he was so greatly concerned.</p> - -<p>“Yes, it’s here along with us,” Rob told him.</p> - -<p>“But, say, what about Ralph?” demanded Andy, suddenly noticing that -the party he mentioned was absent.</p> - -<p>“He came back with us, all right,” the scout leader replied. “Just -now he’s trying to find the Chief of the Fire Department. You see, -we couldn’t start trying to blow up this building here without his -consent.”</p> - -<p>“Land’s sake alive! I hope they get here pretty quick, then!” -ejaculated Tubby. “It’s coming closer and closer right along. Andy -and myself were getting ready to clear out of here when you showed -up.”</p> - -<p>Rob had already noticed this for himself. His nervousness came back, -only instead of a fear lest some accident happen to the speeding -car, he now had something else to bother him.</p> - -<p>They could feel the intense heat where they stood. Sparks fell all -around them, endangering their eyes if they ventured to look upward.</p> - -<p>“Better turn your coat collars up, fellows,” advised Rob. “If you -got one of these flying sparks down your back you wouldn’t like it -much.”</p> - -<p>“That’s right,” commented Andy, “an ounce of prevention is better -than a pound of cure. Whew! just look at that cloud of sparks rise -up! Must have been a building collapsed then to make the shower.”</p> - -<p>“But I don’t see Ralph coming along yet,” complained Tubby, as he -strained his eyes to stare down the street where the other must -appear if he came at all.</p> - -<p>There were plenty of people in sight, most of them onlookers who -were fascinated by the dreadful picture presented by the roaring -abyss of flames, though others were hard pressed firemen dragging -their hose about in the endeavor to find some place where they might -throw a stream into that old building just in the path of the -oncoming flames.</p> - -<p>Precious seconds were passing, Rob knew. He wondered whether he -dared attempt to carry out his bold plan even without the consent of -the Fire Chief. One thing certain, unless Mr. Megrue came along -shortly, the last chance to attempt saving the mills would be lost. -The fire was already close to the ruined building, and at any moment -they might expect to see it burst into flames, for it must by now be -getting frightfully hot.</p> - -<p>Tubby gave a sudden cry, and was seen hurrying toward a wagon that, -loaded with household goods, and drawn by a man and woman, both -foreigners, in place of a horse, had just passed them by. Something -had fallen off the load; it sprawled there in the street, and lusty -yells announced that it must be a fat baby.</p> - -<p>Tubby picked it up and hastened to overtake the man and woman who -were tugging so lustily between the shafts. Then, having given over -the child into the charge of its mother, Tubby gallantly took hold -himself, and started to assist the man to draw his possessions -further away from the grip of the fire demon.</p> - -<p>That was just like Tubby, whose heart always beat in sympathy with -any one in trouble. He would do without a meal in order to enjoy -seeing a hungry dog devour what had been intended for his own -consumption.</p> - -<p>He did not intend going any great distance. After tugging for half a -block at the load, he felt that he had done his duty. Besides, if -Rob’s plan worked as they hoped, this section of the town would be -spared, and there was no absolute necessity for any one fleeing to a -great distance.</p> - -<p>So Tubby came back again, blowing like a porpoise from his -exertions. Ralph had not shown up yet, but Rob placed a hand -affectionately on his shoulder and it needed nothing more to tell -Tubby that his act had both been seen and appreciated at its true -worth by the one whose good opinion he chiefly cared for.</p> - -<p>“I believe they’re coming, Rob!” Andy announced, greatly to the -satisfaction of everybody.</p> - -<p>It turned out that way, and almost immediately the others also -discovered the figure of their companion hurrying towards them. At -Ralph’s side strode the tall form of a man wearing a glazed fire -hat, and a coat that was supposed to be immune to sparks and flames.</p> - -<p>“I guess that’s Chief Megrue,” remarked Mr. Jeffords, eagerly, -“though his face is so black with the smoke and dirt his own wife -wouldn’t recognize him. Yes, I know his walk. Now we may see -something done that will bring results. I was just about to suggest -that you go ahead on your own hook, Rob, and I would stand for the -consequences. Desperate cases require desperate remedies, you know. -But there’s no need of our doing that now, fortunately.”</p> - -<p>Ralph piloted his companion to the spot where the others awaited -them. Undoubtedly he must have already found occasion to explain -Rob’s scheme to the head man of the local fire department. Mr. -Megrue had been instantly seized with a conviction that it was -indeed the only thing left to them, since all the puny efforts they -had made to try and drown the fire out had been without avail.</p> - -<p>Every fireman must know that such things are resorted to in all big -city fires when the violence of the wind makes it impossible to head -the flames off in any other way. Sometimes it turns out -successfully; and then, again, there may be no tangible result, -owing to circumstances over which even the use of explosives will -have no control.</p> - -<p>Rob saw with more or less pleasure that the Chief was a man of -action, and not one of those old fogies sometimes connected with -local companies, all “fuss and feathers,” but lacking in the dash -and valor that should distinguish every firefighter.</p> - -<p>Perhaps had he known where he could put his hand on a store of -explosives, the Chief might before this have considered the -possibility of blocking the flames by destroying that old connecting -link of a building.</p> - -<p>“He says it’s the finest thing going!” called out Ralph, as he drew -near where his father and the boys were waiting for him. “As I know -how to handle the stuff, as well as the battery, he asks us to do -the job. Rob, I want your help only. Come with me. The Chief will -smash in the door for us, and we can plant the charge in a hurry. -Then it only means running the wires out to some place here, and -afterwards you can touch her off. That ought to be your privilege, -Rob, because you thought up the scheme. Right along this way, Rob, -please!”</p> - -<p>Perhaps Sim and Andy, not to mention Tubby, might have liked very -much to be given a part to play in the game; but their common sense -told them there was no necessity for more entering the building than -just those two, unless Chief Megrue chose to accompany the boys. At -least, they could have the satisfaction of being present when the -big affair came off, and watching that ramshackle building collapse -into kindling wood after the charge was fired.</p> - -<p>The Chief fortunately had a fire ax with him. It may have been used -to batter in the doors of many a building that had commenced to -smoke, and give other positive signs of being about to burst into -flames. Besides, it is always a useful tool in the hands of your -country-town fireman, with which he loves to smash windows, and to -make a grand show of accomplishing things.</p> - -<p>Straight up to the door of the unused building the three of them -hurried, the boys bearing the battery, the little cask containing -the dynamite cartridges, and the coil of wire necessary to complete -the outfit.</p> - -<p>“The door is locked or barred!” shouted Sim, which remark told that -he had, during the absence of Ralph and Rob, made a little private -investigation on his own account, for it happened that Sim Jeffords -was of a very inquiring nature.</p> - -<p>This information saved the others from wasting any time trying to -open the barrier. It also gave Mr. Megrue his clue, for, rushing -directly up, he commenced to wield that ax of his in a way that -proved him to be a born fire-fighter.</p> - -<p>With every blow Tubby and Andy and Sim gave vent to a whoop; which -helped get rid of their extra enthusiasm, and also showed how they -appreciated the work of the axman.</p> - -<p>“Go to it, Chief!” shrilled Sim, excitedly. “That time the chips -flew, I’m telling you! Give it another smash like that, and you’ll -see it go down. Wow! look at that crackerjack hit, will you, -fellows? It’s an extra stout door, all right, but just the same it’s -got to go! Once more to the breach everybody. So, there!”</p> - -<p>The ax sank into the door, and ripped the panels up. Again did Mr. -Megrue swing it back of him, and once more was that smashing sound -heard, so pleasing to the ear of the listening and watching boys, -who kept one eye on the little drama being played before them, and -at the same time managed to observe the close approach of the sea of -fire menacing the deserted factory.</p> - -<p>Finally a shout from Sim announced that the door had been beaten -open, and that the way into the building no longer held any obstacle -to the advance of the trio.</p> - -<p>They vanished from view, Fire Chief, Rob and Ralph. The three boys, -together with Ralph’s father, had to possess their souls in patience -while waiting for the reappearance of the bold invaders. At any -moment now they fully expected the building to burst into flames, so -overheated must the dry woodwork have become. It was an anxious time -for Mr. Jeffords, who had seen his son disappear beyond that broken -door. At the same time he knew that Ralph was capable of thinking -for himself, and also that he and Rob would not attempt any -foolhardy feat just for the sake of “showing off.”</p> - -<p>There was a method in their madness in the present case. The welfare -of the whole community hung in the balance, for if the fire could -not be stayed by this master stroke of genius, then was Wyoming -doomed; and the morrow’s sun would rise upon the smoking ruins of -the entire town.</p> - -<p>Seconds passed, and changed into minutes. When it seemed as though -something like two of these had drifted along, every one was growing -weak with apprehension. They had terrible visions of some evil -having overtaken those who had gone into the building. It was old, -and the floors almost in ruins, so that there was even a possibility -that the venturesome ones had fallen through some unnoticed gap. -Then, again, how were they to tell if some sort of insidious gas had -gripped their chums, and rendered them helpless?</p> - -<p>These were the kind of strange fancies that took possession of Sim -Jeffords, always gifted with a lively imagination. He pictured Rob -and his cousin lying there inside the old wreck of a factory, -victims of a treacherous gas, and soon to be devoured by the -oncoming flames.</p> - -<p>Sim could stand it no longer. He must ascertain the truth, for it -was always better to know the worst, according to his policy. He -would rush forward and cautiously enter the building, groping his -way through the smoke-filled interior, and calling out the names of -his cousin and Rob.</p> - -<p>Filled with this resolution, Sim had even commenced to approach the -open door, paying no attention to the calls of his uncle from the -rear, when, to his great relief, he saw figures bursting out of the -structure. They were Chief Megrue, Rob, the scout leader, and Ralph -Jeffords.</p> - -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXX' title='XX: The Struggle to Save the Town'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>Chapter XX</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.1em'>The Struggle to Save the Town</span> -</h2> -<p>Sim counted the figures that came trooping out through the opening -where the smashed door lay a wreck. When he found that none were -missing, a great load seemed lifted from his heart.</p> - -<p>“Hurrah! it’s all working out as it should, and now we’ll see what -Rob Blake’s plan is going to do for Wyoming!” he found himself -shouting; although Sim was so greatly excited, he hardly knew -himself what he said.</p> - -<p>Ralph could be seen with the reel of wire in his possession. He was -plainly unwinding it as he went, while Rob undertook to see that -there were no kinks in the strands as they came off the barrel of -the reel. Soon they were alongside Sim, who fell in step with the -others.</p> - -<p>The Fire Chief looked additionally anxious. He undoubtedly knew what -tremendous issues were involved in this last effort to save the -town. Gallantly had he and his followers battled with the destroying -foe, but so long as that furious breeze held out, all their efforts -would have been in vain. He knew that unless some such desperate -remedy as this explosion came to the relief of the outclassed fire -department, the fate of Wyoming was sealed.</p> - -<p>He devoted himself just now to seeing that there were no stragglers -close enough to the doomed building to be injured when the dynamite -was exploded. Several men belonging to one of the fire companies -could be seen nearby, trying to turn the nozzle of the hose they -wielded so that a stream of water would fall upon the old building; -for it was recognized that unless the conflagration could be halted -at this particular spot all work was useless.</p> - -<p>Chief Megrue shouted to them, and when he had by this means caught -their attention, he beckoned wildly. Although they might not quite -understand what his motions meant, at least they were accustomed to -obeying orders without questioning.</p> - -<p>Dragging their hose after them with an effort, they commenced to -head toward the spot where the Chief stood. This promised to take -time, for their load was heavy; and seconds just then counted -considerably more than a new supply of hose meant to the imperiled -town.</p> - -<p>“Drop it, and come here as fast as you can run!” bellowed Chief -Megrue, using his hands in lieu of a megaphone; for it seemed that -he had lost his trumpet while hard pushed to escape from a fiery -trap when caught in a building that suddenly burst into flames, -giving him scant time to dash out again to safety.</p> - -<p>The men looked as though they could not understand what he meant. -They evidently disliked abandoning a length of perfectly sound hose -when there seemed no absolute necessity for it. Again did the Chief -shout at them, continuing his wild beckoning at the same time.</p> - -<p>“Hurry this way! Drop that hose, and come as fast as you can! We are -going to dynamite that building, don’t you understand, you fools?”</p> - -<p>Perhaps that one word “dynamite” gave them their cue, for without -any further hesitation the three men dropped the hose, which -commenced to writhe like a snake as the force of the water passing -through the brass nozzle turned it this way and that. So they -started to run toward the Chief.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Ralph, assisted by Rob, had continued to move steadily -away. The wire would allow of their proceeding to a safe distance, -when the battery could be quickly attached, and a connection made.</p> - -<p>Sim had now been joined by both Tubby and Andy. All of them felt -their hearts beating tumultuously, for no one could do more than -guess at the result of the bold plan.</p> - -<p>One thing sure, they had not left the old building a minute too -soon. Why, it was on fire even then, for Sim could see flames -creeping along the roof. He wondered whether there would be any -break in the wire sufficient to prevent the full current of -electricity from passing along it when Ralph came to making the -contact. If such a thing did happen, it would be much too late to -try and remedy the defect, because after that time it must be sheer -madness for any one to dream of entering the deserted factory again.</p> - -<p>Surely Ralph and Rob must by now have gained a sufficient distance -to be safe from any debris that might be thrown up into the air when -the explosion came. Still, Ralph was the doctor in this instance, -for he had had the experience in blasting out stumps and dislodging -great rocks by the use of the dynamite.</p> - -<p>Mr. Jeffords was there, too, watching his boy with eagerness. Then, -besides, there were the trio of bedraggled firemen who had joined -their chief at his command, all of them deeply interested in the -success or failure of the scheme that meant so much for Wyoming.</p> - -<p>The clamor all around them was just as boisterous as ever, for -certainly nothing had occurred to tone it down. The citizens, facing -complete destruction for their town, were hoarse with shouting; but -their main thought now was to make sure of the safety of the women -and children, who could be seen fleeing through most of the streets, -awed by the terrible nature of the calamity.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, none of those who watched Ralph and Rob paid the least -attention to these outside occurrences. The fire might roar, and the -populace shriek in terror, but just then their undivided attention -was given to the little drama being unfolded before their eyes.</p> - -<p>Ah! Ralph no longer pushed on. Whether he had reached the end of his -wire coil, or believed that it was useless to cover more ground did -not matter. What did count was the fact that he and Rob were -feverishly attaching the battery and switch to the wires, showing -that they intended to test their hastily arranged programme without -further delay.</p> - -<p>“Oh! hurry, hurry, please!” groaned Tubby, speaking to himself, of -course, but in so doing voicing the feeling that held sway in every -heart; for the building was rapidly being clutched in the ever -extending fingers of the fire, and would soon be such a mass of -flames that to wreck it might do more harm than good.</p> - -<p>“It’s all ready!” whooped Sim, as he saw by the actions of the two -boys that they had succeeded in making the attachments.</p> - -<p>Then Ralph pushed Rob forward. It could be seen that he meant to -force the scout leader to press the button that would complete the -work. Even in that dreadful moment Ralph did not forget that it had -been Rob’s brilliant idea, after all, and to his chivalrous mind it -seemed only right and proper that Rob’s hand should be the one by -means of which Wyoming might be saved.</p> - -<p>Rob did not hesitate. This was no time for expostulation. He -proceeded to do as the other urged him. Those who stood by held -their breath with awe, watching the old deserted factory the while, -as though everything depended on the result of Ralph’s efforts.</p> - -<p>They saw the building give a distinct shiver. Then the very earth -under them actually rocked as if an earthquake had taken place. -Tubby was thrown down, and the rest had more or less difficulty in -keeping on their feet, such was the concussion of air as the -dynamite went off.</p> - -<p>They also heard a heavy roar, and then, wonder of wonders, the old -building seemed to collapse, to fall down like a house made of -cards. There was a horrible series of crashing sounds; some remnants -even fell close by the boys, though luckily none of them received -the slightest injury. Then, as the smoke shifted and the dust clouds -settled, they saw a great gap where the deserted factory had stood.</p> - -<p>The Fire Chief was awake to the possibility of the debris presenting -a new peril. He immediately gave orders to the three men to make -their way forward, and if the hose were still in condition for use -to turn the nozzle toward the wreck.</p> - -<p>Then he hastened away to fetch up others, so that all efforts might -be concentrated on that one section. The fight for the rest of the -town must be made then and there. Already a heavy blow had been -struck to beat back the fire; and if only it could be held to the -other side, the valuable plants might yet be saved.</p> - -<p>Soon men came rushing along. An engine turned a corner and stopped -before a hydrant, with men jumping this way and that in the endeavor -to get connections with the least possible waste of time.</p> - -<p>The explosion must have terrified most people who heard it, since -they could not but believe it meant the destruction of some mill. It -is wonderful, however, how news is flashed along from mouth to mouth -during such scenes of excitement as this; and, doubtless, when -people learned that the shock came from a desperate effort to -confine the fire to the side of the town where it had started, their -hopes would take a new bound upward.</p> - -<p>“Will it force its way across in spite of everything, do you think, -Rob?” asked Tubby, solicitously, as he stood beside the patrol -leader, and watched the working fire-fighters battling so manfully.</p> - -<p>“I hope not,” he was told, in a reassuring tone. “You can see how -they’re trying to soak the wall of that nearest factory so it can -hold out against the heat when the test comes. Besides that they are -getting more water on right along. Here comes another company, and -from the way the people keep cheering them I reckon they must belong -in another town, and have been rushed here by special train.”</p> - -<p>It afterwards turned out that Rob had actually hit the truth when he -made this guess. Word of the dreadful imperiling catastrophe that -had come upon Wyoming must have been flashed to neighboring towns by -telegraph, as well as an appeal for assistance. Such a call is never -allowed to pass unheeded in American communities, and just as soon -as they could get the right of way a special train with the engine -and firefighters aboard had been dispatched, with the order to “burn -the rails” in making speed.</p> - -<p>There was need of every available man and machine. The wall of fire -had by now arrived at the gap, and gave positive signs of being -disposed to leap across in order to complete its work of -destruction. Men fought madly to restrain it. Those who held the -various lines of hose pushed forward until their faces were scorched -by the heat, but in spite of all this they persisted, and would not -be denied.</p> - -<p>“They’re holding it there, mark you!” shrilled Ralph in the ear of -Rob Blake, as all of them stood watching these exciting happenings, -their hearts almost in their throats, so to speak, such was the -weight of their anxiety.</p> - -<p>Rob was encouraged. He began to believe that after all the devoted -firemen were going to come out victors in their fierce battle with -the element that had started in to ravage the whole town of Wyoming.</p> - -<p>He bent most of his attention on the buildings close by, for if one -of them suddenly burst into flames it would mean that the worst that -could happen was about to commence.</p> - -<p>Vainly did the flames dart forth, fanned by that still raging wind, -and endeavor to reach the buildings that had been cut off from their -grasp by the destruction of the old factory. The more they tried, -the greater the efforts of those who held the water nozzles -continued. Wherever a certain point was threatened there would be a -concentration of splashing fluid, and the enemy retreated, baffled -again and again.</p> - -<p>Rob noticed presently that each time the fire made this attempt to -cross the divide it seemed to grow just a little weaker. He knew -that the fuel by means of which it was maintained was being devoured -at such a rate that, given time, the efforts of the Department would -prove successful. Even now matters had reached such a stage he -believed the worst to be over; and that victory was in the air.</p> - -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXXI' title='XXI: After It Was All Over'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>Chapter XXI</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.1em'>After It Was All Over</span> -</h2> -<p>“I guess it’s all over but the shouting!” exclaimed Sim, which -remark proved that he too must have noticed some of the same signs -detected by Rob.</p> - -<p>“Oh! do you really believe that?” cried Tubby, a little look of -relief appearing on his face, which lately had been screwed up in -all sorts of lines denoting his strained feelings.</p> - -<p>“Well,” explained Sim, with alacrity, “you can see for yourself that -so far none of the sparks have set fire to the roofs of the mills -and factories, thanks to the men who are guarding the same, armed -with buckets of water. If you watch carefully you’ll learn that the -blaze keeps on getting weaker right along. It’s burning itself out, -I tell you, Tubby. We win, and most of the glory goes to Rob here -for thinking up such a grand scheme.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you believe that!” exclaimed the scout leader, energetically. -“Nine-tenths of it ought to go to Ralph, you’d better say. Didn’t he -get the apparatus for blowing up that factory, and wasn’t it Ralph -who piloted the car back home and here again, going like mad? But -perhaps you had better not say anything more about that business, -boys; neither of us want to pose as heroes. After all, what we did -was only the most natural thing in the world.”</p> - -<p>“Just what it was, and we’re fishing for no bouquets, either, -remember,” said Ralph, who was close enough to hear all this talk.</p> - -<p>It was now close on midnight, but no one in all Wyoming would dream -of such a thing as going to bed. Some had been burned out of house -and home, while all the remainder had suffered such a shock to their -nerves that sleep was quite out of the question for them.</p> - -<p>The danger was past, and every one could take a good long breath of -relief. Why, even the wind had commenced to die down now, as though -conscious of its defeat in trying to aid its companion element in -destroying the bustling town.</p> - -<p>There would be plenty of work for all the firemen until dawn, -pouring a continuous stream of water on the ruins of houses, and the -lumberyard as well, that had been destroyed. Even when additional -companies reached town, coming from more distant places, they were -set to work rendering assistance to the stricken community; for -those gallant fellows would have been sorely chagrined if compelled -to return home without a chance to even wet their hose for -neighborly accommodation.</p> - -<p>The boys knew that presently they ought to pull out and head for the -farm; but as long as Mr. Jeffords did not insist on going, it was -not their business to say the word. They felt that they would -willingly remain there for an hour and more, with so much going on -to see and to hear.</p> - -<p>It was Rob who began to exhibit signs of impatience, for, to tell -the truth, the scout leader noticed that the crowd around them had -been growing of late; and he also discovered that a number of the -more prominent men of the town seemed to be talking very earnestly -with Mr. Jeffords.</p> - -<p>Now, Rob began to take the alarm. He fancied that these people were -talking about himself and comrades, because often he could see them -look their way, and once a stout gentleman whom Ralph had told him -was the mayor of Wyoming actually pointed in their direction.</p> - -<p>“Don’t you think we’d better be starting home, Ralph?” Rob went on -to say.</p> - -<p>The other chuckled as though he could give a guess as to what was -bothering his friend. At the same time he shook his head in the -negative.</p> - -<p>“We’ve just got to wait till dad gives the word, you know,” he -explained. “Now he seems to be pretty busily engaged. Just hold your -horses, Rob. The fire has been gotten fully under control, and -there’s nothing more to be feared from that source. Unless I miss my -guess, the business men of this town have a duty, and a pleasant -duty to perform. I don’t mean to spoil it all by running away, not -on your life.”</p> - -<p>Rob looked uneasy, but he was powerless to do anything.</p> - -<p>“Oh! well, I suppose we’ll have to stand for it, then,” he muttered, -as if making up his mind to take some punishment.</p> - -<p>Ralph actually stared hard at him. Really, he had never before run -across a boy just like Rob Blake. Most of the fellows he knew would -have been only too delighted to find themselves in the limelight, -and called a hero. Nevertheless, Ralph was determined that Rob -should not escape by running away.</p> - -<p>“They’re coming this way,” announced Tubby, who with Sim and Andy -doubtless had already “sensed” what was in the air, for all of them -were smiling broadly, and casting significant looks toward the -plainly annoyed Rob.</p> - -<p>Mr. Jeffords led the dozen citizens straight up to where the little -group of boys stood, while a crowd pressed close around to hear what -was said.</p> - -<p>“This gentleman,” began Mr. Jeffords, “is Mr. Perkins, our worthy -mayor, and these others are business men of Wyoming, some of them -owners of the costly mills and factories that have been saved from -destruction through a brilliant and bold scheme. I have explained to -them that though the dynamite that saved the town belonged to me, -and while it was my son Ralph who drove the car to the farm to -secure it, still the conception of the grand idea was wholly Rob -Blake’s. They want to congratulate you, my boy, on your bright -thought, and to thank you publicly for having been so instrumental -in saving our town from utter destruction.”</p> - -<p>Rob opened his mouth to protest, but the stout mayor waved to him -that he had a few words to say; so the boy shrugged his shoulders -and held his breath. If they were so insistent, how was he to help -himself? Nevertheless, he could not think it fair that more of the -credit should be placed at his door than was given to resourceful -Ralph, who, once given the hint, had engineered the whole thing.</p> - -<p>“I want to thank you, Rob Blake,” said the mayor, squeezing the -boy’s hand in his chubby palm, “in the name of all our people. Only -for your quick wit and ready brain we might at this minute be -witnessing the destruction of all our thriving industries, and -Wyoming would have been as thoroughly blotted out as some of those -poor Belgian and French communities have been before the vandal guns -of the warring Nations. And while I am about it I mean also to thank -Ralph Jeffords because of the valuable aid he gave once you -conceived the scheme of blowing up that building. Yes, let me also -shake hands with these other three lads here who wear the khaki, for -I feel sure that had you not been present, one of them would have -discovered some way to accomplish the same purpose you had in view.”</p> - -<p>Even Tubby blushed at the compliment. Plainly, then, these good -people of Wyoming were of an entirely different mind concerning -those who wore the khaki. Not so very long since, according to -Ralph, and they had settled in their minds that scouts were an -undesirable organization in a community, just because the first -attempt to raise a troop had been a failure, owing to the wrong sort -of leadership, and the poor class of lads enlisted under the colors.</p> - -<p>“It may be that you boys have heard about the failure that overtook -a troop of scouts started in our town some time back,” continued the -mayor, and at that Rob began to show much more interest than when he -himself had been the object of attention. “But some of us are now of -the opinion that we were wrong in condemning all wearers of the -khaki because our own lads failed to equal our ambitions. I am sure -I voice the sentiments of this entire community when I say that -after having this lesson brought home to us we realize that we have -made a great mistake. For one, I am in favor of urging that a troop -of scouts be started here in Wyoming without delay, founded on the -broad and noble principles of your order; and here and now I pledge -you that my two boys shall become charter members. And I also hope -very much that Ralph Jeffords will consent to take this enterprise -in hand. All in favor of this say aye!”</p> - -<p>There came a unanimous shout from the assembled crowd, who had been -listening in absorbed attention while the mayor was talking.</p> - -<p>After that other gentlemen came up, desirous of shaking hands with -the boys who chanced to be visiting at the Jeffords’ farm. Evidently -the story of how the scouts had been instrumental in tracking the -lost child, and restoring little Caleb to his nearly distracted -mother may have been brought to the town, for several of the men -mentioned something about it as they warmly greeted Rob and Sim and -Andy and Tubby.</p> - -<p>With such a wonderful background as that still burning section of -the town the picture was a striking one, which Tubby felt sure he -would never, never forget. He was particularly pleased that they had -cornered Rob, because on more than one former occasion Tubby had -known the patrol leader to slip away after having been instrumental -in accomplishing things worth while, just because he could not bear -to hear people making him out to be more than an ordinary boy.</p> - -<p>On his part, Rob was delighted to learn of the change that had come -over the good people of Wyoming with regard to their opinion of -scouts in general. They had seen a light, evidently, and would know -from this time on that those who wear the honored khaki, if they are -true scouts, are bound to be a credit to the community in which they -dwell.</p> - -<p>Ralph, too, looked pleased. To tell the truth, ever since the coming -of his cousin Sim, and his acquaintance with such a fine fellow as -Rob Blake, Ralph had been wondering whether it would not be worth -while to make another attempt to organize a troop in Wyoming, if -sufficient encouragement could be received from leading citizens, -and the men at Scout Headquarters were also willing.</p> - -<p>Now it seemed that matters had been taken out of his hands by this -strange happening, and the peril that had threatened the town. -Instead of it being Ralph who spent his time in going around and -beseeching citizens to allow their boys to join in with him so as to -form a new organization, it was the mayor himself who gave the word, -and even promised that his two sons should enroll their names among -the very first candidates.</p> - -<p>Plainly, then, Rob and his chums had been able to show what scouts -are worth to any community and had made a deep and lasting -impression on these people; it would not be long before their visit -must begin to bear fruit to the honor of the whole organization.</p> - -<p>Now that this ceremony had been carried through, perhaps Mr. -Jeffords would be willing that they start for home. Rob was -beginning to feel that a bed would not be unpleasant, for all of -them had been up very early on the preceding day, and so much had -taken place since then that they were tired.</p> - -<p>Tubby, too, was commencing to yawn, which was a pretty good sign -that he could not hold out much longer. All of them, in fact, were -glad when Ralph’s father came back and announced that they had -better start out to find the car, which it was to be hoped had not -been taken by any of the fleeing people.</p> - -<p>This worried Tubby somewhat, for he wondered whether they would be -able to hire a rig, or another car in case their own had been taken. -All anxiety on this score, however, was soon set at rest, for as -they drew near the spot where Ralph had abandoned the auto they -discovered it still there near the curb.</p> - -<p>They quickly found seats, Sim occupying one of the extra ones. So -they started forth, and many times did Andy, Tubby and Sim crane -their necks to look back toward Wyoming; but the angry glow had -faded from the heavens by now, and stars were beginning to show -themselves here and there through the clouds.</p> - -<p>“Well, after all, we’ve gone and forgotten Peleg!” announced Tubby, -presently. “Too bad, and I hope he doesn’t have to tramp all of -those ten miles out to the farm.” But Rob somehow found himself -believing that Peleg had purposely kept away from them.</p> - -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXXII' title='XXII: Laying Plans'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>Chapter XXII</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.1em'>Laying Plans</span> -</h2> -<p>“Did anybody happen to see Peleg after the fire broke out?” called -Ralph, over his shoulder, as he continued to pilot the big car, the -headlights showing him all inequalities in the road, so that he -could avoid most of the “bumps.”</p> - -<p>“I did,” spoke up Andy, immediately. “Let’s see, I think it was just -about the time that fat mayor was going around shaking hands with -us, and giving us that taffy about his change of heart regarding the -scouts.”</p> - -<p>“Then Peleg should have known we meant to clear out pretty soon,” -interrupted Tubby, slowly, “so if he had a particle of sense, and -really wanted to come back home in the car with the crowd, why, -seems to me he’d have hung around.”</p> - -<p>“Well, he didn’t,” added Andy. “I saw him grinning as though tickled -half to death about something. Perhaps now it pleased him to see -that mayor grabbing our hands so,—well,—I might say effusively. How -about that, Ralph; would Peleg care if he saw you being patted on -the back, and made a hero of?”</p> - -<p>“He might, and then again perhaps it was something else that made -him seem so happy,” replied Ralph.</p> - -<p>The other boys may not have understood the real meaning of those -words, but Rob did. He knew Ralph was hinting to him that the farm -boy may have held back from joining them because he began to feel -ashamed of what he had done, and could not bear to face the owner of -the stolen stamps so soon after selling the packets to the curio -dealer.</p> - -<p>Even that failed wholly to convince Rob. When he believed in any one -it was hard to make him change his opinion. Why should Peleg seem so -well satisfied with himself? Surely, the getting of a few dollars, -more or less, in a shady transaction too, of which he must later on -feel ashamed, would hardly cause him to appear so happy.</p> - -<p>Rob confessed that he could not make it out at all. He was really -too tired to continue bothering his brains over the puzzle.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps tomorrow, when Peleg comes home again, we may find out what -it all means,” he told himself. “There’s no way of finding out right -now; and so what’s the use fussing with it?”</p> - -<p>Accordingly, Rob put the affair out of his mind. If it came to the -worst there was a speedy way of learning the truth, just as Ralph -had mentioned; by going to town again, with the excuse that he -wanted to see what Wyoming looked like after the great -conflagration, Ralph could drop in and see the curio dealer. Being -ready to buy back the stamps, if Peleg had really sold them, he -could influence Mr. Hardman to return the stolen property.</p> - -<p>They made the little journey back to the farm without incident. -Ralph did not attempt anything like speed in covering the ten or -more miles. Twice that same night he had raced like mad over that -course, escaping disaster several times only by a narrow margin. -Ralph did not care to accept the same risks again when there was no -sense in it.</p> - -<p>Rob, however, would not soon forget both of those hurried trips, -with that ominous glare in the heavens to spur the driver on.</p> - -<p>Arriving home, they soon sought their beds, for it was a pretty -tired lot of fellows who came back after such a tempestuous -experience.</p> - -<p>Little talking was indulged in, at Rob’s suggestion. They could -leave that for the morning, when they would be refreshed, and able -to discuss all details connected with the night of terror.</p> - -<p>When morning came it proved to be a fine opening, for the sun arose -in a clear sky, despite the threat of rain during the earlier part -of the preceding night.</p> - -<p>They had hardly finished breakfast, and were trying to lay out a -programme for the day, when the man Pete, who was in charge of -Ralph’s queer fur farm showed up. Rob understood from his manner -that something unusual must have caused him to pay this early -morning visit to the farmhouse, for as a rule he cooked his own -meals up at the other station, sleeping there as well.</p> - -<p>When Ralph had had a little talk with him he came over to where the -rest of the boys were sitting on the porch.</p> - -<p>“Well, more trouble in prospect up at my fox farm,” Ralph remarked.</p> - -<p>“Another cat bobbed up, Ralph?” asked Rob, immediately. “I mention -that because I happen to know as a rule where you run across one -you’ll also find its mate, for they generally hunt in couples.”</p> - -<p>Ralph nodded his head, and made a wry face.</p> - -<p>“You’re on, Rob,” he replied. “Pete heard the critter screeching -over in the woods last night. Then this morning he found where it -had entered my preserves, and he thinks it must have got away with -one of my fox pups, for he saw signs of blood and fur on the ground. -But, anyhow, whether that’s so or not, we’ve got to get after Mr. -Cat, and keep it up till we bag him. There’ll be no peace as long as -he hangs out around my fur farm.”</p> - -<p>“Will Pete go out and try to shoot this one like he did the last?” -asked Tubby, remembering the fresh skin that had been fastened to a -stretching board, and hung on the shady side of the cottage to dry -in the air away from the sun.</p> - -<p>“He’ll keep on the move right along, with his gun on his shoulder,” -explained Ralph. “But his running across the first rascal was a big -piece of luck. This time I’ll have to try and fix a trap for the -beast. Since there’s no time like the present, I think I’ll get busy -now. Who wants to go up with me?”</p> - -<p>There was a unanimous assent, showing that all of them felt a deep -interest in this part of the proceedings. So, leaving the farmhouse, -they strolled along in the direction of the fur farm, away off at -the upper part of Mr. Jeffords’ extensive property holdings.</p> - -<p>Pete went with them, and on the way detailed once more, for the -benefit of the scouts, how he had heard the screech of the cat not -far from break of day. He had known that something far out of the -common was taking place down at Wyoming, for he had seen the flame -in the sky, and even caught something of the clamor that accompanied -the fire; but his duty was to stay and guard Ralph’s valuable -property, so Pete had resisted the temptation to start toward town.</p> - -<p>In return, the boys described some of the wonderful sights that had -come their way while watching the town burning. Pete was also -informed concerning the fortunate inspiration that had come to Rob, -following out which the dynamite had been used to baffle the fire -fiend. Ralph it was who told most of this, apparently much to the -confusion of Rob, who several times tried to throw the praise on the -shoulders of the one who had piloted the car back and forth, laid -the explosives without a hitch, and certainly merited a big share of -the successful outcome.</p> - -<p>Once they were at the cottage where Pete held forth, Ralph began to -overhaul a number of rusty traps which he apparently had not touched -for some time.</p> - -<p>“Three winters ago,” he told them, “I used to do quite a good deal -of trapping, and learned a whole lot about the habits of such wild -animals as we have around this section of the Adirondacks. Then I -got that fur-farm fever, and read up all the articles I could find -about the raising of black foxes, and such things. Well, after that -I didn’t care to trap common stock, and so I haven’t done a thing at -it since. So my traps look pretty seedy; but they’ll work, all -right. Pete, the first chance you get, give these things a good -oiling. No use having them go to the scrap heap for nothing.”</p> - -<p>He picked out a certain trap, and said it would answer their -purpose.</p> - -<p>“It must be set outside the boundaries of my enclosure,” Ralph -continued, when Tubby had suggested that one of the foxes or mink -might be caught, “and I’m depending a whole lot on Pete to show me -the right place. The cat will likely come back again tonight, and -follow the same path to the high fence. We’ll set the trap now, -because even in the daytime a hungry cat often starts out to get a -meal.”</p> - -<p>“Oh! I’ve met them in the woods when the sun was shining brightly,” -said Rob. “Hunger causes even animals who see best in the dark to -roam around during daylight. But I agree with you, Ralph, when you -figure that your trap is more apt to wind up the cat’s career than -Pete’s gun.”</p> - -<p>All of them went forth to see the trap set, Pete leading them to -where he had reason to believe the animal had crossed the boundary -line of the preserves. Tubby in particular watched every move Ralph -made when setting the trap; for Tubby knew next to nothing about -such things, never having had an opportunity to visit the woods -during fur season.</p> - -<p>After this had been duly attended to, they once more took a look -around the fur farm, and then sauntered back to the house. Rob was -wondering what Ralph intended doing with regard to finding an answer -connected with the stamp disappearance mystery. He fully anticipated -that the other would announce his intended departure for the town, -and asking whether any of them would care to go along. But the -morning passed away, and nothing was said or done.</p> - -<p>In fact, Andy and Tubby went fishing, the stout scout seeming to -have taken a great liking for the sport. Considering the fact that -he was “high notch” so far, having captured the largest bass yet -taken, this was not to be wondered at.</p> - -<p>“I’m going to ask you to do me a favor, Rob,” remarked Ralph as they -sat there on the porch, Sim being at some other part of the premises -just then, having accompanied his uncle to see a new patent churn -that he had installed in the milk cellar.</p> - -<p>“Now he’s going to bring up the subject of Peleg again,” thought -Rob; but for once he was mistaken, since Ralph did nothing of the -sort.</p> - -<p>“I’m getting to be a whole lot interested in that flashlight picture -game,” he went on to say; “and I’d like to see how you work it, if -you don’t object.”</p> - -<p>“Why, that would be easy enough,” the scout leader told him, much -gratified, “for I happen to have the apparatus in my bag. You see, -at the last minute I got an idea we might want to take a few -pictures of that sort, and so I chucked it in. What kind of animal -have you in mind, Ralph?”</p> - -<p>“Well, my mink interest me more than anything else,” came the reply; -“partly because they are so shy that you can hardly ever get a -glimpse of the little rascals. I don’t know near as much about their -habits as I’d like, though as a trapper I understood where to set my -traps in order to catch them visiting in and out of the holes along -the banks of a creek.”</p> - -<p>“All right, then, if you say the word we can set a snare tonight -that may bring results,” Rob continued. “I don’t know that I ever -got a good picture of a mink, and it would please me to manage it -that way.”</p> - -<p>Still nothing was said about Peleg, although Rob had incidentally -asked some time before if the boy had shown up at the farm, to learn -that nothing had as yet been seen of him.</p> - -<p>Apparently Ralph had not as yet made up his mind concerning a visit -to town. It might be that the strenuous events of the preceding -night were still too vivid in his mind for him to desire to see how -Wyoming looked after the fire. Rob, on his part, had no intention of -influencing the other to take a run in, knowing as he did that this -would mean a trip to the curio dealer, and possibly finding out -certain unpleasant truths concerning Peleg.</p> - -<p>The two fishermen came back in the car, which Andy had been able to -run, just as the lunch bell sounded. Rob knew as soon as he saw them -that something out of the usual run must have happened, for both -looked mysterious and excited.</p> - -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXXIII' title='XXIII: Just Between Boys'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>Chapter XXIII</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.1em'>Just Between Boys</span> -</h2> -<p>“Why, they’re all wet, boys, if you’ll believe me!” exclaimed Sim, -as soon as Tubby and Andy arrived in the car.</p> - -<p>Tubby got out, laboriously, and then proceeded to exhibit as fine a -string of bass as the heart of any enthusiastic angler could wish.</p> - -<p>“But the biggest got away from us, I’m sorry to say,” he remarked. -“’Course I know well enough that that’s an <i>awful</i> old excuse, but -in this case it’s a fact. Our condition proves it, too. I held on -like grim death, even after he upset the boat, and, say, he dragged -me under twice, and then—shucks! the line broke. I guess he snagged -it on a sharp rock. These bass are mighty smart fish, I’m finding -out.”</p> - -<p>Andy was grinning, as though it may have been something of a -“circus” to him even if he had also been thrown into the water by -the capsizing of their cranky boat when the clumsy Tubby became -excited with such a large fish on his hook.</p> - -<p>“Believe me, it was a lively time,” he admitted. “Tubby was -swimming, and spouting the water out of his mouth like a whale, all -the while holding on to his rod, and trying to yell. I think he -would have landed that monster bass if only the line hadn’t gone -back on him. He was the most disappointed fellow you ever saw when -he found his prize had skipped out.”</p> - -<p>“Were you far from the shore, and what did you do?” asked Rob.</p> - -<p>“It happened that we were fishing past that big rock where Tubby -caught his other noble bass,” explained Andy. “So we didn’t have far -to swim, pushing the boat between us. I knew that was the easiest -way to manage, because Tubby would have had a tough job climbing -over the stern.”</p> - -<p>“Huh! must have weighed nearly a ton with my soaked clothes,” the -fat boy agreed. “But we didn’t lose anything, except a hook, and -that monster bass. It wasn’t such a terrible experience, either. If -the day had been chilly at all we’d have started a fire, and dried -out; but neither of us cared to bother going to all that trouble; so -we baled out the boat, and just commenced fishing again; but I never -got another bully strike like that one.”</p> - -<p>They were not feeling uncomfortable in the least; as their clothes -had by this time pretty well dried out upon their backs, neither of -the boys took the trouble to make any change.</p> - -<p>“I’m too hungry to wait a minute,” announced Tubby, showing that he -had heard the summons to lunch as the car approached the farmhouse.</p> - -<p>It was high noon, and still no Peleg. Rob continued to wonder what -could be keeping the farm boy in town. Still, it was a good ten mile -tramp in case he thought to make it afoot. On the other hand, Rob -thought he might be waiting for a chance to ride with some farmer -returning home, and that the opportunity may not as yet have come -along.</p> - -<p>“What, no frogs’ legs today?” remarked Tubby, when the meal had -progressed far enough to show this lack of his favorite delicacy.</p> - -<p>“Oh! we’ve decided to leave all that to you, Tubby,” laughed Ralph. -“It seems that the rest of us have had all we want of that -fish-chicken combination. There’s the pond, and whenever you feel -like having a mess take my Flobert and get busy. The rest of us have -other fish to fry.”</p> - -<p>“What’s the programme for this afternoon?” asked Sim.</p> - -<p>Rob looked toward Ralph, fully expecting to hear the other suggest -that they go to town. Again he was mistaken, for nothing of the kind -came about.</p> - -<p>“Why,” Ralph started to say, “father has asked me to take the car -and run over to Flemington to attend to some business that needs -looking after. If any or all of you feel like going along, now’s -your chance to say the word. There’ll be room for you, and it’s -worth going thirty miles uphill and down, for you’ll get some mighty -fine views. How about you, Rob?”</p> - -<p>“I’m game if the rest are,” came the ready reply.</p> - -<p>In rapid succession Tubby, Sim and Andy announced themselves willing -to take part in the excursion. It would show them a section of -country that was new; and promised to be quite an enjoyable -diversion. Evidently, then, Rob concluded, Ralph did not mean to -look that curio dealer up in a hurry, so as to settle the question -of Peleg’s innocence or guilt.</p> - -<p>“I wouldn’t be much surprised,” Rob told himself, “if Ralph sort of -shrinks at doing that. He would like to get his stamps back, but -while the case is open and unsettled he can try and convince himself -that the boy isn’t guilty. Once he has the proof dead to rights and -Peleg must go. It does Ralph a whole lot of credit, this trying to -give the boy all the chance he can.”</p> - -<p>They certainly had a glorious run of it on the way to Flemington, -and the scenery was all that the enthusiastic Ralph had promised. He -also managed to return by another roundabout road, so that they -could see still another section of country.</p> - -<p>“Ralph, slow up, won’t you?” suddenly called out Sim, who was -sitting on the back seat. “I want to get a better look at something -through the trees over here on the right. There, I saw him again, -and now I’m dead sure of it.”</p> - -<p>“Why, it certainly does look mighty much like our Peleg,” agreed -Tubby, who had also managed to crane his fat neck so as to obtain a -passing view; “but whatever would he be doing away over here, a long -way from your place; and he seemed to be driving a horse and buggy, -too. Ralph, what do you know about this?”</p> - -<p>Ralph stopped the car, and also glanced back, for as he had to keep -his eyes on the road most of the time, it was not easy for him to -turn around, lest by so doing he land them in a ditch.</p> - -<p>“Yes, that’s Peleg,” he announced, presently, and Rob could see that -the altogether strange appearance of the farm boy over in this -section when he should have turned up at the Jeffords’ place -surprised Ralph.</p> - -<p>“What do you reckon he’s doing over here?” continued Tubby, bound to -“pump” the other until Ralph yielded up all the information at his -disposal.</p> - -<p>“Well, I can explain that part of it,” was the reply. “You see, -Peleg’s sister is working out at that house where he’s going right -now. Evidently Peleg has hired that rig in town for the purpose of -paying his sister a visit.”</p> - -<p>“Oh! seeing that he was off work, he must have just made up his mind -he might as well be killed for a sheep as a lamb; is that it, -Ralph?” demanded Tubby.</p> - -<p>“Something like it, I guess,” answered the other, at the same time -giving Rob at his side a queer look, together with a frown.</p> - -<p>Rob could easily guess what was passing through the mind of the boy -at the wheel of the car; he believed that Peleg must be spending the -money he had received for those packets of foreign stamps in paying -for the horse and buggy with which he was driving over to see his -sister.</p> - -<p>It was not a pleasant thought to Rob. He wished the whole affair -would make haste to reach a settlement; if Peleg were guilty, the -sooner the fact became known to Ralph the better; if, on the other -hand, he could prove his innocence, it was too bad to keep up this -feeling of suspicion.</p> - -<p>They started on again. So far as they knew, Peleg had not once -looked toward the road as he drove up along the lane leading to the -farmhouse just beyond the brow of the rise. Apparently he was at the -time so excited over the thought of seeing his sister again that he -had eyes and ears for nothing else; and the mere passing of a car -held no attraction for him. Rob thought it was just as well, for -Peleg might have signalled to them; and in some way Ralph was likely -to burst forth, perhaps openly accusing the boy in the presence of -the others.</p> - -<p>So they went on. Ralph kept his thoughts to himself, not even -speaking of Peleg to Rob at his side. The others, very naturally, -continued to exchange remarks that Ralph could not help hearing -above the purr of the engine.</p> - -<p>“Well, anyhow,” Tubby was saying, with his accustomed zeal, “I’m -glad to know he wasn’t hurt any in the fire. When he failed to show -up at the time we were leaving I felt worried. Lots of people got -injured, I’m sure, for the crowd acted like it was crazy, running -back and forth, and knocking everybody over who got in the way.”</p> - -<p>“Peleg is all right, we know now,” interjected Andy. “He’s wanted to -see this sister of his for some time, I reckon, and took this chance -to get around. Oh! look at that bull chasing after that dog in the -field, will you? The little barker is too smart for the clumsy -beast; but if ever he gets those horns underneath him, I give you my -word for it he’ll clear thirty feet in the air if he does one.”</p> - -<p>Little escaped their eyes as they rode along. First one and then -another would call attention to something of interest that was seen, -now on the right and again on the left. Tubby even declared that he -was beginning to believe he had a regular “rubber-neck,” they kept -him looking so much.</p> - -<p>Back at the farm again, they lounged around the balance of the -afternoon. Ralph often looked along the road they had so recently -driven over, and Rob made up his mind that the other was hoping to -see Peleg coming. To his mind this proved that while Ralph had kept -unusually quiet on the subject, he was still worrying about the -status of the farm boy.</p> - -<p>It was getting along toward sunset when finally Ralph, as if unable -to longer hold in, introduced the subject himself.</p> - -<p>Perhaps the fact that he and Rob chanced to be alone at the time had -something to do with it. They were looking over the flashlight -apparatus, which the owner had been explaining to Ralph, who agreed -that the manipulation of the little “trick” was simplicity itself, -and could be easily managed by any one with a fair degree of -intelligence.</p> - -<p>“It begins to look to me as though Peleg knows he must be under -suspicion, and doesn’t mean to come back to work here, much as I -hate to believe that, Rob,” was what he said, watching the face of -his companion so as to read his opinion even before the other made -any sort of reply.</p> - -<p>“Oh! I wouldn’t say that until you know more about his actions,” Rob -told him. “You yourself said he had a queer and powerful affection -for his brothers and sisters. His going out there today proves that, -too. Now as a scout I’ve been taught never to believe wrong of any -one unless the proof is overwhelming; and even then to try and think -the best you can of him, perhaps by your influence causing him to -repent and make restitution.”</p> - -<p>“I understand what you mean, Rob,” muttered the other, “and if Peleg -really showed any sign of being sorry for what he has done, I’d -forgive him, and keep his secret. I’m not one of the hard kind to -hold a thing against any chap, because I know we’re not all alike. -Peleg, being tempted, would mean ten times the strain on his honesty -that the same thing would to me. Yes, I’ve already made up my mind -to go easy with him.”</p> - -<p>Rob was glad to hear this. At the same time he still hoped there -would be no occasion to exercise this clemency on the part of his -friend. It was pleasant for him to know Ralph was that sort of boy; -and he believed the other would make a model member of the new scout -troop, when it was organized in Wyoming.</p> - -<p>“There’s just one more thing I want to say, Rob,” the other remarked -when they were about to pass out again to the open air, and join the -rest of the fellows on the shady porch. “Meeting you has been a -revelation to me, and given me a lot of new ideas. And let me tell -you I’ve never known any one who had such faith in finding a streak -of good in every boy that lives!”</p> - -<p>“Oh!” said Rob with a laugh, “that’s easy enough when you figure out -your own struggles between right and wrong. All boys pass through -the same, more or less.”</p> - -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXXIV' title='XXIV: The Answer to the Puzzle'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>Chapter XXIV</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.1em'>The Answer to the Puzzle</span> -</h2> -<p>After supper that night Ralph and Rob went off to set the flashlight -trap in the mink enclosure. A fresh fish would be the bait to -attract one of the timid little fur-bearing animals to the place; -and the arrangement was such that when he attempted to possess -himself of the tempting morsel, the pull upon a cord would cause the -flashlight to snap off his picture before he could move.</p> - -<p>Ralph was very much interested in the venture, and asked enough -questions to give him all necessary information. Apparently he had -taken a great fancy for this new method of “hunting with a camera,” -and would possibly amuse himself frequently later on in securing -various pictures that could not otherwise be obtained.</p> - -<p>When they got back, somewhere around nine o’clock, Tubby “wanted to -know,” as he usually did.</p> - -<p>“How about that old bobcat, Ralph? Signs of him taking the bait you -left out there for him?” he went on to inquire.</p> - -<p>“We didn’t bother going to see,” he was told. “He’s got the whole -night before him to come around. So I’m just living off hope until -Pete makes his report in the morning. I’d hate to have my plans all -knocked silly by the accidental coming of a pair of cats.”</p> - -<p>“You’ve got to remember,” Rob warned him, “to set your alarm clock -so you can wake up at three o’clock. You must be on hand before the -first streak of dawn, because if the light strikes in before you get -there the flashlight picture will be ruined.”</p> - -<p>“Seems to me,” observed Tubby, thoughtfully, “there ought to be some -little mechanical invention calculated to close the opening of a -camera after just so many seconds have elapsed.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps there is,” Rob went on to say, “but if so I haven’t got the -attachment on my camera. Better get up one yourself, Tubby; there -would be money in it.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll think it over,” the stout boy told them. “Sometimes I suspect -that I might make something of a success as an inventor; but so far -things I’ve tried to do just don’t seem to work a little bit. I even -experimented on a flying machine that was going to beat all these -common aeroplanes, and leave them at the stake. But I own up that it -wouldn’t budge me off the ground.”</p> - -<p>“Which I should say was the most fortunate thing that ever happened -to you, Tubby,” chuckled Andy. “Falling overboard in the lake is bad -enough, but then you can swim or float; but just think what would -follow if that flying machine ever gave out while you were away up -in the air. Some of the fellows used to call you Punkin once in a -while, but believe me your name would be Squash then.”</p> - -<p>Once again it was morning, after another pleasant experience in -which the boys managed to secure enough sleep to make up for the -loss of the preceding night.</p> - -<p>Rob, after getting out, wandered around to the barns to see the cows -being milked, and the pigs fed, as well as the chickens and turkeys -and ducks. He loved to watch the big bronze gobbler strut around, -and make all those strange sounds as his wings scraped the ground. -Then the lordly peacocks on the ridge-pole of the big barn emitted a -series of shrill cries as they preened their glorious plumage. When -one of them chose to strut in all his glory on the ground, Rob -thought it was a most astonishing sight.</p> - -<p>“Did Peleg happen to come back last night?” he asked one of the men -who was drawing the milk from a fine Jersey cow; Mr. Jeffords wanted -richness rather than quantity, which was the reason he preferred -that strain to the banded Holsteins.</p> - -<p>“I guess not,” came the answer—“leastways, I ain’t seen anything ov -him around since the boy rode into town with the lot ov you t’other -evenin’.”</p> - -<p>All of which only added to the mystery. Still, another day had come, -and perhaps they would see something of Peleg before nightfall. -Since it was known that he had been within seven miles of the farm -on the preceding day, while visiting his sister, there was a -likelihood of his turning up. Rob was beginning to feel that he -wanted to see the end of this little mystery. Innocent or guilty, he -certainly hoped Peleg would come along before the time set for their -departure arrived.</p> - -<p>Just then he sighted Ralph returning. He held the camera safely -under his arm, and if the smile on his face stood for anything, Rob -felt justified in believing that the little venture must have met -with success.</p> - -<p>“You got there before the light did, I hope?”</p> - -<p>“Oh! yes, just the first peep was coming over in the east when I -arrived and took up the camera. Your scheme worked, too, Rob, -because the bait was gone, and the flashlight cartridge had been -fired in the pan.”</p> - -<p>“We’ll find out after breakfast whether the snapshot is any good,” -the scout leader suggested. “If this one proves to be poor, we can -try again tonight, if no signs of rain warn us off. You never can -tell what you get until you develop your film or plate. Some of the -finest exposures I ever took were desperate chances, and that made -the surprise all the more agreeable.”</p> - -<p>Later on Rob developed the plate in his daylight tank, and soon -assured the anxious Ralph, who, strange to say, had up to then never -cared for photography, that they had secured a splendid negative. It -showed the cautious mink clearly in the act of taking the fish bait.</p> - -<p>“I do believe it’s my old Jinks, as I named the first mature mink I -managed to get hold of!” exclaimed Ralph, minutely examining the -bright negative. “Why, you can see the hair on his back, the detail -work is so perfect. Rob, I’m going to like this thing more than I -can tell you. It opens up a new field for me, and one that seems to -be just to my taste.”</p> - -<p>“Best of all,” added the patrol leader, “it doesn’t make any inroads -on the harmless little animals of the woods and swamps. You can get -them at home, and learn more about their nocturnal habits than by -any other known means.”</p> - -<p>After the negative had been dried later on in the day, Rob printed -several copies, and passed them around. Even Mr. Jeffords declared -they were very fine, and when he learned how his boy had begun to -take a great interest in the modern way of making the acquaintance -of the timid woods folks, he encouraged Ralph in every way possible -to enlist in the cause.</p> - -<p>“Things like this always go to make boys more humane,” the farmer -remarked. “That counts a whole lot. As a rule, they are apt to have -cruel instincts, handed down from their ancestors, who used to have -to depend on killing game to keep themselves alive. It’s about time -something were done to soften some of those savage traits; and I -believe your organization of scouts will do this without making boys -soft, or sissies at the same time.”</p> - -<p>Plainly, the seed had fallen on good ground these days around -Wyoming. It seemed to be a foregone conclusion that before a great -while there would spring up an enthusiastic troop of scouts bound to -be a credit to the community.</p> - -<p>That whole day passed and still there was no sign of the absent one. -Some of the fellows spoke of it as a strange thing, and also went so -far as to hint to Ralph that it looked as though Peleg may have -concluded he didn’t care to work on the Jeffords’ farm any longer.</p> - -<p>Rob noticed that Ralph declined to be drawn into any discussion that -had for its subject the doings of Peleg Pinder. He just shut his -teeth together, and made no comment when Tubby and Andy started -discussing this matter. At the same time Rob was quite positive -Ralph had not forgotten; and he imagined that when another day came -he might make up his mind to start toward Wyoming, bent on settling -the bothersome question once and for all.</p> - -<p>During the day no word had come from Pete, so it could be set down -as pretty certain that the second wildcat had not been hovering -around the preserves where Ralph was trying to raise fancy-priced -fur.</p> - -<p>“If anything had happened we would have heard,” the owner of the fox -farm told the rest of the boys. “Pete had orders to drop down and -let me know. I’m just about fixing a little telephone service -between my cabin up there and the home place here, so we can talk -without all this running back and forth.”</p> - -<p>“Queer how you didn’t think of that long ago,” said Sim. “I’d have -done it in the start.”</p> - -<p>“Well, the fact of the matter is,” laughed Ralph, “I put every -dollar I could scrape together or borrow from dad into my first -blacks; and the fencing of that big tract cost a whopping sum -besides. But now I begin to see an outlook ahead; and I’ve also -convinced father that there’s money in the project, so he’s loaning -me another bunch of money.”</p> - -<p>“When do you expect to realize something from the sale of skins?” -asked Tubby.</p> - -<p>“This winter,” he was told. “I think I shall put over half a dozen -black pelts by that time, some of which ought to fetch nearly top -prices, because the animals are beauts. Then I’ve got a lot of -skunks to get rid of, for they’ve increased rapidly. Needn’t turn -pale, Tubby, because I won’t be raiding their den while you’re -within hundreds of miles of here, so you’re safe. The mink and otter -have yet to prove their value as producers of their species. If all -turns out well there, in another year or so I’ll be on the high-road -to success, and a big one in the bargain.”</p> - -<p>All this was very interesting to the other boys. And from time to -time that evening as they sat around they asked additional questions -connected with the unique enterprise that Ralph was engineering, -surely one of the most remarkable that any wideawake American lad -had ever engaged in.</p> - -<p>Ralph and Rob had been up again to see that the trap for the wildcat -was properly set. They also had a short chat with Pete, who did not -seem to be at all discouraged because of the failure to secure a -victim on the first trial.</p> - -<p>“I’m banking on gettin’ the critter tonight, though,” he announced, -and they knew that he must have some good reason for his belief.</p> - -<p>Sure enough, in the morning, when they once more paid a visit to the -fur farm, with Tubby, Sim and Andy tagging along, Pete took them out -to where the trap had been set. He did not say anything, but Rob -could see from the look on his face that he had a surprise in store -for them.</p> - -<p>The big cat had been caught, and Pete, coming along at peep of day, -had killed it with a single shot, not wishing the wretched thing to -suffer any more than was necessary. If anything, it was larger than -its mate.</p> - -<p>Ralph was feeling quite contented as they came back again to the -house.</p> - -<p>“Now there’s only one more thing on my mind,” he remarked to Rob, -and the latter did not have to ask him what that was, for he knew.</p> - -<p>He imagined that the invitation to visit Wyoming would be -forthcoming around the lunch hour, for undoubtedly Ralph was growing -tired of waiting for Peleg to show up, and meant to put the whole -thing to a deciding test in the office of that curio dealer.</p> - -<p>If such were Ralph’s plans, they were fated never to be carried out. -Rob was swinging idly on the porch seat, all by himself, the other -three being back in the milk room watching the process of -cheese-making under the supervision of Mr. Jeffords, when he saw -Ralph come hastily toward him. Rob had reason to believe that the -other must have been in his den at the barn, since he came from that -direction.</p> - -<p>When he saw the strange look on the other’s face, Rob stopped -swinging and awaited his arrival. No sooner had he come up than he -tossed something in Rob’s lap.</p> - -<p>“I want somebody to kick me,” said Ralph bitterly, “for I sure -deserve it. Those packets are the missing stamps, and where do you -think I found them but behind my trunk, where they must have been -blown by a passing gust of wind!”</p> - -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXXV' title='XXV: Lucky Peleg'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>Chapter XXV</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.1em'>Lucky Peleg</span> -</h2> -<p>Although thrilled by the announcement, the scout leader’s first -sensation was rather one of great joy. He seemed to see the pale -earnest face of poor Peleg Pinder rise up again before him; and how -glad he felt that through it all, even when the clouds seemed -darkest for Peleg, he had continued to firmly believe in the other’s -innocence.</p> - -<p>Ralph was showing signs of remorse. He realized now that what Rob -had said to him about not depending on circumstantial evidence, when -charging a companion with an evil deed, was true, since at best it -must be an unreliable staff upon which to lean.</p> - -<p>Still, there was one delightful thing about it, besides the -discovery of Peleg’s innocence; and this was the frank way in which -Ralph took himself to task. Such action spoke well for his bigness -of heart. Rob felt sure that the young fur farmer would never again -allow himself to believe wrong of a comrade without more tangible -evidence than mere suspicion.</p> - -<p>“So these are the stamps that kicked up such a tempest in a teapot, -are they?” remarked Rob, shuffling the various packets between his -hands. “The old curio dealer didn’t see them, after all. That’s -going to save you a visit to town, I reckon, Ralph. The chances were -you had figured on putting your threat into execution.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” replied the other, contritely, “I might as well own that I -had made my mind up to run in this very day and learn the truth. I -couldn’t stand it any longer, you see, thinking all those mean -things about Peleg. Right now I’m wondering how I’ll ever look him -straight in the eye again.”</p> - -<p>“Oh! don’t let that worry you, Ralph. There’s no need of his ever -knowing that he was under suspicion. Where ignorance is bliss, you -know, they say it’s folly to be wise. Let things go as they were -before.”</p> - -<p>Ralph shook his head dubiously.</p> - -<p>“I’m inclined to believe there’s going to be a change of some sort -in our relations,” he hastened to say, “because of this queer -absence on the part of Peleg. He isn’t the fellow to shirk work, and -you know we saw him the other day over at the farmhouse where his -sister works out. Then there was that talk about him receiving a -mysterious letter; besides, we all noticed that he looked excited -when we saw him in town; yes, and he even went into the Harris -Arcade, where several lawyers have their offices, though I never -knew they stayed there after nightfall. But perhaps Peleg had an -appointment with one of them.”</p> - -<p>By this time he had Rob deeply interested.</p> - -<p>“It begins to look as if there might be another mystery connected -with Peleg’s fortunes,” he observed, laughingly. “This time we can -wait for the developments without being worried. I suppose in good -time you’ll see the boy again, or at least have word from him?”</p> - -<p>“That goes without saying,” Ralph agreed. “I’ve always found him -honest and straightforward. Something he didn’t calculate on is -holding him back; but he will show up in good time, believe me.”</p> - -<p>It was strange how much brighter the day seemed to Rob after -discovering that Peleg was indeed innocent of peculation, and had -done nothing that was wrong. Why, the very birds appeared to sing -with sweeter notes than before, while the sunshine filled the boy -with a joy he had not fully known since Ralph first communicated his -doleful suspicions. That is always the way with a scout who has -learned the greatest lesson on the books of the organization—to care -for his fellows even as he does for himself, because that is the -greatest of all commandments. Somehow nobody seemed very ambitious -to be doing strenuous things on that particular day. It was pretty -hot, for the mountains, and the shade under the long porch appeared -to strike them as just right. So they lolled there in easy-chairs, -hammocks, and the broad swing as the minutes went past, chatting, -telling stories of past experiences, and in this way exchanging -views after the manner of boys in general.</p> - -<p>Ralph wanted to know many things connected with the adventures which -had fallen to the scout leader and some of his chums, not only -around their home town down on Long Island, but under other -skies—away across the water where the great nations of Europe were -fighting the most terrible war of all history; upon the desert sands -of northern Mexico; and even amidst the glories of the wonderful -Panama-Pacific Exposition out in California.</p> - -<p>This giving out of information was not wholly one-sided, either. -Ralph had been around considerable, and was able to talk of strange -things he had run across down in the Land of Dixie, where he had -lived the better part of his young life, exploring the swamps where -the weird Spanish moss festooned the trees, and gave such a funereal -aspect to the picture; and Ralph could relate numerous amusing -stories of the former slaves whom he had known.</p> - -<p>So the morning passed away. The big bullfrogs over in the pond piped -in chorus, undisturbed by any pot-hunter with deadly Flobert; -doubtless, those bass still left in the pretty lake back of the -hills rejoiced to know they would not be tempted to take an -attractive lure that was apt to have a sharp barb concealed within -its midst. For the five boys spent the entire morning in sweet -idleness, content to let the hours drift past without exerting -themselves.</p> - -<p>Tubby, Andy and Sim had heard enough to know that there was -something queer connected with Peleg’s actions. Ralph concluded to -take them into his confidence with regard to the serious mistake he -had come so near making. Consequently the packets of stamps were -exhibited, and the sad story told of how a frivolous gust of wind -had almost caused Ralph to accuse the farm boy of being a thief.</p> - -<p>They promised never to breathe a word of the story. Secretly they -thought all the more of Ralph for his genuine self-condemnation. No -doubt, it would be a good lesson to all of them; which was really -one reason why Ralph, at Rob’s suggestion, had mentioned the facts; -for they could see how easy it must always be to think evil of one’s -best friend when circumstances arise that seem convincing, although -an explanation, if sought, may brush them away as though they were -mere cobwebs.</p> - -<p>During that morning there must have been dozens of times when one or -another of the boys walked to the end of the porch as if to stretch -their legs, when in reality it was to look along the road in the -direction that a traveler must take if coming from that farmhouse -where they had seen Peleg driving up in what appeared to be a hired -buggy.</p> - -<p>“Here he comes!” suddenly called out Tubby all of a sudden, as he -stood at that particular end of the porch.</p> - -<p>No one demanded to know who was meant, because the same thought was -in every fellow’s brain. They scrambled to their feet from hammock, -swing, and easychairs to twist their heads around, and stare in the -quarter in which Tubby was looking.</p> - -<p>Yes, a vehicle could be seen approaching, with the dust rising -behind the lazy shuffling motion of the horse’s hoofs. Apparently, -whoever drove was in no particular hurry to get on.</p> - -<p>“Why, there seem to be two persons in the buggy!” ejaculated -keen-eyed Sim.</p> - -<p>“But one’s Peleg, all right,” added Tubby, stubbornly, not wishing -to be shorn of his right as first discoverer.</p> - -<p>“Just who it is,” Ralph assured them, and he ought to know. “The -other person seems to be a girl, and it wouldn’t surprise me now if -she turned out to be Hetty Pinder.”</p> - -<p>“You mean Peleg’s sister, the one who was working in service on that -other farm?” asked Andy, more than a little excited as he seemed to -scent something interesting in the coming back of Peleg under such -odd conditions.</p> - -<p>Mr. Jeffords came out on the porch. Possibly he had noticed the -coming of Peleg up the lane that led from the main road; and felt a -mild curiosity to know why he had remained away so long; also what -possessed him to fetch his sister over from the farm where she had -engaged to work.</p> - -<p>Rob knew something good was going to come about. He gauged the broad -grin on Peleg’s face to mean that he had news for them. The girl was -smiling happily, it seemed. Yes, Fortune must have finally consented -to beam upon the Pinder family, so long down and out.</p> - -<p>“Good-morning, Mr. Jeffords! Good-morning, Ralph, and all the rest -o’ you,” said Peleg as he came up the steps, holding his sister by -the arm. “I just dropped over to let you know I ain’t agoin’ to work -no more with you. Sorry to say it, too, sure I am, ’cause you’ve -been mighty kind to me, and I never ain’t meanin’ to forget it, -neither. I got a farm o’ my own now, you see, Mr. Jeffords; and -we’re meanin’ to have them other three Pinders come out o’ the -’sylum and live to home.”</p> - -<p>“Well, this is great news, Peleg,” said Mr. Jeffords, holding out -both hands to the boy, and his shy sister, who looked so rosy and -happy now. “Tell us all about it, won’t you?”</p> - -<p>“Just what I was meanin’ to do, sir,” said the accommodating Peleg, -his eyes fairly dancing with excitement and joy. “You see, it came -to me ’bout like one o’ them bombshells I heard Rob here tellin’ -he’d seen explode over in Europe. That letter I got some days back -was from Mr. Green, the lawyer man down in Wyoming. It told me to -come and see him that evening, ’cause he had some right good news to -tell me. So I goes in, and he shows me a letter he had from another -lawyer away out in Colorado. This says that my uncle, Peleg Pipps, -had just died there, and in his will he leaves what he’d scraped -together to me as his—er, namesake the lawyer calls it.”</p> - -<p>Peleg looked proudly around as he said this, just as though he felt -it a triumph, after all, to carry the name he did; though possibly -on more than one occasion he had ardently wished it might have been -plain Bill or Tom.</p> - -<p>“This is splendid news you’re telling us, Peleg,” said Mr. Jeffords, -still shaking hands with his former help. “What about the farm—is it -one your uncle owned out there in Colorado?”</p> - -<p>“Shucks! no, sir, it’s the Widow Hawkins’ place, you see, just -twenty acres of fine ground that her husband made his pile out o’ -before he died. I used to work there once, and always liked the -house, it seemed so much like a home. Mr. Green, he fixed it so that -half the money that comes to me is agoin’ to pay cash for the -Hawkins farm; and the widow, she’s sent word we c’n get in right -away. You see, she sold me the furniture and everythin’ as it -stands. And, oh! Mr. Jeffords, just to think I got a home now, after -all, where we c’n all live as long as we want; and there ain’t ever -agoin’ to be no poorhouse in our dreams, either.”</p> - -<p>Tubby, and perhaps some of the other boys as well, might have been -observed to wink violently about that time, as though their vision -had become more or less obscured. Rob was more rejoiced than he -could have told, for it all seemed to be coming out like a fairy -story, with this almost forgotten old uncle away out in Colorado -dying just at a time when the little Pinders, scattered and -homesick, were so much in need of succor.</p> - -<p>They insisted on shaking hands with Peleg, each one in turn, and -congratulating him most heartily on his great good fortune. Then -they were also introduced to Hetty, his sister, a rather buxom girl -of about fourteen, and large for her age, who gave promise of being -well able to act the part of homekeeper when once Peleg had gathered -his little brood under the roof of the Hawkins’ farmhouse.</p> - -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - -<h2 class='nobreak' id='chXXVI' title='XXVI: Headed for Home'> - <span style='font-size:1.2em'>Chapter XXVI</span><br /><span style='font-size:1.1em'>Headed for Home</span> -</h2> -<p>Peleg and his sister were warmly invited to remain and take lunch -with his former employer, which they consented to do. They meant to -continue on afterwards to the Hawkins place, and start housekeeping -immediately. Mr. Green had supplied the boy with sufficient funds -for the time being, and promised to turn over the balance as soon as -the estate of Uncle Peleg had been fully settled up, which would be -in the course of a few weeks.</p> - -<p>“What sort of a farm is this that Peleg has come into?” Rob asked -Ralph, and the other three fellows bent their heads to hear, being -deeply interested.</p> - -<p>“It is one of the best around this whole section,” explained Ralph, -warmly. “Peleg shows great good sense in choosing to get hold of it -at a bargain, for the widow has been wanting to leave this country -since she lost her husband, going to relatives out in Cleveland, -Ohio. The house is roomy, and has some modern conveniences. The -ground produces fair crops; there is considerable fruit, and a fine -kitchen garden, always the pride of Mrs. Hawkins’ heart. Besides, -there are big barns, quite some stock, and poultry, as well as bees -and such things. Oh! Peleg is the happiest boy in the whole State of -New York just now, I can tell you.”</p> - -<p>“The best of it is,” added Rob, soberly, “he deserves everything -that has come to him. You told me how his one longing was to be able -to earn a home, no matter how humble, where he could gather his -brothers and sisters together under one roof. I never was so glad of -anything in my whole life as to know that luck has at last smiled on -the Pinders.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” remarked Tubby, wisely, “it’s a long lane that has no turn. -All you’re got to do is to wait, and have patience, and dig away -with might and main, leaving the rest.”</p> - -<p>“That’s a long head of yours, Tubby,” laughed Ralph. “It’s a pity -fellows don’t always practice what they preach. But I know how all -of you feel about Peleg, and I want to say right here that it does -you credit.”</p> - -<p>Indeed, Peleg looked very proud and contented as he and his sister -sat there at the table with the rest, and answered the many -questions that were asked concerning their plans for the future.</p> - -<p>Later on they drove away again, after the horse had been “baited” at -the barn; and all sorts of good wishes were wafted after them. Ralph -looked at Rob and nodded his head.</p> - -<p>“It all came out splendidly, didn’t it?” he went on to say. “I’m -mighty glad now I didn’t give way to that feeling when I came near -accusing the poor boy. He would never have gotten over it. I’ve -always thought so much of Peleg, too. Now I can run over and see how -they’re getting along whenever I feel like it. From what I know of -his ways, I’m certain he’ll make that old Hawkins’ farm pay well.”</p> - -<p>They were still sitting there on the porch about the middle of the -afternoon, feeling that they might as well finish that day by doing -next to nothing, when a cloud of dust down the road caught their -attention. Soon afterwards they made out several cars heading their -way. To the surprise of the boys these turned in at the lane leading -up to the Jeffords’ farmhouse.</p> - -<p>“Why, it is the mayor of Wyoming, as sure as you live!” exclaimed -Tubby, beginning to look “flustered.”</p> - -<p>“And those other people are some of the leading citizens of the -town,” added Ralph, with a chuckle, as though he half suspected what -it all meant. “Yes, I can see several gentlemen who are owners of -those mills and factories. I wouldn’t be much surprised now if they -thought they hadn’t thanked us enough for doing that little job, and -have come out to repeat.”</p> - -<p>Rob jumped up, but Sim and Andy caught hold of him.</p> - -<p>“No, you don’t skip out of here,” they told him in concert. “If -there’s going to be any sort of bouquet throwing, you’ve got to stay -around and take your share of it. A scout never runs away from the -firing line, you ought to know, Rob. So just grin and bear it.”</p> - -<p>Accordingly, Rob had to remain, though he looked uncomfortable.</p> - -<p>There were fully a dozen gentlemen in the party accompanying the fat -mayor of the town, and all of them seemed to be in a most agreeable -humor, judging from the smiles that wreathed their faces.</p> - -<p>Mr. Jeffords greeted each one in turn, shaking hands. No doubt, he -was able to give a pretty good guess as to what had caused this -exodus from Wyoming on such a warm afternoon; and it could be put -down as certain that this was not intended to be merely a social -call. Those men meant business as well as sentiment.</p> - -<p>When they lined up, and the mayor turned toward Rob and the rest of -the boys, it was plainly apparent that he had a little speech ready.</p> - -<p>“I’ve got a few words to say to you, Ralph, Rob, and the rest,” he -commenced, “after which I have a very pleasant mission to carry out. -We have been holding a meeting since the great fire that threatened -to wipe out our town, and when all of Wyoming’s influential citizens -learned what a narrow escape our beloved homes and business blocks -had from destruction, they decided that they had not been able to -express the feelings they experienced toward you boys who so nobly -fought to hold the fire fiend in check. So we have come up here -today, sent by the women of Wyoming, to tell you again how much they -appreciate those efforts in our behalf.</p> - -<p>“We know that it is against the rules of your organization, Mr. -Scout Master, to accept payment for services freely rendered to -others in times of trouble; but the grateful hearts of our women -hope that each of you will not disdain to wear these modest little -badges which they have had made by our town jeweler, and which are -emblematic of the feeling they entertain for you.</p> - -<p>“With your consent I shall take great pleasure in pinning these upon -the lapels of your khaki coats where I see you already wear the -honored insignia of your order. And I am instructed to say to you, -one and all, that we citizens of Wyoming look upon each of these -little medals as a true badge of courage, for it symbolizes the -bravery and ready wit not only to conceive that grand scheme of -blowing up a building to stay the spread of the fire, but to -actually carry it into execution. Rob, will you oblige me by -stepping up, first of all, and letting me do you this honor.”</p> - -<p>So Rob had to obey, though painfully embarrassed, if his flushed -face stood for anything. Ralph, too, was not forgotten, even though -as yet he did not wear the khaki of the scout service; but events -were moving rapidly now, and it would not be long before Wyoming -would take her place in the ranks of those towns able to boast of a -growing organization founded on the principle of “doing a good turn -every day.”</p> - -<p>Afterwards, those boys had reason to feel very proud of the -beautiful little gold medals that had been presented to them; and -which they later on received permission to wear from Scout -Headquarters, after the story of their labors in fighting the flames -when Wyoming was threatened with destruction had been sent on by the -interested people of that grateful community.</p> - -<p>The rest of their stay up in the mountainous country of the -Adirondacks was replete with lively happenings, but there is no time -to relate their further adventures just now. They enjoyed every -minute of the time, and more than one noble string of fish was -carried home from that teeming lake as a reward for merit and -perseverance. Tubby, too, took toll from the pond where those -monster “greenbacks” sang their nightly chorus. Before the boys -finally left for home it was noticable what a difference there was -in the volume of sound emanating from that pond on a still night.</p> - -<p>At the time they said good-bye regretfully to Ralph, whom they had -come to care for immensely, as though he were a brother to them all, -the fur farm was progressing favorably. No more wildcats or other -“vermin” had put in an appearance; and the proud proprietor -announced on the last day of their stay that he had reason to -believe his minks now had a family of their own, which would be a -tremendous feather in his cap as a grower of fine furs.</p> - -<p>They had had one opportunity to run over and visit Peleg in his new -home, and everybody seemed delighted with what he showed them. There -could not be any doubt about Peleg and his sister being as happy as -the day was long; and Rob felt sure they would make a fair success -of farming, and keeping house, judging from what he saw while there.</p> - -<p>The other little Pinders had not arrived as yet, because it would be -a matter of some time before they could be formally released from -the public institution to which they had been committed at the death -of their father; but Peleg said he expected they would be home in -about another week or so. How proudly he showed them the rooms -fitted up for the youngsters, as well as the little chickens that -were to be their especial pets.</p> - -<p>So, in due time, Rob, Sim, Tubby and Andy once more turned their -faces homeward. They felt that they had had a glorious vacation, as -they sat in the train headed south; and every time any of them -chanced to glance down at the “badge of courage” fastened to their -coat lapels, doubtless their thoughts again carried them back to -that fearful night when only for the inspiration that came to Rob -Blake the whole town of Wyoming would have gone up in smoke and -ashes.</p> - -<div class='ce'> -<div style='margin-top:1.2em;'>THE END </div> -</div> -</div> -<div class='section'> -<hr class='backmatter' /> -<div class='ce'> -<div>HURST & COMPANY’S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE</div> -<div style='font-size:1.2em;margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;'>A Volume of Cheerfulness in Rhyme and Picture </div> -<div>KINDERGARTEN LIMERICKS</div> -<div>By FLORENCE E. SCOTT</div> -<div style='margin-top:0.5em;'>Pictures by Arthur O. Scott with a Foreword by Lucy Wheelock</div> -</div> -<blockquote> -<p>The book contains a rhyme for every letter of the alphabet, each -illustrated by a full page picture in colors. The verses appeal to -the child’s sense of humor without being foolish or sensational, and -will be welcomed by kindergartners for teaching rhythm in a most -entertaining manner.</p> - -</blockquote> -<div class='ce'> -<div style='margin-top:0.5em;font-style:italic;'>Beautifully printed and bound. In attractive box. </div> -<div style='font-style:italic;'>Price, Postpaid One Dollar. </div> -<div>HURST & COMPANY, Publishers, New York</div> -</div> -</div> -<div class='section'> -<hr class='backmatter' /> -<div class='ce'> -<div>FRANK ARMSTRONG SERIES</div> -<div>By MATTHEW M. COLTON</div> -<div>Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 60c. per vol., postpaid</div> -</div> -<div class='ast'>Frank Armstrong’s Vacation</div> -<p>How Frank’s summer experiences with his boy friends make him into a -sturdy young athlete through swimming, boating and baseball -contests, and a tramp through the Everglades, is the subject of this -splendid story.</p> - -<div class='ast'>Frank Armstrong at Queens</div> -<p>We find among the jolly boys at Queen’s School, Frank, the -student-athlete, Jimmy, the baseball enthusiast, and Lewis, the -unconsciously-funny youth who furnishes comedy for every page that -bears his name. Fall and winter sports between intensely rival -school teams are expertly described.</p> - -<div class='ast'>Frank Armstrong’s Second Term</div> -<p>The gymnasium, the track and the field make the background for the -stirring events of this volume, in which David, Jimmy, Lewis, the -“Wee One” and the “Codfish” figure, while Frank “saves the day.”</p> - -<div class='ast'>Frank Armstrong, Drop Kicker</div> -<p>With the same persistent determination that won him success in -swimming, running and baseball playing, Frank Armstrong acquired the -art of “drop-kicking,” and the Queen’s football team profits -thereby.</p> - -<div class='ast'>Frank Armstrong, Captain of the Nine</div> -<p>Exciting contests, unexpected emergencies, interesting incidents by -land and water make this story of Frank Armstrong a strong tale of -school-life, athletic success, and loyal friendships.</p> - -<div class='ast'>Frank Armstrong at College</div> -<p>With the development of this series, the boy characters have -developed until in this, the best story of all, they appear as -typical college students, giving to each page the life and vigor of -the true college spirit.</p> - -<p style='line-height: 1em'>​</p> -<p>Six of the best books of College Life Stories published. They -accurately describe athletics from start to finish.</p> - -<div class='ce'> -<div style='margin-top:1em;font-style:italic;'>Any book sent postpaid upon receipt of 60 cents, or we </div> -<div style='font-style:italic;'>will send the six for $3.50. </div> -</div> -</div> -<div class='section'> -<hr class='backmatter' /> -<div class='ce'> -<div>Log Cabin to White House Series</div> -<div>LIVES OF CELEBRATED AMERICANS</div> -<div>Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 60c., per vol., postpaid</div> -</div> -<div class='ce'> -<div style='margin-top:1em;'>FROM BOYHOOD TO MANHOOD </div> -<div>(The Life of Benjamin Franklin).</div> -<div>By <i>Wm. M. Thayer</i>.</div> -</div> -<p>Benjamin Franklin was known in the scientific world for his -inventions and discoveries, in the diplomatic world because of his -statemanship, and everywhere, because of his sound judgment, plain -speaking, and consistent living.</p> - -<div class='ce'> -<div style='margin-top:1em;'>FROM FARM HOUSE TO WHITE HOUSE </div> -<div>(The Life of George Washington).</div> -<div>By <i>Wm. M. Thayer</i>.</div> -</div> -<p>The story of the hatchet and other familiar incidents of the boyhood -and young manhood of Washington are included in this book, as well -as many less well-known accounts of his experiences as surveyor, -soldier, emissary, leader, and first president of the United States.</p> - -<div class='ce'> -<div style='margin-top:1em;'>FROM LOG CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE </div> -<div>(The Life of James A. Garfield).</div> -<div>By <i>Wm. M. Thayer</i>.</div> -</div> -<p>It was a long step from pioneer home in Ohio where James A. Garfield -was born, to the White House in Washington, and that it was an -interesting life-journey one cannot doubt who reads Mr. Thayer’s -account of it.</p> - -<div class='ce'> -<div style='margin-top:1em;'>FROM PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE </div> -<div>(The Life of Abraham Lincoln).</div> -<div>By <i>Wm. M. Thayer</i>.</div> -</div> -<p>No President was ever dearer to the hearts of his people than was -homely, humorous “Honest Abe.”</p> - -<p>To read of his mother, his early home, his efforts for an education, -and his rise to prominence is to understand better his rare nature -and practical wisdom.</p> - -<div class='ce'> -<div style='margin-top:1em;'>FROM RANCH TO WHITE HOUSE </div> -<div>(The Life of Theodore Roosevelt).</div> -<div>By <i>Edward S. Ellis, A. M.</i></div> -</div> -<p>Every boy and girl is more or less familiar with the experiences of -Mr. Roosevelt as Colonel and President, but few of them know him as -the boy and man of family and school circles and private citzenship.</p> - -<p>Mr. Ellis describes Theodore Roosevelt as a writer, a hunter, a -fighter of “graft” at home and of Spaniards in Cuba, and a just and -vigorous defender of right.</p> - -<div class='ce'> -<div style='margin-top:1em;'>FROM TANNERY TO WHITE HOUSE </div> -<div>(The Life of Ulysses S. Grant).</div> -<div>By <i>Wm. M. Thayer</i>.</div> -</div> -<p>Perhaps General Grant is best known to boys and girls as the hero of -the famous declaration: “I will fight it out on this line if it -takes all summer.”</p> - -<div class='ce'> -<div style='margin-top:1em;font-style:italic;'>We will mail any of the above books prepaid at 60 cents </div> -<div style='font-style:italic;'>each or the six for $3.50. </div> -</div> -</div> -<div class='section'> -<hr class='backmatter' /> -<div class='ce'> -<div>REX KINGDON SERIES</div> -<div>By GORDON BRADDOCK</div> -<div>Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 60c. per volume</div> -</div> -<div class='ce'> -<div style='margin-top:1em;'><i>Rex Kingdon of Ridgewood High</i> </div> -</div> -<p>A new boy moves into town. Who is he? What can he do? Will he make -one of the school teams? Is his friendship worth having? These are -the queries of the Ridgewood High Students. The story is the answer.</p> - -<div class='ce'> -<div style='margin-top:1em;'><i>Rex Kingdon in the North Woods</i> </div> -</div> -<p>Rex and some of his Ridgewood friends establish a camp fire in the -North Woods, and there mystery, jealousy, and rivalry enter to -menace their safety, fire their interest and finally cement their -friendship.</p> - -<div class='ce'> -<div style='margin-top:1em;'><i>Rex Kingdon at Walcott Hall</i> </div> -</div> -<p>Lively boarding school experiences make this the “best yet” of the -Rex Kingdon series.</p> - -<div class='ce'> -<div style='margin-top:1em;'><i>Rex Kingdon Behind the Bat</i> </div> -</div> -<p>The title tells you what this story is; it is a rattling good story -about baseball. Boys will like it.</p> - -<p>Gordon Braddock knows what Boys want and how to write it. 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