OFF ON THE LONG TOUR
"Get up, you lazybones!"
It seemed to Paul that he had just managed to drop into his first real
sleep of the night when he heard William say this. The unusual
experience of hearing the loud strokes of the big clock up in the
steeple above, had done much to keep him wakeful, even when it was not
his time to be on guard.
He immediately sat up, to find the other fellows yawning, and
stretching, as if they, too, had been dragged back from dreamland by
William's turning-out call.
"Oh! rats, it sure can't be five o'clock yet!" grumbled Bobolink,
showing signs of rolling over again, and taking another spell of sleep.
"Ain't it?" remarked the sentry, indignantly; "Well, you just take a
look up at that window, and you'll see the sun, all right. Besides, the
clock tried to get in the reveille, though I tell you it was mighty hard
work, with the lot of you snoring to beat the band. Tell 'em to crawl
out, Paul. We've got heaps to do this morning, all right."
"Say, is this the day we start on that long hike?" demanded Bobolink,
with a dismal groan; "oh! my, but I feel punk. Who's been kicking me
when I was asleep? I'm sore all over, and I guess you'll have to leave
me behind, Paul, or else fix up that stock wagon into a sort of
ambulance."
"Oh! slush!" exclaimed William, indignantly, "wouldn't that be a nice
cinch for you, now, to be reclining at your ease among the tents and
blankets, while the rest of us tramped and sweated along the trail? I
see you doing it, in my mind's eye."
"Jump up and stretch, Bobolink. You've only got a few kinks in your
muscles," remarked Jack, who was already working his arms like flails.
"I suppose I'll just have to, even if it kills me. Oh! what a shooting
pain in that left leg. What ails me, anyhow?" grumbled the afflicted
one.
"I know," quoth William, readily enough. "You put too much steam into
those kicks last night. Didn't I hear Ted give a yelp every time you got
near him; and there were others. Everything in moderation, my boy.
You're just paying the price now on your speed. Tone down like I do, and
you won't have such aches the next day."
By degrees Bobolink managed to get rid of his sore feeling, which may
have come, after all, from an unaccustomed bed on the floor. Despite
the blankets which he had tucked under him, at some time during the
night he possibly rolled out of his snug nest, and the hard boards left
an impression.
In a short time the gymnasium was made to look orderly. Paul did not
wish those kind friends who had been so good to the scouts to find any
reason for regretting their courtesy and benevolence.
Then, after all were out, he locked the door, before making for his own
home, in order to finish his preparations, and secure a good breakfast.
Already Stanhope was all astir. Boys who usually slept until the call
for breakfast disturbed their happy dreams, were up and doing. Indeed,
many of them had, if the truth were known, stolen out of bed at various
times before dawn, anxious not to oversleep. For this was to be one of
the greatest days the younger generation of Stanhope had ever known.
The long roll of Bluff Shipley's drum could be heard at intervals, and
how their pulses thrilled at the sound, knowing that it was meant for
them alone! Not since away back in '61, when little Stanhope, then a
village, mustered a company to send to the front to serve their country,
had such intense excitement abounded.
Who could sleep when in some score of homes the hope of the household
was rushing up and down stairs, gathering his possessions, buckling on
his knapsack half a dozen times, and showing all the symptoms of a
soldier going to the wars?
Every girl in town was on the street, many of them to wave farewell to
brother or friend. And besides, there were the envious ones connected
with the "Outcast Troop," as Ted and Ward called their fragment, because
they had been unable to obtain a charter from the National Council,
being backward in many of the requirements insisted on.
These fellows had been delayed in making their start, and were planning
to slip out of town some time later in the day. They possibly wanted to
make sure that the scouts were actually headed in the direction of
Rattlesnake Mountain; for not a few among them secretly doubted whether
Paul and his comrades would have the nerve to venture into that wild
country.
And now, by ones and twos, the young khaki-garbed warriors began to
gather in the vicinity of the church. Each carried a full knapsack, and
all were supplied with a stout, mountain staff, which would assist their
movements later in the day, after the muscles of their legs began to
grow weary.
Paul was amused at the stuffy appearance of those same knapsacks.
Evidently some of the boys' fond mothers or older sisters entertained a
healthy fear that their darling might fare badly at meal time; and they
had been cooking doughnuts, as well as various other delicacies beloved
of youth, to be crammed into the confined space of the shoulder
haversack.
But that was to be looked for, since this was their first real hike.
After one experience every fellow might be expected to know better, and
scoff at the idea of a true scout going hungry as long as camp stores
abounded, and a fire could be kindled.
With each passing minute the tumult grew apace. Fathers and mothers
gathered to witness the triumphal passing of the troop, in which their
own boy must of course appear to be the one particular star.
By eight o'clock several hundred people had congregated near the old
church. For one morning, business in Stanhope was forgotten or stood
still, for neither clerks nor proprietors seemed to evince any desire to
show up.
Those boys who did not belong to the troop pretended to scoff at the
idea of undertaking such a wearisome march; but this was pretty much
make-believe. Deep down in their hearts they were bitterly envious of
the good fortune that had befallen their comrades; for few boys there
are but who yearn to get out _somewhere_, once in a while, and meet with
some sort of adventure.
Bluff was kept busy displaying his skill as a drummer. He always had a
group of admirers of both sexes around him. And Bluff showed his wisdom
by saying never a word. Silence with him was golden, because, as he
himself was wont to say, he "never opened his mouth, but what he put his
foot in it."
And there was Bobolink gripping that shiny bugle nervously, and keeping
one eye on the scout leader the while. When Paul gave the signal he
would be primed for his part in the proceedings.
Finally, as far as a careful count went, it seemed as though all who
meant to start out on the long tour had arrived.
Paul made a gesture to the official bugler, and immediately Bobolink
raised his instrument to his lips. The roll of the drum had become
familiar music to those listening hundreds; but when the clear notes of
the bugle floated through the morning air there was an instantaneous
raising of hats, and hardly had the assembly call died away than a
stupendous cheer seemed to make the very church tremble.
"Fall in! fall in, fellows!"
Every boy knew his place.
At the head of the double line stood the flag bearer, Wallace Carberry
carrying the glorious Stars and Stripes, while further back, Tom Betts
waved the beautiful prize banner which Stanhope Troop had fairly won in
the preceding Autumn, when competing with the other troops of the
county.
Then came Bluff with his busy drum, and Bobolink holding his bugle ready
to give the signal for the start.
After that the scouts came, two and two, each in his appointed place,
and the leaders of the second and third patrols heading their commands.
Paul was of course compelled to act in the place of Mr. Gordon, so that
temporarily Jack served in Paul's stead with the Red Fox Patrol.
Amid great cheering and waving of hats and handkerchiefs, the troop
finally put their best foot forward as one man, and headed away up the
road that would, after many miles of weary marching, take them to their
distant goal.
At the rear came the wagon, upon which were piled the tents, blankets,
and provisions for the two weeks' stay in camp. When the worried parents
of the boys saw the large amount of eatables they began to lose their
fears about hunger attacking the little troop. But then, a score of
healthy lads can make way with an astonishing amount of food in that
time; yet Paul had also counted on securing a supply from some
neighboring farmers to help out the regular rations.
To the inspiring music of drum and bugle they marched away from
Stanhope. A bend in the road hid their homes from view, and only the
steeple of the church could be seen.
Perhaps more than one boy felt a queer sensation in his throat as he
realized now what it meant to leave home, tramp out into the wilderness.
But if this were so they made no sign. The wistful look several cast
behind changed into one of manly determination, as they kept pace with
their comrades, and faced the future with new hopes.
Paul soon moderated the pace. He was wise enough to know that at this
rate some of the boys would early complain of being tired or footsore,
since they were hardly yet in condition to "do stunts" in the way of
travel.
Two miles out of town they came to a cold spring up among the rocks at
which many wishful eyes were turned, so the acting scoutmaster gave the
order to halt, and break ranks.
"We'll stop here for half an hour, and get refreshed," he said, as they
clustered around him; "because, now that we've left our base of supplies
and cut loose from all our homes we must go carefully. The chain is only
as strong as the weakest link, you know, fellows. And several of our
number are not used to long tramps."
After drinking their fill of the cool and refreshing water the scouts
lounged around, each taking a favorite attitude while indulging in
animated discussions concerning what might await them far to the north.
It was while the troop was taking things in this easy manner that Jud
Elderkin suddenly jumped to his feet.
"Look what's coming, fellows!" he exclaimed, and everybody of course
sprang up.