A REBELLION NIPPED IN THE BUD.
"DID you find 'em, Elmer?"
"What's the use asking such silly questions, when you can see right now
from the grin on his face that he did."
"Huh! don't you be so sure, Red Huggins; perhaps he's laughing at the
way the sun reflects on your hair!"
"Tell us what you saw, Elmer; we've passed an awful hour," said Mark,
sighing.
"Worst ever; thought it was five times as long!" complained Toby.
They listened attentively as the returned scout related his adventures
while taking a survey of the old logging camp at close quarters.
"Three of 'em--three husky tramps all in a bunch! Say, that's going
some, now, fellows!" remarked Ty.
"Ain't gettin' cold feet, I hope, so soon?" scoffed Red.
"When I do, you'll never know it, 'cause why--you'll be about fifty
miles away, scootin' for all you're worth toward home, sweet home,"
declared Ty, aggressively.
"Yes, you see!" remarked Phil Dale, wagging his head significantly.
"Now he's thinking of that popgun of his, Elmer, and thinks you'll be
sorry because you emptied all the cartridges out," said Tom Cropsey.
"Oh! I'm not bothering my head a bit over that," declared the leader.
"Fact is, I'd be afraid to have that gun around if it was loaded. We're
not going to need such things to capture these fellows. Perhaps there
may be plenty of other ways to scare them into giving up."
"But say, if it comes to a show-down, Elmer, you don't mind if I just
_point_ my cannon at 'em, do you, and threaten to blow the whole
blooming lot into the next county if they don't up with their little
hands?" Phil asked.
"Not a bit," replied the other. "Make as much use of an _empty_ pistol
as you want, but be sure the time is ripe. Only as a last resort pull it
on the men. And now, draw in a little closer and we'll talk this thing
over. Thirteen heads ought to be some better than one."
Every one had a chance to make suggestions. Elmer invited them to
exchange views on the subject. He could pick up a clever idea once in a
while by this means, for all boys do not think alike, and where he might
overlook something, one of the others would be sure to strike it.
"First of all, remember that we are not up here to capture these tramps,
though, of course, it may come to that before we're through with the
thing. To get possession of little Ruth, that's our main idea," Elmer
said more than once.
"But even if we do, won't they follow after us, and try to get the girl
back again?" asked Red, who, it could be plainly seen, was just spoiling
for action.
"Perhaps they will if they know where to look for us!" replied the
leader.
"Oh! I begin to see; you expect to blind the trail; or send 'em off on a
false scent! Ain't you the cute one, though, Elmer? I take off my hat to
you every time," chimed in "Lil Artha," who had been strangely quiet
during most of this discussion, though he was doing a heap of thinking.
Matt Tubbs had listened to what Elmer had said. His face had grown dark
with one of his passionate uprisings.
"See here," he broke out with at this point, "why don't we just walk
right into McGraw Camp, and up to that coward, Dolph Gruber? What's the
use knuckling down in this way, I'd like to know? Thirteen of us ought
to be enough to turn them three old maids down right smart. Let's just
rush the place, and give 'em the lesson all kidnapers ought to get!
Who's with me?"
He looked straight at Red, first of all, as if aware of his hasty
temper. Indeed, that impulsive individual did make a little move as
though tempted to step over to the side of Matt. Fighting had always
come easy to Red in the old days before he joined the scouts, and it was
mighty hard work conquering the spirit that had such a strong grip on
his nature.
Then some magnet caused him to twist to one side, and send an appealing
look toward Elmer, who shook his head in the negative. Upon which Red
fell back again with a grunt. He had declined the plain invitation to
rebel, which the stranger in the camp had thrown at his feet.
No one else stirred. They even frowned, as though astonished at the
audacity of this one who had tried to raise the standard of rebellion
among the scouts.
"Huh! afraid to risk it, hey?" sneered Matt. "Don't like the idea, of
running up against a hard fist, is that it, fellows? Say, is that the
sort of milksops this here scout business makes of boys? If it is, I
reckon I ain't got much use for it in mine."
"Hold on!"
It was Elmer who spoke just those two words, and the bully of Fairfield
turned to look in the face of the Wolf Patrol leader. He stopped
sneering, and even dropped his eyes before the accusing ones of Elmer
Chenowith.
"You forget yourself, Matt," said Elmer, quietly. "I always thought you
were a fellow of your word; that you prided yourself on doing what you
said you would. But I see I'm mistaken. You promised me that if we
allowed you to come along you would obey orders. We scouts have
subscribed to the rules of an organization that makes obedience to
superior officers a thing of prime importance. These fellows believe in
me, trust in me. They know I will not fail them purposely. And yet you
have tried to get them to rebel, and do something I've positively
forbidden."
Matt looked very uneasy.
"I reckon I was away off, Elmer; excuse me," he muttered; and that was
more of an apology than any other boy had even heard Matt Tubbs utter.
"All right; but you must learn to look at things in another light,"
Elmer went on, severely. "Now, you know that there are boys here who
have been accustomed to rough-house tactics almost as much as you
yourself. A little while ago it wouldn't have needed a second invitation
to coax Red, and Toby, and several others to trot along at your heels,
and pitch into those tramps like hot cakes. But they have turned over a
new leaf. Not that they can't fight, and fight hard, if necessary; but
they are no longer looking for trouble."
Matt scratched his head, and tried to appear as though he understood;
but it was slow to penetrate his brain; all his life he had written only
on one side of the slate; in fact, until lately he did not know there
was another side.
"Obedience is a true scout's glory," Elmer continued, with a purpose in
view. "That man is best fitted to command who has learned to obey. So
you see, although tempted to join you, not a single one of the boys did
so. I do not think you will ever look at things the same way again, or
try to create a rebellion in camp where you have been received only on
probation."
"That's right; I knows it, Elmer. I was dead wrong. And I'm goin' to do
just whatever you say," declared Matt, looking grimly around, as though
challenging any boy to dare throw up to him the fact that in doing this
he must be showing signs of weakness.
"Then we'll forget all about the incident. Now, let's get back to where
we were, and see if we can hit on some plan to get little Ruth away."
Elmer went on as pleasantly as though nothing had occurred to ruffle his
temper.
"I was wondering," said Chatz, "if given a little time, they mightn't do
all the capturing themselves, suh."
"How is that, Chatz?" demanded Toby; "I know my skull is thick, but
somehow I just don't seem to grab that idea on the jump."
"Yes, explain what you've got in mind, please," remarked Elmer.
"Well, I remembered that when you were telling all you had seen, suh,
that you said the fat tramp and the tall thin one were taking a swig
every few minutes out of a couple of big whisky flasks they carried in
their pockets, and which you guessed Dolph must have fetched along for
them."
"Oh! yes, now I begin to see," remarked Elmer.
"Supposing now, suh, they are allowed to drain those same flasks, do you
believe they would be knocked out; and if we entered the camp it would
be to find both of them fast asleep, and dead to the world?"
"That's an idea worth considering," Elmer declared. "But we shouldn't
depend entirely upon it."
"If there was only some way of getting those two men away from the camp
it would make it easy sailing for us," suggested Mark.
"They act as though they expected to stay around here for some time,"
Elmer answered. "In fact, from a few words I happened to hear them let
fall, I wouldn't be surprised if they had done something or other that
made them afraid that the police might be having an eye out for two
fellows of their description. And that's the main reason they are
sticking so close to this lonesome lumber camp."
"Suppose you outline your scheme, Elmer," Red said, humbly; "we'll fall
in line, and endorse it, no matter what it is."
"Well, it's getting on toward the middle of the day right now, and since
some of us had our breakfasts right early, suppose we take a snack
before tackling this job," Matty suggested.
When the question of eating comes up among a party of hungry boys it is
certain to take precedence, just as a motion to adjourn is said to be
always in order.
"That gets me where I live," declared Red, nodding his head vigorously.
"All in favor hold up your right hands," said the acting scout-master;
and immediately eleven hands shot into the air.
Every one present had voted in favor of the motion save the leader and
Matt Tubbs. And even the latter looked happier than before, when, taking
a good sized roll from his haversack, Elmer divided it in half and
offered one portion to the uninvited guest.
Perhaps, after all, it was the part of wisdom for the scouts to partake
of lunch before entering upon any more strenuous work. Boys never feel
quite so venturesome on an empty as a full stomach. At least, after the
long hike, they needed refreshments, every one thought.
"Look at Ted, will you; he's the disappointed one," whispered Mark in
the ear of the scout master.
Indeed, Ted did continue to frown as if he had met with a severe loss;
and yet as a rule he had never been known as a fighter.
"Don't you see what it is," answered Elmer, amused. "He was just
beginning to believe there would be a rumpus and lots of bruises to be
taken care of. Ted is getting more and more earnest in his liking for
the profession of a surgeon."
"Huh!" grunted Toby, who chanced to be standing close enough to hear
what passed between the two chums; "he's getting more and more cracked,
that's what. Unless he curls that disposition of his, I'm afraid he'll
get bounced from the scouts before long."
"Why, what's his desire to be a doctor and a surgeon got to do with it?"
asked Mark, curiously.
"Well, I'm getting afraid of that fellow, for a fact. He just keeps
thinking of those old operations he's been reading about, all the
blessed time. Plague take it, fellows, I'm suspecting that unless Ted
finds a subject to work on when the fit takes him, he'll _make_ one!
Anyhow, I'm going to be mighty careful how I let myself go out alone
with him after dark."
Elmer and Mark looked at Toby to see if he might not be joking, but if
so, he certainly managed to keep a straight face through it all.
"Oh! I guess there isn't any danger of that," said the patrol leader,
soothingly; "and all of us have to admit that Ted certainly knows his
business very well. He can dress a wound splendidly, and I'd be willing
to trust him to set my arm if ever I was unlucky enough to get it
broken. Don't worry about Ted, Toby; he's all to the good, and I suspect
that pretty much all of that ferocious spirit is put on for effect. He
can be as gentle as a woman when he's dressing a wound, for I've watched
him."
As all the scouts were now through "feeding," as some of them called the
process of eating their "snacks" carried along for the purpose, the plan
of campaign proposed by Elmer was gone over carefully, so that every
fellow might be sure he understood the part he was expected to play in
the round-up.
"All ready, suh!" announced Chatz Maxfield, finally.
"Then we'll begin to advance, and this time we will do without the
bugle, Mark. Remember your patrol calls, and keep your ears open for my
signal. The whistle might arouse suspicions here, so I'll give the harsh
cry of the bluejay three times. Then act! Now, be off, all of you; and
Matt, you come with me!"