WESTWARD BOUND
There were just eight people gathered together that evening to have a
good time. Besides Nellie Langdon, of course, Will's twin sister,
Violet, graced the occasion with her presence; then there came Mame
Crosby, the vivacious girl with the auburn locks, who was so fond of
teasing Jerry; and last, but not least, pretty Susie Prescott, a dainty,
prim little blonde, whom Will considered a bundle of sweetness.
What a splendid time this congenial little company had! For many a day
the memory of it would follow the four chums while far away.
All of the "material of war," as Mame called it, had been brought to
Frank's house, so that it might be packed in one big trunk. Thus the
boys would be bothered with only a suitcase and a gun apiece in the long
journey across the continent.
The girls insisted upon being shown the wonderful aggregation of
clothing and weapons. It was to them very much like a shopping
expedition, and many were the exclamations of awe and curiosity as they
looked upon the exhibition.
Bluff, of course, was very proud of that wonderful hunting-knife of his.
He even smiled to see the perceptible shudder with which Nellie surveyed
him as he cut imaginary circles in the air with the keen-edged weapon.
"Oh! I hope you won't have to use it very often, Bluff! It makes me
shiver just to think of you meeting one of those fierce grizzly bears,
such as I have seen in the menagerie," she said confidentially to him.
"But you wouldn't have me leave this jewel at home, would you, Nellie?"
he asked in dismay.
"Oh, no! Not for the world!--since you say that perhaps your very life
may depend on having it; but please, Bluff, be very careful. You might
cut yourself by accident, you know, and then--well, your mother and
father would grieve so much if anything happened to you."
"Well, would you care?" asked Bluff boldly.
Nellie gave him an arch look and ran down-stairs, as she said that she
was needed just then to superintend the placing of the refreshments on
the table. Bluff laid the wonderful hunting-knife, sheath and all, back
on the stand where his things were gathered, and smiled as if pleased.
He had occasion, later on, to recall each little incident of that
evening, when worrying his mind over a most mysterious thing that
puzzled him.
The little company separated about eleven, for the boys expected to
leave home long ere noon on the following day, and had a strenuous
journey before them.
After an early breakfast they gathered at Frank's, where the last
packing was done in hot haste, as the time was short. So it happened
that none of them had more than a confused idea of what was done during
that last hour, save that, some way or other, their things were crammed
into the big trunk.
"We should have taken two, hang it!" grunted Bluff as he tugged at the
metal catches, while a couple of his mates sat on top to induce the lid
to come down.
"There! It's all right now!" cried Will, as the click of the catch
announced the desired union.
So the trunk was snatched up by the waiting men and carried off, to be
taken to the station. Frank and his chums quickly followed. Quite a
gathering of relatives and friends were on hand to see them off.
Frank was taking a last look into the automobile, to make sure nothing
had been forgotten, when Hank Brady, who seemed to be making good with
his job, plucked at his sleeve.
"Hello! Came near forgetting to say good-by to you, Hank! Hope you get
on fine and dandy while I'm gone," said the boy, holding out his hand.
"Thank you, Mr. Frank; but I only wanted to say a few words to you about
a brother of mine who is out there somewhere, we believe. Now, I know
the Northwest is a big place, and you might as well think of lookin' for
a needle in a haystack as for a certain feller there; but accidents do
happen, and by some sorter luck you might just happen to run across
Teddy," said Hank quickly, and with a wistful look on his face that held
Frank's attention.
"And if I do, what then?" he asked softly.
"Tell him his mother's still a-grievin' after him. You see, he is her
baby, though a big feller for his age, which is seventeen about. He left
us in a huff two years back. We heard in an indirect way several times,
but never straight. She worries when she thinks nobody is a-lookin'. If
Teddy would only write to her I think she'd be kinder reconciled," went
on Hank, heaving a deep sigh.
"All right. If by any good luck I happen to run across your brother, you
can depend on it I'll do my best to make him write. But how am I to
know him among the thousands of people I meet?" remarked Frank as he was
about to turn away.
"Well, he has--"
Just then some one pounced on Frank, and dragged him off, so that he
never really knew how he was to recognize this wandering brother of Hank
Brady in case he should meet him.
The train was almost due, and general good-bys were quickly said. Such a
chattering as ensued, which kept up until the four chums climbed into
the car that was to take them to the nearest city, where they would
board the through train for the Northwest.
After the last glimpse of their loved ones had been lost by a sudden
bend in the road, they settled down to making themselves comfortable. It
was expected that they would make connection in St. Paul with the
western through train bound for Seattle. Then would begin the grandest
ride on the whole American continent, over boundless plains, and finally
up into the majestic mountains.
Day and night they would be carried swiftly onward across the many miles
of entrancing scenery. Wonderful sights would fall to their portion.
St. Paul was reached in due season, and once more they started forth,
this time headed west, with the hunting-land beckoning them on.
"Tell me about this, will you!" remarked Jerry, after they had crossed
the broad prairies and were climbing the tremendous heights that lie
like a barrier between the center of the continent and the Pacific
Slope. "How much more of it do we have before us, Frank? I'm getting so
filled with wonder and awe that my tongue is getting into a rut with
saying 'Ah!' so much."
"Less than a day will see us through now. Once we get over this range
there lies a long valley, and in that is where Martin Mabie has his
ranch."
"Then we'll do our hunting along the sides of the mountains?" suggested
Will, who had used up nearly half his supply of films already, taking
views of the wonderful things they saw on the trip.
"That's my impression, from what he wrote," replied Frank.
"And he also said game was fairly plentiful, if I remember aright,"
remarked Jerry.
"Well, he did say that they had been so busy of late on the ranch that
no one had had time for hunting, and consequently the game had not been
bothered very much; which, I suppose, amounts to the same thing."
"H'm! I hope he won't be so rushed with work that he can't take the time
to go with us. Half of the fun would be lost if Mr. Mabie couldn't be
along; for Jesse says he is the most entertaining man alive," grunted
Bluff.
"Oh, you forget that he said by the time we got there the work would
slacken up, and he promised himself a vacation, just to renew his old
pleasure of camping out in the wilderness, away from all mankind,"
laughed Frank.
"That relieves my mind some," declared Bluff, brightening up.
"You're getting tired of all this travel, that's what ails you," said
Jerry.
"No; it isn't that," remarked Frank. "Bluff has confessed to me that for
the life of him he can't remember putting that beautiful hunting-knife
in the trunk along with his other traps; and if he left _that_ behind,
half his pleasure would be lost. Now you know what's the matter."
"Not that I wish it to be so, but if such should prove to be the case,
there'll be one delighted grizzly bear out in these same mountains--the
chap Bluff calculated on carving with that big sticker," remarked Jerry
jocosely.
But Bluff would not even smile. Truth to tell, he was counting the
hours until he could open that trunk and relieve his distressed mind.
"Did you ever see a wilder bit of country?" said Frank, peering out into
the gathering dusk, and trying to imagine those wooded hillsides
populated with elk and buffaloes, and all the big game of the past, when
a white man was never known west of the Great Lakes.
"Well, to tell the truth, I was thinking of that account I read in the
paper we bought, about the work of a sheriff's posse in this region,
chasing the bad men who held up a railroad train not a hundred miles
away from here. It wouldn't be a pleasant experience for us to meet
with, eh, fellows?" asked Will, who was known to have a timid streak in
his make-up.
"Talk to me about your croakers!" jeered Jerry. "Will, here, is enough
to freeze the marrow in one's bones. There isn't one chance in a
thousand that such an adventure will come our way, and he knows it."
"Goodness! What a jar! The engineer must have thrown the air brakes on
then in a big hurry! We're coming to a sudden stop, too! Oh! I wonder if
anything can have happened? Are we going to have an accident, fellows?"
cried Will.
With much creaking of the wheels the heavy train came to a stop, and at
the same moment the four chums, listening with considerable
apprehension, caught the sound of many loud and excited voices just
outside the car.